Chapter 3 –

Lily laughed, surprised as to how much she enjoyed hanging out with Jake. Of course the view was awesome too, especially with that smile, smile that suddenly disappeared.

His face lost its warmth and sweetness as his muscles tensed; jaw clenched, and fists curled into fists, and was he trembling? His eyes were fixated on her stomach, following his gaze; she was horrified to see her shirt was resting on her rib cage. Jake was getting a full view of the reason she had refused to look into a mirror for the past three months. Lily pulled her shirt down as fast as she could and instinctively wrapped her arms across her stomach, like that action would somehow take everything away.

"Who?" Jake growled without looking away from her stomach.

"It doesn't matter" she answered "I just want to forget about it"

"Who?" he repeated as he looked into her eyes. Even though it was obvious he was trying to be caring and understanding while remaining calm, he was having trouble with it.

"It was over 3 months ago" she explained "Before I moved here, the reason I moved here"

"The hell it was!" he growled "You wanna tell me, this" he said lifting her shirt "Happened over three months ago?" Shit! It was definitely not the way she was expecting things to go. Hour one 'hello, nice to meet you', hour two 'join me for breakfast', hour three 'my ex best friend became obsessed with me and attacked me, oh by the way, bruises haven't healed because I'm a witch and my emotions can affect my healing'? Lily was so embarrassed and mortified with the whole situation she wasn't able to hold back the tears any longer. Jake's expression softened as he wrapped his arms around her, which even though it was comforting and gave her the sense of protection and security, it also caused her to cry uncontrollably into his chest. Probably because she had been holding in for so long. "Did he?" Jake whispered.

When Jake didn't continue, Lily looked up at him, he cocked his brow. She immediately understood what he was asking and was so thankful he didn't say the word out loud "No!" she shook her head

"Did you press charges?"

"I couldn't bring myself to do it" she admitted

"Boyfriend?"

"He was family, a brother, my best friend since I was 2" she answered as he voice cracked.

Jake wrapped his arms even tighter around her, as if he was shielding her with his body. There was something about his behavior made her feel like he would never allow anyone or anything to harm her in any way. It felt nice. It was one of the reasons why she loved all the guys. Everyone from Sam, to Seth treated her like family and were very outspoken about their protectiveness. She was sure Manny would never look for her again, but if he did, she had 10 big guys watching her back. Not that she needed it, not anymore.

"I need you tell me everything" Jake whispered into her hair. Lily nodded, the truth was gonna come out sooner or later, besides, she was tired of keeping secrets. Before she even thought about moving, Jake was sitting her down on the couch while he sat next to her, torso twisted in her direction, her hand in his. Lily took a deep breath before beginning.

"Manny and I were best friend before we could walk" she stated while staring at her lap "Joined at the hip throughout our lives, together through thick and thin. There were no secrets between us, we talked about everything, everything. To me he was much more than my best friend, he was family, my brother, the other half of me, but rumors that I was more than that to him started in junior high" she glanced at Jake before continuing "I convinced myself that the rumors were nothing more than a bunch of childish dorks that couldn't understand how we could care about each other without it being, like that. By high school all the signs were there but I refused to accept it. I didn't want to believe it, I didn't want things to get weird, and I didn't want to lose him. How could I not know? He flipped out everytime a guy got near me, and heaven forbid I paid a guy any attention, he would go ballistic" Lily exhaled sharply, thinking of how stupidly she had handled the entire situation. She'd spent the last three months of the 101 ways she could've avoided it. "About six months ago, we went to a party, he gets wasted and decides to declare his love for me, in front of everyone. No way for me to avoid the subject anymore, as much as it hurt me, I knew I had to put some distance between us. I would never feel a love for him different that the one I had for Jess, being joined at the hip wasn't gonna help either of us. That's when he became obsessed, calling me and texting me 24/7, emailing me poems and love letters, showing up everywhere I went. I always made my feelings clear to him, but the more I did the worst it got. It got to the point I was afraid of him" Tears rolled down her cheeks as flashbacks flooded her brain "Jess and I decided on moving here the moment he started acting weird, we bought this house in December but were planning on staying in LA till Jess finished the school year, in June" she bit her lower lip as she wiped her face "A little over three months ago, Jess was out with his friends, I was home alone and instead of waiting up for him like I usually did, I went to bed early. I was awakened by the weird feeling of being watched. I opened my eyes to find Manny's face less than inch from mine. I tried to scream but he covered my mouth as he pinned me down to the bed with his body. I fought, a lot" she rolled up her sleeves to show her arms, the hand-shaped bruise around each wrist. Jake's trembling shook the entire couch "He never fought back, he just tried to hold me down. Not really sure what he was trying to do but I sure as hell wasn't gonna find out. Jess called out my name as he walked in the front door which is what caused Manny to run away" She turned to Jake with pleading eyes "Jess knows about Manny being in my room, but that's it. He doesn't know about this" she said holding her wrists up "And I don't want him to" Jake nodded, silent agreement to keep the secret "We were packed and on our way here that weekend. I haven't seen or heard of Manny since"

"And you won't" Jake said as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "But you said this happened a 3 months ago?" he asked looking at the bruises that looked quite new.

"Yeah, normally I heal quickly, very quickly" she stated "But I have found out that my emotions affect it" she explained "I've haven't been able to heal from this emotionally, therefore not allowing me to heal physically" Jake looked at her like she'd gone crazy and she winced not liking what was about to come "I know it sounds crazy" she understood "And what I'm about to tell you is gonna sound even crazier but I need to tell you. I really don't want to, cause you're gonna think I'm a freak but it's the only way you'll understand"

"You'd be surprised" he smiled "I'm very good with freaky"

"I sure hope so" she said out loud without intention of doing so which cause Jake to chuckle "Well" she sighed "Here goes" she said looking at Jake a bit scared "I'm a witch" His reaction was not the one she was expecting. He laughed. "Do not laugh at me" she snapped as she removed her hand from his.

"I'm sorry" he smiled "But a witch? Really?" Lily glared at him before closing her eyes and focusing all of her energy, causing all the windows in the house to open unanimously "Whoa!" Jake exclaimed.A few seconds later, she willed the windows to close one by one in a cool domino effect. "Damn, that was cool" Jake smiled

"There's still a lot I need to learn, but I can do a few cool things" she shrugged "Most witches are trained all their lives for this, I received the news when I turned 13" she smirked "Let's just say it was very reveling birthday dinner" Jake's smile caused her to laugh. He was good with freaky. "You think of witches and the first thing that comes to mind is brews, potions, spells, and lots of cobwebs" she smiled "Then you hear 'you're a witch, born one, powers are nothing more than channeling your energy into willing things, you're very powerful, you'll get it soon' you're like 'I don't think so'" she laughed "But I'm rolling with it, not much I can do, right? It's not like I chose this, I was born this way"

"Know the feeling very well" he whispered "Does Jess know?" he asked before she could ask him what the comment meant

"Yup, he knows" she nodded "He thinks he doesn't have powers but he does" she added "His are very limited though, more like a very strong 6th sense. Like the way he got home when I needed him, the way he calls just as I begin to worry, or the way he throws a towel at me just before I drop something, stuff like that. Mine however are intense, or they will be when I learn to used them" she smirked "But fyi, my senses are very acute, so just because you are able to speak in a tone low enough only dogs can hear, doesn't me I can't" she smiled "So?" she sangas she turned her torso to face him "You know all my dirty little secrets now, it's only fair I get to know yours"

"What makes you think I have one?" he half-smiled while cocking a brow. Oohwee!!!

"Witch, remember?" she smiled trying to keep cool "I sensed it the moment I saw you at the parking lot. You have a secret and so does Edward, apart from the mind reading that is"

"You know about that?" he asked burying his brows together.

"I picked up on it" she answered "He was reading yours and desperately trying to read mine. Shocked the hell out of him when he realized he couldn't. Same way he nearly fell back when he realized it stopped working on you too" she laughed "It was very entertaining" The 'huh?' look she got from Jake made her laugh "Picking up someone's thoughts because you can't help it is one thing, but intentionally reading someone, is something else" she explained "It bothered me that he was picking at your head so I blocked him out. That's why when you guys were having your little conversation in code, which by the way proved to me there were lots of secrets floating around, he said he was only able to hear half of whatever you didn't want to have a ring-side seat for" Jake laughed so hard he was in tears. After giving him a moment to collect himself, she crossed her arms across her chest and cocked a brow "I'm waiting"

Lily might be well aware of the existence of a grey world. Hell, she was part of it. But nothing could've prepared her for the three words that came out of Jake's mouth "I'm a werewolf"

*****

Lily's brows shot up and her mouth became a perfect little o. Well at least she didn't scream or make a run for it. Then again if she was a powerful as she said, she could probably take him, even if he was twice her size.

"Werewolf?" she asked "Like full moon, silver bullet, werewolf?"

"Don't need the moon and doubt silver bullets can do damage" he smiled "But yeah"

"So how does it work?" she smiled full of curiosity.

Jake decided to just lay it all in the open and gave her all the details of his first phasing, how Sam helped him, Sam own ordeals, as well as the rest of the pack's. Lily sat quietly and attentively, completely enthralled by everything she was hearing, he had to admit it did sound like a sci-fi novel.

"Is that's why you guys are so big? The wolf gene?"

"Yeah" he answered "We are designed to be killers. That's the sole reason for our existence"

"Killers of what?" she asked "Cause I know it's a what and not a who, isn't it?"

"Vampires" he answered "We only kill vampires"

"Edward" she nodded. How could she possibly know? Jake looked at her a bit puzzled as she smiled like she had just solved a puzzle.

Even though he was quite sure the pack had given her a detailed play-by-play of his ordeal with Bella and the bloodsuckers, Jake thought she should get his version of it. He decided to hold nothing back and tell her everything, the way he'd convinced himself he was in love with Bella, his suffering due to it, how it also increased his hatred for Edward and the rest of his leech family, and how he became intolerable and unbearable to live with for months. And as much as he hated defending bloodsuckers, he had to keep it real and tell Lily about their 'diet' and how other than the high stench of saccharine, they weren't so bad. He also told her about imprinting and how that saved him from suffering any longer.

"Anything you wanna know?"

"Tell me all the cool stuff about being a werewolf" she smiled

"The sense of brotherhood, loyalty, the freedom, the strength and specially the speed"

"Not to mention the body" she smiled causing him to blush. Oh god I'm blushing!

"It has it bad stuff too" he admitted "The telepathy is a real pain in the ass"

"You can read minds too???" she asked "Good thing I can block mine"

"Having any thoughts you don't want me to hear?" he half-smiled

"Yes" she answered without hesitation causing him to laugh.

"I could only read the pack's minds, and only when were in wolf form" he explained "That's how we communicate"

"Oh oh" she whispered as she covered her mouth "You might have a little trouble with that" she added apologetically "The spell I used to block Edward out, blocks everyone else too. They won't be able to hear your thoughts. Only the one's you think directly at them. I'm sorry, I didn't know. But it's only temporary; they'll be able to hear you in a few days"

Jake laughed out loud "Can you make it permanent?"

"Yeah" she shrugged "If you want me to"

"Let me see how it goes" he smiled "Meanwhile I'm gonna sure as hell gonna enjoy messing with them"

"Now that you know we can fix the telepathy thing" she smiled "Any other bad things?"

"The total lack of control over your own body" he admitted "It sucks to know that if I get too upset or too worked up I can explode into a giant dog. Hence the trembling earlier" he added apologetically "It takes a lot of power to always keep calm, one I haven't yet mastered" he stated as he looked directly into her eyes with a saddened face. He would never do it intentionally but, neither did Sam and look at Em. "People can get hurt around me"

"You would never hurt me. Couldn't if you wanted to" she smiled before biting her lower lip in the sexiest way "Jake? Can I see you, as a wolf?"It was his brow's turn to shoot up. "Pleeeeease" she said taking his hand in hers. The guys weren't kidding when hey said they couldn't deny their imprintee's anything, even if they know they shouldn't.

"You sure you wanna see that?" he asked "I don't think I should" he said knowing well he was gonna do it

He got completely lost in her glorious eyes, at that point she asked him to jump into a pool filled with piranhas and he would've agreed, he was just too dazed to speak. She placed her soft delicate hand, which felt cool against the blazing heat of his cheek, and without breaking their eye contact she whispered "Please, Jacob" in a voice that sent his heart into a craze. Come, on! No fair! Who can say no to that? He nodded, causing a wide smile to cross her face. He placed his hand over hers and kissed her palm before intertwining their fingers as he stood up, bringing her up with him.

"I need space" he stated "I'll carry you to the woods" he added as he towed her to the deck.

"Ok" she nodded "But I can walk, you don't have to carry me"

"I want to" he answered "Trust me, you don't weigh a thing" he smiled "Besides, I might as well show you something else"

Before she could further argue, he gently but quickly tossed her over his back. She laughed, shaking her head when she found herself piggyback. Rather than fight it, she placed her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs tightly across his stomach before locking them. He grabbed onto her thighs and took off at full speed. He already knew from their motorcycle ride that she loved the speed; it was no surprise to him that she loved his velocity, which was several times faster than the bike's.

After going far enough into the woods for there to be no witnesses, he placed her down gently. He made sure to hold onto her elbows, just in case she felt dizzy and needed stability, but all she did was laugh.

"That was freaking awesome!' she laughed "That was way more fun than a roller coaster and I love roller coasters. We gotta do that again"

"Whenever you want" he said "I'll run for hours if you want me to"

"I'm gonna take you up on that" she smiled "But for now, I believe I'm waiting for a wolf ala carte"

"Ok" he stated after hesitating a minute "Wait here, ok?" he said placing her against a tree "I'm gonna make sure no one's around, then I'm gonna go behind those trees" he said pointing to a cluster of them several feet away "Get naked"

"Naked???"

"Yeah" he smiled "Clothes don't pop on and off, you know? I need to get naked to phase. That's why the guys and I are always running around in nothing but shorts"

"Oh" she whispered as she turned various shades of red "Right"

"I'm gonna come out of those trees as a giant wolf" he stated seriouslyas he took her face in his hands "I just want to make sure that no matter what you see, it's still me and I would never hurt you, ok?"

Lily nodded with a smile, and he kissed the top of her head before walking away. He stopped a few steps and looked back, not certain he should go on with it, but she rolled her eyes at him and waved him to go on. He smiled at her carefree attitude and continued. After making a quick run around, Jake disposed of his clothes and phased. As he peeked his head from behind the trees, he saw Lily leaning back on the tree he'd placed her at, looking up at the sky.

Jake walked out slowly, making sure not to make any sudden movements that might frighten her. The snap of a twig called her attention. The reaction was instant, her eyes widened and Jake heard her breathing become erratic and her heart pound uncontrollably as she held onto the tree to keep herself from falling. She didn't scream but probably because she couldn't. His instinct was to run to her side, but that was probably the last thing she wanted. 'It's me' he whined as he took another step, but she brought up her hand to stop him from getting any closer.

Fear washed over Jake. What if she couldn't handle it? What if she ran away? Would he lose her after just finding her?

Chapter 4 –

Lily couldn't figure out what the big deal was, why Jake was being so apprehensive? It's not like she'd never seen a wolf before. So overprotective! She leaned back against tree and looked up at the beautiful scenery, giving Jake time to do his thing. After a few moments, her attention was called by the sound of a twig being turned into splinters. Her eyes nearly popped out as she got sight of what would surely be embossed in her brain for the rest of her life. She immediately found herself hyperventilating and holding onto the tree as her legs turned to mush. She wouldn't allow herself to scream, or at least that what she told herself, truth was she couldn't.

The reddish-brown wolf coming at her was massive, about the size of a horse but more muscle and definitely more flesh-shredding teeth and claws. The low whine heard was his way of reminding her who it was. Its Jake, its Jake, its Jake. He walked slowly, but the closer he got the bigger he got and the harder her heart pounded. Without having a clue as to how, she managed to get her arm follow instructions, raising palm out, silently asking him to stop.

"Freaking out a little" she whispered "Gimme a minute" Jake moved his head up and down to nod. He looked so intimidating and menacing, but she had to remind herself it was still him. He would never hurt her. Lily stood motionless staring at him for several minutes as he stared back "Don't move, ok?" she whispered.

Once again he nodded. Lily pushed herself off the tree and forced herself to walk over to him, step by tiny step, praying not puke or pass out. She reached him in what seem to be centuries and leaned her head back to look up at him as he bowed down to bring his head to her level and inches away from hers, allowing her to lock eyes with him. It's really him! "Holy shit!" she smiled. A loud husky bark escaped him, which instantly recognized as a laugh. She buried her brows and placed her hands on her hips as she scolded "Jacob Black, you are so not laughing at me" the whine that followed was no doubt an apology. Lily smiled and slowly brought her hands out to touch him as he bent down some more to drop his huge head into her hands. She touched his fur, running her fingers through it, stroking it over and over again, and memorizing the texture of it. Jake closed his eyes as he made a low humming sound. "I'm feeling like Little Red Riding Hood right now" she laughed. A loud barking laughter escaped from him, but this time she laughed along with him "Can you go change back now?" Jake nodded before running back to the trees. Seconds later he emerged in human form and fully dressed from the waist down, his t-shirt hanging from his back pocket, smiling as he walked towards her. "That was the coolest thing I've ever seen" she smiled, trying not to stare at his perfectly sculpted abs and smooth muscles.

"You were scared" he answer trying to hold in a smile"Admit it"

"At first, who wouldn't be? You would scare the hell out of anyone. But then I saw your eyes. I saw your eyes looking back at me. They remain with the same twinkle, the same warmth as always and I knew it was you. That's all it took for my brain to register Jake, not wolf, not human, just Jake"

Jake's smile widened as he stepped closer to her, bringing their bodies to nearly touch. There was nothing she wanted more than to feel those incredibly tempting lips on hers, but something suddenly came to mind. He had an imprintee, a girlfriend, well more like soulmate by the way he had put things earlier.

"You never told me who you imprinted on" she stated as she took a step back. Jake took a step forward, tilting her head up with a finger as he leaned down; bringing his nose to touch hers as he smiled that breathtakingly gorgeous smile that continuously turned her knees to jello. God please give me some self-control!

"You mean you can't sense it?" he asked in the sexiest voice imaginable while placing his hands on her cheeks, caressing her face with his thumbs, which of course caused her heart to start pounding uncontrollably. "Would it help if I said I only imprinted a few hours ago?" Lily couldn't think, hell she could hardly breathe, something Jake definitely noticed by the way his smile resembled a tad of cockiness. She had to bite her lower lip to keep herself from jumping him "Lily, you're my soulmate" he whispered and his sweet breath nearly caused her to faint "We've always been destined for each other. I loved you before I knew you existed" he smiled "I know you must have picked up on that?"

"You love me???"

"I love you more than my life" Jake confessed "My heart, my soul, my being, my entire existence belongs to you. You own me and I'm not afraid to admit it. I'm yours Lily"

None of it made any sense. It was crazy and irrational. But they themselves made no sense, they were beings of a gray world that was crazy and irrational but somehow worked just fine for them.

"Jake, I don't know how this happened, or why, and honestly I really don't care" she admitted "All I know, is that I'm your too"

Jake's smiled widened before gently and softly landing his blazing hot lips on hers. Lily tiptoed to wrap her arms around his neck as he placed a hand on the small of her back and the other behind her neck. His soft lips moved in perfect synchronization with hers as his warm sweet tongue massaged her own. Never in a million years did she ever imagine a kiss could feel that wonderful and she was enjoying every second of it. He must've been enjoying it just as much because they continued kissing, barely coming up for air. Sadly all good things come to an end, specially the kind that leave you breathless and with an irregular heartbeat. Jake wrapped his arms around her and smiled at her, which only caused her heart to speed up. His smiled widened as he placed his hand over her heart.

"You see what you do to my poor heart when you smile at me like that?" She whispered

"Lily, you do that to mine all the time" he chuckled as he rested his chin on her head.

It was a good thing Lily's body adapted to Jake's heat quickly cause she would've been roasted in a matter of minutes otherwise. She'd noticed the same thing about the rest of the guys when they hugged. Probably a wolf thing.

"Why are you so hot?"

"I'm hot?" Jake smiled as he snapped his head to look down at her.

"Yes" she smiled "But I meant your body" Jake's smile widened as he cocked his eyebrow "Ugh!" she rolled her eyes "You know what I mean"

"Werewolf's temps run along 108 all the time" Jake laughed "We can stand in a snow storm in nothing but shorts and still be nice and toasty"

"Is the tattoo a werewolf thing too?" she asked running her fingers over his right forearm.

"Yeah" he nodded "After the first time we phase, a ritual is held where we receive this tribal tattoo. That's how I found out how fast we heal. The damn thing was healed in less than an hour"

"Does that mean everyone in LaPush knows about you guys?"

"No" he shook my head "It has to be kept a secret. The only ones who know are the tribe elders. We're only allowed to tell our imprintees. We can't even tell our parents"

"Your dad doesn't know???" she asked in shock

"He knows" he laughed "He's a tribe elder. You see, the last tribe chief we had was my great-grandfather. If we still had a chief, it would be my dad. Even though he's not, everyone still treats him as such"

"Wait a minute" She said a bit confused "Then why aren't you the head of the pack? It should be you and not Sam, isn't it?"

"He phased first" Jake answered, his face getting serious and obviously uncomfortable "He's alpha"

"That's not how it works Jake and you know it"

"It should be me" Jake admitted just as uneasy "It was offered to me when I first phased but I don't want the responsibility. Besides, Sam's a much better alpha than I can ever be"

"I highly doubt that" she smiled shaking her head "You don't give yourself enough credit. I think you would be a great alpha"

"Can we not talk about that?" he asked

"Only if we go running again" she beamed

"For hours, remember?" he smiled. Unlike the last time, Jake didn't throw her over his back, this time he turned around and bent his knees a little, allowing her to jump on.

"I can get used to this" she smiled as she placed her arms around his neck, jumping to wrap her legs across his stomach and waiting to lock her feet until he set her comfortably. He held onto her by her thighs before taking off at full speed, giving her that rush of adrenaline, exhilaration and excitement she was learning to love.

Jake really meant it when he said he would run for hours if she wanted him to. She would never intentionally do so, but she was having so much fun, she didn't notice the hours flying by. It wasn't until they reached the beach, again, that she noticed the sun was setting.

*****

"Again?" he laughed. They'd been running around in circles for hours. They'd probably been in Vancouver, Canada if they'd gone in a straight line, but there was no way Jake would take the risk of running into bloodsuckers alone while he was with her. By remaining in LaPush, he knew the pack was only a howl away.

"No" she answered giving Jake a kiss on the cheek "You've been running around for hours. Carrying my big butt at that, let's just sit and rest" she added as she jumped off his back.

She sat on the sand, pulling him down with her. She laughed at the loud thud his butt made when it hit the sand and scooted close to him when he intertwined their fingers, resting her head on his arm as she watched the pink sky and the nearly black waves crashing against the shore. He on the other hand, couldn't take his eyes off of her. She was absolutely gorgeous, in every way. She turned to him and smiled as he kissed her hair.

"This was so crazy" he thought out loud "I mean, I'm relieved you know, but..."

"But what, Jake?" she smiled "Were you expecting any part of what happened today? Cause I sure as hell didn't"

"Lily, how can I possibly expect what I thought was impossible" he admitted "Before you showed up, I was miserable" he smiled "Took you long enough to show up" he playfully bumped against her.

"Hey" she smiled, playfully pushing him "A girl has a right to make her dramatic entrance"

"Nearly killing me in the process"

"Think of it this way, now you'll fully appreciate the true meaning of love" Lily leaned over and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. It was sweet and yet incredibly sensual. He couldn't believe that beautiful angel was his. She knew everything, she was ok with it, she wanted to be with him, and he was the happiest man alive. Lily laid back, stretching in the sand, which caused her belly be exposed. For the second time, the sight of her stomach caused him to be shocked.

"Your stomach, Lily" he said in alarm

She sat up, looking at him with confusion since she knew he'd seen it before. His eyes failed to move away from her stomach so Lily finally looked at it. Her eyes widened as much as his.

"On my god" she whispered as she lifted her shirt as much as she could without exposing herself. She then pulled up her sleeves to look at her wrists "Whoa" The bruises that had been there hours before, were gone. Not a single trace left. "I was beginning to think they were permanent"

"You weren't playing when you said you can heal quickly" he stated "But I can't understand, why now?"

"You made me forget. You healed me, Jake" she smiled before lying back again.

Jake couldn't stop himself from kissing the velvety skin of her perfect stomach. Not that he wanted to. She exhaled softly as he continued placing soft kisses on her belly, leaving trails of goose bumps on the way. It was the most sensual moment of his life to date. Things were kept from going any further as the moment was comically ruined by the loud growling of her stomach.

"Hungry?" he laughed

"A little" she lied, turning various shades of red

"Well I'm starving" he smiled, not just to make her feel better; he actually was in desperate need of food. "And I know where there's always plenty of food to eat"

"I'm in" she smiled, lighting up the whole shore.

Emily's face was of happy surprise when she saw Jake walked in through the kitchen door.

"Jake!" she smiled "I'm so glad you're here"

For months Jake had only been to Em's house when he had to. Thanks to his mood he only made appearances for pack meetings or giving reports to Sam. He knew the pack was gonna give him a lot of crap about his reappearance, especially when they found out about him and Lily. Jake was extremely glad Em happened to be home alone, an extreme rarity.

"Hope you don't mind us dropping in for some grub" he smiled

"Of course not" she rolled her eyes "Who's with you?" she asked, tiptoeing to try to see behind him.

"Me" Lily answered as she peeked from behind Jake, who never let go of her hand as she ran over to hug Em. "Wasn't my idea to come jack your food" she smiled "I was dragged here. Well technically I was carried"

"You're welcomed here anytime, you know that" Em answered with a big smile "With all the food the boys eat at your house, it's the least I can do" she added as she hugged Lily.Em noticed Lily's arm was connected to Jake and her eyes widened as she noticed their fingers were intertwined. She immediately looked up at Jake, who smiled, knowing what she was wondering. Em cocked a brow, asking the silent question. His smile widened as he nodded, then worded 'she knows'. Em's smile couldn't have gotten any wider, letting him know she was very happy for him. "Besides" she said to Lily "Us wolf girls have to stick together, right?"

Lily glanced over at Jake and smiled before answering "Always"

Em's fried chicken was delicious. The girls finished eating quickly and went to chat in the living room while Jake had seconds and thirds in the kitchen. It wasn't long before he heard the pack approaching. Great! Within moments Sam walked in, Jared, Paul, Quil and Embry right behind. Sam was also happily surprised to see him there; he'd been trying to get him out of his funk for weeks. No doubt Sam saw Jake's visit as a first step in the right direction, and fearing he would run again, he gave the guys a look that obviously meant 'not a word'. Other than Paul who kicked the chair on his way in, everyone gave him a pat on the back, downplaying it like there had never been an absence.

Sam walked over to kiss Em and give Lily a hug hello. Jared, Quil and Embry were next in the hug line, which surprisingly Jake didn't mind; it was all friendly embraces. Paul decided to be true to his character, and as the biggest asshole that he was, he sat on the couch next to Lily and wrapped his arms around her. Jake jumped up, glaring at Paul as a growl trembled in his chest. Paul heard Jake's warning, defiantly smiled and before Lily could react, took her face and planted a big kiss on her cheek, extremely close to her lips.

Next thing he knew, Em and Lily were in the corner with Jared, Quil and Embry as human shields, Paul was crouching in a defensive stand, Jake was mid-air in his attack and Sam was leaping to stop them. Among all the chaos, the only thing Jake heard was Lily's scream.

"STOP!!!!!"