Thanks to Ari & Erin of Project Team Beta for their help yet again!

Been wondering if you were right about why Seth jumped up to face Jake?

Let's find out!

Chapter 23

Jake PoV

Nahuel's words had cut so deeply that I'd been unable to stop myself from phasing. All I wanted at that moment was to rip him to shreds and I was determined to do it.

I shoved him as hard as I could and he went flying away from me. I phased quickly, focusing only on the half-vampire in front of me. As I advanced slowly forward, stalking him, three women raced smoothly across the grass to stand in front of him. I recognised two of them as his sisters; the third woman was obviously one who I hadn't met. Fine by me though, the trouble they'd all caused me by coming here, four for one would be a bonus. I continued forward but was suddenly aware of a voice in my head.

Jake, no!

Get outta here, Seth, unless you want to help?

I mean it, Jake. I won't let you. I can't let you.

He was in front of me now, his narrow grey muzzle just inches from my own. I realised that he was growling every bit as hard as I was. I was confused as to why he'd do this, and then his thoughts came filtering through into my head.

Aah, Seth, man! Noooo! This last sentiment came out as a tortured howl as I raised my mouth to the sky.

I knew that there was no way around this now as I watched and heard everything going on in Seth's head.

I'm sorry, Jake.

He lowered his head in an apologetic gesture, but I noticed that he didn't take his eyes from me, remaining alert to my actions. My head felt as though it were spinning, while his sympathy for my situation flowed through his thoughts, so did a series of images and thoughts with an altogether different vibe; those of a man whose centre of gravity had just shifted. A man who had imprinted. A man who would be exactly whatever the subject of his imprinting needed him to be, which at this exact moment in time was protector of her and her siblings, including the brother I was itching to tear to shreds.

Everywhere outside of my head was silent now; no growls vibrating through the air, just…nothing. The inside of my head however, was alive with the buzz of Seth's thoughts and my own. I knew we weren't the only two who knew what was going on and turned my head to look at Edward, crouching next to Nessie on the ground, one arm around her shoulders, his face expressionless.

I could feel the atmosphere changing as everyone grew restless, wondering what was going on. I saw Nessie turn to her right to look at Edward. Reading her thoughts, he answered before she even had chance to ask the question. He spoke quietly, out of respect I guessed, although as everyone present had exceptional hearing it was pointless.

"Seth imprinted on one of Nahuel's sisters."

No further explanation was needed for Nessie, but as I looked past Seth at the three women standing behind him with Nahuel, I noticed that Edward's words had left them bemused and they exchanged puzzled glances.

I knew I had no option. No fight could take place here, not now. It was ironic to think that the basic wolf pack rule that I'd once been so grateful for, when it had saved Nessie from the rest of the pack as an infant, was now causing me to curse. A wolf couldn't harm another wolf's imprint. Even without his sisters as a shield, I knew that Seth would never agree with any action I took against Nahuel. After all, hurt could be emotional as well as physical and his sisters obviously had a strong bond with him if they were prepared to face a wolf for him.

I turned and walked slowly toward the edge of the forest where it met the lawn, looking meaningfully at Nessie as I went. She understood immediately and quickly got to her feet. Through Seth's mind I saw her flash a quick hostile look at Nahuel, then away again as she caught up with me and we walked into the trees together.

Once undercover I phased back, naked now, having shredded my pants when I lost it with him. I was examining my body for signs of bruises and grazes, when Seth loped through the trees too. Nessie tactfully turned away as he phased and pulled on the cut off sweats he'd had tied to his ankle.

He looked awkward as hell as he stood in front of us, shifting from foot to foot.

"Jake, I—"

I cut him off angrily.

"Seth, I know. Just get outta here." I knew it was unfair but I couldn't hide my annoyance. He looked crushed and I could tell that he didn't want to have to follow this order from his alpha. He was a loyal friend and would be craving the opportunity to make things right.

I felt my irritation growing as he didn't move.

"Seth, just go!"

I looked across at Nessie in time to see her wince at my treatment of one of my best friends. I sighed deeply, looking off to the side and then down at the ground, suddenly feeling some level of remorse for how I was treating him. My shoulders sagged slightly.

"I'll call you later," he told me as he backed away a couple of steps.

"Sure, sure," I replied, rubbing my face with my hand and watching as he turned and disappeared back toward the house.

I turned my whole body toward Nessie. She visibly cringed as my gaze fixed on her.

"You know what this means now, right?" My voice was resigned now, the anger having subsided. She nodded slowly, but I continued regardless. "We're never going to be free of him now; he's always going to be there lurking in the background."

She shook her head.

"I don't care, Jake. I only want you and I'm not going to do anything to risk losing you again."

I rolled my eyes at her.

"Ness, you never meant to do anything before, but it still nearly happened. It's going to be even harder for you with him around, don't you see?

He's going to keep pushing until something gives. Today it was me that snapped, but thanks to Seth and the stupid imprinting," I spat the words, "that's not going to be an option again."

The irritation in me rose once more as I thought of how close I'd come to ending this before Seth appeared, love struck & defensive.

"Stupid imprinting?" I looked up at Nessie's face and she looked as though she'd been slapped. I instantly felt bad; I'd been too caught up in the situation to think about my words and how they'd sound to Nessie. Of course I'd only meant them in relation to what just happened with Seth, but I could see how she'd have thought I was generalizing after what we'd been through this week.

I huffed in frustration at how nothing seemed to flow like it used to. Every interaction Ness and I shared stuttered and stalled. I wondered if this was how things would always be for us from now on, or if we'd regain our easy togetherness again with time.

"No," I moaned. "Not like that, not us." I ran my hand over the top of my head and down the back of it. "I'm sorry. I'm just…" I shook my head. "I don't know. Tired. Tired of all this." I gestured with my hands, sweeping them widely.

I crossed to where she stood, slid one hand under her hair at the back of her neck and moved the other to raise her face to look up at me.

"Ness, I want us to work this out, more than anything. If I could go back in time to how things were between us, I would."

She pressed her lips together in what appeared to be a smile of understanding and regret. I pulled her into me, wrapping my large arms around her small frame. She hugged me back and I felt the wholeness enveloping us. "Honey, I'm scared," I whispered into her hair. "I'm scared that he'll push us until something gives. That can't be me now and there's only one other thing that could give. You."

She stiffened and I waited for the outburst that I was sure would follow, but it didn't come. Instead, she spoke steadily as her fingers drew absent patterns on the bare skin of my back.

"Jake, I do love you. I know I've made that pretty hard to believe lately, and I'm sorry. You're not the only one who wishes they could turn back the clock."

Her words warmed my soul and I kissed her head. The doubts were still nagging at me though. The damage she'd done to the trust I'd ever had in her still felt irreparable right now.

"Let's go home, Ness. I need to get some clothes and I want our own space again while I get my head together."

She nodded and watched as I phased back into a wolf, more suited to walking through the forest than a naked man. I crouched down and moved my head to urge her onto my back. It wasn't how we usually did things, but I was eager to get home as quickly as possible now. She jumped gracefully onto me, and held on tightly to the shaggy fur on my shoulders. I rose steadily to my feet, careful not to throw Ness off balance, then I took off for home, grateful for the sound of rushing air that made it more difficult to think.

As we neared the house, I slowed and lowered onto my flanks again, and Nessie sprang down, landing lightly at my side. I phased back again and took her hand, smiling at her. She squeezed my hand gently, removing it from mine as we reached the foot of the porch so I could retrieve the spare key from beneath one of the planters. We made our way up the porch steps to the door and I unlocked it, pushing it open and standing back to usher Nessie through first. As I walked through the doorway, I turned instinctually to sweep the outside with my eyes. Apparently my paranoia wasn't ready to leave me yet. Satisfied that nothing seemed amiss I stepped inside, closing the door behind me.

Nessie had already gone in and I heard the radio in the kitchen click on and a familiar song began to blare out. The melody and lyrics were upbeat and the sound of Nessie singing along softly drifted out and met my ears. I felt myself begin to relax. The atmosphere of the house was comforting, and at last the feeling of contentment that I used to feel all of the time felt as though it might return.

I wandered through to the kitchen, smiling as I saw Nessie busying herself, tidying the small space. It almost felt as though nothing had ever happened. I pulled the large refrigerator open and took a can of soda out, popping it open and raising it to my lips to draw deeply on the cold liquid.

"I'm gonna go take a bath," I told Ness, as I set the can down on the counter. She crossed over to me and wrapped her arms around my naked waist, looking up at me as she raised one eyebrow playfully.

"Want me to come and scrub your back?"

"Uhh…" I played for time as I wondered how to refuse her without upsetting her again. "Uh-uh." Reaching behind me I took her hands and pulled them slowly away from me. "I'm actually just really tired, Ness." I pulled her hands around and brought them together in front of us. Nessie looked down at the ground, sadly. "Hey," I said, to get her attention. She looked up at me, her big brown eyes despondent. It hurt me to see her looking so sad.

I bent down, touching my lips to hers once, twice, and a third time, before we naturally tilted our heads and allowed our mouths to move more freely together. The kiss deepened as we parted our lips and our tongues met. Somehow the kiss felt more exciting than comfortable, still having the scintillating edge that had made our reunion lovemaking so good the night before.

As I felt us begin to get carried away on the excitement, Nessie pulled her hands free of mine and placed them on my body, sliding them upward while I placed mine on her waist, still guarded about how close I'd allow myself to get to her.

Nessie's hands continued up to my head, and then one moved around to the back of my neck while the other one rested on my cheek. Slowly she began to show me how she was feeling and what she was thinking. She showed me exactly what she wanted me to do to her and what she wanted to do to me. I kissed her more hungrily, it was impossible not to be turned on by what she was showing me. I felt myself begin to harden and was suddenly aware of my nakedness. Ness deliberately crushed herself against me and the sudden, unexpected contact caused me to moan into her mouth.

The sound brought me a moment's awareness and I broke away, breathless. I rested my forehead on hers while I caught my breath.

"Look, I know we jumped straight back into things last night." I squeezed her waist slightly, rubbing my thumbs across the flesh just below the hem of her shirt. "But I think we should back up a little. I need a little time to get my head together, you know?"

I lifted my head and took a step back so I was holding her at arm's length. I regretted my words for an instant when I looked at her. Her chest heaved with her breathlessness, her pupils were dilated and her cheeks were flushed pink. Seeing her visibly turned on was almost enough to make me rethink my resolve. I smiled in spite of myself. And then she did it again; she pouted and opened her mouth to speak.

"It's just sex, Jake."

I felt my face drop.

"Just sex?" I challenged her.

Her eyes widened suddenly as what she'd said registered with her. She raised both of her hands to her face and dropped her head onto them.

"Shit, I did it again." She raised her head and looked at me. "I swear to God, Jake, I didn't mean that how it sounded. I meant 'just sex' as in 'we've done it before and it's no big deal'."

"No big deal?" I was more incredulous than angry, but she seemed unable to stop digging herself deeper into this hole she'd carved out for herself. I let go of her and took a step backward. "Ok, Ness. I'm gonna take that bath now." I gestured over my shoulder with my thumb. "Just forget about it, alright?"

She was standing biting her lip and cringing. Finally she nodded, and I turned and headed for the doorway.

"Jake?" she called after me. I stopped and turned to face her. "It was just a bad choice of words. I swear, I didn't mean…uh…you know.... anything by what I said."

I nodded.

"Yeah, I know." I turned and walked out, adding under my breath. "I think."

A/N *sigh* She just can't help herself can she?

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