Chapter 6

"So what's going on with you lately, Sel?" Riana demanded as she walked side by side with her best friend, Selene Swan, through Port Angeles.

They were out for the weekend on a shopping spree, girls only. Riana loved shopping, mostly for books, which is why they were currently headed toward a bookstore that had virtually anything one wanted. She'd noticed the change in Selene over the past few weeks, ever since her sister had gotten married to Edward Cullen.

"What do you mean?" Selene sipped her mango smoothie that she'd gotten from a nearby vendor, her hair pulled back in a braid Riana did. "There's nothing going on."

"You know you can bullshit a lot of people and hide your emotions, but you can't hide shit from me." Riana stated, stopping as she turned to stare into Selene's eyes, seeing she was indeed hiding something. "I thought I was supposed to be your best friend…"

Selene groaned inwardly, hating it when Riana pulled the guilt trip card. "Ri, there's nothing going on, I don't know what you're talking about. We are best friends, you should know that by now."

"Really?" Riana wasn't convinced, folding her arms in front of her chest, having finished her pomegranate smoothie already. "Then why are you hiding something from me? Best friends are supposed to tell each other EVERYTHING."

"I'm not hiding anything!" Selene growled, becoming really irritated as she sucked down her smoothie even more. "What makes you think I'm hiding something from you?"

"The way you've been acting lately. I don't know, I can't explain it." Riana sighed heavily, rubbing her temples, her own black hair pulled back in a French braid, midnight blue eyes troubled. She had black rimmed glasses on since she was practically blind without them, thanks to her grandmother's lovely genes. "You've changed."

"How so?"

"Like I said, I can't explain it. It's just something about you…I mean come on we used to hang out all the time and now I'm lucky if I see you once or twice a week." Riana said, hurt evident in her tone because she'd truly missed hanging out with her best friend. She considered Selene like a sister, not just a best friend, and it hurt that Selene had been neglecting her lately. "I just want to know what's going on."

Now Selene really felt like a jerk, lowering her gaze to the ground, wondering how the hell she was supposed to tell her best friend about the wolf and Jacob Black. Riana knew all about Jacob and also knew how deep Selene's feelings ran for him. She'd said on several occasions she wouldn't mind ripping into Jacob Black for hurting her, even though he didn't realize he had.

The poor guy was blinded by Bella Swan and Selene knew the mere mention of her half sister's name would seriously put a damper on their day together. Riana could not STAND the sight of Bella, having gotten in Bella's face several times for the way she'd treated Selene. Riana was a quiet mouse until someone ticked her off, then she was a spitfire hellcat who didn't back down from anything or anyone.

"Are you sure you wanna know?" Selene finally asked, watching the curiosity burn in Riana's midnight eyes, and took a deep breath when she nodded. "Fine, but I'm warning you now it's going to sound completely crazy and you're probably going to want to throw me in a hospital ward."

Riana chuckled as they continued walking, allowing Selene to talk.

"Jake, what's with you lately bro?"

"Yeah, your head has been in the damn clouds lately."

"What gives man?"

"Can you three give it a damn rest already?" Leah ordered in disgust, shaking her head, all four of them walking down the beach toward Emily's for a meeting.

Jacob sighed, knowing there was no way he could tell the pack about imprinting on Bella Swan's half sister. Talk about an explosion waiting to happen. They would instantly accuse him of using her to get over Bella, when that wasn't the case at all. Jacob had really imprinted, though he planned on talking to Emily in depth tonight since he knew they would be over there for awhile. Emily wouldn't tell Sam anything that was confidential and would be understanding.

She was somewhat of the mother to the pack, always getting new clothes for them and putting food in their systems before patrolling. So far, ever since Jacob imprinted, he hadn't let the secret slip and never would. He focused instead on his pain over Bella's loss, which kept his true feelings hidden well, knowing the pack was getting sick of it.

Oh well, he was getting sick of hearing Quil, Jared and Sam's thoughts about their imprints and knew Leah was too, especially when it came to Sam and Emily.

It wasn't easy living in the Sam, Leah and Emily pain fest, though Jacob dealt with it, sometimes getting lost in his own thoughts about what could've been with Bella. It still hurt, he knew he wouldn't stop loving her even if he'd imprinted on Selene. It just didn't work that way because he could hear Sam's thoughts about Leah and vice versa.

Sam hated himself for hurting Leah, but Emily was the one who stopped his universe. He'd told Bella all about the triangle, about how she could love more than one person because he'd had proof through those three. Still, it didn't stop Bella from marrying that bloodsucking leech, knowing she was probably taking her last breath right about now.

Jacob planned on getting his revenge as soon as Bella came back to Forks from her honeymoon with the bloodsucker, eyes narrowing at the thought. It didn't matter if he imprinted on Selene or not, Bella would no longer be Bella and he was going to wipe the Cullen's out one by one. Sam had already said they would assess the situation once Bella returned and, if she was indeed changed into a bloodsucker, the treaty would be null and void.

The Quileute ancestors had made a treaty with the bloodsuckers ages ago stating that, as long as a human life wasn't harmed, then no harm would come to them. However, there was a key point in the treaty and clearly stated if any of the Cullen's bit a human, the truce was over. So the moment Bella was changed into a bloodsucking leech, the pack would rip every one of them apart and couldn't wait for it.

"Come on man, you gotta tell us what has you so deep in thought!" Jared whined, hating to be left in the dark, glancing over his shoulder when Embry joined them moments later. "Where've you been?"

"Just around, relaxing for the most part before patrol tonight. I heard Sam's howl, what's up?" Embry asked, seeing everyone's eyes were on Jacob except Leah, arching an eyebrow. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing, these morons won't leave Jake alone." Leah snapped and jogged ahead of them, not able to stand the testosterone anymore. "Idiots."

"Who pissed her off now?" Embry demanded irritably, not waiting for an answer as he jogged to catch up with Leah.

Jake, Quil, Jared and Paul all looked at each other and then straight ahead, not knowing what to think of that.

Riana just stared at Selene like she'd grown three heads, blinking in shock. "Okay wait a minute, wait a damn minute back up a second…you actually gave JACOB BLACK a ride home from the wedding?" She was absolutely floored, both of them sitting in the bookstore at one of the tables.

"Yeah, it was the strangest thing. Paul came up to my car and practically shoved Jacob into the front seat, begging me to drive him home. I don't know why he didn't just do it." Selene said, having decided to start the conversation off with the wedding and work her way up to the wolf fascination and almost kissing Jacob. She also wasn't telling Selene about Jacob's insane body heat, knowing that would just raise more questions, not having the answers. "So yeah, I gave him a ride home."

"Wow…" Riana didn't know what to think or even say, her mouth in the shape of a single O. "So what happened after that?"

"Nothing really, just made small chatter, him basically telling me where to go because I had no idea how to get to the reservation."

"But you've been to the beach before right?" Riana remembered distinctively going with her friend to the beach on more than one occasion, La Push couldn't be THAT hard to decipher or so she thought.

"Yeah, but the beach is on the other side of the reservation. I've never been to Jacob Black's house and never thought I would be. It was just very surreal." Selene didn't know how else to describe it, a deep sigh escaping her. "And then he mentioned Bella and it was just all bad from that point on. I basically dismissed him, told him good night and tore out of there like a bat out of hell."

Riana nodded, not at all surprised that Selene would give Jacob the cold shoulder. "I can't say that I blame you with everything that's happened. I can't believe he actually mentioned that bitch's name." She scowled darkly, blue eyes instantly growing cloudy with anger. "I swear if I ever see her again…"

"Enough Ri, you know as well as I do that Jacob had NO idea how I felt about him and he still doesn't. It's all about Bella and I've accepted that." As much as it killed Selene to admit that, she knew it was the truth. "Anyway, getting back to the explanation you wanted so badly, stubborn ass…"

Riana smirked, nodding emphatically as she folded her arms in front of her chest. "Please continue, I'm very intrigued now." Both girls giggled, though it quickly died with the next set of words that came out of Selene's mouth.

"Jacob Black almost kissed me after that night."

"Hey Em, you got a second?" Jacob asked, walking inside the house after greeting Sam, shoving his hands in the front pockets of his cargo shorts.

She'd gotten them for him because she knew how much he hated the jeans material. He still wore jean shorts on occasion, but khaki's were much more comfortable and easier to cart around on the cord around his ankle whenever he phased. She was like a sister to him and Jacob knew he could trust her with anything, including his secret about imprinting on Selene.

"Sure Jake, I was just popping some rolls in the oven." Emily smiled, looking radiant as ever with her hair in two braids, one on either side of her head.

She had scars on the right side of her face that looked like claw marks, thanks to Sam losing his temper one evening. It was a complete accident; Emily had been standing too close when Sam phased, the result being Emily was scarred for life. Still, she was incredibly beautiful and Sam loved her unconditionally, Emily refusing to leave him because she knew it wasn't his fault. She was just very aware of him whenever he was around her and knew when to get away from him, which wasn't often.

Scarring Emily had definitely simmered Sam's temper down.

Jake rubbed the back of his neck and walked over, sitting down at the table, his hands clasped in front of him. His hair was a little longer than normal, shaggy, though he liked it that way. "I don't know how to go about telling you this…" He sighed heavily, closing his eyes, wondering if he should even do this because he wasn't sure how Emily would react.

"Just take a deep breath and talk. I promise whatever you say stays between us." Emily promised, kissing his forehead in a motherly way, that smile never leaving her face.

Typical Emily.

"Okay…" Jacob took a couple deep breaths, lowering his gaze to the table, suddenly feeling very vulnerable. "Emily, I imprinted on someone…"

"Jake, that's fantastic, I'm so happy for you!" Emily beamed with joy, hugging him close before walking over to put some batter in a mixing bowl, wanting to make some muffins she knew the guys enjoyed. "So who is the lucky girl?" Maybe now Jacob could move on from the pain Bella Swan caused him and be happy because he deserved it.

"Selene Swan, Bella's half sister."

The bowl she'd been holding crashed to the floor, shattering to pieces as Emily stared back at Jacob in total shock, her dark eyes widened. Sam had heard the crash and rushed inside the house, the other pack members following suit, including Leah. Embry had been trying to console her outside so he was standing beside her while Sam's eyes were only on Emily, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Christ Em, you scared the hell out of me." Sam groaned, pulling her into a tight embrace, not even caring why she'd dropped the bowl. "What happened?"

"I-It slipped out of my hands…I-I'm sorry…" Emily swallowed hard, trembling slightly because she couldn't believe what Jacob just told her, knowing she had to keep her promise. "I saw a mouse, you know how I get with little furry creatures…"

"Lord…" Leah grunted, wanting to slap Emily upside her head, scowling. "Next time just tell Jake to kill the damn thing rather then scare all of us half to death." She stormed out at that moment, irritated beyond belief.

"I'm sorry…" Emily whispered, tears filling her eyes as Paul and Jared picked up the pieces of the bowl, her eyes landing on Jacob.

Jacob knew she would keep his secret and took off out the door, needing some air.

"So let me get this straight because I want to make sure I have my ducks in a row here: Jacob came to your house two weeks ago and nearly kissed you?" Riana wanted to knock his head off of his shoulders, holding Selene's hand because she'd started trembling while recalling what happened. "Did he hurt you?"

"No, he didn't kiss me because Charlie showed up. I swear to you though, I've never felt a pull like that to someone before. I know it has to do with my feelings for him, but the look in his eyes…" Selene suddenly felt breathless, looking out the window over her shoulder, wondering what Jacob was doing at that moment. It was painful being away from him even for a short amount of time.

"What a pansy ass." Riana grunted, shaking her head as they stood up from the table, a derisive snort following. "You do realize he's just using you to get over Bella right?"

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it for a second, Sel. Bella gets married and suddenly Jacob is all over you like white on rice. You're Bella's half sister, which means you carry her bloodline in some way through Charlie. Of course he's going to try using you to get over her!" Riana made sense and Selene hated hearing the cold truth, but the facts were right in front of her.

Had Jacob been using her to get over Bella?

"I don't know, you could be right though. I just don't know what to think anymore." She decided against telling Riana about the wolf, knowing the ball had already been dropped the moment Jacob Black's name came out of her mouth. "I guess only time will tell." She looked at the clock and cursed, knowing Charlie would be home for dinner soon. "We need to head back, I promised Charlie I would fix dinner."

Nodding, Riana grabbed the book she wanted and paid for it, both girls walking out of the bookstore moments later, heading back to Forks.