Chapter 7

Staying away from Selene for two weeks nearly killed Jacob, but he knew he had to put distance between them. He couldn't believe he almost kissed her, not to mention told Emily about who he imprinted on. Things were really tense in the pack too because Leah and Embry had imprinted on each other.

Sam was NOT happy when he found out, but Embry and Leah honestly didn't care. Jacob knew why Sam was angry and it wasn't because he no longer had Leah pining for him, it was because he was still in love with Leah. He was caught between a rock and a hard place, though Emily was the one for him and nothing would ever change that.

Apparently, Leah and Embry were meant for each other all along.

To say the pack was shocked would've been an understatement. Embry and Leah began hanging out after that day at Emily's when Jacob revealed his secret to her. She'd stuck to her word and hadn't told a soul, though hardly said three words to Jacob since then.

He knew she was angry at him for imprinting on Bella's half sister, especially after all the pain that family already caused him, but Jacob couldn't help it. It was out of his control who he imprinted on and Emily knew that. Leah and Embry were sickening in love and Jacob often had to excuse himself because he was virtually the only one in the pack alone.

There was no way he could ever bring Selene around the pack and that nearly shattered him.

So here he was again standing outside of the Swan residence looking up at Selene's window, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. He didn't see her though and wondered where she'd run off to, a frown stretching across his lips. He was in human form, having promised to return to Selene as soon as he could, and Jacob never broke a promise.

Faint laughter could be heard from the driveway as Jacob made his way through the backyard, staying hidden in the woods, eyes narrowed at what he saw. Selene was talking to Jack Marrow, a paleface who was on the football team at Forks High School. He watched as the blush crept up in Selene's cheeks when Jack complimented her, holding her books against her chest tightly.

"Thank you for the ride home, Jack. It was very kind of you." Selene softly said, not believing she'd actually gotten a ride home from the captain of the football team. He'd barely looked her way, which made her somewhat skeptical, but the sweet words he was saying to her at that moment did Selene's heart good.

"No problem beautiful, I would hate to see something happen to you." Jack replied, running a hand through his short honey blonde hair, crystalline eyes practically glowing. He wore tight blue jeans with a red polo shirt on beneath his leather football jacket and was incredibly built. "You shouldn't be walking home at night anyway."

"I know, my car broke down though." Selene sighed, knowing she would have to tell Charlie about it so he could get it fixed. Until then, she would be stuck walking. "Well, good night…" She began walking away when Jack stopped her by grabbing her arm gently, turning her around to face him.

"Wait a sec, I wanted to ask you something."

Selene's stomach twisted violently, though she ignored it the best she could, smiling hesitantly. "Sure, you can ask me anything. What is it?" Something told Selene the surprises were far from over tonight as she held her books even tighter.

Jack suddenly looked nervous, clearing his throat while rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well…I know that homecoming is coming up in a couple of weeks…and I don't have a date. Actually, the truth is my girlfriend broke up with me recently."

Ashley Masson was the high school sweetheart of Forks with soft curly blonde hair and deep blue eyes, the picture of perfection. She always walked down the halls with her head held high, having people following her everywhere she went. Even her laughter was like honey, though Selene had definitely kept her jealousy of the perfect woman at bay. She and Jack had been dating throughout all of high school mostly and were sweethearts…until she'd found someone older and apparently more mature.

"I'm sorry to hear that…" Selene quietly said, lowering her gaze from him, and chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. "Everything happens for a reason though, I fully believe that."

Jacob could already feel the jealousy consuming every inch of him, wanting to rip this jock apart limb from limb for even thinking of talking to his imprint.

"Yeah, I know it does. Tonight proved that when I saw you broke down on the side of the road walking home. I'm so glad you trusted me enough to give you a ride." Jack flashed a million dollar smile, turning the charm on full force. "So that's why I wanted to ask if you'd consider being my date for homecoming."

Selene just stood there completely dumbfounded, wondering if she'd heard Jack correctly, swallowing hard. He wanted her, a bookworm nobody, to go to the homecoming with her in front of the entire school? He had officially lost his mind or just wanted someone easy to target, that had to be it. Why else would he offer her a ride home and ask her to homecoming?

"I-I don't think so, Jack. Thank you for the ride home, but…" She sighed when he pressed his finger to her lips, silencing her.

Jacob was giving this jackass to the count of five to remove his hand from Selene or all hell was going to break loose.

"Just think about it, don't give me an answer tonight." Jack murmured in a husky voice, those blue eyes piercing her, though nothing compared to Jacob. "I know you think I'm using you for a good laugh, but I'm not. I've been watching you lately and I think you're the most beautiful girl in school. I was blinded by Ashley because I thought she loved me, but obviously I was wrong." The heartache was still fresh and Selene could see it in his blue eyes, her heart instantly going out to him. "I guess I have a rep for being a jackass…Sorry to bother you…"

Selene chewed her bottom lip, watching him to turn get back in his car, groaning inwardly. "Wait." She called out, stopping him by placing a hand on his arm, Jack turning to face her again. "You promise this isn't a game?"

"I swear, I just want to take you out and show you a good time, the way you deserve." He ran a finger down her cheek, a soft smile gracing his lips. "Like I said, just think about it and get back to me tomorrow."

Jacob officially hated this guy and wanted him dead, already feeling the fire rush down his spine, threatening to phase.

"I'll let you know tomorrow, okay?" Selene decided she had to mull this over in her head and possibly call someone for advice, like her best friend Riana, knowing the woman would tell her what to do. "Thank you again for the ride home, Jack."

"Sweet dreams, beautiful." He winked and slid into his black Mustang, taking off moments later, tires squealing.

Charlie would've had a heart attack had he seen that and Selene was grateful he wasn't home to witness that. "What the hell do you think you're doing with that ass?" That familiar husky voice sounded behind her, déjà vu all over again.

"What do you mean?" Selene asked, turning around to face Jacob Black, the man she hadn't seen in two weeks. She physically felt better just by the sight of him, having been in serious pain over his disappearance, and didn't understand it. "Were you watching the whole time?"

"You do realize he's just using you right?" Jacob tried to keep the jealousy out of his tone, but it wasn't happening. "Selene, you really need to learn to keep your guard up better."

Selene was getting angry fast, clenching her fists tightly at her sides, pursing her lips together. "You're right, I do. What difference does it make if he is using me anyway? You're no better than he is, Jacob." She spat, storming past him toward the house, gasping when he stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"What the hell does that mean?" Jacob demanded, turning her around to face him a little harder than he should've, but the anger was consuming him. "What are you talking about?"

"Get your hand off of me right now." She ordered in a grave voice, lowering her gaze from his because he'd really hurt her by how hard his grip was. "Now."

Jacob wasn't letting her get away from him that easily, his eyes boring into her. "Not until you explain what the hell you're talking about." He stated, though he'd loosened the grip on her arm considerably, knowing she would have a bruise by morning. "What do you mean I'm no different than that paleface?"

"His name is Jack and I don't have to explain anything to you." Riana's words suddenly shot through her brain, reminding her that Jacob was still in love with Bella. "You need to leave now."

"I see, so you're going to accuse me of doing something when I haven't done a damn thing? Nice, that's really mature. Why don't you take a hard look in the mirror and…"

"And what? Shatter it? Is that what you were going to say, Jacob Black?" Selene snapped, tears swelling in her green eyes, wishing he wasn't here right now. "You're right, I'm probably being used by Jack, but at least…" She trailed off, shaking her head, refusing to go further with that comment. "Just go away."

Jacob's chest constricted painfully at the sight of her tears, his breathing becoming ragged, wanting to rip Jack's heart out of his chest and crush it. "No I wasn't going to say that. I was simply saying to look in the mirror and realize that he's using you and nothing more. It's a trick, he's going to hurt you." His tone of voice almost sounded saddened because he knew Selene was stubborn just like Bella. "You could never shatter a mirror, Selene."

Selene snorted, wiping her tears away angrily, hating that she'd shown vulnerability around him. "You don't know me at all, Jacob. You never have. Why don't you use someone else to get over Bella and leave me alone?" She suggested coldly, yanking her arm out of his grip and ran up the stairs toward the front door.

Jacob stood there completely frozen to the ground, trying to process what she just said, his dark eyes widened with both horror and disbelief. "Is that what you think I'm doing?" He growled and was up the stairs in a flash, stopping the door before she could slam it shut with his foot, ignoring the pain that shot through it. It would heal in seconds as he shoved his way inside, watching Selene stumble back. "You think I'm using you to get over BELLA?"

The amount of anger and fire in his eyes scared Selene half to death as she backed away further, swallowing hard, holding her hands up defensively. "You need to leave right now, Jacob. You're going to do something you'll regret if you don't." She tried convincing him, but Jacob just kept moving toward her slowly like a predator stalking its prey. "Jacob…"

"I would never…" Jacob couldn't even get the words out, not caring if she was scared of him right now or not. He couldn't believe she would actually say something that vile and cruel to him, wondering what the hell he'd done to her that was so terrible. "How could you even think something like that?"

"Because it's true." Selene whimpered, stopping because her back met the counter in the kitchen near the sink, feeling like her heart would fly out of her chest at any given moment. "Please don't come any closer…"

Jacob wasn't listening. "Why not?" He challenged, arching a slow black eyebrow, wondering why she didn't want him near her. He knew why; the imprinting was very strong and he knew she felt it down in her bone marrow. "Afraid you might enjoy it?"

"Jacob, please…" She breathed, no longer trusting her real voice as tears stung her eyes, threatening to spill down her cheeks. "Please just leave…"

He was standing right in front of her now, towering over her trembling form, feeling the fear radiating off of her in strong powerful waves. He didn't care though, growling from low in his throat as her painful words penetrated him once more. The mere fact Selene thought he was using her just sent him into a frenzy and Jacob had to calm down before he ended up phasing right in front of her. He refused to hurt her the way Sam had hurt Emily, but couldn't for the life of him pull away.

Before she could speak again, he pressed a trembling finger to her lips, grinding his teeth. "Let's get one thing straight right now, Selene. I would NEVER use you to get over Bella. I AM over Bella and do you know why? Because of you! It's all because of you that I can't even think about her anymore besides wanting to kill her! And do you know why that is? Because she's being changed into a…" Jacob suddenly remembered that Selene had no idea vampires and shape shifters existed, swallowing hard.

"Into a what?" She whispered, chest rising and falling rapidly because his chest was pressed against hers, his arms pinning her to the counter. Selene gasped when she was suddenly lifted by the waist and plopped on the counter, eye level with Jacob now, him standing between her legs. "What do you want from me?"

"Nothing you can give." He growled out vehemently, still towering over her, though at least he didn't have to crane his neck to see her. "Go ahead, go out with that jackass and see how far it gets you, Selene. But no matter what, you will always find your way back to me. No matter what, you can't stop thinking or dreaming of me and the same goes for me. We're soul mates…"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Selene's head was swimming, confused beyond belief. Jacob wasn't making any sense and it didn't help that she felt feverish again because of his insane body heat. Was he always this hot? "You're burning up again…"

Jacob chuckled from low in his throat, cupping her cheek in his scorching hand, his arm wrapping around her waist to prevent her from scooting away from him. "I know." He whispered, his lips mere inches from hers, dying to just feel them once against his own. Maybe if he kissed her, she wouldn't go to homecoming with that puke from Forks High School…that she would only want to be with him.

Selene was once again in a trance and closed her eyes, feeling Jacob's hot breath on her face, barely feeling his lips brush against hers.

"Selly?"

That was the second time Charlie had interfered and Jacob was getting tired of it, groaning when a second later a shot of pain zipped through his stomach. It was gone in less than a few seconds, though he did manage to watch Selene rush up the stairs to her room, scowling. She was definitely slick, he'd give her that, but this was far from over. Jacob made a quick exit out of the Swan residence out the back door just as Charlie stepped inside, phasing as soon as he was in the woods and out of eyesight from Selene.

She had watched him leave.