Chapter 12
Over the next several days, Jacob did everything he could to help get Selene out of her shell, wanting her to experience life again. It wasn't fair that she'd already missed part of her senior school year because of that jockstrap and his little whore. He finally heard the entire story, after promising not to lose his temper, from Selene and, needless to say, he wished he'd killed them both that night. Two weeks in jail didn't even compare to the type of humiliation and degradation they put Selene through…Jacob seriously wanted to rip their hearts out and feed them to their owners on a stick.
Selene cried the entire time she told Jacob what happened, after some major convincing on his part, not really wanting to relive it. She couldn't deny Jacob anything though, not even a little, and slowly told him everything that transpired up until she ran outside in the freezing downpour. Jacob held her the entire time, rubbing her back and whispering words of encouragement in her ear, assuring her that he didn't think any less of her.
If anything, he thought less of those two assholes who put her through such pain.
"I just…I don't know if I can face them again." She whispered brokenly, sniffling as more tears fell down her face. A sigh escaped her as she was rolled onto her back and untangled, having curled up in a tight ball, and stared up in those beautiful dark eyes of Jacob. "I'll never be…"
Before the words could escape her lips, Jacob captured them in a soft passionate kiss, wrapping her up in his warmth, just wanting her to feel completely safe and secure. Selene moaned softly, still not believing he was here with her and hadn't left in four days. Her head instantly spun, arms encircling his neck, pressing herself closer to his hot body that she'd grown accustomed to because she was always cold. Selene didn't understand the intensity between them or her longing to just stay in his arms for the rest of her life.
Jacob knew Selene's curiosity was burning to know more about him, but he didn't want to scare her away. That's the absolute last thing he wanted to happen, enjoying just being with her, having not thought about anything else since he imprinted. Hell, Bella didn't even exist to him anymore, that's how powerful imprinting was…it completely demolished all feelings he had for her and put them on his imprint.
When the kiss broke, both were completely breathless as Jacob settled in her chest, his arms never leaving her waist. He loved snuggled with her, especially when she began running her fingers through his soft black shaggy hair. This was heaven and Jacob never wanted to leave, though he did want Selene to at least go outside again. He knew how much she loved the outdoors, especially when it rained, and didn't want her missing out on anything that was important to her.
"Selene…"
"SELENE NICOLE SWAN, OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR RIGHT NOW BEFORE I BUST IT DOWN!"
Jacob shot up out of bed; dark eyes widened to the size of saucers, and looked back at Selene. "Who the hell is that?" He whispered, not wanting whoever was pounding on the door to see him.
Selene simply sighed, not even paling because she knew who it was and deserved to be yelled at. "Hide in the closet, don't make a sound." She ordered, already shoving him into it and closed the door, leaving it cracked just a smidge so he could breathe. She then walked over, after straightening herself out a little bit, and stopped the person from banging on her door. "Hey Ri."
"Hey Ri? That's all you have to say to me after how many weeks of not calling, texting, emailing…whatever! You are a lousy friend to do that to me, Selene! I would NEVER keep you worrying like that, no matter what happened to me!" She ranted, tossing her hands up in the air and barged into Selene's room, angered beyond belief.
"I'm sorry…"
"Sorry? SORRY? Sorry doesn't cut it woman! I've been going out of my mind with worry! Why haven't you called or texted or anything? I didn't hurt you like they did and I never would!" Riana had a lot of pent up emotion and annoyance to get off of her chest, which Selene fully understood.
"I'm sorry…"
Tears began streaming down her face as Riana paced as fast as she could, her black hair down with angled bangs, having recently gotten her hair done. She finally stopped and stared hardening at her best friend, seeing Selene's head lowered. She sighed and walked over, bending down to where their eyes could meet, Riana grabbing her hands and squeezing.
"I'm sorry…"
"Selene, you need to stop saying that because you have nothing to be sorry for." Riana stated, wiping away the tears that streaked down her friend's cheeks, seeing just how much pain she was in. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, but I've been so frustrated lately…"
"It's fine…"
"No it's not." Riana hated this shell Selene was in and stood up to sit on the bed beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "You know I'm always here for you. I just wish you would've let me help you through this. Doing it on your own isn't the best solution. I have been worried out of my mind; I haven't been sleeping good lately because my anxiety is so high from what happened."
"That's enough with the guilt tripping." A deep voice sounded behind them, causing Riana's head to snap behind her, eyes widening at the sight of Jacob Black.
"Jake…"
"She's been through enough without you having to lay guilt on her." Jacob would tear this woman's head off if she didn't leave his imprint alone, already in protective mode. "So you can either comfort her or get the hell out."
"Jacob!" Selene gasped, not believing he actually just said that to her best friend, and stood up from the bed. "That's enough! Riana has been my best friend for years, ever since we were little kids. She has every right to yell at me because I didn't contact her. I should've at least called and I didn't because I was too ashamed of what happened and didn't want to talk about it! She's the best friend a person could ever have; now you apologize to my sister NOW!"
"What the hell is he doing here?" Riana demanded angrily, already on her feet alongside Selene, folding her arms in front of her chest. "Come to put my sis through more turmoil have you, Black?"
Selene groaned inwardly, knowing Riana wasn't going to let this go until she had her say, burying her face in her hands. "Riana now isn't the time…"
"Oh yes it is! I've been waiting for a very long time to say this to your face, Black." Squaring her shoulders, Riana stepped up to him, not caring that he towered over her by at least two inches or more. "You're a heartless asshole."
Selene closed her eyes, wishing she could crawl into a dark hole and never come out again, pursing her lips tightly together. Jacob raised a slow eyebrow down at this little hellfire raven haired beauty, though she held no appeal to him, and folded his arms in front of his massive bare chest. He couldn't believe this complete stranger –he knew her though; she was Selene's best friend Riana Michaels- had actually stepped up to him and called him an asshole. He found it amusing, the emotion twinkling in his dark eyes, still keeping his threatening stance.
"Is that right?" He couldn't keep the amusement out of his voice even if his life depended on it.
"Yeah that's right and it's NOT funny! You really put Selene through a lot of shit with your obsession over that…" Riana couldn't even find the word to describe Isabella Swan, hating her with every fiber of her being. "Do you have any idea how much pain you caused her?"
Jacob was really confused now and it showed, causing Selene to simply groan outwardly now. "I know I screwed up a few times, but…"
"But nothing! Don't even give me that, Jacob Black!" Riana was on a roll now and Selene knew nothing was going to stop her. "You chose someone who didn't want you over Selene! You chose to convince yourself that a cold heartless bitch could actually love you over someone who DOES!"
Now Jacob was angry and had to step back, feeling the fire rush down his spine, scowling darkly. "You don't know anything." His voice had grown softer and calmer, which was a very bad sign. "I never even knew Selene felt anything for me until recently and so what if I wanted Bella to love me? Is that wrong? To want someone to love you as much as you love them?"
Selene could tell Jacob was irate by what Riana said, immediately walking over to stand in front of him, sighing heavily. "He didn't know, Ri. He didn't know how I felt because of how well I hid it." Her voice was pleading, not wanting Jacob to go, and felt his arm wrap protectively around her waist.
"After everything he put you through because of that bitch, you're just going to fall into his arms and act like nothing ever happened?" Riana couldn't believe this, her mouth actually falling open when Selene simply nodded. "You cried yourself to sleep every night whenever he came over here with her! You were heartbroken and put yourself down repeatedly, saying he'd never look your way because of that bitch! You were in so much pain and it was all because…"
"Because of her, Riana." Selene finished, feeling Jacob kiss the top of her head, a small smile stretching across her lips. "It doesn't matter now, the past is the past."
Riana really hated to say this, but knew she had to protect her friend at any and all costs. "What if he's just using you to get over her?" She finally demanded, eyes locking with Selene, who had tensed in Jacob's arms.
Jacob officially wanted to rip this bitch apart, practically snarling silently because that's exactly what the pack had said to him.
"He's not…"
"How do you know that?" Riana wasn't backing down and took a step closer to her best friend, arching an eyebrow. "How do you know he's not just using you because of your blood connection with her?" She refused to use Isabella's name because it left a bad taste in her mouth.
The more Selene thought about it, the more Riana made sense and actually resented her for it. Up until now, Selene didn't have any doubts in her mind about Jacob wanting her, but now she had to question it. Why would he just all of a sudden come around her after Bella had married Edward? Selene broke away from Jacob, chewing her bottom lip and wrapped her arms around herself, not sure what to think anymore.
"Get out." Jacob ordered, pointing to the door, knowing Riana had planted that same thought in Selene's mind as the packs. "NOW."
"Fuck you!" Riana walked over and sat on the bed, flat out refusing to take orders. "I don't take orders from you, boy, and Selene is my best friend. I'm going to protect her from being hurt by you no matter what."
"What makes you think I want to hurt her or that I'm using her to get over Bella?" Jacob sounded incredulously, watching Selene walk over to stare out the window, knowing she was deep in thought. "Do you have any idea the kind of damage you just caused because of your assumptions?" The fire once again crawled down his back and Jacob knew he had to either leave or calm down before he phased in Selene's bedroom. "I…love…her…" He said slowly through gritted teeth, trembling from head to toe, fists clenched tightly at his sides.
Selene felt her eyes widen as she whipped around, staring back at Jacob, wondering if she'd heard him right. "What?"
Even Riana was floored, blinking repeatedly as she stared at Jacob like he'd grown three heads, watching the anger deflate from his body. "Wow…" She knew she'd made a mistake by accusing him, especially after the words that just came out of his mouth. Then something occurred to her. "Who exactly do you love? That bitch or Selene?"
"Who the hell do you think?" Jacob retorted irritably, raking a hand through his short black hair, knowing he had to get a haircut soon. "Look, I didn't wanna do it this way. I wanted to take you somewhere, just the two of us, and do it properly…" He was rambling and began pacing, closing his eyes because he'd probably just lost Selene.
"I honestly don't know, so why don't you tell me?" Riana shot back, standing up from the bed again, though just from his pacing and the way he was acting, she knew who it was. "Who do you love?"
"SELENE! I LOVE SELENE SWAN, OKAY?" He exploded, his voice reverberating around the room, glad Charlie had already left for work or he'd be up the stairs in seconds.
Selene opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to process what Jacob just said, and looked over at a shell-shocked Riana. She tried to form words, but nothing was coming out, her heart feeling like it was going to fly out of her chest it was pounding so fast and hard. Did he just say that he loved her? They barely knew each other, even though Selene had been in love with him for the past few years.
Blinking, tears slid down her cheeks as Jacob finally turned to face her with those smoldering dark eyes, making her breathless. He walked toward her slowly, deliberately, and yanked her into his arms before laying a soul searing kiss on her lips. Every ounce of feeling, love and emotion poured in the kiss, Jacob proving to her that she was his one and only, that he wanted nobody else except her. She was his everything and nobody was going to take her away from him, especially this paleface bitch who thought she knew everything.
Riana watched as Jacob held her friend close, the way his hands molded to her body, the way he kissed her. He really did love her. Riana felt terrible as she lowered her eyes, trying not to get involved in this intense moment between them. She bit her bottom lip, suddenly feeling a pull at her heartstrings, wishing she had what Selene did. She kept having dreams of a wolf and, no matter how hard she tried, her subconscious would not leave her alone about it.
Could it mean something more?
When Jacob broke the kiss, he had to hold onto Selene because she looked dazed, pressing a very soft kiss to her lips. "I love you, Selene, and I want you to marry me." He stated without hesitation, watching as her beautiful green eyes widened to the size of saucers.
Even Riana was stunned.
Before Selene could answer him, her cell phone went off. She slowly broke away from Jacob to go answer it, knowing it was probably Charlie checking up on her. "Hello?" She tried to keep the shakiness out of her voice, but it wasn't happening.
"Selene, it's Bella."