Chapter 17
"So let me get this straight, I'm banned from the reservation because of my half sister's stupidity?"
Jacob could only nod, staring back at his beautiful fiancée, seeing the heartbreak already forming in her eyes. "It doesn't matter what they think, Selene. All that matters is us and I don't care if I have to move to Forks in order to be with you. That's all I want now, Bella doesn't even matter to me anymore." The truth shone in his dark eyes along with hidden pain because, truthfully, it killed Jacob not to be on the reservation.
"Why do they hate me so much? I don't understand…" Selene blinked and a few tears slipped down her cheeks, staring at the beautiful black heart shaped onyx stone set on a silver band, which was currently on her left ring finger. "I didn't do anything to them…"
"It's not you." Jacob assured her and sat down on the bed, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders. "They know all the pain I went through with Bella and don't want it happening again, that's all. They're just being overprotective jerks and won't listen to reason." The more Jacob thought about it, the more he wanted to rip Sam apart for causing his imprint any amount of pain…be it emotional, physical, mental, whatever.
It finally hit Selene exactly why the guys were treating Jacob like this, her eyes drifting to the window. "They're afraid I'm going to hurt you the way Bella did." It was the simple truth and Selene didn't even have to look at Jacob to know he was nodding.
"That doesn't matter though…"
"Of course it does!" Selene was suddenly on her feet, wearing a dark midnight blue long sleeved shirt that hugged her curves along with blue jeans, her feet bare since she hated socks. "That's your family Jacob and, if we're getting married, they have to be at the wedding! You can't just push them out of your life and act like they never meant anything to you! No! I won't allow it!" She stormed over to her closet and pulled a pair of shoes out of her closet, shoulders squared.
Jacob blinked in shock at his fiancée's outburst, seeing her physically shaking and it wasn't from fear. She'd taken everything really well as far as him turning into a fur ball and even the imprinting, though Jacob had to explain it several times to get her to understand. Selene still didn't think she was his true imprint, but then again it did explain why Jacob suddenly showed up in her life right after Bella's wedding.
"What are you doing?" He asked almost hesitantly, afraid to hear the answer.
Selene didn't give him one at first, busy sifting through her closet for something else, though Jacob couldn't see what. He didn't dare move toward her either because she looked like she could take his head off from how much she was shaking. He could hear her mumbling and though it was adorable, ducking when a shoe went flying over his head. He also admitted right then and there Selene had excellent aim, folding his arms in front of his chest patiently.
"Those no good rotten…" She muttered more, finally stopping when she found what she was looking for, and grabbed it off the hook before climbing out of her walk-in closet.
Jacob watched almost astounded as Selene picked up her shoes and slipped into them, a purse hanging over her shoulder. He was starting to quickly cotton on to what she wanted and swallowed hard; wondering if this was such a good idea. His suspicions were confirmed when she pulled her leather jacket on, zipping it up and pulled her long brown locks back in a ponytail, a few tendrils framing her face. Was she actually considering going outside?
Selene hadn't left the house ever since her attack at Forks homecoming.
"Selene…"
"Look, if I'm going to marry you and if we're going to be together for the rest of our lives, then we need to make this right. I need to make them see that I'm not Bella. I love you with everything inside of me and I'm not going anywhere. I've been in love with you ever since Bella started hanging out with you, but I never thought you'd take a second glance at me." Selene swallowed hard, folding her arms in front of herself, knowing this was a huge step she was taking. "I'm tired of being cooped up in this room, Jake. I want to live again and I know you want the same thing. We're going to the reservation and we're going to sit down with your family to discuss this rationally. I'm not taking no for an answer."
Jacob had never seen Selene take charge like this and, he had to admit only to himself, it was an absolute turn on. He could already feel his blood lighting on fire at the words that came from her beautiful lips. Not able to hold back, Jacob closed the distance between them, towering over her, and ran a finger down her cheek before capturing her lips in a hot scorching kiss.
Selene's purse instantly slid from her shoulder, her arms encircling his neck, their bodies instantly molding together. She loved how warm his body was and couldn't help kissing him back, smiling when her feet suddenly left the floor, her back pressing against the nearest wall. She moaned in his mouth when his tongue slid inside hers, their tongues dueling together, her fingers instantly losing themselves in his thick cropped black hair.
When the kiss finally broke, both of them needing air to breathe, Jacob pressed his forehead against hers, their breathing erratic. "I'll follow you anywhere, I love you too." He murmured, causing the brightest smile to light her face.
"I love you more." She kissed him softly once more, her feet slowly meeting the floor again, and laced her fingers with Jacob's as they both headed out of her room.
As soon as the cool wind hit Selene's face, her eyes instantly closed, taking it all in. It felt like an eternity since she'd last felt that and swallowed hard, remembering how much she loved rainstorms. Jacob just watched her, letting Selene get used to coming outside again, proud that she was actually taking this huge step for him. He couldn't believe she'd been under his nose the entire time and hadn't realized it, vowing to make her the happiest woman on the planet until his dying breath.
"Feel good?" He rumbled, smiling when she pulled his arms to wrap around her shoulders, nuzzling her neck affectionately. "Come on, I want to get this over with so we can spend more time together."
Selene nodded as they both headed toward Jacob's red 1986 Rabbit, fingers laced, when a red SUV came squealing to a halt just outside of the house. Riana immediately hopped out of the car and nearly ran to Selene, tears swimming in her bloodshot eyes. She looked like a freight train ran her down going the maximum speed, her eyes wide, red and swollen from crying, her hair frazzled; Riana hadn't slept in days it looked like.
"I'm losing my mind!" Were the first words out of her mouth, causing Selene to instantly leave Jacob's side, pulling Riana into a hug.
"Jesus Ri, what happened to you?" Selene whispered, feeling her friend trembling from head to toe against her, and looked over at Jacob worriedly. "Riana, what is it?"
Even though Jacob didn't like Riana, he also knew how important the girl was to his fiancée, immediately stepping up. "Who hurt you? I'll kill them." He promised in a dark voice, causing Riana to shake her head.
"No, no that's not necessary…" She managed to croak out; clinging to Selene like her life depended on it. "M-Make it stop, please m-make it stop!"
Selene was terrified by now and it showed in her jade eyes, though she continued holding Riana's sobbing form. "Ri, you have to calm down sweetie, you have to calm down so you can tell me what happened…" The trip to La Push would definitely have to wait as they headed back up to the house, Jacob refusing to leave Selene's side right now. "Come on, let's get you inside and I'll get you some water, okay?"
Riana could only nod, following them into the house, burying her face in her hands as Selene directed her to the kitchen table. Jacob was already getting the glass of water, Selene smiling when he handed it over without a word, their lips meeting in a quick kiss. Riana didn't even look repulsed by that, too terrified for her own sanity, which felt like it was slipping out of her grasp. Selene sat down right next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, trying to coax her into telling them what was wrong.
Riana downed half the glass of water and slowly set it down, knowing she had to come clean with Selene. It'd been at least a week since they last seen each other, since Selene got engaged, and since these awful nightmares kept Riana awake at night fearing for her life and sanity. She started out slowly, telling them about the first dream; how her deceased brother, Luke, had been involved, only for the voice to belong to a dark figure with glowing red eyes and fangs.
She explained about the silver wolf too, how it had protected her from Luke harming her. Then she told them about the dream having the same exact wolf in it, always protecting her, though it was always in a different place with Luke's voice in the background taunting her. Selene couldn't help as a few tears slipped down her cheeks along with Riana, knowing how much Luke meant to her best friend. They were like the three musketeers; even though Luke was one year older…it didn't matter because he treated Selene like one in the family.
"I'm telling you these dreams are a prelude to something." Riana whispered, loud enough for only Selene and Jacob to hear, who had kept silent throughout the explanation. "I can't sleep, I'm scared to death and I don't know how to stop it…"
Selene honestly had no idea what to say, looking at Jacob for answers, but knew he didn't have any. "I'm sorry you're going through this, Ri…" She said, seeing how tired her best friend was, feeling her heart tearing in half. Jacob could feel the pain too, though he was more concerned about this dream with the vampire and a silver colored wolf…
"I'll be right back; I need to go see someone really fast." He said out of nowhere, already out of his chair and heading for the front door.
Selene immediately went after him, knowing Riana couldn't be alone right now. "Jake, what's going on?" She demanded, her hand on his arm preventing him from exiting the front door. "Please, if this is about Riana's dreams…"
"I don't know yet, but I have a pretty damn good idea." He growled, trying to contain his emotions because he didn't want to scare Selene. "Just let me go do some investigating."
Selene bit her bottom lip and nodded, slowly slipping her hand from his arm, only for Jacob to turn around as their eyes locked. "I love you." She whispered, her heart swelling when a soft smile graced his lips.
"I love you too, Sel, always and forever." He kissed her soundly, to the point where her toes curled, before running out of the front door and leaping into the woods.
He would never phase in front of her, already deciding it would be too dangerous for her safety, refusing to do what Sam had done to Emily. As soon as he was out of eyesight, Jacob leapt in the air and phased into a beautiful russet colored wolf, landing on all fours before taking off through the woods. He couldn't believe what Riana just told them and knew exactly who this silver wolf was, wanting to rip him to complete shreds.
"Jake! You're back!" Seth exclaimed, watching as Jacob stormed out of the woods, the smile instantly faltering on his face. "Jake?"
"Not right now, kid."
He brushed right past Seth, his body incredibly tense, fists clenched at his sides. Of course the pack was at Emily's having a barbeque, though Emily was nowhere to be found. Emily wasn't who he wanted to pulverize, his dark eyes instantly landing on the target, a scowl forming on his lips because he wasn't alone. Jacob stalked over and yanked his sister, Rachel Black, off of his fellow pack's lap, shoving her to the side.
Paul blinked, his temper instantly soaring, and stood up as they both went nose to nose. "What the hell, Jacob?" He demanded angrily, Rachel stumbling back from her brother in shock.
Jacob had never manhandled anyone in his life.
"Jacob, what the hell has gotten into you?" She exclaimed, holding her arm because it was throbbing from how hard he'd grabbed her.
Ignoring his sister, Jacob's eyes locked with Paul's hardening. "Me and you need to have a talk. Now." Jacob wasn't giving him an option, shoulders squared. "Now we can either do this the easy way or I'll beat the hell out of you. Your choice, but either way we're having it right now."
Paul didn't know what the hell had gotten into Jacob Black and just nodded stiffly, looking over at Rebecca, who looked terrified right now. "Relax, we'll be back shortly." He promised, giving her a wink to assure her everything was fine, and followed Jacob into the woods.
Jacob stopped when he knew they were out of earshot from the rest of the pack, his dark eyes turning stormy. "I think you know why I wanna talk to you and I'm warning you right now, stay away from my sister, Paul." He practically growled, already knowing who exactly had been invading Riana's dreams.
He was staring the fleabag in the face.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Paul demanded, wondering what Jacob suddenly had against him being with Rachel. "You know I imprinted…"
"LIAR!" Jacob roared, normally not the hothead of the pack, but he was so angry he could already feel the fire raging through his entire body. "Try lying to me again and I'll rip your heart out!"
"I'm not lying!"
"Bullshit! You imprinted on someone, but it wasn't my sister! It wasn't Rachel, you lying sack of…"
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"
"YOU IMPRINTED ON A PALEFACE JUST LIKE ME! YOU IMPRINTED ON SELENE'S BEST FRIEND!" Jacob bellowed at the top of his lungs, not caring who heard him anymore, and watched as the color drained out Paul's face instantly. "You're a hypocrite, keeping this from everyone when you know the imprinting will only become stronger until it CRUSHES you!"
"H-How did you…"
Jacob snorted, watching as Paul became defenseless, his arms falling helplessly at his sides. "It's not that hard to figure out, Paul. Riana came to Selene's earlier and said she was dreaming of a silver wolf for the past week. She can't get it out of her mind and there's been a bloodsucker stalking her in the dreams with her dead brother's voice." His tone suddenly lowered, the anger draining out of his body because at least Paul was admitting what happened. "You imprinted and you can't face it."
"What the hell do you want me to say, Jake?" Paul threw his hands up in the air, having had the same exact dreams lately. "Okay fine, I did imprint on a paleface, but that doesn't change anything. I can ignore the damn thing if I want to and that's what I'm doing. I want to be with Rachel, not a paleface…"
"Why don't I believe a word that's coming out of your mouth?" Jacob scoffed in disgust, not believing Paul was actually going to make Riana feel unbearable pain because he refused to accept the imprinting.
"I can't be with a paleface, Jake…" Paul whispered, looking away in shame, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Sam is really angry at you for choosing a paleface over us, especially when it's Bella's…"
"She's nothing like Bella, don't even say it." Jacob warned, eyes flashing dangerously. "And you're damn right I chose my imprint over the pack! Sam needs to pull his tail from between his legs and accept the fact that we can't help who we imprint on. She's my imprint for a reason, just like Riana is yours, and the sooner you accept that, the better off both of you will be."
Leaving Paul with that thought, Jacob took off through the woods, heading back to Selene's to check on things.