June 2, 2012

Hello, wonderful readers,

It's finally June! Summer is amazing thus far, and I love having such amazing betas to walk me through this story! Redefining is next on my agenda, so be sure to stick around.

Review, as always, and enjoy!

Blessings,

evelyn-shaye

Special thanks to ChloeCougar and Linnfromia, hands-down the best betas I could ask for! They notice everything and give incredible suggestions. :)

Chapter Eighteen: Bewildered

Despite my more resolved feelings over my new and wonderful relationship with Jacob, the next morning dawned with a foreboding gloom. Alice frowned as I poked at my ham, cheese, and mushroom omelet, convinced that trouble was waiting for me at school but unable to see past the hole in her gift. Daddy was still bothered by the recent development with Braden's coven yet didn't see any reason to keep me out of class.

"The Denalis are coming with us today and posing as potential students," he reminded me. "You'll be in very capable hands."

Normally, I wouldn't have given Alice's quasi-vision a second thought, because Daddy was right. I was safe in the hands of my family. But one very important set of hands was missing.

Jacob was doing well back in Forks – his texts implied that he was just as happy to be reunited with the pack as he was spending quality time with Billy. It was also clear that he missed me desperately, though. The pack needed his help cleaning up a small situation that had passed through just yesterday morning, which put a bigger dent in his schedule than he had originally anticipated. He promised to be back by Thursday at the latest.

Still, today was only Monday. Thursday seemed years away, and with a threat in the air, I missed my protector more than ever.

"We'll watch over you," Daddy assured me. When I frowned, he continued, "I understand how you feel, but Jacob will be home before you know it."

Before I know it. Maybe I should sleep for the next three days to make the time pass faster.

Daddy chuckled.

As it turned out, school was no distraction at all. Tamara met me at the door and immediately peppered me with questions about Jacob.

"How is he? Have you heard from him? I tried his cell but I haven't gotten a response. Is he okay? Will he be back soon?" She babbled on and on without allowing me a word in edgewise. Even though the topic was Jacob, her excessive chattering was cute and provided me a moment of amusement. Finally, she took a breath, and I interjected, "He has some kind of bug. His doctor said that he should be back in school by the middle of the week."

Tamara's face fell dramatically. "Three days without Jacob! I can't even think about that."

If only she knew. I felt a wave of jealousy attempt to engulf me but dodged it neatly. Tamara didn't have a chance trying to edge herself into a relationship between two true soul mates.

I forced a smile. "I miss him, too," I answered.

Garet raised her eyebrows at us as we approached our lockers. "Something's wrong with you two this morning," she greeted us, taking in our less-than-chipper expressions.

"Jake's sick," Tamara said morosely. I had to fight to control my emotions over the real and much worse situation. He's gone, he's gone!

"Aw, poor guy," Garet responded sympathetically. "I'll send him a text later today, let him know that we're rooting for him."

"That's a great idea!" Tamara brightened considerably. She whipped out her phone and let her fingers fly across the keyboard with short tap-tap-taps. As she slid it back into her pocket, her eyes dimmed. "I hope I don't wake him up."

"I'm sure he'll appreciate the gesture," I encouraged, silently rejoicing that I had texted him right when I woke up this morning. And that Jacob had replied with a prompt "good morning beautiful!"

Tamara beamed. "You're the best, Nessie," she said gratefully. I shot a concerned look at Garet, asking her silently what Tamara would say when Jake and I became official. Garet shrugged sadly.

We walked to class together, chatting amiably and exchanging reports on Jacob's status. I took care to hide the real messages from them. Most of Jake's texts to me were along the lines of "love u forever" and "u r my everything." I figured that those texts would be a bit too obvious for Tamara to handle.

Come lunchtime, Alice's warning resurfaced in my mind, so I decided to check in with my parents and introduced the girls to Tanya, Kate, and Garrett, who were sitting with the rest of my family. Garet laughed when she met the former nomad, but he cheerfully joked that their parents had good taste in names. Tamara greeted them shyly.

"She's intimidated by Tanya's beauty," Daddy whispered to me. I didn't blame her. Tanya was gorgeous, even among vampires.

We decided to meet up at our normal table after we'd paid for our lunches. When Garet and I returned from the pizza line, though, another trio was already sitting with Tamara.

"You must be Garet and Nessie," Braden acknowledged as we set our trays down. My eyes widened fearfully, and I shot a quick glance toward my parents' table. Daddy looked ready to strike at any moment. Momma watched us with careful concentration, undoubtedly extending her shield to protect all three of us girls. Alice nodded knowingly, though her eyes held concern; here was the threat she had seen this morning.

I felt safer knowing that I was under Momma's protective dome, but for all the power of her shield, it didn't seem to have any effect on Tamara. Her eyes were glued to Braden's face and filled with a sort of wonderment not unlike the way they shone when she watched Jake. When normally she would've flirted, however, now she spoke quietly and almost shyly, with admiration.

I silently asked Daddy what was going on, but he seemed bewildered. Obviously Momma's shield was in place, but it wasn't working. Did her shield protect only the supernatural?

No, I reasoned, she had been able to protect herself while she was human, even if she hadn't realized her capabilities. There was another power at work here, one that scared me more than Braden's proximity. How could he show his face here after my kidnapping on Saturday?

Because I can't cause a scene at school.

Braden had to be taking advantage of our limitations as vampires, too, and at a convenient time: Jacob wasn't here to take the heat for the supernatural world. I felt a chill in my stomach.

"Braden was just introducing himself and his friends," Tamara said softly, with an undercurrent of enthusiasm. "These are Leanna and Ashton. They're all upperclassmen."

"Don't worry, though. We don't bite," Braden joked. Garet and Tamara laughed lightly, but I stared at the leader in disbelief.

We don't bite? That was the most blatant lie I had ever heard.

"You don't mind if we sit with you?" Leanna ventured. I thought that Braden shot her an annoyed look, but he seemed composed when he smiled pleasantly at us.

"We have room for a few more," Garet answered. Tamara, I noticed, was still uncharacteristically quiet.

The vampires fluidly took their seats. They were engaging enough, to be sure. Had I not known their true nature, I would've been just as taken as Garet, Tamara, and even Jonathan were, once he joined us. They asked us what we thought about high school thus far and what we were looking forward to the most. Tamara giggled quietly any time Braden met her gaze with another question.

"What about you?" Garet finally asked. "What have you enjoyed most so far?"

Braden grinned. "We just enjoy being here, in Westhope," he answered. Leanna and Ashton nodded their assent, not that they had any choice. "The trails are very nice, and we like the people we've come across."

I had to commend Braden, despite my dislike. He had excellent choice of words.

"We do have some nice hiking areas," Garet agreed. "Jonathan and I like to go on the weekends sometimes. Maybe we'll run into you."

A red flag went up in my mind immediately. Garet and Jonathan liked to hike the trails where Braden's coven hunted. Had there been any news in Westhope of teenagers that had been attacked during a hike or simply gone missing? Was Braden responsible for the deaths of some of his classmates?

Before I could throw in a carefully-worded warning, Braden laughed easily and responded, "You probably wouldn't want to run into us. We take hiking very seriously and tend to get a little intense." Here he sent a calculating glance my direction, but I wasn't about to bite. Nothing I could say would improve this potentially awkward discussion.

Jonathan laughed just as easily. "Just let us know when you're going, and we'll be sure to avoid you," he joked, already friends with the newcomer.

Everyone at the table chuckled, except for me. I was too tense to fake amusement. What was Braden's game this time? He didn't seem interested in doing us harm, but how could our family know? His mind-control-whatever limited the capabilities of Daddy's gift. My tension increased.

Careful to sound nonchalant, I changed the subject. "Hey, Tamara, weren't we going to talk about plans for Homecoming?" I initiated. We had discussed the topic once since the posters went up the previous week, but only to the extent that we all wanted to go. Besides, I had an idea of how to best Braden's coven if they continued their little game.

Tamara glanced up sharply, as if startled to realize I was there. "Oh! Huh? Oh, right, Homecoming," she stammered. Her cheeks were tinged with pink as she darted her eyes to Braden's face. "I mean, I guess we were all planning to go together…?" she trailed off, leaving her suggestion like a question.

Braden jumped right in. "I'm sure that you have your own plans," he addressed the whole group. "I would assume, Nessie, that you and Jacob will go as a couple, as will Jonathan and Garet." He smiled broadly.

Whoa. This conversation wasn't going at all the way I had planned. "Jake and I haven't talked about it," I hedged. The statement was partly true; we hadn't discussed the dance at all, but surely after this weekend, Jacob would ask me to go with him. "Of course Jonathan and Garet will, but I thought maybe the three of us would just go as friends." For the first time, I hoped and prayed that Tamara would return to the ill-fated love triangle, just for one dance.

"I'm not totally opposed to finding a date, though," Tamara interjected quickly. Catching herself, she lowered her eyes just as quickly and pretended to study her food.

Braden didn't seem at all affected by her nervous forthrightness. He laughed easily. "Well, if you happen to need an escort the night of the dance, I'd be happy to do the honors," he offered. He paused, subtly enough that a human would sense hesitation but long enough that an immortal would be wary of what was to come. "That is, if you don't mind humoring a few antisocial seniors," he chuckled.

The hair on my neck rose. Suddenly, I had the overwhelming desire to be a werewolf, not a half-vampire. I could lunge across the table and disarm Braden before he knew what was happening. And his two friends would be so startled at being released from his control that I would take them just as easily. Saliva welled in my mouth; I almost thought it was wolfish hunger. Or vampire venom.

Daddy gave a short hiss of warning. Braden, either angered by Daddy's warning to me or mistaking it as an affront, jerked his head at him with agitation before glaring at me. "Of course, if Nessie is opposed to opening up her group, we'll just agree to see you at the dance."

Checkmate. "If you really don't mind spending your evening with a few freshmen, then I'm not about to stop you," I answered diplomatically, forcing a smile. "I just don't want you to feel obligated."

Talk about saving face. Braden could be manipulative without his gift.

Braden relaxed, but his grin was somewhat triumphant. "Excellent," he replied. Leanna and Ashton nodded simultaneously. "We'll meet you at this same table tomorrow to firm up our plans."

The three of them rose gracefully, sweeping their book bags onto their shoulders and turning to the exit. Tamara leaned forward as though connected to Braden's gravity before slumping back into her seat with dejection and regret. "Darn it," she muttered.

"Aww," Garet cooed. "Tamara has a cru-ush!"

I stiffened in my seat. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Tam?" I asked, trying to mask my hate for Braden with concern for her. "We just met them, and they're seniors. They could totally be playing us."

Tamara moved to answer, but Jonathan beat her. "I don't think they are, Nessie," he said. "They seemed really sincere, just interested in the well-being of a few freshmen."

"Why us, though?" I countered. "Why would he target us?"

"I don't think he was after us," Garet replied softly. She glanced nervously at Tamara, who blushed.

I slowly turned to meet each of their gazes individually. "What aren't you telling me?"

The table quieted. Finally, Tamara answered, "I met him yesterday, after the slumber party. I was walking my dog, Silver, to the park, but he got loose and ran ahead of me. By the time I caught up to him, Braden already had Silver's leash in hand."

Her voice softened. "He was alone. I didn't know about Leanna and Ashton until he told me they would be with him at school today. He sat with me on a park bench for a few minutes and asked me how I liked high school, since he'd been at this 'hell-hole' for almost four years." She giggled at his quote.

This was worse than I thought. With a sinking heart, I asked her, "What else did you talk about?"

Tamara shrugged. "My hobbies, my friends, stuff like that," she replied easily. "Nothing really in-depth. He didn't know any of you, so he said it would be fun to meet at lunch." I noted that she said this defensively, looking to Garet for support.

Garet took her cue. "Tamara called me right when she got home," she added. "I advised her not to think too seriously about the encounter, that Braden probably wouldn't make good on his promise."

"But he did!" Tamara interjected excitedly. "I mean, this morning I was focused on Jacob because I really do care about him, and I was trying to forget about Braden"—my heart jerked for two reasons "—but then he met me at our table with Leanna and Ashton and…" Her eyes sparkled dreamily. "I found myself falling for him, Nessie. Jake never gave me this kind of attention, but Braden's known me for two days and might ask me to Homecoming. How often does this kind of thing happen?"

I was completely blown away. Why hadn't any of my family thought to protect my girlfriends after Leanna kidnapped me? Braden had slipped past us again, neatly dodging Alice's gift in the process. How had he masked his intentions this time, without a hybrid or shape-shifter to interfere? I stared helplessly at Daddy, but he and Alice seemed just as baffled as I felt.

I wished desperately to continue my conversation with the group, but Jonathan reminded us that class would start soon, so we were forced to postpone it. Tamara had promised she would call us with any updates on her status with her new senior interest. I especially wished that Jacob weren't in Forks, away from me. I needed his warmth, his strong arms around me, and the steady pounding of his heart against my cheek as he kissed my hair with reassurance.

Because I had resolved to make the toughest decision of my short life. Tamara could not be allowed to grow closer to Braden, but he already had her under his charm. My new girlfriend needed a good reason not to date a dangerous, bloodthirsty vampire.

She needed Jake to ask her out.