Jacob's POV
I didn't understand why I was felt so antsy. Every minute that passed made me jumpy in anticipation. I had no idea why I was feeling that way. I tried to hold myself together but apparently my odd behavior was obvious for the guys to see. Most of them gave me odd looks, but didn't say anything. Sam, however, did.
"What's up with you?" he had asked.
"I have no idea," I said, scratching the back of my head. "I just have this weird feeling – like I can't even stop moving because my wolf is jumping around in excitement."
"What could possibly get your wolf this hyped up to make you act so strange?"
"I don't know, Sam. I just feel like I'm being pulled toward something and I don't know what the fuck it is – I'm freaking out!"
"Relax," he said, "We'll talk to the elders about it later tonight. We have to head to the Clearwaters before Leah arrives. Come on."
Leah Clearwater. I haven't heard that name or seen her face since she left about a year ago. I felt really bad for Leah. It's not every day your boyfriend leaves you for your cousin with no explanation. I once asked why Sam didn't just rebel and let Leah in on the secret, at least then she'd understand that the imprint was something that couldn't be fought. But Sam, being an honorable person, said the secret was too important, that Leah would find someone else that would make her happy. Although Sam was completely devoted to Emily, I knew he still ached for Leah. Once she left, he was a mess. Jared and Paul told us about how snappy he was after she left La Push and how he'd make them patrol nonstop.
I couldn't really blame Leah for wanting to get the hell out of La Push. Everywhere I went, all I heard was how tragic the Leah-Sam-Emily situation was. I was starting to get annoyed with all the talk, I could only imagine how she was feeling. So she left. She left about the same time that leech left Bella. Damn, I hate Edward so much. First he leaves Bella, comes back to what he thought was her funeral – but ended up being some guys in Forks – and then takes her back. The worst part is that she didn't even think twice about running back in his arms. Fuck everything I did for her while she was broken, none of that mattered to her once her precious leech was back in her life.
I had no idea why Sam's made us all go over to the Clearwaters. I was betting my life-savings that the last thing Leah wanted to see was Sam and his "gang" awaiting her arrival in her own home. I knew her long enough to know that if she saw us all the moment she arrived home, she'd flip out and might actually hurt one of us. Sam, of course, knew this too, but his excitement of Leah being back clouded his logic.
When heard the sound of a car door shutting and Seth immediately got to his feet with the biggest smile imaginable stretched across his face. Even I couldn't help the adrenaline that shot its way through my veins.
"Leah's here!" Seth bellowed.
He ran out of the garage and nearly tore down the front door. He lifted Leah up in the air and hugged her tightly. She laughed – which was such a melodious sound to me – as Seth spun her around in the air. Her hair had blocked her face and I had the biggest urge to walk over to where she was just to be near her. I remember my wolf whining and begging me to walk over to her and Seth, but I wanted to at least give her a moment with her brother and the rest of her family before she had to face us.
It felt like an eternity as I stood there silently begging her to look over at me so I could see her face - which was annoying as hell because I already knew what she looked like. But that was the wolf again that wanted to see her, to see all of her. He wanted her to see me, to see us.
It wasn't until Sue and Harry quickly ran out the door to embrace her when she turned around with a big smile on her face that made me suck in a sharp breath of air. She was beautiful. I mean, Leah has always been pretty, but now – she was breath-taking! My wolf was snarling in frustration now, demanding that I walk over to her and make my presence known, but I was too entranced by her.
Then of course when Sam decided to make his presence known, she tensed immediately and I wanted to face-palm myself at Sam's stupidity. I mean, did he actually think she would be happy to see him? She took a deep breath, and very slowly, turned to face him completely. I was a good 2 feet away from Sam but even then I couldn't help but admire her flawless skin, or her silky hair, she was mesmerizing.
"Leah." He had said it like he couldn't really believe she was there.
"You have no business being here," she said in a flat, serious tone, "You're wasting your time. Leave."
I knew immediately that Sam would go out of his way to get Leah to hear him out, to do anything to get her to forgive him. I was next to him in an instant and placed a hand on his shoulder, silently hoping that he needed to back off right now.
I watched as her eyes landed on my hand, trailed up my arms, my chest, up my neck, and finally landing on my eyes. The moment our eyes locked, all thoughts of Bella vanished. All my worries – gone. The heavy weight on my shoulder was suddenly being lifted and I felt a hundred times lighter. I could not bring myself to look away from her. My wolf was howling in approval but he wasn't completely satisfied, he wanted to touch her. But I couldn't bring myself to move. I watched as her eyes landed on the necklace around my neck and gasped.
"Holy shit," I heard Embry say.
"Damn, Jake! You definitely got bragging rights now!" Paul laughed as he punched me in the shoulder. I didn't even budge. I just could not take my eyes off of her. Part of me was reveling in the fact that I was so close to her, and another part of me was questioning the whole situation – even though I had a pretty good idea of what just happened.
I decided to block everything out just to focus on her, to memorize everything about her. I was snapped out of my trance when Seth snarled at me furiously, punched me in the face, and ran into the forest. I, of course, couldn't go after Leah, Embry, and Quil, because Harry wanted a word with me. That didn't mean I was wasn't worried out of my mind and already missing her.
"Would you like to tell me what is going on?" Harry asked with a stern look upon his face.
"I – I think I imprinted on Leah," I said dumbly.
"You think you imprinted?" He asked skeptically.
"Well, I'm pretty sure I imprinted on her," I said slowly. "It's just different."
"Different? How?"
"It doesn't feel like Sam with Emily or Jared with Quil. . . ." I said trailing off.
Great. I can't even imprint properly. What if she hates me? Man, the spirits suck! They must really hate me!
"Then it's not an imprint!" Sam exclaimed, looking relieved. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at him and turned my attention back to Harry.
"What's different about it, son?" he asked, truly curious.
"Sam and Jared feel like, a pull, or something, toward their imprint." I was trying my hardest to remember how they described the imprint bond when we were phased. "It's different with Leah. I don't feel a pull toward her – well I did when I felt her arriving, but once I saw her it just went away."
"So you don't feel drawn to her yet you say you imprinted on her?"
"No – well yeah. When I looked into her eyes, I felt this huge weight get lifted off my shoulder, like I had nothing to worry about anymore. Just her. Like she's meant to be by my side. . . . I don't know how else to explain it. It just felt right."
"I see." Harry said, rubbing his chin in thought. "What about your wolf?"
"Oh geez, I could barely contain him. He was going insane, he was practically begging me to go near her and touch her or something."
"This is strange," Harry said. "It certainly sounds like an imprint, but parts of it are questionable. I'll talk to your father and Old Quil at the next council meeting."
"Yes sir."
"Sam, gather the boys. I need to have a word with Jacob – in private."
Sam, Jared, and Paul left without a word leaving me with a very hard-faced Harry Clearwater.
"Jacob," he said, "That's my baby girl you just put a claim on."
"I know." Well this is awkward.
"I never wanted her to get dragged into this world," he said, shaking his head sadly.
"I'm sorry." I was being sincere. Now another person was going to get dragged into this messy world all because I couldn't keep my eyes to myself.
"Sorry? For what? Finding your soul mate?" He scoffed. "Don't be sorry, son, it's not your fault or hers. It is destiny and you must not question it."
"But you're angry," I said, except it came out more like a question.
"I just got my baby girl back and she's already being taken away from me. What did you expect?" Way to make me feel like shit, Harry.
"I know," I sighed, running a hand through my hair.
"You treat her right, Jacob," he said in a firm tone, "If you ever hurt her, you better hope I don't find you."
"I promise I won't ever hurt her," I say, and I'm surprised at the truth in my words and how effortlessly they came out.
"Good." He nodded. "Now go wait on the couch for her, I'm sure she'll want an explanation of why you were staring at her like some bumbling idiot."
He was laughing and I scowled at his retreating figure. I don't know how long I sat there waiting for her, but when I heard the sound of her laughter – along with Seth's, Embry's, and Quil's – I jumped to my feet and waited anxiously by the door. I heard Seth tell her to go in alone.
I could literally feel my anticipation grow as her footsteps came closer and closer before eventually stopping at the door. The door knob turned agonizingly slow, I was tempted to rip the door off its hinges just to speed up the process. I watched as the door opened wide to give me a good, clear view, of her on the other side of the door. She wore a shocked expression at seeing me in her house. I couldn't take it anymore.
"Leah," I breathed her name and loved how smoothly it rolled off my tongue. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her in for a tight hug. "You're back."
She laughed and I felt my own lips lifting up at the feel of her laughter vibrating against my chest. "I got here about an hour and a half ago, Jake."
"I meant the forest," I said as I released her. "You're back from the forest."
"Yeah, uh. . . . you gonna let me in my house or what?" She was smiling, she looked really happy. I was happy that she was happy. I was happy that she didn't mind being alone with me. You can only imagine how happy my wolf was.
I stepped aside to let her through and couldn't help but sniff the top of her head. I wanted to remember her scent, have it ingrained in my head forever.
She made her way over to the couch and flopped onto it. I fell right beside her, leaving no room between us. I wanted to be as close to her as possible. My wolf was yipping in satisfaction and my logical human side wanted to bang my head against the pavement for doing such a stupid thing. How awkward is this? I hope she's not weirded out by my closeness.
"Geez, Jake. Did you seriously miss me that much?" she laughed, bumping my shoulder with hers.
"Every minute," I responded before I even had time to think my answer through. I wanted to slap myself. If she wasn't weirded out by my closeness, she's definitely a little creeped out now. I can never keep my mouth shut. The thing is, I'm completely serious. I started to miss her the moment she left with Quil and Embry.
"O. . .kay?" Yeah, she's definitely weirded out. Now what do I do? How the hell do I show her that I'm not some creep? Damn, this imprinting thing is hard!
Seth walked through the door with a smug look on his face. He didn't say anything to either of us as he walked straight into the kitchen.
"I'm gonna go see if Seth needs any help," she said suddenly getting to her feet.
"I'll come with you," I said, not missing a beat. I was already standing next to her, waiting for her to lead the way.
"Jake," Seth coughed, "Your dad wants you home."
Fuck! I barely had any time to spend with Leah. I felt both the disappointment from myself and the wolf. I looked to Leah, waiting for her to say something – anything.
She rolled her eyes and said, "Geez, Jake. Go home. We'll see you tomorrow, probably."
I grinned. Tomorrow. "Okay."
"Later, Black!" she smiled before closing the door and darting up the stairs to her room.
I left the house feeling the lightest I have ever felt in a long time. On one hand, I had this huge weight that was gone. I didn't feel like I was getting stabbed repeatedly when I thought about Bella. I didn't even care about the leeches across the border. All my worries were gone and it felt good. But then there's the other thing. The imprinting thing. I have always despised it. I wanted to choose who I fall in love with, I want my free will. Imprinting is something I never wanted. But by imprinting on Leah, I'm back to being the happy, care-free guy I used to be before all this supernatural shit happened. I felt like me again. Except I'm not because I turn into a wolf and the girl I just imprinted on is my Alpha's ex-girlfriend. My friend's older sister. An elders daughter. A girl who has no idea about anything.
Which ice breaking method am I supposed to use when we finally approach that topic?
a/n: I don't know what I like better – writing Jacob's POV or Leah's. Please review and lemme know what you think, =) Please point out any typos, I wrote this late at night and wanted to post it ASAP for you all. Even if I re-read my work, I sometimes miss a few things.