Unnatural chapter 8

I woke up on a strange couch. I wasn't sure whose house this was. The last thing I can recall was standing in the clearing the sound of metal being sheared apart and a heavy sweet smoke lingering in the air. Then the memory hit me like a brick, Jared had gone head-to-head with the vampire, one of the deadliest creatures in existence. But he wasn't alone, the others had been there, and I remembered him putting his arms around me. He was okay; I felt a wave of relief wash over me.

My head felt heavy, when I turned to the side, I could see Jared looking at me, concern evident in his rich brown eyes. I reached up and touched his face and he took my hand and held it there against is unusually hot cheek.

"I'm okay" I said. The worry didn't completely go away but it eased a bit.

"I am so very sorry" the amount of pain in his voice almost killed me right then and there. I started to cry and couldn't believe that I caused Jared so much pain. All concern was back in his eyes. I knew I was hurting him even more, but I could have been stronger. I was going to be a soul mate, his imprint that I had to learn how to be tougher, I couldn't just go into shock every time something happened. Because this is what he was.

"How is she doing?" I didn't recognize the beautiful woman with the stars down her face. But I had a feeling this is her house.

"Kim, this is Emily" Jared introduced us.

"It's very nice to meet you."

"This is Emily's house, we brought you here because she's studying to be a nurse and she would know what to do.

"I went to shock" it wasn't a question but a statement. It was embarrassing, it was a woman who had probably been going through this for a long time and here I was passed on her couch because I couldn't handle one encounter with the vampire.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, I passed out to the first time I saw one." She said.

"Baby, there's nothing to be embarrassed about, you should never have to have seen that. It's my fault really, I swore to protect you and lead you right into a clearing where vampire could easily have caught you, you could've died and it would have been completely my fault."

I put my hands on his face pulled him down to kiss me. "This is not your fault, you have no way of knowing" I said with as much passion as I could muster I kissed him again only lighter this time because we're still in another person's living room. He deepened the kiss after his arms around me and I thought for second I might go into shock again.

LATER THAT DAY

I had gotten off of the couch and I was up and about. Emily was in the kitchen making muffins for the rest of the Wolf pack. Turns out she was Sam's imprint; she told me all about how she'd gotten the scars. She told the story as a warning. She said that it's not safe to get to close the boys when their wolves or when their angry. She said that Sam had gotten angry one day and she was standing too close and it was too late. She said he regretted it every day of his life and he would kiss the scars as if he could take every one of them back.

The story didn't scare me, okay maybe a bit. People have been telling me that Jared was dangerous from the moment I laid eyes on him. Before he came back there were rumors that he was in a gang and that he did drugs. I knew now that he was better, dangerous but not evil. What I was afraid of where the vampires. How many of them were out there? How many of them would Jared have to fight?

I went outside and stood on the porch, facing the trees. I didn't hear the door close I just felt Jared's wrap around my waist from behind and his lips on the back of my neck. I leaned into him resting my head the Crooke of his neck. For a few moments neither of us said anything, we just stood quietly staring at nothing.

"I love you" he whispered.

"I love you too" and I knew in that moment that no matter what happens I will always be his imprint.