Disclaimer: I don't own the Twilight Saga or any of the characters in the story.
Hello my lovelies! Thank you for all of the feedback! Once again you've proven to be the most amazing human beings in the entire world! I love each and every one of you! I hope you all like this chapter, and happy reading!
Chapter Twenty
In the morning Bella was woken up by a loud clap of thunder. Her entire body jumped and the large, heavy arm that belonged to Jake curled tighter around her waist, pulling her closer into his body. She could hear his deep, even breathing behind her as he slept soundly. A sleepy smile settled over her features as she nestled in close to the heat his body was exuding. Even being entirely naked as she was, she didn't feel cold at all. Without moving too much, Bella glanced around the room and saw a small alarm clock on top of the dresser near the door. It seemed to be completely black and immediately Bella's heart leapt into her throat not knowing what time it was.
"Oh shit!" Bella hissed as she attempted to untangle herself from Jake's arms. This stirred Jake from his slumber and he grabbed Bella around her waist, pulling her to the side of him while his eyes glanced around the room, looking for the possible threat that had disturbed his mate.
"Jake! Let go! We need to get to the school! What time is it? Fuck!" Bella growled impatiently as she wriggled out of his arms. She realized as she hopped off the bed that she had no clothes to change into. Jake's hand suddenly clasped around her wrist, making her still and look up at him.
"We need to talk about yesterday, Bella. You aren't safe... Or at least, not as safe as I'd like you to be. We have to meet with the pack and discuss what has happened," Jake said in a firm voice, his face serious. This was no joke to him, but then again neither was Bella's job.
"No, I need to get to school so that I don't lose my job!" Bella replied stubbornly as she attempted to remove his hand from her. Jake only took a step forward and pulled her into his arms.
"Honey, please don't make this difficult. I need to work things out with the pack, and I'd really like it if you were with me. I need to be able to see you... I need you near me so that I can protect you and make sure you're okay. Especially after last night, I don't want to let you out of my sight until we have things figured out," he said softly as he nuzzled his nose into her tangled hair. She let out a breath and leaned her head against his chest. The steady thumping of his heart underneath her ear made her calm down a bit.
There was a shrill ringing that sounded suddenly in the room, breaking the silence that had settled over them. Jake let out a frustrated breath through his nose as he let go of Bella in order to bend down. She watched him rummage around through a pair of pants before he pulled out a simple black flip phone.
"Hello?" he said in his deep voice after he had flipped it open. His face rapidly changed from annoyed to pacified. "Really? That's perfect. Bella and I will be at Emily's in two hours. Okay, see yah." Jake hung up the phone and tossed it back onto the floor, then looked at Bella with a smile. She opened her mouth to protest the plans that he had just made without consulting her, but his large hand gently settled over her mouth, silencing her completely.
"The school systems are closed for the day. Heavy damage to the power lines last night means that there's no power all over the county. It's expected to be back up sometime tomorrow... Hopefully," Jake told her with a smug tone to his voice as his hand dropped away from her face. Bella rolled her eyes at him and reached down to the ground to pick up the dark blue t-shirt she had worn to bed last night. Slipping it back over her head to conceal her nudity she looked back at Jake. He was staring at her with such powerful emotion in his eyes that she felt her legs shake slightly.
"What?" she whispered to him softly.
"Just... Everything, I guess. Come lay back down with me. It's only six A.M.," Jake replied and Bella nodded, crawling back into the sheets that still felt warm to the touch. Jake lay down on his back beside her, curling his arms around her body and hitching one of her legs over his own. His hand began drawing lazy patterns on her bare thigh and she did not bother hiding her sigh of contentment.
"Why are we going to Emily's?" she wondered aloud.
"That's where the pack traditionally meets. Emily cooks most of the meals for the pack, and we've always gravitated there... It started back before I had phased when Sam had been the pack leader," Jake replied. Bella looked up at him, confused.
"Sam? As in, Emily's Sam? He was the pack leader?"
"Yeah, like I said, before I phased he was the leader... I guess he was the alpha without truly being the alpha. Then when I turned eighteen, two years after phasing I took over as the rightful alpha of the pack. Sam really helped me back then... I was an angry kid. I didn't appreciate this gift that the ancestors had given us," he supplied her with an answer, then continued, "Although, it definitely got even better after I imprinted on your fine ass."
Bella gasped of shock as Jake's hand slapped down on the skin of her ass, and then pulled back to glare at him. She found it impossible though when he beamed at her and she could see the unmistakable spark of love in his eye. Her heart jumped in her chest and fluttered like a trapped bird. She let her head back down onto his shoulder, unable to say anything due to the feelings raging inside of her.
"So we'll be going there in an hour to discuss last night's events," Jake's voice dropped lower and a growl built in his chest at the thought of what had happened last night. Even Bella couldn't control her shiver of fear at the image of the pale faced boy.
"He was a Cullen, wasn't he?" she asked quietly. Jake's hand stopped on her thigh momentarily and then continued.
"Yes... He was. One of the younger ones," he replied in the same gravelly voice.
"Why did he follow me home?" she asked.
"I'd rather talk about this with the pack present, Bella," his voice was hard and Bella's mouth immediately shut. Jake quickly rubbed her leg in reassurance.
"I'm sorry, honey. I just get tense thinking about it. That fucker was so close to you, it makes me go crazy even thinking about what could have happened," he breathed out harshly a tremor wracking his entire body. Bella nodded against his shoulder and wrapped her arm over his waist and tried to soothe him. The tremors stopped almost as quickly as they came and she spoke softly to him.
"I understand... It's okay. The important thing is that you protected me and that I'm safe now, Jake," she replied calmly. She could almost feel his wolf raging inside of his body. The wolf was going nuts trying to be free so that it could protect Bella to the fullest extent. It wanted nothing to be spared, and she knew that even in his human form, while impressively strong and dangerous, it was nothing compared to what the wolf could do.
"Can we just, lay here for a while? Just let me hold you," Jake whispered into her hair once again and Bella found herself without words. So instead she nodded and let him pull her impossibly closer to his warm body. The thunder continued to rumble loudly outside as he wrapped his arms entirely around her and she tried to convince him that as long as he was with her, nothing would ever harm her again.
-8-
"Can't we just stop at my house and get some clothes or something? I look ridiculous!" Bella protested in a huff as she pulled at the hem of the same shirt she had slept in all night. Jake had given her a pair of mesh gym shorts to wear as well, but all the same, she was swimming in the fabric. And it mortified her to think that she was going to be around Jacob's brothers looking like a child with clothes hanging off of her body.
"No there's no time... Besides, I like when you wear my clothes. Everyone can smell me on your body and they know that you're mine," he said with a wolfish wink as he continued to drink the rusted red truck through the heavy rain towards Emily's. Bella groaned in frustration and stared out at the passing trees.
"Just how good is a werewolf's smell?" she asked, still looking out the window.
"Honey, werewolves can smell everything," Jake replied. Bella looked back at him with narrowed eyes and saw his smirk cemented on his lips.
"Everything meaning...?" she trailed off, wanting more on the subject. Jake's grin widened as one of his hands left the steering wheel to trail up her thigh and under her shorts to the soft flesh between her thighs. Bella couldn't control the moan that escaped her throat at the feeling of Jake's hot hand on her most intimate part. But as quickly as he had placed his hand there, he was suddenly gone. Bella's eyes opened and glared at him, but he only laughed gently at her.
"Meaning, everything," he finally answered. Bella huffed angrily and turned her face back towards the window, trying to hide the fact that her cheeks had turned beet red from embarrassment. After a few more minutes Jake pulled into a dirt driveway that had been converted by the storm into a giant mud pit, and parked in front of a small two story white house.
"Ready?" Jake asked, his face had a smile on it, but his tone was tense once again. Bella nodded, in agreement and then opened her door and ran out into the rain. Jake quickly caught her around the waist before she could reach the steps leading up to the front door, and pulled her into his arms as he ran through the front door of the plain white house.
Inside, Bella was set down gently onto her bare feet, her wet hair plastered to her cheeks, but Jake still kept an arm locked around her waist, his hand glued to her hip. The air was warm inside and Bella could smell something sweet baking in the kitchen. She could also hear the voices of several males coming from the same room. Jake seemed to sense her hesitation and gave her hip a supportive squeeze before walking forwards, keeping his body slightly ahead of her own. Always making sure that he was in the prime position to defend his mate from an attack, even in a setting he was familiar with.
As soon as they entered the kitchen, the voices ceased. Bella's face was set on fire with a blush, but she found the kind eyes of Emily who rushed over to her. Jake's hand tightened on her hip as Emily drew closer
"Oh Bella! How are you doing, sweetheart! You gave us all a heart attack," she clucked like a mother hen as she pulled Bella in for a hug. Bella gave Jake a look over Emily's shoulder telling him to relax, she was fine. He was just being silly now. He knew Emily wouldn't be capable of hurting her.
"I know, I'm still a bit confused about everything myself," Bella admitted quietly, stepping out of Emily's arms and back towards Jake's looming body. Curiously she noticed how Sam had also gravitated towards Emily, his hands half outstretched towards her extremely pregnant body, as if waiting to catch her if she should fall. Did Jake look like that around her? Bella began to wonder, but she was jerked out of her thoughts as Jake pulled her further into the kitchen. He gently lifted her off of the floor and set her down atop of the granite counter tops in one fluid motion before turning back to face the other members of his pack.
Bella cautiously looked over the faces. She recognized Embry and Quil of course, and Leah who sat at the opposite end of the long wooden table, her brooding expression not out of the ordinary. Her brother Seth sat next to her with his young looking face that seemed so out of place with his body that was one that belonged to a twenty five year old. She remembered one of the boys who Kim had pointed out... His name started with a J? There was also the boy with a dark expression on his face that she could not recall being introduced to.
"You know why we are all here. The Cullen leach invaded Bella's home and almost attacked her. After meeting with them last night we learned that he had escaped from the house and fled to some kind of other coven up North. The Cullens don't know when he will come back, but from what we could get out of them, they said that he was extremely attracted to the scent of her blood. The fact remains that we need to set up precautions for Bella. She is unsafe outside of the treaty line," Jake's voice cut through the silence like a knife and Bella's eyes widened.
The vampire was attracted to her blood. Of course, weren't vampires attracted to any kind of blood? Why did it matter if it was hers or not? But if he had left, surely he wouldn't be back for a long time...
"I don't see why that's necessary if the leach left the state," Leah spoke from her seat, not even bothering to look up.
"It's necessary because my imprint is in danger. I don't expect you to understand," Jake fired back in a low, dangerous snarl. Bella saw the other boys all shrink down in their seats at the harsh edge to his voice. Instinctually Bella lifted her hand from her lap and ran it down his arm, gently brushing her fingers along his heated skin. She heard him draw in a deep breath and she knew that he had composed himself once again. Although she kept the skin contact just in case he were to lose himself again.
"Why can't she move across the treaty line? She works here anyway, wouldn't that be more convenient?" asked the boy with the dark, angry expression on his face.
"She isn't exactly... Comfortable with it," Jake replied slowly, his weight shifting from one foot to the other. Bella sighed in a frustrated voice and cleared her throat. All eyes shifted to her, and for a moment she felt embarrassed, but she quickly steeled her nerves and looked at them all levelly.
"There's no need to talk about me in the third person. I'm sitting right here, and I'm quite sure that I'm capable of making my own decisions, especially when regarding my safety," she stated in a calm voice. She was frustrated that they were about to make decisions for her, even though she was sitting right there.
"Right, sorry Bells. I just thought you weren't okay with moving out of your apartment," Jake said sheepishly, turning to meet her gaze. Bella's eyebrows furrowed.
"Why can't I stay in my house?" she asked.
"It's not within the boundaries of the treaty which is the border of the reservation. Technically speaking you aren't under our protection, as it's stated under the treaty. But that doesn't exactly mean that we'll stick to it, considering you're the alpha's mate," Sam spoke from his corner of the kitchen, Emily nestled tightly in his arms.
"What we're trying to get at, is that it would be easier if you lived on the reservation. We could more easily protect you, and it would give us the advantage if the Cullens ever tried to cross the border. The treaty would be dissolved and we'd be freed to rip their heads off," Jake said simply. Bella shuddered at the terrifying idea of Jake fighting against one of those monsters. That was the last thing she wanted him to do...
"I don't want anyone to risk their life for me..." Bella sighed.
"Bells, don't-" Jake started, but she cut him off once again.
"I'm not saying I don't appreciate the protection, but I want to keep it so that a fight is the worst case scenario. I'm willing to do anything so that the pack will not have to make any great sacrifices," she stated, looking them all over. Jake stared at her with something akin to awe in his eyes as a small smile spread over his lips.
"So you'll move to the reservation?" he asked in a soft voice.
Bella shrugged, "I don't really see how that could be considered a scandal with my job. I can always make it seem as though it was a smart choice to make... More convenient for the job, I could say."
"Well then it's settled... Bella you have made things much easier on the pack. Here I was thinking we'd have to sit outside listening to you sleep every night, waiting for that blood sucker to show up again," Quil piped up with a sarcastic smile. Bella rolled her eyes at him, but smiled all the same. The pack began to talk about different subjects, all of them returning to the easy banter that had filled the kitchen before their arrival. Jake turned to face her and gave her a sunny smile.
"What's got you smiling like that, Mr. Black?" Bella asked with slightly narrowed eyes. Jake chuckled as he pushed her damp hair off of her forehead.
"I was just thinking about how much easier it's going to be sneaking into your house at night..." he beamed at her and she smacked his shoulder lightly with her hand. His laughter rumbled through his chest as he leaned down and kissed her gently.
"Get a room you two," shouted one of the boys, and Bella pulled away from Jake with a brilliant blush.
"Shut up, asshole," Jake replied as he looked over his shoulder. There was laughter which dissolved back into conversation as he turned back to look into Bella's eyes. "You really are helping the pack a lot, you understand that right? This makes things so much simpler."
"Well it's not as if I'm going to make all of you do all the work! I'm as much a part of this pack as you are, Mr. Alpha!" Bella said in a teasing voice, but she was sure that he knew how serious she was being. As she glanced around the small kitchen at the group of young men all talking and laughing with one another she realized how true her statement was.
This was her family now. This was her pack as much as it was her mate's, and she intended to prove that she was able to be as strong as the rest of them. She would not become the damsel in distress. She would take her place beside Jacob, making him proud and showing the rest of the world how strong his mate truly was.
Some answers! And some realizations! I'm sure you're all looking forward to Jake being able to sneak into her house every night now... I know I am ;) I hope you enjoyed it, leave some feedback if you care too! Thank you for reading!