Angels and Werewolves

Chapter 8- Angel

Jacob led Angel through the town, into the edge of the woods. As they walked down the muddy wood trail, Angel studied Jacob. Even in the cold rain, Jacob wore shorts and a vest; which was soaked through, clinging to his skin. Angel could see every one of his well-defined abs through the semi-transparent cloth. There was faint steam rising of him as the raindrops met his hot skin. He looked at her with dewy eyes- literally, because raindrops clung to his eyelashes, making them look dark and sexier than usual. Water dripped from the sharp ends of his hair and ran down his cheeks and down his neck. Angel caught herself wondering what it would be like to kiss that soft, warm throat. Amusement shone in his eyes and he gave her another slow, sexy smile; almost as if he had heard what she was thinking.

Flustered, she looked away. A scowl hid her emotions- not just from the world, but herself as well. She couldn't afford to think like that. Each relation was a weakness- her love for Alex had been primary proof of that. She'd cut herself off from the rest of the world. Her parents, friends, family- all thought she was dead, but the one person she'd felt the slightest hint of emotion for, had been her downfall. Angel had a feeling that if she fell for Jake, the relationship would be a lot deeper than what she had with Alex. She couldn't afford that kind of a distraction.

Mentally Angel shook herself. What was she doing, having such dangerous thoughts about Jacob? She loved Alex. She was heartbroken from his death. She was not ready to forget about him so quickly. She was not ready for another relationship. She repeated the words in her head, more to convince herself than to hear the truth. The truth was; she liked Alex, she liked him a lot. He was the closest friend she had. If it hadn't been for Jacob, she would have probably spent her life with him, but she felt an emotional connection to Jake that was on a whole different level. Although she had only known him for a couple of hours, she trusted him - and usually her trust took years to gain. She knew there was something strong between them, but Angel refused to acknowledge it, instead turning to anger and business, as she always did when she didn't want to think about something.

They turned a corner and quite suddenly came upon a beautiful big house. The outside of the house was made of red wooden logs with white trimmings. The sprawling bungalow had a white porch. There was a barbecue sitting outside the porch on the lawn. It was covered in charcoal and grime but it didn't look as if it had been used for quite a while. Next to it, a little way away, stood a garage. It had been expanded and looked as if it had been recently remodelled. It bore a sign reading 'The Quileute Brothers' Garage'. Angel hid a smile; she'd have thought that they would have a really cheesy, wolf-related name, but the name was surprisingly simple, if not very imaginative. She could spy various tools and greasy rags lying around the floor inside. She saw there was a Volkswagen Rabbit parked inside, though she could see nothing visibly wrong with it. A jeep wrangler on a BSC140 double scissor lift, with various parts scattered around. Two motorcycles, a Harley Sprint and a Honda, were propped up on the wall, at the side. A BMW M3 convertible stood inside too, gleaming from a recent wax polish. Well, at least he had a normal job. The same definitely couldn't be said for her.

Angel was a bit concerned about meeting his family though. Would they like her? She wasn't exactly what you would call people friendly, but she would have to make an exception, considering how nice they had been in letting her stay. Although Angel had lived in all sorts of uninhabitable conditions before, and a hotel would be like paradise after some of the places she'd lived- she never wanted to be stuck in a humid rainforest with her team, with nothing to eat except canned beans, again, euch!- she still preferred the atmosphere of a home. It had been so long since she'd stayed at a normal person's house- well they weren't exactly normal, but in comparison to the people she'd worked with…- she missed the environment. There was no place like home, and her home had been snatched from her when she was 14 years old.

The door opened just as they were coming up to it, and a gangly young teenager opened the door, a huge welcoming grin on his face. His hair was cropped short, just like Jacob's, and he had warm brown eyes.

'Hey, I'm Seth, Seth Clearwater. It's nice to meet you!' He extended his hand for a handshake.

'Hi, I'm Bond, James Bond.' She smiled, mimicking the world famous spy's accent to perfection. 'Just kidding, I'm Angel.' Oh God, it was so easy to be professional, just curt, cold, business like. How ever was she going to manage to be casual? The only people she'd ever been casual with were her team, and that was only after many months of cold indifference. Humour wasn't something that came naturally to Angel, unlike karate, and aiming a gun, and fighting… Well you get the idea. However she didn't have to worry. Seth broke into an even bigger grin, if that was even possible, and turned to Jacob.

'I like her. She got a much better sense of humour than you.'

'Oh yeah, well we'll see about that.' The two boys went tussling playfully into the house. Angel hesitantly followed they came into a big family room. The room was quite small, with wooden panelling on the floors and walls. There was an old fireplace to the right with wooden bookshelf on either side, lined with photos of a younger version of Jacob and what were presumably his sisters.

A memory flashed through Angel's mind:

She was 8 years old and it was a rare, sunny day at the La Push beach. With her were the Black family. Rachel and Rebecca Black, the two older twin sisters. She adored them and looked up to them like they were goddesses. And Jacob, of course, she did know Jacob. They'd been great friends when they were both little. He always made her laugh. They were laughing now, while splashing in the waves together. She was missing a tooth in the side of her mouth. Jake's teeth were all crooked.

She gasped inaudibly. How could she have missed it? But of course, they all looked unrecognisably different now. She and Jake were 22 now, and the last time they'd seen each other they'd been 13. Looking around she took in the people crowding the room.

There were 11 of them, excluding herself. The room, though relatively large, was close to bursting. People spilled out into the connecting kitchen and she hovered uncomfortably in the hall. Was his family this big? Jacob stood in front of her, behind him stood four other boys; all tall and russet-skinned, black

hair chopped short just like Jacob's. They could have been brothers

'Hey I'm Embry Call,' Called a man from the corner of the room. One by one they all started introducing themselves.

'I'm Paul Lahote.'

'And I'm his wife, Rachel'

'I'm Leah.' Angel was greeted with a cold glare from her. Never one to be unnerved, Angel stared her down.

'Whoo, this one's got guts,' chuckled Paul. 'You gotta be brave to stare Leah down. She's like a wolf- vicious and relentless.' Angel permitted herself a brief smile.

'Don't you mind them, sweetheart. I'm Billy, Jacob's dad.' Billy was an elderly man in a wheelchair, but he had a young, mischievous sparkle in his eyes. His black hair was streaked with grey, but he had a wise face, whose warm expression seemed to hide sadness beneath. 'This young man here is Quil Ateara. You've yet to meet Collin and Brady; they're the youngest of our family. Oh and, last but certainly not least that's Sam and his wife Emily.'

As Angel heard that name, her blood turned cold. She slowly turned to face him, her face paling like she'd seen a ghost. That face, that awful face; smiling at her without recognition. Another memory flashed across her mind. A painful one this time:

She lay in the woods, naked, bleeding. Her skin was so torn up that even her progressive healing was unable to heal her immediately. Sam knelt over he, also naked, grabbing her hair, pulling it back painfully as he growled. He was 16, 2 years older than her and there was no way she could fight back.

'You were always a freak. Now you've made me one too. Get out and never return. He picked her up and flung her bodily across the forest floor until she hit a tree with a crack as her bones shattered. He phased and ran off into the woods. Angel blacked out from the pain.

Of course, she hadn't been known as Angel then, and she'd changed so much from that weak, pathetic 14 year old. Sam didn't know who Angel was, he only remembered the girl she used to be. He'd left her for dead. He didn't know yet that werewolves could heal so quickly. But even so, it was a miracle she'd survived. But even despite the things she'd faced and overcome over the past several years, when she looked into Sam's eyes, she was 14 again, in agony on the forest floor.

Despite the painful thoughts going through her face, Angels face betrayed barely anything; her face a mask of calm, only her eyes shone with fear and hatred. Jacob was the only one to pick up on it. Taking her by the elbow, he told the others,

'Come on guys. She's only just arrived and Angel's exhausted. How about I show her to her room?' He asked to his dad. Angel saw a look of understanding pass between them as he took her by the arm.

'Thank you so much for letting me stay here. It was lovely to meet you all.' She smiled politely as she walked out of the family room and down the corridor, following Jacob into her bedroom.