A huge thanks to all of my readers! I hope this newest chapter doesn't disappoint. Reviews are welcome!
Chapter Eleven – Hot and Cold
"Edward!"
Carlisle grabbed Amy's arm and held her back against his chest. She watched in horror as the wolf – the man she had known as Jacob just moments before – wrestled with Edward on the side of the road. The wolf's teeth glinted in the moonlight as they snapped at Edward.
"Get in the car," Carlisle commanded to her, his voice full of worry.
"No." Amy's eyes were adhered to the brawl, fearing for Edward's safety. Miraculously, he was dodging the wolf's attacks. Carlisle saw the rest of the pack running toward them. He couldn't tell if Sam, Quil and Embry were determined to get involved in the supernatural fight or stop it.
Amy fought Carlisle, struggling against the stone barriers that were his arms. "Carlisle, help him!"
"Amy." Carlisle's voice became low for emphasis: he wanted her attention. He grabbed her shoulders and stood in front of her, blocking her view of the growling, snapping wolf. "You shouldn't see this."
Jasper was reluctant to help his brother, not wanting to be the first to reveal to Amy that not only was Jacob a wolf, but the Cullens were vampires. If he joined the fight, he would certainly give himself away, or at least give away an inhuman tendency. He turned to Alice for guidance. Reading Jasper's expression, she nodded and turned to her brother on the ground.
Edward, you have to get Amy out of here. She won't leave without you.
As he heard Alice's thoughts, Edward's eyes darted to Carlisle. Taking advantage of Amy's blocked view, Edward channeled his full strength. Fiercely gripping Jacob's chest, he flung the wolf off of him and into the air, a yelp escaping his mouth as he soared out of sight into the darkness. In less than a second, Edward was at Amy's side.
"Get in the car." Grabbing her arm, he pulled her to the vehicle and flung the door open, pushing her inside. He and Carlisle exchanged a glance as Carlisle dashed to the driver's seat. Edward flung himself into the back beside Amy, and Carlisle had the car punching forward into the black shield of night within seconds.
"Oh my God." Amy crushed her body into Edward, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck. "Are you okay?"
With his mind busy working out what he was going to tell her, he didn't answer her immediately. His other senses were also occupied: with her hair so close to his nostrils, he greedily inhaled her scent and forced back the bubbling venom daring to erupt from his mouth.
"Are you hurt?" She pulled away from him and placed her two warm hands on the sides of his face. "How can you not be hurt?" she said aloud, her eyes scanning his body for battle wounds. "He-he turned into a wolf. He was ready to kill you—"
"He didn't." Edward gave her a reassuring smile, his finger lightly tracing her jaw line. Because I'm already dead, he thought.
"How the fuck is that possible? How?" Her hands dropped into her lap, her eyes looking away from Edward, staring blankly out the window and attempting to sort through the past two minutes. Edward knew her eyes were in a rationality battle with her head: what she saw and what she understood about humanity were not meshing.
Edward was now the one to hold her face in his hands, ignoring the voice in his head that told him how revolting his cold fingers must seem to her. He spoke softly, hoping to coax her into relaxation. "Right now, I just want you to calm down, okay? All I care about is that you're safe. And now that I'm sure that you are, I'm not going to let anything change that." His thumbs stroked her cheeks. "I will explain this to you. I promise."
She nodded, her stomach tightening in anxiety. What was he going to tell her?
*****
At just after two o'clock in the morning, Amy walked up the stairs to her condo door and unlocked it. After she stepped inside and shut the door, her eyes glanced back to Edward and Carlisle speaking in hushed tones beside the trunk of Edward's Volvo. Alice's Mustang was parked nearby at the curb.
"If you insist on staying here, I want you back in an hour. The family needs to talk. Plus it's supposed to be sunny today, and that girl doesn't need another shock."
Edward nodded in response, his eyes fleeting toward Amy's condo. The lights were on, and her silhouette was stationary at the window, her curious eyes fixated on him. "The wolves will be angry," he said aloud, his eyes returning to Carlisle.
"Yes," he agreed. "You've crossed an unusual boundary. Obviously our kind already clashes with them. Now you and Jacob have added a new territorial conflict."
"She's not land, Dad—"
"I know that, Edward. But you and Jacob clearly both have feelings for Amy. Both of you have shown jealousy … that could only cause our differences to escalate."
Edward's frustration was building to an unbearable high. "What am I supposed to do? I can't tell her about us, but I can't expect her to ignore what happened."
"For now, I suggest you tell her nothing." Carlisle stepped toward his son and put a reassuring hand on Edward's shoulder. "We'll meet as a family in an hour and decide what to do."
"Her friend just turned into a wolf. What am I supposed to say?"
Inside her condo, Amy had moved to her couch. As she sat in silence waiting for Edward, she bit her nails while staring ahead at the wall, her right knee bouncing up and down. If he doesn't hurry up, I'm going out there. I know what I saw … right? I need to know if what I saw really was what I saw.
Amy shot out of her seat as the light rap on the door interrupted her thoughts. The waves of her hair rippled through the breeze from her swift movement, then settled on her shoulders.
"May I come in?" Edward asked, the upper half of his body peering through the door. Amy walked around her couch and gripped the door handle, opening it wide enough for Edward to enter.
He took two steps into her home, then turned to face her as she shut the door. They shared a moment of silence, Edward longing to hear the thoughts behind Amy's eyes. He took a step toward her, but her body flinched backward, her hand raising to prevent him from coming closer.
"Don't … just … I want to know what happened."
"Why don't we sit down. You've had a rough—"
"I don't want to sit down." Her elevated voice startled him. "Yes, I've had a shitty night, but I just saw my friend turn into in an animal, and I need to know if I'm losing my mind or if a wolf just tackled my—" Amy cut herself off before the word "boyfriend" left her lips. The word had slipped into her mind so easily, filling her with a brief sense of excitement before the frustration resumed. "Just tackled you," she finally finished. "And why you aren't as completely freaked out as me right now." She started laughing at herself, an overwhelming urge to burst into tears a complete misrepresentation of her appearance. Yet she couldn't stop staring at his unfathomable beauty.
"Am I upsetting you?" he asked, her silence making him anxious.
"You're completely distracting," she responded quietly, raking her hands through her hair. "Everything about you is just–you're …"
"What?" Edward stepped toward her, his hands gliding up her arms and shoulders, his fingertips stopping at the smooth skin of her neck. The corners of his mouth curved upward into a smile, its softness daring to caress her cheek. Her warmth summoned him, his body unable to resist the emotion pouring out of her.
Stepping closer, Amy listened to her quiet, ragged breath as she tilted her head upward. Briefly closing her eyes, she brushed her lips against his. When the soft flesh touched his own, a spark twitched inside his body, like a light flickering on, then off again. The adrenaline rush frightened him, causing him to back away and turn around as her lips reached for a second taste.
Her sigh expressed her hurt, and he wanted nothing more than to turn back around and show her how much he cared, how much he wanted her. Her scent surrounded him, and the warmth from her kiss lingered on his lips, the sensation alone filling his mouth with venom.
"Did Jacob turn into a wolf?" she asked abruptly, her voice oddly quiet.
He turned around to face her. "Yes."
"How did you fight him off? How is that possible?"
"More is possible than you've ever imagined."
Amy swallowed, staring intently at Edward. He could hear her accelerated heartbeat, the organ pumping furiously in reaction to his statement. She sighed again, the sound slicing through the silent air.
"Why won't you tell me what's going on? Do you think I can't take it? Or that I'll be afraid?"
"I don't want you involved—"
"Involved in what? Please, just stop being so cryptic and explain this to me." Amy stepped closer to him, her voice pleading to know his secrets.
"It's part of Jacob's history," he explained quietly. "He and his friends – they're a pack."
Amy shook her head in disbelief. "All of them are wolves?"
"You should know that he wasn't trying to hurt you." Edward's voice floated so smoothly through the air, so calm in contrast to Amy's voice.
"No, he was just trying to hurt you!"
Edward stepped toward her again. "He just wanted to protect you." Edward thought it best to reveal a part of Jacob's history if he could not yet face telling Amy his own horrifying secret. "The roots of Jacob's tribe play a huge role in who he is. His tribe has a legend – his people believe they are descendants of wolves. And the wolves protected their territory and their land from those that would cause harm. Along the way, I guess the history of the wolves became ingrained into the actual tribe. So now Jacob and the pack defend this area as the animals themselves."
"I don't understand – wasn't he just jealous of you? Why did he feel the need to protect me from you?
As Edward inhaled to speak, his head whipped to the right. Seconds later, a rapid knock on the front door interrupted their conversation. Darting to the entrance, Edward opened it and let Alice enter.
"Alice, I thought you left. What's wrong?" Amy asked, reading her anxious face.
"He's coming," Edward answered for her, his eyes focused on Alice as he quickly scoured through her thoughts for details.
"Who? Jake?" Amy asked. Alice nodded, forcing her face to remain calm for Amy's sake. "How could you possibly know that?"
"I saw it." With the slightest of smiles, Alice pointed to her head. She briefly rose onto her toes, her pride in her ability demonstrated by her playful bounce. But her smile vanished as Edward shot her a cold glare of warning. "She's going to find out today, anyway. Saw that, too."
"Wait, you saw it? Like a vision?" Amy's head had craned forward toward Alice, her eyebrows cocked above her already wide eyes. Alice nodded once, the smile returning to her face.
"With all this stuff you're seeing, you didn't by chance see when Jacob was going to get here?" Edward stood beside Amy and placed his right hand on the small of her back.
Simultaneously, Alice and Edward inhaled through their noses and rapidly turned their heads north. Alice darted for the door and quickly exited the condo, instinct driving her movement. Jacob was human now, but it was her role to attempt to calm Jacob, to keep the monster inside of him locked away.
Edward turned toward Amy, his hands moving to the sides of her face. The sudden appearance of his cold skin made her jolt, but his close proximity had an even greater power over her. "I want you to stay inside, no matter what you hear or see, okay?" Edward leaned forward and lightly kissed her forehead, the smoothness of his lips making her skin tingle.
Faster than she ever saw anyone move, Edward was outside, the door slamming shut behind him. Unsure of what to think, Amy remained frozen. Jake is a wolf. Alice has visions. And all of it makes perfect sense to Edward.
Her stomach immediately tightened as her brain attempted to filter and store this new information that had no logical foundation. Perhaps if Jake was not normal, Edward and Alice weren't either. But she didn't want them hurt, and judging by the size of wolf-Jacob, he would kill them both instantly.
Charlie!
Why hadn't she thought of it earlier? The Chief of Police was footsteps away. Grabbing the door handle, she flung it open and ran down the stairs. Her eyes scanned the lot, but she saw nothing. No wolf. No Edward. No Alice. Only the tree branches and leaves swayed in their dance with the wind.
The silence only frightened her more, and her loud exhale was enough to make her adrenaline race through her bloodstream. Hurrying through the darkness, her mind scolded her for leaving the safety of her home, but she would not sit inside and be useless.
"Amy, no!"
Edward's shout made her freeze. As she turned toward the source of the shout, the ground fell away from beneath her. Warmth seared around her entire body, a muscular arm hooked under her knees, another cradling her head.
Alice and Edward erupted like lightning bolts out of the darkness. Alice's face showed worry, but Edward was furious.
"Put her down. Now." Hearing Edward's normally soothing voice as a partial growl caused Amy's body temperature to plummet in fear, even in the immense heat of Jacob's arms. Edward took slow steps toward them, his body partially crouched like a stalking predator.
"Fuck you, Cullen. There's no way I'm letting her near you."
Amy glanced up at Jacob, the sweet guy she had been dancing with just hours ago lost in rage. His soft features, the charming smile, his mysteriously sexy eyes – all had disappeared.
"Please, Jacob. You could shift. You could hurt her." Alice's voice was pleading. She stood less than ten feet from Amy and Jake, her feet shoulder-width apart as if she were preparing for sudden movement.
"You're far more dangerous to her than I'll ever be." Jacob began to quiver, his muscles contracting and expanding as they held tightly to Amy. A low growl escaped his throat. Amy felt the rumble project from his chest and settle uncomfortably in her own. Sensing his loss of control, Jacob lowered Amy's legs to the ground but kept a bare arm tightly around her stomach. Dressed only in jeans, they all watched Jacob's muscles ripple dangerously in the moonlight.
Amy felt the panic take over her body as Jacob's inhuman grip tightened around her stomach. She pictured her organs being shoved around inside of her, her lungs collapsing under the pressure. Next she pictured Jake shifting into his wolf form, the sheer force of his transformation sending her soaring through the air and landing in a bone-crushing thud on the ground. In panicked response, Amy's breaths became pained and ragged, oxygen rapidly becoming scarce.
"Jake, please … let me go … "
"Dammit, Jacob!" Edward cursed, the sound of Amy's strained breaths enraging him. Once he let her go, the fight would be instant.
Speaking in broken breaths, Amy hoped her next words would comfort him. "I don't care … that you and your friends … are wolves … it's just … who you are."
Jacob's eyes finally moved to Amy's face, her eyes gleaming with unwanted tears. Muscles bulging, alive within him, his surprise turned to pure hate as his eyes crawled through the darkness to find Edward.
"You told her?" Jacob's voice was soft and incredibly dangerous. Edward did not answer. "Well, since you've told my secret, how about I tell yours?"
