A/N: Here it is! Thanks for the patience and support everyone. Appreciate it.

Chapter 17: In The Dark

Friday morning I did my usual routine; took a shower, brushed my teeth, and rifled through my wardrobe to find something to wear. Normally, I'd settle for a shirt and jeans but that morning I had to wear a turtleneck. There was no way I'd let anyone see the bite Jacob had so kindly given me. My parents would freak out, Joey would think I was a psycho and Kara would want details.

Not to mention, it would give the school another thing to gossip about.

Speaking of school, I had been right about the whole Nick incident. When I arrived, everyone was staring. Hell, even some of the teachers shot me a funny look. Didn't they know that Nick was a complete jerk? That he was bothering me yesterday? Probably not. He likes to make himself out to be the nice guy, when he's actually the complete opposite.

Kara had been absent for some unknown reason, which in a way, was a good thing. She was better off not knowing about me slapping her crush across the face. Then again, La Push is tiny, word spreads around faster than I ever thought possible.

However, Kara wasn't the only person absent, Jacob had been too. During all of my classes, I'd thought up tons of reasons as to why he wasn't present, but in the back of my mind I knew that none of them were right.

So on my way home from school, I decided to pay the Black household a visit.

"Nina!."

I had just reached the front door when I heard his husky voice call my name from behind. Spinning around, I saw him jogging across the road in nothing but a pair of grey shorts. Obviously, he'd been in the woods…

"Jacob." I smiled as he reached me and pulled me into a warm embrace. His strong arms wrapping around my narrow waist, holding me against his half-naked body. A strong woodsy scent clinging to his skin, a tell-tale of where he had been.

Sinking his face onto my shoulder, he spoke softly. "Miss me already?."

"Well that's one of the reasons I'm here," I said as he pulled away, and stood directly in front of me, a playful look in his dark eyes. "There's two other reasons."

Pouting, he tucked his long hair behind his ears. "Am I in trouble?."

Then I remembered the bite he'd given me. "Well, kind of."

"Is there any punishment involved?." He winked.

"Jacob." I blushed.

"I prefer it when you call me Jake actually."

"Well I'd prefer it if-." Reaching up, I pulled the neck of my sweater down. "-you didn't ever bite me again."

To my complete and utter shock, Jacob didn't seem bothered by the mark he'd left behind on my skin. In fact, he looked quite offended that I wasn't pleased. His whole demeanor shifting to a more guarded one.

"Look it's really not that bad, it'll fade after a while. Trust me."

"It's really not that bad? Are you kidding me? Jacob I can't go out like this."

Crossing his arms over his broad chest, his eyes narrowed as they stared down at me. "Of course you can, plenty of girls walk around with hickeys. It's no big deal."

"This-." I rubbed my neck. "-is not a hickey, it's a bite. If anyone sees it-."

"-if anyone sees it, so what? I gave it to you, you're…" he trailed off, clenching his jaw.

"I'm what?."

"Nothing."

"Tell me Jake!," I pushed.

"Nina," he sighed, dropping his arms to his sides. "I just don't see what the problem is, I said I was sorry… besides-." Cupping my cheek in his large hand, his eyes softened. "-it's my bite, and you know I care about you. So just accept it honey, it'll fade sooner than you think."

What always amazed me about Jacob was that he almost always managed to make a bad situation look good. The way he used his charm on me never failed to blow me away, and I'd find myself nodding in agreement to him, without really knowing so— if that made any sense.

Leaning into his palm, I raised my eyebrows up at him. "What if I bit you? Would you accept it?."

He chuckled. "I wouldn't get the chance to."

"Sorry?."

Moving his hand down my neck and onto my shoulder, he pulled me against him once again. "Bite me."

Shocked, I pressed my hands to his chest and tried to pull away but he wouldn't let me go. "No, I will not bite you!."

"Nina, just do it, I need to show you something."

"But Jake, I don't want to. I can't hurt you like that, no."

Using his free hand to grip the hair at the back of my head, he pressed my face into his shoulder. "You won't hurt me, I'll show you. Just do it."

Deciding arguing wasn't going to get me anywhere, I gave in and parted my lips to bite down onto his broad shoulder. His skin tasted exactly like I'd imagined— musky and salty. Just as I noticed that, a coppery taste hit my tongue and I immediately stopped biting him.

"Ja-."

"No, don't stop."

"But there's blood-."

"Bite me harder!."

"But-."

He pressed me to his shoulder again, so squeezing my eyes shut, I bit down harder into his velvety skin. I could taste his blood again, but this time I didn't stop, I only sunk my teeth in deeper. My nails digging into his chest as I stood up onto my tip-toes, the extra height giving me a better angle.

"Harder!" he ordered breathlessly.

Giving it my all, I bit into his flesh as hard as I could until he told me to stop. What I saw as I pulled away, horrified me. The bite I'd given him looked ten times worse than the one he'd given me.

"Jacob," I gasped. "Jacob I'm so sorry!."

"Don't be." He smiled. "Just keep your eyes on it, and don't look away."

So I stared and stared at it, wondering what it was that he wanted to show me. Then, within seconds, his skin started to heal. The bruise and teeth marks I'd caused, completely disappearing before my eyes. Until his shoulder was perfect again.

With wide eyes, I fought to speak again. "H-How?."

Jacob burst out laughing once our eyes met, throwing his head back as his Adam's apple bobbed up and down his throat.

I, on the other hand, didn't find anything funny. How could I? everyday something new was revealed to me, things I'd only thought existed in stories. And no matter how hard I tried, I found it very difficult to accept things easily.

Like, what else could he do? Fly? Did I even want to know?

"Your expression was priceless," he finally said as his laughter died down. "I'll never forget that."

"How can you find any of this funny? Your healing is abnormally fast, and you transform into a wolf whenever you want. I'd be worried if I was you."

"Aw Nee." Running his fingers through my hair, he flashed me that beautiful smile of his. "I know it's a lot to take in, but the sooner the better right?."

"I just… I just can't believe any of this is real Jake," I said, glancing back down at his shoulder. There wasn't even a scratch. "It's unbelievable."

He nodded in agreement. "I understand, it was scary for me in the beginning too. That's why I'll tell you everything when you're ready, like I said last night."

The problem was, I didn't know if I'd ever be really ready to find out all about his abilities. It was just so unreal and shocking and strange and creepy at the same time. Yet, I was willing to try and accept these things that came with Jacob— because I loved him.

A familiar voice interrupted my thoughts, and as I peered over Jacob's shoulder, my eyes met with his friend Embry's bright brown ones. From all my encounters with him, I'd decided that he was a nice guy. Always friendly and polite, and also very shy.. the complete opposite to Quil.

"Am I interrupting anything?," he asked with a shy smile.

Jacob's eyes were still on me as he rolled his eyes in obvious annoyance. "No."

Embry shrugged in my direction but I just smiled at him. "Hey."

Stepping forward, Jacob wrapped his arm around my shoulders and held me tightly as he turned to face his friend. "Is there a problem, Call?."

"Um.. no, I just thought I'd ask if you were up for a game of football is all," Embry said, looking as awkward as I felt.

What was up with Jacob?

"Actually I-."

"He'd love to!," I almost shouted. "I was just leaving anyway."

Embry smiled at me. "You can join us if you want Nina."

"No," Jacob hissed, tightening his hold on me until my cheek was squashed against his burning chest. "Neither of us are interested, Call. Go ask Seth, I'm sure he'll take you up on your offer."

"But I thought you wanted-," Embry started.

"Leave!," Jacob roared.

Flinching against him, I stared over at his friend in complete and utter shock. Never had I once thought Jacob would act this rude. It was so ignorant and cruel of him. Especially towards a guy he knew all his life.

With a simple nod in our direction, Embry jogged off.

"Jacob!." Shrugging out of his hold, I stumbled backwards until we were facing each other again. "What the heck is your problem?."

Shoved his hands into his pockets, he grumbled, "I hate being interrupted."

"Sure," I replied sarcastically.

"When I'm with you."

"Don't give me that Jacob! How freaking mean were you right now? I'm disgusted."

Then he was right in front of me, bending down so that our faces were inches apart. "You lied to Embry, you had no intentions of leaving. Don't deny it."

"I didn't lie! My parents are probably wondering where I am, and anyway this has nothing to do with your behavior."

"Yes it does! You tell Embry first…" he trailed off, looking away.

My lips parted to speak again, but I couldn't find the right words. "I.. no."

"Sure, sure." Turning around, he walked away from me and sat on the steps of his porch. Staring off into the distance. His expression unreadable.

On instinct, I followed. Standing awkwardly in front of him. "Jake, I wasn't just going to leave without saying goodbye-."

"Oh I know that," he snapped. Hard eyes looking up into mine. "But I hate, I really really hate being the last to know about things. You came here to speak to me, not him. Before he decided to show up, I could've been planning something for us to do today. Maybe go grab lunch or something, then he interrupts us and suddenly you're leaving. Oh, and he's the first to know."

Completely taken aback by his harsh tone and accusations, I couldn't find my voice. Nothing he was saying made a point. So what if I'd told Embry that I was leaving? It didn't mean anything. All I was being was polite.

And apparently, Jacob didn't like me being polite to his friend for some reason…

I was tempted to just let the whole Embry incident go. It wasn't worth a fight or an argument, but I couldn't. Jacob had told me so many things about himself; shocking, out-of-this-world things that people would need to see to believe. Yet, he wouldn't tell me why he was behaving so rudely to his friend.

So with a deep breath, I walked away from him and headed towards my car. If he wanted to keep things to himself that was fine by me, I just hated when I was brought me into those 'things' and got kept in the dark. It wasn't fair.

Jacob didn't call after me or even try to stop me. And as I hopped into the driver's seat and started the engine, I watched as he stood back up to his full height and stormed off into his house. Slamming the door shut behind himself in anger.

Not the reaction I thought I'd get.

Something was definitely up.

"Someone's in a mood."

"Would you shut the hell up Phil and keep your eyes on the road!," Kara hissed from the passenger seat.

After the whole incident with Jacob, I'd gone home and phoned Kara to see if she was okay. Turns out her alarm clock stopped working, and she'd slept until two in the afternoon. Why doesn't that surprise me?

Anyway since it was Friday, her cousin Phil was heading into Port Angeles for some gig he was supposed to attend and Kara had begged him to drop her off at the cinema because she was dying— yes, dying— to see a new chick flick that was released that night.

And guess who had to tag along? Me.

Not that I minded really, but I would've preferred if she'd just asked me for a ride instead of her cousin. Also, my dad wasn't too pleased when I told him Phil was taking me. Why you ask? Because last time, Jacob had taken me home. And you know how that turned out…

It was obvious I was upset about earlier though, I found it very hard to smile and there was a constant pulling in my chest that grew more and more painful the further we got from La Push. It felt like my whole body was drained of all energy and I was just a shell of myself. Kind of similar to the feeling I'd had when Jacob and I hadn't talked for three weeks.

Heartache, was the word that best described it.

"Sorry about that, he doesn't know when to shut up sometimes," Kara said as we queued up for our tickets. "But you are OK right? You're not sick or anything? You do look a little pale."

I shook my head, offering her a half-smile. "Not sick, just fell out with Jacob earlier."

"What happened?," she asked, wide eyed. "You guys talked?."

"Yeah, last night we did but today…. Well I went to see him and things were okay at first but then when his friend Embry turned up, he started acting really rudely."

"Maybe it's 'cause Embry's hot?."

I laughed humorlessly. "So you're saying Jake's gay?."

She gave me a knowing look, a small grin plastered to her face. "No, I'm saying that maybe Jacob was jealous? You never know, Embry might like you."

"Kara!," I shrieked, my cheeks burning. "No, no, no, Embry doesn't like me in that way."

"How would you know that?."

"Um.. duh? That'd be just wrong in so many ways. He's Jake's best friend for goodness sake, it just wouldn't happen. And even if he did like me, he'd ignore it and move on. Believe me, he's not like that."

Moving forward in the queue, Kara clicked her tongue as she glanced down at her watch and back up at me. "So you're basically saying that he might like you but he's just going to pretend he doesn't until that moment comes up and he dives in for a kiss because he can't fight it anymore?."

With a roll of my eyes, I mumbled, "No."

Embry Call did not like like me, it was near to impossible. We barely knew each other, rarely saw each other, and since Jacob and I had kissed a couple of times, he definitely wouldn't let himself fall for me.

But there was definitely something up with Jacob earlier today; the instant his friend showed up, he'd acted very hostile towards him and became very possessive of me. It wasn't like him to behave like that, then again whenever we were together, we were usually alone.

Did that mean he would always act in that way when people were around us?

"Kara? Nina? What are you guys doing here?," a vaguely familiar voice asked behind us.

Looking over my shoulder, my eyes connected with ones that belonged to Phil's friend, Stephen. The guy I'd sat with on First Beach at a bonfire a while ago. Dressed in a white sweater and jeans, hair spiked up and a new diamond earring on his left ear, he looked really handsome. Even more so than the last time I'd seen him.

"Oh my god, Steve!," Kara squealed happily, throwing her arms around his neck to give him a hug. "What are you doing here?."

Chuckling, I turned to face him. "She's a little too excited about the movie tonight."

"I can tell." He smiled as Kara stepped back to stand next to me again. "Aren't you?."

"Nah, it's been a long day." I shrugged.

"Well." He eyed us both. "Mind if I join you guys?."

I liked Stephen, I really did, he was a decent guy, full of life and very open. But halfway through the movie, he sneakily wrapped his arm around my shoulders, and that I didn't like. The feelings it stirred up in me weren't pleasant, and my heart began to pull even harder than it had before.

I was—no matter how strong the word was— revolted.

How I was supposed to get him to back off was the worst part. I hated hurting people's feelings, especially his since he'd been so good to both Kara and I for the whole hour, so instead of saying anything to him, I excused myself to the bathroom.

Once there, I locked myself up in a cubicle and pressed my forehead to the metal door in complete exasperation. Every part of my body, from the tips of my quivering fingers to my freezing toes, felt so drained and lifeless. Not to mention cold. And I was really starting to worry about myself.

If falling out with Jacob and being far away from him made me feel this way, then how was I supposed to live? What if he decided to move far away from La Push? What then? What if things never worked out for us and we both went our separate ways? What then?

Even the thought of never seeing him again sent a pang to my heart. This was not normal.

Just as I made it back into the screening room, the ending credits began and people brushed past me as they all filed out of the room. Kara and Stephen raised their eyebrows as I made it back to them, but I never said anything.

They must've taken the hint, because not a single word was said about my thirty-minute disappearance to the bathroom as we all got back into Phil's car and started on our journey home.

Stephen never wrapped his arm around me again.

By the time I made it home, it was eleven pm sharp. My parents were nowhere to be seen and Joey had been finishing up in the bathroom when I reached my bedroom door. A wave of sleepiness washed over me as I entered the dark room. Shutting the door behind myself, I turned to lock it. Because I didn't want anyone walking in on me when I felt and looked this bad.

Not bothering to flick the light switch on, I hastily began shrugging out of my cream-colored coat and just as it hit the floor, a warm hand clasped over my mouth from behind. Shocking me so badly, that I completely froze up.

"It's me," the husky voice whispered against my ear. "I didn't want to scare you."

Lowering his hand, I spoke through gritted teeth. "What are you doing here?."

Sliding his arms around my waist, he buried his face into the back of my hair, breathing me in. "I'm sorry for everything that happened between us today, I was a jerk. You didn't deserve to be treated that way and neither did Embry. Forgive me?."

Forgiving him would be so easy, I was bound to do it anyway. But I was still hurting, and my heart didn't feel exactly normal. "I'm not ready for this.. right now," I said shakily.

Jacob made a funny noise in response before moving around me until we were facing each other, my eyes level with his massive chest. Bare as usual. The russet color of his velvety skin barely noticeable in the moonlight. Glancing up to stare into his beautiful face, I noticed that his long hair was pulled back into a knot at the nape of his neck and that his expression resembled mine. Pained and lifeless.

"I understand," he whispered, gulping as his eyes scanned me from head to toe. "But there are things I need to talk to you about. Things I can't keep from you any longer, things that make me hate Embry and any guy that shows interest in you. Things and feelings that I can't control… like the bite I gave you."

"Jake." I sighed in helplessness. "I… not now, not after what happened today, I feel bad enough as it is."

Unwrapping his arms from around my waist, he grasped my face in his large hands. They shook, just like mine, and their grip felt weaker than usual. "Are you mad at me?," he asked carefully, drawing his eyebrows together.

Bringing my hands up to wrap my fingers around his wrists, I guided them back down to his sides before brushing past him towards my bed. "No," I said.

There were feelings, weird and strange feelings that I was having. So I lay down upon my bed, sinking into my pillow and stared up at the ceiling. My body was telling me to feed it's hunger for Jacob, to feel every inch of his skin against mine. To feel complete. Whilst my heart was telling me to give him a chance tonight, to let him tell me what he came here to say. And my head… my head was telling me to get rid of him. That I needed space to clear my confused mind.

It was a battle between them all, and I couldn't make up my mind on which one I wanted to fully listen to. Every one of my thoughts had a good reason. But as much as I wanted to touch every part of his god-like muscularity, my body would most definitely not win this round. So it was between giving him a chance tonight or telling him to leave.

Of course, the former won.

Turning my head to the side, I found him standing next to me, knees pressed against the mattress. The shorts he'd been wearing earlier today had obviously been replaced with tiny brown ones, that were two-sizes too small for him. The button undone.

I felt so sorry for him then, thinking of what he must've gone through when he first exploded into a gigantic wolf. It must've been so scary for him, so painful, and yet he had to go home to his dad, hang out with his friends and go to school, pretending that he was okay.

He never had any decent clothes and he almost always walked around shirtless in the freezing weather of La Push. His grades were slipping, and he was constantly in danger. Poor Jacob.

"Nee?," he asked carefully, crawling onto the bed. "Honey? Are you okay? Why are you crying?."

I hadn't even realized I was crying until he mentioned it. "Jake I…"

The bed creaked under his weight as he crawled onto the soft mattress and moved to hover over me. Pressing his forehead to mine, his eyes grew soft. "What is it honey?."

My painfully weak legs tangled themselves in his and bringing my hands up, I pressed one against his cheek and one on his broad shoulder. "You.. Jake… I feel…"

"Tell me Nee, let it out. I'm listening," he said softly against my lips.

And I couldn't hold it in anymore. The words needed to be spoken.

"I'm in love with you," I told him, in the smallest voice I'd ever heard myself use.

Jacob's eyes widened as they stared into mine, and as he let out a gasp, I felt his body collapse on top of me. No longer was his forehead pressed to mine but to my shoulder, and in the silence of the room, I could hear his sharp intakes of breath. The heat his body emanated, hotter than I'd ever felt.

So I lay there beneath him, giving the man my world revolved around, a moment to himself.

In an attempt to stop worrying about what his reaction meant, I closed my eyes and listened to the rain as it started lashing against my window. Reminding myself of when I was younger, and falling in love was only in fairytales.

Shifting above me, Jacob laced his fingers with mine as my hand lay limp by my side, while another set of his fingers ran down the length of my arm. A tickling sensation—presumably caused by his nose—began from my jaw bone up my cheek until it stopped, and soft lips pressed against my parted ones. In the most tender kiss he'd ever given me.

Something snapped in me at that moment, and before I knew what I was doing, my free arm wrapped around his neck. Bringing him impossibly closer. Deepening the kiss until my mouth grew sore from the pressure.

I wanted to consume him. Completely.

He, in turn, welcomed my new found eagerness and moved his lips against mine desperately. Like his life depended on it. Short gasps and heavy breaths escaping his open mouth every few seconds.

It wasn't just our lips that moved together though, our bodies had begun to rock against each other with an unbearable need. Making me feel things that I'd never felt before. Proving to me that Jacob was more than a little excited.

Mine. Mine. Mine. All mine. A voice chanted in my head.

"Nee." he panted, pulling back slightly to tug down the neck of my sweater. "Oh god, Nee."

My eyes squeezed shut as I let out a squeak of pleasure. "J-Jake."

His mouth had latched onto the bite he'd given me last night, sucking it, suckling it.. licking it.

The sensations it gave off, drove me wild. Causing a shiver to run up my spine, and an internal fire to spread through my veins. My eyes burning behind my eyelids. Jake, Jake, Jake, the only words I was able to form. Coming out in soft whimpers.

Dragging his tongue back up my neck, and over my chin, he plunged it into my waiting mouth eagerly. Our wet muscles sliding over one another. Both of us relishing in the taste of each other. Always hungry for more. Always.

But something stopped Jacob, and he reluctantly ended our passionate make-out session, panting above me. With both hands, he reached over and grasped the headboard to hold his weight off of me as he gazed down into my eyes. His ones, lust filled.

"Nina," he started, face flushed from our previous activities. "Hell I.. I don't know how to start."

"Just say what your mind tells you to," I whispered, reaching up to run the back of my hand over his scorching cheek. "Don't over-think it."

Giving me a sweet smile, his eyes twinkled in the darkness. "I'm in love with you too, more than you'll ever know."

"Oh Jacob." I sighed in relief, happiness and elation. Pushing myself up on my elbows, I almost pressed my lips to his. Almost.

"But," he said in a deeper tone, stopping me. "There are things I need to tell you… this, us, it's all gone too far. And you deserve to know. Now is the time."

Falling back against my pillow, I scrunched my eyebrows up in confusion. "W-What are they?."

My mind wasn't working properly, every single thing that did not involve Jacob had disappeared from my memory. Leaving me completely dumbfounded. I felt dizzy and fuzzy and high. Very high.

A sad look crossed his beautiful face. "I'm afraid to tell you," he whispered.

"Afraid? Jake don't feel that way, please. Just let it out."

"Nee, I'm afraid you won't love me after I tell you…"

Fear crept into my heart. "Seriously Jacob, what is it?."

"You're my imprint."

Imprint?