Right, so it's been a while. Yeah, sorry about that, slight writers block. But here it is! Hope you enjoy!
And thanks to all who reviewd the last chapter, you know who you are!
And thanks to my new beta, yeah thats right! A.J Scarlet! So she can catch all my errors and what not, check out her story too! It awesomesauce.
Chapter 9
I have to tell her about the imprinting. Today. Tomorrow? No, today... next week maybe.. dammit!
Jacob was pacing up and down his father's wheelchair ramp, waiting for his newest pack member to get her ass in gear and get over to his house. It was friday and he knew that school let out about an hour ago. She'd promised to come over when she'd finished packing her stuff. They were going out camping with the rest of the pups, only it was more like a shape-shifter boot-camp than camp-fires and marshmellows.
He half growled, half sighed and plopped down on the frontdoor steps, supporting his elbows on his knees and head in his hands. He stared down the road but saw nothing except random strangers, driving or walking past him. He rubbed his face before running his hands through his hair. He'd started to keep his hair fairly short. It hung slightly over his ears and almost in his eyes. It was more pratical short. No picking twigs and leaves out of his hair after runs or patrol, it was easier to maintain, to set, to wash. There was no need to keep it long anymore; he'd only let it grow long for Bella, after his first phase, but she was a long lost cause, and really, he didn't care about what she liked him in or as anymore.
Besides, he realized, he liked the way Talae would run her hands through it the few precious times they'd kissed, or the times she's played with it when they'd lay on the couch wathing TV, or whenever she'd find a silly excuse to brush it out of his face or behind his ear, even though it would never stay there, or...
He could go on, a silly smile was grazing his face as the memories tiptoed to the front of his mind and Bella's face was shoved all the way to the back, like a small, geeky kid at football try-outs. And he couldn't decide if it was the imprint talking or if he really just liked Talae for Talae.
Then he heard fast footsteps coming closer and looked down the street, smiling when he saw her lean form jogging down the side of the road, with a large, stuffed-looking duffel bag over one shoulder and a two-man tent and sleeping-bag over the other, looking totally at ease with the heavy burden. While jogging at a rather brisk pace.
Man, she was just... so not Bella. Where she was physically strong and gracious, Bella had been physically weak and one hell of a clutz. Yalae carried herself with a sort of frail confidence, never backing down from any challenge. Bella would always shy away, and despised conflict, always tried to play the peace-maker. She was dark and gorgeous, Bella was pale and pretty. He could go on comparing the two, and would find that Talae's attributes attracted him more than Bella's. Sure, Bella was a fine person, and still one of his closest, if a little awkward, friends. But she was just that; a friend.
"Hey you", she breathed with a smile, coming to a stop in front of him.
He grinned up at her, "Hey back". She returned his grin, while dumping her things on the ground and took a seat on the steps next to him, leaning back on her elbows and extending her legs.
She was wearing a tight, black tanktop and dark jeans, a light sweatshirt hung off of her shoulders. He even liked her hard-rock-style, though it was similar to Bella's jeans-and-shirt style, it fit Talae a lot more. He looked at her outstretched body, up her slim legs, over her seducing hips, taking in her toned stomach and up her kissable clavicle, finally landing on her honey eyes. He blushed and coughed, looking away as he saw the smirk on her face and the teasing raised eyebrow. Busted.
"Hey, wanna hear what Carlisle told me yesterday?", she asked him then, sitting up to nudge him in the side. They had had to move the appointment to Tuesday instead of Monday, due to the hectic schedule of Dr. Cullen, and the results came in yesterday, Thursday.
"Oh! Right, sure!", he answered, slightly stirred by the change of topic, but curious nonetheless. The sooner they found out about her abilities and such, the better.
She went on to explain to him the basics of what the good doctor had told her. They'd done bloodwork and tests; she was basically like them, much like them really, high body temperature normal, chromosome count the same, ect. ect.. He'd taken a closer look at her genetics and tried to describe to her how she differed from the La Push wolves on that front; if they were like a grey wolf, then she was an arctic wolf. Which would make sense, considering her heritage.
The really interesting part about the whole thing though, was the exrays and what they revealed about her bonestructure. Her bones, unlike the theirs, were lightweight, borderlining on hollow. "Almost like a bird's", Carlisle had explained. Which was why they had broken so easily, and also the reason why she was so goddamn fast. Her muscular structure was also different; her musclemass was lean, fit, meant for endurance, agility and speed, wrapped tightly around her bones, where as her pack brothers', and sister's, were built for fighting and strength, having much denser, heavier and bulkier muscular tissue.
"Woah", was all Jacob could muster. It made sense, he'd give her that. And it made him wonder, if she was so much different from them, that they were just naturally 'different species', then, wouldn't there be more? Other species of Shapeshifters, that is.
"Yeah, it was kinda mindblowing, but I feel alot better knowing it's just who I am and not just because... you know, that I'm weak or something", she muttered, picking at her nails, as her eyes went downcast.
"Hey, you are not weak", he said firmly, tipping her chin up to look him in the eye, "you're different, so what? Different is good, not weak".
She smiled at that, "Thank you". She kissed him on the cheek, her lips lingeringon his skin for just a second too long.
"Now that's more like it", he grinned, throwing her arm around her shoulder and she leaned into him with a soft smile. Which reminded him of his earlier self-debate. Shit, I really have to tell her, he told himself, but the ache in his gut hummed with satisfaction at her proximity and he reasoned that it might as well be later rather that sooner.
"So, shouldn't we get going?", she shifted her eyes towards his Rabbit parked on the side of the road, then back to him questioning.
"Yeah, we better", he said, finally standing, stretching as he did. He picked up her luggage, "I'll put these in the back for you".
"My my, what a gentleman", came the laughing voice of Billy Black as he rolled his chair out into the doorway, looking at Jacob with a teasing smile, "who are you and what have you done with my bratty teenage son?".
Talae snickered as the so-called bratty teen sent his dad a one-eyed glare, continueing to the car to pack her bags in with his.
"S'up Chief?", the she-wolf greeted with a grin, standing up and giving him a mock salute, which made him chuckle delighted.
"At ease soldier", he waved his hand dismissively, smiling at her, "Excited?".
"Kinda", she smiled back, "a little nervous".
"Understandably", Billy nodded, folding his hands on his lap, "You'll be fine, Jake'll take care of you". His eyes twinkled with mischief, making her wonder what he knew and she didn't, but she chose to let it go and gave him a lopsided smile instead.
"Come on Tee!", Jacob shouted out the open window, already seated in the driver's seat, turning the key to start the car.
"Bye Billy, see you later", she waved as she jogged to the passenger's seat, not borthering with a seatbelt.
"See ya dad!" Jacob yelled, not waiting for an answer as he sped down the road.
They drove down a few lengthy streets, just listening to the radio, keeping a comfortable conversational silence. Jacob turned down a dirtroad at one point, which turned into a narrowing trail. In the end they had to get out and walk a few miles to a remote spot in the dense forest. They talked about her wolven traits, theorizing how so and so fit together.
They smelled the campsite long before they got to it. Someone had already gotten a fire started and several tents were scattered among the trees and in the small clearing they'd chosen to use, though the small patch of free forestfloor was mostly clear, intended to be used as a possible sparing spot. Horse-sized wolves and bulky teens alike roamed the area surrounding them and soon a sand-colored wolf trotted up to met them.
"Hey Seth!", Talae grinned, patting him on the side of his furry neck. He barked and licked her hand in response, walking side by side with them as they neared the heart of their temporary colony.
Jacob walked off to talk with Sam, who was talking serious business with Jared. Seth ducked behind a tall, wide oak to phase back to his human-form, making conversation a reality.
"Hey Tee, how are ya?", he asked with a grin, comming back from behind the tree, buttoning up his cut-off jeans.
"I'm okay", she smiled, having dumped her baggage. Oh how she praised the inventer of pop-up tents as she pulled the sucker out of its bag and flipped it into the air, as said the instructions. It unfolded quite nicely and she went to jam the pegs into the ground with a rock.
"You cheater, that's so not in the spirit of camping", Seth snickered, earning a "are-you-serious"-look before kneeling in the dirt beside her and joining in on the peg-bashing,"So, you ready for a weekend with the guyzoes?".
She scoffed, "Hah, ready as I'll ever be". She whacked the last peg in the ground, then threw the rock away and brushed off her hands , "At least Leah is going to be here".
Seth chuckled, tossing his stone too, "Yeah, she's around here somewhere". He took a look around the forest while Talae unzipped the tent and threw her bag into it. "I'll let you unpack, come to the clearing when you're done, 'kay?", he said, walking backwards away from her until she smiled an 'okay' at him. He disappeared from view as she crawled on all four into the tent.
Situating herself in a corner, she sat down and crossed her legs indian style. The tent didn't quite help with muffling the sounds from outside, but she felt like she had a small moment of peace anyway. She took a deep breath, tucked her bangs behind her ears and tightened her ponytail before delving into her duffel bag for a pair of grey sweatpants and a sportbra/training top to change into. She discarded her sweatshirt, tank, jeans and shoes and socks, pulling on the freshly picked outfit. Done with that, she unrolled her sleeping-bag and somewhat organized her things before crawling back out from the tent-cabin.
Goosebumps rose on her arms in response to cold air on her skin and she dug her toes into the dirt and forest debris on the ground. The snow couldn't fall past the high, thick canopy of the many trees in these forests, and it hadn't snowed in days, leaving the clearing relatively snow-free.
She zipped the tent back up and started for the clearing, towards the smell of smoke and the serious voices of the two Alphas and their Betas. When Leah saw her entering the clearing on the far side from where they stood, she yelled something incoherent and the seriousness melted away from her face. Talae waved, starting to cross the cold patch of free space when Leah started sprinting towards her. She allowed herself to be tackled to the ground, letting out a laugh as her sister-wolf sat triumphantly on her back, holding her shoulders down.
"Hi Leah", she chuckled as she rolled over on her back, having Leah straddling her waist instead.
"Hello Tee", she smirked. A couple of the pups wolf-whisled at them, making Leah send a growl in their direction before finally getting off of her friend and giving her a hand, yanking her up standing.
"What kinda greeting was that?", Talae raised an eyebrow, and brushed the dirt off her butt and had Leah help her with her back.
"I am so glad you're here, the few times we've had to hold these things I've been thee only female for miles", she shuddered, "do you know what that's like? 10 to 15 adolescent, wolven, aggressive and inappropriate guys in one spot? Do you!".
"Jeese, calm down woman, I'm here now okay?", she shook her head laughing, walking with Leah towards Jacob, Sam and Jared.
That earned her a punch on the shoulder. She took a look around the clearing and the immediate surrounding forest and realized she probably was the oldest of the pups, though one could hardly call her a pup as she had experience that was only exceeded by Sam, Jared and possibly Paul.
Thank god he's not here, she thought with a roll of her eyes. She didn't think she could handle Paul's teasing and hissy-fits that weekend.
"Hi guys", she greeted with a smile, coming to a stop before her 'elders'.
"Hey Tee", Jared smiled back politely.
"Hey Talae", Sam said in all his seriousness, only sparing her a half-smile and a curt nod, which she returned, "Alright, now that we're all here, let's get to it".
He turned from them and started towards the middle of the clearing, Jared in tow. Jacob smiled at her and jerked his head for her to follow. She fell into step behind him and Leah, and noticed that all the other pups were migrating towards the clearing too.
Sam waited to speak until he had everyone's attention. The forest was eerily quiet, only a few birds dared to sing at all as they waited for him to address the lot of them.
It was going to be a long weekend.
"Oh god, I am so beat", Seth plopped down beside Talae on a log by one of the bonfires in the clearing. Leah snorted at her little brother's exclamation and continued to chew on her roasted wild goose leg.
But Talae had to agree with him, the day had been anything but relaxing. Sam and Jacob had worked them all to the bone. They'd been hunting, running patrol routes, emergency and normal, sparred with each other and Jacob had even 'stolen' one of the Cullen boys' shirts, making them hunt Leah half the day, since she was the second fastest, tracking scents and following prints. And on top of that they'd have to catch their own dinner.
Which was why Seth had a pair of rabbits dangling from his left hand. How he planned to cook them, she had no idea. Maybe he'd just phase and eat them raw?
"Yeah, I mean, I knew this weekend wasn't going to be all child's play, but come on", Talae took another bite of the wild goose she and Leah shared, "I'm a supernatural killing-machine, and all I wanna do is go cuddle up in my tent and sleep till Monday".
"Then you might want to go to bed now, 'cause I think they plan on getting you all up by 7 in the morning", Leah spoke, throwing an almost clean bone over her shoulder, starting on a wing.
Seth groaned, followed by Embry as he sat down across from them, "What? Aw I'm gonna die".
Leah snorted again, "whiners". They threw her a quick glare, but kept their comments to themselves.
Talae chuckled, "Embry, is that a lunchbox?" she said, pointing to the plastic box in his lap.
Embry grumbled, "yeah, well, my mom packed it. Since she doesn't know about the wolf thing, she thought I'd be needing it. Amazing she even let me go to start with". He opened the little case and pulled out a turkey sandwich, two apples and two sugar-cookies.
Seth almost fell backwards laughing, "How the hell are you going to get a full stomach out of that? You'll be out hunting by midnight!".
Embry scowled at him and pointed at Seths rabbits, "Yeah, well at least my food is cooked, how are you going to eat that exactly?".
The young wolf stopped laughing and frowned, looking at his catch. "Huh, didn't think this through, did I?".
They all laughed at him, Talae poking him in the ribs, "Nice going, Bear Grylls".
He sighed, hunching his shoulders in defeat, "I'll just go phase then, don't mind me". He got up and trudged into the forest to consume his dinner raw.
"I swear, he's adopted", Leah muttered, going back to munch on her wing, "this could really use some seasoning".
"I'll bring the barbeque sauce next time", Talae rolled her eyes, chuckling as Leah shoved her lightly.
It wasn't long after that she stumbled her way back to her tiny tent. She yawned loudly as she struggled to unzip the zipper on the 'door'.
"God friggin' dammit, just friggin' open", she murmured as the darn thing got stuck on the thin fabric of the sides. She finally tugged it loose, falling into the tent as she tripped over the edge.
She made a great 'oomph' sound as she landed on her stomach onto her duffel bag.
"Smooth Tee, you'd be great at ballet", a voice chuckled very near her. Too near to not be in the tent with her.
She jerked up with a gasp, almost emptying the poor bag with her flailing. How had she not noticed his presence? His scent was everywhere and you'd have to be blind to not seeing his tall form sitting with legs crossed in the corner of that tiny tent.
"Jacob? What the frick dude? You almost gave me a heart attack", she breathed, righting herself to sit across from him, crossing her legs too, mimicking him.
"Sorry", he smiled sheepishly, rubbing the side his neck nervously.
She blinked a few times, silence settling in between them, as she willed her mind to quit napping and wake the hell up.
"What are you doing in my tent?", she finally asked, frowning confused at him.
He sighed, "I... I need to talk to you about something.". He was all tense and uneasy. Her frown deepened. Earlier that day he'd been all business, falling into the leader-role as if he was born to do it. Which he probably was. This nervous, fidgety Jacob was kind of new to her. She'd caught a glimpse of him when they first kissed, but not since.
"Okay... so, talk?", she cocked her head to the side, trying hard to focus her attention on him and not on jumping his bones, her tired body now alert and yearning. Oh, bad bad thoughts, go away...
"It's not that easy", he smiled slightly, running his hand through his hair. She bit her lower lip. He just looked so delicious.
She scooted closer, wiggling her butt and legs until their knees touched. Leaning forward till their faces were inches from each other, she spoke as softly as she could, "take your time".
His eyes shifted between hers and her mouth a few times. His tongue darted out to wet his lips, "you're not exactly making it any easier".
She smirked at him, her eyes heavily lidded, "who, me? I'm not doing anything". She wanted him to break, the knot in her stomach coiling, pulsating heat instead of the usual tugging her in his direction. She could see his resolve wavering as she inched their faces closer, putting her hands on his knees to pull herself forward.
He was breathing through his mouth now, his body mimicking her movements on its own accord, "uh-huh, right".
She was a little stunned by her actions, her mind and body working together against her. She had never been the kind of girl that got down and funky with the hotest guy available, she had always been a personality-comes-first-type. But she also like Jacob for who he was. They went great together, she'd admit it, sure. And right now that little voice telling her this was way too soon to feel this way and that she was a skank was crudely shoved back and stood unattended.
She wanted him to touch her, to feel her, she needed him to need her. But she was also a patient person, she wanted him to make the first move, wanted to temp him, wanted to toy with him a bit.
Licking her upper lip, slowly and deliberately, she looked him right in the eye. Something in them snapped then, just what she'd been waiting for; she had him right where she wanted him. He leaned the last few centimeters forward and touched his lips to hers, softly, testing the waters. She gently cupped his face with her hands and kissed him back eagerly, but tenderly. Mmh, so sweet.
She loved the feel of his skin beneath her hands and the way he kissed her and the way he made her feel inside. The ache hummed appreciatively in her gut, coiling tight, setting her insides on fire.
They pulled back for air, but stayed so close they still shared a breath or two. His eyes searched hers. They were both panting now and she was glad she still was in her training bra and sweats. And she was most pleased to see he hadn't bothered with a shirt, sitting in front of her bare footed and in cut-off shorts only.
He apparently found what he was looking for as he crashed his lips back to hers, forcing her back as he leaned forward. When his tongue flicked her bottom lip for entrance, she let him in hungrily and tangled her own against it. She moaned into his mouth and her arms went around his neck, pulling him impossibly closer. He leaned forward till his hand hit the tent-floor behind her and crawled over her, lowering her gently down on her back. He kneeled between her legs as she fit them snuggly around his waist.
She tried to keep quiet, not entirely oblivious to the fact that they were surrounded by wolves with hyper-sensitive hearing. Luckily she could still hear laughing and talking, indicating that most were still up and in the clearing, making noises that would hopefully drown out their frantic breathing and passionated sounds.
He bit her lower lip, making her moan into his mouth instinctively, pleasure surging through her system. A hand stroked down her side, going all the way from her ribs to below her hip, trailing liquid fire wherever his fingers touched her skin.
Pulling away for a much needed breath of air, he pressed wet kisses down her jaw line and neck, finding that sweet spot in the juncture of her neck and shoulder that made her squirm and whine in bliss. He hummed against her skin, rocked his hips firmly against her, making his approval of her vocals known. She moaned again, bringing her hands down to trace the conture of his muscled chest and stomach, making him sigh against her shoulder.
She took the chance to be cheeky, "Didn't you want to talk?". Her hands ghosted over his hips and the beginning of the dun feather-like happy-trail, drawing a husky moan from his lips that she absolutely loved hearing.
He mumbled something against her neck, caressing her hip with one hand, then nuzzled against her collarbone. She giggled lightly as his breath tickled her. He pulled back and looked her in the eyes.
"You are so beautiful", he murmured, brushing her bangs clear of her face.
She blushed profoundly. That was new.
"Are you drunk?", she asked, not really sure she heard him right.
His face fell against her neck, "you make me drunk". She laughed, but stopped abruptly to moan instead as his hand trailed up from her hip, ghosting over the side of her breast as he suckled on her sweet spot. She arched her back, tightening her legs' grip around his waist, grinding against him. He growled in her ear, sending shivers down her spine and the coil in her gut clenched in anticipation.
She started tracing the rim of his shorts with a nail, slightly scraping against his skin, causing him to groan and bite her shoulder. She grinded against him again, his jaw clenching tighter on her shoulder, letting out a growl. Pain mixed with pleasure and she moaned digging her fingernails into his lowerback.
He let go of her shoulder, lingering his mouth over the faint bitemark, breathing heavy. She didn't move for a second, curious to see why he stopped, even more curious to find out why he didn't continue.
Then, the heat of his skin on hers was gone, his breath on her neck vanished. Her body cried out in frustration the moment it realized he was on the other side of the tent. She could practically hear the little succubus-like voice on the inside of her skull going 'Nooooooooooo!'.
She blinked once, twice, then propped herself up on her elbows, staring at him with a most scrutinizing stare.
"Okay, look, this is not why I came in here, and if I don't stop now I might not be able to", he rambled, shifting his eyes everywhere but her, "and that's not how I want this to be".
What? All she got from that was "let's be friends" when she was pretty sure he was happy sucking her face just a moment ago. He looked genuinely nervous though, so she tried not to jump into conclusions. She just waited, impatiently, for him to continue. If there was anything that could force a person to talk, it was silence.
She kept scrutinizing him with her eyes, cocking her head to the side.
His eyes finally landed on hers when he realized she wasn't going to speak and he visably gulped.
"Okay, I sound like an idiot", he sighed, running a hand through his hair anxiously. She snorted, but scracked a lop-sided smile at his sudden vulnerability - it was cute.
He looked at her with hope in his eyes and scooted a bit closer to her again, returning to the position they started out in - knees touching, legs crossed -, taking one of her hands in his, playing with her fingers as he spoke, "I... I just want this to go the right way. I really care about you, and I don't want to.. for lack of a better word, rush things".
Rush? Are we dating now? When did that happen? Wait.. does this mean we're...?, she thought, a confused frown appearing on her face.
He noticed, before downcasting his eyes and focusing on her fingers, "Not that we're.. Oh, this is so not easy...".
Does that mean he want's to? Do I want to? She mentally smacked herself; now that was a dumbass question.
She leaned forward and kissed him softly. He kissed her back just as tenderly.
"What is it that you want Jake?", she asked when she pulled away, seaching his eyes for answers.
He looked like his brain was working on highest performance level possible, before he cracked a goofy grin, "You called me 'Jake'".
She frowned at him, not quite understanding what he said at first. Then she blushed and smiled, and he reached out to cup her cheek with his hand, smiling back at her, "You never call me Jake".
"Well, Ja-cob is your name, and I figured I hadn't known you long enough to have the right to call you anything else...", she murmured, closing her eyes briefly, enjoying his hand on her cheek.
He let out a short laugh, "Silly girl". He pecked her lips one more time before his demeanor grew anxious once again.
"What I want is you, Tee", he whispered as she leaned into his hand, not taking her eyes off of him, even as her cheeks reddened furiously.
"But I also have something very important to tell you. I should have done this from day one...", he started, staring down at his fingers playing with hers, again avoiding her gaze. He took a deep breath before speaking, "okay, so, have you ever, um, heard of, uh, imprinting?".
She thought hard for a moment, "yes". His eyes lit up with hope, but faded when she continued, "I heard Leah and Seth talking about it once or twice, but I don't know what it means. Why?".
She had heard it, no idea what it meant. She knew what the dictionary said about the word 'imprinting' or 'imprint', leaving a mark, marking, impressioning, etc. But she had a feeling it meant something else to them - the wolves. She'd not exactly been curious though, had plenty of chances to ask one of her 'brothers' or Leah about it. But she thought that if she was meant to know, then it would come to her eventually. This seemed to be that time.
"Right. Anything else?", she shook her head 'no', "okay. Uhm, right. Okay, so, you've noticed how head-over-heels in love Sam and Emily are?".
Now that he mentioned it, yes, she had seen how absorbed those two could be with each other, no matter how many people were in the room with them. To be frank, she was quite jealous of what they had, what she wished she had, hoped to have some day. But she was also filled with joy and hope because of them, knowing that love so pure could indeed exist in a world full of monsters.
She nodded her head 'yes', urging him to continue, "right. That's imprinting".
Cocking her head to the side, she shot him a confused frown, "imprinting is... love?".
He took a quick peek at her face, before sighing with a small smile, "Yes, in a manner of speaking. It's a thing we wolves go through when we meet our.. uhm, our 'significant other'", he could feel the confusion rippling off her in waves, so he continued, "and by that I mean soulmate...".
Soulmate? Huh. That would most definently explain Sam and Emily's behavior. She'd never seen anyone be so into each other. That they were meant to be together due to some universal plan made perfect sense.
Wait... why was he explaining to her about imprinting to her then?
"And I know that sounds wierd and possibly unbelievable, but that's the simplest explanation there is. It affects the wolf the most, as in Sam would do anything for Em, the need to protect her and provide for her is overwhelming. All he cares about is making her happy. It affects the imprint less, but that doesn't mean they don't feel equally strong about each other".
She nodded, then asked, "how does it happen then?". Now she was curious.
"It's like love at first sight, only that's a gross understatement. It happens when your eyes meet for the first time. Sam describes it as if the whole universe is tilting, gravity is switched off and then nothing else but the imprint matters, a strong, permanent bond ties you to that person and you need them in your life as much as you need air".
Little by little the puzzle pieces clicked together in her head. Memories from the day she met him sprung to the forefront of her mind. The way her gut twisted and all noise disappeared, her surroundings fading for a minute when she'd looked into his eyes, the way she felt unrestrictedly bound to him.
Oh boy...
"So what you're saying is...", she started, waiting, praying for him to continue.
"Is.. that I think I imprinted on you", his voice was no more than a whisper, though she heard him quite clearly. His eyes finally landed on hers, trying to read her reaction.
He imprin- wait what?
"You did what?", she couldn't stop the words from bursting out of her.
He cringed slightly, "did I also mention that it's entirely uncontrollable who you imprint on?".
Was he saying what she thought he was saying? "I'm your imprint, your soulmate?".
He nodded slowly, "yes".
"So, it's not normal for the imprint to feel the 'universe shifts' thing?", she bit her lip. God, what was wrong with her now?
He frowned, "no, not that part anyway", his frown deepened, "You're taking this whole 'destined to be together' thing rather well".
She blinked, trying to shift her focus and understand what he was saying. She grinned goofily, knowing she looked like an idiot, but couldn't bring herself to give a flying fuck.
"You like me", she sung, bumping her nose against his.
He grinned, nuzzling his nose to hers, "Yeah, I guess I kinda do".
"Good. 'Cause I kinda like you too", she grinned back, but remembered what she had to say in the first place, and she took another bite at her lower lip, "but, uhm, what, just in theory, would you say if I say I think I imprinted on you too".
His grin turned into a grimace, "what?".
She shot him a nervous lop-sided smile, "yeah, I guess I kinda felt the whole gravity's gone thing too...".
He looked confused to start with, but soon a smile tucked at his lips, "well, I don't know how that's possible, but it's not exactly a bad thing, is it?".
She returned his smile, "no, I guess not. It just means we're each others soulmates, that makes sense, right?".
"Right. Though I think I have to consult the council about it, but whatever", his hand tangled in her hair, bringing her closer, "for now, come here".
He kissed her then and she kissed him back with full vigor. But as the campsite grew quieter around them, she forced herself to pull back before things got hot(ter) and heavy(er), reminding herself that she was not that kind of girl.
"You better evacuate my tent, Mr. Black, before people start talking", she smirked, though she was panting from their excursions.
He moved on to her neck, suckling and nibbling on her skin, "but I don't want to".
"Hey hey hey dude, you might be my soulmate but I'm not going to let you into my pants for just that. You have to work for it mister", she grabbed his head in her hands, pulling him away from her, though her body was screaming bloody murder because of it. She laughed when he pouted, "you look ridiculous".
He snorted and rolled his eyes at her. He turned his head and kissed her palm, "If you wish dear, then I'll leave".
"It's not that I want you to, but you need to anyway, okay? Let's see where this whole imprint thing is going first, and let's not rush things", she tried mimicking his previously spoken words, hoping he got the gist of it.
Because she was not going to just let him waltz into her life like that, no sir. She had bad experience with things like that. And though she knew he was purehearted in comparisson to so many others she'd let into her life, she wasn't going to let the universe decide on her behalf. She had a choice, because you always had a choice. Even if that choice kills you, you still have one. So she was not going to fall head-over-heels for Jacob Black just yet. Or at least keep him from second base for a while.
He nodded, smiling, "right. Okay, then I guess I'd better go get some shut-eye. And you better too, if you think today was hard, then you're sorely mistaken".
He smirked when she groaned, "oh come on!".
He kissed her chastly on the mouth before making his way out of her tent. He stood outside it, holding the zipper when he blew her another kiss, "goodnight Tee".
He zipped up the tent, not waiting for a response and she could hear him walking away. She sighed and snuggled into her sleeping-bag, bunching up a hoodie for a pillow. Hugging it tight, she smiled and murmured, "goodnight Jake", before her eyes closed and she fell into a dreamless sleep.
R&R Please, reviews inspire me and makes me write faster!