Everything Is Different Now
Chapter 15
April 11, 2013
Frederick Estate, Boulder, Colorado
6 P.M.
Jacob Black was losing his mind. That had to be it.
He was sitting on the wall of the koi pond just watching the big fish meander lazily through their
liquid atmosphere. Bubba swam up to him and Jacob stuck his finger into the water for him to nibble
on. The big orange and black fish looked disgusted that Jacob wasn't offering him any real food and
turned to take another lap around pool.
The word 'bombshell' continued to bounce around in Jacob's mind. Other words and phrases fought
for honors of 'first in line for Jacob's undivided attention'. The list went something like this:
Alpha
Ultimate
Chosen One
Worldwide leader
Shapeshifter community
Vampire obliteration
It was too much. One day he was continuing to talk with his psychologist and learning to deal with
the bad breaks he's faced in his life. She was helping him by being his shrink, full of understanding
and wisdom, and by being his soulmate, full of love and promise. The next day, today, he was the
leader of a planet full of shapeshifters who were ready to rise up as one and defeat their mutual
enemy and the enemy of all humankind. Yeah, it was too damn much. He'd needed some alone
time. Some quiet to try to gather his wildly scattered thoughts. Thank God for the serenity of the
Colorado Rockies and this place. Again he thanked the Spirits for bringing him together with Laura.
She was a miracle.
Jacob felt her approach and held out his hand without even looking behind him. She slipped one
hand into his and her other threaded its fingers through his hair and began to massage his scalp. He
leaned his head back into her, rubbing into her softness and tender love.
"Mmmm, that feels so good. I'll give you 20 years to stop."
"Okay, deal. What would you like me to switch to in 20 years?"
"Hm, let me think...shoulders?"
Laura moved both of her hands to his shoulders and began to knead the knotted muscles there.
"Hey, has it been 20 years already? Time really does fly doesn't it?"
"I'm just practicing so I get it right when the time comes."
Jacob couldn't stand it anymore and turned with blinding speed, reaching around Laura's waist and
drawing her onto his lap. Her yelp of surprise and laughter warmed his heart and brought a smile to
his lips. Then he mashed his lips to hers and kissed her senseless. When he raised his head to look at
her, her eyes slowly opened to him sparkling with love and devotion. All he could ever want.
"You always get everything right honey. I wouldn't worry about it. But anytime you want to practice
on something like that, or something a tad more intimate, you just let me know. I'll sacrifice myself
to be your guinea pig."
"Sacrifice yourself? You are the most selfless and generous man I've ever known. You give too
much."
She kissed his lips again and nipped at his chin.
"Jacob, we should be serious for a minute. Are you going to be able to process all that you've learned
this evening? You took everything Barney and Phillip had to say so calmly. It's not my assignment
and I'm having trouble coming to grips with everything I've learned."
"You know Honey, I think I'll be okay. It's not like I've never learned some piece of fantastical
information about my life or my destiny. As long as I keep things in perspective and have help from
Barney and Phillip and have you with me, I think I can handle almost anything life throws at me. I'll
just have to wait and see what comes at us and deal with things one challenge at a time. What about
you? You have some part to play in all this and we don't even know what that is. Yet. Are you okay?"
"I am. It's the same for me Jacob. As long as I have my support system, my family, and especially as
long as I have you, I can take on any problem that comes our way."
"Well, okay than. If we're both so unbelievably well adjusted, what are we doing out here? Let's head
for the boudoir and get in some serious snuggling."
"Yessir Alpha Sir!"
"Oh don't even try!"
2:00 A.M.
LPOV
I was sleeping soundly, dreamlessly, wrapped in the arms of the most wonderful man I've ever
known. My relationship with Jacob was beyond anything I could have imagined and had utterly
changed my life. My view of my future was inescapably altered and now traveled in a new direction
and included my adopted family plus one. Jacob Black had originally been the center of my
professional world. He was now the center of my entire world, professional, personal, emotional. We
still had some ground to cover. He had come so far emotionally and mentally and yet there were
lingering pockets of pain, fear and sorrow which I had not learned existed. That was about to change
very dramatically.
One second, I was warm, safe and content. The next, I was being squeezed unmercifully by a rock
solid muscular arm and a tear-dampened face was buried into the crook of my neck. I tried to loosen
his grasp without waking him. He was murmuring pleas of help into my hair while choking with
unconcealed fear, his breathing ragged and stressed. I could feel and hear his heart pounding rapidly
in his chest. I reached a hand up behind my head to stroke his face gently, trying to calm him.
"Jacob, baby wake up. Can you hear me? Jacob? It's okay now. Wake up. It's alright."
"You have to help me, please. I can't stand it any longer. So many years. It hurts so much."
"I'm right here, Jacob. What hurts? Tell me where it hurts." And then I thought...!
"Is that you, my Wolf?"
To my complete astonishment, he answered me.
"No, my dearest heart. That is Jacob. That is your love. That is your mate. I cannot help him
with this. You must see to him."
I was stunned, for more than one reason. First I was shocked that the Wolf would address me so
suddenly. I took no notice that he had addressed me within my own mind. Then I was amazed that
he would truthfully tell me where I needed to direct my attention. This was my Jacob, my dearest
one. Whatever was causing him to call to me in his disturbed dreams; I must be ready and step
forward to comfort him.
"My Wolf, I will take care of him."
"I'm here Jacob. I'm here. Tell me."
"My heart. My heart hurts. My head. It hurts everywhere."
"Wake up babe. You need to let me go so I can turn to see you."
"No! I can't! It'll hurt more."
"It won't hurt more. Just let me turn over. Okay? Please?"
"She hurt me so bad. They hurt me, too. They didn't care. They tied me down. They didn't care!"
"Who hurt you Jacob? Tell me who hurt you."
"Bella."
"Oh."
"The cage people. They hurt me."
"I know they did. They can't hurt you anymore."
"Renesmee hurt me."
"She didn't mean to. You know she didn't know. She was just a baby."
"So wrong. It was all so wrong."
"I know it was wrong Jacob. You did the right thing by leaving. You had to leave."
"I was lost."
"I know. But Jacob you must believe me, you're not lost now."
"Laura found me."
"Yes, I did. And I'm glad."
"I need her...s-so...m-much."
"I know you do. She needs you too."
"I'm t-trying as h-hard as I can. I need help. I need her. I n-need Laura."
His deep voice was strained by the fear constricting his throat. It tore at my ears and then at my
heart. By this time Jacob had loosened his grip around me enough that I was able to squirm around
to face him. His eyes were still closed as I knew they would be, though tears streamed from them
still. He would never let himself show such vulnerability if he'd been awake. In spite of his past
trials, he was one of the strongest people I had ever known.
His face was thoroughly wet and his features were pulled down in such sadness that my heart lurched
in my chest. This man and his Wolf had turned my world upside down with their love, their honesty,
their lust for life. And yet, Jacob's sorrow was overwhelming him because he still considered his life
to be incomplete. The tears collected in my eyes and began to drip to the pillow as understanding
flowed over me. His yearning for me was consuming him. His needs and wants were weakening him
to the point that his past was continuing to intrude into his subconscious, causing him pain,
frightening him.
And I was responsible. And only I could fix this. Only I could repair the damage, once I had removed
the reason for his suffering. I began to stroke his cheek, placing soft kisses on his lips, eyelids and
chin, swallowing hard to steady my voice.
"Jacob? Wake up baby. It's okay. I'm here."
After several moments and more kisses and more soft urging, he opened his eyes to me and
addressed me sleepily.
"Laura? Baby, are you alright? Why are you crying, honey? What's wrong?"
"I need you Jacob. Please, I need you now."
"Y-you need me?"
"I need you Jacob. I need to feel you. I need to give myself to you. I can't wait any longer."
"Oh honey. Are you sure?"
"Yes I'm sure, Jacob. Please, please. I need you now. Please make me yours."
"My sweet baby. I will. I'll take you into my heart right now."
He began to cover my face with kisses, our tears mingling. He whispered words of love, passion and
devotion into my ear, many of them in his native language, as he peppered my neck with touches of
his lips and tongue. He wrapped his hand under my knee and pulled my leg high over his hip as he
pressed his hardness tightly into my center. His hips moved into my body as his hands splayed
across my back holding me against him firmly. He gently slipped himself into me, tentatively
pushing into my most intimate spot finding me wet and ready for him. He moaned into my hair
when he sensed my heated need and then lifted his head to look into my eyes, holding my gaze
captive in his passion. We never broke the contact as he pushed deeply into me, each of us gasping at
the sensation of fullness and completion.
"Oh baby. You're so tight, like a glove made just for me."
"Jacob, it feels as if you're the one that's always been meant for my body, my heart, my soul. I love
you."
"I love you too, Laura. You were made for me honey. No one could be more perfectly fitted to me."
We began to move together. Our rhythm was syncopated instantly. Our breathing was matched.
Our heartbeats fell into perfect sync. Jacob never took his eyes from mine while he brought my body
to heights I never dreamed existed. He rolled me to my back and hovered over me for only a moment
until my ankles crossed at the small of his back. Propping on his elbows, he clasped his hands around
either side of my head, holding me there while his tongue again plundered my mouth and his thrusts
increased in strength and speed. Beginning to dip his hips on each stroke, he drug his pelvic bone
across my sensitive bud and reached into my deepest recesses, tapping against that magic spot.
JPOV
If this was a dream, I never wanted to wake again. My sweet girl woke me with tears of need spilling
from her beautiful blue-green eyes. We had been together for almost a month since she'd met my
wolf face to face and I was struggling but determined to hold myself in check until she was ready for
our relationship to move to the next level. I wanted her so much. My body ached for her, my heart
ached for her. Holding her while we slept was sweet torture and I didn't know how long I could hold
out, but I was here for the long haul, waiting for my imprint to be comfortable and ready for me, for
us.
There had been no inkling that tonight I would be awakened in the wee hours by a woman begging
me to take her and make her my own. If someone had asked me today if I would belong to Laura
body and soul, and she to me, by the morning, I probably would have chuckled at them and said it
didn't seem likely. I was telling myself not to worry, that it would happen all in good time. But my
wolf was growing increasingly restless and my body's urges were gaining the upper hand on my
control.
And yet, here we were. We teetered precariously on the edge of a mind and body-shattering orgasmic
joining. Laura woke me begging me to take her right then. She assured me that she was certain and
she needed me to make her mine in every way, right now. I held her, kissed her, whispered sweet
words of love to her. She was beyond ready for me, the scent of her arousal heavy in the air. I could
feel the heat and moisture from the apex of her thighs.
As we lay on our sides facing each other, she smoothed her cool hands up the heated skin of my chest
to my face. She didn't make a sound until I gripped her leg and pulled her moistened heat to my
groin, pressing just my tip into her. She moaned softly then let out a tiny cry of pleasure as I inched
into her, fully seating myself into her sweet depths.
Oh God! Her tight walls enveloped me in a warm cocoon, molding around me from tip to base. I
stilled myself for a few precious seconds and shuddered with the overwhelming sensation of being
consumed by her love and her body. The feelings shooting through my veins would have this joining
over before it had barely begun. I fought down the explosion that was threatening to overwhelm me,
forcing myself to back away from the edge.
Slowly I began to move within her. She was wrapped around me inside and out and I was determined
to meld us into one being. I wanted to bury myself in her and never leave. I was fulfilling a destiny I
never knew I had and fulfilling a dream I'd only known about for a few weeks but I was connecting
myself to this incredible woman forever.
She had crossed her ankles behind me and was flexing her leg muscles in time with my thrusts,
forcing me deeper into her with each push. I slipped my hands behind her shoulders, hooking my
fingers over them to hold her steady as my pumping threatened to push her into the headboard of our
bed. Our bed. If it wasn't before, it always would be now. I added an extra gyration of my hips to
bring her to the edge with me if not before me. I wanted to watch her come undone underneath me
this first time. I was ready to send her into the stratosphere when I began to feel a prickling
sensation in my mouth.
As a portion of my brain remained focused on the woman wrapped around me, another part yielded
to the wolf. My canine teeth began to elongate and I could feel my mouth watering at the prospect of
tasting my love's life's blood. I could literally feel as well as see the amber haze as my eyes heated,
accommodating the wolf's presence and as our shared climax washed over us, I bit down into the soft
flesh at the corner of her neck and shoulder. My lady cried out, not in pain but in ecstasy as her body
clenched itself tightly around me, squeezing my seed from my release as I tasted the warm, sweet
metallic rush of her blood flowing over my tongue.
Our bodies remained, stiffened, frozen in place, clasped together in the throes of our joining. Our
breathing was slow in falling back toward a normal pace. Our hearts, too, were reluctant to reduce
their mutual, pounding tattoo. As I began to be able to see past the golden mist that filled my vision,
I felt my teeth drawing back, making little sucking sounds as they left Laura's skin. She whimpered
and I began to lick the wounds gently, soothing her delicate shoulder while attempting to soothe her
fears at the harshness of her claiming.
"Laura, honey, are you alright? Baby, I didn't know! I didn't realize that the wolf would take over
like that, without warning. Please forgive me for hurting you."
"Jacob, I'm okay. You didn't hurt me. I know you didn't know that would happen. I know you
would've told me first if you'd known. And I don't know why, but after just the initial puncture, it
didn't hurt. It really didn't. All I could really feel was you inside me, loving me."
"And it felt like nothing I'd ever dreamed of honey. But baby, I'm so sorry. That's the marking and
claiming that I had told you about the other day. I never imagined it would be almost involuntary for
me. Laura, you're mine now. Really mine. I've tasted your blood, your essence. We are forever
joined. I'm yours."
"That's what I wanted. It's what I needed. I'm sorry it took me so long to come to you."
"Never apologize for that. I wanted to give you all the time you needed. I wanted to give you a
chance to be comfortable with the wolf."
"I am. More than comfortable, I need him as much as I need you. I don't know how to explain how
that feels."
"That's okay honey. I think I know exactly how it feels. His need for you is separate from my needs,
but it's just as strong, just as deep."
"Hold me Jacob. Please."
"Always Laura. Always."
The Alpha and his mate wrapped themselves in the warmth of their love and each other. The Wolf
watched as they snuggled together like puppies. His biggest obstacle was surmounted. The human
half of the Ultimate Alpha was tied forever to his mate and was happy and contented. Now that his
mate was part of the equation and was there to protect them and enhance their powers, they could
face the daunting task coming at them with the force of a freight train. It would not be easy, but the
enemy would be vanquished and would hardly even have time to guess what had hit them. The
countdown had begun.