Chapter 6
Suddenly, a long howl vibrated off the trees outside of Emily's house which broke her and Jake quickly apart.
Jake's heart hammered wildly in his chest and the tingle on his lips remained after kissing her.
"Oh my god," he whispered, "what are we going to do?"
"I don't know, but that was Sam," Emily said. Once again, Jake saw the whites of her eyes as panic seized her.
"Of course, it was Sam," Jake countered. His breathing still labored, but this time it was due to nerves as he filtered his fingers through his hair. It was a nervous habit from when his hair had been long that he hadn't yet figured out how to break.
"Do you think he saw you?" Emily asked,
"Me? You kissed me back!" Jake countered.
"I know." Her teeth found her lower lip, leaving deep marks in her flesh.
Jake sighed and didn't mean to sound like he was blaming her. His mind felt clouded from panic and he needed to think for a moment.
"I don't believe he saw anything, he sounded pretty far away. And most likely he wouldn't have howled from a distance, he would be more likely to barge in and rip my nuts off."
"Jake…" Emily grimaced.
"Regardless, we still have a problem." Jake stood up from the floor and paced back and forth to think of what to do next. He heard Emily's voice ramble to herself as he tried to sort out his own thoughts.
"Jake," Emily said again, shaking him. "You didn't hear me. What's the problem? You know, since Sam didn't see us, he won't find out."
Clearly, she wasn't thinking right, unless somehow she didn't know about the mind link between the wolves, which seemed unlikely. "Seriously Emily?"
Emily sighed and nodded her head. "You are worried about the mind link."
Thankfully she hadn't gone completely insane, Jake released a deep breath. "Exactly! How could I not be?"
"Then just don't think about it."
"Right…" Jake frowned. How could she think she was so easily forgettable? "I want you to not think of an orange and yellow striped hippo."
"What?" Emily scrunched her face in confusion. "Why would I think of that?"
"You are thinking of it right now. It's impossible not to. You can't purposefully not think of something without actually thinking of it."
When Jake had this ill-conceived plan it was in anger and resentment. Though he didn't want to admit it, he never dreamed it could work. He also didn't expect to care about Emily so quickly. What he had with Bella had developed out of a long distance crush and then blossomed during the weeks spent working in the garage. It was his only experience with love and though he didn't feel that for Emily, it was something pretty damn similar.
Did I imprint on her? He wondered to himself.
The only comparison he had on the subject was through Sam and he didn't really want to think about how Sam felt about Emily because it would be a reminder that she belonged to Sam. However, Jake needed answers to what had happened to him.
Still pacing back and forth, Jake closed his eyes and let Sam's memory wash over him. Instantly, his hand landed over his chest as he felt a new cable secure itself around his heart. It didn't just bind him to the earth, but also to Emily. Jake's breath leaped up into his throat as he saw the most beautiful face he had ever seen. Her skin glowed like rays of the sun and her lips were soft and smooth with a hint of gloss. The top half of her mouth matched the bottom as he watched a radiant smile take form. Her eyes were dark brown like rich coffee grounds. The point of her chin and the arch of her eyebrows made her face to appear like a perfect heart.
He would do anything for her. He would be anything for her. Instead of the world spinning around him, all he saw was her. There was no thought of anything less. No doubt, only certainty she was everything he could ever possibly want or need.
Jake's body suddenly stopped as he stumbled into something and then felt two arms around his waist. The instant he opened his eyes, everything in his brain vanished. There was no cable holding him to anything.
He hadn't imprinted.
Relief and guilt swam around inside his gut, playing a twisted game of tag. At the moment, he wasn't sure which emotion would win. Jake didn't want to imprint even if it offered the perfect explanation for his twisted emotions. Instead, he had to accept full responsibility for what he had done.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you," he told her. He stepped back so her arms dropped from his body. Emily's shoulders slumped, and she appeared to be very disappointed. It didn't make sense.
"I get it," she whispered softly.
"No, I don't think you do," Jake took another deep breath, Sam's memory of imprinting still fresh in his mind. "I need to go."
"Be careful out there," Emily said, her eyes filled with tenderness and fear.
"Try not to worry so much, chasing vampires is the cool part of this," Jake grinned, draping one arm across her shoulders.
"If you say so," she turned giving him a hug.
Jake immediately noticed she was tall, for a woman. Her head came almost to his shoulder, which meant she was very close to 6ft tall. He liked it and smiled as he hugged her back. "See ya."
As he left her house, he prepared his mind to phase. Maybe the kiss they shared wasn't a big deal. It hadn't lasted very long and before they were laughing with one another. No harm, right?
It was what he needed to believe to relax his mind. No thoughts of guilt. No thoughts of Emily. Just thoughts of protection and the excitement of maybe being able to tear apart another leech.
He removed the borrowed shorts and within seconds he was on four paws.
Jacob, you were told you had the weekend off, Sam huffed.
Then genius, maybe you shouldn't have howled. Jake rolled his eyes.
I was gathering the other wolves, Sam reasoned.
Ever heard of a telephone? It's this great invention…
Just shut up, Jacob, Paul interrupted.
Jake laughed. So, what's going on?
The red-head came back, but didn't last long, Embry answered.
I think she was looking for the mate we killed, Jared added.
Paul snorted out a laugh. She didn't look for very long.
Go home, Jacob, Sam ordered.
Jake could feel his anger at Sam boiling and didn't care if they knew it. The time was already late, and he felt tired so going home was a good idea. It irritated him how Sam told him to do something Jake would have done anyways.
Great idea, genius! For a second, before phasing out, Jake could feel Embry's disapproval of the way Sam treated Jake. He was thankful for the support. See you later this weekend, Em. Jake said to his friend and then phased out close to his home.
He made it through his first phase without thinking of Emily and honestly it wasn't difficult. Having the distraction of their leech chase was helpful, but one word from Sam and any guilt Jake felt flew from his mind. How could one person drive him insane as badly as Sam?
Once home, Jake checked in with his dad, showered, and went to bed. However, he couldn't sleep as thoughts whirled around inside of his head. Did he really want to keep pursuing Emily? The more he thought about their brief kiss, the more it seemed to him she really didn't mind. She also seemed to be disappointed when he had apologized for kissing her. It made him wonder why. An assumption was made about the imprinting bond being as powerful for the woman as it was the wolf, but what if it wasn't true? He needed to talk to Emily again and get to know her better.
A tired yawn escaped his lips and his eyes fluttered shut. It could have been a second later or hours, Jacob didn't know which, but he heard persistent tapping on his bedroom window and a whispered voice say, "Jake."
What on earth? He thought and left his bed, raised the blinds covering his window and stared into a pale face he knew well. She had one arm over her chest, her hand clenched into a fist. As she continued to tap on the window, her eyes looked around her fearfully. Seeing her breathing rapidly didn't make sense, and he didn't understand why she would be outside his window if doing so made her so scared.
"Bella," he tapped back on the glass which made her jump and a silent screamed was swallowed by a gasp.
"Oh Jake, you scared me."
"You are the one waking me up, and I scared you? Just a minute, come around to the door," Jake told her and saw her leave his window. He assumed she was able to hear him through the glass, and once he opened the front door it took her only a few minutes to have walked around.
"Jake!" Bella grinned and hugged him, which he returned happily.
"What are you doing, Bella?" Jake asked. He took her hand, and he walked easily to the couch. Bella, not so much. Her head bobbled like it was too heavy for her shoulder to carry. She swayed from side to side as her eyes tried to close on her. It scared him to death. Jake reached out and steered her to sit with him on the couch. She sat in an ungraceful plop as her legs gave out from under her. "Hey, are you okay?"
"No. I can't sleep. I'm falling back into that… that place…" Bella didn't finish, but Jake didn't need her too. He knew she was talking about her dark time after Edward left, which he also did not like thinking about. Jake remembered Charlie talking to his dad, trying to get help for her. "I had to see you. Embry said that you were friends with him again, and, you know, some other stuff, and I just needed to hear it all from you."
Jake grinned because he was right and Bella wouldn't listen to anyone, but him. Now was his chance to push her away, but he didn't want to. He opened his mouth to speak and suddenly, it felt like his vocal chords forgot how to function.
What was happening?
He coughed to try to clear his throat, but it didn't help.
It felt like some invisible hand had wrapped their fingers around his vocal chords. It didn't hurt, but was disturbing and extremely annoying. He knew exactly whose hand it belonged to.
Damn you, Sam!
"Jake, what's wrong?" Bella said. She touched his short hair and broad shoulders. He was only wearing shorts and she could tell he had transformed while being too "sick" to call. "Something isn't right, I don't think you were ever sick."
Sam's lack of trust in Jake was backfiring and instead of him being able to say anything convincing he was sputtering like an idiot and practically confirming to her something was wrong. He had to say something whether it be truth or a lie. As he thought about lying, he could feel his throat relax. His answer had been found, of course Sam would want him to lie.
"I was sick Bella. I could hardly move and every part of my body hurt." Okay, so maybe it was only for a day, but it was true and a lie, a half truth. More half truths could be key to unlocking the hold on him which prevented him from communicating normally.
"Okay, but you clearly aren't sick anymore, unless it is this weird fever." She touched his cheek and reached for his forehead, but Jake leaned his head back.
"It's…" Once again Jake couldn't speak. Sam and your stupid gag order. Jake wasn't going to tell her anything he shouldn't, but it was like the wolf in him panicked and wouldn't let him say anything. He took several deep breaths. "I want to explain…" Immediately, he was cut off again and his chest growled in frustration.
"Whoa, what was that?" Bella's eyes widened, and she leaned forward and then back, like she couldn't decide if she wanted to get closer to try to figure it out or to get the heck out of there.
Jake released a deep sigh. "I can't do it."
"Do what?"
"Tell you…" Jake coughed again, "my secret."
"So there is a secret. I knew it!"
Jake tried to nod, but the alpha order affected his body as well and suddenly, he was rigidly still. The only part of him able to move was his chest as it rose and lowered with each breath he took.
"You… do… know… it," Jake said slowly, his whole body shaking as he fought against the order controlling his body. "Just try… to remember. I've already told you… everything."
"When?" Bella asked.
Jake thought about their meeting on the beach and instantly he was released from the order. He smiled. It seemed the order only applied to the wolf secret. "On the beach, you were flirting with me. Remember?" Jake smirked at the memory.
"Yes, I remember," Bella said, her cheek reddening with embarrassment.
"Ha, I knew you were flirting. Quil wouldn't believe me and now owes me five bucks."
"Focus, Jake," Bella shook his arm to capture his attention again. "I don't think my feeble attempt at flirting is your big secret."
Talking in riddles had worked. It also helped thinking about the other events of the day. Jake thought maybe if he wove together bits of the important secret with the mundane then he could continue to speak. "Of course not, my secret is huge," he could feel his body tighten and quickly added, "like your truck. We talked about your truck and how I built it before selling it to your dad."
Bella's eyes blinked rapidly as if she tried to piece together the scattered clues. Unfortunately Jake looked into the most confused face he had ever seen. "I have no idea what you are talking about."
A long howl echoed in the distance. Jake paused and listened. Was he supposed to respond? No, Sam made it clear he had the weekend off. So he decided to ignore the howl, but it felt disturbing how Sam seemed to have a sixth sense about Jake's activities. First it was kissing Emily, and now it was talking to Bella.
Was it possible for Sam to know? Some strange alpha gift? Jake thought about it again. No, if Sam knew about Emily he would have said or done something. Sam was his usual pain-in-the-ass self. Jake decided to return to his original decision and ignore the howl since he was off duty.
Jake reached out and smoothe out Bella's messy hair and then placed each hand on her cheeks. Their eyes locked together as she listened carefully to him. Talking in riddles gave him the ability to speak, but it didn't really help if she couldn't get past the babbling to what he really needed to say.
"Bella, I know you can relate because you have had the same secret. A secret you can't tell anyone, not even me."
Bella's eyes widen as she shook her head. "No, I don't."
Jake broke eye contact with her and his arms fell from his face. He glared at the floor because it was too painful to look at her. She was still protecting them. After they turned her life upside down and left her, she still protected them. "Then listen closely Bella. You came here to hear it from me. We can't be friends anymore."
"Jake, no! I need you!"
"No you don't, you can make other friends. That is all we are anyways."
Once again a long howl could be heard, this time close enough for Bella to hear. She darted her head around for a moment, but then took his hand and threaded her fingers with his. "No, we aren't, Jake. There is something in me that is connected to you in a way that I don't understand. Maybe if we leave, just you and me, we can figure it out."
"Come on, Bella! What is your deal with wanting to live together? As tempting as that may be, I can't just run away. I have responsibilities. And while that was a great attempt at distracting me, Bella, you have a loyalty to a bunch of bloodsuckers that I can't complete with."
Maybe Jake shouldn't have been quite so obvious about knowing what the Cullens were, but he was tired of being vague. Jake hadn't said anything he hadn't already told her.
"What?" She squeaked, jerking her hand from Jake's. "How…?" She shook her head, her eyes rapidly blinking again as she tried to think.
"What made me believe? How did I figure it out? Is that what you are trying to ask Bella?"
She nodded her head, her brain too scattered to give a coherent answer.
"Figure out my secret, and then you will have your answer. In the meantime, I need you to not come here. I can't see you."
"Why not?"
"It isn't safe, especially at night."
"Oh my gosh, you're right. How could I have been so careless? She could have followed me here." Bella leaped from the couch, but didn't take into consideration how weak her legs were and nose dived towards the floor.
"Jeez, Bella," Jake wrapped both arm around her waist and leaned her against his side. "Who is she that you are running from?"
"Victoria, uhm, you don't know her. At least I don't think you do," she paused for a moment to think and shook her head.
"Victoria? Okay?"
Bella shifted to look up at his face, keeping her arm around his waist for balance. "Just know, I'm going to figure this out. I want you back and if figuring out your secret is what I need to do, then I will."
It warmed his heart she still wanted to be his friend. He reached out his hand and wrapped it around her cold, tiny hand. "Good luck, Bells,"
Even being a complete mess from it being the middle of the night, Bella was still beautiful to Jake. He didn't want her to leave, especially not knowing when he would see her again. Before he could talk himself out of it, he pulled her towards him and in an instant she was pressed against his chest.
"Just in case," he muttered, his lips brushing her hair as he spoke. He breathed in her scent and held her close.
"Can't — breathe!" She gasped.
Afraid he was going to hurt her, he quickly loosened his grip on her. She was so fragile, and he left one hand at her waist to keep her steady. Gently he guided her back outside to her truck, opened the door, and helped her inside.
A third time a wolf howled and seemed to be closer than before. Bella shuddered. "You really do have a wolf problem that you should probably check out."
"Yeah, I know. There is a black one in particular that is especially annoying."
"Be safe, okay," Bella warned.
Jake chuckled. "I will. Are you sure you are safe to drive?"
"Yeah, I'll keep the windows down to keep myself awake. Besides, I have a mystery to solve." Bella gave him a determined smile which Jake appreciated.
"That you do."
Jake watched her truck until it was out of sight. He knew he had the weekend off, but three howls seemed a little excessive if it was simply for the other wolves. Besides, if Sam didn't want him included then he could always phase back out, but he felt like he owed it to his brothers to check and make sure everything was alright.
