A/N: Heyo guys! Sorry this took a while, I'll try to have the next one out tomorrow or the day after. I'm kind of sad. I check my email quite literally fifty million times a day to see if I have any reviews or favorites or anything but I haven't had much in the past few days. :( So please feel free to review! Or alert or favorite if you wish. I'll even accept bad reviews, I'd just like to hear you guys' opinions to see if I'm doing okay. _
Oh, and thanks to Eclipsia Black! I really enjoyed your review and the story you gave me. When I went to see New Moon with my mom I was so embarrassed. The scene came up where Bella cracks her head open (haha, stupid girl) and Jake whips his shirt off all macho-like, and my mom yelled "OH LAWD!" really loudly. XD
Please enjoy!
Chapter 9
I hung around Emily and Sam's house for the rest of the day until Jathan came and picked me up. I could tell that he did not like Jake one bit by the way he constantly glared at him. Jake tried to help me to the car but Jathan told him he could just stay inside, and tried to take me away from him. Jake wouldn't let go, and soon I was being tugged back and forth between them like a rope.
"BOYS! Could you release me, please?" I yelled, infuriated at them for using me as a median in their testosterone match. They immediately dropped my arms but continued glaring at each other. Paul quickly whisked me away and helped me get into the car, chuckling as he glanced back at the two dummies.
"Boy, you have it rough, huh?" he asked, his eyes sparkling with laughter as he buckled me in (which really wasn't necessary, I was weak but not that weak). I stuck my tongue out at him, then remembered something I had forgotten to ask all day.
"Hey, what happened after I left?"
He looked confused for a moment before it dawned on him. He rolled his eyes and sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"Bella said she just wanted to see Jake, but I think she just wanted to torture him more than she already has. I thought he was getting better too," he grumbled. "After you got taken away Sam and the rest of the pack had to basically beat me to death to keep me from ripping that bitch limb from limb. Jake was about to go after you when Seth came running up and said that you had run away and they couldn't find your scent. We split up to find you as fast as possible, because, well, technically Bella isn't over her blood lust yet."
"What?" I asked, my eyes widening. His head suddenly snapped forward and hit the top of the car, and I realized why once I saw Jake standing behind him, has face contorted in anger.
"What the hell was that for?" Paul hissed, his shoulders trembling.
"You weren't supposed to tell her that," Jake growled back. They started yelling at each other until Paul finally dragged Jake to the edge of the woods to do who knows what to him. The rest of the gang had come out to watch all the commotion and Jared patted my head comfortingly.
"Eh, don't worry. Jake's a big boy, he can take care of himself," he said smugly. He nodded at Seth and Seth grinned.
"Ten on Paul?" he asked. Jared nodded and they shook on it. Jathan, who was standing by Leah, grew pale as crashing noises erupted from the forest. We heard a loud yelp before it was silent again. Jake stalked out of the forest holding the hem of his shorts up with one hand and gripping his bleeding right shoulder with the other. He was fuming but smiled as soon as he saw me.
"Good lord, Jake, what happened?" I asked, my jaw to the ground.
He leaned down to kiss me with a smile on his face, cupping my cheek with his non-bloody hand, and luckily Jared was standing close enough to hook a finger through his shorts before they fell down.
"I just kicked Paul's tail, that's what happened," Jake said.
"DID NOT!" Paul's voice yelled from behind a tree somewhere. His head poked out of a bush and waved at us. "Can someone lend me some clothes?"
Sam grinned. "Nope. You're going to sit there and think about what you've done, mister!" he yelled back in a fatherly tone. Seth frowned and smacked a ten dollar bill into Jared's open hand, then stomped into the house.
"Dude, Jake, you need to eat more or something. I'm tired of holding your pants up!" Jared groaned.
"It's not like you all haven't seen me naked before. Do I turn you on?" my boyfriend joked. Jared rolled his eyes.
"No, but I'm sure you don't want your little princess here to witness what a sad disappointment you are here in front of everyone." Jared smirked.
"Whatever dude! Don't hate because you're junk isn't as big as—"
"T-M-I!" I screamed and clamped my hands over my ears. Leah walked over and bashed their heads together, rolling her eyes as she shut the car door. Jathan got in on the other side. I smirked as I caught him glancing at Leah.
"Thanks for taking care of me! I'll pay you back somehow!" I yelled out the window to Emily and Sam. Sam smiled and put his arm around Emily's waist, hugging her close. "Hey, we get our room back now," Emily said seductively to him. Everyone groaned and started walking away from the house. I gave Jake one last, okay fine, three last goodbye kisses before Jathan angrily spun out of the driveway. As we stopped at the end of the driveway to look both ways, I heard Paul yell, "DON'T LEAVE MEEEEEE!"
When I got home Mom, of course, was in an uproar. She flitted around like a hummingbird on crack, ordering Jathan around and forcing me to stay in bed. Jathan heaved the television into my room, Mom carrying the DVD player right behind him.
"What's this for?" I asked, bewildered.
"So you can be entertained while you rest, dear!" my Mom said cheerily. She ordered Jathan to go make me some chicken soup and sat down on my bed.
"Now, honey, I know you have a boyfriend now but you remember what I said about protection, right?"
"Mom, I do not want to have this conversation," I said loudly, covering my ears. She chuckled and patted my hand. "Then what is all that sexy lingerie stuff doing in your drawer?"
"You went through my room while I was gone? Mom that's horrible! Do I not get any privacy?" I shouted, gesturing wildly. She merely smiled. Feh.
"I understand that you're in love and you want to look…presentable to Jacob, but just make sure—"
"MOM. Natalie bought that stuff for me as a gift. She says girls feel prettier and are more confident if they have pretty underwear. Even. Though. NO ONE. Sees it," I grumbled.
"Well how kind of her! I always did like her, she's sort of feisty. Reminds me of myself when I was younger. When I saw your father in that leather jacket I just could not wait to get my hands on him—"
"MA! OUT!" I yelled, pushing her out the door and shutting it. I locked it, only letting Jathan in to give me my soup before locking it again. That woman is secretly a sexual deviant, I just know it. I settled into bed with my soup in my lap and flicked the TV on with the remote, but groaned as I heard a knock on my window. I set my soup down and got up to peek out the blinds. Paul stood outside, covering himself with two large leaves he had probably ripped from the banana tree in Mrs. Jenkins's garden. She was not going to be a happy camper in the morning. I rolled my eyes and opened my window.
"What do you want? And why are you still naked?" I hissed. He flinched.
"It's not my fault! Jacob made me so mad I phased before taking my shorts off and they got ripped to shreds!" he whined. He stuck a leg through the window and was about to climb in when I pushed his head back.
"You naked in my room alone with me, not happening," I growled. He ignored me and just pushed by, walking over to my dresser. I squawked and turned around, but not before his butt covering leaf dropped to the floor while he dug through the clothes. Paul's butt was not something I wanted to see, ever. Okay maybe a little, because between you and me he is pretty buff and it does kind of look nice in tight jeans WHAT AM I SAYING? I heard some shuffling and soon Paul's overheated arms encircled me from behind. I realized that, thankfully, he had found some shorts to put on.
"Thanks baby," he mumbled, kissing my cheek. I struggled to get free but was still too weak, so I opted to stomp on his foot. He cursed and whipped me around to face him, angry at first, and then he paused. He sniffed the air, then grinned, dare I say it, wolfishly.
"Hey babe, when is your next period supposed to be?" he smiled, eye teeth glittering dangerously. I had never noticed how big those things were before. I thought vampires were the ones with scary teeth? I guess it was also a werewolf trait.
"Um, w-why do you ask that?" I stammered, feeling my face heat up. He took another big sniff, his eyes growing dark.
"Just wondering," he mumbled, tucking loose hair behind my ear. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead. I stood frozen in shock as his lips travelled down to my cheeks, my nose, and lingered in the air above lips. Some kind of strangled sound between a moan and a growl breathed past his lips and snapped me out of my daze. I shoved his chest as hard as I could but he was immovable, like a block of human/werewolf sized cement. He hugged me tighter to him as I struggled, and I barely turned my head in time to avoid him kissing me full on.
"Baby, you smell so good," he moaned, biting gently at my neck and pushing me back toward the bed. What the? Even Paul wouldn't normally go this far, and he was the biggest pervert on the planet. I gasped as he flung me on the bed and crawled on top of me, preventing me from moving anywhere. I squeezed my eyes shut and moved my head from side to side until I felt dizzy enough to puke, but hey if that's what it took to get him off me I'd do it. He waited until I stopped, and I opened my eyes to see him staring at me hungrily, his eyes black with desire. He leaned down to kiss me again and I turned my head again, squishing my shoulders up to save my neck from getting attacked.
"Don't be a tease," he mumbled, smiling a little. Okay, this was not Paul Meraz I was talking to here. The guy was seriously possessed or something.
"Paul stop! Wait until Jake finds out about this he's going to kick your butt!" I hissed, trying to shove him off of me again. I prayed to every god known to mankind that that was the remote I felt pressing against my leg.
He nipped at my shirt, dragging it down with his teeth until a little bit of skin was exposed. He kissed the area below my collar bone gently. I gasped and flailed uselessly as teeth sank into my skin, and before I could scream Paul was off of me and being dragged out the window by some unknown savior. I looked down to see myself bleeding a little where he had bitten me, and pulled my shirt up to put pressure on it. I stood up and wobbled over to the window, shaking hand gripping the window pane as I watched a huge wolf, Jacob's wolf, standing with its front paws on Paul's chest. It growled menacingly at him, saliva dripping down from bared fangs. Paul was gasping for air beneath it…him, I mean. It was still hard to believe that creature was Jake. His huge head snapped in my direction as I appeared at the window and he lost the growl, jumping off of Paul to go run behind a bush that barely covered him. I watched him demorph back into a human, his top half anyway. He glared at Paul as he fumbled around behind the bush, putting shorts on I supposed, before he ran to my window and climbed in, shutting and locking it behind him, then pulling the curtains over it. He was panting heavily, shoulders trembling in anger as he looked at me. I gulped.
"Did he touch you? Other than kissing?" he said through clenched teeth. I shook my head and he seemed to calm considerably. He took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around me, his shoulders still trembling slightly. "He'd better be glad I didn't kill hi—" He stopped in the middle of his sentence and took a deep, long sniff, then pulled back until he stood an arms length away from me. His widened eyes were growing darker by the millisecond as he stared at me.
"When is your next period?" he asked suddenly.
"Why does everyone keep asking me this?" I groaned, hiding my face. He moved my hands to my side and held them there.
"Please, I need to know," he begged. I watched his Adam's apple rise and fall as he gulped.
"I-It's um, next week. Should be anyway," I mumbled embarrassingly. He released my hands and continued to stare at me.
"I'd better leave," he said, his voice deep and husky.
"B-but! What if Paul comes back?" I stammered, grabbing his arm. He flinched and bit his lip, then forcefully removed my hand.
"Don't touch me," he growled. I stared at him in shock. What did I do to make everyone act like this? His shoulders shook more and I felt my heart thump pitifully against my chest. He hated me for some reason, I could tell. I tried to reach out to him again but he flinched and smacked my hand away, not even looking at me. Was he mad at me because of Paul? It wasn't even my fault. I tried to get away from him but the brute was too strong, heck he is a werewolf for crying out loud.
Tears pricked my eyes and I turned my back to him to wipe them away, but they kept coming. I knew there was a reason I shouldn't have dated him. I kept telling myself this, but did I listen? No.
I sniffled and jumped as I felt Jake's warm fingers against my shoulder. I looked over at him and he was still an arm's length away, but didn't look angry anymore.
"What's wrong, Ina?" he whispered, his voice gentle. I brushed his fingers off.
"You're mad me," I sniffled. His arms were around me in a heartbeat, crushing me to his chest as I cried. I don't know why I was still crying, obviously he was trying to make me feel better but it felt like there was a gaping wound in my chest. He hushed me and patted my back, laying butterfly kisses on top of my head.
"I'm not mad at you silly, it's just…I can't be near you for too long, okay? You're, um, in heat," he mumbled the last part.
"In what?" I asked, looking into his eyes. He seemed affected by something because he stopped talking and just stared, his eyes growing dark again. "In heat," he whispered. He closed his eyes and took a long sniff of the air, making the same in between sound that Paul had made, only it sounded nicer. Much nicer. The tears stopped as I looked at him in wonder, noticing for the first time that he was very very shirtless and very very gorgeous. His dark skin glistened in the light of the television, goose bumps raised along his skin wherever my fingers touched.
"Ina," he breathed. I looked up at him, gasping when I saw that his face was centimeters from my own. His breath tickled my skin and his eyes rolled back as he took another whiff.
"Oh god," he whispered. He growled, but it was a mix between his normal growl and the wolf one. His eyes flashed back down to my face.
"If I kiss you I won't be able to stop." He bit his bottom lip, his shoulders trembling much more. Stop what? …Oh.
My eyes widened and I pushed him away, with much more ease than I had Paul since he seemed to be somewhat in his right mind. His breath came in short bursts, panting heavily. He backed away toward the window, eyes flickering up and down my body. They stopped just beneath my neck and widened.
"He marked you?" he growled. His nostrils flared as he took big gulps of air to calm himself, his teeth bared slightly as he glared out the window.
"I'll call you. Lock your window," he said, and I jumped at how guttural his voice sounded. He threw himself out the window and I hurried to lock it as I watched him drag Paul away towards to woods. I hoped he didn't kill him. Kind of. I sighed and flopped down onto my bed, suddenly tired. What did he mean, in heat? Wasn't that when dogs got all fruity and stuff? I'm not a dog. He's not…well, in a way…nah, couldn't be. Wait, if I was in 'heat,' as he called it, did that mean that I unconsciously wooed Paul and him to me? I smacked my palm against my forehead and groaned. Major facepalm. When did that become a verb?
To facepalm: the act of hitting one's palm against one's face.
Sentence: I facepalmed when I realized that I wooed Paul and Jake with my previously unknown pheromones.
I shook my head to clear my messed up brain when my phone rang. I didn't recognize the number, but I assumed it was Jake and answered quickly.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Ina. Sorry about earlier," he said. I sighed with relief and leaned against the wall.
"Care to explain to me what was going on?" I asked, glancing at my now cold soup. Oh well, I wasn't that hungry anyway.
He cleared his throat and paused for a moment.
"This is going to be really awkward to explain," he groaned. I rolled my eyes.
"It's something I need to know, right? Come on, spill," I ordered. He took a deep breath and began.
"Okay, so, you know what being in heat is right?"
I nodded, then realized he couldn't see me.
"Yeah, kinda," I answered.
"Well, with animals they go into heat like twice a year when they are ready to, um, mate. It's like when they're most fertile and stuff."
"Yeah, I know that. I thought humans didn't go into heat, they just do it whenever they feel like it?" I mused. He made a choking noise.
"Ack, gross. Yeah, well human women tend to be, um, fertile the week or so before their period. Like more fertile than any other time in the month. And they give off, um, signals I guess?"
"Like pheromones?"
"Yeah, exactly!" he said, excited that he remembered the right word. I scrunched my eyebrows together in thought.
"I thought humans didn't have pheromones? Or at least they couldn't find them."
Jake chuckled.
"Oh believe me, they do. And right now your pheromones are screaming 'mate with me!' to us wolves."
My right eye twitched and I nearly dropped the phone.
"When will it go away?" I hissed.
"Um, when you start your period," he said quietly.
"Meaning, this is going to happen every month for the rest of my life?" I shrieked. He mumbled something unintelligible. I asked him to repeat and he groaned.
"Do I have to?"
"Yes! I didn't hear you the first time."
He groaned again and I heard a loud thunk.
"You have to promise not to be mad at me after I say this, okay?" he said carefully.
"Sure, yeah, I promise," I said, waving my hand in the air. He took another deep breath. Boy, awkward conversations must take a toll on him.
"Yes you'll have to put up with it every month, but only until you…" he mumbled again at the end. I rolled my eyes.
"Come on, just spit it out!" I hissed. I heard him flinch. "I'm sorry," I sighed. "Being tired makes me cranky."
"Oh? You're tired? Well I can just let you go, you know we can finish this conversation tomor—"
"Jake."
"Yes ma'm?"
"Finish."
"Yes'm," he squeaked. It was kind of cute. I imagined him sitting in a chair, all six feet whatever of him, buff, gorgeous, and squeaking. I tried not to die as I choked back a laugh.
"It will last until you mate with your imprint," he said, his voice flat. This time I really did drop the phone. I picked it back up and squished it to my ear to make sure I heard right.
"I have to have sex with you to make everyone stop trying to rape me?"
He choked and coughed for a while before giving a weak, "yes." I couldn't believe it.
"B-but you don't have to do it if you don't want to!" he said hurriedly. "I'm not going to pressure you or anything, I'll just make sure none of the other guys get near you, okay?"
"Oh, I'm not going to want to, believe me," I warned.
"You don't want to do it with me?" he mumbled, sounding like a sad puppy. I facepalmed and felt my face heating up. This conversation was getting more awkward by the minute.
"Not right now, I don't," I answered.
"So maybe you will later?" he mumbled, his voice sounding slightly hopeful. I groaned.
"Maybe."
"Okay!" He was as chipper as a squirrel now. His mood swings were worse than mine, and I was supposed to be the hormonal one. Which reminded me…
"What do you guys do for the rest of womankind? You've got to be on edge all the time, right?" I questioned. Something felt strange inside of me.
"Oh, is that jealousy I hear, my dear?"
Yes that was it, jealousy.
"No."
He chuckled.
"Well, honey, you happen to be special. It's an imprints only kind of thing. You get the attention of the wolves by being an imprint, but you're basically up for grabs until you mate with whoever imprinted on you."
"What happens if an imprint mates with someone that's not their, um, imprinter?"
"Bad things. I don't know what exactly, but it's not good for either of them. So don't do it! Kay?"
"Duh, why would I want to do it with your friends?"
"I don't know. Just saying," he chuckled. I smiled and shook my head. He sounded so cute when he laughed.
"Okay, anything else now that that's out of the way?" I asked.
"Try having this conversation with Sam at sixteen."
I winced, thinking that would probably have to be the most unfortunate thing to happen to anyone. Next to having your mom look at your underwear and then talk about it while your older brother was home and in hearing distance if she wasn't careful.
"Oh! I guess I can tell you about your other imprint powers," he said thoughtfully. I gasped.
"I have powers?"
"Sort of," he chuckled. "Because you're an imprint and have to fend off wolves, you're one of the only humans that can hurt us. No one else can. Bella tried to punch me once and fractured her hand."
"Seriously? Why did she punch you?" I asked, eyes widening. He was quiet.
"I tried to kiss her," he mumbled. The jealously flared up again and I clutched my sheets, taking a deep breath.
"Please don't be mad at me it was a long time ago, way before I knew you and you know I love you and would never—"
"It's okay, silly, I'm not mad at you," I said, smiling while punching my pillow.
"You're not?" he chirped.
"No, it was in the past. As long as you don't do it again," I warned. He laughed.
"So what other cool things can I do?" I asked, trying to shake the jealousy monster off my chest.
"Umm…oh! I can find you anywhere. We have a cool bond between us since you're my imprint. And if you're in danger or feeling lonely—hint, hint—all you have to do is think about me really hard and want me to be there and I can feel it. If you're sad, I'm sad. If you're in pain, whoever did it better be half way around the world. And if you're happy, my world is complete."
I smiled at that last part especially. Who knew such a big, tough guy could be so incredibly sweet? I felt myself glowing with that warm, fuzzy feeling you get after watching a particularly sweet romance movie. I tried to project it out to him too see if it would work.
"Ina? You there? Oh... I made you happy!" he chuckled. I couldn't hold back my grin and said, "affirmative."
A thought struck me.
"Why weren't you able to find me last week?" I asked smugly.
"Because you blocked me out. I can't find you if you don't want me to," he said sadly.
We talked for a little while longer about various things before I felt my eyes drooping heavily with sleep. He warned me not to go near the guys until I started my period, which would be kind of hard considering we all went to the same school and lived in a pretty small town, but I would try my hardest. I grimaced at the thought of another episode like the one with Paul.
"Remember, don't be afraid to hurt us if we do something bad. Break a nose, bite as hard as you can, and knee to the crotch is especially important—"
"I get it, Jake," I laughed. He chuckled and paused for a second.
"I love you, Ina," he breathed. My heart fluttered in my chest, the glowing feeling increasing to a supernova. I wanted to say it back but I wasn't sure if I was there yet. I didn't want to say it and not mean it.
"Thank you, Jake," I said instead.
"It's okay if you don't say it to me. It just means that you'll really mean it when you do finally say it. Plus I can feel you're happy," he said, and I could picture the huge grin on his face. We said goodnight and I settled down under my covers and flicked the television off, feeling the happiest I had been in a long time. However, I suddenly remembered Paul and flinched, reaching for my phone. I wasn't sure how bad he was hurt, considering Jake had dragged him off in wolf form while Paul was still in human form on the ground. Paul had acted like a complete jerk, but it wasn't totally his fault. I dialed his number and waited, only to have it go straight to voicemail. I started getting worried. What if he was out in the forest somewhere, broken and bruised? Emily had said werewolves healed faster than humans but still. He was my best friend, and I didn't want him left defenseless somewhere. I bit my lip, thinking for a moment before I got up and slipped my boots and coat on.
The cool night air bit into the exposed skin on my face and hands as I opened the window soundlessly. I crawled out and shut the window behind me, making sure it was still unlocked. I looked around my backyard before finding a long line in the dirt where Paul's body had been dragged and set off in that direction. It was easy to follow the trail once I hit the tree line. Broken limbs were scattered everywhere. I walked deeper into the forest until I reached a slight clearing. A huge, dark shape lay on the ground in front of me, silver fur illuminated slightly by the scant moonlight. I crept closer and it growled.
"Paul?" I whispered. The shape whined as I put my hand on its shoulder. I flinched and drew my hand back, feeling a warm sticky coating over my palm and fingers. The wolf whimpered but didn't move. I moved around until I was at his back and ran my hands over him to check for other wounds. His huge chest expanded and deflated as he gasped each breath. A part of his chest was poking out oddly, and even from my inexperience I could tell his rib was broken.
"Oh Paul," I whispered, tears starting to pour down my face. He gave a long whine and I crouched down beside his head, stroking his beautiful silver fur. One large golden eye swiveled in my direction, its expression sad. Anger welled up inside of me. I know Jacob was trying to protect me but he didn't have to go this far. Paul whimpered and lifted his head a little, wincing slightly. I hushed him and put his head in my lap. It was heavy, but as long as it was more comfortable for him I could deal with it.
"Paul you need help. Some of your ribs are broken and you're bleeding all over the place," I said quietly, wiping my tears away and sniffling. He looked at me expectantly.
"What? I can't do it," I laughed. "But I know someone who can. Jathan is going to school to be a vet. He's still at my house, I can go—"
Paul cut me off by growling, and I must say it scared me a little even though I knew it was him.
"Don't be stubborn, Paul. You have to get your ribs cracked back into place or they won't heal properly." He growled more as I gathered some leaves as a makeshift pillow and gently slid his head off of my knees.
"I'll be right back, I promise!" I said, patting his head. He snorted and I could have sworn that he rolled his eyes, but it was hard to tell in the dim light.
"You poor puppy," I said sadly. I kissed his furry cheek and stood up, running as fast as I could back to my house to get help.