Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, I just enjoy borrowing her characters for a while.
AN: Thank you to everyone who is reading and reviewing. Each notification lights up my day and I love hearing from you. I reply to all reviews as long as you are signed in so that I can.
Thank you especially to Ptool, Leafy and nickaroos for their in-depth insights into my stories and what's possible/probable in AU. They are all amazing writers and I highly recommend checking out their stories.
I love this chapter but I'm very nervous about how it'll be received. I'm aware I'm stretching canon possibilities to their absolute limit with this development. I think it'll be worth it and I hope you agree.
Wishing
Jake was trying to get me alone which was slightly weird but I was curious enough to allow it. Bella, Fred and Bree were sufficiently engaged training with a few of the wolves that we could have privacy for whatever he wanted to say.
"How bad do I smell to you? Honestly?" Jake asked quietly.
Not what I was expecting, but honestly, "Pretty bad, Jake."
"So much so that being near me for a prolonged amount of time wouldn't be okay?" he pressed.
"I can tolerate the smell, Jake!" I told him, still not sure where he was going with this. We'd spent hours training with the wolves and I thought we'd kept the comments about the smell quite tame considering how pungent it actually was. I'd even gotten used to it after a while.
"Tolerate it…right," Jake looked sad.
"What's going on?" I asked, a little worried now. Sad wasn't a typical emotion for Jake.
"Could you ever envision a situation where you'd be attracted to a wolf?" the question seemed to tumble out of his mouth.
"Now Jake, I'm not sure where this is going, but I'm mated to Bella, you're happily imprinted to Leanne…"
"Fuck off you idiot! Yuk! Totally disgusting!" Jake spat.
"Yes…Disgusting is right." I drawled sardonically but Jake looked like I'd broken his heart with my retort.
"You need to just tell me whatever it is," I modulated my response now, worried about him again.
Jake looked almost tortured now. It was so unlike him. He was usually so easy going.
"Whatever it is, I might actually be able to help. You think so too or we wouldn't be trying to unravel whatever code you're speaking in," I pushed.
Jake leaned towards me, "Leah has imprinted on Fred," he announced in a whisper.
"What?!" I almost yelled, making him reel back from the volume of my voice so close to his ear. He shushed me, looking around to make sure we hadn't garnered any unwanted attention.
"I know," he hissed. "Believe me, I know. We all know. Leah knows. It's killing her. She's been through so much pain already. She doesn't deserve this."
"What does it mean?" I asked, still struggling to process it.
"Who knows? We always thought imprinting was about genetic matching to make the strongest wolves. Can vampires even have kids?" he asked. I was fairly sure his question was rhetorical but I answered him anyway.
"Female vampires definitely can't, their bodies can't change the way the pregnancy requires. But there have been rumours about male vampires. The stories do not end well for the mothers though. Human women are said to be devastated by the process. But Leah isn't human. Her body is stronger. She heals quickly."
"Huh," we were both lost in thought, contemplating that for a while. There would be no way to know. Surely a relationship between a vampire and a wolf was absolutely unprecedented.
"If she imprinted, they must be compatible," Jake decided, ever the optimist. "I won't believe the universe would keep shitting on her in such horrific ways. She's so strong and I know she'd cope, physically at least. So then I guess we're back to exactly how disgusting do you find me?"
"In your wolf form, horrific. As a human, bearable. But Leah as a wolf smells better than you do as a human so maybe as a human she wouldn't be too awful to be around," I pondered. "I've never seen her in human form though so I can't be sure." Leah had never been comfortable enough around us to be anything but a wolf. I started to re-evaluate the reasons why that was the case. "Could she put up with Fred's smell?" I wondered.
"When we imprint…it's everything. That person becomes your reason to live. There's nothing about them that you could ever find repulsive," Jake explained.
"It's instant?" I asked.
"Yes. Instant and irrevocable," he said firmly.
"That's why you accepted Fred and Bree so easily?" I guessed.
"Yes," he responded. "It is our highest law that none of us would ever harm an imprint. No one is happy about it of course but everyone mainly feels bad for Leah. You know what happened between her and Sam?" I nodded, Bella had told me. "We all lived that rejection with her through pack telepathy when she first shifted, before the pack split. We all hoped that she'd imprint and find balance. The idea that her imprint might reject her too? We're all heartbroken for her just thinking about the pain it would cause."
"She hasn't even shown her human form to Fred yet?" I asked, fairly sure that she hadn't. I hadn't seen her in human form after all so it seemed very unlikely Fred had.
Jake shook his head. "No. She is terrified he will reject her but equally terrified that he won't."
I thought back to how Leah was around us with a new perspective. She was often nearby, more often than any of the rest of the pack but unlike the rest of them, she'd always been in her wolf form. I thought she simply hadn't trusted us. She'd seemed hostile, often growling at us randomly. Not randomly, I suddenly realised but whenever Fred was threatened or frustrated. It was obvious, looking back with this new knowledge, that she'd been watching over him constantly.
"Mating is different to imprinting," I explained to Jake. "I think the bond is as strong but it's slower to develop. When I first saw Bella she was…" I trailed off thoughtfully. "It's actually difficult to put into words. She'd been a vampire for about a month. She hadn't changed clothes in all that time. She was in and out of the water…"
"You're saying she looked horrific?" Jake interrupted with a hollow laugh.
"No," I rebuked firmly. "But she didn't look like Bella either. I was still drawn to her though. I didn't realise it at the time…I thought I was just curious. And then when I saw her after she had the opportunity to freshen up, she was totally irresistible to me. I'd never wanted anyone as much as I wanted her but I still didn't feel the mating compulsion. It grew slowly as I got to know Bella. It was a gradual thing until one day I realised I loved her unconditionally and couldn't live without her. I knew it was permanent for me but I didn't know how she felt. Once she told me…it was indescribable. Eternal, brilliant, shining. The bond was tangible to us both."
"Is there any way Fred could feel that for Leah?" Jake asked wistfully.
"He would have to properly meet her first," I pointed out
"Would he be instantly repulsed?" Jake probed.
"I have no idea. She is a wolf, Jake. You are our natural enemies. Having said that, Fred seems to like hanging out with the pack. He isn't even slightly hostile towards any of you."
"What about him and Bree? Is there anything between them?"
"Not like that. They have a close bond but it's more like a sibling relationship. Fred is protective of Bree but I think he considers her a little sister." I hesitated to continue but Jake had trusted me with Leah's secret. "Bree lost someone she cared about. His name was Diego. We think either Riley or Victoria killed him. The impression I get is that it was the early stages of a mating bond. Not fully formed, thank God or Bree wouldn't be able to recover but she is definitely grieving."
"That bitch Victoria is responsible for destroying so many lives," I knew Jake was protective of Bree as well. "I hate how she keeps slipping through our fingers. She needs to be dead yesterday." I was in complete agreement with Jake about that.
"Do you think there is only one mate out there for you? Will she be alone forever now?"
"No one knows the answer to that," I told him. "Mating bonds are rare. I have been on this earth for a very long time and no other vampire I've ever met has called to me that way. Some vampires are alone for more centuries than I was. I want to hope it's possible that there might be someone out there for Bree though. Maybe there is more the one vampire that she might have the potential to from the bond with. Once it's fully formed, that is definitely it; there could never be anyone else but it was so early for Bree and both of them were easily distracted by their newborn instincts. I hope she can get over it. She's not alone at least. She has me, Bella and Fred. We'll help her however we can."
"And she has the pack too," Jake said
"Are you serious?" I asked him.
"Yes. Fred is pack now. It's instant and automatic. A fundamental rule. As soon as Leah imprinted on him it was done. If Fred considers Bree to be his sister, then she is important to us too," he explained.
All I could do is stare at him. "What about if she has an accident and kills someone? What if Fred does?"
"Let's just make fucking sure that that doesn't happen," Jake ground out.
"What about if Fred does reject her? Would he still be considered pack?"
"That's a complicated question. It's never happened before. It's hard for most imprints not to be won over by unconditional adoration. Of course they were all women…and human." We both contemplated the implications of that for a moment before Jake continued. "I will do anything I can to make this happen for Leah. She deserves to have something go right for her. To be happy."
"I could help a little, I guess. It would always be Fred's choice, of course, but I could do a bit of smoothing the way. Maybe point out how hot Leah is and that if I wasn't happily mated to Bella…"I couldn't help grimace in distaste at the thought.
Jake laughed, "You'd need to work on your delivery a bit."
"Listen, I will do my best to make sure that the 'Oh my God, how could you even think about being with our natural enemy who not only turns into a giant dog but also smells really bad' is kept to an absolute minimum. That Bella and Bree do the same, if you do something for me." I'd try to help Leah and Fred anyway and I could tell Jake knew it too, but he cocked his head curiously. "Take Fred and Bree out with the pack for a while," I continued. "It's not safe to leave them unsupervised yet and no one wants an accident but it's been hard, the four of us always being together. I care about them but…"
"You want me to get the two new vampires out of your hair so you can have uninhibited sex with one of my best friends?" Jake teased, while also looking a little ill.
"Yes. That is exactly what I want!"
Jake mock gagged. "Gross. But it's a deal."
AN: I'm a bit terrified what you'll think of this development but I still want to know. Love it or hate it, please review.
