So it's been a while since the last update. It's just been one of those times where life got super busy. So happy to finally have the time to sit down and write. Thank you to everyone that's stuck in and followed, liked, and reviewed this story! I appreciate everyone that still reads it. In total transparency I did get a PM (not a review) about how slow the story is moving. To be honest, the message was very rude and extremely hostile. I won't put a long response other than to say that it is on purpose. I didn't think it would make sense to go from abused to hopping into a relationship instantly. I wanted the imprint to build between them as Charlie and Anna grow into their new life. I do plan to start speeding things up soon, but I wanted it to come about in a way that was a little more realistic to the situation. I won't call the person out, but I do just want to say that there's no reason to be so rude. I would've been more open to a more polite PM. Hope you guys love this new chapter and don't be afraid to let a girl know what you think .
"I understand that your manufacturer sent out an order of gel tires, but we specifically ordered all terrain, and you'll understand if I'm not going to accept, or pay for, an order of tires we don't want or need." I say sternly into the phone. The man on the other end of the line argues with me some more, but I don't waver. "Look, this was obviously a miscommunication on your end. I'm looking at the order form and it clearly says we needed an order for all terrain and has your warehouse's stamp of approval. "
I roll my eyes as he continues to try and persuade me differently and I send the order form via email to him, making sure to cc Jake in the emails in case he'd need to step in on this argument. The door rings, alerting me to a customer and I glance up and smile as Emily walks in. Holding up a finger, she nods quietly and sits down to wait for me. I hear the man open my email and sigh in aggravation, before growing quiet.
"Look, I completely understand a mistake. Things happen and I'm in no way upset." I say calmly, hoping to reason with the man. "I'm just not willing to bite the profit on tires we didn't order. Now I'd be willing to reroute the shipment of gels to our shop in San Diego with payment, but I'll still need those all terrains. I'll expect to have them overnighted without the shipment fee and have a reasonable discount on the price since I'm paying for tires I didn't order to begin with."
After sitting in silence for a moment, I smile in satisfaction when I hear the man agree with me begrudgingly. We agree the new shipment of tires will arrive tomorrow night and the others will be sent to the shop in California. I wait until the email verification is sent to me before hanging up. Looking up at Emily, I set the phone back in its cradle and stand up.
"What can I do for you?" I ask her with a small smile. She stands up and walks over, handing me a basket of muffins I didn't previously see her bring in.
"I wanted to drop the shop off some muffins. Today I went a bit overboard with the baking." She laughs lightheartedly. I take the basket eagerly, remembering the last one she dropped off. "I also wanted to let you know that you and Anna are invited to my Halloween bash."
"Halloween bash?" I ask, trying to ignore my immediate instinct to say no.
"I throw it every year for the pack." She says proudly, moving to grab some coffee from the machine in the lobby. "The guys bring a truckload of pumpkins, and we carve them outside and drink way too much hot chocolate and cider. I also make my famous chili and the kids dress up in costumes while they get spoiled with candy by the guys."
"That sounds like a lot of fun." I hum, thinking it over. "Probably more fun than Anna and I walking around Forks alone. I don't know the area so I wouldn't know where to take her really."
"Its settled than. You and Anna will come to Sam and I's place." She says, beaming brightly before sipping her coffee and looking surprised. "That is some great coffee for an auto shop!"
"Yeah, I couldn't stand what Jake was stocking out there before I got here." I laugh. "I don't have your address though."
"That's fine! Jake will probably bring you once he finds out you're going." She says, gathering her things. "I will see you this weekend!"
Without another word, she exits the shop and leaves me alone again. Getting up, I make my way to the back. Anna is still taking her morning nap and I pour some tea from the kettle, left alone with my thoughts. It had been weeks since the bonfire on the beach and with every passing day our life here seems to be solidifying. I've reached a point where I was spending less time watching the shadows and more time focused on what's in front of me. Emily and I enjoyed coffee in the lobby once a week whenever she drops off her baking basket of the week. Usually, she brings Dean to play with Anna, the little girl growing close to him immediately and the little boy turning into a mini bodyguard for her. Lunches were spent laughing and conversing with the others more and more instead of diving into myself. Anna and I were even venturing out around the reservation more and more for errands and small outings without my heart threatening to give out on me. Even my friendship with Renesmee was becoming easier to withstand.
"Okay, so I love the blue of the cabinets, but I just don't think it blends well with the rest of the house." She says as we look over Jake's renovation book. "You have such a warm earthy vibe going through the house and I'd hate to see it hindered in this one spot of the house."
I nod, taking the constructive criticism lightly as I see what she means.
"What would you recommend changing?" I ask as I sort through the kitchen samples.
"The cabinet coloring and walls." She says confidently. "I love the river rock and natural woods, but we should arrange them differently. Make the pillars of the entrance to the kitchen river rock and put the natural wood beam across the top. It'll help accent the fireplace in the living room."
"I didn't think of it that way. It'll help it flow." I agree, sliding over some tea to her and pouring more from the kettle into my cup.
"Make the counters the butchers block counters and make the cabinets on the bottom that beautiful color you have in the living and dining room but make the top ones a rust color. All black outfitting and then the river rock as he backsplash. All the kitchen paneling accents and roof the natural wood in the rest of the house." She says, laying out the samples.
"That's a wonderful idea. Maybe even a spout coming out over the stove to fill pots without going across the kitchen." I throw out.
"Spare no expense." She says with a gleam in her eyes. "Jake can afford it."
We both laugh and then laugh harder when Jake comes in looking pleased and confused at our amusement.
"What has you thinking so hard?"
I jolt at the abruptness of Jake's voice and nearly spill tea all over my hands.
"Jesus!" I yelp, holding a hand to my chest over my speeding heart. He gives me an apologetic smile and reaches into the basket next to me on the counter and grabs a muffin. "You need a bell or something. One of these days you're going to give me a heart attack."
"I am plenty loud; you just think louder." He mumbles over his mouthful of muffin. I scoff at him but smile playfully over my sip of tea.
If I thought I'd been settling in nicely with our life in La Push, it was nothing compared to how comfortable it had become between Jake and I. As if something that night by the truck had unlocked a door, I hadn't been aware was there. In the weeks since the gathering we'd fallen into a friendship I haven't had since Katie. The one where the smiles were easy, and banter existed in almost every conversation. One that made it easy for me to be around him. Around Jake I felt safe and free to start being myself, something I had forgotten what it felt like.
"I'm losing you again." His voice is muffled by the last bite of muffin, and I throw a napkin off the counter at him.
"Don't talk with your mouthful." I admonish him with no real weight behind it. He swallows it before reaching out and taking my tea, swallowing a big gulp of it. "Hey! That's mine!"
"I didn't notice. Thought you were holding it for me." He says as he hands it back. "I'm surprised Emily didn't bring Dean today."
"It wouldn't have mattered; Anna is in her morning nap stage. It would take an earthquake to wake her up at this point." I tell him as I lean back against the counter. "Besides, she was just dropping in to invite me to her Halloween Bash."
"I thought she would. She's officially adopted you and Anna into the pack." He says as he grabs a bottle of sweet tea out of the fridge. "You should say yes. Dean and Claire get absolutely spoiled each year and Embry does this thing every year where he tries to have the best costume. Winner technically gets a prize, but last year Quill and Jared had him beat."
"What did they dress as?" I ask as I take a sip out of my mug.
"Ken and Barbi."
His words seem to come down a tunnel, because the moment my mouth touches the mug fire erupts in me. The taste of cinnamon and spice bursts across my tastebuds instead of the lavender of my tea. The taste sets off a domino effect I didn't know was possible. It's as if all my senses have awakened with that one simple sip. My head reels and my whole-body flushes as I shiver against my will at the ache that shoots from my clenching stomach, down to settle between my legs. A quite gasp escapes me as I swallow the tea and its newly altered taste, and I freeze after lowering the mug down onto the counter. I take a moment of silence to try and figure out what's happening, but the taste still lingers on my tongue making it hard to concentrate. If anything, the only thing I can concentrate on is the rapidly growing needy ache between my thighs. It's as if something has awakened in me as the ache spreads back to my stomach and then to the rest of me like a spreading wildfire. It's only been a minute, but the moment feels drawn out to a lifetime and leaves me feeling disoriented. It's when a choking sound comes from beside me that I'm snapped back into reality.
Glancing beside me, I'm met with the sight of a, seemingly, struggling Jacob. His hands hold the bottle in his hand so hard the thing is crumpled and crushed under his grasp. His body is tight and tense and his eyes swing to mine. Bewilderment crashes through me when I'm met with his darkened gaze and see something primal and wild taking over it. It pairs with the odd surge inside of me from the tea and leaves me burning with arousal I haven't felt this strongly in my entire life. The thought leaves me doused in embarrassment and alarm. Looking down at the mug on the counter, I stutter out anything to hide what's happening inside of me.
"W..w..well Emily said if I come you'd bring Anna and I over. You know, since I have no idea where she lives." I manage to say with a surprisingly stead tone. He doesn't say anything, and I turn to dump the tea down the drain, afraid of taking another sip as I continue to talk. "Besides, I think with Anna in the competition any of the guys will have trouble winning any kind of costume party, but hey I'm biased so that's just my opinion."
He's still silent and the fear that he knows what's happening to me fills my mind. I fight not to blush; afraid it'll give me away more as I grab a different mug and fill it with more tea.
"I'm trying to figure out what she'd like to be, but I'm stumped. Especially when every time I try to show her costumes, she insists I dress up with her." I continue.
Jacob's POV –
She's talking to me. I know she's talking to me, but I can't reply. Not when her scent has sweetened so much that it makes my mouth water. Her usual blend of Rosemary and Lavender has taken on the strong flood of Honeysuckle. The scent of her arousal fills my senses, and I can only stand frozen in an attempt not to do anything inappropriate or something that'll have her running for the hills. Flashes of smooth tan skin and darkened moss eyes fill my mind, and I can practically hear the sound of her moaning as the image of her thighs spread around my head threaten to incapacitate me. Taking a deep breath through my mouth, I try to find a response.
"Oh, I think someone just walked in! Hey, let me know if you can give Anna and I a ride to Emily's for the party." She says casually, shooting from the room to the front.
I takes me a minute to pull my shit together. The only sound in the room being Anna's soft breathing and the customer talking to Charlie in the front. I try to figure out what the hell had happened. Thinking back, I slowly sip on my drink as I go over our conversation. Something tingles in my mind and when I look down in the sink, I see the mug she was drinking from. I take another minute to run through the memory. The sudden dazed look as her lips touched the cup and the flush that spread quickly from her cheeks to the skin of her chest and then from there the strong scent of her arousal had hit me. Feeling like the ultimate creep, I lift the cup out of the sink and sniff the rim. One side had her distinct scent, but the other side had our combined scent. I set the mug down and fight not to smile as I head into the shop.
Charlie's POV –
The rest of my morning and afternoon had gone by slowly. I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened in the back room. To my relief Jacob stayed in the shop after brushing past me earlier, but it left me the entire day to run over the memory of the incident repeatedly. In an attempt to bury the thoughts, I had busied myself with orders and paperwork, but the thoughts just keep coming. Groaning, I lean back in my chair and stare at the ceiling. I find myself running back through the overwhelming and sharp way the feelings of arousal had washed through me. Sure, I'd slept with a guy, but even in the middle of that encounter it had never come close to accidentally drinking from the same side of the cup as Jake. It was like the cup was drugged. Like drinking from it was drinking some kind of potion.
"I sound like an idiot." I mutter to myself as I rub my face.
Sitting up I find myself glancing through the shop window. My eyes find Jake without thought, as if there's some kind of spell that draws me straight to him. I watch him stretch over the hood of the car to pick up a wrench and find my heart skipping beats when his shirt bunches over his muscles in a way that makes my head start to spin. Looking away quickly, I fiddle with my pen as I avoid looking back. What am I even panicking about? I'm not even looking for anything like that. My eyes move back to the window without my permission and watch as he laughs at something Jared says. I like his laugh. It's deep and warm in a way that hardly ever fails to bring a smile to my face. Just seeing him laugh now makes my lips tug. The action registers and I look away again with a frown.
"For fucks sake." I mutter under my breath, standing up to check the back. Eager to get away from my problems.
I find Anna having a lovely tea party with Seth, who's on break. I try to hold in my laugh when she shows him how to put up his pinky in order to drink tea. The look on his face is one of absolute seriousness as he lifts one large pinky, the tiny teacup in his hand looking like a joke. Satisfied she's safe and happy, I head back to the front and once again am left with my thoughts.
We've been here for three months now. Plenty of time had passed. Anna and I were settling. La Push was finally starting to feel like home. This is our home. The place I planned on staying. I was starting to make friends and accept that it was okay to start having friends. I was beginning to feel safe and free to live in a way I hadn't experienced since my mother met John. It would make sense that other feelings I had denied for so long would start to resurface. Hearing the bell ring, I look up and smile, greeting a customer from earlier coming to pick up his truck. He seems to be upset, but I chalk it up to a bad day and hand him his bill.
"Can you please explain to me why my bill is twice the original quote." The man in front of me is seething. "I agreed to new tires."
I feel taken back by his sudden change in mood. Especially when he bangs his hands on the counter, the bill crushed in his fists. His attitude is overly aggressive, and a chill runs down my spine, my body tensing and my heart starting to speed up in my chest.
"Yes." I agree evenly, ignoring the immediate urge to back away from the counter when his face starts to darken. My heart skips beats in my chest. "Of course we included the complimentary rotation and alignment, but you also asked us to do an oil change, brake change, and_."
"I don't need some reservation bitch telling me what I asked for." He snaps at me, throwing the paperwork at me. "I know how much work like that is worth and I'm telling you that you're trying to scam me if you think I'm paying this much!"
I shoot up from my seat, my chair clattering back as sharp panic rises in me. Recent memories starting to tug at the edges of my mind dangerously.
"I'm sorry you feel that way, but I was very clear about the pricing. I have your signature showing your agreement." I tell him shakily.
"I'm not paying this!" He shouts at me, his finger jabbing towards me over the counter. I gather myself quickly, reminding myself that this isn't John.
"Can I help with anything out here?" I jump when Seth's voice sounds out behind me. He walks out of the office and moves to stand next to me.
The man in front of us opens his mouth to say something but is cut off when the shop door opens. I feel my heart rate start to even out almost immediately and try not to sigh in relief. Without looking away from the man in front of us, I already know the familiar heat that touches my back gently.
"You, okay?" Jake's voice sounds out lowly in my ear, his tone strained and edged with something dark. The man is yelling at Seth, but I can barely concentrate on anything but Jake as his body slowly moves in front of me and blocks me from view.
"I'm fine, he just threw some papers and yelled." I breathe out.
"He threw stuff at you?" His body tenses and I'm starting to become more concerned with the way he's beginning to shake over the shouting man.
"It was just papers." I reassure him with a frown when I look up to see a stormy look take over his face. "Are you okay?"
He doesn't answer me, turning around and moving to stand next to Seth. Both men are intimidating, even from my viewpoint behind them. Jake is calm, but even I can hear something dangerously dark lurking beneath it in his tone and stance. Like a shark stalking it's prey beneath the water or even in the way John would get when people were able to witness anything. Ice moves through my veins and I shove the thought away. If I was certain of anything in life, it is that Jacob is NOTHING like John. I'm not the only one who sees or senses the undertone of danger. The burly man on the other side of the counter grows quiet and more respectful. His eyes showing hesitation and even a tinge of fear when he looks at Jake.
"Charlie…" Anna's small voice has my attention instantly and when I turn I find her staring up at me with wide flighty eyes. They dart between the man and I. Her body is as stiff as a board, tiny trembles running through her so intensely her curls shake and bounce about her shoulders.
"It's okay baby." I tell her, moving to crouch down in front of her. I run my hands over her face, but her little chest is moving quickly under her quick and shallow breaths. "Look at me. Anna, look at me."
I can hear the man leave, but my worry is solely on the toddler in front of me. Even my own anxiety and fear fade into the background.
"Charlie, is she okay?" Jake's voice asks as he crouches down next to me.
Anna's eyes dart to him, but she doesn't seem to register him as she tenses even more. Her face scrunches up in horror. I shush her gently, reaching out with a hand to carefully nudge Jake away. It's too late though.
"Jesus. I'm so sorry Charlie, I didn't mean to make things worse."
Confusion filters through me until I look down and see a spreading wet spot move down her pants. Pee soaks into her socks, shoes, and puddles onto the floor. Her eyes water and tears move down her cheeks. Her lips move as if she's saying sorry, but no sound comes out.
"It's okay sweets. Accidents happen." I tell her as I give her a small smile and stroke away her tears. Pulling her forward, I hug her tightly to me, not worried about the pee. "It's okay. He's gone. We're okay, you're okay."
"I'm sorry." She hiccups to me through tiny sobs against my chest.
Jacob's POV –
Seth and I watch Charlie carry away a pale and terrified Anna. Rage moves through me as they leave my sight, and my body shakes as the urge to shift becomes nearly unbearable. Seth lays a hand on my shoulder and gives me a warning look. Reigning in on my anger, I take deep breaths. The scent of Anna's fear saturates the air around us and I feel compassion take me over. We can still hear the little girl's sobs and it tugs at my heart.
"Can you get a mop? I want to make sure there's no signs of any of this whenever Charlie get's out of the bathroom." I ask him, before walking outside.
I take a deep breath of cool fresh air to steady myself. The urge to hunt down the man and beat him, or worse. I can feel my wolf snarling to be set free. To defend my imprint and the little girl she loves so deeply. To protect what's mine and to show the world what would happen if anyone dared to try the same. The door rings and I hear Quil's footsteps make their way over to me.
"Have one of mine man." He says, handing me a cigarette. I hand it back.
"I've quit." I tell him tersely. "I don't need to be smelling like smoke when I'm around Charlie and Anna."
"Well than, I'll have one and you can vent." He shrugs, lighting one up.
"I made Anna piss herself." I groan, unable to get the toddler's look of terror out of my mind and her peeing herself overcome with that terror hammering it in.
"Her past experiences made her piss herself, not you." He corrects me instantly, capturing my gaze. "Anyone can see the two of them have trauma, Jake. Anna loves you. She was just caught up in her trauma."
"It wasn't just her." My voice is sharp, but Quil doesn't take any offense. "I walked into the front and Charlie looked like she was getting ready to bolt."
"That man was three times her size and was ready to throw down. Of course she was scared." He points out. "You can't take the blame for every negative response they have. They just need time. It'll get better."
We're both cut off when the door opens and the scent of Charlie blows our way. Turning I find her coming out with a quiet Anna. The little girl clutches her neck, her face buried in her shoulder. She's no longer crying and is now dressed in clean clothes, but it's obvious her limit has been met. Charlie meets my eyes, her's crowded with different emotions.
"If it's okay with you, I need to take the rest of today off." She says surprisingly calm. The little girls shifts in her arms, seemingly trying to meld into her older sister. "I think it would best to take her home. She needs a bath and some time to calm down."
"You don't even need to ask." I breathe out. "I'm so sorry."
"It's not you."
It's the only explanation she gives me before she heads off to her truck. The two of us watch her drive away in silence and I feel the imprint pulse achingly. Quil walks back inside, but I stay where I am, still watching the road that leads to the cabin. I can't help but hope what Quil said was true. That they just need time and that it'll get better.
I know it's not a super long chapter, but I hoped you all liked it. Please let me know what you think so I know I'm doing alright. Reviews are my best motivation .