Back to the Start
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.
Paul and Jared
"Paul!" Sam and Jacob shouted together.
"Stay away from me." Paul Lahote roared in outrage, as he watched the two guys closing in. He had been feeling unwell for days, unable to shake off the fever that was burning him from the inside out. It made him mad, madder than hell.
"Paul." Jacob stepped forward cautiously, approaching Paul as one would a ferocious animal. "I know you feel scared – "
"Scared!" Paul scoffed, his lips curling back in irritation. "Of you, Black? I am not scared of anyone or anything!"
"Famous last words, Lahote." Sam muttered under his breath.
That did it.
Another shudder, followed by a convulsion, heaved through Paul's body. He threw his head back, a real growl tearing through from between his teeth.
"Oh, shit." Jacob cussed. "Here we go."
Paul seemed to fall forward, vibrating violently. Halfway to the ground, there was a loud ripping noise, and the boy exploded.
Dark silver fur blew out from Paul, coalescing into a shape more than five times his size- a massive, crouched shape, ready to spring. The wolf's muzzle wrinkled back over his teeth, and another growl rolled through his colossal chest. His dark, enraged eyes focused on Jacob.
In the same second, Jacob was running across the road, straight for the quivering wolf.
"You and Embry carry on patrolling while I deal with this idiot." Jacob called out to Sam.
Sam jerked his head once in acknowledgement. There went his romantic date with Leah. She was going to be royally pissed that he was going to be a no-show again. He watched, as mid-stride, a long tremor ran down Jacob's spine. He leaped forward diving head first into the empty air. Sam couldn't help but be impressed how fluidly Jacob was able to switch from one shape to another. He was truly gifted.
With another sharp tearing sound, Jacob exploded, too. He burst out of his skin in mid-air, his human form shimmering, transforming into the gigantic, russet-brown wolf. He landed nimbly on all four paws, immediately charging the crouched silver beast.
Jacob met the other werewolf's attack head on. He knew there was no reasoning with Lahote, not like had been able to do with Sam and Embry. Paul was a whole different kettle of fish. He was well-known for his short fuse. Cocky and dominating even at a young age, he was often in trouble, nothing too serious, but enough to gain a reputation as one of the res' bad boys.
Jacob knew the only way to get Paul to submit to his authority was to battle it out. It wasn't enough to just issue an Alpha order for Lahote to behave. He needed the guy to respect him enough to follow orders without question.
The roar of the fighting wolves was loud: the snapping and tearing sounds, the sharp teeth flashing toward each other's throats, as each tried to gain dominance over the other.
Jacob soon had the upper hand – he was visibly bigger than the silver wolf, and much stronger, too. He rammed his shoulder against the silver wolf again and again, knocking him back toward the trees. Soon Jacob had successfully shoved the silver wolf off the road, and they disappeared into the forest, though the sound of their snarls was still loud.
Sam sighed, tugging off his shorts, and kicking off his shoes as he got ready to transform. As he darted toward the trees, he was quivering from head to toe. The growling and snapping noises were fading into the distance, until suddenly the sound cut off and all went quiet. Sam knew then that Jacob had won.
Bella felt awkward taking up space at Billy's -but with Charlie out hunting the ginormous wolves with the rangers and Harry in tow- Jacob wanted Bella on the reservation where he knew she would be safe. He had apologized for ditching her so much, but he was busy dealing with the new members of his pack. Embry was slowly beginning to adjust to his new life, but Paul Lahote was proving troublesome.
While she waited for Jacob to come back, Bella did some studying for another Calculus test that was coming up the next week, but she could only look at math for so long. When she didn't have anything obvious to do in her hands, she felt like she ought to be making conversation with Billy – the pressure of normal societal rules. But Billy wasn't one for filling up the long silences, he seemed preoccupied, constantly going to the phone and having hushed conversations with the other tribal elders.
After a while Bella longed to escape into the fresh air. She called out a goodbye to Billy, who waved vaguely back at her in return with one hand, while clutching the phone to his ear with the other. From his end of the conversation, it sounded like the old men were planning some meeting or something.
Bella ended up back on the beach, pacing the length of the rocky crescent, back and forth, again and again.
Alone time wasn't good for her. Thanks to the new turn their relationship had taken, she missed Jacob more than ever. She was worried about him, about Charlie and Harry out there in the wilderness. Harry had divulged to the pack what part of the forest they would be scouting next, which gave the wolves prior warning to avoid that area for the foreseeable future.
But the wolves weren't the only monsters out there, of course. There were still rogue vampires roaming around, who could attack at any given moment. It made her terrified for Charlie and the others who thought they were hunting animals. She was anxious about what stunt Edward and the Cullens might pull next. More and more she was leaning toward just telling Charlie the truth; tribal secrets be damned!
Eventually, she couldn't walk anymore, because she couldn't breathe. She sat down on a patch of semidry rocks and curled up into a ball.
Jacob found her like that, Bella could tell from his expression that he understood.
"Bella, honey, I'm so sorry." He said right away. He pulled her up from the ground and wrapped both arms around her shoulders. Bella hadn't realized how cold she was until then. His warmth made her melt, and now able to breathe with him there.
"I feel like I'm ruining everything." Jacob accused himself as they walked back up the beach. "I hate leaving you alone so much – "
"Its not your fault." Bella cut in quickly before he could shoulder anymore blame. "Others need you right now."
"So do you." Jacob wouldn't be comforted. "And I need you just as much. More probably." He gazed out across the heaving waves, deliberating. As his eyes scanned the horizon, he had a flash of inspiration. "You know what, Bells. I'm going to take the night off. Sam can manage the other guys for one evening."
Bella's chocolate brown eyes lit up at the prospect of having Jacob all to herself for once without any interruptions. "Can you do that? Are you sure?"
"Yes. It will be fine." Jacob grinned, taking both her hands in his. "Didn't I promise you a ride in the Rabbit? We can take her out for a test run and catch a movie or something? What do you say?"
Bella beamed. "I say hell yeah!" She crowed, laughing jubilantly. The very idea of doing something ordinary, lighthearted, and fun, sounded so appealing right now.
"It's a date." Jacob said, and draped his arm around her shoulders.
"Okay -now let's get you some sleep." Bella didn't like the way the dark circles under his eyes were beginning to look permanently etched onto his skin. "I want you firing on all cylinders tonight."
Jacob cut up laughing at her comment, making her blush crimson as she realized what had come out of her mouth. She elbowed him in the side in retaliation as they wandered back down the beach.
The idea of a distraction from all her worries had Bella excited. She was looking forward to some fun. A date with Jacob. She couldn't wait. She took her time getting ready, going as far as to curl her hair for the momentous occasion, and dabbing on a little makeup. Dressing in a pair of skinny black jeans, she teamed it with her favorite red shirt. She knew red was Jacob's favorite color.
Jacob was right on time. He had dressed up, too. He was wearing dark jeans and a white shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, the top few buttons left casually undone, revealing a glimpse of his toned chest. Bella couldn't stop staring.
Jacob was equally as captivated. Bella had the kind of natural beauty that needed no enhancements. He loved her curves of softness, the luminescence of her skin. Her thick, brunette hair, tumbled over her shoulders in lustrous waves, framing her heart-shaped face to perfection. In her brown eyes was the warmth of an everlasting hearth, as if they were the wood that could burn with golden flame yet be forever perfectly entire.
"Wow, you look…." Jacob couldn't form words, but the look of admiration in his dark eyes told Bella all she needed to know.
"So do you." She replied, feeling oddly shy and awkward. She didn't know why. This was Jacob. She glanced up at him coyly from under her thick lashes. "Ready to go?"
"Yeah." Jacob grinned, rushing to open the passenger door for her before she could do it herself.
"Such a gentleman." Bella laughed, hooking a lock of hair behind her ear.
Jacob laughed along with her, taking her hand and helping her inside. Then he shut the door, and quickly ran around to the driver's side and climbed in.
Freed from his responsibilities for a few hours, Jacob was his normal sunny self, chattering away on the drive to Port Angeles, reminding Bella of the carefree boy he used to be, before all the werewolf stuff weighed him down. It was relaxing, and for the first time in a long time, Bella felt like a normal teenager.
The movie was exactly what it professed to be. It was an action film-muscle bound heroes, celebrities with less clothing than most people would wear to the beach and weapons that would make a commando drool. They must have spent hundreds of rounds, blown up an area half the size of New York and done it all with that slightly distant air of emotional aloofness the great stars pull off so naturally.
Jacob had his arm around Bella, sniggering at some of the over the top action, while they shared a huge bucket of popcorn.
"That's insane." Jacob whispered to her at one point.
"What?" Bella whispered back.
"The blood squirted twenty feet out of that guy. How fake can you get?"
Jacob chuckled again as a flagpole speared another man into a concrete wall.
Bella laughed along with him as the mayhem got more and more ridiculous. Their laughter got so loud that it disturbed the couple in front of them. The guy turned around, an angry look on his face, he hissed at them to keep the noise down.
"Jared?" Jacob questioned, recognizing him from his English class.
Bella looked at Jared with interest. She couldn't tell how tall he was as he was sitting down, his arm was around a pretty girl with deep set eyes. He had the same red brown skin as Jacob, but his hair was cropped, where Jacob wore his long.
"Oh, hi, Jake." Jared replied, calming down a little. "I didn't know it was you." He glanced at his date. "This is Sandy."
"Hey." Jacob said as Sandy smiled shyly up at them. "Enjoying the movie?" He asked.
Jared frowned, his annoyance flaring up again. "I'm trying." He said meaningfully, his mouth drawing down into a frown.
Jacob exchanged a worried glance with Bella. They could both see the sheen of sweat across his face in the light from the screen.
"Sorry, dude." Jacob apologized. "We'll let you get back to it."
"Thanks." Jared muttered, facing forward again.
Bella leaned into Jacob, whispering close to his ear. "Jake, he's running a fever. Just like Paul and Embry."
"I know." Jacob felt frustrated. This was supposed to be his one night off, the one night he could focus all his attention on Bella, without pack business getting in the way. He felt like the universe was against him.
As the movie was nearing the end, Jared pulled his arm away from his date, leaning forward to put his head in his hands. At first Jacob and Bella thought he was reacting to something on the screen, but then he moaned in pain. Suddenly he got up and bolted for the door, his date staring after him in shock.
"Hell." Jacob muttered. "Bells, I think – "
"Go." Bella insisted as she saw the torn look on his face. "I'll deal with Sandy."
Jacob sighed, dropping the keys to the Rabbit in her hand. "You'll be okay getting home?"
"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." Bella assured him.
Jacob pressed his lips onto hers briefly, before sprinting out the door after Jared.
A/N-thanks for reading!