Disclaimer: This story is rated T/ M (Mature) Content may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. It will most likely contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content, suicidal ideations, and strong language.
Part 1 Rowan
Layla's Pov
The flurried fun didn't last, and Jacob brought me inside so he could unpack.
He'd caught the first non-stop return flight before his family, so it was just us at Billie's place.
"You didn't hear it from me, but Paul proposed to Rachel at the end of the helicopter tour."
"That's good. I'm glad you guys used the tickets." I sat on the couch, watching him dig through his suitcase.
"Says someone who wasn't supposed to get me a gift." Jacob lightly chided. "I wanted to do something for you." I shrugged.
He paused, clearly not finding what he was looking for. "Embry saw you in LA." He started out on a different note.
"What about it? Wait, did you know about that?" I stood up, a little peeved. "No, no. I found out when you did."
That made me feel better. I would've been upset if Jake let Embry shack up in my house with my best friend without telling me.
"How was your mom? What happened?" He questioned. I crossed my arms and paced the floor. I decided to stick with the lie Bethany told me.
"Bethany came by to pick me up after Ashley and Embry left. My mom, she's not well. Lily's in rehab." I explained.
I was sick of the lies, but there wasn't much I could tell him.
"I'm sorry. Did you get to see her?" Jacob got up to console me. "No."
I migrated to the kitchen, hoping to find something to warm up for us.
"I'm stuck." I breathed the thought as I stared at the kettle heating. "You're not stuck. You have me." Jacob embraced me from behind.
It felt so natural to have him close; it would be hard to save him, and I didn't know where to start.
Jacob bent down and kissed my neck while I reached up to grab some mugs.
I jumped, dropped one of them, and nearly torched my hand on the burner to balance myself.
"Don't do that." Even though it was Jake, the gesture somehow made me reflexively reimagine the vampire.
"Layla, are you okay?" "I think we should slow down." I fled the room to grab my coat. "What's wrong?" He asked; the tea kettle screamed.
"I should go home." "Layla, talk to me." Jacob was faster and stopped me in the snow.
"I stopped in Seattle. My dad wasn't cool with the Hawaii trip. Wren said it was inappropriate to run off with you like that." Jacob became viscerally upset.
"You what? I thought we were on the same page. How could you let yourself be alone with him again after he'd hurt you?"
I glared into the white powdery pines, reminding myself of the bloodshed I witnessed to get through this.
"My father made a mistake. I wanted to hear him out." "That's not a good enough reason to go alone, Layla."
"Wren doesn't like you. He doesn't want me living on the rez anymore." I argued, pulling excuses from thin air so he would back off.
"Well, I don't like him either." Jacob retorted. "Jake, how can you say that?" I defended. Jacob gave me a sarcastic, haughty look.
"Believe it or not, on some level, I still care what my parents think," I explained, making up the crappy excuse.
"Okay, we'll slow things down and change his mind when the time comes."
Reasoning with Jake didn't work. I didn't know how far to keep him safe without ruining everything.
I let things go too far in Hawaii because I didn't think I'd live today.
I panicked whenever I thought about Jacob demanding to go to Seattle with me.
If I was a delicacy to be spared by Niccolo, Jacob was a walking buffet table for him and his coven.
At least avoiding Jake hadn't been that hard. The invisibility quirk kept reacting out of my control. So even if he wanted to see me, he couldn't.
The longest the effect ever lasted was roughly four hours. I was kept quiet in my room, journaling then, but I scared Syd.
He almost thought I'd run off again, so I ran down the hall loudly and slammed the bathroom door to prove I was home.
Then I called the only person I could, EJ Mason.
He was out of state again, somewhere in New York, with Rosalie and Emmet, but he was adamant about seeing me too.
"After the New Year, I should be back before school starts. I'll let you know when." EJ assured me. Why did that seem so far away?
Saturday before school restarted, I met Iris downtown.
We'd just raided the second-hand bookstore for anything good. My bag was filled with any folklore I could find to shed light on the invisibility I was facing.
"How's everything going?" I asked her, taking a seat at our usual cafe spot.
"You mean the new roommate situation? My mom has been running around trying to get Rowan situated, but he couldn't care less. Even now, he's on some double date instead of looking into getting a driver's license or shopping for school supplies."
I nodded, listening to her rant. I tried to sympathize with her, but it was difficult to be on her side when I empathized with him.
Rowan didn't choose to be here, and neither did I.
"Between you and me, he's brought you to topic more than once." Iris fished. "Why's that?" I asked skeptically.
"I don't know. I found it weird. The pig doesn't even have a phone yet and is already at it." She rolled her eyes and took a sip of her Earl Gray.
Jacob's Pov
Layla wanted to be alone again today. I couldn't help feeling that I had said or done something wrong.
I had to find a way to convince her everything would be alright. In the meantime, I thought I'd catch up with Embry.
"I don't know, man. Things have been easy with me and Ashely." Embry and I stood in line for popcorn at the theaters. "Yeah, easy." I jabbed.
He elbowed me in the ribcage hard. Talking about his imprint like that was a low blow, but I was bitter. "What was her place like?"
"Ash or Layla's? I don't know what to tell you. They both come from money, new money... I hate to say it, but maybe that's why Layla's having such a hard time adjusting to the rez." Embry shrugged.
That theory made me self-conscious. I didn't think it was a status thing between us.
"Is that why Ashley kept you on the down low?" "No, well, I don't know. I don't think so. Ash was worried about you and Layla if we started dating first."
We grabbed our snacks from the vendor and went to see the action movie that had been ruling the box office for the past month.
"Excuse us," a blond girl chirped. Even on a Saturday, it was crowded, so I didn't know who she was talking to.
"Make room for my date, big foot." Now, that could have only been directed at me and Embry. We hovered in height over everyone here.
I craned my neck to see some big shot with two girls fawning over him. We stepped aside to let the jerk and his twerps pass us.
"What a duche," Embry mumbled. The guy's sharp silver gaze flickered over to us as if he had heard. His eyes were abnormal, like Layla's one. Weird.
Rowan's Pov
If I didn't want to make a decent first impression on these girls, I would have provoked those guys to a fight outside.
Seeing their shocked faces when I took 'em down would've been a sight.
"After you." I let the girls pick their seats first. The giant locals sat two rows behind us.
I made a show of it, wrapping both arms behind the girls' shoulders. They smiled at me and then gave each other haughty looks.
I was sure their friendship wouldn't last the week after I was done with them. The brunette placed her hand on mine, and the blond placed her hand on my upper thigh in an attempt to claim me first.
Scratch that. Their friendship wouldn't last the night. I preferred brunettes, but this one was plainer than a pan sheet.
If the bottled blond was willing to put out…I'd take a spin to see how the American girls did it.
"How insecure does he have to be to make up for a couple of inches." I heard the bigger one say when the lights came on after the showing.
My dates left in the flood of people to dish out their crush on me.
"Awe, don't be ashamed of bringing your boyfriend to the theater. I know the times are changing."
The big guy stood up with a puffed-out chest, ready to stomp me out. I laughed. "Jake." His friend warned, holding him back.
A slow, antigonizing grin spread on my face. He slapped his friend's grip off his shoulder and jumped over the railing.
It was too crowded for him to reach me. I enjoyed my dig, though he might have posed somewhat of a challenge for me.
But I promised Aunt I'd behave the first week. Mauve still had to break the news to Aunt Anne about the whole werewolf thing.
The blonde won. I made out in her car—a shitty old Camry.
The girl's hair was dry and crunchy in my grasp. She could've been pretty; it was hard to tell with all the spray tan and the trendy, cheap makeup.
She was messy, using a lot of tongue. When one of her fake eyelash strips smushed to her cheek, I decided to make the best of a short first impression. I used my skills to wrap things up and focus on something better.
Iris's 'off limits' friend Layla had haunted my dreams since our last visit.
Layla didn't need fake lashes, and her body was soft in all the right places, unlike miss wonder bra here.
So much for trying to forget about her; I felt my disinterest grow and disgust creep in at what I was doing.
The memory of the kiss I stole couldn't be rivaled. At least I tried.
The blond broke away from my face, and I smiled eagerly when she gripped the bulge in my pants.
"Okay, that was-" I wiped my face free from her excessive saliva and lipstick.
She was quick, unzipping my jeans before I could tell her that was enough.
Her hot pink mouth covered me, pumping in motion. "Hey!" At least the girl was better at this than her kissing.
I tilted my head back to imagine a different pair of lips that tingled with peppermint chapstick and tasted of bourbon.
"Thanks, Michelle." I separated ourselves when she was done.
"It's Raquel. So, like, when will I see you again?" When she batted her eyes again, the other fake lash fell.
"Whenever's easiest for you." I stepped out.
I met Iris at the spot she said to meet at—a corner cafe on the small port strip.
She stood outside in the crowd, talking to someone by the bulletin board.
"Hey, Are we goin' or what?" "One sec. Wait, what the heck is on your face?" Iris moved, and Layla was right there with her.
I felt anxious, like I hadn't spoken to a girl before.
"I guess your date went well. Gross. I might hurl in the bathroom." Iris grumbled, leaving me alone with Layla. Unjustified guilt swirled in my stomach.
I rubbed my face frantically to get the pink off.
"Hey, Rowan. Do you have anything going on for New Year's?" she asked, plucking a poster from a wall. "What do you know? I got nothing." I answered.
"Iris said her mom wouldn't let us go unless you came with." Layla lifted the flyer to me. "A rave? You realize my cousin can't dance."
"This town is so boring." Layla sighed. "Fine, I'll see what I can do." I kicked myself for being so eager.
I pulled Layla from the curb so a passing car wouldn't hit her. "Really?" She completely ignored the danger, blinking at me with those fecking doe eyes.
"Asshole!" Raquel launched a beverage from her car at the back of my head. So, she was slow to get the easy joke.
"I see you're already making a name for yourself. Be careful, idiot; it's a small town." Iris returned, ruining everything.
"You should be nice. I'm your man for the party." "Ugh, I didn't think you'd say yes." Iris groaned.
"All the more reason to go." I winked at Layla, and she smiled back at me.
New Years Eve
Layla's Pov
Iris had caught the flu before our big excursion. "Do you still want to go, Rowan, or are you hanging back?" I asked.
"I can't let you go alone, can I?" "Well-" I gestured behind me. Iris had texted our old group.
EJ couldn't go. Chad and Sarah wanted to join us; she brought her older sister, Jessica Stanely, who brought her on and off again her boyfriend, Mike Newton.
They seemed friendly enough and had a ride to fit everyone. "Come on, we're wastin' moonlight." Rowan strode down the walkway to join us.
Jessica and Sarah dominated the car conversation, and Mike the radio for most of the road trip. It was nice. I didn't feel like talking.
Mike dropped us off at the Rave, East Wing. A surge of excitement hit me when we gathered at the entrance.
The playlist was supposed to be epic, and the flashing lights were enticing.
"If we get separated, make sure we meet outside around one," Jessica said, waving to their other college friends inside.
I wasn't sure Rowan was ready for this, but when I turned to him, he had the same idea as me.
He took my hand, pulled us inside, and sweet-talked us into some drinks at the bar. Then we shoved our way onto the screaming dance floor.
The air was electrifying, and dancing was what I needed. Surprisingly enough, Rowan kept up with me all night.
I wouldn't tell him, but I think he was the best dance partner I've ever had.
Then the music changed. Caleb's techno music came on, catching my attention.
Then, I spotted Tessa gathering drunken individuals in a back VIP room.
Just when I thought Tacoma would be safer than Seattle.
Rowan's Pov
Layla's dark hair splayed shimmers of tinsel everywhere she turned, and her body moved fluidly as if water had a rhythm.
The beat switched, and the tempo climbed. She abruptly stopped, adjusting her halter top, and looked around.
"You're good love," I assured her look was in place. Yet she remained distracted. "What's going on?" I asked on deaf ears.
"I'll be right back." I followed her through the crowd anyway, but she didn't see. I squinted through the neon green light beams, creating a digital grid in the air.
Layla walked through a fog machine and met a dark-haired man guarding a VIP section. He let her through.
"My girlfriend's in there. You know pigtails?" He lowered his thick shades, revealing crimson eyes. "I don't think so." The vampire bouncer denied me.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, prickling until painful, and my blood boiled. "You can wait here or leave."
Physically, I couldn't move under his gaze, and the vampire's smirk widened at my frustration.
A girl with colorful half-shaved hair guided a band of groupies in the section, passing between us.
I could move again, so I ran around the building to find another way in to save Layla.
I found a side door and hid in the shadows, creeping along a chainlink fence between a large dumpster.
Two more vampire bodyguards stood outside the mouth of the closed warehouse door.
"I caught one for you guys." The girl from earlier shoved a young woman out in the alley. "What's going on? Where am I-AH!" She shrieked.
The vampires turned to feed on the victim. When they were done, the leeches disposed of the deceased girl's body in the dumpster beside me.
I gritted my growing fangs and could feel the supernatural strength pump through my veins.
"The last one tasted better." One laughed to the other. When their backs were turned, I attacked.
Smashing their heads into the cement, fragments of their faces broke off. Then I ripped off their limbs and tore out their throat with my teeth.
Quickly, I chucked the pieces into the dumpster and lit it on fire with my lighter.
Layla's Pov
I pulled up my detached mesh sleeves to hide the blood draw bandage.
I paid my unexpected dues, hoping it would put me back in the good graces of a certain vampire.
When I returned, Rowan was missing, and that frightened me. I shoved through the crowd, jumping up and down to see.
On stage, Caleb locked eyes with me. "Keep it going! Hype them up!" I shouted, but I wasn't sure he had heard me. He nodded and turned the music up.
The more people moving, the less likely a vampire would follow. I ducked out an opening to breathe away from the cloud of sweat and fog machine-induced air.
There in the alley, I found Rowan dismembering two eternity-bound monsters.
With piercingly sharp crunching sounds, he threw chunks of the vampires into a dumpster and lit it on fire.
Wide-eyed, I watched Rowan replace the lighter in his pocket.
I turned to hide in the wave of gyrating bodies when I was pinned against the wall. Rowan's hand covered my mouth.
"Don't scream, and don't say anything." I nodded my agreement, and he backed off.
"Okay. Follow my lead, and I'll explain later." Rowan pulled me into to the rave and onto the dance floor, where we bumped into Chad and Sarah.
"Isn't this great?!" She shimmed in her sequin top. "Yeah." The music muted my distorted laugh. Rowan circled me, silver eyes darting around the place.
Then, he pulled me close as the dance floor flooded with more people. I held onto him to keep from falling. The New Year countdown was about to begin.
"Layla, listen to me-" His grip around me tightened. "Are you going to hurt me?" I blurted out. "What? No." His aburn brows furrowed.
"We need to get out of here, now." Rowan continued. "We can't leave everyone behind," I argued.
"3!" The crowd roared. "I have a plan."
"2!" "Grab them and run when you hear the alarm." He ordered.
"What are you gonna do?" My heart beat thrummed in panic.
"1!" "Please, Layla. Do as I ask." I gripped his shirt.
"Happy New Year!" Confetti exploded above us. Rowan ripped away from me.
Chad and Sarah were making out. Jessica was screaming with her friends, jumping up and down to the sick beat drop.
And I pretended to dance away, half-heartedly to dismount the dance floor.
When an icy hand caught my bare mid-drift, my scream was lost in the cheers.
Niccolo was here, not in his usual robust business suit, but in modern clothes. They made him look much younger, like his bodily age—roughly 26.
"Calm down. I came to celebrate the new year, just like you." He glided us off the dance floor towards a seated area by the bar.
"You look like you need some water." Niccolo gestured to an employee for some. "Thank you." I needed the water, but my hand shook the cup.
I was absolutely frightened he was here. "I'm not keen on this decade's music, but you are a natural dancer." He'd been watching me.
"Master Foscari." Tessa ran up to Niccolo with a message, moving her lips so fast I couldn't understand what she was saying.
"What?" Niccolo hissed. "I don't know who did it. There's no camera's back there." Tessa lifted her hands in defense.
Niccolo scanned the room for his coven members and then looked at me. "Wait here until I come back," he compelled me.
I sat at the bar, watching and waiting for Rowan's signal.
Then the fire alarm went off, and sirens and sprinklers exploded all around.
The music died, and Caleb directed the patrons in their open chaos. I sat in the middle of it, hyperventilating.
They'd have to leave me behind. I squeezed my eyes shut, praying they'd forget about me and go home.
Then, a moment later, an idea occurred to me.
I focused on tapping into the electric current under my skin and forced the weird frequency forward I felt when I was invisible.
Niccolo returned in a blur. "My Bella?" He was right in front of me but couldn't see me. He hissed, dashing around the bar and several tables.
I was free of the compulsion, so I ran invisibly into the mass exodus.
Rowan's Pov
"Where's Layla?" I met everyone by Mike's van. "We thought she was with you," Sarah said.
"What a bummer. I didn't see a fire, though." Jessica approached, turning to Mike. "Do you think we should go back for her?" he asked, concerned.
"I'll go. Never mind, I guess." Chad offered. I jogged off only to run into the girl.
"Jaysus Layla. Come here." I pulled her in the back of the van with everyone waiting.
"Sorry about that, guys. I got caught up in the crowd and couldn't find you." She apologized. "It's all good. We're set, right?" Mike asked Jessica.
Layla ignored me texting on her phone and sighed once we were on the highway.
"Rowan." She hissed in a whisper. Her eyes were wide as she slid in next to me. I was dripping blood.
Removing my jacket, I tied it around my wound, and Layla was nearly in my lap, applying pressure.
"I'm fine. It will heal up," I whispered back. "Don't get it on the seats," she warned.
I pulled her in close to make it seem we were coupling up in the backseat.
Layla's Pov
Rowan dipped out of the van first. "What's up with him?" Chad asked. "His stomach hurts." I covered for him.
"That was fun, minus the whole bit at the end," Sarah added. "We should totally try Seattle next time." Jessica piled on.
"See you guys! Thanks for driving." I chased after Rowan, heading into the woods behind his house.
"What are you doing? It's two in the morning! I need to drive you to the hospital."
I followed him in the dark, untying my tight hairstyle to relieve the pinching headache.
"No, you don't. I need a river." Rowan peeled off his shirt and ran for a break in the trees. I watched him, jeans and all, dip into the shallow brook.
He was right. Rowan had been healing. Faster than a man would, but it accelerated quicker in the water under the moonlight.
The moon, half full, hovered in the tree line.
A few minutes later, he ascended the hill to meet me.
Standing before me, dripping wet, I hadn't noticed how muscular Rowan was until now. I knew I should've been scared of him, but I wasn't.
"When you poked around the old scripts in my Aunt's cabinet, do you remember what you asked me?"
I nodded yes. The silver ring necklace bounced against his hard chest as Rowan closed the gap between us.
"Now, why would you be asking around for one of the most lethal supernatural creatures in existence?"
His glowing silver gaze penetrated me, and I suddenly wondered if Rowan was going to kill me to keep his secret safe.
His sudden piercing howl scared me. I nearly dropped to the floor, and legs trembing, struggling to stand.
Rowan laughed, messing with me. "A werewolf." He mused.
But my eyes swam with tears, and I yanked my mesh arm sleeve down to reveal the bandage from the blood draw.
"Because I need one." I cried.
Rowan's Pov
My joking bravado evaporated at the sore sight of the girl. Bewildered, I grabbed her wrist.
"You weren't bitten, were you?" I assessed her. "No, that's not how he does things." Layla shook her head.
"What do you mean? I'm gonna need more than that. If I had half a mind, I'd ask you to strip down right now." I rambled off anxiously.
She clammed up, holding herself, with that thousand-yard stare returned. "Layla, Forgive me. I didn't mean it like that. I need you to talk to me."
"Things are more modernized." She tapped her arm, searching for the words.
"That can't be right. Vampires go into a frenzy when blood is spilled. Blood bags won't keep them."
"He likes my blood too much to kill me." Layla shrugged. It was strange how she spoke. She had a hard time doing so, choking on her words.
"You know how these things...the opposite of what you are, have abilities, right?"
"Vampires, on with it." "I can't. He made it so that I couldn't." She pleaded with me.
Then I recalled the one dark-haired vampire pretending to be a bouncer. His petulant gaze paralyzed me in place.
"What ya mean?" I questioned. "What he says has to be done. There is no choice." She gasped between words.
"Do I have to spell it out for you? I'm being-" Layla started wheezing and coughing like she was suffocating.
"Layla!" I caught her passing out in my arms.
I brought Layla to my bedroom and sat beside her all night. There was no writhing in pain, so she wasn't bitten.
It wasn't until dawn that Layla started to mumble in her sleep with stray tears rolling down her cheeks.
A pitiful sight. I crawled into bed with her, pulling her close. I could only imagine what she'd seen, to live and tell the tale.
Layla's Pov
I woke up, pressed tightly to Rowan's chest. His gentle breathing huffed uncomfortably in my ear.
I wiggled out of his arms and reached the door, only to open it to Iris.
With boots in one hand and dressed in last night's clothes, I knew exactly what this looked like.
"It's not what it looks like," I said anyway. Iris glared at me. "I swear!" I whispered. "Relax, young pumpkin." Rowan leaned on the doorframe behind me.
"I didn't take your friend for a spin. She fell asleep on the ride home, so I carried 'er up here."
"Yes, and now I'd like to go home." Iris sneezed in my face. "Sorry, I believe you." "Thanks," I grumbled, wiping away the grossness.
"But not you!" Iris coughed, pointing at Rowan, who passive-aggressively rolled his eyes.
Rowan and I had much more to discuss, but not now in front of Iris.
I caught a mild case of the flu, but I still went to school the following day.
It was rough on the tail end of my healing journey, and weaning off the final pain meds from my accident put me in a bad mood.
"How was Tacoma?" Tiffany approached me in the lunch line. "How'd you know about that?"
"Camille was there and said she saw you with a boy... that wasn't Jacob." "Oh, Iris's cousin came out with some of the book club." I vaguely explained loading my tray.
"Are you doing that again?" She said. "I'm not sure."
It was a supplemental course aiding my GPA, but I still had to make up gym hours for all my brokenness last semester.
"I know it might be too soon, but Forks High is having musical tryouts." Paige peeked on the other side of Tiffany.
"I'll pass." I was beyond trying to fit in or standing out. Retaining normalcy by keeping busy didn't work either.
I wished things were simpler where extracurriculars could matter to me again.
"Understandable. We could always use crew members if you change your mind." They parted ways, and I was left with a dilemma.
What should I do with all this free time?
I spoke with Camille awkwardly and temporarily sat at her table to gather information. Soon, I discovered my only best bet for dance would be signing up for a travel team in Tacoma unless I wanted to do traditional dance up at the Maca reservation—the local alternatives were tennis or track.
I thanked her and walked away, weighing my options. No matter how fast I ran, I'd never outrun a vampire. Tennis might help alleviate tension, but I couldn't commit to it.
"Hey, Layla!" Seth sat across from me. "Hey." I sniffed, clearing my nose. "Still under the weather, huh?"
"We all are. Shoot, Seth. What do you want?" I pushed my tray away. My taste buds were out of sorts. Everything I ate was bland and watery.
"Jake's birthday is on the 14th. We were thinking of throwing him a surprise party, and I thought you'd want in."
"Do you think he'd like that?" The last surprise celebration I remembered he barely tolerated.
"That's why I'm asking you to help plan it. You know him better than anyone." "I don't know about that, Seth..."
"You got this." He closed the subject, and Jacob joined us. "Hanging in there?" His large palm brushed my clammy forehead.
"Sure." I half smiled. The sight of Jacob's lunch lady lasagna made my mouth water. How odd. I must really be sick.
Sunday
Dressed in thermal tights and a simple black dress, I joined Aunt Mel in the pew behind the Turstin family.
"How you gettin' on?" Rowan caught sight of me first. "You clean up nice." I complimented him.
The charcoal attire made his eyes piercing, and his usual messy hair was tied back.
My hand twitched with an intrusive thought. I wondered how his dark auburn, almost brown hair in color would feel between my fingertips.
"Says the Dote." I looked up at him, confused by the term. "Don't grow his ego, Layla. His head will crush us if it's inflated any further." Iris remarked.
I slid my old cell phone into a hymnal and passed it to him when no one was looking. 'We need to keep in touch.' Is what I typed on the screen.
Rowan nodded his head discretely. Iris didn't notice, making faces as the kid contorted to face her in the pew ahead.
After the benediction, I waited for Rowan to reach out. We needed a safe space to speak without prying ears and watchful eyes.
He texted for me to meet him at a local gym later that afternoon.
"Why here?" I approached him; my nose twisted in disgust at the sweat-embedded room. Was he trying to show off?
"You're weak; if you want a shot at living, you must work on that." Rowan tossed me a clipboard with a pen.
"That's a great idea, Moon. If you stick with it, I'll count your makeup hours." It turns out Coach Kel had a second job.
"How frequently are you thinking?" I signed the waiver. It was better than running laps around the school. "Three or four times a week."
I gaped. "I'll help you." "I'm already regretting this." I followed him around, stretching and watching him work.
I sat on a bench while Rowan easily did cable shoulder presses on the highest setting.
"I came here to talk strategy with you, Rowan." "I am speakin' strategy. Your safest bet is when you're with me."
"I told you we're not working with any average..." I gasped, unable to say the word vampire again.
Rowan frowned, releasing the weights; he leaned forward. "Yeah, I get that part. But if a vampire stalks you, no one around is safe."
He was the only one who could defend himself against these blood-sucking monsters.
"Now let's get you buff like buffy." Rowan switched gears to being a personal trainer.
After every limb of mine was tested, I drove us to the local diner to satisfy our hunger.
The gloom kicked up, and the rain poured as we nestled inside a booth in the back corner.
"So, what do you know about our kind." He pinched the chain to his necklace and dropped it.
I explained to him that Iris and I did a project last October, and all I knew about werewolves was in the media or those leather-bound books in his Aunt Anne's hutch.
"Only believe the content in those books or what I tell you." "Does Iris know?" I questioned, dipping french fries in my milkshake.
"No, I'd like to keep her nosy arse out of this." "Why? Aren't they in danger, too?"
Rowan devoured his platter in two bites. "The less normal folk know about the supernatural, the better off they will be."
I felt my lips form a tight line. Wasn't it different for Iris since it was her family's legend?
After the rain, I bundled up in my coat; Rowan took me to a crossroads where he liked to run at night.
We walked down the train track together, balancing on the beams. "There's so much I don't know..." I began.
Rowan explained things from the questions I asked.
Apparently, werewolves didn't need a full moon to change, but the transformation during that time made them the most powerful.
He showed me he could shift parts of his body. I watch his forearms enlarge, palms widen, and nails grow like claws.
Then, his jaw and prominent teeth. I was surprised how none of this scared me.
"When my sense of smell returns, I can track a scent up to twelve miles away or so." "What happened?" I asked. He pointed at his disjointed nose.
"First, your whiskey cider. Then a fight down at the pub..." Rowan shrugged. "With a vampire?" I questioned.
"Nah, I'm prone to throwing shapes every once in a while... getting into brawls. Werewolf things." His 'every once in a while' sounded like a frequent event.
"How did you know you were a werewolf?" I asked, curious. "Ah, that's a story for a different time." He tilted his head back as if he had heard something.
When I dropped Rowan off at his place, I warned him, "Be careful. There are large wolves in the area, especially in La Push."
"Good, I'll be amongst kin." He laughed, not taking me seriously.
"Don't say I didn't warn you." Some were as big as horses, and others, like Wolf Bear, were almost the size of a single-story trailer.
Part 2: What did I do?
With Jacob's Birthday in five days, I stopped by his place to tell him about the pending party.
I knew he wouldn't want to be blindsided again. "Layla!" He got up from working on his bike.
Thanks to global warming, it wasn't super cold today.
"Tinkering again?" I asked. Walking up to him, I kicked a spare can over. Nuts and bolts poured out of it. I apologized and went to pick up the mess I had made.
"Come to sabotage my progress, troublemaker?" He chuckled, getting up. "Um, I'm not trying to. I can leave if-" "Relax. You're fine."
He lifted me up by my waist and set me on his worker bench.
I tugged a stray hair from my face and twisted it around my finger to reform the shape. "I wanted to ask you about something." "Yes?"
His loving gaze and kind smile kickstarted my heart, and I was suddenly nervous all over again.
I didn't want to ruin the fun, but if Seth was right about me knowing Jake...
"The guys wanted to throw you a surprise birthday party." I blurted out. Jacob laughed, shaking his head.
"Sheesh. They know not to do that." He turned to work on his bike while I kicked my legs in the air. Oh, good. At least I wasn't being a buzzkill.
"I thought you should know since it's your birthday. You should do what you want to do." I went to hop down and leave.
"I'd take us somewhere on my bike if the weather was nice." He sighed as if there was something else to fix on it.
"Is that all you want? No special cake, no gift that you need, or anything?" I paced around the bike to him.
"As long as I'm with you, I'll be good." He stood up again, wiping his hands on a rag. "Okay, then we'll hang out."
I shifted my weight back and forth from heel to toe anxiously. Wasn't I supposed to stay away? But it was Jake's birthday.
A couple of days Later
After my training session with Rowan in the crappy sweaty cement block of a gym, he took me out to the woods.
"How much farther?" I asked, winded. "We're here. Away from frequent footfalls." He explained.
It was miles out by a rushing river with several boulders blocking the bend. We stopped on the level grass plane before it to talk.
"So? What else do you know?" I questioned. "You wanted to know about werewolves." he dropped the leather-bound text between us.
"You have a lot to learn." Rowan described to me that different clans of werewolves had unique practices. All of them derived from some magic or curse.
"Most of us are born into it. Like vampires, a mature werewolf bite can turn a human, but only on the full moon," he explained.
"What, how?" "There's venom coating our teeth. Supposedly, some can desecrate a vampire's composition." My eyes widened into saucers. Was this even real?
"Not everyone has that ability, but our skin is thick enough to withstand vampire bites. Their venom won't affect our system after our turn year."
He continued pacing the field. That certainly made Rowan less killable.
"Does it hurt, turning into a werewolf?" I asked. "Not much after the first year." "What do you mean by that?"
"It takes a whole year to grasp the transformation. Every full moon for twelve months, We have no choice but to shift with the moon's phases.
The human mind gets twisted up in the wolves, and our most raw instincts unravel. Its purpose is to heighten senses and build strength to destroy our enemy and protect mankind. It's a gruesome process, but worth it in the end."
I hoped Rowan would explain more, and he did. "Those bitten born from a werewolf clan who do not turn after twenty have a much higher survival rate than those without the lineage. I hear outsiders have about a fifty-fifty shot."
"Why are you telling me all this? Are you going to..." I whispered, flipping through the images of pages I hadn't viewed before.
Rowan towered behind me. He had stopped pacing, his shadow blocking out the light of twilight.
"Rowan!" he pounced on me, grasping my shoulders. He grazed his teeth against my skin, and I screamed. Then he rolled over, laughing hysterically.
I repeatedly slapped him with the bookbinding. "That's not funny!"
"Okay, Okay. Stop, you're going to rip the pages." He caught the book on my next swing and set it aside.
"It's improper to bite a woman even if she is from the lineage of wolves," Rowan explained. "Really?"
"More men than women survive the bite—secondly, there aren't many." "Oh."
"The few are honored members are in the veil. We need them to raise the future. No need to run around with us as wolves." Rowan knelt in front of me.
"There is something else you should know." Darkness encroached around us now.
"These eyes, and your eye, are indicators of a rare breed of lycan. They make up less than three percent of the werewolf colony. They are highly valuable and sought after."
I shook my head, smirking, thinking he was making this up or bragging about himself.
"I'm serious. There are only a handful every century." He spoke as if he weren't part of this silver.
"Why are you telling me all this?" "Because you are a part of this, Layla."
I poked the peas on my plate. With each jab, they escaped me. Rowan didn't explain much else before we needed to go.
"You got mail." Syd kicked in a pile of boxes. "Be careful with that!"
Ashely kept her word and sent my mothers things. That and the case-tailored suits I ordered Jake arrived.
"So are you going there or y'all coming here," Syd questioned. "Huh?" "For the birthday bash or whatnot?" He waved his hand in the air.
"Billy called. I could get out the old foosball table and order some food." He explained, reading the confusion on my face.
"Is this your way of approval?" I laughed, hugging him.
"It's my way of making you happy. Last fall was hard on you. I'm going to try to make things easier where I can." Syd amended. "Thanks, Grandpa."
Thursday Evening
Everyone pitched in to make the party happen. Emily brought over a dozen crock pots full of her own specialties, Old Quil brought the smoker, and Billie the drinks.
All was set up, and I was to bring over the birthday boy for the not-so-surprise party. I stood on his porch, knocking on the door.
"Am I allowed to come over now?" Jake grumbled. "Almost." I patted the top of the suit's box and led myself inside with it.
"Layla, you didn't have to get me anything." He complained. I was sure he wanted the initial part of the party to be over, and I was prolonging the process.
"Let me leave this in your room so you can open it whenever." "What is it?" I piqued his curiosity.
"Don't worry about it. I didn't go out of my way. It's your original Christmas gift." I set it on the bed.
"Wait. I'll open it." Jacob sat on the edge and patted the spot next to him. "It's a practical gift." I sat in wait, watching him.
Jacob's Pov
"Suits? It's been ages since I've been gifted clothes." I hung up the four sets in my closet. "Why don't you try one to see if they fit?" Layla asked.
"Don't tell me it's a black-tie event," I grumbled, pulling off my shirt. "I'll wait outside," Layla mumbled, getting up to leave. "It's fine if you turn around."
I put on the closest one. It fit in all the right places—a first. "How is it?" she asked, still facing away.
"Like a glove." I tugged on the blazer and buttoned up most of the buttons. "Oh shoot, I forgot to bring the shoes," she scolded herself.
"How much did this all cost?" This couldn't have been cheap. "A friend helped me." Layla neglected to answer and pulled a tie from the box.
I gave it a once-over in the mirror. "You look good; come here. Put this on for the full effect. Then you can tell me how much you hate it."
She patted the bed beside her. "I don't. It's perfect." I let Layla fascin the stream of black silk around my neck.
"Emily picked out the navy for her and Sam's wedding in May. The rest are for graduation, dances, or whatever..." She trailed off, fumbling the last buttons on my collar.
I stopped her from buttoning up too far. "Oops. Sorry, Jake." I got caught up in her large chocolate doe-eyes.
"How does it look? Official enough for a groomsman?" I checked my look in the mirror. "Yes, all good. Now, let's get to the party." Layla cleared her throat.
"Do you think I can pull it off?" I bounced back on the bed and began to pull down the tie.
Layla helped unbutton the crisp white shirt underneath when she paused. "You look very handsome. Not that you need a suit to do that-" She blushed, looking away.
I could hear the pitter-patter of her heart pick up, and her hands glide from the buttons down my tie.
Layla leaned closer; I let her gravity pull me in.
Layla's Pov
I subconsciously pulled Jacob's tie toward me, sliding the silk knot off. His lips bated me; Jake was so close.
"Happy Birthday-" I breathed, my mouth brushed against his. Jacob let me kiss him. Soft, sweet, and slow.
Every touch rippled with a magnetism I couldn't explain, and it was so addictive. He kissed me back.
There was a longing here, making up the three weeks apart.
I pushed off his blazer, not wanting to wrinkle it. Jacob took it off, tossing it aside. I still claimed his tie, but I soon let that go, too, entangling myself with him.
Our kisses became more fervent and breathy. My hands ensnared in his hair, traced his jaw, then expanded over his broad shoulders.
He cupped the base of my head, directing our kisses. His other hand grabbed at my waist, migrating up my shirt.
When Jacob laid us down on his bed, my bra clasp popped open on impact; I let out an embarrassing gasp when he cupped my breast.
At the exact same moment, his bedroom door flew open. "No, wait!" I breathed, pushing him away.
It was Quil and Embry. I covered my face and turned into Jacob's chest. I heard him chuck the nearest item at them.
"We were wondering what was taking so long." Quil laughed. "Do we need to give you guys more time or..." Embry chortled with him.
I held myself together and ran out of the room, shoving by them forcefully. "Layla, wait! Thanks a lot, guys." Jacob's voice echoed behind me.
"I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have done that." That was the opposite of what I should have been doing.
I reclasped my bra on the run to my house. I wished I had driven instead. "Wait up!" "Layla!" Jacob's friends called out to me.
"Shut up! And go away!" They laughed harder but still managed to catch up to me. "It's cool, now we're sort of even." I ignored Embry and marched on.
They easily matched speed. "It's not that serious." I defended. "Sure it isn't." Quil's warm brown eyes flickered with humor.
"Stop it, guys." Jacob met us in no time, clothes changed and all. "Whatever you say, birthday boy," Quil said.
Mortified, I tried to avoid Jake and the rest of the party, which didn't work. He didn't seem to mind; I think he found it funny.
But from time to time, Jacob would shoot me a coy smile and a knowing glance that made me want to rip out my heart and give it to him.
That night, I lay up guilt-ridden in bed, venting to my journal. Ashley lit up my phone.
Embry had undoubtedly told her what had happened, and I didn't want to talk about it. I tried to suffocate myself with my own pillow and screamed into it.
I didn't know what I hated more.
Jacob's friends who interrupt us, or the fact I let Jake get that close without meaning to.
What upset me more was that I wanted to do it again, but I couldn't, and it was killing me.
On the next ring, I picked up the phone to hang up on Ashely, telling me, ' I told you so.' It was Rowan instead.
"Have you figured it out?" His voice sobered me up. "Figured out what?" I sat up. "Are you thick, Layla?" "Um..."
"Come meet me." He demanded and hung up.
Fabricating a lie about leaving an essential textbook at Iris's house, I ran out the door.
"What is it?" I asked. "What's gotten into you?" Rowan noticed my bubbly mood.
"I was at a friend's birthday party." He leaned in to sniff me and then remembered his broken nose.
"It can't be that exciting without booze," he grumbled. I chased Rowan deeper into the woods.
"Did you get it?" He asked again. I shook my head no. How could I when he was being so vague?
"Take out your contacts," Rowan demanded. "Why?" "Just do it." I removed the one carefully.
"This is it." I blinked, exposing my heterochromia; it felt awkward.
"Huh, it's smart that you cover it up. You know there are more than vampires out to get us silvers." "What do you mean us?" I questioned.
"Even though you are not a werewolf, you carry the gene." He reminded me.
"Then my mother and brother-" "Are most likely werewolves." Rowan kept me up to speed.
"They would have told me-" "They wouldn't. Not unless you were brought up in a colony or caught them in transformation." He cut me off.
"Why?" I touched my cheek under my silver eye. "To protect you. Those who wander into the supernatural tend to get caught up in all sorts of trouble."
"Where are they, then? Did a vampire come through?" The realization of the possible danger hit me like a freight train.
"Like with your father?" It was as if Rowan turned to stone. His silver eyes became an ominous storm.
"I don't know, but if your brother is new to this life, he'll be training with the colony in Germany. Another veil in the Alps protects us from the outside world when we are most vulnerable."
Zach's postage was from somewhere in Germany. "A veil?" I let out a deep breath I was holding.
"It's an invisible forcefield of ancient magic. Any ordinary human who runs too close becomes confused and is redirected on an endless looping pathway until they give up. Take the castle ruins in Ireland, for example, or the highlands of Scotland, where forests used to reside to the normal folk. It's all still there. The same thing happened with the Black Forest in France and parts of the Netherlands." Rowan explained.
"There's something else I have to tell you, Rowan." I panicked. "What?" He cut the speech short. "Well, I have to show you."
He eyed me with curious suspicion. I closed my eyes, focusing on the strange electricity under my skin, and pulled it forward.
When I opened my eyes, I looked down and saw my body turned invisible. Rowan's mouth hung open in shock.
"Rowan?" I questioned, hoping he could help me. "I can't say I've seen that before." He circled me, then stepped forward to touch me.
"Hey! Not there." I didn't need two boob grabs in one day. "Sorry."
"You don't know what this is?" "It's ancient magic. You're Fae." He whistled, impressed. "What does that mean?" I demanded.
When I came back into view, Rowan stepped back. "Fae is what we call those with supernatural gifts." "Wouldn't that make me like a witch?"
I thought about the charm I made Jacob. Perhaps I did give all my good luck away.
"No, that's something else entirely." Rowan waved his hand, brushing it off.
"I wish my mother was here. Keava is more knowledgeable about this sort of thing." "Me too." I felt stress and tears bubbling up.
"Hey, It will be okay." Rowan rested his hands on my shoulders. "What you have is a gift, and who you are is a blessing."
I sniffed back the waterworks and listened to him. "But you must promise me you won't show or tell anyone else," Rowan spoke seriously.
"But—" "Your life is on the line, Layla. If another creature—ugh, I don't care if it's another werewolf—crosses your path, you tell 'em nothin'. Scratch that, especially if it's another wolf."
"Okay. I won't." I agreed. "Good." He hugged me, exasperated by all the convincing and storytelling. "Are there other creatures out there?" I mumbled into his chest.
"Plenty. Lepercons, gnomes, fairies, shapeshifters, sirens-" He listed some things off. "What's the difference between Fae and Fairies?"
"Fairies are the tiny mischievous winged creatures. The good ones take care of the earth and monitor the veil. The evil ones terrorize humans in horrible ways."
"Oh." I leaned my head on him, overwhelmed by it all.
"You know Iris would love this." I craned my neck to look at him. "I know." His crooked smile was kind and thoughtful.
Friday
Jacob was waiting for me in the school parking lot. He jumped out of the bed of Embry's truck, surprising me.
"Jeez, Jake. Give a girl some warning." I stumbled back into another car. He laughed and handed me the small bundle of flowers.
"What's this?" "Well, I thought-" My heart sank at the implications of what I had done. "I can't. We can't." I stumbled over my words.
"I know you said we should take things slow, and we can." He continued. "Yesterday wasn't exactly slow." I felt my face heat up all over again.
"You like me, and I like you. What's the deal? What's stopping us?" Jacob took my free hand as we walked to the school entrance.
A twisted, possessive 600-year-old plus vampire bent on adding me to his collection of vampires if he didn't suck me dry first. I thought to myself.
"Jake, I'm sorry. I let things go too far yesterday." I returned the bundle to him, attempting to be as gentle as possible.
"Do you regret what happened?" Jacob drew out the question. The bell rang.
"We should get inside." I hated disappointing Jake. I wish I didn't have to push him away.
I squeezed my eyes shut, recalling the horror-filled holiday party.
I couldn't get Jacob involved with me. Not until Rowan and I took down the coven in Seattle.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading. I know this was kind of an info dump chapter, but I hope I worked in enough spice for those who wanted it.