A/N: I don't own Twilight...
Thank you to Melody Taylor for her beta skills, and EMHW-Bear for pre-reading. I appreciate it so much!
As she drove home, Bella couldn't help but think about the implications of Sam being a wolf. He'd changed most likely because of vampires being nearby. It seemed insane to really think about, but if growing up with Renee had done anything, it had given Bella a very open mind to the possibilities of fantastical things.
Where were these vampires, she wondered. Did they really drink blood from humans? Did they kill their victims?
So many questions ran through her mind, it made her head spin.
When she finally pulled into the driveway, Bella was relieved to have a reason to change her train of thoughts. The path they were on would lead nowhere good. She knew she didn't need to stress and worry about the situation yet.
"I'm home, Dad," Bella called as she made her way into the house. She tucked her keys into her jacket pocket and walked into the living room. A few beer cans littered the side table, and a pizza box sat on the coffee table by Charlie's chair.
"I saved you a slice of pizza, if ya want it, Bells."
"Thanks, Dad. I already ate, though." Bella pushed her hair back over her shoulder and twisted her thumbs in the sleeves of her flannel shirt. "I'm gonna go back out to La Push in the morning if that's alright. I'm gonna help Billy with some stuff."
Charlie looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "Yeah, sure, that's fine. Just don't be so late tomorrow night. I wanna take you to the diner since it's the last free weekend before school starts."
"Sure. Sounds good," she told him. "I'm going to bed. Night!"
She took the stairs carefully, not wanting to trip. Once she'd changed into pajamas and brushed her teeth, she settled onto her bed with her phone. Sliding her finger across the bottom, she unlocked the screen and saved Sam's number into her phone before sending a text, disregarding her request for a call in the morning.
B: What time should I come tomorrow?
S: 9?
B: K. I'll bring breakfast. Lots of breakfast ;)
S: See you then. Thnx Bella.
She didn't want to stop texting him, but it was getting late, so she set her phone on the bedside table, slid under the covers, and turned off the lamp. She closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep.
Touching her mouth, she remembered the feel of Sam's lips on hers. For her first kiss, she didn't have any complaints.
Sam was gorgeous-tall, muscular, and his eyes seemed to peer into the depths of her soul. There was something about him that just drew her in and called to her. She wanted to know more about him.
Grabbing her phone, she swiped it open and pulled up her social media app. Tapping quickly, she entered his name in the search bar. She hovered her thumb over the enter key, wondering if she snooped through his profile if that would take any of the fun of getting to know someone new away. She hit the enter key and watched as it pulled up two results. One showed an older man, probably around sixty years old. The other profile picture was of a young man in his football uniform, in the midst of throwing a ball. The spot just under his name said he was nineteen. Just two years older than Bella.
Pushing the button on the side of the phone, she shut the screen off and slid it back onto the nightstand by the bed. She wanted to talk to him and spend time with him. She didn't want to form opinions based on something he posted. She wanted the anticipation of finding out new things.
Collapsing onto her pillow, she pulled the blanket up under her chin and turned to her side. Bella closed her eyes and and once again tried to will herself to sleep.
1 sheep, 2 sheep, 3 sheep, wolf… her thoughts were spiraling quickly.
The huge black wolf loomed in her mind. The human eyes were so strange to her. It made sense because she knew they were really Sam's eyes, but the fact that every other part of him changed but his eyes… It seemed so strange. She knew his brain still worked as Sam, but she wondered if his wolf had separate thoughts from his human self. She would have to ask him eventually.
The black fur had been so soft. It had kind of tickled her hand when she pet him...his wolf. He had been taller than her in his wolf form. It had truly been terrifying. Her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest. She felt ridiculous now, being scared by him. He didn't seem terrifying at all.
Settling back into the pillows further, she thought of Sam until she fell asleep.
She was running as fast as her feet could carry her, bare toes squishing in the muddy earth beneath her. Branches clawed at her arms and face, tangling in her hair, but still, she ran.
Her breath heaved in gasping pants. Her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest.
Tripping over a tree root, she went flying onto the forest floor and quickly pulled herself up to crawl into the thick underbrush surrounding her. She curled herself into the tiniest ball she could manage and willed her heart rate and breathing to even out. Forcing herself to take slow breaths, she tried to listen to the sounds around her.
There was nothing.
Not even the scurry of a squirrel in a tree.
It was absolutely silent.
Focusing herself to hear the faintest of sounds, she screamed in fright when a cold, white hand grabbed her by the arm and jerked her out of her hiding place.
"Oh poppet, there's no need for all the noise, is there? After all, no one can hear you anyway." The speaker was young, around twenty years old, if that. Blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail at the nape of his neck, leaving a few short strands to whip around his face in the breeze. "Running was a silly thing to do. You can't outrun me. And even if you could, I would sniff you out anywhere." Dragging her closer, He dragged his nose up the side of her neck, inhaling deeply. "You smell absolutely mouthwatering."
"W-w-what are you talking about?" She managed to croak out.
Sighing, he grinned, his white teeth flashing in the stark illumination of the sliver of moonlight that shone between the branches of the trees around them. "It's much more fun to show you," he replied. Taking a fingernail, he slid it over the back of her hand, making a small slice into her skin. Blood pebbled up slowly, and he inhaled deeply, eyes closing with a look of rapture on his face. "Almost better than sex, poppet. But you'll give me that, too, won't you?"
She looked quickly away from his eyes, feeling slightly off-balanced and sick to her stomach. "I-I.. I don't think so."
Glancing back up at him through her lashes, she saw his brows crease and his mouth curl menacingly. "You don't think so?...And what if I don't give you a choice?"
"W-well, then I'll scream and fight with everything I have until I'm dead." Despite the fright flowing through her veins, her voice steadied out quickly as she found her strength.
"Oh, poppet. I like your jokes. Don't you know? You're already good as dead?"
Meeting his eyes fearlessly, she straightened her spine before she replied, "Are you sure about that?"
Dropping her body like dead weight, she fell to the forest floor, not caring that she would have bruises all over her arm from his fingers.
With a snarl, a black wolf leapt over her and attacked the stone-cold body before her. Closing her eyes tight, she prayed to any god that would listen that the wolf–that Sam–would be okay. That he would make it out of this fight alive and healthy–completely unscathed.
The sound of screeching metal caused her to look back in shock. She gasped when she felt a cold hand scrabbling at her fingers. Looking at it, she almost screamed as the severed appendage tried to work its way back to its body.
The wolf spared a glance back at her when she gasped, making sure she was okay. The split second of distraction was enough to give the cold one an opening for escape. With a sucker punch with the nub of his arm to Sam's throat, the vampire was able to knock Sam away and get up. Wasting no time, he moved to strike Sam again.
"Behind you, Sam!" Bella yelled as she raked her own nails down her arm, causing tiny rivers of blood to flow.
The vampire froze for a fleeting second, then instantly turned and was at Bella's throat.
With a gasp, Bella sat up. Her heart beating uncontrollably. Getting up, she tiptoed to the bathroom and filled the small cup on the counter with water, and drank it slowly. Turning it upside down, she padded back into her room. Her mind spun with memories of her dream, and she couldn't seem to settle down.
Sitting in the chair at her small desk in the corner, she grabbed her notebook and pen and wrote down as much as she could remember. She didn't know why, but it felt important for some reason.
Once she was done writing, she lay back in her bed and tried to go back to sleep, but when that failed, she grabbed her phone and pulled up Sam's profile again. She didn't want to scan his posts but rather his pictures. His profile picture of him in his football gear throwing a ball didn't show much, so she slid to the next one. This one showed him in a pair of athletic shorts and a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, leaning against an older model lifted truck. He looked good. Sliding to the next one, her breath caught in her throat again. His cutoff shorts rode low on his hips, and his bare chest glistened in the picture. She could see the outline of his abs and muscles, though he was clearly more defined now.
Fanning herself with her hand, she turned her phone upside down on the nightstand beside the bed. Flinging herself back, she thought of how handsome he looked. Touching her lips, she remembered the kiss they shared and how it caused butterflies to dance in her stomach. She really enjoyed the feeling of his lips on hers. They were soft but still firm, and even though he'd been a wolf for three weeks prior, he still tasted delicious, like sticky, sweet caramel–her favorite. She couldn't help but wonder if his skin tasted like caramel, too. She thought about running her tongue down his neck, between his pecs, and in the grooves made by those amazing abs.
She finally fell asleep to the thought of what Sam's fingers trailing over her body would feel like.
A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I would love to hear your thoughts! In the meantime, I'll see you in two weeks with an update!