intermittent ignorance

Jacob had never ignored me before.

Sure, he could be stubborn, and yeah, he had a habit of avoiding things he didn't want to deal with, but never me. He had always been there, steady, like an old song on repeat. Even when the world felt like it revolved around Bella-because, let's be honest, it usually did-Jacob had never made me feel like I was just some background noise. Not until very recently.

It had been days since the disastrous movie night, since he had stormed off looking like he was seconds away from spontaneously combusting. I had told myself he just needed time, that maybe whatever had set him off would pass, and we'd go back to the way things were. But time had passed, and instead of things going back to normal, they had only gotten worse.

He wasn't answering my texts. My calls went straight to voicemail.

I had even swallowed my pride and gone to his house, standing awkwardly on the porch like some pathetic lost puppy. Billy had answered the door, his expression tight, his voice carefully neutral.

"Jake's sick," he had said.

Yeah. Sure.

If Jacob was sick, then I was the Queen of England.

And now, sitting on the edge of my bed, phone clutched tightly in my hands, I felt that awful twist in my stomach again-the one that whispered, Maybe he just doesn't want to talk to you.

I glared at my phone screen, willing it to light up.

It didn't.

With an irritated groan, I threw my phone onto the nightstand and flopped back against my pillows, staring up at the ceiling. The silence in my room was suffocating, thick with unspoken words and unanswered questions. Downstairs, I could hear Bella pacing. Again.

I rolled onto my side and groaned into my pillow. She had been like this all morning, walking in circles through the living room, mumbling under her breath, occasionally stopping to stare at nothing like some ghost had whispered a cryptic riddle in her ear. It was getting weird, even by Bella standards.

I dragged myself out of bed and stomped downstairs, flopping onto the couch. "Okay," I said, watching her wear a groove into the floor. "Are you planning on walking a hole into the carpet, or are you actually going to say whatever's on your mind?"

Bella stopped mid-step, looking over at me like she had just realized I was there.

"You were at La Push," she said.

I blinked. "Wow. Sherlock Holmes, everyone."

She ignored that.

"So was I," she continued, chewing her lip. "Jacob saw me." That got my attention. I sat up straighter. "What? When?"

"This morning," she admitted, arms wrapping around herself. "I-I was at the cliffs. I wasn't going to jump or anything," she added quickly when she saw the look on my face. "I just...I needed to get out of my head for a while."

I frowned. "And he was there?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but he wouldn't come near me. He-" She hesitated. "He looked...different."

A strange unease crept up my spine. "Different how?"

Bella's brows furrowed, like she wasn't sure how to explain it. "Bigger," she said finally. "And angrier. Like-like he didn't even recognize me."

I exhaled slowly, my mind racing.

"So it's not just me," I muttered.

Bella shook her head.

A long pause settled between us. Then, because I hated heavy silences, I muttered, "You don't think he caught some weird super puberty, do you?"

Bella shot me a look.

"What?" I threw up my hands. "He disappears for a few days, and now he's suddenly Hulked out and avoiding us? It's weird."

Bella didn't argue. She just chewed her lip again, deep in thought.

I leaned back against the couch, staring at the ceiling. "I don't get it. He told me he wasn't mad at me. That he wasn't sick. So why is he cutting us off?"

Bella was quiet for a long time before she finally whispered, "I think it's a secret. A big one."

That much was obvious. But what kind of secret was worth shutting us out completely?

I didn't know. I wasn't sure I wanted to.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

That morning, I awoke with a jolt, my body drenched in cold sweat. My breath came in uneven gasps, the remnants of a nightmare clinging to the edges of my mind like cobwebs.

I had been in the woods—lost, or at least it had felt that way. The trees loomed over me, tall and endless, their gnarled roots twisting through the undergrowth like the veins of the earth itself. There was something suffocating about the silence, something unnatural. I could hear my own heartbeat, the rustling of leaves underfoot as I treaded carefully, the damp scent of moss thick in the air. And then—

I tripped.

A stupid, humiliating, full-body sprawl over a fallen log. A groan escaped me as I pushed myself up onto my hands, dirt clinging to my palms. But before I could so much as curse my own clumsiness, my breath hitched—

Because I wasn't alone.

A massive, russet-colored wolf stood just feet away, its golden eyes locked onto mine. It was huge, far bigger than any animal had a right to be, its muscles coiled tight beneath thick fur. A deep, guttural snarl rumbled from its chest, vibrating through the air like a warning. And then..

It lunged.

I didn't even have time to scream.

And then, just like that, I was awake.

I sat there for a long moment, my pulse hammering, the phantom image of the wolf burned into the backs of my eyelids. A dream. Just a dream.

And yet, somehow, that dream had led me here.

I stood outside Jacob's house, my knuckles rapping against the wooden door before I even fully processed the decision to come. Through the glass, I saw Billy wheeling himself toward me, his face unreadable. The door swung open with a soft creak.

"Mari?" he asked, his brows furrowing in mild surprise.

I swallowed, my throat dry. "I need to see him, Billy." My voice was quieter than I intended, the weight of exhaustion pressing down on me. My hair fell in front of my face as I looked down, studying the wood of the porch like it held some sort of answer.

Billy sighed, his dark eyes searching mine. "He's not in."

There was finality in his tone, the kind that told me not to push. But I had never been particularly good at listening to things I didn't want to hear.

"I'm sorry, Billy," I murmured, stepping forward. "I really need to see him."

And before he could stop me, I was squeezing through the small gap in the door, my feet carrying me toward Jacob's room with a determination that barely masked the nerves buzzing under my skin. I could hear Billy calling my name, but it fell into the background, drowned out by the rush of blood in my ears.

I pulled open Jacob's door.

He was asleep.

The sight of him, sprawled out on his bed, his face slack with exhaustion, stole the breath from my lungs. For a moment—just a fleeting second—I let myself take it in. The peaceful rise and fall of his chest, the way his now very short hair was tousled against the pillow, like he had been tossing and turning. He looked so... normal. Like the Jacob I knew. The Jacob who had been my best friend since childhood. The Jacob who had suddenly disappeared from my life without a word.

I stepped forward, a small smile tugging at the corners of my lips. And then—

A low woof from outside snapped me out of it.

My gaze darted to the window, and my stomach twisted at the sight of them. Paul. Embry. Jared. And Sam.

I tried to keep the sneer off my face, but I wasn't entirely successful. My pulse pounded in my ears as I turned on my heel and strode toward the front door, my body moving before my brain fully caught up. I didn't have a plan. I didn't know what I was going to do. But I needed answers.

What the hell was I going to do against four fully grown men? Absolutely nothing. But that didn't seem to stop me.

I stomped toward them, my heart slamming against my ribs like a caged animal. "What did you do?" The words burst out before I could temper them, sharp and demanding.

All four of them turned to me, their expressions unreadable.

I could hear my own heartbeat, feel the wind whipping through my hair. My veins were buzzing with adrenaline—the kind Bella kept chasing these days, the kind that made you feel alive and out of control all at once.

I shoved Sam. "What did you do?"

Jared stepped forward immediately, his voice low and warning. "Watch it."

Before I could retort, Sam held up a hand, silencing him with nothing but a look. "Easy," he said.

His voice was calm. Too calm.

That only made my suspicion grow stronger.

"What did you do to him?" I demanded, my voice rising with each syllable. My breath left me in short bursts, heat crawling up my neck. "He didn't want any of this!"

Paul stepped forward, eyes flashing. "What did we do?" He let out a humorless chuckle, the sound sharp as broken glass. "What did he do?"

I barely had time to register his words before his whole body tensed, a violent tremor overtaking him.

Sam moved quickly, grabbing his arm. "Whoa. Both of you—calm down."

"He tells me nothing because he's scared of you," I shot back.

Jared and Paul exchanged a glance before breaking into identical grins, laughing like it was the funniest thing they'd ever heard.

Like hyenas.

Something snapped in me. Before I could stop myself, I swung my arm back—and slapped Paul across the face.

The laughter died.

His head jerked to the side from the impact, and when he turned back to look at me, his expression was unreadable. But there was a fire in his eyes now.

"Too late now," Jared muttered, his voice laced with amusement.

Paul started shaking.

And I don't mean in an oh-I'm-so-mad way. I mean literally shaking. His whole body trembled like an earthquake was brewing beneath his skin, his breath coming in harsh, ragged bursts.

Sam grabbed him again, this time more forcefully. "Paul. Easy."

But Paul was past listening.

His shaking grew more violent, and then—

The sound of ripping. Of cloth. Of something else.

One second, Paul was standing there. The next, he wasn't.

In his place was a wolf.

A massive, brown-furred wolf, teeth bared in a snarl, eyes locked onto me like I was dinner.

I stumbled back, my entire brain short-circuiting. Nope. Nope. Nope. That did NOT just happen.

I barely had time to react before Jacob came barreling out of the house.

"Mari!"

Oh, so now he wanted to acknowledge me.

"Run!" I screamed, my feet already moving before I could think. "Jake, run!"

And then—

The ripping sound again.

I turned just in time to see Jacob change.

To see him shift, just like Paul had.

Except this time, I knew that wolf.

Russet fur. Gold eyes. The same one from my dream.

A violent shiver ran down my spine.

The two wolves lunged at each other, growling and snapping, the ground shaking beneath them as they tumbled into the forest.

"What the hell," I muttered.

From beside me, Embry snickered. "Guess the wolf's out of the bag."

I whipped around to glare at him. "Oh, shut up."