20: Jacob

JACOB'S POVMarch 11th

For the first time since my transition, I felt like I was on the moon.

I couldn't believe that Katie didn't care. That she still wanted to be with me even if I was a werewolf. I had run the scenario dozens of times in my head, and none of them had went that well.

When Katie finally kicked me out of her room to get some sleep, I hopped out the window and landed on the ground smiling. I jogged over to the forrest, where I knew the pack had been waiting for a couple of hours with a shit-eating grin on my face.

With a level of control I hadn't experienced before, I went into my wolf form as soon as I reached the tree line. Everything was running through my head in a dreamy fog.

Embry's appreciation was clear. I knew I liked her.

Paul seemed to share Embry's acceptance. So this chick has some sort of like... powers? Why isn't she my imprint?

There was no point trying to play it cool. My blood felt hot suddenly, thinking of Paul and Katie together like that. Of her being his instead of mine.

Woah, Jake, I'm not going to steal your girl. I could sense it was true in his thoughts but it still rubbed me the wrong way. Sorry man. It was a joke.

Did you confirm what she knows about the vampires? Sam asked gently, changing the subject with ease. It was clear that he wanted more than just a reunion— he wanted a firm answer.

Yeah. She knew because she dated one when she lived in Oregon. It was hard to picture what Johnathan looked like. It made me jealous to my core that he was her first love.

So she's a vamp sympathizer? Dude...

No! I don't... just ask her yourself.

You gonna invite her to the Rez to meet Emily? Embry asked, trying to diffuse my frustration.

Yeah, probably. I'll have to apologize to Charlie and Bella first. And explain all of this to Billy so that the air is clear between them. But I'll try to bring her by later.

Good luck with that, man. Paul seemed to be genuinely worried for me. I mean, now that I thought about it, really, I had a lot of work to do to make everything right. It had totally slipped my perspective— how jacked up everything had become between us. Getting Charlie to forgive me might be the hardest part.

But I had a few ideas.

——————————

I pulled into Katie's driveway just after three, with a bag of Harry Clearwater's famous fish fry in one hand and a bouquet of daisies in the other. I don't think I've ever been nervous to talk to Charlie in my entire life, but here we are.

Charlie opened the door, a surprised expression on his face. He frowned at first, taking me in, before sighing. "Jacob. I didn't expect to see you here."

I cleared my throat. "I came to apologize to you."

"Jacob, you owe an apology to Katie, not to me." Charlie still had a hand on the door handle, like he was going to turn me away. "She's heartbroken."

I knew I had to get this out quick. "Look, I've been having a rough time lately. Both my dad and I have. It's... difficult to explain. But, I promise I never meant to hurt her. Or ruin what's between you and Billy." I handed him the bag. "This is from my dad. Well, from Harry, too."

Charlie's expression softened ever so slightly. "Tell them thank you." A moment of silence fell between us. Luckily, Charlie continued. "Look, kid, I don't hate you, okay? But you need to fix things with Katie. I don't know what happened between you, but I know she's just trying to check up on you. You two are good for each other." He sighed again, a hand dragging down his face with exhaustion. "Just, try to make it right?"

I nodded, a hand coming up to my neck shyly. "Well, we sort of did, already. Make up, I mean." I could feel the heat rise to my cheeks. "She's my best friend." It was too complicated to call her my... girlfriend, if that's what we even were, in front of Charlie.

His eyes squint knowingly. "I know what it's like. I was friends with Renee before we were married. Just be careful with her. That's all I ask."

"I will," I say firmly. Suddenly, I remember the flowers still in my hand. "Uh, is Bella home? I wanted to apologize to her, too."

Charlie opens the door all the way and gestures for me to come inside. He hesitates again, like he's going to ask me something else, so I wait. Finally, he asks, "Is Billy free tonight? To watch the game?"

I grin.  "You know my dad can't pass up watching a basketball game. They're just not the same from our TV."

——————————

I knocked on Bella's door, praying that she wouldn't slam it in my face when she saw who it was.

She smiled when she opened the door, as if she expected someone else. "Hey, did you— oh. Hi Jacob." Her eyes were wide, expression neutral.

I tried to hide my nerves by smiling. "Hey. I just... wanted to apologize for being a bad friend. I've just been... dealing with a lot." I wanted to tell her everything, but it wasn't that easy to get around Sam's order.

"I know," she said quietly. "Katie told me. Everything."

Oh. Well, that made it easy, I guess. "You know..." I choke on the words and have to re-phrase. "About all of it?"

"She told me yesterday in the car. And... I remember your story. From the beach, that one day." Oh. She doesn't know everything, but she does know the werewolf stuff.

"Oh. I, uh, brought these for you." I handed her the bouquet, and she smiled softly.

"Thanks." She looked down at them, a slight blush on her cheeks, and looked back up at me. "Are you sure you don't want to give these to Katie?"

I grinned at that. "Nah, I brought her something better. I was going to take her back to the Rez today to meet..." the rest of the pack. Even though I couldn't say it out loud, I could tell she understood by the glint in her eyes.

"Okay." She allowed, nodding. "Well, I forgive you, Jake. Just make sure you pick up when we call."

"Okay," I agreed, chuckling a little. "As long as you agree to covering for Katie if I don't get her home until late tonight."

"Deal," she smiled. I looked at her a moment more. I seems like years ago I used to have a crush on her. And now? It's hard for me to imagine I'd ever had eyes for a girl other than Katie.

I waved goodbye somewhat awkwardly and crossed the hallway to Katie's room. Gently, I turned her doorknob, not bothering to knock.

Katie was sitting at her desk, back to me, a notebook in front of her. "Bella, did you already do the—" she turned back to look at me, and a grin spread across her face. "Jake! Sorry, I thought you were-"

"Bella?" I ask, grinning to match her. I make my way to her side, put my hand on her lower back, and glance over her shoulder at the homework on her desk. "Can I steal you away for a bit? I want to take you to meet the rest of the pack. And Emily," I add.

She looks at me hesitantly. "Do they know about everything?" When I nod, she lets out a deep breath. "Are they... mad at me?"

"Why would they be mad at you?" I ask, rubbing her back.

She shrugs. "I don't know." I can tell she wants to say something else, but stops herself short. "Do you remember that vampire in the meadow? Laurent?"

"Yeah," I say, my heart dropping. If she was somehow friends with him, knowing that we had killed him... I suddenly became almost paralyzed with fear. "What about him?"

Katie looked up at me, tears brimming. Her hands drifted up my chest. "You have to know he was going to kill us. Bella and I. We didn't know he was going to be here, we didn't bring him here—"

"What?" I asked, my heart thundering. "That vampire was trying to kill you?"

"Yes," she whimpered. "He was after Bella, I guess."

My blood turned cold. "We killed him."

Her eyes widened with shock— no... relief. "You did?" Her voice was quiet, strained. "I'm glad." And she looked glad, too. "I haven't been sleeping well since that day in the meadow," she murmured, leaning into my touch. And it felt so right that I almost forgot to respond.

I moved my hand up her back, stroking softly. "You don't need to worry. All that's left to do now is kill the girl."

"What?" She straightened, leaning back to look me in the eyes. "What girl?"

"His mate. She keeps running away. Don't worry— it'll be over soon." The pack's got it down.

"Red curly hair?" Katie asked, voice strained again.

"Yeah, that's the one."

Her face slackened. "That's Victoria. Not Laurent's mate— James' mate. He was the one... Edward killed him last year. Victoria's looking for revenge."

"You weren't here last summer," I point out stupidly. "And, like I said— the pack's got it covered. Really."

She shakes her head. "Victoria's not after me, she's after Bella. Mate for mate." With that aloud, Katie stood abruptly. She started pacing, her knuckle pressed to her lips. "Which means she's been after us for weeks and I didn't know."

"I should have told you. I just didn't think—"

Katie looked back up at me sadly. "It's okay. How could you have known?" The words were solemn.

"I should have been here," I said quietly, approaching her again. She wrapped her arms around my waist and pressed her face into my chest, and I breathed in her familiar scent.

"I'm glad you're here now," she responds, voice sounding back to normal.

"Speaking of which... are you ready to go? Emily's making muffins, and I'm starving," I ask into her hair. "They're probably waiting for us."

"Okay," she says, untangling from me to grab her jacket from its spot on the back of her chair.

"Oh, but I should probably warn you in advance..." I take a breath, trying to find the best way to word this. "Now that I've imprinted, it's in my DNA to be... territorial. Of you. I can't help it. And the guys like to pick fights about it. So..."

"So you're basically going to be overprotective and jealous?" Katie laughed, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. She must've seen the answer in my face, because she grabbed my hand tightly. "I don't care if you get into a fight. Well... as long as you win."

And with that, I couldn't help but grin back at her.