21: Katie

KATIE'S POVMarch 11th

For how often I had been to La Push, it was strange how nervous I had become. It could feel my hands trembling. Jacob reached across the center console and grabbed my hand, smoothing the back of it with his thumb.

In his mind, I saw that he was content. Happy. "Don't be nervous, Katie. None of them are going to say anything about Laurent."

"Did you tell them about... my weird mind thing?" I knew that if he had, all of them would look at me like I was crazy.

Jacob cringed. "I didn't really have a choice."

Oh. "Why? Did Sam make you tell him?" To me, I still couldn't stop comparing Sam to a villain, and I didn't know why.

"No, but... okay, Sam's the leader of the pack. Being in his pack, I have no choice to obey orders. That was why I couldn't tell you about... everything." He took a pause, looking over at me with a shy smile. "But... well, you know how you have a mind thing? So do we."

I laughed at the impossibility of everything. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "We have a pack mind. When I'm in wolf form, all of us share thoughts. It's embarrassing... to have no secrets like that."

I thought everything over. I began really, truly dreading seeing them. Because I couldn't muster the words out loud, I pushed the thought to him. They won't like me.

Jacob shook his head. "Wrong. Embry already loves you. And the rest will have no choice but to love you."

I shook my head. "They're going to look at me weird. I'm a freak of nature."

"And we aren't?" Jacob challenged, squeezing my hand. "Don't worry. I'm sure they won't even bring it up."

——————————

We met them in the woods, Jacob pulling me my hand. I scanned the forrest for the wolves, but they were nowhere to be seen. After a couple of moments my pulse quickened. I could feel them coming up from the left, and swiveled my head that direction.

Jacob smiled like it amused him. "Hey guys."

Embry quickened into a jog, beelining for me. He picked me up by the waist and spun me in the air. "Katie! I missed you!"

I couldn't help but laugh. "Hi, Embry."

"It's nice to see you again, Katelyn." Sam's voice seemed to echo against the trees. Despite my best effort, my laughter died. I felt nervous again.

"Katie," I corrected with a smile. "Only vampires call me Katelyn."

As if they were mirror images, all of the wolves twisted their faces in disgust— save Jacob and Embry, who both chuckled. "Kidding," I clarified, rubbing my thumb and pointer finger together to relieve my anxiety.

"I'm Paul," one chimes, and I turn my attention to him. He looks similar to the rest— tanned, large muscles and cropped hair, but smaller than Jacob. Now that I look at them— almost all of them are smaller than Jacob. Except Sam.

"Jared," another chimes, smiling.

"Nice to meet you," I smile, looking up at Jacob. I'm messing this up. Save me.

"I heard Emily's making muffins," Jacob diffuses the tension easily, snaking a hand around my waist.

Thank you, I push into his mind, and he grins back at me. Whispering in my ear, he replies, "Anytime."

"So, vampire girl, a little birdy told me that you have an ability to talk in peoples minds," Paul, I think, says playfully. Jacob stills, but I keep the smile on my face.

"I don't think you could consider me a vampire girl," I say, hoping it's enough to change the subject.

He shrugs. "Maybe. Maybe not. You were boning one for a while, though—"

Jacob snaps, stepping in between Paul and I with gritted teeth. His body is trembling with anger. "Stop, Paul."

"That's enough," Sam snaps, disapproval written on his face. "Paul, back down."

Paul's eyes narrow in frustration. "I'm just curious. Can they, y'know, finish—"

That does it. Jacob growls, actually growls, and shoves Paul's chest. Knowing what's about to happen, I step out of the way, backing up towards Embry.

Paul turns first, an explosion of clothes and fur. He became a dark silver mass almost five times his original size, muzzle snarling. His eyes were focused on me, black and unfriendly. With resent.

Jacob looked back at me to make sure I was safe before following Paul's lead. His wolf form was russet— all at once, I realized that the wolf I had been seeing in my dreams... was Jacob. It had been Jacob all along. He was much bigger a wolf than Paul, too. Jacob lunged, teeth snapping, and I drew in a breath.

"Get her to Emily's." Sam commanded Jared and Embry, pointing and shooing us away. They nodded and I followed their lead, eyes trained on the fight. They were migrating farther into the forrest, and Sam was quivering, ready to step in.

I was worried, so worried, that Jacob was going to get hurt.

As if he read my mind, Jared chuckled to himself. "Ten bucks that Paul leaves a mark on Jacob. He's been fighting longer."

Embry scoffed. "Deal. Jake's a natural. Paul doesn't have a chance. He should've backed down when Sam told him to."

That made me smile. "I back Embry. Jacob's got it in the bag."

Jared shook his head, like he was in awe. "Jacob's one lucky son of a bitch. How are you so cool with all of this?"

I shrugged. "Vampires are much, much weirder." We fell into a comfortable silence. About twenty paces from my car, I asked, glancing between the boys, "is Jacob going to be okay?"

"Aw, worried about your boyfriend?" Jared asked in a teasing voice, grinning.

I shook my head. "That's not what I mean. I know he can handle himself. It's just that... is he always going to be this territorial over me? Couldn't it become a problem?"

Embry rubbed his neck. "Well, from what I can tell with Sam and Emily, yes. To a degree. But I don't have an imprint yet, so I couldn't tell you for sure." He smiled in his classic Embry way, slightly crooked, and looked back at Jared. "Speaking of which... when we get to Emily's, don't stare at her, okay? It bugs Sam."

I had no idea what he was talking about, but I nodded anyways. "Okay."

"Also... we don't have a car. Care to give us a ride?"

I laughed. "As long as one of you two buffoons drive. I have no idea where I'm going."

——————————

Embry parked my car in front of a small, grey house. It looked old, well-loved. The driveway was made of smooth concrete, lined by flowers. In boxes under the windows lived colorful marigolds. The house seemed cheerful. And when I got out of the car and immediately smelled fresh muffins, it seemed like a fairytale.

When we went in the door, I could immediately see Emily standing in front of the oven. She was popping the muffins out of the tin and placing them onto a tray, her long black hair falling to her waist. Her skin was coppery, and when she turned halfway to see who had entered, I could see how beautiful she was.

Maybe that was why I was told not to stare.

But when she turned all the way around, I could see the three long scars across the right side of her face. They looked bright, despite being long-since healed, and twisted the right side of her mouth into a permanent grimace. Her eyes met mine warmly, and the left side of her face pulled into a large grin. "Are you the Katelyn Swan I have heard so much about?"

Learning from my earlier mistake, I left my vampire joke out. "Just Katie. Wow, those smell delicious. Is there any way I can help?"

Emily looked pleased. "See, boys? Katie comes in for one minute and has already offered to help. All of you could learn some manners."

Jared grinned. "I can't help it! Your cooking is just so good."

Emily rolled her eyes and brought the tray of muffins to the table. "And where is Sam?"

"Paul was being a dick to Katie." Embry said through his muffin, as if that was enough explanation. Emily seemed to understand, because she rubbed my shoulder.

"Happens all the time. Paul's got a bit of a temper." Emily said soothingly, which did make me feel a bit better. She looked over my shoulder and watched as Embry shoved another into his mouth. "Save some for your brothers."

"Pig," Jared snorted, taking a muffin.

"I can help you get started on a second batch," I offered, really wanting to prove myself to her. I could tell that of all people, Emily would probably best understand what it was like to date a werewolf.

"I would love that," Emily smiled, walking me through her recipe.

As I helped her with the muffins, it was easy to watch the three of them banter like a family. It had been so long since I felt like that. I've never truly had any siblings. My parents have been dead for a year, and when they were alive it had been just like this. It made me feel warm inside. But also the tiniest bit jealous.

After about half an hour, Sam walked in. "Emily," he said, voice so loving that I could almost feel it. He opened his arms for her, reaching down to kiss the scars on her cheek before kissing her lips.

"Hey, I'm eating." Jared complained, although he didn't actually sound upset.

"Then shut up and eat," Sam suggested, kissing her on the lips again. I smiled. Embry groaned.

I was just pouring the muffin batter into the tray when Jacob and Paul entered, laughing and punching each other's shoulders. Jacob scanned the room until his eyes met mine, and he smiled. He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me, kissing my hairline. "They got you on kitchen duty, huh?"

I couldn't help my smile. "I volunteered, you jerk."

Emily turned to Jacob. "She's got better manners than the rest of them, that's for sure."

I looked up at him, scanning. You okay? Are you injured at all?

"I'm fine, Katie," Jacob laughed, stepping aside so I could finish scooping the batter.

Embry inspected Paul. Suddenly, he shouted. "Oh, man! Look here, Jared. You owe me ten bucks."

I frowned. "Did you hurt him?"

Jacob rubbed my lower back. "Just a scratch. He'll be fine by sundown."

Sundown? What, are you a prophet now? Telling the future? I said, thinking that it seemed too specific to be a guess.

Jacob chuckled. "I'm not a fortune teller, Katie. We just heal fast."

Embry protested. "Woah, woah, what's happening here? Katie, are you doing your mind thing?"

I almost hadn't realized I had done it without speaking. It was just so... natural around Jacob. I shrugged, putting the second muffin pan into the oven.

"I don't believe it. It seems to crazy to be true. Not only is Jacob's imprint his best friend, but she's also a superhero? No chance. I think you're making it up." Jared said off-handedly, shoving a muffin into his mouth.

I narrowed my eyes at him. Wanna bet?

His eyes widened. "Did anyone else hear that?"

Hear what? I'm not saying anything out loud. I shrugged, making sure my face was turned enough that he could see my lips weren't moving.

"Okay, that is freaky." Jared said, pointing at me.

"Wait, what?" Embry and Paul chimed, looking between Jared and me.

I rolled my eyes. "You three need to have your ego knocked down, like, two pegs. Just because you can't believe it doesn't mean it's not true. You all are one to talk."

Emily grinned. "Finally. It's good to have someone on my side."

I smiled at her, then wrapped my arm around Jacob's waist again. He was shirtless and radiating so much heat that he felt like a blanket. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, grinning at me, and I smirked back.

Sam straightened. "Also, Jacob has some news for us."

I knew where this was headed. "I know what the redhead wants. Katie told me— she is trying to avenge her mate. But her mate wasn't the black-haired leech we killed. The Cullens killed her mate last year— so, she's after Bella."

"Bella Swan?" Embry asked, eyes drifting to me. I nodded solemnly. "But she's just a girl."

"I didn't say it made sense. That's why the bloodsucker keeps trying to get past us. She's been heading for Forks." Jacob's warmth was the only think keeping me calm.

"Excellent. We've got bait," Jared smiled, like it amused him.

I picked up a can opener from the counter and chucked it at him as hard as I could. He grabbed it out of the air before it could hit his face. "That's my cousin you're talking about. Bella is not bait."

"Agreed," Jacob added.

Jared waved a hand. "That's not what I meant."

Sam nodded carefully. "So... we'll change our hunting patterns. Try to leave a few holes and see if she takes the bait. We'll have to split up, and I don't like that. But if she's really after Bella, she probably won't take advantage of our numbers. She'll want in and out quickly.

"We'll split into inner and outer rings. Paul, Jared and Embry will take the outer ring. Jacob and I will take the inner. When she's trapped, we'll collapse in."

Suddenly, Sam looked at me. "It'd be best if you could get Bella to spend as much time here in La Push as possible."

Bella would be easy enough to convince. "And Charlie?"

"March Madness should give Billy and Harry enough to keep Charlie here when he's not at work. But... this is just what Jacob thinks is best. You should decide yourself if it's worth the risk. Is it safe for Bella here?"

I nodded. "Well, she sorta already knows about the whole werewolf thing..."

"Katie!" Embry protested suddenly. "You told her?"

"She already knew! Jacob told her a legend about it, like, a year ago!" It was a terrible excuse, but I didn't care. "Plus, she already saw you in the meadow that day, and it wasn't like any of you told me not to tell her!"

"You knew, then, when Jacob imprinted on you, that we were all werewolves?" Sam asked, trying to clarify.

Yes. Remember, I have a weird ability/disease thing? I tried to push it into all of their minds, although it was difficult considering I'd never tried to do more than one person at a time.

Embry let out a low whistle. "So, you're willing to stay here with her? So we can get this all wrapped up in La Push?"

I nodded, terror pulling at my heartstrings. "You'll be careful, right?"

The boys erupted into laughter and hoots of amusement. All except Emily, who mirrored my concern. "The muffins are ready," she called, pulling the second batch out of the oven.