a jacob black tale

autumn is here - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-10-03T11:30:00.001-05:00

The floor of the forest was much colder than Jacob expected. He awoke with a shiver. He couldn't shake the feeling that he had some how gotten here magically. But why? Why had this happened? Embry was right next to him.

"What has she done?" Jacob shook him. "She's alone with that..that vampire." He couldn't think of Tess being with her mother because by all accounts, that woman had never been a mother to Tess.

"Better than being a toy poodle, I guess." Embry told him. They really weren't all that far from home. He got up then. Jacob did to. He felt a little dizzy. "We're not under her spell."

Jacob supposed that had to be good for something, but he wanted to go back. There wasn't a chance he'd stay with the pack now. Was there? He couldn't just forget about Tess. Jacob winced hard. He could feel it coming over him. He was sure of it Tess would become a vampire, wouldn't she?

"You under-estimate her, you know that." Embry quickly informed him as they walked through the crisp autumn morning back down the trail close to Sam's place.

"What? You're reading my thoughts now?" Jacob felt he was the only one without any power now and he was the one who got bit by a vampire.

"Its easy to see what's on your mind, Jake." Embry looked back at him with a grin.

"So you're saying you're never even had real feelings for Tess?" Jacob wanted to know now. At least he wasn't half dressed. Someone had made sure he was ready for the elements. He even had his favorite soft plaid shirt over his gray fit tank. It smelled of lavender. He dreamed of Tess, suddenly. He so wanted to go back, but she'd sent him away. Away from her.

"I wouldn't say that, exactly." Embry pushed his hands in his jean's pocket. "I do think I love her."

"Just think?" Jacob looked at him as if he were still a lost cause to him. For all he knew maybe the vampire still had him under her control. What was the world coming too? How were they ever to rid their region of vampires if they wormed their way in, one by one? "I don't think I should trust you." Of course, Jacob wasn't sure what he could do to Embry exactly. Hopefully, the sweat lodge would take care of Embry. But then again, Jacob had to wonder what Sam might do to him to cleanse any bad vibe out of him.

right back where we started from - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-09-26T10:25:00.002-05:00

"Are you trying to kill me?" Jacob didn't want the tea.

"No, of course not." Tess couldn't believe he said that. "I'd never want to hurt you."

"You just didn't compel me to..to come here." His teeth began to chatter.

"God, no!" She winced then.He was making her so angry, but she looked at the closet. It was all too quiet now. Could her mother possibly slip out like a vapor and reappear to attack them? She wanted to be wrong about that. "CAN'T YOU SEE I'M TRYING TO HELP YOU!" She glared at Jacob then.

"Why did you leave me, to begin with. If you would have just stayed put like you were suppose to, none of this would have happened." He was shaking now. She knew he was ill.

"Sorry. Its just, I-I was pretty sure you didn't really care about me. I guess. What about Bella?" Tess gave him a harsh stare.

"What about her? Is she here? No, she's long gone, Tess." He drew in a breath. Tess was afraid it might be his last.

"Drink the tea." She knew exactly what she had to do. Didn't she? "Drink up." Tess brought the tea to his lips. She looked back at the closet. It frightened her what her mother could do, but then again a smile came to Tess. Maybe she could learn a thing or two from her. She guessed Jacob could be her first project. She willed him then to drink the tea.

a new awakening - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-09-19T10:35:00.001-05:00

Jacob awoke in a sweat. Yet a sudden shiver over took him. He was so cold. Or was he hot? It was hard to tell. His vision blurred sightly. He blinked more, trying to grasp the reality of it. But the pain sank into his chest and limbs. Something was wrong.

"What's happening to me?" He rose up on his elbows.

"You're just fine." Tess brought him some tea.

"How do you know that? How do you really know that?" He wondered how long he'd been out. Had it been just an hour or possibly weeks? He felt weak. As if something had taken all his strength.

"You look fine." She gave him a serious look. Her eyes seemed more golden now than green.

"Did your mother do something to you?" Jacob wanted to know as he set up to drink the strong tea. There had to be alcohol in this along with lemon and sugar. He couldn't get enough of it.

"No." She seemed so certain, but he looked at her neck for scars. He would have known, wouldn't he? Jacob winced then. He felt he was losing all his senses. Something had changed, but he didn't know what. It was like an organism had gotten inside him and was slowly spreading. What if it got to his heart? What if he couldn't take it?

"I'm-I'm scared." Jacob finally admitted as tears came to his eyes. "What if I'm not all right? What if I can't help you Tess. I-I might not be any good to you...or to anyone." He bitterly pressed his lips. Sadness swept over him.

"Drink the tea. You are just fine. You are." Her stern glare was no comfort at all.

a world within a world - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-09-12T10:07:00.001-05:00

Tess did the best she could to bandage up Jacob. She guessed Emery was fine. He was in a deep sleep on the floor of the basement. She couldn't help but feel a part of her life being sucked out of her, as well. Was it just her mother's aura being so mandatory or the fact, maybe she'd over did it with the power she had with in.

It was weird, thinking she might be something more than ordinary now. She just looked at her hands wondering what else she could do. She wasn't exactly a witch or a genie. Wasn't like she could blink or imagine food to eat. Which would have really been nice about now because she was famished. She knew Jacob's nerves were a little shot too. She sensed he was scared. She knew it wasn't so much about dying but the threat that somehow he might have changed. If just a little bit.

Tess knew he needed rest. So did she. So he took the couch and she sat back in the old fluffy chair and inst felt herself body absorb into the fabric. Or so it felt. Her eyes were full of sleep, and she could not keep herself awake a second longer because it felt like she'd been set into a voyage of some kind. Or was it just a void?

She could see her mother more clearly now. There was a reasoning of it. Such vivid images of her mother's past. Places she'd been. People she knew. How her mother's life was so complicated. That perhaps it really wasn't her fault how things had came to be. How she would have never allowed such a curse to fall on Tess as a child. Tess was after all the daughter of a con artist who just so happened to be a gypsy too.

But even in a dream, Tess could hit a boiling point. "You hurt people!" It felt like a fight with in. Shoving her mother away who was an image not much older than herself. "You kill people!" They would never be alike. Never.

Yet her mother's voice kept haunting her. Pleading with her that Tess needed her. She could not get through this life alone without her. She'd need guidance. She need her mother's knowledge, especially how to deal with the underworld.

'You really think you can control that boyfriend of yours? Honestly, you have no idea what you're up against." Her mother's words shook through her. Tess' eyes shot open. Her breath finally filled her with strength and energy.

Tess looked over at Jacob, practically dead with sleep. She'd never imagined him as her boyfriend. Was that what he was?

a bit of a struggle - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-09-04T13:43:00.001-05:00

Jacob was in pain. He squinted hard wondering what had exactly happened.

"What did you do?" He looked up at Tess who was doing her best to clean up the wound on his shoulder.

"I dunno." She didn't look all that powerful. She wasn't much help with the pain, either.

"Well, you did something." He knew. Something had happened. She'd pulled that vampire away from him. "Is she alive?"

"I suppose." They both looked at the closet where the door was rattling, but still locked tight. "Who is she?" He just knew of the vampire's smell. Her anger. Her power.

"My mother." Tess said rather softly as if she could hear his thoughts already how angry he was about this. His teeth knashed hard. It was as if there was a venom inside him and it freaked him so. What if the bite could kill him. He held on to his shoulder.

"You're gonna be fine." She went to look for something to make a bandage out of. Jacob didn't think so. He didn't. "And where is Embry?"

"Opps, I sort of forgot about him." Tess looked for him. "Maybe he's in the basement." She went to check. Yes, he was out like a light in the basement. Or so she said. She came back with a ripped cloth. She was determined to bandage him up.

Really though, Jacob was so scared something was happening to him. What if he died from a vampire bite?

in a flash - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-08-29T11:47:00.001-05:00

Tess was paralyzed. But she couldn't be sure if it was from some sort of power as a vampire, or was it that her mother was still a gypsy at heart.

Her mother. It finally fled through her like a painful thought. She didn't know. She didn't. But still there was Jacob. Her future. Tess strained to fight back this power that was consuming her to stay put. She could not move. But still she wanted to save her mother. Or did she want to save Jacob?

It was confusing.

STOP. It was all she could think. Not a chant of a gypsy curse or any hex or any of the so called crap she'd had to contend with all her life, and yet Tess meant business. If her mother could do this to her... she'd have to have the faith inside herself to STOP THEM NOW. Tess squinted harder. Ever part of her being tensed. She could sense it. She could control it. Whatever it was. It was from her heart, her soul. Like a prayer perhaps. It was a part of her she had no idea she had nor had ever tapped into.

And suddenly. Everything stopped. Perfectly.

Tess just blinked. It was unbelievable. It was magic. But she was still stuck. She could not move. How could she undo this? Get out of the predictument. Wasn't like she had suspended time. Exactly. Just Jacob from hurting her mother.

OK. Calm. Just be calm she told herself. She'd have to think herself out of this. She took a couple of calming breaths. She'd have to believe she could do it. She could. She had stopped them like statues. This was life or death. She had the power to do it. But how? It didn't seem exactly logical. But she had to think clearly. A pure thought. Yes, that was the key. Wasn't it. Mind control. Compulsion. Repulsion. Something had to work, but it wasn't like a science experiment she could do research on in beakers. This was the real deal. This was her life.

She focused on the state of things. Finally she slipped down the wall in a spli second but when she finally hit the ground...she lost focus. And everything came undone. Jacob was attacking her mother.

Tess winced. Ready to give up. Some power she had. She looked to her hands. Why couldn't she be stronger? Why didn't she know what to do next before something awful happened? Finally Tess told the hands what to do. It was just a chance. Her strength was not in muscle, but the mind. Instantly she sucked her mother into the nearby wardrobed and locked it. In just one wave of the hands. Instantly. Tess couldn't help but grin with a bit of satisfaction.

She saw that Jacob bleeding, but rapidly breathing. She was about ready to cry, thinking it was all over. But she had to keep her faith that she could keep her mother in the wardrobe because her mother was fighting to get out. The rodrobe rocked about. Finally it was still. She had to see about Jacob, who's werewolf status was fading fast and there he was in the flesh.

Of course, Tess couldn't be sure if it were her own doing, or his or someone else's. It was then that Tess saw the blood. Jacob had been bitten on the shoulder.

what ever the cost - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-08-22T09:25:00.002-05:00

Jacob had to wonder how off he was on the scent of Embry and Tess. Perhaps he couldn't sense them anymore. A part of himself felt so lost. Useless. Miserable, in fact. He was starting to think it was too late. And a sad feeling came over him that he was no good at this. That perhaps he should be the lone wolf. Only it was nothing to laugh about. Tess meant so much to him. She was so different from Bella. At least she wasn't in love with a vampire. She had just ran off with his so called little brother in the pack.

His heart felt defeated. He thought a part of him might be dying this very instant. Or was it Tess who was dying? He squinted harder. Hoping he could sense what to do next. Suddenly, his head was pounding as if someone was trying to keep him away from Tess. Something awoke Jacob as he took off into the dark, through the trees and cold. Jacob found the very house where Tess and Embry were.

Jacob could picture Tess in his head. The vampire hadn't turned her yet. It was as if she were playing with Tess as if she were some toy. Maybe the vampire was waiting for him. Well, he would be fierce. What ever the cost. he was taking that vampire down. Now. Instantly. As he tore through the door in werewolf mode, in one swift push of his claw, he had the redheaded vampire pinned to the wall.

Faintly, he could hear Tess calling him to stop. STOP. But why should he? He thought. Jacob knew Tess was in danger.

the fix of it - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-07-10T03:45:00.022-05:00

Embry couldn't believe his eyes. He knew Serena was powerful, but what had she done to Tess?

"You promised, you wouldn't hurt her!" Embry shouted at Serena then when he saw Tess stuck to the ceiling.

"What are you going to do about it?" She gave him an evil glare then. He knew there was possibly nothing he could do. Nothing. Embry nursed his upper lip. He didn't want anything bad to happen to Tess.

"You promised." Embry wouldn't back down. He reminded her how much she'd wanted to see Tess. "This is no way to treat her, like this."

"God, you are such an innocent thing, aren't you." Serena's hands were on her hips and soon enough, she had him pinned to the wall too. She just smiled at him as she had him twisting and turning.

Embry thought for a moment she'd sucked the air out of him. He suddenly edged up the wall on to the ceiling too, but in far reach from Tess. How come the ceilings had to be so high. He was stuck, too. And he thought he might be choking for air. How would Jacob ever save them now with Serena's kind of power?

up up up - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-07-03T02:23:00.025-05:00

Tess felt her chest tighten. She thought she might either cave in or explode. It was so strange. This girl who couldn't be any older than she was took a good look at her. Tess couldn't help but stare, but she felt herself heave. Would she stop breathing? Tess felt as if her words were stuck in her throat. She couldn't believe this.

She looked at Embry who made himself at home. He went to the kitchen to look in the fridge.

"Now let me take a good look at you," the girl's lips curved ever so slightly. "I can't believe its really you."

Tess shook her head. It was finally sinking in that perhaps this person was from some neither world. There was a trick she could play with the eye, making her pure like an innocent lily when perhaps she wasn't that at all. Something mysterious and ominous instead.

"Who are you?" Tess managed to get out.

"See, I knew the cat didn't get your tongue." The girl laughed so then. It gave Tess goosebumps.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!" She screamed wondering if Jacob could hear here words somewhere somehow. She pushed away from her, wishing she could leave, but she had no where to go.

"Tess. Tess. You always cried so much. I think thats why your father put such a stupid hex on you. Teach you a lesson, perhaps." She gave Tess an innocent glare then that suddenly penned her to the wall. She couldn't move. Tess fought back. "Here, I go, to all the trouble of saving you from that horrible life of yours, and this is the thanks I get." With a stroke of the finger she had Tess suddenly on the ceiling. As if thats where she wanted to keep her.

Tess stayed still. Any second she thought she'd crash to the floor.

in the clearing - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-06-26T09:10:00.018-05:00

Jacob had lost the scent of the trail.

He felt like a fool out here in the floor of the forest that overlooked the city. This couldn't possibly be happening. He was good at what he did. Now it was as if he were walking in circles. Where did they go? How had they gotten to the city.

Just then his cell buzzed. It was Sam.

"I think you should come back." Sam told him.

"What? Why?" Jacob winced. "I have to find them. I have too." Jacob's voice cracked.

"Come back before you do something out of your control." Sam told him.

"Out of my control?" Jacob winced hard, shaking his head. "What are you talking about? I'm fine."

"Some of the guys, knew Embry was keeping something from them. They just figured it was his silly idea of being in a band. They, just figured it was something juvenial. But lately, he was keeping to himself. Some times, he wasn't here when we really needed him." Sam explained.

"Great! You can't even keep up with that little punk." Jacob was mad now. A fire burned within him to get to the bottom of this. A part of him wanted to take Embry out as soon as he spotted him.

"Just settled down." Sam told him.

"HE HAS MY GIRLFRIEND!" Jacob lashed out.

"What? Oh no. Jacob don't do this to me. I need you to stay focused. You know the others always follow your lead. Don't do this to me now!" Sam bit back.

Jacob looked at the tire tracks then. He touched the mudded imprint. They had gone off on a motorcyle. He stopped listening to Sam and put his phone away. It was early morning now. He put his intuition to work. He would be more focused than he ever before. He had to find them.

it felt more like a curse - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-06-19T01:13:00.037-05:00

When had Embry crossed Serena's path? Was it the night Tess' grandmother died? He drew a blank, but he supposed that was Serena's doing. He'd so wanted to fight her. He'd tried, but she'd somehow put a spell on him and now he might as well have been her lap dog.

She was after all, good to him. No one seemed to understand him quite as well as she did. And he understood her power. She promised not to hurt Tess, but she needed someone to bring Tess to her. And Embry liked the attention. He wasn't exactly getting any with the pack. And as it was, she was making him stronger. As long as he was under her command, he was stronger. He felt more alive than he ever had. It felt like his destiny. To be here with Serena.

"But what is it that makes you different from other vampires?" He asked after the first night he'd spent with her. Of course, she'd made him her own. It was amazing she'd let him ask questions, at all.

"Why, I'll always be a gypsy, first and foremost." She sounded as if that was where the power really came from, generation after generation. "If it hadn't been for me, Tess would have never gotten her voice back."

He believed in her, and he was sure of it now, if Serena had this sort of power to make the world spin at her finger-tips, just to get what she wanted, then Tess might have that power too. It was untapped. And Tess needed to be brought here to learn and perhaps earn it. Hopefully, Tess might free him from Serena.

But Serena kissed Embry on the lips, just now.

"Good boy," she smiled. "You're a very good boy." She teased, messing with his dark mop of hair.

Embry felt so demeaned and yet happy. It was a very confused feeling.

over the hill and through the woods - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-06-12T01:57:00.029-05:00

Tess wasn't sure what to expect.

Just what exactly would they do on their own in the city. She wasn't sure if she were ready for what Embry might really want. It scared her a little that she'd just let herself go with him. It was as if the trust was there, but should she? Could she? Would they be OK? It wasn't like she had an ID or anything. She was pretty much invisible to the real world. Always had been. No one really knew enough about her to pin point where she was from, how old she was. It was sad, but now she was afraid to try to be anything more than what she was. She got her voice back. But she needed so many things other people took for granted. They at least had birth certificates and documentations. She had none of those things. She might as well be a ghost or a figment to your imagination.

A part of her wondered if she was really ready to stay in a motel room with Embry. Would she want to be his? So easily. She held back tears then. Why hadn't she stayed back at Jacob's? It was safe there, but she'd been compelled to go. And now she was far away from Jacob's they rode on into the morning light. The darkness was behind them now and evidently there was no turning back.

"Where are we?" She asked once he came to a stop. But it wasn't at a cheap motel on the outskirts, but a hows. A lovely old Victorian home, pink with pointy roofs, spiked toward the sky as if their was something special about the place in the old neighborhood.

"I told you, I'd take care of you." Embry just smiled. She stared at the house. It was familiar. But when? When she was small perhaps. Very small. It was a quaint memory, but she still wasn't sure what to make of the exterior. She'd need to see the interior before she could decide, and yet she didn't want to go in. A shiver ran through her.

"I dunno. Could we go somewhere else?" She had lost her voice here, hadn't she. She didn't want to think what might happen to her again. But Embry took her hand.

"It'll be all right. You'll see." Embry just smiled.

Just then the door opened as she saw the girl standing there. Not much older than herself. Perhaps she was older than she seemed. Tess just stared as if the girl could be her sister. Tess choked for words. A complete sadness came over Tess.

"I've been expecting you." The girl didn't smile.

Tess thought her hearing might shatter, or was it the fact that Tess hated to speak.

finding the perimeter - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-06-05T10:56:00.002-05:00

It was a little to late.

How could that be, thought Jacob. Embry wasn't exactly Wylie Coyote, now was he? Well, he was waiting for him to flub up. Jacob lost their scent just outside the forest. Embry had left his past behind. They'd driven off on a motorcycle.

"When did he even learn to drive a motorcycle." He thought the kid was scared of everything. A bookworm at that. Was that just a disguise or something, Jacob now wondered. He went straight to Sam's for help.

"Your guess was as good as mine. You know, he's a loner." Sam winced. They had coffee and Sam fed Jacob the last of the sausage and biscuits. Jacob was hungry. He'd been looking for clues all night. "At least you didn't sniff out a vampire, which is good."

"No, no vampires." Jacob knew for sure. "Its just, I'm afraid a vamp might be after Tess."

"Why?" Sam looked at him blankly.

"It was a vampire that killed her grandmother. I think they want Tess now." Jacob was certain of it.

"That's just great." Sam sighed. "I dunno if I can afford for you to go off on a wild goose chase for Embry."

"I have to." Jacob told him. "He's got Tess and she doesn't know it, but she means so much to me. If Embry hadn't filled her head with so many doubts, she'd be with me right now. So are you going to help me, or not?"

Jacob knew he wouldn't. Sam had the pack to take care of. He was on his own on this one.

away we go - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-05-30T02:56:00.003-05:00

Tess took a breath and suddenly felt herself brushing up against the wind, the trees, the darkness of the night. It was so amazing. She hung on to Embry's fur. It seemed impossible yet magical. She couldn't help but feel the rush pulling her in. Never to let go. She was with Embry now and he was not human.

She felt so dizzy and yet so alive. It was so fleeting, the floor of the forest. Birds quieted. Little critters ran for cover. It was easy to see who owned the night. And yet, it wasn't exactly Embry, but she it was. It was. And it felt right.

Tess didn't ask where they were going or what they'd do once they got there, but it wasn't long til they got to the outskirts of the city. Finally, he came to a halt at the end of the forest that overlooked the city lights.

Tess gasped as she looked down at the pearls of city lights. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been to the city. Honestly, she couldn't imagine being a part of it.

"What can we even do here?" She didn't see it actually happening. She turned away while Embry got dressed.

"Have fun." Embry chuckled.

"What do you have in mind?" She looked back at him.

"Don't worry, you're with me now." He shrugged.

Tess shook her head. She'd left a perfectly good room. A bed. A place to eat. Just then, he pushed a motorcycle out of the bushes. She stared at him, wondering if he knew how to use that thing.

"Look, I've been thinking on this for weeks now." He told her.

"Weeks?" She winced.

"Don't judge me." He squinted then. "All right, I may have stalked you a little, but it gave me something to do. A future, perhaps. I can't stay in that forest forever, and neither can you."

He started up the bike.

"Well, come on." He was waiting.

Tess just nodded. She guessed he did know what he was doing.

in the cool air - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-05-23T22:32:00.017-05:00

Jacob stomped around a bit, wondering what to do about Embry. Was he a love sick puppy or what?

What had happened to him? Was knowing Tess like a disease?

He wanted to protect her. He did.

Actually, he just wanted to be with her. He wanted her for himself.

Naturally, he was pondering in the kitchen what he might say to her. Would she get it? Would she truly understand how he felt about her? How he wanted to help her? He wanted to see her happy. He thought she'd had a horrible childhood. It had been so sad and so wrong. Jacob wanted to change that for her.

Yet, he had this other calling. Call of the wild. One of the pack. He had to keep this forest clean of vampires. He had to be here. It was his duty.

Jacob shut his eyes tight. What would he say to her? How could he explain to her what he needed and yet how his life would always be. He shook his head. Finally he went down the hall to her room and tapped on the door gently.

But there was silence.

"Tess." He said as quiet as he could. Nothing.

Suddenly a shiver went through him. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. "Tess!"

Just the silence.

Jacob sucked in a breath. He hated to think what he'd find. Finally, he opened the door. There in the moonlight, the curtains danced in the breeze. There was no one.

simple as 1 2 3 - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-05-16T01:43:00.021-05:00

Tess heard a tap on her window. She was half asleep, dreaming she was anywhere but here.

It was such a blow to hear from Embry about Jacob and his forever love to Bella. God, she'd just been reading her journals. She felt like burning them now. It was a struggle. She was glad she hadn't fallen completely for Jacob...because...because..

She wanted to say something horrible to him like...

I might like you better if you were just a wolf.

That wasn't completely true. Was it?

She winced now as she slowly went to her window to find Embry waiting for her.

"I want you to come away with me." He begged.

"What? Are you crazy?" One of them had to be. Tess was so tempted. "Why?"

"Why?" He laughed as she let him in. "I'm like the chiwawa of the bunch."

"No, you're not." Tess shook her head, no.

"I don't have near the power they do." He sat down on her bed then. "All I ever wanted was to be in my own band, somewhere far from here. Where the only screams you heard were from fans wanting to hear me more. Wanting my songs. Me. Just me." He sounded so down about it.

"I'm sure you can still have a band." Tess told him. "Right here."

"Not here. It we were together. We could make it. I know we could. Together." He looked at her so innocently then.

Tess smiled, wishing they could truly have their own world.

He held her hand then. She looked back at her bedroom door thinking Jacob might bust in. Any moment and find them together.

can't you see - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-05-07T02:25:00.007-05:00

"Embry!" Jacob yelled into his cell. "WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO TO ME?" Why was it he had to be the bad guy, Jacob thought.

"What are talking about." Embry was all coy about it. "I love Tess."

"What! You don't even know what LOVE is." Jacob informed him.

"Maybe I do." Embry mysteriously told him. "She knows me when I'm wolf."

"Does she?" Jacob knew that feeling to. It was special and perhaps even spiritual in a sense.

"I want her, Jake. I want to be with her." Embry sounded helpless as if he'd die if it didn't come true.

"God, Embry, can you wake up now and stop being an idiot." Jacob fretted in the phone while he was in the kitchen, checking the fridge to see if there was anything to eat.

"I'm being honest. You know, I'm honest. I will always be honest about my feelings for Tess. Will you?" The phone went dead then. Jacob felt like throwing his phone at the wall, but instead he drank from the jug of milk.

just a curse - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-05-02T01:17:00.011-05:00

Tess couldn't speak to Jacob when he found her. She just couldn't. She got in the pickup and waited. They drove home in silence.

"What happened?" He looked puzzled.

She hugged herself and said nothing.

"God, don't tell me, its ..its the curse again." He winced.

"What?" She snapped. "I can talk." But she got out and slammed the pickup door shut.

"Well, what is it?" Jacob follow.

"You know, what it is." She winced back at him.

"No. I don't. I don't know what's wrong?" He sighed. She was in a huff.

"HER!"

"Who?" He shook his head.

"You know, the vampire you're in love with." Her eyes lit into him.

"I'm not. I'm not in love with a vampire. Are you kidding me? I kill vampires." He informed her.

"Yeah, sure you do." She heaved. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"There is nothing to tell." Jacob glared back at her.

She shook her head, no, went to her room and slammed her door behind. She threw herself on the bed then. She couldn't help but cry. All these feelings she had for Jacob came rushing in and to think he didn't even have real feelings for her. She thought she might be ill. Suddenly, she was beginning to feel that she hated Jacob.

am i bad - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-04-25T03:32:00.013-05:00

"So where do you stay at Jacob's?" Embry found himself asking. He loved the sweet scent of her hair and he so wanted to touch her, but he was doing his best to give her space before he out did himself. Yes, he wanted her. All to himself.

"I have my own room." She told him.

"Can I see you, sometime? You know, where its just the two of us. I don't want to have Jacob around." He finally confessed.

Tess gave him an open grin.

"You're just too cute, you know that." She chuckled.

"I don't want to be cute!" He felt as if he'd barked at her then, but he didn't mean too. "I just-I just want you to like me."

"I do." She nodded.

"Only me. I want to be the only one you want." Embry insisted. He held her hand then as if he alone could keep her from harm.

"I know, but-"

"I don't want to hear this. You know, Jacob's in love. He can only love one, and she's a vampire." Embry told her.

"Really?" Tess looked surprised.

"You didn't know?" Embry watched her. She looked a bit ill. She had to sit down in the treehouse.

"Its all right." He sat with her, putting his arm around her. "I'll always be here for you. There will never be another." He assured her.

He saw Tess try to smile. But he knew she was still in shock at the thought that Jacob was in love with someone else.

unlucky in love - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-04-18T00:53:00.009-05:00

Jacob didn't know where they went. Did Embry have some sort of defense, he didn't know of? This was not suppose to be happening.

"I'm sure they're fine." Sam said. "If anything, he's got a bad case of puppy-love fever."

"That's disgusting." Jacob winced. He'd started out the evening so close to Tess and now he's lost her. Just like that. "Look, I think a vamp is after her."

"What?" Sam told him he knew there was one in the area, but she was keeping her distance from them.

"Yeah, someone wants her dead."

"You didn't tell me." Sam was a bit peeved.

"Sorry, I dunno what could possibly have a happened." Jacob sighed.

"She is a gypsy. Perhaps a long lost relative gave something to her that this vamp wants." Sam told him.

"The vamp killed her grandmother." Jacob finally admitted.

"And you want to protect her. That's all?"

Jacob nodded.

"I wish I believed you, brother, but it goes much deeper than that, doesn't it?" Sam glared.

"Dunno."

"You do know. Quit wasting your time, acting as if this is nothing. You've got a job to do, Jacob. Kill that vampire before its too late." Sam informed her. "This is no time for you to be her body guard."

Jacob bit his bottom lip. Why was it he always got the hard stuff to do?

going up - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-04-11T01:38:00.002-05:00

Tess thought she might be dizzy from the way Embry looked at her. She'd never really had anyone that smitten with her. It was as if she could do no wrong.

She was sure if she butt him in the forehead, he wouldn't even noticed. He took her hand then as if he'd been meaning to all night. "I want to show you something."

"OK." She guess she'd have to go. They went out to the back door.

"I really feel like I've known you a long time. And I've seen you in the woods. I know you know them like the back of your hand." He looked at her hand and before he knew it he was kissing it and her palm was on his cheek.

Tess blinked. How did he do that? She burst out laughing, thinking it was all funny.

"Am I not serious enough for you?" Embry asked.

"You're very serious, Embry." She nodded.

"Well, come on." He took her hand and they walked into the night among the trees. He'd built a tree house just beyond the back yard. He pulled down a rope ladder and helped her up the tree. It was actually quite nice to be up above everything.

"I've been working on this since I was like, ten." He told her.

"You seem to know what you're doing." She nodded with her hands above her back. He had his own room up here. A rug on the floor. A place to sit and even a plank with a mattress on it where one could sleep. Lots of comforts of home, but still rather out in the open.

"I suppose." Embry shrugged. "They don't really like me in there. They don't think I fit in. They don't even try to get to know me."

"Sorry." She didn't know what else to say.

"But you." He smiled then. "Its different with you. It is. You make me want to know you. You make me feel as if I've known you since time began. I've never felt like this about anyone."

He was making her a bit nervous. Where was this going? Why had she questioned it?

His lips met hers. She thought he might have bitten her at first. But no, it was just a kiss. The kiss. It had never happened to her before, and Tess wasn't sure what to think in the mix of joy and pain swirling around in her head.

back where you belong - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-04-04T09:48:00.002-05:00

Jacob shook his head. What nonsense was this? Embry acting like a fool around Tess. He didn't need this. This was serious business, protecting Tess. There was no time for a distraction. But he was being silly and talkative and just down right rude.

Jacob gave him an evil glare as if to say hands off. But it didn't phase Embry a bit. He was all smiles, talking about anything and everything that might slightly interested Tess. And she was amused.

That laughter of theirs was sickening. Who did they think they were?

"What do you think you are doing? Dude!" Jacob got Embry outside on the porch so they could be alone after dinner. Jacob pressed his index finger straight into Embry's chest.

"What?" Embry just smiled. "I can't help it. I like her. And she likes me."

"She does not." Jacob winced. "You don't even know her."

"I could." Embry croaked, but then came back with an effort. "I will. I will get to know her. And I won't be hiding her at my house, either, you know. She's amazing and she should be..." He stammered a bit hugging himself, as if he knew if Jacob wanted..could whip his ass. "Someone you want everyone to know, you're with her. You know. Well, I would, anyway, I would show her off. Unlike you."

"Embry, you have no idea what you're talking about." Jacob told him. "No idea what I'm dealing with right now. Just leave her alone. Do you hear me?"

"Yeah, I hear you, but some things.. you can't help. You can't." Embry looked him in the eye.

Jacob just shook his head. He just might have to whip Embry's butt, yet.

just dinner - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-03-28T10:20:00.003-05:00

Tess didn't think Jacob should be this apprehensive about meeting his people.

"It'll be all right." Tess felt she was almost dragging him to the wolf den at Sam's. Really, she didn't care what they thought of her. But now she could say what she wanted. She could speak her mind. But did she want too.

"Hold on," Jacob pulled her back. He was gripping her hand. "You know how important they are to me. I rely on them. They rely on me." He gave her a serious glare.

"Uh, huh." She nodded. She knew they were a family to him.

"But we don't always see eye to eye on....everything."

Tess just nodded, wishing this wasn't such a challenge. But she knew they'd see what they wanted to see in her. And she couldn't help it if they found her to be an outsider. She took a deep breath. Best to put on a steady smile and wait.

Before Jacob could knock on the cabin door, Sam opened it wide. They could hear laughter inside. And there was the smell of something sizzling on the fire. Steak.

"Well, well, we've been expecting you two." Sam put an arm around Jacob and Tess, too.

It was warm inside and much more homey than Tess expected. Naturally, a few boys were wrestling as if they were in a competition of some kind. Tess tried not to watch.

Sam called them to attention, and it was the thin one who caught her eye first. Or did she catch his eye first. He smiled and came over from the livingroom area to see her. It was as if Jacob wasn't even there.

"Hey," he grinned. "I know you." He shook her hand and gave her hug, smelling her hair all the while. "Yeap, thats you. No mistaking."

Tess just looked at him, wondering what he actually meant.

"What in the hell are you doing with this guy!" He teased giving Jacob a punch in the arm.

"Embry, you runt, shut up." Jacob winced.

It was hard for Tess to tell if he were teasing his friend back, or not.

"Hey, I know she knows these woods. Probably like the back of her hand. I've seen her around. Like little Miss Red Ridinghood, out there in the cold." Embry looked back at Tess. "She could be with me right now, if it wasn't for you. She still might be, you know. I started a band. What girl doesn't like a dude in a band?" He smiled then.

"Don't josh me, you know, you can't carry a tune." Jacob slightly snickered, but no one was laughing. It was as if they knew something he didn't know. Tess suddenly felt she'd been keeping him to herself far too long, these days.

"Oh, my howl is so much better than yours." Embry grinned more. He grabbed Tess' hand then and showed her to the table where someone was laying huge platters of steak and baked potatoes. Tess didn't see a vegetable in sight. "She is sitting next to me."

"Honestly, I don't know what got into him." Jacob followed behind them. "He's the shy one."

The Wolf Pack - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-03-21T17:44:00.001-05:00

little mysteries - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-03-14T22:03:00.002-05:00

What had he been thinking? Going to Bella's and taking the journal. Well, she had so many. It was hard to find the first one.

Of course, when he went inside her room, the perfume of liliacs still lingered, even now. He hated to think of Bella. He didn't want too. Jacob was moving on. He had to think of Tess who was definitely in a horrible place in her life. He needed to do the right thing. He would.

But he wished he knew exactly what that was.

"Do you want to go to Sam's with me." Jacob felt it was best to get Tess out and about. She'd be OK at Sam's. It was time she got to know his..well, so called family. Of course, they iritated him to no end most days. Just annoying pups, he guessed.

Finally, Tess opened her bedroom door.

"I have reading to do." She hugged the journal.

"You're not finished yet?" He looked at her.

"She's just meeting the Cullens for the first time." She smiled.

"It can wait. You'll have plenty of time to do that, when we get back." He gave her a dark glare.

"If you say so." She shrugged with a smile and went to put the journal away.

Jacob was a bit suspicious of her congenial ways at the moment.

"What's up with you?" He asked as he helped her with her sweater.

"What has to be up?" She looked at him.

"Never mind." He held her hand then, and she giggled.

"Sorry." She flutter about. "Its just no one holds my hand, much." She pressed her lips tight.

"I don't hold hands much, either." He sighed. "But I want to. Well, I want to hold your hand."

Tess gave him an open grin.

"Relax," she finally said. "It doesn't really matter what they think of us, really. If we're happy then it shouldn't matter."

"It doesn't matter." He winced as they went to the truck. She got in the passenger side as if she'd always been doing it herself.

"It does matter to you. It does." Tess shook her head, laughing.

"No, that's not true." He started up the truck.

"If only you were a good liar, Jake." Tess shook her head.

Jacob didn't know what to say. How come she knew him, so well?

and after that - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-03-07T09:23:00.002-06:00

I'd never given much thought to how I would die---though I'd had reason enough in the last few months---but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this! Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of someone else, someone I loved. Noble, even! But, terrified as I was, I couldn't bring myself to regret the decision. When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it's not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end.

Tess squinted hard as if she might have an excruciating headache. She looked up from the huge journal then and saw that Jacob was watching her there at the doorway of Billy's guestroom.

"What?" He looked at her as if she were about to have brain fart.

"Its just a bit thick, don't you think?" She scrunched her nose then. Was he going to test her on the trivia of this after it was read? God, she hoped not. She pulled up the patchwork quilt over her lap. As it was the last few days she'd been living in some of his old flannel pajamas Jacob might have worn when he was 8.

"I dunno. Never read it, actually." Jacob sat down on the edge of the bed then where she'd been sleeping, but she was not sitting up and conscious. No more congestion and weepy moments. Just a startling day of sunshine, perhaps.

"Really?" Tess smiled then. She suspected books weren't exactly his forte. There was much more to prepare one for his sort of journey in life.

"I don't suppose you took me as the literary buff." He shrugged as he looked away.

"Well, maybe Sports Illustrated." She gave him an open grin then.

"You can read." He didn't act as if it were a question. Usually, it was.

"Yeah, my grandmother didn't think I should be totally deprived, you know." She shut the journal tight then. "So this Bella? Who is she too?"

"No one now." He was cold instantly when he said her name. He wanted the journal back. She hugged it in her arms.

"But I just started." He eyes opened wide.

"I've changed my mind. You'll fall in love with Edward, too." He winced a bit peeved with the idea.

"Edward? Its just a journal." She insisted.

"I should have never taken it." He was a bit sullen.

"What will you do with it now?" She glared back. Here he was passing out presents and wanting it back. Was this the true meaning of an Indian giver? She'd hate to ask.

"Burn it. She means nothing to me." His frown was small, but she knew he meant to do it.

"You said I needed it, to understand." She reminded him.

"You'd only - see what you wanted." He grabbed at it then but she kept it from him.

"Jake, I just got started. Please!" She was a bit miffed by this. "I'll be completely objective. I will. Besides, you're definitely not like other guys." Not that she really knew any other than her father and her cousin. "And, it'll keep my mind off, you know-" Tess didn't want to say her name. She'd cried herself sick possibly. It was perhaps time to start a new day. And if this journal could give her a little time to not be thinking about her grandmother, then she needed it.

making z's - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-02-26T13:50:00.001-06:00

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" Jacob looked at Billy.

"Just a little NyQuil," Billy said rather innocently.

"I bet Tess has never used anything over the counter." Jacob doubted she'd ever been to a drugstore. He just looked at Tess who was out cold next to the hot chocolate at the kitchen table.

"Did she finish it?" Billy looked at the cup as if he were a scientist.

"Yeap, she sure did." Jacob squirmed a slight smile.

"Good, girl." Billy patted her head.

"She's not a dog." Jacob glared at him. Of course, plenty of dogs out there might like her. Jacob included, but he wouldn't get into that with Billy. He lifted her up, over his shoulder and took her to the guestroom. He slowly dropped her on the bed, and she didn't budge. It made him a bit nervous that Billy had put her into a coma somehow. But she rubbed her nose then as if she might wake up, but she didn't.

"You better not run away from me." Jacob gritted. He shook his head. He needed her awake. He wanted to go over this with her because he had a feeling she felt safer outside than she did indoors.

Jacob decided to pull up a chair that was at least kind of comfortable. He couldn't take his chances. He was going to have to watch out for her. Of course, he wondered exactly how to explain this her. A smile came to him then. He'd borrow Bella's journal. She wouldn't even know it was gone. Well, she was with what's his face, anyway, wasn't she? Jacob wouldn't dare speak of him. But if had Bella's journal, it would explain everything. Maybe now was the time to grab. He was sure Charlie was out investigating what happened to Tess' grandmother. He could be there and back in a few minutes. He got up then to take a run in the woods.

Its cold out there - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-02-16T14:22:00.002-06:00

Nobody knows. Nobody really knows I'm here.

It seemed that Jacob understood that immediately. At least he took care of everything. They could have buried her Gram in a shallow grave out back, but instead he took her to his place. He called 911 and the rest just happened. It was as if they left it all behind.

Tess felt numb. Still. That moment, seeing Gram, or what was left of her. Now. It didn't matter. It felt the same to her. Everything was gone, but she was still here. Just not with Gram.

"I feel really terrible about this," Jacob wanted her to stay put. "They might be after you." He was so matter of fact.

Naturally, all Tess could think about was her father or her cousins. It would get back to them. Eventually. At the moment, though, everyone seemed to think an old woman died in her sleep. Alone.

Of course, an avalanche of tears came. First suddenly, then off and on. But there she was with Jacob and Billy, someone special to Jacob. Just as special as Gram was to her. She knew. And then she'd look at him, and she'd start to cry.

"You know, you have to be here." Jacob assured her. "Or, or, do you want social services to get a hold of you?"

Could it get any worse, Tess thought. Really, there was no record anywhere of her being born. She might as well be a ghost or a gypsy. People never thought about them. Maybe she could join the circus.

"I have to protect you." Jacob was stern.

"From what?" Really, what would any of them want with her now? She was worthless. She was just a child who'd been part of a long luxurious scam, some time ago. And since she wasn't exactly all that cute an innocent anymore, she wasn't good for much, but maybe cooking and cleaning. A housekeeper perhaps, keen on cleaning out dead folks' houses. It all felt so grim now. She felt like walking off a cliff. Letting the waves swallow her up.

"Vampires." Jacob said quickly. He took her shoulders as if he needed to shake some sense into her while the tears dripped down her cheeks.

"What?" She almost choked on a laugh. "What would they want from me?"

"You tell me." When he looked into her eyes, it was as if needed the truth.

"I dunno. Really, I don't." She wiped the tears off her cheek from her thermal sleeve.

"What, no old boyfriends? An acquaintance, perhaps?" He seemed fixed on this.

"No." She sniffed.

"Jake! Can't you see, she's a bit tired, an upset. You let her alone, now." Billy came to her rescue.

Jacob stepped back then.

"I'm sorry." Jacob then nodded. "You'll be safe here. All right. I promise you, I'll get to the bottom of this. I won't let anything happen to you."

Tess nodded. She nursed the hot chocolate loaded with cool whip that Billy had made for her. She looked around the kitchen. It was different here. A real manly touch, she supposed. Naturally, she felt a little awkward. Sleep was the last thing on her mind. But the more she drank the hot chocolate, the more sleepy she became. She could hardly keep her eyes open. Tess just needed sleep. A good rest seemed to be in order.

I can feel it coming - a Jacob Black Tale

2010-02-05T01:56:00.037-06:00

She wasn't fainting. Not out of breath. She was speaking to him. It was unreal to Jacob.

"Hold on! Just don't go crazy on me." He wrapped a blanket around him and still felt more naked than he'd ever felt before. "Are you OK?"

"What are you doing here?" She winced as she took deep breaths. Tess was a bit shakey.

"Because." Jacob shrugged. "I-I dunno if you'll understand."

"Understand what?" She tensed.

"You're talking." He reminded her as if that was a good thing. "You didn't faint on me this time."

"Yeah." She bit her bottom lip. "I'm to talk to no one, except Gram." Her eyes got bigger then. "Gram!" She shot up from the sofa and went to her grandmother's room.

"Gram! Gram!" She shouted. Nothing. Just the stillness set in. Jacob knew something was not right, but it felt it was just a little too late. How come he hadn't felt it sooner?

Tess turned the door nob. Jacob waited with the blanket around his middle.

"Its locked!" Tess winced. She looked back at Jacob as if he had to do something about it.

Honestly, what he'd give for a pair of pants. He winced hard. Imaging he was in what he was generally in, afterwards. Finally, it happened. Short brown leggings, possibly out of some fairy tale, like soft velvet that moved with him. Jacob stared at the door, jetted to it and busted it open, instantly.

Her gram looked to be asleep. At peace. But her body was limp. So cold. It was then Jacob noticed the little puncture at the side of her neck. She'd been drained of blood, ever so cleverly. Jacob didn't know what to say. He looked back at Tess. Her grandmother was gone.

Tess stared at her with her hand clutching her throat as if she might be in pain, herself. She turned to Jacob then and she cried softly into his chest.

out of the dark

2010-01-30T01:34:00.045-06:00

There weren't that many things that made Tess happy, but one of them was watching a canine eat. It pleased her that he was enjoying the stew. God knows, Gram wasn't. She complained there wasn't enough salt. Tess did her best to put fresh carrots and potatoes, green beans too in the beef stew.

The wolf was starving.

"I don't know who owns you, but really, they should take better care of you." Of course, she was certain he was a part of nature, and she should let him go. Yet the winds were kicking in, and she hoped he'd stay for the night. After all, the fire was crackling in the fire place. It was warm here. A lot warmer than what the outside had to offer.

Really, she wanted to pamper him. Keep him. There was more to him than a massive creature. She felt certain. But what was it. Really?

Tess hugged herself as he licked the pot clean. He'd eaten the entire pot of stew.

"You could eat me out of house and home, now couldn't you?" She couldn't help but smile as her fingers found an itch that needed scratching between his ears. "You're not so bad. Really."

Gram was already asleep. She was sleeping an awful lot, lately, but Tess wasn't going to worry about it. It was winter. Perhaps it was just hybernating.

Tess showed the wolf to the livingroom. She sat next to the fire, watching it in the dark. She said nothing to him for the longest time as he got cozy next to the warmth.

"I'm sure I understand you more than you know. I wish I were a wolf. I really do." She sounded sad. "I miss them so much. I wish no one had found me." Her eyes were wet with tears as she looked at his beauty, wishing a part of her could wrap herself under him, and she'd emerge in a furry body as well, like his kind.

She saw the wolf had gone to sleep. She found herself a pillow on the couch. And soon she drifted off asleep too, dreaming what it might be like to be his mate. So certain he'd always be true to her even if he were out on the hunt. He would always be there for her. Always.

The fire died down into embers. It was so dark, but something stirred her awake. She could hardly make him out, but there was no longer the wolf. But someone else. It was him. He was in the house.

Tess's eyes shot open. She thought her voice might crack into. "Its you!" She couldn't believe she could speak. She could finally speak. But she choked then wondering if she should have screamed. Because he didn't have any clothes on.

breaking away

2010-01-23T10:33:00.000-06:00

Jacob knew he had a job to do. It was best not to think how Tess thought about him. It was confusing. Was she allergic to him in human form, but OK being around him when he frightened everyone else possible. It was peculair how he sensed her being fearless and yet she wasn't.

He so wanted to understand her, but there was no time for that, according to Sam.

"You stake out the perrimeter. Get the job done." Sam's instructions. "We can't be everywhere. I know you're strong enough."

Jacob just nodded wishing there wasn't so much pressure on him, for results. After all, wasn't he a mere pup at these sort of things? Yes, he knew the woods. He'd ran them in his sleep, practically. And yes, he was damn good at being what he was suppose to be. Still, this was different. He guessed. He was alone. Only himself to depend on.

But as soon as he picked up the vampire's scent, his new body emerged in a burst of hair and angry teeth and he was on the hunt as he raced through the snowy path, thinking there might be the scent of fresh human blood soon to contend with. Yes, he'd found a vampire, but there wasn't a human in sight. He looked hungry, of course, and Jacob's rage laid into him, pushing him against the snowy tree, leaving a fresh pile of snow around his paws. His teeth nashed so, taking the old-timer down and disposing him in record time. He looked far to old to be a part of anything. As if someone had been sidetracked in their doing. But Jacob didn't ponder about it. He killed him in a blink of an eye. After all, he was just a vampire.

Even so, the cold had left him stiff. Jacob felt certain he couldn't change back immediately. It was far to cold for that in the sub-zero tempts. He knew he was fine. Really, as he slightly limped away, thinking there had to be another out here. Had to be. He shook the ice cold traces of snow from his beautiful mane and sniffed the air as if someone was coming. He had to hurry away, but when he looked back, he saw it was Tess there in the clearing.

"We really have to stop meeting this way," she smiled, all bundled up in her crocheted hat and shawl. She looked as if she was used to these conditions in her old boots and thermal leggings under her gingham skirt.

He wanted to growl, but he couldn't. Instead, he walked toward her as if he wished she'd take him and let him rest by a warm fire.

She seemed as if she'd been waiting for him as she went to investigate his paw. Something had happened to it. Usually, his claws could attack anything, but he was content having her check it out with her little hands.

"Just what have you been doing?" She brushed away ice and found a thorn in his paw that he hadn't noticed all that much until she pulled it out. "Now that'll feel better." She touched his wet nose. "Are you hungry?" She then offered.

Jacob looked at her as if he didn't know what she was getting at.

"Well come on." She pulled her wool shawl closer around her. They weren't too far from where she lived. He followed.

"See, I knew you listened to me. I like that about you. You're a very good listener, indeed." She took him to the back door where the kitchen was.

For the first time, Jacob kept telling himself he didn't want to change back. "Don't change. Don't change." He held under his breath as his long wolf body brushed against the table as he squeezed into the kitchen.

"What was that?" She noted.

He slightly whimpered.

"You want something to eat, don't you?" She dug something out of the fridge then. Jacob supposed it was homemade. Not something from a can. He slightly yelped in content.

Serena

2010-01-14T11:50:00.000-06:00

She'd always looked so young for her age. Naturally, paleness became her, long before it was possibly in fashion, Serena supposed. Honestly, it made her hostile when people assumed she was only 14 and pregnant. Well, that was then. This was now. A decade or so and then some. She very well remembered telling everyone who assumed it that she was almost 20 when it happened.

Of course, she hadn't aged a bit since. Yes, it had been turbulent times, indeed. Fall out of one relationship into another. Sort of. She supposed. Well, it was a lifestyle change. Demetri wasn't exactly how she had anticipated. He was so soft spoken. In the beginning, and then he couldn't find work, being a gypsy and all and then Louis thought he could help. But that was before she knew he was a vampire and now it was all so nothing. He'd found what he was searching for in New Orleans and honestly, the weather was much better here on her skin, and her family was here, as well.

It wasn't that she was always here. She stayed away because she knew about the werewolves. She knew how they existed. Serena was careful in these part, but it was always nice coming home. Just to get a glimpse of her daughter. And it pained her so to see how much she'd missed out. How old Tess had become. Was it possible it was time to change that before it was too late?

once there was a girl

2010-01-06T22:01:00.000-06:00

Tess didn't really listen to her grandmother go on and on about her mother.

"You know I saw her." She kept insisting that she did.

Tess nodded the first couple of times while she was cleaning up the kitchen. It was so cold now that it did no good to try to sweep the crumbs out the back door. The windows were so frosty, and she had a good mind to go on the roof and shovel some snow off since she knew it would only mean a leaky roof when it warmed up. These were the things on her mind, not this ghost that her grandmother spoke of.

"Are you listening to me?" Gran glared at Tess from the kitchen table. She was sorting her pills out for the next week.

"Yes," Tess winced. "What more do you want from me?" She felt like a prisoner, already. "Have you taken your meds?" Tess wasn't quite sure if she was senile or perhaps she wasn't taking her medications, correctly. She would squabble about that any moment. Tess felt sure of it.

"She says you've grownup into a very pretty young lass." Gran smiled.

"Perhaps it would be nice if she said these things to me instead of you. You seem to be the only one in contact with her." Tess looked at her frustrated.

"You might want to go away with her then," Gran looked sad. 'You'd forget all about me."

"How could I?" Tess felt herself waver in sadness. "I would have no one talk to, now would I?" Her eyes softened with warm tears. She knew there was no mother. She'd fallen off at the cliff when she wasn't much older than Tess. End of story. Tess got back to scrubbing the floor then. That shut Gran up. Couldn't she keep the ghost to herself. Nothing good would come of it. Perhaps a memory or two she'd start to tell about her mother and then end up mixing it with a story of her own. It was hard to decipher the truth anymore.

Tess got up to tend to the pot of soup on the stove. It was starting to boil, she let the steam hit her face as she closed her eyes, and she thought of the pain she'd yet to endure. Gran kept telling her how lucky she was. How Tess had never worked a real job like she had too when she was her age.

Tess had a feeling she would never know. She was beginning to think she'd never feel anything. Evidently. Maybe that's why she decided to burn herself on the pot that day.

a new day

2010-01-01T11:31:00.000-06:00

Christmas had come and gone and New Year's day might have been lazy except it was so cold, an ugly cold, just as Jacob had expected. This is how it was. Not much. Still. The way nature should be, Jacob supposed. Even so, it was a lingering sadness. Yet, there was something amazing in the quietness of home. He was used to this too. And even if it weren't a gift, he had it in hands. A piece of her. Sort of. Just hair. Braided up, a color he had never quite seen. Exactly. Well, except just glimpses.

Jacob wished it hadn't meant so much to him. He didn't want it too, but it did. He stuck the so-called ornament under his socks in his dresser, wishing he could see Tess, wondering if she were all right. From his understanding, her grandmother practically told him....as long as he stayed away, she would be all right. Why couldn't he figure this out? Just didn't seem quite possible that it could be quite this tragic. Could it?

Last night the boys had came by hoping he'd come out and do something fun, but Jacob had just looked up at the snow falling and it gave him a shiver. He went to bed early, letting sleep set in, only it had left him tossing and turning, thinking of her.

He heard Billy in the kitchen then so he went to check out what all the clanking meant. Billy was cooking up a little New Year's day dinner.

"Why do you even bother?" Jacob slightly scowled at the thought of black eyed peas. It seemed Billy had an army buddy who gave him the recipe years ago and he made it an annual event. Had to be the worst meal to start the year, thought Jacob, but it was tradition.

"Because it would just be wrong, otherwise." Billy gave him a glare as he was pouring vegetable stock over the ham and peas in the crockpot. "You know, that's how that musical group, the Blackeyed peas got their name says it means good luck. I heard them talk about it last night on TV."

"Did you now?" A smile emerged on Jacob's face. Billy was always learning something new. Jacob supposed he could suffer through dinner if he had too. He guessed he could eat cornbread, too. The best part, he thought.

Just then he sensed Sam and the boys were outside.

"I'll be back," he promised Billy then who was busy cutting onions and hot peppers.

"You better." Billy eyed him.

Jacob grabbed his jacket and pulled on his boots.

Naturally, Sam informed him he should have joined them in the woods last night.

"It was a new moon." Sam told him. "Nothing else like it for 20 more years."

"Yeah, I thought I was coming down with something."

"We also got wind of a female vampire in the neighborhood too." Sam gave him an ominous look.

"Did you get her?"

He shook his head, no.

"Holiday visit, I gather." Sam shrugged.

"Holiday?" Jacob winced as he hugged himself against the cold.

"Yes, from what we could tell, she was visiting that girl who you seek the company of." Sam had observed.

Jacob didn't like the idea that Sam knew so much of his nature. It was a little unsettling, but even worse, he hadn't sniffed a hint of a vampire nearby when he was last at Tess'.

"You are enamoured, you might as well be a dense pup at this rate, wolf boy." Sam teased as he messed with Jacob's hair.

Jacob edged away. He didn't like being made an immature fool.

"What do you want me to do?" Jacob squinted.

"Go back, be a friend, if nothing else." Sam stared at him as if he was giving him a mission now.

Jacob felt a cold breath consume him. He was hardly a friend.

"See what you dig up. She could be in danger and not even know it." Sam shrugged and with that he was gone in a blink of an eye.

Jacob felt a little on edge now as the coldness made his chest so tender. He didn't know he was strong enough for such an undertaking, but he guessed Sam had faith in him.

not today

2009-12-25T09:23:00.027-06:00

Tess immediately felt better once Jacob left. She knew Gran would need help. Especially, with the light. Really, she wasn't sure why they worried over the tree. It would be down within a week. But this was what Gran enjoyed about Christmas. There were never any presents, but just the chance if the lights shown, perhaps Tess's mother would see them.

"She's out there somewhere, you know." Gran would speak of her like a ghost. Perhaps thats what Christmas was to her. The past visiting.

Tess plugged in the lights.

"Where's the one with your hair!" Her grandmother wasn't very happy.

"I'm sure its around, somewhere. Your eyes are old. They need a rest. I'll look for it." She didn't know what was so significant about it. Who put stuff like that on a tree? She'd rather string popcorn on it so the birds could have it later.

"I guess you are right." She sighed. "He seemed nice enough. Ashame you can't talk around him."

"I'm sure I wouldn't like him." She told her.

"Sorry, I don't know how to lift the curse." She shrugged.

Really, Tess didn't want to believe it was a curse. Maybe she'd grow out of it, some day. But that day didn't feel anywhere near.

the heart of it

2009-12-20T09:09:00.004-06:00

Jacob found a tree that was decent enough. It wasn't huge, but big enough.

"Will this do?" He asked her grandmother when he came back with the Christmas tree.

"You'll have to put it in the tree stand," she order.

He nodded and did as he was told. Finally the bare tree stood next to her television. He saw the decorations around the livingroom that needed to be on the tree.

"Do you need anymore help?" He noticed a rope of strawberry blond hair made into a wreath. He thought it strange, but he knew it must have been Tess' hair when she was little.

"You've done plenty young man," the old woman looked at him with a smile. "Now, you can leave."

"What about Tess?" He looked at her.

"What about her?" She looked a bit angry that he'd asked.

"Is she all right." He winced back.

"All right as can be expected." She gave him a sly smile.

"As expected?" He shook his head. "Is she ill. Is she- She's not going to have a baby, is she?" He couldn't think of anyone who'd really want to be way off in this wilderness, all alone, like that.

"Goodness no." She laughed at him. "Now you better go. You've been here long enough."

"Long enough? For what?" He sighed.

"Before you make her sick again."

"Me?" He kind of grinned, unsure what she meant. "Is she allergic to me?"

"You could say that." She glared at him. "Now go. Get along home. Thanks for the tree and all. But go on."

"All right." Jacob sighed, wondering what in the world could possibly be wrong with Tess. He was itching to find out.

no such thing

2009-12-15T10:22:00.013-06:00

Tess shivered. Her breath came back and she could hear voices in the kitchen. She felt so rotten for being so weak. What was it about him that made her feel dizzy and silly at the same time. She didn't want any part of it, and yet she felt more alive than she ever did.

She laid there still, thinking Gran could befriend anyone. It was so irritating. Aggravating, indeed. Tess winced. She'd barely seen him. She knew she hated him. She did. She couldn't stand his kind. He was just some awful jock, she supposed. Got everything he wanted. He was in the real world. She just lived on the outback of it. How would he know how to appreciate nature? There was no human out there she could possibly stand. She knew she was not of his world, and would have no part of it. She'd soon not lay eyes on this creature, again. Give her a wolf and she was free.

Tess hugged herself then. A shiver ran through her. She hated being a liar. A liar to herself. If only, for a minute or two she could make a conscious effort to say something to him. But she didn't speak to anyone but her Gran. She was not allowed to speak to anyone.

apparently not

2009-12-10T10:08:00.031-06:00

Jacob had found her. And she really did look like something out of an old folk tale. Not modern at all. Her old leather boots were scuffed and sad. She could have practically walked off the set of Little House on the Prairie, he thought. And he'd always had a crush on that girl who played Laura Ingalls Wilder. But this was real. She was real. And she was just as he thought she would be. She smelled like the forest, but sweet as strawberries, perhaps.

And then she saw him, and it was as if he'd killed her on sight. He hadn't meant to frighten her. Next thing he knew she was passed out on the ground. He touched her cheek, but no response. She was limp, dirt and leaves in her hair.

He picked her up and brought her right in the kitchen.

"WHO ARE YOU!" And old woman, crippled, looked up at him from the livingroom.

"Uh, I think she's hurt. I was just, on a run." Jacob winced.

"Well, put her in her room." The old woman pointed to the front room.

"OK." He nodded.

"She'll sleep it off." The old woman wasn't too concerned.

"She do this a lot?" He wondered.

"Something her father taught her." The old woman shrugged.

"Don't guess I've ever seen that trick at the circus." Jacob wondered what she was talking about. He introduced himself, and she fed him berry pie from the fridge. Thanked him.

"Say, you look strong enough." She touched his bare arm. "Mind cutting a tree for me for Christmas?" She smiled weakly.

"I guess."

She'd talked him into it with her generosity, but Jacob would have rather checked on the girl instead. "But, but what's her name?"

"We call her Tess," the old woman explained. "But that's far from her true name."

Jacob squinted, thinking who were these people?

under the circumstances

2009-12-07T09:57:00.013-06:00

Tess listened to Gran carefully. She wanted her to find the Christmas decorations. It was time to start the holiday spirit even if they didn't have anything to give each other. It was all so bitter sweet. She hated the idea of getting out all these reminders of her mother that she'd never met. She'd never known her. She'd never actually....

It was a sad feeling to overcome. Why did Gran have to do this to her? It made her so moody. And she'd hear it again. Stop being a child about this. She fought back tears, doing as she was told. She went to the closet in her grandmother's room and started to pull out boxes of ornaments.

"We need someone strong, to cut us down a tree." Her gran reminded her. "You are just a waif, of a child."

"Do we have too?" Tess winced looking back at her. "Perhaps, we could just put the ornaments outside this year. Or put out plenty for the birds to eat, and they could be sitting pretty in a tree for you."

"I can't enjoy Christmas, can I?" She festered up a glare that Tess didn't want to see.

"I dunno what I can do." She gave Gran a glare right back. She stomped off to the kitchen then and went straight outside for a breath of fresh air. And that's when she knew something was coming. It was already here. It was so confusing. She found herself breathless. Or was she breathing hard, and she saw him out of the corner of her eye. And the first thing that came into her head was RUN. Run away from this. Don't look back. Don't you dare look it in the eye. Run!

But she couldn't breath as she stared him right in the face. She was choking on air.

maybe

2009-12-05T01:22:00.019-06:00

Jacob knew it was pointless to go out hunting for her. Wasn't it? He had other things to do. Important things in fact.

There had been a vampire around recently. But that was done. He hadn't picked up on a scent like that to be alarmed about it. He knew if he tried hard enough he could possibly find her. He knew he could. But would it be the right thing to do.

"Don't do it." Sam would have to be nix the whole idea. "You know what your capable of, and well, you've got us. You don't need to get caught up with a stranger."

"I know. I understand." Jacob listened to everything Sam said so serious while the rest of pack were happy little pups waiting to be trained by him.

"Come on then, take a run with us." Sam advised.

Jacob nodded. It was a daily thing to run miles and miles through the forest. They knew their boundaries. It was no sweat, generally. But today, he couldn't get her out of his senses. He needed a name. He needed to see her when he wasn't a wolf. Couldn't these be two things he could at least accomplish today?

He took off with the rest of them. There was no real danger about. He would have known first thing. He was human, on a run through the forest. But the deeeper he ran into the forest, he felt her near. He knew she had to be here. Maybe she was hoping she'd see him turn. Maybe she knew his secret.

the ache of it all

2009-12-01T02:42:00.030-06:00

When Tess got back, she was sure Gran hadn't missed her at all. She had the nurse there for a good long time. They'd had tea and well, Gran always treated her like royality, yet, Tess smiled, thinking, the nurse had done all the work. They'd had tea and had the fresh cranberry and walnut bread that Tess had left them.

She went to check on Gran who was asleep on the couch now. Tess put a blanket around her shoulders and went to take a shower then. Best she stay in. She'd had enough adventure today. What had she been thinking, going into someones house like that?

She'd never done such before. Granted, she'd heard plenty from her cousin, Sak who could pick pocket the best. Go anywhere he liked without ever getting caught. Of course, he was always on the road. It was hard to say if he was just a tramp or a vagabond. Naturally, she didn't see him much but on rare occasions. This was something he would do. Of course, he would have told her. "Aw, atlas, you've found your calling, you should join us now."

She was very good at playing the mute girl. As it was, no one suspected she could read. Self-taught. Actually. She'd always been one of those, who looked quite helpless. A buffer perhaps. Showing up at the most strangest times at some one's house when she was little. She did her part. While others would do what they did best and soon they'd move on, celebrating all the while on someone's wine and cash. But it grew old. She wasn't quite a cute as she used to be, and well, people were smarter these days.

Some family was completely enamoured with her, just the same. Almost adopted, in fact. Her father had a dandy of a time getting her back after that fiasco. She was so close to normal then. So close. But he'd snatched her, and it was then she had wonder if he was really her father. Really? And playing this victim was a bit harrowing.No one to trust. Especially, her father. All alone. Wondering if she would be yestersday's news yet.

There was just too much violence in the world. And she was fine right here. She'd made her way back to her mother's mother. All was well now. Wasn't it enough?

She let the hot water take her in. Real tears exposed themselves, but were washed away soon. Oh, she would think bitter of him. He had everything he wanted. Sports. A girlfriend. Yet, she wanted to go back to his room, again.

like any other time

2009-11-28T08:40:00.001-06:00

Honestly, Jacob regretted going to Sam's. He always did. What was really the point?

Yes, he wanted them to stick together. They were a pack, but how come it felt like a pack of hyenas most times. Naturally, they said he was just too serious. All the teasing and stupid stuff. It just made him angry in the end.

He did his best to keep to himself. Sam let him as if he understood, completely. But this was how he was suppose to spend the rest of his days with these rowdy imbeciles. Amazing, they tracked anything down. If they only knew how he really felt about them, he'd probably be considered the lone wolf. Maybe, he was.

He got back to the house and found Billy watching TV. He seemed to be working himself in to the woodwork these days. It felt like living with a ghost. But as soon as he walked into the kitchen, he knew some one had been here. Her faint scent shocked him. The lid from the peanut-butter jar hadn't been screwed down tight. Not the way he liked it. He unscrewed the lid, saw the remains of the peanut-butter on the bread knife.

"Did you have someone over?" He found Billy. Naturally, all he got was an ominous look from him. "Someone was in the house." He looked at Billy as if he might fear for his safety, but not really.

He was mad. He was mad that he hadn't been here when she dropped in. Evidently. He put the bread away. Washed the knife.

Jacob closed his eyes, dreaming of how she'd walked right in, perhaps made herself right at home. Was she some thing feral in the forest? A shiver shot through him as if he wanted some answers. He went to his room then, and that's when he saw the half glass of milk on his dresser. He winced.

What was it about her that made him like this? Did she know? Did she even care what he was?

across the way

2009-11-25T21:27:00.036-06:00

Tess took off running as soon as she knew the traveling nurse was there to check on Gran. She supposed she did it out of instinct than anything else. Her grandmother didn't want her around, anyway. While grandmother loved to talk, Tess would rather not. She was shy. Always had been and it hadn't been any easier as she'd grown up. She hardly ever gave herself a chance to stutter because she was afraid she would. It grabbed her like a superstition now. There were a lot of things she didn't do. Dress like a normal teenager for one. She never wore jeans. Instead, she had on her thermal leggings and a prairie skirt. Of course, it was her trusty scratched up work boots that she only took off at bed. Perhaps she didn't look normal at all, but this was all she had to choose from the old clothes in her grandmother's closet. Anyway, no one saw her. Not even the nurse. Tess made sure of it as she ran through the floor of the forest.

She'd ran a good bit before she tired. It felt more like a skip or a dance. Not running. She'd paced herself over the boulders, through the leaves and then she ended up in a tall field of grass. As she waded through it, she came upon an old house. Perhaps much better than her own, for it was just a hunter's cabin. They didn't even have an address. Not that she was looking for one at this house, either. But it was quiet. Not a dog around to snap nor a vehicle of any kind. And the door was unlocked.

Tess tiptoed through the kitchen. There was loaf of white bread on the counter. Peanut-butter and honey. She couldn't resist a snack. So she made one and ate her sandwich as she walked from room to room very carefully.

She went back to the kitchen for a glass of milk. It felt comfortable here to her as she sneaked about. And then she found the room she wanted. It was foolish to think who might live here. She didn't really know. But she liked it. The plaid comforter. There were a couple of trophies from some sport she supposed. And there were the trinkets that she couldn't quite make what were, but so interesting. Tess could have stayed longer. But she heard someone coming in a wheel chair.

It startled her. She hadn't been alone, after all. She left the half drank glass of milk on the dresser, and for a second, she saw a picture of him with some girl. She held her breath and crawled carefully out of the window. Tess supposed it was time to get home.

could be something

2009-11-24T17:56:00.040-06:00

Jacob awoke in the middle of the night wondering if she was OK. He wished he knew her name. He wondered if she could be out in the woods somewhere. He knew he'd know if she were hurt. He just would. He thought so anyway.

Still it wouldn't go away. This image of her. He needed to know who she was. It lingered with him through his daily chores around the house. When he finished up the last of the morning coffee, he decided he'd ask around.

"Is there anybody new around here?" He started with Jed at the tackle and bait shop that was also the post office and grocery store just down the road from where he lived.

"No, I don't believe so." The thin old man shrugged as he was putting envelopes of mail in wooden boxed shelves. He handed Jacob his mail.

"I thought I saw someone other day." Jacob looked at Jed.

"A gypsy. Could be those gypsies coming through." Jed told him.

"I've never seen a gypsy around here, Jed." Jacob couldn't help but smile, wondering if the old man was just being funny or maybe senile.

"Oh, they're a careful bunch. They don't like people to see them unless they want to be seen." Jed went back to shoving mail in the post office boxes.

Jacob nodded. So now there were gypsies to worry about. First he'd heard of it. But he was sure she wasn't a gypsy.

"Well, thanks." Jacob sighed, holding on to his mail. Naturally, there was nothing much in it. After all, this was pretty much the end of the world up here. It seem to drop off into the ocean once you got to the cliffs. He strolled back to his truck. He guessed he better get to Sam's. Hopefully, he could keep busy there on an engine or something. He knew they didn't like to talk about it, but he was taking some online classes. He might just major in mid-evil history in college yet.

dancing with the stars - a Jacob Black Tale

2009-11-23T19:56:00.001-06:00

The ground meat was simmering. Tess chopped up red pepper in a snap, but the onion got to her. She wasn't a very good cook. She knew. But Gran had lost a taste bud or two. She wasn't sure if that was a hindrance or a help. It didn't matter. She squinted hard as she cut away with the fat knife and had supper simmering in a jiffy as she added a jar of spaghetti sauce and uncooked noodles. The goulash would be ready in about thirty minutes.

"What's taking so long?" The old woman asked from the living-room who was sat in front of the TV which tuned in one channel, and even with a tuner, it was quite snowy..

"Nothing." She winced. She tried not to let her demands get to her. She knew Gran meant well, but sometimes the bitterness got the best of both of them. She preferred the quietness of the forest. "Just watch Wheel of Fortune!" Tess yelled back.

She watched the pot bubble with tomato sauce. She put a lid on it and stirred the frozen Brussels sprouts then.

"There." She smiled. It wouldn't be that awful. She went to clean up the mess she'd made on the counter, putting the left over raw veggies in the compost can. She looked out the kitchen window into the forest. It was dark. But she liked to go out into the night and watch the full moon. Still. Always, had, she supposed. Soon she had most of the mess cleaned up and supper ready to be served. Naturally, she had to serve Gran at the tin TV tray next to her knitting.

"Eat." Tess turned off the TV.

"But what about Dancing with Stars?" Her grandmother peered at her over her wire rim glasses.

"Not until you take three bites." She had medication to give Gran too.

Gran, white headed and wrinkled as a pale prune, took a bite. "Not enough salt."

"Just the way its suppose to be Gran." Tess sighed as she crossed her arms and waited for Gran to try a Brussels sprout. Naturally, Gran made a face.

Tess just smiled, and finally went to the kitchen to get her own dinner. She ate quietly by herself and listened to the stillness. She could hear the birds out. There were such sweet noises she strained to hear, but soon enough, Gran wanted the TV on. Tess did as she asked and took the leftover, and waited to see Gran take her meds.

It didn't take much to clean up then, and she grabbed her heavy sweater so she could fend the cold a bit. It wasn't quite winter yet, but it would be soon. She strolled off in the moonlight without a care in the world, leaving Gran fuming with the judges on Dancing with the stars.

Of course, she saw the bright beaming stars in the atmosphere. She whirled around and around making herself dizzy. Now this was dancing with the stars, she thought. But she stopped suddenly. A noise in the darkness startled her. She waited. After while, she knew it was nothing. But she thought of him. So fierce. Majestic. And quite beautiful. She shivered.

It had been like magic that day she'd found the wolf in the forest. She didn't think it could be. It had been ages. Well, so long, everyone said she'd forget. And maybe she had.

She'd been all of three the first time she'd met the pack. Her father had left her in forest. It wasn't for good or anything. He'd just needed a hiding place at the time. And they'd found her. Kept her warm at night. Possibly, the happiest she'd ever been.

Tears filled her eyes when she thought about that. There was so much she didn't know. She didn't want to know. But the wolves had been her friends. And she kept coming back to find them. And now she finally had. Maybe.

'fore i run too low -a Jacob Black Tale

2009-11-22T18:53:00.001-06:00

He didn't want to see her in his dreams, but she was there.

Where did he know her from? She wasn't from around here. Certainly not from the school on the Reservation. But it was as if she knew him. The other him. Not as a human, but as a wolf. They'd met in the forest.

It was after he'd chased one of the undead away. It had been a close call too. He'd gotten some scrapes on his underside, but in the end the vamp got what was coming, And was no more. He didn't like to think about that, but she saw his wounds. And she talked to him. It was as if she knew the exact leaves and herbs he'd need from the forest to heel.

She smiled to him and said that she hoped they'd meet again.

The dreamed faded too. As if they'd never met, and then it would come to him in a deep sleep as if it was all new again and how happy he was to see her.

Jacob hadn't been happy in a long time. He kept to himself mostly. Working on engines, trying to stay away from the pack unless they absolutely needed him. Things weren't all that exciting, lately. But this was a good thing, wasn't it?

But he was lonely and sad. He just couldn't get out of this funk. It was meant to be. Wasn't it? To be alone.

And yet if he could. Perhaps he would be alone with her.

He knew Sam would forbid it. He'd tell him it would be wrong. But the strange thing was, he knew she liked being alone with him when he was a wolf. How could he explain this to Sam or any of them.

Why would she want to be alone with him when he was a wolf is what kept him up at night when he'd awake from the dream. But she was beautiful. And he wondered if he'd ever find her when he wasn't a wolf.