352Author's Notes: Somebody kill me, I'm actually writing a Twilight fanfic. X_x I have to say to those who don't know me: I'm not a fan of the books very much, but the concept of Jacob/Edward fascinates me. The idea of two people absolutely repulsed by one another falling in love anyway and have to deal with being in love with the same girl that is keeping them away from each other, and so competing with each other for her *and* wanting to be rid of her? I just had to write about it!
And so, yes, I did have to re-read Eclipse. (In fact, currently on my shelf sits an overdue and full-of-sticky-notes copy of it. *shame*) I wanted to have my story take place there since it the most "Jakeward"-ish books in the series, despite the only real proof of the shipping being in Breaking Dawn. Because of the I-loved-you-because-of-your-future-spawn theory given in BD, Meyer clearly states that Jacob had equal potential to fall in love with Edward as much as Bella. And considering that Jacob ended up falling so hard for Renesmee that he actually imprinted on her, then there's shot that Jacob could've loved both of her parents. (As cleolinda states, "You know, for maximum angst.")
So, like I said, I was fascinated. I wrote this as canon as I could, or at least I think so. Both boys are highly arrogant and inflammatory towards one another so, however loving they may be with Bella, I doubt a relationship between the two would be that way. Also, in the canon scenes I use dialog straight from the books and most of the actions displayed in the book are also included. (Like any slash fan knows, it all comes down to interpretation.) And… er… I'm not really much of a Bella fan, so I'm not exactly complimentary to her in all things. But, I think I managed to keep my character flaming to a minimum.
Anyway, with that all said, I wish you happy reading. ^^
P.S. The title comes from a Jim Morrison quote: "Hatred is a very underestimated emotion."
P.P.S. For the sake of the timeline, I made the Florida trip end two days early, so Edward and Bella came back Friday night instead of Sunday night, leaving Saturday open for the scene in this chapter.
P.P.S. Sorry, I forgot to add this part in! None of the characters and settings are mine and neither is a portion of the dialog. Also, if you sue me, all you'll get is a laptop and half of an artichoke from the fridge-it's all I own! DX
Chapter One: Crashed
Everything about him repulses me. My nose curls at his retch-worthy scent. My skin vibrates with the urge to spring and snap and tear when he meets my gaze and I see black begin to seep into the amber gold of his eyes. A coil of heat rolls in my stomach when he gets too close to me. The werewolf in me snarls.
The human in me, despite wishing it didn't, wants to know what it would be like to touch him.
x X x
Everything about him incenses me. I tremble when he loudly thinks he was born to hunt me, and so thinks he can beat me. The strong lines of his human bones and the harsh curves of his wolf muscles make me want to test his quick healing abilities. The arrogant walk and the flash-fire heat radiating off his body make me want to either run away or kill him, or at least knock him down every peg he's ever climbed up. When he gets too close, I almost wish my heart would pound, rather than my chest simply tightening on a hollow shell while I try not to shake.
The weak part of me, the shivering scrap of humanity I still have left, wants to know if anything I could do would make him flinch.
x X x
Jacob could still eat human food even though he was a werewolf-something he was secretly grateful for-but what was the fun in a box of lukewarm pizza when he could snap a bear's neck and eat that instead?
And since the whole 'Call of the Wild' experience, he was rather fond of fun.
So there he was, bounding through the woods like an overeager puppy-which he rather felt like, really-and chasing after a scent that promised a hell of a lot of food and would keep him full for days. A regular wolf could take down a creature three times its size when desperate. A wolf his size could kill anything it could possibly want whenever it wanted. And as much as hunting disinterested Jacob as a human, as a wolf… Well, it was damn fun. Like a video game!
Tree! The giant dog bowed his head and jumped a fallen log like a racing horse. Tree! He skidded to the side, his paws scrabbling on loose leaves but still propelling him forward. Tree! Treetreetree! Sprinting, dodging, with his maw hanging open and a doglike, huffing laugh escaping him.
Jacob tore through the wilderness and as he did, in the back in mind, he could hear a voice like a character from an old western film, yelling, "Yeehaw, boys, let's catch us a bear!"
x X x
Vampires are truly graceful creatures, Edward thought a bit smugly. He moved so fast through the woods that he left little more than trembling leaves and small wisps of air in his wake, and he disturbed not a thing. Not like humans with their slow and ugly gait, or like werewolves with their haphazard crashing about. No, he was like the wind. He was the wind. Uncatchable, untraceable, unmatchable, unimaginable. Especially when, like in that moment, he was hungry.
You gave it a nice try, God, with your cheetahs and your Peregrine falcons. But someone else, perhaps even Satan himself, has crafted a much better creature: me. Us. Vampires.
Edward sprinted and evaded the plants of the wilderness with the utmost ease, following a trail of one of the few creatures that could really satisfy his hunger with Bella around. She drew him in almost as badly as that damn werewolf did. Not that he drew him in, exactly, he just got under Edward's skin, got inside his head, clawed his way into a life that had had almost a hundred years of rival-less bliss and made himself a constant presence in his head. The man thought in nothing but shouts and snarls that rang in Edward's mind. It was like being in a public bus, trying to just contently watch the world go by, with a very loud conversation going in on in the back during the whole trip and ruining your serenity. And then there was the odd nature of some of his thoughts…
And there I go, thinking about him again, Edward thought with a mental hiss. He blamed it on the wolf reek all around- so much for 'no-man's land'. He hated the smell of the werewolves, like a wet dog that had been rolling in mud and dead squirrel. It was absolutely disgusting.
Trying his best to block it out, the vampire continued weaving through the trees until he saw what he had been pursuing. An adult grizzly bear, about the size of a full-grown werewolf, and thrumming with blood. It roared at him in what would have been a frightening manner had he been a human. Except he very much wasn't a human, and this wasn't his first bear, either. With an almost bored air, Edward sprang upon the bear's back and was about to sink his human teeth-he didn't have fangs, a fact that had confused him when he was a newborn vampire, but that he was grateful for-when a huge and decidedly furry shape leapt from the underbrush with a resounding crash and a wordless howl. Dammit…
x X x
There it is! Haha, it doesn't stand a chance! Jacob didn't know when killing had gotten that fun, but he didn't mind a bit. He knew he should probably think about morals at some point… But after he had gutted this bear.
He leapt forward and his two front paws thudded into the bear's chest, throwing it to the ground and holding it there. The wolf howled again, sounding a bit like an adrenaline junky going off a cliff with a whoop of joy.
"You idiot!" Hissed an unmistakably inhuman voice. Jacob swore silently. He had been paying too much attention to the bear to watch for bloodsuckers. He saw a whirl of movement-invisible to humans, but clear to werewolves-and Edward Cullen stood glaring at him. Heh, does he think he's being menacing or something? The grizzly gave another snarl and attempted to rise, but Jacob cut off its air supply with one paw, never taking his eyes off the leech. It was almost scary, how much power he had. He was using about as much pressure as a human casually leaning on a table with one hand, but the grizzly gasped for its last breaths anyway. However, that thought quickly took a backseat compared to the trembling that was slowly overtaking his body. If he wasn't already in wolf form, he would have been by now-but he couldn't exactly explode again.
Edward was in full hunting condition, eyes impossibly black and sending off such aggressive energy and scent that Jacob's nose curled in disgust. Vampires smelled a bit like a rotting body, like road-kill, dunked in a too sugary-sweet scent. Sort of like a candy-coated corpse. Jacob silently admired his alliteration while Edward got progressively more aggravated. When he finally spoke, the sound came out harsh and terse, rather than the smooth undertones he usually used.
"I would run, if I were you. I'm on the hunt and you're just a pathetic puppy," he paused and then narrowed his eyes, "And your alliteration wasn't that great."
Ah. Jacob had forgotten about the magic mind-reading that Edward had. My alliteration was perfectly fine, thank you, and I don't think I'll run. Since I'm sort of, what? Born only to kill your kind? That puts me at a bit of an advantage, don't you think? Jacob shot back.
Edward's lips curled into a snarl. "Arrogant as always, I see. You should know you're too newly-transformed to have a chance against a mature vampire. Leave. Now." His fingers twitched. Jacob ignored it.
Mature? We're both still in high school, you know. You seem to be rather stuck there, actually.
"I am there by choice!"
So you're choosing to be immature? Edward bristled. To each his own, I guess. Anyway, if you wouldn't mind, I think I'll just sit down to lunch and you can take your own leave. I'd invite you to stay if I knew your disgusting presence wouldn't make me retch all over my own food. Jacob thought loudly and sneered-well, curled a lip of his wolf muzzle, but it was close enough. He did just as he promised and sat down, close to the bear, causing Edward to nearly lunge at him.
"That's my kill, you filthy, insolent mutt! Get away, don't touch it, or you'll find yourself living in the Cullen household as a decorative rug! That is, if we could clean the stench off it, first." He was so tense he was practically vibrating, and his fingers were curled into claws.
Jacob blinked. Edward was seriously going to attack? Well, that was tragic. He would have a hard time explaining to Bella that he and Edward had been hunting together and Edward had tripped on a tree root and broken his neck…
"Get. Out. Of. Here. You. Mutt." Edward ground out; he must have heard Jacob's thoughts again. The wolf in question let his tongue loll out in a dog laugh again. Make me, bloodsucker.
"I promised Bella that I wouldn't kill you," Edward replied evenly, but slightly condescendingly; like Jacob was a child that needed this explained to him.
Ha, like you even could! I'm bred to kill you, remember? Cat, mouse. Or more like dog, weasel. Can you just leave already? You're really putting me off my food- Jacob looked down at the bear with a mock woebegone expression. Edward twitched and he absently noted that the vampire seemed to be showing a good deal of flaws and emotional giveaways. Must be spending too much time with humans.
"Okay, fine," he bit out-heh, nice pun, Jacob-, "We're both reasonable and… human-like. We can compromise. Why don't I just blood it and you can have all the nauseating flesh you want?"
Jacob rolled his eyes as much as a wolf technically could and sat up. Fine, if you'll go away afterward.
Edward rolled his eyes back at him and stepped forward, deliberately shoving past him. Jacob squared his shoulders, making it nearly impossible for the vampire to shove him, and it caused a rather awkward rub between them-making Jacob shiver from the cold and Edward spasm from what was probably a startling amount of heat. Just went to show vampires and werewolves weren't supposed to touch unless they were killing each other. Jacob watched, semi-fascinated, as Edward bent his head and sank his teeth into the bear's throat-that was, until he realized that the wolf in him was about three seconds from a total fit. Even if the leech wasn't feeding on a human, he was still feeding. Period.
Jacob jumped to his feet and quickly backed up, away from the vampire. Mocking threats aside, he didn't particularly want to kill the other man when he was trying to be at least amiable. Be the bigger man, they say, I suppose. Edward cast a glance over his shoulder at Jacob and a dribble of blood slid from his lips. The wolf shuddered but the human stared, still fascinated in that semi-horrified way. 'Ew, that's terrible… But I can't stop watching!' is the phrase that will make horror movies popular for the rest of forever.
Refusing to be distracted by annoying human thoughts, Jacob's inner wolf lunged at the bit and Jacob's grasp was slipping. This is bad. Joking aside, if I killed Edward, Bella would be… well. Well, indeed. All during last year, she had been an utter wreck. A total empty shell. When that vampire had swept through her life, he had destroyed every connection she had to every other person in her life, leaving only him to hold her up. It was probably the most selfish thing Jacob had ever seen in his life, but seeing as Bella wanted it too, perhaps the pair just fed off each other.
The point was, Jacob would avoid killing Edward for as long as he could. And he had an idea. If he could keep calm long enough, he could transform back into a human, leaving him with a bit more control of his body than the wolf. And leaving himself vulnerable with a hungry vampire. But he knew Edward wouldn't drink his blood, it would be like him drinking vomit. But he could kill me as easily as look at me. Still, that split second it would take Jacob to transform back into a wolf could give Edward time to run, could give them the moment that would save them both.
Jacob backed up further, letting his fur snag on the thorny branches around him and using the pain to ground himself. The wolf didn't feel pain like a human did. Pain wasn't a debilitation or a deterrent, it was just a sensation that got in the way of more important things. The wolf silently snarled in annoyance. Jacob, the man, grabbed onto the pain as a very human thing, and he felt the wolf form melting away with a smooth swish of disappearing fur.
"Nice move." Jacob looked away from the tree he was gripping to stabilize himself and saw Edward, finished sucking he supposed, standing there and looking at him funny. Jacob shifted uncomfortably, feeling oddly naked under the golden amber stare.
…Probably because he actually was naked.
Face rapidly heating up, he tried to hang his hands casually in front of him, wishing he hadn't left his pants in his room in his eagerness to go for a run. He hadn't thought much of it, since he only had to jump from his window to get to the woods and jump back through the window to get back. He hadn't exactly been expecting company. Edward smirked at the other man, clearly hearing everything he was thinking. Cocky bastard.
"Thank you," Jacob said in response to Edward's earlier comment with as much dignity as he could muster in the situation. The wolf was still thrashing about a bit, but he was easier to control. He was in a cage now.
"You wolves are really easy to aggravate, aren't you?" Edward said, apropos of nothing, and wiping at his mouth with his jacket sleeve.
Jacob blinked. "I guess. Better than being an ice cube," he shot back a bit defensively, unable to tell whether the vampire was insulting him or making one of his many inconsequential observations of life in general. Edward took a step closer, and Jacob was suddenly highly aware of the human-vs.-vampire factor there. Edward cocked his head slightly and peered. Jacob gave up all pretense of subtlety and just held his hands in front of him, covering what he could. Edward didn't look predatory, exactly, just a little too curious. Like Jacob was some fascination in a jar. The brunette took a step closer and held out his hand and Jacob visibly twitched. What, does he think I'm just some dog he can pet whenever it takes his fancy?
"What are you doing?" Jacob snapped, stepping back. He wished he could fend him off with one hand, but werewolves were a bit… endowed thanks to the bulking up his body went through, and one hand wasn't going to give him the privacy he wanted.
"Really?" Edward asked, ignoring Jacob's question and listening to the silent thoughts instead. He was now way too close and all Jacob could smell was that hyper-sweet stench and feel something like a cold front hitting him. Unnatural, unnatural, unnatural, his mind chanted nervously, the proximity making him progressively more nervous. One thing Jacob missed about being human was that, while he would sometimes get hunches about things, at least he didn't constantly have them about everything. Stupid inner wolf. Jacob watched Edward carefully. The vampire could reach out and touch him now, and they were too close together for Jacob to be able to get away. And not just touch him-he could kill him. Easily. It was all Jacob could think about as Edward smiled his creepy vampire smile. He didn't care if vampires didn't actually have fangs… his canines looked sharp enough as is.
"What are you doing?" Jacob finally snapped again, the silence having drug for more than a minute, and he felt his naked back hit the trunk of a nearby tree. Edward crept closer, still looking abnormally curious, and Jacob felt years in a boys' locker room suddenly rear up and grab control of his mouth. "Are you gay or something?" It was the first retort he could think of to get another guy away from him.
There was a flicker in Edward's eyes and his hand lowered slightly. "I don't believe in such perversions, thank you very much," he replied lowly. Jacob felt a miniscule flash of surprise at his reaction-Then again, it's hardly a shock, is it? He's seen more 1900's homophobia than New Millennia tolerance-but then the flash was gone and Jacob was just glad he wasn't planning to touch him. He didn't know why the thought bothered him so much, but the wolf was pitching a fit and the human was having a fit of nerves. Not that, of course, he was nervous or anything, just… it was weird. The potential guy-touching and the potential leech-touching.
"You have split personality issues," Edward replied-to Jacob's thoughts again. The disrespectful bastard. Can't he just turn his mind-reading off?-flatly.
"You're not much less of a freak, either," Jacob shot back, narrowing his eyes.
"Can I just see something?" The bloodsucker asked, like he was exasperated with him. Jacob barely suppressed a snort. Ha! Like he had any right to be exasperated. Sure, blood and ancestral enemies touched all the time, that's cool. Go ahead. 'Cause they were so lovey already, as it is.
God, what is with this guy? It's like he's from another world. Well, Jacob supposed he might as well get over with and let him go on his way. Then he could eat and pretend this whole mess never happened.
"Fine," he growled and held still. His hands were still in front of him and a tree was close enough behind him that the vampire really couldn't see anything important. Maybe he would just poke him, stare a little and walk off. Wouldn't be the first time Jacob was left standing speechless while Edward acted like all the world was normal.
Edward narrowed his eyes slightly and rested his bare fingertips on Jacob's upper arm. Jacob shivered slightly and his eyes followed the feather-soft, ice-cold touch as it slid down his arm to just above his elbow. The werewolf looked up at Edward's face, but his expression was unreadable.
This was incredibly, incredibly weird.
Jacob compared the sensation to walking through a museum and suddenly having one of the statues just reach down and touch you. Very weird. He fidgeted awkwardly and looked around at the trees, the bushes, the bear carcass lying a few feet away, the slanted shafts of light coming through the leaves-anywhere but at Edward, who was continuing his light touching.
Suddenly, Jacob felt the fingers slide around the back of his arm and his thumb met them and… and Edward was gripping his arm. Jacob's eyes widened and he jerked away a bit, just as a sort of I-don't-want-this warning. The grip tightened. Okay, playtime is over, leech.
Jacob tensed and gave a hard yank with his arm, taking a step back in the process and dragging Edward forward, his own eyes widening in shock. The younger man felt his naked back scrape against the bark behind him and suddenly felt like he was being pressed on by a block of ice. The force of the pull had dragged the vampire forward and their bodies, foreheads, noses and… and… lips… met with a startling thud. Jacob gasped in shock more than pain and felt his lower lip catch on the other man's for just a fraction of a second.
Every thought that had been frantically whirring around in Jacob's mind slipped away like sand. His eyes were still open, wide and apprehensive, and all he could see was molten amber staring back at him with just as much surprise.
Wha… wha… WHA…?
Jacob was still breathing-he didn't have the option, like him-and the tang of vampire pheromones was getting stronger by the second. They weren't supposed to work on werewolves, were they? He didn't think so, but he felt his mind start to fog up anyway. He reached up with both hands and grabbed fistfuls of Edward's jacket-So it is real denim, then?-to throw him off… Except… his muscles didn't seem to want to make that push.
Edward still hadn't moved away.
You'd never hear him admit it, but Jacob was scared. Scared of a vampire being this close to him and just being there. And it was because of that fear that what happened next, well… happened. The line between fear and sex is already blurred. With both, your heart races, your eyes dilate, and your skin practically vibrates with the need to move. You can't think straight and things either move too fast or too slow, but you're left reeling either way. His inner wolf only knew that it wanted, but it couldn't identify what sort of wanting it was-a food hunger? Bloodlust? Or the urge to…(Oh, shit, thought Jacob), to dominate?-and so it was up to his human instincts to interpret the wild hunger. The tide of emotion forcing him to move crashed over his mind and washed his footing out from under him, and Jacob was pretty sure his human side misinterpreted.
His took their face mash, which Edward still hadn't stopped, and turned it into a kiss. He wasn't really thinking and his mind was a mess, so the vampire had no idea what the other man was doing or what to do about it. Jacob's stomach had stopped churning, but it was doing nauseating swoops that he really wished would stop-but that would mean an end to the wild chill that was soaking through his skin and making him tremble. It was like skinny-dipping in winter and he was once again reminded that he was very much naked and Edward was very much not. But that thought slipped away, too, as Edward began to respond. His heart was hammering in his chest and his mind felt as if it were swimming through… something. Some sort of watery fog that was telling him this was quite nice and simply letting go and letting Edward take over seemed like a lovely idea. Jacob couldn't think of any decent reason while choking on vampire pheromones and the arousal that was threatening to dispel the last of his reason, and so he agreed. As soon as he did, he felt the body against him lean forward with a new fervor and the chilly hand on his bicep clenched.
Jacob felt a slight flash of pain pass through him before the lips were suddenly gone and he found himself staring into a pair of very startled eyes. Edward didn't move away, he just stared at the werewolf's arm with the same fascination he had stared at him with earlier. Jacob was still working to get a coherent thought through his mind, other than a vague wondering about the effects vampire allure had on werewolves. Edward, still very focused on the arm, slowly tightened his fingers again-harder this time-until a spark of pain passed through Jacob's body, and he loosened his grip again. Jacob squinted at him, as if that would make him make any more sense. The vampire flashed a small, crooked smile in response.
"I thought I had… But, no," he whispered, half to himself and almost wonderingly. "I don't have to be gentle with you, wolf."
Jacob held still, feeling himself finally start to wake up, as if his eyes were adjusting to a bright light that he had woken up to. The combination of the human pain and the English words were bringing him back to reason, and he found himself wondering what Edward was talking about. Or, better yet…
What the hell were we doing? What did we…? Did we just…? He… And I… Oh. God.
Edward froze, picking up the other man's panicked thoughts, and he moved the tiniest fraction back. Jacob knew he had just fed, but the eyes meeting his were already darkening again, and all he could see was blackened topaz gazing back at him. One hand still gripped his upper arm while the other hand hung at his side, barely brushing Jacob's. Edward's denim jacket scraped against Jacob's bare chest, the zipper just as cold as his skin was. He filled his whole vision, and he could smell nothing else than the freezing front a vampire put off. Jacob found himself unable to separate the thrill from the revulsion so he stood there, just as frozen as Edward was.
I just kissed a boy. I just kissed a vampire. Which is worse, I wonder? He couldn't believe himself. His astonishment was quickly turning into horrified panic, but even in his fazed state, he didn't miss the sudden flood of self-disgust that passed over Edward's face before his expression shut down all together. Spell broken, Jacob leaned back and pressed himself against the tree behind him while Edward took several steps back.
Jacob could barely breathe; Edward had stopped altogether.
There was a crackling in the underbrush and Jacob turned towards the noise, stiffening when another vampire scent wafted towards them. After a moment's pause, the other Cullen brother-the big, bulky one Jacob had seen in the past-stepped into the mini-clearing. Emmett.
Clearly, Jacob thought in the tone of a person enjoying their last bout of lucidity on their way into madness, Fate hates me.
Emmett glanced down at the bear, still just a few feet from the other two men, and then looked back at them. He looked from Edward's expressionless face to Jacob complete emotional disarray, and Jacob began to panic. He knows, he knows, he knows, he can tell… But his fears were stilled when Emmett sneered.
"Ever heard of pants, mutt? Or maybe you've decided to fully embrace your inner dog?" After another disdainful look, he dismissed him and faced Edward. "Are you okay? Alice was getting all sorts of weird flashes, like the future couldn't make up its mind or something, and then you disappeared behind that werewolf… block… thing."
Edward smiled reassuringly-from the look of it, he had had a good deal of practice-and waved a hand dismissively. "I just needed to speak with Jacob a moment, but we can go now."
So relaxed, so unruffled, not a single tremor from the cold, hard vampire skin. Bastard, Jacob's mind hissed, and the shell-shock still hadn't worn off.
He still shivered slightly, but he couldn't change back into his wolf form. His mind was still thoroughly stuck on Edward for the moment and the whole pack would pick up on it and see what had happened and… well. Jacob didn't know the exact punishment for consorting with a vampire, but I doubted it would just be a slap on the wrist.
Emmett shot a final suspicious look at the naked werewolf, but accepted Edward's words with a curt nod. They were just turning to leave the clearing when another shape came crashing through the woods. Jacob recognized the sound immediately and looked up at the heavens with the same expression a parent would wear if they walked into a room to see their kid sitting and reading quietly with every bit of furniture upside down. It was the sort of I'm sure you have a good explanation for this and I would very much like to hear it expression.
Paul, wearing his wolf body with lips curled into a snarl, stepped into the pale light and glared at the two vampires. Emmett turned, immediately ready to fight, and Paul started into a half-crouch.
Oh, this is going to go well. Have any more gasoline, Fate?
Still keeping most of his focus on Emmett, Paul half-turned to Jacob and gave a questioning whine. Jacob shrugged, trying to be casual. He could come up with a brilliant excuse later, but it wasn't up for one right now. Giving his packmate a slightly dubious look, Paul turned his full attention back to the vampire pair and growled low in his throat. A fair warning.
Edward turned towards his brother. "Not that these two are particularly dangerous, but perhaps we should go anyway." Perfectly reasonable. Arrogant bloodsucker, Jacob couldn't help but add.
Emmett snorted and curled his fingers into fists. "Why? This strip of space is just as much ours as theirs," he retorted, amber eyes not leaving Paul and Jacob.
Paul snarled a louder warning this time, indignation-turned-anger leaking into his tone. Jacob wasn't sure what he'd do if Paul charged in his wolf form. If he turned wolf then, Paul would surely hear him thinking about Edward and…. what had just happened, so he knew he'd have to stop him as a human. Jacob stepped forward, finding himself once against wishing for pants, and laid a hand on Paul's neck.
"Paul, let's just get out of here. We don't need another vampire-werewolf showdown right now, and you know Bella would throw a holy fit if we fought again," He reasoned, hoping perhaps this moment of good judgment would balance out the extreme unreason of a few minutes ago. After all, everyone had their bad moments, right?
At the mention of Bella's name, Paul rolled his wolven eyes, and Jacob couldn't blame him. Considering how much they had to hear about here these past few months, all the werewolves were sick of her. And lately, now that Bella had forgiven the Cullen's from abandoning her to suffocate in her own anguish, Sam added fuel to the flame by also thinking about her every time Jacob did and they both tended to feed off each other's anger and frustration and leave the whole pack wallowing in angst while they were trying to hunt.
Exhaling loudly, the giant dog turned and began to walk away, but was stopped when Edward sprang forward.
"What is your problem, wolf? We were kind enough to let you go easily enough. You don't have to repay it with comments like that," he nearly growled. Oh crap, Jacob thought, unable to stop the feeling of resigned inevitability welling up in him, Paul must have said something… Paul turned back around, contemptuous and angry and, with a slight toss of his head, said-thought-something else. Edward's eyes narrowed.
"What is he saying?" Emmett asked, looking for all the world as if he'd take any excuse for a fight at the moment.
"Paul was simply commenting on the… nature of our familial relationship," Edward replied lowly, shooting Jacob's packmate a dark look. Jacob snickered, realizing what Paul had probably said-the pack often joked about it, much to Emily's disapproval.
"Well, you have to admit it does seem a little incestuous from this angle," Jacob said, smirking slightly. "You're all staying in one home with the same last name, having a merry old time, I'm sure, and then when night comes…"
Paul's tongue lolled out tauntingly, clearing agreeing with the man, and looked deliberately at Edward again. The latter's lips curled into a sneer.
"Like either of you have any room to talk about perversion. You know, we used to have a word for men who ran around naked together in the woods…"
That personal hit was filled with so much hypocracy, Jacob could just about spit. He started shaking violently, but he refused to transform; he would use his bare fucking hands. He lunged for the leech but Paul beat him there, issuing what Jacob considered to be a pretty impressive one-paw smack down. Emmett looked furious, though. He jumped straight at Paul and punched him in the jaw hard enough for his head to jerk around with a sharp crack. Shit…
By this time, Edward had gotten back to his feet, but Jacob was watching Paul with wide eyes. The wolf hated to be punched there and it showed. The giant wolf-dog slowly turned his head back towards the vampires and tilted it so that his neck cricked threateningly. Shit, shit, shit… Jacob chanted, and all he could think was that this could not end without one or both of them being heavily injured. Werewolves may heal very quickly, but vampire scars tended to linger considering their intensity.
Paul lunged, this time his jaws open to rip and tear stone limb from limb, but before he could get a hold of Emmett, another furry shape sprang from between the trees and threw its packmate to the ground. Sam! Paul tumbled hard but rolled to his feet as soon as he gained his bearings. His claws sank into the dirt and he radiated fury, but Sam stared him down. Jacob was partially relieved that they weren't going to fight to the death, but partially terrified since he couldn't send Sam away with an idle excuse. He had to think of something. Some reason why he was here. Perhaps he could use Edward's excuse and say they were talking about Bella, but then Sam would walk to talk about it with him and Jacob really didn't feel like it.
After he was assured Paul wasn't going to move, Sam turned to Edward and Emmett and after a moment of silence, Edward nodded.
"Thank you, Sam. I agree, but perhaps we should just all leave this area, for fairness' sake," the vampire replied calmly, ever the diplomat. Sam nodded, looking like a regal pack leader as always. The two of them are really a pair, thought Jacob, but tried to keep his bitterness down.
Sam nodded once and turned to Paul, who was glaring resentfully at the ground. He looked back at Jacob, who prayed for a good excuse or a quick death. They stared at one another for a while until, at last, Jacob awkwardly cleared his throat. "I… ah… I think I'll walk back, if that's alright."
Sam gave him another long look before nudging Paul and nodding at Jacob. The silver-gray wolf padded over to his human packmate and turned so that the leg where his torn jeans were tied was closest to him.
"Thanks," Jacob muttered, quickly taking the pants and feeling his face heat up again. Edward held up a hand of farewell to Sam and sped away, Emmett on his heals. A moment later, Sam and Paul disappeared off in the opposite direction.
Jacob stood next to the bear carcass, ragged jeans in one hand and barely holding himself together with the other, and tried to stop his violent shaking for a long time.
"Somehow, I couldn't stop myself.
I just wanted to know how it felt.
Too strong, I couldn't hold on…
Now I'm just tryin' to make some sense
Out of how and why this happened.
Where we're heading, there's just no knowing…"
~"Crashed" by Daughtry
A/N: Hope you guys liked this one! Just as a quick note, this is the only chapter that will have alternating point of views in it. The other chapters (each taking every other turn) are just going to be told by Jacob or Edward. Also, the song lyrics at the very end will usually just be the verse or chorus, but I was careful to only use songs where every line fit, so you'll often find extra information from the chapter in the full song.
Feel free to leave a review, but I don't mind lurkers. =3