The Unwanted Imprint

Chapter 29

The girls ran until they were deep into the woods. "Do you think that they're going to be able to find us?" Bella asked, panting as she tried to catch her breath.

"I don't know." Nichole shook her head. "But we need to keep moving, come on."

Then, a vampire jumped in front of them. His eyes were red, and he smirked at the girls. "A nice little snack for me. Aro doesn't want you alive, he just wants you as a little message to the Cullens. So that means I get to feast-"

There was a howl, and then a large, sandy-colored wolf jumped in front of the girls, growling at the vampire. Nichole could tell immediately that it was Jacob. How she knew that, she couldn't say.

The vampire hissed and lunged at Jacob, but Jacob knocked the vampire to the ground, grabbing its head and severing it from its body. He looked at the girls, and Nichole quickly looked away, her eyes squeezed shut. "Jacob! You mind putting some pants on?!"

"Oh uh, sorry." Jacob quickly tugged on some shorts. "Always forget about that part."

"What are you even doing here?"

"Your sister had one of her visions, she sent me here to help you. She didn't want any of her family getting involved because the vamps that were after you were high up in the vampire world or something like that."

"Volturi." Nichole nodded her head. "They're basically like the governing body of vampires."

"Well, they're disgusting. I heard them talking about the things that they were going to do to you and Bella, and it was more than just sucking your blood. They were planning on doing all sorts of vile things to you." Jacob repressed a shudder. "I hate this imprint thing. I'm supposed to hate you, but hearing them talk about you like that made me want to tear them about."

"That's also called being a decent human being." Bella piped up. "You know, 'hey, these guys want to hurt these innocent girls, I should probably do something to try and stop them'. Or does the word decent not ring a bell with you?"

"Oh shut up," Jacob growled under his breath. "Do you want help getting out of here or not? There's more coming, a lot more. Whatever they want you for, they must want you pretty badly. Okay, I'm going to change back into my wolf, and you girls are going to get onto my back."

"Are you sure that you're going to be able to do that?" Bella asked him. "Carry all of our weight?"

Jacob let out a barking laugh. "Please. It'll be like carrying two feathers." He went behind a tree, and when he came back out again, he was in his wolf form, which Nichole thought was gorgeous. His sandy fur probably shone in the sun, and when she got onto his back, she found out that his fur was soft to the touch. "Okay, whatever conditioner it is that you use, I'm gonna steal it because I need something like that in my life."

Jacob let out a huff that sounded like a chuckle before he bounded off deeper into the woods. Looking back, Nichole could see more vampires that were chasing after them. "Um, Jacob, don't mean to bug you, but I don't suppose that you could put on a little bit more speed, could you? It looks like they're gaining on us."

Apparently, Jacob hadn't even been nearly going his fastest, because when he picked up speed, Nichole found that she was holding on to him for dear life.

Jacob let out a little howl of delight, causing Nichole to glare at him. "If I didn't know better, I would say that you enjoyed scaring the shit out of me."

Jacob kept on running, and he didn't stop until they reached Forks. They went to Bella's house first, dropping her off.

"We'll go back when the coast is clear to get your truck," Nichole promised her.

The next stop wasn't Nichole's house like she had thought that it would be, but the reservation. To Nichole's surprise, Sam was waiting for them. "We thought that it would be safer for you here than back at your place, Nichole."

"Uh, thanks I guess, but are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, since half of you guys hate me?"

"It isn't ideal, I'll give you that. But as a pack, we protect all of the imprints, and that includes you. We protect the imprints from outside dangers, and none of the other wolves can hurt another's imprint."

"Oh, that's good to hear then, so Paul Lahote won't kill me the next time that he lays eyes on me then."

"He doesn't mean to be that way, he's just..."

"Unstable? Psychotic? Plotting my demise twenty-four hours a day?"

Sam laughed at that. "He's protective over the pack, that's all. Especially Seth, Paul considers himself a big brother to the kid."

"Well, that explains some things I suppose. I don't suppose that I'll be getting an apology from him any time soon for that little incident?"

"I wouldn't count on it. If there's one thing that Paul is, that's being as stubborn as a damn mule. Let's get you inside. There's no telling where those vampires are now that were hunting you down, and I would rather not have you out in the open."

"Are you sure that they're not going to find me here?"

Sam shook his head. "Because there's so many wolves here, the scent is so strong that it masks the scent of one human. So long as you stay inside, things should be alright." Sam placed a hand on her shoulder. "You need to trust us."

"I do trust you. I just don't trust the others."

"Can't say that I blame you there, but you'll get used to them in due time. Now come on, Emily has some clothes that you can change into, and I believe that she has something warm for you to drink."

Nichole glanced once more into the darkness before she had followed Sam into the house, and if she had looked more carefully, she would have seen a half dozen pairs of red eyes peering back at her through the darkness.