Moving Forward - J. Black

xii.

EDITED

"I guess we should talk before the guys come back." Jacob move on after the moment ended and Eliza simply gave a nod. "I know that vampires have mates, it's how most of your coven was formed, right?" Jacob thought about the relationships between the Cullens and the motives behind Victoria's visits. Eliza agreed with his statement with a nod, biting her lip as she fought her nerves. "We have our own version of mates, we call them imprints." Jacob began his explanation of how imprinting works. "Imprinting, it's not like love at first sight but like gravity moves, it's not the earth holding us here anymore, it's them." Jacob confessed as he tried to put the process into words.

"That...sounds intense." Eliza blew out a breath as she looked over Jacob's facial expression. "It doesn't have to be romantic, we become whatever you need, a protector, a brother, a friend. My father has always seen imprints as a way to make us stronger shifters." Jacob tried to ease the tension of the topic. "That really doesn't make me feel any better." Eliza let out a nervous laugh. "For us, it's almost like a bonding of soul. Vampires rarely fall in love due to our competitive nature. Finding a true mate, it's end game for us, there's no other option for us." Eliza explained her own version of a vampire's humanity.

"I don't know what it feels like when we find our mates. I can't pick up on your scent like I can a human, but I can sense your presence when you're around. With you, it feels almost like...a buzz?" Eliza tried to find the words to describe the new bond.

Jacob went to speak when yelling and loud footprints rattled through the house, the front door almost swinging off the hinges. The shifter's laughing was silenced as the pack came flooding in, the shifters jokingly shoving each other around. "Get a whiff of that." One voice boomed with a condescending tone, but the bodies stayed in the kitchen and out of sight. "Looks like they're back." Jacob sighed as he heard his pack mates run around in chaos. "Is there a back door? Maybe I shouldn't be here yet." The unknown shifter's words rattled around in her head. 

"Sam wanted to meet you, you were invited. Most of the guys are pretty cool but you might want to avoid Paul." Jacob suggested as tried to ease Eliza's nerves. "Come on." Jacob stood up, offering a hand to Eliza. Eliza looked down at the outreached hand and politely declined his assistance as she stood on her own. Jacob looked at the girl hesitantly, giving one small smile, before leading her back to the kitchen.

The room immediately went silent once Eliza was in view of the shifters. Sam was in the kitchen with his arms wrapped around Emily while the shifters were sitting to the left at the long table. "Eliza, welcome." Sam sent a nod to the vampire, but his face remained stoic. Eliza sent her own nod toward Sam and she fought the urge to rock back and forth on the balls of her feet from the nerves that the awkward silence was sending through her. "Well, I'll go first. I'm Quill." one of the shifters with slightly curly hair spoke up, a small supportive smile on his face. Jacob sent his friend a grateful look as Quill waved at the blonde, Eliza giving back a small smile.

"I'm Embry, Jake's best friend." another shifter, the skinniest of the group, spoke up, a teasing grin on his face. "Dude!" Quill immediately looked at Embry offended by the statement. "We're both his best friend." Quill looked at Eliza after he gave Embry a scolding look. Eliza let out a breathy laugh at the way the two shifters immediately broke through the tension. "I'm Jared and that's Paul." one of the other two shifters, who had a baby face, spoke up, nodding his head toward 'Paul', who was definitely still holding a grudge. "We've met." Paul glared at the blonde, but Eliza knew better than to comment back. "It's nice to meet you guys." Eliza tried to show that she appreciated them introducing themselves. Jacob moved closer into the kitchen and took a stance against the island that separated the kitchen and dining room. 

"So, is it true that Bella stole your boyfriend?" Embry leaned forward on his hands as he looked at the blonde curiously. "Dude." Jacob looked at his friend in disappointment. "Oh-uh-we were never actually together. Who told you that?" Eliza furrowed her eyebrows as she looked between the two shifters confused. Jared looked everywhere except at the blonde, but he had an amused grin fighting to take over his expression. "It's a wolf thing, we can see each other's memories, hear their thoughts." Embry grinned as he bragged about his shifting abilities. "Dude! That's a trade secret, she literally a vampire!" Jared snapped his head over at Embry, giving him a warning look. 

Eliza hadn't been back to the pack house since that week, but she and the wolves would become more than strangers in the next few weeks. The Cullens and wolves took different shifts guarding Bella's house, sometimes Eliza would end up 'sleeping over' at the human girl's house. Charlie liked the blonde's sarcastic attitude and mutual annoyance for Edward Cullen. Bella continued to grow on Eliza and Eliza didn't mind taking turns picking Bella up and dropping her off at the border.

Eliza stayed the night at Bella and Edward picked the two up the next morning, dropping Bella off with Jacob so the Cullen family could hunt. Jacob was leaning against his Volkswagen without a shirt when the three pulled up and Edward immediately grew sour. "Doesn't he own a shirt?" Edward glared Jacob's way as the three exited the vehicle. "I don't mind." Eliza smirked, knowing her comment would further Edward's sour mood. Jacob laughed at Eliza's antagonistic ways, the vampire walking over to the shifter while Edward and Bella said their goodbyes. "I'm not going to be gone long." Edward promised Bella as he stared at her intently.

"They act like they'll never see each other again." Eliza rolled her eyes at Edward's intensity when she stopped in front of the Volkswagen. "Maybe the forest animals will band together and fight back, I heard they talk." Jacob gave a proud smirk and Eliza tried to hide her amusement as she fought off a smile. "You should come with us tonight." Jacob looked over at Eliza, ignoring the couple in front of them. "Oh, no I don't want to intrude." Eliza shook her head at the idea. "Come on, Bella won't mind. And I know you aren't going hunting." Jacob looked down at the blonde.

"How do you know that?" Eliza furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "You're eyes sparkle after a hunt and they normally take a couple of days to return to normal." Jacob shared his observation of Eliza over the last couple of weeks. "You pay attention to my eyes?" Eliza looked at Jacob impressed and a little flattered. "Yeah, they're creepy." Jacob played off the comment with a laugh. "Dick!" Eliza swatted the shifter in the chest as he let out a loud laugh. 

"I'm serious, come with, at least tonight." Jacob grabbed the hand that Eliza hit him with and held it captive as he tried to convince her. "What's tonight?" Eliza frowned at his words. "A party." Jacob grinned at the blonde, wiggling his eyebrows. "What kind of party?" Eliza narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the shifter, but Jacob didn't respond as Bella walked over to the pair.

"So are you staying with us?" Bella asked as she walked over to the two expectantly. "You too?" Eliza looked at Bella suspiciously. "Edward told me you weren't going hunting, I figured you could use some company." Bella shrugged and Eliza glared over at the vampire. "Really?" Eliza judged Edward for manipulating the situation to keep Jacob and Bella from being alone together. Edward stayed quiet and simply shrugged his shoulders, Eliza rolling her eyes. 

"Fine." Eliza sighed and Jacob smiled, swinging an arm over her shoulder. "We're going to have so much fun!" Jacob teased as he squeezed her shoulders. "So, what do you girls want to do today. Bike, hike, your call." Jacob looked at the two girls as Edward got in his car, speeding off.