Enemies In The Woods ~ Jacob Black

Her Keeper

𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣'𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦

College drained me. There's always so much work to do, and then you have to study on top of that. I wouldn't be going through all this trouble if it didn't mean I'd be able to go into the career I want. Today was even worse than usual, though. I can't believe they let a bloodsucker enroll. Lorelei Bacay. What a bitch. She's probably some one hundred year old monster who's killed more humans than I've ever met in my life. Sam should've never allowed another one of them to live freely on our territory. If Bella hadn't intervened, I would've driven her out of Forks already.

I need some fresh air. The walls are suffocating me. I take off my shirt and transform into my wolf form, scampering off into the woods. Its peaceful here. Away from the roads and the pack. No one to bother me. I hear a rustle coming from a bush not too far away. The packs thoughts tell me that it's not any of them here with me. It must be someone else. I quietly go to investigate the noise and make my way to the river, where the sight in front of me could've sent me into a coma.

A wolf, gracefully sipping water from a glistening stream (𝐀/𝐍: 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐨𝐛 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧). Her coat, it is definitely a she because I can smell her pheromones, is white as snow and looks as soft as a cloud. I accidentally step on a twig, causing her to snap her head in my direction. Those eyes. Those beautiful, enchanting, miracle-giving hazel eyes. I could look into those deep pools for the rest of my life. The wind caused her hair to sway ever so slightly, and I swear I felt my heartstrings move at the same time. She blinks slowly and my stomach feels on edge with every millisecond that I'm deprived of her eye contact. I can't feel the ground below me anymore. I could drift into space any second, but those eyes are keeping me rooted to my spot. Then, another twig snapped in the distance at the weight of somebody's presence, and she was gone. I suddenly feel lightheaded. Why can't I walk straight?
"Jacob."
"What, Sam?"
"Jacob, calm down."
"I don't know what's happening to me. I feel dizzy, I can't feel the ground and my heart feels like its going to jump out of my chest!"
"JACOB! Calm down!"
"I CAN'T!"
"YOU IMPRINTED!" My heart dropped. He can't be serious. This isn't possible.
"Trust me, I know how it feels. It'll be okay Jacob-"
"Who was that? Why didn't I recognise her?"
"She must be new to the area. She isn't part of our pack and I don't recognise her scent."
"I have to find her."
"And you will Jacob. She would've imprinted too. You will find each other, you have to trust fate."
"I've never believed in this imprinting bullshit," I spit arrogantly.
"Well, you do now."

He's right, I do now.

[Next day]

After yesterday's encounter with that angel wolf, school is the last thing on my mind. I know Lorelei is going to be there too, sitting next to me with all of the privilege and righteousness that she has. She has no right to be here. This is supposed to be a safe haven for us wolves and she has ruined the perfect stability that we've held for so long. And as expected, she's right there when I walk into Mr Martin's classroom. We're both early so he isn't here yet. Great. She looks flustered. Her cheeks are a rosy red colour and she's fiddling with her fingers on the desk. Weird. She's wearing her hair differently today. The front is tucked behind her ears, revealing two small plaits that are sitting on her shoulders along with the rest of her loose hair. The ends of her hair are curly. It looks cute. Why did I notice all of that? I shake my head and walk fully into the room, plopping myself down in my chair a bit too aggressively and almost fall onto the floor. She giggles. It's so quiet that I'm surprised I even caught it, and it's a drug. Suddenly, I want to hear her laugh like that all the time around me. Knowing that I caused her to make that sound brings a smile to my face. What am I doing? Mr Martin finally joins us and begins to write out the process that happens if a stimuli doesn't trigger a reflex response. I can't focus on what he's saying though, because out of the corner of my eye I can see Lorelei fiddling with a strand of her hair. She's mindlessly spinning a curl around her finger whilst scribbling notes into her book. I want her to run her fingers through my hair like that. Wait, what? She lowers her head and tilts to the side to get a better view of her notes, giving me a view of her side profile. I never noticed how beautiful she is.
"Mr Black?"
"Huh- I mean yes, Mr Martin?"
"What neurons allow the sensory and motor neurons to communicate, and where are they located?"
"Relay neurons, they're found in the brain and spinal cord. Otherwise known as the central nervous system."
"Thank you, Mr Black."
"Nice guess."
"It wasn't a guess." I look up to see her staring at me with a suspicious look on her face. I almost want to laugh.
"I knew the answer."
"Why are you in this class? This is for students who are trying to catch up. What are you? Like 30?" she laughs again. I'm addicted.
"I'm 23, and I am catching up. Dealing with shifting and...other things meant that I didn't have a lot of time for school." She leans back and the sunlight from the window hits her collarbone, causing it to glisten. She probably has really soft skin.
"What are you doing here?"
"I've moved around a lot ever since I was 15, I didn't spend long enough in one place to be able to enroll."
"How old are you?"
"20." Now I'm the one giving her a suspicious look.
"No, how old are you really?" She soffs.
"I'm 20."
"How long have you been a vampire?"
"A week." A week? I didn't expect that.
"Oh."
"What? Did you think I'd be some three hundred year old crazy vampire who plans on destroying your entire family lineage?" I don't respond.
"Wow, well thank you for the vote of confidence Jacob." I like the sound of my name on her tongue. I want to hear her say it again. What's wrong with me today? I hated her yesterday. I hate her. I hate Lorelei Bacay.

Mr Martin is packing his things up, and so is Lorelei. When did the lesson end? I pack my stuff quickly into my worn bag and jog out of the classroom, hoping to catch up with her. Cautiously, I approach her side.
"What do you want?" Her harsh words feel like a bullet to the chest, but I recover quickly and put on the best poker face I can muster.
"Bella told me to protect you, that's what I'm doing."
"What's up with you and Bella? She's a married woman, you know."
"I'm aware," hearing that would usually fill me with rage but now it feels oddly ineffective, "she's my friend. That's all. And she wants me to protect the youngest member of her coven."
"You guys had to have been more than friends at some point, surely."
"We were...and then she became on of you." The corners of her mouth drop slightly when I say that. I didn't mean to hurt her feelings, but I can't apologise because that'll seem too out of character.
"Do you know where Seth is?"
"On the training pitch."
"Perfect. I'm going to meet Seth," she pokes her finger into my chest, "and you can go crawl back into whatever crevice of hell you came from." A devious smile plays on her lips as she turns to leave me alone in the corridor. I follow her hastily.
"What is your problem Jacob?" she asks while still storming away from me.
"The training pitch is filled with our best athletes and strongest members of the pack. If they attacked you, Bella would kill me." That's why I feel so protective over her. I'm doing this for Bella, not for Lorelei. Never.
"I'm your keeper now."
"My keeper?"
"Yes, your keeper."