Circus ▷ Jacob Black

FIVE

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FIVE; LESSONS FOR JACOB

THERE WAS A PAUSE before Imogen nodded.

"That's my name, Jake. Did you already forget? I assume you have since you've been ignoring Bella and I completely."

Was Imogen always this gorgeous? Had Jake really been that blind to her beauty this whole time? But as his eyes scanned over her features, he was seeing something that he never realized before.

Imogen felt shy under his gaze, squirming slightly. Billy wheeled into sight, but was also confused by Jacob's odd behavior. It took a few moments before Billy's expression completely changed.

"Imogen," Jacob repeated. Her eyes were darting from Billy to Jacob, wondering what the hell was going on and why they were being so suspicious.

"Alright, I came over to confront you, but it looks like this family is a little confused. I'll come back later-"

She slowly began to turn away, but Jacob snapped back to life. "No!" He yelled, grabbing Imogen's wrist. A rush of sparks shot up his arm, and he knew that she could feel it too. "Imogen, I want to-"

"Let the girl leave, Jake," Billy instructed. Jacob shot him a glare. "Hopefully, you'll come back soon, Imogen?"

She hummed, but it didn't sound very convincing. "Maybe."

As soon as Jacob heard the front door close, he angrily turned to face his father. "Why the hell did you let her go? I just imprinted on her."

"Yeah, and you looked like you were about to reveal everything to her right then and there," Billy said, wheeling himself to the kitchen. Jacob furiously stomped after him.

"And what's the problem with that? We're allowed to reveal tribe secrets to imprints and family if we choose," Jacob recited from memory, recalling Sam's list of rules when he phased.

"Don't be selfish, Jake," Billy scolded. "Do you even know if that's what Imogen wants? Not every imprint is willing to drop their whole life for their shapeshifter. You might be wrecking havoc in her life. Plus, how much do you even know about her? She might think you're some deranged psychopath and she'll go and tell all of her friends."

"She wouldn't do that," Jacob hissed, practically seething with rage. He was about to phase right then and there in the middle of his living room, so he tried to find a way to calm himself down. "You don't know her like I do."

"You're right," Billy agreed, taking out his lunch from the refrigerator. "I don't know her, and neither does Sam. Talk to your alpha first, Jake, before making any decisions."

"There's nothing to debate over," the irate teenager growled. "Imogen is my imprint, and I know that wholeheartedly now. I spent all of my time with her fawning over Bella, and I have to correct my mistakes as soon as possible."

"You're acting on the imprint. You'll learn that it does that to you, but you still have to keep a sane mind. Now, if Imogen asked you to kill an innocent human, you would do it without hesitation because of your sudden devotion to her. You need to talk to Sam so that he can tell you the rules of having an imprint, and what it will do to you."