Enchanted | Jacob Black

seventeen

My biology textbook sat open in front of me, the words blurring into one another as I stared blankly at the same diagram for the third time. I couldn't focus; instead, my mind once again wandered towards that one word.

Imprint.

I sighed and slumped in my chair, glancing toward the window where the evening light was starting to dim. It had been mentioned twice, but neither Embry, Quil, nor Leah would tell me what it meant. Why did everyone look at me weird when it came up? And why is Jake the only one who can tell me, but hasn't? I wanted to ask him last night, but the second he came into my room, I had forgotten about it, just wanting to lie in bed with him again.

Leah had mentioned a bond, and I remembered hearing about how certain animals, such as birds, have babies that form attachments to the first thing they see immediately after birth. But what did that have to do with Jake and me? I shook my head, brushed it off again, and decided to ask Jake the next time I saw him.

I had barely finished reviewing the chapter before there was a knock at the door.

I waited momentarily, hoping Dad would get it, but there was a second knock. I stood up and walked down the hallway.

When I opened the door, Jake was standing in just his jean shorts.

"Hey," he said, giving me a half-smile. "Wanna go for a run?"

I blinked. "A run?"

"Yeah," he said casually.

I raised an eyebrow. "Jake, I don't run."

He grinned wider. "Good thing you won't be doing the running."

Before I could ask what he meant, he tilted his head toward the trees. "Come on. It'll make sense in a second."

Reluctantly, I grabbed a hoodie, put on my shoes, and followed him to the edge of the woods. We walked in silence for a few moments, the air cool and quiet except for the crunch of leaves and twigs under our shoes.

Then, without another word, Jake stepped behind a tree and disappeared from view.

I waited, confused.

And then, not ten seconds later, a massive russet-colored wolf emerged from the trees.

"Jake?" I whispered.

He dipped his head once.

I stared at him, at the way his eyes were still his, even in this enormous form. I had seen him in his wolf form only once before, and seeing him this way was still shocking.

Then he came closer, stopping right in front of me.

"You want me to...?" I gestured awkwardly. "Get on?"

Jake gave me a very unimpressed wolf look, then huffed, like my hesitation amused him.

I swallowed my nerves and stepped forward slowly, running my hand over his thick fur. He was warm, like a furnace beneath my palm, and solid.

I climbed carefully onto his back.

His shoulders shifted slightly, adjusting to my weight, and then he took off.

Fast.

The trees blurred around us, wind whipping through my hair as we raced through the forest toward the sound of the ocean. I clung to the thick fur at the scruff of his neck, half-laughing, half-shocked as the world rushed by.

When we reached the forest edge by the beach, the stars were out, scattered like diamonds across the sky.

Jake stopped and crouched low to let me slide off. I stepped down, legs shaky, heart pounding from the adrenaline rush. He disappeared behind the tree, and seconds later, he emerged barefoot and shirtless. His eyes locked on mine, and he ran toward me before I could say a word.