𝑹𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒖𝒏 {𝟏}

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟗: 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

When I heard Bella was telling our parents, Charlie and Renee that she's going out to play baseball with the Cullen's, I had to hold in a chuckle. She was terrible at baseball, but she'd been trying to get closer to Edward, and it was kind of sweet. I, on the other hand, had my own secret to keep. I was eager to get out of the house and into the cool embrace of the forest, where I could be free from the constant scrutiny of my pack. But at least I could be with my boyfriend and imprinter, Jacob Black.

Jacob and I had been seeing each other for a few months now, and our relationship was still fresh and full of excitement. As a werewolf, Jacob had his own set of challenges to deal with, but we supported each other through it all. We found refuge in the quiet moments we spent together, far from the prying eyes of our small town, Forks. It was a simple, uncomplicated life we had carved out for ourselves, a stark contrast to the turmoil that often swirled around Bella and her vampire love interest.

It was just beginning to drizzle when Edward turned onto my street. Shit, just my luck. Edward would park his car at the side of the street and gets out. "Hello, Beau." he says to me with a forced smile. He was never one to be happy to see me, especially knowing who I was to Jacob. I nodded back, trying to be polite.

"Would you like to come with us? It'll be on neutral ground." Edward says to me, his eyes piercing through the rain. I knew he didn't want me there, but he was trying to keep up appearances and being nice.

"Thanks, but I've got plans," I reply, not bothering to hide the fact that I had no interest in spending the afternoon with a bunch of vampires pretending to play baseball. The tension between our species was always palpable, and even though Jacob and I had made our peace with it, I knew Edward and the Cullens weren't thrilled about our relationship.

Edward nods and walks into the house to meet my sister, Bella. I sigh in relief to myself, and I look at Jacob who was grinning. "What?" I questioned.

"I was thinking we could have our version of baseball, you know, werewolf style?" he whispers to me, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Now you're talking," I say, a smile spreading across my face. Jacob grabs my hand, and we sneak away from the house before anyone notices. The rain starts to come down heavier, soaking us to the bone, but we don't care. It's just the two of us, and the world outside doesn't matter. Plus, our bodies were steaming due to our high body temperature, so the rain was almost refreshing.

We run through the trees, our laughter echoing through the forest. The scent of wet earth and pine fills my nose, mixing with the faint coppery scent of Jacob's wolf. We find a clearing, and we both shift back into our human forms, luckily, we tied our clothes to our ankles so they wouldn't get shredded. Jacob's hand is still warm and damp in mine as we set up our makeshift baseball diamond. We use rocks for bases and a large stick for a bat. The rain has let up a bit, turning into a light drizzle that makes everything glisten.

Suddenly, Sam, Emily, Paul, Rachel, Solomon, Rebecca, Embry, Quil, Claire, Leah, Seth, Brady, Collin, Elliott, Samatha, Ray, Paula, Rueben, Sola, Kier, Jade, Emma, Clair, Quinn, Lee, Sarah, Brandy and Coline all arrive in a noisy pack, bodies and hair damp from the rain. Sam was holding a metal bat, and Paul was throwing the baseball ball up in the air and catching it with his hand. "What's going on?" I ask, surprised to see them all here.

"Remember what I said earlier?" Jacob questions me, his grin widening. "Wolf pack baseball." He gestures to our friends, all ready to play.

"But I thought it was just us," I reply, slightly confused but intrigued by the turn of events.

"You can't play baseball with two people." Paul chuckles, throwing the ball to Jacob, who catches it with ease. "Besides, we all need to blow off some steam."