What do you think is happening to Jake?
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN The rest of the week went by the same way. I was trapped in my mind. I took the bus with Jake sitting next to me in the morning. He would look very serious and try to keep my spirits up. I would get to school early and sit with Ally in the library until Sean came. He would try to distract me. But it didn’t work. I just kept shutting down. I was in control of less and less of myself. Every day Vance cornered me at lunch and brought me to the dark hall. Every day he pressed against me, made threats, and cornered me. But he never kissed me. The only thing I could be grateful for. He would just repeat how I needed to give in and that he wanted me to give myself to him willingly. But repeated that he wouldn't wait forever. Then every day I would be let free by something giving me a few minutes to cry in the bathroom before heading to my last class. After school I would walk with Ally and wait for the bus. Sean stopped fighting me about driving me home. He was clearly
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT: Jake ~ She wasn’t responding. We had gotten to Melbourne about an hour ago and I was pacing in front of Donna’s. Evan had driven us here and we left his car down at the park. “Should we just walk by her place?” I asked, revved up. Nick looked over at me, “I don’t know if that’s the best idea…” he watched me pace some more. “Well we’ve got to do something, this isn’t helping anyone,” Evan commented. “Ugh, fine,” Nick resigned, “But!” He put up his hand, “But if you start losing it over there, you’re listening to me and getting the hell out of there.” “Fine,” I grunted. I was already walking off towards her place. Rachel ~ My eyes fluttered open again. Sleep just wasn’t coming. My mom and Meg had left a few minutes ago, she had some friend’s birthday party to go to and they would be gone for a couple hours. I was on the couch looking up at the ceiling again, trying to connect the little glitter specks in our popcorn ceiling (from the 70s) to mak
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE: Jake ~ I woke up a little disoriented but at peace. When was the last time I had fallen asleep so easily and felt so at ease? I opened my eyes to Evan telling me we had passed out. We. I opened my eyes more and sat up to feel and see Rachel right next to me. We had fallen asleep together on this couch. My heart quickened. She looked so adorable in this sleepy state. She realized we needed to go and I was sad at that, but after our good few hours together, I felt more at peace, satiated. We left her place and I glanced back up at her door before we started up the stairs uphill on our way back into town. I couldn’t help but smile. I was nudged by Evan’s elbow. He gave me a knowing look. “Shut up,” I told him, half heartedly and still smiling. “Ugh,” Nick groaned two steps ahead, “Come on lover boy.” I chuckled. I maybe would have normally given him a stern look, but I was in way too good a mood to. She had felt so comfortable with me she pretty much fe
CHAPTER FIFTY: Jake ~ “Let’s go! It’s almost time!” Evan yelled excitedly. “Coming!” I called back. Today was Nick’s birthday and he was having his first shift tonight. He was currently out in the forest with his parents and a small group of pack members, excluding my parents who were out visiting a neighboring pack about some changes they each wanted to make on our alliance. I was working on some homework and pushed it to the side to get up and follow Evan out. Heading down the hall and down the flight of stairs, my mind immediately went to Rachel. It had been a miracle that I had been able to get my thoughts focused on homework earlier. A miracle made from running until I thought I would pass out. I was so riled up. I’d been this way since Monday, over three weeks ago now. That night when I’d texted Rachel, and the next morning when I had tried speaking to her, I knew it was true. We were definitely connected. Somehow my body knew when she was sinking back into whatever he
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE: Jake ~ I went up to my room after a quick shower and changed before heading to the bonfire. It was nearly 4am but these werewolf teens were bright eyed and bushy tailed. The party looked like it wasn’t ending any time soon. A few young couples were getting very high on the PDA scale and other un-mated people were getting just as friendly with each other. I would never do that to my mate. But other people were other people. Nick could be a flirt when he wanted but he would never cross that line either, no matter how much girls like Savannah, a friend of Sophie’s, would follow him around. Evan, no matter his massive amounts of flirting and toeing the line, hadn’t gone that way either out of respect for his mate somewhere out there. Speaking of mates… “Hey Nicky boy,” I greeted him, clapping him on the back. He turned and grinned at me, “Future Alpha! Our future Alpha has graced us with his presence everyone!” There were some jeers from the crowd but I just laugh
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO I held her as she cried and rubbed circles on her back to try to soothe her. I felt my shoulder get wet and I was just wrecked. I should've forced contact earlier. My little fighter, my warrior - she was falling to pieces. I would never forgive myself. Her crying got heavier and she was heaving breaths as she clung on to me and I squeezed her tight. Evan and Nick stood somewhere in the kitchen, keeping an eye on us but giving her space. After a few minutes like this her sobs became less frequent and she was taking slow deep breaths. “I’m sorry,” she whispered in my shoulder. “Nothing to be sorry for, Killer,” I said softly as I rubbed her back. “I’m getting your shirt all wet,” she sniffled. “Go ahead and blow your nose in it, I don’t care,” I assured her in a low tone. It made her hiccup with a laugh, and I squeezed her in return. Her breathing steadied and she pushed away from me a little, “Crap it’s worse than I thought-” she said looking at the wet spot on
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE: I had felt like the living dead when I answered the door and saw Jake there. I felt frozen but had the urge to run into his arms. Suddenly it was already happening. I was being held and it was such a relief to feel something after all this time that everything came bubbling out of me. I don’t know how long I sat there in Jake’s arms heaving tears into him as he just stayed still. His steady, assuring presence felt like safety and it was like diving into water after being lost in the desert. I needed the release, and I needed it to be him. Jake had always been so da*n serious and protective, and that was exactly what I needed in my life. I felt so exhausted and so terribly unsafe every minute of the day that I wasn’t on the bus with him in the mornings, but this time, this private moment to just feel that care and safety wash over me was just… everything. I was pretty sure I had made Evan and Nick feel uncomfortable, and I would’ve thought so for Jake too, but
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR Nick ~ My wolf hated the way Rachel had looked when we finally got to her house earlier. Asher reamed into me about how I failed my Alpha by letting her get this way. I tried asking him for a clear answer on if she was Jake’s mate but he wouldn’t talk to me. Just sat in the back of my mind howling. After we had left earlier he did come out a bit to tell me I was very lucky our Alpha was so kind to Rachel and that whatever Jake had done back there would make her stronger, would help her. I conveyed the message to Jake and he just nodded. Since some dream Jake had told us about after the nap they shared the last time we were here, I had been really worried. Not only because it seemed she had to be his mate. But the color eyes he had described. In his dream his wolf led a dark gray she-wolf with silver eyes to the Goddess at a lake… He swore it was Rachel as a wolf. The eyes he described... It was similar to what Evan and I had seen in Jake’s eyes now and again w