Howling Moon

Author's Note: I had a terrible dream about Jake the other night... I dreamed that he ripped me to shreds for making him wear the clothes he did in the last chapter! Oh noes! I think my muse is angry at me for putting poor Jake in clothes that he really would never wear, so I'll make him and my muse happy in this chapter... As well as all you readers! I really am happy that some of you are following this story so closely, and I'm so excited that you all seem to enjoy it! These reviews are what keeps me going from dropping this like a hot potato! Thanks so much! :D

TEAM JACOB! w00t!

I'd also like to make a recommendation for those of you who love Jake pairings! I'm just as much of a reader as I am a writer, and good fan fiction really is hard to come by! I'd love to recommend Ysar's "Breathe Again", a wonderful story about Bella and Jacob and what might have happened if Edward never came back. You can find the link to Ysar's story here: http://books.adult-fanfiction.org/story.php?no=600093842

I couldn't stop reading it and it's sexy as hell! /fans self

And, it's also given me the idea that maybe I should start thinking about writing this story in Amelia's POV... After this story is finished, of course; there are still secrets about Amelia that I can't tell you all yet. /evil


RESPONSE TO REVIEWS:

Reaper07: LOLZ! I had to come up with something to feed my readers, right? That, and I also noticed that I put in the description "SoloF" and "Voy" without realizing it; I really just pulled that scene out of my head to go with those descriptions... and I'm actually really happy with the results! Thanks for the new review and thanks so much for reading!

FallenAngel2010: I'm glad you liked the date scene! I really didn't want to water down the story so much with monotonous "He took another sip of soda and asked her another question." kinda stuff, ya know? I'm a sucker for extremely detailed plot and story, but I know that not everyone would want to rifle through useless junk for all the good stuff. And, here's your update! Thanks for the new review and thank you so much for reading!

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The next several days went better than I could have imagined; I had broken my vow to get under Amelia's skirt before the end of the week, but had gotten something almost as sweet-- Amelia wanted to be my steady girlfriend. I still hadn't really explained to her about why, exactly, she felt that strange attraction to me as she had described on one of our dates, but I figured that I would have to tell her sooner or later.

I learned that the imprinting hadn't revealed any of my secrets, just as they had not revealed any of hers, and it had simply felt like everything that I was had been bared to her eyes. In all honesty, it still does feel that way, but I'm skipping ahead of myself.

Amelia and I went on several dates and were completely inseparable; I showed her what it felt like to ride on a motorcycle, though I didn't really have the nerve or compulsion to show her how to ride it herself as I was terrified that she would hurt herself; she was so tiny that she could barely hold it up, anyway. We spent a majority of our time on the beach, however, simply enjoying the quiet company of each other. I had to admit, that Amelia's company and Bella's company was in extreme contrast to each other; where I had felt that talking with Bella was the only way to communicate with her, I KNEW that I didn't need to say a word to have an entire conversation with Amelia. It wasn't like Amelia really said anything, either... It was just like a secret bond that we had; I knew what she was feeling without even looking at her. The time that we spent together had only made the bond that we had even stronger; if Amelia was afraid, I could feel it in my bones, and when she was happy, it spread through my veins like wildfire.

It was two weeks into our budding relationship that something changed. It was instantaneous and mind-blowing, and I knew that I would never have seen it coming, even if I'd had Alice's amazing powers of fortune telling... Magnified by a thousand and then some.

It was a balmy, sticky, rainy night; I was exhausted from the day's activities and had fallen into a deep, unshakable sleep that rarely came to me in those days. I had spent a majority of my day with Amelia, swimming at the beach, walking in the woods, riding into Forks... The works. I had devoted my entire day to Amelia, and when she had excused herself close to nightfall, I couldn't blame her. She had looked utterly wiped by the time I rode back into the reservation, and I felt a little pooped myself. I bid her an early good night and told her that I would see her the following evening; I was going to be going into town the next day to look for a job-- I had told her that I couldn't be a bum my entire life. Phil, Sue, and Leah had gone into town again, that weekend, and I'd had Amelia all to myself again.

I had fallen asleep easily that night, almost as soon as the sun sank below the horizon. I kept my window open as wide as it would go, hoping that the light sprinkling of rain would cool me off as I lay in bed naked; it was the only way to sleep without burning to an almost literal crisp while I slept. I awoke with a start, however, at an insistent howling in the distance. I sat straight up in bed, wondering if I had just dreamed it, but kept my ears tuned to the sound.

Now, keep in mind that a howl isn't just a howl; a howl can have a thousand different meanings, with the same depth of human speech-- you know when somebody is asking a question by that little lilt at the end of their sentence, right? Well, when I heard the little lilt at the end of the howl outside, I knew that somebody was calling. For whom, I couldn't tell, but when I heard the howl again, long and mournful, I wondered if Sam was calling the packs together for a new threat he may have found.

Despite the breaking up of the packs and the constant bickering that Sam and I generally went through, we had come to a truce... A pact that, while our packs were different, we would all work together to keep Forks and La Push safe from harm.

I jumped immediately out of my bed, easily hopping out of my bedroom window and phasing as though I did it every day. In actuality, I hadn't phased in close to a year due to not really needing to, but my instincts that night brought everything back in sharp, clear detail. The speed... Oh, the speed in which I ran had my underused lungs burning as I made my way toward the sound. My paws were nothing but brown blurs in front of my nose and as soon as I reached the place where I swore I had heard the sound, I realized that something was wrong....

I couldn't hear my pack... I couldn't hear Sam... I could only hear the sounds of wildlife around me. Afraid that, perhaps I had mistaken the howl of a stray dog for an actual wolf, I began sniffing my way through the damp forest floor. When I found nothing of real interest, I tilted my head back and howled in response.

I waited.

... And waited.

.... Nothing.

Stupid dogs...

Just as I was getting ready to turn around and head back, a little disappointed at the lack in action, I heard the howl again, and this time it was closer. I sent out a mental call, hoping that perhaps I could catch something. I got nothing in return, but howled again, perking my ears. Hopefully, whatever it was would come closer. If it was a dog, I'd make sure it never came back again... I hated stray dogs who thought they could come in on our territory.

I received an answer back.. Another howl, and it was getting closer. I decided to stay put and become the beacon that the stray dog could follow. I was snickering inside, knowing the beating that the poor beast would get once he found me. I heard rustling to my left, and turned to face whatever was there. I instantly raised my hackles, baring my teeth and slavering as much as I could to make myself look as fearsome as I really was. I was feeling badass.

Come on, stupid mutt... Let's get this over with so I can go back home!

But what stepped through into the small clearing made my growling grow louder. I could smell her... I could smell Amelia on that beast, and I was ready to kill.

It's gotten Amelia!

It was huge and white. In hindsight, I knew I hadn't seen clearly enough to stop what I was thinking, but the damn wolf was so huge that I should have thought that it was another of my pack. The wolf was definitely as large as I was, if not, then just a tad smaller. The fur was so white, it was almost silver, and it shone under the light of the full, pregnant moon in such a way that it the beast's coat could have been made of silver. It's eyes were onyx and huge, larger than usual, and they actually looked afraid.

I growled, teeth bared and mouth slavering foam in such a way that I wasn't doing it for kicks; I was outraged and ready to fight. If this beast smelled so sweetly of my soul's mate, then it had to have been close to her... Had to have touched her. The thought made me lunge forward and snap, feigning an attack but coming so close to slamming my jaws shut on the beast's nose. It was a warning, and the white wolf whimpered and cringed, sinking to the ground without a fight. It's tail was tucked between its legs as it rolled onto its back, showing it's throat in submission.

Wolf laws are different than human laws, unfortunately, and as an alpha male, I could only do what came by instinct: protect the pack and the territory. This rogue wolf had made its way onto my territory, and as I approached, I knew exactly what I had to do to make it understand that. I lowered my head, still growling and foaming fiercely as I bit down onto the white wolf's neck. It yelped under my grasp, trying to wiggle free, but I kept my hold tight, but not tight enough to kill.

This is my part of Washington! Take this as a warning and get the hell out!

I wasn't sure if the beast could hear me... I wasn't even sure if it was a beast at all, a werewolf, or a stray person who had phased, or what... All that occurred to me was that this thing was in my territory and was threatening my family, my friends, and my pack. I was surprised that, when I let go, the beast got up and escaped into the woods as though it's tail was caught on fire. As soon as it was gone, I let out a loud howl of warning, just in case the silver beast had friends.

I patrolled the woods just to be sure, my nose following an erratic trail that belonged to Amelia. I was frantic... I knew that the wolf had taken her somewhere, and in my haste to protect my territory, I had forgotten that I should have followed the beast to find out Amelia's whereabouts. In my search, I found clothes that I knew belonged to Amelia... They were the clothes that she had worn out with me that day.

They were shredded to pieces.

I hunted, that night, but came up entirely empty handed, and only when the sun rose up the next morning did I actually have half the mind to come back to my house, phase back, and get dressed... I was going to talk to Phil, Sue, and Leah as soon as they got back and inform the pack of any information I dug up. I was exhausted, but my fear over Amelia's safety had me wired and frantic enough to the point of phasing again. I carried an extra pair of jeans with me just in case.

Oh, God... If you're out there... Please, just let Amelia be safe! I'd give anything on this forsaken planet for her!