On the surface, Katie Swan appears to be an average girl. She's pretty, athletic, and abnormally intuitive. But when her parents are suddenly murdered, she is sent to Forks, WA to live with her uncle Charlie and his shy daughter Bella.
Soon, Katie l...
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JACOB'S POV March 10th
Katie showing up at the Rez was expected. I knew that she wouldn't take my silence for much longer. She was much too stubborn for that. Still, when I heard her call after me I was hit with a fresh wave of surprise. "Jacob! Hey!" She sounded angry—rightfully so.
She couldn't be here. It wasn't safe for her. I wasn't safe for her. I froze in place. How do I tell her to leave? Her voice was so familiar that my heart started pounding.
I couldn't even bear to look at her while she talked to me. I knew that as soon as I saw her big eyes I'd fold like a house of cards. I couldn't fold, not when I wasn't the same Jacob any more. It was so unfair. I had no control— I would spill my guts to her, if I could. Just to have her around. Selfish, but true. I need her in my life. But I can't have her, not without putting her in danger.
I could tell my words to her were sharp and frustrating to hear. But there was nothing else I could say. I'd tried, once or twice, but couldn't choke out the words.
After an eternity of bickering, I was content to walk away, to leave things as terribly as they were. It would be in her best interest, after all. But that's when I heard her shuddering breath. It broke my heart. And then she said, "Come find me again when you've decided I'm worthy of your presence." She sounded so... defeated. We both did.
She had been getting this all wrong. How was I supposed to explain all that I wanted to say to her under Sam's gag order? I couldn't let her think this was all because I had just moved on. She was much better than me. Couldn't she see that?
I turned around. Without thinking, I reached out and grabbed her hand, knowing she might hit me, and turned her towards me. I had never held her hand before— she had always moved away. Never let anyone hold her hand.
That's when it hit me. I saw her face, and I knew what was happening.
I imprinted on her.
So many scenes, almost like memories, whisked through my mind at once. Of her. Of us. Of me as a wolf and her still by my side. It became clear that I wasn't able to walk away— she was it. The center of my universe.
I was half conscious of our real selves, stuck in my head, but Katie seemed as shocked as I did. I felt her legs buckle, and we both went down in the grass on our knees. I couldn't help myself— I just stared at her. My mind was spinning. And I couldn't look away from her eyes, so close and yet so far away.
Katie was my imprint. My best friend. My soulmate, more or less. And what I had just said to her... it was enough to make my stomach weak. I wanted to take it back. To apologize, right then and there. Words failed me.
Sam, Embry, and the rest of the pack darted out of the house, clearly alarmed by what they were seeing. Katie and I, just staring at each other, half in horror and half in surprise. Embry stepped forward, ready to pull me away from her if necessary.
