Matched

Alex wrapped her jacket tight around her as she walked onto the beach towards the bonfire - she had Bella bring drinks which she was pulling the cooler behind them since Alex couldn't do any heavy lifting. She figured any extra drinks would be more than useful. Her eyes sought out Jacob and smiled when she saw him.

Paul was drinking a bottle of water as he talked with Sam asking for advice on how to tell her, he suggesting letting her hear the stories first then go from there.

Nadia walked over to the fire, taking a seat and looking around. She noticed Paul but didn’t want to interrupt him speaking to anyone. She huddled up and tightened her jacket, hoping it did more to warm her up in the meantime.

---

Jacob walked over with a big smile on his face, waving to the both of them. “Hey, Alex, Bella. If you want, drinks can go over there and come get seats by the fire.” He said as he pointed. “So have you heard any of the stories before?”

Alex smiled a little as she,"I haven't actually ," she said to him as as she adjusted her sling inside her jacket then met his eyes.

He nodded listening to Sam then looking at her and smiling a little beginning to walk over to her, "You came!" he said excitedly as he offered her a bottle of water from one of the coolers.

She smiled a little bit and waved, taking the water and taking a sip. “I came,” She said, finally noticing how big he really was. “I’m not sure what to expect really, never been to one of these before.” She admitted and looked around, noting there wasn’t many people.

He smiled a little. “Well, I’m happy you’re here, they should start telling soon, so I’ll get you a drink and we can sit over there.” He said, so happy that she had come and hoping it worked out.

He smiled a little then nodded,"They're going to tell tribe stories here soon, about how our people came here," he said to her.

Alex smiled a little as she looked at him then nodded,"Sure sounds good to me," she told him as she pushed a hand through her hair.

She nodded a little as one of the elders sat down and people began to gather around them. She sat down and looked over her shoulder at the water but it was so cold that she turned her back toward it. “I know a little about the Quileute stories but not much,” She said, leaning against the back of the log.

Jacob handed her the water bottle and sat down, leaning forward so he could explain to her. “So the first story is the story of the spirit people,” He said quietly as they told the story.

She nodded a little subconsciously leaning closer to him so she could soak in his warmth which seemed to radiate off of him, she chewed on her bottom lip lightly. The story enraptured her, it was so interesting.

He smiled a little, "the first story is of the spirit people," he said lightly, he was happy to share hisculture with her.

They continued to tell the story and then moved onto the story of Taha Aki and then the Third Wife, and then told the story of the Spirit wolves abilites. They spoke of imprinting and then spoke of the most recent treaty made by Ephraim Black. Nadia was intrigued when she listened, she thought it was amazing that a culture could have such vivid stories that had been passed on for so long.

Jacob sat up when they got to imprinting, more focused on her expressions than the story. He wanted to know how she reacted to the story, and more importantly, how she would react to him telling her.

Alex felt a little soft at the idea of soulmates but she didnt know if she truly believed in just one person for you forever. "So, they cant live without their imprint?" she asked lightly once the story was done. "Isn't it kind of like... an arranged marriage? Like what if before he became the wolf they hated one another would the imprint force positive emotions out of them?" she asked him unsure.

He watched her expression and smiled a little as he looked at Billy then at her "What do you think?

He shook his head. “Not... an arranged marriage, because the imprintee has a choice. She can always say no but the imprinter doesn’t have a choice. She is who holds him down and he would do or be anything she asked of him.” He explained. “The imprinter can’t bear to be away from her, and the imprintee as well but not as strong. Just a feeling of incompleteness. And well, it works in mysterious ways but I’m sure if they hated each other, he would work out his differences because he wouldn’t hate her anymore.”

She smiled a little. “Fascinating really. The Spirit warriors was so interesting, including the imprinting. Amazing that the stories are still so routinely told, it’s incredible.” She said softly.

She nodded a little as she looked at him then at her hands, "Do you believe the stories? Do you think they're real?" she asked him, "Or maybe were real at the time?"

He smiled a little, "It's part of our history - I think it's important to know where you come from," he said to her as he thought about it.

She smiled a little. “Yeah it’s really cool, the stories and history. I’m part Makah but I don’t know, I never really believed the stories to be more than stories,” She admitted.

He chewed on his lip. “Take a walk with me?” He asked her and stood, waiting for her to walk down the beach tot a bit

She stood up and nodded a little as she followed him down the beach, "It's kind of cold," she murmured as she fixed her jacket.

He nodded a little as he looked at her, he wasn't sure how to tell her but he knew he needed to do it soon or else she might feel lied too - it'd also be easier to explain why he showed up at the hardware stre all the time. "Want to go up there?" he asked pointing to the rocks by the water.

She smiled a little. “Can we? I feel like it’ll be even colder up there, speaking of which aren’t you cold? You’re wearing a jacket, I feel like I’m dying in a puffy parka.” She snorted, walking over to the rocks.

He pulled off his extra jacket and handed it to her, walking along the water. “So you asked about the stories being real, and to an extent they are. Not sure if they actually happened, like the third wife killing herself because that could be something made up. But the spirit warriors, that’s true. As are the story of Ephraim Black, because that’s my great grandfather.” He told her.

She furrowed her brow a little as she looked at him, "Are... what?" she murmured as she looked at him, "So... you're saying you turn into a huge wolf?" she said laughing a little , "aren't you cold?" she asked him.

He smiled, "You can take my jacket if you need it, I don't get cold anymore," he said to her.

She snorted. “No thanks, I’m not taking your jacket and being responsible for hypothermia, I’m fine,” She laughed a little. “Stunned that you only have on that one hoodie, I’d probably die.”

He laughed a little. “It’s a bit corny to say it out loud, but kinda yeah. Here,” He murmured, holding his hand out to her. “Feel, I burn at 108. Doctors would tell me I was dead or overheating. But it’s one of the side effects of it.”

He smiled a little then took off his jacket, "I'm fine," he said to her holding it out for her, "Promise," he told her.

She was shocked by how warm he was, "Jake, I.. I don't understand why youre telling me this?" she asked lightly as she looked at him, if he wasn't lying or crazy then the only other option was to be telling the truth.

He sighed a little. “Well, if all of it’s true, then the imprinting part was too,” He admitted, smiling sheepishly. “And it’s corny I know but you’re mine? I guess when I saw you in the garage it just happened. If you felt a sort of change, that was it.”

She raised her eyebrows. “How are you okay?” She asked, sliding the jacket on and amazed at how warm it was. “If you need it back tell me, it’s okay.” She told him. “So why don’t you get cold anymore?”

Alex looked at him then rubbed the back of her neck a little,"O..oh," she murmured lightly as she looked at him unsure if she should take off running in the other direction, "You do realize how crazy this sounds?" she said to him making a face.

He shrugged, "The stories," he murmured as he walked with her, "I'm not good at explaining things, but they're true," he said to her, "I run at 108 even - so I'm never cold," he said to her.

He nodded. “I’d worry if you didn’t think they were.” He said to her. “I don’t want to force you to do anything, all I want is for you to know, which now you do. And be happy, however you need to do that.” He smiled at her. He knew he had t give her time but he hoped he didn’t scare her so much to have pushed her away. “If you have questions or want to talk or just hang out I’m here. If not, I’m here until you want to.”

She snorted at him. “Get real, so you’re a shapeshifter?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. “You turn into a wolf occasionally?”