Fever

“Don’t freak out,” he held out his hand, but I stepped back warily.

“No way,” my voice trembled, “how did you get those?”

I motioned to his chest where the wounds appeared more as paper cuts, sealing themselves up like a film in reverse. I stared at him unblinkingly, trying to find a suitable reaction. But the harder I tried to form words, the more my jaw seemed to tremble.

“You have to promise not to freak out.”

“W-wha-“

“I’ve been trying to find the right time to tell you.”

“T-tell me what?”

I afraid of what was going to come out of his mouth next. A small part of me believed deeply that I was just in the middle of a nightmare, yet the rest of my body felt alert and awake. His eyes, deep and dark, were trained carefully on my face, trying to gauge my reaction.

“I’ve been keeping something from you,” he started, “something very big.”

He made a move to reach forward, but he stopped himself only inches away, and retracted it back to his side. The wedge in the curtain allowed a strip of moonlight to cast itself along the side of his face, shadowing the creases in his expression. There was something lingering in his face, an emotion that I couldn’t begin to decipher. But whatever it was sent a tremor down my spine and left an unsettling feeling in the air.

“I-it was you, wasn’t it?” I trembled. “Yo-you’re a-a-“

“I am not a monster,” he cut me off. “I protect my people, the people of Forks, and even more importantly, I protect you.”

“What are you?” My voice was so quiet I wasn’t sure that he heard me.

He was quiet for a moment, “Only a select few of the Quileute have the blood that enables them to change form. But there are also other clans that have the ability to do so, all across the world. What you saw out there tonight was what we are capable of when evil takes over our hearts and minds.”

Jacob’s words didn’t seem to sink in. There was a force of disbelief that surrounded my mind, keeping his words from taking effect. How could there be anything fable in this world? If werewolves were real, wouldn’t everyone know? But the evidence was stranded before me, layer after layer. Perhaps everyone was just living in ignorance, unaware of everything that was happening around them. The tips of my fingers curled into my palm, trying desperately to stay still.

“What do they want?” I said the words, but I couldn’t possibly believe them. He seemed to sense my lack of belief, and the vigour he injected into his words began to crack the barrier.

“They want anyone that stands in their way. You, me, your family, Forks, and if possible, the rest of the country,” he leaned forward, dropping his voice. “I don’t think you understand that your life is in danger. These men will stop at nothing until they get what they want, and you are the leverage they need to get that.”

“W-why? Why me?” I searched his eyes for an answer.

“Because of your fate,” his voice grew softer, “because of that night we met, because of the way we feel, and because of our blood, our ancient history that binds us together.”

I shook my head, “No, I-I don’t believe in fate.”

“You had better start, Kay, because our bond makes us mates,” he straightened up and his voice returned to normal, the tenderness gone, “and that makes you the bait to them, in order to get to me.”

“What?”

“Remember when we met on Halloween? I tried to explain about how everything just aligned that night,” a shadow of a smile crept on his lips, “you had to have felt it. How gravity pulled us together, how you and I felt so right. That was our fate.”

“And those dreams, you had to have had those dreams,” he continued. “That fire and fever, the very blood in your body boiling – that was the second seal. And the last one was in the garage when you kissed me.”

“I-I thought it was just a dream.”

“Nothing is what it seems, this world is full of as much evil as it is of good. But I will go to any and all lengths to protect you because of my bond and because of my love,” his back tensed. “Regardless of this bond, I love you.”

I could feel the passion in his eyes far more than what his orbs revealed. He was trying to hold himself so steady and strong, was he really afraid of what was out there? I could feel a chill overtake my bones, rattling around in my body. If he was afraid, then there may have been no hope for me in the first place. I would have lived long enough to become the next news story under a false headline.

“What is out there, Jacob?”

“A band of rebel wolves from the North. They are searching for wolves that they can turn to join their pack, destroying all who resist. Sam has heard of rumour of the Hairda and Squamish clans being destroyed by this pack and he fears the same will come unto us if we don’t protect ourselves.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but a set of headlights turned into the driveway, illuminating our position in the kitchen. My parents had to have been home early from the party. Jacob’s eyes were trained on the door for a moment, and then swiftly he bent down and placed a chaste kiss on his forehead.

“Don’t be afraid, we will protect you,” and with that, he exited out the back door and disappeared into the trees.

When my parents came in, I was staring out the back window into the trees, trying to see a dark pair of eyes staring out at me. I could still imagine those icy blue orbs dancing with mischief and laughter like fear was a game. I coiled my arms around my body and tore myself away from the window in time to greet them and then excuse myself off to bed. They paid no mind to my behaviour and continued to their own room where their conversation carried on, muffled, through the wall.

Even though I was wrapped in blankets, my body still trembled. And as the digital numbers wore up and down on the table beside my bed, my eyes remained fixed and unblinkingly on the blinds that covered up my window.