It's Our Last Chance to Feel Again

"Yeah, she had a fever last night, but it was a pretty normal temperature for a fever. Nothing too high," I heard my dad's voice, and I opened my eyes, a bright plain room coming into view.

"But that was last night, right? It could have accelerated within the past few hours."

That voice was hard to place. It sounded like Sam, but then again, it might as well have been Jared.

"That's what I'm afraid of. I'm going in there to check now," was my dad's reply, his voice thick with worry.

I rolled my eyes even though it hurt my head. Really, my dad was going overboard with this caring parent thing.

"What are you doing?" I heard my dad suddenly ask, his voice sounding a lot closer than it had only a few seconds ago.

"I'm following you," A voice replied with certainty. That voice I would have recognised even if I were in a coma. I smiled at the thought of Jacob standing outside my room.

"No you're not. She's probably still asleep," My father replied sternly, and I bit my tongue to stop myself from yelling at my father. Why on earth wouldn't I want Jacob in my room, even if I were asleep?

Frustrated, I brought my hand up to my hair, running it through before my hand got caught in a web of tangle. On second thought, maybe my father did know what he was doing.

Managing to finally pry my hand free from the manic mess my hair had become, I laid back down on my bed and closed my eyes. Might as well act the part.

I hadn't heard the door open, or my father's footsteps, but suddenly, I felt a cool metal in my mouth. Marveling at how silent my dad was, I took deep breaths to fool my father into thinking I was still asleep. It was silent in the room, obviously, as my dad waited for the thermometer to finish detecting my body temperature, and so that made eavesdropping on Jacob and whoever was out there with him a whole lot easier.

"What if her temperature has gone up?" I heard Embry timidly ask.

Since when was he so concerned about my well-being? While it was nice to know that someone I had only met a few hours ago was so worried about me, it honestly freaked me out quite a bit. What reason could he possibly have for being so bothered about me?

Still unable to figure out who the person was, Sam or Jared replied, "Then she becomes one of us."

What the hell? What was that supposed to mean? Was being extremely sick an exclusive thing in La Push? Surely they knew that being sick wasn't a good thing, right? Or maybe it was some sort of cult. Maybe being really sick made you part of that cult that probably went around killing people who weren't sick just because they were jealous. Maybe that's why my dad had been so worried. He didn't want me to be part of that cult!

But... But Jacob couldn't possibly be a ruthless murderer, could he? I mean if he was, surely he'd have killed me by now?

"But she can't be one of us!" Jacob's incredulous voice roared through the house, and I thought I heard my father mumble something like 'inconsiderate jerk'.

I frowned at my father's words, before remembering that I had to be asleep. My father must've noticed the twitch in my eyebrow though, because I heard his voice, further away this time like he was outside my room. "Keep your voice down, Jacob. You almost woke her up."

Once again, I didn't hear any footsteps. Was it possible for my father to be that quiet? Was it even possible for anyone to be that quiet? And how was it possible for someone as silent as a feather to be related to Uncle Jack?

"Ryan, has... Has there ever been any case of pack members imprinting on each other?" Seth asked, his voice drowning out the beep the thermometer made.

Imprinting? What the hell did that mean? And wasn't the word 'pack' usually used for wolves? Unless the cult was that weird, and actually thought of themselves as wolves. I snorted softly, unable to resist.

Wolves? Yeah, right.

"Not that I know of, no. Before Leah, there's never even been a female member."

Leah was sick too? That poor girl. Maybe that was why she had been so bitter. She was the only sick girl, stuck with a bunch of sadistic murderers, probably.

But that meant my father was also part of the cult. No, that was impossible. My dad wasn't sick. Or sadistic. There was no way.

"Look, you guys are just being stupid. There's no way she's one of us. She isn't a werewolf, alright?!" Jacob yelled.

For the first time, I was quicker than my dad. Jerking my body forward so that I was sitting upright, I repeated rather loudly, unable to keep my voice down, "Werewolf?!"

It happened within a fraction of a second. My stomach churning, my brain once again pounding relentlessly against my skull, the bile rising from my stomach and up my throat. Before I could help myself, I leaned over the bed and threw up the same time my dad came rushing into my room, closely followed by Jacob, Sam, Paul, Embry, Seth and Quil. Guess that solved who had been the mysterious voice all along.

My dad made his way over to where the thermometer had dropped, far away from the mess I had made, thankfully, and picked it up. His expression was unfathomable as he read my temperature from the clean thermometer that had managed to escape my stomach's wrath.

"It's normal." Came his monotonous voice.

"As in, I'm not sick?" I asked, my voice still raspy. Then again, I did just throw up.

"As in," My dad paused, looking over at the pile of sick, "Sick enough for you to be suffering from food poisoning."

A look of relief washed over Jacob's face for a moment, before it became one of horror. "You heard every single word."

It wasn't a question, but I felt a need to nod in response to him. "Every single word," He repeated clearly.

I nodded again, and at that moment, I felt incredibly dumb. I wanted so much to say something, but with the knowledge that my breath probably stunk far worse than a skunk's musk from the vomit and morning breath, I kept my lips firmly shut.

"So you weren't asleep."

Jacob looked me dead in the eye, and for the third time, I nodded. I always had to be forced to be a complete idiot whenever Jacob was around.

"You were lying to me?!"

I frowned. All the time my eyes had been on Jacob, and I hadn't noticed his mouth move. Looking over to my father, I noticed he had on a livid expression instead of the worried look I had grown so used to seeing him with. "Well, not exactly. Just... Brushing up on my acting. Y'know, with dreams and all," I lied pathetically, momentarily forgetting the reason I had so dumbly remained quiet.

My nose wrinkled the moment the stench reached my lungs. God, was that really my breath?

My father shook his head, "Katherine, you are in so much trouble."

My eyes bulged, and in my mind, I screamed a few select words, while punching the mattress every so often. I didnt miss the uncertain glances everyone in the room were casting each other, and stopped the moment I caught Jacob's eyes.

Sure, I loved looking into his eyes and all that, but the moment I did, I couldn't help but feel some resentment towards him. The word 'werewolf' kept ringing in my ears, and the more it irritated me, the angrier I grew towards Jacob.

"Uh, we'll be outside, Jake. You, uh, you've got to take care of your girl," Quil's nervous voice shook as he pushed the rest of the guys out.

"What?! Jacob take care of my daughter?" My father growled, and I sighed in relief. I needed to thank Quil for redirecting my dad's anger.

Surprisingly, Quil didn't seem bothered in the least. "Yes, because he has certain things to sort out with your daughter."

All the while, Quil had maintained eye contact with my dad as he continued pushing Paul and Embry, who unlike Sam and Seth refused to leave, out of the room. My father looked as if he were fighting an internal battle, and he eventually stood up with a huff, "I don't see why I have to leave my daughter alone in a room with a hormonally charged teenage boy just because they have to sort things out."

I returned my gaze to Jacob, my eyes hardening with every second I stared into his chocolate brown eyes. Oh, those wonderfully sweet, chocolate brown eyes.

He sighed, and walked up to chair my father had placed beside me the night before. Remembering the incredible stench my mouth had previously produced, I mumbled without moving my lips so that I wouldn't have to risk him smelling my breath, "No. Don't sit there."

At my words, Jacob recoiled, looking as if someone had punched him in the gut. Though he'd probably feel nothing, what with those wonderfully sculpted abs. Yes, he was, once again, shirtless. In fact, all the boys had been shirtless last night. And even just now, they were still shirtless. What was with those La Push boys?

"Okay, I get that you really hate me and all, but you've got to understa-"

"Hate you?" I asked, rather incredulously, cutting Jacob's hurt whisper, "Why on earth would I hate you? I'm just pretty damn pissed you never told me you were part of a cult."

"A cult? Kat, you don't have to be so harsh. We're just a pack," He frowned, hurt still coating his words.

As if he had any right to be hurt. I was the one who had been completely in the dark all this time. "Yeah, just because you guys think you're wolves, doesn't make you a 'pack'."

It was silent for a second as Jacob stared in confusion at me. "Think we're wolves? I wish," He snorted, and I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, right. I'm sorry. Werewolves," I quipped, making air quotations for the last word.

"Oh man, Kat. I can't believe you don't get it," Jacob was suddenly laughing, and I frowned at him.

What the hell did he have to laugh about? This was a very serious matter, him keeping such a huge secret from me. Sure, we were nothing more than... Whatever we were, but he still had no right to lie to me.

"Kat, I'm not part of a cult. I'm part of a pack," He started, and I looked at him skeptically. There was no way I was buying all that. Jacob groaned, "Okay, remember the story from yesterday? The story Billy told?"

I nodded slowly, not sure what he was trying to get at.

"It's not some dumb legend. It's actually the truth."

The way he had said it, with his straight face and all, it honestly made me believe him for just a second. After that second however, I was laughing. "Yeah, sure. And I suppose vampires really exist too?"

Jacob remained silent, looking awkwardly around the room.

"Okay Jake, you're nice and all, but I really don't think I can stand hanging out with a guy who thinks he's a were... Werewolves are big, right?" I nearly shouted, suddenly remembering the woods.

The moment Jacob nodded, I groaned and slapped my forehead. How could I have been so stupid? Those wolves hadn't just been huge wolves. They had been werewolves. And that russet wolf hadn't just been any other wolf. It had been Jacob.

"So you're a werewolf," I muttered, my voice steady, "Anything else I should know?"

"Well, yeah. See, werewolves... They uh, they imprint. Which is like finding their soulmate and true love all in one," He explained, and I held up a hand.

"Yeah, Uncle Jack told me about it. I'm guessing you have one?" I asked hopefully.

At Jacob's brief nod, I felt my heart sink. Of course he had an imprint.

"Leave," I whispered, trying to prevent the tears that were threatening to spill.

Jacob looked at me weird. "Wh-what?"

"You have an imprint, I get it. You can go to her," I shrugged, and sighed as a tear rolled down my cheek. Damn my inability to hide my emotions.

"Kat you don't really get what I'm trying to-"

"Jacob, look. I'm tired, and sick, and my breath really stinks. I'd like to be alone, if you don't mind," I sank into my bed, pulling the blanket over me and willing it to just swallow me, or somehow suffocate me to death.

I winced as I heard the door slam. Of course I had to be a melodramatic bitch.

Still wondering why I've never had a boyfriend? Yeah, didn't think so either.