Fighting Fate

There was a moment of silence, then the world exploded.

What have you done? Sam yelled, growling ferociously. This is a violation of the treaty!

He was hurting my imprint, Jake replied, keeping his voice even. You would have done the same thing if it had been Emily.

Just take Hunter and get out of here. I'll deal with this, Sam scowled, howling in frustration. If we leave him, he'll put himself back together. Even as they stood there, Emmett's hands were reaching for his head. Growling, Jake phased, pulling on his shorts before scooping Hunter up into his arms.

"See you at Emily's," he shot in Sam's direction, before jogging off across the border. In his arms, Hunter stirred, her eyes slowly flickering open. Her jaw dropped when she saw him.

"Jake?" she whispered, unable to believe her eyes.

"Hey," he said, smiling down at her. "What happened back there?"

"He said he had information on you and Sam, so I went to meet him," Hunter replied, biting her lip. "He didn't. He kissed me, said he had to have me... So I tried to leave." She shuddered, as if the memory was painful. "He grabbed my arm, I told him to let go, and he hit me over the head. Instant blackout." She shuddered again, this time in revulsion. "I'm pretty sure his plan after that was none too innocent."

"I should have set him on fire," Jake muttered angrily, focusing on Hunter's soft form in his arms to keep himself from turning around and finishing the job. "When we get to Emily's, don't let me leave. I've already violated the treaty once today."

"What do you mean?" Hunter asked, looking up at him disapprovingly. "What did you do?"

"I may have beheaded a Cullen..." Jake responded slowly, looking away so he wouldn't see the look of disappointment on Hunter's face. To his surprise, though, she laughed.

"You have such a flair for the dramatics," she chuckled, shaking her head. "You could have just said, 'hey, stop being an asshole,' or torn off his arm. Instead you completely remove his head from his body?"

"You were hurt," he said before he could stop himself. "Nothing less than beheading was good enough for him." He chanced a glance down, seeing a look of shock on Hunter's face.

"But why?" she asked softly, looking up at him, pain in her eyes. "You hate me." Jake slowed to a walk, then stopped completely.

"No, I don't," he said, with such conviction that it was impossible not to believe him. "I've never hated you." He took a deep breath, braving another look down at her scarred face. "It was myself I hated. I was hurting you at every turn, and I hated that you were stuck with an asshole like me imprinted on you. You deserve better."

"I know," she told him, making his heart sink. "So you better stop being an asshole, before I go find someone better." She reached up and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. "Now put me down, I can walk."

"Nope," he grinned, holding her tighter. "You're my new best friend, and you're not going anywhere."

"New best friend, huh?" Hunter responded, raising an eyebrow. "Seth won't like that. He thinks that he's my best friend." A foot from Emily's house, Hunter suddenly had a brilliant idea. She pulled herself as high as she could, looking directly into Jake's eyes, her face an inch from his. His breath hitched, his grip loosened, and that was all she needed. She leapt from his arms, landing in a crouch on the ground. "Victory is- uh oh." She began to sprint for the house, Jake hot on her heels.

"No fair!" he growled as he caught her, slinging her over his shoulder. "You can't play dirty tricks like that."

"It worked, didn't it?" Hunter laughed, reaching down and smacking his ass. "Put me down."

"What did you do to her this time?" Emily came tearing out of the house, anger twisting her features. "You horrible, stupid, idiotic wolf!" She punctuated each word with a punch to Jake's chest.

"Em, Em, stop!" Hunter yelled, effectively stopping her sister. "Jake, put me down, or my foot will meet your little friends." Jake hastily set her on her feet. "Em, Jake didn't do anything but play hero and break the treaty. Idiot just can't stay out of trouble." Hunter reached up and flicked Jake's nose. "Now come on, I'm hungry." She skipped past her sister into the house, going straight to the kitchen and pulling out sandwich making ingredients.

"Aw, look at that, you're making me a sandwich," Jake teased, following her. "Next thing you know, you'll be doing my laundry and fetching me be- oof." He grunted as Hunter hit him in the stomach.

"What did I tell you about being an asshole?" she prompted, holding up a peanut butter covered butter knife threateningly. Jake stooped down and ate the peanut butter from the knife, grinning cheekily at his imprint. "Hey! That was my peanut butter!" His grin broadening, he opened his mouth to show her the peanut butter.

"Come get it," he offered, his words sounding funny due to the peanut butter in his mouth.

"No thanks," she retorted, scrunching her nose. "I still have the jar." With another grin, Jake grabbed the peanut butter from under her hand. "God, you're obnoxious."

"So?" he taunted. Without warning, Hunter leapt at him, wrapping her legs around his waist so she wouldn't fall, reaching up for his hand, which was held high over his head, trying to grab the peanut butter.

"Give it back or I'll bite you," she warned, her fingers scrabbling at his forearm.

"Don't do that, it just turns me on," he replied. A little untruthful, as he was already turned on.

"Just give me the damn peanut butter!" Hunter yelled, drawing the attention of everyone else in the house. Three werewolves and Emily walked into the kitchen, eyes going wide at the scene before them.

"It's not what it looks like," Jake told them, looking sheepish.

"Yes it is," Hunter pouted, glaring up at Jake. "Bitch stole my peanut butter."