'Safe' Is Not A Word In My Vocabulary

Jacob’s POV

I kept walking a little ways into the woods. I didn’t run for two reasons, the first was because she was hurt the second was because I really enjoyed having her in my arms.

She seemed more comfortable than Bella had been, but I still felt her edginess. I looked down and grinned at her, “You okay?” I asked and she looked up at me. She bit her lip and let out a shaky laugh. “I’m just nervous about being so high up.” She confirmed. I pursed my lips and looked back towards the Cullen’s. We were about half a mile away now so I couldn’t see them.

I could still hear them though, and I had no doubt in my mind they were listening to us now. Quil and Emmett anyways, the others I wasn’t so sure about. I reminded myself again to ask.

“I won’t drop you.” I muttered rolling my eyes.

Centhua’s POV

I smiled slightly when he got all defensive and looked out at the forest. I was biting my lip off trying to decide what to say and Jacob looked like he was having an internal battle.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked finally. I avoided looking at his eyes when I answered. “I was wondering what Edward was trying to do when he sent us out here.”

He gave me a confused look so I clarified. “He knows, I’ve already been outside, I think he wanted me to talk to you.” I frowned into space and Jacob was lost in his own thoughts again.

He stopped walking a few minutes later and set me on my feet. I dug my bare toes into the dirt and walked clumsily over to a log. I sat down and Jacob followed looking absentminded. He sat down next to me.

“Well, that makes two of us.” He finally muttered, and I realized he was referring to what I said about Edward.

I sighed to myself.

“Is there something particular you wanted to know?” I asked and he smiled bleakly. “Those guys back there.” He said, pointing towards where the house was obscured by the darkness. I nodded wearily “What about them?” I asked.

“How do you know them?” He asked.

For a brief second, I considered lying, but I talked myself out of it.

“They’re friends of mine.” I said quietly while he waited for me to continue. “I met them in Port Angeles two years ago. I was a different person then.”

My voice had gotten sad, but I couldn’t change it. Jacob hung on my every word with a guarded expression.

“The person they know and the person you know aren’t so different, except for the fact that one of them follows the rules...and the other really couldn't give a damn.”

Jacob’s POV

She stared into the woods as she told her story. Her expression was far away as she explained. It was a good thing too. Maybe she wouldn’t notice my uneasy expression.

I understood that Edward had given her the cars legally, but I also understood that how she was using them was highly illegal.

And I didn’t care.

I didn’t care that she had a strong friendship with a bunch of guys who should’ve been behind bars; I was concerned about it, sure but it didn’t matter. I really didn’t care about the races either, they weren’t nearly as dangerous as the movies on TV wanted you to believe, or the police did for that matter.

I was more surprised by my own attitude than anything she told me and when she finished I didn’t have anything to say.

I finally managed. “So they don’t know then,” I whispered and she looked into my eyes for the first time.

“No.” her voice was cold and her lips pressed in a hard line. I imagined she didn’t want them to know. “Ok,” I said sighing and "Damien’s" name was the first thing to pop into my head as I thought about what to say next. She looked at me, waiting.

I didn’t want to ask.

I wanted to know sure, but what Bella had said about this guy’s death and Centhua’s reaction made me afraid to upset her.

“That’s all I want to know.” I finally managed.

I don’t know if she believed me but I didn’t give her time to think it through as I stood up. “We should head back before they get the wrong idea.” I said but then I grinned and winked to let her know it was ok.

She rolled her eyes but stood up and started walking.

I followed her and fake pouted “Aw, I can’t carry you where’s the fun in that?” I teased.

Centhua’s POV

Was he seriously flirting with me? Boys are so strange these days I swear. I didn’t even realize I was flirting back. “Nope,” I said popping the p.

“You’ve had enough for today.” I finished as I walked to loosen my sore muscles. He snorted “By whose definition?” he asked and I rolled my eyes.

“Mine, obviously.”

He grinned as his long legs easily kept pace with mine. “So you’re saying you don’t want me to carry you?” he asked and I shrugged to avoid the question.

“I didn’t say that, I just said you’d had enough.” He grinned in the darkness and I was fully aware of how close he was.

“So you do want me to carry you then.” He said. It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. I rolled my eyes again.

“Are you trying to be annoying or it just natural?” I asked and his arm reached out to touch a giant spruce tree in front of me, blocking my path. His grin was mocking.

“You’re not answering the question.” He said and I grimaced. I ducked under his arm and he snagged my waist.

The atmosphere changed abruptly, all the harmlessness of our flirting gone.

Where did he get this sudden confidence?

“Cent,” he whispered in an only partially teasing voice. I turned my head halfway to look at him and then I realized exactly how close he was.

I stopped breathing for a second.

A smirk found its way onto his face and he leaned in, his breath fanned across my face. He whispered my name again, leaving my head cloudy and dazed before he kissed me.

I didn’t know how to react, although my first response should’ve been to pull away and slap him, it wasn’t.

I kissed him back.

I turned around in his arms and slid my own up to wind around his neck. He smiled triumphantly into the kiss and his arms snaked around my waist to pull me tighter against him.

He bowed my body against his and the height difference was brutally unfair. His body heat was so much hotter than mine and I literally felt like I was about to have a heat stroke.

I didn’t pull away though and neither did he…we didn’t pull away until we needed air.

Jacob’s POV

I felt high.

I don’t know why I didn’t kiss her before but better late than never. I was gasping for air when it was over, but that only added to my buzz.

Damn.

No wonder the guys are always thinking about shit like this on patrol. Centhua had a smile playing around the corners of her mouth and I had to contain the urge to take her right then and there.

The guys were waiting though, and they’d be sure to say something if we disappeared. Centhua’s thoughts were in tune with mine.

“We’d better get back.” She whispered and I didn’t argue. Instead I swept my arms under her legs, knocking them from under her and picking her up in mine.

“Jerk.” She muttered and I grinned as I started walking back.

I tried to fill my head with enough trivia so that I wouldn’t be thinking about her when we got to the Cullens. It was a wasted effort because the blood-sucker wasn’t there, and it wasn’t working anyway.

I set Cent down when we got inside and the food had already come. The guys were watching some baseball game and eating when we came in, making me wonder just how long we'd actually been outside.

Neither Quil nor Emmett looked like they knew what happened but I wasn’t sure. Centhua reclaimed her spot on the couch and I grabbed a box of pizza before sitting next to her on the other end.

I didn’t want to leave, despite the desire to get away from the smell. Quil and I had patrol soon though, and my dad would be wondering where I was.

K-9, Ammo, and Crusher had to leave too, it was late and Bones would be wondering where they were.

The guys were in the car and it was only me and K-9 inside now; we were saying goodbye to Cent.

“Don’t disappear like that again, you feel me?” he said and she rolled her eyes. “No promises.” She muttered and I grinned. K-9 sighed and rolled his eyes before following the others out the door.

I kneeled down by her head.

There were a lot of things I wanted to say to her, most of which would have to wait. Emmett was still here and Edward was just pulling up.

“Bye Cent.” I said standing up. She nodded from her position on the couch and smiled while Emmett watched from the corner of his eye and Edward came in.

Oh the things that smile did to me…

I stood up, not wanting the guys to start something and ducked out the door.

Centhua’s POV

Edward took Jacob’s position on the couch and gave me a smug look.

“What?” I asked innocently and he smiled huge. I turned red as I realized what he was getting at. “Oh my god.” I muttered and Emmett gave us an odd look. “What’d I miss?” he asked with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

“Nothing.” I sang and Edward shrugged.

XxX

I didn’t sleep that night.

I tossed and turned and twitched in my bed. Edward said I was free to go tomorrow, but I didn’t want to wait that long. Finally I couldn’t take it anymore. I sat up and looked out my window. My eyes glazed over pale silver.

Outside my window, the full moon lit up the trees.

The clouds had shifted out of the way while I tried to sleep, giving it that much stronger a pull on me. I got up mechanically and drifted to the window. My hand pressed against the glass and I whined an inhuman sound. My voice was full of longing.

I didn’t notice Edward had ghosted into the room until he put an icy hand on my shoulder. He looked at me for a long minute until I heard a latch click. My eyes followed the sound to see the hand that wasn’t on me sliding the window open.

He took a step back, releasing me.

Cool arctic air blasted through the room, much too cold for early may. I looked out at the sea of black and green forest and then at Edward uncertainly. He gave me a crooked smile and rolled his golden eyes.

“What’re you waiting for?” he whispered and my eyes drifted to the moon again.

“Go.” He said in a clearer voice.

I didn’t hesitate, I jumped through the open window and I was running before I hit the ground.

XxX

I ran into the distant mountains, going uphill in an effort to be closer to the bright orb in the sky. It felt good to run like this, the feel of the sharp wind on my skin and the ground crunching under my bare feet.

I ran for no good reason, running just to run. I ran in the forest and then down south again, towards La Push.

I stopped running when I was at a tall cliff, about 100ft up. I looked down at the moon shining at the water and just stared.

I considered jumping, for the fun of it, but I didn’t want to have to explain that to Edward.

Instead, I let my mind run over better times. Back when I didn’t have to run alone. Back when there was a whole pack to run with and my family was there.

I remembered my brother, whose name I couldn’t bear to think of consciously, who would have run with me, even though he was faster and all his friends wanted him to leave me behind. He would’ve run at my slow pace, just to hold my hand.

We were six then, and we would always joke about stupid things when we ran. Teasing each other that we were practicing to run from vampires, not knowing it was true.

We would make up stupid rhymes and songs just to chase away the doubt that was always there… that the vampires would come.

We were good at pretending…

I sighed and turned away from the moon. I didn’t want to think about this anymore; I wanted to run again.

I ran down the beach, finding familiar scents.

Quil, Embry, Paul, Jared, Seth, Leah, Sam, Jacob.

Pack.

Family.

Imprint.

It smelled nice, like home, it smelled like I belonged here.
Then, a new scent, fresher, riper than the others.

Kim.

And another, just as fresh, just as ripe, twice as strong.

Vampire.