Enchanted

I drove back to Sam’s house in a bit of a daze. I wasn’t paying any attention to the road or what I was doing. I was on autopilot. All I could think about was her. Alyssa. Her name sent an internal chill down my spine. And when your temperature runs as high as a shapeshifter’s, you know it’s not because of the cold.

I pulled up in front of Sam’s house and practically leapt out of the car. As I walked into the house I could hear everyone eating their food without me. I was surprised to find that I wasn’t mad that I was missing out. But how could I be mad? I just got Alyssa to agree to a day with me. The thought sent a grin across my face.

I came back down to Earth when all the talking and sounds of them eating stopped. I looked around and everyone was staring at me. They were all surprised and in awe of something. “What?” I asked feeling a bit self conscious.

“Dude, you’re smiling,” said Paul in shock.

“Yeah, and?” I’m sure I’ve smiled before. It wasn’t that big of a deal.

“Jake, man, we haven’t seen you happy in days, weeks even!” said Quil. It’s been that long? It all seemed to distant now. I couldn’t even see how I could have been unhappy. Not with Alyssa being here.

“The last time you looked like this, Bella had been coming over to your house every day.” Everyone stiffened at Paul’s comment. I merely shrugged and brushed it off. Bella was a thing of the past now. Yes, she had been beautiful but it now paled in comparison to Alyssa.

Bella’s skin had been pale, but Alyssa’s was a light tan. It’s like she absorbed the sun’s rays and now shone herself. Her hair was a light, sandy brown while Bella’s had just been a plain dark brown. Alyssa’s eyes were blue like sky while Bella’s had been the same brown as her hair. I didn’t see how their beauty could even compare now. It’s like the beauty of nature had come together and created Alyssa for me.

“Dude, what is with you?” asked Seth. Everyone was looking at me like I had two heads.

“I…imprinted,” I said. Saying it felt weird but I knew it was right. I had imprinted on Alyssa. Everyone was immediately saying their congratulations with smiling faces.

“Who’s the lucky girl?” asked Jared smiling. Everyone seemed to be enjoying my imprint.

“Alyssa,” I said. I loved the way her name rolled off my tongue. Everyone seemed to stop moving again that day. Their smiles dropped slightly. “What?” I asked nervously. I didn’t like being under the spotlight.

“Jake, she was terrified of us.” Sam spoke gently like he was afraid of upsetting me.

“Yeah, but I managed to convince her to give me tomorrow to prove that we aren’t monsters. She agreed.” The grin spread across my face as I remembered her nodding to my proposal.

“How’d you manage that one?” asked Quil. I shrugged not really knowing.

“Well we’re happy for you, Jake,” said Seth.

“Is someone going to eat that?” asked Jared pointing to a cookie in the middle of the table. Instantly everyone seemed to forget about Alyssa and I imprinting. Smelling the food, I pulled a chair over and instantly joined in the fray of trying to get as much food as I could.



I was inside putting my hair up into a ponytail when the room phone rang. I let my hair fall and quickly answered the phone. It was the man at the desk letting me know that someone name Jacob was there for me. I told him to let Jacob know that I would be down in five minutes.

It was a warm day out and I was wearing a white t-shirt and black shorts. I was also wearing sandals and had only a slight swipe of mascara on my lashes. My hair was still in waves from the shower and I didn’t have time to straighten it. I finished throwing it up into a ponytail before grabbing my keys and some money. I grabbed a bag I had packed full of sunscreen and a bathing suit. I was prepared just in case.

Making sure I had everything I left my room and walked down the hallway to the stairs. There were only two floors and I didn’t need to wait for the elevator. I lightly jogged down the steps thankful for air conditioning. It was blasting in this place. As I reached the lobby I immediately spotted Jacob.

He stuck out like a sore thumb. He was easily the tallest person there not to mention people gave him plenty of space. He looked like he could kill someone. I had no doubt he could if he could shift into a giant wolf. I shuttered at the thought.

Taking a deep breath I stepped out into the busy lobby. It was the perfect weekend to be here during the summer and people were taking advantage of that fact. I could feel the heat hit me as I walked closer to the door. Jacob saw me coming towards him and his face lit up with a smile. I resisted the urge inside of me to turn and run. Just one day wouldn’t kill me…hopefully.

I came up and stood a few feet away from Jacob. I still had to slightly look up to see his face. Again I was struck by how good looking he actually was. The white of his smile particularly stood out against his russet skin tone. His chocolate eyes seemed to sparkle in the sunlight.

“Let’s get going,” said Jacob practically grinning from ear to ear. He seemed to debate something for a second but then let it go and turned and walked out the door. I followed behind him. I had to walk quickly to keep up with his long strides.

We walked to his car that definitely looked better than it had the other day. It looked like he’d cleaned it up and shined it. In fact, as I glanced him over from the back his hair definitely looked like it was even. Did he really go to all this trouble to impress me?

I wasn’t left with much time to contemplate it as we reached his car. He opened up the door for me and patiently waited for me to get inside. Almost pressing myself against the side of the car, I slid into the passenger seat. Jacob shut the door before quickly jogging over to the driver’s side and getting in.

I again remained in my position pressed as much against the door as I could. Just because I agreed to come didn’t mean I was going to trust him or was going to enjoy myself. I just didn’t want to shatter the guy’s heart yesterday. Now look where I got myself, caught in a nightmare. Stacy always said I was too nice.