Sleeping Dogs

Chapter 12: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Jacob's paws pounded into the earth, uprooting and disturbing the foliage. The smell of wet pine bombarded his senses. Trees flew by at breakneck speed but he didn't pay them any mind.

I'm beginning to think Caroline knows more than she's letting on, Paul said through the pack link.

She doesn't know anything, Jake argued. How could she? Anything she thinks she knows is speculation at best.

Paul huffed as he finished his lap and changed course to meet up with them. And it's the truth at worst.

No, Leah showed up next to Jake, her long legs keeping stride with his easily. At worst, she's stupidly wrong and doesn't understand the dangers she faces when she decides she's tired of us lying to her and goes to find answers herself.

She doesn't even know what the carving means. Jake snarled, envisioning the wood pendant she had shown him and his father less than a week ago. The single wolf howling in the trees while others cowered in the background. Their own tattoos depicted two wolves side by side - equals. Jake was alpha and there was a hierarchy, but they were all important.

She can speculate, Leah pointed out snidely, throwing his words back at him. That leech is still hanging around her house but I haven't seen them interact. It seems like he has a soft spot for her.

Jake bit at her and she shouldered into him, knocking him over. He recovered quickly and rounded on her with a snarl but she had her head down and tail tucked in a subordinate posture. She was thinking of the leech and Caroline, of soft touches and gentle whispers reserved for a lover. She thought about the bloodsucker telling Caroline what they were keeping from her and turning her against them, against him.

Leah, he growled. He bared his teeth and she rolled over, baring her soft stomach and neck to him. He stood over her threateningly, blocking out her mental assault. Her concerns were valid but Jake didn't want to see from someone else's eyes what he was already afraid of.

Paul came bounding out of the forest. Jake turned to him, probing for his thoughts. Paul agreed with her. She going to go looking for answers soon, she's antsy. She has a stack of maps that she's been following, just the other day she went out -

I know, Jake snapped. He huffed and moved away from Leah, allowing her to stand. She deserves to know, I know that. But after I tell her, she's going to ask about her father.

Yeah, she will ask about her father. Leah sat down on her rump and licked her shoulder. It's within her right. She didn't openly care about much, but she was always vocal when she thought someone's rights were being infringed on.

He was just trying to protect her, to shield her from the dangerous lives they lead. Jake padded over to his shorts he had hidden under a bush by the treeline. He phased back and put on his clothes, waiting for Paul and Leah to follow suit. His enhanced hearing could pick up the pack running around on the beach and he smiled.

They had all been overworked recently because of the Cullen's house guests. Carlisle had hoped they could get information on the serial killer that had been plaguing remote areas in Washington and was moving in on Forks and La Push rapidly. After a week, the guests left and no one was any closer to learning what exactly they were up against.

One of the vampires that was visiting them was the same one Jake smelled on Caroline shortly after he had met her. He bristled at the thought of the leech being anywhere near her. They had picked up his scent a couple of times since, lingering around Forks, but it was always stale. He was always a couple steps ahead of them.