Zahra
Aunt Sue kisses me goodbye as she gets into her car, waving excitedly before she pulls away, and I tuck my headphones into my ears, putting my iPhone on shuffle for the ride to the Uley house.
As far as I can tell, from what I've been told anyway, Sam seems like an amazing person. I've met Emily a few times at family gatherings because she's my second cousin, and she had always seemed extremely sweet, but we never really talked. Then the whole "Sam leaving Leah for Emily" thing happened and she was basically scorned. The whole thing was tragic, but I chose not to get involved, only comforting Leah when she needed it.
Seth looks up to Sam no matter what happened, though. He talks about him with bright eyes and an exuberance I rarely see. Jacob sees him as a mentor, being very serious and calm, but also very professional. Leah's mouth hasn't opened once, but her reasons are understandable.
I turn up my music, tuning out their chatter as we wind our way down the streets of La Push, surrounded by trees, shrubs, and evergreen grass. I lean my head against the cold window, losing myself in the song pounding against my ear drums.
Honestly, I am not excited to be away from the shelter of my own room, my tranquil bed, away from Kwoli... Unfamiliar places are so out of my comfort zone as of late, it's kind of hard for me to adjust, let alone just jump into situations that are completely new to me.
The sky above Jacob's car is looming and gray and dark, it looks as if it might open up at any moment and suck us all into a deep and abysmal torrential downpour of rain and darkness.
Well, aren't I a bright ball of optimism?
A light tapping on my shoulder pulls me from my somber reverie, and I look up, seeing Jacob's warm face smiling at me widely. He wastes no time in tugging an ear bud from my ear.
"We're here, Zahra." He tells me, the way he says my name sending chills down my spine.
"You ready for this?"
I shake my head, but pull out my other headphone anyway, stopping my phone from playing anymore of my favorite playlist. "Not at all, but let's do this. It's going to rain, and I don't want to be caught in it."
He laughs. "Nice to know meeting my friends is lower on the list than being caught in the rain."
I shrug. "I don't do well with new people."
"You did just fine meeting me." He counters after he rounds the front of his car to open my door.
"You don't count, I saved your life. You're forever in my debt."
Jacob
Her words cut me like knives, but oh, how right she is. I may as well be in her debt, the fact that she stopped me from doing something stupid was only icing on the cake.
Obviously, I'd go to the ends of the earth for this tiny young woman; keep her safe from all harm, human and non-human. I would love her to no end, and treat her with all of the respect and courtesy I can muster. She will never go a night without knowing she is cared for, and I will make sure that she knows I will be here for her every day, no matter what's going on, or what time it is.
I will always be here.
Watching as she trails nervously behind her cousins into Sam and Emily's house, I can't help but smile, knowing I'd finally found my forever. My imprint.
The rain begins to fall, and I'm snapped from my thoughts, now staring at the empty wooden porch where she'd just stood. I jog lightly, seeing no point in trying to avoid the drizzle if I'm going to be patrolling in it in mere minutes, and enter the warm home as well, immediately shrouded in love and happiness.
Sam and Emily's house has always been like this, a comforting getaway from what we are, the constant reminders of the terrifying world around us, the one none of us thought existed. The raging war between our kind and the Cold Ones, never ceasing to end.
"Jake?" A small voice asks, plucking me from my inner battle. I feel a small hand on my bicep and look down, seeing Zahra's hypnotic blue eyes staring into mine worriedly. "Are you okay? You're shaking. Come sit with me."
She takes my hand and pulls me into the small living room and I chuckle. She didn't ask, she told. She'd given me an order, and had instantly calmed me when I was about to phase.
I only now notice that her hair has been pulled back into a loose ponytail,seeing the natural wave of each strand, the way it curls up against her skull before flowing down her back loosely.
"What happened?" Zahra's voice trills again as I zone out.
I shake my head, trying to get her out of my brain so I can answer her properly. "What? What do you mean?"
"Back there. Are you okay? I've never seen anyone shake so much, Jacob... You scared me."
My heart breaks as her voice grows small by the end of her statement, and I brush her bangs away from her face, causing her to blush. "It was nothing, Z. I was cold from the rain, that's all."
"You promise that's all it was?" Her voice cracks on the second word, and I can feel my heart shatter. I hate lying to her so much, but I don't think she's ready to hear what I am... What we all are.
"Jacob? Let's go!" I hear Sam call, using his Alpha voice. Thank God for the Alpha voice.
"I promise." I whisper. "I'll be back, okay? Promise me you'll stay safe. Don't go outside for anything, all right? Promise me, Zahra."
Fear creeps onto her face, and she nods at me, looking as if she's fighting back tears. I hate that I've scared her so much, and that I have to leave her, but I want her to be sheltered while I'm gone, completely unscathed when I return, and if she sets foot outside, no one can protect her.
I kiss her forehead, forcing myself to my feet before walking into the foyer to meet Sam; he nods at me once, giving me silent approval for what I've done to keep my imprint out of harms way. Leah and Seth are with us as well, anticipating the hunt, and hopefully the capture of the ginger vampire that's been toying with us.
Without a second thought, we're all out the back door and running to the tree line, waiting until we're out of sight before we phase and split up.
Zahra
Well, now I'm by myself and thoroughly terrified.
Jacob looked so earnest when he told me to stay inside, when he said he wanted me to stay safe. It's almost like there's something out there waiting to tear me to shreds, and that doesn't sit right with me.
A lump forms in my throat, and a sinking feeling makes its way to my stomach, almost making me double over with dread. What if there really is something out there that'll hurt me, that'll rip me from everything I've grown to love, from the only happiness I've known since my father passed away.
"Oh, goodness." I hear Emily whisper from somewhere faraway. Only now did I realize I'm having another anxiety attack.
Emily doesn't waste any time running somewhere to grab something, but I don't really pay attention. I'm too busy trying to calm my breathing, trying to keep myself from hyperventilating.
"Here you go, sweetie." She coos, giving me a little white pill and a big cup of hot chocolate.
I take it gratefully, thanking her with my tear filled eyes before taking the medicine. A surprising flavor bursts on my tongue, and I recognize it as chocolate covered strawberries. The hot chocolate tastes like chocolate covered strawberries.
"Oh my god, Emily. This is heaven in a cup. Can I keep you?" I mumble, taking another drink, enjoying the scalding liquid as it slides down my throat.
Emily shrugs. "I had anxiety attacks after the bear attack. I know what they're like, and what helps. Want to watch a movie? I'm just going to go cook for the guys and Leah while they're out."
I nod, leaning against the back of the couch before I take another sip from the large creme colored coffee mug, enjoying the feel of the hot beverage warming my chest as my body relaxes.
Emily puts on the first movie her fingers find, and scurries off before she returns with a blanket, draping it over my lap. With a sincere smile, she touches my cheek and walks to the kitchen, leaving me with Heath Ledger as a commoner trying to change his stars.
I lose myself in the movie, loving the soundtrack and the way the scenes are laid out. At times, I find myself laughing quietly at certain lines, or the way the characters interact with each other, kind of mindlessly going through the motions a normal person would when watching a movie like this, only it was legitimate. I haven't laughed or smiled at anything like this in a very long time, and I'm sort of shocked by it, but I'll take what I can get.
Especially since it means I'm getting happier.
I hear the sound of the TARDIS, and quickly snatch up my phone, overflowing with joy at my ringtone. Aunt Sue's name is on the screen, and I answer it quickly, wondering why on earth she'd be calling me while she's out.
"Hey, Auntie. Emily has this fabulous hot chocolate and I think I'm going to marry it, okay?" I smile, pulling my feet beneath me.
"Zahra sweetie, I'm so sorry." She whispers in reply, her voice cracking.
Oh, no. The last time someone told me sorry like this was when.... "Sorry for what? Aunt Sue, what's going on?"
"Baby, I'm so sorry..."
"Aunt Sue, you can't keep telling me sorry unless you tell me what you're sorry for. Please tell me what's going on." Emily is standing in the doorway now, her face a mask of concern.
"It's your mother, honey. There was a fire at the house... She didn't make it out. I'm so sorry, Zahra... I'm so, so sorry."
My throat immediately dries up, and there's a loud ringing in my ears. I sort of lose all feeling, going completely numb, and my phone slides out of my fingers, before clattering to the rug on the floor. Without thinking, I stand, walking out the back door and towards the line of trees that surround the Uley household, barely hearing Emily call me back because of the high pitched hum echoing in my head.
Dead leaves and twigs crunch beneath my now soaked slippers, but I continue on, feeling an endless stream of tears flowing down my cheeks. I wrap my arms around myself, protecting my body from the cold wind that's pelting me with icy rain drops that are stinging my eyes and cheeks.
Sobs are ripping through my tiny body, and I collapse in what seems to be a small clearing, only about twenty feet in diameter. Scream after scream of anguish are ripping through me, and I don't even try to keep my composure.
My mother is dead, killed in a house fire. She was burned alive and no one was there to save her.
I wasn't there to save her.
After everything she's said and what she's done when it comes to me, I still love her more than life itself, and she was ripped away from me.
Just like dad.
I'm all alone in the world. There's no one left. No one that will care for me like my parents did. There's no one that will hold me when I feel the world crashing down around me, no one to tell me they love me and mean it.
I'm all alone, and that terrifies me.
A snapping twig startles me, and I look up, seeing a beautiful woman's face, very feline in structure. She's got billowing red curls, and crimson eyes to match.
She stalks towards me, her movement very lithe and graceful, but I'm in too much pain to move, and can barely see through the tears still streaming down my face.
She doesn't ease up, though. With wet hair sticking to her cheeks from the torrential rain, she advances on me, a maniacal grin plastered on her angelically sinister face. Every so often, she'll growl at me, and it makes me shiver with desperation and fear, but I'm rooted to the cold muddy ground, my sadness too overwhelming. I'm unable to process the danger of the situation for the first three minutes of her making her way towards my frail form, but I do my best to ignore it, not really wanting anything to do with anyone right now.
I just want to be alone to sulk.
"Ah, not one to run, are you?" The strange woman asks, her voice melodic and sharp. "Maybe you want to die as much as I want to kill you."
My heart is thrown into overdrive, and her evil smile widens, making me back away slowly, still cowering on the ground. I don't want to die, not now, by the hands of a stranger; especially when I'm in this depressed state of mind. I want to grow old, and die in my sleep, not in the cold, and rainy forest, alone with some monster.
A warmth envelops me, and I feel something soft against the bare skin of my neck, something that reminds me a lot of fur. Turning slowly, I brace myself for something I definitely didn't expect: A huge, gray wolf, with dark black eyes, staring into my own.
I yelp, and back away from the canine, then remember there's a murderous redhead behind me, ready to rip me to shreds.
Turning to face her again, I see at least nine other wolves, standing at ten feet tall like the one I'd just bumped into. The redhead was no where in sight, but all eyes were on me.
That's when the world goes black.
Jacob
My nose burns from the stench of the leech as we close in, she's not really putting up a lot of a fight today if she's just going to stand in place like she has been for the last five minutes. We wait on the sidelines, Seth and I, held up as the rest of the pack converges.
Normally, we would've attacked by now, but when it comes to the red headed blood sucker, we all like to go at her at once so there's more of a chance she'll get eliminated.
That's when I see her. Zahra's familiar form curled up on the wet, moss covered ground, crying her beautiful blue eyes out, screaming in pain.
Is she hurt?
Why is she out here?
She promised she'd stay inside!
Jacob, your imprint is her focus. Why is your imprint out here? Sam asks, concern lacing his voice.
I have no idea Sam, I reply. But something must be really wrong because she promised me she'd stay inside, and she's not one to break a promise. Also, the fact that she's crying like she's being murdered is sort of a dead give away.
Paul stands behind her, and I breathe a sigh of relief. No one's touching your girl, Jake. I can promise you that.
Victoria sort of plays cat and mouse with Zahra for a while, and we're all relatively confused as to why my imprint isn't moving, or shrinking away. Whatever made her come out here in the first place really has her on edge, apparently, because she's so out of it, she hasn't felt Paul take a seat behind her, or even notice the fact that the bloodsucker is reacting to him.
Hearing Victoria say she's going to kill my girl, though?
A growl rips through my chest and I step forward, followed suit by the rest of the pack. Sam lingers in the background, knowing this is my thing, my tag. Victoria will die by my hands, or paws actually, and I'm ready.
I don't even notice Zahra back into Paul, and frankly I don't care, because his normally malicious and perverted thoughts are very calming, and reassuring. He tells me he wishes she'd have stayed against him, so that he could protect her better, or even try to calm her down.
She doesn't know what to do with the pack surrounding her, though; so she faints, completely passes out. Her tiny body sprawled out against the muddy earth.
Victoria is long gone by now, probably already passed the Canadian border, but none of us care about that at this point. All that matters is the little human unconscious in the ever present rain.
I phase quickly, tugging on the shorts that are tied around my ankle, and take her into my arms, walking back towards Emily and Sam's. Her breathing is shallow, calm, and she looks peaceful. Her face is beautiful, free of any creases in her forehead, or frown lines around her lips. She's like an angel, her porcelain skin glowing in the darkness of the overcast day.
It doesn't take long before she's laying on the couch, covered up with a thick blanket, and safe once more.
"Why was she out there, Emily?" I hear Sam ask. "She could've been killed."
"Her mom died, Sam. Sue told her that her mom died, and she ran off.. I tried to get her to come back, I'm so sorry..."
She left because it's only her. She's alone, now.
My poor Zahra.