The Consequences {Jacob Black}

Chapter CXXXIX

Chapter CXXXIX

She was gone. The only hope we had of knowing when the Volturi were going to come had walked away. And all she'd left in her wake was a cryptic note saying that they'd be here when the snow stuck. If Forks, that could be any day in the next few weeks. We were rounding out the summer. August was fading into September and all the wonder of vacation was coming to an end as we started school the following Monday. Only a week left to have a summer.

How was I supposed to go back to school when I knew that something was coming after my family? How was I supposed to focus on my schoolwork when I someone could be killed at any moment? "Worry wart," Jake said. I jumped a little when he pulled me out of my thoughts. I narrowed my eyes and stared at him. "You're a worry wart," he repeated. I narrowed my eyes and stared at him. "Come on, everything's going to be okay. Who cares if the little pixie left? That doesn't change anything," he said, sitting up behind me.

"It changes everything, Jake. How are we going to know when they are coming? 'When the snow sticks' means nothing. The snow can start sticking as early as November. Or what if we have a late winter and we don't get snow until December or January? I want to know -"

"Everything; you want to know everything," he finished for me.

"That's not what I was going to say," I grumbled. It wasn't. I just wanted to know specifics. We could have time to prepare if there were specifics.

"But it's true. Babe, life isn't always predictable, even for a seer," he said, resting his chin on my shoulder. "I know that you want to know exactly when and where and why but we have no way to figure that out. We have to do the best with what we've got. And right now, all we have is that they'll come when the snow sticks." I sighed and leaned back against the arm that he was using to brace himself. He tucked his face down to press a kiss to my shoulder. "And the snow won't stick until December or January. We haven't had an early winter in years, Rye."

I laid myself down and rolled on my side, feeling Jake slide himself in behind me. He wrapped a strong around around my waist, his fingers tucking into the ribs that were against the mattress as he heaved me closer. "Are you ready for school to start?" I whispered. I didn't want to go back but dropping out was not an option. Dad would kill me.

"No, I'm not," he whispered. "But we can talk about that tomorrow, Annie. Go to bed," he commanded. I wanted to argue with him and tell him that he was being rude and ridiculous. I was the one that took care of our family all day. I knew when I was done for the day. Even with the whole argument planned out in my head, my eyelids started to droop. I tucked my head into hollow where his shoulder joined his chest and stopped thinking for just a moment or two.

And before I knew it, I was gone.

For the first time since I had come home from Italy, I woke up in a bed by myself. I was kind of surprised, actually. Normally if Jake was leaving he would give me a kiss and me that he loved me. Even if I was still half asleep, I always had lingering impressions of his lips and memories of his husky voice whispering in my ear. I blinked hard and rubbed the crustiness from the corners of my eyes as I used my other hand to push myself upright.

The door opened then. Jake waltzed through door with a tray in hand. "Morning," he said. I smiled at him and scooted myself all the way to the wall so that there was enough room for him to sit down and stretch out beside me. "You up for some breakfast in bed?"

"You cooked?"

"Ha!" he blasted. "No; Rebecca made us breakfast. I was pretty sure that you didn't want to have me make you any food," he laughed. He was right about that. I remembered the last time that I let him cook and I wasn't there to supervise. We'd be best not to repeat that ordeal. His hand pressed a coffee cup into mine, but I just sat there and let the warmth seep into my veins.

"I think you're buttering me up," I muttered before I lifted the ceramic to my mouth and took a long draw from it. "I'm pretty sure that I shouldn't be getting comfortable with this. There has to be something bad coming."

"Are you suggesting, Miss Swan, that I have ulterior motives for making you breakfast?" He gasped like it was supposed to be some big offense that I had said such a thing.

"Yes, Jacob, I am. Now what's wrong?" I asked. I set the coffee cup down and ignored the delicious aroma wafting up from the waffles and bacon on the tray between us.

"The blonde Cullen asked if she could see Nessie today," he whispered. Okay? Why did I care about that? Rosalie was Ness's aunt. There were certain things that I couldn't help her with. I could teach her how to be human but I couldn't do anything for her vampire side. Whether we liked it or not, she needed the Cullens to help her with that. "Ness doesn't want to go by herself. She asked if you would go with her."

"No."

"Annie -"

"No; I won't do it. It's just a set up. Bella is probably going to be there and then I'll have to deal with her trying to get Nessie to come back with her. I won't go, Jake," I promised. He seemed a little taken aback by my adamant refusal. "If you don't trust the Cullen to bring her back then you go with her," I suggested.

"And what exactly would you do all day then?"

"I'll hang out with Leah or something. You know she needs me there for something or another," I said simply. "We'll go shopping or something like that. Maybe we can check in on Embry; I'm sure he's probably starving." He had been so busy taking care of his imprint the last few days that he hadn't been around. Jake had even let him off of patrol to take care of her. And Charlie was almost beside herself with worry.

"Charlie's been bringing him food. I'd leave him be; he's been a little hostile lately," Jake warned. It was understandable. And Jake, of all people, should understand what it felt like. "I'll talk to him in the next couple of the days. Check in on him, you know?" I nodded. That's what Jake was supposed to do as Alpha. He had to keep his pack strong. He sighed when I still didn't tell him anything. "You really don't want to go?"

"It's not about what I want, Jake. I want to go with Ness and make sure that she's safe, but I won't go. We both know that Bella will find a way to weasel herself in there and I'm not going to put myself through that," I said.

He leaned over the tray and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips. But when he pulled back, I wasn't ready to end this. I brought my hand to the pack of his neck in a hold that I would use during an MMA fight and pulled her back, gently prodding at his mouth with my tongue until I got the prize that I wanted. I could feel his pulse surging when I nipped at his bottom lip and pulled it into my mouth. He broke away suddenly with a hard breath. "Okay, enough of that. The last thing I need is to go see your sister and the Cullens with a boner," he chuckled. I laughed at him and grabbed the fork on the tray. "Let me know what you and Leah decide to do, okay?"

"I'll talk to her before you leave," I promised. "Go shower. You stink!" I shouted after him.

His laughter boomed through the house. I could hear Rebecca and Billy giggling in the kitchen. "You love it and you know it!" Jake screamed back at me. Rebecca and I were getting to be on better terms but even better than that was the fact that Rebecca and Billy were reconnecting. All the things that they had been through, all the pain that I had unintentionally caused, were coming to a head and getting dealt with. Becca had even called Rachel and told her that she should come on home.

"You smell like wet dog!" I screamed at him finally.

"Call your bitch and leave me in peace, woman!" he retorted. I laughed and flopped down on the bed, reaching for my phone and taking another bite of food. So this was what normal felt like.