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"I'll take the first shift," you spoke, amber eyes glancing to Carlisle before glancing back down to Bella. Your unbeaten heart ached at the thought that someone would dare to hurt your family, though surely you had been the first to hurt them. Technically, you had been the first to hurt Charlie, though he had not even known. To him, you were Y/N Cullen, one of the radiant adoptive children of Carsile Cullen.
"We'll take the first shift," Edward corrected, placing a calm hand against your shoulder as his lips curled upwards the slightest bit. "I have to drive Bella home."
Your face softened the slightest bit at your brother's words, and you nodded solemnly, your gaze meeting his own for a moment. Thank you, you thought back to him.
It hadn’t been long before you were standing in the forest, the gentle breeze nipping at your skin as you watched the window. You watched as Bella and Edward slipped past Charlie, and how Charlie sat with a beer on the couch, watching his show until he fell into slumber. Hours passed as you stood on your guard before you heard heavy footsteps making their way in your direction. The scent of dog filled your senses, and yet, you had not taken your eyes off of the Swan house.
The wolf behind you growled softly, signaling that it was time to swap shifts. Unlike Edward, you could not hear their thoughts, could not communicate with the wolves in their form. Impatient as the wolf had been, it still waited for you to speak.
"If you wouldn't mind, I'd accompany you for a few minutes," you murmured quietly. "I don't feed for another hour."
"If you wouldn't mind, bloodsucker, I'd ask you a question, then," you could hear the deep voice of who you vaguely knew to be Jacob Black, the wolf that Bella hung around.
Your amber eyes shifted to the wolf, acknowledging him with a nod. After living as a vampire for so long, you had not been put off by the way that the wolves treated you. Nodding hadn’t been accompanied by words, though you mentally cursed yourself for finding the man to be handsome.
"Your scent is all over this place," he spoke lowly, clearly accusing. "Why?"
"I didn't mean to be...this, you know?" You replied softly, a scoff slipping across your lips. "I left a human life behind." As you pursed your lips, your dominant hand slipped to your neck, unclasping your necklace as you allowed the locket to fall into your other hand. Moving your hand back, you unhinged the locket, a cold hand brushing against the man's warm fingertips as you set it in his grasp.
"You're…" the wolf's voice trailed as he gazed deep brown eyes upon the picture before him, his lips curled to a frown. Though you had not known him well, a brief meeting with the wolf in passing here and there, you were showing the man trust that he barely returned. He was unsure whether or not to smile or frown as his lips formed a straight line.
"Y/N Swan by birth, turned before Charlie was even 2," you spoke absently, before holding your hand back out for your locket back. Once you felt the metal in your hand, your hand clasped around it, shoving it carefully into your pocket. Amber eyes shifted to the window once more as you sighed. "I'm not as old as you thought, huh?" Your lips curled upwards the slightest bit at your little jest, attempting to lighten the mood.
"You're still pretty old," he joked, a chuckle passing his lips as his brown eyes shifted towards you. "And uh, really pretty." The wolf nearly grew sheepish for a moment, a small flicker in your peripheral vision.
Your lips curled upwards more as your amber gaze met his brown eyes. "You're pretty handsome yourself," you teased him wryly, before your lips fell. It was not hard to see in the man's eyes the reflection of something else - someone else. The rest of your words were not your initial intention, tumbling as more of a sigh past your lips. "Though you have eyes on another." Your gaze shifted back to the window, one last time as Charlie rose from the couch groggily. For a moment, you wondered if anyone else truly felt the melancholy that tightened at your unbeating heart. "It's a pity. The dog smell doesn't particularly bother me."
"I…" he started, a little lost for words as he thought back to Bella, thought back to Edward. The wolf was torn between the fact that he knew how he made Bella feel, and yet, your adoptive brother had such a claw into her that he didn't stand much of a chance. "I'm sorry." The apology had been half-hearted, but it was all he could truly muster, lost for any other sort of explanation. No matter how attracted to you, a cold one he saw typically from afar, he couldn't deny your intuitiveness. In a sense, maybe that was what stung him the most. From one true conversation, he found himself bitterly wishing that he could change his heart, but he couldn't on a dime.
You forced your lips upwards at the edges, though your smile hadn't spread. Giving him a knowledgeable nod, your goodbye remained unspoken. Bitterly, you cursed yourself for getting your hopes up for just a moment, but as you took off for your hunt, you pushed the mutt from your mind as best as you could.
It had only been a week, another night shift where Edward watched the Swan house closely from Bella's room, while you took the forest. Throughout that time, you tried to push the wolf from your mind, though even your swirling thoughts could not wane your attention to detail. You wore no protection from the chilled rain as it beat down upon your body, though you hardly felt the rain's burdens upon you. Your lips curled downwards as your hand moved to your locket, pressing gentle fingertips against it. In nights like this, you cursed yourself for living, while a small part of you appreciated that you still could gaze upon your son.
"Fancy seeing you again," the wolf teased from behind you, though the little jest felt half-hearted to you. "Thought maybe you'd want some company."
You scoffed lightly, though your lips curled upwards the slightest bit at the edges. "Jacob," you greeted softly, though your amber eyes had not faltered from the Swan residence. Though you wished to say more, wished to remind the wolf you planned to play no second fiddle in a mate's heart, you mistakenly relished in the company. On such a melancholic night, you felt a little warmth inside of you.
"I won't lie to you," he assured you as he stood beside you, the wet rain simply heightening the scent of wet dog, yet he had not seemed to mind the chill either. "I still love her. It's hard not to, but…" He pursed his lips for a moment, attempting to find the words to express properly to you. "There's something about you that I don't want to let go of, if that makes any sense."
A soft chuckle escaped your lips at the wolf's words, though, it made your night a little lighter. "I'm patient," you replied softly, though your eyes still had not yet met his brown eyed gaze. "If you really mean that, I'm willing to wait."
"Unlike your kind, my kind ages," he reminded you skeptically. "I'll only be a handsome mutt to you for so long."
You finally allowed your gaze to shift to his unsure brown eyes, a clear sheepishness about them as your amber gaze landed upon them. Your lips curled upwards at the man's words as yours had not missed a beat. "If you let me fall for your heart, I'd gladly stand by your side through all walks of life," you assured him wryly. "A mate's love is far more than skin deep."