Act III
Chapter 26 ━━ Magic Eraser

━━━━━━━━☆★☆━━━━━━━━

Jacob pulls up in front of Emily's home and they both climb off the bike. The front door bursts open and Jared, Paul, Embry, & Quill pile out, shoving the last of a meal down their throats. 

Shelley tenses, but much to her surprise and relief, Embry smiles when he sees her.

"Look who's back."

"Wussup, Shell?" Quil greets.

"Quil, you too?" She asks him.

"Yep. Finally made the pack. I'm glad you're here, Shelley. Maybe we can get a break from Jake's obsessive inner monologue." He remarks with a grin.

"I wish Shelley would call."

"I wish Shelley wouldn't call."

"Maybe I should call Shelley."

"Maybe I should call Shelley and hang up."

Paul, Jared, Embry and Quil mocks Jacob teasingly, pushing the poor Jacob into a pool of embarrassment.

"Alright, you can shut up now." Jacob says laughing to hide his red cheeks behind his words. The blonde smiles as the guys laugh, push each other, roughhouse.

A slender girl with cropped black hair exits the house. She'd be gorgeous if not for her scowl. Leah sees the blonde and the scowl deepens.

"Shell, this is Leah Clearwater. Harry's daughter." Jacob introduces the girl to the blonde.

"Hey. I'm really sorry about your father." Shelley shows her a sympathetic smile.

"If you're here to torture Jacob some more, feel free to leave." Leah fires at her with harsh words, which make the blonde slightly taken aback and Jacob shoots Leah an angry look. As Sam and Emily exit, Leah abruptly moves off.

"Fun, isn't she?" Jacob chuckles when Emily gives me a hug and Sam offers a pleasant nod hello.

"Shelley… Hi. Hey. I was wondering when we'd see your face around here again."

"Yeah, same here." She smiles at Emily's kindness.

"Sam, we're good?" Jacob questions.

"We're good. She won't be getting through our line anytime soon." Sam answers.

The guys make their way to the forest's edge. Sam turns to Emily to say goodbye, looks into her eyes. Their connection is deeply intimate. As Sam gently kisses her, Shelley politely looks away to see Leah at the edge of the woods, who is glancing at Sam and Emily's kiss, then abruptly falls forward before her hands hit the ground, they become paws. Leah, now a light grey wolf disappears in the woods. 

"Wow. She's a wolf too?" 

"Yep." Jacob says and looks at the blonde. "You ready for the talking part?" 

She raises an eyebrow. "Here?"

He shakes his head. "Not here. I promised to take you somewhere once. The Meadow in the dream. Remember?"

"So… we're walking?" She scowls at the thought of walking.

"Nope. Stay here." Jacob grins and walks into the woods.

Shelley's phone goes off in the very second, making her take it to note Esdras's ID on the screen. She declines the call and quickly types a text mentioning that she's fine before sending it. The sound of a twig breaking cut the silence. Her head snaps in the direction instantly to see the familiar russet brown wolf appearing through the woods. A smile appears on her face at the sight of the wolf. It moves to her and drops Jacob's clothes on her feet. She gathers the clothes in her hands and moves forward to the creature fearlessly, hugging the familiar warmth radiating from it. 

Alpha lowers itself to the ground and she looks at the creature with confusion. Then it clicks her. "You're kidding right?"

Alpha stares at her with a serious expression to make her come to a conclusion. 

"Looks like you're not." Shelley says and Alpha snorts at her childish behaviour. She gulps and climbs on its back holding into the long and soft fur, getting ready for Alpha's next move. And as she expects, a gasp comes out her lips as the huge wolf stands back on its feet. "Oh god."

After a long ride, Alpha enters the familiar meadow and lowers it back to the ground.

Shelley jumps out its back and lands on her feet with a grin. "That was cool." Looking around at the quiet and peaceful clearing in front of her, she grins like a kid with a candy.

The meadow is small, perfectly round, and filled with tulip bulbs in deep shades like maroon, black and purple as well as in pure white, cream and palest yellow. It has the same brilliant display just as in her dream. The pleasant smell of the blooming tulips is even perfect. Somewhere nearby, she can hear the bubbling music of a stream.

Without any warning Jacob shifts back into his human form, leaving him all naked.

"What the hell, Jake!" Shelley complains, covering her eyes shut wanting to get rid of his naked image just stored in her mind and throw his clothes at him. "Get dressed for god's sake!" She can hear his laughter but she decides to keep her eyes shut. She's not even sure she'll ever clear the image out of her head.

"I'm all decent, prude. Open your eyes." He jokes, making her finally open her eyes to see him with his clothes on and also a huge smug on his face.

"I swear to the god Jacob, if you do that again in front of me, I'll throw you off a cliff and make sure you won't make it alive." She glares at him with her hands on her hips, trying to look annoyed.

Jacob chuckles. "What? You didn't like what you saw?" 

"Don't take me wrong. You look good. Very good. But you should warn before-" Shelley cuts herself off when the previous images flash on her mind once again. She groans. "Gosh, I think I need to wash my eyes with Holy water."

"Oh come on, prude." Jacob smirks before he lifts her in his arms and lays her on the ground surrounding the tulips. He then mounts her and leans down, kissing her. She giggles into the kiss as they soak each other in like starved people suddenly nourished. He pulls away to look at her… They share a long look before he decides to softly kiss the tender area at the base of her neck sending her body rigid with surprise as trembles shake her body and the euphoric warmth blossoms within me once more. "You're an angel."

"And what are you? The wolf pet of this angel?" She sasses.

"Nah. The guardian and-" 

Shelley is breathless with delight as he showers her with gentle, soft kisses, each with its own flicker of warmth. She gazes up at him, thrilled beyond words to be the recipient of his affection. "And?"

Jacob gazes at her lovingly, his eyes softening with tenderness before sparking with something else. She feels herself blushing under his scrutiny and it makes the corner of his lips switch into a smirk. "And sex slave."

"You're gross." She shakes her head, laughing at his outburst which he responds with his famous smugness. 

"I'm not kidding. Dead serious." He remarks, tilting her head to the side and kisses her, his lips demanding this time. A smouldering heat begins to feel deep within her as Jacob's grip tightens, crushing her body to his, gentle yet firm. He slants her head further, deepening the kiss.

As she breaks the kiss to gather the needed oxygen to her lungs, Shelley asks him the burning question pop in her head at the moment. "So, when did Leah join the pack?" 

"Around when her Dad died. Her brother Seth, also phased. He's only fifteen. One of the youngest we've had. Sam keeps him home studying, but he's chomping at the bit. Wish it was Leah who'd stay home." He explains and lays down next to her on the ground.

"Come on, don't be such a guy."

"No, it's… It's not a chick thing. It's… You know, a triangle thing. We all have to live the Leah, Sam, Emily pain-fest. Wolf telepathy, remember?"

She looks at him, raising an eyebrow. "So, Sam dumps Leah for Emily?"

"It wasn't like that. Sam hates himself for hurting Leah. But, Emily was The One."

"Yeah, I guess it sort of chooses you sometimes." 

He sighs, knowing I'm taking it to his crush on Bella. "It's more than some crush, Shells. Sam imprinted on Emily."

"Like love at first sight?" She introduces her theory to the conversation. "Do I want to know what that is? Imprinting on someone is like…"

"It's not like love at first sight, really. It's more like when you see her, everything changes… gravity moves… suddenly. It's not the earth holding you here anymore, she does… Nothing else matters… You would do anything… Be whatever she needs you to be, whether that's a protector, or a lover, or a friend." He sounds so dreamy at every single word he uses to explain the meaning of the unfamiliar word and she can feel the devotion bursting out from him like he means every word. 

"It sounds like you know the feeling." She questions him curiously. "Have you… imprinted on someone?" 

This is the moment he stands up and moves a few feets away from her before turning back. "Yes, I did."

Shelley stands on her feet, not knowing how to handle his answers. 

"I imprinted on someone." He repeats and smiles to himself. If he imprinted on someone, what is he doing here with her? Then it clicks her. Bella.

"I guess you imprinted on Bella and here to ask me for advice?" Shelley grits her teeth at the last part. Damn, he always comes to her when he needs advice for things related to Bella and doesn't even care about how much he breaks her heart because of that.

"No, my imprint is much prettier than Bella." He says. Okay, that makes her feel jealous about this heck of a new girl, he's talking about. 

"I think I should go home. Charlie must be looking for me." Shelley lies and tries to walk away, but Jacob stops her.

"I think it's time to give us a try."

The blonde raises an eyebrow once again. Where did that come from? She blinks her eyes, not sure of his words. "What?"

"I was blind because of my stupidity. I realise the truth, the truth that I belong with you, not with Bella."

He has lost his mind. That's for sure. 

She places her hand on his forehead to check if he's sick. "Are you okay? Do you have a wolf doctor that can give you a check-up? How are you feeling? Are you feeling tired or-"

"I'm alright and feeling more alive than ever." He smiles. "I love how you worry about me, but I want to know what you think about us?"

"What makes you tell me all this now?"

"Because…" He looks nervous but lets out something she never expected from him. "I imprinted on you."

Shelley stares at him with shock. That all makes sense filling all the missing pieces together of his wolf puzzle. He can contact her through his dreams. More like let her in his own created dramatical and fantastical dreams. He's been overprotective lately. Showing his affection and giving her his attention even Bella's around. He's constantly trying to be around her as much as possible, like every step he takes away from her is physically painful but getting back to her is a physical relief for him. Her heart is partying for the fact that she finally got him back, but her mind on the other hand is fuming how he broke her heart before, just because of another girl. For her own sister exactly.

He looks at her hopefully. "Why are you silent? Tell me something."

Shelley takes a long breath and looks at Jacob who is still smiling ear to ear trying to show how much he's happy. Just bullshit. 

"So you're suddenly showing interest in me just because YOUR DUMB WOLF DECIDED TO IMPRINT ON ME?!" She yells highlighting the last part. His smile dropped.

"Hey, listen-" 

"There's nothing to listen to, Jacob." She cuts him off. "I'm not involving with your imprinting wolf shit and that's it." 

He cups her face forcing her to look at his eyes which are full of longing and love. "Please."

As she's about to give up and approve him in her life, her inner voice screams at her reminding all the destruction he made her face through. If it isn't for his wolf, he won't be around her like this. He would be still after Bella, trying to prove his undying love for her.

And then, Shelley decides to fight back and play all bitchy, throwing his own words at him. "You're my best friend. So… I like you, I really like you. But I'm sorry, Jake. You know that we can't be together.

"Why can't we?" His voice breaks and it motivates her to dig into more of his pain.

"Why don't you understand? I'm not Bella, remember? I can't pretend to be her and change your mind. You chose her a long time ago because you LOVE her and I'm just an OBSTACLE to you." She reminds him, watching his world crashing down in front of her. His brown eyes fill with tears and sorrow. Like he's begging for mercy on her taunt of the consequences of his own sins.

"Why are you giving me that look?" She shouts in frustration and also in pain. He's worth it. He's worth the pain she's causing him. But it's hard to see him in pain. "Urghh!I'm sorry, okay? I'm just trying to explain to you that we're not meant to be together." 

He goes into his knees and pleads. "Please, Shelley. I know I broke your heart. I know you went through a hell lot of a pain because of me-"

"No, you don't." She cuts him off. "You have no idea about it, Jacob. You didn't even care."

Tears stroll down his cheeks as he reaches for her hands slowly.

"No! Don't touch me!" The blonde stops him but he goes for her hands anyway and holds onto them as his life depends on them.

"I'm sorry. I won't let that happen again. I swear. I just want a second chance."

"It is too easy to say the word and expect forgiveness, right?" She laughs coldly. "People think sorry is a magic eraser." 

"I can't live without you. Please, try to understand." He pleads.

"Have you ever heard that damaged people are dangerous? They know how to make hell feel like home." She stares blankly, barely showing an emotion. "You broke me, Jake. You can't come back to me asking for forgiveness. I can't forgive you for what you did."

"Shells-"

"Well, let me tell you, Jake. You're the obstacle for my love for Esdras." She cuts him off once again as lies painting her words before her. His eyes turn into jealousy and anger from sorrow and pain. But she chooses to continue. "I'm in love with him and you can't change it just because your wolf suddenly decided to imprint me. It is going to be him, Jacob. Not you."

A sharp tearing sound breaks the silence of the environment, shreds of cloth blast into the air, fur bursts from Jacob's skin and turns into the massive russet-brown creature. This time it shows nothing more than pure anger. Before she takes the clue to run, everything goes in a blur and the next thing she knows is his paw connecting the skin of her right shoulder, piercing it with the claws. And she realises that it's too late.

Shelley screams in pain as soon at the sharp pain on her shoulder as she falls back on the floor. Dark red blood pools around her and tears fall down her cheeks as she bites her lips to get rid of the pain, which she fails.

Alpha comes to its senses to notice the damage done and let out a series of whimpers in pain and guilt.

"Jacob, Stand back!" Sam's demanding voice echoes and Jacob's wolf immediately steps back but holds his eyes on the blonde with pain at the sight of her. 

"Gosh Jake, What have you done?" Embry shows up with Jared after Sam. Leah follows after them.

Shelley tries to keep her vision steady as out of the corner of her eyes, she sees a blur movement of Alpha running into the woods.

"Don't worry. We got you." Quil's comforting words fill in her ear and with that, she feels her body shutting down slowly.

"Try to keep your eyes open. Can you hear me, Shelley?" Sam yells as the blonde feels someone lifting her up as warmth spreads through her in their arms.

Alpha's painful howl rips the air before she completely falls unconscious with the unbearable pain.