CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
IN REACH

Montana sat silently in the truck bed, a scowl etched across her face.

The whole duration of the journey to Emily's had been filled with Jared's booming laughter, the boy far too amused by Montana's irritation with Bella. She wasn't the type of person to usually get so riled, and it was rare that something did bother her that much, but when it did, that anger would simmer for hours.

"Jared, will you please shut up."

"I didn't say anything!"

Montana released an audible huff of defeat, folding her arms across her chest. Jared couldn't help but grin over at his friend, thinking about how much the imprint bond must have been affecting Montana without her even realising.

The rest of the journey was mostly silent, punctured by the occasional snicker from Jared, which would promptly be quietened by a harsh glare from Montana. When the truck finally pulled up outside Emily's, she felt complete relief wash over her. The calming aura of Emily's home, and the gentle woman herself, might have been the only thing to possibly de-escalate Montana's frustrations.

Jared hopped down from the truck, him and Embry calling out to let Emily know they'd arrived. He held a hand out for Montana, helping her to the ground.

Meanwhile, Bella didn't move, rolling down her window to shout out to them. "Hey, I think we should go back and see if Jacob's okay."

Jared scoffed. "I hope Paul sinks some teeth into him, serves him right." He purposely directed his smirk over to Montana.

"No way, Jacob's a natural." Embry held back a smile as he caught the furious stare Montana sent Jared. "You see him phase on the fly?"

"Nah, that's only 'cause Mon was there," Jared dismissed, ruffling her hair. She batted his hand away, patience thinning.

"I got five saying Paul doesn't touch him," Embry said, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh, you're on."

As they reached the screen doors, the boys looked over their shoulders, watching Bella hover by the safety of the truck.

"Come on in Bella, we don't bite."

"Speak for yourself," Jared muttered. He slung his arm over Montana's shoulder, and the two of them headed indoors.

"Hi, Montana!" Emily greeted with a cheerful smile, a freshly baked plate of muffins in her hands. "It's so great to see you again!"

"Hey, Em."

"You guys hungry?" She asked them. Jared and Embry didn't say a word, making a beeline towards the food. "Like I have to ask."

Emily turned to Montana, expecting to share an amused look with her, but noticed the younger girl's unusually stony features. She frowned, lips parting to question the younger girl, when the unexpected sight of Bella lingering uncomfortably in the doorway stopped her.

Emily glanced between them all. "Who's this?"

Jared spared a brief look over his shoulder. "Bella Swan, who else."

The sound of Montana dragging a chair out from the table punctuated the brief silence than fell around the room.

"Hmm, so you're the vampire girl," Emily broke the tension.

"So you're...the wolf girl," Bella said awkwardly, moving inside the kitchen.

"Guess so," Emily replied. "Well, I'm engaged to one." She placed the muffins on the table as the boys sat down beside Montana, both instantly diving in to take another one. Emily grabbed their hands to stop them. "Save some for your brothers! And ladies first," she scolded, pushing the plate towards Montana instead. Emily looked over at Bella. "Muffin?"

"Sure." Bella sat down opposite Montana, glancing cautiously at her friend.

Montana lifted her head, stare hardening as she caught Bella's eyes. Bella swallowed heavily, quickly shifting her gaze away.

"Leave it to Jacob to find a way around Sam's gag order," Emily commented.

"He didn't say anything to me," Bella defended.

"That's a wolf thing. Alpha's orders get obeyed whether we want them to or not," Embry explained, his mouth full of food. "Oh, and check it out, we can hear each others thoughts."

"Would you shut up?!" Jared exclaimed, whacking Embry on the arm. "These are trade secrets! Dammit, this chick runs with vampires!"

"You can't really, um, run with vampires," Bella pointed out. "Cause they're fast."

"Yeah, well, we're faster," Jared countered with a confident smirk. "Freaked out yet?"

Bella gave him a wry smile. "You're not the first monsters I've met."

"Jake's right." Montana whirled her head around at the sound of Sam's voice. "You're good with weird." He strode indoors, heading straight towards Emily.

Montana found herself smiling softly as Sam lovingly scooped his fiancé into his arms, littering gentle kisses over her face. Her attention soon shifted when she spotted Jacob and Paul making their way towards the house, laughing as they took playful jabs at each other. Jacob slowed down as his gaze naturally locked on Montana, mouth curving into a smile.

Embry and Jared hurriedly scrambled to their feet, immediately moving to crowd them, checking to see which one had the injuries. Finding a thin red scar across Paul's arm, Embry grinned triumphantly, turning to face a deflated Jared. "Ha! Pay up."

Completely uninterested with their bet, Montana moved between them, reaching Jacob. He placed a hand against her forearm, noticing the tight expression on her face. His eyes searched hers in concern. "You ok?"

She looked up at him with worried eyes, relieved that he appeared to have come out of the fight unscathed. "I think I should be asking you."

"I'm fine." Jacob smiled softly, his hand trailing down her arm in reassurance. "Don't worry about me." His eyes flickered past her momentarily, finding Bella. A defeated sigh escaped his lips as he looked back down at Montana. "I think I should talk to Bella. I'll be back soon, okay?"

Montana nodded her head in quiet understanding, though couldn't help the feeling of disappointment that swept over her.

Bella rose to her feet sheepishly, avoiding Montana's eyes as she passed her, muttering a small goodbye before she left with Jacob.

Montana dragged her feet back through the kitchen, taking a seat beside Embry. Paul glanced at her from across the table, an apologetic smile on his lips. "Sorry about earlier."

"It's ok," she told him with a small shrug, understanding his reasonings for shifting. "Don't worry about it."

Embry rested his arm over the back of Montana's chair, noticing his best friend's low mood. He gave her a sympathetic look as the others began fighting over the leftover muffins. "How you feeling?"

"Better now that I know Jake's okay," Montana told him, exhaling heavily through her nose.

"What's up?" Embry asked, as if he didn't have the faintest of ideas. Montana hesitated for a moment. "Mon?"

"Why's Jake so obsessed with Bella?" She blurted. Embry stifled a laugh, almost thinking he'd gotten away with it until Montana smacked his arm. "Not funny. It's a genuine question."

"I mean, he's not," Embry responded, unable to help the grin from forming on his lips. Montana sank down in her chair with a heavy sigh, resting her head against Embry's shoulder. "Listen, Jake cares about Bella, sure, they've known each other their whole lives. He wants to stay friends her, but he's not obsessed." 

"He's had a crush on her since, like, forever," Montana pointed out, tilting her head back to look up at him. "Don't you remember when she left? He was all heartbroken and mopey."

Embry chuckled at Montana's obliviousness. "I know what goes through Jake's head, and it's not her. Trust me."

Montana failed to hide her interest. "Yeah? What is then?"

Embry smirked. "Ah, now that's a secret."

"Ugh. Boring," she whined.

"Mhm," Embry hummed, failing to hold back his grin. "If only you knew, Mon. If only you knew."

Later on, when Jacob did return, he was alone, and it was almost evening. Montana had become used to being massively out of the loop, and was learning to easily recognise whenever something was being hidden from her. She noticed that Jacob had been acting weird since arriving back, and Montana deduced that Bella told him some important information, which had prompted a tediously long pack discussion in the lounge.

Emily managed to occupy Montana in the kitchen for a while, until she became completely restless. Both tired and hungry, which was not a good combination, Montana announced that she was heading home before it got dark. This finally prompted the boys to cave and tell her and Emily what was really going on – more importantly, the information that they'd found out from Bella.

The red haired vampire, who was constantly coming in and out of forks, was called Victoria, and she was there for one reason only – to seek out and kill Bella.

"Okay, so, Edward killed Victoria's mate..." Montana trailed, looking over at Jacob for affirmation. The two of them were walking the familiar trail back to her house, so close to one another that their arms were constantly brushing, though neither of them moved any further apart. Jacob was on very high alert, his eyes darting between their surroundings in response practically every sound he heard. "And now she wants revenge?"

Jacob nodded, though his eyes remained elsewhere. He didn't want to take any chances, not when there was a bloodthirsty vampire roaming around town.

"That's what Bella said," he eventually responded, thinking back to his conversation with her. "The run in you guys had with that bloodsucker in the woods–"

"Laurent," Montana recalled, her eyes becoming wide in realisation. "Oh god, yeah, he mentioned Victoria when he..."

The muscles in Jacob's jaw tightened at the mention of the former vampire. That incident often flashed in his mind, reminding him, taunting him, of how close he was to losing Montana. The mere thought made his whole body boil with anger.

"I don't think–" Jacob started, breathing in deeply to calm his racing pulse. "I don't think being around Bella is a good idea right now. It's– I mean, Victoria...If she sees you with Bella, she might use you as a way to get to her. Or if something– if something happens and you're there...I wouldn't ever forgive myself, Mon."

Montana began to slow down. Her eyes softened at the sight of Jacob, his whole body rigid, jaw clamped tightly shut. She could tell he was worried about this situation, really worried.

"Jake," Montana spoke gently, placing a hand on his bicep.

Her gentle touch brought him out of his torturous thoughts. "I just...I need you to be careful," Jacob said. "Like, really careful."

Montana nodded her head in assurance. "I will," she promised him. "And don't worry, Bella's not exactly my favourite person right now, so..."

The corners of Jacob's mouth began to lift. "Yeah, uh, she might have mentioned that."

Montana removed her hand from his arm, shaking her head. "It was just the way she barged into your house, you know? And past your dad like that. It was really rude. Then she disrespected the pack, she slapped Paul...I mean, forgive me for being a little pissed off at her."

Jacob's smile reached his eyes. He gazed down at Montana in a mixture of amusement and adoration. "You're adorable."

Montana's stare narrowed at him. "Shut up."

"It's cute when you get protective," he continued to tease, his laughter filling the air as she lightly pushed his shoulder.

Montana's eyes lowered to the ground bashfully, her cheeks flushing with colour. She shoved her hands in her jacket pockets. "I hate you."

Jacob brought his bottom lip between his teeth, biting back a growing smile. He hadn't spent time alone with Montana for a long while, and the past twenty minutes they'd spent walking home had gone far too quickly. Jacob truly wondered how his heart could longingly ache, how his entire being could crave somebody's presence so badly, when she was only stood right in front of him.

In reach, but still too far away.

A/N

Me: Now kiss!!
Jake and Mon: No. ❤️