『 chapter xxv: SOUNDS LIKE THE MOON! 』

JUNE DROVE TO THE RESERVATION WITH AN absolute purpose: to confront her absentee boyfriend and his alleged newfound friendship with her cousin, another person whom June had to deal with, another time, another place. She'd be damned if Sam got to her boyfriend and initiated him into whatever mall cop cult they formed with one another. June keeps thinking about Jacob's unsettled face when he told her how upset he was about Sam giving him some look, like he was waiting for him. June saw it was pouring harder than before, she grumbled under her breath as her skin started feeling feverish and cursed herself for not changing out of her stupid cheer uniform before she drove to the Rez. June wondered if a cheerleader looking like a wet sewer rat would be intimidating enough? Whatever the case, she pulled into the Black residence and parked Bella's squeaky truck by the side of the house.

June looked up before she yanked the keys out of the ignition. She saw a figure, shirtless and muscular, walking through to backyard with ease — Jacob. He didn't look sickly, she doubted people with mono could be shirtless in the rain and jean shorts anyway. June felt the anger and the betrayal seep through her skin. She quickly pulled on her hoodie and jumped out of the truck.

"JACOB!" She yelled out.

The figure stopped but didn't turn just yet. June took a moment to realize that it was in fact Jacob, except his beautiful long hair had been cut to dust right where his ears were. Her heart was beating irrationally, out of anger and with the adrenaline for the confrontation taking place. June took another step forward before he turned to look at her.

Jacob didn't want to open his eyes. He took a sharp intake of air when he finally did, looking at the angry girl right in front of him. Heat flooded him instantly, stronger than before, hotter than when he first transformed but it was a new kind of heat—it wasn't painful. It was warm and it enveloped every inch of him. He felt it course through his veins and in the blood that pumped his heart. Everything that made Jacob who he was had disconnected from him all at once floated up into space, though was not left drifting. A new string held him where he was. Not one string, but a million. Not strings, but steel cables. A million steel cables all tying Jacob to one thing—to the very center of the universe. He could see that now—how the universe swirled around this one point. He'd never seen the symmetry of the universe before, but now it was plain to him. The gravity of the earth no longer tied him to the place where he stood.

               It was blonde cheerleader standing right in front of him, with those electric ultramarine irises and a fury on her expression — the girl whom he's loved all his life. Juniper.

— CONGRATS, JAKE, Embry's voice flooded his mind. YOU IMPRINTED ON JUNIPER SWAN.

— NICE CATCH, LOVER BOY! Paul's teasing yet congratulatory voice follows Embry. WATCH IT THOUGH, SHE'S THE ALPHA' COUSIN.

— PAUL, Sam had a sigh in his voice.

— YOU OWE ME FIVE BUCKS PAULY! Jared chimed up smugly. TOLD YA SHE'D BE HIS. WHO ELSE? 

Jacob took in all the comments but he'd register them later, only taking in the parts he deemed important, like exactly what Jared said: who else could've been his forever? Jacob never thought he'd be more grateful, he hadn't wanted to see her, and feel nothing. Nothing meaning, nothing compared what he just felt, looking at her like he never had seen her before. Jacob had ignored her for the better part of weeks, angry and volatile and a danger to her. Learning the ways of the tribe and what the purpose of him being able to turn into a beast was. He learned about imprinting and out of everything, it was the most terrifying thing for him. He didn't want anyone else. He didn't want to be Sam, loving one girl but being destined for another. Most importantly, Jacob didn't think he could handle if June wasn't his forever. But here she was and Jacob could've dropped to his knees with the sheer adoration he felt for her. Jacob could smell was her scent, the strange mixture of cinnamon and snow, it was heavenly to his senses for a wolfs mate's scent was exclusive to only the wolf that imprinted on them. He wanted to pull her into his arms, stop her bottom lip from quivering and kiss her. But Sam's warning was clear: You're still new to this ... give it time. So all Jacob could do was stare at her with his lips parted slightly and his eyes softening immensely.

She was his imprint, June.

June. June. June.

Sounds like the moon.

          "—Jacob?!" June's angered voice pulled him from his daze. Her blue eyes were electric as the lightning over them. She glared up at him.

"June," Jacob had said her name maybe hundred of times but it'd never have the effect that it did now.

Sam's voice played out in his mind, GIVE IT TIME, JAKE. YOU DON'T WANT TO HURT HER.

"You cut your hair?" June's voice was accusing. She moved her hand up as if she was gonna touch it, but thought better and dropped her hand. Her eyes follow the tattoo on his upper shoulder. "Is that ... you got a tattoo? That's exactly like ..." She trailed off, her eyes widened in dread, remembering others whom have the same kind. "No."

— IT'S NOT EASY, JAKE, BUT YOU CAN'T LOSE CONTROL, Sam's authority was seeping through the telepathic bond the pack had. TURN HER AWAY.

Jacob knew, from now understanding Sam's story, how dangerous it was and how easy it was to lose control around your imprint. The knowledge itself kept him from pulling June into his arms, "June ... go away."

His imprint visibly looked taken aback, "What happened?" She asks barley above a whisper, but he hears her clearly, even through the pouring rain. "I thought you were sick. I was going out of my mind for weeks! Lyanna called me yesterday to tell me she saw you with Sam's little brotherhood—"

Jacob feels like he's moving steel when he turns from her. His body practically melts when he feels her hand on his arm, turning him back to her. She was rain-soaked, shivering, and rose colored lips open slightly. He had seen her many times — each took his breath away. But never had it been like this, never had it been to the point where he felt like he needed a new pair of lungs. "Just go, please."

          "Jacob for gods sake, talk to me," June growls, her eyes blinking rapidly. "What happened to you? Did Sam— what'd my cousin do? Did he threaten you or force you to join—" 

"Sam's trying to help me." Jacob gets out roughly, cautious not too stare into her eyes too long or he'd surely forget everything Sam warned him about. "Don't blame him, June, nor Paul, Jared, or Embry. Not when the only people you should be blaming are those filthy bloodsuckers your sister loves."

                 With those last words, June feels her entire world come crashing down. It was all wrong now. This wasn't her Jacob. Her had been taken away and replaced with another Cullen hating fanatic like Sam. June could wonder how he knew what they were or if his disbelief in the Quileute tales they were told of as kids was actually real. Jacob knew about vampires, he knew about the Cullen's. June wondered where it had all gone wrong. She liked when Jacob was oblivious, as naive and cruel as it was, she didn't like the contempt and hidden disgust that she saw in his eyes at the thought of his girlfriend being anywhere near those leeches.

                June looked away, "You don't know what you're talking about—"

"I know exactly what I'm talking about." Jacob gritted our, shaking his head. "And you do, too. Your sister has been lying to everyone and you've helped her. You didn't even think about the danger of bringing them close to you, what about your mom? Your little brother?"

June's eyes hardened. "Don't give me that bullshit. I give it to myself everyday when they were here; but they're gone and so is the danger so just leave it."

"You can't lie to me anymore, Juniper," Jacob softened immensely, his hand picking up her arm. He pulled back her jacket to reveal the painful and purple bruises she still has from making those flowers in her room come to life. "Not about anything. Not anymore." He softly drops her arm and she looks at him warily.

June's eyes suddenly flickered behind Jacob, where she heard hollers and yells — across the field she saw her cousin  and his disciples, waiting and beckoning Jacob over to them. Jacob turned and got a unexplainable look in his eye, listening to the continuous warning that Sam kept giving him over and over.

         He looked back down at June, his figure towering over her. His eyes turned stoic. "June, listen," The words he spoke were causing him physical pain. "We can't be what we were anymore, alright? Not now."

June thought she was in inexplicable emotional pain then, now, it was catastrophic. Suddenly, she realized the hammering pain that her sister went through when Edward left her, when he told her he didn't want her. When he told Bella that she wasn't fit for his world. And while June never thought much of it, she knew it hurt, since she knew Edward loved Bella deeply — but with Jacob? June didn't know if he felt anything for her at all, not anymore. Then she remembered the sign. Maybe it was all for a reason. She'd leave him eventually ... eventually. Better now than never.

               June stammered her response. "Jacob, I know, I know I haven't been honest with you but you have to believe me when I say I wanted to tell you. I know it hurts you, I know  ..." She couldn't make a coherent sentence, she was desperate now. "I never meant to hurt you, never, it wasn't my secret to tell ..." June was sobbing, big fat tears were welling in her eyes and she felt a massive weight on her shoulders. "I'm sorry, I never meant ..." She couldn't finish, her tears wouldn't let her.

Jacob couldn't help himself, he rushed to her, holding her face in his hands as he looked into the eyes of the girl who held the other half of his soul — the one who was made for him. Jacob was on the verge of tears himself just by looking at her grief stricken face. He was meant to make her smile not cry. He felt like a caged animal, wanting to comfort his mate but he couldn't. But he knew, if he didn't push her away, she would stay by him — stay by the beast he had turned into, her beauty deserved more.

— SAY YOUR GOODBYE, Sam tells him and Jacob wants nothing more than to tell his alpha to fuck right off that his mate needed him, but he couldn't, Sam knew what was best.

Jacob kissed her forehead, "Go home—"

"You're just like him." June says before she can stop herself.

Jacob seems to know immediately and he hardens his features and watches her, "June—"

"No," She says tearfully, holding her hand up as she began to take steps back. "You said you wouldn't hurt me the way he did to my sister but you lied."

"I didn't lie," Jacob tells her. "I told you I'd never hurt you. This is me keeping that promise. So please, help me keep it, don't come back."

This was it. June could make him stay, she knew she could. She saw it in his eyes and the way they softened and then hardened when he reminded himself to stay angry with her. But the chance was right at her feet — sure she wanted more time with him. But she wanted more time with the old Jacob. The one with long hair who'd let June braid it sometimes and the Jacob who watched her old movies with her and let her put on musicals and ended up kissing her by the end of it or when a really romantic part came on. June wanted more time. She wanted a different fate. June never resonated more with Melanie Capote then, when she told Edward all those years ago, no one can rewrite the stars that were already written for you. June was gonna die, she didn't need to drag Jacob down further by her own death.

"Don't worry about me." June said after a while and gave him glare. "I'm not your responsibility anymore, I can take care of myself."

Jacob watched as she turned around and rushed back to the truck. All Jacob could smell was her scent, the cinnamon and snow. She hopped in, slamming the door after her and reverse out of the driveway, her eyes meeting Jacob's once before she drove off. He wanted to phase right then, run after her, tell her everything and have her in his arms and in safety. But he didn't deserve her. He let her consort with leeches and he did so right under his nose. Her sister, the prime leech lover, had given danger more access to June's wellbeing by dating a dead guy. Jacob knew Sam's orders were set in stone. He'd find a way, though. He'd have to. His entire relationship with his soulmate depended on it.

•—•—•—•

JUNE HAD RUSHED HOME IMMEDIATELY. SHE was grateful to see a note from her parents saying the went to the store with Willie to buy diapers and whatnot. She said a quick hello to Patrick Verona who came in through his doggy door and then raced upstairs and prayed that Bella was still here and not with friends or whatever. June opened the door without knocking and found Bella on her iPod and writing down some notes that was obviously schoolwork. She heard June's bathing in because she yanked her headphones off and took sight of her rain-soaked younger sister and blinked her big bambi brown eyes at her in surprise. It wasn't until she saw the redness of June's eyes and the tears that still streamed down her pretty face that Bella knew nothing good came from whatever happened down at the Reservation. June was surely and slowly breaking down inside but she'd deal with her emotions later. Right now, she'd have to explain to her sister how Sam and his cult know about vampires.

"Bella!" June yelled frantically, waving her towards her as she fled. "Downstairs, living room, now!"

"June—? What the hell—" Bella's voice came nearer as she followed behind and they ended up in the living room. "Slow down what's going on?"

"They fucking know." June grit out.

Bella's eyes widened. Her older sister was genius and could figure what what June was talking about. "Who's they?"

June felt her hands and throat itching for that bottle of moonshine that was hidden in her closet. "My cousin, Sam! His disciples! My boyfriend—ex, now—by the way, we're officially fucking over."

Bella doesn't give her pity because she knows how much she hates it and June loves her sister more for that. Bella's brown eyes swirl with thought, "Fuck," She says with a hitch in her breath. "First of all, June, Jacob's an idiot for leaving you, as much as Edward is for leaving me — second of all, how are you sure they know?"

June moved her hands around, "Umm, because Jacob practically looked disgusted and said the Cullen's are filthy bloodsuckers!"

Bella groaned, "Oh, no, yup, they know."

"Thanks for the confirmation, Sherlock."

"Anytime, Watson." Bella sighed. She rubbed her own temples as she paced. "Well ... it's not like they can expose them. They're ... gone."

"But how do they even know?" June plopped on the couch, putting her hands on her face. "I swear our lives aren't fucking normal, you dated a fucking vampire and I'm — I was — dating some vampire hater? What even?"

Bella huffed, taking a seat by her. "Don't forget those hikers that keep going missing ... they say it's some bear." She says mindlessly. "I don't know, I have a weird feeling about it lately ... "

"I saw Victoria," June sighs.

Her older sister grips her arm. "What?" Bella asks in fear.

June remembers vividly, the day they jumped in the cliffs and she saw someone after her underwater. "I went to the cliffs by First Beach, with my friends," She explains. "I jumped in and when I was underwater ... I saw her. Like, swimming towards me. Lyanna pulled me up, no one saw anything—"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Bella asks accusingly.

"Because! You were so hellbent on Jacob fixing those death traps, which won't be fixed anymore, obviously, and you're convinced being in danger helps you see Edward—"

"I do see him!"

"Oh my god!"

"This has nothing to do with that," Bella says angrily. "You saw Victoria, which means she's here and if some giant bear isn't the one ripping people apart—"

"Then it's her," June concludes.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Bella stood up and began pacing again. Her brown eyes were wide. "June, Victoria's here! She's here and she's evil and she's gonna—"

"She's here for me," June says numbly. Blue eyes rise up to the scared brown ones. "I killed James. She wants me dead."

Bella swallowed thickly, "We have to let Edward know—"

"How?" June narrows her eyes. "He's gone Bella. All of them are gone, they left us here, they don't care about us. They knew Victoria was a threat and they still left."

"That's not true," Bella says shakily. "They care, we just have to let them know somehow—"

"Okay, while this plan is going great," June stood up and decided that she was gonna down that moonshine after all and have some blaring music session. "I'm really fucking exhausted and my boyfriend and I just broke up and my cousin took him away and I think I'm gonna go up to my room and accept my death sentence and have a good cry."

Bella held her in her place, "Come on, don't say that."

"You're right, I guess, sorry bad joke," June fights the urge to roll her eyes or laugh ironically. "Look, I am gonna parallel a mini-depression phase because that's logical right now and then ... I'm gonna get over these fucked up turn of events the only way I know how."

Bella pauses for a bit before she groans. "June, no."

"Bella, yes."

"You're gonna have Elodie Littlesea throw a party?"

June thought it sounded better than sulking away in her room and going out of her mind about Jake, "Yup."

"How is a party gonna solve our problems?" Bella asks.

"It's gonna solve emotional problems."

"June, this is a bad idea, maybe we just stay in and think about this and play with Willie—" Bella starts.

"As amazing as our little brother is, not tonight. Preferably by Friday. It's gonna be fun and we're gonna drink, and say cheers to the males who stupidly dumped us." June concluded.

Bella said nothing as she let June go upstairs. June was aiding and abetting everything in her mind. She wasn't her older sister. She wasn't gonna let months pass her by while whoever broke her heart was off not having her on his mind. June would make the most of out of her short time. She'd fucking fly with the eagles, the parties Elodie Littlesea throws were mega-iconic and June would have any choosing of the candy-like guests that would attending. June got to her room and put on some greatest hits of the Runaways while she called Elodie.

It took two rings, "Oh, my dear, to what do I owe this call?"

June smirks, "I'm in need of my epic party thrower."

There was a pause and a shuffle in the line and a slamming of a door before Elodie responded mischievously, "You've been missed, June, what exactly do you have in mind? Small kick back, a raver, the rager—"

"I'm on operation get-over-him." June said confidently while her heart cracked slowly, catching the photo she had on her wall. Jacob and June at Daphne's baby shower.

"Damn, that extreme?" Elodie asked.

"I need the whole Rez there," June confirmed.

"You know all our Quileute panty droppers will be there."

"It's what I'm hoping for."

Elodie squealed, "I've missed you!"

"Same here, Littlesea."

"Well, come ever. I'll hit up Lyanna and Star and Leah." Elodie spoke hurriedly, sounding like the wheels were turning in her head already. She loved Elodie for that.

"I'm on my way," June said as she gathered her bag.

"Kay, by the way, the Elders are having some meeting so they'll be occupied so, we basically got free reign." Elodie informed with a smile on her voice. "I'll have even Leah send Seth and I'll send Brady to watch over little Willie."

"My parents probably will be home but okay," June laughed a bit, wondering how that would turn out. "As much as Willie is an angel, I don't trust Brady and Seth watching over a one month old."

Elodie laughed, "Thats true. Okay, call when you're here."

June assured her quickly and hung up. She looked at the picture of her and Jacob once more. We can't rewrite the stars. This was what was. June went to her closet and grabbed the moonshine, staring at the substance. It'd kill her, maybe before whatever she was gonna die from did. Maybe. But she didn't think about it as she stuffed it in her bag along with her phone. She quickly changed out of her rain-soaked cheerleading outfit and replaced it with some jeans and long sleeve. She pulled on her rain boots and stared at herself in the mirror. Don't do this, just stay home, don't do this to yourself— June didn't listen to her own mind. She had too many things to get off her mind. She was dying, blah, whatever, there was a redhead vampire wanting to kill her, also whatever, and her boyfriend traded her for some vampire hating society that are shirtless twenty-four-seven and wear jean shorts. Go fucking figure.

But she was fine.

She was Juniper-fucking-Swan. She was fine. ( For now. )

note: ahahahhaha im ded,,,soooo those worrying if jake wasn't gonna imprint on june ... BOOM. and she's gonna die. but she's his imprint. 🌚🌚 I'm evil. plus, im giving my girl some epic party plot that involves wolf girls united and lets just say,,,,,,shit gets wild ;;;))))))