Jared POV
Jared let out a long whistle.
“Holy shit,” he breathed. “She’s hot!”
The other boys nodded in silent agreement as they watched Jake and his girlfriend, his imprint, pull up in the gravel lot on Jake’s bike.
Jake’s thoughts did not do this chick justice. She swung a leg off Jake’s bike, causing Quil to actually groan at the long, lean body she had. She wasn’t tall, but she wasn’t necessarily short either. Jared would describe her as the perfect height. Even from where they waited on the beach, even beneath the leather jacket she wore, the curves of her body were unmistakeable.
“Jake’s the luckiest son of a bitch ever,” Jared whispered the Quil. Quil nodded in complete agreement.
Jake was smiling like a smug bastard too when he led Harry toward them on his arm. The other boys scattered, quick to pretend they were immersed in activities that didn’t involve ogling Jake’s girlfriend.
Jared didn’t bother, Jake would see it in their thoughts next time they phased. No secrets when you had a wolfy-mind-link.
“You’ve got some drool on your shirt,” Harry said in that accent they’d all heard replaying in Jake’s mind constantly.
Jared glanced down at his white tee then back up with a sheepish grin when he realized she was pulling his leg.
“Jared Cameron,” he said. He offered Harry his hand and kissed her knuckles lightly before dropping it and winking. “Charmed.”
“Harry Potter,” Harry said, as if they weren’t all fully aware of her name by then. “And I’d prefer you didn’t flirt too openly. Jacob promised to teach me to make marshmallow sandwiches before he got in any fights.”
Jared glanced at Jake with confusion and then rolled his eyes at the look on Jake’s face.
It was the same ‘I’m so perfectly peaceful’ look that Sam wore ever since he met Emily, the same look Embry wore with Kim, and the look Quil had when Claire was around.
It was ‘I found my soulmate and I can’t be bothered by anything anymore’. And it was really annoying.
“Come on,” Jared told them, shaking his head in genuine exasperation. “Let’s introduce you to the other guys.”
“And girls,” Harry said as her bright green eyes flashed over toward where Leah sat on the far side of the bon fire. She was glaring at the ground, staying as far away from Sam and Emily as possible, and Jared didn’t even know why she bothered to come. Yeah, Seth was there and they were usually a package deal, but a party was meant to be lively and Leah was just… dull.
“And girls,” Jake agreed with the most simpering smile ever for this chick.
“You’re so whipped,” Jared whispered quietly as they moved toward the others.
Jake didn’t even deny it, he just shrugged his shoulders and kept up that same dumbass grin.
Everyone was excited to meet Jake’s girlfriend. They’d seen a lot of her in Jake’s thoughts; some of it involving more of Jake than Jared really wanted to see (it was one thing when they all caught a glimpse when they phased, another thing altogether to see Jake’s sweaty body all wrapped up in Miss Pale and Perfect).
And the one thing they all wanted to see more than anything else was magic.
Jared also wanted to see Harry naked, but Jake would probably smack the hell out of him for that later so Jared tried to not think about it.
Seth and Paul got in a playful shoving match that made Harry laugh when they introduced themselves. Leah barely lifted a hand when she was introduced. Embry and and Kim were polite, and Quil was obnoxious.
Sam stood tall and straight and shook Harry’s hand while Emily hugged her and welcomed her to their pack.
Harry squinted at Emily’s face in a way that everyone tried not to do.
“You’re quite lovely,” Harry said conversationally, her accent ringing clearly. “If you’d like, I do have a spell that could clear those silly scars away. Sirius has used it loads of times for Remus.”
All the side conversations died immediately and everyone turned shocked faces toward where Emily and Harry stood.
Sam’s jaw was nearly touching the sand and Jake wasn’t looking much more collected.
“No shit?” Jared asked when it was clear that his brothers couldn’t or wouldn’t. He smiled slowly at the confident smirk on Harry’s pink lips. “Let’s see it then witch girl!”
“May I?” Harry asked Emily politely. Emily only nodded as Harry guided her to the lawn chair that she’d brought to sit in.
“Will it hurt?” Emily whispered.
Harry pulled her wand out, just a plain, if polished, stick from her jeans and shrugged a shoulder while the others drifted around them to watch magic.
“I’m not certain, my scars are all quite cursed, you see, but yours?” Harry held Emily’s chin and tilted it from side to side while she inspected the claw marks that ripped from Emily’s eyebrows clear to her collarbone. “No, yours should be fine.”
“You have cursed scars?” Seth asked eagerly. He pouted when Leah elbowed him in the side. “What?” he complained. “She brought it up!”
Harry’s feelings weren’t hurt, she grinned at Seth and winked.
Poor Seth, kid blushed so hard his dark skin was brick red.
“Terribly so,” Harry said cheerfully. “Chin up, Emily, and don’t kick me because I’ll be forced to kick you back.”
Jared held his breath, as did the others, while Harry raised her wand. She held it high for a moment (Jared thought maybe she was just being as dramatic as possible), then lowered it to trace down the side of Emily’s face while she chanted some foreign language softly.
The effect was instant.
Where Harry’s wand touched Emily’s face, the raw and jagged scars melted away, leaving smooth tan skin in its place.
Sam gasped and dropped to his knees before Emily when Harry danced backward to inspect her work.
“I’m afraid you’re not my type, but you’re still lovely,” Harry declared happily. She turned to exchange a smile with Jake, both of them looking smug beyond words, and Jake swept her in a swinging hug.
“You’re amazing!” Jake cheered.
Sam had been peppering Emily’s tear soaked face with his lips and then lunged to his feet and snatched Harry to swing her in a hug just as Jake had just done.
“I can never thank you!” Sam said between his own super manly sobs. “You have no idea what this means to me.”
Jared and Embry exchanged fist bumps at Harry’s magic. If nothing else, maybe they wouldn’t have to feel Sam’s guilt so constantly when they were all linked together. As soon as Sam set Harry down on the beach, Emily jumped up to cry all over her.
Poor girl.
Everyone’s spirits, already high, were practically in the sky with the stars with the repair of Emily’s scars. It was… oddly hopeful, to Jared anyway, to see that the worst mistake one of them could make had been repaired.
No harm, no foul.
The only person who didn’t seem happy as hell was Leah. Shocker there. Leah took one look at Emily and turned away with a haughty sniff.
“Cool, a little magic made Emily pretty and saved Sam’s fuck up,” Leah said, just loud enough for the others to hear.
Harry, who was back under Jake’s arm and was being kissed on the top of her sloppy black bun, stiffened and stared hard at Leah’s back while the others shuffled their feet uncomfortably.
Just because they all understood that Leah got the short end of the shapeshifter stick didn’t mean it wasn’t embarrassing when she was a spiteful bitch in front of Emily. Emily had been nothing but good to Leah, she couldn’t help that some mystical magic chose her for Sam. Plus, Emily made Sam a hell of a lot happier than Leah did back when they were high school sweethearts.
In Jared’s opinion, it was time for Leah to move on. And, apparently, Harry agreed with him.
“It’s a shame that a little magic can’t make you stop being a bitch,” Harry called to Leah’s back. She held her ground when Leah turned and glared at her. Man, Leah was scary, but Harry didn’t look real worried. And maybe it was Jake bristling beside her or the magic wand in her hand, but…
“Twenty bucks on witch girl,” Jared whispered to Embry. They shook quickly on it then backed away when Leah took a step toward Harry.
“What was that?” Leah asked, her voice very nearly a growl. Sam pushed Emily back and then stepped forward, intending to block Leah’s path to Harry, but man Harry had a set of balls on her. She ducked right out from beneath Jake’s arm and stepped around Sam to meet Leah with her chin up high and a pissed off look on her face.
“I said, it’s a shame that ‘a little magic’,” Harry held her empty hand up to air quote Leah, “can’t make you stop being a bitch.” Harry smiled right in Leah’s face. “Did you hear me then?”
Jake moved quickly then while Leah’s arms trembled and Quil laughed.
“Back the hell up, Leah,” Jake ordered. Seth stepped up to grab one of Leah’s arms while Jake grabbed Harry. “I mean it.”
Leah might have turned away, she might have ran off with her tail between her legs, but Harry smirked when she did and it was the final straw in the second most volatile wolf in the pack.
And the most volatile was sitting in the sand crunching a bag of chips like some dumbass in a movie theater.
Jared pushed Kim, who was hovering between him and Embry, away and leapt forward to yank Seth backward while Leah exploded in a burst of grey fur, snarling teeth, and shredded clothes.
Harry either fell on her ass when Leah exploded in front of her or Jake pushed her away, but she was back up in an instant just as Jake was phasing and Sam was pushing Leah as far away toward the water as he could.
Jake snapped his teeth at Leah and reared back with his claws out to attack. Jared wasn’t interested in seeing another fight between Jake and Leah though, he was more interested in watching Harry’s absolute lack of fear.
Harry waited until just as Jake reared up on his hind legs before she swished her wand and hit Leah right in the snout with some red burst of magic air.
When Jake struck out with his claws, Leah hit the ground in a dead slump.
Embry slid a twenty in Jared’s pocket.
“YOU KILLED HER!” Seth screamed wildly when everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at Leah’s body as it slowly phased back to human.
“Don’t be daft,” Harry said with a roll of her eyes. She whipped her jacket off and used it to cover Leah’s bare ass. “She’s stunned. Merlin,” Harry shook her head at Jake and shrugged shoulders that were bared by the tank top she wore, “I’m sorry, Jacob, I had no idea that she was so… angry.”
“She’s got reason to be,” Seth said loyally. He checked Leah’s eyes, seeing for himself that she was fine, then sighed. “Uh… Jake? Mind having Harry fix Leah?”
Jake phased back and covered himself with his hands, winking at Harry over his shoulder when she giggled.
“Harry is right there,” Jake told Seth. “I’m going to grab clothes, ask her yourself.”
Harry twirled her wand between her fingers while Jake ran off.
“I would have been happy to make him clothes, but last time I did it I made him a brilliant skirt and I think he’s never forgiven me,” Harry told the guys, making them all snicker. “Seth, if I wake your sister can you keep her from being jealous and rude? I did come here for marshmallow sandwiches not to fight with silly shapeshifters.”
“Hey! And you came for the company of these silly shapeshifters,” Embry joked weakly.
Harry flashed him a bright smile. She clearly didn’t hold Leah’s hot head against the rest of them.
“And your company, of course,” Harry agreed. She bent down and grabbed her jacket off Leah and shrugged off Sam’s questioning look. “If she’s upset, I’d rather she not steal my jacket. It was a gift from my ex-girlfriend.”
Just when Jared thought she couldn’t get any hotter.
Sam ushered Leah away the instant she came to and everyone else settled around the fire to interrogate Harry while they waited for the others to return.
“There’s really a school for wizards?” Seth asked, his excitement about real magic apparently overtaking his annoyance about Harry knocking out Leah.
“Witches as well,” Harry said.
“Jake said you fought in a war,” Quil said.
Harry winked at him. “I won a war.”
“Tell us more about the ex-girlfriend,” Paul grinned.
Harry laughed and let down her hair, shaking wild black waves over her shoulders.
“Ginny’s lovely, I’m hoping she’ll come visit again soon,” she said.
“What’s going on with Ginny?” Jake finally returned, jogging down the beach barefoot in just a pair of jeans. Sam returned with him, his eyes gleaming through the night when they landed on Emily’s restored face.
“Nothing exciting,” Harry told Jake. She raised her brows and Jared and Quil snickered at the pink blush on her cheeks when she eyed Jake’s bare torso. “Have I told you recently that you’re rather unfairly fit?”
Jake’s chest puffed out and his smile was so smug it was painful.
“Mmm, I don’t remember.”
“Pity,” Harry quipped. The guys laughed while Jake grinned good-naturedly and tossed himself on the log beside Harry.
“Tell me I’m fit or you’re never having a s’more,” Jake told her so playfully that Jared mimed puking for Embry and Kim.
Harry tossed her head to the side and her eyes flicked around the fire until they landed on Paul.
“Paul, was it?” she called. Harry batted her lashes at him from across the fire. “Do you know how to make marshmallow sandwiches?”
Everyone hollered with laughter when Jake was on his feet in an instant, grabbing a stick to roast marshmallows on for Harry.
Emily seemed to take a shining to Harry and scooted over to sit by her while Harry watched Jake roast marshmallows.
“I’ve never done much traveling,” Emily said with a kind smile. “I apologize if this is a silly question, but are bon fires a cultural thing? You didn’t have s’mores or roasted hot dogs where you grew up?”
Harry shrugged and a shadow flickered across her face while Jake’s shoulders stiffened and the others leaned forward to hear about growing up in a different country.
“I’m not sure,” Harry hummed after a moment. “My relatives I grew up with didn’t care for me much, so I didn’t have a normal childhood.”
Seth, who couldn’t read a mood to save his life, swallowed the mouthful of chips he’d been munching on.
“Why?” he asked. “Why didn’t they like you?” he clarified when Harry gave him a politely confused look.
“Oh. They didn’t care for magic or mischief.” Harry shook her head in a mocking sort of way. “Terrible bores they are.”
“Where are your parents?” Kim asked softly, causing Jake to actually groan.
The guys knew Harry’s story, no secrets when you were in wolf mode, but Jared was glad that Embry hadn’t gone around gossiping with his girlfriend. Just because they didn’t get real privacy, didn’t mean they couldn’t give it to their partners when they could.
“They were murdered by a madman when I was a baby,” Harry told Kim airily. “Don’t worry, I killed him myself so they’ve been properly avenged.”
“Who do you live with?” Emily asked. “Not the relatives that don’t like you?”
“Not at all,” Harry laughed. “I live with my godfathers, one of them is an actual werewolf.” She looked thrilled beyond reason when Jake finished her s’more and presented it to her with a stupid bow. “Oh this looks terrible! You’re sure it’s tasty?”
“Would I lie to you?” Jake grinned.
“Yes,” Harry said firmly. “You told me that you were a werewolf and you aren’t.”
“Just eat the s’more, Potter.”
Harry took a smile bite while Jared pretended like he wasn’t watching. Her entire face seemed to light up after trying it.
“This is brilliant!” she cried. She waved the s’more around, sending graham cracker crumbs to fly at a laughing Emily. “Jacob Black, you mean to tell me that you’ve been hiding this magic from me this whole time?”
Jake grinned and took a giant bite of his own s’more while Jared snatched the bag of chocolate from him to steal a couple pieces of his own.
“Here,” Jared threw another piece to Harry. He bobbed his head at the quick way she caught it in the air. “Add more chocolate, Jake totally ripped you off.”
Harry did it and everyone settled in more casual conversation and passed around snacks and sticks to roast food on. Jared was mid-conversation with Embry and Paul about the upcoming football season, all three of them were staunch supporters of the same team, and were comparing stats on the new drafts when Quil called to Harry, “You play any sports?”
Jared glanced over at her again and thought she did have a little bit of an athletic look to her. She definitely caught that chocolate easily enough too.
“Quidditch,” Harry said. She sat on the log and Jake sat in front of her with her legs wrapped around him and her fingers in her hair.
And Jared told them all that imprinting was stupid, it took away their choices, it hurt more than it helped, but… but he saw how Sam and Emily were wrapped in their own bubble, staring in each others eyes. Embry had Kim’s hand in his constantly and he looked like it made him happier than anything just to have that simple touch. And Jake and Harry looked so peaceful, just two people perfectly in love at a get together with friends.
So Jared was also a little impatient and a little jealous.
“What’s quidditch?” Seth asked. He laid on the ground next to Jake, his hands propped back in the sand to hold up his torso. He grinned at Harry, “Is it a magic game?”
Harry looked so offended that Jared couldn’t tell if it was genuine or not. As jealous as he might be, as hot as she was, he was glad she was Jake’s problem. On the hot crazy scale, he didn’t doubt that she was just as crazy as she was hot.
“Quidditch is the national sport for all citizens of magic,” Harry told Seth, her voice loud enough for the others to hear. “It’s a game played in the air, on broomsticks.”
“Wow!” Seth’s eyes were round and Jared wondered just how impressed the kid would be by the end of the night. “And you play it?”
Harry smirked, “I’m excellent at it. Perhaps I’ll see if I can steal a dozen brooms sometime and you can all come fly. Sirius has our yard muggleproof, Jacob’s flown there.”
Everyone gave Jake pretty impressed looks. Sure, being a wolf was cool and the speed was incredible, but Jared thought flying would be just as cool.
“I crashed Harry’s broom and now Sirius hates me even more,” Jake told them with a grin and his hands raised innocently. “Apparently,” Jake flicked his head back and scrunched his face up, “‘no idiot who can’t fly a broom is going to run off with his goddaughter’.”
“That’s not fair!” Quil grinned while everyone laughed at Jake and Harry swatted him in the back of the head. “You’re an idiot even without crashing a broom!”
“Harryyyy,” Jake tipped his head back and made puppy eyes at his girlfriend, “do you hear how they insult your one true love?”
If Jake thought Harry was going to jump to his defense, he’d been wrong. Harry smirked and patted Jake on the cheek like an old woman would their grandkid.
“I didn’t hear anyone insult Isabella and you know she’s my true love,” Harry teased Jake with just enough bite to her tone to make the guys exchange smirks and grins.
Seems like Jake’s little crush on Bella Swan was biting him in the ass now.
Jake rolled his eyes and grinned, apparently all of Jake’s jealousy went out the window when imprint kicked down his door.
“Harry’s starting school next week with the Cullen’s,” he said to everyone. “I tried to get her to come here but she’s besties with Bella now.”
It was a decent way to quickly change the conversation, Jared would give him that.
Everyone started in with groans and complains. Paul asked how Harry would stand the smell. Embry asked how she could stand their ‘creepy eyes’. Jared warned her about the mind reader.
Harry just laughed.
“I’ve met them all and they’re perfectly lovely,” she said firmly. “They told me that you lot are the stinky ones.” She raised a brow at the group of them, “Like wet dogs?”
“Wet dogs? We can!” Paul lunged and grabbed Jake’s ankles and began dragging him around the fire. Quil and Seth jumped up to help once it became clear what Paul’s plan was. “One wet dog, coming up!”
Kim glanced at Harry then at where her boyfriend was being drug to the ocean. “Are you going to help him?”
Harry gave her a puzzled look. “Why on earth would I do that?”
“Yeah, Kim,” Embry tossed a handful of sand at Kim playfully, “let’s let them drown Jake, then Harry’s free to elope with Bella.”
“Oh, Bella’s quite plain,” Harry said with a grin as Paul and Quil hauled Jake up by his legs and swung him until they released him in the water with a splash and an indignant howl. “Imagine pining after her only for your soulmate to be moi?”
Emily laughed louder than anyone, but Jared figured she was Harry’s newest top fan, besides Jake.
“How did he tell you about the imprint?” Emily asked. She gave Sam a fond smile, “Sam doesn’t tell me about the pack’s personal lives.”
“Only to save your innocent ears from their filthy thoughts,” Sam assured her.
Harry perked up and looked around the group slowly. “Imprint?”
Oh, fuck.
Everyone went dead silent and Jared desperately tried to remember if Jake’s thoughts ever revealed his imprint on Harry…
“You said you’re Jacob’s soulmate?” Sam said slowly, his eyes widening as he realized the same thing Jared did: Jake never told Harry.
“Isn’t that a thing people say in a relationship when they’re in love?” Harry asked. She didn’t look nearly as playful or fierce while she scanned all their nervous faces. “A saying?”
When nobody contradicted her, Harry jumped to her feet and put her hands on her hips.
“JACOB BLACK! GET YOUR ARSE OVER HERE!” she yelled at where Jake, Paul, Quil, and Seth were splashing each other in the water. “RIGHT NOW!”
Jake probably ran quicker than he ever had while Emily whispered an apology to Harry that went unheard. When Jake made back over by his girlfriend, he was soaking wet and solemn as he tried to figure out what was going on and nobody would look at him.
“What’s up?” Jake asked. He shook his head, sending water flying everywhere. “Everything okay?”
“Everything is not okay!” Harry said heatedly. “Did you imprint on me?!”
Jake’s eyes got wide and the narrow as he glared around the circle of his friends.
“Harry, let’s uh… let’s go talk somewhere private?” he suggested. Jake looked nervous, which was stupid really since he was obviously pretty in love with the girl. “Thanks guys,” he hissed over his shoulder when Harry strutted away toward his bike and he hastily followed her.
“Anytime!” Jared said with a wave. It wasn’t their fault, not really. Jake had plenty of time to have told her about the imprint. “Bye, Harry! Nice to meet you!”
Harry skid to a stop mid-way between the beach and the gravel lot. She spun around and gave them a quick salute.
“Lovely to meet you all, afraid I’ll have to kill your friend,” she said, not sounding nearly as peppy as she had been all night. “Perhaps we can still be friends afterward?”
“Of course,” Emily assured her with a smile. “Get my number from Jacob before you kill him and we can get lunch together soon.”
Harry nodded and then went to wait for Jake by his bike for what Jared imagined was going to be a shitty conversation.
“Well that was fun,” Jared said cheerfully an hour later when he was helping Quil, Embry, and Kim clean up. Everyone split pretty quick after Jake and Harry, so there wasn’t much to do. They just picked up the wrappers and extinguished the fire.
“Poor Harry, I hope she’s not too upset,” Kim worried.
“Are you kidding?” Embry laughed. “It’s Jake we should be worrying about. That girl was piiiiissed.”
“Wouldn’t you be upset to find out about an imprint at a party?” Jared asked him. He shook his head at his idiot best friend. “If she kicks Jake’s ass, he deserved it.”
“Agreed,” Kim said.
“You wanna bet that twenty in your pocket on her beating Jake’s ass?” Embry asked while they started walking Kim back home together.
Jared laughed and shook his head. “I’ll bet ten dollars that she did a whole lot of screaming.”
“Deal,” Embry said as they shook on it. “Jake has patrols tomorrow night, I guess we’ll find out then.”
“I guess we will.”
When Jake did finally phase to wolf for his night of patrols, Jared and Embry were already waiting for him.
“How’d it go with Harry?” Embry asked immediately while they fell in a smooth running formation.
Jake snarled, still pissy that they let the wolf out of the bag for him.
“About as terrible as it could,” he thought flatly. Jared stayed quiet as Embry’s question sparked the memory of their conversation to play in Jake’s mind.
Jared and Embry both winced at the wrong assumption Harry made from the imprint.
“Oh, shit,” Embry sighed mentally. “She thinks you only love her because magic is making you?”
Jake growled while he ran, more agitated than he’d been since before he met Harry.
“That’s tough,” Jared told Jake with as much empathy as he could muster. “She’ll like get over it though, right? I mean…” Jared tried to skim through Jake’s thoughts and bypass the part of the night where it seemed like Jake and Harry had some sort of weird mid-argument sex.
Jared knew that girl was batshit.
“You stayed the night, so how mad could she be?”
“She’s not mad, she’s hurt,” Jake stressed. “Her feelings are really hurt and now she’s worried about if I actually like her or not and it’s all your guys’ fault.”
“Woah, don’t blame us!” Embry howled. “Emily’s the one who brought up the imprint thing!”
“Oh!” Jared nearly laughed. “Dude! Send her to Emily!”
It was perfect. If anyone understood the fucked up feeling of being imprinted on, it was Sam’s fiancé.
Jake stalled, walking more than running, as he thought it over.
“You know what? That’s a great idea,” he finally said. He nipped playfully at Jared’s legs. “For a dumbass, you’re not always so stupid.”
“But you do owe me ten bucks!” Embry called cheerfully in their minds.
And as soon as Jake saw that they’d been placing bets on his love life, the chase was on.
Jared made his way to Sam’s a few mornings later for a pack meeting. Well, for food actually, but he figured he could pretend that he thought there was a meeting happening as an excuse to eat whatever Emily prepared for breakfast.
He let himself inside after he saw that Jake’s bike was in the driveway, great minds thinking alike and all that.
“Morning,” Jared said brightly. Emily was in the kitchen, whipping up a huge bowl of what smelled like omelette mix. Sam sat at the head of their wooden dining table, reading over the paper. He lowered it when Jared came in and gave him a friendly enough smile. Jake and Harry were there too, and since Harry was sitting in Jake’s lap, Jared figured she’d gotten over the whole imprint thing.
And beside Harry was a head of long red hair that Jared had never seen before. The red headed girl turned to look at Jared at his greeting and—
snip.
snip.
snip.
Everything in Jared’s life drifted away and centered itself around a pair of deep brown eyes on a freckled face.
“Oh bloody hell.” Harry smacked Jacob’s arm while his friend ogled Ginny like he’d never seen a female before. “Did your friend just imprint on Ginny?!”