A/N: ARE WEEEEE READDDYYYY FOR THE FLUFFFFFFF????!!! Cause I know I am. This chapter had me giggling and kicking my feet coz these two are so adorable. Enjoy and thanks for reading!

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Everything hurt. It felt as though she'd gone through hell and back.

It was only when she managed to peel her eyelids open that she saw she wasn't in the humble abode of her home. As her eyes scanned over the white-washed walls and the IV drip to the left of her bed, it took her a few seconds to take note of the figure resting at her side.

She blinked as realization dawned. Jacob's face was turned hers, lips slightly open as his hand -- which had been entangled in hers -- now laid slightly open, barely holding on to her palm. The sight of him brought back the sudden memory of pain slashing through her skin.

"Has anyone ever told you that you smell amazing?" The vampire hissed as he took his sweey time carving out a piece of a flesh from her thigh, practically overjoyed at the sight of red blood dripping onto her skin, "I'm sure my brother has told you so before your mutt decided to kill him."

Natalia mustered up all the courage she had, held it with two hands, before she spat out, "You're disgusting,"

"And you, my dear, are going to pay for his sins," his hand swiped over her skin so fast that pain blossomed over her right thigh, a burning sensation that made her scream out as she thrashed against him.

Natalia shivered, closed her eyes to try and erase that particular memory. It was over. It was over and Jacob had been there--
Jacob.

The guilt came crashing through her like a tidal wave.

The last time they spoke, it had ended badly. And now, he was the one who had come to her, who'd heard her calls despite the fact that he'd been miles away.

And she had done nothing in return, to earn this. To earn everything that Jacob had given to her with an open heart. No, Natalia was selfish and didn't even think about the repercussions of her actions especially when there had been a War at stake.

The War. Had they been successful? Had they been able to defeat the newborns? Her panicked eyes fluttered across the room but nothing seemed familiar. She guessed that she was in hospital, considering that there was a constant monitor beeping in time with her heartbeats and a syringe stuck to her arm.

The door opened so suddenly that Natalia jumped, which caused Jacob to spring up as well, eyes wide as he blinked down before realization dawned.

"Talia," he breathed, moving closer to grasp her hand in his and oh-- he was warm. She felt a sizzle of his energy up her arm, causing it to explode into goosebumps as she bit down onto her lower lip.

"I--" the words stuck to her throat like sandpaper and before she could try and say anything else, the doctor interrupted, "hello Ms. Ling. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," she rasped out, feeling as though she'd been asleep for a decade, "how long was I out for?"

The doctor hummed, marking something down onto his clipboard as he did so, "hmm, just over three days. You had lost a lot of blood. If not for that young man, you could've suffered major consequences."

Natalia's eyes quickly swept over to her werewolf, who was still gazing down at her with an expression she couldn't quite place. It made her feel tingly inside, made her feel as though she was something more than just a girl with broken limbs, as though she was more than a friend.

She liked it.

"But to be on the safe side, we're going to keep you overnight just in case," the doctor continued, ignorant of the tide of feelings sweeping through Natalia's brain and lighting her skin on fire, "if nothing suspicious comes about tomorrow, we'll let you go."

"Thank you doctor," Jacob said as they nodded goodbye at him. He waited until the door slid closed, before turning back towards the said injured girl.

His mate. Yes, that sounded more like it.

"I'm sorry," was the first thing that she blurted out, making him blink in surprise.

"Sorry?" he echoed, eyebrows falling into a frown, "sorry for what?"

She motioned towards herself as her eyes slid away onto the bedsheets, "everything, I suppose," she muttered, "I'm sorry for not taking care of myself, I'm sorry about the vampire, and the war--"

"We won the war," he interrupted her, a small smile gracing his face at the memory of finishing off the newborns. After Natalia had been brought to hospital, Jacob had decided to join in instead of going back to Bella's side because god knew he'd needed to vent off his anger somewhere, somehow.

"That's--that's good to hear," she replied in a small voice, "and everyone?"

"Everyone's safe."

"Paul?"

"He's fine, though probably not my biggest fan at the moment," Jacob's lips curled up at the side and Natalia thought she might have a heart attack. Gosh, he was attractive, "something about me being a dick to you and how I shouldn't even have you as my mate if it were his choice."

"Wise words Paul," she chuckled then winced when she felt the bruise at her lip sting, "ow, what the--" that was when she realized that her bruised lip was far from her worries. Apparently, her entire was covered in bruises, scabs, cuts, and all sorts of injuries that Jacob didn't want to go into.

He warned her that her body had been in pretty bad shape when he found her and was about to apologize once again until the said girl held up a hand, "it's not your fault," she murmured, taking a breathe before letting it go slowly, "if anything, it's mine--"

"--It's not your fault either," Jacob quickly intercepted, with eyes burning hotter than the sun, with a conviction that made her swallow hard. His fingers drifted down towards her arm before encircling her wrist, thumb going to make slow circles across her skin and causing Natalia's brain to freeze, "it's our pack's job to make sure that all mates are safe. And we--we failed at that. So Sam wants to apologize to you."

"What a load of bullcrap," she scoffed, "that's the stupidest thing I've heard coming out of his mouth. And that says a lot."

"Talia, it was-- it is my job. You're supposed to be safe with me," Jacob was breathing hard now, as if the thought of her injured was almost unbearable to him, pain flashing through his eyes as the memory resurfaced. He took a deep, shaky breath, "that's the one guarantee you should have, being mated with me and I--I'm really sorry," his voice broke then, filled with emotion and something in Natalia's heart broke in the process. She could only stare at him, eyes finding the tears welling at the corner of his eyes, "I don't know what I would've done if something had happened to you, I--"

"Hey hey," she shushed him before it got any further, a finger to his lips as his gaze fluttered up to hers, "it's over. And I'm alright, and--"

"They could've killed you Talia," pain. The raw kind, resonated through Jacob's voice at his mumble against her index. She pulled away gently, but he grabbed onto her hand before bringing it up once more to his mouth, "or worse, they could've turned you."

"But they didn't. And I'm fine now."

The wolf only let out another ragged sigh before he pressed his lips against the back of her knuckles. That was enough for Natalia to go bright red. She cleared her throat awkwardly, averting her eyes to look at everything, anything -- except Jacob's face.

Right. The entire War ordeal and concern for injuries had made her forget the reason as to why Jacob was here in the first place. She was his mate, and being his mate meant being close friends, or even closer than friends, or--

Or more. Is that what you want Talia?

Nonsense! She squeezed her eyes shut. She'd just gotten out of a literal coma! How could she be thinking about such things when she needed to focus on getting better?!

But Jacob seemed to have other plans, for his kiss didn't stop there. Instead, he kept on pressing his mouth against her skin, turning her hand over in his hold as his eyes -- those beautiful pools of mahogany -- held hers, simmering with warmth and something that seemed to be....affection. Tenderness. Care.

Love?

"S--Stop that," Natalia mumbled, though made no move to remove her limb from his embrace.

The said man couldn't resist the grin breaking across his face at the sense of her increasing heartbeat, continuing his onslaught of kisses along the curve of her wrist.

"Why?" he breathed with a soft chuckle, making her stomach curl with desire and her body to shake with restrained emotion, "that too much for you to take?"

"What are you even doing," she mumbled, though if not for his amplified hearing, he wouldn't have heard a thing. She tried tugging her hand away, "stop it, Jacob."

"Don't wanna," his words were muffled against her skin, pressing butterfly kisses along her forearm, up the inside of her wrist, before he went back to her knuckles, looking all too satisfied that Natalia seemed completely wrapped around his little finger.

She shoved him away forcefully, enough that he let go before she crushed her hand to her chest. Heat travelled all the way up the back of her neck and she felt like her entire body was on fire, and despite her earlier actions, she was pretty certain that her face said it all; she didn't want him touching her for fear that she'd give in too easily. And Natalia loathed that idea.

She wasn't weak. She was far from an easy target, and she'd make him feel that.

But fate, as it turned out, wasn't on her side.

It seemed that her accident had really rattled up Jacob's sense of duty, for after her dismissal from the hospital, Natalia barely spent any time in her own company. If he was taken up by patrols, she was either being watched over by her local babysitters, Paul and Embry. Needless to say that this sort of surveillance made her want to scream and run away more than ever, though she doubted she could, considering their supernatural hearing abilities.

The entire pack welcomed her back with open arms, and her mother even baked her a cake the day she moved back home, hugging her to her soft, tired body and letting her know how sorry she was that she wasn't home at that particular instant.

"I'm so sorry Natalia, I deserve the worst mom award," her mom held her close, wouldn't let her go even when Natalia started pulling away, "I'm--I don't even know what to say, I'm really sorry."

"Ma don't worry, I'm okay now right?" the younger woman rubbed comforting circles against her mother's back in what she hoped was a soothing manner, "everything's fine now. Yeah?"

Christmas was just around the corner and the town of Forks was surprisingly in a mood for celebration. So it was no surprise that Natalia spent her days at Emily's house baking cookies and watching re-runs of famous tv series while overlooking the boys' patrols. It had become somewhat of a routine for the pair and Natalia found she enjoyed the older girl's company. Emily was wise and composed, everything that Natalia was not, and it was nice to be taken care of for a change.

It was during Christmas Eve that things flipped.

Emily was throwing a party for the occasion and had mentioned them to come early in order to help with the preparations. Natalia, enjoying the act of cooking and finding it to be therapeutic ever since she was being watched 24/7, decided to join in to help grill the steaks and sausages in front of the open fire. That, of course, meant that Jacob was present to supervise because, according to him, she couldn't go one minute "without trouble".

Quite a statement. Really. For someone who gave the word "trouble" a whole new definition.

"Are you going to keep staring at me or are you going to help?" Natalia finally asked when the heat of his gaze was becoming a little much, even with that cold winter air spilling across Forks.

Her wolf just grinned, a smile that almost made her tilt sideways with want, before standing up from the back porch where he'd been observing her for the past hour struggling to light the fire. He closed the gap between them in two short strides, his shoulder coming to a rest at her back as he peered down at her handiwork.

"Not bad," he hummed as the scent of meat filled the air, "almost smells as good as when I make it—"

He yelped in mid-sentence when Natalia elbowed him to the ribs, "shut up," she scowled, "you can't even cook to save your life."

"Says who?"

"Says me."

"Well Ms Ling," hands grasped her hips and Natalia gasped before he was swiveling her around in his hold, dark eyes glittering playfully as his grin widened. He was so close she could smell him and needless to say it made her head buzz, "that's where you're wrong. I can make a damn good Butter Chicken."

"Butter Chicken?" She spluttered, still woozy from the warmth of his chest to hers. Lord, could his hands be any bigger? They practically wrapped around her entire waist. She felt herself flush deep red, "that's—that's very specific."

"Uhuh," Jacob leaned in. Natalia leaned only— she couldn't. He was holding her in place she was a mere puppet. It was hot, and he probably knew it, "you're always welcome at my place."

"Well you've never--uhm--invited me over."

His grip tightened, "maybe I should." he hummed.

"Jake?"

Natalia's head whipped towards the familiar voice. Reality dawned.

She tried shoving Jacob away, only for him to pull her even closer so that she was flush against him, so much so she could feel the heat permeating his skin to hers as he looked up at the intruder.

"Bella," Jacob's chest rumbled with a silent glower and Natalia distracted herself with taking out the sausages before putting a new batch, gaze downcast as she tried to make herself as invisible as possible. Bella didn't like her, that much she knew, and there was no way in hell she wanted to be here during that conversation.

"Who invited you?" Jacob asked.

Bella threw a thumb over her shoulder, "Emily...Emily did," she mumbled.

"You're not welcome here."

The coldness in Jacob's tone was so harsh that Natalia couldn't help but glance up at the russet wolf, noticing the strain in his eyes, the way his jaw flexed as he regarded Bella with a look that spoke volumes about what had happened these past few days.

Bella turned to the asian woman instead. Her skin seemed even paler than usual, her eyes hollow and ringed with blue aprons, "glad to see you're doing better, Natalia."

"Thanks Bella." Natalia then turned to her wolf and nudged him softly. She whispered, "you should talk to her."

"There's nothing to talk about--"

She shut him up with a mere look that said: c'mon, you can do better than that.

Jacob let out a soft sigh before he shook his head. Despite it all, he was grinning, white teeth flashing against russet skin, "you can't make that turn into a habit."

"Make what turn into a habit?" she asked as he gently walked past her in the direction of the pale-skinned woman.

Jacob threw her a glance over his shoulder, "that face of yours; fucking adorable."

And then he was gone with Bella in tow, leaving Natalia alone, wide-eyed, and still pondering over his words.

Had he just called her cute?

Wait, no. Fucking adorable?

The smell of burnt meat brought back her attention, "Oh shit! The sausages!"

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It was surprisingly easy for Natalia to ignore Bella's existence throughout the whole dinner, considering that just a few days before she'd been heartbroken over the idea of her and Jacob being in close proximity. But Paul and Embry helped with that, teasing her mercilessly and not letting her out of their sight even for one second. Paul made sure to pile up her plate high with all sorts of protein -- he claimed that her stay at the hospital had rendered her the size of a stick -- and Embry was glued to her side and attending to all her needs.

"I can get my own cup--"

"Nonsense," Embry shushed her, motioning for Paul to fill her glass with some wine, "you're our special guest of honor today, so there's no excuse for us to not treat you like so."

"You know, it's weirder for you to be nice so can you just drop it?" she rolled her eyes despite the smile itching at the corners of her lips.

Paul grunted beside her, "stop complaining," he dumped sliced up sausages and a de-boned piece of chicken onto her plate, "and eat."

"So bossy," she mumbled, shoving pieces of chicken into her mouth. It did taste good, thanks to Emily's marinade.

It was a weird concept to be sitting at a table full of werewolves, with only one outsider and that not being her. Natalia's eyes couldn't help but sweep over to the other end of the table where Jacob and Bella sat, hurt gnawing at her insides every time she looked their way. She knew she was being unfair, but did Jacob really have to sit next to her? Didn't he have his mate to look after?

And why was she even here?

Leah, probably noticing her scowl, kicked her under the table. Natalia blinked, eyes focusing on the female wolf across the table who had on a satisfied smile and looked pretty proud of herself.

"What?"

"Stop looking at him like a lovesick pup," she whispered, jerking her jaw in his direction, "do something about it."

Paul, noticing the subdued conversation amidst the roaring and cheerful banter, glanced between the two girls. His shoulders hunched over as he peeked at Natalia and tried to read her face.

Finally, he said, "Leah's right, you know."

"Wha--I didn't ask for your contribution Lahote."

"I'm giving it to you for free," his mouth twitched playfully, "and stop worrying so much. I can smell it off you from here. Y'know he loves you right?"

Love? The word itself caused a rush of adrenaline through her veins and Natalia almost choked on her sausage, quickly gulping it down with a few sips of water. Her eyes narrowed at Paul's over the rim, hating that he sounded right and she wanted -- she needed-- him to be right.

"Stop talking so loud," was her mumbled response, "and no, mates aren't just all about--well--love."

"You'd be surprised how many are," Leah said, bitterness laced in her tone, the kind that Natalia didn't miss. Of course, it hurt even more for her to see the love of her life being the happiest man on earth because of her cousin, of all people.

It wasn't until the pack decided to move outside for a small bonfire that Jacob found Natalia's frame pressed against the side of the porch, hands wrapped around her torso and winter jacket drowning her entire frame. She looked cute, like a kid decked in too-big clothes, and he swore he could hear her teeth chattering from a mile away.

"Hey," he nudged her from behind, causing a surprised gasp to fall from her lips.

Natalia looked up, blinking at him with those wide doe eyes that caused his heart to lurch and skip beats like he'd just ran a marathon. No, a triathlon. Jesus. The things that she could do to his heart.

"Hey," she breathed, just the sound of her voice causing his wolf to perk its ears. It was definitely happy to be noticed, "done talking?"

He shoved his hands into his pockets to stop himself from grabbing and pulling her to him because god, he wanted to, "yeah. She