That was Natalia's first thought, that Jacob had lips so soft they felt like a plush pillow pressing against hers. Except, her plush pillow wasn't the definition of addictive. His lips were.

A small breath escaped her throat, one that he swallowed with his mouth as he tilted his head to the side to kiss her a little deeper, a little longer. Natalia all but fell apart in his grip, glad that he was the one holding her up, for she was certain her legs would've given out.

Heart galloping like a mad horse in her chest, her eyes fluttered shut on their own accord as she pursed her lips and kissed back ever so slightly.

That caused Jacob to growl, a slow rumble echoing through his chest as he pulled away long enough for his eyes to lock on hers. They were filled with longing, a soft tenderness that made Natalia's heart ache and caused desire to shoot through her tummy.

Their noses brushed together and he nuzzled her slightly before leaning back in and capturing her lips once more.

Her mouth parted to let out a gasp.

It was everything she'd ever dreamed of.

Natalia's body burst into flames. She could taste him, feel him under her and all around her, as their lips started a slow casual dance and his hands trickled at her waist, nudging the soft material of her t-shirt that had rode up in the process to give way to naked skin. She gasped into his mouth when his thumb brushed over her naked hip and he took this opportunity to catch her bottom lip, gently nibbling onto it and causing the girl to let out a sound between a mewl and a strained moan.

Another rumble echoed through the wolf's chest. His eyes snapped open, pulling back and breathing erratically like he'd just run a whole perimeter of La Push lands. Natalia's eyes slowly fluttered open and he swore he'd never seen anything so fragile and yet so desirably beautiful.

He always thought of Bella as a pretty girl, without a doubt. Her pale beauty was something to be reckoned with amidst the tanned skin surrounding their tribal lands, a strange and foreign sense of beautiful that had never been on Jacob's radar before. But looking at Natalia now made his heart flutter and kick into cartwheels like an excited child and he swore he could feel it pounding against his chest.

Natalia was beautiful, but not in the way Bella was. Bella stood out. Natalia was simple and had such dainty features that he feared to break her if he held her too tight; her limbs scrawny like a child's and elbows and knees ridged with scars. Her straight hair danced across her face as the wind picked up its pace and almost impulsively his hand went up to push it behind her ear, thumb lingering over her cheekbone as he took in her features; almond eyes and small lips and elfin face that resembled fairies of the woods.

Natalia was a simple girl and blended in. You really had to look in order to see the beauty. But once you did, you were stunned. That was what Jacob felt at this very moment, as if a truck had struck him straight in the chest and ploughed through, leaving nothing in its wake but Jacob's struggle to get a grip on reality.

Gently pressing his forehead against hers, Jacob allowed his breaths to calm down, controlled them so that his wolf wouldn't get antsy. He felt it now, the way his hands ached to hold her close and feel her body, feel her curves press against his own. He wanted to mark her, to litter her skin with his kisses so that everyone knew she was taken.

She was his.

He didn't realize he was growling again until the girl in his arms squirmed slightly, "Jake? Are you alright?"

Exhaling softly through his mouth and closing his eyes for a minute, Jacob pushed his wolf back down before gazing down at her.

"I'm fine," he murmured softly, nudging his nose into her jaw before pressing a kiss there, continuing a pathway of kisses down the column of her throat and relishing in the soft sighs that left her.

"Wha--What was that for?" Natalia managed to stutter out when he pulled back and he swore he'd never seen a sight so adorable; flushed cheeks and a dazed look on her face.

"What?" he couldn't help but grin, "the kiss?" and he pressed another short kiss onto her mouth without warning.

"I--Uhm--" her brain was going haywire. It was bad enough that every single crevice of her body was pressed against his and stopping her from any kind of rational decision. But to make matters worse, Jacob seemed all too at ease in making her insides turn into jelly with his teasing brushes along her hip and the molten lava burning in his eyes.

"You?" he prompted teasingly and leaned even closer, so close that the girl had to lean away, "you what?"

"I--nothing," she turned her head but Jacob took this as his chance to press his lips to her cheek, nuzzling the skin there and breathing in the scent of soft lilac and vanilla, probably from her shower gel that she used daily. Somehow, there was something that seemed so Natalia about it.

When Jacob spoke next, his voice had deepened into a soft murmur, "are you free tomorrow?"

She hesitated, "I think so."

"Can I..." he bit his lower lip, pulling back to lock eyes with hers and in them she spotted a slight nervousness. It made her stomach clench with delight, "Can I take you out tomorrow?"

Natalia nodded, teeth finding her lower lip to keep herself from grinning too hard. But Jacob didn't care, mouth pulling into a wide grin as his mouth pressed another kiss at her temple.

They walked back home with their hands linked together that evening and it was safe to say that something had shifted, like a baby bird fluttering its wings and about to take flight for the first time. Natalia's body was ignited with goosebumps every time she'd catch the wolf looking at her and yet, her senses were delighted at the attraction she found in his dark pupils.

She'd never felt this way before, not this much. It felt like she was flying, and Natalia didn't want to come down.

The next day found her fussing over an outfit. It was Saturday, which meant that she was off from school and had the whole day to figure out what to wear before her supposed date that evening. Which was why she found herself neck-deep in a pile of clothes without any viable answer, frustrated and tired and still clothing-less.

That was where her mother found her that afternoon, screeching to a halt at the image of her daughter sprawled out across the bed looking so forlorn one would think that she might cry.

"What's up with all this?" Mrs Ling motioned towards the disarray on her daughter's bed, "if I didn't know better I'd guess you're going on holiday."

Natalia peeked up through her curtain of hair, "I'm going on a date."

"What?" Mrs. ling's face broke into a smile so wide that it scared her, "with the Black's kid?"

"It's not the first one," the younger girl said, but the older lady squealed so loud before joining her into her mess and hugged her with barely restrained excitement, "this is incredible! I'm so happy for you!"

"Oh god—Ma— you're crushing me," Natalia spluttered as she pushed out of the latter's hold. Mrs. Ling leaned back and clapped her hands together, "so what are you wearing?"

"I don't know," Natalia moaned before flopping once more onto her bed, "what if he realizes that he doesn't like me after all?" She muttered mostly to herself, though it was loud enough for her mother to hear, "what if I'm not what he expected me to be?"

"Talia, don't be so hard on yourself. Jacob's been smitten with you ever since you moved in." Mrs. Ling brushed back her daughter's hair as she spoke, "so don't go concocting up weird scenarios in your head. That kid likes you a lot. Even I can see it."

She couldn't help but blush at her mother's statement. It felt nice to hear some form of encouragement when all she'd ever received in context of love was remarks about not being enough. It wasn't a lie that Jacob had been in love with Bella ever since she'd walked into Forks. That kind of doubt plagued her, kept niggling the back of her mind like a ghost that kept haunting her. And so maybe this was the first time she was allowing herself to believe that his feelings for her overrode any kind of past he'd held with the pale-skinned beauty.

There was a knock at the door at just shy past six and she managed not to stumble over her feet before prying the door open—

—except that popo was already there, glaring up at Jacob with what seemed to be a smoldering expression and one hand propped on her hip like she was demanding an explanation.

"Popo," Natalia grabbed onto the older woman's arm, tried pulling her away from the entrance, "he's just waiting for me—"

"Where are you taking her?" Her popo cut her off and asked without blinking an eye.

"I'm taking her to dinner at one of the local cafés in the area," Jacob motioned behind him as though that explained anything, "they sell noodles there, which I know Natalia's been missing ever since she moved."

"Noodles? You're bringing a girl out to eat noodles?"

Natalia wasn't sure whether her popo was being curious or just acting offended that Jacob would even dare try and smitten her with foods from her home country. So she quickly pulled popo aside, called for her mother who came running from the kitchen to usher her grandmother away, and turned to the boy at the door in hopes that her flush was not apparent.

"Don't mind her," she stumbled over her words, "she's just a bit suspicious is all, she's not saying it to be mean, trust me—"

"Talia," Jacob cut her off with a grin. He placed a gentle hand on her arm, "breathe. Relax. It's just me, okay? We've done this before."

She bit down onto her lower lip and nodded. Goddamnit, she was acting like a moron. Following him out and climbing into his car, Jacob pulled the vehicle into reverse, gently rolling out of the driveway into the street. All that while the girl tried her best to keep her gaze glued to the outside of her windowpane. She feared that looking too much at Jacob would make her lose all senses of reason and— for the life of her — she couldn't bear to get be embarrassed than she already was right at this moment.

"I heard these noodles were the best we had in the area," Jacob turned down the corner street so that he joined the main road, "people from outside Forks come all the way here."

"They're that good?" Natalia quirked a brow.

"Well that's what their website said," he grinned, "I guess we'll find out soon enough."

Truth to be told, the restaurant was more of a tiny snack with plastic red chairs and flimsy tables that shook every time Jacob bumped his knee into it. The owner was a small filipino lady who looked about as happy as a grumpy cat and took their orders without a mere smile. The two watched her storm away, noticing that despite her behaviour and the lack of decor, people were still chatting eagerly as they awaited their meals.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know it would be like this," Jacob said as soon as he had the chance, but Natalia quickly replied with, "no—I like it."

When he blinked at her in confusion, she went on to say, "it reminds me of home. Back in Vancouver, these were the kind of places I'd eat at. It's like we're in Asia and I—I love it."

Warmth glimmered in his eyes. He looked away, looking slightly embarrassed as he grabbed the back of his neck, "I'm glad you do." There was a smile on his face, a shy yet bashful one that made her heart squeeze tight.

Dinner went smoothly and the food, contrary to Jacob's apprehension, was delicious. The two spoke of their childhoods growing up, Jacob told her of all the stories involving him and his older sisters, and how he got really mad when Paul imprinted on one of them. To which Natalia laughed and told him that it wasn't like he could control it. She then confessed that whatever she'd told him as Red made her self-conscious because he literally knew everything that had been going through her mind, but Jacob quickly cut her off to say:

"I'll tell you something then, about me, to make it even," he took a breath, hesitating slightly as he looked at the girl from across the table, "when Bella first came, I—I was so in love with her that it hurt when she decided to date that leech." He couldn't help but spit out the word, "well, you knew that. Obviously. But when he went away and she came running to me... part of me loved the attention. I thought I finally had her you know, that she realized how much I loved her."

The bitterness in his tone caused Natalia to flinch. It wasn't a pretty sight to hear Jacob once again talk about Bella like she was some sort of deity. Then again, it would never get easier.

"Then she went and did it again. Chose him over me and I—" he shook his head, "I felt like dying."

She kept quiet. It was hard, horrifying to hear the pain laced in his tone. But she didn't say anything as he kept going.

"With that came the shift and suddenly everyone knew what I was thinking and feeling. It was horrible. The pack link is special, but it was a nightmare for me, in the beginning. Especially in the beginning. But it wasn't until I met you— actually, it was when I met you, that I started feeling like myself again."

"Now you're just saying that to be—" he cut her off before she could finish, "no," his gaze was hard on hers, "no. I'm not just saying that. I truly think it was because of you. Not because of the imprint. You. You made me feel like myself again, and I think all the boys saw that too."

She didn't know what to say. Suddenly, the room seemed a bit too small for the big gulps of air she was struggling to get to her lungs and with Jacob's eyes on hers it was almost overwhelming. Natalia drove her gaze down to her empty bowl, hands meeting to pick on her fingers as she let this information settle.

Jacob's confession was everything. It covered her with a warm afterglow and made her giddy, made her want to smile and jump and sprint out and scream it out loud to the world.

She opened her mouth to say thank you, but actually blurted out:

"Are you saying all this because of the imprint?"

Jacob blinked, "no. It's not the imprint. Everything I told you happened before the imprint." He shifted closer then, leaning in with a mischievous smile, "but if you want to talk about after the imprint happened, then—"

"No, shut up. Stop," now he was just making fun of her, probably relishing in the heat warming up her cheeks and painting her entire face red. It wasn't fair, nothing seemed to thwart him as much as it did her, "you're such a tease, Jacob."

"Just for you, baby."

Baby. The endearment made her flush to her toes. Jacob laughed, this deep-bellied laugh that made her insides squirm, "your face, Talia—"

"Nothing's wrong with my face," she snapped.

"Oh absolutely nothing," Jacob's grin was so wide it almost broke his face in two, "just— you know, the fact that you're blushing."

He didn't relent no matter how much scowling she'd send his way, but she had to admit that his happiness was contagious that even her own lips quirked up into a small smile whenever he'd laugh. He paid at the end of the dinner, pushing off all her attempts with an easy smile and one arm -- pathetic for Natalia -- before guiding her out of the restaurant before she could make a bigger fuss.

"You can buy me ice cream if you want," he told her when she kept on grumbling about the unfairness of it all. This was their fourth date and she had yet to pay for a meal.

The ice cream shop that overlooked the pier by the beach was still open, so each got a cone with two scoops -- two strawberries for Jacob and chocolate mint for Natalia -- that they ate as they sat on a ledge overlooking the dark horizon bathed in all black.

"Is yours good?" he asked out of the blue.

"Yeah," she threw him a look.

"Really? Can I taste it?" he leaned in to lick at her dessert, only for Natalia to whip it out of his hold with a scowl, "no way. You have yours--"

"Aw come on," Jacob whined as he tried to grab her said arm. She flailed, giggling as she batted him off her all while keeping her ice cream in check, "Jake, stop it! Keep your tongue to yourself--"

He grasped her chin, cut her in mid-sentence, to press his mouth to hers.

Natalia let out a soft sigh, whimpering ever so slightly when she felt the warmth of his tongue slide along the edge of her mouth.

"Hm," Jacob hummed against her lips, slowly pulling back and gazing at her through heavy-lidded eyes, "taste good."

"Asshole." She grinned.

It was both magical and serene to talk to Jacob without much of a care in the world. Everything was falling into place and reality was slowly taking over, leaving memories of their scarred past behind.

Natalia wished this could last forever, for she swore that she'd never been this happy in her whole life.

And she had Jacob, and the rest of the pack, to thank for that.