Jacob

Ana devours the breakfast I make for her as if it's her last meal on earth. Maybe she's in a hurry to get to the beach. It actually seems more like she's starving after that fight. I'm still furious at Medeia, but Ana seems alright despite her injuries.

At the same time, I'm angry at myself for sending her to school alone. If she had someone with her, it was a lot less likely that she would have been attacked. On the other hand, Ana might have been angry if I did that, thinking that I didn't trust her to look after herself.

"Beach!" Ana shouts as she drops her fork on her plate for the last time. "Let's go!"

"Not dressed like that," I laugh, pointing out her torn clothes. "Go change, I'll wait for you."

I actually feel a bit nervous about the whole thing, and not for the reason that I thought I would. Memories of Gisele being with us on the beach do flit through my head. Still, the guilt that usually accompanies them is barely present.

I think that I'm actually excited about doing this with Ana, but I don't want to jump the gun. I'll give her a chance to be a real friend, even if part of me wants to tell her to go alone. Even if I still want to blame her for what happened to Gisele.

It's a strange feeling, but I try to embrace it. After everything that Ana's been going through, she could use a friend at her side. I might not be the best person for that, but I can give it a go.

"Ready, let's move!" Ana hops down the stairs as if she's not injured at all as she calls out to me.

Color has returned to her face, and her movements seem less sluggish. I wonder if she's feeling better after breaking her bond with Derek. It does seem like she is, and I can't help but feel relieved about that.

Ana rushes ahead of me in the hallway, and I realize that I've noticed the way her pale blue dress bounces across her thighs. I swallow the knot that forms in my throat and push the hormones to one side.

Her heat is calming down and I can't blame that for how I feel anymore. Even so, I deny that there are any emotions but pity and compassion towards her in my heart. I promised Gisele that I would love her until I die, and I plan on keeping that promise.

We walk out into the quiet street and Ana's mood has clearly lifted. The atmosphere echoes her relief. A tension that I hadn't completely realized was there dissipates in the breeze that surrounds us.

"I haven't been to the beach in forever," Ana mentions as I fall into step beside her. "To be honest, I haven't been many places at all."

There is something lingering right beneath her words that she's not telling me. I don't push it, though, I just want her to be happy for once.

"I don't get a lot of free time to do things, so I can get that," I reply with a shrug. I know that it's not nearly the same thing, but I want to find something that we can both relate to. Ana nods slowly, as if she's processing what I said.

"Must be a rough gig, being the big bad Alpha," she finally says, winking at me. "I mean, you always have to be around people, you have to be popular and great all the time. Geez, why haven't you abdicated your throne yet?"

I feel the laughter bubbling up from the pit of my stomach and freely release it. "I mean, it's nothing special. You just get to be the boss of everything."

Ana punches me playfully, but I manage to get a chuckle from her. It feels good to see that. I find myself wanting to make her laugh so loudly that the whole world can hear it.

She seems to be completely ignoring her injuries now. Perhaps they aren't as bad as I thought, or maybe she finally has her healing back. Some selfish part of me wishes I was there to see her reject Derek, just to see his face.

I shake my head at myself, reminding myself that an Alpha should be above that kind of selfishness.

"Maybe I could follow you on the job one day," Ana says as she starts swinging her arms at her side like an overexcited child. "See how you beat up all the bad guys."

"Ah, that's actually a seriously small part of it all," I shrug. "Most of the time I'm checking to see that everyone's doing their jobs, or filling in paperwork."

She sticks her tongue out at me, making me want to peer at her grumpily in return. "Sounds boring. I'd rather be out hunting all day."

"I do that sometimes," I point out insistently. "Not as much as I used to, I'll admit that."

"Do you remember hunting rabbits when we were kids?" Ana's eyes seem to dive right into the memory with her. "I think I caught the most every time."

That was true, but it was for a single reason. "You were much faster than we were."

"Mm, it made me happy that I could do something as an Omega that put me ahead of you," she admits. I've never really thought about that kind of thing, but it makes sense that she would.

I couldn't say that I have any idea what it's like to be an Omega wolf. I was raised to be an Alpha, which puts my childhood far to the side of what anyone else experiences.

Getting to run around with Gisele and Ana was the only glimpse that I ever really got of being average. Of not being constantly scrutinized by the whole pack to see if you'd screw it all up.

"There's the water!" Ana calls out, pointing over the last hill before the beach. "Ha! I saw it first."

"I didn't know we were playing," I answer as I watch her run across it towards the ocean.

She laughs as she glances back at me. "We always played that, Jacob, why wouldn't I do it now?"

That means that she's also going to race me to the water. I jump into action, sprinting over the sandy hill to catch up with her. It's as tough as it ever was to wrestle my way through the soft sinking mounds of earth, but I manage to draw level with Ana.

Even though Ana is injured, she keeps up with me despite the fact that I am actually trying to win. We make it to the top of the hill and tumble down, being careful not to fall over entirely.

Finally, we make it onto the soft, outstretched sands of the beach. We both fully sprint at the water, but I am the one who crashes through the shallow waves first. As hurt as she is, Ana is only split seconds behind me.

Both of us are out of breath, having given it our all. That used to be one of the rules of the game. If someone didn't do their absolute best and weren't sweaty and breathless by the time we hit the water, we'd start again.

"Fine, you win," Ana says, but a grin is spreading across her face. "I got pretty close though, and you've got an advantage."

"Yeah, yeah, excuses, excuses," I retort, walking deeper until I'm up to my knees in the water.

"It's true!" She bends down and actually splashes at me, covering me in water up to my waist.

"Seriously?" I swing around, pretending to be furious. "I can't believe you would have the audacity to do that to your own Alpha."

"Out here you're not the Alpha, remember?" Ana says as she crosses her arms over her chest. "You're just one of us."

I do remember. Gisele and Ana never treated me differently, despite who I was. Out on the beach, we made a pact that I wouldn't be the Alpha when we were in the water, or in the forest. I would just be Jacob, and that was that.

The memory tugs at me and I swallow. "Yeah, things are different now, though, aren't they?"

I don't have to mention why. Ana's eyes darken for a moment and she looks away from me. I feel like I have to lighten the tension again before the whole mood is spoiled.

To do so, I splash her back, using a bigger wave to get the biggest splash I can. I hear her gasp, and then she is chasing me.

"I can't believe you!" Ana yells behind me, but I am laughing, thinking this was hilarious.

Suddenly, she crashes into me when a wave destabilizes both of us, and we're rolling together in the shallow water.

Ana is on top of me, and something curls up in my stomach, fluttering nervously. We stare for a moment, but Ana quickly rolls off and away, dragging herself out of the water.