Imprinted (Progress) by Sara Imes (great books for teens TXT) 📕

softly. When Jake touched her, she didn’t feel the electrical tingles when Seth touched her. Seth. Hayden instantly remembered the taste of lips. They tasted like strawberries, Hayden thought. Hayden felt her lips tug up into a smile. “What’s with that smile? I haven’t seen you smile like that since we dated”, Jake said. Hayden looked up to the familiar handsome face she grew up with. Hayden’s eyes roamed over his face. Jake still had the same green gold eyes. Same ebony skin. Same angular cheekbones. Same sharp, pointed nose. The same scar across his left cheek. Same shaggy blond hair that stopped at the nape of his neck. And same tattoos and muscular build. The same Jake that she fell in love with. The same Jake that she had her first kiss with. The same Jake she had her everything with. Her best friend. The one person Hayden trusted. But, do I actually still love him?, Hayden thought. Well, this is the perfect time to find out. Hayden pulled Jake closer until her body was pressed up against his. Instead of warm skin brushing against her"as, she felt cold smooth skin. Hayden suddenly wished she was holding Seth. Feeling the warmth radiating from his skin. Hayden cursed herself mentally and pushed Seth in the back of her mind. She smiled up at Jake. “Kiss me”, Hayden said seductively, making her voice deeper. Jake smiled, knowing all too well what the voice was implying. Jake placed one hand on the back of Hayden’s neck and the other on her waist. He slowly pressed his lips on Hayden’s. Hayden kissed back slowly, waiting for the tiny explosions to come like they used to do. Jake pressed Hayden closer to him, opening her mouth more with his. His hand running through her hair. Hayden kissed Jake back with the same intensity but with numb lips.

 

Chapter Twenty Two

 Nothing. She felt nothing. She kissed Jake to see if she would feel the same thing she felt with Seth. Tiny explosions, her heart quickening in her chest, a rushing heat surging through her body. She didn’t feel any of those things with Jake. She only felt his lips on hers numbly. She was now in her room, laying on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Moonlight was pooling in from her open window. Hayden could hear the sounds of the night. The owls hooting, the leaves swishing in the cool night air. Hayden desperately wanted to jump out of her bed and jump out of the window, running and jumping off of trees, feeling her fair fly behind due to the night air. But Hayden had this strange feeling that she was being searched for. Her thoughts suddenly went back to Seth. How his lips felt against hers, making her have a sudden burst of energy. How his warm skin warmed her’s. Hayden felt her heart squeeze and her stomach flutter. Hayden smiled. What is this feeling?, Hayden thought. She never felt this way with Jake. A voice in the back of Hayden’s head spoke. That’s because you and Jake only dated for a month. And the only thing you guys did was a kiss, nothing special, the voice said. The voice was right, even though Hayden didn’t know exactly where the voice came from. Hayden and Jake had only been dating for a month. And the more Hayden thought about it, it wasn’t even a month. And, technically, they weren't a couple. They never held hands, went to the movies or go on dates. The only thing they did was train and have quick make-out sessions in between training. Nothing serious. Yeah, she had liked Jake. But that was only a silly girl crush, Hayden told herself. Every girl has one. But what Hayden felt for Seth, that was totally different. Both times she kissed, well almost kissed Seth, she felt her body shiver. Her stomach flutter and her head start to swim with the smell of Seth. Things she definitely didn’t feel with Jake whenever she kissed him. I guess I was forcing my feelings with Jake, Hayden thought. But, Hayden thought with a sickening realization, does that mean I love Seth?

Chapter Twenty Three

 

Seth and Dylan’s fur was still drenched with rain, even though the rain stopped to a halt a while ago. Seth growled. They’d been searching for Hayden for horus, following the trail of her scent. But that trail was quickly becoming harder to trace due to the rain. The cool air whipped through Dylan’s and Seth’s fur wildly. The moon was out, full and bright. Seth thought back to the pack, wondering if they were outside in their wolf forms, howling up at the moon cheerfully. Do you still have her scent?, Dylan asked mentally, slicing through Seth’s thoughts. Seth lifted up his nose to the air, sniffing, searching for a smell that marked a girl named Hayden. At first, Seth only got the scent of tree bark and dirt. Then it hit him. Hard. The scent of Hayden. Soap, watermelon, shampoo, and tears. The scent of Hayden’s tears made Seth’s stomach churn painfully. Seth let out a howl into the night, now even more deteremined to find his mate. Seth made his legs move him faster. Trees were whipping by Seth as he told his legs to move him faster and faster. The sweet smell of Hayden was getting closer now. Seth could tell. He could feel it. Seth felt Dylan run up beside him. Seth looked over to see Dylan, his dark brown fur whipping back in the wind. The bright moonlight making his fur look glossy. His once emerald eyes now a dark red, alive with adrenaline. Hey Dylan. Dylan looked over to Seth. His red eyes gleaming slightly in the moonlight. Yeah?. Seth moved closer to Dylan, nudging him softly with his shoulder. Let’s race, Seth thought to Dylan challengingly. Dylan smirked, or did his best too, and nodded. Your on. Seth and Dylan both stopped, their hearts pounding rapidly in their chest. Who ever finds Hayden first, wins. On three. One.. Two. Three!. Seth and Dylan both launched off, throwing up clouds of dirt behind them. Seth made his legs push him faster, feeling them burn pleasantly with adrenaline. Dylan and Seth were once neck and neck, but now Dylan was currently a few inches behind Seth. However, Dylan was rapidly spreading up, almost back to neck and neck with Seth. Oh no you don’t!. Seth thought of Hayden. Of kissing her again, holding her against him. That gave Seth the motivation to move faster. The scent of Hayden was getting stronger now, filling the air around Seth. Seth pushed himself even faster. Then he stopped abruptly in front of a two-story cabin much like the one the pack stayed in. Seth sniffed the air again and looked at one of the windows. There. Seth had found her. Hayden. My mate. Seth changed out if his wolf form, and turned to find Dylan behind him, out of his wolf form as well. Dylan met Seth’s eyes and nodded. Seth nodded back and walked up to the door. Seth didn’t even hesitate when he raised his hand and knocked on the door loudly.

Chapter Twenty Four

 

Jake was woken up to the sound of knocking on the front door. Jake was currently on the couch. He fell asleep there, waiting for Hayden’s heartbeat to slow down, letting him know that she fell asleep. But he had dozed off. Now he was fully awake. Tugging on blue jeans and a black t-shirt, he trudged over to the door. Rubbing his eyes, he looked at the clock hanging on the wall. It read 3 A.M. Jake was muttering who it could be this late in the night when he opened the door wide to see two naked guys at his door. Instantly Jake knew they were werewolves. He could smell it on them. But what were they doing here? Where they angry Mayland pack members?, Jake thought. Then, one of them spoke. It was the one to Jake’s right. He had tan colored skin and blackish-brown eyes. “Where looking for Hayden”, he said calmly as if he wasn’t naked or in the presence of a vampire. “She’s currently not here”, Jake was about to say but was cut off Hayden’s voice. “Jake, who's at the door this late? I couldn’t sleep and I heard voices”. Hayden came down the stairs, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She was wearing a black tight tank top with the words ‘Of Mice & Men’ written across it in bold white letters and red short pajama bottoms. Once Hayden stopped rubbing her eyes and looked at the people at the door, she audibly sucked in a breath. “Seth?”, Hayden said sharply.

 

After twenty minutes of fighting with Jake to let the naked werewolves in and Hayden averting her eyes as Jake gave Dylan and Seth some of his clothes that were lying on the floor, uncleaned. Seth was given a blue shirt and light brown cargo pants. And Dylan was given a light gray t-shirt and black skinny jeans. Before Seth put on the shirt, he sniffed it and shuddered. He held it up toward Jake and said, “Can you please wash this?”. Jake only gave him a dirty glare and turned back to Hayden, who was sitting on the granite long countertop that separated the kitchen from the living room. After Seth and Dylan were fully clothed, they sat on the couch. Dylan managing not to touch an unknown glob of something green. This place is a mess, Dylan thought..If T.J were here, he would go absolutely into cleanup mode. Seth smirked. Yeah, this place does need a