Sydney Learinn opened the hood of her '66 Ford Mustang Convertible that she had bought from the local junk yard and was fixing up. She grabbed a wrench and started taking out the rusted and broken parts, taking note of what she would need to buy and what she could fix herself.
"Hey, Sydney!" Rachel Black Learinn called out to her daughter from the porch of their house.
"Coming, Mom!" she replied.
"Dinner is ready!"
Sydney dropped the wrench into her toolbox and slammed the lid shut. "Okay," she said, exited the garage, and walked into the house.
"How's the car coming, kiddo?" Paul asked as he washed his hands in the kitchen.
"It'll be done soon, Dad," Sydney responded, grinning.
"Finally. You spend all of your time with that old thing," Savannah commented.
"At least I don't spend all of my time in the mirror," Sydney snapped.
"Dad!" Savannah whined.
"I'm not getting involved," he said, his hands in the air.
"Talking about how Sydney doesn't have a life again?" Stephanie asked, entering the kitchen.
"Hey, hey, everyone, sit down and eat," Rachel commanded, ending all arguments.
"Did you see Sam today when you visiting Emily today?" Paul asked Rachel.
"No, he was out on patrol, but I did see Nate, he's just phased," Rachel replied.
"Congrats to him!" Paul exclaimed.
"Oh God, I hope I never have to phase," Stephanie groaned.
Savannah raised her hand. "I second that."
"Why?" Sydney wondered. "It would be so cool to be a wolf."
"I can't believe we're related to her," Savannah whispered to Stephanie.
"Girls," Paul warned.
"It's fine, Dad, I take solace in the fact that I'm not just beauty, but brain and brawn as well, unlike those two."
"No man is going to want to date brain and brawn, and as for beauty, we all know that Savannah and I have all the beauty in the family," Stephanie sneered.
"Stephanie."
Sydney stormed out of the house before Paul could grab her arm and her body ripped into a thousand pieces and reformed into the shape of a auburn colored wolf. She curled her toes into the snow and grinned, the anger at her sisters dissipating.
'Sydney?' Sam Uley's voice sounded in her head.
'Uncle Sam? Did I just-'
'Hold on, we're coming.'
'We're?'
'Syd baby, you're okay, you just phased,' Paul said as he arrived next to her.
'I realize that, Daddy, I just need to know how to turn back.'
'Calm yourself down and imagine yourself as a human again, Syd. Your body will take over from there.'
Two more wolves skidded into view, one black and one charcoal grey.
'Okay, Daddy. Uncle Sam? Nate?'
'Yeah, Syddy, it's us.' Sam replied.
'I'm phasing back, don't look, I won't have clothes on,' Sydney demanded.
'Your mom put clothes on the porch for you, baby,' Paul informed her.
'Thanks. Don't look now!' Sydney ordered the wolves. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and thought human thoughts. Soon she found her tanned body and long black hair back to normal and rushed to the porch to put on her clothes.
Suddenly, behind her, Sydney heard Paul the wolf attack Nate the wolf. She turned around to see Nate pinned by the neck underneath her father. Sam the wolf barked an order and the two separated and phased back. Sydney averted her eyes, she didn't need to see her father or her uncle naked.
"If I catch you looking at my daughter one more time," Paul growled just loud enough for Nate to hear. "I won't hesitate to snap your neck."
"You can turn around now, Syd," Sam said.
"That was so cool! The adrenaline rush was unbelievable, but the same time I felt peaceful, at home, you know!" Sydney exclaimed, practically jumping up around.
"Slow down there, kiddo, you still need some training," Paul chuckled.
"I know, Dad! I'm just so excited!" Sydney grinned and spun around, her eyes landing on Nate Uley, and came to a halt. Her breath caught in her throat and she felt her world shift.
"Daddy," she said, her voice wavering. "I think I just imprinted."
"You can't have imprinted on me, I imprinted on you first!" Nate argued.
"It doesn't matter who imprinted on who, I didn't want to be imprinted on or imprint on anyone. I was going to be the boy free one, Daddy, remember? I'm the one who doesn't have my head in the clouds! I'm the good daughter," Sydney ranted.
"Syddy," Sam started.
Sydney was almost in tears now, "Imprinting is not rational; I'm the completely rational girl, how does this even make sense?"
"Can we go for a walk, Sydney?" Nate asked. "I want to talk with you."
"No!" she shouted. "I need to work on my car. I need to be by myself. I need to think. Alone."
And with that, she stormed off, leaving her heartbroken imprint, her uncle, and her father staring after her.
Sydney slammed open the hood of her car and glared at the engine. "Nate Uley. Why would fate put us together? That's not even logical, it's not even a version of opposites attract or some other random fantasy normal girls cook up in their heads. We were never friends, but we never hated each other, we were just there at all the wolf pack bonfires and barbecues, hiding behind our fathers, not knowing each other, not wanting to know each other."
"Sydney?" Rachel called into the garage. "Are you here?"
"I don't really want to talk right now, Mom," she replied.
"That's good because I wanted to do the talking anyway," Rachel replied, smiling.
"If you must."
Rachel calmly began her story. "When your father imprinted on me, I was not happy. I didn't like him at all. He was hot-tempered, arrogant, and a ladies man. When he suddenly became devoted to me, I was suspicious. I thought it was a joke. I had no prior knowledge to the reality of the legends, my father hadn't needed to ever phase, so we still thought they were just stories. One night, your father took me to one of the bonfires that the pack holds often and told me that they were true and that I had to believe that he was being sincere and that I had to go out with him now. He even tried to kiss me. To say the least, I was pissed. I didn't want fate dictating my future, let alone Paul Learinn, the tribe hot-head and the most irrational human–or not so human–being."
"How did you fall in love with him?" Sydney asked.
"I was highly attracted to him. He was like sex on a stick for me. Still is," Rachel explained.
Sydney covered her ears. "Ew! Mom! Did not need to hear that!"
Rachel laughed. "Well how do you think you and your sisters came along?"
"They were adopted and the stork brought me," Sydney responded.
"Anyway, I was attracted to him and so the next time he came around my house, I yelled at him and told him how this relationship was going to work if he ever wanted a chance. He immediately agreed and he's been a puppy ever since. Being in an imprinted relationship is one of the most rewarding and fantastic experiences life has to offer. Sure, there is still hard work involved, just like any relationship, but in the end, everything your father did to make me angry, it's all meaningless. At the end of the day, you're with the love of your life, your soul mate, and it's extremely fulfilling to say the least."
Both mother and daughter were silent for a while.
"Well, that's all I have to say," Rachel said abruptly. "I'll leave you to think."
"Thanks, Mom."
"Oh and Nate is hanging around the house like a lost dog, do you want me to send him out?" Rachel asked.
"Not yet, I have to get my thoughts in order before I talk to him."
"I'll send him home then."
"Thanks, Mom."
"Anytime, baby."