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Imprint

Leah's POV

I was going to run away. Far away, into Canada somewhere, and never come back. I was going to run, like Jacob had so many times before. Only there would be nothing to bring me back. I couldn't take it anymore. If I had to listen to one more disgusting, half man-half wolf thought!

It wasn't that I didn't like the pack. I did. Of course, I did. Seth especially. I mean, being a werewolf was not something I had asked for and my privacy – may it rest in peace – was often dearly missed. But Seth was my brother. Flesh and blood…and fur. Before there was a pack, there was us. With the exception of the times he insisted upon thinking of his vampire friends, Seth's thoughts were the easiest to share. Or at least…they had been. Before last week.

*~*

Seth and I had been running, just the two of us. We called it our "fun run" because besides giving us an opportunity to enjoy our inhuman speed, there was no real point to it. We were the only ones of our entire pack that had yet to imprint. Quil and Jacob still phased often, despite the objects of their affection. Quil needed to stay young until Claire caught up. And Jake…well…Jake just liked being a wolf. Also, Renesmee, despite getting older by the minute, wasn't quite ready to bag the big game in town on her own. But Jake always reeked of my least favorite species and Quil was always in a hurry to get back to his precious Claire. So even though not all of our brothers had decided to phase as little as possible and grow old with the loves of their lives, Seth and I usually found ourselves phasing alone.

We had just about come full circle when Seth remembered he'd forgotten to pick up his sheet music from the Cullens' house. Edward was giving him piano lessons. He tried to practice as much as possible at home before going for his next lesson. He and Renesmee were supposed to be learning together, and it was too embarrassing for him, and much too entertaining for Jacob, when Nessie had mastered a song that he was still stumbling over after a week. Edward tried to explain her extra capacity for learning and retaining, thanks to his half of her DNA, but Seth wouldn't hear any of it. And so we headed toward the house. We couldn't have been more than a mile from the property when we heard voices.

"Jasper, are you sure this is a good idea?"

That's Bella. Seth's voice was a mixture of excitement and curiosity. He started to slow to listen in on the conversation. Reluctantly, I slowed my pace.

"I'm fine," someone grumbled, who I assumed was Jasper.

"You don't look fine."

Who's that?

Alice. Seth seemed annoyed at having to answer my question, even mentally. He was busy listening. I, on the other hand, was bored.

"Am I going to – " Jasper began.

"No," Alice interjected, "but I don't want you to suffer."

Suffer? There were few things I knew of that could cause a vampire's suffering. My favorite involved being ripped limb from limb and set on fire, but that didn't seem to be the issue in this conversation. There was only one other thing I could think of at the moment. Does she mean thirsty? Is he thirsty?

Sounds like it. But he shouldn't be letting himself get that thirsty. That he's suffering…

Not just him. None of them should.

Leah...

Alright, alright. Sorry. Why him, though? What makes him different?

He isn't as good at keeping control. I don't get why he wouldn't hunt…

Should we go over there? I tried to hide the excitement in my tone, but as usual in this state I could hide nothing. I felt Seth's irritation as if it were my own. Just in case, I tried to assure him.

Just in case, what?

He snaps. I didn't bother trying to filter my response. Seth was annoyed, as always, with my distrust of his friends. Nevertheless, he started toward them with me, proving that on some level he knew I was right. He kept his thoughts to himself as we ran, though I could feel his disapproval. We slowed our run to a stop as we came upon the three of them.

"Really, Jasper," Bella started. "You don't have to prove anything to us."

Alice and Bella were standing on either side of Jasper. Bella's arms were crossed and she was shaking her head at him, a look I'd seen her give Jake when he was being ridiculous. Alice had a hand on Jasper's tense shoulder. And Jasper looked worse than I'd ever seen him before. His eyes were jet black, the circles under them were so dark he might've been recovering from two black eyes, and worst of all he looked so pained and miserable that I almost felt sorry for him.

Almost.

"You look like hell," Seth said aloud for me. By the time I looked over at him, he was already zipping up the cut off shorts he kept tied to his ankle. I must have missed him phasing back while I was taking in the scene. I could have phased too. It wouldn't have been the first time the Cullens had seen me naked, but I preferred to stay on all fours. That way I didn't have to find a way to greet people – if you could call them people – who I'd rather not speak to. Instead, I sat back on my haunches and shot a warning glance at Jasper, who met my stare with black eyes.

"He won't listen to us. Seth? Maybe you can convince him it's stupid not to hunt?"

"He hasn't eaten in a week," Alice added, but her tone was more concerned than annoyed.

What happened next confused me. I knew that Seth was genuinely worried about Jasper. That's why he had come over here with me, incase his help was needed - actually, our motives for coming over were quite similar, only my idea of "help" involved removing Jasper's kneecaps. He wouldn't be much of a threat without those. So I couldn't understand why he was looking back and forth between Alice and Bella with a smirk on his face.

"Are you guys playing too?" Seth teased.

"Playing!" Bella shrieked.

"Too?" Alice questioned, barely audible as Bella's voice bounced back from the trees.

"Yeah. Is it, like, the vampire equivalent of a staring contest?" Seth barely got the sentence out without laughing.

"Oh, you're a big help." Bella rolled her eyes at Seth while Alice, and even Jasper, chuckled. I briefly wondered, when the loser snapped, if they'd choose to do so in Carlisle's reserve or the nearest hiking ground. But Seth was in his human form so, thankfully, I kept the thought to myself. I had to hand it to Seth, though. At least he had lightened the mood.

"I'm trying to see if I can be more…calm…than I have been in the past. You know, under certain pressures?" Jasper explained. "There are some hikers not too far from here. Hear them?"

Jasper waited for a response. Seth gave him a nod. I snorted.

"I understand, I guess," Seth began, "but you shouldn't strain yourself, man. After all you're newer…" Seth trailed off and suddenly I understood. While Jasper stood rigidly, his mouth a tight line just from the proximity to a human scent, Bella's posture was perfectly relaxed. Although, to be fair, one could note that Bella's hands seemed glued to her hips and she was rolling her eyes every three minutes. But her body language was clearly motivated by annoyance, not bloodlust.

"I don't see anyone eyeing Bella to see if she'll snap."

"But Bella," Alice dragged her name out like a child, "hasn't been starving for days."

While Jasper may have been new to the Cullens' vegetarian diet – animal blood only – Bella was new to being a vampire altogether. It should have been much more difficult for her to be around a human, multiple humans in this case, than it actually was. Apparently this was unheard of for a newborn and left Jasper questioning his beliefs about how strong bloodlust really was. I watched Jasper suck in a short and clearly painful breath, then stop breathing altogether. His hands were clenched into fists and he was biting down on the inside of his mouth. I found myself hoping someone would be able to talk him into hunting, and soon. He was making me uncomfortable. Breathe in and breathe out – that's what normal people did. Watching him hold his breath like this was making me want to exhale for him.

"You need blood, Jasper," Bella said, too casually for someone so new to her diet. Any kind of bloodsucker talk was enough to put me on edge, but with Bella I found myself especially annoyed. Everyone else liked to pretend she was still Bella, not that she was much better before as a leech lover. But she was one of them now. And they were bad! Vegetarians or not, we all knew what kind of blood they all preferred. Why was I the only one bothered by that? "You can't keep this up forever. You need to eat. Now."

Alice's eyes glazed over for about half a second, but that was all it took before Jasper had gotten a wild look in his eye and started off in the direction of five human heartbeats.

I was on his tail in a second. The closer we got to the hiking ground with the others still too far behind, the more I was forced to think about my options. I had to stop Jasper. But if I overdid it I would be in trouble. The Cullens were allies now, and most of the pack was actually friends with them. Not to mention that everyone was well aware of my personal feelings toward them; even if I claimed to be doing my duty as a werewolf they would be more skeptical of me. I would just tackle him and try to keep the fighting to a minimum. Otherwise I'd be getting angry stares from the others, especially Alice, when any of Jasper's limbs needed to be reattached. We were getting closer to the humans, and it was becoming evident that I was on my own. I can do this, I thought. I'll just keep my teeth to myself. But then it occurred to me that Jasper was probably not going to go down without a fight. He was, after all, the best fighter they had. What if he didn't keep his teeth to himself? The thought of his venom ended my hesitation. Maybe he'll just have to lose an arm, then. But as soon as I sped up to pounce he came to an abrupt stop, clutching his hands over his nose and mouth. Running too fast to stop or dodge him, I slammed into his back, throwing us both to the ground. Behind us, I heard two lightening fast sprints stop short.

"Uh, Leah?" Jasper's voice came struggling out from beneath me. "Your paw…?" My paw? What about my – oh! My hind paw had been digging into Jasper's crotch. I jumped up quickly and made sure to put a safe distance between myself and any of Jasper's…extremities.

"Thanks," Alice said, gesturing in my direction, "that would have been inconvenient." Even Jasper laughed. I guess the fear of castration was enough to stop the bloodlust momentarily. As I was watching them laugh, I noticed the absence of my brother. I couldn't hear him so I knew he was human. He must not have phased when the action started. But if he hadn't decided to come after us, then where was he?

Finding no canine equivalent to express myself, I phased behind a tree and quickly hopped into my cut off shorts and tank top. I made a mental note to attach a bra of some kind to my feeble attempt at clothing.

"Leah, what's wrong?" Bella asked. I guess she knew I hadn't phased because I was dying to strike up small talk.

"Where's Seth?"

"Oh." She looked around for a moment. After a few seconds she gestured in the direction of the hikers and sure enough, Seth was becoming visible through the brush. It didn't seem strange at first. I figured he'd found a shorter route to the humans. Maybe he'd planned to cut Jasper off before he got too close. The expression on his face is what finally tipped me off, though. He looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"Seth, what's wrong?" I asked him. But he wasn't even looking at me. He was staring at Bella.

"Where's Jake?" he asked, his voice tense.

"Seth, what happened?" Bella asked him. Seth didn't say anything, so she continued. "He's at the house, with Renesmee."

"Okay," he breathed, "I think I'm gonna head over there."

"He'll just tell you yes." Alice was the last one I was expecting to speak. How would she know what Seth needed to ask Jacob?

"Yes, what?" I asked Alice. But she didn't answer, still looking directly at Seth. For a moment I didn't feel quite as left out as I noticed the quizzical look Seth was giving her.

"You always said you couldn't see us," he said. My irritation returned as the topic of their private conversation remained a mystery.

"Oh, I can't. But that girl in the forest? Her, I can see. Or…I could…"

I was running out of patience.

"Seth, what is going on! What happened to you?"

"Yes?" he asked Alice. She grinned at him, then gave a tiny shrug.

He exhaled and smiled slightly, but the minute he looked over at me his face seemed to fall. I knew at that moment something bad had happened. Still, I couldn't have been less prepared for what was coming. I knew that Alice was smiling, but Seth's face was tortured. So it had to be bad news, right? Had something happened to one of our family? To one of the Cullens? Was an enemy here, nearby? Is that what he'd seen? But then, why was Alice smiling? In fact, if something bad was coming for us, how would Alice even know?

Before I had a chance to voice any of these questions, he turned to me. "I had been running ahead, trying to get to the hikers. To cut Jasper off." I'd figured that. "You guys stopped, but I kept going just in case he didn't keep control." That reminded me of the reason we were here. I snuck a glance at Jasper but he looked fine. Maybe the hikers had changed course and the scent had become more bearable. "But then I got too close to them, they started changing course and they were going to see me so I had to phase." That explained why I hadn't heard him. "And I was going to just hide in the bushes until they were far enough away for me to phase back." Okay. "But…" he trailed off. But then what? What? Oh God, what had happened to my brother? "Then I saw her."

"Oh my God, Seth!" Bella's voice broke the silence that I would have preferred remain intact. "Wait, I'm confused, Alice. You saw her future?"

"Not exactly. What I saw was her future disappear. Like yours used to…"

"And not just because he was close by – "

"Only hers? Besides, he's back here now. There's no reason for her future to still be blank unless…"

"She's already decided! Seth, oh my God!" Bella's shrieks continued to invade my thoughts as I tried to understand. Seth had met a girl in the woods? Correction, saw a girl in the woods.

"Seth..." I tried to get his attention but my voice wasn't strong enough to outdo the giggling and screeching coming from Bella and Alice. Jasper noticed my attempt, and put a hand on Alice's shoulder. She shook it off and continued cackling. There was a lump in my throat, making it extremely hard to swallow and try again to get my brother's attention. The fact that I even had to try to get his attention was making me feel sick. He was usually so attentive, so in-tune with me. But the way he was standing right now, it was as though he wasn't even here. His body was angled back toward the way he came. He kept glancing back over his shoulder, as if he only meant to come over and talk with us for a short time. As if he was expected back and anxious to leave. But what could be so important that he would be that anxious to get back to? What, because he saw a girl?

And suddenly it clicked. A girl.

I knew that face. I remembered that body language. Jacob hadn't had it. Neither had Quil, nor Paul. Not any of the others. They were able to dive right in and be happy. To embrace the new purpose that life had given them. Sam, on the other hand, had looked just like this.

When he had come to tell me about Emily.

"Shut the fuck up!" The roar that had silenced the giggles was alien. It had been so harsh, so raw that I glanced around after a few moments to see who had screamed. But everyone's shocked expressions were trained on my face. Apparently I'd gotten my voice back.

For a moment everything was still. No one moved and no one spoke. But after a beat, Alice shifted slightly toward Jasper. He lifted his fingers to touch the back of her hand in response. Seth fought to keep his eye on me, but it was obvious that he was dying to get back to his hiker. Bella turned her head ever so slightly over her shoulder and I immediately smelled another vampire coming toward us – Edward.

I was instantly reminded of how alone I was. Just like Sam, Seth loved me and cared about me. He felt bad about imprinting. He didn't want to hurt me. I didn't need to be hearing his thoughts to know all this. But just like Sam, Seth had found his soul mate. And just like Sam, he would leave me.

When Sam left, I still had Seth. I still had my parents. I still had a normal life and a future to look forward to. What did I have now?

I couldn't think of anything.

I phased. I hadn't even noticed myself shaking, I'd been so lost in thought. Otherwise I would have undressed first. Now my last tank and shorts were ruined, and they had barely been more than a wanna-be Jane Halloween costume to begin with. As soon as my paws hit the ground, I took off running. I felt Seth phase and begin following me. At first I thought it wouldn't matter, I knew I could outrun him easily. But I'd forgotten about his thoughts. I couldn't outrun them.

Leah, stop, he thought after me. Of course I only pushed harder. Maybe if I got far enough, eventually he'd get tired of chasing me and phase back. Then I wouldn't hear him. I'm still your brother. You haven't lost me. Leah!

Screw him, I thought. A second later Seth's thoughts stopped.

I knew I should have turned back and talked to him. But I couldn't stop. It wasn't fair! Everyone I knew was paired up. My mother practically lived with Chief Swan. The bloodsuckers had each other. Nessie had Jake. I knew it would happen eventually, but that didn't make it hurt any less. I was finally the only one.

The only member of the pack who hadn't imprinted.

*~*

I could understand Seth's constant obsessing over Olivia. His position was different from Jake's and Quil's. Olivia was actually his age. He didn't have to play caretaker and then big brother for years before actually having a partner. No, Seth was already in a full blown relationship. And I was happy for him. Once I got over feeling abandoned, it was easy to be happy about the change in my brother. It's just that at times like this I wished he could be just a little less…well…

Okay, so maybe I wasn't the nicest person in the whole world for feeling this way, and maybe it was because I was still upset about Sam – but did he have to be so damn happy, so obviously happy, all the time? Like, great. You're in love. Happy for you. Now take it down a notch.

Seth! Now that I was honest with myself I felt impatient for him to take my advice. I do not need to know what a wonderful kisser Olivia is! Do you mind?

Sorry. If a wolf could blush, he would be. He whimpered, hiding his face with his paw. I instantly felt guilty. I could sense the shame in his thoughts as he dutifully recited the Spanish alphabet, a trick he used when he wanted to hide his thoughts from Edward. Still, her face managed to find its way into his head, and my heart lurched each time his guilt registered. Possibly the only thing worse than being miserable all the time was having everyone – including Seth, now – pity me for it. No, I wouldn't have this. And I wouldn't have my little brother be ashamed of his own happiness. If Seth wanted to think about Olivia, why shouldn't he?

Okay, so maybe I could think of at least one reason why he shouldn't. We were supposed to be keeping an eye out at the moment – Sam believed our territory had been invaded.

Still, if I was honest with myself, I wasn't frustrated with Seth's lack of focus. I was annoyed because avoiding Seth in wolf form had been the only way to keep away from his thoughts and not have to feel sorry for myself. Now I was stuck, with no options but to reprimand my brother for thinking of his girlfriend. I was always doing that, I realized now. Snapping at people left and right, who hadn't caused the pain I was in. Fine – maybe I would never be happy. But that wasn't Seth's fault.

It wasn't Seth's fault that Sam happened to catch the scent of a vampire – not a Cullen – earlier this week in Forks. It wasn't his fault we had to run patrols. And finally, it wasn't his fault that I didn't have someone of my own to pine over anymore.

Tired of reprimanding my own behavior now, I made a decision that would give me some peace of mind. At least for a while.

I'm gonna take off,I told Seth. You keep watch by our land. I'll take the outer perimeter.

Leah, you don't need to leave,he tried. I can keep my thoughts to myself.

I'm sure you can, but you shouldn't have to.

Leah, don't. We can both patrol.

But then his thoughts wandered, momentarily, to the hiking ground where he and Olivia had met. The rush of emotions was too much for me, and despite my best attempts to not be bitter, I winced. I knew Seth had noticed. He didn't argue with me again.

With that I took off, heading north, searching the air for anything that seemed too clean or too sweet to be natural. As soon as I was out of sight I felt Seth phase back. Again, I felt guilty. If Seth did find trouble on our land now, in his human form, I wouldn't be able to hear his thoughts. I quickly convinced myself that the rest of the pack was in La Push – he would be safe – and focused on finding an unpleasant scent. I was about ten miles from the Cullen's place when I caught just that type of scent. Immediately, I began to run faster. As I got closer, the scent got stronger, and I began to pick up on its specifics. I was sure it was a vampire. The sweet scent was almost sickening, and I couldn't have been within ten minutes of it. But I noticed other things. There was a faint hint of wood and vanilla that stood out among the sweetness. The scent was clean, fresh. But I could smell a hint of salt in it, like the scent of sea air. I wasn't sure of the reason behind a scent that was so detailed. I decided it was probably the diet of the creature I was closing in on. Perhaps the blood of animals lessened the intensity of the Cullens' scents; the scents I was most accustomed to.

I knew I had no proof about the bloodsucker's diet, and that Sam would be upset if I hastily attacked a golden eyed acquaintance of the Cullens. Still, I allowed my imagination to run away with me and noticed the speed of my running increase as I imagined a creature that fed so frequently of human blood that its scent held a trace of humanity. When I knew I had only seconds left before approaching it, I slowed my run to a walk and began to creep silently through the trees. Partially because I didn't want to slam into the thing like I had Jasper. But also because I felt the strangest inclination to see what it looked like.

Okay, so maybe that was odd. Why should I care what it looked like? But I would only be doing what I knew Sam, and Jacob for that matter, would have preferred. Making sure that the vampire actually was a threat before attacking it. Sam and Jacob would want me to come back, my annoying thoughts reminded me. We were a pack – we fought as a pack. And by now I had run out so far that I wasn't even on our territory anymore. It would take the others too long to reach me if something bad happened. Which they wouldn't even know unless any of them phased in time to figure that out. Which none of them had. But I couldn't stop myself.I felt that this pursuit had less to do with duty and more to do with some strange curiosity I'd developed several miles back. Probably something to do with the complexity of the scent - I was fascinated. And I wanted it all to myself.

There was a small clearing up ahead. I could hear the sloshing of water, I guessed from a lake of some kind. I assumed that this is where the scent would end; where I would find its owner. I had to fight the overwhelming urge I had to not proceed with caution and just get to the thing as quickly as I could. I knew that stealth was key here. And if I moved too fast I'd get noisy. I couldn't afford to give the parasite any warning by unintentionally brushing my fur against the trunk of a tree or forgetting my footing and noticeably cracking a stray twig.

Finally, I reached the edge of the clearing. I was sure the bloodsucker would not see me from this vantage point, but I would have a clear view of it. I hunkered down behind a thick bush until I found a place where the leaves sort of jumbled, leaving a hole where I could peek right through. I peered through the branches, feeling proud of the view from my hiding spot, but once I really saw the vampire, I forgot to congratulate myself about anything else. He had my full attention.

The first thing I noticed was that he was incredibly tall. Six foot five, if not a little bit taller. His skin was pale, but seemed to have a slight olive tint to it. I noticed its sparkle being thrown into the clearing as the sunlight danced off of his bare back and broad shoulders. He kept his back to me, so I couldn't have sworn by it, but knowing his kind and from what I was seeing, it was safe to say – he was ripped. His hair was short and untidy. In fact, if it weren't for its chocolate brown color I could have easily mistaken him for Edward. But he wasn't Edward. Edward didn't smell this good. Wait. Not good. No, of course not. This was a vampire…he smelled…not good. But not quite as bad as the Cullens, I had to admit. His scent was more, er, favorable. I would allow that. I continued to stare as I tried to make sense of the scene in front of me. His clothes were scattered at the edge of the lake, so I could only assume he was naked. I wasn't sure why but this knowledge made me anxious. I found myself hoping, desperately hoping, that this parasite was a friend of the Cullens. If he wasn't…well…how would I approach him? Would I allow him to get dressed before attacking him? If I gave him a warning growl, would he choose to get himself clothed before running away or staying and fighting? And if not…why did that bother me so much? I'd seen naked men before. That was a key part of my excruciating existence as a werewolf. Seeing almost every close, male family member I had – stark naked, with unfortunate regularity. But why didn't that seem even half as embarrassing as trying to fight this male while he was…uncovered. Hopefully I won't have to fight him. Another alarming thought. I'd been wanting a chance to throw down with the mysterious leech ever since Sam reported the scent. Why would I suddenly not want to fight him? What, because he was swimming around in a lake instead of terrorizing people? And what was he even doing in the lake, anyway? I watched him as he dived under and came back up again, splashed around, floated on his back. Was he…was he playing? I decided I found the idea endearing. If I allowed myself – cute. I decided that I would ignore why I would ever use the word cute to describe a vampire. There were more important things to think about right now.

Surely he was a friend of the Cullens. I knew that the Cullens tended to act more human due to their diet. Their control. So that must explain this behavior. After a few minutes, the bloodsucker stood up in the water again, and began stepping out of the lake.

I thought about moving deeper into the woods again, or closing my eyes to give him…well…privacy. But I didn't look away, not even for a moment, as he dressed. For a moment I even tried to convince myself that I was preparing to fight him, trying to get a sense of the way he moved. When I felt myself shudder internally at the sight of the water dripping down his bare chest and onto the planes of his perfectly sculpted stomach I stopped trying to make excuses. Especially those that would include, in any way, harming his beautiful body. He began shaking himself like a dog, flinging the water in all directions into the trees. He laughed. I felt sad, suddenly. When was the last time I had engaged in something so fun and carefree? I wanted to laugh. With him, I realized. I wanted to laugh with him.

Maybe I had just been alone for so long that the idea of laughing with anyone felt like a relief to me. Why else would I be entertaining the thought of hanging out with a vampire? I forced myself to try and focus on anything that could help me in a fight with him – just in case it turned out to be necessary – and ignore how much fun it looked like he was having.

Of course, that lasted for about five seconds before I was distracted by yet another characteristic of the vampire – his apparel. Fully clothed now, I decided he was too well dressed for the average nomad. He had to have some type of permanent residence nearby. His jeans were dark blue and crisp, the crease was perfectly creased and they seemed to fade into a bit of a lighter blue toward the middle. He wore a white t-shirt with a solid red button down over it. I noticed the shoe he hadn't gotten on yet lying on its side – it was a brown, polished dress shoe. With his back to me and most of his skin covered, he could almost pass for human. Perhaps that was why I allowed myself to briefly observe the perfect shape of his backside as he bent over to finally put on his other shoe. Perfect shape of his backside? I went over the words in my head. His backside? Oh no. I was not actually checking out a vampire! Was I? I shook my head, answering myself.

The minute I'd done it, I realized my mistake but it was already too late. The vampire had frozen.

Shit! He must have caught my scent. I decided I could stay hidden in the bushes and risk a potential fight with an ally, or I could show myself and show him that I meant no harm before he turned around. I considered phasing but I wasn't sure how he'd react yet. I knew that vampires had very strong survival instincts. If it was already too late to prevent a fight, I didn't want to find out in my human form.

Slowly, I rose from my position behind the bushes and stepped into the clearing. The vampire didn't turn toward me slowly. I don't know why this surprised me. I had probably been spending too much time watching him in the lake, pretending he was human. One minute, his back was turned to me and he was impossibly still. The next, he had whirled around and shot forward in my direction, teeth bared.

For whatever reason, perhaps from the shock of his reaction, I was rendered completely, if momentarily, still. All it had taken was a second of distraction, a moment of unpreparedness, and I had made a fatal error. There wasn't enough time to get myself out of the way, without coming into contact, even minor contact, with his teeth. The poison that his venom was to me would penetrate my skin. Maybe only a drop of venom would get inside. But that was all it would take. I was going to die. I cursed myself for being so stupid. Why did I sneak up on him this way? But before I could answer myself, he stopped.

I was grateful then. I didn't recognize him from our fight with the Volturi, but I was sure now that the Cullens had told him all about us werewolves. I'd probably just startled him before. He hadn't continued to attack. He hadn't hurt me. I planned to give him some kind of sign, some gesture, to stay where he was. Then I would dip back behind the bushes, phase, and ask him to follow me and briefly introduce himself to the rest of the pack. Allow them to identify his scent so we wouldn't end up on tiresome patrols every time he decided to come passing through town. But when I looked up at his face, I forgot all about phasing. In fact, I forgot all about everything.

He was beautiful. He was absolutely beautiful. I couldn't quite decipher his expression. He seemed both fascinated and confused. I noticed the pucker that formed between his eyebrows as he watched me. I watched the creases on his forehead, his full lips as they twisted and pursed. I noted to myself that they were a very nice pair of lips. I knew this thought should have upset me but I couldn't really bring myself to mind that it was a pair of vampire lips that I was admiring. I knew that I should hate him as I processed what was happening, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

Already I was imagining things, considering things that I never would have before, with ease. I could picture myself now, in my human form of course, with my arms draped around him. I could see us doing things together. Going out for dinner (of course he would be along for the ride), curled up on the couch watching scary movies. I imagined us sitting together at the bonfires at La Push, the way the other couples did. How would his skin look in that light? I thought of tasting his full lips, clutching his perfect backside. Oh no, what were we going to do about the venom? It didn't matter, I decided. I'd gone without a lot of things for the past several years, I could keep on going without love bites. It didn't matter if he didn't even feel comfortable kissing me…whatever type of closeness we could have…I would take it. At least I would finally have someone, too. The hasty thought escaped without my permission. I slowly lost sight of the forest around us, half focused on the vampire that stood before me while the other half of my brain got lost watching him in my thoughts. I wondered if he'd mind my scent, if he'd have to turn away when his elegant nose got too close to my skin. I wondered if he'd even let me get close enough…to do the things I was thinking…that I wanted to do…tracing a finger along his perfectly squared off jaw. Along his cheekbone. It doesn't matter, I told myself again. All the physical things we might not be able to do, not ever – none of that mattered. I would have someone to talk to again. Someone to tell my secrets to. Who would know me because he wanted to. Not because he was unfortunate enough to frequently share my thoughts. He probably wouldn't even consider himself unfortunate if he could hear my thoughts. He might envy my brothers for their ability to know my mind that way. But he would know me well, too. We would take longs walks together, have picnics. Maybe even…hunt together? Like Jacob and Nessie. Yes, I'd make it work. I had to. He was my life now. I decided I would have to inform him of this at some point – this vampire might know about the existence of werewolves but I doubted he knew about imprinting. I hadn't even been aware myself that imprinting could include this…oddly enough, I didn't mind – meaning that I'd have to phase. But the images in my head…of us, our relationship, oh, they were just too good. I could see myself, tasting his sweet lips, working my tongue against his. I imagined pulling back from the kiss and gazing into his…

All at once my thoughts stopped in midair, as though they'd flown into an invisible wall and shattered. I heard a growl leak out of my lips as I staggered several steps back, nearly tripping over the large bush behind me. An angry snarl ripped from his throat in response to my threat. I saw him stagger back too. He seemed to be upset with the distance between us, something about the set of his mouth looked impatient now. As though he was waiting for the distance between us to close so he could relax again. I could tell by his expression that he didn't know why he felt this way. But I did. Oh, I knew only too well. He had no choice, he already felt it too. He leaned forward, meaning to take a step toward me, but I growled even louder this time and before I knew it he had materialized on the other side of the clearing with a good ten feet between us. He stared at me then. Half confused, half furious. But not as furious as I was, as I stared back into his beautiful, blazing, blood red eyes.

Of all the mean spirited practical jokes the universe had played on me, this was the cruelest one yet. I bared my teeth at him and made the most threatening sound I could muster, then proceeded toward him as slowly and deliberately as I could. It took more effort than it should have. I felt myself shaking, I was so angry. In my human form, this is when I knew I was in danger of phasing. What did it mean in my wolf form? I needed to calm down before I got stuck like this forever. That would make eating a big pain. Or maybe I'd just stop eating all together, and starve and die and then I wouldn't have to deal with him.

Was he just going to stand there and stare at me? I watched him take several deep breaths, watched the breath travel down his hard chest, over the planes of his perfectly defined…no! He's a killer. Leah, get a hold of yourself. Was this really happening to me? Had I really just imprinted on…fallen in love with a…ugh! Fuck him!

The sound of my snarling bounced back at me from the trees surrounding the clearing. I was grateful for his survival instinct now, as he looked me over, assessed the danger and disappeared. The leaves around me rustled for only a second after he'd fled. I held my breath so I wouldn't catch his scent in the air. So I couldn't have an idea of how fast he was, how far he'd gone or what direction he'd taken off into. Instead I turned and ran for La Push, not daring to breathe for the next ten seconds. I needed to find my brothers. I knew we had vowed against it, but I wondered if I could persuade one of them, maybe Paul, to go after the vampire and kill him. A piercing sound echoed all throughout the forest and it took me a moment to realize it was me. Whimpering and crying. Distantly, I heard several brothers phase, and start running toward me. I couldn't make out their thoughts as they took in mine, but I already knew that the answer to my question would be no. They wouldn't kill him. I wouldn't be able to bear it. But in the meantime, he – my vampire – would be killing. Killing people. And as much as I didn't want to see him hurt, I knew couldn't bear that either.