"There is no danger here. We will not fight today," Leech One said to the vampires gathered behind him.

Now that the threat was passed, I examined the crowd on the other side. A vampire, the one who spoke to Edward during their little meeting in the middle of the field—'Interesting company you keep,' he'd said—looked up just then, meeting my eyes. Everything that mattered to me, my brother, my mother, my tormenting love for Sam, my very self, all slipped away in an instant, like insignificant strings being sliced away, as a million steel cables bound me to him and I was infused with warmth.

But in the next instant, I realized exactly what had happened. I'd imprinted on a vampire!

With every bit of willpower I had, I pushed the thoughts down, blocking them out, hoping no one realized what had just happened to me. Leech One and Carlisle were talking about... something, but I couldn't focus. Suddenly, the other side of the field was empty.

"Seriously, people. They're not coming back. Everybody can relax now!" Alice said, her voice cheerful.

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, I ran. I had to get away. I couldn't- I couldn't- It was all too much. I had to get away.

Leah? It was Jake. What's going on?

I need to be alone. Please. Seth, tell Mom I'll be home later. I could feel their confusion, but I forced them away, unwilling to let them know what happened just now.

Come back soon.

I will. I just need to be by myself for a while. Something told me Jake knew, maybe not what exactly, but he knew something had happened to me.

Finally, I reached my destination, a clearing well outside wolf territory, and I stopped. I came here sometimes when being a spiteful harpy became too much. Pulling the wolf inside, I allowed myself to phase back, my human form stumbling under the weight of what I faced.

Gasping for breath, I pressed my forehead to the snowy ground. How could this happen? When I said that I wished I could imprint on anyone, I didn't think the universe would bind me to my mortal enemy. I must have done something to piss off that bitch, fate, otherwise, how did I end up with such a tragic love life. My first love imprinted on my cousin, now my imprint probably wanted to kill me simply for existing. Why couldn't I just die?

I wrapped my arms around my chest, trying to keep myself together.

Could nothing go right? Apparently not. First I lost Sam to the wolf, then to Emily. Then, I lost myself to the wolf, and finally to the vampire across the field. The supernatural seemed hellbent on making my life as horrible as it could and there was nothing I could do about it. Not for the first time could I see how truly powerless I was. For all my physical strength, I was nothing against the magic of the world I'd been thrown into. Why couldn't life truly be as I'd thought it was before magic destroyed everything?

I writhed internally with the confusion tearing at my soul. Vampires were the enemy, and yet, that bitch fate saw fit to give me one as a soulmate. And not the 'humans are friends, not food' variety, but the 'humans are food, why should I care about their feelings?' kind. Why couldn't I ever catch a break?

Even as the thought crossed my mind, I felt guilty for thinking about my imprint so negatively.

The soft tread of a vampire caught my attention and I turned towards the sound. I shifted in a crouch, just in case I needed to go wolf again, and the vampire I'd imprinted on stepped out of the trees. My heart twisted as I inhaled his scent, exotic spices covered in snow, so distinct from the wintry woods around us. Unlike other vampires, there was no urge to attack, no burn in my nose. The chill he carried with him was comforting, rather than enraging.

"This is not what I was expecting." He walked in a slow, wide circle around me before stopping in front of me. His voice was smooth, poisoned soaked velvet, and I wanted him to never stop talking. "What did you do to me?"

"I don't understand," I denied. Slowly, I stood up and his ruby eyes raked my form, an appreciative expression on his face.

"In the clearing, you looked at me and I felt my mind change, something came undone." In the blink of an eye, he was less than a foot from me. "What was it?"

I shook my head, unable to respond. Could he be feeling the imprint already? That was unheard of. But then, Nessie seemed to feel drawn to Jake before she was even born. So maybe it wasn't quite so strange that a full fledged vampire might have a similar reaction.

"No matter." His lips pulled into a smile as he brushed a lock of hair out my face. "I never thought today would end with me finding a very beautiful, very naked woman in the forest, looking for all the world like a nymph."

"So, what are you going to do about it?" I challenged.

"What do you want me to do about it?" He retorted.

Without considering the possible dangers of what I was doing, I stepped closer so that I could feel the fibers of his clothing against my overly sensitive skin and I inhaled sharply. Chewing on my lower lip, I looked at him from under my lashes. I wanted to kiss him, so badly and I tilted my head up towards him.

Cupping my cheek, he murmured, "Names first, sweetheart. I'm Demetri."

"Leah."

"Leah, meaning weary in Hebrew." He trailed his gloved hand down my arm, keeping his eyes on mine, as if daring me to object to his touch. The only thing I found annoying about it was that I wanted to feel his skin against mine. "Are you weary, lovely Leah? Is that why you wanted to meet me? To forget your troubles for a while?" His gaze settled on my mouth and he lowered his head. "To lose yourself to pleasure, even if it's in the arms of the enemy?"

"Stop talking," I muttered as I pressed myself even closer to him. As much as I wanted to hear his voice, speaking meant that he wasn't kissing me.

The first brush of his lips against mine may as well have been an electrical shock. I whimpered softly and dug my fingers into his hair as he made a strangled sound, deep in the back of his throat. His arm came around me anchoring me to his solid form, lifting me almost completely off the ground. I slid one leg up his thigh, so hard beneath his clothes, as if to keep him where he was, though I knew that in human form, I had no real hope against his iron strength.

He wrapped his his large hand around the back of my neck, as he attacked my lips. Gripping the lapel of his cloak, I tugged him down, so I did not have to stand on my tiptoes. He was a vampire, it wouldn't cause him any discomfort to bend down just a little, and he complied as he deepened the kiss.

A part of my mind freaked at the thought of his venom coated teeth so close to my skin, but I couldn't focus on that. All I wanted to think about was how it felt to have his tongue exploring my mouth so thoroughly. Every sensation was so much stronger than it had been when I was human. I was aware of so much more and it amazed me just how... numb I had been to this before.

Fire and ice should never mix, at least that's what they said, one would destroy the other. But they had never been in my place. Need, like I'd never known before flooded my body and I shifted, aching for more contact. I sucked his lower lip into my mouth, dragging my teeth against his stone skin.

He groaned and then, set me down. I whined pitifully at the lost of contact, but he grinned and pressed a quick kiss to my lips as, with nimble fingers, he removed his clothes so that he was equally naked. I stared for a moment, unable to believe how perfect he was. Those sculptures in my history books had nothing on him. Hesitantly, I reached out and placed my hand on his abdomen, tracing my fingertip along the lines of his muscles. He hissed softly and pulled me back to him. This time, I kept my eyes half open, wanting to watch his lips moving against mine as much as possible. Gliding his hands down my legs, he hooked them around his waist, before going to his knees.

One icy hand skimmed up my side to my breasts, and he leaned back just a little to watch, almost mesmerized by what he was seeing, as he weighed one of them, then squeezed them both together. His gaze flickered back to mine.

"You're so soft," he whispered as he kneaded the flesh, "so warm. There's fire in your blood, beckoning me closer, enticing me to combust."

"I thought I told you to stop talking," I growled as I pulled his mouth back to mine.

He chuckled against my lips, as his fingers wound back into my hair. Brushing his lips against the corner of my mouth, he trailed kisses, so soft they may as well have been a butterfly's wing, along my cheek, and down my neck. Almost instinctively, I allowed my head to fall back, giving him better access to my body.

Some small part of me was acutely aware of the danger I was in, baring myself so to a blood drinker, but I couldn't bring myself to care. He was my imprint and he was here, with me.

He nibbled gently along my jaw, as he tilted my head at just the right angle. Pulling his lips away, he trailed his nose along the column of my exposed throat.

"Leah," he whispered, his breath caressing my skin.

A moan slid between my lips as his attentions focused lower, down my chest to my breasts. I knew I should really be afraid when he suckled one of my nipples into his mouth, but all I could feel was pleasure. Pulling myself closer, I pressed my cheek against his hair and my nails raked uselessly against the marble of his back as I wriggled against him, seeking friction, craving it beyond anything I had ever known before. Warmth pooled low in my belly and it required immediate attention.

"Please." I didn't care how desperate I sounded, the need was making it difficult for me to think of anything else.

An instant later, I found myself on my back with the vampire looming over me, his eyes darkening.

"Something tells me that I've found the most unique woman in the world, and all I want is to savor this, but I find myself unable to wait."

"Then don't." I traced my knuckles against his cheek, brushing his hair out of his face as I wrapped my legs more tightly around his waist, trying to draw him closer to my body.

Bracing himself on one hand, he placed his other hand on my thigh as he snapped his hips forward, so hard that it knocked my breath out of me for a moment and I inhaled sharply. He withdrew almost completely and thrust again.

"Oh, god," I moaned and my eyes rolled back into my head. He was made for me and I for him. We fit together so perfectly, I wondered how I could have ever believed otherwise.

"My name," he snarled. "Say it." Right as he spoke, he brushed against a spot inside me that had my back arching.

"Demetri."

"Again." The hand on my thigh moved between my legs, just above where he was inside me.

Unable to resist his command, I screamed, "Demetri!"

The part of me that could still think around what he was doing to me, a very small part and shrinking with every second, was glad that I'd stopped at such a remote location, because there was no one around to hear my cries.

"Stop thinking," he said, mocking my earlier demands that he stop talking.

"Make me."

"With pleasure." And he moved his mouth back to mine.

All thought left my mind when he caught one of my legs, draping it over his elbow so that he could penetrate even deeper into me. My back bowed as shudders began wracking my entire frame. I wanted to say something, but I couldn't remember what it was, or even how to speak, so I settled for moaning. The coil tightening in my belly snapped, and then, I was lost to the pleasure that washed over me and refused to let me go, like an undertow. Only this was one current that I never wanted to end.

When I finally came back to myself, Demetri was withdrawing from my body and pressing soft kisses to my neck.

He chuckled.

"What?" I asked.

"Just when I thought I'd experienced all there was that was worth exploring, I find you." He rolled onto his back, pulling me so that I was draped across him. "While you're recovering for round two, perhaps you could tell me a little about yourself."

"Like what?"

"We could start with the easy things, like how old are you?"

"Twenty. But I've been a wolf since March and we age really fast until we're physically twenty-five, then we remain twenty-five until we stop phasing and become human again. So I don't know exactly."

"You're immortal?" He lifted his head to look at me.

"As long as I'm a wolf."

How do you become human again?"

"Our phasing triggered by very strong emotions. If we can keep our tempers in check, our bodies resume their normal cycle." I flinched away from the word 'cycle' because it made me think of what I might never have, especially now that I had a vampire imprint.

"You don't like being a wolf."

"I'm the first and only female to ever phase and a lot of the bad shit to happen to me over the last three years was because of the wolf. Maybe it's not so bad after all though. I'm just so used to hating it."

"Hmm. When you live forever, you have to create something to live for." He leaned back, brows furrowed.

He tugged me so that I was lying face to face with him and he hooked my hair behind my ear. "It would be a pity if you gave up this life. Vampires are a dime a dozen, but someone as rare as you is a prize indeed." He kissed me softly, but the intent was clear.

I sat up, before rising up on my knees. He was more than ready and I slid down onto him, sheathing him fully inside me. "This time, I'm in charge," I said as I tossed my hair back.

"Oh, Leah," he moaned as he gripped my thighs. "What a sight you are."

I set a slow rhythm, enjoying the feel of him and the way his lips trembled as he fought back the urge to have his way.

"I doubt any being mortal or otherwise has ever witnessed anything so lovely. Your skin in contrast with mine and with the snow, I swear I did not know perfection until now."

"You're talking a lot."

"Speaking distracts me from wanting to take control." The sunlight broke through the clouds, leaving him glittering beneath me and I froze for a moment, distracted by the sight. I reached out, allowing the light playing off of his skin to touch my fingers.

"Leah," he groaned, shifting beneath me, drawing my attention back to our joined bodies.

I began moving again, resuming the pace I had set before, though slightly harder.

He grinned and his hands started to roam my body. "Kiss me?"

I leaned forward as he sat up and he cradled my face in one hand and our lips met. As that coil in my belly tightened, our kisses became sloppier, until I threw my head back, forgetting my teasing, as I rode him in earnest.

"I can feel you, how close you are," he murmured, his own voice strained. He sat up and trailed his lips over my neck as growls rumbled in his chest.

The building wave crested and I slumped against him, letting it carry me away.

As I caught my breath, Demetri linked our fingers together, examining them. I rolled onto my side so I could get a better look at his face. He seemed to be thinking very deeply about something. Reaching up, I smoothed the furrows between his brows.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I was just wondering if I would have to worry about being a father shortly."

I sat up and wrapped my arms around myself, curling in as deep as I could. Of course he would wonder that. What man wouldn't think something like that after spending however long thinking they would never be able to have children. And I couldn't give him one. Already I was failing my imprint.

"Leah?" I felt his hands on my shoulders. "What did I say?"

"I can't."

"Can't what?"

"Have children. It's why I became a wolf. Since I'm infertile, the magic decided to do something with all that wolf blood in my veins and turned me into the goddamn girly wolf!" I moved to stand up, but he dragged me back down, pressing my back against his chest.

He didn't say anything, just held me close, running his hand over my hair.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to react like that. It's just a sore subject for me."

"I can understand." Pressing his lips to my shoulder, he whispered, "I can think of far pleasanter things we can have instead of focusing on the things we can't."

I turned around in his arms and grinned. "Really? Do tell."