Hunting

It had been a while since my last hunt. I wished I could remember when my last kill had been. A month ago? Two? But I was never good at keeping track of time. In fact, when I thought about it, it wasn't a big deal anyway. I had a long life to live and only one thing to do with it. Hunt.

I vaguely recalled my last extermination. There had been two, making it much harder to destroy them. I didn't really mind that, however. I was always up for a challenge. Besides, before that fateful meeting, I'd actually begun to feel bored of the hunt. That was definitely a feeling I never thought I would have. The hunt was my life, my soul. It was the only reason I breathed, the only reason I existed. Luckily for me, I had found my enemies' scents before my breaking point. I'd tracked them down before they could hurt anyone, before they even had a chance to plot their next slaying.

I can't say they were easy to kill, but I can say that it was thrilling. The challenge made me all the more excited. They'd kept me thoroughly stimulated through the entire encounter, and even after I was finished with them. I'd decided to take a walk around the town I had just saved. It always felt good to seep people going on with their normal lives, knowing that you alone protected them from what could have been a giant massacre. It helped me remember I had a responsibility to them, being what I was.

About a month had passed, or so my calculations told me. I had been traveling through Canada at the time, but I now found myself back in the States, lingering somewhere in Washington.

I walked through a silent forest, following a small set of footprints in the muddy floor. Great, I thought, the thing's careless. It was apparent that the trails were left by a newborn. Most vampires were cautious enough to keep their feet from making marks in the forests that humans hiked through. I looked past a mass of tree trunks at a wide, man-made path weaving through the thick brush. And so close to a human trail?

I covered the footprints with my bare feet as I went along, despair quickly rushing over me. This was obviously going to be easy. I had been hoping for another challenge, something to keep me going. Lately I had been wondering about all my past decisions I had made. I was eager to prove that the hunt really was my life now, that it was all that mattered, all that could matter. There was no doubt a satisfying hunt would lift my spirits. However, I had come across a strong scent and found my way here, where there was no challenge at all.

Regardless, you'll be saving lives.

That was the only thought that kept me following the footprints. I sniffed calmly at the air, noting that the scent was slowly but steadily growing stronger. The smell was sweet, sickeningly so. It was like a mixture of all the wrong sugars and spices. I felt the urge to gag, but I moved on. The powerful odor meant I was close. I let my eyes shift away from the footprints. I didn't need the visual anymore. All I needed to rely on was the smell.

I had walked a mile or so when a new scent appeared. It was a plain, bland aroma. It wasn't something I wanted to kill. It wasn't an animal that I would want to eat. Anxiety shot through me. I sniffed again, and the smell grew stronger. The blandness slipped away, replaced by an aroma of fear and desperation. This was something I needed to protect.

I quickened my pace, following both of the scents. I rarely had to kill a vampire while it was far into the process of hunting. I usually tracked them down before they approached their prey, or before they even planned the feasting. I inhaled again to assure myself that the human was still alive. Fresh panic flowed into my nostrils. Yes, I still had time.

The scents grew stronger by the second; soon I knew I was no more than half a mile from where they must have been standing. The vampire's scent was starting to burn my nose, but I was accustomed to the blaze. I ran fast but kept my footwork quiet and light. The element of surprise was always good to have on your side.

I stopped as soon as the sweetness in my nostrils burned almost unbearably. I was close enough now. The human's scent was barely noticeable under the stench of the vampire. Nonetheless, I could sense the terror bubbling inside of it.

"W-Who are you?" The quiet, shaky voice broke the dead silence of the forest. An adolescent boy, I realized, probably my age. Of course the newborn would go for easy prey. It wouldn't want to spend unnecessary minutes of thirst playing with a willful adult. It would prefer an easier kill.

"Don't be so scared. I'm just a traveler you've happened to come across while hiking. Of course, you might have met me at the wrong time. I'm a little bit thirsty." The female vampire's voice was smooth and alluring. It disgusted me.

"What d-do you want?" the boy asked, fear still flowing through every inch of his body. He didn't seem to be buying into the vampire's 'innocent traveler' routine. "I have water. In my pack. You can have it, if you want."

"Ah, but you see, I don't really drink water. I prefer something of richer taste."

I frowned, confused by this strange behavior. Newborns were full to the brim with bloodlust and intense thirst. Not many had the restraint, or even the desire, to taunt their prey. I needed to get a closer look. I stepped noiselessly toward the voices and caught sight of the vampire. Her long, wavy brown hair ran down across her terrifyingly beautiful pale face. She seemed to be in her early twenties, but the way she gazed at her victim, I knew she had to be a newborn; therefore she was truly in her twenties. She wore a plaid button-up shirt, blue jeans, and tennis shoes. I hated vampires for wearing normal clothes; as if they could fool anyone! This newborn's act was obviously a sham. No one could miss her eyes: a bright red hue that made me want to vomit.

"I only have water," the boy murmured. He was, like I had assumed, in his mid-teens. He had short, black hair and copper skin. His dark brown eyes seemed to scream out in horror. His mouth wasn't able to.

"Oh, well, maybe we can figure out a different way of giving me what I want," the vampire said, taking a step toward him. She hadn't pounced, and this made me nervous. Maybe this newborn was more trained than I had thought.

"Please, don't," the boy whispered, barely audible.

"But it won't be any trouble," she replied, taking yet another step. "It will be as quick as possible. I promise.

"No."

The newborn smiled, moving even closer. "Don't be worried. The pain only lasts for a moment."

I'd had enough. I flew out of the cover of the trees and was standing in front of the boy in less than a second. "I believe he said, 'no.'"

The vampire started, shocked by my sudden appearance. I could smell relief flow through the boy, but then fear returned. Was I someone he should be afraid of as well? I didn't judge him; I could easily understand his uncertainty. You don't normally see a barefoot girl with dirty clothes and mangy hair wandering through the forest.

Well, no matter how unsure he felt now, he would probably end up being terrified of me after he saw what I was.

The newborn smirked at me. "Well, what do we have here?" she laughed. "And I thought the rotten smell was coming from a dead animal."

"You don't smell too good either, leech," I retorted.

She sighed, as if disappointed. "I see this is no longer a quick matter. Let me warn you that if you don't step away from my food in a few seconds, your death will be far from painless."

I chuckled at her remark. "And let me warn you that if you don't back away now, your death will be far from quick." And I began to undress. I sensed the confusion of the boy and the anger of the female vampire. That only made me speed up the process. These were the only pair of clothes I had left. I wasn't planning on tearing through them anytime soon.

The vampire leaned into a defensive crouch, snarling ferociously at me. The boy let out a cry of surprise, but I wasn't fazed. I squatted once my clothes were lying a few feet away from me. With lightning speed, the vampire lunged at me. And at the same moment, the shaking began.

I leaped toward the newborn, a satisfied smirk on my face as I felt the explosion run through my whole body. Finally I was in my own element. Finally I had gotten out of the shell of a human body.

My transformation had caught the vampire off guard, so I was able to push her back, away from the boy. I laughed at the female's fearful expression, but to her, it probably sounded more like a hiss. I stretched my legs smugly and stalked over to where she was sitting in shock.

"What…?" the vampire murmured.

What? Afraid of a wildcat?

The high I had felt during her initial amazement was slowly slipping away. I had to kill her eventually; might as well put the boy out of his misery. I felt my tail swishing around wildly behind me. At least someone was still having fun. I'd expected more of a fight from the vampire, but as I prowled over to her, she just looked up at me incredulously.

I finally let a snarl escape my mouth and took a paw to her throat. I shivered when my warm body made contact with her cold, stone one. It was a foolish reaction. It was a distraction.

The vampire grabbed for my paw and squeezed it so tightly I felt the bones immediately crack. I cried out in pain and jumped away from her. The newborn sat up quickly, her eyes crazed. She leaped at me again, this time with actual force. I felt myself hurtling toward the forest floor.

I rolled on top of her, scratching at her chest with my claws. I growled viciously and snapped at her face, but she moved out the way and pushed me over. The rolling and biting and snarling continued for longer than I would have liked. But I would have gladly accepted an extension in replace of what happened after. Her sharp, venomous teeth plunged deep into my arm. I roared out in agony, the pain already beginning to spread through my entire body.

It was unimaginable pain: a fire burning through my skin, my bones, my core. My knees were weak; my mind was hazy. I felt the urge to lay back and accept defeat; anything to escape this unbearable torture. But no, I wouldn't let the boy get hurt. I had been bitten by a vampire many times before. If I could deal with the pain then, I could deal with it now.

The vampire had expected me to succumb to her after her bite. She wasn't prepared when I rolled onto her, took a paw to her throat, and made a brutal swipe that took her head clean off. It rolled satisfyingly away from her body. I lifted myself off the vampire and begin tearing it apart. This was the first step to guaranteeing she wouldn't come back. After it was in pieces, I limped toward my clothes, taking deep, calming breaths along the way. I slowly shifted back into my human form and pulled a lighter out of my jeans' pocket. I stepped back to the torn vampire, flicked the switch, and watched the fire dance down and light the pieces.

I turned to look at the boy, who stood a few feet away from me with a terrified look on his face. I tried to smile at him, but the effort triggered the pain again. My knees buckled and I toppled to the floor.

Surprisingly, the boy instantly ran to my side. "Are you… Are you okay?" he asked nervously, but also fearfully. He gazed around the forest.

His question made the pain intensify. I winced as my arm began to burn with inconceivable heat. Then my left side. Then my right. And then, my heart. I sucked in the scream agonizingly. I knew that it would sound like a roar to the boy, and I didn't want to frighten him anymore than he already was.

Wait, why was I thinking about him? My whole body was on fire! Why should I give a damn what he thought?

Breathe. Keep your head clear.

I nodded and inhaled deeply. I had to deal with the pain. I couldn't scare the boy. I was so focused on breathing and containing the pain that I barely noticed the boy stiffen and inch closer to me. The anguish had been too strong for me to notice any scent. But the odd movements of the boy made me realize something was wrong. Someone was here. More vampires? I didn't think I'd be able to fight anymore off. Even with my healing ability, the pain wouldn't subside for at least another twenty minutes.

But when I looked into the boy's terrified eyes, I decided to fight. No matter what the outcome would be, I would protect him to my last breath. Because that was my purpose. The reason I existed.

The change came over me, and I felt my skin break, replaced with thick fur. I took a shaky breath, pushed myself up, and slowly twisted around to face a shocking creature. At first, I thought it was a bear. But I looked closer and saw that it was in actuality an enormous wolf, much larger than any normal wolf was supposed to grow. I took a deep breath, letting the unfamiliar scent flow into me. Definitely not like anything I'd ever come across. Its fur was a russet brown, its eyes a deep black. It took a step toward us, and then paused, allowing its followers to rush to its side. One by one, the other bulky wolves came into view. A thick chocolate one, a dark spotted one, a sand-colored one, and a light gray one that seemed to be smaller than the rest, but still abnormally large.

I took deep breaths, sucking up the pain and their aromas. They smelled strange, definitely not like regular animals. No, they were something else. But were they dangerous? The large wolves just stared at us now, making no sudden movements. They all seemed to be watching me rather than the boy. Did they know I wasn't a normal wildcat? Well, I certainly was much too large to be an ordinary wildcat. But they were unusually big in size as well. Were they… like me?

The russet brown one took another step toward us. I felt the boy freeze at my side and dig his hand into my back. The wolf cocked his head at this in a strange, human sort of gesture. He took another small step, only this time his eyes were on the burning vampire corpse.

"Hey!" the boy cried, pressing himself against me. "Tell it not to come closer!"

What, did he expect me to be able to speak to them? I just saved his life from a vicious vampire, and now he wanted me to communicate with wolves? I was a vampire slayer, not a dog whisperer. I cringed as I felt a sharp pain tug at my heart. I can deal with it, I thought, taking another deep breath.

The wolves behind the russet brown one shifted around anxiously. The smaller gray wolf took a step in our direction. I hissed at it forcefully, but it sounded more like a cry of pain than a threat.

"Wait! You should change back!" the boy cried out. "They probably think you're a threat. If you change back they'll leave us alone!"

Was he a moron? These weren't normal wolves! And what did he know about wolves anyway? If he was such an expert, he should be getting them to back off, not throwing crazy ideas at me. And changing into my human form was at the top of the crazy list. I was strongest in my wildcat form. We had more of a chance to fight them off if I stayed strong. But as the idea whirled in my head, I realized it was the only thing I could do. With the fire burning in my chest, I wouldn't be able to take them on no matter what form I was in. If these were just normal, slightly overgrown wolves, then maybe they'd be freaked out and leave. But if these were… different… Well, we'd just have to wait and find out.

I willed myself to relax and felt myself slowly begin to shrink. Soon enough, I was lying on the floor, yet again naked and wounded, waiting for their reactions. The russet brown wolf took a step back, as did the gray one. All of the wolves seemed to freeze.

"They're not normal wolves," I murmured immediately. "They have no intention of leaving us alone." The boy looked at me nervously, hearing the strain in my voice. But it was true. I could see from the looks in their eyes that there was nothing normal about them.

That much I had expected. But I had not expected one of the wolves to step forward. The wolf with the sandy fur pushed himself past the russet brown one and, ignoring the other wolf's growl, made its way over to me. A hiss escaped my mouth as I glared at the wolf. I pulled myself closer to the boy and tried to push myself up. If it wanted to kill me, I wouldn't go without a fight.

However, the wolf only did something even more unpredictable. It stood completely still for one brief moment, and then morphed into a man.

At least, at first it looked like a man. A very naked man. He was tall, probably a little over six feet. His copper-toned body was slim but muscular, almost threatening. Too bad for him, I wasn't the type of person to be threatened. Though he appeared older, I could make out a teenage resemblance in him. No, he wasn't a man. He couldn't have been. He took a careful step toward me, his eyes wide with concern.

Concern? I didn't even know who he was! Why was he looking at me like I'd known him all my life? Like I was a friend in need? This wolf-boy was freaking me out.

"Please, don't be scared. I'd like to help," he whispered. His voice was soft and sincere, and definitely young. He took another step toward me, now only a few footsteps away. I suddenly felt extremely awkward and exposed. I looked around for my clothes. Where had I put them a few minutes ago? And where were his clothes?

Well, this was a stupid question. If he was like me, and he was, I was positive, he would have taken his clothes off before morphing to prevent from ripping through them.

"Is it all right if I check you?" he asked, anxiety slipping through his somewhat controlled voice.

I nodded, still lying on the floor. I felt stupid and helpless. I tried to sit up, but the pain in my heart tugged at me fiercely, and I let out an involuntary moan. The wolf-boy rushed toward me, knelt on the forest floor, and put his arm around my back to catch me from falling to the floor. Great reflexes, I noted, like me.

"Where does it hurt?"

I stared into his caring eyes and muttered, "Everywhere." I grudgingly twisted my arm to show him the vampire bite.

He stared at it, his eyes widening. "Do you heal, like us?" he asked urgently.

"I don't know how you heal, but I heal… pretty fast," I whispered, taking deep breaths.

"How long does it usually take for the pain to stop?"

"T-Twenty minutes. Thirty," I choked out. I forced myself to look away from the wolf-boy. The other wolves were all staring anxiously at us, and then at the russet brown wolf, who I was now positive was the pack leader. It glared at the wolf-boy with furious eyes.

"S-Seth?" I heard the human boy murmur.

The wolf-boy turned his head to the human. "What are you still doing here? Go home, Mark. And if I were you, I'd stop being an idiot and refrain from coming out here in the woods alone," he growled.

The human boy named Mark just stood there, staring.

"Well, what are you waiting for? The vampire's dead," Seth said with annoyance.

Mark stumbled back a few steps, turned around, and raced off into the dark forest. Seth turned back to me, lifting me up to sit me down. The pain had lightened, so I could actually move without screaming in agony.

I quickly pulled my arms to my chest, covering myself. I was used to being naked, but not next to another naked person in close proximity.

Seth took a quick look into my eyes, and then got up and walked over to my heap of clothing a few feet away. I watched him walk, my eyes involuntarily drifting down his body. I caught myself and brought my gaze up as he turned back toward me. An ashamed blush crept up my neck as he walked to me, his eyes never leaving mine. He brought my clothes over to me and laid them by my side. As he approached me, I noticed a long rope tied to his ankle that I hadn't seen before. Tied to the rope was a pair of shorts. Boys had it easy. They didn't have to carry around anything else.

"Will you be able to dress yourself, or do you need me to help?" he asked.

I just shook my head and reached out for my shirt.

For the first time since he'd arrived, he stepped away from me and looked over at the wolf pack. One by one, the wolves morphed into bare humans, their livid gazes all set on him. There was only one female in the group; it had been the smaller gray wolf. The pack leader was still the biggest, most likely six foot ten.

"What is the matter with you?" the pack leader snarled, taking an angry stride over to Seth. I noted that he had an ankle rope too, as did the rest of the pack.

"She was hurt; I needed to make sure she would make it!" Seth cried in his defense.

"You couldn't have waited till the kid was gone?" the wolf-girl yelled.

"I panicked, okay? She was just lying there! Didn't you see the pain in her eyes?"

"That doesn't give you an excuse to just go morphing in front of people! Especially people you know! Imagine what that kid's going to say to everyone!" the pack leader barked.

"I thought it was kind of funny," another wolf-boy stated. "Did you see the look on his face when you changed?"

"Quil!" the pack leader roared.

"Sorry! Look, I'll go talk to the kid. I have a pretty good idea on how to make him keep his mouth shut," Quil laughed. He waited until the pack leader nodded reluctantly, and then raced off into the forest at an immense speed.

They're fast, like me, I thought. But they weren't as fast. I could easily outrun them. I pulled my jeans on quickly.

The pack leader ran his fingers through his black, glossy hair. "Embry, you need to go talk to Sam and the Cullens. Let them know we just found another shifter."

The last wolf-boy nodded to him and ran in the opposite direction of Quil. Wait, there were more of them?

The head honcho finally turned to face me, a look of prudence in his eyes. "Who are you?"

I just stared at him. What, did he think I was just going to give myself away? The hell I was going to tell him who I was!

The pack leader simply sighed and then turned to Seth. "Seeing as she's not being cooperative, we'll have to take her back to the rez. We'll question her there."

Question me? What, was I under arrest or something? I began to stand up. The pain was manageable now. It would disappear completely in about ten minutes. Seth stepped over to me, but slowly. Cautiously.

"We have to take you back to where we live. You see, we've never met another shape shifter outside our packs. We need to ask you a few things."

"Am I supposed to agree to this?" I asked dryly.

"Either way, you're going to end up on the rez, being interrogated," the female stated.

I turned to glare at her. If I was forced to stay long, I would definitely see to make her as miserable as possible.

"Come on, Embry's probably near Sam by now," the pack leader said, turning to the wolf-girl. "We'll have to head back in human form. Hold her, would you?" He reached for the rope at his ankle and began to put on his shorts.

The female slid into shorts and a t-shirt, both of which had been tied to her ankle. She smiled and ambled over to my side. "Come on, kitty," she chuckled, grabbing my left hand. I squealed in pain, and she immediately drew back. Seth, who was now wearing his shorts, pushed past her and grabbed my arm. This made me wince. His grip was hard; it hurt a little. He stared at my crushed hand intently.

"Her hand is broken," he growled, staring back at the female.

"Well, I didn't know. No reason to get pissed at me," she replied.

"We'll work on it when we get back to the reservation," Seth said to me, letting go of my arm and walking to my other side. "I'll hold her." He grabbed my good hand with the same hard grip and pulled me forward.

We began to quickly jog through the woods. The pack leader always kept a short distance ahead of us. The female stared at me skeptically every few minutes, but didn't say a word. Seth's grip seemed to tighten even more on my hand; it felt like he'd break it soon if he didn't loosen up.

"Um, do you mind relaxing a bit?" I asked him. "You're crushing my hand."

"Sorry," he said, loosening his grip. "I'm a little keyed up. I didn't think I was squeezing that hard."

"Well, that's another difference," I said aloud.

"What?"

"Well, for one, you guys change into wolves. I change into a wildcat. And you seem to be a little stronger than me. Harder, too," I explicated, squeezing his rough hand.

"But there must be some advantage you have that we don't. None of us could take out a vampire alone that quickly."

I thought about my observation of Quil earlier. "Well, you guys are kind of slow."

The wolf-girl looked up at this, staring at me.

"Hmm. Can you outrun a vamp?" Seth asked.

I laughed. "Please, I could easily spin circles around them."

The wolf-girl snickered at this. "Someone's cocky."

I ignored her. "Well, from what you said, we both heal. That's at least one thing in common."

Seth nodded. "And we're both warm. You're about the same temperature as me," he stated, tracing a circle in my hand with his thumb.

It was then that I realized, with a lurch in my stomach, that this was the first time I'd held hands with a boy. Not that I hadn't got around; in the beginning, I'd had my fair share of flings. But I'd never held hands with anyone until now. For some reason, I wasn't uncomfortable.

"And we both hunt vampires," I continued. "That's what you were doing, right? When you came for us, it was to protect him?"

Seth slowly nodded, but there was a strange look in his eyes, as if he wasn't sure that was the correct answer. I would be sure to ask him later. "So, you're taking me to where you live. Does that mean you only protect this area?"

"Yeah. We've lived on the reservation all our lives. It's the one place we were made to defend. It's supposed to be a safe family area, but for some reason, a lot of things are drawn here."

I nodded as we walked. I kept my eyes on my bare feet, afraid that he would be staring at me strangely again. I got a weird vibe from him. Not a bad vibe, but an odd one.

"So, where are you from?"

I thought for a while before I answered. "I… travel a lot. I'm from everywhere, really."

He looked at me curiously. "How old are you?"

Uh oh. I attempted to calculate, but it was no use. "Uh… What's today's date?"

"September tenth."

"Of what year?" I asked. God, this was humiliating.

"Two thousand and seven," he replied. He didn't sound like he though I was a complete idiot.

"Well, I turned sixteen in July," I said.

He nodded, abruptly stopping. I hadn't noticed we'd reached the ending of the forest. I stared up into the open, star-filled sky. I hadn't even realized how late it was. The wolf-people were scanning the area in front of them. Seth had loosened his grip almost completely.

I was tempted to just run. The pain was hardly noticeable now. I could easily take off and never be seen again. But I knew deep inside, I wanted to stay. I had finally found people like me, cursed to the life I had to live. I wasn't the only one with the burden of protecting all of human kind. There were others.

The pack leader led the way across a parking lot and down a narrow street. All the while, Seth was holding my hand. I didn't mind it too much, except I felt like a pet. Part of me wanted to throw his hand away and say I could walk by myself, but I didn't want to offend him or the pack leader. He seemed mad enough already.

"Aren't you a little young to be traveling alone?" Seth asked as we walked down a thin sidewalk, combing through his short, black hair with his fingers.

"Well, I'm not like every average teenager. And besides, I had to leave, go off on my own. Things would have gotten too difficult."

"How?"

I stared at Seth guardedly. "That's kind of personal. And either way, I think we should save a few questions for my interrogation."

"Sorry," he mumbled, looking away from me. "But one more, please."

I sighed. "Shoot."

"What's your name?"

Well, simple enough. "Natalia." My name felt strange on my tongue. I hadn't introduced myself to anyone in years.

Seth glanced back at me. "Natalia," he said, smiling. It sounded weird, having someone say my name. But I liked it.

We crossed the street and came across a long line of widely spread houses. We walked past a few homes and finally came to a stop at the last one. It was a very small, wooden house with little windows and chipping red paint.

"Home sweet home," the pack leader said, walking onto the driveway.

"Shouldn't this go on at Sam and Emily's place?" the wolf-girl asked.

The pack leader had an irritated look in his eyes. "No. My pack found her; we question her on my land. Besides, Emily has Claire over there. We shouldn't bring over any trouble."

Seth pulled me along into the house. "I still don't understand why they didn't go to the party. Nothing would have happened."

"Well, some of us just don't enjoy their company, Seth," the female stated. "Not too difficult to understand."

"Yeah it is," he muttered under his breath, so only I had heard what he'd said.

They led me into a tiny, square living room. A middle-aged man who resembled a much older version of the pack leader looked up from a wheelchair. He placed a book he'd been reading on a small table next to him and then wheeled over to us. "Did you catch it in time?" he asked in a husky voice. He hadn't caught a glimpse of me yet.

"Actually, Dad, someone beat us to her," the pack leader said, moving out of the way to reveal me.

The man looked at me with first surprise, and then interest. "Well, who do we have here?"

"Another shifter," the wolf-girl said, walking past the man and into the next room. The kitchen, I assumed.

The man's eyes shot open and his stare hardened. "Another shifter?" he repeated.

Seth closed and locked the door behind me. He released his grip of my hand and walked past the man to a nearby couch. The pack leader now stood next to his father, giving me the same hard stare.

"Well, I'm afraid I'm no good at introductions," the man said, holding out his hand. "I guess I'll just say hello, I'm Billy Black."

Okay, this man's was way too comfortable. I awkwardly took his hand and shook it. "Natalia Rossi-Smith," I replied, pushing my full name out of me. He'd suddenly made me feel the need to explain myself. Was it because of his intimidating gaze? Wait, since when did I start feeling intimidated?

"Well, this is something. Another shape shifter. I thought we were the only ones," Billy Black told me.

"Same here," I responded.

"She's different, though, Dad," the pack leader said. "I think we need to question her. Find out what we can."

Billy Black nodded. "I agree, Jacob," he said, looking to his son. He quickly returned his gaze to me. "Of course, this is an invitation. If you're feeling uncomfortable at all, you can leave."

I looked at Jacob and Seth's reactions to this statement and held in a smirk. They'd let me leave? Yeah right. Well, it didn't really matter anyway. They wanted to find out more about me, and I wanted to find out more about them. A win-win situation. And of course, even if they thought otherwise, I could leave whenever I wanted.

I shook my head.

"Well, then, we'll wait for both of the packs to arrive," Billy Black said, wheeling himself back to where he had been sitting before. "Take her to get something to eat, Jake."

Jacob Black turned and walked over to the room the female had disappeared to. I followed silently. The kitchen was a little smaller than the living room. A round table was set in a corner. The female was seated there, a large sandwich in her hands, and she looked up at us as we entered.

"Geez, Leah! Don't eat everything!" Jacob yelled.

"Relax, it's just a sandwich," she replied, taking a giant bite.

"It's a huge sandwich," he said under his breath, ambling over to the fridge. He opened it and took out a can of soda. He turned around and pushed past me, taking a seat at the table. "Take whatever you want," he told me, snapping open his drink.

I looked into the fridge with hungry eyes. It had been years since I'd eaten a typical meal. I quickly opened the freezer side, searching for something I had eaten all of the time when… I was normal.

I smiled successfully when I spotted the box of waffles sitting on the top shelf. I pulled it out and set it on a counter. I took out two waffles and looked along the counter until I found the toaster. Drop them in and shove down the slot; that was how it worked, right? I carefully placed them in and pressed down the slot. The insides began to glow bright red, and I grinned happily at my good memory. I quickly put the box back in the freezer and returned to the counter.

"Waffles?" the wolf-girl, Leah, asked.

I felt my cheeks redden. "I, uh… haven't had them in a while," I murmured.

Leah raised her eyebrow slightly, looked me up and down – inch by filthy inch – with a curious gaze, and then nodded as if she understood. She turned away from me indifferently and took another bite of her sandwich.

I heard footsteps and turned to see Seth walk into the room. He ambled over to the counter and opened a cupboard. He took out a paper plate and placed it in front of the toaster.

"Thanks," I said quietly.

He nodded, staring strangely into my eyes. What was his deal?

Jacob had been watching him this whole time. He suddenly choked on his soda, spitting everything onto the table. He wiped his mouth with wide eyes and then turned to Leah. She looked at him with a confused look on her face and then turned to Seth.

"You okay, Jake?" Seth asked.

Jacob just nodded and then stood up. He hurried out of the kitchen without another glance.

"Jerk, can't clean up after he spits all over the table," Leah muttered. Seth reached into the same cupboard and threw her a roll of paper towels. She cleaned up the soda and then tossed the dirty paper towels into a nearby trashcan.

There was a sudden loud knock on the door in the other room. I felt a shiver go down my spin. They were here already?

Leah stood up and left the kitchen. I looked up at Seth, who was still staring at me. "Should I…?"

"No, you can eat first. They'll probably want to talk about what happened before they speak with you anyway," he explained.

Speak with me? More like interrogate me. I heard the toaster pop, but Seth was already taking the waffles out for me. He opened up another cupboard and took out a bottle of syrup. He placed my food on the table and moved out a chair for me. This boy was extremely strange.

I sat down and poured syrup onto my plate. I was about to ask where the silverware was, but he had already brought a fork to the table. I thanked him awkwardly, cutting off a piece of my waffle. I stiffened as I smelled new scents creep into the house. How many shifters lived here? I could smell at least seven more people entering the living room.

"Relax, nothing's going to happen," Seth said reassuringly. "They're just going to ask you a few questions."

I nodded, taking a bite of the waffles. My eyes widened at the taste. I felt myself shiver. How could I have forgotten the pleasure of human food? I smiled eagerly, taking another big bite.

Of course, Seth did not take his eyes off me while I ate. I began to feel very uncomfortable. "So," I began, breaking the awkward silence, "how long do you think this is going to take?"

He became rigid at this question. "I… I'm not sure," he answered. "It might take a while, though. I mean, this is a pretty big deal."

I ate my waffles in less than a minute. Seth took my plate and fork away for me. Why was he being so polite? No, this wasn't politeness. This was servitude. Was I like a god to him or something? I stood up, but didn't walk anywhere. Should I go into the living room yet?

Seth walked over to the doorway and motioned for me to follow. I walked grudgingly out of the kitchen and into the sea of waiting wolves.