A/N:
Aiyanna Clearwater: Awww, thanks! I was thinking of doing something like that at first! But, then I realized that it would mean that Seth and Davina would probably not be together the way they are, so I changed the story into something a little different. I already know how this one is going to end though and it is definitely set in stone.
Just to clear somethings up:
1. This story takes place between the last chapter and epilogue of Wolves and Family.
2. Seth1 is about 35 years old and Seth2 is about 25 years old
3. Seth1 is Wolves and Family Seth and Seth2 is just before Leah visits in Wolves in Washington
4. Again, not entirely necessary to read the other stories. Might help, but most missing information should be filled in over time.
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.
Somehow, Seth gets Paul out of his room. He rushes to change. He discards his black dress shoes, suit pants, and suit jacket in a heap on the floor. He almost cheers when he finds his wallet and cellphone in suit pants pockets and tucks the items away in a dresser drawer. His white button down comes off a little slower, but eventually makes its way into the pile on the floor. Soon enough, Seth's dress clothes are replaced by beige cargo shorts and brown woven sandles.
Seth races down the steps and out the front door of the Clearwater family home. Paul is waiting for him on the porch. The other wolf is the picture of impatience with his arms folded across his chest and one bare foot tapping the worn wood of the house's porch in irritation.
"It took you long enough." Paul's words come out in a low growl.
Seth opts to ignore him, instead taking off in a slow jog towards the tree line. He only looks back once at the irritated Paul. He almost smirks at the other man's angry sneer.
When Paul finally catches up with Seth, he is definitely not happy.
"I don't know what your problem is, but you need to get your head in the game." Paul's voice is still gruff and growly.
Again, Seth opts to ignore him. He's no longer the boy, well young man, that this Paul knows. Taking this kind of treatment from anyone is something he barely tolerates in his current life. Seth's incredibly certain that if Paul doesn't cut the attitude soon, it will be him and Paul fighting rather than Paul and Oliver.
Seth shifts into wolf form as soon as the two make it passed the tree line and into the woods. The feeling of his beige cargo shorts ripping away from the lower half of his body and his sharp, canine nails clawing through the material of his sandles, is the most relieving feeling in the world. Everything may be a mess right now, but this, shifting into his wolf form, was still the same. The immense amount of freedom he felt almost made him have hope about his current situation.
Almost.
What in the f is up with Seth?
Almost.
After breaking away from Sam's pack and having spent almost a year with the pack in Jamaica, Seth had almost forgotten about the pack link.
Almost.
I do not care what's going on. We need to get these last 3 Cali vamps. It's been too long that we've allowed them to be out here.
Luckily for Seth, Jared didn't seem to be in the mood for Paul's crap either. Seth also seemed to recall that this was a period in time that Jared was upset that he was still doing the pack thing when all he really wanted was to spend time with Kim and his son.
An image of him wearing the black suit and lying in bed flashes through Seth's mind.
Come on, tell me that's not fucked up!
Uh, Seth…we'll talk about that later. Jared replies.
Seth can sense the other wolf's concern and curiosity but doesn't bother trying to explain himself or the situation. At least, Paul didn't bring up the, "What year is it?" question.
Oliver, a teenaged gray and white wolf, enters the pack mind.
What I miss? Comes out lazily from his mind. The wolf sounds a bit groggy. Like he just woke up from an all nighter.
Probably did. Paul thinks in reply.
Seth groaned mentally. He really needed to watch his thoughts now that his mind was not his own for the time being.
Shut it. Oliver states in a huff.
Both Seth and Jared groan. They already know what's coming.
Make me. Paul growls back, stepping up to the younger, smaller wolf.
They all had barely just made it to the clearing in the woods and a fight was about to break out.
Can we not today. Seth pleads. He can't keep the irritation from seeping into his voice.
Yes, please. Jared agrees. I'm sick of you two constantly arguing. Who in the world put you two on the same patrol schedule again?
Neither Paul or Oliver reply. Both continue to poster and growl at each other. Mentally, their angry is felt in powerful waves in Seth and Jared's minds.
There's no real time to get the two to quit it; the Cali vamps can be heard as they make their way through the woods.
Seth knows exactly how this will go.
"Wooohooo, those stupid werewolves are still trying to catch us! Don't they know we're too good for their shit?!" They hear one vampire call out. His words are followed by a mock howl. The other two vampires join in and soon after, all three fall into a fit of laughter.
I'll get the vamps, Seth. Jared says as he runs deeper into the woods. You get those two in line. Once, I lead them back here, you guys need to be ready.
Once again, Seth is playing peacemaker.
And he knows it's not going to help a damn thing.
The situation ends just as Seth remembers.
Jared fails to lead the vampires back to the clearing and Seth fails to stop Paul and Oliver from getting into a huge fight in that same clearing.
The trudge towards home wordlessly. Paul and Oliver know better than to say anything; their fighting caused them to lose the Cali vamps. Seth and Jared are not in the mood for any of their crap anyway. Especially Seth, Paul's crap had gotten old years ago. His tolerance for it just took a couple of more years to wan.
Jared just seemed resigned to the situation. He'd rather be home with Kim and their son, Mason. He sighs mentally at the thought of missing out on time with his wife and son for this ridiculousness.
An image of Jared's 5-year-old son appears in their minds. The boy is barely 3ft tall. He has long, black shaggy hair that gets in the way of his dark brown eyes, the boy seems to constantly be pushing aside. Kim still refuses to allow Jared to cut it, the woman thinks the child is cuter with the shag.
In this particular memory, he's sitting on a red blanket somewhere on First beach. The boy sports a large grin, it stretches from ear to ear, and in each one of his big cheeks he has a dimple. He's in blue swim shorts, nothing else, and holds up a yellow toy boat proudly.
The memory makes Jared feel warm all over. Paul, having triplet sons of his own, gets the warm feeling as well. Oliver could care less. He's a teenaged boy obsessed with his video games and the latest going ons at school. Seth, on the other hand, experiences Jared's residual warmth deeply. The reality of being stuck in the past had not fully hit him. But in this moment, after seeing the memory of Jared's 5-year-old, it blasts him at full force.
He's stuck in the past.
He's stuck in the past.
And suddenly, he misses everything.
So, who could really blame him for what happens next?
Seth cannot stop his mind from conjuring its own memory in response to Jared's.
The first thing that hits Jared, Paul and Oliver is the sound of waves crashing into sand and the smell of ocean water. Next, the feel of Seth's eye lids blinking open slowly. The first thing they see when Seth's eyes open, is a child. A little girl.
Her tiny body is stretched out across a green sheet. One arm wrapped around her head and the other jutting out towards Seth, a little brown hand pokes him in the chest. Her brown curls are wild, and fanned across the pillow her face barely meets. She sleeps soundly. Her breathing is deep and she lets out soft snores. Eye lashes that look like ink marks against her brown skin, flutter every so often.
Mentally, Paul, Jared and Oliver are hit with strong waves of love and adoration. Paul and Jared recognize the feeling as the same as a parent would have for a child. It is that intense.
When Seth looks away from the child, they are met with eyes the color of midnight staring back at him. Plump, pink lips curve into a small, soft smile. Unlike the little girl's, the woman's black, kinky hair is done neatly in twists and gathered with a hair tie.
She brings a finger up to her lips. "Shhh." She whispers.
The moment is peaceful. The only sounds present in the room are their breathing the waves crashing onto the beach somewhere away from them.
They can feel Seth grin back at her. They can feel his hand land on her waist and as his fingers begin to rub circles there. The way she shivers and her body leans into his hand slightly.
"I love you." They hear him whisper.
Her smile grows.
"I love you too."
Seth's hand moves to smooth down some of the little girl's wild hair and he nuzzles her small cheek. She stirs, but does not wake.
"I love all of this."
And just as suddenly as the memory began, it ends.
Seth can barely breathe. Davina and Kit. He misses them so much. Where was she?
Seth, who is Davina? Jared asks. He's completely bewildered by the whole situation.
Paul snorts. That's a question we'd all like the answer to.
Seth is surprised to sense Oliver's curiosity as well. Usually, the teen was more eager to leave the older wolves to whatever while he ran off with the younger ones. But, even he wanted to understand Seth's current mental state.
The other wolves get no response from Seth before he run away from them, opposite of La Push, and deeper into the woods.
