Title: Their New Life

Summary: Takes place right after the end of the novel. I suck at summaries. Gabriel/Vivian.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Annette Curtis Klause

Chapter 2

Vivian looked rather sullen all through breakfast as she listened to Gabriel's great plans for the pack. He had purchased the land in Vermont and was hoping to speed up the proceedings so they could move as soon as possible. It was all kind of boring to her. There was a reason why she hadn't done very well in Economics classes after all. Esme' and Tomas listened in interest. The two of them had wanted to leave this town for several days now. The whole pack did. Now that they knew there was a link to them as Wolves, everyone wanted to get out of there before news spread. Aiden had promised her he wouldn't say anything, but no promise was worth compromising their family's safety.

Gabriel watched his mate from across the table. She was leaned back in the chair with her arms folded across her chest. Long ago had she stopped paying any attention to where this conversation had been going. She had given her opinion long ago that the move was a good plan, but now in the midst of talking about it, she said nothing. Was it still about that human? It couldn't be; he had tried to kill for Moon's sake. Was the possibility of being farther away from here starting to disagree with her? He didn't honestly know.

Hopefully, when they settled in their new home, she would completely forget about the meat-boy and be herself again.

"Have there been any problems with the purchase?" Esme' asked.

"Not too many. The former owner initially had a problem with the time limit I gave him. I don't think he expected us wanting to move in so soon. I'm going back to Vermont in a few weeks so that we can talk in person about the move."

"A few weeks?" Vivian's voice entered the conversation. He looked to her, surprised that she had been listening all along.

"Yes. It wouldn't be for too long. I just need the former owner to understand that we don't want to undermine the deal or back out at the last minute. The pack sincerely wants out of here. But being a human, he doesn't understand our hurry," he explained. Vivian nodded dully.

"He's going away again? We haven't even had a chance to talk about our relationship yet," she thought. Once again, she withdrew from the conversation. Esme' tried to catch her eye, but to no avail. She at least wanted her daughter to feign some interest in the Pack proceedings. She was Queen Bitch after all.

"Well, I hope that your trip goes well," Tomas said. "Because it is true. Every time one of us goes out for a run, I'm afraid that something will happen."

"And that's why I'm fighting for this deal."

"Crap, I have to go. Sorry." Vivian grabbed her books and headed for the front door. She started to open the door to leave when it closed suddenly. Gabriel had crept up behind her so silently that she hadn't even noticed.

"Is that the only 'good-bye' I get? I'll be leaving in just a few weeks and I might not see you for a while before that," he said, smiling. Vivian scowled playfully at him.

"Well, what did you have in mind?" she asked. He leaned down and kissed her, holding her to him so she didn't escape. She broke it off as swiftly as she could however.

"You're going to make me late and then how will I explain my lateness; that my boyfriend's kisses are too addictive?" she said. Gabriel's smile faded a little. Didn't she know that he was more to her than just a 'boyfriend' yet?

"I love you," he said. Vivian looked back blankly for a minute before she replied briskly with, "Yeah, me too. Now I have to go." Gabriel nodded before letting her go and she bolted out the door.

When Vivian got to school…just in the nick of time, she already had noticed that she had gone back to being the loner, but now with the added title of 'Ostracized.' She sat down at her easel in art class. They had started with painting copies of photographs. Vivian looked at her still blank canvas and the photo of her father clipped to the side. For some reason, putting Ivan down on the white surface seemed to make her father even more of a memory.

"Miss Gandillon, I know that you're talented. I've seen your work before. Don't disappoint me," her teacher Mr. Sanders said over her shoulder. He was the new art teacher and as such, his goal was to pry about every bit of potential from his students as possible. "I hope that you'll have something down by the end of class today. If not, I'll just have to have you come back after school until you do." He walked away to talk to another student while Vivian continued to stare. She could always go with the classic; that it was a polar bear in a blinding snowstorm, but somehow she didn't think that Mr. Sanders would be as amused. Finally, she dabbed her paintbrush into the paints she'd mixed and touched it to the canvas's pristine surface.

After art class, she was surprised at the progress she had made in such a short time. Mr. Sanders had been impressed with the start and she smiled in spite of herself. The painting she had begun hadn't come with the photograph at all though, but from someone else imprinted into her mind. At first, Vivian had thought that it had been Aiden, but then she surprised herself yet again as it evolved into someone else altogether. Her thoughts were disrupted however when someone slammed into her, sending her books flying across the hallway. She hadn't been paying attention. She should have noticed the person heading her way before the impact, but hey, maybe that would prove that there was nothing supernatural about her. Bingo tossed her hair behind her, not bothering to help her collect her materials.

"Oh yeah, this is going to be a great semester," she thought to herself. At least when she had been a loner, she hadn't been mercilessly picked on.

That was only one of several similar events that day. But Vivian merely gritted her teeth and took it, knowing that it wouldn't be long before she could start over again.

Author's Note: Hope this chapter is better than the first one. At least I now have a semblence of an idea of where I was going with this. You have to understand, when I wrote the first chapter; I had written it 3 months before and I had completely forgotten what the plot was. Now I think I remember, so enjoy. Same rules apply, please no flames. Read and Review.