Okay, before I give you the next chapter, I just want to let you know that I made some changes on the author's note from Chapter 2…so Paul did actually imprint on Cara…And also, I only got 2 reviews for my last chapter. So if you read my story, please review! And thanks to those people who do review! It keeps me going!
"She's still sleeping?"
"She went through a lot, Jared. Besides, Paul said he got the feeling she was in some kind of…trance. We don't know what that could have done to her."
"What happens if she doesn't wake up Sam?"
"SHUT UP JARED!"
"Paul, calm down. She'll wake up. Just give her time."
I don't know why there are so many voices. And everything is so dark. I feel hung over. My head is killing me. I want to go back to sleep, but the voices keep talking…
I groan and open my eyes…and see a bunch of concerned faces staring at me. "You're awake," one of them says. I remember him now. Sam Uley. Now when did I meet him? How do I know him?
"What…happened?" I murmur in complete confusion. I remember moving to La Push, and then it gets blurry…
"You were attacked," Sam says. "At the bonfire last night. Do you remember now?"
I close my eyes and concentrate. I remember that guy in the woods, the wolf or bear or whatever it was, I remember…I left. I was mad, and I left the bonfire. Oh yeah, Daren cheated on me. Then what happened?
Then it hits me. The man. That feeling he gave me. But instead of remembering that feeling, cold terror seeps into me, and I'm shaking. My body's punishing me for ignoring that instinct.
"What the hell is happening?!" A voice demands, and I see Paul, and he's shaking too.
"Paul!" Sam's voice rings with authority. "Calm down. Don't lose it." What is he talking about? Then Sam's attention is on me again, looking for an answer. I take a deep breath. "Yes, I remember now," I whisper shakily.
"Will you tell us what happened? We need to know what we're dealing with since we didn't get him in the woods…" Sam looks like he's said too much, so he clamps his mouth shut.
Then I remember what led to me leaving the bonfire in the first place to call Daren. That big "La Push" secret everyone seems to know. I shake my head at Sam. "No," I say stubbornly. "I'm not telling any of you anything. Not until you tell me what's going on. You're all hiding something, and I want to know what it is!"
Sam opens his mouth to argue, but something in my eyes must've stopped him, because he sighs. "Fine. But first, you must promise something. Anything we tell you right now you will not repeat. Do you understand?"
I nod. "I promise."
Sam sighs again. "Have you ever been told any La Push legends?"
"Yeah. Sue told my father a lot of her favorite legends, and my dad told me. Why?"
They all have that "inside joke" face on again. "So if you know all of Sue's favorite legends, then I imagine you know about the protectors of La Push right?" Sam asks.
I scoff. "Sure. The La Push protectors are said to be werewolves, protecting people from 'the cold ones,' or vampires. There's supposedly a treaty between the werewolves and a family-,"
"Coven," Jared interrupts.
I roll my eyes. "Whatever. There's a treaty between the werewolves and a coven of vampires in the town that don't kill humans. As long as those vampires don't bite a human or go on the rez, then there won't be any sort of war, and the werewolves will stay on the La Push side of the border. It's just a campfire story to scare kids and keep them from running off too far. I don't see where this is going…"
The next words from Sam are spoken slowly, like I'm a toddler. "That's exactly it. The legends are true."
I look at Sam in shock. "You're kidding, right? That's ridiculous. You're saying that right now, there are a bunch of wolf-people running around, looking for vampires…?"
Sam shook his head. "Not running around now. They're all in here."
I look around, and see everyone from that "La Push Gang" at the bonfire, except for Emily and Kim. There is one boy there I don't recognize too. I look at Sam again. "What is this, some of kind of…cult? You guys walk around telling people you turn into wolves?!"
"We don't go around telling people this, which is why you had to promise you wouldn't tell."
I think for a minute about this whole thing. I guess it would make sense. Those wolf things were way too big to be normal wolves. And they howled, which ruled out bears. And every time I saw one of those wolves, Paul would be there. "Okay…" I say slowly. "Prove it then."
Sam shook his head. "I figured you'd say that."
Suddenly Seth is shaking Sam's shoulder. "Can I show her? Oh, that'd be so cool! She is my new sister. I should get to show her."
Sam laughed. "Fine, you can show her." Seth grinned widely until Sam added, "Since you're one of the smallest, you probably won't scare her anyway."
Seth glowers and trudges out of the room. Everyone begins to file out. "You need help?" Sam asks.
"No. But I do need to go to the bathroom…"
Sam points to a door next to the one everyone was exiting from. "Right there. Just meet us outside."
I smile. "Thanks. Where am I anyway?"
"You're at my house. Don't worry, Sue's with your dad now, explaining everything to him. He'll probably be over in an hour or so."
I nod and walk into the bathroom. I didn't want to admit it to Sam, but I do feel a little weak on my feet. Oh well. I'll get to go home after dad realizes we're with a tribe full of psychos who think they're wolves. I look at myself in the bathroom mirror. I'm a mess. There's a huge cut on my face. My hair makes it look like I should be the one claiming to be a werewolf. Oh well. I turn to leave, then I notice something on my neck. I move the hair blocking it and gasp. It's a huge hickey. Right where my pulse is. I touch it. It's ice cold. I shudder, remembering last night. Anything I felt for that man is gone, replaced by fear and disgust.
I walk out of the bathroom and stumble. I expect to hit the ground, but someone catches me and holds onto my waist. To my shock, it's Paul. "Careful there," he says quietly. "You okay?"
I'm confused. He hates me one day, and now this? Well I'm still mad. "Not like you care either way," I spit out. I try to jerk out of his grasp, but I don't move.
Paul holds onto me and looks me in the eyes. They're so dark and deep, and I feel something shift in me. No, not shift…connect. "You're still pissed about the whole woods-thing." He doesn't say it as a question, but I still answer.
"Yes I am! You were a complete jerk to me. And I didn't even do anything!"
He finally breaks eye contact, but I can still see his eyes. And they're filled with remorse. "Yeah, I know. I was an ass. It's just, you saw me. As a wolf. That could've turned out so bad. And there were other things…but it doesn't matter. I shouldn't have acted that way, and I'm sorry."
I want to forgive him. But I still think he's absolutely crazy. "Okay," I finally say. "If Seth actually turns into a wolf out there, then your excuse is a good one, and I'll forgive you." That makes it easy.
Paul grins, actually grins, and says, "I knew you'd forgive me!"
I roll my eyes. "Aren't we sure of ourselves…" I mutter.
He lets out a booming laugh and half leads, half drags me out of the house and into the front yard. Everyone is waiting, and they seem just as shocked as I am that Paul's grinning and laughing. We stop so that we're in the front of the group next to Sam. Emily is on his other side. "Hello Cara." She says. The only person in front of us is Seth. He's about fifteen feet away, and I can still see has that goofy grin on. "You're going to love this, Cara!" He says. Emily sighs. "I guess I should go get an extra pair of pants," she murmurs, and walks back into the house. Just when I thought I couldn't be more bewildered…
"Okay Cara," Sam says, "Seth is going to change now. Just don't freak out. He's not going to hurt you." Paul still hasn't let go of my waist, and his grip tightens. He is so warm. It's insane.
"You ready Cara?" Seth calls.
"Sure," I say incredulously.
Seth closes his eyes. Nothing happens. I'm about to mention this fact when I notice that he's shaking. At first it isn't too bad, but they begin to worsen until he is trembling so bad I am surprised he can stand. I've only known Seth for a day, but I like him. And I'm worried about him as tremors rock down his whole frame.
"Seth, are you okay?" I yell. I begin to walk to him but Paul's grip tightens again, holding me back. "Just watch," he says.
Suddenly Seth crouches, and his whole body explodes into golden…fur. He stops trembling and turns. And howls.
In the place of Seth is a giant wolf.
