I walked along the road opposite to the forest. The rain pelted against the hood of my jacket and the wind roared in my face. I spent hours in the forest, just running.

Exhaustion meant I did not think much of anything, other than food and water. I wanted it that way.

Derek offered me a ride home but I was not tired enough, so I decided to walk it.

Obviously I regretted that now and I refused to call him up and refused to transform. I did enough of that for one evening.

The road was dead. I hated the silence that came with being alone. The rain hurling down didn't help. In the end, I became accustomed to it, too used to it to properly hear the wind howling and the rain's bluster against the tarmac.

Further along the road, I could hear faint little puffs of air and little padding of feet.

Squeezing my eyes shut only to open them a second later, I could see what made those cute noises. A kitten. A jet black kitten, limping across the road.

I had to laugh when I saw the creature. It was soaked and tiny. Too cute.

I quickened my pace around the corner, only to see a light flashing before my eyes and a long honking of a horn.

My body back just on time to avoid a collision. Soon after tires screeched against the road, the car came to an abrupt stop.

"Oh man," I mumbled, eyeing the car and the door that flung open. I went in search for the cat. "Where are you kitty? Come here, you little thug. Come on."

A figure jumped out of the car, they quickly set up an umbrella and looked in my direction.

I raised a hand to signal that I was kind of busy and scrambled to catch the kitten, thankfully that was not road kill.

I breathed out a sigh of relief when the mewling mess was positioned in my arm and went to face the music.

Before I even reached the person, they began to ramble.

"I didn't see you! I took my eyes off of the road for like two seconds to switch some songs on my ipod and you! You came out of nowh- Embry?" Allison gaped at me then looked to my arms. "Is that a kitten?"

I grinned, holding the kitten close to my chest. "Hi."

"Hi? Embry. What..." she trailed off. She levelled her umbrella so I stood beneath it too. "Get in the car."

Following Allison to her car under the now drizzling rain, I opened the front seat door and sat it, wincing at the sound the water made combined with the leather.

Allison opened the back seat and grabbed something before she joined me in the front seat.

She reached over to wrap the kitten in a towel, but the cat hissed at her. She flinched back and managed to avoid being scraped.

"Awe, no Claudia, hush." I grabbed the towel Allison offered and whispered soothing words to the kitten. The kitten's heart beat raced. "Hush, little girl."

"Clawdia?" Allison repeated with a small grin. "And you said you weren't cute."

I glanced up from the freshly wrapped kitten and gave her a scathing glare. Allison raised her hands in defence and started the car.

We drove quietly for five minutes or so, only the sound of Clawdia purring filled the silence.

"You okay?" I asked, as Allison's fingers tightened around the steering wheel to the point they turned white.

"Hmm."

"She's just scared. Poor little thing, she was out in the rain and all alone."

"That makes two of us." Allison glanced at us both with a frown. "What were you doing walking this late at night? I nearly killed you. Oh my God. I nearly killed you. Are you all right? I didn't clip you or anything, did I?"

I snapped my head up. "Oh no, don't worry. I'm fine." I scratched the kitten's chin playfully. "It's this little princess I'm worried about."

"If you're sure," Allison said uncertainly, biting her lip.

I faced her with a reassuring smile. "I'm sure."

"Your neck!" Allison felt the need to pull the car over so she could bring my face impossibly close to inspect the wound on my neck. "How did I manage to do that! That's it, I'm bringing you to the hospital. I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean to do this to you-"

"Allison!" I panicked when the girl's face turned purple.

"I'm the worst person ever—"

The girl kept rambling, not even finishing her sentences. Not once did she take a second to breath.

"Breathe," I ordered, sharply. "I'm totally fine. This was from something else. I'm accident prone. Really, really, inclined to near death experiences."

Allison's hand still kept a grip on the front of my coat. She did finally breathe but her heart still raced a million miles per hour.

Her breathing picked up as she continued to inspect the wound. She raised her finger and ghosted it along the outer side of the wound, making me shiver.

Allison leaned back and started up the car again. "My house is close by," she said, abruptly changing topic. "I don't care what you say, but you're coming in and so is Clawdia."

"My mom's a nurse, you know," I muttered. Allison only hummed her acknowledgement. "I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself."

"I'm sure you are. Clawdia on the other hand, needs a little help getting warmed up," Allison said, sparing a glance toward the kitten.

"My brother works at the vets."

"Embry," Allison said, making me look up from the purring kitten. "Shut up."

Allison parked the car in her driveway and rushed the pair of us into the house. She told me to go up to her room while she filled her parents in on the whys and hows of me being there.

I walked cautiously around upstairs until I found Allison's room.

There were a few boxes still left to unpack but I didn't mind a little clutter.

As I connected eyes with the kitten, something happened. All sound escaped me, all except for the kitten's nervous panting. Then its harsh gasps began to ease as some sort of primal communication occurred between us.

For the briefest moment, my eyes took on a strangely violet tint. In response, the kitten sprawled its body submissively on the bed, yielding to the obviously dominant animal.

I smiled, always enjoying the connection I had with felines.

All the while, with Allison watched from the doorway with an expression I couldn't decipher. I gathered the kitten into my arms and hugged her. I gently laid the animal down on the bed covered by the towel.

Allison stayed back, watching me inspect the cat while stroking it, doing an expert job of calming it.

"Is Clawdia okay?" Allison asked, making her presence known. Although I already knew she was there, I just didn't know what to say.

"Yeah, she's just fine." I smiled at the cat. "Aren't you?"

Allison stole a glance at my clothing but I barely noticed, too terrified to glance at the beautiful girl for more than a few seconds.

When I finally did look up, I saw Allison rummaging through drawers.

I took the clothes offered to me with a smile. When Allison stepped into the hall to give me privacy, I couldn't help but notice my reflection in a wall mirror. As I pulled the wet shirt off, I caught sight of my eyes. Much too bright.

Looking away, I noticed the kitten staring up at me. "What?" I whispered. "Not cute enough for you?"

Allison knocked before she came back into the room.

"So it looks like she's going to live. And I'm pretty sure she'll even let you pet her if you want." I grinned when Allison scrunched up her nose.

"I don't think so."

"Come on. If anyone's cute, it's Clawdia." I grinned at her. "I promise to try to keep her pesky claws away from you."

Allison approached the bed slowly. She tentatively reached out to stroke the kitten behind its ears. Calm now, the kitten even purred a little and leaned its head into her hand.

"You're right," Allison finally said, smiling down at the cat. "Cute as a button."

Allison looked up from the kitten and stared at me. Noticing the stare, I asked, "What?"

"Sorry. I was just thinking." At my expectant stare she grew hesitant. "Your neck," she said slowly, almost cautiously. "You were with Derek, weren't you?"

"Oh." I blinked. "Oh! No, no. Yes, I was with Derek and no, Derek's not like that."

Allison wore a tight smile. "I'm glad."

Not liking how tense the silence grew, I decided to joke lighten the mood. "So, Family Night on Friday. How exciting." At Allison's groan I continued. "Poor Danny. Poor very gay Danny."

Allison covered her face, clearly embarrassed. "Oh no."

"Oh yes. Purely platonic reasons for asking you to join him. Think of his feelings right now. With that being said, you're going to the party. Danny can drive us."

Allison threw me a curious look. "Family Night was a total lie," she admitted placing her hands over her eyes then mumbled, "I'm such a liar."

"So, liar, is that a yes? You'll go?"

"Definitely no." Allison smiled at my sudden pout. "That was also a lie."

The next day I made my way up the bleachers, pushing through the crowds of students. Lydia waved me over, patting the seat next to her.

She dismissed the person she spoke to and ignored the disappointed frown the girl wore and gave me her full attention.

Her grin was all sorts of manic. I sat down cautiously, waiting for whatever weirdness was about to come my way.

I clasped my hands together and simply waited. "Okay, what is it?"

"I am so proud of you, Em." Lydia ruffled my hair. "It's like seeing a child take their first steps."

"The first elimination is just starting." I gestured toward the field, furrowing my eyebrows. "Unless you can predict the future, how can you be proud of me already?"

Lydia rolled her eyes. "No, not that. I got a text from Allison. Look at this." She skimmed through a few texts on her phone and stopped at one. "This picture. You, Allison and 'Clawdia', on a bed, in a bedroom that is most certainly not yours. You work fast. Even if I am shipping you and her over her and Scott, I did not expect this."

"Work fast?" I scowled at the assumption. "We're friends, if even that. Did she not tell you what else happened?"

"Well you're progressing further and faster than predicted," she cooed. "You adopted a kitten together! You're getting a head start on making a family!"

"What? No. Lydia, stop."

"Love is in the air, doo, doo, do, doo, do, do," Lydia sang. "Just kidding. She told me about how you left Derek's house late with a bruise and she nearly killed you with her car. Oh and how you saved a kitten's life as well."

"Lydia..."

"It's okay, Em." Lydia stared out onto the field. "After the game the boys are going for a little run in the forest. If they happen to find a nearly beaten to death Derek, well that would be just pure coincidence that they happened to be there. Nothing to worry about."

Stunned into silence, I just stared at my completely calm best friend. I was not sure if she was serious or not.

Lydia nodded her head behind me. I followed her line of vision and found that Allison walked up the bleachers in our direction with a noticeable smile.

She sat on my left side. "Hey, Lydia," she said, with a little wave. "Embry, are you not playing?"

"I am, just in the next round." I answered and turned to Lydia. "If you're serious. Call it off. You have it completely wrong."

Amid the players rushing the field, a very late Stiles found Scott in the crowd and hurried toward him.

"Scott, wait up!" Stiles shouted, pushing a guy out of the way and promptly ducked to avoid a shove to the shoulder. "You gotta' hear this!"

"I'm playing the first elimination, Stiles." Scott answered, not looking at his friend. "Can't it wait?"

Stiles grabbed his friend by the forearm. "Just hold on. I overheard my dad on the phone. The fibre analysis report came back from LA and they found animal hairs on the body from the woods."

"Stiles, I have to go." He removed his hand from his arm.

"You're not going to believe what the animal was—" But, with Scott's helmet on, he disappeared in the crowd of other players rushing the field, leaving Stiles to say the next words to himself. "—It was a wolf."

A hand placed itself on my thigh. "Are you okay?"

I looked from the hand, to my thigh and back to the hand. "I'm fine. I just need to speak with Stiles." I got up and started walking away. Before I was completely out of sight I turned to Lydia and gave her a warning glare. Lydia nodded in return. Catching Allison's frown I offered a, "Catch you in a bit!"

"All right, you know how this goes," Coach said. "If you don't make the cut, you're most likely warming the bench the rest of the season. But make first string and you play, your parents are proud, your girlfriend loves you, everything else is cream cheese. Now show me what you got."

The whistle blew and the game started. The pace was fast and brutal. When the ball was passed to Scott, Jackson came right after him. Lacrosse sticks smacked down on his gloves.

Scott tumbled forward and slammed to the ground, kicking up dirt around him.

The whistle stopped the play. Jackson stood over Scott, glowering down at him as he picked the ball up with a gloved hand.

Teeth clenched behind his mask, Scott pushed himself up off the ground. Coach gave the whistle a sharp blow, starting the next play.

Scott and Jackson found themselves staring across from each other at the draw, crouched down with their sticks waiting for the assistant coach to drop the ball.

At the whistle, Scott moved with shocking speed, grabbing the ball right out from under Jackson.

I joined Stiles at the stands, we slowly moved to the side-lines to watch. "This is not good."

Stiles gave me an odd look but said, "I know."

Scott charged the length of the field. The defence lashed out with their sticks, but he parried expertly.

Jackson caught up and made a furious stab at stealing the ball. Then with defence converging on him, Scott twisted his lacrosse stick around. He kept the ball safely in the pocket while he literally flipped forward, leaping right over the heads of the defensive players.

His feet landed on the turn, he whirled around, tossing the ball in an over the shoulder shot past the goalie and right into the net.

The crowd in the bleachers roared. Everyone was on their feet. Everyone except Stiles and I.

"Stiles," I grabbed his hand before he left. "You need to convince Scott not to go to the party tonight. Also he better not to join the lacrosse team, he needs to quit. But, one thing at a time. He needs to stay the hell away from the party."

"You know!" Stiles pointed at me accusingly. "How do you know?"

"Scott couldn't jump over socks. Now he can flip over bodies?"

Stiles seemed to accept that answer. "Okay." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Okay. That still doesn't explain how you know. But, he's coming over to my place after this, you should come too. Just—" He looked guilty. "Don't let him see you."

I nodded my head. "I know how an ambush works, Stiles," I tried to joke about it, but it fell flat.

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, don't worry. Out of sight, out of mind and all that good stuff."