JPOV

Vampires. Whenever I said the word, I could no longer associate it with something bad. But like raindrops, not all were white and pure; some reflected blackness, and there was even some grey, just like the one we were chasing after.

Most of us had changed, except for some of the young ones, from Sam's pack. For me, changing didn't take any great thought process; it wasn't like I chanted some voodoo spell that made me all hairy with a wicked voice box that allowed my howl to reach Mercury, or whatever bull was in movies these days. I just sort of did, not think. An instinct, pulse of adrenaline, connected me to my wolf spirit; it was as easy as breathing. Of course, the instinct could also be uncontrollable with certain moods; anger didn't work so well. Anger is the closest emotion we have to being scavengers. It was only natural that my body instinctively called on my wolfy instincts to heighten that feeling of rage. In that form, I could protect myself from anything making me angry in the first place.

Jake! Leah thought irritably. Quit slacking and hurry the fuck up!

I just snorted and willed myself to concentrate. But I couldn t resist. Didn't get any, Leah?

No more than you, she thought acidly.

My automatic response of fuck you was more impulse than will. Her and Seth both knew how much I wanted it - not that I could help that.

Focus, I thought in a hiss. Seth and Leah chuckled inwardly.

We had tracked her just outside of town, darting through the trees. Her sickly scent, and a flash of two red globes - I was changed and running, my pack on my heals by then. I had to admit, vampires did have the advantage when it came to being lithe. Our paws could take us far and fast, but ducking around the trees made us clumsier by a fraction. It kept us constantly a step behind.

She was a fast one, as fast as they came. She moved perfectly through the trees, leaving us no room for mistake, completely at ease with her movements. I pushed my legs faster, running on pure adrenaline.

I smell something, Seth thought.

I sniffed the air, and agreed. Smells like... werewolf? But not us. What the..?

Six furry forms crashed through the trees, one by one. Instantly, we had a connection, merging into one another, the increase in numbers also increasing our power. They were lighter than us - perhaps fairer skinned in human form. Didn't matter. We didn't need to know names or faces. There was no hesitance. We recognized them as our brothers.

Although we couldn't hear them (since they weren t park of our pack) we still knew we were thinking the same thing. I took one route around the trees, driving my legs faster... harder... as the other group leader, white furred, reached the vampire and halted her. She stopped and moved in the opposite direction, where I lunged -

And was shoved out of the way.

A silver-grey wolf growled and snapped its jaws at the vampire, ripping it to pieces. I stood, stunned. That was my kill. For Christ's sake, I was leaping for it - and this dickface had the nerve to shove me out of the way? Who the fuck was this wolf?

Heat slapped my face, too-sweet flames from the fire licking at the vampire's limbs. I was not satisfied. Even as a wolf, this guy was grinning like a prick.

I converted back to human form, and they all followed.

"What the fuck was that?" I asked the guy, with his fruity black hair that was all in his eyes.

"What?" he laughed, shrugging. "I was in the zone."

"In the zone my-" I moved for him, but Seth held me back with his forearm. I wasn't surprised; Leah was probably too busy rooting me on to give a shit about the guys face.

"Jake," Seth cut me off. "Chill."

I growled.

"I'm sorry for my son's... behaviour," a man said; he must have been the white-furred wolf - his hair was like snow. Chief, I could tell. No wonder he didn't want to give it up to his son. But how did he get so old?

"I am Alo," he said, holding out a wrinkly hand. I shook it respectfully. It felt frail in my young, strong hand, but there was an assertion about it that couldn't be denied. "And this is my son, Zeke." He motioned towards his son, who looked only a couple years younger than I. Zeke smirked, flicking a piece of hair from his eyes.

"Jake," I muttered back.

There was a brief awkward silence. But, trust Seth to break it.

"So where you guys from?"

A couple of the guys went to answer at once, more than happy to put an end to this awkwardness.

"Canada," Zeke said, almost shouting over the other murmurs - always the guy who needs to be heard. Figures. "We've been chasing that bitch all the way from Nova Scotia-"

"So you feel you could claim her for your own, even as I was sinking my claws into her?" I couldn t help it. This guy was like oxygen on coals - rousing the fire in me. I couldn't stand him.

He just grinned and said, "Man, I had rights."

"Look, I think we should get outta here," Seth said nervously. He was being a better leader than I was today. Sam's pack was standing tight-lipped behind us. "Get some clothes and something to eat. You're... you're welcome to stay with us until you re ready to leave."

What?!

I didn't have time to question or protest. Zeke, I noticed, was staring appreciatively at Leah - specifically her upper regions.

"Why dress so soon?" he said, making no move to conceal his eager eyes. "It's such a lovely day."

"It's raining," I growled, moving in front of Leah. His nose wrinkled. The other men looked away shyly.

"Sorry dude, but you're much less pretty."

Before I could retort, a vicious snarl ripped through the air. I couldn t have been more surprised to find that it came from sweet, sensitive, happy-go-lucky Seth. I guess he wasn t fifteen anymore; even if he was the younger sibling, I could understand his feral reaction, the need to protect your own.

Alo raised his shaky hand, pleading eyes asking for forgiveness from us. Softly, he said, "We ll go. I'm so very sorry. My son-"

"Is young," I finished gently, hoping to ease this poor man's guilt. I found that I'd gained much respect for him; leading a pack of werewolves at his age ought to be illegal, yet here he was, wrinkles and all, fighting. "Hopefully he'll gain some respect with age." I couldn t help but say that with a little edge. Zeke snorted and I shot him a glare.

"Thank you for understanding," Alo said. His voice, however powerful, sounded like it was running against sandpaper. He bowed his head slightly, expressing his gratitude. I returned the gesture. I wasn't usually this way - with anyone else, I'd say what I had to say, do what I had to do, and be done. There was just something about him that made me want to act a little more... leader-like.

He turned to leave, motioning for his pack to follow, on shaky limbs.

"Wait!" Leah spoke up, reaching out from behind Seth. Seth, now blushing from his recent spasm of unexpected rage, was trying to discreetly move her back.

"Wait," she said again, having no patience for Seth s consistent urges. She waved him off. "It's such a long way back; you need to stay, at least for a night or two. I mean, there's tons of food and extra clothes at the house. It s really no trouble."

What was she saying? Sure, some of her bitterness had faded since she'd joined my pack... but she was almost being sweet. And I noticed then, too, that her face had a slight pinkness to it under the bronze. Alo smiled; took ten years off his face, I swear.

"Lovely," he replied.


RPOV

Being half-vampire, half-human had its quirks. The rain was magnificent with my vampire eyes, seeing every color reflected in the tiny silver tears, brilliant and mesmerizing. I could smell the clouds on the earth, the aroma exploding with every drop crashing into the ground. Rain carried scents, carried feelings and sounds. If I just listened...

Tenors. I shivered with the anger floating among the droplets, held my breath with the resulting discomfort, and soon found my eyes dragged to a couple dozen golden bodies rushing through the trees.

I knew which one was Jake even though he moved in a blur. He carried something with him, something that called out to me, something I could always recognize. I knew he'd been hunting, and not for food. Something that had always left me uneasy; those vampires were bad, but I couldn't help but relate to them in a way. Who knew why they chose that alternative, humans over animals. To me, if I looked at it from an animalistic vampire perspective, they were only doing what came natural to them, just like a lion chased a gazelle; a spider to a fly. When it came to this part of Jacob's life, I turned my head.

I couldn't help but admire him; his strong body, glimpses of gold and black through the thick leafy branches. He wasn't wearing clothes, or if he was it was only a pair of black sweats he generally carried in his mouth. That knowledge made heat rise under my skin.

But wait - a couple dozen? I knew Sam and the boys were down for the week visiting from La Push to our equally-rainy home, Hanapepe, Hawaii. Since Jake and Sam's apparent disagreement (before I was born, of course) they'd warmed up to each other again, but still didn't speak about their pack's or beliefs. But that only made eighteen in itself; since my short life in Forks, there have been two additions to the Quileute pack: Simon and Noah, both age 14. Who made up the other six?

I didn't follow them around the house where Jacob stayed; I feared he wouldn t want me to. He barely let me touch him the past week, after that catastrophic excuse for a date. Let alone see him half naked.

Before I turned away to go about my business of the day, I noticed a boy, around my age (in human years) with his black hair falling across his eyes in wisps, lighter skin than Jake; perhaps he was only half Native American. But those electric eyes... blue. There was a fist clenching in my chest, two contrasting emotions as his lips stretched up in a smirk. The full extent of Jacob's denial snuck up on me then, all the times he pushed me away... and I felt angry. Angry and ready for someone who would have me and not say no. I loved Jacob with my entire being, but that love was rapidly turning into a hatred toward anything that had to do with love. I wanted Jacob so badly; my body, my brain, and my heart were screaming for him. But if he could not sate me, I had no choice but to go somewhere else. I d never wanted anyone like I'd wanted Jacob, and wanting him and then not having him broke me down until I could feel myself cracking, bit by bit, withering away. I felt a light spark with this boy in front of me now, his excited eyes and sexy half-smile. I wondered if I could turn that spark into a fire.

I watched him disappear from my range of sight... and I couldn t deny that he was beautiful.