Paul

I don't know why I opened up to Scarlett like that. It felt right. She was observant. Very observant. I guess as a lacrosse player, you have to be aware of things going on quickly. She also knows what a team atmosphere feels like and the dynamics there. I didn't realize that I had slipped up until she hit me with her lacrosse stick.

"What! The! HECK!" She said, hitting me with every word.

"I've been here for two! Days!" She yelled angrily, hitting me again. It didn't hurt, but I didn't appreciate it much either.

"It's not my fault!" I yelled back.

"Darn right it is! You just had to mess with me didn't you!"

"I wasn't trying to mess with you!" I really wasn't. I had seen a lot of girls, and none of them were as wonderful as Scarlett. She was hot when she was angry. There was fire in her eyes.

"Oh please! Pretending to care about me, pretending that you're worried about me, it's all just a game to you!"

"This isn't something I can control!" I felt myself trembling.

"Well you better try. I will not become just another plaything!" That sent me over the edge. I burst into wolf form, not only angry at Scarlett, but angry at anybody who had hurt her before. The things she was saying implied that she had been treated badly before. She stood there shocked for a moment, gazing at the giant wolf in front of her. Luckily we were far enough down the beach that nobody was near us. My head was oddly silent. I knew that almost the whole pack was phased, so it shouldn't be this quiet. Everyone's attention was focused on me. Scarlett didn't move, she just kept her hands on her stick.

Paul, you have to calm down so you can phase back and explain it to her. Jared said calmly.

You don't want to hurt her. Sam warned.

Kudos to her for being brave enough to whack you. Leah laughed. There was a collective shut up Leah from the rest of the pack. I turned my attention back to the girl standing in front of me. Her knuckles were white from clutching her stick so tightly in her hands.

"Well this is odd." She mused.

"I'm still angry at you. Giant wolf or not, I'm not just something you can fool around with." She said sternly. She turned on her heel and started back towards her house.

Do I follow her? I asked the pack.

Can you phase back? Sam asked. I opened my head up, letting them feel the anger at everyone and everything that had hurt her, even herself. There was no way I could phase back yet.

Go run patrol. Clear your head. Come back to my place when you can be human again. Sam ordered. I turned and sprinted into the woods, finding a familiar path. I let my wolf instincts overcome me, the thrum of my paws hitting the dirt relaxing me. I ran for at least two hours. It was dark by the time I found myself in Sam's backyard. There was a pile of clothes on the back deck, courtesy of Emily. I phased back and put on the shorts before going inside. Emily slid a mug of coffee across the counter as I sat down.

"She's at the Blacks right now. Ri is with her, explaining everything."

"I should be the one explaining." I growled, before draining the mug. Emily ignored my comment.

"It's funny how alike you two are. No wonder you imprinted on her. You both have a short temper and aren't afraid to protect yourselves." She said calmly.

"I see it in Seth and Ri too. They're both very happy-go-lucky. A lot of people think your soulmate is someone who balances you out, but with you guys it seems to be like half of you was missing and you find it in your imprint." She continued. It was an interesting theory.

"I'd let her come to you. Let her process what's happened, let her calm down. She'll come to you when she's ready. You don't want to frighten her any more." Emily finished before leaving the kitchen to join Sam on their couch. I stayed sitting where I was. I had to get control of myself. If I got up now I'd find myself at the Blacks. Emily was right. Scarlett had to come to me when she was ready.

I sat in Sam's kitchen until it got so late that he kicked me out. Then I went home and laid in my bed until I fell asleep. I dreamt about Scarlett and the leech that we had killed earlier today. I woke up in the middle of the night with a feeling of panic.

"It was just a dream." I said out loud into the darkness. Imprinting for me was a lot harder than everyone made it out to be. Seth and Ri were perfect for each other. They had he same sense of humor and got along great. Kim had liked Jared before he imprinted, so he had it easy. Claire will have grown up with Quil. There's no way she won't like him when shes old enough. Jake didn't have much trouble either. Nessie loved him, and so did her family. His trouble had nothing to do with the imprint, just Nessie's blood status. I guess the only person who had any trouble with imprinting would be Sam, but it wasn't his imprint that he had trouble with. He and Emily were fine, it was Leah who caused the trouble. Why did I have to have the imprint with a temper? Maybe it was payback for all the times I blew up at everyone else, or all the girls I had slept with. Now I've found the PERFECT girl, and I can't have her. Just my luck.


hi everyone! Is this really my third update today? Wow. Impressive. Scarlett's quite a firecracker isn't she? I'm going away for the next few days, so I won't be able to update until Monday, but I'll try to sneak one last chapter in before I fall asleep tonight. Review please!