AN: I own nothing, no vampires are mine, no wolves, either. They either belong to SM or to Ninadoll! However, Abby and the O'Brien sisters, as well as their aunts and cousins are my babies.

A very special thanks to Ninadoll for betaing, creating the universe, and for her support. I'm loving writing in her universe and she's an amazing friend! Please check out her stories "The Rest of Forever" and "How Wonderful Life Is, Now You're in the World."

To see pictures of Seth and Abby's lives, please check out my blog at liljenrocks{dot}blogspot{dot}com or my homepage at liljenrocks{dot}web{dot}com. You can find a picture of the dress Abby wore on their date.

Please be sure to check out Chapter 15 of Ninadoll's How Wonderful Life Is, Now You're in the World for a wonderful conversation between Leah and Nessie. We find out exactly why Leah is feeling so nice.

Happy Advent! And if I don't talk to you before, have a very Merry Christmas!

CHAPTER 9: BULLET WOUNDS

ABBY'S POV

I would be lying if I said I hadn't been looking forward to a night alone, just me and Seth. I loved my sisters very much and Ashley was head-over-heels for Seth but it was going to feel good to be just us, to be two grown ups out, on a date. I'd primped and shopped just for tonight and I was pleased with myself. Seth seemed satisfied as he ran soft delicate kisses up my arm while we sat at the French restaurant. It was comfy and classy with a brick fire oven in the open dining room and a mural of the Eiffel Tower on the wall.

I didn't want to take my eyes or my thoughts off of Seth in his cobalt blue shirt and black slacks. He was…beautiful. It was all well and good until his phone vibrated in his pocket. Our evening was cut short by an injured wolf. Not that I'm complaining, I don't mind taking care of any animal that needs my help, I just…well, I guess I am complaining, but I don't mean to, not like it sounds.

"I'm sorry, Bee, but I promise I'll make it up to you," Seth said, his hand firm in mine as we drove back to La Push. "I know this was supposed to be a special night and I ruined it."

I turned to look at him with my furrowed brow. "Hush. You didn't do anything wrong and I don't mind."

His hand moved from holding mine to resting on my knee, then my thigh, pushing up the hem of my dress a little as he squeezed, a little too hard. I looked over at Seth. There was stress in his eyes, worry. "You okay?" I asked him, looking to see his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking," Seth said as we pulled into Forks.

"We need to stop at the clinic so I can grab supplies," I told him, moving my hand to rest on his knee. "Are you upset because it's a wolf? I know you said they're your favorite animal." I couldn't think of any other reason why he'd be so upset and distraught. "I'm sorry, Seth, I'll try my best." I told him, suddenly feeling like a failure, worrying I wouldn't be able to save the wolf and having to see even one ounce of trouble in Seth's eyes.

"That's it," Seth nodded. "I'm just worried." He put his hand out and took mine. "But I know that he is in more than capable hands."

"Thanks," I said shyly, looking down.

The drive was quick, it almost always was and we stopped at the clinic for me to grab my surgical tools kit, anesthesia, and an extra set of scrubs as I shoved them all in a medical bag. Seth waited in the car and I could see him drumming his thumbs when I came out. He was anxious and it was rubbing off on me. I bounced my knee as we drove. That is until we got closer to La Push and he put his hand back on my knee. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to make you nervous too," Seth said softly and I felt my body relax as he moved his hand up again and rested it as high on my thigh as he could. The console suddenly made me want to scream and I wanted to be in Seth's lap, probably not a safe thing since he was driving but I didn't care. I needed to be as close as possible. I had to settle for laying my own hand on his thigh. It was the most inappropriate time to want to grope him but I wanted to and the feeling got worse the closer we got to the Blacks'.

I kept getting braver until my hand rested right before him and I wouldn't go any further. We were on a mission and I refused to let my crazy hormones get in the way of saving an animal. Luckily for me, the temptation laxed as we pulled into the Blacks' driveway. We were met at the door by a fury of Native American men and boys, all I recognized, some shirtless. They crowded us and I started to become a little overwhelmed with the frenzy of voices.

"Let her through! It's Abby!" I recognized Scar as he grabbed my arm and pulled me away from them, Seth close on my heels. "He's back here." Scar pulled me with him into a room that looked like a locker room.

Quil paced back and forth, rubbing his hands over his face until he saw me. "Thank God!"

Jake popped his head from behind a wall and I almost didn't recognize him. Jake had always been laidback, a bit of a joker. Not like some of the other men, but he was fun and warm. Now, he was stoic, his face in a hard scowl. "It's about goddamn time, Clearwater."

"Sorry, we had to stop and get some supplies," Seth apologized. The apology was quite interesting as well, it wasn't like Seth's normal apologies. It was like he was speaking to his employer or father. It was very respectful and subordinate.

I moved my eyes from Seth back to Jake. "Can I see him?" I asked, pulling the scrubs out of my bag, pulling the pants on quickly over my dress and kicking my high heels off. Jake nodded and guided me back to a large bench or counter. I took one look at the dark furred wolf and said, "I don't think I brought enough anesthetic." The wolf was huge, mirroring the size of a horse, and it whimpered a little as I walked towards it. "What do they feed the wolves in Washington?" I got closer and leaned my head down listening.

"Um, Nessie's brother has medical training and he tried to see what he could do but the wolf wouldn't sit still long enough for him to find anything," Jake said standing over me.

I looked up at him as he towered over me, I didn't even think as I pulled my dress over my head, standing in front of Jake, Quil, Seth, and the wolf in scrub pants, and a strapless black bra, which I swiftly covered with the scrub top. "Does Ness's brother have training with animals?" I asked, coming even closer to the poor horse-wolf, petting his head and leaning down to shush him. I put in the IV portal and turned back to Jake.

"No. He brought blood, though," he pointed to two bags of blood clearly marked O Pos.

"That won't—" I was cut off as Seth connected the blood bag to the IV and placed the IV bag on the makeshift IV stand/locker.

"Seth! NO!" I screamed pushing him out of the way. I panicked, pulling out the stethoscope and listening intently. "You can't give an animal human blood! You probably just fucking killed him!" I'd never yelled at Seth like that, I'd never yelled at anyone like that actually, and I could see him wince a little as he and Jake exchanged a look I wasn't familiar with. I listened closely to the heartbeat for a minute, closing my eyes to take in the rhythm and make sure there was no change. Blood transfusions were rare in animals, and if they were done, it was only with blood from an animal of the species. I thought for sure I would hear the wolf's heart start to give out but it was still the same, a loud, fast heartbeat. I opened my eyes and glared at Seth. "If you're going to do that, then you need to get the hell out of here! All of you!"

"I'm staying," Jake commanded and I shuddered a little at the authority in his voice and found myself agreeing.

"O-o-okay," I nodded turning to Seth.

"If you find the bullet, I'll finish up," Seth said back to me with no emotion in his voice.

"Like hell you will!" I shouted, pulling the surgical tools out my bag. "Are you a veterinarian? Do you have experience treating canines? Or equines for that matter since this wolf is as big as a horse? Do you know how to appropriately administer ketamine? No!" I kept pulling things out of the bag as a man walked in behind us, greeting him being the last thought on my mind. "You human doctors are always so cocky!"

A snicker came from the man behind me as Jake shot him a look. "I hardly think now is the time for laughing, Edward," he said to the man.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't help but think about how much Carlisle would've loved to have heard that statement," the Edward gentleman approached me. "I'm Edward, Ness's brother. You met my wife Bella yesterday." Edward reached his hand out to me to shake but the wolf behind me started to thrash and yelp.

"Whoa, boy, whoa," I pivoted to him, petting his fur as the thrashes slowed. It was a technique I'd used on almost every traumatic event I'd treated, it was a technique I'd seen my father use countless times on horses and I adapted it to fit the size of the animal I happened to be treating. I placed my hand on the wolf's chest, while stroking his head softly with the other and humming. Odd, I know, but my Dad's theory was that if humming could soothe a child, it could soothe an animal. I didn't really matter what you hummed, it could've been Metallica or Enya, as long as it was soft. And it worked momentarily until Edward moved closer again. "I don't think he likes you," I said to Edward as the wolf growled and thrashed again. I grabbed the large wolf's muzzle, looking at it almost directly in the eye and used the second tool in my veterinary bag of tricks. I talked to him.

SETH'S POV

I wanted to tell her to stop. My beautiful imprint's face, nose to nose with an unstable, pissed off werewolf. I didn't though, she seemed more than confident as she looked into Luka's eyes, plus Jake had a firm grip on Luka's neck, keeping his head down on the table.

"Calm down, buddy. No one's going to hurt you, okay? I'm gonna make it better," she kept talking as Edward backed out. "Seth, can you hand me the vile in my bag?"

I moved slowly as she kept petting Luka, softly humming and talking to him. "Here you go, Bee," I whispered, sitting it on the table next to her.

She didn't miss a beat. "Can you get me one-and-a-half milligrams?"

"Sure," I held the vial and the syringe up, Abby getting super close to Luka's face again. "Abigail, that's dangerous. Animals can attack when they're injured," I said to her, capping the syringe. She laid Luka's head down on the table, and I couldn't take my eyes off of her as she grabbed a bag of saline from her medical kit, hooking it onto the IV stand then placing it in the other portal on his paw before slowly administering the ketamine. "A horse tranquilizer?"

She nodded. "You can use it in dogs and cats too. In smaller doses." She pushed the plunger on the syringe sending the clear medicine into Luka's IV then capped the syringe and put it to the side. "You're okay, you're safe, and I'm going to get that metal out of you, okay? So you just take a little nap and when you wake up, you'll feel better."

It seemed like Luka was listening, his heartbeat slowing. "I think he's out," I said, grabbing Abby's stethoscope and let her guide it so I could hear his heartbeat. Abby moved with speed to the wound on his side. I could tell that Luka's breathing had steadied and I moved the stethoscope. "What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to shave the fur off just around the wound," she said, digging in her bag and handing me a razor. I started in on the shaving as she went to scrub and prep for searching for the bullet. I was careful to make sure Luka wasn't healing, I didn't want to tip Abby off to anything weird. "Your turn," she said to me as I finished shaving the area. I watched her though, while I scrubbed up. She had her purple gloves on, pulling at the skin around Luka's wound. She'd laid her tools out, bright, shiny, and sterilized.

"Jake, can you tie our masks?" I asked. He followed me back to my spot next to Abby, standing sternly and he was quick to tie both of us. It was one of only a handful of times I'd feared my Alpha, and not because I was worried that he might hurt me, but that he might scare my Abigail. I looked around making sure the locker room was somewhat of a sterile environment. "Does Ness have an apron in the kitchen?" I didn't want to get blood on my nice clothes and felt guilty thinking about ruining Ness's apron but it had to be done.

Jake nodded and called for Lil' G to run and get it. Lil' G followed his directions as Abby started to work. She pulled out the betadine and looked at me. "I need you to pull his tongue out of his mouth," she said using a sponge to spread the betadine on the whole area I'd shaved. It was pretty miraculous that the bleeding had stopped and I worried about how she might react as Lil' G brought in my apron.

"Here you go," he said handing it to me. Great, I thought. It was bright pink with the words "Kiss the Cook" on it. As if my imprint yelling at me didn't make me feel emasculated enough but it would have to do for now.

"Why do I have to pull his tongue out?" I asked curious, not a hint of disagreement or argument in my voice.

"To keep it from falling back into his mouth and so I can watch the color of it to see how he's doing. If it starts to turn a bluish color, we're in trouble," she said picking up a scalpel and cutting the skin around the wound a little. "Wow."

"What?" I asked, afraid of what she'd found.

"The bullet. It like lodged itself in his ribs. I would think it would've gone deeper into the tissue," Abby looked diligently at the wound. "That's just…his bones…wow." I leaned over Abby's shoulder and looked. Just as she said, the bullet had stopped in the middle of his ribcage. "I need a piece of gauze and the forceps."

I handed each item to her and watched as she wrapped the gauze around the bullet before she attached the forceps to it. It wasn't like the forceps for humans, they looked like large tweezers. And the gauze, I was unfamiliar with why she would need that. "Why the gauze?" I asked.

"Because, the bullet could still explode and I'd like to keep both my hands. I have plans for them later," Abby said coyly looking at me. We were in the middle of a traumatic event, one of my brothers laying on the operating table, and yet I had never wanted her more. "Okay. Here we go." She wrapped the forceps around the gauze covered bullet and gave a hard yank. At first nothing happened, then she wiggled the forceps a little and inch by tiny inch, the bullet slowly slid out. "Shit!" she yelled, putting the bullet down.

"What's wrong?" I asked, trying to see as she crowded the area.

"He's bleeding, I swear it looked like nothing was penetrated…" she stopped and grabbed a piece of gauze removing some of the blood. "What the hell?"

Shit! He healed, I thought and exchanged another worried look with Jake. This was getting dangerous but I knew I had to play it off. "Is he bleeding badly?" I asked.

"No. It's like he just stopped," Abby said moving the gauze around and soaking some of the blood. "There's not much I can do about the crack and hole in his ribs other than wrap him up and hope it heals well."

I nodded and looked to Jake and Quil, who was now at Jake's side. Both gave me a small nod. "What's the prognosis?" Jake asked.

Abby stopped looking around Luka's ribs and started to pull the skin back together. "Most likely, I'll just need to wrap his ribs after I stitch him up. He'll need some place to stay so that I can come back and check on him everyday. But, it seems like he's pretty strong."

"Will he have permanent damage?" Quil asked as Abby shook her head no.

"He'll maybe have a scar from the stitches but his fur should cover that okay," she turned to her kit and pulled out the stitching materials setting to work. She was quite skilled and I almost envied her technique, stopping every now and then to pet Luka, who was not completely out now but seemed to be subdued enough. "Um, where is he going to be able to stay? I don't think you want a wolf hanging around your house." If she only knew! "My other concern is the cause of this injury. I had an Alaskan Malamute dog that was shot and killed a few weeks ago. His wound was identical to this. I don't like the idea of someone shooting wolves. It's just…wrong."

I saw Jake's face soften a little as he watched her finish her work. He assured her that it was no problem for him and Nessie to have a wounded wolf on their property. I helped Abby wrap Luka's ribs tight and saw her wince every now and then when she would hear him whimper. "The poachers were taken care of," Jake told her as we finished the last wrap and she removed her rubber gloves.

"Good," Abby nodded.

"Thank you, Abby, for coming so quickly and doing this," Jake didn't smile but his face wasn't as stern and fierce as before and Abby gave him a small smile.

"It's no problem, Jake. I would've been mad if you hadn't called me," she patted Luka's head. "He should wake up in the next half-hour or so. I'll stick around until then if you don't mind."

"Not at all," Jake said. "And let me know how much I owe you."

Abby put her hands up and shook her head again. "Nonsense, I wouldn't dream of collecting a single cent from you, Jacob Black. This animal needed special help and I was the only one that could give it to him. I should thank you for realizing that."

I wrapped my arms around Abby and pulled her close to me, inhaling the scent of her hair. "Well, thanks all the same," Jake grinned. He was relaxing, Quil was relaxing a little. "Quil, I think you have a call to make. You're sister?"

"Oh, yeah," Quil said nodding at Abby. "I take back every bad thing I said about you," he winked at her as she let out a little giggle.

"Good," she smiled, leaning into me more.

I felt myself start to rock her softly and kissed her forehead. "You know, we still have all night, Abigail. We can wait for him to wake up and then go back to my house. If you want." I was trying to whisper, though it was useless in a houseful of wolves.

She nodded in my arms. "Yes, very much."

I heard a few chuckles from outside but shrugged them off. I didn't care what they thought, the most important creature in the world was in my arms and that was where I intended her to stay for a very long time.

"Seth," Jake said, nodding towards the door, which in the language of Jake was code for 'we need to talk.' I nodded back, pulling Abby's face up so I could see her delicious pink lips and bright shining emerald eyes.

"I need to go chat with Jake but I'll be right back, okay?" I told her as she squeezed me tighter.

"Promise you'll be right back," she wouldn't let me go.

"I promise," I said feeling her grip relax as she released me fully and I gave her a tiny kiss on the lips before walking out the back door. Jake was sitting on a log, Embry and Quil standing around him.

"You have to tell her, Seth," Jake said, looking down. "I know it's a lot. And I know it's hard, but you have to. What if Luka had phased mid-surgery? What the fuck would you have done then?"

Embry and Quil, his wingmen, looked at me seriously, knowing the Alpha was right. "I can't just blurt it out, Jake. I love her and I can't just say that either. She's been through a lot and I think saying, 'Hey, by the way, me and my buddies poof into big giant horse-wolves' might freak her out, and I can't…I can't lose her, Jake. I waited so long for her and she's here and she actually wants me too. I don't want to ruin that," I said with conviction.

"You know by keeping it from her, when she does find out, she's gonna be majorly pissed," Embry said. "I know girls like her, they're not the type that likes being lied to."

"I'm not lying, I'm just," I had to think hard. "Omitting the truth."

"Same damn thing," Quil huffed. He came up closer to me. "Other than you, I probably know Abby better than any other wolf. Tell her. Not tonight, not tomorrow night but soon. She loves you too, Seth and she'll be okay with it. Eventually."

He might have been right but I wouldn't risk it, not yet. I heard Abby's voice speaking softly and I realized Luka must be awake. "Can we discuss this later? Right now, I just want to take Abby home and make out with her for what's left of our date night."

The Three Wisemen gave out a grumble as I walked off, back into the locker room with Abby. "You ready to go home? He seems okay for now. I'll have Jake call me though the moment anything changes," Abby smiled at me.

Home…Someday it would be both our home. And that thought, combined with how much I loved my animal doctor/imprint/girlfriend made me smile.

ABBY'S POV

"I think you should leave your toothbrush," Seth said standing next to me in his bathroom as I brushed my teeth. "I have one at your house."

I spit out the paste, brushed my tongue, and washed my mouth out. "It's a little harder for me to just stay here, babe." I looked at him. He was standing in front of the mirror, finishing brushing his own teeth. He was shirtless and the flannel pajama pants hung low on his waist.

"I know, but it's not like you can't bring Ashley here," Seth said looking at me carefully.

"And Ava?" I asked, watching his face carefully. This was something I was concerned about, something we hadn't discussed yet. I loved Seth and I knew that I wouldn't ever be with anyone else, ever. But I still worried where my sisters fit into any future we may have.

Seth looked at me a little more closely. "Abigail O'Brien," he scolded me and cocked his eyebrow.

I smiled at him. "I know, I know. My sisters are always welcome here," I said.

He moved towards me and snaked his arms around my waist. I laid my head on his chest, listening to him breathe and listening to his heart beat. Those were the two best sounds in the world because that meant Seth, my Seth, was okay. "Have I told you how much I like the idea of you being here? In my house, in my bed?"

"I just like being anywhere close to you," I whispered blushing. "I'm sorry I yelled at you at Jake's. I just got in the zone and I just…"

"I know," he answered putting his chin on my head. "You were pretty damn amazing, by the way."

I chuckled. "Thanks."

"You were calm and you should've been scared shitless," he said, lifting me slightly in his arms. My pajamas for tonight were a t-shirt of Seth's, a dark gray with blue lettering that read "La Push HS Wolves." It was big on me and hung well below my knees, and more importantly, it smelled like Seth, like Christmas trees and sugar cookies. It was warm and loving, just like my Seth. His lips moved closer and his hands moved further down until they rested firmly on my butt. "You were my hero."

Almost instinctively I wrapped my legs around his waist. I couldn't think to talk or do anything but enjoy the taste and feel of Seth's tongue as it ran along my bottom lip then pushed into my mouth, not breaking away even as he laid me down. His bed was huge, soft, and I couldn't even take in the large flat screen TV that hung at the bottom of the headboard. All I could think of, feel, realize was Seth.

His large hands, soft and rough at the same time, ran up my thighs stopping at my hips. He moved his kisses to my cheeks, then my forehead, my chin. And he pushed my t-shirt up over my breasts, kissing each peak before I had a thought. "Seth," I moaned.

"Bee," he answered.

"How many women have you slept with?" I blurted out, realizing that I probably totally ruined the moment, but it was a legitimate question, right?

"What?" Seth's eyes moved from my breasts to my eyes.

I tried to calm him, stroking his hair. "Well, you know that I'm a virgin and I know you're not. I know that what we have is…special. And I want to, no, I need to know how many women you've slept with."

He pulled away completely, sitting across from me now. I could see a change in his demeanor. He didn't like this question. "Why would you want to know that?"

I couldn't figure out if he was worried or mad or anxious. I knew there was no way we'd be back in the kissing position we were in a few minutes ago, but I'd heard, from my cousins, Chloe, Vanessa, hell even my cousin Raul made it clear that when you had sex with someone, you had sex with everyone that person had had sex with. And I knew that if Seth and I continued on the path we were on, sex was in the future. So I deserved to know, right? "I just…do," I hoped that was good enough.

Seth closed his eyes and cleared his throat. "I don't know if…"

I scooted closer to him, this time wrapping my arms around him. "Why don't you want to tell me?"

He didn't hesitate to hold me and I leaned my head on his chest. "I don't want you to judge me. I wasn't the same person I am now. I did some crazy stuff in college and then, I don't know, before you."

"I won't judge you, Seth. Other than my sisters, you are the most important person in my life," I whispered it to him, hoping he could hear the sincerity in my voice. "I just need to know."

Seth took another deep breath. "A few. I, um, I lost my virginity to a girl from Makah…" It looked almost like it pained him to talk about it, though I couldn't for the life of me think why. Sex was supposed to feel good, why would he be remorseful of sleeping with someone before me? I cuddled closer and felt his hand rub my back. "The first, my first was a sister of a friend of Emily's. She was my girlfriend, kinda, and then, after we did it, she dumped me." Talk about giving someone a complex.

"Was it, were they—" he cut me off, which I was thankful for.

"It was nice at the time. But I think, if you and I did it, it would be…more," Seth sighed and it took me a minute to realize that he wasn't holding me now, I was holding him. He wasn't making a proposition or asking me to have sex with him. He was reassuring me that it would be okay and it made me realize I loved him with every single part of myself. I loved him. It was three simple words: I Love You. But I needed him to say it first, I couldn't take the risk of not hearing it said back to me.

His head was laying on my chest now and I kept stroking his hair. "I'm sorry I ruined the moment," I said to him as he sat up.

"No, it's probably something we should've talked about before now, actually. I don't know though, I don't like to think there was ever anyone before you," his words made me instantly blush and his dark eyes looked up at me as I raised up to kiss his lips.

"Honestly, there was never anyone worth mentioning before you," I smiled. "You are it, Seth." I added 'forever' into my thoughts but didn't dare say it out loud. And just like that, the mood was back.

Seth pushed me back down, crawling in between my legs. But I got bold and rolled so I was on top. Every time Seth had been naked in my bed, the lights were always off and I never really got to admire the piece of art that was Seth's body. Tonight was different. It was just him and me and the lights were on. I pulled away as Seth's eyes watched me. "What's wrong?"

"Can I…can I see you?" I stuttered out. It took Seth a minute to realize what I was asking and his eyes were full of confusion until it hit him.

"You wanna see me, like 'see me, see me'?" I nodded and watched him stand up from the bed. "Only if I can take your shirt off first." I nodded again and his hands worked quickly to meet the hem of the shirt as he lifted it off of me. I blushed as he stared for a minute, swallowing hard as he took in what he saw. My breasts weren't particularly large, that weren't small either, and it was cold. "Can I touch?" I nodded, trying to figure out at what point I became speechless. He inched his warm hands forward and gently grasped both of them. This was farther than I'd ever been before and I was about to go even farther, finding the elastic in the pajama pants he wore, slowly pulling them down.

My breath caught in my chest when he was fully exposed and I started to wonder if it would ever be an okay idea to have sex with Seth, he was, well, quite well-endowed. "Um," I stuttered, licking my lips. He released his hold on me and looked away, almost like he was embarrassed. "You're…wow." That got a smirk out of him. I started to move my hands to touch him but decided against it, instead just enjoying the view.

Eventually, after about ten minutes of gawking and Seth randomly groping my breast and kissing me, we decided the exhibition was over and it was time for bed. He pulled the pants off completely though and helped me put my shirt back on as we curled into bed, laying on our sides and facing one another.

Seth kissed my neck and ran a finger through my hair. "Why weren't you scared, earlier, when you were with the wolf? You should've been terrified, but you weren't, you were calm and collected."

"I don't know. I've been more interested in wolves lately. Maybe it has to do with Ashley's buddy, Sandy," I smiled at him.

He chuckled. "Do you know why Jake and the guys were so worried about the wolf?"

I shook my head and gently touched his cheek. "Why? You were all very nervous and it kinda freaked me out a little."

"Well, see, we Quileutes have legends about wolves. Supposedly, we are descended from them, so, when we see a wolf hurt or in pain, it's almost like we can feel it," Seth's eyes never left mine and I wanted to ask questions.

"From wolves?" I asked, my voice low. "I can see why you would feel a connection with them. I like legends." I scooted closer to him. "Will you tell me another one?"

Seth smiled and kissed my forehead. "Well, there was this chief named Ephraim Black, and he—"

"Black? Like Jake and Nessie?" I yawned.

He nodded. "That's Jake's great-grandfather. Anyway, one night he and a few other men…"

I felt myself falling then, into a deep sleep and I hated that I was missing this legend. But before he said another word, I was out like a light.