Thank you to everyone who has read, alerted, favorited, or reviewed this story (especially to the people who reviewed)! As a thank you, it's about six hundred words longer than usual. On a sadder note, I think this is going to be the second to last chapter in this story. And I don't think anyone saw this ending coming!

Also, I do not own Twilight. Never have, never will. I'll be writing my own stories in a few years. Oh, and I don't own the song mentioned, either. But that song is freaking amazing, I was just listening to it, and it inspired the epiphiny for my own life, so I figured it would inspire Katie's, too.

Seth's POV

Even through my misery and self-loathing, I was honestly happy for my sister. At first, I was thinking, Right now? Seriously? Of all the times the universe could have picked, it's right now? But then I saw Leah smile the first real smile she's had since the disaster with Sam and Emily. I could see the love and the pure joy in her eyes, and it made a crappy day better.

"Finally!" Jake shouted. "If I had to hear her bag on me for being a cradle robber one more time, I was going to rip her face off. But now she's a cradle robber, too! Oh, thank you Universe! Your sense of justice and payback is appreciated!"

"Jake, shut the hell up," Leah said shortly, but she was smiling the whole time, so she didn't really mean it. Okay, she totally meant it, but she's not going to hurt us like she would have done before.

"I – um – hi, I'm Beast – I mean, Chris. Chris Greene," Beast tried to introduce himself, walking right up to Leah with a huge smile on his face.

"I'm Leah Clearwater," she replied with an equally huge smile. They just stood there and stared into one another's eyes with pure love and happiness.

"I hate to interrupt, but we need to talk to Beast. He has quite a bit to tell us," Sam said. He had an arm around Emily's shoulders, and both were wearing relieved smiles. They knew Leah would be happy now, and they could finally begin to let go of the guilt they had been clinging to for so long.

"He's right," Beast said quietly to Leah.

"I know," she replied simply. Beast gently brushed her cheek with his hand, and I felt like I was going to drown in the love that saturated that one simple touch. Then again, I could just be acting melodramatic because of the mess today.

We all filed into the Uleys' small living room, taking seats on any flat surface we could squeeze ourselves onto. It was hard fitting eighteen werewolves in one room.

Sam stood next to Beast and Leah, his presence commanding the attention of the room. "Beast, why don't you tell us what is going on. Start from the beginning, if you could."

"Sure," Beast replied. "A few years ago, I phased during a bonfire, when there were no wolves in wolf form. For some reason, I was calm, and I was able to phase back into a human quickly. But I went straight to my parents, and told them exactly what just happened. They thought I was crazy, and shipped me off to a mental hospital for kids and teens that night. I tried to phase and escape, but the anti-psychotic drugs they had me on put me in a thick fog. I couldn't feel anything. Everything was blurry and out of focus. My parents said that staying there and getting better was what was best for me. I knew I wasn't crazy, though, and I started to try and figure out what was myth and what was history. The next morning, I met Katherine Carter."

He paused and took a breath. "She became an adopted sister to me in less than a month. The doctors had me on a strict diet so I would lose some muscle so they could control me, but Katie always snuck me extra food. She told me why she was there, and I wanted to kill something. A vampire had killed her brother, and had been stalking her ever since. She started calling me Beast, and I started calling her Beauty. She reminded me a lot of Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Kind and considerate, yet completely oblivious to the world around her, caught up in her own world."

His face screwed up in pain and he gripped Leah's hand. "About a year later, they declared her cured, and let her go home. She came back two months later, sobbing and depressed because she had failed again. I held her while she cried, and let her tell me all about her so-called 'delusion' coming back for her. That damn vamp had to visit her five times before she finally started screaming and believing that he was back for her. When I saw her before she left the last time, she promised that she would never believe the thing was there again. But I knew that was going to get her killed.

"So I waited for the doctors and nurses to become complacent, and I stole a cup from the cafeteria. I took my meds like a good boy for a week, then drank a shitload of water and pissed everything into that one cup, and stopped taking the meds. So instead of pissing in the test cup fresh, which is how the doctors make sure I'm taking my medication regularly, I gave them the old stuff that still had the meds in it, while the drugs wore off and I felt my emotions and… werewolfness… come back to me. I broke out at two a.m. this morning, and ran straight here."

"It's good to have you back, Chris," Sam said, clapping him on the shoulder.

"It's good to be back. But…" he trailed off, "I think I'm going to keep the name 'Beast'. I think it suits me. If that's okay with you."

He looked at Leah intently. She rolled her eyes. "I don't care what I call you. Beast sounds just fine."

They both grinned at one another, and I knew the imprint had chosen right for this couple. Leah would rant and rave and generally be pissed off, and Beast would take it all in stride. They would balance one another. Hell, they were already balancing one another.

"Beast," Collin started, "you know the most about Katie's supposed 'condition'. How do you think we should prove to her she's not insane and we're telling the truth? And how Seth isn't a lying douchebag?"

"By the way she was acting this morning, I think it's been a long time since she took those meds. They affect you more when you first start taking them. I noticed the vamp never… visited… her while she was taking her meds, to make her think the meds work and she is insane. So we show her when the drugs first start to wear off. She'll be able to feel emotions again, but the drugs will still be in her system. If she sees one of us transform while she's on the meds, she'll have to accept that what she is witnessing is real," Beast suggested.

"That was… specific," Brady said.

"I've had a while to plan this," Beast replied dryly. "Seth and I will talk to her, and either Brady or Collin will phase in front of her."

"I'll do it," Brady volunteered immediately.

"Now, seeing you phase may not be enough. We have to make sure she pets your fur, hears you grumble or whine, smell your fur. Using all of her senses to perceive us will prove our existence far more than sight alone," Beast suggested.

"That sounds like Katie. The more proof, the better," I said quietly.

"Exactly," Beast said, getting up from the couch. "Come on, guys. Let's go get our Beauty back."

Katie's POV

The fog was beginning to thin. It used to be so thick, I couldn't feel anything. There was nothing but calm bliss. But the fog was thinning, and I could feel my emotions and the rest of the world start to come back. The pain from earlier today was returning.

Seth's desperate face came back to my mind, and I felt the pain rip through my chest. Why would he do this to me? I thought…

I had honestly thought that Seth could see past my insanity, see that I was cured. I had hoped that we could start a normal teenage relationship.

But then that dream was shattered as he started saying all of those horrible things. It couldn't be real. It wasn't possible.

I wanted to scream, run, cry, find Seth and beat him with a baseball bat, something to do to keep the thoughts away.

But I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if Seth was telling the truth. After all, both he and Beast were huge for their age. They ran incredibly hot temperatures. They were strong, durable, and, most of all, protective.

No. This was the kind of thinking that got me thrown into the hospital in the first place. I couldn't go down that path, no matter where it led. Even if that path led me to Seth.

My mother's phone binged, signaling a text message. I sighed. As soon as I had come back downstairs, she informed me that Daddy had left to go fishing with Charlie and Billy, and she was going over to the Stanley's for lunch. She must have forgotten her phone.

I trudged into the kitchen and picked the stupid pink thing up. I looked at the sender ID and…

Who was Tony? The sender ID read "Tony D". She had never mentioned anyone named Tony. Daddy hadn't, either. Could it be a business client? She hadn't really worked on her interior decorating all that much since we moved here. If she was starting it up again, the message might be important. I opened it.

Wat you wearing to lunch? it read. That's weird.

There was a knock at the back door, and I almost jumped out of my skin, thinking it might be my mother. She would kill me if she caught me on her phone. I set the phone down on the table, and went to answer it. I saw Seth and Beast through the window.

I almost walked away. I almost ignored two of the people who mattered the most in my life, walked away and never looked back. But something in me wanted, demanded, desperately needed me to go answer the door. I tried to ignore it, but it wasn't something that could be ignored.

I opened the door, and hugged Beast fiercely. "I missed you so much, Beast!" I cried, completely ignoring Seth.

Beast hugged me back just as enthusiastically. "I missed you too, Beauty. But we need to talk."

"About what? About how Seth is a giant douchebag?" I asked incredulously.

"That's just it, Beauty. Seth would never hurt you in the way you're thinking. Hell, he would never hurt you, period. And you know he wouldn't," Beast said seriously.

"Then what the hell is this about?" I asked furiously. No wonder some women refused to associate with men. I wanted to pull my hair out in frustration.

"You're not crazy, I'm not crazy, and Seth is telling the truth. Come out here, and we'll prove it to you," Beast said succinctly.

"I…" I faltered. What should I do? Beast didn't wait long, and grabbed my wrist and hauled me outside with him and Seth.

"Ow!" I shouted, pulling my arm back. He rubbed against my cut wrist the wrong way, and now it stung. He probably reopened the wound.

"What? I didn't grab you that hard, did I?" he asked.

Seth growled. "Someone sliced her wrists open yesterday. You grabbed her injured wrist."

Beast's eyes widened in shock, then he started growling. "Who?" he asked ferociously.

"We don't know," I said shortly. "Now, what proof could you possibly have?"

"Right, the proof. Hey Brady!" Beast shouted.

"Yeah?"

I saw Brady peek out from behind a tree in my backyard.

"What are you doing over there?" I called to him.

"Not scarring you for life! I'm naked," he replied.

"Why?" I gasped.

"Katie, please don't be scared," Seth begged, taking hold of both my hands. "Just… please, let us try to explain."

"Explain what?" I shrieked.

And that's when Brady exploded into a giant wolf.

One of my best friends just burst into a giant wolf. I started hyperventilating. This couldn't be happening. I was crazy, this wasn't happening, this COULDN'T BE HAPPENING!

Out loud, I was whimpering, and I felt my legs buckle underneath me. Seth easily caught me and held me up.

"What… what…" I tried to speak, tried to ask what the hell was going on, but the words wouldn't come out. I just stood there, whimpering and muttering and sounding like an absolute lunatic. Which I was, so it made sense.

"Katie, you aren't insane," Seth said fiercely, staring deep into my eyes. "Brady can transform into a giant wolf. Both me and Beast can. A lot of the guys on the rez can. It's why we grow so tall and have so much muscle, why we have such hot temperatures, and why we heal so quickly. We're werewolves. We protect the tribe from vampires like the one that's after you."

"This… this can't be," I gasped out. It wasn't possible. It wasn't physically possible!

"I know, Katie, I know how this must sound to you, but I would never lie to you about something like this! I love you!"

"Brady, come here," Beast motioned for the wolf to come towards us. I stared as he slowly approached.

I shrank into Seth's side, too terrified to speak. This wolf was bigger than a horse!

"You don't have to be afraid, Katie. It's still Brady… just a bigger, furrier Brady," Seth whispered in my ear.

I rolled my eyes. Of course Seth would say… the wolf just rolled its eyes. He rolled his eyes, and the gesture was so Brady that I couldn't help but think maybe. What if Seth and Beast weren't lying?

I reached out a tentative hand towards Brady's head. He dipped his head down so I could reach. When my hand brushed over his fur, I couldn't help but marvel at how soft it was. It felt softer than human hair. I started slowly moving my hand, petting him. He hummed in pleasure.

But then I recognized a tune to his humming. It was Florence and the Machine, the song called, "The Dog Days Are Over". He let me listen to that song last Thursday morning. I started singing along, already having memorized the lyrics.

"She hid around corners, she hid under beds,
She killed it with kisses and from it she fled,
With every bubble she sank with a drink,
And washed it away down the kitchen sink"

I started giggling. I remembered all of the lyrics, and I knew why he was making me sing it with him. It was fitting.

"The dog days are over,
The dog days are done.
The horses are coming,
So you better run.

Run fast for your mother, run fast for your father,
Run for your children and your sister and your brother.
Leave all your love and your longing behind,
You can't carry it with you if you want to survive."

I started laughing. It just lifted my spirits up in a way no conversation could. I couldn't tell you what those lyrics actually meant, but for me, they meant my unhappy days were over. All of the pain and the sadness and the whiteness were firmly in my past, and it felt so damn good. The burden of being crazy lifted away from me, and I felt stupid for letting my parents and the doctors tell me I was wrong. There was nothing wrong with me. There never was.

"I was never crazy, was I?" I asked my friends (who just happened to turn into giant wolves in their spare time) lightly.

"No. The vampire played this game well," Beast growled. Seth growled, too, but both were lost in the thunder of Brady the wolf's growl. I giggled and rubbed his head, letting him know I was okay.

"Then that means the Cullens are vampires, too," I realized. "But their eyes are gold, and my stalker's are red…"

"Yeah, because the Cullens drink animal blood instead of human," Seth said. "Animal blood changes the eye color to gold."

"That legend is true, too?" Beast asked incredulously. "At this point, they're all true…"

"Sounds like it," I answered them happily. After being depressed for so long, it was nice to feel joy again.

"You're taking this…" Seth started to say, but trailed off, at a loss for words.

"Surprisingly well?" I offered.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Don't get me wrong, I'm over the moon about it."

"I know you are," I laughed. Seth held me close and kissed the top of my head. Which reminded me…

"Hey Seth?" I started. "Earlier, when you said you would never lie to me about this…"

"What about it?" Seth asked, looking thoroughly confused.

"You said you loved me," I said simply.

"Oh, well, that's another part of being a wolf," Seth said reluctantly. It was painfully obvious that he wanted to leave this conversation for later. "We… when we see… sometimes when we see a girl, it's like… she's it. You know that girl is the most amazing person you'll ever meet, and… and… Jake described it as gravity shifting. The world doesn't hold you here anymore, she does. You'd give anything to make her happy."

He looked intently at me. "It's almost like love at first sight, but it's so much stronger than that. We call it imprinting. And… and I imprinted on you. I love you."

"So…" I began. "What you're trying to say is I'm your soul mate?"

"Basically," Seth sighed. He must think I'm going to take this badly. And I don't know what possessed me to do this next thing, but it popped into my head and it sounded like exactly what I should do.

"Good," I said, pulled Seth down to my height, and kissed him. My first kiss was going to be on my terms. And it was so amazing, I wouldn't have done it any other way.

Seth's arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer. The kiss was chaste, yet so passionate. I pulled away and smiled at him. His answering smile was amazing.

This was heaven.

Beast cleared his throat, and Brady started coughing. Oh, he transformed back into a human. I must have been kissing Seth longer than I thought.

"Hi!" I said brightly, waving at them.

They just stared. "They're going to be worse than Kim and Jared, aren't they?" Brady asked dully.

"How bad are they?" Beast asked.

"Really bad," Brady replied.

"Then yeah, they are," Beast agreed.

"Eh, I don't care," I said, shrugging. Seth laughed and kissed my forehead. I smiled up at him, and everything was right in the world.

A wolf howl cut through the air, and the boys' heads snapped towards the forest.

"That's a signal, they've found your stalker," Seth explained quickly. Brady and Beast were already running into the woods. "We're going to go stop him, for good. He'll never bother you again. Stay here, be safe."

I kissed my soul mate fiercely, then said, "I don't care about him. Just come back to me, Seth."

"I will," he promised, and he ran into the woods.

I walked back into my house, locking all of the doors and windows. Not that it would do much good, but whatever. I sat at the kitchen table.

The boys had their mission, and I had mine. I picked up my mother's phone, and got to work.

Oooo, I wonder what Katie's up to? If you're confused about anything, feel free to ask. I won't answer anything about the up-and-coming last chapter, though. Please review! I really want to know what you thought about Katie finally accepting the truth! And everything else!