I could sing. I could dance. I could fly. I opted to fly. I tossed my clothes to Mama and took to wing. My cries echoed off the cliffs. I'd met her. I'd touched her. She liked me! She said so. She was still with Joe, but it looked like that wasn't going to be a problem, not for long. Hell, if I could just shoot zombies with her, visit her when she got out from the school, I'd be thrilled.

I flew to the top of the next peak, let out another cry and pulled my wings in. I started plummeting to the ground. The wind pierced through my feathers to my skin. I watched the ground come closer, closer, closer. I snapped out and phased a second later, landing hard on four paws. Damn that felt good. I took a breath and smelled another cougar. I started prowling after it. I was surprised when I found it. The cougar was on the ground and Didi had her face at its throat. I held my breath watching her feed. She drank greedily from the wound she had made. That was Mama's favorite part too. I always let her have it, I wanted the meat anyway.

She must have sensed me because she turned then. The blood was still trailing from the corner of her mouth. It was the sexiest thing I had ever seen. It was the first time I had thought of something as being sexy. I think it was involuntary, but I was a man again. And then I was mortified. I sprouted fur and landed heavily on my front paws again.

She laughed, "Come on out, Ephraim." She wiped her mouth with her hand and then licked the smear. That was pretty damn sexy too. I walked up to her slowly. I was surprised she was still hungry. Then again, she hadn't eaten the meat, just the blood. Might have just been a craving. She was sitting on the corpse now. "You have more than one shape?" she asked.

I nodded my head. I wanted to talk to her, but I really didn't feel like sitting here naked. If I was going to be human I wanted to be human, not a hairless ape.

"That is really really cool," she said a little awed. "How many?"

I grinned and let my tongue loll. I could show off. I phased through my retinue, including beaver and otter which I never used out of water.

"Holy crap!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide. "And you can really fly?"

I went raven and circled her. Then I wondered if I could pull the same stunt I just had. I flew higher and higher. She was a small spot below me. I closed my wings and fell. I snapped my wings and her hair flew out behind her. She lifted her hand to shield her face from the debris I'd just stirred up. Then I went fox and sat in front of her. "Wow," she murmured stretching out her hand to my nose. I stepped forward. Her hand moved to my ears and I started purring. I was a little embarrassed, but only a little. It was a growling purr, but definitely a purr.

"Nice to be yourself with someone, isn't it? That's the only downside of coming here," she was talking to me, but herself at the same time. "Joe's great, but he doesn't really know me. You know what it's like. I don't understand how he thinks your Mom can be your Mom, she only looks twenty-something. Well, she looks like she's my age," she said with a laugh. "That is some gorgeous fur you have there," she complimented me. "Don't let any of the trappers around here see you. They'll never leave you alone." My fox-fur was bronze like Mama's hair, so yeah, it was beautiful.

I dared to creep a little closer and put my head in her lap. Would she mind? She didn't. "Strong silent type, eh?" she teased. "Well, Ephraim, I should head home. I have class in the morning. I look forward to seeing one of your over-sized forms again."

Her smile dazzled me. She ran and I ran with her. She laughed and I ran faster to keep up. I wasn't quite managing. She was fast. She stopped suddenly and I dug in claws, spinning, to stop too. "Don't follow me home, Ephraim. You can't go there, Okay. Don't go near Uncle Seth's house."

I cocked my head in question. I didn't understand why she was frightened. I phased to hawk and flew over her. I watched her stop at her house. She watched me now and I continued to mine. I landed on my door step in human form again. "Mama?" I called ahead of myself.

"Nice flight?" she asked. She held out a pair of sweatpants.

I pulled them on, "Yes! I found her again. She was hunting." I flopped into my nest with a loud sigh. "She is amazing Mama. She likes me. Can you believe it? She likes me," I sighed again and closed my eyes.

Mama ruffled my hair and kissed my forehead. "Of course she likes you. Who wouldn't like you?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "And did you see her waste those zombies?! She is definitely a predator."

Mama laughed loudly now and Dad came out and joined her. "Predator, eh? Watching her hunt? Don't let her walk all over you," he warned.

"Like Mama walks all over you?" I teased. I got punched for that and laughed aloud. Her warning struck me again then. "Was there anything different about Seth?" I asked them.

"No. Big sandy wolf. Gave it up a little after Quil did. Never found an imprint; I think he held out as long as he did hoping to find one," Dad answered. "Why?"

"She told me not to go to her house. Like there was something dangerous there. If it's not Seth it must be the other one," I mused aloud.

"Other one?" Mama asked.

"When I went there that first day. Not the first time, when I was here," I clarified. "She was pushing Joe out and there were two other men there. One I'm sure was Seth. Looked about the same age as Quil. But the other had blue eyes like her. And he was huge, bigger than you, Dad. I think it must be him."

"Well, if she thinks you shouldn't go near him, you should probably listen to her," Mama opined.

"She likes me," I said again with a huge grin.

"I'm so happy for you," Mama said bouncing on her toes. She hugged me and kissed my cheek. Then she hopped on Dad. "Take me to bed," she demanded.

"Night, Eph," he said.

"I'm telling you, she's the predator," I muttered as they left.

I spent the morning practicing piano with Edward and then flew to the reservation to catch Didi with her class. She looked right at me this time and smiled. She was so good with the kids. I listened to her tell them Quileute legends. I watched as she played other games with them. I left once they went back in the building and returned to my grandparents' house. I read another book while Edward and Bella finished what they were doing. Then he came to help me with a new piece. I made supper with Mama's help and then needed another Didi fix. I wondered where she would be. She had told me not to go to the house, but I guessed that was probably where she was. I ran on all fours and stopped at the edge of the trees near her house. She was outside with Joe.

"I do like you, Joe. That's not the issue," she was complaining. Joe had a hard expression on his face. "I just - I need someone who understands me."

My breath caught. She meant me. Surely it wasn't going to be this easy.

"So help me understand you, Didi." He jumped up and put his hands around her waist. He put his forehead to hers. "Help me," he pleaded.

She sighed quietly. "I'll try," she said reluctantly. He kissed her. I watched more closely this time. Joe wasn't pushing her; she wasn't pushing him away. I wasn't that lucky. Still. She wanted me. This wasn't over.

"Go on, now. Don't you need to do some studying tonight?" she asked smoothing his hair back.

He let go of her and agreed, "Yeah, I guess I do. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure." She gave him another peck on the cheek. She watched him go for a minute. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Ephraim," she said quietly. I padded out to her. Was this too close to the house? It was. She pushed my shoulder and led me to a nearby clearing, the one Mama had moved me to. "I don't want to hurt him, Ephraim." She put her head in her hands and her voice was gruff. "Mom would kill me if she knew I was leading a guy on. And you!" She suddenly looked up and there was fire in her eyes. I was afraid for a moment. She was a predator. "I told you not to come near the house."

I folded my ears back and raised my hackles.

"There's a good reason. It's not so bad when you're like this. Just... don't, all right. I'll find you, you'll find me, just don't come to the house, all right?"

I licked her cheek and she laughed. "Is that a yes?" she asked and I nodded. Then I laid down and put my head in her lap again. "You're much prettier than Mom," she told me. I chuckled but it was a bark. "I'm envious. I thought maybe I'd be able to do what you can." She took a deep breath. "But I'm past the age I would if I could. At least I have some of the perks. I still get to imprint." She laughed now and pet me again. I closed my eyes and drank her scent, her touch. She could keep Joe. I wanted this.

"Okay, Hide and Seek. You wait here for a count of twenty then find me," she said with a sparkle in her eye. What? But I'd be able to follow her scent. She was already gone. I started counting and contemplating what I might do when I found her. If she was as impervious as Mama I might pounce her. On twenty I howled, just to keep it fair, and followed my nose. I ran south, then east, then the scent was gone. I stopped looking around. I didn't see her, but her scent was gone. I circled smelling more carefully. I found the tree she had climbed. Smart. Smart like Mama. I phased to cougar and climbed after her. Now I followed through the branches. I fell twice when a branch that held her snapped on me. I didn't quit. I knew I was close now. The scent had disappeared again. I figured she had jumped and did the same. I couldn't find her on the ground either. I sprouted wings and tried looking instead of smelling. I circled further and further. Then I found her, clinging to the top of a pine.

I came and landed behind her. I wanted to phase to something more playful, but wasn't sure the branch would hold me. "Took you long enough," she teased. "You need practice. Your turn. One, Two..." I launched and flew out of sight. Where to hide? How to hide? Bear. I was closest to proper size as a bear. I found a nice berry patch where I wouldn't look out of place and tucked in.

I was tumbled head over tail when Didi crashed into me. How did she find me so fast? She was laughing madly. She clung to my back and I wasn't sure what to do. I didn't want to move for fear of shaking her off. I didn't want to stay still for fear she'd let go. She pulled on one of my ears and I growled. I tucked a shoulder swinging her around and nipped at her as she flew by.

She grabbed my muzzle, "No biting," she warned me just like Mama and Dad always had. I opened my jaws enough to lick her arm and she laughed again. "One more go tonight? My turn again. Ready?" She was gone before I could respond. This time I decided to play smarter. After reaching twenty I phased human and did what I really knew I shouldn't. But it was only for a second. I left my body and asked the animals to find her scent. Even as I did so I heard that predatory growl. The one I'd heard the day I'd met her, from the other one. I fled back to my body and phased to hawk. What was that? Well I knew where she was anyway. The birds in her tree had told me. This time I did phase, to cougar, and sat on a separate branch. I tried to meow, but it came out as a roar. I grimaced and ducked my head.

"You learn fast," she said with a smile and then it slipped. "You didn't-" she said, but she didn't finish. She just kissed my head and said "Goodbye," quickly before jumping away. I heard a wolf howl, not Dad's. Who was that? I went hawk again to try and find out. I circled in the direction of the house and saw him. The gigantic wolf. He was pitch-black with blue eyes. He looked up at me with malice and howled again. Didi burst through the trees. "Aaron. I'm here. Enough." She walked past him into the house and he phased human and followed her.

I still didn't know who Aaron was, but I didn't like him.