A/N: here's the follow-up to that super short chapter. Let me know what you think!
When they eventually made their way back to the house, they walked hand in hand. Savannah was blushing, thinking about their hook up against a tree, while Seth was grinning ear to ear, swinging their entwined hands between them.
He'd kissed her with intent, and she'd been more than happy to reciprocate. He'd pushed her back up against a tree, his hands on her thighs as she wrapped her legs around his waist to keep them stable. Seth had run his hands through her hair as their tongues met. Her arms around his neck, his hands running along the length of her body -just the memory of their encounter made her flush, and she ducked her head down to hide the tell tale signs of bruised lips and what she was sure would be a hickey on her neck.
When they entered the house they were met with wolf whistling, and Kim grabbed Savannah in a tight hug, welcoming her to the club. "You're a Wolf Girl now," she said and they laughed together. The other girls in the group all came up and hugged, but Seth refused to let go of her hand, leading to awkward one armed hugs and giggles. The guys gave Seth much of the same treatment, "it was about time man," and Paul and Liam looked at him sheepishly. "I'm sorry dude, we didn't think-" Seth raised his hand and stopped them mid-apology. "It's chill. You just be happy she decided to stick around, idiots," he said and grinned down at Savannah, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and kissing her temple.
The group disbanded, and Seth and Savannah sat down on the couch to join Embry and Anna in a passionate discussion about the latest NFL game. Savannah honestly had no interest in what they were talking about, and was more than happy to listen to Seth's rumbling bass as he voiced his opinion animatedly. She rested her head on his shoulder, trying her best to assimilate the day's events in her head.
Seth felt Savannah's breath even out, and he knew she'd passed out cold. He chuckled and moved her carefully into his lap. It was almost 9pm, and the pack had began leaving when Kim excused herself to put Chris to bed. He nudged Savannah carefully to wake her up, and she woke up with a disgruntled look on her face. Seth kissed her forehead, shaking his head at her ability to fall asleep anywhere at any time. "Come on, wake up sleepyhead. Time to go," she grumbled and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "How long was I out?"
"Just an hour or so," he replied as he lifted her off the couch and carried her bridal style out the door, shouting his goodbyes to Kim and Jared.
He put her down in front of the car and asked for her keys. She handed them over, and she crawled into the passenger seat when he unlocked the doors. Seth cranked the heat in the car and drove back to her condo. "You okay?" he asked carefully, "with all of this I mean."
She watched him, contemplating her answer. It was a pretty fucking big deal, she thought. He turns into a goddamn wolf at will. Savannah didn't know what to make of it, but decided it didn't matter. He was still Seth, and she was still smitten. When she'd sat down in front of him in the woods and stroked his fur, she'd felt the same sparks as she had when he would hold her hand, and she had felt the same feeling of completion as she felt whenever she was around him.
She bit her lip and nodded, her body speaking before her tongue could form the words. "Yes. I think I am," she said carefully. "I still don't quite get all of -this-" she motioned to him, "but I think I'm okay with it."
Seth released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and he sported the most face splitting grin Savannah had ever seen. His feeling of relief and giddiness was infectious, and she smiled along with him, taking one of his hands in her lap and stroking it with her fingers. She was sure she could fit both of hers in one of his, and she was brought back to the image of the huge wolf.
She held his hand tightly and asked, "so wait. Those attacks, they weren't bears, were they." Her body stilled, and she stared at him. "What did you do to those hikers, Seth?!" she shouted in anger. He flinched, and tried to calm her down. "Savannah, that wasn't us." She glared, "what do you mean us?". He explained to her how all the guys at Jared's were wolves, told her about his sister Leah Clearwater, and the tattoos. She shook her head, a futile attempt at clearing her head. "So what was it that killed those hikers? A stray coyote you couldn't fight?" Savannah asked incredulously. "I saw how big you get, there's nothing you can't beat."
Seth pulled over to the side of the road and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I didn't want to tell you about this Savannah. You already look over your shoulder enough as it is. When are you going to tell me who it is who keeps calling you with a secret number, huh?" Seth could feel his anger ricochet through his body and he fought to remain in control. If he shifted inside the car, he would tear Savannah to shreds. It was a sobering thought, and he felt the tell-tale tremors in his muscles calm down.
Savannah cowered in the corner her arms in a protective position over her head. Seth felt his heart break and jumped out of the car, ripping her door open. "Hey, no no no..." he whispered in her hair as she moved her arms from her head to wrap them around his neck as her torso convulsed and she was reduced to tears. "Don't be scared of me, you never need to be scared of me.." he continued as he rubbed her back and she leaned against him.
The last time a man had shouted at Savannah in that way, Ryan had hit her. It had been the one and only time he ever did, but her gut reaction was still fear. When Seth had wrapped his arms around her, she collapsed against his shoulder and tried to shake the memories of Ryan's glaring eyes out of her head. Flashbacks from a fight about a night out with Cynthia, where she admittedly had had a lot to drink, and Ryan shouting and screaming as she cowered in the car after he picked her up played through her head. 'So fucking irresponsible, huh? You're a fucking mess Savannah, Jesus Christ. You can't even take care of yourself. I have to miss out on the game because you can't fucking drive home. You're so selfish, you deceitful whore. I can't trust you-' Savannah clenched her eyes shut, not wanting the memories to go on. She'd been fine, she was going to stay at Cynthia's place that night when one of Ryan's friends had seen them stumbling down the main street. They were completely fine, but Ryan had never trusted her out alone. The fact that she'd lied and told him she was having dinner with her parents further aggravated him and he'd blown up as soon as he'd brought her back to his apartment. 'You were going to cheat on me, weren't you?' Ridiculous allegations had flown through his mouth as he his anger grew, and when she tried to explain that she just wanted a girl's night out he'd flipped shit. 'I'm not good enough for you, is that it?!' She whimpered and shook her head, willing him to understand, but he was beyond reason. He'd slapped her; resulting in a bruise she had to wear on her face as a mark of shame for weeks afterwards.
She knew Seth would never hurt her; trusting him was as natural as breathing, and she found solace in his warm embrace. As she calmed down, she wiped at her eyes with the sleeves of her sweater, confident her makeup must be everywhere, and Seth leaned back on his toes to study her.
Even puffy eyed and red-faced, she was still the most wonderful thing he'd ever laid eyes on. His stomach turned and her reaction to his outburst left a bad taste in his mouth. "Let me get you home, and I'll explain everything, okay?" his deep baritone rumbled quietly. Savannah nodded tiredly and let him put her back in her seat and buckle her in.
Seth carried her from the car and across the threshold of her apartment, dropping her keys on the kitchen table before sitting her down on her bed. He carefully unlaced her boots and took them off, before picking up her pajamas from the floor of her bedroom and handing them to her. "I'll go get you some water," he whispered before closing the door behind him to offer her some privacy. A few minutes later he returned with two glasses in hand, and put them down on her bedside table before taking her hairbrush.
Savannah changed and washed her face while Seth left the room, and grabbed a fresh pair of her favorite soft socks. Her pajamas consisted of a pair of cotton shorts and a sweater that kept her warm when the temperature dropped at night, the way it did in Forks. She was sitting cross legged on her bed when he came back in, and she smiled softly at him as he grabbed her hairbrush, asking wordlessly for permission to brush her hair. She nodded and as he sat down with his back leaning against the bed frame, she settled between his legs. Savannah revelled in the feeling of his fingers carefully untangling her hair, and how gently he brushed it out. She relaxed, and matched her breathing to his strokes. Her mind wandered to fond childhood memories of her mother's soft hands as she'd worked to untangle the mess Savannah's hair would always end up as after a day of sand and saltwater on the beach. Her parents would always take her out to a beach out of the city on Sundays when she was still young and thought spending time with her folks was the best thing ever, and the image of a beach that looked so similar to First Beach brought her back to the present.
"Tell me," Savannah uttered. Seth took a deep breath, and continued to brush her hair as he told her the story of the Cold Ones.
"Vampires?" she asked, turning around to look at him with that one graceful eyebrow raised, and he nodded. "They kill people, and we kill them. Some of them are nice, like the 'vegetarian' ones that only kill animals, but the rest are just leeches," he explained in a calm voice. Savannah turned around to face him, her legs crossed indian style. "So those hikers, they were killed by vampires?" Seth nodded in confirmation and studied her face as she contemplated this new information. "So you guys are basically just overgrown watchdogs?" she mused, a hint of laughter in her voice.
Seth laughed and nodded, "I guess you could call us that." Their hands sought eachother out, and they intertwined their fingers; Seth leaning against the headboard with his legs spread out, and Savannah sitting in between them, gazing at each other.
She smiled at him coyly. "You're not too bad, I suppose." He tugged on her arms and she laid down, her back to his chest. "I'm glad you think so," he grinned in her hair, a soft chuckle rumbling in his chest, and caressed her arms with his fingertips. She sighed in contentment and relaxed, absorbing the heat from his body around hers. With him in her bed she would never freeze at night, she mused.