Dinner?

The damned woman wanted dinner?

Vera let out a sound dangerously close to a snort as she wandered, hands delicately placed at her side and eyes flickering about. The mere idea was preposterous. Perhaps mortals in this age were as stupid as the language and accomplishments had predicted – why else would a housewife desire death to sit at her table? Most humans didn't invite death anywhere, if anything they tended to go to extreme lengths to avoid any contact whatsoever.

Sighing, the dark haired female looked down the lit street before crossing it, hands slowly clenching into tight fists. The conversation she'd over heard had been bothering her for days now, and no matter how hard she threw it aside it always came back with a vengeance she almost wanted to admire. No matter how hard she fought to forget the muttered words of the widowed mother, she always found herself bringing it up with something frighteningly similar to a smile.

Vera's features twisted at that. Sentiment.

A wispy sigh interrupted her thoughts, echoing somewhere close to her ear and she spun, a frown etched onto her features as her hair resettled on her shoulders. Hovering only a few inches from her eyes was a dancing green spark, and at the sight a growl rose up from her throat unbidden. By the gods, not now.

"Go away. I do not wish to be interrupted."

Her words hung in the air between her tiring body and the magic flowing nearby, echoing somewhat dangerously in the heated silence. The emerald splash of colour seemed to dance slowly from side to side, apparently thinking over her demand with every movement. When the bright hue remained, the growl turned into something worth cowering from and her eyes darkened.

"I said," Vera began, crossing the last few inches and repressing a smirk when the magic skittered back. "That I do not wish to be interrupted. I will speak to my brother at a later date," she finished with a sigh, turning her body but continuing to watch the colour from the corner of her eyes. "I do hope you understand."

The limb blur cooed back to her before dissipating, vanishing from existence with nothing more than a soft pop. Vera stared at where it had been curiously, absently sending out a wave of her own essence to test the waters, so to speak. Her brother's messenger truly was gone, it appeared, but what mattered was it had been there in the first place.

She couldn't help but sigh. They were watching her then, were they? Her siblings. The realisation wasn't horrible, no, it wasn't that she didn't want to see her brother – their previous meeting had ended on a pleasant note and she held nothing against him – but he was such a curious creature. He'd have questions.

Why are you above ground? What's keeping you here? Why such a small town?

Why indeed.

Vera hesitated before continuing her aimless wandering, feet slightly slower with each step now as she stared at the ground. Her mind may have been clouded and flooded with memories that she'd yet to sort through, but it knew well enough the answer to every question it had thrown.

Why was she above ground? Because she'd found something she didn't know she wanted. Something that had never bothered her until she realised she had it in the palm of her hand.

Because she'd found Seth.

Because she wanted the chance to learn if the boy would be her –

A harsh collision with her thighs and midsection cut her thoughts short, pain thrumming out from the affected areas even as both her hands came up to clasp the metal cutting into her skin. "My apologies," she breathed instantly, ears ringing and chest slightly breathless as she stared down into brown eyes.

The man in the wheelchair only smiled back up at her, nodding once. "All is forgiven. I should've looked where I was going," the man excused, twin brown bags tucked onto his lap.

Vera offered a smile, wincing when she noticed the third bag currently sitting in a puddle. "Oh, oh dear," she sighed, bending slightly to pick up the bag and study the contents. "Hmm, I apologize but the fruit you purchased appears to be damaged from the water and fall."

The man grimaced, but hid it quickly under a warm smile. "It's quite okay," he allowed, one tanned hand lifting to wave away the problem like one would swat a fly.

Blinking slightly, Vera studied the male before her, something about his eyes sparking a memory in her mind. Billy Black. The name floated in her head, a young voice speaking the title effortlessly but also cautiously. The child knew this man, and if they'd been introduced it would be for a reason.

A Pack reason.

She was speaking before she realised it. "No. I'll go purchase you replacements and please," she held up a hand, smiling lightly down at the man, "I suggest you don't argue. I'm known to be awfully stubborn."

Black stared her down before nodding ever so slowly, a warm light growing in his eyes. "If you insist," he murmured, one hand coming out to spin the wheel of his chair and turn it around. "I shouldn't be carrying all this myself, I have to admit."

Recognizing the hope for conversation, Vera kept her stride close to the chair as she nodded politely. "If you shouldn't then why are you?" she questioned, sifting through the contents of the bag before studying the bright shop they'd entered. There was a lot of colour and light, enough so to make her flinch back, but not many people still wandered around at the late hour so she moved forward, pretending never to have faltered at all.

"My son slipped into the department store before it closed," Black grunted back, one hand awkwardly hovering about the two bags that survived their collision. "Needs new shoes, keeps wrecking all his pairs."

Son?

Vera chuckled softly, reaching out for a small green basket before turning it over in her hands. How curious. Recognizing a nearby fruit as something from the trodden bag, she scooped it up. "Well, it may cost a pretty penny but you can't ruin a child's fun I suppose," she offered sagely, studying the green apple with interested eyes. "Memories are worth more than mere money after all."

Black pursed his lips before tilting his head. "I guess you're right but he's no child. Boy's bigger than me," he grumbled, rolling his eyes affectionately.

One dark brow lifted. "Is he now?" she replied. "What on earth are you feeding him then?"

Black jerked his head towards the vegetable in her hands. "That, and a heck load of meat," he confessed. "I don't know how but Jake can fit half this store in his stomach and still be peckish."

Jake? Vera absently placed the human food in the basket. Constantly ruining his clothing, strangely large for his age, eats plenty and his father is in the child's memory. She paused. Jacob Black? she tested mentally, checking herself before she grinned when a memory from the child flared to life and gave her a nod, so to speak. Ah.

"He sounds like he costs you more than a pretty penny," she murmured, giving the back of the chair a short push when the man seemed to have trouble starting it moving again.

Once again her mind shot back to the conversation she'd heard a few days ago, the concerns of money floating idly behind her eyes. Would the other members of the pack go through similar conditions? Were they all unfairly struggling to get by? With the thought in mind she added some more food, not bothering to check whether it had been in the bag or not.

"Oh yeah, but he means well I suppose," Black muttered, rolling a can in his hands. His eyes were conflicted, confused, but he only smiled when he noticed her watching, hurrying to place the can back. "Are we done? He might worry if I don't meet him at the car."

Vera nodded obediently. "Of course, I don't mean to keep you," she nodded, gesturing for him to lead the way. He rolled ahead of her and one of her hands darted out and grabbed a few of the cans he'd been holding, throwing them in the basket before she hurried to catch up.

And if by the time they reached the counter the basket was full, well...

Clearly Billy was imagining things.


Seth let out a loud laugh, resettling his pants over his hips. "Whatever you say mate," he allowed, shaking his head as he trudged through the remnants of snow. Half of his mind wanted to grumble at the cold, but the other couldn't have cared less, having made the trek more times than it could count. "Now are you gonna make me breakfast or what?"

Beside him, Jake grumbled but nodded, gesturing for the boy to follow him into the house. It was early, and usually after such an early patrol all he wanted was to sleep, but hell he was awake – what was the use of sleeping when he could just get a head start now?

He'd just be an old man later and get an early night. No harm, no foul.

"Dad and I went out last night; so we should have something edible," Jake muttered, pushing open the back door with a muted yawn. "What do you wanna eat?"

Seth dropped into the nearest chair. "Food?" he offered lazily, grinning as he settled in chin in his hand.

"Oh hardy har," Jake rolled his eyes, pulling open the fridge. "Check the cupboard would you? Make yourself useful and check if we have any eggs and bread," he instructed, waving a hand towards the worn doors.

Seth hopped up. "French toast?" he asked hopefully, sifting through the contents. "Cause you know how much I love me some French... French toast..."

"Seth?"

Reaching out, the youth frowned as his fingers came into contact with some canned tomatoes, encircling it and tugging it back to him. It was a plain can, nothing special or expensive, but there was something hanging on it; something rich in its own way. Seth lifted the can to his nose curiously, closing his eyes as he breathed in deeply.

Silk and spice and everything nice...

A hand tapped his shoulder, bringing him back to the present. "Seth, man what's up?" Jake questioned, reaching around him and grabbing the can. "It's a can of pureed tomatoes? What? Do you want spaghetti or something? 'Cause I'm not the good of a cook, and you know it."

Seth turned, shaking his head before one finger lifted and he poked the can. "Sniff it."

Jake blanched. "What?"

"Sniff it!" Seth demanded, pushing the can towards his face. "Dude seriously, smell it. Tell me you don't recognize that."

His friend hesitated before rolling his eyes and giving in, features lowering to cautiously scent the can. It was faint, and it took the youth a few more seconds to recognize it than it did for the other, but recognize it he did. Jake's eyes widened ever so slightly, taking on a shade of confusion as he pressed the can back into his friend's hands.

"Vera," he muttered, brow furrowing in sheer conflict. "She's been here – wait no because then her stink would be everywhere..." Jake frowned and looked to the shifter beside him. "She came into contact with the can?"

Seth slowly nodded and placed it back, hesitating before leaner closer to the food and taking another breath. "Just these cans," he realised, shaking his head to dislodge the scent before moving back. He stormed towards the fridge and yanked it open, leaning down to run his nose closer to the food. "And your vegetables... And the cream in a can thingy ma bob."

"And the fruit in the bowl."

Seth turned and raised a single brow at the dark haired teenager, blinking slowly as he wrinkled his nose at the apple he'd been seconds away from biting into. "What? Is she working at a supermarket now?" he chuckled dryly.

Jake shook his head, looking behind him with tense shoulders. "Dad."

"What?"

"My dad," Jake rumbled, spinning on his heel and moving towards the back of the house.

Seth hesitated before hurrying to follow behind the now sprinting shifter, stumbling over the clatter of objects that littered the house. It was strange for the floor to be covered in such useless crap, seeing as one member of the household lived in a chair but Seth wasn't going to question it because holy cow, Jacob was fucking trying to bash down a bedroom door!

"Jake, man, what are you doing?" he tried, rushing over and stopping the mad man with a restraining grip. "Dude, your dad's trying to sleep or have you not noticed its six o'clock in the morning?"

Jake wrestled back one of his hands. "My dad got the groceries yesterday night," he gritted out, knocking frantically against the wood. "And he never locks his bedroom door – something's happened and that woman has to have something to do with it," he growled, struggling to get free. "Damn it, I shouldn't have left him alone."

Seth ignored the pang of hurt from his friend's assumption, and instead reached out for the other hand. "Jacob, man, calm the hell down and bloody listen alright? Vera didn't touch him. And if my ears are telling me the truth, your dad is currently trying to get outta bed, probably because you scared the living daylights outta him, yeah?"

And just like that, his pack mate slumped back; all the fight drained.

They could both hear the older male on the other side of the door, his laboured breathing and frantic mutterings echoing through the walls. "Dad?" Jake called hesitantly. "Don't – Don't worry, I'm sorry I didn't mean to p-panic you."

An annoyed grunt sounded. "What's with all the noise then?" Billy demanded harshly, his voice ragged and tired.

"Yesterday..." Seth cut in easily, calming his friend with idle petting. "When you got the groceries, did you meet a dark haired woman? Tall, slim, drop dead gorgeous?" he listed, ignoring the snort from beside him. "She probably also sounded like something out of a Shakespearean novel..."

Silence, then; "Well, damn, yeah I think I did," the eldest Black revealed shortly. "And what does that lady have to do with you trying to beat down my door at six o'clock in the bloody morning?"

"Uh, remember the whole death thing I told you about?" Jake offered quietly. "When I got back from the Cullens' bout a week ago?"

The door finally opened, showing Billy ruffled, tired and overall annoyed as he sat in his chair. "You told me some woman showed up at the cold one's house and it turns out she was death," he grunted, nodding to show he remembered. "What about it? You saying that woman was her?"

"Well," Jake started, sharing a look with the shifter at his side. "Yeah?"

An awkward silence descended and suddenly the situation didn't seem as horrible as they'd thought it was going to be. Before them, one of the Elders of their pack didn't seem like he gave two shits about running into death and they both almost felt guilty for making such a big deal out of something so small. And, maybe, slightly embarrassed now that Seth had time to notice the blush burning his cheeks.

"Are you saying...?" Billy hesitated, shock causing amusement to bloom on his features. "Are you saying that Death brought some of our groceries last night?"

"Some of our what now?"

Billy chuckled, waving the matter away. "Tell you about it later – I want sleep. Don't worry son, I'm fine, oh and Seth?" he smiled warmly at the young boy, already wheeling backwards and gripping the door. "Your imprint is quite lovely."

Then the door slammed.

And silence fell again.

"Does he know about..?" Seth started, slowly turning to meet the eyes of one of his closest friends. He couldn't quite comprehend the final words that had left the elders mouth because they'd told no one about it. He'd been too scared how everyone would react to the news, seeing as there had been a royal fuck-up when Jake had imprinted on a non-human.

Jake licked his lips. "Yup."

"And he doesn't care..?"

"Apparently not."

"Huh."

Awkward silences was becoming a regular thing, it appeared.


Okay, possibly the latest and worse chapter I have written for this story and I am frankly disappointed. It's mostly a filler yes, because I have yet to decide how they're going to met each other again, and no matter how many times I re-write it the scene never comes out right, so here's this!

I promise next chapter they reunite but I needed the extra week to sort it out. Thank you to all my loyal readers, and I know this chapter isn't as elegant as my others, but it was a bit of a rush order.

Taila xx