Disclaimer: Twilight and all of its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I just like to hold Seth hostage in my basement from time to time.

A/N: Sorry it's taken me this long to get this done :( I've had school, work, and poor attempts at a life. Thank you so much to everyone that's reviewed, they all meant so much to me! I'd thank you all individually but I burned my finger while baking Christmas cookies earlier and typing is kind of a pain, haha. I hope you guys like this chapter too! And thanks so much to Laurelyn for betaing!!

Chapter 11

Emma decided to stay home the next day, probably hoping to supervise Seth and me, so I was glad when he invited me to La Push. I couldn't believe how different things were. The last time I had been around Seth's group of friends, they had mostly ignored me and had spent their time talking only to each other. But this time, it seemed like they were all coming up to me and welcoming me to the pack. It bothered me a little at first; I had outrageously thought that I was going to become a werewolf, but then Seth explained that all imprints were considered part of the family and I understood. Jacob seemed to be the only that was upset with me, although it didn't me long to realize that it wasn't because of the imprinting thing.

He had pulled me aside almost as soon as I arrived and said, "Look, I know that Seth told you."

"Told me what?" I asked, feeling a little confused.

"Don't play stupid, Liz. Seth told you about Bella. He was thinking about it when he was patrolling last night," Jacob said. His mouth was set in a hard, angry line as he talked, but his mask fell away when he spoke her name. It was clear that simply thinking about her was like rubbing salt in an open wound.

"Oh, that," I said, trying to act like I hadn't just had a nightmare about an eighteen year old girl with red eyes sneaking through my bedroom window and telling me that it was my turn to make the change.

"Yes, that," he said, the angry mask coming back. "Seth shouldn't have told you about that. It's none of your business and— "

I cut him off before he could get himself all worked up. "It's not his fault. I made him tell me."

"I know," Jacob said, looking at me as if I had somehow betrayed him. "And stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Like you pity me," he said. "I don't want it. I'm perfectly fine, you know."

"Clearly," I said, raising an eyebrow at him. It was so obvious that he was still broken up over this girl. He could hardly say her name without doubling over in pain. I wasn't going to point that out, though; he was practically twice my size and could snap me like a twig if he felt like it.

"I don't want your pity," he said.

"I don't pity you, Jacob," I lied, not wanting to upset him. He looked at me in annoyance, as if he was determining whether to call my bluff or not. "Look, I won't bring it up or anything," I said, trying to get back on Jacob's good side. If I had known that it would piss him off this much, I wouldn't have made Seth tell me. Or I would have at least avoided Jacob at all costs for a couple days.

He sighed in annoyance and said, "Just don't mention it to anyone, okay? Some of the guys are still pissed that we didn't go after the Cullens after they broke the treaty."

"Why didn't you?" I asked curiously.

His face was pained again for a moment before it was wiped of all emotion. "Because I told them not to," he said simply before stalking off. I went back to Seth after that, feeling more than a little unsettled by my conversation with Jacob. I know he didn't want me to pity him but it was hard not to. It must have been hard, knowing that not only did the girl he was in love with choose to marry someone else, but that she also chose to become his mortal enemy. What would happen if he saw her now? Would he still love her, even as a vampire, or would he attack her? Maybe Seth was right; it would just be better for him to imprint on someone, even if it did take away his free will. At least he wouldn't feel that heart-wrenching pain every time someone mentioned her name.

I also met the two other imprints while I was there, and I have to admit that I was a little embarrassed to find out that I was the only one who had completely freaked out about it. Though to be fair, Kim and Rachel had grown up with the legends so it might not have seemed as insane to them. Still, it was nice to see that imprinting could be a good thing. Kim had had a crush on Jared long before he imprinted on her and being with Paul made it easier for Rachel to stay in a town that seemed to be haunted by her mother's memory. But I learned that it wasn't always easy, either. It had ripped Sam and Leah apart, not to mention that Quil had imprinted on Claire, the toddler I had played Barbies with the last time I was in La Push. That was one of the weirdest things about imprinting; it didn't have any kind of age limit. It was creepy at first, the fact that Quil had experienced love at first sight with a two year old, but then Seth explained it to me. Quil wasn't physically attracted to Claire, not yet anyways; it was more like she was the little sister he would do anything to protect. It still seemed kind of creepy to me but it didn't seem as gross after that.

Everything was going great until Brady stormed into the kitchen and said they had found a new scent near the reservation. Sam jumped into action then, directing everyone around. "Brady, Seth, go get Colin and keep a tight perimeter around the reservation. The rest of you, come with me." Even I could hear the authority in his voice and I knew that no one would dare go against what he said, although Seth did look a little annoyed by it. I could tell that he hated being pushed aside, performing menial tasks that kept him out of the action, but I was glad that Sam was trying to protect him. I liked Seth much more than I should have this early in our relationship and I didn't want anything to happen to him.

Brady ran right back out the door, his body shivering as he went, while Jacob and Paul walked quickly to Sam, trying to work out some kind of strategy for surrounding the vampire. Seth turned to me and said, "I'll be back soon. Stay here, okay?" He kissed my forehead softly, lingering there for a moment, and then ran out the door. I watched him go with a frown, wondering if he would still be perfectly healthy when he got back.

Rachel left with the rest of the pack, wanting to tell her father about this. Billy Black was an elder of the tribe and was apparently very important in the pack, even though he could not transform into a wolf. Once they were all gone, Emily smiled and said, "He'll be fine. The vampires never even get close to the reservation." But I could tell that she was only trying to reassure me. And even if Seth was safe, that didn't mean the others would be okay. I mean, they were actually going after the vampire, and I was worried about them, too. I had only really met them today but I already felt like I was a part of their large family. I had never experienced anything like it before, this feeling of belonging, and I didn't want to lose it now.

I smiled weakly at her and followed her and Kim into the small kitchen. "I thought there weren't any vampires around now that the Cullens are gone," I said, feeling slightly confused. Were there still some of those weird newborn ones around? And what did that mean for the people in Forks?

"There really haven't been," Kim said. "At least, not until a couple of weeks ago."

"There are some around here now?" I asked shrilly, the fear quite obvious in my voice.

"Don't worry, Liz," Emily said soothingly. "The pack won't let anything happen to anyone in Forks. And these ones are probably just passing through, anyways. They'll be gone soon." I smiled uncertainly at the both of them, grateful that I was around others who had experience in this strange supernatural world. I helped them with supper after that, both of them teaching me how to cook. I was amazed at how welcoming they were. I hardly knew either of them but I never once felt out of place or unwanted.

Despite what Seth had said, he wasn't back soon. Emily brought me home after the three of us had small plates of the feast we had made. I felt slightly awkward; the whole time I couldn't stop remembering how rude I had been to her the last time I saw her. Once we reached Emma's house, I turned to her and said, "Emily, I'm really sorry about the way I acted last weekend."

She laughed, "Oh, don't worry about that, Liz. You had a perfectly good reason for acting like that. I'm sure you thought we were all crazy."

"That's putting it lightly," I laughed. "But I should have listened to you. You were right, he is still the same Seth. I just… needed a little time to see that."

"I knew you would," she smiled. I smiled back at her and then turned to jump out of her truck. She stopped me by grabbing onto my elbow and said, "Liz, feel free to come by anytime. You're always welcome."

A strange feeling came over me then. It was weird, knowing that I was now considered a part of the large family in La Push. I had no experience with anything like this and I didn't know how to react. "Thanks," I muttered, giving her a tight smile. Then I hopped out of the truck and sprinted through the rain to the front door. I was incredibly relieved to see that Emma hadn't waited up for me. I don't think I could have handled another sex talk. There was a note next to the telephone in the hallway, telling me that Lydia had called and wanted me to call her back as soon as I got home. I couldn't do it, though. I was feeling antsy and I couldn't exactly tell her that I was worried that my werewolf boyfriend might get into a fight to the death with a vampire. I went to bed after that, although it took me a long time to fall asleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I could only relive my nightmare of the red-eyed vampire hurting Seth.

----

Lydia was standing by the front door of the school, watching as the bright yellow school bus pulled up. I frowned when I realized that she would want to hear everything. It was nice having a friend like this here, one that was actually interested in my life, but it wasn't like I could tell her much. The people of Forks weren't supposed to know about the supernatural myths that ruled the forest. She ran up to me as soon as I stepped off the bus. "You never called me back last night," she said, looking a little disappointed.

"Yeah," I said, feeling more than a little guilty. "Sorry, I got in late."

She smirked at that. "Aaah, I get it. You're too busy for your friends now that you've got a boyfriend."

"What? No!" I said, feeling even worse. I could see how it would seem that way, but I didn't want to become that person.

Lydia laughed. "I was just kidding, Liz. So when do I get to meet him?"

I raised an eyebrow at her. "You met him on Friday."

"Well, it was kind of hard to properly introduce myself when his tongue was down your throat," she said.

"His tongue was not down my –" I started to say in indignation.

"Regardless," she interrupted. "I want to meet him, and I'm sure everyone else does too. We should all do something this weekend."

"Like what?" I asked. It wasn't as if there were a whole lot of options here in Forks. And I didn't even know if Seth would be able to go anywhere; those vampires might still be hanging around Forks. Although, I do have to admit that the very thought of them being within a hundred miles of this town made me want to spend all of my time with him.

She shrugged as we reached Building Six. "I don't know," she said. "I'll think of something." I watched warily as she walked to her Biology class. I wasn't sure how I felt about Lydia planning our weekend activities. Knowing her, we'd probably end up at some night club in Seattle.

I spent most of the morning worrying about what Lydia would try to force me to do now. Of course, Sammy didn't help things much when she mentioned the very large party Lydia threw as a way for everyone to get to know Will. By the time lunch rolled around, I was convinced that Lydia would want to hold a parade in Seth's honor. So I was more than a little anxious when I spotted her waiting at our usual table in the cafeteria.

"Liz, I've got the perfect idea!" she said, practically bouncing in her seat.

"We're not throwing a party," I deadpanned, trying to prevent her from going out of control. Sammy snorted into her soda can while Will's face turned a light pink color in embarrassment.

She frowned. "Believe me, I learned my lesson from that disaster."

Chase smirked, "Your mom wasn't too happy when she came back, was she?"

She glared at him. "If you guys had helped me clean up, she would have never known about the party in the first place."

"Hey, I told you that it was a bad idea," Chase said.

"So? You still could have helped," Lydia said, scowling.

They fell into their normal pattern of bickering and I did my best to ignore them. "I thought you were fighting with him," Will said. He had been warming up to me but it was still so weird hearing him talk. His voice was surprisingly deep for someone his age and raspy, probably from the lack of use.

"Oh no, they more than made up Friday night, isn't that right, Liz?" Sam said. I felt my neck getting hot and she started to laugh. "What were you guys fighting about, anyways?"

I shrugged. "I was just being stupid, really." They both gave me a strange look as I stared down at my lunch. I'd always hated liars and I felt more than a little disgust at the fact that I was becoming one. I shook my head, trying to rid those thoughts from my mind, and turned to Lydia. "So what's your idea?"

"We could go down to La Push!" she grinned, obviously proud of herself for thinking this up. "Their beach is so nice and we could have a bonfire!"

"You just want to run into that group of guys down there," Chase smirked.

"What group of guys?" I asked, slightly confused.

"Those really tall ones that are always walking around half-naked," Lydia said. "Does Seth know them? Cause, I mean, he does kind of look like one of them." I started choking on my food when I realized she was talking about the pack. I didn't really think Lydia would enjoy hanging out with a bunch of werewolves, but it wasn't like I could warn her. She hit me on the back a couple times and asked, "Liz? Are you okay?"

"I think it's a little too cold for a bonfire," I said, trying to avoid that landmine. "Can't we just go to the movies in Port Angeles or something?"

"But that's so boring," Lydia said, her voice sounding a little whiney.

"Yeah, and there's no chance of running into those gorgeous Quileute boys in Port Angeles," Chase laughed.

"I thought you wanted to meet Seth?" I asked, a little annoyed. I was trying desperately to keep my friends out of the freak show world that Seth and his friends inhabited, and they were making it very difficult.

"We do," Lydia said sheepishly. "It's just… you'll understand once you see them all walking around shirtless."

And I'm sure she'd understand why I didn't want her around the pack once she saw them all exploding into giant wolves. "Isn't that new Resident Evil movie coming out this week?"

Lydia gave me a weird look. "Zombies, Liz? Really?"

"What's wrong with zombies?" I asked. I liked zombies. As far as I knew, they were the only monsters that didn't exist.

"Fine," she sighed. "But you should see if he can bring some of his friends." I rolled my eyes and nodded, hoping that they all had patrol duty that night.

The rest of the day was a little awkward. Lydia was very determined on getting an introduction to at least one of Seth's friends and wouldn't shut up about it. It was a lot more difficult than I had realized, keeping my normal friends out of what was quickly becoming my not-so-normal life. Honestly, I was glad when the day ended. I evaded Chase after English by pretending I had forgotten my government textbook in my locker and ducked onto the bus. I hoped he wouldn't wait for long; I just didn't think I could handle Lydia insisting on being set up with one of Seth's friends anymore. And she would probably help Emma lock me up in a padded room if I started ranting on about the dangers of dating a werewolf. I sighed in relief when the bus pulled up in front of the empty house. I was glad that Emma wasn't home yet; I didn't think I could stand any more of her watching me. It was very strange; she had gone from being completely awkward and unsure of what to do around me to watching my every move like a hawk, as if she thought I was going to rip off my clothes and start doing unthinkable things with the egg whisk right there on her kitchen table.

I felt discombobulated. It had come as a nasty shock at school, the realization that I would have to keep my real life, the one I spent cavorting around with supernatural creatures, away from my friends. I really liked Lydia, Chase and Sammy, but I could never actually tell them the truth about Seth. I could never tell them that I didn't want to them to meet his friends because I didn't want the two worlds to mix, or that I was incredibly worried about him because he spent his free time chasing the undead. I didn't like having to keep things from them, even though I knew it was absolutely necessary. This, coupled with the fact that Emma seemed to think I was some kind of sexual deviant now, was messing with my head. I tried doing my homework, cleaning the kitchen, and watching crappy court shows on TV, but I couldn't focus on anything. It was pathetic but I wished that Seth would show up and ease my nerves, the way he always seemed to whenever I was around him. But that only annoyed me further because I didn't want to be that girl, the one that needed her boyfriend around her at all times. I finally couldn't take it anymore. I had to clear my head somehow, and I knew that going for a run would be the best way to do it. I grabbed Sophie, knowing that she was big enough to intimidate any animals or creepy citizens that I might run into, hooked her to a leash and rushed out the door without even bothering to grab a coat.

I enjoyed running and I didn't pay attention to where I was going, not that I knew the roads of Forks well enough anyways. It was so easy to forget everything that was bothering me when I felt the wind pushing against me or heard the rhythmic slap of my sneakers on the concrete. Everything cleared and finding solutions to my problems was so much easier than it was before. I didn't think there was anything I could do to keep my school friends away from the wolves. The only feasible option I could see would be distancing myself from them, which I definitely didn't want to do. They were the only friends I had made in this god forsaken town. I didn't count Seth and the Quileutes; the reservation wasn't really in town, was it? And besides that, Lydia was a force to be reckoned with. There would be no way I could stop her from going down to La Push and stubbornly sitting on First Beach until I introduced her to the pack. I could only hope that none of them would imprint on her and she would stay blissfully unaware of what actually happened on the reservation. I would have an easier time fixing things with Emma. I would have to really work at controlling my hormones around Seth, but it would be worth it once she stopped looking at me as if I were some kind of sex addict.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when Sophie stopped short behind me, practically causing my arm to come out of its socket when I tried to pull her along. We were on a deserted road that was surrounded by forest, and she was looking at a certain spot to the left, growling and showing her teeth. This was just great; she was going to fight whatever it was that was hiding in the forest instead of letting me just get the hell out of there. Maybe it had been a bad idea to bring her along. "Come on, you stupid mutt," I said, pulling as hard as I could on her leash. She didn't move an inch though. Instead, she backed up further and started to whimper.

And that was when it happened. It was like he had stepped right out of one of my nightmares. His black hair contrasted greatly against his ghostly pale skin, making his appearance horrifying and beautiful at the same time.. He was tall, taller than Seth and all of his friends, and his muscles were so thick that it looked like he could easily crush a school bus with just a twitch of his fingers. His eyes were black, but a dark crimson color lined his irises. I knew what he was the second I saw him; the Quileute legends had described them perfectly, and I was frozen in terror. He was a vampire, probably the same one that the pack had been chasing last night. And he was staring at me in the same way that someone would look at a glass of water after they had been lost in the Sahara for days.