It took me a moment to understand. Then, realizing what the girl had just said, my mouth fell open. 'You speak English?'

A flicker of fear momentarily crossed her face as she glanced nervously up at the woman she'd referred to as Eve. Rather than answer my question, she spoke in hushed tones to her leader, translating, I guessed, what I'd just said. Eve didn't look down at the girl as she responded in a cool, detached voice. The girl, who was now looking down at her feet, flinched as if she'd been slapped.

A flash of movement to the left of me caused me to swing around. The man who'd brought me here had taken a step towards the pair and was now standing rigidly with his hands curled into tight fists. His eyes blazed furiously as he glared at Eve. The rest of the tribe watched with cautiously passive faces. I turned back to face Eve, aware that something in my words had led to this reaction.

'Sorry, I –' I broke off, unsure what to apologize for. I took a deep breath and tried again. 'Thank you. For your welcome, I mean. It's an honor to meet you all.'

The girl relayed my words back to Eve, who nodded curtly in my direction. Then, with a few short words to the girl, Eve turned and pulled off her dress, phasing back to her lion self in one smooth, fluid motion. Without a backwards glance, Eve walked back through the trees. I watched as her dust-colored tail disappeared behind her, completely entranced with the way that she carried herself.

I gazed around me; an air of relaxation had descended upon the tribe since Eve's departure. Any tension that had been apparent in the last few minutes seemed to have disappeared. A few more smiles were thrown my way, and even the woman with the children had now set the two of them down and turned to talk to the man standing next to her. I looked back at the English-speaking girl, who was holding Eve's dress once more; her eyes were locked accusingly on the Jacob-lion. I hadn't even noticed him phase. When he noticed her staring at him, he turned abruptly and left.

As the lion walked away, the girl's face lost its cool composure and fragmented into a dozen broken expressions. Though subtle in its anguish, her expression was familiar – it was the face I'd seen a dozen times in the mirror. I swallowed and brought my fingertips gently to my cheeks. I hadn't looked at a mirror in weeks. Did I still look like that? I didn't think so. I wasn't whole; I never would be. But I didn't feel broken either. Just sort of stitched together. I chewed my cheek in contemplation – when had that happened?

The girl caught me watching her and after a brief pause, she motioned at me to walk over. I moved forwards hesitantly, feeling almost like an intruder.

'Hi,' I said softly as I neared her. 'I'm Leah.'

The girl didn't reply. Instead she turned and began to move in the direction of all the canvas tents that I'd noticed earlier. I followed her past the tents to another group that had been set up behind the first. I looked around me. These tents were a little larger than the first ones we'd walked past and were positioned in a perfect circle around a completely barren clearing about the size of a football field. The rest of the tribe was hidden from our sight now.

The girl stopped and turned to face me, drawing my eyes away from the tent. 'I'm Nattaya,' she finally said. She gave me a small, welcoming smile. 'It's nice to meet you, Leah.'

'I'm sorry if I got you in trouble this morning, Nattaya,' I said softly.

She looked at me sharply. 'What do you mean?'

I hesitated, reluctant to offend her, but curious enough to continue. 'When I remarked earlier on your ability to speak English,' I said, 'Eve seemed a little… put out.'

Nattaya appraised me quietly. I wasn't sure what she was looking for, but she eventually said, 'Eve doesn't like the fact that I can speak English. She would prefer me to conform to the ways of our tribe.' She faltered before continuing. 'This morning she was simply expressing her gratitude that she had at last found a use for my ability to speak your language.'

I considered questioning how exactly Eve had 'expressed her gratitude', but at the expression on Nattaya's face, I hurriedly asked, 'No one else in your tribe speaks English?'

She shook her head.

'How come?'

'I learnt it at school,' Nattaya replied, shrugging.

'Right,' I replied. I felt sorry for bombarding the poor girl with questions, but I was fascinated with her tribe and their dynamics. 'And the rest of your people didn't?'

Nattaya suddenly seemed very interested in a small rock on the ground that she began to nudge with her left foot. 'No one else in the tribe ever went to school,' she mumbled. Before I could register her answer and ask another question, Nattaya started forward towards one of the tents on our left. 'Eve instructed me to show you to your tent,' she said, pointing to the one in front of us.

I studied the shelter; a small piece of canvas lay at its base and another larger piece had been slung over a triangular formation of branches formed by two large trees that stood next to one another. This canvas formed the tent's three walls. The fourth lay open as a doorway. A long rectangular mat lay against the far end. 'Thanks,' I said gratefully. My backpack suddenly felt very heavy on my back and I slung it off onto the floor of the tent. Noticing another black bag next to my own, I asked curiously, 'So, who am I sharing with?'

Nattaya snatched the bag up. 'Sorry,' she said, giving me a slightly embarrassed smile. 'I would have moved out earlier if I'd realized you were coming.'

I frowned as I took the bag from her and set it back down. 'I'm not going to kick you out of your own tent, Nattaya! There's plenty of room for both of us,' I said, gesturing around.

Though Nattaya didn't seem convinced, she made no attempt to argue with me. She sat on the mat I'd noticed earlier and pulled her knees up to her chest. Cocking her head to the right so that her braid fell away from her left shoulder, she asked, 'So do you really turn into a lion as well?'

I shrugged. 'I sort of turn into a wolf instead.'

Nattaya's eyes widened dramatically as she digested my words. 'A wolf?'

I lifted my eyebrows briefly in confirmation as Nattaya mouthed the word 'wow'. Then suddenly I frowned. 'Speaking of me turning into a wolf,' I said, 'the guy who brought me here didn't even wait for confirmation before he phased in front of me. How did he know that I wasn't human?'

Nattaya chuckled. The sound was like a soft Christmas bell. 'I don't think that he did know,' she said. Then, smiling tenderly, she added, 'Jay just likes rebelling against Eve.'

Jay. So that was his name. Not so different to Jacob, I thought, smiling at the coincidence. 'And Eve would have been mad if I'd been human and he'd exposed your tribe,' I guessed.

'Furious,' Nattaya admitted.

'And yet Eve never asked me to confirm my claim either,' I said. 'In fact, she never even heard my claim. Neither did Jay, come to think of it, since you're the only person around here who can speak English.'

Nattaya swallowed loudly. 'Eve didn't need to hear your claim,' she told me. 'She has this ability to sense people's power, I guess you'd call it. She didn't need to see you shift to know that you have magic in your blood.'

I considered this for a second and wondered whether any of my brothers had the same ability. They wouldn't know if they did. Other than me, nobody else in our pack had ever met another shape-shifter to test it out on.

Nattaya looked as if she wanted to say something else but a shrill whistle outside the tent made her shut her mouth and leap to her feet. 'I have to go,' she said. 'Eve will want to speak with you later, though, so I'll see you then.'

Remembering what she'd said earlier, I called out. 'Nattaya?' She turned just as she was about to exit the tent. 'I don't care what Eve says: I like the fact that you can speak English,' I said, grinning.

Nattaya grinned back. 'Thanks.' And with that, she disappeared outside.

I wanted to follow her and formally meet the other shape-shifters – there was still so much that I wanted to know – but I was too exhausted to move. Demetri and I had been living nocturnally for the last week and I knew that I needed to get a few hours sleep now, whilst it was still dawn, if I was to get back into a normal sleeping routine. I lay down beside Nattaya's sleeping mat and closed my eyes, thinking of everything that had transpired in the last twenty-four hours. Only yesterday Demetri and I had been messing around in the river together. We'd lain in the sun and he'd told me that my brothers had found Salih's house. And that Sam was with them.

I ground my teeth together as I wondered how Emily felt about it all. Who was I kidding? I knew exactly how Emily felt. Exactly the same way that Sam did. Jacob was after me because he wanted to protect the pack's secrets from the Volutri. Maybe he didn't hate me, but he wasn't chasing me for the sake of any emotional reasons either. Jacob was sensible enough to know that I could look after myself. I didn't stop him when he ran away, and he wouldn't have come after me either if the Italian coven weren't involved. Sam, on the other hand, would have come after me whether vampires were involved or not. And the sick fact was that Emily would have encouraged him to do it. Because they were both motivated by the same ugly guilt that stemmed from the fact that they were arrogant enough to believe that Sam was the sole reason I'd run away. And they were both selfish enough to look past my wishes to try and ease it.

I sighed. In truth, I wasn't nearly as mad about it as I had been yesterday. Who cared if Sam was with Jacob or not? One extra wolf wouldn't make a difference. I knew why I'd left and that was all that mattered. Looking back now, I could see that Demetri had known all along too. If he hadn't, then he wouldn't have been able to convince me to accompany him on this journey in the first place. For the dozenth time since we'd parted, my stomach twisted itself into knots at the thought of him. What the hell was coming over me? It was odd trying to fall asleep without him next to me. I'd gone to bed with him by my side for so long now that this just felt wrong somehow. No, not wrong, I reminded myself quickly. Just different.

But different didn't always feel good.

(* * *)

I finally got up around noon when my stomach started complaining so loudly that I was sure the rest of the tribe could hear it too. I'd slept in fits and starts, waking up every half hour or so since dawn. Stretching my arms high above my head as I yawned, I picked my way back through the tents to the place where I'd met Eve and the rest of the tribe earlier that morning. The place was empty except for Nattaya and the woman with the colorful bangles around her wrists, who both sat together with their backs turned to me.

'Hi,' I said uncertainly, trying not to startle them.

Both women sprang to their feet and twisted around to face me. 'Hey Leah,' Nattaya said, waving at me. 'How'd you sleep?'

'Yeah, not bad,' I lied, walking over to where they stood. I held my hand out to the other woman. 'I'm Leah,' I said. Then, knowing full well that she couldn't understand me, I continued. 'I don't think we've officially met.'

The woman was a little shorter than me, and quite muscular. For some reason, she reminded me of Paul. Clasping my hand in both of hers, the woman said a few words to me in her tribe's language. When she'd finished speaking, she gave my hand a quick squeeze and then dropped it gently.

'This is Chi,' Nattaya said, looking at me through her long lashes and smiling. 'She wants you to know that she is pleased to meet you and hopes that our tribes might learn much from one another.'

I glanced back at Chi to reply, but she was looking over my shoulder distractedly. I spun around to see a tall, extremely well-built man walking towards us. He was still a few hundred metres away, but I could just make out his features.

I frowned as I struggled to fit him into my memories. He didn't look familiar.

'Tapiwa was in his lion form when you arrived,' Nattaya said in explanation.

'Tapiwa?' I asked vaguely. I was distracted by the look on his face as he took in the sight of Chi. He might not have been familiar, but the look in his eyes certainly was. My chest tightened as I recognized the signs. Glowing, laughing cheekbones; awestruck, smiling lips; eyes that took in only her… Tapiwa was looking at his imprint. It hit me that all along I'd been hoping that the lions weren't inflicted with the same wretched curse that had changed the lives of half the wolves in our pack. I tried to sound casual but my voice cracked as I asked, 'So your tribe imprints too, huh?'

Nattaya shot me a quizzical glance. 'Imprints?'

I swallowed. 'Tapiwa and Chi… The whole love at first sight thing.'

Nattaya chuckled but it wasn't difficult to detect the shards of pain that tainted the sound. 'Yes,' she replied. 'Chi is Tapiwa's only.'

'His only?'

Nattaya grimaced. 'It's a rough translation.'

I studied Chi curiously. There was no doubt in my mind that she was looking at the man she loved, but there wasn't the same urgency and desperation in her gaze that I'd seen in the faces of Sam and Jacob and now Tapiwa – the expression that made them look as if they were regarding another piece of their souls. 'And is Tapiwa Chi's only?' I asked.

'What do you mean?' Nattaya queried, frowning at me as she cocked her head to the side.

'I mean,' I said, 'that it's no good him imprinting on her when she clearly hasn't imprinted on him.'

The lines in Nattaya's forehead became more pronounced as I spoke. Somehow she still managed to look beautiful with her ever-deepening frown. 'Female tribe members do not imprint,' she said. 'They simply love.' She paused briefly and then asked curiously, 'Is it not the same in your tribe?'

'Yes. I mean no, I don't know,' I said shaking my head. As I spoke, Tapiwa approached us. I turned my head away as he and Chi intimately embraced one another, and then tried to smile as Nattaya introduced me. Tapiwa nodded his head at me in greeting, but in my distracted state, I was barely able to notice. Nattaya's words echoed in my mind. Female tribe members do not imprint. They simply love. For some reason, I wasn't surprised by her revelation. Maybe deep down, I'd always known as much. I felt relieved, as if a giant weight that I'd been unaware of until now had suddenly been lifted from my shoulders. Out of nowhere, I remembered what Demetri had said to me about imprinting: It just seems wrong, somehow – being forced to love someone. Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of love?

Nattaya's voice pulled me back to the present. I shook my head to clear it and then turned to see her watching me curiously. 'Sorry?' I asked.

She smiled gently. 'I just asked whether you'd like anything to eat.'

'Thanks, that'd be great,' I said, smiling back at her as I remembered my growling stomach for the first time since I'd woken up.

Nattaya led me towards the line of trees that she and Eve had materialized from this morning. The pathway leading through a gap in the entwining branches was surprisingly large, given that it was almost invisible to the unwary observer. As we emerged out the other side and I looked around, I couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath. Though I had seen enough of Africa to appreciate its uniquely transparent beauty, I knew that this place was something special. Here, the river had narrowed into several streams that flowed swiftly into a large, open pool of water. Small trees and shrubs sprouted between the smooth, grey rocks that adorned the far side of the pool. Nearer to us, the water was bordered by a narrow stretch of sand that somewhat resembled the beach in La Push. A handful of tribe members paddled in the water, and even more – both males and females – lay sprawled in their lion forms on the rocks.

No one paid much attention to our arrival. Nattaya nudged me gently and pointed to a small square of canvas that lay on the ground near the tree line. I watched curiously as she crouched down to remove the material, revealing a small opening in the ground that led to a larger hole underneath. Bending down closer to the ground, she reached her arm into the opening and pulled out what looked like a dried leaf wrapped around an irregularly shaped loaf of bread. Nattaya handed it to me and then pulled the piece of canvas back over the hole.

I took the food gratefully and removed it from is wrapping. Then, breaking a small piece from the loaf, I placed it in my mouth and chewed slowly. The bread was doughy and soft, but surprisingly sweet. 'This is cooked in the ground?' I asked through mouthfuls.

'Yeah, the soil traps the sun's heat,' Nattaya told me. 'Chi's been making truckloads of the stuff. She's got a bit of a temper on her, but she's in the middle of quitting.' Nattaya grinned and then continued. 'Apparently baking helps to distract her.'

For a fleeting moment I remembered how Chi had reminded me of Paul. If her temper was anything like his then it was no wonder she needed distracting. The thought had barely crossed my mind when I considered the rest of what Nattaya had just told me. 'Quitting?' I asked intrigued. The term was unfamiliar to me.

'Yep. She's doing pretty well at it too, all things considered. Jay said it'd take her well over a year, but at this rate it looks as if she might even beat Megan.'

'Megan?' I asked weakly. I was well and truly lost now.

'Oh yeah, sorry,' Nattaya said. 'Megan is the woman you met last night with the two children. She took around eleven months to quit. Her husband, Chips, didn't make things easy for her though – he was against the whole thing from the start. Of course, he gave in eventually – guys tend to do anything for their only. He –'

'I'm sorry, Nattaya,' I said, cutting her off, 'but you've completely lost me.'

'Megan is Chips' imprint, or whatever you referred to it as earlier.'

'Yeah I got that much,' I said impatiently. 'But as for the whole 'quitting' side of things…'

Nattaya's lips formed a small 'o'. 'I guess our tribes use different words to describe things,' she said. 'Quitting is the process you go through to end your life as a lion – you know, like learning to quit phasing.'

'So that they begin to age again…' I trailed off.

Nattaya seemed a little perplexed by my confusion. 'Yeah.'

'Wait,' I said suddenly as the meaning of her words sunk in. 'Megan used to be a shape-shifter?' Before I could stop myself, I blurted out, 'But that's impossible – she has children!' I had long since resigned myself to the fact that I would never have children and the possibility that I was wrong was slightly overwhelming. It wasn't that I particularly wanted my own kids, but I had always resented the fact that the choice had been taken from me.

'Hence the reason she quit phasing,' Nattaya said gently. Given my ignorance, I didn't know how she managed to show so much patience with me without sounding patronizing.

'That's why Chi is quitting,' I clarified slowly. 'So that her and Tapiwa can have children.'

Nattaya smiled and nodded at me as things finally began to make sense.

'Wow,' I breathed. Then, grinning at her, I said, 'Your pack is far more interesting than mine.'

Nattaya laughed. 'I doubt it. Anyway, I guess we'll find out tonight.'

I lifted my eyebrows. 'Why, what's happening tonight?'

There was no disguising the anticipation in Nattaya's eyes, 'Eve returns from hunting, and then it's your turn to face the questions.'

Though I could understand Nattaya's eagerness to learn more about my pack, I couldn't bring myself to feel the same excitement that she did. Answering questions – especially ones that that concerned imprinting and shape-shifting – put me a little on the defensive side. I'd long ago made a habit of never getting myself into situations where I would have to answer personal questions; I never wanted to feel vulnerable. The trouble was, every detail concerning my pack was interwoven with personal facets of my life. There would be no way to answer them without making myself vulnerable. I felt a sudden longing to be with Demetri again. He, at least, knew everything about me before we'd even met.

I smiled weakly at Nattaya. 'Great,' I mumbled through gritted teeth.

Found another great author for you guys to check out: Nakala (she's brilliant!)

You're all absolutely amazing!