Seth settled above the covers of his bed, yawning widely into his hand as he slumped back against his pillow. The material was cool against his cheek and he sighed contently, eyes slipping closed and limbs stretching out like a cat. "So why did you wanna talk to me?" he murmured sleepily, scrunching his face up when exhausted lingered behind his eyes.

He could hear her moving across the room; the odd clatter sounding as she picked things up to study them before carefully putting them down again. "Your mother is receptive of me," she commented disinterestedly. "I was not expecting that."

"Oh yeah?" Seth yawned again. "She was pretty excited to hear about you – even with the whole death thing you've got going on."

He could feel her eyes after that comment, and could imagine the delicately raised eyebrows and amused shine to silver irises. His own lips tugged up into a smile after a few seconds of feeling her eyes, and eventually he forced one of his own to slip open. "Can I help you?"

Vera was exactly as he'd imagined her; one brow quirked and her eyes dancing with mirth. "You can," she decided after a few seconds of staring back. It took him a few beats to realise she was gesturing to a photo frame, one hand securely wrapped around the carved wood. "This is you – and judging by the way the pack has crowded you and not all of the current members are in the picture, this was taken after you first phased."

Seth pushed up onto his elbows, brow furrowing slightly as he nodded. "Uh, yeah, no you're right it was. I remember," he ran a hand over his face before shoving it through his hair. "What about it?"

"How old were you?" she questioned simply.

"Oh my first phase?" Seth checked, waiting until she nodded back. "I was fourteen. That's considered rather young."

Vera's lips curved into a perfect circle of understanding, and she looked back to the photo for a few seconds. "I see," she replied carefully, placing the frame back down on the desk. "And how old are you now?"

"I'm sixteen – almost seventeen though," Seth revealed, hurrying to add that last part. "Uh, since we're actually on the topic of age and all that, I wanted to ask you a couple of things." He sat up further and mussed his hair up again, waiting until he knew he had her complete attention. When she faced him bodily, hands moving to her sides, he cleared his throat and started with; "One; can you please stop calling me child?"

A chuckled sounded. "I can try," Vera promised with a flick of her wrist. "What is number two?"

"Number two is; does my age bother you?" Seth asked slowly, eyes narrowed in nervousness. "I'm not sure how you view things like that but I'm under eighteen so any relationship we would have would probably be frowned upon. Not really because of the age difference but because I'm not... Well, I'm not entirely legal, you know?"

Vera looked slightly confused, her dark brows coming together. "I'm sorry, but I must ask you to explain further," she requested, equally as slow as he was in her question. "It is illegal to be in a relationship if you are under eighteen?"

"No! No, it's illegal to..." Seth swallowed. "It's illegal to be..." he let his voice trail away again, before waving his hand between them in a silent explanation.

Understanding flitted through her eyes. "I see," was the careful reply. "Very well, continue with your question. Does your age bother me, I believe it was."

Seth nodded. "Well, does it?"

"Honestly? No, not at all," Vera replied easily, the question not even appearing to faze her as she continued to nose about the papers on the desk. "Age is but a number and it really only bothers the small minded..." she continued, brow furrowing once again as she picked up a sheet of paper. "What in hell is this mess?"

"Calculus," Seth answered instantly, not bothering to go in further despite her obvious interest. "So, me being underage doesn't bother you? At all? Not even a little?" he demanded, one hand lifted to hover in the air beside his chest.

Vera sighed wearily, hands still curled around the same sheet of homework and eyes going skywards. Her lips moved minutely for a few beats, and it almost looked like she was calling on high for help. After a couple of seconds, golden orbs shot back to his form, coloured by curiosity and a hint of annoyance.

"It does not bother me," Vera repeated, gently placing the work down and stalking towards him. "Not even a little."

Seth swallowed thickly as she moved towards him, absently reminding his hormones that it wasn't the time or place. Breathing out sharply through his nose – he had to get the scent of silk out before it tore a hole in his restraint – he nodded in acceptance. "My age doesn't bother you," he echoed, hoping it would appease her.

Her eyes warmed into molten silver. "Hmm, good you seem to be following me," she praised, leaning down so she was eye level with him before rewarding him with a blinding smile. "Does my age bother you?"

Seth snorted. "How old are you?"

"Not telling."

That made him smile and he shook his head. "You don't look very old, but seeing as your death I feel like you are..." he guessed, studying her eyes and the skin around them. "Wow, you really need to tell my mum what wrinkle cream you use."

Seth took the time to study the spinning irises, almost mesmerised every time the colour twirled into something new and different. Every time he knew it was coming, but it still somehow managed to make his breath catch in his chest ever so slightly. Her eyes hardened into a shining gold, and at the same time she blinked; time seeming to slow and show the exact second her lashes brushed against her cheek and the miniscule dilation of her pupil when the lights went out. Stunning.

"Your eyes look like that iced cream we had," Vera suddenly mused, lips pursing into the perfect pout. The teenager chuckled slightly, realising they'd both been thinking about the same thing. "Is something amusing again? I do not having any more on my face do I?"

"Nah," Seth waved a hand and slumped back against the bed, breathing into the growing space between them. It was hard to think with her so close. "Your face is clean. I should have a mirror around here somewhere if you wanna check."

He heard her moving, backing away from the bed. "I do not wish too," she promised, and for a few seconds her voice was broken by what sounded like a yawn. "Oh, my form is tired," she noted, almost in wonder. "How fascinating. And vaguely irritating."

Seth chuckled. "I know the feeling," he promised before pushing up onto his elbows. "So, was that all you wanted to talk about?"

Vera blinked at the sudden question, turning to face him with eyes clouded over in confusion and thought. It took her a few seconds to latch on to what he was saying, and her features lit up momentarily, a smile tugging at her lips. "No, no it wasn't," she remembered, moving back to the desk. She gently pulled out the chair, perching on the edge. "We do need to talk."

And didn't that just settle comfortably in the pit of his stomach...

Clearing his throat, Seth nodded and sat up further, trying to push any lingering exhaustion to the back of his mind. "Oh, okay, no we can talk," he allowed. "I'm listening," he promised next.

Her eyes gleamed with approval. "I am new to this human deal," she reminded him. "Well, not new to it, but new to his particular corner of the mortal world. I have not had a partner in all my years."

"Really?"

The exclamation earned a quick roll of his eyes. "I have had casual..." her lips curved into a sly smile. "Casual agreements with mortals before. And on occasion, the supernatural. But nothing more than a night."

Seth's lips tugged downwards at that and he furrowed his brows. Wait, was he jealous? He – no – he had more confidence than that didn't he?

"Nothing more than a night," Vera rehashed, not bothering with any more infliction than that. Her eyes weren't even on his form, once again looking over his room, and he realised she was doing it purposefully. Acting like she hadn't seen the ugly emotion and letting him save a small fraction of his pride. "They weren't interesting enough to warrant any more than that."

And was that a compliment? Seth felt warmth bloom in his chest before he smothered it, blinking away the satisfaction. She was only being nice, easing the sharp edges of his hurt with flowery words. Clearing his throat, he nodded absently and waved a hand in what he hoped was a gesture for her to continue and a smile he begged was light hearted.

Vera turned to him with emotionless features. "Continuing on," she started slowly, chest moving in a deep breath. "I do not know what I am meant to do next in our partnership."

Seth felt his eyebrows climb up.

"I came to you after I left the vampire's abode, and promised I would return," she reminded him, nodding once. "But now that I have returned, I find I do not know what to do with myself," she confessed before her eyes dropped, body shifting in discomfort. "I would appreciate your guidance."

Blinking rapidly for a few seconds, he licked his lips, and ignored the shy demeanour she had suddenly taken on. What were they meant to do now? They weren't the usual pair, in fact, this was probably the first time a shifter had imprinted on such a creature – avoiding the strange topic of Jake and Nessie of course. In any other case, the person he'd imprinted on wouldn't know about said imprint, so he would woo her right? But Vera was in the know about everything...

What the hell did he do with that?

Shifting on the bed, he began to wind the covers around his fingers again. "If this was different, I mean, I would be spending time with you and trying to get you to like me," he explained slowly. "But this is you and me, not anyone else..."

With that in mind, he turned to his friend and the boy's imprint, realising their situations were similar if nothing else. Nessie was fully aware of the supernatural world, and was a creature from it herself, but she was young and only sought out her imprint for companionship in the familial sense – not in the way that Seth wanted his own imprint.

That thought made him falter in his musings. He knew how he wanted the woman across from him, he understood the desire to hold her and love her – but what did she feel?

"How do you want me?" he asked slowly, pushing up until he stood tall. "That's the big question, I guess. The million dollar one, at least." He adopted a smile after the awkward phrasing and shrugged a shoulder. "As your imprint I am whatever you want me to be..."

Vera's eyes brightened in understanding. "So if I wanted nothing more than a friend, that's what you'd be to me?"

Seth nodded, lifting a hand to rub the back of his neck. "Yeah, that's how it works," he promised, skirting past her and moving to his desk. Her interest in his homework moments before had reminded him of his need to study it all before school started once again. "If you want a brother, I'll be there for you. A friend, I'll listen to all your secrets. A lover and companion, I'll worship you."

She chuckled, the sound dangerously close and he turned to find her further away then he thought; by the door with both hands against her chest. "I like the sound of being worshipped," she confessed. "But I feel you may have phrased that so I would be more tempted to pick that option over the others."

"Guilty as charged."

He expected her to say something back but she was quiet, looking down to the floor with pursed lips and clouded over eyes. Her hands lifted to sweep through her hair, and Seth left her to it, moving to sit down and study the paper littering his desk top. He had work to do anyway and watching her decide their fate would only tie his stomach up in knots. He was content not to have a panic attack, please and thank you.

Of course, a panic attack sounded better than calculus.

Whistling under his breath, he pushed the work away after only reading the first few lines. "Nope," he decided, running a hand down his face. "I am far too tired to even deal with math right now."

"Hand it over," Vera murmured, suddenly beside him with one hand patiently hovering between them.

Seth studied her features for a few seconds, instantly recognizing the distracted edges of her attention and passed the paper over without a word. She was still thinking – he could see the thoughts dancing somewhat behind her eyes – but if she wanted something else to focus on; he'd give it to her. Saved him from having to do it anyway. If she even understood it that is...

He cleared his throat, blinking when her eyes flickered to him for all of three seconds. "Do you understand that?" he asked gently, one finger poking the back of the page.

"I don't understand the equation," she confessed. "Which one are you using?"

Seth opened his mouth to answer but frowned when he realised he didn't know, moving to grab a book from the bag sprawled messily under the desk. He rummaged through it for a few seconds before he made a sound of victory, brandishing the text book with something similar to pride. "This is the one," he muttered, brow furrowed as he thumbed through the pages. "That one there..."

Vera stared for a few seconds before she looked back to the page and hummed something under her breath. He was pretty sure he could see the wheels turning in her head the longer she stared...

"You got it?" he questioned, leaning back when she reached out and picked up a pen.

She made a small noise back, and then the pen was scratching against the surface of the paper, her lips pursed and moving without sound as she answered the questions. After a few silent minutes she returned the pen and paper and sighed, her hands clenching now that they were empty.

Seth read over the answers, each written in perfect numbers and straight lines. "Well," he started. "You're a genius, great. Hey, did you ever meet the bastards that invented this crap? Cause if you did I really hope you showed them a piece of your mind and – "

"I don't know what I want from you."

Blinking, Seth moved the paper back to the desk. "That's okay," he soothed with a weak smile, wincing when he caught guilt flash across her features. "I mean; you got a sixteen year old dumped on you. You're not going to have all the answers, you know?"

Vera opened her mouth, but didn't speak, instead just closing it again with a quick shake of her head.

"I'm going to have lunch with the pack tomorrow," Seth announced randomly, nodding as he pushed to his feet. She moved away, keeping distance between them and he was slightly thankful he didn't have the distraction as he picked his words with care. "I'm leaving about eleven, if you wanna come? It might be nice, getting to know them and see them outside of evaluating a threat."

"I've met Billy," was the quiet answer.

"He's not a pack member," Seth shrugged, smiling as he shifted past her and back to the bed. "I mean, he is – he's one of the elders, but he can't shift or anything so he won't be there. But the shifters will be, and uh, and their imprints."

Vera's head snapped to his, brow furrowing. "The other imprints?" she echoed.

"Probably not Jake or Nessie though," Seth frowned in thought, peeling back the covers and feeling the cool sheets. "They don't tend to spend too much time with us on the preserve. Edward likes it when we go over there instead, you know?" he offered, lying back against the mattress.

What was proper etiquette when you had death standing not three feet from you? He didn't know if he was meant to offer to take her home, or offer her his bed while he slept on the couch or something. He usually struggled when dealing with the girls at school and none of them meant as much as she did despite knowing them from toddler-hood.

"Very well," Vera allowed quietly. "I'll be here around eleven."

Seth couldn't help but smile again, and he sat up. "Great, you have to meet our pack mum, she's – and I'm talking to myself again," he groaned, slumping back against his pillow and glaring up at the ceiling. "You really need to stop doing that."

I missed an update.

I have never done that before.

I can't believe it. I am a horrible creature. Here's the chapter, I mean, I feel like you deserve more, but this is almost three thousand words so it's slightly longer than usual. I'm already writing the next one, so no more missing updates. I'm sorry! Please forgive me. Also, yeah no kiss because, a few of my reviewers were right; she's not ready.

Taila xx