"I've fallen in love with you. I love you even now when you sit before me with the eyes of a wolf. So take pity upon the fool I have become."
-Ronda Thompson, The Untamed One
Catia's POV
I yelped in pain just as Giselle swiped the brush across my tangled, wet hair. I jumped as my phone rang. I angrily swatted Giselle's hand away before answering, "House of beauty, this is cutie, how may I help you?"
"Uh…Catia?" "Jared?" I bit my lip, embarrassed at my greeting.
"Um… yeah. I just wanted to tell you that you should bring your family." He said.
"Bring my family?" I asked apprehensively, sharing a confused glance with Giselle. "We'd like to meet 'em. Be here by 7:00. Did Kim send you the directions?" "Yep. And care to explain just how did you get my number?" I demanded.
"Yellow pages…Gotta go, bye."
"Our cell phone numbers aren't on the yellow pages?" I asked Giselle, staring at my cell in confusion. "No. Our numbers are never public, Cat." Giselle snorted. "Yellow pages my ass!" I retorted, shaking my head.
Giselle rolled her eyes, "What'd he say?" "He said to bring you guys along. I don't really want to. You guys are so embarrassing." I muttered the last part. "We're not embarrassing!" Giselle screeched childishly, blow drying my hair.
When she finished drying my hair she called out, "Cristian!"
"Why. Why? Why must you always call me? Why not Franco, or Zeirus for a change?" Cristian groaned as he came to my door. His hair was a mess; his eyes were slightly red, as if he had just woken up.
"Sorry to wake you, Cristian." I muttered as Giselle said, "Because your room is the closest. Anyway, I need you to deliver a message."
"Your wish is my command." He yawned as he snapped sarcastically. "Tell everyone to get ready. We're going to this bonfire thingey with Cat." Cristian blinked before glancing at me.
"They want to meet you guys." I sighed, "Although I don't see what could possibly be so interesting about you guys." "Hey!" Giselle and Cristian protested at the same time.
"We're awesome, Catia!" "Yeah!" Giselle nodded in agreement, "How many people do you know that have cat monsters in the family?"
"That's actually not a fact I like to make public, Gis." I snapped as she combed my now dry hair.
"Oh, quit being a sour puss," Giselle muttered before shooing Cristian away.
Giselle patiently did my hair, every single strand curled. "Welp! You're ready, get dressed. You do your own make up." She swatted my behind as she left my room. "Pervert." I muttered, knowing she would hear.
"I'm not the one with a poster of Marc Spitz hanging over my bed!" She yelled. I gasped as I ran out to stand in the entrance of my room to glare at her, "You bitch!"
"Girls!" we both jumped as we turned. Jimena was standing there, her brow raised, "Language!"
"Sorry." We muttered as she neared. "Now, what is this I hear about going to a fire?" "Bonfire, Jimena." Giselle corrected her quietly. "Yes, yes the bonfire thing. We're invited?"
"Apparently." I shrugged. She cocked her head to the side, "Do you want us to go with you?" She asked. "Well, I don't mind." I had begun to say but was cut off by Giselle pointing at me before saying loudly, "This little girl is ashamed of us, Jimena! We should abandon her here to rot!"
Jimena laughed, squeezing Giselle's cheek, "Preciosa, Hermosa!" (Precious, beautiful) she cooed playfully, before turning to me, still chuckling.
"I guess you could come." I muttered before adding, "It's not you I'm ashamed of." I glared pointedly at Giselle. "I am hurt, Catia!" she gasped, putting her hand on her heart, trying to look angelic.
"Nice try, Gis! Not falling for it!" I snapped playfully as I went back to my room. "We'll leave in 20 minutes. Knowing you," Jimena added as she went down the stairs, "you'd probably take an hour to get ready, Giselle. I suggest you get ready now."
By 6:30, Teival and Maria's little family were buckled snugly into their car while the rest of us went in a separate car.
The drive wasn't long, our house was thirty five minutes away from the LaPush beach.
"This is so beautiful!" Jimena gasped softly, looking at the small cozy-looking house. It looked like a fairy tale. So comforting and cozy it was unreal. It was a red, two-story house deep in the green of the trees.
The sun was barely beginning to set, the sky a pink-orangey color as the sun casted its last rays unto our side of earth. The big fire in the middle of the group was glowing warmly and brilliantly, a perfect contrast against the sky.
Everything seemed to quiet down as we stepped out of our vehicles.
"They all kind of look alike to me." Lisa murmured quietly to me as we neared the group. "Tall, ridiculously ripped, and tanned? Not that I mind. They're quite hot." Giselle snickered quietly, checking them out unashamedly.
"Cat!" I swear the wind was knocked out of my lungs as Kimberly crushed me into a hug. "Kimberly."I nodded, practically gasping for air as I gingerly removed her arms from around my neck. "Hey, Kim!" Maria greeted her with a smile.
"Hey Maria!"
Maria blinked, surprised that Kim cared enough to remember our names. Kim laughed, "Come, I'll introduce you all to my family."
"Hello, I'm Billy Black." Said a man in a wheel chair.
He had shoulder-length, straight jet black hair, and dark black eyes and tanned skin. "Hello, Billy Black, I am Jose." Jose said, shaking his hand, "And this is my wife Jimena,"
"So nice to meet you, Billy Black," Jimena smiled warmly before turning to MichaelAngelo, "And this is our son, MichaelAngelo." She beamed at him as he stepped up, his arm around Amadora's tiny waist.
"Thank you for inviting us, Billy Black." Was all he said as his looked around, but stopped once they landed on his wife, who was giving him a glare.
"We'll talk later." She snapped quietly to him, before introducing herself to Billy.
MichaelAngelo rolled his eyes as Maria disguised her laugh with a cough.
"I love the place!" Jimena exclaimed, eyeing the house. Billy Black laughed warmly.
He had a nice laugh, so I decided perhaps I'd like him. "This is actually Sam and Emily's place!"
Sam stepped up. He was enormous, nearly MichaelAngelo's height (I swear, MichaelAngelo is part human and part giant), he had on a white T-shirt and jean shorts; the T-shirt revealing the bulging shape of his muscles underneath. "Hello, I'm Sam Uley, and this is my wife Emily."
She came up behind him, smiling.
I suppressed a gasp but I noticed Lisa's eyes widen at the sight of her scars.
"Hello, I'm Emily Young." "You must be the mistress of the house! I'm Amadora, pleased to meet you." Amadora laughed, introducing herself. "I love the place!" Jimena nodded in agreement. "Aw, thank you, Sam was the one who built it." she smiled at him as he placed his arm around her waist.
"It's well done." Jose complimented, eyeing the house appreciatively. "Thank you, Jose." Sam nodded as Kimberly pointed us out, "Everyone, this is Maria, Jimena, Amadora, Jose, MichaelAngelo, Teival, Zeirus, Franco, Cristian, Giselle, Catia, and Lisa. I don't know these two little ones yet. Hello, I'm Kim." She knelt down, extending her hand to Linda.
"I'm Linda." Linda said shyly, shaking her hand quickly. "I'm Ramses." He said, using the solemn tone Teival uses when he's introducing himself. "Well, this here is Quil-"
"What kind of name is 'Quil'?" Linda asked, scrunched her nose in disgust. Everyone howled with laughter as Quil scowled, but grinned good-naturedly.
"Linda!" Maria scolded her quietly. "Sorry." Linda muttered quickly, blushing.
"It's ok, Linda, we all pick on him." Jared whispered to her, winking. "And this here is Jared, my boyfriend. And this is Jacob, Billy's son. Embry, Brady, Seth, Leah, Collin, Paul and this here is Sue Clearwater."
"Welcome to our tribe!" Embry called from where he was sitting, his voice slightly muffled from the food in his mouth. Leah smacked the back of his head, scowling as she rolled her eyes at him, "Idiot." "Hey!" he yelled in indignantly.
Hmmm. Lisa and her might get along.
Sue Clearwater was a petite woman, with sun-kissed skin, dark brown eyes, and glossy dark hair. "There's lots of food if you're hungry," she said to the boys as she came to stand in front of us. She had a nice soft voice.
She shook hands with our old people (our 'parents' and 'grandparents').
"Come sit with me!" Kim chirped, leading us away.
"Why is your name Quil?" I heard Linda ask Quil. "Because he's part bird." Brady teased. "Quit it!" Quil laughed, before sitting Linda on his lap and replying that he didn't know; that his parents were just weird that way.
Teival and Sam conversed, as Ramses sat and ate quietly, sitting on his father's lap. Maria was laughing and talking animatedly with Emily, helping her out with the tables and food.
Married women…I rolled my eyes.
"Got you a plate, gattino." Zeirus murmured, carefully handing me a plate full of food. There were two chicken legs, three barbeque slices, mashed potatoes, a corn on the cob, Doritos, and a bread roll.
I immediately dug into the food, as did he and Giselle; still weary from the full moon.
"Mind if I sit here?" I looked up.
It was Paul Meraz.
I nodded vigorously, the 'yes' sounding muffled from the food in my mouth.
"Too bad, so sad." He smirked, taking the seat next to me anyway. I glared at him before rolling my eyes and getting back to my food.
I sensed him gaping at me.
I turned to him, swallowing, before sheepishly saying, "I'm very hungry." "So I see, and there's no problem with that." He chuckled, rolling his eyes as he shoveled his food into his mouth.
It was my turn to gape. He caught me staring at him and winked.
I scowled.
Damn you, Paul Meraz!
I looked around.
Ramses had now joined the chatter with Brady, Quil and Linda. I watched in amusement as they interrupted each other, excitedly telling Quil and Brady a story while they listened attentively.
Lisa was talking with Seth and Cristian, Zeirus was sitting to my right, conversing with Jared, Kim, and Giselle.
Franco was joking around with Embry and Collin, they were howling with laughter.
This 'tribe' certainly seemed like the perfect medicine after a full moon.
Taking in the scene before me, I realized that perhaps we'd make it. Maybe there was hope for us to have a bright future.
"What are you smiling at?" Paul asked, glancing at me. I shrugged, "Nothing. Everything."
"You're so weird." He mumbled, stuffing his face. I shot him a glare, "Says the steroid freak!"
He choked on his food, I patted his back to ease the choking. Once he composed himself he turned to look at me before letting out a resonating laugh.
If I were him, I probably would've been angered or offended. I knew he wasn't on steroids; his scent was pure and clean, smelling nothing of drugs or any of those things.
His laugh wasn't loud or annoying; it was deep and melodic…and contagious.
I began to giggle, doing my best to stifle my laugh.
Soon we were both laughing, about nothing really. I noticed Giselle send me a perplexed look, it had been a while since I had laughed with a boy.
As soon as our laughs calmed down to chuckles, and he turned back to his food, I sent her an angry frown, baring my teeth menacingly. Her eyes widened, I snickered at her reaction as I turned my attention back to Paul.
I caught Amadora glancing swiftly at someone, indicating me to look. I pretended to stretch, my eyes sweeping in the scenery around us.
I saw Billy Black staring at me. His face unreadable.
"…We're werewolves. We don't get to judge 'crazy'."
-Carrie Vaughn, Kitty Goes to War
Paul's POV
I was in a meadow; everything seemed to have a blur around it, as if though it were a dream.
I was lying face up, the sun beaming down gently on me, the wind playfully twirling, causing the leaves to rise and twirl and the grass to wave. The trees formed a small canopy over me, shading me from the sun, but allowing its rays to peek through its gaps.
I felt happy, blissful even. I felt something move on my arm.
I jumped slightly.
I looked up to find Catia gazing up serenely at me, her body on top of mine, her face rested on my chest; she beamed as she saw me look up at her, "Good afternoon, querido." She murmured as she kissed the corner of my lips.
I blinked, confused.
She looked so relaxed and happy. I'd never seen her like this, I was used to seeing her eyes always guarded, her face emotionless.
But this childish frivolity of hers was confusing and uncharacteristic.
She grinned at my confused expression before sitting up, her hands rested on my chest and her knees pinned around my waist, to lean over and kiss me fully on the lips.
I felt my heart pound, and a growl rise to my throat as I gripped her hips, deepening the kiss.
She pulled back way much sooner than I would've have liked but I was left breathless with the dazzling smile she flashed as she stood, pulling me up with her by the collar of my shirt.
"Let's get home, lobo." She smiled, a mischievous gleam in her eyes.
Suddenly the entire scenery dissolved.
The full moon was out, the sky dark and the stars alight.
I was standing with my pack in the forest. The forest looked familiar and I realized it was the one close to Sam and Emily's house.
I was panting on the floor in my wolf form. I was angry and anxious, I turned and saw Sam and the rest of the pack running in the opposite direction.
I automatically stood to follow, but my legs didn't obey and made me run the opposite direction.
"Paul!" I heard Catia call in fear. My ears perked up in alert, "Paul!" came the call again.
This time I ran towards the direction it was coming from.
My heart began to beat loudly, audible in my ears. I heard the loud panting of my pack as they continued running somewhere near.
I came to stop in a small clearing, I turned, my ears on alert for any sign of Catia.
My pack appeared behind me, their enormous wolf eyes staring at me gravely. I turned as I heard a twig snap, and out from the trees, Catia appeared.
Her facial features sharp, and her posture crouched into an animalistic fighting stance, her eyes a pale green with cat-slits instead of pupils. Her mouth twisted into a cunning smile, revealing her gleaming sharp fangs, her eyes ablaze with glee; her face alight with a cruel look.
Suddenly the sun peeked out into the darkness, the sky aglow with a pale pink-orange light.
I whined in worry as I neared her but she hissed angrily at me, her pale green eyes cooling down into that deep gorgeous brown I was in love with; her eyes back to normal but filled with tears that glimmered as the sun shone on them, causing them to glitter. Her face was back to normal, but now contorted in pain.
I stepped toward her, but my pack growled, not at me, but at her.
When they growled, her face was back to animalistic and cruel, I whimpered, begging her to look at me. She looked down at me, her eyes softening back to normal.
She stepped forward, I felt my pack members tense behind me, she caressed my furry wolf face lovingly, I leaned into her hand.
I looked up at her to find her eyes brimming with tears. She smiled wistfully at me as she began to walk away from me.
I started, intending to go after her, but Sam, whom suddenly appeared at my side, growled, commanding me to stay.
I growled/whined as I continued watching her small figure disappear into the forest, I paced back and forth, wanting to go after her but having to obey Sam's command.
"Paul." Her whisper was carried to me by the wind; she turned and grinned weakly, waving slightly before turning away and continued on her way.
Soon her walking form disappeared from my view, leaving me feel miserable and hollow.
I was dead without her.
"Paul!"
I jumped, sitting up immediately.
Catia?
The lights were switched on, causing me to squint as my eyes got used to the light's glow, "Breakfast is ready! Get up and dressed, you look terrible, son." My mom said as she frowned, pulling the blanket off me.
I groaned, throwing myself back into my pillows. "And don't you dare groan at me, young man!" she called as she went down the stairs.
"Wouldn't dream of it." I muttered, getting up.
My stomach growled responsively at the smell of all the food my mother prepared for me.
I gave her peck on her cheek before digging into my heavenly breakfast. "Did you rest well?" she asked, putting a few dishes into the sink. I mumbled an incoherent response as I nodded, my mouth stuffed with food.
She laughed, before leaning against the cabinet.
She bit her lip.
I swallowed my food down. My mother was nervous, "What's wrong?" I frowned.
"Nothing, baby, just..." she sighed. I raised a brow at her. She sighed in defeat, she took a seat before asking, "Are you gonna tell your imprint tonight?"
I looked down at my plate, losing my appetite as I realized that tonight wasn't going to be any other night like those when Jared brought his imprint.
"Jared invited her family as well." I muttered, taking a bite of my omelet.
She raised her brows in surprise, "Really? They'll know too?"
I grimaced, feeling uncomfortable lying to my mother. "I guess..." I turned, setting my plate into the sink.
"Why aren't you happy, Paul?" she asked, taking my hand, making me face her. "I guess I'm scared how she'll react." That was partly true.
Her face softened as she reached up to stroke my cheek. I leaned down, allowing her to do so.
Her eyes suddenly filled with tears, "Goodness…" she murmured, smiling slightly, "I hadn't even noticed. You're taller than me."
I was a little surprised by this, I've been a shifter for nearly two years and she was barely noticing that I was taller than her.
I chuckled slightly, kissing her hand, "Gotta go, mom," I murmured to her, kissing her forehead.
"Take care, okay, kid?" she demanded sternly, pointing a finger at me, wiping her eyes with her other hand.
I laughed as I shut the door behind me.
Being the only relative I had (other than my dad, but I don't know him well), my mother and I grew close over the years.
Before shifting, I was an asshole. Even I admit so. I was angry all the time (I still do get mad, but not as often like before I imprinted), and impatient.
My mother had to deal with all that shit, and she always forgave me. Again and again.
I chuckled, reminiscing.
"What are you smiling about?" I heard Brady tease as he appeared out of nowhere and walked faster to keep up in pace with me.
I rolled my eyes, my content mood ruined by the idiot.
"None of your damn business." I growled. "Aw I was just kidding, Paul! You're such a grouch!" I ignored him, trying to go back to my thoughts.
"Wonder how Catia will ever manage with you." He added wistfully.
I whipped around to look at him, I started towards him, growling but he rose his hands up immediately in surrender. "I'm only joking! Sheesh! You're so jumpy today!"
"Maybe because her and her family are all coming to the bonfire tonight." I snapped through my clenched teeth.
His eyes widened, "Oh crap." He muttered. "Yeah, 'oh crap'!" I hissed, running my hand through my hair in frustration.
"So they're probably all gonna hear the legends?" he asked quietly. "Ya think?" I snorted, rolling my eyes before walking away.
"Welp!" he shrugged cheerfully, "That's really no reason for you to let your panties get up in a twist!"
I threw him a glare, "Yes, Brady, actually this is a reason for me to let my panties get up in a twist! There's a very, very fat chance that it was her and her family that attacked us last night, Billy and Sam plan to confront them tonight, and I already know what they'll decide!"
"What will they decide?" Brady asked quietly, wide-eyed.
I felt my face contort into a bitter sneer, "They'll declare them an abomination, a threat to our kind and humans. They'll make us hunt them. And you know why? Because they're scared, scared of any other species that's different. Just like our ancestors were scared of the Cold Ones."
With that said, I stormed off.
Honestly, I felt bad insulting our ancestors, that was a major slip up on my part, but I was freakin' pissed. They weren't following our rules: No hurting the imprints.
Lucky Jared and Sam. They get all the normal girls.
I sighed, slowing my pace as I came across the cliffs.
Catia was beyond normal. She was a...strange-creature-that-attacked/protected-us-last-night.
I growled aloud in frustration. I inhaled and exhaled, calming myself.
It was wrong of me to think of her, my imprint, in such a way; blaming for her for something she probably didn't have a choice in.
And I was relieved she wasn't normal which saves me a lot of trouble. The trouble that Sam and Jared deal with every day: their imprints are incapable of defending themselves against the supernatural.
Scratch that. I think they're even incapable of defending themselves against normal human bugglers.
I was disgusted with seeing Sam and Jared go all love-dovey or fatherly-protective of their imprints, sometimes exaggerating their protectiveness and underestimating their imprints.
I wasn't gonna be like that with Catia. I wasn't gonna follow her around, sighing in awe at her every blink or breath! I wasn't gonna follow her around like a little lost puppy (no pun intended). I wasn't gonna drool all over her like they did with Emily and Kim.
Those little things seemed to annoy Emily and Kim sometimes, actually.
I walked around aimlessly, thinking.
Soon I heard a wolf's howl. Embry.
I immediately shifted and ran to where he was.
"Where were you? Jared and Seth have been trying to call you, you don't answer." He demanded, rolling his enormous eyes before running towards Sam's and Emily's.
"Well excuse me, I've had quite a few things on my mind." I snap at him, keeping pace with him.
"Paul Meraz…thinking! What a miracle!" he grinned lopsidedly, letting out a laugh that came out a bark.
I rolled my eyes. "Are they here yet?" I asked, suddenly anxious. "Nope. Emily's just taking all the food out."
Both our mouths watered as our noses were hit with the smell of food.
We shifted, dressed ourselves and joined the small little crowd of family.
"I'm starving! Can we serve ourselves now?" Quil whined, his facial expression that of a dying man.
"No, we have to wait until the guests arrive." Emily told him, nudging his head softly with her wooden cooking spoon.
"Oh, and we don't count as guests? I am hurt!" Embry cried. "Oh shush you two!" Leah scowled, smacking their heads lightly as she passed them.
"This is domestic violence, I tell you!" Quil cried as Embry nodded vigorously in agreement. "I'm reporting you!"
She growled as she started towards them but Embry grasped Jacob's arm, nudging him towards her, "Protect me!"
"Leave him alone, Embry, he won't open up to us anytime soon." Leah sneered as she took her seat.
Jacob rolled his eyes as soon as she turned away. I smirked.
Slowly, ever so slowly, Jake was returning to us.
The sun was beginning to set when two cars drove up. It was the black Chevy Tahoe Jared, Kim and I had seen, and the other was a silver BMW.
"Oh, c'mon! Not freakin' Cullen-cars!" Leah groaned loudly. "Leah!" Emily scolded, but the grin was obvious in her face.
Everything quieted down as they parked and the family stepped out of the car.
From the BMW, stepped out the two little kids and the tanned woman and the teacher, Teival.
From the Chevy the others stepped out.
Lisa and Giselle murmured to each other quietly as they all walked toward us.
"Cat!" I heard Catia let out a gasp as Kim wrapped her arms around her. "Kimberly." She nodded weakly, gingerly prying her arms off her neck.
"Hello, Kim." The tanned woman smiled at her. "Hey Maria!"
Maria cocked her head to the side as she blinked at Kim. "Come, I'll introduce you to my family." She laughed, tugging at Catia's hand eagerly.
As Billy, Emily, Sam, and Sue introduced themselves to the family, we all curiously observed them.
Nothing really seemed off about them, except they really looked tired; they looked normal. The grandfather, Jose, was a scary looking man. He was taller than Sam and an inch taller than his son, MichaelAngelo; he had that Antonio-Banderas kind of look. Greying thick hair, bushy brows, chiseled jaw, and muscular figure.
His wife, Jimena, was a petite woman. She was thin but well toned, having light brown hair, with dark brown eyes.
MichaelAngelo was enormous (like Jose), with a squared jaw, an Italian accent, black well-combed hair, and cold grey-green eyes. He seemed a little cold but his cold gaze would visibly soften once they landed on his wife.
"Kinda reminds me of Sam and Emily." Embry whispered to Quil, who 'hmm'ed in agreement.
His wife, Amadora, was a brown-skinned woman with a French accent.
She seemed nice enough, but the way her eyes would dance around kind of creeped me out. As if though she was checking for possible escapes or attacking points.
Kim went on to pointing them out, but knelt down to shake hands with the little ones, "Hello, I'm Kim."
"I'm Linda." She curly-haired, blue-eyed little girl said, shyly shaking Kim's hand.
"I'm Ramses." The little boy said solemnly as he shook hands with Kim.
Soon all the introductions were finished as they filled their plates like ravenous wolves (Oh the irony!).
"Come sit with me!" Kim chirped as she pulled Catia's arm. "Okay." She murmured quietly, sitting down next to her.
Kim sent me a triumphant look. I growled, "Imprint-thief!" I mouthed to her. She rolled her eyes before giving her attention back to Catia.
"If you like Cat so much you should probably go sit next to her before Franco does." I turned. It was Zeirus who had spoken, he was filling up two plates. "Franco's very protective of her, she's the one most closest to him in our family." He explained as he finished filling the plates before walking away.
I quickly served my plate, before going to Catia.
"Mind if I sit here?" She looked up, her cheeks round from the filled in her mouth. She nodded vigorously, mumbling out something that a lot like 'yes'.
I smirked, "Too bad, so sad."
She gave me the stink eye before shrugging and getting back to her food, eating voraciously, reminding me so much of Jacob and myself.
She glanced at me, catching me gaping at her, before swallowing and shrugging sheepishly, "I'm very hungry." "So I see," I chuckled, before quickly adding, "And there's no problem with that."
And with that said, I dug into my food. It took me a few seconds to realize that now it was Catia gaping at me. I turned to her and winked. Her eyes widened slightly before she looked away, scowling.
I laughed silently.
I noticed her looking around, her brown eyes shining hopefully, the corners of her lips lifted up to a faint smile. "What are you smiling about?" I asked, managing to sound nonchalant.
The small smile faded from her lips as she shrugged, "Nothing. Everything."
"You're so weird." I muttered taking a bite at my food, knowing she'd hear. "Says the steroid freak!" she shot back quickly.
Steroid freak? How unoriginal.
I choked on my food as a laugh came up my throat. She patted my back as I coughed. I turned to stare at her, before laughing.
She glanced around uncertainly before joining in, letting out a few cute giggles of her own. Soon we were both laughing, laughing at absolutely nothing.
She's beautiful when she laughs…
Quit drooling!
Soon our laughs calmed down to slight chuckles, I turned back to my food.
My hand froze in mid-air as I noticed Catia freeze, staring at something to our left. I looked to see what it was bugging her.
She was staring at Billy, as if though they were having a stare-down contest. His expression was unreadable and he had that frosty glint in his eyes.
Catia's tensed shoulders relaxed immediately when Amadora came up to us, putting her hand on her shoulder, "I'll just borrow minou here for a second, Paul, please excuse us." She smiled warmly as she pulled Catia away.
Billy Black rolled his wheel chair up to me as soon as they were gone. "You have to be cautious, Paul," He murmured quietly, "They're dangerous."
"We're not even sure if it was them last n-" "Did you feel a connection to that leopard?" he asked, interrupting me.
I was taken aback by his question, offended even. I glowered angrily at the floor, "Yes." I muttered through clenched teeth. "Then it was her." He nodded firmly.
"So what are gonna do about it?" I asked miserably, looking up to see Catia speaking to her parents in hushed whispers and in French. "We'll confront them. I've already asked Jared to escort Kimberly to her house. As soon as he comes back we'll start talking."
"They brought their kids, Billy." I sighed, glancing towards the little ones.
The boy, Ramses, was seated on Quil's lap, as was his twin sister Linda. They were talking animatedly, interrupting each other as they excitedly told him a story. Quil and Embry were listening, amused.
"They must be like them too." He murmured more to himself than me, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
I glanced around, hoping they'd leave before Jared got back. I groaned in dread as I saw him park his truck, coming out as he placed his keys in his pocket, looking grave.
Billy cleared his throat, placing himself in the center; Sam stepped up behind him, resting his hands on the handle of Billy's wheel chair.
We all quieted and looked up.
I noticed Ramses and Linda slip away from Quil and unto Maria and Teival's lap.
"We've invited you here today, with the purpose of talking with you of something. We hope we may come to some agreement." Billy began cordially, directing his words to Jose. He simply nodded, indicating with his hand for Billy to continue.
"We are aware of what you and your family are." The Ferreira family all visibly tensed at this, the two little kids glanced up at their siblings, their eyes wide.
"We were attacked last night," Sam told them solemnly, "by these feline-like creatures. One of them protected us from the rest. There were twelve of them." With the last part said, he glared pointedly at the entire family.
Catia stood slowly as Sam spoke, going to stand next to her grandparents. Soon her brothers and sisters all did the same.
"You were the wolves last night," Jimena whispered in shocked realization. Billy glanced at Sam as he straightened his back to stand taller; we all went to stand next to him.
"All of you are wolves?" Maria asked incredulously. "We're werewolves." Brady corrected.
"Werewolves?" MichaelAngelo snarled as they all eyed us up and down, "Why didn't you phase last night then?"
Amadora put her small hand on his chest as she stepped forward, murmuring to him, "Apaiser, choux." He huffed but stepped back, scowling.
She then turned to us, "You are not werewolves. I've heard of your kind. You have the ability to shift into enormous wolves when provoked or at will. You are shape shifters." She paused before glancing at the seats saying, "If you'll take a seat, we will explain ourselves."
We all turned to Sue and Billy. They shared a look before Sue nodded to us, we sat.
I glanced at Catia, her eyes looking around swiftly. She stopped when her eyes landed on me; she pursed her lips, her eyes narrowing slightly. She shook her head slightly before going back to 'observation mode'.
I winced. I couldn't help but feel that perhaps she was angry or disappointed with us. With me.
"We're cat-monsters, or typically known as 'werecats'. Every full moon, we phase into – ah, how did you put it, Sam? 'Feline-like creatures', no?" Amadora quirked a dark brow at him before turning her attention back to all of us.
"We're like the werewolves on the movies; our change is painful," they all winced, "we lose control, we feel a desperate urge to kill…something, someone, anything. We go…'crazy'. But we don't attack our loved ones," she smiled fondly at MichaelAngelo as he squeezed her hand, his eyes softening slightly but the scowl still in his face as he eyed us.
Leah scoffed in disbelief, rolling her eyes. Amadora's eyes snapped up to look at Leah, "Ever." She snapped, before going back to her story, "In our Cat forms, our subconscious locks away the memory of the people we love…Kind of like the 'You-can't-attack-these-people' list."
"But," she added, sending Catia a glance, "somehow, this young woman's subconscious didn't allow her to attack you; so her Cat instincts kicked in for her and protected you. Why? Who knows? Who cares? You're alive, you're okay, go on with your life."
"You think explaining to us what you are will change the fact that you're still a threat to humanity?" Leah demanded incredulously, crossing her arms as she stood forward.
My pack members all murmured in agreement.
I looked at Catia as my heart sunk.
I already knew what Sam and Billy were going to decide. They would announce them an abomination, a threat; the complete opposite of what we were: protectors of humanity.
We all seemed to have realized this at the same time, because suddenly, everything tensed.
My pack members all seemed to crouch subtly, staying close to Sam. I reluctantly followed their stance.
I noticed Teival slowly push Ramses and Linda behind him, taking a subtle fighting stance as he inched closer to Maria.
Maria's eyes narrowed as she crouched slightly, Lisa's pale pink eyes danced around almost gleefully as she looked around for any signs of a threat.
"We really do not wish to be enemies with your pack, Sam Uley." Jose said quietly, raising his hands slowly in a sign of surrender. MichaelAngelo's eyes widened slightly as he glanced at Jose in confusion.
"You're a danger to humanity." Sam declared, uncrossing his arms.
I saw Catia's face shut down as Giselle and Maria's eyes widened in hurt.
I wanted to scream. Sam, Alpha of our pack or not, was not allowed to hurt my imprint. It was against our rules, and she is mine. My fucking imprint.
I began to shake slightly, "Save it for when we attack, Paul." Leah murmured quietly to me, thinking I was eager to attack.
I snarled at her as I threw her my trademark glare. She snarled back but whipped her head back to pay attention as Billy spoke.
"You will have to leave Washington. They are protectors of this place, and this here is our territory. As you've said, you're not in control of your actions when you phase in full moons."
"We will not leave, Billy Black," Jimena spoke, stepping up so she was next to her husband. She grasped his hand, "We will leave your territory immediately, but leave Washington? No. We must stay here at least a year before we leave."
"You are correct in your statement of us not being in control of our actions during our phase. But that is why we move to places like these; we phase deep in the forest, away from humans. We attacked no other humans than you, and even you were protected by my daughter." Amadora nodded towards Catia, whose face was impassive.
"You are still a danger to our kind and humans." Sam snarled, stepping forward angrily.
Amadora calmly met his intimidating glare with a cold look as MichaelAngelo pulled her back as he spoke, "We will leave your territory, Billy Black." He turned to Jose and Jimena, who were staring at him wistfully.
"We will leave." He repeated, to them this time. "We will continue living here, but we will phase in Canada," Amadora said as she signaled for Zeirus and Franco to take the kids into the car.
"It would be unwise of you to interfere this time," she added sharply, glancing back at us sternly.
Franco and Zeirus drove away with the kids; Zeirus driving the kids away in one car, and Franco drove the other.
Suddenly, Leah phased with a growl, running at the Ferreira family.
I guess perhaps she thought it was okay to attack now because the kids were gone, I expected Sam to stop her, but I cried out in shock as all the others began to phase too.
I saw Amadora shake her head in disappointment as they all began to run into the forest, away from us. "C'mon, Paul!" Jared called before he shifted and ran after them too.
Sam's big wolf eyes glared at me sternly, I sighed and shifted, immediately greeted by their thoughts of excitement of chasing this new kind.
I whined and whimpered as I ran unenthusiastically after them, not with the intention of hurting them but simply making sure they made it out okay.
"They're slower in their human form!" Leah yelled in glee as she raced toward Amadora, preparing to nip at her ankle.
Suddenly, MichaelAngelo turned, making us screech to a stop as he hissed into Leah's face.
Leah fell back in shock and fear.
MichaelAngelo's face was sharper, his eyes green and with cat-slits, black fur shaped around his face like side-burns, his nails replaced by long, sharp claws; his teeth large fangs. He was tall in his human-form, but enormous in this half-animal-half-human form.
"They can still phase into a Cat form, Leah." I told her smugly, happy that they were able to get away safely, trotting after my pack instead of running with them.
She growled at me as she hurried on ahead, howling. Soon the others joined in.
"Sam!" I growled as I hurried to run at his pace, "Stop! Call down the hunt! They can half-phase, even as humans, we can't win." I practically begged.
He barely even glanced my way, "We protect, Paul, and they're a threat." "They haven't even attacked anyone else other than us!" My protest coming out a growl.
He turned to me unexpectedly, making me stop. "We will hunt them, Paul." He snarled quietly in his Alpha tone. I felt my legs give away, making me fall in submission.
I panted as I just watched my pack members go after my imprint and her family.
I growled as I stood and turned, running in the opposite direction.