Thanks for the reviews, Mrs. calearohte, WolvePackForever, Fflamea and KittyPimms!

Mrs. calearohte, you got a wrong impression of my writing process. The reason why I can update "every other day without disappointment" is that I only start posting a story when it's finished or, as in this case, two thirds finished and the other third planned out well enough. I hate to read a story with no ending. Sometimes I don't finish my works either and I wouldn't want to disappoint my readers. Therefore I'm only posting when I'm confident that I'll finish the story. But, just like you, I have days where the ideas flow easily and then there are days where I seem to be running against a wall because even when I try I don't make any progress. Hopefully I won't have too many of the latter ones in the next weeks because then I might not be able to maintain my usual update frequency. I will actually have to change the update days next week because I'll be gone for four days. Sorry in advance.

Like Hulk

As I closed the door of the Mustang, I could already hear Chris's angry voice.

"Well, finally! You'll never see that guy again!"

"Chris," Silke tried to calm him down, but he didn't let her go on talking.

"How could you allow her to meet him? How could you risk your daughter's safety like that?"

"I'm safer with Seth than with anybody else!" Julia objected.

"Seth is a good guy," Silke added.

"Oh, really? And Archie just made up the whole story about Seth's criminal gang?"

"They aren't criminals. Archie is the dangerous one, not Seth!" Julia argued.

"Archie is not dangerous! He's my best friend," Ben chimed in.

"Then why did he suddenly move to Chicago?"

"Because he was scared of Seth! Seth threatened him!"

"Well, but a friend doesn't attack your sister!"

"What? When did Archie ever attack you?"

"When Seth was here. Ben, you can't really believe his flimsy excuse. People who can't stand blood get dizzy, faint or puke, but Archie rushed towards me. If Seth hadn't stopped him, I'd be six feet under now."

"That's ridiculous. Why would Archie kill you? Right in front of me and Seth?"

"Because that was a dark part of him that he can't always control. Like Hulk, just not as green and not triggered by anger, but by blood."

Someone snorted.

"Julia, there is no such thing as a Hulk or a person with an uncontrollable dark side," Chris reasoned.

"Yes, there is. Call it multiple personality disorder or something like that. Archie is dangerous. And Eustace was, too. He wasn't as innocent as Archie wanted us to think."

"So you admit that Seth's gang killed Eustace?"

"No, they didn't. A higher power did, to punish him for his crimes, one of which was complicity in kidnapping and torturing Seth."

That silenced them for a moment.

"That's what Seth says," Chris stated.

"Yes. And I know that he spoke the truth."

"How?"

"Basti confirmed the existence of people like Archie and Eustace. He warned me of Archie and told me to stick to Seth for protection. That's what Seth's gang does. They protect."

"Seth really is a good kid, Chris," Silke chimed in again, "He's caring, kind, polite and so modest despite his success at such a young age. When he told Andy off, he had the perfect opportunity to beat him up. Andy provoked him and tried to start a fight, but Seth just blocked his attacks. That didn't look like the behavior of a dangerous criminal to me."

"Seth's stepfather is Chief of police. One of his gang members is a police officer, too. Clearly they wouldn't commit crimes right under the eyes of the police. Seth's mother is a tribal elder. Their former gang leader is a tribal elder. Seth's roommate's grandfather is a tribal elder. The tribal council highly honors the gang. They're protectors! Get that into that pighead of yours!"

"Don't talk to me like that young lady!" Chris scolded, "You're grounded for a week. Maybe that can teach you some respect. Invite Seth for dinner. Ask your mother for an appropriate date. Other than that call to invite him, I don't want you to meet or communicate with Seth until I had the chance to talk to him and make up my mind if I can allow you to befriend him or not. Did I make myself clear?"

"But Mom allowed it already! You don't even have custody of me!" Julia objected.

"Should I make it two weeks?"

"Let's compromise here, okay?" Silke intervened, "You invite Seth for dinner and until then you don't go to see him. Calls or online chats are alright. And, Julia, I approve of the grounding. You can't speak like that to Chris."

"Fine," Julia huffed.

The TV went on and someone went upstairs.

"There are leftovers from dinner in the kitchen, honey. Invite Seth whenever you like. Tomorrow, maybe, to get it over with."

"Okay. Mami?"

"Ja?"

"Seth's cell phone is broken. I can't call him. But I know that he's outside right now, to watch over me. Can I go ask him in person?"

"Sure. Don't take too long though."

"Can I bring him some dinner, too? I don't think he's had any."

"Yes, do that. That way we'll at least get rid of the leftovers."

"Thanks."

Five minutes later Julia stepped out of a side door with a plate in her hands.

"Seth?" she whispered. I jogged over to her.

"Hey," I smiled.

"Here, I thought you might be hungry."

"I am. Thank you. How did it go with Chris?" I pretended ignorance.

"I shall invite you for dinner so that he can have a talk with you. Are you free tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Okay. Be here at half past six."

I nodded.

"I don't want Chris to catch me here with you, so I'll go back inside. Just set down the plate next to the door when you're finished. I'll get it later."

"Alright. Good night, Julia."

"Good night," she hugged me, cautiously avoiding the plate in my hands.

When I rang the doorbell the next day at half past six sharp, wearing my best jeans and a blue and white button-down shirt, it felt like one of those horrible clichéd "meet-your-in-laws-for-the-first-time" dinners. Of course it wasn't, because although they would most probably become my in-laws eventually, they themselves didn't know that yet. Julia and I weren't even dating. Also, I would meet neither one of them for the first time. My first meeting with Chris had been rather short, but we weren't complete strangers. Yet I had to make a good impression and convince him that I was good enough to be Julia's friend.

Thankfully, it was Julia who opened the door.

"Hey!" she smiled nervously and looked me up and down. She seemed to be nearly as nervous as I was.

"Wow, handsome!" she complimented and hugged me.

"Thanks. How are you?" I asked.

"Fine. What about you? You look like you had a short night again."

I had been watching over Julia until midnight. I had had all day to get some sleep, but my mind had been occupied with thinking, worrying about the outcome of today's dinner.

"Yeah, I didn't sleep that well."

Chris joined us in the hallway.

"Hello, Seth," he said coolly. I shook his outstretched hand.

"Good evening, Sir."

He led us into the dining room.

"Julia, why don't you go help your mother in the kitchen?" he suggested. She left reluctantly, but only after shooting me an encouraging glance. Chris motioned to one of the chairs.

"Please, take a seat."

I sat down. Chris kept standing and I felt even more like a suspect in the interrogation room.

"My wife said that you're the owner of the Wolf's Den, together with your sister."

"Yes, I am."

"How old are you?"

"Nineteen."

"Is it a family business? Did you take over from your parents?"

"No, Sir. We established it ourselves."

"At such a young age? How did you get the money for that?"

"Friends have funded us. The Den is going very well, so we're making good progress in paying them back."

"I've already heard of the Den several years ago. Did you open the Den when you were still in High School, maybe even Middle School?"

Oh God, I didn't like where this conversation was going.

"My sister is 30. In the beginning, she did most of the work, but I was joint owner right from the start and I quickly took over the paper work," I half-lied.

"And now you want to start college?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Why only now? Why didn't you go right after graduation?"

I cleared my throat uncomfortably. I had prepared an answer for that kind of question, but I was afraid of the questions that might follow.

"My trauma got me off course. I was kind of apathetic for a while. I drifted from day to day, not really thinking about the future. I just focused on getting through the day and through the night without too many panic attacks and nightmares."

Chris had the decency to look compassionate and not dig for more information about my captivity or my trauma.

"But you're better now?"

"Yes. I hadn't made any improvements for a while when I met Julia. I don't know how, but she has a way to make me feel better and now I'm improving again."

"That capture… that had something to do with that gang of yours, didn't it?"

Oh no, did he want to dig deeper now?

"We aren't a gang," I evaded.

"What are you then?"

"We're the tribe's security squad."

"What, like some sort of police?"

"Not exactly. We don't have as many rights. But we protect the tribe as good as we can."

"If you're only protecting your tribe, what have you been doing in Seattle?"

"Our friend and former colleague was living in Seattle. He had gone missing. All the police found was his gutted car, but there were no human remains inside. The police was at a loss, so we went to Seattle to search for him ourselves."

"What exactly happened when you were there?"

Julia entered with a bowl of spaghetti with meat balls.

"Please, Chris, don't force him to talk about his capture."

She laid a soothing hand on my shoulder.

"I want to hear his version of the story how Eustace got killed. He won't get out of it," Chris said adamantly.

"You don't know what you're asking of him with that! It's difficult for him to talk about it with people he knows and trusts and you're a stranger! You can't," I interrupted Julia's rant.

"It's okay, Julia. I can give a rough report. Can you stay here with me?"

She sat down next to me and took my right hand in both of hers.

"Among certain circles it's well known that my tribe has a special secret defense system. Paul – the friend who went missing – had been kidnapped by a criminal gang, which Eustace was a member of. Unfortunately they got a hold of me and another colleague, too. They tried to torture us into spilling the secret, so that they would be able to use it against their enemies. They wanted us to work for them and side with them against their arch enemies. But we don't side with murderers. Fortunately, my brothers – I mean my colleagues – were able to get reinforcement and free us. They were too late for Paul though. He had already been killed by our capturers. Of course, the criminals didn't just surrender. They fought back and most of them were killed, including Eustace."

It was easier to tell a twisted version than the truth. However, my heartbeat had sped up and I grabbed Julia's hand tightly, needing my anchor to hold me in the present and keep me from drowning in my past.

Silke called for Ben and everyone sat down for dinner. Silke smiled warmly at me and filled my plate generously. Ben glared at me the whole time. Chris kept silent and I couldn't help but glance at him every few seconds, trying to figure out if he believed me. He was unreadable though.

"Was Archibald part of that gang, too?" he finally asked.

"I don't think so. At least I never saw him back then."

"Then what makes you think that he's dangerous, too? You warned Julia about him, didn't you?"

"I know that he's dangerous. He has a very rare psychotic disorder. It's an urge to kill people. He can't always control it. It sounds odd, but drawn blood breaks his control down. That's why he attacked Julia when she cut herself. He didn't want to attack her. I'm sure he regretted it immediately afterwards. But that doesn't change that he did and that he could lose control again anytime."

"I've never heard of such a psychotic disorder."

"Yes, most people haven't. Most physicians and psychologists haven't either. I don't even think that there's a scientific name for it yet. But my tribe has known about it for centuries. We know that there's no cure. Some people manage to get a decent control over their urge, but that takes a long time."

"Why should we believe you and not Archie?" Ben asked.

"Because your common sense tells you that Archibald acted weird when Julia cut her finger. Someone who can't stand blood avoids blood and doesn't rush towards it. You saw that I had to practically drag him out of the room. He accuses me of being a criminal, right? Well, go to the police and ask them, I have a clean record!"

We stared each other down with grim expressions.

"Call it quits, Ben. I think he's alright. Although this disorder is probably just a part of his tribe's mythology and he imagined Archie to have matching symptoms."

I was about to protest and clenched my fists to control myself. Julia reached over and laid a hand on mine. I gave her a small, grateful smile.

"Does that mean I'm allowed to befriend him?" she asked Chris.

"Yes. For the time being. If I realize that he's got a bad influence on you, your friendship will be over quicker than you can say Quileute. Understood?"

"Yes," Julia rolled her eyes.

Ben and Chris retreated to the TV and I helped Julia and Silke to clear the table.

"You really don't have to do that, Seth. You're a guest!" Silke objected.

"It's okay. I don't mind," I replied.

"Honestly, I can't allow this. Just go upstairs, you two. I can handle this alone."

"But, Mom, I'm still grounded. What about the grounding rules?" Julia frowned.

"Invalid for tonight. Now go already, before I change my mind!"

Julia grinned and pulled me with her to her room. Schneeweißchen immediately fled the room, closely followed by a black tom-cat.

"Uh, yeah, that was Aramis, by the way," Julia said, "It's really strange that they all flee from you like that. I mean, Schneeweißchen is always cautious with strangers, but she usually just stays in her condo. But Aramis is curious and likes to cuddle with any willing person, whether he knows them or not."

I shrugged.

"Like I said, cats don't like me."

Julia shook her head disbelievingly.

"Oh, Ronja! You're still here!" she exclaimed happily when her eyes spotted the tortoiseshell cat on a high platform of the cat tree with her back arched, staring at me. I watched her carefully, too. I hadn't forgotten the story about the neighbor's dog. Ronja stayed where she was. She really was brave.

"You did very well down there," Julia smiled at me.

"I had to. I couldn't lose you again."

"It must be difficult to live like that. I mean, you risk your life to protect humans from vampires, yet you can't tell anybody besides really close friends. You've got to be always lying to people."

"Yeah, I guess I lie a lot. Usually I just keep quiet though. Thanks to Archibald, I couldn't just keep quiet in this case."

"If it weren't for Archibald, I'd still be clueless, too, wouldn't I?"

"Probably."

She groaned.

"That bloodsucker screwed everything up! I could still be thinking that vampires are a mere myth! Instead I've got to go to school with them!"

I approached her worried.

"Does that still bother you?"

"I don't know. I mean, they're some sort of friends but I just can't get the fact out of my head that they could sink their teeth into my neck any time! I don't like when Alice touches me. It's like death itself reached out for me."

She shuddered and I embraced her.

"I'll tell her not to touch you anymore. Is it different when Jasper touches you?" I asked incredulously.

"No. He just never touches me. We hug, but our skin never touches."

"Are you okay with hugging them?"

"No. I want to be comfortable with them, but I can't help but think about how close their teeth come to my neck when we hug. But I can't just stop hugging them. Izzy would get suspicious."

"You can trust Alice and Jasper. They won't hurt you."

"I know. But the possibility that one of them loses control is there, isn't it?"

"That's a very low possibility. Plus, Alice would see it coming and prevent it from happening. Honestly, you're safe with them."

She sighed.

"Why can't you go to school with me?"

"I'm too old for high school," I chuckled.

"They're way older than you."

"Nobody knows that."

"Julia!" Silke yelled from downstairs, "It's a school night! You know what that means!"

Julia sighed again.

"You've got to go."

"Will you be at the bakery tomorrow or aren't you allowed there when you're grounded?"

"I'll be there," she hugged me tight.

I'm not really content with this chapter. I feel like I'm repeating myself with the arguments. Next chapter will be better again!

I'm done with finals! Now all I have to do is wait for the results... oh and write of course ;)