I arose from sleep since the sunlight tried to burn my eyelids. Ozario stared at me with his hand touching my cheek. I grabbed his hand, sitting up. Then, I rubbed my eyes. He looked out the windows. I'm glad he stayed here with me last night. I smiled.

"Good morning, Oni. Did you sleep, or stay up all night?" I questioned.

He sat beside me on my bed. "Stayed up."

I looked around my room. I could barely recognize it because of how clean it was. I got up from bed and observed more thoroughly. It's back to its original spacious self. I glance over my shoulder at Ozario. He was texting. How did my room get so neat overnight? My brow rose, and a smile crept upon my face.

I set my hand on my hip and asked, "Onyx, did you do this?"

Ozario looked at me and nodded. "Of course, I did. I figured you were too tired. I told the family you were OK. Alice is mad at you... So, expect some language," He informed me and laughed.

My eyes widened. "Oh! Um? Do we have to go, now?"

Ozario chuckled. "No."

I sighed in relief. Ozario stood up and pace himself toward me. I saw something interesting and gasped.

"Stop," I hollered!

"Hammer Time?" Ozario asked with a rose brow and twisted lips.

I giggled and shook my head. I observed Ozario's arm that glistened by the sunlight shining through the glass windows.

That's why he doesn't stay at school when it's sunny. I started covering my mouth, holding back my laughter. He sparkles in the sun! Why?

Ozario looked at his hand. "Oh! That's why you're laughing." He took off his shirt and stood in the sunbeams. I caught a glimpse of a tribal tattoo on his right shoulder.

"Wow! Nice tattoo! Your body is incredible," I complimented. His skin was glistening golden scapolite. "Do all of you do that?"

"Well... the Cullens do. I'm a hybrid, so I apply to both rules and traits."

Henry, Ozario's biological brother, wasn't like him, though. His body responded to sunlight more like Leah's, Seth's, and Jacob's did. "Hen? Why isn't he like you? He can walk in the sun without sparkling like you are. Is it because of your parents?"

"My parents..." Ozario took a moment to think everything through. He breathed out, "Uh. Well, yes. You know, every child doesn't come out the same, including twins, no matter how similar their genes are. See, Henry took after our mother's traits more, the wolf, and I took after more of our father's traits, the opposite. Of course, my parents held a forbidden love life, considering they were fire and ice. 'Fire' meaning wolf, or werewolf, as humans call them. 'Ice' meaning-uh..." Ozario's eyes flicked up at me.

"If 'ice' means the Cullens, just call them something else."

Ozario nodded. "Cold ones, or..." He shrugged and decided to say, "Phantoms. Henry's and my chromosomes battle each other, considering we reside in a body born from natural enemies. We don't know how it is possible to be in one body, or what is or isn't good for us. But, we learn over time."

I fiddled with my fingers nervously for my next question. It was too big to ask, but curiosity set out to kill me, "What happened to your parents?"

Ozario slipped his shirt back on and stuffed his hands in his pants pockets. "They were killed when I was 7-years-old after protecting me and my older brother. Our town burnt to nothing but ash. Orphaned ever since. My brother and I always stick together for their sake and because we were all we had left. The other survivors are either long dead or somewhere else."

I felt ashamed of the way I had acted last night. He understood my sadness very well and I acted a fool.

"You did a million times better than me when my brother and I had lost our parents," Ozario chuckled.

I dropped my hands by my sides. "What do you mean?" I asked.

Ozario crossed his arms and whispered, "Nothing. Sorry."

"So," I started. I planted my butt on the floor. I breathed in and asked, "Jacob, Leah, Seth, and Henry are werewolves... Like, the ones I watched kill my mom and grandma?"

Ozario nodded, sitting on the floor in front of me. His eyebrows furrowed. "I never thought I'd see werewolves do that. I've met so many wolves, who took oaths to protect humans from the one thing they keep away, the phantoms."

Renesmee is different, too. Isn't she? I could ask, now. "Renesmee? Is she like you?"

Ozario paused again. He looked up at the ceiling, thinking of a way to explain. "Not exactly, but she is a hybrid too. Ness is half human. She has blood in her veins like I do. She is also a little slower than the rest of us. Ness, Riri, and I live off regular food and blo-" He paused, then looked down at me.

I finished his sentence, "Blood. I've seen it before. You don't have to hide it, remember?"

Onyx's eyes were downcast. He shook his head. "Don't trust me. I've killed before," he advised.

I slowly inhaled. After so many murders I've witnessed and with him being the species he was, I had no choice but to believe his darkest confession. While shrugging, I accepted his words. "I know... but, it's my decision to trust you. So, you're going to have to deal with it, now. It's my responsibility to keep this a secret, like I'm your responsibility. Like you said it's by choice."

Ozario smiled with his brows inwardly bending again. "That's an imbecilic decision."

"Yours is suicidal," I backfired with a grin.

He nodded, looking down.

I slid and leaned closer to Ozario, and I touched his cheek. "Is this easier, now?" I asked.

"Yea, it is. And," Ozario pushed my hand away from his face. He started to graze my hand in both of his. "Don't do that. I will kiss you again," he cautioned.

"What? You're trying to learn how to stop or something," I teased, flashing a side grin at him?

Ozario gave me a serious look.

"You are!?"

Ozario nodded slightly. "The day of the bet, remember? I'm trying not to steal your lips, because you made a valid point. I shouldn't have kissed you out-of-blue, since I did not know you very well. I told you I'd stop," he recounted. Ozario shot me his devilish grin again. "Buuut, if I could," he joked?

I eyed Ozario with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm just kidding," Onyx laughed. "What about your secret? It would be good to know about the... Vipers, correct?"

I scratched the back of my head. I began to divulge what I knew thus far, "Nn... The Vipers are a group of people cloaked in black. Not red and black like some other group called, The Volturi. But the cloaks are all black and short. They wear a small, silver letter' V' around their necks. Those guys are out to get me. But, well, I don't remember why. They've killed everyone in my family for centuries. They stole my childhood and my memories, Onyx." I set my fists on my crossed legs in anger. I was trying to hit the floor, but Ozario was here, and I didn't want to be childish in front of him.

Onyx raised a brow and asked, "Oh, Dios mío. You know The Volturi? They're the head of all the covens, Catalina. How do you know about them?"

I answered, "My mother told me that a man named Aro is my great ancestor of our ancient history. He is part of the tree of my family, dating back to the 1300s, before Christ. Aro has become immortalized,' my grandma said." I shrugged. "They told me this two years ago."

Ozario's face brightened in awe. "Does he know?"

I nodded. Shrugging, I said, "Well, I believe so. Aro met me as a baby. He told my parents to keep me hidden until I was of a certain age. I don't know the age."

Ozario's mouth dropped open. "Holy shit... How did you get your memories stolen?" He asked.

"On my birthday, my family and I were ambushed." I touched the right side of my neck and tried to remember the event. "Somebody... bit my neck, and throw my dad's head at me. I-I felt that something was draining inside me and I fell into my display case... Then I blacked out. That's all I can remember, apart from the death of my family. Anything before that is ... nothing. Every now and then, I get childhood flashes. They're rare, however," I tried to explain.

"There is more to you than I anticipated," Ozario mumbled to himself. He breathed in and vowed, "I will help you as best as possible, okay? Anything you need, I am here."

I agreed, taking his hand. "I want you to be by my side, every step of the way. Please? I trust you."

Ozario nodded and hugged me. "I promise. I trust you, too."

I wrapped my arms around him. There was something different about the new hug. Ozario seemed thicker than usual in his torso. It was the first time he relaxed around me. I held him tighter. We stopped hugging, and he stared into my eyes.

Onyx asked, "Do you remember my painting? The one from the day we met?"

In art class, on my first day of school, we drew our fears. It was supposed to be a way to get rid of them, somehow. "Yea. I do."

Ozario leaned back a little more to bring his knees to his face. He looked at the carpet beneath him. "I have only two major fears. One of them is being afraid to fall in love again."

Confused and interested, I slid closer to him – not wanting to miss a single detail – and supported my chin with my fists. I tilted my head and asked, "Why?"

Onyx started to say, "In the 1800s,"

"1800s! You lived that long! How old are you?!" I shouted while interrogating him.

Ozario cracked up after my outburst. "I was born in Tarragona, Spain, 1801. Guess."

I started counting on my fingers. Ozario shot me a deadpan look. "Really, Kitten? Your fingers?"

"Hold on! I'm almost there. You know, I'm not so good with math unless we're in school. Plus, I'm human! Ugh, now I lost count." I finished counting. "You're 215," I bellowed in his face!

He nodded, staring at me like I was the dumbest being he had ever seen.

I smiled and batted my lashes. "Continue."

Ozario shook his head and carried on, "In the late nineteenth century, I was a musician. My brother and I had a dancehall, Bailar Noche, where we were going to play our music. A lot of people would come to hangout and enjoy themselves. One night, a woman named Astrid came by, and since my brother was supposed to find a friend at the time, he left the stage to meet her. They didn't find each other attractive enough, I suppose. After a meeting between me and her, I accidentally fell in love with her." He took deep breaths and then continued, "AAstrid and my love seemed incredibly wonderful until I asked her to be mine. She told me it's a challenge she created. Astrid had all those potential suitors waiting in line. She said that if they wanted her,' they'll have to prove themselves.' Stupid, as I was then, I accepted the challenge. I should never have been involved, for she left me standing at the altar. Oh, this part's funny. Everyone searched for her. But, the very first door that I opened... I was the one to find her sleeping with one of my staff. I lost my cool and ran off, hiding somewhere in the woods. My brother came to seek me, and found me, and we left. We never looked back. We gave up our house and ballroom to an emancipated family. After that Henry and I had become all sorts of things like..." As he gazed at me, Ozario's eyes widened, then turned away. Obviously he was about to hide something once more. "... Butlers to a beautiful man and his daughter," He said. "They were a kind family. True Christians. We did leave them anyway. Other things we became, changes we made, and eventually we moved to Forks. At first, it was a big mistake. Again I came across Astrid... And I fell into her trap, again. I messed around falling in love with her again... Or perhaps I've never gotten over her. I really hoped that we could take it serious-"

I stopped him there, "Hoped she could take it more seriously. So, she's immortal, too? Or, what?"

Ozario tapped on the floor while thinking, then replied, "Yes, she is almost as old as Aro. I believe he was changed at age 20 in 1280 BC. That makes him 3,315 years of age, now. Astrid is 5 years younger. So, she's 3,310-years-old, now."

I raised my hand. "Math question! What year was Aro born?"

"If he was 20 in 1280, he would have been born in 1300 BC. Now, after Christ's death, years started over. Still, Aro would be 3,315, today."

I lifted my hand in awe. "Whoa!" I laid on my back, pretending to be exhausted, "Ugh! Math is hard!"

Ozario rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "You need some lessons." He murmured.

I sat up and giggled. "Go on. I'm sorry for cutting you off," I apologized.

Onyx flashed his dimples at me. "It's alright. At least you're interested in all of this. Anyway, Astrid tried seducing me with that game of chase again. I refused so I wouldn't waste any more years on her. A small piece of my life is wasted over some chick. I don't know why I fooled around with her," he moped. "She's the withered rose on the table. Normally, withered flowers are signs of rejection or dying romance."

I started putting some pieces together, "The big eye watching the dying rose must've been you then... and the room must be a piece of the area that you caught that girl in, right?"

Ozario nodded. He stared at the carpet again. "Splash of colors? I didn't know how to feel. Blue and purple were depression colors, shades of reds-"

"Anger." I finished, looking down too. That's really messed up.

Ozario paused for a second, pressing his lips together. "I know this might sound 'lame' to say this, but... I still believe that love is good a thing, even if it's not romantic. I learned to take love seriously. My whole family believes it should be. I don't want to be a wandering soul meeting all of these people, and not one of them be meant for me. I don't think anybody wants to live this long without one special person to share it with. Otherwise, you're just a wandering soul, right? I worry about being a monstrous, blood-sucking, freak alone forever with no one understanding the real me." His words pierced my heart. Ozario swept his long hair behind his head as he signed. Both eyes were cast down. "I suppose I have my brother... but one day he may what to walk alone."

Living so long could be lonely, right? I crawled by his side and kissed his cheek. Ozario gawped at me. I cuddled him in sympathy. Right... It is lonely. Like, when everyone would leave the house, except the wolves. The wolves and I never really spoke much when alone. Or, when I felt empty because my only remaining family members passed away. So, what Ozario went through for two centuries would definitely make him feel lonely.

I patted his back and mumbled under my smooshed left cheek, "Now, you have me to tell you that you aren't a monster. You're not a wandering freak, either. You're my Oni and I am your Cati and that's what we are... together. You don't have to see yourself this way, anymore. You don't have to worry about getting hurt because, you're right, love should be taken seriously.

I will be by your side to share memories and understand you. I know I'm very young, but I will learn. We can learn together."

Ozario rested his head on mine and chuckled. "Silly, little kitten."

I stood up and went to my dresser. In a top drawer, it contained a long red string inside. I really shouldn't be doing this due to Chinese legends, but I believe this could be fate. I return to sit in front of Ozario and showed him the string using both of my hands. He gracefully lifted the string off of my hands. Oni tilted his head as he curiously looked at it.

A smile crossed his face and he asked, "Is this a red string of fate?"

"Yes. My mom asked me to use it to replace missing wedding rings one day." I answered, laughing. "It's also known as the red string of marriage."

Ozario started playing with the string by twisting it. "So, why show me this?"

"They say when two people are connected by the two ends of the red string – I mean, if the string is tied to their littlest finger or their ankles – they are destined lovers, regardless of their surroundings, the time, or the circumstances. Legend has it, a god of marriage would tie the destined souls together so, some day, he would bring them together on earth, no matter the situation. The string is to never break and the two souls with always be in love for eternity in their every life. Over here though, it's another way of saying the two are soulmates. Americans don't do strings," I explained.

Ozario's eyes remained locked on mine. He still fiddled with the string. It started to make me worry. "Oh! So, this is almost like imprinting."

I heard of that before. Isn't it an animal behavior, or some sort of stone engraving thing? "What you're talking about is animal behavior, right? Since you are half werewolf?" I place my fingertips on my cheek to try to understand.

"Yea... Um... I'm stuck," Ozario choked out. He smacked his lips and sighed.

I knew it. I gave him a stony glare, then smirked. "Are you really stuck. Can't you just slip out," I asked him, since I finally knew him to be a hybrid?

"There are six ways I had thought of, only two will keep the string intact. You're help will get me out faster."

I smiled and looked down at his hands. Ozario's hands were extremely interlaced with the string. I shook my head. This would take a while to get him out but I understood. He's a hybrid, not God. Onyx and I struggled to untangle his hands. The whole thing was a huge mess. We tried everything we could, but both of our hands were intertwined with the string. Our fingers couldn't even move. Ozario got up, laughing, while I stayed on the floor.

"Well, I thought this 'd be faster. Okay. I'll look for scissors in my bag," Onyx decisively stated, reaching for the bag he brought. As he moved further away, the string began to unravel.

I gasped and nervously whispered, "Uh... Ozario?"

He looked back at me. "Yes?"

The unraveled string left our pinkies tied together. Ozario and I blushed and laughed at the circumstance. It was the cutest thing. Onyx and I decided to keep it on until we would return to the other home, later. We laid on the floor by his bag.

"Cat," Oni's voice quivered a bit?

I glanced at him. "Yes?"

"Do you know what imprinting is?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I've seen a goose imprint on a little girl before."

Ozario looked in my eyes and chuckled, "That's... not the same imprinting as we do, but okay. Do you want to know?"

I nodded at Ozario.

"Imprinting is... Um-Imprinting happens the moment a shape shifter, like me, finds their," Ozario looked at the string and said, "... other end of the string. If a wolf looks into the eyes of the one they are destined to be with, they imprint. Instead of a string, it's the soul. That's what attaches to each other. It's having every connection with that one person and everything outside of us dissociated forever. The only thing pulling me down is no longer gravity, it's just her. Nobody else matters, because she is the only one, my other half, my 'soul mate.' Imprinting isn't like your string per say. It isn't always romantic. There are some I knew that were friends forever and these twins who were very creepy but good people. However, the imprinter knows they are destined to be a family, to be great friends, or to be lovers. Wolves would be anything, if not everything, for their imprintee."

I smiled. "Imprinting sounds beautiful. You haven't imprinted already, have you?" This lovely description made me very curious about werewolves, now.

"I-I have." Onyx's head turned away from me. His long chestnut bangs covered his eyes and only the redness of his cheeks was left uncovered. He sat up with a straight back like usual.

I sat up, too. I faced him while sitting on my side, one leg over the other. I only hoped for one thing and that was, "You can't imprint again, can you?"

"No. At least, I don't believe so. I've never seen it happen twice," Ozario replied.

I sighed in relief. This led to my next question. What if the person died, could it be possible then? I asked him, "What would happen if the imprintee passed away? Would you die, too?"

Ozario smiled and disagreed using his head. "I would want to die," he admitted, "I'd set myself on fire... But, no. If my imprintee had gotten murdered, I'd kill the person who did it out of heartache. No enemy would get that far, though. I'd kill them before they could even try. It's a rule for the tribe I associate with that a wolf may never kill or attack an imprintee because, man or woman, human or monster, I will do what I have to in order to protect you at all cost. That might include possibly killing them for your safety." He sounded so confident and willing.

I did notice one word in particular. "You." I raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Me?" Did he admit imprinting on me? I smirked happily at the thought. "Is that why you kissed me in the nurse's office," I questioned him in a bubbly mood?

Ozario blinked a few times before responding, "Yes, yea... I imprinted on you. It's hard breaking through it, but I did."

My shoulder slumped, and I became sad after Ozario said that. Why would he break out of it? Am I a mistake? I lowered my head to the floor and, sadly, asked, "Why?"

"I hated the idea of imprinting," He answered, smiling, "If I'm going to be with someone with feelings that's overwhelmingly strong, I have to know it's real. I don't want my genes telling me how to feel. Our bet was the perfect time to test how strongly I felt about you. Nothing was as hard as that separation, but I got to discover how much I really loved you." He chuckled, "See, I teased you so much to hate you at first. I wanted to hate you before I loved you. For some reason, I couldn't do that. I could hate someone who was brave and kind and I fell for your personality. It wasn't horrible being away from you, but I did despise it very much. Now, I tease you just because I love the way you look when you're annoyed with me."

I smirked. Really? So, Ozario wanted something real. He thinks I'm brave? I blushed from his reply. "Who else has imprinted? I mean, in the Cullen house, of course."

"Jacob, he saved the family a few years back because he imprinted on Renesmee. Seth imprinted a few years after, to one of our comrades who visited two years ago. My brother and I had just moved in with the Cullens, then. Leah still hasn't, nor did Henry," he answered while swaying his feet back and forth.

None of them, except Hen, had the Cullens' last name. "Hmm. So, the pales don't imprint, or something?"

Ozario chuckled out, "Heh-no, the pale ones don't imprint. They do act like it, don't they? No, they are just truly in love."

"That's how you want to be?"

He nodded, humming, "Mhm."

Ozario grabbed his bag and reached into it. A black, satin case was in his hand. He opened it, unmasking a lovely diamond and brown string necklace. It glimmered like his crystal skin and silver eyes. The pendant was a diamond encrusted rose. It looked wonderfully radiant. Onyx took it out of the case.

"You love roses, don't you," I asked? I remembered everything he's shown me so far. He always gives me something involved with roses.

Ozario shook his head and placed the necklace around my neck. "No," he replied. "I have seen you doddle a bunch of them in all your notebooks. I assumed it was your favorite flower. Mine is Jasmine."

His gentle touch on the back of my neck made me blushed. I looked at the flower pendent and smiled. "Jasmine? Nice. You must know a lot about me, huh?"

"You're all I see, remember that," Ozario shared romantically. "Alice told me about a unique girl, who would come into my life. I made this for her, immediately. Then, when you came I tried to fight it. Teh. However, Alice didn't tell me that you would love this type of flower so much. Coincidental lucky guess."

"You made this lovely charm?"

He agreed by kindly grinning at me.

I blushed even more, smiling back at him, "Then, if that's the case, I won't ever take it off."

Ozario arms wrapped around me.

I relaxed my head back on his buff, but smooth chest. "I have to find my father's journals. Could you help me," I asked him, looking up into his eyes? "Mom said they were here."

"Anything for the girl I'm bound to," Onyx dully teased. He lifted his – still tied to my pinkie – finger and wiggled it.

We laughed for a moment. I playfully stuck out my tongue and commented, "Ew! Now, you're getting affectionate, weirdo."

We cackled again before standing up to search for my family's things. The red string finally released our fingers once Onyx and I rummaged through my mom's room. We searched everywhere. The stash had to be somewhere in this house. We checked up and down the stairs until I finally had a flash back of my father's head in my hands. I held it while I sat in a corner of a closet... No! In my display case! We hurried downstairs. I asked Ozario to help me move it. He took care of the case with ease.

The hatch and the floor boards around it were cracked after being stuffed with so many things. This must be it! There was a grey, rusty lock on the hatch. Ozario handed me my key, and I unlock and open the hatch. I lifted up the wooden door, finding a load of the contents inside. I jumped in fear, spotting a morbid item at the top.

"Ahhh!"