What about standing up in front of a group of people automatically makes you feel persecuted? As a woman, it kind of comes with the territory. I can't even escape it when I read—the pages of my required reading for AP Lit are littered with perceptions of women seen through the eyes of men. Pretty, pouty, reserved. A toe out of line is a swift step toward the pyre. So if I'm stepping into the fire, I'll lean on Joan of Arc: '..To sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying.'

Back in her darkened room, Maya still couldn't seem to catch her breath. The rest of the evening at the bonfire was spent trying to catch a glimpse of the strange man she now felt connected to with a strange, tenuous bond that she swore she could feel tightening in her body.

When the rest of the evening passed without incident, Maya felt a thrumming in her chest start and her breath would catch in her throat. When she returned home, she excused herself to her bedroom, saying she was just tired. Behind the closed door, Maya placed a hand on her chest and tried to take in deep, solid breaths. She felt like she had run a marathon and no amount of calming breath could bring her back to normal.

His eyes swam before her, the firelight flickering in it's dark depths, as she tried to make sense of what happened. Everything had been fine and now, everything felt somehow complicated, different, and slightly terrifying. Her heart hammered against her chest as she continued to breath, pacing her room for some clarity. Would it feel like this forever? Maya realized now that panic was rising in her. Should she tell her parents? They'd think she was crazy, surely. She might call Becks and run the event past her but she faced the same fear again.

Maya knew that what she felt in those short moments connecting with a stranger across the bonfire in the most visceral way possible had to be real, but how she explained that intense feeling to anyone else, she wasn't sure.

Maybe…

Maya reached for her cellphone from her back pocket and opened to her most recent text messages with Jeremy. He had texted her earlier this week asking about some history homework they shared. When she opened the message though, and poised her fingers to type out a message, she nearly dropped her phone when she saw the three little dots appear on his end, indicating that he was typing to her. And just as quickly as they appeared, they disappeared. A moment later, they reappeared again. Maya had no idea what to think. Had he witnessed the weirdness between her and the stranger tonight?

If Jeremy was a part of Sam Uley's group, maybe he knew this guy and could give her some reassurance. She could see it now:

Who? That guy?! Oh yeah, don't mind him, he's just a weirdo. You were totally right to feel that, he can be a little….intense. Anyways, what did you write for the short answer response to number 3?

She closed her phone and tossed it on her nightstand, opting to crawl into bed instead. After much tossing and turning, she drifted off, but when she slept, the wolf was there in her dreams. He was waiting for her on the edge of the cliff now. Familiar, calm. Maya didn't know if she should walk toward him or run the other direction. She stood frozen in place until the wolf pulled it's head up toward the sky and let out a low mournful howl.

Maya startled awake to her mother shaking her shoulder gently. A strange look was on her face. It was raining but Maya could tell that it was early morning.

"Maya, sweetie," her mom said softly, stroking some hair out of her face. "I need you to get up. The tribal council has requested a meeting with us."

A weight like a stone dropped in Maya's stomach. "What?" she croaked. Her throat was parched and she felt how tight the muscles in her hand were as if she'd been clutching around her sheets all night.

"Get dressed." her mother said, sweeping out of her room. She could hear low talking in the living room as she pulled herself out of bed. A headache was ratcheting through her skull and she gave herself a minute before standing to ensure she wouldn't get light headed from standing too quickly. Maya pulled off her clothes from the night before—she hadn't even bothered changing before bed—before pulling on some light wash jeans and an oversized forest green sweatshirt. She pulled her knotted hair up into a ponytail and brushed her teeth quickly before running downstairs to pull on her rain boots.

Her family had never been summoned by the council before and Maya would be lying if she said she wasn't a little nervous. Then she remembered elder Mila smiling at her last night, knowingly. Maya wiped the thought from her mind and pulled on her dark blue rain jacket as her parents emerged from the kitchen with odd looks on their face.

"Everything okay?" she probed. Rish looked at Maya's dad for a split second before nodding and giving an enthusiastic smile.

"Of course! Let's go, don't want to be late!"

The council house was a modest cottage down close to La Push beach. Circular skylights dotted the roof to create natural overhead lighting. In the large main room was a long table that took of the majority of the space and chairs of varying shapes behind it. A small hallway led a to a back entrance.

Maya's family entered the humble cottage through the front door and was greeted warmly by the council members who were made up of: elder Mila, elder Leo, Chief Black, Sue Clearwater, and elder Arbol. Maya was slightly placated by their eager faces and happily accepted the tea they offered her. Her parents sat down in the chairs across from the table and Maya stood behind them.

"Thank you for joining us on such short notice," Chief Black said with a warm smile on his face. "And we wanted to thank you, Rish, for putting on such a great first gathering for the new year, as always."

"Oh, it's my pleasure!" Rish blushed somewhat and waved them off. "It was nothing."

Elder Mila was watching Maya carefully, her kind eyes twinkling in the low light of the cottage.

"We wanted to call you here to discuss a matter that has been brought to our attention. Last night, specifically." Chief Black's eyes flickered to Maya for just a moment before staying trained on her parents. The panic was rising in her again and she worked to control her breathing. In and out. Take it slow. She told herself. She was sure everyone could hear the sound of her heart thudding loudly as Chief Black continued. Outside, a low rumble of thunder swept down the beach.

"Oh?" her father said as he looked over his shoulder to glance at Maya. Her eyes darted frightfully to him and the look on his face changed to one of concern. Rish grabbed for her husband's hand unsure of what was about to come next.

"You are familiar with our Protection group run by Sam Uley, yes?" Chief Black asked. They nodded as Maya remained stock still. "As you may know from our legends, each member is a direct descendant of our spirit warriors, our wolf warriors."

"I'm familiar with the legends," Rish said quietly.

"That's good. That will make this explanation easier. Part of our legends defines the role of the spirit warriors to the tribe. They're our protectors and keep us safe from outside threats."

"The cold ones," her father said to Maya's surprise. Chief Black fixed him with a serious stare.

"Yes. And though our threats and the roles of the spirit warriors have changed over the years, two things remain true: those threats are still out there and protection is still needed and...that our spirit warriors have the ability to imprint."

Maya was pulling in small breaths down her throat. Her vision was starting to blur from lack of air, she thought, or maybe it was just the panic making her lightheaded.

"Im-imprint?" Rish said confused.

"It's the sacred bond between a wolf warrior and his or her soulmate. The imprint is integral to the warrior's strength and focus, and is thus an integral part of our tribe's protection. The imprint comes to the warrior when they need them most and last night...your daughter became an imprint." Elder Mila said gently. Maya closed and opened her hands trying to stay here in this room.

"I'm sorry." her mother said after a moment. Maya's father was silent as he considered this. He was well versed in the legends of the spirit warriors and he seemed to have a better grasp of what was happening than her mother in this moment. "Are you saying that one of Sam's group thinks my daughter is their soulmate?"

"Not think. Is. Maya is now intricately tied to the history and continuance of this tribe. Being an imprint is honorable and sacred and should be held as such. She will always be protected by her imprinter." Elder Leo confirmed.

Rish's mouth hung open in shock as she turned to look up at her daughter, but Maya's eyes were trained forward, watching Chief Black with a sense of urgency. Even with the explanation, Maya wasn't sure why she felt this way.

"And who might I ask is this mysterious person who has imprinted on her?" Rish said a little defensively. Maya's father squeezed Rish's hand reassuringly.

"Paul Lahote," Billy Black said as he gestured toward the door. As he did, Paul walked through, a stern and measured look on his face. Maya stared at him and instantly recognized him as the man she had seen the night before. Paul. she thought, the name floating around in her head. He refused to look at her, she noticed. The relief she had read on his face last night was clearly replaced now with what she could only pick up as...irritation? Anger? He came to stand off to the side wall, facing the council.

"This is ridiculous. He's a grown man! He's 30! And you're telling me he's Maya's soulmate!?" her mother was getting upset now and rightly so.

"He's 28," Sue Clearwater corrected with a gentle smile. To Paul she gave a sympathetic look. Maya was finally able to pull her gaze away from staring at Paul's profile.

Her breathing evened out and the headache she had felt earlier had ebbed away. By all physical measure, she felt better, but the panic was still there and he wouldn't look at her. Was that intentional?

"My daughter is 18. Imprint or not, this is inappropriate," her mother finally says.

"Rish."

"No Tom!" Rish shoots back at Maya's father.

"As the imprint, Maya determines the relationship," Chief Black says gently, "That means that it can be that of a friend, older brother, protector, mentor, or romantic partner if she chooses. The imprinter respects the pace set by the imprint."

Rish seemed somewhat soothed by this but was still a little uneasy about the whole thing. Maya realized her hands were clenched into fists and she was hyper aware of Paul's presence across the room. She felt an unconscious pull that was willing her to cross the room and make contact. The ache of it made her uncomfortable and she was almost annoyed that it was causing her physical discomfort to be in this predicament with him. She could tell from his side profile that he held the same look—annoyance that showed he desperately wanted to be anywhere but here.

"I feel like I have to stress, given the circumstances that while this is a little out of the norm," Chief Black said. Maya internally laughed-what exactly was the norm in this weird circumstance? She was still teetering on if this was even a real thing, "And while Maya determines the characteristics of the imprint relationship, there must be a relationship between them of some kind. It is imperative that they maintain their connection in whatever vein they choose, but ultimately, there must be something." He said this with a tone of finality in his voice and Maya noticed that his gaze was set on Paul and the look suggested that he has no choice but to cooperate.

Did he not want her as his imprint? Maya was floored and suddenly, that uncomfortable pull inside her transforms into hurt. She wanted to laugh out loud at herself for even caring that he didn't want her. She didn't even know him, so what. But still, the pain etched itself into her belly and she tried to keep her face serene and unreadable. When he nods his consent to the request, stone cold, Maya realizes she can't take anymore.

She turns on her heel and bolts out the front door. The air is thick and the humidity nearly chokes her as she runs as hard as she can up the beach. Her rain boots aren't really meant for running but she pushes on—she'd deal with the blisters later.

As Maya reaches the curve of the beach that takes her out of sight of the council house, she pauses and bends over with her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath. The skies open up and drip heavy wet drops of rain around her on the sand making satisfying splatting sounds around her. The rain started in earnest now and she was completely drenched. The discomfort and hurt bubbled up in her and she stood up straight, still huffing for air, before she threw her head back and let out a desperate, frustrated scream. Rain dripped down the back of her throat and she pulled off her rain boots, letting her toes dig into the damp sand as she made her way back home.

Her parents beat her home since they drove down to the council house. Maya comes through the front door, leaving her rain boots on the porch, dripping from head to toe.

"Maya?" her mother calls from the kitchen. She quickly swings around the corner, her eyes frantic and then relieved at the sight of her "Goodness, you scared me running off like that. Are you okay?! Let me get you a towel," she said, noticing the puddle forming around Maya's feet.

Maya was speechless. She didn't know what to say or what this even meant for her, she just wanted to douse herself in hot water and crawl into bed. The walk back had done nothing to clear her mind.

Rish was back upon her with a towel, wrapping it gently around her shoulders and rubbing her arms. After a silent moment of communication between them, Rish put her hands on Maya's cheeks.

"It's going to be okay, sweetie." she said softly. Maya so much wanted that to be true, but she had so many questions, none of which she wanted to ask. Rish leaned in and planted a warm kiss to her cold forehead. "This can be a good thing." she whispered into her hair. Maya still said nothing and when she pushed out of her mom's arms and climbed the steps, Rish didn't follow her.

The rain slapped against her window as Maya wrapped herself up in bed after her shower. She didn't even bother changing into any pajamas, she just opted to stay in her towel, her wet hair sticking to her back. Her gaze was transfixed out the rainy window and the thoughts that had plagued her throughout her shower were back.

She was an imprint. Which meant, if she understood the legends right, that he had some ridiculous claim on her. Imprints were revered in the history of her people but what Maya was hung up on was the fact that all of the imprints in the stories and legends were with their imprinter. As in together, together—marriage, kids, the whole thing.

In all the stories of wolf warriors and their imprints, she didn't remember a single story that ended with them just being friends. Maya suddenly felt all of the air leave the room at this thought. Her whole life she was hoping to get off this reservation and now...now she didn't know what the future held.

Would she still be able to leave for college? Would she always be tied to this place physically and this person forever? Why did Paul look so upset when Chief Black told him he must have some kind of contact with her? Was it because she was 18, in high school, and had her whole life ahead of her still? She hoped it was that and not the other insecurity that was plaguing her.

Maya wasn't sure how long she sat there staring out her bedroom window but at one point, she snapped herself out of it and reached for her phone, determined. She had missed her study date with Jeremy, but unfortunately, she realized that he probably already understood why.

She navigated to her messages with Jeremy and typed a hasty message: Hey, sorry about missing our hangout today...something came up.

Maya didn't have to wait long for a reply.

Jeremy: No worries. I assumed as much considering the whole imprint thing. How are you feeling?

Maya exhaled a puff of air surprised that he was so open and willing to talk about it. She got the distinct feeling in that room that what the council told her was not public knowledge. But if Jeremy was part of Sam's group, he probably had a better understanding of what was going on than any of her friends. She hesitated to reply and then said:

Yeah, it's...weird. I don't know how to feel. He looked...upset at being there.

J: Who Paul?

M: Yeah…

J: Don't take it too personal. He was caught off guard last night. I don't think he thought he would ever imprint. You blindsided him.

M: Me blindside him?! Hello! Less than 24 hours ago I still had my freedom, now I have all of this… instant history.

J: LOL. That's a funny way of putting the imprint "instant history." I like that.

Maya didn't know what else to say. She had so many questions but she wasn't sure if Jeremy was the person to ask these things, but he was kind of all she had at this point. Before she could respond, Jeremy hit her with the double text.

J: So what are you going to do?

M: About what?

J: Uhhh, the imprint. Everything?

M: It doesn't really feel like I have choice when it comes to anything any more. Especially the imprint.

J: I think you do have a choice, the way just doesn't look like it used to. It's just gonna take some time. I'm here...by the way.

M: Thanks, Jeremy.

She flopped back onto her bed and stared up at the ceiling. What was she going do, indeed. Maya had no clue. After a hot second of panic, she felt her phone buzz aggressively in her hand. When she brought her phone up to her face a voice bellowed on the other end.

"UUUUH WHAT THE FUCK SOMEONE SAID THEY SAW YOU AT THE COUNCIL HOUSE TODAY?! WHAT'S GOING ON?"

Keye's words smashed on top of one another. Maya sighed.

"It's a mess. Can you get Becks on the line so I don't have to tell this cluster fuck of a story twice?" Maya said. Might as well bite the bullet on this one. Of everyone on the planet, she knew she could trust her best friends to understand.

"Yeah, hold on one second."

As Maya waited patiently for Becks to get on the line, she tried to figure out the best way to break the news to them. But when Becks picked up suddenly Maya was at a loss.

"What's going on?" Becks said worried. Maya groaned and like ripping off a bandaid she said:

"Paul Lahote is my soulmate."