SM owns Twilight. We just want to live in her world a bit longer.

Chapter 25

Seth could not believe his luck. He had just imprinted on the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He could have lived a perfect life, just staring into her eyes forever.

In the back of his mind, he knew that he was missing something, something he should have known, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Even when Leah and Jacob were having a heated discussion behind his back, he couldn't lift his eyes of the goddess in front of him.

Seth traced every outline of her face with his eyes as if to memorize her features; her round face, with rosy cheeks, her small nose, her full lips that begged to be kissed. But then, he noticed the blood on her forehead. He felt a lick of anger rise in his body as heat flooded through him at the thought of her being injured.

He swallowed hard, slowly raised his hand to her fringe, and brushed it aside to look at the cut. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

She gazed up into his eyes and said, "I am now," before blushing a beautiful deep crimson color.

"Seth!" he heard someone call to him, but he ignored them.

Someone put their hand on his shoulder, and he nearly growled at them; even in his semi-trance state, he knew he shouldn't growl at this alpha. But, this didn't stop him from being angry with him, "what?" he barked.

Jacob looked at him with an amused smirk, "can I talk to you outside?"

Seth didn't want to leave his mate, he had just met her, and she was injured.

Bella spoke up, knowing exactly what to say to calm his wolf. "It's okay, Seth. I'll look after Eva until you get back."

Seth looked back into Eva's questioning eyes; she looked confused but not scared. "I'll be right back," he said with a charming smile.

Raising steadily to his feet, he went out the front door, with Jacob on his heels.

"What's up?" Seth asked, nervously glancing back towards the closed door.

Jacob chuckled, "congratulations, man."

Seth was confused for a second, then realized what he was saying, "uh, thanks. She's amazing, isn't she?"

Before Jacob could say anything else, Sue pulled up in her car. Jacob closed his eyes and gritted his teeth; hopefully, she would take the imprint better than his father had.

"Hey, boys, what's going on?" Sue called as she approached.

"I just imprinted on the prettiest girl I've ever met," Seth beamed.

Sue looked surprised and then smiled widely. She closed the distance between them and pulled Seth into a hug. "Congratulation, son," she said. "So, who is the lucky girl?"

"Her name is Eva," Seth said, affection evident in the way he said her name.

"Eva Fisher," Jacob clarified.

Sue's smile dropped immediately. "What?"

Seth frowned; Fisher? Where had he heard that name before? "Oh!" he said, his eyebrows rising in shock.

"I was just about to talk to Seth about it when you walked up. It literally just happened a minute ago."

Jacob relaid all the information he had gathered from Bella earlier and watched as Seth turned furious. Unbeknown to Seth, Sue was getting more and more worried. Her expression was turning to disbelief.

"Someone did that to her?" Seth asked through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, some teenagers, apparently," Jacob clarified.

"I'm going to kill them."

Jacob clamped his hand on his shoulder. "You can't go killing kids, Seth. Regardless of what they did to your imprint."

"Is she deaf?" Sue interrupted them.

The boys looked back at her. Seth hadn't even registered that little detail yet. "Yes," Jacob said. "She can lip read pretty well, though."

Seth's mind was running a million miles an hour; it was so much information to take in at once. He didn't care about the old legend he had heard in the past or the fact that she was deaf; however, he had already planned to learn sign language as soon as possible. All he cared about was the fact that she was being bullied, physically and emotionally; it made his heart feel like it was about to break.

Jacob's following comment pulled Seth out of his introspection, "Sue, are you going to be supportive about this?"

Seth was shocked; of course, his mom was going to love her. However, when he looked at his mom, he was surprised to see her hesitant to answer the question.

"Mom?" Seth queried, still confused by her attitude.

"Yes, of course, honey," she finally said. "Why don't you introduce me to her?"

Seth smiled at his mother's encouragement. He led the group back into the house. Eva and Bella looked up as they entered the room. Leah was busy in the kitchen.

"Eva," Seth said, "this is my mother."

Sue walked up to Eva with a smile and shook her hand, "nice to met you, young lady. You can call me Sue."

"Nice to met you," she replied, glancing from Sue back to Seth.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Seth asked excitedly. "Charlie, Bella's dad is coming over to join us tonight."

Eva looked a bit overwhelmed, "oh, um, I have to get going home soon. My Grandma will be home, and I have to help her cook dinner."

Seth was disappointed; he didn't want her to leave so soon. He didn't know when he would see her again.

Bella spoke up, "why don't you walk her home, Seth?"

Seth smiled, "of course, I'd love to. If you want?"

Eva blushed again and nodded. Seth was elated at the chance of spending more time with her.

Eva said goodbye to everyone in the house and thanked Bella again for her help today.

Seth held the front door open for her and followed her down the front steps. He was nervous, he wanted Eva to like him, but he never even tried to get a girl before.

They walked in comfortable silence for a few minutes, walking a few inches apart from each other. Seth had to hold his hand back from wanting to hold hers.

"Why are you being nice to me?" Eva suddenly asked, breaking the silence. She turned to watch his face.

"I'm nice to everyone," he replied out of reflex but then frowned; she wasn't just anyone. She had turned back around to keep walking, so he reached out to touch her arm.

"I think you are special and beautiful, and I'd like to get to know you better if that's okay with you?"

Eva looked shocked by this, "haven't you heard about my family?"

Seth felt sick to his stomach that she didn't feel worthy of someone getting to know her.

"I don't care about any of that," he said honestly. Eva appeared to be watching his face to gauge his sincerity. When she didn't find any sign of deception, she smiled, it was just a small smile, but Seth loved it.

"You have such a beautiful smile," he blurted out without thinking. Now it was Seth's turn to blush.

Eva giggled, and Seth decided that it was his new favorite sound.

They continued walking in silence until they got to the edge of the forest. A small, unsigned walking trail appeared on the side of the road. Seth could smell only two sets of scents leading down the path. One smelled of orchids, his imprint and another who was presumably her Grandma.

The path was well worn but not very wide. There were many roots to sidestep and rocks to step over. Seth wondered how her Grandma went walking this route every day.

After about five minutes, a cozy little cottage appeared in the trees. Two chairs were sitting on the front porch, and there were flowers in the front window box.

"It isn't much," Eva said, "but it's big enough for Grandma and me."

"It looks like a lovely home," Seth reassured her.

Eva hesitated at the front door, unsure what to do.

"Can I come in?" Seth asked.

"I don't think my Grandma would like that," she said nervously, fiddling with the end of one of her plaits.

Seth looked at the two chairs and then back to Eva, "we could sit out for a bit? It isn't raining yet." He could tell it was coming, but it wasn't imminent.

They sat on the rocking chairs, and Seth was pleased to have a decent conversation now they weren't walking.

They chatted about their lives and bonded over their lost parents. Although Eva was only a month old when her mother died, and she never knew her father.

Eva told Seth about her Grandma, and he could tell from her voice and the stories she told that she really loved her.

"Most people are afraid of her," Eva said, "but she has a soft heart. It's just buried deep."

Seth knew what that was like, "my sister is the same."

The sun was setting, and the remaining rays of sunlight were filtering through the trees. Seth was getting nervous about Eva's Grandma walking home in the dark when he heard someone coming up the footpath.

He had to pretend he didn't hear it for a few minutes until she got closer.

An older lady appeared through the trees and was just as Eva had described. A fit lady, shorter than Eva, with long greying hair, plaited into an intricate braid resting over one shoulder. She was carrying two heavy bags of groceries.

Seth went to stand up to help her, but Eva told him to wait.

Eva walked up to her Grandma and signed something to her. Sybil's eyes flicked up towards Seth and narrowed.

Seth had been getting used to the bright blue eyes of his Eva, but seeing it on the elderly lady caused him to do a double-take.

Sybil lowered the bags to the ground and signed something back to Eva. Seth watched in fascination as they held their silent conversation.

It appeared that it wasn't going well as Sybil's expressions were becoming angrier and angrier.

Seth decided to approach them, "hi," he said quietly, "I'm Seth, a friend of Eva's. Can I help you with the bags?"

Sybil eyes Seth, looking at him from his feet to his hair before glaring at him. Eva's signed something to her before Sybil finally nodded her head.

Seth smiled and picked up the bags carefully. The ladies walked ahead of him, and they opened the front door to the cottage.

They turned on a few lights around the room, and Seth was not surprised that the inside was very homely. A couple of comfy, worn couches were sitting around a small, cluttered coffee table, all facing the fireplace. There was no TV but a bookcase full of books.

The kitchen was small, and Seth felt almost too big to be in it. He carefully laid the groceries on the bench and turned around to see the ladies in another heated argument.

"I'm sorry," Seth spoke up. "I didn't mean to upset anyone."

"It's okay, Seth. I was just telling her about how I met you," Eva signed as she talked out loud.

"What is your full name?" Sybil finally spoke out loud.

"Seth Clearwater, ma'am."

"Hmm, Clearwater…." Sybil seemed to ponder this for a moment. Then, she looked back at Seth with an accusing eye. "Are you one of those wolf boys?"

Seth froze, unsure what to say. It was supposed to be a secret. Eva could learn about the truth, eventually, because she was an imprint. Still, he didn't have permission to be telling her Grandmother.

"Grandma!" Eva scolded her. "Not everyone believes in those old stories!"

Sybil took no notice of her Granddaughter. Instead, she walked straight up to Seth and held out her hand as if to shake his.

Seth hesitated before placing his hand in hers. She flinched as soon as she touched his hands.

"I knew it," she exclaimed. "You are, aren't you? You are running a fever high enough to kill a man."

Seth didn't think there was any point in denying it at this point. "Yes, ma'am. I am one of the Quileute protectors."

He watched as Eva took in this information; her mouth gaped open before she took a step back. Seth felt a sharp pain in his chest as she shied away from him. He subconsciously rubbed his chest.

Sybil eyed him more intently. "Did you imprint on my Granddaughter?" she demanded.

Seth swallowed hard and glanced back to Eva; she looked completely frozen. He looked into her blue eyes and had to tell the truth. "Yes, I did."

The room went deathly silent, and all Seth could hear were the heavy heartbeats on the three people inside this small room.

Then, suddenly, Sybil shocked them all by bursting out laughing. Seth and Eva watched her in fascination as she continued to laugh and laugh. Eventually, she had to take a seat; she could hardly stand anymore.

When the chuckles had died down, and Sybil had wiped the tears from her eyes, she looked up into the faces of the two teenagers standing in her house.

"This is going to be interesting," is all she said.

Later that evening, back at the Clearwater house, Sue sighed as she made her way to her room. When her children were little, she would sneak into their rooms to check on them as part of her nightly routine. She would place a sweat kiss on their heads while they were sleeping peacefully. Then, when they grew older, she would kiss her fingers and place them on their heads as she whispered a final goodnight. But, now that they were grown and often still awake when she went to bed, she would kiss her fingers and place them on their doors. Finally, she whispered goodnight to both of them before opening her bedroom door.

She closed the door and leaned up against it, staring at the bed that she once shared with her husband. It had been six months, and she still missed him just as much as the day he left her, the day their children lost their childhood and their futures.

She closed her eyes and silently talked to Harry, knowing she couldn't even whisper to him in a house with wolves.

Hey, Harry, this should have been a joyful day, our boy imprinted. You should have seen him; he was so happy. I wanted to be happy for him; I tried my best, but … today is also the day we know that the Clearwater name will not be carried on. Leah's infertile, cursed by the wolf, and Seth imprinted on a Fisher… he will never have any sons. I wish you were here; you'd know just what to say.

Silent tears fell down her cheeks, and she quickly wiped them away. She was about to open her eyes and move on from her morbid speech when she heard one word spoken in her mind. Said by a voice that sounded very much like her Harry, "Sel-ene."

A/N - I hope you enjoyed this chapter and Seth as much as I did.

Aw, poor Sue. At least she has the decency to put on a brave face for Seth, unlike some parents...

I just wanted to thank everyone who has reviewed this story so far. It just hit 100 reviews, and I'm so blown away by it. When I started, I would've been happy if just one person read it the whole way through and enjoyed it.

I wanted to publically thank one reader who has reviewed almost every chapter, even at the beginning when there wasn't much going on. Tpswasshri27, thank you for your encouragement with this story.

Also, well-done to pangie26, who correctly identified where Bella had seen Eva before. I'm sure it will be discussed in a later chapter.