Tori felt a bit like a zombie as she went about her morning routine absentmindedly. She'd only slept a few hours after she finally went back home around 3am. She was tired but still felt the pleasant warmth in her chest after any amount of time spent with Jade. She was relaxed, at least until she went downstairs to see her dad fussing around the kitchen. She took out her earbuds, "Are you okay?"

He growled quietly, "Vampires."

Tori stopped in place and fidgeted nervously with her earbuds. She quickly decided to feign innocence, "What?"

He hurriedly rearranged things in his work bag, "I've scented them around our territory for weeks now," he huffed and looked over at her, "You've been patrolling regularly, have you scented them?"

She bit her lip and turned away from him to pick up her backpack, "I wasn't really paying much attention, honestly, sorry. I figured just marking would be enough."

"You need to be more attentive, especially when you're on your own." Tori bit the inside of her lips and avoided his gaze. He quickly put on his duty belt and sighed, "Just...be careful, alright?"

"Dad, I'll be fine."

"Don't ever underestimate a vampire. They're dangero-"

"Dad," Tori pinched the bridge of her nose, "I'll be fine. I know how to protect myself."

David walked over to kiss her forehead, then sniffed a couple times and hesitated. Tori froze and silently prayed that he wouldn't notice Jade's scent on her. He sighed again, seemingly placated for the moment, "Be careful. Love you."

"Love you, too."

She let out a quiet breath as he left through the garage and berated herself for skipping a shower after being out most of the night with Jade. She shifted her weight anxiously as she waited for her sister, then spent most of the drive fiddling with her phone. Trina was surprisingly quiet for most of the drive, though eventually broke the silence to just be herself.

"You smell like wet dog."

Tori took a deep breath and waved a hand, "There was a thunderstorm last night."

Trina looked over at her dubiously, "Why were you out so long if it was raining?"

She shrugged, "Had a lot of energy and the markings around our territory were a bit weak."

"Ah-huh?" Trina puckered her lips and nodded, "Sounds like you were out with someone."

"No, I wasn't," Tori quickly lied.

"Oh, don't you worry," Trina gave her a disingenuous smile, "I won't say anything about your secret werewolf boyfriend."

Tori licked her lips slowly, then decided to capitalize on her misguided assumption. "Please don't – I don't want dad to find out."

Trina gasped dramatically, "Is it Juan's son?" Tori was silent and Trina just looked proud of herself, "It is, isn't it?!"

Tori put her head in her hands and groaned, "Stop it."

"Knew it," Trina gloated.

Tori easily let it go and just let her think she'd won. She was already exhausted with managing to ward off her dad and sister, not to mention only getting a few hours of sleep. She trudged into the school and hoped the day would pass by quickly. As she stood in front of her locker, she had a strange feeling she couldn't quite place. It suddenly felt almost as if she'd just downed two shots of espresso. A second after the thought hit her, she felt a hand wrap around her wrist. She just barely managed to close her locker before she was pulled toward the janitor's closet.

The door slammed behind her as Jade's hands on her waist pinned her to the door. Jade dipped her head into the crook of Tori's neck as she breathed in her scent. Tori shivered when Jade's warm breath hit her neck, and Jade smirked, "Hey."

Tori exhaled sharply and stared at her, dumbstruck at the display of affection – the first in human form. Her lips twitched as she met Jade's eyes, "Hey."

Jade cocked an eyebrow, "You alright? Your heart rate is kinda...distracting."

"I was half asleep five minutes ago," Tori laughed quietly and rested her arms on Jade's shoulders, "I wasn't expecting, well, that."

"Sorry," Jade lied smoothly. Her piercing eyes studied Tori's face, "You seem anxious."

Tori leaned her head back against the door, "Trina thinks I have a werewolf boyfriend and my dad told me he's scented vampires in our territory."

Her eyebrows raised humorlessly, "I figured they'd catch onto me pretty quick. How's that werewolf boyfriend of yours?"

"She thinks it's one of dad's friends' son."

Jade scoffed, "Better than me."

Tori threaded her fingers through Jade's hair, "I like you more."

Jade raised her head to meet her eyes; eyes she'd grown to know intimately over the past week, though rarely in this form. Her eyes drifted downward and she licked her lips, "Can I kiss you?"

Tori nodded shakily, her voice barely audible as she pulled Jade closer, "Yeah." Jade had never kissed her before – never even hugged her, yet here she was, asking for permission.

Jade reached up to rest her hand on the side of Tori's neck, her thumb directly over her rapidly pulsing jugular vein. For a brief moment she wondered if Jade wanted to bite her, but she just gasped quietly and leaned forward to meet her lips softly. Tori whimpered and tightened her hold on Jade's hair, but Jade didn't move in for another.

Jade pulled back slightly and licked her lower lip with a smirk, "You smell like wet dog."

Tori threw her head back and groaned loudly, "You were with me, you jerk!"

"I showered," Jade shrugged and wagged her eyebrows.

"Are you going to complain, or kiss me?"

"Well, technically I cou-"

Tori grunted and tightened her arm around Jade's neck. Her hand drifted up Tori's ribs as Tori bit and tugged on her lower lip. Jade shook her head slowly and leaned in to connect their lips again. Tori sighed contented as Jade finally parted her lips for Tori's tongue. She felt the sharpness of her teeth and the soft warmth of her tongue as Jade's hand on her ribs moved around to her upper back. Tori's heart was racing with the way Jade slowly kissed her and very carefully ran her thumb up and down her jugular.

Jade's hand on her neck held her in place as she backed away a moment later. Her tongue darted out to taste remnants of Tori on her lips. She looked up to meet Tori's eyes, "You're..." Jade shook her head again and bent forward to rest her forehead against Tori's, "The things you do to me."

Tori smiled as she stared into Jade's eyes, "Just kiss me."

Jade was more than happy to oblige. Even through the haze of her sleepiness and Jade's chaotic thoughts, Tori could sense that her rapid heart rate was heavy on Jade's mind. Again she wondered if Jade wanted to bite her, but instead, Jade just kissed her gently, almost lovingly.

Her thought seemed to cut straight through Jade's mind, and she could have sworn for a moment, Jade smiled against her lips. Jade's hand on her back moved downward slowly, then around to her midsection. Tori's heart skipped a beat and this time, Jade's smirk was prominent. Her head dipped into the crook of Tori's neck and her lips softly pressed against the column of her throat. Tori's head fell back against the door and her fingers threaded through Jade's dark hair; her lips on her neck had her head swimming. Tori's eyes drifted shut and she smiled as Jade lavished attention on her neck. Jade's fingers splayed out against Tori's stomach and she pulled back slightly.

Tori was breathless and her body felt electric. The moment she met Jade's eyes, she instinctively gripped her hair and tightened her arm around her neck to meet her lips. They heard the bell ring for first period, but Jade only deepened the kiss as Tori gasped and eagerly followed her lead.

Jade frowned and rested her hands on her hips as she watched Tori jump between the rocks protruding from above the flow of the small stream. She hated standing in the sun but couldn't help but feel enamored with Tori's carefree playfulness. After one arguably poorly thought out jump, Tori's arms flailed wildly for a second, then she righted herself and continued jumping as if nothing happened.

"You're gonna fall," Jade called out.

Tori looked over at Jade with a vibrant smile, "I haven't yet!"

Jade shook her head and held out her hand, "You almost did, at least twice."

Tori sighed dramatically but jumped off of the rock she'd balanced herself on, and across a few others until she was on Jade's side of the small creek. Tori's shoes hit the grass next to her as Jade held her hand tight and Tori leaned into her side, "I think you forget that I don't really get hurt."

"Yes you do," Jade rolled her eyes and linked their fingers together, "You just heal quickly."

"So it doesn't really count," Tori looked over at her with a grin. Jade sighed and shook her head. Tori just held her hand tighter and leaned over to kiss her cheek, "You're cute when you worry about me."

Jade grumbled and kicked a rock a few meters away from them, "I can't help it."

Tori led her through the forest downstream a ways to a patch of sunlight between the trees, "So," she sat down on a tree stump and coaxed Jade into sitting in her lap, "How come you can be out in the sunlight?"

Jade wrapped an arm around Tori's neck and balanced on her leg, "It doesn't really hurt me, but I'm kinda..." she hesitated, then kicked away her anxiety. Tori was her mate, she was safe. "I'm basically powerless in the sun."

"How so?"

"Like, sitting right here," Jade gestured toward the break in the trees where the sunlight streamed through to where they sat, "I can't understand your thoughts, I only have the strength of a regular human, and I can't shift."

Tori's eyebrows raised and wrapped her arms around her protectively, "That's kinda scary. Why stay in school if you're vulnerable like that?"

Jade shrugged, "You're the only one who knows. Besides, I've never been in a school like Hollywood Arts, so it's kind of interesting to me."

"How old are you?"

Her eyes drifted into the distance as she thought, "I was turned in the late 60s – kind of a baby by vampire standards."

Tori couldn't resist the urge to ask, "Who turned you?"

Jade didn't think anything of it, perhaps due to her inability to follow Tori's thoughts, "He was the leader of a coven over in the New England territories. He wanted me to join them."

"Why didn't you?"

Jade shrugged and played with Tori's hair, "I did for a while, but it never really felt like home. One of the others wanted to mate with me and it was...weird. I left when I sensed where you were, and I've been here since."

Tori rested her head on Jade's chest, "How does mating work for vampires? Like, you told me that for you it kind of just...happened? But this other person wanted to create the bond?"

"Yeah it's complicated, at best. Not every vampire mates naturally – a lot of them just choose their mates. I don't know if it was because I was alone for so long or what, but I kind of..." She bit her lip and struggled to articulate what she wanted to say, but came up short.

Tori was able to decipher her thoughts enough to guess, "You sensed when I was born?"

Jade scoffed and cringed a little, "Yeah, as weird as that is."

"Well, I appreciate you waiting until I was older," Tori teased lightheartedly.

"I never would have known where to look, honestly. All I knew was that you were in this area, but that was it. I went to Hollywood Arts because I thought it was interesting, and then I thought Beck was my mate for a while, but he never..." Jade sighed and stood up, "He wasn't interested in what it meant to be with me."

Tori grabbed her hand and followed her through patch of trees shaded by the canopy of leaves above. "So why'd you, you know, break into my house?"

Jade turned back with a raised eyebrow, "I didn't – the window was open."

Tori stomped her foot, "You know what I meant!"

"Your scent – there was something off about it but I never really understood what it was until...well," Jade's mind flashed back to the moment as she was running from Tori when she heard the ripping of her clothes and the guttural, threatening growl, "Until you confirmed it."

Tori squeezed her hand in a quiet apology for the aggression of their first encounter. "So how did you choose me? I don't know how vampire imprinting works, honestly."

Jade's eyebrows furrowed, "Imprinting?"

Tori paused and her eyes drifted a moment, "Oh, I guess that's what...werewolves call it – mating, I mean. I guess it's sort of the same thing as it is with vampires?"

Jade stopped walking and caught her eyes, "You haven't imprinted."

She scratched the back of her neck nervously, "No? I mean...I don't really know how it works. I don't know if it happens naturally or if I choose."

Jade exhaled sharply and turned away from her, "You haven't chosen me, apparently."

"I haven't chosen anyone officially, but," Tori waved her hands as she tried to explain, "Scents change after you imprint and I didn't-"

"Didn't want to imprint on a vampire?" Jade spat.

Tori looked dismayed, "Jade..."

Jade threw her hands up in exasperation, "What? You just want me to handle this alone and hope I don't fucking die in the process?"

Tori reached out to grab Jade's hand, "No, Jade, please listen to me?" Jade huffed angrily but didn't pull away from her, "I want to be with you, I do. I'm just scared because the pack will know if I imprint."

"How the fuck do you think I feel?" Jade snapped, "I'm completely on my own here."

"No, you're not," Tori linked her fingers with Jade's and hugged her arm, "I want to be with you."

Jade just stared at her, "But you don't want to mate with me."

Tori's eyes softened at the pain in Jade's eyes, "I do. I'm scared but," she held Jade's arm tight, "I have you now and that's what's important to me."

"Apparently it's more important to make sure your wolf friends don't find out about me."

"Jade, please, you know as well as I do how dangerous this is."

Jade laughed humorlessly, "So you'll just leave me to handle them on my own."

"No, I'm just trying to explain why I don't think it's a good idea for me to imprint yet, I don't want-"

She took a step back and pulled her hand away, "Don't want to lose your chance to imprint on another wolf?"

Tori sighed heavily and ran her fingers through her hair, "Jade, please, I want to be with you. I'm just trying to make sure we can both come out of it alive. I want to imprint on you, because you are the one I know I want to be with."

Jade took a deep breath and met her eyes, "You have to be sure – you can't back out later on unless you want both of us to die."

Tori shook her head, "I'm sure I want to be with you, and I won't let the pack come after you. I just don't know how to placate them."

Jade sighed and looked out toward the forest around them, "I don't want you to get hurt either."

"We're in this together, okay?" Tori reached up with her fingertips to tilt Jade's head toward her, "No matter what, we're in this together."

She glanced off into the distance, then squeezed Tori's hand, "Come home with me?"

Tori swallowed her nervousness and nodded slowly. However scared she was of the repercussions, she knew Jade was the one she wanted to be with. Jade was already exposed and vulnerable to Tori's whims – it was only fair that Tori offer her the same vulnerability. She didn't know what would come of her decision, but at least Jade would be by her side through it all.

Jade's house looked more like a Victorian castle than a home, but it definitely fit her personality. The dark wood, maroon walls, and black furniture made the massive space look much smaller, but somehow more cozy. Without hesitation, Jade led her up a grand staircase and down a hallway. A door off to the side stood open and looked to be a huge library.

Jade glanced back at her as they approached a set of double doors, "Are you okay?"

Tori looked away from the library and met her eyes, "Yeah, why?"

"Your heart rate is very erratic."

Tori laughed nervously and bit her lip, "Can you blame me?"

Jade opened the door into a large master bedroom; the walls were some kind of ornate purple and black wallpaper, the base of the walls the same dark wood as the floor. A grand, four-post bed sat prominently on a black fur rug. Tori ran her fingers across the dark purple duvet and sat down on impossibly soft sheets.

"Do you even sleep?"

Jade shrugged and stood in front of her to rest her hands on Tori's shoulders, "Occasionally – it's fun to dream."

Tori's breath hitched as she looked up at Jade and she reached out to wrap her arms around her waist. She smiled shyly, "I dream about you a lot."

Jade smirked, "I know." Her fingers curled under Tori's chin and tilted her head up, "Are you sure this is what you want?"

She meant for her voice to be strong and confident, but instead it came out as a breathy whisper, "Yes."

"You don't need to, you know that, right?"

Jade's softness was a strange contradiction to her short temper only an hour prior, but Tori didn't dwell too much on the shift. She pulled Jade closer and just nodded, "I know."

"You're still unsure," Jade stated as she took a small step back.

Tori tried to hold onto her, but Jade didn't move any closer, and Tori's hand dropped into her lap. She bit her lip and looked up at her, "What do I need to do to show you that I am sure?"

Jade huffed and ran her fingers through her hair, "Just make up your mind. Figure out what you want, then come back to me if that's your choice."

"I already have – I chose you, Jade." Tori's hands wrung anxiously in her lap at Jade's sudden, cold demeanor, "Do you want me to leave?"

"Yeah," Jade turned on her heel and leaned against the back of a leather couch, "It's probably best."

Tori stood up slowly and hesitated, "Jade?" She glanced up with a raised eyebrow, and Tori took a tentative step closer to her. She raised her arms in a silent question, though Jade just looked conflicted for several moments, and Tori closed the distance to wrap her arms around Jade, as tense as she was. Tori rested her head on Jade's shoulder and took a deep breath, then to her surprise, Jade hugged her back. Tori's hand crossed Jade's back to reach up and hold her shoulder, "I'm sorry things are so messed up." Her next thought made Jade's arms tighten around her, but she said it aloud anyway, "You mean so much to me."

"Just..." Jade sighed into the crook of her neck and pulled away to rest her forehead against Tori's, "Just figure out what you want."

"I want you," Tori protested weakly. Jade's eyes were unusually cold and she couldn't seem to find any softness or warmth anywhere in them. Tori barely fought back tears as she looked into her eyes, her voice barely more than a whisper, "I love you, Jade."

Jade averted her eyes and tilted her head toward the door as her arms returned to her sides, "Think about it, okay?" Jade bit her lip and gestured toward the door again, "Come on, I'll walk you out."

Tori dragged her feet the whole way down the dark hallway and the grand staircase. Jade didn't hold her hand or even glance back at her until they'd reached the front door. Tori met her eyes and tangled her fingers with Jade's, "Please believe me, Jade, I-"

"I know," Jade said quietly. Her eyes raised slowly to meet Tori's and she sighed, "I believe you."

Tori's eyebrows raised and knitted together in silent hope. She stepped closer to Jade, wrapped her arms around her back, and hugged her tight. She rubbed Jade's back and looked into her eyes for a few moments, then she leaned forward to kiss her softly. Jade raised a hand to Tori's neck and wrapped her fingers around the back of her neck. Following Jade's lead, Tori kissed her with equal passion and fervor.

Jade suddenly had her backed up against the door with her hands cradling Tori's face, her lips and tongue insistent and desperate. Tori wrapped an arm loosely around her neck and easily lost herself in the intensity of Jade's kiss. It almost felt painful when Jade eventually pulled back and met her eyes again. After a moment of hesitation, she leaned in for one more soft kiss, then stepped back.

Tori bit her lip as she thought for a moment, then asked, "Join me tonight?"

Jade took a deep breath, then nodded slowly, "Yeah."

Tori smiled and leaned in to kiss her cheek, then finally left the house.

When Tori returned home to a quiet house, she carefully slipped upstairs to avoid her family as much as possible. The scents in the house told her that her family was home, but likely asleep. She shrugged off her backpack and quickly changed into a pair of old clothes, then opened the window by her balcony and made her escape. She ran toward the treeline with reckless abandon as the wolf inside her reared its head and took over her body. Her paws thudded against the earth as she tasted the air and scanned the forest, though there were no familiar scents. She pushed through a patch of underbrush and stopped to taste the air again. Her eyes darted around and her ears listened carefully for the tiniest noise.

There was a trace of sweetness mixed with the metallic tang of a fresh meal, and Tori turned toward the sound of careful paw steps nearby. A pair of blue-green eyes glinted in the moonlight from between the trees, and Tori trotted over to meet her. Jade's deep, rumbling purr warmed Tori's heart as she nudged her massive black head with her nose. Tori couldn't place the strange, yet pleasant sweetness in Jade's scent, but as she nuzzled her mate, she wasn't too concerned.

A distant howl made them both freeze, and Tori could easily sense Jade's anxiety as several more howls joined in. Jade's eyes landed on her with a tinge of fear, and Tori quickly tried to locate where the pack was, but it seemed as if they were all around them. She couldn't identify a single safe direction, so instead, she nudged Jade's neck and led her through the forest.

Every howl made Jade's fur stand on end, but she followed Tori without question. Occasionally she'd take a sharp turn or switch directions entirely, all the while the pack seemed to be closing in on them. Tori's pace increased to a frantic sprint with Jade close behind her, and then, without warning, another howl reverberated through the forest. It was close. Extremely close. Jade tasted the air and felt a sharp pang of fear as she recognized the scent. David.

Tori skidded to a halt, just barely managing to stop before crashing into the massive bulk of muscle that was her father. Behind her, Jade frantically clawed up a tall oak tree and onto the highest branch she could reach. The low, guttural rumble of David's growl chilled Tori's blood as he let out another howl, calling the pack to him. He circled the tree Jade had sought refuge in and clawed at the trunk with his claws. He snapped and snarled at her, and Tori just stood, frozen with fear and indecision.

Only seconds later, several pairs of eyes began to glint in the moonlight as the pack closed in around them. Tori looked up at Jade, but she was too far to have any connection to her thoughts, and Jade was clearly outnumbered and on her own. No. She isn't. Tori bounded up to her father and threw her weight into his side to knock him off his paws. He growled at her, and Tori barked sharply in warning.

If things weren't already bad enough, another wolf approached her and sniffed her flank, then let out a long howl. Suddenly the wolves weren't looking at Jade, but at her, as they circled her and tasted her scent. Tori managed to meet Jade's eyes, far up in the tree, and she huffed and snorted with frustration. She took small, careful steps away from the tree as the pack continued to study her intently.

David's attention, too, was drawn away from Jade and toward his youngest daughter. The pack parted to let him in close, and he bent down to draw in as much of her scent as he could, and to Tori's shock and dismay, he let out the same, low, drawn out howl. The other wolves joined in the chorus as Jade quickly and quietly tried to jump between tree branches to try to slip away undetected, completely unaware of Tori's situation.

Tori's heart thumped loudly in her chest. They know. How do they know? How did I...what happened? I...I imprinted? On...Jade – a vampire – and the pack knew it.

A loud thud a few meters away made the over a dozen-strong pack whip around toward the noise, then at David's howl, they charged at Jade, who had fallen onto the forest floor from high above. Jade's roar rang through the forest with the same volume and intensity as David's howl. The pack surrounded her as her fur stood on end and her tail fluffed up to twice its size.

Tori knew what the pack expected of her. It felt impossible – painful to even imagine, but otherwise, they were going to kill her. She let out a quiet whimper as her heart felt alight, this time not with warmth, but pain. Jade...please forgive me.

She raced after the pack and with a ferocious snarl, she pushed her way through them and to her father's side. She met Jade's eyes and tried to communicate with her, but with a sickening, hallow feeling in her stomach, she realized she couldn't understand Jade's thoughts anymore – and Jade was growling at her with the same aggression she showed to every other wolf.

Tori leapt forward and in a snarling mass of teeth and claws, she fought not only the formidable strength of her mate, but also the searing pain of their bond being shredded to pieces. Mate. My mate. The thought was excruciating, yet Tori didn't let up on her assault until she had Jade pinned to the forest floor. Jade met her eyes, their agony mirrored one another, and there was a flash of resignation in Jade's eyes. Jade's head tilted back, exposing herself in the most vulnerable way she could. Tori leaned down and nuzzled her soft neck, then jumped off of her. She bit at Jade's legs until she got back to her paws and began running, this time, with only Tori in pursuit.

The chase went all the way to the edge of their territory, and as Tori hesitated at the border, Jade looked back at her for a moment. Her pain was as clear as day, and the coldness had returned to erase all that remained of what their bond once was. Tori took a single step over the border but immediately halted at Jade's threatening growl. She whimpered, and with the last of her strength, she turned and ran back through the forest.