Chapter Three

Marko was tucking Tala under the covers of a four-poster bed. It was inside an alcove of the main room in the cave. He made sure she was warm, she may be part Cold One but she still gets cold like a human. Tala was almost asleep again when Marko went to stand up, "Will you be here when I wake up?" He sat back down, "We'll be in the cave. My brothers and I will probably be still asleep. We can't go out in the sun, it burns us." Not really wanting to tell her the sun actually sets them on fire. "I shimmer. Like I rolled in glitter. It's horrible. I hate glitter, it gets everywhere." Tala tells him. All five vampires laugh at that. They can't help how adorable she is. They hear Leah climb into the cave.

Leah spins slowly around, taking in all the details of the cave. She could see the reminisce of a hotel lobby desk, a broken fountain, worn couches, and an ancient wheelchair. Leah looked on as Marko tucked Tala into bed. She had grabbed a backpack with fresh clothes for herself and a change of clothes for Tala that were too big but may fit the next night. She doesn't say anything as she walks over to the bed, and sets her bag down next to the bed. Leah gave Marko a nod of thanks as he stood up and left the alcove.

Dwayne stayed behind when the others disappeared to sleep. He observed Leah get comfortable on the bed behind Tala. She could feel his eyes on her, "Something on your mind?" He came a little closer to the alcove but not within her personal space. Dwayne wasn't sure what he could say without sounding crazy but ended up telling her anyways. "For the past two years, I've had this dream about this faceless girl. It was always the same. My pack brothers and I would return from feeding, Laddie would point out something, and we'd end up breaking up a fight. The fight was always blurry, never saw what happened but knew there was a fight. When it was over, the faceless girl introduced herself but before I could see her face I would wake up."

Leah caught on to what Dwayne was saying, "I was the faceless girl." Dwayne slowly nodded his head. She asked him a question, "Do you know what 'Imprinting' is?" He tilted his head in thought, "I'm not sure. Is it like love at first sight?" "Eh, sort of. There's no immediate love connection. But there is a connection. It's hard to describe. It's like your whole world shifts when meeting your imprint. You become anything they need you to be, whether it's a parent, sibling, or a lover." She let those words sink in for a moment, watching his reaction when it clicks. "You imprinted on me?" He asked to make sure.

"I did. Which is strange considering Wolves and Vampires are natural enemies. However, if I truly believed that I would have agreed with Sam and Tala wouldn't be here." Leah smiles at the sleeping girl beside her. The conversation is cut short when Leah yawns. "Well, I'm going to join my brothers and let you rest. I'll see you at sundown," Dwayne moves to head deeper into the cave to sleep. "See you at sundown," Leah says in return. She gets under the covers and wraps her arms around Tala. Soon the whole cave is asleep.

Postcard

As the sun went down, the vampires woke up. Two were in a rush to check on their guests. Dwayne slept a little better, he still had a dream about Leah but it was a good dream. Marko wanted to check on Tala. Paul shook his head at the two of them but he was just as curious about their guests. David didn't care either way, he still didn't like the idea of a wolf on their territory. Laddie just wanted to get out of the cave away from the tension for a few hours.

When the vampires reached the main room they were shocked to see Tala had in fact grown a little bigger. She looks to be close to ten years old. Tala was sitting on the bed eating a sandwich wearing a new shirt, and jeans with her bare feet swinging back and forth. Leah had changed into jean shorts and a short-sleeve shirt. She was stuffing her dirty clothes into her bag and then putting on her shoes. Marko's voice startled her, "So, what are your plans tonight?"

Tala had finished her sandwich and was wiping her face clean of crumbs and mustard from the corner of her mouth. She looked up and smiled at the group, "Normally, we go look for an apartment, then send a postcard to Aunt Rosie, Uncle Em, and Uncle Jasper." She moved off the bed and onto the floor to put on her shoes, but she was struggling. "Leah?" Tala took her shoe off and lifted it over her head, "They don't fit." She could hear everyone laugh a little since all they could see of her was an arm holding a small tennis shoe. Leah just smiled and shook her head, "Alright. We'll go get you a new pair."

The group of seven ventured out of the cave. Marko had given Tala a piggyback ride since she was barefoot. Tala giggled as they climbed all the way to their motorcycles. Marko didn't set her down on the ground but onto the back of his bike and told her to hold on tight. Leah decided to ride with Dwayne to make the trip easier. She had emptied her backpack to make space for the new clothes she would buy for Tala.

The dangerously fast but fun ride came to an end on the boardwalk in the same spot as last night. Marko regripped Tala to keep her on his back, he smiled when he felt and heard her giggle. Leah and Dwayne joined him and Tala for their shopping. Tala had found a couple of pairs of sneakers fairly quickly. Dwayne was getting ready to pull cash out of his pocket from his last victim but Leah beat him to it with the black credit card she still had. Tala had put one pair on so Marko didn't have to carry her all night, not that he minded, and exited the shop.

Dwayne asked Leah, "What's with the card?" Leah stuffed the other pair of sneakers into her backpack as she answered, "Courtesy of the Cullens. It's their way of helping with Tala when they can't be with us. Plus keeps me under the radar from my ex since most of the pack is under the impression that the Cullens and I hate each other." "So, you're okay money-wise but..?" Dwayne left the question open. Leah knew what he was asking, "Technically, I'm dead. Rosalie and Jasper helped me fake my suicide two years ago. Which makes it a little difficult to find a decent job and place to rent."

The group was walking along the boardwalk in the midst of the tourist shops. Tala spotted a postcard stand and picked one with the Santa Carla billboard on it, "This one." She handed it to Leah to pay for and get it ready to send off. Leah quickly wrote an address in Denali, Alaska on the blank side then put it inside her backpack to mail off later.

The rest of the night went fairly well for the group. Laddie, David, and Paul met back up with the rest before leaving the boardwalk. The vampires took Leah and Tala to see Lucy and Max earlier and Lucy gushed over how much Tala grew and how pretty she is. The older woman already felt a grandmotherly bond with the newest edition, and was even accepting of Leah. The shifter didn't feel as uncomfortable as the night before, only towards David but she understood how he felt. She knew David didn't want any unnecessary trouble from the shifters, so Leah will do her best to cover her tracks other than what the Cullens help with.