Drink up sweet decadence
I can't say no to you

Sam has declared Claire old enough to learn the truth. "You two have been inseparable for the last six years. And she's eight, probably old enough to recognize that you're still sixteen when you should be at least twenty-two," he rationalizes.

I'm not so sure. I bite my lip anxiously. "Can't we wait till she's a little bit older? I don't know how she'll take it, and I don't want to scare her..."

"It's now or never, Quil," Sam says firmly. So I choose now.

I'm driving her to school the next day, a blustery November day a couple months into Claire's third-grade year, and I take the long way to buy myself some time. "Claire," I begin.

"Yeah?" she asks.

"I have something very important to tell you," I continue. "What you're about to hear is completely secret—you are not allowed to tell anyone anything, okay?"

"Sure," Claire agrees. "What is it?"

"Remember that bonfire we had in August that we went to?" I hedge.

"Yeah. The one where Jacob proposed to Renesmee?" Claire smiles dreamily at the memory. I remember, too. It was a truly great moment.

"That one," I confirm. "Do you remember the stories that Jake's dad told?"

Claire frowns, thinking. "The ones about Taha Aki and them? About the spirit warriors and the cold ones and the wolves and stuff?"

"Yeah, those. Do you remember what Billy said about the wolves?"

"That Taha Aki's grandsons turned into werewolves?" Claire phrases the statement as a question.

"Yes, that's right." I stop, thinking of a way to tell her. "Well, what if—" I cut myself off, searching for words. "What if the stories were true?"

Claire doesn't speak for a few seconds that drag on like hours. "If they were true, you'd be a werewolf, wouldn't you?" Her voice is almost accusing.

"Yeah, I would. And...I am."

The car is dead silent except for the rattling engine before Claire bursts out laughing. "Werewolf? I'm not stupid. Those stories weren't real."

I'm a little stung by Claire's response, but I try not to let it bother me. "They are, Claire-bear. That's why I heal so fast. That's why my skin is so hot. That's why I'm not getting older. That's why I have to run away whenever I get mad—because if I get too mad, I turn into a wolf."

"I don't believe you," Claire informs me matter-of-factly, but I hear the poorly concealed doubt in her voice.

"Do you want proof?" I ask softly.

Claire is silent for a moment. "No," she finally says. Her next words contradict what she'd said before: "I believe you."

"There's more," I tell her hesitantly.

"More?" Claire asks incredulously.

"There's a...werewolf" —I'm hesitant to use the word— "thing called imprinting. Imprinting happens when the werewolf sees a girl for the first time, and it's like nothing matters but her." I try to sum up the whole imprinting ordeal in an easy statement. "And way back when you were two, I imprinted on you."

"You...what?" Claire whispers.

"Your Aunt Emily brought you and your cousin Miranda down from the Makah rez six years ago, and I told her I'd help babysit. I saw you there, and that was it."

"Okay..." Claire says hesitantly. "So, what does this mean?"

"It's just an explanation for why I'm always hanging around you." I purposely leave out the whole getting-older-and-falling-in-love-with-each-other bit, because it's at least seven years premature. I also know this wolf business is freaking her out more than she lets on, and one last thing is likely to throw her over the edge.

"Who all is a werewolf?" Claire asks.

"Most of my friends are. Sam, Jacob, Embry, Seth, Leah—"

"Leah? As in, Leah Clearwater? But I thought that they were all boys."

"Leah's kind of a mystery. We're not sure why she phased. Back to the list. Sam, Embry, Jake, the Clearwaters, Jared, Paul, Collin, Brady, Max, Jack, Ben, Harrison, Kyle, Zach, and Alex."

"Wow, that's a lot," comments Claire.

"I know. Sam and Jake have their hands full trying to keep track of them all." I laugh a little.

"Has anyone else...imprinted?"

"Yeah, a lot. Sam imprinted on Emily, Jacob imprinted on Renesmee, Jared on Kim, Paul on Jacob's sister Rachel, Embry on Haley. That's why they're always together."

Claire contemplates this. "So, they're all kind of in love with each other?" she asked. Once I think about it,I realize it's true. Sam and Emily have been married for five years, and Jared and Kim for a few months. Paul and Rachel are engaged, and Jacob and Renesmee, too. Embry and Haley are still just dating, but they're completely in love.

"Yeah, kind of," I tell her.

"But not us," she continues.

"Not us," I agree. We're pulling up at Claire's school now. "Out you go, Claire-bear." I try to get her out hastily before the conversations continues in the awkward tone it's heading into. She gathers up her backpack. "Remember, not a word to anyone except the people who know. Basically, everyone I just talked about and most of their parents. Okay?"

"Okay," Claire agrees. "Bye, Quil." She kisses my forehead and hops out. I make sure she's inside before driving away.

As Embry once said, the wolf was out of the bag now.

hey all, thanks for the reviews. if my ghostreaders (i ain't gonna name names but y'all know who you are) would review i could be up to at least 25!! i don't want to be favorited/ alerted as much as i want reviews. so if you're gonna pick between the two, REVIEW!!! review this baby, too. i could use some cheering up after thoroughly humiliating myself in gym class today. so make me happy! review! lovelovelove, m