Chapter Three

I don't have to wait very long either. As soon as I close my front door, I can hear the back door burst open. And I mean it literally bursts. Like, it sounds like a bomb going off. Naturally, I'm afraid to go back there, now. I'm not stupid like those people in scary movies. I'm not going to go towards the invaders. I get out of the house. As I slowly back out, I walk into Gavin's chest.

"I thought I told you not to leave," he says.

"Someone just broke in through the back door," I inform him in a whisper.

"Do you think it's Jacob?" He asks, but it seems like he already knows the answer. He slips one hand around my waist as we walk back inside.

"No," I reply.

"That's because he was already here and left," says Gavin. It's not even a question. He knows. "Did he come inside?" I don't answer. "Don't lie to me, Tegan."

Gosh, he most be serious. He never calls me Tegan. It's always Teag.

"He didn't come inside. I invited him in-" There's a sharp intake of breath from Gavin, "-but he said no. He didn't think you or my father would like that. He was very respectful."

"Luckily for him," Gavin growls. I hear someone else come in through the front door and look over my shoulder to see one of Gavin's friends, Linden. "Did you see him?"

"No, he's gone," Linden answers, running one hand over his very short black hair like he always does when he's frustrated. "I'm pretty sure he's by himself, though. If his pack were here we would know it."

"Linden!" Gavin says warningly.

"Pack? What the hell is up with you guys?" I demand as I wrench myself away from Gavin, as much as I like having his arms around me. "You will all stop this right this instant and explain to me what is going on RIGHT NOW!"

I know how to put my foot down when things have gone too far. That was when two more of Gavin's friends, Isaac and Isaiah, the twins, came into the living room from the kitchen. They must have been the ones who broke in through the kitchen door.

"We checked upstairs," says Isaiah. "He's not here. He hasn't been here, we couldn't pick up his scent inside."

"Are you four the only ones here or did you bring the whole damn tribe?" I ask, one hand on my hip like I mean business. "And I really hope you two didn't break the door. My dad will be pissed."

"The door is fine," Isaac says as he smiles at me. He's a cute one, too. He and Isaiah are almost completely identical. The only way I can tell them apart is their eyes. Isaac's are dark brown so they almost look black. Isaiah's are much lighter, like the color of whiskey. Their hair is also cut very short, almost all the way down to the scalp.

"All right, you three join the others and keep looking. I don't want to take any chances. I'm going to stay here in case he comes back," Gavin delegates orders as if he is a pro.

"Are all of you seriously looking for Jacob Black?" I demand. "Why? He's harmless!"

"We don't know that," Gavin informs me, "we don't know what he's here for or where he's from or if he has more with him-"

"More what, Gavin?!" Now I'm shouting. "I'm getting really sick of all this secrecy! If you don't tell me what is going on right now, I am going to go find Jacob myself and see if he will tell me." Gavin looks at his friends and nods. They leave through the front and Gavin closes the door behind them.

At this point I'm done talking. It's Gavin's turn to talk.

But he's looking at me as if he's waiting for me to say something.

He'll be waiting for a while if that's the way he's going to play this thing.

So, I scoff, turn on my heels and head up the stairs.

"Teag," Gavin pleads as he follows me. "You have to understand that this is hard for me."

"I don't understand, Gavin!" I exclaim. "And would you like to know why I don't understand? It's because you refuse to tell me what is going on, even though it apparently has a lot to do with me."

"At this point in time, it has everything to do with you," Gavin confirms, "at least where I am concerned it does." We finally get to my room and I walk in and sit on my bed. Gavin doesn't sit, though, he stands with his hands in his pockets, looking like he has no idea what he is doing right now. "It's just … hard to verbalize."

"Well, try," I suggest. "It's not like I'm hard to talk to, Gav. Come on, I'm your best friend. We tell each other everything, at least that was what I thought before today."

"There are some things I just can't tell you, Teag," he sounds so exhausted.

"Well, in case you have forgotten, there is a kid who just rolled into town who probably will tell me what is going on," I remind him.

"I really don't want you seeking him out," Gavin states. "And it's not just because I'm jealous or anything like that. It's just that … God, I don't know how to explain this without telling you everything."

"Then just tell me everything."

"It's just hard to say …" he trails off. "I guess that I'll just have to show you. I'm going to leave the room for a second, and then I'm going to come back. But you have to promise me something, first."

"OK," I answer.

"You have to promise me that you're not going to try to run, and that you're not going to see me any differently after you see this," he states. "It's something that I've always been, well, at least for as long as you've known me. This shouldn't change anything because everything is still the same." I want to tell him that he's scaring me, but he already seems upset, so I keep my mouth shut. "You have to promise to stay exactly where you are. You're not in any danger because I've got myself completely under control."

I nod. I'm afraid that if I open my mouth I'll say something to make him change his mind.

"OK, I'll be right back." And then he walks out of my room.

Not for nothing, I'm a little freaked out. Gavin's never so serious. To him, everything is like a big joke. And why wouldn't it be? The kid has everything besides things to worry about. He was wealthy and attractive and really smart, and these things made him popular.

And when I say smart, I mean brilliant. He got into Harvard, Yale, and Berkeley. But in the end he decided to go Merced, which is basically on top of Yosemite. I don't know why he did that, he never gave me an answer when I asked. But I'm getting off topic, now.

However, there's no time to get back on topic because a humongous wolf has appeared in my doorway.

Naturally, I'm a little freaked.

"Gavin!" I shout, hoping to get his attention. If there's a wolf in my room it's probably best that he stays away. I glance towards my window, wondering if I can make it there before the wolf does. I probably can't. It is a wolf, after all.

But what the hell is it doing in my house.

And Gavin hasn't answered.

I wonder if the wolf ate him. It's certainly big enough for Gavin to fit in there.

I'm crying. How did that happen? Probably not a good idea. Can't wolves smell fear? Or is that bees?

"Nice wolfy .." I trail off as I start to inch closer to the window. "I haven't done anything to you, have I? I'm just going to go jump out the window and leave you alone .." Quick as a flash, the wolf moves towards the window, as if to block it. Like he understood me.

But it still hasn't attacked me, nor does it look like it's going to. He's just staring at me with those big brown eyes. Something within me recognizes those eyes. They look so familiar. Then it dawns on me.

"No way …" I trail off, shocked that I'm even thinking what I'm thinking. "Gavin?" The wolf's head nods. "Ohmigod."

That's when I pass out.

I'm not sure how long I'm out, but when I wake up, the wolf is gone and Gavin is hovering over me, looking very concerned.

My first reflex is to jump away from him, and I do. He's sitting at the foot of my bed, and I scoot all the way to the head.

"Come on, now, Teag," he begins, "if I had wanted to eat you, I would have done it while you were out, don't you think? I'm not going to hurt you."

"You're a werewolf," I gasp.

"I really hate that term," he states, "though that's basically what it is. I'm not like the ones in movies, though. I don't need the full moon, and I don't turn into a complete monster. I didn't brutally maul you or anything." My facial expression doesn't change. "You promised that this wouldn't change anything between us."

"I didn't think it would be something like this!" I exclaim. "Gavin! You're a werewolf! What the hell am I supposed to do with that?"

"Nothing," he answers. "Really. You're still completely safe around me, I would never let anything hurt you, nor would I hurt you myself. Ever. I am completely in control of myself. I would … I would die if I ever hurt you."

"So … you think Jacob Black is a werewolf, too?"

"Oh, I don't think. I know," Gavin answers. "It's easy for wolves to tell. My problem with him is I don't know anything about him, and I don't want him around you because I don't know if he's as in control of himself as I am."

"The boys aren't going to hurt him if they find him, are they?" I ask. "He hasn't done anything to me."

"No, they're not going to hurt him," he assures me, "I gave them orders to corner him and keep him in one place if they find him and wait for me."

"You gave them orders?" I ask. "What are you like … the Alpha Male or something?" It's meant to be a joke.

"More or less," Gavin answers, shrugging.

"Oh." Not a very good joke. I find myself even more attracted to him, now. Alpha Male … that's pretty sexy. "So what … do you think Jacob is here to cause trouble and eat people or something?"

"We don't know why he's here," he answers, "and that's what we're going to find out, though … something happened today that concerns me a little, which involves you."

"What?"

"Well … with us wolves, there is this thing called imprinting. For every wolf, there is one person in the world with whom they share a … very special bond. When a wolf imprint, it's like love at first sight, only way more intense. All of us would die for our imprints if we had to and not even give it a second thought." Now I'm starting to put the pieces together.

"And you think I'm Jacob's imprint?" I ask.

"I can't imagine why else he would have been looking at you that way," he answers, "or why he would come to your house."

"Then why are you so worried?" I ask. "If I'm his imprint, he's not going to hurt me."

"That's not necessarily true," he corrects me, "wolves have injured their imprints before. Not on purpose, of course. They were just in the wrong place when they lost control. And that's what I'm afraid of because … well … OK. I'm really worried and feeling really overprotective because … there is something really strange going on here."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, supposedly, for every wolf there is his imprint that's it," he explains. "Like, one imprint doesn't go to two wolves. It's never happened before, at least not that I know of."

"Am I someone else's imprint, too?" I ask as I try to think of all the Awahnee boys I have ever met. I've met quite a few, so it's hard to narrow down. And I don't even know if all of them are wolves.

"Yes," he answers, but I can tell he doesn't want to elaborate. That's not going to fly.

"Whose?" I press. There are a few beats of silence. He really doesn't want to answer this question for some reason. If I'm so important to this person, I don't see why it's such a big deal. I should know, right?

" Well …" he begins slowly. "You're mine."