(Saturday afternoon)

Molly's POV

Friday night was by far the most fun night I've ever had. After Billy told the Legends we all got to hang out and talk, though Quil left right away to take a sleeping Claire home. Jake stayed a little longer, though Nessie fell asleep in his lap. Jared and Paul also got into a play fight and Embry, Seth, and Brady started placing bets. It was hilarious to say the least. Paul won, though, which actually didn't surprise me. Kori and Embry, however, told me that if it was Jacob fighting instead of Jared Paul wouldn't have stood a chance. I almost couldn't believe that seeing how nice Jake seemed, but apparently he's beaten the snot out of Paul on more than one occasion.

Afterwards Collin walked me to my front door while Jake waited in the car with Renesmee sleeping in the back seat. On my front steps Collin asked me if I wanted to hang out with just him at the beach on Saturday. I didn't even need to think about it. I've come to enjoy Collin's company so much that it actually kinda hurts when I'm not around him, like I get pains in my gut and chest.

So now, here I am, walking down First beach beside Collin. I'm wearing jeans and a turtleneck with a vest while Collin's only wearing jean cutoffs, not that I'm complaining. I just hope he doesn't get sick.

We're in a fairly comfortable silence, but when I look over at him I see that he looks like he's thinking about something. His brows are furrowed in confusion and he keeps biting his bottom lip. It makes him look really cute, but it kinda worries me.

"Col?" I ask. When I don't get a response I try again. "Collin? Collin." I nudge his arm with my elbow.

He blinks and looks at me. "Huh?"

"Are you okay?" I ask in concern.

He blinks again before looking at the ground, slightly away from me. "Um…well I," he sighs and scratches the back of his head. "I need to tell you something." he says barely louder than a whisper.

I continue watching him. "Okay?"

He bites his lip again as he looks around the beach. We're alone since it's pretty cold out, it is early December after all. He then grabs my hand and leads me over to a log.

We sit side by side, Collin leans his elbows on he knees as he stares at the ground, while I stare at him.

Then Collin suddenly stands up again and starts pacing in front of me, muttering under his breath.

"Collin, you're starting to freak me out. What's going on?" I asked, my eyes never leaving his nervous face for a second.

He stops pacing and continues to stare at the ground.

"I have to tell you something." he finally says.

"Okay."

"But you have to promise me something." he looks over at me. I nod, showing I will. "You're not going to believe what I have to tell you, but promise me…please promise me that you won't, like…freak out, or run away or…hate me." his voice quivers on the last two words and he looks away from me, as if the very idea causes him agony.

"Collin, I promise you I won't do that. I could never hate you. Please, just tell me." I beg, leaning forward slightly on the log.

He stays silent for a few more minutes before he turns to look me in the eye, and just like when I first met him I feel myself getting lost in them.

"You know the Quileute Legends? About the spirit warriors, the cold ones, the Third wife?"

I nod with a small smile. "Of course I do. I heard them just last night and they're kinda unforgettable." he smiles briefly at that but immediately stops, sighs, and looks back at the ground.

"Well, the Legends are…they're true. All of them."

I stare at him for a moment before I look away. "Really, Collin? I thought you were being serious."

Collin didn't look up at me. "I did say you wouldn't believe me." he whispered.

I felt angry at him. "Obviously I don't believe you, Collin. You're telling me that people turn into giant wolves and that vampires exist. How stupid do you think I am? Did you honestly think I'd believe something so ridiculous?"

Collin's body shook for a moment before looking to the side, as if thinking. He then lifted his head to look at me again. "What if I had proof? What if I could prove it to you?" he asked seriously.

I crossed my arms and looked at him, deciding to play along. "Alright, sure. If you can prove to me that you can change into a giant wolf, then I'll believe you."

He looked at the ground and nodded a couple times. Then he suddenly grabbed my arm and started gently pulling me towards the forest.

"What are you doing?" I asked in surprise.

"Giving you your proof." he answered simply. When we were several meters into the cover of the forest he let go of me and walked a little ways away from me.

He looked back at me. "Promise me, Molls. That you won't-"

"I'm not gonna freak out, run away, or hate you." I interrupted, crossing my arms. I quieted my voice as I looked at him, no matter what I couldn't be mad at him, "I promise, Col, I could never hate you." I all but whisper, but it's enough to make him smile at me.

"And I promise I'm not gonna hurt you." he answered. He then started to unzip his jean cutoffs and slide them off.

"Whoa, wait Collin. What the heck?" I start to back away, getting slightly creeped out.

Collin's face is bright red, obviously embarrassed. He doesn't say anything as he tosses his cutoffs behind him a fair distance so he's standing there in just his white boxers.

As I watch him he starts to shake violently and I swear I saw steam coming off his body.

In the blink of an eye an enormous wolf explodes from his body, causing me to stumble back against a tree trunk.

The wolf shook its large head briefly. Its long fur was an ashy, light brown color but its face and feet were a darker shade. I almost expected it to attack me, but instead it lowered itself to its stomach and crawled closer to me, whimpering sadly with its tail between its legs and ears flat to its head.

When it was only a couple yards away from me I looked directly into its eyes. They were the same dark brown eyes that I could loose myself in over and over. It really was Collin.

"It is you." I murmur, almost silently. He nods his big head, confirming my realization.

I stare at him for a long moment, just breathing and staring, and he seemed to be doing the same thing. Then, I subconsciously move forward but stop myself.

"I think I've officially gone crazy but…can I pet you?" I asked quietly, my face getting warm as I blush.

Collin smiles a wolfish grin, his ears perk up, and his tail comes out and wags. I take that as a yes. I move forward slowly and hold my hand toward his nose. He brushes my hand with his cold nose, making me smile, before he licks it with his big tongue.

I giggle and pull away slightly. "Ew, Collin." I laugh before scratching the top of his head. He tilts his head into it, closing his eyes in pleasure.

After a while though I stop. "Okay, I think it's safe to say I believe you. Now, can you change back so we can talk?"

He sort of yips before standing up and walking back to where he was. He picks up his cutoffs in his large jaws and trots away so he's hidden behind some trees. After a few moments he reappears as a human. I just sorta stand there while he walks up to me.

We don't say anything. He just grabs my hand gently in his and leads me back to the log we were sitting on before.

After a few moments of silence he looks at me. "Do you have any questions?" he asks gently.

I'm quiet for a moment as I think about that. Do I have any questions? I mean, I heard all the Legends last night.

"So, you guys change into wolves to fight vampires." I clarify, looking at the ground. I see Collin nod beside me. "Why you? Do all Quileutes…change?" I ask, not sure what word to use for this.

"No, not all Quileutes. Only three bloodlines carry the genes; the Uley, Black, and Ateara bloodlines."

I nod but stop when something occurs to me. "Wait, there were people with those names at the bonfire last night."

Collin nods again. "Yeah, most of the people there last night are members of the packs."

"Like who?"

Collin thinks for a moment. "Well, in Sam's pack there's obviously Sam, then there's Jared, Paul, Brady, me, and some newbees Bryan, Shawn, Alex, and Zack. In Jake's pack there's him, Embry, Quil, Seth, Leah, Kori, and a few newbees Josh, AJ, and Scott."

"Newbees?"

"Yeah, well, they phased only recently." I must look confused cause he explains, "Phasing is what we call it when we change into a wolf."

I nod again. "Why are there only two girls?"

"Well, we're not sure. See, Leah was the first female in recorded history to ever phase, and then Kori phased not long after. They're the only females to phase and we're not sure what that means."

I think over the Legends I remember when I suddenly remember something. "The Treaty." I say. Collin looks at me, silently telling me to elaborate. "One of the Legends said there was a coven of vampires that you guys made a Treaty with a long time ago and that they live near here."

Collin grimaces slightly and nods. "Yeah, but they aren't so bad. I mean, I'm not a fan of them, but they're like…vegetarians, or that's what they call themselves. They drink animal blood, not human blood."

"Who are they?"

Collin pauses for a moment. "Do you know…Dr. Carlisle Cullen?"

My eyes widen and I stare at Collin. "The Cullens? Seriously? They're vampires?"

Collin nods. "Yeah, but like I said they're not the bad ones. There're worse ones out there."

"Wait, didn't Chief Swan's daughter marry a Cullen? Does she know they're vampires?"

Collin grimaces again, if I weren't so freaked out I'd think he's adorable. "She's…actually a vampire, too, now. They had to change her or she would've died."

"What would she have died from?"

Collin looks at the ground for a long moment and I'm about to repeat my question when he finally speaks. "Childbirth." I stare at him until he explains. "Edward Cullen, her husband, got her pregnant with a baby that was half human, half vampire. It was growing really fast and it was killing her. When she gave birth Edward changed her at the last minute to save her life."

I look at the ground. That would suck so much, to be with the one you love and for something like that to happen.

"You remember Nessie?" Collin asks suddenly. I look at him and nod. "She's Edward and Bella's daughter." my jaw drops open and I gape at him.

"But she's so cute!" I blurt. Collin smiles at me, an expression on his face I haven't seen before.

"Yeah, she is. If you had to guess how old she is, what would you say?"

I think for a moment. "Um…ten?"

Collin smiles again, and tilts his head closer to me as he answers, "She's about five months old."

My eyes widen and I stare at him. I can't think of anything to say so the only thing that comes out of my mouth is, "Oh."

Collin stares at me for a moment with a gentle smile gracing his features.

"What?" I ask him.

"You're really pretty."

I look at the ground as a blush spreads across my face. I'm definitely not used to being called pretty.

"Focus, Col, focus." I remind him. Then, another thought comes into my mind. "This is a really important secret. Why are you telling me? What makes me deserve to know about this?"

A flash of…panic?…appears in Collin's eyes as he looks back at the ground. He's quiet for a bit, as if debating how to say what he needs to say.

"When we phase we gain all these abilities and heightened senses. Like we're faster, and we have a better sense of smell, sight, and hearing. But we also gain this…other ability. It's called imprinting."

"Imprinting?" I repeat.

Collin nods, still looking at the ground. "Imprinting is when… a wolf looks into a girl's eyes for the first time after he phases. And in that instant everything changes. Gravity doesn't hold you to the planet anymore, she does. You would do anything, be anything for her. Whether that's being a best friend, a brother, protector, lover. Your number one priority is her wellbeing, her happiness. Being away from her is…painful, nearly impossible. If anything were to happen to her…" Collin dropped his head and looked away from me, his voice catching as if he was in pain.

I felt my heart clench and, without realizing what I'm doing, I reach out and take his hand in mine. He looks down at our hands for a moment before giving the smallest smile and squeezing my hand in return. It feels good, having my hand in his. I don't know why, it just…it feels right. Like that's where my hand belongs.

"So…what does imprinting have to do with me?" I ask nervously, my hand still gripping his.

Collin looks up and meets my eyes. They look nervous, even scared, but he doesn't look away and neither do I. "I imprinted on you."

My eyes widen and I feel my breath catch in my throat. Did I hear him right? Collin Littlesea imprinted on me?! I'm not sure what to think. I've only known him for a couple weeks and already I feel like he's my best friend. But was that just the imprint? He probably wouldn't have even looked twice at me if it weren't for that. The only reason he sat with me that first day of Drivers Ed was because there weren't any other options.

"Molly?" Collin whispers after I'm quiet for a long time, "Say something." he begs, and the pain in his voice makes my heart ache.

I open my mouth and look at him. My throat tightens and I have to swallow before I can speak, "I…you wouldn't have even looked twice at me if it weren't for the imprint. You're forced to feel like this about me."

Collin looks pained at what I said and he looks at his hands. He shakes his head slightly and speaks without looking at me, "You know what the first thing I thought when I saw you was? Before I looked in your eyes and imprinted?" he glances up and I shake my head. He stares at me as he speaks again, "When I saw you the first thing that popped into my head was, 'she's really pretty'."

I blush and look at my feet, a small smile spreading across my face.

"In all honesty, without the imprint I probably wouldn't have talked to you at all," he admits. I look up at him, hurt. When he sees my face he smiles slightly, "I'm not exactly good at talking to girls, especially pretty ones like you. I would look at them and open my mouth to talk, but I'd just end up gaping like an idiot. Even ask Brady, he gives me crap about that regularly." I giggle at that, covering my mouth with my hand. "I think the imprint is the only reason I had the guts to say something to you, cause I felt like I'd die if I couldn't talk to you."

I look at him, examining his face. He's telling the truth, I can feel it. I look at my lap for a moment.

"So…what you're saying is…you'll always be there for me and…you'll never hurt me." I murmur. My older sister went through a bad break up two years ago and was basically depressed for a few months and I was afraid of going through the same thing. But if Collin and I were meant to be together he wouldn't hurt me like that.

A scorching hot hand engulfed mine, making me jump slightly. I looked up at Collin's face. His dark brown eyes were wide and full of a fierce determination I'd never seen before.

"I promise you, Molly, I'll never let you get hurt. I'll always be by your side through everything." he promised, giving my hand a squeeze.

His promise and the feeling of my hand in his makes me smile. Without thinking, I let go of his hand and scoot closer to him, wrapping my arms around his stomach and snuggling into his warmth.

It takes less than a second before I feel a pair of strong, warm arms wrap around me, pulling me closer to him.

With my cheek pressed to his warm chest, I whisper, "Collin?"

"Hmm?"

"Is it okay if we're just friends for now? I don't want to rush into anything."

Collin's quiet for a moment and I'm afraid I hurt him. But after a couple moments he says, "I think that's probably for the best. As long as I can be in your life, I'll be whatever you want, Molly."

I smile as I bury my face in his chest.