Chapter 7

Kate

It was late night, and Adam and I laid back on the grass of an airy, open field as we stared at the stars. It was something to do when you had a hefty amount of time on your hands. We laid in a straight line, head to head. In the silent night, I could hear coyotes running about in the forest, far away, bugs were buzzing all around us, and we could hear them all for miles. Deer were settling down with their young, and the nocturnal animals started to come out and play. The stars shone down on us with crystal clarity, each star a defined dot in the sharp navy sky.

"You know," Adam started, "It's really lame that my only friend is my sister."

I laughed. "Gee, thanks."

"No, it's just I used to be the coolest kid in school, and now I'm following you around all day and night."

"You can leave any time you want to," I reminded him.

"Then who's going to watch over you? I don't think you can handle other vampires. You might get hurt."

"Excuse me? Did you see the way I pounced on you that one day in the forest? Oh, except you couldn't have seen it because your face was in the dirt."

"Hey, now. I let you get me," he corrected.

I laughed again, the sound reverberating off the trees around us. "That's ridiculous."

He sighed, but I could hear the smile in his voice. "Okay, maybe you did surprise me. But you had more experience. I was new."

A shooting star shot across the sky, and my eyes followed every millimeter it took across my vision. Adam became somber with what he wanted to say next.

"So, how did it end with you and Luke?" he inquired, holding his breath, hoping to hear all of my words.

My head turned the slightest towards him, wondering why he was suddenly interested in what had happened to me.

"Why do you want to know?" I asked.

He shrugged, waiting for an answer.

I took a deep breath, not knowing how to start. "Well… Werewolves have this thing where they imprint." I paused, expecting him to make a comment, but moved on when he stayed silent. "You know Luke and I were together, but it was more serious than a summer crush. When werewolves meet their soul mate, they know it. It's like a gravitational force of deep love and commitment for life. It's called imprinting, and Luke had imprinted on me. He had to be with me."

"True love?" Adam asked.

I nodded and he let out a deep sigh. I was frustrated in not knowing what he was thinking. Was he taking this seriously? Was he going to burst out into laughter any moment now? Or was he honestly concerned about what had happened to his little sister?

"So how did you end up like this, then?" Adam asked.

"You know how I told you that wolves and vampires are mortal enemies? And that the wolves will attack any vampire on their territory? Well Luke encountered a female vampire way long ago on La Push territory, killed her, and pissed off her mate. The mate attacked me for revenge—"

"A vampire attacked you while you were human?!" Adam interrupted hotly.

"It wasn't that bad. He only threw me around a little, then Luke came and finished him off. But then another male vampire had come along during that fight and attacked the wolves, but they won that battle as well. Then that vampire had a mate and she and her sister were the ones that turned me and turned you. The female mate thought it would be better revenge on Luke to take me away, a mate for a mate, you see, but she thought it would cut him even deeper if she had turned me instead."

Adam was silent for a moment, staring thoughtfully into the stars. "Wow," he breathed. "You knew all about vampires and werewolves, and took all that while you were human?"

I nodded.

"I'm sorry."

My eyebrows nit together. Did Adam just apologize to me? "Why?"

"I just want you to be happy," he said softly. "I knew how much Luke meant to you, and now I know even more."

His words stunned me into silence, and I stared into the sky without seeing it, wondering what could have changed in Adam to make him feel so much.

Adam chuckled, and continued, "My little sister, the loner, comes home with a boyfriend. I couldn't even believe it. Although it was a boy from another town."

My hand flung around and slapped his shoulder. Leave it to my brother to douse a somber moment with a comment like that.

"Sorry, but it's true." Adam sighed, becoming serious again. "I just can't imagine what you are going through. I don't know much about 'soul mates,' but I know they are deep."

"You have no idea. Imagine that your soul is a puzzle piece, and you finally find the other half, but then it's taken away from you. You don't feel whole again, ever."

My words reverberated around us in the silence. Adam let it sink in before he asked another question: "Do you think you'll ever see him again?"

I shook my head decisively. "No. There's no chance. Like I told you, werewolves hate vampires with their every being. I know from watching him hunt and kill every single one that crosses his path."

"He didn't kill me," he reminded me.

I opened my mouth for a retort, but I had nothing to say. "You're the exception."

"Well if I'm an exception, you should be too. Luke didn't love me."

"And he doesn't love me either, at least not anymore. I'm the very thing he's made to kill."

"I don't believe that."

"I do. There's no chance. I wish there was, but there is not. I don't want to see the look of hatred on his face when he looks at me."

"You've already given up."

"There was nothing to fight for in the first place."

I knew Adam had more to say to that, more to object to, but he kept his mouth shut and let me have the last word. We endured the rest of the night in thoughtful silence as the moon inched farther across the sky.