Chapter 14

Kate

"Do you mind if I leave you for a while?" I asked. "I need to satisfy my hunger a little more."

Luke looked down at me as we ambled throughout the forest, nowhere special in mind. He was happy to see that I was willing to hold his hand again, and with our hands together, Luke liked rubbing his fingers along the back of my hand, simply feeling my skin. "I never thought I'd like touching vampire skin so much," he said, before, and had since continued the motion.

"Sure, why not?" he smiled. "Can I come along?"

I hesitated before answering. "I'm not sure… It might be dangerous. I usually give myself away to my senses when I hunt. I don't know if that would be okay with you around, you know, with you having blood in your system and all."

"But you can't smell my blood, right?" Luke asked, trying to make a point.

"Right…"

"And you can't hear my heartbeat, right?"

"Mmm hmm."

"So wouldn't I be safe from you? There'd be no temptation, right?"

I knew what he was saying, but the risk was too much. "I don't know…"

"So I think I'll be able to come along. I want to see what you can do."

Luke

Kate was always stubborn, but I was able to convince her to let me come along. Honestly, I was curious to see what she was capable of, to see how amazingly agile she had become. It gave me a kind of thrill to think of her hunting, because I believed it brought us closer—she was able to experience life the way I could. We had even more in common.

I had phased and watched from below as Kate crouched in a tree not far above me. She had mentioned the trees were her favorite; she felt above everything when she hunted in the treetops.

Kate had her eyes closed; she was in total concentration mode. Faintly, I could hear her steady in-and-out breathing. The peacefulness of her stance made me wonder how she could possibly be ready to attack, even though she was crouched. The wind caught and rustled her hair delicately and the leaves around her. Kate's head inclined slightly in a new direction, catching a scent. I followed her nose, and discovered the musky smell of a full-grown buck, partnered with younger male. Kate would only target the larger one, I was sure.

If I had blinked, I wouldn't have caught that Kate dashed off to the south, intent on the kill, deeper into La Push territory. I sprinted after her, counting on my ears to catch the softest thud of her shoe meeting the branches. She sped up, the sounds of her feet becoming closer together. Twenty yards off, the backside of the buck flashed in and out of the shrubs, standing still and watching as his companion grazed. Without pausing, Kate dived into the air, landing square on the deer's back and biting into his neck, a faint snap sounding not long after.

The other male darted off, having just noticed Kate's silent attack, and I leapt through the shrubs and attacked the lone male, tackling it down to the ground with brute force compared to Kate's dainty assault.

We fed in silence—me tearing my prey apart while she calmly drank.

Finished in a few moments, Kate threw aside her lifeless prey and approached me. She had not a drop of blood upon her skin—a clean kill.

"That wasn't so bad," she smiled, liking her lips.

The smaller deer was more of a snack for me, as it took only a couple minutes to consume. Kate came over to my shoulder and wove her fingers through my fur, something she had done before she turned.

"I'll race you," she grinned suddenly. "To the ocean?"

I grunted in assent, crouching low in preparation. Without making another move, Kate was soaring through the air, already on her way. She giggled through the forest, the sound bubbling up through the air and filling my ears with warmth. It was fantastic to hear such a sound.

We reached the ocean sooner than I though, Kate arriving a few seconds before I had. Before I broke through the trees I phased and yanked on my shorts.

Kate

"You cheated! You're supposed to count," Luke complained with a smile as he came towards me.

I simply smiled back at him. "Nobody delegated the rules."

I was in a better mood now that I had fed, and now that things were easier between Luke and me. I was testing my own strengths with him, seeing what I could and couldn't do with him. It was becoming apparent that his little protection against me kept him safe from a lot of things, and that was a huge relief.

Luke stepped forward and scooped me up in his arms, suddenly lurching me off my feet.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

He was making quick advances toward the water pulling in and out along the shore.

"Afraid to get a little wet? It's the prize for winning the race," Luke laughed.

"How about a big hug or a—" Luke began his fall into the water "—no!"

We were completely engulfed in the waves of the ocean. Luke still held on tight to me as we turned in the water. I pushed him away and kicked up to the shore, spitting out saltwater and hair. Luke came up a second later, laughing and reaching out for me.

"Don't tell me you're mad at me," he grinned as I pulled myself up the shore.

"I don't have any other clothes!" I cried as I sat near the water, looking down at my sodden shirt, jeans, and shoes.

Luke pulled himself up beside me, propped up on one shoulder. "Don't worry, I have clothes you can borrow."

The sun was beginning to set and Luke's clothes smelt like the familiar musky Luke smell. It was strange, Luke himself had no smell, but the things he owned were inlaid with his scent. But as confusing as that was, I basked in the scent of him. It was exactly as I remembered how Luke's house had smelt, even if it was something I smelt with my weaker human senses. It was a beautiful, homey scent that made me feel right at home again after one long year of being without him.

Luke found me clenching the fabric to my nose after I had changed from my sodden clothes. I had waited in the forest while he retrieved the clean ones, and he waited a little ways away while I changed. Luke raised his eyebrows at the sight of me.

"They smell like you," I breathed, taking another whiff.

Luke chuckled. "I assume you like it?"

I nodded fervently. "I assumed I would never get your scent, but it's in your clothes. But it's still really subtle."

"If only they were your size," Luke sighed. "Then I would let you keep them."

The string on the sweats had to be pulled taught to keep them on my tiny waist, and the shirt nearly draped off my shoulders.

"I think I might keep the shirt anyways," I told him, smiling.

"Go ahead. What's mine is yours."

I put the fabric down and focused back on Luke. "Was Todd at home?" I asked, looking of the general direction of Luke's house.

Luke watched me as he nodded.

"How is he?" I asked.

Luke sat up straighter and faced forward as we perched on a fallen tree. His hands rested in his lap as he spoke. "You know my father loves me."

I nodded.

"So he was a bit torn up to see me… go through what I did."

"With me gone?" I asked.

Luke nodded. "He's more or less the same, but he is more guarded."

"Have you told him…?"

"You know he used to be a werewolf, right? So he could smell a new scent on me, but like the others, it had no effect on him. It was just a scent."

I nodded. "Did he recognize me?"

Luke shook his head. "I didn't even tell him about you."

Luke was looking so wary about the topic that I reached out and took his hand. He smiled at the gesture and pulled my hand up towards his lips for a his

"Do you think he'd approve of me?" I asked.

"Who knows? He loved you, but I have no idea what he will think."

"Hopefully he'll accept me, like the others have."

Luke pursed his lips down at me. "They haven't accepted you fully yet."

"Not even Kevin or Howard?" I asked.

Luke shrugged. "Them more than the others, but you're still a vampire, and they can't understand this situation the way I do."

"I still don't understand how you understand this," I mumbled.

Luke raised his hand to brush his finger along my cheek. "Oh, Kate," he sighed. "Even after all this time, I can't believe you still don't get how it works."

"I get how I'm a vampire, your sworn enemy. This isn't natural."

"For me, it is," he said softly.

I looked at him, waiting for an explanation.

"Because I have imprinted on you, I will be anything for you, I will do anything for you, no matter who you are, or what you are. I'm here for only you."

I paused for a moment, reading his eyes and seeing the truth in his words. He knew I was looking for something in them, and he continued to hold my gaze, making sure I believed him.

Before he let me answer, he leaned in to give me a light kiss on my forehead—on my hardened, cold vampire skin—his lips lingering before he finally let go.