Chapter 17

Luke

"Luke, come in here for a sec," my father called after me.

I had run inside for just a moment to change my clothes from the day before. I was around Kate all day, had not heard anything from the pack, and not bothered to inform my dad about my whereabouts. I had only returned home to change my clothes for Kate.

"Yeah dad?" I walked slowly back towards the kitchen. Dad looked back at me with confused curiosity.

"What's up?" he asked, perhaps thinking that I would reveal something to satisfy his curiosity with his broad question.

"Just stopping in to change clothes," I shrugged.

"Were you out all night?" he asked, leaning up against the counter.

"Not all night…" I qualified.

Dad nodded. "How much of the night?"

I pursed my lips. "A good portion of it."

"I haven't seen much of you in the past couple of days, but I'd say something is up." He paused for a moment, studying me. "What's up?"

Expecting a long talk, because I wanted to tell him what had happened, I reached out for the breakfast bar stool and sat myself down.

Dad shrugged, pursing his lips. "I'd never thought it could happen but… have you, you know, imprinted again?" he asked carefully, minding the words he chose.

I sighed. "In a way. Dad…" I twiddled with a pen lying on the counter while he waited for me to continue. "We found Kate."

My father's jaw dropped, his eyes wide. "That's… that's…" My father was shaking his head, unsure of what to think of it. "That's not possible—how could they have kept her alive that long?"

"Technically, they didn't," I suggested, trying to get him to see, and hoping that he would somehow be okay with it.

I counted, and for a minute entirely, dad just stared at me blankly. Afterwards he finally spoke. "Are you okay with that?"

I nodded. "Well, Dad. You know how it works, how can I not be okay with that?"

"And you've been hanging around her?" he asked, raising his eyebrows incredulously.

"Yeah, Dad. She's past her year mark. We're perfectly okay together. She doesn't have the vampire stench on her—I don't know why—and she can't smell anything at all on me. I don't smell at all to her. And she's completely in control of herself, I'm sure she could come meet you, if you'd like that."

He was still shaking his head, probably in denial. I stepped off the stool and walked towards him. "Smell my t-shirt," I told him. "Do you smell something citrusy?"

He leaned in reluctantly towards my t-shirt, taking a ginger whiff. "Yes."

"That's her," I told him, then shrugged. "That's all she smells like to everyone."

"Is she some new breed of vampire or something?" he asked skeptically.

"I don't think so. I think it's because of our connection between each other. Because we are soul mates, our bodies make it easier for us to be around each other. You and the rest of the pack smell her like that as well because of your connection with her through me."

He nodded thoughtfully, not saying anything more.

"Would you like to meet her? I'm sure she's close around the house."

"What is she doing inside La Push?"

"Dad, the wolves and her made a pact. They knew that I wouldn't be without her, so they agreed that if she didn't kill a human here, she would be allowed to stay."

He swallowed hard. "Is she… Does she drink…?"

I shook my head fervently. "No, no. She is one-hundred percent vegetarian. Remember when I told you about those strangely civil vampires who drank only animal blood?"

He nodded.

"I told Kate about them before… last summer… and she decided to live that life from the start, dad. She did it for me."

He nodded. "That's good. That sounds like Kate."

"So will you see her?"

Dad only stared at me for a moment, unsure of how to respond. I could only look at him pleadingly.

"Are you sure she can control herself?"

I nodded slowly, waiting for the 'yes.'

He sighed heavily, standing up straighter. "I would feel better if Gerard were here to oversee this," he said, looking down at the floor.

If it were any other day, I would feel hurt by that statement, as if my own father didn't trust me enough to control my vampire girlfriend without supervision, but I desperately wanted him to see Kate. Hopefully he would see what I saw in her.

"Fine." I gave him a quick grin before flashing outside towards the trees.

Kate

"Kate," Luke called softly to me, a little louder than normal volume. Through the trees, I could hear him, and immediately darted in his direction. He was at his house, getting new clothes no doubt. I wondered what he could have wanted from me.

"Yes?" I asked as I slowed to walk just before I left the line of trees. Through the window I could see the outline of Todd's figure facing away from us. He seemed to be listening and waiting. The moment I realized that I darted towards Luke and hid behind his wide body. "What are you doing? You're dad is just right there."

Luke grinned at me. "I know. I told him."

My eyes widened. "About me?"

"Yes, about you."

"What did he say? I mean, was he angry? …Disgusted?" I asked, stealing a peep around his shoulder. Todd remained motionless.

Luke chuckled. "He agreed to see you. Do you think you could handle it?"

"Luke, you didn't ask me about this. I haven't been around humans in a long time… I don't know."

Luke gathered me into a hug. "I trust you, Kate. Just trust me this one time."

I gave him a confused look. "I do trust you," I muttered.

He encased his hand around mine and led me forward. I didn't resist, curious of what would happen, until I felt a rush of nerves. This wasn't any old human; this was Luke's father. Not only was I going to meet a human, something I haven't been in contact with in months (excluding Luke), but I was going to meet an important human. Luke's father had been like a father to me. We had grown close in the time I was a human. I really didn't feel like testing my strength on him. Besides, I was nervous about the fact that I was a vampire, and he hadn't imprinted on me, so he wouldn't be as accepting as Luke had been.

"Luke… I don't know…" I started, but Luke quickly gave me a smile of encouragement.

"Dad?" Luke opened the back screen door to his house, and led me inside. As Luke walked in, I kept a close proximity to his back, peeping around his shoulder anxiously. The moment we entered the house, I took a whiff of the house, trying to see if Todd held the same protection Luke and the other wolves did. As I did so, I registered the smells of Luke's house. It was much like how it smelled before, a lot of Luke, but a lot of something else—a lot of something that smelled more human, with blood coursing through his system. Then I knew Todd was standing in the kitchen, just around the corner. Todd smelt like other humans I had encountered, although not as potent. Perhaps that was from my practice, or from Todd having maybe just a tiny protection on him. But it was clear that he had thick, warm blood flowing in his veins.

I held Luke back. "Luke, I can smell him," I warned him in the softest whisper I could muster. There was a chance that Todd would have heard me, him being a werewolf before, but I had to let Luke know.

Luke turned back to me, his face displaying wariness, but he merely put his hand on my face. "We can do this. I will stop you if anything happens. And… there's someone else here too."

I gave him a curious look and he proceeded, holding my hand tighter in assurance. We turned the corner and Todd came into view with Gerard standing next to him, watching me carefully. Todd was looking down at his feet, his heart pulsing rapidly although his face displayed complete calm. Of course I wouldn't have caught Gerard's scent unless I really paid attention to it, but my focus had been on Todd's human scent.

"Hey, man," Luke greeted Gerard.

Gerard looked as if he was standing casually next to Todd, but I knew it was for other reasons. Of course, a wolf would be there when a vampire went to meet a human. It was their duty to guard the humans from things like me. I tried to ignore the distrust Gerard had in me, and focused on Todd, and making him see that there was no threat.

"Kate," was all Gerard said to me in acknowledgement. It was all I expected from him.

I gave him a warm smile and a nod, not wanting to speak just yet.

"Dad? Kate is here," Luke said, turning to his father.

I held close behind Luke still, waiting for Todd to look up. Surely he was reading the situation with his other senses, listening to what happened around him, taking in whatever smells he could smell.

Finally, slowly, he lifted his head to me. His eyes resembled Luke's remarkably, but they were glossy in the afternoon sunlight, as if a tear were to stream down his cheek.

"Hi, Todd," my musical voice chimed. I was aware of how different it was now, but hopefully, like Luke, he could hear my real voice underneath.

He nodded, his mouth setting into a straight line.

"Dad, say something," Luke prodded.

"What do you want me to say?" he asked, his voice cracking.

Luke was right. Todd was more guarded than before, after having seen his son go through so much over the past year. I felt sorry for him, terrible for leaving his son behind for so long. I wish now that I had returned as quick as possible, but that might have made things worse.

"Say something to Kate," Luke told him.

Todd sighed. "Hello, Kate."

I gave him a small smile, trying to make him feel comfortable. "It's nice to see you."

"It's nice to see you too," he said, his voice growing deeper and his jaw tightening. There was a double meaning to what he said, as if he held me accountable for what happened to Luke. I wondered if that was how he really felt.

Gerard shifted his weight to his other foot from the corned of my eye, waiting for something to happen. He seemed confused at how I was handling myself. I was better at this than he thought I was. However, my strength wasn't without difficulty. Todd's smell still assaulted my senses, and I had to put it in the back of my mind while we were in the same room.

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. There was just nothing to say right now. I was getting the vibe that Todd didn't want me around right now, and that he had to handle what was being served to him one at a time.

"I should go," I told Luke, looking up to him. I would have liked for him to come with me, but Luke should stay with Todd. I didn't want to dominate his life entirely and take him away from his own father.

Luke looked down at me, wanting to go with me as well, but understanding what I meant when I said I should go alone.

"Okay," his whispered. Luke reached down to kiss me on the head, and I gave him one last squeeze of his hand before turning to leave. As I left, I heard Gerard release the breath he was holding inside.