Chapter 18

Kate

As I perched in the spruce tree alone somewhere in the forests of La Push, I heard the faint scuttling of large paws on the ground, and the short, sharp intakes of breath as an animal sniffed the air.

I looked around, curious for the source of the sound, and I spotted a winter white figure moving through the forest floor. Smiling, I leapt down a few branched until I was closer to the ground. The wolf was on a scent, searching the air and ground for the trail.

I gave a little sigh and the wolf's head snapped up to me, its ears perked up. It was Robert, the newest and youngest wolf of the pack.

"What's up?" I asked conversationally.

Calmly, he turned his back to me and vanished behind a clump of trees to phase.

"What are you doing out here all alone?" he asked, his voice much less matured than the other wolves. He must have been very young, maybe twelve or thirteen. His hair was shorter, but much more well-groomed than Luke's.

"Just relaxing," I sighed, leaning against the trunk of the tree.

"I though vampires didn't need to relax," he said, his eyes narrowing.

"Haven't you heard? I'm not like other vampires," I smiled down to him.

He shrugged, looking down at his feet.

"Where's the rest of your pack?" I asked.

"Taking the day off," he said, kicking the dirt.

"Where's Luke?" he asked back, meeting my eyes again.

I chuckled, picking at the pine needles around me. "I let him spend some time with his father. I don't want to take him from everyone."

"We all know it's going to end up that way," he said, shrugging.

I stole a glance at him, unsure if that was meant for me to take offense of. I realized that I didn't know much about Robert, and that this was our first conversation. I hoped he would warm up to me, even though he was told to hunt things like me all of his wolf life.

"What scent were you on, anyway?" I asked.

Robert looked down at the ground again, kicking the dirt nervously. "Well, I was just practicing tracking, and I came across your scent, so I figured I'd follow it," he said, shrugging as if it were no big deal to him.

Wanting him to like me, I thought of something perfect for him and me to bond with. I perked up and said, "Would you like me to run off so you can practice more? I could create a trail for you to follow and make a new one every time you find me."

Succeeding, Robert flashed me a huge grin. "Okay."

Smiling, I hopped up and leapt to the ground, speeding off to create my first trail. I tried not to make it too complicated for his first one, and merely made zigzags and loops throughout the forest, finally ending up a mile from where I had began and positioned myself behind the wide trunk of a tree. I listened and waited. Robert must have given me a head start because five minutes later I heard the faint scuffling of large paws on the forest floor, his nose tasting the smells on the ground and in the air.

Suddenly, a huge white wolf appeared at my right shoulder, grinning down at me. I giggled and darted off, seeking to create a harder trail. I leapt into the trees and bounced around the branches for a few yards, then leapt through the air for a couple more yards, and landed on the ground. I took a sharp left and weaved through several trees, making a tight winding trail. I finished it off after two and a half miles by scaling the tallest tree nearby.

I waited for three minutes this time until Robert appeared at the bottom of the tree, staring up at me with his tail twitching excitedly. I dropped down to his level and smiled.

"You're doing better," I grinned.

We continued this cycle five more times, making each of my rounds longer and more complex. I knew Robert was finished when he phased back on the seventh time around, walking towards me.

"Thanks, Kate. That was awesome. You're cooler than Luke lets on."

I laughed. Robert was visibly younger than the other wolves. He hadn't gone all serious yet, and still held on to his youth. "What does he say about me?" I asked.

"He doesn't say much. Most of what we hear of you is in his thoughts, but it's all gooey stuff."

I shrugged. "I'm glad you think I'm cool."

"Totally. I was worried you'd be another freaky blood-crazed vampire."

I shook my head. "I like to be different."

He sighed, leaning against the tree beside him. "It's weird. I've only been a wolf for three months. It's confusing when all the other guys ever think about is killing vampires, but when your brother came around, my first vampire, they didn't kill him. And from that point on, all Luke thought about was not killing vampires, because I was sure he figured out that you had been changed. When Luke was chasing after you that one day, we had to fight off those crazy females, but Kevin got the pleasure of ripping the brunette apart. But now we share our territory with a vampire and nobody's killing any vampires."

"Do you like killing vampires?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I've never done it, so I wouldn't know. But I guess it would be fun. I like running as a wolf, leaping and pouncing. Hunting is the best, even though the animals look all gross without their skin. Would you feel hurt if we killed another vampire?"

"Nope. I know what they're like. Kill all the vampires you want—except my brother of course," I told him casually.

"Yeah, that part's weird as well. You're brother turning into a vampire too. You're like, living together forever. Don't you ever fight?"

I chuckled. This kid could talk forever. "I don't mind it that much. We fight, but we get over it pretty easily."

"That's good. My little sister and I fight all the time. She thinks she's so smart. Whatever. So you don't have any vampire friends besides your brother?" he asked.

"Nope. I've always been a wolf girl, as you can see."

He nodded. "Totally."

I smiled at him, watching as he kicked the stones around his feet. I imagined that if I had ever had a little brother, he would be like Robert. He was cute—his hair stuck up in all directions in the back, and his features were still round and young.

"Do you love Luke?" he asked suddenly, scowling at the ground.

I watched him carefully, wondering what he was thinking. "Yes, I do."

He was silent for a few seconds before saying detachedly, "Cool." He nodded, staring at his feet still. He wanted to say more, but he did.

Trying to get him to smile again, I perked up. "You want to race back to Luke's house?" I asked, smiling wide.

The corners of his mouth perked up and I bolted through the trees, hearing Robert scramble out of his shorts and phase, sprinting after me to catch up.