Chapter 9

Let's recap folks.

Holy Mother of Pearl.

My boyfriend is a werewolf.

"Oh my gosh. Oh my – oh my gosh," I splutter out, backing away with my hands held up in defence.

He comes closer and I shriek. I don't know why. I mean, I am a complete fool for this hunk-bucket, and Puddles is the sweetest, but – it's so freaky! I mean, Collin is a werewolf. A WEREWOLF! I mean, how the heck do I get myself in these situations?

I wonder.

I stop backing up. "Collin-slash-Puddles?" I whisper.

He looks at me, question in his eyes. I love his eyes. They're so beautiful, so intense, so pure.

"Can you change back now?"

He barks happily, which I assume is wolf-talk for laughter. I turn around again, despite temptation, to give him some privacy. Then I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn around as I am pulled into a hug, suffocated by the delicious smell of pine.

I finally have to choke out, "Collin – I- I'm ch-choking," and watch him jump back quickly. I take his hands in my own before he gets too far, though, and smile. Gah. I'm a hopeless romantic.

It's lovely.

"So…" he starts, "You're okay? With this, I mean?"

"I suppose," I say, dragging my toe around the ground and making patterns in the fallen pine needles and mud. "I mean, I'm dating a hot guy who gave me tons of orchids and is incredibly sweet. And is a werewolf. Which is exactly what I have spent the past two years writing a novel about. But this still doesn't explain what's been going on lately!"

"Oh, right – that," Collin says. "Um… The thing is, as you must know, we – phase, we phase because of vampires."

"WHAT?!"

Oh God, I can't believe I forgot about the Cold Ones…

He cringes. "Yeah… That's where we were today. A few leeches decided to see if they could find a meal here… And we're looking into the death of Billy Wringer."

I gasp. "He hasn't been seen for days – oh my – did they – …?"

He nods. "And when I left you on our first real date, I had to go on patrol. I only phased for the first time a few weeks ago, and I'm still not totally accustomed to the schedule. I'm really, truly sorry about it, but Sam, the alpha of our pack, can control us, and he forced me to go back and patrol."

Ohhhhhhhhh. "That's okay. At least now I understand why you ditched me. I'll just freak out at him for it later." I smile and give him a hug. "So. Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

Guilt and worry overcome his features. "Well… there is kind of one huge thing I need to tell you about… Sit down."

I raise my eyebrows at him.

"Please?"

I roll my eyes and sit on a fallen log nearby. He starts pacing, then running on the spot, then finally he collapses on the ground with his head in his hands, and his elbows on his knees.

"Collin? Are you okay? You look like you're going to be sick,"

"I –" He stands up and sits beside me, taking hold of my hands. "Adrienne, there's this thing that wolves do… called imprinting. When a wolf sees their soul mate, they become connected. The wolf has met his match, his one true love, the girl that will be his forever… so long as she allows it. The wolf cannot see anyone else – there is only her, only her in the world. She's the reason for his existence, the only reason that he lives or breathes or fights or loves or cares – it's all for her. He will do anything, be anything, whatever she needs. A brother, a friend, or more. He will love her a thousand times stronger than he has ever loved before, and he will stay with her forever unless –" he pauses. "Unless she tells him to leave. And in such a case, he would do as she wished, because his only goal is to make her happy… But that doesn't usually happen, because the imprint feels almost as strong a connection to the wolf as the wolf does to his imprint."

"Okay…" I say. Then I intake a sharp breath. "Have you imprinted on anyone?"

He nods… "You."

OH MY GOSH. I AM INTERNALLY FREAKING OUT HERE. I AM ETERNALLY CONNECTED TO A WOLF? EXPECTED TO LOVE HIM AS IF NOTHING IS ABNORMAL? WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?!

"I… I… I don't know what to say."

His face falls. "You could say something along the lines of, 'I love you too', or even just 'okay I can accept that' or… or…"

"I think I love you too."

His eyes widen and suddenly we're kissing, a magical, powerful, passionate kiss that is much too short, even though I'm pretty sure it lasted for a while. But I think that every moment with him is going to be too short, because I'm really starting to feel in love. And it's crazy and intense and amazing all at the same time, and wow! Just… just wow.

And EEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

Hey guys… Thanks for reading! Sorry it's been a while, but I got busy again… :S Don't hate me, please. And I'm sorry it's so short! I just don't know what should happen next. Any ideas? The Spring Fling will happen soon, but I need something to go in between… Please, give me any ideas that you have, anything you want. I'll try to make it work.

Thanks to stalkerinc for asking me to post again! Sorry, this doesn't even meet my expectations, it probably won't meet yours. It's pretty bad. But ah well. Ta!

And please, please please please REVIEW! :)

3 :D :)

Seeweed.