Lunar Ascension

Chapter 2: Suspicious Vehicle

Disclaimer: All things in the Twilight universe belong to Stephenie Meyer and her publishers. The song and lyrics belong to the band and their representatives. Any other copyrighted material included in this story belongs to their rightful owners. Cheers ma dears! Rated M.

You couldn't be more wrong, darling
I never gave out these signs
You misunderstand all meaning
Snap out of it
I'm not falling for this one

Psychobabble by Imogen Heap

After the excitement of my first meeting with Zach, and the first rogue vampire in years, the following week proved to be insignificant to say the least. Embry was once again missing when I phased, giving me no opportunity to talk to him, and Seth was pushing me to find something more. He was pissed that it came up the one night he took off to be with Anna.

Even my shifts in the forest for the rangers were proving to be uneventful. Sitting in my cruiser at the trail heads there wasn't so much as a whiff of human activity. I wanted to shift and run, let myself go for a while, but there were assessments going on. If they found my car empty at a trailhead without reporting why, I was going to be screwed. I needed the job and the money, whether I wanted to admit it or not.

For the first time in my life, I was watching the clock and it was driving me insane. I'd never put this much stock in time before. It was normally just something that passed, and there never seemed to be enough of it. Now I had it in an over abundance, and I didn't even have class things I could be working on.

"Car seven-three, come in," the voice squawked making me jump. It had been so quiet all night; this was the first sound other than occasional static. I hadn't been prepared for it.

I fumbled for my radio, and depressed the button, thankful that I finally had something to do.

"This is car seven-three, go ahead."

"We have a suspicious vehicle parked southwest of the Green River Gorge Conservation Area, what's your twenty?" Sheila asked in her usual peppy, gum chewing way. She loved to flirt with the guys. She was harmless enough and I actually managed to hold a conversation with her on occasion.

"I'm parked at one of the trail heads on Enumclaw Franklin, I'll head that way now. Will report when I get there."

"What's your ETA seven-three?"

"Ten minutes, base."

As soon as I was clear from the radio an all car advisory was put out in case I needed back up. The closest unit was over at Kanaskat, which was at least a twenty-minute drive. It really wasn't going to do me much good. It wasn't that I was worried. Suspicious vehicles generally turned out to be kids in their cars having a good time.

I managed to made it to the place in less than five minutes with lights and siren, and when I approached the car in my cruiser I turned on the spotlight warning them of my approach. It was standard operation. The last thing you wanted to do was to surprise poachers when they were carrying guns.

Fortunately for me, parked in the lot was a cherry red sports car. Its paint was gleaming in the beam of light from the cruiser and I could smell the adrenaline burning off in the enclosed space. Poachers weren't known for using sports cars to haul their load, so I could only assume I was safe to approach. This wouldn't be the first time I caught two kids making out in their car, and it most decidedly would be the first time I caught a couple spicing up their sex life. Either way I would soon find out what I was up against. As I climbed out of the cruiser, I unclipped my gun on my hip and started toward the vehicle.

The gun was a definite sit up and listen for people I encountered, but for me, I always felt better knowing that my natural talent would protect me. Should something happen, I knew the drill, shift, warn whoever was on patrol and get the blood sucking Dr. Kevorkian to come fix me up. That in it's own right was enough motivation for me to be safe and follow the rules.

Approaching the car, I took out my flashlight and lit up the interior. It was a tactic the veteran I'd ridden with on my first week had taught me. It gave them a disadvantage by blinding them, and gave me a chance to see what was going on inside. Of course my first time out of the gate I'd managed to get a naked ass in my face as two people bumped uglies in the back seat.

Oh the joys of patrolling hidden trails. It had become the norm.

There was only one person inside the vehicle when I stopped and lightly tapped the window with the business end of the flashlight, and as he rolled down the window and grinned at me I almost lost my self-control.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" I snapped, holstering my flashlight.

"Well, Leah," he said smugly. "I was looking for this hot park ranger than I met in town. Imagine my surprise when I found out that she would be on patrol alone in this area. I was driving around looking for the Ranger cruiser and I . . . I got lost."

"You're such an idiot." I stepped away and started back to my car, but when he pushed open his door to follow me, I put up my hand to stop him. Picking up my radio I hit the button.

"Base this is seven-three. False alarm, there were two kids in a car making out, I sent them on their way."

Zach laughed and wiggled his eyebrows at me, but all I gave him in response was a scowl. This wasn't funny. I needed this job and if the backup had been any closer I wasn't sure how I would have explained knowing the idiot sat in the dark.

"Ten-four, seven-three. Head on back to base."

"Ten-four base."

I released the radio and turned to face Zach with my hands on my hips, making sure that my gun was the most prominent thing on my hip. Unaffected, he unfolded himself from his sports car and leaned against it with a look of a cat that got the cream. Had the situation been different there was a chance I would have been impressed.

"This couldn't have waited until tomorrow?" I asked turning away from him and heading back to my car. I stomped across the gravel and kicked a bigger stone out of my path.

"I literally found out ten minutes before I drove out here," he replied jogging after me, he put his hand on my car door to stop me from opening it and gave me another one of his bright smiles. "You challenged me, and the least I could do was show off my mad tracking skills. By the way, I am so digging the uniform."

I fought back the inclination to be flattered by his little speech. Against all odds I found him somewhat attractive, and I could deny the miniscule draw I seemed to have to him, though I tried.

"You're infuriating, do you know that? This is my job, Zach."

"You remembered my name," he added, seemingly pleased that I not only remembered it but used it as well.

It seemed he still had his selective hearing. I'd forgotten about his ability to avoid the important things to hear what he wanted to. If he was trying to make an impression, he was succeeding, but I doubted it was the one he was aiming for.

"Okay, I'll admit, I am somewhat impressed that you found my name and where I work, and I will hold up on my end of the bargain, at which time you will explain how you found out. But right now I'm at work, and unlike you, I need my job."

His head cocked to the side as he tried to figure me out. He was still too close to me as he leaned against the car, but I didn't flinch. It seemed he liked being challenged and I wasn't giving him more of what he wanted. I had worked hard to blend in so I could go through college and get what I needed, but he was throwing a spanner in the works and making that impossible.

"Unlike me?" he finally asked.

"Call me presumptuous, but that car doesn't scream struggling student." I nodded toward the pretty red car he'd been sat in and looked back at him, waiting for his denial.

"It was a gift from my parents, that doesn't mean I have money."

Bingo! It definitely explained his dislike of being told no. From what I could figure, his parents had always had money, and he'd always had the best that money could buy. It was the only answer I could come up with that explained his arrogance. The car had been a nice puzzle piece in putting it all together. It didn't make sense for him to be at North Seattle CC, but I would get to the bottom of that. He wasn't the only one that could be charismatic at the drop of a hat.

"Ahh see, but you're rich by association."

He laughed and leaned in closer; his minty fresh breath was almost enticing as it brushed over my cheek. It was hard to decide which was more annoying, his endless confidence or his persistence. Either way neither was working in his favor right now. I'd always been big on personal space and he was currently a trespasser in mine.

"You're either really stupid, or really fucking brave," I sighed, keeping my place but refusing to look at him. He really didn't need encouragement.

"A bit of both, but why do you ask?"

I pulled the gun from its holster and cocked it. The sound was distinct when the only noise surrounding us was nature. It was mechanical and scratchy, a warning sign to most people. I held it pointed to the ground but I was making a statement, and by the way his eyes widened, I figured I'd made it loud and clear.

"That's why I ask. You have a really bad habit of pushing me to my limits and it's not quite as endearing as you think it is."

"Oh come on, I doubt you've hurt a fly in your lifetime."

This time I snorted. It was an easy mistake to make when he didn't know who or what I was. He had no idea what I was capable of in this body or my other. I had been born to fight and protect our people and with that came the gift of shifting to a wolf, I had no doubt I would live and die that way but this wasn't something he ever needed to know about me. The wolf was a part of me, and it always would be.

"You're such a mystery to me," he mused, examining my face for the story behind the reaction. Unfortunately for him, I was giving nothing away. Even if I'd wanted to I couldn't have said a word, it was an alpha command. The only person I could ever say anything to was my imprint, and this jackass sure as hell wasn't it.

"And I'd like to keep it that way. Now if you want to find your way back to town I suggest you get in your car and follow me."

"What are you doing after your shift ends?"

I looked at him with consternation. He really was persistent and I had to give it to him, he wasn't easily deterred even when I'd pulled my gun on him. I'd made him a promise to reward him for finding me and knowing my name, maybe if I made good on that he would leave me alone and let me get on with my life.

"Eating with you apparently," I sighed, still avoiding his eyes.

"Now who's being presumptuous," he laughed, leaning in and touching his index finger to my nose. "But lucky for you I don't have any plans."

I shoved his chest playfully and moved around him to open my door, but he caught me off guard. Wrapping his hand around my neck he pulled me against him until our lips met. For a moment I stood frozen solid, unsure of what to do or how to react, but the moment his tongue moved along my bottom lip I gave into my animalistic nature and fell into his kiss with the same hunger I'd had the day in the empty lecture hall.

Whether I wanted to admit it or not, my body reacted to him. He was handsome, and funny and annoying as hell, but the longer I was around him, the more I was starting to appreciate those parts of him. It didn't make much sense, but then when did attraction make sense? The guy I had been in love with, the guy I was going to marry, had fallen in love with my cousin, and best friend after one look, and I was left alone cold and bitter to deal with the aftermath. When it came to attraction and sex, nothing really made sense, and the sooner I realized that, the better off I'd be.

As Zach's lips slowed, he pulled away, his eyes flickering open and shining with satisfaction. I wasn't sure what reflected from mine, but he seemed quite happy at my reaction, and even dared to lean in and press his lips to mine again in a chaste afterthought.

"I knew you'd be worth the effort," he chuckled, tugging at the bun on the back of my neck.

Yep, I was definitely starting to like him, and didn't that just throw a pesky spanner in the works for me.

I tried to hide my smile of satisfaction, but he caught my chin with his fingers as I ducked my head. The last thing I needed was for him to think I found him amusing, or worse, he would think that I was demure.

I knocked his hand away from my chin and shook my head to free myself from the images that were more than happy to flood it with images of what could be. Celibacy really wasn't working out for me if it was making my libido amp up like this every time I was touched.

I gave him another gentle shove and managed to open my door before he could stop me. I climbed in and shut it behind me laughing at the well-placed pout he was trying to use against me. Unfortunately, for him, Nessie had been a brilliant pouter and I'd grown immune to everyone else. That kid had a gift, this puppy dog look he was giving me was most decidedly not up to par. Feeling generous, I cracked my window only enough to talk to him.

"You want to get unlost? Follow me to the station, then you can follow me back to my apartment so I can change," I said, noting his grin. He was not going to be getting the wrong idea this time. "You're going to be waiting in the car."

"Fair enough," he replied with a shrug. "Can I have your number at least? You know, just in case you have a lead foot and you lose me."

I gave him a sickly sweet smile as I wound up the window and turned off the spotlight. When I started reversing, he sprinted to his car and came up behind me fast as I pulled onto the road and headed toward the field office on the edge of Bellevue.

Forty-five minutes later I was stood in front of the tiny mirror over the sink in my bathroom as I pulled my hair up into a messy knot. I'd put on my favorite jeans and a sweater I didn't need, and I was still contemplating why I was dressing to please him. The only thing open would be the twenty-four hour diner that was probably overflowing with the ejected club goers.

I finally huffed out all my breath and hit the lights. I could stand there all night arguing with myself over the decisions I'd made, and I still wouldn't get a sensible answer. I was just happy that the thought communication only sustained in wolf form, otherwise I'd be driving the pack crazy with my indecision.

Hitting the lights and stuffing my cash and ID into my pocket, I locked the door behind me, and jogged down the three flights of stairs before pushing through the front door to where Zach was parked under the apartments pavilion. Fighting my urge to turn and walk away, I opened the passenger side door and climbed in.

"You smell good."

"Shut up and drive," I sighed, trying not to fidget in my discomfort. I already felt enough like an idiot without his commentary.

"You don't do well with compliments do you?" he chortled, putting the car in gear and taking off into the darkness of night. The one thing that sucked about my shifts with the ranger was the time of night I finally got off.

I looked over at him as he drove; it was easy to see the smile he was sporting. He still seemed to find my sarcasm endearing. That was definitely a first.

"No," I finally said. "It's like you and taking a hint."

"Oh, I can take a hint, I just choose to ignore it. It's a whole different realm of reasoning."

I rolled my eyes and watched as the street lamps pooled on the damp road ahead of us. My night vision was outstanding, so I could see almost everything beyond that, but I ignored it. I wasn't on patrol, and I wasn't looking for vampires, I was supposed to be having fun.

"So, how did you find out my name and where I work?" I asked, looking over at him again. I tried not to focus on the small tiny thought that admitted how handsome he was. Instead I focused on his imperfections, like the slight dent in his nose where he'd obviously broken it at some point.

"A magician never reveals his tricks."

"Okay smartass. Do you ever give a straightforward answer?"

He thought about it for a second, his smile was mischievous. He was having way too much fun teasing me with this shit.

"When you ask the right question, yes."

"Right. Here's a straightforward question for you. Why me?"

For a brief second he looked unsure of how to answer. His hands tightened around the steering wheel and his eyes flickered to me several times. I wasn't sure what his deal was, but it didn't exactly give me confidence that his answer would be flattering. Even when he answered, his usual teasing smile was missing.

"When I walked past you in the quad that day, and I saw you picking at those nasty ass fries, it wasn't the first time I saw you. Do you realize you stick to a schedule and you're in exactly the same place every day?" he laughed. "You're beautiful, it was natural for you to attract my attention, I like beautiful things, but when I sat down to talk to you, and you were unaffected by my charm, I knew you were different. I felt . . . And this is going to sound cheesy, but . . . I felt drawn to you."

I tried not to react to that. Those were the exact words imprints used. When I'd finally gathered the courage to speak to Emily about Sam all those years ago, I'd only asked her that one question before I kept her at a distance. She'd told me that there was an indescribable pull to him that exhausted her to fight. When she'd started in on the apologies I'd excused myself and we hadn't said more than a sentence to one another since.

I was different. I knew I was because I was the lone female wolf in a pack full of males, or two packs if I was being literal about it. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that something was different about me.

Being lost in my own head for so long I hadn't realized that Zach was looking at me for a response.

"So if I'd fallen over myself and fluttered my eyelashes at you, you wouldn't have been as interested?" I asked, covering my reaction with sarcasm. I wasn't going to get into a theoretical debate with myself while I was around him. I could mull over that later.

Zach laughed and turned his head to look at me as he stopped at a red light. "Probably not, no."

"Damn. I wish I'd known that."

He laughed, and pulled away from the light, going only another block before pulling into the parking lot of the diner. When we were both seated, and the waitress stopped drooling over Zach long enough to get our drink orders, we sat facing one another in complete silence.

My mind was still rolling his words around in my head and what it could possibly mean. I'd tried not to think about it and what it meant but it was impossible not to think about how eerily coincidental his words had been. What if there was an attraction on his side and I was broken? What if I was incapable of imprinting fully?

It was a depressing thought, but I had to look at the facts. The only thing I could do was question him, and maybe swallow my pride long enough to go to Jake and his doctor vampire for some answers. The doctor had been observing us and our habits through Jacob since Bella had been pregnant. According to Jacob he wanted to help us, and in order to do that he had to study us a little bit.

I could sense Zach's eyes on me as I contemplated the mysteries of the universe and my odd genetics, so I decided now was as good a time as any to get some answers.

"I have another question for you," I finally said, breaking the silence that only seemed to exist in our small booth.

"Of course you do," he teased, throwing a balled up corner of his paper napkin at me.

"When you said you were drawn to me, what did you mean?" I asked, trying to be nonchalant about it while fishing the ball out of my sweater. The last thing I needed was for him to start firing questions back at me.

"It's hard to describe. I've never really been the type of guy to pursue women, in fact, I've been called a player and I've hurt a lot of feelings in my time," he chuckled, shrugging when I raised my eyebrows at him. "The first time I saw you was a month ago. You were in the library on one of the computers there; your nose was all screwed up in concentration. When I walked past you it was like I couldn't stop looking at you, yet you didn't even notice me. I didn't think about it, until I saw you again and the chick I was with snapped at me for staring at you."

Well at least he didn't use the words earth moving and gravity. That was something, Kim had always maintained that it was like she and Jared were magnets and couldn't have stayed away from one another if they'd tried. Another way she described it was like puzzle pieces coming together to make a whole. I'd only asked once, but she just loved to bring it up when we were in the same room together.

Whatever reaction he'd had to me, the only thing I could deduce from his answer was that the pheromones in my body had been going wild. Maybe it was a simple case of wrong time wrong place. At least it explained his persistence.

"So what you're saying is, you just want to get me out of your system?" I asked, half joking. I wanted to see how he would react.

"What? No," he snorted, leaning back in the vinyl booth. "It's nothing to do with sex and I never say that, I just want to spend time with you, have a laugh. You have a quick wit and killer sarcasm, do you know how hard it is to find a chick like that?"

I raised my eyebrows as the waitress placed a hot coffee in front of me, and a coffee in front of Zach, along with a plate full of creamer and whipped cream and . . . biscotti?

I stared at the plate and up at Zach who just shrugged with that adorable smile of his.

"Can I take your order?" the waitress asked suggestively, leaning toward him and fluttering her eyelashes. Her uniform wasn't exactly buttoned up the way it had been the last time we'd seen her and I was sure he was getting an eyeful of her ample bosom. I tried to swallow back the laughter and sarcastic remark as I watched her do her thing.

"Leah?" he asked, ignoring her advances. I had to admit I was impressed at his ability to ignore the girl when she was throwing herself at him like that.

"I'll take the full moon breakfast, double pancakes, sausage eggs and bacon, oh and hash browns, and I'll take some cherry cobbler for desert."

The two of them looked at me like I was insane, but it was yet another side effect of shifting into a wolf, they could like it or lump it. I wasn't going to starve because they were unsympathetic. The waitress snorted, but Zach eyed her with contempt. Reaching out for my hand, he took it in his and smiled.

"I like a girl with an appetite," he declared defiantly. There was no mistaking that he was making a point.

I appreciated the gesture to reassure me in front of the waif like waitress, but it was a shame it was unnecessary. I could have cared less what they thought of my eating habits. I wasn't easily intimidated, and he was the one that had asked me out so if he didn't like it, he didn't have to see me again.

The waitress however, was staring at our hands with a contemplative silence. Obviously she was rethinking every tactic in the book to make herself readily available for him.

"And what can I get for you?" she asked popping her hip to the side.

"Same thing," he laughed, not taking his eyes off of me.

Obviously highly pissed off, the waitress marched away, her puffy looking skirt bouncing with each step. I guess she didn't like to be ignored, she obviously thought she was worth the time and effort and she was making it more than obvious that he wouldn't be wasting his time with her.

"Does that happen to you a lot?" I asked, snickering at her temper tantrum that was worthy of a child as she whispered to her friend and pointed fingers.

"Unfortunately, it does. I'm sorry if she offended you."

"She didn't, most girls don't get that I have to supply my body with fuel. I lead an active lifestyle; everything I eat gets burned off. What they think makes no difference to me."

"You do have an amazing body."

I snorted and chuckled to myself as I sat back from the table and leaned into the vinyl booth. He never missed an opportunity to flatter me. I was well aware that my body was well toned and I was well developed in my hips and breasts, I wasn't vain or conceited about it, it was all part of the package, all the guys were built well. Our bodies were subjected to a constant flux, it was only natural that we would adapt.

"What?" he asked, his smirk in place. "It's just the truth."

"You never give up do you?"

"Well, I have you on a date, in order to get you to agree to a second I have to keep my efforts up."

"I agreed to one date. One. No one mentioned a second."

He put his hand over his heart and winced. "Ouch. You're not even going to give me the opportunity to earn one?"

"I never said that," I replied leaning forward again and resting my elbows on the Formica tabletop. "I'm just waiting to see how this one turns out before I make a decision. You're very charismatic, but I'm trying to figure out if it's all an act."

He sat forward and mirrored my position on the table, his eyes holding mine. I didn't miss the slight twitch of his muscles in an attempt to gain my attention, but I acted as though I hadn't seen it and held his beautiful blue eyes with mine. I raised an eyebrow at him as encouragement to answer the question.

"Normally, it is, but I'm trying my hardest to be myself with you. You seem like a no bullshit kind of girl so I figure putting on heirs is only going to have the adverse effect."

We held our gazes and smiled at one another over the table.

"Can I be completely honest?" he asked, removing one of his hands from his chin and running his finger up and down the exposed skin of my arm.

"I encourage it."

"I'm not good at this. I've never . . . I mean, I don't usually aim for more than one date with a girl, but I want to get to know you. That never happens and it's freaking me out a little bit."

"So you're saying you're not the monogamous type?"

He swallowed making his Adam's apple bob gently. I could see he was uncomfortable talking about this, but it was about time he squirmed a little. I was offering no help. If he wanted to say something, he'd have to say it.

"I wasn't, no."

"Whoa there, buddy. That's a big decision to make over one date. What if I decide I just have to give it up to you tonight and you decide that your curiosity has been sated and move on?"

He gave me a smirk; his confidence was fully in tact even with his display of vulnerability. He was definitely an odd guy. He was shit out of luck if he thought I was putting out tonight, but the scenario could have been genuine if I were a little more likely having self-esteem issues.

"Focus, Casanova, it was a hypothetical."

He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders at me, obviously unfazed with my change of direction.

"I didn't peg you for that type of girl. You spend a lot of your time studying alone, or on your phone with who I hope is not your boyfriend."

I realized he'd seen me far more often than I'd seen him, but it was a possibility he'd been paying attention while I hadn't been. It wasn't anything new, as long as the acrid smell of eau de vampire wasn't around I more often than not retreated into my own head. It was my way of getting things done.

"Are you stalking me?"

"No. Absolutely not. That would be creepy. I do see you around campus a lot though. So, you never answered the question . . . the caller?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but it's normally my mom, my brother or my al–dopted brother, Jacob."

"Al-dopted?"

"He had a thing for Paul Simon when he was younger?" I lied; covering the thick throat I'd received from my almost faux pas.

Zach didn't even blink that I had posed my answer as a question. He just chuckled, leaning back in his booth as the waitress set the plates in front of us. Well, she slammed mine but I could have cared less, my yokes were still in tact, things were all good.

"What's the deal, lady?" Zach asked, turning in his seat, his eyes following her as she walked away. I reached out and touched his arm, shaking my head for him to stop. It wasn't necessary. He turned around to me at the touch. "That was rude."

"It happens," I said shrugging it off.

"Well maybe you should let me take you out on that second date, somewhere a little more civilized," he replied loudly, his eyes following the waitress as she stomped past.

"That would be nice."

His eyes flickered to mine and his smile grew impossibly bigger. His reaction had really caught me out and I once again got stirrings of whether or not it was possible for someone to imprint and not know it. It had always been so definitive through the eyes of the pack, when they thought about their mate there were surges of emotions. I had none of that, well nothing off the charts and into wolf territory. Zach was a really nice guy when he stopped trying so hard, and I could see myself having fun with him.

As much as I hated to admit it, I would have to drive to Portland this weekend and talk to Jacob and the doctor. I just hoped they would have some answers to my new questions.

Authors Note: Seems to me like Zach has a hard time taking no for an answer, but at the same time, Leah doesn't seem to mind so much. Thanks for reading guys. And for all the awesome reviews! You guys are amazing! I have no idea how to thank you for your responses. I would also like to thank all of you that seem to love Leah's character as much as I do for letting me know how you feel. I will be posting Wednesday evening from now on, I was having trouble picking a schedule :)

Thank you to my wonderful beta Hev99; she's an amazing writer and a fantastic friend (And for squeezing me in during her hectic schedule!). We have a collaboration profile that I need to link to on my profile! I would also like to thank the wonderful Sabi'Sookie, for being my BFF and pre reading for me and for also collaborating with me, we have another Collab - Harmonic Convergence - That we're currently posting as well. You're awesome girl! I would also like to thank Pinkindeed for all her pre reading skills, and for letting me pre read her amazing stories and for being my knitter extraordiare. Big smooshes to the three of you for being my rocks!

Thanks for reading guys! Mad love to you all ;)

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