So after a very long hiatus, I have returned. Goodness me, junior year in high school is quite exhausting. We have normal classes, plus a bunch of APs, plus SATs and ACTs and SAT IIs, and a whole lot of other things to worry about. So I don't have much to give you – the plot is at a standstill and shamefully full of holes, since all I can think of is my upcoming SAT.
The week flew by. Sam and I went running everyday with his dogs. I love running. It always makes everything better. We mostly ran on the roads; Sam said that the forests were full of coyotes. We would run, early in the mornings, as the rest of the household slept.
We would return, our bodies sweat-soaked, to shower and eat a huge helping of breakfast. By this time, the rest of Sam's clan was up and about – yelling at the little ones to get dressed, discussing the day's activities. One day Sam, Maya, Matt, Nancy, Carly and I decided to go horseback riding.
Sam rode Hobbs, Maya Stars, I rode CD and Nancy rode Babe. Matt had his own Arabian – a black beauty named Beast. Carly rode his mate, an Egyptian Arabian (white), named Belle. I thought it was cute how they named horses and their mates after famous couples. They had a Romeo and Juliet, a Lizzy and Darcy, and my personal favorite an Ariel and Eric. CD was fairly easy to control since I had learned how to horseback ride from some of the most evil horses. My mom had put each of us in lessons from the moment we could walk at a barn in Riverdale. As soon as I had some steady control over the horses, my trainer began giving me horses that misbehaved or simply did not want to work. Thanks to him, I was an able rider.
Sam and Maya rode alongside me. We took the horses on a trail and out into the open fields were we could gallop. I loved the feel of the wind through my hair; it was almost as good as running. We stayed out the whole day and had a picnic by a creek on their land.
"Hey Cat?" Sam asked me as we lay on the soft sun-warmed grass. Maya and the others were further off. Carly was splashing around in the creek, trying to catch frogs.
"Yeah?"
"Can I ask you a question? As a friend?"
"Sure, ask away." It had earlier been established in a mutual and nonverbal manner that we would remain friends. I didn't like Sam in any other way.
"Do you believe in love at first sight?" I laughed to make myself seem carefree. Although lately this had been a touchy subject due to the fact that I may at any point imprint on some random guy.
"Love at first sight? Yes, perhaps, for other people. Imprinting, like in Twilight –"
"Yes!"
"Yes?" I looked at Sam funny. Another one who had read this book?
"That's what it was like the other day. I was at the movies with Carly, remember?" I nodded. "and there was this girl. I hadn't thought about her since high school, but when I saw her coming out the theater it just hit me. This was the girl I wanted to spend the rest of my life with."
"Wow…that is quite something." Imprinting…Sam…running…the gears in my head started to turn but I was distracted by his next comment.
"Yeah, and I need your help."
"My help?"
"Yes, how can I go talk to her without coming off as creepy or something?" I giggled. Sam, creepy?
"Well if you believe in imprinting or love at first sight or whatever you want to call it, then you have no problem. Just go up to her, say hi and things will move along smoothly. It will be like you were never apart." If only I could say the same for my relationships. All the guys that had ever loved me – my father, Alex, Will – had all let me down. And I'm sure that if I were to see them now, I would not have easy-going conversations with them.
"Oh...that makes sense. Hey is it all right if I leave you here with these guys and go talk to her?
"Only if you tell me her name."
"Katie."
"OK, now go and be suave and sexy." He laughed and got up.
"Thanks, Cat. I'll see you guys later." He got on his horse and rode off.
"And don't come back unless you have a date!" I yelled after him. Maya laughed and came over, wanting to know what we had discussed.
I had one day left with them when something happened that would bond us together for life.
Sam was in Neal's room early in the morning trying to get him dressed. I could hear Neal whining as Sam tried different methods of convincing him. I could tell it wasn't going all too well and so I decided to give Sam some help and walked into the room.
"FINE!" Sam said, his back to me as Neal began to squirm with impatience on his bed. As soon as the last sound left his mouth…Sam changed. He went from cute college junior to vicious wolf. Werewolf. Neal screamed in delight and threw himself at Sam. He was bigger than I am in my wolf form. His body type and placement of hair was the same. He was dark gray along his back and as the color traveled down it grew lighter. Neal looked up from Sam's fur and saw me frozen by the door, shock apparent in my brown eyes.
"Sam," Neal said, tugging on his fur. "Problem." His hand lifted as he pointed at me. Sam turned around and instinctively growled.
"No!" I said, my mind working franticly. What to say? What to say? OH my dear Lord, he's going to attack me… I couldn't speak, so I acted. I thought wolf. Red, pretty wolf who can defend herself. I changed too quickly, my clothes ripped. As I settled into my new form, my brain finally calmed down. I felt secure and powerful in this form. I now understood, why Sam had felt that way for Katie. He had imprinted.
Sam looked at me warily, uncertain. I let my tail slip in between my legs and lowered my body in submission, still tense enough though that should he attack I would be ready. I left my wolf instincts take over; I had not yet learned how to communicate using human words, I had to rely on body language. It was Neal who finally broke the silence.
"You're a werewolf too, Cat? Neat!" He came up to me, despite Sam's worried growl. I sat down and let him throw his arms around me. My tail began to wag automatically as he pet my head and I awarded him by licking his face. He giggled.
"Cat! Stop it, that tickles!" He buried his head in my fur, so that I wouldn't be able to continue licking him.
"Sam? What's taking you so long?" Maya walked into the room. "Neal! You had two of us change! Aren't you spoiled? Come on, breakfast is gonna get cold. You guys can change back." Sam picked his clothes up with his teeth and disappeared into the bathroom. I stayed in my form, too scared to change back, and unable to without clothing. Maya looked down at my ripped clothes and back at me, questioningly.
"Those are…Cat's clothes. I saw her wearing them this morning…and you don't look like any of the others." She sat down.
"That's cause it is Cat, Maya!" Neal said as he exchanged his pajama shirt for a clean t-shirt. "Sam turned into a wolf, so I'd get dressed and Cat came in. I thought he was gonna get in trouble, but then she turned into one too!"
"But…I thought you were a" she lowered her voice so Neal couldn't hear, "vampire." I titled my head. How did she know? All week I had eaten human food, despite the fact that it made feel weak and sluggish. "When you lent me your hoodie the other day, there was a leftover smell." Oh…betrayed by the smell. "It's incredibly faint but I could tell it was fresh." I nodded my head. Lying was not an option at this point.
"I don't get it."
"Cat! I can't believe you!" Sam walked into the room, pulling his white t-shirt over his head. Damn he's good looking. Those are some abs. "All this time and you're one of us. Mike and the others are gonna be shocked."
"Maybe we should get you back into your human form, huh Cat?" I left Neal's room and practically ran into mine. I change and quickly threw on clothing. What was I going to do? How on earth would I explain this to them? I am a magnet. A magnet for freaks and werewolves and vampires and the scourges of the earth. I sank to the floor and wrapped my arms around my knees. I let my head rest in the crook of my arm and just sat. My phone began to ring. Hoping it was Alice, I got up and answered.
"Cat?" It was that voice again. The same one that had called a week ago.
"Why are you calling me?"
"Because you're the one that got away."
"Leave me alone."
"I can't, you see. The taste of you was tantalizing. Now I hear you're one of us. That's even more mouthwatering. And the good thing is I finally know where you are." I dropped the phone. For the second time that day, my body reacted instinctively. My clothes were shorn to shreds as I entered my strong wolf form. I leaped out the window and ran into the woods. Goodbye Sam. Goodbye Alice. Goodbye Will.