Please don't kill me! We speak of the Internet connecting everyone, but it apparently doesn't. As I am writing this, I am away from the Internet (vacations, you gotta love 'em, except for when they mess with your Internet plans) but I will be posting this approximately a week from now, along with anything else I write between now and then. I hope you don't get too mad at me for having to wait. Enjoy your reading!

Last time:

Smiling broadly, Seth started the car and started the short drive home. When we arrived, he walked me up again. He stopped on the doorstep and gathered me in his arms. "I'll see you again as soon as I can," he whispered, before leaning down and kissing me again.

I staggered into the house. And I'd thought I was dazed last night. Sophie rounded the corner and walked up to me, looking strangely like an angry parent with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"What took you so long?" she asked.

I glanced at the clock. I'd left three hours ago. "You know where I was," I said, "We were just taking a walk in the woods. I wasn't wearing a watch." I figured that I wasn't allowed to give her the actual explanation, but it would've been fun to see the expression on her face, had I told her the truth. Well, you see I found out that Seth is a werewolf and claims to be my soul mate. Oh, and he sometimes rips vampires limb from limb. I barely contained my laugh.

"What's so funny?" she demanded.

"Sorry, Mom. Jeez Sophie, quit it already. Are Mom and Dad upset with me?"

"No, Dad's going pretty nuts, though. He was saying something about you turning into a 'boy-crazy teenager.'"

I rolled my eyes. Even if legends were actually true and fundamental parts of the world were different than everyone thought, and my life would most likely never be the same again, Dad was exactly the same. I braced myself. I would bet quite a bit of money that he was about to give me a 'talk.' I resolved to run away if he ever decided to bring it up. I knew where to find a good-sized closet to hide in for as long as necessary.

"If I was boy-crazy, wouldn't I be chasing all boys in general, not just going out on a date with one?"

"Yeah, but try telling him that," Sophie smiled and walked up the stairs to our room.

I went into the living room, where my dad was watching some football game and my mom was looking through a magazine. "I'm back," I said, not really knowing what else to say. I was their oldest child, so we were all in unfamiliar territory here.

I went over to the couch and sat down next to my mom. She hugged me. "Did you have a good time?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's really pretty around here," I said. "It was fun." If only she knew. I reassured her that all my homework was done, and then went upstairs to my room. I needed to think, and even though Sophie was there, it was likely to be the quietest place in the house.

I was right. The only noise in the room was the faint buzz coming from Sophie's headphones as she listened to her iPod. I sat down on my bed and stared out the window. I knew that I liked Seth, I really, really did. That wasn't the problem.

My head was still spinning from finding out about the existence of werewolves and vampires. I guess I'd assumed that humans were the supreme species, the top of the food chain. I never thought it could be otherwise. I was a bit scared to realize that a vampire could decide that he wanted to drink my blood any time and I would be completely helpless. Or rather, I would be completely helpless unless a wolf happened to be there. I shivered and tried to clear my head of the images of wolves and vampires tearing each other apart.

I felt slightly rebellious, even though I hadn't technically done anything wrong. All I'd done was go into the woods, walk, talk, kiss, all normal teenage activities. Oh yeah, and I'd also discovered the existence of mythical beasts.

It was the secret keeping that I was unused to. I'd never had to keep a big secret like this before, and I was feeling slightly guilty about having to keep it, never mind that it wasn't my secret to tell. I wasn't worried about letting the secret slip, I wasn't a blabbermouth, but I couldn't shake the feeling.

I tried to distract myself by thinking of other things, going on the Internet, watching television, and reading. Nothing was working. I didn't expect it to. I'd felt perfectly safe and content when I was with Seth, but now that he was away (on patrol, he'd said) I was jumpy. I kept imagining vampires behind every tree. I had no idea what vampires looked like, so I substituted Dracula-like images in my imaginings, complete with widow's peaks, fangs, and capes.

Not only that, but I had an inexplicable urge to be near Seth again, even if I had only known him three days. I wondered why he had waited such a short time to tell me the huge secret, though. It might have been a smarter move to wait and let me prove that I was trustworthy first. I knew that I was, but he hadn't. He couldn't have.

I remembered what he'd said earlier, 'I could never lie to you.' Maybe he had to tell me because he imprinted on me, I didn't know any of the specifics or rules regarding imprinting. After what I'd seen today, I could truly say that anything was possible.

I was distracted all through dinner; I barely noticed Chris and Dan throwing their food at each other and Sophie whining at them to stop. Later, I tossed and turned in my bed. I knew I would look ghastly tomorrow, but I didn't know how that could be helped. I was anxious to see Seth again. I'd almost accepted the reality of fictional monsters, but I somehow still needed that proof. Also, less easy to put into words was the attraction Seth had for me. Did this imprinting thing work both ways, or what?

I woke up the next morning to my obnoxious alarm, even more unwelcome than usual. I glanced into the mirror. I was right about looking ghastly. My brown hair stuck up all over my head, I had deep circles under my eyes, and my fair skin looked paler, making my freckles stand out sharper than usual. At least Seth didn't go to my school.

I yanked my brush through the tangles and threw on some clothes without really noticing what they were. Sophie gave me a look as we headed downstairs. She, as usual, was dressed in the preteen version of the height of fashion. I rolled my eyes at her.

After we'd eaten, the four of us made our way to the bus stop, Chris and Dan preparing to wreak havoc as usual. Mom had driven us to school on our first day, but since then, we'd been taking the broken down old yellow school bus. I couldn't wait to get my drivers license.

I kept zoning out in class, the result of very little sleep. I attempted to copy down what all the teachers wrote on their boards, that way I could look at it later, when I was more alert. I saw Allie shooting me a concerned look. I half-smiled at her and shrugged my shoulders.

I walked with Allie to lunch at sat down at the rambunctious table. Was it just me, or did it seem louder than usual? I attributed it to my tired state.

"How was your weekend?" Allie asked me. She must've remembered about my date with Seth.

"Oh yeah, did you have fun with that Seth guy?" Mason chimed in. Well, if she didn't remember before, she sure did now.

I blushed slightly. I was slightly embarrassed about showing my feelings; even though I had been told numerous times that there was nothing to be embarrassed about. "Yeah, it was fun, we went to a bonfire with a bunch of people." No need to mention the walk. They'd just grill me about it, and I didn't feel like making up a story on the spot.

"And what'd you do at the bonfire?" Cassie asked. I knew I'd be facing interrogation.

"Well, everyone practically ate themselves sick, and then told stories."

"Ghost stories?" asked Mason.

"Yes," I said. Even though it wasn't technically true, it was close and I didn't want to go into details, especially since it was so closely connected to the werewolf secret.

After that, they went back to talking among themselves about their own weekends, gossip, school sports teams and the like. I stared at the wall, trying desperately to keep my eyes open, lest I start snoring right there, at the table.

I barely made it through my next two classes. I boarded the bus, went home and fell sound asleep, waking up just in time for dinner.

That night I was actually able to get some sleep. I must've gone out of shock. What didn't go away was the longing to see Seth again. Thankfully, that part didn't keep me up late at night.

The next few days passed uneventfully, though I noticed I was quieter than usual. I was starting to psych myself out a bit, wondering if maybe I hadn't seen him because something happened to him. He did protect people from vampires, after all. What if a vampire… No, I couldn't think like that. He would be fine.

On Thursday afternoon, I noticed a car parked outside the school. It didn't look very familiar to me. It was the driver who caught my attention. It was Seth! Sighing with relief that he was okay (though I knew it was fairly ridiculous) I approached the car.

Seth rolled the window down and called out, "Hi Haley. Wanna come? I was just gonna meet up with everyone."

I grinned, opened the passenger door and climbed in, putting my backpack on the floor of the car. "Whose car is this?" I asked.

"My mom's," he said. "I'm saving up for my own, though. It's great to see you again." I could tell he said the last part because he really meant it, not just out of politeness.

I nodded. "Great to see you too. Do you mind if I call my mom to let her know where I am?"

"Sure," he said. "Do you need a phone?"

"No, I have one," I answered. I quickly dialed my house number and waited impatiently for Mom to pick up.

After Mom agreed wholeheartedly to the plan (she was still overjoyed about my being social for a change), I hurriedly said goodbye and turned back to Seth.

"So where exactly are we going?" I asked.

"Emily and Sam's house. They just got married this summer. Both packs meet there. I think it's because of the food. Emily's an amazing cook."

I snickered, remembering the bonfire and the amount of food those boys were able to put away. It didn't surprise me that they would choose a meeting place based on food.

"What's funny?" he asked.

I laughed again. "Have you seen yourself eat?"

Seth chuckled, "Are we really that bad?"

"Kind of," I admitted. "But you can't really help it."

He didn't say much after that. I knew we could both sense that we didn't need words. I just kept looking at him while he drove, and he would turn his head every so often to look at me. I knew he couldn't do more while he was driving.

Seth parked near a tiny gray house with a colorful window box. I unbuckled my seatbelt, but he made no move to get out of the car. He just looked at me, and then leaned in and kissed me. All too soon, he sat back up.

"I've been waiting for that the whole drive."

My face colored. I remained tongue-tied.

"Wanna go in? I think I smell something cooking."

We both exited the car, and Seth took my hand in his warm one and led me inside. The scarred woman named Emily was there, waiting patiently near the oven while several of the pack salivated at the smell. Emily noticed us and smiled at me. She walked over.

"Haley, welcome. It's so nice to have another girl around. Do you remember Kim?" She gestured to the table where Kim was sitting. I'd overlooked her in the crowd. She smiled and waved at me. I smiled back. She looked a bit older than me, but kind, though a bit shy.

"Yeah, I met her at the bonfire. Before, you know, I found out." I sounded tongue-tied and awkward, and though those were the emotions I was feeling, they weren't the ones I wanted to send out.

The oven-timer dinged at just that moment. Emily was all of a sudden busy taking multiple pans of cookies out of the oven. She placed them on the counter-top, where the hungry boys devoured them almost immediately. I smirked. It was still funny, even after I had laughed at it so many times. Seth looked like he was on his fourth.

I glanced over at Emily, and saw that she was mixing up more batter. I was about to offer to help when Leah came over. She wasn't glowering at me like last time I'd seen her, but she still didn't look very friendly.

"Can I talk to you outside for a sec?"

I nodded weakly and followed her onto the porch. I studied her facial expression. She didn't look angry, just sad. I was a bit shocked to see how much she looked like Seth.

"Listen, I know you can't help this imprinting thing. Just don't do anything to hurt my brother, okay? Because I've seen people give their imprints whatever they want, and it's sickening to watch." She eyed me like a bodyguard, or an overprotective mother, which I supposed amounted to the same thing.

"I wouldn't do that. I really like him. I would never take advantage of that!" My face heated a bit, and I was surprised to hear myself spill out my emotions to Leah, of all people.

"He's already changed because of you. And you know what? I don't think he's ever read for four hours straight before he met you. You guys don't have anything in common and he's trying to change himself so he can relate more to you!" Her tone was accusatory. She turned her back and walked inside the house.

I all of a sudden felt ashamed. I realized the truth in Leah's words. I didn't know if I had changed him or not, because I hadn't known him before he'd imprinted on me, obviously. We were different. Maybe we were too different. Maybe we'd never have worked out if not for the freaky werewolf magic.

He was athletic; I'd never played a sport without quitting in despair. He loved the outdoors; I preferred to stay in. He had apparently not been a lover of books (I remembered how he had taken a long time to read the back cover of my book that day at the beach); I would read all day if I was able.

I knew I wanted him to stay with me, but that would be selfish. We were complete opposites, in almost every way I could think of. I closed my eyes and leaned my arms on the porch railing, and searched for an answer to my dilemma.

Please understand that I am not Leah hating. I actually completely sympathize with her and her predicament. I just don't like how in a lot of fanfics she immediately accepts Seth's imprint. She has been through a horrible imprinting ordeal, and is protective of her brother to boot. She did join Jacob's pack to look out for him, after all. I think that this is more true to Leah's character.