A/N: You guys are such great reviewers! I'm glad you liked last chapter! And man, are you guys in for a TREAT in this chapter... :-) I think you'll know what I mean when you get there.

Chapter 16: Sprinting

The next day, I woke up around 9 o'clock. That was extremely early for a Sunday, but I had work to do. First, I had to convince my parents to let Seth come over.

"Good morning, dad. So, Seth and I were talking last night…" I paused to gauge his reaction. He was calm. "And I think it would be weird if the only time we hung out was if he was taking me somewhere. Is it ok if he comes over to our house today?"

My dad looked like he was seriously contemplating it.

"Sure, why not? There's a football game on tonight and I was thinking about barbequing. Might as well initiate him into our ways early, eh?"

I ran up and gave him a big bear hug. "Thank you dad, this really means a lot to me!"

Next on the agenda was a quick cleanup of the house. I wasn't planning on scrubbing it clean, but the old Taco Bell wrappers and other trash needed to be picked up. Daisy followed me around, as if she knew that she was going to meet a new friend today. Occasionally she picked up a piece of trash and brought it to me, probably wanting me to play with her, but nevertheless, she helped me a lot. The worst room in the house was the guest bedroom slash computer room. Lily had a habit of holing up in there, so, the floor was littered with arts and crafts stuff, candy wrappers, and various toys that she still played with. Defeated already, I simply shut the door. There wasn't any reason for Seth to go in there anyway.

After that, I decided it was time to buck up and call Seth. I wasn't a fan of using the phone, and I would have preferred texting, but if we really were soul mates, I decided that I needed to get used to talking to him on the phone.

Seth POV

I groaned as my phone rang right next to my ear. I ran patrol half the night last night after spending all that time with Kayla. I felt exhausted, but it was worth it to be with her. Sleep enveloped me again, but then I sat up with a start, realizing it might be Kayla or Sam or Jacob. I probably needed to take the call. My heart pounded when the caller ID read Kayla. My phone was very small, so I had to really concentrate to hit the right button with my large fingers.

"Hello?" I said eagerly, trying not to sound too tired.

"H-hi, Seth. Um, my dad said you could come over. We're going to watch the football game and barbeque. Is th-that ok?" She asked, clearly nervous. I found it endearing.

"Yeah, that sounds great!" I said, hoping to ease her anxiety.

"G-good!" She said with relief evident in her voice. "You can come over whenever, I've already cleaned up." I could picture her blushing, her smooth cheeks darkening.

"That's perfect! Does your dad want me to pick up soda or chips or anything?"

"Let me ask." I heard her hand brush the mouthpiece of the phone, probably in an attempt to block me from hearing anything. I guess I forgot to tell her that we had excellent hearing. I could make out her question to her dad, and I also heard a little girl whining in the background. Faintly, I could hear what strangely sounded like a woman yelling. Kayla took a deep breath and began to talk to me again.

"My parents said that you could bring anything you want, but you don't have to." She lowered her voice. "I probably should warn you, my mom and sister are in… not very good moods. They usually take it out on me. I want to apologize in advance… and it's not too late for you to magically come up with something urgent you have to do." I could hear pain in her voice. I scrambled, trying to come up with the words that would make her feel like everything was ok.

"Don't worry. I have an older sister who is never in a good mood. And I can handle an angry mom. Trust me, it will work out fine. Besides, I miss you. I can't pass up this opportunity!"

She giggled shyly. "You miss me already?"

"Every minute we're apart it gets worse and worse. It really is painful. Like we're connected by a rope that's been stretched too far and it's pulling on me."

"That's intense." She sounded flattered.

"Yeah, I nearly drove everyone crazy thinking about you all night when I was patrolling."

"How would they know if you were thinking of me?"

"Oh. Um. Can your family hear me right now?"

"No, I'm up in my room."

"Well, when we're in wolf form, our minds are connected. Like, reading each others thoughts. It gets really annoying after a while."

"Ah." She paused. "So, wait, does that means everyone knows… That we kissed?"

"Do you want the truth or the version you want to hear?" I asked jokingly.

She groaned, and I could hear squeaky springs in the background. She must have fallen backwards on her bed. "That's just wonderful." She said, disgruntled.

"Is it really so bad that I couldn't stop thinking about you?" I said, trying to sweet talk her, but really meaning it.

"No, I just wasn't expecting everyone to know!" She sighed. "Well, I have to go help my mom make potato salad. What time do you think you'll be here?"

I glanced at the clock. It was eleven thirty. "Is noon too early?"

"Actually, that sounds just right." She sounded pleased.

"See you soon. I love you." I reminded her.

"Me too."

I closed the phone to end the call. My bed wasn't looking as inviting anymore. Now that I got to see Kayla, I was feeling wide awake. I threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, pulled on my tennis shoes, then, headed towards the kitchen, an obvious spring in my step.

"You're looking happy today. Can I assume that you're going to see Kayla?" My mom asked; a small smile on her lips.

"You got that right!" I exclaimed bouncing on my heels. "I was planning on grabbing a bite to eat and then swinging down to Ms. Call's store for some soda or something. We're watching football!"

"Kayla likes football?" My mom inquired, clearly puzzled.

"I don't know if she does specifically, but I wouldn't put it past her."

My mom handed me a ten dollar bill. "Here, you can use this to buy what you need. You might just want to stop at McDonald's; I don't think we have enough food for you right now." She said with a small chuckle.

I thanked her and gave her a big hug, nodded at Leah, who was sitting at the table watching me with mild curiosity, and bolted out the door. I was barely sixteen, so I didn't have a car yet. I didn't really need one. I had plenty of horsepower in my own legs. I ducked in the trees, planning to stay in human form but wanting to go faster than a normal person.

The wind whipped around me, and images of Kayla floated around in my head. It was so hard to leave her every night and even harder to stay in control around her. I just wanted to hold her and kiss her all day and whisper with her all night. And don't even get me started on the kissing thing. Last night, that brief brush against her lips, was agony. It left me longing for more. But I respected her too much to push her too far, too fast.

I'd always been skeptical of the older guys who'd imprinted. I didn't understand it. Even seeing it in their minds hadn't been enough. They'd made it seem like an obsession, but there was so much more to it. It was as much physical as it was mental. I could feel it, the tugging at my core, pulling me towards her. Painful throbs from every heartbeat. And being around her was literally like my own personal heaven. So beautiful, intelligent, entertaining, and so needing of my affection. I felt such a dominant need to protect her from the jerks at school, or the mean girls on her softball team, or even from herself. She saw so little in herself. It blew my mind how wrong she was.

I arrived at McDonald's and ordered a couple dollar menu hamburgers. The run had only taken about five minutes. I scarfed them down and set off into the woods, trying to be inconspicuous. Next stop was the small convenience store that Embry's mom worked at. With a jolt, I realized I didn't even know what kind of soda she even liked. This was a problem; it felt like I should know her every little quirk. I wracked my brain. She thought she was fat, a fact I fervently debated with her, so if I called her, she'd say diet soda. That stuff was horrible for you. I decided to go neutral and get a 2-liter of cola and a 2-liter of lemon lime.

Ms. Call smiled at me. I smiled back, trying to be friendly. She got so upset with Embry, because she didn't know why he was running around at all hours of the night. The fewer people who knew about the pack, the better. I felt lucky that my mom was considered an elder now, in place of my dad. I hoped that Ms. Call could see that we were good kids and that we weren't up to anything bad.

"Hi Ms. Call. Having a nice day?"

"Could be better, Embry was gone all night again. Came home with dirt all over and a leaf in his hair. I wish I knew why he was out in the woods." She said sadly.

"I'm sure he has his reasons. Try not to worry too much about him. He's safe with Sam."

Her eyes narrowed at Sam's name. "Last time I checked, I was his mother, not Sam."

"Maybe Sam is acting like a step in father for him. He's trying to help me too. A positive male influence. He does some patrol work and stuff around the rez. With all due respect, ma'am, you might want to cut them some slack." I said, allowing my head to bow submissively.

"I suppose you're right. Well, what are you doing today, Seth?"

I grinned. "I'm going to see my girlfriend."

"Oh really? I don't suppose you're going to tell me what you're doing?" She asked, clearly skeptical of my motives.

"Actually, we're watching a football game with her dad."

Surprise colored her face. Obviously she really thought I was planning on something mischievous. "Well, have a nice time."

"Thank you. Good luck with Embry."

I left the store and headed for the woods again. I was going to be right on time. I let Kayla's face fill my mind again, and ended up sprinting all the way to her house.

A/N: Sooooo, Seth POV, love it, hate it? Tell me! I need to know so I can use it/ not use it in future chapters! Also, I put up a poll on my profile, please check it out.