Sue seemed very glad to see me. She didn't comment on Seth's and my hands [still intertwined.] I assumed that Sam had already told her everything.

Sam had taken off as soon as Sue's house was in sight. I had looked after him, a little confused by his reaction. Seth had assured me that it wasn't anything I had done. [Werewolves don't blame each other for involuntary reactions like imprinting.]

Sue had sat me down, like nothing had happened and force fed me samples of her cooking, demanding honest answers.

When Seth complained that he wasn't getting any food, Sue scoffed, "Please! I want taste buds that are still unused to my cooking. You've eaten it for years!"

Seth rolled his eyes and snuck bits when her back was turned. I bit my lip. Mom and I had had a relationship like this in the kitchen.

Sue finally turned to me. "Are you going to move out?"

I was surprised, "Why?"

Seth answered, "You don't have to, but it would make things easier. The Cullen's," he ignored his

mother's wince, "are building a house on their land for us to stay at. Jacob can't be away from Nessie, so the pack stays there most of the time."

I thought about this before I said, "I'm not leaving my job. I spent a big part of my life getting a nursing degree and I'm not about to give it up. I love nursing."

Seth nodded, "You could probably get rides with Carlisle."

I wrinkled my nose, remembering the smell. Then I shrugged.

"But you don't have to go anywhere right now," Sue said. "I like having you in the house." She began to wrap up the food that she was bringing over to Charlie's. "I have to go now, but I'll be back."

"Is that a promise or a threat?" Seth teased.

Sue smiled warningly, "Both." With that last bit, she walked out.

Seth groaned. "I thought she was never going to leave!" He turned to me, "Would you like to see my room?"

When I nodded, he grabbed my hand and towed me up the stairs. It turned out that his room was next to mine.

"One of my favorite things was to stay up and listen to Dad on the computer," Seth said as he opened the door and flicked on the light.

I gasped when I saw the interior. A bed took up space on the wall closest. A desk similar to mine sat next to it. Posters of cars hung on the walls. Another picture window looked out into the forest.

What surprised me were the lights. He had strung up Christmas lights on the ceiling, so that they were the main source of light. More lights draped around the upper edges of the walls and around the floorboards.

"Do you like cars?" Seth asked, gesturing towards the posters.

I rolled my eyes, "I can't stand them, unless they're diesel or hybrids. Regular cars waste our resources. Give me a good bike any day."

Seth looked surprised, then his face turned sly, "Well, I'll enjoy bringing you to see the light."

I smiled sarcastically at him, "As I will enjoy bringing you."

We laughed for a moment. It felt surprisingly comfortable to be with him. I had had the longest day, but I was willing to combat the weariness to spend more time with him.

Despite my best effort, I yawned. Seth was immediately contrite, "I'm sorry, you must be exhausted."

I smiled, "It's not everyday that you find out that you're a werewolf and that that's normal."

Seth smiled and led me to my room. "Are you really a vegetarian?" he asked.

I nodded, "I've got a great recipe for roasted tofu, if you want to give it a try."

Seth nodded warily, not sure what he was getting himself into.

I shook my head ruefully, and opened my door. Seth followed me, looking around.

He saw the picture of my mom. "You look a lot like her. Except for your eyes."

I blushed. "No one is sure where these eyes came from. Mom was pure Abenaki, and apparently my father, may he rot in hell, was full Quiluete. Those don't mix into green eyes."

Seth smiled. A nervous look came into his eyes. Gently he crossed the space between us and leaned forward. I froze, shocked.

Ever so gently, he brushed his lips against mine. Heat flared over my face, and I, gently, kissed him back. Seth grew bolder and I matched his heat.

Pulling back, Seth cradled my head in his hands. His dark eyes melted into mine. "I should let you sleep," he whispered.

I couldn't speak, even when Seth picked me up and lay me down on my bed. My eyes fluttered shut and I was unconscious.

I knew I was dreaming, but I couldn't wake up. I approached the door to my mother's bedroom. I knew what I would find when I opened it, but I couldn't help hoping that I would see her again.

The door opened and I saw my mother lying on the bed, her eyes closed. She wasn't breathing and the room stank of death.

I screamed, wrenching up. I sat there sobbing. A warm arm wrapped around me. Seth had never gone back to his room.

"Are you okay?" he whispered.

I turned and sobbed into his chest. He patted my back awkwardly.

"Just a bad dream. A true dream." I sobbed.

Seth understood. "It's okay, I'm here. I'm here." Gently he rocked me until I was calmer.

I took a deep breath. "Sorry." His eyes tightened.

"Don't apologize. You're still grieving. A year isn't enough time to move on." Seth said, soothingly.

I stared at him, tears trickling down my face. He really seemed to understand.

I put my head against his chest; he rubbed my back until I fell asleep once more.

It was morning when I awoke again. Seth was lying next to me, snoring lightly. I stared at his face. He had skin that seemed like silk, his nose was strong, but it suited him. His eyelashes were ridiculously long. When he was awake it seemed like black ferns surrounding a dark pool. I snorted quietly at my poetic nature.

His lips were soft, I blushed at remembering how soft, and his hair was short. It wasn't limp like mine, but had body and was as black as a raven's wing.

Crap, I had to write a poem. When I started using similes to describe things, I knew I had no option.

Carefully I got out of bed. I crossed over to my desk and grabbed a piece of paper.

Seth

The wolf is strong,

The boy inside stronger,

Tawny fur,

And russet skin surrounds eyes like onyx.

A life line for those in need.

He prowls the forest,

Could it be that this creature belongs to me?

What have I done to be so lucky?

Our fur matches,

Gold and Silver.

Entwined together,

Love cannot be denied.

No matter what the form.

I left it on my desk and went to get clothes. I chose a tee shirt and shorts, and headed downstairs to take a shower.

I turned on the water as hot as I could. As always the lavender scent reassured me. I wonder if Mom would have approved of Seth? I wonder what Grandmother will think? I thought idly. I shrugged.

I quietly ran up the stairs. When I opened my door, Seth was awake and sitting on my bed. He looked at me strangely.

" 'Love cannot be denied'?" he quoted.

I blushed. "I'm an idiot, but I love you."

Seth came over to me. "You are not an idiot. We imprinted on each other. We should love each other. I love you."

I looked into his dark eyes and saw total honesty. He leaned forward and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him back. I felt his breath on the inside of my mouth and gasped. He kissed me hungrily, like I was the air and he was drowning. I thought of something and pulled away.

"Can werewolves get HIV?" I asked.

Seth shook his head. "We can't get sick. And Carlisle would have told us."

"Okay then." I said, before he kissed me again.

A couple of minutes later, Seth pulled away. "We should get some food."

I nodded and led the way downstairs. Sue wasn't up yet. I started to pull the ingredients for my usual breakfast. Granola and rice milk with honey.

"What is that?" Seth asked, his nose wrinkled up as he gestured towards the rice milk.

I rolled my eyes. "Rice milk. It's a milk substitute made from rice. It's great, do you want some?"

Seth shook his head and got out some kind of brand cereal. "Give me whole milk any day."

I rolled my eyes again and sighed. "I can hear your heart struggling already."

"Hey! I eat healthy foods. I'm not about to make the same mistake my dad did."

In response to my questioning look, Seth said, "He died of a heart attack."

"Sorry."

He shrugged. "It's okay." He changed the subject, "So, what do you want to do today?"

I smiled. "My shift at the hospital starts at 3:00 p.m. I work until six. It's a short shift. Before then, I'm all yours."

Seth smiled. "Would you like to hang out with the pack?"

I shrugged. "Sure."

We wolfed down out breakfast [no pun intended] and started to head out the door. I left a note for Sue; I didn't want her to worry.

"Do we need to wait for Sam?" I asked.

Seth shook his head. "Not when we're leaving. We didn't really need to wait for Sam, but it was polite."

I raised my eyebrows and shrugged. We walked into the woods. This time I didn't go behind a tree to phase. The look on Seth's face went a long way towards healing my heart.

He stripped to phase as well. I tried not to stare at his supple body. Then we were off, racing through the forest.

Every time I did this, the feeling in my legs amazed me. I felt like I could run forever and never get tired.

It is a nice feeling isn't it? We don't patrol because our packs land is Cullen land. But sometimes we just run the border for the fun of it, Seth said.

Patrol?

Look for vampires. Sam's pack patrols and looks for vampires that crossed onto their land. There were images in his head of trees shooting past. I mean, we patrol when there's danger but we don't want to kill one of the Cullen's friends. As long as they don't hunt in the area, we let them be.

Huh. Sam had told me about patrolling, but just in passing. It seemed that he had given me the bare bones of the story. And he had made the story seem like all vampires were evil.

Seth answered my unspoken thoughts; Sam blames the Cullens for existing. If they hadn't come back, then none of us would have phased.

I caught his unspoken thoughts. The Quiluetes didn't phase unless there were vampires around.

But what about me? There weren't any vampires around when I phased for the first time. I would remember that smell. I remembered when I smelled that sickly scent for the first time.

You phased when you felt a really strong emotion. We often do that. Flickers, Seth lunging at his sister, who was already a werewolf.

I shuddered.

Suddenly Jacob joined us. The rest of the Cullens want to meet Anne. Would you come straight to the house? He asked.

We'll be right there, Seth and I said at the same time. I put on a burst of speed.

Looks like Leah's going to have a run for her money, Jacob said as my speed increased.

Seth remembered our conversation about running with coyotes.

You ran with coyotes? Jacob asked.

I shrugged mentally. When you're that lonely you'll do anything. They're not that bad. I remembered playing with the pups.

Weird! Embry broke in.

They're sweet. Except when they bite your tail, I amended.

Yeah, it was a little annoying when Nessie bit me, Jacob said.

I don't know, I thought it was funny. Embry said. Rosalie thought it was hilarious too.

Why all of the aggression? Why killing? I asked.

I sensed Jacob and Embry looking at each other, confused.

We're natural enemies. Werewolves are made to kill vampires. We protect human life. The Cullens don't kill people so we made a truce with them. And there was the whole me falling in love with Bella thing. It didn't exactly warm Rosalie to me. Jacob said.

I still didn't get it. There was no such thing as 'natural enemies'. There was predator and prey, sure. But one of my strong beliefs was in peacemaking. Didn't they know about the white feather here?

White feather? Seth asked.

An old tradition in my family, I explained. Whenever we got in a fight, we would hand each other a white feather. The feather symbolized peace. We would stop fighting and work it out peacefully.

They didn't know what to say to that. Finally Jacob said, Looks like we've found a diplomat.