I've posted all the chapters I've written! Yay! From your comments it looks like you like where this is headed, I sure hope so, lol. Enjoy!

Chapter 43

At first I panicked. I have to run after him. I started towards the door but froze. I was at work, I couldn't just leave. Or could I? Wasn't this more important than a stupid job? That man was my future and I couldn't just let him slip away. Besides, I could get another job couldn't I?

So I threw down the rag and started for the door, but before I could reach it – he walked in. For a second we just stood there staring at each other. I didn't think eyes could be so blue, they were like diamonds. He was a little sweaty from the running and his sun colored hair clung to his forehead.

"Hi." He whispered and I held back a shiver. His voice was deep and liquidy, like the sound of a mellow hum. I swear to you, I could hear a hallelujah chorus.

"Hi." I smiled without caution and he smiled back. His teeth were a sparkling white under the florescent lighting.

"Do you two know each other?" Abbi bounced up to me, smiling flirtatiously at him. I fought the urge to snap her neck.

"Uhhh…" I said dumbly, trying to think straight.

"We went to school together." He adlibbed, not taking his eyes off my face. I could melt.

"Oh, how sweet!" She shrilled. "Well, Leah your shift's about over. You could go if you want."

I couldn't take my eyes off his face, I watched his lips form my name silently. "Ok." I was able to mutter.

"C'mon, Leah. I'll walk you to your car." He said smoothly, reaching a hand out like he was going to put it around me but hesitated. I followed him willingly out the door.

My heart was beating so loudly I was positive he could hear it. But if he could he didn't respond. "So. . ." He said once we were out the door. "I know two things about you: you work at The Bean, and your name's Leah."

"And I don't know anything about you." I replied, finishing his thought.

He paused and turned to me. "Hi." He stuck his hand out, it was large and boxy. "I'm Kaase Vanderzee. That's k-a-a-s-e not c-a-s-e."

Kaase, I whispered the name in my head."Really?" I took his hand and shook it lightly, remaining a feminine grip. His hand was rough with calluses. "That's an unusual name." I commented.

"It's Dutch," He laughed. "very Dutch, along with my last name. It means Charles, it was handed down from my dad. My grandparents emigrated from the Netherlands."

"Wow," I said dumbly. "Well I'm Leah Clearwater."

"Are you Quileute?" He asked quickly. "I hope you don't mind me asking,"

Surprisingly I didn't. "Yeah, I just moved here off the reservation." I paused. "How'd you know?"

"Well, it's the closest tribe in this area." He talked with his hands, making a sweeping motion. "I wrote a report on your tribe for my senior history paper." His smile cocked to the side, showing dimples. But his smile turned to a frown and his liquid eyes softened. "Don't you have a coat? It's freezing out here."

I didn't even notice I wasn't wearing one, I could kick myself. But then I remembered I had one in my truck. "I actually left it in the truck. Um. . ." I muttered. "if I grab it, do you want to take a walk with me?"

His eyes seemed to brighten even more. "Yeah, that would be great. There's a park right down the road."

I hurried to my truck and grabbed the parka I left in the back seat. It was an old one of Seth's that didn't fit him anymore. I shrugged it on, inhaling the scent of my brother and immediately wondered what Kaase smelled like.

I turned around and walked back to him, then we started down the street. I leaned closer to him as we walked, inhaling. He smelled of sawdust and pine. "So . . ." I stuck a conversation. "what do you do for a living?" Wow, what a stupid question!

"Well I work at the saw mill." Hence the sawdust smell. I'm a modern day Nancy Drew. "It's owned by my family. It's kinda expected of me." He laughed slightly.

"Is that what you want to do?" I was automatically intrigued. Could he be different, like me? An outcast?

"Well I haven't really thought of anything else. I mean, since I was three I was always expected to grow up, learn Dutch, marry a Dutch woman, and work at the mill." His jaw set, realizing what he had said.

"So would you be considered the black sheep, hanging out with a non-Dutch woman like me?" I smiled, showing him I wasn't offended.

He stared down, which I was relieved about. At least I wasn't taller than him. He was probably six inches taller than my 6'1" height. "Well. . . yeah. You could say that." He smiled. "What about you? Don't your parents expect you to hang out with people from the reservation?"

He stumbled over the words 'hang out' I could tell that he agreed they were nowhere near describing our chemistry. "Well, my dad is dead. He died early this year of a heart attack."

"I'm so sorry." He soothed softly. Sneakily, he took my hand up in mine. A sudden shock was sent up my arm and zinged around in my body. I wondered how long it would take until my heat would make his hand sweaty.

"Oh, it's alright. My dad probably would have wanted me to stay on the rez and my mom too before he died but she's been more lenient." Since I turned into a freak, I finished in my head.

"So, is there like a 'black sheep' as you say in your tribe." He wondered, still holding my hand. "If you don't mind me asking."

I immediately thought of Jake and laughed. "Well, yeah. My friend Jacob, he's dating one of our long time enemies you could say."

"Ouch. Kinda a Romeo Juliet kinda thing?" He started swinging our arms as we walked slowly down the path. The trees in the park were dotted with white lights and I immediately missed the darkness and eerie fog of the woods.

"At first, yeah, but we got used to it. It's accepted now on both sides." I thought of Rosalie but didn't bring her up.

There was a small pond in the middle of the park that was covered with a sheet of ice. The lights danced off its glassy surface. Kaase paused here and I stopped too. "I know this is going to sound ridiculous but I feel like I've known you forever, like we were destined to be together." I saw him clench his jaw. "I mean. . ."

"I agree." I whispered and then let out a heavy sigh. I need to tell him, he needs to know what I am. "When you wrote that report about my tribe, did you research any legends?"

"Of course," he replied quickly, sounding surprised. "Why?"

"Do you remember the story of Taha Aki?" I asked softly, not wanting to continue. What if he ran away? What if he was terrified of me? I was, anyways, a freak.

"Yeah, that's the one where he turns into a wolf right?"

I flinched at the word wolf. "Yeah."

There was a long pause as I wondered if I should go on. He spoke up first, "Is there a reason you brought that up?"

I took a deep breath. "Well yeah. In the story, it says that the "wolf gene" I guess you could say is passed down from father to son. Whenever there is danger, the young men of our tribe supposedly turn into wolves like Taha Aki did." I looked up at his eyes that were focused so intently on me. "It's true."

"What?" His eyebrows arched in confusion.

"All of it's true." I took another deep breath. "Kaase. . . I'm a werewolf."

Ok a note about Kaase's nationality. If you were wondering, yes I'm Dutch. Kaase is the name that my cousins are going to give their firstborn but they're spelling it Case. It means Charles I think. You'll learn about Dutch culture as the story progresses and any Dutch spoken in this story is through a translator website, I sadly don't speak Dutch (long story). Hope you enjoyed it!