Disclaimer: By now, you guys know what I do and do not own.
A/N: Now we switch over to Krista's POV for a little play-by-play. :D
Chapter 8 – Painted By Numbers (Krista's POV)
I had acted on instinct. The smell that sickened most vampires, except for me (of course I'd never been normal), had reached my nose. I'd also felt the presence of werewolves and reacted. My instincts were ruling my mind until I had begun to focus on my presences again. That's when I noticed. It was the Alaskan pack alright. Tough little Caroline, excitable Carl, awkward Blake...and the one I knew best. Joshua Tikaani Ferrel. What the hell had I gotten myself into?
I could tell Bella was smiling behind me. But I was far from smiling. Dammit! This is exactly what I'd been trying to avoid! I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I hurt Josh again. I could see it in his face right now, even though he was a wolf. He was doing exactly what I didn't want him to do. He was getting his hopes up. So now I put on a straight face and tried to close off my heart. It yearned to run to Josh or show some emotion, but alas I could not. I might get my hopes up too. "Joshua." I said, my voice monotone. The giant honey-chocolate wolf ran off into the trees then returned a few seconds later as a human with nothing but jeans on. My still heart ached at the sight of him. His messy raven black hair, his eyes that matched his wolf self's fur, and that gargantuan grin that he had always displayed. Or maybe used to display. Caroline had a light smile on her wolfy face while Carl and Blake looked utterly surprised. When I'd been human, Josh always wore this smile. But it seemed that, after my departure, he'd stopped showing it.
Josh came running up to me and his smile faltered as he examined me more closely. His nostrils flared subconsciously and I knew he was catching my scent. To werewolves, the scent of a vampire was so sickly sweet that it burned their noses while in human form. Sometimes it drove them to the point of pain when in their wolf forms. I carefully watched him and his reactions. I watched him as he noticed the purple discoloring beneath my eyes, the flat and hungry (more thirsty) black of my irises, the exact perfection of my every aspect, and the way I subtly sparkled in the light reflected from the snow and hail that continued to fall. Finally, his eyes met mine and he smiled at his full potential again. Maybe the power of imprinting was stronger than I thought.
As I wondered with my eyes downcast, Josh reached out and lightly brushed my dark red side bangs out of my eyes. My black irises jolted up to meet his honey-chocolate ones. Caroline and Bella must have pushed Carl and Blake inside because I now noticed all of their presences were further away. My multi-tasking, crystallized, predator's brain was racing through many thoughts which suddenly all ceased as Josh kissed my forehead. Vampires' brains are that of a predator. We can think of many things at once but we are also very easily distracted. At this slight contact, all my thoughts stopped but then went double time to flounder over the kiss. I looked into his eyes again and he sweetly smiled at me. "You do notice I'm a vampire and you're a werewolf right?" I asked. He chuckled lightly. "It doesn't make any difference to me. You have no idea how much I've missed you." Josh then pulled me into a hug. His skin was as hot as sticking my hand into an open fire would have been when I was human only I didn't feel any pain from the burning yet. I knew my skin must have been like dry ice to him because he had no reaction. Dry ice. It's so cold that you don't find it cold or warm. "I didn't expect imprinting to be this strong." I joked. He smiled then became rigid with tension as he asked, in a restrained voice, "Do where's this notorious vampire trying to kill Bella?"
I sighed, now I had to explain.
Musical Influence: Painted By Numbers by The Sounds