Chapter 3; Sand:Part one;

The sun was her enemy lately. Every time she witnessed it, her mind would cease to operate and her main focus would be him. It had only been two days since her fight with Brady. He didn't come around or call anymore and Allie switched patrols with her so they wouldn't have to run together. Brady had cut himself entirely from her life, just as she'd told him to, but that didn't fill the gaping hole in her heart. She mostly ignored it and distracted herself with meaningless tasks but, the sun always changed her mind. There was something about the bright rays and warmth it brought her that made her think of Brady. Maybe it was because he was her sun but she wouldn't think of him, not anymore.

Anna blinked away the sharp sunlight that broke through the thin sliver in the drapes. She scowled darkly and wrenched herself up to cross the room and pull them together again. It was no use trying to get back to bed now so, she stumbled down the stairs and into the kitchen. There was no one there but, that didn't surprise her. Allie and Seth had probably left early this morning to run patrols and hadn't returned. She shook off the dull ache in her chest and set about making breakfast.

"Anna!" Lisa called from the front door.

"Kitchen," Anna hollered in response as she opened the refrigerator.

"Hey Hun," Lisa smiled at her as she entered.

"Hey," Anna smiled slightly at her.

"So how've you been?" Lisa asked her taking a seat on a high stool.

"Fine," Anna shrugged and Lisa quirked her eyebrow disbelievingly.

"Allie hates me, Derek won't leave me alone, Seth is threatening to maim Brady for making me cry and to top it off, I'm having withdrawals," Anna rambled irately.

"From the beginning," Lisa told her as she helped herself to half of Anna's sandwich.

"When I came home crying Seth told me that he was going to murder Brady for making me cry. It's been a twenty four hour job keeping them apart. Then Allie went to talk with Brady, which she won't tell me what happened. Now she barely looks at me. Derek has become a nuisance. He wants to talk all the time," Anna spouted angrily and then paused.

"And to top it off," She said softly, "I miss him more than I thought I could ever."

"I knew you would," Lisa smiled, "Honey you have to try talking to him again."

"No, I can't do that," Anna shook her head.

"Why not?"

"I'm breaking the imprint."


Brady sat on their cliff staring dully at the blackening sea before him. The last few days had felt like the most unbearable in a thousand lifetimes. Saying he missed Anna was an understatement. He didn't just miss her, he was dying without her. He had thought of a million scenarios in which Anna would be wrapped tightly in his arms where she belonged. If only he hadn't lost his temper and if only Allie would let him speak to her. The alpha had given him strict orders not to be in Anna's line of sight let alone speak to her until she made the first move. Had it been his decisions he would be pleading with Anna. It was like having cancer and seeing the cure just feet from you but, you just couldn't reach it. It was an unimaginable torture.

It was torture seeing his mistakes laid out before him. Kissing stupid Angie, leaving Anna with pretty boy Derek. He should have known that Anna was feeling strangely. Why didn't he know that? Now that he had time to fully analyze that night he understood that Anna had been avoiding him. Why hadn't he seen that? Understood it?

He supposed that Anna was probably snuggled close to Derek's chest now. Probably watching a movie with his friends and laughing at his jokes. The thought alone made a growl rip through his chest and his body to tremor slightly. He took a few deep calming breaths. It was his wolf side that had driven his Anna from him. He had been too short tempered and that had scared her, made her leave. He supposed that he should be happy that Anna was with Derek. He was a smart choice for her. But he was hers. He was her servant. If she asked him to hurl himself from the Empire State Building, he wouldn't hesitate but, instead ask her what date and time.

Each day Allie assured him that Anna was perfectly fine but, Brady wanted to see for himself. He wanted to be by her side day and night and most of the time he was. He was careful to stay out of Anna's line of vision as Allie had instructed but, each time she slept, he crept close as possible and knew that she didn't sleep soundly. Could she miss him? Her big cuddly bear?

Brady smiled at the nickname. Anna had started calling him that the day they had met.

It was getting late but, neither of them cared. Brady was excited and nervous to have an imprint but, Anna was terrified. She had wanted to imprint earlier but, she didn't know it would feel like this. She was confused, less than a few hours old and already 'promised' to a wolf she didn't know and bound to a pack of people she didn't know. They shuffled awkwardly in human form, neither speaking. Brady gazed at her in open wonder. She was beautiful, with her smooth skin and shoulder length raven hair. Her eyes were an astounding brown, neither too light or too dark. The perfect shade of golden brown.

"I-I didn't mean to upset you earlier," Brady apologized looking at the ground.

"It w-wasn't your fault," Anna returned in the same quiet manner.

An awkward silence followed and they lapsed back into their unsure concern. Finally Brady made another move. He silently sat down on the grass and laid back to look up at the sky from beneath the tiny clearing. The tall trees provided a small opening from which they could see the stars begin to emerge against the darkening sky.

"What are you doing?" Anna asked taking a small step forward.

"The sun is setting," Brady explained and shifted making himself more comfortable, "The stars will start shining any minute now. Do you want to watch?"

"I-I don't know," Anna stammered taking two steps back, "I'm not sure if that's a good idea."

"Just watching the stars," Brady promised looking her boldly in the eye, "Nothing else. I promise."

Anna looked unsure for a minute but, then slowly lowered herself to lay beside Brady in the soft grass. They both looked up at the sky and waited in silence for the last light from the sky to leave. This time the silence wasn't awkward, it was peaceful and accepting. After a while they noticed the first star peek out and shine at them.

"That's Polaris," Brady pointed, "The north star. It can only be seen from the northern hemisphere."

"And it can help a person find their latitude," Anna smiled at him and he returned it delightedly.

"That's Sirius," Brady said.

"The dog star," Anna laughed, "How fitting."

That night they had picked out numerous stars and spewed facts to each other. They laughed at the dog star and mulled over sadder stories. They must have been their for hours telling tales of woe and wonder. Eventually, after it seemed they had talked of every wonder in the sky, Anna started to doze.

"And the seven sisters," She yawned.

"You're asleep," Brady chuckled at her.

"Am not!"

"Really? Because we were last talking about supernovas," He laughed.

"Jerk," Anna smiled and snuggled closer to his side.

He couldn't bring himself to argue with her when holding her made him so ecstatic. He pulled her closer and smiled into her hair.

"You're so soft," Anna said snuggling her head close.

"You calling me fat?" He joked.

"More like a cuddly bear."

"Or dog," He snorted.

He reveled in the memory, for a moment forgetting his current predicament and relishing in the warmth that it brought him. It filled his heart until reality set in again and his heart crashed. Anna would probably never call him that again. She would probably still call him a dog but, not in the usual light and teasing tone they used. She was probably contemplating ways to break the imprint right now.


Days later Anna awoke early. She showered and dressed in her favorite bikini and- well that's not really true. Her favorite bikini was a dark purple that always made Brady look twice. She had chosen her second favorite, a pale blue and silky cover-up. Today Anna had a 'date'. She was meeting Lisa, Collin, Kevin, Ryan and Derek at the beach. In an effort to forget Brady she had reached out to Derek after his fifteenth call. They agreed to hang out today and see if things went any farther.

When she entered the kitchen she was greeted by a surprised Allie and Seth. They were sitting at the table having coffee and looked shocked when Anna walked through the door showered and dressed with her beach bag tucked under one arm.

"Where are you going?" Seth asked.

"Meeting the guys at the beach," Anna responded with a shrug.

"Brady too?" Allie asked hopefully.

"Uh, no, just Derek and the rest of the pack," Anna said awkwardly.

"Oh," Allie said disappointedly and visibly shrinking back.

Anna shrugged awkwardly and made her way across the kitchen. She made for the door knob when Seth's voice stopped her.

"Anna can I talk to you?"

"Sure," She said and they walked out to the back yard together.

They paused a few yards from the house and Seth sighed irately. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration and began to speak in a flustered manner.

"Annie, we've been very patient with you, but this has gone on too long," He told her.

"What has?"

"You can't string this guy along. You've got to make a decision. It's him or Brady," Seth said strongly.

"I have decided," Anna told him seriously.

"Really?" Seth said happily, "So you're going to get back together with Brady?"

"No, I've chosen Derek," Anna muttered.

"Derek? You chose that idiot over true love? Annie you've made some decisions in the past but this is so much worse!" Seth exclaimed in disbelief.

"You said you would support me!" Anna cried shocked.

"We do! It's just that we're not sure if this is really what you want or if you're just being stubborn."

Anna looked as if he had slapped her. It would have been less painful if he had. They thought that she was just being childish about her life. Seth and Allie didn't think that she was mature. They wanted to push her into Brady's arms. Well, that definitely wasn't going to happen today. Felling positive that this conversation was going nowhere fast, she regained her composure.

"I have to go meet the pack," She said attempting to mask her hurt with a haughty facade.

"Have fun," Seth grumbled and let her walk away.

On the beach, the sun was shining and laughter from the light hearted people around filled her ears. As she walked through the crowd of La Push residents and Forks visitors happily enjoying the summer, she felt even worse. All the time that she walked she could feel a distinct pair of eyes on her back from the direction of the house. She wondered whether those were Seth's or Brady's eyes.

Her friends were already crowded into a small spot on the beach. Lisa and Kevin sat talking on a few beach towels while, Ryan, Brady, and Collin were beginning to shape a massive sandcastle. She grinned at them and waved hello. Lisa patted the space next to her and Anna laid out her towel beside her. Kevin left them to talk and went to craft the moat for the castle.

"How've you been?" Lisa asked watching Anna carefully.

"I was pretty good until Seth talked to me this morning," Anna snorted.

"What about?" Lisa asked curiously.

"He thinks that I'm making the wrong decision about Brady. He thinks that I should just give in and forget about Derek."

"Ouch. What'd Allie say?"

'Nothing. She still hates me."

"I seriously doubt she hates you," Lisa rolled her eyes, "She's probably just worried about Brady."

"Yeah, right," Anna said sarcastically.

"He's dying if you were wondering," Lisa continued in an accusing tone.

"I wasn't," Anna looked at her sharply.

"Well, if you were, you might want to know that he hasn't phased down in about thirty two hours," Lisa went on casually.

"Not my problem," Anna steeled herself.

"Collin says that all he thinks about is ways to apologize to you for going off that one time," Lisa ignored her.

"It wouldn't matter if he did," Anna said calmly.

"Yeah, he's been trying to find ways to apologize to you for something he can't control. It's almost like the sun trying to apologize for giving someone melanoma," Lisa sighed sadly.

"Maybe the sun should find a new solar system," Anna rebutted.

"Then it wouldn't be the solar system, now would it?"

That shut Anna up. She was right of course. It wasn't Brady's fault, not much at least. The truth was Anna had already forgiven him but, now she was having trouble forgiving herself. That didn't mean she wanted a relationship with him, just that he was forgiven.

Lisa sat poised on her towel with a smirk on her face. It was rare that she ever won an argument with anyone especially Anna. She got up and left Anna purposefully to help the boys with the castle. As she molded the draw bridge she focused on Anna's face. Her mouth was set into a thin line and her eyebrows were bunched together. Anna was concentrating strongly on something that Lisa assumed was about Brady. A thin smirk of satisfaction painted itself on her face. Collin nudged her side lightly and nodded over to Anna with a questioning look. She smiled and winked at him, signaling that this feud would be over in no time.

"Anna!"

Lisa's head whipped around and the smirk faded faster than lightening. Down the beach, Derek had started a trail straight for Anna leaving another trail of salivating girls behind him. Knowing that he was enough to distract Anna from Brady for the moment, Lisa swore under her breath. Around her the pack exchanged concerned glances and hisses of disdain, as Anna stood up and greeted Derek with a hug and bright smile. A smile that could have deceived anyone into believing that she didn't even know who Brady was. It definitely convinced Lisa and her pack mates well enough for them to openly gape at her.

"So, how's it going?" Derek nodded warmly to them.

"Great," Collin mumbled and there was even less response from the others.

"Fine, how're you?" Lisa smiled sweetly.

"Good, good," Derek smiled at her, "You guys building a castle?"

'Yeah, Usually we have teams to see who can build the better one," Kevin smiled.

"Lisa has Collin, I have Kevin and Anna usually has Brady," Ryan said pointedly.

"Well, this time it's a bit different then huh?" Derek grinned missing the hint but, Anna didn't. She shot icy cold daggers in Ryan's direction that sent a chill down his spine but, he glared right back.

"Yeah it sure is," Collin said sarcastically.


"Brady!" Allie called out to him.

He ignored her and remained perched on the cliff staring down at the beach where his friends were laughing with Derek and Anna was flirting. He managed to phase back about an hour ago but, he wanted to run again. He didn't want to see his Anna strutting around with another man but, his soul called out to her. He had to see her regardless if his human side wanted to or not.

"Kid you've got to go home at some point," Allie sighed laying a hand on his shoulder.

"She is my home," He whispered watching how Anna formed the first tower, the way they had always done.

"I understand but,-"

"You don't! I need her more than I even understood! Why doesn't she want me?"

"It's only been a week," Allie said squeezing his shoulder sympathetically.

"Six days, seventeen hours," He reported even though he hadn't seen a clock in almost as long.

"How did you know that?" Allie asked confused.

"Just do," He shrugged as if it were unimportant.

"You have to go home," Allie whispered, "I can only cover for you for so long. Please don't make me order you."

"I'll go when she gets home and you and Seth can watch her," He reasoned.

"You have to spend the night there," She warned him.

"Fine," He responded.

"All night," Allie said pointedly.

He paused, "Is that an order?"

"Does it have to be?"

"Yes."

"Then yes," Allie said sadly.

"Fine."

"This has gone too far," She shook her head, "I've got to talk with her."

"Don't force her into anything," Brady said sharply, "I'd rather an eternity of this solitude than have her unhappy."

"You're a really good guy," Allie whispered patting his shoulder tearfully.

"Not good enough," He shook his head, "Never good enough."

"Maybe too good," Allie withdrew and slipped off into the forest.


That night Anna drew the shades around her window and looked out at the stars. It was a perfect night, only a few clouds that would mean rain tomorrow but, that wasn't new for this town. She listened for the movements in the forest. Small chirpings, and a rustle of leaves. She pondered the stars and how those tiny sparkling balls of light would look if she were in New York or France or even Japan. Would they be the same or would they be different? A tiny movement caught her eye and her head whipped to the tree line to her right. Brady.

Her heart rate picked up and she gazed in the dark in open wonder. Was that him. Yes. She could tell. These days apart had done nothing. She missed him so much. It was like an addict coming back to her drug of choice, sweet bliss, and she couldn't even see him.

"Brady?" She whispered. Nothing.

"Brady?," She asked a bit louder.

It was a moment before she saw his shaggy wolf form. His hair was matted and his eyes bloodshot. She gasped and made her way out the window and landed gracefully on her feet. They slowly edged closer to each other at first but, she missed him too much. Anna rushed forward and hugged him tightly around his neck, closing her eyes and sobbing deeply into his matted fur.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," She repeated continuously, and stroking his fur.

Brady closed his eyes and let the tears slip silently as he let her weep into his neck. Holding tightly to him she was reluctant to let him phase back for fear that he would leave her. Why would he want a selfish bitch like her anyway? But he came back, face sunken and tired. Body, slumped with sadness that she caused. It was her fault.

"B-Brady?" Anna asked as if unsure.

"Annie," He whispered longingly holding out his arms for her.

She rushed for him, tears running down her face in deep tracks. A foot away, she couldn't see him any more. The figure changed to Derek's smiling face, but the smile was wrong. It was twisted and warped, disturbing her, leaving a cold chill in her very bones. She backed away as the forest fell away to black nothingness. Derek reached for her again, his fingers just brushing her skin. A searing pain pierced where their skin had made contact, making Anna scream in agony.

Bolting awake she screamed aloud, twisting open the hangings of her bed violently, leaving tears in the delicate fabric. She threw back her covers and tripped onto the hard ground. She scrambled to her feet and stared in open horror at the open window. The one she was sure she had closed before bed. From the window, cool night air slithered into her room leaving chills. She stumbled to the window cautiously peering out with wide eyes. There wasn't a single movement outside. The yard was perfectly clear and the even the forest was silent. Not even Brady. Biting her trembling lip, she pulled the window closed quietly and stepped back. She slid down the wall beneath it and curled herself tightly into a ball, rocking herself quietly until the tears stopped flowing.