This is what I've been missing. Him. The jackass who stormed into my house. I couldn't help but feel something for him, though. I let my composure break for half a second and damn it, I think Collin noticed. He must've, considering his eyes widened, looking back and forth between me and this…man? Boy? He had to be at least 19, if not older. But there was something about him…a child wanting to escape from this man's body. But he couldn't. He was being held back by himself.

Well, I'll just have to change that.

Whoa, whoa. Since when did I start caring about people I didn't know? I swallowed, not wanting the man to leave but I don't think we could fit someone of his size in this little house.

"Are you going to stay and stare at me or leave already?" I snapped.

"I-uh…"

"C'mon, man. Let's get you to Sam." Collin half-waved goodbye, closing the door quietly behind them.

Ummmmmm…what the hell was that?

Paul POV

When Collin pulled me away from her, I wanted to kill him again. I needed to see her again…my imprint. The one I've been waiting for my entire life. Who I was meant to spend the rest of my life with. We phased quickly, knowing Sam would be very interested in this.

Paul, what are you doing back? Your shift ended…oh. Sam saw everything that had just went down back at the little cottage.

Way to screw it up from the beginning, Paulie boy. She'll hate you forever now. Damn Jared. When I started to advance toward him, fully prepared to rip out his hamstrings, he immediately backed off. I'm just kidding, man. Congrats.

Sam was distressed at the news of my imprinting, although he still congratulated me. How can this happen so often? Imprinting is supposed to be rare. That's six people now. Me, Jared, Jacob, Quil, Seth, Brady, and now you…what the hell is happening in this town?

I barked out a laugh. Well, considering they have a small mutated wolf problem, this is probably normal…

Everyone turned to stare at me, their thoughts silent. I never joked around, always the pissed off pessimist. I guess finding her had made me a more optimistic person. And I don't even know her name…

Lucette Cerise. Collin provided. Her family owns that cottage. They used to stay at it for a few weeks every winter, but they stopped coming three years ago. They live in Paris. As in, France. Her parents sent her to live here with a housekeeper until she is 18 and decides whether or not she wants to stay here or go back to France. She said that she missed coming here, because it always felt like she was actually home. Ha. And she's only 14, so have fun with that one.

Fuck. That meant she was going to be a freshman, and I was a junior. But I was already 17, turning 18 next summer. Enough of an age difference to make it seem like all I wanted was sex. Which I wouldn't mind someday…right now I just wanted to run back to the house and sweep her up into my arms. Kiss her, love her, have her moaning my name…

Dude. Will you shut it? I've known her since I was like, four. I don't really want to think about her that way. She's more of a sister to me than anything else. Anyways, your shift ended over half an hour ago, as you kindly reminded me before.

Oh. Right.

I phased back, already running toward her house before I had my pants completely on. When I got there, all the lights were out. It was only 9:30! I stayed for a few minutes, just listening to her heartbeat, when it increased suddenly. The window slid open silently, and out came the love of my life dressed like…a ninja. A very sexy ninja, though.

Black tight pants, black leather boots, and a black jacket. All skintight, and madly sexy. I wanted to run over and hold her, never having to let go. I was so caught up in my…fantasies, that I barely noticed when she started to come my way. I slipped behind a tree, silent and stealthy.

She passed by almost soundlessly, never suspecting anyone's presence. Once she got deeper into the forest she took off sprinting. How the hell did she know where she was going? It was the blackest night I'd ever seen in my life.

I followed her for a while until she took an abrupt stop in a small clearing. It was beautiful, with a small shallow pond and a bench underneath a weeping willow. We'd gone through here a few times on routine patrols, though we never knew whose it was.

At that moment, the moon decided to shine through the dark clouds, lighting up our surroundings. When she turned and sat on the bench, the moon lit up her beautiful face. And then I noticed tears start to gently glide down from her eyes.

Those eyes. So capturing, so enthralling. I'd never seen anything as stunning in my life. They would look unnatural on anyone else, but on her, on Lucette, they looked like violets blooming in her eyes.

Just when I decided this was a little stalker-ish and was going to leave, she abruptly stood.

"What the hell do you want with me?"