CW: This chapter contains very brief mentions of assault that may be uncomfortable for some readers. Nothing graphic, pinky promise!
So far, the only thing easy about having an imprint was confusion and the possibility of sudden death. Seth copped a seat on a broad rock, preparing himself for whatever doom of the day Annalise was about to unleash.
She sat next to him, fitting perfectly into his side.
Okay, so conflict wasn't the only easy thing about this.
Seth's mind flickered back to just minutes ago, her body against his, her hands on his chest, the slight part of her lips as the silence lapsed between them.
Annalise's fingers slipped through his own.
"I was born and raised just outside of this little town, Polkville, in Mississippi. I was 19, on winter break from school when I first shapeshifted," she started, "I don't even remember what set me off. I just remember feelin' sick, like my whole body was on fire."
Seth gave her hand a small squeeze. The change wasn't easy on him at first either. He was burning up and every annoyance seemed to send him into a fit of rage. By chance, Leah had phased just a few weeks before and convinced Sam to relax his gag order. Without his sister, he might have gone insane. As it was, Leah had helped him discover the best thing that had happened to him.
"My parents were so afraid. It's not like here, where you have a reason for being, something tied to your heritage," she sighed, "I mean, there are rumors but I don't know if knowing them would've mattered. Their daughter nearly killed them in a fit of rage and my brother...Caleb got caught in the crossfire. As soon as I saw the blood, I bailed. I couldn't handle what I'd done...I didn't even stick around to see if he was still alive. I was stuck as a goddamned coyote. I just—"
Annalise kicked at a loose rock, sending it skidding across the shore and crashing into the waves.
"Damian found me starving, near-death and half-feral by some creek. Maybe I should've been more suspicious but he was the first shapeshifter I'd ever seen. He was strong, fast, and most importantly, he understood what we were. And then we found others, and he brought us north to Coquitlam where he'd created a sanctuary for our kind."
Seth wondered what life might have been like if he'd been the first to change instead of Leah. If he had to shoulder the burden of their father's death the way she had. Or, worse, if no one else on the reservation had changed.
For all the drama and tension, Seth owed Sam in a way. Jacob, too.
"Why Canada?" he asked when she stopped.
Her eyes darkened. "Damian didn't start out violent, you know. He was kind, caring, and helped talk me down enough to shift back to my human form. Then, I found out he was wanted for murder in a few states a year later. By that time, I was too deep in. Even if it had started as a lie, I had Zel and Yara, a family that understood. I belonged somewhere that didn't hold my mistakes against me. "
Murder? "But you said you were 19. How could a kid have that much blood on his hands?"
"Damian wasn't a kid, Seth. He was nearly 40 when he found me. Of course, you couldn't tell by lookin' at him and the man's got so many aliases, it's hard to keep up. Like a lot of us, he's from Mississippi too. Our guess is that he goes back every few years, searching for more like us. Zel says his first kill was his father. Apparently, the man used to beat the shit out of him and his older brothers until one day, Damian came down with a fever. His father thought it was a trick to avoid work and got him somethin' fierce. To hear Zel tell it, Damian snapped and shifted, just like that, a powder keg of hurt and rage that finally went off like it did for a lot of the people in my pack. Difference is, Damian didn't stop with his dad. He just...kept going. Wasn't a person left alive in his human family."
Annalise shook her head as her voice caught, shaking some phantom memory off. She was quiet for a long moment, watching birds dip down to fetch their aquatic prey.
"I don't understand," Seth admitted after a long moment. "How did you end up with a guy like that? What happened with your brother was an accident. This guy sounds…"
She wrinkled her nose, letting out a dark chuckle. "Vile? Bloodthirsty?" She nodded in agreement. "Damian was—is—the alpha and, unlike Embry, he doesn't give a damn about free will. Like many of us, he prefers his animal form. Not everyone buys into his shapeshifter supremacy schtick but we had nowhere else to go. Thing is, when Damian wants something, he takes it. Doesn't matter what or who; you don't question it and you damn sure don't try and run."
Seth recoiled, recalling the violent memories he'd seen two days ago inside her mind. "Annie, please tell me he didn't—"
"—He did. I wasn't the first but you better believe I did everything I could to be the last before I left. The day you ran into me," Annalise smiled sadly, turning on the rock to face him. "I was gathering aconite. Zel taught me to brew a tea that was supposed to kill him. It was just taking longer than anticipated."
"Is that why you were so scared?"
She stiffened. "I wasn't...Yes. I'm not the first to try it, and it wasn't the first time either, But Damian typically keeps a mate until he's taken everything he can from them. Honestly, I was more afraid for you. Had they seen you, you'd be dead. You may be bigger, stronger, and more powerful than he is, but he's ruthless and you were outnumbered."
Seth's stomach churned. She'd once said that her pack hadn't been happy that she'd imprinted on a wolf. He'd asked enough questions today, but a sick part of him wanted to know: had they hurt her because of him? He had more than enough reason to track the bastard down. If he dared to hear the answer, Seth wasn't sure there'd be anything strong enough to hold him back.
She laughed suddenly, the sound harsh as it echoed around them. She slid off the rock, landing in a crouch below him. "Want to know what's kind of funny?" she asked, moving with a speed that belied her human appearance, a speed that reduced her to little more than a blur. "Despite everything, people always underestimate the females," she whispered, her lips at his neck, her chest pressed against his back. "But he won't do it again."
Annalise placed a deliberate kiss at his neck before continuing her predatory dance. The Annalise before him felt different, every bit the predator caged inside.
"Annie, there are too many people," he warned, eyeing the crowd near the water. Though out of earshot for a human, their eyes would be perfectly fine.
She was standing in front him now, her head thrown back as she laughed even harder. "Oh, sweetness," she cooed, stepping between his legs. "These humans don't see what's right in front of them."
Annalise took his face in her hands, her eyes on his lips again as she gazed down at him. Her thumb trailed along his lower lip. Her expression softened. "Do you?" she asked, the edge gone from her voice as she leaned down to press her lips against his.
Do you? Seth inhaled the sweetness of her, luring her tight against his body.
She smiled down at him, "Been wanting to do that all day, you know."
"You should do it again," he answered without thought, his hands travelling across her back.
She laughed before kissing him again, smiling against his lips as his hands slipped lower, shy as they cupped her. "Careful," she whispered, "Unless you're prepared to get that truck of yours a little dirty."
He exhaled sharply. "You are dangerous," he answered as he stood.
He'd never been overly salacious but the way she looked at him, desire making her scent intoxicating, was beyond anything he'd felt before—and this, he realized, had zero to do with the imprint.
Where the imprint made him want to ensure her safety, the electric current surging through his body was all her. Her touch. Her voice. Her taste.
Annalise grinned, biting her lip as she caught sight of the slight bulge of his joggers. He shifted under her sultry gaze.
"Food. We should go get food," he said out loud, struggling to focus.
The look she fixed on him did little to help his resolve. That look said she had something better than food for him to taste and, god, did he want to. Seth covered her eyes with his hand, his voice husky as he spoke. "If you keep looking at me like that, we won't make it home."
"Mm, promise?" she breathed, her hands dancing across his torso, slipping beneath his shirt. She laughed at his quiet, quick inhale, the frantic thrum of his heartbeat. "I can't get a read on you, Clearwater. Sometimes you're so reserved and serious, sometimes you're like a kid, and sometimes…"
Her breath hitched as her fingertips trailed along the planes of his body, her touch sending shivers down his spine. He wanted to lean down, taste those full lips again.
"You're the same," he answered, trading her eyes for the smoothness of her cheek. "One minute you're ready to fight and the next...I'm starting to get there's this side of you—"
"That finds you irresistible?" she half-joked.
He laughed. "No," he answered, smoothing her brow. "Vulnerable, despite..."
Seth cut himself off before we went too far. This was usually the part where she shut him down.
Annalise's expression shifted, her hands abandoning their curious travel. She stepped out of his reach and made her way across the rocks. "Let's find some grub," she called over her shoulder. "I'm starving."
The small blue house came into view just as the sun dipped beneath the treetops. Seth cut the engine and ran around to open Annalise's door. She gave him a small smile as she slid to the ground.
"Thanks, hon."
Seth nodded, his eyes and ears trained on the forest around them. He'd known someone was trailing them as soon as they got in the car. In the confines of the truck though, it had been hard to pinpoint. Now, between the storm rolling back in and the heavy aroma of damp earth, all he could gather was that it was a wolf. He inhaled...If he didn't know any better...
Annalise caught his expression before turning to the trees, throwing her arms out wide. "You can come out now," she called, her head thrown back as she yelled. "I didn't eat your precious Sethikins."
He laughed, "Come on. Whoever it is will come in if they want. They know I keep a couple changes of clothes under the carport. Maybe they'll stop being creepy."
"Bet it's Quil," she said, following him through the front door. "He seems to hate me even more than Embry."
Seth shook his head at her almost-pout. To his knowledge, no one hated Annalise. Did they trust her? Hell no, but time would change that and Leah's support—however fickle—had at least helped Embry let Annalise into the pack. That had to speak for something.
As far as Quil...It wasn't just her he'd been avoiding. His friend had been spending more time at the Uley cottage, trying to wrangle a moody teenager who was set on being in the thick of wolf-business to her detriment.
"He'll come around. Em will probably want you to start patrolling with us soon so that will help." Seth dropped his keys on the hook and turned his attention back to her. "Have you thought about my proposition?"
"You're sweet to want to shield me, hon," she said. "But I know they won't trust me unless I show that I'm worth that trust. I will follow Embry's orders, same as the rest of you."
"What about your memories?"
Annalise sighed. "What do you do when they overhear something you don't want them to?"
Cuss. Go full-sarcasm. Groan at the injustice of it all. Seth wrinkled his nose. "We technically have this rule: pretend you didn't hear anything unless they bring it up. You can imagine how useless the rule is though."
"Well, then, that's what I'll do too." she said, hugging him around the middle. She gave him a toothy grin. "You mind if I grab one of your shirts?"
He rolled his eyes. "No...Though I don't think it would stop you if I did."
She laughed. "True. But let's stop pretending you don't love your scent on me." She leaned in, her nose skimming his neck as she inhaled. "So that everyone knows."
His face flushed. He hadn't thought much about the reasoning, but the sight of her dancing around the house in his clothes, his cologne on her skin…
"Sweetness, we may be half human but there's an instinct in us both." Annalise leaned back to deliver a quick kiss before heading for the hallway.
He watched her walk away, an easy smile dancing on his lips at the extra little swing she added to her walk. Once she'd found a shirt to her liking, she danced over to the bathroom and disappeared, but not before giving him a quick wink.
He didn't know if that was an invitation or not but he was definitely interested in finding out. But first…
Seth headed from the front door, throwing it open just as heavy feet hit the slap porch. He took a few steps back, shocked.
It had been awhile and the towering, russet-skinned man in front of him was packing more muscle than he remembered, but the face was hard to forget.
Jacob Black ducked his head as he passed through the doorway. "What's up, kid?" he said quietly, flicking a leaf from his shaggy black hair to the ground. "Long time no see."
A/N: I hope everyone had a great holiday! Shoutout to AuroraNova46 for showing the story some love. If y'all like what you see, don't forget to favorite or review :) See ya next week! Oh! All mentions of real cities are used fictitiously by the way!
