#sethxreader

 You pull down the hem of your skirt, straightening out the wrinkles around your thighs. Such a long meeting and not once did your boyfriend even glance at you. As the manager of this branch he was in charge of leading the meeting, but he didn’t even give you specific directions for the event.  You frown and play with the button on your collar nervously, wondering if he is angry with you for something. “Sure, just lump me in with all of the temps.” you grumble to yourself, annoyed that he gave instructions to all of the long-term employees but didn’t name you for anything note-worthy.  “What am I, chopped meat?” You sigh and notice a woman giving you the stink-eye from a few seats down. You bite your lip and grab your coffee to escape the room.

 The air stings your eyes and you rush to the bathroom before anyone catches your embarrassing breakdown. As you hurry down the hall you hear a clatter from a room just up ahead.  It catches you by surprise, making you peek through the door and look around the stacked boxes and bare tables. Is there a cat or something in here? you wonder and see something shine against the wall.  You jump and startle yourself, but it was only your reflection in the mirror. You calm down for a moment, but then a dark figure emerges from behind a line of boxes and before you can scream you flash out of there and run into the bathroom.  You don’t even realize if you were scared of the towering shadow or just crying in front of strangers, but you decide to ignore the question by splashing your face with cold water.  A trickle streams down the side of your neck and leaves an unpleasant wet mark on your blouse. You shake your hands in front of yourself, trying to remain calm.  You close the lid of the toilet and sit down to give yourself a few minutes. Am I imagining things? you rehash the last few months, cycling through memories of romantic gestures and not-so-romantic ones. That’s just the way he is, right? He’s always been focused on business and building his future. You nod to yourself, agreeably, but then you stop when you feel a pressure behind your eyes again. Right. His future. You try to think of a time he’d ever made plans farther than two weeks out that included you.

 Just then the door knob rattled and you hopped off the seat with a start, “Just a minute!” you shout to the other side and flush the toilet to conclude your wallowing session.

 Seth stares at his sister with contemplation. He barely notices his head is slipping slowly off his hand, until he slides off and punches himself in the forehead.

 “Whatever it is, can you go talk about it before our next pack meeting? I don’t want your thoughts shouting at everyone when we’re trying to focus.” Leah says with disregard.  Seth squirms uncomfortably in his seat, unsure if he should bring the subject up with Leah. Watching her put dishes away with the grace of a wild boar he decides not only would it be insensitive, but she doesn’t have the bedside manner to make him feel better anyway.

 “I’m going to Jacob’s.” Seth jumps off the stool and doesn’t bother to grab his coat, even though the snow outside has been coming down regularly for the last two days.

 Leah doesn’t bother responding, but waves her hand lazily over her shoulder as Seth pats her back and walks out.

 Steam evaporates off Seth’s skin as snowflakes touch him, temporarily cooling his body. He wasn’t sure if he actually wanted to talk to Jacob or Sam about this, since Sam might be able to give him more guidance.  He looks back at the small house, unsure if Leah will be mad that he chose to talk to the man that broke her heart over his own sister.

 “It’s nothing personal, Leah.” he whispers as the faint glow disappears from his view.

 A short while later he walks through a frail screen door, shaking water off his body, “Hey Emily,” Seth says as a woman with a warm smile looks up at him from a weaving loom.  “Sam is just getting out of the shower.” Emily automatically responds as she weaves a shuttle through the weft threads.  “Can’t I come to visit with you?” Seth throws his hands to his chest in mock heartbreak and falls on his knees a few feet away from Emily.  “You’re sweet.” Emily smiles and shakes her head with an internal giggle, just as Sam appears through the doorway.

 “Seth. What’s going on?” Sam puts his hands on his hips, eyeing Seth and Emily without humor.

 Seth stands up respectfully and looks at Sam with pain in his eyes, “Could I talk to you...privately?”

 Sam quickly glances at Emily before nodding back at Seth, “Come with me.” he says and stretches his arms overhead as he walks through a back door.

 “Go on, what’s on your mind.” Sam motions for Seth to take a seat on a log standing upright.

 Sam yawns as he watches Seth kick the snow off the log with his foot. Seth takes a seat, leans his elbows down to his knees and rests his head atop his fists.  “I imprinted on someone today.” Seth says, after Sam sits across from him,  awaiting Seth’s confession.  “Seth!” Sam says heartily, reaching over to pat his large palm on Seth’s shoulder, “That’s fantastic!” he smiles broadly, like a proud father.  Seth looks to the ground in disappointment and Sam furrows his brow in confusion, “Well, who is it?” he asks excitedly.

“I don’t know.” Seth says in grief.

 “You...don’t know?” Sam shakes his head controversially, “You have to know. That’s not possible.” Sam says, well aware that in order to imprint you must see a person face to face.

 “I um..” Seth starts, scratching the back of his neck where a leaf fell and tickled him, “You know how I took a job off the reservation so that I can buy resources to build a house?”  Sam nods his head, well aware of the difficulties of sharing a home with Leah Clearwater. Especially in the recent years, he thinks to himself with a tinge of guilt.  “I was working when I saw her reflection in a mirror. When I turned around I felt everything stop. She looked at me and my body ached for her to come closer. Everything turned black around me and I could only hear the sound of her breathing.” Seth placed his face in his hands, recounting it as though it were a tragedy.  “It certainly sounds like you’ve imprinted. So what is the problem?” Sam asks uncertainly, questioning Seth’s depressing demeanor.

 “She ran away.” Seth whimpered into his hands.

 “She was so fast. I tried to come after her, but by the time I reached the hall she was gone.” Seth felt the burning pain on his skin from her absence.

 Sam’s face dropped, feeling a shade of understanding for Seth’s poor situation. Seth continued on in despair, “I don’t know her name, I couldn’t tell her what she means to me, I don’t know where to find her...”  “She probably works there.” Sam reminds him, making Seth feel like an idiot. He was shocked that he hadn’t realized it earlier- of course she worked there, of course he could find her again!  “Your mind is clouded. Don’t bring yourself down.” Sam reassures, perfectly coming to the conclusion that Seth hadn’t thought of it before because he was in so much pain from feeling her loss.

 “You said...” Seth’s joy fades away as his muscles pulse once again with a stabbing ache, “When you were with Leah, and you imprinted on Emily...”

 “That every step away from her made my body sore with misery.” Sam took a deep breath, feeling a very light discomfort being outside of the house while Emily sat across the walls.

 “How do I ...what do I do?” Seth begs of Sam’s experience, hoping for a fleck of inspirational answers.

 “Until you find her? Learn to breath through the pain. That strain on your body won’t go away, even after you have her by your side. If we go on a pack hunt you will still feel the pull to her -they become the only sense of pleasure in life you will feel. You will feel a draw to the pack, but it is only a sense of duty, not joy.” Sam reflects.

 “Live with this?” Seth whispers to himself desperately, only able to compare the feeling to a vampire attack he once felt.

 “It will ease when she accepts you as her mate.” Sam encourages, but to Seth each hour until he can come back to find her will feel like a laceration. Each minute he will feel the absence of breath in his chest.

 You decide that if you aren’t important enough to have a designated task, you will designate one for yourself. You doodle a design of Christmas decorations into your notepad and walk around the building, jotting down notable spots to place lights and miniature trees.

 A group of employees shimmy through the double doors at the front of the building. You spot your boyfriend at the tail end of the group and speed to catch up to him, “Hey honey!”

 As everyone hustles outside you make your way to his side and tug on his sleeve, making him turn his head in your direction, “Oh, hello darling.” He says casually and steps to the side of the doors, “That was you? Please don’t shout at me like that here, Y/N, it’s very unprofessional.”  He slides his hands along the outside of your arms and you look down to hide the little flush of pink to your face, “Oh, right. Big boss man, huh?” You tease and he reaches for your hands.  “Hopefully one day.” He cajoles and gives you a tender squeeze in your palms, “Is there something that you needed?” He asks as he drops your hands to wave at a passing executive.  “I-well no actually.” You give a half smile, trying to come up with something to talk to him about so that you can keep his attention a few minutes longer.

 “Alright, well we’ve got a group lunch,” He starts to walk through the doors and with a sudden question you follow him outside into the windy snow.

 “When are we going to have dinner? You never rescheduled, and I’ve been saving my new dress to show off for you!” You winked and shivered as a snowflake touched your forehead.  “Oh, yes,” He looks up at the sky, squinting into the haze and thinking of something deeply, “I suppose tonight will do, since you’re starting classes again soon?” He closes his eyes for a moment, “I feel like I am forgetting something-”  You cover your arms defensively and feel goosebumps prickle over your skin, “Well actually,” you start but someone passing by remarks, “Come on, the reservation is already pushed back an hour.”

 “Yes, yes, post-haste,” He swivels his head and turns back to you with a warm smile, “Look at you darling, you are freezing. Go back inside, I will call you later.” he tightens up on his coat as he eyes your sweater dress with rolled up sleeves and no outerwear. You hadn’t planned on going outside after all.  You stand in front of him with concern written on your face but he doesn’t notice because he is looking over your shoulder, “Could you please get her inside?” he motions above you and then leans down to give you the briefest peck on the forehead, “Don’t catch a cold.” he whispers as he turns away and walks off.

 Your body was shaking and you weren’t sure how to react, feeling a mixture of emotions from sweetness to angst. Something behind you makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck, more so with the cold prickling you all over.  A large jacket weighs heavy on your shoulders as you are enveloped in warmth. You are still as you watch your boyfriend’s back disappear down the street within a crowd.  A furnace is radiating behind you, making all of the snow melt away from your hair, but still you don’t move.

 “Are you in shock?” A voice says above you and you don’t answer right away, but as the flurries screen your boyfriend out of view you finally catch your breath, “No.”

 Arms wrap around you, feeling as though you are engulfed in flames. Either the frost was burning you, or someone with a high fever is hugging you from behind.  You look up and encounter a face, pressed into your hair, and suddenly you feel a sense of anger, “What are you doing?!” you ask without moving.

 “Let’s get you inside.” he says softly, and with what sounds like great care. In a daze, you allow him to guide your shoulders back toward the building and through the doors.  He takes you to an armchair and waits for you to sit down. Something makes you feel as though you should, so you lower yourself into the chair.

 “Who are you?” You ask, not recognizing his boyish face.

 “Seth Clearwater.” He says, and you remember something about a Native American reservation less than 40 minutes from here.

 “Are you from the..um..?” You pinch your forehead, trying to remember the name of the tribe.

 “Quileute tribe.” He smiles, “What gave it away?” He must be saying jokingly, between his darkened features, his high cheekbones, and his name.

 In place of a laugh you aren’t sure what to do so you say, “I’m Y/N.” His eyes widen as you say your name and he looks as though he is staring into a fire - bright, but unable to look away.  “What are you doing here?” You ask after a beat, fighting off an impending blush from his gaze.  “Working.” He smiles a childish smile full of kindness and innocence. But his smile isn’t the only childish look about him.  “Are you old enough to work here?” You ask skeptically and he lets out a deep laugh, one filled with recognition as though he is familiar with this line.  “I think we’re about the same age.” He says and you look him over with suspicion. Either he doesn’t know how old you are, or he has some very youthful genetics.  “I just have boyish good looks.” He winks and you can’t help but laugh as your face burns from finally warming up to the indoor heat.

 You notice something in his lap and hesitate for a moment, “Is that my notebook?” you ask, staring at the yellow lined pad.  “You left it here when you went outside, I thought you might forget it,” He says shyly, holding it tightly in one hand.  “Thanks,” You say hesitantly, thinking that what he says sounds normal, but the way he is acting feels more purposeful.  “Did you do these drawings?” He asks as he holds up the notepad against his chest, and you look at the scribbles with a flush of awkwardness.  “Doodles, more like it...” you say and reach one hand out to take the sketches away.  “Is this here? Are you decorating?” He asks excitedly, subtly moving the notepad away.  “Erm, I was just coming up with ideas. Christmas is kind of my thing, and everybody else here is a little bit busy with other event planning.” You draw a circle with your finger on your knee, distracting yourself from his dark brown eyes constantly searching your face.  “Could I help?” Seth asks, dark eyes filled with bright hope.

 You think about how useful it would be to have another set of hands, avoiding thoughts of your inexplicable allure to Seth.

 “S-sure.” you decide and in reaction he jumps up with a thrill, but before you can even giggle you realize how much he towers over you- boyish face or not,  “That height will come in handy,” You mouth under your breath, glad not to carry around a step ladder for the string lights.

***

 Heat sears your back in a pleasantly soft burn. You shift your body and feel your skin rub against a tender wall of warmth. It feels comfortable and you realize that your body is being perfectly cradled along all of it’s curves. When you lay there you feel peaceful, but with a slight movement you can tell that something is pressed up against your legs, curved around your rear, and nuzzled between your shoulder blades.

 Realization slowly dawns over you and your eyes snap open. Something is pressed all along your skin. You can feel it all over your naked skin! You cling to your chest protectively and lift your head, observing your surroundings.  Unfortunately, it is very dark and you cannot decipher very much other than faint stars glimmering through high clouds overhead. Stars and clouds that were unobstructed by a roof...Okay, so I’m outside. You conclude, feeling a knot in your stomach too tight to look over your shoulder and find what you already fear is behind you.  A gentle moan forces you to turn around, confirming your suspicions. There lay a perfectly stark naked Seth Clearwater. Your eyes roam over his torso before quickly snapping away from his hip bones.  Dammit, for a gangly guy who looks pretty underage when dressed...You realized that he sure did look very adult without any clothes on. Although his frame was slight, his muscles were quite abundant. Although they were on the leaner side, he definitely could lift a fully grown Fir tree like a teacup.  Oh fuck, what are you thinking about right now? You bring a hand to your face, shaking the thoughts out of your head. Get a hold of yourself.

 You try to figure out what got you here; to this place, with this person, without a stitch of clothing on your body. You look down at your chest and scream in horror as you realize your collarbones are brushed from shoulder to shoulder in warm blood.

 “Y/N!” Seth props up from his serene sleep and jumps to your side, “Shh, I’m here, you’re safe.” he coos.

 “What are you talking about?!” You shriek in astonishment, completely bewildered by the entire situation.

  Seth looks deeply into your eyes and his face wrinkles with concern. His arms twitch as though he is about to wrap his arms around you, but he is clearly restraining himself. You flinch nervously in the dragging moments of silence.

 “Y/N.” Seth says your name very carefully, “What do you remember?”

 You narrow your eyes at him and prepare yourself for what might be the worst, “About last night?”

 Seth takes a deep gulp and digs his fingernails into the tops of his thighs, “Okay,” he says and raises a questioning eyebrow, “What do you remember about last night?”

 You look out into the darkness, turning your face away from Seth, and think hard about last night. Nothing in particular comes to mind, good or bad, and you chew your lip uncomfortably.

 “Not much really...” you say in defeat, hoping that he didn’t slip something ungentlemanly in your drink. 

 Seth is silent as he observes your struggle to recall a single detail of the night or day.

 “Wait,” you huddle over yourself in total awareness of your nudity suddenly, “Why are we naked? Where are my clothes? Why are we outside?”

 Seth looks around for something to cover you with, but nothing surrounds you other than rocks, dirt, and snow. With your nose huddled into your thighs you are suddenly very aware that you are cold without Seth’s ridiculous body warmth to keep you toasted. Come to think of it, you notice from your precarious position that the circle around you is free of snow, while a light layer is blanketed all around.

 You shiver and tilt your head up ever so slightly to see if Seth has anything to say. It seems he is fighting an internal battle of his own, from the way he keeps opening and closing his mouth.

 “What ..do you ..remember from the last ..few days?” Seth asks very slowly and with great resistance from himself.

 You scan the ground as though it were a scrapbook of your brain and after shifting your eyes left and right you reconnect with Seth’s gaze, “We were hanging Christmas lights, right? Oh shit, my boyfriend was supposed to call me tonight - where’s my phone?”

 Seth’s eyes widen and his mouth hangs open a little, “Y/N...” he breaths a labored breath, “We left town a few days ago.”

 You blink several times to chew over what Seth just said. Your body gets hotter and you unfurl yourself from your fetal position to lean upwards.

 Your breath becomes heavier and you attempt faster breathing to receive more oxygen to your brain. This only causes you to begin to hyperventilate and Seth puts his hands on your shoulders.

 “I don’t know what to say, but you can’t panic right now.” He says with an urgency and moves his hands to your face.

 Seth’s hands engulf your face as though you were a tiny porcelain doll. He is on fire and you welcome his touch this time.

 “Why not.” you ask inexplicably. You had every reason to panic right now. You had no idea what could possibly explain everything in a way that wouldn’t make you hysteric. To ask why you shouldn’t panic was only a hopeful gesture that perhaps you were missing a piece of the puzzle.

 “You’re going to shift again.” he whispered as though it were something natural to say.

 Your eyes pool with blurry vision and you blink away a tiny puddle forming below your line of sight, “What do you mean?” you whisper back.

 Seth sighs and wipes away a stream of tears from your cheek, “I’m going to do something, and I don’t want you to try to analyze it too much.”

 A deep wrinkle forms in your forehead and are about to tell Seth that you don’t understand what he means but he reiterates, “Just don’t try to figure out what happened. Make sure to keep breathing steadily. No matter what, stay close to me.”

 You realize you’d stopped breathing and after he finished speaking you took in a gasp of cold wintry breath. Without waiting for your acceptance he continues, “I’m going to shift, and I want you to climb on my back. I’ll take us somewhere safe so we can get dressed and talk.”

 Your throat stings from the bitter air but you feel your head automatically nod to Seth. He stands up and you look away with a blush. It looked as though his body was glistening. Was he sweating? How could he sweat in this drastic cold. Why is he so hot? Does he have a fever?

 A few feet away he crouches down and plants one hand into the ground while extending the other outward for balance. His face was serious as he looked up at you, “It’s going to be alright. Trust me.”

 For some reason, you did trust Seth.

 He looked at the floor and your ears started popping as you heard the sound of snapping and possibly bone cracking. You sat up straight, mesmerized by the sight before you. Seth’s slight and long body enlarged and twisted in what could have been an instant. His brown skin became brown fur, and his head was several times the size to which you were accustomed.

 A chill ran through you, and you wanted severely to crawl onto his fur and warm up. 

 Seth’s eyes stared at you from the body of a Wolf.

 He swung his head toward his body and bore into your eyes with his own until you stood up. He leaned down to the ground and chuffed a sound that sounded like a cough or a whine.

 You tilted your head as you walked toward him and reached your hand out as you approached the great Wolf. Your hand ran along his fur, soft and thick. You leaned over to his head and rubbed one of his ears, prompting a deep breath from the Wolf.

 He lifted his head and jerked his muzzle upward at his back. You instinctively understood his intention and climbed up to his back. Just as you had imagined, you burrowed into his fur and like a coat it surrounded you all around your body. You gripped two handfuls of fur tightly and he stood up with one swift motion.

 Suddenly you could feel his body rumbling with breath. You would guess you were running, but your head was buried in him and the fur around you shielded you from any windy air. Your bed was rocking rhythmically, so you supposed that he was in a steady gallop already.

 You could have fallen asleep if it weren’t for the nervous excitement, not to mention his body too hot for comfort at this point. 

 A short while later you felt an incline, guessing that he had taken a seat. You look up above the thicket and see that you are on a ranch in the desert. At least you think you are on a ranch in the desert. There isn’t any snow, and there is a lot of sand and red dirt.

 The great head lifts up and drops down, signaling your arrival. You release your fistfuls of fur and step down from his back.

 The Wolf takes a few steps away and jumps from a rocky ledge down a few feet. You stand on your tippy toes and see the edges of Seth’s body, crouched down as it was before.

 He stands and you automatically avert your eyes again. You refrain from saying anything until you can get some sort of cover for your body.

 “Here, the door is unlocked.” Seth walks over to the ranch home and opens the door. He waits for you to come through, protectively looking behind you for any signs of danger.

 You dip your head as you pass him and walk into a scantly furnished room. You see a set of clothes on two chairs and you run up to snatch a button up shirt from one chair.  You tug it over your head before Seth can turn the lamp on and you spin around. Once you face him you realize that he isn’t dressed yet, so you grab the pants and throw them in his general direction.

 “Here already!” you shout with a crack in your voice.

 Seth pulls on the Dungarees, fitting him just fine. He takes a step toward the other chair and picks up the remaining clothes. He pulls out the linen bottoms and places them in front of you.

 “The waistband is adjustable.” He points at a drawstring as he backs up to the free chair.

 You tug them on without any particular gracefulness and slam yourself down in the chair to comfortably adjust the pants. You work your jaw as you think of your first question and pull your legs up to your chest in the seat.

 “Am I high?” You ask resolutely.

 “No.” Seth answers, patiently awaiting you to mentally adjust before delving into too much detail.

 “Where are we?” You ask, never having been on a ranch in your many travels, but the tell tale signs were quite obvious.

 “New Mexico.” Seth crosses his arms over his chest, engorging his biceps.

 “New Mexico...” you repeat to yourself, trying to calculate how far exactly that would mean you are from home.

 “That’s nearly 27 hours away?” You say incredulously.

 “Driving it is...” Seth says cryptically.

 “Was I just riding a Wolf for over a full day’s trip non-stop?” Your eyes widen in disbelief, many thoughts running through your head.

 “No. We rode about 40 minutes South East from where we were.” Seth chooses his words carefully.

 “We rode? Where were you?” You start and Seth brings a hand to his mouth. You shake your head and declare, “It’s at least a three hour ride to get from snow like that to dry desert like this, what do you mean 40 minutes?”

 Seth raises his eyebrows and is about to speak but you can’t help but stare at his distracting toned physique, “First, could you please put that shirt on?”

 Seth chuckles as he raises the corners of the shirt up to his shoulders, “I think this one was meant for you.” He demonstrates that the hem of the shirt only reaches his navel from the top of his torso.

 “Oh.” you look down at your shirt, realizing that it practically drifts down to your knees. You instinctively place your hands on your breasts and Seth smiles slyly, “You don’t have to take it off.”

 You walk up to him, knowing full well that if you don’t put that shirt on, that he will remain half-dressed while you try to keep your eyes up to his face. You stare him defiantly in the eyes and snatch the shirt from his hands.  A flash of surprise crosses his face before he is taken over by an impressive laughter. You turn to a hallway, assuming one of them must be a bathroom where you can change.  You open the first door on the left to a laundry room, with two outdated Frigidaire machines. Close enough. You decide and quickly swap out the shirts, feeling self conscious about your lack of bra or panties. Oh well, I always wanted to go commando.  You walk out to the main room and toss the flannel at Seth, “Button up, buttercup.” you say sharply and he smirks a childish smile.

 As he finishes off the last bottom buttons you spin in a frenzy of questions, “What are we doing here? What does everyone back home think? Do they know where we are? Where I am? Why are we going South?”

 “South East.” Seth corrects and you gape at him.

 “What is in the South East?!” You shout.

 “New Orleans.” Seth raises an eyebrow at you.

 You shut your mouth and flutter your head left to right before hissing, “Why are we going to New Orleans?”

 “You were looking for answers.” Seth stated so confidently that you felt like New Orleans might have all of the answers to what is going on right now.

 “Is one of those answers going to tell me what question I’m asking?” You snap back.

 Seth rolls his sleeves up to his elbows and runs his hands through his hair before pulling up the chair directly across from you.  “Ask me what you’ve been avoiding asking.” he leans in toward you, placing his forearms atop his thighs.

 You are taken aback by this forward command, but you decide to comply is in your best interest so you inhale sharply through your nose, “Where were you when I was riding the Wolf?”

 “I am a shape-shifter.” Seth answers instantly, “The Quileute tribe in La Push is an ancient bloodline of shape-shifters meant to protect against vampires.” He stops himself from going further.

 “You? You were the Wolf?” You squinted at Seth’s face, closely inspecting his eyes for any signs of faltering.

 “Think about what you saw. You watched me shift.” He says firmly.

 “You keep saying shift. You said I was going to shift.” You lean in closer to Seth, “Am I a shape-shifter?” You inquire.

 “You’re a Lycanthrope. As far as I can tell.” Seth says without wavering.

 “What’s the difference?” You ask petulantly.

 “Shape-shifters take the form that resembles their ancestral fathers. Lycanthropes are children of the moon.” Seth briefly describes.

 “I don’t understand what that means.” You admit.

 “You can’t be a shape-shifter because you’re not a descendant of Taha Aki-” Seth stops when he sees the look of utmost confusion on your face, “It doesn’t matter. You are a little bit different than me.”

 “But we are alike?” You add to his explanation.

 “Yes, we are alike in some ways.” He smiles gently to himself.

 You sit in the chair, jiggling your foot in anticipation. You are trying to connect all of the dots, but it’s still not adding up to a complete explanation.  Somewhere in the house a window whistles from a crack in the frame or old wooden joists.  You suck your lip into your mouth and rake your teeth against it neurotically, breaking up dry skin on it’s surface.

 “I think you can see everything that happened, once we get to the New Orleans.” Seth mirrors your posture and your lip chewing, feeling particularly tuned in to your body.

 “What’s in New Orleans?” you ask timidly, not feeling as confident as Seth that the answers to any questions will be revealed there.

 “A witch doctor.” Seth says, earning a maniac chuckle from you, “I think anyway. Based off of your description.” He amends, but your laugh only becomes more hysteric.

 “My description?” You get out between humorless wheezes.

 “It won’t make as much sense if I try to explain it to you now. I’m sure you’ll remember or...be shown, if we go there.” Seth shakes his head apologetically.

 “Okay. Then, can we go now?” You ask eagerly.

 Seth looks out the window ambivalently and scratches his shoulder, “You don’t feel like you need rest?” He asks without pushing you.

 “I feel like the only thing I need right now is to get to New Orleans as soon as possible.” You say with a newfound determination, of inexplicable origin, “How fast can we get there?”

 Seth takes a deep breath and calculates in his head, “Um... Seven? Seven and a half hours?” he waves a hand in the air noncommittally.

 You stare at him in a vague stupor of awe, “That would ...we’d be going like 150 miles an hour? What are you, a helicopter?”

 “If we hadn’t been running around so much for several days straight I might have been able to get us there in five.” Seth says cockily wagging his head.

 You raise an eyebrow at him but your priority is already set, so you decide to let his actions speak for themselves.  “Alright, let’s get a move on,” you stand up before taking a second look around the house, “Uh, what about...” you point your finger around the room and down at your clothes.  “It’s okay, we were expected. It was meant to be a pitstop.” Seth answers your incomplete question. Although you weren’t very sure of what you were asking.

 After witnessing another phasing -and feeling slightly less comfortable in your clothes than the first time riding bare- you arrive in a narrowly populated area outside of NOLA. You wait for the Wolf to disappear and Seth to come back to you and you hand him his borrowed clothes.

 “Where now?” you ask, expecting Seth to know the way, but he seems to look around the dawn-lit park without direction.

 “You don’t know?” you gape at him, to which he lifts his shoulders innocently, “You just said she was in New Orleans.” he replies sheepishly.

 “Right.” you say. I just said New Orleans. You decide this is ridiculous and this guy definitely roofied you and possibly even put you on some harder drugs that are making you see crazy dire wolves and body morphing humans and now he is trying to convince you that you decided to go to New Orleans and you are believing all of this bullshit-

 “Hey,” Seth takes your hand and places it between his two palms, warm and inviting. He looks deeply into your eyes and something slithers inside you and slows down your racing heartbeat, makes you feel safe and calm.

 “This is how cults start...” you whisper barely audibly under your breath, and Seth lets out a relieved smile, completely unfazed by your remark.

 “We’ll find her, let’s start walking.” He says, keeping your hand in one of his palms, tenderly but keeping a needy grip.

 You follow Seth hypnotically as the two of you pass intoxicated groups of good-time chasers, and young sloppy kissing teenagers. The bright green, purple, and yellow colors of the streets are festive and make you feel giddy with excitement. You remember this place from when you were a child.  Your father moved you place to place, but you remember there were some years that you stayed here in town. Some years that your father would bring you back on visits, but they were short and seemingly random.  You blinked as you crossed over Bourbon Street and bright lights flashed overhead and all around you. Seth kept walking and as you made your way to quieter, more residential areas, you observed the gorgeous architecture of the 1800-1900s homes.  Side by side were Creole cottages and historic mansions, each adorned with tiny blinking lights of many colors. Some of the smaller homes had the most brilliant displays of tinsel and ornaments hanging from their porches, while the mansions had intricate and elegantly lined up strings of bulbs. Wreaths embellished every door, and candles were lit in most windowpanes.

 After a few turns along side streets and main streets you two slow down. You look up at Seth and he is watching you silently.  “What’s up?” you ask, self-consciously, and Seth smirks a knowing smile, “Where are we going now?” He asks.  You furrow your brow at him and stop walking, “What? Don’t you know?” you interrogate, “You’ve been walking us so certainly around the streets!”  Seth tilts his head at you with that same smile and says, “You’ve been leading the way.”  You blink up at him, thinking of a response for a moment, “Well...” you wonder if he is pulling your leg, “I guess I was just admiring the houses.”  Seth makes a skeptical ‘O’ with his mouth and nods sarcastically as he turns to look around the neighborhood, “Hmm. This is inconspicuous.” he says, making you look around as well.

 It’s pretty residential, with a bodega on the corner and a couple of businesses and restaurants scattered randomly between homes. Your eye spots a graceful little parlor, garnished with cool colored paints and fabrics.  “That’s pretty.” You say and automatically start walking toward the door. Seth springs along behind you as you turn the large brass knob of the carved oak door. A bell chimes a tinny sound overhead, although the room seemed empty of attendants.  Inside you see many herbs hanging from the ceiling, although you’re not sure if it is permanent or a Christmasy decoration. It smells of Sage and lavender all around.

 You walk past shelves, inspecting old leather bound books and glass jars filled with pebbles and marbles of all kinds. A crystal dome sparkles under lights and you lean in to inspect it’s contents.  “Woah.” Seth says at something a few feet to your left. When you turn to see what caught his attention, you were diverted to a vial hanging from a wire rack.  Many different vials were scattered along the wrought iron bar, but this one seemed to be shimmering inside. Or at least you thought it was moving or something.

 “Hello.” a warm voice approaches.

 You peel your eyes away from the vial and come face to face with a beautiful dark skinned woman. Her hands were clasped in front of herself and you noted the many rings from knuckle to knuckles on each finger of her hands.

 “H-hi,” you say meekly, unable to look away from her mesmerizing eyes. Yellow rimmed the outside of her dark pupils, with flecks of light brown smattered throughout her iris. You’d only ever met one person with yellow eyes before, and it wasn’t as beautiful as this woman’s.  Her skin was so black that her eyes almost seemed to glow inside their sockets. The lighting in the room wasn’t very bright, and in it’s dimness it almost seemed as though she were a cat -turned human.  She smiles with a glint and reaches her arm overhead to grab a handful of the leather cords carrying pendants and ampoules. Her forehead is wrapped with a silk scarf, keeping coarse hair out of her face. As she pulled her arm back you could smell the alluring scent of amber.

 “Come with me.” she says enigmatically, and you feel Seth’s hands on your shoulders. He remains silent, and you follow this mysterious woman in a trance-like march.

 You walk through a beaded curtain to a short hallway which ends at the entrance to a dining room. Or at least it was a room with a table surrounded by chairs. There were placemats on it’s face and a glass of water placed in front of one of the chairs.  You stand at the front of the room awaiting instructions, feeling Seth looming above you. The woman extends her arm toward the chairs, her rolled up sleeve floating down to her wrists.  You walk around the table and choose a chair engraved with the image of a grape-vine. Seth sits next to you in a stained pine chair with a modern 3-leg design.  You anxiously stir in your chair, anticipating what happens next.

 Suddenly, the woman turns around and throws the corded trinkets onto the table and they slide outward to the edges of the table. You flinch, making Seth reach out an arm around your shoulder, comfortably letting you know that he is there.

 “Ah.” She says symbolically and turns to one of the doors, knocking on it’s face, “I think my sister would like to meet you.” she says and sits down one seat away from Seth.

 You and Seth exchange indecisive glances and give one another weary smiles. Is there where I’m supposed to go? You think impatiently, wondering if this is just some showy New Orleans performance to bring in customers.

 The knob turns with a click and out comes an equally dark, casually dressed woman. She has regular brown eyes and thick, short dreadlocks loosely arranged around her head. She sat down in front of the glass of water and moved it out of the way.  You took note of a white fang tattooed on the back of her hand before she started speaking, “My sister tells me that something in our shop interests you.”  You look from her to the yellow-eyed beauty sitting next to her, hands folded neatly on the table. You look to Seth, trying to remember if you spoke to that woman before she led you to the back room. You are pretty sure that you saw her, then you came here, and she didn’t have a chance to talk to her sister yet.  You turn back to them and say, “You have many interesting things, but I don’t think any of this is relevant to my lifestyle.” you say, unsure if this is another sales tactic of theirs.

 “What drew you to that vial there?” She points an unpolished finger at the cord you were inspecting in the front of the shop.

 “It’s shimmery. Just drew my attention, that’s all.” You shrug. Seth squints at the table, looking around all of the contents.

 “Is that all?” The yellow eyed woman taps her long, thin fingers one by one along the face of the table. You don’t get a chance to answer before she says, “Why then, was that vial drawn to you as well?” she says with a sense of determination.

 “What is that supposed to mean?” You say affronted by the weird statement.

 Seth pointed at the vial in front of you, “Are you talking about this one?” he asks the women before turning to you, “Were you looking at this earlier?” Seth asks and you pause a moment before answering, “Well, I was kind of looking at all of them.”  One of the sisters makes a hum and the other clears her throat. Seth points at the other contents of the table, “When she threw that all on the table, this one slid right towards you.” he points out.  “So what? That’s how physics works.” You counter at him defensively and he points closer to the vial, “Did you say that it was shimmering?” he questions.

 “Shimmering, shining, whatever. Just like glittery or something.” you say, quickly glancing at the vial again, pulled in by it’s sparkle.

 “It’s just a vial of blood, Y/N.” Seth says, curiously.

 You turn back to the vial and tilt your head, noticing that it’s not really twinkling after all. Maybe it was just the lights reflecting on the glass or something.

 “It’s a very special vial of blood. Not just anything, young shifter.” The woman with yellow eyes says.

 You spring up, very erect in your chair, quickly glancing at Seth from your peripherals. Seth does not seem nearly as troubled as you are, in fact he seems rather excited.

 “It’s been a long time since we’ve had a child of Taha Aki down here.” Her smile glistens with a devious glint.

 Seth wrinkles up his nose, “I can’t believe I didn’t realize earlier, your’e a -” The woman slams her hands on the table, interrupting Seth with a demanding tone, “I am. I’m not the only one, I’m sure you’ve noticed.” the woman flickers her eyes imperceptibly over to you.

 You look between Seth and the woman, unsure what to make of the half-worded conversation. The sister takes a sip of her water and you turn toward her when the glass clicks down onto the table.

 “Why am I here?” you say to her, deciding that whatever was going on, you may be in the right place after all.

 “You came here on your own.” She says, giving you a moment to think of what you really mean to ask.

 You touch your collarbone, thinking of the blood that was smeared and dry across your skin. You take a deep gulp and look up at the woman, “What am I?” you ask with a vulnerable fear.

 “Ah.” She sits forward and places her wrists on the table, parallel to one another, “My mother told me about you.” she says to your surprise. 

 “You’re going to want to lay down on the table.” She looks between her wrists and the yellow-eyed woman stands up and walks over to you. Seth bristles in her presence tensing his body, but she nods at him and he relaxes.  The woman reaches her hands to you, her sleeves exposing her delicate arms. She motions her head to the table, expecting you to take her hands and climb up onto your chair.  You awkwardly grab her hands and push yourself onto your chair, and take a step onto the table. You feel silly, but everyone else around you is serious, so you crouch down and lay flat on your back. You adjust yourself so that your head is between the sister’s arms, and you look up at her expectantly.

 “I’m going to take you down a journey. It might not make sense at first, but we will go slowly, and you just need to allow yourself to flow through your memories.” She says stoically, and you aren’t sure what you’re supposed to do.

 “You relax. Close your eyes. You might feel a pinch, but don’t resist.” She says, “Go backwards. Let’s unlock what you don’t want to see, then you can reveal what you came to see.”

 Before you can tell her that her words are meaningless nonsense, you feel a tight twist of pain in your head. Your body seizes up, and you feel trapped in place.  You start to panic, feeling your skin fill up with heat, and your breath is icy and sharp. You try to open your eyes, but your eyesight is flooded with a cloudy silver screen.  You watch the environment around you unfold slowly, as trees begin to emerge and sounds of nature surround you. You can’t turn your head, but you see Seth far off with a long handled axe.  As the scene moves left to right you notice the sound of crunching snow echoing. The heat of your skin becomes especially evident when you see dark fur standing upright against a tree. Your vision starts shaking and you feel sharp pain in your lungs.  Large claws scratch up the trunk of the tree, and you feel panic flooding your senses. You don’t move, and your image remains on the mass of fur, guessing it was a bear.   You are frozen in place as you watch it, when a shout behind you catches the attention of the bear. It turns to face you and when it notices you, the great mass crouches down to the ground and charges at you.  A guttural scream fills your ears, and adrenaline rushes through your body. Incapable of running away, you throw your hands out in front of you.  Just then, the bear is thrown against a nearby tree. A flash passes your sight and you look to the bear, where a russet brown Wolf is slamming it’s body against the bear.  It turns it’s massive head to you and before you can let out another scream, you feel your body shaking all over.

 Searing pain stabs through you and breaks into your bones like sledgehammers. You snap and crack and contort your body in unnatural forms. Your blood feels as though it is boiling you from the inside out, and your pain horrifies you from every angle of your body.  Rage fills you in the place of pain, until you feel yourself flung at the bear with an aggressive rush of adrenaline. Something hot in your mouth spills all over you, and it feels sticky and thick.  You whip around to the Wolf and as you see it the beast howls at you and drops to the ground defensively. Something about it’s howl soothes you and puts your rage to peace. Your blood is still hot, but you feel your adrenaline subside.  You kneel down in acknowledgement of it’s amity. It remains in place as it glowers up at you, and you feel a thought pop up into your mind. You’re a Wolf. the thought sounds masculine, and not at all like your normal internal voice.  The Wolf looks at you with dark brown eyes and again a thought speaks up in your head, You’re a Wolf, but you have the thirst for blood.  This time you shake your head, confused about the thought. That’s not something you were thinking. Yet, it was there in your head.  You look down at your body and you are extremely disturbed to see that you are covered in fur...and blood.

 Y/N? Another thought rings in your head, and you echo to yourself, Y/N? But this time in your own voice. The Wolf across from you whines in your direction, and again another voice sounds in you, Do you know what is going on right now?  You look around, making sure you don’t see another person around speaking to you. Confusion grips hold of you and you think to yourself, I don’t know what is going on right now.   The Wolf breaths a heavy breath and stands up, making you more alert. Simultaneously the image on the silver screen fades away and the sounds of the room return to you.

 “That doesn’t make much sense, does it?” The woman above you croaks and you struggle to speak. She shushes you and whispers overhead, “Remain open and receptive. Don’t bring yourself fully back yet. Let’s move farther...”

 You see flashes of you and Seth hanging garlands and hear snippets of your voice describing your disappointment that your boyfriend forgot you always spend the anniversary of your mother’s death with your father.

 “No. Deeper.” The woman’s voice whispers above you, and you fall into a dark and silent state.

 A fuzzier image appears in front of your eyes. It is blurry and hazy, but the voices are clear.  “Please,” A familiar deep sound vibrates overhead, “My daughter is sick. I need you to help her, please.” the voice is full of sorrow mixed with fear and desperation.  Your unstable image reveals a face you know very well. Your father looks weary and tired, as though he hasn’t slept well in many weeks, or months perhaps.   A dark skinned woman with low cut hair rushes over to you and places her arm around your father. She rushes him behind a beaded curtain and seats him down at a table.  “Please,” your father crows and the woman places a hand on his shoulder, “Maxine.” she says invitingly, “What is your name?”  “Th-this is my daughter, Y/N,” your father begs, tears welling in his eyes, “She is very ill. Please, you need to help her, she’s been cursed.” His voice cracks on the last beat.  The woman inspects you head to toe and she turns looks to your father once more, “Why do you say she is cursed?” she says doubtfully.  “She killed her mother.” He gushes with sobs now, “I don’t blame her, I love her more than the world... but it was a complicated birth.” He says through sniffles and sharp gasps of breath.  The woman waits expectantly for your father to regain his composure. She offers him a handkerchief and rubs his arm tenderly. After a few minutes he continues to speak, “Since then... she’s been cursed by the Heavens. Every moon she becomes a beast.” he looks up at Maxine with pleading eyes.  The woman nods knowingly and reassures your father, “It will be alright.” she comforts and stands up to walk through a curtained door.  When she returns she holds a leather cord in her hand with a small glass vial, “It’s okay, I have Hope.”

 You feel hands on your face, your real face, and a voice brings you back to the moment right now. “That’s enough, we don’t want to completely drain one another.” the woman above you says, glistening with sweat, and she takes the glass of water to swallow it down thirstily.

 Your eyes readjust and notice the lights were out, save a few candles against some of the walls. You prop up on your elbows and look down at your body, shaking and drenched in sweat.  You look to the edge of your feet and see Seth is just a breath’s width away from your feet, anxiously watching you. He is holding his elbows, tightly crossed over one another, and propping his head up.

 Seth’s face flashes you back to your first incomplete memory,  “What were we doing in the woods?” You ask, feeling out of breath and parched.  “You said you wanted to get a real tree, and asked if I could manage to cut one down and carry it back.” Seth says, a very drooping and exhausted smile on his face.  He looks on the verge of passing out, but for the moment your head is still reeling from the trip you just experienced. Carefully, you turn your head to one of the sisters, “What was that? Why was my Dad here?” your voice was hoarse and dry.  You look at the woman with yellow eyes and she is carefully cradling something small and glass in her open hand. You feel a shiver run over your body and you ask, “Was that the same ...I saw that in Maxine’s hand?” you turn to the sister next to you.  “That there is Hope.” she points at the vial.

  You shake your head in disbelief. Actually, more than disbelief you were feeling a great deal of questions bringing on a massive migraine.  “Let’s start from the beginning.” She says and wipes a bead of sweat from her brow, “Do you know who your mother was?” she asks, motioning for you to get back to the chair.  You crawl up onto your hands and knees and slowly inch backwards off of the table, “Um, my mother? Not really. My Dad and I only mourn the anniversary of her death.” you say as Seth offers his arm out to you for support.  After making your way back down to your seat, the woman adds, “Your birthday.” you gape at her in surprise and slowly nod your head.  “Well, it seems there is something your mother did not know about herself.” She touches the yellow eyed woman’s hand and after a moment her eyes glint in the candlelight as she gets up and walks out of the room. Your eyes remain on the sitting sister, awaiting an explanation.  “Your mother never killed anybody.” She starts, leaving you unsure of her direction, “However, had she killed a person - with intention or by accident - she would have learned that she was a Lycanthrope.”  Your fingers fidget in your lap, but you wait patiently for more from the woman, “You see, if she had not been separated from her parents when she was a small child, then maybe they would have told her she was a Lycanthrope.”  Seth seems absorbed by the woman’s explanation, even in his drained state of energy. The woman continues, “Under these circumstances, neither did she find out on her own, nor did her parents have the chance to reveal to her that she was Lycanthrope.”  She clicks her tongue and smacks her hands together theatrically, “Thus, she never had the opportunity to tell your father what she was.” She points directly at you and waggles her finger, “Therefore, he did not know that you too share the same burden.”

 You dig your nails into your palms, unable to follow this line of conversation, “Are you saying that I’m a Werewolf?” you say indignantly.

 The yellow-eyed woman returns with a tray of glasses and pitcher of water, “Not only that,” she chirps, but does not add to her comment after placing down the tray in the center of the table.  Her sister grabs the glasses and fills them to the top, pushing one halfway to you, “When your mother died giving birth to you, a gene was triggered inside of you, unlocking your Werewolf power.” She pauses to take a gulp of her water, so you lean over and take the glass she offered you as well.  “As an infant you were not terribly dangerous, but you were a terrifying sight to your father - a man of no knowledge of the supernatural.” She waved her finger in the air, drawing invisible lines from one side of her to the other, “Your body changed to a small furry animal with claws and sharp teeth, and you thrashed about savagely in your crib, during every cycle of the moon.” She pauses for another gulp of water.  You feel your thirst scratching your throat, but you don’t want to miss a word of her explanation so you sit in place holding your glass.  “The man was lost, he could not turn to anyone for fear of losing you - the only reminder of his lost love. So he came to the world of the occult - New Orleans.” She waves her arms around the room dramatically.

 “Wait,” you break your self-control and interrupt her fantastical story telling, “My father told me I was sick when I was younger, and he said that a holistic doctor cured me.” You place your palms flat on the table, feeling that it is the only sturdy object in your present.  “Yes, my mother was known for her holistic practices.” She raises an eyebrow, waiting to see if you follow her line of suggestion, “Nobody could kill a child of the moon, not even a witch. One look at your fluttering, innocent eyes and she knew there was another way to save you.” She paused for emphasis, “Something that would allow you to keep living a life identical to that of a human.” She reaches over to the yellow eyed woman and grabs the leather cord, “Something that would break you of your slavery to the moon cycle, while also aging and living ignorant of your strengths.”  As she said this something in your body pulsed and your eyes snapped to the vial of blood. You were afraid to ask, but you pushed yourself nonetheless, “What is in that vial?” you shake with anticipation.

 “Vampire blood.” She says and you catch your breath, while Seth stiffens in his seat. He lets out a heavy sigh and speaks up for the first time, “Wouldn’t vampire blood kill a werewolf?”  The woman smiles and leans forward toward the two of you, “This is the blood of a special vampire.” She looks at the glass and spins it in front of her face, “A very special little girl named Hope. Mikaelson.” she breaths.  The yellow eyed woman is entranced by the spinning vial as well and she makes a low sound, “A Hybrid.”  Seth swallows harshly and breaths out a barely audible word, “Renesmee.”

 Your face pinches together, feeling completely left out of everyone’s circle of knowledge, but the yellow eyed woman snaps to both of you, “A Vampire, Wolf Hybrid.”  You flinch back in your seat, feeling very nervous by her excitement. Seth places a hand in your lap, and you squeeze him tightly. The sister stops the spinning vial in her hand and turns back to face you, “Haven’t you wondered why nothing ever tasted quite good?”  You screw up your face and shake your head, “What? No?” you bark defensively, not quite sure what qualifies as good anyway.  “Isn’t it strange that you can always tell when someone is telling a lie?” she asks, and you aren’t sure what she is talking about, but you don’t respond.  “There might be certain things you don’t understand because you grew up this way your entire life. But the fact still remains that you’ve noticed you are uniquely different from your peers.” she says expectantly.

 “I don’t have any friends.” you say, feeling ashamed that this is quite true. “We moved around too much, and I only ever talked to my father anyway. Well, practically...” you add as the image of your boyfriend pops up in your head.  Seth glances at you nervously, but the woman pipes in, “Isn’t it strange then that your father keeps bringing you back here?”  You chew your lip nervously, trying to remember anything about those trips, “We... that’s true that we visit once in a while. But we don’t really do anything. I just remember we come here, then we leave.”  “Isn’t that strange? Why would you travel all this way, and not have one memorable memory of your trip?” She prods, and you look around the table skeptically.  “Is it possible that something causes your father to make the sudden trip? Does he ever tell you why it’s time for you to come back to New Orleans?” she interrogates, but you can’t remember anything prompting the trips. You don’t really remember much about the month or so before your trips anyway, it’s a little bit blurry.  “So...” you decide you feel uncomfortable with all of these questions and no solid answers, so you sway the subject, “If that is vampire blood... does that make me a vampire? Why doesn’t sunlight bother me? Why don’t I need blood?”

 She leans back in her chair and observes you curiously, “My dear, you are one of a very small handful of Hope Mikaelson Hybrids. Your Wolf side allows you to walk in daylight and eat human food without the need for blood. Your Vampire side is what broke your bonds to the moon, allowing you to control your phasing. Blood will only make you stronger. But all your father was looking for was a cure to your beastly transformations, so that is what my mother gave you. Without blood, your vampire strength was only weakened, which works out well for a child wanting to grow up as a normal human. Without knowledge of your Wolf side, you wouldn’t know that you had the ability to change. Unless, that is, you were stricken with a massive and uncontrollable fear.” She crosses her legs and narrows her eyes at you, “Have you ever felt a bone-rattling amount of adrenaline shaking you up with horror?”

 “I...” you search your mind, and feel Seth’s hand twitch in your lap, “That..bear I think terrified me?” you said hesitantly and turn to Seth. He seems to have a face of much more understanding than you feel.  “Yes, that would do the trick.” She says, waiting for you to make the conclusion everybody else in the room has already.

 “Are you saying that I turned into a Wolf?” Crystal clear realization finally hits you hard in the face, and so did something else.

 You open your eyes to look up at Seth, hovering over you as usual, gently cradling your hand in his own, “You were dehydrated and exhausted. You should be fine now.”  You felt woozy with a killer headache, but otherwise nothing else made sense. You raised a hand to your head and spun through your thoughts, going through everything you learned tonight.  “Here,” A dark hand appeared in front of you with a ceramic cup, “Specially brewed tea, will fix you up quick.” A voice wafts around you, and without much resistance you take the cup and sip it’s contents.  It was bitter and tasted like dirt, making you wince. Seth chuckled, glad to see your reactions were still what he expects.  After you finish off the cup, you do feel better after all. The sharp pain in your brain subsides, and your body isn’t aching with lack of fluids.

 “I think that is all I can give you tonight. Of words and of medicine.” A woman’s voice floats around you, but despite feeling balanced, your body was still wobbly.  Seth swept you up into his arms, and he held you close to his body, “Thank you.” you hear him say as a tinny bell sounds overhead, and suddenly you hear the sounds of cars whooshing past you.  “What’s going on?” you yawned, and placed a hand on Seth’s burning chest. You felt the sway of what you assumed was Seth carrying you down the street.  “Let’s get somewhere safe.” He whispers, and you think you feel him nuzzle the side of your face. But that could have been the wind.

 Seth lays you down on a bed of blankets, soft and padded. You look up at him and see the caring smile he uses when watching over you.

 “What is it with you?” You say, sounding a little bit colder than you intended, “I mean, you know I have a boyfriend, right?”

 Seth’s face drops and he looks outside a window into the dark night. His eyes are uncertain when he opens his mouth to speak, “You shouldn’t be with him.” he finally manages to let out.

 You scoff at the teenage movie cliche and he looks hurt. Immediately you regret your reaction, so you cover it up by spitting out, “What, I should be with you instead?”

 He looks down at you sadly and runs a warm finger under your chin, “Yes, but even if I wasn’t here. You shouldn’t be with him.” He says so certainly that you blush under his touch, “He isn’t interested in you,”  Your bashfulness turns into anger and you snap at him, “What do you know? You haven’t even met him!”  He recoils his hand from your face and you feel cold where he leaves you, but you stay determined, and realize that you’ve been on a run-away spree with a strange man boy you don’t know at all.  “You don’t see it?” He says, looking physically hurt by your anger. You remain strong, although seeing him hurt that way touched you deeper than you would like to admit.  “What do you know?” You huff, turning your face away from Seth. He gets off of the bed and crouches down on the ground beside you.  “I know that you are the only person I can think about.” He says, “You are the only important creation in my whole world.”  You turn to him in shock, “You just met me.” you say and sit up in the bed, backing firmly against the wall, “Are you crazy?”  Seth leans his head onto the edge of the bed to look up at you, “There is something else you need to know about my tribe.”

 You try to avoid eye contact, but the corner of your eyes are drawn to him as if the depth of his gaze is pulling your eyes towards his.  “When we meet the person we are supposed to be with - our world changes.” He says with a staggering beat.  “It’s called imprinting.” he bats his dark eyelashes, “It is physically painful for me when you are apart from me. I cannot think of anybody else.”  The intensity of this conversation is making you super uncomfortable. You strain to look away from Seth, but it is agonizingly difficult, “Look... That sounds insane.” your eyes flicker to the ceiling for a moment before returning to the suffering face of Seth.  Your lips turn downward at him, “Listen,” you scoff in disbelief that you are about to say this out loud, “I don’t believe in soulmates.”

 Seth’s chest swelled up and he straightened out his back, “Tell me you don’t feel the pull.” he says with a blast of confidence, “You can choose to avoid me, and you can be with someone else, but you know that we are drawn to one another.” He leans toward you, dropping his eyes low in a sultry seduction, “We can’t help that. We can’t explain it, but it’s just there.”  You wanted to fight him and throw your arms out and push him away. You wanted to run out of the room and find a phone and call someone to come pick you up.  You wanted to scream. But not at Seth. You wanted to scream because something deep within you was stirring. Something is curling and unfurling and telling you that he is right.  Spontaneously your hand reached out toward his face, and it placed itself on his jaw. Completely without your permission, your thumb ran along his bottom lip, so hot and tender.  He drew his lips together, but when he opened them again his tongue came out ever so slightly, just enough to lick his lips.

 A hoarse voice whispered in the night, “Kiss me.”

 A voice, that sounded very much like your own.

  As Seth lifts himself up onto the bed your rogue hand moves from his chin to his hair. Your traitor fingers brush through his silky soft hair as he leans in toward you.  Trapped inside your own body, you could feel your blood racing and your heart pounding. Your eyes were wide and your body might have been trembling. Seth is over top of you, leaning down closer and closer. You squeeze your eyes shut tightly and await his impact. Moments later, you feel nothing.  You peek open your eyes, and realize your hands have both curled into your chest, hovering over you protectively.  Seth is lingering over you, meticulously watching you. When your eyes meet he lets out a small and somber sigh. He leans back and sits at the edge of the bed again.  “Look at you,” he says in a hushed voice, reaching to your face, “You’re terrified.” he says as he wipes under your eye and you feel cool air hit something wet.

 You lay there frozen, completely bewildered by the sudden change of mood in the room. You watch him as he stands up and stretches, feeling unsure and surprised.  “I’m going to sleep on the floor. We’ll get back to Washington tomorrow.” He says with his back facing to you. He pauses for a moment, you’re sure of it, but then he just lays down on the ground.  You release a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding, and exhaustion takes over you once again.

 The sound of a rattling window draws you from your sleep. You peek an eye open and see Seth standing by the blowing curtains.

 “Just trying to air out the steam.” Seth rubs a towel over his head, “Couldn’t sleep, so thought I’d take advantage of the shower.” He walks over to the bathroom and you hear the sound of running water.

 “It takes a while to warm up,” he shouts from the bathroom, “Got it started in case you want to take one before we leave.” he walks back into the room and nods his head toward the door, “I’ll go get some coffee and beignets. That should give you some time.”

 Before you get a chance to say good morning he grabs the keys and leaves. You sit up in the bed and take a breath. You look to the bathroom, where sounds of hissing water splash around. 

 While you expected the trip to feel like an eternity, it ended up flying by without any notice. You were so inside of your head the entire ‘ride’ back about everything you’ve just discovered.

 Your entire world was turned upside-down.

 Your mother was a werewolf... but she never knew it... you are a hybrid vampire... with some sort of weird Native American soulmate... all of this making less and less sense. You hated that you didn’t have any control over your life anymore.  No, fuck that. You snapped at yourself. Nobody was going to tell you that you were a killer or an animal or somebody’s mate. You will be the leader and decision maker of your own life!

 Your bed of fur shakes and you hop off Seth’s back, noticing he brought you to your home. You turn to Seth’s Wolf form and place your hands on his muzzle. It’s much easier talking to him when he can’t answer back, or distract you with his body or make you dizzy with his seductive staring.  “Don’t change here.” You look deeply into his large glassy eyes, “I’m going home. I can’t talk about this right now. I don’t know what to say to you.” Seth’s chocolate eyes are locked on you and his body remains in place.  “Do you understand?” you rub the back of your hand above his nose, wondering if you could love him after all in this overgrown puppy dog form.  He whimpers a bit and his ears press back into his head, but nonetheless he nods faintly. You drop your arms and he backs away slowly before turning on his heels and running into the dark woods.

 You look to the house, not a single window lit in the nighttime. It must be rather late by now, and your father is either asleep or out on a trip himself. You can only hope the latter so that you don’t have to have this discussion with him too soon. There are too many questions you have for yourself before you are prepared for your father to ask them of you. Likewise, you probably have a certain amount of questions for him as well, you just haven’t thought of them yet.

 You look to the car in the driveway, knowing that your boyfriend might be worried sick. You decide you can’t wait for morning to see him, but you don’t have your phone to call ahead.  Oh well, here goes nothing. You run to the front door, kneeling down to grab the spare key under the flowerpot. You quietly pop inside in case father is home after all, and snatch up the car keys.

 Moments later you’re barreling down the empty roads, thinking of how to explain your sudden and extended disappearance. You wonder if a late night visit would be a good surprise or a burdensome one. But this is too important to put off a minute later.

 You pull in front of his apartment building and run up to the glass door. You smash the call button over and over again, excited and nervous.

 “Hello?” A groggy voice comes through the telecom and a static pause queues your response, “It’s me! Let me up!” you jitter with energy.  “Y/N?” He says with a tinge of worry in his voice and the door buzzes the lock free. You pull the door and spring inside, unable to bear the anticipation anymore.  You huff up to his door and as soon as you reach for the knob it opens in front of you.

 “What are you doing here?” he asks, tying the belt of his robe. You jump for his arms and wrap around him in a tight hug.  You don’t feel a returned embrace, but after a few seconds he grabs you by the shoulders and pushes you away, “Do you know what time it is?”  You look at him astounded, “No, I don’t. But aren’t you worried about me?” you screw up your face, “Aren’t you excited I’m here?”  He looks you up and down, “What? Has something gotten into you?”

 You take a step backward and shake your head in disbelief, “Yeah. Something has gotten into me.” you look down to blink away tears, “Have you even noticed that I was gone?”  He leans against the doorframe and yawns, “Darling, don’t be ridiculous-” he starts but you step forward and shove him, “No, don’t call me darling.” You turn away from him as it dawns on you that Seth may be right, “Don’t call me anything at all.”  He scoffs in shock and raises his voice slightly, “You are causing a scene! Are you acting out for something?” He brushes himself off and straightens out his robe, “Is this because I haven’t called you? I’m a busy man, you know I have to seize my opportun-”

 “You know what. We’re not really working out.” You wipe your face with your sleeve and suck in a deep breath before turning back to him one last time, “Good luck. I really hope you get everything you are looking for.”  With your last steady word you run outside into the night and release a string of sobs. You feel foolish. You feel like you’ve wasted your time. You feel like you’ve been so blind and ridiculously hopeful.

 Everything is swirling, and your head doesn’t make any sense. Your eyesight is red and black and your breath is sharp and painful. You stop thinking about pain and love and hope.  A deep howl emanates from your core and rumbles through you as you throw your head back and release all of your pain into the sky.  You feel four legs hitting the ground over and over in a relentless run. You feel your hair ruffled all over your body by the wind around you.

 A growl roars in your ear and you stop your trot. Something draws your eyes upward where a shadow stands on a rock, blocking out the silhouette of the moon.  The shadow jumps down to the ground in front of you and looks you eye to eye. Glassy, chocolate eyes bore deeply into you and waves of calm wash over you. Slowly you the shadow grows larger and larger over you.  Actually, the shadow wasn’t growing larger, but you were shrinking smaller and smaller. You felt your teeth drawing back and claws receding to soft, skin covered hands.  The shadow disappears into the darkness and you close your eyes, trying to keep your breath steady. Tears bloom in your eyes again, but from a general feeling of helplessness.  

 Footsteps crack twigs and rustle leaves somewhere nearby. You focus on keeping your heartbeat level.  Seth crowds you from behind and even with your back to him you know his face is filled with determination.  “It isn’t right.” you shake your head, unable to fully grasp a hold of yourself. You can feel the air whooshing between you in a hot and needy breeze.

 “Y/N,” Seth whispers, “This is the only right thing that I have ever known.” as he speaks you can feel the core of your body rumbling inside. You felt like a piece of metal and Seth’s presence was a magnet. Forcing yourself away from him took so much energy out of you.  “Listen you-” You take a breath and turn around to face Seth, only to see he is only about half a foot away from you. Air catches in your throat and you forgot what you were going to say to him.  “Y/N...” Seth breaths inches from your face, “I know you’re scared,” he places his forehead to your forehead, “I can help guide you through this. I will be here for you. Whatever you need from me.”  Your hand is in the dirt and you feel Seth place his hand over your hand. You allow him to entwine his fingers with yours.  “Whatever you want from me.” he whispers.

 You softly moan and close your eyes, the last tear that you have to spill rolling down your cheek.  Seth leans in and kisses the drop away, warming your face where his lips touch.

 You give in to your desires, allowing yourself to be overcome with heat all over. The piece of metal inside of you transformed into a perfect magnet to match Seth’s.  Your body is launched at Seth, and hungrily he wraps his arms around you. Your lips crash into Seth’s and you feel yourself melting into him. Tongues wrestle between you, slick with saliva and burning with desire.  For a split second you feel Seth’s lips curl back into a smile, but hastily he is on top of you, pushing you into the ground. Although your bodies were on fire, not a single bead of sweat fell from either one of you. You push your body up to Seth’s and grab at him with needy hands. Your fingernails scrape into his back as he kisses down your neck and shoulders. He makes his way to your collarbone and you arch in pleasure, unable to contain the sensation.  Whimpers escape your lips and Seth growls with arousal at your delicious noises. He nibbles at your clavicle and you groan once more. This time, it pushed Seth over the edge.

 He lifts you upright and splays his legs outward beneath you. He sets you down onto his lap and for the first time you feel his erection pressed against you. You spread your thighs and land your knees down to the ground for support. As you steady yourself overtop of him, Seth runs his fingers along your sides, tickling you. Before you can slide him inside of you, the tickling makes you double over and let out a burst of laughter.  Seth laughs back at you, but continues to palm his hands around your body curiously. You hold onto Seth’s shoulders and pull yourself up to regain your concentration.  You grab his throbbing length with one hand and aim it at your opening. With one look at Seth’s darkened eyes, you plunge down as far as you can go. You yelp at the intensity of penetration, not entirely prepared for his entire cock inside of you. The sensation was shockingly painful but felt completely fitting as well.  “We’re made for one another.” Seth roars into your neck, and you gasp tiny sharp breaths as you force your body up and down onto his lap.  You ram your hands into Seth’s chest and he falls back with a thud. You keep one hand on his chest as your other hand crawls up your thigh as you ride Seth’s cock. Your hand explores your own body, feeling renewed and unknown. You reach to your breast and tweak your nipple, making your blood rush to your erogenous hot spots. Your hand roams your belly and searches for another place of pleasure.  Seth grips your thighs and watches you hungrily as your fingers land on your clitoris. You rub circles with a firm pressure as you continue your rhythmic bobbing atop Seth.  As you feel tightness welling up in your loins, Seth too seems swirling with an impending orgasm. You lean back just enough to change the position of Seth’s shaft inside your walls. You twist your hips gently to really hit different nerves as you swing back and forth.  Your engorged clitoris is throbbing and when Seth brings his fingers to press atop yours, you feel an explosion inside of you. Deep inside you feel Seth shooting into you, and from deeper within you feel waves of electricity shooting all over your body.  As the rumbles of orgasm quiet down, you fall onto Seth’s chest. Together your bodies smolder in the dirt, weaving into one another with each heavy breath. You are unable to open your eyes for several minutes, before your fusion eases you into a peaceful sleep.