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Chapter 10

Making her way into her son's room, laundry basket in hand, Sue Clearwater mulled over the brief meeting she'd had with her son's imprintee.

Sue Clearwater was an Elder of the Quileute tribe and had been raised on the legends and beliefs of her people. Which was why upon learning that her son had marked someone– well the development wasn't very difficult to accept.

Though the likelihood of either of her children imprinting had been slim, it hadn't been that it was impossible. In the long run, there were just some events that the sooner one accepted them, the simpler handling the aftermath would be.

Placing the basket close to her, Sue began to work through her seventeen year old's messy living space. The nurse exhaled audibly, lamenting the fact that Seth would just not stop leaving his clothes all about and that the 'handling' of the aftermath wasn't going smoothly either.

It was obvious that the first few meetings between Seth's blue-haired imprintee and the members of her tribe had left a bad taste in the young girl's mouth. She really didn't seem to have a high opinion of any of them.

But it was to be expected, first impressions were lasting.

In fact, in the brief time that Sue had spoken with the teen, she'd formed an opinion of her as well.

She was guarded.

But rightly so. Her reaction, given the situation, was appropriate and Sue couldn't fault her for it. She wouldn't fault her for it. Even to Sue, whenever she takes the time to step back from it all, from that perspective, everything– spirit warriors, werewolves, imprinting –it was…overwhelming.

Thus, when 'Blue' (as Seth had dubbed her) had opted to leave immediately after they spoke and after saying all that she had, rather than be offended, Sue had actually developed a favourable impression of her.

Blue's speech was curt, but the teen had been civil. She'd been clear on her opinions– voicing her thoughts in a manner that was forthright, composed and confident. Moreover, when faced with Seth's intense brand of candour (and how Sue's heart went out to her son), she'd remained firm.

She was fierce and strong-willed.

If things did work out…Seth, having someone like that as a companion– it may be good for him.

Finally, picking up the last set of clothes on the floor– the hoody and cargo shorts he'd hastily stripped off before he transformed and sped after Blue (she was silently thankful that he hadn't just 'busted' out of these set of clothes) –Sue rolled her eyes.

"And then maybe, he'll start putting away his laundry when I ask him to."

Then as she'd done for the garments before, Sue searched within whichever pockets she could find. The last that she needed was to hear Seth's bitter complaints about something he'd left in his pockets being lost in the wash.

She hadn't reached too deep within one of the pockets before her fingers brushed what was a cool, thin, metallic chain. Pulling on the chain and examining it once she'd taken it out completely, she found that it was a gold necklace with an intricate centrepiece.

"An hourglass."

It even looked like it had sand in there.

How different.

A bemused smile edged onto Sue's face. Had Seth bought his imprintee jewellery? Then again, that he randomly stumbled upon it was a possibility as well.

The mother of two shrugged. There was no sense in speculating. There were currently more important matters to contemplate. And she had a lot of laundry to do.

She'd just put the necklace in a safe place and mention it to him when he returned.

Hopefully, she remembered to do that later.

Teddy dragged her feet as she returned to the location of her temporary abode. She had failed to achieve the main objective of her outing– to find her Time Turner. She hadn't even gotten to take a good look around before her presence had been discovered by that doll-like child.

Things had become even more complicated.

Shifters.

Soulmates.

Seth.

Teddy shook her head in wonder. She'd only been in Forks for close to a week and already things had gone pear-shaped. So much for the town being 'quiet' and 'boring'. Perhaps it was proof that she needed to return home before she got tied up with anything else that was happening in the past.

Surely, she was skating on thin ice.

"Gods, that smell again," she complained, stopping in her tracks and bringing her hands up to cover her nose. Not that it was helping much.

It was that same sweet smell that Teddy had picked up from that little girl, 'Nessie', earlier. However, it did smell a hundred times more potent. It was nigh vomit inducing.

And it was coming from the direction of her shelter.

"Of course."

The young witch pondered her next course of action.

"At the end of it all, I've got nowhere else to go," she muttered, bending at her waist to pluck her wand from her boot. "Proceed with caution it is."

As she resumed her journey towards her abode, Teddy couldn't help but realize that, if she indeed walked into a situation that required the need for it, this would be the first time since arriving in the small town that she'd use her wand. Offensively, that is.

Though she wasn't in a rush to change that, she would if she had to.

The grip on her wand tightened as she rounded the corner where her tent was, her eyes rapidly surveying the surroundings. There was nothing out of the ordinary.

Well, save for the thin, diminutive figure that lingered at the very entrance. And by the smell of her– though the being's back was towards Teddy, she could make out that the person was female –she was the originator of the syrupy odour.

So, the girl wasn't human then– not a normal one at least.

Tense, Teddy dared herself to take another step forward. Her lips parted. Her intent– to make her presence known and to question the identity of the other. But it appeared as if everyone was taking decisions out of her hand these days.

"Luna, I think your future babysitter's here!" The bell-like voice, in addition to what was uttered, threw the young Lupin for a bit of a loop.

A handful of seconds later, Luna appeared within Teddy's sight, emerging from the tent gingerly, a small bag in hand.

"Why, thank you, Alice," Luna conveyed her gratitude cheerfully. She passed the bag to 'Alice' who accepted it without fanfare. It was then that she turned around and Teddy got a better look at who this new character was.

She was pretty.

Not a human 'pretty' though. In fact, nothing about the girl– from her chalky skin tone to her gold coloured irises –gave off the feeling of 'human'. She was like that young teen from earlier– possibly of Veela heritage –though Nessie had a more…mortal quality about her. If Teddy was the conceited type, she'd definitely feel self-conscious around the girl. And wow, was the jacket she had on gorgeous.

But that wasn't important right now.

"What's going on Aunt Lu?" she probed, tone cautious. She'd yet to lower her wand, its tip still trained on Alice's body.

"You can lower your wand Teddy," Luna commented in that usual unflappable manner of hers, "Alice won't harm me."

Beside her Alice gave a small wave, her lips curled into an inviting smile, her eyes inviting. All in all, she was the picture of amicability.

"Alice is a friend," Luna continued.

Teddy's wand arm lowered, though her eyes remained on Luna, suspicious. The elder witch always had a habit of winding up to the punch.

"Oh, and a vampire as well."

Yep, there it was.

"Now look what you've made me do."

Joham pouted as he clasped his gloved hands together.

"If you had only told me that you couldn't revert to your human form, I wouldn't have been so harsh."

The wiry vampire rested the back of his left hand against his forehead delicately. He made a show of looking aggrieved, even though the only other person who could have borne witness to his act had fallen unconscious mere instances ago.

"But then again, you can't speak either."

The contemptuous expression that flickered across Joham's face contradicted his pitying tone. Truly, it wasn't as if the shape-shifter had been through much…well it hadn't been through that much.

It was just a couple of hair and skin samples, a small number of broken (some crushed) bones (ribs, tibia, metatarsals), a torn muscle here or there– minor things really. He'd even refrained from stripping away the wolf's flesh to get at its nerves.

He'd need access to a proper lab for that.

Using his teeth to pull at the gloves at his hands, Joham looked over at the test tube racks that were on the small table he had pulled up alongside him and his test subject. He eyed the rows of blood-filled vials as he disposed of the gloves.

His thin lips curled into a satisfied smile.

"I put in so much work."

It had been a hassle to snip away at the coarse grey fur at the wolf's neck just to get at the carotid artery (his favourite jacket was covered in dog fur). Then again, he could have gone for the median or radial artery…or any other artery that was easier to get at.

But he did like to challenge himself.

Crouching down, Joham leisurely reached towards the shifter's susceptible body, swiping his thumb at the blood that had begun to coagulate at the incision marks he'd made.

He gave his appendage a cursory whiff before he brought it to his mouth. His tongue leisurely licked at his thumb, cleaning the blood from it.

"The smell is repulsive but the taste is palatable enough."

There had been that familiar burst of metallic flavour, but the vampire felt no…enticement. It made sense that a shifter's blood held no lure to a vampire.

Tilting his head to the side, the scientist's eyes slanted as a pleasantly idle thought came to mind.

"Does Randal's blood taste the same? And the hybrid's?"

These were errant contemplations, but intriguing ones nonetheless.

Ah, the pursuit of knowledge was never-ending.

"So, you're a vampire– a part of the vampire coven within the area," Teddy indicated to Alice before turning to her Aunt, "And these vampires are the magical creatures– the ones that are 'particularly particular about blood' –that you were supposed to initiate contact with."

Vampires. Damn Vampires. It was no wonder that the longer she stood in Alice's presence, the more Teddy's Wolf felt repulsed. Before her stood its natural enemy. Teddy bit her bottom lip nervously, as the full moon approached, the beast within her was becoming stirred up…becoming stronger and stronger.

Teddy's eyes pinned Alice with an inquiring stare, breathing deeply as she focused on remaining calm.

"You don't look like any Vampire I've seen…in the texts that is."

She had never met any vampire in person (blessedly, she supposed). The sole vampire that had graced the halls of Hogwarts had moved on from the position long before her time. The vampires in her books were always haggard and cadaverous. They didn't look like Alice at all– like they'd have editors clamouring for them to be the next cover person for Witch Weekly Magazine.

Just as well, it was possible that Alice was a different type of Vampire.

"You're not talking about fairy-tale books are you?" Excitement shimmered within the golden pools of Alice's eyes.

"Uh, no," Teddy found herself prattling a response, "Defence Against the Dark Arts– it's a course in school."

The teen found herself somewhat dumbfounded when, at being the recipient of Alice's beaming smile, she realized something.

She had no fangs– no pronounced ones that could be identified, that is.

"It makes sense given that you all have your own societies that you'd have your own educational system as well."

Teddy could practically see Alice's imagination run wild. The small vampire peered at Luna, suppliant.

"Is she pouting?"

"You have to lend me those books you were telling me about okay?"

"Of course, I promised."

Teddy's lashes fluttered.

Her Aunt Luna and Alice appeared close. Much too close for persons who could have only met hours ago.

"I get the feeling that these two together will be a handful."

Luna's voice interrupted Teddy's musing, "You should know that there are currently several Shifters as well."

The blue-haired girl was hard-pressed to smother her grimace.

"Yes, I'm aware."

A brow raised, Luna pinned her temporary charge with a steady, expectant gaze.

Shifting her weight from one leg to the other, the young witch took a deep breath before she began to recount her experience.

"I was out looking for–," her eyes flitted towards Alice, "–my necklace. I know you told me to stay put, but I was feeling antsy. And when I was out searching…there was this little girl– a teen."

Teddy paused, again to regard the vampire within their company. "You remind me of her– her smell, her aura –so I suppose that she was a vampire as well."

"You must have met Renesmee. She's my niece," Alice revealed, then with a secretive grin she continued, "She's always been…special."

Teddy, unwilling to ask her to elaborate (because she was still miffed and a bit put off by the entire ordeal), resumed her tale. "I don't know how, but she saw through my spell and charms– literally tore them away. Then the git she was walking with– I swear he was a complete wanker –managed to get a hold of my wand and I ended going to the Shifters' home. 'La Push' is what it was called..."

There was also the matter of her now being connected to Seth, but the metamorphmage didn't even know where to begin with that one.

Unsurprisingly, Luna surmised that there was more to her story, but was able to sense her ward's hesitance. This prompted the Magizoolist to divulge another important factor on her end.

"I'm afraid there's worse news still dear," Luna inclined her head. Her serene expression gave way to something bleak and weary, "There's another vampire hiding in Forks. We're not sure what he's up to but we do know that he's working with another being – a werewolf."

Teddy's body tensed unwittingly, her mind reeling.

After several heartbeats, she swallowed heavily. Clenching her hands, she licked her lips, attempting to calm herself before she spoke. When she finally did, she sounded a pitch or so below panicky.

"I see."

Beside her, Alice's nose twitched. She reached out to lightly brush against the blue-haired girl's shoulder.

"Your hands," she whispered gently.

Teddy looked down at them. She hadn't realized that she'd been clenching them hard enough to draw blood.

She slowly unfurled them.

"…"

This time, Luna reached out to her. The pregnant witch clasped Teddy's hands giving them a reassuring squeeze.

"You'll be home soon."

Luna gently patted the top of Teddy's head– her hair colour had changed from blue to red-orange –and the slim lycanthrope felt a little at ease.

"For the time being," Luna murmured, "There are a few things to take care of."

Word Count: 2555

A/N: My deepest apologies. It wasn't my intention to take so long to update this story. I could give a plethora of excuses but...eeeeh. This chapter's shorter than the previous ones, but that's fine. I'm getting back into the swing of things. I edited Chapter 9 a bit. I plan on editing earlier chapters as well (grammar checks, filling of a few plotholes), but that's a little bit later on. I'm doing my best to make sure that the happenings in this story make sense/are consistent– that's just something I want to do. I might not be 100% successful, but I want to do my best. I've ironed out a bit of the 'Theories' part of 'Lupine Theories'– more on that in future chapters.

Aside from all that, I can't thank everyone, you the readers, enough. You've all been so patient– I'm grateful. To those who followed, favourited, reviewed (guests and members)– shout out to all of you guys. The hope that you all have in this story– it means a lot. Thank you.

For those of you who are curious about and/or still interested in my other story, 'Foreign Catalyst'– I'm working on the update for that as well.

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

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