Paul and Charlotte walked through the woods for a while in silence. It comfortably sat between them, and they had found it there more often than not the last few days. The tension between them seemed to come in waves of withstandable desire to enraged passion. As this dynamic ebbed and flowed between them, they tried to figure out what exactly they wanted from one another.

The kiss they had shared the previous evening still made Charlotte's head spin, and her lips seemed numb. They had been so caught up in the moment that she had let herself get carried away. Her pride seemed hunched over within herself. She wasn't this girl; she had made sure of that. Her life had always been drama free, driven by determination rather than infatuation. Paul's very presence made that waver now.

Charlotte was sure she wanted much less than Paul. She wants him to care for her from afar as she finished up her degree. Then maybe they could talk about where their relationship would go. Work out a plan to see each other every so often. That way one of them wasn't doing all the traveling between La Push and Seattle. Practically speaking, they would be able to make an arrangement that would allow them to cultivate their relationship, but not become too dependent on the other for confirmation.

Paul wanted the dependence. He wanted her to need him because that's how all of the other imprint bonds had manifested in their pack. Still, this girl brought out things in him, he didn't understand. Her steadiness seemed almost infuriating at times. While he had been used to going through life swinging, she took her approach carefully. The words Jacob had said still rang in his ears about the imprint bond being mutually beneficial. It could be that he simply needed her right now to help him settle into a life that was more sustainable than the warpath he had been following since he was in high school. Those were all of the intellectual thoughts he had about her.

Other's swarmed around in a flurry of all the ways he would love to touch her. Would she like it when he took the lead? Or would she rather her be in charge? Did she prefer his fingers or his mouth? Was she vocal or was she quiet and her face full of silent expressions? Those were the thoughts he had when she was walking in front of him along the overrun paths through the woods. He tried to dispel them as quickly as they came, but some of them lingered against his will. Every passing tree became an opportunity for him to stop her and test out his theories with her back pressed roughly into the bark and her eyes wide with wonder at his actions.

Both lost in thought, it took them far too long to realize the blonde woman who was following them between the trees. Her features were sharp and terrifying. Yet, she still seemed as if she had stepped out of a magazine. The distinguishing feature was the bright red eyes that followed the couple as they walked alongside one another. In their absent minded wandering, they did not realize how far away from the houses they had truly come. As they danced the fine line of the Quileute reservation the woman became less careful of hiding in the trees. With just a few more steps, they were outside of the reservation completely drawing away from the worn path of the typical border patrols that the pack ran.

"Hello," the woman made her presence known stepping out from behind them. Paul whipped around shielding Charlotte with his body, but the vampire was already less than a foot away from him by the time he finished his move. Her head tilted down just slightly looking up at the vampire with her bright red eyes. "I'm sorry, I can't let you phase right now, okay? Wouldn't want to hurt your little girlfriend here would we?" Paul's hands were already shaking, but he knew she was right. Charlotte was standing too close to him. If he phased and hurt her, he would never forgive himself. "Plus," the harsh looking blonde said with a devilish smirk lighting her features, "you're not going anywhere are you?" She turned her attention to Charlotte who nodded slowly.

Charlotte went to step around Paul towards the woman and he threw his arm out in front of her. "Charlotte, don't go near her." Charlotte halted for a moment looking at Paul's arm and then at his face. Her hazel eyes met his slowly as she seemed to search his features for something. Confusion was evident in her eyes for a moment before her gaze seemed to glaze over altogether.

"I think she wants to come closer. Don't you Charlotte?" Charlotte nodded to the woman, side-stepped Paul's grasp and came closer to the woman. The vampire woman let out a shrill giggle that made Paul's bones shake in disgust. He could move away to shift and then come back and attack the woman. But, what if she acted rashly and killed Charlotte because he had moved? "It's been so long since I've been able to play," she announced giddily as Charlotte came to rest just in front of her. "Kiss me Charlotte." Her voice was silk sliding between her lips with such ease.

Paul lurched forward towards the vampire, but Charlotte was already in his path laying her lips gently against the vampire's. It made him stop. His eyes glued to the back of Charlotte's head until she pulled away. His heart was in his ears and he could feel the growl that rumbled in his chest. The vampire draped herself across Charlotte's shoulders letting another menacing giggle erupt from her.

"How fascinating," the woman hummed her excitement as she played with a loose strand of hair that had come from Charlotte's messy bun. The vampire turned Charlotte suddenly and the hazy expression seemed to dissipate from Charlotte all at once. Whatever had overcome her left so quickly she gasped and immediately tears began to well in her eyes. Paul lurched forward again, but the vampire held up a hand in warning as the other arm curled around Charlotte's throat. "Whoa, Mutt," she hissed, "we wouldn't want our Charlotte to get hurt." She dragged her nose against the sensitive skin of Charlotte's neck taking a deep breath.

"Paul-" Charlotte's plea was cut off by a sharp sob that seemed to rattle her whole frame. She took a deep breath that shook her even more making the vampire laugh.

"I'll do anything," Paul said, quickly breaking eye contact with Charlotte only to make sure that the vampire knew he was serious. He also wanted to pull the vampire's attention from the plan she had rest her nose on Charlotte's neck. "What do you want? I'll give it to you. Just please let her go."

"Oh?" The vampire cocked her head to the side. "I'm getting everything I want right now. Well…" her voice trailed off for a moment as she kissed the bend of Charlotte's neck delicately. A shiver passed through Charlotte and goosebumps erupted across her skin. "I could take a bite and then really have everything that I wanted." The woman looked up at Paul through her lashes as she nuzzled Charlotte's neck. The tears that rolled down Charlotte's cheeks made Paul want to brutally attack the woman, but he wouldn't be able to take her in his human form. "You can't offer me that, Mutt."

"Paul," Charlotte drew his attention again. Tears rushed down her cheeks only seeming to excite the vampire more. The woman's arm tightened around Charlotte's throat holding her in unbreakable choke hold. Charlotte's face turned red and she scrambled to try and pull the woman's arm away from her. Her fingers desperately trying to find purchase in this woman's cold, hard skin.

"I've done what I came here to do. You'll have to explain to our Charlotte why you couldn't help her, and I'll get to leave." Charlotte's movements were slowing, and her eyes were beginning to close. The woman did not seem phased by it as she watched Paul who was desperately trying to figure out what to do. "I won't kill her. She'll just pass out. When I let her go, you can either follow me or keep her from hitting the ground. From what I've seen here," her eyes scraped over Paul's figure before resting on his face again, "you'll catch her. In 3… 2… 1."

The woman was gone and Paul jumped forward to keep Charlotte's head from hitting the ground. He scooped her up into his arm and headed back towards the reservation as quickly as he could without jostling Charlotte in his arms. By the time the Uley house came into view he was shaking so hard he thought he would shift with her still in his arms. Jacob noticed them break through the treeline and sprinted for them. When he reached them, Paul dumped Charlotte into his arms before stumbling back into the woods and shifting. A broken howl filled the air almost immediately. A few more howls echoed in the distance as they headed in toward the sound of sadness.