Painful Warning

I dragged Mom and Leah away, quickly, and we left the party. I knew if I stayed I would want to be around Angela, would follow her everywhere. And I didn't want to scare her.

I crawled into the backseat of Mom's old silver Cadillac. My legs always got cramps from riding in this car – I preferred running. But people might notice if Mom and Leah drove off without me.

So I sat sideways on the back seat, my legs bent at the knees. The moment Mom started the engine, Leah turned and asked, harshly, "What the hell was that back there? Do you even know that girl?"

"Her name is Angela." The name came out softly, gently. For a moment, I wasn't in the car with my family. I was dancing with her again, her beautiful eyes looking into mine, her voice filling my ears….

"Ugh," Leah groaned. "Did you imprint on her?!"

I grinned, brought back to the present.

"Yep."

"What?" Mom asked, eyes finding mine in the rearview mirror. "You imprinted?"

"Her name is Angela Weber. She's magnificent. I can't wait for you to meet her, Mom. You'll love her."

"Seth…." She trailed off. I was surprised Leah had said nothing else.

"Yeah?"

"You're only fifteen, baby."

"Mom!" I was protesting two things: one, that she was calling me "baby"; two, that she was classifying me with the rest of the kids my age, when she knew I was more mature than that.

"Wait a second before you get all huffy," Mom insisted. "Now, I know that you aren't a normal fifteen year old boy. I know that all too well. In addition to everything else, you're also very mature, physically and mentally. But…well. Isn't she a bit older than you?"

"You know that doesn't make any difference, Mom. I'm hers now. Age is completely irrelevant."

"Not for you! For her. I'm sure she'll think twice about dating someone so young."

"Mom, I don't look fifteen. And once I tell her the truth, I don't think it will matter how old I am. She's either going to run away screaming" I winced here, envisioning this possibility; I wanted her to accept me, more than anything else in the world "or she's going to accept that we're meant for one another. In which case age would be the last thing to concern her."

"I suppose you're right." Mom sighed, and I saw her dart a worried look towards Leah. Imprinting was a touchy subject for her. Not only was she worried about all her reproductive issues (ugh! Number one on my list of Why I Don't Like Knowing What My Sister Is Thinking), but imprinting was also what took Sam away from her.

We pulled into our driveway, and, as I got out, Leah said, "Wait, Seth. Can I talk to you for a second?" She sounded amazingly calm.

Mom walked on, into the house. Abandoning me to the wolves, so to speak. (Sorry, but, ever since I became a werewolf, I make cheesy wolf jokes at every opportunity.)

"What is it?"

"About Angela…" Leah seemed strangely nervous. Leah was never, ever nervous. My sister had extreme fits of temper, but her emotions (since Sam imprinted on Emily, anyway), though they vary in degree, are always one of the following three: anger, irritation, and depression.

But I had very little time to take this in. Angela's name sent me off into a very nice, happy place, where she and I were dancing, talking, laughing. Where she told me it was okay I was a werewolf, that she loved me….

"SETH!" Leah's harsh, shrill shriek rent through paradise. When I focused on her face, the nervousness was gone. She was irritated again. Which was oddly comforting.

"Ok, ok. Sorry," I grinned, as apologetically as I could.

She growled.

"Look, Leah, I'm tired. What do you want?"

"Well, here's the thing," she began. She took a deep breath. And I suddenly recognized the look on her face, with a stab of worry. She wasn't nervous; she was in pain. Her eyes had that haunted look they got whenever she saw Sam with Emily. I could practically hear her silent screams.

"Leah, don't. I know what you want to say," I said, though I really didn't. But I knew it had something to do with Sam, and I didn't want my sister to go through that.

"Seth, I have to say it. I have to. Not for me, not for you."

This puzzled me. "For who then?"

"Well…for Angela, partially."

This made me pay even stricter attention. Anything to make her happy, anything that would benefit her. I would do it. The sky wasn't the limit, because there was no limit to what I would do for Angela.

"Was that her boyfriend she was dancing with earlier?" Leah said, quickly, eyes squeezed shut.

"Yes."

"Well…listen, Seth, I know how hard this will be for you. And I want you to be happy. But I don't think you should go after Angela. I think you should let her be."

This was not what I had expected at all. "Leah…explain."

"Well, before Emily. And Sam." She inhaled sharply through her nose, and balled her hands into fists. One tear trickled down her cheek. "Sam and I were happy." Her voice broke. "We were. And I know…I know he wouldn't change things…and I wouldn't either. Not really. He's happier with her than he was with me. Which is what matters. However…you'll destroy that boy Angela is dating, if you get her away from him. And it will hurt Angela, too, though she'll end up being okay, though loving you will heal her. Because…when Sam. Left." She was sobbing now, trying to get the words out. It was so hard to watch. I wanted to hug her. But Leah shied away from physical contact now. "He didn't want to leave me. But he also did want to. It tore him in two. In the end, he had no choice. He…he belongs. With Emily. He does. But it hurt him to choose, even though he knew he couldn't help his decision. And if he'd had a choice…well, it would have hurt him even more, knowing he could keep me from hurting but hurt me despite that knowledge. Which is what Angela will be dealing with."

"I think making Angela choose will cause her a lot of pain. Cause everyone a lot of pain. So…could you try to stay back? Let their relationship run its course?"

I took a deep breath. I knew how much it had cost my sister to make her speech. I knew she was just warning me – she was warning me, at her own expense. I knew she would curl up on her bed tonight and cry for hours, something she had done every night until a month or two ago, when she finally began to accept everything.

"Leah," I whispered, "I can't stay away from her. I can't. Quil almost has a panic attack when he's away from Claire for too long. Jared would glue Kim to his side if he could. Paul checks in on Rachel at least once an hour." I didn't mention that Sam couldn't bear to be away from Emily, either. "You know how it feels, from running around with them and hearing their thoughts. Right now, it's all I can do to keep myself from running to her house and circling it." This was the truth. I felt a magnetic pull towards the center of the earth…I would never lose track of Angela. I would always be able to find her.

"Seth-"

"To stay away from her for any length of time would be impossible," I stated flatly. "Trying to do so would be a waste of time, and a miserable one at that."

Leah pursed her lips, and her eyes flashed. She hardened into the ice queen imprinting had made. I could still see the ghosts in her dark eyes, though. They would come and envelop her tonight, no doubt about it.

"Fine," she said. She reached up to haughtily flick her hair over her shoulder, until she remembered it had been shorn away. Aggravation flashed across her features. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

She stalked away, slamming the front door behind her.

If I weren't a werewolf with super-hearing, I wouldn't have heard her begin sobbing the moment she reached her bedroom.