Forever or Never?

It had been a week since I went to the Cullens' house to stop Emmett. I had time to think things over. Alice had said that vampires and wolves usually smelled really bad to each other. But if Seth had imprinted on me I probably wouldn't smell too bad to him, or him to me. I needed to go hunting, it had been a week and a half and Angela had noticed the dark spots under my eyes. I knew where the boundary line for the treaty was and that I should stay away from it.

I ran through the forest, tracking a mountain lion, until it crossed the boundary line. I sat down on the ground and closed my eyes and took deep breaths, listening and smelling. I could smell the blood before I could hear the animal. I felt the shimmer in the air across the line from me.

"Mateja?" Seth's voice startled me. I opened my eyes and Seth stared at me.

"Hi, Seth." I stood up and walked the five feet to the boundary line and sat back down again.

"Do you always sit like a statue hoping something will come along?"

"No. I was hunting and the mountain lion crossed the line. I sat down to concentrate a little."

"And I showed up." Seth sat down on the ground in front of me. "So, what've you been up to?"

"Not much. Trying to figure everything out."

"So how much have you gotten figured out?"

"Well, I think that if you imprinted on me, I can't smell as bad as the rest of the vampires do. And it might work out that you don't smell as bad to me as the rest of the wolves. And I talked to Alice and she said she 'sees' me with Emmett sometimes, and sometimes with you."

"How? I thought she couldn't see the wolves."

"She only sees you when I'm around her. My talent is to identify and intensify other vampires' talents. So instead of seeing blurry spots, she gets the whole picture."

"And it's only with you around?"

"Yeah. So...What's the pack been up to recently?"

"Not much. Quil and Claire adopted another girl, Catie, she’s from South Dakota. We caught the edge of a trail and scent of a vampire a couple days ago, but they were headed north out of the area. So we're patrolling a little more now to keep a watch and see if they come back."

"Was it a familiar scent?" I smiled inwardly at the mention of Catie.

"Not really. It hit a nerve in Leah and Jake's memories, but they can't figure out where."

"Oh."

"So what's happening with the vampires?"

"Not much. Emmett and I aren't fighting as much as we were a week ago."

"That's...good." I could hear the reluctance in his voice as he said 'good'.

"Oh, and we're getting company and possibly another member to add to the Cullen clan." Seth put his head in his hands and shook it before talking.

"Lovely. Just lovely. Another vampire. How many are coming this time?"

"Three or four. I'm not sure. They keep changing their minds."

"At least it's not the mass numbers that came last time the Cullens had visitors."

"Hey, Emmett told me to ask you about the mountain side adventure with you and Edward and Jake and Bella. I was curious."

"Oh. That. Yeah. Victoria. He told you about Victoria, right?"

"Yeah. Edward killed her mate, she swore to kill Bella. Mate for a mate."

"Yeah. That one. Anyway, so she made a bunch of newborns, she couldn't control them and she wasn't being smart, letting them feed at will. A bunch of people went missing, and even more were found dead around Seattle. It attracted the Volturi. In the time it took them to get here, she attacked. Alice, Jasper, Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, and the pack, minus Jake and I, fought off the newborns. It had been decided that Jake would take Bella up a mountain and meet with Edward. I went so they could stay connected to the rest of the pack so we knew what was happening at the battle. Edward read pack mind through me, and translated for Jake. Victoria followed Edward's scent, knowing that he would be with Bella. Jake left to go help out with the main fight when it got almost too bad for them.
Just after he left, Victoria and her pet Riley showed up. Edward took Victoria and I fought Riley. We got Riley torn up and a fire started and then I started helping Edward finish Victora. We took Bella down to the main battle as they were finishing. Carlisle was talking to a newborn, Bree, who had surrendered already. Then the Volturi showed up and killed Bree because of some stupid technicality or something. I don't know how, but Edward and I became really close just waiting overnight for something to happen. We bonded fighting together. We've been close since."

"Okay. That explains some things."

"Hey, do you wanna do something?"

"What?"

"Come down to the rez and meet everyone."

"I guess I should get to know the pack," I said as we stood up.

"Follow me." Seth walked into the trees and kept talking. "Actually, hang on a sec." I felt the air shiver a bit and the chocolate brown wolf walked back into view. He looked at me before taking off into the woods. I ran after him, following his scent through the trees. He smelt like crushed pine needles. I couldn't see why the rest of the vampires thought the wolves smelt bad. We ran into a village, and I saw Leah looking out of the front window of a house. She glared at Seth, and ignored me. Jake came out of another house, looked at Seth, and walked into the front yard.

"Hey, Mateja. Come on inside. Seth'll be back as soon as he gets the rest of the pack. I'm thinking this will be important," Jake said. I walked past Jacob into the small living room. I took a seat on the couch next to Renesme after she motioned me to.

"Hi, Mateja. Do you know what all this is about?"

"Yeah. Kinda. Seth wanted me to meet the rest of the pack and the tribe."

"He's been thinking about it for a couple days. Jake keeps complaining cuz you keep showing up when he and Seth run patrols. Hold still." Renesme put her hand on my face and I was pulled into a memory.

"I'm getting sick of running patrols with Seth. All he ever thinks about is Mateja." Jake came stomping into the house.

"Calm down. He complained just as much as you are when you met me. Even if you thought of me as a little sister for a while. It comes with imprinting. You should know that by now."

"I know. But she's a vampire."

"I'm half vampire. What's your point?"

"I--Idon't know. It's just weird being forced to think about her."

"Sorry."

"It's not your fault, Nessie."

Renesme took her hand off my face and the memory stopped. I looked at her before saying anything.

"I wonder... My talent is to identify and intensify other vampire's talents. Since you're half vampire I wonder if my talent will affect you. Or how if it does."

"It might. How does it affect my parents' and the rest of them?"

"Edward can talk to people with his mind rather then just reading them. Alice can see the wolves and you in her visions. Jasper can take emotions and make them extreme. You saw what happened to Seth in his human form when Jazz tried to calm him down. I still don't know how I affect Bella. She hasn't needed to use her shield around me."

"It does make you wonder, doesn't it?"

"I wonder... Put your hand on my face again." As she put her hand on my face I thought of my first day in Forks.

"Em knows where to go. Come on, we change then go to the parking lot." I followed her out of the locker room and into a sprint until we reached a silver Volvo, where there were more vampires waiting. "Edward, calm down. Jazz, help please?"

"You--," I pointed at the copper haired boy, "can read minds. You --," I pointed to the blond boy, "control emotional climates. And you--," I pointed to the only girl in the waiting group "are a shield." I was still in my trance. Too many different new talents at one time. I took a minute to regain power over my brain, and snapped out of my trance to focus on a group of slightly confused vampires.

"Alice, how does she know that?" The blond boy asked while he put his arm around Alice's waist. The copper haired boy was fuming. I felt a wave of calm rush over our little group.

"Thank you, Jasper." Oh. Ok. The blond on is Jasper, Jazz. "Edward, it's okay. Really." The copper haired is Edward. And the girl is Bella.

"But you said--," Edward started.

"So now we know what your talent does to mine," Renesme said as Jake and Seth walked in.

"Wait, what?" Jake asked.

"I'm talented. I identify and intensify others' talents," I smiled at him.

"It's actually kind of useful. She showed me her first day in Forks the way I show you my memories." Renesme said calmly.

"Lovely, Seth. A freaking TALENTED one? Really?" Jake asked, turning to Seth. Seth smiled at him as Leah and more people came into the little house.

"Ok, everyone, have a seat if you can find one. Let's get this mess started." Seth said, sitting next to me. His warm body radiated heat against my side, letting me feel a little bit of heat I haven't felt in centuries. "Ok, this is Mateja. I imprinted on her. You have to get over it. It's her choice. She can choose me or Emmett. She is talented. She can identify and intensify other vampires' talents. Mateja, you know Leah. This is Brady, Collin, Kathleen, Sam, Emily, Quil, Embry, Liz, Alex, Isaiah, Andrew, Ashley, Bethany, Cindy, Allie, Kamilla, Kendalyn, Karissa, Holly, and Catie." Seth pointed to each as he said their name. I said hi to each of them, hoping I'd remember their names. "Andrew, Ashley, and Bethany are Brady and Leah's. Alex and Isaiah are Embry and Liz's. Cindy and Allie are Sam and Emily's. Kamilla, Kendalyn, and Karissa are Collin and Kathleen's. And Holly and Catie are Quil and Claire's adopted daughters."

"Ok. I MIGHT remember all of the names. But there are a lot of them, and a lot of new faces can be a little confusing. So don't be offended if I don't get them right for a while." A chorus of "It's ok"s hit me at one time.

I got to stay and talk to the tribe for the rest of the evening, a couple of the pack members excusing themselves at a time for patrols. As they ate their supper, I went hunting for a while. I came back and chatted with them for a while, telling them my full history as I had done all of the Cullens.

I walked out of the house and onto the front porch. I sat down on the steps to think about everything. Catie came and sat next to me, her auburn curls bouncing as she did.

"Hey, I had a question for you."

"Yeah?"

"My mom was really into genealogy before I was taken away. She had it traced back to near Volterra, my however-many-greats grandma was a Stern. We could never find a name, but she had a sister who was sixteen years older. The only record my mom could find was a diary entry about my grandma having a sister who died before she was born. The only name mentioned besides hers, the parents, and her kids, was Mateja."

"You're one of Alessia's descendants, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"You're a niece then. I was told right away that I could never see my family, but when I went out to hunt or on a mission, I'd go by the house. I listened as my mom gave birth to Alessia, knowing I'd never get to know my little sister. The only reason she knew my name was that I left a note. Otherwise our parents never would have told her."

"Cool, I guess. I mean, isn't it crazy? We're related. You're a vampire now and I'm one of the 'wolf' people. And we somehow managed to wind up in the same place."

"We didn't manage it. I've followed the line down from Alessia whenever I had the chance. I found you and then stayed guard over you for a while, watching as your parents abused you. Ever wonder who the 'mysterious stranger' was that finally called the police?"

"Always. I've wanted to know who it was that had called and brought me to safety." I smiled at her and got up, hearing my name called from inside the house. I walked in and was told we were going to have a bon-fire on top of the cliff. I followed Seth out and waited for him to transform and then followed him through the forest. He stopped suddenly and transformed behind a tree.

"We're almost there." He said, walking out and taking my hand. I walked hand in hand with him to where the fire had been started. I pulled my hand out of his, and walked toward the flame.

I went home that night extremely confused.

Am I falling for Seth? I asked myself, already knowing the answer. Yes, I am.