You & I Collide

Rachel

It was an unusually warm day in La Push, Washington State. The sun glowed brightly in the sky as I sat outside on the front step of the Uley residence. My sketch pad was in my lap. I was drawing a wolf, one with silver-grey fur and magical blue eyes. It was lying on the grass in a woodsy area, glancing up at the sky.

If my younger brother Jacob - though he could hardly be called younger because of his immense size - saw me doing this, he would laugh his deep, husky laugh and tease me endlessly. I could almost hear him now: "Oooo! Rachel's in love!" That was Jake, always being a jerk, but a lovable jerk, and a wonderful one.

Now, that's not to say that I never teased Jake myself. He had his own sweetheart. Renesmee Cullen. However, my teasing didn't really affect him, because Renesmee was still a little kid, so they weren't too serious...yet. But you can't pick who you imprint on.

Imprinting...oh, how I wish that had happened to me! Paul, my boyfriend, was part of the Quileute werewolf pack. When you're a werewolf, you can imprint on people, which is like this bond between you that lasts forever and can never be broken. But it doesn't necessarily have to be true love. It could be the strongest friendship ever.

Paul was still in Sam's pack. Yup, there are two werewolf packs in Forks. Sam Uley's, which consists of him, Paul, Jared, Collin, and Brady. And then there is Jacob's, which includes himself, Quil, Embry, Leah, and her little brother Seth. Jacob is the true Alpha, but there was a bunch of werewolf drama this summer, and he kind of went off on his own and stuff.

Right now, all of the wolves were running patrol in the woods. There have been rumors among the secretive groups of mythical creatures that a vampire has been in Forks...again. So, naturally, since it's not one of the Cullens, all the werewolves have been on red-alert.

The Cullens are a coven of vampires here in Forks. Carlisle and Esme, Alice and Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie, Edward and Bella, and their half-vampire, half-human daughter, Renesmee. They're all really nice, very sociable, and unbelievably beautiful. Carlisle is the leader, like a father, and he alerted the wolves about the alleged vampire. There's something of an alliance between the ancient enemies of vampires and werewolves, but it could break at any time.

I'm not sure how long I sat there, sketching Paul in his wolf form, stroking my pencil across the page to create his shimmering fur. Paul used to have difficulty controlling when he shifted from man to wolf, what with his temper and all, but now he is a master at it.

Emily Young, Sam's wife, is a warning to all of the wolves. Three long, twisted scars crawl down her face from when Sam lost his temper and got too close. Normally, a girl might shy away from a relationship with a guy who explodes into a wolf every now and then because of that, no matter how gorgeous and kind and wonderful he is. But not me. I love Paul too much to worry about my own safety. I worry about him more. My boyfriend, out there huntng vampires. A shudder rolled down my spine.

When I heard rustling in the forest behind me, I didn't fear that it might be a bear. I smiled that it probably was a wolf. My wolf. I leaped up off the step and walked around to the side of the house. First Sam emerged, in human form, then Jacob, who gave me a playful smile. Embry, Quil...all of them. And then the best for last.

Paul stepped out of the woods, running a hand through his sandy brown hair. He wore only a pair of cut-off jeans, stained brown and green from the woods. There was a long black cord wrapped around his left ankle - a werewolf trend used to carry shorts that Jacob started. He wore no shirt, which exposed the thick muscles on his chest and arms. Super strength was something that every werewolf acquired.

When he saw me, his face lit up bright and happy. His loped forward and wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly.

"I was so worried about you," I whispered against his smooth, tan shoulder. "You have no idea how hard it was for me...to wait."

"Shhh...Rachel, it's okay. It's okay. There...isn't even another vampire out there." His voice was sweet like honey, his eyes blue like crystal oceans.

I edged myself back from him so I could see his face. It seemed a little...guilty...but I pushed that thought out of my mind. "Well, as long as you're all right, I'm fine, too."

"Good," he smirked, "because I was kinda hoping to give you something."

I gave him a questioning look, and was about to ask what that might be, when he answered my question with his actions and leaned down to press his warm, smooth lips to mine.

And I didn't care that Jacob was chortling noisily with Embry and Seth. I didn't care that they were probably all watching us. I didn't care at all. Paul was in my arms and I was in his, and at the moment, nothing else around me mattered.