Family Portrait (A Jasper's Sister Story)

10: Left to the Wolves

**EDITED: 5/15/16**

I crossed my arms, feeling out of place now. I wondered how Seth and Leah could be so different, they were raised together weren't they? Seth was so kind and open, and Leah was cold and rude. 

"You heard me, what are you?" Leah sneered, her glare intensifying.

"Leah, please don't." Seth sighed and put his hand on his sister's arm. Leah ignored him, keeping her glare fixed on me. I could feel everyone's eyes on me and Leah, as if waiting for a big explosion to occur.

"Well, I'm a girl and I'm not human. Same as you," I narrowed my eyes.

"We are not the same!" Leah snapped.

"Okay, I think it's time for dinner. Come on Claire-bear!" Quil said loudly as he stood from the couch. He grabbed Claire from my feet, the little girl frowning at the sudden hostility. The others followed Quil, Leah sending me one last glare before turning and followed. I sighed, turning my gaze to Seth who still stood near the doorway.

"Ignore Leah, she doesn't really like anyone." He shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Her reaction was what I was expecting from everyone to be honest," I let out a nervous chuckle, feeling extremely out of place now. "I'm not exactly used to people immediately taking a liking to me." I bit my lip and crossed my arms. "So she's your sister?"

"Um, yeah." Seth nodded.

"You two are so different," I said quietly.

"She's been through a lot." Seth shrugged, glancing behind him.  "We should go get dinner before the guys eat it all." I snorted, and Seth shook his head. "Seriously, they will eat it all if we don't get some first." I nodded, following Seth into the kitchen.

"Belle! Sit next to me!" Claire giggled, jumping from her spot in Quil's lap. I glanced at Seth, and after receiving an encouraging nod I took the seat next to Quil. A moment later, Seth took the seat next to me.

"Ladies first," Emily announced, handing plates to me, Kim, Leah and Quil since he was sharing with Claire. I put some of the lasagna on my plate, grabbing some fruit as well. Once we were done, the boys attacked and I watched in mild horror as they devoured their food. "Don't worry, they always eat like that." Emily told me and shook her head.

"Wolves have a big appetite." Seth said with a mouthful of food.

"I've noticed," I scrunched my nose, rolling my eyes and looked down at my food to keep him from seeing the smile threatening to escape.

I ate in silence, watching as they joked and ate. Despite the welcoming atmosphere, I couldn't help but feel like an outsider. I barely knew these people, and while I'm sure they were all lovely, that didn't help the situation I found myself in. It didn't help that Leah would glare at me from across the table anytime I even thought about opening my mouth.

"Want to take a walk?" Seth asked as everyone was finishing up. They were slowly making their way back into the living room and I had lingered behind in an attempt to help Emily clear the table. I looked up at him, nodding as I glanced at Emily who had roped Embry into helping her. I followed Seth out the door, taking in the cool breeze and fresh air as I clasped my hands together, feeling like I could finally breathe.

"Sorry about the pack, I know they can be overwhelming sometimes," Seth said after a moment.

"You shouldn't have to apologize for them, they did nothing wrong." I shrugged, keeping my gaze on the ground as we walked towards the beach.

"Well if they aren't what's bothering you, what is?" He asked. I frowned, wondering when I became so easy to read. I used to have an excellent poker face, and now someone I had only met the day before can tell when something was bothering me.

"It's just that," I paused, hesitating for a moment. "Watching all of you be around each other, I don't know. You all seem close like siblings," I shrugged, feeling extremely exposed. I hadn't talked about my feelings in over a century, the concept now foreign to me. I glanced at Seth, taking a breath when he nodded, encouraging me to continue. "It makes me realize that Jasper and I aren't like that anymore. We've been apart so long. We're both so different than the last time we were together."

"You guys just need time to reconnect. From what I've seen, he still sees you as his baby sister." Seth assured, putting a hand on my shoulder. I sighed, nodding slowly. "When was the last time you saw him exactly?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," I shook my head and bit my lip, preventing a smile.

"Try me," he nudged my shoulder with his, raising an eyebrow at me.

"The last time I saw Jasper was in 1861 when I was fifteen and he was 17." I laughed at the look on his face, his jaw dropping and eyes wide.

"There's no way that's true. You'd be over 150 years old!"

"I'm 160 years old," I nodded, laughing. "You forget that I'm not actually human. The rest of the wolves could probably smell it, which explains why Leah asked what I was." I shrugged.

He frowned, "I'm still kinda confused about that part. If you're a vampire, how come you seem human?"

I sighed. "I'm not 100% sure myself. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the pond. Carlisle said that it could be this one mythical lake that's supposed to restore what's lost, so it could be restoring my humanity. But we don't know how it's supposed to work. I wasn't exactly supposed to go back to the pond because of that."

"Then why did you go back?" I bit my lip, feeling my cheeks heat up under his gaze. "What is it?"

"I went back because there was a certain wolf I may have wanted to see again." I said quietly, averting my gaze from him as I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Well, then it's a good thing I decided I wanted to see a certain blonde again." I looked at Seth, blushing harder at the small smile on his face. I rolled my eyes playfully, causing the both of us to laugh.

We walking in a comfortable silence, the only sound was the waves crashing against the shore.

"We should probably head back. They'll be wondering where we are." Seth said breaking the silence. I nodded, a shiver raking my body as a gust of wind hit us. "Are you cold?"

"Just a little," I shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "I'm not exactly used to being cold."

I was surprised when his arm wrapped around my shoulders. Any feeling of cold was replaced with warmth, as if it was the middle of summer rather than approaching winter.

"Oh my god, you're so warm." I mumbled, wrapping my arm around his waist as I moved closer to him.

"Um yeah, shifters have a body temperature of 108 degrees." Seth said. I hummed in content, resting my head on the side of his chest.

"It must be nice to always be so warm. Vampires don't feel anything, but we know that our skin is cold compared to a human."

"It's awful in the summer. We get way too hot."

"You're already pretty hot now." I muttered, my eyes widening when I realized what I said. "Temperature wise, I mean." I rolled my eyes when he started laughing, slapping his chest lightly. 

Seth teased me the rest of the short walk towards Emily, keeping the conversation light. I couldn't help but wonder what Jasper meant by me being mated to him, and when Seth called me his imprint. One would think I'd be able to tell if Seth was my mate, but with this whole magical pond thing, I was willing to let it go and settle for the small friendship that was forming between Seth and I.