𝘈𝘓𝘓 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘍𝘌𝘈𝘙 𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘍𝘐𝘙𝘌
𝘖𝘍 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘌𝘕𝘋 𝘖𝘍 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘞𝘖𝘙𝘓𝘋
𝘏𝘈𝘗𝘗𝘌𝘕𝘚 𝘌𝘈𝘊𝘏 𝘛𝘐𝘔𝘌 𝘈 𝘉𝘖𝘠
𝘍𝘈𝘓𝘓𝘚 𝘐𝘕 𝘓𝘖𝘝𝘌 𝘞𝘐𝘛𝘏 𝘈 𝘎𝘐𝘙𝘓.
- 𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃, 𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘!, 𝐇𝐎𝐙𝐈𝐄𝐑
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"Hey Emily, can I ask you a favor?"
Emily looks up from her book and smiles at me. "Sure, Willow."
"Can Seth and I make cookies here? I want to try to teach him how to bake, and I think it could be fun. We would clean up after ourselves and everything, and you get first dibs," I explain quickly. She sighs and shakes her head, but her smile never leaves her face. "...Is that a yes?"
"Sure. But if you guys make a huge mess, I will not be helping you in the slightest."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I yell as I run over and press a kiss to her cheek. She grins at me and goes back to her book while I run out of the house and all the way to the Clearwater's in one breath. One very very long breath, which I'm still trying to make up for as I knock on their door. Sue opens it and smiles at me when she sees how I'm bent over and panting with my hands on my knees. "One...second..."
"Seth!" she yells. "Come inside, Willow. He should be down in a second."
I smile and take the arm she holds out as I step into their house. As always, it has that distinct smell I can't even really describe. Just Clearwater. The way Seth and Leah always smelled, and how I smelled going back to Emily's after being there all day.
Seth comes bounding down the stairs and picks me up in a hug as soon as he sees me, sending both Sue and I into fits of laughter. He doesn't let me go once I'm back on the ground, just kisses my cheek and leaves an arm around my waist. "What's up?"
"Do you want to come make cookies at Emily's?"
"Does Emily still want a kitchen?" Leah asks dryly as she passes us. I giggle as Seth rolls his eyes and sticks his tongue out at her. "I have no doubt Willow can bake, but my brother...not so much."
"Emily already said yes, and that's what I'll be there for!"
Leah smiles a tiny bit before leaving. Where she's going, I don't know, but I'm too surprised that she smiled at me to care. Seth watches me watch the front door close with a bemused expression.
"What?" I ask as he looks at me. He shakes his head and kisses my temple in response. "You're so weird."
"Thanks, Will."
Sue shoos us out of her house soon after, with her blessing to hit Seth as often as I need to get him to listen and do things correctly. He's not thrilled with this blessing, to say the least. He even makes me promise not to hit him with Emily's spatula, because apparently someone's attacked him with that before and left a bruise on his left butt cheek for weeks. I can't help the laughter that follows that statement, and I'm red in the face and crying by the time we get back to Emily's house. She doesn't even try to question why, just sighs and takes her book upstairs. I suppose living in a house where loud boys come in and out when they please has her accustomed to situations like this. Though, not ones where they're using her kitchen. Hopefully she's not a high-anxiety person.
I already know where all the pans and bowls are from helping her cook for the boys, so I set Seth with the task of locating the ingredients. All I ask for him to find is the milk and eggs out of the fridge, and somehow he ends up with a plate full of food and a glass of orange juice. I have to remind him of the permission his mother gave me to get him to put it down and help.
It's not as messy as I had expected. Seth is very careful with powders so he doesn't spill them everywhere, and he won't even touch the eggs because he's so scared of breaking them prematurely. I'm not much better, and we go through a few before we get them in the bowl without shell. I can't remember any exact measurements, but we eyeball everything and it actually turns out okay. Except that I leave Seth in charge of making the cookie balls and he makes the biggest cookies I've ever seen in my life.
"Did you make cakes?" Emily asks as she comes back down from her room. Seth groans and tucks his face into my neck to hide the flush that takes over his cheeks. "They smell great. I'm sure they'll be gone in no time."
"We should make a cookbook. Recipes for Werewolf Tribes," I say with a grin as I cup the back of Seth's head. "These are definitely the correct portion sizes."
"I didn't know they spread out so much!" Seth says from my neck. Emily and I both smile at each other as I run my fingers through his hair. I pat the back of his head as he turns back up to look at us.
"It's okay, Seth. Now you know for next time."
"There's gonna be a next time?" He's so whiny I can't help but giggle at him. Like a big baby in a teenager's body.
"You both didn't destroy my kitchen, so you're welcome to use it for cookies as often as you like," Emily says with a smirk directed at Seth. He groans again and lets his head fall back, looking up at the ceiling. I poke him in the Adam's apple. "It would be easier for me to not have to make a million meals a day."
"Maybe we can even venture into actual cake territory."
"Leave me alone!"
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Being around Jacob when he's this miserable is just painful.
He's all mopey and planning Edward's murder constantly. But then Sam brings him back to reality and says no, so then he pouts and bitches about how dumb imprinting is. I have to walk away every time he starts talking about love because it's so infuriating. He's absolutely allowed to have his own opinion, but if he could be a little quieter about it, it would be much appreciated.
Seth is much more patient with his moodiness. He must be used to it because of Leah, so I guess he's got more experience in listening and staying quiet. I don't understand how he holds back from smacking Jacob on the side of the head as soon as he starts talking. I have to sit on my hands most of the time to physically hold myself back. He's already so on edge all the time that making him mad would probably end in some injury on my end.
Seth feels bad for how lonely Jacob is, so we sit with him every time the pack does anything instead of staying with the other imprints. Except Quil, who has to babysit Claire all the time, so he's alone a lot too. I hate to admit that it's really weird to think that they'll be like Seth and I someday, but he's known her since before she could speak. I'm just glad Seth and I didn't meet until we were both fifteen.
"They don't even belong to themselves anymore."
I roll my eyes from where I'm playing with Claire and Quil at the edge of the beach. She loves the ocean and trying to throw more sand into it. Quil thinks this is the cutest thing in the entire universe, and that she must be exceedingly smart for her age. I don't have the heart to tell him that what she's doing is perfectly normal. Plus, Jacob already spews enough negativity all the time. Like right now.
I take a quick look back at them. What I wouldn't give to be with Seth right now. I don't think I have the self control to deal with Jacob, but Seth is so warm he doesn't have a shirt on, and the spray from the ocean is soaking me to the bone. He catches my gaze and sends me a warm smile, which helps a little with the cold, though only inside me. My fingers are still going numb. Jacob sees the look between us and sneers as he looks back out at the ocean. Leah says something that makes him clench his jaw and close his eyes. I want to punch him so bad. Seth shakes his head at me before getting up and coming over to the ocean.
"He would try to kill you, you do know that, right?" he asks as he crouches next to me. I smile and nod. "So please keep not hitting him when he says stupid stuff."
"Only because you asked so nicely," I say as I press a kiss to his cheek. "Look at Claire. She found sand!"
"Wow!" The sarcasm in his tone is so blatantly obvious I'm surprised Quil doesn't glare at him. "It's almost like that's what the whole beach is made out of!"
I shove his chest, which makes him fall on his butt on the sand. Claire shrieks and laughs, which makes Quil grin as well. We're all laughing at Seth until he pulls me down on top of him. Then it's everyone but me laughing. Especially Claire, who jumps up and down to show how funny she thinks this is. The only bad thing about this is the sand all over my sleeves from where I tried to soften my fall. There's plenty to enjoy, though - namely, plenty of Seth's warm skin under me. I think he knows I'm enjoying this, because he smiles and sits up, pulling me into his lap. I happily sit between his legs and catch Claire as she jumps at us. Quil smiles and waits until she turns around and jumps at him, then falls like she tackled him with enough force to knock him over. Her high-pitched giggles echo off of the water and all around the beach, bringing some attention over to us. I can see Emily smiling at us before whispering something to Sam, who nods.
"What did she say?" I ask Seth.
"That she was glad we found you," Seth whispers right into my ear. "And so am I."
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I sit on Emily's porch later that night, enjoying the fresh smell the rain brought from earlier. The grass is all dewy and pretty. Seth's at his house for a shower and to do some chores Sue set to him. Emily and Sam have claimed the living room for a movie night, and instead of joining them like Emily invited, I opt for a little nature break. It isn't raining anymore, so there's no reason not to be outside. Not that the rain usually stopped anyone in the pack.
Jacob appears in front of me, looking tired and drawn. I would really, really like to not warn him that Emily and Sam are having couple time, but something in me feels bad for how exhausted he looks.
"Em and Sam are watching a movie in there. Alone," I say as he reaches for the doorknob. His hand stops in midair as he grimaces. "But you're welcome to sit with me while I wait for Seth if you want company."
Surprisingly, he comes over and plops down next to me, his arms spread out over his knees as he looks out at the reservation. He looks very thoughtful, but also quite sad. I bite back an insult as I look out over the place that I call my home. Dark, cold and damp. Exactly what we were told by Riley.
"How you doing?" I ask quietly. It feels to sit in silence with him.
He scoffs. Suddenly I don't feel bad for all the insults I've been thinking up. "How do you think?"
"On second thought, you don't need to stay with me."
"I'm sorry," he says after a second of silence. His voice is so soft I almost think I imagined it. "I'm fine. How are you?"
"Fantastic."
He shakes his head.
"What?"
"You and Seth are the same person in two bodies. Everywhere I go, I'm followed by reminders that I'm lonely and the only girl I'll love is gonna become a filthy bloodsucker."
"I'm sorry it's so miserable for you all the time." It's the truth, even if it's not as kind as it could be.
"I wish I had imprinted on her."
"The fact that you didn't has to mean something, doesn't it?" At his confused expression, I go on, "Everyone I talk to about the imprint bond says it's like being soulmates. That one of you guys can look at someone for any amount of time and will it to happen and it still won't. So, the fact that you haven't means there's another girl out there for you somewhere. You just have to find her."
"I don't think there is."
I sigh and pat his knee as I stand up. I've met my nice quota for the day, and now I just need Seth to distract me from feeling bad for Jacob again. "You can be as stubborn as you want, but the imprint bond won't happen, no matter how hard you might force it. Just wait."
"Sure. Thanks, Willow."
"You're welcome. Bye!"
I feel a little less bad for loving Seth as I leave. And a little more sympathetic toward Jacob and his unfortunate situation. I can't wait to tell Seth. He'll be so proud of me for being nice.