"How was your day at work, sissy?" Paul greeted as I took off my jacket finally, always overheating with my new body temperature so I would wear crop tops and such under loose jackets now. I let out an exhausted sigh and collapsed on our couch.
"It was great! I feel like I'm back into the swing of things now, you know? And as much as it sucks I"m getting used to being away from Seth during the workday."
He laughed. "That's great! Well don't get too comfortable because we're heading over to Sam and Emily's. Sam wants to talk to you," he informed as I groaned.
"Seth will be there," he added, dragging out the 'there'. In a split second I was falling off the couch in an ungraceful heap, too excited to even process balance.
"Well then hurry up what are you waiting for!!" I demanded, grabbing his keys and pushing him as I ran out the front door.
Pulling up to Sam's was always the best part of my day. It was always where I saw Seth, never having actually been over to his house yet, and the pack brought so much joy to me.
Paul had barely parked the car when I stumbled out of it and ran into the house, letting the guys know I was near with the sound of my heels on the patio.
"Little Lahote!" Jared greeted with his massive mouthful, arms out in celebration. I giggled at him and returned his hug, greeting Embry and the guys as I did.
"Hey family," I saluted, kissing Emily on the cheek as I hugged her. "Where's Seth?" I questioned. The last few days he had been sitting in the living room on the couch instead of in the spare room, getting a change of scenery as he continued healing, though he insisted he felt a lot better. For such a massive injury, he had still healed miraculously. But because we were dealing with a broken back, Carlisle didn't want to take any chances and still ordered him to be on couch rest while he checked in daily to make sure Seth was following the rules.
At my words, I sensed him in the room, always being able to hear and smell him as well as feel the familiar effects of my nerves arise when he was close. "Right here!" he announced proudly as he walked around the corner.
I shot up from my chair in shock. "You're walking! You're not in a back brace! Oh my god are you...are you better!?!??" I screamed, overwhelmed with relief and happiness at the sight of him.
"Yep!" He nodded grinning eagerly. "Doc cleared me today! He still says no phasing for a few more days and to be careful but I'm all healed according to the scans!"
I covered my mouth in happy shock. "Oh my god Seth that's amazing! I-" I ran up to him and stopped myself before I reached him. "Is it okay if I hug you now??" I asked shyly, not wanting to hurt him or push Carlisle's rules.
I heard the room behind me laugh hysterically at my fear. "Oak, we've been punching him all day. Yes, hug him." Jared giggled.
"I'm sure Carlisle wouldn't be too happy to know that," Emily scolded.
I looked back to Seth with the biggest smile on my face, overdue for his hug, before throwing my arms around his neck as he bent down to envelope me in his arms. Instantly, his own arms found their usual place at my waist, making all the stress of the day fall away completely as I nuzzled my face into his shoulder and neck, breathing in the Seth I had come to love so much.
Woah....did I just say love?
Anyway, shaking that off and moving right along.
Seth held me long enough to make up for all the time he couldn't hold me with his injury - although it would never be enough in my eyes. I simply closed my eyes and melted into him, never wanting to let go, and still feeling overwhelmed by the feelings he erupted within me at his touch.
"Ugh are we there yet?" Quil moaned after who knows how long. "She's not gonna fall over and die if you let her go, Clearwater!"
Seth let out a defensive growl over my shoulder, holding me even tighter as he glared at Quil in disapproval, earning some chuckles around the room at his actions.
"I gotta say, I like angry Seth. Protective Seth is way more on my level than golden child Seth," Paul observed, everybody still amazed at the way I was able to bring out such an aggressive and possessive side of the usually happy-go-lucky innocent pup.
Leah laughed. "He's still golden child Seth, still a mommy's boy. Just whipped now, that's all."
We laughed and shook our heads, finally pulling away from the hug and looking up at each other with blushing cheeks and nervous smirks. I would never get past this feeling.
"So Oakley, I wanted to talk to you." Sam interrupted after a long enough time. "Take a seat," he instructed kindly, still not letting go of Seth's hand until we took our spots at the table. Holding Seth's hand was something I did for weeks while he was healing but in front of people and so openly felt different, more official in a way. It made my stomach stir at the thought of us being so public and not hiding our affection. I loved it.
"What's up buttercup?" I questioned the Alpha, Jared and Embry snorting at my choice of words.
Sam paused slightly taken aback. "That's new," he observed, visibly not used to the way I spoke to him and felt almost protective over him after seeing how much crap he dealt with leading this group of oafs.
"Yeah usually we call him Oscar the Grouch," Jared claimed.
"Or wet blanket," Paul added.
"Yeah or Sourpuss," Embry contributed.
"Or daddy." Quil finalised, being the final cue for the room to burst into their usual witch cackling laughter.
Seth threw his head back in laughter also while I pretended not to be amused, stifling my giggles into the back of my hand as I held eye contact with Sam who looked like he was 19483% done with their shit.
Really still carrying that tired dad energy.
"As I was saying...I haven't wanted to bother you while Seth was still healing, I know that was taking a lot of your worries and you didn't need anything else. But I wanted to talk to you about what happened at the battle - you clearly have gifts we didn't realise, and I think we need to look into them."
I nodded, sighing at the memory of the battle - it was still nauseating to think about, both because of Christian's surprise appearance and the myriad of questions that surrounded it, and of course Seth's near-death experience. Even the memory of his whimper sent shivers down my spine.
I snapped myself out of my daze, clearing my throat. "Yeah, I thought this was coming. I haven't experienced anything else out of the ordinary, if that's what you were gonna ask."
He nodded. "Well that's good to know but either way I think we should look into it. Chances are there's a lot more where that came from, and I think we need to be careful until we understand them fully. We don't want you feeling vulnerable and accidentally vaporising a building," he somewhat joked, but the concern in his eyes was clear.
"When we phased we had to take weeks off school until Sam was confident we weren't a danger to ourselves or anyone else. You went back to work after a mere weekend," Seth pointed out, laying his hand on my knee comfortingly as he tried to lighten the mood with a compliment. It worked, but mostly because the feeling of his hand on my knee sent me into a frenzy and I couldn't concentrate on literally anything else other than the feeling his fingers left on my leg.
"Exactly. But this is a bit different. We've never encountered anything like this before, and we need to be on top of it. So maybe if you're feeling up for it we can test them out a little bit? See what we can find?"
His proposal was logical, and I knew it had to be done at some point. "No better time than the present," I offered smiling nervously.
He seemed satisfied, his impatient side being entertained with the fact he wouldn't have to wait any longer to get control over this situation.
"Well okay. Have something to eat and we'll take it for a spin."
I nodded, looking up at Seth who was already looking down at me. I didn't even realise I was nervous, but Seth did - he always seemed to understand what I was thinking or feeling before I did. "You'll be great. And I'll be there the whole time, I promise." he whispered down at me, squeezing my thigh as he did to reassure me of his presence.
He let a supportive smile spread on his face, which turned into an adorable wide grin when I held out my pinky, silently begging him to accept the promise officially. Of course, he took my pinky in his and nodded while maintaining eye contact, his eyes desperately trying to calm me with their confidence. It worked, all of my previous nerves and insecurity about the unknown void that was my 'powers', completely melting away when Seth's pinky promise met mine.
I trusted Seth more than anyone in this world. And I trusted our pinky promises like they were unbreakable spells, which to us they were. They had quickly become our special little thing, and I loved them, and Seth had figured out that they were a sure-thing method of reassuring me in any situation.
He smiled down at me for a few seconds more before leaning forward and placing a sweet kiss on my cheek, close to my lips but not quite there, as he gently squeezed my leg once more to finalise the support.
"You guys are actually so adorable," Leah observed. How long had we been looking at each other and how long had she been watching it happen?
Seth rolled his eyes at his sister as he stood up to tease her, me already missing the feeling of his large hands on my thigh and his lips on my cheek. I didn't realise how comfortable I was in his closeness until he left, always zapping the warmth from beside me and making me feel empty without him. He was everything to me.
"Can I run home and get changed before we do this? Who knows how this is gonna go..." I mumbled gesturing to my work outfit which still consisted of my aqua shorts and the white crop top I wore underneath the jacket at work.
Paul laughed. "Go," he granted, Sam nodding as well.
"I'll come with you?" Seth offered, and of course I nodded eagerly, smiling erratically at the thought of spending more time with Seth.
He let an excited grin spread in relief as he skipped over to where I was, taking my hand when he reached me, both of us audibly sighing in relief at the contact, our posture visibly relaxing and all of our tension evaporating at the simple touch.
"Woah..." Jacob commented.
"That was interesting," Leah added.
Seth and I turned curiously to see what they were talking about, noticing they were staring at us.
"No it's fine. I've just never seen imprints react so majorly to each other's closeness. That was...extremely intense," Sam observed, referring to how we both completely melted at the sheer closeness, both our wolves and our humans (vampire in my case) letting their guard down completely and feeling utterly safe.
Emily smirked. "They make each other feel safe," she summarised, hand on heart at the realisation.
With that, Seth and I began the short walk back to me and Paul's place to allow me to get out of my work clothes.
Seth waited in the living room while I ran to my room, still laughing at something he had just said on the way.
"It feels weird being here in your house without Paul here too...I feel like I'm breaking his rules," I heard Seth observe from outside my room.
I giggled at his words. "You were here when I passed out after learning to phase through my vampire DNA, you brought me back and stayed in my room with me?"
"Yeah but that was different, you were literally unconscious and we were all worried about you. Plus Paul followed closely behind us and glared at me the whole time I was in bed with you." he explained.
"Oh my god I didn't know that..." It made me laugh hysterically at the thought of Seth trying to take care of me while I was passed out and Paul standing at the door with his arms crossed sending daggers to Seth who was literally doing everything he could to support me.
I chucked on some denim shorts and a grey long sleeved top with my usual white sneakers to be comfortable and not overheat.
I tossed my hair into a messy ponytail as I walked out of the room tying it up, meeting Seth in the hallway. He looked me up and down with a hint of blush on his cheeks. "How do you always look so beautiful..." he whispered, finding my eyes while his reflected both lust and admiration.
I finished tying up my hair and dropped my hands as I stared back at Seth with a sweet smile, taken off guard by his words. Taking a step forward, I placed my hands on his chest. "How did I get so lucky to have you?" I returned.
Seth's sparkle in his eye became prominent as he gazed down at me, his arms finding my waist as I stood rested on his massive and warm chest. He couldn't find the words to say back to me, instead taking a shaky nervous breath to steady his thoughts and tipping my head slightly with a finger on my chin, angling my face to meet his.
Seth's lips found mine slowly, softly. He kissed me with one hand on my waist and the other ever so gently holding my face as he guided me through the kiss passionately. The feeling was indescribable as always, literally no other sensory input was ever registering on my radar, the only important thing in the world was Seth and the way he was holding me, the moment we were sharing.
I kissed Seth like I would never get the chance to taste his lips again, savouring every second and wrapping my arms around his neck to get closer, pulling him down to me as we sped up and got more comfortable in this kiss, though the nerves and passion never wavered.
We were brought out of our trance suddenly when my phone beeped in my pocket, causing Seth and I to pull apart and rest our foreheads together as we caught our breaths. I looked into his eyes with a blush, still coming down from the kiss, loving the feeling more than ever.
I begrudgingly pulled my phone out of my pocket so we could both see it, allowing me to stay in his hold. I refused to let go of him yet, and judging by the remaining tight grip on my waist, Seth was the same - this moment was too good.
From: Paul You little shits are taking too long. Don't think I don't know what's going down, and don't think I won't send Jared and Quil over to drag your asses back here. You have three minutes to walk in this door or so help me I'm tracking the fucker down.
Seth and I both groaned loudly at his protectiveness but couldn't help believe him, both of us clumsily scrambling to let go of each other and run through the front door in a haste. We got a few steps before Seth stopped, standing in front of me.
"What are you doing?" I asked breathlessly, aware of the ticking minutes that Paul had allowed us.
He didn't talk, only allowing a giddy smile to work its way onto his face as he seemed to be in an absolute trance. His eyes sparkled with adoration, his large hand moving to cup my face gently, before moving forward and leaning down to crash his lips into mine once more.
Fuck Paul. I wasn't in any mood to stop this. My hand returned to Seth's neck, pulling him in and soaking up the final moments we had together before we had to go back, still unable to get enough of his lips on mine.
I was obviously let down when he broke the kiss after a few seconds, but he was also impressed with himself as it was obvious I was blushing and flustered, no doubt he could hear the racing heartbeat I had inside my chest. "I had to do that," he whispered as he lingered over my lips.
He granted me a final peck, before lifting me up without warning and securing me on his back.
I giggled as I got comfortable on his back. "You can do that anytime you like." I admitted, still finding myself dizzy from his kiss.
"Oh really?"
I kissed him on the cheek from my spot on his back. "Really."
It was Seth's turn to blush and become embarrassed, always making me smile at the cracks in his confidence. I loved seeing him turn to mush and a stuttering nervous mess. It made my heart swell knowing I had that effect on him just as he did on me.
Seth picked up the pace and ran us back to the house, both of us giggling at the whole situation by the time we slowed and got to the door.
We entered the house to see Paul standing furiously. He was clearly about to leave and follow through on his word. He growled at the sight of us so close and giggling, Emily smacking him in the head to shut him up.
"You're late." he moaned in a deep voice.
"And you're not my dad," I fired back, knowing that would hit him where it hurt due to our broken family situation.
Thankfully, he also saw the humour in it, rolling his eyes as Jared laughed loudly at his expense.
"Let's get started," Sam offered, breaking the tension that was growing between Paul and Seth. I jumped down what seemed three stories off Seth's back and landed on the ground gracefully, following Sam and the pack into the yard who were all eager to see what happened. "I wanna see if you can do this stuff in your human form as well."
"Vampire form." I corrected, everyone always seeming to forget I was half vampire, not human anymore. As if my golden eyes weren't reminder enough?
"Right...sorry." he stuttered and I shrugged. "Try and see if you can burn things, heat up your skin like you did in the battle."
I looked at him confused. "I don't want to hurt anyone!" I protested.
"No it's fine, we'll use a thermometer or something," he promised.
While Embry ran inside to grab a thermometer while I began focusing. I attempted to think about the feeling that ran through me at the time I began burning up. I was under threat, I was angry, protective. I closed my eyes, trying to channel the feeling and getting close but not quite unlocking it.
"Before you say it, no we're not putting Seth in harms way and Leah isn't slapping me again." I commanded, already knowing that someone (probably Jared) would suggest it.
Paul let out a sigh. "Aww come on, I can rough him up a little if you want?"
I growled instantly, taking a protective step forward and pushing Embry aside as I was ready to defend Seth in a split second. Paul raised his hands in surrender and his eyebrows raised amused.
"Woah wait, the temperature spiked a bit then," Embry observed, holding the thermometer near my skin.
"It could have just been general anger and her raised body temp. It would be more if it was the same as last time." Seth suggested, the group nodding.
"I feel stupid, what if I can only do this stuff when I'm genuinely under threat?" I proposed, not feeling like any progress would be made.
Leah stepped forward with her hand up, once again offering to smack me in the face. At the step she took, it was Seth's turn to growl and stand in front of his sibling to protect me. Paul pulled her back and the two older siblings crossed their arms, somewhat amused but somewhat sulking that they were obviously second in priority to their younger siblings and their imprinting.
"Just try," Quil offered, clearly curious as Sam was and not wanting to give up that easy.
I sighed, nodding slightly and closing my eyes, allowing myself to feel the feeling of the threat, similar to how I would when I phased but this time focused on my skin, and focusing the defence to my body heat in particular.
I felt something stir in me, felt as if I was heating slightly, but wasn't convinced it was enough. I put the rest of my mental power into increasing whatever I had achieved, pushing out all the heat I could, before I was cut off by gasps.
"Woah!" Quil shouted.
"Ah Jesus," Paul groaned over Leah's hysterical laughs.
I heard Seth growl and someone get smacked, opening my eyes to see Jared looking at me with wide eyes and an open mouth, Paul punching him in the side and Leah turning Quil around to face the house. Sam looked down awkwardly while Paul also averted his eyes, and Seth seemed torn between looking at me and growling at the guys and their reactions.
"Holy shit..." Embry mumbled from beside me. I turned to see him looking between the temperature on the dial and my body, confusing me.
Looking down, I saw that I had indeed successfully heated my skin to the point of burning anything it touched...including my clothes. They had completely evaporated into a cloud of smoke around me, leaving me in patches of my lingerie which hung off my basically naked body.
I let out a surprised gasp and covered my junk while Leah continued to laugh so hard she fell to the floor. Sam cleared his throat uncomfortably and Embry attempted to hide his blush as he turned around to show the pack the thermometer which had also melted even from not touching my skin but just being close to it. "She melted it! I can feel it coming off her even!" he exclaimed excitedly, Seth growling at his closeness and moving to push Embry away, taking off his shirt as he did to allow me something to cover with.
He put a hand on my shoulder, testing the heat as he stood in front of me protectively to shield me from the pack. The entire time, he only looked above my shoulders and the blush on his cheeks was a clear sign of his insistence to not disrespect me despite his wolf absolutely trying to get him to look. "Are you okay?" he whispered as he continued to swat away the smoke from my burnt clothes and tested my skin temperature cautiously on the back of his hand again, only to take it away quickly.
I nodded. "Yeah I'm fine." I was hyper aware of the fact that I was standing naked in front of Seth...I almost didn't even care about the pack and my brother I was so aware of Seth seeing me.
"You're still boiling," He observed, fanning my skin with his hands as I covered my body. "But I don't think it's enough to burn clothes. Here," he mumbled, handing me his shirt as he turned around respectfully, allowing me to throw his shirt on, of course loving the way it smelled like him and pooled at my thighs.
I stepped around him once I had dressed, clearing my throat awkwardly to signal I was decent.
The pack all turned around scratching their necks and blushing, Jared not bothering to hide his smile unlike the others. "Well I very much enjoyed that, great trick, Oak." he approved, throwing finger guns as he did.
Paul took it upon himself to throw Jared to the side roughly, the others snorting laughs as he did.
Sam cleared his throat. "Right well...I think it's safe to say you can pull off the burn trick in both forms, but we should be wary of the...clothing issue when in hu-vampire form..." he stuttered.
I nodded, attempting to not let the awkward tension take over too much.
"Cool bananas."
I failed.
With a shake of my head, we made our way back inside, me still wearing Seth's shirt and Leah still laughing her ass off at the whole ordeal lightening my mood significantly. Seth and I hung back slightly, trailing behind the group.
"You sure you're okay? It didn't hurt you or anything??" he checked nervously, clearly worried I had burned myself as he checked my skin.
I giggled slightly. "I'm fine, honestly. I didn't even notice I had done it, didn't feel much at all."
He nodded, satisfied with my answer before leading us inside for a pack dinner.
---
"You really didn't have to walk me home, Seth." I whispered as we arrived at my door later that night, the cool air contrasting with our skin sweetly.
"One day you'll realise that everything I do, I do it because all I want is for you to be safe and happy. And this way I get to spend more time with you which is the only other thing I could ever ask for." he admitted, trailing off slightly at the end when he realised how much he had said.
I stopped walking at the door, smiling up at him and his sweet words. I pulled him into a hug, wrapping my arms around his torso lovingly and burying my face into his chest as he accepted my embrace immediately.
I looked up at him from my resting point on his chest and smiled at the man I was so grateful for. He really was becoming so important to me and I didn't see it coming.
I felt him grow nervous, his heart picking up and his demeanour cracking. "I uh-" he stuttered, clearing his throat and looking down awkwardly.
"Seth? What is it," I spoke softly, attempting to make him comfortable enough to talk to me. "It's me, you know you can say anything."
He nodded. "I know, sorry. I just...I'm nervous," he admitted, causing me to squeeze his hands and stand up on my tippie toes to reach his face, placing a sweet kiss on his lips which he also happily accepted, leaning down slightly to allow me to reach him.
"Nervous is good sometimes." I whispered, stroking my thumb over his hand as I held it. He took a breath and steadied himself.
"I wanted to ask you, do-"
The door opening beside us cut him off, revealing Paul in the doorway who had beaten us back, standing with his arms crossed. "Ask her what, Clearwater?" he offered, sarcastically daring him to finish his sentence.
I growled at Paul, pissed off that he had interrupted yet again, and right at a time that Seth was already nervous about whatever he was going to say or ask. I was going to need to have a word with him when I got inside, this was getting stupid.
"It's nothing. I'll be going now, busy busy busy," he lied as he stumbled down the stairs awkwardly and took his leave.
I turned around angrily to Paul who stood there looking more than pleased with himself, shit eating grin on his face with an accomplished look in his eyes as he watched my imprint run from the house.
"Enough is enough." I yelled, moving my way into the house ready to go off at him and put him in his place.
AN // OOoooooo Seth and Oakley are so cute and Paul is so sweet but omfg he needs to get a hobby or something and stop shitting on their moments. What was Seth gonna ask her?
Also the pack calling Sam daddy gives me life. I am definitely running with that idea lmao
Love you xx Libby