Spending the day in Port Townsend with Claire was much more fun than I’d imaged. To be honest, I’m not much of a window-shopper. Or any other kind of shopper. But spending time with Claire in this new era of our relationship – holding her hand, seeing her happier than I think I’d ever seen her – was wonderful, with or without the windows. I wanted to buy her everything she saw that made her eyes light up, and that made me realize I’d need to earn more money. Take on more side jobs. Winter would be coming on before too long, so that meant a lot of firewood to chop. I could pick up other day work, too. Having the strength that comes with being a werewolf has its definite advantages.

 

I was gazing at her while we sat on the porch of this old-fashioned sandwich place where we’d stopped for a late lunch. She had her back to the harbor and the breeze was playing in her hair. I don’t think she’s ever looked more beautiful to me. But I guess my stare seemed a little bit intense because she asked, “why are you looking at me like that? Do I have food in my teeth?”

 

She knew just how to make me laugh. “This is the way I’ve always looked at you,” I replied with playful indignation. “You just never noticed before.”

 

“I once was blind.”

 

“But now you see,” I said. We hadn’t played this game of quoting song lyrics back and forth in a while. It was nice. “Actually, I was trying to memorize every detail about how you look just now. I thought I’d try concentrating on this image tonight. Might help keep my mind from drifting back to this morning.”

 

She smiled. “I like that plan.” Then she got more serious. “I wanted to ask you something. I don’t understand why you have to continue patrolling. There haven’t been any vampires around for years, have there?”

 

I smiled. “Maybe there haven’t been any vampires around because we still patrol.”

 

“I hadn’t thought of that. Still, it seems to me that the threat is pretty much over.” She seemed to very much want me to validate that, and I hated that I couldn’t.

 

“We don’t think so,” I said. “People think of vampires as solitary creatures – and they often are, but they still have a need for social interaction. Maybe not as much as the rest of us, but they do tend to congregate.”

 

“That makes sense, but why here? Apart from the lack of sunshine?”

 

“That’s probably part of it. But we believe Nessie is likely to be a big draw for them. She’s nearly one-of-a-kind, and we suspect that’s very intriguing. Vampires are really as complex as the rest of us. One big difference is, they have lots of time on their hands. They never sleep. In terms of their physical needs, all they really require is to feed once in a while, and it’s not food they ever pay for, so they don’t have to earn any money. In fact, Carlisle’s the only vampire I’ve ever heard of with a steady job. They’re fast enough to steal anything they might need or want, including money for housing – not that they need any protection from the elements. Since they can’t really form long-term attachments to humans, they seek out others of their kind.”

 

“And they’re bound to wonder if they’re compatible with a human/vampire hybrid,” Claire added.

 

I nodded. “Look, we haven’t caught any vampires – or even seen them – in years. But we still pick up their scent from time to time, so we have to stay alert. And active.”

 

None of this seemed to make Claire feel any better.

 

“You know I’ll always keep you safe.”

 

Claire nodded. “That’s not what concerns me. It’s just that I’ll continue to age while you stay the same. How do the other imprints deal with that?”

 

I didn’t really know how to answer her. Instead, I sighed and asked, “why are women always worried about their age?”

 

“Hmm. Maybe because all the media we consume tells us how important it is for us to be pretty, thin and, above all, young,” she said with no small amount of derision.

 

“That’s because we’re surrounded by white patriarchy,” I replied. “Most native cultures think much more highly of women – especially older women, who are honored for their wisdom. But that seems to be drowned out by puritanical ideas about gender roles and the age-old love of American capitalism.”

 

Claire nodded her agreement. I reached across the table to take her hands in mine. “You know I’ll always love you no matter your age. And you’ll never lose your beauty because it’s rooted deep inside you, not in the features on your face.” Claire actually looked a little hurt at that. “Um. What I mean is that beauty is as much inside as it is outside.” Her look didn’t change. “And I find your outside extremely beautiful. And very appealing.” That made her smile.

 

It’s too bad women are taught to put so much value on their physical looks, I thought. I knew men also put value on their own looks, but it seemed to be more about height and musculature than facial features. In that regard, I was lucky. I had to admit to myself that if I hadn’t ever phased I might still be the short, skinny, insecure guy I was before. I guessed that made my nonchalance easy and I decided I should never forget that my comfort with myself had been a gift, not something I earned.

 

“It’s not just the age thing,” Claire confessed. “Being in the pack really ties your life to La Push. But I want to go to college.”

 

“You know I would never hold you back from following your dreams.”

 

“I know. And I can get a couple of years of college here, but I can’t get a law degree in Forks.”

 

“Since when have you wanted to be a lawyer?” I’d never heard her mention that before.

 

“Since I read an article online about this woman who specialized in tribal law. That’s the kind of law I want to practice.”

 

“Tribal law? Does that mean you learn about the laws of the five-hundred-and-something federally recognized tribes?”

 

Claire smiled. “That’s part of it. But tribal law is also about how federal and state laws impact tribal peoples. It’s about ensuring that we get what was promised to our ancestors. That we get to keep our sovereignty. That sort of stuff.”

 

“Sounds really cool. If you had to go away to law school, I could probably get some kind of hiatus from the pack.”

 

“Has anyone ever done that?” Claire looked hopeful.

 

“Not that I know of.” I thought for a moment. “We all understand that being in the pack is as much a responsibility as it is an honor, and I don’t think anyone resents being drafted to do it. But it’s not a calling for all of us. The elders understand that some of us may want to pursue other interests.”

 

“Have you ever wanted to?”

 

“Before I phased I wanted to become a doctor. But I wanted to study both Western and traditional medicine and use them together.” I laughed. “I hadn’t thought about that in years.”

 

“I never knew that about you,” Claire said with a sweet kind of appreciation. “But it makes perfect sense. You should do it one day.”

 

“I might. Talking about medicine reminds me,” I said with a grin. “We still need to stop at a drugstore in Port Angeles.” That made her smile and, I think, even blush a bit. “We have a two-hour-plus drive back home and it’s getting late. We should maybe get a move on.”

 

Claire signed. “Okay. This was so nice, though – being with you someplace where we don’t have to stop and chat with everyone we know. I’d love it to last all day … and then some.” She paused and smiled again. “But you have patrol tonight and I have to work tomorrow, so you’re right. We should go.”

 

*             *             *

 

After I dropped Claire at home, I headed to my place for a quick bite. Patrols really take it out of you, so a snack beforehand helps. I walked into the bedroom and tossed the box of condoms in the drawer of the nightstand next to my bed. That brought the morning’s activities to mind, which made me smile. I’d been trying all day to not think about making love to Claire, but the memory of it was so fresh. So real. Close. I decided that maybe if I let my mind wander now, I’d have an easier time concentrating on something else tonight. I flopped down on the bed. I could still smell her scent ever so faintly. Making love with Claire had been amazing. Better than I had imagined, even, and I had imagined it would be terrific. It was the first time for both of us, but it wasn’t clumsy or uncomfortable at all. It had been so completely right. The feeling of her skin against mine while I moved inside her. Holding her while she lay beneath me, opening herself to me so completely. Thinking about it still gave me goosebumps. I’d heard that it gets even better in time as you learned how to bring each other pleasure. I couldn’t imagine it could be any better than it was this morning, but I was happy to keep an open mind.

 

Finally, I decided I’d let my mind wander through this meadow long enough, so I got up and hit the kitchen. There was still a mess of muffins on the table, so I ate a couple with some milk. Then it was time to head out.

 

 

I got to the patrol meet-up a little early. I wanted some time to concentrate on that picture of Claire on the patio before the rest of the pack showed up and we phased. It even worked for a while, but the guys knew something was up – particularly since they’d probably picked up on my frustration about Claire the other night. “Wow. Claire looks pretty happy,” said Embry. “So I guess she finally gave in to your masculine charms.” That made everyone laugh.

 

“She did,” I answered, but that brought to mind our first kiss on the beach. More laughter. And then, before I had a chance to check it, memories of the morning’s activities came to mind, and it was all over. This extremely private, personal information was greeted with laughter and even some whistles.

 

“About time!” someone said.

 

“You dog!” said someone else. I’d have probably been blushing if I’d still been in my human form. Fortunately, Sam showed up and gave us a serious look that shut it all down.

 

“Quiet everyone!” he said. “Paul found a camper. Dead and drained. We need to head over there.”

 

We set out at a run, following Sam’s lead. We all knew what this meant – we had a vampire in the area. And this one had killed. Whether that meant it was planning on staying a while or not was something we couldn’t know. But we’d take care of it if it was stupid enough to stick around.

 

We got to the campsite, and all looked at the dead camper. Poor guy. He was white as paper with all his blood gone. But he wasn’t anyone we knew, so that was a little bit of a relief. Picking up the vampire’s scent from the scene wasn’t difficult and we were able to follow it for quite a ways. But we lost it when we came to a stream. We scoured the other bank trying to pick up the scent again, but it was gone. We all paced around a bit to release some of our frustration. Finally, Embry let out a mournful howl. Before long, we’d all joined in.

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Read Chapter 6