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Edward Cullen had not been happy when he returned home from Florida on Sunday afternoon and learned that Victoria had not been caught and killed. He had tried to take his anger out on Valeria, but Jasper had shut that down as soon as he raised his voice at the young vampire. Then he turned his anger on Emmett, who actually was to blame.
Valeria thought it best to leave the house before furniture started being thrown. It wasn't going to be her job to clean up any broken windows. So, she gathered her school bag and made her way through the woods, far enough away that she couldn't hear her brothers brawling.
She ended up making herself comfortable in the same area where they had been chasing Victoria the day before. Carlisle, Jasper, and Rosalie — who were the most protective of her — wouldn't have approved of her sitting in sight of the treaty line, but she didn't care. After unloading her supplies and leaning against a tree, she began working on her art assignment — she was putting off the harder classes.
The immortal was in her own little world, humming an ABBA song to herself and roughly outlining the shapes of the trees across the ravine. For one with sharp hearing and an impeccable sense of smell, you'd think she'd notice the large black wolf that slowly emerged from the underbrush.
Sam had found her as soon as her tantalizing scent reached his nose. He had been in the woods with Seth, trying to help the young wolf shift back and forth.
The problem, he quickly realized, was that everyone else had relied on anger to shift, especially in the beginning. But Seth Clearwater was the least angry, most chilled-out teenager that Sam had ever met. Even when the boys teased him for being the youngest or his sister barked orders at him, Seth kept his calm.
After forty minutes of trying, Sam had finally gotten Seth to shift into his wolf. However, he forgot all about their progress when strawberries and wildflowers tickled his nose. Sam took off like a rocket, too eager to answer Seth who was following behind him.
He found her close to the treaty line. Seth stayed back, hidden by the trees as Sam crept forward. He was expecting his girl to notice as soon as he arrived — she was, after all, a killing machine with superior senses.
But even as he revealed himself, she stayed put, scribbling on a sheet of paper and singing an old song his mother liked to sing — Chiquitita. Sam was a bit puzzled, always thinking that vampires sat too still for his liking. But his vampire was slightly wobbling from side to side to the beat of the song.
"That's her? Your imprint?" Seth asked through their mind link. "Are you gonna talk to her?"
Sam paused for a moment, remembering the lengthy council meeting that they all sat through the night before. Despite the Elders' dislike of vampires, it was advised that Sam pursue his imprint. She would even be allowed on Quileute land — though she still could not hunt. The imprint wouldn't really affect the treaty on Sam's part. The wolves have always been allowed in Cullen territory, they just couldn't shift. The news that the girl was allowed in La Push hadn't gone over with some of the pack members well, but they gave up arguing after a while.
