Life As The Psychopath's Girl // Twilight And TVD Crossover

Bonus #8

continuation of Bonus #7

...

He had asked her to call him Effy. "If you want," he had added right away, hands already raised in defense, not out of fear, but something else - she wasn't sure what. What would they be? Lover, brother, friend... Protector, he had added to his list somewhere around 3 am when she had asked how far the imprinting bond actually went. Until death was what he hadn't dared to utter, thinking it was too soon, and rightfully so, but Hope had guessed it loomed in the chilly, November air, left unsaid.

And Effy was careful. Threading around her lightly, choosing his every word. Yet, the atmosphere didn't suffocate into a controlled one - no, it felt natural, more natural than perhaps anything else in her life, really. Normally, and this had crossed Hope's mind sometime during the night, it would freak her out; make her close in and hide. It probably would that night as well, if it wasn't Effy she was with, but some stranger.

And though this was the guy she had seen only once a year for a long time now, and barely knew, it seemed he wasn't a stranger, at all. On the contrary, something - fate, or God - whatever was in charge of the imprinting bond, made him feel like the only thing she was sure of. "Why is it like this?"

"Like what?"

"I don't click with people like this," she motioned between them with her fingers. "I don't socialize this easily."

"Maybe I'm just special," he sent her a playful smile. She chuckled, "Clearly."

Suddenly he leapt off. 

Hope lunged forward to look down, baffled. "Hey!" She screamed. "What the fuck?!"

Ephraim stood firmly on the ground, alive and well. Of course, she thought. Cockily, he smirked at her. "Coming, tribrid?" He teased. "I want to show around. There's more to this place than a comfy roof."

"And," he lifted his finger to emphasize his point, "Maybe I'll show you just how special I am." He had to have known, even then as he said it, that she was stronger than him in every imaginable way. She chose to shove that fact in his face a bit later, right after he floundered his wolf form like a proud peacock shows off his feathers.

It was easy to follow him down, and even easier to follow him into the woods. Where had her usual mistrust gone, and where had it taken her sense of self-preservation? "I hope you're not dragging me out here to perform some weird Quileute ritual on me, Effy."

His laughter filled up the forest. "Not just yet. That's reserved for the first time we mate."

"Ew," she wrinkled her nose.

"We'll see," he shrugged.

"Stop it," she ordered. "It's never gonna happen - especially if you call it that."

A small clearing peeked in between the trees in the distance. It was dark, but it was more than clear the place would be one of the most beautiful ones she'd ever seen. Hope halted in her steps. "Careful - we're not supposed to be here," he whispered, "Vampire territory."

"How do you know about it, then?"

"Zach Uley - he's from the other pack - likes to cross the border when his dad and Uncle Paul aren't paying attention," he shrugged. "And as his best friend and fellow future Alpha, I have the obligation of following suit."