Veiled [Seth Clearwater]

Message in a Bottle

"There are winds of destiny that blow when we least expect them. Sometimes they gust with the fury of a hurricane, sometimes they barely fan ones cheek. But the winds cannot be denied, bringing as they do a future that is impossible to ignore." ~ Nicholas Sparks 

It was a usually crappy Saturday on the res as far as weather goes. But Seth jumped out of bed feeling better than ever. His mother and sister slept in as he usually did himself but something told him to get out.

​​​It was strange being awake so early in the morning that the birds even refused to wake and sing. His heavy feet caused the gravel under his shoes to quake and scream, although a light tapping was the only thing actually audible. Though winter was coming to an end and spring was sure to follow, cool temps were a year round affair in the Olympic peninsula.

He was aimless, simply following the path his feet lead, unknowingly walking all the way to Forks. He walked along side the forest, expecting to hear the rustling of leaves but instead, silence. He stopping, contemplating turning around before he mindlessly crossed the border but was distracted by the small pitter patter of a fellow four legged creature pierced his ears. A white Labrador, made its way up to Seth eagerly, dragging their owner behind them. Seth grinned, bending down to pet the cute dog. It sniffed him excitedly, tail wagging as fast as it's heart was beating.

"He likes you." A voice said, making Seth chuckle, of course he likes me. Seth stood, his eyes following up the leash to the person attached to the other end.

And as soon as he saw her, he felt as if something knocked the wind right out of him. He was sure he would have fell back if not for the fact that his center of gravity was standing five feet in front of him. Her eyes sparkled in ways Seth could never imagine and her smile made him feel like he could melt on the spot. Ever since he knew it was possible, Seth constantly worried about what his imprint would be like, would they be nice? Would his family like them? All his fears were gone now, he understood, it didn't matter who she was or what she did because his soul was bound to hers and you can bet that she could have massacred an entire town (not that she would) and he still would have loved her regardless.

"He's cute." Seth stated, unable to remove his eyes from the magnificent creature in front of him.

"Thanks." She chucked, making Seth inhale sharply.

"I'm Seth." He introduced, trying to cover up the odd noise he just made, while mentally slapping himself.

"Grace." She smiled. How fitting. Unlike the first time she spoke, Seth felt a small tingle in the pit of his stomach which made him nervous but also happy.

"I've never seen you before." He blurted. "I mean, it's a small place, and not a lot of people, so you know..." He blushed, shoving his hands in his pockets bashfully. Grace giggled at the cute stranger in front of her.

He knew what they would say if he told them. You have to tell her. She has to know eventually. But he couldn't bring himself to even think about that. This person, his imprint, was so normal. He may have ruined her life and all she did was take her dog for a walk. Her kind eyes reaffirmed Seth's thought that she didn't deserve to be part of this world and if he had any say in it, she wouldn't.

"I just moved in with my aunt, from Seattle. And I offered to take Teddy on a walk." She knelt down, scratching the top of his head, and standing again as Seth spoke. Was it just a coincidence

"Little tip, the woods are kind of a mess. Pretty easy to get lost." He said, trying to sound like an informed local while actually trying to protect her from the dangers that lurked in the forest. She nodded and smiled, as Teddy tried running off, tugging on the leash harshly.

"I'll keep that in mind thank you." She said, giving into her pup and letting him drag her away. Seth smiled at her one last time, watching her until she was a spec in the distance, feeling like his heart was being ripped out with each step away from him she took.

He did is best to avoid the hell out of Sam and the rest of the pack that weekend, going out of his way to 'run into' Grace. He couldn't help it. He was drawn to her, it felt like without her, he couldn't breathe. And maybe keeping the secret from her wouldn't nearly be as easy as he thought it would.

The thing about the legend they don't tell you at the pack meetings was that the imprint felt the pull as well, not as strong as the imprinter but it was there. As soon as Grace saw Seth, even from a distance, she tried to think of something to say to him and then he looked at her and she felt whole, it didn't knock her back the same way it did to Seth but instead drew her in. In a way, they were both screwed.