Turn Scars to Stars [2]

Legends

Sorry for the delay. I struggled with this one, but I think it's okay now!

<3

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Running the palms of his hands continuously down the length of his shorts, as if to dry off the nonexistent sweat, Seth was the epitome of a ball of nerves. He stood tall, but the look on his face was anything but confident.

He had asked the Cullen girl to walk with him down the beach, but as they journeyed in silence through the gritty sand, Mel was starting to get anxious again. Seth was usually so talkative, which complimented her reserved behavior.

"Is everything okay?" Mel asked hesitantly.

"I need to tell you something, but I don't know where to start," he admitted. "You know more than most, but..." Seth stopped walking and turned to face the ocean.

"So, it's a wolf thing," Mel guessed. Waves lapped at her shoes as she stood on the sand beside Seth.

He sighed. "Yes. At least you already know that I'm a wolf shifter, so the next part should be easier for you to handle... I hope."

Seth tried to collect his thoughts, so Mel let him have some time as she stared at the finals rays of the sun setting over the ocean. The view was pretty; the sky's horizon was tinted dark shades of orange and pink. The darkness was quickly chasing away the sun and swallowing the daylight.

The Clearwater boy let out a breath of air, drawing Mel away from her train of thought. "You've seen how Sam is with Emily, right? Jared and Kim, also?" he started.

Mel thought of the way Emily's face lit up whenever Sam walked in the door. "Yeah, the couples seem really in love."

"Well, there's this thing that we do as wolves that ties us to our other half. The Fates bind us to our soul mates through something called imprinting."

"Imprinting?" Mel echoed in confusion. "Like a baby duck?" Some birds, like ducks and geese, imprint at first sight as a way to identify norms for their species. Usually the imprint is an adult who will protect the hatching as it grows and learns the ropes of life.

"Kind of the same concept, yeah. Imprinting is a bond. Like with the story of the Third Wife, imprints exist to protect and provide for the imprintee."

The Quileute legends were fresh in her mind.

"...Taha Aki’s third wife had just seen her son die before her. Now her husband fought, and she had no hope that he could win. She’d heard every word the witnesses to the slaughter had told the council. She’d heard the story of Yaha Uta’s first victory and knew that his brother’s diversion had saved him.

“The third wife grabbed a knife from the belt of one of the sons who stood beside her. They were all young sons, not yet men, and she knew they would die when their father failed.

“The third wife ran toward the Cold Woman with the dagger raised high. The Cold Woman smiled, barely distracted from her fight with the old wolf. She had no fear of the weak human woman or the knife that would not even scratch her skin, and she was about to deliver the death blow to Taha Aki.

“And then the third wife did something the Cold Woman did not expect. She fell to her knees at the blood drinker’s feet and plunged the knife into her own heart..."

"The Third Wife sacrificed herself to save him-- her wolf imprint-- from a vampire," Mel remembered.

"Yes." Seth nodded. "Imprinting works both ways. The wolf and imprint feel the pull from the first moment they meet. It's a powerful thing, finding your mate."

Mel wasn't dumb by any means, but she had to ask to be clear: "And you're telling me this because..." She bit her lip and held her breath.

"Because I am fated to you. I'll be anything you need: brother, friend, or more, but always a protector. You are my imprint, Melaina, and I am yours."

Mel's mind spun every direction like a racing rollercoaster. Her erratic emotions after meeting Seth were justified.

The reality of the situation quickly set in. She was bonded to a werewolf for life.

Her vampire brothers were going to have a cow.

~*~

Mel released the air that she was holding once her lungs began to burn.

Thu-thump. Thu-thump. Mel could feel her heartbeat in her throat. She tried to breathe normally but choked on the incoming air.

Seth noticed her distress. His hands fluttered around as he tried to figure out what he needed to do. "What's happening? Are you okay? Melaina? Breathe."

She needed to leave before she had a meltdown in front of the boy who had confessed to being her soulmate. "I don't -- I can't -- I'm not --" Mel stumbled across various trains of thought.

Tears filled her eyes as she squeezed them shut. "I need Jasper," she whimpered. The overwhelming feeling of drowning in a sea of anxiety settled uncomfortably in her stomach. Mel wanted to call her family, hug her empathic brother... but no. She wasn't able to make the first contact in fear of risking her and her family's lives.

Tightening her arms around her stomach, Mel turned to flee. "I'm sorry--" she choked out.

"Please don't run..." Seth stepped around her small body and reached out a hand to brush his fingers along her face.

Tingles littered her skin-- but not the bad kind like when she was slowly becoming numb.

No, this was a warm feeling that slowed her racing mind. She concentrated on the feeling of his touch on her cheek. Her eyelids fluttered.

Seth pulled her gently against his chest. "Breathe," he reminded her softly.

Mel inhaled the scent of clean linen and bonfire smoke from his white t-shirt. She matched her air intake with his until she was calm.

"Are you empathic?" the Cullen girl asked, only slightly kidding.

"Not exactly, but I feel you. We're connected by emotional bond as well. Part of the imprint package."

"Sorry I panicked. I have really bad anxiety," Mel admitted. "I have a hard time controlling it." She pulled back out of his arms to look at his face, but instead of releasing her completely, Seth's hand made its way into hers.

For his temperature being 108 degrees, Mel almost expected Seth's hands to be clammy, but as their fingers intertwined, she found his hand to be warm and soft. Mel gave his hand a squeeze.

"We can take everything slow. I don't want to make you uncomfortable or anxious, Mel. There's no pressure to be with me."

"That's not it. I mean..." She blushed a rosy pink. "There is something about you that I can't ignore." Mel swung their attached hands a little for emphasis. "This is just a lot to take in."

"I want you to know that no matter what, I'll be there for you." His voice was smooth and earnest.

"I've never been with anyone," Mel said shyly. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and avoided his eyes. "Can we start as friends and see where it takes us?"

Seth's insides fluttered with happiness. "I would love to be your friend."

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Honest thoughts?