He explained everything. Firstly, he set me right on some basic points; for example that he didn't need the full moon to change. It was simply his state of mind - if he got really angry he would change, and he's have to calm down to change back. Hollywood didn't get much right.
Then he told me about how the 'Protectors' of La Push were actually the pack of werewolves on the reservation. He said he'd only become a werewolf that night after the cinema two weeks ago, which explained a lot. Apparently he was born with the werewolf gene and it wasn't 'activated' until he grew up a bit.
"So is Jessie a werewolf?!" I exclaimed after he revealed that the gene was passed down from father to son.
"No, it sort of...skipped a generation."
"How come?"
"Well, before, there wasn't really a reason to have werewolves on the reservation."
"And there is now?"
"Well, not exactly...anymore. But once things are set in motion..."
"What do you mean? What does La Push need protecting from that needs a pack of werewolves to fight?"
He seemed reluctant to answer. "Really, there's only one enemy of werewolves...Vampires" He said the last word softly, probably realising the effect it would have on me. He knew me so well.
"Oh." My voice sounded kind of strangled
He changed the subject then, telling me about how werewolves had some weird telepathic field when they were in wolf form; apparently to help them hunt, but the rest of the pack could see all the other things in your head. Luckily he didn't stay on that for too long either, so I didn't have time to let my mind remember the other person I'd known who could do that...
Then he told me about this special thing for werewolves to find their soul mates. He called it Imprinting. He said it's like love at first sight, but much stronger. He said it's almost like gravity moves and that, once a wolf has imprinted, he is tied to her and he has to be with her. He said she would never reject him either, because they were always meant to be together and he would show her so much love and devotion it would be hard to resist. He said that it was meant to be rare, but Wesley and Josh had already imprinted so they wondered if it was more common than they thought.
Then he moved on to the special little quirks they have from being werewolves. For instance, their body temperature. For one thing, he was never cold anymore, so he supposes that's so they can endure the elements. He also said they heal really fast; he could get a deep wound that could take months to recover from, and have barely the hint of a scar left half an hour later. He said it was pretty handy, because it'd be hard for them to go to a doctor when they have a body temperature that means they should be dead.
Then he told me about the pack in general. He said there were only five of them at the moment, but some of the other boys on the reservation - namely, Michael - were looking like they were going to change pretty soon. He said Sam was the Alpha of the pack, so they had to listen to him; they were physically incapable of disobeying orders given by the Alpha. They all respected him though, because they admire how he coped with being the first one to change; not having anyone to help him through it.
He told me a bit more about the pack and the whole change, getting more excited when he told tales of when they were all out running together.
"So that's what you've been busy doing these past weeks. Well, I suppose I can understand you being too busy to call-" I stated when he'd run out of steam.
"It wasn't that I was too busy, Emily. I'd always make time for you. But I wasn't allowed to talk to you." He sounded quite resentful of that.
Okay, now I was confused. "Why?"
"They told me it would be best if I left you alone now I'd changed. They thought I'd tell you about us. You see, why do you think we go running at night? Why we meet in secret? People can't know about our existence! To them, we have to remain stories; just folklore made up by a bunch of crazy, senile men who didn't know what they were talking about. They were still worried though, Sam had to order me not to tell anyone; especially not you."
"But Dameon... you just told me everything...How?"
"Well, Emily. You see, there can be exceptions to the rules. For instance, once a werewolf Imprints, she is allowed to know all about us."
He took my face in his hands and held my head so I had to meet his gaze as he looked straight into my eyes.
I hoped this wasn't going where I thought it was going...
"So I could tell you Emily, because I Imprinted on you."
And it had.
