Tooth and Claw

Free Will

"I just need a minute".
Charlotte ran out of the room as fast as her new vampire legs could carry her.
Unfortunately she was not alone for long, as Esme and Carlisle were quickly by her side once again.
"Are you O.K? Is it your thirst? Was it too difficult being near so many warm-blooded creatures at once, so soon after your first hunt?" Asked Carlisle.
Charlotte frowned at the doctor. For someone so wise, he seemed to be so out of touch with the real world, as her thirst was the last thing she was thinking about right then.
"No. It's nothing like that" sighed Charlotte.
"Then what's wrong? Whatever it is, it will be O.K. This is your first day as a vampire, so it's O.K not to know everything yet or to feel out of touch with your body and how it works" replied Carlisle.

"It's not a vampire problem Carlisle. It's a wolf problem. Well actually it's a girl problem" admitted Charlotte.
"I don't follow" frowned Carlisle.
"I don't know what to do. This werewolf named Seth, has just revealed his undenying love for me. But I don't even know him, and he doesn't know me. If we'd met outside this situation, he wouldn't look twice at someone like me. So now I'm just thinking that he only likes me because his genes are telling him to. It wasn't his choice to love me. Also, I didn't imprint on him, so am I just supposed to accept that I'm going to be with him for the rest of his life, or all eternity- are werewolves immortal too? And what if I don't like him? He looks hot, but is that just his imprinting rubbing off on me, and making me think he's attractive? Do I even have any say in this, or do I have to be with him?" Quizzed Charlotte.

"I don't know how to answer these questions" admitted Carlisle.
"No. I don't expect you do" replied Charlotte, as she ran her fingers through her hair.
"Perhaps you should talk to Rosalie, she's good at helping people through girl problems" suggested Esme.
"Thanks, but I'm not sure she'll be much help, as my situation is completely unique. Also, she's a lot older than me, so the way she handles things, will be different than me" replied Charlotte.

"What is the main thing that's bothering you?" Questioned Carlisle.
"I- He... I thought that with this new life I would finally get a chance to do things my way. I thought I'd gotten my freedom back. But now I'm learning that my life has been tied to a man's once again" admitted Charlotte sadly.
"I take it your father was a controlling man"
"The worst"
"Well this is your second chance. You have been given a new life, and you don't have to do anything that you don't want to. I have only one rule, and that's an obvious one. I'd like it if you didn't kill anyone. But other than that you're free to do as you please. And the fact that Seth has imprinted on you, doesn't change that. You could even leave the area if you wanted to, and get a proper fresh start. I could arrange it for you if you liked, you don't have to stay with us if you don't want to".

Esme's face fell at the thought of Charlotte leaving, which made her feel bad.
"No. I don't want to leave. Not after everything you've done for me. Besides, I like Falks, I have friends here that I don't want to leave" admitted Charlotte.
"Well then, what you do with Seth is up to you. Because you're right, you did not imprint on him, so the choice is yours" agreed Carlisle.
"Does everyone a wolf imprints on end up falling in love with their wolf?"
"Usually. This is someone who you can always trust, and who will love you 24/7. He will never hurt you or be cruel towards you. Because of that, most women do fall for the wolf that has imprinted on them"
"Hmm. I see".

"What are you going to do?" Asked Esme.
"I think I'm going to give him a chance" revealed Charlotte.
"You are?" Esme questioned.
"Yeah. I mean, he is hot, and he's basically admitted that he likes me, by staring at me constantly. So maybe if I get to know him, I might end up liking him. But I'm not going to let him into my life just yet. As you said earlier Carlisle, I'm still a young vampire, who's very new to this life and I'm still figuring things out. And I need some time to myself to do that".
"That sounds very sensible to me" replied Carlisle.

After taking a moment to collect herself, Charlotte made her way back into the room with the wolves, and went directly over to where Seth was standing.
"I'm Charlotte Thomas, nice to meet you" smiled Charlotte as she stretched out her hand towards Seth.
The wolf smiled, and shook her hand, not even wincing as her freezing cold skin touched his, and nearly crushed his hand, due to Charlotte not knowing her own strength.
"Seth Clearwater" he replied.
"It's nice to meet you Seth... And I'd love to go out with you some time, if you'd like" revealed Charlotte, using her new found vampire confidence to make her seem braver than she felt.
"I'd love that. I know you can't eat, so going to a diner would be silly. So how about a movie?"
"Sounds good to me".

Charlotte noticed Carlisle frowning, in the corner of her eye, so she turned to face him.
"What's wrong?" Demanded Charlotte.
"I'm not sure it would be good for you to leave the house yet, let alone go out in public" he admitted.
"Why not?" Charlotte questioned.
"For one, being around any humans will over load your brain and turn on your hunting instinct. You could kill them in seconds, before you even had a chance to think about what you were doing"
"Oh, right. I definately don't want to do that".

"No, and we don't want you to either. Secondly, there is the issue we haven't discussed yet, and that is your father. You've been gone for over 24 hours now, and although he hasn't reported you missing yet, he will soon. Bella's father Charlie can help us if we need it. Having the chief of police on our side is good, but it still won't help us if your father accuses us of kidnapping you. We need to find a way to convince him to allow you stay with us for the time being" admitted Carlisle.
"My father won't be a problem. Trust me" Charlotte replied coldly, as her thoughts turned to her father, her murderer.