Five

Seth lies awake a few nights later. He hasn't slept much, most nights he stares at his ceiling or out the window towards the woods. He's happy he's back, he's with his friends and family. But he imprinted on Kai, and it changes everything for him. He has a chance of getting the girl, he's so close and he's letting her slip through his fingers.

He wants to see her again, he needs to. Sam had pulled him aside after he came back. He asked Seth how he felt about Kai and was sympathetic at Seth's response. Both he and Seth knew the elders' rules. The rules their elders followed and the elders before them. A descendant of the wolf can not take a mate of any other supernatural background. They had to be a wolf's decedent or a human. The original shifters of the pack did not want to dilute their blood, they wanted to preserve their gift. By pack law, even though Seth imprinted, he wasn't allowed to take Kai as his mate.

Seth is at an impasse. He can either leave Kai or he can leave the pack. Seth is miserable.

~

Jacob looks over at Seth's sleeping form. The kid's a wreck. He must have passed out on the couch sometime late at night because the tv is still on. "What do we do? Kid's moping around the place like he watched a puppy get shot."

"Considering he fell in love and was forced to leave her, I'd say he's handling this pretty normally." Paul offers, it isn't like everyone doesn't know. They can feel the distress radiating off the kid in waves, they would see the girl, Kai, laughing or doing domestic things in their heads. Seth's memories he's replaying in his head. The pack is trying their best to rally behind him, a support system for him to fall back on while he tries to recover from his heartbreak. They feel for the him, he chose the pack over the girl he loves.

"What do we do though?" Jake rubs his hands over his face, defeated.

"We keep doing what we've been doing and hope for the best. No one can help him as much as he can help himself. We have to be there for him." Leah walks in the room and covers Seth with a blanket. She should know. She went through this when Sam broke up with her for Emily. No one would know better than her. Jake and Paul look at her sadly, the pack knows all too well what Leah means.

~

Seth looks at the clock and groans. 2:19. He can feel the pull into the woods, the trees calling his name. His wolf is restless. Looking out the window, all Seth can see the moon. Seth glances around his room one last time before rising out of bed. He grabs his bag he used for school and empties the contents onto his bed. He begins shoving clothes and his most prized possessions into the bag. He throws his toothbrush on top of the bag before heading to the kitchen.

I'm sorry but I have to go. I love you. -Seth

He leaves the note for his parents on the kitchen counter, telling himself it's the right thing to do. He'd already put them through enough when he disappeared the first time. Shifting into his wolf form once he's outside, Seth picks the bag up with his snout and begins to run. He isn't thinking too much where he's going, he's following the pull through the woods. His wolf is taking over and leading him through the woods.

When Seth finally stops running, he's in the clearing looking at Kai's home. The windows are dark, he can hear her steady heartbeat from inside. Seth trots up to the bungalow, and shifts into human form. He pulls a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt on, which in retrospect he probably should have done after he knew if the door was locked or not. It is unlocked. He'd have to tell Kai it's not safe leaving it unlocked while she's alone in the middle of the forest.

It's still early in the morning and Seth doesn't really know what to do. Should he wake up Kai? No, probably not. He just showed up in the middle of the night unannounced, so he probably shouldn't push his luck. So, he lies down on the couch, because he might as well try and get some sleep. Sleep comes soon enough, but he spends time to think. He thinks about a lot of things. His future, what he wants for himself, what coming back means and what it means for the pack.

~

Kai wakes to the birds chirping outside her window. Making her way through the kitchen she stops abruptly as soon as she enters the living area. A figure is laying on her couch sleeping, and she sucks in a sharp breath of surprise.

The figure stirs as Kai realizes who it is. "Seth?" Kai is surprised he's here. He doesn't look injured, and she figured he wouldn't be back so soon.

"Hmm? Oh!" Seth shoots up into a sitting position. "Hey!"

"What are you doing back? Not that I'm not glad to see you, are you okay?" Kai makes her way over to the couch to check closer if there's any hidden injury she missed.

"I just, uh, I missed you I guess." Not as eloquent as Seth had hoped, but at least he didn't tell her he loves her. That would have made for awkward conversation. Kai doesn't completely buy it, but she'll accept his answer for now. She knows there's more to whatever he's not telling her.

"I missed you too." Kai smiles down at him. She rubs the top of his head, jokingly like a dog, and Seth hates to admit he like it. "Breakfast?" Kai turns and begins to walk to the kitchen, "And don't think we aren't going to talk about the late night/early morning surprise visit because we are." She calls over her shoulder, smiling a little when she hears Seth's quiet groan.

Seth is helpful while she makes breakfast, asking about why her garden is in the shade. Kai explains that it's magically grown, so even though she has normal plants and not so normal plants, they still grow without sunlight. Seth inquires about the not so normal plants, and Kai explains she has things humans wouldn't be able to get their hands on or even need. Things like mandrakes, wolfsbane, rarer herbs and flowers, and others of the likeness.

It's only after they finish eating Kai brings it up, "Not that I'm not glad you're here, what's the real reason you're here?" Kai is just surprised he's here, she didn't understand why he would leave his pack. She watches Seth open and close his mouth a few times trying to figure out what to say. "It's okay Seth, if it makes you uncomfortable to say, I won't make you."

"It just that I really missed you and I wasn't sleeping at home and the pack was super supportive and happy I was back but I was miserable because you weren't there and I think my wolf has become very attached to you well not just my wolf I have too and I needed to come back before I went crazy." Seth blurts out everything in one breath, talking so fast it takes a second for Kai to register everything he said. She is first very concerned about him not sleeping, but also shocked at the fact Seth has become attached to her.

"Seth you're welcome here anytime, and I-" Whatever Kai was going to say gets cut-off by Seth. He started and now he can't stop.

"-No it's not just that. I imprinted on you, and I'm really sorry I'm telling you like this I need to tell you before I chicken out. If you'll have me, I'll stay and be your familiar." Seth had thought about it before he fell asleep. He doesn't know the rules for witches, but if he has any chance of being able to see Kai every day, no matter what they are, he'll take it. If he stays as her familiar, then he'd be more than happy. He'd help her as best as he could because he wants nothing but the best for Kai. He'd be the best he could for her, in any way she'd have him.

"Seth that's a huge commitment. Your pack ties would be severed, they would be your family but the pack bond would be gone. The Quileute pack is a lot different than other wolf packs. Generations of selective breeding, the traits of the pack is a lot different than what wolves have evolved to. Your wolf traits might shift from being immersed in the pack, and would evolve into what more wolves are like now." Kai needs Seth to know that it's not something that can be taken lightly. She wants him to be her familiar so bad, but she will not trick him into it. She couldn't do that to him without him knowing exactly what he's signing up for. "Your soul would be bound to mine, so if I die, you die and vise versa."

"We are both pretty young so I don't think we'd drop dead any time soon. I already left my pack. Well I didn't know I was leaving for good, I just kind of left. I would shift into a little dog if it meant staying, although I'd prefer wolf." Seth doesn't know what to say to make Kai understand that he wants this.

"Seth, I'm not seventeen." Kai fights to not roll her eyes when Seth begins to grumble about being eighteen. "I was born in 1587, I used black magic to put my soul into a little gem stone so I could pretty much be immortal. All the powerful witches were doing it, and even though I was a very young witch, I felt like I had a lot to prove." Kai honestly is still amazed she didn't accidentally kill herself doing it. And Kai is pretty sure she is ruining her shot at actually getting a familiar, but Seth's got to know. "Eventually Seth, you would outlive all you friends and family." Kai puts it as gently as she can.

"Wait seriously?" Seth wasn't ready for that one, he honestly had no clue.

"Take some time and think about it some more. I won't be upset if you change your mind." Kai pats his knee before standing up from the couch. She heads outside, wanting to get her gardening done while she can before the rain starts. She doesn't hear Seth follow her out, and she knows she's probably lost him. It's the right thing to do though, better he know now than find out after it's too late.