"kiss me like you mean it"

ϟ

Tallulah Uley was a complicated girl. She had an alcoholic father who was in and out of her life, and a mother that worked so hard to provide for her kids, she rarely saw them. That left her with raging father issues – and not the kind that made her want to date older men or be a people pleaser, but the kind that made her shut off all her emotions and be distrustful of the world around her and everyone in it. She had let only a small few into her 'world' and that included Sam(which was obvious), Leah, the only girl she ever had a crush on that wasn't fictional, Seth, and Tama. Even with them though, there were boundaries, not even letting them get so close to her that they could see past the tough exterior she tried so hard to show off to the world.

That brick wall of rage and humor was brought down in the middle of the night in her room as Tama held her while she cried, the girl unable to get the picture of herself as an eight foot monster out of her mind. She only slept when her body was out of water to produce tears and she became dehydrated and slightly delirious, passing out on the floor as she was unable to make it to her bed.

Tama and her were different yet alike in that sense. She never had the opportunity to meet her father, or watch him walk in and out of her life, nor was she ever told anything about the mysterious man that had a part in creating her. Tallulah told her it was better that way, the man was merciful for never giving her hope and showing her who he was before her birth. She shook the girl awake once she figured she had gotten a decent amount of sleep, giving her a soft smile once her eyes fluttered open. The girls were friendly but they really only called themselves friends due to their closeness and out of respect for Leah. They enjoyed each other's company of course, Tallulah made Tama laugh and Tama made the best sweets Tallulah had ever tasted in her life but, they wouldn't have looked the others way had Leah and Tama not been best friends as the two were a package deal since diapers. Still, Tama was polite as they ate breakfast together with Sam and Jared, the boys purposefully being quiet as not to alarm her any further since her temper could snap at a moments notice.

They all waited for her to bring up the elephant in the room, as they were unsure of how she would react. She set down her cup of coffee, staring up at Sam. "So, the wolf I saw in the woods that night...that was you," she said, her tone wavering on whether her words were a statement or a question. Sam nodded after a while, confirming that Jared was as well, the boy sending her a meek smile. It took her a second, the girl finally nodding and standing up, making her way over to her older brother before she pulled her arm back, balled her left hand into a tight fist, and shot it forward at his shoulder. The boy groaned in pain, doubling over and dropping his fork full of food in the process as he cursed, Tama hiding her smile behind her hand. "Why wouldn't you tell me?! You had me so worried, you had all of us worried! And mom! Oh my god, mom. Does she know?"

Tama spoke up, seeing as Sam was still recovering from his younger sister's newfound strength and was paying her half a mind at the moment, clearing her throat as she shrugged the smile off of her face. "Yes, your mom knows. So does the council; my mom, Harry, Sue, Billy, Old Quil," she told her assuringly, frowning when Tallulah sent her a glare and she felt all of their progress, their closeness, suddenly eradicated with one look. "And you? You turn into a wolf too? I thought we weren't even supposed to be able to do this."

She scoffed at her accusing tone, "no, I don't turn into a freakishly large wolf like you and your brother, you're the first and only girl to shift. I didn't exactly have a choice in knowing either, it's not like I wanted to keep this from you. None of us did; it's not something we're trying to scream from the rooftops." Tallulah rolled her eyes, avoiding the girl's gaze, Tama doing the same.

In an attempt to ease the tension, Jared spoke up. "Hey, I'm Jared but, you already knew that," he began, shaking his head as he realized just how dumb he sounded before he started again. "Anyways, it's not Sam or Tama's fault; we aren't allowed to tell anyone, my mom doesn't even know and I can't tell her even though she's been riding my ass all month."

"Can't tell anyone..." Tallulah trailed off lowly, looking up at her brother then her lips pulled downwards, forming a frown, "so Leah doesn't know? She's been going crazy over you Sam! Is that-is this why you broke up with her? You have to tell her, you can't-" they all stared at her with similar solemn expressions, telling her everything she needed to know. The entire thing was unfair and they all knew it but, it was easier that way, at least that's what they tried to tell themselves and what they had been advised to do by the elders, who Tama was still avoiding as she didn't want them to have more control over her life than they already did. Jared continued, "we can't tell girlfriends, only imprints can know since it's technically their right but Kim and I are taking it slow and Sam can't tell Emily because..."

Tama swore she saw Sam's eyes almost fly out of his head then, the boy glaring daggers at Jared, who shrugged innocently as he said, "my bad dude, she would've found out eventually with the pack link. Oh yeah, we can read each others thoughts when we shift too, so, keep certain things to yourself, trust me. Fuck." He grabbed the back of his neck, now red from where Sam had struck him. The two began arguing almost immediately, Tallulah muttering about the two 'babbling monkeys' before she stood up and made her way back to her room, slamming the door and letting out an almost primal scream of frustration.

"You did what on who?" Tama turned her attention from Tallulah's door, which she was sure had broken from the shapeshifter's strength, to stare at Sam who was mid argument. His eyes widened a bit before he suddenly looked ashamed, Tama using the quiet to rack her brain on stories their tribe had of imprints, only coming up with one. "On Leah's cousin? Her favorite cousin too, might I add."

"I couldn't control it," Sam defended himself quickly, the man sounding equally disgusted at himself. He put his hands up to his head in an attempt to calm himself. "I didn't ask for this, to be tied to someone forever, especially her. I would never purposefully hurt Leah, I-I love her." His voice broke then and Tama saw he was holding back tears, covering his face quickly in an attempt to hide them, never one to openly show his emotions. "I had to break up with her, I can't stay with her knowing I've imprinted on Emily; it's not fair to her. I'll just stay away from both of them, I'll just ignore the imprint. They'll be better off without me anyways...everyone is."

Jared hummed in disproval, looking up from his breakfast with a cautious look towards the older boy who seemed stubbornly set in his ways with no intention of changing his mind. "I don't know if that's a good idea man, remember what Old Quil said, you could-"

Sam's hand came down to slap against the hard wood table, a crack suddenly imbedded a few inches away from his fingertips. The two jumped at the sudden action, watching as he sent daggers to Jared, as if the boy had said something unspeakable. "I would rather die than do that to Leah." Before Jared could respond, Sam stood up from the table, his plate cleared, quickly turning and making his way out the back door. There was the unmistakable sound of bones shifting and clothes shredding before a growl shook the base of the home, Tama and Jared sharing a look before the boy stood up as well, promising to go after him.

Tama sat alone at the table then, glancing down at her half empty plate, her appetite plummeting. Her phone felt heavy in her pocket, the weight of what she knew growing on her more and more as the days passed by and more was revealed to her. She felt so wrong, unworthy of her friendship with Leah as she was keeping so much from her. This, this was too much. She didn't know if she could live with herself knowing the true reason behind their breakup and Sam and Emily's possible coupling in the future despite Sam's attempt to ignore and deny it. Tama didn't remember much about imprinting, only knowing that the wives and the imprints of shapeshifters in their lineage were of varying importance with imprints heavily outweighing wives, the bonds almost sacred and the penalty for any crime against them, no matter how small or petty, was always harsh with lives usually lost. The thought of that being Emily and Sam instead of him and Leah, it made her sick to her stomach.

She reached into her pocket to fish out her phone before she could change her mind, beginning to search for Leah's contact, the sound of knocking at the door pulling her attention away. She hesitated of course, since it wasn't her house and whoever was at the door surely wasn't there for her but, after a few moments she realized that Tallulah wouldn't come out of her room so she went and opened it herself, surprised to see Mason on the other side.

As if the pit in her stomach wasn't heavy enough, the sight of him absolutely did it for her. He stood very stiffly, coffee cup in one hand and a bouquet of yellow tulips in the other, the boy looking absolutely relieved to see her face. "I came to the shop but you weren't there. Your mom told me I could find you here..." he trailed off as he inspected the outside of the house, a small brown thing that barely held three bedrooms and one bathroom. "I wanted to check on you, see how you were doing after everything that happened last night. I'm really sorry about my dad."

Tama scoffed, "you're apologizing? God, you really are a saint." Mason let out a laugh, always amused by her demeanor. "I should be the one apologizing for her, and for myself. I'm, I'm really sorry I ruined dinner." The boy in front of her waved her off with a simple, "water on my back, down the drain," which brought a genuine smile to her face. Mason, whether he realized it or not, was a breath of relief, the long one you took once you came home after a hard day. Tama needed that, but sometimes, she found herself unworthy of that, especially when she remembered all of the secrets she was keeping. The thought of Mason knowing the true reality of what was going on with her, made her hang her head and suddenly become interested in her socks, having abandoned her sneakers at the door upon entry last night.

A thought entered her mind suddenly and before she could question how her mother knew her whereabouts when she snuck out the previous night, Mason inched the flowers toward her causing her to take a quick step back, her eyes growing in size as she took in the type of flowers he held. He frowned and she sent a smile to soften the blow as she suddenly revealed, "I'm allergic." And they were her least favorite color, she thought to herself sadly as she imagined daisies, her favorites that Paul frequently brought over to cheer her up, like the one she kept on her everyday until she left it in front of him in the school hallway. She missed that daisy, she thought.

He tossed the flowers aside, as though they were poisonous, and his face began to heat up as he stumbled out apology after apology. Tama attempted to reassure him but his attention was pulled elsewhere when a sharp growl ripped through the air, shaking the trees in the distance, the teen feeling the pit in her stomach lower. She reached out for Mason's wrists, her brown eyes cautious as they watched where Sam and Jared had ran off to moments ago, praying they wouldn't appear suddenly and scare off the already frightened boy. "Hey, it's fine. Let's go inside..." she trailed off, though the boy wouldn't budge and she frowned, silently debating on picking him up and bringing him inside against his will, knowing she possessed the strength as she carried Tallulah quite the distance without breaking a sweat.

Mason pointed his finger towards the trees as his ocean blue eyes went wide, "did-did you see that? It looked like a bear, or a wolf maybe...it's huge." His voice was shaking and he found himself firmly planted where he was as he watched the trees shake and rumble around whatever creature his human eyes couldn't settle on. Tama saw it though, easily, Jared just moments from crossing over to where Mason could see him. So, she did what she always did; made things worse. In a desperate, and honestly down right stupid plea to distract the pale, dark haired boy, she grabbed his face, pulling it towards her and pressing her lips against his so he was forced to look away. She found herself filled with guilt and shame rather than the usual bliss when their lips connected, she felt as though the act alone was a crime and she could be caught at any moment, wanting it to end as quickly as it had started for fear of trouble following. She hated it; she hated how well his lips melted into her own, how good it felt. The fact that she didn't want it to end made her want to push him away. She took a cautious peer out of her left eye, scanning the area to see that Jared was now out of sight before she broke the kiss with glee.

Her heart broke seeing the dazed smile on Mason's face, unable to offer the same reaction, looking away with a face as red as a cherry, the girl gently tracing the tips of her berry colored nails across her lips. He seemed too blissfully unaware to notice her or the events of the past few seconds thankfully, jumping when he heard a rather loud whoop from behind Tama as a female emerged. She smirked at the boy, her now-towering height of six foot two and prominent muscles obviously intimidating as he shrunk. "Don't let me stop you two love birds," Tallulah teased, laughing quite obnoxiously while Tama scoffed at the girl. "Actually I do have to stop you, Jared needs you...us actually, says it's 'extremely urgent'."

Tama nodded, thankful for the distraction and an excuse to get away from the boy in front of her who looked as though he was waiting for another reason to kiss her again now that she had taken the first step. Tallulah looked at the discarded bunch of flowers, tsking once she identified the species, "oh tulips, Tama's allergic to those, her face gets all puffy and gross and she starts wheezing and stuff." Tama watched as the boy's face flushed, casting a quick gaze towards the flowers he had tossed to the side, apologizing for 'littering'. "I'll remember for next time," he promised, though his eyes were on Tama.

"Thanks Mase but, we really gotta get going so," she trailed off awkwardly as she heard Jared from the living room as though he was standing on the front porch with them. Mason nodded, feeling rather embarrassed as he was overstaying his welcome. "I'll see you Monday then, I'm still taking you to school, right?" When Tama nodded yes, he smiled contently before he removed the small space allotted between them to kiss her quickly, still smiling as he pulled away with red cheeks. He didn't seem to notice that hers was forced as he waved her and Tallulah off before he picked up the discarded bouquet and got into his car, the younger girl releasing a loud exhale she hadn't realized she had been holding. She eyed Tallulah, noticing the girl was staring at her oddly, scoffing, "whatever you're gonna say, save it."

The girl held her hands up in mock surrender, though there was a little smile on her face that revealed itself every few moments when she let slip. They entered the house, quickly making their way to where Jared stood in the quiet living room with a smug face. The boy pretended to gag, "could hear you two kissing from all the way over here, disgusting." Tama shoved his shoulder, causing the shapeshifter to lose his balance a bit as he chuckled at her attempt to hide her face.

"What's so important?" she inquired impatiently, feeling rather confined in the small space and hoping whatever he wanted required them to be out of the house. She also felt that since her mother somehow knew where she was, she'd probably come looking for her and she didn't want to be there when she ultimately did.

Jared's smile was nerve filled but there was a bit of excitement that was almost primal, striking the same reaction out of Tallulah when he revealed, "Sam caught the scent of a leech not too far from here, it's new and it's probably why Tallulah shifted. He's checking it out, making sure there's only one since they usually travel in pairs." Out the corner of her eye, she could spot Tallulah's face pale a bit as she said, "leech?" with a bit of hesitancy, already knowing what he meant but attempting to deny it despite the stories of warning she had been told as a child, her face falling when Jared confirmed, "vampire." Her instinct still upheld the sense of protection inside of her and she followed while he ventured out into the backyard with Tama hesitating.

The two wolves paused, turning to see her standing still on the back porch, shifting uncomfortably onto one foot and then the other. She figured they didn't have the same primal instincts when it came to the spirits living inside of them as she felt no urge to charge headfirst into the woods alongside them in search of a vampire. "Why do I have to come, no offense? It's not like I can turn into a wolf and offer any help. All I can do is run fast and make it rain." Tallulah paused, intrigued by her mention of powers that were previously unheard of before. She noticed the whirlwind of emotions the older girl was experiencing and looked to Jared, "I'll stay with her. Howl if you need me, I guess."

After a moment of contemplation, Jared nodded, sparing Tama one last glance before he was a wolf again and back on all fours, sprinting past the trees and towards the eldest Uley. Tallulah's shoulder bumped into Tama's playfully as she bounded up the steps and past her into the house, Tama soon following. Upon entry, she threw her head back and sighed once she caught sight of an all too thrilled Tallulah tapping the empty space beside her on the green sofa. "So...you and Mason – sucking faces. . .wait, why don't you seem excited? I thought you liked the boy and isn't his dad loaded?"

Tama didn't meet her expectant gaze, keeping her head down instead as she concentrated on her hands and fingers, how they slowly brushed over one another and intertwined. Tallulah's usual airheaded-ness seemed to be no longer, Tama assumed due to her shift the previous night, and the girl peered at her with intense focus, unwilling to let the subject go. A new thought enteted the younger girl's mind and she tilted her head to the side with a teasing smirk. "Oh, Tama, never pictured you to be the gold diggin' type. Kinda fits you if you really think about it thought..." she trailed off, her voice lowering at the last part though Tama heard her perfectly.

Tallulah yelped in pain when Tama's fist connected with her shoulder, rubbing the spot