[  I have a physics test that's coming up that's gonna kick my ass, so it'll be quite a few days before another update. I probably shouldn't have even taken the time to write this. I'm so gonna fail  ]

☽︎

YOUR KIND KNOW NOTHING OF WHAT IT IS TO IMPRINT.

Paul hadn't been at work in two weeks. His dad told Frankie that he had mono, but she knew for a fact that he'd had it before and it didn't make him so sick that he couldn't have visitors. But she didn't have much time to visit him anyway, not that she wanted to when he pointedly ignored her calls.

Fixing the cruiser took longer than Charlie Swan would've liked because of Paul's absence, but he knew it wasn't Frankie's fault. The engine had to have a lot of work on it, so Frankie was tired of looking at engines. She was happy to be fixing the axles on her own Jeep — once a month, Mr. Lahote let her bring in her car to use his less-than-portable equipment. It was the first day since Paul got sick that she wasn't drowning in other work, and that was because Jacob came in to work on some smaller projects and earn a little money to fix his Rabbit.

She was working outside of the garage, enjoying one of the rare sunny days in town. And Frankie wasn't the only one. As usual, the Cullen family missed out on school, their parents pulling them out for hiking and family bonding. But that didn't stop Emmett from texting her all day, just asking for random updates and silly questions to keep getting to know her.

And knowing of her hatred for hiking, he'd sometimes send pictures of the different nature scenes they were passing. Frankie figured they went far down the trails because she didn't recognize any of the places. Or maybe the Cullens liked to hike off trail — there were plenty of people that frequented Mike's family store to get the supplies for it.

In response, Frankie would send a picture of whatever part she was working on, the latest of which was the underside of her car.

Rose says your brake
pads are misaligned

Frankie smiled at the text from Emmett and quickly responded before shoving her phone back into her coveralls.

Everything on this piece
of shit is misaligned. Thank
her for the sharp eye tho

Frankie hated how she couldn't stop thinking of Emmett Cullen. Even now, covered in sweat and grime, she was thinking about his golden eyes and the dark amber color they would shift to any time she let him have a moment alone with her. Just the day before, they'd skipped their history class to make out in the girls' locker room. She'd gotten sweaty for a whole different reason then as he slid his cold hands underneath the material of her sweatshirt. But before she could allow him any over-the-bra action, Coach Clapp stumbled across them and threatened to bench Frankie if he caught them like that again.

Which was a fucking empty threat, they all knew. Frankie was the best player on the team and the captain. As long as she kept her grades at a C-average, there was no way she was getting benched.

She did get Emmett to promise to come to the next soccer game after that, so she counted it as a win. He'd only shown up at practices so far. Unknowingly to her, that was because Frankie was an aggressive player and he didn't want to risk her taking it a little too hard on the other team and drawing blood. Sure, his control was better than Jasper's despite being the youngest vampire, but still, he wanted to avoid it.

It was a good hour before Frankie finished up for the day on her car. It still wasn't in driving state, so when Terrance had the time again, he'd hook it up to his trailer hitch and tow it back to her place. He'd usually do a few small things to it as well before returning it, leaving the repairs as small surprises for her to find.

Frankie began the familiar walk home, going down the dirt road leading away from the shop with one headphone in. Every now and then, she'd have to step over onto the grass when a car was coming, and soon, she was spotting a familiar blue truck headed her way.

As soon as Sam was close enough to make out, Frankie smiled and waved her arms really big at him. She hadn't seen him in a while — Mike and Tyler had been giving her rides to work for the last week or two.

Rather than slow down and pull off on the side of the road to greet her, Sam just kept on driving, ignoring her existence. And when he passed, she got a look at the two boys sitting in the bed of the truck. Jared was there, of course, always following behind Sam these days.

But so was Paul.

At least, Frankie thought it was Paul. His hair had been chopped off and it seemed like he was even more muscular than before. And she swore she could see a blur of a tattoo on his arm as the truck passed, just like the weird one Sam and Jared had.

"Paul?" Frankie questioned, thinking he was too sick to go outside, let alone ride in the back of a truck on a windy day. Paul glanced at her for half a second before looking down at the bed of the truck. Sam just kept speeding away, leaving her confused and alone. "What the fuck, Paul?"

☽︎

It was a Thursday when Emmett Cullen asked Frankie Roman out one last time. They were in gym class and playing basketball. Their team was dominating, of course, and the rest of the class was debating establishing a rule that Emmett and Frankie couldn't be on a team together, especially when he lifted her up effortlessly so that she could dunk the ball.

"Woah!" Jessica complained, who was on the losing team. "That's gotta be traveling."

"Not fair," Mike agreed, letting out a childish huff. Then he grabbed his bottle of water.

"Suck it, Newton," Frankie said with a laugh as Emmett set her back on the ground. Though he kept his hands on her waist.

"What's that score now?" Emmett asked, pretending to not know. "Oh, yeah. Three to forty-seven."

"Yeah, we're calling the mercy rule," Mike mumbled, the four others on his team nodding in agreement as they wandered off, putting an end to the game. The three others on Frankie and Emmett's team went to torment them, leaving the two by the goalpost.

"We make a pretty good team, Cullen," Frankie said while turning around in his arms.

"Yeah, we do," he agreed, wishing she'd mean it in a different way. "Let me take you out after the game tomorrow, Roman."

Frankie paused for a moment, which had Emmett worried. But really, she was just going through her schedule in her mind, making sure she didn't have any other plans.

"Sure," she said after a moment, and he let out a needless breath of relief. "You've got yourself a date. Better make it worth my time, though."

"Oh," he smirked, pulling her close until her chest was pressed against his. "It will be."

Suddenly, Coach Clapp was blowing his whistle and throwing a basketball at them. "Enough space for the bible, kids!"

"You got it, Coach," Emmett called back, not looking away from Frankie as he did so, unable to believe he was gonna get a real chance with her.

☽︎

That night, Mike drove Frankie to the diner to meet her dad for dinner. Well, Raylan was still working, but she'd sit at the bar and talk to him through the window when he was free. And since Mike didn't have to work at the store, he joined her for dinner, talking over shared mozzarella sticks as they procrastinated the homework that Raylan so desperately wanted them to start.

"Yeah, so then Tyler and Lauren were fighting in the hallway," Mike was saying while rolling his eyes. "She was yelling about him cheating on her with that Sarah girl."

"But Lauren and Ty aren't dating," Frankie pointed out. They were just hooking up.

"That's what Tyler said. Then he called her crazy."

"Ooh," she winced. "I mean, I don't like to perpetuate the 'girls are crazy' stereotype, but Lauren kind of is. Which means you never want to call her crazy to her face."

"Exactly," he said, sipping on his milkshake. "He's so fucking stupid."

"Doesn't really sound a whole lot like your chemistry assignment," Raylan suddenly spoke up, leaning his head out of the order window.

Frankie and Mike groaned in sync like they were twins or something before looking at their notebooks. They were supposed to be finishing up a worksheet due the next day, but it didn't make any sense to them. Frankie glanced at her father, who went back to cooking the hamburger steak she was going to eat for dinner.

"Did she smack him?" Frankie then whispered to Mike so that her father wouldn't hear.

"Of course," he snickered.

"What about balancing equations is so goddamn funny?" Raylan asked, not even turning to look at them.

"Fine," Frankie muttered before actually grabbing her calculator.

Mike and Frankie sat with their heads together, glaring daggers at the worksheet while going through page after page of scrap paper to work it all out. They weren't even a quarter of the way done before their food arrived though, and Raylan let them take a break to eat.

"Hey, Mr. R," Mike spoke up while picking up a handful of onion rings. "Your girl has a date tomorrow night."

"Mike," she groaned, rolling her eyes over him snitching on her.

"Is that right?" her father asked while smirking at her through the window. "Thought you were better than everyone at school?"

"I am," she said, putting her shoulders back. "He's just really hot, so, ya know."

"Ooh, already too much info," Raylan said, shaking his head. "I hate him. He's not good enough for you."

"She knows. Don't worry. She's been making him work for it," Mike told him with a smirk. "It's been sad to watch. I'm just glad it's over."

"Nah, it is far from over," she said before digging into her dinner. "I'm gonna ruin his life."

Raylan just shook his head, knowing she was only joking a little bit. "Men should fear you."

"They do," Mike assured him, laughing at his own joke. Frankie just grinned and bumped into his shoulder.

"As long as you're included in the list."

"Oh, I've feared you since we were twelve. Don't worry."

"Sublime."

"What does that shit even mean?"

"Dunno. Heard it in a movie."

☽︎

It was raining just before the soccer game began, but Frankie didn't care, used to playing in light drizzles. As long as there wasn't thunder and lightning, they'd keep the match going. But already as she walked out onto the field to warm up, the shoulders of her blue jersey were darkening with water.

But first, she stopped by the bleachers, where most everyone had umbrellas covering them except for the three boys that came from La Push. Frankie froze for a second, looking at Paul, who definitely didn't have mono.

"Hey," he greeted softly, a vulnerable look in his eyes.

"Thought you weren't joining Sam's cult shit?" she asked him while crossing her arms. "Your haircut looks horrible."

"It is not a cul—"

"Shut up, Sammy," she cut him. "You're starting a cult. I'm fine with it. Just don't have my friends since birth ignore me for two weeks."

"I really was sick, Frankie," Paul lied.

"Yeah, he threw up on me," Jared said, also lying. Actually, Paul had angrily shifted and attacked him multiple times, but throwing up was just as bad.

"Well, you probably deserved it, Cameron," Frankie told him. Then she huffed and looked at Paul again. "Are you gonna be at the fucking shop tomorrow?"

Paul first glanced at Sam, like he was silently asking for an answer from him, and after Sam subtly nodded, Paul said, "Should be."

"Good. I'm tired of taking care of your shifts," she grumbled.

"Just be sure to take that extra aggression out on the other team," Sam told her, knowing she was over it already. She couldn't stay mad at Paul or Sam for long — Jared either, though he rarely did anything to get on her nerves.

"Well, get some umbrellas or something before you get mono again," Frankie said in a mocking tone, letting them all know she didn't believe that bullshit. "Catch you later. Thanks for coming."

Then Frankie ran to meet the rest of her team, leaving them behind.

"You're sure she's gonna be like this too?" Paul asked, keeping his voice down.

"Yes," Sam said, nodding sternly.

"But different," Jared added. "Then we'll all find out if the legends are just exaggerations or not. Old Quil believes them."

"Better not be," Paul muttered bitterly. "It's their fault we're like this. She can wipe them out."

"That would break the treaty," Sam reminded him quickly, which made him roll his eyes. So far, Paul was hating this whole spirit shifter thing. And knowing that a pack of vegetarian vampires moving to town woke up the gene inside of them all made him even angrier. It made him angry knowing that it was going to ruin Frankie's life just like it was ruining his now.

How was she meant to go to Standford and keep playing soccer if there was the risk of turning into a giant monster anytime she got too angry? It'd only take some freshman spilling beer on her at a party or an annoying player getting in her way.

"Still," Paul said, watching Frankie run around, doing warmup drills. She shoved a girl to the side who was in her way, just as aggressive as ever even with her own teammates. "Can't wait to see what someone called 'The Beast' is capable of."

"Wait," Sam said, sitting straighter as he flared his nostrils. "They're here."

Jared was the second to catch the scent, cringing at the deadly smell that followed them. "I mean, it is their school."

Paul was still getting used to his new senses and hadn't actually smelled a vampire yet, but he knew that's what the stench was. He began to shake angrily, his eyes scanning the parking lot until he spotted three unmistakable bloodsuckers — the big one, a smaller girl, and a blonde girl. He knew not to let their unnatural beauty distract them. They were killers, all of them.

"What are they playing at?" Paul asked, getting more upset.

Sam sighed heavily. This was Paul's first outing since he shifted two weeks ago, and obviously, that hadn't been enough time. So, he stood up and grabbed Paul's shoulder, planning on taking him to the woods to shift and calm down.

"Jared, stay and keep track of them," Sam ordered. "And cheer for Frank."

"Is that last one an official order?" Jared asked jokingly, not nearly as upset by seeing the vampires when they were technically on their side of the treaty line anyway. Granted, they were allowed to roam free, unlike the Cullens. They just couldn't shift on their land.

Having smelled the wolves and hearing Paul get angry, Emmett, Alice, and Rosalie walked incredibly slowly to the soccer field. None of them were pleased when the Beta stayed behind, so they made sure to sit on the opposite set of bleachers just as the game began.

Frankie managed to spot them just before the starting whistle blew. She was surprised to see Rosalie sitting with Emmett and Alice and found herself smiling a little. Maybe his sister didn't completely hate her. Or she was at least warming up to the idea of her. So, Frankie waved at the siblings, only two of them waving back.

Then she forgot all about them for the next two halves, only focusing on winning the game. They'd already lost two in the season, and that was two too many for her liking. Despite the rain, it didn't slow Frankie down as the game went on, and by the time it was over, she was covered in rain, sweat, and mud. It was worth it though because they had won by three points.

After hugging and throwing each other around with her teammates, Frankie ran right over to Emmett, who was waiting for her with a big grin. "Did you have fun?" she asked, hoping he enjoyed the match.

"Hell yeah," he said, picking her up and spinning her. "You killed it out there."

"Mud!" Alice whined. "Clothes!"

Emmett rolled his eyes and set Frankie down, looking at the mud that now stained his gray sweater. He'd have plenty of time to run home and get a new shirt while Frankie was showering in the locker room though, so it wasn't a big deal.

"So, is this a sisters-included kind of date, or did you bring two cars?" Frankie asked Alice.

"I mean, if you're inviting me—"

"Two cars," Rosalie cut Alice off, biting back a smile. "I actually quite enjoy soccer. It's my second favorite to baseball."

"Good to know," she said, counting it as a win that she learned something new about Rosalie. "And I love baseball too." She didn't notice Emmett let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you both for coming. I can always use more fans."

"Oh, I bet," Emmett said, chuckling.

From the other side of the field, Jared was watching the interaction between the four, his stomach turning at the sight, knowing he had to talk to Sam right away. "Oh, shit."

☽︎

The last thing the Cullen family expected while Emmett and Frankie were on their first date was a visit from the tribe elders. But they all smelled them before they heard them. Billy Black, Old Quil, Harry Clearwater, and Raylan Roman.

Jared had rushed to Sam right away to not only tell them that Frankie was friendly with the Cullens but going on a date with one as well. Sam immediately told the elders, who needed to speak with Carlisle and Esme about it all, showing up uninvited to their extravagant house.

Raylan had never been there before, but he was a little too distracted by his daughter being on a date with an apparent vampire to care about his extravagant surroundings. He was just fucking pissed he'd been working and not at the game to stop Frankie before she left with Emmett.

Carlisle was waiting at the door by the time they reached it, holding it wide open so that Harry could push Billy's wheelchair in. "Gentlemen, what a surprise. Welcome." Last time they met had been on the treaty line when the Cullens just moved to Forks.

"Carlise," Billy greeted, the most level-headed of all of them. Well, Old Quil didn't speak much to begin with, but he certainly didn't have anything kind to say to Carlisle, having been alive and quite young the last time they were in Forks. "You know why we're here?"

"I'm afraid I don't," he admitted, leading them to the living room. The rest of the family had already gathered and were on high alert, feeling like their enemy was encroaching on their territory.

"Like hell you don't," Raylan said, crossing his arms. "One of yours is on a date with my daughter as we speak."

"It's to our knowledge that Frankie isn't a part of your pack," Esme said, coming to stand next to Carlise.

"Yet," Quil specified. He'd seen the last Mekko shifter and knew what she was. "If your boy knew what was coming, he'd run fast and far. This is our warning to you."

"What's coming?" Edward questioned, trying to look into his mind. But the man was so ancient that his mind was a jumbled mess of memories that the mind reader couldn't make sense of it all.

"The Beast?" Rosalie asked when none of the men would answer them. She was the most worried about Frankie's effect on her family. "Why call one of your own that?"

"La Bête is not a title to be ashamed of," Billy told her. "It will be a badge of honor when her time comes. Frankie will be our land's ultimate protector."

"And if she doesn't shift?" Alice asked. She wanted to know most of all, especially because she couldn't see the future of wolves at all, which she hated.

"She will," Raylan said in a gruff tone.

"But her mother never did," Edward spoke up again, looking into his mind.

Raylan glared at him, his chest rising and falling quickly. "Keep my wife out of your mouth or I'll pull up a chair and watch with a smile as my daughter rips you limb from limb."

Before any more threats could be made, Carlisle stepped forward. "Gentlemen, I'm afraid it's not as simple as that. Frankie, as it seems, is Emmett's mate. You cannot expect him to stay away from her. It's to my understanding that your kind have something similar."

"Your kind know nothing of what it is to imprint," Quil said curtly.

"And as of now, Frankie has not imprinted on him. It would be unheard of, a choice the spirits would never make for her," Billy added. "Understand this is us showing you a kindness, showing your boy a kindness. When Frankie shifts, she will turn from him."

"No, she won't," Alice said, certain that Frankie felt the same way about Emmett. "We may not know what makes her so different — so special — but Frankie is a friend to our coven. And she's part of our family. Emmett won't walk away from her."

"She's right," Carlisle agreed. "I can't ask that of my son — to leave her behind. We do appreciate your words of warning, though. We've taken them into consideration."

Raylan glared at the leader of the vampires, wishing he had the power to keep them away from his daughter. "I'd recommend you consider it some more."

☽

Emmett had been so goddamn grateful that Frankie admitted to loving baseball before because his plan was to take her to a game in Port Angeles. He got them there in record time, driving so fast that Frankie giggled and held onto the handle attached to the ceiling, deciding then and there she could let him drive her anywhere.

The game was good — well, Frankie imagined so. Halfway into the second inning, Emmett put his arm around her shoulder. By the start of the third, they were kissing slowly, not caring about the people making fun of them and throwing popcorn their way. Emmett just took the hat he bought Frankie off her head and swatted at the humans with it until they left them alone, all while not breaking the kiss.

On the car ride home, Frankie couldn't even remember the names of the teams without looking at her ticket stub. Not that she was looking at it, because Emmett kept his hand on her thigh the whole drive home. To distract herself, she played with his fingers, keeping a content smile on both their faces

"I had a surprisingly nice time tonight," Frankie admitted as they neared her home.

"Surprisingly?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "You think I was gonna treat you like shit the whole night?"

"Not that. I just... I don't know, I've never really been on a real date before, I guess," she admitted. "Like I said, I stay pretty busy. Made me nervous for tonight."

"Well, it's been what feels like a lifetime since I've been on a date, so I was just as nervous," he told her, squeezing her hand. "I just hope it's not our last date."

"No," Frankie said, smiling as he parked in front of her trailer. "It's definitely not the last."

Emmett grinned at her, knowing his heart would've been beating a mile a minute all night if it still beat. "Guess I gotta end things right and walk you to the door."

"Sure, but let's save the meeting my dad for another night," she said jokingly while he got out of the car. Since the seatbelts in his car were so complicated, he already made it to her side and opened her door for her by the time she got unbuckled. He held out a hand and helped her jump down from the lifted vehicle.

Though it was a short walk, Emmett held her hand the whole walk to the front door.

"I'll see you Monday?" he asked as if she'd say no to him.

She nodded while stepping closer to him. "I'm gonna kick your ass in dodgeball."

"You wish, Roman."

Frankie hummed in response and stood on her toes to kiss him. Anticipating it, Emmett moved the hat on her head around so that the bill wouldn't hit his forehead. Long gone was her cherry-flavored lipgloss that she'd applied at the start of the night, not that Emmett missed it all that much when the trade-off was so much better.

As he slipped his tongue into her mouth, Emmett pressed her back up against the screen door, hands trailing down her sides until he cupped her ass. Frankie let out a gentle moan, nipping at his bottom lip.

Then the light over the door began to flick on and off repeatedly, clearly her father's doing, who could see them and wasn't happy. Frankie laughed into the kiss and pulled away, pressing her forehead to Emmett's jaw.

"Goodnight, Cullen," she whispered, feeling happier than she had in a long while.

"Night, Roman," he said, pecking her lips once more. Then he waved at the trailer while walking to his Jeep. "Sorry, Mr. Roman!"

Frankie was giggling as she let herself into the house, but the smile dropped when her dad was waiting for her, leaning back against the kitchen counter with his arms crossed and a sour expression on his face.

"Little late, isn't it?" he asked, his jaw clenched tight.

"I don't have a curfew," she said, letting out a huff of a laugh and not taking his anger seriously. Her dad never got angry at her. "I was just on a date."

"With Emmett Cullen," he said, his sour expression now explained. She realized he must've recognized him somehow. "A Cullen? A fucking Cullen?

Frankie rolled her eyes when he raised his voice. "What's the big about the Cullens? Why does everyone have to make such a freak out about them over here?" she asked, getting louder as well. She was so goddamn over people complaining about the family that did nothing but have the same last name as the people from the legends.

"The tribe—"

She was quick to cut him off with a scoff. "Oh, please! We've barely been part of the tribe since Mom died."

Raylan sighed and rubbed his forehead, knowing he wasn't allowed to tell her until it was time. "You'll just... you'll understand one day. You're gonna change everything, Frankie, and the closer you are with the Cullens, the worse it'll be."

"That makes no fucking sense," Frankie said, shaking her head. "And it makes no sense that you're taking it all so seriously. You're not even from here."

"Your mother—"

"I don't wanna talk about her anymore!" she snapped. "She has nothing to do with this! And neither do you, okay? I'm dating Emmett Cullen. You can get the fuck over it."

"You can't talk to me like that," he ordered. "You're grounded."

"Right, 'cause you're totally home enough to actually enforce that," she said sarcastically. They both knew he couldn't afford to take fewer shifts at the diner. "I'm sorry that you don't like him or whatever, but you don't have to. Because I like him a whole lot, Dad. I've never felt like this about someone and I'm not letting some stupid scary stories Mom told me growing up get in the way of that."

Raylan took in a deep, frustrated breath through his nose. "Just - just go to your fucking room, Frank. But this is not over."

She brushed past him, bumping into his shoulder with enough strength that it hurt him even if she didn't know it. "Actually, I think it is."

☽︎

Frankie was dreaming again. She only knew because her mother was sitting next to her on the shore with their toes in the sand, water running up to them with the waves. She'd been dreaming of her mother a lot the last few weeks, and never for more than a few minutes at a time. If Frankie didn't immediately write down the cryptic things her mother said in the notebook by her bed as soon as she woke up, she'd forget it all.

"Dad's mad at me," Frankie whispered, looking out at the sea. "He's never been mad at me. I'm guessing you'll tell me he'll get over it?"

"He won't," Elena told her, shaking her head.

Frankie scoffed, unable to believe the version of her mother she'd conjured up in her mind was taking her father's side. "And it was fucked up for him to bring you into it. Would you really hate me and Emmett so much?"

"Right now?" she asked with a sly smirk. "Yes. But not after."

"After what?" she questioned, not knowing what that meant.

"After our spirits choose him for you, of course."

"Choose him? What does that even mean?"

"He's yours, Frankie, and you are his."

She eyed her mother oddly. "We're teenagers, not pieces of property."

Elena laughed at that, knowing she just didn't understand it all yet. "You'll know when you change."

"When I change what?" Frankie asked, getting tired of the questions. Why couldn't she have a normal talk with her mother about the boy she liked?

"When you change everything."

There weren't any more questions this time, as Frankie was waking up against her will, feeling less rested as always on nights she dreamt of her mother. It felt like she wasn't really asleep — like her mind was somewhere else.

And that's because it was.