Imprinted (Progress) by Sara Imes (great books for teens TXT) 📕

Hayden looked at Seth with a confused and vacant look on her face. Hayden then asked, “What does that mean? What’s an imprint?” Seth leaned up against the wall behind him, crossing his arms over his chest, and started to explain what an imprint was to Hayden. Who was leaning forward, impatiently tapping her foot for Seth to speak. “An imprint is something werewolves do when they find there mate. Werewolves don’t know when an imprint is going to happen, nor can they control who they imprint on.” Seth looked into Hayden’s eyes and continued, “An imprint happens when a werewolf looks at their mate. It can happen at anytime and anywhere. At the mall, at a restaurant, on the sidewalk.”

Hayden then raised her hand as if she was in school and needed permission from the teacher to speak, then she put it back down. “Wait a minute. How would a werewolf know he imprinted on someone?” “When a werewolf imprints on someone”, Seth started. Seth then caught Hayden’s eyes and stared back into them.

“When a werewolf imprints on someone, it seems as the whole world has stopped.”, Seth said, keeping his eyes locked with Hayden’s. “It seems as the only person on the earth is just you and your mate. Nobody else matters. Nothing else matters. And at the moment, he would do anything for her. He’d do anything to be with her, do anything to protect her.” Seth hadn't noticed his feet were moving involuntarily and was moving toward Hayden. They stopped right in front of her, making Seth’s face only inches from hers. Seth took Hayden’s hand in his and said, “Imprinting means that we are together, and that I would do anything in my power to make you mine”, Seth finished.

After Seth was finished explaining, Hayden’s face was somber and unblinking. For what seemed like hours, Hayden just stared at Seth, not blinking, just staring. Then, finally, she spoke. Her voice was so soft and shaky, that even with Seth’s heightened hearing, Seth strained to hear what she said. Hayden cleared her throat, and this time with a more louder and steady voice said, “How is this possible? How is a werewolf, who is only supposed to imprint on werewolves, imprint on me?”

Seth could feel Hayden’s hand start to shake. Hayden then jumped off the table, snatching her hand back from Seth, and started pacing back and forth. Seth watched as Hayden ran her hand frantically through her hair, mumbling about how this imprint was a mistake. Hayden then stopped, took deep breaths, and then turned to Seth. “How can we get rid of it? Stop it?”, Hayden said in a raspy voice. Seth grinned, “like I told you, once a werewolf imprints on someone, they or no one else can stop it.” Hayden sighed heavily and ran her still slightly shaking hand through her hair again, making it stick up in several places. Hayden then looked up to Seth. Her face veiled, showing no emotion at all. Then Hayden said, “well I guess I have no choice but to stay here, huh?”

“Finally, we agree on some-”, Seth was cut off by the sound of the door behind him opening to reveal Dylan. Dylan closed the door behind him, nodding toward Seth and said mentally, It’s okay, I've cooled down. Seth nodded back and filled Dylan in on everything that happened while he was out. Once they were finished with their mental conversation, Seth turned back to a quizzical looking Hayden. She then smiled and nodded and then said, “so that’s how you guys talk huh? You guys have some telepathic link thing.”, Hayden said. Seth glanced over at Dylan. Who was staring at Hayden with an awed expression.

Hayden looked over at Dylan somberly.“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Dylan cleared his throat and said, “well, it's just that no vampire, well in your case, a vampire-human hybrid usually figured out about a werewolves telepathic link with its pack.. Hayden looked from Seth to Dylan and then shrugged

nonchalantly as if finding out a werewolves telepathic link wasn’t a big deal.

Hayden then walked back to the table and sat on it, letting her feet dangle off the side of the table and said in an unreadable voice, “well it really wasn’t hard to figure out. I just watched your facial expressions and I knew that, somehow, you guys were talking in some way without words, so that left only one logical explanation”, Hayden said, using a finger to tap the side of her temple.

Seth looked over to Dylan and smirked, she’s really observant and smart, and definitely not like the rest of the vampires, Seth said to Dylan. Dylan smirked back and replied, well you got that right, she's not like the rest of the other vampires at all. “See there you guys go again”, Hayden said to no one in particular. Seth expression then turned somber. He was then going to say something mentally to Dylan, but then decided to say it out loud. “I think I figured out why the Head Councilman wants you dead.”

At those words, Hayden’s body visibly tensed and her eyes widened. “How does the Head Councilman of the Crestfallen Society know that I exist?” Seth and Dylan both look at each other with a look of puzzlement. What did Hayden mean by how did the Head Councilman know she existed? Why was Hayden so worried about about being known in the Crestfallen Society? Was she some type of criminal who’s on the run?, Seth thought. Dylan and Seth started to think of reasonable answers to these questions that kept running through each other's mind.

Meanwhile, Hayden jumped off the table again and was pacing back and forth, talking to herself, and mentioning a guy named Jake while she was talking. For some reason, Seth instantly became jealous hearing Hayden saw another man’s name come out of her mouth. Before Seth could speak, Dylan said, “Who’s Jake”, knocking Hayden out of her reverie.

Hayden looked at Dylan curiously, then realized she must have been talking out loud. At first, Hayden didn’t say anything, then she shrugged and leaned up against the wall behind her and said, “Jake? Oh, he’s just my boyfriend. Dylan cringed and instantly looked at Seth. 

Dylan, Seth, and Hayden stood their in an agonizingly awkward silence for what felt like an eternity. At Hayden’s words, the air around the three of them quickly thickened with tension and deadly silence. Not being able to take the silence anymore, Dylan cleared his throat loudly. Seth, however, was still standing tensely, glaring at Hayden, who was still leaning up against the wall, arms crossed over her chest. Seth looked like he was shooting daggers from his eyes toward Hayden. And, if it was possible, Dylan knew Seth would. However, Hayden was staring intently back at Seth. The faint trace of a sly smirk on her lips. Dylan knew, somehow, that Hayden was just saying this to get a reaction out of Seth. Seth must have told Hayden about what imprinting meant and she was taking advantage of that, Dylan thought, but why? So he would let her go? Well if that’s what she’s expecting than she can forget about it. Whenever a werewolf imprints on someone, they'll do anything to make them theirs. Dylan opened his mouth to speak, but Hayden spoke first. “So now that you know that I am happily taken, can I please get to my significant other?.” Dylan scowled at Hayden and when Seth spoke, it was only a whisper. “Yeah sure you can leave Hayden,” Seth said blandly. Hayden, astonished by his answer, jumped off the wall and walked to the door. But Hayden was stopped when Seth grabbed her arm and said with a glazed expression, “But you can only leave if the pack goes with you.”