CHAPTER 1. AT FIRST SIGHT

"What's up Dean?" Zeeb greeted his best friend and proceeded to go to his locker right beside him. Smiling as his tanned skin gleamed from the lights. He was 6 foot 2 and well built for his age. His black hair and sideburns make him a little mature-looking for his age.

All the girls passing by steal glances at his towering height and good looks. They all swoon for his hazel brown eyes.

"So you up for tonight's tribe gathering?" Dean said a young fellow slightly shorter than Zeeb but of the buffed physique.

"As if I have a choice? Chief will whoop my ass if I don't." Zeeb retorted.

"I don't know dude, I just find their stories entertaining but unreal, you know what I'm saying?" Dean said.

"Yeah, all that wolf stuff and all. Haven't seen one but if you ever tell that to anyone except me we'll be both in trouble" Zeeb said smiling and laughing remembering the stories of their ancestors turning into wolves to protect their tribe.

"As if you'll get in as much trouble as we would. Your dad's the chief. Great Grandson of Chief Wolf Robe." Dean said with a chuckle.

Zeeb slammed his locker with a little more force than necessary. "Hey man, please don't talk about my family like that, you know how sacred it is for Pops when people talk about our ancestors and lower down your voice, people think we are weird enough, they might think we're living in a madhouse."

"Sorry man..." Dean said, his voice trailing off.

"Dean?" Zeeb said looking at his friend appearing to be mesmerized by something.

"You okay man?" Zeeb said.

Dean simply raised his hand and pointed towards the entrance hall. Zeeb followed his gaze and there he saw a girl. Everything appeared to be in slow motion as she walked the halls gracefully with an air of quiet confidence in her. She was taller than most girls probably 5'6 feet tall, long legs shown as she strides in her denim skirt. Her golden blonde hair cascaded down her back and framed her porcelain white skin in contrast with her cupid's bow pink lips. Her eyes were the shade of honey and gold as she met Zeeb's prodding stare. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of him, seemingly offended by the stare. Zeeb swallowed as he studied her annoyed face, she was the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. Everything else seemed irrelevant as he felt his heart racing, he can feel and hear each thud of his heartbeat and an inexplicable warmth enveloped his whole being.

"What is this feeling?" Zeeb thought to himself. It's as if right then there he knows he will do anything and everything for that girl. "Who is she?"

"Fleur, they said the new girl from New Orleans," Dean said.

Zeeb snapped out of it as Dean held his chin to close his gaping mouth.

"Whoah, slow down cowboy. She's coming here." Dean whispered.

Zeeb composed himself and cleared his throat as Fleur approached him.

"You alright? Do you have a problem? You looked disgusted and in pain while you were staring at me perv." Fleur snapped at him.

"I...Uhm...Sorry was just having a headache, I didn't mean that." Zeeb said while clearing his throat still feeling the intense heat that has overcome him.

Fleur didn't let him finish and walked swiftly away from him towards the classroom halls and disappeared into the crowd of students rushing towards their classes.

"What was that about dude? Sure, she's pretty but you were almost drooling," Dean said laughing at Zeeb.

"I don't know man, she just got to me bad," Zeeb said as he tried to compose himself and slowly felt his temperature getting back to normal.

"Let's go, man, Mr. Rutherford will get mad at us again," Dean said already walking toward their class for Math.

Zeeb hurriedly followed. As they open the door, there she was in the second row, near the window beside the empty seat that was Zeeb's. He uneasily looked at her. She was not paying any attention to him, she was just looking faraway outside. Zeeb sat down and Mr. Rutherford a rather small balding guy in his 50's with white hairs sticking out at each side of his head, went inside the class.

"Okay class, good morning. Today, we have a new student joining us, he put on his glasses as he read the small piece of paper he was holding, "Ms. Fleur Landry, can you please come here and introduce yourself?"

Fleur looked at Mr. Rutherford and stood up to go to the front of the class.

“My God she looks so much more beautiful up close", Zeeb thought to himself as her scent of roses and lilies filled Zeeb's nose when she passed by him.

"Hi, everyone good morning, I'm Fleur Landry, I just moved here to Willow Creek from New Orleans. Nice to meet all of you." She said confidently. Her mellow voice was music to Zeeb's ear. It was feminine but authoritative, she talks with confidence and he was smitten.

She then proceeded to go back to her chair and sat down. She seems like she was not paying attention to the class. While he was there stealing glances at her, finding it difficult to breathe with her presence. He has never felt this with any girl.

His attention was suddenly drawn to Mr. Rutherford as she asked Fleur to answer the problem on the board "Ms. Landry, can you please come here and solve this for us? He said. I looked at it and I know she may not be able to answer the question because she just spent the entire time doodling on her notebook.

Fleur calmly stood up and answered the question on the board within 2 minutes. Zeeb was stunned. Everybody was. She stood there and looked at Mr. Rutherford also taken aback. He cleared his throat and said "Well done, Ms. Fleur." She nodded and smiled at him and the bell rang.

Everybody was standing up and excitedly chattering away as they go to the next class while he sat there looking at Fleur as she went back to her chair and gather her things.

"That was awesome," he said. "How did you do that?"

She just stared at me blankly and proceeded to go towards the exit.

"Hey, I just wanted to say sorry for earlier, I wasn't feeling very well, but you know, I...I...didn't mean it," He said catching up to her by the hall.

She did not respond to him and he kept on walking with her still. "So you're from New Orleans, didn't know their schools' there are so advanced, I always thought they focused more on music and arts and all that stuff..." he continued his small talk.

She was still ignoring him. He caught up to her and grabbed her arm. She looked back at him sharply he swear he thought her eyes became darker than what it was. he put both his hands up as if in submission and smiled. "I just want to get to know you, I'm Zeeb by the way." He held out his hand to her.

She seemed to calm down and said "Sorry, just not having a good day that's all, you know first day of class in a new place." She smiled awkwardly and shook his hands "Fleur" she said as her eyes study every depth of his face. He was gorgeous she thought to herself.

"That's cute." He said.

She looked at him confused.

"Your smile that is..." he finished with a smile.

Her smile grew wider.

"What's your next class?" Zeeb asked.

"Lit." She said.

"Perfect, that's my next class too. Let me walk you?"

She smiled again and nodded as they walk towards their class together.

Zeeb still feeling the warmth in his being while Fleur seems to radiate with so much energy and light.

The whole class Zeeb couldn't help but throw glances at Fleur. He just can't shake away the warm feeling and the fast beating of his heart when she is near.

He recalled the stories of their elder of how they were able to find their mates, their wives, it's as if every one of them found true love.

He grew up on fascinating tales of love at first sight and the feeling of warmth and inexplicable sense of knowing you found the one. Imprinting as they call it. He doesn't believe it and they all shook these tales away as one of the weird stories their elders would tell them as kids. But right now, he is beginning to believe it.

He looks at her and he feels immense desire not just sexually but also the yearning to protect her and to hold her close. It was so intense he could not wrap his head around it. All he knows is that it's not a simple infatuation. Imprinting - it just may be the only word he can think of that best describes how he feels at the moment.

The bell rang and Zeeb was still lost in his thoughts. He saw Fleur standing up and gathering her things. He wanted to help her out and serve her however she sees fit, but he doesn't want her to think that he was a creep.

He stood up went near her and said. "It was really nice meeting you Fleur. You know since you are new here you might want to hang out with me and my friends. We have a bonfire tonight and afterward, we will just be hanging out and having fun at Wolf's Lair Beach, you know you can drop by. It would be fun."

"We have some people coming over tonight at our house, maybe next time," she said.

His heart sank, "Okay cool, no problem."

She nodded and said, "See you around."

As she left the door Zeeb cannot help but feel the sinking feeling of loneliness that swept over him as she see her disappear into the crowd.

"Fuck, I think I really just imprinted," he muttered to himself.