Disclaimer: As desperately as I may wish I owned Twilight...I don't:)

So, I got a couple people saying they wanted me to continue this...so here ya go! Thanks a million for everyone who reviewed and put me and this story on alert:) YOU GUYS ARE MY MOTIVATION:)

Chapter One

Sam's POV

I'd never been this angry before. Not even that horrible day when I'd phased in front of Emily…that had been because I was young and out of control. This? Nearly phasing in front of my baby sister? That was unacceptable. I knew better now—I knew what kind of damage I could cause if I left my anger unchecked.

Yet, here I was, pinned down by my own pack. I was their Alpha, their leader—they were supposed to look up to me. I was supposed to be setting a good example, but I'd failed. The sight of my sister, bloodied and beaten with a hole shot through her shoulder…just thinking about it sent a shiver of rage down my spine.

"I'll kill him," I heard myself growling, struggling to get away from the three boys holding me down. This was so out of character for me. I was cool, calm, collected. This was Paul, losing control and shouting death threats. Not me. "I swear to God, I'll kill him if he touches her again!"

"Sam, calm down!" Jared barked. "She needs you to keep your head! We all need you to keep your head. Seth's calling the police, right now. Officer Swan will take care of Mr. Uley. You need to take care of Scarlett."

He was right—of course he was right. I took a few deep breaths, closing my eyes as I counted to five.

One.

I just wish she'd come to me earlier. Why hadn't she come earlier? I was her big brother. She had to know that I would do anything for her. I'd move mountains if it meant keeping Scarlett safe. When I'd left, to start my life with Emily…she'd promised me that she could handle it, that Dad was better. Well, obviously, he wasn't any better. In fact, it looked like my leaving had done nothing more than to push him farther over the edge.

Two.

I wanted to shake her senseless. What had she been thinking? That one day, Dad would put down the bottle and change his ways? That he would get better? Maybe it was possible, and maybe people could change…but Dad wasn't going to change on his own. He was too stubborn for that. I knew, because Scar and I were the same way. Stubborn as mules, strong as oxen. That was the Uley way, after all.

Three.

Now that I thought about it, I wasn't that surprised when she'd come knocking on my door. I knew that it would happen eventually. Eventually, Scarlett would realize that our father was too far gone for her to fix. Eventually she would get tired of being treated like crap. Eventually, she would come to me. Well, now she had, and all I could do was thank God that eventually wasn't too late.

Four.

Who am I kidding? I should have taken her with me, when I left. I should have fought our father for custody years ago. I could have saved Scarlett from her father, from herself…but I'd been too caught up with Emily, with the pack. Imprinting on Emily had changed me in so many ways. I'd learned patience, discipline, all for her. But perhaps patience wasn't necessarily a virtue in this case.

Five.

The shaking was slowing down now. I could feel myself calming down…the fur, which had been sprouting on my arms and legs, was retreating back behind my skin, where it belonged for the moment. I was Sam Uley—the Alpha. I was in control, not my anger. Me. I could be in the same room as my fiancée and my sister and not hurt anyone. I was stronger than that. I was stronger than my anger.

With a growl, I pushed myself off the ground, shaking the others off of me. "I'm fine," I assured them as I strode toward the house. They followed close behind, just in case I saw something I didn't like when I entered the house.

Of course, I didn't like the way my sister was lying there, broken, but that didn't mean I was going to lose control and hurt her further. I didn't really like the smell of vampire stinking up my house, but that didn't mean I was going to kick Dr. Cullen out. I knelt by Scarlett's head, stroking her dark hair gently. "What can I do, Carlisle?" I asked, desperate to be of some assistance.

"Can you carry her upstairs?" Carlisle asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Sure thing." I lifted her up easily into my arms, being careful not to jar her too much on our way up to the guest bedroom.

"That's…really all you can do for now," Carlisle said apologetically. "I'll stitch her up the best I can. She'll hurt in the morning…but she'll be fine."

I nodded, understanding. I left the good doctor to attend to Scarlett. Of course, right as I was about to get out my phone and call the meeting, the doorbell rang. Nobody rang the doorbell to this house—the boys just made themselves at home. I sighed, running a hand through my hair agitatedly. I swung the door open and admitted Forks Police Chief Charlie Swan into my home.

"Good evening, Sam," Officer Swan greeted me.

"Good evening, Charlie," I nodded.

"How's your sister doing?" he asked, scratching his chin nervously. "I saw Dr. Cullen's car in the driveway."

"He's upstairs looking at her now. She…she's been better. But she's a tough kid. I've got faith in her."

"Sometimes, having a little faith is all we can do," Charlie nodded. "Well…I'm pleased to inform you that Mr. Uley is under arrest. Unfortunately, we can't just throw him in jail the way I'd like. He'll have a trial sometime in the next two months. If Scarlett's willing to testify…there should be no problem getting the conviction. Ten years, minimum, for the kind of damage he did tonight."

That was not going to make Scarlett happy. "We'll see if she's up to it."

"I'm no lawyer, Sam, but I can't see this case going in your father's favor," Officer Swan noted. "If you're going to press charges…you could get anything you want. His house, his car, custody of his kid…"

"I hope it doesn't resort to that," I sighed. I wasn't looking forward to taking my own father to court. I'd go to the jail sometime in the next week and talk to him. I'd bring Jared along with me, to keep me in check, and then I was going to tell Dad that Emily and I were taking legal custody of Scarlett.

"I wish you the best of luck," Charlie nodded. "Well...I've got to be going. It was nice seeing you again, Sam."

"Nice seeing you, too, Charlie. And thanks, for everything." We shook hands…which was a little weird, I'll admit, but then again Charlie's never been the greatest in social situations. His daughter, Bella, was a bit of the same way—quiet, but kind. Incredibly kind, I noted, as I looked at the clock.

It was nearly two in the morning.

I knew the pack wouldn't like being called in at this time of night, but since half of them were here already, I pulled out my cell phone and began dialing. "Quil?" I said into the receiver when he answered on the first ring. "Get the others. We're having a pack meeting."

Ten minutes later, I was surrounded by my brothers…and Leah, my sister—my pack. We were gathered around the coffee table in the living room, and Emily was in the kitchen as usual, cooking up a last-minute something for all of us. I looked at each face in turn, locking eyes with each of my fellow wolves before moving on to the next. When I'd come full circle, I sighed.

"Let me start out by apologizing, to those of you who witnessed my…loss of control," I began. "I'm supposed to be setting an example for all of you. Especially you three," I sighed, indicating to Collin, Brady, and Seth—the three youngest of our pack. "I didn't do such a great job of that tonight, and…I'm sorry."

"Sam…she's your sister," Jacob allowed, giving me a small smile. "I know I'd freak if something like this happened to Rachael or Rebecca. We all snap sometimes."

"Yeah, Sam, don't worry about it," Jared shrugged. "We don't respect you any less for what happened tonight."

"If anything, we're more in awe than ever," Seth grinned. "I mean…I know I would have phased if it had been me."

"Thanks," I smiled at them. Then, I sobered up and got to the real point of our meeting. "Well…now we've got ourselves a serious problem. Scarlett's going to be living here now."

"Well, we figured," Embry nodded. "I mean, it's not like we're going to let her stay with her dad after this."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Paul grumbled, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest. Paul really did need an attitude adjustment sometimes. Emily and I had discussed it before—neither of us could wait until he imprinted. Maybe he would soften up a little once he found himself a girl.

"And since she is going to be living here," I continued, ignoring the exchange, "Keeping our little secret is going to become that much more difficult. I didn't want to tell her before, because it seemed unnecessary with her living across town. But now that she'll be right upstairs…"

"We could have pack meetings at my place," Jacob offered.

"Billy needs his rest," I chuckled. He wasn't quite as young as he thought he was sometimes. "Besides, what happens when your sisters are in town?"

"I'm all for just telling her," Jared decided. "She's your sister, Sam. That…that ranks about as high as an imprint, don't you think? The Alpha's sister is pretty damn important."

"My sister doesn't 'rank' above anyone else's sister. We're all equals here," I reminded him. Still, it felt nice that Scarlett was so appreciated and well liked. I wanted her to get along well with the pack; they would be seeing a lot of each other over the next few years.

"Look," Paul sighed, sitting up from his slouched position, resting his forearms on his knees and leaning in toward the center of our circle. "It's your call, Sam. On one hand, you could tell her. Sure, it's one more person who could possibly slip up…but she is your sister. On the other hand…you could not tell her, and we could move have our meetings somewhere else. It'd be harder for Scarlett to find out anything…but it would totally wreck any semblance of organization that we have. It's up to you."

"Maybe we should give her some time," Leah suggested. "I mean…she's got enough going on in her life as is. This doesn't seem like a good time to let her know her big brother's a werewolf."

"But where will we meet until then?" Brady asked. "We can't very well be going on about patrols and imprints with Scarlett living upstairs."

"We can hold any pack meetings at mine and Seth's house until you decide it's a good time to tell Scarlett," Leah offered. Seth was nodded emphatically in agreement, and I knew Sue wouldn't mind. She'd really stepped up to the plate as a member of the Council after Harry's tragic death a few ago. I hated bringing such an imposition into her home…but it was necessary for the moment. I'd give Scarlett two weeks. Two weeks of meetings and chaos at Sue's place, and then I'd tell my sister everything and things would go back to normal.

"Maybe you're right, Leah," I nodded. "Okay. For now…if a meeting's called, head for the Clearwater's. If it's a vampire-related emergency, Jared—bring Kim here if you're worried about her. I'll give Scar a little time…and then we'll tell her. Thanks for being so understanding, everybody."

"No problem," Jake shrugged. "Most of us have sisters."

"We all have at least one," Embry grinned, his gaze turning toward Leah.

"I'm going out for coffee," Lean decided, getting up and grabbing her things. "Anybody want to come with?"

A group of the guys got up and followed her out the door. Jared and Paul went out to finish their patrol, and Emily brought out a snack for the others who had stayed. We chatted for a while. But the boys all had to get back home for the evening, so around three-thirty Emily closed up shop and sent everyone packing.

Once the house was empty, I collapsed on the sofa with a sigh. There were still drops of blood on the upholstery—it smelled like Scarlett.

"I know you're feeling guilty," Emily murmured in that soft, soothing voice of hers as she sat down next to me. She took my face in her hands, and looked me straight in the eye. "But things happen for a reason, Sam," she smiled. It was a favorite saying of hers—she believed in it the way physics majors believed in gravity. "What happened to your sister is absolutely horrendous," she continued, "but she will turn out all the better for it in the end. Her experiences will shape her into the strong, beautiful, miraculous woman I just know she was always meant to be."

"Emily…" I sighed, kissing the scars on her cheek gently. "I love you so much."

"I know," she smiled. "I love you, too."

"Sam."

I grumbled angrily, detaching myself from my fiancée. "Yes, Carlisle?"

"I am sorry to interrupt," he chuckled knowingly to himself. "But I just thought you would like to know that Scarlett is going to be just fine. Give her a week, maybe two, and she'll be good as new. She might have some scars, but…" his voice trailed off, as if he wasn't quite sure how to voice what he was thinking.

"I'm sure she's used to it." There. I said it—for both of us. This wasn't the first time this had happened. I'd suspected as much…but I was kind of hoping that it wasn't the case. Carlisle nodded sadly before walking out the door, leaving the money I'd left for him on the coffee table behind.

So, maybe this wasn't the first time this had happened. But I was going to make sure that it would be the last. There was no way I was ever going to let that despicable man who called himself my father touch my baby sister again.

Well, there you have it! Chapter two:) Just so you know, this story is going to be switching around as far as POV goes, but I'll make sure you all know who's POV the story is in for each chapter:)

Penny for your thoughts?;)