Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Stephenie Meyer owns all of the greatness known as Twilight, particularly the wolf packs!

Blake's POV

The hotel I stayed at was slightly depressing, but I pushed through it anyways. My things were still back in Boston. Due to the rapidly cooling weather, all bugs evacuated into this hotel room. I squished the roaches and swatted away the flies until there was enough clean space to walk to my bed. That was what my job got me. My real house that they would buy when I got permission to live on LaPush grounds would be much nicer.

Terror settled inside me. I hated bugs. I hated being alone in creepy motels where eerie people slept and watched. A knock on the door both sent me waves of relief and waves of fear. I bucked up and pulled open the door to be surprised by a familiar face. "Sam, are you going to punch a wall too, because I think you'd bring down the entire building if so?" I remarked, opening the door fully. He eyed the place. Now his house may have been tiny, but this room was tiny and disgusting.

"I see I won't have much trouble convincing you," Sam noted and motioned outside. Eager to escape the smell of mold, I leaned on the railing beside the large man.

"Convincing me to what? Leave? Sorry, that's not happening," I grinned. He owned a serious and grave expression. "I'm not unreasonable. Like I said, I like to make everyone happy."

"I'm not getting into this with you," he rolled his eyes. "You want the tribes permission to the land? Have it." I eyed him suspiciously. His posture was normal. His voice never cracked. It was sincere. That only made me more curious.

"And?"

"Smart girl," he nodded in approval. "You can have it as long as, and keep an open mind, you foster a kid I know. The entire community loves him. He's one of us. We can't just let him leave." Double taking, I checked to make sure he was sober. His expression was firm, but mine was not. I cracked up, letting out a hearty laugh followed by high-pitched giggles.

"Foster?" I laughed. "You want me to take care of a kid? That's a joke," I snorted. He peered at me with precaution before shaking his head. "You are joking, right?"

"I wish I were. He's a great kid put through rough times. We were all denied rights to custody over him," Sam began to fill me in. Now it made me mad. They actually asked me of this.

"Wait a second. You want to trust him with a stranger? I could have been some pedophile or drunk!" I gaped. How could they do that to the poor boy? In all honesty, I was tempted to do as they asked just to help him out.

"You are the police of our nation," Sam cleared his throat. "You should be better than that, I'd hope. Besides, you aren't the only one who did research. Andromeda Blake Raine, 22, born to Artemis and Jimmy Raine. Your mother died just after your brother's birth. You grew up for seven years in a trailer park. Jimmy was deemed unfit and you bounced from school to foster home to group home until you ended up being adopted by a lawyer." My mouth fell open again. He must have looked up the FBI personal. Only they knew all of that.

"Um, exactly my point," I gathered my wits again. "I could be just like my dad, a lunatic."

"Do you want to continue your investigation or not? We can fight the courts and we'll win. Or, while you are fighting the court, we can 'hide' everything too well for anyone to find. It's your choice," Sam nodded curtly to me. Then he jumped over the railing, which was two stories by the way, and began to leave.

Foster a child? I'd take care of him for an unknown amount of time. Could I seriously do that? I knew nothing of parenting. I did, however, know what it felt like to be bounced around from home to home. Though, wasn't that exactly what I would be doing to him? He'd live with me for merely a couple months, a year at absolute most and then what? He'd go straight back into foster care?

"W-wait!" I called, leaning further over the railing. Sam grinned up at me. "I'm not saying yes, but I'm not saying no."

"His name is Theo. I believe you two are acquaintances," Sam flashed a wink before running off, shouting, "Blake, meet us at my place tomorrow at twelve!"

Dear God, what did I get myself into?

The moment my car door shut, people surrounded me. First, Emily squeezed the breath out of me. Then, Kim burst into tears, repeating, "Thank you, thank you, thank you," over and over. Of course, the guys all but hoisted me onto their shoulders. Over the course of two days, I found some odd physical qualities about them that I needed to confirm. If that was the progress, it looked like Theo and I wouldn't be staying in town for long.

As my phone rung and rung, my arms were still pinned to Embry's chest. I tried to be polite in asking for some room, but that didn't work. "Let me answer my damn phone!" I screamed. Now that cleared the room fast. "Hello?" My voice changed into a sweet, darling tone.

"Detective Raine, how is the progress coming along? I see no update reports," Director asked. In the background on the other line, typing could be heard. I'd bet fifty bucks he had a cigar in his mouth. His office always smelled of cigars, something I didn't miss in the cool air of LaPush.

"Very well. I've been granted permission," I noted and followed the herd into the living room. We were to sign papers there. I had stayed up until dawn last night arranging this. It wasn't fun.

"Tha-that's terrific," he didn't sound as happy as you'd think, though what could I expect out of the jerk I had for a director? "How?" I finally met eyes with my soon-to-be foster son. He looked so unhappy, so tired. I remembered looking like that. I had cared nothing of my future because I figured nothing would come out of it even if I tried. That kid didn't deserve to be troubled with finding a home and being investigated.

"We made a compromise. I'm…" the room suddenly quieted. I noticed Paul was still missing. Everyone waited for me to begin. Nobody knew that Theo wasn't included in the files. It was obvious he was part of their gang. A blind man could tell. Under normal circumstances, I should have told Director of Theo. He'd be put under analysis as well, but his finances and alike would be paid for by the company, not by me. Still, I couldn't bring myself to do it to the kid. If all things went well, nobody would have to know. Whatever secret this group hid, it didn't seem dangerous. If anything, they'd make a big scandal in the newspaper and that was it. "I'm insisting, you don't want to know."

Though I basically hissed that line, nearly every muscular guy in the room blushed or looked away awkwardly. Though they knew I lied, they still understood what I implied. Director of all people would understand and respect that. He chuckled heartily, "You do have persuasive ways, Miss Blake. If that's what it takes, I'm glad I sent you. You'll get her done."

"Yes sir," I said uncomfortably. "I'll send the weekly report when I have something." I quickly hung up and turned to have all eyes on me. Theo, of all people, looked pissed off at my last conversation. He was across the room, but if he did hear my claims of sleeping my way to get permission, then I'd be annoyed as well. We'd get along swimmingly. Luckily, the social worker didn't seem disturbed.

"Thank you for coming here today," he yawned, stood up, coughed into his hand, and shook mine. Cringing, I wiped it along my pants and sat across from him. "Let's get started…"

Mid-signing, the door burst open. "Am I late?" Paul shouted. Murmurs erupted in the room and I had a creeping feeling they were about my phone call. Another odd quality about them, they all seemed to have very good hearing. "Shut the hell up. I don't care about her methods." My suspicions were confirmed. Did these people gossip to everyone? Paul took a seat across from me beside of Theo. His hands shook uncontrollably, but nobody else seemed fazed. I, on the other hand, noticed how tight his expression was and the way he kept clenching his – sexy – jaw.

"Miss Raine?" I shook my head and continued to get this part over with. It was odd being on this side of the signing.

Finally, we finished the hard part. I didn't feel any different. There was only a part of me that constantly whispered, "Where's Theo? What's he doing?" It was unnerving. Eventually, the social worker left and so did a large group of guys. Theo almost escaped, but I grabbed his arm.

"Hey," I tugged him inside. "Where are you going?"

"Out," he shrugged. Paul, one of the guys he was walking with, looked back and groaned before coming beside us.

"Don't you want to get settled in? Wait, that's pretty hard considering we have to buy a house first," I rolled my eyes. Theo got confused. I supposed it wasn't every foster parent that let you chose the living abode. "You'll be there more than me I suspect. It's only fair you choose."

"Any house?" Paul intervened with a hint of anger to his tone.

"Any. The FBI pays for it," I nodded, unsure why he was so angry all the time. It was intimidating, sure, but really it was hot. He radiated masculinity. Being near him had my stomach twisting, so much it was almost painful. I wanted to leave.

"You can choose," Theo grunted and began to take off. I dangled the keys in front of me.

"You can drive," I said in a singsong voice. He spun around in surprise. Paul glanced down with a grin. The two boys raced for the car after I tossed them the keys. I turned to grab my coat and was surprised to nearly stumble into Kim. Hey eyes were puffy.

"I can tell we'll be great friends!" she hugged me. I squirmed out of her touched. Yuck. Surprise contact with people wasn't really my thing. I still didn't understand why these idiots were being so nice to me. It's like they wanted to be found out!

"You do know why I'm here, right?"

"No," she blushed, "but I know why you are staying!"

"Staying?"

"Kim! Enough!" Jared yelled from across the yard. She looked back and nodded grimly. Then she ran off. I rolled my eyes and walked to my car to see Paul sitting in the passenger seat.

"Get out."

"I called shotgun, sweetheart," Paul growled. He was always growling. I yanked open the door, pulled him by the ear, and shoved him on the ground. Then, I slide in and shut the door. Reluctantly, he climbed in the back. "You suck."

"Isn't this illegal?" Theo asked after he began backing out.

"Don't you have a learner's permit…?" I trailed off before mentally slapping myself. Of course he wouldn't. His foster parents didn't care to get him one. I never got one until I was adopted mainly because nobody knew anything about my parents. I did, but they didn't have any record of either, and they wouldn't believe a kid. "Well…we just won't tell the cops."

"You are the cop, dumb-dumb," Paul snorted.

"FBI agent," I corrected. "Much more glamorous than a cop, dumb-dumb. Who knows where some houses are for sale?"

Theo glanced over his shoulder to Paul. They both grinned. "You said the FBI pays for it?" I nodded. "Then we'll make them pay." I groaned. Idiots.

"See you around, Princess," Paul slammed the door. Every time we spoke, he got mad. I didn't know why I tolerated him. Screaming, I threw a pillow at the door. Theo chuckled humorlessly from behind.

"Why do you like him?"

"Shut up," he grumbled, walking to the couch. He took one look at it and glanced back at me. There was no way he'd fit. Even if he was cut in half, there was no way. "I'm taking the bed." I wanted to say no. There were much less bugs near the bed, but he was right.

"Sure," I nodded. "So we'll move in tomorrow while you are in school. I might not be done when you get home, though."

"Get somebody to help you," Theo shrugged off his jacket. For a fourteen-year-old boy, he looked too old. His childhood was stripped from him not only in memories but also in looks.

"I don't know anyone, Theo," I reminded him. Turning around, he sighed.

"Paul will help. You just have to ask." I snorted. Like that was going to happen.

"So, how many homes have you been to?" Theo took five steps closer to me. His face grew angrier. "I'm sure you've gone to a few schools, right? Those are normally better."

"Is this your idea of bonding?" He walked closer, getting in my face. I gulped. For a kid, he was really intimidating. "I don't like you. You don't know me. You only did this to stay here. I only did this because I can't leave LaPush. That's it. Nothing else. Good fucking night."

I stumbled back onto the couch. He marched into the bedroom and slammed the door. My hands buzzed. I hated that I couldn't exactly contradict what he said. It was the truth, but I did care for him, at least I was going to. He just needed to see that.

The next day, I needed to work. If I didn't have anything to report by the end of the week, things wouldn't go over well. Despite the cruel things he said last night Theo had a good idea. I wasn't going to ask Paul though. I could ask his friends and get a little prying in. Five minutes later, Jared and Embry joined my moving party.

"Jared, Embry," I smiled. "Can you grab the couch?" He nodded. Embry got the television. "So Embry, how's your mom doing?"

"She's going crazy as usual…" Embry peered at me curiously.

"And Jared, how did you meet Kim?" Overly personal questions always put people on their personal guard. That opened up their secretive guard just a bit.

"In high school," Jared shrugged. To my surprise, Jared took the couch by himself. Note to self, Jared was unnaturally strong. I knew my ways. This wasn't my first mission.

"What do you do for fun around here?" I asked. Both boys shrugged. "What does Theo do?"

"Why do you care?" Embry asked. "No offense, but you just met him." I took two deep breaths. I needed to let people in. It got them talking.

"I know what he's going through. If I can help, I'm going to," I said. They nodded with a slight smile. We got those objects inside and I began moving them around while they got the rest of it. The house was not as huge as their first three. It took a lot of convincing, but I really didn't want the government going into more debt because of me. Still, it was nice. It was a two-bedroom house with two full baths. The living room was separated from the kitchen only by counter. The dinning room hooked around with a large window overlooking the forest. It was one of the better houses I've been put in. The door swung open with more force than necessary. "What have you got?" Paul stood with two large boxes in his arms. "Oh."

"This is Theo's stuff," he muttered, not looking at my eyes. I nodded but then he moved towards the master bedroom.

"Excuse me, his room is that one," I pointed to the room across from mine. Paul sighed and stood to full height. My eyes held his brown orbs for longer than normal before he finally spoke the ever so menacing words.

"No it's not."

"This is my house. Not his. Not yours," I poked his chest.

"Keep telling your self that, sweetheart," he moved so close that our chests were nearly touching. I tilted my head up defiantly.

"Oh, I will," I nodded. "So, how many kids are yours in this town, Lahore? That is your name, right?"

"Blake, Blake, Blake, your puns are too funny," Paul walked a circle around me. I kept my eyes on his, not daring to let him win. "I know why you didn't arrest Theo yesterday. You don't know how."

"I know how," I stopped walking and so did he. A smirk formed on his lips and I could have guessed his next lines.

"Then how come you slept your way to the top?" Smack! It made a sound but it hurt me more. A devilish smile still played on his lips. Did he enjoy being hit? I hated Paul! He got under my skin so much I was tempted to kick him in his groin. His beautiful face didn't help.

Suddenly, the door burst open and we both jumped in surprise. Our lips jammed together so hard my upper one busted. Great! Blood began trailing down my face. "Fuck! A little warning!" I yelled and swirled around to see who caused me such embarrassment. Of course it would be my mother. "Shit."

"Blake, why didn't you mention your yummy boyfriend?" Mom nearly sang.

"He's about as far as it gets from my boyfriend," I rubbed my lip and glanced over my shoulder to Paul. I expected him to be as angry as me but instead he just stared at me. Why? Maybe he hit head. All I knew was that even though that was the roughest kiss I've ever had, it had the most sparks. Why did it have to be Paul Lahote? I would have settled for anyone else. "Paul!"

"I'll get you some ice," the words sounded forced out of his mouth but he ventured into the kitchen. My mom took that opportunity to rush me.

"Blake, sweetie, how is the sex?" she eyed inside like she was tempted to find out for herself.

"First off, no you can't fuck him," I don't know why I felt compelled to say that, but I did. It made my nerves settle a little bit. "Secondly, he's a suspect. I'm not fucking him."

"Oh come on, if I can't you better. You've never played by the rules," Mom cackled.

"One time!"

"No, you fucked the college professor as well. Thank goodness for that, I don't think you would have passed-,"

"MOM!" I yelled. "Paul can hear you!" Paul strolled back into the room with his hands shaking. Clenching his jaw, he handed me the bag of ice. After nodding to my mom he left. For some reason, I felt mortified that he knew about that. "Thanks a lot."

"Don't be so ashamed. You deserve this job. How's it going?" she sat on the newly placed couch. I supposed I had to tell her I'm taking care of a child now. I was not looking forward to it.

"Well…I have a kid," I shrugged with a smile. The boys brought in another round of furniture. I got the feeling they were listening in. My mom's mouth dropped open. "He's fourteen. Theo."

"You voluntarily decided to take care of a random kid?" She didn't scream often but she did then. It was loud and nearly broke my eardrums. Blushing, I nodded. "Why? What could you possibly gain? What's he like?"

"Well," I sighed but stopped talking. I knew nothing about him. Dammit. "Let me get back to you on that." I began walking out the door but Paul was nowhere in sight. Shit the one time I needed him he wasn't there.

"Where are you going?" she shouted. I spun around and called out cheerily with a grin. If I gave her the juicy information she wanted, I could leave without her following me.

"You said one of us should, right? Hey Embry, where did Paul go?" It was hard to force the grin on my lips. Knowing I needed Paul's help wasn't something I enjoyed. Embry nodded his head in the direction of the woods. I regretted not getting Paul's number. As I ran into the woods, Jared and Embry suddenly remembered something and began telling me to come back. I was already gone. "Paul! Paul, I need your help! It's about Theo!"

No response. I continued tramping deeper into the forest. You never realize how dark and scary a place is until you are in too deep to go back. Then I stumbled upon a clearing. There stood Theo undoing his pants while Paul took Theo's shirt from him. I noticed that Paul had no underwear on at all, just a shirt. As I emerged in the clearing, the two boys whipped around and stared wide-eyed at me. "Blake?" they voiced at the same time.

"What the hell are you two doing?" I screamed and reached to my back pocket. Wrapping my hand around my gun handle gave my head bit of fresh air.

"Blake," Paul held his hands up. I raised the gun and aimed it on his thigh just to be safe. If I had an excuse to shoot him, wouldn't that be pleasant? "This is not what you think."

"I think you took Theo out in the woods and began undressing him," I brushed my long hair out of my eyes. Theo's mouth dropped. What was he even doing out of school? "You have one minute. Theo, get the fuck over here."

"Blake-," Theo protested. I risked a glare at him and he got the massage. Paul gulped. "Honest, this is not what you're thinking."

"Is this your group cxthing? Raping kids?" I cocked a bullet into place. Paul's eyes wandered to Theo. Suddenly, his two hands gripped my arms and pinned it behind my back. I gritted my teeth. His hands were burning hot, too hot. I squirmed and I wiggled, but nothing overpowered him. Soon Paul took over, still with no pants mind you. Somehow, when his hands gripped over mine, a little bit of relief fled through me. "Fuck you!"

"Theo, get Sam," Paul growled. "I'll handle her but he needs to know." Theo nodded, stripped him of his short and left in only his underwear. Those sick bastards brainwashed this poor kid. I yelled for him to come back so long that my vocal cords seemed to break. Tears welled in my eyes. "Blake!"

"Pervert! You pedophile, I hope you rot in hell!" Even as the words exited my mouth I couldn't believe that a person like him could make it to hell. Despite my assumptions, it was too hard for me to imagine Paul actually doing that. Maybe he was brainwashed from a young age as well. Still, I couldn't imagine that was what went on in little old LaPush, Washington.

Paul cringed. With one hand pressed hard against my back, he picked up the gun and emptied the shells. "Blake, shut the hell up. Do you believe I would do something so cruel?" Hesitantly, I shook my head. "Exactly. Can I trust you to not attack me if I let you go?" Nodding, I scrambled away the moment he let go. I only made it to the first tree before realizing he wasn't following. Peering back, I found he looked pain, like the fact that I'd think that of him hurt.

"Explain. Now," I sat behind the first tree but stuck out my head to watch him. A smile pulled at his lips as he sat where he was. Well he didn't know that I had a knife in my boot. If only I could get close enough to weld it. Hell, who was I kidding? I could never purposefully hurt a face like that. It would be the same as killing a baby.

"I climbed a tree and my clothes got shredded when I fell. Theo was nearby for a school hike and he gave me his clothes," Paul said like it was a normal thing. He sounded like a little kid. Who climbed trees for fun? That was such an obvious lie!

I ran out from behind the tree with the pocketknife in my hand. It was stupid plan considering he easily could have reloaded my gun, but I tried. When he saw my knife, Paul only laughed. "Blake, you are just going to have to trust me here."

"That's my problem," I sneered and stuck the knife back into my boot. Paul grinned cheekily at me. "I'm not forgetting about this, but I'm not writing it up either."

"Thank you," Paul sighed. "So what did you need my help for?"

"How did you hear that?" I asked, walking to his side. He began to lead us out of the forest, which I was thankful for. I had no idea where we were at the moment. He shrugged. "Hmm…you are the closest one to Theo. I figured you could tell me a bit about him."

"No," Paul's smile faded. I fumbled at his strong distaste. His hands clenched. "Why? Why do you want to come here and ruin our lives?"

"I'm not asking for that reason," I protested.

"It seems like it," Paul snorted. We emerged from the forest and I exhaled loudly. "The question still stands. What can you possibly get from us?"

"I'm-,"

"We aren't hurting anyone. Why does the government care?" Paul's hands shook. You are used to people reacting like this, Blake, I reminded myself. For the first time ever, I felt guilty for prying. I…I had never felt that way on an assignment before.

"Paul, I…" I couldn't find the right answer. Why did we care so much? It was clear there have been no murders, no large number of kids hooked on drugs.

"Exactly." He rolled his eyes. "I'll see you around," Paul stormed over to the moving truck. He picked up the two mattresses and began hauling them in heatedly. I ran a hand through my hair as my mom came to my side.

"What's that about?" Mom pondered. I didn't know. I didn't know. All that I did know was that it hurt. It hurt to have the idiot mad at me.

A/N: I'm so so so happy at the responses and the follows and favorites! Let's get four reviews and I'll update by Monday evening. Five would get you Sunday. Six is Saturday and so on. I made this one longer but that is about as much length as my chapters get, unless it's insanely intense and then they may bounce up or down a bit. If there are any questions, don't be afraid to ask! Remember, FOUR reviews and TWO follows/favorites!