"They're going to kill us you know" Kim whispered and grabbed my shoulder.

"Shh!" I whispered harshly.

"Why are we even doing this?" she begged and stomped through the leaves and twigs of the forest floor. I think a bear would be quieter.

"Because" I said and rolled my eyes impatiently. Kim's been telling me how awful this is the whole time and how she wants to go back and drink lemonade at her house. According to her, I never said we'd be playing secret agent, I only said we were going to take a walk. Which in my defense is true. We are taking a walk. "I need to see for myself what they're up against."

Kim groaned. "Can't you just take their word for it? Jared's told me plenty of times that it won't be a big deal. They can handle it."

"And do you honestly believe that?" I snapped.

Kim shrugged and tripped on a root. "I kind of have to trust them. How am I supposed to know what they can and can't handle?"

"Exactly!" I nearly shouted. I had to catch myself because we were getting close now. "We'll never know until we see for ourselves. Which is exactly what I plan to do."

"And why am I here then?"

I sighed; I had hoped she wouldn't have asked this. "Because Jake made me promise that I wouldn't go walking around on my own while he focuses on training for this. So you're here to help me keep that promise."

"So let me get this straight, if I leave, you have to leave too?" Kim said and I heard a hint of a smirk in her voice. "Well then…"

"You're not going anywhere Miss Kim" I said without breaking stride.

"And why is that?"

"Because I happen to know what happened between you and a certain wolf graduation day. And I'm sure the pack would love to know all the details."

Kim sighed loudly. "How do you know about that?"

"Because believe it or not, some of us use the bathroom to go to the bathroom. Unlike some people I know."

Again she sighed. "Fine. But if we get caught it was your idea."

"And you tagged along" I teased.

Kim was about to complain again, but I shushed her and covered her mouth with my hand. She licked it so I pulled my hand away sharply. With a glare in her direction, I motioned with my head to the small clearing. There stood ten wolves (Brady and Collin just phased recently) and seven leeches. And Bella. What the heck is she doing there?

I was more nervous now than when I decided that I needed to see this for myself. The leeches were only a few yards away. They could probably smell us. And then again, so could the pack. We were sure to get busted. I thought for a second about covering some of our exposed skin in mud, but Kim would never go for that. So instead, I crossed my fingers and hoped to God no one would rat us out.

It was scary watching them spar. Carlisle talked for a while and Edward translated for the pack, but I couldn't hear anything they were saying. Despite her not wanting to come, Kim was right beside me and peering intensely into the clearing. The sparing was ugly and moving at such a rapid pace, it was hard to see what was going on until the end. Jacob was right. We wouldn't stand a chance against one of the leeches.

It was harder still to see who was more powerful: the leeches or the pack. They seemed pretty evenly matched which only increased my worry. Jacob went up to spar and he won against the fortune teller, Alice. But she's a tiny girl. What if he was attacked by one of the stronger ones, like Emmett?

I sized Jacob up against the rest of the pack. After Sam, he was the biggest and strongest looking. He would definitely be a target for the lead leeches. This caused goosebumps to arise on my skin and I felt sick.

Jacob was up again. This time against Edward. He growled at him and Edward smirked. He said something that I didn't hear, but I watched his lips and read my name off of them. Did he know I was here? I shivered as the wind picked up. It was supposed to be summer. I get that there is no sun here, but isn't it supposed to get warm?

It was horrifying watching the two of them fight. I wanted to close my eyes but I couldn't look away. I was too scared something was going to happen and I would need to run out there and help. Edward lunged at Jake and grabbed him around the neck. I gasped and covered my mouth with my hands. This was everything I never wanted to see. Jake's neck spun and he snapped at the leech with his razor sharp teeth. I think he got him once too because the leech let go. Edward dashed to the trees and Jacob was quick on his heels. Carlisle called out some sort of warning but I still couldn't hear. The boys paid no attention.

Edward jumped and grabbed Jake's leg. Jake shook him off. Edward snarled and bared his fangs. I shivered again. I wanted this to stop.

The fighting got worse. Jacob took a fierce snap at Edward, but he dodged and slid under Jake. Then, he grabbed Jake's hind leg and tore it backwards. He yelped like a puppy.

That tore it. I dashed into the clearing despite Kim's warning whispers and shouts. No one else existed to me. It was just me and Jake. And Jake was hurt. I dashed into the clearing, ignoring the growls from the pack and the stares of the leeches. Jake lay on the ground for a second. Edward was hovering over him. I did something extremely stupid and shoved the leech as hard as I could. Except he didn't move. And instead I crashed into him and heard a snap in my wrist.

Jake shot up and phased back. "Emma!" he shouted.

I bit my lip against the pain and raced to Jake. "Jake! Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. Are you ok? Oh God Em! Let me see" he said and reached for my hand. He rolled it delicately in his hands and I winced. It was the same wrist I broke before.

"Uh… Jake?" Quill held out a pair of shorts. My cheeks burned red when I realized what Jake was wearing. Or… not wearing. Jake didn't seemed bothered. In fact, he seemed a little irritated that he had to put on the shorts. As soon as they were on, he had my hand in his again.

He turned and growled at Edward. Sam stepped in and with two other pack members, they successfully got Jake and I away from the Cullens.

"We'll train more next time" Carlisle said and led the rest of the leeches away.

"God Em! What the hell were you doing out here?" Jake shouts and feels my hand in places.

I glanced at the trees and saw Kim emerge. "Kim?" Jared gasped and raced over to her.

"I'm sorry" I said and wouldn't look up at Jake. I took a sharp intake of breath when he pressed down on the top of my wrist.

"Sorry!" he apologized quickly. "What were you thinking Em? I told you it's not safe anymore. You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Kim came with me" I said and kind of threw her under the bus on accident. "I thought…"

"You knew what he meant!" he scolded. And then he sighed a little. "I'm sorry, but Em! Come on! What were you thinking? Why did you do something so dangerous?"

I really didn't want to answer that, so I started moaning and clutching my wrist to my chest. Jake's eyes widened and he pulled me closer. "We got to get you to a hospital" he said sounding kind of panicked.

"No" I groaned. "I'm fine."

Seth jogged up and grabbed my wrist. "Oh man Emma! Your wrist is all swollen and purple!"

"Thanks Seth" I said sarcastically.

Jake swooped down and pulled me into his arms. "I'll take you home. We can look at your wrist better there" he said sullenly. He nodded once at the pack and then took off running. He didn't say anything to me. He was mad.

"Jake…"

He only shook his head and slowed to a walk. "What were you thinking Em?"

"I don't know" I lied. Jake saw right through it and gave me a stern look. "Alright, I wanted to be sure that you guys can handle the leeches. I wanted to see for myself."

"Don't you trust me?" he snapped and I recoiled into his arms.

"Of course I do. I just… I needed to see" I sighed.

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, but did you have to get yourself killed in the process?"

"I didn't…"

"They were right there Emma!" he suddenly shouted. I shivered. The last time Jake was mad at me… "What if they had smelled you? Huh? What then? They would have taken off running towards you and I wouldn't have known until it was too late! I wouldn't have been able to get to you in time! They could have killed you! And didn't we talk about this? Didn't I tell you what I would do if anything happened to you? You were so upset! Did you just forget all of that?"

"I'm sorry" I whispered now feeling worse and worse about myself. I'm such an idiot.

"Don't say that" he snapped. I hadn't realized I'd voiced that thought. Then he sighed deeply and shook his head. "I'm glad you're alive, but come on Em! Think! I know you're smart. It's one of the reasons I love you. Use your head."

I nodded. "I will."

He sighed once more and broke free of the trees. Carefully balancing my weight, he jogged across the street and opened his front door. "Hey Dad!" he called.

Billy mumbled a hello to both of us from the kitchen. Obviously, he didn't see Jake carrying me in. Which I guess is good because then I'll have time to think about what I'm going to tell Emily.

Jake sat me down on his bed and promised he'd be right back. I took a good look around his room. It's been a while since I've been in here. Usually, Jake's in my room. Not the other way around. His clothes were scattered around the floor and the sheets on his bed had been kicked in all directions. The room seemed entirely too small for someone of his size.

Jake returned with some kind of gauze thing. "Let me see" he said and held his palm out. Gingerly, I placed my sore wrist in his hand. It really was an ugly color; Seth wasn't lying. He prodded and poked around and listened for my gasps before making his diagnosis. "It's only sprained" he said relieved.

I nodded and Jake held the gauze up to my wrist. Then carefully, and with as much patience and gentleness as I've ever seen, he wrapped layer upon layer around the sprained area. "I really am sorry" I said when he finished.

He tilted his head up and placed his forehead on mine. "Quit scaring me Emma" he breathed. "Can you promise me not to do that again."

I bit my lip. Now that I've seen it and how awful it can be, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to stay away. What if they need me? What if Jake gets hurt and he needs me? I am trained in first aid, I tell myself.

I shake my head and Jake's eyes drop. "Why are you so stubborn?" he snapped.

"Because you are too" I replied.

"Em…"

"Jake…" I mocked.

He grabbed my shoulders, not roughly, and stared into my soul. "What do you want from me? Do you want me to invite you to come with?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, I knew he regretted them. "Em, no. You know I can't…"

"You can't keep me away" I said. "Would you rather me be sitting on the sidelines where you can see me, or hiding in the trees?"

Jacob looked torn and I felt kind of bad for putting him in this situation. "Sam's going to kill me…"

"I can handle Sam."

"The other girls will want to too" he tried to argue.

"No they won't. Kim wanted nothing to do with it. Claire is too young. And Emily would rather deal with the aftermath than see it happen."

"Because she's smart" Jake remarked.

I shrugged, not willing to get sidetracked the way he wanted me to. "Fine by me. But I know that I have to be there or I'll be a nervous wreck the entire time you're gone."

Something in Jake either clicked or snapped. His eyes lit up and his head rose. He spoke in an authoritative voice that was clear that there would be no argument. "I'd rather you be worried than dead."

And that was that. There was no arguing. No stuttering or compromising. Jake had made up his mind and I was not going back to the clearing. I crossed my arms and sighed.

"Then you're going to have to deal with an insomniac for an imprint" I remarked and hoped off his bed.