Sorry for the long wait, it's finals week for me so lately I've had a lot of projects kicking my butt. Luckily that means school will be done soon and more chapters will come out~

- Paul's POV -

'Well look who's actually on time for once.' Even in my wolf form, the roll of my eyes and the huff of air I let out, didn't go unnoticed towards the other wolf's thoughts. I had just arrived to relieve Embry of his shift and do the last few rounds before the bonfire tonight.

'And here I thought you loved to run patrol with the way you've been going nonstop.' The image of his wolf rolling his eyes in response flashed through my mind. 'Jared here yet?'

'No, but Quil left right before you shifted.'

'Oh man oh man oh man.' There he is. I could feel the restlessness emanate from Jared's being, even miles away. It was times like this that I hated having this telepathic-wolf-link-mind-thing. It was setting my nerves on edge.

'Sorry man. I can't help it.'

'What's got you all riled up?'

I felt the magnitude of the tenseness increase, Jared's thoughts suddenly changing to what he had for breakfast today: bacon, waffles, and half a dozen muffins, before his reply.

'Just craving a repeat meal of what I had for breakfast.'

Bullshit.

Whether that was my, Embry's, or a combination of both of our thoughts simultaneously at the same time, I'll never know. Embry didn't question it any further and I soon felt him shift out of the link. It didn't take a second later for the unsettled nerves to come back. 'Alright you need to tell me what's going on.'

I felt a wave of hesitancy before images finally flashed into my mind. An all too familiar face was one of the many things among them. My running came to a halt as I processed the information. 'Leilani's back.' My best friend gone missing, is now back. I continued my original trail, veering off to enter a clearing in the forest and coming face to face with the brown fur of Jared. 'Are you going to tell Embry?'

'She didn't want me to tell anyone, but you know how hard it is to keep secrets in this pack. I'm torn, man. You're both my family. If I tell Embry, I'm betraying Leilani. If I keep it a secret like she asked, then I'm betraying Embry. There's no win-win!' Jared let out a small whine as his ears flattened, unsure of what to do.

I gave him a small nudge with my nose; the wolf equivalent of a pat on the back. 'Regardless of what happens, they'll forgive you. Like you said; we're family.' My thoughts began to wander, curiosity on the chance of her being home. 'I'm going to stop by.' I ignored Jared's attempted protests, speeding off towards where I remembered her to be. 'She's near my route anyways. It's not like I'm going out of my way.'

The cozy pale blue house came to my view, the same as the last time I remembered it. The wolfish grin fell off my face however, as a small hint of uneasiness wafted into my sense of smell. It was small but it was definitely there. Without a second thought I shifted back into my human form, changing into the cutoff jeans that was tied around my leg by a chord. I hurriedly marched to the front door, knocking with an accelerated tempo that I tried to calm down. I waited for about two minutes before the door opened, revealing Cadence. My thoughts were derailed for the slightest moment as that same tang hit my nostrils. I composed myself, remembering why I came in the first place.

"Hey, is Leilani home?"

It was quick, but the way her body went rigid for a millisecond answered my question, despite the hesitant 'No' that I received. I thanked her, pausing before I asked her another question.

"Where were you today?"

The look she gave me was anticipated. Hell, If my little sister's friend that I barely talked to asked me that, I'd look at them like they grew a second head as well. I could feel her asking me 'Why's it any of your business?' through that raised eyebrow of hers. She settled a hand on her hip, finally giving me an answer.

"I was at work all day, nosey."

My concern didn't allow for my usual smirk. I nodded, turning to make my way back into the forest line where I could shift out of view to unwanted eyes.

Something was going on and I had many questions in my head. I felt myself grow angry in frustration, my bones crackling, hair erupting all over my body as I transitioned. Not a second after and Jared already had a question for me.

'She wasn't home?'

I shook my head, projecting my previous actions into his mind. 'No. But remember that trail we couldn't pinpoint that leech on?'

'Yeah?'

'I smelled it, at her house. The bloodsucker's stench was all over Cadence.'

"It doesn't make sense; If they came onto our land we would've smelled them right away and taken them out. Does Cadence not know that she's been hanging out around one?" Jared's concern over his cousin was apparent as we stood off to the side from the others at the bonfire. Sam, Jared, Quil, Leah, Seth and I were talking about my recent discovery earlier today. The pregnant silence grew as we listened to the faint crackle of the bonfire. We were still waiting for a few others to arrive, namely Embry and Jacob with that vamp girl.

Leah crossed her arms over her chest, deep in thought. "She works at the hospital in Forks right? What if it's that Doctor Leech you're smelling."

I shook my head. "No, I know his scent and that wasn't it."

A brief look of fear crossed her face, an angry expression following soon afterwards. Her voice grew deep with animosity as she nearly charged towards me as if I were the enemy. "I swear if it's that red headed bitch-"

Sam put an arm out to halt her in her tracks. "Leah, calm down!"

Leah directed that anger as she pushed him back. "She was your friend too! Or did you stop caring about everyone else after you imprinted-"

"Enough."

Leah's voice ceased at Sam's alpha command. She glared at him and crossed her arms as she shook her head in disbelief. She left our group and headed to take a seat at the logs besides her mother.

I raised an eyebrow between the two, letting the awkward air dissipate before I carried on. "It wasn't the red-head either. This was another scent, something we've never come across before."

The crunching of leaves alerted us that someone else had arrived. Our heads turned to see Embry join in our circle. "Sorry, I overslept."

Quil chuckled, "It's about time you've had some sleep."

Embry shook his head with a lopsided grin, acknowledging the group with a nod. "So..." He started off awkwardly. "What did I miss? The usual Sam and Leah beef?"

I snickered at the look Sam threw Embry. Jared was still tense about the situation, but no one could blame him. His fist pressed against his lips in ponder. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"During our rounds today, Paul picked up a lead on that scent we weren't able to pinpoint."

Embry's eyes squinted, knowing there was more to be told.

"He followed it to my cousin's house. Cadence answered the door and he could smell it all over her. There's a vampire hanging around her, but it's smart enough not to tread on our lands."

"What are we going to do?"

"During patrol we're going to have someone keep an eye on the house, make sure whatever that thing is, that it doesn't follow her back home." Sam voiced in.

"Embry," The boy in question turned his attention back to Jared. "I need to ask you one thing."

"Yeah, go ahead."

Jared let the question hang in suspense, repositioning his stance to face him fully. Oh this was going to be good.

"What happened between you and Leilani back then?"

Embry held his gaze before breaking eye contact, looking away and staying silent. Jared took a few steps closer to him. "Look man, I get that it's a sore subject, but this is my cousin we're talking about. We just found out that something has been hovering over Cadence after all this time."

"What does that have to deal with Leilani? I've told you a hundred times that what happened between us was just a big misunderstanding. I'm sure whatever you're feeling, I'm feeling it a hundred times worse. She's my Imprint. Maybe it's better that she's not here right now."

My eyes watched as Jared's fist tightened into a ball. He was fighting his anger. I can see the battle he was having. Tell him. Don't tell him. Ah, shit he's getting closer to Embry. Another argument was going to start. I put a hand on Jared's shoulder, pulling him back.

"That's where you're wrong." Jared stared at me with wide eyes. Technically if I say it, Leilani wouldn't get mad at him for telling and Embry finds out. It's a win win. Lani will forgive me later, she always does. My gaze met Embry's confused one. "She's back. I saw her at the store earlier today." I had to stop myself from adding, through Jared's thoughts. "If that vampire follows Cadence home, then Lani's-" I didn't even get a chance to finish before Embry took off running, the sound of shredding clothes evidence of himself phasing.

Our eyes lingered to where Embry previously stood. Jared voicing his thoughts out loud. "Do you think he'll ever tell us?"

Quil shook his head, concerned over his best friend. "Isn't it obvious why she left? She felt abandoned. One by one we left her because we phased and had to stay away. First Jared, then Paul, Embry, Jake, and I."

We were all sure that Embry was the reason, but Quil's explanation was reasonable. I could feel the air grow heavy. If it was true, then we were all the reason why she left. We were all guilty. I turned to Quil, lifting my chin towards him.

"How are you so sure?"

"Because I was the last one to phase in our group. If it weren't for everyone else leaving and keeping their distance, I wouldn't have gotten close to her. Think about it. Jared phased and kept his distance so she hung out with you. Once you were gone, she started to hang out with me, Jake, and Embry. When it came down to just the two of us, we made a promise to always stick together."

I looked over to Jared, looking just as guilt ridden as I did.

"She broke everytime someone close to her stopped hanging around. At one point she started to blame herself, thinking that something was wrong with her."

God damn it. We needed to fix this. I looked at Sam, staring hard into space.

Jared spoke before I could even open my mouth. "Sam. She needs to know."

Sam nodded slowly nodded his head. "Embry needs to tell her."

"But I'm her family-"

"At least, let him try first." Sam interrupted. "Pack traditions. The imprint needs to tell his imprintee. If that fails, then you can tell her Jared. We'll finish this conversation later. Jake's here now and it's time for Billy to start telling the legends for the newcomers."

With a nod, we followed his lead towards the fire, sitting around it.

There's only an amount of times something can break before it stays damaged.