"Darling, wake up," a sweet, whispering voice breaks through the gossamer web of her subconscious. "Little one." She hears it call again.

Her eyelashes flutter against her plump cheeks as her eyes try to fight the will to remain closed. When they do open a woman comes into her focus. Her long, blonde locks fall freely across her shoulders and her hazel eyes are soft.

"Hello, my darling." The woman coos as she wraps her into a warm embrace, lightly playing with the ends of her black curls with her fingers.

"What is it, mommy?" the girl asks, looking into the woman's kind eyes.

"I have a surprise for you." She smiles.

The little girl's eyes widen as a gleam of excitement envelops her deep blue irises and her pink lips part to reveal a large smile. "Really?" she shouts.

"Yes," the woman whispers and places a finger over her lips. "But we must be quiet."

The girl awkwardly covers her mouth as she giggles and nods her head. "Okay."

The woman leads her down the rickety staircase into the front room while leaving only a single light in the hallway on. The light is yellow and illuminates the stains and tears in the wallpaper lining the structure. The rest of the house is dark, but the girl can make out the form of luggage laid out by the door as they approach.

"Mommy, what are those for?"

The beautiful woman crouches before her daughter and takes both of her hands gently into her own. "We are leaving here. I'm taking you some place new. Some place different." Her voice is sweet and her kind smile does not wane.

The excitement in the girl's eyes falters for a moment as she takes a cautionary step back. "What about Joe?"

"What do you mean darling?"

"I -" she turns her head up as if gesturing to the rooms upstairs. "I don't think -"

"Listen to me." The woman grabs her attention again by pulling her lightly by the hands. She locks their gaze, hazel and blue, and speaks sternly. "I will never let that man lay another finger on you again, do you understand me?"

Her daughter's eyes lead to an old soul, and she watches as they search her own for the confidence she seeks. She watches her throat move as she takes an empty swallow and a piece of her heart breaks at the struggle she sees before her. She knows what is best for her daughter, but the little one is full of fear, even if she fights against showing it.

She cups her rosy cheeks in her hands and lets another soft smile brighten her features. "I will keep you safe, my darling. No one will ever hurt you again."

The girl nods and smiles in return, obviously believing fully in her mother's words. "Okay."

"I love you."

"I love you too, mommy."

The little one carries her mother's purse to feel she is of some assistance with loading the car. The lullaby used to sing her to sleep every night hums in her throat as she skips to the pavement, oblivious of the tense aura surrounding her parent. Her mother continues smiling as she buckles her into the backseat, keeping the tears and the worry at bay.

"Are you ready?" she meets her daughters gaze through the rearview mirror as she awakens the old engine with the turn of her key. She watches the animated nod of her little head and shifts the car into drive.

"Where are we going?" the voice from the backseat pipes up upon reaching the city limits, her eyes taking in the view from the windows.

"I'm taking you someplace special, my little cherub." Her mother answers and subtly wipes the stranded tear from her cheek.

"Are we going to see Farmor and Farfar?" her voice raises to almost a squeal at the thought of her grandparents.

"I don't think so, my love."

"But I miss them. We haven't visited them in a really long time!"

"I know. We will soon, okay?"

"Is it because the cemetery is far away?"

"It is very far, darling, you're right. But we can't because we have somewhere else to go."

The car falls under a silence for a moment as the girl twiddles her fingers and pops her lips. The air is thick for the woman as she tries to keep her focus on the road and the glimmer in her daughter's eyes. She tries to keep every mile left behind out of site and out of mind.

"Mommy?" she hears again.

"Yes?"

"Did Farfar die of a broken heart? Because Farmor died before him?"

"Yes he did, darling. But why are you thinking of such things?" She turns her eyes back to the rearview mirror and watches the little girl shrug.

"I just think it's very sad, but it's also very sweet." When her eyes lift to meet her mothers she smiles until her cheeks turn pink in the passing streetlamps. "He didn't want to wait anymore to see her again, huh?"

"You're right. You are such a smart little angel!"

While the mother's eyes focus on her little girl smiling in the backseat, she notices that her attention darts forward and her bright expression fades. "Mommy?" she whispers, her words laced with uncertainty.

The woman turns her eyes back to the dark road and holds in a breath. Everything moves in slow motion, as if time were trying to stop itself, when the silhouette of a large animal comes to life in the reach of her headlights. She pumps on the brakes, no sane or collected thought in mind. Just a mess of images and ideas of what and why? The animal remains still as the car approaches at high speed, its eyes staring back, burning through their souls. It doesn't look frightened or concerned. It just stands there as the tires scream against the asphalt.

The car turns off the road as the woman behind the wheel loses control and shatters the darkness in its path. It breaks effortlessly through the metal barrier that is meant to keep traffic in line. The tires leave the ground as it hits the edge of the cliff, and they lapse into an indefinite freefall.

The mother turns in her seat as much as her belt will allow to face her child's thrashing body, her blonde hair up in waves around her head as the wind takes it in its pull. She reaches a hand towards her daughter and screams before they make contact with the ground below. "Sarah!"

Sarah's head snaps up so fast as she awakens that she hits her head against the tree. She reaches a hand to rub the back of her scalp and tries to slow her breathing down. Her hair is heavy and slick from the current downpour and as she breathes through an open mouth, the heaven-sent droplets slither their way down her face into the swell of her lips. She closes her eyes softly as she sucks in the rain.

Once her pulse has quieted and the shaking has subsided, she takes a gander at her surroundings. She looks down first and sees that she has somehow nestled herself into the crook of a giant tree, at least twenty feet from the ground. She sees a flash of light in the night and can make out the edge of the freeway, only a few rows of trees ahead. The headlights flash like a strobe while it passes each obstacle in her eyesight as it drives down the road, the sheets of rain glowing bright in its wake. She takes another deep breath and looks up towards the growling sky, silently cursing the freak weather changes.

Wasn't the sun just out and not a cloud in sight? Now the moon takes its place and brings along with it a fierce force of nature. Luckily, she figures, she can obviously sleep through anything.

Her jaw goes rigid and her eyes droop to nothing in particular as she recounts the dream only moments before. It was one of the only reoccurring pieces of her life, even after all of these years, but not the only scenario that has played out in her sleeping mind. She can explain in great detail the numerous fantasies, involving the same cast that live within in her mind. Maybe because they were, in fact, memories, and her subconscious is continuously haunted by her dark past.

She has watched every single unchanging sequence thousands of times, as if she were some sort of surreal entity only present to be tortured by the same tragedies, over and over. She can see them, and feel the pain and hear the words as if they happened only yesterday, but no matter how much she screams or tries to push her family or even her younger self, she cannot change it. It will always play out the same way no matter how much it hurts. She can't close her eyes and turn away and she can't erase them from her memories. They will forever be burned into her like invisible scars.

She thinks back to that day, when she was eight years old. She remembers waking up shortly after the mangled form of the car came to a stop. She lets her eyes close as she slips into an awakened state of lucid dreaming, a trick she has found herself highly capable of.

"Mommy?" the little girl coughs through the rising smoke. She can hear the hiss of the steam as it lifts from the metal trap. She pulls herself free from the seats that pinned her down in the crash. "Mommy?" She can hear her mother's voice sputtering in whispers as she crawls to where the front seats should be.

When she comes to her mother's battered form she can't fight back the tears that had been stinging her eyes. Her body is twisted in a way that looks humanly impossible, even to such a young girl with a wild imagination. She leans forward to peer into her mother's eyes, the pupils dilating and constricting frantically as they try to focus. The woman's lips move subtly and a sound comes from her throat as she is trying to speak.

"Mommy?" the girl tries again as she turns her head to bring her ear closer to her mother's chest, listening for the sound of her heartbeat.

"Angr…" the child hears the moan come from her mother as she presses her head to her breast. "…boda."

"Can you hear me, mommy?" she moves forward to hover directly over her mothers face trying desperately to get her mother to look at her rather than through her.

"I…" she hears from her mother again, the words coming out with her jagged breaths. "… invoke thee."

"Mommy!" she tries to shake her mothers frame with her little hands, the tears flowing heavily from her blue eyes as they fall to their deaths on the woman's charred flesh.

"Sarah…" she whispers back through a long exhale, and her eyes go blank as her head falls limp against the seat.

Sarah shakes her head violently and grabs fistfuls of her raven hair as she presses her hands hard against her temples. No more, she thinks. No more.

She can't tell the dripping rain apart from her tears when the first bolt of lightning illuminates the surrounding trees, bringing a life to the forest for that brief moment. Her eyelids flutter as the slick water spills over them and her body quivers from the slight chill but she quickly recovers. She will leave this place once her mind is clearer, when she can have a better sense of where she can go to next. It is away from these smells and people that she knows she must flee, and away from him.

Jacob Black, what a dolt.

He towered over her at his unknown height, in both forms. His skin was flawless and looked smooth to touch, while the color was like that of a bronzed sculpture. He was molded like a perfect sculpture. Every curve and ripple of his taut muscles and the structure of his frame; it was measured to perfection.

The boy was certainly built like a god, no use in denying that.

And his eyes. They were of dark chocolate, so dark they almost gleamed like the blackest of coals and they seemed to burn right through her and into her soul. They were so alive and filled with wisdom, even when he seemed to be at such a young age. He was cautious of her, but she could also tell that he was highly intrigued. He was strong, not only physically, and accepting of who he was. She envied that trait.

The fact that he was something like herself was terrifying. Sarah had never come across anyone like her, and after all of these years, now it happens? What was stranger is that he wasn't exactly like her, it was something different. But he wasn't human, and that was enough to classify him in the same type of category she cast herself into. She didn't know what he was, but it was safe to say he was far from human.

However, it wasn't the unknown that frightened her the most. It is what she knows that causes her to want to run and never look back. She can't remember the last time it happened, but it's obvious that all of the testosterone in the surrounding area is bringing her into a long awaited heat. She has experienced it countless times in the past, and while she would only need to steer clear of the spell it would put on a wild male, she would always keep herself distant from people as well. She knows what it feels like to blindly jump into hungry sex when a natural phenomenon is controlling her want to reproduce, and she will continue to try avoiding it at all costs.

Now with Jacob, because he is different, she fears the part of him that is so gorgeously human. She knows it can take only one look and there would be no turning back, she would ravage the boy. What she finds more intimidating is his other half, his animal. One smell or taste, and it would know, even if he had never personally experienced anything like it before. She just needs to stay away, for the benefit of them both.

She needs to get out of here, away from this town. Away from Washington. She doesn't bide well with the unknown, she takes it out on herself all the time considering she still has yet to figure her own origin. The intimacy between the male's pack of friends, whatever they are, is evident, along with Jacob's need to protect what is his; this land. She does not wish to intervene and she does not want to see anyone getting hurt. She needs to get out of here, once she can clear her head.

She leans her head back against the tree, the steady pace of the rain not seeming to let up anytime soon. The white cotton dress sticks to her skin and her shoes grow heavy on her feet as they soak in more water. When she takes in a deep breath through her nose to take in the pure, untainted scent of the storm, all of her senses go into a blur and the hairs on the back of her neck stand on edge. Something familiar reaches her sense of smell, an odor that she has come across in passing many times before. It is floral and putrid, like a douse of too much cologne covering up the stench of death.

She presses herself forward, one hand in front of the other along the branch with her legs bent and tucked beneath her, moving along slowly with the agility of a feline, careful to not make a sound. Her eyes carefully study her surroundings as they grow dark and a low growl emits from her throat as she tries to catch a glimpse of the carrier of the smell. It has always been just a faint whiff, or a ride along a quick breeze, but she has never found the source. The wolf inside of her claws and snarls, begging to be released to hunt it down.

Her head turns quickly towards the snapping of a twig and she smoothly pulls back to hide in the shadows of the foliage. She watches with intent as something approaches from that direction, her muscles tense and preparing to pounce. When another familiar scent engulfs her senses, the large copper-coated wolf appears below, its head turned up and eyes directly on her frame.

"What are you doing here?" she shouts as softly as she can above the wailing of the wind.

The wolf just groans and backs up a step, jerking its head to the side as if it were trying to communicate.

"Just get out of here. I told you I'm leaving tomorrow." She sputters as the water finds its way into the corners of her mouth. She watches as the animal below her transforms into the godly boy with umber skin and wild, sable hair that now clings to his shoulders. His onyx-like eyes squint against the rain falling into his face as he peers up at her.

"What are you, some kind of cat?" he smiles. "Come on down from there."

Sarah stares at the male below her, dumbfounded by his friendly approach. "I'm doing just fine up here, thanks." She tries.

Jacob licks his lips and his brows furrow. "Listen, you can't be here. You need to come down."

"I told you I'm leaving in the morning."

"I know, that's fine. I already told you I don't care if you stay or go, but you can't be…" his voice trails as he looks around, gesturing to the area. "You can't be here."

Her head leans to the side. "What do you mean?"

"There's a lot of history with this place, and a lot of things that I can't explain, but right now I just need you to come with me." His voice is calm and convincing.

"What is that smell?" she has a hard time keeping her curiosity at bay. "It smells like death. It's all around here."

"I can't tell you that." He simply states.

"Why not?"

She watches as the boy sighs heavily, his stare is unwavering. "I just can't. Now come on down to me."

Sarah feels her wolf stirring within, pushing at her loins and searing through her skin. She inhales sharply, trying to keep herself collected. "No, I can't."

Jacob has a hard time seeing clearly through the dark and the sweeping rain, but when he catches a clear glimpse of Sarah's face he can see that her blue eyes are darkened and her nostrils are flaring. "It's just not safe for you here. I can take you -"

His words stop when he hears the sound of maniacal laughing echoing around him, and he knows it is coming from the wild female before him.

"I don't need protection." She huffs. "I can't promise the same for you."

"This isn't a game, Sarah." He tries to remain calm and keep the authoritative tone of his voice. Why he was even caring was completely mind boggling.

Her laughter dies out and she sinks back into the shadows of the tree. "Get away from me." He hears her growl with warning.

Jacob may know only a thing or two about women, but he knows a lot about aggression, and when anything warns you off like that, it's best to comply. He takes a slow step back, being careful to keep his eyes locked to the rigid frame of the girl. "Don't say I didn't warn you." He says with a sly grin, then turns to run off into the night.

Sarah's eyes don't leave the spot where the male once stood for what feels like hours. She just sits, perched high up in her sanctuary, staring and trying to keep what little grip she has left on her human sanity. She's howling on the inside, an internal battle she wasn't wanting. But the moment her eyes close and glance at the direction he had disappeared, she knows she has lost.

In one fluid motion she jumps down from the branch and tears off into a determined sprint, holding on to his lingering scent that leads her closer. She runs through the dark woods, her feet gliding effortlessly over the giving mud of the forest floor. Her nose guides her to him while the ache in her groin pushes her to be faster. The rain slows to a steady mist as she dodges trees and leaps over their fallen comrades, growing closer to where the male resides.

She comes to a stop when she reaches a small clearing surrounding a small wooden cottage, the warm lights from the windows splaying out over the open field. She finds herself at a pause while the one ounce of her human instinct left tries to put up a last fight, but she moves slowly forward when it becomes no use. She approaches the steps up to the porch, and once her foot makes contact with the damp wood the front door swings open.

Jacob comes out of his home in a rush, his eyes wide with alert and his nostrils flaring. He takes in the sight before him and finds it hard to remember breathing. Sarah stands at the threshold of his porch, one foot on the first step. Her breasts are heaving with the panting breath she takes and the look in her eyes is unreadable.

"So you decided to take my advice?" he asks with a smirk.

The girl just stares at him and lifts herself onto the first step. Her brow twitches and the flash of a devious grin plays on her lips, but it's gone in a matter of seconds. Jacob swallows the lump threatening to grow within his throat as he watches the female approach. There is something confident in her step but she moves slowly as if she were cautious.

He lets his eyes drop to view her attire. The white cotton dress is soaked to the core and clinging to every curve of her body, leaving nothing to the imagination. Her long, black hair sticks to the sides of her face and lets the remnants of the water it holds trickle down her collar bone into the swell of her breasts. And then he notices there is something different in the air, a change in her scent. He can smell the aspen and dew grass of her odor, but there is a sweetly tangy haze that hovers above it all. He lets his eyes close and his nose takes in a breath so long it hurts as she moves up another step.

Sarah watches as the male before her tries to piece everything together. She can feel his senses going haywire and can hear his heartbeat increasing its rate. Her eyes move down from his face to his chest, and continue traveling south as she drinks in the sight of him. When their gaze meets again, his eyes are clouded in black and there is an untamed force cloaked in their shine.

Jacob wouldn't know how to explain it. He has never felt such sensations, but his wolf knew exactly how to handle it. He let his animal take control, and he jumped.

When their bodies make contact, Sarah's force sends Jacob back into the house with a crash against the door frame. Their lips meet as they devour each other hungrily, emitting moans from either being. Jacob grasps the hem of her dress at the breasts and tugs effortlessly, ripping the fabric from her skin. Sarah hooks her thumbs in his shorts by his hips and pulls them down until letting them drop to his feet. They growl and groan as they move further into the house, fisting their hands into each other's hair and pulling like reigns.

Jacob moves from her swollen lips to her neck, leaving a hot trail of open kisses in his wake. He reaches her pulse point and suckles and nibbles at her wet skin, causing a series of barbaric moans to slip from her lips. Sarah bows her head and nuzzles her nose into his neck, then without contemplation sinks her teeth into his flesh. He can feel her core convulse against him at this action and grunts in her ear, then mimics her act. He burrows into her collar bone and when the metallic taste reaches his tongue he growls in return.

He stops when her breath hitches and lifts his head to meet her gaze. Her lips are stained with his red mess and her eyes are swimming in ecstasy. He watches as her gaze drops to her mark on his shoulder and her eyes grow wide as the wound reduces and begins to seal before her. Her eyes return to meet his and a sly smile appears on her lips. She raises her hand to cup her fingers over the tear in her flesh from his teeth. He watches in a stunned silence as inaudible humming attacks his senses.

When she removes her hand the bite is gone and a single strand of blood runs down her shoulder. She slides her finger against her skin, collecting the drop, then brings it to her mouth where she sucks it up in her swelling lips. She feels the male twitch between her legs as he watches, his solid chest heaving against her bosom. With a domineering snarl, Jacob grabs her hips and turns her violently over. He bites hard into her shoulder again as he sweeps all of her hair into one of his fists, pulling her head back against the nape of his neck, and he drives himself into her. A scream rips from Sarah's throat, but not of pain. A scream of sheer and utter frenzy, like that of a feral animal.

Four hands search and grope at every inch of exposed and searing skin. Two pairs of lips suck while teeth graze, and a set of throats groan and emit noises that are completely inhuman. Against the wall, on the shivering old dryer, across the kitchen counter, over the railing of the porch. Hair pulling, scratching, biting, thrusting... The pair explores any surface and corner they can reach during the few short moments in between that they pause in excuse to catch up on breathing.

Blue eyes blaze through chocolate as larger fingers entwine around a smaller set. Shades of tanned skin sweating and molding as one. Firm, supple breasts pressing against a solid, toned chest. All thoughts are void and forgotten. Just two bodies entangled in a heated passion. A dance of lost lovers.

No words are exchanged, save for the continuous screaming of each other's name. All worries are gone. No dreams are remembered. No family, no friends, no other living beings. Nothing but two swimming souls, riding pinnacles and peaks over and over again.


Author's note: Well, what did you think? This chapter was definitely fun to write, if you catch my drift. And I just couldn't stop when I started it! It only took me two days to write because I just could. Not. Stop! I hope that you all have enjoyed, and please let me know what you are thinking. Any suggestions? Something you don't like? Feel free to let it out.

A special thank you goes out to Mrs. Lautner96, Mebs2010, Crimsonmoon90, Song Of The Moon, and A.J. Scarlet for the wonderful reviews and words of encouragement. You all have been so helpful and so kind, and I can't thank you enough!

Oh, and just like my Glee fiction I am going to start a music recommendation at the end of each chapter, just to put out there what songs inspired me most for that particular point in the story. So, on with it...

Music Recommendations : Craig Armstrong - Glasgow Love Theme, Massive Attack - Angel