Hey, guys! New update, yay!

I'm super proud of this chapter. I've finally gotten my groove back with this story (I hope).

Finally, some more Brady and Lilly fluff. Plus, some real action - vampire action, that is.


It was quiet as I stomped up the steps of our freshly painted front porch. The air was heavy around me, like there was a storm coming this way. My hair hung around my warm cheeks in a suffocating way and my t-shirt was stuck to my shoulders, making me feel clammy in the abnormally warm afternoon temperature. Still, I burst through the front door with a purpose.

"Where's Quil?" I growled as I kicked off my muddy shoes at the door.

There was no answering response to be heard. Confused, I continued to move through the eerily silent house, passing the empty living room to move onto the kitchen. Never in my sixteen years had I ever seen our house this vacant—heard it be this quiet. I didn't understand what was going on.

My mother had taken Claire to an appointment in Seattle today and although I hadn't had my cousin's company for school, I'd been informed that it was still Quil's responsibility to pick me up at the end of the day, much to his extreme delight. Friday's were always Quil's day to drive.

And it was such a Quil thing to do to leave me behind at school. Had Claire been the only one at school today, he would have been an hour early, would have gotten the closest parking spot to the door, and would have placed rose petals all over as a path to his beat up truck. Okay, so that was probably an over exaggeration, but my point was, he wouldn't have forgotten to pick her up.

I wasn't so useless to think I couldn't survive a twenty-five minute walk from school, but my parents preferred us to have a reliable ride to and from school to ensure our safety. Quil had practically begged my parents to let him drive us there, you know, so he could make out with my cousin without my father breathing down his throat. I'd only agreed as long as Brady could drive us some days, too.

So, when I'd given up waiting after a half hour, I'd stormed home with the intent to give Quil a piece of my mind. I was so sure he'd just decided not to pick me up because he'd been moping around without Claire all day.

But, that wasn't turning out to be the case.

The kitchen was also empty, adding fuel to my confusion. I couldn't remember the last time I had ever been home alone, not with the crazily overprotective parents I had. Someone was always here and although I'd been left behind at school, I hadn't expected to have no one at home, as well.

For any normal teenager, being surprised by an empty house probably wouldn't be any sort of a big deal. Maybe it would even be a blessing in disguise. But, to me, a girl with a family full of boys who turn into werewolves and fight vampires for a living, an empty house was a very, very scary thing to come home to.

I sat down on the edge of one of the kitchen chairs, trying to count my breaths. I was on the verge of panicking and I knew it wasn't going to help me any. Running my fingers through my messy hair, I tried to wrack my brain for any sort of intelligent solution to my current problem.

Eyeing the phone across the room, I jumped up and skidded across the hardwood floor until I reached the counter. Squeezing the phone between my hands, as if it might give me the answers I needed, I immediately started dialling the first number that came to mind. I was going to call the one person I knew I could count on no matter what.

The longer the ringer went, the more I held my breath. I was begging, pleading for someone to pick up on the other end. I would take any familiar voice at this point.

"Hey—"

I let out a giant sigh. "Oh, Bray—thank God—where is every—"

"You've reached Brady. Leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

I slammed the phone down on the counter in frustration. Unable to hold myself up any longer, I slid down the edge of the cupboards until I was sitting on the floor. I wiped angrily at the newly formed moisture in my eyes, feeling completely ridiculous.

I wasn't necessarily scared of being alone, I was more scared of what being alone meant. Considering the empty house around me, I imagined that my family was out risking their lives for the rest of the tribe right about now. There must have been some sort of major incident and whether it was a vampire breach, I wasn't sure.

It wasn't like my parents not to let me know, though. Ever since I'd learned about werewolves and vampires, I was treated like someone that needed to know what was going on. Sure, there were some "need to know" things that I probably wasn't informed about, but for the most part, I knew what was happening around here. And, while it never used to be very common, a vampire sighting was definitely something I would have been told about.

I think that was why I was so worried. Not only worried about the pack, but about the rest of my family, too. Were they hurt? Had someone taken them? Where were they?

The questions rolling around in my mind were endless. I felt utterly light-headed.

A shrilling howl went up in the air, echoing through the entire house. I could feel the vibrations through the floor and like I'd been electrocuted, I shot up and moved towards the back door. The sound was familiar to me and comforting and for a slight second, I thought that it would mean my confusion would soon be over. I half expected them to burst through the trees at the end of the yard, goofing around like usual.

That wasn't what happened. Not even close.

The figure that came through the trees was neither familiar nor Quileute.

He was terrifying.

His skin was like porcelain and the moment the sun touched him, he was almost so see-through that it was blinding. His body moved like nothing I'd ever seen before, creating blurs across the lawn as he ran. His fire red hair matched his stark red eyes and while I was absolutely scared out of my mind, I was also mesmerized.

I knew something was very wrong as I unlocked the back door and moved onto the deck. I could feel my body moving without my brain's permission and my fingers gripped at the edge of the doorframe, trying to stop my feet. Everything in my mind was telling me that this was wrong, that I needed to stay in the house and wait for Brady to show up.

My body didn't agree.

My feet stopped at the edge of the deck, several yards away from him. I could feel the damp wood beneath my socks and I tried to focus on that, instead of the abomination standing a few feet away. I could hear my breath rasping in my lungs and my heartbeat was in my throat.

Still, I couldn't move.

He had this grin on his marble face that made my legs tremble in the worst way possible. I felt utterly numb and I couldn't move as he slowly made his way up the stairs towards me. I couldn't tell if I was crying—I didn't even know how to describe what I was feeling.

"Ah-ha," he chuckled. "I knew we would meet again."

I was full blown shaking at this point. Every instinct in my mind was telling me to run, to scream, to do something besides standing there like a freaking offering in his direction, but it didn't seem to make a difference. I had no control over my body.

So, I stood there—a trembling, blubbering mess as he made his way over to me.

I'd been lucky. Ever since the Black-Cullen alliance, the area of La Push had been stripped of any abnormal vampire activity. From what had been explained to me, once the Cullens had stood up to the vampire royalty known as the Volturi, no nomad vampires wanted to set foot in the area claimed by the alliance. No smart ones, anyways.

Even with such little activity, the pack was always careful. They did regular patrols of the reservation and most of Forks to make sure no vampires went unnoticed. Sure, the odd sighting still occurred, but the pack was good—too good. They knew what they were doing.

This was why this vampire standing on the deck in my father's backyard was so, so frightening to me. Where was the pack and how had he gotten through them?

Apart from the Cullens, I'd never truly been in the presence of a vampire before. There had surely never been one this close to my home before and without my family around to protect me, I was hopeless. I didn't phase and I was sure none of the self-defence tactics I'd been taught would help me against this indestructible creature.

How was I going to survive this?

The vampire cocked his head to one side curiously. "Such a strange thing you are."

My eyes seemed to be the only thing I had control over and they snapped up to meet his strange red ones. I wished I could say something to him—anything at all. But, I couldn't even get my mouth to unclench.

He chuckled, the sound light and airy. "Oh, my mistake."

There was a slight whoosh of air around me and then I was able to feel every single part of my body again. And, the first thing I felt was the fact that my body was too heavy for my trembling legs. I hit the deck hard, the back of my head bouncing against the wood underneath me. My teeth clacked together and stars formed in front of my vision. I could taste the metallically, bitter taste of my blood in my mouth.

"You were saying?" the vampire asked. He was slowly getting closer to me and for someone so unbreakable, he was awfully graceful on his feet.

Once I had about fifty-percent of my vision back, I looked again to the trees at the end of the yard. Could I make it to those trees before he could? Was he really that fast?

I didn't get the chance to try. The vampire was in my face, then, his breath icy on my face, his eyes bright with anger. I scooted backwards, trying to create some space between us despite the fact that I could feel the skin of my palms ripping on the wood beneath me.

"Try me, little girl," the vampire snarled. "It'll only make me more angry."

I spat out blood in his direction, feeling my own anger begin to bubble. Much to my disgust, my action distracted him enough for a moment and I did the only thing I felt like I could do at this point.

I screamed—with every single fiber of my being. It felt like my throat was bleeding and collapsing at the same time but I didn't care. They had to hear me—someone had to know I was here.

The vampire's eyes flashed. "You—"

A low growl sounded from the trees, interrupting whatever threat he was about to give me. The vampire spun away from me in a blur of motion and all of his attention was on the furry figure skulking out of the woods. Had he been a cat, all of his hackles would have been raised. This may have been my first time seeing a vampire, but I knew what a pissed off person looked like when I saw one.

In fact, angry people were sort of my expertise.

I took his new distraction to my advantage and scuttled back a few more feet from him. I could see several wolves making their way out of the cover of the trees and towards the vampire, who was now stationed in the middle of the yard. I could see they were trying to circle around him, to block him from escaping through any direction.

Apparently, he could see it, too. In one second, he was standing in my backyard and the next; he was slipping past snapping jaws towards the trees. At the last second, he turned and winked in my direction, a promising smile on his pale face. My stomach rolled and I clenched my teeth, trying not to be sick.

He disappeared in the shadows of the trees with three wolves on his tail.

The moment I was alone, I fell apart. I collapsed in on myself, tears and blood mixed together. My brain was still trying to process everything that was happening and my legs and arms felt like a pile of mush. My breath was coming out in tight, uncomfortable bursts.

I clenched my eyes together, begging this to be a dream.

"Lilly!"

I vaguely recognized several figures breaking through the trees. This time they were human and that was enough for me to realize I wouldn't have to defend myself to my death any longer. If they were human, then the vampire was dead.

Right?

Through my muddled mind, I noted that someone's warm arms were trying to pry my fingers out of my hair. There was someone talking to me, but surely they couldn't have been speaking English, because I didn't understand a word they were saying. I shook my head frantically, squeezing my eyes shut once more.

"Lilly," someone was saying to me. "Lilly, honey, you've gotta let go okay. Let go."

I heaved a sobbing breath and someone patted my shoulder blades gently.

"You're safe now," the person murmured. "There you go, just relax. Let go, Lills."

Somehow, the person kneeling beside me had managed to remove my fingers from my now unruly hair, which I hadn't even realized I was holding onto. The same person was then examining the back of my head, moving my hair every which way, surely making it even messier than it already was.

There was a set of fingers gripping my chin and while it steadied my shaking mind, it took me several long moments to get my eyes to focus on their face.

Collin.

It wasn't the brown eyes I'd been hoping to see, but I would take them nonetheless. I met his strong, careful gaze and tried to steady myself to match him. But, it didn't seem to be working.

"Look at me," Collin was murmuring. His fingers brushed my cheek and forehead carefully.

"I—" I couldn't finish, my voice was rough and it burned my throat to speak. Tears pricked the back of my eyes.

"Jesus," someone muttered under their breath to the right of me.

The person next to me snapped at them to be quiet.

Collin squeezed my hand, trying to get me to focus on him once more. The pressure of his fingers on mine caused a stinging sensation on my palm that momentarily grounded me. I was no longer as numb to my body as I'd been several moments before, despite the constant buzzing in my head, and now that my feeling was returning, I was starting to realize how much some things hurt.

"Does your head hurt?" Collin asked me; looking the most serious I'd ever seen him. "And you better damn well be honest with me right about now."

He was looking serious and stern, but his voice wavered, betraying him. It was scary to me, to see someone like Collin so unsure and hesitant. My brain couldn't seem to comprehend why he was feeling this way, despite the fact that I was sitting here bleeding all over the place.

I heaved an unsteady breath that sounded more like a hiccup than anything else.

"That's not helpful, Collin," a different voice snapped. A hand appeared on the top of my head, warmth radiating from the person's fingertips. "Lilly, we're going to take you to get some help, okay?"

I wiped the back of my hand across my mouth and it came back sticky with blood. My vision, as distant as it was, stayed focused on that red colour that my mind now connected to something entirely new. A sob slipped through my teeth.

"Where's Brady?"

"He's gonna meet us, kiddo."

I resisted against the set of arms that were trying to pick me up off the deck. "Why isn't he here?"

There was a quick hesitation on all their parts.

"He had to help chase that leech. He's gonna catch up with us, okay? Come on."

I shook my head and felt even dizzier than I'd already felt. "I need him."

Didn't they understand? It didn't matter how many times they reassured me that it was over, that everything was all hunky-dory and okay—it would never be any of those things without Brady close by. Was he hurt? Did he catch the vampire or had the vampire tried to hurt him? Why wasn't he here?

Why did my head hurt so much?

Will, whom I hadn't recognized until this moment, seemed to give up on the others' quiet and careful tactic and loaded me into his arms, struggling limbs and all. He ignored Collin's surprised protest and my quiet whimper from being jostled around and started walking towards the front of the house. He carried me like I weighed nothing at all. The warmth radiating from him thwarted my defense against my sleepy eyelids. They kept trying to close on their own accord, as if I was suddenly ridiculously exhausted.

He jostled me again and my eyes shot open at the quick sting of pain that vibrated through my body. I gritted my teeth.

"Stay awake, okay?" Will said quietly. "You have a concussion. You can't sleep until you see a doctor."

I knew he was speaking to me and I knew what the words he was saying meant, but I didn't really understand how they applied to me. Why did Will Lahote suddenly think he could tell me what to do? Did he actually think he had that kind of authority just because he was part of the pack?

"I'll drive." A figure pushed past us carefully, making his way over to my father's truck—which I hadn't noticed until now. Uncle Seth clambered into the driver's seat, keying the engine.

Collin was waiting for us at the truck. How slow had Will been walking? He opened the door to the back seat and scooted in to the far side, leaving room for Will to lift me into the seat closest to the door. Once I was buckled in, like I was four-years-old again or something, the door closed firmly behind me. The sound rattled my brain inside my head.

I felt like I was experiencing some sort of out of body experience. I could see everything happening around me and I could hear the voices of the three males with me, but that didn't mean I necessarily could put two and two together. Not only did I not know where they were taking me, but also I didn't know why we were going there.

Collin was sitting next to me as Uncle Seth maneuvered through the streets of La Push and I could feel his gaze burning into me. He didn't have his seatbelt on and his entire frame was turned so that he was looking in my direction. His warm hand was resting on my neck almost as if he was holding up my head for me.

"Where's my mom?" I asked. My voice was raspy, like I hadn't spoken for months.

Collin's undivided attention was on me. "She's with your dad and Claire. With Kim and Jared."

I shook my head, wincing at the movement. "Where?"

"She's at Jake's, honey," Uncle Seth said, looking at me through the rearview mirror. "That's where we're going. You'll see her soon."

Uncle Jacob? We were going to his house in Forks?

"We can't—"

Collin squeezed my neck gently. "It's okay. The others are tracking the vampire in a totally different direction. You'll be safe at Jake's."

I closed my eyes. "Brady?" I asked again, quieter. The numbness was fading slowly to embarrassment. I couldn't remember what happened two minutes ago, but I could only imagine how humiliating it was.

"He'll be there, too," Collin assured me. "I promise."

I didn't question why they seemed so at ease with my need for Brady's presence. None of them seemed offended that I found no comfort in their company and they didn't seem surprised by my wish to have him close by. It was almost as if they expected it.

I was far too concussed to connect anything together at this point.

Uncle Seth drove quickly through the reservation and within what seemed like no time at all, we were rounding the tree covered bend that blocked Uncle Jake's secluded ranch house from view. To anyone that didn't know this house existed, they'd never be able to find it. The driveway hardly looked like a real driveway, but more like an off-roading path.

I'd only been here a few times. Never had I been here without my parents or Brady present. Never had I been here without a week's worth of planning beforehand. I wasn't allowed in Forks at the best of times and we definitely had never taken refuge in Forks before. But, I supposed the pack leader's house was one of the better places to hide out, killer vampire or not.

My door was ripped open before Uncle Seth had even put the truck into park. I jumped with surprise, crying out as my head and body strained uncomfortably.

It was those brown eyes that grounded me, that kept me from completely freaking out in that instance.

Brady untangled me from my restricting seatbelt and pulled me into his arms, holding me like I was made of glass. His nose was in my hair and my forehead was in his collarbone but I didn't care.

"It's okay, you're okay," Brady soothed as I became a blubbering mess all over his bare chest.

I wiped my nose with the back of my hand and tried to get a hold of myself. I had promised myself I wouldn't cry in front of Brady anymore. Yet, here I was, spreading snot and tears and blood all over him in the most unladylike fashion.

I was certainly a winner.

"Is she hurt?" Brady was asking frantically, his eyes searching my body for injury. "Are you hurt, sweetheart? Tell me what hurts."

I was pretty sure he was freaking out worse than I was.

The front door to Uncle Jake's house burst open and my mother ran down the steps, barefooted and hysterical. She paid no attention to my father or the other figures standing in the doorway behind her as she hurried over to where Brady and I were. Within seconds, my face was in her hands and she was crying harder than I had been.

"Oh, my baby," she exclaimed.

I struggled against her grasp, suddenly feeling extremely claustrophobic and tense. There were too many people witnessing this. I bit my lip hard for one moment, tasting blood all over again. I could feel Brady tense beneath me.

"Mom," I whispered. "Mom, I'm okay. Please, stop crying."

I sounded like a robot that had been smoking for forty years. My throat was killing me, my head had its own heartbeat that echoed in my ears, and my hands were still bleeding all over Brady's chest.

Uncle Seth came to my rescue. He grabbed ahold of my mother and gave her a quick squeeze to his side, shooting a helpless look over his shoulder to my father, who started down the steps towards us.

While my father tried to console my mother, Will and Collin had made their way over to us. Will clapped Brady on the shoulder once, giving him a grim smile and Collin's hand was on the top of my head once more.

Dad looked over my mother's head to catch Brady's attention. "Carlisle is just getting here. Take her in and we'll meet you there momentarily."

Without one single moment of hesitation, Brady started towards the house. Will and Collin flanked us like they were glued to Brady's side and I barely had a moment to protest to the fact that I was being carried around like a doll before we were through the front door and up the stairs.

When we reached the kitchen, Uncle Jake, Aunt Nessie, and a blonde haired, fair skinned man I didn't recognize were waiting for us. Uncle Jake did little to hide his pissed off expression as he took in the sorry sight of me in Brady's secure arms. He turned away, muttering a string of curse words under his breath that I could almost hear.

"Wow, Jake," Collin laughed. "Do you kiss your wife with that potty mouth?"

Uncle Jake let out a deep growl and he pinched his nose between his fingers.

Will smacked Collin over the top of his head. "Shut up."

Collin turned to the younger wolf, raising an eyebrow. "That's the second time you've told me to do something today," he intoned in a carefully calm voice. "Want to go for a third?"

"For fuck's sake, Collin," Brady snarled.

Collin glared at Brady now. "Come on, man—"

A shrill whistle sounded through the room.

"Enough!" Aunt Nessie shouted. "Now is not the time for any of this. Look at the poor girl, for goodness sake."

I hadn't realized I was holding my head in my hand until the room went quiet. I looked up in surprise, seeing everyone looking in my direction, including Uncle Jake, who looked much calmer now.

Arms crossed over his broad and bare chest, Uncle Jake motioned to the open door with his chin. "Out, both of you. Go run the perimeter of the house until Embry tells you to be somewhere else."

Will immediately headed out the door, nodding towards his leader with a serious expression on his face. He was in patrol mode now. I supposed that was the one thing about Will—he could be a total ass, but he knew when he was supposed to take things seriously, too.

Collin had yet to master those skills.

"But—"

Brady, who was still holding onto me, was starting to lose his patience with his friend. "Get the fuck out, Collin."

Funnily enough, it was the sharp order from Brady, instead of Uncle Jake, that had Collin heading out of the room. He stopped long enough to place a gentle kiss to my forehead, before he was out the door and down the stairs. I heard the door slam loudly behind him.

The room was silent for what seemed like a long moment.

Brady was breathing heavily into my hair. His warm breath made gooseflesh down my arms.

"Brady, you good?" Uncle Jake asked. He cautiously made one step in our direction.

Brady took a deep breath and then placed a kiss on the back of my head. "I'm good."

The other man, who had been completely silent through all the chaos, looked up from where he'd been digging through a black bag. He smiled at me and I took in his pale, hard skin and buttery eyes. It was easy enough to see the resemblance between Nessie and her grandfather, but at this moment, that didn't seem to matter to my brain. All that my mind took in was that there was yet another unfamiliar vampire in my presence and I wanted nothing to do with him.

Everyone around me seemed to take in my increased heartbeat at the same moment, thanks to their heightened senses. My fingers were gripped tightly around Brady's forearm, which felt completely unyielding around my body.

I shook my head, wanting my bearings back. I couldn't remember what was normal and what wasn't any more. Everything was muddled in my mind.

"Let me go," I pleaded with Brady.

The boy holding onto me shushed me quietly and brought my body closer to his. "Lills—"

"No," I cried loudly. "I froze before. I'm not going to this time."

Brady opened his mouth to assure me, but no words came out. He looked utterly confused at my words and his sudden distraction gave me a chance to fumble out of his grip a little. My legs hit the floor and immediately gave out under my weight and despite Brady's current confusion; he still caught me before I smacked my head open on the floor.

Uncle Jake, however, did not look confused at all. He bent down so he was eye level to me and brushed some hair away from my face. "Lilly, sweetheart, this is Nessie's grandfather. This is Carlisle. You know him."

I squeezed my eyes shut, shaking my head again. "No—"

"I would never let anyone hurt you, sweetheart," Uncle Jake was murmuring. He didn't seem to care that I refused to look at him or that I was acting like a deranged toddler. I bet his son, Toby, had better manners than I did right now. And he was only three.

Aunt Nessie chimed in softly. "Carlisle is a doctor, Lilly. He works in hospitals with humans every day. He's my family just like you are and he would never hurt you."

My head was throbbing like never before right now and I grimaced tightly, unable to respond to anything anyone was saying. Brady's arms came tighter around me then, feeling my urge to flee and fight his contact fade out of my body. His lips were at my temple as he spoke to me, softly as ever.

"Do you really think I would be standing here if I didn't trust this man?" Brady whispered against my skin. The warmth from his lips seemed to suck away some of the pain radiating from my skull and I allowed myself to lean against him a little. "I'll be right here the whole time, okay."

After a second, I nodded in consent. I was much too tired to fight any more.

"Brady, you can lift her right onto the table," Carlisle's musical voice said.

With my eyes closed, I felt myself being transferred onto the wood surface of the kitchen table, which was situated in the middle of the room. Brady stayed close, despite the fact that his arms were no longer around me, and his palm rested in the middle of my back, rubbing circles into my shirt.

Carlisle turned to smile at me carefully. "You've certainly grown since the last time I saw you, Lilly."

I smiled politely and tried to find something else to look at, feeling uncomfortable.

"I promise you no harm," Carlisle continued. "I just want to check your injuries."

"Okay," I said and my voice sounded small.

Brady's hand rubbed up and down my back once.

As Carlisle began to ask me a few questions, Aunt Nessie excused herself from the room. At the same time, my father slipped in to stand next to Uncle Jake. He looked tense. I wondered where my mother was.

"How about we start with what happened?" the doctor was asking me. I supposed I should have been paying better attention.

The memory of what happened in my backyard seemed fuzzy, but I tried to recall what I could. "He—he was in the backyard and I knew that I was supposed to stay in the house but I ended up on the back deck." I closed my eyes, trying to remember everything. "I couldn't move, but he could and he ended up really close to me—"

Brady was trembling beside me; I could feel the motion against my body. He wasn't looking at me and his left fist was clenched so tightly I thought he might break his fingers off. Without thinking, I reached around him to grab his hand, wrapping my fingers around his own.

The vibrating subsided.

My father broke the careful silence. "Do you need to go outside for a moment?"

I wasn't really sure whom he was talking to.

"I'm fine."

Uncle Jake sighed. "Brady—"

Brady closed his eyes tightly for a moment before he was looking at the two men across the room. "I said that I'm okay. I'm not leaving her side, not even for a second."

Dad raised his eyebrows but nodded carefully.

Carlisle told me to continue.

"—So then he did this thing and I could move again and the numbness was gone, but it was like—like my body wasn't used to working for itself, so I collapsed. I think," I took a deep breath, struggling to concentrate. "I think I hit my head on the deck? I don't really remember."

Brady smoothed his thumb over the top of my hand. "It's okay," he assured me.

I was momentarily distracted by the fact that Brady seemed to be able to know how I was feeling even though I hadn't said anything aloud. He was almost magnetized to my side and I wasn't sure if the buzz flowing through my body was from my lousy head injury or his close proximity.

"Well, let's do a couple tests then, shall we?" Carlisle announced, interrupting my thoughts.

Sometime later, between Brady's harsh growls and threats, Uncle Jake's frustration, my father's careful warnings, and my unkempt blubbering, Carlisle came to a diagnosis. With stitches in the back of my head and my palms bandaged, I sat in the middle of Aunt Nessie's squishy, king-sized bed, feeling out of place and exhausted.

My head no longer throbbed, thanks to the strong drugs Carlisle had brandished my way, but my mind still felt like it had gone on vacation and left my body behind.

Shock, was what Carlisle had called it. I was apparently in shock.

According to Uncle Jake, the pack was still searching for the intruding vampire, so we were better off staying here until they'd finished up. He assured me that Brady would stay with me and that two wolves would be outside the house in case anything happened. He helped Brady get me into the bedroom and hugged me carefully to his warm chest before he'd disappeared to lend a hand to the pack.

Now, I was listening to my father apologize on behalf of everything that had happened.

"Quil got called into action," he was saying. His calloused hand rubbed my forehead as he smoothed back my hair away from my face. He no longer looked like the tense, uptight person he'd appeared to be when we first arrived, but instead like the reliable father I knew. "He should have found someone else to pick you up or he should have picked you up himself, darling, and I'm so sorry none of us told you what was happening."

I leaned back against the plush pillows. "It's not your fault, Dad. Stuff happens."

He gave a little smile, but I could tell he still felt guilty. "You're a brave girl, Lilly. I hope you know how proud your mom and I are of you."

He leaned down to press a kiss to my forehead before he headed out the door. My mother had already spent a good half-hour fluffing pillows and fretting over me before Aunt Nessie had come to my rescue and had asked her help with making a dinner for the pack. We'd be staying here for the night, or at least until the all clear was given by the pack.

"I love you, sweetheart," Dad murmured.

I smiled sleepily. "Love you too."

Brady slipped back into the room as my father disappeared. There was a brief interaction that I pretended not to see, but I could tell Brady didn't like what my father had to say. His shoulders were tense and stiff as he sat by my feet.

I was suddenly not so tired any more.

"Hey," he whispered, squeezing my foot through the blanket with his fingers.

I peered at him through my heavy eyelids, which were still fighting me. "Hi."

"You okay?" he asked, for probably the millionth time today.

I nodded, tracing a pattern on the bedspread with my fingertip so I wouldn't have to look his way. The air was stale and awkward for a long moment before I worked up the courage to say something.

"Are you upset with me?"

Brady inhaled sharply. "What? Why would you even ask that?"

I shrugged, unable to explain myself to him. I couldn't even imagine how I awful I would feel if it turned out that he was angry with me. I couldn't bear it.

The bed dipped next to me—Brady had moved from the spot by my feet to directly beside me. His strong arm came around my shoulders and I found myself tucked into his side. I sucked in an unsteady breath.

"Hey," Brady breathed softly. His fingertips found my chin and tilted my face up to his. I let the swirls in his eyes suck me in and it didn't take long for me to get lost. It was like I could see his soul through his eyes. They were one of the most addicting things about him. "Why on Earth would you think that I was mad?"

"The vampire got away," I whispered immediately.

He gave a gentle chuckle and the bed rocked a little. "Sweetheart," he soothed. "There is nothing in the world that is less to do with you than that single sentence right there." His eyes were kind as he gave me his complete attention. "That vampire got away because he was gifted, Lilly. He had a gift—that's why you—" He sucked in a breath. "—Why you were drawn to him. It's why you couldn't control your movements."

Carlisle and his son, Edward—Aunt Nessie's father—had explained to us that some vampires had gifts. Apparently the pack had already known this, but this was something I had never heard before. They suspected the vampire in the backyard had some sort of mental ability to control people's movements, which was how I had ended up on the deck. It was why when he'd released his gift that I'd fallen so harshly.

According to Edward, it was part of his fun—unleashing and releasing the mind tricks on people to get them so disoriented that they didn't know which way was up.

At this moment, I certainly felt like his fool plan had worked. I was much more than disoriented.

Brady's thumb brushed across my cheek several times and my face immediately felt warm. I looked at him once more.

"I am not mad at you," he promised, saying the words I needed to hear. "I could never be mad at you."

I chewed on my lip, thinking. It was still sore and Carlisle had said that I was lucky my teeth hadn't gone right through it.

Brady's thumb appeared on my lip, pulling it away from my teeth. Warmth filled the pit of my stomach and I could hear my breath in my ears. "Don't hurt yourself," he pleaded, though his breath was a bit shaky too.

I could feel myself fading a little, but I wanted to talk more with Brady. This was the most I'd seen him in a few days and despite the circumstances, I couldn't imagine being anywhere else right now.

Suddenly, Brady pulled me closer. He cleared his throat a little and I swore, I could see more emotion filled up in his eyes than I'd ever seen before. His lips were in my hair as he spoke. "I have never been more scared, you know?" he whispered. "To see you there, with that vampire in front of you."

I closed my eyes, urging my tears to stay at bay. "I was scared, too," I admitted.

"He won't ever touch you again, sweetheart," he murmured sweetly. His hand smoothed my hair, mindful of my stitches. "I swear to you, I'll kill anyone that touches you."

I nodded, turning my head against his shoulder.

There was a moment of hesitation before I left Brady's lips on my cheek, very, very close to the corner of my mouth. I froze in both shock and anticipation. Kisses from Brady weren't anything out of the ordinary, but they never strayed farther than a peck on the top of the head or on my forehead. He'd never kissed my cheek before.

"I want you to know," he whispered softly. "You are the most precious thing to me, Lilly. I would do anything for you. I love you so much."

Now. I could tell him right now. Now, was the time to tell him how I felt. I'd been sitting on my feelings for months, fighting my emotions. I couldn't tell myself that it was wrong any more because no matter if it were wrong or right, it wasn't going to change anything.

Tell him, I thought. Just tell him how you feel.

"I love you too, Brady," I whispered back.

I wanted to kick myself. Why? Why couldn't I just man up and tell him what I felt? Sure, I did love him, but did he really know what kind of love I meant?

His brown eyes flashed, darkening in a way that I'd never known them to do before. It was the quickest change in colour and I wondered if I imagined it, because the next time I looked, they were their normal brown colour once more. A small smile had etched it's way onto Brady's handsome face and he pulled the blankets closer to my chin, though I was plenty warm enough with him being so close.

"Why don't you have a little nap?" he suggested. "I'm sure you're tired."

"I'm okay."

Brady helped me slide further down against the pillows, despite my protests.

"You don't have anything to worry about, okay?" he assured me. "I won't leave your side and I'll wake you if anything exciting happens, like if Will beats up Collin or something."

I giggled, like I knew he intended me to.

"Come on," he whispered. "Just sleep, sweetheart."

Because I really was tired and I knew he wouldn't leave me alone, I allowed my eyes to close. I was just going to close them and pretend to sleep. I didn't want anything to happen while I was truly asleep.

Brady's hand combed through my hair and quickly, I began to lose the battle against sleep. It wasn't long before I was right on the edge, tipping towards slumber.

"I'm right here," Brady murmured, kissing my forehead. "I'm always going to be here."

As I fell asleep, I couldn't help but hope that was true.

Not having Brady at my side wasn't exactly an option any longer.


I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Thank goodness, Brady is starting to show the imprint pull a little more now. Hopefully, Lilly will find out about the imprint soon ;)

Review. Please.