Chapter Seven- Permanence

"Scarred and scared you crawl across

Everything is as no one thought and

Echoes cover your spirit size

Echoes ring on your sweating cries of

Sacred rituals I comply

Cold and curdled are my insides but

Everything is as this surprise

Everything is as curled up cries of"

-Static-X- "Permanence"


(Ryvre's POV)

Unfortunately, Sarah wasn't in my next class and hers was on the other side of the school, so she couldn't help me find mine. Paul, however, was in my third period class. I walked in and went to find my seat.

As I walked past him I stopped, "What, are you in every one of my classes?"

"Yup. Looks like you're always stuck with me," he said smiling at me.

"You could at least help me find my classes, you know. It might make you appear gentlemanly to all your potential conquests." I walked to an empty desk in the back. He turned around to glare at me, but I just smiled.

Another boring class with a boring teacher drowning on about something I didn't care about. I sighed softly and took out my schedule and map. Looking at it, I realized my next class was on the other side of school, great.

When the bell rang, I called, "Paul." He turned around with a glare and I put on my best puppy dog eyes. He softened a little. "Can you show me where my next class is? I keep getting lost."

"Um, okay." He sighed in defeat. I followed him out in the hall. I decided not to chance it and stayed silent as we walked to class. Paul was tense and didn't even look my way.

As we walked in the room, I said, "Thanks." He nodded and walked away.

I sat in the back next to a bitchy looking girl. Looking at her again, I realized it was Nikki. She glared at me. "You know, Paul broke up with me after we left your house the other night."

I looked at her blankly. "And?"

She rolled her eyes and was about to say something, but the teacher cut her off. She glared at me throughout the entire period. I just smiled back every time. A few times, I looked up and caught Paul smiling at our exchanges, but then he'd glare at me too.

The bell rang and I left the room, walking to the cafeteria for lunch. Sarah met me in the hallway. "Hey, need some help finding the cafeteria?" She asked.

I nodded, smiling. "Yeah, for a school so small it sure is confusing."

She smiled back. "Yeah, it's a little complex at first. So do you want to sit with me?"

"Sure." I answered.

"Great!" She smiled. Sarah led me into the room and we got our food, then sat down at a table full of people. "Guys this is Ryvre," she said. "Ryvre, this is Christine, Erica, Miranda, Andrew and Brittany."

Everyone smiled at me as I sat down. There was a tap on my shoulder. I looked up into the eyes of Kim. She smiled. "Hey, I thought maybe you'd want to sit with us." She pointed to a table where Jared, Jacob, Embry, Quil, Hannah, Paul, Collin and Brady were sitting.

I shook my head, "You know what, I think I'll just stay here. Nothing against you or Hannah it's just, I have every class with Paul and I need some time away from him." I saw a flash of hurt in Paul's eyes before he masked it with anger.

Sarah laughed next to me. "Better get used to him, after all you're stuck together right?"

I sighed. "Yeah."

Kim looked panicked. "What does she mean?"

Sarah looked up, "Oh, Ryvre told me she and Paul are betrothed."

Kim looked back at me and then laughed. "Yup, you're stuck with him alright." She smiled and then walked over to sit with the group. I smiled at Hannah and turned back to the group I was sitting with.

When the bell rang, I went to my next class that luckily, I had with Sarah and unfortunately, Paul.

I was forced to sit behind Paul in that class. I was tired so I laid my head down on the desk. It seemed like a good idea, but it turned out to be a horrible idea. In the process of laying my head down, I started to breathe in Paul's scent. He smelled like rain and pine trees, with a manly edge to it. He smelled like a man. His scent comforted me and I ended up falling asleep. A gentle shaking woke me. I looked up to find Paul standing over me. He smiled a little, "Class is over, now. Thought you might want to go to gym instead of staying here all night."

Our eyes locked and I smiled. "Thanks for waking me up. It was sweet of you."

His smile dropped off his face and he cleared his throat. "Yeah." Then he walked away. I stared after him for a minute. Did he actually do something nice for me?

I shook my head and walked off to gym class, getting lost a few times along the way. When I got there, Paul was back to being an ass to me.

The final bell rang, signaling it was time to go. When I walked out of the gym, Collin was waiting on me.

He huffed. "God could you be any slower?"

I immediately slowed my pace. "You know what, maybe I can."

He rolled his eyes and grabbed my arm, pulling me out to the parking lot. "Okay, ow Collin, that fucking hurts!" I snapped.

"Collin, let her go!" A voice yelled behind us. Collin dropped my arm and we both spun around to find Paul glaring at him and shaking.

"Don't tell me what to do, Paul. She's my sister," Collin snapped.

"Yeah, she's my imprint," Paul shot back.

"And she doesn't want you, so fuck off!" Collin retorted.

"Hey!" I said, pinching his ear.

"What?" He looked back at me.

"Don't curse." I said and then walked back to the car. I saw the hurt in Paul's eyes again, before he once again covered it up with anger. He probably thought I was going to defend him against my brother, but what Collin said was the truth. I didn't want to be an imprint, I didn't want to be bound to someone just because that person had took a fleeting glimpse at me. I certainly didn't want that someone to be a womanizing asshole. I didn't want Paul, plain and simple.

I got into the car with Collin and we drove home. "Thanks, bro," I said.

He waved me off. "No problem. I thought you made it clear to him you didn't want him, but he's stubborn and will never learn." He tensed for a second. "By the way, Sam and dad want me to take you to the Cullen's before we go home. You need to meet them."

"Who the hell are the Cullens?"

"No one told you?" he asked.

"If I said, 'who the hell are the Cullens,' then it's safe to assume no one has told me about them," I replied.

"Yeah, yeah. Okay, they're a family of vampires."

"They're a family of what now?" I looked sideways at him.

"They're like, some vegetarian vamps or something, I don't know. They don't drink human blood and they have a truce with the wolves. We're working with them to figure out the vampire problem in Seattle. Apparently they have something to do with it."

"This just keeps getting better and better. Where do they live?"

He reached in his pocket. "Sam gave me their address last night after patrol. He didn't want Paul to know we were going. He'd just freak out about having you there with only one wolf protecting you. Whether he wants you or not, he still wants you safe."

I huffed and looked at the paper, then started driving towards Forks. A little while later, we pulled up to an expensive looking house. Seven vampires stood on the front lawn waiting for us.

I climbed out of the car. "Sup, vamps?" I asked.

The biggest one with curly black hair laughed. "I like you already." He stepped forward, but the blonde girl next to him grabbed his arm.

Collin smiled at them. "Well, this is my sister, the infamous Ryvre."

Infamous? What?

The bronze haired male smiled at me. "We've heard a lot about you from the other wolves." Ah, so that makes you the mind reader, I thought. He nodded. "Yes, I'm Edward Cullen." He held his hand out for me to shake, then turned to the others, "This is Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, Esme and Carlisle."

I waved to everyone. "What's going on everyone?"

Emmett smiled and looked at Carlisle. "Can we keep her?"

Collin growled. Edward tensed. "Paul imprinted on her."

Emmett sighed, "Ooh, Paul huh? Tough break."

"I know," I answered.

Carlisle spoke up, "I guess you're wondering why you're here. Well, your father tells us that when you were living in Seattle you saw some vampires in the mall, what did they look like? You can just think of them and Edward will see."

I thought of the vampires I saw. "What exactly did they say?" Edward asked in a tight voice. I replayed the scene for him. He cursed under his breath.

"What is it Edward?" Carlisle asked.

"She saw Victoria and a male. Ryvre's blood sings to the male. He nearly attacked her in the mall, but Victoria stopped him and promised they'd find her somehow."

Esme sucked in a sharp breath. "Is Ryvre what Victoria's after?"

Alice nodded. "I think so. I can't see because of the wolves, but I think so."

Carlisle sighed. "Do the wolves know about this?"

Collin shook his head. "They know what happened in Seattle, but they don't know it was Victoria."

Carlisle said, "We'll have to tell them then. Collin, could you go phase and let them know we need to have a meeting. We'll take Ryvre to the clearing and wait for them."

Collin hesitated, "I'm not sure I'm supposed to leave her alone. Sam and Paul will have my ass."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll be fine, Collin, just go. And tell Paul if he has a problem with it to sit on a pinecone."

Emmett laughed as Collin ran off. Carlisle clapped his hands together, "Well then. Shall we go? Ryvre, you'll have to ride on someone's back to get there."

Emmett stepped up, "I'll take her!" I smiled and jumped on his back.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yup, Giddyup!" I cheered happily.

Emmett took off into the trees. The wind in my face was exhilarating. It was an amazing ride that ended too soon. When we got to the clearing, Emmett sat me down and I groaned.

He laughed. "I'll carry you back, don't worry."

The wolves weren't here yet so we had to wait. Collin came to stand next to me in his human form. "So you all know Victoria?" I asked, to pass the time.

"Yes, unfortunately we've crossed paths before," Carlisle answered. He quickly explained what had happened with James.

"So what she really wants is to kill Bella? That's why she's turning all those people in Seattle? I'm just going to be Riley's victory drink."

"No, we will not let him get to you," Esme promised.

I looked away, suddenly feeling very cold. After a few minutes of waiting, the wolves came through the trees, all in human form. Even from across the clearing I could see the fury in Paul's eyes as he saw me standing with Emmett, who now had his arm across my shoulders.

Paul glared at Emmett and even I could feel the intensity of his glare. Emmett, however, just smiled like the big goof he is.