Thanks for the reviews, guys! I love having quick updates, and I really liked the last chapter!

Guest - I love it when you review my story! I don't know who you are, but you really make my day whenever I read your reviews. Like, really!

Anyway, enjoy this chapter!

~SashaFierce12.0

Chapter Nine

Embry was going to go crazy.

And not just because he hadn't eaten in fifteen minutes - the longest he's ever gone without food besides when he's sleeping. No. Not because of that.

It had been one week, two days, and three hours since he had first and last seen his imprint. And if he didn't see her soon...

He'd go crazy.

Point simple.

His chest ached with the imprint tug and he felt like he could croak at any second. But he didn't. Because what would happen to his imprint if he did?

"Hey, Em."

"What?" he growled. Seth quirked a brow and Embry looked at the ceiling with a sigh. "Sorry."

"Whatever. Hey, do you really want to see your imprint?"

"Yes!" Embry practically yelled. Seth chuckled.

"I can tell Jazzy to bring her over. Just don't die." He went back to his phone, vigorously typing away on the keypad.

Embry felt as if he were on Cloud Nine at that moment. Nothing could bring him down. Nothing.

Not even...

"Sorry, guys. I'm out of muffins. I won't be able to get any mix until tomorrow. That snowstorm shut down all the supermarkets!" Emily said with a shrug.

Not even that. Embry was much too happy to care about Emily's shortage of muffins.

He waited - quite impatiently, I might add - for the arrival of the precious little girl that he'd seen in the waiting room of the hospital. He thought back to how beautiful her blue eyes were. Her eyelashes had been ridiculously long, he remembered. And when she blinked, it was as if a giant curtain had covered her beautiful eyes, but then they'd open back up again to reveal the blue.

And he was happy.

She had the longest black hair, and it fell in silky-looking ringlets to her waist.

She was beautiful, no doubt.

And she was his. His imprint. He loved her.

Not like that. She was obviously too young for that.

But in time...Yes. Definitely.

For now, he was her protector. And he loved her. No matter what.

"Seth Clearwater, it will never cease to amaze me why you couldn't have come and picked me up in your nice warm truck!" Jazmyn said as soon as she came in. She brushed snow off her hat and out of her hair. "It's so freaking cold!"

"Leah had the truck today. Sorry," Seth stood up and greeted her with a kiss. Jazmyn smiled.

"Well...Okay. C'mere." She kissed him again and he slid off her coat, deepening their kiss. Sam cleared his throat and the two pulled away, Seth smirking, Jazmyn looking slightly annoyed. "Oh. Hey, Boss." She grinned and waved.

"Been awhile, Jazmyn."

"Yup! Emily, it smells good in here!"

"Thank you. I'm baking brownies."

Jazmyn turned back and rolled her eyes at someone.

"Heaven, they won't bite. Come on."

"There's snow on my boots, let me...Okay! Hi! My name's Heaven! Thank you for inviting me to your home!" the young girl smiled and waved at everyone.

"Wow. The dark hair and blue eyes thing must run in the family," Emily noted. Jazmyn smirked and bent down to wrap her arms around her cousin's shoulder.

"She obviously gets it from moi!"

"Whatever, Cuz," Heaven swatted her away. Jazmyn stuck her tongue out at her and Heaven did the same, standing on her tiptoes to get her point across. The two ended up giggling Heaven looked around at everyone.

"Wow..." she squeaked, eyeing all the tan and muscular men around her. "There's a lot of you...Whoa..." she looked at Kaden and smiled.

"So...That's Kaden," Seth said, pointing at who Heaven was eyeing. "And Sam and Emily. Claire and Quil...Paul. Jacob's right there...Leah's...Somewhere. Ahh...Jared and-"

"Kim," Jazmyn answered, folding her arms across her chest. Kim only rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. And Embry right there," Seth smiled at Heaven as she turned to look at Embry. He stood up and held out his hand for her to shake. She stared at him with her mouth open and pink rushed to her cheeks. Everyone chuckled as she finally shook his hand quickly.

"Wow..." she whispered. Embry grinned at her.

"So you're...How old?" he asked.

"Twelve," Jazmyn answered, pulling Seth to sit down. She plopped onto his lap.

"And a half," Heaven answered in a 'duh' voice.

"Sure." Jazmyn rolled her eyes.

"Why don't you sit, Heaven? Take your coat off." Emily took the younger girl's coat and draped it over the coat rack. Tentatively, the young girl sat down a foot or so away from her imprinter, looking down at her piggy socks.

"Tell us about yourself," Emily kept on talking. "Interests? Pet peeves...Anything, sweetie." She looked at Embry, who was just staring at Heaven with an awed expression. She cleared her throat and he looked at her, his face breaking out into a sheepish grin. He returned his attention back to his imprint. Her kicked her legs around with her lips pursed. She looked up and blushed when she saw Embry staring at her, which only made the wolf smile even wider.

"Interests...? Mmm...Food. Definitely," she answered, causing everyone to laugh.

"She's your cousin alright," Seth said to Jazmyn lovingly, and she smiled at him before kissing his cheek.

Happy that she'd made everyone laugh, Heaven relaxed and sat up. She glanced at Embry and grinned.

"Pet peeves...Hmm...I've never really encountered anything that has peeved me...Oh. Wait." She scrunched up her nose and Embry raised his eyebrows, amused at how cute she looked.

His smile widened.

"Birds. Oh, my gosh, I hate birds." Like before, everyone laughed.

"Why?" Kaden asked with a small chuckle. "What'd Tweety ever do to you?"

"He stole my cookie, that's what he did!" Heaven practically screeched, waving her arms around. "And it was the good kind, too! All homemade and ooey-gooey in the center with chocolate chips everywhere...And then...!" She scoffed. "The damn bird just...Snatched it right out my hand!"

"Definitely your cousin," Kim muttered, glancing at Jazmyn. To everyone's surprise, she was actually smiling. Jazmyn quirked a brow and rolled her eyes, but she smiled, too.

"I like Heaven. Can we keep her?" Quil asked, earning more laughter. Heaven smiled at everyone, happy that her cousin had brought her here.

Leah came through the door, looking more tired than usual. She didn't even as much glance at Heaven before she was sitting down on the floor a little ways away from Jacob's feet. He didn't look at her.

"Hi," Heaven smiled and waved at Leah.

"Embry's girl. Hm. You're young," the female wolf, not even looking Heaven's way.

"'Embry's girl?'" Heaven asked. She looked at said wolf who glared at Leah. Jazmyn grinned, loving every second of this. She leaned forward.

"'Course. Didn't he tell you?" Leah looked at Heaven for the first time since she'd walked in. Her eyes were rimmed with red and she had dark circles under her eyes. "You're his-"

"Leah!" everyone yelled.

"What?"

"He didn't, obviously," Seth rolled his eyes.

"Oh. You should do it soon. Little girls get curious." With that, Leah turned back to look at the TV, where a football game was playing. She stared at it, bored.

Heaven looked around at everyone.

"What's she talking about?" she asked.

"Nothing. Leah's delusional," Seth answered, shooting a glare at his sister.

"If I'm delusional, then you're insane," Leah muttered.

"Weak," Seth smirked. Leah stuck up her middle finger at him, making Seth roll his eyes again.

"Hey, guys! Wanna learn something else about me? Yeah, another thing that I hate - like, absolutely cannot stand - is lying," Heaven said, standing up with her arms crossed. She stared at her cousin, who stared back with a smirk.

"Got something to say?" Jazmyn asked.

"What aren't you guys telling me? What'd she mean by Embry's girl?"

"She means that...Embry likes you," Kim answered with a shrug.

"Sure. Tell her that," shot Jazmyn.

"Well it didn't look like you were gonna tell her anything!" Kim replied, standing up.

"Ooh, someone's getting mad," smirked Jazmyn, standing up, too. Seth sighed and got to his feet just as Jared did. "Got anything else to say?"

"Jazz, stop," Seth whispered.

"No. Kim's got something to say."

"Give it up, Jazzy."

"...Fine. But only cause you asked me to." Jazmyn shot another look at Kim before sitting back down next to her boyfriend. But then she stood back up. "Wait, let's go, Seth. We can find...better things to do than be here." Jazmyn looked at Kim pointedly.

"Good luck leaving. The roads are closed," Leah muttered from her spot on the floor.

"How'd you get here then?"

"Ran. Duh. You think a little powder can stop me?" Leah snorted; the first sign of an actual laugh since the miscarriage. Jacob glanced at her, smiling a little.

"Well, maybe they're open now," Jazmyn said. She opened the door and stopped. "IT'S FUCKING WHITE! HOLY COW, I CAN'T SEE SHIT!"

Heaven turned to look out the window, and realized her cousin was right. Her mouth dropped and she groaned.

"How're we supposed to-"

The lights went out and she screamed before clamping her hands over her mouth to stop more from getting out.

"SHIT!"

"Three bucks, Jazzy."

"Does it look like I have any money on me?" Jazmyn spat. She was quiet. "Fine."

"Guys, just stay here, okay? Hopefully, this will let up sometime soon. Sam, help me get some candles."

"Watch your step, Em-"

"Ow!"

"Hey, where's my money?"

"Here, Sethy-poo!"

"'Sethy-poo?'" Paul guffawed from his space on the arm chair.

"Don't laugh," Seth groaned.

"Yeah, why are you even laughing, Pauly-wally?"

"HA! Pauly-wally!" Quil chuckled.

"Quilly-billy, there's no need for teasing," Claire whined, swatting at him. That made everyone laugh even harder than they already were.

"This storm better let up quick, because I do not want to be spending my Saturday night locked in a house with you idiots," Jacob groaned.

"Man, I hear you," Jared sighed.

"That's cause they'd both rather be fucking their girls," Kaden said.

"Umm, hello, there's a young girl in here!" Embry scolded.

"Umm, hello, I know what fuck means. You don't have to cover up your language," Heaven shot back, irritated.

"Ouch," Leah laughed once.

Jazmyn looked around the dark room, and at Leah, who was still staring at the blank TV screen. She finally stood up and sat next to Jacob, leaning on his shoulder. He held her close.

"So...Since we're gonna be here a while, who wants to tell me what Emo Chick over there was talking about?" Heaven asked.

"...Mmm...Embry should be the one to decide that," Claire said, looking up from her phone. "Ugh, there's no freaking reception! I feel like the people in those horror movies I'm always freaking out over. No reception...Then some maniac pops out of the woods and-"

"RAH!"

"AHHHH!" Claire screamed. She grabbed onto Quil. "Not funny, Paul!"

"Was to me," he laughed, as did everyone else in the room. Claire pouted and Quil kissed her cheek with a small chuckle.

"So...Embry," Heaven sat down next to him. He looked at her and grinned.

What can he say? She just had that affect on him.

"Yeah?"

"Got something to tell me, big guy?"

"Oh...Umm..." Embry looked away, stammering a little. Heaven leaned forward.

"You can tell me," she said sweetly. Without a second thought, she felt around for his hand and touched it. She wished she could stare into his eyes, but it was too dark to do it. The only light at that moment was from the window, but it was going away quickly.

Embry glanced at everyone, noticing that they were all staring at him or at each other.

"Well...Umm..." he stammered again. Jazmyn groaned.

"Embry and all the other guys can change into wolves. There," she explained, annoyed. "No way am I telling her about the you-know-what part so you're on your own, Em." Jazmyn pulled Seth up and walked into the kitchen. "Ow!" She moaned, bumping into the dining room table. "That's gonna be a bruise."

Seth picked her up and carried her bridal style into the kitchen, where he sat her on the counter. He opened up the oven, where the brownies were still safely baking...Or...Used to be baking, that is. He took it out and set it on the counter, then hoisted himself on top after getting a knife out of the drawer.

Together, they helped themselves to chocolaty deliciousness.

"I feel kind of bad..." Jazmyn said in between bites. "Keeping all this beautiful food away from everyone."

"Really?"

"...No!"

"That's what I like to hear," Seth chuckled. He got down to go to the refrigerator, where he got out a carton of milk.

"Oh, yes. Surely we shouldn't waste that! It could spoil, you know, since the power is out," Jazmyn said with a nod. "Get two glasses, babe."

"Already have 'em."

"Well this is quite romantic," Jazmyn joked once they were sipping on tall glasses of milk. "Seth, you got a little milk mustache!"

"I do?" Seth looked down, trying to catch a glimpse of his upper lip.

"Right...There!" Jazmyn kissed him and Seth smiled, kissing her back. She was still on the counter and he stood in front of her, allowing her to wrap her legs around his waist.

"Did you get it?" he breathed, pulling away from her for a second.

"I don't think...No, you still got a little there-" She kissed his cheek. "-and...There-" She kissed his jaw. "And...Oh. Almost forgot!" She returned to kissing his lips again, moaning with pleasure.

"I almost forgot about my...Umm..." Emily walked in, holding a flashlight in one hand and a container of scented candles and lighter in the other. She shined the flashlight on the kissing couple, though they weren't phased by this slight interruption. They went right along like she wasn't even there.

"Umm..." she cleared her throat a little bit.

And...They kept going.

Finally she rolled her eyes and flicked her flashlight on and off. Seth saw Emily and his eyes widened. He pulled away from Jazmyn and the both of them stared at her, looking like a couple of deer caught in the headlights.

"Yeah. I have candles...Not that you two needed any. And I forgot about the brown..." She shined her light on the half eaten container of brownies on the counter and the neglected glasses of milk. "...Knees...Okay. I guess I'll just have to break out the crackers. Because you know how much the guys just love crackers."

"Sorry, Em," Seth said quietly. He looked down shyly. Jazmyn looked the other way.

"Oh. Don't mind me. I'm just...Setting up some candles. You know. The usual." Emily took the candles out of the package and started to light them while Seth and Jazmyn looked at the ceiling, the ground...Anywhere but at each other or Emily.

When the candles were lit and cast a yellowish glow across the kitchen, Jazmyn picked up the container and held it out to Emily with a sheepish smile. She took it and grinned.

"I'll just tell them that half burnt up, how about that?"

"You're the best, Emily," Seth smiled at her. He held out the carton of milk.

"Got milk?" Jazmyn shrugged with a wide grin. Seth chuckled and Emily giggled.

"How about you two finish that off. It was my last carton, anyway. When the storm lets up, I'll be sure to get some more."

"Yeah. And label one of them 'Seth and Jazmyn.' You know, just so everyone's clear that that one is ours," Seth joked.

"Will do." Emily walked out of the kitchen.

"So...Where were we?" Seth looked at Jazmyn, who smiled. She stretched her arms out for Seth, and he laced his fingers with hers.

"I think I remember..."

000000000000000000000000

The rest of the brownies were gone in a little under ten minutes.

"So...You guys...Expect me to believe...That you can turn into wolves?" Heaven asked, shining a flashlight around at everybody. They looked at each other and Heaven busted out laughing. "Yeah. Right. I love you guys and your crazy stories. Even got my cousin in on 'em, too. Wow...If you didn't want to tell me that bad, why not tell me the truth?"

It was quiet before Leah said, "Ha. You got us. Always...Joking, and whatnot." She tried to laugh as convincingly as she could, making everyone else laugh with her. She shot a look at Embry, knowing that, even in the darker light, he'd be able to see it. You owe me, she mouthed. He smiled and nodded, happy that he didn't have to share his secret so soon.

"So...What do you guys usually do when you're locked in a house with no power?" Heaven asked, kicking her legs around.

"Try not to kill each other," Leah answered flatly.

"Sweet!" the younger girl giggled. "But...How's about we tell stories? Like..." She shined the flashlight on her face, trying to look as spooky as possible. "Horrific-bloody-gory-terrifying-ones?!"

"I...Prefer the ones with bunnies and flower fields," Claire squeaked, covering her eyes.

"Aww, is little Claire afraid of the dark?" Jazmyn asked, walking back into the living room with Seth.

"No! ...I'm just afraid of what's in the dark!"

"Which is nothing!"

"But us," Jared murmured. Kim elbowed him, looking up afterwards as Seth and Jazmyn made their way into the living room. They sat down on the couch; Jazmyn lying across Seth's lap.

"I have one," Leah said, looking at Heaven. The little girl tossed her the flashlight and Leah shined it on her face. She looked around the room before smiling a little. "Seth's face."

"Ooh. Frightening," Kim shuddered.

"Hey! I resent that!" Jazmyn scoffed. "I happen to think that Seth has a very attractive face."

"Yeah, when you're not sucking on it," Heaven muttered. The guys started to laugh.

"Shut up, Heav."

"Whatever."

"Give me the flashlight. I have one. It's called..." Seth took the flashlight and shined it on himself. "The Day When Leah Ruled the Earth."

"What are you talking about? That sounds like an amazing story! Horror tale my ass," Leah laughed once.

"I don't know, Leah. It does sound a little horrifying," Sam said, shuddering for emphasis.

"I have one! And that's called When The Guys Girlfriends all Formed a Rebellion and No One was Given Sex for a Week," Leah whispered, trying to make herself sound mystifying. "The men stepped out of line, and the ladies just couldn't take it anymore. They locked up their p-"

"LEAH!" Embry yelled, gesturing towards Heaven, who only giggled.

"Now that...Would make one hell of a horror story," Jared said to Leah, which made Kim frown at him. That's when the power came back on, making everyone sigh with relief.

Jazmyn and Seth had been making out again and Heaven screamed.

"Unclean! Unclean! Shield your eyes from the blasphemous sucking leeches in front of you!" She screeched, clapping her hands over her eyes.

"Damn, can we get a moment of peace for once?" Jazmyn scowled, pulling away from Seth. She crossed her arms in a pout. Seth chuckled and looked at the ground, crossing his arms as well.

"I'm gonna head out. Thanks for...Letting us chill here, Em," Kaden nodded.

"What? No 'thank you' for me?" Sam looked at him in mock disbelief.

"Oh. Thanks, Sam," Kaden smiled at him, waved at everyone else, and jogged out the door. Jazmyn looked out the window just in time to see him strip down and phase, carrying his clothes into his mouth. She smirked at how, even with his largeness, the snow went up to his calves. It was clear out, and you could see the stars.

Jazmyn looked at the moon - hanging low in the sky. She looked down at her lap, and sighed, thinking about her dream the other night.

Nat.

He'd come to her, in her dream, and told her that he was a vampire. And then he had told her that she should go with him to...Wherever it was that he wanted her to go with him to.

She lightly touched where he scars were, grimacing a little when she still felt pain. And then it dawned on her.

It hadn't really been a dream.

Nat had been there. With her. Told her he was a...He was a...

She shot up, her eyes wide.

"Whoa there, Jazz," Seth said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him, her mind a mess of thoughts.

Tell him, stupid! Tell him! He can help you!

But that was her brother. Who knows what Seth and his friends could do to him? What he could do to them?

"You okay?"

"Oh. Um. Yeah. That was...Um. Yeah. We...Heaven and I should get going now."

"Okay. I can drive you."

"Y-yeah." Jazmyn stood up without another word and put on her coat, Heaven doing the same before putting on her boots.

"Bye, guys! Thanks for an...Interesting afternoon," Heaven grinned at everyone.

"Come by anytime," Emily smiled and stood up, hugging the little girl goodbye. Sam stood and shook hands with her, mussing up her hair a little.

"Hey! That takes fifteen minutes in the morning!" Heaven giggled.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Sam smirked. "See you again, kiddo."

"Right! Again..." Heaven glanced at Jazmyn, who wasn't even looking at her. She then turned to Embry, who stood up, too.

"I'll...See you around," he shrugged. "Yeah."

"'Kay. Yeah," Heaven giggled and Embry grinned. She hugged him, standing on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around his neck. He looked startled for a second, even looking at Sam as if to ask him for advice. He only rolled his eyes and made a gesture for him to hug her back. Embry did, and Heaven smiled before letting go of him.

"See you guys!" she called before following after her cousin and Seth. She hopped into the back of his truck and looked out the window at the cottage. She smiled when she saw Embry waving at her and waved back until he disappeared when Seth made a left.

She sat back in her seat and smiled at the ceiling.

Hm. Wolves. Those guys kill me.

Jazmyn was silent the whole entire way to her house, which took a long time due to the speed at which Seth was driving.

I just don't want to slip on the ice and get into an accident, gosh.

He glanced at his imprint, whose face was twisted up in deep thought. He sighed and pulled up in front of her house.

"Thanks, Seth!" Heaven called, sliding out the back door. She ran through the lawn, leaving small footprints in the snow. "Gramma, I'm home!" She opened the door and ran in.

Seth smiled at her and then looked back at Jazmyn, who was still sitting in the car.

"Jazz-"

"Oh. See you." She leaned in to kiss him but he stopped her.

"Something's wrong with you."

"It's...Nothing."

"Yeah, it is. It's something."

"No, really."

"Jazmyn."

"Seth."

"You're so hardheaded, I swear."

"Aww, thanks. Gramma says I get it from Daddy."

"Nice to know. You're sure you're fine?"

"Yeah. 'Course. Just...A lot on my mind, is all. No big deal, Sethy."

"Care to share? I got...Fifteen minutes."

"...What?"

"Until patrol. That means I have to-"

"No, no. I mean...You actually care if I'm okay or not?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"...Oh. You're sweet, Seth."

"I know," Seth shrugged and grinned. Jazmyn laughed and kissed him. "I'll be by later, okay?"

"Okay. Window's open. Love you."

"Love you, too."

000000000000000000000000

"Jazz-"

Jazmyn moaned with pleasure, kissing Seth again to shut him up. He pushed her away gently.

"Jazz."

"Mm?"

"What's with you tonight?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're..."

"Problem?"

Seth thought about it and looked at Jazmyn's half naked body.

No.

"Ah-"

"C'mere." She leaned forward and kissed him again. After a few seconds, Seth started kissing her back. He was careful of her scars, as they were still hurting her. Even so, she moved so that she was top of him, placing kisses on his chest and all the way up to his neck.

He felt her hot, minty breath on his cheek as she breathed, "Love me," softly into his ear. He rolled his head to his left, where she had her head on his shoulder. Her ice blue eyes stared into his brown ones with lust and love and he felt himself melt. He was almost powerless against her.

Seth kissed her once and pulled away slowly. He opened his eyes halfway and then kissed her again, more feverishly this time. Suddenly he was on top of her, kissing her with such fervor that it left her in a slight daze.

He pulled the blanket up to cover them, and returned to kissing her. He placed feathery light kisses up and down her body, and she wrapped arms around his neck, closing her eyes and gripping him tight.

Seth looked into his imprint's eyes once again, just as she opened them to reveal the beautiful pool of blue beneath her long lashes. He kissed her again and laid down, pulling her into his side. He could feel her stitches against his bare skin and thought back to when Paul had hurt her.

He hadn't realized he was shaking until Jazmyn put her hand on his chest.

"You're okay," she whispered, kissing his cheek. He smiled at her and kissed her lips again. She pulled away and laid on his chest.

"You were beautiful," he complimented.

"Yeah? You weren't so bad yourself, Hotshot." She started to drift off, and nuzzled deeper into her boyfriend's side, gripping the blanket with her hands. She loved how warm he was; and how she never felt cold when he was around.

With a yawn, she placed one more kiss on his chest.

"I love you...Seth Clearwater," whispered Jazmyn. She smiled and closed her eyes, quickly drifting off to the sweet sound of his heartbeat.