AN: Sorry it took me so long to update! I totally forgot that my family was coming into town to visit. The next chapter may take me a while too since I will be spending time with my family. Happy reading!


CHAPTER EIGHT

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Fallon's ankle was killing her. She had developed a bit of a limp as she'd reached the trees, but that didn't deter her. She would rather break every bone in her body than leave this little girl alone in the woods. They were scary enough after dark, but especially now that she knew something was lurking in the shadows.

"Ramona Grey, get your butt out here!" she hollered.

She pushed through the bushes and continued on, but not before glancing back at the beach. As the trees grew denser and closer together, the beach grew smaller and smaller in the distance. She steadied her erratic breathing, and then yelled, "Mona!"

She thought she heard a muffled response. Forgetting her hurt ankle, she hurried as quickly as she could in the direction of the noise. "Please be her, please be her, please be her," she repeated under her breath like a mantra, struggling to push through the brush.

"I'm here!"

The high-pitched little girl's voice was music to her ears. She pushed the rest of the way through to find Ramona sitting cross-legged on the forest floor with her seashells spread around her. She sighed in relief, picking Ramona up to squeeze her in her arms. "We've been so worried, Mona. How did you get all the way out here?" she asked her.

Mona pointed at something behind her. Fallon turned around just in time to see a man step carefully out of the shadows. "That would be my fault, I'm afraid," the man drawled as he came closer.

Fallon's instincts told her something was definitely wrong, but the niceties taught to her by Paul as a little girl prevented her from being rude. So, with a cautious smile, she asked, "I'm sorry, do I know you?" Her arms tightened around Mona automatically.

"No, I believe this is the first time I've made your acquaintance," he said, adding to Fallon's uneasy feeling. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Marcel Rosier."

He held out his hand. Fallon stared at it stupidly for a second, and then took a tiny step forward to reach out with her own hand. Once he had it in his abnormally cool grasp, he tightened his hold and slowly pulled her forward. "You are a fascinating creature, young Fallon," he murmured, looking down at her with mild interest in his eyes.

"How did—h-how do you know my name?" she stuttered. Her fear made her tongue feel thick in her mouth, making it hard for her to form words.

He didn't respond for a long minute, so Fallon hesitantly looked upwards to see his face. His dashing beauty immediately surprised her. She'd been too afraid to look at him properly before. His skin was pale and pristine, like her mother's china that she'd once found while playing in the attic. She'd never seen blonder hair and bluer eyes than the ones he possessed. He had a model's face, with his high cheekbones and pouty lips, and a long, slender body. He was beautiful, anyone could see it, and yet Fallon wasn't at all attracted to him. She preferred a darker skin tone, messy black hair, bright brown eyes…Embry. Of course, she was describing Embry.

"It's so interesting how many emotions can cross your face in such a short period of time. The human ability to experience such strong emotions is unparalleled by any other species in the world," Marcel said, still gazing curiously at her face.

As if coming out of a trance, Fallon stepped back and withdrew her hand. Ramona was still perched uncomfortably on her hip, so she shifted her to her back. Piggyback style would allow Fallon to run faster if she had to make a quick escape from this weird man. "We better get going," she finally said. She was glad the stammer had gone.

Marcel bowed slightly to her in an oddly old-fashioned way. "Of course," he said graciously. "We don't want your friends to unleash the dogs upon usto search for you." He laughed as though he'd made a funny joke. The sound hurt her ears.

She backed away slowly, still facing him. She knew better than to show her back to a dangerous stranger. Paul had taught her self-defense at the ripe age of ten.

"I will be seeing you," he said, smiling oddly at her. The way he said it conveyed to her that there wasn't a question that they would meet again. It sent shivers down her spine. "Oh, and if you would be so kind to tell your delightful pack of friends that I am anxious to meet them as well." He must have seen the confusion on her face, because he elaborated, "Oh you know those boys. The ones that always act like a bunch of wild dogs, especially that one boy of yours. Embry, I believe is his name. I am very anxious to meet him. After all, he's the reason I'm here. Well, and for you, of course."

Before she could even grasp what he was saying and recognize the sinister undertones, he was gone. She didn't care where he'd gone or how fast he could disappear; she just wanted to get Ramona home.

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Fallon was too tired to even think about the bizarre things the man had said as she slowly made her way back to the beach. Her back ached from the added weight of carrying Ramona, and it didn't help her ankle feel any better, either. Luckily, for once, her brother's freakishly overprotective nature came in handy, because he was suddenly standing before her. Paul must've gone to check on her, only to find her missing.

Wordlessly, he took Ramona from her and put her on his own back. She'd fallen asleep at some point. She looked adorable with her head on his shoulder and her mouth wide open. It was then that the relief of finding her actually sunk in. She never would have forgiven herself if something had happened to her. When Paul swept her off her feet and carried her like a baby in his arms, her natural instinct was to complain and get down. She didn't know if it was because her ankle hurt so badly or because she was feeling guilty for sneaking out, but she didn't say a word.

They reached the beach quickly after Paul picked her up. It was there she started to laugh hysterically. Sam, Jared, Jacob, and Quil stood shoulder-to-shoulder, barebacked, and looking freakishly identical. Even though the sight of them was funny, it wasn't the only reason why she started laughing. The day's events had finally sunk in, and the only thing she could do was laugh. She thought she might cry otherwise.

"Where's Embry?" she blurted, and then immediately regretted. She was so red in the face that she was sure some astronauts in space could see.

"Here," came a husky voice from the shadows of the trees. "I'm here."

Worry immediately set in at the tone of his voice. It was strained and anguished, just barely above a whisper. "Put me down," she told Paul. She was actually a little surprised when he obliged. The sudden weight put on her ankle caused her to buckle and stagger backward. Embry was by her side in an instant, catching her before she'd fallen.

"Embry, I told you to run," barked Sam. "You need to clear your head, get your energy out, and calm down. You're not safe to be around her right now."

"It wasn't an order, so I ignored it," Embry snapped. His arm was still securely around her waist, but she managed to twist around and look up at him in shock. She'd never heard Embry talk that way, but then again she'd never seen him look so scary as he did that one night. There were a lot of things she didn't know about Embry Call. For example, she didn't understand a single word they were saying right now. Words like 'order' and 'not safe' bounced around in her head, but it didn't make any sense.

She tuned back in when Paul said, "Come on, Fall, I'll take you home."

"Um," she started awkwardly, "I guess I have a message for you before we leave; all of you. There was a man with Mona when I found her. He was very peculiar. He said he was excited to meet you guys. Um, I guess that's it." She looked over at Paul and added, "Let's go. I'm exhausted and so is Mona."

It seemed the end of her sentence was unimportant, because they all began talking rapidly at each other while she finished. Embry's grip had become almost painful on her arm and his body had begun to shake. Scared and confused, she tugged at his hand. He didn't seem to notice. His eyes were scanning the trees and his face was twisted into a ferocious scowl. She winced and muttered, "Ouch. Could you loosen your grip?"

Embry immediately let go and slowly started backing away. He looked back and forth between his two hands with disgust. Her skin was a little red from where his hand had been, but the pain had already vanished. It wasn't a big deal, but when she opened her mouth to tell Embry so, she realized he had gone. She looked back at the other boys, more confused than ever.

"Take her to my new place and we'll question her there. It's a more secure location," Sam was saying as she reentered their conversation. He was talking to her brother. "Jared and Quil, go find Embry. Once there are three of you, fan out and search the trees. It probably already got away, but we have to make sure."

After Jared and Quil disappeared into the woods, Sam told Jacob to get Ramona home safely and then to meet them at his house. Paul had picked her up again before she really understood what was wrong. Everything around her was a swirl of motion. It was all happening so fast that it was making her head spin. All the excitement made her light-headed and she soon found that everything had gone fuzzy.

Her last few moments of consciousness had made at least one thing clear. Sam's words were crystal clear: "Do not let her out of your sight, Paul, and do not let her leave my house until I say it's okay. That's an order."

It seemed like the world she so desperately tried to understand, Paul's world, had somehow become her own. And she wouldn't be able to return home until Sam deemed it acceptable. She was a virtually a prisoner and she had absolutely no idea why. Even though all of stressful events of the day were zooming around her mind and cluttering her thoughts, she still managed to picture Embry's face one last time before the world went black.