Thanks for reading everyone! Would love to get this story to 100 reviews before the next chapter!

** Someone messaged me and asked about the imprint between Brady and Lilly, so I just want to clarify a few things!

- Lilly is the ONLY one that does not know about the imprint

- Sam and Emily want Brady to wait until after her eighteenth birthday to tell her about it (though not sure that he'll be able to hold out that long)

- Lilly is 16 and Brady hasn't aged since he was thirteen, so although he is technically a lot older, I don't feel so bad about developing their relationship further in a more, "romantic" direction because of this. So, yes, before the end of this story, they will be more than just "friends".

(If Lilly forgives him for not telling her about the imprint)

Hope that clears everything up for everyone!


Even without my mother here to make sure I wasn't going to "overdo" anything, with the way everyone else was acting, it was as if she was still here.

She had allowed my aunt to coax her and my father out of the house, but not before she had left strict instructions for my "babysitters". I had tried to tell her that I could take care of myself, but she had wanted nothing to do with that. Only when my father had made them promise to call his cell phone should anything go wrong, was he able to get her out the front door.

The house was a lot quieter now and I relished in the comfortable silence. Uncle Seth had gone home to sleep, claiming we were too loud and distracting for him to get any actual shut-eye. He had shook my father's hand, kissed my mother's cheek, and told me not to do anything stupid, before he had promptly jogged out the back door.

I was then left alone with three sullen looking werewolves and my bitchy cousin.

I was doing my best to ignore everyone. I sat in the corner spot on the couch, stretched out with a pillow under my head and a thick blanket over my body. Despite the fact that all the boys ran a toasty 108 degrees, I was always cold. We hardly used the heat in the house, because then it would be like a sauna around here, so whenever it got a little drafty with the cooler outdoor temperatures, I always found myself having to bundle up, even indoors.

Normally, I would have just cuddled up against one of the boys, preferably Brady, but I didn't sense that was an option at this point. Collin was still having a staring contest with Brady's forehead and Quil wouldn't even look in my direction. Which was fine; except I had totally prepared myself for a usual onslaught of jokes about my lacking appearance. It was totally unlike Quil to remain so quiet and somber.

Finally, I couldn't take it any more. I reached across the two cushions between Quil and I to nudge him with my big toe. He jumped, like he'd forgotten where he was and cast a questioning look in my direction.

"What?" he snapped and then immediately looked guilty. His voice had held a lot more bite than I had anticipated and I was suddenly unsure of whether I wanted to get into this right now.

Brady let out a soft growl from across the room. Quil glared at him quickly, before looking back at me.

"What's wrong with everyone?" I exclaimed.

"Nothing," Quil said, looking away. His eyes found the TV, which was playing some old black and white movie.

I crossed my arms. "That's bullshit."

"Lilly," Brady protested quietly. I ignored him.

I waited, staring at Quil. Despite the fact that he was not my favourite person in the entire world, the way he was acting was affecting my family. There was obviously something going on between my cousin and him and although I knew it was none of my business, there was nothing else I was actually allowed to do around here. I might as well play relationship counselor.

"I need to talk to Quil alone," I stated.

Brady immediately shook his head. "No."

Collin was on his feet, though. "Come on, Bray, she'll be fine."

Brady shook his head again and his fingers clenched at his sides. "No, Collin."

Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to look at Brady. I watched emotion swirl in his eyes and his face was drawn and tense. He looked so utterly angry and exhausted that my heart ached.

But, I had to deal with one problem at a time. Quil's attitude was easier to deal with.

"Please, Brady," I whispered.

His shoulders relaxed for a mere moment as he studied my face. After a second, he gave one terse nod at me before he glared at Quil once more. "Five minutes. Don't upset her."

Quil rolled his eyes at him.

Once Collin was able to pull Brady out of the room and out the back door, I turned to face my cousin's boyfriend. He looked tired, probably as tired as I was, and it made him look a lot older. He was fidgety in his spot, like he couldn't get his body to sit still. There was the tell tale start of a tremble in his fingertips and I had to force back the feeling of fear in my gut. Quil might not have been my favourite person, but he had been phasing for a long time. He had good control.

"What's going on with you and my cousin?" I asked him, getting right to the point.

He scrubbed at his face with his fingers. "She's mad at me."

"Why?"

He shot me a look of frustration. "Has anyone ever told you that you're annoying?"

I gritted my teeth to keep from saying something I would regret. "Yes, you have. Now spill, wolf-boy."

He leaned back against the couch heavily. "She's mad because she thinks that if I had picked you up from school the other day, you wouldn't have had to face that leech alone. And then you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

I blinked, surprised. That wasn't what I had expected to come out of his mouth.

"And, I can't tell her any different, because she's probably right."

I opened my mouth and then closed it, unsure of what to say. This was a side of Quil I had never seen before. Quil was never one to take the blame for anything, but he was definitely the one to dish it out. I had been expecting something entirely different to be the source of his discomfort.

"That's not true," I said softly.

He shot me a look and scoffed a bitter laugh. "Come on, Lil. I was supposed to pick you up from school on Friday and I totally bailed because of that leech."

I shrugged, not seeing his point. "You were just doing your job, Quil."

I had been mad at Quil before. When he hadn't picked me up at school the other day, I thought he had simply decided not to just to be a pain in the ass. But, once I'd learned the truth, there was really nothing to blame him about. His job was to protect La Push from uninvited vampires, not to worry about whether his imprint's cousin got home from school in one piece.

"That's just it, though," Quil muttered. "My job was not to go after that leech. My job was to make sure you were safe. And I didn't do that."

I wasn't used to having to reassure someone else. I felt uncomfortable practicing my skills on someone like Quil, whom I wasn't exactly close with. "You didn't know he would show up here. No one did."

He met my gaze then. "Lilly, you and I may not see eye-to-eye all the time, but that doesn't mean I don't care about you. And no matter what you or Embry—or anyone—says about it, this was my fault. I should have picked you up and gotten you somewhere safe and then worried about helping the rest of the pack with the hunt."

I chewed on my lip, stewing on his words a little. I had always been the type of person that tried my best to please everyone. The way Quil was feeling right now was eating up my insides, because I knew it was my fault, not his. It was my fault that I had gotten into it with that vampire and it was my fault that I'd gotten hurt, not Quil's or anyone else's.

So, I told him that.

He stared at me in disbelief. "I don't think you get this whole pack thing, Lil."

I squeezed my fingers together tightly. "Sure, I do. Your job is to protect the tribe from vampires. You chose to go after the threat, who could have hurt anyone on this reservation. He could have hurt several people, even. It makes way more sense to think about protecting the rest of our people, rather than just worrying about me."

Quil looked frustrated, which I didn't understand. "Yeah, but, Lilly you're not just one person. We protect everyone, but imp—" He trailed off, looking away quickly.

I felt even more confused now. "But, what?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Nothing, it's nothing."

I made a frustrated noise. "Quil…"

He reached over to pat my knee absently. "You're probably right, kid. I just wish Claire would feel the same way you do."

I didn't miss how he suddenly changed his tune, but happy to be near a climax to this conversation, I decided to follow his lead. "She'll get over it. Besides, you guys got him, right? So, it's not like anyone has to worry about it anymore."

Quil hesitated and his eyes found the ceiling.

I stared at him, dumbfounded. "Wait," I whispered hoarsely.

Seeing the look of panic begin to grow on my face, he got to his feet, heading towards the kitchen. "I think this is maybe something you should talk to Brady about."

As he disappeared out of the room and towards the backdoor, I felt hot and cold at the same time. My body was shaking and I brought my knees up to my chest, gripping the blanket tightly between my fists. I could hear voices coming closer to me, but I couldn't really focus on what they were saying. My vision was blurry and everything felt really far away. I felt like I was in a tunnel.

"Lilly."

Brady's hand found my chin. His warm fingers squeezed my face softly, demanding my attention. It took me a moment to meet his eyes and when I did, his gaze softened at whatever he saw on my face. Whatever uncomfortable vibe had been fusing between us an hour ago was long gone. I found myself pressed up against his warm chest and his arms came around me as I released a shuddering, shaky breath against his skin.

"You don't have to be scared," Brady murmured instantly. "I'll protect you, sweetheart. I promise."

I squeezed my eyes tightly together, allowing a few tears to sneak out. I wasn't so much scared for myself, though I was terrified of the thought of being left alone with a vampire now—not that I had been so comfortable with the idea before now.

But, as I held onto the boy next to me that seemed to own my heart since the moment I'd known him, I couldn't help but feel absolutely petrified.

Who would protect Brady?


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