Chapter 10

Answers and Firsts

"So what you're saying is that they can track you without having your scent or anything?" Seth asked.

"Yes." I replied. I had already explained everything to Sam and Paul the previous evening. Mostly everything, anyway. I was technically supposed to be at school, but Paul called me in sick. Sam thought that it would be best to fill everyone in without the kids or wives around.

"How did they get your number in the first place?" Quil asked.

"Apparently, my family has been active these past few days. They got their hands on Rosalie's phone, but not Rosalie. I am having a hard time figuring out how that happened, but..." I answered, shrugging my shoulders.

"That's what I can't figure out, how you knew they didn't have her. That thing made it pretty clear that it was up to—" I gave Paul a frightened look, afraid he would give me away. He just gave a nod, as if to say 'don't worry', and continued his question. Luckily, no one was looking at me. "you to cooperate so that they wouldn't harm her."

"I don't know," I lied, shrugging. Paul was looking at me intently. I averted my eyes, knowing he only wanted to confirm that I would give him answers. "Instinct, I guess. But the threat just seemed empty somehow. I just hope I was right."

"I hate to be saying this, but shouldn't we find a way to contact the vamps. I mean if anything does happen, it could be good to have them, like last time." Seth asked cautiously.

"We can handle ourselves. We're fine on our own." Jake was quick to react. His face was hard.

"What do you mean, like last time? You fought with my family before?" I asked.

Jake and Paul glared at Seth. If looks could kill, Seth would have keeled over in an instant.

"Tell me. It's only fair." I ordered stubbornly.

"How much do you know about Bella's past?" Sam asked. Jake and Paul started.

"Sam." Jake said in a hushed, shaky voice. Paul had his eyes squeezed shut and his hands balled into fists on his knees.

"She has a point, it's only fair." Quil spoke up, holding Jake's arm. Jake shook it off.

"All I know is that she was changed willingly. She was Edward's singer." I began slowly.

"Singer?" Embry asked confused.

"The smell of her blood sang to him. That is the only way to explain it, or so I'm told. That's supposed to be extremely rare for vampires, to find their singers. When it happens, it usually ends in the death of the human, because the temptation is so strong. But Edward loved her too much. He kept himself from doing anything he would regret. She used to live around here, didn't she? Her dad was the police chief or something?" I asked eagerly.

"Still is," Was the grunted response. Jake was the one to reply, which surprised everyone. He was shaking.

"What?" I asked.

"Her dad still is the police chief in Forks. Still gets letters from her, I think. She used to hang out around here. Until she chose to go off with that bastard." Jake said angrily.

I was quiet for a moment putting the pieces together. "You're the one that gave her that charm. The wooden wolf, aren't you?"

He stared right at me, and I stared back. "What?" His voice was shaky.

I pulled up the long chain around my neck. The one I had hidden underneath my shirt. Bella had given me the charms on a necklace for my sixteenth birthday. She'd said that they got in the way when she ran.

"The wolf charm." I repeated. "She gave them to me, for safekeeping. I always wondered who gave her this charm. She would never give me a straight answer." I looked up at him, but he had looked away, his face cold again. He got up and walked out.

I looked to Paul, confused. His eyes were open now and he didn't look quite as tense. He wrapped his hand around mine, showing me that I didn't do anything wrong. A few of the wolves cleared their throats in the silence. Sam quickly broke the quiet with orders.

"The patrol shifts will be doubled for the next few weeks. Just to make sure that nothing is getting close. Paul, you can be Camryn's guard, on the terms we discussed. Make sure everyone knows where everyone else is at all times. We can't afford any mistakes." Sam wrapped up. We all nodded and grunted—well, they grunted; I couldn't exactly pull off the bass rumble just right—our understanding and the room dispersed.

I went back to my room, hoping to be left alone with my thoughts. But Paul followed closely behind, like I knew he would. I was running from him, because confronting my feelings for him and answering his questions would lead me back to a time I didn't want to revisit. He shut the door behind us. I took a deep breath and decided that it was best to just get it over with.

"I know you have a lot of questions about that phone call, and about my past, but I don't understand a lot of it myself. Who knows, you might hate me once you find out." I hurried to explain.

Paul was silent. He sat down at the edge of the bed. I was pacing now. Everything was building up, there was no going back, I realized. I had kept secrets for so long—they were beginning to eat away at me.

"It wasn't instinct that told me Rose was safe. It was their lack of credible information. She called me Camille, not Camryn." I kept going. Paul sat patiently, revealing no emotion. "Before the Cullen's adopted me I was Camille Whalen. I had three older brothers. Beau, Conner, and Hagan." I sighed, smiling sadly. Remembering. "We were all orphans, living in a temporary home before we were sent away to separate foster care families."

"We were planning on running away. So we could stay together, you know. At least I think that's what we were doing, I was only four. Conner was the mastermind, he was the oldest. Hagan was supposed to go first, then I was to follow closely behind him, then Beau, and then Conner."

"The plan got messed up somehow though. Some people came looking for us, so Conner snuck us out. When we were sneaking behind the garbage cans we heard screaming. We were scared out of our minds, so we started to run. I kept looking back because the last time I had seen Conner, he was still inside."

They were faster than me, so Hagan tried to carry me. He tripped a few times and eventually he just told Beau to run ahead, that we would meet him there. But when we got there, Beau wasn't there. Hagan hid me in an alley way; he told me to wait there until he came back with Beau." I paused.

"But no one came back. I waited for what seemed like hours, but minutes always seem like hours to a four year old. It was dark, cold, and I was alone. I kept hearing noises. So I went back, looking. I was stupid, I should have stayed where I was. I should have dealt with my nightmares instead of looking for more."

"That's when I met Jane. In the dark I thought she was Beau. Something was wrong, I knew the moment I saw her, the moment she laughed. That horrible laugh. She had blood on her lips. That's when I heard Beau. He was screaming, like he was in horrible pain." My voice was cracking with emotion.

I was sitting opposite of Paul, hugging my knees, rocking back and forth. He still hadn't reacted the way I thought he would. The only difference in his calm outward appearance was his hands, which were clenched into tight fists. I couldn't bring myself to look at his face.

"She introduced herself, and started to walk towards me. I was frozen. All I could think about was Beau…his screaming." A few tears fell down my cheeks.

"Everything after that is a blur. The Cullens came and saved me. I was terrified of them too, of course. At first, anyway, so I attempted to get away numerous times."I paused.

"Why did they come after you?" Paul asked quietly, his voice sounded strained.

"The Volturi saw us as assets to their organization, and they decided to go against their own way of things to get to us. And when the Cullens caught wind of their plan, they had to act quickly. The Volturi got sloppy in their haste. I was the only survivor. So over time, for my protection, the Cullens changed my name, kept me in hiding, and adopted me." I finished, wiping away what remained of my tears.

Paul stayed silent. He came over, lifted me up, and cradled me in his lap on my bed. He was the first person I had told. My feelings for him were evident now, whether he realized what telling him this meant or not. In telling him, my goals were beginning to shift as well.

"You're safe with me. I won't let any…thing touch you." He said gruffly, his breath tickling my ear.

I lifted my face up. He stared into my eyes, I into his. He brushed the hair out of my face, his hands gentle. His hand was cupped around my face, making me feel like a doll, his hands were so big.

The next thing I knew, he was kissing me. It surprised me at first, but then I gave into it. For the first time ever, I gave into my feelings, fully and completely. I didn't think about the consequences, how it would affect others. It was just the moment, the present, Paul and me, no one else.

The kiss was gentle and sweet, but passionate and earnest all at the same time. Eventually, my hands found themselves wrapped in his short hair, molding me to him. The fingers of his right hand threaded through my own hair, cradling my head. His other was on the small of my back, pulling me closer.

It was my first kiss and it was much better than I had expected. It was also a lot warmer than I had originally planned.