Hey everyone! So it's time for the next chapter and I hope you all like it. This is where we really learn about Katelyn and why she is the way she is, so I hope it answers any of your questions. As for questions…. WRITE ME SOME REVIEWS! QUESTIONS YOU HAVE OR JUST PLAIN OLD COMMENTS - PLEASE, I'M BEGGING YOU. I DON'T CARE IF YOU DON'T EVEN LIKE MY STORY, JUST PLEASE GIVE ME SOME FEED BACK.

~ enjoy at will

I shift onto my right side and curl into myself, knees tucked into my chest with one arm covering part of my face. Warm. Safe. Home. I bury deeper into this new bliss and breathe it in. Earthy and refreshing, and strikingly familiar and intoxicating. I pull the blanket down from my face so I can breath in more of this scent, so calming and soothing. I breath deeply and bask in the warmth of my bed. Small pressure lands on my head and runs through my hair. I try and brush it off; I'm probably still half asleep and delusional. But the motion continues. It feels nice, like, it belongs in a way. Like this is how I always wake up, someone stroking my hair. I stop breathing, and I swear my heart stops too. Realization hits me. I'm not alone. Snapping up into a seated position, my eyes lock on the figure sitting on the edge of my bed, arms raised in surrender, eyes pleading and sad. Onyx. What? How? When? What!

I open my mouth to speak some of my questions, but nothing comes out. Embry drops his hands onto his lap and sighs. I look closer and notice his eyes are bloodshot, he's wearing the same clothes as last night. I look down to myself quickly and scream. Loud and broken. "My clothes! You! You-"

Embry jumps off the bed in surprise, hands covering his ears as if they are being attack, which they probably are considering a werewolves heightened senses. "Please! Please don't scream! Let me explain-"

"You toke off my clothes! You looked at me!" I scream, tears filling up my eyes but I refuse to let them spill over. How could this happen? How could he still have broken my heart when I refused to get close to him, when I refused to trust him completely? How am I so stupid and broken?

"No I didn't," he urges. I shake my head viciously and crawl over to the far end of my mattress, as far away as I can get. "I swear to you, I didn't change your clothes. I would never do something like that!"

"Liar!"

"No!" He jumps onto the bed, knelling on the edge, hands thrown up in the air. "Why would I do that? Why don't you believe me?" he screams frantically. My bedroom door slams open and I jump in surprise, falling off my bed onto my wooden floor. I'm on my feet in less then a second, staring between Embry and the intruder. My heart swells and I sprint over to Jessie, shaking in her arms like a frightened child who just witnessed a murder. Her arms wrap around me and press my head into the base of her neck, smoothing out my hair. Her head snaps over to Embry still on my bed. I bury my face deeper into her flesh trying to overshadow his scent with Jessie's.

"I thought I said you could stay if you didn't scare her! Waking up to the guy who made her faint isn't the smartest idea asshole!"

"What?" I pull away from Jessie and back away till my body hits my bedroom wall. "You. You let him stay? You knew how I feel and you-"

"Katelyn honey, it's not like it seems." Jessie takes a step closer only making me shake in fear. I'm honestly vibrating, on the edge of phasing, but who the hell cares. I've got nothing, no one. I shake my head and my tears flood over onto my cheeks, rolling down to my chin and falling to the floor.

"Both of you. You don't care." I whisper.

Embry growls angrily. "Of course I care! You don't give me a chance to show you how much I care!"

"Liar."

"I am not!" I just look at him, vibrating and falling to the floor. Broken. So, so broken. "Why do you keep calling me that? I promised you that I would never hurt you! That I'd never leave you! What more can I say if you don't let me show you?"

"Because you are a liar! They all were, and you're no different!"

"What? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Embry!" Jessie yells. "Don't you-"

"No! Don't you dare start with me Jess! I have every right to know what's going on!" Embry turns his glare back to me on the floor, vibrating and crying. He takes two steps closer and asks, "What do you mean, 'they all were'? Who are they?"

"Everyone," I whimper. "Everyone hurts me. Leaves me."

"Who's everyone?" he asks calmly, taking another step closer.

"My mom!" I cry out, voice thick with tears. "She left me! She left me all alone with him! She was supposed to protect me forever and she left me!"

"You're mom left you?" Embry inquires.

Jessie shakes her head. "She died from breast cancer. It runs in the family." Embry's eyes go wide and his faces pale dramatically. Fear and pain clear in his expression. "Her fath-"

"No!" I scream desperately, curling deeper into myself on the floor. "Don't say that word! He's not! He is not my father. My father died with my mom." I sob on the floor, empty, alone and broken. So broken.

"Who else?" Embry asks quietly. "Who else hurt you?" I shake my head and bury my face into my hands. I have refused to cry for years, the feeling strange and overpowering. I don't even hear him close the distance between us. I suddenly feel warmth on my arm and back, I don't push him away. I can't push him away. My wolf is howling within me for his comfort, but my mind is screaming at the wolf with my past. I truly am broken, I don't have the strength or the will to fight back or even react. Embry's warmth radiates through me and I am faintly aware of the fact that he's now sitting besides me and curling me into his lap. Like a life sized rag doll, I am tucked into his chest, one arm securing me in place around my middle, and another cradling my head into his chest. Slowly, side to side, Embry rocks me, and occasionally brushes my tears from my face. His warmth and scent fills my hollowness and gradually my crying and convulsing ceases. "Katelyn." I sit in his warmth, still not able to move or speak on my own. "Who else hurt you?" His voice whispers gently into my ear, tickling my skin and awakening my senses. It feels so right. Like I'm truly home in his arms. I belong here, fitting perfectly against his chest and held by his arms. I was made for him.

"Devon," I breathe. "He promised to come back and take me away… He never came back…. And Emma… She promised to stay by my side, but…. I… I let her die…. And the rest of them. I let my pack die. I couldn't protect them…. Bad alpha… Stupid, broken alpha."

"No," his voice is stern. "Not bad, stupid or broken. You never are, never were, and never will be. I don't know what happened, but I can garuntee you that whatever happened was not your fault." He inhales a shaky breathe, calming down and inhaling my scent, dragging me closer into his chest, not that I object. No one ever told me that something wasn't my fault. No one ever truly consoled me before. I snuggle deeper into his warmth. "Who else?"

I inhale his scent deeply, calming down as best as possible. "School… They never liked me… always beat me up and yell at me… didn't know what I did wrong…. I didn't belong…. wasn't ever wanted."

Embry growls, cutting me off and silencing my flow of words. "You belong here. With me. Anyone who hurts you must pay." He growls again and starts vibrating, fighting off a phase. My arm twitches to life and grasps his hand around my middle. He gains back his self control and pulls me tighter, if it's even possible, to his chest. "Sorry about that."

"I'm not."

Embry gasps. "But I-. I almost, you know-"

"She's not mad because of why. You care about her. A lot, and she's starting to see it now," Jessie explains for me. I feel Embry nod against my head. His head rests atop mine and we breath in each others scents, calming down and soothing each other. "You understand why she couldn't trust you before? With all the shit my little cousin lived through she can't trust people like you and I can. Almost from when she was born people have been hurting her, leaving her, using her. Her own fa-. He was when it started. I knew about it, but I was too young at the time and wasn't around enough to make a difference."

"What exactly did he do?" Jessie chokes back a sob and I hear her turn around. I look up from Embry's chest and see her tears sliding down her face. "What happened Jessie. Please, I need to know?"

"He beat me." The moment the words left my mouth, everything stopped and went silent. "He beat me, cut me, broke me, burned me. And he- he." Jessie turns around, rage and despair etched on her face, tears streaming down her pretty face, smudging her makeup.

"He raped her! He got her pregnant! Then he raped her some more! The fucking bastard! The sick, disgusting, piece of-"

"Jessie." She glances down to me and drops to the floor. "It's over. I got away." I climb out of Embry's lifeless arms and crawl over to my sobbing cousin. "You tried and couldn't beat him. I got away. I ran far, far away. I'm safe now." Jessie nods her head and wipes at her tears.

"I need to go get ready for work." She staggers out the door and climbs my stair case, escaping my view. I turn around and stare at Embry's lifeless form. I whimper at his emptiness and his head snaps over to me. In a moment Embry's arms are crushing me to his body, a deep growl building in his chest.

"Embry," I sob. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I am so sorry. Please, please forgive me! I tried to make him stop, but I couldn't. Please Emb-" His hot lips crash down on mine and empty my head. Nothing but his warmth, taste, breath, lips fill my mind. I feel myself melting into him as his arms hold me up.

He pulls away needing to breathe and buries his face into my neck and growls, "Mine!" I pant and my hands snake up to his neck. He looks up at me and his eyes burn into mine. I close my eyes and tilt my head back, waiting for him to kiss me again. He doesn't fail me. His hot lips catch mine and I fade into bliss. Not as urgent as before, but passionate. Perfect. This time I pull away for air and stare up at him through hazy eyes.

"You understand now? Why I always avoided you?"

His eyes drop and nods. "But didn't you feel it? The need to be with me? That we belong together?" I nod. "Didn't you trust me? Even a little?"

"My heart did. My mind didn't. I was too afraid that you would leave me. That you'd break my heart." Embry whimpers and I bury my face into his neck, hiding from his face. "I still am."

Embry chokes a bit and tries to lift my face up from his neck so he can look into my eyes, but I wont allow him. Sighing, Embry gives up and just holds me against him. I know that I'm a werewolf and all, but Embry and the others are hotter. He feels hot to me, but not uncomfortably so. He runs at 108 degrees while I only hit 105. Not as extreme as the other wolves, but enough to cause speculation. That's not the only difference among us apparently. When they change, the go through intense growth spurts while I didn't. I had to be infected with the virus so it took longer for the transformation and first phase to take place while the wolves happen relatively quickly. I must have been 'sick' for about a week before I changed. I also don't have as strong of senses. My pack had each strengthened their senses with one sense being stronger then the rest. I have a very strong sense of hearing, more so then Sam's pack, but my sense of smell, taste, and sight aren't as strong as theirs.

"I don't want you to be afraid of me. I want you to trust me completely, because you can. There isn't anything for you to be afraid of when it come to me. To us."

"See. There you go again with the lying."

"What are you talking about?"

"What if I did trust you, and love you completely? What if I gave in to my imprint? What if that happened and something happened to you? What if you died?"

"That wont happen."

"How do you know?" I cry out.

"Because," he states simply. "I have to come back to you don't I? I have to live for you. Not even death would be able to keep me from your side."

I wrap my arms tight around him and bury my face into his neck. I feel myself panting and tears falling from my eyes again. "You're the only person who has made me cry in over ten years."

Embry holds me close and leans over so his mouth is next to my ear. His breath tickles the skin and trails down my neck, making me shiver. "Is that bad?"

I shake my head against his head and look up into his onyx eyes. "No." His hands cradle my face and his thumbs brush away my tears. Once my face was tear free and to his satisfaction, he looks me in the eyes and kisses me gently on the lips.

"Good."

I nod my head, "Very good." He chuckles. Lifting me up, Embry walks us over to my bed and places me down on the mattress, both hands on either side of my hips. "You stayed all night." It isn't a question. He nods his head. "Why?"

He looks at me like the answer is obvious. "Because you're my imprint, and I love you. Seeing you pass out cold scared me half to death, and you didn't wake up. I had to beg Jessie from kicking me out so I could watch over you, make sure you were alright." I nod my head and tears prick at my eyes again. His face softens and presses his forehead to mine. "Please don't cry." His voice sounds pained and it tears at my soul, my very broken soul, my soul that's beginning to finally heal. "I want you to be smiling all the time. I want you to be happy."

"I am," I say, my voice shaky. "I don't think I've ever been this happy before. I haven't even been semi happy probably since before my mom." Embry grips the blankets and leans his forehead against mine more, pushing back a bit. He sighs deeply and I feel his breath wash over my face, rich, earthy and intoxicating. My hands reach up to his face, pulling his lips closer to mine. My lips brush his and each kiss I swear is getting more and more intoxicating. That's what Embry is. Intoxicating. It explains him and everything he does perfectly. Somewhere along the line I realize that I'm on my back with Embry hovering over me, none of his weight on me, but close enough to feel the warmth. His teeth gently nibble my bottom lip and I groan with pleasure. He pulls away and chuckles, kisses scattering down my jaw. Impatient, I pull his lips back up to mine and follow his example. I nibble on his lip and he groans like I had. I pull away for him to understand how truly irritating it was for me. His face doesn't fail. Confused and annoyed. "You don't like it either, huh?" His smile is answer enough and very contagious. I smile in return, a true, happy smile. A smile I don't ever remember doing before.

Embry leans over to my ear and whispers, "You should smile more. You look even more beautiful." His words have the strangest reaction. My face heats up, almost like it's on fire, uncomfortable but not painful. "You're blushing."

"What?" I ask. I don't blush. I have never blushed before. His fingers trail down my cheek, feeling the heat in my face.

"It's highly adorable." My breath catches in my throat and he chuckles. Kissing me gently, Embry rolls over to his back, laying beside me. I lay on my side and stare at him. He has a beautiful profile, my eyes scan over the contours of his figure and face. Without even looking at me, his arm comes around me and drags me over to his side, head resting on his shoulder, one arm resting on his chest, body pressed up against his side. "You're making me so happy." I smile and nuzzle into his shoulder, getting comfortable. He yawns and turns his head so he can see me through his sleepy eyes. I frown. "What?" he asks confused.

"You didn't sleep at all." Embry opens his mouth to contradict me but I cut him off. "Don't you lie to me. Or say that you're fine. You need to sleep."

His frown deepens. "But that means I have to leave."

I raise an eyebrow. "Why would you have to leave?" His smile returns and he kisses my forehead. My hand moves over to the base of his neck and my knee is laying slightly atop his leg.

"You sure you wont mind?"

"Positive." I close my eyes and listen to his even breathing, to the beating of his heart, and together, we drift off into a peaceful sleep.