Part two…

Thank you guys.

Disclaimer: I own Bryce, Avril, Emmeline, Tristan, Adele, Nick, Daniel, Jamie, Chase, and some of the pack.

Bryce's POV.

So Bigfoot was my cousin.

What a small world.

I still couldn't see him as family. I didn't like him at all.

Well, in that aspect, actually, I could see him as family. I didn't like my family at all.

Except for Avril, who at the moment wouldn't get out of bed.

I sat on the edge of her bed, silent. She was sleeping, or in whatever dormant state vampires could enter.

She was depressed. It was pretty obvious.

She hadn't really said anything since she…killed…the guy at the hospital

I frowned at the word "kill." It didn't seem right. Avril wouldn't hurt anyone.

But obviously, being a bloodsucker could change a lot of things.

I looked down at my hands, bored.

There was so much to be done, so many problems, so many issues yearning to be resolved. It bugged me. I shouldn't just be sitting here.

But I didn't know how to fix anything.

We had five days until we were going after the Edison Group, to destroy them, to stop them from hurting, killing people. People who had no reason to be killed.

Or mutated, changed by some chemical, their lives ruined. Being changed against their will into some freak creature who hurt others without warning or intention.

Like Avril and I.

We only had five days to learn how to totally wipe them off the radar, and here I was, sitting on my ass.

I sighed, and stood.

I ran my fingers through my hair, and scanned the hotel room.

Not finding anything particularly interesting, I turned back to look at the bed.

Avril was still asleep. She wouldn't know if I just went to find out when we were going to start training.

I made my way to the door, unlocked it, and opened it. A blast of air came swooping in the room, and blew forcefully against me.

I sucked in a breath of surprise.

What the..?

I strained to keep the door open and move forward. I bit my lip, and cursed under my breath.

I attempted to take a step, but my foot slipped. I quickly fixed my footing, but even with the little time my feet were pushed back a little farther back. I strained my muscles against the force.

Damn, what was it, hurricane season?

Your nowhere near the ocean, stupid. I remembered.

Tornado, then.

Inside?

Then out of nowhere, all at once, then winds stopped

The door creaked, but then stood still in my iron grip. Slowly, I raised my head up. I hadn't even realized I had lowered it in defense against the strong breeze.

Steadily, I straightened out my legs and stood.

Chest heaving, I turned around to look back into the hotel room to the bed.

No movement.

How could Avril still be asleep?

She must be really upset, I thought.

Best to let her be…

I turned toward the door again, but hesitated.

What the hell had just happened?

I slowly walked to the door, waiting for another blast to hit me.

But one didn't come.

I took a step, and a step, and another step until I was halfway outside, halfway still inside the hotel room.

I peeked my head out of the room and looked down the hall.

I glanced to the right first, finding nothing out of the ordinary. No damage, nothing knocked over. I furrowed my brows in confusion.

"See? Your getting stronger."

I raised my head up at the voice.

"..Yeah, but not at strong as you.."

The voices were coming from my left.

I turned and looked down the left side of the hallway, but nothing was there either.

Maybe if I traveled a little further down…

I closed the door all the way, and I started to proceed down the corridor.

Further and further I went down, the more evident and evident the voices became…

"..You'll learn. Training is later and Kit can help you even more.."

"We only have five days!"

I stopped in my tracks and looked down the hallway, my eyes traveling down the blue carpet that graced the floors.

No one.

I looked to each door.

Still nothing and no one.

The hell…..?

"….Ha!….watch this…"

The voice was almost right in my ear.

I whirled around.

It sounded just like….

I turned around quickly when I felt a presence behind me.

And let out a squeal that I was quiet ashamed of when I came face to face with a girl.

I tripped backwards and almost fell over.

Then, once I caught my footing again, I looked up, ready to face the wrath of-

Tori,

leaned over, gripping her stomach, laughing hysterically. Her face scrunched up and red from laughing so much.

Simon, who was standing over her shoulder, was laughing too, but not nearly as hard.

Immediately as my suspicions were proven correct, as soon as I saw Tori's face red with laughter, my face turned red too.

With embarrassment.

"What the fu - hel-" I stuttered, trying to sound aggressive but coming off confused.

Tori tried to stifle a few giggles as she asked "Wha-what's a fu-hel?"

"Shut up." I huffed and I lifted myself off the ground, and brushed off imaginary dust from my shirt, desperate for a distraction.

"Someone's embarrassed." Simon sing-songed, smiling like an idiot.

Idiot.

"I thought I said shut up." I barked, and shot him a deadly look that said if he dared to open his damn mouth again, I wouldn't have an issue shutting it permanently.

Tori stopped laughing.

"Woah, woah." She turned to me, her face suddenly becoming serious. She looked focused, her dark hair tucked behind her left ear…the way her eyebrows slightly slanted down…the landscape of her face…her delicate cheeks, pink from the previous hysteria…

"Cool it, hot stuff." She said, looking me dead in the eye.

Since when was she so close to me?

For some strange reason, a little thrill ran through my body. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. But not from my anger, not from Simon.

From the strange feeling Tori was giving me.

Ah, witches and all their crappy magic.

That's what it had to be-some witch trick.

….Right?

She turned back to Simon, and I couldn't resist myself…I had to take her all in.

Grey sweatpants covering her from ankle to her bellybutton…then a simple white t shirt covered from there, up to her shoulders.

Why was I checking Tori out? I shook my head fiercely.

"See, it's not that hard. At practice tonight, were going to use that. It'll be our one - and most likely only - advantage against those humorous werewolves."

Simon nodded, his face as serious as Tori's after my threat.

I was glad the message got across.

"You coming to practice?" Tori turned back to me and asked.

I eyed her face as I murmured a "yeah."

She shook her head up and down, nodding, her eyes seemingly distracted on my face. "Good." she said, her voice and eyes distant, lost.

Yeah, sure, she's lost in your eyes.

I mentally kicked myself.

"Hey is Avril ok?" Simon asked, his voice breaking the eye contact between Tori and I.

I made a note to strangle that kid later.

I reluctantly looked past Tori's shoulder to Simon, his blond hair messy, his lips turned down in a worried frown.

A strange look was on his face.

Concern?

"Yeah." I repeated, this time louder so he could hear.

"Can I….uh…." Simon looked down and scratched the back of his head nervously, I guessed looking for a distraction.

"Go see your vampire lover?" Tori cut in, crossing her arms.

Simon's face got red. "Hey, hey, hey, who ever said we were lovers?" Now he crossed his arms and furrowed his brows, the action obviously trying to take away from his embarrassment.

I rolled my eyes at the whole cliché scene.

"Really?" I asked, my tone a little more annoyed than I really was.

But don't get me wrong, I was annoyed.

"What?" Simon asked, his tone with as much bite as mine was.

"Whatever. She's in our room." I pointed behind me.

Simon rolled his eyes, trying to show us how much he didn't care, but we knew as soon as he walked past me his expression would relax and his thoughts would turn back to my sister.

He started sauntering past Tori, who also rolled her eyes. As he passed me, I shouted, "Hey, if you can't find the room, I'm sure you could use some of your hocus pocus to locate it, Harry Potter!"

I smirked.

Simon stopped.

"Yeah, well, at least I'm not a killer."

And he walked away.

Now, you'd think a lame come back like that wouldn't do a thing to a guy like me.

You'd think id just bounce off. Ya' know, a kinda 'I am rubber and you are glue' situation.

Well, it didn't.

It kinda hurt.

My face must've given something away to Tori, because her face scrunched up in worry and she asked "Hey, are you ok?"

I realized the smirk on my face had fallen into some kind of broken, misshapen thing.

I restored my features into a mask.

Give nothing away.

"Yeah, why I wouldn't I be?" I asked, snorting from the stupidity of the idea of me not being fine.

My tone was strong enough. The snort was convincing. If I were her, I'd buy it, and let the matter die.

Anyone normal would just let the matter die.

But not Tori.

She just looked into my eyes again, the strange way she had before.

My heart rate increased.

No was the word reeling through my mind.

You CANNOT like Tori. She's a witch. And as soon as this is over, your leaving, remember? No attachments. Don't get involved. Seen and not heard.

I knew all this. And yet….

Yet I couldn't help myself.

I liked everything about her, without knowing everything about her.

It was….odd.

Like….even if she told me she was planning on killing me in my sleep…or if she told me she had a sixth toe on one foot…..I wouldn't stop liking her.

Knock it off!

"You know…." She sighed, and looked down at the floor for a moment.

"Bryce, you really need to quit that." She looked at me so honestly, so full of truth, it burned me.

"Q..quit what?" I asked, then swallowed. Why did my throat suddenly feel so dry?

"Putting on that brave face." She said, her voice low. "It's not fooling anyone, especially not me. I know your scared. And hurt." She added.

Usually, I would've just protested again.

But I couldn't. I didn't know what to say.

No, it wasn't that I didn't no what to say…it was more like I literally had nothing to say. I couldn't protest or make excuses.

She saw right into me. She knew me.

And that scared me.

She waited for a response, and after a minute or two of just staring at me, waiting, she gave up and sighed.

"Bryce…" She backed away, walking backwards, but still keeping her eyes on me. "If you ever need to talk….you…..you can come to me…..ok?" She said.

And in that instant, I felt something different.

Different from anything I'd felt in a while.

After Tori had turned around with one more meaningful glance, and walked away, I realized what that different feeling actually felt like. Why it seemed like a distant memory.

The feeling Tori had given me was the feeling of being alive.

Chloe's POV.

I watched the blurred trees and filed pass us by as we drove in the car, watched them blur as one big blob of green and brown and yellow, rushing past us.

We actually weren't going that fast, because the werewolves' car was surprisingly slow in front of us, leading us to the supposedly "perfect" place for our practice.

Derek, who was sitting beside me, his arms encircling me, didn't want me to come to practice.

Because of the babies.

But I had protested. No one knew of the babies. What would my excuse be? Oh, little baby Chloe is sick? Didn't feel well?

No, that would be immensely stupid. I was going to practice. Not just because I wanted to cover up my pregnancy for what little time I could, but because I needed to learn how to fight. And fight well.

Even after the big battle, the knowledge could still be useful. I might have to fight Derek if he found out I was coming with him to the pack.

Plus, Avril and Simon had already stayed back with the 'I don't feel well' excuse, as well as Aunt Lauren, who had stayed back with them to supposedly "research" (about what was unknown, we hadn't seen her much at all lately, she would stay in her room, quiet, typing away at her laptop…the last time I'd seen her was when she entered her room. Since then, Kit had been the only one to speak to her.)

Derek had given Simon some hell over staying, until Simon explained that it was Avril who didn't feel well, and that someone had to stay back with her.

Derek didn't bother Simon about it after then.

Because if it were me, he'd do the same.

"You ok?"

Derek's breath was hot in my ear and along my neck, giving me gooseflesh. I shivered.

"Yeah." I whispered back. I turned from studying the blobs outside around to Derek, who was so close to my face….I could practically dive into his green, green eyes….

He bent down and gave me a peck on the lips.

I closed my eyes after his lips left mine, and I let the wonderful sensation ripple through me, let the sweetness course under my skin.

It was all I could do not to sigh.

When I opened my eyes again, I stared back out the window, playing the game where you see how long you can focus on one object, before the car passes it totally.

But as my eyes followed and focused, my mind wandered and drifted.

No body knew I was pregnant.

Not even Tori.

Part of me felt guilty for not telling Tori.

I mean, I was the first one who knew when she was pregnant. And we were practically sisters now.

She was my best friend.

Ever.

I looked down at my stomach as the van jostled us around on the bumpy road.

I had to tell her.

I had to tell somebody.

Tori, herself, was sitting in the back of the van, which was now custom, considering she usually had the children with her. But now, the two were back at the hotel with Simon and Avril.

I turned back to casually glance at her.

She didn't notice me; just kept absent-mindedly gazing out of the window, wringing her hands, her mind most likely on her kids.

After a second of studying her sleep-deprived features, I turned forward again, Derek squeezing me closer, tighter. I surrendered, and snuggled up into his warm arms, not just because it felt so good, so right, but because, in his mind, this was one of the last times I would be able to cuddle in his arms.

Let him think that. Even if there's no way I would let it happen.

Adele was sitting on the left side of the car seat, to which Derek and I were seated right. She was seemingly far from us, squished up by the window, head in her hands, looking gloomily out the window as Tori was.

Remaining in Derek's arms, engulfed in the warmth of his body-heat, I glanced at her as well, only to find her in the same position she'd been in since we'd piled on in the van:

All I could see of Adele was her back, covered by the same blue hoodie she'd worn when we first met, and her black hair pulled up into a pony tail.

I wondered what was running through her mind at the moment, out of the many possible thoughts that could be occurring.

Maybe she was also thinking of her grandchildren, back at the hotel with Simon and the apparently ill Avril.

Maybe she was considering the danger we were in. The danger we were always in. And always would be. Because we're supernaturals. And as long as she's involved in that world, she'll always be in danger.

Just as we always will be.

I closed my eyes and snuggled deeper into Derek, enjoying the feeling of comfort he always gave me, the feeling of being so safe when we were in so much-

There was a digital bleeping noise. My eyes flashed open, and my attention headed toward Kit, from which the sound was coming.

"Oh…" Kit muttered, torn between keeping his focus on driving, and on answering his ringing cell phone. He looked from his pocket to the road ahead.

"Bryce?" Kit asked, turning to Bryce quickly, who was slugging down in the passenger seat lazily. Because everyone knew he was just oh-so-cool, and cool kids don't sit in chairs properly.

I stopped myself with that insulting thought.

I was starting to sound like a bitter grandmother.

"Can you grab my phone? Its just here in my pocket-" Kit glanced toward where he was speaking.

"Uh…" Bryce muttered awkwardly, as if waking up from a nap, or from a trance.

"That…area is a little….personal, don't you think, pops?" Bryce ambled on, his tone rather uncomfortable.

"Just grab it." Kit said, trying to keep his focus on driving so he wouldn't kill us all.

Although, the road was pretty barren, and to drive dangerously here would be to drive head on into a tree.

"That's what she said…" I heard Tori mutter from the backseat.

I started to laugh, but then Derek put a finger to my lips, reminding me this was not the time or place for inappropriate jokes. I swallowed; He was right.

He turned and shot Tori a look.

"What?' I heard her ask, annoyance creeping into her previously distant tone. "Chloe obviously thought it was funny…." She trailed off, her tone becoming distant once more.

"But-" Bryce protested, interceding Tori's last comment.

"Bryce, this could be life or death," Kit said, trying not to get mad at how childish Bryce was acting.

Bryce must've realized how childish he was, too, because he shut up, reached across into Kit's pocket, and pulled out the silver cell phone. Kit pulled his hand away from the wheel for a moment, Bryce laid the cell in his palm, and Kit quickly flipped it open, and answered.

"Y'ello?" He said into the cell. The car filled with dead silence, everyone within it, anxious.

Now a days, one phone call could change everything, for better, or for worse.

Kit was quiet for about a minute, and the car slowed as he listened. He hesitated, struggling for words before he finally answered the caller with a

"…wait….why-how-what?" He screeched, panic-stricken.

Derek stiffened.

Adele pulled away from the window to look at Kit.

Bryce sat up straight.

Tori moved forward, toward Derek and I, anxiously.

I pulled myself out of Derek's arms.

The car came to almost a crawl now, as Kit listened for another minute to a loud, familiar, anxious voice, shouting, obviously upset on the other line-

I caught my breath as I recognized it.

Simon.

Suddenly, Kit swirled the steering wheel quickly with his hands, turning it the opposite way, jerking all of us against doors. Adele came flying down on top of Derek and I, screeching as she slid.

Tori in the back cursed as she hit the window opposite of where she was sitting.

"WHAT HAPPENED? WHAT DO YOU MEAN, SHE WAS LIKE THAT WHEN YOU- " Kit barked quickly, worriedly into the phone and he jostled us around, turning the car quickly, so that it almost slid out of control. Derek grabbed me and held me tightly, afraid of the damage that might occur to me…or the babies…

"DAD!" Derek barked, using the same tone Kit was, desperately trying to get his attention. I clung onto him for dear life.

Kit ignored everyone else in the car.

The van came to a jerky stop, lying sideways on the street. If any car came, it would pound right into the middle of the van. Right where Derek, Adele and I were seated.

Then, Kits hands moved wildly on the wheel, and he surged the car forward fast, driving us off the road, onto the green, wet grass, and closer and closet to the trees, the forest approaching quickly-

He slammed the breaks.

Heart pounding, breath shaky, still clutched to Derek, my head spun as Kit shifted the car into park.

Immediately, Derek, Tori, and Adele were on Kit.

"WHATS GOING ON-" -Derek

"ARE YOU FRIGGIN INSANE? WE COULD'VE DIED! DIED! AND-" - Tori

"KIT, WHATS HAPPENING? WHO'S ON THE PHONE-" Adele.

They all spoke at once, the words loud, jumbled. I wondered how I could even make sense of what each was saying.

Kit, yet still, ignored everyone, flung the car door open, and stormed out, toward the forest, which wasn't yet three feet from us.

When he left, the car was silent for a moment as we all watched him pace, his mouth open, yelling into the phone. We could see his eyes fogging up, and soon, tears starting to form.

"Oh my God," Tori breathed, her voice shaking, as if on the edge of tears.

I was shaking, still from the crazy, gut wrenching whirl we had taken. What had happened? Was someone hurt? Was Simon ok?

"It was Simon," I blurted out. Adele stared at me for a second, and then Derek nodded, slowly. Bryce turned around to glance at me as he said, "It was. I heard him, too."

"Oh!" Tori let out a breath.

Derek pulled away from me, and wrenched open the door, the got out, following after Kit.

Without even thinking, I did the same.

As I hopped out of the car, one little detail from what Kit had said bugged me, nagged me-

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, SHE-"

SHE.

She.

She.

Simon was concerned about a she.

There were three shes with him.

Emmeline. Avril. Aunt Lauren.

Derek marched toward Kit, and letting the cold air blast against my jean jacket, against my hair and my face, I did the same, running toward them both, Kit just hanging up his phone, his face stone-like: revealing nothing. Nothing but utter shock.

I could hear the footsteps of the others, padding on the ground behind me just as I reached Kit and Derek, my breath puffing, my adrenaline still runing from the car spin.

"Wha-What's-" I put my hands on my knees and bent over, my stomach churning as if I was going to throw up. My chest felt heavy.

"Kit," Derek said roughly, and shook him, but the man's face remained in awe, shocked, fear in his eyes.

Loss clouding his features.

Someone approached from behind, but I didn't look. My focus was on Kit, and trying to pull something out of him, anything, anything to know if Emmeline….if Avril….if Aunt Lauren was ok.

I suddenly felt a pang of grief. I hadn't even thought of Aunt Lauren lately. That wasn't like me. I wasn't the kind to forget my own kin, to move on to the company of total strangers, leaving family behind-

Yet, I had.

When I get home, I'll talk to her, I mentally noted as Tori rushed over to Kit's side.

"K-Kit, tell m-m-me Emmie is okay, tell me-" Tori couldn't finish the sentence, her face crumpled with fear and she started to tremble, hands shaking, clutching at her shirt, toward her heart.

Kit, slowly, looked over to Tori, his mask of shock staying put. He just stared at her.

Tori took that as a yes and burst into tears, clutching her stomach, her earsplitting, heart-rending sobs crying out loudly.

I rushed over to her side, shaking.

No. Emmeline couldn't be hurt. Couldn't be…..

I held Tori in my arms, letting her cry into me, but the weight of her body on mine was overbearing and I almost collapsed. I could see Bryce, behind Tori, just standing, helpless, looking as if he wanted to do something, but he couldn't, seemingly frozen in his place-

Tori's shoulders shook, and her tears ran down my neck as I tried to fathom the fact Emmeline was…..was….was she…dead?

I didn't react. I just didn't. I couldn't believe it. Couldn't.

Derek looked over at us, sorrow filling his eyes, and started to make his way to us, but before he could even take a step, Kit, slowly, reached out his hand to Derek, and laid it on his chest.

Derek, startled and anxious, turned to Kit, who was now looking at his son with grief in his eyes. I tried to keep the still-crying Tori up while I ogled at the two.

"No." Kit said, simply. Derek's brows furrowed.

Tori let a deep cry out, when Kit walked a few paces toward us, laid a hand on her shoulder, and repeated, in the same tone,

"No."

Tori stopped crying, lifted herself up from my grasp, and stared, confused, at Kit.

"No?" Derek asked, shaking his head slightly, trying to make sense of his babblings.

Kit looked Tori dead in the eye.

"No. Not Emmeline." Kit said slowly.

Relief washed through me, quenching the fire-like tension and dark depression I hadn't even realized had seized me, engulfed me internally. It was as if a giant weight had been lifted-and It was evident on Tori's face.

She stood, took a few steadying breaths, then, with a sniffle, asked the question we all wanted so desperately to be answered- "Then….then who? Who's hurt?"

Kit looked distant again, though sounded normal when he answered "Not hurt. D….Dead."

Derek looked at me. I looked at him back, in alarm, my chest being seized up once again by fear. There was a knot in my stomach that had been placed there since the phone call in the car, and it hadn't once faltered since.

Bryce suddenly seemed to spring to life, rushing toward Kit, obviously worried if it was Avril-

Kit's reflexes seemed to have snapped back, and he whirled toward the boy. "No." He said to him too, and Bryce seemed to relax.

So….it wasn't Emmeline….or Avril….

I don't know why it took so long for me to realize who had died.

Maybe it was because I didn't want to realize it, didn't want to believe it. I couldn't. Wouldn't.

I was pondering who it could be when Kit turned to me, tears forming in his eyes. Derek came up to me and gripped my hand. I looked up at the both of them, confused.

"It's Lauren, Chloe," Kit said.

"Lauren is dead."

Avril's P.O.V.

"Shhhh, shhhhh." I bounced Emmeline on my hip, trying to calm the child as well as myself.

Dead? How could she be dead? Who just….drops dead?

It didn't make sense.

"Simon!" I called as I spotted him, rushing toward him in the lobby. He turned to the sound of his name, and rushed over to me, as well.

As foolish as it was, at the moment, and inappropriate as well, just the sight of him coming towards me gave me butterflies…

"Chloe's Aunt…" I breathed, still bouncing Emmeline.

For a reason unknown to me, hairs on my neck started to raise slowly, as well as gooseflesh on my arm.

Was it just Simon, who was solemnly nodding? Or was it something else?

"We can't tell anyone," Simon said softly, caressing Emmelines cheek now that her wailing had ceased and her tears had dried.

I paused for a minute, thinking. Why couldn't we tell anyone? Weren't we supposed to call the cops, or…?

But this was beyond the police's control. Simon was right. We'd have to deal with it.

Simon eyed my face for a minute, then, shyly murmured "I have to go….check on…." he swallowed. "The body." he finally said, grimly. The seriousness of this finally dawned on me, and I nodded, gripping Emmeline tightly to me once more.

Simon looked away as he said "Stay here, in the lobby, and wait for them. It'll probably come back. No, he will. So stay and wait for them, ok?"

I nodded once more, and Simon sighed, then turned away.

I watched Simon walk away, then, feeling as if I was being watched, I whirled around, careful to support Emmeline so she didn't cry once again.

I thought I'd find no one watching. I thought maybe it was just my imagination.

It wasn't.

Someone was watching.

Staring.

And older man, but not an old man, maybe in his fifties was staring. Just standing in the middle of the lobby, staring.

It wasn't creepy, really. You'd think it would be, but to me, it wasn't. The man was too good looking to be creepy.

A little voice in my head warned looks can be deceiving.

It wasn't creepy, though.

It was just odd.

It got even odder as the man quickly walked toward me. I stayed still, curious to what he should have to say.

I know I should've ran.

But Simon said wait in the lobby.

The man came up to me, a look of deep interest on his face, when he said,

"Excuse me, did I hear you and that young man mention a girl of the name Chloe?"

Thank you for your patience! Love you guys!

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