Lexi POV

Knock knock!

"Kim, door." I called out as I lounged against the sofa and watched the television screen intently.

John Tucker Must Die had always been a favourite of mine, but lately I seemed to be watching it all the time, due to the 'plan'. I needed revenge ideas, so what better place to start than comedy movies such as John Tucker Must Die and Mean Girls? Heck, I had even watched How The Grinch Stole Christmas once, even though I admit that the sort of revenge that I was planning probably wouldn't involve me or Aria creeping down Paul Lahote's chimney and stealing Christmas.

Even so, I had still written it down in the revenge notebook.

Knock knock knock!

"Kim!" I yelled again, getting irritated as I reluctantly pried my eyes from the screen.

Knock knock knock knock knock!

"Argh, Kim!" I shouted. I had getting crabbier and crabbier over the past few weeks, since the... incident with Embry at Aria's house. The thought made my heart hurt and my stomach tighten, but it also made me see red at the same time. It seemed like all that I was doing lately was getting angry.

Kim peered her head around from around the doorway, her eyelashes even longer than usual and her lips two shades darker than they should be. Had Kim been putting on...make-up? The world never ceased to amaze me.

"Lexi, could you please answer the door for me? I'll be there soon." She begged, disappearing before I could protest.

I grumbled a few choice words about Kim under my breath as I stood up from the couch, knowing what I was saying wasn't true but not caring much. I didn't care about anything much these days.

Trudging towards the door, I sighed deeply and opened it, only to almost slam it closed again.

"Oh, Kim." I sang out loudly, my eyes never leaving his. "The kids from 'round the corner are playing around again cause they just left some shit on the porch."

"God, why do you have to be such a bitch?" Jared growled out between clenched teeth.

"Why you gotta be such a dick?" I shot back angrily. I didn't like Jared, to say the least. Mainly because he hadn't done a thing when his best friend used to bully my best friend - and his sister - and he did nothing about it, sometimes even contributing to it.

Plus having to hear Kim talk about how great he was on a regular basis for years hadn't helped either.

"Lexi!" I almost groaned as Kim appeared, looking flustered. Her lips were back to their normal colour but her eyelashes were still crazy long. She looked nice.

"What?" I snapped, not in the mood.

I was never in the mood for Kim's little peace-making attitude, actually... or for Kim, at all. I had no idea why Aria wanted to be friends with her, although I shouldn't be surprised.

Aria was too nice for her own good, sometimes.

"Lex-i." She said exasperatedly. "You don't talk to guests like that."

"Why shouldn't I? I don't like him. Don't expect me to be nice to him just because you have the hots for him."

Well, it was true. Everybody knew of Kim's famous crush on Jared Cameron... well, everyone except for Jared himself.

I didn't know how he missed it. He was either really oblivious or just stupid… but I was putting my bet on the latter.

"I-I d-d-don't... S-she's obviously just kidding..." Kim spluttered as she desperately tried to explain herself to Jared so she didn't look like his stalker... even though she sort of was, to tell the truth.

Jared's mouth had fallen open whilst Kim just blushed until she resembled a tomato.

"Obviously." I grinned widely, displaying my white teeth. I tried to ignore the guilt I felt as Kim looked at me with that crushed expression.

Whatever. She should learn early that the people you love won't love you back.

"Anyway... I'm going now. I don't feel like watching Kim trail after you like a lost puppy." I informed Jared, digging myself a deeper hole and walking away.

I had already walked down the street when I realised I had no idea where I was going.

Oh well. I shrugged. Might as well go grace Aria with my appearance.

...

I was walking down Aria's street when I saw him.

He was sitting straight across the road from Aria's house, on the footpath. His eyes were fixated on the house while he scratched his neck nervously.

"Why were you staring at the Cameron house like a creepy person?" I asked when I got close to him, ignoring the stabbing pain of hurt when I looked at him.

He jumped slightly at my voice, looking up at me. If anything, his already anxious expression got even more nervous.

"Oh... hey, Lexi..." He said awkwardly. I didn't blame him. I hadn't seen or talked to him since that day.

"You didn't answer my question." I told him dumbly, putting my hands on my hips.

"Uh..." Was all he said, not giving any intention of answering my question as he looked at the pavement.

"Oh, so now you can't even look at me?" I demanded, tears pricking my eyes. I wiped them away angrily with the sleeve of my sweater, cursing myself for looking weak in front of him. "I'm certainly glad to see that you obviously hate me so much!"

"No! No, Lexi. It's not that." He tried to tell me, scrambling to his feet, towering over my small frame.

"What is it then, Embry?" I snapped. "Hmm? Please tell me, I'm just dying to know."

Embry looked unsure for a moment, before a defeated look came across his face. I smiled smugly, knowing that this meant he was going to tell me something that he had obviously been holding back.

He opened his mouth... only to suddenly look over my shoulder and smile, looking relieved.

I turned around to see Paul come out of Aria's house, shaking like a leaf. He spotted us and glared, which seemed to be an invitation for me to go over and yell at him.

So I did.

I wanted a fight. Or a small argument, at least.

And the one person who couldn't resist a good argument had to be Paul Lahote.

"Oh, look. Satan himself has come to join us. I feel so privileged to be given this opportunity." I rolled my eyes sarcastically, placing a hand delicately over my heart as I stood in front of him.

"Shut your mouth, you bitch!" Paul spat, brutal tremors rocking through his already shaking body.

Why was everyone calling me that lately?

Because you are. A small voice came from somewhere in my head.

"Um, guys, guys. Calm down. Paul, man, get to the woods. Lex, go home." Embry ordered meekly, which annoyed me greatly. Who was Embry Call to tell me what to do? He had given up that right when he didn't love me back.

"Au contraire mon frère, I am actually extremely interested in what Paul has to say." I replied, crossing my arms and raising both of my eyebrows up at him, a smirk playing on my face.

"You want to know what I have to say?" Paul snarled, getting right in my face, still shaking like the freak he is.

I arched one eyebrow even higher as Embry started to speak in a panic. "Paul! C'mon! Just get into the forest and away from here!" He said almost desperately, tugging usually at Paul's arm.

Paul just threw him off impatiently, making Embry stagger back a few steps.

"You're selfish." He began. "You're mean. You're controlling. You're bossy and pushy and make everyone around you feel like that they're worthless. You think that you are so smart and better than everyone else. You are one of the most petty and annoying people I have ever laid eyes on, and I just don't understand why someone like Aria can stand to be around you, never mind be your friend!" He finished, breathing heavily.

I looked at him disbelief. How dare he, of all people, have the nerve to speak about Aria as if he knew her, or even cared about her. He was really dedicating himself to this plan. Even though we had our own counter plan we were working on, I needed to put him straight.

"Well, you know what?" I said, standing on my tip-toes and trying to extend my height. "I don't know what the hell you're getting at here and what you're planning on doing with Aria, but you can quit dreaming. Aria..." I dropped my voice to a fierce whisper "...hates... you. And she always will. She will never stop hating you. She will never stop, even until the days you both die, trust me on that." Maybe I was being a bit overdramatic, but I was making a point. "Just quit while you're ahead, you're never going to get anywhere with her."

It all happened so fast after that.

The whole world seemed to freeze for a moment. I saw Embry, still standing a few metres behind Paul, looking at me with horror in his eyes.

Paul seemed to stop shaking for a split second, almost seeming to freeze in place.

Something's not right here... That was the only thing I could thing I could think of as I desperately staggered back a couple steps. For the first time since our confrontation, I felt genuinely frightened.

And then, in his place, was a wolf.

One split second, Paul was standing there. And then, so suddenly I could hardly process it, a huge silver wolf that towered over me.

I didn't even have time to scream as a huge paw that was bigger than my head came down across my face.

. . .

Paul POV

She was never going to forgive me.

She would hate me forever. Well, more than she already did.

I had hurt, scarred, mauled, almost killed her best friend.

What if- when I told her I was a wolf and everything- she didn't want to know me? What if – on top of hating me for the obvious reasons and as well as hurting her best friend – she was scared of me? What if she was scared of what I was capable of doing, that she distanced herself? Never talked to me again?

The thought hurt me so much that an involuntary sound slipped from between my teeth. I wanted to get up and comfort her, but she seemed so far away. Not in the literal sense, of course. In the literal sense, she was just across this too-white room that smelt too strongly of disinfectant and rubber gloves.

But I could see her mind wasn't here. Her red rimmed eyes were unfocused, silent tears still pouring down her cheeks without her realisation. She was still beautiful, though, don't get me wrong, but she looked like she'd been through hell.

The need to comfort her was so great that I had taken to clenching my hands behind my back, even though I probably looked strange to everyone else.

As I said, I wanted to comfort her, but Emily told me that it probably wouldn't be the best idea... even though she had no objection with letting let Jared go over there and comforting Aria and Kim.

Aria didn't even know I was here. I was standing out of her view, half hidden behind the corner. I wanted to be there, but Emily suggested that it would be too suspicious for me to be here.

Of course Sam then Alpha-ordered me to not step a foot in her direction, just because Emily though it wasn't a good idea. I resisted the urge to snap at Emily, mainly because Sam would have snapped my neck if I talked that way to Emily, not to mention he was already pissed at me for attacking Lexi.

Pissed was an understatement, actually.

Which was a little bit bias coming from the man who attacked his own imprint.

I only attacked her best friend.

Which was a whole less worse.

Crap!

I growled, desperate to erase the previous thoughts from my head, scared of what Sam would do if he ever caught me thinking like that on patrol or in wolf form. He would bite my leg off. And then proceed to beat me to death with my own body part.

Lexi was currently being operated on, by numerous doctors... including Dr Fang.

I knew that it sounded bad, but a part of me was still not sorry for what I did. I wasn't even sure if it was the wolf side or the human.

Either way, she shouldn't have said what she said. I mean, implying that Aria would never forgive?

Bitch! My wolf growled.

Well, at least my wolf got that right. Lexi was a bitch of the worst kind, and the entire world all but knew it.

But apparently Aria didn't.

And that sucked for me because it was her opinion that mattered the most.

. . .

Aria POV

I knew before they told us.

It was the feeling that you get when you're losing a grand final sporting event and you know there's no way you can come back.

Or when you fail an exam that was essential to pass if you actually wanted to get somewhere in life.

No... It was worse than that. It was the chilling feeling of stepping into the shower before realising that you've forgotten to turn the hot water on and are left standing in ice cold water.

It felt like a part of me was missing. Gone. Leaving just a stabbing pain where my heart should be and cutting my breaths shorter and shorter.

Like I said, I knew it before they told me. But hearing it made it a lot more real.

I felt more tears pour down my face and I was slightly aware of an annoying wailing-siren noise. That's when I realised it had come from me.

Kim was bawling too, and Jared (who had been the one reassuring us both that she'd be fine) hugged her close to him, pausing to put an arm around my shoulder as well. I leant in to him, grateful for his warmth and general presence.

My eyes flashed across the waiting room to Sam Uley and his fiancé, Emily Young. They were here because it was Sam who had found her, and yet, when Kim had asked Jared (who had come with her to the hospital from when they were studying at her house) where and how he'd found her, he hadn't said a word. He only mumbled a short 'I promise to tell you later.'

It's funny how one experience can change your whole life.

Or it doesn't even have to be an experience. One person can change you.

And yet it all changed for the worst when a beautiful, pale doctor came out with sorrow eyes and said just three words...

"I'm so sorry..."

. . .

Please don't kill me for what I just did.