Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer.

-Collin-

"What?!" I exclaimed, throwing the sheet off of me and jumping out of bed. The movement caused my entire body burn in pain. I clenched my teeth, determined not to yell.

"What do you think you are doing?" asked Sam, positioning himself in front of me. It was obvious that he did not want me up and about.

"I think I'm going to clean myself up before my mom sees me."

"Don't be stupid. Get some"

I brushed past him before he could finish. "Emily, could you cut my hair, please?" I knew that my hair must be singed.

Sam growled in annoyance. Emily gave him a look and he stopped, she turned to me and nodded.

"I'll go get a pair of scissors," said Billy, rolling himself out of the room.

"Are you insane?" Leah asked.

I gave her a confused look.

"You think that you can hide what happened to you by cutting your hair?"

"Leah, you're a genius! Could I borrow your makeup?" I had to do something to hide the burns.

Seth doubled over in laughter. "I…never thought that….I'd ever….hear…a guy ask…that." Seth said in between laughs.

I scowled, "I'm serious. My mom can't see me like this. Jake, can I borrow some clothes?"

"Sure," he said and then turned to get me some clothes.

"Take it easy now, Collin." Carlisle said. I had nearly forgotten that he was here.

"I'll have to do that later."

Sam gave me a disapproving look. Quil, Embry, and Brady just shook their heads, and sighed.

Jake handed me a bundle of clothes.

"Thanks."

Jake nodded.

"Maybe you should take a shower before you put on clean clothes. You smell like smoke," suggested Jared.

"Good idea."

"May I?" I said to Jake. He rolled his eyes and gestured to the door. I ran, dodging Billy on my way out, and entered the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. I saw my reflection in the mirror. I looked awful. My face was smeared with ash and dirt -my hair was covered in the stuff. I saw that there was indeed burns on me. I set the borrowed clothing on the counter and turned away from the mirror to turn on the shower. I peeled off my clothes -a task that really hurt. I found that my cell phone had melted inside of my pocket. Well, there went a perfectly good cell phone. I sighed and got into the shower. I winced as the water sprayed onto my scrapes and burns. I found that there was a large bruise on my abdomen. I was pretty messed up…I'll be as good as new in a couple of days or so. I quickly shampooed and conditioned my hair and washed down my body. It hurt to lift my arms but it had to be done. I turned off the water and dried myself off with a towel -ouch- that came from a cupboard. I put on the clean clothes -ouch again- and hurried back into Jake's room. Carlisle was gone. Emily had the scissors in her hand, ready to cut my hair. Leah had her makeup bag, ready to cover up my burns. And Sam was ready to knock me unconscious so I would rest, but I knew that he wouldn't…at least not now anyways.

The pack watched as the evidence from the earlier incident disappeared. Leah and Emily were moving quickly, not knowing exactly how soon my mom would arrive.

There was banging on the front door. We all stood up and exited Jake's room quickly. We entered the living room and sat down. I told Jake with a glance that I would appreciate it if he opened the door. As he left to go do that, I whispered to the rest of the pack, "This isn't going to be pretty."

"You want us to leave?" Brady asked, not looking very pleased.

Before I could open my mouth, we all heard a yell, "Collin!" She was demanding that I present myself to her; I knew this from many occasions.

I jumped up from the couch -wincing- and swiftly went to the front door. There stood the woman that I hadn't seen in four years. She had been in Europe because of her job; she's been a workaholic ever since Dad died. Her usually neat black hair was in a loose and messy ponytail. She was wearing professional attire; she must have driven straight here. Her brown eyes looked puffy as though she had been crying.

"Hey, Mom." I greeted, stepping forward to give her a hug. She just gaped at me. "What?"

"You've grown up so much," she said, tears in her eyes. I knew that she felt guilty about leaving me, but I had convinced her that her job was important. I felt a stab of worry; she doesn't know that she came from a line of werewolves. She didn't know that my growing up was because of the werewolf gene had been triggered inside me

"Yeah." I breathed out.

She wiped at her eyes and then looked at me with a fiery glare. "How dare you set the house on fire!" she screeched. "I told you over and over again that I never wanted you to hold a can of beer again!"

"Mom," I interrupted before she could continue with her rant. "I haven't been drunk in ages and I didn't set the house on fire."

"Did your friends do it?"

"No, Mom. I don't even hang out with those people anymore."

Mom looked relieved, and then ashamed for assuming that I had done wrong. "I'm glad. You aren't hurt are you?"

"Nope," I lied, feeling thankful towards Emily and Leah…I'll have to make it up to them.

"Where's Jennifer? Is she okay?"

"Um, she's…"

Mom's eyes narrowed, she could always tell when I had done something wrong, "Collin, what did you do?"

"She couldn't handle the drama that I come with and she left." I explained coolly. "She was getting sick from all the stress." I added, in hopes that my mom would only be mad at me and not Jennifer.

"Did I not tell you to behave yourself?" my mom screamed up at me. "Why didn't you call me?"

"I didn't want to go to Europe."

My mom broke down into sobs; it happened when she was angry. I felt the air shift and I knew that the pack was standing behind me, they probably came to see what all the commotion was about. Billy rolled over to Mom and patted her on the shoulder comfortingly, "Why don't you join me for some coffee in the kitchen?"

My mother looked down at Billy and nodded. She wiped her face using the back of her hand, effectively smearing her mascara. I took her arm gently and pulled her up to her feet. I guided her into the kitchen, following Billy, I was afraid that she would collapse. Mom looked like she hadn't gotten a slept well, and I knew how stress could wear a person down. She sat down in a chair and accepted the Kleenex that Billy offered her; wiping the smear of mascara away. Jake was making the coffee. I just stood next to my mom, wondering how she was going to pull through. Work was stressful, being half way across the world from your son must be stressful…I doubted that she was over Dad dieing. And now our house was burnt down to the ground. To top it off, I was going to have to explain why I can't leave Washington. Jake brought over two cups of coffee, one for my mom and one for Billy. My mom took the mug and thanked Jake. Jake nodded and left the room, wanting to give us privacy I suppose. I sensed that the rest of the pack had left too for the same reason.

My mom sipped her coffee, "Thank you, Billy for looking after Collin."

Billy nodded.

My mom turned and gave me the look. The look that meant that it was time for me to leave because she wanted to talk about adult things. I left the room, but kept my ears well tuned in on their conversation.

"Please, Billy, be honest. Has he really stopped hanging out with those awful kids?" I felt guilty; I really was awful back then. So awful that she isn't even sure that she can trust my word four years later.

"He's been hanging out with Sam Uley for a little over a year now."

"Ah," my mom replied. "Billy?"

"Yes?" Billy sipped his coffee.

"Is he…has he changed?" I nearly walked out of the house right then and there, but I was curious to hear what Billy was going to tell her.

"A lot has happened since you left, Gianna. He's had to face some pretty tough situations; it's made him face responsibility. He's matured."

I peeked from the corner to see her expression. I saw her nod her head. Her expression was conflicted between relief and sadness. "He's always had drama attracted to him like glue…what sort of thing happened?"

"I'm sorry, Gianna. But I can't tell you that. You need to ask Collin."

Mom nodded. She was staring at her coffee, thinking who knows what.

"Would you like me to go get him?" Billy asked softly.

"Oh, you don't have to, Billy." Mom said, getting up. She bent down to give him a peck on the cheek and then stood upright again. "Thank you for everything, but I think its best that Collin and I go now."

"You're free to stay the night here if you'd like." Billy offered.

"I can't do that to you, Billy. Good night," she gave him a small smile and then turned to leave -heading towards me. I silently rushed over to the couch and sat down -I didn't want her to know that I had been eavesdropping.

"Collin," she called softly.

I stood up from the couch and winced. Stupid bruise. Stupid rib bones.

My mom noticed that I winced, she walked straight to me, he eyes full of concern. "You are hurt aren't you? Tell me, Collin."

"Mom, it's nothing. Let's just go find a hotel to stay the night at." I was feeling tired. I just wanted to sleep. Seeing your Mom after 3 years wears a guy out.

"Fine, but you're explaining everything to me once we get in the car."

Explaining what? The fire or the fact that your son is over six feet tall? I'd probably have to do both. Damn. Oh! I have to tell the guys about Jade…wait that was just a dream, Collin. Don't be doing anything stupid now…but what if she could really talk to people through dreams? I mean, the Cullens have powers too….

"Collin? Are we leaving now?"

"Oh, could you hang on a sec, Mom? I need to do something real quick."

She sighed and then nodded.

I left the living room and entered Jake's. Jake was sitting on his bed, flipping through a car magazine. He looked up; asking me "what was up?" through eye contact.

I kept my voice only just loud enough for Jake to hear, and quickly explained my dream.

He listened patiently, resisting the urge to interrupt. When I finished, he didn't speak for a moment. I let him collect his thoughts on the whole deal. "We found this on your lawn," Jake said, holding up a piece of paper. It said: This is a warning.

I stared at the paper. Jade seemed like the person to have really neat handwriting. Then my mind went back to the dream… "There's someone else, isn't there?"

Jade nodded.

"Tell me."

Jade shook her head. "I honestly wish I could, but I can't. Just stay away from her and keep her away from you. Things are going to get messy very soon."

"Jade didn't set the house on fire, someone else did. Whoever did will hurt Carolyn if she's with me, or at least that's what Jade said."

"That leech is probably just saying that so you stay away from Carolyn." Jake replied, his tone was colored in disgust.

I thought about this and nodded. "Jade is good at manipulating people. I've noticed that. Carolyn seems to always be worrying about Jade…it's almost unnatural."

Jake's eyes widened, "You don't think she has a power do you? I mean, she just spoke with you in your dream -it would be stretching reality to say that you just made that up."

I nodded in agreement. There was knocking on the door. "Collin, you said that it would be quick. C'mon lets go."

"Tell everyone." I said. Jake nodded. I walked across the room and opened the door. My mom looked up at me with impatient eyes. "Sorry, Mom. See you Jake."

"See you," replied Jake, picking up his magazine. I shut his door behind me, knowing that as soon as I did, Jake would be jumping out the window and morphing.

There was a high pitched scream outside. I rushed past my mom and ran to the door and opened it to see who had screamed.

-Carolyn- (A/N: rewind)

I was full of warmth and happiness, but also shock. He loved me, but was that just because he had to? I was his imprint, did that mean that he had no choice in the matter? Even if I was an awful person he would still have to love me? "Carolyn, something's come up and I don't think I'll be able to come over tonight." Collin voice told me from the phone. He sounded panicked, possibly scared.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, my heart freezing over with terror. Was he going to get hurt? Would he be okay? I then heard a loud crashing noise from the other end, "Collin? What was that noise?"

Collin swore and the connection went dead. My throat felt tight and tears were filling up my eyes. I set the phone down. Lightning flashed at a nearby tree outside and thunder roared above the animal shelter, I ducked down and covered my head with arms, hoping that the tree wouldn't fell onto the animal shelter. I heard the dogs whimpering in the other room, some were barking. I wished Collin was here right now, I sniffed. Collin…he could be fighting for his life right now for all I know…I looked at the paper that I had copied Collin's and Sam's number onto. I picked up the phone and dialed Sam's number. I wished that I hadn't left my cell in the car.

"Hello?" Sam's deep voice answered.

"Hi Sam, its Carolyn."

"Is everything okay?" he asked, hearing the panic in my voice.

"I think Collin is in trouble. We were talking on the phone and he said that something came up and" I couldn't complete my sentence, I was now crying too hard.

"I'm going to go find him now, here's Emily."

Emily was passed the phone, "Carolyn dear, are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a little scared." I told her. Another bolt of lightning flashed, accompanied by a roar of thunder. I yelped and tensed.

"Carolyn?"

"I-I'm okay. I just don't like thunderstorms."

"Are you at home?"

"No, I'm at the animal shelter."

"Why don't you go comfort the animals, I'm sure they're terrified too."

"Will you stay on the phone?" I asked, feeling pathetic but needing someone to talk to.

"Of course."

I sniffed, "Thanks, Emily."

The wind howled outside, the tree that had been struck earlier fell. The tree collided with the power lines, the lights flickered and went out. The line was dead. The dogs began to bark loudly. I ran out the back door (the front was too dangerous to take) and rain into the rain. The wind blew my hair into my face and I brushed the wet strands away. I ran a few blocks and didn't stop until I reached my car. I thought about entering my apartment and changing out of my wet clothes, but if Jade was there she wouldn't let me see Collin. I unlocked the car and got inside. It felt chilly. My teeth were chattering and I was shivering. I started the car and drove.

I called Sam's house again and Emily picked up. "Em-Emily, I'm head-ding over th-there." I said, but then added, "If that's o-okay?" I didn't want to sound rude.

"You're welcome over anytime, Carolyn."

"You're the g-greatest, Emily."

Emily chuckled, but then stopped. "You've got bad reception."

"N-no, that's just my t-teeth chat-tering."

"Oh, Carolyn you didn't go out in this weather, did you?"

"I h-had to get to my car s-somehow."

"You do have a coat on, right?"

I looked down, "I f-forgot it."

Emily sighed, "Just make sure that you turn on the heat when you get in the car.."

"I'm already in the c-car."

"Just drive safely."

"Has Sam told you anything yet?"

"No, he hasn't." Emily said, her voice full of anxiety and worry. Maybe me calling was helping her too, and that made me feel better about relying on her company. We talked for a long while and then she said that she had to go and but she'd call me right back. I closed the phone and set it down on my lap. I turned onto the exit ramp that lead to Forks. My phone vibrated, I saw that it was Emily calling on the Caller-ID. I answered the phone, "What's going on?"

"They found Collin. We're heading over to Jake's house."

"Is he okay?"

"He'll be fine in a couple of days, don't worry."

"Okay."

Then Emily gave me the directions to Jake's house. I thanked her and then hung up when she said that she had to go. I followed her directions, passing through Forks and entering La Push, I passed a house on the way that was burnt down to the ground that still had some smoke coming from it. I then passed a familiar jeep and slammed on the brakes. I jumped out of the car -getting my damp clothes soaking once more-, and sure enough there was a large fang hanging down from the rear-view mirror. It was Collin's jeep. I looked at the house and realized that it was Collin's. I ran over to the heap of wood. I noticed that pieces looked out of place, and saw footprints in the mud. Collin must have been inside! I ran over to my car and hopped inside. I drove over to Jakes with more desperation to see Collin than before. I passed a black BMW on the way, which struck me as odd -who the heck could afford one of those? When I pulled into Jake's driveway, I saw another expensive looking car. I guess expensive cars weren't really all that uncommon. I parked the car, turned off the ignition and towards the house. I saw a huge figure jump out of the house and I screamed, my nerves still raw from seeing Collin's house burnt to the ground. A russet wolf looked at me, and then I realized it was just Jacob.

"You scared me!" I hissed.

He gave me a wolfy grin and rolled his eyes. I was about to give him a piece of my mind, when his ears perked up in the direction of the house. Jacob was suddenly gone -blending in with the trees.

The front door of the house opened, revealing the one person I wanted to see. Collin. I noticed that his hair was shorter, and he seemed a little paler. I felt a wave of relief; he was okay and in one piece. A pretty woman stood behind him, she looked to be in her mid-thirties. She stayed in the doorway while Collin rushed towards me. I gave him a hug, but not a tight one -I still didn't know the extent of his injuries. Werewolf or not, I was pretty sure that he had gotten hurt. He wrapped his arms around me in return. He was felt warm and he smelled good; I had no intention of letting him go.

"Carolyn, you're freezing!" he said in surprise and released me.

"Sorry." I mumbled and let him go. There went my intentions.

"Come on, let's get you inside."

I nodded. He took my hand and led me inside. The woman in the doorway looked very surprised while she watched the two of us. She stepped aside and let us in and shut he door behind us.

"I'm gonna go get a towel for you. Um, just take a seat. 'Kay?"

I nodded. I watched him leave. I turned to the woman who was evaluating me. "Uh, hello. I'm Carolyn" I told her, giving her a smile.

She smiled back and held out her hand, I took it. "I'm Collin's mom, call me Gianna."

"It's very nice to meet you." I said, my smile getting bigger. I released Gianna's hand as she released mine. I really was happy to meet her, I was always curious why Collin never mentioned his family; it was nice to know that he didn't lose his parents. We entered the living room and sat down on the couch.

"So how long have you two been dating?" Gianna asked casually.

My face began to heat up and I knew that I was blushing, but to make things worse -Collin entered the room at that moment. He had heard what she asked. Was he going to have me respond or was he going to tell her for me? Were we technically dating? I hoped the answer was yes.

"Mom, you've only known her for a few seconds and you start interviewing her?" Collin asked.

Gianna chuckled, "Of course."

"Why?"

"She's apart of your life, is she not?"

Collin sighed and wrapped the towel around my shoulders and sat next to me. I leaned against him; he was comfortable and his warm temperature relieved my chills. I felt him tense. I quickly stopped putting my weight against him, and leaned forward so there was about an inch of space between us. I turned to look at him. He was puzzled. He didn't know why I had suddenly stopped leaning against him. "I'm sorry." I mumbled.

Collin looked confused.

"I shouldn't have leaned against you."

"What are you talking about?"

I looked at him straight in the eye, "You're hurt."

Collin looked surprised, but then said, "It's not that bad. Don't worry about me."

"Collin, you told me that you weren't hurt," said Gianna, looking upset.

"I didn't want you to worry."

"What's the damage?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll be as good as new in a few days."

"Collin, tell me."

"Mom, the doctor said that all I needed was to relax and not get too active."

"What's the damage?" she asked again.

Collin sighed, "Mom, I'll explain things to you later. I can't tell you right now but you need to trust me on this one, okay?"

Gianna looked at him for a moment and then nodded. Collin let out a sigh of relief and then wrapped an arm around me and pulled me so I was leaning against him. I felt embarrassed with Gianna in the room, but Collin looked completely at ease, so I didn't mention anything.

"Does Jade know you're here?" Collin asked me.

"Mm-mm."

"She's gonna freak when you're not at the animal center."

"She'll live."

Collin and I started to crack up laughing at my words (I mean, come on -Jade's already dead). Gianna looked confused. Eventually we calmed down.

A man in a wheelchair rolled into the room at the commotion. "Having a party without me?" he asked, his eyes twinkling with humor.

"Billy, this is Carolyn. Carolyn, this is Billy -Jake's dad."

"Hello." I said, shaking Billy's hand. He had a firm grip, something that I wouldn't expect from an aging handicap, but then again his eyes were youthful.

"Would you like some hot chocolate?" he asked with a kind smile.

"No, thank you." I smiled back. With Collin next to me, I'll be needing an ice cold Cola in a few minutes. "Actually, I should get going. It'll be a long drive to get home."

Collin gave me a pouting look through his eyes, but he removed his arm from around me. I stood up -he did too- and gave Gianna and Billy a parting smile. I took off the towel, folded it and set it on the couch's arm. I left the house, with Collin following. The rain had become a light drizzle, so I didn't get soaked. Collin opened the car door for me, like the gentleman he was. I smiled and was about to get in the car when an irrational urge came over me. I wanted to be near Collin. I wanted his lips on me, and I wanted to forget everything else. I turned back to Collin, with a coy smile. I motioned for him to get closer, as if I was going to tell him a secret. "I love you too." I whispered.

I then kissed him on the lips.

I nearly went into shock when he gently kissed me back; it was the most amazing feeling in the world. It was like I was complete. Everything else besides Collin became insignificant. I never wanted to leave him, to part from him. My heart was now in a fast, irregular beat and my mind was pleasantly blank. I was about to wrap my arms around him to pull myself closer to his body and deepen the kiss, but he had pulled away. There was a large grin on his face, he was absolutely gorgeous. I loved the way his damp hair fell into his face. I loved the way his deep brown eyes penetrated through me straight to my soul. However, I hated that my kiss was short lived. Why did he pull away? Did I do something wrong? I didn't have any experience when it came to boys so I had no idea what I was supposed to do. My lower lip jutted out as I pouted, asking him through my eyes if I had done something wrong.

"You have a long drive left ahead of you," he reminded me. "Good night, Carolyn, love you," he gave me a peck on the lips and then stepped back. I got into the car, thoroughly dazed. He shut the car door behind me and watched me drive away. Collin was a god and I was lucky as a mere mortal to be his.


Yay! It was the moment you have all been waiting for. I was smiling as I typed it, and I couldn't stop. Lol. Thank you to all who have reviewed. I love you guys!

For those who just put this story on their "Story Alert" lists…please review while you're at it! I would really appreciate it, otherwise I'm gonna have to send you guys a private message bugging you, asking you what you think about the story, honest I'll do it. I've already done it to a couple of you people. Lol. But if you're really against putting up a review, I guess that's okay. I'm just happy that people are reading it. :)