A/N: I warned all of you before that it would be a while, but I still feel bad. I guess I left you hanging more than I thought. Anyway, here is the next chapter!

BTW, I had 18 reviews for the last chapter and a ton of adds! Thanks for all the support! I am also over 100 reviews for this story and that makes my day so much brighter!

I don't own any of it, as you all know!

Chapter Thirteen

Sanctuary

Kara's POV

I know what I have to do. I ran towards the nearest, or only, gas station. I walked in and headed straight for the pay phone. I took out my wallet from my bag and put in the money I had and dialed my dad's work number.

"Hello?" He sounded distracted, but I didn't care, I needed him.

"Daddy," I sobbed out, "can you come pick me up at the gas station. I want to go back to Seattle." I hope that he understood that. The tears were coming fast and I couldn't exactly speak clearly through them.

"Sure, Sweet Pea, give me twenty minutes and I'll be there." This is what I love about my dad. There are no questions asked. He trusts me and knows when I need him most.

"Thanks, Daddy, bye." I hung up and went to the restroom to wait it out. I didn't want the guys to find me, if they were even looking.

Twenty minutes later and I am in my dad's car explaining in general what happened. I didn't want him to know the details, just that my heart is broken and that I want to go to my aunt and uncle's house for at least the weekend.

"Well, do you need to go home to get a bag?"

"No! Please, can we just go to Seattle? I will pick up some things at the mall or borrow some of Aunt Cece's clothes." My aunt's name is Claudia, but she hates it and insists on being called Cece. It fits her personality so it is easy to do. She loves shopping so it will be fun for her this weekend.

"Okay, let me call your mom and tell her what's happening and then I want to stop off at the Sprint store to get you a cell phone. I was going to wait until your party, but you need one this weekend so it will be an early birthday gift." I barely registered what he said. It took me a minute to react. "Thanks, Dad, I was really hoping for one." I know that's pathetic, but I am a little distracted right now. I am sure that Jake and Ashley is a couple now and that I won't be able to handle being around them so I will be alone again. These thoughts keep crashing through my head and I can't help but see the kissing over and over again. My dad finally ended my torture.

"I just want you to know that I love you and I am here if you need to talk." He left it at that and all I could manage was a weak nod in his direction. He won't push for information and for that I am truly grateful.

"Thanks, Dad, I know, but I don't think that I am ready to talk about it."

My dad had called my aunt and uncle on the way up and had stopped and got me a phone. He let me pick it out and I am really happy to have it. I feel bad though because all I could manage was a weak thank you when he gave it to me. We were pulling up to my aunt's place and I was relieved to be here. I knew that my mom and sister would wonder why I needed to leave so fast, but that could wait until later. Right now I was safe from my life for a little while.

Jake's POV

I have been running patrols all night and I am exhausted. I can't stop until I know for sure that Kara is safe. I know that this is all my fault and I have to make it right. I stopped by her house earlier this evening and her sister, who I did not want to see, told me that she hadn't come home and that she didn't know where she was. That information is why I am running out here continually.

Crap! I skidded to a stop and took a larger breath of the wretched stench. There have to be at least two of them. I howled to alert Sam and followed the trail. The smell was getting stronger and I could distinguish the two separate scents. I knew one of them well and I growled in natural response. Cullen.

Jake, wait. Don't approach them alone. I will be there soon.

Okay Sam. I don't recognize the second scent.

I see where your thoughts are taking you. Will you be able to handle it if it is her?

I will do my duty, don't worry.

I know you will, but I don't want this to cause anymore pain in your already broken heart.

I don't feel that way for Bella anymore, Sam. Kara is all I care about and I ruined it!

I know you think so, Jake, but this will all work out.

He finally arrived and we approached the border together. When we passed the last of the trees I saw them waiting at the line. Edward looked the same though he also looked happy. Of course he is happy, he got his way and killed Bella. He winced when I thought that and I couldn't help but smirk in my mind. I finally got the courage to look at the girl with him and my fears were confirmed. She looked the same, but had the inhuman look of a vampire. I guess you could say that her looks are enhanced, but I liked Bella the way she looked before. She had crimson eyes and that startled me. Could they not control her? Has she broken the treaty?

"She has done no such thing, dog. Newborn eyes don't change for a year. She has been very controlled." He looked at her with such love that it hurt to see. I need to find Kara! I saw her face in my mind and the urgency only got stronger. Edward looked at me interested in this information that I let slip.

"Hi, Jake." She looked like she was holding her breath. I only nodded in her direction. Sam seemed to be communicating with Edward so I held back and waited.

"No, we won't be here for long. Bella really only wanted to check on…things here." He looked at me then continued, "We are going to be in the outskirts of Seattle for a while. Carlisle has some business there."

Will you be okay if I take off now, Jake?

Yeah, go ahead.

He took off and I saw Bella approaching me and I knew that she wanted to talk.

Tell her I am going to phase, I will be right back. I waited long enough for the leech to relay the message then I ran into the woods and phased. I threw on my shorts quickly and walked back out.

"Hey Bella." I found it hard to look her in the eyes and I knew that I was probably hurting her.

"Of course you are!" Edward hissed at me.

"I can hear, you know." Bella said really quiet. I finally looked at her in the eyes and I could see the pain, but it wasn't anything like she looked after he left. I had the satisfaction to see the leech wince when I remembered her face back then.

"If you can't handle it, get out of my head." I said sardonically.

"I wish that I could, dog, but you think rather loudly."

"Stop it, both of you. Listen Jake, I just wanted to make sure that you were okay. I know that this is hard for you to understand, but I can't live without Edward and this is what I had to, no, wanted to do to be with him. Anyway, I am not going to dwell on what we have already been over. I was also concerned about Charlie. How is he?" She looked so worried, but she didn't know that I knew very much what it felt like to not be able to live without someone. I didn't really care about answering her. Kara overtook my thoughts and it took all my control to stay there and talk.

"Jake, are you okay?"

"What? I'm sorry; I have a lot on my mind right now."

"When did she disappear, Jacob?" Edward's words triggered my memories of all that had happened since chemistry today. I felt so guilty and I knew that it was my fault.

"It is clearly not your fault, as much as I hate to admit it, you weren't aware of her intentions."

"Would you two stop communicating like that?!" I almost laughed at the face Bella was making.

"Sorry, love, Jacob imprinted with a beautiful girl named Kara. He was trying to move slowly due to his previous feelings and she walked in during an inopportune moment for Jacob."

"Edward," Bella said with a twinkle in her eye, "you know that is about as vague as me listening to one side of a conversation." Edward smiled at her and she visibly moved closer to him. It was like they were drawn to each other like magnets. I remembered the night Sam caught me about to kiss Kara and I now regret not finishing what almost happened.

"What happened was that Kara's sister, who has a bit of a crush on me, surprised me today by kissing me. I didn't kiss back, but Kara only saw the beginning and ran off. I can't find her now and I am really nervous. There is a vampire that tried to get her before and we took out his mate. He hasn't been able to get to her on the reservation, but if she left then anything can happen." My voice broke on the last word and I am fighting not to break down.

"We will help you find her, Jake. I won't be able to do much, but the rest of my family can." I looked up at her shocked and saw the concern in her eyes, her red eyes. I tried hard not to wince and Edward tensed, but I think that I succeeded.

"Thanks, but I don't know how comfortable I am with…hmm…well, vampires looking for Kara."

"Jacob, we will take great care with her, I promise you that. If you want our help, you have it." I couldn't say no. I trust Bella and she trusts the Cullens.

"Thank you."

"Is there anywhere she would go to feel safe or gain comfort?" The first thing that came to mind was her aunt and uncle in Seattle. I don't know why I didn't think of that before. It just made sense.

"Well, that will make it easier. We will look at her aunt's house. Do you know where she resides in Seattle?"

"No, I only know that it is near the southwest section by the ocean. I also know that her aunt loves to shop and that there is a mall near their house that they went to a lot. That's all I know about her time in Seattle. She doesn't talk about it very often."

"We will be in touch, Jake. I am sure we will find her before any one else. Alice knows all the malls in this area so she will be able to help immensely." I shuddered at the thought of the leech getting to her without me there. I nearly lost control at the thought and phased, but I kept it together.

"Thanks, I'll see you around." I turned and walked into the forest. I took off my shorts and phased quickly. I felt better knowing that we had more help, but I still couldn't get thoughts of Kara in trouble out of my head. One thing that I knew for sure now, I have no feelings for Bella other than friendship. I don't have room in my heart for anyone but Kara. I think that I love her.

Kara's POV

It's Saturday morning and my aunt is thrilled to have me for the weekend. She wants to take me shopping this morning and I agreed to let her. I think that it will be good for me to get out and forget about yesterday.

"Kara, are you ready to go?" Cece was so excited to leave so I threw on my jeans from yesterday and a shirt she loaned me and walked out of the room.

On the drive to the mall I had a weird feeling. I know that I am probably paranoid now because Jake isn't around to save me if anything happens. I just can't shake the feeling that I am being followed. We got to the mall and had to park pretty far away. Even walking into the mall I had to look behind me a couple of times to make sure that no one was following us. I just couldn't get rid of this feeling and I was starting to get scared. Aunt Cece knocked me out of it though.

"Okay, I think that we should start at Nordstrom and work our way through the mall that way."

"Sounds good Aunt Cece." I knew that I didn't sound happy and she could tell.

"Kara, why don't we talk about this? I know something happened and I am here for you." The nice thing about Aunt Cece is that I can trust her and I do need to talk to someone. I just spilled everything while she was picking things out for me to try on. I had to leave out the whole werewolf and imprint thing, so it sounded like I was over reacting, but she seemed to understand my need to get away. She didn't try to 'fix' the problem or to help me work through it. She just listened and when I was done we started a light chatter that filled the silence. It gave me an opportunity to think.

It was time for lunch so Aunt Cece and I headed over to the food court. The first thing I noticed was a group of people standing over by the restrooms, which was where I was headed. They were all very good looking and they also were all vampires. I stopped dead in my tracks and my aunt walked into me.

"What's wrong, Kara?" My aunt sounded worried and I needed her out of the situation.

"Nothing, I just remembered that I wanted to look at one more thing. Why don't I meet you here after you get the food?"

"Okay." She walked off and I was relieved to have her out of danger, for now.

One of the vampires looked at me; he had bronze hair and was the smaller of the guys. He started walking toward me and I turned and bolted into the nearest store. I pulled out my phone and called the first number that came to mind.

It rang…and rang…and rang.

"Hey, this is Jake, you know what to do." Beep. Should I leave a message? My instincts took over and I just started talking.

"Hi Jake, it's me, well…you know…um…Kara. Anyway, there are vampires here and I don't know, but…never mind. Bye." What was I thinking!? I just left the most random and incoherent message on Jacob's phone! I am such an idiot. I bet those vampires don't even care about me. I turned around to find out what store I ended up in when my gaze met with golden eyes.

"Hi, my name is Edward Cullen. Are you, by any chance, Kara Chehalis?" Crap. He knows who I am! Why did I leave La Push? Wait…Cullen?

"Yes, the very same that used to live in Forks. Jacob is really worried about you. I think that you two need to talk this out." So this is what it's like to have your mind read. Well I guess it makes conversation easier. He smiled at this.

"Um, Edward, I don't think that there is much to talk about. Jake made his choice. It's not like I blame him, Ashley is perfect and she is the same age as him. I am well…not…perfect and I am two years younger than him. I can see why he prefers her. It just hurts that she is my sister and…" I realized that I was rambling so I stopped. He looked frustrated.

"You don't understand the situation fully and it is not my place to explain it to you. Jacob should do that. Will you please go home so that he can?" Are you kidding me? You want me to go to him? I already look like the worlds greatest fool and I would look even more pathetic if I crawled back to him and begged him to choose me instead of my sister! I am not going home until I am ready to face every one. I know that I was kind of shouting this at him in my mind, but I couldn't help it. I wanted to salvage a little of my pride.

"I'm sorry Kara, you are right. I will let Jacob know that you are safe. Just know that my family and I will be around. Jacob is extremely worried about you and this vampire that attacked you."

"I am having a hard time believing that Jake sent you. He doesn't really like you, you know." I said this with a smirk and he laughed.

"Yes, I know. He let us help him because Bella asked him to. She wants to help as well, but seeing as how you are human that wouldn't be the best idea." Oh, he's doing this for Bella, not me. I should have known. I don't know why I let my hopes get up! It is so obvious that, imprint or not, I am not the one he wants.

"It's not like that, you know. He really does love you; it's just that he has gone through a lot…mostly due to me. I left and that is why Bella went to Jacob. He never would have loved her the way he did without that time they had together." He looked so distraught when he said that.

"Its okay, Edward, don't take this on yourself. Anyway, I need to go find my aunt. Thanks for finding me and tell Jake that I'm okay and that he doesn't need to feel guilty. I understand that he needs to follow his heart, I just can't be around to see it." It's too hard. I need to get away now or I am going to fall apart. First Ashley and now Bella, I will never measure up in his mind. I practically ran out of the store to find my aunt. It wasn't too hard since she was still in the food court where I left her.

"Hey Aunt Cece, I'm ready to go if you are."

"Sure sweetie."

We got back to her house and I went straight up to the room designated for when I visited. I was so drained from all that has happened this weekend. I really wanted to believe Edward when he said that Jake loved me, but it is hard when all I can think about is him kissing my sister. I sat on my bed and reached over to turn on the lamp on the bedside table. When it clicked on and I finally noticed my surroundings and I saw my nightmare come to life.

"Hello Kara. It is nice to see you again. It has been difficult to get to you in the past. You made it much easier by coming to Seattle. Now, it wouldn't be much fun if I just killed you so I was hoping that you could help me with a little bit of entertainment."

At first I was stunned, but then my mind kicked in and I had a very bad feeling about what he would want.

"Why should I help you? Maybe it would be better for you to just kill me now."

"There is no fun in killing a willing victim. I want you to call your friend, or I guess to you he is more than that," he was practically gleeful at my pain, "and have him come here for a little chat."

"I am not going to have Jake come here and put himself in danger for you!" I was adamant that Jake stay out of this. I didn't want him to get hurt. Unfortunately luck was not on my side and my phone rang.

I know that it is a bit of a cliffie, but I will try to update again before the end of next week. I am really excited about the next chapter! Thanks for reading and leave a note for me!