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Chapter 14

Claire yawned as she leaned against Emily's chest. "What time is Cassi getting here? She said she would paint my nails," she said and she spread out her little hands, showing us the chipped, red polish that Cassi had painted on last weekend.

Emily sighed and ran her hand through Claire's short, dark hair. "I don't know, sweetie. Cassi might not be coming over tonight."

Choking back a sob, I rested my head on Emily's shoulder. We were sitting in the exact position as we had been three hours ago, on the floor, leaning against the kitchen counter, and staring at the clock.

"Kimmy, why are you sad?" Claire asked as she looked up at me.

I sighed and wiped a tear from my cheek. "I just miss Cassi, honey. Maybe you should try to get some sleep, Claire-bear. You look tired."

The little girl nodded and pulled herself off of Emily's lap. "I miss Cassi too, but don't worry, she will be here soon."

We watched as Claire stumbled into the living room and hopped onto the couch. Emily sighed and leaned her head against mine. "When was the last time you talked to her?"

"She called me and told me about the latest fight with her mom. Cassi always goes shopping after the fights, as if the money she spends is going to get back at her mom for hurting her," I said quietly.

"Why was she fighting with her mom?" Emily asked as the clock ticked loudly in the room.

I shrugged. "They fight about everything. Grades, her step-dad, and her mother's favorite topic... Embry."

"She doesn't approve of their relationship?"

"Nope" I said, popping the p. "Cassi's mom is sort of like Jared's mom. She doesn't think he will be able to provide for Cassi if their relationship goes that far, which is most likely will. She really loves him, and it's no mystery that he loves her with all his heart."

Emily nodded sadly. "My parents hated Sam at first. God, even I hated him at first. He broke my best friends heart, and all he could think about was me."

"Yeah, Jared told me about all of it." Emily nodded again and we fell back into the same silence we had had for the past few hours.

"God, I cannot just sit here, not knowing anything. Maybe Seth and Brady will know something." I quickly sat up and walked out the door, grabbing my coat on the way out.

The two young wolves heads popped up as I walked onto the porch. "Hey guys, any news?" Seth sadly shook his head, motioning a no. "Oh... how's Embry?" Seth's eyes fell to the ground as he shrugged his large shoulders. "Not good, huh?"

Brady's eyes met mine and he shook his head. I nodded and remembered they all probably knew I was talking to the boys. "Everything will be okay. I have faith in you guys." Brady stuck out his tongue and nodded. "Let us know if you get any news, alright?" The boy's nodded before laying their heads back on the ground.

I sighed and walked back into the house. Emily was pouring two cups of coffee for us. She smiled at me as she handed me the cup. "Anything?" I shook my head as I sipped from the coffee. "Did you ask them about Embry?"

"Yeah, I don't think he is handling it well at all," I said sadly. I love Cassi. She is my best friend, but Embry loves Cassi. His entire world revolves around her. "I can't even imagine what he is going through."

Emily stared at her cup. "They care about us so much. More than any of us will ever know." She ran her hand over the scars on her opposite hand. "And when something happens... especially something that they might have been able to prevent, it tears them apart."

"They have to find her," I whispered, mostly to myself.

Emily nodded. "They will, Embry will never stop looking for her."

I sighed for what seemed like the millionth time tonight. I glanced out the window at Brady and Seth who had yet to move. Light was beginning to shine through the trees and I groaned. "The sun is coming out."

Emily pulled her sweater closer to her body. "They have never been gone for this long. Sam always comes home before the sun rises above the trees. They must be getting hungry, and tired."

I nodded and continued to stare out the window. I watched as Seth and Brady's head poked up from the ground, and turned towards the forest. "Hey, we have movement out there," I said and Emily came to the window with me.

Seth stood up first, followed quickly by Brady. They started pacing around the porch, slowly moving towards the trees.

"What are they doing?" I asked quietly. At the same time, the two young wolves both let out a piercing howl, causing me and Emily to jump.

Emily stared at the forest, and I followed her line of vision. She narrowed her eyes, as if trying to see better, "What is that?"

"I don't-" I looked closer and saw a figure carrying something. "It's Embry! And Cassi!" Relief ran through my body.

Emily stared out the window. "She is almost naked! She must be freezing," she said before disappearing into her house, probably to grab any clothes or blankets for our friend.

I looked back out the window and saw that the rest of the pack was slowly making their way towards the house. Jared moved into the yard last, causing another surge of relief to flow through me.

Embry burst through the door as Emily entered the room handing me a stack of clothes for Cassi. "Let's take her into Emily's room, Embry." He nodded and followed me, looking as if he didn't know what to do.

Embry laid his girlfriend gently onto the bed and I looked at my best friend for the first time. "Oh, Cassi," I said quietly. She was shaking from being out in the cold and her skin was as pale as a ghosts. Cassi's body was covered in mud and dirt, her eyes were wide with fear and she wouldn't let go of Embry's warm hands. "Was she like this when you found her?"

The scared boy nodded quickly. "The bloodsucker took off most of her clothes to leave a trail for us to find her."

Rage filled his eyes, but it quickly disappeared when Cassi started to shake again. He pulled her back to his body, wrapping his arms around her small frame.

"Okay, I'm gonna go run some water for her to take a bath, but you need to get her warmed up so that the water doesn't hurt her." Embry nodded again and continued to rub his hands over her body in order to warm her up.

I exited Emily and Sam's bedroom and ran into Jared's warm body. "Hey, I was just coming to check on you-"

I leapt into his arms and hugged him as tightly as I could manage. "Thank you for bringing her back, Jared," I whispered into his neck as he wrapped his long arms around me.

He lifted my head up to his and kissed me quickly on the lips. "How is she?" he said, nodding his head towards the bedroom.

"Cold, dirty, and terrified, but I think she will end up being okay." I said, placing my feet back on the ground. "I'm going to get a bath together for her. She might not know how dirty she is now, but once she realizes it, she will freak out even more. Cassi hates being dirty."

Jared nodded and pulled me back to his arms, holding me close. "If you ever- The whole time I was out there, I kept thinking that if this were you-" He shook his head, trying to clear his cluttered thoughts. "I kept asking Seth if you were okay."

"I am fine, but I need to make sure that Cassi will be too," I said quietly, moving away from him, towards the bathroom

Jared nodded and kissed me quickly on the top of my head. "I'll be waiting for you, take your time, honey." I nodded and walked into the bathroom, turning on the water on the old bathtub. I added some bubbles to the water as I waited for it to fill.

Once it was ready, I walked back into the bedroom and found Cassi wrapping her shaking arms around Embry's neck. "Hey, the waters ready," I said quietly.

Embry looked up at me and nodded. "I think she is thawed out enough now." He picked her up and carried her into the bathroom. "Thanks, Kim. I, uh, I can handle it from here."

I nodded. "Alright, if you need anything..." He nodded again before shutting the door.

Walking back into the kitchen, I saw Emily boiling a huge pot of water and ten boxes of mac and cheese lines up next to the stove. She smiled when she saw me. "How is she?"

I shrugged. "Scared. I don't think she is actually hurt though..."

Sam shook his head. "Victoria just wanted to make us mad, she didn't want to kill Cassi." I shuttered at the thought of my best friend dying.

Jared pulled me into his arms and rested his head on top of mine. I sighed loudly, finally feeling safe after this long, tiring night. "Come on, let's lay down with everyone else for a few minutes while we're waiting for the food."

I nodded and followed Jared into the living room where the other members of the pack were scattered anywhere they could lay. I smiled, seeing Claire curled up in Quil's lap, sleeping soundly.

Jared pulled me to an unoccupied corner and leaned against the wall. I pulled his legs apart and sat between them, much like my first bon fire with him.

Ten minutes later I woke up and slowly, making sure to not wake Jared or anyone else, walked into the kitchen. Sam had his arms wrapped around Emily as she poured some of the mac and cheese into a large bowl.

She turned at smiled at me, Sam dropping his hands to his sides. "You want to take this to Embry and Cassi? I'm sure they are starved."

I nodded and took the bowl from her hands, carrying it down the hall to the bathroom. I knocked on the door, "hey guys, I have some food if you want it."

"Uh, yeah, hang on," Embry said from the other side of the door.

"I can bring it in if you want, I won't look at Cassi, Em, promise," I said smirking slightly.

"No! No, that's not what I'm worried about. Just, hang on." I nodded and waited, hearing water slashing and a small giggle from Cassi.

Seconds later Embry opened the door, his lower body wrapped in a towel, water dripping down from his hair. "Oh, uh, sorry. Here's the food, you can go back to doing... whatever you were doing."

Embry shook his head and took the food. "Thanks, Kim."

I smiled and walked back into the kitchen. Everyone was awake and eating large portions of the mac and cheese. Sam and Emily were laughing slightly. "You knew what they were doing, didn't you?"

They nodded. "I've got pretty good hearing," Sam said as he rubbed Emily's back.

"Right, of course you do." I said, walking over to Jared and falling into his lap. He grinned too before feeding me a spoonful of the noodles.

"What's so funny," Jared said with a knowing smile.

"Shut up, Jared." I said as I took a large bit of his food.

He smiled and kissed me on the cheek. "It's good to be home.

Holy Cow! I got a ton of reviews last chapter!! I loved it a lot!

Yay for Cassi being okay, I couldn't hurt her, I really love her character lol.

Keep reviewing!! It is awesome to hear from all of you guys, and it feels great to know that you like my stories!

I love you all soo much!

Maddi!