When the final dismissal bell rang, Jamie walked to her locker like a zombie, her eyes open and unseeing. However, the sight of Kori Black waiting by her locker dragged her out of her zombie state.

"Hey," Kori greeted her, leaning her back against the locker next to Jamie's, "I have to go to a teacher's room quick to pick something up. Can you walk with me? The teacher's a real grouch and I'd rather not face her alone." Kori grimaced. Normally the situation would've made Jamie laugh, but not today.

"Well, actually, I-"

"It'll just take a minute. Please?" she gave her the puppy eyes that everyone in the pack seemed to have perfected.

Jamie sighed worriedly. "Okay, but only a minute. I…have to do something after school." she put her things into her locker and followed Kori to a classroom. Jamie stood waiting in the doorway while Kori talked to her teacher, her eyes flickering between the floor, Kori, and the clock on the far wall. As the time started ticking by she knew she needed to leave, or else.

Biting her lip, Jamie looked nervously at Kori. Her and the teacher seemed to be deep in conversation about something, and the teacher was pointing at a paper on the desk, showing Kori something. Keeping her eyes fixed on the she-wolf, Jamie took a couple hesitant steps backward. When Kori didn't notice, Jamie took a few more until she was no longer in the doorway. Once she was out of sight, she turned and hurried down the hall toward the back door of the school.

She pushed the normally-heavy door open with a little too much force, making the large metal door slam open as she hurried down the small set of steps towards the woods. Just as her feet touched the edge of the trees-

BANG

Jamie froze, images from her nightmares flashing before her eyes as pain tore through her stomach, just below her rib cage. Birds erupted from the trees screeching before everything settled into an eerie silence.

"No." she breathed before she was racing through the trees, the wind whipping her hair back. The rich, metallic smell of blood filled her nose and she could've sworn the taste was filling her mouth, making her stomach clench.

When the trees thinned out she slid to a stop, her sneakers skidding on the damp leaves as she stared around in horror.

Rick had his gun aimed at Embry and was yelling something at him. Quil and Collin were crouched over someone, Quil ripping his T-shirt off and pressing it against something, causing the shirt to quickly turn a dark red as it absorbed the blood. Jamie's heart clenched when Collin moved over, allowing her to see the pained face of the boy lying on the ground.

Brady.

Icy dread rushed through her veins before it was quickly followed by white hot rage, her vision blurring as her whole body trembled, sweat forming on her forehead as her teeth clenched.

Rick looked past Embry to see Jamie. "Oh, look who it is." he sneered, "You just had to get them involved, didn't you? You couldn't have just stepped up and faced me on your own, you had to be a coward, didn't you?"

Jamie didn't hear a word he said. In fact, everyone and everything in the clearing faded away into darkness. Except Brady, lying there in pain, his teeth clenched as his blood-covered hand pressed the soaked shirt to his stomach. Her trembles gradually turned to convulsions, breath gasping through her clenched teeth. She barely even felt it when her bones started to snap and move.

Rick noticed her shaking and his crazed smirk dropped to a confused frown. "What the-?"

Embry looked at Rick's face in confusion. Following his gaze, hesitant to take his eyes off the crazy guy with the gun, Embry slowly looked over his shoulder. When he saw the condition his sister was in, he swore he felt his stomach drop as he saw what he'd seen so many other kids go through. Knowing Rick of all people couldn't be let in on the secret, he took advantage of Rick's distraction.

He grabbed the back of Rick's gun-wielding hand, snapping his other arm up into Rick's elbow, hearing the crunch of his bone as Rick cried out in pain. Taking the gun from his hand, Embry bashed the gun into the back of Rick's head, knocking him out cold.

Spinning around, Embry knew he was too late when his little sister's body burst into a wolf right before his eyes. His eyes stayed fixed on her as she headed towards where Quil and Collin were trying to hide Brady's healing injury from Rick. Jamie didn't even seem to realize she was no longer a human. She looked the same height as Seth, just a bit taller than Kori but a bit shorter than Leah. However, where Seth had the bulk the other males in the pack had, Jamie's body was slender and sleek like the other two she-wolves. Her fur was a dark gray, a couple shades lighter than black, her belly and the fur around her cheeks and head silver-tipped.

Jamie followed the pull toward Brady, pushing her way between Quil and Collin, who jumped at the surprising interruption. They both looked over at Embry, who just sighed and shrugged at them, trying not to freak out.

A whimper worked its way from Jamie's throat as she nudged her nose against Brady's cheek, the rich scent of his blood filling her nostrils.

Brady scrunched up his face at the sensation of what felt like a cool dog nose pushing at his cheek. His chest tugged, further encouraging him to push past the pain to open his eyes.

Blinking a few times, his blurry vision cleared a little to see a fuzzy, gray blur. Blinking a few more times, he found himself face-to-face with an unfamiliar wolf with dark gray fur, pale silver highlighting the edges of her face against the dark background, giving her an angelic look. His chest tugged again until he forced his bloody hand from his healing stomach, lifting it up to carefully bury his fingers in the fur of her cheek. Then, his eyes sought out hers. As their eyes met, he saw hers go from wild-eyed, pale green in color, like jade, to a familiar dark green with little brown flecks. And in that instant, he felt the familiar sensation of a steel cable stretching from his chest to hers, the world shifting beneath him, the imprint doubling in strength.

"Jamie." her name left his lips in a breath, and elicited another whimper from her as she pressed her nose into his collarbone. The soft fur of her head and neck brushed his face and shoulder as he lifted his hand from her cheek to the side of her neck.

"Okay, I hate to break up this touching moment, and everything, but we need to get a move on." Embry interrupted from where he was tying his belt around Rick's wrists.

Quil glanced at his best friend before lifting his shirt off Brady's stomach enough to get a look at the gunshot wound. "Well, your injury's scabbing over already, and it's not bleeding anymore. Unfortunately, that just means someone's going to have to dig that bullet out." he informed Brady, who barely glanced his way before looking back up at Jamie.

"What's the plan?" Collin asked, reaching up to pat Jamie's shoulder reassuringly.

Embry was silent as he looked down at Rick's body for a moment. They all looked up at the sound of rushed footsteps headed their way. The scent preceding the person was the reason they didn't do anything.

Kori appeared at the edge of the clearing before sliding to a stop and staring around at the scene before her with wide eyes. After a few moments her guilty eyes met Embry's.

"Okay, here's the plan. Kori, Jake's picking you up from school today, right?" Embry checked, to which Kori nodded, "Okay, you go tell Jake to meet us at Sam and Emily's, just tell him that Brady got shot and Jamie phased. We can fill him in on everything later." Kori nodded before running back the way she came.

Embry turned to the others. "Quil, call Sam and give him a heads-up. Then call Sue, fill her in, and tell her to get to Sam's to dig the bullet out of Brady. Collin, can you and Jamie get Brady to Sam's?" Collin glanced up at Jamie before nodding. "Okay, I'm gonna call the cops and wait for them here. Everyone good?" Quil and Collin nodded before moving to do what they were asked.

Collin patted Jamie on the shoulder again. "Hey, Jew. We need to get Brady to Sam's so Sue can help him. Okay?"

Jamie whined in answer, burying her face in Brady's chest.

Brady scratched behind her ears as he tried to ease her face up. "Jamie, I need to get to Sam's, okay? You think you can help Collin get me there?"

Jamie pulled back and looked down at him, pressing her nose to his cheek.

"Alright, how about we get Brady on Jamie's back, and then you guys can walk back to Sam's house." Embry suggested as he left Quil to make his calls by Rick's body, moving up to stand by Collin.

Brady nodded as Collin moved behind him to push him into a sitting position. Jamie whimpered at the sight of Brady clenching his teeth to keep from making any sounds at the pain. After a bit of struggling, they were able to get Brady up onto Jamie's back, so that he was leaning over her shoulders like he was riding a horse.

So, Jamie made a slow walk through the forest, with Collin in wolf form walking at her shoulder. Embry and Quil were left behind to wait for the cops.

After a good ten minutes, the familiar smell of wolves and baking reached Jamie's nose. Finally, they stepped out of the trees to see Sam, Jake, Leah, and Sue waiting outside the front door of the house. When they saw them, Sue turned and hurried into the house while Sam and Jake hurried toward Jamie and Collin, gently sliding Brady off her back while Collin went to phase out. Then, Jake and Collin carefully helped Brady walk into the house.

Jamie looked after them worriedly, whimpering as her paws shuffled anxiously. She felt fingers run through her fur and looked at her older brother. Sam smiled sadly at her, his eyes level with hers for the first time in her life. She whined again, shoving her face into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her neck, running his fingers down her back comfortingly.

After a few minutes, Jake came back out with some of Jamie's larger clothes, and the three of them headed into the woods behind the house. Jake placed the clothes on an old log before him and Sam stepped behind some bushes to phase.

When they stepped out, Jamie couldn't help stepping back and crouching down in the mud, her tail tucking between her legs submissively. Both wolves were a lot larger than her, both in height and muscle. Jake was just a bit bigger than Sam, but both were equally intimidating.

"You don't need to be scared of us, Jamie." Jake's voice echoed in her head as they both looked down at her. "We're just going to help you phase back. But first, you need to pick which pack you want to be in. You can be in mine or Sam's."

Jamie thought about it for a moment. If she were in Sam's pack, she'd be with her one brother, and she'd be in the same pack as Brady and Collin. But if she joined Jake's pack, she'd be with her other brother. And she'd have two other she-wolves to help her.

She knew the smarter move would be to join the Black Pack, but her mind kept going back to Brady, getting a bullet dug out of his abdomen as she stood out here. So, she subconsciously picked Sam's pack.

Jake nodded his head at her. "That's fine, Jamie. I honestly expected you to make that choice. And just because you're in Sam's pack doesn't mean you can't ask Kori and Leah questions when you need girl help. They'd be more than happy to help you. Well, Kori would, anyway."

"Okay. Thanks Jake." her voice sounded weird in her head. Sam and Jake chuckled at her thoughts before Jake turned to Sam.

"I'll go fill the Elders and everyone else in, and check in with Embry on how he's doing."

Sam nodded gratefully before the large russet wolf backed into the bushes to phase out, leaving Jamie alone with her big brother.

They were out there for a good hour or more, but they were no closer to getting Jamie to phase back. Although, Sam didn't really expect her to phase back for a while, given that they could hear the few screams Brady couldn't stifle during the hour while Sue was digging the bullet out.

"Jamie, why don't you just lie down and try to relax. I know you're tired." Sam finally suggested gently.

Jamie sighed stiffly as she sat down next to a tree, feeling too antsy to actually try and relax. She looked up when she heard footsteps coming toward them. After a few moments, Embry stepped out of the trees and walked over to her, nodding to their brother as he went.

"Not getting too far, huh?" he murmured as he scratched the top of Jamie's head. He turned to Sam as his fingers continued running through her fur. "They arrested Rick and I gave them the note he gave to Jamie at school, as further evidence of today, and the fact he murdered his sister. Don't know anything for certain yet, but it looks like he's going to be locked away for a very long time."

Sam nodded once, both anger and mild satisfaction rolling off him. Satisfaction that Rick would be locked up, and anger that he couldn't kill Rick himself.

Jamie nudged her head into Embry's chest, a worried whimper escaping her as she looked up at him. Embry smiled sadly down at her.

"Brady's fine. Sue got the bullet out and is now putting a bandage over the wound until it heals. He keeps insisting on coming out to check on you, but Sue wants him to rest for a bit longer, since he lost quite a bit of blood. But I promise, he's fine." Embry reassured her, scratching behind her ear as she leaned the side of her head on his shoulder.

For another ten minutes or so, Embry sat with his back against a tree trunk, Jamie's head in his lap as she laid on her stomach next to him. Sam had given up trying to get her to phase back, knowing she wouldn't be calm enough until she could see Brady for herself. Even lying down, her thoughts kept going to Brady, feeling guilty about how she'd treated him the past few days, and that him getting shot was her fault.

The sound of slow footsteps and something brushing through the damp foliage made Jamie lift her head from her brother's lap. The sight of Brady stepping around a tree lurched Jamie to her feet, bounding over her brother and across the clearing and skidding to a stop less than a foot in front of him. She sniffed at the small, square bandage that was taped over his stomach, partially over his ribcage. She couldn't smell any fresh blood, so it must've scabbed over. Lifting her head to look him over, she realized that, while he looked like crap before getting shot, he looked much worse now. His skin was even paler due to blood loss, making him almost look like a ghost. He had huge, purple bags under his eyes, his lips were chapped, and his eyes were bloodshot.

Whining at the sight, Jamie nuzzled her nose into Brady's cheek, earning a quiet chuckle from him as he scratched at the sides of her head under her ears.

"I'm okay, Jamie. Just a little tired and nauseous, and I can't move too fast, but other than that, I'm okay." he whispered, stroking one hand down her long, furry neck. "Let's see if we can get you to phase back, okay?"

Jamie yipped before looking anxiously over her shoulder at her two brothers, hoping they'd leave so she and Brady could talk later.

"Not happening, Jamie. I'm not leaving you alone with him after all this." Sam growled sternly.

Jamie whined, turning and going up to her brother and crouching low to the ground. "Please Sam? I really screwed up. I just want to talk to him."

"You can talk to him after you've phased back. I'm not leaving you and him alone in the woods, cause then you're going to phase back, and you won't have any clothes on, and he's going to see you naked, and then I'll have to kill him because he won't be able to stop thinking about it, and then the whole pack is going to see you naked. Not happening." he ended in a low snarl, his ears going flat to his head at the thought of all the guys seeing her naked.

"Sam, he wouldn't do that. You know he wouldn't. He's been my best friend the whole time I've been here, he wouldn't act like that."

"He's a teenage boy. I know how they think better than you do." Sam grumbled, but Jamie could sense his resolve slipping.She crawled closer and looked up at him with her best puppy pout she could manage for a first attempt, adding in an innocent whimper for good measure. She saw Sam roll his eyes and sigh. Knowing he was about to give in, Jamie's tail started wagging slowly, brushing over the leaves.

"Alright, fine. But someone's going to be coming out to check on you two every half hour." Sam finally agreed, leaning down to nuzzle the top of her head with his nose.

Finally, Sam stood up, and jerked his head toward the house at Embry, signaling for the two of them to leave Jamie and Brady alone.

The two waited until they heard the sound of the house door closing in the near distance before Brady walked toward Jamie.

"Alright Jamie. Should we work on getting you human again?" Brady asked with a small smile. Jamie nodded her head, leaning against his side.

So, Brady instructed her to do things like think of human feelings and memories and take deep breaths. Surprisingly, it was only about five minutes before she felt the fur melting away, her bones snapping and shifting back to their original places. When she opened her eyes, she found Brady's back to her, his hand pointing off to the side to where there was a pile of her clothes on the old log. She didn't even need to look down to realize she was naked, she could feel leaves under her bare legs, and a stick poking her in the butt.

She hurried to the log, keeping her eye on Brady as she pulled her sports bra over her head. She knew he wouldn't look until she told him he could, but she was just playing it safe. She pulled on her underwear and shorts next before a stinging feeling finally got her attention. She looked down and realized the stinging, burning sensation was coming from…all of her scars.

Squinting her eyes, she brought her fingers up to her stomach. She'd always been rather fit from track, but her abs were just a bit more defined now, and the small layer of fat over them had all but disappeared. But that wasn't what she was looking at. Her fingertips barely brushed over the many scars crisscrossed over her stomach, watching as they seemed to shrink before her very eyes.

Her mouth fell open and her eyes went wide as she saw some of the smaller ones completely disappear. Turning her head, she brushed her hair off her shoulder and saw that the small ones on her shoulder were gone as well.

"Jamie, are you dressed yet?" Brady asked, making Jamie look over to where he was still standing with his back to her.

Jamie opened her mouth, silent for a minute as she debated what to say. "Um, Brady?"

"Yeah?" he tensed up and his voice was full of worry, but he didn't look back at her.

"My scars…they're healing." she whispered as she looked down at herself again.

There was silence for a few moments before Brady spoke again. "Can…Is it safe for me to look?" she could hear the curiosity and worry in his voice. She looked down and figured, it was the same as being in a swimsuit. Heck, her bikini showed more skin than her bra and shorts.

"Yeah."

Brady looked over at her, and she saw him look her over curiously, the corner of his lips tugging slightly before he approached her. She bit her lip and stayed still as he came closer, his eyes scanning over her stomach, watching as the last few scars disappeared.

Brady's eyes scanned from across her stomach, up to her shoulders and across her chest. Then, his hand rested gently on her one shoulder to turn her around, his fingertips trailing fire up her spine as he watched her longest scar shrink like the others.

"Wow." he breathed, making Jamie turn around to look up at him, realizing she was at least a few inches taller than before. Brady moved his eyes to look into hers. "I wasn't lying when I said I didn't care about you having scars that day at the beach, but I'm also not upset to see them gone." he admitted, smiling gently down at her. Jamie smiled back before looking down at the T-shirt she'd picked up off the log.

When Brady stepped away to sit on the old log, Jamie pulled her T-shirt on before sitting next to him. They sat in awkward silence for about a minute, both knowing they needed to talk about what happened a few days ago, but neither knowing what to say. Just as Brady opened his mouth, she spoke first.

"I'm sorry." she blurted, twisting her hands together and keeping her eyes on her bare, dirty toes. Brady looked over at her as she continued. "I'm sorry I told you to leave me alone, I didn't mean it like that. The reason I said it was because I had a nightmare of Rick shooting my brothers and Emily, but I didn't want to admit it to you or anyone cause I knew you'd all just say I had nothing to be afraid of, and I knew that, but I couldn't control the nightmare. And I didn't want you guys to think I was a weak little scared-y cat. And-" a lukewarm hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her into Brady's side as he gently shushed her. Jamie didn't realize until then that she was nearly hyperventilating, her chest heaving as she fought for breath, tears stinging her eyes.

"Shh, Jamie it's okay. I get it, it's okay. I'm not upset with you. It's perfectly normal to have a nightmare after everything you've been through lately. And I'm sorry I overreacted, too. But next time, you think maybe you could just tell me when you're upset? Me telling you something you already know is a hell-of-a lot better than the past few days, don't you think?" Brady looked down at her, watching as she nodded her head, leaning her temple against his shoulder.

Seeing her like that, emotionally and physically drained, leaning against him for support, Brady couldn't resist dropping a kiss to her forehead, just below her hairline. He let his lips linger there for a moment, taking in the feeling of her skin. It wasn't cool like it used to be. It was closer to his temperature, feeling almost warm to him.

When he pulled back, she opened her eyes and looked up at him, her big, forest-green eyes drawing him in just like everyday since they first met.

His eyes switched down to her lips, catching her tongue flicking out to wet her lips. His own lips twitched up in a smile as he looked back at her eyes. She smiled back and leaned up a bit. He matched her, leaning down toward her. Their eyes flickered shut as their lips met.

It was a sweet, simple first kiss that last a few seconds before they pulled away just a few inches, looking at each other with small smiles. Brady licked his lips before leaning down again.

"She looks pretty human to me. What do you think, Bryan?" Collin's voice spoke loudly, causing Jamie and Brady to jerk away from each other, looking over to see the two boys smirking at them

"Yep, and it certainly looks like her and Brady aren't having any problems, doesn't it?" Bryan asked back teasingly.

Collin nodded exaggeratedly. "Oh yeah, they look fine to me. You think we should go tell Sam?"

The two smirked deviously at each other, glancing smugly at Jamie and Brady before bolting into the trees in the direction of Sam and Emily's house.

Brady and Jamie looked at each other with wide eyes before standing and racing after them.

XXX

YAY!THEY FINALLY KISSED! I bet that'll make quite a few of you happy ;)

Only a couple more chapters left guys : (

The picture I based Jamie's wolf from: /natmap/photos/mammals/gray_wolf_5932_