Okay, so I kinda-sorta took a while to update again, but im super sorry! And this chapter's like four thousand three hundred words (eleven pages!) so be happy !

Yay! Well, awesomeness—hope you like it!

Chapter 20

MPOV

Quil shuffles his feet uncomfortably. "Ah . . . I really don't think—"

"Qu-iiiiiiiil," I say.

He sits down on the edge of the coffee table. "Maybelle, I really can't tell you about that."

"Can't or won't?" I counter.

He sighs, looking me straight in the eye. "Can't."

"Okay," I say. ". . . then who can?"

He exhales heavily, not quite a sigh, and, in that moment, he looks tens of years older. "Seth." And then his phone rings, and he's running for the kitchen.

"Hey!" he exclaims, the tired tone completely gone. "You need me to come get you?" Pause. "Yeah. No problem. I just need to . . . hold on, babe." He darts past me, and up the stairs. "LEAH!" he shouts. "Can you watch Maybelle for a little? I need to go pick up Claire at school!" I hear a bang, and then a door opens.

"Twenty minutes?" she says, in a warning tone.

"Okay, okay," he says.

"Kyle, I'm going to babysit the vampire!" I hear Leah shout. "Go back to the house! I'll be there in a little!" I hear a groan, and then Quil is running back down the stairs, donning a rain coat, Leah following after him.

I raise an eyebrow. "Babysit the vampire, huh?"

She rolls her eyes, and whacks Quil on the butt. "Don't do anything naughty," she teases, and he laughs. She throws herself down on the couch next to me, and he goes out through the front door.

"He's not going to be back in twenty minutes," Leah tells me."Can you hand me the remote?" I do so, and she flips on the TV, scrolling through the guide. Then she makes this fake-gagging noise, and points to the screen. I follow her gaze, but don't find anything wrong. "See that? That is why people think we're ravaging monsters!" Then I see it. She's on the movie channels, and one of them is playing some movie called The Wolf Man. She clicks on it, and tosses the remote to an armchair on her right. "Let's see how horrible this is."

CassiePOV

Let me tell you, double-teleporting isn't as bad as Leon seems to think. But quadruple teleporting? Now that's something I don't want to try.

"But we need to go!" Em whines. Leon nods beside him, his gray eyes stormy.

"Actually," I argue, "I'm the only one who really needs to go."

Edward opens his mouth to protest, but I cut him off. "I know, I know. You're the dad, you're coming too, you think this'll redeem you somehow by saving your daughter from the evil werewolves, blah, blah, blah," I say, my tone clearly displaying my annoyance. "I get it." I turn to Leon and Em. "But you guys are not coming. No way. I haven't tried doing it with more than one—"

"So then make more than one trip!" Leon exclaims. "We. Are. Coming!"

"Ah," I groan, looking from Emerson to Leonard to Edward. "Fine. Fine. But you two are both running back."

"Okay, fine," Em says.

"Yeah," Leon agrees. "I can deal with that."

I take a deep breath. "Okay. So I'm starting with Edward . . . and Emerson. Leon, you're waiting here with Carlisle."

"Bu—"

"Nope." I turn to Em and Edward. "Okay, so take my arms . . . tightly. As hard as you—well, Em, as hard as you can." I look at my dad. "You . . . not so much."

He smiles crookedly, that same smile I see on Leon every day. "Of course." He takes my arm in his, and Emerson does the same.

"Okay. You guys ready?" Emerson nods, already looking nauseas. Edward even looks nervous.

I close my eyes, and picture it. Washington . . . La Plush . . . the border.

And when I open them, I'm there. My head spins, and I stumble. Edward catches me, looking pained. "Are you hurt? Did something—"

"I'm—" I squeeze my eyes shut. When the throbbing pain behind my eyebrows lessens, I shiver. "I've never done it with more than one person before," I breathe. Edward tucks me into his side.

"Maybe you should wait a little bit before going back," he says, his breath cool on my face. I right myself, though, and pull back slightly.

"No . . ." I open my eyes. "I'm fine. We need to find Maybelle." I take a step backwards, but Edward still has my arm in a death grip. "I'll . . . I'll be right back." Edward looks unsure. "Really. I'm fine." He doesn't seem too keen on doing so, but he lets go of my arm, taking a step back.

"Be careful," he warns, his eyes dark with worry—and thirst.

I sigh. CRACK!

It takes a while to convince Carlisle that we won't be needing him—assuming that Maybelle is relatively unharmed—but I eventually get Leon back with me. Edward fusses over me for a few minutes, and I have to keep telling him that teleporting—with another person—usually tires me out, and that it was normal, I'd be fine once I started moving around.

And then we start heading into uncharted—to me, at least; Edward and Alice seemed pretty comfortable—territory: the Quileute woods.

Alice and Edward lead us back down to the beach, where all we dig around for any scent of the werewolves—and where all of us come up blank.

"Alice and I could head into town," Edward starts, looking nervous. "Emerson and Leonardo—will you watch Cassandra?"

"Hey," I warn. "I don't need baby-sitting." A look passes between Edward, Em, and Leon. "Honest! I don't!"

Em snorts, but otherwise ignores me, turning to Edward. "Yeah. We'll watch her."

Edward nods, and grabs Alice's arm, turning away. But then he freezes, and runs back to me. He pulls me to his chest and kisses my hair, before disappearing with a gust of wind.

MPOV

The movie is horrible. I've got to give Leah that much. But as for the whole werewolf thing? I haven't exactly become an expert within the past hour or so, so I don't really have too much to go by.

We're about halfway through The Wolf Man when I decide to ask where Seth is.

Leah looks startled by the question, but quickly composes herself. "I'm not sure, exactly . . ." She shrugs. "Just around, you know?"

I purse my lips. "Yeah."

Leah sighs. Sits up, and turns to face me, Indian style. "I know you want to know what's going on, Maybelle, but I really can't tell you."

"Not even a hint?"

Leah shakes her head. "Not even a hint."

"Fine. Can you at least tell me what's going on with you and whats-his-face?"

"Kyle?" I nod. She fiddles with her fingers, and, when I glance down, I notice it's a wedding ring she's fiddling with, not her fingers. "Well . . . we're married, you know, and have been for four years now." My curiousity peaks. She looked eighteen! Seventeen, even! "We don't age," she explains. "I've looked like this for fifteen years; I'm thirty three." I nod, letting her know I get it. "So Kyle wants kids. You know, I don't really blame him—and I want kids, too—but I don't know how we could make it work. I mean, we're both werewolves, so there's always the possibility of any kids we have not even being human—but even, like, outside of that, there's no way I'd force this on anyone else, especially my own kids. It seems so cruel; I've hated this whole thing so much, before I, erm, met Kyle, which just about makes this livable." Leah pauses, and leans her head back, letting it loll against the cushion. "We've been fighting about it for—" she cuts off, and shoots up from the couch.

"What—" I start, but Leah holds up a hand, darting towards the kitchen to look out the window. I stand up slowly. Leah lets out a low sound, almost a growl.

"Aw, crap!" she exclaims, whipping out her phone and dialing quickly. A phone starts to ring from somewhere upstairs. "Shit, shit, shit!" She dials another number. "Quil?" I move closer to hear the conversation better.

"Yeah? What's going on?" Quil seems startled.

"Something's out there!" she snaps.

"Like—"

"Like vampire!"

"Leah, we can't do anything—it might be that other one, or maybe one of the other Swan kids; Seth would murder—"

"Where is Seth?"

"I don't know!"

"Well, find him! Bring Claire to Emily's for all I care! Go look for Seth! I have to stay with the girl!"

Silence greets us on the other line. A deep breath. "Okay. I'll keep my phone on me; call if anything happens."

"Right." Leah snaps the phone shut, and then grabs the home phone from the counter, rapidly dialing another number, before doing the same on her cell, then pressing call at the same time.

Ring

Ring

Ring

And then—"Hello?"

And, on the other phone—"What, Leah?"

"Vampire. Outside. Right now."

"Our land?" one voice asks.

"Right now?" The other.

Steady breathing. Heavy footfalls. Running.

"Yes, now! I'm with the dhampir—find Seth. Now. Tell him to go back to the house."

"What?" one voice starts.

"Seth? He's right—"

A new voice cut's in then—Seth's voice. "Leah? What's going on?"

Leah looks really annoyed, closing her eyes tightly. "There is a vampire outside. On our land. Right now. I'm with your dhampir—get here now, or I'm leaving."

"I'm—"

"I don't care. Come now, or I'm gone." Leah hangs up. On both phones.

"You're not actually—" I start.

Leah rolls her eyes. "No way. Seth would kill me. That was the only way I'd actually get him to—" Knock. Leah looks smug. "—come here fast." Knock, knock, knock. Hard, fast. Loud. The door crashes open, and Seth storms in, shirtless. Leah laughs at his appearance—his hair is soaked, as with his only article of clothing; his shorts. "Hi, baby brother."

A low growl rumbles deep in his throat, but his eyes turn to me. "It's raining," he tells Leah, without looking away. "The trail's fading. It's definitely the Cullens, though." He wrinkles his nose. "I would know that smell anywhere."

"Is anyone--?"

Seth nods. "Brady, Cole, Quil, Jared, and Embry are going around. Sam's rounding everyone up at Emily's—Kenna, the baby, Lizzie, Claire, Kim; all the imprints, the kids, and the younger wolves."

Leah looks nervous but determined. "Kyle?"

Seth's brow creases. He turns to look at Leah. "Helping Sam, I think. You can go." Leah nods, touches my arm, and then makes a run for the door, her slight-yet-muscular frame shaking. Seth's eyes turn back to me, their deep brown shade darkened by worry and filled with some emotion I just couldn't put my finger on. He was cute; seventeen, I think, with a warm natural tan and funny black hair that was sticking up in every which direction (I found this sketch of Seth online that I'm just in love with—look on my profile!). His muscles were very there, but not disgustingly; he was tall and lanky, and his abs were pretty impressive. His faded jean cut-offs were folded over at the bottom and had that warm, well-worn look that made them look so soft.

"Maybelle?" he says softly. He holds out a callused hand, which I take, without hesitation, although I'm shocked by how warm he is. I don't fight when he starts gently pulling me up the stairs, before stopping me in front of a shut door. He holds up a finger, gives me a small smile, then slips into the room, before coming back out with a pair of boxers and an old faded red sweatshirt. He shrugs helplessly, giving me an adorable smile. "It's the best I can find." I glance down at my clothes, which consists of my unsalvageable skinny jeans and a gross looking tank top. I wonder where my t-shirt went, but I don't really care. I grimace, and eagerly accept the clothes. He holds open his door, and gestures for me to step inside. "I'll be right out here."

He shuts the door once I get inside, and I take a second to look around at his room. It's small, but well-lived in; CDs are stacked up on the shelves above his small desk, and a few surfing posters sit above his bed on the deep green walls. It has much more character than any of my rooms had ever been. There's a cluster of pictures on his dresser and taped to the wall behind it, and my eyes linger on the ones up front. The first is of a cluster of shirtless boys outside in the woods. I recognize Seth and Quil, and a few boys from the beach—then there's one that looks really familiar, but I can't place where I'd seen him. The next is of Seth and Leah, a cute picture of them in a kitchen with brightly colored cabinets, the two of them holding out cookie-batter coated hands wearing big grins. There are a few from what look to be weddings—the first of Seth and Leah, Seth in a tux, and Leah dressed in a gorgeous white dress; she looks absolutely stunning. The other three are of Seth with other people, everyone in tuxes, and each with a different girl in the white dress, picture perfect; the kinds of photos in ads, or the ones that come in the picture frames when you buy them. Another is of Seth with a little girl; Seth looks younger, his face rounder, the little girl grinning with her brown hair in pigtails, gaps where she's missing teeth.

Each picture signifies things I've never gotten to experience—family. The feeling of having home. The way Seth seems to belong in the picture completely stumps me; I've never had that. Not once.

I hurry to get changed, folding my own clothes messily into a pile. My bra and underwear are fine, thank god, and Seth's boxers are soft cotton—I'm assuming they're an older pair, because there's no way that they'd fit me if they fit him now. The sweatshirt's warm, and smells like camp fires and bug spray—that warm, woodsy smell that fits the aura that seems to follow Seth everywhere.

When I'm done, I slowly open the door; Seth's waiting just outside, like promised, and his serious frown disappears when he sees me wearing his clothes, standing in his doorway.

I shuffle my feet nervously. "Where should I put my dirty stuff?"

Seth frowns. "Um . . . here." He snatches it from my hand, and tosses it into a dirty clothes hamper behind his door. "You need shoes," he said. "Crap. I might have boots . . ." Seth disappears inside his bedroom, and comes back out carrying a pair of black rain boots, which he hands over to me, along with a pair of thick socks. I set them down and take a pony tail from my wrist, using it to tie my hair up in a messy bun on the top of my head. I pull the sleeves down over my hand, shivering. Seth looks worried. "You okay?"

"Uh . . .yeah." I take inventory; no aches, my headache's practically gone—I'm just kind of cold. "Fine."

Seth still looks kind of nervous, but shrugs it off, leading the way back down the staircase, and into their cozy living room. "I have to get you to Emily's . . ." his voice trails off, and he reaches for the phone that Leah tossed on the couch, dialing a number. I sit down on the floor and start getting the boots on.

"Hey, Em," he says, when whoever is on the line—Emily, I'm assuming—answers. "Yeah, I'm bring her right now . . . No, I'm not sure . . . Yeah, that's fine . . . I know . . . I'll fill you in when I get there, okay?" He takes a deep breath. "Yeah. Okay. Bye." He rubs his eyes for a second, before turning down to me. "You ready? I have to take you to one of the pack member's houses, in case something happens . . ." he trails off, his voice shaky. He clears his throat.

I jump up. "Yeah, I'm all set." I bury my hands into the pocket of the sweatshirt, and pull up the hood, taking a few back-ward steps toward the front door, eyes still on Seth. He smiles unwillingly, before meeting pace with me, then holding out a hand to stop me. He opens the door, and inhales deeply. Looking satisfied, he grabs my hand, and hurries me through the rain to a faded white truck sitting in the driveway. He boosts me up into the car, and my arms tingle at his touch through the jacket. He runs around to the driver's side, and starts the car the second he gets the door shut. We're speeding down the street moments later, and then he stops just a barely a minute later; he jumps out of the car and hurries to my side, opening my door and tucking me under his arm so he can block the rain until we reach the cover of the porch. He knocks on the door, which opens right afterward, almost like the person had been waiting for us to show up.

The girl who opened the door is pretty; her skin was a perfect russet shade, her black hair long and shiny. She had high cheek bones and broad lips paired with hazel eyes rimmed by dark, thick lashes. Seth embraces her warmly, and she smiles, revealing straight white teeth and a gorgeous smile. "Hey, Kimmy," Seth says. "Maybelle, this is Kim. Kim, this is Maybelle."

Kim gives me a halfhearted wave, and a little boy comes running straight for her, sliding on the wood floor, crashing into her legs. Kim laughs, and Seth does, too. The boy has tanned skin, and longish black hair; he looks about four. "This is my son, Christian," Kim tells me. "Christian, this is Maybelle."

Christian grins at me, before looking up at his mom. "Auntie Emily says I need to go night-night!"

Kim glances up at the clock on the wall. "Auntie Emily is right, bud," she tells him, picking him up and carrying him down the hall. "It's seven-thirty, Chris."

"No!"

"Yes! And maybe if you're a good boy and get to bed, Daddy will come and—" Kim disappears from view, and I can't hear her anymore. Seth gently lays a hand on my arm, nudging me in the direction of a large entryway off to the side. It turns out to lead to a kitchen, where three girls are, and a baby.

"Maybelle, this is Mckenna"—Seth points to a pretty girl who looks in her mid-twenties with light skin, rosy cheeks and dirty blonde hair, holding a sleeping baby boy—"that's Lizzie"—he points to a girl that looks thirteen or fourteen with a medium tan and wavy black hair—"and Claire"—the last girl looks around seventeen, and is absolutely gorgeous; it's obvious why Quil seemed so smitten with her. Her hair is long, brown, and wavy; her skin is lightly tanned, her eyelashes thick and dark; her bottom lip is slightly larger than her top; her cheeks are lightly flushed. I smile at them, and they smile back. "Guys, this is Maybelle. Where's Em, Kenna?"

"She's in the shower," Claire answers. "Chris got food in her hair."

Seth's lips twitch, like he's not sure whether he should smile or frown. But then he grows serious, and his eyebrows pucker. "I should be helping—"

. "Well, I hear you've got quite the lot of explaining to do." Mckenna's lips quirk up in the corners, adding some light to her gray eyes as she teases Seth.

Seth looks kind of panicked. Lizzie laughs. "Seth, get over yourself." Lizzie looks at me. "Seth's kind of a wimp. Just so you know, for future reference."

"Right," I say. "Thanks for the tip."

Lizzie winks at me before raising an eyebrow at Seth, who shrugs his shoulders uneasily. I roll my eyes at Lizzie, and tap my chin thoughtfully. "I think I get what you're talking about, Lizzie."

Her eyes sort of glaze over, but she nods. "Yep." She refocuses, and smiles. "I thought you would."

Seth squirms. "You hungry, Maybelle? 'Cause if you are, I'll get you something."

I purse my lips. Mckenna and Claire look amused. "Nah, I think I'm good." Seth's eyes are smiling. His lips twitch.

"Hm. Well, I'm hungry." He darts out of the room. The three girls laugh, and I crack a smile.

"He's going to—"

Knock!

We all turn in the direction of the door. "SETH! SETH, ARE YOU HERE?" It's Leah. We all let out a collective breath. Seth comes running back to the room immediately, and stands next to me nervously. He grabs my hand, and pulls me from the kitchen to the front door, where he pushes me behind him before tearing the door open.

"Seth!" Leah exclaims. She pears behind him. "Where's—" I step into view. Leah swallows. "Seth, it's the Cullens."

Seth's arms start to shake. "Here?"

Leah bites her lip. "Yeah. They're here for Maybelle."

A low growl builds in Seth's throat. "Which ones?"

"Edward, and the tiny girl. Alice, I think." Leah looks worried. "Are you—?"

"I'll . . ." Seth swallows. Takes a deep breath. The shaking stops. "I'll go talk to him. Will you—?"

"Yeah, Seth. No problem." She takes his hand. Squeezes.

I look between the two of them. "What am I missing here?"

Leah turns to me, dropping Seth's hand. "You're dad is here. And the vampire the rest of the pack saw at the beach with you and your sister."

"Alice? My dad?" My shock is clear in my voice.

Leah nods. "Yeah. Edward? He's here. Looking for you."

I swallow. "Did you tell them I was here?"

"No one's told them anything," Leah says. "The guys are holding them off. They can't do anything; this is our land, and we have the strength in numbers."

Seth nods. "Right. Okay. I can do this." He turns to me. "I'm going to leave you here with Leah. I'll try and figure this out quickly, but . . ." He looks at Leah. "Thanks, Le-le."

She hugs him tight. "Good luck."

SPOV (Seth)

My arms itch to hold Maybelle, but I just squeeze her hand gently before pushing past Leah, out the door. Her startling green eyes are stained into my eyelids; I shut my eyes, they're the only thing I can see—she's the only thing I can think about.

I keep turning it over and over and over again in my mind, and I can't make any sense of it. I have an imprint.

I—Seth Clearwater—have an imprint.

Maybelle Swan.

Maybelle Swan.

Gorgeous.

I launch into the dense green trees, transforming mid-air. My eyes immediately scan the forest, but I head in the direction of Rialto Beach.

What took so long? Sam's voice booms in my mind, and I wince.

Sorry, boss. Had to explain what was up to Maybelle, and Leah had to explain what was up to me.

Well, hurry. Sam sounds frustrated, which sends me flying faster through the trees.

What's going on? I ask.

Cullen boy wants the go o.k. to look for his daughter, Jared tells me.

The daughter he abandoned, Collin adds, dryly. I growl. Sorry, man. But it's true.

Seth! Sam growls. Focus! Faster!

Boss, take a chill pill. I'm almost there.

Seth, Sam warns.

Okay, okay. I'm here! I break through the trees into the small clearing right next to Rialto I'd seen in his mind. Sam barked at me from where he was sitting on his haunches, right in front of the vampire. Edward.

Go back a few steps—Jared has some shorts for you. I nod in assent and do as he says, changing and taking Jared's shorts from behind the cover of the trees. When I reappear in the clearing, Edward looks at me warily.

"Will someone tell me where my daughter is?" he asks, and actually looks worried.

"Is the other one here?" I ask, dodging the question.

His expression hardens. "Why?"

"Because I need to tell my pack not to kill her." My heart aches at the thought.

Any color in his face seems to drain; he sinks to his knees. "Please. Cassandra is here. By the border. With my two sons."

I look over at Sam. He nods, and barks to the wolves taking cover in the trees; I hear two or three of them take off, making sure nobody gets to them. The other vampire, Alice, sighs from her seat along the edge of the clearing. "He won't let anyone hurt them," she says. "I may not be able to see the wolves, Edward, but I know they'll be fine."

Edward looks miserable. "Please. I only just found out they existed. Don't take away my chance. Don't—"

My eyes widen. "Do you think we'd hurt her?" It seems preposterous. Ridiculous. Unfathomable. Hurt her? Never.

Edward's eyebrows pucker. "You do have my daughter, don't you?"

I rub my temples, looking down at my imprint's father.

Now it's his turn for his eyes to widen—but his don't just widen; they look about to fall out of their sockets. "Your what?"

"Um. Edward? I kind of imprinted on your daughter."

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