So sorry that it's taken me so long to update. I've had a lot going on. But, I'm hoping to have some good writing time coming up, so don't give up on me just yet. The reviews are amazing - you guys are amazing! Think we can make it to 600 before the end?

This is the second last chapter. First chapter of my new story will be posted after the last of this one.

Thanks for sticking with me. Hope you like!

It had been three days since the pack had rescued Callum and I from the abandoned house nearly two hours away from La Push. Three days since I thought I would never see any of them ever again. Three days since I had nearly died a dozen times.

I had never loved La Push more.

Needless to say, my parents had gone completely crazy and refused to let me out of our house. Once Carlisle had assured everyone that I would in fact live—though I would have a hell of a headache for a few days—they had forced me to spend two entire days in bed "resting".

They're lucky I hadn't gone completely insane.

Thankfully, they'd lifted the warden a little. I had now been given clearance to sit in the living room, supervised, of course. I didn't mind. I wasn't sure that I ever wanted to be alone again.

We'd learned a lot about the situation now that Elizabeth was truly gone. Since they were a little more involved than they had been in previous years, Taylor's extended family suspected that ever since that day in the woods where I'd first met Elizabeth; she'd been toying with us. The biggest clue—I hadn't had one nightmare since her death.

Carlisle assumed that she had some sort of ability to project images into other's minds and that was how she had kept a close eye on us all these years. It was creepy to think that she had been watching us and that she'd been in control of part of my mind for the better part of ten years.

I was just happy she was gone.

"Hey, kiddo."

I jumped, grasping onto the side of the couch as the front door slammed shut. Tate, Ethan, Lucas, and Ashton came filing into the room with big grins on their faces. I raised an eyebrow at them before I proceeded to stretch across the entire couch.

Lucas didn't waste any time. He had lifted me off the couch and placed me on his lap before I could even blink. I didn't mind. Ever since I'd returned home, I refused to spend too much time apart from him. They could call me clingy if they wanted, but as long as Lucas didn't mind, then neither did I.

I refused to take the chance of not spending as much time with him as I could, knowing how precious our time was together. I wanted to spend as much time with him as I possibly could.

"How are you feeling?" he murmured against my skin.

Tate threw a pillow in our direction, grumbling under his breath. I ignored him.

"I'm fine," I told Lucas honestly. "Bored."

"Hey, now," Ethan said, ruffling my hair as he walked by. He flopped down on one of the chairs. "I'd rather be bored than suffering through that patrol shift."

The truth was, despite the giant fuss I'd given over being part of the pack, I truly missed it. I felt like I hadn't been given the chance to stretch my legs in forever. I couldn't wait to get back to training, but until my parents lifted my house arrest, that wouldn't be happening any time soon.

I had an extreme case of cabin fever.

"I guess," I murmured.

Lucas smoothed my hair. "You get to come to Trey's ceremony tonight, though," he reminded me.

Tonight, Cody was officially handing the alpha position off to Trey. The weather was finally nice enough for a real beach bonfire and Trey had since been working his butt off to get ready to take on the responsibility. I was excited for the transition. I loved Cody like a brother, but Trey was going to be much easier to work with.

Thankfully, my parents weren't that cruel as to keep me from attending the bonfire tonight. I just wasn't allowed to participate in anything fun.

Lucas seemed to read my mind. "I'll keep you company, don't worry."

I smiled.

Ashton flopped down next to us. "Where is Trey today anyway?"

Tate chuckled. "Maybe he's preparing a speech for accepting his crown."

The boys chuckled.

I rolled my eyes. Despite their teasing, I knew they were happy for him. But, if only they knew that Trey was in fact spending the entire day with my cousin, Taylor, on their first date.

It was only the cutest thing ever, but I refused to fill the boys in on any details. They would tease the crap out of the poor boy for sure.

As we sat around and joked with one another, I couldn't believe how nice it was to have everything back to normal. It was like everything up until had gone in a complete circle. And now, we were free to create a different path without having to worry about anything to get our way.

Feeling a little overwhelmed with emotion, I excused myself to the back porch, where I sat down quickly. It wasn't long before the door opened again. The warm figure pressed up against my side, arm coming around my waist at once.

"Hey," Lucas whispered. His hand appeared under my chin, tilting my face up. "What's wrong, baby?"

I shook my head and wiped at my eyes before I smiled at him. "Nothing," I said.

He looked confused. "Then why are you crying?"

I buried my face in the side of his neck. "I'm just happy," I told him. "We're free. The danger is gone."

Before I could say anything else, he tilted my chin up once more and pressed his lips to mine. Just as always, I was immediately lost within the feel of his soft lips against my own. I pressed myself further to him. One of his hands slipped under the back of my tank top to rest on my hip. I made a noise in appreciation.

"Ugh, really guys?"

I jumped, nearly knocking my teeth out against Lucas' chin. Pulling away, I noticed Emma standing at the edge of the porch, a wicked grin on her face. The grin grew as she heard Lucas begin to growl under his breath.

I bit my lip to hold in my laughter. "Hey," I greeted her.

"Hey, yourself," Emma said. She looked to Lucas. "Give us a minute?"

His hesitation was clear and I squeezed his hand lightly. "It's okay."

His expression told me that it wasn't, but he seemed to give in anyway. His arm squeezed my waist softly. Then, he lifted my face to press one last kiss to my cheek. "Stay on the porch. Please."

I nodded, heaving a quick breath. "I'm not going anywhere."

Emma took his spot once he was inside the house and I glanced at her curiously. I felt like I hadn't seen my best friend in a while, though I knew she'd been over the day after the boys had found me. But, then, I'd still been slightly delirious.

"What's up, Em?"

She turned to look at me and I was surprised to see tears building in her eyes. "I was so scared that I would never see you again," she whispered.

I blinked in surprise and then I reached over to wrap my arms around her. "I'm fine, Em. I promise."

She shook me off. "That's not the point," she cried. "I spent a good two days wondering if I would ever see you again, if they would find you. And then, what if they had but you'd been dead? What was I supposed to do with myself, then?"

I could feel my own emotions building up. "I'm sorry," I told her.

She glared at me. "This isn't your fault, B. That's not why I'm telling you this."

I raised an eyebrow. "Then—what?"

Emma sighed deeply. "You have been my best friend since day one and I guess, even know we've both known that, I haven't always been fair to you. And, I just—I want to tell you how much I love you like you're my own sister, Brynn. And I'm sorry, for everything that's happened."

I sniffled. "Man, what the hell, Emma?" I cried, laughing a little.

She snorted her own laugh, staring at my tear stained face. "Sorry. It's true."

I wrapped my arms around her again, holding her tightly. "I love you too, Em. And I'm sorry, too."

"Good," she said. Then, she cleared her throat before she pulled away. I watched her reach into her pocket. "Now, I have something for you."

I took the folded piece of paper from her, sitting up straighter as I opened it up.

"I didn't read it," Emma murmured. "Cody just asked me to drop it off. Who's it from?"

My eyes scanned the words before me.

Thank you. & I'm sorry for everything.

- C

"Well?" Emma asked again.

I smiled a little. "It's just from a friend. No worries."

The back door banged open to reveal the boys. They all stared in concern, seeing the dried tear tracks on our faces.

"What's wrong?" Tate murmured softly.

"Nothing," I replied lightly.

Emma nodded in agreement, standing to brush her pants off.

They exchanged glances. Lucas shook his head. "Don't bother. I don't get it either."

My brother didn't seem to want to let it go, however. But, Ethan had other plans. "No—" he interrupted. "We have a party to go to. An entire free night; what are we still doing here?"

Ashton nodded eagerly. "Let's go!"

Emma and I followed the boys through the back yard towards the forest. We were only just covered by the trees when I gestured Emma ahead of me to stop beside Lucas, who had waited behind for us to catch up.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pressing a kiss to the side of my head. "Everything okay?" he asked.

I leaned my head on his shoulder, grinning up to him as I pressed a kiss to his lips.

"Everything's perfect."

Hope you liked it! Only one more left after this one.

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