Hey, guys! Long time, no see! I apologize for the wait - I 've been swamped with school work and end of semester projects. BUT exams are this week and then I will be freeeeeee! The excitement is too real right now.

I'm hoping to finish Part II of Sunburn this month, considering there are only about ten more chapters before Part III. I've been playing around with ideas for Part III (Breaking Dawn) and I'm really excited for it! More imprints, drama, vampires, weddings, and Nori-probs!

I have a question for you guys, though. What would you like to see happen with Nori/Jacob and Nori/Embry?

Please review! They give me motivation and happiness!

"Hey babe. I know we had plans for the day, but Sam put me on patrol again in Jared's place. Apparently, Kim has a doctor's appointment in Seattle or something. I don't know. I miss you. I promise I'll make it up to you, babe. Bye."

I flipped the phone shut and stared out the window into my backyard. Dating a werewolf sucked, especially when threats were so close and patrol was absolutely necessary nowadays. I missed the days when Embry and Quil would just come over and spend the entire day hanging out, before they became furry creatures. I missed the normalcy of it all.

I replayed Embry's voicemail, my brows furrowing as he spoke of Kim's appointment. For her to go all the way to Seattle meant that something more than a checkup was happening. I hadn't seen my friend in over a week, mostly because of her spending so much time tutoring Jared so the two could graduate together. The boys were all behind in their studies. It would be a miracle for them to all graduate on time with the rest of their classmates.

I dialed Kim's number and held the phone to my ear as her automated voicemail spoke in my ear. As soon as it beeped, I left her a quick message, asking if everything was all right and letting her know that I wanted to see her lovely face sometime in the near future. She couldn't hole up with Jared forever.

I sprawled out on my back onto my bed and stared up at the ceiling. Jacob had tracked the vampire a few days ago and reported back to Sam. They had agreed that a wolf should always be present on patrol around our home. The Cullens had allowed this, as long as they were also allowed to always keep an eye on us as well. Sam had reluctantly agreed for both mine and Bella's sakes.

Sam was a smart guy sometimes. I felt deeply for him as he tried to play leader over a gang of wily wolves, all at the age of twenty-one. He was practically a kid himself. He should have been out drinking with his college buddies in the city, not giving up his future to guide high schoolers in battles against bloodsucking creatures.

The world was a crazy place. I'd just never realized how crazy until now.

My hands played with the button of my high waisted jean shorts. I had already dressed and prepared myself for our afternoon date, but now that Embry had to patrol, my efforts were wasted. I was too lazy to change, though. I'd spent so much time trying to look attractive, I was definitely not letting it go to waste now.

I stood and crossed the hallway to knock on the door directly across from mine. Bella has just gotten home from school a few minutes before. I hoped she'd be in the mood to go do something with me. We rarely spent time together, especially now that we were involved in the supernatural mess. Now that my friends were patrolling so often, I had no one to really hang out with except her.

"Come in!" her soft voice called from the other side.

I opened the door and stepped into her spotless room. Bella was sitting at the head of her bed, cross-legged, with books surrounding her. It was obvious that she had been studying for finals.

"What're you up to?" I asked before mentally face palming. I had literally just realized what my sister was doing seconds before the question left my mouth.

Bella motioned to the papers in front of her. "I'm just catching up on some studying. Did you need something?"

I sighed dramatically and fell over the end of her bed, smothering my face into her comforter and bouncing lightly in place from the impact. "I'm bored," I complained, my voice coming out muffled from the material suffocating me.

Bella giggled softly. "Why don't you call Quil or Embry?"

"Patrol."

"Seth?" she questioned.

"Helping Sue at the diner."

Bella was quiet for a minute before she whispered, "What about Jake?"

I shrugged and rolled over onto my back so that I could gulp in fresh air. "He's probably asleep. It's been a crazy week." That was an understatement. Ever since the Cullens alerted Paul and I of the vampire in our home, the boys had been patrolling nonstop and while they used to only rotate two wolves per patrol, they had upped their numbers to four wolves per patrol. Three for La Push and one for our backyard and surrounding area. With only eight wolves in the pack, it meant that the boys were constantly either asleep or on patrol, which led to stressing them out and leaving no time for us girlfriends to spend with our better halves.

I missed Embry. I missed my friends. I even missed Jacob.

Bella picked up the scattered papers and began tapping them lightly against her knee, evening them as she stacked the papers together. "It really has. Edward has barely left my side since . . ." she trailed off, biting her lip as she stuck the papers in a folder. I understood what she meant. Since the vampire showed up in her bedroom the one night she stayed away from home.

Holding my hands up over my head slightly, I picked at a hangnail. "What is it like?" I asked quietly, afraid of offending my sister but curious all the same. "You know, dating one of them."

Bella snorted. "I could ask you the same thing."

I rolled my eyes and turned to lay on my side as I rested my head against my propped up arm. "Come on. It's different," I said as she leaned back against the headboard and stared at me. "Embry is human. Edward is, well . . ." I gestured wildly with my free hand. "He's not."

Bella's eyes narrowed at me slightly before she cleared her throat and sat forward, resting her forearms on her knees. "Edward may not be one hundred percent human, but neither are any of the pack. The only difference besides obvious abilities is the fact that Edward's heart does not beat and theirs do." She tucked a bit of hair behind her ear as her brows furrowed. "But Edward feels just as much as any other human. He has emotions, he has a conscience. He isn't as heartless as you think." Bella's eyes flickered up to meet mine. "Does that make sense?"

I sucked my bottom lip in between my teeth as I nodded. I could see what she meant. As strange as it was, she truly believed her vampire was as close to human as any of the other supernatural creatures. It didn't mean I would date any of his kind or trust those outside of the Cullen family. I was strictly a wolf girl.

"So, you and Embry, huh?" Bella murmured, a small smirk gracing her features as she effectively steered the subject away from her leech love.

I could feel a blush creeping up my neck as I pressed my lips together to hold back the grin that threatened. Our relationship was still so new that I couldn't stop the giddy feeling that hit every time someone mentioned it.

"Maybe," I drawled as the grin began to break across my face.

Bella smirked wider. "I think that's fantastic. It's like one of those cheesy movies, where the best friends fall in love and live happily ever after. You're perfect for each other."

I opened my mouth to respond, but Bella continued. "You shouldn't let anything stop you both from staying together. Legends be damned."

My heart stopped for a full second as I stared wide-eyed at my sister. What the hell was that? As far as I knew, she'd never been told anything about the imprint, and yet here she was, spouting off advice as if she was in on the secret. I was stunned speechless.

Bella didn't seem to notice. "Edward still isn't too thrilled over my friendship with Jake. I'm sure you understand, though. I mean, Embry probably doesn't let you see him either, right?"

I blinked, trying to catch up to the conversation and find my voice. Clearing my throat, I stared at my sister incredulously. "Actually, Jacob and I are pretty close." Okay, that was a lie. But I was still so shocked over Bella's declaration and then her acting as if Embry controlled me and I wasn't allowed to be friends with Jacob. It was ridiculous. "Embry doesn't have a say in who I hang out with. In fact, he's totally fine with mine and Jacob's friendship." At least that part was true.

Bella fidgeted nervously as she stared at me intensely. "R-Really? You and Jake are . . . close?" she asked, nearly choking out the final word. It almost made me laugh cruelly at how obvious she was being. She liked Jacob, even though she was dating Edward. She liked my imprint and couldn't handle the fact that I was close to him as well.

I remembered the day I thought of coming to Bella for advice on understanding Jacob. Hearing her now, I was pretty sure she'd be the last person to help me.

"I stayed at his place last night," I said with a shrug, though I knew that the ulterior motive was my protection and not because Jacob and I had a close friendship. Bella didn't seem to know that, though, and seeing her bite her lip and pick at her nails in jealousy and shock made me feel victorious. It also made me feel pretty shitty, because I loved my sister and I didn't want to lie and say things to hurt her.

Either way, I was screwed.

"Just, um, be careful, okay?" she murmured, glancing up to look at me from underneath her long lashes. "Jacob has gone through a lot. I don't want to see him hurting anymore."

The comebacks that danced on my tongue fell silent as I took in Bella's words. She truly did care for Jacob, even if she had a sucky way of showing it.

I nodded. "I would never hurt him," I whispered, the words ringing in my ears as nothing but the truth. He was my imprint. No matter how messed up our lives got, I would never be able to intentionally hurt him. I'd also try my damndest not to unintentionally hurt him either.

"So, how does this whole dating a vampire thing work?" I questioned, trying to move the conversation to a topic away from Jacob. "I mean, can he even do it with a human?"

Bella's eyes widened at my brazen words and a blush covered her cheeks as I snickered. She obviously hadn't hung around me often enough.

"W-We, uh-" she stuttered, her cheeks darkening. "He wants to wait until marriage."

I blinked. I definitely wasn't expecting that answer. The thought of a vampire even mentioning marriage to a human was strange.

"I guess that means you guys will never go through with it, huh?"

Bella shrugged one shoulder and tucked more hair behind her ear. "Not exactly . . ."

I raised a brow. "What-"

"I want to marry him," Bella interrupted.

The air I had been in the process of breathing caught in my throat, causing me to cough and sputter out, "Are you insane?!" I coughed and cleared my throat. "I mean, he'd never age. You'd have to actually change into . . ."

I trailed off as I noticed Bella's sheepish expression. Shit.

"You're insane." The words were quiet, even though I was internally screaming. The thought of my sister becoming a bloodsucking leech made my skin crawl.

She didn't seem to share my sentiment. "I love him, Nori. I love humanity, but I love him more." She gazed straight into my soul. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Did I? My sister wanted to commit suicide in a way and live forever as a corpse. She was willing to give up everything for a guy who left her once already.

She was crazy. The thing was, I knew I'd do the same thing for Embry or Jacob.

"Does Jacob know?" I was afraid of how much more pain he'd be in if he knew of Bella's plan.

She nodded and my heart constricted. "I told him weeks ago. He's determined to fight for me until the end." Her eyes watered and she sniffled. "I love him so much, but I can't live without Edward. I hate being torn in two constantly."

For the first time in my life, I could completely sympathize with my sister. Here she was, torn between two boys, and I had judged her so harshly when I was in the same damn boat.

I reached forward and grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently. "Jacob is stubborn as a mule," I said, using a phrase our grandmother had used constantly as we were growing up. "He'll fight, and he'll lose when you choose Edward again. But he'll grow stronger from it and you will always have a friend in him."

Bella stared at me for a moment before smiling softly. "You know, you've gotten so wise on me," she joked.

"Supernatural shit does that, I guess."

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Warm arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me back against a strong chest. I leaned my head against his collarbone as he pressed his lips against my neck.

"How's my favorite girl?"

I chuckled as I elbowed my boyfriend in the ribs. "She'd be better if you'd let her go before the soup burns."

Embry's arms disappeared immediately, releasing me to stir the enormous pot of soup on Emily's stove. I had decided to visit after Edward arrived to see Bella during our girl talk. While I knew that the Cullens were only looking out for us, I still felt uneasy being alone around them. Bella could marry into the leech family, but I preferred to stick to the wolves.

Upon seeing me at her door, Emily had been ecstatic to have help in preparing dinner for the pack. She'd put me to work heating the soup as she prepared a mountain of sandwiches at the counter perpendicular to me.

"Embry, if she burns that soup, you're paying for it," Emily warned as she laid another sandwich on the growing pile.

Embry snickered but otherwise kept his hands away from me as he leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms. His hip bumped mine and I leaned to the side and rest my head against his bicep. Having him close was comforting; I hadn't seen him in what felt like forever. I missed having my best friend around, and the fact that we could now make out only made the separation more depressing.

The mother hen tossed the last sandwich onto the pile and hurriedly washed her hands in the sink as she looked over her shoulder to Embry. "Don't let your brothers eat until everyone is here," she ordered, drying her hands. "I've got to get sheets on the guest bed." With that, she disappeared from the room in a flurry, leaving Embry and I to shrug at each other and turn back to the soup.

I turned the open off and set the lid on the pot and wound my arms around Embry's waist from the side.

"I missed you," I whispered, tilting my head back to look up at my overly tall boyfriend.

He grinned and leaned down to peck the tip of my nose. "I missed you more. Paul wouldn't shut up because you were all I could think about."

I couldn't help the blush that creeped up on to my cheeks. Hearing him admit that he thought about me when I wasn't around only made me fall for him harder.

The back door opened and three more wolves burst into the room, laughing rambunctiously and shoving each other. Quil had Jared in a headlock as Paul howled like a hyena at whatever had provoked the boys to begin roughhousing.

Embry chuckled and held me closer to his side as Jared wriggled out of Quil's grasped and body slammed the younger boy to the floor. Paul doubled over, gasping between laughs as Embry pressed his face into my hair and tried to suppress his laughter. I let the giggles flow from my mouth freely as Quil began griping from the floor about how Jared "wasn't playing fair."

"What in the hell are you boys doing?!" Emily exclaimed. Her hands were on her hips as she stared, wide-eyed, down at the two wolves. Her eyes flitted around the room at the rest of us. They met mine, and at the sight of the tears of laughter in my own, she rolled hers. I couldn't miss the way her lips twitched as she fought her own smile.

"Sorry, Em," Jared murmured as he let Quil go and stood. My childish friend joined him and scowled at the older boy.

Emily opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by the doorbell ringing. We all froze — nobody ever rang the doorbell around here.

Emily's face suddenly lit up in a smile as she said, "They're here!" and turned to rush down the hallway. With the way she was running around like a chicken with her head cut off, I could only wonder who was supposed to be visiting.

Sam stepped through the back door just as Emily's voice floated down the hallway, the melodic tone full of excitement as she greeted her guest. Sam's usually stoic face broke into a grin as a tiny body flew into the room, ducking under the massive boys standing around and throwing itself into Sam's arms.

"Sam! Sam! Sam!"

Sam chuckled and bent to catch the creature and, once he'd stood to full height with it in his arms, I could see exactly what was going on. A tiny, toddler girl was in his beefy arms, and from the way she shared so many features from Emily, I could only assume Emily's brother had arrived.

Ethan Young still lived on the Makah reservation. I'd never met him, but tons of pictures scattered around the house and on the walls portrayed Emily's childhood that she shared with her older brother. Emily had mentioned once that he had two small children.

Sam coddled the small child as Emily reentered the room, a male version of herself following close behind with a bag slung over one shoulder and a bundle in his arms. Ethan was much taller than his sister, but the likeness in their facial features was uncanny. They could have passed for twins.

Emily motioned to her brother as she addressed the room. "Guys, this is my older brother, Ethan. Ethan, these are some of our friends. Quil, Paul, Jared, Embry, and Nori." She pointed to each person respectively as she introduced them.

The guys nodded to Ethan and I offered a wave and smile. I was never good with new people or introductions. My inner awkward butterfly came out.

"And you remember my fiancée, Sam."

Sam shoved Paul to the side and passed the boys to reach Ethan as he held his hand out. They shook hands as Ethan smiled - a full smile that I was sure would have been identical to Emily's had her face not been scarred.

"Well if I don't, Claire certainly does," the older Young joked, causing us all to chuckle and the little girl in Sam's arms to pat Sam on the head and giggle. Her long, black hair had been pulled back in a high ponytail with a pink ribbon that was tied into a bow and matched her pink cotton top and pink capri pants. It was obvious that the child loved pink, and I was sure that with her outgoing personality and adorable dimpled grin, she'd have every one of the pack members wrapped around her finger.

Ethan handed over the bag on his shoulder to Emily, who slung it over her own and held her arms out for the bundle. She trapped the baby against her chest affectionately.

"We'll be back sometime late Sunday," Ethan said to his sister. "I'll call you if anything changes."

Emily hugged her brother with one arm and grasped his elbow as she leaned back. "You guys just be careful, okay? It's always dangerous up in those mountains."

I noticed how the boys all shuffled uncomfortably as they read the hidden meaning behind Emily's words. The mountains were a prime target for vampires. Hikers, galore.

I bit my lip and said a silent prayer for Ethan and his wife as he promised Emily they'd be safe. They'd apparently been avid hikers before the kids came along.

Sam clasped Ethan on the shoulder as Claire leaned forward to peck her father on the cheek and say goodbye. She didn't seem to upset with her father leaving. She was still hanging onto Sam and playing with his cropped hair like it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

Ethan kissed the head of the baby in Emily's arms before waving to the rest of us. The boys called out "goodbye"'s and "later bro"'s as I waved again, and with that, Ethan left.

Once the front door closed, the baby in Emily's arms began fussing. She excused herself and headed for the guest room while calling out over her shoulder that lunch was ready whenever we were.

The boys didn't have to be told twice.

They dug into the food while Sam came to stand by me. Claire leaned down and picked up a strand of my hair, letting it slide over her fingers and fall gently back down to the shoulder.

"Pwetty," she whispered before flashing me an award-winning smile. Her dimples were like tiny craters in her pudgy cheeks and only added to her level of adorableness.

"Claire, this is Nori. Can you say Nori?" Sam cooed, his massive hands carefully grasping the child in his arms as he bounced her lightly.

Claire nodded and looked at him. "Nawry!" She turned quickly and pointed a chunky finger at me with another dimpled grin. "Nawry!"

We laughed as I nodded at the little girl and held up my hand. "Hey, good job! High five," I said in a higher pitched voice - the kind all people used when talking to babies and dogs.

Claire smacked my hand wildly with hers and giggled.

Collin came bounding through the backdoor, out of breath. "Sam!"

Every boy froze as their heads snapped to Collin. He didn't seem to notice.

Sam straightened, his smile falling as the stoic look returned.

"Seth and J-Jacob," the boy stuttered. "They're r-ripping each others' heads off."

My stomach dropped as Sam immediately shoved little Claire into my arms with a quiet, "Everyone stay here," before he bounded after Collin.

It was silent for a moment as the door swung shut. I had a feeling that we were all thinking along the same lines. Seth was the happiest kid we'd ever known. Jacob was always in control of his anger. The fact that they were fighting only meant that something huge was going on.

I was almost scared to know what they were fighting about. I had a sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with me, and for that, I felt even sicker.

Everyone glanced at me before returning to gathering their food.

Claire pulled at the ends of my hair and giggled in my ear. I smiled at her, but I couldn't help but wonder how easy her life must have been compared to the shit I was having to deal with.

Even at that age, I was living with my father while my mother abandoned me and took Bella to California.

I nuzzled her cheek and bounced her lightly against my hip.

"Hey, Nor. Take a load off."

Quil had kicked out the chair next to him as he wolfed down the stack of sandwiches on his plate. I took a seat, cuddling the toddler in my arms closer as Embry placed a sandwich in front of me. I shot my boyfriend a smile, and while he sent one back, it didn't reach his eyes. I was sure mine hadn't reached my own either.

My stomach twisted as thoughts of Seth or Jacob coming back injured filled my head.

Embry wrapped an arm around my shoulders, but pulled back when Claire bit his dark skin. Both Paul and I burst into laughter at the incredulous look on my boyfriend's face and the cheeky grin on the little girl's.

"Damn, boy. That kid is savage."

Jared smacked the back of Paul's head as the rest of us shot him looks. "Emily will kill you if you teach her niece how to curse," Jared said, rolling his eyes.

Paul grumbled under his breath as Embry took my hand in my lap and dug back into his food. I couldn't help but silently laugh at him.

"Hey Nori, can you pass the—"

I looked up to see Quil staring just to the left of my eyes with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. Claire was standing in my lap and suspiciously still.

One glance at the toddler in my arms and I knew.

"Quil, what the fuck!" I screeched before I could catch myself.

The boys were still eating and conversing around the table, but at my outburst, Paul grumbled, "Didn't we just go over this?" regarding my language use. I didn't say a word. Quil was beginning to shake and the toddler in my arms was starting to cry and I was two seconds away from scooping up the baby and making a run for it. Embry caught on quickly, because he whispered, "Holy hell," as they all froze. Someone dropped a spoon into their soup bowl as the clattering made the only sound before all hell broke loose.

"You sick bastard!" Jared exclaimed as he and Embry jumped from their seats. Embry grasped my shoulders and pulled me to my feet and behind him slightly, putting the toddler out of Quil's sight. With Claire no longer in his view, Quil snapped back to reality.

"It's not like that!" he defended, holding his hands up as he leaned to the side in an attempt to see Claire. Embry's hand came back to rest on my hip and push me farther behind him. "It's not like that at all!"

Embry was shivering lightly and I rested my mouth against his bare upper arm, pressing a kiss there to calm him since I had no free hands. I was trying to hold a wildly squirming child to my chest. She was screaming like crazy while tears streamed down her face, and with every sound from her, Quil's eyes grew wilder and his shaking doubled.

"Embry, get out of the way," he begged, his voice nearly whining amidst his growls. "She needs me!"

Embry's arm left me as he shoved Quil back. Jared rounded the table and grabbed ahold of Quil's shoulders to keep him from leaping towards us.

Paul was chortling at the table around bites of sandwich, enjoying his dinner and the whole damn show.

Quil was pleading and Jared and Embry were exchanging glances, as if asking each other what in the hell they were supposed to do in this situation. I had no advice for them. I was just as clueless as they were.

"Qwil!" a voice cried desperately, and the room froze again. My eyes shot down to the child in my arms just as Quil slung Jared across the room and lunged at Embry, his eyes dangerously furious. Quil's imprint needed him, and nothing was standing in his way.

Just as Quil's hands reached for Embry's neck and my boyfriend threw his hands up in defense, a deep voice yelled Quil's name.

Quil's hands dropped as his chest heaved. Sam was standing in the doorway, drenched from the rain and a calculating look in his dark eyes. Seeing him, I immediately wanted to ask if Jacob and Seth were okay, but now was not the time. I was still too frozen in place behind a shivering Embry.

Sam glanced around the room, took in the chaos and Paul's laughter that still fell from his lips even as he tried to smother it, before his eyes found the crying child in my arms and his brows furrowed in anger.

"What is going on here?" he demanded.

Emily appeared in the doorway, shock written all over her face. "Why is everyone screaming? I just got Caleb down for . . . a . . . ." She trailed off as she took in the scene before her. The only sound was of Claire's sniffles and Paul's choking chuckles.

I heard the words leave my mouth in a whisper before I could even register them. "He imprinted on her." My eyes were boring into Quil's as his frantically searched for Claire's. She peeked her head around the side of Embry and underneath my chin.

"Qwil!" Her chunky arms reached out for him, but I held her closer to me. Quil whimpered, but his shoulders sagged in relief at the sight of his tiny imprint.

I wondered what was going on in his mind. How sick was this? She was barely two years old, and he was a teenager. What kind of relationship would this be? I felt like throwing up.

What did this mean for Claire's future? Was she forever tied to the supernatural?

Emily gasped and Sam cursed.

Paul couldn't contain himself any longer. "Man, this shit is better than Jerry Springer."