Kim's POV

It was nice to be back in the circle after having to spend the morning on my own while everyone else found out more about Gabby's old pack and why she seemed to hate them so much. Although, I was glad that I wasn't there. Emily had told me about everything that had happened and gave me a short version of her tale, and I wanted nothing more than to curl up with Jared and cry for a few hours after she'd finished.

In fact, that was what I did.

When Gabby finally came out of her room she looked amazingly chipper for someone who had not only been abandoned, but had also just been visited by those that had abandoned her. They were probably strangers to her now. After six years without them there was little chance they could still know her as well as they used to.

It made me wonder if she really did think of us as strangers, she'd been here for a while and I did think that, a few weeks ago, she was really starting to settle in. That was until the pack smelt the presence of her old pack and all the progress she'd made looked like it was about to go out the window.

She was not impressed when she found out that Randall had come around earlier, but she had succeeded to Sam's order to let them help out. He said that they needed all the numbers they could get and Gabby had been unable to give a good reason why they couldn't be trusted. It had pissed Gabby off, and that was an understatement, to the point where she couldn't stay in Emily's house.

Sam was not going on patrol because he was concerned that Randall would show up early and wanted to be around when he did. Jared was consoling me and showed no intention of moving from my side because of it. As a result the only shifter left to go patrolling with was Paul, and Sam had gingerly ordered the two of them to patrol together without making each other angry.

I felt bad for the two of them. Until Randall had shown up it looked like they were going to get their act together and admit their attraction for one another, seeing how everyone with even half a connection to the pack seemed aware of Paul and Rachel's failing relationship. Now it looked like they would never be together, between Rachel and Randall it seemed that they just weren't going to get a chance.

Gabby and Paul had been on patrol for less than ten minutes when Randall showed up. It was at this point that Sam demanded Jared go with him and Randall so they could talk about serious pack business. Myself and Emily had gossiped the whole time they were away about how attractive and mysterious Randall was.

He was tall, even for a shifter, and decked out with a glorious mop of dark blonde hair. His jaw was smooth and square and, although I wouldn't admit it to Jared, he had an awesome ass. If it weren't for Jared I most certainly would have been all over him. And that accent, raspy and laid back, I loved it. It was kind of like Gabby's only his deep voice added to it in a butterfly evoking way.

"Do you think that he has a girl waiting for him in Australia?" I asked as I tried to spy him through the window, but they had moved too far away to get a good line of view. Paul had told me that he'd proposed to Gabby but I was of two minds about that. Or at least, about Gabby accepting it.

"I think he has one here." Emily mumbled as she poked around in the fridge.

"What does that mean?" I could barely contain my excitement.

Emily flew from the fridge, pushing the fridge door shut rather roughly as she went. She almost slid off the seat as she sat down but her enthusiasm was such that she didn't really pay any attention to it. I dropped into a seat and leant halfway across the table as if it would help me hear what she had to say sooner.

"He said something this morning." Emily looked over her shoulder, "It's a little sad but also quite romantic. He said that-" she choked a little on her words, "that he loves Gabby. He let her go because she asked him to but now he wants her back."

"He followed her half way around the world?" I found it strange to think that Gabby had never heard of Imprinting because Randall following her around the world sure sounded like Imprinting to me.

"Yep." Emily popped the 'p' and it emphasised her own excitement.

Then it dawned on me, "Paul." I sighed.

"Yeah." Emily's tone mimicked my own and we shared a silent moment.

I felt kind of sick at the thought of Paul being left out again. His relationship with Rachel had always been strained but he had still loved her, and she was now leaving him. He'd started moving away from Rachel, getting angrier as he went, and then he found Gabby. He had been worse when he'd first met her but it was like he'd run off a cliff. After he'd reached the edge, reached his angriest, he seemed to fall into Gabby. They became so close in such a short time and I could have sworn that one day soon they would be able to make it official.

For Randall to show up and say that he loved her. Randall had pulled Gabby out from under Paul and was letting him dash himself on the sharp rocks that waited for him.

I suddenly remembered the ring and was about to say something when I heard people outside.

"It's not going to be easy." The sexy Australian accent wasn't quite so sexy anymore.

Sam sauntered into the room, his face lighting up at the sight of Emily, and he swooped down to kiss her sweetly on the lips. Jared seemed to be following suit but instead of a sweet kiss he pulled a chair up and heaved me onto his lap, I loved being that close to him, feeling his warmth and his heart beat. I always wanted to be sitting on his lap, cuddling up to his body and knowing that he was mine and mine alone.

" Randall and his pack will be staying in the forest. They're going to help should a fight ensue." Sam smiled as he said this, although it was clear that he wasn't happy about it.

"Well, that's good. We can use all the help we can get." Emily mumbled as she buried her face into Sam's chest. They stayed like that for a moment before Emily withdrew herself from Sam's comforting embrace and looked at Randall, "Would you like something to eat? We have some leftover meat from last night's dinner."

"That would be lovely, we've been living off damper for way too long." Randall smiled and sat in the seat that Emily had directed him to. I wondered how she could be so nice to him considering what he was doing to Paul.

"What the hell is damper?" Jared laughed a little as he turned to get a better look at Randall.

"It's... really basic bread; made from flour and water, cooked over a campfire. It gets really boring after about the second bite. We've been eating it probably five days a week for the last five years." Randall grimaced at the thought of the 'really basic bread'.

"Flour, water and what else?" Emily asked from the fridge, sounding very curious.

"Generally, it's just flour and water. If we have milk we may use that instead of water but milk is hard to travel with."

"That sounds... delicious." Sam said with a high amount of sarcasm.

"As I said, after the second bite you feel like you've had way too much. Thank-you." Randall said politely as Emily placed a plate with a few chicken wings and drumsticks on it in front of him. I smiled, knowing that there was better meat in that fridge.

You would have thought that he'd never had a decent meal before because he polished off most of the meat within a few minutes before turning back to Emily, "Is there any chance that I could get a plastic bag to carry the rest in, please? For the others."

Emily's face became a mushy soft mess at that and I imagined that mine was the same. I may not be particularly happy with him for what he was doing to Paul but I couldn't dislike him for being so concerned about his Pack Brothers.

"Of course, but give me that and I'll pop it back in the fridge. I'll organise some meat for you when you're about to leave." Emily's voice broke with compassion.

Randall was either a really amazing guy or he was incredibly smooth and cunning. It had taken him less than ten minutes for him to make two girls who didn't really like him, fall into an almost blubbering heap at the concern he showed for the shifters in his care.

"Let's move into the lounge, it's sure to be a lot more comfortable in there. We can talk more about what you know of Stendahl." Sam suggested and led Randall out of the kitchen.

Randall slapped the counter top gently to get Emily's attention, "Thanks sweetie. It's been quite a time since we've had anything home cooked." His smile showed that he was being genuine and I felt my heart melt a little more for the tall and gorgeous blonde. It was no wonder that Gabby would accept a proposal from him.

It came to me that Emily might not know about that and I waited back with her while the guys headed into the lounge.

"He's real smooth." Emily muttered as she went about putting together a collection of meats for him to take back to the three teenagers that he'd left somewhere in the forest.

"It makes sense though." I whispered not wanting the guys to hear me.

"What makes sense?" Emily looked up from the roast beef she was cutting.

"Well, Gabby's decision." Emily looked even more confused and I figured that Sam hadn't told her, "Randall proposed to Gabby. Paul saw him give her the ring. He, Paul that is, actually has the ring and I'm telling you it is the most gorgeous thing you've ever seen."

Emily's face dropped, she looked gutted. When the colour rushed from her face, I rushed from her side to grab a chair to sit on, but she refused it. She stood there motionless and stared at the floor.

"That's... well... I suppose that's good for Gabby but... poor Paul." she started to weep softly and by the second silent sob Sam was at the kitchen door.

"Em..?" he looked pained and confused.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered.

"Tell you what?"

"That Gabby and Randall are... engaged. Why would you send Paul out there with her, knowing that?" Emily whispered although I could tell she was straining to keep it at that.

"I didn't get a chance. And we don't have a lot of choice. We need all available bodies on patrol." Sam pulled Emily into a gentle hug, "Things will work out, I promise."

"But what about Paul?"

"We'll be here when he needs us."

"He loves her."

"I know. When things settle down, it'll be better."

Suddenly, Emily's face morphed from one of shock to one of a woman possessed. She pushed away from Sam and near ran into the lounge room, Sam and I hot on her heels. She burst through the door and scanned the room for Randall.

"Tell me, Randall. What was Gabby like? I mean, before she lost her family and you abandoned her." I knew that she had meant that jab, that she was striking a blow for Paul's sake.

Randall looked hurt by it but he didn't say anything about it, "She's not like she is now.

"She used to be kind and gentle. When she was at school or around adults she had the absolute best manners, never spoke out of turn. But get her away from authority figures or formal situations and she was insane.

"She'd crap on about the stupidest, most deranged topics you could imagine and she made her friends smile just by walking into the room. She was funny too, always knew how to have a good laugh or make a good joke. Sometimes she went a little too far but it usually just meant that you were laughing at how far she could go without cracking up herself.

"She was eccentric." He finished.

"What else? I want to know more about her."