Dear Diary,

I'm not looking forward to Christmas. School let out last week and we don't have to go back for 3 more weeks. It's been about two months since I last wrote in you. It's been a rough two months. Camden and Orissa died on the plane back to Denver. Harry, Seth's dad, died of a heart attack the day before Thanksgiving. The day after Thanksgiving a group of vampires showed up and since then the guys have been on high alert. I haven't been able to do anything since that day. They keep leaving and coming back. It's been pretty much complete and total lockdown. I've hardly seen Seth or Paul in the past month. The lack of seeing Seth has caused the imprint pull to be very painful. I know the other imprints feel the same way. I don't know how much more I can take. -Xylee

Xylee put her diary back under her mattress and flopped onto her stomach, sighing softly. Her entire body hurt, she felt emotionally and physically exhausted. She turned on her tv and put the volume on low, climbing back under her blankets. It was times like these that she wished that she could call Ori and Cam, something she could no longer do. She didn't even look up as Leah came in carrying Claire.

"Hey, little sis. How are you doing today? Feel like getting out of bed yet?" Leah asked softly. Xylee and her grew close over the past month. Xylee was the one person she became soft over, other than Embry and Seth. The past two months had taken a giant toll on Xylee, this entire year has. Xylee stayed silent as Leah and Claire climbed into bed next to her.

"Hi, Lee!" Claire exclaimed happily. Xylee gave her a small smile.

"Hi, Claire Bear." She whispered and pulled her close. Leah watched her carefully.

"Honey...you need to get out of bed, eat something, get a shower, go for a walk or something. Please Xy, you look like hell." Leah said. Xylee sniffled and nodded.

"Where's Seth or Paul?" She asked. Leah looked down.

"Patrol. With Embry and Collin. Jake and Quil are sleeping. Jared and Sam are at work. I'm on imprint duty. The rest of the girls are downstairs. Seth should be done soon." Leah replied. Xylee sighed deeply and sat up. In the short 5 minutes they had been there, Claire fell asleep. Leah helped Xylee stand up and walk into the bathroom.

"Why don't you look like shit?" Xylee grumbled. Leah chuckled.

"I've been able to see Embry. We are on patrol together sometimes or he stays over. Or if his mom is doing night shift, I go over there." Leah replied, sitting on the toilet lid. Xylee stripped her clothes and climbed into the shower. The warm water hit her with a shock. She didn't know how long it had been since she last showered. She took her time to sash away all the dirt and grime from her hair and body.

"So what are the plans for Christmas, Xy?" Leah asked.

"I wanna have a giant pack gathering. All the wolves, imprints, parents. Everyone. That all I want for Christmas." Xylee replied, wrapping a towel around herself and stepping out.

"I will see what I can do about that. I'm going to run downstairs and check on the rest of the girls while you get dressed." Leah said and walked out of the bathroom. Xylee threw some product in her hair and slowly walked back into her room. Claire was still asleep and had sprawled out on the bed. She pulled on her underwear and bra and stared at her closet. She pulled on a pair of black leggings and an old shirt of Seth's from right before he phased. Finally, she slid on her socks and slippers and threw her hair into a braid. She looked at herself in the mirror. She had bags under her eyes, she looked as pale as she could with her skin colour, and she had lost weight. Her face was sunken in. She watched the snowfall outside for a minute before walking downstairs.

Leah, Emily, Bella, Kim, and Evan were spread all over the living room watching some rom-com on the tv, pizza boxes on the coffee table, and soda cans on the end tables. They looked up at her and Emily let out a quiet gasp. Xylee shifted uncomfortably and sat down on the couch next to her. Emily sighed and wrapped her arms around the young girl.

"How are you doing sweetie?" Emily asked. Xylee shrugged.

"As well I can be. Will Seth be back soon? Or Paul?" Xylee asked. Emily nodded. Xylee smiled slightly and got up to go into the kitchen. She leaned against the sink as she took a drink of water. A second later all the entire pack came rushing through the front door.

"WE GOT THEM! THEY'RE GONE!" Jake and Quil screamed. The guys grabbed their imprints and held them tightly. Xylee clung to Seth with all of her might, arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

"Shh, honey, it's okay. Everything is going to be okay." Seth whispered as he tightened his grip against Xylee.

"Now that we finally got them, we can finally let up on patrols. Back to the normal schedule starting with Jake, now till midnight. The one's with imprints, take as much of the next two days off as you can." Sam said and then walked out with Emily tucked into his side. One by one everyone began to leave until it was just Paul, Seth, Xylee, and Evan left. Xylee stayed wrapped around Seth's body, ignoring everyone as she took slow, deep breaths of his scent. Evan and Paul went down the hallway to Paul's room as Seth carried Xylee into the living room. Seth sat on the couch and closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of his imprint in his arms. His chest had been aching just as bad as Xylee's was. He lightly ran his hand up and down her back as she played with the hair on the back of his head.