I'd thought the run would make me feel better, but it really didn't. Edward was tense to say the least, and I'd been under a dark cloud of dread all day, despite trying my hardest to enjoy our last moments together. I had to remind myself that a few months was nothing in the grand scheme of things.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Edward's soft voice pulled me from my thoughts. I pried my eyes away from the stars dancing in the sky above us and met his. They weren't quite black, but in the dim lighting, they certainly looked it. His eyes had been golden just yesterday. I can't imagine yesterday evening's events helped that. "Of course."

"The words you said at your aunt's funeral. What did they mean?"

The question surprised me—it seemed to come out of nowhere. "Almost a century and you still don't understand Latin? I'm disappointed," I teased, trying to lighten the mood.

It seemed to work if only a little. He gave me a half-hearted, crooked grin. "I understood them," he scoffed as if he was the most obvious thing in the world. "I want to know what they mean."

I translated the words carefully, knowing that in English they wouldn't be as powerful. "There I do see my father and mother. There I do see my sisters and brothers. There do I see the line of my people back to the beginning. They call to me. They bid me to take my place among them, to take my place in the Other Realms where my spirit shall live forever."

Edward wrapped his arm around my waist, probably guessing that I was thinking about Blair. He was right. It was impossible not to see her body on the pyre as it was the last time I said these words.

"Every living thing has a spirit. Just like energy, it cannot be created or destroyed… but it can be transferred. When a magical being's body dies, the spirit moves on to one of the Other Realms."

Edward was silent for a long while before he spoke again. "I have spent my entire existence thinking I was a monster."

I sighed sadly. My head dropped onto his shoulder. "I know," I murmured.

He let out a breath, and pulled back from me, cupping my face in his frozen hands so he could look directly into my eyes. "You need to understand, Emme. I thought that my existence was a curse. That I was evil and no matter what I did, I would be damned for all eternity." Edward let go of my face, but his right hand lingered as he let his fingers trail down my cheek to trace my jawline. "I cannot describe what it's meant to me—meeting you… having you in my life. You've shown me that this life is still a life. It doesn't have to be a curse. It's just a different path than the one I was originally meant to be on."

"I think you were always meant to be on this path. It led you to me, didn't it? Our lives were always meant to be entwined."

Edward pressed his lips to my forehead, sending a shiver down my spine. "I have something for you."

Before I could process his words, he was gone from beside me. I rolled my eyes. I knew he was fast—he didn't have to keep trying to prove it. I was about to tell him so, when he returned, sitting next to me. I sat up, running a hand through my hair to make sure it was free of grass or flowers from the ground of the meadow.

Hard plastic was pressed into my hand. I looked down to find a solid, black CD case without any sort of label. "A CD?"

"Two CDs," Edward corrected easily.

"Two CDs?"

He chuckled at my confusion. "One is a mix of our favorites. The other I made myself."

It took everything I had in me to control my emotions. I had forgotten—for the briefest of moments—that Edward would be leaving in hours. I swallowed down the huge lump that formed in my throat. "Thank you," I managed. The gift was incredibly thoughtful. I immediately felt inadequate for not even thinking to get something for him. "I didn't get you anything…"

Edward smiled my favorite crooked smile. "Then promise me."

I tore my eyes away from the CD case in my hands and glanced at him. "Promise you what?"

"Promise me that you'll be careful. That you'll stay safe."

I didn't have to think twice. "Only if you do the same."

Edwards grinned. "I'm always careful."

"If that isn't the truth," I snorted, shoving him playfully.

He didn't even budge. Instead, he scooped me up.

Before I knew it, we were at the top of one of the tallest trees surrounding the meadow. The gasp left my throat before I could think about hiding the very human-like reaction. I couldn't help myself. The view was impeccable. It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. Tonight was one of the few days of the year where there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The forest stretched around us as far as my human eyes could see, and the sky above us was clear and infinite.

"I'll be careful," I promised. "I'll use my time wisely. The next time you see me, I'll be in control. No matter what they decide, there's nothing alive that will be able to keep us apart. I promise."

The Cullen's didn't move like regular families. They had enough money to decorate each of their properties without having to worry about taking any furniture with them. When I showed up at their home to say goodbye, I was surprised at how normal everything still seemed. There wasn't even a book out of place. If I hadn't known any better, I'd probably never have guessed that they were moving.

"Yo, Emme!"

I wheeled around, just in time to catch a nondescript box being thrust into my arms. I wasn't prepared for the box, let alone the weight of it, but Edward swooped in out of nowhere and grabbed it with one hand. He shot his brother a pointed look as if to say 'you should know better' before taking the box out to my SUV. "What's that then?" I asked, gesturing to the box.

Emmett rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry. I forgot how weak you are."

I glared. "I'll have you know—"

He waved me off. "Yeah, yeah, we all know you're a badass. Anyway, I want you to have my PlayStation while we're gone."

I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. "The 2 or 3?"

"The 3, Emme, damn. You need all the practice you can get."

"Yet somehow you're the one that always loses," I muttered, grinning.

He shrugged, matching my expression and not breaking eye contact. "I don't remember losing our last endurance match."

Emmett and his damned Jeep. "Just you wait, Emmett Cullen. I can be good at anything given enough time." I crossed my arms across my chest stubbornly.

"I wouldn't bet against her," Alice called from upstairs.

Edward returned from my car. "And I wouldn't bet against her," he said, motioning to Alice.

"Ye of little faith, Edward," I gasped, feigning hurt. "You shouldn't need a psychic to back me up."

"Normally I wouldn't," he assured me. "But I've seen your endurance matches."

Emmett laughed, ruffling my hair as he bounded out to the cars that were lined up in the driveway. I scowled as I watched him go.

"He's going to miss you, you know," Edward told me pointedly.

I sighed sadly. I'd been doing a lot of that this evening. "Me too. But don't tell him that."

Almost immediately, I heard Emmett laughing once again. He could hear the entire conversation, of course. They all could, except for Rosalie who had already gotten on the road. Emmett was unwilling to leave his Jeep behind, and Rosalie had been unwilling to part with her M3, so they decided to drive separately. Alice had told me earlier that afternoon that she and Jasper would be heading to Mississippi to further reconnect with her newly discovered family roots. Alice's sister, Cynthia, was quite old by this point. She probably didn't have much time left.

Edward would be leaving with Carlisle and Esme first to visit their friends in Alaska for a short time and then to their home in Chicago. Edward was insistent that he at least remain in the same country as me. I told him that if the Council really wanted to get to me, they wouldn't do it with a layover in Chicago. But if it made him feel better to place himself in between Forks and Salem, who was I to tell him no?

"I think that's the last of it," Alice chimed, appearing next to me. She was trying to be positive, but I could hear the anxiety creeping through her voice.

Cold washed over me, along with dread and about every other negative emotion in existence. It was time.

The Cullens and I stepped onto their front lawn.

Esme found me first, wrapping me tightly in her small, strong arms. "Be careful, Emme. We'll see you soon." Her smile, much like her aura, was warm. She didn't seem nervous at all. She had every confidence that things would always turn out right.

Carlisle smiled from next to his wife. "Please call us if anything changes. We'll wait for your word. Stay safe."

"Thank you. Though if there's an emergency, please call me—Council be damned," I urged.

Carlisle nodded.

Emmett shoved through his parents and picked me up, swinging me around. "Later, Emme," he smiled, gently setting me down.

I smiled back at him. "Later, Em."

And then I was in the air again, this time being held up by Alice. "I'm going to miss you so much! I don't know what I'm going to do without my best friend," she lamented, squeezing me so tightly that I almost couldn't breathe.

I gasped for a breath, not missing a beat before replying. "You're going to hang out with your family and make sure Edward doesn't do anything stupid."

She set me down, giggling at her brother's expense. "That's basically a full-time job," she said, looking at Edward.

I looked at him pointedly. "I'm aware. Though you're one to talk… stay away from any vampires with closure issues while you're away, please."

Jasper appeared at Alice's side. I'd almost forgotten that he was still here. "Don't you worry about that. I'll look after her."

Alice leaned into him. "You always do," she sang, smiling up at him fondly.

A moment later, and it was just Edward and me.

I was in his arms.

"Promise me," he demanded softly in my ear.

"I promise."

Edward's lips met mine for what felt like only a second, and then he was gone. They all were.

I don't know how long I remained in the Cullen's front yard. It was long after darkness had fallen when I started walking.

Reading or hearing about something was always different than experiencing it. Every book I read, everything my aunts had told me couldn't have prepared me for the physical pain that I felt every time I remembered that he wasn't here. I had always been able to sense Edward when he was around. Now that he wasn't, I felt empty. I could sense him in that I knew he was fine, but I couldn't feel him like I usually could. It was unnerving. It had me on edge. It was cliché, but it genuinely felt like a part of me had been numbed.

I walked.

The forest was cold, dark, and silent. The clearness of the previous night was gone. Instead, the clouds rolled in. The wind picked up, whistling through the trees. Eventually, the rain started. Maybe it was me. Maybe it wasn't. I didn't know. I didn't care.

I walked.

The rain helped if only to distract me until I remembered again. The droplets dripped into my eyes. I didn't wipe them away. I didn't care about what I saw. My shirt clung to my body. I should have been cold. I should have been uncomfortable. I wasn't. I was didn't feel anything.

I walked.

I found myself in the meadow—our meadow. Just last night we had been together. Or was it two nights ago? Two nights ago, I was happy; I was who I had waited my entire life to be. And now I was darker—emptier. I could feel it creeping into my heart like blood slowly seeping from a wound, thick and heavy. And for what? For some rules that were centuries old?

Who were the Council to tell me how I should live my life? What gave them the right to tell witches who they could and could not be with? They had no right to tell me who to love or how to live. They had no right to enforce such antiquated rules that not even everyone knew about. It was as if they were picking and choosing which battle to fight, and right now their focuses were solely on me.

The darkness warmed until it was fire in my veins.

What had I ever done? My dad, my mom, my aunts… maybe they deserved what happened to them. Maybe they deserved to be murdered and banished and ostracized. I knew that there were two sides to every story. But me? I'd always thought that I'd done as well as I could given the circumstances. Maybe I was being punished for not having stayed in Salem. Maybe it was a leftover grudge against my family. Maybe they were reading entirely too much into that damn vision from before I was born. Regardless, I didn't decide my fate. No one did. So why was the Council acting as I could simply change soulmates at the drop of a hat just because they wanted me to?

The Council was nothing. They started a fight with the wrong girl—the wrong witch. If I knew anything about myself, it was that I would do anything to protect the ones I loved—and I loved them all. Even Rosalie. No one and nothing would change that feeling. And if they tried, I would end them. All of them.

The fire was burning hotter, churning in my stomach. With a sinking feeling, I realized I had felt this way once before. My anger had distracted me from what was happening. Flames licked my arms slowly crawled down my legs. The forest floor around me was on fire. I tried to calm myself down, to call the flames back, but I knew it was much too late for that now.

With that sinking realization, I snapped. Like an explosion, the fire within me was expelled.

Despite the rain, the entire meadow caught flame, burning brightly in the night. Everything—the wildflowers, the surrounding trees—that I'd loved about the place was reduced to ashes.

I ran.

"Who are you?"

The unfamiliar voice was what finally made my body stop and my mind start. I halted in my tracks, gasping for breath as I glanced around at my surroundings. I wasn't sure what had happened. It was dark, and I was still in the forest. I recognized nothing.

I especially didn't recognize the man standing in front of me in nothing but denim cutoffs. He wasn't even wearing shoes. He was tall—over six feet—with rounded muscles. He was somehow still lean, however. His black hair was cropped short, and his brown eyes were focused solely on me. It was easy to see he was on guard.

I blinked at him stupidly. What was a grown man doing in the forest in the middle of the night dressed in nothing but shorts? "Who are you?" I replied, also guarded. My voice came out cracked and weak. It was only then that I realized just how tired I was. My throat burned and my head ached. My mind was catching up with me. How did I get here? What had happened? Edward—

And then everything came crashing back to me. Edward and the Cullens were gone. I choked back a sob, determined not to cry in front of the stranger in front of me. But I was so, so tired. I sank to the ground.

"Hey, are you okay?" the man asked hesitantly. He was still guarded, but clearly concerned.

I was concerned too. "I don't know…"

I had spoken so softly, I didn't know if the man had heard me or not. But he must have because he approached me slowly. "Come with me. I can get you some help."

I allowed him to help me up and walk me through the forest. It occurred to me that I probably shouldn't be trusting a stranger so blindly, especially since something was so obviously wrong with me, and I didn't know how in control of my magic I could be at the moment. Hell, I was so exhausted that I didn't even know how much magic I'd have at my disposal. But I just couldn't bring myself to care. If he was leading me to my doom, so be it.

Another twenty minutes or so, and I began to see lights through the trees. It took me a few moments for my eyes to adjust. We were heading to some cliffs where three bonfires had been set up. I could see a handful of silhouettes against the light of the fires. There had to be at least ten people up ahead, if not a few more.

Another man noticed us first. He had to have been taller than the one that had found me by at least three inches, and he was even more muscular as well. I'd never seen someone so big in my entire life. The look on his face screamed that he was probably much too serious, but also that the hand he'd been dealt in life had been a difficult one. He approached us quickly, cutting us off just before we broke through the treeline.

"Jared. Who is this?" His voice was gruff; his question straight to the point. He crossed his arms across his broad chest, giving me the quickest of glances before returning his attention back to the man next to me—Jared, apparently.

"I don't know," Jared replied easily. "I found her in the woods."

Both men turned to me. I knew what they'd see: a haggard girl with the pallor of a corpse, dirty, wet, and all but broken.

The bigger one must have decided that I didn't look like a threat, because his next words came a little less suspiciously. "Maybe you should go sit by the fire."

The pair led me to the closest bonfire. I got a couple of strange looks from others around. They all had the same tanned complexions and raven hair as the two men that were with me. I was probably somewhere near the Quileute Reservation, and I was probably crashing one of their parties.

Had I really been wandering the woods long enough to end up over 20 miles away from where I last remembered being?

"Where am I?"

The men shared a loaded look before the bigger one answered. "You're on the Rez. First Beach." He let that sink in for a moment before continuing, "I'm Sam. Sam Uley. What's your name?"

"Emme… Sorry I crashed your party." For the first time since I'd been found, I felt something—a tingle across my skin—as I looked at the pair next to me. At first, I thought it was my skin warming by the fire, but this was different. This was magic. It was almost how I felt when there was another witch nearby, but something was… off. I couldn't quite place it. But it was a feeling that I had felt before… with Jacob Black.

"How did you get all the way out here, Emme?" Jared asked, sounding more curious than anything else.

I wasn't about to tell him that I had a magical panic attack because my boyfriend and his family left town for a few months. Instead, I settled on an excuse. "I was on a hike, and I think I got lost. I don't really remember."

"I can give you a ride home if you need one," Sam offered.

Before I could answer, another voice interrupted.

"Emme!"

I looked up, surprised at the unexpected familiarity.

Jacob Black was bounding over to Sam, Jared, and me. He glanced between us with the briefest furrow of his brow, but it was quickly erased by an easy smile. "What are you doing here?" he asked excitedly.

I smiled back much more hesitantly. It was difficult. It felt as if I was forcing it. But somehow I also felt relieved. I liked Jacob, and that feeling hadn't gone away just because I was in the middle of some sort of mental breakdown. "I got lost in the woods. Jared and Sam found me."

Jacob snorted. "Yeah, you look like you've been lost in the woods."

I felt the flicker of warmth in my chest. I was shocked that it could still exist, no matter how small, without my soulmate—without Edward. But it was there. I glared mockingly at Jacob and shrugged. "Still better looking than you."

Jared let out a laugh from next to me, but it ended abruptly as Sam shot him a not-so-subtle look.

It was if Jacob had forgotten they were there. His brow furrowed again, and he turned back to me. I didn't miss the fact that he ignored them both completely. "Do you need a ride home? I rode here with Quil and Embry, but they were asking about you just the other day. It'd be fun to catch up."

I let out a sigh of relief. I didn't want to walk back home, but the idea of driving 20 miles with a stranger that was the equivalent of a stoic statue was not appealing. And I still didn't fully trust him. "That'd be great—as long as Thing 1 and 2 don't mind."

Jacob snickered.

I turned to Sam and Jared. "Thanks for finding me. I owe you one."

"It was nice meeting you, Emme." Sam's statement sounded nice, but it was laced with something that unnerved me.

I allowed myself to be pulled from the fire to where Quil and Embry were across the cliffside at the first bonfire. "Look who I found!"

Quil and Embry both broke into grins when they saw me. "Hey, Emme!" Embry began. "We were literally just talking about you like yesterday."

I raised a brow in Jacob's direction. "So I've heard."

"Emme needs a ride home," Jacob interrupted. "You mind, Quil?"

"Course not," the boy replied. "Party's dying down anyway," he added with a glance over my shoulder.

I turned to see Sam and Jared openly staring at the four of us. Sam said something to Jared, but I couldn't hear over the chatter of the other teens around us. They were staring with the oddest expression I couldn't quite place. For some reason, I just knew they weren't looking at me; they were staring at the boys around me. It was unnerving.

Jacob was nice enough to help me out on our way back down the cliffs. Normally it wouldn't have been such an issue, but I felt like I was maybe an hour away from passing out. Assuming my memory fog was just that—fog—I had probably been running around the forest all day. I was lucky someone found me when they did. Otherwise, who knew how long I could have been out there for.

We made it to the car. It was silent for all of a second before Embry asked the question that had probably been burning in their minds. "So how'd you end up the only white girl at a tribal party?"

I sighed. "I went on a hike and hit my head. Probably gave myself a concussion because I'm having a bit of a memory issue. The next thing I knew, Jared found me, and he took me to Sam. You know the rest."

The silence that followed was heavy.

"What?" I asked, determined to be in the loop. "Is something wrong?"

It was dark, but I still saw the whites of Jacob's eyes as he rolled them. "You mean other than the fact that you went in the woods by yourself, got a concussion, and got lost?"

I rolled my eyes right back. It was better than admitting the truth.

"It's those guys," Quil admitted.

"Sam and Jared?"

"Yeah," Jacob nodded.

"We call them the La Push Gang," Embry chimed bitterly.

My eyebrows rose. "I didn't know La Push had a gang." Although it wouldn't surprise me if they were in one based simply on their looks alone.

Embry laughed. "Nah, they're more like hall monitors on steroids."

"Not as badass as a real gang," Quil emphasized.

"They're more about 'keeping the peace,'" Jacob explained with another roll of his eyes and air quotes. "There was this guy from up somewhere by the Makah Rez—big guy, too. Scary looking. Well, word got around that he was selling meth to kids, and Sam Uley and his disciples ran him off our land. They're all about our land and tribe pride… it's getting ridiculous."

I had forgotten that Jacob Black didn't put much belief into the tribe legends. It was great for when the Cullens were around, but a bit ironic considering I knew he had some sort of dormant magic running through his veins. Quil and Embry might even have it too.

"The worst part is that the council takes them seriously. The council actually meets with Sam," Embry scoffed, shaking his head. "Leah said they call themselves the 'protectors' or something like that."

Next to me, Jacob's hands tightened into fists.

I didn't know who Leah was, but I assumed that she could be taken at her word. "I take it none of you are fans."

They all let out some form of groan or sarcastic chuckle in response.

"They're always showing off," Quil mentioned as if it were something horrible.

I thought about it for a moment. "They sound annoying—like wannabe golden boys—but they don't sound like they're doing anything wrong at least."

"I guess…" Embry allowed.

"Remember last semester at the store?" Quil asked after a moment.

Embry clicked his tongue in disgust.

I looked to Jacob questioningly.

Luckily, he obliged. "We were hanging out at the store when Sam came by with his followers, Jared and another guy named Paul. Quil said something that pissed Paul off."

"It wasn't even that bad," Quil insisted.

"Paul's eyes got all dark and he sort of bared his teeth. It was weird," Embry said.

Jacob bore on with the story, not even stopping to give Quil a hard time for saying something that got him in trouble. "It was like Paul was so mad he was shaking or something. Sam grabbed him and shook his head. Honestly, it was like Sam was holding him back, and without him, Paul would have torn us up." He groaned. "It's just so bad."

"It's odd that grown adults wouldn't be able to contain their tempers around teenagers," I pointed out.

"Yeah, you think that, but Sam's only twenty. Paul might look big too, but he's only 17. Same with Jared."

I realized I was gaping. I had thought they were at the very least in their mid-twenties, if not older. Turns out they were my age. It was really quite hard to believe.

"Sam was supposed to go to college, but he stayed. No one said anything about it," Quil added. "If I got into college and just decided not to go, my parents would have killed me. I'd never heard the end of it from the council, either."

"You know the worst part about it though?" Jacob asked.

I looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"It's the way they look at us."

Quil grumbled under his breath.

Embry didn't hesitate to add his opinion either. "It's so creepy."

"How do they look at you?" I prodded gently, hoping Jacob would explain.

"They look at us like they know something we don't. Like they're just waiting for us to join them."

"It's even worse for Jake," Embry said after letting Jacob's statement really sink in.

I had sort of noticed that before we left the bonfire. They were right; it was unsettling. "Why?" I wondered.

"Good question," Quil stated pointedly. "Why would they treat you differently, Chief Jacob?"

Jacob sighed, clearly annoyed. "The council is supposed to be made up of equals, but if there was a leader it would be my dad. People treat him just a little bit better than the other elders. My great-grandpa, Ephraim Black, was the last official chief we had, so people listen to my dad because of that alone."

It was odd hearing about this in detail and from the other side of the treaty lines. The last time I'd heard Ephraim Black's name spoken was when Edward was telling me about him and the deal they'd made to not hunt anywhere near the Reservation or town of Forks.

I found myself averting my eyes from Jacob's brown ones. I'd always been a decent liar, but something about him made me want to help answer his questions. I didn't know the whole story, but I could probably—at the very least—fill in some gaps. The problem was they weren't my gaps to fill. I was neither a vampire nor a member of the Quileute tribe. It was none of my business, and I wasn't exactly in the right mind or position to get involved.

So, I tried to lighten the mood. "Should I call you Your Majesty? I don't know how tribal honorifics work."

Embry and Quil barked out matching laughs at Jacob's expense.

Jacob elbowed me before reluctantly flashing me a grin. "I prefer Your Royal Highness, personally."

"Dude, I am so not calling you that," Embry snickered from the passenger seat.

It was only after Jacob and the boys had dropped me off at home (with an open invitation to hang out any time) did I finally have a moment to think. Jacob, Quil, and Embry had been a surprising but welcome distraction, but now I needed to pull myself together.

Edward and his family were gone until the Council of Magic called me for a hearing. The hearing would decide if they would allow us to be together as soulmates or not. If they decided against us, I would have to do something about it, because there was no future for me without Edward. That much I knew.

Yet instead of preparing myself for such an important event, instead of honoring my promise to stay safe, I'd set our meadow on fire, blacked out, and wandered through the woods for two days.

It was unacceptable.

My aunts would have been horrified. I was better than that. I was stronger than that.

I wouldn't let myself wallow in my misery, especially since it was temporary. Because while, yes, I was miserable, I wasn't dead and neither was Edward. Sure, everyone I loved ended up leaving me. And yeah, maybe I had some trauma-related issues I had to work through on that front. But there was a light at the end of this tunnel particular tunnel. For better or for worse, I would come out on the other side. There was no question about that.

The real question was: would I be ready?

A/N:

Surprise! It's me again, deciding to update this story for the first time in AGES. I hope you guys are still around somewhere. This time last year, I was just starting up Devil's Playground, and I got super nostalgic about it. So I stayed up all night writing this... I apologize if it's riddled with errors.

I also apologize for the long break. I actually haven't taken a break from writing, I just got really into writing a story for a different fandom, and couldn't bring myself to do two fandoms at once. Now, however, I am in a decidedly Twilight mood. I won't be spitting them out every other day like I did last year, but hopefully, it won't be half a year before the next chapter comes out.

That being said, it's been a while for me on this story. I wrote this chapter blind, but I'm going to have to reread the first installment to give myself a refresher. During the reread, I'll probably go in and fix a few errors that I've been procrastinating on fixing for ages now. If anyone is interested in helping out and beta-ing for my reread of Devil's Playground or for Devil in Me (or both), please let me know! Bonus points if your specialty is grammar/syntax and you don't mind possibly letting me bounce some ideas off of you. I've never had a beta before, but I'm at the point now where I think I could benefit from one. So, if you are interested, please shoot me a message!

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Let me know if it's everything you'd ever hoped it'd be after such a long break... lol.