(The internet is still down. But, hey, I decided to write chapter nineteen while I'm waiting. Lucky you! Just kidding. But, I just read chapter eighteen and I just went damn…Anyways, I hope yall liked it. Enjoy!)

Chapter nineteen

SUZES POV

"Susannah…" Jesse whispered into my ears.

"No…" I murmured. Didn't he know not to wake me so early in the morning?

Jeez.

"Querida," Jesse persisted. "you need to wake up."

"Not so early." Mumbling, I swatted him away. "Wake me up when Andy wants me to eat breakfast."

"Answer me." I heard Paul rumble.

"I did answer you…" Agitated, I lifted my head from Jesses shoulder and looked up at Paul.

I gasped, as I saw the haggard woman standing in front of him. Who was she? And what had happened since I had fallen asleep? There you go, Suze. You shouldn't have fallen asleep. I told you, but you didn't listen…

Wait, was I just talking to my self inside my head?

I need help.

All of a sudden I heard a low growl. Many, in fact. Turning to look over Jesses shoulder, my heart stopped. I couldn't believe my eyes. Starting to shake, I tried blinking to see if I was seeing things. But, to my dismay, I wasn't. They were there. And when I say "They", I mean werewolves. Lots of them. More than I dared to even count.

I didn't know what to do. I was motionless. Speechless. I couldn't even tell Jesse what was wrong when he asked me. He didn't see what I saw. Nothing could harm him. He wasn't really here. He was a ghost. Immortal. And when immortal, he could not be killed. Being a ghost, he was already dead.

Lucky bastard.

Since nothing seemed to be coming out of my mouth I reached deep and called for the one person I knew could hear me.

Paul…

I caught his attention. I knew he heard me. And when he looked behind the old woman to me, he saw what I did. Looking past Jesse holding my shaking body, he saw the dozens of werewolves, clawing at the pavement; salivating for a piece of our flesh; dying for the taste of fear they hadn't had in so long.

"Holy mother of God…" Paul whispered.

Paul, what's going on?

I don't know, Suze. I really don't know.

"Susannah, what's wrong?" Jesse asked, shaking me a little.

I looked up at his face. He looked confused and worried. He didn't know what was going on or why I was speechless. Looking past his shoulder at the beasts, I tried looking for the one who had been coming after us. Todd, Casey's brother. Scanning the crowd, I couldn't find him anywhere.

Where was he?

"Now I am going to ask you this only one more time," Paul growled meaningfully. "Who are you?"

I looked back to see what the old woman's reaction and reply would be. Her lips were curled into a devilish smile as her eyes fell over to me. I shivered, feeling the full impact of her gaze, knowing the whole of her attention was spent on me. And I could not escape.

"What is your name, missy?" She asked, her voice crackling like leaves.

My shivering increased as I began to shake. I could not open my mouth for my lips quaked, sealed shut.

"Do not fear me," I heard her voice again. She almost seemed inhuman. Or, almost masculine.

Closing my eyes, I tried to picture Paul. But nothing came to my mind but emptiness. Fear rattled my bones as uncertainty filled my soul. Who was this woman?

"I have been feared by so many," She continued. I opened my eyes, seeing her walk towards me, swaying in long black robes. "And yet," She turned to look me in the eyes and I cuddled closer as she snarled, "I love it."

Paul, I could see, was trying his hardest not to burst out of control; his fists were clenched into tight, pulsing balls. Oh god. That sounded so wrong! I am not like that…really!

"Who are you?" I asked, my voice shaking more than before.

"I am the keeper of the wolves." She said, skipping merrily down the street. For an old woman, she sure could move fast as if she were young. "And you, are Susannah Simon."

"What?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"I believe you are a shifter, darling," She kept on as if I had never said a word. I knew she heard me. She reacted to my question. She just acted like she hadn't heard it. Like it didn't matter.

Paul, what is going on?

I don't know, Suze. Just be careful. Don't say anything to make her angry. Let me handle everything.

Paul, I heard her voice inside my head. She can send her thoughts to me.

Suze, just stay calm. Don't give her any reason to act out against us or mainly you.

Paul! Did you even hear me?

Well Suze, I cant technically hear you since we are not using our ears to pass information to each other. Think of it as a mind-note.

Paul, that is not funny.

Suze, I am not trying for humor here-

BUT YOU SAID THAT IN A HUMOROUS TONE!

Suze, again, I am not technically talking to-

Yeah, yeah. Forget about all of that. What do we do?

I don't know yet, Suze. We will just have to be careful and play this thing by ear.

By ear. Well, I hope she cant hear what we are saying.

"Darling," The old woman croaked, laughing. "The young man already told you he cant technically talk to you. You cant see his voice inside your mind."

She makes a good point, Suze.

Oh, Shut up.

"I know that, you stupid-" At this point, I felt a cold hand over my mouth. I looked to see that is wasn't Jesse, but an invisible hand.

Paul, get your stupid, stimulated hand off of my mouth.

Suze! I told you to not say anything that could make her angry.

I am the one who is angry. One of her fuzzy pets tried to off me!

Nice way of putting it, Suze.

"The reason my, "fuzzy pets" as you put them, attacked you, was because they smelled something on you. You have something that attracts them." She smirked. "I should have let him have you. You don't seem like you serve much of a purpose on this planet."

"Now, you see here!" Jesse roared. The cement blocks on the sidewalk started to uplift and rattle in their spots.

"Enough!" Paul yelled back at Jesse, getting in his face.

Well, our faces, since I was in Jesses arms and all. So, yeah. Our.

"You need to keep your cool, De Silva."

"Hold your tongue, Slater." Jesse growled. "This does not concern you. Stay-out-of-it!"

Pulling my eyes from the growling two, I looked at the old woman. She wasn't looking at anything, it seemed. She was just staring off into space.

Why do you do that?

Jumping, I blinked, looking at the old woman. She hadn't moved, nor was she looking in my direction.

Why do I do what? I asked her. What was she getting at?

Them. The boy and the ghost. Why do you let them fight?

I sighed. I don't let them. I have tried before to make them stop. I even beat Paul on the head with a vase once. What do you expect me to do?

I expect you to tap into those powers you have and put those men in line. I may be an old woman, and I may not have experienced the natures pleasures, but I do know a thing or two about men.

Umm…Why did you ask me that?

Which do you have stronger feelings for?

Umm…Now I was lost. Why was she asking me these random questions? And she didn't even answer my question! That doesn't make sense!

"Why are you protecting Suze?" Paul yelled.

I had lost the conversation those two had just been having because of a certain mind-talk me and the woman were having. Wait! Did Paul say my name?

"I am protecting her, because I care about her!" Jesse exclaimed. "Care is something you seem not to be too familiar with, Slater. So if I were you, I would-"

"Yeah, but you aren't me, now are you?" Paul responded.

Jesse started setting me down on my feet, as Paul stepped closer to us. What was going on? Why were they fighting? This was something so stupid to fight over! I mean, seriously. Come on! Grow up you two!

"You aren't alive, Cowboy, and you never will be again." Paul stated. "You don't have a wealthy family and a rich grandfather. You sure as hell cant give Suze anything in live. No family. No children. No life. Nothing. You are nothing but an invisible thing. You're not even a cowboy."

Jesses fists balled up tightly as I noticed the wolves around us begin to tense up. I felt something in the air. I could almost hear the words being carried in the new, freezing breeze. It wasn't something I wanted to bounce with joy for. I knew in my gut it wasn't something good.

"Yeah, sure you can give Suze all the love in the world." Paul continued, making Jesse angrier by the second. "But can you take her out to dinner? Can she introduce you to her friends and family? You cant even marry her. Well, maybe you can. But, then what can you give her? Not a whole hell of a lot."

"Slater, I suggest you hold your tongue," Jesse muttered, threateningly.

"Or what?" Paul challenged.

"Or you will lose it."

"Alright, alright you two!" I yelled. I was getting really ticked off.

They were fighting over something they had already fought over many times before. And they couldn't technically kill each other. Well, Jesse could kill Paul. Paul just couldn't kill Jesse. But that is beside the point. The point is…well, there was no point. No point in this fight anyways.

"Stop fighting!" I raised my voice, so the message would get stuck into their minds. "This is all stuff you have fought over before. So quit it! You shouldn't even think of fighting at a time like this!"

Stumbling over to Paul, with Jesses hand on my waist for support, I poked him in his chest. His chest, by the way, was hard with muscle. It felt so good even under my finger.

"And you," I said to him, "need to stop bringing this up. It has already been played. Now quit it!"

You know that feeling? The feeling you get like someone is right behind you and they are watching you like a hawk? And then you get this cold chill running down your spine…and the hairs on the back of your neck stand straight on end. Yeah, I felt that way right then.

Taking in a deep breath, I slowly turned my head, to peer behind me. The old woman had walked over to where most of the werewolves sat and was now petting one. But she wasn't what made me suck in a breath. What did though, was the gigantic fur ball right behind me. The same one I was standing face to face with. The same one that spit into my face; the warm, slimy, liquid ran down my face. I was too afraid to move, as the creature's saliva ran across my lips.

Turning around slowly to fully face the creature, I tried as hard as I could, not to look into its eyes. I learned long ago not to look or stare into an animals eyes. They will take it as a threat. A challenge or something. I did not want to risk anything. Especially the safety of Paul, since he was the only other one who could get hurt or killed.

I jumped, as Paul gently grabbed me around my waist, slowly pulling me back to rest against his chest. The wolf followed every movement we made. It knew every movement our muscles made. It was too smart for its own good.

Suze, we need to get you out of here.

Paul, I am not going anywhere.

Suze, you are not capable of protecting yourself and you certainly aren't able to run very fast right now in your state.

Paul, I don't need you to be my bodyguard.

At that moment, the wolf let out a long, loud growl that made me jump again. Extending its arm, huge claws attached to bear like paws grasped at the air, barely missing my stomach.

Suze, I am serious. I cant protect you as much as I would like to. This is more than you and me both have ever faced before. Jesse cant protect you as much as he may want to. I'm sorry, Suze. But you are out of this game.

I am not.

Suze, just please listen to me, for once in your life.

Paul, I cant be out. I have never been out. I have played with broken bones, concussions and who knows what else! I can handle this.

"Paul," Casey whispered behind him.

"What?" Paul asked, speaking out of the corner of his mouth.

"I can take Suze."

"What?"

"I will take her." He answered back. "I can carry her and run. The wolves cant see me, and they cant hurt me either-I'll be able to protect her."

There wasn't a response for a couple of minutes and I was worried something was happening that I didn't know about.

Paul?

"Take her," Paul whispered back.

His hands around my waist were replaced with those of Casey's, as he bent down to pick me up. Swinging my arms up and around his neck, I looked over my shoulder to see Jesse staring at one of the wolves across the street.

"Be careful, Querida." He whispered into the wind.

I smiled sadly, knowing that I may not make it out of this one alive. I know that must sound dramatic and all, but it was true. There was a high chance that I wouldn't make it out of this situation alive. No matter who and how many people or ghosts wanted to protect me. I just had to face the fact that Susannah Simon may not be here tomorrow.

Wait…tomorrow…Sunrise! That had to be soon. I mean, it had to be like around three in the morning or something. It was still cloudy out, but the sky was much clearer and much brighter than it was earlier. It just had to be. If the sun would only rise, then all of the wolves would revert back into their human forms, and we would be able to fight them.

Paul, what time is it?

Suze, you shouldn't be worried about the time right now.

Paul, please.

Hearing him sigh, he looked at his watch, also keeping his attention on the wolves.

It's 3:45 am.

Damn it! We still had two to three hours until sunrise. Well, until the full moon wouldn't be there anymore.

"Casey," Paul whispered over to him.

Turning around, Casey faced him, leaving me to face Jesse who still had his back to us. Paul told Casey what to do, but I wasn't really paying attention. I was trying to figure out what Jesse could have been thinking at that moment. I really hated this him-being-a-ghost thing.

I just wanted to read his mind!

I cant believe it.

What? Who was that?

She was so afraid and yet I could do not a thing.

I couldn't believe I didn't recognize that voice right off!

I see it in her eyes. That silent plea for help. My help. Something I could not give to her when she asked for her. Why does everything have to be so damn hard?

Oh…my…god…

Jesse just used a cuss word! That is so unlike him!

Well, Suze, you are listening in on his private thoughts.

Oh, yeah.

Wait. This isn't possible. There is no way for shifters to communicate with the dead like this. There just is not way. Ok, was I just imagining things? Suze is going crazy everyone. She is going coco and we all knew it would happen!

Well, something's haven't changed.

"Ok," Casey replied to something Paul had said.

"Promise me," Paul added, "that you wont let anything happen to her."

"I promise," Casey nodded, not a single note of humor or dishonesty laced in his voice.

"Thank you."

"We're off, girl," Casey said, holding onto me tighter as he began to run down the street.

Several growls and roars were heard coming from behind us as Casey ran faster. But I didn't look back. I closed my eyes, trying to focus onto Jesse's thoughts.

He was standing in front of Paul, throwing things with his ghostly mind powers, to protect him. The wolves ran all at once, trying to get to Paul who they saw as alone. Paul stood firm in his spot as Jesse continued to hurl objects into the air at the creatures, clawing and digging angrily into the concrete sidewalks.

As I held on tighter to the shirt collar of Casey, I picture Jesses thoughts.

I cannot let anything happen to him. I know she has feelings for him. I know she wont tell me. But, then again, it is not my business. It may be better if she does have feelings for Slater. He can take her places, give her things, protect her when she is in trouble. I can never do that.

Padre, if you can hear my prayer, please by god protect my Querida.

I started crying, as I closed my eyes to fall asleep.

Away from this world…

P&P: My greatest apologies for this being so late. So much had happened in the last month I just want to knock myself out. I hope you can fogive me lol. Please! begs. Haha, Just joking. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know it's not one of my best, but I have had major writers block lately, so, blame it on that!

AND! I need ideas. If you want something to happen or you have any ideas for what could happen next, please add that into your review if you find time to do that! I am open to anything and you will get full credit for your idea! All if appreciated. Thanks!