How was I to guess
I'd still be on your mind?
Enough to bring you here
And prove I wasn't right
We don't need to know
The future isn't ours

So won't you stay
Til the morning
One more day
For you to hold me
'Cause I don't know when I'll see you again.

Elle King - See You Again

Chapter 47: It Can Be Worse

Brady

I'd like to pretend that my downward spiral of boozing and asshole-ing didn't continue, but let's be real. The only thing that had drawn me out of it the last time was Lexi, and without her, well… things got dark again fast.

Or darker, depending on how you look at it. I wasn't exactly in a good place to begin with, but the self-loathing and alcohol didn't really paint a pretty picture. With whatever energy I had left over from drinking, drinking, and more drinking, I used to hunt the vampire that had killed Lexi. I occasionally showed up to work to fund my boozing habit, but that was really a minor success in the grand scheme of things.

One night I took a break from hunting and patrolling to get drunk (surprise!) and try to have a one night stand a la Old Brady and – spoiler alert! – it did not go well. See, my fucked up head did this thing when I drank a bottle of Jack Daniels where it made me hallucinate. I'm sure it was my brain cells freaking out from me downing a handle of 80 proof liquor in one sitting, but I wasn't exactly in a sensible mood. The girl I'd chosen was a twenty something with blonde hair and blue eyes and a great smile but… but it wasn't her.

It wasn't Lexi.

Glancing down, I winced as I realized that for the first time ever, a mouth around my dick was doing absolutely nothing for me.

This girl wasn't exactly a shy little wallflower. Even though it was bigger than Forks, the women in Port Angeles didn't have that much more of a selection, so my new face in the local dive bar had turned a few heads. She'd approached me, I'd gotten us a few rounds (with shots in-between for me) and more and more drinks, and finally we'd ended up back at her apartment. We'd fumbled our way through some halfway drunken foreplay on her couch and my wolf body was already burning through the alcohol buzz like a freight train. I could feel my consciousness slip back towards reality and I hated it.

Reality fucking sucked.

She paused his ministrations, glancing up at me through heavy eyelids. I could tell her mouth was probably getting sore – we'd been at this awhile and still no results.

"Must be the uh… booze. This never happens," I slurred slightly, trying to make it sound legit.

She rolled her eyes and kept at it. I sighed, leaning my head back on the back of her crappy couch and tried to clear my head. Nothing was working – every time I tried to rustle up some erotic thought in my head I only saw Lexi, and that just killed everything when my traitorous mind reminded my body that the girl attempting to pleasure me was not Lexi.

This was useless and we both knew it. It almost physically hurt to try to do this with someone else – it suddenly felt shallow and useless if it couldn't be with someone I had feelings for.

What the fuck?

I sat up abruptly, gently shoving her out of the way as I pulled up my pants. Hastily fastening them, I bolted for the door and couldn't even muster the balls to shoot her an apologetic look.

"I can't do this."

"Clearly," she shot at my back. I slammed the door and was gone before I said something I'd regret. My ears were burning and my heart was pounding and nothing felt normal anymore. She had been my normal, my baseline, my home. Without her and without wanting to go back to what I was before her, what was even left?

As soon as I was back on the streets of Port Angeles, I pulled the hood of my long-sleeved shirt up over my head and jammed my hands into my pockets. It had started to drizzle lightly, but that didn't surprise me. It was just one more crappy thing to add to the list that was currently my life. Putting one boot in front of the other, I wandered the streets down by the water, zig zagging past little bars, a few late-night shops, and empty warehouses. The raindrops against the pavement cast a hazy glow in the night air, making everything seem ten times more humid than it already was. Everything felt dark and damp and just wrong.

Glancing to the side, I caught my reflection in the glass pane of an abandoned shopfront as I stalked through the dark spaces between streelights. A flash of blonde caught my eye.

I jerked to the side, whirling around. What the fuck?!

Nothing.

That was… weird. It was….her.

It had happened to me four or five times now – I'd be doing something asshole-ish like the Old Brady would have, and I'd see Lexi. I knew it wasn't really her, of course. I wasn't that crazy. Yet. I knew it was my brain trying to tell me something that I apparently wasn't ready to internalize or accept yet. Crazy or not, it was still unsettling to be haunted by someone who wasn't even technically dead.

My heart panged. Things hadn't been the same for a while now, but they'd been even more of a fucked up mess inside my head ever since she'd sent me that text. That had told me something – she still thought about me. Even though every fiber of my being wanted to hate her at least a little for being my enemy, the fact that she'd boldly reached out to me showed me that some piece of my Lexi was still there. There was still a part of her who thought about me enough to want to talk after what had happened.

My steps halted, my boots skidding slightly on the pavement. The temperature was dropping, causing a thin sheet of ice to form on the broken sidewalk. Turning slowly, I eyed my reflection in the dark glass of the shopfront. I looked like hell. Dark circles under my eyes, sallow-looking cheeks, and hair that was too long and unkempt. It was a miracle I'd managed to pick up the girl in this state, I realized. Not that my heart had been in it. Was that because it still belonged to the memory of a human and a now dead girl?

That text the other night had fucked with my head, plain and simple.

I was conflicted. I'd thought that her turning would mean good-bye forever, but now it was clear that a piece of her was still in there somewhere.

Was it big enough for me? Was the human part of her that was left enough to compensate for her being turned into everything I hated?

Lexi's face appeared in the reflection over my shoulder. She stared at me, her expression unreadable for several moments as she watched me. Our eyes held each other hostage and I stood, unblinking.

A bubble of desperation and sadness and just pure loneliness welled up inside of me until it pushed the words out.

"I'm lost… without you," I choked out.

My words felt so heavy, hanging there in the damp night air. I offered the figment of her a tiny, defeated smile and she gave me a nod and a tiny smile back. It wasn't much, but it somehow made me feel a little better. Maybe it was the booze mixed with how exhausted I was, but for the first time in a long time I felt a sliver of hope that maybe – just maybe - everything was going to be okay.

Giving up my pointless little wandering session, I turned and made my feet move in the direction of home. A shuffle of boots turned into a brisk walk, and then into a jog. I ran towards the tree line, suddenly feeling the urge to hurry. I'd been avoiding home for months now, but it was suddenly where I wanted to be.

I'd been running for almost an hour. My thoughts were a jumbled mess of the past few weeks – hunting that leech, seeing visions of Lexi in my mind, alcohol, and lack of sleep. It was all starting to really mess with me, and suddenly I wanted nothing more than to be back in La Push, in my own bed. I needed a hot shower and about eighteen hours straight of uninterrupted sleep.

I wanted the uninterrupted peace that a long stretch of oblivion could give me.

You won't be getting it, a voice cut through my thoughts. It was Astin. The younger wolf had nervous waves rolling off of him as he waited for me to acknowledge him through our wolf link. He was standing in the backyard of our house with his twin brother, Aidan, with Embry in human form just a few feet away. I followed their gazes in my mind's eye and almost choked when I saw a pale, blonde figure standing in the tree line of our yard.

My heart began to pound until I realized it was Rosalie standing there with Embry, talking quietly. I'd nearly had a heart attack when I saw the pale skin and fair hair.

She's here to see you. She wants to talk.

Thanks, Sherlock, I sneered. My feet churned faster, digging into the icy ground as I made my way back to the house where Rosalie waited. Within minutes I was there, pausing only on the front porch just out of eyeshot to pull on the jeans that were tied at my ankle. Stalking across the frosty grass, Embry turned and watched me with a calm gaze. Whatever Blondie wanted didn't appear to be making anyone more than just a tad anxious, but that could have just been from her being there. It wasn't every day a vampire, even a Cullen, showed up on our lawn wanting to chat. Embry only offered me a look that told me I was in for it, but nothing else.

Arms crossed and a bemused look on her face, she frowned slightly but said nothing.

"I'm here," I stated, looking between Rosalie and Embry.

He shrugged and simply said, "I'll leave you to it."

Rosalie muttered a quiet but sincere sounding 'thank you' to him as he jogged back towards the house.

I turned to face her, my expression expectant.

"Is something wrong?"

Rosalie chewed the inside of her cheek, pausing dramatically before she answered.

"Nothing is… inherently wrong, I suppose. Where have you been?" she asked, raising her nose to the air. She inhaled as I gave her an annoyed grunt.

"I've been out," I snapped, suddenly nervous. What if she could tell I'd been with someone else? Or tried to, anyway. Could she smell the other woman on me? Not that it mattered – it wasn't like I had a real girlfriend anymore, I realized with a stab of pain to my heart.

"So I see."

I winced slightly before gritting my teeth. "So? How is she?"

The blonde vampire raised a single brow in surprise. "She's… getting along I suppose," she replied slowly. Boy, this bitch was really dragging this out. Her tawny eyes flicked up to mine, and for a split second I wondered what hue I'd see if Lexi were here, looking at me. "She told me you responded to her text. Thank you for that."

I had to try to not reel with surprise and shock at the fact that Rosalie wasn't being a sarcastic bitch for once. She was usually vocal and biting with her comments when it came to most of the wolves. While we got along with the Cullens for the most part, the relationship with her had always been the most strained of all. She'd always tolerated us – but never liked us.

"I had to respond," I finally exhaled. "I couldn't… I couldn't let her think I don't care still, I do…"

"But you can't overlook what that monster turned her into. I know. I spoke with my husband. He gave me the run-down of what was said when you spoke last."

I sighed, my shoulders slumping. I was far too tired to fight this anymore.

"I… wasn't in the best place. I'm still not… when Emmett was here last time, I just… lost it."

She gave a dark chuckle, glancing around the yard. "And yet again, mongrel, you find a way to make sure it's about you. Do you have any idea how selfish you sound? How selfish you've been since this all started?"

"Listen, I'm not saying what I did or how I acted was okay, I-"

"Let me stop you there," she replied darkly, "I can only criticize you because I was you. When Bella wanted to be changed, all I could think about was how it would affect my life and my home and my point of view. I never gave a thought to what anyone else wanted, and I nearly cost both of them their lives," she said, her voice low and even. Her eyes moved up to meet mine. I almost jolted at the intensity of her golden eyed gaze. "I almost ruined everything by being so selfish. More than once I put myself first, and it did horrible, unimaginable things to those I love and… the way I behaved back then still haunts me now. I don't doubt that it will forever. So I know how you feel and why you act the way you do, Brady."

An uneasy feeling settled in my stomach as I shifted my bare feet on the frosty grass. I might as well come out with it.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

She frowned. "Don't you see? I'm done with being threatening and angry and inconsolable about what happened to that girl. I'm… I'm pleading with you to please rethink the way you've handled these last few months, and I'm asking you to please give her a chance. Lexi is handling this change so well, but she's just… lost, Brady. I know a part of her still loves you. I'm afraid it's a bigger part than what I'd originally thought."

"But… there's no way I could…" I held up my hands in a pleading manner. "Don't… this isn't about me, it's about what we are. It's… how could this work? Rosalie… I'm a wolf. Don't you see? We have a truce with you because of a common goal of defeating those who want to make a meal out of innocents and because of Jake and Ness, but don't you see that whatever bond drew Lexi and me together is gone?"

"How do you know that?'

"How do you not know that?" I shot back. I raked a hand through my messy hair and signed in defeat. "My imprint is now my natural enemy. I would never fight her out of spite, but you can't honestly expect that nothing would have changed?"

She was quiet for a moment, her piercing gaze locking me into place. I wasn't sure if she was going to cry or snap my neck into a million pieces. She visibly bit back her anger, took a deep breath, and held my eyes with hers.

"I'll tell you what Emmett told you. If something happened tomorrow and we were in your shoes, I'd walk through hell before missing even a shred of a chance that we could still be together. That much I know."

The uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach was still there. No, getting worse. Was she right? Was I an idiot for not giving this more of a chance? The sinking feeling in my gut made me question whether or not Rosalie was right. That alone was still making me reel.

"I've made mistakes. I know that. And I will try to… I'll just try," I swallowed hard. "But I assure you… and Lexi… that I will find the monster responsible and I will end this. That is one thing I can promise you, if nothing else," I stated firmly, giving her a nod.

Our heads jerked to the side at the same time as we heard footfalls racing our way. Emmett burst through the treeline as a desperate howl ripped through the air.

"You may have your chance to put your actions where your mouth is," he practically growled. My heart started to race as heat shot up my spine and made my hair stand on end.

"What is it? What's happened?"

"Someone's been murdered. In town," Emmett growled as more howls joined the first. I clenched my fists as Rosalie gasped and grabbed his hands.

"Lexi?"

"She's with everyone at the house. Safe. Seth is at the station getting the report, and Edward and Bella went nearby to listen to what's going on. We need to go - this could be our chance to catch him."

Rosalie turned to me, her eyes desperately pleading. She didn't have to say anything else, and she didn't have the time to anyway. Things were moving quickly as suddenly more and more howls pierced the frigid wintery air and Emmett began pulling on her hand.

"Babe, come on! We gotta go!" Emmett thundered.

In a flash, they were gone. Wasting no time, I stripped down again and phased, joining Embry and the twins on the front lawn. Instantly Jacob's alpha command to meet as a pack rung in our heads, beckoning us in the direction of the river.

Seth has news, his voice echoed. He wants us to meet with the Cullens by the river. We need to form a plan and end this, he growled, now.

I couldn't agree more. Turning on my haunches, I tore off in the direction of the creek with the other three at my heels. I felt the air shimmer around me as more and more of my pack brothers joined in wolf form. A small tingle of hope rang through my bones as I realized that with the entire pack and the Cullens working together, we might just be able to do this. I might be able to end that monster for Lexi. Finally.

We'll get him, Embry echoed as he ran up beside me. The barren trees flashed by as we darted through the still-dark forest. Dawn was only a few hours away, and I could only hope that the number of humans who knew about the murder in town was still small. It only hindered our efforts when a lot of humans got involved. Less time was spent hunting and fixing the problem while more time was dedicated to all of never being seen in the first place. We needed to act quickly before more lives were lost and more innocent blood was spilled by that monster.

The pack met at the creek, just on the boundary line between what used to be Cullen territory and ours. Everyone was pacing and growling and plotting and absolutely rattled about the death of an innocent, but I was just numb. I'd chased that monster that changed Lexi into the northern most tip of Canada, and now he was likely back.

We don't know if it was him or not, Embry echoed. It could have been a vampire just passing through.

I wanted to believe him, but the hackles standing up on the back of my neck and spine said otherwise. My gut told me this was him again, messing with us. Taunting us.

We'll know when Seth phases back, Jacob assured everyone.

I paced in circles and fumed quietly. There was no way to know until Seth was able to scent the crime scene and phase, sharing whatever traces he could within our pack mind. That was another blessing of being one close knit pack again – after Sam had retired, Jacob had adopted all of his pack within the folds of his own. We now shared one mind, one mission, and one plan of action every time there was an emergency. Over and over I treaded the same pebbled path beside the river. I could feel people getting annoyed with me, but it didn't do much to stop my pacing.

The minutes ticked by, almost as slowly as they did during Lexi's change.

Lexi.

Her name echoed in my mind as I remembered my talk with Rosalie. Of course I knew I was being ridiculous, but that didn't help me any. I was terrified when it came down to it – what if I felt anger when I saw her, and had to fight the urge to end her? What if I felt nothing at all, as if she was just another vampire?

Or what if you still feel something for her? Another side of me quietly whispered. It was a thought I'd had several times since her change, but I couldn't allow myself to think on it any further. The uncertainty was slowly eating at me, but I'd been ignoring it.

I felt a few of my brothers mentally nod in agreement around me. Shit, I'd been so deep in thought, sorting through my feelings that I hadn't realized my thoughts were unguarded.

A flash of humiliation surged through me. Stay the fuck outta my head, I growled at them. Is it too much to ask to have one thought to myself!?

I heard them mutter in displeasure at my outburst, their thoughts tinged with sorrow for me but outweighed by thoughts of my being an asshole. People were sick of me and my behavior these past few months, but I didn't care.

Wouldn't be such a bad thing, I heard Astin mutter to himself. He wasn't such a dick when Lexi was around…

He barely had time to finish the thought before I was on him, pounced and snarling and aiming for his jugular.

Enough! Stop! Brady, get off of him! Jacob yelled at me mentally, his thoughts loud in my ears. He appeared at my side, teeth flashing and eyes wild. I dropped off of Astin without really wanting to, the Alpha command from Jacob making my limbs move against my will. I growled at the annoying feeling – I hated, hated Alpha orders. Nothing worse than not feeling like you were in complete control of your body. It was almost physically impossible to disobey an Alpha order.

I did it so that you didn't tear him to bits, Jacob snarled, shaking his big head. You need to calm down. We need to be focused.

I mentally gave him the finger and with a growl, stepped away from my annoying younger roommate with a final huff.

Stupid kid, I thought. We waited in silence after that, the pack settling down on the rocky beach of the river to wait. It was another few hours before Seth finally phased and let us know he was on his way. More minutes ticked by as he raced towards us, Edward and Bella by his side.

We're calling a meeting, he called through the pack link. We need to meet with the Cullens and go over a plan. They're meeting us down by the river –stay where you are and be ready!

We stood, lining up and shaking off the frost that had settled on our coats in the predawn hours while we'd waited. I'd managed to doze a bit, but that was the extent of it. The entire line of wolves buzzed with energy, the anticipatory feeling of the upcoming hunt settling over our collective minds and making us all on edge. Every muscle in my body tensed and clenched, waiting for the moment Seth would give us the news. His mind was guarded as he ran in wolf form towards the river.

As he got closer, he began running us through the memory of his night so far. Getting the call while he was on duty, talking to the poor cleaning woman who'd discovered the mangled body down from a crying, shrieking mess of nerves, to setting foot in the building for the first time. Not that I blamed her – it wasn't common in Forks to open a door to a dinky little factory office and find a gruesome crime scene that made most horror movies look like a bedtime story. Through the mental link we shared his memory of walking into the factory, able to smell the scent of blood and death on the other end of the property – that wasn't the only thing he smelled. The sickly sweet aroma of vampire had hit his nose the moment he'd arrived on the scene. He and Charlie had followed the poor night cleaning crew through the building to the office where the grisly murder had taken place. It was a gruesome sight – the vampire hadn't just fed, he'd mutilated the body of the factory man and had made a complete mess of the place. The memory turned Seth's stomach to recall.

He burst through the trees, sliding to a halt on the rocky sand with Edward and Bella right behind him.

His eyes met mine and I knew it. Edward gave me a grim nod, confirming to his wife what we'd been afraid of. The same scent in Seth's mind was the same scent of the monster that had taken Lexi's life.

It was on.

Seth turned his huge head and looked at Edward, who simply nodded.

"We need to form a plan. Wait here," he said, and was gone.

The pack mind was buzzing with thoughts and reactions to the news, everyone ranging from wanting a challenge to frothing at the mouth to rip him to pieces.

No thoughts compared to mine.

Ever nerve was alive – every conscious thought, every ounce of energy and every move I made as I paced the beach had my body thrumming and ready to go as I planned out the best way to attack. I was going to end this.

I was going to end this for her.

I was so distracted that I almost didn't hear the light, almost rhythmic patter of footsteps coming closer. Normally I would have panicked, but my wolf mind recognized the footsteps of the Cullens after all these years. Except…

There was one I didn't recognize.

There was one I hadn't taken the time to learn.

Turning my head, I watched in silence as they appeared in the rapidly fading moonlight of the river. They were all there, standing like pale white statues on the shoreline in front of the trees, as if they'd just casually walked up and struck an unintended pose. Eight couples stood together, but there was one more this time that we weren't used to seeing.

Her silvery blonde hair stood out in the darkness, almost matching her pale, icy looking skin. She was small – almost as small as Alice, but she didn't look as sure of herself as the others.

Lexi, I thought, my tone laced with a mixture of longing and mourning. She was still herself, but she didn't look completely the same. Gone were her freckles, the tiny chicken pox scars on her wrist and above her eyebrow, and her pink cheeks and sea colored eyes.

A few of my brothers caught my longing tone – Embry tossed me a pitying look, while Collin mentally gave me a pat on the shoulder. I bit back a growl and tried to focus as we formed a half circle around Seth and Edwards – us on one side, the Cullens and Lexi on the other.

"It was him," Edward nodded quietly, turning to Lexi with a sorrow-filled yet determined expression. I watched as Rosalie reached over, taking Lexi's hand. Emmett came up behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders and giving them a squeeze.

"We'll get him," he muttered in her ear, and Rosalie nodded.

Edwards bobbed his head once, turning his attention back to the pack. "We've been tracking this vampire, and so have you. Alice has been watching his decisions, but he seems to be elusive and gifted at dodging all of our efforts."

Jacob gave a grunt of displeasure before phasing into human form, covering himself with his hands. "So what does that mean? What do we do? We can't allow this to go on, what if he targets more humans?"

"I know you want to catch him Jacob," Edward replied, his tone bordering on a condescending manner. "But you have to understand that we have as much invested in this pursuit as you do," he murmured the last bit, glancing back at Lexi. I watched her set her jaw in determination, her eyes fearful but blazing.

An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of my stomach as I watched her. While her movements were still a bit unpracticed and jerky, she wasn't as terrifying as the she-devil that had taken me down in my dream the other night. Not that it mattered – I could see that Rosalie's grip on her hand and Emmett's grasp on her shoulders was almost a precautionary move. We still had young wolves in the pack and didn't want to take any chances with a newborn – even if it was Lexi.

"So what's the plan then?" Jacob let Edward's comment roll off his shoulders at this point. He was used to his future father in law and his sometimes haughty words. At the same time, I think Edward pretty much knew to expect that Jacob could be a reckless hothead with the patience of a cranky toddler. However, they both shared a love for Renesmee and so far that had kept things civil. I think the fact that Edward could read his mind and understand his intentions also aided that situation.

"We have to be careful. He's obviously got what he considers unfinished business in Forks. I've seen gifts like this before."

"What now?" Jacob snapped.

Edward barely quirked an eyebrow. "Do you remember Victoria? And how both sides chased her for weeks?"

"Yes…"

"Well, I think this is like that. We haven't been able to pinpoint his moves with Alice's visions – we're always off by half a step. Doesn't that seem familiar?"

It went back and forth for almost an hour. We agreed enough that the vampire we were tracking had a penchant for hanging around Forks and a talent for avoiding our grips. He wanted something – and we all knew what that was.

Lexi stood still. Too still. Her eyes were unblinking as she met Edward's gaze as he spoke to her.

"You have to think of your father and Patrick. If you linger here, we risk him making another move. Next time… I'm afraid..."

Lexi finally blinked, nodding. "Next time it could be them he attacks. Or worse…turns," she exhaled, meeting Rosalie's eyes. "He's hunting me. And my dad or Patrick could be next."

Everyone was quiet – we all knew she was right.

"Lexi, you'd never be able to forgive yourself if he went after your family," Bella said, weaving her hand with Edward's. "We need to draw him out. Away from Forks."

"Let's lure the son of a bitch out where it'll be a fair fight," Emmett chimed in, nudging Rosalie. "We can take him."

Edward glanced at Jacob. "They have a point. Would it be best to leave?"

I felt the air leave my lungs. Embry turned my way, sensing the shift in my mood. Would they really leave Forks again?

Does it matter? You're been avoiding her for weeks, maybe months, Embry reasoned, his mind trying to calculate the days since Lexi's change.

Eighty seven, I mentally thought at no one in particular.

It had been eighty seven days since my imprint was ripped from me, and I was painfully aware of every single one of them, despite what everyone might think. He had a point, as Embry usually did. For someone whose personal life was in shambles, the guy actually had a very good grasp on life and wasn't easily riled. Over the years, he'd become my best friend. Between his statement and the serious verbal shakedown I'd gotten from Rosalie earlier, I felt emotionally stripped raw.

Jacob glanced at the rest of the pack, silently gauging our reaction to the suggestion of the Cullens leaving Forks. I stood still, completely frozen. Would Lexi leaving Forks really make a difference? Would the vampire follow her, or was the target already on the backs of her father and Patrick? I couldn't be sure. We obviously weren't dealing with just any old vampire. This one was cunning and meticulous about his attacks. He'd waited nearly three months after changing Lexi to strike again. He'd waited just long enough for us all to relax.

The morning sun began to peek over the horizon, casting misty rays of light onto the river behind us. I turned my head, my eyes blearily focusing on the flow of water as it crested over the stones. Behind me, the conversation continued as the Cullens discussed leaving Forks. It was suggested that they return to Alaska, to stay with the other vegetarian coven that dwelled there. The Denali's had been in Alaska, living off animal blood for decades.

At least she'll be with someone who supports her diet, Embry offered meekly.

I could barely acknowledge him. Rosalie had chided me not even a few hours before about being selfish, and here I was, worrying what Lexi leaving would do to me. I was worried how it would affect me. My shame washed over me so hard it might as well have been a tidal wave of self-awareness. How could I have been so blind? So stupid? It was always about me. Fuck, I thought. Why was I such an asshole?!

"If you leave and draw him out, we could make sure he follows. I hate to use you as bait, Lexi, but up there you'd have the support of five more to help out with ending him," Jacob reasoned, leaning back against a tree trunk.

Edward frowned, his golden gaze unseeing. "They're up to six now. That nomad you fought last spring is still with them, Fred."

Jacob rolled his eyes but set his jaw. "Even then. She'd be well protected and we'd be leading him away from Lexi's parents."

"We can't chase him forever," Rosalie interjected. "How will that help?"

Jacob smirked. "Well Blondie, guess you'll just have to catch him."

Rosalie's face twisted in annoyance, but Emmett's lit up with a predatory grin. "I like a challenge."

I turned my head to look at Lexi, who appeared deep in thought. Her face looked so strange like this; smooth, unsmiling, and her face looked so strange like this; smooth, unsmiling, and the eyes. I didn't think I'd ever get used to the eyes.

"We'll go. We have to draw them away. If anything happened to my parents…"

She trailed off, her face suddenly showing the wave of panic that had surely washed over her at the thought. Rosalie rubbed her back, drawing her into a side hug. Her lips moved quickly, her voice so fast I only caught a few of the reassuring words.

It was decided. The Cullens would leave that night for Alaska, taking only the bare essentials. They'd run all the way, hopefully leaving a trail that would lure this sadistic monster out of Forks and away from her parents. The pack would stay behind, doubling its efforts to protect La Push and Forks. It was all that could be done.

One by one, my brothers left the riverbed in pairs, leaving only when Jacob gave them their protection details. The Cullens all looked sad at the prospect of leaving again, but they were determined, too. It wasn't the most conventional family there was, but I was at least glad Lexi was with a coven that seemed to want always do the right thing, whether that was only hunting animals or risking their lives to protect the human population in our tiny corner of Washington. I took small solace with that.

Edward cast a glance at me, and I realized he'd heard my thoughts.

Thank you. For protecting her, and watching over her. I'm sorry I couldn't do more.

Edward lingered back, his dark brows knitting together as he glanced over his shoulder at Rosalie and Lexi.

"There is something you could do," he uttered, his voice barely audible. "Stay here."

In a flash he was at Lexi's side – while his speed had made me jump, neither of them seemed even bothered by it. His lips moved his voice low and quick; he said something to her that I didn't catch. Her head whipped unnaturally fast in my direction, causing me to shift uneasily. The only sound was their uttered whispers and the sound of the river as it bubbled past, occasionally catching on the bits of ice formed near the bank.

Rosalie gave her shoulder another squeeze and Edward a nod before the pair turned and melted into the forest in the same direction they'd come. Lexi then turned to me. Her voice was clear but uncertain as she spoke her first words to me as a vampire.

"Can… we maybe have that talk now?"

. . . .

No seriously, I'll finish it if people are still reading. Thank you to NinkyBaby for her continued beta work!