A/N: Keep reviewing people! I need all of your opinions! Love ya!

Chapter 14: Eyes On Fire

Paul's POV:

All I could seem to focus on was Raegan's face. Her facial expression was odd. She wore a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, her body frigid. Emily and Sam looked completely bewildered. "I'm not sure I understand. And I don't think you do either." She said quietly, still maintaining that weird smile yet cold exterior. What the hell? Why was she acting so…unlike herself? Sam narrowed his eyes at her, while Emily looked like she was going to cry again. "Sweetie, we are trying to understand. There is only so much we can do. It's hard to manage all of this." Emily said softly, trying to coax her. But Raegan wasn't having any of it. "I didn't realize you felt this way." My imprint said, in a voice barely above a whisper. "You could have told me that I was burdening you. I would have been okay with it, I would have made more of an effort to be quieter-"

"No, baby girl, that's not what we are saying at all!"

"-I wouldn't have told you anything, so I wouldn't put so much weight on your shoulders. And I could have even gone back to South Dakota, back home."

Emily frowned, an angry expression on her face. "Raegan Young, you are not a burden. And this is your home. Not South Dakota. We love you, but none of us are…properly equipped…to help you with this. Please, understand why we are doing this." She explained sternly. Raegan's face softened, but I could tell she was still uncomfortable. "I can't make any promises. I don't like the idea of leaving myself vulnerable to someone I barely know." She said softly. Sam shook his head. "All we ask if that you try. If you honestly feel like you will be better without it, then we will take you out of therapy. But try." He replied.

Emily and Sam dismissed us, and Raegan walked quickly to her room. Shutting the door behind her, I took a deep breath. "C'mon, Rae. Open the door, please? It's just me." I said while knocking. No sound was made from the other side of the door, so taking a chance, I opened it.

Raegan was lying in her bed, facing the wall. "Raegan…." I whispered, making my way to sit on the bed. "I'm not crazy, am I?" she asked softly. Pain erupted through my heart, but I ignored it. "No, of course not. Why would you think that?" I asked hurriedly. She appeared to have shrugged her shoulders, but it was hard to tell since she was laying down. "…Only crazy people go to therapists and stuff. So I must be crazy too." She explained sadly. I laughed despite myself, unable to take that seriously. "No, no, no, baby girl. You…You're just going through a rough time right now. And therapists aren't just for 'crazy' people. They are for people who need some…guidance."

Raegan rolled over, facing me. "But I don't need guidance. Why don't you guys get that? What happened was my fault. Not anyone else's." she said, sounding slightly stressed. I studied her face carefully. She looked confused, and angry. "I…I don't know what to say." I admitted honestly. For the first time, I was speechless. I couldn't think of anything to make the situation better; nothing would change her mind. And I didn't even know what the situation was. "I understand." She said with a sigh, and turned back onto her other side.

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I had unfortunately left for patrol, hoping the time away would give me some time to reflect and think. Seth would be joining me soon, so I had to do all the important thinking soon. I couldn't stop wondering what Raegan meant; what caused her to have such a bad nightmare and to make her have an...accident. "Hey bro, what's up?" said a chipper voice bouncing from behind me. It was obviously Seth. I grumbled a quick response, not really in the mood to talk to anyone. "You okay?" said another voice, which I realized was Jacob. "I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" I answered, sarcasm dripping off of every word. Embry came running out of the trees, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, looking like a complete doofus. Suddenly, all the memories of this morning had reappeared, flashing so quickly I couldn't stop them. "What was that?"

"Whoa, man. What happened?"

"Everyone shut up! You weren't supposed to see that!"

"Did she wet herself?"

"What's going on Paul?"

I growled angrily, snapping my teeth at Seth and Embry. "Shut the fuck up, you stupid idiots!" I seethed, my teeth bared dangerously. The two smaller wolves' faces held confusion and disbelief, but they didn't speak, which was wise on their part. Suddenly, a wave of emotion filled with sadness and desperation grew in my chest, and I let out an anguished whine. "I feel so helpless. I feel like there isn't anything I can do to help her! She opens up, but she's so shut away from me…I can't get through!" I exclaimed. Embry and Seth seemed unsure of what to do. "Did…did that really happen? She peed?" Seth asked timidly. I tensed, but immediately let my guard down. "Something is scaring her. Something bad. Like, really bad. And I'm lost when it comes to trying to comfort her." I sighed. I felt like crying. What could I do?

Finally, my patrol ended and I immediately ran back to Raegan. Not bothering to knock on the door to Sam and Emily's home, I walked speedily to her room. She laid there in the same position I had left her in, her eyes open but staring into space. "Rae? Sweetie?" I asked quietly, sitting on the edge of the bed and carefully setting my hand on her back. "Paulie…" she murmured softly. Her voice sounded pained, and it instantly made my face contort in frustration. "Rae, what's wrong? Please, let me help you." I whispered. She shook her head stubbornly, a bitter laugh escaping her throat. "Why is everyone convinced I need help? I'm fine!" she exclaimed. Why was she acting like this? "Raegan, stop! Please!" I snapped. She made no notion that she even recognized I spoke, and just scoffed. "I'm going to a therapist tomorrow morning. Then you will all see I'm fine." She said confidently.

Upset and not knowing what to do, I left the room and headed to see Emily and Sam, who were talking seriously on the sofa in the living room. "How is she?" Emily asked me hopefully. With one look at my face, her expression deflated. "She doesn't think she needs any help…I don't even know what's going on, but I'm convinced she probably does." I said honestly. Sam let out an aggravated sigh. "She needs to see a doctor. I don't know how to handle her anymore, she's making Emily so stressed and it's affecting my temper." he said angrily. Whoa whoa whoa, who did he think he was? Talking about my beautiful Raegan like that, like she was some type of animal. "Raegan isn't someone who is in need of being handled, Sam. She is a human being who needs to be cared for and tended to. And I realize it can be stressful raising a teenager or whatever, but at least make it sound like you give a shit about her, okay?" I growled. Sam narrowed his eyes at me. "I care very much about Raegan, Paul. It's just become a little difficult to put up with this." He snapped. I started trembling, only wanting to wrap my hands around his stupid throat. "Put up with. Is that what you call it? She goes through something terrible and you 'put up' with her. How can you even call yourself an Alpha? Do you 'put up' with the pack, too?" I yelled. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "You are taking it the completely wrong way. I didn't mean it like that." He said, sounding exasperated. I laughed bitterly. "Well that's sure how it came across. I'm going to sit with Rae. Don't bother us." I replied menacingly, stalking down the hallway back to her room.

"Paulie?" she asked quietly as she attempted to sit up. "Shhh. Go to sleep." I whispered, climbing in the bed beside her. "Is this okay?" I asked her, wanting to make sure I wasn't making her uncomfortable. She nodded her head unsurely. "What was going on? There was a lot of yelling." She said cutely, her voice sounding worried but innocent all at the same time. It almost infuriated me as I recalled Sam's statements from before. "No need to worry. Everything's okay. We'll be just fine." I said.

If I only I believed it myself.

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Raegan's POV

I woke up a few hours later, and it was still dark outside. The clock read 2 am, and I checked my surroundings. I was confined in the protective arms of Paul, which comforted me with their warmth. I was more nervous than I would let on about later today. I didn't want to see a therapist, and I had no desire to talk to anyone about my 'problems'. I've been coping with life since the day I was born, but no one seemed to understand I was more than capable of dealing with things on my own.

But there was Paul. He cared more about me than anyone. He was my protector, I was his imprint. There was so much I wanted to tell him, but I was so afraid he wouldn't love me anymore; he wouldn't be my best friend. A part of me told me that he would never abandon me like that, but a bigger part of me liked playing it safe, even if in the long run it would hurt us both.

I turned towards him, my eyes gazing at his relaxed form. He was extremely attractive, even when he was asleep. When had I come to have a crush on him? Suddenly, his eyes fluttered open, and he gazed into mine. "You okay?" he asked, his voice still raspy from sleep. I nodded, feeling guilty for waking him up. "You can go to sleep." I whispered. He smirked and shook his head. "How can I fall asleep when I know you're awake?" he asked teasingly. I allowed myself to blush as he stared deeply into my eyes. "Now tell me, what's keeping you? We have all the time in the world."

I gulped nervously. "I-I'm scared."

He frowned, and sat up on his elbow. "What are you afraid of?" he inquired, more to himself than me. I shrugged. "I don't want to be judged." I stated quietly. He shook his head, tisking. "Don't be scared. Tomorrow's just an evaluation, anyway. The therapist's job is to try and help you." He assured. I nodded slowly, my eyes downcast. An impending thought wouldn't stop penetrating my brain, and before I knew it, I blurted it out. "You won't…You won't leave me, will you?"

Paul looked absolutely flabbergasted; his expression clear as day despite the lack of light.

"What?"

"When…when I tell you my secret….you won't leave me, right? I mean, it won't change anything, right?"

Scooting closer to me, he placed his hand gently on my cheek, looking at me sadly. "I will never leave you. Ever. You could tell me you were a serial killer, and I still wouldn't leave."

"But only because you don't have the choice, right? Because of the imprint?"

Paul sat upright speedily, turning to me so fast I'm sure any normal human would have broken their neck. "I will always be by your side, Raegan, whether you like it or not. And I would do it in a heartbeat, with or without the imprint. Nothing in this world could change my mind about how I feel about you."

The utter feeling of love overwhelmed me, and I threw myself into his arms, squeezing him as hard as I could. I caught him off guard, and that was apparent, but he quickly hugged me back, burying his face in my hair. "Thank you, Paul. You are the best friend a girl could ask for." I said gratefully.

"I'm always here, Rae."

A/N: I KNOW I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN 23456789 YEARS! IM SORRY I HAD SEVERE WRITERS BLOCK AND THEN I WENT ON VACATION AND THEN I FORGOT WHAT I WAS WRITING ABOUT AND BLAH BLAH BLAH! Please Review!