I was going to post this tuesday but my computer crashed. Anyway, here ya go, hope you like it. Review please!! Thanks

Cara:

I was running, again. I'm always running in dreams. Maybe I would have taken the time to think about that fact if you know… I wasn't running. Instead, my every thought was focused on getting as far away from whatever was chasing me as fast as possible. It seemed to be working.

The sound of crashing waves and falling rocks was all around me, but the beach was miles away, the cliffs even further. How could they sound so close? The world was tinted burnt orange in the setting sun light, dying my white fur red. It seemed so empty in the forest, the trees were hallow and dead. I felt really and truly alone, more alone than I think I'd ever been.

My foot came up off of soft dirt and came down on hard stone, the setting changed as quickly as my heart was beating. Where am I now? I wondered, but a quick glance around told me.

I was in the garage, Jake's garage. The Rabbit's hood was open, the radio blared in the corner and those familiar legs stuck out from under the truck. His whistle filled the air as he worked and for a second it seemed so real, like I was really there with him as I had been so many times, trying to learn the difference between a carburetor and whatever other car part I didn't know.

So why was I still running? Maybe not physically, but I felt the world spinning by me, whipping past in a slipstream of time. My tail whisked behind me, my ears slicked back and I snarled in anger. I couldn't make it stop.

"Cara?" His voice filled my head, but from the outside coming in. It echoed all around me and made my heart jump and flutter.

The music suddenly cut off, interrupting the second verse of some Coldplay song mid note. Ticks and pops came from the Rabbit's engine, metal clanged as Jake messed around with something that had a name I'd forgotten the moment he told me. I panted for the breath I'd lost while running from an enemy I didn't know, and my legs felt like caving.

I saw two dark hands grip the front fender of the Rabbit, wheels squeaked as Jake slid out from under the truck on the skateboard he used as a trolley. The usual grease stains plus some new ones covered his clothes and hands and his shaggy hair fell into his face. I took a compulsive step forward to brush it aside but realized I couldn't, claws and everything. I whined deep in my throat like a stubborn little kid.

"Aw, Cara, love" I waited for those red-brown eyes to look deep into mine, waited for the giddy jittering of my heart at the sight of my one true love, my future. Felt his hands run through my fur, stroking down my spine and back up. "Is it that easy to deceive you?"

Wait… what? I opened my eyes, blinked back the haze of dreamland…

And I saw that it wasn't Jake at all, though it was his voice I heard. It was David. His green eyes gleamed with mischief, his grin created fear. Before my eyes, he shifted into the dark, sleek wolf I'd seen three times before. It towered over me in a way that was nowhere near the comforting way Jake loomed. He towered to intimidate not protect and I found myself backed into a corner. Where was Patrick Swayze when you needed him?

"Is this all I have to do to catch you?" David's voice wasn't smooth and tenured anymore. It growled and boomed like thunder overhead. I felt the garage change around us, felt the feeling of home disappear until I was lost in a forest I didn't know. Stuck with a wolf who was my enemy.

"Shame. Cause I love the chase"

His claws extended, sharper and longer, his paw drew back and in one swift motion-

I fell. Right out of bed. My head hit the hard wood floor, still no carpet, and the sheets twisted around my ankles. For a minute I seriously considered just lying there but the thought of the major cramped muscles that would induce made me groan and sit up.

At intervals, the room lit up an eerie green, the numbers on my clock flashing. It was only two a.m. I'd been asleep barely two hours and that thought almost made me want to cry. What could have woken me up? Why had the world granted me the honor of being tossed out of bed? I could just picture my father, snoring two rooms down the hall. Joy.

I stood and balled up the blanket, threw it onto my mattress and went to the window. It was dark, unbelievably dark outside. The sky was almost ink blue it was so dark. The moon was nowhere in sight, only a few stars twinkled. Maybe I was still dreaming after all, maybe I hadn't woken up.

The bump on my head throbbed when I touched it which was probably a sign that I was, in fact, awake. But for some reason, I still felt disoriented, clogged up, dazed. Why?

A sound like a tree falling, snapping from the roots, came echoing out of the darkness. A gunshot in the night. Seconds later, a snarl, a growl, another loud and angry crack. I froze with my eyes glued on the backyard, convinced all of a sudden that I had to be dreaming still. It got quiet, to the point of too quiet, when a body came hurtling out of the trees, fangs and claws out.

I really hoped I was dreaming.

Jake:

There's a point in time where running through the woods at night gets old. That point for me was two nights ago and by now it was ancient. Not even the feeling of phasing, shifting from one form to another, could get me pumped enough for the hunt. And not in the leach form of the word, if that's what you're thinking. When we hunt, it's for a reason, for the purpose of protecting innocent people by tracking down the danger. And getting rid of it.

My foot came down on a sharp rock, a growl escaped my lips before I could stop it. I was too tired, too exhausted from five nights in a row of taking extra shifts. Add twin sisters visiting and I've barely had any sleep for a week. And Cara…

Jake, I picked up a fresh trail. Embry's voice flooded my head and seconds later came the corresponding visual. More trees, more forest, but it was a familiar section. A part I walked through too many times to count.

How fresh? I asked and started to run, shaking off the now familiar fatigue. The trail was close to Cara's house, leading directly past her backyard. The fact that we'd allowed this guy to get that close pushed me even further, with new determination.

A few hours at least.

The forest whipped past me as I ran, picking up speed. My heart was pounding in my ears and the thought of ripping whoever was out there to shreds gave me a weird sense of enjoyment. Embry was circling now in my head, looping closer and closer to my imprint's home. Anger swelled inside of me along with guilt and fear and worry and a whole bunch of other emotions my mind was too preoccupied to think about.

It's still going… past the yard, Jake. Now Embry's voice was tense, his feelings started to rush over me in waves. I bunched my legs and poured on more speed, jumping over roots and boulders as if I owned the forest.

Keep tracking it, I'm almost there.

The moonlight streaked through the trees in patches, like spotlights in certain places. Sounds from the nighttime creatures were all around me but they recognized that urgency and power and kept out of my way. In seconds, I picked up Embry's scent, and the undercurrent of this new wolf. My jaw locked at the smell, the way my fists would have curled if I looked human.

Cara's house loomed up ahead, like a mile of backyard in between us. I wanted more than anything at that moment to climb up to her room and just be with her, maybe fall asleep with her curled in my arms. That's exactly what I wanted just then, I could almost feel her against me. Until that smell hit me again. Like the worst thing you've ever smelled in the world, but way worse. Possibly worse than a vampire.

A twig snapped to my right but it was just Quil, his scent reaching me first. It was familiar, one I knew like the back of my hand as if he was my brother which he was in almost every sense of the word. His light brown head nodded towards the house I spent most of my time in and I knew he was right. The wolf's scent did venture further toward it, all around it. I'd be willing to bet it was on the back porch and that just drove me even more insane.

Easy, Jacob. We'll get him and she'll never have worry about it-Yeah, I hope. So I wouldn't have to keep hiding this from her, which had turned out to be so much harder than I'd thought it would be. Almost as hard as convincing myself I didn't love her way back when.

We split up, to cover more ground, scouring every inch for another trace of him. We needed a fresher trail than the ones left to track him down and take him out. Paul's mafia references were starting to rub off me, but I refused to quote Scarface. The line would then be thoroughly crossed.

I crept through the trees, through the shadows with every sense at top notch. I heard an owl six miles away, saw a beetle scramble under a leaf, felt the softest touch of pollen in the air. But still, no wolf. I ground my teeth and looped back towards Cara's house, heard Embry's goodbye before his connection clicked off for the night and just hoped that she was fast asleep, oblivious to all the chaos and trouble we were going to because of this guy. Wished that Cara would never have to worry about anything other than bad weather and test grades for the rest of her life, so badly it made my heart ache.

A soft breeze picked up, carried leaves, and scents with it. Dirt and moss… and him. A growl, deep in my throat, escaped my mouth as I turned. My eyes swept the entire area, searching because he was close, hiding. He wasn't afraid, just smug and conceited. And dangerous, I could sense that he was dangerous without ever laying eyes on him.

I hated him even more.

The wind carried from the east, leading me straight to his place of residence. He wasn't visible yet, but he was there- hidden in the shaded shrubbery- his scent covered almost every inch of this part of the woods. For a while, it was dead silent. Not even an animal scurried for cover. Just silence until…

The rustle of leaves to my left, blood pumping in my ears, a twig snapped seconds later. Without waiting for another chance I pounced, my claws slamming into something solid and strong. And huge. The wolf turned, snarling at me, and tried to swipe for my face, just missing by a few inches. I let go of his shoulder and we squared off. Bringing a whole new meaning to the phrase dog-eat-dog.

He was big, dark, and looming over me. It seemed like he was only made of muscle and sinew, and moved more like a cat than a dog. His footing was so careful, so precise, he barely made a sound. Nothing but panting breathe and growls. I'd be jealous if I wasn't pissed.

Stay away from here, her I meant but it was implied. I wasn't this protective about the land for Christ's sake. Besides, I wasn't even sure he could hear me in that dark, self absorbed head of his.

Why? Apparently, he could hear me.

His voice wasn't welcome in my head, it felt invading and personal. Nosy. His presence was like a parasite I wanted gone and it would be. No matter what I had to. We circled each other in the dim moonlight, sizing each other up. Weighing the potential opponent. I'd forgotten all about the fact that this was taking place practically in Cara's backyard.

It's our territory. You're not welcome. There. I'd be polite at first, sustain some type of civility. But the moment he refused, which I had a feeling he would, all of that would go out the window. I would gladly take the first bite.

Boundaries never did affect me. I'm right about things like character, always was. He attacked first , fangs dripping, claws flashing. I'd learned my lesson from the last big fight I was in, and waited for just the right time to strike back. I dodged his first blow, his claws leaving gaping wounds in a tree trunk, and took my chance as he leaned into his swing.

He howled in pain when I bit down, hard, on his shoulder. The coppery taste of blood filled my mouth for an excruciating second and I made myself think of other things, like steak and French fries, Emily's French toast. It almost worked.

I yanked free, spitting out as much of it as I could and grinned at the wolf's limp. He growled pretty impressively but it was clear I had won. I'd sliced right through tendon, dug deep into muscle. There wasn't much he could with a torn up arm. His eyes flashed in the light, reflective like a cat's, filled to the brim with anger. Maybe now he knew how I felt.

You'll regret that. He threatened, taking a few steps back, preparing to run for it.

Doubt it. I thought and enjoyed the sight of him running so much I laughed, that wheezy, choked out one that was as close as I could get with fangs and an extended jaw line.

I glanced once more at Cara's window just in time to see the curtain flutter and I dodged behind a tree. My heart pounded, more than it had when I was fighting actually. I hoped she hadn't seen me, seen him. I prayed that if anything, her window was open and she was fast asleep, oblivious to the latest threat to the Pack. I risked one more look and sighed as the curtain swayed in the breeze. At least for a little while longer I could keep her out of this.

At least for a little while, I could keep her safe.

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I'll update soon, well, sooner than I have been since school is practically over and I have the time. Oh, and sorry if there are any grammer or spelling mistakes, they bother me too.