-1I was in the kitchen, washing dishes, when the doorbell rang. I half expected it to be Edward, but then I remembered Emily saying they'd send someone over to get me and my stuff. Bella wasn't coming which meant I couldn't ride with her in the truck.

"I'll get it" I called. I wiped my hands on my jeans and went to the door. Paul was standing outside, grinning.

"Oh. It's you"

"Nice to see you too Cassie" his smile told me he meant it. My dogs rushed over to him and barked happily, tails wagging. Great, he bewitched them too!

"So…where's your stuff?" he asked. I pointed at my rucksack.

"There. I don't see why I couldn't take it myself" he picked up the bag and led me out to his car. I ushered Buddy and Scarlett in side. Bella came over to my side and hugged me.

"I'll see you tomorrow" she said "Don't worry. Everything will be fine!" I smiled hopefully and climbed into Paul's car. The dogs sat in the back and Paul sat in the front, next to me. He smiled at me again.

"Stop it" I said, not looking at him.

"Stop what?"

"Smiling. It's creepy. No one's that happy"

"I am. I found you"

"If that's meant to sound romantic it's not working"

"What exactly do you have against me? I've done nothing to hurt you. In fact, I want to keep you safe"

"Yes, but you are a stranger who is insisting they are the love of my life"

"okay I understand your point but this is weird for me too. Us wolves were told that our imprints would instantly love us and from the ones I've seen, that happens. But not you"

"Probably because my brain is overriding this crap" I muttered.

"It's not crap. Love could never be crap" I ignored him for the rest of the journey.

**sorry, going to skip through the decorating, to the next day**

I woke up in my new bedroom after having the most peaceful night I'd ever had. The room had been decorated coffee and cream colours, with neutral furniture. Each of the pack had donated a small token to decorate my room with.

Jared had given me a dream catcher, Quil and Embry had bought me a ornately carved wooden chest they'd made together. Sam had made a jewellery box and Jacob had put a bracelet inside. Seth had given me a cool book of myths and legends. Leah, Kim and Emily had co-sown a patchwork quilt for me. Paul had also given me jewellery (a necklace) but I had ignored it and hidden it in the box.

I was tremendously grateful for everything they'd done and a bit embarrassed about the effort they'd gone to.

Emily came in with a mug of hot chocolate and a muffin.

"Hey honey"

"Morning Emily"

"You up for some shopping today?"

"Hold me back!" I said, jokingly. She laughed.

"Well, I managed to convince Leah to come, and Kim. Bella says her friend Angela's coming too"

"No boys, right?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No boys. I had a bit of a hard time convincing Jared and Paul not to stalk us. Sam eventually told them to patrol for the rest of the day so they couldn't. Oh, and Seth took Buddy and Scarlett for a walk. They seem to like him"

"Right. Okay. When do we set off?"

"As soon as you're ready"

"Give me ten minutes to shower and dress, then I'll be there!" I said, wolfing (ha, ha, wolfing!) down my muffin. I showered quickly and shoved on my normal jeans. I hadn't been this excited in a while.

When I went into the living room, I found Leah, Kim and Emily waiting there.

"We've got to pick up Bella and Angela" Kim said "I'm driving because Leah drives like a maniac, and Emily drives like an old lady"

"And I'm too young" I smiled. They grinned back and we went out to the car.

We'd been shopping for a while. I'd bought some clothes that everyone insisted was cute, as well as some books and stuff. We'd had lunch and were about to hit more shops.

I was just holding up a white dress I'd found when Angela screamed.

"What is it?" I asked. Everyone was looking at her.

"Cassie…you're bleeding!" I looked down and saw a pool of blood rapidly spreading on the ground between my legs. I screamed and fainted.

A/N: evil cliffy. Oh, how I love evil cliffies!