Hey everyone! Thank you so very much for all of your reviews and adds! I'm glad you liked the last chapter. Clarissa is definately a major pain, but she does not make an appearance in this chapter. I had a plan on how this chapter was going to play out. I actually had nearly all of it written when I posted Chapter 18, but when I was getting ready for bed Friday night another idea for how it could play out came to me. I didn't go to bed right away that night because I couldn't stop thinking about it, so, I ended up turning on the computer and rewriting this chapter. I fine tuned it today, but I'm not sure if you guys will like it. Please let me know what you think! I'd love to know.

Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with the Twilight series.

Chapter 19

Third Person POV

Paul was walking out to his truck to meet up with Harper at the diner for breakfast when he saw Jason pull up. He frowned and walked around his truck as Jason climbed out of the truck and slammed the door. "Where is she?" he demanded and Paul's frown only deepened.

"Where's who?" Paul asked.

"Harper!" Jason barked and Paul felt his chest tighten as he shook his head.

"I haven't seen her yet," he said.

"Don't bullshit me, Paul, is she inside?" Jason said as he pointed to the house and started towards the small structure. Paul let him go and quickly followed him to the door. "Harper, open this door!" Jason demanded as he pounded hard on the wood and Paul grabbed his arm.

"She's not in there, man, and if you quit pounding on the door, I'll let you in so you can look for yourself," Paul said as he pulled Jason away. Jason huffed before he tore his arm out of Paul's grip and Paul pulled out his keys to let him in. Jason stormed inside and went through each room and checked eat closet before he came back out on the porch.

"Where is she?" Jason demanded and Paul was getting annoyed.

"I told you I haven't seen her yet," Paul said. "I left her a voicemail about twenty minutes ago to meet me at the diner, but I haven't heard from her." Jason sighed heavily before he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Jason, will you tell me what the hell is going on?"

"We got in an argument," Jason said as he lowered his hand and looked at Paul.

"What did you fight about?" Paul asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. Jason sighed again before he put his hands on his hips.

"You," he said and Paul frowned. "Clarissa's been talking to me about how you two shouldn't be seeing each other; that you're too old for her and have expectations of her."

"I don't," Paul said quickly, a deep frown on his face. "Jason, you know me," Paul continued as he raise d his hand to his chest and pointed at himself. "I don't even know Clarissa all that well and she doesn't know me. What she thinks about my relationship with Harper doesn't matter, but what you think does because your Harper's brother and her guardian." Paul lowered his hand with a sigh before he raised it to his hair and ran his hand through it anxiously. "Do you really think that Harper and I shouldn't be together?"

Jason stared hard at Paul for several long seconds and realized something. Paul loved Harper, deeply, and if Harper's reactions to his words earlier were anything to go by, she loved him to. Paul and Harper were right. Clarissa didn't know Paul because during the course of their relationship she really hadn't made an effort to get to know any of his friends. She went along to the cook outs and bon fires with him, but never really participated in any of the conversations. For the last couple of weeks she'd been trying to get him to tell Harper she couldn't see Paul, that she needed to be with someone her own age; but Jason realized that what Harper needed was Paul.

"I don't," Jason said. "Not now. I was wrong in trying to stop Harper. I shouldn't have listened to Clarissa when she doesn't know everything. Look at what it got me. My sister's gone and who knows where she is."

"When did you see her last?"

"Almost two hours ago. She went to leave the house and I told her to give me the keys because she wasn't going anywhere. She just threw the keys at me and stormed out of the house."

"Did you see where she went?" Paul asked and Jason shook his head negatively.

"No," he said. "I looked for her for the last hour and a half before I thought she might have hidden along the road and called you to pick her up. That's why I came here. I don't know where she went." Paul breathed in deeply through his nose to calm his temper, but it wasn't working. "I haven't checked with Kim or Emily yet."

"If she was upset, she would have called me but she didn't; and if she would have called either of them, they would have called me but they haven't," Paul said before he rubbed the back of his neck and closed his eyes to think.

"You don't think she ran off into the woods do you?" Jason asked and Paul quickly opened his eyes as he slowly lowered his hand from his neck. He knew that if Harper was upset and wanted to get away quickly she probably wasn't thinking. He wouldn't put it past her to do just that because that would be the last place Jason would think she'd go.

"She could have," Paul said and Jason simply looked at Paul and was at a lost for what to do. Paul took another breath, but it still wasn't working. His anger at Harper possibly being in danger was getting the better of him, and it didn't help that at that moment thunder rolled above them and the sky opened up in a heavy downpour. "Jason, go back to the house to see if she's gone home," Paul said, his voice shaking as the rain pounded on the overhang above their heads. "Call Emily's place if she's home, but if she's not, wait there and see if she does come home. I'm going to get the guys and we'll start searching the woods."

"Paul, I want to-," Jason started but Paul shook his head.

"No, just go home Jason," Paul said. "We know the woods better than anybody. We'll find her." Jason just stared at him and Paul's temper was getting the better of him. "Go!" Paul ordered and Jason jumped at the venom in that one word and ran down the porch steps and through the pouring rain to his truck.

While Jason pulled out onto the road, Paul made it look like he was going back inside but the second Jason's truck disappeared Paul jumped off the porch and started to the trees, phasing as he leapt over a fallen tree. He howled loudly into the air, the sound cutting through the thunder of the storm that had moved through. He howled again and felt Sam connect to his mind instantly.

"What's going on?" came Sam's voice in his head.

"Harper got into a fight with Jason and I think she's lost in the woods," Paul said. His fear was prevalent in his mind and easy for Sam to feel.

"I'm coming. We'll find her," Sam assured him, but Paul wasn't sure how. If she smelled as stomach wrenchingly sweet as the bloodsuckers did, they'd be able to find her; but she didn't. The only time he was able to notice her scent was in places she frequented. He knew he wouldn't recognize her scent from the flowers and vegetation in the woods, especially in the rain.

"We can't track her scent," Paul said. "She could be anywhere."

"Paul, we'll find her," Sam said again. Paul pressed his wolf form to move faster but he brought himself to a rough stop when Sam's voice barked an order. "Paul stop!"

"Damn it, why?" Paul thought as his sharp eyes scanned through the trees in front of him. He was still miles away from Harper's house and where she was probably lost in the woods, cold and wet from the rain.

"You've reached the line," Sam said and Paul growled as he dug his paws into the wet soil. The Cullens were still in Forks and he couldn't cross the treaty line because of it. The year before all of the Cullens made it seem like they left, but they remained in Forks and locked away in their house and the land surrounding it. The only reason they remained was because of Jacob's imprinting on their hybrid. If they were gone, he could cross the line without having to waste time contacting them. Paul howled into the air again and he felt another of his pack brothers join him and Sam.

"What's wrong?" Jacob asked, but Paul didn't need words. His thoughts were enough to give Jacob the answer to his question. "Hold on," Jacob mentally breathed and while Paul waited Sam in his massive black wolf form came to a stop next to him. Paul didn't look away from the trees in front of him and he huffed, a small puff of mist escaping his nose thanks to the cold air and rain still pelting down.

"They'll let us cross, Paul, don't worry," Sam said.

"Every second we waste, something could be happening to her," Paul said.

"Cross," came Jacob's voice. "Edward's volunteered to help. He'll catch her scent before any of us."

"I don't want that bloodsucker anywhere near her," Paul thought as he quickly crossed the line and broke out into a run with Sam hot on his heels.

"You know he won't hurt her and he's already on his way," Jacob said and Paul growled as he urged his body to go faster. If he even so much as touched a hair on her head, he would not be responsible for his actions.

Normal POV

I had sat in the same spot waiting and hoping that Jason had started looking for me in the woods, but when it started raining I needed to find better cover. The denseness of the trees was no match for thundering rain and after what felt like an eternity I found cover by a thickly branched tree. There wasn't much coverage, but the rain wasn't hitting me as hard as it was when I wasn't underneath it. I was soaked clear to the bone and shivering as I stood under the tree. My jaw was shaking so hard that my teeth were chattering. I hadn't bothered checking my phone to see if I had service because it was probably wet and didn't work anyway. I sighed heavily as I wrapped my arms around me and pressed my back against the tree and scanned the area around me.

"Please, Jason, find me," I thought as I lowered my head and closed my eyes. "Please anyone find me." A soft and quick breeze blew by me and I quickly raised my head only to gasp when I saw a young man standing in front of me. I had to swallow my scream when I realized what he was. Paul had told me enough to spot a vampire, and that was exactly what the painfully beautiful man in front of me was.

"I'm not going to hurt you," the young man said as he held out a calming hand. "I am helping the wolves look for you."

"Paul's looking for me?" I asked, my voice shaking, and he nodded as he lowered his hand to his side.

"He's not far," the young man said. "Jacob! She's here!" he shouted, his eyes never leaving me.

I simply started at the young man in front of me and I assumed since he called for Jacob that he was one of the Cullens; the vampires that Seth told me about. Seth said they referred to themselves as vegetarians because they didn't drink human blood. Seth thought it was funny; I thought it was kind of morbid. I watched as he bit back a smile and looked down at the ground. Obviously he found the fact that I was freezing to death humorous. The smile vanished from his face as he raised his head to look at me again, concern in his freaky honey colored eyes. I sighed as I slid down against the tree and settled my body on the mud at the base of the tree. I was so cold and I had to fight the dark spots in the corners of my eyes.

"Stay awake, Harper," he said quickly before he frowned deeply and took a half a step closer to me. Just then Jacob appeared in his usual cut offs and was quick to my side.

"Harper," Jacob said before he brought his scorching hands to my face and turned my eyes to him.

"Where's Paul?" I asked weakly.

"He's coming, Harper," he said before he quickly scooped me into his arms and stood under the tree. His heat was welcome, but it felt like it burned me so I tried to pull away.

"Jacob you're too hot," I said as I tried to get him to put me down, but failed miserably because he just pressed me closer to his bare chest.

"No I'm not, Harper, you're just freezing," he said and I gave up fighting him. I was too weak to fight him. Sam appeared then dressed in cut offs with a large and snarling dark gray and silver wolf standing next to him.

"Paul," I whispered upon seeing the wolf and he looked away from the vampire and at me where I laid in Jacob's arms. He whined as he slowly walked over to where Jacob stood with me and pressed his nose to my shoulder before he gently licked my cheek.

"We need to get her inside and warm. My family's house is close and Carlisle will be able to treat her. I'll carry her while you follow," the vampire said and Paul whipped his head around and turned around to face the vampire, his snarl back on his face as he let out a growl.

"Paul," Sam said slowly in warning, but he didn't move from where he stood.

"I would never hurt her, surely you know that by now," the vampire said sounding exasperated before he paused. "The more time you stand there belittling me, the worse her condition becomes." Paul's growls stopped and he turned his wolf head back to look at Jacob and me. My body was practically convulsing against Jacob because I was still freezing despite his warmth.

"He's right, Paul," Jacob said, his grip tight on me. "The Cullen's house is closer than hers and we're only faster than him when we phase. She's in no condition to ride on any of our backs." Paul growled again as he looked away from me and back to the vampire.

"You're more than welcome to do just that," the vampire said. I was confused as to how the vampire knew what Paul was saying, but I was far too cold to ask and I just rested my head against Jacob's shoulder and closed my eyes. "We need to get her to Carlisle now." I was jostled then and pressed to something that felt like ice, but I didn't open my eyes. I was tired, so tired, and slipped easily into the blackness that had been calling me.

"She'll be fine," a smooth male voice said from somewhere off to my right. I was lying on something soft and was warm beyond belief as I laid wrapped tightly in thick feather filled blankets with a hot water bottle resting on my stomach. "What have they told her family?"

"Paul told her brother that they found her and that she was okay. He said she was still upset with Jason and that she told him to bring her to Sam and Emily's place. He said that he'd bring her home once she calmed down," a second voice said. I recognized it. It belonged to the vampire that found me. I opened my eyes then only to see the vampire that found me and a second vampire. The second vampire stood closest to me and smiled softly as he looked down at me. He was taller and looked only slightly older than the first. They shared no features other than the pale as snow skin and honey colored eyes.

"How are you feeling?" the second vampire asked and I swallowed as I tried to get my bearings.

"Confused," I offered as I turned my eyes to his and he nodded.

"That is understandable," he said and the first vampire turned and quickly left the room. I started to sit up, but decided against it when my head swam. It was then that I realized that I wasn't wearing my clothes. I was wearing a warm long sleeved cotton nightdress that was soft against my skin. "We removed your wet clothing to prevent hypothermia." My face flamed with a blush, embarrassed that he had seen me naked and that he had seen the jagged scars on my stomach.

"Oh," I said and he offered another kind smile.

"My wife removed your clothing and dressed you before I tended to you. I am a doctor, but from what Edward told me about you I wanted to respect your modesty."

"Thanks," I said weakly as a dull throb made its presence known in the back of my head. I sighed and closed my eyes.

"Here, these are for the pain," he said and I opened my eyes to see him placing two tablets and a glass of water on the low table next to where I laid. I maneuvered my arm from the blankets and I popped the pills into my mouth. I quickly swallowed them with a mouthful of water before I tucked my arm back under the blanket where it was warm.

"Harper?" came Paul's voice and relief washed through me. The vampire may have been nice, but Paul was who I really wanted. He would make me feel better than any sort of medication the vampire doctor could give me.

"Paul," I said and he was quick to my side sitting down on the edge of the sofa I laid on and I took my hand out of the blankets only to have him quickly take my hand into both of his. I noticed then that the vampire left the room, leaving Paul and I alone.

"You have got to be the stupidest . . .," he trailed off and shook his head before he leaned in, kissed me chastely, and rested his forehead against mine. "Don't you ever go into the woods again without me or Sam or Jared or one of the other guys." He lifted his head and brought his right hand to my face. "Promise me that you won't."

"I promise I won't," I said and he removed his hand from my face. "I was just so angry and I knew he wouldn't think to look for me in the woods. I didn't mean to go as far as I did, but I got myself lost before I even realized it. Do you know what happened?"

"Jason came to my place looking for you," he said. "He was pretty pissed off."

"I'm not going back there," I said as I sat up fully and the hot water bottle that laid on my stomach fell into my lap along with the blankets.

"Harper," Paul said but I shook my head.

"I'm not. Clarissa's got his head all twisted and he's going to try and stop me from seeing you," I said.

"Harper, Jason knows he messed up," Paul said quickly and I sighed heavily before I ran a hand through my still damp hair. "He feels terrible and when he realized that you weren't with me, he was worried that something happened to you."

"Yeah, well, I really don't care right now," I said. "I may not have told him we were seeing each other right away, but I've never given him a reason not to trust me." I sighed again and shook my head. "Can we not talk about him anymore? I'm getting upset all over again."

"How are you feeling?" he asked, effectively changing the subject.

"I've got a bit of a headache and I'm sore all over, but other than that I'm fine," I said lightly as I laced my fingers with his. "Paul, can I ask you something?" He nodded and I took a deep breath before I asked the question that had been in the back of my mind since the vampire found me. "I thought you hated the Cullens, why did you ask them to help you look for me?"

"I didn't," he snarled, more at the idea I assumed then at me. "I had to get their permission to cross the treaty line so I could look for you, and Jake told me that the leeches wanted to help." His grip on my hand tightened. "A human's scent is like a homing beacon to them but it's not very clear to us."

"So if it hadn't been for them you wouldn't have found me as quickly as you did," I said and he gave me a curt not. "We should thank them."

"Why?" he asked sharply and I rolled my eyes.

"Because I probably wouldn't have made it if it wasn't for them." I laughed lightly and shook my head. "It's sort of funny that my first ever run in with a vampire resulted in it saving me instead of killing me."

"You know, you're a little too good with weird for my liking," Paul said and I smiled at him before Paul suddenly tensed and turned to look over his shoulder. My eyes followed his and I saw the second male vampire enter the room with a woman vampire that carried a small bundle in her hands and a soft smile on her face.

The woman's hair was dark brown and her pale face was the epitome of perfection. Paul hadn't been exaggerating when he said that vampires were beautiful and alluring; perfect tools for them to draw in their prey. They drew closer and like the two men, the woman's eyes were the same vibrant honey color. Paul quickly let go of my hand as he stood and took a protective stance next to where I sat on the sofa. I sighed quietly and raised my right hand to his left before I gave his hand a firm squeeze. From what Seth told me about the Cullens, I knew they wouldn't hurt me. However, Paul didn't like them at all and it was easy to see he wanted them as far away from me as possible.

"We've brought your clothes," the woman said kindly as she continued to smile at me and brought the bundle in her hands over to the sofa. It was then that I realized she was carrying my clothes that were now clean and dry. "The items that were in your pockets are on the table near the door along with your shoes."

"Thank you," I said and she nodded before she went back to the other vampire's side. "To both of you really," I said. "And the other . . . man. Paul said that the wolves scent doesn't carry over very well to humans and that it would have taken them longer to find me if he hadn't helped."

"We were glad to help," the male vampire said before he sent an anxious glance to Paul. I sighed as I tugged on his hand.

"Really, Paul, behave," I said. "If they were going to hurt me, they would have already." He looked down and at me like I had grown another head. "Technically we're guests in their house and it's not good manners to be so rude." The vampire couple laughed quietly but quickly muffled their laughter when Paul shot them a look.

"Are you ready to leave?" Paul asked when he returned his eyes to me.

"I don't want to go home," I said weakly. "Not right now."

"Jake's going to take us to Sam and Emily's," Paul said. "Sam already left and Emily's going to have a hot bath and some fresh clothes for you."

"Why?" I asked and he sighed as he looked back at the couple and then slowly looked back at me. He opened his mouth to answer when the woman vampire beat him to it.

"Our scent repulses him," she said and I looked away from Paul and at her, "and right now that's all he can smell."

"Oh," I said.

"Before you leave, I would like to check her over one more time to make sure she doesn't need to see her physician," the male vampire said. He was speaking to Paul, but his words concerned me, so, I answered him.

"That's fine," I said. "Once I'm dressed you can do that." Paul's grip tightened on my hand, but I didn't look at him. I just gave a small smile to vampire couple and they nodded before they left the room and closed the door behind them.

"Get dressed so we can get out of here," Paul said as he slowly pulled his hand away. He walked to the door and I expected him to leave but he simply stood in front of it with his arms crossed and his back to me.

"Um, are you going to wait out in the hall?" I asked and he shook his head, but kept facing away from me.

"No, I'm waiting right here," he said. "Don't worry, I won't look."

"All right," I breathed before I slowly climbed from the comfortable sofa and stood on shaky legs. I felt like I had ran a ten mile marathon and it took me far longer to get dressed than it should have. Once I folded the nightdress and sat it on top of the blankets I looked at Paul. "I'm ready." Paul turned around then and uncrossed his arms before he gave me a small smile and held out his left hand to me. As quickly as I could without tripping over my own feet, I walked over to him and took his hand.

"Once we're at Sam and Emily's and you're cleaned up, we need to talk," he said and the serious tone of his voice didn't sit well with me. As he guided me from the room, I was suddenly very afraid of what the next few hours were going to bring.