Chapter 16

Worried about Selene was an understatement, Riana wished she could've stayed with her best friend, knowing Jacob Black would come back to poison her even more. She knew he was just using Selene to get over Isabella; there was no other explanation for it. It was too coincidental how he started coming around right after Swan's wedding and pursued her best friend. It also didn't help that Selene had been in love with Jacob Black ever since Isabella started bringing him around when Cullen left her high and dry.

Riana wished with everything inside of her that Isabella Swan never came to Forks, Washington.

Adjusting the black rimmed glasses on her face, Riana stopped at a red light with a heavy sigh. She was tempted to turn her car around and go right back to Charlie's, but knew Selene wouldn't like that. She wanted to be alone and Riana honestly didn't blame her, knowing she'd given Selene a lot to think about. There was no way Riana was going to stand by and watch her friend be torn to shreds emotionally by Jacob Black. Selene deserved to know the truth, as cold and harsh as it was, because she couldn't let love blind her judgment.

"Maybe I am a bitch, but at least I tell the truth." She muttered, turning her radio up, needing a distraction as she waited for this light to flash green so she could continue home.

Her thoughts suddenly turned to the dream she had the previous night, a chilly feeling rushing through her body. Riana knew she was losing her mind, especially with what she dreamt about, but couldn't help what her subconscious wanted. She'd meant to discuss it with Selene, but completely forgot about it until after Selene sent her home to get some rest. How could Riana rest when not only was her best friend risking her heart to Jacob Black, but she was actually dreaming of…wolves?

The light turned green and Riana floored her vehicle down the street, gripping the steering wheel so tight her knuckles turned white. She pushed the dream in the far recesses of her mind, simply wanting to get home and take a hot bubble bath. Curling up with a good book would surely get her mind off of everything else, including wanting to rip Jacob Black a part limb from limb for hurting Selene.

Ever since Riana met Selene, she felt the need to protect the girl from everyone in Forks. She didn't know why, but felt it necessary, like she had to do it, especially living in the shadow of Isabella Swan. Everyone loved her; every guy wanted to be with her because of her plain beauty and unique style. Nearly every girl was envious of her because of all the attention Bella received, probably because her father was the chief of police in Forks. It didn't matter what the reasoning was, Riana didn't want Selene to be crucified because of her half baked sister.

Riana had failed.

When she found out about Selene's attack at the homecoming dance, Riana wanted to throw herself off the nearest cliff. She cried for hours on end, blaming herself for not being there to protect her best friend. Her mother had consoled the best she could, though Riana simply pushed her away, telling her to get out of her room.

Riana and her mother Dana had a volatile relationship that usually ended with either or both of them screaming at each other. Dana was a lawyer and usually spent most of her time in Seattle, only coming home on weekends, so Riana had the house to herself most of the time. Her father had run off when she was just an infant, a real male gigolo who would screw anything on two legs.

Riana considered the Swan's her true family, Charlie and Selene, flat out refusing to acknowledge Isabella. In her mind, Bella had intruded in Selene's life because of her own selfish reasons, when she should've gone to Florida with her mother. If Isabella Swan never came to Forks, it would've definitely benefitted everyone in the town, including Jacob Black. Riana wasn't jealous or envious of the girl, simply hating her because of all the pain she caused Selene over the past few years.

Her thoughts broke as Riana pulled up into the driveway of a two story cream colored house. It had four bedrooms, four bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, living room and study, though the study was off limits because it was her mother's office. Even when she was home on the weekends, Riana didn't see Dana because she was constantly in the study working on cases left and right.

Each room was designed with a specific color; Riana's being a deep crimson red with black carpeting. She loved the color red, no matter what color, though dark was her personal favorite. The living room was all different greens, the kitchen black and white; the bathrooms matched each of the master bedrooms, which were done in red and blue.

The two other bedrooms were for guests and had their own bathrooms, both done in just ordinary neutral colors with tan plush carpeting. The dining room matched the kitchen in black and white with old fashioned furniture that had an appeal for the twenty-first century. Dana enjoyed the older things in life, but had to admire how they were combining old styles with the new.

Kicking her shoes off, Riana stretched her arms in the air, her four poster bed staring at her invitingly. Her eyes reluctantly left the bed and ventured toward her master bathroom, knowing a bath was definitely in order before she lay down. Starting her bath, Riana poured some mango scented liquid in the warm water, watching as the suds instantly began forming. Smiling, Riana quickly undressed and slipped into the hot water, a soft sigh escaping her lips as her eyes drifted shut.

Riana opened her eyes and instantly furrowed her eyebrows together, no longer seeing her bathroom. She wasn't in a tub full of bubbles relaxing and the scent of mangos no longer permeated the air. Instead, she stood in the middle of thick woods, the trees preventing the dim moonlight to stream through, making it nearly impossible to see.

She looked down and blinked, seeing she was in a silver spaghetti strapped gown that pooled at her bare feet, feeling the crunching leaves. Her long flowing black hair pooled down her back in shiny waves, her eyes covered by black rimmed glasses, the blue in them glowing in the darkness. The woods looked as if they could devour her whole and Riana suddenly felt the fear consuming her every thought. It felt like her feet were super glued to the forest floor, preventing her from moving even an inch.

"Where am I?" She managed to breathe out to the silence, slowly looking around, her pale skin reflecting in the night as well. "Hello?"

In the distance, a faint howl resonated around her, causing Riana's heart to leap in her throat again. What the hell was going on? She tried moving her feet, but they would not budge, forcing her to groan in frustration. This was not the time to have non-working feet, especially since the howling came closer. With each passing second, all Riana could think about was how in the world she ended up in a place like this completely alone.

A few twigs snapping brought Riana out of her thoughts, the lump in her throat increasing more, making it feel like a frog was in there. She wanted to scream, run, anything; nothing was happening and that scared her even more. It was almost like she didn't have control over her body, that someone or something was controlling her.

Out of the darkness came possibly the biggest creature Riana ever seen, her eyes widening to the point where they would surely pop out of their sockets. The creature was monstrous, standing at well over six feet tall, though it currently stood on four legs. She looked like a shrimp compared to it, causing the fear to increase more.

Riana began trembling from head to toe as the creature eyeballed her, no doubt about become its late night snack. With as terrified as she was, Riana couldn't help admiring how beautiful the wolf on steroids was, the silver fur glinting in the dim moonlight above. It had dark eyes that were looking at her contemplatively, wondering how it was going to feast on her flesh. Perhaps it would take her back to its family of huge wolves; Riana honestly didn't want to know what this creature had in mind for her.

"P-Please…" She tried pleading, but the word was shaky on her lips, making her stammer.

The wolf took a few more steps toward her, tilting its head almost in wonder, seeing the human woman wasn't moving an inch. Riana swallowed hard, tears swelling in her eyes, and blinked when the wolf actually whimpered. It stopped a few feet away from her and plopped down on the ground, lowering his huge head.

Riana was stunned, not believing the creature wasn't attacking her, and chewed her bottom lip nervously. Tears slowly slid down her face, causing the wolf to whimper more, and it actually broke Riana's heart. She somehow managed to move until she was facing it, blue eyes filled with hesitation, knowing what the huge beast wanted. Once again as if on auto-pilot, Riana reached her hand out toward the creature, hearing it whimper even more.

"Shhh…" She cooed, one foot finally moving as leaves gently rustled and crunched beneath her bare feet, puffs of breath coming from her lips.

It was freezing, but she had to comfort the wolf, feeling her stomach tightening in knots the closer she came to it. The wolf instantly stopped whimpering and closed its eyes, feeling the coolness of her hand coming closer to its head. Just a few more centimeters, Riana had to mentally coach herself to do this, knowing she was officially flying off the deep end.

Just as her hand came in contact with the wolf, another voice sounded through the dark forest.

"Riana…"

Riana's hand instantly dropped from the wolf, her eyes widening, but this time it wasn't from fear. It was relief that she actually recognized that voice, her heart thundering powerfully against her chest, turning away from the huge monster. Her feet began moving toward the silky voice, closing her eyes momentarily, wondering if she really was hallucinating.

"That's right, come to me, Riana…" The deep dark voice coaxed, Riana doing as it said without hesitation, venturing further from the silver wolf.

"I'm right here…I'm coming…where are you?" She demanded in a hurry, looking all around her as tears filled her eyes once again. "Please…"

The wolf suddenly leapt forward and blocked Riana from walking further, causing her to fall back on the ground, gasping in shock. She couldn't believe how far the wolf had jumped and instantly crawled back on her hands away from it, once again the fear filling her blue eyes. She didn't understand what was going on, what was happening, and why this wolf was keeping her from that voice.

"Stay away from her, she belongs to me!" The once silky voice hissed dangerously, causing the wolf to growl from low in its throat.

It was clearly saying not a chance.

"No! Please I have to see him!" She pleaded, on her knees in front of the wolf now, which kept blocking her path whenever she tried making a run toward the voice. "Please!"

The wolf shook its head once, understanding what she was saying, but it refused to budge.

"Move fleabag, she wants to come to me!" The voice had turned back to that silky soft tone, causing Riana to cry even more. "Do not force me to move you myself."

The wolf coughed out once, making the voice hiss again, preparing to attack. In a blur of black, a six feet tall man suddenly leapt out of the darkness from nowhere and attacked the silver wolf, both of them rolling past Riana. She could only watch in shock as the wolf shoved the dark figure away, causing Riana to get a good glimpse of his face.

Her heart instantly shattered because it wasn't who she thought, the ruby red eyes seeping with rage and hunger. Trickles of blood slowly slid from the corners of his mouth, white teeth glinting in the moonlight along with his pale complexion. He wore a black beater with black jeans and boots, his cropped black hair angled to the side somewhat.

"Y-You're not…"

"Of course I'm not him! You silly foolish girl! You will be my dinner after this matter is handled!" The figure promised darkly, the silver wolf instantly pummeling him to the ground, knocking a few trees over from the impact.

Riana was frozen to the ground, shivering, the tears pouring down her cheeks even harder. The wolf and dark figure kept fighting, clawing and growling, fur and skin flying all over the place. She felt sick to her stomach, but nothing would come up, especially when the dark figure's head was suddenly ripped from his body and tumbled toward her. Staring back at her was the face of her dead older brother, Lucas, his blood red eyes still open and the silver wolf towering over her. Within seconds, the head was lit on fire along with the rest of the body right before her very eyes and Riana couldn't take anymore as she screamed bloody murder.

"NO!"

Riana bolted upright in bed in the tub, sweat pouring from her forehead, her heart pounding wildly, hot tears sliding down her face. She wrapped her arms around herself, not believing she actually believed Lucas was back in her life again. Her heart broke the more she thought about her older brother, tears flowing even harder.

Pushing herself up, Riana quickly exited the now cold tub and pulled her robe on, trembling from head to toe from the dream she just had. She couldn't believe she'd actually fell asleep in the tub, more tired than she thought. Reaching over, Riana pulled out a picture from her nightstand and looked down at it, her heart instantly breaking.

Lucas was one year older than her with deep blue eyes and black hair, just like her, and they had been mistaken for twins on more than one occasion by others. She still couldn't believe it'd been a year since his surprising death, wishing she could turn the clock back and stop him from leaving the house with his friends, knowing they'd been drinking. Lucas died in a horrible car accident while playing chicken with his friends on the way to La Push.

They turned a sharp corner and lost control of the car, toppling over the edge, the car exploding instantly on impact. They found Lucas ashes all over the car and investigators confirmed massive amounts of alcohol had been involved. After that, Dana never fully recovered from her son's death and threw herself in her work, leaving her daughter in the dark.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Luke…I should've stopped you…" She sobbed out, clutching the picture tightly against her chest, curling in a tight ball on her bed.

Riana would blame herself for her brother's death until the end of time, knowing it was her fault he was gone.

Outside, a silver wolf could feel every ounce of pain Riana's body was wracked with and closed its eyes, vowing to do everything to take it away as it vanished into the woods.