Chapter 18

Riana finally fell asleep just shortly after midnight.

Charlie had called to tell Selene he wouldn't be home for a few more days due to hunting some kind of wild beast in the woods. It was north of La Push, just shy of Port Angeles, where several deaths had recently taken place. Selene told him to be careful, making him promise to be home by tomorrow evening, and Charlie did. Now Selene stood in her bedroom alone, Riana sleeping downstairs after her breakdown, wishing Jacob was with her at that moment.

Soft rain tapped on the window and Selene suddenly just wanted to be outside, pulling a white robe on, tying it around her waist. Her nightgown went to mid-thigh made of white silk, spaghetti strapped, and long brown hair hanging down her back in soft waves. She'd taken a shower after Riana fell out, just needing to soothe her mind because she was worried sick about Jacob. More importantly, what he was doing.

The wind was cool, but that didn't stop Selene from going outside, the screen door shutting gently behind her, instantly closing her eyes. Wrapping her arms around herself, Selene slowly edged toward the steps, feeling raindrops on her toes and squished them together. Jade eyes moved toward the thick trees of the woods that surrounded the house and Selene suddenly felt the urge to go toward them. One step at a time, she walked down the stairs until the wet grass came in contact with her feet, causing a shiver to race down her spine.

What was this intense pull she felt and why was it guiding her toward the dark woods? Selene couldn't stop even if she wanted to and kept walking, suddenly disappearing behind a thick tree. Adjusting her eyes to the darkness, Selene looked down and very carefully began treading through the woods, chewing her bottom lip nervously. Jake had warned her many times to stay out of the woods, but Selene's curiosity got the better of her.

The trees shielded most of the rain that fell, which was nothing more than a light mist by now, and Selene pulled the robe tighter around her body. She swallowed hard, looking behind her, barely able to see her house through the thickness of the trees. Selene knew she had to be out of her mind or seriously losing it to do something this reckless and dangerous, but something was pulling her further inside.

A pull this strong couldn't be ignored.

"Hello Selene."

A gasp escaped her lips, causing Selene to freeze mid-step, her entire body tensed. She slowly turned around, becoming soaked as the rain fell even harder. Even through the darkness, Selene could clearly see the two blood red eyes staring back at her, causing her heart rate to quicken. And that voice…it sounded so familiar, too familiar, and Selene suddenly felt the urge to run in the opposite direction back home where she was safe.

As if reading her thoughts, Selene heard the snapping of fingers and felt two hands suddenly grip her arms tightly. "What do you think you're doing?!" Selene demanded, immediately struggling, but it was pointless because it felt like two steel irons had clasped on her upper arms. "What's going on?! Let go of me! Jake!"

Suddenly, the owner to that voice was in front of her, causing Selene's eyes to widen in shock. She opened her mouth to protest, when a zip of pain spread throughout her head, Selene instantly slumping in her kidnapper's arms. The man growled, lifting her up with ease over his shoulder, nodding.

"Mission accomplished?" He asked with a Cheshire grin, pulling the nightgown down over Selene's rear to cover it.

"Not quite, but this is a good start."

"Do you really think this is the only solution?"

They both started walking through the woods at great speed, heading back to their own house. "No, but this is the best I can come up with right now. I have to protect her at all costs. She deserves to know the truth."

"You do realize we'll have some serious explaining to do when we get back, right?" He cringed, not looking forward to that, and swallowed hard when those blood red eyes flashed on him angrily. "Okay, okay I'll shut up now."

"Wise choice."

A soft groan escaped Riana's lips as her eyes slowly fluttered open hours later, feeling sick to her stomach since she hadn't ate anything in days. Every time she closed her eyes or thought about eating, that silver wolf would flash in her vision and ruin her appetite. Wrapping her arms around herself, there was a cold draft flowing through the living room and Riana began chattering. Didn't Charlie ever keep the heat on?

Grumbling, Riana stood up from the couch, running a hand through her hair and padded out of the living room. She stopped short, seeing the front door was ajar, and suddenly a pang of fear seeped into Riana's body. The rain still poured outside, a few streaks of lightning igniting the sky, and Riana knew how much Selene enjoyed storms. Surely she was just outside watching it…Riana headed out on the porch and looked around, chattering even more because of how much the temperature dropped.

"Selene?" She called out, wearing just a pair of skinny blue jeans and a long sleeved black shirt, her hair disheveled as it hung loosely over her shoulders and down her back. "Sel, are you out here honey?"

No answer.

"Maybe she went to sleep..." Selene muttered, trying to convince herself and rushed back inside the house, closing the front door behind her, locking it. "I'll go check on her."

Heading upstairs, Selene suddenly felt like something wasn't right and chewed her bottom lip. Selene wouldn't leave her here alone with the front door ajar; the woman was smarter than that. Pushing the bedroom door open, Riana padded inside and flipped the light on, knowing she was about to get the verbal lashing of a lifetime from Selene.

Only there was nobody in the bed and it looked like it had been laid in.

"Maybe she went out…"

Now Riana was getting scared and fought the urge to call Charlie, knowing she was more than likely overreacting. Selene had a tendency to go out for snacks at night or run an errand for Charlie if he called. Going back downstairs, Riana found her cell phone on the dining room table and immediately flipped it open, dialing Selene's number. Her blood ran cold when Bullet for My Valentine's Hearts Burst into Fire song sounded from the kitchen, Selene's ringtone. Selene was gone and didn't bring her cell phone, something definitely wasn't right now.

Riana began shaking and let out an ear piercing scream when something landed on her shoulder. She jumped a foot in the air and spun around, heart leaping in her throat, and backhanded whoever it was out of pure instinct. Her vision blurred from tears stinging her eyes, blinking as they slid down her cheeks, her hand throbbing because whatever she hit felt like a brick wall. Riana honestly wasn't a violent person and felt her eyes widen even more once her vision cleared, staring into the darkened eyes of Jacob Black.

Jacob held his jaw, even though he didn't move an inch when Riana backhanded him, and knew she probably sprained her hand. "Damn woman, what the hell was that for?" He demanded somewhat irritably, the fear in Riana's eyes immediately alerting him. "Where's Selene?"

Riana opened and closed her mouth, but nothing would come out as she started crying harder, silently handing Selene's cell phone over. Jacob's instinct that something wasn't right at Charlie's was true, that something had happened to his imprint. He could feel the fear radiating from Riana and took a step forward, his eyes meeting hers, hoping she wasn't scared of him. Jacob had been at home talking to Billy Black, his father, when a sick feeling overwhelmed him. Billy had asked what was wrong, but all Jacob did was bolt out of the front door and phased as soon as he entered the woods, racing as fast as he possibly could to Charlie's.

"Calm down, Riana." He ordered softly, knowing she was scared to death, and actually felt bad for being part of the reason. "Come on, you have to calm down and tell me what happened."

Riana sniffled and walked into the living room, wiping her tears away. "I don't know what you want me to say, Black." She was still trying to calm her racing heart down and looked straight ahead, more tears falling. "I woke up and the front door was wide open. It's raining and I figured she went outside because she loves storms. She wasn't outside when I checked and I called her name several times, so I went upstairs to see if she was sleeping and just forgot to shut the front door. She wasn't up there either." Riana swallowed hard, knowing Jacob was probably going out of his mind with worry, but she continued. "Sometimes Selene likes to go out for snacks late or run an errand for Charlie if he calls her, so I called her cell phone and…" Riana could barely speak, getting choked up. "Black, she NEVER leaves the house without her cell phone, it's her lifeline. And it was in the kitchen and she's not here…something's not right."

Jacob's eyes remained neutral the entire time Riana spoke, nodding to show her he understood. "I'm going out to look for her." He stated and headed for the front door, scowling at the sight of the person standing on Charlie's porch. "What the hell are YOU doing here?"

Paul cleared his throat awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I have no idea."

He was being honest and Jacob knew this had to be hard for Paul. "You gonna stop being a jackass like the rest of them and accept it?" He demanded gruffly, folding his massive arms in front of his chest.

Paul glared, wearing tight black cut off jean shorts that hung loosely on his muscular hips. "Don't test me, Black. I'm here aren't I?" He grunted and felt his breath hitch in his throat when he heard an angelic voice sound behind Jacob.

"Who's at the door?" Riana stopped short, having put her black rimmed glasses on, chewing her bottom lip shyly.

Even with red puffy swollen eyes and disheveled hair, Paul couldn't believe how beautiful Riana was. He could also feel the pain radiating from her body in waves and was tempted to just rip the screen door off so he could get to her, the feeling too intense. He didn't want her to feel any amount of pain, frowning when a few more tears slid down her cheeks, and looked at Jacob with pain in his own dark eyes.

"You hurt her and it'll be the last thing you do." He warned, pushing the screen door open as Paul stepped inside, two gigantic men standing before Riana. "I have to go look for Selene, she's missing."

Paul's eyes narrowed slightly, feeling the worry radiating from Jacob. "What happened?" He asked and Jacob relayed the story that Riana had told him, nodding. "Sounds like a bloodsucker to me. I smelled them not far from the house when I came here, you might want to start there."

Jacob's eyes narrowed to slits and cracked his knuckles dangerously, the sound reverberating around the house. "If they did, I'll tear each and every one of them apart." He vowed darkly, glancing back at Riana. "Watch her, make sure she gets plenty of rest and don't hurt her."

"I won't." Paul sighed and watched as Jacob flew out of the screen door, phasing as soon as the woods swallowed him whole.

Riana folded her arms in front of her chest, wondering what the hell Jacob Black was thinking leaving her with a total stranger. She knew he was a Quileute and part of the reservation, but that was it; she hadn't even caught his name. Riana didn't say a word and walked away from him back into the living room, her mind going a million miles an hour, worried sick about her best friend.

Paul followed suit, but didn't dare sit beside her, not wanting to scare his imprint off. He leaned against the wall and watched her intently, not remotely tired, and had absolutely no idea what to say to her. So they both stood and sat as the silence surrounded them, Riana not daring to look at him and Paul's eyes fixated on her.

The waiting game began.

The moonlight shone through the window, her sleeping form taking his breath away, the pain flowing through him intensely. He hadn't seen her in weeks, only catching glimpses of her whenever she left the house. He still couldn't believe what happened between them and craved to make things right, but he had no idea what to do. What she wanted and what he believed in were two totally different things, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized how stubborn he was being.

Hell, when she kicked him out she hadn't even taken his key away from him.

Bending down at her bedside, his gentle hand reached out and slowly ran them down the side of her face, the pain entering his eyes at the memory of hurting her. Those scars would forever haunt him, but that didn't make him love her any less. He watched as she shifted in bed a little, rolling on her side to face him, making him smile. If she would just open her eyes, he would show her exactly how much he missed her and would do anything for her.

He would make things right.

He just needed the chance to do so.

As if on cue, her beautiful dark eyes fluttered open to stare back at her ex-fiancé, Sam Uley. Emily swallowed hard as Sam stood up, blushing from head to toe when she realized he was completely naked before her. What was he doing here and how had he gotten inside the house? She went to open her mouth to speak and Sam's lips captured hers, silencing her, just wanting this moment in time to freeze.

"Sam, what are you…" Emily moaned when he kissed her harder, feeling his arms wrap around her body, pressing their chests together.

Emily had to admit she missed Sam like crazy and could already feel her heart mending back in place, kissing him back like her life depended on it. Sam had her undressed within seconds and was buried to the hilt inside of her, wrapping her beautifully tanned legs around his waist, just wanting to make love to his soul mate, his imprint, the woman who completed him in every way. Emily couldn't help screaming his name as she flew over the edge, pure ecstasy consuming every part of her body, clinging to Sam for dear life as tears poured down her face.

"Don't cry." He breathed in her ear, both of them calming down from their intense session, spooning with her as he nuzzled her neck. "Let me come back home, Em. I swear I'll make everything right again."

"Including with Jake?" She asked, closing her eyes tightly shut, knowing she couldn't allow him back in unless he realized the error of his ways. "That's the only…"

"Yes, I take back what I said about Bella's sister, about Jacob, about everything. I'll make things right, I love you too much to let something like this come between us. I'm was a selfish asshole and deserved what you did to me, but I'm asking for a chance to prove that I am the same man you fell in love with and want to marry." Sam pulled her face around to meet his eyes, dark brown meeting dark brown, his lips softly caressing hers. "Give me a second chance, Em. I swear I won't blow it."

"You'd better not." She whispered and kissed him back, moaning as Sam took her to heights only he could, knowing neither of them would be getting much sleep that night.