Chapter 22 – Broken Rules

~Mac's POV~

I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes were hard and blood shot, my jaw clenched tightly enough that my teeth hurt, and my face was pale beneath my tan. My hair was up in a messy bun and a simple black dress adorned my body, encasing it in silk that stank of death. As I stared at my gaze, I tried to talk myself out of it. Tried as hard as I could to just walk away. How could I face a sea of people who'll mourn over the man they had lost, when I hadn't lost anything? How could I look them in the eye and pretend that inside I wasn't guilty? I was on emotional over load, too much pressure pushing my shoulders down, my head feeling as if it were about to split.

Only a week earlier Wyatt had been transformed into a vampire. And a week later, there I stood in a public bathroom with tears running down my face, trying to get out of going to his funeral. I wasn't alone in the pain, of course, but the guilt that rid me, the shame in all of this didn't just go away. It can't. And I couldn't run away from it no matter how hard I tried, no matter how hard I pumped my legs, praying for all of it to finally be behind me so I could breathe again.

I felt like I was dying. As if a hand were griping my heart and squeezing with all the strength it had. It was becoming to be too difficult to breathe and I uselessly threw a hand over my heart as if that feeble attempt would fix all of my screw-ups.

I had had a chance to keep him human. Had had a chance to save us all from this heartache, this disaster of such mass proportions. And instead, I had been too selfish to stay away, falling for him in a record of a few days.

"Mac," a stern voice called from outside the bathroom.

I took a deep breath and smoothed a hand down my stomach, down my dress, trying to take the ache in the pit of my stomach away with the retreating hand. I choked back a wrenching sob and frustratingly wiped at my eyes. The tears were supposed to be there, I knew that, but that didn't mean I wasn't embarrassed by them. He wasn't dead, so why did all of it feel so real? Why did my heart keep breaking, when I knew that I would go home after this and be held by the one person I was in the middle of mourning?

I sighed and looked one last time at my reflection, giving up the fight and walking out of the bathroom in a manor that stated I was faking it. Faking the nonchalance I hoped showed; forging the feeling of numbness I only wished was a reality. The minute the door was closed behind me and the slightly warm air of late spring hit me, warm arms held me against a hard chest and I gave up. I grabbed a fistful of the Armani silk button up shirt and burrowed my head into the crook of his neck, breathing hard, the salty tears a waterfall down my pale cheeks.

"Mac," my father soothed, stroking my hair, saying words of comfort, rubbing reassuring circles on my back.

When I finally was able to relax, I let my eyes close naturally due to the numbness that finally took hold of my body, keeping me from feeling anything at all. He cupped my head and tilted it back so he could wipe my damp cheeks with his thumbs. "I'm sorry," I croaked, my eyes remaining shut, a headache breaching the back of my eyes and my forehead.

"Mac… you have nothing to forgive," he murmured.

"Don't I?" I countered, the numbness being replaced with anger. Anger at myself. Anger at the situation.

He shook his head and kissed my forehead like he used to when I was a child and had fallen and scrapped my knee. "MacKayla, don't be embarrassed by it. Don't be ashamed. You lost many things this week, and the funeral makes it real. The feelings inside of you are to be expected. I would be worried if you didn't feel like this."

The tears fell passed the rim of the barrier that I had kept up and I buried my face into his chest, breathing deeply, taking his musky scent into my nose, allowing it to calm me. He smelled like he always had, taking me back to my childhood when we had been close and snuggled on the couch so we could watch Disney classics and eat popcorn. I hadn't realized how much I had missed my father. I had been spending so much time with my imprint, I had all put thrown him to the curb. And that only made me feel all the more guilty. "I love you, Dad," I whispered, not trusting my voice.

I felt him smile against my hair. "And I love you, too, kitten."

Kitten. He'd called me kitten again for the first time since I was eight. He hadn't called me kitten since I was a kid. I had liked to pounce on my brothers, startling them as I hid behind a counter and waited until the perfect moment. I had also liked to jump from object to object and he said I was more like a playful little kitten then a ferocious wolf. I had been two. I gripped him as tightly as I could, not wanting to let go of the rock that I had attached myself to, the one anchoring me to my sanity. I sniffled. "I think we should get back to the ceremony."

He pulled back with a nod and I squeezed his hand in mine as we made our way to the assortment of lawn chairs sitting neatly on the cemetery grass. The breeze was somewhat warm and yet chilly, flying by softly enough that the chairs remained stationary but strongly enough that the leaves on the trees rustled, the flowers on the surrounding graves waving in the wind. Wyatt's senior high school picture was enlarged on a bulky poster, and it rested in front of the podium, his cobalt eyes staring at me, the sapphire blue smiling at me, dragging wetness from my eyes to fall down my cheeks as I stared at the color I would never see again. No, because they were replaced with the red and soon to be amber of his kind.

My father took his seat beside my brothers, Ravyn, Aiden, and my mother in the third row, giving me the minute I so desperately needed. I paused and watched Wyatt's mother, Brooke, look at the priest who was standing at the podium, giving some speech about death and how the end is only the beginning, blah, blah, blah. But it was her expression that chilled me to the bone. It was nothing. It was blank, expressionless, as if she felt nothing but obligation to be there, as if Wyatt didn't matter. His father looked remorseful, his eyes red, and I remembered that Craig had truly cared for his son, just not enough to save him from his mother.

Beside Craig, sat little Hailey, her cheeks and eyes red and wet. It was in that moment that I hated Aro so passionately that it was painful. Aro had not only taken away Wyatt's humanity, he had taken away the chance for a thirteen-year-old girl to live. Even though her long-sleeve sweater was pulled down to her wrists, I could see the bruises as if they were plain as day. Wyatt was the one person she could turn to for shelter, for love, and I'll be damned if I have to continue seeing it happen.

You have to, Ravyn reminded me softly, his voice sounding wounded even in his mind.

I don't have to do anything, I responded stubbornly. I locked my jaw, clenched my teeth, and tried to stop the flow of tears as I approached the podium to say my eulogy. I looked at every member of my classmates, the sad faces of the students who would forget and move on. But as my eyes rested on a young girl with dark brown hair and cobalt blue eyes, I felt my resolve slipping. My eyes began leaking past my restraint and I took in a shaky breath, praying for some solid ground where I could stand and feel the Earth beneath my feet steady, to keep me in one piece.

I opened my mouth then, knowing that if I kept it closed any longer I would look like a fool. "Wyatt will be more then missed. He'll be more then a memory, because our hearts will always carry him with us, the love we all share for him encompassing us so that it's all we feel, all we see. For some of us, the pain will be short, a small twinge in our chests." I paused to look at Brooke, before looking at her daughter and continuing. "And some of us will never heal from this terrible sorrow. Some of us will never learn to tread the world with more then a nonchalance. Some of us will forget, some of us won't.

"But I know that wherever he is now, he'll be happy," I said, knowing the truth of my words, making a promise behind them, silently telling them I would take care of him. "He won't want for anything and he'll never forget any of you. Any of us. He'll watch over us. He'll never frown upon his death, never think for a moment that what happened wasn't for the best" – even thought he should – "and he'll love you all for the rest of eternity. For the rest of time. Because that's what he did. He forgave everyone, never letting anger or hatred mar his decisions and his choices, his acceptance of the world as refreshing to me as I'm sure it was to all of you. His joy and happiness will never be forgotten, and our love for him will never dissipate, no matter how old we get, no matter how foggy our memory gets, because love can travel many distances, because it knows no boundaries. No limitations.

"No, Wyatt could never be forgotten. His smile, his eyes, his heart will shine for the rest of time, the light never faltering. He'll be more then missed, he'll be loved." I let the tears fall hard now, not seeing anything but the blue eyes of a girl whose life would be changed forever from this time forward. Because I had made up my mind.

I felt a pressure on my arm and saw my father through the shinny tears clouding my vision and I clutched him, hiding my face in his shirt, trying to breathe through the pain lacerating my chest.

The sad crowd that sat in the white chairs that were uncomfortable clapped lightly, the grief filling the air and my knees buckled. The onslaught of emotions cutting through me like a knife, carrying away the last ounce of my consciousness, but whether it was from my own emotions or everyone else's around me, I did not know. But I welcomed the blackness, letting the void take my body to a place where I could no longer feel.

My eyes fluttered slightly when I felt a feather-light weight on my lips. My eyelids opened and I looked up into a dark red gaze. His eyes were lighter then the day before, the gold making the red look less ominous. I felt the sting, clamping my eyes tight, not wanting to cry anymore. I already missed Wyatt's warm, inviting blue eyes. The soon to be amber I will never get used to.

Wyatt littered kisses on my eyes, urging me to open them, urging me to open up to him. And I knew I should, but I couldn't. I didn't know how. "I'm sorry," I gasped out.

I felt the breeze as Wyatt pulled back from me and I opened my eyes to see his perplexed expression. "What do you have to be sorry for?" he asked in his deep baritone that didn't change when he did.

I pressed my hands to my eyes, wiping the wetness away, and I pushed down hard enough to make light dance beneath my lids. "Everything!" I screamed. "Taking away your humanity! Your life! I took away what should've been. I had tried to stay away, tried to let you live, but you wouldn't let me! You were too damn stubborn to ignore me. Too stubborn to kick me to the curb without a backwards glance. Too stubborn –"

"Shut up, MacKayla," he ordered, interrupting me. He lifted my hands from my face and pressed them to his face so that my hands cupped his cheeks and he pressed his lips to the insides of my wrists. His eyes killed me, filled with contrite, like he would be crying if it weren't an impossibility. "Don't you dare blame yourself. I love you, MacKayla Rayne Black. And nothing on this earth could ever change the fact that my heart is forever locked with yours. No one will take away the feelings I have for you. And now that I'm a vampire, I seem to love you more then I ever did as a human. I had no clue that it was possible, but I do. I love you, you stubborn, self absorbing –"

"Self absorbing?" I asked with a raised brow.

"– loving, caring, perfect werepire." He kissed my nose, my cheeks, my eyes. "I love you because I was stubborn, just like you, and I thank my lucky stars that I have you. I thank them every damn day."

I stared up at him, taking in everything. The weight of him pushing me back against the mattress. The texture of his hair in my hands as I wound them into his thick, soft locks. The love in his eyes, the love in his heart that was filling me thanks to my powers, and I kissed his lips, needing to feel them wrapped up in mine. I hooked a leg over his hip and rolled him over so that I was straddling his waist. I pulled away and rested my head in the crook of his neck, placing a kiss to his Adam's apple.

"Not what I had in mind," he murmured huskily, "but I suppose it'll do." He wound his arms around me and held me against his body as if letting go would mean the end of the world.

"I love you, Ducky," I said, snuggling down into his hard, cold chest, the chill not making me any less comfortable, any less comforted. Slowly but surely, I felt his body temperature warm minutely against mine.

I felt his lips brush my hair and I smiled in the darkness. "I love you back, my beautiful Two Socks."

After an immeasurable amount of time cuddled together on the bed, enjoying the other's reassuring pressure, I glanced at the clock as it flashed 12:30 a.m. in big red numbers. I closed my eyes and forced myself to sit up. "I have something I need to do. I want you to stay here and if anyone asks where I've gone, you tell them that I needed to run off some steam," I ordered, standing up even though his arms were like steel chains, keeping me in the shelter of his body. He had grown stronger with the change, but I was still strong regardless. Though, he might have let me go willingly. It was hard to tell.

"Where are you going?" he asked, turning on his side to watch me in the moonlight streaming in through the windows covering the westerly southern wall of our room, resting his elbow on the mattress, his jaw filling up his palm.

I pulled open a dresser drawer and pulled some black jeans over my bare legs. "I'm going to run a search and rescue. How long have I been asleep?" I pulled the dress over my head and smiled at his sharp intake of breath, glancing over to see his eyes latched onto my exposed breasts.

"A few hours," he whispered, his voice huskier.

I slipped a sports bra on, then a t-shirt and black hoodie, strapping my feet into some Dock Martin boots.

"Search and rescue?" he inquired softly.

I walked over to the bed and bent down to kiss his lips lightly, lingering longer then I should've. "You'll find out later. Promise."

He bracketed my head to his when I moved to pull back. Yeah, he let me go purposely earlier. "I thought we said no more secrets."

"We did, but I can't have you blurting it out to my grandfather since I have yet to teach you how to not do that yet. I'll be in enough trouble as it is when I get back. I love you."

"Je t'aime, ma petite."

I smiled and kissed his lips one last time before sneaking out our window, landing on the ground softly, the balls of my feet absorbing the weight of my fall. Then I was running through the forest.

The repercussions of what I was about to do were extreme but it was so worth it. I had to fix it, had to fix something. Everything. And the life I was going to save was so important, that it would kill me for the rest of infinity if I knew I didn't carry out my promise to her.

~Hailey's POV~

I had finally gotten to sleep around eleven. My mother and father had fought that night, so she began drinking and thus, dinner was never made. The thought of never going to my brother for comfort killed me, because that's what I needed right now. Knowing I still had four years until I was gone from this hellhole, until I was free was enough to bring thoughts of suicide to the forefront of my brain.

Needing to feel close to my brother who had been the only true anchor tethering me to this world, I climbed into his bed and inhaled the manly, familiar scent of him that stuck to the sheets. I buried deep, cocooning myself in the love for my brother and warmth of the bed. I was exhausted, my body and mind tired from the pain that had been with me for so long, that for once, I didn't dream of living at my friends' house, with their loving and caring parents.

Instead, I was dreaming of a place that my brother lived in, somewhere I knew not of. MacKayla was there too, and tall, pale people I had never seen before. They had pretty, gold eyes and some of them had the same hair color. I saw darker skinned people laughing at a kitchen table over breakfast. A tall, black haired girl with black eyes and a swollen stomach sitting on a matching dark hair and dark skinned guy's lap who had kind green eyes. Eyes that matched MacKayla's.

I heard a knock on my window flutter through my unconsciousness. My eyes slowly opened, awakening me from my slumber. But I was groggy, my mind in a haze, my lids so heavy that they immediately closed after a mere nanosecond of being even ever so slightly lifted. I must have fallen back asleep for the next thing I knew I was hearing the noise again. My body felt like lead as I forced my eyes to open fully, blinking away the bleariness blinding me. My room was dark, the only light coming from my clock and window.

I nearly screamed when I heard the knock on my window again. I looked over to see MacKayla standing on the other end and I didn't even hesitate to get up and open the window. I threw myself into her arms and she cradled me against her heart, closing the window behind me so we wouldn't wake anyone up. I sobbed into her black sweatshirt, gripping the fabric in my hands.

"Shhh," she murmured. "I've got you."

And she did. It was then I knew that the dream wasn't just a dream. "Take me with you," I said. "Take me home with you."

She sat back on her heels, her feet digging into the roof of my house. Her eyes were calculating, as if she was having an internal debate with herself. "If I do that, you can never come back," she warned carefully, but I didn't care.

"Please. I need to be with you."

Her face softened. "You need to pack then."

I beamed. "Already done," I whispered, stepping back into my room to grab the bag next to my bed. I had been planning to run away so I packed all my favorite things but chickened out. I just hadn't unpacked yet.

As I looked at MacKayla standing on my roof, I realized that I wasn't scared. That I wouldn't chicken out this time. The pink and teal glow around her body soothed to me.

When I stepped back over the threshold and closed the window, she pulled me into her arms, just hugging me. Then she pulled back and slung me over her back. "Hold on tight and make sure your eyes are closed. Do not open them," she ordered me.

I wrapped my arms around her neck and my legs around her back. I hid my head into her back where her shoulders met her neck and closed my eyes. I felt wind hit my body, an odd sense of weightlessness, felt fear grip my chest and squeeze but I knew that MacKayla wouldn't let anything happen to me. I wasn't sure how I knew that. Wasn't sure how all this would end up okay, but I could just feel it. Just like the pink and teal glow soothed me. Just like I knew that MacKayla wasn't fully human.

~MacKayla's POV~

This was so wrong. We could go to jail. Well, okay, we'd probably break out but then we would be felons! I was kidnapping her! Wait, does it count if she asked you to? My feet hit the ground and I checked over my shoulder to see if she had listened to me or not but she was nestled to me comfortably. I turned and began running to my house.

I knew my thoughts were going to give me away. I knew that. I also knew that Edward had this grudge against people who hurt children. I could use that as a defense. I looked down and noted the new bruises on her wrists and I pumped my legs faster, needing to get her as far away from them as possible.

I knew that Wyatt checked on his sister daily behind everyone's back. I also knew that he couldn't stop them even if he caught them doing it. And I also knew that he was a new vampire, and there was no way he should be doing such dangerous solo watches without at least letting anybody know what he'd been up to. I had been trailing him without his awareness and so far he had not done anything stupid, however I realized that if he were to attack his parents, the only thing I would do was help stage their death. I wanted them dead as much as he did.

I felt Hailey's breathing even out against my back and I slowed to an almost stand still as I looked over my shoulder to see her fast asleep. How this girl was comfortable enough under the circumstances were astonishing. She was so trusting. It made me wonder if people ever took advantage of her kind nature.

About three miles from the house, still out of earshot of Edward and the family, I stopped and gently pulled Hailey from my back. I picked her up bridal style and she wordlessly wrapped her arms around my neck. I ran at human speed incase she were to wake up and marshaled my thoughts. I acted as if I was just going on a night run, my thoughts centered around Wyatt and my feelings for him.

The house quickly approached my vision and I forced my heart to remain normal, my breathing easy and calm like nothing was wrong. I still had a mile to go, however, and it was getting harder and harder to control my panic mode. I felt like a little kid getting caught doing something naughty.

People exploded out of the house, streaming off questions left and right but I ignored them and walked right into the house. They followed me in. Hailey muttered something about noise that made me smile. I stared at everyone until they stopped talking and Carlisle came forward.

"Mac, what are you doing?" he asked, his voice kind and understanding.

"I'm saving her," I answered. I looked towards Edward, wanting him to take up for me. "They hurt her."

Esme gasped and walked forward. I knew she could see the proof, but she hesitantly lifted Hailey's sleeve. There was a nasty purple and yellow bruise on her wrist, finger marks clearly showing that someone had grabbed her. Hard. "Oh," Esme whispered.

She looked at Hailey's face, her eyes closed as she slept in my arms. "Remarkable how she seems to still be asleep," she commented.

I shrugged. "She fell asleep on the run over here."

"Her mind is so… blank," Edward said, his voice taking on an astonishing tone. "She seems so comfortable with us."

"We made it look like she ran away. In fact, she had already planned to. Her bag was packed when I went to get her."

Carlisle shook his head. "This isn't a good idea, MacKayla. You should not have taken her," he chastised.

"They don't want her!" I yelled. Hailey stirred in my arms and I rechecked my volume. "Look, I refuse to leave this matter up to the state. They would put her in a foster home. I can't do that to her."

"Her brother is dead, Little Mac," Aiden reminded me gently, placing a hand on my shoulder. "She doesn't know he lives and breathes nor about who he is now."

"She'll understand, I know she will. She won't have a problem with our evolutionary status."

"Mac –" Edward began.

"No!" I interrupted him. "I will not leave her with them! You know what they do to her! I want to take care of her! I know she will be safe with me. I won't hurt her." I stared at her face long and hard. It was so serene, so innocent. She looked like a little girl, her amazingly long eyelashes resting on her pale cheeks. Her mouth was slack, open ever so softly. I softened my voice. "I have absolute faith in her that she would not betray us. And if neither of you wish for her to reside here, then I will leave with her." Gasps surrounded the room.

"Mac," Carlisle said, "we would never make you leave, and it seems you truly care for this child." I nodded. "Then I suppose it is done. She will stay with us. We are leaving for Denali in a month or two anyway; she can come with us after everything blows over."

I grinned and hugged her to me, kissing her forehead. She stirred slightly and pressed closer to me, seeking the comfort.

I heard the back door open and looked up expectantly. Half my family seemed to be missing. However, only Wyatt and Ravyn entered the doorway. Both stopped in the threshold to the foyer and the kitchen, one frozen with shock, the other happiness.

"MacKayla," he breathed.

Hailey's eyes popped open. She smiled, so genuine and happy, wriggling from my arms and propelling herself into his. "I knew it! I knew there was no way Mac would let you die!"

His eyes widened as he wrapped his arms around her. His red eyes looked as if they would cry if he could for the second time that night and he dropped his head to her shoulder. "Hailey… Princess…"

She pulled back from him and stared at him. "I knew it."

Edward went stiff, glancing at Hailey, his eyes wide. "Hailey… what are you seeing?" he asked carefully, approaching her as if she were nothing but a skittish calf.

She seemed confused. "I don't know what you mean. I am seeing my brother."

"No," he said, his voice breathy. "No, I mean that… thing… around him. What is that?"

She looked perplexed still, glancing at him. However, she suddenly grinned. "You can see them too? Really?"

He shook his head. "I . . . can . . . wait . . . slow down . . ."

The room had gone so quiet that the only thing we could hear was Edward's harsh breathing. "Edward, what the hell is wrong with you?" Emmett blurted out. "I hate it when you have mind conversations."

Hailey's face fell a little, hearing Emmett's words. "I should have known you couldn't see them too. No one can."

"Hailey," Wyatt murmured, "what are you talking about? Seeing what?"

"Aura's," she answered. I sucked in a gulp of air. Her hand moved about an inch from Wyatt's head. "Yours has changed. It used to be teal and pink, much like Mac's, but now you have the new color like Edward."

"New color?" he asked.

I looked at everyone in the room, their eyes wide. I was surprised that nobody was firing off questions left and right, but they seemed to be so surprised that their tongues were tied.

"Yeah. I don't know how to explain it. I have never really seen it before. It's like… I don't know. It's bright. It kinda hurts my eyes. It is similar to Mac's, only hers is different. Like theirs." She pointed at my brothers. "And yours is like theirs." She pointed at the Cullen side of my family. She looked back to Wyatt and gasped, finally looking at his eyes. "Oh, so that's what the color means. You're a vampire?"

No one could answer her. After a few seconds, Wyatt murmured, "What do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes and got down from his arms. "I wouldn't have known for sure, but nobody said anything. Your eyes gave you away. And I suppose Mac is something else. I know she isn't human." She looked at me expectantly, her cobalt blue eyes making me want to cry.

"I am… half vampire, half werewolf," I answered finally.

She laughed, her eyes alight with mischief. "I knew they existed. This is so cool."

Edward was still breathing hard. "Hailey," he said, going towards her. "My name is Edward. I am her grandfather." His chin pointed at me as he said it. "Do you know what this means? What your gift does?"

She nodded. "Of course. It's the color of your soul. Some people have more colors. It has taken me awhile to figure it all out. I kept journals, writing down how people acted, what their colors were and compared them to others."

She looked at Carlisle. "You are special. Yours is purple, understanding, calming. You have selflessness and wisdom." She looked at Esme with a smile. "You are too. It's hard to find people with purple auras." She looked at Edward, his face confused and yet happy. He always thought he had no soul. "Yours is gray. You have a hard time with people. You take everything seriously and you over think everything." Bella laughed. Hailey looked at her, studding her face. Bella sobered instantly. "You are purple as well."

"What am I?" Aiden asked.

"You're green. You're very relaxed all the time, okay with everything. You rarely have a temper. You say how you feel and think, believing it's dumb to keep secrets."

She swayed slightly. I sighed, we were definitely over taxing her. Just then, Seth walked in, from God only knows where. "Seth," I said, "This is Hailey. Will you take her to my room for me?"

Hailey glanced up at Seth and they both froze. Seth's eyes were so expressive. Shock, love, happiness. I rubbed my forehead. Seth had imprinted on Wyatt's little sister.

As if life wasn't complicated enough.

All that's left is an epi! I have two chapters of Hailey and Seth and Ravyn's story done, so I'll have those up after a short break. Put me on author alert so you'll know.

Review please!