Author's Note: Sorry guys, I know it's been a while but my betas and I have been trying hard to make this as perfect as possible for you(: As of right now, I'm done with begging for reviews. I'm grateful for the ones that I have, and if you want to review, that's up to you. I will ask you to answer the poll on my profile, I want to get an idea of what to do next after this fic is done. Not that it's anywhere near done yet. I am thinking about seven or so more chapters... but I'm not sure as of right now. I got a review saying Cassie seems sort of like a damsel in distress and she seems materialistic which sort of makes me sad. I don't really like materialistic people and I hate that i'm not portraying Cassie the way I really want her to be. Thanks though, Destiny's Twists for that(: I need more constructive criticism like thatt

Disclaimer- I don't own the original characters, SM does obviously P

Dedication- OK, I'm going to do three of them because I really couldn't choose. The first person to review was Pintos, with 'God is my Help' I didn't word it right in my last chapter and I didn't look it up extensively, but I really wanted was 'God of Death' and the first person who reviewed that was Green Eyes. So after I got 'God is my Help' I googled it again and that is what it "means" But Azriel was the God of Death. I also want to acknowledge Second Sunrise for seeing the ironic connection between Gabe and and Azriel with them both being brothers and all. So I thank all three of you guys for actually looking it up(:

Playlist-

Angel's Cry- Mariah Carey

A Little Too Not Over You- David Archuleta

Airplanes- B.o.B

It's My Life/ Confessions- Glee Cast

I Learned From You- Miley Cyrus

I Love You 5- NeverShoutNever

Truth- Reality; Actuality

By nine o' clock, I didn't know what to do, I was a pathetic mess. I felt so stupid for letting Paul get to me. No man is that perfect and he was obviously keeping secrets. I thought I was crazy; feeling like I was in love with someone I barely even knew. I realized now that I was stupid, not crazy. I willingly fell for all of his charms. I had kissed a man in my bed, one that I had only known for about three days at the time. I had changed so much that I hardly even remembered myself.

I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose and tried to get a hold of myself. I opened my eyes and simultaneously wiped the stray tears from my face. I wasn't going to break down like this. I wouldn't. I looked around my room floored. Now that I had made the inner statement about being strong and what not, I didn't have a clue what to do next. I heard another wolf howl outside sounding soulful and lost. It kind of sounded like how I felt.

Not thinking about much of anything I opened the door to the backyard and stepped outside. It was raining softly, the smell of it soothing me a little. There was still this hole in my chest that felt so tangible; I was almost surprised I wasn't bleeding.

I walked into the woods not knowing what else I should be doing. I was on the way to the beach, or at least I thought I was. The rain made it a little more difficult to navigate and after about a half hour I was hopelessly lost. I didn't really care though. My whole tough girl attitude was fading like the temperature.

It was getting colder and I had started shivering a long time ago. I noticed that I was still wearing the new clothes that I was so happy to be wearing about three hours ago. Now they were soaking wet and completely useless and I could hardly care less. I stopped short when I heard a soft sound in the woods; sounding distinctly like a predator.

I held my breath and pivoted, and saw the biggest horse in the world staring me down. I froze and my brain refused to work for a second. Then everything snapped back into focus; this thing was no horse. It was too muscular and it had fur, not hair... When I looked up, I was staring at the muzzle of a dog… I was staring at a freaking wolf.

My death was approaching.

Ok, I was probably exaggerating a teeny bit. I scuttled back a few feet, freaked out. I really didn't want to be eaten and now that I'd thought about it, that'd be a horrible way to die. Being chewed to death. Dear Lord. I brought my attention back to the wolf-horse in front of me.

It was a russet brown and as big as a horse, but with more muscle; thicker. Its incisors were dagger-sharp and its claws oddly reminded me of Lady Deathstrike. Then I noticed the eyes. An endless brown that weren't really animal eyes. They were intellectual, which was not at all what I was expecting.

It was just staring at me, its eyes narrowed like it was thinking. I didn't like it and started to back away some more when I heard it growl. Deep and gravelly, like thunder. I froze once again, my legs turning to grape jello. I opened my mouth to scream, but my voice was drowned out when I heard an answering growl coming from behind me.

I whipped around and was surprised to find another freaking wolf-horse behind me. Its fur was different though; muted silver, like the dark side of the moon. I looked in its eyes and felt like I was drowning in them. It was the same exact feeling I got when I looked into Paul's eyes. The feeling of total love and complete adoration. I couldn't do anything but stare.

The silver wolf wasn't even looking at me; it was looking at the other wolf. I suppose they were talking in some sort of wolf way because after a few seconds of dead silence, the brown wolf shifted its stance and started to turn around. It looked at me once more before bounding away making the earth tremble minutely.

I turned back to the other wolf and stepped away from it slowly, trying not to make any sudden movements. I met its eyes again and suddenly I felt like I couldn't breathe. It seemed so sad, so heartbroken and it looked at me in a way that touched my soul…

"I feel the same way." I found myself saying, not knowing what made me feel like talking to a wolf. To this wolf. At the sound of my voice, the wolf's ears perked up and it sat down slowly, seeming to be as cautious as I was.

Creepy.

I still didn't feel like sitting down and having tea, but this wolf didn't seem like it was going to suddenly go rabid and bite my head off. "I've researched wolves and let me just tell you, you're not the average Jim," I said flippantly. My moods were going all over the place, but then again I was on my period so that was normal.

The wolf didn't do anything but lie down on its stomach and put its head on its paws. Maybe it was tamed… like a pet or something. My gut told me that wasn't likely though. But as of right this second, I felt safe. And all of a sudden I couldn't keep anything in.

"I feel like dying, if you can believe me or if you can even hear me. Paul. I love him. I don't know how, but I do. I've been trying to deny it, but it's true. I've never believed in soul mates before or anything like that, but there's no other way to describe how I feel about him. But, I'm not going to let myself love him or at least I'm going to try not to. Tonight, it was just too painful. And my chest still hurts-"

I stopped abruptly, staring off into space. I felt fine, for the most part. I was still cold seeing as it was still raining. I could feel my hair plastered to my skin, but more than that, the ache that I felt every time Paul and I were apart, it was gone. Ever since I had met Paul it was like my whole world was tied to him. If we were apart, even for a few minutes, the hole in my chest would grow.

A little at first; I could feel it there but it was almost easy to ignore. But then if we got into a fight or something, like the day when Leah came over; it was agony. It was like pure fire clawing at my chest, almost like heartburn but worse. It would always go away when he was near.

Gradually, I brought my eyes back to the wolf in front of me. Its eyes… it was like he could seriously hear what I was thinking. They were full of sorrow and regret. I stumbled back and slipped in the mud. I squeaked and just barely managed to keep from falling on my butt. I did get my hands about wrist deep in the muck though. I looked around and saw the gray wolf looking at me, its head cocked to the side.

I sighed and got to my knees, trying to wipe as much as the mud off as I could on a nearby tree. "Who the poop are you looking at?" I asked starkly, whipping my head back to the wolf that I was having a conversation with. It looked at me and I could clearly see that it was thinking 'Poop? Why couldn't you just say crap?'

Crap was so unoriginal.

I was now being able to decipher what a wolf was thinking. Or at least, what I thought a wolf was thinking. I sighed and looked back to the wolf. It had gotten up when I wasn't looking and was now slowly walking away. I stood confused for a second when it looked back at me, beckoning me to follow him with its massive head. I thought about it for a second. If it were going to kill me it would have already done so. I didn't think it was going to take me to the other members of its pack and then try to kill me.

Then again, I had been conversing with a wolf in the middle of nowhere. At this point I think anything could be possible. I followed it warily. I was tired of thinking it was an 'it' and I had a hunch that it was a 'he'. Call it a lucky guess. I followed the wolf silently, not being able to ignore the weight of my waterlogged clothes. I ran my hand through my hair, trying to keep the wet locks out of my eyes.

As we moved steadily through the forest I thought of Paul. Why would he stand me up like that? Maybe something big came up and he didn't have time to call or something. I didn't know. The more I thought about it, the more I remembered how I felt when he didn't come.

I thought of the look on his face when he dropped me off at home earlier today. He didn't look like he had been lying. Ever since I had met him, he had shown me nothing but kindness and adulation. It just didn't make sense. Something was up. The wolf in front of me had stopped and I looked up to see my house looming up ahead. We had gotten there much faster than I would have if I were on my own.

I looked to the wolf that was staring at me with intense eyes, but before I could say anything, he had disappeared. I looked all around and when my eyes came to rest on the place where the wolf had disappeared, I was looking up at Paul, in nothing but cutoff shorts with rainwater streaming down his body.

I didn't know what to do. He was standing about five feet away, at the mouth of the forest looking at me with the same eyes of that wolf's… then it all made sense.

The legends. The Quileute descended from wolves. The way Paul seemed to be on edge some of the time and not being in school. Exhausted, like he hadn't been sleeping right. The way the wolf had Paul's eyes, the knowing look in its eyes when I told of how I wasn't going to trust Paul anymore. How tall all of those boys were, how strong and muscular. It all made sense.

"You're a wolf," I whispered softly feeling dazed.

Paul cringed slightly when I said it and looked scared and uncertain. He didn't say anything; he just looked at me, his body tense. I stepped toward him and he narrowed his eyes and stepped back further into the forest. He looked like he was about to bolt.

"Please don't," I asked him and he stayed where he was. I didn't know what to do. Things like this didn't exist; they were just bedtime stories and legends. I trusted Paul though and so I took a deep breath and kept moving towards him, my hands shaking lightly.

When I was about a foot from him, I saw the look in his eyes. I stopped and looked up at him. "Paul."

Paul shook his head and moved away from me again. I reached out and took his hand, not letting him go any further. "Please don't leave me," I whispered knowing he could hear me. Paul looked so conflicted and the look in his eyes was tearing me apart…

She knew.

Cassie's green eyes were wide and she looked scared. I needed to get away from her but she wouldn't let go of my hand. My throat was dry and I swallowed, only then did I notice that it was pouring rain. It didn't faze me, it kind of cooled me off a little, what with being so hot all the time. Cassie on the other hand, was shivering. Her clothes muddy and clinging to her. I needed to get her inside.

I tilted my head over to the house, hoping she would catch my drift. Cassie shook her head stubbornly and tugged on my hand, bringing me closer to her. "I'm not going anywhere until you explain to me what's going on," She said, her voice almost drowned out by the rain.

She was serious.

"You're about to freeze to death," I told her softly, needing her to go inside and get warm. In response she came closer and wrapped her arms around me. I stiffened. Why wasn't she running away in fear? "Sweetheart are you ok?" I asked hesitantly placing my hands on her back.

"No probably not. A wolf. I'm hugging an actual wolf. Paul," I could tell that her mind was spinning and seemed as if she were in a daze. I decided that I couldn't afford to let her stay out here any longer. I picked her up, ignoring her protests and took her into the house. I set her on the floor and went into her bathroom, quickly trying to locate some towels.

Not finding anything that would keep her warm for long I went into the den, finding a huge throw blanket tossed over the couch. I grabbed it and went back to Cassie, who was shivering, the clothes on her clung to her small, lithe body like a second skin.

I knelt down beside her, speaking softly to her. "Sweetheart, you're going to have to take those clothes off," I told her and she nodded numbly and got to her feet, grabbing some clothes from her closet and going into the bathroom. Before she closed the door she turned and looked back at me,

"Promise me you won't leave," She said her voice surprisingly steady

I nodded stiffly. "I promise," I ground out, not meeting her eyes. I had been planning on leaving as soon as she had closed the door.

She came out in a pair of hot pink boys shorts and a white tank, her back still soaked from her wet hair now pulled up in a bun on the top of her head. She stood in front of the door, looking at me wonderingly. "I want you to tell me everything," She said, crossing her hands under her breasts and looking at me sternly. I could see though the slight apprehension in her green eyes.

I nodded and directed her to the bed. She was going to need to be sitting down for this.

"I'm sorry," I told her, sitting on the opposite side of the bed from her and placing the cover around her shoulders. She looked cold and I knew I could warm her up faster with my body, but I didn't need to be around her right now. I wasn't safe.

Cassie looked at me, her eyebrows coming together in confusion and she frowned. "What are you sorry for exactly?" She finally asked, her eyebrows coming together in confusion.

"For lying to you, for not telling you the whole truth. For not being able to pick you up for our date. For letting Leah hurt you and for letting that leech come close to you, for everything." Even before I was finished, she was shaking her head.

"None of that is your fault. You can't blame yourself for every little thing that happens to me," Cassie said unconsciously drawing the covers closer around herself.

I disagreed with her, but I didn't say anything outright. I didn't want to upset her more. I tore my eyes away from Cassie and drew in a heavy breath.

"You're a wolf," Cassie said her breath no more than a whisper that I wouldn't have been able to hear if wasn't a wolf. I knew she wasn't asking me a question, but merely stating a fact and so I didn't say anything.

Ever since I had phased the first time, I felt like I finally belonged somewhere. At first it was just me and Sam and then not a week later there was Jared. Our pack had just grown larger and larger and that was fine with me. Being a wolf was normal after a while. It was effortless when you phased, almost like breathing or stepping into a separate skin.

It was like our own private gang of sorts, at least that was what the other people of the tribe gossiped about. As my brothers started imprinting, the pack kept getting bigger. Emily, Kim, Claire. They were to be protected above all costs.

To me they were like sisters. Emily and Sam were the oldest and therefore had seniority over the rest of us, kept us in line. Likewise Claire was the youngest of the pack like our baby sister. I had never got the whole imprinting concept.

I had been inside of all my brother's heads. Take Kim for example, sure she was pretty, not my type, but then I'd be pulled into Jared's head during a patrol or something and see someone totally different. The way he saw her was completely ridiculous to me. He made her seem like a freaking angel. He was whipped complete with a diamond studded collar and leash. I had vowed to never become one of those idiots who would fall headfirst into a woman who they knew virtually nothing about.

But then came Cassandra Carlyle.

After that first night when I took patrol I thought about her and wondered if I were putting her in the same light that the others put their imprints in. I decided that I wasn't. After seeing the way guys looked at her in school, I knew that I wasn't overreacting.

She was beautiful and made herself even more so because she didn't know how attractive she was. She wasn't one of those pretty girls who knew they were pretty and tried to make their selves even more so by means of makeup and small clothing.

I realized that about her when I saw her walking to class one day, completely oblivious to the stares the other guys gave her. Stares that pissed me off a little. I wasn't jealous, if she didn't want to be with me, she didn't have to be. I just wanted to be in her life, no matter what the role I played. I would probably be just as happy being her friend as I would being her boyfriend.

None of that changed the fact that we were meant to be together and I loved her.

Now that isn't to say that watching her mother someone else's kids wouldn't be painful, but whatever makes her happy. I realized that was zoning out when I saw Cassie's face start to take on a worried look.

"It's like the legends," I told her bringing my eyes up to meet hers and I told her everything. The heat and anger that I felt right before I phased for the first time, how Sam had calmed me down. How I was angered easily, the others in my pack. The genealogy of the Quileute Shape shifters about our body heat, enhanced speed and durability. I glossed over the vampire part a little, not wanting to scare her. She only interrupted me once.

"Aunt Elaina, she said that I would be protected at all costs once, when I was asking her about why I couldn't go out at night. Do you know why?" She had been listening attentively the entire time trying to keep her face blank. She was pretty good at it too, but her eyes were like the windows to her soul. Every emotion showed in those big dark emerald eyes of hers.

It was the one thing that I hadn't told her about. I didn't know how she would react to that, but I couldn't just avoid most of it and save it for another time. This was the most importing thing that I had to tell her.

"It's called imprinting." I could tell that the concept of this wasn't foreign to her, but she didn't know what it had to do with anything we were discussing. "It's supposed to be rare. But now, since half the pack has imprinted, we're not so sure about that anymore."

"What is it?" Cassie asked who by now was sitting right in front of me, her small hands once again, playing with mine.

"It's hard to explain in words." I looked around trying to find the words to tell her and then felt stupid. I took her face gently in my hands and looked her deep in the eye. "This is imprinting," I told her slowly. I could tell that she knew I meant the feeling of my hands on her skin, how perfect it felt to be this close to each other. She could read me just as well as I could her.

"It's when you find your perfect other half. Your soul mate. Sam and Emily. Jared and Kim. Quil and Claire. They are all meant to be with each other." Her eyes took on that glazed look, the one she got when she was concentrating very hard on something.

"We all use the analogy of gravity moving. When you imprint, it's like gravity isn't keeping you grounded anymore. It's your soul mate. Everything else that was keeping you tied to yourself, that made you who you are, none of it matters. Your mother, father, sister, cousins, dogs. Everything just sort of ceases to exist. You aren't connected to anything but that one person. You don't need anything or one but her.

"It was different for me though. For me, it's like your own personal heaven on earth. Like winning the lottery, saving the world and becoming superman and having everything you've ever dreamed of rolled into one person. When I look at you Cassie, it's like what I would imagine looking into a pure white light would be like.

"Unfathomable, untainted, impossible, but you can't look away, until it blinds you. It's ridiculous, but sometimes I feel like I'm just waiting to go blind." I shook my head and closed my eyes for a moment, trying to gather my thoughts, bracing myself for the next words that were going to come out of her mouth.

"You imprinted…on me?" Her voice was full of so much uncertainty and confusion. She pulled her face away from my hands and dropped her eyes to the coverlet beneath us and I let my hand fall into my lap and nodded.

"Soul mates," She whispered, frowning slightly. She was quiet for a while and then looked up at me, her eyes shining. It was then that I realized that when I had been telling her about everything else, I saw all lot of emotion flicker through her eyes: Sorrow, guilt, pity, longing, fascination, confusion, aggravation. But not once had I seen anger.

Until now.

Cassie's eyes were bright with angry tears. "So we're meant to be huh?" She asked her voice haughty.

I nodded hesitantly, not knowing where this was going.

"So that night, up on the cliff, you imprinted on me?" Her sultry voice faded out again, and she looked away, gathering her thoughts. "If you weren't a werewolf you wouldn't have imprinted on me huh? I would've just been another girl to you?" She asked, raw anger underlying her words.

"Of course not," I disagreed vehemently. Wolf or not, I'd be stupid not to notice how beautiful this woman was, inside and out. But I saw the look in her eyes and thought about it. That night, if I hadn't imprinted on her would anything be different?

If I weren't a wolf, then there wouldn't be imprinting. I tried to explain this to her, "Even if I didn't imprint on you, I would still love you. How could I not, ¨ I told her softly, trying to reason with her.

Cassie shook her head, thoroughly convinced she was right. "It's just that stupid wolf in you. You know it and so do I," She said, the angry light leaving her eyes. Now she just looked defeated and it killed me, seeing her like that. I couldn't bear it.

It made me mad.

Cassie got up and started to walk away into the den but I caught her arm and turned around so that she was facing me. I bent down to her level and made her look me in the eye.

"I love you. Wolf or no, you are the one I love, Cassie. Don't ever underestimate it, forget it or try to tell me or anyone else any different." I felt myself shaking, but I knew for a fact that I wasn't going to phase anywhere near her. It wasn't her I was angry with...

Cassie's eyes grew wide, her lashes wet and full. She looked at me in amazement and shook her head slightly. "You can't love me… you can't." She tried to turn around again, but I tugged lightly on her arm and when she turned around to face me, I dropped my lips over hers, sealing my statement with a kiss.

When I felt Paul's lips against mine, I stumbled back a little in shock and then even more so when I felt my back hit the wall. My knees buckled and I felt Paul's strong arms encircle my waist tightly, keeping me pressed between him and the wall. My first reaction was to push him away. The only reason he felt anything for me at all was because of his stupid wolf imprinting.

Then Paul left my lips, trailing his down my throat, nipping at the flesh softly muttering apologies and I completely broke down. I brought my own arms around his neck, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. He pulled away from me after a while and looked me in the eye again.

"I love you Cassandra," He told me, holding me close to him and stroking my hair.

I sighed and leaned against his muscular chest. "I just need some time," I told him which was the truth. This was a whole lot to take in, but I could deal with it. Plus, I loved him too. I didn't know if it had to do with the imprinting thing or what, but I did. I had long since come to terms with that. So I guess I could accept that Paul loved me as well.

I leaned up and kissed him again, relishing the feel of him against me. I swear I almost fainted. Everything was perfect. I trusted Paul, maybe even more so now that I knew everything. I don't think I would ever get used to being with Paul. To me everything about him was perfect.

Paul pulled away and kissed my eyelids. "Go to sleep," He told me picking me up and taking me to the bed. "I'll come see you tomorrow. I Promise." Was the last thing I heard him say before he laid me on the bed, and covered me up. He moved away for a few seconds to turn the light off and when he came back, I could only see the whites of his eyes.

The bed was slightly damp from us sitting on it, but I had been through a lot today and by that time I didn't really care. Paul started to move away though and something deep inside of me didn't like it. I pulled Paul back to me and he kneeled down so that we were eye level.

"I don't want you to leave me," I told him, not knowing what he would think of that exactly. He looked a little confused at first until I tugged on his forearms until he nearly loomed over me and the bed. I scooted over a little and then looked pointedly at him again. This was the only solution I could find.

Paul shook his head and tried to move away, but I had a firm hold on his arm and the only way he could have gotten away was if he physically removed my arm by force, which I knew he would never do. "Cassie I don't think-" He didn't finish his sentence because I gave a particularly hard yank and he fell halfway over me.

"We're just sleeping. I trust you," I told him, easing over some more to the side and holding his gaze with mine. I was glad that the lights weren't on or else he'd be able to see how red I was. I had never done anything like this and had never planned to this early in my life. But Paul wasn't some ordinary person and I could already tell that whatever relationship that we had was no normal relationship.

"Don't look at me like that," Paul grumbled halfheartedly, moving to slide under the covers with me, drawing me close to his large frame. I snuggled closer to him and then realized that he had no shirt on. His body heat was overwhelming and after a few minutes, I threw the covers off of us.

I was facing Paul's chest, on the side of the bed farthest from the windows and the wall and I buried my face in the crook of his neck. His arms were around me, holding me protectively to him, almost like he was cradling me. I would've thought that it would have been awkward but it felt natural, again it felt like I belonged here.

I felt it when Paul dozed off and I laid there in his arms, replaying everything over and over in my mind not ready to go to sleep just yet. I couldn't remember when I exactly I first heard the Quileute Legends, I just remembered my mother telling the legends to me as a bedtime story when I was a baby. It was one of the first things that I had ever known.

But even when I was older and started really know what it meant, I had always known that none of it could be real. People just didn't turn into wolves and vampires didn't exist. But I had seen it with me own eyes. Paul was a wolf that much was obvious. He didn't tell me much about the vampires, but when he did talk about them, he got real tense and his eyes were murderous and took on a disgusted look.

They were the bad guys.

Then he told me about imprinting. What I knew about imprinting was that it occurred in animals, like dogs when they had found a desirable mate, but there were other ways of imprinting. Imprinting was also in the legends and when we were young, my friends and I had fantasized about being imprinted on by a handsome wolf man, giggling at each other's foolishness.

It wasn't true though and after a while it all but disappeared from my mind. Then Paul had told me about Jared and Kim, Sam and Emily and Quil and Claire and something clicked in my mind, the way they all seemed to be hopelessly devoted to each other, the look in Kim's eyes when anyone mentioned Jared.

Then I thought about when Paul and I locked eyes for the first time. It felt so surreal, like we were the only people in the world. My entire being seemed to rearrange itself and now everything I did had to do with Paul.

And I was ok with that.

I was very aware of Paul's body beside mine and I couldn't help but try and snuggle impossibly closer to his body heat. I would've tried to get up and turn the fan on if I thought it was possible, but Paul's arms were wrapped so tightly around me that I didn't try it.

I leaned away as much as I could though, until I could look at his face. His eyes were closed and he looked so much younger. Seeing him like that, I couldn't help the next words I spoke,

"I love you too."

The barest of smiles came upon his face and he opened his eyes slightly, meeting mine instantly. He leaned over and kissed my forehead before pulling me back to him. I took a deep breath, breathing in his scent and fell asleep.

Hmmm…. You like? I sure don't. Seems kinda OOC to me, and I hate that. But this is the second time I've typed this and I've decided to just leave it be and post it.

Tell me what's on your mind? Next chapter should be coming your way soon. But in the mean time, check out the Poll on my page pleaseee, it'll help me with what I need to do next (:

XOXO,

Cass [: