Author's Note: Sorry for the delayy, I've been caught up in this book(: But fear not, I have finally deliviered this chapter to you. This is my shortest chapter so far and I'm not proud of that fact but this is a filler. After this, the real action starts so get readyy

Disclaimer - Ten chapters and I still have to say that I don't own anything Stephanie owns.

Dedication - I wanted to dedicated this chapter to Holly. she was very adamant in her review and seriously made me feel special. Don't be alarmed though, each and everyone of your reviews makes me wanna poop rainbowss. haaahaa. sorry, weird mental picture I know, but i'm in a good mood right now. So much love to you Holly :].

Playlist:

Where'd You Go- Fort Minor

Spending All My Time- Aaron Fresh

She's Like A Star- Taio Cruz

Family- group of people related by heredity, such as parents, children, and siblings.

Cassie almost killed me. Her panting and moaning nearly made me lose any shred of control I thought I had left. Then she told me she needed me, sounding breathless, like an angel and she wouldn't stop moving. She kept unconsciously rubbing her body against mine. I would've lost it right then and there. I did for a few seconds, basking in the feel of her small, soft hands. My hands were on her waist and I had to fight like hell to keep them there.

Then I realized where this was leading and I froze. I couldn't do that to her, with her. Not now or here. Not yet. I loved this woman and I would treat her with the respect that she needed. I tried to tell her but she flipped us over and looked at me with pleading eyes. Eyes that I would never be able to say no to.

Cassie seemed to take hold of our setting then and after a few moments; she looked back at me her eyes wide and innocent. I opened my mouth to say something, to try and soothe her but then I heard Jake. As soon as Cassie heard his voice, her face dropped and she shied away into my chest.

I growled, a low guttural sound coming from deep inside me. I was still more than a little pissed off at him and him being this close to Cassie, made my blood boil. I was angry, but I couldn't let myself be. Not when I was this close to Cassie. I had already scared her once and I wasn't going to do it again. I stood up, bringing Cassie with me. I pressed her behind my back, shielding her.

"You know I would never hurt her." Jacob's voice was low, his eyes were dark. He was serious. Even though I wasn't in his mind, I could see it in his eyes. They were just as easy to read as his mind in wolf form. He would never intentionally harm Cassie. Intentional or not though, I was going to protect her from anyone or thing I deemed as a threat to her.

And right now Jacob Black was a threat.

Jacob knew this, he knew that I didn't trust him with Cassie and in the long run he knew it was going to affect his relationship with her. No matter how much he cared for Cassie he knew that the bond between us wolves and our imprints was the strongest bond in the world. One spilt second mistake and he had changed his relationship with Cassie forever.

Nothing and no one could change that no matter how much they wanted to. I felt Cassie's small hands tense on my arm. She didn't want a repeat of this morning and I didn't want to upset her either, not if I could help it. "What do you want, Jacob?" I asked, trying to keep the snarl out of my voice. Jacob was standing by the tree line and now that I had spoken to him, he moved forward a few steps.

I tensed my muscles as he approached, pushing Cassie farther behind me. I knew he wasn't going to hurt Cassie and even if he tried, I wouldn't let him. Jacob wasn't looking at me, his eyes were focused on Cassie.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. Please forgive me Cass," He said, his eyes full of remorse.

Cassie made a small sound and came from me behind me, ignoring me when I put my hand out to stop her.

"Jake no…" She said shaking her head, and the sound of her voice made me wince. She sounded lost . He was one of her best friends; of course she would feel sad. I grabbed her hand, comforting her as best as I could without taking away from the person that was causing her pain. "It's ok, there's nothing to be sorry for, Jake… I just… you can't," She stopped and then looked back at me. "I can't deal with you two fighting, I just can't." She finally got out..

Jacob finally took his eyes off of Cassie and looked at me. He gave me a long, hard look and then he spoke, "I'm sorry Cassie." He then he turned around, leaving as quietly as he came. Once he was in the forest though, I heard him phase.

"I should take you home." I told Cassie, looking down at her small frame. Well, small in comparison to me. She was tall for a normal human girl around 5'7 or so. Cassie shook her head, looking around. Then she grinned, nearly rendering me blind with the beauty of her smile.

She was so gorgeous. I don't know how many times I must have said it by now, but it was true.

"Come on." She told me, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the other side of the beach. I let her lead and didn't ask any questions. She might have been smiling, but I had seen the look in her eyes when Jacob had left. She didn't want to show it, but I knew that she didn't like the rift between her and Jacob.

She led me up the cliff, and to the edge. "Cassie, what are we doing?" I said asking the obvious. She looked at me, smiling.

"On the count of two." She said, looking back out at the water. I couldn't help but smile back at her. She gripped my hand tighter in hers and took a long, deep breath.

"One." Her voice was serene.

"Two." She bent her knees and jumped, taking me with her. I heard her bite back a scream of fear and I squeezed her hand. As soon as we hit the water, I bought her body to mine and swam us up as fast as I could. We had sunk down deep, and I knew she would need air soon.

As we broke the surface, I heard her breathe in, gulping air. Then I heard her laugh. "I freaking love this!" She said, treading the water. I grinned and pulled her to me, swimming to shore.

"Come on." I told her. She ducked under the water and swam ahead of me. I couldn't help but laugh as I swam after her, making sure not to go too far ahead of her, making sure she was ok.

Once we reached the shore I shook my head, taking in the sight of Cassie with water dripping down her face, her clothes water logged. She saw me staring at her and shoved me and I feigned being hurt. She wrung out her hair which had escaped from her clip and tossed it over her shoulders.

"Come on, we should get you warm." I told her and then I hesitated, my house was a lot closer than hers. I would take her there, no one was home. I started leading her towards Emily's and she didn't say anything, but she did give me a weird look.

"I was twelve the first time I cliff-dived. I was trying to show off in front of Jared and this other girl… Madelyn I think her name was." I told her, the memory just coming to me randomly and I decided to tell Cassie about it. She still didn't say anything, but she grabbed my hand in hers.

"I nearly died. Seth's dad, Harry, pulled me out. He told me… he said 'Can't have you dying yet. We're going to need you in a few years' I hadn't known what he'd meant then and I forgot about it after awhile, telling him that he was crazy. Even after I started phasing, it never crossed my mind. I didn't remember it again until Harry died… I was at his funeral, looking at Seth.

"He was the only one not crying. He had Harry's eyes and the look in them; fear, concern, but relief as well… it brought back that memory. I don't know why I saw relief in Seth's eyes and for days afterward, it was all I could think of." I ran my hand through my hair, shaking out any excess water

"Then Seth phased and it was the first thing he saw as a wolf. He saw that vision of his dad pulling me out of the water as a boy; he unknowingly pulled it from my mind. I saw him, while we were wolves, mulling over it for a while, not communicating with us like he should have been.

"With Sam, Jared and my coaxing, he phased back after about four days, but I could tell that his mind wasn't on what had happened to him. He looked me in the eye… then he smiled. Grinned at me and said, 'Well I guess my old man really did know what he was talking about, huh?'

"After that he was just as happy as you see him now. Occasionally though, we'll see his thoughts turn a bit gloomy. But most of the time he never shuts up. Always happy and shooting rainbows out of his eyes." I had seen the way she looked at Seth. Like a mother bird would have for her chicks.

Somehow, he had become like a baby brother to her, just as he had become a baby brother to the rest of us. I needed to occupy her and keep her mind off the pain from Jacob. She was still kind of hurt over Jacob and I was beginning to see her start to shiver.

Cassie smiled softly, "Seth does seem really happy. I like that about him. He seems to be one of the only ones in the pack that seem to really accept being a wolf. He seems to enjoy it." She said softly.

I nodded and then we came upon the street that my house was on. My house was the third one on the street. Quil lived about four houses or so down from me. I opened the door for Cassie, seeing the living room light was on. I knew my mother wouldn't be home yet so it must've been Riley. The next thing I noticed was the smell; something was or had been burning. It couldn't have been for very long though, since I hadn't been able to smell whatever it was from the outside of the house.

My suspicions were confirmed about three seconds later when I heard my little sisters voice from the kitchen,

"Paula! I need some help!" I heard her squeaky voice and shook my head, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Ok, Miley, I'll be right there." Taunting my sister. She hated Miley Cyrus and hated it even more when I called her that.

Almost as much as I hate being called Paula.

Cassie snickered, but then Riley came around the corner and did a double take. She stared at Cassie for a moment and I didn't know what to expect.

Big, round hazel eyes, framed by curly lashes. Thick almost jet-black hair, curling around her chin. I could see Paul in her features.

Her mouth was open and she was staring at me, completely caught off guard. "OhMyJesus… you are so pretty." She said, coming to stand before me. Now it was my turn to be surprised. That was really unexpected.

I smiled at her, "No, you're the one that's pretty. I absolutely love your hair. I wish I could pull off short hair." I told her truthfully.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Paul smile and then Riley stuck her tongue out at him, finally taking in our wet figures. "Cliff diving," She said knowingly.

Paul went past us. "I'll go see if any of my mom's clothes fit you. I'll be right back." He kissed my cheek before he left me with Riley.

She smiled and took my hand, leading me into the kitchen. Paul's kitchen. From the outside, his house looked small but when I got inside, I saw that it was a nice sized. The kitchen was nice and modern with polished wooden counters. Inside I saw the source of the burnt smell.

Riley looked at me sheepishly. "I was trying to make grilled cheese," She said, as I took note of the black toast and cheese stuck to the pan.

I laughed and moved to the stove, turning it off and placing the skillet in the sink. "You have to butter the toast before you put it in the skillet Riley," I told her, running water in the sink.

Riley looked at me surprised, I guess, that I knew her name. "I'll help you make some more, if you want me to," I told her, looking at her pretty eyes.

Riley nodded and told me she would be right back. She left and returned shortly with a towel. She handed it to me, and I patted myself dry and wrapped it around my shoulders. Then, she handed me a hair tie from around her wrist. I took it gratefully and tied my hair up into a bun. I turned back to the sink and Riley went and opened one of the cupboards for some more bread. I looked around until I located some dishwashing liquid and some steel wool. I scrubbed the skillet and rinsed it under warm water.

"So what's your name?" Riley asked me while I was drying the skillet.

"Cassie Carlyle. I'm Elaina's niece," I told her, turning around and placing the skillet back on the stove. Riley handed me an entire cheese package.

"Paul's always hungry, so whenever mom and I cook, we always make extra for him," She said by way of explanation for the large amount of cheese.

I nodded and asked her for some butter. I asked her to butter the bread and then I put some in the skillet. Riley looked at me weirdly, brushing her hair behind her ears.

"I'm guessing you didn't do that?" I asked her, smiling slightly and she shook her head.

"Was I supposed to?" She said, grabbing a butter knife from the drawer and spreading butter over multiple slices of bread.

I turned the stove on. "Yes you are. It's so the bread and cheese won't stick to the skillet and cause a mess. You can also use Pam or something like that," I told her.

We were both quiet for a moment. "So have you cut your hair before?" Riley asked, watching me place a piece of bread on the skillet.

"Once. When I was fifteen. Not as short as yours though. I cut it about to my shoulders. I didn't like it and it grew out soon enough. What's your excuse?" I told her, adding the cheese. She wordlessly handed me a spatula.

"Well I cut mine when I was twelve. Or, my friend did. It wasn't that short either but she didn't do that good of a job so we had Leah Clearwater even it up a bit which made it shorter. I like it; it's different from the way everyone else wear's their hair," Riley said, fingering her short locks. I placed the first grilled cheese on a plate that she had laid out.

"There. It's your turn now. Try it," I told her, smiling. Riley took a bite of the grilled cheese and grinned.

"Oh wow. You are like a natural born cook. You almost cook as well as Emily," She said handing me the grilled cheese so I could take a bite. When I finally did, I couldn't help but chuckle. It tasted like a normal grilled cheese to me.

Riley was putting butter in the pan when Paul came into the kitchen, dressed in a different pair of cutoffs and holding some clothes in his hands. Riley took one look at it and rolled her eyes.

"Mom is going to kill you for touching those." She snatched them out of his hand and grabbed my wrist. "Come on Cass, we'll find you some clothes."

Paul looked bewildered and started to follow us, but Riley shut the door to their mom's room in his face. I started to go back, but Riley smiled sweetly at me. "He'll be fine," She told me, opening the door to her mother's closet.

"Her old clothes are usually near the back," She said mumbling to herself and flipping through lots of pretty colors. Then she pulled out a cute pair of washed out ripped jeans and a worn ridded brown top over a white tee.

It was actually something I would wear.

I had just put on the clothes when I heard talking out in the hallway. Riley looked up from where she was lounging on her mother's contemporary black and white bed.

"It's my mother," She called to me, only a handful of seconds before I heard the door to the bedroom open. I came out of the bathroom and saw Paul's mother, with Paul standing right behind her, dwarfing her.

"…Oh. Hello there," Paul's mother said pleasantly, tossing her dark, curly hair behind her shoulders. She looked me up and down and I suddenly felt intrusive.

"I'm so sorry Mrs.-" I started to say at the same time Riley opened her mouth.

"Hey mom, I knew you wouldn't mad if Cassie borrowed some of your old clothes. She and Paul went cliff diving or whatever- hey aren't you supposed to be at work?" She asked frowning.

Paul's mother shook her head and looked at me. When I saw her eyes, I almost did a double take. She was gorgeous and even though I wouldn't expect anything less from the woman who gave birth to Paul, it still astonished me.

Her hair was raven black and reached about shoulder length. It was glossy and she held it but with a clip and she looked young, about my height and it seemed like she used to be a great woman. Then I saw her eyes.

They were a bottomless, light chocolate brown color. But they were dull, full of sorrow and an innate sadness. It almost broke my heart. Then she smiled and the smallest hint of light reaching her eyes and said a sentence in Quileute. The only word I caught was man.

I bit my lip, not knowing what she had told me. "She who entangles men," She told me, putting her purse down on her bed. "That's what Cassie means. It's such a beautiful name. For a beautiful young woman," She came to me, smiling.

"My name means courage and Paula over there, well his name means small," Riley piped up and I couldn't help but smile. Small?

I must've looked confused because Paul's mom said, "He was a very small baby. But I don't know what happened to him now." She shook her head and looked fondly at her son who smiled back at her.

"May I ask, what your name means?" I questioned looking at her. But she wasn't the one to answer me.

"Avarielle. Woman of strength," Paul said quietly coming up to us.

"You can call me Ava," She said, laying a hand on her son's arm. "And none of that 'miss' or anything before that. I'm not old yet." Throughout our conversation, I had seen the light in her eyes brighten considerably. She truly was a beautiful young lady.

Ava sat on the bed and patted the seat next to her and then looked at Riley. "I see you were in the kitchen. Go in the kitchen make us a couple of sandwiches, please?" She asked , tapping her lightly on the knee. Riley groaned but got up and walked out of the room.

I looked at Paul and when he nodded, I took a seat next to his mother. He sat down next to me, pulling me closer to him. I flushed slightly, but didn't move away.

Ava looked at us, a tiny smile on her face. "I've heard a lot about you Cassie… not directly from Paul, but in his eyes, his disposition. His entire way of life has changed. I heard about you coming from your aunt.

"She showed me pictures of you and let me just tell you, you are so much prettier in person. And that's saying a lot considering how those pictures looked. I thought you were a model at first. I've just been waiting for Paul to bring you by." She said, noting how Paul smoothed back my bangs.

"If you ever need anything, I'll always be here. I won't keep you two any longer, but Paul, I do expect you to bring her by sometime, ok," She said, looking sternly at him. I felt his body vibrate as he laughed softly.

"Sure thing mom," Paul said and then he stiffened. I was about to ask him what was wrong and then I smelt it.

Riley had burned the grilled cheese again.

"CASSIE!" I heard her scream and I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. She screamed my name again and then Ava spoke up.

"I'm guessing that's you cue," She said and we all got up and went into the kitchen. "Oh, and you can have the clothes," She said, holding her bedroom door open for me. I went into the kitchen seeing Riley's innocent eyes wide and unassuming.

So I spent the next few hours or so cooking with Ms. Ava and Riley and getting to know them better. Despite my earlier impression about Ava, she seemed to be a pleasant woman. A few times though, I saw her eyes cloud over, her expression fall.

One of these times, I saw Riley look up and take note of her mother's expression. She got quiet for a few moments and her own expression drew inward. But she quickly brightened up and was all smiles again.

Paul sat at the table, swallowing all of the food we made. Riley complained loudly about it and he replied in kind, mocking her. Both of them fighting smirks.

Just like normal siblings.

Ava would intervene sometimes, try to quiet them up. Riley would look at me with her vast, greenish coffee colored eyes, begging me to back her up and take her side. I laughed and prodded her to focus on the food.

I felt content, I noticed after about the first hour.

After we had all eaten our share, Paul told me that it was time to go. I forgot that he had patrol tonight. I said goodbye to his family, both Ava and Riley bringing me in for a hug. As soon as we got outside Paul, picked me up and twirled me around.

I squealed. "Put me down!" even though I didn't really mean it at all and he knew that.

When he did finally put me down he told me, "They love you baby girl. You completely made their day."

He smiled and led us on another road. "I would drive you back home but Embry has my car for the day," Paul told me.

"That's fine. As long as I'm with you," I told him, taking in the beautiful sunset. We were quiet the entire time as he led me home enjoying the comfortable silence. We went in through the back door to my bedroom and I kicked off my shoes. The clock on my wall read seven forty-seven.

"When do you have to leave?" I asked Paul, tugging his hand and pulling him down on the bed with me. I leaned against his chest, taking in the rugged, wild smell of him.

"Eight thirty," He said, running his fingers through my hair. I thought about that. I was getting better with the whole wolf thing. The vampire thing though, not so much. I haven't told Paul, but there was just something about the vampires that I couldn't shake. I know Azriel was one of them, Paul had told me that much. But there was something that didn't sit right with me.

That wasn't the person I had seen with red eyes. I know it wasn't. But for the life of me, I don't know when or where I had seen him. I least I thought the one I saw was a male. I wasn't real sure of anything anymore. Only that I was in love with Paul.

But that was obvious.

I traced the contours of Paul's chest, feeling his abs tighten and contract. "That tickles," He said his lips against my neck. He didn't do anything to stop me though, so I kept on with what I was doing. He amazed me, everything about him did. Every time I touched his skin, even if it were the slightest brushing of fingers, it felt like fireworks going off.

Touching him like this, so intimately, would have been embarrassing. But for some reason I couldn't seem to muster up 'embarrassment'. It would be like trying to be embarrassed over seeing yourself naked in the mirror.

…Yea, that was a weird comparison, I know.

Paul nuzzled my neck and asked me something in Quileute. "It's Saturday," I replied to him in English, smiling.

"See? You're getting better," Paul told me, his arms tightening around me. I was getting better; a lot of things were coming back to me now. I could understand Quileute and speak it ok, but writing it was a pain in the butthole.

I closed my eyes and snuggled closer to him, starting to feel sleepy. Paul kissed my neck, "You've had a pretty long day sweetheart, haven't you?" He asked.

I chuckled softly, "I feel like you're talking to a baby," I told him.

"You are my baby," He replied instantly.

I fought back a smile, "There you go again, being all cheesy. I would have never guessed a big bad wolf like you could be so softhearted," I teased him and he replied by growling at me, his arms tightening further around me for a second.

"Make no mistake baby-girl; I am a big bad wolf through and through. But you change me in more ways than one," He said and I could hear the smile in his voice. "Now go to sleep," He said, his hands tracing circles on my lower back.

I shook my head. "You're going to leave me," I told him trying to keep my eyes open. Just the thought of him leaving me was almost unbearable.

Paul sighed, his breath hot against my neck but before he could say anything else, I asked "Will you come back when your shift is over? If only for a minute?" I turned around to face him, looking into his eyes.

Paul looked at me for a long minute, his eyes soft and warm. An endless ocean of deep chocolate. "Of course. I'd do anything for you," He said, leaning down and kissing me softly. I shuddered; overwhelmed by the love I could feel radiating off of him.

I pulled back and kissed Paul me on the forehead trying to coax me once again, to sleep. I thought about what he had just said. It sort of discomforted me. I didn't want him to have to do anything for me. I know that what I was asking him was a small thing right now, but I remember what Emily had told me this morning when we were cooking breakfast.

She told me to be careful what I asked for. That Paul would do anything for me. Anything in the world that was in his power. I didn't think much of it just then but when I saw the look in his eyes, I knew it had to be true. I didn't think about it for very long though, with Paul's warm fingers tracing lines into my back. Not long after, I fell asleep, with nothing but Paul on my mind…

I woke up when Paul left. He had been the only thing keeping me warm and when he left it felt like I was freezing. I sat up and lay against the headboard. I knew Paul wasn't coming back anytime soon. I grabbed my laptop from the desk beside my bed, opening it and plopping it on my lap.

I went on and played games for about an hour and a half before going into the kitchen and fixing myself a sandwich. I read a book and tried to keep myself busy until Paul got back or I fell asleep again.

Whichever came first.

I was in the den watching Lost when I heard the first wolf howl. I turned the TV down and listened harder. Not long after I heard another one. Then I heard the entire pack. It was interesting, listening to them howl, hearing them get closer or further away.

Then I realized that they were chasing something, or at least that's what I thought they were doing. They seemed to be after something and the only thing they would be chasing was a vampire. The thought terrified me. The thought of Paul close to one of those things, made my hands shake.

There was nothing I could do though, the wolves were too far away and even if they weren't, I would only be a liability anyway. I hated being useless. I looked at the clock on the TV that read eleven twenty three. Paul would get off his shift around two thirty, if they didn't run into any problems…

Ok, well you met Paul's family. I liked how the scene came out, even though this chapter is a little shorter than my usual chapters. I promise to make it up to you though in the next few chapters though (: I love you all, and thank you for the reviews once again. I feel so honored. This next chapter is giving me a little difficulty so please don't crucify my if I don't get it to you in like a week… or two. I promise not to make you wait too long though(:

XOXO,

Cass :D