Author's Note: Ok, I know you've all been waiting for this chapter and I'm sorry for the wait, but chapter 13 isn't anywhere near ready and so I wanted to wait a little while before posting this chapter. I'm really liking how the P. Box is going and I hope you guys do as well. Remember, it's just a little way to keep up with what's going on with the chapters and what's going on. (:

Disclaimer: I don't own Paul. I know, tragic huh?

Dedication: This chapter goes to GossipQueen101, she's a newcomer to this fic and is really supportive. Thanks GQ101, for taking the time to review. And thanks to everyone elsee(:

Playlist:

The Truth- Kris Allen

Make Up Bag- The Dream

Blind- Ke$ha

Got Your Back- T.I ft. Keri Hilson

Yellowcard- Empty Apartment (again)

Taken: To capture physically; seize

The pain in Cassie's eyes completely tore me apart. I didn't mean to hurt her. The words left my mouth before I could even think about what it was that I was saying and it hadn't occurred to me what I had said until I saw the blatant disbelief in her pretty green eyes. She yelled at me and took off running, I knew that she needed her space even though my heart broke into smaller pieces with each step she took away from me.

I tried to make the sadness go away by focusing on the easier emotion of anger. I turned away and went back into the house, finding Riley in her room throwing clothes chaotically back into her already disordered closet.

"I want to know who he is," I told her, standing in her doorway. I wasn't going to let anyone hurt her, not some stupid boy, not anyone.

Riley turned to me, fire in her eyes. "Why are you making such a big deal about this?" She asked, looking up at me, a frown on her face.

To me, it was a big deal. She was the closest thing to my heart other than Cassie. I knew though that arguing with her wasn't going to get us anywhere. I wasn't safe right now; I could feel myself shaking. I ran a hand though my hair,

"You aren't going to the bonfire," I told her, and turned around and started to walk out of the house ignoring Riley's desperate yelling at me.

I know I was being an ass of a brother and the thought of that and Cassie being mad at me had me distraught enough to phase as soon as I got outside. It had started pouring down rain and I was quickly soaked. I felt that Embry and Sam were also phased and patrolling lazily.

I felt them shuffling through my thoughts and I let them, too tired to argue. They left me alone, knowing that I didn't want to be bothered. We patrolled in silence for a few minutes while I thought about what I could do to make it up to Cassie.

Even now, all I wanted to do was howl out in pain and curl in a ball. But more than that, I wanted to go and comfort her, beg for her forgiveness. I heard Sam in my head, letting me know that I could go, that I didn't have to sit here and patrol with him and Embry.

Just as I was about to go, the potent smell of leech hit my nose. Just on the northern border of our tribe, opposite of Forks. Embry and Sam were immediately notified and we were instantly on its trail. The leech had been keeping away from us and we hadn't noticed it until now.

We let the others know to come and phase and one by one I felt my brothers in my head, as they made the transformation from human to wolf.

'This leech just never quits.'

Quil said, his mental voice oddly pleased. He liked chasing down leeches-we all did. The leech's scent was mingled in with someone else's who we identified as Gabe. Then Embry caught wind of another scent, one that froze me where I stood.

They were going towards Cassie.

The rest of the pack heard my thoughts and we all ran faster, howling all the way. They had stopped for second and we sped up hoping to catch them, but right before we got there they took off again. The vampire had most likely carried them at the speeds they were going.

'They're heading toward the beach.'

Leah snarled and Sam told her and Jake to circle around to try and cut them off. They were off in a heatbeat, but it was too late. They already had Cassie in the water on one of their boats and were speeding away. The pack stopped at the shoreline, but I kept going, foolish thinking that I could make it to them.

I wouldn't let them have her. Not my Cassie.

I was about muzzle deep in water, having to work my hard paws to get any kind of headway. The rain was getting in my eyes and the sky was a mourning type of gray making it hard to see even with the help of my wolf vision.

I tried to ignore the calls of my pack, telling me to come back, but I couldn't ignore it when Sam told me that it was time for me to get back to shore. Wet, shivering and distraught, I slowly made my way back to shore, my heart tearing apart.

Extremely painful, if you ask me.

'We'll never give up on her, Paul. We're going to patrol all day.'

Sam tried to reassure me, but I was beyond listening to anyone at this point. I had let her out of my sight; I had lost the most important thing in my life. Because of me, she was now in the hands of a leech and there was nothing I could do about it.

I felt empty and for the second time in my life, I felt true white hot fear.

I woke with a pounding headache, the proverbial hole in my chest and the sound of the ocean roaring in my ears. I groaned and moved to sit up, wondering where I was. I was on a boat, a small one and by the look of it, it most likely one of our Quileute boats.

Then I remembered Gabe and the way that he drugged me. The red eyes that I had seen in the background right before I blacked out. I looked around seeing Gabe and Azriel looking at me warily, as if they were both waiting for me to try and jump over the side of the boat.

I had already thought of that and seeing as there was no land in sight that idea was quickly shot to hell.

Instead I back away as much as I could, glaring at them both heatedly never taking my eyes off of Azriel. He was the one that I was afraid of most. His red eyes were wild and I knew that he could kill me without thinking twice about it.

Gabe I could care less about.

"Take me back. Now," I told them, giving Azriel my fiercest glare. He merely smiled, his beauty dulled by the fact that he was a ruthless killer.

"Now I don't think you're in any position to be making any demands now princess," He said, his voice cold. I was terrified and wanted Paul more than ever now, but I wouldn't show that fear to Azriel or Gabe.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, shivering as the water waves washed up over the small boat and drenched me.

"Because I don't like wolves," He said flippantly, taking his eerie eyes off of me and looking at his brother and saying something in Quileute. I managed to pick out something about the boat and then Gabe got up from the floor of the boat and moved out to the front and steered it. I felt the boat shift a little to the left and wondered where we were headed.

"Gabe, take me home," I begged him, hoping to sway him and make him give in to me.

Gabe looked back at me even though his gaze didn't quite meet my eyes. "Sorry, Cassie can't do that," Hi said, obviously trying to keep emotion out of his voice.

I didn't know what to do. I couldn't stay here, I couldn't fight them and I couldn't escape. I was stuck. It had stopped raining, but the sun wasn't out, it was a dull gray, the ocean a dark abyss of blue.

Creepy.

I hated being at the mercy of Azriel, almost as much as I hated looking into his sinister red eyes. I just hoped he wouldn't get hungry or decide he wanted a snack. Everything was quiet for about twenty minutes or so, with Gabe steering the boat and Azriel staring at me intently.

Then, out of nowhere, Gabe cut the engine and Azriel stood up, coming to stand in front of me in three strides. Then he bent down to my level effectively cornering me. "Now look here little girl, I think a conversation between me and you is long overdue, don't you think?"

He didn't give me time to answer that, not that I planned on it, "So here's the deal. You are going to go back to those little pups of yours and tell them that nothing happened. You and Gabe just went on a little cruise together and came back. Once that's out of the way, you are going to live your life like it's always been. Well for the most part at least.

"I need you to get the leader of your little wolf pack out here, in the water. Take him fishing one day or something. I just need him out in the open for a few minutes. We have a score to settle." Azriel's eyes glinted in bloodlust.

"Why do you need me to do this? Get someone else," I said, leaning as far away as I could from him.

"Because you're the newest edition to the pack and Gabe could get close to you. We tried with Kim, but she got out of our grasp before we could fully get to her. If you don't do this or you tell anyone about this, I'll take your boytoy instead. I need this done within the week. Gabe will be with you to make sure you don't mess anything up and if you do, I'll be the first to know about it. Are we clear?" Azriel asked and when he saw the indecision in my eyes, he bared his fangs at me in warning.

As much as I hated it, there was nothing else I could do but nod. I would find some way to get past this; I couldn't let Sam get hurt. But if worst came to worst, I had to protect Paul no matter what the consequences. "Where are we?" I asked him, not knowing what was going on.

"About three miles off coast. We've been going in circles for about half an hour." Azriel looked smug.

I looked away, disgusted.

"Now you can go home. Remember; don't open your mouth to any of those dogs of yours. I want to be hearing back from you in about three days and if I don't…" He didn't have to say the rest, I could piece it together just fine.

Then before I could say anything else, Azriel jumped over the edge of the boat and into the water. I waited for him to come up somewhere but after five minutes, there was still no sign of him. "I'm supposed to take you home now."

Gabe's voice sounded from behind me and I turned around, realizing that Azriel was gone. It was just me and Gabe now. Perfect. "Well then get on with it." I said icily, cutting through him with my gaze.

Gabe still wouldn't meet my gaze and I was starting to get a little peeved when he just turned his back to me and started steering the boat again. "Why are you doing this?" I asked him, standing up and bracing myself against the side of the boat.

"Because I don't like those wolves. At all. My brother can't come back home because they'll kill him if he comes close to La Push. He didn't ask to be changed and he shouldn't be held accountable for what happened to him." Gabe's voice was cold, emotionless.

"He might not have had a choice about being changed but he does choose to feed off of living people. He's ruthless and he'll do anything to get what he wants. I don't believe that you are stupid enough not to be able to see that," I said scathingly, looking out at the water for any sign of land.

Gabe didn't say anything else and we went the rest of the way in silence. As soon as I saw land, I felt a little better. Then I started to feel nervous. No doubt the boys would have been able to smell Azriel on Quileute territory. They would be able to smell his scent on me, not to mention, Paul would be very worried…

As soon as we hit the docks I saw Paul, Jacob and Leah were waiting for us as Gabe docked the boat. As soon as I stepped off of it, Paul was in front of my, raking me with a concerned, angry gaze. "Are you ok? You're freezing," He said, his voice leveled with concern and an under layer of anger.

I couldn't breathe for a full two seconds. His hands were on my arms and he was pulling me to him. I could feel his warmth seeping into my cold frame. The smell of him in my nose was a godsend. I had been so scared on that boat with a vampire and now that I was back in Paul's arms, it was like heaven on a stick.

Paul shook me lightly, getting my attention again. I stuttered and then looked at Gabe who was eyeing the wolves warily. Jacob and Leah had started to advance on him, menacing looks on their face. I moved to stand in front of Gabe. "Leave him alone," I said not liking that I was defending Gabe.

All three of them looked at me like I had grown a third ear or something. Up until this point I had made it clear that I didn't care for Gabe, with good reason too. But if I said anything about Azriel now, he would kill Paul. So I'd just have to bide my time.

"Gabe asked me if I wanted to go sailing with him. We knew it would stop raining after a while and he wanted to show me his boat. It's no big deal," I said, making everything up as I went.

All three of them knew I was lying, but they wisely held their tongues. Well Paul didn't. "The hell he did. Tell us what really happened Cassie," He said, coming up to me again and looking down at me with hard unflinching eyes. He of all people knew that I wouldn't willingly go somewhere with Gabe. I took a deep breath and tried to blink away tears.

He really hurt me earlier today, but right now all I could think about was how much I wanted to have his strong arms fold around me while I sobbed to him about Azriel and how scared I was and all that good stuff.

Unfortunately though, I couldn't forget what had happened before I was kidnapped. How angry and disappointed I was in him. More than that though, I didn't want him to die. "I don't want to talk to you right now Paul," I told him looking away. I caught a look at Jacob's disbelief and Leah's disgust.

I was about to start walking away, but then Sam came out of the bushes and started towards us an intimidating air to him. I heard the intake of breath behind me as Gabe stepped a little closer to me. Paul growled at him, lifting his lip in a snarl. With each step that Sam took, there was only one thing going through my mind.

Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap.

"Where is the vampire Cassie?" His voice deep and commanding.

I locked my jaw. "I haven't seen any vampire," I told him, lying through my teeth. "I want to go home." I seriously did not want to be here, being under the scrutiny of my best friend, my soulmate and the girl that I seriously disliked. Add the alpha male in the mix and I felt like a CSI suspect.

All four of them kept questioning me and Gabe for about fifteen minutes until I finally got fed up and told them that I was going home and Gabe was coming with me. I couldn't bear to look at Paul when I walked away from him as it was, I couldn't even keep the tears from falling as I walked through the forest to my home, Gabe in tow.

"Why are you still following me?" I asked Gabe as we came upon my house. I turned to face him. "I hate you. I don't want you anywhere near me any more than you have to be," I told him before looking him in the eye before turning around, walking into the house and slamming the door, but not before I heard him speak,

"You're going to have to cooperate with us sooner or later Cassandra, or we'll take Paul instead." I took a deep breath and tried to force his words out of my head.

"Cass, is that you?" I heard my Aunt's voice calling me from her room. It figures, the one day I want to be left alone is the day that my dearest aunt is home. I went into my Aunt's bedroom to find her snuggled under her fluffy plush rose colored covers with some chips and salsa and watching TV.

"Hey Auntie," I said leaning against the wall.

"I haven't seen you in a while. I've been so busy and I just got back home about half an hour ago. How've you been?" She asked a smile on her pretty features.

"Good," I lied, smiling wanly. "I was out with Paul but he's patrolling now so I was going to go and take a nap for about two hours or so," I said, wanting to get out of my wet clothes as soon as possible.

"Alright then, well go dry off and take a nap. I'll see you later," She said, turning back to whatever she was watching. I moved slowly to my bedroom and collapsed on the floor, letting the horror of the entire day wash over me.

What had started out as an amazing day quickly turned out to be one of the worst. I couldn't get Paul's hurtful words out of my mind or the ominous and threatening ones of Azriel. Both of them vying for my attention and now that I was in one place, the physical aches of my body became forefront.

My head was still spinning a little from whatever drugs that Gabe had made me inhale and my body was nearly frozen from the ocean water and rain. Both though, paled in comparison of the feeling that I got whenever I was away from Paul.

It was bad enough when he was away from me, but now it was made even worse since I wasn't talking to him right now. I couldn't forget about Azriel though, even though I wished that I could. I couldn't betray Sam like that. I would be sending him to his death. But the alternative was too painful to think about.

I'd just have to think of something else. So that no one would get hurt. Everyone would be happy…

I looked up, hearing something by the window. Paul was standing just outside my door, looking at me intensely. I didn't want to deal with this right now, or at least that's what I tried to tell myself. Truth was I was thrilled just to be able to look into those beautiful eyes of his.

I moved over to the door and opened it, leaning against the doorframe. He didn't say anything for a while, just stood there looking at me, making me feel breathless. "What happened today, Cassie?" Paul asked me finally.

I blinked, "I told you, I went out with Gabe and-" I started, the lie sounding stupid to my own ears.

"Don't lie to me Cassie," Paul said, his voice low and his eyes narrowed.

I frowned, "Why would you think I'm lying?" I asked indignantly.

Paul looked at me like I was stupid. I didn't entirely blame him for that. "Cassie, look me in the eye and tell me that you willingly went with Gabe today. That you didn't see any vampires. I could smell the fear radiating off of you, I could see it in your eyes. So don't sit there and lie to me. Everyone else might believe it, but I don't. I want you to tell me the truth."

I shook my head. "I can't tell you," I said quietly brushing my damp hair away from my face and looking past him out towards the forest. I knew there was no possible way that Azriel could be anywhere near my house, but I was still skeptical.

"You can tell me anything, sweetheart, you know that," He said, his posture relaxing a little. He moved closer and brushed the back of his hand against my cheek. I tried to step away from him but I was backed up against the door and couldn't go anywhere.

"No, Paul I can't," I told him, looking away.

"Look at me Cassie," He said softly and I did, looking straight into his beautiful caring eyes. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier today. I was mad and I just don't want my sister to get hurt by anyone, let alone some guy," He said his eyes soft.

I wanted to believe him, I really did but then I thought of the way he had totally flipped out on me and Riley and I got mad all over again. I needed to stay away from him, or I might end up saying the wrong thing.

"I know you didn't mean it Paul, but I really need some time alone right now," I told him, leaning back against the door, trying to fight the urge to fall into those strong arms of his.

Paul eyes were tight and I saw the conflict in his eyes. He didn't want to leave me anymore than I wanted his to go. But I had to stay away from him. At least for now. Paul sighed after a minute and nodded slightly. "Get some sleep it's been a long day," He said, looking at me with that tenderness in his eyes.

I nodded and before I noticed what he was doing, he leaned in and kissed me slowly. I had it in my mind to push him away, but I couldn't. Not after feeling his soft lips on mine. I could feel his remorse over what happened between us and the worry of what I wasn't telling him.

He pulled away and it was only after the fact that I remembered that I was supposed to be mad at him. I couldn't summon the words to say anything to him though, I was too stunned.

"I'll always be here for you,sweetheart, you know that." His voice was low and sensual, his eyes full of emotion. "I love you," He said, before he turned away and disappeared into the forest. I leaned my head against the door and looked up at the darkening sky trying to get my thoughts together. Angry or not, it was going to be hard to stay away from Paul.

And it seemed like he was going to make as harder still.

I went into my room and closed my shutters and locked my door. I stripped and took a short scalding hot shower and put on a pair of basketball shorts and a baby blue sports bra. I brushed my hair while going into the den and grapping an orange soda from the mini fridge.

I made some macaroni and cheese and watched some One Tree Hill, not really focusing on much of anything. Which was why I burnt the food I was making. I made a face at the black macaroni and cheese and then dumped it out.

I wasn't really hungry anyway.

I turned the TV off and went to bed, turning the lights off and curling under the covers. I closed my eyes and tried my hardest to fall asleep, but I couldn't get the image of Paul out of my head. Without him holding me when we were sleeping, I felt vulnerable. The bed felt so big and cold without him.

I didn't fall asleep until three in the morning and when I did, it was fitful and short-lived. I had nightmares of cruel red eyes and angry werewolves. When I woke for school the next morning, I hated life so much I almost considered seeking out Azriel myself…

Ok that was a lie but still.

I got ready for school in a daze, not even wanting to look at myself in the mirror knowing that if I saw how bad I looked, that I wouldn't go to school. I said goodbye to Aunt Elaina who was in the kitchen preparing breakfest and got into my car, heading for school.

As usual, the pack was lounging around on the steps of the school when I arrived and I immediately sought out Paul. He didn't look any better than I did, which really didn't make me feel any better. I saw the pack as they turned their eyes to me as I got out of my car.

It was easy, at least until I saw Gabe coming up to me from the corner of my eye. I bit my lip to keep from saying something that I probably wouldn't regret as he came and stood by the side of my car. "Good morning, Cass," He said all smiles and then he held up a bag. "I brought doughnuts."

I gaped at him, appalled that he would even dare to approach me when he knew how much I hated him. "Are you stupid? Or did you just get hit in the head when I sent you home yesterday? Do you not understand that I dislike you? You obviously don't or else we wouldn't be having this conversation." I snarled at him, malice dripping from my tone and not noticing that my voice just got continually louder until I turned around and saw how a lot of people had stopped what they were doing and were looking at us. I glared at Gabe, blaming him and his brother for all of this.

I turned around to walk away and saw Paul. His eyes were angry, his posture tense but he wasn't looking at me. He was looking straight at Gabe. I tried to ignore both of them as I walked away but before I could get three steps away, Gabe grabbed me and pulled me back. His face turned dark and he brought me close to him, "Don't forget, one word from me and my brother will tear that little wolf of yours to shreds."

Ok that scared me a little. I pulled me hand away from his and turned around, feeling the wetness in my eyes that I held back. Paul was there, snarling at Gabe while simultaneously pulling me closer to him. As much as I relished the feeling that I had been craving all night, I knew I would have to face my own battles sometime.

I eased myself out of his hold and stepped between him and Gabe. "It's fine," I told Paul, making sure not to meet his eyes. Then I made my way past them and into the school, passing the rest of the pack who were on their feet, ready to intervene if things between Paul and Gabe got ugly.

I hung around the cafeteria until the bell rang and then went to first period, sitting in the very back, which tended to fill up pretty quickly, seeing as no one wanted to be in the front of the class. Sadly though, Paul was the third one in the class and claimed his place by me. I was tempted to get up and move, but I really couldn't bring myself to do it.

Today Mrs. Risley went easy on us and just gave us bookwork to do. It was easy and I got done with it and the homework with a little over fifteen minutes to spare. I spared a look over at Paul who was looking toward the front on the room, looking like a brooding model.

A sexy one at that.

I tried to put that train of thought out of my head and I was shocked when Paul turned toward me, searing me with his gaze. I turned away, my face burning. Then I thought of something and pulled a red permanent marked from the zipper bag in my zebra striped hobo bag and wrote on my hand.

'I'm still mad at him.'

Hey, we all need to be reminded sometime don't we?

I spent the rest of the time texting Kierra answers to an English paper she was apparently working on. When the bell rang, I tried to make my way out of the classroom before Paul caught up to me. He didn't but I was cornered by Jacob who met me at my locker. "I really don't want to hear this right now Jake," I told him, opening up my locker and replacing my Geography binder for my Quileute one.

"Well then give me a time then, Cass cause like it or not, you're going to explain this to me," He said his voice hard and unflinching. Unlike Paul, Jake wasn't afraid of bullying me to get what he wanted, but today I seriously wasn't in the mood for any of his poop.

"I don't have to explain anything to you," I snarled at him before making my way to Quileute wanting to just call it quits and go home and hide under my bed for the rest of the day. I took a deep breath and went into my Quileute class, dreading having to see Kim in this class period.

"What the eff happened yesterday?" She asked as soon as I sat down.

Dear Lord Almighty, could I never get away from these people. I went through the whole, 'I don't want to talk about this thing today.' And then shut up because Mrs. Crow was giving me the 'I want to beat the shizz out you' glare.

Kim kept quit for about all of two minutes and then she started on me again firing questions at me like she was a Navy Seal. I don't know if that was the right analogy; because I don't know what those Blue Seals do with their time so correct me if I'm wrong-

Mrs. Crow stunned me out of my stupor by questioning me on conjugated Quileute verbs. I blinked in surprise and recited them as best as I could but by the look on her face I probably butchered them. Good thing though, that virtually no one in the class was listening to me royally screw up cause I must've looked like a complete fool.

She waved me away and moved on and I settled down and really listened to what she was saying. Kim finally got the message and shut up for which I was grateful for. By the end of the period I had gotten half of the lesson and successfully kept Paul out of my mind for a record eleven seconds at a time.

Score.

But I still had next period to reckon with. Paul and Gabe. Double whammy, wouldn't you say? I walked into the classroom finding Paul already there. I could feel the weight of his gaze on me as I walked into the room. But there was also Gabe, who was sitting on the opposite side of the room of Paul, also looking at me expectantly.

As much as I hated to, I had to move myself to go and sit by Gabe. I almost stopped by the trashcan, feeling the need to throw up all of the horrible things that I wished upon Gabe and his brother. If not I might end up stabbing him in the eye with a pencil or even worse, giving Paul free reign to go wolf on his sorry butthole.

I didn't have to look at Paul to know that he wasn't smiling, but Gabe had been right this morning, if he reported to his brother that I wasn't cooperating, then it would be bad news for Paul.

I bit my tongue once more as I tried to ignore Gabe who was going on and on about things I didn't give a flying flip about and listen to what Mrs. Nadal was saying about Shakespeare. I took deep breaths trying to dispel the pain that I had been feeling all morning. I hated being mad at Paul, but not as much as I hated thinking about the angry look on his face yesterday when he was yelling at me.

I felt it when Paul fell in step beside me. He didn't try to say anything and neither did I. There wasn't really much to say. We walked into class together and I sat down near the back of the room. There weren't any open seats anywhere beside me, but that didn't deter Paul who opted to sit right behind me.

We were learning a new material today, so I took out my journal and started writing down what was on the board. Coach Blackwell started class, which was one of the only classes that I liked. He taught at a fast pace and it kept my mind mostly off of Paul. The lesson was harder than I thought so I thought about coming by tomorrow morning to get some extra help. When the bell rang, I went to my locker to put my books in my locker, Paul right beside me. I closed my locker and turned to him. "Is there a reason to this?" I asked, taking a quick glance at my hand to remind myself that I was angry at him.

"I want to be with you. Is that a crime?" Paul asked his voice innocent.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, pulling it away from my face. "Well since I don't really know where we stand right now Paul, than yes, to me it is a crime," I replied, looking up to meet his dark eyes.

"I was stupid, Cassie and I'm sorry. You of all people should know that I didn't mean that," He said, his jaw locked and his eyes pleading. "I would never hurt you."

I smiled sadly, "Yea, well you already did." I walked away from him convinced that if I stayed near him any longer, that I would lose my nerve. As I grabbed my lunch, it dawned on me that I didn't have anywhere to sit. I couldn't go and sit with the pack obviously and other than them, I really didn't have anywhere else to sit.

Until I saw Gabe eyeballing me. I knew he wanted me to sit by him and I guess I really didn't have a choice whether or not I wanted to so I grudgingly went over to him deciding to sit across from him, even though it put me in the right position to see the table where the pack was sitting.

"There's a bonfire in a few days and we're going to it," He said. "Together."

I picked a greasy pepperoni off of my pizza and ate it, while I thought of a way to get out of this. I hated the thought of going anywhere with Gabe. All I wanted was to be with Paul and I was lying to myself if I said that I didn't forgive him for what he had said.

It was true that we all made mistakes. I know he didn't mean it. But even though I forgave him, I still couldn't risk being with him. I would keep him safe no matter what it took and until I found a way to thwart Gabe and his brother I would try and stay away from the pack.

"Whatever you say," I said dully, eating another pepperoni. I couldn't think of anything other than hitting Gabe as hard as I could. I refrained though and after catching the disbelief in Paul's eyes as he walked by, I decided that I couldn't stay here another second.

I stood up and grabbed my purse from the seat beside of me. Throwing a disgusted look at Gabe, I walked out of school and towards my car. I needed a day to myself. To think things through.

I drove out of La Push and got onto the nearest highway. I thumbed through the CDs that I had burnt and stuck on in the CD player. Moments later, I had Empty Apartment by Yellowcard blaring through my speakers. I dug through my purse until I found my Ray Ban Predators and put them on.

I went on autopilot, trying to think of a way to get out of sending Sam to his death. I would rather sacrifice myself than do that to him. To think of what that would do to Emily was unbearable.

If I told the pack in advance, Sam would either try to find a way to foil Azriel and take him by surprise or he would try and face Azriel himself and settle this feud of theirs on his own. Both of which were a bad idea in my mind.

Gabe would know if I told them and if I did, Paul would probably kill him or at the very least, threaten him. If I tried to do anything stupid, well, it would painfully easy for Azriel to kill me.

I took a random exit and found a Braums. I stopped and went inside. There was a good amount of people there, seeing as it was the middle of the day and most adults were on break and whatnot. I waited in line and when I got up to the counter, I ordered the biggest vanilla cone they had, with sprinkles. I sat in a booth in the corner and ate it silently.

I didn't feel hungry at all, but I knew I would have to eat something sometime. I thought about Paul all the time and I didn't think that was healthy. I needed a new hobby.

One that didn't include skipping school and going on a Braums run.

I stayed out for the rest of the day, aimlessly driving around and trying uselessly to collect my thoughts. Aunt Elaina called me to see where I was around five o'clock or so and I told her that I was just driving around.

She was perfectly cool with that. Favorite Aunt? I think so.

When it started to get dark, I tried to navigate my way back home as best as I could. It took me a while, but I finally made it.

And as always, there was someone waiting for me.

Ok, there's the chapter you guys have been wanting. Is it what you were expecting? Or was it bad? I have mixed feeling about it myself. Well, it might be about a week until the next chapter. Sorry, but I'm kind of stuck on it. I'm trying though and if you guys will try to tune into the P. Box, i'll make a big effort to get the chapter to you really soon(: Deal?

XOXO,

Cass :D