A/N: Alright, I write this author's note before I even start the chapters, and then go back and tweak them later if something in my other author's note clashes, or I change my mind. But I'm going to start using my top A/N to answer anonymous reviews that I feel do need an answer.

Erin: Paul is going to be jealous of Embry and Seth's easy friendship with Sydney, but Seth would never ask Sydney out because he knows Paul's imprinted on her; hell, he was there when it happened. The way I imagine her finding out is far my exciting and blood pumping, in my opinion. She probably won't found out till the next chapter, or the one after that, depending on how far I get with these next two chapters. Thanks for the review. :)

Songs:

All or Nothing - Athena Cage
Beauty and the Beast - Jump 5
Follow Me - 3OH!3 (ft. Neon Hitch)
In My Head - Jason Derülo
Love Like Woe - The Ready Set
One Week - Barenaked Ladies
Shake It - Metro Station
Tangled Up in Me - Skye Sweetnam
What Hurts the Most - Cascada
Your Love is my Drug - Ke$ha

Chapter 5

One Week

I've now lived in La Push for two weeks. Last week was... fantastic. I'd spent almost all my time with the pack, and I'd spent two days with my parents, going to an orphanage in Seattle, and we'd actually found two; a set of twins that mom, dad and I adored. Leo and Raf; I think their mom might have had a bit of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle obsession, seeing as Raf was short for Raphael and Leo was, of course, short for Leonardo. But they were both adorable. They had dark brown hair, and they were medium in skin tone. Not sun-bronzed like Mom and Dad, but not super pale like me.

We were actually going to bring them to our house next week to show them around; my mom was already setting up their room. She called it nesting, and dad and I were all for it if it kept her busy until the boys got here. Mom had one into mothering mode, and the last time she'd done that - when they were waiting to go to court for the official adoption hearing - she'd actually made me a new dress; hand made, beautiful, clinched around my waist, light blue, tulle skirt; absolutely gorgeous.

Mom loved to pamper, and since she'd gotten the news that they might be Leo and Raf's foster parents, she'd been preparing extravagant meals for dad and I, which we'd eaten gratefully, not wanting to upset her; mom was rather like a pregnant woman when she went overboard like this, and you do not want to evoke the wrath of Missy LeHaye.

But that was last week. This week was... awful. I hadn't gotten a phone call from anyone, except for one text from Kim, telling me that the little get together they were having at Emily's had been canceled, though she failed to specify why, and when I had called to ask, she didn't pick up. I saw Claire in math, but she always stared at her notebook and away from me. She also avoided me at lunch; in fact, I hadn't seen her at lunch at all for the past week.

But even more odd than the girls' behaviors was the guys' - or their lack of behavior, I should say. I'd been over at Em's Saturday night, and we'd all been having a great time. Paul drove me home - as always - and that was it. The only odd thing about the whole night was when I was woken up by the sound of a wolf howling really close by. But we lived in Washington, near the forest, where wolves were prominent, so even that hadn't really shocked me; more startled me. But the next day, I called Seth and there was no answer, so I called Embry, who also didn't answer. I hadn't seen any of them since.

Today, there was no school, so there wasn't any automatic excuse for me to be out of the house. I didn't really feel like surfing, I still couldn't get ahold of anyone; a walk down the beach seemed like a good idea, for some reason. The clouds were a heavy veil over the sun, so I wasn't too worried about a sunburn, and forwent the sunscreen; slipped on a pair of jeans, a green tank-top and a black jacket and I was out the door.

I clutched onto my phone as I walked; I don't know why. I had pockets, and it hadn't gone off in a week. I don't know why I thought holding onto it with all my might would somehow make it ring and make it be one of them. Sometimes my logic is screwy. And sometimes my instinct is right on.

My phone rang, screaming Leah's ring-tone at me; 'Hot n Cold' by Katy Perry. I looked at the screen of my little phone, reading the message. 'Paul smashed his phone on accident, and says to tell you not to do anything stupid. ~ Leah.' I tried to send a reply message, but it told me the phone I was trying to call was out of service area, which meant that either Leah had turned her phone off, or she'd gotten out of a service area really quick; somehow, I was thinking it was the first option. She didn't want me to reply.

Paul had told her to tell me not to do anything stupid. That was ridiculous. Me? Do something stupid? Hahahahaha... well, actually, that was pretty spot on. Stupid smug jackass of a hottie. "Well, if you really don't want me to do something stupid," I sang, walking across a large board of drift wood, "then you should have told me yourself."

I purposefully veered off the beachy path, where there were a load of people, tourists and locals alike, and started heading for the edge of the trees. The trees cast threatening shadows over an already darkened forest floor, but, regardless, I slipped in through the tree-line, wrapping my jacket tighter around myself. It was eerie how the trees' shadows all stretched across the ground, creating a large shadow monster all along the forest floor.

I walked around for what seemed forever. The trees were thicker the farther in I went, but I kept going. There was a wolf howl to my right, and it sounded like the poor thing was in great, great pain. I decided to rest a while, sitting on a fallen tree. And just as I had predicted, a wolf came out of the bushes with a limp not two minutes later. I saw that it had a bear trap clamped around his foot, and I was instantly repulsed by the sight of his paw mangled like that. I turned towards the wolf, holding out my hand for him to smell, whispering, "It's okay; I won't hurt you." I am told I have a very lulling voice, but animals are all about smell.

The wolf silently approached me, limping to keep all the weight off its injured foot. Hit cold, wet nose touched my hand, and I smiled. "You smell different from any other," the wolf mused aloud to himself, and I closed my eyes; ah, the insanity never does end. "More earthy and animalistic than any human, but less so than any other animal."

I frowned to myself, and absently pulled the neck of my shirt up so that I could smell it, and as I did so, the wolf watched me. My shirt smelled like vanilla, which was the scent of my body wash, shampoo, conditioner and perfume. How did I smell earthy. I gave the wolf a perplexed look. "How do I smell earthy?" I asked, finally caving into the desire. "The only thing I smell is vanilla."

The wolf watched me for a moment more, his silence deafening as trees swayed overhead. Finally, he spoke. "You can understand me?" he asked, and I nodded. "How?"

"My guess is as good as yours," I said with a shrug, trying to play it off, but it still had me a little bit freaked. How would you like to wake up and suddenly hear everything and anything an animal might really wish to commute to you? "I had an accident about a year back, and when I came to, I could speak to and understand animals. Doctors tried to diagnose it as mild hallucinations, but I know its real." And I did know it was real. Animals had a way of speaking without even making a sound, and it was amazing. I'd been gifted with the ability to understand what they were saying, and yeah, it was a little bit scary, but it was so... awesome at the same time.

He seemed to understand what I was saying. He nodded his head once; a slow, graceful motion. He shifted on three of his paws, making sure to keep the mangled one off the forest floor. "What might I call you, oddling?" he asked me, his slow, gravely voice sounding wise.

I considered offering my hand, but decided against it, considering the circumstances. "I'm Sydney; Sydney LeHaye." I settled for bowing my head; a clear sign of respect. "What should I call you?" I asked, actually curious. Some animals named themselves based on human names, but some did not name themselves at all. It was quite interesting to me because, as it seemed, whatever language you might call what the animal - whichever animal it might be, including fish and insects - was speaking was translated, in my mind, to English.

The wind whipped his golden brown fur around, tearing at my jacket. "You may call me Rift, Sydney." The way he said my name, so clear, was enchanting. Rift; I'd heard animals use it before, though I could never figure out what the appeal behind that name would be. But it was not my place to judge.

I lowered myself onto the muddy ground, thanking Godfrey that I didn't hear a SQUISH sound when I sat down, and my butt still felt dry. I didn't dare push my luck to look and see what I'd actually sat on, and, instead, motioned for Rift to come closer. He complied, purposefully keeping his paw off the ground. As he got closer, he seemed confused on what I wanted him to do, so I gently took hold of his torso, my hands wrapping around his ribcage just behind both his legs, and lowered him onto my lap, his injured paw resting lightly on my left leg, while his head and part of his body rested on my right.

I didn't tell him that it would hurt because animals were not known for handling pain bravely; only when they had to. Instead, I set to work, wedging the man-made bear trap off his paw, and he whimpered and whined, but never made an attempt to get up and run away. "I'm sorry," I whispered into his ear just as I pulled the damn piece of metal off his leg. I saw his eye close in pain as it ripped off tiny ribbons of his flesh, and instantly felt bad for causing him pain.

I threw the bear trap on the ground next to me, cursing is, and tore the bottom half of my shirt off, wrapping it around his paw. Of course, the wind picked up double time as soon as the part of my shirt that was supposed to protect my stomach was gone. But the warm body of Rift kept me from shivering, though the cold air nipped at me. I zipped up my jacket, and wrapped my arms around his neck, deciding to give us both a minute before I started trying to get him to the vet for some real medical treatment. It was quite obvious that my mediocre services would not suffice for such a painful wound.

I sat there in the forest with Rift. We would occasionally speak, but mostly, it was silent. He was in pain and I was so warm; neither of us wanted to move from the spot. The subject of both our families came up, and Rift simply stated that his pack was his family; he had no mate or children.

I don't know how long we had been there; just sitting against the log, him on my lap, keeping me warm. I checked my phone, but found it had died in the time we'd been here; my parents had probably tried to call me once or twice, but they both knew I wasn't the best at answering my phone when it rang; I had it on vibrate half the time, or the speaker was blasting into my leg, and I couldn't hear it ring. I honestly couldn't say I was planning on moving any time soon; Rift being on my legs had caused them to fall asleep, and I was starting to feel pretty sleepy myself.

But the loud crack sound that resounded just to my left washed all thoughts of sleep from my mind.

On instinct, I tried to stand up, forgetting Rift in that split second of panic, but he was quickly brought to my attention once more when my legs wouldn't budge. Rift himself, had raised his head and was no staring at a brush, very close to us, his teeth bared and a low growl rumbling through his chest. I hadn't realized how dark it had gotten, and the edges of the trees glared black at me, and I strained to see what I could not.

Green leaves rimmed in black rustled, and I found myself terrified; scared as I had not been since I was a small child. I'd been here far too long; it was dark, and the only protector I might have had was crippled with injury. I was, essentially, on my own. And worse, still, I was unable to move; this was truly a nightmare.

No moonlight was able to fight its way through the dense layer of leaves over head, and, more than likely, an entirely too thick layer of clouds as well; it was a miracle I could see anything at all. I had the strong urge to just close my eyes and wait for it to be over, but my spirits lifted a little bit when the weight of Rift was lifted off my legs; I could get up. And I did. I scrambled to get up off the ground, the decaying leaves beneath my feet slipping and crunching, making it impossible to do so quietly or easily for that matter.

The darkened leaves moved, and a figure emerged from the brush. I couldn't really make out his features, but I could tell that he was tall; really tall. I didn't know what I was going to do, and I was, quite honestly, scared out of my senses. But I froze when an all too familiar voice rang out in the dark; "Sydney?"

I hadn't realized it, but I'd put my arms up in front of me in a defensive motion, but I slowly lowered them as I squinted and took a step forward, trying to make him out. But I'd know that voice anywhere. "Paul."

Paul was in front of me faster than my eyes could track him moving, and suddenly, I could see him. Moon light streamed in through a gap in the branches above, casting a ghostly glow on Paul and I. And as the shadows were chased from his strong face, I almost wished they'd come back; he looked absolutely furious. He said nothing, just reached around me, and brought me forward, hugging me to his chest. I felt warm and safe, like I had with Rift but this just felt right. I couldn't even describe how it felt, being in his arms like that.

"I told you not to do anything stupid." He said it levelly and with no inflection or indication to the anger that I knew was just boiling beneath the surface. His arms stayed around me, but tightened slightly. I didn't try to pull away, or move even; just rested my head against his chest, treasuring the feeling of his warmth and closeness. "I'm pretty sure sitting in the forest all alone at night qualifies as stupid."

I closed my eyes, and sighed. There were a thousand and one things I wanted to say to him, but only one would make it past my lips.

"I'm sorry."

-Forever His-

I was curled up in the corner of my seat in Paul's truck. The look on his face hadn't faded, and his fingers clenched around the steering wheel so tightly, I feared it might snap in his grasp. Somehow, I'd persuaded him to carry Rift to the truck and put him the bed to get him to the vet for some real help; we hadn't spoken a word since. I stared out the window, marveling at how far I'd really gone from my house without even realizing it.

Paul was the first to break the silence. "What were you doing out there?"

In the silence, I'd been thinking about the last week, and it had made me a little angry, and so when he asked, I was tempted to just give him the silent treatment - but something inside me didn't seem to be up to it. So, I guess, subconsciously, I decided that being a massive bitch would be the next best thing. "I got tired of being alone." I snapped, severely irritated.

His expression didn't changed, but he shifted his grasp on the steering wheel. He wouldn't look at me, and his eyes were set on the road so fiercly that I thought he might burn a hole in the pavement. There was another silence, and I decided that I would let him break it again. This was his fault - or so I'd convinced myself - and I was going to make him suffer for it. We passed by the road that led to my house, and I could see it, my parents bedroom lights on, as well as the room that would host the twins; my mom was probably in there now, rearranging everything and assuring herself that I was okay.

Finally, he looked at me, his expression still unchanged but his eyes much softer. I glared back, and then turned away from him, staring straight ahead. I felt his gaze on the side of my face for a moment longer, but he had to look back at the road, and he did. Now I glared at the road in front of us, but momentarily directed my glance to the side mirror that reflected Rift, his head resting on the edge of the bed of the truck. We were taking him to the vet before we were taking me home; I'd made Paul promise.

He sighed gruffly, and I abruptly turned to face him, still glaring. He turned to face me too, and he looked so frustrated. "Sydney..." he started off, but stopped, sighing out in frustration again. There was something holding him back; that same something that held Seth back, it seemed. I can't even describe how angry he looked with himself.

I stared at him, trying to decipher his thoughts; his emotions. It was an impossible task, and as each second passed by, his expression became more and more unreadable; he became more and more closed off. I could feel my expression and resolve softening, though I willed it not too. It was almost like... I couldn't stop it. I couldn't help but feel for him, no matter how I tried. It was that pull I'd felt the first day I'd met him, manifesting itself in another form, but still pulling me to him, just as it had that first day. I felt the strongest urge to comfort him, though I resisted out of my own stubbornness.

But before my will could break, and I could cave into the desire, we were parked in front of of the only veterinarian's office for several miles. It was just at the edge of the border between La Push and Forks. He sighed and turned the key, shutting off the truck, and pulled it out of the ignition, and opened the door. I followed, opening the door and taking off my seat belt and following him round to the back of the truck where Rift was laid out in the bed.

The office itself wasn't very large; about the size of most houses in the area. It was also fairly generic looking, with reddened brick walls and double glass doors under the sign that announced that it was called Anima Medical. The parking lot branched off the main road that led to Forks, so it was impossible to miss, and the lot itself looked brand new.

Paul dropped the back end of the truck down, reached in, and grabbed Rift, who did not look at all happy. "Sydney," he started, catching my attention immediately, "thank you for all of your help. I hope to see you again."

I nodded, smiling slightly at him; I could honestly say that I'd been happy, just talking to him. "It was no problem," I replied to him, not minding if I looked a total lunatic to Paul at the moment. I stepped forward and hugged him around the neck, his grey fur coarse, but soft in the same instant. "You will see me again, Rift. I'll make sure of it." I told him, sure that I would be able to keep my promise to him. I was nearly certain that nothing would keep me from seeing him.

I pulled away and smiled at him, and Paul, giving me a weird sort of look, turned and started walking toward the double glass doors. I followed him, keeping my eye trained on the ill-fashioned green splint that used to be my shirt, and was now soaked through with blood. I almost couldn't bear to look at it.

I don't know how Paul managed to carry him so easily. I mean, Rift was longer than his than his torso, and he wasn't exactly light - I should know - but Paul made it look so easy. He even opened and got the both of them through the double glass doors like it was no sweat. If I didn't know that each of the guys in the pack could bench two hundred or above, I really would have been shocked. The receptionist was gone at this point, since it was nearing midnight, but Paul had assured me that the vets would still be in, so we walked on past the front desk, and the waiting room. The hallway to one of the three examination rooms was bare, and cold; impersonal. And the three examination rooms themselves were closed and locked up, but that didn't seem to phase Paul, as he turned a corner to where they kept any animals that needed over night observation. Two people, a man and a woman, stood in the room that was full of yapping dogs and pups and mewing kittens. They seemed to be fascinated by two x-ray images on a screen.

Paul walked right in and set Rift on the table, clearing his throat to alert the two people to our presence. The both turned around, and to my surprise, the woman looked a lot like... me. Not in the literal way, of course. She wasn't the usual tan that I had become accustomed to seeing, and she had black hair like I did, though she was much taller, kept her hair shorter, and, in my opinion, was much more beautiful than I. The other was a man who had short, greying black hair and was wrinkling.

A smile spread across the woman's face. "Paul," she said warmly, then seeing me, offering me a warm smile as well. "What are you two doing here so late." She didn't even seem to find it weird that I was there, or that there was a wolf on her table. In fact, she actually walked over to her table and started examining Rift like any other ordinary household animal out there.

"Sydney, this is Erin and George Knight, Kim's parents. Erin, George, this is Sarah's niece, Sydney." I was a little shocked; the woman looked nothing like Kim; Kim had extremely high cheekbones, and hers were normal, Kim's nose was pointed at the end, while hers was rounded, Kim had the physique of a supermodel; Erin looked like she enjoyed a good chocolate shake once in a while. Two completely gorgeous woman, and there is not one thing I could say I saw a similarity in. Though, I could definitely see Kim in her dad; the eyes, the nose and height.

Erin, who was currently unwrapping my make-shift splint, looked over at me. "So you're Sydney, the one that Kim and Brady never shut up about." She laughed, and turned back to her work, though I was shocked. I could see Brady in her, definitely, but not Kim. Brady had her eyes, both shape and color-wise. I turned to Paul with a confused look.

Paul sighed, knowing what I was thinking, probably. "Kim and Brady are step-siblings." Both of the Vets looked up at him oddly. "It's not like its some big secret, or anything," he clarified, "but we don't really talk about it much because Kim's moved in with Jared and all, and we never bring it up." Mr. Knight seemed to understand this, and instantly went back to filling a syringe with - or so I assumed were - pain meds. Just seeing the needle made my skin crawl uncomfortably.

I hate needles with a passion.

And Paul has amazingly good timing, as always. "Well, thank you for taking care of him, Erin, George, but Syd and I have got to get going." He offered them a smile and I tried to ignore the little skip my heart did at the sound of my nickname on his lips; he hadn't called me Syd in a week. "Bye." He turned and walked out of the room, and I called a similar farewell before following after him.

I nearly had to run to keep up with him and his long strides, and I tried calling his name time after time, but he ignored it and kept walking, ahead of me. He made it outside the little building before I did, and by the time I got out - I tripped over my shoelace, if that wasn't embarrassing enough - he had disappeared inside the truck, and my door was wide open, waiting for me to get in. I was slightly confused by this gesture; he'd been really cold towards me all night, but opening my door... Was he starting to forgive me? I tired not to over think it, and walked towards the truck, jumping in and closing the door soundly behind me, looking over at Paul, expecting to see him stone-faced, but instead, found him leaning forward in his seat, head resting on the steering wheel, seat belt cutting into the skin of his neck and turning it white.

He grabbed the steering wheel, each one of his hands on one side of his head, and lifted himself so that he looked at me, each of those brown orbs piercing me so that my breath caught in my chest, the intensity burning me.

"No more games, Sydney. I want to know what the hell is going on."

I knew what he meant, and no matter how much I wished I didn't have to, I knew I did. I couldn't deny it, and I couldn't deny the urge I had to tell him... everything. Absolutely everything. So, taking a deep breath, I stared at the dash, and slowly said, "I can talk to animals."

She couldn't even look at me, as she said it. She stared straight in front of her, and I wished, more than anything, that she'd look at me. This imprint was killing me, quite literally. This last week had been hell. No matter what I did, Sydney was the center of my thoughts. Even when that damn bloodsucker had been right in front of me, I'd been distracted, thinking maybe there was another; maybe it was going to hurt My Sydney. I'd let it get away. Killing me.

And now, she couldn't even bear to look at me with those beautiful blue eyes of hers. I wished I could tell her everything; tell her that, even though she was unusual, she wasn't the only one, she wasn't alone. I know that was how I felt when I'd first started changing, even with Sam and Jared in my head, despite what they were telling me; despite the fact that I wasn't the only one, I was still alone. I couldn't even imagine what it must be like to be in her position; the only one, and she still has no idea about how it all works, to be an outcast for something she can't control; ultimately alone.

I didn't know what I should say. What could I say to her? 'I may not be able to talk to wolves, but I can change into one.' Yeah, cause that would go over real well. I'd always said that I'd never imprint, and the guys had all agreed, though they'd never admit it to me now, but I was wishing I'd known her forever, like Quil had Claire, so that it would be natural for us.

Natural as breathing.

But I'd never been that lucky, when it had come to girls. Sure, I'd had plenty of girlfriends, but I'd sure as hell never been in love, and all the girls I'd ever been with were the type that weren't looking for anything serious, nohow. But Sydney was sure as hell different than any girl I'd ever been with. She was... special. She was small, petite, delicate, and yet, not. I couldn't even find a word in the dictionary to define Sydney - I'd actually checked, too - she was just so... her. But one word had come as close to defining her as any ever would - Perfect.

I couldn't tell her any of this. It was tearing me up from the inside out to keep everything from her, but I had to, for now. I had to do it at the right time in the right way because... Sydney was the best thing to ever happen to me, and I'll be damned if I was going to scare her off. That was the last thing I wanted.

And like that, my mind was made up. I turned on the car, and backed out of the lot, getting on the main road and driving way faster than was necessary - or legal, but whatever - because I wanted Sydney, more than anything, to know that she would never be alone; that she would always have the pack, whether she wanted us or not, and the only way I could think of to do that for her it to show her.

I dug into my pants pocket, still staring straight ahead at the road, and got my cell phone, hitting the voice command button. My phone's electronic voice sounded, 'Name of call recipient.' I didn't even have to think about it. "Sarah Parish." I said, causing Sydney to look up at me with an odd expression. I tried to ignore it so I wouldn't explain myself. My phone set off ringing after it had verified that was who I'd meant to call, and, on the fourth ring, Sarah answered with a surprisingly chipper hello. "Hey, Sarah," I greeted, in a rush so that Syd wouldn't try to stop me. "Can you call Missy for me, and tell her that Sydney's going to spend the night with the pack?"

Sarah didn't even seem slightly surprised or even phased by my request. "Sure thing, sweetie," she assured me, and I breathed a mental sigh of relief. "Collin's still over there, anyhow; I'll call him and make sure he doesn't let anyone leave quite yet." I heard the smile in her voice, and couldn't help smiling a bit myself.

I thanked her and hung up, avoiding looking at Sydney as I continued to drive, steeling myself so that I wouldn't cave to her every request like I knew I was going to want to. Damn imprint; I've seen what it does to guys like me... well, somewhat like me, anyway. I probably have a bit more willpower than Jared and Quil, but even Sam acts like a whipped puppy around Emily, just as I know I've started to around Sydney, but I just can't help it.

But I finally willed myself to look at her, and she was staring right at me, a look of unamusement turning her lips down in a light frown, and her eyes sparkling with that usual defiant glimmer that she got. "You're kidnapping me." she stated simply. I nodded, vaguely keeping an eye on the road. She raised an eyebrow at me. "You realize I could jump out of the moving truck, right?" she asked me, and I had to hold back my chuckle.

"You won't." I said surely, and she scoffed.

I wouldn't let you.

A/N: Time finished 10:01 at night. Haha! I spent a lot of time on this one, revising how everything was said, trying to figure out how much I should include and how lengthy it should be. I wanted the way they found out to be... astounding. I'm sorry that her power isn't more special, and that I didn't explain it very well, but I'm trying to keep this story within a certain realm, though I don't know what I would call that realm, and her being any more special would toss it right out of that realm.

Anyhow, Jassy is exhausted, but I'mma start the next chappie anyway, just because I am so freakin eager to get it out. I am hoping to get this next chapter up in the next several days, but I make no promises because, though I know how most of the chapter is going to go, I haven't yet figured some of the finer details yet, and it's the tiny details that make a story really shine. :)

So, review for Jassy? Please. Was it good? Bad? Did it burn your eyes? Should Jassy be banned from writing? What was your favorite line? Your favorite scene? Your favorite character? Your favorite couple? Why the hell is Jassy asking all these questions? Cause she's tired.

Until we next meet.

Madly Yours,
Jassabella