A/N: Hey, it's Jassabella. I'm really excited about this next chapter, so, you know, I'm going to make my A/N unusually short (for me) and get on with it.

Oh, P.S. this whole chapter is dedicated to Evanesence. Their music helped this chapter so much.

Songs:

Bodies - Drowning Pool
Clocks - Coldplay
Fireflies - Owl City
Forever & Always - Taylor Swift
Gotta Be Somebody - Nickleback
I'll Fly With You (L'amour toujours) - Gigi d'Agostino
My First Kiss - 3OH!3 (feat. Ke$ha)
The Real Slim Shady - Eminem
Say it Right - Nelly Furtado
Sober - P!nk
We Are the World 25 for Haiti - Artists for Haiti

Chapter 7

The Truth About You

I was so psyched that I woke up early the next morning; my mom, dad and I were driving down to Seattle to go get the boys a couple days early. Mom had decided that she just didn't want to wait, and my dad and I had agreed. I'd be meeting them down there after I went to visit Em and the twins. I'd been so jazzed that I didn't even need my daily coffee fix, but you know, I figured it wouldn't do me any harm, so I picked up a small cup full instead of my regular two to four mugs.

I'd also decided on dressing nice today because, as well as the parents, any potential siblings to a foster child had to be interviewed as well; it was all part of the procedure. So, instead of my usual torn up jeans, tank and hoodie combo, I dressed in a nice blue button up, my nice leather black jacket and a pair of dark wash jeans that were the kind you could wear anywhere, and it would still be socially acceptable. As for shoes, I decided to stay away from the death traps that were related at all to the stilettos my mom was wearing today, and went with a nice, cute pair of black pumps that I would be much more steady in.

I was in such a good mood, I even did my hair and make-up. I pulled half my hair back in a clip, and let the rest stream down my back in its usual waterfall of raven locks. I didn't spend too much time on the make-up; just lined my eyes, glossed my lips and put on a little blush so I wouldn't look quite so... dead. And I had to say, the end result made me feel even better.

Today was going to be awesome!

I walked out of the front door, humming and locking the door behind me. My parents were already gone, having taken the Audi. I twirled my own set of keys around my finger, walking round back to our garage. I mostly got rides because of the terrain up here, but I did have my own car; a little dark blue Toyota Corolla. My mom had promised that if I got all A's on my next two report cards and helped dad fix up little odds and ends around the house, she'd get me a truck. That was just too good an opportunity to pass up.

I slid into the car easily, jamming my key into the ignition and clicking my seat belt into place in a fluid motion and backing out of the drive. I should make Paul let me drive every once and a while. But I slammed on my breaks as my review mirror glinted brightly and portrayed a shadow. The sudden stop made me fly forward a little bit, but when I righted myself and flipped my bangs out of my eyes, there was nothing. I turned around to look behind me, and seeing nothing, slowly started backing out of the drive again. The street was empty too, and I crawled by the tree-line that fed directly out of my back-yard, but seeing nothing, I sped it up and started my way to the hospital.

I didn't have anymore weird happenings on the way to the hospital, so I picked up the pace and made another record time round to the hospital. The receptionist grinned at me as I walked through the door, and I laughed. She and I had actually run for a coffee break together yesterday because, apparently, I looked like I was just about to die on my feet.

When I opened the door, Em was missing and Sam was passed out in the chair next to the door. I smiled and immediately headed towards the two little beds that were placed side by side next to Em's bed. I grinned and opened my bag, rummaging around until I found what I was looking for. I could already tell that these twins were going to be like night and day; Michaela was up and whimpering while Nick was fast asleep. I smiled and laid out a blanket on each of them, both monogrammed with their initials. Nick's was blue while Michaela's was green. "You know," I said, picking her up as she was already awake, "it's a good thing I convinced mommy and daddy to keep you initials the same, or Aunt Sydney's gift would have become useless." I smiled as her eyes slowly shut and a dreamy look took over her features, and gently set her down, just as Em walked out of the bathroom, looking far to good for any woman who had given birth to twins less than forty-eight hours ago. "Hey, Em, how are you?"

She gave me a knowing smile as she slid into bed again. "I'm good; still tired, but then, I guess Sam's even worse off than I am. He hasn't slept once in the forty-eight hours I've been admitted and I did nothing but sleep after the delivery." I turned to reevaluate Sam, sitting in the chair. He really had dark circles under his eyes, like he hadn't had a good night's sleep in a week.

"Ha, well you did your part in the delivery room," I joked, turning to face her with a playful grin on my face, and looked back at the sleeping Sam, "and now its his turn to worry about you and the babies and be... a daddy." I smiled fondly at Sam; he would make a great dad. These two little ones didn't know how good they had it with him.

She smiled at her sleeping husband warmly, and suddenly, I felt I was intruding on a personal moment. That one little look she gave him... it radiated more love than I'd seen in a long time. So I picked up my bag and bowed out, heading towards the door. "Sydney," Em's voice stopped me right in my tracks, and I turned to look at her. She was about to say something, but then stopped and closed her mouth. She seemed to be thinking something over. "Thank you."

I turned all the way around to face her, leaning on the door frame. "What for?" I asked curiously.

She gave me a knowing smile but just said, "Everything."

I spotted Syd leaving the hospital, and stopped to watch her; Paul was so lucky. Sydney was one of the greatest girls I've ever met. She was so funny, smart, gorgeous and... just great, over all. Why was he the one who got to have her all to himself? I would be lucky to imprint on someone of half Sydney's personality and beauty. But man, I wish it had been me. If it weren't for this werewolf gene, Paul never would have noticed Sydney. I would have, though.

Seth, there's no use in thinking like that. Oh great. My sister's in my head. Just wonderful, because I really wanted her knowing how I felt about another pack member's imprint. Not. Eh, he's in another pack, first of all, and second off, it's not like you're doing a great job of hiding it. Her biting tone wasn't really making this any better. Get over it.

Shove off, Leah.

If it was even possible to laugh inside your head - and someone else's mind, for that matter - my sister succeeded. I would love to, baby bro, but Jake put me on watch. Alpha's orders get obeyed, whether we want them to or not, remember? Okay, now she was just mocking me. You're damn right I'm mocking you, because your acting like a love struck puppy over a girl you know isn't destined to be with you, but with one of your closest friends. Sydney's great and all, I'll be the first to admit it, but she's not someone you should be worshipping.

I don't worship her, I bit back at her, and I could almost imagine my sister's skeptical look; the disbelief was tangible. I don't. She didn't respond, but, for some reason, I took the silence as an attack. You know what, Leah, get out of my head, and stay the hell out of my personal life. You might be my big sister, but I don't need to be told what to do. I'm seventeen years old and I can think for myself. I'm not worshipping anybody. I fixed a glare on a knotted tree root that was sticking out of the ground. Somewhere in my mind, Leah's surroundings were clear, as was her presence. She had stopped.

There was a short pause. That was unlike Leah. Usually she had a comeback rearing and ready to go. Oh, I do. Why did I expect any different? Beats the hell out of me. But I have one question before I start. She must have been waiting for some sort of go ahead signal from me, cause she paused again, but when I didn't respond, she continued on. You know that Paul might literally try and kill you if he finds about this; is she really worth that to you?

I didn't even have to think about it. Yes.

Leah was gone. Just... gone. She'd shifted back without so much as a nasty thought to me. I was alone and in my own mind, and suddenly, that thought seemed daunting. I don't know why; that's what I'd wanted, anyway. But the utter silence that was only disrupted by my own thoughts was empty and cold.

The sickening scent of leech filled my nose, and I immediately whipped around toward the scent. The sinking feeling set in fast when I realized the cause of the scent was Sydney's car, passing me by. The whole car wreaked of leech. I bared and gnashed my teeth together. A damn leech had gotten close enough to her to touch her car. And that scent... it was the same fucking bloodsucker that we had chased half-way to Michigan last week. It was back.

I don't think I've ever run so fast. My paws beat against the forest ground and I dodged anything in my path, animals and trees alike. I ripped through the forest, not even pausing when I reached the road. I sped across the greyed pavement, and heard the squealing of tires and faint cussing, but I couldn't bring myself to stop for anything. I disappeared into the tree-line across the road, and ran. I stepped on a piece of glass, and with every step, wedged it in deeper, preventing my foot from healing, but I couldn't pay the throbbing pain in my foot any mind; only one thing mattered right now. I finally reached my destination - a street with houses lined all down it. I headed for the back yard of the one closest to the opening in the forest I had just came through, and jumped the fence, skidding on the mud-ridden ground a little bit.

I swiftly shifted back, pulling on my shorts as I ran, heading up the porch steps. I nearly tore the door off the hinges as I roughly ripped it open, letting myself in through the nice kitchen. I didn't slow down much. I made my way through it and around the corner to the living room where Paul was laying on the couch. "Hey, Seth," he greeted, but then seeing my expression, he stood up. "Hey, man, what's up?" he asked, his face creased with worry.

"It's Sydney."

I pulled into the Seattle Orphanage lot a little over an hour later. So, I was a little twenty miles over the speed limit - I was careful. I grabbed my bag and shoved it under my seat, not wanting to get robbed while I was inside. They were going to interview my parents first, giving me some time with the boys. One of the social workers was waiting for me at the door, holding it open. I smiled as I walked past her. She was a tall woman with mocha colored skin, raven black hair with olive green eyes. She was really gorgeous. "Sydney LeHaye?" she checked.

"That would be me." I confirmed, and she smiled, telling me to follow her. I did, and she led me through a long hallway to an elevator. As I passed rooms, I saw that they were four to a room, and that these kids were really cared for. She was currently leading me through the first floor girls' wing, and it was full of girls, ages three to eight. Our twins were in the opposite wing, on the second floor, being fourteen. The building had a classy feel, and a bit of a weird design. At the end of both hallways, they branched inward to a center room; a commons area where anyone was welcome, even if they were from a different floor. And then, branching from the commons area were a couple rooms that were used for interviewing potential parents. A weird design, but one that worked very well.

We reached the second floor where I saw that my parents were in a room with the boys, probably waiting for me to get there so they could start. They were sitting side by side, my dad's arm around my mom and his other hand on top of hers. That was the exact position they had been when they'd had their last meeting with me. It was a look of hope and love.

The woman and I headed toward the door, and she knocked before walking in. "Alright, now that everyone's here, let's begin. I am Cecilia Larson, and I will be handling the interviews, as well as the paper work. We're going to start off by interviewing Mr. and Mrs. LeHaye, then Sydney, and then the boys." My parents stood and walked out of the room, mom still glancing back at the boys. Cecilia smiled at the three of us. "Boys, would you like to spend some time with Sydney?"

Both of them nodded with smiles. The last time I'd been here, we'd hung out in their common room, and they'd both beaten me at Guitar Hero. What they didn't know was that, upon hearing this, my mom had immediately gone out and bought both a Wii and a PlayStation 3 and several games, including Guitar Hero, for both, and I'd been practicing since. My mom went way extravagant when it came to adoption. It wasn't like they couldn't afford it. When I was being adopted, she'd heard I liked to draw and act. She'd gone and made me a little art studio out of their spare room, as well as adding a stage. Yes, a stage. My dad was a very successful construction worker, and had built it himself on her command.

As soon as Cecilia had left, they both went to a nearby closet, pulling open the door to reveal a TV and a PlayStation 2. "Ready to get your butt whipped again, Sydney?" Raf asked with a smile, and I scoffed.

"Bring it," I challenged and sat between the two of them. The screen display while the game loaded up told me we would be playing a game called SSX Tricky. I'd never heard of it before, but I was determined to win. After two and a half rounds, I discovered that while I was no good at the racing part of this game, I was actually kicking ass at the show-off portion, which was how many trick points you could accumulate by completing tricks successfully. "Prepare to eat my dust." I said, racing past both of them with my boost maxed out, which also came from completing the tricks. I grinned as I crossed the finish line first, causing both boys to look at me in astonishment.

"You cheated," Leo accused.

"There's no way you beat both of us fairly after only two rounds," Raf agreed.

He and Leo must have been doing that twin finishing-each-other's sentences thing, because Leo continued, "And when we started, you sucked."

I shrugged at the two of them, putting on an innocent enough smile. "I beat you guys fair and square, and I suggest getting used to it, cause you boys are in my house now." I grinned at both of them. They leaned around me to look at one another, and I suddenly felt very smug. But believe me when I say the feeling didn't last very long, because the way those two were looking at me... it wasn't comforting, that was for certain. I glanced back and forth between the two of them nervously.

"Get her!"

Before I knew it, both of them had jumped on me, and I was on the floor, being tickled to death. At first, I just struggled to keep from laughing so that, hopefully, they would stop without finding out I really was ticklish. But that soon proved ineffective as I burst into giggles and squirmed under their fingers. My future brothers already know I am ticklish. I'm screwed. And they're taller than me, so I had little hope getting away. "Stop!" I squealed loudly, but both of them just kept tickling away, laughing themselves. I swatted at their hands, but to no avail; it seemed I was stuck.

I don't know how I managed it, but I somehow flipped onto my feet, and was now holding Leo hostage and using him as a meat shield against Raf. We were actually all getting a really good laugh out of it all. "Just do it, brother. Vanquish the evil demoness," Leo declared dramatically, holding his head up high. "It will be an honor to sacrifice myself for this purpose."

I was laughing so hard that I had to let go of him because I could feel myself starting to slump to the floor, and my arm, being around his neck, would have choked him for sure. I landed on my knees, my laughter wracking my body, releasing tension I didn't even know had been bunching up within me. I was unable to stand, and when I tried, I wavered, grabbing a nearby chair to steady myself. The boys laughed at me. "No guys, I'm fine. Thanks for the concern." I said, sarcasm lacing my words beautifully.

"You know we love you, Syd," Raf laughed, and I was momentarily stunned. That, in fact, was not something that I had known before now. I stood, my laughter now forgotten. Raf gave me a weary, withering look. "What are you doing, Sydney?" he asked me cautiously.

Before either of them could react, I flew at both of them, wrapping my arms around both of their necks in a hug, squeezing them tightly. The cold, impersonal oak paneled room suddenly seemed very full of love. They both gave sounds of indignation and tried to free themselves from my grasp, but this just made me hug even tighter. I then proceeded to lay very sloppy kisses on both their cheeks, and they emitted sounds of total disgust. "Awwww, you two are going to make the best little brothers ever!" I squealed, and they finally gave in, hugging me back. I could feel myself beaming as bright as a lighthouse. I was surprised my face didn't crack or get stuck that way.

Just then, the social worked walked into the room, my parents in tow. I smiled at them, and they both looked extremely happy themselves. "Sydney, will you come with me, please?" she asked. I nodded, and laid another kiss on each of their cheeks before letting go and following her out of the room. She smiled at me when we entered the room next door. The blinds were up, and it showed a very wide window into the next room. I hadn't seen it when I was in there with the boys; must have been a one-way.

I walked up to it and saw my dad playing the boys on the game, and my mom sitting in a chair close by, looking at peace, just watching them. They looked like a really happy family. "I saw how you were interacting with them," Cecilia said and I could hear the smile in her voice. "I almost feel that interviewing you would be a waste of time. But, it is procedure." I nodded, knowing very well what the procedure was. "How do you feel about these boys?"

"I already love them as if they were my own brothers," I said, deciding the truth would be the best way to go.

"And how would you say Missy and Jed have done as your adopted parents?" she asked, scribbling something down on her clipboard. "They treat you well?"

I turned to look at her, and she sensed my eyes on her, because she looked up. "I'm not adopted," I said, as answer to her question. She gaped, and flipped through some of the papers, trying to find a piece of paper that would prove me wrong. I put a hand up, and she stopped. "What I meant is, they don't make me feel like I was adopted. They make me feel like I've been with them all along, and anything about my past... well, it's like they're asking me about a trip to summer camp instead of a whole section of my life that they weren't part of. They are my parents, not my adopted parents."

She grinned at me broadly, and straightened all the papers on the clip-board. "I think we're done in here." she said, and opened the door for me. I was kinda shocked, but followed anyway. We went back into the other room, causing everyone to look at us, and dad to crash in the middle of a trick. "Raf, Leo, I think I can make this brief; do you want to go home with these people?"

The boys looked at each other, grins splitting their faces and lighting them up like firecrackers. "YES!" they both exclaimed with so much enthusiasm, I was momentarily stunned. And the look on my mom's face... she looked so happy, like everything in her life was finally complete. She was a mother to three now, and I think there was only one thing that could have made her any happier, and that would be if they were already legally hers. Dad looked pretty damn happy too, and as he snuck an arm around her waist, I could tell this is what they wanted.

I could feel myself grinning like a mad man, but couldn't bring myself to care. This was... the best feeling ever. Well, not the best, because Paul's chest was pretty sensational, but it was right up there. My parents hugged both the boys, and then the boys turned to me, looking mischievous. They both walked toward me casually, but I could see the glint in their eyes - they were planning something. Then, all at once, I was caught in a double bear hug, with a set of lips on each of my cheeks. I squealed in surprise, and tried to push them off, but was unsuccessful, and succumbed to their wills. "I love you guys too."

-Forever His-

After we had gotten all the paperwork filled out and all that jazz - ahem, dad cheating his way to first place - we packed the boys up and took them out to eat. It was a nice Italian restaurant, and our first dinner as a family was one of the most fun meals I'd ever had. Excluding, of course, the meal after dad had first been put on pain-killers for a slipped disk. Yeah, that had been great, but somehow, this was even better.

But there was this nagging feeling of... something. There was a tension in my spine that I hadn't felt in a really long time. I'd felt it for the first time after I'd woken up after my accident, and then I'd felt it when I'd heard the news that my ex was moving for college at the same time I was moving for Washington. This feeling... brought danger. Or warned of it.

Either way, I didn't want my family anywhere near me.

This was because the feeling was an almost pulsing tense of my spine, which meant that this was directly related to me. The less severe the pulling of muscles, the less severe the problem that came my way, and it was always the worst when I was the one getting hurt. Some people get feelings like that, but because I didn't feel it until after my accident, I theorized that it had something to do with my new found ability. Like when animals know when a storm's coming, I know when something bad is going to happen.

So, what could I do? I lied. I told my mom that I was going to a nearby boutique to look at some dresses for the up coming Fall Ball, which was completely believable. While I didn't adore shopping like my mom, - or Claire and Kim, for that matter - I didn't despise it like Leah did.

And I did go to a boutique to look at dresses. Because I really did need one for the Fall Ball. But I spent much more time in there than was necessary. In fact, it was nearly nightfall by the time I was done wasting time in there. It had been a good while - almost two hours - and I decided it would be okay for me to get on the road now. On my way to the car, which I'd parked about a block over, I couldn't shake the feeling of being followed and watched.

The moment my car was in sight, I picked up my speed and ran to it, unlocking it and opening the door in a hurried fashion, throwing myself into the car and jamming the locks shut behind me. I sat there for a moment, gathering my emotions. Where had that come from? It had happened so suddenly. I'd gotten the feeling that I should be running away - running away from whatever was causing the nagging feeling in spine. I was sweating, though the night was actually pretty cool, and had a nice breeze going. I wiped at my forehead and looked in my rearview mirror, my own panicked expression staring back at me. "You're fine," I told myself, starting the car. "You're safe."

A sudden tap on the window made me scream and eat my own words.

But when I looked to who'd done it, there was no monster or creature of the night. Instead, there was a police officer, medium height and on the portly side, tapping my window with the end of his torch. I tried to relax as I rolled down the window. "Is everything alright ma'am," he asked me, "you seemed often frightened just now."

I nodded, brushing everything off like it was nothing. "Oh, I'm fine. Just came from a scary movie, you know. Kinda freaked me out." I cringed for emphasis, and giggled, trying to make my little performance believable, and he seemed to buy it.

He nodded along, acting like he dealt with teenage girls frightened by movies all the time, and somehow, I didn't completely doubt that he did. "Alright, ma'am, if you're sure." He tapped the roof of my car with his hand. "Drive safely. Oh, and watch out for those vampires." He gave a throaty laugh, and walked away. I laughed a little at the joke too, taking my sweet time driving away from the city lights of Seattle.

The drive home was quiet. Eerily quite. And dark. The only light there was to see by was my headlights and the glowing fixtures on my dashboard. The only sound was the air conditioner blowing and the occasional pebble flying up and hitting the windshield. The silence was starting to wear on my nerves, so I did what any sane person would do; I switched on the radio. Of course, because I was out and about in the middle of nowhere, there were no clear radio stations coming in. Which sucked, but then, I do have a small collection of CDs for such an occasion. I didn't bother to look through them or anything - simply hit play on the player and hoped something good was in. And it didn't disappoint. The whole car filled with the sound of Evanesence, one of the best groups I've ever heard, aside from Linkin Park.

I pushed aside all thoughts of what I'd been feeling earlier, and just felt the music, singing along. I knew every word to every song on this CD, and I now made good use of this knowledge. I'm not a talented singer, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it. I was very off-key, in fact, but I still sang along to every song that blasted through my system.

About half-way back to Forks, the song 'Haunted' came on, flooding the car with the dreary tune. "Long lost words whisper slowly, to me-" I cut off as me car suddenly jerked to the side, and the engine made a loud screech sound. My car halted suddenly, and my headlights died.

Still can't find what keeps me here
When all this time I've been so hollow
Inside

All the lights on my dash were still on, and my radio was still going. I couldn't fathom what the hell had just happened. I unlatched my seat belt and all but kicked my door open. Since I only had a very small knowledge base of cars and engines - thanks to hanging out with the guys, quite a few of whom were mechanics - I decided to see if I could find what the hell had caused my car to jerk, almost sending me off the road. I wrapped my jacked tighter around me as the environment seemed to get cooler by the second.

My radio still blasted as I walked along the side of the road, comforting me as I searched for anything - anything at all - that could have caused my car to almost tumble off the road, but found nothing. I looked around, and saw that the sun had completely disappeared behind the trees, yielding the sky to a glorious full moon and an eternity of stars. It was beautiful.

I know you're still there
Watching me
Wanting me
I can feel you pull me down

I could hear the whispers of the smaller animals around me. Little meaningless murmurs, but soothing, somehow, though it did nothing for the ridgid feeling in my spine. And then, all at once, the world went silent. I'd never heard so many animals cease their chatter at once, but there wasn't even a breath among the trees, save for my own. I was walking up alongside my car when I heard a low chuckle, causing me to freeze. "Haunted," a low, sexy voice said, shattering the silence like nails on a chalkboard. My headlights flared to life, exposing a tall figure standing directly in the path of my car. A smiling mouth and crimson eyes stared at me from the darkness surrounding him. "You always did have a sense for these things."

He started walking closer to me, and with each step, I could make out more and more of his features. My headlights dimmed, making him far easier to see. He was tall, had messy black hair, pale, and was handsome. Really handsome. So why did I feel the urge to get away as fast as I could? And that smile... he looked familiar.

The smile didn't fade, even in my silence. In fact, it widened. "Oh, what's the matter, Syd?" he asked, and I flinched at the sound of my name on his tongue - tinted with such sweet venom, as it was. "You don't remember me? I supposed I can't blame you. I mean, I would forget too if I was always surrounded by guys who would throw themselves in front of a bus for me." The mocking in his voice cut through me, but I stayed silent. He stared at me with terrifying, unblinking ruby eyes. "I suppose a vow of undying love is nothing compared to that."

It all came together then. His face, his voice, his words.

"Cade."

The breathy whisper hung in the air between the two of us, keeping him at bay. He paused briefly, his grin widening further, taking on an almost cat-like quality. Far too pleased. "So you do remember me then, love?" It wasn't really a question; he wasn't expecting an answer. He leaned against my car, looking casual and yet, predatory, all at once. So unlike the Cade I had known and loved. "I must tell you, that is a relief. Grace and Jack would have been most put out to have come all the way out here for nothing." He walked toward me, raising his hand so that he could run one icy finger across my jaw-line. "I would have been heartbroken, had you forgotten me, love."

I shoved him, the palms of my hands landing against ice-cold marble, but it caught him off-guard just enough for me to make it back inside my car. The music was still blaring, and though it was ridiculous, I still found solace in the sound. I picked up my phone and attempted to dial somebody, but then threw it at the passenger side. "Kim broke you!" I reminded myself, grabbing the wheel with one hand and turning my keys with the other.

There was a slam and I heard the metal of the door next to me groan. I let out an involuntary scream as I turned to see a very manic looking Cade pressed up against the glass of my window. The crimson of his eyes had darkened to the color of dried blood. "Sydney, don't make me do anything I'm going to regret." He pressed closer, if that were possible. "I love you, Syd. Please, don't make me hurt you."

I started crying, and grabbing the sides of my head, tried to drown him out. "Leave me alone!" I screamed, the force of the sobs wracking my body. I looked over just in time to see the fury in his face just before I heard the sound of glass shattering - the window, my only barrier between him and me. And he'd broken it.

He grabbed me by the shoulders, dragging me through the window. I screamed, but he covered my mouth with one of his hands. "Don't you see?" he whispered urgently into my ear. "This way, we can be together. Forever. Just you and me." I was still crying, but my sobs were muffled by his hand. "Don't you want that?" He turned me towards him. "Sydney... I still love you." He used his other hand to wipe my tears away, and for a moment, I could feel the warmth that those hands used to carry, and I could see the old Cade - the Cade I loved. But the ice that ran through his veins now made my hair stand on end, and I couldn't bear to look at him.

A light spread across the pavement, alighting his inhuman features. My back was turned, so I could only assume a car was coming towards us on the road. He glanced at the expanse of road behind me, and then our eyes locked once more. He moved my bangs out of my eyes, and I flinched away from his touch. "There are two people coming down this road. If they stop, you are to act natural. If you scream or do anything of the sort, they will die. Do you understand?"

I stared at him, horrified, but nodded, and he was clearly satisfied by this, because he let go of my mouth and instead settled for putting one arm around my shoulder. His arm was heavy and hard, and I squirmed under it, but one hard look from him had me still as a statue. And just as Cade had known they would, the truck slowed to a stop.

An older man with long, greying hair rolled down his window. "You folks alright?"

Cade gave a light, humorous laugh that almost sounded... human. "We're having some car trouble," he said, the lie rolling sweetly from his lips, "just waiting for the tow-truck to get here, is all." If I hadn't known better, I would have believed him myself.

The other man, much younger, leaned forward so that he could see us too. "Y'all sure? I mean, we could drive you two somewhere, and come get your car in the morning." He was really cute, but I don't think Cade would have liked my saying so. I wanted to get these two away from me as fast as possible. The longer they were here, the more I endangered them. Something was really different about Cade; he was dangerous, now. And it frightened me.

"We're fine," I replied, forcing my smile to be as genuine as possible. "We'll just wait until the tow-truck gets here. I kinda have anxiety about anyone else handling my car." I shrugged and pretended to blush a little bit. I had to get them to believe my lie and leave in order to save them. This would be the best act of my life.

The older of the two men - probably the younger man's father - looked at me with uncertain eyes. I didn't let my mask crack. "Alright, if you two are sure. Have a good night." He nodded his head to us, and drove away. It seemed like an eternity before I couldn't see their tail lights glowing red in the distance, but eventually, they disappeared, and I let out a sigh of relief for them.

Cade turned to me, eyes glowing again, that crimson shining like a gemstone. "There's the Sydney I know," he said, looking over my body as he spoke. I felt violated. "So beautiful, inside and out." He pulled me closer to him, nearly crushing me to his ivory body. I whimpered, but didn't dare try and escape him again. He looked down at me, his features looking more human than I'd seen. His eyes showed genuine worry for me... and hurt. "You-you're scared of me." he said slowly. It wasn't a question, but I nodded, whimpering again as his grip tightened. All these declarations of love, and yet, I felt as if I were going to die. The hand that didn't bind me to him reached up and stroked my cheek, and for a moment, I could almost imagine that those eyes staring at me were the gorgeous shade of green again, and that I could hear his heart beating in his chest.

My make believe didn't last long.

His arm tightened further, and be brought me in front of him, rather than to his side, so that I was in more of a head-lock than anything else. On instinct, I grabbed at his arm, trying to tear it away from my neck, though I knew it was no use. He'd proven time and time again tonight that he could kill me if he wanted - break me any way he wished. "I don't want you to fear me, Sydney," he kissed my neck, right where my pulse hammered. "My love. After tonight, you will never have to fear me again. Tonight... and then forever"

"SYDNEY!"

Before I knew what was happening, Cade's arm had been ripped from around my neck, and I had been thrown to the pavement below. I hit my head squarely on the cement, causing a splitting pain so harsh felt as if someone were trying to split my skull with a jackhammer. I looked up - I had to see what had saved me - and thought I must have had a concussion. The sight before me was just too incredible. Fifteen feet away from me, Cade was crouched, trying to figure out a way to get to his prey, no doubt. Five feet in front of me, a giant greyish-silver wolf was poised, protecting me.

He snapped visciously at Cade, but made no move to approach him. "Dirty bloodsucker," the wolf growled out, the sound so feral and animalistic it was alarming, and yet, soothing all at once. This wolf - this massive wolf - was my sole protector, and I could scarcely think of a place I'd feel more safe.

Cade didn't seem to care much for the wolf in his path - his obsession was to get to me. He leaped for me, but the wolf leaped into the air in the same instant, and they met head-on. There was a terrible sound of rock tearing - metal breaking. They fought, and somehow, in the time they ripped and tore at each other, I was able to right myself on the ground, and backed up so that I slumped against the car, attempting to use it as leverage to get to my feet.

I felt something hot slide down my cheek, and at the same instant, caught a glimpse of Cade's eyes. They were no longer that chilling shade of crimson, but an absolutely terrifying onyx. I pressed my hand to where my wound poured blood.

Vampire

The word struck me. Cade was a vampire. Cade wanted to make me a vampire. Cade was after my blood. My Cade.

But my blood had sent Cade into a kind of frenzy. He paid no mind to the wolf in his path any longer. His only objective was to get to my blood, I realized. And that made him careless. A breeze blew by, sending my hair flying in the air like some sort of ribbon dance. I let go of my wound and reached my bloodied hand out so that the wind would surely catch its scent. I saw Cade inhale deeply, a look of pure bliss crossing his features.

And then, the loudest tearing sound I'd ever heard.

In the one second Cade had been distracted by my blood, the wolf had taken its chance, and bitten down, almost tearing his arm off. It was repulsing, seeing a limb mangled so. It hung, half torn off, the bone clearly visible, the flesh, if you could even call it that, hanging off in shredded ribbons. The wolf stood in front of me, and Cade twenty feet away. His eyes were still a dangerous black, but he made no move towards me. "I will be back for her," Cade growled at the wolf, his eyes flashing. "You can't keep her away from me forever." His grin turned feline and cocky. "She will come to me of her own will. She will seek me out. And then... forever." Before I could blink, Cade was gone.

The wolf wearily turned to me. Familiar brown eyes stared at me, nearly level with my own. I managed to push myself up so that I could stand in an almost upright position, slumping against the car, and then toddling forward to grab some of the fur around his neck. He didn't seem to mind, just stared at me still. "You're alright," the voice said, and I nodded.

"All thanks to you," I said, and the wolf... looked pained. More pained than Rift had when I'd met him. The look that crossed those beautiful eyes was one of pure agony. And I wanted nothing more than to relieve him of that pain. "You saved me," I murmured quietly, resting my head on his neck.

"No," the wolf said, backing away from me, forcing me to fall back against the car for support. "You're in this situation because of me." The wolf's expression turned to one of anger. "You're hurt because of me." The taste of iron that tainted my mouth told me he was right, but I refused to believe he had anything to do with it. How could he think so? It wasn't his fault that I had an obsessive vampire ex. I reached for him, but he backed away again. "No." The force of the word cut through me. He stared at me, and then turned into the brush, and ran, leaving me alone, in the middle of the road.

Not even a moment passed before the leaves of the brush the wolf had just disappeared into rustled, and parted.

A pair of brown, green flecked eyes stared at me. The most captivating eyes I'd ever seen in man or animal.

"Paul."

A/N: Okay, so it wasn't as long as the last chapter was, but it was... kinda close. Plus, it had a lot of elements that the last didn't. It had a point of view you guys have never seen before; Seth! Don't worry, you guys will definitely not hate him by the end of this story. Everybody loves Seth, and I will make sure it stays that way.

It also had an exerpt from a kickass song, which was made by the band that inspired this whole entire chapter, Evanesence! Love them so much. You guys got a peak at both sets of twins, which I love - like, half my best friends are twins - so don't be too shocked if one or two more twins show up somewhere.

Oh, and of course, a fight scene, however poorly written it was by Jassy.

But give me a break, it was almost 2:00 a.m. by the time I finished this baby.

Righti-o. Anyhow, hope you guys like it and thought it was worth the wait. I was pretty happy with it myself, but then, I'd probably be happy with anything if it meant I got to go to sleep at this point in time. But even so, I think I did a pretty good job on this chapter. Shall we get onto the author roast? Yes, I think we shall. Personally, it's one of my favorite parts of writing. Is that sadistic?

Did you love it? Did you hate it? Should Jassy be put in front of a firing squad for being so sucktastic. What was your favorite line? Your favorite scene? Your favorite character? What would you like to see more of? Less of? Did anyone like Sydney's new brothers? Anyone else miss Embry in this chapter? Don't worry, I'll bring him back for the next one.

Embry: Good. I've gotten the most positive reviews in this story.
Me: No you haven't.
Embry: Oh, really, then who does?
Paul: Me.
Me: Yep, he's got you beat, Embry.
Embry: He doesn't count! -puppy dog pout-
Me: Sorry, Embry. I wrote you out. Doesn't work on me.
Embry: Dammit. Review for Embry!
Paul: No, review for Paul!
Me: No, please review for Jassy! -slaps boys-

P.S. This is my longest running story ever. I've usually gotten bored and moved on by this point. :)

Until we next meet.

Madly Yours,
Jassabella