A/N: Hey, everybody! Loves and hugs. I'm so sorry you had to wait for this chapter, but hopefully, you love it anyhow. I also decided to add a part of real plot-line to this chapter. Yay! :D

Also, I realize that it's been almost a year since I posted - ten months, actually, and I apologize profusely for the long wait.

I Invoke the Muse!

Animal - Neon Trees
Faceless - Red
F*ckin' Perfect - P!nk
Jar of Hearts - Christina Perri
Keep the Streets Empty for Me - Fever Ray
Those Nights - Skillet
Tonight (I'm Lovin' You) - Enrique Iglesias

Chapter 12

Pack of Holidays

Halloween with the pack is an... interesting affair. Paul insisted we all hang at his bachelor pad, which I'd never been to before, despite the fact that I'm his girlfriend. I think it was because of the people who were going missing left and right a couple towns over these days - he felt more confident he could protect me on his own territory or something like that. But the good news is, I haven't heard from Cade since that night. Though, now I'm all paranoid and am convinced I keep seeing him looking through the windows of my house - when its really just a cat - or whenever I'm looking at myself in a mirror that he's standing behind me, staring. I think Cade proved that whenever he gets close to me, he's not going to just stare.

Despite all the paranoia about my undead, ex-boyfriend, I haven't had a single nightmare like I did the night I was knocked out. They've actually all involved Paul and me. Well, there was the one about the rubber chicken, but I blame Embry for that bit of mental scarring.

Paul, aside from his weird mandate that we host this get-together at his house, had also insisted that all couples wear matching costumes. Paul and I were also pretty certain that our costume would get a laugh out of the other pack members. I was actually at Emily's right at this moment, having the other girls do my hair and make-up, though I refused to let them see my outfit, no matter what methods of torture they tried. Kim had also suddenly decided that I needed to have my eyebrows plucked.

Now that I had been groomed to perfection - and plucked, nearly to tears - I was helping Emily get Nick and Mick into their first costume. I was handling Mick's and Emily was trying to get Nick to keep his blue, wig/hat thing on his head. If you haven't guessed it, Em's dressing them as Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Cat in the Hat and they look beyond adorable. Nick is smiling as big as he can, swiping his hat off every couple seconds and squealing in delight and Mick is smiling at me while I continue buttoning up her red onesy. I hold Mick up. "She's been thingified." And Emily laughs.

"She's gorgeous," says Sam, walking through the room like its no one's business and kisses Em on the cheek and then comes over to kiss Mick on the cheek. "Just like her mother and just like her auntie Sydney." He kisses my cheek for emphasis and then, before I can jump away, he's blown a raspberry on my face, grabbed his daughter and stepped back. I exclaim in disgust and wipe my face off. I'm still scrubbing at my face with my sleeve when the door opens again and Jared and Quil walk through.

Claire looks at her boyfriend with a harsh glare - a hard thing to do when you're dressed as Alice from Alice and Wonderland - and says, "And who said you could come in?"

Ooh, someone's in the dog house. That's my first thought when Quil looks to the ground in shame and I realized in shock that they're not wearing matching costumes. Well, they are, but Quil is so not the Mad Hatter. Rather, I think he's McTwisp, the white rabbit in a waistcoat, and I'm pretty sure that there is no love interest there. But if you've seen Tim Burton's Alice, well, you know there is between her and the Hatter. Jared pushes by him, not in the sympathetic mood I suppose. He's obviously only got eyes for Kim, whose decked out head to toe in skin-tight leather. They're a Nascar couple. That's sort of gag worthy.

But I have to say, the weirdest costume in this place is Sam and Emily's matching Conrad and Sally, the kids from the Cat in the Hat. It's not pretty and lets just say Em can not pull off blond. I turn away to look at the screen of my new phone - I made Kim chip in - and pick up my bag. My car's still out of commission so I've been having Paul play chauffeur, with some extra tips from a frequent passenger. They're the kind of tips that when Embry tried to pay him off, he got a solid blow to his jaw. Would he have actually kissed Paul? I don't know, and I'm really glad Paul didn't let me find out. I mean, it's Embry. As much as I love by big brother, he's kind of strange and I wouldn't put kissing another guy in way of payment past him.

"Alright, peeps," I said, trying not to laugh at my own phraseology, "I'll see you at the party. Prepare to be dazzled." I held up my hands in spirit fingers and then backed out of the room before turning and running out to the car - almost falling, but not - and jumping in next to my boyfriend. Boyfriend! You cannot even imagine how much I love saying that. "What's up, sexy?" I asked, leaning in to kiss him after I'd snapped my seat belt into place and thrown by bag in the back seat.

"Why, Sydney, what would Paul think?"

That was definitely not Paul's voice.

My eyes shot open a couple inches away from Embry's face. Embry. Not Paul, but Embry. Oh, hell, I'm going to kill him. Despite my thoughts, however, I made no move to actually physically harm him. Instead, I leaned back in the passenger seat and looked at him. "Embry," I said, rather calmly, "where the fuck is Paul?"

Embry blinked. "Paul's getting ready for the party," he said, in matter-of-fact way. He shifted gears and we rolled out of Emily's drive. "He sent me to get you because it was either me or Collin and Paul doesn't trust Collin with his truck as far as he can throw him. Only thing Collin's ever driven are ATVs and crap mobiles like Seth's. Never driven anything like the black beauty here." Here, Embry pets the steering wheel affectionately. "Sarah wouldn't let him when he was in driving school since when he tried with his dad's, she'd had to get a replacement fence. Now no one trusts him with a truck enough to let him try again." Somehow, I could see why.

"Alright," I said, glad he hadn't sent Collin anyway - this was my brother, after all; my partner in crime - and punching the newly fixed radio, "let's go." And I don't know why, but at that moment, Sweet Home Alabama came on. We don't live anywhere near Alabama. What the hell? But it had a nice beat and I guess it was better than if some classical shit had suddenly come on.

I now know why Embry is trusted with Black Beauty. It's because he fills her up with gas, unlike the other cheapskates in the pack who would just ride her to the last drop. It wasn't because Embry was some great driver - not to say he was horrible, but he definitely wasn't the best - but because he actually cared for Paul's car just like Paul would.

I'd also like to point out here that I'd never been to Paul's house before. Like, ever. Before or after we started dating. So I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. I mean, sure, Paul's had two jobs since the end of his high school years. His uncle had owned the old mechanics shop that Paul and some of the other boys worked in, and when he'd retired to California, he'd left the property to Paul. Not to mention, Paul was also in the furniture making industry, and said, since it was a small business that it would probably belong to him someday too. But honestly, he's in his early twenties - what kind of guy has a great pad in his early twenties? Unless, of course, he's living with his mom. Or is a trust fund baby, which, I'm sure, Paul is not. He's just a guy with hard working relatives who've decided to be generous towards him.

Embry pulled up in front of a house not much different the Sam and Emily's. It was painted a rich mahogany color and the off-white trim and gutters stood out. There was a garage off to the side and Paul's motorcycle - which he refused to let me ride on, saying that with my luck, I'd bring us down on the road and he didn't have a helmet for me - was sitting on one side, gleaming in the dim sunlight. He let me out before maneuvering black beauty into her spot next to devil's pride - Paul had a thing about naming his vehicles.

I stood on the sidewalk awkwardly, holding my duffel to my chest. Embry hopped out of the car with a laugh, locking it behind him. "You can go in, you know," he half mocked, "the guy is your boyfriend."

Nonetheless, I waited for Embry... and then waited for him to go first. He gave an exasperated sigh and walked up the pathway, up the stairs to the porch - which was wide enough for a charming little umbrella table and seemed to wrap around all the way to the back - and through the front door. Without knocking. I should have known he wouldn't knock. It was a pack thing. You don't knock on a fellow pack member's door; you barge in and hope you haven't caught them at a bad time. And if you have caught them at a bad time... well, I think that's worth extra points, or something, since it happens so often. I remember this one time that Paul, Embry and Jake (dragging me with them, of course) had barged into Sam and Emily's house and... Well, naughty stuff was occurring. Ahem.

Luckily, Paul was expecting party guests so it wasn't a bad time kind of thing. The entrance way was a cream color and the floor was a deep brown. It was small; just barely big enough for Embry and I to fit through side-by-side. There was also a small table, obviously for keys and things of that nature. Paul's gigantic key ring was already on top of the table, soon joined by his second set of keys, which he had lent to Embry in order to come get me, I suppose.

"Hey, baby," Paul's voice called from the next room. I followed it, advancing slowly.

Embry had no such insecurities about going into unfamiliar territory, and pushed past me into the living room. But did he sit down on the couch and turn on the TV like any other pack member would have done? No. Did he go into the kitchen and start digging into the snacks before everyone else even got there? No. He approached Paul who was looking through a rack of CDs - a nice sized collection of them too - and wrapped his arms around Paul's waist and said, "Hello, Sugarplum."

Paul paused mid-motion. "Embry Landon Call, if you do not get off me in the next two seconds, I swear, not even Sydney will be able to stop me from killing you." Embry instantly released his hold on Paul's waist. "Now, as I was saying, to my girlfriend," he added for Embry's benefit, "hey baby." He grinned at me, and I grinned back.

"Hey," I greeted back, leaning against the wall behind me and taking a cursory look around the room, "nice place you've got here."

He set the CDs down and turned to look at me fully, mirroring me by crossing his arms across his chest. I just grinned a bit in response and he cocked an eyebrow. Embry had disappeared into the kitchen and I immagined he was stuffing his face with chips or something like that. Paul stood there, staring at me expectantly before dropping his arms and sighing dramatically. "Is that all I'm going to get?" he asked. "I mean, I put up streamers for you." I looked up, and indeed there were streamers hanging from his ceiling. I almost laughed at the mental image of Paul taking them down later. Anyone who knew him knew he wouldn't have the patience to do it.

"That's all your going to get," I taunted. His eyes sparked at the familar teasing. Instead of letting that spark in his eyes get us both into trouble, I lifted my duffle from the floor. "I need some place to change."

He grinned and led me down the hall that branched off from his living room. The hallway had a bunch of spooky signs on all the doors, and the lights had been shaded over to create an eerie glow. He opened one door and led me inside with a slightly predatory grin. It was my turn to cock an eyebrow as he held the door open and gestured for me to go in first. I did, and heard the door click behind me. I turned to see Paul, glaring slightly at Embry, who was holding a plate of pretzels and munching on them next to him.

"Umm, boys?" They both looked at me. "I have to get changed." They nodded in understanding. I waited for a moment before trying again. "That means I have to take off my clothes." They nodded again, this time, smirking a bit. I quirked an eyebrow at both of them and made another attempt. "That means I'll be naked." This time, Embry nodded eagerly, grinning ear from ear while looked at me like, 'and that's a bad thing because...?' "Get the fuck out!"

Paul turned to Embry. "You heard the lady. Out, you pervert," he said and opened the door, pushing Embry out. Some of Embry's pretzels spilled off his plate, distracting him enough for Paul to effectively get him out the door with very little struggle.

"No, fair, I want to see!" Embry said, shoving his way against the door. Paul growled a little and braced his back against the door. And let's face it. Paul is a lot stronger than most of the other pack members, not to mention the second tallest. He had an advantage. I heard Embry slam his shoulder into the door and saw the side spliter a little bit at the pressure.

"Embry, if you break my door," Paul said through gritted teeth, back still against the door, "you will be paying for the repairs."

I heard Embry huff from outside the door, and just before he let it shut, I heard him yell, "Your girlfriend's got the hots for me!" And then the door slammed in his face.

I giggled at that. That was such an Embry thing to do. Paul turned to me and gestured for me to continue. "You're not staying in here," I told him, eyebrow raised at the very audacity that he thought I would let him. He whimpered, but I held fast, looking at his forehead instead of his eyes and remembered one of the rules of winning an argument. 'If you don't break first, you always win.' "Out!" I ordered.

"But I got rid of Embry for you," he protested, "I think that deserves something."

I grinned, and shook my head. "Nope, not a damn thing, you pervert." I stalked past him and opened the door, gesturing for him to leave. Embry was still out there, and when the door opened, he widened his eyes at me, a pretzel hanging halfway out of his mouth and gave me one of the most adorable puppy-dog pouts I've ever seen. It was almost better than Paul's. It actually might have been better if Paul wasn't my imprint. But I shook my head, and turned back to Paul, holding the door open, and gesturing for him to get out. He whimpered, but left as I told him to. He stopped next to Embry and turned to give me one final puppy face. I just shut the door on both of them.

"I was making real headway until your ugly ass got in the way," I heard Embry grumble and then they both thumped down the hallway, obviously put out by the lack of peepshow. I giggled and laid the duffle on the plain grey comforter on the bed and unzipped it in one fluid motion. I pulled out my costume and giggled. Halloween was going to be fun.

While I was getting dressed, I heard the door open and close repeatedly, but never did I hear a knock or a doorbell ring. Jeez, no decorum at all. I fixed my dress in the mirror, and then opened the door just a crack and yelled, "Paul! Get your cute little ass over here!"

"My ass is cuter!"

Paul was already halfway down the hallway. "You wish, Call!" he called back, and I held the door open before slamming it shut so no one would get a peek at my costume. Paul walked over to the closet, casually taking off his shirt - I got a nice shut of his yummy abs - and reaching inside the blackened depths and pulling out a mask and a ripped shirt, which he put on. The holes were large and the t-shirt was tight fitting so I'd be getting continuous eye-fulls of delicious bronze skin, all toned and... Well, you get my point. Before he pulled on the mask, he came over to me and embraced me, bringing my face close to his. "Do I get my hello now?"

In answer, I stood a little taller on my tip toes and wrapped my arms around his neck in order to touch my lips to his softly. He showed signs of wanting to make the kiss a little deeper, but I pulled back before he could, grinning wickedly at his pout. "You're sexy."

"But not irresistable, apparently," he said with an over-exagerated sigh, "huh, I guess I'll just have to live with it." His hands trailed up my sides, nearly brushing against my breast, but he was a gentle man and removed his hands, lest he be tempted. "You however, look absolutely beautiful, my dear. I could just eat you up."

I took the mask from his hands, and bent up to slide it over his head until his eyes peeked through the holes to meet mine. "Please do," I said in a sultry sort of voice, running my fingers over an exposed portion of his pectorals. I felt it when his heart beat jumped a little bit and pounded harder and a little bit faster. I laid my hand directly over his heart, liking the way his warmth felt against me, and leaned in to rest my head against his chest for a moment, listening to the rythmic thumping. Paul tensed ever so slightly.

"I was only half-kidding."

Paul's voice was low and husky. I liked the sound of it, but I did recognize that the tone was different than the one before. "Oh," I said simply, my eyebrows crinkling in confusion. But then I got it. "OH!"

I backed up a little suddenly, nearly running into the bed as I did so. I couldn't see the look on his face, but the gleam in his eye said exactly what he was feeling right now, and it wasn't exactly clean nor appropriate for children. It also made me feel hot and bothered, which bothered me in another way too. I mean, yeah, I really liked Paul - I ignored the part of my mind that said love - but we hadn't been dating that long. Soul mates or not, I just didn't think I was ready for that. "Mhmm," I said, turning away from him and going to grab the door knob.

His voice made me pause. "I'm not trying to pressure you, Syd. You know I'd never do that. But I'm not going to hide or apologize for my feelings either."

I took a deep breath and turned to look at him. His eyes were still trained on me, but he had an unfair advantage in this situation - his face was still covered, but mine displayed my feelings like a marque. "I know," I finally said, letting a small smile fall into place. "If you tried to hide it, you wouldn't be the man I fell in love with at all, and if you apologized... well, that would be like saying, 'Sorry that I love you.' And I'm not sorry I love you."

"I could never be sorry for loving you, Sydney," he said, and I could hear the fond smile in his voice, even if I couldn't see it. He took a couple long strides and opened the door. We didn't have to say anything else; all that needed saying was resolved in that short silence. Paul took my hand, leading me down the hallway and to the party for a night of enjoyment and fun with friends. I smiled as we walked into the living room where most pack members were already spread out, listening to music, dancing in Kim and Claire's case and playing random board games.

Paul and I stood in the doorway, hand in hand, waiting for the others to notice us. The first to notice the two of us was Collin, who had been stuffing carrots in his nose, and this was closely followed by Brady to see what the hell his friend was gaping at. Slowly, everyone turned to look at us, all in shocked silence. Finally, Leah broke the silence.

"Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf? Really?"

Embry decided to add onto this with, "Looks like Big Bad's not just after the goodies in Red's basket after all."

I can't even describe how much my hand hurt after I hit him, but let me put it this way; there was enough force behind my punch to break four of my fingers and fracture two bones in my hand - and enough force to make Paul chase him out of the house and hurl him into several trees. That almost made the six weeks worth of wearing the cast worth it.

At the end of the night, when they'd already splinted me up and Embry had been beaten to a pulp until Paul was satisfied, I ended up standing next to Leah, drinking what Paul called Spider Cider. I'm not sure why he calls it that, and I don't think I want to know either. Leah and I were watching Claire take on Embry in an intense game of Dance Dance revolution when she turned to me. "But seriously, Red Riding Hood? I thought you would be so much more original."

"You're just mad because we match."

-Forever His-

My house was going to be the big meeting place for Thanksgiving this year, and mom couldn't be happier. Sarah and Emily had actually both stayed the night so that they could all start on the dinner first thing in the morning. Well, alls I can say is 'yay' because from the time I woke up this morning, the whole house smelled delicious, and that is a pleasant thing to wake up to. However, as soon as I made it known that I was alive and had not been eaten by my bed in the middle of the night, I was put straight to work. They had me slicing veggies and prepping pans for baking - neither or which were hard if you weren't crippled, but with my hand... yeah, they were a little difficult.

They kicked me out of the kitchen when I dropped the knife and it almost landed on Kim's foot. Then I was assigned to keep the boys away from the kitchen. A job I was much more suited for, I must say. I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I got to slap Collin with a wooden spoon.

Other pack members showed up throughout the day, all slowly migrating towards the food source. Leah, Sue and Charlie all showed up with little offerings to add to the table themselves, which was awesome. Leah brought honey rolls and Sue brought a type of casserole that smelled so wonderful, I was kind of surprised Quil didn't bite her arm off when he carried the three platters of it into the kitchen for her.

The boys all crowded into spaces on our couch, making a show of watching the game and Claire joined them, surely just for the sake of not being made to help - or possibly, to check out cute football players' butts. Not that I could blame her, whichever might be true. If I could put it past my mom, I'd be doing the same thing. Not checking out butts, of course. I already have a cute butt to check out; I don't need another. I already feel guilty for having Paul all to myself.

Well, no, not guilty. Not at all.

The boys in the living room let out a cheer that rattled in my bones. After that quieted, I could swear I heard... Brady singing a victory song, claiming that Quil owed him twenty bucks. It was the kind of nah-nah-nah-nah-nah song that would be embarassing if it wasn't so funny.

The doorbell rang - OHMIGODFREY, they know how to use one! - and I jumped up to grab the door, slapping Collin with my good hand when he tried to sneak past me and into the kitchen. He whimpered, but sat back down on the couch like a good boy. I smirked. Even with a broken hand, I was badass. I opened the door and Billy and Jake stood in the doorway, Billy holding a serving dish covered with tin foil in his lap and Jake pushing his father around. I also saw Kim and Brady's parents behind them. "Hey Jake, Billy!" I greeted, suddenly feeling bad that our home wasn't more wheel-chair accessible. Jake had probably had to carry him up those steps. "C'mon in. Dinner's in about an hour."

I played door prop while Jake rolled Billy in. Billy offered the dish to me. "Black family recipe for sweet bread. Goes great with pie for desert." I smiled and took the dish, and Jake rolled his eyes, rolling the tribe elder into the living room with the other testosterone-laden males. I felt it kind of ironic that they celebrated Thanksgiving, as sick as it was to even think it. Erin and George also brought their own dish to add to the feast.

Finally, the only three missing were Paul, Embry and oddly enough, my father. This combination left me worried.

My brothers had joined the montage of men - and Claire - and I could hear them yelling nonsensical things at the TV while the others cheered or groaned with the game. "C'mon, Ref, call that bean-poll on his bad manners!" I heard one of them yell - and that's a direct quote.

I heard the door open just before another cheer sounded from the men, but it quickly cut off into silence. I had been sitting in a chair at the entrance of the kitchen, sneaking little tastes of the homemade whipped cream, but at the quick cut-off, I looked around at the others girls who infested the kitchen - oh, and Seth, who was peeling with Leah and they all looked at each other in bewilderment too.

The first thing I heard was the sound of Leo and Raf laughing softly, which was then joined by several other, deeper laughs. Curious, I hopped off my chair and migrated toward the living room to see what could possibly so funny. I heard the others dropping their cooking supplies in order to do the same. I entered the living room to find several pack members nearly rolling on the ground in their laughter - or actually rolling on the ground in Quil's case - and looked toward the other entrance to the living room.

The sight before me had me bursting into manic giggles too.

Apparently, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, Embry, Paul and my father had decided it would be appropriate to dress up. My dad, who is only half Native-American, was dressed as a pilgrim, from funny hat to buckled shoes, and holding a gun against his shoulder. Paul was dressed as an Indian, complete with buck-skin pants, body and face paint, a braided wig and a bow and arrows slung onto his back. They both looked funny enough, but the funniest part of the whole deal was standing between them, and that was Embry, dressed as a giant Turkey.

I was nearly crying and I could hear the other girls starting to laugh along with me as they filed in. Embry did not look like he was enjoying himself, though both my father and my boyfriend looked pretty pleased. My mother was wiping tears from her face when she broke the little clump we women - and Seth - had made, and approached my father.

"My darling, I have brought you a hearty Turkey to prepare for our peaceful dinner with the Indians!" he declared.

Paul elbowed Embry in the side, prompting him to let out a sour "gobble gobble" before moving past him towards me. I expected him to reach out for me and smother me against him, smearing his body paint on me, but he didn't. Rather, he said something I couldn't understand in the Quileute language and waited for me to respond. When I didn't, he tried again. "You are Sydney, yes?" he said in a thick accent, which almost made me giggle, but I wanted to play along so I clamped my lips together and nodded. "Your father has promised me your hand in order to ensure that we can live peacefully."

My dad dropped the act and said, "Hey! I promised no hands!"

My mom laughed in return, slapping his shoulder. "Oh, Jed, its not a big deal. He's just playing around. We're not actually going to eat Embry either. He's too skinny. We'd be chewing for hours." She grabbed his hand and led him back to the kitchen. "Here, come taste some of the fried yams. That will make you feel better."

Paul looked back at me with a stupid grin and I rolled my eyes in return. "How do I look?" he asked.

"You'd look hotter without the wig and body paint."

He yanked the wig off his head, touseling the short spikes, and looked at me. "Would you like to lick it off? It's edible. Unlike Embry's skinny ass."

Embry paused from where he was stripping the turkey costume off and looked over at the two of us, eyes narrowed. I stared back, expectantly, wondering just what kind of come back he'd have to that. Finally, his glare turned into a smirk and he continued taking off the turkey costume. "Nice to know you've been looking, Paul." And then he wiggled his ass a little when he pulled the pants of the suit down.

-Forever His-

Pack birthdays, are, apparently a big thing, always. Paul and Jared were both born in late November, and Jared's birthday party had been big. Tonight was Paul's, and if possible, it was even bigger. It was his twenty-first and all those who were old enough had a beer in hand, including Paul. Not that I had to worry about any of them getting rip-roaring drunk - their metabolisms were killer fast and their body heat tended to burn it off quicker than they could consume it. The most any of them would feel was a slight buzz.

I, however, being the lowly eighteen year-old and the fourth youngest member of the pack, was not allowed to have any and was put in charge of keeping anyone else under twenty-one from drinking as well. Why they chose me, I'm not positive. I mean, its not like it was hard to distinguish who was okay to drink and who wasn't. Sam, Emily, Leah, Paul and Jared were allowed to drink. The rest of us weren't. Simple as that. Jacob, Embry and Kim are nineteen, Quil, Seth and I are eighteen, Collin and Brady are seventeen, and Claire is the smallest of all, being a mere sixteen. Well, smallest if you don't count Mick and Nick.

Embry did keep trying to sneak past me, though, and I kept wacking him with my good hand. Maybe that was why they chose me.

The party ended surprisingly early for a pack party, and I was shocked that I only had to keep Embry in check. I knew for a fact that if one of them had managed to get past me, for most, it wouldn't have been their first beer. Brady's dad occasionally gave him some in order to relax him after patrol, because that's all it would do. They had a stressful job.

I was less surprised when Kim and Claire demanded I come with them to play as their human doll for the night afterwards... except, it seemed like they had a goal in mind, and they weren't just primping me for their own personal enjoyment - which they'd done before, by the way.

My theory was confirmed when somebody - I expect it was Leah or possibly Embry - grabbed me from behind and blind-folded me. Good lord, they grabbed hard. I would definitely have a bruise to show for that random act of violence tomorrow. And before I could protest, they had me gagged too, reducing my righteously angry words to little miffed grunts. They also tied my hands behind my back. I was ready to kill them all! They also picked me up and towed me around a bit, leading me to a vehicle of some type - presumably, Embry's taco-mobile - and shoved me in, ignoring my moans to set me free.

My kidnapper and I drove around a bit, and I knew Claire and Kim hadn't joined us because I couldn't hear the tell-tale signs of their giggling; the only sounds came from outside and the occasional sound of breathing from the front seat. I made all sorts of witty jokes about how quiet it was. 'Cept, no one could understand them, so there was no point.

Finally, the car rolled to a stop, and I heard the dialing of a cell-phone and Embry - ha! I knew it - talking to someone on the other end. Great, he was going to take his dear sweet time while I was loosing circulation in my hands. And a bad case of cotton mouth.

Embry pressed the phone to my ear and yanked the gag out of my mouth. I was sucking in breath for a good rant when Claire's voice piped up from the other line. "Hey, Sydney, if you get any of Embry's blood on that dress, you become my personal barbie doll, indefinitely." That shut me up pretty fast. "Glad we got that clear. Bye, babes, have fun!" And then Embry hung up and started helping me down from the car, releasing my hands, but keeping the blind-fold where it was.

Embry led me around by the arm, taking me up a couple steps and then steering me to the side. "You look really nice, Sydney," he said.

I grumbled a little. "I would say the same, but you know," I used my free hand to point to my blindfold, "I have no idea what either of us looks like right now... Or why you haven't been arrested for kidnapping, for that matter."

"That's probably because you aren't putting up much of a struggle, Sydney."

That wasn't Embry's voice. No, Embry's voice didn't make my heart swell a little bit and butterflies fill my stomach. Embry's voice didn't make me fell too hot all over. And Embry's voice definitely didn't set me on fire. No one's did, except for Paul's. And all of a sudden, Embry wasn't there any more. His arm had left mine and I couldn't smell his cologne anymore. There was, however a hand, warm and rough, grasping mine. I wanted to say something romantic, I really did, but alls that came out was, "Can you take the damn blindfold off now?"

Paul laughed, but released my hand and very gently plucked the piece of material from my eyes. He was grinning, his brown eyes sparkling playfully. I couldn't help but return that beautiful smile, despite my earlier annoyance. The green flecks in his eyes were out in force, due to the forest green shirt he wore under his black suit coat.

He moved slightly out of my line of vision, and I noticed that we were in a park for the first time. And behind Paul was a pagoda with a dining table set in the center with several little candles and twinkle lights to light it up. Paul took my hand again. "I couldn't think of a better way to spend my birthday than to spend a special evening with you." He said, bringing my hand up to kiss my knuckles, but I was still mesmerized by the sight before me. "Use your people words, babe," he chuckled.

"Wow."

"Good one," he said with another laugh, finally leading me forward and pulling out my chair for me when we sat down. I smiled, realizing that tonights course was chicken parm - one of my favorites. But, of course, Paul knew that. The sides were bread sticks and some pasta. I felt like I was at the Olive Garden. I also had a wine flute with a redish liquid in it. I picked it up and raised an eyebrow at Paul. He rolled his eyes. "Just try it."

I glanced around, almost on instinct, looking for some authority figure or other before taking a sip and promptly giving Paul an unamused look. "It's cranapple juice, you retard."

Paul chuckled and shook his head. "Silly little minor; thought I'd give you real alcohol. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I did that?"

I rolled my eyes, bringing my glass up to my lips to take another sip. He smiled in return and we began our meal. It was a lot of fun. We hadn't had too much alone time recently, what with him patrolling and practically running two businesses and me being in school. We still saw each other a lot, don't get me wrong, but it was always in the presence of one pack member or another. Most often, Seth. With Leah's words in mind, I tried to keep things normal in front of him without showing off my relationship or making Paul suspicious. However, I now noticed how every time Paul kissed me or hugged me or held my hand, Seth's jaw or hands would tighten, and the muscles in his neck would stand out a little more.

Paul began to fidget with his napkin about halfway through my meal; he'd stopped eating a while ago, which I found suspicious to the max. I mean, a werewolf not chomping down on anything edible in sight? Weird...

Even with this in mind, it surprised me when he got up and shocked me when he got down on one knee.

I gulped. He wasn't... No, he couldn't be...

He smiled at me nervously. "Sydney Christopher LeHaye," he said, voice cracking a little bit on my middle name, "I love you so very much, and there's a very serious question that I have been considering asking for sometime that I really, really want an answer to." He took a deep breath and I could feel my eyes wanting to pop out of my head. Oh, my fucking Godfrey, he was going to do it. "Would you... still date me if I was this tall?"

It took me a couple seconds to register what he actually said, and then another couple second to break into shocked, slightly hysterical giggles. "You scared the hell out of me," I managed to get out between my giggles.

I was thankful he didn't seem offended by my reaction or my words. He cracked a grin at me, but didn't push up off the ground like I thought he would. No, rather, he grabbed my hand and his expression turned to one of intensity. "I really do love you, Sydney, and no, I didn't bring you here to propose to you. I know you think its all too new to get serious like that, even if we are destined to be together. So, though I know you're not ready to marry me yet, and may not be ready to marry me for many years, I wanted to know," he paused for a moment, taking a deep breath and digging into his pocket, "if you would wear my class ring?"

He pulled out a ring with an onyx stone and the year he graduated out of his pocket. The band was silver, and extremely thick, but had obviously already been resized to fit one of my fingers. It was a thoughtful gesture, and represented a commitment; not a serious one, but a commitment none the less.

And this was a commitment I was ready to make.

I held out my hand in answer, and I saw his eyes light up. He slid it onto my ring finger and kissed my knuckles again before standing up and bringing me with him. He wrapped his arms around me, snuggling his face into the crook of my neck, and I heard him mutter, "Best birthday ever."

-Forever His-

So, you know that poem, The Night Before Christmas? Well, if you don't, the beginning goes a little something like this.

T'was the night before Christmas,
And all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring,
Not even a mouse.

Let me just say, that poem? Yeah, it lies! Big time. You want an unpeaceful Christmas eve? Spend it at Sam and Emily's. Good lord. Mick and Nick were up all night, and Quil had drank way too much hot chocolate and kept stepping on Seth on his way to the bathroom. The winner of the Lonely Loveseat was Jake and he kept rolling off and landing on Leah, who made it known she did not appreciate it. Collin was in the guest room and had chosen to keep it all to himself leaving Brady on the floor, and Embry kept kicking him. Kim and Claire were on the pull out and Paul had won the recliner once more, leaving Jared and I on the floor nearby, which was kind of awkward, truth be told, since they'd ran out of blankets, due to Claire and Kim's inability to share one - they were both blanket hogs - and Collin not having anyone to share with, so Jared and I were the ones forced to share.

I would have shared with Embry, but I already knew that he tended to kick in his sleep, and figured Jared's slight snoring the least of the hazards of sharing a room with this many people.

It took me forever to finally nod off, and when I finally did, it wasn't long before Nick's powerful lungs had me up again. I sighed, snuggling into the floor. The floor rumbled in return. It took me a second in my slightly dazed state to remember that floors don't generally react to you... or radiate heat.

I opened my eyes and found myself on top of a toned chest covered by a thin black t-shirt. Now, this would have freaked me out normally, since I'd fallen asleep next to Jared, but before I could even kind of start panicking, I remembered that Jared had been wearing white. Who'd been wearing black? Paul hadn't, nor had Seth or Embry - and those were my best choices.

I couldn't hold off on looking up to see who I was sleeping on top of any longer, so I slowly, shifted my head up and off the chest to look up.

It was Jake. I was asleep on top of Jake. It was Jake's chest I was lying on.

Why the hell was I on top of Jake?

I looked around the room to see if there was any sign as to how I had come to be on top of Jake, and when I turned, my eyes were met with Leah's. I nearly screamed, but before I could, she clamped a hand over my mouth and held a single finger up to her lips; "Shhhh! Don't wake him up!"

Leah removed her hand after a moment and waited to see if I was going to scream again. I wasn't going to. It had just kind freaked me out that she had been right there when I turned around. I looked at her he expectantly, waiting for her to explain why I was laying on her alpha's chest. Apparently, my eyes didn't convey the memo. "Um, Leah... Why am I on Jake?"

The early morning light that was starting to filter through the window illuminated her eyeroll beautifully. "He kept rolling off the couch and landing on me, but I noticed that he stopped moving in his sleep when he came in contact with something. So, I picked you up, laid you on him, and what do you know, boy hasn't moved since." Leah gave a slight giggle. "It's kind of funny really. And whenever you shift, he makes this little rumble noise... it's kinda cute."

"I'm sure my boyfriend will have the same opinion," I said sarcastically.

And then, with abandon and ignoring Leah's pleas for me not to move, I jumped off Jake, straightening myself up and stepping over unconscious bodies in order to get to the kitchen. I heard Leah's frustrated groan after a hard thunk! on the ground, and smirked to myself. Serves her right.

A couple hours later saw me and the pack passing out gifts to one another. I was amazed by the presents I got. Claire, Quil, Jared and Kim had all pitched in and gotten Paul and I tickets to freaking Linkin Park in the pit! I can honestly say I'm glad I shared a blanket with Jared for half the night last night. Great man, he is. Leah had taken it upon herself to make sure her and Seth were the ones to get me the outfit for this event, including a black leather jacket, a red flowy shirt and tight dark wash jeans, paired up with an awesome pair of high-heeled boots. Freakin' fabulous!

Embry gave me socks. I was honestly about to hit him with them until I felt the extra weight in the right toe of the music note ones and pulled out three pairs of earrings. I then apologized and gave him a hug. Collin and Brady had gotten me a booklet on hairstyles and how to do them at home, as well as every possible pin, clip and hair tie on the market.

I think Sam and Emily were trying to be funny, but they booked a whole bunch of us on these forest tours that are supposed to have all sorts of supernatural happenings. As a seperate gift, Emily also gave me several new pictures that had been taken with the pack since my birthday, including several from the holidays - haha! I got one where we'd made Embry put the turkey suit back on at Thanksgiving! There were also some of me playing with Nick and Mick. I especially liked the one where I had one baby in each arm and they were both giving me messy baby kisses.

Jake went simple and gave me a couple band tees and a hoodie.

Paul's gift was unexpected, because, again, he had me open his last. And you wanna know what I got? Freakin' backstage passes. To what? The Linkin Park concert. Oh my Godfrey, I just about died, and I did flip my lid. Paul enjoyed watching me run around like a mad woman.

After opening presents with the pack, we had Christmas breakfast - cinnamon rolls! - and I had to go home and have Christmas with my parents and brothers. Paul drove me, of course.

My parents, as always, gave me awesome gifts, and my brothers were total sweeties about what they gave me, but I can't exactly remember what they were anymore. I was far too frightened at the gift that had been left at the foot of my bed. It had caught me off guard. My bed was perfectly made, and at the edge sat a little black box with white ribbon and no card. I figured it would be a little pair of earrings from my mom, or something.

It wasn't.

I slowly slipped the silky white ribbon from the top of the box and carefully lifted the top off in case what was inside was fragile. That was when I was assaulted with the sight of several pictures, ripped, cut up, drawn on and defaced in every way imaginable. Some of them were in confetti like pieces, but they all had the same subject. As I pulled each picture out, I realized with increasing fear that in each and every whole picture I took out, Paul should be right beside me in the frame, but he was missing. I didn't see anything about Paul until I got to the bottom where there were pictures of his face ripped in half and splattered with what looked like blood.

When I finally emptied the box of all the horrible pictures, there was a note left at the bottom.

Dearest Sydney,

I do hope you're enjoying your holidays. You sure seem to be well. But I know you Sydney, and I know you aren't really happy, and you won't be truly happy until we're back together, as it should be. In every picture of you, I can see the longing in your eyes, though your supposed "love" is standing right by your side. It's a sick act, darling.

Don't worry, I shall soon relieve you of any need to pretend with him, and we shall be together again.

Just as it was meant.

My Love Everlasting,
Cade

It wasn't the note that frightened me. It wasn't even the not-so-subtle threat to Paul's life that was bothering me. No, what scared me most of all was that this man - this bloodsucking creature - this murderer - had been in my house, with my family, where he could have done anything, and none of us would have been able to stop him. That was the scariest part of all.

I sat at the edge of my bed, staring at the pictures for what seemed like hours before throwing them all back in the little box, closing the lid and throwing it in the trashcan in the corner of my room.

Why couldn't this just be over already?

A/N: So, I realize you don't want to hear me ramble, especially after I made you all wait for so long, and I am so sorry about that. However, I tried to make up for it with a fairly long chapter, lots of fluff and funny and a bit of actual plot line. Whoo!

So, I know its not fair of me to be asking favors, especially after the ten month wait I put you all through, but would you please review? Tell me what you liked? What you disliked? Did you think Paul's fake proposal was funny? I need to know. Please, for a starving writer? I'd sure appreciate it.

Madly Yours,
Jassabella