Chapter 6! Sorry it took so long! Please read and enjoy! Thank you so much for reading!

Jasper

Valerie. My sweetest Valerie. How could I have let her out of my sight? That werewolf should never have come here. If only Carlisle would let me rip him to shreds. How is it possible that both of us have imprinted on her? I thought I loved Alice. I did… do? Do I love Alice?

I follow Valerie's scent down to the cliff overlooking the beach. Paul, back in wolf form, follows close upon my heels. My nose stings with his foul scent. My eyes scan the ground. I see Valerie's footsteps and notice some displaced rocks. She must have climbed down the cliff. Suddenly, the wind shifts.

An amazing honey-fruit scent mixed with a bitter, licorice-like smell. I hear Paul growl uneasily. He's picked it up too. Valerie was with someone. As in someone, I mean a vampire. She'd better be okay. I leap lightly down the sheer cliff. I ignore the thirst that claws its way up my throat. Valerie had left tiny drops of blood on the jagged rocks. She must have slipped. Paul bounds after me, sending me a warning rumble. I'm tempted to throw him the rest of the way down the cliff, but I restrain myself. I look darkly at Paul. If he hurts Valerie like Sam hurt Emily, I promise that I will kill him.

We reach the bottom. The two scents are even more jumbled. Where is Valerie? Paul's nose digs into the sand. Disgusting. How could anyone live as a wolf?

I shudder and follow Valerie's scent. It goes west along the beach. I begin to run, skin sparkling brightly in the bright sun. Paul follows me. I wish he would just leave her alone. Why does he have to be in love with her? There must be a mistake. I want her, and I don't know what I can do to let her know that all I want is to be with her.

My heart aches. After fighting in the vampire wars I thought I was immune to pain. I guess I didn't figure on this kind of pain. I hear a low bark behind me. The mixed scents lead out onto the road. Valerie got in a car. But with whom? She wouldn't go with someone she doesn't know. I'm sure of that. Paul splits away from me. It's impossible for me to not glare at his moving silhouette.

I hope he gets picked up by animal control.

Valerie

After getting re-blindfolded and dropped off at some random location, I am about to give up. The sun shines brightly and I can see the glint of the ocean in the distance. It's stiflingly warm as I shuffle down the long expanse of asphalt. It's no use though. I'm certain that I've already walked two miles.

But I just can't see why Thalia needs me to tell them to kill the werewolves. Maybe everyone would be better off if I just disappeared. Never returned. What would Trevor do? My head pounds and my vision blurs in and out of focus.

So many vampires. They look so beautiful, yet so deadly. Man, I really miss D.C. My head is killing me and my stomach twists in anxiety. I see two blurred figures. When I blink, they're gone. This is it; I've finally lost it.

I'm hallucinating.

"Valerie!" That's my name. But who's calling me? "Valerie!" The voice that sounds like a thousand angels reaches out to me. I blink and there they are. Paul and Jasper. Both of them right in front of me. The two men that I might possibly be falling for.

"Valerie!" Paul, in human form, grabs my face and examines me. I hear Jasper snarl quietly. "What happened? Where were you? Are you okay? We should get you to Carlisle!" Paul's voice rises and he looks at me in distress. "I'm fine," I say in a wobbly voice. Jasper pushes Paul aside and wraps me in a hug. His cold skin feels amazing in the sun's blazing heat. I lean lightly against his chest. "We really should take you back to Carlisle or a hospital," he says, his golden eyes gaze worriedly into mine.

"No. Don't worry about me… I'm fine. I think." I mumble tiredly. "Don't even try to argue," Paul snorts. He shoulders past Jasper and before I know it I'm swept up in his arms. My head aches and I can feel my pulse in my ears. Not exactly the most romantic moment of my life.

Jasper opens his mouth to object, but shuts it when Paul emits a low growl, barely loud enough for me to hear. Paul starts to run. I'm barely aware of Jasper being close beside us. Paul's strong arms make me feel secure and warm.

I won't let Thalia get them. Never. A cool sense of calm enters my body. I gratefully close my eyes and let a feverish sleep envelop me.

Paul

Thank god. Not that I really believe in one, but if one's out there, thanks. Valerie is ok. It took two and a half panic-stricken hours to find her. But now she's safe, and my heart can finally beat normally. She's so fragile. I feel like I could break her with one hand tied behind my back. Her sleeping form in my arms softens my heart.

I could never hate her, or even be angry with her. I would kill myself if I ever hurt her. Should I say I love her? But it's more than that. I can't explain the feeling.

It's like getting thrown off a cliff, only to find that the most wonderful thing in the world is waiting at the bottom. Aw damn. I'm getting mushy. At least the bloodsucker isn't touching her. I can't stand that.

I run as fast as I can back to the Cullen's house. Jasper refuses to leave Valerie and me. The thing I don't get is that Jasper had Alice. What happened? Then again, I guess I can't really blame him. Imprinting or whatever they call it is hard to resist. I hadn't planned on imprinting; it just sort of happened. We reach the house.

"What happened now?" Edward greets us warily at the door.

"Exhaustion. But she was with another vampire, that's all I can tell," Jasper murmurs thoughtfully. The once-human-now-turned-bloodsucker, Bella, peeks out from behind Edward. A look of disapproval clouds her normally composed face. Would Edward be mad if I bit her head off? Probably. I settle for glaring at her, trying to hide my thoughts from the ever-so clever Edward.

I shove my way past Edward and Bella and set Valerie on their pristine couch. Carlisle hurries in from another room. He examines her, shooing me away. I shudder in jealousy when Jasper takes her pale hand. No, I can't get mad now. I need to hold my temper. Just… just focus on Valerie. Edward gives me a critical stare, but stays silent. I back away, but don't dare to leave. Jacob walks lazily into the room, holding a wide-eyed Reneesme.

"Man, she looks like she saw a vampire," he jokes lightly. "Or a whole coven of them," he adds. "Hilarious," I roll my eyes at him and punch his shoulder. "Could it have been the Volturi?" Esme asks curiously. "I don't recognize any of the scents that she picked up," replies Jasper, concentrating.

"She's stable, but in shock. She's unnaturally pale-" "Not compared to you," I remark stiffly. He shakes his head and sighs, "Were you able to find out where she was coming from?" Carlisle looks from me to Jasper. I shake my head.

"It'd be a hell of a lot easier to find out if she were awake," says Emmett. What a jackass. Edward hisses angrily at my thought. What? It's true. He rolls his eyes in disgust.

Carlisle goes back to his examination. Finally, after shaking her and trying to bring her back to consciousness, he says, "It seems that now we can't afford to wake her. She may have a shock-induced coma…" Carlisle trails off, leaving the awful possibility hanging in the air around us. I'm the first to speak.

"Coma?" The word comes slowly, almost painfully. "She can't. She has to wake up," Jasper interjects, cutting me off. That bastard. "How long will it last?" Jasper continues, clutching Valerie's hand even tighter. My chest clenches in jealousy.

"They can last any where from a couple of days to," he hesitates, but then goes on, "To a couple of years." No. NO! Valerie is NOT going to be in a coma for that long. She can't be. "No," Jasper's voice is heavy with sadness. I almost feel bad for him, but think better of it. Valerie is not his, he can't have her.

"Isn't there some way we can wake her up?" I ask, on the verge of panicking.

"We don't want to cause her brain damage, but if it's just an exhausted state of unconsciousness, then it wouldn't hurt her too badly," Carlisle hesitates. It's the first time that I've seen him so unsure of himself and his actions. Damn. We're all falling apart.

"So, it might not be a coma… right?" Jacob lays his question out slowly, not wanting to give us all false hope. "Yes… possibly," Carlisle replies tiredly. "But we don't know for sure, I could take her to the hospital and do a scan, but I don't think this is too bad. She will come out of it," its like he's trying to reassure himself. My temper flares at my own uselessness.

"No," I snarl, digging my hands into my hair. "Let's just take her to the hospital," says Edward. I look at Valerie's breathing, but unmoving form. If we take her there, she'll be in the hands of the leeches. I can't let them take her away from me. She won't stay in that coma, not if I have anything to do about it.

Edward hears my thoughts a second before I act on them. I hear him growl and move to stop me just seconds too late.

I lunge forward and snatch the water bottle clutched in Esme's tiny hands. I rip the top off and, out of desperation, pour the contents straight onto Valerie's face, hoping to shock her awake. I don't even pause to see if the water woke her up.

I pull her swiftly from the couch by her shirt. Ignoring the furious figures beside me, slam my lips against hers. Her lips are crushed against mine and I pull back, hoping, maybe even praying that it would work. True love huh? Yeah right. But maybe, maybe the sudden movement, or something will wake her up. I shake her shoulders and whisper desperately, "Wake up, please, just wake up…" It was hardly a sweet, romantic moment, but luckily the outcome was successful.

Slowly, Valerie's eyes open. They are clouded by confusion. I am about to smile when a terrible, threatening growl erupts in the room. I quickly throw Valerie onto the couch, I can be apologetic later, but right now I've got to focus on not getting murdered by a group of pissed vampires. Jasper glares at me, tensed and poised to attack.

"You have some nerve," his voice comes out like a hiss of vapor. His whole body trembles in anger.

"Yeah, well, she is my imprint…" I let my sentence trail off. I crouch, ready to take Jasper down. I ignore Jacob's astonished expression and the rest of the other stupid bloodsuckers.

Jasper starts to charge toward me, but I'm distracted by the movement to my right. Within seconds, Valerie has scrambled from the couch. Everything moves like its in slow motion.

Valerie leaps in front of me, flinging her arms wide. She's in between Jasper and I.

Unfortunately, she came at just the wrong moment...

the moment where Jasper had aimed to shove his hands into my heart and rip it out.