A/N: It's. FINALLY. Done.

A split second later, it turned out I had sensed something out of place.

Embry growled, low in his throat and I instinctively dropped into a defensive crouch, eyes darting around frantically.

The scent was vaguely familiar, a faint wave of something warm, almost comforting. Like oranges and sunlight. And sweet. Very sweet. Something deep inside me fluttered.

Vampire.

"Who?" I asked, fully aware that neither of us knew. I briefly thought it might be Lola but I knew her scent and this was a far cry from minty aroma.

"I don't know," Embry answered anyway. His face was set into grim lines, a slight tremor racking his body with every inhalation. A thought suddenly occured to me. The scent...

"Is it the same as..."

"No. No, this one's different."

Until then, I'd been trying to keep my breathing to a minimum. But panic made it easy to ignore the excruciating burn in my throat as I began to inhale and exhale in short bursts.

There was more than one.

"Maybe they're already long gone," I whispered into the night, trying to convince myself that it was true.

But who was I kidding. With my luck, they were probably after me.

"Come on," I said quietly as I began to climb the steps slowly.

"Where are you going?" Embry hissed from behind me. I turned around to give him a steady look.

"There's nobody here," I replied, "And it's almost eleven. I don't take that as a good sign. There was a vampire in my house. Don't you think it would make sense to investigate?"

We stood there, eyes locked; fighting stubborness with concern. In the end, concern won out and Embry sighed, shaking his head as he followed me wearily.

"There's a key somewhere..."

The memories might have been foggy but not completely gone. I remembered the key that was always kept on the frame over the door. I'd only found out about it after I'd gotten locked out. I pointed and Embry easily reached up and retrieved it. He handed it to me. I turned it over in my fingers, watching it wink at me in the moonlight.

I slid it in the key hole and turned the lock.

Holding my breath once again, I pushed the door open and slipped inside with inhuman speed so that no one would see. Embry stepped around the door behind me and shut it with a click that seemed loud in the dead silence. I looked around at the familiar surroundings, an awed gasp escaping my lips. And just as fast as that feeling of wonder came, it left replaced by a burn worse than all I've felt except the pain of my transformation. I fell to my knees.

"Kendra!"

I let out a ragged sound - somewhere between a scream and a sob. Embry dropped to his knees beside me, not seeming sure what to do. I dug my fingers into the floorboard.

"What?" Embry asked in a panic, "What is it?" I lifted my head, struggling to keep my sanity.

"Blood."

I saw his face go blank with shock but I shook my head vigorously and shoved him towards the kitchen, pointing to a cabinet beneath the sink.

"Find it," I hissed, as Embry opened the creaky door and immediatly reached for the white bottle all the way in the back.

He rushed off and I gripped my head as his footsteps faded, trying to make sense of the chaos that had erupted in my skull.

I had smelled blood. I didn't want to think about what that could mean.

I was completely at a loss. I didn't know how to process this information; I was so used to my body doing it for me. When a human hurts, they feel it in they're stomachs, their hearts. However, a vampire's body is frozen, no longer able to feel physical pain. So our minds find a different way to cope.

With confusion.

I was still crouched on the floor when the smell of spilled blood was suddenly masked by the burning stench of bleach. And through all of this turmoil I was surprised to find that the sky was still dark and the stars still twinkled. That the humans of the neighborhood still slept soundly and Embry's heart was still. Beating.

It felt like the world was ending yet everything remained the same as it always was.

Every step that brought Embry closer to me was slow and tentative and when I glanced up at his face, he looked a little green. I immediately looked away.

"How bad was it?" I felt detatched from myself. As if someone else was speaking and I was just watching it all unfold. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched lower himself to the ground and shake his head. I cringed.

"Kendra..." I covered my face and shook my head, scared of what he was about to say.

"What?"

He didn't say anything. I took my hands from my face and found Embry staring at me with a troubled expression. When our eyes met, some emotion - something akin to fear flashed briefly.

"Tell me."

He opened his mouth, closed it. Opened it again.

"Embry," I snapped.

He finally sighed, looking down at his hands. "Kendra, there- there was no body."

I rested my cheek against the cool glass, wishing I could feel it the same way I had when I was human. Warm and alive.

The lights and buildings that had felt so welcoming before now blurred together to look like something out of a nightmare. The one I always used to have about being sped through the night sky at terrifying speeds for only a short amount of time. When all of the vertigo inducing confusion stopped, I'd look down and find that my hair was white and my hands were lined and frail. Guidance used to tell me that maybe I was scared of growing up too fast.

And yet, all of that seemed like it happened a life-time ago.

I was still reeling from what happened back at that house. After Embry had told me about the absence of a body, I didn't know if I truly believed him. I was in denile.

I'd sprinted up the stairs and immediatly headed to the door that had been firmly shut upon Embry's exit but found myself running straight pass it, storming into the room at the center of the hall and slamming the door behind me.

Deja vu.

I took in the white walls, sprinkled with pictures of my friends and family, the unmade bed, the white sleeve hanging out of the second drawer of the dresser, the shard of shiny black wood taped to the wall above it. I threw myself onto the bed and hugged a pillow to my body, buried my face in it. My own human scent set a faint fire burning in my throat, a constant reminder that this was not who I was anymore. I could lay here forever but as long as the scent lingered, the fire would still rage.

There was no going back from this.

I wondered if this would have happened if I were still here. Would I still have come home one day to find a pool of blood? The sick thing was that I didn't think so. I had this feeling that whatever vampire that came here wasn't the cause of the horrible possibility that somebody had died. Maybe...maybe my absence had been too much to handle. Because I knew she loved me that way.

I unconsciously squeezed the pillow tighter when there was a quiet knock at the door.

"Kendra, I think it's time to go."

And I wasn't really sure whether I was ever going to be able to come back, but the thing was I wasn't sure if I wanted to. After all of this, maybe I was finally ready to leave it all behind. But I still found myself taking the tacks out of the pictures and putting them in my bag. Kevin, Lila, Heather and many more. None of them would know that I was saying goodbye to them forever but I would keep them with me for just that much time.

Embry still looked sick but his eyes were calculating as he slowed the car to a stop at the red light. I looked away to keep myself from wondering what he was thinking.

"I know what I saw, Kev."

I started in my seat and my eyes immediately snapped to the two teenagers sitting on the curb, lit under an orange streetlight. Embry froze, watching them, too.

Lila was poking at a band-aid on her knee with one hand and fiddling with her cell phone with the other. Kevin frowned and pulled her hand away.

"Stop messing with it. You're gonna start bleeding again," he murmured. She waved it off and stood, pacing.

"I know you think I'm crazy, Kevin, but-"

"I don't think you're crazy."

"It was her," Lila breathed, wonderstruck, "I saw her. And she was beautiful."

I swallowed hard and half heartedly urged the light to turn red.

"I could hardly believe it," she was going on, "She looked just like her mother."

I saw Embry toss a glance my way but I didn't return it, keeping my eyes glued to the glass.

"Lila." Kevin stood up and Lila immediately stopped her pacing when he tugged on her arm. "If you saw her-"

"I did."

"Okay. But wherever she is, she obviously doesn't want to be found," he said gently. We've always known how sensitive Lila could be and always made an effort not to upset her. If you so much as raised your voice, Lila would be in tears. And the same sensitivity was displayed right now as tears began to pool in her dark eyes.

"I know," she said thickly, and turned her back to Kevin. She never did like people to see her cry. Kevin hugged her from behind.

"You're secret is safe with me," she whispered.

I turned back to Embry, eyes wide.

"Drive."

"But we don't even-"

"Just go."

I hopped out of the car and came to stand beside Embry, who had been waiting for me to get out for a good twenty minutes. He was in the same position as when I had come earlier, leaning against the truck, arms crossed. I sighed wearily.

"I guess I owe you," I murmured, kicking the dirt beneath my feet. His lips quirked into a dry smile.

"I guess you do." I nodded and began to turn around but turned back, remembering something.

"Listen," I began, "I know that with the pack mind, nothing is really a secret but...try to keep it to yourself as long as you can." A frown slowly appeared in his forhead.

"I- don't think I can do that..."

"You have to try. Jake doesn't have to know you were an accessory. It never happened, alright?"

He shook his head, as if he couldn't quite comprehend what I was saying but said, "Alright..."

"Good," I replied and then added, "And thank you."

He opened the door and got into the car. "Whatever, kid. Go home. Before they come looking for you."

Embry started the engine and as I hesitated to leave, I saw him mouth, "Now."

I sighed and turned to go, a feeling of apprehension rising in my stomach. I didn't think what was waiting for me back at the house was going to be pleasant but I couldn't stay out here forever.

Time to face the music.

A/N: OMDE.

Is anyone as relieved as I am that the chapter is DONE? Probably not. =D

Anyways, if you haven't noticed, I have recently posted a new story. I think it'll be appealing to all of you who are fans of Charmed, fans of witches, fans of fantasy YA fics, or just fans of hot mysterious male leads. Check it out, if you're interested!

Liked this chapter? Let me know! Click the little blue guy down there. He's been kinda lonely.

Your CuTii3Pii3 ;)