A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the long delay. Explanations, excuses and more apologies are on the blog. Extra long chapter to make up for the longer wait. And as always, reviews are given special love.

Sunday

A bloodcurdling war cry sounded before the door to the Black's kitchen swung open. "Err, are we interrupting something?" came an amused voice from the doorway. Embry paused in his death rattle groaning and looked up from the floor, only to see an extremely amused Collin, a slightly confused looking Brady and Seth who looked worried until he noticed that Kaia was unharmed. That particular imprint grinned deviously at the distraction that took Embry's attention off her; a situation she took full advantage of by emptying the contents of the bowl she was holding, all over that unsuspecting individual's head. "I win Call, now you have to clean up before Rachel gets back," was her only retort before flouncing out the open kitchen door into the yard. Seth made to follow her, but couldn't help taking a second to look around the war-zone that was formerly the kitchen. There was flour everywhere, including Kaia's hair, eggs dripping off the counter and from Embry's head, and unless he was mistaken, that was Jake's motionless leg sticking out from under the table. "Wow" was Collin's observation.

Embry rolled his eyes and then began grumbling as he got around to picking himself off the floor. "That kid has reflexes. Damn, she's fast" he mumbled under this breath, as he attempted to get the sole pancake that had been made before the food fight had begun, off the ceiling. Meanwhile Brady was poking at Jake's leg and Collin was looking to Embry for an explanation. Seth had already decamped to go find his imprint, and would probably get the story from her. "Food fight. Jake ducked under the table to avoid the egg missiles. Knocked himself out. Also. Seth's imprint is evil." That was as much as the younger wolves got from the older one, as he rushed about cleaning up the kitchen before his Alpha's sister came back. Brady and Collin looked at each other once before bursting into laughter, ignoring the evil eye that Embry was shooting them.

Meanwhile, Seth had followed Kaia out behind the garage where she ducked her head under the tap, to get the flour and eggshells out. The rush of the water covered the sound of Seth's approach, so she jumped when she stood up to see him watching her, an amused sparkle in his eye. "So I hear you killed Jake and injured Embry" he chuckled. "Hmph, yeah well, Embry thought rubbing flour in my hair, was threat enough to get him some more pancakes, more fool him," was her reply. "Apparently, Jake is still out cold and I think Embry might be in trouble, coz that's Paul's truck coming up the road right about now," Seth pointed. Kaia rubbed her hands together and giggled, "Oh this should be fun, hurry up lets go see if she kills him first or lets him explain before she deals the death blow." Seth laughed and followed her into the house.

Fifteen minutes later, Seth, Kaia, Collin, Brady, Embry, Jake with a bag of frozen peas on his head, and Paul, all sat on the shore of First Beach, in utter silence. "Wow," mumbled Embry. "Small… and yet.. so terrifying," added Jake. "You realize that's my girlfriend right?," Paul stated, "I now have a very real fear for my life." "Dude… she made me want to run home to my mommy." Collin muttered; the rest of them nodding, utterly shameless in their fear of Rachel Black and her threatened retribution. Except for one. Kaia struggled to keep her sniggering under her breath, but wasn't prepared for Embry's sudden movement, when he turned and swung her over his shoulder, and stalked to the water. The only one affected by her screaming was Seth, who was stopped from going after them by Collin's restraining hand on his shoulder. He looked to his best friend and Collin just shook his head at him. "You know Embry won't hurt her," he muttered under his breath. Seth nodded and sat back down, fighting the urge to make sure his imprint was safe and unharmed. His head told him Embry would kill someone before letting Kaia get hurt, but the part of his soul that belonged to her, wanted to be holding her, so that he knew without a doubt that she wasn't getting hurt.

Her payback dunking over, Embry and Kaia rejoined the rest of the group and the talk inevitable turned to school, which was re-opening the next day. "So Kai, you looking forward to sharing a lab table with me, you KNOW I'm the better looking Jameson right?" quipped Collin, flexing his arms and pretending to strike a pose. Even Seth had to laugh as Kaia widened her eyes at him and then got up to run to a surprised Brady, clutching his arm and squealing at the top of her lungs, for him to "Save me from this vile creature" in a horribly fake Southern accent. The laughter got worse as Embry told her to stop the terrible accents, or he would die laughing. She sat up, narrowed her eyes at him and then proceeded to wiggle her fingers while chanting something under her breath. "What are you doing?" Seth asked, moving closer to her very subtly, as he did so. "Interrupt me not, young Clearwater," she intoned. "I'm putting a spell on Embry so that every woman who sees him will go running in the opposite direction the second she lays eyes on him." "Wait a minute, that already happens," Jake roared with laughter. "Do you now see the extent of my awesomeness?" she asked smugly. "I can even affect the past."

And the rest of the day passed with the same bantering. Rachel had finally taken pity on them and decided to bring down a picnic lunch, when they were joined by Leah, and quite a few of the rest of the pack as well, until by mid-afternoon, the entire pack, plus imprints, and assorted friends had congregated on First Beach. The girls either sunbathed or lazed around, enjoying the last of the summer sunshine. Meanwhile the boys organized an impromptu volleyball match, which they had to move into the water when Rachel complained that they were kicking up too much sand. Quil of course had decided to sit out the game, helping Claire to build a huge sandcastle. Embry noticed Kaia watching them with a longing expression on her face, before she shook her head. Then with a determined look, she marched to the shore line with one of Claire's buckets, filled it with water, and then snuck up on Leah and Rachel, emptying it over them both, before she ran up the beach laughing gaily. As she ran, she kept looking over her shoulder, at the two soaking wet girls who were chasing her, and she missed seeing the large person, who, it seemed to Embry, purposely moved himself into her path.

Without a second thought, Embry raced down the beach, only to find that Seth had also seen what had happened and followed. Knowing who Kaia's obstacle was, he found it easy to believe that the rest of the pack would follow if things got heated. Already he could hear the twins telling Jake they would be right back. As he reached Kaia, who was still sprawled on the ground, he noticed that the large boy in her way hadn't even offered her a hand up. Rachel and Leah had reached them just then, and Leah glared at the long-haired offender, while Rachel helped Kaia off the ground. "What the hell is your problem Lester?" exploded Seth. Embry sighed to himself. It seemed that even though Seth had always stayed the cool head in pack discussions, imprinting was turning him into a Paul-esque rage machine.

Lester simply looked at them coolly, ignoring Kaia and the girls, sneering when he saw Seth's concern over the green-eyed girl. "Wow, another bitch joins the pack," he smirked, seeing Embry close to losing his temper. "Hey Lester, if you've got something to say, grow a set, and say it like a man. You don't have to knock girls over when they aren't even looking at you. Oh wait, is that why you do it in the first place?" Collin asked, a dangerous tone in his voice. "Whatever man, looks like another worshipper for your little cult you have going on here," Lester stated. "Keep your bitch to your end of the beach." He said, turning to walk away. "Hey Lester," he heard a female voice call, before turning to find Leah's fist in his face. As he fell to the sand, he heard the other's laughing. A shocked Kaia watched Leah wide-eyed, as she dropped a disdainful glare at his prone form, and turned to walk away. "Don't screw around with any of us. I might not hit you in the jaw next time." Embry crouched down next to him and whispered soft enough so Kaia wouldn't hear, "Oh and Lester, the new girl is one of us, so if you touch her, go near her, or even look at her the wrong way, I WILL find you, and believe me when I say, you WILL get hurt." And they left him lying there.

On the way back to the others, Kaia edged closer to Rachel and then asked, "Rach, who the hell was that guy?" Rachel sighed before replying, "Lester Stevens. Major prick, although he wasn't always like that. He has this grudge against most of the guys because of how they look, and the fact that most girls in school don't pay any attention to anyone who isn't one of the 'gang' back there." Kaia didn't miss the mocking in Rachel's voice when she used air quotes around 'the gang' and listened intently as she went on. "He spread this rumor around the Rez that the guys were all on drugs. Stupid really, since all of them are related in some way, pretty distantly. Their size is all genetic. Some of them have it and some of them don't. Sam put a stop to that pretty quickly when he publicly called Lester on it, and then invited Dr. Cullen from Forks to come run blood tests to prove that they had never touched the stuff in their lives."
Rachel smiled to herself at that particularly sneaky maneuver and winked at Kaia. "Bottom line is, he is beyond jealous, and acts like he's got some sort of vendetta against the boys, and a few of us girls too actually." "Oh Ok, is he going to be in school as well?" asked Kaia warily. " 'Fraid so kid," replied Rachel, "I think he's a junior too, I just hope you don't have any classes with him. The boys say he can be a real pain in the ass." "Yeah well, he knows better than to look sideways at you again," retorted Collin, from where he had snuck up next to them. "Especially if Leah is around," chimed in Brady. "Oh he won't. I can pretty much guarantee that." Seth added grimly from just behind them. Rachel rolled her eyes at the machismo, and looked back at her best friend, only to see even Leah's face set in determination. That was when Rachel Black realized just how far the packs would go to keep one of their imprints safe.

The Next Day.

Nervous?" asked Rachel with a small smile, glancing at the young girl in the seat next to her, as she turned onto the highway, towards the La Push High School. "A little," admitted Kaia, watching the ocean vista roll past as Rachel went well over the speed limit, as she usually did if Paul wasn't in the car to grumble at her to slow down. "And I bet yesterday didn't help much," hinted Rachel. "No shit Sherlock," retorted Kaia.
Rachel laughed as they pulled into the parking lot of the high school and she turned to Kaia. "Listen, chances are, you're going to have either one of the twins or Seth in almost all your classes. Embry and Paul are both seniors, and if anyone, especially Lester, gives you a hard time, you give one of them a call. I don't think they'll be too far away from you at any point anyway." "Wait what? I've got bodyguards or something now?" came the indignant reply from the passenger seat. Rachel giggled, "Sweetie, have you seen the way these guys act around us? Paul won't let me lift a finger, if he thinks he can do it for me. Jake is almost as bad, Embry adores you, and the omelettes, don't forget. The twins and Seth were so excited to hear you were going to be a junior as well; I had to kick them out when you told them. Believe me when I say, they are going to coddle you until you want to hit them." "I already want to hit them," grumbled Kaia, "as if I can't take care of myself… stupid boys.. boy cooties…" which was all Rachel heard as she began to mumble to herself.
As Rachel turned the car to leave, she couldn't resist a parting shot at the grumpy brunette walking to the sidewalk. "Oh, and if you don't believe me, check out your welcoming committee," she called, before laughing and driving back out the gates.

Kaia turned to the other end of the parking lot, only to see Seth leaning against a dark blue pick-up truck, watching her walk towards him, an unreadable expression on his face. Just then two motorcycles pulled into the lot and parked alongside the truck. Helmets came off to reveal two identical smiling faces. Arguments as to who beat whom, were interrupted when Jake, Ryan and Paul walked out of the woods and joined them. Kaia thought this was weird but dismissed it as them taking a short cut to school. She took a deep breath before turning to face the doors. She felt a presence behind her and a glance showed her Seth, watching her with the same intense expression he had worn when she had first seen him. His face suddenly broke into a sunny smile, as he held the door open for her and guided her through. "It won't be that bad you know," he murmured, as the twins joined them, their argument still going strong. "I hope not," she sighed as they walked to the office to pick up her schedule.

A couple of weeks passed in this fashion, with the only difference of her getting a ride with Seth every morning and afternoon, and meeting up with everyone else in the parking lot before class. She soon learned that the Brady-Collin argument was a daily occurrence and not likely to disappear anytime in the next millennium. Ryan was more of an unknown entity to her. He was quieter than the others, held back more, but when he did get involved in conversation, Kaia could sense a sharp mind.
Like Rachel had said, she had all her classes with either the twins or Seth, and she blushed to think that Biology was fast becoming her favorite subject. It was the one in which she and Seth shared a lab table, much to Collin's announced disappointment. Brady had draped a frog's leg over his shoulder, while he was standing on a cafeteria chair proclaiming how upset he was that Kaia was sharing with Seth and he had been stuck with his twin again. Lunch was when she sat at an extremely crowded table with the twins, Seth (she blushed again at the thought) Ryan, Paul and Embry.
Embry had surprisingly found himself checking up on Kaia every now and then and made sure to make note of anyone who might have given her a hard time. Having always been a bit of a loner in Jake's pack, he was drawn to the way the younger girl had simply seemed to hang around him, and was so comfortable doing so, that just last night she had dozed off against his shoulder, while watching a movie with him, Jake and Rachel. He figured this was how the other boys in the packs felt about their younger siblings; he had even taken to eyeing Seth with suspicion now and then, but not even he could question the boy's devotion. Jake had noticed Embry's feelings the previous night when they had both been on patrol together and had told Rachel about it. Rachel had simply smiled and said, "I'm glad that Embry finally knows what it's like to have a little sister, it's a lot like how I feel when I see you."

While Seth was doing everything he could to make sure he and Kaia did well in their shared class, Collin and Brady seemed to be going in the opposite direction. Rachel now referred to Collin, Brady and Kaia as a single entity. An entity she simply called Trouble. It didn't matter where they went or what they did. They just seemed to get themselves into more trouble than any others in the packs, imprints included. They had already shown up on Rachel's doorstep twice, with cuts and bruises from attempting to do handstands all the way down to the shore front, over the pebbled section of the beach. She had made sure to cover up the boys arms before Kaia noticed they were already healing, before giving them all a lecture about it.
A lecture which was promptly followed by all 3 getting brain-freezes from attempting to inhale the ice-cream she had given them to make them feel better. Jake simply laughed at their antics, while Embry did everything he could to join in. Paul was an active cheerleader, but only when Rachel was not watching. Jared and Sam found them hilarious, and Emily and Kim loved them. Ryan just smiled at their crazy plots and covered for them whenever he could. Leah would glare at anyone who had anything negative to say about Kaia, and Seth was another story altogether.

He spent most of these pranks wishing Kaia would be as easygoing with him, only to realize that now and then, she would send a shy smile his way, and not the kind she used with everyone else. It was a smile he knew was reserved only for him. He knew this because he spent every moment watching her to see who else could make her smile like that. And it made him happy that it seemed to only be him. So he was satisfied that, although the twins seemed to be her chosen partners in crime, he seemed to be something special as well. He only wished she would still feel he was special when he told her about them.

So far, Kaia's world seemed pretty ideal. She had friends she liked, a guardian who was pretty much like a really cool older sister, Embry, who acted a lot like her older brother always had, the twins who got in as much trouble with her as they did without, Ryan, who she discovered actually had a wicked sense of humor, and Seth. She couldn't really define what Seth meant to her right then, but she knew it was something. A something she couldn't really define. Like seeing a picture through a window in the fog. You knew the vague outline, but you had to wait until the fogginess cleared before you could see it clearly.
So overall, she was pretty happy, except for Friday afternoons. That was when she had her advanced Math class. The ONLY class she had without any of the pack in it. They had gaped at her and told her they were not signing up for any more of Mr. Dalenzi than they had to endure.

This was also the ONLY class she had with Lester in it.

The taunts had been subtle at first, and usually whispered. When he realized she was ignoring him, they got a little louder, and then a little more pointed. Then he graduated to muttering things at her in the hallways when she was alone, which was not often. But it was always worse in class. By the end of September, she was ready to scream every time the calendar pointed out that it was Friday.
She didn't mention Lester or his comments to anyone else, because she knew they would get mad and she didn't want anyone else fighting her battles for her. And she knew without a doubt that if Embry or Seth got wind of what Lester was suggesting, then the boy would probably be rendered incapable of biological children. So she gritted her teeth and ignored him, which worked fine until the last Friday of the month.
Lester had stepped up his taunts this week. And during the class it went on non-stop, from suggesting that she was 'available' to any of the pack, or maybe she and the twins had a kinky little set-up going. Disgusted, she muttered, "asswipe" before stalking out of the classroom when the bell rang. Only to find that he followed directly behind her, offering to 'show her a good time,' and suggesting that with her supposed experience, she could definitely 'give him a hand.'
That was the last straw. She had listened to, and ignored his lewd idiocy for far too long. So right there, in the middle of the hallway, she whipped around and punched him.
Right in the face.
Clutching his nose, his eyes filled with rage, he raised his other hand to retaliate, when he found his fist in a vice-like grip inches away from Kaia's shocked face.

"I suggest you think about what you almost did buddy," an enraged Collin hissed, inches from Lester's now terrified face. Ryan stepped protectively in front of Kaia, making sure that he was between her and Lester, but in such a way that Seth could still see her. Keeping her in Seth's line of vision was the only way to keep the young shifter grounded for the moment.
Lester looked beyond Collin's arm, to see Brady holding Seth back. This was a Seth Clearwater that had never been seen before. His usually placid demeanor was replaced by overpowering fury. Brady's expression suggested that he wasn't really happy with holding Seth back. The only reason he was doing it, was because if he didn't, his best friend would definitely phase and there would be nothing left of Lester for the coroners to identify. Even then, Collin knew his twin was weighing the odds of letting Seth go long enough to maim Lester. He had almost hit Kaia, and for Seth, any intended threat to his imprint was unacceptable.
All threats had to be eliminated. It was a rule for an imprinted wolf.
You see threat. You get rid of threat.
A simple flow chart that they loved for its very simplicity. This decision was taken out of their hands thankfully, by 2 large shadows that suddenly loomed over Lester's now pale face. "Do we have a problem?" boomed Paul's deep voice, watching the boy cowering in front of Collin, as if he would like nothing more for Collin to say there was a problem. Embry was more interested in the fear he had seen in Kaia's eyes when she had looked at Lester. "He almost hit her," growled Seth.

"What?" came the simultaneous outrage from Paul and Embry. "Yeah, we were coming to get her from class, and we heard him saying… stuff.. to her. It was sick Em, real sick. So she hit him. And he almost punched her…" muttered Collin. By the expression on Seth and Brady's face, whatever it was that Lester had been saying, it had been vile. Paul glared at Lester, while Embry's face looked positively evil. Seth had calmed down enough for Brady to be sure he wouldn't accidentally phase, although the younger wolf couldn't help wishing he would run across Lester while he was in his wolf form. Embry leaned towards Lester, itching to hurt him, while Paul said menacingly, "I know Embry told you what would happen if you messed with one of ours. Are you that stupid that you want to find out first hand Lester?"
The terrified one in question looked at the hulking giants in front of him, before gulping and shaking his head.
"Yeah that's what I thought. Now get out of here, before the janitor has to mop you up." As he walked away, he managed a weak sneer at Kaia, who had stood stone-faced through the entire thing. She ignored him and breathed a sigh of relief when he turned the corner and was out of sight. The boys had turned worried eyes to her, and were mollified to see that she seemed fine. Of course, that was until Embry said, "You don't have to worry about him, we've got your back Munchkin."

And that did it.

Tears streaming down her face, she raced down the hallway and disappeared outside, before they could stop her. Seth was about to go after her, when Embry stopped him and went himself. Following his nose, he went straight to the back of the bleachers to see a tiny ball under the lower ones, curled up, and apparently sobbing. Approaching her as he would approach any crying woman, with extreme caution, Embry wondered what had made her burst into tears.
"Hey Kai, what happened? It wasn't Lester, he didn't even phase you, was it something we said?," he asked softly. Looking up, she hastily wiped her tears and spoke hesitantly, "No, it's not that… I'm glad you guys told him off, I should have said something earlier… but… it's just that, you called me Munchkin… why'd you do that?" "Because you struck me as being very munchkin-y at the time. I don't know… I'm sorry?" was Embry's very puzzled reply. "No, it's ok… it's just that, my brother used to call me munchkin all the time… and he's been missing for months now, and I just… I miss him Em… so much… I miss him and I wish… I wish he was home again…" she said, dissolving into tears again as she spoke.

Embry, his heart breaking for the little brunette in front of him, picked her up and held her in his lap while she cried, before asking softly, "Would you like someone to take you home Kai? I can fix it with school, no worries, but do you want to go home right now?"
"Yeah Em, just not the twins or Seth please… I don't want to be so blubbery in front of them."
"Honey, any one of them would kill for you… you just can't see it yet…" he mumbled. Pulling out his cell phone, he called a number he usually only used when it was to do with pack business. "Leah? Hey it's Embry, listen… I'll explain later, but can you come pick up Kaia from school right now?" There was a pause as Kaia supposed Leah was asking what the problem was.
Embry's eyes tightened at the corners, before he spoke through his teeth, "Lester was being an asshole today. He nearly hit her." Even Kaia heard Leah's angry exclamation, before Embry's terse, "See you in ten."

And true to her word, ten minutes later, Leah pulled up in front of the school gates, looking for all the world like she would like to get out and pound some sense into Lester herself. As Kaia got into the car, she looked over at the girl, as if to make sure that Embry wasn't lying about the almost part. "You ok?" she asked. Kaia's nod seemed enough for her as she turned the car around to head for Rachel's. Glancing in her rear-view mirror, she saw Embry watching them as they turned out of the drive-way. Once they were out of sight, he sighed and went back inside, knowing that Seth would be beyond frantic with worry by now. He spotted them as soon as he walked through the doors. Seth looked like he was about to rip Brady's head off for not letting go of him earlier, and Paul, Ryan and Collin were trying to calm him down. The second he spotted Embry, however, he raced over to ask him what had happened and where Kaia was. Embry took a deep breath and explained to them that he had called Leah and Kaia was probably already at home while they were talking. As soon as he mentioned Leah had taken her home, Ryan had nodded at him and walked away towards the office to make sure that she didn't get in trouble for leaving.

"You know I can't just let this go right?" Seth looked at the others questioningly. All he got in return were 4 blank looks that said it all. "Of course not dumbass, you just have to make sure no one sees you making any threats or following up on them," Collin voiced their collective opinion. "Good to hear you have something in mind," Embry said, "Coz that shithead deserves some payback." "Oh, he'll get it alright," muttered Seth, looking devious, while Paul and Embry exchanged satisfied glances. "You just let us know how we can help." "And you all know that Leah and I will want a piece of this as well right?," they heard Ryan interject, from where he had just rejoined them. "Sure, but I get first dibs. My imprint, my rules." When it looked like there was going to be no argument to Seth's only condition, they looked at each other and as one, knew that Lester Stevens was going to be very, very sorry he hadn't taken Embry's advice that day on the beach.

Seth's grim smile was testament enough to that fact.

A/N: Hey guys, don't forget to review!

Sorry for such a long wait, but I promise to have lots more up real soon.

And check out the blog for some more updates that I just posted. Would love to hear your thoughts on what I have planned.
Please leave your comments on the new teaser as well.

Am dying to hear what you guys think of it!