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I sat there, dumbfounded, watching Jacob and Seth leave.

I wanted to say something to him as he disappeared down the hall. I wanted to tell him that this was exactly what I was talking about earlier. This was the same thing that happens almost every time we are together.

I shouldn't have been surprised. No matter how hard he claimed to be trying, Jacob knew just how to mess everything up again.

He would always going running when Bella came calling.

It seemed that no matter what I did, I was always going to come in second place compared to her. Sure, he claimed he liked me, but he loved her and I would never be able to compete with that.

You should just cut your losses now. I kept telling myself. It seemed that the more I admitted my feelings for Jacob, the more complicated and painful everything seemed to get it.

But, as much as I tried to deny it, I was in too deep now. I cared for Jacob a lot more than I wanted to admit and that wasn't going to just disappear.

I tried calling Embry—he was the only person who could make me feel better in this situation—but his phone went straight to voicemail.

I was desperate enough that I went to look for Leah, just so I wouldn't have to be alone, but she had taken off too.

Sighing, I returned to my room and picked my book up again. I tried to focus on reading the cheesy, romantic novel—I don't know why I actually read these books, love never turns out that way—until I eventually fell asleep.

XXX

"Scarlette!" The harsh whisper pulled me out of my dreamless sleep, "Scarlette!

I opened one eye to see Seth's face centimeters from mine. He eyes were wide almost like he was surprised that I was actually awake.

"What?" My voice was bitter, angry, that I had been woken up.

"I need you to come with me." He said, his voice now a normal volume, "It's important."

"What could be so important at…four thirty? You woke me up at four thirty in the morning?" I half screeched the last part. I was very much a person who enjoyed sleeping; it was hard for me to wake up earlier than necessary.

"Please, Scarlette." He didn't have to say anything else, I could tell by the tone in his voice that whatever it was that was so important, it was big. Big enough for him to be completely serious, which rarely ever happened. The last time I had heard him so serious was when he called to tell me that Uncle Harry had passed away.

Wordlessly, I climbed out of bed. He seemed relieved that I didn't argue or question him. I moved to grab a pair of shoes.

"Do I need to get dressed?" I was wearing an old t-shirt and shorts.

"No, we're just going to Emily's."

I nodded as I put my shoes on. When I finished, I followed Seth out of the house to Aunt Sue's car.

The ride to Emily's house was silent. I wasn't sure what to talk about without asking what was going on and Seth didn't seem inclined to give me any answers. I absentmindedly stared out the window, trying to form conclusions of what could be so important in my head.

"You'll never guess it," Seth spoke quietly. It was so unlike him, it was actually unnerving, "No matter what you're thinking."

"Nobody's…" I spoke the words carefully, almost willing it to not be true, "Nobody's hurt right?"

These people were my family now and I couldn't bear the thought of something happening to any of them.

"Everyone's fine," I watched his grip on the steering wheel tightened. His knuckles went white in a matter of seconds, "Physically, anyway."

I didn't say anything more because I didn't think I could handle any more information than that.

We, finally, arrived at Emily's house and hurried inside. I was surprised to see that everyone I had come to know in La Push was crammed into Emily's small living room. All the boys and their girlfriends were here as well as Leah, Aunt Sue, Old Quil, and Billy Black. They all wore the same tense, almost nervous expression, and they all stared at me as I walked through the door.

Jacob—I was surprised to see that he wasn't with Bella—and Embry, who were sitting on the couch, stood when they saw me.

"Scarlette." Embry's voice was pained. I migrated over to him immediately.

I stared up at him, pleading him to with him to tell me, "What's going on?"

He glanced at Jacob like he was asking for permission to tell me. I didn't like that. Embry was my best friend, if something was happening I wanted him to be the one to tell me.

"Scarlette…" Jacob started.

I shook my head, "I want to hear it from Embry."

Embry reached up and scratched the back of his neck, his elbow raised in the air. A nervous habit he had.

"I'm not sure I should be the one to tell you everything," He told me, "I'm not very good at explaining things. Jacob or Sam should tell you, they're better at it."

Jacob moved closer to me, but I wasn't ready to face him just yet.

"Sam," I turned away from Jacob, "Will you tell me, please?"

"Of course." He said. Jacob started to say something, but Sam gave him a look that said he better shut up if he knew what was good for him, "Would you like to sit down?"

I shook my head, I just wanted to get this over with.

It took Sam a few minutes to find a place to start.

"Scarlette, do you remember the legends that Billy, Old Quil, and Harry used to tell everyone at the bonfires?" he questioned.

I nodded.

Of course I remembered the legends. Sometimes after the bonfires Seth and I would have sleepovers and Uncle Harry would tell us the legends again as a bedtime story. I loved the legends, they were the only reason I would go to the bonfires as a child. Unfortunately it was a major reason that my mom decided to move away from La Push; she didn't want me to believe in such 'nonsense'.

Now, Sam was nervous, "Well…there's no delicate way to this…but, the legends aren't just stories…they're real, Scarlette."

It took a moment for me to react, "Are you trying to tell me that our ancestors turned into wolves and fought the cold ones?" I wasn't sure whether to laugh or be angry. This was obviously some big joke they were trying to pull on me.

He took a deep breath, "Not just our ancestors."

It took me a minute to realize what he was telling me. I narrowed my eyes, "It's not very nice of you guys to wake me up in the middle of the night to play a trick on me."

My breathing increased rapidly, turning into short, quick breaths. I knew what was coming next.

"Sweetheart…" Aunt Sue spoke quietly. I knew her tone all too well. It was the tone she used when she was being completely honest with me; her truth tone, I called it. Whenever she used that tone with me, I knew I had to believe whatever she said. Aunt Sue didn't believe in lying about things, she was always honest with us.

I started to sway, my head suddenly spinning. I reached out to whoever was next to me and grabbed their shirt in an iron grip.

"Scarlette?" I was holding onto Jared.

The room started to spin. I reached out to my left and grabbed onto Brady. I was afraid I was going to fall.

"Are you…" It took me a minute to find the words to speak, "Are you telling me that you guys turn into wolves?"

"Yes." Sam spoke.

I lost my footing then.

"Jared!" Kim cried, but he had already scooped me into his arms.

He tried to hand me to Jacob but I wouldn't let go of him so he settled for setting me on the couch.

"Are you okay?" Seth sat himself down next to me. I reached out and grabbed his hand. When we were younger and something bad was happening, we always held hands. It was our way of calming each other down. He knew me well enough to know what was happening to me, "Breathe, Scarlette. Everything is going to be okay."

I tried to regulate my breathing by taking deep breaths but it wasn't working. I couldn't calm down.

"What's going on?" Jacob demanded. He pushed Embry off the couch and sat next to me. He took my other hand and I didn't have the strength to fight him off. Besides, I couldn't deny that it was somewhat comforting to have him there.

"She's having a panic attack," Seth spoke for me, "Leah, could you—" But she already placed a glass of water in front of me.

"What do we do?" There was panic in Jacob's voice, "How do we help her?"

"We just have to wait it out," Seth explained, "She'll calm down after a few minutes."

"There has to be something with can do," Jacob growled, "I'm not leaving her like this."

"Just," I gasped, and it hurt, "give me…a minute…please."

Jacob said nothing but never took his eyes off me. No one else said anything as they waited for me to relax. Seven minutes and twenty six seconds later, I was breathing regularly again.

"I'm sorry." I spoke after I finished chugging my water.

"Don't be," Seth gave my hand a light squeeze, "It's a lot to process."

I looked at my cousin—one of the few people in the world I considered my best friend—trying to picture him as a wolf. He was the most caring, easy going I had ever met, and I couldn't imagine him as a dangerous creature.

"You're really a wolf, huh?" I asked. I didn't know what else to say at this point.

"Yeah, I'm really a wolf but I'm not going to hurt you," I must have given him a weird look because he added, "What's wrong?"

"I don't think you would hurt me," I told him, "You're my best friend, the only person who's always looked out for me, there's no doubt in my mind that I'm completely safe with you. In fact, I don't think any of you would hurt me." I smiled at him, no matter what he was, he would always be the same Seth.

It seemed like everyone in the room let out a relieved sigh.

"So, you're okay?" Embry asked, coming back into my view. He looked worried.

Suddenly, I was on my feet, throwing my body against his in an effort to push him. He didn't budge, "I can't believe you kept this from me!" My tone was a mixture of seriousness and joking.

Embry smiled as he steadied me. Even if I tried, I couldn't stay angry at him, "I'm sorry, I wasn't allowed to."

"Why not?" I questioned. Embry looked at Sam.

"As alpha of the pack," He explained, "I made it a rule that no one was allowed to tell anyone outside of the pack about our secret."

"But Aunt Sue, Billy, Old Quil, Emily, and Kim know?" I said it more like a question because I wasn't sure how much they actually knew.

"Sue, Billy, and Old Quil are the council leaders, they're know everything that goes on within the tribe," Sam continued to explain everything to me, "And Emily is my imprint and Kim is Jared's. Imprints are allowed to know everything that goes on in the pack, but no one outside the council leaders and the imprint can know, so you have to promise me, Scarlette, that you won't tell anyone. "

I vaguely remembered the story of the third wife and imprinting. As a child, I wanted nothing more than a boy from the tribe to imprint on me so we could live happily ever after. I always thought it would be a fantasy, nothing I ever thought would become real.

"I promise." I swore, and I meant it. These people were my family, I would do anything to protect them, "But, if only the council leaders and imprints can know, how come you guys are telling me right now?"

Sam looked at me, almost like he was silently giving me an apology, "This is something that Jake needs to tell you."

My breath caught in my throat as Jacob moved in front of me; I could no longer avoid him.

"I want you to know that no matter what happens, I won't let anything happen to you, okay?" He spoke quietly, not quite looking at me, "Do you trust me?"

I didn't say anything. I wasn't sure I could yes and I didn't want to say no in front of anyone, "What's going on, Jacob?"

"The reason I left earlier is because a redheaded vampire named Victoria is trying to kill Bella." I appreciated his bluntness. I didn't want anyone to beat around the bush, I wanted the truth directly.

My head started to swim again. I was stupid not to realize that if wolves existed that the cold ones would too. I was suddenly scared—terrified, really—that a vampire was this close to my family. I left myself start to slip and Jacob's arms were around me before I could even think about falling.

"Scarlette, I won't let her anyone near you, I swear." Jacob said in a tone that forced me to believe him.

"It's not me I'm worried about." I said. I looked at Brady and Collin; they were huge but they seemed far too young to be fighting vampires. I looked at Seth and Embry and the thought of them anyone near a vampire made me want to puke. It didn't seem fair that Emily and Kim had to deal with the idea that they could lose the love of their lives so easily and I couldn't imagine anyone or anything willing to deal with Paul's anger.

But, when I thought about a vampire near Jacob, I wanted to pass out. I couldn't breathe when I thought about someone hurting him; I couldn't begin to describe the aching, hollow feeling of losing Jacob. It broke me in two just thinking about, so I pushed the thought away.

"You don't have to worry about us," Jake said quietly, "We can take care of ourselves."

I couldn't look at him, it was too painful at this moment.

"Why is the vampire after Bella?" I tried to focus on something else.

"Do you remember when I told you she was dating someone else?" Jacob asked, I nodded, "She's dating a vampire."

I felt myself started to fall back into a panic attack again but Jacob pulled me to his chest, calming instantly.

"Why?" I choked out.

"I don't know," He mumbled into my hair, "but you have to promise me that you won't ever go to Forks unless you're with one of us. I can't have you running into any of the Cullen's."

"Cullen's?"

"Bella is dating Edward Cullen. He and his family—" He said the word with such disgust, "live in Forks. Promise me, Scarlette, that you won't ever go there."

I didn't have the strength to say anything so I just moved closer to him. His arms tightened around me.

Everything that happened earlier didn't matter anymore. Right now, I needed Jacob; I needed him to hold me, to keep me safe.

"Are you gonna be okay, Scarlette?" Paul spoke the first time that night. I moved so that I could face him but Jacob kept his arms around me.

"I think so." I said.

"We're sorry we had to throw everything at you the way we did," Sam told her, "But with the redhead getting close to Bella, we didn't want you going around La Push unaware."

"It's okay," I said. I wasn't mad that they kept it from me or in the way that they told me. I was just relieved that I knew what was going on, "But there's nothing else, right? I don't want any more secrets."

Everyone's eyes fell on Jacob and he suddenly looked nervous.

"I don't know if this is such a good idea." He whispered.

"No more secrets." I repeated and stared up at him, waiting.

"Well, there's one more reason that we decided to tell you what was going on…" He spoke quickly, like he was trying to get it over with, "Oh, god…I don't know if I can do this. The other reason we told you is…please, don't be mad at me, but…Scarlette…I imprinted on you."

I wasn't angry…I couldn't be…because my world suddenly went black.