I am so sorry that it took me so long to update again! Between work and school, I hardly have any free time! I don't want anyone to think I forgot about this story and I really appreciate all the people who kept reviewing, favoriting, and following! It means so much to me! I finally finished Chapter 9 and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do! Hopefully, you will guys will let me know what you think!

I promise Chapter 10 will be posted soon!

Thanks for reading!

It had been a week since I had seen Jacob.

I had been avoiding him, as childish as it was, and he had been nice enough to let me.

Seth had been giving me constant updates—as I was sure he was doing for Jacob—and even though I wanted to see him, I still wasn't sure I could handle it.

I wanted to be happy about the imprint, I really did, but I couldn't help but believe that fate had gotten it all wrong. Jacob was forced into loving a girl who wasn't Bella and I was forced into being that girl.

He didn't want me, no matter what he said, and I would have to spend the rest of my life knowing that the one person who was supposed to love me more than anything, loved someone else more.

Fate wasn't right, it was cruel.

I had been so wrapped up in my thoughts that I hadn't realized I was walking straight into someone until it was too late.

I almost slammed into the side of a man who was intensely staring at two different boxes of cereal. How he had managed to place the boxes back on the shelf and steady me before I could hurt either of us was beyond me; he moved faster than I could anticipate. I stumbled from the abruptness of him stopping me but he kept me from falling.

I looked up into a pair of topaz eyes.

"I am so sorry!" I cried, a deep, crimson blush creeping it's onto my face, "I wasn't looking where I was going! Are you okay?"

He laughed, a beautiful, melodic laugh, "Please, do not apologize, it was entirely my fault. I should have been paying better attention. Are you alright?"

I was too wrapped up in his face to answer him right away. He had pale—almost translucent—white skin with dark purple bruises under his eyes. He had messy bronze hair that clashed with his proper attire, but, for him, it worked. In simple terms, he was beautiful.

It wasn't he spoke again that I was pulled out of my thoughts, "Miss?"

I jumped at his voice, "Sorry!"

He laughed again and I forced myself to not get lost in the sound, "Are you sure you're alright?"

I nodded, embarrassment seeping its way back into my cheeks, "Yes, of course. Thank you for stopping me before I could hurt you."

"Trust me, miss, you couldn't hurt me, even if you tried." He smirked at his statement.

"It's Scarlette." I told him, ignoring what he said.

"Excuse me?" I tried not to get lost in his eyes.

"My name is Scarlette. You don't have to keep calling me Miss now, it makes me feel old." I tried to keep my voice steady.

"My apologies, Scarlette," He let go of me now to shake my hand. I was surprised at how icy his hand but tried not to let it show on my face, "My name is—"

"Edward." A sharp voice cut in. I jumped at the sudden appearance of a small, pixie-like woman. She was shorter than me with black, spikey hair and features similar to Edward's. I assumed they were siblings; she was just as beautiful as he was.

"Be careful, Alice," Edward hissed, his eyes suddenly dark, "Don't frighten our new friend."

Alice's dark features brightened when she turned to look at me.

I held my hand out to her, "Scarlette."

Her delicately hand gripped mine but I wasn't surprised at the coldness of it this time, "Alice Cullen."

"Cullen." I mumbled to myself. I had heard that name somewhere but I was having trouble placing it.

"We really should be going, Edward." Alice spoke quietly.

My breath caught in my throat.

Edward.

I remembered where I recognized the name now. I hadn't heard it since the night the boys told me that they were werewolves.

Edward Cullen.

Bella's boyfriend.

The person Jacob told me to stay away from.

The vampire.

"Oh my god." I moaned, my eyes suddenly wide. Jacob was going to kill me.

"Scarlette," Edward's hand reached out to grab my arm. I wasn't sure if he trying to keep me from falling or if he was trying to keep me from running away. I could tell by the look on his face that he figured out that I knew what he was, "I need you to stay calm and breathe."

I could feel it happening. The steady rhythm of a panic attack creeping its way into taking control of my body.

"Perhaps we should take this outside," Alice spoke gently, "we're starting to attract attention."

Edward seemed to sense my panic because he said, "We're just going outside to get you some air. We're not going to hurt you."

He started to walk and I had no choice but to follow him. Alice was on the other side of me, holding my other arm. For a brief moment, I was glad they hadn't let go because I wasn't sure I could walk on my own.

"You couldn't see this coming, Alice?" Edward hissed again.

"That's what I was trying to tell you," Alice snapped back. I was slightly surprised that someone of her size could sound so mean, "while you two were talking, her future disappeared."

I wasn't sure if they realized I was listening but I couldn't find my voice to tell them.

Once we were outside, Edward and Alice led me to the side of the grocery store that faced the woods.

Oh god, I let the thought slip before I could process what I was thinking, Is this where they're going to kill me?

I couldn't decide what was worse: Edward and Alice killing me here or how Jacob was going to react when he found out.

"I already told you, we're not going to hurt you, Scarlette," Edward said, his tone suggested that he was chuckling lightly, "And as for Jacob, I don't think he would ever be capable of even thinking about hurting you."

"Jacob?" Alice asked.

"Scarlette is Jacob's imprint." Edward explained so I didn't have to.

How could he possibly know all of this?

Alice seemed to relax a little, "Well, that explains why her future disappeared. Those damn dogs."

Finally, Edward and Alice stopped moving, but they didn't let go of me. We were in an area that no one from the grocery store could see us. I shivered.

"Do you want to sit down, Scarlette?" Alice asked.

I wasn't sure I could move anymore.

"She's not ready to move yet, Alice." Edward answered.

"How are you doing that?" I finally managed to find my voice.

Edward took a deep breath, "Scarlette, you already know that my family and I are vampires which I can only presume that Jacob told you?" I nodded, "which means that you also know that Jacob and his pack of mutts are werewolves?" I nodded again, but I didn't like his word choice, "My apologies, I will try and refrain from using such words to describe your wolf. Now, what I assuming that Jacob neglected to tell you is that certain members of my family have extra abilities."

"Abilities?" I squeaked out. The ground was starting to spin.

"Yes, aside from the strength, speed, and enhanced senses that all vampires share, some of us have extra abilities," He continued to explain. I took this time to try and regulate my breathing. Strangely, I was starting to feel a little safer with them. I figured if they were going to attack me, they would have done so by now, "That's an interesting way of looking at it, Scarlette, but as I promised earlier, we will not harm you. Anyway, there are members of my family, including Alice and myself, that are different among the vampire world. I have ability to read minds and Alice can see the future. My brother, Jasper, has the ability to manipulate the emotions around him."

That explained a lot but it only brought on more questions, "What did you mean when you said my future disappeared?" I directed my question at Alice.

"The future is subjective which means that it is constantly changing with every decision that is made," She said, "I can see vampires futures because I am one and I can humans futures because I was one, but I can't see the futures of the…werewolves," I appreciated the fact that she stopped herself from calling the boys something I didn't want to hear, "Whenever someone's future intertwines with one of the wolves', their future fades into a dark cloud that doesn't lift until they separate from each other. I didn't know that you were Jacob's imprint but it explains why I could only see you while you were in the grocery store in Forks, your future separated from the back. However, it disappeared when you made the decision to go back to La Push."

I was on information overload again, just like when the boys told me their secret. However, I couldn't figure out why Edward and Alice were sharing their secrets with me.

"We're hoping that if you know about everything about us, you're less likely to be scared of us." Edward answered my unspoken thought, "I know Jacob has told you some pretty terrible things about us, but I want you to know that we're not like that. We try very hard to not be the monsters we were created to be."

I appreciated their attempt to make me more comfortable, but I was not entirely sure that I couldn't not be afraid of them.

"It'll take some time, we understand that," Alice said, "We know this isn't an easy adjust to make, especially after talking to Jacob."

I smiled in spite of myself. Of course they knew Jacob had said some not-so-nice things about them. He could be extremely predictable.

"He doesn't keep much to himself," Edward said, "It's easy to imagine what he's said about us, especially after hearing what he's thought about us."

"He said you were a family," I tried to lead the conversation away from him. I wasn't ready to talk about him yet, "How many of you are there?"

"There's Carlisle—he's the one who created our family—and his wife, Esme. They are our adopted parents, for all intents and purposes. Then there's Rosalie and Emmett, Alice and Jasper, and me and Bella."

The more Edward and Alice talked about each member of their family, the more I realized that they were in fact a family. They didn't just live together, they cared and loved each other like actual siblings and parents. They chose to be each other's lives.

Once they told me about their diet and how they only feed on animal blood, I started to feel a lot better around them. They even told me where they liked to hunt so that if by chance I was ever in the woods, I stayed away from certain areas. I realized that they were trying as hard as they possibly could to be human.

"You were right," I said after listening to them talk for a while, "The more I get to know you, the less afraid I am."

They smiled at me, but before either of them could say anything, my phone began to ring.

"Excuse me," I said as I pulled my phone out of my pocket and answered it, "Hello?"

"Where the hell are you?!" I was startled by the screaming on the other end of the line that my phone slipped out of my hand. Edward caught it before it hit the pavement.

"Are you alright?" He asked as he handed me my phone. I just nodded.

"Scarlette?" The voice cried, "Scarlette, are you there?"

I kept my phone about an inch from my ear, "Yes, Embry, I'm here. You don't have to yell."

"Where the hell are you?" He demanded again.

"I'm at the grocery store."

"In La Push? Because I have been all over town looking for you. Sue said she sent you to the store hours ago!"

I hadn't realized how long I had been talking to Edward and Alice.

"Well…" I started, bracing myself for his reaction, "I was at the La Push grocery store but they didn't have what Aunt Sue needed, so I decided to try another grocery store…"

It took him a minute to comprehend what I was saying, "Are you telling me you're in Forks?" his voice had darkened, I could hear his worry being replaced with anger.

"Please don't freak out." I pleaded.

"Are you crazy?" He was practically yelling again, "After everything we told you about those bloodsucking leeches, you still risked your life just to pick up something at the grocery store? What the hell made you think that was a good idea?" He growled at me. I flinched, he had never spoken to me like that before.

I could see Edward and Alice glaring at the comment he made.

"Embry…"

"We're not allowed on their land, Scarlette, we can't protect you over there! What would happen if you accidentally ran into one of them? They could hurt you before we had a chance to get to you!"

"Please don't make a big deal out of this. I'm perfectly safe right now."

"Of course, I am going to make a big deal of out this! You're my best friend and you put your life in danger as soon as crossed the treaty line! You're lucky Jacob hasn't found out yet, he would be tearing Forks apart to find you and make sure you're safe!"

"Are you going to tell him?" I dreaded the thought.

"I can't keep this from him." He said, "Now, where are you?"

"Outside of the store."

"Don't move, I'm sending Jared and Paul to come get you."

"I thought you guys couldn't cross the treaty line." I said. I didn't want any of them coming here, "no one has to come get me, I can drive myself home."

"Don't move, do you understand me? I would rather have Jared and Paul come get you now, then have Jacob show up there later when he realizes you're gone. If the Cullen's have a problem with it, we can deal with them later. Sam says its okay."

"Okay, I won't move." I had given up on trying to argue with him.

"Be careful, Jared and Paul will be there soon." He hung up without saying goodbye.

"Are you okay?" Alice asked after a few moments of silence.

"I am in so much trouble." I groaned. I could only imagine what was going to happen to me when the guys got a hold of me.

"They're just worried about you," Edward defended.

"They're going to kill me," I said, "You should get out of here before they realize we've met and they come after you as well."

Edward and Alice exchanged a look and I knew it wasn't good.

"What's wrong?" I practically groaned.

"Vampires and werewolves have a very distinctive smell to one another. And not a good one, I might add. It's our way of being able to smell out our enemy." Edward explained.

"And you're explaining this to me because…?"

"Our scent rubs off on everything we're around. That's how Alice and I knew you were from La Push, the wolves scent has intermingled with yours. And if the wolves' scent can mingle with yours, then…"

"Yours can mingle with mine, too." I said, finishing his thought, "It doesn't matter if you're here or not because they will smell you on me."

"Exactly." Edward said.

"Brace yourselves," Alice cut in, "They're almost here."

"I thought you couldn't see their futures?" I asked.

"I can't. I can smell and hear them. They're close."

I was amazed to watch Edward and Alice shift so that they were standing in front of me. They were trying to protect me.

"Scarlette!" I could hear Paul's voice before I could see him.

"He knows we're here," Edward informed me, "He's trying not to phase. Jared's angry but he's doing his best to stay calm."

I knew Paul would be furious.

"You don't have to do this," I said, trying to move around them, "I don't want to start anything."

"He's too angry for you to be around him right now," Alice spoke this time, "If he phases and you're too close…"

"He wouldn't do that," I defended, almost angry with her for suggesting that, "Paul's my friend, he's not going to hurt me."

Suddenly, Jared and Paul broke through the trees. Jared's teeth were bared and Paul was shaking profusely. They were still quite a distance from us, but Edward pushed me behind him a little bit more.

"I am not going to hurt her," Paul snarled, his voice loud enough for me to hear. His voice was scarier than I had ever heard it, "You're the bloodsuckers; you're the ones that are designed to kill humans, not us."

Edward growled.

"Paul, please don't." I whispered. I knew he heard me because his eyes snapped up to meet mine. He didn't say anything more, but he shaking didn't lessen.

"Scarlette, are you okay?" Jared called.

"I'm fine." I couldn't force my voice to go any higher than a whisper.

"Let her go." Jared demanded.

"I won't let her near that mutt," Edward snarled at Paul, "He's too dangerous to be around her right now."

I intervened before Paul could get too angry.

"Please Edward, I trust him," I whispered, "I just want to go home."

"We can't force her to stay away from her family, Edward." Alice chimed in.

She must have realized that there was no way this was going to end well if she didn't let me go.

Edward didn't say anything, he just slowly moved out of my path after a minute.

Once I realized he wasn't going to stop me, I ran to Paul and Jared. When I was close enough, I leaped into Paul's arm; he caught me with ease.

"Please, calm down," I whispered to him. I could feel his shaking start to decrease, "Edward and Alice weren't going to hurt me, I promise. They were helping me when I started to have a panic attack."

Jared moved and place his hand on my back, "What happened? Are you okay?"

I nodded as Paul slowly released me, "I'm okay, please don't fight with them."

Paul nodded at me but didn't say anything.

Jared turned, "Thank you for helping her, we're going to take her home now." His tone was rigid but he was trying to be civil.

I watched as Edward and Alice relaxed their stances.

Alice smiled at me and said, "It was nice to meet you, Scarlette. I'll see you soon." She was gone before I had the chance to say anything to her.

I looked at Edward, "Thank you for everything."

He nodded, "If you ever need anything, please do not hesitate to call."

Jared growled. Edward disappeared after that.

Without saying anything, the three of us turned to the woods and began to walk back to La Push.

"What am I supposed to do about Aunt Sue's car?" I asked when I had had enough of the awkward silence.

"One of the guys will pick it up later." Came Paul's curt reply.

"Are you mad at me?" I demanded before I could stop myself. I regretted it as soon as I let the words out.

"Am I mad at you?" Paul repeated, "Of course, I'm mad at you! You weren't just in Forks, Scarlette, you were with two vampires! Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?"

"Yes!" I screamed, startling not only Jared and Paul but myself as well. I didn't need the same lecture from Paul that I had already gotten from Embry and that I was certainly going to get from Jacob if he found out, "I know what could have happened to me! I know exactly what vampires are capable, I don't need all of you to keep telling me! But, Paul, they helped me and they explained who they were and that they don't hunt humans, they hunt animals! After hearing everything they have to say about their family and how they live, I believe them! They had plenty of time to hurt me and they didn't, instead they tried to keep me safe! I trust them, Paul."

Jared and Paul stopped walking and glared at me. I instantly realized my mistake. I could see that Paul was starting to seethe again.

"What?" Paul's voice was furious. His face was quickly turning shades of purple and red, and his body was convulsing in ways I had never seen before.

I flinched and took a step back, terrified.

"Paul…I…I didn't mean it…I'm sorry…" I stuttered, having no clue what to say.

"What the hell is the matter with you? Are you really that damn stupid?" He quite literally roared. I covered my ears.

He continued to shake uncontrollably and was practically foaming at the mouth. I knew what was coming next. This was the side of Paul I had yet to see, the part that I had only heard about. This was the Paul that couldn't control his anger, the one who would phase at the slightest thing.

"Paul," Jared's voice held authority that I had never heard him talk with before, "You need to calm down right now. We can deal with all of this when we get back to Emily's, but if you don't relax you're going to phase and risk hurting Scarlette." He shifted his body was that he was between me and Paul, his left arm stretched out behind him, warning me to not get any closer.

I gripped Jared's arm I was so terrified. I had never been near one of the guys when they were this close to phasing. I know he probably wanted me to move back but I couldn't find the strength to move.

Paul didn't say anything—I don't think he could speak if he wanted to—he just snarled and snapped at Jared.

"Don't do it, Paul." Jared commanded, "Get control of yourself."

But there was no stopping him now. He was going to phase.

Before I could see what happened, Embry and Seth came trampling through the trees.

"Dammit, Paul!" Embry cried.

Quicker than I could comprehend, Jared moved away from me and Seth stepped in his place. He crushed me against his chest, using his body as a shield to protect me. He lifted me off my feet and moved us a couple steps back.

I could hear the tearing and the vicious growl and I knew Paul was now a wolf. I could hear Embry and Jared—still in their humans forms—trying to move Paul away from me.

I didn't move until it was quiet.

"Are you okay, Scarlette?" Seth pulled me away from his chest but didn't let go of me, "I'm going to kill that son of a bitch."

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts, "Don't," It took me a minute to find the rest of my words, "It was my fault. He was mad at me because I was in Forks and I met the Cullen's. I told him I trusted them and he couldn't control his anger. I'm the reason he phased. Don't blame him, blame me." There was no use in trying to hide it anymore, everyone was going to find out.

"Dammit, Scarlette," Seth snapped at me. It was one of the few times that he was actually angry with me, "that was really fucking stupid. We told you not to go there."

"I know, I know. I wasn't thinking. You don't need to yell at me. Paul took care of that for everyone."

He seemed to have realized how terrified I was because he didn't continue yelling at me.

He took a deep breath, "Are you okay? Did anyone hurt you?"

I shook my head, "No, I'm okay. Just a little shaken up."

"Don't scare us like that again, okay?" He said, "I nearly had a heart attack when Embry called to tell me that you were in Forks. We've been frantic looking for you."

I leaned into him, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare or make anyone mad. I won't go back to Forks again."

"Good," He placed a kiss on my head, suddenly back to the comforting Seth I needed right now, "Let's get you home, mom is probably getting worried."

He moved so that he was standing next to me, holding my hand, and started leading me home.

We didn't say anything to each other, at this point there was nothing left to say. I was exhausted and still processing everything that had happened, and he knew it.

We got about half way home when Seth stopped walking. His head snapped up and he looked to the right of us.

"What's going on?" I asked, already dreading what his answer was going to be.

Seth looked at me with apologetic eyes and a small smile. The look that told me I really wasn't going to like whatever he was about to say.

"Jacob's coming," He told me.

I felt like the wind that had been knocked out of me. There was no way I was ready to see him.

"Oh, god," I covered my face with my hands, "Do you think he knows?"

"Well, he's in his wolf form, so I'm assuming Paul showed him everything."

I let out a small cry, "I am so dead."

Seth gave me a one-armed hugged, slightly enjoying my pain, "I wouldn't let him hurt you. Besides, if I know Jacob, he's probably just terrified that something could have happened to you and he wasn't there. I know you don't want to hear it, but he really cares about you. You're safety means everything to him and being near the Cullen's put your safety in jeopardy whether you want to believe that or not. He's beating himself up over the fact that he wasn't there to protect you."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes, "I didn't need protection though, the Cullen's weren't trying to hurt me."

"That doesn't mean they can't, Scar. Even if it's just an accident, they could've killed you and none of us would have been there to stop them."

I didn't get the chance to say anything because a russet colored wolf was suddenly standing in front of us. It was the first time I had seen Jacob in his wolf form. I could tension in his stiff body as he slowly inched his way towards us. He was trying not to scare me.

"Hi, Jacob." I mumbled. I couldn't look him in the eye.

He made a slight whining noise at me, and I looked to Seth for clarification.

"He needs you to turn around so that he can phase back." Seth instructed.

I did as I was told.

I could hear the leaves and twigs underneath Jacob move but it wasn't until I heard, "Thanks, Seth." that I began to get nervous.

I turned around slowly and met Seth's eyes first.

"I'll see you at home." He said and took off running before I had a chance to go with him.

I avoided Jacob's gaze for as long as I could, too immature to face him.

"Look at me, Scarlette." I hadn't realized how much I missed the sound of his voice.

I looked up at him and took a minute to take in his appearance. He wasn't wearing a shirt—only a pair of cut-off shorts—and his hair was a mess. When I looked at his face, I could see anger and relief. He was beyond pissed at me, I could see that, but he was also relieved that I was standing in front of him, perfectly unharmed.

I wanted to reach out to him but I was too scared and too childish to do so.

"Please, don't yell at me." I whimpered like a child.

His face was suddenly dark and I knew at this moment that all he was feeling was anger.

He stared at me for a long time without saying anything. He hardly moved and I wasn't even sure he was breathing at times.

I stayed silent until I couldn't take it anymore.

"Jacob," I spoke quietly, afraid to startle him, "say something, please."

But, instead of speaking, he was moving towards me at an alarming speed.

I tried to move but he had me in his arms and backed up against a tree before I had time to process anything.

I was pressed up against his chest with his face centimeters from mine. For the first time, I could see the fear in his eyes; how absolutely terrified he was that something could have happened to me.

"Jacob—"

"You scared the absolute shit out of me today, Scarlette."

And then, suddenly, his hand was tangled in my hair and his mouth was covering mine.

So, what did you guys think about the Cullen's? I really want them to be in this story but I don't want to have Scarlette hate them! I know Jacob wasn't in this chapter a lot but I'm really trying to give Scarlette a relationship with all the members of the pack, so please let me know how I'm doing on that! I really tried to catch Paul's true character in this chapter! I promise Chapter 10 will have a lot of interaction between Jacob and Scarlette and I promise it will be worth the wait!

Let me know what you think!

Until next time...