Hey everyone! I decided to change a few things in this story. The way I had it written before was the way I imagined it years ago and frankly, it just wasn't working out for me anymore. I hope you enjoy this revamped version as much as you did the last. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Chapter 1:

I was running.

Tripping over branches and slipping on the wet leaves.

The thick trees did a good job of shielding me from the rain, but I was still soaked from the puddles and mud I had fallen in. Where was she? Why did she run into the forest of all places? The note Edward had left in my room said he'd left her right next to the house. I had searched all around the perimeter of the house and followed her footprints deeper and deeper into the trees, but they disappeared into the mud close to the river. At some point I had gotten far enough from the house and I could hear the police cruisers racing through the highway. Dad had probably gotten home, realized we were both gone and alerted his friends.

I was too panicked to recognize the paths through the forest I had played in my whole life and I could forget about trying to retrace my steps. I was more than a little confused. If I was confused, that meant Bella was most definitely lost. Through the trees I could see Paul, his metallic, silver fur rippling with the speed of his run. Jared ran along beside him. Their wolf forms syncing up naturally. I felt comfort knowing I wasn't alone. Knowing that the pack was around.

I crashed into something hard and warm, making me fall off balance. "Ellie, what are you doing here?" My heart almost jumped out of my chest. Sam had stopped me, his rough hands firmly on my shoulders. He didn't look at all happy to see me. "What are you doing in the forest alone?"

"I can't just sit at the house and wait! Her footprints disappear close to the river. What if she fell in?" At this point I was sobbing. Fresh tears taking the place of the ones that had dried as I ran.

"Your house is right over that hill there. Emily is waiting in the kitchen. We'll find Bella, I promise." Without another word, Sam spun me around and nudged me forward. I looked back, seeing as Sam phased, ripping his shorts to threads. It still amazed me that they could be real.

I was allowed to know about the pack only because I had been in the same room the day that Sam had lost control and hurt Emily. The Council's only condition for telling me was that I would strictly know the necessary, nothing else. This was mostly Billy's condition than anyone else's. He thought this was too big a responsibility to put on my shoulders. He was also afraid of Jacob finding out. The guys weren't guaranteed to phase. Embry wasn't even a part of any of the blood lines.

Once on the hill, I could see my house. Dad's cop car parked in front with the rest of the policemen and Jacob's Rabbit. I quietly made my way through the small clearing and into the front yard, hoping it would be too hectic for my dad to see me sneak by. Of course, luck wasn't on our side tonight. As soon as I stepped foot on the front porch, Jacob's voice rang loud and clear.

"Charlie! Look! It's Ellie!"'

My dad was running to me before Jacob had even finished his sentence. "Ellie are you okay?" He said. The rain was pounding hard on the roof over our porch, making him talk louder than he normally would. "Never do that to me again. You come to me before you run off like that!"

"I couldn't find her anywhere Dad."

"Did she tell you she was leaving?" I knew he was afraid she'd left like last time. I couldn't show him the note Edward had left, either way it only said that he had left Bella close to the house but then he'd want to know why Edward had left a note in the first place. I wanted to tell him everything, I wanted to explain the reasons why our lives had been thrown upside down these past few months, but these were all things my dad couldn't know about. I had spent the better part of the last few months making sure he stayed in the dark. I needed him to be safe. I could see it clear on his face that he believed she'd left.

I hugged him, telling him that she had called me to tell me she would go on a walk with Edward and went inside, Jacob trailing behind me. Emily was standing in the hallway, already holding a towel to dry me off. "Ellie, how many times are you going to get into trouble before you realize that you need to be more careful?" Emily new I was responsible and never put myself in harm's way on purpose, but ever since Bella came into town, I had found myself in more and more trouble than anyone felt comfortable with. Ever since Bella came into our lives, nothing was the same anymore. Sam and Emily especially didn't like that I was in any way involved with vampires.

The Cullens would never hurt me or Bella. I truly wanted to believe that, but the possibility was always there. I had Jasper in some of my classes and I ate lunch with them at school. Not to mention that Edward was always in the house while we slept. I guess now with them gone, we wouldn't run that risk.

"I know. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking but…" I knew I couldn't mention Edward. "Bella wasn't home when I got here, and I knew she had wanted to check out some trees by the yard and then I followed her footprints and they led to the lake and that's when I panicked."

I could see Jacob looking at me through narrowed eyes from across the tiny kitchen table. He knew I was lying. I was a terrible liar, and everyone knew Bella didn't care about nature. Thankfully Emily was too frazzled cooking and didn't notice. She set plates down on the table for me and Jacob and ran out to feed the fleet of cops.

"You're lying." Jacob stated. Confident in his claim, leaving no room for discussion. "Also, why does Emily treat you like she's your mom? And there's something about Sam Uley that makes me feel uneasy…"

"Jake, stop." I said. Trying to look anywhere but at him. Jacob had always been very perceptive. His gut feeling never lied. Everyone in the Reservation new about the tribe legends but like most people my age, Jacob didn't really believe in them.

"I mean, I know you wish your relationship with your mom was different and Emily is-"

"Seriously?" I yelled. "Give me a break, Jake. I just ran through the woods trying to find my sister." He put his hands up, backing down.

Just then Quil and Embry stormed in. "What! Did we miss all the food?" Embry yelled.

"Dude, calm down. You act as if you didn't eat your food, and mine, an hour ago. You've been eating like a pig lately." Quil rolled his eyes and looked me over. "What the hell happened to you?"

"I tried to find Bella in the forest, and I fell a few times." I said. Still annoyed at Jacob and still soaking wet and dirty from the rain and mud. "I'm going to go shower and wait for news." I left the guys downstairs, they knew their way around.

There was a draft going through the hallway, it was colder than usual. A hand caught my arm before I made it into my room. Sam was standing behind me, his arms pulling me in for a hug.

"Ellie, are you okay? What were you thinking?" I couldn't hold back the tears and sobs wracked through my body again as they had before. "Emily would have killed me if I had let anything happen to you." he said as he opened my door and poked his head in to check for any dangers before he let me in. "You can't run off alone. Please, promise me. Not with that crazy leech still out there."

I froze in place. "I hadn't even thought of that! I completely forgot." I cried out. In that moment I remembered that Bella wasn't my only worry. My scent had been caught by one of the vampires that had been at the baseball field with James and he had come after me. I had been careful about where I went, and when, ever since then. The pack hadn't been able to track him down.

"Don't worry, one of us will be guarding your window tonight," he said as he opened the doors to the small balcony that connected to my room, it had a small hanging ladder that I used sometimes although I'm sure he would survive the jump. "Jacob is coming." He said before closing the doors.

Jake burst into the room, breathing heavily, "They found her!"