Here's my last chapter! I debated when to post it because I didn't want it to end, but I didn't wanna leave you on a cliffie for long!

Comments

Ghostwriter71: Oh gosh lol your reviews amuse me. :P

Love Laugh Live Your Life- Here's your ending. :)

ThisIsHope: Yessssssh. I did a good job then! Don't worry, I'm not that evil. :)

Twihard104: It's not half way through, it's far from that. There was only one chapter left, and the story easily could have ended there if I wanted to. But I'm not that mean. ;)

Lizzy's POV

When the wolves left I felt like something important was going to happen. My instincts tells me it doesn't have to do with the war, which I'm worried sick for, but with the girl sitting in front of me. The doctors call her parents out to talk over some charts and I sit down in the chair her mother has occupied almost non-stop for the past few months. The first thing I register when I touch her is how cold her hand is, much too cold for something alive. But then I realize something more important: I can feel her.

Can I feel the dead?

Hope glimmers in me, and I reach to grip her hand as tightly as I can in hers. My hand slightly goes through her, and for a moment we have no end and no beginning.

But I'm holding it.

I gasp, staring wide eyed at the little girl sitting before me. My eyes catch the bracelet on my wrist and I freeze, remembering a conversation I had with Paul. Everything begins to click.

I wasn't meant to save Paul; I was meant to save Claire.

It makes so much sense now. Why did I only realize this at the last minute? I grip my hands firmly around her tiny, almost lifeless one and I sit there and hope. I don't know what I'm doing, but I have to figure it out. There is no other option.

When nothing happens I let go, biting the side of my cheek as I stare at her. The life symbol catches the light and I cock my head before slowly reaching over and placing the dangling symbol onto her hand. Something feels wrong at first, and I begin to panic as I realize what it is.

I can't move.

Fear sets in as I fight for movement, any type of movement. Her mother comes back from the hallway and sits down over me. I don't feel it, but something is so odd about having another person go straight through you that I usually avoid it. Slowly, my surroundings begin to take on a white sheen. My eyes dart around attempting to figure out what's happening.

But then the heart monitor speeds up.

Her heart beats faster and stronger than it has in almost two weeks. Claire's father rushes to the door to get the doctor and her mother begins to cry anew. Claire's eyes open abruptly, going straight to mine. It's then I notice I'm floating, and the white is almost so bright that I cannot see anything at all. The last thing I remember before losing consciousness is the life symbol sitting delicately upon Claire's wrist.

Relief.

I wake up to brightness. I blink, waiting for my eyes to adjust and peer around. Everything is white. I take a breath in and my lungs expand, gobbling up the fresh air. A hand reaches down towards me and I train my eyes on it before dragging them up to the face.

It's the woman. The woman who gave me the bracelet.

"Hello Elizabeth."

Her voice makes me jump and I scramble back in an attempt to get away. "No, no. I'm not doing it again. Don't give me a charm I don't want it." There are tears in my voice, and panic. I can't do it again. I can't. It's too hard. I'm finally free. She can't take that from me.

But if I'm free why don't I feel free?

It's like a thread is tugging me. Where? I don't know. The woman laughs, her voice rich and thick as if caressing me. This voice is different from her other older, crackling one. "You do not have to do it again, not unless you want to."

"I don't," I say quickly.

She nods. "That is your choice."

"Did you give me that bracelet for her? Claire?"

"Yes, the universe saw a wrong and that had to be righted. I'll admit we were worried that you were a bit too… distracted to do what you were meant to, but you pulled through in the end."

My cheeks burn, knowing exactly who she was talking about. "If I was meant to help Claire, then why was I able to talk to Paul?"

That secret smile tugs at her lips, the same smile that got me into this whole mess. But now, it can't be a mess. I saved Claire and Quil. I righted the pack and now everything will be okay.

So why do I feel so empty?

"You were Claire's guardian angel, but something we didn't realize happened and that resulted in your ability to talk to Mr. Paul Lahote."

My eyes widen as I still sit on the floor. I was Claire's guardian angel? I thought I was a ghost. "Why couldn't I do anything then?" is my rebuttle. "If I was a guardian angel I should have been able to help people."

"You did. You helped a person." At my stubborn glare, she gives me a better answer. "Angels are not allowed to engage in the human world unless it is with their charge."

"But I couldn't touch Claire..." As I say it I realize I never tried. I was so sure I wouldn't be able to that I didn't even attempt it. The woman doesn't answer me, already knowing I worked it out. I clear my throat nervously and stand up, wiping my hands on my dress. "Do I go to heaven now?"

"Do you want to?"

The initial answer that pops into my head is yes. I'm free. I can feel my palms against my hands, and the pressure my body puts on my feet. My voice is loud, and my lungs breathing air so rich I can almost taste it. But even with all this I feel so… empty.

"You feel it, don't you?" The knowing look to her eyes makes me angry. No one should know everything. Why bother asking me if you already know the answer. "Because it's nice to ask." My throat dries as I try to work out if I really did say that out loud. "No, you did not."

I blink, staring wordlessly at her. When I gather myself I ask in a tiny whisper, "Why me?"

"Because I could see the good in you. I knew you were meant to be an angel. We knew both of you were destined to die soon and decided to give you a test. I tested your sister too but she got the angel's wing, passage to the next life. Very few people pass the test to become a guardian angel."

Protest immediately abrupt from me. "But I'm not perfect. I've lied and I've-"

"Yes, we all know that. Do you think we look for perfection? No, because there is no such thing on Earth. What we saw in you was the goodness of your heart, and the wish to do no harm to others no matter what the price."

It can't be true. I'm just normal Elizabeth Melthrop, not some guardian angel. Sometimes I'd hog the bathroom from my sister in the morning just to mess with her, grinning as she shoved passed me and slammed the door when I got out. I'm the one who told my little brother not now, putting my needs before his. I got a D in science because I didn't listen to my parents when they told me to study. I shoved Michael Dutton when he called my best friend a whiny little bitch, and although I regretted doing it right after I would still do that moment over the same way if asked because the relief in my best friends eyes that someone was there for her was worth it all.

"That is why Guardian Angels are human. Because they understand the things that we cannot." Her arm rest on my shoulder, and this time I don't feel fear. I wrap my fingers around hers and squeeze, more for my comfort than hers.

"I wish to go back." Part of me regrets saying it, but a bigger part in me rejoices at my words. Yes, the world is different than how it was when I was alive. Yes, I'm scared to go back.

But for Paul, it's worth it.

I want to love, I want to laugh. I want to watch myself grow old and have tiny grandkids swarm me with high pitched giggles and happy faces. I want to hold Paul, the person I love, and tell him that I'm not afraid anymore and that I want to be with him. I want to tell him that I love him, because I couldn't before.

I feel alive, I feel liberated. I'm ready to finally live again. It may not be the life I imagined, but it's the life I want.

"You have made your decision?"

I smile up at her, laughing as I answer. "Yes. But you already know that, don't you?"

Her serene smile and omniscient eyes that were once so daunting now comfort me. I wrap my arms around and hug her tightly, and the white film covers my eyes and all thoughts empty from my head.

I wake up in the forest, the smell overpowering but once I get used to it is quite pleasant. I stretch and the dirt shifts beneath me, a branch digging into my side. Where am I? I shoot up and immediately feel dizzy and lay back down. When it starts to go away I try again, this time much slower and cautious. The woods look familiar, and when I turn to the left I know I'm right.

Paul's house.

I stand up on my feet, wobbly at first but quickly getting the hang of it. I haven't truly walked in thirty-eight years, so it takes some getting used to. I reach his porch breathless and unsure what to do. Doubt stirs in me.

What if this isn't the same time period?

What if he doesn't remember me because of some odd Guardian Angel agreement?

But if I haven't learned to ignore what if's by now I have learned anything at all. I shove the door open, the roughness of it surprising me. The door is unlocked like always, and I run my hand against the chipping paint to feel the texture once more before turning to Paul's door. Butterflies float in my stomach and I gnaw on my cheek, a habit I haven't done since I was alive.

Actually, I just did it up in heaven.

I've been to heaven. The sentence doesn't seem to be true even to me. I wipe away my distracting thoughts and push the door open. Paul lays on the bed, staring up at the ceiling with dead eyes. It seems like he hasn't even registered the fact that the door has opened.

"Paul?" My voice stirs him and his fingers twitch. I say it once more and this time he turns to me, pain and despair written all over his face. I gasp as I take him in, noticing that he's lost even more weight than before. Our eyes meet, and it's like that final puzzle piece has fallen into place and everything is right in the world.

"Elizabeth?" He barely ever calls me that, so I know something is really wrong then. I rush over to him, hesitating, before rubbing the back of my hand against his cheek in a soft caress. He spasms as if burned, sitting up so fast he's a blur. "I. Felt. You." The words are halted, as if he doesn't quite believe them himself.

"Yes." I clasp my hands awkwardly before sitting down on the bed. "I'm alive." He works this through, his eyes pulling away from me and then back. He does it over and over again as if expecting me to disappear.

"How?"

I swallow, leaning towards him. "I was meant to save Claire. I saved her and I got the choice to either live or die. I chose to live." At least that's what happened in the simplest terms. I'm not quite willing to tell him about the guardian angel thing. I barely believe that myself.

"I'm dreaming. This is my mind attempting to bring to life my wistful fantasies." His voice is small and childlike. Paul is usually so sure of himself that his tone is worrying me right now.

But then it makes sense. Paul is passion, and when he's passionate about something he gives it his everything. I saw the looks he gave me, but I ignored them because I'm selfish and knew if I confronted him about it I would make myself leave.

But now I am alive, and everything is different. Now, I am his imprint.

Instead of using words I inch towards him like one would a frightened animal. My eyes stare into his, green to brown, before closing them to let our lips touch for the first time. He gasps in a breath against my lips, and then another before I open my eyes. He looks terrified, his body frozen as if he's not sure what to do. Instead of puzzling this out, I tell him what I've wanted to tell him for almost a year now.

"Paul, I love you."

My back hits the bed and lips brush against mine and hands run tenderly across my face and I close my eyes because it's all glorious and all I can feel is a sense of contentment.

"I love you so much Lizzy you have no clue and if this is a dream I don't want to wake up." He says this all on one breath and I carefully run my hands through his hair like I've wanted to a dozen times.

"This is real. I'm here, Elizabeth Melthrop. I'm alive and I love you too." The words thrill me and I laugh, reaching my neck forward to kiss him again. And again. And again, until I lose track and all I want to do is lay on this bed and hold him to me forever. But forever never last long, as least not in this life.

"Hey Paul, how are you doing man? I'm here to-" A strangled silence follows the words and Paul's eyes shut tight, unwilling to open them. He's terrified, clutching me to him tightly as if he's afraid I'll disappear. I wiggle until I'm able to face who's speaking and see a gob-smacked Embry at the door with his jaw practically hanging to the floor.

I giggle. "Hello! My name is Elizabeth Melthrop, but you probably know me as Lizzy."

Those words never felt better.

Finished! Thanks to all my followers, reviewers, and readers who supported this story! A special thanks to ThisIsHope and "Guest" who kept reviewing and encouraged me to finish this from the very beginning! I had planned a sequel, but I decided against it and began to write something else. I might write a sequel one day since I already have mapped out what it's going to be about, but not anytime soon. I have a few stories planned in my head that I want to get out first. I hope all you romantics were happy with the ending!

xoxo

wolfgirl92