Hi. It's been a little over a year since I last updated this story, and I'm really sorry! I just haven't had the inspiration I once did for writing, but I think it's coming back. :) I hope this longer chapter can make up for the break, at least somewhat. Thanks for everyone that has stuck by the story! I'll try not to take such a long time to update next time. The tone of this chapter may be a bit different than the rest of the story, but I hope it's not too distracting. Canon is introduced more in this chapter, and the story is moving along a bit faster.

Sorry for any mistakes.

As Hinata Hyuuga, control was one of the most important things she could have. Control over her chakra, control over her emotions, control over herself. As a Hyuuga, she was meant to have a perfect mask; one that nothing and no one could ever break. Hyuuga's are (were?) cold creatures, with big egos and big sticks in their perfect derrieres—at least, that's what she heard many times as a child leaving the estate. As she got older, she learned to just ignore the gossip and whispers.

Control over her emotions was something she never had. She was the odd one out when it came to the other Hyuuga. She didn't have their perfect little mask. She didn't have their cold aura. She didn't have their frown lines and expressionless eyes. That was something else—

her eyes were lavender. They had always been lavender, and though that was not an impossible color for a Hyuuga to have, it was very uncommon. It caused many to speculate about her mother's fidelity, which is positively insane, since it is doubtful that Hinata's mother even left the Hyuuga Estate much, what with being the wife of the clan head. The Hyuuga, however logical they were, also had a cruel streak. That was something that Hinata learned time and time again.

In any case, chakra control was something that Hinata Hyuuga did have. She had been trained since she was three years old to pace and balance herself. She can still clearly remember the first lesson she ever had: making a leaf stick to her skin with just chakra. She did it within the hour, which practically made her father beam (which, for him, was a simple twitch of the lips). Sadly, she never once saw the same expression directed towards her again.

She could walk on water and climb a tree without her hands by the time she was 10. She was good...

But she wasn't the best, not even in the academy. Sasuke Uchiha came first in practically everything (or was it everything?), something Hiashi was not happy at all about.

How can you let an Uchiha brat with no parents beat you, Hinata? You have the best instructors; the best of everything, yet you can't beat a little boy with no one to guide him.

Hinata always prided herself over her chakra control, however. It was really the only thing she had—

so why in the world can she not water walk as well now? To be fair, she hasn't exactly tried it in about... sixteen years, but still. It's like riding a bike (she's heard that expression several times from her now-parents). You never forget how to do it. At least... she thought so.

Now, as she barely manages to keep her head above water, and fights to ignore the sea water in her lungs, she figures... perhaps she was wrong.

She pushes chakra into her legs, kicking wildly for a moment. Finally, she forces herself to calm, focusing chakra into the palms of her hands and pressing them to the surface of the water. Slowly, she pushes herself up, silently rejoicing as the water holds her as if it were solid. It fails a few times, but finally, she is on her hands and knees on the water.

Perhaps, if she were in her right mind, she would rethink doing this in broad daylight, beneath the cliffs that many people often dive off of on sunny days like this. Then again, most people are at work or school. She has nothing to worry about... she supposes.

She kneels on the water, closing her eyes and breathing heavily for several seconds (minutes? She's not entirely sure). She licks her lips, tasting salt and desperation. As her eyes slowly slip open, she can't help but smile. She's on the water.

She hasn't tried it before in this world. There's never been a good opportunity for privacy. She can't exactly use the tiny bathtub at home—the surface area is much too small. And she long ago ruled out coming to the beach at night... there's just something about the dark openness that... scares her almost. The forest is entirely different, of course. She grew up (the first time) around trees and woods, not around large bodies of water. The silly fear of the unknown is what holds her back, she supposes.

But she's doing it. She's standing on the water as if she were a celestial being. Well... maybe she's not exactly standing... and she does look kind of pitiful, soaking wet and trembling. So perhaps celestial is not the right word. Close enough, she decides finally.

Her waterlogged locks won't stop falling into her face as she attempts to stand. She huffs quietly, silently telling herself to cut it soon. Very soon. It's down to her waist, and though she likes long hair, it's been nothing but a burden. As Hinata Hyuuga, her father would often tell her to cut it—"you can't handle having that much hair, Hinata. You're not skilled enough, it will just get in the way". Of course, his wording was just a bit harsher, with just a bit more bite.

She didn't do it, though. It was her one little act of rebellion: not cutting her hair.

After awhile of practically dancing on the surface of the ocean, she allows herself to drop. Before coming to La Push, she had never really swam in the ocean before. She had been dropped in it before (and practically drowned, she thinks with a cold sense of remembrance of a mission she went on years and years ago), but she had never swam. She knows the salt will burn, but she opens her eyes anyways, closing them quickly at the sight of murky depths.

She knows that she can swim longer if she tries; can push herself a little harder and make herself be okay, so she pushes chakra into her lungs and tries not to wince at the tight feeling it creates in her chest. With a splutter, she erupts back up, gasping and choking for oxygen. It's been awhile since she's tried manipulating chakra inside of her body, so she had forgotten of the pain it sometimes creates if too much or too little is used.

As she chokes on the salt water and sourly regrets trying something like that, she doesn't notice the presence below the water. She doesn't notice the red below her or the sudden cold chill of the ocean. She doesn't notice a thing other than the pressure in her chest, so she resolves to get out of the water. With a soft sigh, she begins to push herself forward—

only to get pulled back into the water. A short shriek leaves her lips, but almost instantly her voice is muffled by the sea and she is lost in the murky blue.

Embry knows that something is wrong.

Hinata isn't in school, and she never misses school. Well... usually she doesn't. As he thinks back on it, he realizes that she misses more school than he realized. But in any case, he knows that something is wrong; he can feel it in his gut.

When he hears the distant (yet not quite distant enough) howl of a wolf, he lurches from his desk and moves to leave. The teacher opens her mouth to say something, but with one quick glance from Embry, she immediately tightens her lips and moves on with the lesson. It's something inside of them, he thinks, that lets others know not to mess with them. Like Sam is Alpha, but not only to them. Others not in the pack have a way of bending to his will without him even doing anything.

People know instinctively that Embry is an animal, one that they shouldn't mess with. Perhaps that should bother him, but it doesn't. Moments like this make him grateful for it.

He is in the forest, shedding his clothes and calling forward his wolf. In mere moments, he is on all fours, stretching the muscles in his back and shaking his fur.

The leech was on the reservation. Sam says through their link and Embry can't help but growl.

How? I thought that we had someone watching—

Sam, She's fast. We almost got her, but she managed to get away, through the ocean. We lost her scent...

Embry can tell there's something he's not saying; something he's trying to hold back. He can hear Paul and Jared in the back of his mind, but he can only focus on Sam's next words.

We smelled Hinata, as well. She was on the beach. The cliffs. Her scent disappeared as the leech's did and—well, she wasn't there.

A cold feeling of dread fills Embry's stomach, almost instantly to be replaced by scorching anger.

His mate was taken. He has to get her back.

Hinata stares warily at the beautiful woman before her—the woman who tried to kill her. Instead of immediately gouging a knife through her heart or ripping off her head, the woman instead brought Hinata to... the beach. Not First Beach, but something like it. There doesn't seem to be anyone else around, but then again it's hard to focus on anything but the red-head in front of her. Her presence is demanding.

"You're special," the woman says, smirking at the flash of fear in the younger girl's eyes. Pretty little pearls, she can't help but laugh in her mind.

"... Wh-what?" Hinata curses her stutter, but can't do much about it now. The woman rolls her crimson eyes (Crimson eyes?). Hinata hasn't seen eyes like that since Kurenai, her beautiful sensei.

"You walked on the water. You're special," she repeats herself. Hinata's stomach drops.

"Now... normally, I'd bite you and turn you and have you join my army. I feel as if you'd be even more special after wards." The woman tilts her head. "But... I want answers, you see. It's not often I come across someone like... you. A human who does something extraordinary—if you even are human. You certainly don't smell like a vampire... or one the dogs, for that matter."

Hinata's heart seems to stop for a moment before picking up speed. Vampire? … The cold ones? The ones from legend? There are werewolves, right? Of course there are vampires too.

"You don't seem very surprised," The woman notes. "I suppose it's not... strange, considering you live around werewolves," She says the word in a low voice, venom seeping into it.

"Is that why your eyes are red?" Hinata asks, though she knows the answer is yes.

The red-head glances away from her. "Yes..." She looks back towards the other girl. "they turn black when I'm hungry, you see. When I freshly feed, they turn this beautiful shade of crimson." Her eyes narrow.

"So don't worry, little girl. When I bite you, I won't lose control."

Though her words attempt to be reassuring, the smile on her face is anything but. Fangs peek through her lips, causing a shiver to run down Hinata's spine.

"So... how, exactly," The red-head raises an eyebrow. "are you able to stand on top of the water? You smell no different than the average human," She leans in and sniffs dangerous close. "Perhaps you smell a bit spicier, but... I believe that's to be expected, considering you hang around the mutts. Their smell is positively dreadful... like wet dog and garlic."

Hinata doesn't say anything.

It's not safe to tell this woman—this vampire—anything, but she can't exactly stay silent either.

"Why were you on the reservation?"

She's attempting to stall and both of them know it. The woman rolls her eyes.

Before she can get a single word out, however, her body stiffens.

"Damn," she snarls, reaching forward too fast for the average human to even see.

She attempts to latch on to Hinata's wrist, but the younger girl is expecting it this time. She forces chakra to run down her arm, enough to shock the woman into letting go. She stares blankly at Hinata for all of half a second before sneering and—

she disappears. Hinata stares after the blur of red streaking down the beach and into the forest.

She's fast, Hinata notes with a sense of dread. But she's gone now, and that's all that matters, right? Right.

That's when she notices the other presence on the beach. A big wolf, much too large to be natural; eyes much too human to be anything but.

Her breath catches in her throat. Gray with patches of black; the wolf from her dreams. It seems like months ago that she had them, but she still remembers it like it was yesterday.

The wolf is Embry. She knows it before he even steps closer. She can practically feel it in her bones, which is perhaps a bit strange. Why is she so connected to him? She barely knows him, despite the fact that they're friends. The Third Wife, the soul mates, the imprint. Is she his? His imprint? His soul mate? She can't be, it's not possible—

But anything is possible, isn't it? Werewolves, vampires, chakra, reincarnation.

"Embry," she whispers before she can stop herself. The wolf stiffens, but doesn't stop his advance towards her.

She wonders what will happen when he shifts back into a man. What does that look like? Does it hurt? Do his bones break and rearrange, or is it like in the movies? Does it happen in the blink of an eye?

They stare at each other for a long moment, before he seems to take a deep breath.

His body shifts; morphs into that of a man. When he is on two feet, he is—

well, he is naked. Hinata instantly closes her eyes, though she can't but appreciate the tiny glimpse she got. He's very fit, obviously.

Embry is—Embry is a lot of things right now. Shocked. Embarrassed. Most importantly though, he is relieved. Hinata is not... she's here. She's safe. She doesn't even really seem shaken up. Hell, he's more surprised than she is. How did she know? How is she alive? How... how did she make it away from—from that bitch?

"Hinata," he breathes after his shorts are on. Her eyes open and meet his own. He has the overwhelming urge to hold her; to press his palms to her cheeks and kiss her until she loves him as much as he loves her. He doesn't though, because it wouldn't be right. But it is right, isn't it? They are soul mates, despite the fact that she is with someone else. Despite the fact she loves another man (Seth is a boy), Embry can not stop loving her. He is hers and, in his heart, she is his.

Perhaps it is unnatural, the power of the imprint, but he wouldn't make it go away. He wouldn't trade Hinata for anything, and in a way... in a way, that's scary. But that's not important right now—

"How..." she takes a deep breath. "How did you find me?"

She wants him to say it aloud, despite the fact she just saw it was her own two eyes.

Instead of giving an actual explanation, he smiles tiredly. "I will always find you."

Though he wants to hunt down the red-headed bitch, he knows that Hinata comes first. His pack brothers will have it handled—and if they don't, then it's even better. Embry will be able to kill the leech himself. No one touches his mate without facing the consequences.

"Emily's," Hinata notes, ushering for Embry to put her down. She didn't want him to hold her at first—she has two legs and she can use them—but he wouldn't take no for an answer. It was nice, though. He is warm and she is cold.

Despite the shivers, she can't stop the smile from twitching at her lips. She was right. "Sam is... Sam is a wolf, too?"

Embry doesn't bother denying it. "He's Alpha,"

"Leader of the pack?" Hinata blinks. It makes sense, she supposes.

The hand Embry has placed on her lower back is—distracting. The heat seeps past her wet clothing and soaks into her flesh. It's a lovely feeling, surely, but it makes her feel like a traitor; like a cheater. She doesn't shake off his hand, though. It's—

He sighs. "The leech lover is here."

She hesitates, "Leech lover?"

"Bella Swan," he wrinkles his nose, gently leading her into the house. It smells more like home than the house that Embry has spent his entire life in.

Emily startles at the sight of them, looking warily at the other girl sitting in the kitchen. Pale skin, brown hair, broken eyes—but beautiful. She practically screams damsel. She's the kind of girl that men want to protect, Hinata thinks. She's delicate and thin and—

"H-Hinata and—Embry," Emily lets out a breath. "Is... is everyone okay? Is Sam—? Are you? Oh goodness..."

"We're fine, Emily." He flicks his head in the direction of the girl, Bella. "What's she doing here?"

The girl stiffens, looking suddenly like a kicked puppy. Hinata winces.

"She..." Emily closes her eyes tightly. "The... the vampire got close. You know that though, don't you? Sam told me that Hinata..." she trails off, stepping forward to take the younger girl's hands in her own. "I'm glad you're okay."

Hinata smiles tiredly, wondering exactly what 'okay' means in this case. Still, "Me too."

"Would you like something to eat? I made sandwiches for the boys, but there's more than enough to go around."

Hinata stuffs shaky hands into the pockets of her pants. "N-no thanks," she mumbles. She's not hungry, not at all.

"I saw you," Bella breathes as Hinata sits next to her at the table. Embry left to... to turn back into a wolf, for some reason. When Hinata asked why, he smirked and said he'd tell her later. There seems to be a lot that they both need to tell each other.

"W-what?"

"I saw you," the girl repeats, putting emphasis on the middle word, as if it's supposed to make Hinata know what she's talking about. "I saw you when you... when you were on the water."

Hinata's heart stops for a single moment. Then, she lets out a shaky laugh and runs a hand through her damp hair.

"Please don't lie to me," Bella practically begs, before Hinata can even say a word. "I've been lied to so many times since this all started, and—and it's not as if it matters now." She closes her eyes. "We're... we're all in the same world now, aren't we? Supernatural. Vampires, werewolves... whatever you are." She hesitates, "You aren't a witch, are you? N-not that there's anything wrong with that, but..."

Hinata chokes on a giggle. "No... I... I'm not a witch."

Bella lets out a tiny sigh of relief.

She's right, though, Hinata realizes after a moment, a tight feeling in her gut. It's not a terribly bad feeling, just different. They're in this together, now. Or are they? Well...

For a long moment, Hinata wonders if she should tell the truth; the full truth.

She settles with, "I was born with... with the ability to do things like th-that."

"How?"

Hinata winces, "I don't know." It's not entirely a lie. She's not sure how she kept her mind after dying; kept her chakra and... everything, really, except her body. She's starting to get that back too, though. The scars prove it.

"You don't know?" Bella asks, disbelieving.

Before Hinata can respond, four beefy boys come stomping into the kitchen. Not exactly stomping, but they sure as hell sound like a herd of wild elephants.

Embry plops himself down in the chair next to Hinata, giving her a reassuring smile.

Sam, though, is not smiling. His eyes are hard, calculating and just a little bit scary. But she's faced down enemies bigger than him, stronger than him, more intimidating. Of course, Sam is not her enemy—at least, she hopes not.

"Hinata," he begins. The other two boys grab the plate of sandwiches on the counter. If Hinata wanted a sandwich now, she'd probably have to fight them for it, the way they're scarfing them down. Embry manages to get one. He pulls off the crust, throwing it back onto the plate.

It's a little cute, Hinata can't help but think, that he doesn't like crust on his bread.

"Hinata." Sam says her name once more, sounding annoyed. Instantly, she snaps to attention, meeting his gaze and firmly telling herself not to drop it. She won't be intimidated. He is not her alpha.

Embry lets out a growl deep within his chest, sending Sam a look of agitation. "Don't talk to her like that."

Sam narrows his eyes at the other man, letting out a breath through his nose. He relaxes his shoulders when Emily presses a hand to his bicep. He nods his head in thanks.

"We need to know everything. If you want us to protect you, we need to know—"

Before she can stop herself, Hinata lets out a snort. "I don't need you to protect me."

"Yes," he says gravely. "you do. I don't think you know what you're up against. Leeches, vampires. They aren't human; they're stronger than you, faster than you. But we," he motions to his pack. "can fight them. You know what we are—"

"Werewolves." Bella mumbles for her, eyes darkening just slightly.

He continues on as if he hadn't said anything, "We are the protectors of La Push. We kill vampires, it's our entire reason for being here."

That must be a sad existence, Hinata thinks in the back of her mind. To be born, made to kill. But isn't that a shinobi's life as well?

"I don't live in La Push," Bella says almost defiantly. "You don't need to protect me either."

Sam sighs wearily. "Now that the leeches—Cullens," Bella flinches at the name. "are gone, our territory now spreads to Forks as well. Even if you throw a tantrum, we're going to protect you. It's what we do. We protect—"

One of the other men, the buffer one, scoffs. "Yeah, Sam, we protect. They fucking get it. Let's just get to the point," he snaps his eyes to Bella. "Why are you such a fucking leech-magnet? First the parasites from Forks, now this red-headed bitch—"

The pale girl freezes. "Red head? V-Victoria?"

Hinata closes her eyes. It's going to be a very long day, it seems.

They call for the other boy to come before Bella starts her story. He comes in, just as loud as the other members of his pack. He immediately attaches himself to Bella's side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She smiles sadly, but doesn't lean into him. The look he has is... devotion. Love. Adoration and a million things in between. Bella's face is—not that. She doesn't love him, not in the way he loves her. For a long moment, Hinata feels for the boy. She knows what that's like.

Hinata runs a sweaty palm down her pants damp pants. They're uncomfortable to be in, but it's not the worst thing in the world.

Bella's story is... interesting, Hinata supposes. She met and fell in love with a boy—a vampire boy. The boy loved her back, she thought, until he broke her heart and left her in the middle of the woods. Before that, though—

"A mate for a mate," Bella says bitterly. "Ed-Edward killed James, Victoria's mate, so Victoria wants revenge. She wants to kill me... a mate for a mate," she repeats, almost to herself.

"He's not your mate, Bella!" Jacob finally says. "A mate wouldn't leave you, a mate wouldn't make you hurt, a mate wouldn't—!"

"How would you know?" Bella snaps. "Do you have one?"

Jacob sucks in a breath, looking at her with such sad, warm eyes. "Not yet," he says after a long moment. "But it's something that we have inside of us. We'll all have mates one day, it's just a part of... a part of us."

"A part of who? Werewolves?" Her voice is hard.

"Yes," he says stiffly.

The rest of the people in the room are surprisingly quiet, Hinata realizes. They're staring at the pair with rapt attention—or, well, Emily is. The rest of them look as if they just want to get on with it.

"And let me guess, Emily is Sam's mate?" Bella asks, obviously leading up to something. Hinata stiffens, knowing that whatever she's about to say isn't going to be good.

At Jacob's nod, she continues in a bitter voice, "If she's his mate, then how did she get those scars? Did he—"

Before she can finish, before she can utter another word, the buffer boy is standing up, looking down at the tiny girl. "Shut up!" he snarls. "You don't know a fucking thing about us, you ungrateful bitch. Just take our help and shut up, or let the red-headed leech kill you. I can guarantee that no one here—besides Jake, maybe, because he's fucked in the head and has wanted to fuck your pasty ass for years—will miss you! You're just a fucking pest."

Sam is shaking and Emily is tense. Crying, Hinata thinks sadly.

Embry gently brushes his fingers against hers.

They're fighting then, Jacob and the guy that Hinata still doesn't know the name of. Something with a P, right? They're snarling at each other and Bella is stiff and silent in the kitchen chair. She is the kind of girl that men want to protect, after all.

"It's going to be fine," Embry tells her. "Sam will break up the fight and... well, Paul starts shit all the time, it's nothing new. Jake is... he's still new to... to this, so he can't control his temper very well, but he's better than most of us. He's supposed to be the Alpha, you know. He doesn't want the position though, and I can't say I blame him considering all the shit Sam's been through the past year or so. Having to deal with all of us? Hell," he babbles on. Though she doesn't understand some of it, she listens. She closes her eyes and allows his voice to seep into her skin.

When he goes silent, she looks up. He's looking at her like Jacob looked at Bella—except so much more. He's looking at her the way Sam looks at Emily, and... part of her likes it. The other part of her hates it because she likes it. She loves Seth.

She pulls her hand away from his, returning it to her lap.

"W-would you mind if I took a shower here?" She asks Emily, who is sitting across from her. Her head is in her palms and her hair spreads like ink down her shoulders.

She lifts her head and licks her lips. "No, sweetie, go ahead. I... I don't know if I've got anything that could fit you, but I'm sure we can find something."

In the end, Emily hands her one of Sam's large shirts. Hinata refuses the sundress, knowing that her scars would be on full display. Besides, it wouldn't help with the shivers still shaking her spine. Hopefully a steaming shower can help that.

The shower helps at least somewhat.

When she steps out, she's glad that the mirror is fogged—she can't see herself, and she's so grateful for that. If she saw that scar again, she's not sure what she'd do. Probably cry.

She dries her hair with the fluffy pink towel Emily handed her earlier. Emily must have picked them out, because Hinata certainly can't see Sam buying things like this. They're soft though, and warm. They smell like fresh laundry—and now the strawberry shampoo that Hinata may have borrowed.

She takes a deep breath, holds it.

Then she lets it out.

She must have stayed in the shower longer than she thought, because when she walks back into the kitchen—wearing Sam's shirt and her own bra—everyone is already there. Jacob and the other boy look no worse for wear, not really anyways. They're glaring daggers at each other, but they aren't trying to rip each others throats out, so that's good.

Embry immediately gets up when she steps into the room, his heart practically stopping at the sight of her. She's—beautiful, really. The sight of Sam's shirt slipping off her shoulders and going down to her knees is both tempting and annoying. It should be his shirt that she's wearing.

"I knew it'd be like a dress," Emily smiles. "You're even shorter than I am."

"I-it doesn't help that Sam is a giant," Hinata replies, lips twitching into a tiny grin.

He kept her seat empty, but when she sits next to Bella, Embry can't stop the hurt expression from crossing his face. She pretends not to notice.

"Are you feeling better?" Sam asks, lips pinched.

"A little," Hinata says, pulling down the edges of the shirt-dress to cover her knees. Bella is staring at her with confused eyes, likely wondering why the other girl would choose to sit next to her. Hinata offers a shaky smile.

"After an encounter with a leech," Sam says slowly. "You don't seem very... shaken up. It's amazing that you were able to recover so fast. Then again, there wasn't much to recover from." He stares at her with stern, ebony eyes. "How did you get away with not a scratch on you? We could smell her on you. She touched you, but—"

Perhaps because she's feeling a little bitter, a little rebellious, a little empty, she scoffs. "I told you, I... I don't need your help. I d-don't need protection."

Sam growls—then so does Embry, because no one, not even his alpha, is going to treat Hinata like that. Before he can stand up for his mate, Sam begins—

"I don't think you get it, little girl! This... this is real life. This is real, and I don't think you get it. There's more to the world than just humans, and you somehow already seemed to know that. You knew about us, anyways. You knew who Embry was when he was a wolf, you didn't seem surprised at all. You're obviously a fucking genius," he spits it like acid. "You knew the legends were real, didn't you? I know that no one told you, but you put it together."

He takes a deep breath. "I met you when you were twelve years old... you've always been sensible. What's changed?"

The silence is thick, so thick she feels herself beginning to choke on it.

She wants to yell back at him. She wants to scream and throw things, she wants to feel something break beneath her hands—whether it be his bones, or a flower vase. But then she shakes those thoughts away, because that's not who she is.

She's just frustrated; they all are, and she knows that. It must be horrible for them to know that their natural enemy, the vampire, got so close to where their families are; where their mates are. They think that she knows something that could help, but she really doesn't.

And though she is sensible, though she is patient, she doesn't feel like it right now. But she stuffs the anger beneath the surface and allows herself to breathe.

"Nothing has changed," she lies, staring him in the eye. "N-nothing at all has changed, and y-you... you're right." It's not as hard to say as she thought—even if it's not true. She's used to agreeing, to rolling over and allowing things to happen whether she wants them to or not.

"I do need your h-help."

Sam looks relieved. "I'm glad you can admit that. It's... I hope you can understand what it's like for us. That parasite has been running around for... weeks. We haven't been able to catch her and it's... it's beginning to take a toll on all of us."

Emily places a hand on his shoulder and leans into him.

Hinata watches them with calculating eyes. Perhaps not the most healthy of relationships—he likely caused the scars on her face, and the way they got together with each other? Horrible, truly—but it works for them, she supposes. They look sweet together, and they need each other.

The buffer boy straightens up, "How the hell did you make it away from her without any fucking injuries? It's what we all wanna know, but you still haven't answered us." His jaw is tense as he stares at Hinata. She's just a little girl, he can't help but think. What the hell could she have done?

She's not sure what to say for a long moment. She doesn't want to tell them the truth. Perhaps that is selfish of her, perhaps it's just self-preservation. What would they do if they knew what she could do? She doesn't think they'd do anything to hurt her, but it—no, she's not going to risk it.

So she gives half-truths. "She wanted to bite me."

Embry lets out a low growl, looking a little embarrassed when Hinata's gaze snaps to his. She allows her eyes to drift, not wanting him to see the effect that noise had on her. It was—animalistic, surely, and her stomach tingles from it.

She swallows roughly, "She w-wanted to bite me, but she... she talked a lot—"

"About what?" Sam interrupts.

"She... she mentioned an army."

"An army? Of fucking vampires?"

Hinata purses her lips. "I would a-assume so."

She fumbles with a loose string on the shirt, ignoring the soft cries from the girl beside her.

"She s-said that she wanted me to be a part of her army, but... E-Embry came before she could do anything. She... smelled him, I guess."

"She could have taken you with her," Sam narrows his eyes. "Why didn't she?"

"I don't know," Hinata practically snaps. "Maybe she was... s-scared. Of Embry, I mean."

Before Sam can reply, the phone in the kitchen rings. Emily sighs, going to answer it. She's not on the phone long before all of the shape-shifters in the room tense and Emily lets out a sound of distress.

Hinata clenches her fist tightly.

Emily comes back in a moment later, hand over her mouth. It takes her several seconds to get out the words, "Harry Clearwater... he just had a heartattack."

Hinata heart drops. It drops even further when she hears two long, mournful howls coming from outside.

"Sue... she also said that... that Leah and Seth shifted."

Please continue to review! Reviews really make me smile, and I got inspired to continue this because of all the reviews I saw on this since the last time I checked. :) Thank you for reading!