Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of the characters, just the plot and Brenna, so far.

"Collin, are you coming?" I heard Brady call from the front of the house, irritated, "The movie's gonna be over before we even get there if you don't hurry up." His voice was louder now, as if he thought I wouldn't be able to hear him. I had the urge to remind him that we were in a three bedroom, one story house, and I was only separated from him by a wall, but I was too focused on my phone to reply. Brenna had just texted me, which was incredibly unusual unless she really wanted to tell me something. Brenna and my relationship had ended on a not-very-pretty note, and she was still upset about it. It wasn't as if I'd done anything bad, though, it was just women and the strange way they thought. I shook my head to get rid of useless thoughts, then clicked open on my phone.

'I need you here, now. Hurry.' Though I was still somewhat angry with her for, well, being angry at me for whatever I didn't do, but she thought I did do, I couldn't ignore something that sounded important. Brenna may not have been a member of the pack, but she was as close to me as any of my guy friends were, maybe even closer. If she needed me, I'd be there. 'You okay?' I punched into the phone urgently, my over-sized fingers adding random letters where they weren't supposed to be. After what felt like forever, I'd gotten the two word message right, and was out the door of my room. "Hey Brady?" I called, wondering where he'd run off to. The door was swinging on its hinges and rain was blowing through it, so I guessed that he'd already gone outside. "Brady!" I walked through the door, annoyed that I'd have to cancel my plans with him and the rest of the guys. He was already in the car, waiting. I threw it open and shouted through the noise of the rain and radio, "Change of plans, I gotta go talk to Brenna. I'll see you tomorrow?"

He stared at me in disbelief, turning the radio down so we could hear each other better, "You're kidding me, right?" I shook my head, suddenly feeling guilty for ditching him. He'd been my best friend ever since the whole werewolf thing, three long years ago. We'd gone through the change at the same time, and after that we'd been practically inseparable. In recent events, though, I'd started to spend more time on my own or with Brenna in Seattle, making it hard for me to talk to him all the time like I used to. "You're so whipped, you know that, right?" I nodded, looking away from him. I'd have to smooth things out when I got back, even if it took breaking into his room through the window. Surely, he wouldn't forgive me easily this time. We'd been planning this party for weeks, a way to welcome the new kid into the pack. Sighing, I resolved that they'd have to get over it.

"I'm sorry, okay? She needs my help, I don't know why, but I'm not about to turn her down." When his glare continued, obviously waiting for a better explanation, I started to shake. All of the sudden, I wanted to punch him in the face. It wasn't my fault I'd met her, or fallen in love with her. And it wasn't my fault that she dumped me, either. He didn't have to make it harder, "Listen, she's as much my best friend as you are! Don't get all pissed at me like you always do, I don't need any more damn drama in my life than there already is." I wasn't yelling so he could hear me now, I was just mad.

"Whatever. G'bye." He replied, hitting the gas and sending me flying across the yard. I landed flat on my back, after doing a couple of somersaults. My side hurt like hell, and my arm felt broken. I looked up just in time to see him disappear around the corner of the cliffs, giving me the finger out the window. I wanted to morph and chase after him, but I could hardly lift my head.

"Bastard.." I muttered under my breath, re-evaluating my plan to make-up with him. Maybe we were farther apart than I'd thought. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. Without thinking, I moved my wounded arm, only to immediately flinch back and yelp in pain. God, I hated that guy. With my uninjured arm, I carefully slid the small piece of metal out of my pocket. The screen was cracked, but I could still read the message. 'No, not really. Can you please get your ass over here?' Clenching my teeth as tightly as I could, I sat up despite my body screaming at me to stop. I'd be better within a few hours, but from the sound of it, I didn't have that much time to lose.

Finally, I managed to stand up, slipping my cell phone and jeans into the small leather pouch attached to my ankle. Morphing was harder than I thought it'd be; all I could do was try not to pay attention to the agony that was coursing through my whole left side. Once I was a wolf, it felt slightly better so I started to run, testing my limits. It hurt, but not nearly bad enough to slow me down. I avoided thinking about it as much as I could, but of course, my mind always drifted back to it sooner or later. After a while, I noticed that I wasn't alone.

Collin? Are you alright? The voice asked. It took me a moment to figure out who it was, as in my wishful thinking I'd mistaken it for Brady. It's Kayne, you idiot. What happened to you? You sound like you're in pain. Kayne. He was the newest one to change, none of us were really used to him yet. He was alright, though, even if he dragged his girlfriend along everywhere he went. Hey! At least I don't ditch my best friends, my pack, to hang out with some chick that I'm not even going out with.

Shut up, Kayne. You don't want me to come back and whoop your ass, do you? Because I'm really close to losing it right now. I hadn't meant to sound so pissed, but with everything that was going on, all I wanted to do was tear up a bloodsucker or something. It sucked, feeling so torn between the people who were practically your family, and your best friend. It didn't help that she lived at least a thirty minute's run away, and hours in a car.

Is that you're way of saying sorry? Well, I forgive you, don't worry. An image of me beating the crap out of the 14 year old flashed in my brain, and I heard him chuckle his wolfie chuckle. The fantasy was cut off abruptly by a jolt of pain in my left leg. I fell, rolling for a few seconds before coming to a complete stop. Woah! Collin, are you okay? Maybe you should come home and let Emily have a look at you. What happened?

I'm fine. I couldn't move for a minute or two, and listened to Kayne's nagging in silence while I gathered every ounce of strength I had together. I was only about ten minutes away from Seattle, then another twenty minutes from Brenna's house, as I couldn't be in my wolf form in a big city like that. With a great amount of effort, I lifted myself and started to limp towards my destination.

Seriously, what the hell happened to you? When Sam finds out he'll be pissed. He just gave us the whole 'fighting within the pack doesn't do any good, and if I see it again there will be consequences' lecture. Of course, Emily was behind it, but she'll make him go through with it. He was starting to get annoying. I didn't know whether to ignore him and let him continue or tell him so he'd leave me alone. Tell me! I'm really considering coming after you right now. Is that what you want? Or maybe I'll send Brady.

Do that, and I'll rip you limb from limb. He seemed surprised, but stayed silent for a second, glad that I had spoken. He came upon a window, Sam's, and through his sight I saw Brady, laughing on the couch. He was really going to get him. Fine! It was Brady. I told him I had to go see Brenna and he flipped. No big deal, I'll be fine in like an hour. I paused for a second, and then added, Is the asshole really laughing? He practically crippled me, and he's laughing?! If I hadn't been in wolf form already, I would have been too angry to keep being human.

Kayne seemed shocked that Brady had gone so far as to hurt me, it never came to that between us. We were best friends, weren't we? Yeah, he's laughing. I think Leah said something funny. He stayed so quiet for a few minutes that I thought he was finally out of my head. He proved me wrong, though. Why are you going to Brenna's? I thought you two broke up… again.

You know, you suck at being comforting. He chuckled again, and I managed a laugh too, which was cut off abruptly when I realized I'd only walked a couple of yards since I'd fallen. Dammit, it's going to take me hours to get there! I hate Brady so much, I could literally tear his head off. Do you think Sam would be mad? Kayne laughed. I would have joined him, but my leg was getting worse and it was taking everything I had not to scream. Or howl. Or whatever wolves did when they were in pain. I whimpered slightly. Hey, I'll be right back, okay? I gotta check my phone.

Pain seared throughout my body as I became human once again, my broken bone stretching and contorting to fit my human figure. I actually did scream this time, falling against a tree and nearly blacking out. Why was I feeling worse, not better? With a sigh, I grabbed my phone from the leather pouch and flipped it open. One new message. 'Please hurry, my parents are going to be home in less than two hours. Don't drive, run.' I shook my head softly, punching in a distorted reply, 'Sorry, Brady and I had a fight, I'm doing the best I can.' I didn't want her to worry, but I wanted her to know I was going to take a little longer than I'd expected. In a few seconds I was a wolf again. It hurt a lot less like this.

You never told me why you were going to Brenna's. Kayne immediately started talking once he sensed my presence. I didn't know if I'd be able to reply, it was starting to hurt too badly. I tried to run, but kept stumbling and falling. The earthy scent of the woods was starting to disappear though, something I normally dreaded but was now overjoyed about. Dude, you need to stop walking. You're gonna kill yourself.

I'll be fine. Tell Sam and I'll make your life a living hell, got that? He mentally gave in. Being much younger than me and new to the pack, he was in no place to try to disagree with me. Why are you running, anyways? I asked, trying to distract myself.

Oh, umm. I realized he was keeping his thoughts carefully shielded. Girl trouble. It's no big deal, it'll blow over. I could tell, though, that he wasn't so sure of himself. There was a lingering sense of hope in his mind, but I couldn't tell what for. Stop searching me! I don't want to be at the party either, okay? I just want to be alone. You should understand.

I stopped digging through his mind. Not because he was right, but because I was nearing Seattle and had to change. See ya, new kid. Hope you feel better. Before I could get fully morphed, a 'be careful!' echoed in my mind. I sighed, hoping I'd be able to make it all the way across town to Brenna's house. An idea hit me, something I should have thought of earlier. I checked how much money I had in my pouch. $189.00. That was more than enough to rent a cab. Once I got to the main roads, I stepped out into traffic in front of a yellow car. "I need a cab." I said loudly, moving around to his window. The guy looked at me with a horrified look in his eye. Panicking, I checked to make sure I'd put my pants on before I'd come into town, but they were securely hanging around my waist. What was this freak staring at?

He rolled down the window, "What you need is an ambulance, buddy, what happened to you?" At first I didn't understand, but once I checked myself in the faint reflection the side of the car cast of me, I realized what he meant. My arm was not only broken, but bent badly out of shape, twisted in a very awkward position. My whole side was bruised and there were scratches covering most of my back and front. To top it all of, there was blood soaking through my jeans in immense quantity.

"Shit," I muttered softly, opening the cab door. "Listen, I'm fine. Do you know where Pine Street is? Near Grove Park, I think." The driver nodded. My voice was strained. If this didn't start healing pretty quickly, I was going to have a hard time getting home. And what would Brenna think, seeing me all beaten up like this? I started to reach for my phone, but was interrupted by the cab driver, throwing a plastic bag in the back towards me. I looked up at him, confused.

"Put your leg in it, I don't want blood all over my seats." He looked irritated that I'd chosen his particular cab to dirty up, but obviously couldn't have turned me down. I was pretty much bleeding out. "Listen, kid, I'm gonna speed to get you wherever you're going, cause I want you out. No offense. If I get pulled over, you tell him you need help fast, got it?" I nodded, not realizing that he couldn't see me, so he repeated, "Got it?"

"Oh, yeah, sure." After I'd finished fully covering my leg, I took out my phone. I had a missed call and a text, but I read the new message first. 'Brady? I thought you guys had things worked out. I hope it wasn't my fault. Are you hurt? I'm calling you." I could tell that we were almost there, so I didn't bother calling her back. She didn't need to worry about me, I'd be fine. Whatever she had to tell me had better be pretty damn important, though. If I went through all this grief for nothing, I would not be happy.

I must have zoned out or fallen asleep, because the next thing I heard was, "Kid. Kid! We're here, pay up." I looked up and noticed that we were at Brenna's house. I saw a curtain flicker open and closed, and realized that she'd be out within seconds. "Forty bucks." I threw two twenties at him and stumbled out of the car, not removing the trash bag from my leg. It was probably better she didn't see me in all my glory, my broken arm was enough.

The door opened and Brenna was running towards me, arms extended. "Collin! Oh my gosh, Collin!" She cried, wrapping me in a tight hug. I flinched, but didn't tell her how much it hurt to be touched. I hadn't felt her arms around me in so long; it felt too nice to mess up. In seconds, she let go and backed up. "Oh, I'm sorry, you must be in pain!" She gasped again, staring at my arm, "He did this to you? How could he? If I had your werewolf-y powers, I'd kick his butt." She stood there, gazing at me. I wanted to tell her it was all okay, there was no need to worry, but I knew she wouldn't have any of it.

"Come on, Bren, let's get you inside. You'll get sick." She looked at me like I was crazy, but didn't say anything. She probably didn't want to argue with the crippled guy. I limped behind her until she realized I was having a hard time walking, and attempted to help support me. Though it wasn't really any help, I pretended it was. There was no harm in giving her what she wanted when it was no trouble for me, besides the whole pain thing.

Once we were inside, she led me into the back where her room was. I was grateful that she'd ended up with the only room on the bottom floor, while everyone else's rooms were upstairs. I wouldn't have been able to make it up there. "Tell me what happened." She demanded as soon I was laying on her bed. She sat down on the edge, staring at me expectantly.

I shook my head. "Listen, I don't want to talk about it, alright? I'll live; he's great, let's move on." She glared at me, as if she wanted to slap me, though I knew she wouldn't. I was so sick of fighting I was about to puke. When I got back, I'd apologize, and if he didn't want to accept I'd give him time and let him get over it. I was officially done with this whole make-me-choose thing. If I could get here with a horribly deformed arm and horribly bloody leg while Kayne was annoying whatever energy was left out of me, I could keep both friends.

"You're kidding me, right? This guy could have killed you. He's supposed to be your best friend, so why doesn't he act like it?" I resisted the urge to tell her it was because of her, because I hadn't been acting like a best friend, but instead I gave her a glare. It was the kind that said 'just drop it', and she did so without a protest. "I'm getting you ice and a wash cloth, I'll be right back." She stood up to walk out the door.

"When you get back, you're telling me whatever you called me over here for, okay?" A nervous fear crept over her features, and she didn't reply. After she was out of the room, I let out a long sigh. She didn't look injured or hurt, so it didn't have anything to do with that. So what was so important that she'd called me over when I already had plans? I was curious now. After what seemed like ages she returned, a pathetic smile on her face. "So what is it?"

She didn't reply at first, only dabbing the soapy washcloth on my torn up skin. It stung, but I wasn't about to cry like a baby. I focused on her eyes instead, that were shifting quickly, as if she had no idea what to say. "You're going to be mad." She whispered, a tear dripping down her face. I couldn't stand to see her hurt like this, I wanted to wrap her up in a huge bear hug and never let go. I couldn't exactly get up, though, so I stayed where I was. "Really, really mad." Her voice was barely a breath.

"How bad could it be?" I asked, partially to myself, after a long pause. It wasn't awkward, though. That was one of the amazing things about us, things were never awkward. She continued to dab at my stomach with the cloth, touching a few particularly tender spots. I tensed my muscles, hoping she'd spit it out already so I could think about something else. When she didn't reply, I started to get nervous myself, "Come on, Rain, I promise you I won't blow up.." Rain was the nickname that only I called her. It was her middle name, and sort of an inside thing.

She shook her head, and looked into my eyes. "I'm scared." By now multiple tears were streaming down her face, and she wasn't one to cry easily. I'd only seen her do it once before, and that was when her father died, so she had a very good reason. It must have been serious. I reached up and wiped them away with my thumb.

"Shh, you're okay." She set the rag down as I sat up, ignoring the pain, and wrapped my good arm around her. I let her lean into me, crying softly. "I won't let anything hurt you, I promise. Shhh." I stroked her hair gently, trying to calm her down. After a few moments, I kissed her forehead and held her chin so that she was looking at me, "Please, tell me. I don't think I could be mad at you if I tried, even if I did have the energy." She reached up and removed my hand from her face, intertwining our fingers.

"Collin…" She started, looking me square in the eyes. Hers were so beautiful. I wished more than anything that she was mine; that I'd imprinted on her, but I hadn't. And she didn't feel safe around me, knowing that at any moment I could find my soul mate and leave her in the dust. Sometimes I hated being a shape-shifter. "I'm pregnant." These were not the words I'd expected to hear. I let go of her hand in shock, as if she'd been burning me with it. She started to cry again, and once again I hugged her, resting my chin on her head.

"How?.." I whispered. We'd never gone so far as to… It couldn't have been mine. There was no way in hell it was. All we'd done is kissed, nothing more than that. We were going to wait… We hadn't… My thoughts were a mess, as jumbled and confused as my splintered bones. "It's not mine." I finally said, not as a question. She sobbed harder, her tears falling against my shoulder.

"I'm sorry… I'm so, so sorry." She cried, wrapping her arms around me to confirm my accusation. "I never deserved someone as good as you. It wasn't your fault. I'm sorry. I couldn't do it." So that had been it. There had never been any worry about who I was going to imprint on, it was all just a cover up. She'd been cheating on me. For some reason, I wasn't mad at her. It almost seemed like something I would have expected. I started shaking softly, thinking of the miserable piece of trash that had taken her, my Brenna. If I ever got my hands on him, I'd wring his filthy neck before he could even think about running.

I didn't ask who, I didn't ask why. There was no reason to add to her pain. She was hurt, and she'd called me to help her, to sit with her while she cried, not him. I don't know if it was because she loved me, or because he'd left her, but I didn't care. I couldn't leave her like this. I couldn't even be angry. She was beautiful, and I really was whipped. And for whatever reason, I didn't mind.

I felt a slow tear roll down my face as I kissed her head again. "It's okay, Rain. Shhh. I love you, no matter whose baby it is. I love you." She looked up at me, her tears stopping. The sadness in her dark green eyes was still there, lingering behind a layer of pure surprise, as if to say 'really?'. I nodded at her unspoken question, "I really do." This sent her into another round of tears. Then she glanced up at me once again, tears still rolling down her cheeks.

"You are the most amazing person I've met in my entire life." She choked out, breathing heavily from her sobs, "And I love you too."

Hey, guys! This is a new story that I wrote while I was supposed to be doing test reviews, so if I fail, I blame you.

If you've read my other story, What are you running from?, this is kind of a branch off of that. Collin is actually not part of the pack in that story, nor are his sons or daughters, and this is the story of why. When I was figuring out what Raidyn's friend and the new pack would be like, I got really into this and I couldn't stop, heh.

So I hope you guys like it! Review with questions, comments, and whatever else! I was tempted to leave y'all with a cliff hanger, but I was having too much fun writing it, so I didn't. Consider yourselves lucky. (: