Hello readers! I'm so excited to introduce my new story, Keeping It Together, featuring Embry! This takes place in the Safehouse world of imprints, but you don't need to read that to enjoy this, I promise. Summer and Colton will be making appearances, very soon I might add. I apologize for this coming out so late, but I sincerely hope you enjoy this. I've been working on it for a while, and I'm really pleased!

Prologue

"Wake up, Chloe, wake up!" a desperate voice called somewhere from above me. There was a vague understanding of this voice; it was someone who had taken care of me, someone who had spent a lot of time with me, and comforted me. I knew that I knew that voice, but it was buried deep inside of me. Recognition of anything but a twisted sense of consciousness was strange for me; I was unaware of most of what was going on.

"Chloe, I'm not playing with you. You have to wake up! Come on!" the voice insisted. It sounded harsher, more desperate. Dimmer, I felt dimmer; everything was slowing down, calming down.

"She's dying, isn't she?" There was a muffled reply after the tearful question that I didn't hear. I couldn't really bring myself to care.

"Chloe." This voice was different. It was stronger. Sturdier. More powerful and definitely scarier. I could not disobey this voice. "Come back to us right now. Wake up."

"Dammit, Chloe, wake up!" the strong voice whimpered.

The softness was closing in around me. Everything felt like a warm, cuddly cocoon. Nothing could hurt me. No more pain. No more hurting. No more worrying. Falling into the cocoon was like falling into a warm, soft bed; I could sleep and dream forever, and not worry about one little thing.

Going against the voice was hard, but I had made my decision. Moving towards the voice was hard, like pushing a brick wall, and painful. I hated trying.

I let myself fall gracefully into the cocoon, securing myself from everything else.

I was safe; I was free.