Stronger

 

Prologue

 

“You look absolutely beautiful, sweetheart.”

 

“Simply exquisite.”

 

“He’s not going to be able to take his eyes off of you!”

 

The compliments washed over her as Kyrine stared in the full length mirror, running her hands down her sides to smooth any creases and blemishes of the breathtaking white gown she wore.  It was a simple silk one piece with a hoop neckline and long sleeves, showing off her slim curvy body, flowing out at her feet.  It had embroidery beading on the front that made the dress shimmer in the lights, giving the dress that special bridal feeling.  The moment Kyrine laid eyes on the dress; she knew this was the one she wanted to marry him in.

 

Her eyes closed thinking of her fiancé, not believing what an unbelievably unselfish man he was.  Kyrine still had no idea how she was going to tell her mother what was going to transpire later on that night, but she would figure it out eventually.  All that mattered was being married to him, being his wife and living.  Kyrine swallowed hard as her mother fixed the veil over her eyes, which was a simple silk sheer material that brought out her beautiful midnight blue eyes.  Her dark chestnut hair –it had natural red tints throughout it- was half swept up in tons of spiral curls that framed her face and rested on her shoulders gently.

 

Tears came to her eyes at the thought, remembering the first time she met him and sighed gently.  Kyrine had to move to Forks, Washington because of an operation, diagnosed with congestive heart failure at the tender age of six.  She’d lived with this condition for over a decade, though it’d been two years since Kyrine moved to Forks.  She had multiple surgeries to replace heart valves to help her heart pump faster, but it was getting to the point where the heart wasn’t getting better or healthier. 

 

Slowly but surely, her heart was slowing down as every day passed, remembering what her cardiologist, Doctor Miles, told her a few years ago.  A heart transplant was needed in order to save Kyrine’s life or she was going to die.  Time was running out and Kyrine had begun losing hope until Doctor Miles gave her the news that changed her life.  Her eyes closed, remembering that moment Doctor Miles walked in the exam room and gave her the news that changed her entire life forever…

 

~!~

 

The door opened as Doctor Miles walked in, a middle aged man in his fifties with graying short black hair and deep grey eyes.  He was tall and the best, which is what the McTavian’s required, having moved from their home in Michigan to Miami to see the best doctor in the world.  He was the preeminent cardiologist in the country, only the finest for their daughter, and the McTavian’s wouldn’t take anything less than that.

 

“Well hello there, Kyrie.” Doctor Miles greeted with a soft smile, holding her chart in his hand, wearing dark blue scrubs with a white overcoat. “How are you feeling today?”

 

“Nervous.” Kyrine repeated the same thing she told the nurse, Patricia, when asked earlier, causing the doctor to chuckle softly.

 

“Well, there’s no reason to be nervous because you’re here for a very good reason today.” Doctor Miles set the chart down and pulled the chair up, sitting right in front of Kyrine, Natalie standing beside her daughter in pure anticipation.

 

Kyrine felt as though she couldn’t breathe; especially when Doctor Miles took her hand in his own comfortingly, midnight blue eyes incredibly timid.

 

“Kyrie, I have incredible news for you.  We found you a heart.” Doctor Miles announced with a bright smile, watching those midnight blue eyes widen as they instantly filled with tears.

 

Natalie couldn’t help it and instantly began sobbing, knees giving out as they hit the floor, burying her face in her hands. “Oh thank you god!” She cried out with joy, Kyrine just sitting there as huge tears slid down her face, not able to take her eyes off of Doctor Miles.

 

“A-A heart?” She stammered out, covering her mouth with a shaking hand when Doctor Miles nodded, confirming it again.

 

“We found you a heart, Kyrie.”

 

Kyrine couldn’t help it and began crying as hard as she could, feeling as though her heart would burst in her chest.  Her mother’s arms wrapped around her, holding her close as she buried her face in her chest, clinging for dear life.  They found her a heart, which meant Kyrine wasn’t going to die.  She was going to live a full and happy life, slowly pulling away from her mother as Natalie mopped her face up with tissues.

 

“The heart is in Forks, Washington and they’re waiting for the donor to die.  They will not take him off of life support, but he only has so much time left.” Doctor Miles explained, causing Natalie to nod, smoothing her daughter’s hair out with her hand.

 

“When can she get the transplant?” Natalie instantly asked, hardly containing her excitement, kissing the top of her daughter’s head. “You’re going to live, my darling.”

 

“Well, you will have to move to Forks and wait until the heart is ready to be harvested.  It can be anywhere from three to four months.” Doctor Miles stated, sighing when Natalie and Kyrine looked at him in confusion. “The family refuses to take the donor off of life support until a family member arrives home from overseas.  They promised and signed a consent form that if the relative doesn’t arrive home in time, they will take him off life support and harvest his organs.  That heart is yours, Kyrie.”

 

Kyrine just nodded, still not believing this was happening, looking up at her mother through tear filled eyes. “I’m sorry we have to move again.” She whispered, the guilt washing through her, and Natalie just held her close.

 

“Don’t you dare apologize, Kyrine Elizabeth McTavian!  We don’t mind moving.  Forks, Washington will be happy to have us just like Miami and Detroit did.” Natalie stated, knowing Nicholas would more than agree to do anything for their daughter, kissing the top of her head.

 

“Now then, you know what needs to be done, but I want you to take extra precaution Kyrie.  Minimal activity and I want to add a couple of foods to your diet to help you gain some weight.  You need to be strong enough to withstand the transplant and ninety five pounds won’t cut it.  I’m also going to prescribe a new blood pressure medication to help that lower, which means absolutely NO STRESS whatsoever.” Doctor Miles instructed in a strict voice, knowing this girl would be fine as long as she obeyed what he said. “I think that’s it, if you have any questions, you know how to contact me.”

 

“I actually do have one, Doctor Miles.” Natalie cleared her throat, placing her hands on Kyrine’s shoulders gently but firmly. “Nicholas and I talked with Kyrie about this and we don’t want anyone else doing the transplant.  We will pay you handsomely and do whatever it takes to fly you out to Forks, Washington to perform the surgery.  We want only the best for our daughter, you understand right?”

 

Doctor Miles smiled gently, nodding, and stood up from the chair. “I was already planning on doing the surgery.  When the organs are ready to be harvested, I will be on the first flight to Forks.” He promised, causing Natalie and Kyrine to sigh with relief, shaking both of their hands.

 

“Mom, I’m getting a heart.” Kyrine whispered after Doctor Miles left the room, causing both of them to burst in tears again, holding each other tightly.

 

~!~

 

“Don’t cry sweetheart, you’re going to ruin your makeup.” Natalie McTavian stated, jolting her daughter out of her thoughts, trying not to cry and couldn’t help it since this was her only baby girl.

 

Now she was getting married and Natalie just wished she could have a little more time with Kyrine.  She remembered bringing her home from the hospital wrapped in a purple blanket –Natalie despised the color pink- and the first time she’d taken her into the newly built nursery.  Kyrine was a lonely child, Natalie only wanted one child and Nicholas understood that completely, happy with their beautiful daughter.  Neither realized just how much of a nightmare their lives would become six years down the road and how they’d gotten to this point now.

 

Swaying slightly, Natalie immediately wrapped an arm around her daughter’s waist, frowning. “Kyrie, do you need to sit down?” She asked, watching Kyrine shake her head, sighing heavily. “Sweetheart…”

 

“I’m fine mom, I promise.”

 

Kyrine smiled when her cousin, Amaya, walked up to her, wearing a blood red strapless bridesmaid gown that went two inches above the knee, hugging her hips and had a hoop neckline.  She had black lace arm warmers, being the only bridesmaid and maid of honor, the wedding just a very small ceremony.  Amaya Robinson stood around five nine and had blonde hair with blood red highlights throughout it –she changed it every three months to a different color- with deep violet eyes.  The McTavian’s took her in when she was five years old, after her parents were involved in a horrific car accident, both of them killed instantly on impact.  To say Kyrine and Amaya were close was an understatement; they were sisters.

 

Amaya also knew what Kyrine was planning that night with her fiancé and completely understood why.

 

“Why don’t you go find the coordinator and make sure everything’s set?” Amaya suggested with a smile, wanting a minute alone with her sister, tears shining in her eyes. “Give the bride a few minutes to collect herself.”

 

Natalie sighed, knowing Amaya wanted to talk with her sister alone, and kissed her cheek gently. “I’ll be right in the hall if you need me, both of you.” She squeezed both of their hands before exiting, her sisters Sally and Amelia following suit.

 

“Thank you.” Kyrine breathed a sigh of relief and went back to staring in the mirror, closing her eyes as a wave of nausea overtook her. “I’m fine.” She held her hand up before Amaya could touch her, just needing to breathe. “I’m nervous, I’m only eighteen and I’m about to get married.”

 

“To save your life.” Amaya reminded her gently, placing a hand on her shoulder, tears stinging her eyes. “How do you think it will feel?”

 

“I don’t know.” Kyrine whispered, still not believing she agreed to go along with this, but at this point there were no other options. “You know this is the only way, Maya.”

 

As much as Amaya didn’t want to admit it, she knew Kyrine was making the right decision, swallowing hard. “Just promise me this isn’t the last time we’ll see each other...” Grasping her hands, tearful violet eyes stared into saddened midnight blue. “Kyrie…”

 

“I can’t promise that.” She whispered, slipping her hands out of Amaya’s, knowing this was going to tear the woman apart. “We’ve already had this discussion.  It’s going to be a very long time before we see each other again.”

 

A knock on the dressing room door caused both women to snap their heads toward it, the father of the bride, Nicholas McTavian, poked his head in with a smile. “Mind if I come in to wish my daughter well?” He asked, causing both women to giggle and stepped inside, first hugging Amaya, his second daughter in his mind and heart. “You look lovely.”

 

“Thanks Dad.” Amaya whispered, accepting a kiss on the cheek before he moved to the most beautiful bride, even though she was slowly dying. “I’m gonna go make sure Mom isn’t changing anything.”

 

“Good idea.” Nicholas chuckled, the door closing as he took Kyrine into his arms, trying hard not to muse her. “You look stunning, Ky.”

 

“Thank you, Daddy.” She whispered, closing her eyes, remembering when she told her father she was getting a new heart.

 

~!~

 

What did Doctor Miles say?”

 

“Daddy…” Kyrine couldn’t help it as tears filled her eyes, feeling him cup her face in his warm hand, touching her cold one over his.  She had cold hands because of poor circulation, though Nicholas had gotten used to it over the past decade. “Daddy, I’m getting a heart.”

 

Nicholas’s deep sea green eyes stared down at his daughter in shock, tears filling his own eyes, and lifted her up as he twirled her around very gently. “My beautiful angel…” He murmured in her ear, feeling her hold onto him as tightly as she could, not believing this was happening.

 

“I couldn’t believe it either.” Natalie was crying like a baby again, but couldn’t help it.  Their family had been through pure hell over the past decade and this news was the biggest weight lifted from their shoulders. “We have to go to Forks, Washington, Nicholas.”

 

“Anywhere.” Nicholas stated, setting Kyrine down on her feet, kissing the top of her head lovingly. “We’d fly to Australia if that’s what it took to get you this heart, angel.”

 

“You’re getting a heart?” Amaya finally asked, letting the shock wear off, and tried like hell not to start crying, but it wasn’t happening. “Oh man chick, that’s great!  Get over here!” She hugged Kyrine close, they were more than cousins, more than sisters…Kyrine and Amaya were best friends and hung out as much as they could, though they were completely opposite.

 

“I know!  I started crying in front of Doctor Miles when he told me.” Kyrine sniffled as she pulled back, wiping her tears away, giggling because Amaya instantly went to check her makeup and hair. “We have to move again, I’m sorry.”

 

“Stop apologizing, Kyrine.” Natalie ordered her daughter, feeling Nicholas’s loving embrace, sighing gently. “We told you we’ll do whatever it takes to save you.”

 

“That’s right Kyrie, stop worrying so much.” Amaya ordered, wrapping a loose arm around her shoulders, a smirk spreading across her magenta colored lips. “So when do we leave?”

 

“As soon as possible.” Natalie had already called her realtor while at dinner with Kyrine earlier that night.

 

“Forks, Washington here we come!”

 

~!~

 

“Are you ready to do this?” Nicholas asked, trying hard to keep his emotions at bay around his daughter, not wanting to let her go.

 

“Yes, I’ll be out in a minute.  I just need a minute to myself.” When her father hesitated, Kyrine sighed and kissed his lips softly, hugging him tightly around the neck. “I’m fine, Daddy.”

 

Nicholas nodded, hugging her tightly against him as his eyes shut as well, swallowing hard. “I love you, Ky.” He murmured in her ear, being very gentle because he knew how fragile she was right now, even though she tried hiding it.

 

“I love you too, Daddy.” Releasing him, Kyrine turned back to stare in the mirror, the door closing once more, and took a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart…her dying heart.

 

No matter what, Kyrine knew she couldn’t back out of this because it was her only chance to survive.  Her fiancé would give her what she needed most and Kyrine wasn’t going to pass it up for anything or anyone in the world.  He promised her as soon as they left the reception, their wedding night could commence and Kyrine shivered at the thought, clasping her hands tightly together in front of her.

 

This was it.

 

The time had finally arrived.

 

Grabbing her bouquet, Kyrine fixed a few flowers on it with a smile on her face, inhaling the beautiful roses the florist had gotten for her.  It was made of blood red and white roses, the colors of her wedding, the most important day of her life.  The door opened and closed, Kyrine too busy fixing her bouquet to look perfect for this moment and turned around with a huge smile on her face, ready to walk down the aisle to greet her soon-to-be husband.

 

“Hello Kyrine.”

 

Suddenly, Kyrine’s eyes closed as she slumped forward, a strong arm catching her before she hit the floor.  He nodded once, lifting her up gingerly, knowing he didn’t have much time to get out of there.  Walking over, he slipped out of the window he’d snuck in, knowing everyone was at the ceremony, waiting for a bride that would never show up.

 

It was for Kyrine’s own good.

 

Chapter 1

 

~Past~

 

Preparing to move to Forks, Washington was definitely both exhausting emotionally and physically.

 

Once the shock of the news from Doctor Miles wore off, Kyrine began wondering what he meant when he said she had to wait for her donor to die.  Obviously her donor was still alive and, with that being the case, Kyrine would be a murderer.  She sat up in bed that night, after taking her medications, sighing heavily while staring out the window.  Kyrine looked down at her hands, wondering what it would feel like to get a new heart.  To have someone else’s heart beating within her chest…someone who had to die in order for her to live.

 

Kyrine already knew her parents had made the arrangements to move to Forks, Washington and that just caused a new wave of guilt to wash over her.  It was because of her they had to leave Miami, which meant her and Amaya swapping schools again.  She wondered how Amaya truly felt about her, if she really despised her with how much moving they had to do over the past ten years.  Kyrine wouldn’t blame her at all if Amaya hated her, though it would break her already damaged heart.

 

Her mother would have a conniption fit if she knew Kyrine was awake right now worrying about this.  Doctor Miles had ordered Kyrine to have absolutely no stress in her life, or the bare minimum, which was very hard to do.  How could she not think about the life she was about to take in order to save her own?  Even though the donor was technically brain dead, that didn’t make the guilt any less powerful.

 

Another thing Kyrine wondered was what new adventures lay in store for her family in Forks, Washington.  Kyrine had done some research on the small town, the population a little over three thousand people as opposed to over a million in Miami.  They were going to be moving to a sardine can, though Kyrine was actually looking somewhat forward to it.  She didn’t like congested cities and, according to the map, there was a lot of wooded area and the Pacific Ocean wasn’t far off either.

 

Kyrine loved the ocean.

 

Slipping out of her bed, Kyrine walked over to the window and pushed it open, allowing the warm breeze to blow through her raven locks.  Forks, Washington never went past seventy degrees, which she knew Amaya would despise because the woman hated cold weather.  Kyrine sighed as she walked back over to slip back into bed, knowing she should be saving her energy for the big move.  No sleep would be coming to her that night though as Kyrine took her diary out, unlocking it, and proceeded to write down her thoughts about what was coming.

 

A new heart.

 

A new home.

 

Could this possibly be a new beginning for the McTavian family?  Amaya’s last name wasn’t the same because Natalie and Nicholas felt it would tarnish her parents’ name, even though they adopted her when she was five years old.  Kyrine hoped Amaya wasn’t resentful toward her when all of this was said and done, when she finally did get her new heart.  Whoever this donor was, Kyrine truly owed them her life and closed her eyes, shedding a few tears before finally calling it a night.

 

The following morning, Kyrine was up after only getting five hours of sleep, walking into the kitchen where breakfast was waiting for her.  A fruit salad with a glass of apple of juice, knowing this was probably a change in her diet since she’d lost more weight.  She looked over at Amaya, who had her hair up in a clip, the magenta highlights looking as though they were going all over the place on top of her head. 

 

“Morning darling.” Natalie greeted happily, the sparkle in her midnight blue eyes, which Kyrine hadn’t seen in a very long time.

 

“Morning mom.” She greeted softly, talking over to the table and sat in front of Amaya, who was looking over some notes for her upcoming Biology test. “Hey Maya.”

 

“Oh hey chick!” Amaya laughed softly; setting her notes down and took a bite out of her honey cluster cereal. “I didn’t even hear you walk in.  Did you sleep well?”

 

“Some.” Kyrine chewed her bottom lip, seeing the dramatic makeup Amaya wore was still intact, not able to help smiling. “How about you?”

 

“Meh you know how it goes with me.  I’m an insomniac through and through, nothing a little energy drink can’t take care of.” Amaya winked, her eyes rounded in thick black eyeliner with matching eye shadow, a hint of magenta within it.  Her lips were also painted magenta, along with the tips of her nails. “Hey Nat, did Nick say when we’ll be leaving Miami?”

 

That stab of guilt cut through Kyrine, causing her to take a small bite out of her fruit salad.

 

“I’d venture to say within the next month.” Natalie answered truthfully, knowing they had some time to get everything adjusted before they had to leave. “So you two will be able to say goodbye to everyone and cover any loose ends.”

 

“Cool, I was just wondering.” Amaya honestly didn’t care how many times she moved, enjoying the new adventures, a smile on her face. “I think Forks, Washington is going to be awesome.” She winked at Kyrine, who cracked a hesitant smile, the smile instantly vanishing from Amaya’s face. “Ky, are you alright chick?”

 

“Yeah I’m fine.” Kyrine murmured quietly, not looking up at Amaya, refusing to show her just how guilty she felt with this upcoming move.

 

Natalie had left the kitchen and Amaya took that opportunity to slide over to where Kyrine was, sitting beside her. “What’s really going on, Kyrie?” Amaya demanded, taking her hand, not even flinching at how cold it was.  She was used to it after ten years and squeezed it reassuringly, sighing when a few tears slipped down Kyrine’s cheeks.

 

“How come you don’t hate me, Maya?” Kyrine finally asked, looking up at the woman she considered more than a cousin and best friend…more like an older sister, even though they were mere months apart.

 

Amaya couldn’t help laughing softly, wrapping a comforting arm around Kyrine’s shoulders. “Ky, there’s no reason for me to hate you.  You’re my sister, my best friend, you’re the one who gets me out of a lot of shit when I pull it with Nat and Nick.” She chuckled, knowing she was somewhat of a hell raiser, but the McTavian’s didn’t love her any less. “Why do you think I hate you?”

 

“Because we have to move again.” Kyrine sniffled, causing Amaya to laugh softly again, kissing the top of her head.

 

“Chick, listen to me very carefully.  There is no reason for me to hate you for that.  Hell, I’m sick of Miami and ready for a new adventure.  But that’s not the only reason for this move…” Amaya lifted Kyrine’s chin with her hand, tears shining in those violet eyes. “You’re getting a new heart, a second chance at life, Kyrie.  That’s the whole reason behind this and I can’t wait for you to be better so we can run around and raise hell together.”

 

Kyrine couldn’t help laughing softly, leaning against her sister, sniffling gently. “I’m not a hell raiser like you.” She pointed out, causing Amaya to wink with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

 

“Trust me, when I’m done with you, you will be a bone-a-fide hell raiser, possibly even crazier than me.” Amaya promised, taking the napkin and mopping her sister’s face, kissing the top of her head again. “Now stop worrying about it.  You know this would be happening if it was any one of us.”

 

“I know, I just can’t help feeling guilty.” Kyrine sighed heavily, lowering her head again, and took another nibble out of her fruit salad. “That’s not all that’s bothering me.”

 

“What else is?” Maya asked, arching a slow eyebrow at Kyrine, taking her hand reassuringly. “Come on Ky, talk to me girl.  What’s on your mind?”

 

Kyrine knew this was going to sound really stupid, but couldn’t help feeling the way she did. “Someone else has to die because of me.” She whispered, running a hand through her raven hair. “I mean…granted, the donor is technically on life support, but they’re still alive and I have to take their heart to live.  How can I not feel guilty about that?”

 

Amaya sighed gently, honestly not blaming Kyrine for how she felt because she wasn’t sure how she’d feel if the roles were reversed. “You just have to think of it as a part of the circle of life.” She knew that sounded really cliché, but it was the truth.

 

“What is this The Lion King?” Kyrine retorted, trying to crack a joke as she wiped the tears away from her eyes. “I know what you mean, sorry.”

 

“No problem.” Amaya grinned; glad Kyrine was trying to find some sort of humor in this situation. “But honestly this is the way it’s supposed to be, sweetie.  Your donor is brain dead, the only thing keeping them him or her alive is a machine with a lot of tubes in their body.  That’s it, without that they would die.  Whoever this is deserves to be called a hero for being a donator and helping others live.”

 

“Yeah I guess you’re right…” Kyrine sighed as she took another bite, knowing her mother wanted her to eat all of this, but wasn’t sure if she could. “What time do we have to be at school?”

 

“We still have some time.” Amaya assured her, not caring if they were late for school, since they knew Kyrine’s condition and whatnot. “Just finish eating and stop stressing over everything.  You can’t be worrying like this, it’s not good for you, Ky.

 

Kyrine knew she was right, knowing Doctor Miles would be very upset with her if he found out how much worrying Kyrine was doing.  Worry was almost as bad as stress, which Kyrine had to really limit herself on, and sipped some of her apple juice.  Somehow, Amaya always made Kyrine feel better, no matter the circumstances and Kyrine was blessed to have her in her life. 

 

Natalie walked back inside, seeing the girls were still eating, arching a slow eyebrow. “Kyrine, I want all of that gone before you leave.” She stated, remembering the weight loss, worry evident in her blue eyes. “Please?”

 

“I’m trying, Mom.” Kyrine assured her with a small smile and looked over at Amaya, who winked at her encouragingly. 

 

“Good, I have to get to work and your father won’t be home until late.  He’s going to be breaking the news of our departure to the staff.” She watched Kyrine flinch and walked over, wrapping her arm around her daughter’s shoulders, kissing the top of her head. “Stop worry, darling.  This is almost over and we can finally have a normal, happy life.”

 

“Don’t worry Nat, I’ll take care of her.” Amaya assured the woman she considered the closest thing to a mother, smiling when Natalie nodded. “I say we take the day off from school today and just veg out.” She stated as soon as Natalie left the house.

 

Kyrine blinked, knowing her parents usually didn’t mind when she took a day off from school, eyes narrowing slightly. “You didn’t study for that test did you?” When Amaya just rolled her eyes, Kyrine couldn’t help giggling softly. “No wonder you want to stay home so badly.”

 

“Well I can’t fucking help it!  I don’t understand the shit!” Amaya whined, frowning as she looked down at the notes, which were mostly scribbled with doodles and drawings. “Come on Ky, let me use you as a scapegoat, please?”

 

“I don’t know…” Kyrine folded her arms in front of her chest, tapping her arms with her fingers contemplatively. “What’s in it for me?”

 

Amaya laughed and walked over, wrapping her arms around Kyrine’s shoulders from behind. “I’ll go to the video store and get our usual movies and snacks.  We can veg out and talk about our big move to Forks and get your mind off of things.  School sucks, come on Ky!”

 

Knowing she would probably regret doing this, Kyrine finally groaned, nodding reluctantly. “Fine, fine I’ll call mom and have her call both of us off.” She chuckled when Amaya jumped in the air, tossing her fist in the air, and raced out the door to get to the movie store.  Kyrine took her cell phone out and dialed the number, waiting patiently for her mom to answer.

 

“Natalie McTavian speaking?”

 

“Hey mom, it’s Kyrie.  Listen, I’m not feeling so good and Amaya is worried.  She’s going to stay home with me from school today.” Kyrine said, hating to use her sickness as a scapegoat, but honestly she hadn’t studied for the biology test either.

 

“Oh my god, darling, do you want me to come home?” Natalie’s voice filled with worry instantly, causing a wave of guilt to crash over Kyrine again.

 

“No mom, it’s fine.  I think I didn’t get enough sleep last night.  I had a lot on my mind and Amaya wants to stay with me just in case.  Can you call us off of school?” Kyrine asked softly, chomping on a piece of pineapple, smiling when her mother instantly agreed. “Thanks mom, you’re the best.”

 

“You rest, my darling.  I will take care of everything and pick up yours and Maya’s homework after I get off of work.” Natalie stated and they hung up moments later, Kyrine feeling awful for lying to her mother.

 

“Oh well.” She sighed and sat back down at the kitchen table, finishing her fruit salad. 

 

Amaya came through the door about a half an hour later, carrying two bags of goodies with movies, causing Kyrine to walk over and see what she picked out. “Ooo you know how much I love the Die Hard movies.” Kyrine grinned, instantly taking the third one, and walking into the living room to get it ready to start.

 

“Only the best for us.” Amaya called over her shoulder, bringing the snacks in the living room with apple juice and Pepsi.  They ran upstairs quickly, Amaya faster than Kyrine, to change out of their school clothes and into pajamas. “So Nat bought it then?”

 

“Yeah, I hate lying to her though.” Kyrine sighed, walking out in a pair of white pajama pants with a matching long sleeved shirt. “That’s the last time I do that, Maya.”

 

“Yeah, yeah whatever.” Amaya laughed, walking out in her black pajama pants and matching tank top, instantly frowning when she noticed Kyrine’s lips turning blue. “You need to really rest and relax today.  Your lips are blue again.”

 

“I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night…” Kyrine admitted sheepishly, walking down the stairs slowly because she couldn’t exert herself too much, snuggling on the couch with her favorite dark blue blanket. “I’ll be alright.”

 

“Well just in case, you need to take at least a four hour nap today.” Amaya ordered, worry clear in her violet eyes, having washed the makeup off since she wasn’t going anywhere today. 

 

Amaya knew Kyrine was running out of time and snuggled on the opposite side of the couch, glancing at her.  They had to get that transplant fast because it’d been ten years since Kyrine was diagnosed with congestive heart failure.  She’d had at least ten open heart surgeries to repair damage to her heart and the doctor finally told them two years ago that it was time for a heart transplant.  Deciding not to think about it right now, honestly not able to fathom losing her sister, Amaya focused on the movie and laughed gently with Kyrine.

 

Chapter 2

 

A month later, the McTavian’s made the big move from Miami to Forks, Nicholas having hired a moving crew to take care of everything.  Natalie was extremely worried about them breaking something, so Nicholas paid for extra insurance, wanting to ease his wife’s mind.  She had enough on her plate what with their daughter’s heart transplant on the horizon.

 

Amaya was extremely excited about the move and kept assuring Kyrine everything would be fine.  They said goodbye to their friends, who all wished Kyrine good luck with the heart transplant, and promised to keep in touch via internet.  Of course it never happened, but it didn’t bother the girls because they always managed to make new friends wherever they went.

 

At least Amaya did.

 

Kyrine was the quiet one and generally tried keeping to herself, though people still befriended her.  Out of sympathy she wasn’t sure, but Kyrine didn’t question it.  She simply rolled with the punches, knowing she had to keep her stress level down like Doctor Miles instructed.  Her heart would last at least another two years if she didn’t strain it too much and kept up with her medications.

 

The house wasn’t as big as the one in Miami, though it would suffice.  It had two stories, the girls having the entire upstairs, which didn’t bother them a bit.  It was white with black trimming, the colors mostly neutral, though upstairs was completely different.  Kyrine’s room was different shades of blue, a calming soothing color, while Amaya’s was decked out in magenta, black and white all swirled together.  The carpeting was black all throughout the upstairs, which went with both of the girls’ rooms.

 

By the time they arrived, the movers had just finished so the McTavian’s could just kick back and relax in their new house.  Forks, Washington was definitely different and surrounded by a lot of woods, which both girls enjoyed because they liked going for walks.  Of course, Kyrine couldn’t go for a long period of time, but it was good for her to have some exercise.

 

“So what do you think?” Amaya asked, walking inside Kyrine’s room, seeing all of her things were placed exactly where she wanted. “Do you like it here?”

 

“It’s peaceful.” Kyrine replied with a small smile, knowing Amaya would probably paint this small town red the first chance she got. “I like the rain.”

 

“It’s way smaller than Miami, but I’m sure I can find something constructive to do.” Amaya grinned; walking over to sit on Kyrine’s bed, seeing her lips had a small tinge of blue to them again. “You’re tired.”

 

“I know.” Kyrine nodded, not able to deny it, yawning softly as she stretched her arms in the air. “I hate jetlag.”

 

Amaya nodded, knowing the traveling couldn’t be good for Kyrine, but luckily they didn’t do it often. “Get into bed and I’ll pop in a movie for you.” She instructed softly, pulling the comforter back as Kyrine slipped under it, having done this ever since they were little. “What movie do you want to watch?”

 

“It doesn’t matter.” Kyrine whispered softly, yawning even louder and longer this time, already feeling her eyes drifting shut.  She was exhausted because of the jetlag mixing with her medications, which usually knocked her for a loop anyway. “Love you sis.”

 

Amaya looked over her shoulder at Kyrine and walked over, after popping in the movie, lying beside her stroking her hair. “Love ya too, sis.” She whispered, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, vowing to do what it took to protect her from anyone in Forks High School who even THOUGHT about messing with her little sister.

 

Amaya was older than Kyrine by four months, but she still took the big sister duty seriously.

 

“Is she alright?” Nicholas asked from the doorway, having witnessed the interaction between his daughter and Amaya, smiling worriedly.

 

“She’s exhausted from the flight.” Amaya whispered, not wanting to disturb Kyrine’s rest and slipped from the bed slowly, walking out with Nicholas. “I’m worried about her too, Nick.”

 

“You know you can call me Dad, right?” Nicholas pointed out quietly, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. “You know we consider you like one of our own, Amaya.”

 

“I know that Nick, but you know nobody, not even you and Nat, can take the place of my parents.” Amaya hoped she didn’t sound mean when she said that, but very rarely sugarcoated anything, not even when it came to her aunt and uncle. “I love you guys, you know that.”

 

Nicholas chuckled, having gotten used to Amaya’s rather brash ways, nodding as he kissed her temple. “Well I just wanted to let you know that you are our daughter just like Kyrine.  We love you both equally.”

 

Amaya nodded, though she didn’t believe that, honestly fine with it. “Thanks Nick.” She glanced back at the door, chewing her bottom lip nervously. “She’s running out of time isn’t she?”

 

Nicholas sighed with a reluctant nod, not wanting to acknowledge that fact, but couldn’t deny it either. “She really needs to rest a lot more until the surgery is scheduled.  She’s going to be a whole new person with that heart.” He sounded confident, causing Amaya to nod.

 

“I can’t even…I can’t lose her.” Amaya swallowed incredibly hard, feeling a lump form in her throat, tears stinging her violet eyes. “Losing Mom and Dad was hard enough, even though I was only five years old.  I still remember how I felt when you and Nat told me about it.  Losing Kyrie would be too much for me, I don’t think I could honestly take it.”

 

“You’re not the only one, but we’re not going to lose her, Amaya.” Nicholas pulled her into his arms, holding her close, not doing this often because Amaya tried putting up a tough front with him and Natalie. “Everything is going to work out, Am, I promise.”

 

Amaya could only nod as she clung to Nicholas for dear life, glad she’d wiped her makeup off because right now it’d be smearing his white dress shirt. “Sorry.” She whispered, pulling away a few minutes later, trying to regain her composure.

 

Nicholas chuckled softly, running a finger down her cheek in a fatherly way. “Anytime Am.” He winked, glancing at the door of Kyrine’s door. “Let me know when she wakes up.  Natalie is cooking spaghetti and I know Kyrine will want some.”

 

“You got it, thanks again Nick.” Amaya watched him walk down the stairs, knowing he would keep what happened between them a secret, and headed to her own room.

 

Kyrine ended up sleeping throughout most of the night, which didn’t happen ever, though it was a good thing.  She needed it, especially with how little sleep she’d gotten lately; it was her body’s way of shutting down and forcing her to relax.  Natalie made a plate for her and left a note on her daughter’s nightstand in case she did get up starving.

 

Of course Kyrine was hungry when she got up at a quarter to five in the morning, knowing she had her first day of school at Forks High School that day.  She felt rejuvenated and stretched her arms in the air, slipping out of bed to turn her DVD player and TV off.  Amaya was such a saint and knew exactly what to do to make Kyrine fall right to sleep. 

 

After a quick shower, Kyrine brushed her teeth and hair, leaving it down as it went to the middle of her back, wondering what to wear for her first day of school.   She decided on a pair of blue jeans with a long sleeved white shirt, pulling a short sleeved blue shirt over it that had a V shaped neckline.  Slipping on a pair of white and blue tennis shoes, Kyrine walked out and went downstairs to the kitchen, having read her mother’s nightstand note about the spaghetti.

 

It was breakfast time, but Kyrine couldn’t pass up her mother’s famous spaghetti, warming it up while she flipped on the small TV on the island.  Kyrine took that time to look around the new house, seeing it was nearly the same layout as the house in Miami, her mother had a certain taste she liked.  The kitchen attached to the dining room and living room with an incredibly big open floor plan, plenty of room to move around freely.

 

The microwave beeped and Kyrine took the plate out, grabbing a fork, and proceeded to eat every bit of it.  She was starving, having skipped lunch and dinner the previous day because of how horrid her jetlag was.  Just as she finished the last bite, a sleepy Amaya came stumbling into the kitchen, muttering something about needing coffee.

 

“Sit down, I’ll get it.”

 

“Thanks chick, you’re the best.”

 

Kyrine winked, rinsing her plate and fork off before slipping them into the dishwasher, starting a huge pot of coffee.  Her parents would want some no doubt, Kyrine wasn’t allowed to have any caffeine because of her congestive heart failure.  The caffeine would definitely speed up her heart rate and that’s what everyone wanted to avoid happening as much as possible.

 

“How did you sleep?” Kyrine asked, slipping back in her seat across from Amaya, sliding over the cup of java.

 

“Like shit.” Amaya muttered, running a hand through her frazzled blonde magenta highlighted hair. “You know how I am the first few nights in a new place.  I’ll adjust and be sleeping like a log in no time.  What time did you get up?”

 

“About five this morning.” Kyrine answered, shrugging her shoulders when Amaya raised a slow eyebrow. “I slept throughout the night if you didn’t remember.”

 

“Yeah I know and you needed it.  Your lips are the color of roses again and you have a lot more color in your face.” Amaya observed, sipping her cup of coffee slowly, sighing in contentment as it instantly awakened her. “So are you excited about today?”

 

Kyrine shrugged, chewing her bottom lip. “I’m nervous to be honest, but I know everything is going to be fine.” She smiled when Amaya nodded, no doubt in her reassuring violet eyes, which is what Kyrine needed.

 

“Morning girls.” Nicholas greeted, kissing Kyrine’s cheek and then Amaya’s head, pouring himself a cup of coffee. “Did you both sleep well?”

 

The girls started laughing softly, Kyrine nodding while Amaya shook her head. “I need to go get ready for school.” Amaya walked out of the kitchen, having finished her cup of coffee, and headed upstairs passing Natalie on the way.

 

“Kyrie, you ate spaghetti for breakfast?” Natalie sighed when her daughter nodded, not able to help chuckling. “Do you have any room for fruit?”

 

“Sure, I’ll eat a few pieces mom.” Kyrine knew she had to have some kind of fruit in the morning because it was part of her eating regiment.  Her mother took it very seriously, though there were some things Kyrine couldn’t resist…like her mother’s spaghetti.

 

“What am I going to do with you?” Natalie chortled, kissing her daughter’s forehead, setting a small bowlful of cup up fresh fruit in front of her. “Don’t forget, you girls don’t have to be to school until eight o’clock.”

 

Forks had a later school schedule, though Natalie didn’t mind it.  They got out at four o’clock instead of three, which would mean all of them would get home around the same time, depending on how late Natalie and Nicholas worked.  Kyrine smiled with a nod, knowing her and Amaya would have a lot of free time to kill because her parents were somewhat workaholics.  Still, they always managed to somehow always be there when either girl needed them or both of that matter.

 

“Well I am officially ready for the first day at Forks High School!” Amaya announced with a grin, walking in with her dramatic makeup.  She wore black pants that flared around her black knee high two inch boots with a black long sleeved shirt that had slashes throughout it, a purple material underneath so it didn’t show off any skin.  Her hair was half up and half down, bangs angled for style, also having magenta streaks through them. “Kyrie, you really should let me dress you one day.”

 

“No thanks, I prefer remaining conservative.” Kyrine replied with a soft smile, causing Amaya to roll her eyes, grabbing a bagel with some cream cheese.

 

“That’s because you’re no fun.” Amaya stuck her tongue out at Kyrine, who reciprocated the notion, both girls laughing.

 

“Enough you two.” Natalie shook her head, looking amused, wearing a blue and white pinstriped long sleeved pant suit with a silver dress shirt underneath the matching cardigan.  Her beautiful blonde hair pooled down her back and over her shoulders in waves. “Okay I really have to get going, you both have your keys right?”

 

“Stop worrying Nat.  I promise to take good care of Kyrie.” Amaya winked, causing Natalie to flash a quick smile, kissing both girls on their heads.

 

“Call if you need anything.” She walked out, Nicholas having already left, both of them lawyers so they had clients backed up.  There were days when they had to fly to different cities, though the girls didn’t mind because they had each other.

 

“You ready?” The excitement in Amaya’s eyes was contagious because Kyrine felt her heart speed up a bit, nodding in agreement. 

 

They both grabbed their book bags and walked out the door, heading for Amaya’s red Toyota RAV 4.  They slipped inside and Amaya instantly began blasting Breaking Benjamin, winking at Kyrine reassuringly.  She pulled out as they headed to Forks High School, the rain having not stopped, though both girls didn’t seem to mind.

 

They arrived about ten minutes later as Amaya pulled into the high school’s parking lot, cutting the ignition.  Eyes instantly landed on the red Toyota RAV 4 and Amaya smirked, that mischievous gleam sparkling in her eyes.  Kyrine groaned inwardly, really not wanting to know what Amaya had in mind as they both slipped out of the SUV, Amaya instantly going to her sister’s side.

 

“Do you all have a staring problem?” Amaya demanded sharply, causing everyone to lower their eyes instantly, sighing happily.  She still had the intimidation factor, which is what was needed because they were the new kids on the block.

 

“Do you really have to do that?” Kyrine whispered, causing Amaya to roll her eyes, shouldering a black book bag over her shoulder.

 

“Yes because they won’t mess with you if you show them who is boss first.” She replied simply, causing Kyrine to sigh gently, both of them walking past a group of people who had stared at them from the moment the red Toyota RAV 4 SUV pulled into the parking lot.

 

The girls had every class together, thanks to the McTavian’s request, because Amaya was the only one who could handle Kyrine if and when she had an episode.  They weren’t taking any chances, especially with how close Kyrine was to getting her heart transplant.  The school knew exactly what kind of condition Kyrine had so she didn’t have gym on her school schedule, instead taking another health class.

 

Kyrine was begging for the heart transplant to arrive so she could be a normal high school student.

 

Chapter 3

 

The first class was science and Kyrine ignored the looks everyone gave her, knowing both her and Amaya had walked in late.  Mr. Stanley had simply nodded and smiled, introducing both of them before asking to choose a table to sit at.  Amaya squeezed Kyrine’s hand beneath the table, silently letting her know everything was going to be alright.  Surprisingly, the class went by fast with Kyrine taking notes, knowing she would be putting them in an outline later on to decipher them easily.

 

Kyrine was a straight A student and had been since the day she started school, having the uncanny ability to rarely study and ace all quizzes and tests.  It also helped that some of the material Mr. Stanley currently taught both girls already knew, Florida schooling a little more advanced than Washington’s.  When the teacher asked a question regarding a constellation, Kyrine’s hand shot up and she answered without preamble, impressing the teacher to say the least.

 

Amaya could feel a pair of eyes on her and immediately turned her head, noticing a guy with short blonde hair and blue eyes staring back at her.  She smirked back at him with a wink before turning back to the teacher, knowing she still had it even in Washington.  Not a saint by any means, Amaya had lost her virtue at a young age and honestly enjoyed a good romp or two with a guy, depending who he was.  She was picky in choosing the guys she slept with, not wanting to gain a reputation for being the school’s easy lay.

 

After class, Amaya walked with Kyrine down the hallway, when that blonde came strutting up to her. “What’s up?” The guy asked with a smile, wearing what looked to be a Forks High School varsity jacket and blue jeans, his hands shoved in the front pockets.

 

“Going to class, what’s up with you?” Amaya shot back with a smirk, folding her arms in front of her chest, raising an eyebrow when his eyes drifted from hers to her chest. “Hey junior, my eyes are up here.”

 

Chuckling, the guy nodded, though his eyes never left her chest. “I’m fully aware where your eyes are, sweetheart,” He paused briefly to finally trail them up her body before locking on fiery violet eyes. “I just happen to enjoy another view right now.”

 

“Oh really?” Amaya stepped forward, pretending to be turned on by him. “Do you know what view I enjoy?”

 

“Uh uh, what might that be?” He asked, her hand sliding slowly down his chest and groaned, her touch already lighting him on fire.  That groan quickly turned into a high pitch squeal when her hand suddenly grabbed his lower extremities, squeezing as hard as she possibly could. “OWWW!!”

 

Kyrine groaned, knowing exactly what Amaya was doing and shook her head, stepping back to stay out of the way. “Let’s get one thing straight, junior, I don’t appreciate being looked at the way you’re looking at me.  I’m not a piece of meat dangling on a damn string for your enjoyment to try catching.  And I’m not the slightest bit interested in anything you have to offer me.  So the next time you talk to a woman, make sure you look into her eyes and treat her with some damn respect!  Do you understand me?” When he didn’t say anything, she squeezed harder, smirking wickedly when he nodded.

 

“Y-Yes!  God please stop it!” He cried out and stumbled back when she shoved away from him, his groin burning from how hard she’d squeezed. “You stupid teasing bitch!!”

 

Amaya growled and stalked after him, watching him immediately retreat down the hallway holding his sack. “I think he got the message, don’t you?” She asked innocently, though her eyes burned with mischief, daring another boy to walk up to her without an ounce of respect.

 

“You do realize you’re going to get in trouble for that right?” Kyrine couldn’t help chuckling when Amaya shrugged her shoulders, knowing her cousin didn’t take any drivel from anyone.

 

“Hey, when a guy walks up to you fucking you with his eyes, he needs to be put in his place.” Amaya simply stated, refusing to apologize for what she’d done. “Maybe next time he’ll have more respect for a woman.”

 

Kyrine couldn’t argue with that and followed Amaya down the hallway toward their next class. “I still think you overstepped boundaries.” She whispered, causing Amaya to roll her eyes heavenward, draping an arm around her cousin’s shoulders.

 

“That was mild, Kyrie dear.”

 

Around lunchtime, Kyrine walked inside the cafeteria of Forks High School, seeing all the tables were taken up and decided to just go outside with a bowl of fruit salad.  Amaya was down at the principal’s office due to punching a girl in the face for calling her a freaky bitch.  Kyrine couldn’t help smirking, remembering how fast Amaya’s fist flew forward and chuckled softly, the smell of rain in the air.

 

Spotting a table under a nearby tree, Kyrine headed in that direction and slipped on the top of it, knowing she had to eat so she could take her medication.  Kyrine honestly wished she could wait until after school to take it, but Doctor Miles and her parents would have a fit if she didn’t.  Sighing, Kyrine began to slowly eat her fruit, wearing a heavy black sweatshirt she’d brought with her because of how cold Forks was.  Still she loved it, especially the fact that it seemed to rain all the time, the sound of it tapping at her window very soothing to both her mind and heart.

 

He watched her from a distance, raising a slow eyebrow as she ate alone, wondering who she was.  Something was definitely different about this girl, though he couldn’t put his finger on it.  Of course, any new girl intrigued him at first, but soon they got boring and he moved on to the next one.  This one definitely piqued his interest and he decided to go introduce himself, hoping he didn’t intimidate her.

 

“Hello.” He greeted in a low voice, watching as Kyrine’s head snapped up to stare into a pair of unbelievable golden topaz eyes.

 

His breath hitched in his throat at the sight of her sad midnight blue eyes, knowing there was way more to this girl.  The amount of melancholy and kindness in those eyes actually made his heart hurt, causing him to mentally scoff because he didn’t have one.  Of course she didn’t know that and took a step forward, watching her instantly chew her bottom lip nervously.

 

“Hi.”

 

Again, his breath hitched at the sound of her angelic voice, closing his eyes to savor it.

 

“What are you doing out here all by yourself?” He asked, those amber orbs locking with hers again, causing the girl’s eyes to lower to her food as she took a small piece of pineapple in her mouth.

 

“Waiting for my sister.” She answered softly, wondering what this guy wanted and hoped he didn’t cause any trouble with her. 

 

Her heart was already pounding fiercely, something Kyrine knew shouldn’t be happening, but couldn’t stop it.  This guy was very intimidating, standing well over six feet tall and towered over her even as she sat on top of the table.  He had short cropped black hair and wore a long sleeved dark grey shirt with what looked like a black one underneath, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows along with black jeans. 

 

What captivated her most about him was the color of his eyes, she’d never seen anyone with pure golden eyes.  His skin was pale white, reminding her of the moon and looked as though he could crush anyone with one of his muscular arms.  The shirts he wore stretched across his chest to show off his strapping torso.  When he took a step closer to her, Kyrine instinctively backed away, setting her nearly untouched fruit to the side.

 

Kyrine had to learn how to breathe again.

 

He frowned, not liking her reaction and knew he’d already scared her, sighing. “I won’t hurt you.” He assured her, hating the fact he always intimidated people whenever he came around, which is why he normally kept to himself. “I’m sorry, I’ll leave…”

 

“No wait.” Kyrine wondered what made her say that and blinked, watching him slowly turn those golden eyes back to her. “Please stay.” She had no idea why she didn’t want him to disappear, but Kyrine already felt a connection to him.

 

His dark eyebrow rose, wondering if she was serious and once again became drawn by those midnight blue eyes, tilting his head slightly. “Are you sure?  I don’t want to scare you…” He watched her nod, picking up her bowl of fruit again, a soft smile spreading on his lips.

 

“Sit with me.” Kyrine requested in that same beatific voice and he couldn’t deny her anything, already knowing this girl had her wrapped around his finger.

 

Walking over, he sat down on the lower bench of the table, looking up at her again. “What’s your name?” He asked in a soothing deep voice, watching her take another shaky bite of fruit. “You don’t have to tell me, but I am curious.”

 

“Kyrine.  What’s yours?”

 

“Emmett.” He smiled gently, still not believing she hadn’t stopped him from leaving. “Kyrine, that’s an unusual but beautiful name.”

 

Roses bloomed in her cheeks from his compliment, hearing his soft husky chuckle and Kyrine once again felt her heart rate speed up. “Thanks, Emmett is also an unusual name, though it suits you.”

 

He shrugged and moved to sit right beside her, staring down into her eyes again. “Did you recently move to Forks?” He couldn’t help asking, his curiosity burning to get to know more about her.

 

“Yes, this is my first day.” She sighed almost wistfully, glad to have someone other than Amaya to converse with.

 

“Where did you move from?”

 

“Miami, Florida.”

 

That surprised Emmett because normally people who lived in the sunshine state rarely moved all the way to a dreary rainy place like Forks, Washington. “Interesting, do you like it here, Kyrine?” Her name slipped from his mouth in a gentle caress and Kyrine honestly wouldn’t mind him saying her name more often.

 

She nodded, taking another bite of fruit and closed her eyes when a soft wind blew across her, causing a few wisps of black hair to brush across her cheek.  Emmett couldn’t stop himself from doing so and reached out to swept them away from her face, tucking it back behind her ear, their eyes locking again.  Kyrine entranced him in ways Emmett couldn’t begin to fathom, wondering where this angel came from and then remembered she’d been in the warm sunny state of Florida.

 

“Why did you move from Florida?  Most people who live there prefer the sun over rain.” He pointed out, their noses practically touching and Kyrine suddenly looked away, breaking the eye contact.

 

There was no way Kyrine could tell him why she was really here or anyone for that matter, not wanting to be pitied. “My parents are lawyers, they had to move here.” She lied smoothly, though her voice trembled slightly and Kyrine knew it was time to take her medication.

 

“They had to move from Florida to Washington because they’re lawyers?” Emmett’s voice sounded skeptical and Kyrine knew she had to get away from him, not wanting him to find out about her disease. 

 

For once, she felt like a regular girl with a guy talking to her and Kyrine didn’t want that to disappear, knowing it would the moment he found out about her heart condition.  This feeling was too great, Kyrine now realizing what Amaya felt like every time a guy walked up to greet her or try to make small conversation.  Kyrine felt normal and blinked away the tears that began stinging her eyes, not wanting to show weakness in front of Emmett.

 

“I’m sorry to cut this short, but I really need to get going.” Kyrine slipped from the table and shoved her half eaten bowl of fruit in her bag, slinging it over her shoulder hastily.

 

“Whoa, whoa hold on a second.” Emmett stopped her by reaching out, his hand grabbing her arm, forcing Kyrine to turn around as their eyes locked together. “What’s wrong?” He could see her trying to fight back tears and frowned, wanting to help her with whatever she was going through. “Kyrine…”

 

“Please don’t.” She whispered, pulling her arm out of his grasp, shaking her head. “I have to go, Emmett, I’m sorry.”

 

He could only watch as she headed inside the school as fast as she could, frowning, wondering what had scared her off.  Knowing there was more to Kyrine, Emmett was going to find out, deciding she was his new interest.  The bell ringing throughout the school grounds signaled it was time to get back to class and Emmett groaned, wishing he could just go speeding through the woods to clear his mind.  Esme wouldn’t be happy if he skipped class again and Emmett didn’t want to cause her anymore grief, reluctantly heading inside a different way.

 

“Ky?” Amaya watched her cousin running toward her, blinking, wondering why the hell she was in such a hurry. “Honey calm down.” She ordered, knowing Kyrine was straining her heart, sitting her down in a chair in the hallway. “What happened?”

 

“N-Nothing…” Kyrine had her bottle of medication in her hand, trying to calm down as she leaned her head back against the wall, closing her eyes. “I’m fine…”

 

“No you’re not, you’re full of shit.” Amaya growled, hating it when Kyrine tried lying to her because it never worked. “What happened?”

 

Kyrine swallowed hard and lowered her eyes, struggling with her bottle, Amaya taking it from her trembling hands.  Amaya frowned, not liking how her cousin was acting and handed over a pill along with her bottled water.  Taking it, Kyrine swallowed down the pill and placed a hand over her heart, trying to just breathe, feeling Amaya’s arm around her.

 

“Breathe, Kyrine, breathe.” Amaya coached, wondering the made Kyrine hyperventilate and looked up down the hallway, not seeing anyone following her cousin. “You’re safe now, I promise.”

 

“I was never in danger.” Kyrine assured her, once she felt her heart calm down to its normal slow beat, but didn’t move from the chair yet. “I’m sorry if I worried you.” She wasn’t going to tell Amaya about Emmett, knowing her cousin would go on a rampage and get hurt in the process.  “We need to get to class.”

 

Amaya knew Kyrine was hiding something from her and hated it, but knew she couldn’t push Kyrine, nodding. “Come on, the teachers all know the reason we’re late.” When Kyrine frowned, Amaya shrugged because it wasn’t her fault. “Your rents did it, not me.”

 

Kyrine wished her parents would just let her be a regular school student, knowing they were too worried for her safety and well being to do so.  The heart transplant would change everything and Kyrine could hardly wait, knowing they had to be patient until the donor’s family came back from overseas.  Kyrine just hoped it happened sooner rather than later, honestly not knowing how much more she could take.

 

Chapter 4

 

Emmett could only stare out the window as rain fell from the cloudy sky, thunder rumbling shortly afterwards, which was very soothing to the ears.  He had his elbow pressed against the glass above his head, his forehead doing the same thing, trying to get his mind off of Kyrine.  Never in his life and existence had he ever encountered someone like her and Emmett knew she was special. 

 

Not yellow school bus special, but special as in she had something more to offer and deep demons that she refused to unleash.  He could almost smell the fear coming from her, wanting to know all of her secrets that were behind those saddened midnight blue eyes.  Also, he could tell that she was sick, but he had no idea just how serious it was, fighting not to pry because it wasn’t his business. 

 

Hell, if Emmett really wanted to, he could simply go to Edward and ask him to read Kyrine’s mind, but again that definitely was an invasion of privacy.  He wanted to get to know Kyrine and see if she would trust him enough to tell him what was wrong with her.  Somehow, Emmett knew it would be quite awhile before Kyrine opened up to him and he was a patient man, deciding he would definitely be approaching her at school to befriend her.

 

“You’re a million miles away, Emmett.”

 

He turned and smiled sadly at the woman he could only claim as his mother, Esme Cullen, before looking back out the window. “Yeah, got a lot on my mind, sorry.”

 

Esme simply smiled and walked over to stand beside him, staring out the window at the rain. “I’ve been watching you for the past five minutes and you’re usually very alert when someone is close by.” She pointed out softly, her voice sounding like an angel’s, turning to face him. “Do you want to talk about it?”

 

Emmett wasn’t sure if that was a good idea, especially since he was interested in a human, who could very well put their existence in danger.  Then again, Edward had done the same thing when he fell for Isabella Swan and now she was one of them, married and they both had a beautiful daughter named Renesmee Cullen.  Isabella was a simple human girl that moved from Phoenix, Arizona to Forks to live with her father, Charlie Swan, who was the sheriff of Forks, wanting to spend time with him. 

 

Her mother, Renee, had married Phil Dwyer, who was a minor league baseball player.  He’d gotten a job offer in Florida and Bella didn’t want to intrude on their new life together, so she requested to move to Forks to spend time with Charlie.  Bella and Edward soon met, instantly having a connection, had their ups and downs, but in the end they ended up getting married just after Bella graduated from Forks High School.  On their honeymoon, Bella wanted to feel what it was like to make love human and ended up becoming pregnant shortly after. 

 

Edward wanted to kill the baby, but Bella refused, actually asking Rosalie’s help to protect the baby from Edward, claiming she could be saved during the birth by being changed into a vampire.  Edward hated the idea, but ended up doing what she wanted, saving her life after a rather bloody and brutal birth of their daughter, Renesmee, a human-vampire hybrid.  Emmett remembered that night and fought back a shiver, having been evacuated from the house so none of them would attack Bella since she was still human and there was a lot of blood.

 

The Volturi, which was their brand of royalty in the vampire world and enforced laws –they were the foundation of peace and civilization as well, even though most viewed them as supposed villains- paid a visit to the Cullen’s after finding out about Renesmee.  Irina Denali –she was one of the original Denali sisters out of the Denali Coven, which was located somewhere in Alaska- had gone to the Volturi claiming that they spawned an Immortal Child.  She wanted revenge on her lover, Laurent, which was killed by the shape-shifters that protected the lands of La Push, Washington. 

 

The Cullen’s had a peace treaty with the Cullen’s, promising never to feed on a human, only animals, and they couldn’t cross the treaty line, which was at the very edge where La Push and Forks territory met.  If the treaty was broken in any way, there would be all out war with the shape-shifters and that was definitely something the Cullen’s wanted to avoid at any and all costs.  There was only one time the treaty had been broken and that was Bella becoming a vampire to save her life, though Edward had asked permission before doing so, not wanting a war with the shape-shifters.

 

After giving false information to the Volturi regarding Renesmee, Irina was executed by Caius, one of the main members of the Volturi, and burned before everyone to add to her humiliation.  Alice and Jasper had saved Renesmee by tracking down another human-vampire hybrid, which was completely different from an Immortal Child named Nahuel, which was enough proof to the Volturi that Renesmee was not a threat to their kind.  The Volturi left in peace thankfully, promising to be back to visit and hoped it was on better terms, though Emmett hoped he never had to see any of them again.

 

His thoughts turned to Rosalie, his ex-wife, gritting his teeth as he remembered how she’d just left without a word.  It was a simple split, nothing special.  Rosalie had decided she wanted to go back to Volterra with the Volturi to join them, more importantly with Volturi guard member, Alec.  He had stayed behind for several months after the Volturi came to investigate Renesmee, though the Cullen’s had no idea. 

 

Rosalie would sneak out at all hours of the night to see him, claiming she was hunting and preferred doing it alone, which was very suspicious to Emmett.  They always hunted together.  Emmett had decided he had enough of Rosalie’s lying and followed her one night, catching both of them in the act.  Alec had Rosalie straddling his lap, both completely naked, and they were screwing deep in the woods where nobody would hear them…or so they thought.

 

Emmett didn’t know what to feel or think, wanting to attack Alec for destroying his relationship with Rosalie, but then he heard something that changed everything.  Rosalie had been in the heat of passion and cried out that she loved Alec while he growled he loved her in return.  He could only watch in true mortification as they had sex, rolling around in the dirt and grass getting filthy, but none of it mattered to them. 

 

The sounds of Rosalie’s moaning was something Emmett never heard before because never once, in all the time they’d been together, had she sounded like that when she was with Alec.  For hours, he watched as they took each other in every position and Emmett finally pulled himself away just before the sun came up, deciding he wouldn’t say anything to Rosalie.  He didn’t have to wait long because the following evening, Rosalie came to Emmett, confessing her affair with Alec and she was going back with him to Volterra.

 

“Go.” Was all he said and Rosalie left the Cullen house that same night with Alec.

 

For the next few years, Emmett kept to himself and was never the same, often thinking about that night he caught Rosalie having sex with Alec in the woods.  He didn’t sleep, there was no need for it, but slowly it tore Emmett completely apart, causing his temper to rise.  It finally got out of hand one night when Edward came to him wanting to help and Emmett threw Edward through the glass window of the living room, screaming that he didn’t want any help.  Jasper decided it was time to use his gift, pathokinesis - an ability to both feel and manipulate emotions of those around him, to basically control others emotions.

 

That night, Emmett was forced to talk about what was bothering him, about Rosalie leaving and everything else.  Every time he would stop, Edward would read his mind and Alice would help out by stating certain things that Emmett simply couldn’t say.  With Jasper’s ability, Emmett couldn’t get angry and lash out at any of the Cullen’s, even though he desperately wanted to.  After that, Emmett hadn’t spoken hardly a word to any of the Cullen’s, just wanting to be left alone.  Everyone knew it would only take time and patience for Emmett to get over Rosalie’s infidelity, though they were honestly happy that she was no longer there.

 

Nobody really liked Rosalie, but dealt with her for the simple fact that not only did Carlisle save her life, but she was Emmett’s wife.

 

“Nothing to really talk about, Esme.” Emmett finally rumbled, his voice low and distant, which told her not to push him.

 

Esme nodded in understanding and placed a hand on Emmett’s shoulder, feeling the pain radiating from him. “I just want you to know that whatever it is, whenever you’re ready, I’ll be here to listen.  You have family and friends here, Em.” She said, wanting to remind him he wasn’t alone.

 

“I know, thanks.” He managed to give her another sad smile before his face turned to stone again, feeling the itch to suddenly go for a run through the woods. “Tell the others I’ll be hunting alone tonight.”

 

Esme could only watch as he opened the window and leapt out of it, shaking her head, and turned around right into her husband’s waiting arms. “I don’t know what to do for him anymore, Carlisle.” She whispered, clearing her throat hoarsely.

 

Carlisle had watched the exchange between Emmett and his wife, having kept an eye on Emmett ever since the incident with Edward occurred. “He just needs time to heal, though Alice told me that he’s met someone new.” Sometimes his adopted daughter’s skills were put to good use.

 

Shocked, Esme pulled back to stare into her husband’s golden eyes, blinking. “What do you mean?” She couldn’t help asking, both of them walking out of Emmett’s room. “I thought he was still upset over Rosalie leaving…” Now she was confused.

 

“Make no mistake about it, he still is.” Carlisle ran a finger down Esme’s cheek, smiling. “But whoever this new girl is will probably help him heal faster.”

 

“We can only hope at this point.  I hate seeing him in so much pain.  It’s been at least three years since she left.” Esme didn’t even want to think about if Carlisle did something like that to her, knowing he was her true soul mate, lowering her eyes. “I just wish there was some way we could help him.”

 

Carlisle loved the fact that, even though their hearts no longer moved with life, Esme had never forgotten her human instinct to have one. “Only time will tell, my love.” He kissed her lips softly, guiding her downstairs so they could all get ready to go hunting.

 

“Did Alice tell you anything else?” Esme couldn’t help asking, glancing up at him. “Like a name or what she looked like?”

 

“She’s human and goes to Forks High School, that’s all I know for now.  No name; Alice can’t look that far in-depth, though Edward could if he was close enough to the human…” Carlisle said it thoughtfully, stroking his chin. “I wonder…”

 

“No.” Esme held her hand up before another word could come out of her husband’s mouth. “Edward and Emmett already have issues between them, please do not make it worse.”

 

As much as he hated admitting it, Carlisle knew Esme was right and heaved a sigh, nodding reluctantly. “Alright, I won’t.”

 

“Promise?”

 

He chuckled, kissing her once more. “I promise.”

 

Moments later, everyone split up into two groups to go hunt for animals that helped sustain their existence.

 

~!~

 

Kyrine was in her bedroom that night brushing out the knots in her hair and closed her eyes when a clump fell out, immediately tossing it in the trash.  She hated brushing her hair and knew it was because of her heart condition, tears stinging her eyes as another clump came out.  It wasn’t cancer, but congestive heart failure was almost as bad because it affected so many areas of the body.  Because of how strong her medication was that Doctor Miles gave her, it was causing her hair to slowly fall out, which is what chemo did to cancer patients.

 

That’s exactly what Kyrine felt like at the moment.

 

A knock sounded at her door moments later and Kyrine immediately blinked the tears out of her eyes. “Come in.” She called out and smiled when Amaya walked in, looking fresh out of the shower.

 

“Hey chick, do you mind if I use your brush?” Amaya asked, walking in while towel drying her rat’s nest of a head, rolling her eyes. “I swear, if I have to go through one more brush, I’m going to just hack this shit off.” It had grown to the middle of her back and Amaya was already annoyed with it.

 

“No don’t!” Kyrine shouted, immediately lowering her eyes and Amaya blinked at the sudden outburst, noticing for the first time how truly upset she was.

 

“Ky, what’s wrong?” Amaya tossed her towel to the side and walked over to grab her sister’s hands, feeling how cold they were. “Talk to me.”

 

The tears began flowing and Kyrine couldn’t stop them, Amaya instantly pulling her into her arms. “I’m tired of living like this.” She sobbed softly, not wanting her parents to overhear them and was thankful Amaya had shut her bedroom door after entering. “Maya, my hair is starting to fall out…” Pointing to the trash, Amaya’s violet eyes moved from her sister to the trashcan, swallowing hard at the two huge clumps of dark chestnut hair, feeling sick.

 

“Kyrine…”

 

“Please don’t pity me.” She sniffled, wiping her tears away and pulled back from the embrace. “Mom and Dad do it enough, please don’t add to it.  I knew it was going to happen eventually because of the strong meds I’m on.   Just once, I want to feel normal in my life and I don’t think it’s ever going to happen.  So please, just be thankful for the hair you have, that you’re not having clumps falling out every time you brush it after showering.”

 

Amaya’s heart broke for her sister and didn’t know what to say, knowing time was truly running out for Kyrine to get this new heart.  The donor’s family had to hurry because they were racing against the clock, knowing before long Kyrine would be in the hospital hooked up to machines that kept her alive.  The blue lips and poor circulation, now the hair falling out…Amaya wanted to call the doctor and demand to give up the heart now, only caring about her living to see another day.  The donor’s family would understand considering this was a teenage girl that was dying and their family member could save her life.

 

“I have an idea.” The light bulb suddenly went off in Amaya’s head as they both sat down on Kyrine’s bed, smiling. “What if me and you went out shopping for Nat and Nick?”

 

Kyrine’s eyebrows drew together, her mind temporarily off of what just happened moments ago. “Shopping?” She couldn’t help echoing, seeing the wheels in Amaya’s head slowly turning. “You know they’d never allow that, not without supervision…”

 

“No check this out.  Nat told me that she had to go to La Push to a special store that sold a few things her and Nick need for their special diet they’re going on.” She fought back a roll of her eyes, secretly hating the fact that Kyrine’s parents were so adamant about what they put in their bodies. “She can’t do it because of meetings and neither can Nick.  She was complaining tonight during dinner, remember?  So what if we did the shopping for them?  It would be a fun day out for both of us and you seriously need to get out of this house before you’re driven up a wall.  I know I do at least.”

 

“They would never allow it.”

 

The sadness in her sister’s voice just made Amaya that much more determined to do this, grinning with sparkling mischievous violet eyes. “Just leave the rents to me.  I promise, we’ll be going shopping alone together.  Don’t worry about it, Ky.” Amaya would get permission even if it meant guilt tripping Natalie, which was easy to do when it came to Kyrine. “You just get some rest and leave everything to me.”

 

Kyrine reluctantly agreed and could only hope Amaya could convince her parents to let her do this, desperately needing a day out without them breathing down her neck.

 

Chapter 5

 

“Come on Nat, please?”

 

“No.”

 

“Why the hell not?” Amaya demanded, folding her arms in front of her chest. “Do you have any idea what Kyrine is going through right now, what she’s feeling?  She’s not feeling like a normal teenager and it’s bringing her spirits down!”

 

“It’s much too dangerous.” Natalie simply said, packing up her briefcase for her meeting and sighed when Amaya wouldn’t drop the subject. “I can’t risk…”

 

“Risk what?  Kyrine going shopping with me?” Amaya shot back, hurt shining in her violet eyes, lips pursed tightly together. “You trust me with her at school and La Push isn’t that far away from Forks!  Give me one reason why you don’t trust me to take her out shopping.”

 

“It’s too strenuous for her.” Natalie supplied, scratching her head as she walked away from Amaya to grab the bagel out of the toaster oven. “Walking around a store will be too much for her and I can’t risk that happening.”

 

Amaya could not believe the words that were spewing out of Natalie’s mouth, trying not to explode. “Look Natalie, Kyrine needs to feel normal right now.  Her spirits are down and she was crying last night in her room because she was losing clumps of hair out of her scalp.” She didn’t want to have to resort to guilt tripping, but Amaya was running out of options and desperate.

 

Natalie’s eyes widened, turning to face Amaya. “She did?” Why hadn’t Kyrine told her about this? “I didn’t know…”

 

“She told me she’s tired of not feeling normal and she’s sick of you guys constantly watching over her.  She just wants a girl’s day out with me and it’s not like the store is huge or anything.  It’s a small diet store that has what you and Nick need.” Amaya had done research on it the night before, after talking to Kyrine about the shopping trip. “I swear, nothing will happen to her, but you really need to start thinking about what Kyrine needs and wants.  She doesn’t ask for much and what really shocks me is the fact that you allow her to go to school full-time, which requires strenuous activity and walking, but yet you won’t let her go shopping with me for a few measly hours in the next town over.”

 

Natalie sighed heavily, knowing she was being an over-protective officious, but couldn’t help it.  Kyrine was her only baby girl and she was sick with a very serious condition that would potentially kill her if the new heart didn’t come through.  No matter how many excuses she came up with in her head, Natalie knew she couldn’t argue the facts that Amaya threw at her.  Before she could open her mouth to protest the shopping trip again, Kyrine and Nick walked in the kitchen.

 

“Morning sweetheart.” Natalie greeted with a smile, already having a bowl of fresh fruit and oatmeal waiting for her daughter.

 

“Morning.” Kyrine mumbled sadly, taking the bowl and accepting a kiss on her forehead from her mother, sitting at the table with her head down.

 

The smile on Natalie’s face faltered, causing her to look at her husband worriedly before turning to Amaya, seeing the knowing look in her eyes. “Ky honey, is everything alright?” She asked, walking over to sit beside her.

 

“Nope, I just wish I had more trusting parents.” Kyrine blurted out and stood up from the table, pushing her breakfast away.

 

The pang of guilt suddenly hit Natalie like a ton of bricks, tears filling her eyes. “Kyrine, you know your father and I love you and we’re just trying to protect you…” She reasoned, frowning when her daughter refused to eat her breakfast. “You need to eat for strength…”

 

“No I don’t, Mom!” Kyrine snapped, having heard the whole conversation Amaya had with her mother and couldn’t help feeling resentment. “I’m not hungry and if I don’t want to eat, then I don’t have to!  I’m sick and tired of being protected, I feel like I’m suffocating and all Amaya wants to do is take me out for a day, if that!  All because you don’t have time to do your shopping and she’s offering just to get me out of the house for some fresh air!  Why can’t you see that all she’s trying to do is help me while you’re trying to barricade me in this house, sucking the life out of me?”

 

In all the years Kyrine had been alive, Natalie could not remember her daughter ever lashing out like this, swallowing hard. “Kyrine…”

“NO!” Kyrine already had her school bag thrown over her shoulder, tears filling her own eyes. “I’m sick of it, Mom.  I asked Dad if I could go with Amaya and he told me only if you allowed it.  I’m sick of it.  You never let me do anything I want to do.  I know my limitations and yet you STILL try justifying why you keep me locked in this house unless I’m at school.  I never want to come home from school because I’m tired of being stuck under your thumb.  I love you, Mom, but I want to feel NORMAL for ONCE in my life!  This is no way to live and even Doctor Miles said that living as normal as I possibly can is GOOD for me!  But you obviously don’t believe him or you’d let me go with Amaya for a simple shopping trip!”

 

Nicholas couldn’t help agreeing with his daughter wholeheartedly and was glad she was finally standing up to Natalie.  He tried so many times talking to his wife, only to be shut down at every turn and finally gave up after awhile.  But standing there watching his daughter finally say everything that’d been on her mind did his heart good and Nicholas had a feeling this had been building for quite awhile.  He didn’t say a word when Natalie looked at him, begging for help, and all he did was sip his coffee with a smile on his face.

 

Natalie scowled at him, not believing he wasn’t doing anything to help her and knew everything both Amaya and Kyrine told her was the truth. “Fine.” She finally gave in, standing stiffly from the kitchen table, deciding Nicholas would be sleeping on the couch for the next few nights. “As much as I don’t think it’s SAFE or SMART for you to do this, I’m not going to stop you from going with Amaya, Kyrine.”

 

Kyrine’s eyes widened, her mouth dropping open and looked back at an equally shocked Amaya. “Really?!” When Natalie stiffly nodded with absolutely no smile on her face, both girls squealed with excitement and Kyrine hugged her Mom tightly around the neck, a few tears of happiness falling from her eyes. “Thanks Mom, I promise I’ll be safe and if anything goes wrong, we both have our cell phones.”

 

“Not to mention we know how to dial 9-1-1.” Amaya piped in with a smirk, wrapping an arm around Kyrine’s shoulders and winked down at her. “Thanks for letting her go with me, Nat.  Now where’s the shopping list?”

 

“I have it.” Nicholas finally spoke and walked over, handing it over without hesitation, grinning down at the excited girls. “Take your time, La Push is beautiful.” Just to show Natalie he wasn’t afraid of her backlash, he handed over a credit card, causing Amaya and Kyrine to look at each other bewildered. “There’s a five hundred limit on it and I want you two to enjoy yourselves.  Ky, if you get too tired…”

 

“I’ll take it easy and rest when I need to, Daddy.” Kyrine hugged him tightly around the neck, not believing he was actually giving them a credit card and ignored the angry look on her mother’s face. “Thank you so much!”

 

“You’re very welcome.  Now you two get going and make sure to stop to get some breakfast on the way to school.” He knew Kyrine already had her medication, which is why he didn’t mention it.

 

Unlike his officious over-protective wife, Nicholas actually trusted his daughter to know her limitations with her condition and hadn’t felt this good in what felt like years.

 

“I can’t believe you did that.” Natalie snapped as soon as the girls were out of the house, shaking her head in pure disappointment. “What if something happens to her, Nick?”

 

“You really should have more faith in our daughter and Amaya.” Was all Nicholas said before walking out, actually inhaling the fresh after rain morning air, knowing nothing could ruin his day.

 

~!~

 

Jacob Black was not happy in the slightest.

 

Scowling down at the list his old man gave him to go shopping at the local store in La Push, he couldn’t help wanting to ball it up and throw it away.  What the hell did the old man need that was so important it couldn’t wait until later?  He simply shook his head, walking through the woods as twigs snapped beneath his gym shoes, wearing just a pair of black cargo shorts with a red short sleeved shirt that hugged his muscular chest and arms.

 

It was bad enough Jacob couldn’t even go hang out with his friends because his old man was still punishing him for what he did years ago.  Billy knew how to hold a grudge, though honestly Jacob knew he was getting older and had brittle bones, which made it difficult for Billy to go to the store by himself.  Granted, Jacob knew he deserved everything Billy gave him and more, but he couldn’t stick around after what happened to the woman he supposedly loved, Isabella Swan. 

 

He’d known Bella since childhood and when she moved back to Forks after years of no contact, Jacob had slowly developed feelings for her that he thought was love.  Not friendly love either.  Bella had met Edward Cullen while attending Forks High School and instantly fell in love with him, which didn’t bode well with Jacob.  He stayed away though, only popping up once in awhile to check on her, or whenever his father dragged him to the Swan residence to watch a football game with Charlie on his big flat screen.  It didn’t happen often, but Bella always seemed to be home when he came by, which pleased Jacob to say the least.

 

Unexpectantly, Edward and the entire Cullen family left Forks months after dating Bella, though Jacob didn’t exactly know why and honestly didn’t care.  It took Bella four months to get over Edward leaving before she finally went to La Push and began hanging out with Jacob almost every day, doing life-threatening stunts like riding a motorcycle or going hiking, anything to get her mind off of Edward.  During this time, Jacob had gone through several changes and tried pushing Bella out of his life because he feared for her safety, refusing to tell her why. 

 

It broke Bella’s heart and nearly killed Jacob on the inside.

 

The reason why Jacob couldn’t tell Bella why he pushed her away was because he had become a shape-shifter, phasing out of the blue and joining the wolf pack.  It consisted of all his friends Sam Uley –He was the alpha of the pack, though Jacob was supposed to be as soon as he phased, but Jacob refused the job-, Embry Call, Jared Cameron, Paul Lahote, Quil Ateara, Seth and Leah Clearwater –she was the only female in the pack that phased-, Brady Fuller and Collin Littlesea.

 

Sam had ordered Jacob that he couldn’t, under any circumstances, reveal the secret of the Quileute tribe to Bella, which Jacob hated.  Instead, he went to Bella’s and gave her clues and even that wasn’t easy, but Bella had been smart enough to figure it out on her own.  He carried a gene that descended from the Quileute tribe to protect the lands from one thing and one thing only: Vampires.  When Bella found that out, she was torn because she still missed Edward deeply, but also didn’t want to lose her friendship with Jacob.

 

Edward came back after being gone for six months, just when Jacob and Bella were getting closer, completely destroying Jacob’s chance to be with her.  It tore Jacob apart because Edward was a vampire, his natural born enemy, but he also didn’t want to hurt his best friend either.  Even though Bella went back to Edward, Jacob flat out refused to stop fighting for her and did…up until he found out Edward had proposed marriage and Bella accepted.

 

That’s when Jacob left La Push for a few months, needing to clear his head, but he managed to make it back just in time for Bella’s wedding.  Edward had requested him to make an appearance, a gift for his newlywed bride and Jacob reluctantly went, only to find out that Bella was going to try consummating their marriage before she was changed into a bloodsucker.  Jacob completely flipped out and lost his temper, vowing he would tear Edward apart for hurting Bella and left the reception with Bella in tears.

 

That’s when Jacob decided to be a wolf for awhile, wanting to feel animalistic so he wouldn’t feel the constant heartache Bella caused him, and stayed phased up until Bella returned from her honeymoon deathly sick.

 

When Jacob found out about Bella’s pregnancy, after she came back from her honeymoon, he immediately went to the wolf pack and told Sam about it.  Sam thought the spawn Bella carried would be a danger to the lands and Quileute tribe, which they had sworn to protect and ordered the pack to attack the Cullen’s to destroy the danger.  Jacob left the pack, along with Seth and Leah, refusing to let anyone kill Bella because she was still human and the pack had vowed to protect ALL humans no matter what.

 

Therefore, Jacob became his own alpha and had his own small pack, protecting the Cullen’s from Sam’s pack attacking.

 

It ended up being that Sam’s wolf pack wiped their hands clean of the problem and Jacob granted Edward permission to change Bella into a bloodsucker to save her life.  He felt sick for doing it, but also knew it was what Bella wanted, refusing to let her die because of his selfishness.  He was technically an alpha and ended up going back to La Push, Sam deciding that Jacob was ready to be the only alpha of the pack.  Jacob once again declined and told Sam he wasn’t ready yet, just wanting to be a part of the pack again, but it was never the same.

 

Jacob had been so deep in thought about the past that he didn’t realize he’d been walking into the store, until he collided with someone, blinking. “Crap sorry.” He mumbled half-heartedly and went around the person, not even looking at them.

 

Kyrine watched as the distracted man walked away from her, arching a slow eyebrow. “Yeah okay.” She snorted, not believing the half-assed apology he threw at her and could clearly tell he was from the area.

 

She decided to split the list with Amaya so they’d get done faster, wanting to get the shopping underway.  Amaya couldn’t help agreeing, deciding since it was a small store she would be able to find Kyrine rather quickly if anything happened.  Currently, Amaya was on the other side of the store looking for some kind of diet pills while Kyrine took care of the food, both of them wondering what the hell the rents were thinking.

 

Though now, all Kyrine could think about was the man who had been rude to her, continuing with the shopping.

 

Chapter 6

 

Jacob knew he sounded like a complete ass to her person, but he had other things on his mind, going down the pill aisle. “What the hell?” He growled when he bumped into someone else and this time looked up, locking dark brown on narrowed violet eyes.

 

“Yeah, I should ask you the same damn thing.” Amaya definitely wasn’t one to back down and placed her hands on her hips, the cart in front of her. “Didn’t you see me standing here looking for something specific?  Why don’t you stop looking at the damn floor when you’re walking and look up before you end up hurting someone, idiot?”

 

His eyes widened at the spitfire and Jacob actually found himself backing away, holding his hands up. “Damn I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to run into you, lady.” He couldn’t help thinking how hot it was that a woman actually stood up to him the way she had.

 

“Yeah well if you were looking straight ahead instead of at your muddy shoes, you would’ve noticed and not collided into me.” Amaya snapped back, refusing to accept his apology and snatched a bottle of pills from the shelf.

 

He felt like a scolded dog, which was very close to the truth since he was technically a wolf, and lowered his head a little. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to run into you, ma’am.” He tried again, this time more sincerely and watched as her violet eyes softened just a little.

 

Amaya couldn’t help admiring the physique this man had on him and tapped her chin in thought, contemplating if she should forgive him or not. “If you’re really sorry, then you’ll make it up to me somehow.” She finally said, leaving him with that thought before walking away to finish the shopping list.

 

Jacob zeroed in on her beautiful rear and smirked, having a feeling he would run into the violet eyed beauty again.  Amaya could feel his eyes on her and winked over her shoulder at him before turning the corner, seeing Kyrine headed her way.  She didn’t look exhausted, more annoyed than anything, and Amaya wondered what could’ve happened since it wasn’t exactly a big store.  Then again, she had been busy berating a big brute who was in desperate need of some manners and eye coordination.

 

“Alright, who do I have to kill?” Amaya demanded, only half joking and watched as Kyrine waved her off, hating it when she did that. “Come on Kyrine, what happened?”

 

“Nothing, I’m done with my half of the list.” Kyrine refused to tell Amaya about the big Neanderthal that nearly bulldozed her, thankful she had enough sense to hold onto her cart. “Come on, I wanna do some real shopping.”

 

Amaya decided to drop it for now, knowing Kyrine would eventually tell her and headed to the counter to check-out the items.  While they were standing in line making idle chit-chat, Amaya felt someone tap her shoulder and turned to stare back at the big hot dark eyed brute that ran into her earlier.  She simply placed her hands on her hips and stared hardening at him, wondering what he wanted and why he insisted on bothering her.

 

Kyrine could tell Amaya was about to unleash on the guy and decided to stick her nose in a magazine, facing forward toward the cashier.

 

“Well?” Amaya wasn’t a patient person by any means and raised an eyebrow when the guy handed her a piece of folded paper. “Look, I don’t have time for games so just spit out whatever it is you want to tell me.”

 

“You’re rude you know that?” Jacob growled, though amusement shined in his dark eyes, his arms folded in front of his chest. “Just read the damn piece of paper.”

 

Instead, Amaya balled it up and threw it right in his face, smiling sweetly though it did not reach her eyes. “Sorry, but I don’t play games with little boys.  So when you wanna be a man and actually tell me whatever you wrote on that paper, let me know.” Before she could turn around, Jacob’s hand shot out to stop her, their eyes locking again.

 

“Go out with me.”

 

His voice was low and husky, it made Amaya tingle all over, though she wasn’t about to admit that to anyone.  Neither of them noticed that Kyrine stepped outside since Amaya had the credit card that would pay for the items.  Amaya simply stared at the man with slightly narrowed eyes, just like she’d done when he ran into her earlier, completely skeptical of what he said.

 

“You want to go out with me.” It was a simple statement.

 

“Yeah, you said I had to make it up to you and I figured asking you on a date would be the way to go.” He said with a smile, nearly taking her breath away. “Come on, just one date.  You can invite your friend if you want and make it a double date.” Jacob had no idea why he offered that, but if it made this violet beauty accept his date offer, he was willing to do just about anything.

 

Amaya contemplated that and turned to ask Kyrine her opinion, frowning when she didn’t see her sister anywhere in sight. “She went outside for some air, said you’d pay for everything.” The cashier offered with a smile, gesturing toward the open door.

 

“Oh…thanks.” Amaya turned back to face her potential date. “What’s your name?”

 

“Jacob Black.” He answered with a grin, extending his hand. “Most call me Jake though.  What’s yours?”

 

“Amaya.” She refused to give out her last name in case this guy turned out to be a creep, shaking his hand. “Tell you what, Jake, you give me your number and I’ll call you within the next twenty-four hours to let you know if I accept your offer.  I have to speak with my sister first because that double date idea sounds promising and I’m not going if she doesn’t.”

 

Jacob chuckled with a nod, feeling Amaya release his hand. “Sounds fair to me.” He asked the cashier for a pen and took the piece of paper that Amaya crumpled up, turning it over to write his cell number down on it. “Here ya go, I look forward to hearing from you, Amaya.”

 

“I’m sure you do.” She retorted with a smirk, taking the piece of paper and this time folded it to slip into her back jean pocket.

 

“Looking forward to it.”

 

Amaya paid for the items for the McTavian’s and walked out of the store, seeing Kyrine was sitting on a nearby bench staring out into space.  The girl was lost in thought a lot these days and Amaya began worrying if it had anything to do with the medicine she had to take for her condition.  She walked over slowly with the three bags and sat down on the bench, slowly reaching out to tap Kyrine on the shoulder.

 

“Hey chick, sorry about that.” Amaya didn’t know why she apologized, but felt it necessary since this was supposed to be a girl’s day out.

 

“No problem.” Kyrine smiled, turning to face her sister. “Got everything?”

 

“Sure do, though I did get a rather interesting proposition from that hot piece of La Push ass in there.” She giggled when Kyrine flamed red, actually covering her cheeks as the cool wind blew across them, glad they both brought sweatshirts. “Hey, you know I’m not the shy type.”

 

“Still…” Kyrine groaned, shaking her head as she tried getting her cheeks to return to normal. “What did he ask you?” She was almost afraid to ask and could see the mischievous gleam in Amaya’s eyes, groaning again.

 

“Well,” She paused, loving to keep Kyrine in suspense. “He asked me out on a date.”

 

“Did you accept?”

 

“Not exactly…” Once again the gleam worried Kyrine and Amaya could see the apprehension in her eyes, wrapping a comforting arm around her sister’s shoulders. “Relax, I told him I’d think about it after talking to you.”

 

Now Kyrine was confused. “Why me?” If Amaya said it was because she wanted to be there for Kyrine, she was going to absolutely snap. “Maya…”

 

“Well he actually came up with a great idea, which is hard to believe considering I don’t even know him.” Amaya studied her painted nails, which was currently magenta, winking back at Kyrine. “He offered a double date situation.  I told him that if you didn’t accept then there was no way I could go.”

 

Kyrine’s jaw dropped, putting her head in her hands. “Why would you do that?!” She stood up from the bench infuriated, wondering what the hell possessed Amaya to give up a date because of her! “I don’t need you babysitting me all the damn time!  Didn’t you hear a word that I told Mom this morning?”

 

“Yes and I think it would be good for you to go on a double date with me and Jake.” Amaya wasn’t fazed in the slightest by Kyrine’s outburst, knowing exactly why she did it. “Come on Kyrie, when’s the last time we did something like this?  I know you can find some hot hunk to ask out.”

 

“You’re out of your mind.” There was no way Kyrine could find anyone who was interested in her, she’d barely spoken a word to anyone since moving to Forks. “There is no one…” Kyrine suddenly trailed off and looked thoughtful, turning her head to look out toward the woods again.

 

“Or is there.” Amaya suddenly remembered what happened to Kyrine at school and narrowed her eyes, standing up from the bench. “Kyrine, when you ran back into the school the other day, you were running from someone weren’t you?”

 

Midnight blue eyes lowered to the ground and all Kyrine could do was nod, remembering how Emmett had tried keeping her from running away and asking what was wrong. “Yeah…” She hated that Amaya knew her so well and hoped she didn’t go running off to tell her parents about the incident. “He didn’t do anything to me.  All he asked me was what was wrong and I kinda…I just ran away from him…” Kyrine felt like a coward and slumped her shoulders, heaving a sigh.

 

Amaya caught the fact that the person was a male and any male around her sister without her there was unacceptable.  She wasn’t going to tell the rents though, that wouldn’t be smart, especially after the fight she had with Natalie that morning.  However, she was going to find out who this guy was that scared Kyrine to the point where she ran back into the school nearly hyperventilating in the hallway.

 

“That’s all he asked you and you ran off?” Amaya didn’t buy it, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. “Are you sure?”

 

Kyrine knew exactly what Amaya was thinking, deciding if she didn’t come clean that Amaya would go hunting down Emmett and that couldn’t happen. “He came up to me while I was outside during lunch and started talking to me.  He just asked me innocent questions like my name and where I was from, things like that.  Harmless questions.  He was really cute too.” She blushed, cheeks flaming red again as a small smile curved her lips. “He was sweet too.  He had these golden eyes that…I’ve never seen eyes like them before and he looked strong, incredibly strong.  He didn’t hurt me or anything, I swear it.  You know how emotional I get when I’m asked what’s wrong because I don’t feel like repeating myself fifty thousand times.  I simply told him I had to go back inside for class and he just let me go.  I feel terrible because all he was trying to do was be friendly and I totally blew it by running away from him.”

 

It sounded like Kyrine really liked this guy, whoever he was, and Amaya decided that Kyrine was being truthful, grinning from ear to ear. “Soo what you’re saying is he’s a really hot guy and you wouldn’t mind getting to know him better?” She chuckled softly and patted Kyrine’s shoulder, letting her know everything was going to be alright. “I think you should ask him out for the double date.”

 

Her head shot up, midnight blue eyes widened in both shock and fright. “No, I can’t!  I can’t even look at him right now, Amaya!  I ran away from him like a coward, he probably thinks the worst of me right now!  How can I just walk up to him and say ‘Hey Emmett, I know I ran away from you like a coward when we first met, but do you wanna go on a date with me and my sister?’  Get real, Maya!” Kyrine was beside herself and Amaya looked thoroughly amused, never seeing Kyrine act like this over a simple male.

 

“Emmett eh?” Amaya smirked when Kyrine realized what she did, the groan telling her all she needed to know. “Well, I’m sure Emmett wouldn’t mind going on a double date with you.  He’s the one who approached you after all and you didn’t exactly run away from him.  You did tell him you had to go back to class.”

 

“But…”

 

“No buts about it, you like him and I have a feeling he likes you.  You’re asking him out on the double date.” Amaya wasn’t backing down from this, daring Kyrine to argue or try to coax her way out of this.

 

“But…”

 

Amaya shook her head as they began walking away from the shop, heading to another one that was for them instead of the McTavian’s. “I already know you’re going to say your parents won’t let you go out on a double date with me.  I think your old man is getting sick of your mother’s overbearing ways and that’s why he gave us a credit card to spend fully today.” Amaya was banking on using them against each other in order to give Kyrine the freedom she wanted. “So we’re going to get you a new outfit with shoes, jewelry, the works, along with me and you leave the rents to me.  I’ll make sure you get to go, even if we have to tell a little white lie.”

 

Kyrine swallowed hard, looking up at her devious sister and couldn’t help wondering if this was going to blow up in their faces. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea…” Lying to her parents is something Kyrine NEVER did and always believed was wrong.

 

Waving her off dismissively as they walked into the dress shop, Amaya guided Kyrine through the aisles, whistling. “I said leave it to me.  It won’t be lying so much as keeping them from the full truth.” She justified it that way, immediately pulling clothes off the racks to try on.

 

“What exactly are you going to tell them?” Kyrine was suddenly afraid of what Amaya was getting her into, chewing her bottom lip when an outfit was handed to her to try on. “Maya, this isn’t right…”

 

“Trust me okay?” Amaya stirred her in the direction of the dressing room, sounding flabbergasted. “I’m simply going to tell them we’re going out for a girl’s night to catch a movie.” There was no reason the McTavian’s had to know that they were going out with two guys, Amaya knew that would never be allowed, not even by Nick. “Now go try that on and stop worrying about it.”

 

In other words, Amaya was going to lie to her parents about the double date entirely.  Kyrine could only groan behind the closed door as she began changing into outfits to model for Amaya, not feeling good about this upcoming date.  Then something occurred to her: She hadn’t even asked Emmett if he would go on this date with her and Amaya was forcing her to try on outfits!!

 

What if Emmett said no?

 

Kyrine paled and walked out to show Amaya the first outfit, her stomach twisting at the upcoming conversation she would have with Emmett.

 

Chapter 7

 

What in the hell had Kyrine gotten herself into?

 

No, more importantly, what the hell had Amaya gotten Kyrine into?

 

There he was standing across the parking lot of Forks High School, looking more gorgeous than ever.  He had on a dark blue long sleeved shirt that once again looked like a second skin on him with tight khaki pants, everything about him flawless.  He currently leaned against his Jeep Wrangler, looking as though he was waiting for something and Kyrine could already feel she was losing her nerve to approach him.

 

The double date had been set for that Friday and it was now Thursday.  Amaya warned Kyrine if she didn’t ask Emmett by the end of the day on Thursday, she was going to approach him and ask him herself on behalf of her sister.  Kyrine couldn’t have that, promising she would do it and waited until the very last minute to do it.  She pulled her gaze from Emmett and glanced over at Amaya, who was tapping her wrist while leaning against her own car, watching to see if Kyrine would do it or not.

 

When it looked as if Amaya was getting ready to approach Emmett, Kyrine felt her legs begin moving, putting one foot in front of the other.  Kyrine didn’t know what shocked her more, the fact she was moving toward Emmett without faltering or the fact that she hadn’t lost her courage to even attempt this yet.  She was definitely a shy person, Kyrine had never in her life asked a guy out and the fact that Amaya had threatened to do it for her, made Kyrine that much more tense.

 

“Hi.” She squeaked out, stopping a few feet in front of him, her bag over her shoulders.

 

Emmett stared back at the midnight blue eyed beauty and couldn’t believe it was Kyrine talking to him, afraid he scared her off when they met. “Hey.” He turned to fully face her, seeing how nervous she was and couldn’t help wondering what it was about, arching an eyebrow. “How are you, Kyrine?”

 

“Y-You remembered my name.” She observed, trying to get the trembling out of her voice and took a deep breath.

 

He smiled, which nearly took her breath away, nodding. “Of course I did.  You don’t hear the name Kyrine often, it’s unforgettable.” He almost said she was unforgettable, but stopped himself just in the nick of time. “So how are you?” He tried asking again, tilting his head slightly when her eyes just gazed at him for a few seconds.

 

Her cheeks had flamed red at the compliment of her name and Kyrine knew she was making a complete fool of herself, shoving her hands in the back pockets of her light blue jeans. “I’m fine.” She didn’t stammer that time, this was getting a little easier. “Actually, I uh I came over to ask you something…”

 

“Alright.” Emmett bit back a chuckle at how adorable and cute Kyrine was when she was nervous, folding his massive arms in front of his chest. “What is it?”

 

“Umm well…” She swallowed past the lump that suddenly formed in her throat, wondering why this was so hard to do, suddenly lowering her eyes to the ground. “I umm…”

 

Stepping forward, Emmett took a chance and slowly reached out to hook his finger under her chin, forcing those anxious filled eyes to meet his again. “Don’t look down when you talk to me, Kyrine.” He ordered in a husky voice. “You don’t have to be afraid of me.  You can ask me anything.”

 

That was easy for him to say!  He wasn’t the one standing here looking like a stargazed idiot trying to ask him out on a double date!  His voice sent shivers throughout her body and Kyrine was finding it hard to think, her mind becoming fuzzy.  It took a lot for her to nod her head, his touch ice cold, but felt incredible to the touch because she was used to being cold.  It was comforting somehow and Kyrine felt a smile light her face, those golden eyes piercing her down the depths of her soul.

 

“Would you…like to go out…on a double date with me and my sister…tomorrow night?” She had to take several pausing breaths to ask him or Kyrine would never get it out, the roses in her cheeks blooming fully, just like when they first met. “My sister, Amaya, was asked out and…told him she would go only if I did…”

 

She was actually asking him to go on a double date with her and her sister?

 

Emmett didn’t know how to react or feel about it, but the happiness infiltrated his body, knowing he was wrong in assuming that he scared her off. “Do you have any idea how cute you are when you’re nervous?” He watched her eyes widen slightly and chuckled, running a gentle cold finger down her cheek. “I’d be honored to go out on a double date with you, Kyrine.”

 

“Really?” Kyrine’s smile turned into a full blown grin, her eyes filling with excitement and felt alive for the first time in years. “Okay well…we decided on going to see a movie and we’ll meet you at the theater around seven.  Does that sound alright?” She hoped it did because that was the only time they could find that would suit everyone, including the parents.

 

They still had no idea the girls were going out on a double date instead of just the two of them.

 

Emmett had a feeling there was a reason why Kyrine and Kyrine’s sister’s date wasn’t picking them up at their house, deciding not to question it. “Sounds good to me.  I’ll be there.” He suddenly had an idea, wondering if she would go for it and glanced over her shoulder at who he could only assume was her sister, his eyes moving back to Kyrine. “Before the date though, how about we go for a walk through the woods and I’ll take you home the long way?” He suggested, wanting to spend more time with her now that she wasn’t afraid of him.

 

Kyrine didn’t know if that was a good idea, but one look in Emmett’s eyes and she instantly melted. “A walk sounds really nice.” It had rained again the previous night so the after rain fresh air was amazing, something only Forks could offer Kyrine was sure of it. “I’ll have to tell my sister though, if you don’t mind waiting.”

 

“Not at all, beautiful.  Go ahead.”

 

Kyrine blushed furiously and touched her cheeks before turning around to walk toward Amaya, not able to wipe the smile from her face. “He said yes!” She tried keeping it down, but the amount of excitement in her voice did Amaya’s heart good.

 

“I have a feeling he wants something else from the way he was eyeballing me over here.” Amaya stated, placing her hands on her hips. “Well?”

 

“He wants to take me for a walk through the woods so we can get to know each other before going on the double date.  He said he’d take me home.  I won’t let him get near the house though.” Kyrine didn’t want to blow their cover with the double date, having already convinced her parents that it was just the two of them going to see a movie. “Please Maya?  I feel like I owe him after running off the way I did last time…”

 

Amaya sighed resignedly, knowing she would have to come up with one hell of an excuse for Kyrine’s absence and could tell how much this meant to her sister. “Go on, I’ll cover for you.  When they ask, tell them you had to stay after school for an extra credit assignment that I wasn’t a part of.” They had all the same classes so naturally the McTavian’s would automatically ask why Amaya hadn’t stayed after as well.

 

“Thanks Maya, I owe you one.” She kissed her sister’s cheek and gave her a big hug before walking back toward Emmett’s direction, keeping her bag with her since she was supposedly staying after school for extra credit.

 

“Everything copacetic?” Emmett asked, already opening the passenger door of his jeep for her, smiling softly.

 

“Yeah.” Somehow, Kyrine knew she could trust Emmett and hopped into the jeep, buckling up while he got behind the wheel, driving off moments later from the high school.

 

Amaya could only watch as Emmett Cullen drove off with her sister and hoped she did the right thing by letting Kyrine go, slipping into her own car to leave.

 

“So, where are we going for this walk?” Kyrine asked after a few minutes of silence, looking over at him.

 

Emmett smiled over at her and took her hand in his, surprised at how cold it was. “Tell me where you live and I’ll know where to park the jeep so it won’t be that far from your house.” He watched the nervousness return to Kyrine’s face and sighed gently, knowing he would have to get used to that for the time being. “You can trust me, beautiful.”

 

“I know.” Kyrine gave him her address and leaned back against the seat, staring out the window at all the trees that surrounded them.

 

Ten minutes later, Emmett pulled over on the side of the road and jumped out, opening the passenger door for Kyrine before she could even reach for the handle.  He simply winked at her puzzlement at how fast he was, extending his hand and helped her out of the jeep.  Kyrine inhaled the air and sighed in contentment, allowing Emmett to guide her into the woods, knowing her parents would have a conniption fit if they knew where she was at that moment.

 

“So, what movie are we going to see tomorrow night?” Emmett asked, breaking the silence between them, glancing down at her while they slowly headed toward Kyrine’s house.

 

“I’m not sure what it’s called, but Amaya made sure it wasn’t romantic in any way.  She prefers action movies so I’m sure we’ll all enjoy it.” Kyrine responded, not minding when Emmett laced their fingers together and couldn’t help loving the surroundings of the woods, the air smelling of pine and rain. “It’s so beautiful here.”

 

‘Not as beautiful as you.’ Emmett thought, still not believing how trusting this human girl was and felt himself drawn to her in ways he couldn’t explain. “What’s on your mind?”

 

“So many things.” Kyrine breathed it out in a mere whisper, feeling them stop as Emmett turned to face her, staring up into his amber eyes. “What about you?”

 

Emmett knew that was a vague answer to his question, but let it go for the time being, not wanting to upset Kyrine. “Honestly?” When she nodded, Emmett pulled her closer to him, towering over her tiny frame. “I’m wondering why you asked me out.  There are a lot of boys in that school and yet you chose me.  Why?”

 

Kyrine lowered her eyes and chewed her bottom lip, not expecting Emmett to ask her a question like that. “You were the only one that…approached me.” She didn’t know how else to explain it, not to mention running away from him made her feel incredibly guilty and she wanted to make it up to him somehow. “You’re the one guy that noticed me.” There was no way Kyrine could call Emmett a boy because he was far from it.

 

“You’re very hard to miss, Kyrine.” His voice dropped an octave and Emmett felt Kyrine shiver, instantly wrapping an arm around her waist as their bodies pressed closer together “You have no idea how much you stand out.”

 

Her head once again spun and Kyrine felt herself melting into his arms, feeling her knees weaken and suddenly couldn’t stand by herself anymore.  It was a good thing Emmett had his arm wrapped around her or else Kyrine would’ve collapsed to the ground, trying to breathe.  Emmett saw how flushed she was and could feel her knees trembling, her breathing quickening, his senses much sharper than hers.

 

“Are you alright?” He asked concerned, suddenly lifting her up and carried her over to a nearby log as he sat down, Kyrine straddling his lap. “Is that better?”

 

What was wrong with her? 

 

Kyrine just nodded and felt his hand cup her flaming cheek, completely embarrassed that she nearly collapsed in front of him.  It wasn’t because of her condition either, he made feelings sprout within her she never knew existed.  Her entire body felt alive and full of heat, especially when her eyes locked on his again, his touch also being a contributing factor.

 

“Sorry, I just got a little lightheaded.” She managed to say, getting lost in his eyes again. “Emmett…”

 

“Can I kiss you, Kyrine?” His voice was merely a whisper now, his mouth mere inches from hers, wanting to take it slow, no rushing. “Just one kiss?”

 

Her heart rate skyrocketed, which Kyrine knew wasn’t good, but couldn’t help how Emmett made her feel. “If you want.”

 

Her voice was so angelic and soft, it lit Emmett’s entire body on fire, especially the feeling of her straddling his lap in jeans that hugged her thighs and beautiful ass perfectly.  He’d been wanting to kiss her since the first moment he saw her in school, which was at the table outside during lunch, when he first approached her.  He pulled her closer to him, both of his arms now wrapped around her waist, knowing this wasn’t their date, but Emmett couldn’t hold out any longer.  Her lips looked so delectable and delicious, he just wanted a small taste of them, the curiosity of what they tasted like too intense to ignore.

 

Suddenly his lips were on hers and Kyrine’s breath was stolen from her, instantly returning the soft tender kiss, a soft shaky moan escaping her.  Her arms wrapped around his neck and shifted on his lap, hearing him groan against her lips and that just caused the moment to intensify much more.  Kyrine knew if she strained her heart too much, she would end up in the hospital and honestly didn’t want that happening after experiencing her first kiss.  She couldn’t pull away though and shivered when his tongue slowly snaked out to swipe across her lips, instantly opening her mouth, giving him permission to deepen the kiss.

 

Instead, Emmett broke the kiss and stared back at Kyrine, her lips slightly swollen from what they just shared, smiling. “Sorry beautiful, I don’t want to move too fast with you.” He explained, not needing air to breathe, but knew she did, the taste of her lips still on every part of his mouth. “I think I’d better get you home before they send out a search party.”

 

Kyrine could only nod and blushed when Emmett brushed his lips very softly against hers once more before lifting her from his lap.  He knew he would need to do something to relieve his problem later on and wrapped an arm around Kyrine’s shoulders, feeling her lean against his side.  They arrived at her house, but Emmett remained in the shadows, wishing he could walk her up tot eh door at least to make sure she got there safely.

 

“So, until tomorrow night?” He pulled her into his arms again, Kyrine’s smile once again making that tingling sensation course through his cold body. “Seven right?”

 

“Yes, see you tomorrow at the theater.” Kyrine murmured, accepting another soft sweet kiss from Emmett before heading out of the forest, feeling dazed. “Good night, Emmett.” She whispered over her shoulder before walking across the street and up to her front door, noticing him in the rapidly approaching night.

 

“Good night, beautiful.” Emmett rumbled and watched as she walked inside the house, closing the door behind her before heading off to his own, knowing the family was going to notice something different about him.

 

Honestly, all Emmett wanted was tomorrow night to arrive so he could see Kyrine again.

 

Chapter 8

 

Why couldn’t it be Friday night already?

 

Jacob sighed heavily, feeling completely restless and sat in his small room of the Black house, leaning back against the wall.  He couldn’t believe he actually asked a paleface out on a double date, honestly not caring what the others thought if they found out.  Granted, Jacob had been careful whenever he was phased not to let the double date, or Amaya for that matter, enter his mind.  When the pack was phased, they had the ability to read each other’s minds, which was both annoying and helpful, though it didn’t leave a lot of room for privacy.  Amaya hadn’t called him to give him the answer yet, but Jacob had a feeling she would, knowing he was very hard to resist.

 

“Jake?” Billy’s voice called through the door, causing Jacob to stand up from his bed to see what his father wanted.

 

“What’s up?”

 

“Phone call.” Billy handed the phone over and rolled away in his wheelchair back to the living room to watch television.

 

“Thanks.” Jake mumbled and put the phone to his ear, shutting the bedroom door for whatever privacy he could get. “Hello?”

 

“Hey Jake, it’s Emily.” She greeted, waving Sam off when he went to say something to her. “Listen, we’re having a little meeting over here tonight and Sam wanted me to call to tell you.  I’m making dinner so if you haven’t ate yet…”

 

Why did Sam insist on forcing Emily to do his dirty work? “Yeah I’ll be there, Em.” He looked at the clock, seeing it was a little after four o’clock. “What time do you want me there?”

 

“Around six or a little after that.” Emily answered promptly, busy stirring batter in a bowl to make homemade rolls. “Everything okay, Jake?”

 

“Yeah, just tired.” He answered, refusing point blank to say anything more, rubbing his eyes. “I’ll be there.” Then something occurred to Jacob, causing his eyes narrow slightly. “Emily, you have my cell phone number right?”

 

“See you at six, Jake.”

 

The phone went dead and Jacob felt the anger consuming him, rolling his neck as bones cracked under pressure, growling.  What the hell was Sam up to?  They hadn’t been the same pack ever since Jacob went against them in order to save Bella and Renesmee.  Jacob thought at one point he imprinted on Bella’s vampire-hybrid daughter, but it ended up being false because Seth ended up being the one to imprint on her.

 

Imprinting was an involuntary mechanism that forced shape-shifters to find their soul mates, the ones the Quileute gods selected for them to be with.

 

The pack was still having a hard time accepting that fact and often stayed away from the Clearwater residence because Seth had invited Renesmee over to the reservation for dinner.  Because she was a vampire-human hybrid, it didn’t break any laws in the treaty, which Seth had to point out several times to the pack.  There was no clause that stated a vampire-human hybrid couldn’t step foot on their lands.

 

Just vampires.

 

Leah had moved out of the house shortly after Seth imprinted on Renesmee Cullen because she finally imprinted on Embry Call, which nobody saw coming.  It was adorable the way they baited each other and everyone was honestly happy for them.  Embry knew Leah wasn’t comfortable with her brother being with Renesmee, so he offered to get a place with her since they would end up married with babies sooner or later.  There was no rush, but Leah took Embry’s offer almost immediately and moved out within a few short weeks after the proposal.

 

Everyone was waiting for Embry to pop a marriage proposal next.

 

Honestly, Jacob was happy for Seth and Renesmee because they both deserved to be happy and Renesmee would stop aging once she reached seventeen.  Because she was a hybrid, she aged incredibly fast and the genes within her would stop the aging process, according to Carlisle’s extensive research.  She would never look a day over seventeen, which was perfect because, as long as Seth kept phasing, he would hardly age so it worked for both of them.

 

He was also happy for Embry and Leah because they deserved to be happy, completing each other to near perfection.

 

Jacob knew he hadn’t imprinted on Amaya, but that wasn’t going to stop him from going on the double date with her.  Until he did imprint, he was going to date whoever he wanted, be a free spirit, just like his best friend Paul.  They, along with Collin and Brady, hadn’t imprinted yet and were having a lot of fun trying to find their other halves…Paul especially.  He was definitely a playboy and told everyone he didn’t believe in imprinting, feeling as though it wasn’t supposed to happen to him.

 

It made Jacob think that maybe he was the same way.

 

Sighing again, Jacob went to stand up as he began taking his shirt off, deciding he would phase to burn off some of this restless energy, when his cell phone blared.  Turning, Jacob wondered who it was since he didn’t recognize the ringtone and picked it up, seeing the name Amaya Robinson flash across the screen, a smile instantly touching his lips.  Flipping it open, Jacob collapsed back on the bed and stared at the ceiling, deciding phasing could wait.

 

“Well hello there, spitfire.”

 

Amaya chuckled softly at the sound of his voice and what he called her, busy holding the cell to her ear as she continued doing her toenails. “Hey yourself, Dasher.” She shot back, knowing he’d get a kick out of that.

 

“Dasher?” Jacob scratched his chest, raising an eyebrow. “Since when am I one of Santa’s reindeer?”

 

“You are an idiot.” Amaya laughed, leaning back while she let the paint dry on her toenails. “I’m calling you that because you dashed and didn’t watch where you were going, which landed you asking me on a double date with my sister.”

 

Jacob smirked at her explanation and stroked his chin in thought, deciding that was definitely a fitting nickname. “How many times are you gonna bust my balls for that, woman?” He demanded teasingly, sitting up a little, enjoying the sound of her laughter.

 

“As many times as it takes to make you realize that you need to slow the hell down and stop acting like your pants are on fire, Dasher.”

 

“Alright, alright fine you got me.” He let out an audible sigh, which caused her to laugh harder. “What’s so damn funny?”

 

“You.”

 

“Oh really?  What’s so funny about me?”

 

“Too many things to count right now.” Amaya shivered when he growled, closing her eyes and wondered what he was doing at that moment. “Mmm do that again.”

 

Jacob was surprised at how low Amaya’s voice dropped, actually feeling his mouth go dry. “You like it when I growl at you?” That was definitely interesting and Jacob put that in the back of his mind as a reminder for a later time when they were face to face.

 

“Growling from any man who can do it correctly is incredibly hot and…stimulating.” She smirked, deciding he deserved a little tease before she gave him her answer, waiting until the absolute last minute to call him.

 

“Oh really now?” Jacob sat up a little more, licking his lips and wondered what Amaya would think if he came to pay her a late night visit. “So, I’m assuming your calling about the double date offer?  We going or what?”

 

“My my what a pushy little man you are.” Amaya stood up from the bed and walked over to stare out the window, wearing just a simple black nightgown that was spaghetti strapped and went to her mid-thigh. “What will you give me if I tell you the answer?”

 

“You love playing games with men don’t you?” He retorted, dropping his own voice an octave, not realizing it turned Amaya on immensely.

 

Her seductive laughter told him he’d definitely gotten under her skin a bit. “Oh you have NO idea, Dasher.” He was in trouble once she got her hands on him, they definitely wouldn’t be watching a movie in the dark movie theater. “But I do suppose I owe you an answer since you did ask me, yes?”

 

“That would be helpful so I know if I should make plans with someone else or not.”

 

Amaya blinked, not expecting to hear that and narrowed her violet eyes slightly. “Oh?  And who else do you have your eye on right now, Black?” She demanded in a somewhat cold voice, gritting her teeth when he started laughing.

 

“Damn, I managed to get under spitfire’s skin!” He crowed amusedly, hearing her huff over the phone and couldn’t help smirking wickedly. “So what’s your answer?  Yes, no, maybe so?”

 

Amaya was going to kick the living hell out of him when she saw him tomorrow night, scowling. “That was not funny.” She grouched, clearly not amused. “To think you’d ever choose to go out with someone else over me.”

 

“Only if you decline my offer.  Hell, I’m a free agent.” Jacob was cocky and openly admitted it, hearing her growl at him. “Ooo should I call you a tiger instead of spitfire?”

 

“Keep it up, Jake.” Amaya warned, hearing him chuckle at her annoyance and vowed to wipe the smirk off of his face she knew he currently had. “And yeah, meet us at the theater at seven tomorrow night.  Can you handle that, Dasher?”

 

“Sure spitfire, whatever works.” Jacob glanced at the clock, seeing it was going on five and knew he would have to get off the phone soon if he wanted to go for a quick run before heading to Emily’s. “I take it your sister found a date?”

 

“Yes she did.” Amaya heard a knock at her door, knowing it was time to end the call. “Gotta go, see you tomorrow night and please try to grow some manners between now and then.”

 

Jacob didn’t even have a chance to respond because the line went dead, wondering what hurried her off the phone so abruptly.  He shrugged it off and closed his phone before shoving it in the front pocket of his shorts.  Opening his window, Jacob removed his shorts and tied the cord around his ankle before attaching the shorts.  Emily didn’t have replacement clothes and none of the pack members appreciated nudity that much.  He could handle the bare feet, hating to take shoes with him and knew Emily wouldn’t mind.

 

Jumping out the window, Jacob felt the fire rush down his spine as his body shifted in midair, landing on all fours seconds later, his beautiful russet colored fur glistening in the twilight of the day.  Jacob immediately took off into the woods, running at top speeds and immediately pushed the double date or anything to do with it out of his mind, in case anyone else was phased.  He didn’t trust the pack members, they had tried sneaking up on him a few times and Jacob was determined to have some privacy, even if it meant forcing himself not to think about certain things.

 

It wasn’t easy by any means.

 

Hey Jakey. Paul’s voice entered his mind, causing Jacob to sigh instantly, glad his suspicions were right. What’s got you in a funk?

 

I’m not in a funk and stop calling me that, Pauly.

 

Paul hacked out a cough, his silver fur glinting under the cloudy rapidly darkening sky. I take it you’re going to Emily’s for dinner? He loved annoying Jacob, it was one of the highlights of his day.

 

That’s a stupid question.  What do you want? Jacob demanded irritably, though there was no malice in his tone. Shouldn’t you be with your flavor of the week?

 

We’re taking a bit of a break. Paul decided to give Jacob a visual of his flavor of the week, which made him hack out more, trying not to laugh when his friend groaned. Hot little number, isn’t she?

 

Man that is SICK. Jacob knew he’d be scarred for life after seeing something like that, shaking his head. Do I even wanna know how you got her to do THAT?

 

Paul ran alongside Jacob and looked over at him, a twinkling in his dark eyes. I’m Paul, I can make a woman do anything. He stated smugly, causing Jacob to roll his eyes as they continued on toward the cliffs.

 

Uh huh and I’m sure if she found out she was fucking a dog, she definitely wouldn’t do anything you wanted.

 

Wouldn’t be too sure of that, she’s kinky as hell.  I’ve never been with a woman quite like her. Paul almost sighed wistfully, deciding to change the subject so he wouldn’t miss his flavor of the week too much. What about you?  You need to get back out there, not gonna find your…imprint…if you don’t keep looking. Paul couldn’t help snorting out the word imprint, not believing it would ever happen to him. Then again, maybe you prefer penis?

 

Jacob was tempted to tell Paul about his double date, but decided against it for several reasons.  Paul couldn’t keep a secret to save his life or keep his mouth from running away with him.  The pack didn’t need to know his personal life and he would do whatever it took to keep it from them as long as possible, even from Seth.  He told Seth everything usually because the little man could keep his mouth shut, remembering when Seth first told him about imprinting on Renesmee. 

 

Seth felt Jacob deserved to know first, not to mention Seth felt guilty because he honestly thought Jacob had imprinted.  Being a vampire-human hybrid, Seth had to ask Jacob if there was any way possible that because she was half human and half vampire if there could be two imprints.  Jacob assured him he wasn’t angry and congratulated Seth, secretly thrilled that he hadn’t because he didn’t want to be stuck with Bella’s kid as his soul mate for the rest of his life.

 

I assure you, man, I’m strictly for women. Jacob assured and heard Paul cough again, suddenly tackling him in the grass. Come on hold still so I can leave a nice mark on you for your flavor of the week to see!

 

For nearly an hour, the wolves wrestled around with each other, which was the perfect way to burn off some of the energy Jacob had.  They barely made it to Emily’s on time by the skin of their teeth, barreling through the front door like a bunch of animals.  Emily was not amused and pointed at the door, demanding them to walk in properly and without acting like a bunch of immature buffoons.  Whatever Emily wanted is what she got, both Jacob and Paul walking inside and hugging Emily, apologizing for their antics.

 

The meeting was generic, the same things being said about bloodsuckers and whatnot.  Seth hadn’t left the pack, but he wasn’t as close with any of the members as he used to be, not even with his sister.  Jacob was the only one he trusted to talk to, nodding whenever Sam gave him an instruction where to patrol to protect the Quileute lands.  After they were all given their patrol assignments, Jacob walked out with an extra kick in his step and instantly fazed, glad he got tomorrow night off for the double date.

 

The best part was he didn’t even have to ask someone to switch with him or make up some excuse, howling happily into the night.

 

Chapter 9

 

“Kyrine, sweetheart we’re going to be late for the doctor’s appointment!” Natalie called, tapping on her daughter’s bedroom door and stepped inside, trying to put a smile on her face.

 

“Sorry Mom, I’m almost ready.”

 

Kyrine pulled a long sleeved blue shirt on over a white tank top, the lace of the tank top poking out of the bottom for style.  She had on blue jeans and her white tennis shoes, leaving her hair down because she honestly didn’t have the strength to do anything with it.  The night before had taken a toll on Kyrine and she wasn’t about to tell her mother what happened with Emmett, knowing the woman would just blow it out of proportion. 

 

No matter what the doctor said, Kyrine was going on the double date later that night.

 

“You look tired.” Natalie commented, leaning against the doorway, wearing a simple pair of black dress pants with a lavender long sleeved top.

 

“Yeah, I didn’t sleep well last night.” Kyrine murmured, finishing getting ready and could see the concerned look on her mother’s face, sighing. “Mom, I’m fine and I don’t want you worrying about me.  We both know I’m sick, but you suffocating me with your overprotective ways isn’t helping me get better.”

 

Natalie frowned, wondering where this attitude suddenly came from and had a sinking feeling Amaya had talked to her daughter.  Then again, Nicholas had refused to sleep in their bedroom the previous night, instead opting for the couch.  They’d gotten into a huge argument over Kyrine with Nicholas saying that Natalie had to back off with being overprotective and Natalie reminding him that Kyrine was their only daughter and she was dying.  Things were very stressful between the McTavian’s and the last thing Natalie needed was her daughter reiterating what her husband had so blatantly and rudely told her the night before.

 

“Come on, we’re going to be late.” Natalie decided it was better not to respond to what her daughter said, just wanting to focus on getting her better.

 

Sighing heavily, Kyrine nodded and walked out of the house, slipping into the car heading off to the hospital.  Doctor Miles had picked out a specific doctor that would be taking care of Kyrine until it was time for the transplant.  His name was Doctor Cullen and he’d been at the hospital for several years, one of the very best.  Natalie trusted Doctor Miles’s judgment and hoped her daughter felt the same way, glancing over at her while soft music played from the radio.

 

It wasn’t that Natalie wanted to be overprotective over Kyrine, but she couldn’t stop it from happening.  This was her only baby, her only child, why couldn’t anyone understand that?  She’d been through hell and back with Kyrine through the years, seeing her daughter literally on her deathbed in the hospital with Doctor Miles pumping medication through her to keep her heart beating.  All Natalie wanted was for Kyrine to get better, to get this heart and to be a normal teenager capable of doing anything she wanted, reaching her goals.

 

Apparently, all she’d been doing was driving Kyrine away, along with her husband, and Natalie didn’t want that.

 

They arrived about twenty minutes later and walked inside the hospital, checking in at the receptionist, who directed them where to go.  Doctor Cullen…Kyrine wondered if he was related to Emmett and bit back a smile, knowing how observant her mother.  Keeping the double date away from her parents was extremely hard, especially since Kyrine wasn’t as coy and sneaky like Amaya.  Then again, she hadn’t even told Amaya about how her walk with Emmett ended, surprised when her cheeks didn’t flame red as the memory quickly washed over her, lips still tingling.

 

Once they arrived in the waiting area of Doctor Cullen, Natalie sat down while Kyrine grabbed a magazine to flip through, eyeing her daughter skeptically. “You’re awfully quiet today, darling.” Natalie observed, folding her arms in front of her chest. “Any particular reason why?”

 

“I told you I’m tired, Mom.”

 

“Uh huh.” Natalie wasn’t buying it and watched as her daughter idly flipped through the magazine, not even looking at the pictures, wondering what was going on. “Amaya told us that you had an extra credit project yesterday at school.  What was it about?”

 

This was her mother’s subtle way of trying to find out if Amaya had lied to her about where Kyrine was. “It was for the art class.  The teacher told us that if we added an extra part to the project we finished yesterday, then we’d get extra credit for it.  I know I’m going to be missing some school once the transplant comes around, so I’m trying to prepare for it.” Kyrine explained, already having the story ready in her head so it didn’t sound like she was making it up.

 

“What was the project about?” Natalie pried, remembering what Amaya said, but she hadn’t supplied what class or what it involved. “I thought you and Amaya had all the same courses?”

 

Kyrine felt like ripping her hair out, but managed to somehow keep calm. “There are two classes we don’t have together.  Art and gym.  The school even called and told you about it before we had our first day.  Mom, just stop okay?  Stop asking me questions about my schooling and start trusting me and Amaya.”

 

“Kyrine…”

 

“No, I’m done discussing this with you.” Kyrine cut her off, going back to flipping through the magazine. “I’ve never given you any reason not to trust me and here you go again being suspicious.”

 

“Because I know something else is going on.” Natalie stated, not born yesterday and couldn’t remember the last time her daughter took on extra credit at school. “What movie are you and Amaya going to see tonight?”

 

“I don’t know yet.  It’s at seven, that’s all I know and it’s in Port Angeles.” Kyrine stated somewhat irritably, finally tossing the magazine on the table in front of her.

 

“I don’t think you should…”

 

“Mom, I’m going to see a movie with Amaya tonight.  I’m seventeen years old and Dad already gave us the money to go.  He told me to tell you that if you tried telling me I can’t go, that you can take it up with him.” Kyrine wasn’t trying to be mean to her mother, always having respect for her, but right now she was getting on Kyrine’s last nerve.

 

Before Natalie could even open her mouth to retort, the door opened and a nurse stepped out with a chart in hand. “Kyrine McTavian?” She called, smiling when the women stood up and could already feel the tension between them. “Hello Kyrine, my name is Gloria, how are you feeling today?”

 

“A little tired, but I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.” Kyrine was always honest with her doctors, but they didn’t need to know about the kiss that sent her heart racing the night before, which in turn exhausted her. “Other than that, fine.”

 

“Good.”

 

Gloria first took her weight and found out Kyrine had actually gained a few pounds, which was a very good sign.  Her blood pressure came next and it was a little low, but nothing for them to be concerned about.  Natalie didn’t say anything and just let the nurse do what she had to do, nodding when Gloria told them Doctor Cullen would be in shortly to see Kyrine.  Kyrine thanked her and sat on the bedding with her head down, not able to look at her mother right now.

 

A half an hour later, a knock sounded at the door and Doctor Cullen walked in, Natalie’s eyes widening slightly.  He was incredibly pale white, which instantly reminded Kyrine of Emmett, and the same beautiful golden eyes.  His blonde hair was slicked back and he had the most breathtaking smile, a charm that made Natalie weak in the knees.  He looked very young too, no more than in his early twenties, but none of that mattered to the women.

 

“So you must be the infamous Kyrine I’ve heard so much about.” Doctor Cullen smiled and extended his hand, watching his patient take it with absolutely no hesitation. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

 

“It’s nice meeting you too, Doctor Cullen.” Kyrine softly replied and released his hand, tucking her hair back behind her ears as he pulled the otoscope out of his white jacket, beginning the examination.

 

“So what grade are you in, Kyrine?” He asked while doing the initial checkup, which was mandatory before he started the heart examination.

 

“I’m a Senior.” She answered with a smile, doing whatever Doctor Cullen instructed her and nodded when he told her she looked in great shape all things considered.

 

Doctor Cullen was specialized in every form of medicine, having every degree with all masters.  The heart was definitely one of his favorites, though having young patients like Kyrine was a little harder than others because her life was barely beginning.  He kept a soft smile on his face, not wanting to scare her in any way and asked her to lay back on the bedding while he began pressing in certain areas of her abdomen, another part of the mandatory checkup. 

 

He fired up the heart monitor, which is what Kyrine was waiting for, and removed her long sleeved shirt so it was easier for him to press attach the electrodes presoaked in alcohol to her arms and chest.  Doctor Cullen began the electrocardiogram (ECG), a test that checked for problems with the electrical activity of her heart.  It translated the heart’s electrical activity into line tracings on paper, the spikes and dips called waves, which showed arrhythmias of her heart.  With congestive heart failure, it of course made the machine go haywire and Doctor Cullen took his stethoscope out to listen to her heart while the ECG test continued. 

 

It took around ten minutes and Doctor Cullen nodded, removing the electrodes while Kyrine pulled her shirt back on, sitting up chewing her bottom lip nervously.  She could tell the look on Doctor Cullen’s face was filled with worry and Kyrine just prayed he had some kind of good news for her, having had enough of these tests to know when the doctor tried keeping in good spirits.  He pushed the ECG machine out in the hallway and shut the door, walking over to sit down in the nearby chair with the chart out, writing down a few things.

 

“Well Kyrine, this probably won’t surprise you, but your heart is steadily getting worse.  I know you’ve opted not to receive a LVAD, but at this point, I don’t know how much longer your heart will pump on its own.” He could tell that news completely crushed Kyrine, knowing the transplant was so close yet so far away at the same time.

 

An LVAD was an implantable mechanical pump that would help pump the blood from her lower left chamber of her heart to the rest of her body.  It would help with circulation and was used for people who had weakened hearts or heart failure.  Kyrine had been offered to have one implanted in Florida by Doctor Miles, but told her it wasn’t necessary at the time.  However, with this new ECG and not knowing when Kyrine would get the donor heart, Doctor Cullen didn’t want to take any chances, especially with this being her Senior year in high school.

 

This news was bitter to swallow and all Natalie could do was look up at her daughter, tears filling her eyes. “Darling?” She could tell Kyrine was upset and stood up to hold her hand, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders.

 

“Is there no other way?” Kyrine finally asked, having tried to avoid any other major surgery and swallowed hard when Doctor Cullen shook his head.

 

“I’m afraid not, Kyrine.” He watched saddened as tears slid down her face, standing up to walk over and took both of her hands in his cold ones. “The fact of the matter is your heart is giving out slowly but surely.  With all the activity in your life, especially this being your last year in high school and graduation around the corner, it would be in your very best interest to receive the LVAD.  It would give you better circulation and give your heart a much needed rest, giving us more time to wait for the transplant.  It is major open-heart surgery to implant the device and there are risks of complications, but I assure you this is your best option.”

 

“How long will it give her?” Natalie had to ask, looking up at the doctor while wiping tears away from her daughter’s face.

 

“People can live with an LVAD for years and they are lifesaving.” Doctor Cullen explained softly, trying to keep both women calmed, especially his patient. “We doctors like refer to it as a ‘Bridge to Transplant’.  Most people who are waiting for a heart transplant have an LVAD implanted just to give their hearts a rest and letting the device do most of the work.”

 

“How long will the surgery take?” Was Natalie’s last question, knowing Nicholas wouldn’t like hearing any of this.

 

“The surgery takes four to six hours, depending if any complications arise.  You’ll be connected to a ventilator to help you breathe during the surgery and you will more than likely be on it several days after the surgery.  You’ll be in the ICU and your lungs may not work right away after surgery, so that’s why you’ll be kept on the ventilator.  It’s a precaution more than anything.”

 

Kyrine’s eyes widened slightly and looked over at her mother, who looked completely heartbroken. “H-How long will I be in the hospital?” She hesitantly asked, feeling Doctor Cullen squeeze her hands gently, trying to comfort her in any way he could.

 

“The amount of time you’ll spend in the ICU will vary, depending on your condition before the procedure and how your body recovers from the LVAD.  I’ll say anywhere from one week to a month, but a month is the worst case scenario, which you’re not.” He answered honestly, trying not to let her tears bother him, even though they did. “You’ll be prescribed antibiotics and blood-thinners to prevent infection and other complications while you’re here.  I will order blood tests periodically to check your kidney function and make sure your medications are working.  If everything goes well with your recovery from surgery, you’ll be able to return to school and do anything you want.  You will have weekly appointments with me until the transplant to check on your progress and make sure the LVAD is doing what it’s supposed to do for your heart.  Because you’re waiting for a transplant, your activities need to remain limited like they are now and your stress level has to stay down because stress causes strain on your heart, which needs to be avoided.”

 

“What are the risks?” Natalie could tell this type of surgery scared Kyrine, but they needed to know everything that could happen during.

 

“Blood clots that can be prevented with the blood-thinners I will prescribe, excessive bleeding, but that’s more after the surgery than during.  Infection…because the device is outside of the body and connected through a port in the skin, germs and bacteria can cause serious infection, but the antibiotics will more than likely prevent that.  The device can malfunction at any time, it is a machine after all and if anything goes wrong with it, you need to get immediate medical attention.” He stopped to take a breath, knowing this was a lot of information to sink in for Kyrine, but there was one other risk he had to tell her. “The last risk is right heart failure.  The LVAD pumps more blood from the left ventricle of your heart than what your heart might be used to before your LVAD is implanted.  Your right ventricle may be too weak to pump the increased amount of blood needed for circulation and we do have medication to improve the pumping ability of it.  Worst case scenario, you may also need an RVAD implanted to support the right ventricle.”

 

Those were a lot of risks and Natalie wasn’t sure what to say or even think, looking back at her daughter with worry shining in her eyes. “How long would she have without the surgery?” She finally asked after a few minutes of silence, the doctor letting the information sink in.

 

“Based on the ECG, I’d say a month if that.”

 

Natalie closed her eyes and felt huge tears slide down her cheeks, covering her mouth with her hand. “A month?  Even with a dobutamine drip?” She swallowed when Doctor Cullen simply lowered his eyes with a solemn nod of his head.

 

“With her condition, she would end up living in the hospital on that drip and even then I’m not sure if it would keep her alive long enough to wait for the transplant.”

 

As much as Kyrine hated doing it, she reluctantly agreed to have the surgery, which was scheduled for the following week. 

 

Chapter 10

 

Whistling.

 

He was actually whistling. 

 

Alice had noticed something change within Emmett and wished she could read his mind, knowing there was no way she could go to Edward.  Their falling out had pushed Edward over the edge and he hadn’t been around the household, staying in his little cottage with Bella and Renesmee deep in the woods.  It wasn’t far away from the glass house, but enough that Edward and Emmett had space from each other so there wasn’t any altercation.  The family tried a few times to get them to talk, but in the end Edward just simply left with Bella and Renesmee, refusing to apologize for what happened.

 

“Hey Al.” Emmett grinned walking past her, wearing a black buttoned up long sleeved shirt with the top two buttons undone and dark blue jeans.

 

Alice blinked and slowly turned as her eyes followed him into the bathroom, tilting her head slightly. “Hey Em.” She greeted softly, deciding to follow him, her curiosity burning. “You look nice tonight.  Going somewhere special?”

 

A smirk spread over his lips as Emmett looked at her through the reflection, winking. “Maybe.” He sprayed some cologne on and decided to roll the sleeves up on his shirt to his elbows, nodding when he was satisfied. “You and Jazz doing anything tonight?”

 

“Probably just hunting, might run up to the mountains.” Alice was still eyeing him, pursing her lips together thoughtfully. “So…who is she?”

 

“None of your business, Al.” There was no malice in his tone, but he was in a hurry.

 

Emmett walked past her, heading downstairs to let Carlisle and Esme know he was leaving for the night.  He was actually concerned about Kyrine because she hadn’t been at school all day, wondering if he’d scared her off.  That was until her sister Amaya walked up to her, making sure he wasn’t backing out of the double date with her and Kyrine that night.  When Emmett questioned where Kyrine was, all Amaya told him was it was none of his business and that he’d see her that night. 

 

Something made Emmett stop just outside the sitting room, especially when Emmett heard them talking quietly to each other and simply listened in.  Alice went to walk past him inside the room and Emmett’s hand shot out to stop her, pressing a finger to his lips, wanting to overhear what their adopted parents were talking about.  Deciding to humor him, Alice remained silent and also listened in, even when Jasper joined them moments later.

 

“Car, there’s nothing you can do about it, darling.” Esme said, watching as her husband sat on the couch with his head in his hands.

 

“You don’t understand, Esme.  She’s only seventeen and so young.  She’s had congestive heart failure most of her life, since she was a little girl.  And now I had to basically hand her a death sentence if she doesn’t have this surgery.” Carlisle felt horrible and knew his wife would help him through it, needing her more than ever right now. “I love helping people, I love being a doctor, but…there are some things I don’t like about being in the medical field and this is one of them.”

 

Esme frowned and walked over to stand beside her husband, rubbing his shoulders comfortingly. “Life is cruel and unfair, that’s one of the many things you’ve taught me in all the time we’ve been together.  I don’t like it anymore than you do, but all you can do is perform this surgery to the best of your ability and give her enough time until this transplant arrives.  The donor is there, but they’re waiting for the family to come back from the army overseas, right?”

 

“Something like that.” Carlisle didn’t know the entire story and rubbed his temples, finally turning to wrap his arms around Esme’s shoulders. “The look her mother gave me when I told them about the surgery…I can’t get it out of my mind.  She looked as though I’d sucked all the life out of them, figuratively speaking of course.”

 

Esme cracked a sad smile and kissed her husband softly, tenderly. “Everything will work out for her and you’re going to give her a chance to live longer with this surgery.  Just relax and try not to think about it until you’re at work.  You have to learn to separate your personal life from your professional.” Knowing she was right, Esme extended her arms to Carlisle and felt him pull her into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck.

 

“Thank you.” He whispered, pressing his forehead to hers and began dancing with her throughout the room, not caring if they didn’t have music.

 

Emmett, Alice and Jasper stepped away from the door a few feet because it was apparent Carlisle needed some time alone with Esme. “What do you think that was about?” Alice wondered aloud, looking at Jasper before turning her attention to Emmett.

 

“No idea, but we might go to school with her.” Jasper said helpfully, looking over at Emmett. “Maybe we can find out who she is?”

 

Emmett could only shrug, his mind currently on his date for that evening Kyrine, and left a few minutes later to head to the theater in Port Angeles.

 

Alice and Jasper watched him go, deciding they would do the investigating on who this seventeen year old girl was that upset Carlisle at work.

 

~!~

 

Amaya came home from school and hoped Kyrine’s doctor appointment went well, a big smile on her face, excited for their double date that night.  Natalie and Nicholas were completely clueless, which is what both girls wanted and everything was going according to plan.  The girls would leave at six o’clock to make it to the theater in plenty of time before the guys.  Jacob had called Amaya and left a voicemail saying he would be a few minutes late, but he wasn’t standing her up, promising to hurry.

 

“Kyrie?” She called out, beginning to head upstairs and stopped when Natalie’s voice sounded from the kitchen.

 

“In here, Amaya.”

 

Just by the sound of her voice, Amaya instantly had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach and headed in the kitchen, tossing her bag on the couch on her way.  Kyrine was sitting at the kitchen table sipping some juice with Natalie, both of them looking somber.  Nicholas was nowhere to be found, though it was still fairly early for him to be home from work.  Kyrine looked up at Amaya and instantly felt tears swell in her eyes, looking back down at the table while slowly taking another sip of her juice.

 

Something wasn’t right.

 

“What’s going on?” Amaya asked, walking over to sit down at the table beside Kyrine, placing a hand on her shoulder.

 

“We have to wait until Dad gets home.” Kyrine quietly said, placing her head in her hand while closing her eyes, still not believing what was revealed at her doctor’s appointment.

 

Now Amaya was really worried and frowned, worry shining in her violet eyes.  The last time Kyrine said that it was regarding the heart transplant and them having to move from Miami to Forks.  The time before that Natalie had called her while she was at school and Amaya was taken straight to the hospital in Miami because Kyrine had collapsed at her doctor’s appointment, being admitted.  She was forced to go on a dobutamine drip for a few days to give her heart a rest because it had overworked itself, which was rare to happen.

 

Luckily, her heart managed to heal on its own to the point where Kyrine didn’t have to live on it, but the limitations began.

 

“Nat?”

 

“We want the entire family to be here, Amaya.” Was all Natalie offered, sipping coffee since she felt like all the energy had been sucked out of her.

 

“Well when the hell is he coming home?” Amaya snapped, the worry evident in her tone, honestly not caring about anything except her sister at that moment. “I have a right to know!”

 

“I called him at work and he’s on his way.  It shouldn’t be too long now.” Natalie’s voice remained grave, not even getting upset with Amaya’s outburst because she honestly had no energy left to exert.

 

“Are we still on for tonight?” Amaya had to ask in case she had to call Jacob and cancel the double date, watching as Kyrine’s head shot up instantly.

 

“No!” Kyrine swallowed hard when Natalie’s eyes widened slightly, clearing her throat and lowered her eyes. “I mean no.  What we have to say to you and Dad won’t affect our movie night.” The double date was the only thing Kyrine had to hold onto at that moment and Natalie agreed to let her go because of the upcoming surgery.

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Yes, please don’t cancel on me, Maya.  I need tonight, especially after…” Before Kyrine could continue, all three heard the front door open and Nicholas rushed inside the kitchen, tossing his briefcase on the counter.

 

Kyrine couldn’t handle the frantic look on her father’s face and stood up, instantly letting him engulf her in his arms, tears streaming down her face.  She was a daddy’s girl from the moment she was born and right now needed him more than ever, her crying turning to heart wrenching sobs that completely broke his heart.  Nicholas had no idea what happened at the doctor’s and looked over at his wife, seeing the tears pouring down her face as well, his breathing quickening a little.

 

“Kyrine baby, let’s sit down and talk.” He suggested softly, frowning when the clutch of his shirt tightened and lifted her up in his arms, sitting down at the table with her curled up on his lap.

 

Natalie couldn’t even look at her husband right now, ashamed from all the fighting they’d done lately and how she treated her daughter.  Instead of protecting her, Natalie had stopped her from living and that’s not what she wanted, knowing she deserved to be happy.  She could only sit there and cry, Kyrine’s sobs just making her feel worse and knew what they were about to tell Nicholas and Amaya would change their family possibly forever.

 

Once Kyrine settled down enough to talk, she pulled back from her father’s shirt covered chest, wiping her tears away. “Sorry.” She murmured with a gentle sigh, finally looking up into his eyes. “Daddy, my condition is getting worse.” It was the only way to start out breaking this type of news and Kyrine didn’t know how else to do it, trying to take slow deep breaths.

 

Nicholas nodded, knowing the doctor was going to tell her that, but didn’t say a single word, glancing over at his wife that was falling to pieces. “Go on, baby.” He encouraged quietly when Kyrine didn’t continue, running his fingers through her hair. “Tell Daddy what the doctor said.”

 

Kyrine took a few more deep breaths and finally spilled everything about her examination with Doctor Cullen, not leaving out anything.  The LVAD surgery was scheduled for next Friday right after Kyrine got out of school, wanting the weekend to recover, though she wouldn’t be back in school until Doctor Cullen released her to do so.  She explained that it was a life or death surgery because her heart was giving out on her quickly and, without the LVAD, she would die within a month.  When Nicholas demanded if this Doctor Cullen was the best and he’d spoken with Doctor Miles, Kyrine assured him, which made him feel a little better.

 

Amaya could only sit there in shock and listened to her sister pour her heart out to both of them about the doctor’s appointment, silent tears sliding down her cheeks.  Kyrine was truly dying, her time was really running out and without the LVAD, she wouldn’t make it until the transplant arrived.  Suddenly, the double date was the furthest thing from her mind as Amaya got up and immediately hugged Kyrine as soon as she was off of Nicholas’s lap, closing her eyes tightly shut.  She loved Kyrine more than a sister, they were closer than closer, and if Amaya lost her it would probably be the end of her as well.

 

“I-I’m gonna be there every single step of the way.” Amaya promised, her mouth right by Kyrine’s ear, not letting her go as more tears fell, both girls trembling slightly. “Even if I have to take off school, I’m NOT leaving your side, Kyrie.”

 

“No.” Kyrine broke the hug to pull back, staring into Amaya’s bloodshot violet eyes, wiping her tears away. “Don’t you dare stop living your life because I’m sick.  I would absolutely hate that and feel guilty, which I know you don’t want.  You can be there for me during the surgery in the waiting room with Mom and Dad and even through the recovery, but you are NOT missing any school.  Do you understand me?”

 

“But…”

 

Kyrine shook her head, smiling with hopeful blue eyes. “Listen to me, I knew this was going to happen eventually and I’m ready for it.  I’ll do whatever it takes to live long enough to get that heart, even though I feel guilty every day that someone else had to die in order to give me a chance.  But I don’t want to think about that right now.  I want to go to the movies with you and enjoy our night.  I want to get my mind off of the upcoming surgery and live.  So stop crying and let’s go upstairs and get ready.” She walked out of the kitchen, smiling when Amaya began following her, knowing she would want to do her hair and makeup.

 

Nicholas and Natalie just looked at each other before he took his wife in his arms, both of them apologizing for all the heated arguments lately.

 

An hour later, Kyrine stared in the mirror with a smile, glad she’d let Amaya talk her into getting this outfit for tonight.  They both had to be careful with what they wore, more Kyrine than Amaya –her style was always eye-catching, so the rents wouldn’t think anything of it-, because she rarely dressed up for anything.  They both decided on a white short sleeved baby doll that had colorful flowers embroidered from the middle to the bottom along with dark blue leggings and white flats. 

 

She left her hair down, allowing Amaya to put loose curls throughout it and had two butterfly colorful clips on each side of her head, pinning them just above the ears.  Her makeup was simple foundation with blue eyeliner and natural shimmering eye shadow, pink gloss on her lips.  She had a beautiful matching butterfly necklace around her neck along with a matching ring on her left pointer finger, her nails having a French manicure both girls had done while they went shopping in Port Angeles.

 

Kyrine could only hope Emmett approved, chewing her bottom lip nervously, and looked over at a breathtaking Amaya.

 

A mid-thigh high blood red tank dress hugged all of her curves to perfection, though it left plenty to the imagination, which is what Amaya wanted.  It had black lace on the top and bottom hems that gave it more of a gothic style along with black fishnet tights that went with her three inch black Mary Jane pumps.  They would definitely put her at Jacob’s monstrous height, another thing Amaya wanted to achieve.  Her hair was half up and half down, curled and hanging down her back in a haphazard condition, the blood red and black streaks- she’d specifically picked out the dye because of her dress- definitely showing through the blonde.  She also added a black band that smoothed the top of her hair back for added effect, a black lace choker around her neck and dangling earrings that looked like black spider webs.

 

“You ready to go?” Amaya asked, trying to get the excitement in her voice and glanced over at Kyrine, who looked incredibly tense.

 

Kyrine nodded, picking up her purse after placing some simple diamond studs in her ears, hating the dangling ones, and followed Amaya out of the house for their double date.

 

Chapter 11

 

Emmett stood outside of the movie theater, arriving before the girls and Amaya’s date, wondering where they were.  Then a sudden thought occurred to him and Emmett couldn’t keep the smirk off his pale face, chuckling.  Amaya was probably being stood up; he wouldn’t blame the guy considering what kind of attitude she had. 

 

Then again, she was definitely a beautiful woman, but nothing compared to Kyrine.  Her kind saddened blue eyes and hair that looked soft to the touch…Emmett felt the familiar tingle come over him as the memory of their kiss from the previous night flooded his mind.  And the best part was she wasn’t afraid of him, there wasn’t an ounce of fear that came from Kyrine whenever they saw each other, just pure curiosity.

 

His golden eyes looked up when headlights flashed in the distance and Emmett could already feel the smile curving his lips, knowing it was the girls arriving.  He had excellent hearing and vision, watching from his perch against the building as Amaya and Kyrine stepped out, his mouth watering at the sight of his date.  She looked absolutely stunning in white, like an angel, and Emmett suddenly felt nervous about everything as she approached him.

 

Kyrine noticed Emmett as soon as they pulled into the parking lot and couldn’t stop smiling, everything from the day’s events floating out of her mind for the time being.  He was hard not to notice because of his sheer size and figure, looking more gorgeous than he did at school.  As soon as the car stopped, Kyrine stepped out of the car and headed toward her date, feeling the butterflies erupting throughout her stomach as blue locked on golden topaz. 

 

Only able to watch as Kyrine floated toward Emmett, Amaya couldn’t help smiling at how her sister was acting, knowing she liked the man a lot.  Amaya hadn’t said much on the ride to the theater, trying to make small talk about anything except the doctor.  Kyrine wanted tonight to be about fun instead of constant worry about her health, which Amaya honestly didn’t blame her for.  Though she had told Amaya Jacob was going to be a few minutes late for the movie because of some family business he had to attend to.

 

Emmett pushed off the building once Kyrine stood in front of him and didn’t say anything at first, just allowing his eyes to devour her completely.  He drank every inch in, from the top of her beautiful curled chestnut hair to the tips of her black flats.  How could an angel like this be interested in someone like him?  Pushing that question out of his mind, Emmett wasn’t one to question much and extended his hand to Kyrine, immediately pulling her into his arms as soon as her hand touched his.

 

“There are no words, Kyrine, so I’m not even going to try telling you how you look because there are none that scratch the surface.” His deep voice rumbled, watching as the roses bloomed in her cheeks and ran his finger down one of them, feeling the heat radiating on his cold skin. “Simply exquisite.”

 

Kyrine fought the urge to look away from him, but those golden eyes captivated her and kept her grounded, her lips shimmering in the dim lighting above them from the theater.  Her hand reached up and caressed his soft face tenderly, the cold skin not bothering her in the slightest because her body currently flooded with this newfound heat that only came whenever she was with Emmett.  He leaned into her soft touch and moved his face as his lips brushed against her palm, sending shivers throughout Kyrine’s body, her heart rate growing rapid.

 

“You’re gorgeous.” She complimented softly, running her thumb across his eyebrow to smooth it and sucked her bottom lip between her teeth when a soft growl escaped his lips.

 

“I really like it when you touch me.” He admitted openly, his eyes closing briefly to enjoy her gentle touch, his hand covering hers as their fingers laced together. “I wish we didn’t have to spend our time together in a movie theater.” What Emmett really wanted to do was just take her deep into the woods again where they were completely alone and ravage her lips with his again, possibly her body too.

 

Now Kyrine was flushed and she had to look away from him, her cheeks burning a deep crimson red because the look in his eyes were desire and lust-filled. “The movie won’t be that long and we don’t have a curfew.” She softly said, feeling Emmett hook his forefinger beneath her chin, their eyes meeting once more as he brushed his lips against her forehead. “Do you?”

 

Emmett laughed, not able to stop from doing so because of the simple fact that Kyrine had no idea who she was dating. “No I don’t, beautiful.” It was an inside joke and Emmett stopped when he saw the confused look on her face, simply winking. “So you’re saying I can get you alone after this movie is over with?”

 

“Sure.”

 

Kyrine already informed Amaya on the ride over that she would more than likely escape with Emmett once the movie ended, wanting to spend some time alone with him while she could.  Once she had the surgery, Kyrine knew Emmett wouldn’t want to be around someone as fragile and sick as her.  She wanted to look her best tonight so at least, once she was bound to the hospital bed after her LVAD surgery, Emmett would at least have one memory of her being normal and healthy…even though she wasn’t. 

 

There was no way she was telling him about the surgery, or anyone for that matter, refusing to let anyone from Forks pity her.  It was bad enough Amaya already did along with her parents, though Kyrine couldn’t stop them from doing so.  She asked her parents to simply tell the principal she was going on a month vacation with her grandparents and would make up her homework while away.

 

“What’s on your mind, beautiful?” Emmett could tell that Kyrine had delved into deep thoughts, raising an eyebrow when she jumped slightly at the sound of his voice.

 

“Sorry.” Kyrine blinked a few times, mentally shaking herself out of the thoughts and looked up at him with a reassuring smile. “I have a lot on my mind, but I’m hoping you can get my attention on something else.”

 

Emmett smirked, pulling her into his arms again as their foreheads touched, rubbing his nose against hers. “I’ll do my best.” He really wished he had Edward’s mind reading ability at that moment, the curiosity burning within him wondering what was on her mind, what was going through it.

 

While Emmett and Kyrine talked quietly by the theater, Amaya was leaning against her car waiting for her own date to arrive, sighing.  If Jacob Black stood her up, she was going to make him regret the day he ever bumped into her at that diet store, folding her arms in front of her chest.  She couldn’t help glancing over her shoulder at Kyrine and watched how comfortable her sister was with Emmett, wondering if it was the smartest thing to do.  She hardly knew the guy and was already letting him touch her and kiss her forehead, even running his hand up and down her back while they laughed together as if they knew each other for years.  Then again, she couldn’t help thinking how cute they looked together because of how tiny Kyrine was compared to Emmett, chuckling softly.

 

“What’s so funny, spitfire?”

 

Amaya jumped about a foot in the air and spun around, instantly glaring at a laughing Jacob Black and wanted to clobber him with one of her Mary Jane shoes. “You asshole!” She growled, holding her chest because it felt as though her heart had leapt into her throat. “You scared the hell out of me!”

 

Jacob tried to stop laughing, but couldn’t help it, his dark eyes glittering with amusement. “Sorry I couldn’t resist.  You looked really deep in thought and I didn’t know how to approach you without scaring you.” He could tell she was already irritated with him for being late and simply rolled his eyes, walking toward her bravely. “Come on, you can’t stay mad at me.”

 

“Oh yeah, Dasher?” Amaya snorted and placed her hands on her hips, angry violet meeting those hypnotic dark black orbs, the anger slowly draining out of her. “Watch me.”

 

“Oh I am.”

 

Jacob stopped right in front of her, but gave enough space to let his eyes slowly run down the length of her body, finally noticing what she was wearing.  That dress…Jacob suddenly wondered what it would feel like to have those long legs wrapped around his waist, rubbing the back of his neck.  Her style was definitely gothic, but it also had a little punk mixed in, never dating a woman quite like her and a paleface at that.  The only other paleface he somewhat dated was Bella, but Jacob couldn’t even call it that, immediately pushing her out of his mind.

 

“You look sexy as hell.” He blunted stated, watching the curve of Amaya’s blood red painted lips develop into a smirk, extending his hand.

 

Amaya was too busy consuming Jacob with her eyes and fought back the urge to attack, keeping her hands on her hips where she knew they were safe.  He wore a tight short sleeved black shirt that looked like it would bust off of him at any given moment with dark green cargo shorts that hung loose on his muscular hips.  He had black sneakers on his feet, his hair spiked and he smelled incredible.  She noticed a tattoo barely poking out on his upper right bicep, half of it covered by the shirt, wondering what it stood for. 

 

It was some kind of marking she could only guess it was Quileute and it just made him that much sexier.  When she noticed Jacob still had his hand extended with that smirk on his face, Amaya wondered if playing hard to get would work with him, deciding to humor him as her hand slid into his.  Jacob slowly turned her around in a very slow circle, finally making her face him again as his arm snaked around her waist, the material of the dress lighting his blood on fire.

 

His arm scorched her skin beneath the thin material of her dress and Amaya suddenly wondered if body temperature that high was healthy.  As soon as she looked up into his smoldering black eyes, she knew he was not only healthy, but he wanted her.  So much lust…Amaya found it hard to breathe and couldn’t remember the last time a man had this much of an effect on her, resting her hands against his shirt covered chest.  The material didn’t hide his body heat much and Amaya honestly didn’t care, suddenly wondering why they had to spend their time at a stupid movie.

 

All she wanted to do was ravage him from head to toe and knew Jacob was thinking the same thing.

 

“Come on, we’re going to miss the movie entirely if we keep standing here.”

 

Amaya stepped away from him and took his hand, knowing she had to introduce her sister to her extremely hot date, her heels clicking against the asphalt as they crossed the street.  Jacob’s eyes were only for her, wondering what suddenly made Amaya so nervous and wondered if she was feeling the same way he was.  A movie theater wasn’t the place to do what he wanted to do to her, but Jacob would make it work, suddenly grinning devilishly at the thought.  The notion of whether or not Amaya wore panties was among the dirty thoughts running through his mind at that moment and Jacob fought back a groan, taking a chance to glance down at her beautiful round shaped ass.

 

“Eyes up front, Dasher.” She ordered in a lower voice, having felt his eyes burning a hole through her ass.

 

“My eyes would rather be looking at something else right now, spitfire.” He laughed when she elbowed him, growling, deciding right then and there she liked it rough.

 

Jacob had absolutely no idea just how rough Amaya liked it when it came to sex.

 

“I’m sure they would, but you need to behave long enough to meet my sister and her date.” Amaya stated, laughing when Jacob whispered something completely vulgar in her ear and smacked him lightly, feeling her cheeks flush slightly. “Keep it up and you won’t get anything from me later on.”

 

“Ooo promises, promises.” Jacob growled, low enough to where only she could hear, and finally looked up at the couple they were on the double date with.

 

“Ouch!” Amaya grunted when she felt Jacob squeeze her hand harder, looking up at him through narrowed violet eyes and could see how tense he suddenly became. “What the hell?”

 

“You.”

 

Emmett turned around and came face to face with none other than Jacob Black, his own golden eyes narrowing, immediately placing Kyrine behind him out of sight. “What the fuck are you doing here, Black?” He demanded through gritted teeth, his hand on Kyrine’s to let her know that she was safe.

 

“I could ask you the same damn thing.” Jacob released Amaya’s hand instantly and backed away a few feet, trying to contain the anger that suddenly overflowed his body. “Amaya, care to explain to me why your sister is dating HIM?”

 

Amaya was very confused, looking back and forth between Emmett and Jacob, wondering what the hell was going on between them. “I’m going to assume you two know each other.” It was obvious. “I had no idea you and Emmett knew each other considering you live on the reservation in La Push while he lives in Forks and goes to a different school than you do.”

 

The girls had no idea just how much history was between Emmett and Jacob.

 

“Excuse me, but what’s going on here?” A soft voice finally spoke up, Jacob’s eyes instantly moving to the owner of it, and swallowed hard at the sight of Amaya’s sister.

 

Suddenly, it was almost as if the earth stopped moving and Jacob felt his entire world spin off its axel, his feet cementing to the sidewalk.  Everything else disappeared around him as his eyes locked with deep midnight blue, every part of his body feeling like a magnet pulling him closer to her.  It was almost as if a golden glow had surrounded the beautiful girl and all the dirty thoughts about what Jacob wanted to do to Amaya instantly vanished. 

 

All the feelings he had toward Amaya went with those thoughts and Jacob found himself barely able to breathe, think or even move.  He couldn’t believe what was happening, who he was staring at and didn’t hear Amaya calling his name or Emmett growling.  All he could hear and focus on was the angel in white standing before him, knowing what just transpired in what felt like hours, but was only mere seconds.

 

Jacob Black had just imprinted on Amaya’s sister.

 

Chapter 12

 

Kyrine felt her heart nearly stop with the way Amaya’s date stared at her and felt an instant connection toward him, swallowing hard.  She could feel the anger radiating from Emmett, but all Kyrine could do was stare into two dark black pools filled she couldn’t quite read.  She was losing her mind and had to say something, anything, finally managing to rip her gaze from his, her entire body wanting to convulse from the intensity of their stare down.

 

What the hell was wrong with her?

 

“Hi.” She extended her hand rather stiffly, a soft smile on her face. “I’m Kyrine McTavian, Amaya’s sister.”

 

Jacob couldn’t stop himself even if a gun was pressed against his head and took her small hand in his, swallowing it whole.  Instantly, a volt of electricity shot up his arm as soon as their hands connected and Jacob was betting she felt it too.  It just made the magnetic feeling that much stronger and Jacob knew exactly why he was feeling this way, wondering why the fates were so cruel.  More importantly, he wondered what this beautiful seraph was thinking, feeling, experiencing, their hands slowly moving up and down in a slow motion handshake.

 

“It’s really nice to meet you, Kyrine.” Her name even sounded angelic and rolled off his tongue in a smooth caress, his eyes never leaving hers.

 

Emmett had enough of this and immediately stepped up, pulling Kyrine gently but firmly out of the handshake against his side, wrapping a protective possessive arm around her shoulders. “She’s my date, Black.  You have your own.” He reminded the dog, growling at the foul stench that suddenly radiated from Kyrine and knew she would be smelling like it for the rest of the evening.

 

Jacob narrowed his eyes, not appreciating the way Emmett had just handled his imprint, but knew he couldn’t pull her back toward him as much as he wanted to. “I know that, bl-Cullen.” He hissed out, nearly calling Emmett a bloodsucker, but caught himself just in time.

 

Taking Amaya’s hand in his own stiffly, Jacob pulled her to stand beside him, both men staring each other down crossly. “Okay what the hell is going on here?” Amaya demanded and yanked her hand out of Jacob’s while Kyrine stepped away from Emmett, both of them looking extremely uncomfortable with these turn of events. “You obviously don’t like each other, care to explain to us why?”

 

Kyrine decided to let her sister do the talking and looked up at Emmett expectantly, her blue eyes pleading with him to calm down.  She took his hand and laced their fingers together, all of the intense feelings she felt for him suddenly gone.  Chalking it up to the awkward and tense situation, Kyrine pushed the intense feelings she experienced only moments ago with Jacob in the far recesses of her mind, wanting to have a nice evening with Emmett.

 

“It’s a long story.” Jacob tried not to growl, looking down at a bewildered and angry Amaya, a frown marring his tanned features.  He had to be the bigger man and squared his shoulders, clearing his throat. “A story we don’t need to get into right now because we have two beautiful girls to entertain.” A movie was definitely out of the question and Jacob wrinkled his nose, the icy sweet stench infiltrating, causing him to groan.

 

“No, we’re going home.” Amaya walked toward Kyrine and blinked when she shook her head in response, clinging to Emmett’s side.

 

“I want to spend time with Emmett.” Kyrine softly stated, ignoring the glare from Jacob and looked up at Emmett with that same smile. “We’re just going to go for a walk in the woods and...”

 

“Hunt?” Jacob jabbed through gritted teeth, refusing to let his imprint go off alone with the bloodsucker. “Kyrine, maybe going with your sister is the best for now.”

 

Amaya had no idea how Jacob felt toward her sister and honestly didn’t care, nodding over at Kyrine, deciding to give her whatever she wanted. “Just don’t get in too late and call me when you’re on your way so we can arrive together.” She ignored the incredulous look that Jacob shot at her, shrugging nonchalantly.

 

“Have you lost your mind?” Jacob demanded, watching as Emmett once again wrapped an arm around Kyrine’s shoulders, the possessive look in his eyes just pissing him off further. ‘Get your hands off of her!’ His mind screamed and it took every ounce of resistance not to bellow that out, suddenly wondering what he was going to do about Amaya.

 

“I’ll make sure she gets home safely, Amaya.” Emmett assured, already pulling Kyrine away from the theater across the street away from the dog, wrinkling his own nose in disgust. 

 

Maybe the woods would get rid of the stench from Kyrine because Emmett honestly didn’t want their date ruined because of Jacob Black.  Kyrine couldn’t help looking over her shoulder back at Jacob and her sister, more importantly Jacob, wondering what the connection was between them as she leaned further into Emmett’s side.  She trusted him and knew Jacob didn’t, which bothered her for some ungodly reason.  Up until a few minutes ago, Kyrine didn’t even know Jacob Black existed and now she was worrying how he felt about her going off with Emmett.

 

Again, what the hell was wrong with her?

 

They walked through the woods for a few minutes, letting the silence build between them, until Emmett couldn’t take it anymore. “How come you weren’t in school today?” He decided to start with that, meaning to ask her that sooner, but it honestly slipped his mind.

 

“I had some things that I needed to do with my Mom.” Kyrine couldn’t tell him she had a doctor’s appointment, not wanting him to know anything about her illness. “She actually sliced her hand open on a knife while making us breakfast and I had to take her to the ER.”

 

Emmett cringed, not realizing that Kyrine just lied to him and tightened his arm around her shoulders a little more. “Damn, I bet that was scary for you.” He looked down at her, seeing Kyrine nod and both of them looked straight ahead again.

 

“Yeah it was.” More than he could ever know. “But they stitched and patched her up, gave her some pain meds and she’s fine now.  It’ll take a little while for her hand to heal, it was an accident.” Kyrine hated lying, but knew she had no other alternative right now, stopping when Emmett did.

 

“I missed you today.” He rumbled gently, pulling her into his arms and glad they were finally alone. “I thought I scared you off when I kissed you last night.” He realized how stupid that sounded as soon as it came out, but Emmett wasn’t one to keep much hidden…besides his past relationship with Rosalie.

 

He could never tell Kyrine about that.

“You did?” Kyrine couldn’t stop her cheeks flushing again, smiling widely. “I missed you too, Emmett.  You need to stop worrying about scaring me off.  I don’t scare easily.” Her hands ran down his shirt covered chest, those midnight blue eyes meeting his. “And for the record,” She paused to rise up on her tiptoes, Emmett leaning down so she didn’t have to strain too much, cupping his cheek with her hand. “I enjoyed you kissing me and I wouldn’t mind if you did it again.”

 

“Oh really?” His voice had dropped considerably, brushing a strand of hair that blew across her cheek, tucking it behind her ear. “What would you do if I kissed you right now?”

 

“Do it and find out.”

 

Her soft voice challenging him was Emmett’s breaking point, losing all sense of control and covered his mouth with hers, wrapping his strong arms around her waist.  Kyrine moaned softly against his mouth, running her hands up his arms to wrap around his neck, her feet suddenly leaving the ground.  She remembered how Emmett carried them over to a log to sit down so she could straddle his lap and that’s exactly what he did, which Kyrine enjoyed.  She smiled against his lips and knew there was no time limit, her cell in her purse, which slid off her shoulder to land in the grass beside them.  Her hands moved from his neck to stroke his hair, experimenting because Kyrine had absolutely no experience with men and hoped her kissing was good enough for Emmett. 

 

Obviously it was or he still wouldn’t be interested.

 

“Emmett…” She breathed out when his lips finally left hers, moving down her jaw to her neck, loving how cold he felt. 

 

He felt like pure stone and that just heightened her desire for him more, her hands moving to the buttons of his shirt.  Emmett pulled back slightly to stare in her darkened eyes, which looked black in the woods, their only light the dim moonlight that peeked through the clouds in the sky.  They wouldn’t go too far, but Emmett wasn’t stopping her from removing his black shirt, leaving him clad in a white beater while he buried his hand in her hair, continuing the exploration of her neck. 

 

She was innocent, he could smell it and that just made Emmett want her that much more.  He would have to take it slow because he didn’t want to scare or push her into something she clearly wasn’t ready for.  Arriving at her shoulder, Emmett slowly began pushing the baby doll sleeve further down, caressing the soft skin with his lips and tongue.  Kyrine just enjoyed every second of this moment with Emmett, knowing there wouldn’t be another once she had to go for her surgery the following week.  Unbeknownst to Emmett, Kyrine couldn’t help letting Jacob Black enter her mind as she made out heavily with him, giving everything she could at the moment.

 

So many secrets they both held would eventually challenge their budding relationship and feelings for each other once they were out.

 

~!~

 

“You have a lot of explaining to do, Dasher.” Amaya stated, watching her sister walk off with Emmett and wasn’t concerned because Kyrine was usually a great judge of character. “And unless you start now, I’m leaving and finding someone who doesn’t ogle my sister in front of me.” She couldn’t help feeling a little resentment toward Jacob, refusing to blame Kyrine for anything because Jacob had been the one doing the ogling.

 

“How could you let her leave with that…THING?” Jacob had bit his tongue to stop calling Emmett a bloodsucker, wanting to run into the woods and rip him to shreds for touching Kyrine. “He’s not safe.”

 

Amaya raised an eyebrow and tilted her head slightly, placing her hands on her hips. “Seriously?  You’re STILL on about my sister going off with her DATE?” Scowling, Amaya never in her life felt rejection from a man and she wasn’t about to start now, clenching her jaw.

 

Before Jacob could respond or retort, he felt Amaya grab two handfuls of his shirt and yanked him against her, their lips crashing together.  Amaya had a lot of confidence in her beauty and looks, always managing to make men weak in the knees begging for more.  She felt Jacob’s arms instantly wrap around her waist pulling her closer, hell bent on getting his mind off of her sister and solely on her, their tongues touching for the first time.

 

As good as this felt, Jacob couldn’t help worrying about Kyrine’s wellbeing alone deep in the woods, knowing Emmett could kill her if he wanted to.  But the way Amaya kissed him, Jacob suddenly felt guilt consume him because he was supposed to be here for her, instantly returning the kiss.  There was no love in it, just pure lust and apparently that was enough for Amaya because she began running her hands up his shirt to feel his rock hard abs, shivering.  Jacob groaned when her mouth opened for access and instantly took the invitation, tasting every inch that he could reach while tightening his arms around her just a little more.

 

“Let’s get out of here.” Amaya breathed as soon as the intense kiss broke, his hands resting on her hips. “Take me back to your place or anywhere we can be completely alone.” Her violet eyes had darkened to a dark purple clouded over with desire and Jacob couldn’t deny her that request.

 

Imprint or not, he wasn’t about to pass up in invitation like that and kissed her lips soundly once more, lifting her up as her legs instantly wrapped around his muscular waist. “What’s gonna happen once we get there?” He kissed down her jaw line to her throat, nipping it gently with his teeth, emanating some deep moans from her sweet lips. “Tell me, Ama.”

 

She actually enjoyed being called something new and tilted her head back, letting him do his own exploring while holding her in his strong arms right in front of the theater, the dress barely covering her panty clad ass. “Get us there and find out.” She challenged, burying her fingers in his thick short black hair and ripped it up to where their mouths clashed again.

 

Growling from low in his throat, Jacob knew this was probably going to be a big mistake, but right now he couldn’t deny what his body was crying out for. “In the woods good enough for you?” He demanded roughly, watching as a sly smirk suddenly curved Amaya’s lips, her eyes moving from his to her car before looking back at him.

 

“I’m not one to get dirty, but…I’ll make an exception for you just this once.”

 

Giggling when Jacob growled, he slowly slid Amaya down his body, letting her feel briefly what she was doing through his cargo shorts, and took her hand as they headed toward the vixen’s car.  They knew ravaging each other in the movie theater parking lot probably wasn’t the best idea, but as soon as Amaya and Jacob slid inside, he managed to maneuver her to straddle his lap, that short dress around her hips now.  Amaya was the one who moved her panties to the side and unsnapped Jacob’s cargo shorts, the zipper sliding down to release his current problem.  She managed to push his shirt up and over his head, raking her nails down his muscular chest while Jacob managed to run his hands up the front of her dress to cover her bare breasts, loving that she didn’t wear a bra and tweaked her nipples. 

 

Neither cared who saw or heard them as Amaya covered his mouth with her own, knowing having sex with Jacob on the first date was a little slutty, but honestly couldn’t stop herself.  It was almost as if a possession overtook her and she craved to feel him inside of her, staring into his eyes to make sure he wanted it as much as she did.  They didn’t say a word and Jacob managed to pull a condom out of his pocket, sliding it on, knowing neither of them wanted an accident to happen from this. 

 

Only moaning and groaning flowed through the car as Jacob began filling her until Amaya was pretty sure he couldn’t go any further.  Her nails dug into his bare shoulders while he rocked in and out of her receptive body, their heavy breathing telling each other they were fully enjoying what was happening.  It was a good thing the movie wasn’t going to be over for awhile because that meant nobody was in the parking lot to witness what was happening in Amaya’s car, thankful she had tinted windows.

 

At that moment, Kyrine was the furthest from Jacob’s mind, which is what Amaya wanted.

 

Chapter 13

 

Several days passed and Kyrine was spending every available minute with Emmett, even at school during lunch.  It wasn’t fair to him and Kyrine knew it, but every time he looked into her eyes, she felt like the normal teenager she wanted to be.  The weird thing was Kyrine wasn’t dreaming of Emmett whenever she fell asleep, even though he was the only man she could think about. 

 

Only in her dreams, she saw Jacob Black, Amaya’s boyfriend and Kyrine felt the guilt eating away at her.  Dreaming about her sister’s boyfriend was wrong, especially when Kyrine’s feelings for Emmett were growing…except when it came to the dreams.  Kyrine didn’t know what to do or think because the dreams weren’t exactly PG rated and were filled with so much passion that Kyrine actually woke up in a sheen of sweat.

 

Kyrine contemplated telling Amaya about them, knowing there was absolutely no way she could tell Emmett, but decided against it.  Between going in for life-threatening surgery and trying to stay alive, it wasn’t the best time to tell Amaya about her dreams regarding Jacob.  Not to mention, it didn’t look as though Amaya and Jacob were that serious, though Kyrine hadn’t exactly asked about their relationship status.

 

It was awkward after what happened on the double date.

 

What was it about Jacob Black that forced Kyrine to dream about him?  She didn’t even know him and yet felt this incredible sadness whenever she woke up and he wasn’t there with her.  What did it all mean?  Kyrine knew Jacob felt the same connection as she did the moment their eyes locked on the double date, the jolt of electricity.  Now she couldn’t get it out of her mind, subconscious or not, and it was frustrating Kyrine to no end.

 

Whenever she was with Emmett, Jacob was the furthest from her mind, but it was only when she was alone that he suddenly popped up.  She didn’t understand why it was happening, wishing it was Emmett she was thinking of instead of her sister’s boyfriend.  Groaning, Kyrine slowly stood up from her bed and walked over to stare out the window into the dark night, staring up at the full moon.  Forks didn’t have many nights like this and Kyrine suddenly wanted to experience it, knowing everyone in the house was sleeping and should’ve been to.


She couldn’t.

 

Kyrine pulled a hooded white sweatshirt on over her head, already having warm white pajama pants and slipped her tennis shoes on, leaving the hood down.  This newfound desire to sneak out definitely was new for her, but Kyrine could feel her adrenaline pumping and wouldn’t be getting much sleep.  If anything, sleeping was the last thing Kyrine wanted to do, especially since every time she shut her eyes Jacob Black was there waiting to haunt her even more.

 

Sighing, Kyrine glanced outside one final time before tiptoeing to her bedroom door and slowly opened it, glad there wasn’t creaking.  Kyrine stuck her head out, looking back and forth before stepping out in the hallway, closing her bedroom door behind her.  Just a few minutes, a short walk, and she would come back to get whatever sleep she could. 

 

Slowly descending the stairs, Kyrine tried making as little noise as possible and finally made it to the front door, looking over her shoulder to make sure she wasn’t being followed.  Smiling, Kyrine opened the door and closed her eyes as the fresh cool night air washed over her, knowing she was dressed warm enough to where she wouldn’t freeze.  This is exactly what she needed, just a small walk to clear her head about everything that was and had happened in her life.

 

Once Kyrine made it to the backyard, she stopped and just stood there staring up at the moon, never seeing it so big and beautiful.  Miami had a lot of distractions that took away from the sheer beauty nature had, but in Forks everything was calm and quiet, giving her the opportunity to really appreciate the beautiful nature that surrounded her.  Kyrine jumped when she heard a rustling noise and turned her head, raising an eyebrow at the dark woods that she’d been in countless times with Emmett. 

 

Just not at night.

 

“Hmm…” Kyrine looked back at the house, knowing she should go back inside where it was safe, but something told her to go into the woods. “A little walk won’t kill me.” She rationalized, chuckling because she was talking to herself, and turned to head into the woods.

 

The moon was her only light and Kyrine promised herself not to venture too far from the house, not wanting to get lost.  Twigs snapped beneath her shoes as Kyrine moved branches aside to keep trekking, finally finding a dirt path and began following it.  She shoved her hands in the front pocket of her hooded sweatshirt as she kept walking, blue eyes peeled for anything that moved besides the leaves from the cool gentle breeze.

 

Kyrine stopped after a few more minutes, not hearing anymore rustling, and chewed her bottom lip nervously.  It was time to head back to the house in case anyone woke up to check on her, which Natalie was famous for.  As she began trekking back toward the house, Kyrine froze when she heard the rustling again and whipped around, trying to slow her suddenly heightened heart rate.

 

“Is someone there?” She finally called out and knew it was stupid to do, but Kyrine was beginning to panic a little. “Hello?”

 

Nothing.

 

She was back on the dirt path trail and Kyrine began walking a little faster than before, not realizing she was heading further away from her house.  The rustling had stopped, but that didn’t make her feel anymore and Kyrine didn’t know why, thinking she was close to being home.  She didn’t realize how wrong she was and could feel someone watching her, knowing she wasn’t alone walking in the woods.

 

Blood red beady eyes watched her every move, enjoying the sense of fear and panic that radiated from her body.  He had watched her from her bedroom window and hoped she came outside into the woods, where she would be easy prey.  Now he was simply toying with her, licking his lips and could feel the blood racing through her veins, the innocence leaking out of her pores.  Innocent blood was the sweetest and he had to have her, jumping from tree to tree, smirking whenever she turned around to see if she could see him.

 

She would never be fast enough.

 

When Kyrine heard footsteps instead of rustling, the panic became full blown and she took off running down the dirt path as fast as she could.  Tears stung her eyes as she kept looking behind her while running, knowing this was against doctor’s orders, but honestly she wasn’t thinking about her heart condition at the moment.  She was more worried about surviving and finding her way back to the house, knowing her heart would eventually force her to stop running.

 

When Kyrine looked back to pay attention where she was running, she didn’t see a tree branch that was somewhat uprooted from the ground and tripped over it.  A soft cry echoed through the woods as Kyrine flew over the tree branch and landed with a hard thump on the ground before rolling down a small hill.  She finally stopped against a hard log and scrambled against it, ignoring her throbbing head and aching body. 

 

Dirt covered her white hooded sweatshirt and pajama pants, but Kyrine didn’t care, her face having smears of dirt on it as well.  Kyrine looked from left to right repeatedly and up into the trees, trying to figure out where the rustling and footsteps had come from, blinking as a few tears slid down her cheeks.  No matter how hard she tried, Kyrine couldn’t move an inch and hoped she could somehow camouflage herself with the log, knowing that wasn’t happening since she was wearing pure white.

 

Rustling sounded again and Kyrine barely had time to let out a scream when a dark figured suddenly flew at her.

 

~!~

 

It was Jacob’s night off.

 

Normally he would be with Amaya having great sex, but they were taking a night off to recharge the batteries.  Between patrolling twelve hour days, working at the local mechanic shop that he co-owned with Paul and Jared and dating Amaya, Jacob was worn out.  Not to mention, he couldn’t get the fact of imprinting on Amaya’s sister, Amaya, out of his mind. 

 

He knew imprinting was the Quileute tribe’s way of showing the pack members the way to their soul mates.  However, Jacob couldn’t help enjoying his time with Amaya, but also knew he could never fall in love with her because of Kyrine.  He would never love anyone, no matter if she was a complete and total stranger, as much as Kyrine and it wasn’t fair of him to keep stringing Amaya along like he was. 

 

Jacob decided he had to put some distance between him and Amaya for a few days to clear his head.  He knew she wouldn’t like it, but also didn’t want their relationship to be based on just sex, which is exactly what it was turning into.  Maybe he would go and talk to Emily about this situation, knowing she was the perfect person to talk to because she was discreet. 

 

She was also very understanding considering she had basically stolen Sam away from Leah simply because he imprinted on her.  Sam and Leah had originally been together and everyone thought they were completely in love, but that was until Sam did the unthinkable and imprinted on Emily.  Sam tried being with Leah after the imprinting, but all he could think about was Emily and finally had to tell her. 

 

Ignoring an imprint was one of the most excruciating and painful experiences for both parties involved.  It literally ripped them from head to toe emotionally, mentally and even physically.  Jacob knew this because he often went into Sam’s mind when they were both phased together and saw all the guilt he felt for hurting Leah.  Sam often thought about how he tried staying away from Emily to make his relationship with Leah work, but the amount of pain and agony Sam was in was indescribable. 

 

What Jacob wanted to know was how Emily felt during her time apart from Sam because it would give him a good idea of what Kyrine was going through.  Then again, Emily had known Sam all of a few seconds, just like Jacob did, before he imprinted on her while he was with another woman.  This was almost identical to what Sam and Emily went through, which made Jacob believe even more that Emily was the perfect person to talk to about this.

 

Suddenly, Jacob bolted upright in bed, his head snapping toward the window with narrowed eyes.  Another thing about imprinting is Jacob could now feel every single emotion that rushed through Kyrine, which currently was fear.  Ever since that night at the movie theater, her emotions were mostly confusion and joy, but there was also fear.

 

It was nothing like this amount of fear though, Kyrine was terrified and in danger.

 

Not thinking twice, Jacob ripped his shirt and shorts off before leaping out the open window into the dark night, phasing instantly.  Jacob raced through the woods at top speed, going as fast as his legs could carry him and snarled when a scent filtered his nose.  It was the familiar icy sweet smell, the smell of only one thing that made Jacob’s blood light on fire, making him sprint because that smell was near his imprint.

 

A bloodsucker.

 

Kyrine was absolutely petrified and scooting further back against the log, tears streaming down her face as her shoes dug into the ground.  Why did she leave the house instead of staying safe and warm?  Now she was staring into the blood red eyes of a monster that was probably going to kill her, though it was taunting her first.  She couldn’t even speak and closed her eyes, starting to pray to any higher power that her life was sparred, crying even harder when the creature cackled.

 

“Nothing can save you now, my sweet peach.”

 

Just before the bloodsucker could get even a finger on Kyrine, their blood red eyes shot open when a ferocious growl resounded through the forest, knowing exactly what it was.  Suddenly, a monstrous beast leapt over the log, forcing Kyrine to duck down, the russet colored fur glimmering in the moonlight.  Kyrine watched in both horror and fascination as the huge beast attacked the blood red eyed monster to the ground, her mouth dropped open and knew she was definitely straining her heart because of how scared she currently was.

 

The beast didn’t waste a second and clamped his huge jaws right on the bloodsucker’s throat, his teeth digging into the skin before ripping the head right off.  Kyrine screamed out as the head flew over her head and the log, landing on the other side with a sickening thud.  It didn’t stop and dismantled the monster by ripping off its arms and legs, tearing it to pieces.  Kyrine was shocked to discover that no blood came out of the red eyed monster; instead it looked as though the body parts were made of complete stone.

 

Jacob knew he would have to come back to burn the pieces later, but right now he was more focused on making sure his imprint was alright.  He slowly turned around and watched as her midnight blue eyes widened, fresh tears stinging her eyes, instantly breaking his heart.  What the hell was Kyrine doing out in the woods at this time of night?  He wanted to phase and give her a piece of his mind, but also knew that would just terrify her further and somehow Jacob knew that was the last thing she needed.

 

“P-Please don’t hurt me…” Kyrine stammered out in a alarmed whisper, trembling from head to toe as more tears fell, not sure what to think after what she just witnessed. “P-Please…”

 

His heart shattered at her pleading and Jacob had to take this extremely slow, trying to think of a way to get her to trust him.  He wanted to take her home, but the only way to do that was stay in his wolf form, completely forgetting to bring a pair of shorts with him.  So instead, he slowly lowered on all fours until his stomach touched the ground, his head resting on it with his paws outstretched, dark eyes pleading with her through the darkness to trust him.

 

Kyrine tried taking calm deep breaths to stop her heart from racing and stared at the huge wolf for what seemed like hours.  She couldn’t believe wolves were this monstrous and knew Amaya would never believe her if she told her about this, deciding against it.  It would just make her and the family worry more, which Kyrine didn’t need, not with her upcoming surgery coming up…if she made it out of the woods alive.  Her eyes locked with the dark orbs of the wolf and Kyrine suddenly felt a sense of safety wash over her, not understanding it, searching them for indication of danger. 

 

She didn’t find any.

 

Very slowly, Kyrine pushed herself up from the log and wiped the tears from her eyes, hoping her legs still worked after tripping over that tree branch.  She had a tear in her knees, her face was dirty along with her chestnut hair and her hooded sweatshirt was covered in dirt, a few leaves stuck in her hair.  One foot in front of the other, Kyrine hesitantly reached her hand out to the wolf and was shocked when it didn’t move an inch, just kept staring at her with those big dark pleading eyes.

 

Had she completely lost her mind to trust a ferocious beast like this and touch it?

 

Apparently she had, Kyrine’s hand came in contact with the huge head of the wolf and slowly began stroking it, actually smiling through the tears when the wolf scooted on its belly to get closer to her.  It saved her life.  Kyrine couldn’t help lowering her head to press her forehead against the nose, the chill throughout her body suddenly gone because of how warm the animal was.

 

“Thank you for saving me.” She whispered, actually kissing the wolf’s nose and chewed her bottom lip when it looked up at her, wondering if she should’ve trusted it. “I want to go home, please help me.”

 

Chapter 14

 

Her touch felt amazing, better than anything Jacob ever felt before, and when she kissed his nose his heart nearly skipped a beat.  Jacob heard her request and watched as she backed up, slowly getting up on all fours to stare at her.  He moved toward her and gently took the sleeve of her sweatshirt, making sure not to puncture anything vital, pulling her over to his side.  He could tell she was confused and huffed out a little, nodding his head toward her, hoping she got the message of what he wanted her to do.

 

Kyrine blinked a few times, not believing a wolf of all things was directing her what to do and closed her eyes, knowing she’d officially lost her mind.  Somehow, Kyrine managed to straddle the wolf and leaned forward, wrapping her arms tightly around the wolf’s neck as she buried her face in the soft fur.  Jacob made sure she wasn’t going to fall off before turning and running through the woods back toward her house, her sweet smell of raspberry surrounding him. 

 

He didn’t run nearly as fast as he had when Kyrine was in danger from the now dismantled bloodsucker, but that didn’t stop him running nonetheless.  Jacob wanted to get Kyrine home as quickly as possible, feeling her exhaustion and knew she would pass out if she was outside much longer.  Jacob arrived at the house a few minutes later and stopped, seeing none of the lights were on and came to the quick conclusion that Kyrine had snuck out to go exploring in the woods.

 

Jacob definitely would have words with Kyrine at a later date.

 

Kyrine could barely keep her eyes open and had dozed off a little, when she felt the wolf come to a halt.  She looked up from having her face buried in fur and breathed a huge sigh of relief, kissing the top of the wolf’s head again.  The wolf didn’t move an inch as Kyrine slowly dismounted and stood right in front of it, those dark eyes once again locking with hers. 

 

Why did she feel like she recognized those eyes?

 

“Thank you so much.” She whispered, no hesitation this time when she dropped a kiss on the wolf’s nose, smiling with great appreciation. “Stay warm.”

 

Winking, Kyrine took off as fast as she could to the front door, looking behind her as the wolf remained in the woods, but she could feel its eyes on her.  Jacob didn’t move a muscle until he watched his imprint walk inside the door and closed it behind her, wanting to make sure she made it in safely.  He didn’t even move after she was in the house, sure that someone had noticed she was gone, only to see no lights besides the one in Kyrine’s room. 

 

He walked over and looked up at the window, seeing her pull the dirt covered hooded sweatshirt off along with the pants, watching her toss them in the garbage can that was right by the window.  She looked like she was hiding the evidence and Jacob coughed out, which was his way of laughing when he was in wolf form, not expecting her to be this sly.  He coughed more when she began plucking leaves out of her hair, trying not to think about the fact he was watching her in just her white bra and panties. 

 

It was only when Kyrine walked away from the window is when Jacob reluctantly left, feeling like a peeping tom, even though he just wanted to make sure she was alright.

 

Jacob.

 

He groaned, hearing Sam’s voice in his head, and knew the alpha had probably smelled the vampire in the area. Sam, there was a bloodsucker in the woods and I think it was the one we’ve been tracking for the past few months.  It tried attacking Kyrine and…

 

Who is Kyrine? Sam demanded, already on his way to wherever Jacob was and had sent the howl out throughout La Push for the other pack members. What happened?

 

She’s Amaya sister and she was in the woods… Jacob knew he had some serious explaining to do and ran away from the McTavian house, heading toward where the pieces of the bloodsucker still lay.

 

What the hell was she doing in the woods at this time of night? Sam wasn’t happy, growling as he headed in the direction of Jacob’s scent. Everyone meet Jacob, wherever he is, near the McTavian house. He knew who the family was and they were innocent people, though he wondered what the paleface was doing out of her comfortable safe house at three o’clock in the morning.

 

It took minutes for all the pack members to meet at the sight of the dismantled bloodsucker, all of them growling from the foul stench that still lingered in the air. Quiet all of you. Sam’s alpha voice boomed throughout their heads, sitting down while staring at Jacob with calm eyes. Explain what happened, Jake.  You aren’t supposed to be patrolling tonight.

 

Jacob sighed with a nod, knowing he was supposed to be resting and relaxing, but his imprint was in trouble and nobody knew he’d imprinted yet or on who.  He really didn’t want them finding out like this, not this soon, especially when he was dating his imprint’s sister.  This was a big mess, but Jacob knew if he lied to Sam about the real reasoning why he saved Kyrine, there would definitely be problems among the pack.  He would be considered a cheater in a way because he was dating someone who wasn’t his imprint, which was a sin to the Quileute tribe.

 

It was a sin, but one that Sam had tried a long time ago with his situation regarding Leah and Emily.

 

Sam, I really don’t want to discuss this in front of the pack…

 

Why not? Paul demanded, sidling up next to his best friend, both him and Jared eyeballing Jacob suspiciously. What are you hiding, Black?

 

Nothing.

 

Sam could clearly tell something was going on with Jacob and tilted his head slightly, the black fur glinting in the moonlight.  Something had been bothering Jacob over the past few days, ever since he went on his double date with the two palefaces, and Sam wondered if there was some kind of connection.  Suddenly, it dawned on Sam that Kyrine was Amaya’s sister and Jacob was dating Amaya...Sam decided that he would be speaking to Jacob privately regarding the situation, deciding to let the rest of the pack deal with the carnage of the bloodsucker.

 

Seth and Leah, dig a hole.  Embry and Quil, gather wood for the fire.  Paul and Jared, pick up the pieces along with Collin and Brady.  Make sure they are all burned.  Jacob, come with me back to my place. Sam ordered and turned around, heading back through the woods with Jacob following, knowing the job would get done properly.

 

They didn’t dare think a word because the entire pack was phased and could hear everything they were thinking, which is not what Sam wanted.  Jacob didn’t know how he’d ever repay Sam for this and hoped the man realized why he did what he did instead of letting one of the others handle it, like Paul or Jared, who were on patrol for the evening.  There was a very good reason and Jacob wasn’t going to apologize for protecting Kyrine, looking up when Sam suddenly stopped right in front of his house, looking over his shoulder at Jacob.

 

I’m going inside and have Emily get you some shorts. Sam knew Emily was up because he’d bolted out of bed and told her something was wrong, that he’d be back as soon as possible. Give me a few minutes okay?

 

Sam? Jacob swallowed hard and lowered his head, closing his eyes. I need to talk to Emily about this, if you don’t mind.  I know she’ll understand where I’m coming from and then after I talk to her, I’ll tell you everything. Jacob really needed to talk to Emily first because he had to know what Kyrine was feeling and going through, if she was in as much pain as he predicted.

 

No problem, Jake.

 

Sam walked up to the steps and sure enough Emily was standing there inside the screen door, holding a pair of shorts.  He coughed out a little, giving her his best wolf smile, and phased right on the porch, staring into Emily’s beautiful eyes.  She had three deep scars that ran along the right side of her face and distorted her features, pulling down the corner of her eye and mouth.  Nobody noticed it because of Emily’s beautiful spirit and kind heart, but Sam had to stare at them every day and night of their life together. 

 

When Sam imprinted on Emily, he came clean and told her everything about the Quileute tribe, about the pack, his wolf form and abilities.  She completely brushed him off because of his relationship with her cousin Leah.  She tried convincing him to return to Leah’s arms because Emily knew how much her cousin loved him, but Sam couldn’t because of the imprinting.  It went on for awhile with Sam visiting Emily on a daily basis and she rejected him every time, refusing to break her cousin’s heart by taking the love of her life away.

 

On the darkest day of Sam’s life, Emily ordered him to go back to Leah when he came to see her like always, but he refused.  He’d always left and tried doing what she said, but the imprint was too strong for Sam to be with Leah.  Emily called him a liar and said he was just like his father, Joshua Uley, which outraged Sam, forcing him to lose complete control of himself. 

 

He phased into a wolf right in front of her and Emily was too close, which is when he scarred her badly.  They told everyone as a plausible cover story that she’d been mauled by a bear and he saved her life, but Sam and Emily, along with the rest of the pack, knew the truth.  After the incident, Emily finally gave up and stopped fighting Sam, accepting him fully and ended up destroying her cousin, which she still felt guilty about every now and then.

 

She ended up being the caretaker of Sam and the entire pack along with cooking, cleaning and finding clothes for the boys whenever they forgot clothing when phased.

 

“Jacob needs some shorts…” Sam chuckled again when Emily simply handed over another pair, kissing her lips softly. “Thanks beautiful.”

 

“Uh huh, now both of you get inside, I’ll make some tea.” Emily ordered, winking and headed into the kitchen, while Sam went outside to deliver the shorts to Jacob.

 

Jacob phased as soon as Sam came toward him, taking the shorts with a sheepish grin. “Thanks Sam, I don’t know what any of us would do without Em.” He honestly meant that and slipped them on, letting them hang loose on his hips like always, not worried about a shirt.

 

“Neither do I.”

 

They both headed inside and sat at the kitchen table, Emily tossing Jacob a shirt along with Sam, setting three cups on the table. “The tea will be ready shortly.” She refused to give them coffee because Sam had to patrol the following day and wanted him to be well rested. “Sam, you look really tired sweetie.”

 

“I am.” He admitted, knowing he couldn’t lie to Emily even if he wanted to. “Jake wants to talk to you if you’re up to it about something…alone.”

 

Emily quirked an eyebrow and looked in Jacob’s direction, slowly settling down at the table. “Then why don’t you go rest and I’ll bring your tea up when it’s ready?” She suggested softly, placing her hand over his and smiled, letting him know everything was fine.

 

“I’m actually gonna take a shower first.” Sam stood up and kissed the top of her head, nodding at Jacob. “We’ll talk tomorrow about what happened tonight.” He wanted to give Jacob plenty of time to talk with Emily, having a sinking feeling he knew what it was about and headed upstairs to have that much needed shower.

 

Once Sam was out of sight and hearing, Emily turned her full attention on Jacob and took his hand, her kind dark eyes staring back at him. “Take your time, Jake.  I know something’s been bothering you lately.  I was waiting for you to come talk to me about it.”

 

Jacob couldn’t help chuckling, knowing Emily had a sixth sense about when one of the boys were hiding something or they were bothered. “Sorry.” He cleared his throat, slowly pulling his hand out of hers to clasp them together, resting his elbows on his knees. “The thing is…I don’t exactly know how to tell you this without sounding like a complete asshole.”

 

“One thing I’ve grown to respect about you, Jacob, is your straightforwardness about life.  You don’t hold anything back, even if it hurts someone’s feelings, which is a great quality to have.  You don’t take it too far though and know when to pick your battles.” Emily explained gently but firmly, wanting to give him the encouragement to spill out what he wanted to talk to her about. “Anything you tell me will stay between us, you know that.  I won’t even tell Sam.”

 

“I know.” Jacob took a deep breath and knew there was no turning back, raking a hand through his hair. “You know how I’ve been dating this girl from Forks named Amaya Robinson?” When Emily nodded, Jacob swallowed hard and suddenly had to stand up, pacing back and forth. “Well, we had a double date a few nights ago with her sister Kyrine and her…” His eyes suddenly darkened with inner rage and Jacob had to take several deep breaths before he could continue, beginning to tremble. “Date.” He practically hissed that last word out through gritted teeth.

 

“Yes I remember that.”

 

“Well, until that night I’d never met Kyrine McTavian and I found out that the girls were really cousins, but they view themselves as sisters.  The McTavian’s took Amaya in when she was a little girl after her parents died.” Jacob waved that off because it wasn’t important compared to what he had to tell Emily. “Look, I’m just gonna come right out and say it: I imprinted on Kyrine when I met her on the double date.”

 

Emily’s reaction was not one Jacob expected, expecting her to stand up and begin shouting every name in the book at him, telling him what a heartless man he was for what he was doing.  Instead, she merely sat there with her hands folded in her lap, looking calm as a cucumber, which confused him.  He slumped back in the chair and lowered his head in shame, knowing what he was doing with Amaya was completely wrong in every way, but he was trying with everything inside of him to ignore the imprint.

 

It was several minutes before Emily spoke. “So in other words, what you’re telling me is you’re dating your imprint’s sister.” When Jacob’s head shot up, Emily smiled sadly at him, having been in this situation before and understood why he was adamant about talking to her. “And you want me to tell you what to do about it because of what happened between me, Sam and Leah, correct?”

 

Jacob nodded silently again, the desperation in his dark eyes.

 

“All I can tell you is to follow your heart, Jacob.” Emily didn’t know what to say honestly because even she didn’t know how she managed to rip her own cousin apart by taking Sam away because of the imprinting. “What you’re doing with Amaya isn’t wrong.  You were dating her before you even imprinted and now you’re trying to stay with her because you think it’s the right thing to do.  I will tell you this though, imprinting can be one of the most terrible things you will ever experience because of how intense and deep the feelings and connection is between you and Kyrine.  I tried fighting Sam for months and months, sending him back to Leah whenever I could, but in the end the imprinting won over because it was too strong for both of us to ignore.” She stood up and kissed the top of his head, knowing she probably hadn’t told him exactly what he wanted to hear, but what he needed to instead. “I know you, you’re a great guy and you’ll make the right decision in the end.”

 

With that said, Jacob watched as Emily walked away from him and upstairs to check on Sam, a cup of tea in her hands and leaving Jacob wondering what exactly the right thing to do was.

 

Chapter 15

 

Kyrine never went to sleep after the wolf brought her home.

 

She took a shower to wash away the night’s events and changed into warm clean clothes, a simple long sleeved baby blue shirt with black pajama pants, thinking she’d be exhausted enough to sleep for a year.  Her lips were tinted blue, which didn’t surprise Kyrine in the slightest because she’d put her heart through a lot of strain from being scared to death thinking she was going to die.  Kyrine took in a shaky breath and contemplated asking her mother if she could stay home, but decided against it, desperately wanting to see Emmett. 

 

More importantly, she needed to be in his arms.

 

Kyrine swallowed hard, not able to get those blood red eyes out of her mind and decided sleep was definitely out of the question.  She knew the doctor wanted her to get proper sleep, but Kyrine was too terrified to even close her eyes, vowing to never leave the house in the middle of the night again.  Curling up on the huge windowsill, Kyrine leaned her head against the wall as tears slid down her cheeks while staring out the bay window, looking into the deep woods.

 

Her mind managed to replace the blood red eyed monster with the warm dark eyed wolf that saved her life.  Kyrine didn’t understand it, having always thought wolves were dangerous animals and never thought they were as big as the one she saw tonight.  There was something about those warm eyes that just drew Kyrine in and made her feel safe, like nothing in the entire world could harm her.  The most bizarre thing about the whole night was she actually trusted a wolf, a hot blooded animal that could rip her to shreds in two seconds, to take her home.

 

Kyrine pressed a hand over her heart and had managed to finally settle it down, knowing what happened tonight was the last excitement she could have until after the LVAD surgery.  It probably wasn’t best to keep seeing Emmett, but right now Kyrine didn’t care about the consequences, missing him like crazy.  A funny thing was Kyrine also missed Jacob Black and again she couldn’t comprehend why, the wolf actually reminding her of him.  How peculiar it was that a wolf reminded her of not only her sister’s boyfriend, but a man she knew absolutely nothing about besides how hot he was in bed, according to Amaya.

 

The full lit beautiful moon suddenly disappeared as the sun began peeking over the horizon and Kyrine knew everyone would be getting up soon.  She was taking the night from hell to the grave, refusing to tell anyone about it, and had destroyed all the evidence that proved she’d even left the house.  Amaya would simply berate her and her parents would keep her locked in the house until her surgery, which Kyrine simply didn’t need, not when she only had so much time left with Emmett.

 

Around six o’clock, Kyrine finally pulled herself off the windowsill and changed into school clothes for the day.  She kept the long sleeved baby blue top on and swapped her pajama pants for dark blue jeans, wanting to be simple today.  Surprisingly, the only mark that Kyrine sustained from the attack in the woods was a small gash on her head, though her hairline covered it up.  She’d been very lucky she hadn’t cracked it harder and sustained brain damage along with her heart condition.

 

That was all she needed was brain damage on top of a bad heart.

 

Shaking her head, Kyrine outlined her eyes –she put eye drops in them to get rid of the redness from her lack of sleep- with midnight blue eyeliner and painted her lips gloss, thankful they had turned back to a rosy pink instead of having the blue tint.  She brushed her hair again, leaving it down and slipped her white tennis shoes on before heading out, swinging her bag over her shoulder.  The smell of breakfast permeated the air and Kyrine was suddenly starving, walking downstairs toward the kitchen, her stomach growling.

 

“Morning.” She greeted softly, watching as Natalie used her waffle maker, a plateful of waffles already on the counter.

 

“Morning sweetheart.” Natalie greeted with a smile and walked over to set the syrup and butter on the table, a sparkle in her eyes.

 

Kyrine rolled her eyes when her mother turned her back, knowing her parents had made up for their arguments. “That smells really good, Mom.” She complimented, getting up to get a glass of orange juice, knowing she would more than likely catch a cold from being out in the woods.

 

“Thank you.” Natalie flipped a waffle over in the maker, soft country music playing from the radio above her head. “How did you sleep?”

 

“On and off.”

 

“Man, what the hell smells so good in here?” Amaya’s overly boisterous voice resonated throughout the house as she walked into the kitchen next, grinning from ear to ear.

 

“Waffles, Mom and Dad made up.” Kyrine stated deadpan, winking when her mother turned around to glare at her, though it didn’t meet her still sparkling eyes.

 

“Since when don’t I cook for my family?” Natalie shot back, already dressed for work in a pair of black dress pants with a dark red short sleeved dress top.

 

Amaya snorted, raising a slow eyebrow the same time Kyrine did, deciding to be the one to retort. “Since we moved in here.” She sat beside Kyrine, both of them giggling, just as Nicholas walked in with the same sparkling eyes as Natalie had.

 

Oh yeah, they definitely made up.

 

Scoffing, Natalie rolled her eyes and turned back to making breakfast, smiling when Nicholas’s arms wrapped around her waist, whispering something in her ear.  Both girls began laughing when Natalie’s cheeks tinged a dark crimson red, groaning when Nicholas followed that up by slapping her ass.  Kyrine had to lean against Amaya when Natalie squealed out her husband’s name and actually chucked a waffle at his head, causing him to whip around just in time to catch it, winking at her, before joining the girls at the table.

 

“That was totally wrong to witness and my poor virgin eyes will never be the same again!” Amaya cried out animatedly, smirking when Kyrine simply raised an eyebrow at her and nudged her at the table.

 

“Virgin eyes?” Nicholas chuckled softly, seeing Kyrine didn’t look bad today, which was a good sign that her heart was still pumping with life. “Did you sleep well, baby girl?”

 

“Yes Dad.” Kyrine answered for the third time and began devouring the bowl of fruit that was placed in front of her, ignoring everyone who was staring at her with wide eyes.

 

“Enough.” Natalie ordered, trying not to sound amused, and set the plate of waffles on the table so everyone could dig in.

 

Breakfast was great for the first time since Kyrine could remember, no tension and no fighting involved, not even an argument.  She ate two waffles along with the fruit, finally satisfied while Amaya ate two waffles with an orange.  She had a thing for oranges and always smelled like them, which apparently was very appealing to men.  When Natalie and Nicholas began feeding each other, the girls decided it was time to leave for school before they lost their breakfast they just ate.

 

“That was totally not what I needed to see first thing in the morning.” Amaya grunted, causing Kyrine to giggle as Amaya drove them to school like always. 

 

Because of Kyrine’s heart condition and the severity of it, she wasn’t allowed to drive until after she got a new heart.  Amaya didn’t think it was fair that her sister had to miss out on so many experiences and driving was definitely one of them.  Kyrine assured her that she wasn’t jealous and one day she would be able to get behind the wheel of a car, refusing to let anyone get her down.  Even the upcoming surgery, Kyrine was still optimistic and Amaya thought she was a true inspiration to anyone who had congestive heart failure.

 

They arrived at school, both deep in their thoughts and Amaya honestly missed Jacob, having gotten a text message from him saying he needed a few days to recover.  She smirked, knowing she wore his Quileute ass out, and decided to tease him a little while she was in the shower earlier that morning.  It was a small video, but would definitely get a rise out of him and Amaya couldn’t wait to receive a text or even a call from him about it.  One thing about Amaya, she was not a shy person and proud of her body, loving to show it off to those who she deemed worthy.

 

Jacob definitely was.

 

As soon as Kyrine stepped out of the car, Emmett was right there pulling her into his arms, hugging her close to him.  She blinked when he suddenly pushed her away, drawing her eyebrows together and watched as he wrinkled his nose almost as if in disgust.  Kyrine swallowed hard, wondering if he somehow smelled the woods on her, even though she’d taken an hour long shower as soon as she got back to the house.  Somehow, Emmett knew something wasn’t right and she looked over at her sister, thankful she was too busy texting on her phone to someone, probably Jacob.

 

That made her feel worse.

 

“Emmett, what’s wrong?” Kyrine couldn’t help asking, chewing her bottom lip as sadness filled her eyes, rejection slowly following.

 

He couldn’t help it.  Kyrine smelled like disgusting wet dogs, even though her body wash, usually smelling like sweet raspberries, but it wasn’t covering the foul stench up.  Who the hell had Kyrine been around from La Push?  More importantly, when did this happen because, according to Emmett’s memory, he’d been with her every waking moment, only leaving her when it was time for her to go to bed.

 

“Sorry.” He grunted, knowing he just hurt Kyrine and could see the refutation in her eyes, deciding he wouldn’t breathe her in while she smelled horrible. “Ky, I didn’t mean to do that sweetheart.  Please forgive me.”

 

“I-It’s alright…” Kyrine trailed off, having her arms wrapped around herself and sighed when Emmett pulled her right back into his embrace. “Is everything okay?”

 

Emmett smiled down at her, nodding and kissed her forehead softly. “Yeah, I missed you.” He also had felt like something happened the previous night, but didn’t want to jump to conclusions, especially while he was out hunting with the family. “I actually wanted to ask you something.”

 

Kyrine instantly felt the butterflies erupt in her stomach, staring up into those golden eyes of his. “What is it?” She quietly asked, knowing the bell was going to ring at any minute to go to class.

 

“What are you doing tonight?” Emmett blurted out, not meaning it to sound so forward, but he knew they were running out of time. “Are you free?”

 

“As far as I know.” Kyrine was all smiles again, leaning further against him. “What did you have in mind?”

 

“Well,” Emmett paused briefly to move behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder. “I want you to meet my family tonight.  Unless you want to do something else, but I don’t want to keep you a secret anymore.  I want to be with you in a relationship, boyfriend and girlfriend, whatever you want to call it.”

 

Kyrine closed her eyes and felt the guilt sweep over her because in a few days she was going to have to tell him she was going away for a month for the surgery.  Now he wanted to introduce her to his family, to take her into his home where he slept, his private haven.  This was starting to get out of hand, but as soon as Kyrine turned around to decline the offer, those golden topaz eyes locked with hers and she instantly melted.

 

Emmett definitely didn’t play fair.

 

“Sounds good to me.  I’ll send Amaya a quick text and we’ll come up with a story for my parents.” Kyrine told Emmett they were extremely overprotective of her and he hadn’t questioned anything more.

 

Emmett chuckled, kissing the top of her head. “What exactly are you going to tell them?” He wondered, raising an eyebrow when Kyrine chewed her bottom lip.

 

The light bulb suddenly clicked in Kyrine’s mind and she turned to quickly kiss Emmett on the lips, just as the bell rang. “I got it covered, I’ll meet you out in the parking lot after school.” She jogged away from him to catch up with Amaya, who was currently being hit on by a member of the Forks football team. “Maya, I gotta talk to you.” She grabbed her sister’s arm and guided her away from the jock, still feeling Emmett’s eyes on her.

 

“Where’s the fire woman?” Amaya demanded, blinking because she’d never seen Kyrine act like this, both of them slowing down once they were in the hallway.

 

“Sorry, but this is really important.” Kyrine took a few deep breaths, knowing jogging was definitely against doctor’s orders, but honestly didn’t care at the moment. “Emmett invited me out tonight to go meet his family.”

 

Amaya’s violet eyes widened, turning to fully face her sister as they both halted. “Seriously?” When Kyrine nodded, Amaya hugged her as tightly as she could, happy for her sister. “What are you going to tell Nat and Nick?”

 

Kyrine smiled innocently, her eyes filled with mischief. “Well, that’s where I need your help…”

 

Folding her arms, Amaya raised a slow eyebrow, listening to Kyrine’s plan. “Okay...Let me see if I got this straight, you wanna tell the rents that we’re going shopping and to a movie, so you can go with Emmett to meet his family.” When Kyrine nodded, Amaya couldn’t help laughing and there wasn’t a hint of amusement in her mirth. “So what do you expect me to do for those hours that you’re gone with Emmett?”

 

“Well…Why not go see Jacob?” Kyrine suggested, feeling a sudden sting of pain jolt through her body, ignoring it. “I know you guys are taking a few days apart, but I don’t have much time left before my surgery.” Her voice dropped lower, not wanting everyone in the hallway to overhear their conversation. “So please, please do this for me, Maya.  I’ve done a lot for you, especially in Miami when you wanted to sneak out to see a guy and I covered for you with Mom and Dad.  I’m not asking much and I think Jacob wants to see you.”

 

After the video Amaya sent him earlier that morning, she had no doubt in her mind he did, eyeballing her sister skeptically. “We have to be back at the house no later than eleven o’clock.  It’s a school night, which means our curfew sticks.” When Kyrine nodded, promising to be on time, they hugged and walked inside their first class just as the final bell rang, taking their seats.

 

Kyrine couldn’t stop smiling, hoping this school day ended rather quickly so she could be back in Emmett’s arms.

 

Chapter 16

 

The longest day of school finally ended and Kyrine met up with Emmett in the school parking lot with Amaya of course.  Amaya didn’t want to seem like an overprotective sister, but she was worried for her Kyrine’s safety because they didn’t know much about Emmett.  Hell, Amaya really had no room to talk considering she had sex on her first date with Jacob.  But it wasn’t the first time Amaya did that and it probably wouldn’t be the last.  Amaya had a sinking feeling her and Jacob wouldn’t last much longer and this was her innocent little sister, so her own rules didn’t apply.

 

“You sure you’re gonna be alright?” Amaya asked for the umpteenth time, glancing down at her sister, sighing when Kyrine rolled her eyes. “You know I worry about you because I love you.”

 

“Keep talking like that and I’m gonna start calling you Mom.” Kyrine smirked when Amaya made a face, winking. “I’ll be fine, I promise.  Emmett just wants to introduce me to his family and he’ll have me home on time.  We each have cell phones, there’s nothing to worry about.”

 

“Doesn’t matter, I’m still gonna worry about you.”

 

“Have you called Mom and Dad yet to tell them about what’s going on?” Kyrine suddenly asked, knowing she couldn’t just leave with Emmett unless the plan was set in stone.

 

Amaya rolled her eyes this time, snorting. “You really have no faith in me do you?” It was a rhetorical question and caused a frown to form on Kyrine’s face.

 

“I didn’t mean…”

 

Amaya laughed softly, kissing the top of Kyrine’s head. “I’m just fucking with you, Kyrie.” She dodged a slap from Kyrine as they headed toward Emmett, who was waiting by his Jeep Wrangler, tilting her head slightly at his vehicle of choice.

 

“Hey beautiful.” Emmett greeted, hopping off of the back of the jeep, smiling from ear to ear with pearly white teeth that Amaya knew couldn’t be natural. “Everything set?”

 

Kyrine nodded, looking up at her sister with an encouraging smile. “Yeah, Maya is just being a little overprotective and wanted to say something to you.” All Kyrine could hope was that her sister didn’t embarrass her in front of her boyfriend.

 

Emmett simply stared back at Amaya with slightly narrowed golden eyes, remembering their earlier confrontation when Kyrine had been with her Mom instead of at school.  He simply asked Amaya one question and she bit his head off for not minding his own business.  The woman definitely had an anger issue, one that she had to fix before she walked up to the wrong person one day and they destroyed her.  Because Amaya meant everything to Kyrine, Emmett hadn’t spent an ounce of energy on her by fighting, simply asking her to tell Kyrine to call him when Amaya saw her.

 

Amaya was thinking about the same thing and flashed him a cocky grin, violet eyes gleaming wickedly. “I don’t think I have to tell you that if you don’t take care of my sister and have her home on time, I will hurt you.” Kyrine didn’t know about their little confrontation, deciding what her sister didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. “Do we understand each other?”

 

Hurt him?  Emmett could rip Amaya apart in two seconds if he really wanted to, knowing there was no way she could ever harm a hair on his head.  Of course, Kyrine didn’t know all of his secrets and Emmett planned on revealing them all tonight with his family. 

 

If he was going to have a meaningful relationship based on honesty and trust, Emmett couldn’t keep anything from her, including what exactly his family was.  He’d already went to Esme and asked if he could have a guest over that night, not really giving her any details.  When Esme asked if this was the woman he’d been spending all of his time with lately, having heard from Alice and Jasper, Emmett simply nodded and that was all that had to be said.

 

“I’ll have her back on time safe and sound.” Emmett promised, refusing to let Amaya ruin his mood and pulled Kyrine away from her into his arms, kissing the top of her head. “Ready Ky?”

 

“As I’ll ever be.”

 

Amaya watched like a hawk as Emmett helped Kyrine into his Jeep Wrangler before getting behind the wheel, driving out of the school parking lot.  She looked down at her cell phone when it signaled she’d received a new text message, sliding her phone open to read it. Wanna meet up for a few hours and hang out?  It was from Jacob.  This plan was working out better than Amaya originally intended, knowing her teasing video had definitely lit something under him.

 

See you soon. Sending him a quick text back, Amaya slipped into her car and headed toward the La Push border, knowing Jacob wanted to meet in their secret place.

 

Kyrine wasn’t surprised when she received a text from Amaya, laughing softly. “Lord…”

 

“What?” Emmett glanced over at her while driving through the woods toward the Cullen house, which was deep in the woods just on the outskirts of Forks.

 

“My sister is insane, that’s what.” Kyrine flipped her phone closed and turned it on silent, slipping it into her bag out of sight. “She sent her boyfriend a video this morning, wanting to tease him because he asked her for a few days break, and apparently he had a change of heart because she’s on her way to see him now.”

 

“Your sister is insane.” Emmett couldn’t help agreeing and actually felt a twinge of pity for Jacob Black, wondering if the dog realized what he got himself into. “She’s a wild one eh?”

 

“You have no idea.”

 

The rest of the drive was made with small conversation, Amaya dropped for the time being, though Emmett had been mildly curious about how crazy Amaya exactly was.  He didn’t understand how Kyrine and Amaya could be related in any way because they were completely different, yet best friends.  While Kyrine was sweet and shy keeping to herself, Amaya was out-going and had a no prisoner’s attitude, not caring what people thought of her.  He both respected and loathed it, especially after being snapped on for simply asking where Kyrine was that day she was with her mother.

 

Kyrine couldn’t help wondering what she was going to do about Emmett once she had to go away for surgery.  It didn’t help her surgery was going to be right in Forks because everyone at school, including her principal, thought she was going out of town for a month regarding family matters.  She felt guilty for lying to everyone, but Kyrine honestly didn’t need the community knowing about her sickness, knowing it would just complicate things with her life. 

 

In Miami, everyone knew everything about her congestive heart failure and threw fundraisers for her among other things.  They tried to raise money for the family even though they were financially well off.  It was terrible being pitied and constantly asked if she was alright every day she would go to school, just wanting to be regular.  It’s not that Kyrine didn’t appreciate what the community did for her, but eventually it got tiring.

 

She wanted to keep it that way in Forks High School if at all possible.

 

When they pulled up to the huge glass house, Kyrine’s mouth fell open, her big midnight blue eyes widening as far as they could go. “This…is where you live?” She looked over at him, blushing when Emmett laughed and slipped out of the car to open the passenger door for her, extending his arm.

 

“Welcome to the Cullen home,” He grinned at her shocked state, finding her even more beautiful when she blushed, those rosy cheeks adding to her splendor. “My lady.”

 

“Thank you, kind sir.” Kyrine giggled when Emmett snorted, their playful banter common and it was one of the main reasons why Emmett was drawn to her to begin with.

 

Together, they walked up the stairs to the front door and Emmett opened it, allowing Kyrine to step in first.  Kyrine couldn’t believe how beautiful the décor of the house was, not knowing what exactly she was expecting, thinking the Cullen’s definitely had great taste.  Emmett gently took her small black jacket off and hung it up, along with his, before taking her hand guiding her through the house to the sitting room. 

 

Nobody was there yet and Emmett knew Carlisle would be a little late because of his job while Esme had a clothing line she worked on strictly through the internet, having recently started it up with Alice’s help.  Jasper did his own thing, though Emmett wasn’t exactly sure what that was, and didn’t stick his nose in other’s business unless he was brought into it.  Emmett guided Kyrine toward the couch as they both sat down, smiling when she snuggled against his side, rubbing her shoulder up and down soothingly. 

 

He hadn’t discussed exposing the Cullen’s secret with the family, but Emmett figured since Edward hadn’t done that with Bella, he didn’t have to do it with Kyrine.  He was ready to tell her everything, but didn’t want to blurt it out.  He had to somehow ease the secret into their conversation, deciding maybe a hypothetical approach would be best.  As much as he wanted to, Emmett didn’t feel the need to expose the Quileute tribe’s secret because that had nothing to do with his secret besides they were mortal enemies.

 

Nothing more, nothing less.

 

“So what’s on your mind?” Kyrine asked, leaning against her folded up knuckle while her elbow leaned against the couch, knowing Emmett brought her here for a reason.

 

Emmett couldn’t stop staring at her and didn’t want the way she was looking at him now to disappear after he revealed his secret.  That’s what he feared most is that she would laugh at him or run away screaming in terror.  If Emmett knew what Kyrine went through the previous night, he wouldn’t be nearly as hesitant as he was now.  They had only been dating for a short amount of time, but Emmett knew he was already falling for her…faster than he had with Rosalie.

 

“Whatever it is, you can tell me, Emmett.” Kyrine rose up to wrap her arms around his strong muscular neck, staring into his beautiful tawny eyes with a soft smile. “I know we haven’t known each other that long, but there’s nothing you can tell me that I won’t understand.  I’m not easy to scare off, remember?”

 

“I know, I know.” Emmett grumbled, hating that she was right, but also loved it at the same time because she knew just what to say to make him feel better. “I just…I don’t want you to not…” He didn’t know how to say this, pressing his forehead to hers. “The way you’re looking at me now might change once I tell you what I need to.  I don’t want it to change because I love the way you look at me.  Do you understand what I’m saying, Ky?”

 

Kyrine didn’t know what to say honestly and nodded, simply staying where she was with kind blue eyes. “I’ll never not look at you the way I am right now.” She promised, hoping that didn’t sound stupid because it didn’t make sense as soon as the words left her lips. “Just tell me.  Rip the band-aid off with no anesthesia, get it over with.  That’s what Amaya always tells me whenever I have a problem telling her something personal.”

 

Emmett took a deep breath, deciding he wasn’t going to stall anymore and removed her arms from around his neck, instead holding his hands in hers in front of him. “I’m dead.” He blurted out, watching the confusion instantly register in Kyrine’s eyes and cringed when her hands suddenly slid out of his.

 

“W-What are you talking about?” There was no humor in her stammer and Kyrine wondered if this was a sick joke, blinking. “Emmett, what are you talking about?  You can’t be dead…”

 

“I am.” Emmett took her hand and slid it under his shirt against his ice cold skin, until it rested against where his heart should’ve moved with life, his eyes locking with hers. “I exist, but I’m not alive.  I’m a vampire, Kyrine.” He sighed when she paled even more than normal, yanking her hand from beneath his shirt to press it against her warm chest over her beating heart. “Please…”

 

Kyrine didn’t say anything for a good long while, simply staring at her boyfriend as the shock flooded through her, trying to think clearly.  She opened and closed her mouth several times, but no words were coming out, knowing Emmett was getting upset.  When he went to stand up, her hand shot out to stop him from doing so, pulling him back down even though he let her, their eyes locking again. 

 

“Vampires…exist?” She slowly asked, remembering how scared Emmett was prior to telling her this, so the last thing Kyrine wanted to do was freak out in front of him. “I always thought they were a fantasy or myth.” Honestly not knowing what to think, Kyrine knew Emmett definitely wasn’t lying to her because of how rock hard his body was and he didn’t have a beating heart.

 

“A lot of people think that.” Emmett couldn’t believe she was reacting this way, definitely not expecting it, glad he was honest with her. “If you have any questions, feel free to ask them.  I won’t keep anything from you.”

 

Not knowing what to ask, Kyrine decided to just ask whatever was off the top of her head. “So…you can live without a beating heart?” Kyrine couldn’t help asking because of her current situation, trying to slow her own down because she’d been through enough the previous night.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“And…how old are you?”

 

Emmett smirked, pulling her to sit sideways on his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist while she leaned her head against his shoulder, still looking up at her with curious blue eyes. “I’m over a hundred.” He wasn’t going to pinpoint his exact age and ran a finger down her cheek, the roses blooming once more. “But to everyone in school, I’m seventeen, but I was changed at the age of twenty.”

 

Kyrine went to ask him something else when they heard throats clear behind them, jumping off of Emmett’s lap as they both hastily stood up from the couch.  Her blue eyes widened at the sight of her doctor, Carlisle Cullen, and knew this was definitely a mistake coming here, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.  So her suspicions had been confirmed: Emmett was Carlisle’s father or whatever. 

 

He was standing before her with wide golden eyes alongside who Kyrine could only guess as being Esme.  There were two other people standing in the doorway and Kyrine instantly recognized them as Alice and Jasper, Emmett mentioning them during one of the times they hung out.  Alice and Jasper noticed Carlisle’s widened eyes and immediately looked at Kyrine, piercing the puzzle pieces together, having their suspicions.

 

She was Carlisle’s heart patient he’d been upset about.

 

Chapter 17

 

“Kyrine.” Carlisle finally stepped forward with a gentle smile, extending his hand to her, and had no idea that THIS was Emmett’s current girlfriend. “So you’re the girl that’s had Emmett’s mind preoccupied these past days, hmm?”

 

Her cheeks turned even darker and Kyrine didn’t know what to think or do, completely forgetting about her suspicions regarding her new doctor. “I guess I am.” She looked up at Emmett with a small smile, her hand slowly slipping out of Carlisle’s, Emmett instantly taking it.

 

Carlisle bit back a frown because of how cold her hand was, which was due to poor circulation because of her heart, worry shining in his eyes. “How are you feeling, Kyrine?” He had to ask and watched as she tensed from head to toe, drawing his perfectly shaped eyebrows together.

 

“Why don’t we go get some refreshments?” Esme suggested before the girl could utter a word, smiling softly and pulled Carlisle gently by the arm, trying to be polite.

 

Emmett was more confused than ever and actually scratched his head, Alice and Jasper walking in to sit down on the other couch. “That was weird.” He commented, looking down at his girlfriend, watching her shoulders shrug and did the same thing himself. “Have you met Carlisle before, Ky?”

 

Kyrine closed her eyes, knowing she couldn’t lie to Emmett because she had a feeling Carlisle would end up telling Emmett that she was his patient. “Yes I have.”

 

She walked over to sit back down and tried figuring out how she was going to get out of here without Emmett finding out her own secret.  The guilt already surfaced because Emmett was brave enough to tell her what the Cullen family was, which explained a lot as far as Carlisle’s youthful flawless look, but Kyrine couldn’t bring herself to tell him about her heart condition.  Emmett could tell something was bothering Kyrine and took his place beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, letting her know he was there for her no matter what.

 

“Here we are.” Esme walked in with a tray full of glasses filled with water, setting it down on the table, taking one herself.

 

Carlisle followed after with another tray of cookies, looking over at his wife as if she’d lost her mind.  He remembered when Edward brought Bella over for the first time and they tried making Italian for her, only for Edward to say that she’d already eaten.  It was definitely amusing, though Emmett’s ex didn’t think so and ended up shattering a bowl in her bare hands right in front of Bella.  Of course, Bella already knew their secret so it wasn’t a huge shock to her.  To make sure that didn’t happen again, Esme decided to take a simpler approach with water and cookies, thinking Emmett didn’t tell his new girlfriend about them. 

 

She didn’t realize Kyrine already knew about their secret.

 

“Thank you, Mrs. Cullen.” Kyrine politely said, taking a glass of water and cookie, chomping on it with a smile.

 

“Please call me, Esme.”

 

“And you can call me Carlisle since we’re not in the hospital anymore, Kyrine.” Carlisle requested and took a glass of water his wife handed him, trying not to wrinkle his nose at it.

 

Emmett laughed and shook his head when Esme handed him a glass next, clearing his throat. “I already told her, you guys.” He stated, cringing when Esme dropped the tray and Jasper in lightning quick reflexes caught it with one finger, the glasses not tipping over or anything.

 

It was amazing.

 

“So, how do you two know each other exactly?” Alice inquired, looking from Carlisle to Kyrine with an innocent smile, her twinkling voice sounding like bells.

 

“She’s a patient of mine.” Carlisle answered before Kyrine could, watching her eyes widen and immediately regretted saying that. “You haven’t told Emmett yet, have you?”

 

Kyrine couldn’t look at Emmett, tears stinging the back of her eyes, but she wouldn’t show them. “No.” It was time to leave as Kyrine stood up, trembling a little. “This has all been fun and everything, but I’m not feeling very well.  Emmett, I need to go home.”

 

Emmett frowned, wondering what came over Kyrine all of a sudden and noticed she refused to look at him. “Wait a minute, what are you talking about Carlisle?  What hasn’t she told me yet and why is she a patient of yours?” So many questions flew out of his mouth at once, his eyes locking with the man he considered to be his father. “I want to know what the hell is going on right now.”

 

“No!” Kyrine yelled, completely panicked by now and instantly covered her mouth with her hand with huge midnight blue eyes, not believing she just did that. 

 

Every single pair of golden eyes landed on her and Kyrine suddenly felt very exposed and vulnerable, shaking her head at Carlisle, pleading him silently not to say anything.  Kyrine had no idea what came over her, but she didn’t want Emmett knowing she was deathly sick, wanting to enjoy whatever time she had left with him.  The LVAD surgery could kill her, Kyrine wasn’t stupid by any means and had done extensive research on the procedure, not wanting any surprises.  Carlisle had covered nearly everything the internet said, but Kyrine still checked and Natalie called Doctor Miles to make sure he agreed with what Doctor Cullen’s prognosis.

 

“You’re the girl aren’t you?” Alice stood up, a frown marring her pale features and slowly walked toward the alarmed human. “You’re the one Carlisle was so upset about…” Jasper and Alice had tried everything to find out exactly who the teenage girl was that Carlisle had spoken privately to Esme about.

 

“How did you know about that?” Carlisle demanded, standing up from his seat, folding his arms in front of his chest while glaring at his children. “You eavesdropped on my conversation with Esme?”

 

Alice lowered her eyes along with Jasper, even Emmett looking guilty, and Carlisle merely stood there stunned. “I told you I heard someone outside the door.” Esme stated, standing up alongside her husband, trying to diffuse the situation. “No matter, it’s obvious what is going on here.” She walked over to where Kyrine stood, gently nudging Alice to the side, and couldn’t help feeling the way her husband did because Kyrine was incredibly young to have to endure congestive heart failure. “Sit down, Kyrine.  You don’t need to be afraid, no one is going to hurt you here.”

 

“Is she the one, Carlisle?” Jasper wasn’t letting it go, watching as Carlisle nodded solemnly and looked over at the human girl with sadness in his eyes. “She’s so young…”

 

“I know.”

 

“Enough both of you.” Esme ordered, golden eyes flashing at both Jasper and her husband, telling them silently that the poor girl was terrified.

 

“I want to go home.” Kyrine couldn’t be here right now and blinked as a few tears slid down her cheeks, refusing to do what Esme or anyone else said. “Emmett…”

 

Then it suddenly dawned on Emmett what Alice and Jasper were referring to, remembering the eavesdropping conversation and felt his eyes slowly move to where Kyrine stood.  She was Carlisle’s heart patient?  Kyrine was sick and he didn’t even know about it?  She didn’t look that sick, granted her pale complexion he chalked up to not getting a lot of sun, but then Emmett remembered she used to live in sunny hot Miami, Florida.  Her hands were freezing all the time, again he didn’t think anything of it and thought that’s just who she was.

 

“Kyrine…”

 

“Please don’t.” She whispered, blinking as huge tears slid down her face and if Emmett had a beating heart, it would’ve broken instantly. “Just take me home, Emmett.”

 

“What surgery are you having?” Emmett wasn’t moving an inch, watching her tense even more and didn’t care, refusing to back down. “What death sentence did you give her, Carlisle?  What does she have?”

 

“I don’t want to talk about it!” Kyrine snapped, feeling Emmett grip her shoulders and kept her head down, wishing Amaya was here to take her away. “It’s none of your business!  It’s patient confidentiality, right Doctor Cullen?” How did Emmett even know she was having surgery?

 

“It has to do with her heart.” Alice piped in, ignoring the angry look Carlisle and Esme shot her. “I’m guessing it’s a surgery to help buy her time until her donor is ready.  She needs a heart transplant, I’m guessing.”

 

It felt as though Kyrine’s entire world was crashing down around her at warp speed and she couldn’t believe the audacity of Carlisle Cullen to mention his patients outside of the office. “How dare you!” She suddenly shouted, gritting her teeth as more tears fell from her eyes, not caring how fast her heart pounded at the moment. “How could you break the patient confidentiality by telling your family about me!  I trusted you, Doctor Cullen and so did Doctor Miles and my own family!  How could you do this to me?”

 

“He didn’t do anything, we did.” Alice said in a soft voice, knowing she had really upset the human girl, but Emmett had a right to know what exactly he was getting involved with. “We overheard him talking to Esme about an upcoming surgery he had to perform on a teenage girl that was life-threatening.  He didn’t mention a name and he didn’t say exactly what the surgery was, only that he had handed her a death sentence.  Jasper and I have been trying to figure out who it is for the past few days and couldn’t…until now.” The explanation was enough for Kyrine to calm down a little, though the anger still burned in her blue eyes. “Please don’t be angry with him.  Be angry with me and Jasper.  Emmett didn’t even care about the conversation because he was too busy being excited about his double date with you and your sister.”

 

“I came clean with you about everything I am, Ky.” Emmett stated, having kept silent long enough and forced her to meet his eyes by lifting her chin with his finger. “You told me not to be afraid to tell you my secrets…that you would understand no matter what.  Now I’m asking you to do the same thing for me.  I’m asking you to trust me enough to tell me what’s going on about every aspect of your life.”

 

He was right and no matter how much Kyrine wanted to run in the opposite direction, she knew she couldn’t. “Sit down.” She ordered in a soft voice, knowing this was going to be difficult for him to hear along with everyone else except Carlisle. “I’ll tell you everything.”

 

Doing as she said, Emmett lowered himself back on the couch, pulling her down with him and kept a firm arm around her shoulders so she couldn’t run away. “Take your time, beautiful.  I’m here for you, no matter what.” He promised, kissing her forehead and that just made more tears fall from Kyrine’s eyes.

 

“Part me of me wishes you weren’t because then this would be so much easier.” Kyrine whimpered, taking a tissue from Alice who sat beside her, Jasper next to her while Carlisle and Esme remained standing. 

 

Starting at the beginning, Kyrine explained how she was diagnosed with congestive heart failure at the age of six.  That followed with a lot of different medications and surgeries, until three years ago at the age of fourteen when she was told she needed a new heart in order to survive.  Kyrine was instantly placed on the transplant list, but nothing came and she knew her time was running out.  That was until Doctor Miles came to her a few months ago telling her he found her a heart and it was here in Forks, her reason for moving from Miami.  The donor was currently on life support and couldn’t be removed until their family returned from overseas to say goodbye to their loved one. 

 

Her eyes slowly looked up at Emmett, having been looking down at her hands the entire time so she didn’t lose her nerve when explaining her heart condition. “I lied to you and I’m sorry.  I was with my Mom, but I went to my first appointment with Doctor Cullen to see how my heart was progressing.  I didn’t know if you were related to him or not and I meant to ask you when I saw you again, but it slipped my mind.  He told me my heart wouldn’t last me another month if I didn’t have an LVAD surgery done, which is basically this little device that pumps my heart for me and gives it a chance to rest and wait for my new heart.”

 

“When is the surgery?” Alice asked, seeing Emmett was stunned by everything he just heard and trying to digest it all, her voice quiet.

 

“Friday.”

 

Emmett’s eyes shot open, staring down at his sick girlfriend and swallowed hard as all the culpable tears poured down her face. “Friday…W-What were you going to tell me, Kyrine?” He was almost afraid to ask and had a sinking feeling he knew what the answer was.

 

Kyrine buried her face in her hands, knowing Emmett would hate hearing this next part. “I was going to end things with you before the surgery.” It was only a few days away. “Please understand, I don’t want anyone knowing about my condition because…in Miami, everyone was so understanding and kind to me that it was unnerving.  They would throw fundraisers to help raise money on my behalf, do car washes, even though my family is financially stable.  They were exceedingly kind, almost if they were forced to be, and I felt like everyone was always walking around on eggshells around me.  Forks was my chance to be normal like everyone else, my one chance to live fully, before my heart transplant.”

 

“What did you tell the principal and all your teachers, Kyrine?” Esme asked, somewhat baffled by what Kyrine’s explanation and honestly didn’t blame her for wanting to be treated normally.

 

“My Mom told them I was going away for a month or so to my grandparents for personal reasons.” Kyrine answered, wiping her tears away and knew Emmett was furious with her, not blaming him at all. “I don’t want pity because I’ve been living with this illness for over a decade and I know what my chances are at survival.  This surgery will help me, as much as I don’t want to do it, I know it’s in my best interest to have it done.  My teachers are giving me my schoolwork on Thursday and if I miss more than a month, they agreed to send it with Amaya to give it to me and I would send it back.” She slowly stood up from the couch and stepped a few feet away from it, knowing Emmett needed some time to himself to maul everything over. “I’m sorry for lying to you, Emmett.  I never thought a guy would even be remotely interested in me and I was fine with it…until you came along and changed my whole outlook on everything.  I’ll never be able to repay you for all you’ve done for me, for actually treating me as a normal girl and making me feel things I’ve never felt before.” There was no way Kyrine was telling him her dreams about Jacob Black, knowing that would just anger and upset Emmett more than he already was. “I-I don’t know what else to say except…I’m sorry…”

 

He didn’t say anything for awhile, just sat there with his hands clenched tightly together staring straight ahead, every part of his body tensed. “There’s only one thing I want, Kyrine.” He finally spoke, slowly standing up from the couch and walked toward her, ignoring everyone else in the room for the moment. “And that’s you.” Before Kyrine could even open her mouth to protest, Emmett’s lips captured hers in a fiery kiss that made her weak in the knees, gripping his arms to keep from collapsing. “You can’t get rid of me that easily, beautiful.” He murmured against her lips once the kiss broke, rubbing his nose against hers. “And I’m going to be there with you every step of the way from here on out, I promise.”

 

All Kyrine could do was look in his eyes and knew he was telling her the truth, a newfound hope restored within her heart. 

 

Jacob Black suddenly entered her mind and Kyrine felt the urge she had to tell him about her condition, not able to comprehend why.  He popped up in her thoughts out of nowhere, even when she was with Emmett, which hadn’t happened until now.  Something definitely wasn’t right and Kyrine wondered if maybe she should talk to someone about this, not understanding.  She knew she was slowly losing her mind, especially when she began feeling guilty for telling Emmett about her heart condition and not Jacob.  Kyrine had no idea she would have these feelings and an unbreakable connection as long as she was breathing.

 

After spending a little more time with the Cullen’s and calming down, Emmett took her home, the drive made in silence, with Kyrine trying to think of a way to forget Jacob Black existed, while Emmett contemplated what would happen if he lost Kyrine.

 

Chapter 18

 

“You actually TOLD him?”

 

Kyrine nodded and looked down at her freshly painted blue toenails, both girls giving each other home pedicures, knowing Amaya was shocked. “Yeah, I had no choice because his father is Doctor Cullen.  He’s the one who is going to perform the surgery.” She explained softly, pressing her cheek against her knee.

 

“Wow…” Amaya let out a whistle while finishing her hot pink toenails, blowing on them a little. “So I take it your time with Emmett isn’t going to be over before Friday after all?”

 

“Not at all.” Kyrine actually smiled and squirmed her toes a little, chuckling when Amaya smacked the top of her feet to make her stop. “I wasn’t looking forward to ending things with him and I’m relieved I came clean before it was too late.”

 

“What made you decide to tell him anyway?” Amaya asked, mildly curious and set the nail polish down on the nightstand, leaning back with her feet angled up so her toes would dry faster.

 

Now Kyrine was in a dilemma because she didn’t know whether or not she should tell Amaya about the Cullen secret.  She couldn’t just come right out and say Emmett and his family were vampires, Amaya would’ve laughed her out of the bedroom.  Not to mention Kyrine hadn’t asked Emmett if she could tell her sister about what they were, so she didn’t know if it was a good idea or not.

 

Half of Kyrine wanted to stay loyal to Emmett, but the other half kept reminding her that she kept absolutely nothing from Amaya.

 

They were enjoying the evening together because it would be the last one for awhile, the parents having left them alone to have dinner with a couple they’d met while grocery shopping the other day.  Actually, it was Natalie who dragged Nicholas along, explaining to him that it would be rude if she showed up at another married woman’s house without her husband in tow.  Nicholas grumbled the whole way out the door, mumbling about missing yet another game because of his wife’s social customs.

 

The girls could only laugh and ordered pizza, thanks to Natalie forking over some money before departing.

 

“If I tell you why I told him about my condition, you have to swear to me you won’t freak out, kick me out of your room and tell every living soul what a lunatic I am.” Kyrine decided since she trusted Amaya with her life that she could tell her about the Cullen’s, knowing Amaya could keep a secret better than anyone.

 

Amaya couldn’t help laughing at how serious Kyrine looked, wondering what had gotten into her and bit her lip when Kyrine began pouting. “Oh come on Kyrie, the look on your face was priceless, how could I not laugh?” She retorted, dodging a pillow that Kyrine lunged at her.

 

“Never mind, I’m not telling you now.”

 

Amaya tried not to laugh and gave her best pout, violet eyes pleading. “Please?  I swear on my own grave I won’t freak out, kick you out of my room and tell every living soul that you’re a lunatic.” She vowed, holding her hand while reciting Kyrine’s demands. “Your secrets are safe with me, Kyrie.”

 

Eyeballing her skeptically for a minute, Kyrine leaned back against the headboard with her arms folded in front of her chest. “Fine, I was going to tell you anyway.” She chuckled when Amaya rolled her eyes, making a hand gesture that told her to continue. “Emmett told me something about him and his family that…quite frankly I still can’t believe.” Vampires existed is what Kyrine actually meant, but she wasn’t just going to come out and say that. “Since he trusted me enough to tell me his secret, I had to tell him mine, especially with Doctor Cullen standing there asking me how I was.” It was definitely gauche.

 

“So what was his big secret?” Amaya urged, seeing how nervous her sister was, feeling her stomach tighten. “They’re not like orgy lovers are they?”

 

“Oh my god, no!” Kyrine gagged, not believing what a sick and twisted mind Amaya had. “Is that all you can think about is sex?”

 

Amaya smirked, not ashamed of her insatiable sexual appetite. “Hey, it has to be something completely off the wall and nine times out of ten, it has to do with sex.” She stated bluntly, beginning to start her second coat of polish. “So out with it, what is so secretive about Emmy and his family?”

 

Kyrine giggled at Amaya’s choice nickname for Emmett, knowing he wouldn’t appreciate it, but she couldn’t help finding it amusing. “Emmy?  Do not let him hear you call him that.” Kyrine’s eyes bugged out when Amaya grinned, saying he already had. “Oh lord…”

 

“Stop stalling, Kyrie.”

 

“Emmett and his family are…not like us.” Kyrine remembered how Emmett told her and bit her bottom lip, refusing to just blurt out they were dead. “They’re different…”

 

Amaya’s eyebrow quirked, stopping in mid brush to look up at Kyrine. “Different how exactly?” She didn’t like the way this conversation headed and had a feeling she would screw her toes up if she continued, deciding to wait until Kyrine finally finished. “Just say it, Kyrie.  It’s not that hard and it can’t be that bad.”

 

“It’s not exactly bad, just kind of…unbelievable, I guess?” Kyrine didn’t know what other word to use and looked down at her toes, more interested in them than this discussion. “I’m trying to tell you, it’s just hard because I don’t want you to think I’m messing with you.”

 

“Didn’t I already promise and swear on my own grave I wouldn’t freak out or laugh?” Amaya grunted, hurt shining in her violet eyes by now. “Obviously you don’t trust me enough to tell me, so just forget it.”

 

Kyrine groaned, hating it when Amaya guilt-tripped her, and took a deep breath. “They’re vampires.” She divulged, refusing to meet Amaya’s eyes that had suddenly shot open. “I know you don’t believe me, but it’s the truth.  Emmett doesn’t have a beating heart, he showed me and that explains why they’re so pale and have flawless complexions.  It’s why Emmett always feels so cold and hard against me, like marble, when we’re touching.  I didn’t want to believe it either, but…it’s the truth, Maya.  Vampires exist…”

 

As much as Amaya wanted to laugh and not believe a word Kyrine just said, something wouldn’t allow her to do it.  Truth was, Amaya knew something was going on with Jacob, but for the life of her she couldn’t figure it out.  His skin was always hot to the touch, but felt amazing to Amaya because it wasn’t hard for him to warm her up. 

 

When she questioned him about his body temperature, Jacob simply brushed it off and changed the subject, which Amaya respected.  Now that Kyrine was telling her about the Cullen’s being vampires, it made her wonder about Jacob and what exactly was going on with him, deciding she had to find out.  He’d been distant from her the previous night during sex and Amaya confronted him about it afterwards, only for Jacob to thank her for another incredible romp and headed out to work.

 

Who the hell worked at a mechanic shop at ten o’clock at night?

 

“I believe you.” Amaya meant it and didn’t smile or anything when Kyrine’s head shot up to stare at her in disbelief. “Don’t ask me why I do because under normal circumstances I wouldn’t, but from the moment we moved here, I knew this place was different from Miami.”

 

“Why?”

 

Amaya shrugged nonchalantly, resuming her pedicure with mild interest. “I don’t know, just a feeling I guess.” She didn’t need to burden Kyrine with her silly assumptions about her boyfriend, wanting tonight to be about them. “And if you say that they’re vampires, then that’s what they are.”

 

Kyrine was stunned at how cool and calm Amaya was about her revelation, wondering if maybe she was sick or something. “It doesn’t bother you even a little?” She pried a little more, trying to get more emotion or…hell Kyrine didn’t even know what she was trying to get out of Amaya. “They don’t drink human blood either.  They explained it all to me at the house.”

 

“What do they drink then?”

 

Amaya still wasn’t staring at her like she’d grown three heads, alarming Kyrine. “Maya, are you even hearing what I’m saying?” She waved her hand in front of Amaya’s face, chuckling when she shot Kyrine a deadly glare.

 

“Of course I am!  I just asked what they drink didn’t I?” She blew on her toenails a little, having finished the second coat and wondered what Jacob would think about her color choice. “I’m listening to you Kyrie, okay?  I don’t think you’re insane or have lost your marbles.  I believe you, I’m simply asking questions.”

 

“That’s just it.” Kyrine suddenly stood up and began pacing in front of Amaya, chewing her bottom lip, her toenails already dry. “Why DO you believe me so easily?  I wanted to freak out and bolt in the opposite direction when Emmett told me…”

 

“But you didn’t.”

 

Kyrine opened her mouth to say something and immediately closed it, sinking back down on the bed. “You’re right.” She whispered, suddenly understanding why Amaya was so calm about this because that’s exactly how Kyrine had acted when Emmett told her. “I mean…I didn’t want him touching me at first, but…I didn’t flip out and call him a liar.  So why would I expect you to do that?”

 

Amaya smiled softly, scooting over very carefully so she didn’t ruin her pedicure. “Listen to me, Kyrie, there isn’t any reason for me not to trust you or believe what you tell me about anything.  I’ve always believed there’s supernatural beings out there around us, like spirits and witches.  Hell, there’s even a religion based solely on witchcraft.  Granted, vampires I never did believe existed except in movies and nightmares, but obviously they do.” She pulled back a little, staring into Kyrine’s blue eyes. “The real question is: Do you believe what Emmett told you?”

 

“Of course I do.” Her voice was softer now, Kyrine smiling shyly as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “He’s given me absolutely no reason not to trust him.  There’s no reason why he would just blurt out ‘I’m dead’ unless it was the truth.” Kyrine knew deep down she was trying to convince herself more than Amaya and, as always, Amaya grounded her to make sure she thought things over. “When he found out I was sick, he told me he wasn’t going anywhere and I couldn’t get rid of him that easily.”

 

For the first time since Kyrine and Emmett started seeing each other, Amaya was starting to see Emmett in a whole new light. “He really does care for you.” She commented and stood up from the bed, both of their stomachs growling. “I didn’t think he did at first.”

 

This was new as Kyrine stood up to follow Amaya out of the room, both of them heading downstairs toward the kitchen. “Why?” She trusted Amaya more than anyone and wondered why she hadn’t voiced her opinion of Emmett until now.

 

“It’s not important.”

 

Kyrine stopped her on the stairs, turning her around until their eyes met. “Be honest with me, Maya.  Why didn’t you think he cared about me until now?” She wasn’t letting this subject drop, pursing her lips tightly together when it looked like Amaya was battling inner demons. “Tell me.”

 

Amaya sighed and knew she opened up a whole can of worms by opening her mouth, groaning. “Look, I just…I thought all he was after was what every man is usually after, Kyrie.  He approached you out of nowhere, when none of the other guys in school did, and it was a little suspicious to me.  I thought he was using you for some reason and that’s why I was extremely protective of you against him.” When Kyrine raised an eyebrow, Amaya knew she literally inserted her foot in her mouth. “Fuck.”

 

“Okay that’s it, I knew you were keeping something from me when it came to Emmett and I demand to know what it is NOW.” Kyrine ordered in a stern voice, flat out refusing to let Amaya walk away from her, gritting her teeth. “We’re supposed to be completely honest with each other, Maya.  Why can’t you just stop trying to protect me and be blunt for a change?”

 

“Oh whatever!  That’s a low blow and you know it, Kyrine.” She growled, a little hurt by her sister’s words, but knew deep down she was right. “Fine, you wanna know so badly, I’ll tell you.  Let’s go into the kitchen so I can pop a pizza in the oven.  I’m starving and you need to eat too.”

 

“This isn’t a tactic to try to distract me right?” Kyrine eyed her suspiciously, finally surrendering to what Amaya wanted and followed her down to the kitchen, hopping up on the counter. “Now what did you mean by being protective of me against him?” When Kyrine saw Emmett after her doctor’s appointment, she knew something wasn’t right between Amaya and Emmett, but thought she was reading too much into things.

 

Obviously she wasn’t.

 

Amaya didn’t say anything for awhile, preheating the oven and waited until it beeped before popping the pizza in, knowing Kyrine wasn’t going to let this go.  Why had she opened her big mouth and said anything about Emmett?  This was Kyrine first real boyfriend and Amaya knew how sensitive she was right now, especially with her upcoming surgery on the horizon.  Then again, if Kyrine didn’t survive the surgery –Amaya flat out refused to believe she would be just fine- and died without knowing the truth on her feelings for Emmett, then Amaya would never get another chance.

 

Slowly, Amaya told Kyrine about the day at school that Emmett approached her, asking where Kyrine was.  Amaya had completely blown her top and told him it was none of his business and he should stay away from Kyrine if he knew what was good for him.  She basically told Emmett to take a flying leap off a short pier, though they weren’t exactly her choice words.  She didn’t appreciate a man walking up asking her about her sister’s whereabouts, especially when they didn’t even know him.

 

“And you know the most fucked up thing about it was?” When Kyrine slowly shook her head, not amused in the slightest, Amaya snorted. “He didn’t even fight me on what I said.  All he did was smile and said ‘tell her to contact me when she has a chance, thanks’ and walked away from me without so much as a fuck you.  It was insane.  It was almost as if he knew I was testing him in a way, even though I really wasn’t.  I meant what I said because I thought all he wanted was a piece of ass because he just looked like one of those fuck’em and leave ‘em types.  Obviously, I was wrong and I’m sorry, Kyrie.”

 

It didn’t surprise Kyrine with what Amaya said to Emmett nor did Emmett’s reaction because he really was a great guy. “No need to be sorry, I know how you are.” She hopped off of the counter and walked over, both girls embracing; a twinge of guilt suddenly piercing through Kyrine again because Jacob Black was suddenly in her mind. “Thank you for telling me.”

 

“You’re welcome.” Amaya murmured, kissing the top of her sister’s head, having vowed to protect her at any cost when they moved to Forks. “Now come on enough with the boy talk.” It was starting to depress Amaya because Jacob wasn’t nowhere near as sweet as Emmett was to Kyrine and it was bugging her. “Let’s just enjoy tonight with pizza and junk food.”

 

“Sounds good to me.”

 

The last thing Kyrine wanted to talk about was Jacob Black, especially to Amaya because she would blurt out something about the erotic dreams she’d been having lately.  That just wouldn’t bode well for a girl’s night with Amaya.  The girls laughed and watched comedy movies while eating pizza, chips and candy, finally crashing out around midnight.

 

As soon as Kyrine’s eyes closed, she was instantly sucked into a black vortex that ended with her staring into the dark eyes of Jacob Black.

 

Chapter 19

 

“What’s wrong with you tonight, Am?”

 

Amaya looked up at Jacob while they walked slowly on the beach of La Push, enjoying the tranquility, shrugging. “I don’t know, just thinking about some things.” She murmured quietly, wearing a simple long sleeved black dress that went an inch above the knee and had a hoop neckline, carrying her black heels in her hand as they dangled from her fingers.

 

For once, they weren’t sexing it up deep in the woods and Jacob even invited Amaya to one of La Push’s bonfires, wanting to her mind off of things.  Something was bothering her, but Jacob couldn’t figure it out, hating how hard Amaya was to read through those violet colored orbs.  Jacob wanted to make things work with Amaya, even though all he could really think about was his imprint, but he had to face facts she was with a bloodsucker.  She didn’t want him and Jacob would rather have a woman that enjoyed being with a man that had a beating heart instead of a dead man.

 

Truth was, Amaya was depressed because Kyrine’s surgery was the following day and she didn’t know how else to feel.  This was a life-threatening procedure and nobody knew if Kyrine’s heart was even strong enough to survive the surgery.  All the tests the hospital and Doctor Cullen had administered earlier that day came back with positive results.  Doctor Cullen assured the McTavian family that Kyrine would pull through as long as there were no complications, knowing anything could happen once she was under the knife.

 

Amaya sighed when Jacob stopped her from walking, turning her to face him, their eyes locking.  She didn’t even realize she’d been crying until he wiped her tears away with the pads of his thumbs, frowning.  Violet eyes lowered to the sand as Amaya tried pulling away from him, but Jacob had her wrists in his scorching hands, hating to show weakness in front of anyone.  Crying was foreign to Amaya and the fact she was doing it in front of her boyfriend completely mortified her.

 

“Talk to me, Amaya.” Jacob pleaded in his deep voice, seeing she was trying to hide herself from him, and pulled her against him until her hands rested on his shirt covered chest, placing his hands on her hips. “You can trust me with anything.  Whatever is bothering you, let me help you with it, girl.”

 

“Damn it.” She whispered, more tears falling and hated herself for it, feeling as though her heart was breaking. “Why does the world have to be so unfair?”

 

“I don’t know, baby.” He hated seeing her cry and began rubbing her back up and down, trying to soothe her. “The world is a cruel unforgiving place, but at least some good comes out of it.”

 

Amaya snorted, trying to break away from him, but Jacob wasn’t letting her budge. “There is no good in this world, not when…” She stopped talking and turned to look out into the ocean, the cool breeze blowing through her blonde blood red streaked hair. “Never mind, I don’t want to talk about it.”

 

Jacob growled, not liking the fact his girlfriend was hiding something from him, and whipped her around before smashing his lips against hers. “Tell me.” He demanded in a husky voice, feeling her hands instantly slide up his arms to wrap around his neck, her fingers delving in his thick black hair.

 

“No.” Amaya knew she would completely break down if she did and the last thing she wanted to discuss was her sister possibly dying tomorrow. “I want to forget about it for tonight.”

 

Jacob suddenly released her and shoved his hands in the front pocket of his black cargo shorts, his eyes moving to stare out into the water this time. “You don’t trust me.” He muttered hurtfully, sighing. “I don’t blame you for it, you don’t really know me and I don’t really know you.”

 

Frowning, Amaya felt guilty as she saw the rejected look on Jacob’s face and began chewing on her thumbnail nervously. “You really want to know that badly?” She finally asked, deciding maybe it was time she should talk to someone about her sister, having bottled all of her feelings up inside for so long. “Dasher?”

 

A smirk slowly curved his soft red lips as Jacob slowly looked up, walking toward her. “Yeah spitfire, I wanna know what’s bothering you.  I want you to trust me enough to tell me anything that’s on your beautiful mind.” He reached out to run a finger down her cheek, a tear landing on it. “Talk to me.”

 

“Alright, I want to sit down though.” Amaya didn’t care about the sand and sat where they stood, burying her toes in the sand, loving the feeling of it squishing between her toes.  Jacob sat down beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and Amaya leaned against him, needing warmth more than anything. “My sister is sick.”

 

Jacob instantly felt his throat tighten at the mention of Kyrine, feeling his chest constrict a little and tried keeping his breathing controlled. “What do you mean she’s sick?  She has the flu or something?” From the moment Jacob imprinted on Kyrine, he could always feel like something was wrong with her, but couldn’t figure it out.

 

He was about to get all the answers to his questions.

 

“I wish.” Amaya coughed out a watery laugh bitterly through tears, sniffling as more tears fell splashing into the sand. “I would give anything if it was only the flu.  No…what I mean is she’s sick as in…she’s dying.”

 

His heart nearly stopped beating for a few seconds as Jacob stared at Amaya, wondering if this was some kind of sick joke, breathing a little heavier now. “D-Dying?” He stammered out, looking away from her to stare down at the sand, having his knees belt up so he could rest his elbows on them, blinking repeatedly. “I don’t understand, Amaya.  Please make me understand, explain to me what you mean.” Every part of Jacob’s insides felt as though they were currently being torn to shreds, especially his heart.

 

“She has congestive heart failure.” Amaya stated, closing her eyes tightly shut, her voice cracking. “She’s had it since she was six and she needs a new heart…or she will die.”

 

“Have they found one for her?” He quietly asked, afraid if he raised his voice any higher it would crack under pressure.

 

Amaya sniffled a little and wiped her nose on her dress sleeve, honestly not caring if she ruined it or not. “Yes they have, that’s why we moved here from Miami.  The problem is the donor is on life support because their family is currently overseas…or what’s left of their family…and they’re the only ones who can officially give the word to pull the plug.  The donor’s heart will go to Kyrine, but she’s running out of time.  So tomorrow, she’s going in for a life-threatening surgery to hopefully give her heart a much needed rest and time to wait for the transplant.  She might not make it off the operating table alive, it’s going to depend on if her heart can handle it.”

 

This was a lot to process and Jacob was aching from the top of his head to the tip of his toes, knowing there was absolutely nothing he could do to help Kyrine. “I don’t know what to say right now, Amaya.” He murmured, raking a hand through his hair and didn’t dare look up at his girlfriend, so much pain flowing through his dark eyes.

 

His imprint was going under the knife and Jacob couldn’t even be there to say goodbye because Kyrine had no idea about the imprinting or what was going on.  She could die and would never know he was her soul mate, the one she truly belonged with, instead of an ice cold corpse.  Jacob suddenly felt the anger rushing through every part of his body and stood up from the sand, backing away from Amaya.  When Amaya stood up as well to follow him, her bloodshot violet eyes wide, Jacob held his trembling hand up as his teeth gnashed together violently.

 

“STAY BACK, AMAYA!” He roared, gripping his hair between his fingers, knowing he couldn’t even escape into the woods out of sight because the urge was too strong.

 

A scream echoed throughout the night as Amaya witnessed Jacob leap high into the air and exploded into one big ball of russet colored fur, landing on all fours in front of her in the sand, before letting out a pain-filled agonizing howl.

 

~!~

 

The night before Kyrine’s surgery arrived faster than anyone wanted.

 

Kyrine wasn’t feeling well after being poked and prodded all day at the hospital or the fact she had to be at the hospital at seven AM for preparation.  She was scared about her surgery, but also trusted Doctor Cullen, who had assured her everything was going to be fine and he’d do everything in his power to make sure she survived.  All Kyrine could think about the entire day was what if she didn’t make it, what if her heart wasn’t strong enough or a complication arose during the procedure.

 

There were so many things Kyrine wanted to do before she died and hadn’t done nearly half of them.

 

Emmett had made her promise to spend the night before her surgery with him, having a few surprises in mind.  He wanted this to be the most special memorable night that Kyrine would soon never forget, knowing this could be her last night alive.  He trusted Carlisle and had faith in the man’s medical abilities, but there was always that chance Emmett would never stare into her beautiful blue eyes. 

 

He wasn’t taking any chances.

 

He showed up just after six o’clock and waited outside of her bedroom window, knowing Kyrine was sneaking out because Amaya had already left around five to meet her boyfriend.  Kyrine was finishing getting ready, wearing a simple light blue dress that had long sleeves and went down to her knees with a V shaped neckline, her hair down.  She had no makeup on her face and looked pale, hoping Emmett wasn’t appalled.  There was no reason to hide her sickness because the Cullen’s knew everything, glad they hadn’t said anything at school about it.

 

A gentle tap sounded at Kyrine’s window, her head snapping up from the vanity mirror and blinked at the sight of Emmett outside her window.  It was a good thing her parents were downstairs and her bedroom door was closed or this would’ve been awkward to say the least.  She still hadn’t told them about Emmett and wanted to keep it that way, which is the only reason why Kyrine had agreed to go out with Emmett on the night before her surgery.  Walking over, Kyrine slid the window open and cracked a small smile at Emmett’s handsome face, leaning over to softly kiss his lips.

 

“Ready to go, beautiful?” He asked, not having a problem climbing the thin tree outside her window, his quick speed and agility in his favor. “I’ll help you down.”

 

“Yeah, let me grab my shoes.” She whispered softly and walked away to slip into her black flats, refusing to be uncomfortable on what could be her final night alive. 

 

As a last thought, Kyrine grabbed her black sweatshirt and slipped it on, turning her light off before heading over to where Emmett waited outside her window.  Kyrine had already bid her parents good night, telling them she wasn’t feeling good and wanted to be well rested for her procedure.  They each hugged her close and told them they loved her, making her promise not to worry about anything besides her future.  Kyrine agreed and set up her bed to make it look like she was sleeping in case they checked in on her during the night, knowing she would be out late with Emmett.

 

It was Amaya’s idea.

 

Gently, Emmett pulled Kyrine through the window and let her close it before leaping down from the tree, landing in the grass with silent grace.  Kyrine had buried her face in his neck so she didn’t feel hardly anything, looking up when Emmett began carrying her away from the house into the woods.  She was scared after the attack and tried not to show it, instead snuggling further against Emmett, actually glad he was carrying her.  Kyrine really didn’t have any strength left and hoped Emmett understood, looking up at him as he smiled down at her.

 

“So where are we going?” She asked, breaking the silence while they continued venturing through the woods.

 

“Somewhere special, just relax and trust me, Ky.” He murmured in a husky voice, leaning down to talk right in her ear. “I promise, you’ll enjoy it.”

 

Kyrine didn’t say anything, wondering if she would ever be able to enjoy anything ever again, and decided trusting Emmett was all she could do.  She missed Amaya already, wishing she could’ve spent her final night with her sister.  As much as she liked Emmett and enjoyed being with him, nobody took the place of Amaya, probably never would.  Emmett stopped walking after a little while and cleared his throat, jolting Kyrine out of her thoughts.

 

“Something on your mind?” He asked, gently setting her down on her feet and watched as her eyes widened, pleased with his choice.

 

It was the most beautiful meadow Kyrine ever seen, looking all around her and inhaled the incredible scent of the flowers that surrounded them.  Kyrine loved nature, which is one of the main things she fell in love about Forks, along with the rain that always soothed her in ways Miami couldn’t.  Her energy was suddenly restored as Kyrine slowly moved through the meadow, touching the colorful flowers and turned around to face her incredible boyfriend with tears shining in her eyes.

 

“This is breathtaking, Emmett.” She whispered sincerely, the small smile now full blown, and allowed him to pull her into his strong arms. “You’re incredible to do this for me.”

 

“No, you’re incredible for putting up with me and what I am.” Emmett replied, pressing his forehead against hers as their lips softly touched, his arms encircling her waist.

 

Something suddenly came over Kyrine as she pulled back from the gentle kiss, taking a few steps back. “Emmett, there’s something I want you to do for me.” Her voice became a little shaky, nervousness pouring out, but Kyrine wasn’t changing her mind as she reached behind to slowly unzip her dress.

 

“Kyrine…” Emmett felt his breath hitch in his throat as he watched the blue dress slowly slip down her beautiful body, leaving her clad in just a matching pair of lace bra and panties.

 

Kyrine slowly walked toward him, having kicked her flats off and began slowly unbuttoning his black short sleeved silk shirt, midnight blue eyes never leaving his, her trembling hands running up the length of his body. “I love you, Emmett.” She took both of his hands in hers, gently pulling him while she walked backwards, and pulled his face down their eyes locking. “Please make love to me tonight.” If this was Kyrine’s last night alive, she wasn’t going to spend it as a virgin, wanting Emmett more than anything or anyone on the planet. 

 

Not able to deny this entrancing woman anything, Emmett pulled her into his arms to lift her up, gently guiding her down into the flowers and hovered over her as they stared into each other’s eyes. “I love you too, Kyrine.” He rumbled in a low voice, their lips connecting in a passionate soul searing kiss as Emmett began slowly undressing the rest of her body, being as gentle as possible so he didn’t hurt her.

 

Neither of them noticed the pair of dark rage filled eyes of a russet wolf, watching as Emmett claimed Kyrine completely for his own.

 

Chapter 20

 

At seven AM sharp, Kyrine walked inside the hospital to check in, Natalie on one side and Amaya on the other, Nicholas following suit. 

 

Kyrine was extremely nervous and looked like she hadn’t gotten hardly any sleep, glad her parents had chalked it up to being nervous about the surgery.  If they only knew what Kyrine did and experienced the previous night with Emmett…she immediately pushed those memories to the back of her mind.  It was definitely a night Kyrine would never forget and would die happily because at least she got to say and do what she wanted with Emmett.

 

Amaya didn’t look much better, no makeup on her face, and looked as if death warmed over.  Truth was, Amaya had bolted screaming in terror from the beach after witnessing her boyfriend exploding into a giant mutant wolf before her eyes, scaring her nearly to death.  She was lucky her heart hadn’t stopped and somehow miraculously made it home without crashing her car, having blurred vision the entire drive from tears.

 

What the hell was going on in Forks and La Push, Washington?

 

First Kyrine found out Emmett and the Cullen’s were vampires and now Amaya’s boyfriend, Jacob, morphed into a gigantic monster that could kill her with just its jaws!  Vampires and now…werewolves?  Amaya definitely didn’t get any sleep and simply sipped cup after cup of pure black java, needing all the caffeine she could get to make it through this dreadful day.  She refused to not be here for her sister, even if her eyeballs were red and swollen from getting zero sleep.

 

Who the hell could after witnessing what Amaya did?

 

Kyrine noticed the dark circles under her sister’s eyes, but didn’t ask because she was more concerned about the surgery.  She did wonder what was wrong and knew it had to do with Jacob more than likely.  Kyrine let out a sigh at the thought of him.  The guilt had returned tenfold as soon as Emmett dropped her off the previous night, after their lovemaking, and Kyrine couldn’t understand what was going on. 

 

She loved Emmett; she hadn’t lied when she said it and during their lovemaking, all Kyrine could think about was how wonderful his marble cold skin felt against her.  As soon as Emmett was gone though, Jacob Black entered her mind and the shame nearly devoured her, feeling as though she’d done something wrong.  She was consensual and loved Emmett, who was her boyfriend, so Kyrine couldn’t figure out why she felt like she just made the biggest mistake of her life by giving her innocence to Emmett.

 

Kyrine had no idea that Amaya had already told Jacob about her illness and the surgery.

 

As soon as Kyrine fell into a deep sleep, she was back in the same meadow with all the sweet smelling flowers, laying completely naked in the grass under the moonlight.  Only it wasn’t Emmett hovering over her, it was Jacob and Kyrine hadn’t fought him off, giving herself completely to him in every way possible.  It felt incredibly real; every thrust, caress, touch and kiss more intense than it had been with Emmett, especially when Jacob whispered in her ear she belonged to him.

 

Kyrine woke up trembling from head to toe with wide tear-filled eyes, breathing heavily.  The power of the dream alone shook her to the core and Kyrine knew these dreams were getting out of control.  They were more erotic and passionate than the next, but now Kyrine was dreaming about having sex with Jacob in the same exact spot Emmett had brought her and taken her virginity.  It was border lining invasion, but Kyrine couldn’t stop her subconscious from conjuring up Jacob.

 

In a very weird way, Kyrine felt like she cheated on Emmett with that dream.

 

“Darling, are you alright?” Natalie asked, jolting her daughter out of her thoughts, watching her slightly jump.

 

“Y-Yeah I’m fine, Mom.” 

 

“I know you’re nervous, but there’s nothing to worry about.” Natalie assured her softly, keeping an encouraging smile on her face, trying to stay strong. “You’re in great hands with Doctor Cullen.”

 

“I know.” If only her mother knew what Kyrine was thinking about, Natalie probably would’ve had a heart attack.

 

Something else was bothering Kyrine and it bothered Natalie that her daughter wasn’t coming clean with her, wondering what it could be.  She decided to let it go because the last thing she wanted to do was upset Kyrine before her surgery.  Today was all about Kyrine and Natalie had made sure nobody at the high school knew about what was going on with her daughter, not having a clue about Kyrine telling the Cullen’s.

 

“Kyrine McTavian?”

 

Closing her eyes for a second, Kyrine knew this was it and nodded, slowly standing up while Amaya clutched her hand.  Kyrine could already feel the tears burning the back of her eyes and knew Amaya was trying to keep it together, but that didn’t stop the tears from forming.  The girls embraced tightly as they let the tears flow, more Kyrine than Amaya, knowing this could be the final time they did this and Kyrine wouldn’t go under the knife without saying goodbye.

 

“What am I going to do without you, Kyrie?” Amaya whispered, trembling slightly, not wanting her to let Kyrine go for anything.

 

“You’ll move on.” Kyrine pulled back to stare into Amaya’s eyes, wiping the tears away from Amaya’s cheeks, smiling bravely. “Whatever happens, promise me you will move on and live your life to the fullest.  Promise me, Maya.”

 

Amaya frowned, gritting her teeth because she hated it when Kyrine tried saying goodbye. “How can you expect me to make a promise like that?” She grunted harshly, lowering her eyes.

 

“Because if it was you going in there to be cut open, I would want you to do the same thing.  We all can’t live forever.  So if this is my time, then I can’t go without knowing you’ll be alright.” Kyrine wiped her own tears away, looking back at her parents, who were waiting patiently along with the nurse. “Promise me or I’m not going in there.”

 

“Goddamn you.” Amaya felt more tears slide down her cheeks and pulled Kyrine against her for one last embrace, swallowing hard. “I…promise.” She reluctantly stated, pulling back again and tapped Kyrine’s nose with the tip of her finger. “I’ll see you when you wake up.”

 

‘Or on the other side.’ Kyrine added in thought, nodding, refusing to give up hope that she would survive this before finally joining her parents and the nurse.  Before she fully walked through the door, Kyrine looked back at her sister, blowing a kiss. ‘I love you, Maya.’ She mouthed, the door closing behind her.

 

Amaya dropped back down in the chair of the waiting room, knowing she wasn’t allowed back there, and buried her head in her hands. “I love you too, Kyrie.” The tears didn’t stop flowing as Amaya curled up in the chair, ignoring everyone else and ignored her cell phone vibrating with text messages.

 

Nothing else mattered right now.

 

~!~

 

Jacob raced through the woods at top speed, snarling and growling at anything that got in his way, even trees.  His anger level was maxed out and he’d been phased since the night before when he scared the hell out of Amaya.  He knew Sam was going to be livid with him, but Jacob honestly didn’t care, the wind ripping through his fur only angering him further.  Between finding out that his imprint was dying and then actually watching as she willingly gave her body, everything, to a bloodsucker was more than Jacob could handle.

 

He was at the breaking point.

 

Kyrine’s moans still filtered through his mind as images of Emmett pulling her up to thrust deeper inside of her joined them.  The way her body arched and moved in rhythm with the dead man, the sweat glistening on her skin every time Emmett switched positions to fulfill every one of Kyrine’s desires.  It was enough to make Jacob sick because it should’ve been him instead of Emmett making love to her in that meadow. 

 

He hadn’t been able to leave, almost if his paws had been cemented to the ground, feeling his heart being shredded repeatedly every time his imprint moaned out the bloodsucker’s name.  Jacob could hear every single word they said to each other, the word love pouring out of Kyrine’s mouth as she professed to Emmett, just hurt him more.  It was only after Kyrine released and their sexual escapade ended that Jacob finally left, wanting to make sure the bloodsucker hadn’t hurt her, though he had left bruises on her skin.

 

Jacob wanted to rip Emmett Cullen apart, just like he’d done to other bloodsucker that almost attacked Kyrine, but knew he couldn’t.

 

The more he thought about it, the more rage filled him and Jacob knew he had to find some way to break the imprint, knowing it was impossible.  The pull was too powerful and Jacob knew Kyrine felt it too, even though she tried denying it repeatedly.  The connection was simply too strong, which is why Kyrine was losing control over her subconscious, forcing her to face the truth.  He stood outside her window night after night, hearing her questioning herself about why she was dreaming of her sister’s boyfriend.  Why she was thinking about him instead of Emmett. 

 

It was really quite simple: She didn’t belong with the bloodsucker and never would.

 

Jacob.

 

He was tempted to ignore Sam, just wanting to run as much and fast as possible, trying to get his rage under control. What Sam?  Now isn’t a good time. Just the sound of his voice told Sam Jacob was angry about something, which is why he hadn’t been able to phase back into human form since the night before.

 

Make it a good time, we have things to discuss and you need to calm down so you can phase back. Sam ordered in his alpha tone, knowing the command would automatically calm Jacob down enough.

 

The bonfire had been cancelled as soon as the pack overheard a scream resonate from the beach, but when they arrived, Amaya had fled the scene and driven back to Forks.  Sam knew it was Amaya because he witnessed Jacob phasing in front of her, having been sent by Emily to retrieve them for dinner.  He stayed back and listened to the conversation about Amaya’s sister Kyrine, cringing because Jacob finally came clean to him about imprinting on her. 

 

If Sam had found out about Emily the way Jacob had about Kyrine, he honestly didn’t know what his own reaction would be, so he wasn’t exactly angry with Jacob.  It was the fact that Jacob had lost control in front of Amaya and could’ve potentially hurt her by phasing as close as he did.  He didn’t want Jacob going through the same guilt and pain that Sam did on a daily basis, even though Amaya wasn’t his imprint.  She was still his girlfriend though, a human being, and the pack had vowed to protect ALL humans no matter the circumstances. 

 

There was also something else bothering Jacob and fueling his anger, which is what Sam wanted to get to the bottom of because their communication wasn’t as good as it used to be.  If Jacob wanted to hide anything from the pack, he could do it by putting up walls around his mind, because he left the tribe at one point to defend the bloodsuckers because of Bella.  To the Quileute ancestors, whenever a member left the tribe of their own free will, they were considered their own alpha and had betrayed the pack in a way.

 

Growling, Jacob knew he had no choice except to respond to Sam’s order, already feeling the anger diminishing from his body.  He kept running through the woods, heading toward Emily’s, knowing that’s where Sam was waiting for him.  Stopping just outside of the house, Jacob closed his eyes and felt his body return to its normal state, looking down to find a pair of cargo shorts waiting for him.  Sighing, Jacob slipped them on before walking out of the woods, his lips formed in one fine grim line, shoulders squared as he approached the front porch where Sam was waiting for him.

 

“You did that faster than I expected.” Sam commented, standing up from the porch swing he installed for Emily, opening the screen door. “Come in.”

 

Jacob did as he was told and followed Sam inside, the smell of food filling his nose, feeling his stomach rumble because he hadn’t ate since yesterday afternoon.  He knew what Sam wanted to talk about and Jacob wasn’t sure if he could, sitting down at the table, his eyes refusing to meet Sam’s.  Being angry at Kyrine was irrational and Jacob knew it because he hadn’t gotten up the courage to tell her about the imprint yet, but he couldn’t help feeling betrayed by her.

 

“What’s up, Sam?”

 

“Why don’t you tell me?” Sam retorted, sitting down across from Jacob with his arms folded in front of his chest. “I’m not angry at you for phasing in front of Amaya, even though you already know it was very irresponsible and dangerous to do it so close to her.  I know finding out about Kyrine…” He watched the anger flash through Jacob’s dark eyes, confusion registering in his own. “You’re mad at Kyrine I take it?”

 

Jacob clenched his jaw tightly while gritting his teeth, a flashback of Kyrine and Emmett together entering his mind. “Stupid BITCH!!” He suddenly lost control and stood up, flipping the table over as the food that was on it flew all over the place that Emily worked so hard to make.

 

“What the hell?” Emily cried, rushing out of the kitchen and immediately stopped when Sam threw his hand up, standing in front of her.

 

“Stay back, Emily.” He ordered in a low voice, seeing just how much rage Jacob currently had and knew this wasn’t a good idea to order him over. “Jacob isn’t in the right frame of mind right now.”

 

Emily had never seen Jacob like this and watched as he punched a hole right through their wall next, jumping at the rippling growl that tore out of his mouth.  She was terrified of him, always thinking Jacob was one of the sweetest and calmest pack members, but obviously she was wrong.  Sam could feel her trembling and pushed her back a little more into the kitchen, still blocking her from view in case Jacob lost all sense of control and lashed out at him, bracing himself for it.

 

“Jacob, calm down now!” Sam once again used his alpha voice, not believing just the mention of Kyrine had set Jacob off in a frenzied rage like this. “CALM DOWN!!”

 

“NO!!” Jacob knew he could block the alpha voice if he truly wanted to and his rage was doing just that, not caring that his hand was bleeding or the fact he was tearing Sam and Emily’s house apart.  He didn’t care. “DON’T FUCKING TELLING ME TO CALM DOWN, SAM!!  WOULD YOU CALM DOWN IF YOU SAW YOUR IMPRINT HAVE HER VIRGINITY STOLEN BY A BLOODSUCKER?  WOULD YOU CALM DOWN IF YOU HEARD YOUR IMPRINT MOAN OUT A DEAD MAN’S NAME WHILE HE FUCKED HER RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU?  WOULD YOU?!” He bellowed, not caring who heard him anymore because the secret was out anyway. “GODDAMN IT, KYRINE!!!”

 

Ripping the screen door right off its hinges, Jacob tossed it out of his way as he stormed out on the porch, already feeling the fire course through his body, knowing he was going to phase again.  Sam and Emily both looked at each other in stunned silence and could only watch as a rage and pain-filled Jacob Black phased right back into wolf form, tearing through the woods away from their house.  Emily immediately stepped away from Sam as tears slid down her cheeks, bending down to begin cleaning up the wreckage that Jacob caused, only for Sam to stop her.

 

“Go upstairs while I clean this up.” It was Sam’s fault for not realizing just how angry Jacob was and ordering him over, so it was his responsibility to clean up his pack member’s mess not hers. “Please.”

 

Emily kissed Sam softly on the lips before doing as he asked, heading upstairs to take a soothing bath, completely shaken up by Jacob’s explosion.

 

Chapter 21

 

Alice and Jasper could only watch as Emmett stared out the window of his bedroom, knowing he was worried for Kyrine.  Carlisle still hadn’t called them with an update and it’d been hours, having promised to do so just as soon as the surgery was over.  Alice felt terrible because she had a vision the previous night, a vision she still hadn’t told Emmett about.  The only person she’d told was Jasper and he definitely suggested for her to wait until after they received the call from Carlisle before telling Emmett about it.

 

Emmett was going out of his mind with worry, not believing he agreed to stay away from the hospital until the surgery was completed.  Kyrine had asked him to because of her parents not knowing about their relationship.  He was fed up with hiding and sneaking around, deciding once he got the call from Carlisle telling him Kyrine had survived the surgery, he was going up there to see her. 

 

Consequences be damned.

 

“Jazz, what am I going to do?” Alice whispered, looking up at the love of her life, wishing he had the answers. “I do not want to hurt him.  He’s been through enough.”

 

Jasper sighed, using his pathokinesis ability to keep both Alice and Emmett calm, though neither knew it. “We’ll figure it out, Alice.” He whispered, suddenly having an idea and pulled her further away from the doorway, not wanting Emmett to overhear them. “What if we went to Edward about this?”

 

Alice blinked, her eyes widening slightly. “Have you lost your mind, Jazz?  Do you remember the last time those two were in the same room together?” She demanded quietly, wondering if Jasper was thinking clearly.

 

“Emmett needs family right now and it is time for them to make amends.” He was already heading downstairs, having his mind made up, knowing Bella could convince Edward to do just about anything. “Besides, Edward can read thoughts and if anyone can break the news to Emmett about what’s going on, it’s him.”

 

As much as Alice didn’t want to agree with Jasper, she couldn’t stop nodding her head reluctantly. “We have to hurry.  Carlisle could call at any minute and I want to be here when Emmett receives the news.” She hoped for the best, but was always prepared for the worst, especially with the current vision she had. 

 

Bella was surprised when Jasper and Alice showed up at her front door, having kept their distance ever since the explosion between Edward and Emmett transpired. “Hey you guys…” She looked behind her when Renesmee walked in, a huge smile crossing her beautiful face as she ran right into Alice’s arms.

 

Alice smiled, lifting Renesmee up with ease and kissed her forehead. “Hey Nessie.” She set the little girl down and immediately followed her into the small living room of the cottage, stopping short at the sight of Edward.

 

“I know why you’re here.” Edward hadn’t moved from the couch, reading the local newspaper he picked up while in town earlier, not bothering to look up at Alice and Jasper. “And what makes you think he will listen to anything I have to say?”

 

“Because you’re the only one who can make him listen.” Jasper piped in and walked over to sit beside Edward, resting his elbows on his knees. “It’s time for this feud to come to an end.  Emmett needs the family right now…the entire family.  The worst that can happen is you are rejected, but at least you’ll have the courage to try instead of simply standing aside.”

 

Edward sighed, setting the newspaper down on the table and leaned back against the couch, contemplating what Jasper said. “This will not be easy for him to hear.” He stated, knowing he couldn’t turn his back on their family. “I have felt his pain for months until recently.  Her name is Kyrine, correct?”

 

Jasper nodded with a small smile. “Yeah, Kyrine McTavian.  I take it you know what’s going on with her?” He watched Edward nod, the small smile turning into a smirk. “You’ve been spying.”

 

“Somewhat.” Edward smirked, shrugging nonchalantly and stood up from the couch with Jasper, knowing the girls vacated so they could talk. “Bella knows something has been going on, but I’ve kept it from her and Renesmee.” The guilt hadn’t been easy to cope with, but Edward didn’t want Bella rushing over to the glass house without knowing the full story first. “Bella has a tendency to…”

 

“Overreact?”

 

Edward chuckled, clapping Jasper gently on the back. “Precisely.”

 

“And what do I overreact to exactly, Edward?” Bella overheard the end of their conversation, folding her arms in front of her chest, tilting her head slightly with narrowed golden eyes.

 

Edward instantly lowered his head, knowing he put his foot in his mouth, though the smirk never left his face. “Nothing, Bella love.”

 

“Uh huh right.” Bella knew what he meant by her overreacting at times, but that was only because she followed her gut instincts.  Sometimes it paid off, sometimes it didn’t. “So I take it we’re going to see the family?”

 

Edward knew Bella was brushing what he said off for the time being and nodded, knowing they had more important things to worry about at the moment. “Yes.”

 

He also had overheard some of Jacob’s thoughts as well whenever he was nearby the treaty line that separated the forest between Forks and La Push.  Again, Edward didn’t want to upset Bella and kept it to himself.  Jacob’s thoughts were disturbing, especially when it came to Kyrine and Edward knew about the imprint, wondering why Jacob hadn’t told Kyrine about it. 

 

He figured it was due to her being with Emmett, but Jacob was never that noble when it came to Bella back when he fought tooth and nail for her against Edward and she wasn’t even Jacob’s imprint.  There was another woman in Jacob’s mind besides Kyrine and Edward had delved further in, finding out her name was Amaya.  He assumed she was his girlfriend, but that was until Edward found out Amaya and Kyrine were sisters.

 

Jacob was dating his imprint’s sister.

 

“Father, you are troubled.” Renesmee stated as she looked up at him, walking through the forest toward her grandparent’s house.

 

“I’m fine, Nessie.” He murmured softly, glancing over at Bella and hoped she wouldn’t stay mad at him for too long.

 

They arrived at the Cullen house within minutes, walking inside and Esme had just came downstairs, stopping at the sight of Edward, Bella and Renesmee with Alice and Jasper. “Oh my!” She ran to Edward first, hugging him tightly before embracing Bella, finally moving to Renesmee with a bright smile. “It’s so good seeing all of you!  What are you doing here?”

 

“I was just about to ask the same question.”

 

Everyone except Edward cringed at the unmistakable voice of Emmett, only because he could hear Emmett’s thoughts when approaching. “Good evening, Emmett.” Edward greeted cordially, nodding his head once and knew Jasper was already using his gift, along with Bella.

 

Bella’s ability was a mental shield, which was a power that blocked any and all kinds of other powers acting on the mind, not necessarily malevolent ones.  Her mind was impenetrable; no one could read her thoughts unless she allowed it.  She could shield herself from all types of psychic attacks and learned to shield those around her.  It definitely came in handy when the Volturi came to investigate Renesmee because she could block out Jane, who was the most dangerous Volturi member.  Currently, she was shielding Edward from Jasper’s gift because if Emmett did attack, she didn’t want Edward calm, remembering what happened last time.

 

“Hey Ed.”

 

Emmett slowly walked downstairs past Esme, placing a hand on her shoulder to let her know he wasn’t going to lash out, finally standing right in front of Edward.  Each man sized each other up silently, both of them wondering if the other would attack and Emmett finally extended his hand.  Edward instantly read Emmett’s mind, wanting to make sure this wasn’t a trap and accepted after reaching the conclusion Emmett was being sincere, his own way of apologizing.  They were brothers, if not closer, having lived with their existence for decades and centuries.

 

Everyone around them breathed a huge sigh of relief.

 

“Was that Carlisle on the phone?” Esme asked hopefully, breaking the moment.

 

“He called already?” Alice demanded, trying to keep the panic out of her voice and watched Emmett nod. “W-What did he say?”

 

Emmett didn’t look upset, which was a very good sign, but Alice was still holding out for the absolute worse. “She made it through the surgery and is in the ICU right now.” He notified, walking into the living room to sit down, putting his head in his hands. “She’s still alive…that’s all that matters.”

 

Alice really hated herself for what she was about to do, looking at Edward for help and felt Jasper’s arm wrap around her shoulders as Edward sat down beside Emmett. “Emmett, there is something we need to discuss.” He watched as Emmett slowly pulled his head out of his hands, their golden eyes locking.

 

“What’s going on, Edward?” Emmett demanded, looking up at Alice and Jasper, slowly standing up from the couch as his stomach tightened a little.

 

“It’s about Kyrine…”

 

Just as Alice said that, the phone rang.

 

~!~

 

How were they supposed to tell her?

 

The McTavian’s still couldn’t believe the news as they rushed to the hospital to see their daughter.  Amaya was still at school and Natalie sent her a quick text telling her to get to the hospital as soon as she could.  Kyrine’s surgery had been successful, after a minor complication dealing with her heart, but it wasn’t life-threatening and Doctor Cullen pulled her through without much difficulty.

 

It seemed as though the McTavian family couldn’t catch a break, no matter how good of news came their way, feeling as though a cloud always hovered over them.  Natalie couldn’t stop crying the entire way while Nicholas drove, her heart breaking from what Doctor Cullen told them.  Nicholas couldn’t believe it either, having left an important office meeting to rush home to his hysterical wife, trying to comfort her any way he could.

 

Even though he was trying to stay strong for his family, Nicholas wanted to crumble just like his wife.

 

Nicholas pulled into the hospital parking lot fifteen minutes later, both of them getting out just as Natalie received a text from Amaya.  She was on her way, having told the principal something happened at home and she had to leave immediately.  Apparently, Natalie didn’t have cell service for nearly the whole drive because when they both stepped out of the car, Amaya was waiting for them, rushing across the parking lot worriedly.

 

“What’s wrong with Kyrie?” She demanded, breathing a little heavily and watched as Natalie broke down in Nicholas’s arms again. “Oh god no…NO!!”

 

“Amaya, wait!!” Nicholas called, but the girl wasn’t listening to him, knowing he couldn’t go after her with Natalie in this current state.

 

Tears streamed down Amaya’s face as she raced across the street and into the hospital, her heart pounding vigorously.  Kyrine wasn’t dead…she COULDN’T be dead!!  She was stronger than that!  Amaya didn’t stop running through the hospital hallways, knowing exactly where Kyrine’s room, and ignored anyone who told her to slow down as tears flew behind her.

 

Amaya skidded to a halt just outside Kyrine’s room and looked through the small window on the door, pushing it open slowly as more tears fell.  She hadn’t cried at school, even though she desperately wanted to because of everything that happened lately.  Between Kyrine’s surgery and finding out Jacob was a mutant wolf, Amaya was at her breaking point, but all that mattered at the moment was Kyrine.  She lay prone in the hospital bed still intubated, which helped her breathe, since she couldn’t do it on her own.

 

Walking over, Amaya took Kyrine’s hand gently in hers, wondering why Natalie was breaking down in the parking lot in her husband’s arms.  They obviously knew something she didn’t and Amaya couldn’t figure out what it was, looking up at the monitor to make sure Kyrine’s heart still beat with life.  Or rather the LVAD was doing most of the work, giving her heart the break it needed, her circulation already better because the hand she held was warm.  Kyrine had always had cold hands, so that had to be a good sign that she wasn’t dead, right?

 

“What’s wrong with her?” Amaya asked as soon as the door opened, not even looking to see who it was because Natalie’s sniffling was enough. “Her hand is warm and everything seems to be working fine, so why are you acting like she’s dying?”

 

Nicholas could feel the tears burn his eyes and kept holding Natalie, who currently had Kyrine’s other hand in her own. “Doctor Cullen will be in shortly to tell us.” He couldn’t tell Amaya, knowing hearing it from Carlisle would make it more realistic.

 

“No, you’re going to tell me now.” Amaya ordered, her violet eyes flashing up at Nicholas, pursing her lips tightly together. “What the fuck is wrong with her?”

 

“Watch your mouth, Amaya.” Natalie quietly reprimanded, though she had absolutely no strength or force behind it, too busy worrying about her little girl.

 

Before Amaya could respond, Doctor Cullen walked in at that moment with a chart in hand, trying to find it in him to smile at the family.  This news was not something he wanted to tell the McTavian’s, not after they put their full trust and faith into him, but what happened was completely out of his hands.  He had no control over the circumstances and hoped the family understood, especially Amaya, knowing she was the closest with Kyrine.

 

“I’m assuming you haven’t told her what I told you over the phone?” Doctor Cullen asked in a soft quiet voice, watching as the McTavian’s slowly shook their head.

 

“It’ll be easier if you tell her.  She’ll think we’re lying or something…” Nicholas hoped the doctor understood and watched as Doctor Cullen nodded attentively.

 

Personally, Carlisle thought the McTavian’s should’ve broken this news to Amaya themselves, but he wasn’t about to argue with what they wanted. “Amaya, the surgery went smoothly as I said and there’s nothing wrong with her right now.” He wanted to start out with telling her something positive, watching as those violet eyes filled with tears.

 

“I’m sensing a but somewhere in this explanation otherwise you wouldn’t look as morose as you do.” Amaya stated, looking back at her sister and felt a few more tears slide down her cheeks. “What’s wrong with her?” It was a mere whisper filled with heartbreak and sadness, not pulling her eyes away from Kyrine.

 

“There’s a very big chance that we’re going to have to insert an RVAD as well because…” Carlisle was having a hard time saying this, Emmett’s roar of anger and pain still echoing in his mind. “We have to find her another heart.”

 

Amaya’s head snapped up the same time she stood from the chair, staring at the doctor with wide eyes. “What?  What do you mean you have to find her another heart?” Her breathing became labored a little, covering her mouth with her hand as the realization crashed over her. “The donor…”

 

Carlisle nodded regretfully. “The donor passed away during her surgery and Kyrine’s heart is gone.  I’m sorry.”

 

Alice’s vision had become a reality.

 

Chapter 22

 

Distraction.

 

That’s all Amaya needed and finally answered Jacob’s text message after a straight week of no contact.  She refused to talk or see him after the episode at the beach, not answering his text messages or anything.  Still, Jacob sent her at least one text message a day asking how she was doing and when she wanted to talk, he would be waiting for her.  Amaya thought that was incredibly sweet and decided Jacob deserved a chance to explain what happened on the beach. 

 

Kyrine was dating a vampire and now Amaya had found out she was dating a werewolf or whatever Jacob was.

 

When Jacob received a text from Amaya saying she wanted to talk, he couldn’t have been happier, knowing he could get information about Kyrine.  His anger had simmered for the time being, especially after his explosion at Emily and Sam’s.  Jacob still hadn’t shown his face around there, feeling ashamed for the damage he caused and hoped he could somehow make it right. 

 

In fact, Sam had taken Jacob off of patrol because he wasn’t in the right frame of mind.  Also, Jacob was banned from Emily and Sam’s until further notice because Sam didn’t trust Jacob’s temper around his imprint, which the entire pack understood.  Even Jacob did; he would’ve done the same thing if he was in Sam’s shoes so he wasn’t angry or resentful toward them.

 

Amaya agreed to meet him at his house in La Push, which would definitely be a first for her, after school that day.  Kyrine was still in a coma, but Doctor Cullen kept assuring them it was normal after major open heart surgery.  She had no idea what was going to happen once Kyrine finally did wake up and find out her heart was gone.  She would have to wait for a chance at another one while trying to keep her current heart beating in the meantime. 

 

That would require an RVAD to be inserted so both sides of her heart were working at the same pace and Amaya knew Kyrine probably wouldn’t do it.  She knew her sister was tired of fighting and it would take a lot of convincing on everyone’s part to make her go through yet another open heart surgery.  Amaya didn’t see it happening and could already feel the tears burn her eyes as she walked into Forks High School, sighing when Emmett walked up to her.

 

“I’m not in the mood, Emmy.” She grunted, trying to sidestep him, but it wasn’t happening. “What do you want?”

 

“I want to see her.” Emmett stated, having arrived at school early just so he could purposefully run into Kyrine’s sister. “I’m tired of hiding our relationship and I need to be there for her when she wakes up.  I’m going after school, I just thought you should know.”

 

Amaya knew this was coming eventually and simply nodded, rubbing her temples. “I already told the rents about you.” She confessed in a softer voice, the edge gone for now. “They didn’t freak out or anything, Natalie knew something was up with us and when I told her you were Carlisle Cullen’s son, she didn’t even put up a fight.  Do you know what’s going on with Kyrine?”

 

Emmett nodded solemnly, the sadness creeping into his gold eyes. “Yes, that’s why I want to see her.” Of course he knew, Carlisle wouldn’t dare keep something this grave about Kyrine from him. “I need to see her and I’ve already asked Carlisle’s permission.”

 

“Then why are you even telling me this?” Amaya shot back impatiently. “Were you afraid I would say you couldn’t see her or something?”

 

Emmett wasn’t sure, but felt it necessary to inform Amaya on what he was going to do, clearing his throat. “No, but you have been covering for us and I didn’t know you’d already told your parents about our relationship.” He didn’t want to take anyone by surprise.

 

“By all means, go see her.  It might do her some good, though she hasn’t woke up yet.” Amaya walked away from him just as the final bell rang, cursing, knowing she was going to be late for class because of Emmett.

&n