Embry blinked, she sounded sincere, but Jake warned him she was a master at lying. He let the subject drop for the time being. Hearing her question about the pack he chuckled, "Seth finally has a girlfriend." The youngest pack member, he was the sunshine of their group. "Quil is ecstatic that Claire is getting closer to the age to be able to start showing interest in him. Sam and Emily are expecting, Kim and Jared are engaged, Leah is still as mopey as ever and Paul has decided it be a brilliant idea to pursue her." Embry rolled his eyes, oh the drama going on at home. Too bad Jake didn't know about that all yet.

Whoa. Tariana blinked; she had missed a lot. It didn't feel right to be experiencing all this without Jacob. She ached for him; she was lonely already, feeling as if he had taken her heart with him. She felt cold. "Who is Seth dating?" she questioned, leaning against Embry for warmth. Ahh, little Seth; he had had the biggest crush on Tariana when he met her, and she was happy to know that he'd be over it now. "Quil. I miss him so much!" And Sam and Emily. "Do they know if the baby is a girl or boy yet? And Paul and Leah? That's sick. Their kids would be evil, beastly and bitter. Perfect combination." Tariana snickered. "What about you? Do you have a girlfriend yet?" Her violet eyes pierced into his.

Embry draped his arm around her shoulder, she was another of his best friends. Not alot was meant by it. "You won't believe it! He's dating Renesme Cullen!" he chuckled, oh Jake would be livid! Bella had been one of his good friends and was appointed god father or Nessie. Though he didn't think Tariana had ever been told about that...Embry nodded, "He told me to tell you 'hi' and he misses you as well." Then hearing the question he shook his head, "They want it to be a surprise!" He laughed hearing her comments on Paul and Leah. He noticed her trying to catch his eye and looked down, hearing her question he chuckled and blushed, "Not exactly..." he replied, though he was VERY interested in someone.

Tariana let out a growl of distaste. She hated the Cullens. No, not hate, loathe. They disgusted her. "Yuck. That's disgusting. Seth darling could do so much better." She watched him as he dropped his eyes. "Oh c'mon," she said, nudging him in the rib. "You have to like someone! You're blushing! I can tell you like a girl! Who is she? You know that I need to approve of her first." She smiled. She hadn't been this happy since, well, since yesterday, when Jacob asked her to be his girlfriend...
That all seemed light years away.

Embry chuckled, he wasn't a fan either. He hated Isabella after seeing what she did to Jacob, "Don't let Jake hear you say that!" he replied teasingly then stood rigid. He was so stupid. Uh oh, what'd he just do? He knew Tariana and Jake weren't so close right now...stuff happened, though he didn't know what. Embry blushed even more, "You can't really approve her, you don't know her...she's new on the reserve, her name's Janelle..." he trailed off, he wasn't sure what else to say about her. Tariana would probably pester him with questions now anyways.

Tariana stiffened at the mention of Jacob's name. She quickly shook it off, though. "Sweet, she sounds great," Tariana murmured, disappointed and completely distracted. But why was she disappointed?...
She loved Embry, but she'd much rather have Jacob there with her now.

He stopped and hugged her, "I'm sorry Tariana, I shouldn't have said anything." Embry replied, he felt bad. It was obvious she was already missing him. He wished he could tell her he was right outside in the forest but knew he couldn't. Jacob and Dumbledore both told him not to. URGH!

"It's okay," Tariana said. She looked up and could see the blush in his cheeks, the blood boiling just underneath his skin... and she was suddenly very thirsty. Turning away so his scent wasn't as strong, Tariana pinched her nose and said, "I think I need to feed now. You're smelling a little too tempting, my friend." God, her thirst was getting out of control! She stood up, not waiting for Embry to follow; she knew he'd be able to find her scent. Quickly and swiftly she left the common room, went down the steps, took the hall and was outside within seconds. Ahh, fresh morning air. She felt just a little better, but she'd feel better once she fed. Her ears seemed to perk up as she listened closely for the sound, any sound, of wildlife. She could've sworn she heard the familiar footfall sound of someone... but it wasn't. Surely, it couldn't be. He wasn't there! She ran deeper into the forest and found a nice elk. Tackling the animal, she quickly drained it's body of blood. Once she was done she pulled back and whipped the back of her hand across her mouth. There. Much better. Now Embry wouldn't be so... mouthwatering. Sitting down on a fallen tree, she decided to relax for a minute before she headed back into the school, so Emby would be able to catch up to her.

Embry nodded as she ran off, he followed to wait right outside the forest, during feeding was Jake's time to shine. Embry hated looking at the blood. He leaned against a tree neat the edge of the lake. Damn, this place was nice!

Jacob could sense Tari running into the woods and he snuck over to where she was. For now she was just resting against a log. He plopped down, hidden in the shadows to watch her. He wished Embry was in his werewolf form, he wanted to talk to him!

After a short rest, Tariana ignored the feeling that she was being watched and walked back out of the forest. She went to Embry and said, "Let's go for a walk, shall we?" She took him by the arm and led the way so they were walking along the edge of the lake. "So I guess you want to know about the whole situation with Jacob, huh." It was more of a statement than a question.

Embry nodded, "Sure." then allowed her to lead him, she knew where she was going, he, however, did not. Then hearing her he gave an apologetic smile, "Sort of, but if it's hard to talk about you don't have to tell me." he looked over his shoulder and saw a wolf form. JAKE! He wished he could go great him but that would look suspicious with Tariana right with him.

Tariana took a deep breath. "We got into a fight. We said things we shouldn't have said. And before I knew it, I fired him, and then I broke up with him. Our relationship didn't even last twenty-four hours." She gazed at the lake, her eyes becoming glossy with tears. "I regret it. I shouldn't have said what I said. I called him ignorant, naive. I never should have done that." She shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans. "I love him, Embry. I love him more than anyone else in this world. I would die for him. But now he's gone because I told him to leave, and it's a little too late for me to tell him now. I pushed him away. He probably won't even speak to me ever again. I doubt he cried; I doubt he was upset. He was probably relieved to be rid of me, relieved to not have to trail behind me anymore." She exhaled, rubbing at her eyes, catching the tears before they could fall. "I wish I could take it all back." Her voice cracked on the last word.

Embry placed his arm around her and hugged her. Why hadn't Jake told him this already? "Shh, Tariana...I know Jacob, he's incapable of hating you." His eyes met Jake's across the lake and Jake turned away, sulking back into the forest. But Embry could see the pain in his eyes. "I bet he is regretting things just as much as you. And he loves you, I know it, because Quil and I have had to listen to him going on and on about you before. And we know he's in love." he hoped he was helping a little, but who knew.

Tariana's eyes fell to the ground. "You know I love you Embry; you're my best friend, apart from Jake. But I wish he was here right now. I miss him more than I could ever imagine, and he has only been gone a few hours." Jake she willed with her mind, hoping maybe he could sense her or hear her somehow magically. Please, come back to me.

Embry bit his lip, he wanted to tell her so bad right now, but he couldn't! He'd promised he wouldn't. "I know Tariana, I'm sorry..." he didn't know what else to say. If he kept talking he'd blurt it out.

Jake could feel a pull towards Tari but he resisted, she wanted him. But he couldn't do it as of yet. He needed to watch from a distance for awhile. Give her time to fully cool down.

Sucking it up, Tariana shrugged. "Oh well. There's nothing I can do, and it's best to not dwell on the past." Trying to perk up, she bumped her shoulder playfully against Embry's. "At least I have you here with me. Like a giant piece of home." She smiled up at him, her best friend. At least she had him with her. She'd be okay with him by her side.

Embry chuckled, hopefully it wouldn't be too long. As much as he loved Tariana he missed Janelle already...He shook his head, right now she needed him, he could put aside himself for awhile for Tari! Smiling at her words he decided to try to lighten up the mood. Placing his hands on his hips in an angry girl manner, Embry exclaimed, "Tariana Zakir! Are you calling me fat?" with a mock serious look.

Tariana snickered. "Yes Embry, you're huge." She linked their arms together, leaning in closer to Embry. She loved how the wolves were always so warm. And they were all so much bigger than her! "I really have missed you. I wish father didn't want me to stay here. Then we could all be back in La Push."

Embry put a mock offended look on his face. "I'm hurt!" he replied with pout and a small sniffle. Then hearing her he gave her a hug and nodded, "I know what you mean. I'd have Janelle and you'd be with Jake." Not like she wasn't already, Embry knew he was watching them as they spoke.

Tariana patted his arm. "You'll be okay, brother." She returned his hug, still keeping close to him and his warmth. She laughed, the sound bitter and almost mournful. "Yeah, right. Jacob hates me now. He'll never take me back. You should've seen his face." Clear as day she could see the pain on his face, but for some reason, she couldn't seem to remember what they had faught for. That pity, huh? "If he were a vampire like me, he'd probably rip my heart out and drain my body of blood just for hurting him and sending him away."

Embry rolled his eyes, "Tariana, I bet if he were here now," he attempted to keep a straight face, "he'd want to rip you apart for hearing you say you thought he hated you! Jake is incapable of hating you. Quil and I have been listening to him go on and on about you for years!"

Patting his arm, Tariana said, "If you insist." She didn't want to face it, but she was going to have to move on Jacob-less. Facing forward, she leaned her head onto Embry's shoulder as they kept walking.

SEVERAL WEEKS LATER.

Thirsty. That's all Tariana's brain told her. It was all she could see, smell, touch, feel, taste. Her throat burned, her eyes were black. Blood. She needed it. Now.
Swiftly and silently, she exited the dorm and prowled down the stairs at full speed, visually nothing more than a blur. She was being sneaky.
Exiting the school, she tore into the night, heading straight for the forest. She had fed on too many animals; the crop of animals for her to drink from in the forest was quickly dwindling down. Surely someone would notice soon; Hagrid was bound to have a fit. But none of that mattered to her as she tackled a deer, quickly draining it of blood. More. She needed more! She attacked an elk, repeating the process. Not many animals were left, other than the magical ones, which she refused to touch.
Just then, she heard the sound of a stampede. What? Several sets of hooves were hitting the ground, heading toward her. Turning around, her violet eyes scanned the forest, landing on a large group of moving mass. Centaurs! They had bows and arrows, and they were heading her way. She laughed insanely. Did they honestly think they could hurt her? She'd kill them all!
It was odd, really; when Jacob left her, Tariana seemed to lose some of her sanity. She had become more animalistic, letting her vampire side take over. She had become heartless, seeking out danger for the fun of it.
As they neared her, she crouched down, teeth bared, nails out, eyes narrowed as she let a loud growl tear from her throat. There was blood on her lips as they came near her. They weren't stopping. And she wouldn't stop until they were all lifeless.

Jake perked up, he'd decided to just stay in werewolf form for the evenings, in case of emergency. And now he heard the soft pad of Tari's feet, she was hunting. But he could sense something else, a large mass of centaurs, and knowing them they weren't happy about the decrease in animals. He sprang to life and quickly ran towards where the centaurs and Tari were. He jumped over her, coming from behind and hunkered down, teeth bared at the centaurs. Dumbledore had said this was taken care of. So why were they attacking now?

As the large wolf appeared in front of them, the centaurs stopped, lowering their bows. Jacob was larger than any of the centaurs.
Meanwhile, Tariana was stiff, not breathing, completely in shock. Jacob? He couldn't be... He was back in La Push! Yet here he was, protecting her as he had promised to. "Jacob?" she said his name timidly, as if she were a small child questioning an adult. This was too good to be true; she had to be hallucinating. She slowly reached out for him with a shaky hand. Her hand clasped around fur. He was real! He was really there!
Letting out a cry, she reached up and flung herself to his wolf form, wrapping her arms around his neck. She squeezed him to her, supressing tears. But then the centaurs ruined the moment by making noises. Turning to them and glaring deathly, Tariana hissed, "If you have any self-preservation for you and your people, you'll leave us alone. I have permission from Dumbledore himself to hunt here. Be gone, before I kill." Hearing her words, the centuars left.
Turning back to Jacob, she asked, "How can you be here?" But he was in wolf form; he couldn't answer her.

Jake was surprised to say the least when she attacked him with a hug. Frankly he was surprised she was so happy to be here. He remained in his defensive position until the centaurs left. And after they were gone he gently pushed her away from him and walked back into the forest to transform back. After doing so he entered the clearing again. "I never left Tariana. Dumbledore told me it'd be best if I layed low in the woods for awhile, while Embry became your lead protector."