During the night, Parry was assigned to watch over me.

He did what Duke usually did, sitting in the sofa chair and fiddling with his nails as I drifted in and out of sleep.

It was ridiculously hard to sleep when my brain ravaged through the ideas of what could have possibly transpired with Ryde. I wanted to know everything, and now.

-

When I woke. I was alone and quickly dragged myself out of bed.

I raced through a shower and clean clothes consisting of blue faded skinny jeans and a simple black T.

I pulled my damp hair into a low ponytail and began moving downstairs, hopping while I fiddled with my converse shoes.

Paying hardly any attention, my body collided with something, or someone hard as I stumbled down the stairs towards Duke's den.

It was Riley.

"What's the rush?" He steadied me with his arms on my elbows

"No rush. Where's Duke?" I rushed out, giving myself away

"Duke" He rubbed his chin "Speaking of which, what happened last night?" He eyed me up and down

"Nothing" I rolled my eyes and tried to push past him.

Of course it didn't work.

Vampires were hard to push past.

"Come with me, I know you're hungry, let's go eat" He smiled, pulling me by the arm towards the kitchen

"But, I-" I tried to protest

"Oh, shush, later" He quieted me pushing me gently towards a dining room seat

I did what he said when the growling in my stomach became more violent.

"What would you like today?" He opened the fridge, shuffling around

"Surprise me" I replied, looking down at the table where my eyes noticed of the pattern Duke had traced with his fingers.

I ran my fingertips along it as Riley began taking ingredients out of the cupboards and fridge. I had assumed it would bacon and eggs by the simpleness of items.

"So, what happened last night Pretty?" He began raising his eyebrows

"I already told you, nothing" I repeated, not willing to tell him that Duke and I had kissed. If that's what it was with the short extent of it.

The thought replayed in my mind, I shivered but forced myself to act as normal as possible with Riley so near.

"Oh, come on Rosie, don't be like that. If you don't tell me, I'll only think more dirty of it. I couldn't see his hands, nor yours, which leads me to wonder, where were they?" He started, winking at me suggestively as he spoke his question like it were a riddle.

"You're an idiot Riley" I sighed

"That doesn't answer my question Rosalie" He sighed as he cracked an egg into the pan

"It doesn't?" I smiled, playing stupid

"If he was in fact touching you, say, wherever, you've done well, he never touches anyone unless he's throwing punches"

"He punches you?" I asked, changing the subject, yet actually interested

"Yeah, it barely hurts though, and I'm almost always asking for it" He winked, turning back to the pan "But nice try on the subject change, it's not working. So tell me what happened? I bit of kissy kissy, touchy touchy?"

"If I tell you, will you keep it to yourself, keep a secret for once in your life?" I gave in, wanting to get off the subject. I had a feeling he wasn't going to give in until I told him the complete truth.

"Sure will" He nodded, turning to face eager for the information

"We kissed, but barely, it wasn't really a kiss. It was more like a peck, a really really short peck on the lips" I admitted, looking down at the pattern I traced with my fingers

"I knew it" He pointed at me, satisfied with the admittance so far

"So you walked in at a good time, thanks for that" I shot back, unsure if what I had said meant that I was actually happy or sad about the fact

He shook his head and snickered

"Yeah, I sort of feel guilty for barging in like I did, I mean, god knows what would have happened if I didn't" He watched me, leaning forward over the kitchen island counter "You could be pregnant if I hadn't of burst in" He whispered with a wide smile

I shuttered, and didn't bother to hide it "Riley!"

"Hey, I'm not the human making out with a vampire" He moved back with his hands up

"He started it not me, and for your information, I didn't even kiss him back, I just kind of froze" I admitted

He turned back to the pan and poked around the egg cooking

"Doesn't mean you didn't want it to happen, or continue" He mumbled

"It doesn't matter what I want, it's still wrong, it still shouldn't have happened" I shook my head

It was hard to tell if I even believed my own words. It shouldn't have happened, but it did, and I had liked it, in the most unnatural of ways. It was wrong, yet it felt so undeniably right.

"I bet you a thousand dollars it happens again, and again, and again-" He smiled confidently as he threw on the pan some bacon.

"I get it" I cut him off

"What was last night's big drama about anyway?" I asked, hanging for the answers of what had developed with Ryde

"I'm not supposed to tell you" He quickly replied

"Why not?"

"Duke said so"

"But it's about me, why hide it from me?" I asked, creasing my eyebrows

"Cause, he wants to tell you himself" Riley shifted the pan on the stove top

"Can't you just tell me a little about what's going on? An outline?" I pushed, wanting to hear the news, now "I told you what happened last night with Duke and I, I deserve a little something back"

"Fine, but when Duke tells you at least act surprised" He winked, turning to face me

I nodded, leaning forward with one hundred percent focus

"Seth's spying came to reveal some interesting things. Dodge has planned the entire attack out, and luckily Seth caught hold of it all. We have the upper hand" He smiled "He's planning to attack here with a few of his new friends. He thinks that if a battle erupts, someone - probably Duke - will try his best to get you out. Then Dodge and Ryde plan to ambush you both as you flee. Dodge will distract Duke as Ryde takes you"

"That's a pretty weak plan, do you believe it?" I asked, not really buying it.

From what I had discovered, Dodge was cunning experienced and wise, the plan sounded too amateur for him.

He shrugged "That's what Seth said, but we have to believe it, because if we don't and it happens, we won't be prepared"

"What if they knew Seth was listening. It sounds way way too easy" I shook my head.

Something was wrong. I could feel it. I was not convinced, not the least bit. They were up to something deeper, and I knew it.

Riley finished up making breakfast and sat with me while I ate. In the short half an hour, I'd learnt that he had a serious thing for Jaymi. It was hard to take him seriously most of the time, but I could tell from the way he spoke of her, he was genuine.

It had turned out I wasn't the only one unsure of how and what to feel when it came to romance.

Although, I actually liked the idea of Riley and Jaymi being together, it was possible for them, it was realistic, so I endorsed him into asking her out.

After eating, Riley instructed me that we were to go to Duke's den, where he and all the others would be ready to discuss the revelation.

I was eager to have my say, eager to tell them that they were wrong, and something far more sinister and conspicuous was going on.

I entered the study alongside Riley noticing the group sat scattered around the room already, waiting.

My eyes immediately flew to Duke who was already looking at me. His face was stern and moved to Harris when he spotted me. I quickly felt the tension and regret radiating off of him. How stupid had I of been to assume the moment would have made things easier between us.

Darius was seated across from Duke, Seth on his left and Parry seated on a separated chair. I instantly wanted to sit in a corner, but instead Riley pushed me towards the group, and I unfavorably sat beside Darius.

He gave me a warm smile as he turned his bright blue eyes toward me "Hey Rosie"

"Hey" I smiled, forced

"I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your mother" He apologized, draping an arm casually behind my back on the couch

"Thanks" I weakly smiled, pushing the thought back before I turned my attention onto the group

Seth stood and began

"I have spent the last week scouring out Ryde, Dodge and their strategies, and I have to say, I'm disappointed, it's original, thoughtless and weak. They plan on sending a group of recruits to attack us at the end of the week, sometime during the night. While on the attack, they plan to seclude Rosie and whomever it will be attempting to remove her from the fight. They know that Duke is personally invested in protecting Rosalie because of his connection with Thomas, so they have a special interest in occupying him long enough to snatch her from his - and ultimately - our reach" He explained

"If anyone attempts to drag Rosie out of the home, they plan on having at least 3 strong minds and bodies along the outskirts of town, ready to attack. Thankfully, I know the identity of those three, they consist of Ryde, Dodge, and Archer" Seth continued.

I was biting my tongue, and it eventually fought loose

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe it" I cut in, causing all eyes to turn straight to me

"It's too easy, way too easy. I'm not falling for it, no offense, but from what I know, Dodge it too smart for that. I think they knew Seth was listening, they spoke what they wanted him to hear, until he left. It's a diversion" I voiced my opinion.

I didn't want any of them killed, and that was exactly what was going to happen if they believed the story.

"If they knew I was there, they would have killed me. I was alone, it wouldn't have been hard" Seth argued

"That wouldn't help them. They just used you as an advantage" I quickly defended

"No disrespect Seth, but I happen to agree" Parry spoke, joining in the conversation "I've witnessed some of their destructive doings, and they were way more complex than this, and the reasons for those attacks were way less serious than this"

I felt better knowing I had a supporter.

"I agree" Harris nodded

"Something much more complicated is going on behind this. I can feel it" I continued

"You can feel it?" Darius cocked an eyebrow, looking at me "What do you mean by that?"

I narrowed my eyes at him "Something in the back of my mind keeps telling me that something else is going to happen, this isn't the way it's going down, I just know it"

I could see the disbelief in his eyes as he shrugged and leaned back in his seat beside me.

"Even if something else is going on, we have to be alert, prepared if it does happen" Duke glanced in between everyone, except me "If they expect us to be here, then we may have to re-locate"

"No. That's exactly what they may be waiting for. If they think Seth believes them, they will almost certainly expect us to move" I tried "They will expect me to be moved, so I refuse to go anywhere, I'm staying here" I stood my ground and folded my arms across my chest.

Duke was unimpressed and shook his head frustrated.

"If I decide to move you Rosie, you have no choice, you're going whether you like it or not. There's nothing you can do to stop it" Duke instructed as though I was a child refusing to go to her nutty grandparents for the holidays.

He then turned to the rest of the group,

"Seth, you're going to have to dig deeper. Maybe get information from other sources, other families, people that know them. People that now their tactics" Duke directed

He nodded "I'll do what I can"

"Darius, you may have to speak to our father and uncle about Thomas. We could be missing something. Maybe even seek help from our Grandfather. I know he was close to Dodge, maybe he can give you an insight into how Dodge's mind works"

I could tell that Darius was less than impressed by taking orders from his brother

"Okay" He just nodded as he fiddled with his coat hem

"Harris, you can join Seth, or speak to your friends in Paris, I know we have some connections there, but they may be hesitant to provide help" Duke looked beside himself to Harris, who nodded

After Duke's demands, Seth, Harris, and Darius were on their way.

We were running out of time.

Parry and Riley moved towards each other and began joking around as they wrestled.

I watched them, but couldn't bring myself to smile, distracted. I was engrossed in the thought of Dodge and Ryde, and just what they had stuffed up their sleeves.

Duke eventually returned to his den after walking most of the leavers out of the house. Surprisingly, he sat beside me as I sat frozen watching Riley and Parry.

"Where's Grant?" I asked, not moving my gaze

"With Jaymi upstairs" Duke answered beside me

"Is that safe for her?" I asked, wondering if he were currently hitting on her

Duke sighed "I'm sure she can handle him"

He was right.

"Something bad is going to happen" I leaned back, rubbing my hands over my face, frustrated

"How are you so sure?"

"I just know" I rest my hands in my lap leaning my head back

"I think you're under a lot of stress lately and you're starting to worry too-"

"No, that's not it, it's something else" I exhaled deeply as I stood up, feeling angry that people weren't taking me seriously.

I stormed from the room, rubbing my temples. I couldn't just sit around and do nothing, something was going to give.

If it was about my safety and welfare, then I shouldn't have been sitting around waiting for everyone else to save me. I had to have some part in saving myself.

"Rosie" Duke's voice called from behind me, following me

I turned at the bottom of the staircase and immediately said what I was thinking

"Can I borrow your phone?" I asked, narrowing my eyes up at him

He paused for a minute before speaking "What for?"

"I want to warn Clora" I quickly replied

"About what? About vampires?" He raised an eyebrow much like Darius had earlier, mocking me like it were a joke

"You think this is a joke? She could die because of this?" I defended, angry

"She's not. She's not your family. Dodge wouldn't even know about her"

"I don't care. I want to be safe. I don't want anymore deaths because of me"

He sighed, and folded his arms across his chest "Trust me, she will be perfectly fine"

"You can't promise me that" I shot back

"I can, just like I can promise that you won't be killed" He tried

I scoffed and shook my head "I couldn't care less about myself right now. I just don't want Clora or any of you to die for me like this"

"I admire your compassionate speech Rosie. But at the moment you should be more worried about yourself than anyone else, especially us"

"You don't deserve to die because of what I am"

"And you don't deserve to die because of what we are" He argued

I looked away from his face, and bit my bottom lip.

"You may think you have nothing else to live for. But I know that other people live for you still being here. Like Clora, your other friends, your boyfriend" He spoke softly as he took another step closer to me.

"Boyfriend?" I smiled, looking up at him

"Covering basics" He smiled in return "But you have to find other things to live for Rosie. You're young, don't give up so easily" He was serious again

I nodded and looked back down at the floor "If this is what's going to happen, I want to do something instead of sitting around. I want to help" I demanded

"Like what exactly?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows

"Anything"

"Sorry to say, but there really isn't anything" He shook his head, looking above my head

"There has to be something" I tried

He still shook his head.

"Well when you come up with something, run it by me" I suggested

He just gave a nod

In return I gave him a weak smile and turned, walking upstairs.

Just as I reached the top, Jaymi bounced in front of me.

"Hey" She greeted

I stood frozen, my eyes wide and petrified as I noticed deep crimson liquid staining her bottom lip. My eyes kept on her mouth as I lifted my hand and rubbed my own bottom lip in gesture

"You have-" I trailed off

She creased her eyebrows before running her vanilla sleeve over her lip, smudging it, then examining it.

"Oh my god" She panicked looking inbetween her sleeve and me

"I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" She winced, running her sleeve frantically over her lip

"Yeah, I'm fine" I breathed, bracing a hand on the staircase railing as I felt a wave of nausea

"Rosie, you're getting pale, are you sure you're okay?" She continued as she rolled her sleeve up to hide the blood

"Just don't like the thought of ..that" I smiled weakly, pointing to her mouth.

The thought of them drinking human blood made me feel sick. It made me remember Ryde pushing and pulling on my flesh, draining me of life.

"Just, try and think of it as, I don't know, cranberry juice" She continued to panic, watching me carefully as though I was about to break into pieces

I laughed and thankfully it actually made me feel a little better. But I remained holding onto the hand rail, taking big breaths in hopes of subsiding the nausea.

"What did you do to her now?" Duke's voice returned from behind

"Nothing" She quickly defended

"Then why does she look as though she's seen a ghost?" He was unconvinced as I felt his hand on my back

"I .. I, tripped up the stairs, I was inches from face planting when Jaymi caught me" I lied, trying to save her

"Nice try Rosie"

I really sucked at lying, silently cursing myself out for the lack in skill.

"I told her a really bad blood curdling joke. It was probably not the right time" Jaymi tried again to cover it up

"And did it involve the blood on your sleeve" Duke knew better "You know, you should just tell me the truth from the start because either way, i'm still going to get mad" He told her

Suddenly I wondered how he knew. I could no longer see the blood, so how had he known?

"Darn it" Jaymi cursed as I regained myself and stood up straight, letting Duke's hand fall from my back.

"I'm All good now. Come on Jaymi" I rushed, grabbing hold of Jaymi's arm as I pulled her along

"We'll talk later Jaymi" Duke called out angrily to her as we disappeared around the corner towards my room

"He's going to kill me" Jaymi sighed as we made it to my bedroom.

I sat in the middle of the untidy bed and crossed my legs.

Jay I stood in the middle of the room with her hands on her hips, staring at me

"What?" I asked

"How come I had to hear about yours and Duke's make out session last night from Riley?" She asked, my mouth hung open

"That son of a -"

"I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later" She waved her hands at me to shoosh me.

"We didn't make out for the hundreth time" I defended

"Sure sure" She smirked.

"Whatever" I growled throwing my arms in the air as I fell backwards on the bed