Selcouth • J. Hale ✓

xxix.

Karina's bathing suit is above!

chapter twenty-nine.

Days soon turn into weeks and Karina finds herself hanging out with the wolves than with anyone else. She makes time for Angela and Jessica still but when she wasn't with them, then she was with the wolves. Javier even joined and Karina saw how much it was helping him to be around them all again.

Sam interrogated Karina thoroughly and Karina didn't mind sharing her story with all of them. They were shocked by the end but also confused, they didn't understand these soulmate things because it wasn't like imprinting. That was a different territory, but Karina was more than willing to explain it to them with the help of Javier, who taught her everything she knew.

The wolves instantly bonded with Karina, she had become a part of their daily lives and they even loved when William came around. Karina hadn't felt so carefree in so long since everything that's happened, but she loved the new friends that she made.

Soon, Karina had been introduced to Embry Call. His shifting came as a surprise to everyone because of his apparent upbringing, Karina simply smacked Jared up the head for insinuating that he could be Sam's half-brother. Karina wasn't one for gossip and she refused to hear it.

Her and Paul seemed to bond more than anyone, she understood his anger and he could see that Karina was controlling her own hurricane of emotions. Sam took a liking to William because the boy could easily bring a smile on Emily's face that Sam loved seeing.

Jared was just Jared, kind of the middleman of it all. Embry seemed to take a liking to Karina, but he knew that it would never happen so he admired her from afar much to his pack's distaste as they could hear his thoughts.

Karina's vomiting episodes were becoming more frequent that it was scaring the pack. They didn't know how to help, and Karina refused the idea of trying to drink blood, she didn't want to risk it. She didn't know what it would do and if it did do something then she was afraid of putting people in danger.

Karina looked sickly thin now, she hid it from her mother and William with baggy clothes but when she was with the pack, they could see that she was dying faster than she anticipated. Her skin was pale, not vampire pale, but pale enough to have everyone wonder if she was ill and there was bags under her eyes from the countless nights she's almost drowned in her blood.

Today, Karina joined the pack as they were cliff jumping. It was said to be a total rush and Karina feared that one day, Bella would find out about this. But the said girl had been hanging out with Jacob and Karina noticed the change in her from it.

"Are you sure about this?" Karina questioned as she peaked over the edge.

Karina stood proudly in her black two-piece swimsuit, while it was chilly, the cold never bothered her. Though, now that she was in bardo, it was harder to not be slightly shivering as she looked over the edge.

Any other time, Karina would have the pack members, aside from Sam, Paul, and Javi gawking at her, but they only looked at her with concern. She was thinner than she was a week ago and that terrified them.

"Alright who's first?" Karina questioned, turning to look at them all.

Karina didn't realize that Bella and Jacob could see them from across the way. "Is that Sam Uley?" Bella questioned before her eyes widened at the sight of Karina and Javier. "With Javi and Karina?"

"And his cult." Jacob spoke bitterly, his distaste for them all evident in his tone.

Jacob was disappointed when he learned that Karina was hanging around them all. Since he had yet to experience the shift himself, he only assumed that Karina was into all that gang shit. The same being said for Javi because before Karina, he never really hung out with all of them unless Paul literally made him.

Karina let out a loud laugh when Javier and Paul pushed Jared off the cliff, but this caused Bella to slam her foot down on her brakes.

She jumped out of the car with her heart racing. "Oh my god! Stop them!" Bella shouted.

Jacob can't help but laugh at her concern. "They're not really fighting, Bella. They're cliff diving." He explained to her.

The two watched as Javier effortlessly jumped off the cliff before Paul literally lifted Karina into his arms, her laughter could be heard by them as she playfully pleaded for him not to before he jumped off the edge with her.

"What, like on purpose?" Bella wondered and her heart was still racing as she wondered if Karina was okay.

Jacob nodded his head, "Scary as hell, but a total rush."

Karina emerged from the water and smiled when Sam finally came down. She splashed around for a bit with the pack before swimming back to shore with them. Karina felt it before it had happened, the familiar feeling of her throat clenching before she vomited whatever was in her stomach and more venom.

"Javi!" Karina suddenly shouted before she started coughing violently.

"Karina!" Javier shouted and the pack immediately went to help her as she started to sink.

Water filled her lungs instantly and Karina could swear that there was a sliver of red in the water before black dots covered her sight and everything went black.

∞

Alice's eyes widened when she could once again see Karina.

When Alice and Edward couldn't read Karina anymore, it made them anxious but then they left. While Edward didn't care to know why, Alice hated not knowing and when she got her last vision, she had been even more anxious. She hadn't told anyone what she saw because she wanted to be wrong, she needed to be wrong and seeing Karina fine and well, Alice sighed in relief that she was.

Alice knew that Karina wouldn't have survived a bite from Victoria, but little did she know that Karina was indeed surviving.

Alice saw Karina laughing, something blocking her sight and then Karina falling into water. She could see the life leaving Karina's eyes as she struggled to swim upward. Then everything went dark, and Alice felt her heart sink.

Quickly grabbing her phone, she dialed the only number she could think of. "It's me, you need to go back to Forks and check on Karina."