Name: Hell Hath No Fury
Rating: M
Pairing: Embry/Bella
A/N: Hi all! This is my first Twilight FF and I am extremely excited (and nervous). Just a few warnings, this story will be non-canon and OOC for certain characters. It will include violence, sex, underage drinking and vulgarity. Please, if you are underage don't read it. It begins during New Moon when Embry and Jared bring Bella to Emily's. It is NOT an imprinting story.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Twilight. The characters, locations and canon plot lines belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do, however, own the right to the characters unique to this story and the plotlines unique to this story.
Hell Hath No Fury
Chapter One
"Maybe you'd better drive, Embry. She still looks like she might hurl."
"Good idea. Where are the keys?" Embry asked.
"Ignition."
Embry opened the passenger-side door. "In you go," he said cheerfully, hauling Bella up from the ground with one hand stuffing her into the seat. He appraised the available space. "You'll have to ride in the back," he told Jared.
The other boy frowned, "No way man," leaning into the cab of the truck, "scoot over."
Bella complied numbly, her heart was still racing.
The cab of her truck felt smaller, more claustrophobic now that she was stuck between the two overgrown teenagers, heat radiating from their bodies as they pressed in closely on either side of her.
"You good Bella?" Embry asked, sneaking a glance in her direction as he maneuvered the steering wheel as best he could with his arms pinned so close to his sides.
She nodded, swallowing heavily, "Where are we going?"
"Emily's house. She's Sam's fiancée." Jared answered, "Don't worry, they'll be over when they're done."
"Does Emily know about them? About you?"
"Yeah, she knows. And hey, don't stare ok? It bugs Sam."
She turned slightly, frowning, "Why would I stare?"
Embry shifted uncomfortably and she noticed Jared lean a little further out the window, "Hanging around us has its risks, that's all I'm saying."
Bella understood, she had spent the past year dating a vampire, she knew more than her fair share about danger.
The car halted to a stop abruptly in front of a little worn down cottage nestled amongst the trees. Its grey paint was peeling and it had certainly seen better days but the window box was overflowing with bright orange flowers giving it a homey feel.
The boys were out of the truck and bounding towards the door before Bella realized they were gone.
"Bella?" Embry called over to her, turning in the doorway to see what was taking her so long, "Come on we don't bite."
Jared snorted and raised one eyebrow in her direction, a mischievous smile dancing across his face, "Speak for yourself Call."
Embry shoved him good naturedly before looping back around to the driver's side of the truck, "You ok?"
"Yeah, uh, can you, do you mind, uh – "
He cut her off, grinning, "Spit it out Bella."
She blushed, "It's just a lot to process right now. Would you mind driving me home?"
Bella knew Jacob would be mad she didn't wait around to talk to him and to Sam, she was supposed to be telling them about Victoria, but it wasn't everyday you watched your best friend burst into a bear sized wolf before your eyes. She just wanted to put as much distance between herself and La Push, at least until she could wrap her mind around all of this.
Embry seemed to understand, "Yeah no problem, scoot over."
"Shouldn't you let them know?" She asked, gesturing towards the cottage.
"Nah, I'll drop you off and run back, they won't be too concerned."
"Run back?"
"Yeah, you know, as a wolf."
Oh. She had known, logically she had known that they were all wolves, but hearing it from Embry's mouth was different. She wondered what type of wolf quiet Embry Call would be, he didn't seem to the type to fight the way she had seen Paul and Jacob fight. Then again, she wouldn't have thought Jake was the type, if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes.
The rest of the ride passed in companionable silence. Bella had a lot to think about, what with the sudden knowledge that the Cullen's weren't the only supernatural, creatures, traipsing around Forks, and having just seen her best friend explode into a massive bear-sized wolf. She hardly noticed they were parked outside her house until Embry shook her.
"You're home Bella." He reached for her hand, opening fists she didn't know where clenched and placing her keys in her palm, before curling her fingers back up.
His hand was hot on her skin, but not sweaty or clammy.
"How did you know where I lived?"
If it was possible, Bella could have sworn his russet skin flushed pink, "Uh, we've patrolled around here a few times, just to make sure you know?"
"Make sure of what?"
Embry looked down, embarrassed, and refused to answer.
"To see if Edward was back?" She could hear the shrillness in her voice but couldn't fight it back, how dare they.
He mumbled something that sounded like a yes, still watching his hands.
"Well he isn't coming back, he made that very clear, so you can let Sam know. And while you're at it, let him know you all can stop spying on me." She was raging inside.
Embry looked up, his black gaze holding hers, "It wasn't spying Bella, we just wanted to make sure you were ok. Those leeches are dangerous, you never – "
"Oh yeah, and I'm sure all of you were just dying to protect the leech-lover," she grinned humorlessly, remembering Paul's nickname from only an hour before, "I bet you were fighting over who got to come here and protect me, huh Embry?"
"Paul's kind of a dick, he didn't mean to call you that, he's just got a temper."
"That's what I am though, isn't it? You were thinking it, even if you didn't say it."
She half expected Embry to start shaking and explode like she had witnessed Paul and Jake do earlier, but his body gave no sign of changing, the calm collectiveness of his face remaining firmly in place as he tried to reason with her.
"No Bella, I wasn't thinking that."
She didn't want to believe him, but there was sincerity in his voice that was hard to miss.
She was exhausted all of a sudden, the adrenaline dissipating quickly from her body, as she felt overtaken by an emotional heaviness she hadn't succumbed to in weeks.
"Thanks for driving me home Embry, but you should get going. And please, tell Jake not to come, tell him I'll call him when I'm ready."
Embry slid out the driver's door, backing away from her slowly, "Yeah, ok, I'll let him know. And Bella?"
"Yeah Embry?"
"Don't judge all of us by how Paul acts. Like I said, he's a dick, always has been, always will be."
He didn't give her a chance to respond, instead turning and running full sprint towards the forest. Her eyes remained on his retreating form until he launched in the air and burst gracefully into a sleek grey wolf, his fur littered with black spots. He was smaller than Jacob and Paul's wolf, but he had a gracefulness about him that they had lacked. He was beautiful.
The wolf turned its head slightly in her direction, bowing its head, before disappearing into the forest.
That was not how she had planned her Saturday to go.
Bella woke early the next morning to find the house empty and a note on the kitchen table; Charlie had to work all day. She kept herself busy for a few hours cleaning to the house from top to bottom, rearranging cabinets and drawers that really didn't need to be rearranged and attempting to polish the wood floors, before giving up. But by noon she was restless and her mind kept flitting back to the day before, to La Push and the mysterious wolf boys that roamed the reservation.
She had checked her cell phone earlier, 15 missed calls from Jacob and numerous voicemails. She had expected it. A part of her wanted to call him back, to beg for an explanation, but another part of her, a bigger part of her, was warning her to stay away, to stay far away. Edward wouldn't like this, she thought, this was just the type of danger he had made her promise to stay away from.
Well screw Edward. He wasn't here so he had no say in what she did or didn't do. She could hang out with whomever she wanted, werewolf or not.
She had the phonebook out from the draw and was scanning down the C's for his last name before she had time to second-guess her decision. The phone rang once, than twice, before –
"Hello?"
"Hi, is the um, Call residence?"
"Yes."
"Can I please speak to Embry?"
"This is Embry."
"Oh, hi, it's Bella, Bella Swan."
He chuckled.
"I know who you are Bella."
"Oh, um, yeah."
"What's up Bella?"
His voice was impassive, steady even. He didn't seem surprised in the slightest by her call.
"Are you around today? I um, I had some questions."
He didn't respond at first.
"Yeah I'm around."
"Can we meet at First Beach?"
Another pause.
"Sure. Meet you there in a hour then?"
"Sounds good. Thanks Embry."
"Yeah. See you soon Bella."
She instantly regretted calling him, he obviously didn't want to talk to her, to meet up with her; but it was too late now.
Embry placed the phone back in its cradle with a little more force than necessary. Sam was going to kill him, especially after yesterday. His mind flashed back to the conversation the pack had had after he got back from Bella's.
"Where the hell have you been?"
"Sorry Sam, Bella asked me to drive her home."
He shrunk under his alpha's glare, slinking towards an empty chair between Paul and Jared, the former was glaring at him worse than Sam and Jake combined.
"That wasn't your place Embry, Jake said she knew about the leech we've been chasing. We needed to speak to her."
Embry shrugged, "She said she'd call Jake when she was ready to talk."
He didn't dare make eye contact with his best friend, the anger was radiating off of him in waves.
"You should've waited for me, I can take care of Bella." Jake was seething.
Paul laughed, "Is that so baby alpha? You take care of her real good?" He made an obscene gesture in Jacob's direction and if it wasn't for Sam's quick reflexes Jake would've jumped the table to get at him.
"No more making decisions without discussing with me first, got it Call?"
"Yeah Sam, got it." He hoped his voice didn't sound too bitter.
Jake had raged the rest of the night, complaining to anyone who would listen that he should have been the one to bring Bella home, that he could have explained it better, calmed her down, made her understand.
Paul was right behind him, assuring everyone that it was better off the leech-lover had run home, that she should have never been on the rez in the first place. Embry doubted either of them would be very happy to know he was meeting up with her.
As soon as the phone rang he knew instinctively who it was. Quil had given up calling him weeks ago and his brothers, the pack, never used the phone. They didn't need to. Stupid mind-link, they would know everything as soon as he phased. He had a few hours though, before he was expected at Emily and Sam's, enough time to talk to Bella and figure out what to tell the pack.
He searched the cramped apartment for a decently clean pair of cut-offs, his mom hadn't been home in a week, visiting a new boyfriend on the Makah reservation, and it was hard to fit housework in with school and pack duties.
When almost an hour had passed he decided there was no point waiting any longer and made his way to the beach. His mom worked the gift shop down there and so they rented a second floor apartment closer to the touristy area of La Push.
It was overcast and cold even for March, so the beach was empty save for himself. He heard the truck coming long before it came into sight. Hell all of La Push probably heard the old rust bucket, hopefully, that didn't include the other members of the pack.
He watched her jumped down from the cab of her car, slamming the door shut with more force than should ever be necessary. She noticed him too, pausing by the side of the truck, her eyes trained on him. Then, pulling her green jacket tighter around her, she began walking towards the piece of driftwood he was sitting on, head down, watching her feet so as not too fall. He doubted she even realized she did it.
He stood, meeting her halfway.
"Hi Embry, thanks for meeting me."
He nodded, a ghost of a smile crossing his face, "Hey Bella."
An uncomfortable silence set, neither making eye contact. He shifted from foot to foot, shoving his hands deeper in the pockets of his cut-offs.
"Wanna walk?"
He nodded, relieved she had spoken.
They walked along the shoreline, heads ducked, silent. He hadn't noticed until now how petite she was. Her head barely reached his shoulder and her waist was slender. He had the briefest urge to wrap her up in his arms and cradle her to him; to protect her from the secrets, no the horrors, of their secret.
But just as soon as it hit him, the feeling was gone, and he remembered they had met here for a purpose, "You wanted to ask me questions?"
She stopped abruptly, stumbling over her feet. Instinctively he reached out, his hand wrapping around her forearm, so small in his hand, steadying her.
"Oh, yeah. I did, I do. I just, I don't know where to start."
"Ok, how about I just tell you about the legends? It kinda' explains it all."
She nodded, "Yeah, that would be good, definitely."
They sat in the sand, facing one another, her elbows propped up on her knees, him leaning back on his palms, legs stretched out in front of him. She listened intently, her eyes widening at parts, but never interrupting him. She let him speak; nobody ever let him speak, not for this long, not this deeply.
When he finished she sat still for a minute, processing.
"Still have questions?"
"I think I understand. So this is my fault isn't it? I mean, I kept the Cullen's here, if they weren't here none of you would ever have changed."
He shook his head, "You're missing the point Bella. The Cullen's were already here, it was already set in motion months before you came."
"I'm guessing the rest of the pack doesn't agree with you?"
He smiled guiltily, "Are we that transparent?"
"Kinda," she returned his smile.
"Well I mean Paul isn't your number one fan, but Jared said you're kind of cute and Sam – "
"Feels sorry for me."
"It's just, finding you, the way you were. We all saw it, that pack mind thing I told you about. What he did to you, that leech, it was awful. We're born enemies, but seeing that, that made me really hate him. Hate him for who he is, not just what he is."
The anger in his words surprised even him.
"Edward thought he was doing what was best for me Embry. They're good, I swear, they only eat animals, and they do charity and Carlisle's a doctor. They're just, they're really really –"
"Good. Yeah, you said that. They still left you Bella."
She nodded, "Well can you really blame them? They're ethereal, perfect, and I'm just a klutzy, awkward, insignificant human."
He spoke with force, "No you're not. Look at me Bella," he reached out; lifting her chin up so she had to meet his stare, "you aren't insignificant."
He held her face for another minute before letting his hand drop. He felt suddenly uncomfortable at the intensity emanating between them. His anger towards the creepy Cullen leech and his, he didn't know how to describe what he was feeling towards Bella, were too intense.
"Look Bella, Sam was really pissed at me last night. The pack wants to talk to me."
"So bring me to them."
"Now?"
She nodded, "Can you think of a better time? I mean, I'm here, might as well be now right."
He wished he hadn't suggested it.
"Ok, ok, I'll bring you now, just, keep an open mind ok?"
She rolled her eyes, accepting his hand as he pulled her to her feet, "I'm best friends with a werewolf, I dated a vampire and now I'm having a heart to heart with another werewolf. I would like to think I'm pretty open minded."
He laughed, a real laugh, "Yeah I guess so."
"Well wolf boy, lead me to the pack."