Hey everybody! First of all, I want to thank you for taking the time to read my story. I'm here to improve my writing, so I encourage harsh (but not mean) criticism.

I hope you like it!

3 Em

I grumble as I step out of the minuscule airport in Port Angeles, Washington, straight into the dreary rain. Music blasts in my headphones, and I chew my lip as I look out for Aunt Sue. At the moment, there isn't a car in sight. Is it so hard for anyone to be on time? I concentrate on the music and not the time passing as I stand out in the rain.

Five minutes...

Ten minutes...

Fifteen minutes...

Finally, a blue Oldsmobile drives up, and Aunt Sue steps out frantically. "Oh, dear! I'm so sorry you had to wait out here for so long! I've got warm soup ready on the stove at home and your room is all set up and ready to sleep in. I'm so sorry, Nichole!"

I smile, shutting off my iPod and slipping the earbuds out of my ears. It's kind of hard to be mad at Aunt Sue when she acts like that.

"It's alright, Aunt Sue. And I go by Nikki now, by the way."

I pick up my bags and slip them into the back of the car.

"Oh! Alright, then. Climb in, and we'll be on our way!"

I shake my head to myself, sliding into the passenger seat of Aunt Sue's car.

I guess I forgot how optimistic she is...

The car ride is filled with talk, mostly from Aunt Sue. It's alright with me, though. I haven't been to La Push since my Dad died when I was twelve.

I'm fifteen now, and my mom just died of cancer. My uncle on my step-father's side, Harry Clearwater, was my godfather, but he died of a heart attack. I'm now moving in with his wife, Sue, her son, Seth, and her daughter, Leah.

My step-father had been married to my mom for as long as I could remember. He was best friends with my dad, and promised to protect my mom and I. My Dad was killed when I was 2, and Jackson and my mom had fallen in love and married. Jackson adopted me when I was 4, so I had had his name since.

Sue and I open the door, and I hear Sue say, "Oh, you guys have friends over! I didn't expect that! Well, here's Nikki!" before she tugs me in by my arm.

Sue has one of my bags, and she slips the other one out of my hands before taking off to some other part of the house. I stare after her, one eyebrow raised, before I'm attacked.

"Nichole! Nick! Nikki! Nichole Avery Clearwater! I can't believe it's you!" Leah shrieks, lifting me up off the floor as she hugs me.

"Can't- breathe!" I croak, and she sets me down. Then, I'm attacked by Seth. He's a little more calm about it, but he still has the puppy-like excitement that Leah had.

"Hey, Nick! What's up?" he asks, but I don't answer. I simply stare up at him. He's younger than me, but he's at least a foot taller then me.

"How... how the hell are you so big?"

He bursts out laughing, wrapping an arm around me and guiding me fully into the living room.

"Growth spurt."

He plops down on the couch, and I hesitate, looking around the room. I choose a seat between Leah and a teenage boy who seems vaguely familiar. Then, it hits me. "Jake? Jacob Black?" I say in disbelief.

He turns to me and grins. "Hey, Nichole! How are you?"

"Good," I reply, looking around the room. "Who is everybody?"

Jake chuckles. "I guess you haven't met everyone yet, have you? Well, that's Sam, Paul, Jared, Quil-"

"Quil Ateara? You mean the Quil that used to pull in my pigtails and stuck gum in my hair when I was 6?"

Jake laughs, and I realize I was too loud as Quil calls, "Sorry about that, Nichole," without looking away from the TV that he's playing X-box on.

I blush, "S'okay, Quil."

Jacob laughs, pulling my attention back to him. "Then there's Collin, Brady, and Embry."

That's when I see him. Embry Call is staring straight at me, open-mouthed. Our eyes lock, and his eyes are filled with emotion. Before I can identify it, I hear Sue call, "Nikki, can you come in here for a minute?" and I'm brought down to earth again.

"Oh! Sure," I call, tearing my eyes away from Embry's. I stand up, shaking my head to clear it as I make my way toward Sue's voice.

I found her in down the hall in the guest room that would now be my room. Sue was smiling brightly.

"I don't mean to keep you from everyone, but I got you a little welcome gift."

She steps over to the dresser, and I sit down on the bed. She plops down next to me and hands me the box. "Leah told me you didn't have one of your own."

Curious, I tear through the wrapping paper and open the plain cardboard box. Inside is a Mac laptop.

"I had Seth set it up. He even installed iTunes and everything."I look up at Sue, my eyes tearing up.

"Thank you so much, Aunt Sue!"

I hug her, before Seth barges in.

"Mom! Stop taking our lovely cousin from us!"

I hear a laugh from the living room.
"Lovely my a-" I hear a slap, and Leah shuts up. I laugh and stand up, setting the laptop on the bed as Seth yanks me out of the room and into the living room.

"So," Jake starts, "There's going to be a bonfire tonight. Want to come? We're all heading out now."

My eyes flick to Leah, and she gives an encouraging nod, holding up two beach bags. One, I assume, is for her and the other for me.

"Sure," I say uncertain.

"Yes!" Quil shouts, leaping over the back of the couch and picking me up. "Nikki! I missed you!"

I laugh, holding onto his shoulders to keep from falling.

"I missed you too, Ateara. Now put me down."

He sets me down, a sloppy grin on his face. "Sorry I didn't say hi earlier. I was playing X-Box."

I roll my eyes, and he throws an arm around my shoulders.

I pause on the way out the door. "You're hot," I blurt without thinking. All heads turn to me and I wave my hands in front of me, blushing. "Not like that! I mean, well, your temperature. You're unusually warm."

My face is still red when Paul claps an arm on my shoulder. "You'll get used to it."

My face heats up even more, and Leah tugs me toward her car, laughing.

"Way to make a first impression, Nikki."

I turn away, biting my lip.

She laughs. "I'm just joking, Nick. Calm down."

Wanting to change the subject, I turn to her and ask, "So, what's the bonfire for?"

"Nothing, actually. We all just hang out. Eat, swim, stuff like that. It's really fun."

I nod and wring my hands nervously and she scoffs. "You're going to be fine. Besides, you could always hang out with Embry. He seemed to like what he saw earlier."

"Ah!" I say, throwing my hands over my eyes. "I can't believe you noticed that!"

She laughs and says, "Hun, everybody in the room noticed. That man is smitten."

Something else hangs in the air. Even though the sentence was light and joking, I detected a double meaning. Filing it away to muse about later, I look up to see a parking lot and an expanse of beach and water in front of us.

Leah and I climb out of the car. Down on the beach, there's a group of girls, who look up and wave. Leah's face hardens.

"Leah? What's wrong?"

"The girl on the left, Emily, stole my boyfriend. Neither of us could control it, but it still sucks ass."

"What do you mean?"

"Just drop it, Nichole." She shoves a beach bag at me a little harder than necessary, and I stumble back, landing on my butt.

"Ow!"

I hear a car door slam, and two arms pick me up off the ground and set me on my feet.

"Leah, what the hell did you do?" Embry growls, and I turn to look at him. His large hands are still on my arms, and he's shaking.

"Um, Embry, calm down. It's nice to know you're looking out for me, but, um, you should probably stop glaring at Leah now," I say nervously. I haven't seen Embry since I was twelve, so I wonder why he's being so protective.

He instantly relaxes, releasing me and bending down to pick up the fallen beach bag.

"Sorry about that, Nichole. It's nice to see you again," he says with a smile, hanging me the beach bag.

I blush, and reply, "It's nothing, really. Do you know what the deal is with Leah and that Emily girl?" Embry and I are walking slowly down the path to the beach, and I realize that everyone else is already there.

"Oh, yeah. Leah's got a huge vendetta against Emily, because she was dating Sam when he im-, uh, met Emily and chose her over Leah. She and Leah are cousins, so I guess that makes it even worse."

"Hmm..."I say, biting my lip. Embry laughs, and I look up at him, confused. "What?"

He's grinning like a goofball when he says, "You used to do that when you were little. It's kind of funny to see you do it now, especially since you've grown up so much."

I blush a bump my shoulder against his arm. "You've grown up more than I have! What are you, ten feet tall?"

He laughs and bumps me back gently as our feet hit the rocky beach. "Not even close, Princess."

I smile softly at the name he'd given me when we were younger and I used to spend more time in La Push.

He leads me over to a circle of logs and lawn chairs set up around a fire-pit. He gestures to the two women that had waved to us earlier, and says, "This is Emily, Kim, and Rachel."

I smile nervously and wave, before Embry tugs me over to one of the logs and sits down next to me.

"You're very pushy, Mr. Call," I say, dropping the beach bag next to me.

Embry bursts out laughing clutching his stomach. I'm lost until I hear him splutter, "La... PUSH," between laughs.

I roll my eyes and slap him on the back of the head. "You're absurd."

I reach down into the beach bag to find the contents of my purse, which I assume Leah had stolen from Aunt Sue and emptied into the bag, a swimsuit, a towel, a hairbrush, and my iPod.

I pull out my phone, and check my messages. I have one from my friend Alison, and two from my friend Maia.

I type two quick hello's to them before turning back to Embry. "I'm going to go change into a swimsuit in Leah's car. I'll be back in a minute."

Leah stands up from a log across the fire-pit and walks with me.

"Soooooo, you and Embry seem to be getting close..." She says innocently.

"Oh, shut up, Leah," I say, rolling my eyes. I open the backseat door and slip the bikini out of the bag. "Cover for me, okay?"

She laughs. "Yes, Nikki."

I roll my eyes and hurry to get the swimsuit on, throwing my shirt on over it and shoving my pants into the bag.

Leah's already dressed in her swimsuit, so she just slips her jeans off and shoves them in her bag. We walk back down the beach, and I plop down on the log next to Embry again. His eyes travel down my legs, and a blush flames up my cheeks.

"Hey, Call! Stop staring at my cousin's sexy legs or I'll tear your head off," Leah calls from down by the water.

"Heel, Leah," Jacob says, and I hear a smack. I turn around to see Jacob rub his head, as he and Leah bicker back and forth.

"Are those two dating?" I ask Embry, turning to face him again.

"Oh! Leah and Jacob? They should be. They're completely meant to be together but they're just to stubborn to give in. Jacob's attached to some girl from Forks, and Leah won't deal with him as more than a friend until he lets go of her."

I nod in understanding, before jumping up suddenly, stripping my shirt off.

"What are you doing?" Embry says, eyes wide.

"Going for a swim. Come on!"

I take off toward the water, where Leah, Quil, Sam, Jacob, and Paul are swimming.

I dive into the freezing water, with a laugh, and Leah turns around.

"Nikki! So nice of you to join us." Then, she splashes a great wave of salt water at me.

"Hey!" I shriek, splashing her back. I accidentally hit Sam, who immediately turns suspiciously to Jacob, splashing him.

"Hey! What was that for?" Jacob yells, trying to splash at Sam, but hitting Leah.

Soon, we're all in the midst of an epic splash fight. I'm just about to get a great shot at Paul, when a huge wave hits my exposed back, sending me under. I come up coughing and spluttering, whirling on my attacker. Embry is standing there innocently, grinning.

"Embry Call!" I shout, jumping at him. He catches me, holding me tight to him so that I can't move.

"Embry! That's not fair!" I half shout, half whine.

"Life isn't fair, Princess."

I pout, crossing my arms over my chest. He laughs, and we all look up as Emily yells, "Food's ready!"

"Embry, I'll forgive you if you carry me back to the fire."

He seems to consider it. "Okay," he decides with a grin, lifting me up into his arms with ease. He slips me over onto his back, and I burst out laughing as he starts to walk up the the beach.

"I feel like a little kid!"

He and I are laughing insanely when we finally get to the circle of logs, and collapse. I wrap myself in the fluffy towel from my bag, smiling as Embry plops down next to me.

The fire's already been started, and there's a huge bounty of food spread out on two fold out tables outside the circle. I raise my eyebrows, looking over at Jacob, who's looking hungrily at the food.

"What'd you guys do, rob a grocery store?"

The circle erupts in laughter, and Sam says, "We all eat a lot, so we have to bring a lot of food."

I nod, "With how big you guys are, I'll believe that."

Embry chuckles next to me, and people stand up around the fire to get food. Embry pulls me up with him, handing me a plate. I take one hot dog, a handful of chips, and a cupcake. When Embry and I sit down again, my jaw drops at his plate. More like plates actually. He's got a plate for hot dogs, a plate for chips, and a plate for dessert.

I shake my head, taking a bite out of my hot dog. "That's all you're eating?" Embry says with his mouth full.

"Uh, yeah. This is the amount of food a normal person eats."

He rolls his eyes, and swallows. "I'm normal."

I shake my head. "Not even remotely."

He chuckles, and we finish eating. We both pitch in to the discussions around us, but for the most part, we're silent. The sun starts to set, and it gets colder out.

My swimsuit's dry now, so I slip on my shirt and jeans. I dig in my swim bag, but unfortunately, Leah didn't pack a sweatshirt. I rub my arms, and Embry looks down immediately.

"Are you cold?" Without waiting for an answer, he slides his jacket off and drapes it around my shoulders. I blush slightly, and Kim winks at me from across the fire. I lean toward Embry, and he wraps an arms around me, pulling me closer.

I close my eyes, leaning against his chest.

"Hmm. Paul was right. I did get used to the whole warm thing."

I can feel his chest vibrate as he laughs.

"Good." Then as an afterthought, he adds, "Do you want to go for a walk? There's something I need tot tell you."

I look up at him. "Sure."

We stand up, and Sam nods to him, before he takes my hand and leads me away from the fire.

When we're far away from the fire, Embry finally talks.

"Um, this is going to be a lot to take in. If you feel like you're going to be sick or anything, then seriously, tell me. When Jared told Kim, she passed out. Anyway, um... God, I have no idea how to say this."

I stop and turn to Embry. "Um, Em, you really need to chill."

He starts pacing, running his hands through his hair. I can see his stressed face in the moonlight."I know! It's just, you've only been back for a day and now I'm about to spring all this on you, and you probably don't even think of me like that, and-"

"Embry?"

He stops rambling.

"Please just tell me. You've got me curious now."

He takes a deep breath and places his hands on either side of my face. "Promise not to say anything until I'm done?"

I nod.

"Ok. Well, um, I'm a werewolf. So are the rest of the guys back there. Kim and Emily aren't but Leah is. So is Seth."

My eyes widen, but I force myself to stay calm, one hand traveling up to hold one of his, that's still on the side of my face.

"Well, we do this thing called imprinting. It's pretty much where you find your soul mate. You can't control who it is, and you can't make it go away. When you find your imprint... you're completely devoted to them. They become your everything."

His eyes lock with mine. "Nichole Clearwater, I imprinted on you."

I swallow the lump in my throat.

"Wow..."

I look into his green eyes, and smile slightly before leaning up to press my lips to his. I can only describe my next feelings as magic. There's electricity and so many things that I never expected to feel, all coming from this one man.

We pull away, and I stare at him. "What do we do now? Things are a little bit different now, right?"

Embry rolls his eyes. "Understatement of the year, Princess."

He wraps his arms around me, and says, "I think we should go back to the fire. It's getting late, and Leah will kill me if I keep you away from her too long. She's been excited about this for the last three weeks, you know."

I smile softly and lean into him.

"This just feels... right," I whisper, and he leans down to kiss the top of my head.

"I know. Believe me, I know."

Thanks for reading everyone! You see the green button over there? Well, you know the drill! Write me a nice little comment to stroke my ego and get my fingers typing faster.

Cookies for everybody that's gotten this far!

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