Beta: Silverfires
Disclaimer: These characters have been borrowed from Twilight; they will be returned unharmed.
A/N: This story was written for a contest on Better In Texas.
The entire pack agreed that inside Leah Clearwater's head was a decidedly unpleasant place to be. Yet that is exactly where Embry found himself on this bitterly cold February morning, linked by the pack mind. His sleek grey wolf pawed the icy ground, plumes of frozen breath hanging suspended in the still, frigid air. "Come on, Leah, we need to get moving before my paws freeze to the ground!"
The smaller silver wolf huffed in exasperation. "Don't be such a girl, Call! Don't the men in your family have any balls? Oh, right," she added without remorse. "You wouldn't know." It was a low blow. Everyone had their guesses as to who his father was, but nobody knew for sure - including Embry.
"You know, Leah, your bitchiness just never gets old," Embry replied with uncharacteristic annoyance. Though he was aware that Leah was acting out in response to her heartache, he was still getting damn tired of her snark. He trotted onto the well-worn trail, swishing his bushy tail in her face. She snapped at it and missed. All the wolves were aware of the source of Leah's rancor, but knowing didn't make her hostility any easier to tolerate. Sam Uley had dropped her like a hot potato shortly after he phased into Alpha Wolf, and he was paying way too much attention to her cousin Emily.
Thanks to the pack mind, Leah knew more about imprinting than she'd ever wanted to learn. None of this made her loss any easier to bear. She and Sam had been happy and completely devoted to one another. Missing him was like a constant, debilitating toothache and she had no idea how to 'extract' him from her life. So she coped by trying to make everyone around her as miserable as she was.
As Leah and Embry began the first circuit of their patrol, Sam Uley was knocking on Emily's door. She had moved out of her Aunt Sue's house when it became too uncomfortable to be under the same roof as Leah and moved into a small hogan on the other side of the reservation. Emily had assured her cousin that she had no intention of stealing her boyfriend, but this assertion did nothing to cool Sam's ardor. She was frankly embarrassed by his relentless pursuit.
Emily grimaced when she opened the door. Sam wore a short-sleeved sport shirt and khakis, and he was sweating in spite of the chill. She sighed heavily. "Come in, Sam, before you let all my heat out. I'll give you five minutes, but believe me - I have nothing new to say to you." She stepped back, and his bulky presence practically filled the tiny room. Motioning to a wooden chair, Emily sat primly on the opposite side of the small table.
Sam took a seat and cleared his throat. "I think I've been going about this all wrong," he began. Emily nodded but didn't interrupt him. She glanced at her watch, her expression neutral. "I should probably explain...the whole thing." He swallowed nervously, then continued. "As my imprint, you have a right to know the whole story."
Emily held up a hand. "Imprint? What exactly is an imprint? And who says I'm yours?"
Taking a deep breath, Sam nodded and finally looked up to make eye contact. Emily could see his dark eyes were haunted. "You're familiar with the legends, aren't you? The shapeshifters who turn into wolves?"
"Of course I am, Sam. I've heard about them all my life. I've never met one, but I believe they exist."
The relief on his face was obvious. "You're wrong about one thing, Emily. You've met several, though we don't walk around talking about it. In fact, we are all sworn to secrecy - the pack, our families, and our imprints."
"Okay, hold it right there, Sam. You expect me to believe that you are one of these… werewolves?" She laughed, but it was an unnatural, nervous sound.
"I am," he said simply. "I'll prove it to you if necessary, but let me finish my story first. I want to explain my attraction, my interest in you. I never intended to hurt anyone, especially Leah, and all this is way beyond my control." Sam was a man of few words, and this lengthy speech was taking its toll. He struggled on. "Imprinting is nature's way of preserving a species, providing the best chance for healthy offspring…"
Emily sprang up from her chair. "Whoa, hold on just a minute! So you're not really attracted to me, you just want me to have your PUPPIES? Well, why didn't you just say so, Sam?" Her voice was rising, dripping with sarcasm, as Sam shook his head. He had begun to tremble.
"N-no, Emily, you don't understand," he began, but she cut him off.
"No, Sam, it's YOU who don't understand!" She came around the table and closed the gap between them, getting in his face. "I am not your imprint!" Her voice rose as she jabbed a finger at his broad chest, and he shoved his chair back until it was stopped by the wall. "I am not your ANYTHING! I want you to leave…"
Sam's trembling had increased, and sweat poured down his face. He yanked at the neck of his shirt, never noticing a button that popped loose and flew across the room. His voice was a strangled growl as he gasped out her name, "Emily," just before all hell broke loose. Powerful legs propelled Sam's body to a standing position, but there was no place to go. Emily froze in terror, her face just inches from Sam's as fur sprouted from his skin and his snout lengthened, his jaws snapping as a howl ripped from his throat. The human fought in vain for control, inevitably losing the battle to the enormous ebony wolf.
The panic-stricken animal threw itself toward the door, somehow knowing it was already too late. As the beast overturned the table and reduced the chair to splinters, murderous six-inch claws raked down the side of Emily's face in his haste to shake off scraps of torn clothing and escape the cramped space. She screamed once and fell to the floor, blood flowing from deep gashes and pooling on the wood planks. The wolf leapt out the too-small door, taking large chunks of plaster wall with him. He left the door swinging precariously on one bent hinge.
Embry and Leah saw the whole thing through Sam's eyes. In perfect unison, they turned and ran toward Emily's place. Leah got there first, phasing to human form and bursting through the door. Emily was sitting up, her back against the wall, pressing the hem of her shirt against her ruined face. She seemed to be in shock, showing no surprise at her cousin's nakedness. Embry phased outside and yanked on the shorts he had banded to his ankle. He stepped inside, fastening the snap on his cutoffs as he stared.
"Embry! You have to get her to the hospital!" Leah stood and grabbed Emily's car keys from the hook by the door. She held his gaze long enough to say "We found her on the floor like this. Her door was open. Let them figure out what kind of animal it was. I'll clean up in here." She nodded toward the scraps of Sam's shredded clothing scattered around the room, some of them soaked with Emily's blood.
Embry slipped his arms under Emily and lifted her easily. "You hear that, Emily?" She stared straight ahead, not reacting in any way to his voice. "It was a big animal. Maybe a wolf. Or a bear." Leah grabbed a clean towel from the drawer and Embry held it to Emily's face as he hurried out to the car.
"I'll be there as soon as I can, Embry," Leah assured him. She grabbed a plastic trash bag and started tossing evidence of Sam's presence into it. "I'll call my mom and have her meet you there."
It took hundreds of stitches to close the gashes on Emily's face and arm. There was some concern about her right eye, but fortunately her eyelid seemed to have served its protective purpose. Tribal police conducted a thorough but inconclusive investigation. It was determined, after interviews with both Leah and Embry, that Emily had been attacked by a "large wild animal of indeterminate species."
Sam was inconsolable. His long frame was crammed into a straight chair at Emily's bedside when she woke up the next morning. She blinked her left eye, and her hand touched the heavy bandages. "Sam?" she whispered hoarsely. "Is it...is my eye…"
Emily allowed him to take her small hand gently in his. "Your eye is fine, Emily. But there will be scars… I'm so sorry," he whispered, his eyes brimming with tears.
She shook her head, then lay back on her pillow. "No, don't. It was an accident, Sam. I know that." She sighed softly. "But you have to stop. I can't do this to Leah. I won't. So you'd better figure out how to end it."
"I wish I could," he replied softly. "My love for Leah is still here," he tapped his chest, "but I'm drawn to you like a moth to a flame. Gah! Stupid cliches. There are no words, Emily." He broke off, clearly frustrated with trying to explain the unexplainable to someone who, unlike his packmates, was unable to read his mind.
Determined, he plowed on. "I need your presence, Emily - like I need air to breathe. If I'm not near you…" His big shoulders sagged as he searched for the right words.
There was a light tap on the door jamb, and they both looked up to see Sue Clearwater breeze in with a small bag and a big fake smile. She glanced at Sam and quickly turned her attention to Emily. "I hear you're getting sprung today, honey. You'll be coming home with me for a while. No arguments. I'm your live-in nurse for the next few weeks. Now, if you'll excuse us, Sam, we need to get Emily dressed." She proceeded to remove clothes from the bag and laid them on the tray table while Sam released Emily's hand and left without another word.
"Aunt Sue?" Emily's voice was muffled by the bandages. "Sam told me. About the imprint thing. I know you took Uncle Harry's seat on the tribal council, so you must know about this stuff. What can we do? There has to be something." Her voice trembled, and Sue sat in the chair Sam had just vacated and took Emily's hand.
"You need to concentrate on getting healed, Em. We can deal with that later."
"No, Aunt Sue." Emily's voice was stronger now. "We need to deal with it now. I can't stand to see Leah suffer like this. There has to be another way." In a much softer tone, she continued, "I miss my best friend."
Sue patted her hand. "How much did Sam tell you? Do you know that the imprint doesn't have to be romantic?"
Using her injured right hand to brace herself and sit up straighter, Emily winced. Sue had her rapt attention now. "Really? Well, that's great! But what about the pups?" Sam was a nice enough guy, but he was not her type - and she definitely was not in love with him.
Sue's smile was genuine now. "That's how we describe the phenomenon, Emily, as it's always existed in nature. But in our case, a wolf can be whatever the imprint wants him to be - a friend, a brother, or yes - often a lover. But not always."
On Valentine's Day, Sam showed up at the Clearwaters' with three long-stemmed red roses. He handed one to Sue when she opened the door. "No matter how this ends, Sue, I want to thank you for all your help. For taking care of Emily and for your advice."
Sue smiled. "It's my job, Sam - and my pleasure." She opened a cupboard to find a bud vase and spoke over her shoulder. "Emily's in the living room, and Leah's upstairs."
Emily looked up from her book and smiled her slightly crooked smile. The angry red scars were beginning to fade, but they would always be disfiguring. "Hey," Sam breathed softly. He perched on the coffee table in front of Emily. "How's it going?"
Emily accepted the rose and held it to her nose, closing her eyes and breathing deeply of its rich perfume. "It's good. I'm good. Really. We've all grown up a little and learned a thing or two." She looked toward the stairs and motioned for him to go up. "Good luck," she whispered.
"Thanks," he replied. "I think I'm gonna need it." Gripping the third rose in a sweaty palm, he headed up the stairs and tapped on Leah's bedroom door. "LeeLee?"
His acute hearing picked up an exasperated sigh. "Go away, Sam."
He opened the door and held out the rose. "Happy Valentine's Day," he said softly. Leah glared at him. He laid it on the dresser and sat on the edge of the bed.
Leah retreated against the headboard, drawing up her knees and wrapping her arms around her legs. She stared at the man who was both familiar and alien at the same time. His arms and shoulders had developed sculpted muscles, his waist was still trim, and those lips - her eyes lingered there. Sam's lips were so soft, so gentle, and she remembered his flavor - wild and just a bit salty. Missing him with every fiber of her being, she bit her own lip as a single tear betrayed her, inching slowly down her cheek and dripping onto her collar.
"I love you, Lee," Sam breathed softly. "I never stopped, you know. And I'm sorry that I hurt you. That was never my intention."
Leah took a deep breath. She believed him; maybe it was his nearness, his warmth, his scent - she had missed him so much. "I know," she whispered.
"I have no right to ask, but can you forgive me? I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you." He waited, the silence lengthening to a minute, then two, as his heart sank and she stared at her hands.
Raising her chin, Leah could see, reflected in his dark eyes, a woman in love. She wiped her eyes. "My father always told me the soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears. I love you too, Sam. I don't know if trust can be rebuilt, but I'm willing to try." And then his arms were around her, and those soft lips were pressed against hers, and she knew her father was right.