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Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to SM...I'm just having some fun, but I promise I'll return them!
"Come on, Sela, you can do it…it's only a couple of more miles," Embry said, trying to encourage her to finish their journey up the mountain together.
She took the hand he offered, letting him pull her up to the next section of rocks they had made it to. She grunted with the effort, vaguely wishing she could climb the mountain just as effortlessly as he seemed to. She tried not to be jealous of the way he hadn't even seemed to be sweating or breathing hard. It was like he hadn't even climbed anything for the last hour!
He let go of her hand and gave her a smile. "We're making good time."
She huffed, then blew a strand of hair out of her perspiring face. "Says the guy who isn't even having trouble breathing! I swear the air up here is thin…how come you don't feel it?"
He arched an eyebrow at her. "Who says I don't feel it?"
She gave a sarcastic laugh. "I don't hear you breathing hard like I am! My chest feels like it's gonna explode."
He gave her a leering grin as he stared at her chest. "Mm…and what a great chest it is."
Then he looked at her narrowed eyes and blushed. "Um, sorry, did I say that out loud?"
She couldn't help but laugh at his boyish bashfulness even though they should have been way beyond being embarrassed with each other. Then again, that's one of the things she loved about her boyfriend…his ability to switch between the sweet, bashful boy to the passionate, wild man he was when they were alone.
"Yes you did…but I forgive you…wait…I'll forgive you if you give me a kiss!"
His grin returned as he pulled her to him and did what she asked. Her arms went around his shoulders as his wrapped tightly around her middle. She always loved the way he seemed to engulf her whole. He was one of the few guys who could do it because she was so tall and sturdily built as a result of being a beach volleyball player since she had been little. She could even wear heels with him if she wanted, although she often didn't because she felt a little too unsteady on them.
She sighed into his mouth as he deepened the kiss, parting her lips to allow his tongue to invade her mouth where he made sweeping motions against her tongue as if trying to seduce it out of her. She could feel his fingers digging into her back, keeping her pinned to him as his mouth continued to dominate hers. Her hands tangled into his dark, brown hair as he bent her slightly back while pulling her pelvis closer to his.
He was clearly letting her know just how aroused he was and she loved it. She loved that when they were together like this, he wasn't afraid to show her how much he wanted her. Most of all, she loved that beneath that shy exterior he always showed to the world lay a very dominating, sexy beast that made her crave him even more.
At first, she had been surprised to discover just how dominating he could be. Granted, she hadn't been turned off by it…it had just taken her by surprise because she had been so used to seeing him as the sweet-natured guy he always seemed to be around his friends. She knew upon meeting Paul, that he was clearly one of the dominating assholes that usually turned her off. And Jacob seemed to have a trace of that dominating personality, although it only seemed to appear most when his fiancée, Bella, was around or when his friends seemed to get out of hand.
None of the others had seemed to have that dominating personality, not even Sam, who seemed to be the respected leader of their little clique of friends. She had no idea how she had come to that conclusion, but there it was. Something about the way they all seemed to listen to what Sam said when Jacob wasn't there. Still, when Embry had shown her his dominating side, it had been one night when she'd been in his bed…and it had sent a thrill through her.
In fact, she had encouraged him after that, letting him know she was definitely okay with it if he ever wanted to act like that again. Suffice it to say, it was a definite turn-on when Embry's eyes got dark the way they did and he tilted his head slightly down as if he were stalking her. The smile that appeared on his face when he was in his element…it sent chills up her spine in a very good way and made her imagine he was a wolf intent on its prey.
Yeah, a wolf in sheep's clothing. That's how she liked to describe him. He had definitely fooled her into thinking he was a demure, bashful gentleman.
Not that he wasn't from time to time, but his other side definitely had its benefits.
When he finally let go of her mouth and set her back on her feet, she suddenly realized maybe it wasn't a good idea to have encouraged him. It seemed her lungs were fighting even harder now to draw air into them. She was glad he didn't immediately let her go as she continued to try to breathe and find her balance again.
His eyes grew worried as he looked at her. "You okay? Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all."
She shook her head as she took another deep breath then let it out slowly. "No…it's okay…I forgot just how powerful your kisses tend to be."
Again he blushed. "Um…okay."
This time she couldn't help but chuckle. "Seriously, Em, you have got to stop doing that? We've been together how long now? And you still blush every time I talk about how you kiss me or how you…"
He held up his hand, "Let's not go there right now, okay? We're on the side of a mountain…and if you keep talking like that…yeah, let's just say…I may not wait until we get the tent set up."
She grinned and said in her best sultry voice, "Is that a promise?"
He sighed and closed his eyes, looking seriously pained. "I swear you are gonna kill me, Sel!"
Pouting, she finally conceded to behaving. "Okay, okay. I'll behave. At least until we finish climbing this godforsaken mountain. After this though, I'm never climbing one again!"
He opened his eyes and began walking ahead of her again. "And you call yourself an athlete!"
She scowled as she followed him up the imaginary trail he was creating for her. "I'm a beach volleyball player…not a mountain climber. Totally different if you ask me!"
He turned back to give her a wink in understanding before continuing up the mountainside.
As they made the rest of their trek, Embry thought about their destination. He knew the spot he wanted to take her to. It was the same spot Jacob had once taken Bella to when they had been hiding her from the newborn vampire army. It was there that she had made the decision to leave Edward for Jacob whom she was now happily engaged to. It was also the spot where Sam and Emily had conceived their first born and where Leah's fiancé had proposed to her.
Yeah, that spot had brought a lot of good luck to so many of those he knew, so he was hoping it would help him out with what he was about to do. He and Sela had been together for over a year now and he knew it was high time he came clean with her. Especially since he knew their relationship had just taken a more serious turn when she had announced that she was relocating to Seattle to join the beach volleyball team there, while also teaching volleyball and beach volleyball at one of the local gyms too.
Without even saying so, he knew she was doing it to be closer to him. After all, she'd been living in sunny San Diego, California for several years before they'd met by chance one night in Seattle. He had gone for a weekend with Jacob, Bella and Quil so Bella could visit her friend, Angela at college and met Sela one night when they had all gone out to a local dance club. Suffice it to say, Sela had taken one look at him and decided she wanted to get to know him much better despite the fact that Quil had been the one hitting on her.
Once he had begun opening up to her, with Quil's help, they had exchanged phone numbers and emails and had begun a long distance relationship. He was still amazed that after all of that, she'd been interested in dating him but had resigned himself to it when she told him point blank that she liked him and there wasn't anything he could do about it. Needless to say, he liked her too…although that had quickly changed to love the more time he had spent with her.
And then when she had made love to him…and blown his mind…yeah, there really was no looking back for him. He thanked his lucky stars that she hadn't run from him after their first time and had only seemed to encourage him to come out of his shell even more.
Bella had said it best… "She's perfect for you Em! The complete opposite of you! Bold and outgoing and she brings out the other side of you. The funny, confident and sociable guy we always knew was in there!"
He knew she was right. With Sela he was a lot more open and sociable. He was also a lot less timid when they were alone. There was something about her that brought out the wolf side of him…it was something he'd never thought would happen. At least not the way he'd seen it through both Paul and Jacob's eyes.
Maybe it was true what they said…it was always the quiet ones.
Thankfully neither one of them was quiet when it came to their lovemaking. And the rest of the guys had long since stopped teasing him about it…especially since Jacob and Bella tended to give all of the other couples a run for their money. Still, Embry couldn't help but feel pride over the fact that Sela was the perfect fit for someone like him…and she had chosen him.
Just like he had chosen her.
That last part was very true for him and it made him happy that he didn't have to worry about imprinting on anyone else. After Bella had chosen Jacob and it was discovered that there was a way to prevent imprinting from happening, Embry had jumped at the chance to make sure it wouldn't happen to him. He didn't want anything taking him away from Sela…except Sela herself.
That was the only thing he had to worry about now, as they approached the place where they were going to camp for the night. Once they had the camp set up, he was going to sit her down and open himself up to her…tell her the entire truth about him and the rest of the wolf pack. Jacob had given him the all-clear on that over a week ago even though it had taken him this long to work up the courage to do this with her.
He knew it was time. She was moving closer to him, which meant she wanted their relationship to move to the next level and he knew in order for that to happen, he had to tell her the truth. He was in love with her and wanted to have a life with her…a future with her…but it would be up to her in the end. Depending on how she took the revelation, he would find out if they really were meant to be.
Embry stepped onto an outcropping and smiled as the sight came into view. Turning back, he held out a hand to Sela and helped her up the last few steps. As she stood next to him, he motioned with his hand.
"Well, this is it. This is where we are setting up the tent."
Sela smiled as she took in the beauty of the moss-covered ground amidst the evergreen trees and rocky boulders. It was a nice, secluded area that looked like it would provide some shelter from some of the harsher elements that could crop up. Then again, she knew Embry's body heat would help keep her warm should she need it.
She stepped into the small clearing with a sigh. "It's lovely Embry! A perfect spot to pitch a tent! How did you know about this place?"
He shrugged. "The guys and I have been up here camping a few times. It's always been a favorite place of ours to get away from it all."
Okay, so he was stretching the truth a little bit. He'd only been up here before in the minds of Jacob, Seth, Sam and Leah but that wasn't really important at the moment. What was important was that it was a perfect spot to pitch a tent and it was a perfect spot to be away from sharp ears and eyes. He only hoped what he was going to share with Sela didn't send her hurling over the side of the mountain to her death. He was counting on her to be as strong as she seemed to be when he revealed his other side to her.
Please be strong, he silently begged. Please don't freak out over me being a freak of nature.
Sela sighed as she moved into the lovely space and clapped her hands together. "Okay, well, shall we set up the tent now?"
Embry nodded. "Yeah, let's get the tent done, then I'll collect some kindling to get a fire going."
"Sounds like a plan," she replied as Embry walked to the spot where he was going to set up the tent and dropped the tent bag down.
Sela dropped her backpack against a nearby boulder then went to help Embry put up the tent. It took them no time at all to get it done, since Sela was already used to camping and Embry was just efficient due to his wolf nature. Once the tent was done, Embry went to gather the kindling for the fire while Sela set up the sleeping bags and the rest of their belongings inside of the tent. Then they both worked together making the fire pit and building up the fire to their liking.
Once they had made their dinner and ate it, they simply sat curled up together in front of the fire watching the sun go down over the trees.
Sela sighed. "This really is nice."
Embry buried his nose in her blonde hair and breathed in her natural scent of citrus and ocean. "Yeah, it is," he replied with a sigh of his own.
"I'm glad you thought of this, Em, it's been a while since we could really just be alone together, you know?"
"Mm hm," came his muffled answer into her hair.
He was trying to get the courage to talk to her now. To tell her the truth about him. He swallowed and held her a little tighter, the fear of losing her once he revealed his true self to her eating away at his insides. He lifted his head and stared into the fire, trying to collect his thoughts.
Finally, he looked down at the top of her head and opened his mouth…but nothing came out. Closing his mouth, he once again tried to gather his courage then opened his mouth to speak when he was ready.
Still nothing.
Several times he did this…open mouth, close it, roll eyes, open, close, silent pep talk, open, close, clench jaw, open…
"You okay, Em?" Sela's voice interrupted his feeble attempts. "You're awfully quiet."
He blinked. "Um, yeah, I'm fine."
She heard the squeak in his voice…the nervousness. Now that was unusual. Sitting up, she turned to look at him, taking in the way his eyes shifted from side to side. Yep, he was nervous.
"Embry? What is it?"
His gaze finally met hers and she could tell whatever was on his mind was something serious. Oh oh…she really hoped he wasn't going to try to talk her out of moving to Seattle…his previous reactions when she'd told him of her plans hadn't been enthusiastic, making her wonder if he wasn't into their relationship as much as she was.
She really hoped she hadn't been reading him wrong after all of this time. She thought they seemed to hit it off really well. They had a lot in common. Both of them came from single family homes and were the only child in that family. He had his mom, she had her dad, which explained why she was into sports…her dad had wanted a little boy. They both loved the outdoors, hers was the beach and his was the woods. They were both athletic, had a need for speed and were extremely loyal to their friends.
They seemed to always have a good time when they were together, no matter if they were alone or with others. She actually liked his friends and Embry seemed to like hers even though her group wasn't as big as his. She only had three others she hung out with…Debbie, Nina, and her best friend, Kerri while Embry had over seven people whom he considered close friends. The pack, as Leah liked to refer to their group of friends as.
Sela had to agree though…that was an apt description. Once she had met them all and then got to see the group all together in La Push…they certainly seemed to travel and act like a pack. She remembered watching a documentary about wolf packs on television once and it had left an impression…yeah, that's what they reminded her of. The way they all seemed to move together and how they behaved with one another, even the women fit in with the guys and that image.
She actually thought is was a cool image to have though and was sometimes envious at how well the group dynamics flowed within it. It actually made her jealous sometimes, that her small group of four friends didn't seem as tightly-knit and natural as Embry's did. However, she loved the way his group had welcomed her with open arms and included her in lots of their activities.
In the past, she had never really gotten along with her boyfriend's friends or their significant others. Yet Embry's friends had been very friendly, even the asshole Paul had been welcoming in his own way. He wasn't really an asshole, he just had a personality that gave that first impression. But once you got to know him, he was funny, friendly and rather loyal to a fault.
And the women, were even more friendly and often invited her to the get-togethers they had without the guys tagging along. She had thought for sure none of them would like her, but she had gotten close to Leah, who was just as athletic as she was as well as a few of the others. She even got along really well with Emily, who was the older sister Sela had always wanted and with Bella, the friendly, funny woman whom everyone claimed was a much better person since she had started dating Jacob.
Still, just because it seemed like she had fit in well with Embry and his life didn't mean that was how he felt. She really hoped this wasn't anything bad.
"Em?"
He took a deep breath and let it out. "There's something I have to talk to you about, Sel, something serious. Um, I've been waiting for the right time to tell you and ever since you've told me that you're moving to Seattle…well, I've been trying to work up the nerve to do this."
She gave a nervous chuckle, trying to lighten the mood. "Wow, it does sound serious!"
Embry wished he could chuckle and tell her it wasn't anything bad, but he was terrified that she would find it worse than that. What normal woman, especially one like her, wouldn't find the fact that their boyfriend turned into a wolf at will as something to run screaming from?
He started silently praying again.
"Embry?" She reached out to take his hand in hers for encouragement. "Just say it baby…whatever it is just tell me."
He glanced down at their entwined hands for a few moments before he finally looked up and just blurted it out. "I can turn into a wolf."
Sela blinked at him before sitting back in confusion. "Um, what?"
He jumped to his feet and began pacing as he launched into his explanation. "I can turn into a wolf…not like a werewolf, but a real wolf. It's actually called shape-shifting among the Native American tribe stories…but yeah…that's what I do. Some of the guys who are my friends, they do it too and…and Leah…and all of their significant others know what they are and so does the tribal council…and some of our parents. I mean, my mom doesn't know…but that was my choice…and there's only supposed to be a select few who know this secret…and well, I got permission from Jacob and…and now you know too."
He stopped rambling and pacing as he finished, turning to her as he said the last part so she would know that he had finished making his announcement. He simply stood there staring at her with his heart beating rapidly in his chest while he willed himself to keep breathing or he'd pass out from holding his breath waiting for her acceptance.
At first Sela didn't say anything. She was trying to process everything he had said because his words had all seemed to fly rapidly out of his mouth when he had said them. Still, she was getting the gist of it all. He was a wolf shape-shifter…like his friends…and somehow only a few other people knew about this…but not his mother…and now her.
Wait, back up…you're a what?
"I'm a wolf," repeated Embry and Sela realized she'd said that last part out loud.
She gaped at him. "Are you out of your mind!?"
He winced at her rising voice. "Sel…"
Now she was on her feet. "Oh no you don't Embry Call! You don't get to stand here and tell me an outrageous story like that when I can clearly see you've got something serious to tell me! Don't you dare try to hide behind a ridiculous story! This isn't the time to be joking around!"
She was the one pacing now, motioning with her hands for emphasis and pointing at him when she said his name or the word 'you'.
Embry just stood there watching her, a look of pleading on his face. "Sela, I'm not joking around! It's the truth! I really do turn into a wolf…a grey wolf."
She turned to gape at him. "Wow, you even have a color for the wolf! You should be a writer…what an imagination!"
"Sela! Please! I can show you!"
She went silent. She thought for sure he would have either backed down or started laughing by now. Instead, he stood there still giving her that pleading look and she knew this wasn't a joke. Okay, so either he was demented or…
She swallowed. "You…you can show me?"
He nodded.
"Embry…are you saying you can really turn into a grey wolf and you are willing to do that right now…right here in front of me."
"Yes. I can do it…if it will help you believe me…that I'm telling the truth…I can phase into a wolf right now."
Oh boy, he knew better than to say something like that to her. He should know her well enough to know she'd call him out on it. And call him out she did.
"Fine then, prove it, Embry! Show me that you can turn into a grey wolf!" She smiled to herself, knowing that she had him now.
At this point, if he kept on acting all serious…she was going to find a way to get him to call off the camping trip, head back home and then she was reporting him to a mental institution.
A grey wolf…seriously?
Embry began backing up from her, motioning for her as he did. "You should back up some. It's safer if you're far away from me because my wolf is um, rather large."
She rolled her eyes as she took a few steps backwards, good grief. "Rather large? Okay, I'll bite, just how large is your wolf?"
He stopped moving and looked her straight in the eyes. "As tall as a horse…and larger than a bear."
Sela scoffed. "Not exactly a wolf then, is it?"
He sighed. "Sela…I know you don't believe me…but just…you'll see."
She just folded her arms over her chest and gave him a droll stare. "Yeah, yeah…just get on with it Em."
Embry nodded as he took a couple of more steps backwards. He knew she didn't believe him yet. He knew she was calling him out, thinking he was probably going insane since he wasn't joking or laughing about it. At least she was being brave about it though. He just hoped she continued to be that brave once she saw his wolf.
Sela continued to look at Embry with the same droll stare as he came to a stop and stood there looking at her. Then he began to undress.
She couldn't help but give him a cocky grin as she watched. "You have to get naked for this?"
He nodded. "Yeah, our clothes don't phase with us."
"Hmph, how…unfortunate."
Embry swallowed. She was still staring at him with one eyebrow raised, obviously trying to see just how far he was going to take this. If it wasn't so serious, he'd have enjoyed the way she was trying not to ogle him.
Sela couldn't believe he was going that far. He was really taking all of his clothes off. Now she was beginning to think this really was a joke, an excuse for him to get naked and then jump her. Was this some kind of kinky fantasy of his? Him the big bad wolf and her his…dinner?
Once Embry shed the last of his clothing, he straightened up and locked gazes with her. For one moment he was standing there looking at her and the next…the next moment she was looking at one of the largest grey wolves she had ever seen.
Her mouth fell open.
That was her only reaction as her mind tried to understand what it was she was seeing. The wolf was huge! It was definitely as tall as a horse and as big as a full grown grizzly bear. Yet, no matter how monstrous it was, there was no mistaking it for a wolf. It had the same characteristics of the wolves she remembered seeing on that documentary. The long muzzle, the triangular ears and the overall powerfully built body.
Its fur was different shades of grey in certain areas, the lightest being around its eyes and snout, making it look like it was wearing a mask. The darkest grey was around the outer edges of its ears while its back had the next darkest shade of grey dispersed throughout it.
The wolf simply stood there, its golden brown eyes looking straight into hers. And then it suddenly occurred to her that while she was standing straight up, that wolf had to lower its head a little to be able to look into her eyes. Oh yeah, it was…
She began shaking her head in denial. "No, no, no, no, no…"
Suddenly Embry was there again, wrapping his arms around her and trying to calm her down. "Sel, it's okay. I'm here now."
She shoved at him, ignoring the fact that he was still naked. "Get away from me! Just stay away!"
Her eyes flicked from one side to the next, trying to find somewhere she could run to get away from him. Unfortunately they were in the middle of nowhere, up on a mountain, so the only place she could go was into the tent…or over the side of that mountain. Luckily, she was coherent enough to know if she went over the mountain, she was as good as dead.
She glanced at him a split second before she made a mad dash for the tent. Scrambling inside, she quickly zipped up the entrance and then sat in the middle of the tent hugging herself as she stared at the flap waiting to see if he followed her in.
If what you saw is real, all it has to do is rip the tent apart, said the little voice inside her head.
She began shaking her head in denial again.
Embry quickly put on his jeans and went to kneel in front of the tent, thankful that she hadn't hurled herself over the side of the mountain. Still, he wondered if this was just the beginning of the end. Things just didn't look so good right now.
He spoke in a voice he hoped conveyed all of the fear and pleading he needed to keep her at his side. "Sela? Honey, I won't hurt you. I need you to believe me when I say that. I just…I just hope that this won't scare you away…but I thought it was time to tell you this…if…if our relationship was to get more serious, you had to know the truth about me."
Sela stared at Embry's shadow through the tent. She could hear the softness in his voice...the underlying fear.
Embry waited for a few minutes, but when she didn't say anything, he spoke again.
"Sela…please! Talk to me, honey. I want you to see…I'm still me."
His voice brought tears to her eyes. He sounded so sad, so desperate. She knew she had to say something.
"Just…just give me a minute…Embry. I just need to…to calm down."
He sighed. "Okay, I'll just be out here, by the fire. When you're ready to talk, just come out here."
"O…okay," she replied, letting him know she had heard him.
She watched as his shadow moved away from the tent and she knew he was doing as he said. He'd wait for her by the fire. She took a deep breath and let it out, trying to will herself into a rational state of mind. She had to think this through.
So, her boyfriend could turn into a grey wolf. A really, really large jaw-snapping, fear-inducing, grey-freaking-wolf. And from what he said, apparently the rest of his friends could too. Well, that explained why they all seemed to travel in a pack as Leah had described them. Oh shit! Didn't Embry say Leah was one too?
Well now it all made sense! That's why Leah kept saying 'the pack' in such a sarcastic tone. They really were a pack of wolves! But not all of Embry's friends were wolves. If that was true, she began to wonder just who was and who wasn't.
She began going through them in her mind. Sam must be one…and Jacob. Those two were often the ones everyone else deferred to like they were the leader…or alpha as the head of a real wolf pack was called. Hm, was there an alpha of Embry's pack? What about an omega? She couldn't really imagine one of Embry's friends as that…maybe Seth…or Quil. She knew Seth was the youngest, but they usually picked on Quil.
Still, she didn't think they would do something like that. So, who were the wolves? And who were the ones who knew about them being wolves? She couldn't picture someone like Emily or Bella being a wolf….come to think of it, she really couldn't picture Seth being one either. Maybe it was just because he was such a sweet guy, but if Leah was one, then it made sense.
Wow, was it a family thing? And just how did they become wolves in the first place? Were they born that way?
She made a face as she imagined Embry being born as a wolf pup. Yeah, not so much.
The more she sat there thinking through it, the more curious she became. She suddenly wanted to know about the history of it all, to know just how and why Embry was the way he was. She wanted to know about all of the other wolves and she wanted to know just how everyone managed to live their lives with such a big secret.
More and more questions piled up in her brain until she thought she'd go crazy if she didn't get answers. Finally, unable to stand it, she unzipped the tent flap and scrambled out of it to see Embry sitting, looking dejected near the fire. Without hesitation, she marched right up to him and blurted out what was at the forefront of her mind.
"How did you become a wolf? Which of your friends are wolves? How did the others who aren't find out the truth? And why am I just getting the truth now?"
At first Embry sat there looking stunned that she didn't look the least bit frightened of him. Then her questions got through to him…especially when she started in again.
"Embry! Answer me! Why the hell am I just now finding this out!?"
His eyes widened. "Wait…I thought you were scared of me."
"Believe me, I'm doing my best not to run screaming from you right this minute. Lucky for you, my curiosity is driving me insane enough to keep me here."
She suddenly cracked a grin. "And you know I have a thing for wolves. You have to remember I told you about that documentary I saw on TV."
This time he smiled. "Yeah, I was kinda counting on that…hoping it would help you understand me better."
That made her sit down, although she didn't sit as close to him as she usually did. "Okay, and that right there just makes me want to ask if you and your friends create a pack just like a real wolf pack…and if so, is there the same pack dynamics and such?"
Embry shrugged. "Yes and no…if you're willing to listen, I'll tell you everything and I'll answer all your questions…but Sel, before I get into it…you have to understand, the reason why I'm telling you…it's because I want you to be a part of my life. I want a forever with you. Just you."
She stared at him, the realization of what he was telling her was evident in his eyes. Suddenly she got it. Why he had waited to tell her this. Why only a select few knew this secret. He didn't have to tell her that he was sharing this with her because he saw a future for them…the same way she saw it too. Telling her this meant there would be no secrets between them, the way a normal relationship was meant to be between a couple.
Sure, he wasn't normal…he was a freaking wolf, but somehow…somehow she knew that was not going to be an issue for very long. All she had to do was sit and listen to his story, let him tell her everything so she could understand…so she could see that despite this amazingly strange secret, he was still the same wonderful, sweet, bashful, passionate, shy and sexy man she had loved for all this time.
And there they sat for the next few hours as the sun went down…he told her the truth of him and the Quileute wolf pack and she found out that no matter what he said…her feelings for him didn't change.
That night, she curled up at his side in the tent, letting him hold her close, his heat reminding her of the things he had revealed to her. Then the next morning, they made their way back down the mountain together, both of them knowing their relationship had just moved on to the next level.
It would be two years before they returned to that mountain…and Sela made the climb despite having told Embry the last time they'd done it, that she would never climb another one again. They climbed it to reach yet another level of their relationship…Embry proposed to her.
Of course she said yes.
The next time though…Sela didn't climb the mountain. Instead, she took her husband to its base…and there she told him she was pregnant with their first child, making Embry glad that he was going to be a father and that his two month pregnant wife wasn't climbing the mountain to tell him that.
Still, that mountain remained very important to most of the people in their lives. It remained a symbol of good luck and of significant points of their lives. The mountain told them all that to reach a point in their lives where a difference was made, they had to make…the climb.