I walk through the trees frustrated. I can whistle. I can teach myself how. I don't need anyone telling me what to do and how to do it… But it was nice of him. I smack my palm to my forehead. Why is he being nice to me? What could he possibly want from me? A broken, useless, freakish, girl? He probably thinks he can have a good time with me, thinks I'm easy or something. I scowl and curse under my breath. Like hell was I going to let someone else think they could do whatever they please with me. I may be broken, useless, and a freak, but I am not someone's toy. I exhale loudly and my eyes take in my surroundings. A single trail weaving around the lake in the thickest forest in twenty miles. Not ideal for a six and a half foot wolf when running patrols. Speaking of running, my legs and fingers start twitching with the desire to break out into a sprint. I can hear people not far off, about a mile back on the trail and dozens boating on the lake. I flex my bare feet into the dirt and crouch down, off trail expedition on the menu for today's agenda.
I push off my hind leg and explode forward, blurring into the dense forest. I scale inclines and jump over fallen tree trunks and branches. Without breaking stride I bound up a boulder and pounce onto a nearby tree, swing my legs in front of me, and kick off the trunk, exploding once more in a different direction. I stop at a steep hill and smirk. I jump as high as I can on a tree and climb to the top branch. Pushing off I land on the top of the hill, over looking La Push Reservation, just slightly west are the cliffs and beaches. La Push, home of the originals. I grimace at the memory of all the boys-. Well in all honesty the youngest one there looked about twenty one or so, making them men, not boys.
Seeing them face to face I could already tell that they are stronger then I, the large muscles layering over their wide frames. They are all taller then me too, all over six feet. If they are taller then me as humans, does that mean they are bigger then as a wolf too? Are they faster then me? Is my sense of hearing better than theirs? All these questions fill my head and my alpha mind is forced into consciousness. Do they know that I'm a wolf too? Will they try to attack? Should I try to attack them? Should I try to ally them into neutral alliances, regarding each other but not interacting? Well, I'm definitely not attacking them, they have number, strength and who knows what else to their advantage. Only a fool would try to attack the originals in my position. If I leave them alone they might think I'm weak and try to take over my land and force me to join them as a pet or something. Alliance sounds like the best option. I jog my way over to the La Push boarder line and inhale deeply, calming my heart to a normal beat and pulling my alpha face out, shielding my emotions with a blank mask. I step into their land and wait, listening and feeling for them to notice my presence. Nothing. Maybe since I'm not a vampire and a wolf like them I don't stand out as much. I start jogging at a human speed deep into their thinning forest. I come across a clearing and wait in the middle. Only a seven minute human run back to my land, one as a wolf.
My body tenses as the sounds of grown wolves close in on me, circling in the trees. Hmm, they seem to have better eyesight than I do. Dang. I crouch low and defensive, but other wise hold my ground. I feel them phase out and fabric being pulled over their hips. Four of them. They close in and I hear a whimper and a scent hits me hard in the face. I stagger back a couple of steps as the scent fills my head. Wolf, forest, and autumn air. I breathing evens out and slows down, eyes almost sleepy. What the hell is wrong with me? I snap out of my trance and tense up. He's here. Embry. I growl quietly, only for me to hear.
Four men clear the tree line in just cut off jeans, and I recognize all of them. Sam, the tallest and alpha. Jared, quiet and strong. Paul, a bit of a hot head it appears. And him. Embry. His onyx eyes glistening with a wide smile on his face. I grimace and drag my eyes from his face to Sam, still aware of the others. I nod at him and he steps forward. "I didn't come for a fight," I say loud and clear, alpha thick in my tone.
Sam raises an eyebrow and smirks. "Good, neither are we." Silence fills the meadow and Embry starts to fidget in place. I raise an eyebrow at his anxiousness and glare at Sam. He sighs and turns his head to Embry. "Stop fidgeting and stay still." He freezes in place but his eyes remain on me. "So, why are you here? If you're not here for a fight."
I scoff quietly and mumble, "I'm not that stupid." I straighten and look him straight in the eye, hands folded in my lap. "I came to understand each other." Sam quirks an eyebrow confused. I nod and continue. "I don't want a fight to break out between us or any other conflict."
"So," Sam steps forward, closing the distance between us even more. The others tensing behind him ready to protect their alpha, all but Embry, he just looks upset. "What do you propose then?"
I breath deeply and stare him in the eyes. "An alliance. We wont attack each other and will help the other when needed, but only when needed. I will not be your little errand boy."
The men chuckle and Sam nods. "Sounds fair enough. I accept you alliance. And don't expect us to be your errand boys either."
"I wont," I promise, voice flat.
"So, I have a few questions. What your looking for isn't a-," he trails off.
"I'm looking for an understanding of one another and respect. If we happen to need the other's help then we should help. We would not be spending more time together than necessary."
"What if we want to spend time with you?" Embry asks excitedly. I only purse my lips together and stare at Sam. I start to feel anxious and that annoying pull of elastic from my core, dragging me over to Embry. Sam watches me with wise eyes and smirks.
"How long have you been a wolf?"
"A little less than a year," I answer automatically and I mentally punch myself. This is personal information that I'm giving and I just don't seem to have a filter.
"You were alone when you first phased."
I think this over, not wanting a repeat of the last question. "More or less." He raises an eyebrow and I rephrase. "There were people around, but they didn't know what was going on." The boys nod in understanding. I smile to myself, knowing how I just came across. That people were just oblivious to my condition and I kept it a secret, where in reality, people were either in the process of phasing or they were the reason we were phasing. No one was there to explain anything or add me any comfort, that was my job. The moment someone would phase they demanded answers and comfort from me, where I had to make everything up as I went along.
"So, what do you know?" one of the guys behind Sam asks, Jared.
"That I'm a wolf. I kill leeches. I'm stronger and have stronger senses. I can communicate with my pack through our minds when wolves. And that I'm hotter then humans."
"Yes. Yes you are," Embry drools, eyeing me with glimmering eyes. The elastic tightens and I stumble a few steps towards him and I clutch my chest in pain. I drop my hand immediately and straighten out. Embry extends and arm out towards me, but still seems to be under Sam's alpha command.
"Well, they're more to it then just that. Much more. Care to hear?" I nod my head, but hold my ground, not moving closer or farther away. This is a good distance; close enough to hear and see everything, but far enough to react to anything that comes my way. "I'll give you the quick version. Our tribe is said to be the descendants of wolves, and these wolves were here to protect our people from the cold ones. Vampires. A spirit wolf had merged with the leader of our tribe in order to protect our people, and the gene was passed down, father to son, and the occasional female. We live to serve our people, protect them from the horrors people classify as impossible. We go through extreme growth spurts, temperature changes, and a period where we feel almost sick before we first phase. Our bodies change in order to be able to fight and protect. We run at 108 degrees. Our pack all clear six feet in height. We are incredibly strong and fast. And," Embry steals a glance at the wolves behind him and smiles softy. "We imprint."
Silence fills the clearing and I just stare at them, not sure what to do. "Is imprinting important?" Sam and the guys nod their heads, dreamy looks crossing over their expressions. "What is it exactly?"
The men before me all steal a glance at one another, asking silent questions, Embry nods and locks eyes with me. Suddenly, I'm lost in a sea of black. No. Of onyx. The pull feels close to unbearable, and my body goes weak. My eyes roam across his features and everything is just so… perfect. Inviting. Warm. Right. His face has a hardness to it, someone who can be quite intimidating, but they're a playfulness there too. Almost childish. It's in his eyes and his mouth when he smiles. Everything about him screams masculine. Thick neck, broad shoulders, muscled body, the scents. My eyes run over his arm; what would it feel like to have those arms hold me? Protect me? Love me? That chest, so hard and defined. The way his hair lays lazily atop his head, brushing across his eyebrows. My eyes wander up to his eyes again and I can't seem to pull away. Images of Embry holding me, kissing me, smiling at me fill my mind. A scene of me with a large stomach with Embry at my side. A picture of us and two children in front of a house.
"That's imprinting." Embry's suddenly close voice snaps me out of my dream. I'm just out of arms reach and breathing heavily. His eyes are shimmering and he is just staring down at me with a soft smile. "It's finding the one who you should be with. You do anything for them. Be anything for them. A brother. A friend. A boyfriend?" My breath catches in my throat and I glance around frantically, them all having knowing expressions plastered on their faces.
"What does this have to do with me?" I ask, hiding my hysteria quite well under my aloofness.
Sam sighs. "Did you see anything when you looked Embry in the eyes?" I remain silent and stare at him. "Do you feel like something pulling you towards him?" I remain unmoving, and he smirks. "That's why you stumbled before?" Everyone laughs but Embry and I, his eyes staring holes into my back. I frown and so does Sam. He sighs and wipes his hand down his face in a tired manner. "Okay. Imagine this. Embry hurt."
My body goes ridged from the immense pain and my eyes unfocused, still opened, but seeing nothing. Embry? Hurt? No. No. No! I see Embry being punched in the face. Embry bleeding. Embry being tackled by a vampire. Embry struggling for a breath. Embry in pain. The strangest feeling overcomes me, I want to cry. I want to scream and kill something, anything posing a threat to him, but I want to cry above all else. My head starts spinning and the pain increases. At first it only hurt in my heart, but it's fusing through my entire body, all the way to my fingertips and toes. Like someone just threw a boulder on top of me and then tosses the remains into a raging fire, all to be dragged out and left alone in a forest to die alone.
It feels as though the ground is swaying beneath me, and it's suddenly night, everything seems so dark. Oh. The ground isn't swaying, it's me. And it's not night time, I'm just passing out. Damn. My body buckles underneath me and I fall, crashing towards the ground. Only I don't feel the impact, the darkness swallows me up before I can feel anything else.
A soft tapping across my body brings me out of unconsciousness, but I can't open my eyes yet. Or move. I breath in and out evenly and traces of forest are hidden in the shadow of the scent of rain. So that's what's tapping across my body. I take another breath through my nose to determine what else is around. Damn, the four wolves are still here. I shift about, trying to wake myself up some more.
"She's waking up," Embry sighs in relief. Why is he relieved? Does he want to hurt me? Is he waiting for me to wake up to do it? I force my eyes to open and they connect to onyx. The pull lingers again and it's as if I'm falling into their darkness. What! No, snap out of it. I force my eyes shut and I jump to my feet. I open my eyes again, not making any eye contact and survey my surroundings. I start breathing heavily and I crouch into my defensive stance. I back up till my back hit's a tree trunk and I stand my ground. We moved, about fifty yards into the forest from the clearing, using the large trees as a shelter from the rain.
"It's bit of a shock, isn't it?" I snap my neck towards Sam's voice. He's leaning against a near by tree, tall and flexing his muscles. I start to cower under his intimidating superiority, but I stop and stand tall and bare my own teeth slightly, not challenging, but not backing down either. He smirks and pushes off the tree and strolls over, our eyes connected in a silent battle. Who is going to back down? Not me. He stops only three feet from me and looks down, smiling with his teeth, another silent challenge. My lips twitch and I wish I can look down at him, like he is to me. My mind clicks and I smirk an evil smirk and explode off the ground to the lowest branch, latching on with my strong hands and pulling myself up by swinging my legs over the branch. I sit comfortably and stare him down, eyes narrowed and teeth slightly showing. I'm acutely aware of the fact that I just jumped about fifteen feet in the air, and underneath my alpha exterior, I'm quite impressed with myself, smiling and giddy on the inside.
"What were you saying about a shock?" I ask in a bored tone. The boys look around at one another, but I avoid looking at Embry, no matter how much my body is screaming to just take a peek.
"Imprinting. It pretty overwhelming when there's no one to explain it to you." I frown at him and raise my eyebrow slightly. Sam's eye widen and he barks out a laugh, doubling over and smacking Embry's shoulder. I wince slightly, but see that it's not a threatening attack so I remain put on my branch. "You don't even realize!"
"Realize what?" I ask suspiciously, running my eyes over everyone quickly and then looking farther into the forest, making sure they're not trying to distract me from some sort of attack.
"When a wolf imprints, it becomes they're job to protect and love their imprint." I nod, knowing this. "When a wolf imprints, the thought of their imprint hurt or in danger is an unbearable pain and they will do anything to protect their imprint regardless of the circumstances."
"So what does this have to do with me?"
"If someone were to hurt you, Embry would go insane. He would kill whoever hurt you and then come running to your side and help you… Embry imprinted in you." My heart quickens for a moment, excited and overjoyed, but I've been lied to before. I've been told I was loved and protected and it's only hurt me, make me the broke she wolf that I am now. Words aren't going to do anything for me, and it's going to take something huge to make me trust someone. I purse my lips together and stare Sam down, not even looking at Embry. Someone whines and a pain in my chest goes off and my eyes widen, but I pull myself together and keep my eyes on Sam.
"It appears that you imprinted on Embry too," Sam muses. I growl under my breath and he quirks a brow. "Or not. Well boys, we need to finish up our patrols. Embry, stay here for a second." I watch, senses on high alert. Something is about to happen. My body tenses, ready for a fight or flight scenario. All three of us watch as the two others disappear into the forest.
"What is it, Sam?" Embry asks, confused and stepping closer to his alpha. My eyes narrow on Sam and he winks. I growl and this time I don't try to hide it. I am not something to toy with.
"Freeze!" Sam booms with his alpha voice. Embry stands in place, eyes wide in confusion. Sam flexes the fingers on his right hand and makes a tight fist, his arm tensing. My eyes dart from his fist, to Embry's face, and back. Sam smirks and Embry growls but can't move under the command. Suddenly Sam's fist is slamming into Embry's face, sending him flying backwards. A growl rips through my chest and I pounce on Sam, phase in mid air. Sam phases right before impact and I land on his back, pushing us both to the floor.
I bounce off of him and crouch low, ready to attack again, and growl threateningly. No one is going to hurt him while I'm around. No one will get hurt if I can help it, especially Embry. Sam growls from the ground but doesn't get up to his full height. Even as a wolf he's bigger than me. Damn, probably stronger too. Well I'm quick on my feet and have good reflexes. Let him come at me. I growl again and step forward, waiting for him to take the bait.
"God damn it, Sam! What the fuck was that for?" Embry screams from the ground. I back up till I can see him out of the corner of my eye and huff a sigh of relief. He doesn't seem too hurt, just a bruise. I focus back at Sam and realize what I've done. Just pissed off a pretty strong wolf who has a pack, who could also kick my ass. Shit. Stupid, stupid broken girl. I lower my head and whine an apology. My instincts take over and I lay down, exposing my neck, showing that I'm not a threat. Sam stalks over and leans over me, growling lowly. I avoid eye contact. A nudge in my side catches me off guard and I yelp, jumping to my feet and heart racing. Bad memories. Bad, bad memories. I'm panting, but I lower my head once more, exposing my neck and back up into the clearing. Sam stands tall and nods his head. I nod back and bolt in the direction of my home. Shit, I imprinted on Embry.
