Eva `s POV.
"Wake up baby, its your birthday." My dad whispered in my ear. I managed a sleepy smile. I was seventeen, I had looked forward for so long for this day and now it was ruined because the problem was not only did I have to share my birthday but I had to heal a broken heart. I opened my ears and allowed the light to stream in. I winced slightly as my eyes adjusted.
"Morning sweetheart, happy birthday." My dad said and gave a smile. I loved my dad but it took real effort to return the smile but I did. My Mom stood behind my Dad and gave me an equally big smile. Their baby was growing up. I was an only child and soon I would have to think about university, it was scary. I shook my head, trying to wake up. They laughed and the sound was strangely reassuring even though I was seventeen and almost an adult, I could always depend on them. They were my number 1 fans and I was theirs.
"Time to have your breakfast, sweetie." Mom said and handed me a tray full of my favourite foods, she had even made me a smoothie.
"Thanks Mom." I whispered and this time the smile came easier. I wolfed down the food, I was hungry and would need my strength for tonight and all the food on the tray were my favourites After breakfast, my parents gave me a present. I should not have got any presents because the party was my present but I was an only child so naturally was spoilt. They handed me an envelope and I nervously opened it. It was a plane ticket to Ireland. I had always wanted to go to Ireland, I did not like the sun and like La Push, Ireland got no sun but I loved their culture and it just sounded like a magical place of fairies and stuff, there was nothing mythical or magical about La Push. I screamed in pleasure and hugged my parents. This was going to be the best birthday ever, I refused to allow Embry Call to ruin it. Mom and Dad laughed as I screamed but I could tell they were glad I loved their present. They always put a lot of thought into my presents.
"Thank you." I said still screaming. " I `m going to call Lola, she is going to be so jealous."
I picked up the phone and for the next half an hour, I just chatted to Lola, I had not told her that Embry and I had been on a date last night and nor had I told her how Embry had kissed Clio. Because Lola liked Clio, everyone liked Clio except me. How could she kiss him and then push him at me? I twirled the phone cord around my finger as Lola talked about my birthday and how all the popular girls who were usually horrible to me were really upset that they were not invited as all the hot guys in our year were going to be there. Damn Embry for being one of those hot guys. I looked round my room, it had not changed in the past five years, I had kept it the same, not because I liked clinging to the past just because I was one of those people that hated change. Mom had told me that I had never liked change even when I was a baby, I hated change. I had not wanted to move to middle school or high school but I had and I always preferred to look at the past then to look ahead to the future. The past was certain and could not be changed, the future was empty, anything could happen. For some people like Lola, the future being unset was a good thing but for me, it was painful and scary. This had always been my theory till I met Embry, it was amazing how with just one kiss he could completely capture my heart and change the way I think. I had looked forward to tomorrow and the future because I thought Embry would be part of it. He had even changed the way I looked at love, I had been broken and vulnerable but after Embry, I had seen love as a miracle and cherished it. How could I have fallen so deep, so quickly? It wasn `t like me to fall in love so quickly and it was not like me to suddenly trust people but the Eva, I was before had been right, love was not beautiful but painful and I had thrown my trust at Clio and Embry and they had betrayed it.
"Eva, Eva, are you still there?" Lola said and I realised I had lost track of our conversation about ten minutes ago.
"Sorry, I was just thinking. Listen, I had better start getting stuff ready. I will see you at seven." I said and I felt for bad not listening to Lola because she always listened to me.
"Eva, are you ok? I mean I know you and Ross are weird at the moment but I feel like I am missing out on something. You don `t have to tell me anything but if you want to talk you can." Lola said hesitantly and as usual was concerned about me. Lola was observant and usually I loved that but I was not ready to talk about Embry yet.
"I ``m fine. Stop worrying. I `m just worried about the party." I said and I sighed inwardly as I thought about Ross, he was another problem. Well Ross could never be a problem because he was my best friend but he was difficult at the moment.
"Ok then." Lola said and I could hear her uncertainty and I knew she knew I was not telling the truth but being Lola she respected my privacy. I had such great friends. "I will see you later then."
" Bye." I said and hung up. I looked at the clock, it was actually time I got out of bed, I had a lot of stuff to do before the my party started. Actually it was not my party, it was mine and Embry `s party. Life was cruel.
I pulled myself regretfully out of my warm bed, I actually wanted to stay in bed all day and miss the party but that would be unfair to my parents who had invested so much into this party for me. I climbed out and hopped into the shower and left the warm water run over me.
I spent forty five minutes in the shower and smiled as I stepped out. There was something brilliant about a warm shower that made me smile. I threw a towel round me and walked out of the bathroom. I hugged the towel, enjoying the soft feel of it. I walked into my bedroom and almost dropped my towel as I saw who was on my bed.
"Ross." I said and stared at him. This time when I stared at him, I looked at him differently, I was looking at him as a guy. Ross had always been attractive, plenty of girls in our year group liked him. I had never wondered why he had barely dated in school, now I wondered whether the reason was me.
"Eva, Look I know you don `t want to see me get hurt and end up like Jacob but Eva, I knew it was a long shot from the very beginning and you are hurting me more by ignoring me. I love you Eva as a friend more then anything else. So can we please go back to normal?" Ross said this and the whole time he looked straight into my eyes, he was brave to look at me. The truth was I needed Ross, he was my friend and my rock to lean on.
"Of course, we can be friends Ross. We never stopped but you had better tell me the truth and if you like me in more then a friends way then we will have to take a break." I said and strangely it was me who would not look at him. The thing was I did not know if I could take a break from being his best friend.
"Thanks." Ross said and bridged the gap between us and gave me a hug.
Then we heard a growl, Ross and I pulled apart and I looked around. Embry was in the doorway to my bedroom. Ross smiles and Embry glares at him and Embrys hands shake causing the door knob to rattle breaking the silence. I however stayed silent taking in the scene, the two guys just stared at each other and then Embry jumps at Ross. Ross has an amazing reaction time and just managed to leap out of danger and crashes in to my dresser and all my stuff goes flying. I screamed.
"What is going on here?" My Mom comes in and joins me in screaming. My Mom has such a high pitched scream that it just demands attention. Both guys look up. "Eva put on some clothes." I realise at this point that my towel is on the ground. Oh My Gosh, I am naked in front of Embry and Ross and my mother. I must have dropped the towel when I hugged Ross so I could put my arms around him. They had seen me naked. I blushed and picked up the towel and ran out of the room. Mom let me pass and then began yelling at the guys, I ran into the bathroom and locked the door. I could hear my Mom shouting upstairs. To be honest, they were getting off easy, my Dad would have found a gun and shot them if he had found me , his only daughter in my bedroom naked with two guys who were fighting. I took deep breaths and sat on the bathroom floor. If Mom was mean to them, she would be a monster to me. I shivered the tiles were cold, What was Embry doing here? Why was he here? Strangely even though my Mom was going to kill me, I found myself asking about Embry. I was insane. I heard footsteps, the front door opened and then slammed. I took a huge breath and felt my heart beat faster. Then my Mom knocked on the door. I unlocked the door with caution and stepped back.
"Eva Aisling Mahony, what were you doing up there and you had better tell the truth otherwise I will tell your father. I should tell him anyway but I don `t want him to have a heart attack." My Mom looked like she was in danger of a heart attack.
"It was nothing. I just came out of the shower and Ross was in my room, we had been fighting and then he said sorry. I was hugging him, the towel slipped and I don `t know where Embry came from." I said this and held my breath. Mom stared at me.
"Eva, I am not going to tell your father because Ross has been your friend for a long time and also he `s gay so it doesn't matter and as for Embry well he is Susie `s son but I am warning you if this ever happens again, you will be grounded for life." I was about to object that Ross was most definetly not gay and ask where she got the idea that he was gay but then realised this would probably get me in more trouble so remained silent and just nodded my head.
"Get dressed. Then we need to go to the hairdressers and then we need to go to the caterers and pick up all the food and then you can have a couple of hours to get dressed while us adults set up the gazebo at First Beach and arrange the food. Move Eva, Move."
Embry `s POV.
What is wrong with me? Or maybe there is something wrong with the universe, I can never have Eva or if I do I can only have her for less then 24 hours before something happens and we end up in a fight or separated. Imprints are supposed to want to spend all their time together and hate being apart but Eva and I seem to be the exception, we seem to never want to spend time together. She will spend time with Brady or Ross though. "Shut up." I mutter to myself and have another look in the mirror and then at the clock. Its three in the morning but I cannot sleep. Every time, I close my eyes, her face is in mind. Its been like this since the first day, I saw her at the carnival, she had looked beautiful then, one look was all it took. Jacob had called a couple of times to make sure I was alright and Quil had come over but neither of them had ever fought with their imprints so did not understand. Paul laughed at me for never being able to keep a grip on Eva until Rachel told him to shut up which he did instantly, Sam told me to take control of the situation. Seth who would usually be helpful at times like these because he was a nice guy had been too busy consoling Clio. Seth would understand the problems as he had been separated from Clio when she was sent to boarding school but he is busy and Jared well it was useless talking to him, he was always thinking about Kim.
I lay back down on the bed, I had been trying to get to sleep for hours but it just was not happening. I love Eva, so why is she mad at me? I should not have been so upset about her texting Brady but it hurt because she rarely text me. Also she is my reason for living and even seeing her look at another guy hurts me, I mean if she loved another guy I would let her go because her happiness comes first but Man that would hurt. I still did not understand why she was mad at me though, it sounded like she was mad at me for something else. I would never do anything to hurt her but it looked like I had, she had been crying tonight. I cringed inside, it had been torture seeing her upset, I had felt like a thousand daggers were running through my body, I had never been so hurt emotionally. My phone vibrated I answered in vain hope that it was Eva.
"Hello." I said and waited praying for her musical and magical voice that could make me float on air for hours.
"Hey, its Collin." Collin? Why was he calling? I mean ya like any member of the pack he was a brother to me but usually him and Brady were the annoying younger brother and he had never called before except about pack business.
"What `s up?" I said, at least he is distracting me from the pain of not having Eva. I tried to keep the surprise out of my voice.
"Listen Em, I have to tell you something but you have to promise not to get mad." This was so inappropriate, Collin was probably calling to say he took a play-station game.
"Look Collin, I won `t get mad but whatever it is, I am not that bothered, I need to hang up though in case Eva calls." I sounded exasperated but I did not care, I needed the phone line.
"Actually, its about Eva." Collin said. This time, I did pay attention, I sat up on the bed and tried to stay calm even though my heart was beating a 100 miles an hour.
"What is it, Collin?" I said and before he could reply, I repeated myself. "Collin, what is it? Is she ok?"
"Embry, I think she might be mad at you because I told her that you and Clio had kissed before." I stayed silent for a second, digesting what he said. Then I ripped the phone from its socket and flung it at the wall. Rage and fury took over, the emotions were too much for my human body, I started shaking and the heat took over.
In a matter of seconds, I was a wolf. I managed to make it out of the window before I phrased. The transformation was instant but my feelings did not transform. I wanted to kill Collin for saying that to Eva. Why did he tell her? Eva did not need to know and I never liked Clio I mean she was hot but not my type.
"Back off." Seth said, blocking off any more thoughts about Clio. I had forgotten there were other wolves. I listened.
"Embry, Calm down. I forbid you to kill Collin but I will talk to Collin and discipline him." Sam said. I growled but did stop heading in the direction of Collin `s house, I could feel Jakes sympathy. I was also shocked to see that Seth was remembering me and Clio kissing and Seth was unbelievably jealous and mad. It was amazing because it was so obvious that Clio was in love with Seth and yet that kiss annoyed him more then anything else in the world and I took a lot to annoy Seth. Sam let out a massive growl and everyone in the pack stopped concentrating on me and turned their concentration on him.
"Listen guys, this is not on. I am glad you have found your imprints but you all have a duty to the pack. Jake you were late for duty because Nessie was hungry, Jared has not even turned up. Seth is mad at Embry who is mad at Collin and Leah is out of the pack because she is pregnant. It would be so easy for a vampire to get into La Push. The other wolves are young and look up to you because you fought the vampires in Seattle but they won `t look up to you much longer if this goes on. The next time one of you is late because of your imprint I will forbid you to see her for a day and if you miss a shift, you won `t see your imprint for a week and if you think about your imprint, you will not see her for a couple of hours. Is that understood?" Shock and a bit of anger ran through the pack but we all knew Sam was right, lately the pack had not been running well. Jake agreed so it looked like a new order was beginning.
"Ok, Jake and Embry head south, Seth and I will head North and pick up Jared. Jacob tell Quil and the others the order when they get here. Seriously you are all banned from thinking of your imprints for the next three hours, you will concentrate on the pack and work." I was glad I was Jared because Sam was in a real mood and would kill him.
"He is right though." Jacob thought. "I did not come yesterday because Ness wanted me to watch a DVD. Quil is the same, he never does a shift on Wednesdays because him and Claire always watch the new Dora The Explorer episode. Jared is a mess, we are lucky if we get him once a week and Paul is just a love-sick puppy and can barely concentrate when he is away from Rachel. We need this disicipline. I hate it as well as you and Sam hates it too but its necessary. The younger wolves are doing more shifts then we are which is not right."
I listened to Jakes thoughts and concentrated on the woods around me. I had not concentrated on anything so hard since I had met Eva, she was such a distraction. My thoughts immediately turned back to the woods and I heard Sam `s disapproval. It was hard not to think about her because she was my world but I had a duty to the pack and to the La Push community. In a way, it was great that none of us thought about our imprints, it was like old times when we were all young wolves and free from love. I missed Jakes garage and sitting in there with Quil and Jake, just talking and fiddling with engines. It was nostalgic but I could feel Jacob felt it too. How times had changed from two years ago when I had thought Sam was an arrogant jerk and Paul was a well I wont speak about my former opinions of him and now they were my brothers. I was an only child and I had always considered Jake and Quil to be my brothers but the pack was truly family and Sam was like the father figure I never had. I know Sam was only like four years older then me but he was older and he gave orders and stuff and his house was our meeting place so in a way he was a father figure. I wish I had had a Dad. Jake could feel this thought and it embarrassed me but Jake understood, his Mom was gone but at least he knew who his Mom was. I had no idea who my father was.
"Embry, you don `t need a father. The pack is your family. I am your brother, obviously your older smarter brother but seriously Embry we all love you and your Mom has done everything for you and now you have Eva and maybe someday like Leah, you will be starting your own family." Jake always knew what to say and it did make me feel slightly better thinking of my own family. At this point, Sam found Jared. Sam and Seth stood outside Kim `s room. Sam left out a low but threatening growl. Jared emerged outside a minute later, half-dressed. It did not take a genius to guess what him and Kim had been up to. He phrased and Sam let it loose on him.
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It was just after seven when I landed in from my shift. I was still upset about Eva but running with the pack had been fun. I jumped through the window and smiled as I looked at my calender, I had circled the day and Eva `s birthday was written in huge writing. Tonight was our birthday party. I loved parties but I had never liked my own that much but now that I was sharing with Eva, I liked the idea. I had been mulling over what to get Eva for her birthday for a while. I wanted to get her something meaningful and beautiful. I had had an idea about a week ago. I wanted to give Eva the world and hopefully make her smile, that smile made me the happiest guy in the world. I was not talented at music or anything else but I was talented at mechanics and woodwork so I came up with the idea of making her a jewellery box. Eva always wore jewellery and when I had looked in her room, her old jewellery box had looked worn down. I looked at the wooden box in the corner of my room. I had bought wood a couple of days ago and had begun to carve the box. The box was now completed and coated in varnish. I had also hunted through the attic for my grandmother `s old velvet curtains and then I had cut out some of the material to cover the inside of the box. I must admit I was pleased with myself the jewellery box looked great. I had put so much effort into that small box and with my big werewolf hands, it had been difficult to be constantly gentle but looking at it now, I knew the work was worth it. It just needed the finishing touch.
I got a knife from the kitchen and then turned the box upside down. Very carefully, I scratched the message "I will love you forever Eva" and today `s date, her birthday. I will give it to her in a couple of hours, I don `t want to go over now and wake her up. Then I will explain everything about the whole Clio thing and I will apologise about Brady. The pain of her being mad at me was so great but my exhaustion was greater. I collapsed on the bed and welcomed much needed sleep.
I woke up about six hours later, perfect now it was an acceptable time to visit either. I threw on some track pants and wandered into the kitchen. Mom had left a note saying she had gone to collect decorations for the party and that food was in the fridge. I opened the fridge and grabbed some toasting waffles. Toasting waffles were good for werewolves as they were full of sugar and we needed a lot of sugar. I took a long swig of milk then eat 4 cold sausages, then the waffles were ready. They were delicious. I went back to my room and grabbed a t-shirt and the jewellery box. I walked out to the car and put the box carefully in the front seat. I turned on the car, the temperature outside according to the car was 6 degrees Celsius, cold for a human but nothing for a werewolf. I pulled out and drove to her house, going way over the speed limit but nothing close to werewolf speed.
There was another car in her driveway so I parked on the curb. I walked up to the door and knocked. Eva `s Mom answered, she looked stressed probably about the party, I was not particulary bothered about the party, all that mattered was Eva.
"Hi Embry, come on in. I was just about to talk to you. You and Eva never chose any music. I think she is in her room. Second door on the right upstairs." Fiona said and then started dialling a number on the phone. I jogged up the stairs. Second door on the right. The door was open, I walked in and then stopped. The sight that met my eyes almost killed me. I fought my impulse to change into a werewolf. The heat ran through me. Eva was hugging Ross. She caught my eye and Ross turned round and then I got a look at Eva. She was naked and even though I was so mad, I could still admire her body. The heat ran through me and the door knob shook in my hand. I stared at ross and he gave me this stupid smile, that almost broke my werewolf control. It did however cause me to lose human control. I flung myself at him. Eva screamed but I was too mad to stop fighting although the scream did hurt. Then I heard a noise that almost caused me to lose my hearing. I let go of Ross to see what was making that noise. It was Fiona. She could really scream.
"What is going on here?" Fiona said and my ears thanked her for stopping screaming. "Eva put on some clothes." Eva ran out of the room and looked so embarrassed, I wanted to go after her and tell her it was alright but Fiona was blocking the door.
"Boys, what is happening here? And you had better tell the truth otherwise I will call both your mothers." She gave us a glare and I was actually scared. It took a lot to scare a werewolf but she did.
"Nothing. Me and Embry were just having a contest over who was strongest and Eva got scared and screamed and dropped her towel. We are really sorry to disturb you Fiona. It won `t happen again." Ross said and I was shocked, I had expected Ross to be like all mean and stuff and blame me. I was the one who attacked him. I was too shocked by ross being nice to say anything.
"Well both of you are forbidden to enter Eva `s room from now on if you want of talk to her, you have to talk to her downstairs and she has to be fully clothed. Fighting in her room, you should be ashamed of yourselves and don `t think I believe your story but I will let you off this time. You will both have to help paint the nursery walls and after that you can fix the furniture, some of its broken. Understood?" she said, she screamed the whole time when she said this but we were getting off easy. We both nodded.
"Shoo, get out of here and don `t let me see you in this house, I shall see you at the party and absolutely no fighting, play or real." Fiona said and out her hands on her hips. We nodded again and sprinted out of the house.
I took a deep breath as the front door slammed shut behind us. I did not ever want to see Fiona mad again. I heard Ross `s feet on the gravel. I looked at him, I hated him in so many ways it was indescrible but he was a nice guy and he had covered up with Fiona. He stared back at me, I was not sure what to do now because although I undoubtedly hated him, I had just realised that although I hate him, he is not a bad guy.
"Thanks for covering up there." I said. "So what were you doing in Eva `s room?" I asked, I could not help myself, I had to ask.
"I just came to see her. We weren `t doing anything, we are just friends. Listen Embry, I might just be Eva `s friend but I love her and that's more then you can say. And I also think that she loves me." I shook slightly but my new found respect for Ross stopped me from shifting to wolf form and killing him.
"I love her more, do not doubt that
