Chapter 7: Help from Above
Disclaimer: S. Meyer owns Twilight
I didn't get very far when I heard twigs snapping, and the sound of branches scraping noisily. I stood, frozen to the spot as a blur rushed toward me, with eyes as red as garnet. It happened too quickly for me to be frightened, but just as quickly, a huge russet wolf knocked me to the ground out of the path of the vampire. The creature took off in the opposite direction with the wolf in hot pursuit.
I sat on the leaf-strewn forest floor, dazed for a few minutes. There was only one russet wolf that I was aware of, and yet I was certain it was he. Even in death, he was still protecting his loved ones in La Push.
A few more minutes passed while I pondered what just happened. Then it hit me—there were dangerous creatures out here tonight and Embry was in the midst of it. Suddenly, my mouth went dry. I was struck with terror. Where was Embry? Was he hurt, or—god, I didn't even want to think of the alternative.
Wiping off the wet leaves from my PJs, I jumped up to continue my search. Somewhere to the East, I heard male voices. I started running toward the sound, and breathed a sigh of relief as Sam, Jared and my Embry came walking through the trees.
Breathlessly, I ran as fast as I could, rushing into Embry's arms. He groaned slightly as the weight of my body slammed into him. "Careful, Bella. I tangled with the undead tonight. And she left her mark, before help arrived."
That's when I noticed Sam's arm around his waist. Embry was limping with his right leg. I looked over at Jared. He looked the worse for wear too. He was steadying his left arm with his right hand. "Yeah, it's what you think—it's broken," Jared explained. "Damn vamps."
I had my arms around Embry so tight that he finally told me, "I'm okay, honey. But you shouldn't be out here. I was made for this; it's in my genes. But you— you could be putting yourself in grave danger." Little did he know.
In no time at all, the lights from the parking lot were visible. As we were walking earlier, I saw a dark shadow across Embry's forehead; only now did I discover it was definitely not a shadow. There was a flap of skin just below his scalp that stretched to his temple. It hung down like a curtain, totally covering one of his eyebrows, the blood still oozing from the wound. The rest of his face, along with his chest, was a mass of cuts and bruises.
"Oh my god, Embry, what happened?" I asked, my voice quivering with emotion.
"Not here, sweetheart. I'll tell you when we get inside our apartment."
Sam never said a word, he just helped me get Embry inside on the bed. When I thanked Sam, I really scrutinized his face. He looked so haggard, and much older than his twenty-one years. These patrols were wearing on everyone.
It had been a while since I had patch-up duty, and it was like a déjà vu to the time when Jacob needed my help. They were memories I would sooner erase from my brain. I tried to get Embry to lie down, but he winced every time he barely moved.
Dabbing at his wounds, I pulled the flap of skin in place, and thank god for steri-strips. I don't know where the courage came from, but somehow I was determined not to let this horrible scene get to me.
The bleeding stopped and it was looking better already. I wrapped some gauze around his head to make sure the skin stayed where it belonged. With that taken care of, I finally had him stand so I could help him remove his cutoffs. His right hip was a mass of purple from his waist clear down to mid thigh. It was swollen more than twice its size. No wonder, he wouldn't lie down.
"Oh, Embry, "I gasped.
The sight of his swollen hip made me want to sit down and bawl. Why did this have to happen? Why do vampires have to exist, and why did a sweet guy like Embry have to suffer because of it? I went into the kitchen and put together an ice pack to place over the area.
I helped him sit and with the makeshift ice pak in place, I asked, "Do you want some Advil? It's all we've got."
In his usual, stoic manner, he answered, "Don't worry about it. It's okay, I'm used to pain."
I took his battered face in my hands. "Well, I'm not. This is not acceptable. Just look at you. One day you're not going to make it home. I can't go through that again. Something's got to be done."
He nodded in agreement. "You're right, I'll go to the council soon and see what we can do. That vamp nearly had me. If it wasn't for Jake, I wouldn't have made it home, like you said."
I sighed and took his hands in mine. "Let's try to get you into bed; you must be exhausted."
He carefully lowered himself onto the mattress, using one elbow to control his descent. I was ready to pull the covers over him, when he stopped me. "Bella, don't. I can't have those blankets on me. It hurts."
Lying down beside him, I got as close as I could without actually touching his body. What I really wanted to do, was grab hold of him and never let go.
Embry reached out and quietly ran his fingers through my hair. "Jake was there tonight, no doubt about it. We could all hear his thoughts. He got there in the nick of time too; any later and I would've been history.
"At first, we had everything under control. We cornered a vamp, and were nearly finished with him. But out of nowhere, a second one came right onto me, dragged me by the leg; and pulled it from the socket. The next thing I knew, I was thrown against a tree—head first. That's when our favorite wolf arrived and got between me and the leech. The bloodsucker took off and Jake ran after her.
"I'm sorry we were so late getting back, but Sam had to pop my hip back into its socket. I don't mind telling you, I never want to do that again. We couldn't phase back in our condition, so it was pretty slow going."
His voice cracked slightly, as he gazed into my eyes. "Honey . . . do you think you could get a little closer to me? I don't care about the pain anymore. I just need to feel your skin next to mine."
I doffed my PJ top and snuggled against his chest, putting my arms around his neck. He let out a contented sigh and kissed the hair on the side of my head. A few minutes later, his breathing became shallow and even, as he drifted off to sleep. I lay awake, pondering what a near miss this was.
The story circulated all over La Push the next day, how a large russet wolf appeared in the forest to come to the aid of Sam, Jared and Embry. I still hadn't told Embry about my close call though. I did however decide not to venture into the woods again unless one of the La Push gang was there with me.
I made Embry stay in bed the whole day, and babied him shamelessly. By the smile on his face, I could tell he was enjoying every darn minute of it too.
On Monday, he was up and around again. There was no keeping a good wolf down I guess. After school, true to his word, he spoke to some of the tribal council. It was decided that each patrol would consist of at least five members from now on. That meant that Embry would be doing his share of patrolling on a more frequent basis, but he'd be better protected.
The next few weeks went by uneventfully, but all the wolf pack seemed to be on edge. There were more visitors than usual. Something was up.
Things at home though were better than ever, and that's saying something. Take for instance . . . For several days now, Embry seemed overly attentive to me. I was making dinner one evening, and he kept nuzzling my throat, and kissing me behind my ear. His hands were stroking up and down my arms, and then he clasped them around my waist, as he cradled his head at the nape of my neck.
I was getting a little suspicious. "What's going on, mister? You've been acting even sweeter than usual."
He looked kinda smug as he replied, "Oh, you'll find out soon enough."
Then he drew me into a bear hug and kissed me senseless. "Let's go dancing tonight. We haven't been dancing since that time we first kissed. Then we can come home and canoodle on the couch, and I can pick you up and haul you off to the bedroom and let nature take its course. What do you think?"
"What do I think? I think I love you, Embry Call."
"She loves me," he yelled out loud, then he pressed his forehead to mine.
He picked me up and set me on the kitchen counter. I laughed and threaded my fingers through his black hair.
"We are going out tonight. We are gonna have us a time. Ow, ow, ow! They don't call me Call of the wild for nothing.
