Embry saw Myrna smile widely and decided that his idea for their first date was a success. He unpacked the picnic basket, pulling out the delicious looking food Emily had made for him. Myrna just stared at all the tupperware, marvelling at how much Embry could actually eat. 'Emily make it?,' she asked knowingly. Embry smiled sheepishly and nodded his head. It was no secret. Embry was not good in the kitchen. 'Tell her thank you. This looks amazing. It's perfect,' she told him. She picked up one of the containers, marvelling at how gorgeous the detail on the box was. Myrna gasped as she opened it. 'You didn't! How did you know? Oh Embry you're amazing!,' she exclaimed. Uncharacteristically she launched herself at him and gave him a hug, kissing him lightly on the cheek. Embry gave a smug grin. My plan is soooo working right now, he thought to himself, self-satisfied and proud. He just hugged her back, chuckling at her reaction.
Myrna righted herself, realizing he probably thought she was a bit crazy. She looked down at the box again and smiled even wider. He had Emily make bento boxes. How did he know? He is so sweet, she thought. As she continued to rifle through the picnic basket she noticed that all the boxes had gorgeous patterns on them, and that there were three bento boxes for Embry and one for her. She laughed. 'Really Embry, how did you know?, she asked him, pretty curious about how he had any idea that she loved Japan so much. 'Little things I guess,' he said with a shrug. 'When I first met you, you had those black lacquer chop sticks in your hair. Then when I was looking through your bookshelves there were countless books on 'Hiking your way through Japan' and Japanese culture,' he said with a laugh. 'I guess I just thought you'd enjoy this. And Emily is an amazing cook so I knew she could help me out. But it's nothing too fancy. I only came up with the idea after I left the library so she only had an hour,' he said. Myrna decided she shouldn't push the subject. She was so flattered that he made those little observations about her but she could probably guess it would be awkward to continue to talk about his interest in her. 'Thanks Embry. It's really perfect. I love it.'
Embry just loved the look on her face, a mix of gratitude, shock and pride. He knew from his talks with her in his wolf form (or more her talks with him) that she was self-conscious and had pretty low self-esteem. He didn't know what had happened in her life to make her feel so down on herself but he was determined to make her see that she was so perfect, so beautiful. Embry believed she deserved the world and he wanted to do everything in his power to give it to her. He had to admit, though he resented the secretiveness of being a shape shifter, he couldn't deny the help it had been to their relationship. He knew that he wouldn't have really put all those little observations together to come up with this picnic idea. She'd told his wolf form offhandedly that she loved Japan and wished to visit it someday so that got him thinking. He saw her tuck into her bento box with a smile, picking out the chopsticks from the picnic basket with a laugh. 'You thought of everything,' she marvelled. He just smiled and picked out his own boxes. He could get used to lazy, sunny afternoon picnics on the beach with Myrna.
It had been a week since their first date and Myrna and Embry had been inseparable. Myrna couldn't understand how two people could become so close in such a short space of time but since coming to La Push she had realized that life wasn't exactly as normal as she had remembered. She had been to another bonfire night with Embry's group of friends but had felt a distinctive shift in their attitudes towards her. Whereas the first time she had met them they had been interested in her, curious and amiable, this time they were indifferent. She didn't understand what she had done to cause this change but she could definitely feel its presence. Myrna could only assume that they were angry at her for taking Embry's attentions away from their group and towards her. She just guessed they were envious of their time together. Little did she know.
Myrna was getting ready the morning of her lecture, nervous and excited at the same time. She was never one for public speaking, but she knew it was a necessary evil she had to endure to bring life back into the public library. She had really come to love the La Push library and when she originally came up with this scheme she had hoped to find speakers to host nights fortnightly to create some interest around the heritage of the area and its people. Sadly no one really wanted to travel to a small, deathly dreary town in the north of the United States to talk to some disinterested Quilete people. She couldn't blame them. She herself didn't want to do it either. But nonetheless she had created this whole lecture series so the least she could do was show up and try to do her best. This week's lecture was a reading of the shape shifter legend and she hoped Quil and Claire would make it. He had after all suggested at the last reading that Claire would love the lectures. She just shrugged. The way the group is treating me at the moment, I doubt they'll come, she thought sadly.
Myrna shook her head and made her way to her car. It was raining heavily and she wouldn't be able to walk to the library in this weather. She got in and tried to start up the engine. But as she tried, it made a horrible wrenching sound. Myrna cringed. This isn't sounding too good, she thought. She remembered that Embry knew quite a bit about cars and she called him up, hoping he could help her out. She had hoped to keep this whole thing away from him. She didn't want him there in the audience as she read the legend. If anything, he would be a distraction. Worst case, he would make her more nervous than she already was.
Embry seemed happy to help and in minutes he was with her, greeting her with a quick hug and peck on the cheek, before he popped open the hood of her car and started to tinker with the rusty old engine. She heard him sigh audibly as he pushed the hood closed. 'You're car is busted. I'm surprised it's made it this far,' he told her, smirking. 'Oh come on. It can't be that bad. I love this car,' she said as she stroked the old rust bucket affectionately. 'Yes well, you may love it but it's seriously on its last legs. I can fix it up but it won't be ready in time for you to get to the library. You've got your talk today don't you?,' he asked smugly. Embry had remembered that she was giving a little lecture on a Quilete legend and he wouldn't miss it for the world. He also knew that Myrna had been desperately skirting around the subject, probably hoping he had forgotten the whole thing. She smiled sheepishly at him but he just grinned in return. 'You can't get rid of me that easily,' he teased. She just smiled, 'Who said I wanted to?,' she asked shyly. He came up to her and gave her a hug. She just savoured his warmth. It was on days like these that she appreciated his ridiculous temperature. 'Here, I'll give you a ride over there. If you get too nervous just look at me. Pretend you reading it just to me and you should be fine.' Myrna just nodded.
They made it to the library just in time to see people filtering in and taking their seats. Myrna looked around anxiously as everyone began to settle down. Embry, sensing her nerves, placed a reassuring arm around her waist. 'Who are you looking for?,' he asked her as he saw her eyes scan the crowd. 'I was hoping Quil would be here. Last time he said that Claire would like the legends and I sorta wanted them to be here,' she said glumly. He just gave her a little squeeze. 'Don't worry about them,' he said. 'Really, I mean it Myrna,' he said a bit more sternly as she gave him a sceptical look. 'But they're your closest friends. The whole gang seems to hate me recently,' she said sadly. 'And if I'm with you then I'm going to have to be around them. You're a package deal Embry,' she mumbled.
'So you're with me now?,' he said as he raised his eye brows suggestively and have her a little nudge. She laughed lightly, but he could tell she didn't really feel much like joking. He just sighed. 'Myrna, please. It's alright. Don't worry about them. We're together,' he gave her a wink as he said this, 'and they're gonna have to deal with it. You mean so much to me. They have to accept you.' Myrna gave him a half-hearted smile. She knew he meant what he said, but she couldn't help feeling slightly guilty. She was the reason there was such tension between Embry and his friends. It must have seemed to them that she just waltzed in and stole Embry away from them. She just shook her head and looked down at the book in her hands. I just need to get through this, she thought as she squeezed Embry's hand, hoping to let him know that she was alright. Myrna checked her watch noticing it was about time to start. She gave Embry a quick hug and made her way to the little podium. Taking a deep breath, she began to go over the legend in her mind. She had read it so many times before she barely needed the book. She saw Embry take his seat and she began.
But this time, as she was reading it, everything seemed different. All the details of the story seemed more familiar, more poignant. As Myrna made it to the point in the story where shape shifters were described, where the attributes of the shape shifter and its wolf form were listed, she began to feel a twist in her stomach. Everything seemed so familiar but she couldn't put her finger on it. But as she paused in the story, for dramatic effect but also to collect her thoughts, she looked out into the audience and saw Embry. He gave her a reassuring smile but in that moment it all seemed to fall slowly into place. He's always so warm, feverish even, he looked young for his age, she only ever saw her beloved wolf Cuilean on nights when she hadn't seen Embry, the scars on Emily's face looked like scratch marks from a giant paw. As these thoughts raced through her mind she started to shake a bit. She grabbed her stomach, feeling suddenly ill.
Myrna became aware that the whole library was looking at her and she made hasty excuses. 'I'm so sorry. I'm really not feeling well. Please excuse me. I'll make sure to reschedule this lecture and post it on the notice board in the library. Once again, sorry everyone,' she said hurriedly, trying desperately to get out of the library. It was getting stuffy and she was suddenly feeling dizzy, the room spinning. With her excuses made she ran out of the library, looking like a mad woman she assumed, but all she could think of was leaving. She had been lied to, betrayed by someone she was beginning to really love. He had hid his biggest secret, a secret that scared her beyond anything she could have dreamed of. These were the stories she had studied, the legends that she had analysed and critiqued. But she had never thought they could be remotely true. They were just the imaginings of a culture trying to make sense of the world as best they could. Or so she had thought. And through all this, she couldn't get the image of Emily's face out of her mind. Those raw, red scars showing that there was a dark side to the Quilete legend. It wasn't all love and protection. These men could turn into viscous beasts more powerful than anyone could conceive. It chilled her to the bone to think that Embry could do the same to her. He had never given her reason to believe he could be dangerous, that he could hurt her, but how could she tell? How could she be sure that he would remain calm enough to not rip her limb from limb? He was capable, Emily's scars and the viciousness of the legends assured her of that.
As she ran out of the library and into the wintry rain, she couldn't help but be frightened. The man she had come to love was really a brutal creature of myth. Myrna continued to run, no destination in mind other than a safe place to hide, to collect her thoughts and process all that had just transpired. As the icy wind and rain hit her she began to cry. Everything had been going so well. She had settled down in her new job, her new routine. She had found her perfect home. She had fallen in love. She realized now that there was dark side to that love that she had been entirely unaware of. Myrna began to tire, unable to run much longer and finally taking stock of where she had ended up in her fervent attempt to put distance between herself and Embry. She sank to her knees and wept. What is happening to me? How can the legends be real? How can Embry beā¦that?, she thought to herself, noticing that she could barely comprehend that he was a shape shifter, let alone name him as one. She looked around the clearing she had stopped in, no idea where she was but finally felling the freezing cold rain that had pierced her clothing and soaked her to the bone. She didn't know how long she had been running, how long she had been outside in these conditions. But the cold temperatures, chilling rain and the stress of the entire situation had taken their toll. The world began to blur as shivered. Unable to muster the strength to move but knowing full well she should find some sort of shelter, Myrna pulled herself up from kneeling position and trudged, trudged in whatever direction her senses chose to go. She had passed rational thought the moment she had pieced together Embry's secret. She was running purely on instincts and she hoped they would guide her.
A/N: Hey everyone! I personally am in love with the end of this chapter. Bit of drama to tide you over. Sorry for the delay. Been a hectic week at Uni so bear with me. I've also got no clue where this story is going to go as the plot progresses so there may be longer intervals between updates as I try desperately to make some sort of plot outline. Anyways, hope you enjoyed it. R&R if you please :)
