A/N: I just wanted to say that I've been pleasantly surprised by the number of women who have gone Team Embry -- at least for the duration of this series -- because they've "met" him during his imprinting moments. :) That makes me smile.
Thank you to all of you who have been favoring any of the stories in this series: The Hardest Part, The Imperative and this one: Becoming Whole. It's wonderful to hear from you and to get a chance to interact on some level with y'all.
Below, as I told many of you, Victoria enters the picture on the day of the First Kiss…
Thanks for reading! ~LJ
Moment 9: To the Victor...
"Ah, here you are at last Bella Swan. It's been so long since we've played a game together."
The sickly-sweet, little-girl's voice that issued from the dreadfully familiar face made my heart jump with sheer, terrified adrenaline. "Victoria!" I called, straightening my shoulders.
I was standing in front of the changing tent where the other girls were hiding at the direction of their guys. My guy had told me to hide, too, but – I couldn't! I knew why the vampires were here. I knew for whom they had come. I would not and could not allow anyone else to be hurt on my account. Not without my help. If I could help.
I didn't expect Embry to be happy about my showing my face. He wasn't. His growl was low and rippling, but it seemed to shimmer in the air all around me like a protective grill.
The bane of my existence stood not far from Embry. His fur was stiff, standing up in anger all over his body. The hair on the back of my neck did likewise. Why wouldn't the vampire answer me? "Victoria, why are you here? Why can't you let these people go?" I would be glad enough to stay, if they could get away from here without incident. I was about to say so, too, even though I guessed it would make Embry crazy, but she interrupted my thoughts.
"People? Have you...noticed...this one in front of you? And they can go," she went on with a negligent wave of her hand as Embry growled deep in his chest. "I only want you."
I needed to buy us time, I thought. I needed to keep her talking. Somewhere, the rest of the pack, Embry's wolf-brothers, were nearby. They would help destroy Victoria if I could only keep us alive 'til they got here. "You don't want me, Victoria. You don't." She only thought she did...
"James!" the vampire shrieked. "Your Edward killed my mate!"
The day she spoke of flashed in my mind. The day in the ballet studio. The day when Edward Cullen could have made me a vampire – but he valued my humanity too much to do so. I didn't remember what happened too clearly, but I remembered the pain James gave me. I remembered the fire. I remembered...
Embry shifted next to me and I had an answer for Victoria, which I gave to her with a shout. "He's not my Edward! He left me, Victoria. My death will not hurt him. Not like you want. It won't be a good revenge. He's not my mate!" Embry was my mate, now. Embry!
The flash of that realization hit me square in my gut and heart, knocking my breath out for a second. But there was no time to think about it. Neither could I tell Victoria who my mate truly was. No. That would put Embry in even more danger. Making him a target, not a guard.
"Edward has been tracking – tracking me!" Victoria said as if she were boasting, a cackle erupting from her stone throat. "I've led him on a wild chase! He'll be too late, though, won't he?"
Edward had been tracking her? Hunting Victoria? Why? Was she one of his distractions? My heart, in a fierce whisper, said he did it for my protection. But he had failed. The wolves – my wolf, my Embry – were protecting me from her. And I would not let them fail if I could help!
The girls still in the tent were freaking out by now, but they were staying inside the shelter, which was good. I tried to move away, but then Victoria leapt with obscene, predatory grace to land closer to Embry and me.
"No! Stay away from him!" I yelled at her as it seemed she might attack Embry to get to me. That was unacceptable! "He has nothing to do with it!"
Embry's huge gray head swiveled for the briefest moment, and I could see his eyes, my Embry's eyes, in the face of that wolf and I felt suddenly strong and brave – everything he told me I was to him. I knew exactly what I had to do.
He couldn't fight her if I was in danger of being hurt. He wouldn't and couldn't. So I had to get the hell out of the way so he could rip her apart. I believed he could. And I heard the heavy thudding of other padded feet and saw the sand and dust being kicked up as more wolves came to help Embry.
They would destroy Victoria. But I had to get out of the way and let them. I couldn't go to the tent – the girls were there and I'd endanger them. Running the other way was stupid – vampires were insanely fast.
That left the cliff. I could jump off of it and fall to the water. I could do that much.
Without thinking any more about it, I shouted, "Get her, Embry!" and took the few steps necessary to the cliff's edge and leapt into the sky!
The noise surprised me. The sound from the water rushed me with the wind around my head and the howls I could hear above me. And then, before I was ready, my feet hit the frothy surface of the ocean and I plunged deep. More deeply than Embry had taken me. It was really cold and dark and it took me a moment to orient myself so that I knew where the sun still shone through the water.
I fought my way back to the surface, not knowing how far I would be carried away from anywhere I could get a breath in safety, but knowing that at least I wasn't up there, getting in everyone's way.
I pulled air into my lungs when I could, and kicked hard to keep my head above water and find out where I was or, failing that, where I could rest. I didn't know I'd be so exhausted. My feet hurt. Burned. Maybe I scratched them on something. I flailed out an arm in an effort to just move through the cold sea water. I had to swim and keep swimming, on the lookout for a place I could be safe.
Embry would come for me. I was sure of it. Victoria would not win. Could not win. No.
I heard a howl far above me and I knew it, intimately. It was Embry! He was alive! Well, of course I hadn't truly entertained the notion of him dying, had I? No. Not really. I tried to swim to shore, but after hearing him, I was suddenly extremely tired. As if my adrenaline had lasted as long as I wasn't sure of the outcome of the fight, but now that I was, I was wasted.
I made it to a rock about the size of a reclining chair. "Embry!" I called once I had pulled half of myself out of the water. "Embry!" Out of the water and being hit by spray and wind, I discovered I had cut myself in a couple of places on my arms and a foot as I sought a more comfortable perch on this porous stone. Had to be the result of a long-ago volcanic blast, I thought.
Then, my wolf appeared on the beach, his gray fur ruffled but I couldn't see any damage. I inhaled deeply in my relief and tried again to fix my hold on the rock. "Embry," I whispered.
To my surprise, he phased right there on the beach. In front of me. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks. As much time as we had spent together over the past months, I had never, ever seen him phase and his nakedness – though brief – was something of a revelation.
"What the hell was that stunt?" he demanded, swimming out to me.
I scowled at him. "That stunt was me getting out of the way so you could kill her without worrying about me." He joined me on my piece of ancient lava, balanced on his forearms. I cocked a brow at him. "I guess it worked?"
His irritation with me melted away as he helped me oh-so-carefully to get off the rock and slide into his arms. I didn't have to swim another stroke; Embry towed me the rest of the way so I could just rest. I let my head roll on his shoulder as he chuckled again. "Yeah, it worked. You're brilliant, okay?"
I blushed. He might have been teasing, but his voice was warm and joyful and I laughed a little breathlessly. My heart started pounding all of a sudden and I got doubly nervous when he swiftly changed positions to hold me in his arms as he walked the rest of the way out of the water.
His eyes were warm, but alert when they met mine. "Anything broken?"
"Not today... Abraded maybe."
"Bella!"
He put me down and looked as if he were going to give me a complete examination. But that was not the attention I wanted from him, right then. Remembering Emily's always-excellent advice, I lowered my eyes and wrapped my arms around my werewolf's warm torso, pressing the palms of my hands on his back. Then, I swallowed and my mouth opened and I started rambling.
"Thank you, Embry. I mean, it probably won't hit until later, and you might find me a crying disaster or something while you're on – Oh, wait..." I frowned. This was stupid. I mean, he wasn't going to have to be on patrol anymore, was he? So when would we spend time together? I – I was going to miss him...
With the edge of a finger, he caught my chin. "What, sweetheart?" he murmured.
My heart almost jumped out of my chest. I tried to tell him it was okay that he wouldn't have to come by on patrol anymore and I was sure I'd be fine. He reminded me I had nothing to worry about anymore...
He was right. But I was going to miss him anyway. After a very heavy, very quiet moment, I felt him pull me closer against himself, as if he would bring me under his own skin. It was amazing. I felt so safe, so warm, so much a part of him right then. I told him it was good that he'd get some sleep, he'd worked so hard that day, but, he understood me better than I thought he did.
"I'll come, Isabella," he murmured into my hair. "I'll come tonight."
Then, it happened. He nudged my head up and with a devastating slowness, he lowered his lips to mine. Yes! Mine! Yes! I was thinking, the words echoing in my heart and my mind as I parted my lips. And oh... It was such a kiss. Long, slow and sweet, with a promise in every movement of his mouth on mine.
I loved Embry Call. In my kiss, I promised him I always would.
~*~
Tomorrow, the tenth and final moment: Embry, I might have another nightmare...
