A/N: Your girl is done with school for the summer so here's to (hopefully) more updates! I've never made it to ten published chapters on anything I've ever written so this is a big milestone for me. Enjoy.
Chapter 10: Speculation
The two made it back to the house to find Sam's black truck sitting in the driveway. Embry hastily parked his bike next to it, then followed Julia as she made her way up the steps of the porch. He already felt like enough of an asshole for cutting their outing short, but her silence was somehow making him feel even worse. She paused at the door to the kitchen, turning to face him and say a quick goodbye, but he spoke up before she could say anything.
"Julia, I'm really sorry," Embry said, trying his best to study her facial expression. Unfortunately for him, she had a really good poker face. "Can I make it up to you somehow?"
"Don't worry Embry, it's not a big deal, things come up…" Julia started to reply, trying her best to reassure him. He seemed more upset than she was.
"I still feel bad. Please, let me make it up to you?" Embry wasn't going to give up on this. He knew that if she agreed, it would be an easy in to spend more time alone with her.
Julia bit her lower lip, catching a hit of what sounded like desperation in his voice, "Sure."
"Thanks," he gave her such a genuine smile that Julia couldn't help but give him one in return. Embry looked at her for a second, using every ounce of his self control not to lean down and pull her in for at least a hug before he had to leave. "See you soon?"
"See you soon," she echoed back with a nod, finally opening the door and stepping through the threshold.
Once she was safely inside, Embry did a one-eighty and bounded down the stairs. He was definitely late to whatever meeting Sam had called, and there was no way he'd be getting out of some kind of reprimandation. Thinking back to Julia's arms around him on the motorcycle and them sitting side-by-side on the beach, he decided that whatever it was would be totally worth it.
Embry made his way around the side of the house toward the trail he had walked with Julia just yesterday. Looking back to make sure no one was in the windows to see him, he took off in a jog until he was hidden deep within the trees. He hurriedly shed his clothes, leaving them in a pile just off to the side of the trail behind a bush. He could come back for them later. In an instant, the all-too familiar sensation of phasing enveloped his body. A giant gray wolf now stood in his place. Immediately, the voices began flooding his head…
Nice of you to join the party, Embry, Paul said sarcastically.
Where've you been, dude? Seth asked.
Sam isn't happy… Quil tried to warn him as Embry sprinted to the pack's location as fast as his four legs would carry him. His attempt was futile, however, as Sam was able to listen in.
That's the understatement of the century, Quil, their alpha interjected. His tone was sour and he seemed on edge. I hope you have a good explanation, Embry. And no, being with your imprint doesn't count as a good explanation.
Yeah, if I can't get off the hook, neither can you, Jared snickered at Embry until the realization hit him. Wait. Imprint? What? Embry Call imprinted on someone? When did this happen?
Literally yesterday, Embry had finally found the rest of his pack in a clearing by the edge of the Quillayute River. He was met with sounds of approval from his packmates, who came up to nudge him in congratulations. Everyone except Leah, he noticed, who sat impatiently in the background.
Yesterday? Paul went through a quick mental highlight reel of what the pack did on Thursday. It has to be Emily's cousin Julie, right?
Julia, he corrected his pack mate. Embry didn't have the heart to be too annoyed at Paul for forgetting her name. He was too busy thinking about the moment everything changed for him, when he first locked eyes with his soulmate.
Really?! Seth exclaimed, excited. He leapt over to Embry. That's so awesome! I like her. She's really nice. But kind of shy, so you'll just have to go slow ya know-
That's enough, Sam demanded in his alpha voice. I didn't call an emergency meeting so we could gossip.
Seth bowed his head and flattened his ears, all excitement extinguished. Everyone turned their attention back to Sam, who motioned for Jared to join him in front of the rest of the pack. He wasted no time in getting down to business.
I was contacted by the Cullens recently about an impending threat. Jared and I took a trip up to Forks today to speak with them, Sam began authoritatively. Remembering their conversation from yesterday's patrol, Embry glanced back at Leah. Her stoney gaze was fixated on a spot slightly above Sam's head - she refused to look him in the eye. Sam turned to Jared, silently signaling for him to continue.
Well, uh… The little psychic one, Alice, had a vision, Jared didn't seem to know where to look - he kept turning between Sam and the rest of the pack. So far, learning how to be an effective alpha wasn't coming easy to him. She said they're expecting a visit from a leech they don't know. She thinks he's coming from the south. No idea on when or what the motive is, or even if he's bringing anyone else with him. She advises that we keep our guard up. Way up.
But if this blood sucker is just going to see the Cullens… We won't have that much to worry about, will we? Brady inquired.
Sam huffed audibly and continued on for Jared, That's not all she saw.
He painted an image in his mind of a pencil drawing depicting a forest scene. The monochromatic figure of what looked like a dark-haired girl laying face down on the ground served as the focal point.
Do we have any idea what human this leech is gonna go after? Paul asked. He wasn't particularly receptive to the idea of another Bella Swan-esque situation.
Sam turned to him, body tensed up and a pained look in his eyes.
Emily. Alice said it looked like Emily, he sounded distraught. She couldn't see anything else about it, which means we're too involved in the situation. Shapeshifters cloud her visions.
It was nearly silent between the minds of the pack as they replayed the scene in their heads. All of them were well aware of imprints being untouchable. They had to be protected at all costs - no one wanted to find out firsthand what would happen if a pack member lost their soulmate. Sam already went through a scare of his own, and to know that Emily could be in danger again was definitely weighing heavy on him. Embry was certain that it would destroy Sam if anything else were to happen to her.
So… What's our plan? Embry decided to be the one to break the silence.
Excellent question, Embry. We'll start by increasing our patrols, effectively immediately, Sam replied coldly. And since you were so late to today's meeting, you can have the honor of patrolling this evening, from now until midnight.
Embry was stunned. He wasn't supposed to have a shift tonight. He hadn't even eaten since this morning!
But… That's almost nine hours…
It was clear that Sam wasn't going to budge. Jared gave him a look of sympathy.
An appropriate punishment, in my opinion. Does anyone want to volunteer to stay with Embry, or do I need to choose?
It was quiet until Quil stepped forward slowly to volunteer himself, I'll stay with him.
Thank you, Quil, Sam nodded in the direction of the chocolate-colored wolf. Embry was grateful that his best friend had been the one to accept the responsibility. It would make the long night more tolerable. I think that we're just about done here. The rest of you can go.
Every other wolf besides Embry and Quil exited the clearing and left the pack mind as well. Embry, despite being thankful for Quil, felt bad that he had to take on a spontaneous nine-hour patrol shift.
It's fine, dude, don't worry about it, Quil reassured his friend, giving him a nudge on the shoulder. Embry forgot for a moment that Quil could still hear his thoughts. So you were with Julia today, huh?
How did you guess?
The two made their way out of the clearing to start what would undoubtedly be one of the longest patrols either of them had been assigned since the battle with the newborn vampire army. Embry was able to kill some time by recounting the afternoon spent with his imprint in excruciating detail. Luckily, Quil didn't say anything in protest. If he did, Embry would have been all too happy to remind him of how often he listened to stories about Claire.
As the hours pressed on into the night and the pair made their rounds throughout the reservation, Embry found that his thoughts kept circling back to Julia. He simply couldn't help it, especially when he had so many things to speculate. Was she mad at him for cutting things short? He couldn't tell when he had dropped her off at Emily's house. And what had she been about to tell him before they left the beach? Why was she so hesitant to open up to him? He wanted her to know more than anything that she could trust him. Hasn't she felt even a little bit of the imprint bond yet?
Dude, you need to stop overthinking everything, Quil broke his train of thought. Just let it happen.
Sorry. I just… Don't know. I can't figure her out. She doesn't give me much to go off of. It's so frustrating, Embry admitted. I thought this whole imprint thing would be easier.
You've known each other for a day, Embry, you can't expect her to fall into your arms just like that. Think about how long it took for things with Emily and Sam to end up okay.
That's kind of a bad example, Quil. Actually, it's a terrible one.
Had they been talking face-to-face as humans, Embry knew that his friend would have given him a huge eye-roll coupled with a you-know-I'm-right look.
You know what I'm trying to say, though! Don't worry. Give it some time.
Unfortunately, time isn't something I have a whole lot of here.
Embry was grateful that Quil was acting as his voice of reason right now. He was usually pretty good at thinking logically about most situations, but all logic went out the window as soon as he looked into Julia's eyes yesterday.
As if it were happening automatically, Embry felt his body moving him like a magnet through the forest toward Emily's house. He just wanted to check on Julia. That's all.
He finally reached the house, staying hidden among the first line of trees that separated the large backyard from the rest of the forest. Embry gazed with intent up at the window to the guest bedroom, listening carefully for any sound of movement. Soft footsteps coupled with the creaking of floorboards signaled that Julia was safe in her room. Content with that knowledge, Embry made to leave, but the rustling of curtains and the squeaking noise of old wood made him double back.
Standing in the window, still wearing the flannel he had given her earlier that day, was his imprint. That little detail alone made his heart swell. It was as if she knew he had come to check up on her.
Julia looked up over the trees, focused dreamily on the vast number of stars that dotted the sky. Was she thinking about him? Embry hoped that one day, those dark, chocolate-colored eyes would look at him with the same sense of wonder and admiration.
What are you doing? She might see you, dude, Quil said, pulling him out of his little fantasy. At that same moment, Julia retreated away from the window and back into the privacy of the room.
I'm fine. She's not there anymore, Embry replied. As much as he appreciated Quil, he could do without him in his head right now. And you wanna say that I worry too much?
Turning away from the house, he accidentally stepped on some fallen branches with his large paws. The snap that they made seemed to reverberate around him in the silence between the house and the forest. Embry's head immediately shot up to the window once more to see if Julia heard the noise. To his dismay, she had. She quickly came back to the window, searching in the glow from the light of her room for the source of the sound.
Embry attempted to back away, but only succeeded in making things worse. Julia, attention drawn to the sudden movement, had spotted him among the trees. Without meaning to, he briefly looked into her eyes. Embry watched them go wide before she drew the curtains shut, completely blocking herself from view.
Shit… was all Embry could think as he finally turned and bolted deep into the forest. She definitely saw me.
That's your own damn fault, Quil said in an admonishing tone.
I know, Embry sighed. I'm sure she'll forget about it though, right?
Maybe? Let's just focus on getting through the rest of this patrol, Quil urged his friend. We only have a couple more hours and I don't know about you, but I'm starving.
Staring up at the ceiling from her spot on the bed, Julia tried - and failed - to will her overactive brain to shut up just long enough for her to settle down for the night. It was ten o' clock and she didn't feel the least bit sleepy.
Nothing had gone the way she had expected it to go since arriving in La Push. Her cousin, for whatever reason, played house to a group of guys whose connection to her fiancé was still pretty unclear. A group of attractive guys, at that, which only ended up making her a complete and utter self-conscious mess. Sure, she knew Seth. He was probably the only one of the group that she wasn't apprehensive of. But still, she didn't know him that well, and she had to fight the urge to cling to him like a codependent weirdo.
Speaking of clinging…
Embry suddenly came to mind. Without realizing it until now, she had somehow spent more one-on-one time in the past day with him than Emily and Seth combined. Thinking back to the words exchanged on Emily's porch that afternoon, she deduced that he was determined to add at least a couple more hours to the running total.
Why had Embry seemed so invested in her? His sudden interest definitely hadn't gone unnoticed, especially since they had just met yesterday. Even so, Julia admitted to herself that she had no solid reason to question his intentions. He had been nothing but nice to her so far.
Almost a little too nice… Julia couldn't help the thought from creeping into her mind. She immediately felt bad about it. He probably could tell she felt a little out of place yesterday and was just trying to be friendly and make her feel less alone. Yes, that had to be it. Another friend here besides Emily and Seth couldn't be a bad thing, right?
See? It's fine, Julia. There's nothing wrong with being friends with him.
On the other hand, she had just been about to open up to him about her personal life when things got cut short. If anything, that had to be a sign for her to keep her guard up with him, at least for now. While he did treat her nicely, there was also the lingering knowledge in the back of her mind from earlier that day - his and Emily's private conversation about her that she had walked into had been bothering her for hours now.
Julia, like any teenage girl, feared what might be said about her behind her back. The incident today reminded her about the rumors spread between the lacrosse teams soon after she started dating Ben. The most common was that they had done it… The dirty deed that high schoolers seemed to both crave yet stigmatize at the same time. Remembering the stories made her shudder, despite the fact that none of the scenarios had any merit to them. Julia simply hadn't been ready yet. She hadn't even decided that she wanted to lose her virginity to Ben until… Whatever. It didn't matter anymore. What did matter was that her cousin was being uncharacteristically sketchy. But what did Embry have to do with it?
Julia sighed in frustration. She could feel herself over-complicating this situation, but she didn't know how to stop. Second-guessing everything was starting to become second nature.
Sitting up slowly, she swung her legs off the side of the bed and gazed at the window. After her father died and before they made the move to Port Orchard, her mom would open nearly all of the windows of their house in Neah Bay.
Fresh air is good for the soul, she explained when Julia had asked her why. A little breeze always helps me clear my mind.
Julia closed the short distance between the bed and the window, pulling back the curtains and pushing the bottom pane up as far as it would go. The cool air drifted in, bringing the damp, earthy smell of the forest with it. Her mother was right, it was therapeutic. She leaned against the frame, looking out over the vast sea of trees. Just above them, Julia could see stars dotting the sky. It was beautiful. She imagined that someone out there - her father - was watching over her. Feeling at peace, she turned turned her back to the scene. She needed to get some sleep if wanted to get an early morning run in tomorrow before the forecasted rain began to fall.
Suddenly, a loud crack sounded in the yard outside of the window. Julia's head snapped in the direction of the noise. Maybe she really was being watched.
She cautiously peered outside once again, wide eyes searching frantically in the dark for whoever it was that made the loud noise. To her relief, she saw no one in the yard. Out of the corner of her eye, however, movement between the trees caught her attention. She couldn't believe what she saw.
The figure of what seemed to be a giant wolf shifted between the trees. It's sleek fur looked like a deep shade of grey, but in the darkness it could have been black for all she knew. The animal's eyes caught the light from her bedroom. A pang of fear coursed through her - it was looking directly at her.
Without thinking, Julia pulled the curtains closed and backed herself onto the bed, taking in deep breaths. Her mom's warning during their drive to La Push about dangerous animals in the forest quickly crossed her mind.
The thing was huge… So big that she doubted if it was even a wolf at all, or actually a bear. Regardless, she swore that it had made eye contact with her, and that's what scared her the most.
"You're fine, Jules. It can't get you," she muttered to herself, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to burn the image from her brain. She couldn't. "Just sleep it off."
Julia sprung to her feet, then rummaged through her dresser drawers in search of something to wear to bed. It wasn't until she went to undress that she realized she was still wearing Embry's flannel shirt. She slipped it off and hung it neatly on the hook attached to the back of her door. He would most likely be around again soon for her to return it; he didn't seem too concerned about her having it, anyways. After hastily changing clothes and going through her nighttime routine, Julia collapsed into the bed, allowing Emily's handmade quilt to envelop her in a comforting embrace.