I threw my hair up into a ponytail, the unusual sun beating down on my skin as Anna rambled on behind the steering wheel about what we were going to see first.

"….Oh God, and GIRAFFES, we GOTTA see those things…"

"Punch her in her eye," Melissa begged in the backseat, covering her ears. "Please, just shut her the hell up!"

"YOU shut the hell up!"

"I'VE BEEN QUIET THE ENTIRE RIDE!"

"OH YOU MEAN INCLUDING THE HALF HOUR YOU SPENT RECITING THE STORY YOU TELL EVERY TIME WE'RE WITH SOMEONE NEW?"

"WHO DOESN'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT LAST CHRISTMAS?"

"ANYBODY WITH A PULSE!"

"MY NANA WORKED HARD ON THAT CAKE."

"THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE CARE!"

I laughed lightly, listening to the two of them argue like an old married couple. I'd learned a lot about them, and I'd started feeling that in return, it was only fair to let them know about me. So I did. Sort of. I told them just about everything except the wolf part, and it turned out we'd had a lot in common. Melissa had two siblings, one older sister and a younger brother she nicknamed "Booger." Her favorite color was blue because it matched her eyes, she loved running, boys, her cat, and was ridiculously in love with Adam since the first week of us moving here. She was slightly reserved when it came to strangers, but was alright with people who seemed warm and inviting.

Anna was the exact opposite, which balanced all three of us out. She was an only child, living with her Dad. She hated going outside unless it involved something that excited her-which consisted of cute, fuzzy things that you were allowed to squeeze and/or pet to death (giraffes). She was excited 24/7, and could probably make friends with a rock if you left it in the same room with her long enough.

They were still bickering as we walked through the gate, a sea of people surrounding us, the noise almost unbearable to my newly-defined ears.

"So," Melissa said loudly, whipping out the map. "Where to first?"

"GIRAFFES! OH PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE LET US SEE THE GIRAFFES!"

"Giraffes are gay."

"YOU'RE GAY." Anna cried, swiping the map from Melissa's hand and taking off.

*Embry*

I strolled in through the front door, Adam shooting me a glare right as I did. I rolled my eyes, knowing full-well that if it hadn't been for him being related to Arbor, I would've choked him by now. Emily breezed by, nearly toppling me over with two laundry baskets in hand, planting a kiss on my cheek before she disappeared into the basement.

"Get the lasagna out of the oven for me, will ya Love?" she called loudly.

"Sure Momma!" I yelled down the steps, moving towards the kitchen. I slipped on the little oven mitts, my palm busting through the first one. I put it down awkwardly, looking around frantically before slipping the pan out of the oven bare-handed.

"Saw that." Sam teased, breezing by me so quickly that I jumped, nearly dropping the damn food. I fumbled for the pan, swearing at the sting it was leaving against my bare palms before finally tossing it onto the counter.

"I hate you." I grumbled, watching the burn marks fade from my skin in a matter of seconds.

"I'm letting you call dibs on my only little sister," he smirked, his cheeks full of muffin. "You have on right to hate me."

"It was gonna happen eventually, with or without your permission."

"Says you." He growled, swatting me across the head. I rolled my eyes, leaning against the kitchen counter when Sam sr. came through the front door, Jacob and both packs behind them. I wrinkled my nose, Dr. Cullen wafting through my nostrils. Sam jr. shot me a look.

"I know, you'll never get used to it." I shuddered, clearing my throat.

Sam sr. patted me on the shoulder, the Pack boys immediately hounding in on the food.

"Watcha doin here?" I asked Dr. Cullen, shaking his hand as Quil slid onto the counter next to me, Sam jr. tossing him a muffin.

"I got your test results back." Carlisle murmured, eying all of us. Quil and I tensed next to each other, and I could only sense Jacob doing the same seeing as he was halfway across the room. Our eyes locked on the vampire all at once, the boys all turning with their mouths full of food.

Carlisle cleared his throat awkwardly, and I suddenly felt bad for him. He was in a rough position, finally delivering silence to an argument that had been stirring up La Push ever since I'd moved here with my Mom. The people here had never been able to get over the question of who my father was, as if it were any of their business. It'd only taken a day and a half for the news to spread that there was no possible way for Sam to be my half-brother, the reason being my Imprinting on Arbor (Only a select few knew the second half). It left us with the worst two options, I was either Jacob's or Quil's, which was shit news because at least Sam's dad had already had a bad track record-he'd left Sam and his Mom when Sam was too little to recount his ABC's. Having Jacob or Quil as a brother meant one of their father's had cheated on their Mom's.

"You better not be eating that lasagna!" Emily called from the basement, all the boys freezing, food falling out of their mouths and hands before they all moved at once-fleeing the kitchen before she had a chance to walk in. I heard her gasping as she walked up the stairs seconds later, blocking their path to the door.

The five of us left in the kitchen chuckled softly for the next few minutes, Emily's wrath being raged upon the Pack. It was a good thing to laugh while we still could, because as soon as word broke about my father, Hell was going to be let loose on somebody. I think that killed me the most about living in a small town. Somebody always had to pay. No matter what it was, no matter who it had to deal with, someone had to suffer in the end, and that was the worst part.

"Are you sure you're ready to hear this?" The doctor asked me, clasping his hands. I nodded, Quil and Jacob bobbing their heads up and down in sync with mine. We needed to know. We needed to know now. The doctor sighed deeply and pursed his lips, nodding to us.

"Alright. Embry, it's about time you know."

*Arbor POV*

Anna was superhuman. In one hour, she'd managed to drag us from East to West, going from the giraffes to the shark tanks in a matter of what felt like minutes. I wiped the sweat from my forehead, kicking my feet up as we licked at our ice creams happily.

"…and they were so cute, they were the best things ever, I swear I just about died, I…"

"The girl never quits talking," Melissa sighed, raising her eyebrows. "But that's why we love her." I nodded in agreement, nudging Anna with my toe. She smiled at me mid-rant, continuing only seconds later.

"I can't shake the feeling that something's wrong with Eli." I murmured, staring at my ice cream as it melted down the cone.

"What? The kid's weird."

"But he's not," I defended. "That's the thing. He was perfectly normal when I first got here, Liss. Something had to have happened."

"Like what?"

"That's another thing. I have no idea."

"What if he really thinks your brother's a werewolf?"

"Wouldn't be too farfetched." I muttered, too low for her to make out the words.

"Adam, a werewolf." She laughed quietly.

"Sam." I corrected automatically, licking at my ice cream nonchalantly.

"What?" she asked, staring at me. My eyes flickered to her, my jaw hitting the floor.

"If either was gonna be a wolf, it'd be Sam." I laughed nervously.

"Why do you say that?" Liss asked, raising an eyebrow. Fuck…

"He's moody enough for it!" I sighed sarcastically, trying to mimic the attitude I'd seen played off in teen movies. Liss rolled her eyes and nodded her head as if she understood.

"I hate it when my brother's an ass." She grumbled. I nodded, popping the rest of my ice cream cone and standing up, stretching.

"I gotta pee." I said flatly, asking them if they wanted anything from the concession stand. They both murmured a 'no' between happily munching on their snacks.

I stopped dead in my tracks, halfway up the hill, a scent catching my nose on fire. I whirled around, searching for its source but finding none before my body went warm again, feeling like I could melt into a puddle. I waved it off as hormones changing my body, slipping into the bathroom quietly. There was a group of women chattering amongst themselves while I was in the stall, each of them going on about how much they loved their husbands. Husband. Husband, husband, husband. The word rolled around in my head like cotton candy, picking up every thought inside and making it irrelevant. Who was I going to marry?

There was nobody that I felt could convince me to spend the rest of my life with them. Of course I'd had boyfriends before, and they were all equally fun to play with, but I could never see myself actually loving somebody to the point of wanting to spend forever with them…and forever was a really long time. I stared into the mirror, my black waves frizzing in their pony tail, a few of them framing my face. Who would stay with me for that long? Who would want to? I got boring to look at after a while. Who wouldn't want to move on to something new?

I dried my hands, sighing before cracking the door open to leave, someone catching my eye immediately. I slammed the door closed right away, seething. You've got to be joking, I growled silently, baring my teeth. A few girls shot me looks before leaving the bathroom as I collected myself. I walked out into the crowd, rounding the concession stand and trudging into a back alley before slipping behind a fence. My follower rounded the corner. I attacked Embry the second he walked by, shoving him into the showering room and locking us into one of the stalls.

"Are you insane?" I hissed, our chests brushing as the shower was so narrow. Embry rolled his eyes, trying to run his fingers through his hair but brushing my ribs instead. Our yell-whispers were nothing but a continuous hissing to anyone who walked by.

"Sorry, sorry," he muttered blushing. "You ask me that question every damn da-"

"Because you never answer! ARE. YOU. INSANE?"

"What the hell did I-"

"You followed me to the Zoo, Embry. THE ZOO. WHAT'S WRONG, AFRAID A KOALA BEAR'S GONNA HUMP ME TO DEATH?"

"You're being a little melodramatic."

"MELODRAMATIC? YOU FOLLOWED ME TO THE ZOO. THE ZOOOOOOOOO!"

"God, it just smells like absolute ass in here, how the hell do you stand all these anima-"

"BECAUSE IT'S A ZOO, EMBRY. ONE YOU FOLLOWED ME TO."

"YES, I'M AWARE I FOLLOWED YOU TO THE GOD DAMN-" he paused, sighing. "Yes, Kitty, I know. I followed you to the Zoo. I'm sorry."

"Then why'd you do it?"

"I just had a bad feeling."

"Whatever."

"I gotta tell you something."

"I don't care. You followed me to the Zoo."

"I HAD A BAD FEELING."

"Do you have a bad feeling every day? Cause you follow me everywhere I go."

"Of course I do, what am I supposed to do if something happens to you?"

"Run of to your Imprint." I grouched, trying to cross my arms. Embry held them down against the stall wall, suddenly closer to me than he was before.

"Jealous?" he asked slyly, his breath washing over me. I struggled against his hold, faltering under his strength easily. He was so close, so yummy, his scent washing over me like a drug. Everything in my body halted, deciding to answer to him and only him. If he wanted me to move, I would. Wanted me to stay put, I wasn't going ANYWHERE. The electricity between us was ridiculous, our heats strengthening that of the other, I was nearly sweating within seconds of him being close to me, warmth spreading over my entire body."Be careful, Kitty. You might break something if you're not careful."

"Mocking me now?"

"Always." He murmured, his top lip brushing mine for a split second before the stall next to us slammed closed, the both of us jumping a part.

"You followed me to the Zoo." I hissed in spite, half because of what he actually did and half because he'd gotten me to let my guard down in a matter of seconds with a few good words.

"Oh you are so bitter." He whined. I rolled my eyes, shoving at him until I was free enough to get out of the stall.

Melissa raised her eyebrows at me as I walked back to them, Embry in tow.

"You were gone for a while there, kiddo….aaaaaand you brought a friend…" she said slyly. I plastered a fake smile onto my face and patted Embry on the shoulder a little harder than necessary.

"WELL, ya know Embry here. Quite the chatterbox."

"And you got here how?"

"We just met up, ya know. Started talking away." I lied, still smiling.

"She couldn't resist saying hi." Embry cheesed, nudging me with his elbow.

"Not that he's staying," I growled through my smile. "It's about time for you to be heading home, isn't it Em?"

Embry stared down at me, rolling his eyes before pulling me a few feet away from the girls, his dark eyes boring into mine.

"Are you sure you're okay here without me?" he asked quietly, all joking aside. I nodded, kissing his shoulder before thinking twice about it.

"I'm fine." I murmured as he hugged me tightly, his lips brushing the top of my hair. I watched him disappear into the crowd, cold washing over me. Embry looked back at least twenty times, each and every one of them strengthening my need to run after him.

"That's a man that takes his job seriously." Anna mused, her stuffed giraffe pressed against her chest. I rolled my eyes and smiled at them.

"Where next?" I asked, grabbing my sintch-sack off the bench and slinging it over my shoulders as Melissa fumbled for her map.

"Mmm, the big-cat house!" She cheered, nearly shoving the rest of her ice cream down her throat and grabbing her bag. Anna snatched my hand up, the three of us sprinting towards the jungle cats like our lives depended on it.

Anna swung the large glass doors open, cool air washing over our faces, the sweat on my forehead turning icy. There were less people in this building, although it was huge. People pressed their noses against the glass, a small boy leaning over the thick railing that separated the humans from the four foot deep tiger cage below. Anna pulled us towards one of the biggest tanks in the building first, leaning down to read the label.

"Jaguar." She murmured, searching frantically for it within the habitat.

"Found it!" Melissa called, snapping picture after picture. The Jaguar growled loudly, Melissa nearly jumping out of her skin before she shot it a dirty look. "YOU WANNA GO? YOU WANNA FIGHT ME HOMBRE?" She yelled frantically, waving her camera at the giant cat while Anna dragged her off to a different cage. "COME ON PACO, I'LL MESS YOU UP." She screamed, Anna chanting quietly to her in French as she pulled her towwards the cheetahs.

I started walking away, stopping dead in my tracks as a low humming noise caught my ear. I turned back to the cage, the black cat slinking from its perch on the faulty rocks and slumping next to the plexi-glass, it's nose leaving trails of fog. Its paw came up against the glass several times, the purring growing louder as I drew in closer.

"I know, buddy. I don't want you in there anymore than you do." I said softly. The jaguar stared at me for a long moment, my own low, rumbling noise growing in my throat when the cat's head snapped to the left, suddenly snarling and hissing violently.

I backed away from the cage quickly, everyone else in the building fleeing as the animals went absolutely wild. They were screeching, clawing, batting, hissing with such fury that you would've thought someone set fire to their cubs. They were spraying, fighting each other, clawing at anything and everything they could. Anna and Melissa were calling my name in the crowd, but there were too many voices to focus on at once. Hot hands came down around my shoulders as I shoved my hands against my ears, trying to drown them all out.

"What the hell are you still doing here?" I demanded, whirling to face him. His face was etched with worry, the cats having an absolute fit at the mere scent he was giving off. "What are you doing?" I repeated, still covering my ears. "You're driving them crazy!"

"It isn't me." Embry growled, his eyes flickering around the room. I searched too, unsure if I'd caught the right scent earlier or not.

"There." I hissed, my eyes locking on one of the twins from the forest as she grinned at me evilly, winking as she held the small boy by his shirt, practically dangling him over the edge of the tiger pit. Nobody was stopping to help-all they saw was a mother or sister pulling her brother off of the railing in an attempt to get out as well.

By the time she let him go, the building was practically cleared.

"I get the kid, you get the leech." I hissed, sprinting without second thought. Embry protested for a second, his whines cut off the second the leech moved for me. I dove under her, running full speed before swinging my legs over the rail, sliding onto the faulty red rocks. The young boy screamed loudly, the cats drowning out his cries to anyone outside of the building. The tigers were growing agitated, some of them choosing to corner the boy, others pining for me, swiping at me with their massive class.

I hissed furiously, the sounds coming rapidly and involuntarily out of my throat. A few backed away, smart enough to go whimper in the corner while others were harder to deal with. I practically played leap frog with the three standing in between the boy and I, scooping him into my arms the second he was in reach. The tigers were snarling frantically, half of them unsure of what they were even snarling at. They were swiping wildly, baring teeth as the little boy buried his face in my shoulder and whimpered.

"Close your eyes," I ordered. "Hear me? Close them. We're gonna play a game and you can't open them till I say so. If you keep them closed, you'll get a surprise at the end."

"You sure will." The leech hissed seductively, sweeping into the pit, the tigers going absolutely bat-shit crazy. They were throwing themselves up against the walls, screeching, burying themselves in the rocks as the woman tapped her foot on the ground, crossing her arms. "We'll play hide and go seek," she smiled. "You have thirty seconds."

I swiveled on my heels, starting my treck up the rocks as the boy clung to my neck whimpering, his eyes clamped tightly together. The damn things weren't sturdy whatso-fucking-ever. The rocks were slipping beneath my feet like they were made of Styrofoam, chunks of them breaking off underneath my weight. The woman hissed in glee, scrambling for my ankle as a ripping noise clouded the air, followed by a howl. I pulled my arms over the top rock, using nothing but my arms to keep me up as the woman ripped the rocks from beneath my feet, giving me no support. I was staring at an 8 foot tall beast, maybe taller, taller than any I'd seen that night in the woods. I wasn't dreaming. He was just as beautiful as I'd remembered him, his grey fur standing on edge, baring his dangerously razor-sharp teeth. He growled, lunging over me and the boy.

"Embry, Embry wait, no!" I yelled, trying to warn him of the weak material.

It wasn't quick enough. Embry's front paws landed on the Styrofoam rocks I was clinging to before he pounced off, lunging for the leech. The material exploded under his weight, the boy and I crashing downwards as bits and pieces rained around us, Embry and the woman tumbling amongst the tigers. My fingers caught the edge of the pit, barely giving us enough leverage to keep from crashing to the floor. I pushed the boy upwards.

"Hold on to the bars, you gotta hold on to the bars before I can help you." I ordered steadily, lifting him to the rail. He clung to the inside of it as I pulled myself upwards, using nothing but my arms until my feet were high enough to reach the edge of the pit. I swung my legs over, pulling the boy up with me and calling Embry's name. He batted the woman away and leapt over to us, the boy snapping his eyes open as the leech tumbled into the rocks, hissing in fury before fleeing the scene. Embry towered over us, the boy staring in awe.

"Whoa…" he whispered, his tiny mouth popping open.

"This uh….This is…This is your surprise!" I cheered quickly, trying to form a good enough lie.

"What is it?" The boy asked, clearly bewildered.

"You know the stories the Founders tell us? About the wolves that protect the town?" I asked quietly, crouching beside him. The boy nodded, not taking his eyes off my beautiful wolf. "This is one of them." The boy's mouth grew wider, and he reached up a small, dimpled, chubby hand, Embry bowing his head so he could touch him.

"Is he gonna protect me when I get home?" he asked quietly, running his hands through Embry's fur.

"Only if you keep it a secret." I whispered. The boy nodded furiously, running off through the doors, then coming back, hugging Embry tightly around the neck, and running back outside.

He'll probably tell anyway. Embry's voice echoed through my mind. I dropped to the ground, covering my ears as my head split in half, the plain unbelievable. Arbor! Kitty, come on, Kitty look at me, talk to me.

"I can…hear…you…" I choked out, heat flashing against my body as every sense heightened again, the sound of the cats suddenly sixty times more painful than they were before.

Sam is gonna kill me…Kitty, come on, look at me Kitty, look at me.

"JUST GET ME OUT OF HERE!" I screamed. Embry swooped underneath me, and I buried my face in his fur, melting into him as the combination of our heat was too much to take at once. There was nothing, bliss, like a loud popping before everything came to a complete standstill. I couldn't feel, couldn't talk or move or see, but I didn't feel the need to. Everything felt light, like when you snip the strings of a balloon and it goes up, up, up, floating in to the sky until it's never seen again.