Thanks for encouraging people to review SweetRia! But she's right, I know there are a few people reading this because I often get emails where someone added it as a favorite or a story alert. I want to make you all happy, so let me know what you think…'cause that makes me very happy! I also like hearing from new readers.

Sorry Embry and Abby were interrupted…friggin' bloodsuckers.


Chapter 12.

Quil was right; somehow the vampire's scent completely stopped in the middle of an open field near the border of Canada. There weren't any trees around to climb so the leech probably has some sort of power to hide its scent. Or, it knows how to fly. That wouldn't be the craziest thing I've ever heard, but I doubt that could happen.

It was a long night. As overprotective men with imprints and families, we decided to cover our tracks a second time. After that, we double checked the area our brother was assigned to, just to be sure. We always did that, even if we weren't asked to. No one ever took offense to it. It was sort of a silent, mental agreement. There was also an agreement that Seth, Quil, Collin and I were going to be late for work in the morning. We asked Jared to have Kim open up the shop for us.

After running for so many hours I dragged myself up the stairs and found my sweet little angel curled up on my bed, tucked under the covers. The memory of our almost-love-making from the evening before flashed in my mind and I had the desire to continue what we started. But, the desire for sleep was even stronger. It was 5:00 a.m. and I knew Abby had another hour or so of sleep so I tried to quietly creep into bed without making a sound or too much movement. I thought about sleeping in her bed, but I didn't want her to worry when she woke up and didn't find me next to her.

Just as I my face hit the pillow I felt two small hands on my back nudging me.

"Embry, wake up," I heard Abby softly say beside me. When I opened my eyes it was light out. I swear I had just closed my eyes.

"Em, it's six o'clock. It's time to get up." Abby continued to lightly shove me.

"Just take the car," I mumbled into my pillow.

"What?" she giggled.

I forced my head up enough so that my words weren't muffled. "Take the car, I'm going in late. I just got home. I'll hitch a ride."

"Awe, poor baby," Abby whispered in my ear while she stroked the hair near my temple. "Well I'm going to go for a run then since I'm up so early."

"Uh-huh," I grunted in reply. I thought about the vampire trail Quil found near Forks. Yes, we had just cleared the perimeter, but it had still been too close. "Stay on the reservation," I tried to say coherently. The words came out almost like a demand.

"Ok, bossy," Abby replied and swatted my, apparently naked, ass. I let out a pathetic growl that made Abby laugh. In my exhausted state I must have forgotten to put my pants back on.

I moved my hand up to my face and tapped my cheek asking for a kiss. Abby obliged and let her lips linger on my cheek bone long enough for a deeper growl to permeate through my chest.

"You better stop growling or you're gonna freak out Flurry again," Abby laughed and the last thing I was aware of was Abby sliding off the bed.

********

Tiny little daggers poking in my back woke me up from my deep sleep. The soft pads of Flurry's feet were kneading my back which kind of felt good, but then those piercing nails would poke immediately after. It wasn't too painful, but enough where it was keeping me awake.

"Ow," I grunted. The little strength it would take to push Flurry off my back wouldn't emerge. I could hear the comfortable purr coming from Flurry and I could tell he wasn't going to move.

"I think I figured out why he likes you so much," I heard Abby say. I opened up one eye and saw her leaning up against the door way brushing her teeth. Her cheeks were pink indicating she just got home from running. I grunted in reply and closed my eyes again. Abby continued, "You are so warm and he's attracted to warm things. Back home…um, well, my old home," I smiled lazily at her correction, "he liked the electric blanket. How warm are you anyway?"

"One-oh-eight," I replied with a raspy voice.

"Mmm…you're gonna be nice in the winter," Abby practically moaned in her seductive voice before walking towards the bathroom. When she returned from brushing her teeth she climbed up on the bed. Her smooth hand rubbed over my butt as she whispered in my ear. "Thanks for letting me use the car. Do you need me to pick you up after I get out?" I nodded my head. "Ok. I'll let you get some sleep baby," she squeezed my butt-cheek and sucked on my earlobe. "I'm going to work."

"Tease," I grunted.

"Tease!?" Abby said incredulously, "I'm not the one who bailed right after things got hot-n-heavy! Do you know what I had to do to myself after you left?" she said suggestively.

My head popped up off the pillow and looked at her in shock and slowly shook my head.

"Wouldn't you like to know," she said with a naughty smile and gracefully glided off the bed across the room. I threw a pillow at her head before she made it to the door. Abby let out a squeal as it hit her.

"You are a tease! How am I supposed to go back to sleep now?!" I groaned. I heard Abby's laughter until she got into the car to drive away. At least I knew she wasn't upset because I had to leave her.

********

"I had a bad day," Abby stated when I got into the car after work. She slid over to the passenger's side to let me drive and immediately rested her head on my shoulder.

"What happened?" I asked and wrapped my arm around her tiny shoulders and squeezed.

"I heard from my lawyer today during lunch and he said the divorce proceedings have been halted because they have to take care of the No Contact violation first. UGH!" Abby gave a frustrated groan.

"How much longer?"

"Maybe another couple weeks," Abby sighed.

"Well that's not too bad."

"Bad enough. Plus, I got bit by a kid," she held up her arm to show me the marks and I cringed.

"Ouch."

"Yeah, and to top it all off…I started my period today," she said quietly, hiding her face in my side as I drove.

"Awe, that sucks," I responded and then it dawned on me what that meant. "Awe man, that does suck," it came out as more of a whine the second time.

"Tell me about it. I just assumed we would finish what we started last night and my day would be much better…but oh, no!" I chuckled at her annoyance. "I'm sorry," she sighed.

"Oh please. I think I'll be alright."

"Ok, 'cause I'm one big grumpy, lazy blob on the first day. Will you take care of me?" she asked as she looked up at me with her puppy-dog eyes. That look made me want to take care of her.

"Of course. What do you want for dinner?" I laughed and kissed her forehead.

"Got any Chinese take-out around here? I'm craving sodium," she replied with excitement.

"In La Push? Uh, no. But I know of something better," I said as I turned the car around and headed towards my mom's house.

"Mom, Abby here needs some comfort food. She's had a bad day," I instructed as Abby and I walked through my old home. Abby felt uncomfortable about barging into my mother's house uninvited, but I knew we, especially Abby, would be a welcomed surprise. The trip would satiate my need to visit my mom, mom's request to see Abby again, and get food in our bellies.

"Well hello to you too!" Mom gave us a welcome smile and immediately stopped what she was doing to approach Abby. "It's nice to see you again Abby." She pulled Abby into a hug, already accepting her as a friend of mine.

"Hi Mrs. Call, I don't mean to barge in here demanding dinner," she explained to my mom while she gave me a sideways leer.

"Nonsense," mom used her hand to push the thought away. "And please, call me Elizabeth. I usually expect Embry here at least once a week…but it's been awhile," mom gave me an accusatory glance. "I'm always prepared."

"Sorry mom," I said as I pulled out a chair for Abby in the kitchen. She sat down and then I took my own seat. "Abby's been cooking for me every night. I'm way too spoiled."

Abby looked a little embarrassed. "Sorry, I didn't know," she said shyly.

"As long as you come with him once in awhile, I think we're good," my mom replied with a wink. "How does salmon sound?"

Abby seemed to become introverted as soon as we walked in the house. She kept her distance from me and avoided any type of physical contact. Although she usually didn't like to talk about the divorce situation, Abby seemed to want to make sure mom knew all about it. My mom wasn't nosey, but she did ask some questions. She was concerned for Abby's safety from her ex-husband. Mom seemed more curious about the whole divorce process than anything that had to do Abby's relationship with me or Craig. I decided to try to put Abby at ease.

"I'm going to go start the grill. Abby, will you come with me?"

Abby and I made our way outside to the small patio in the back yard. The house hadn't changed too much since I had lived there. It was a small house, but large enough for just the two of us when I was growing up. The fort I built when I was a kid still stood in the far corner of the yard. It looked pretty rickety and I wouldn't proclaim it safe for any children. I believe it was currently inhabited by a family of rabbits.

Abby noticed the shack of a fort and started asking me things about my childhood. We stood outside for awhile with our arms around each other and talked.

"Are you ok?" I asked Abby.

"Yeah, I'm fine, why?" she replied.

"You know my mom isn't going to judge you, right?" I said, knowing she wasn't 'fine.' "You don't have to feel like you have to explain yourself around her. She knows how I feel about you." Abby let out a sigh and squeezed me tighter.

"I know. I just want her to like me and I don't want her to think I flit around from guy to guy."

"I thought you didn't care what people thought."

"I care what your mom thinks of me," she answered with a shy smile. "I don't want her to believe all the rumors going around."

"First of all, my mom has liked you since the day she met you in the store. She's always asking me to bring you over. Second, my mom hears all the gossip and never believes half of it. Third, she doesn't spread any rumors either. Anything you say is held in strict confidence. Ok?" Abby nodded into my chest. "So just relax and have a good time. Be yourself."

The remainder of the evening was more casual and it seemed my talk with Abby had helped. Abby seemed to be more comfortable and opened up to my mom about her past and her feelings for me. Although she didn't verbally express her feelings, Abby didn't have any problems being attached to my side as usual in front of my mom. Mom seemed to beam when she noticed how happy we were.

As I watched my Abby and my mom talk to each other, I couldn't help but think that if I hadn't imprinted on Abby, I'm pretty sure I would have fallen in love with her anyway. I couldn't find a single flaw about her. I didn't see her imperfections as she did. She seemed perfect for me. But I guess that's what imprinting was all about; finding your perfect mate. I decided right then that I needed to tell Abby everything else she needed to know about me and imprinting, despite the results.

Promises of future visits and weekend shopping trips were made and leftovers were shoved into our arms as we headed out the door of my mother's house. I could tell Abby was getting sleepy, but I knew I needed to make some confessions.

"Abby, I need to talk to you about something," I quickly muttered as we climbed into bed. Abby studied my face before she replied.

"Is everything alright?" she asked nervously.

"Perfect," I tried to comfort her with a smile. "Come here." I patted the spot next to me and she molded herself into my side. Before I started I kissed her mouth to remind her of my feelings for her. "I'm not sure how to say this, so I'm just going to blurt it out."

"Ok." She nodded.

"You know I'm a wolf, right?" I asked as my nerves caught up with me. Abby sensed it and started to rub my cheek with her hand as she nodded. I tried to get it together before I continued. "Ok, um, the second I met you, actually right before I met you, I knew that you were meant for me."

"How?" Abby asked. Her eyes had softened and a small smile formed on her lips. So far, so good.

"I felt this stinging sensation in my chest and I was so drawn to you. It wasn't painful, it was pure joyfulness. Like my chest was filled with pride. I've felt it since the first day, every time you're near me." I felt my confidence build up as Abby's face seemed to glow and her eyes widened with my every confession. I bent down to kiss her again before I resumed.

"And then when I looked into your eyes, I just knew it. There was like this peaceful aura around you and I just wanted to scoop you up and kiss you so badly." This time Abby pulled herself into a sitting position and kissed me. Her smile had grown wider and she seemed excited, but let me continue.

"When I shook your hand this energy, spark, whatever it is shot between us and it left me stunned. It felt like my chest was going to rip apart when Vanessa dragged me away from you." When I paused Abby threw herself at me again and gave me another long, deep kiss before pulling away.

"Me too!" she said with amazement in her eyes. "Why? Is it because you're a wolf?" I confirmed with a nod. This was going better than planned. She obviously felt the same way about me. I hadn't really doubted that part this entire time. I was more anxious about the bound-to-me-for-life part.

"We choose our mates, our soul mates, our life partners. We call it imprinting. I chose you and you were chosen for me. I am pretty much bound to you for life and I'm pretty damn happy about it. I will never hurt you and, until you force me away, I'll never leave you. I will love you for as long as I live."

Tears started to spring up in Abby's eyes once she heard me tell her I loved her.

"Really?" she squeaked out and as she smiled her round cheeks pushed her tears down her face.

"Really. I love you more than anything…anyone." I stated and kissed the tear trails on both cheeks. Abby grabbed me around the neck and squeezed me tightly. Through a sniffles and hitched breaths in my neck, I finally heard her reply.

"I love you too."

I gently positioned her back down on the bed beneath me and continued to kiss her. We remained that way as we kissed and gave soothing caresses. The connection between us was much different than the evening before. It was a different kind of passion, more adoration than lust.

"Embry," Abby spoke with a laziness in her voice, "why me?"

"Why did I imprint on you?"

"Yeah."

I grinned and said, "Do you need me to go over all the things I love about you like last night?"

"No," she laughed. "I mean, why do you think that someone is chosen for you. Can't you guys just figure it out on your own? Why can't you just be with anybody?"

"I wouldn't have chosen anyone more perfect for me, first of all. And it hasn't really been confirmed, but we think it has to do with passing along the wolf genes." After our previous conversation regarding children, I wasn't sure how that information would be received.

Abby's face got serious and it looked as though she was going to cry again. I gave her another kiss and rubbed soothing circles on her cheek with my thumb.

"Abby, what's wrong?" I whispered. There was an anxious silence as I waited for her to answer.

"Embry," she paused as the tears once again flowed down her face, "I can't get pregnant."


Sorry, that's where I'm ending it. It was a good place to end the chapter, plus leave a cliff hanger! A lot of you guessed Abby's problem. So sad, I know.

Man – this is chapter 12 and I'm working on Chapter 18 right now. I know how I'm planning on finishing the story, but I have to find the time to sit down and write it.

With that said, if I get several demands to quickly post again I will! You know you can talk me into it!!

So REVIEW please!!!