The riddle was driving me crazy. I couldn't figure it out for the life of me. Where exactly did the werewolves come from? Why the Hell did they exist? I felt like that question was linked with my next question. Just what exactly were they patrolling La Push for? Whatever the answers were, I knew I wasn't going to get them from Embry. He was dead set against me knowing for whatever reason. I pondered over it during my spare time. What exactly did I know? Well, I knew Embry and the pack hated… the Cullens? Well, he hated Carlisle, but was the feeling mutual? The pieces started falling into place. Then—Click. I remembered Seth saying he was the only one who was allowed on 'Cullen turf'. What was this, a property war? It was so confusing; werewolves pitted against humans? It was hardly a fair match. Plus, there were only seven Cullens, whereas the pack had ten. Wait a minute, wait a minute, there were now eight Cullens! Bella.
That was it, she was the link. She was why Embry was so wary to tell me. It had nothing to do with me not being related to the tribe and everything to do with whom I was related to. Then, she must know the secret! She could tell me. I immediately pulled my phone out in the darkness of my room. I waited for her to pick up, but only caught her voicemail.
"Hey, it's Bella. Leave me a message and I'll see if I can get around to it." Beep.
"Hey Bella, it's me, Sophie. Um, if you could give me a call back when you get this I'd really appreciate it. I have a few questions for you. Thanks, bye."
The weeks dragged on and before I knew it Christmas Break was upon us. I tried to find out if I was supposed to come home and spend the holidays with my family, but no one really made plans, like always. I shouldn't have expected anything more from my mom and dad. They were always busy, or working, or vacationing, or doing anything that didn't involve me. Chella and Anthony, my best friends, had come home from France just for the holidays, but they said they had to see their families, which they hadn't in months. So I understood that, but it still felt wrong that I would be with the pack.
I felt like I was intruding on them because they didn't just have the pack, they had their own separate families as well. Emily invited me to go with her, Sam, and Sam's mother to the Makah reservation, but I refused. My place wasn't there. It wasn't anywhere.
Embry, of course, was in the holiday spirit. In fact, he was probably where the term 'jolly' was coined. He couldn't stop smiling the entire last week of school. I was informed that Christmas was his holiday. Ha, yeah I know.
Besides the break festering into everyone's minds, there was one other thing that kept everyone on their toes. The winter formal that was being held in the beginning of February. The entire school had gone into a flurry as people worried who was asking who. I heard from a girl in my French class that Chad, a fairly popular senior, asked a freshman to go with him instead of a fellow senior girl who everyone thought he would ask. It was a scandal. I was so glad I didn't have to run around the school like a chicken with my head cut off worrying about who would ask me. There was no question who I was going with. Everyone knew Embry and I were going out. Or at least I thought they knew.
P.E. class that day was relaxing. It was one of those rare days where the teacher gave us the day off to do whatever we want. Most of the class just hung out on the bleachers. Quil, Embry, and I sat sporadically in a circle facing each other.
"So, we're having Christmas lunch at Emily's," Embry informed us and I looked to him in surprise.
"No, Emily's going to her mother's house."
"Change of plans. She's going to see her mom on Christmas Eve now," Embry corrected me.
"Oh." I supposed she did that just for me. How could I ever repay Emily for her kindness? I probably couldn't. It seemed like everything was going to work out after all.
"Don't worry Sophie; you are going to love the gift Embry got you," I heard Quil say, winking in my direction as Embry scowled. Crap. I didn't get Embry a gift. I didn't get anyone a gift. Shit, and usually I was so on top of things like that.
Embry must have seen my face drain of color because he hugged me tightly and said he wasn't expecting a gift.
"Don't be ridiculous! Of course you're getting a gift!" I pulled away, raising my eyebrows in defiance.
"I forbid you to get me one."
"Too bad. It's already done," I told him, lying through my teeth, but he seemed to swallow my tiny
fib. Okay, so now I had some serious shopping to do. I knew immediately that I wanted to get Embry something amazing and big. To show how much I really appreciated him, you know? But I knew he would never take something like that. I fixed that quickly. "Here's the thing though, you have to promise to take whatever I give you."
"I'll do it with a smile. Why would you think I wouldn't like anything you gave me?" Embry asked me in confusion.
"Just promise."
"I promise," Embry held up his hand in a solemn oath. I gave him a wicked smile before excusing myself to the bathroom. When I came back the first thing I noticed was that someone had taken my spot. The girl that had greeted Embry my first day at school was flipping her hair, chatting with Quil and Embry while her little lackey hung behind her.
"So, do you have a date for the Winter Formal?" she leered towards Embry and he shifted uncomfortably away from her.
"Not exactly, but it's just because I haven't asked her yet," Embry told her, blushing slightly and looking away, towards me. I smiled and walked up to him to seat myself right next to him. I grabbed his face and pulled his warm lips to mine.
"Hello, love," I told him once I pulled away breathlessly.
"Would you go the Winter Formal with me?" he chuckled, and I swear I heard that stupid girl gasp.
"Of course," I answered him brightly. The girl turned her attention to Quil.
"Don't even try," he told her, holding up his hands. She huffed away.
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"That is madness," Kim told me in awe when I explained just exactly what I wanted to get Embry. Her brown eyes literally bugged out of her head when I had told her.
"You think he'll like it?"
"Of course he's going to like it! He's a guy," Kim rolled her eyes at me. "But do you really want to do this?"
"I'm sure," I nodded and pulled out my cell phone to make a call.
I dialed my mother.
It wasn't hard to explain to her about Embry. I'd already told her about my minor mishaps in the hospital. I had to because, well, she got the bill, but I told them in ways that were less horrific than telling her I got mauled by a bear. I'm almost positive I told her I fell down a tree, but it didn't really matter how I'd attained my injuries. All that mattered was how I'd mentioned that Embry had saved my life, more than once. My mom was like me. Hung up on the high of extravagant gift giving, and saving my life constitutes for a superfluous gift. She was hesitant at first, but once I explained just how much she saved on me not going to boarding school and staying in high priced dorms that year she agreed, but on the condition that this was her gift to me as well. Fine, I could live with that. I didn't really want anything for Christmas anyway. I got gifts year-round. She promised to make all the arrangements.
Christmas arrived much too early for my liking and I worried constantly if everything was going to go right. Then, just as I thought I was totally fucked and my mom had probably forgotten about her promise, I saw it. I flew out the kitchen dropping the potato I was peeling in the sink to run out and greet the delivery man.
"I can't believe this," Emily murmured with her hands over her mouth, staring at the present, now situated in the backyard beneath the trees. I wanted to hide it so none of the boys could see it and tell Embry.
"Isn't it great?" I trembled in excitement. This was the best gift I'd ever given anyone, and the most expensive, but Embry was so worth it.
"Sophie, you got him a—" Emily was cut off as the doorbell sounded to signal the arrival of our guests. I slapped a big red bow on the present and scurried after Emily, back into the house. "Set the table, Sophie. Oh and close the blinds, they might look out the window and see it," Emily directed grabbing dishes out the oven. I did as she asked and then ran to answer the door.
Breathlessly, I opened it to see Paul, Kim, and Jared behind it. "Merry Christmas!" I shouted vibrantly and ran to hug Kim. So the day began.
It was wishful thinking trying to get every freaking werewolf seated at the kitchen table, so some of the boys sprawled around in the living room. It was the best Christmas I'd ever had. Embry insisted I sit on
his lap the entire time, as he gave me soft kisses. Brady and Collin were making gagging noises over the announcer on TV.
"Knock it off," Paul growled, throwing a pillow at the two as Seth chuckled right beside him. Everyone was sort of paired off. Quil had even brought Claire over from the Makah reservation to spend the day. He sat on the floor and played airplane with the little toddler, his face was just glowing with happiness. Jared and Kim cuddled on one corner of the couch, snuggled together like two puzzle pieces that fit perfectly. Emily and Sam were in the kitchen, he was helping her clean up the mess that everyone had made. Leah hadn't come.
"Do you want your present?" I asked Embry. I'd been nearly jumping out of my seat the entire time. I literally tried to force feed his food to him faster, just so I could give him his gift. Yes, it was that great.
"I think you'll explode if I don't say 'yes'," Embry chuckled, gently lifting me up off his lap. I very nearly skipped to the back door, pausing so Embry could keep up.
"Um, what are we doing?" he asked me once he appeared in the kitchen.
"It's outside," I told him, happily scooping up Sew to bring him along. He'd gotten so big in the last few weeks. Embry wasn't happy about that one. He kept asking when he was going to stop growing. I didn't understand why he was so scared. Was he afraid the cat was going to over take him? The big, bad werewolf was frightened.
"Oh, I've got to see this," Emily laughed, Kim nodded with her. They both knew what I'd gotten him.
"What the Hell could it be?" Embry cried as all the girls crowded around the door.
"Close your eyes!" I ordered and he obliged. I took both his hands and led him to the edge of the lawn, waving my hand in front of his face to make sure he really wasn't peeking. He didn't flinch.
"Holy shit!" I heard Jared moan as he stepped out of the back door some feet behind us.
"Shh!" Kim quieted him and I dropped Embry's hands at that moment.
"Okay, you can look."
I wish I had a camera. He gave one of those faces that displayed thousands of different emotions. The most prominent one was shock. "Do you like it?" I asked him hesitantly.
"SOPHIE!" he screeched, ramming his palms into his eye sockets to rub them just to make sure he was seeing exactly what was really there. "You got me a truck?"
"Not just any truck. An avalanche," I corrected running my hand over the sleek black paint job.
"No, I cannot accept this. No way!" Embry cried, stepping away from the car.
"Hell, I'll take it!" Seth yelled from behind us as the rest of the pack gaped at his present too. I smiled; I'd totally predicted this was going to happen.
"You promised you'd take anything I gave you," I persisted and Embry just shook his head with pursed lips. Oh crap, he was mad. "Just get in and see if you like it at least."
"It's not a question of whether I like it. Of course I like it, I love it! It's just too much. I can't let you give this to me," Embry stated, doing wild hand gestures just to prove his point. I grabbed one hand in mid-air and dragged him into the cab of the truck. I climbed over the console to sit in the passenger seat while he sat on the driver's side. His hands went up to grip the shiny new steering wheel tightly. He sighed and dragged his eyes away from the high-tech looking dashboard to look towards me.
"No," he told me simply.
I rolled my eyes. "You already promised. Are you going back on your word?"
"How about we compromise."
"That depends on what you ask for."
"I say we share this car. It's not just mine," he explained, but I shook my head.
"No, the car is going in your name," I told him firmly and he sighed, completely frustrated. This present was not going well. I extracted that promise from him earlier to purposely avoid this calamity.
"Okay, how about this," Embry turned suddenly to me and his face lit up with excitement. "We share the car and I give you driving lessons. It's a fair trade."
I thought about that for a second. I could so play this little arrangement to my advantage. "Fine, but one more stipulation."
"What's that?" he asked me warily.
"We get to make out in the backseat whenever I want," I grinned mischievously at him, biting my lower lip to stop the laugh that was about to spill out my mouth as his face contorted in happiness.
"DEAL!"
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"You can't go that way."
"Why not?"
"That's a one way, Sophie. See the sign?" his long finger pointed to a broken one-way sign that I would have never seen because it was half covered by the shrubbery growing around it.
"Yeah, I see it now."
"Go slower, it's 35 not 50," Embry told me in a monotone sort of voice. The poor kid was probably so bored. I wouldn't imagine it's fun having to teach your girlfriend the rules of the road. Not that he should be complaining because we'd already stopped for a hot and heavy make out session twice in our other lessons. With Embry though, he always brought our physical relationship to a stop when it hit the point of going a little too far. I understood that he was trying to be a gentleman, and I wasn't making it easy for him, but what was the point? We're soul mates. Who cares what we do now; we are destined for each other, right? Isn't that how it works? I decided to spice up the trip a little.
"So, Embry, huh? Why the name Embry?" That said person looked towards me with raised eyebrows, his face was blank.
"Why Sophronia?" he countered and I had to laugh out loud. That was good.
"My French father wanted to strike a transaction with a Greek shipping dealer. To please him he named me after the man's mother. The contract was signed the next day. My dad refers to me fondly as his 'deal sealer'." I shook my head slowly at the story, still smiling slightly at just how ridiculous it was. It didn't get any more ridiculous than that, I was positive.
Embry was quiet for a long moment absorbing my short story. "I was named after a soap star." I looked over to him in amazement. I was wrong. That was ridiculous.
"Watch the road."
"Wow," I said turning back to face the front and stop at a stop sign. "You win."
"I'm not so sure about that, deal sealer." I chuckled at his comment, but he didn't sound very amused. In fact, he was in a downright bad mood. I had no idea why. Must have been my remarkable driving skills.
"What's your favorite color?"
"Blue." I noted he didn't ask me mine. That was okay, I understood. Everyone has those kinds of days.
"Mine's silver. What's your favorite animal?"
He gave me this look. "A wolf." Oh, that's why.
"Hm, I like leopards." This wasn't lifting his spirits. In fact, if he could I think he would have liked to remain silent on this ride. That wasn't happening. "What's it like growing up in La Push?"
"Nothing special. All we have is school, friends, and now the pack."
"That was an inspiring insight into your life Embry. Thank you for sharing with me," I told him sarcastically.
He shrugged. "You're welcome."
"What do you want to be when you grow up?" I asked him, feeling a bit childish at the silly question.
"I don't know, Sophie. Why?"
"Well, I just wanted to know. I mean, maybe you could be a singer. Isn't that what you want? Don't you like playing your guitar?"
Embry looked at me with heavily lidded eyes. "The tribe comes first. It doesn't matter what I want."
I couldn't believe what he was telling me. What was wrong with him? This wasn't the Embry I knew. I felt like I had missed something crucial in the last week. "What are you talking about Embry? People can't dictate who you become. You can be anything you want! Don't you want to travel and see the world? Don't you want to be something way out of left field and surprise every one, like a Nobel Peace prize winner or something like that? Think about it, it would be so amazing if we could-"
"Not we, Sophie, you! I'm not going anywhere, or have you forgotten I'm a werewolf? I'm stuck here," Embry told me fiercely, gripping the hand rail on the door tightly. He wouldn't meet my eye, in fact every word that spilled out of my mouth seemed took make his mood fouler. I pulled over into a vacant lot, aggravated at where this was going.
Embry got out of the car, slammed the door, and went to take a walk a short distance from the car. I
stared out of the window for a moment, trying and failing to understand what exactly was wrong with him. He was so good at reading my moods and needs, but when it came time for me to be the one to help him I was lost. I didn't know what to do.
I got out of the vehicle slowly, trying to jumble together a speech in my head to tell him. Trying to think of words to soothe whatever his troubles were.
"I feel like I'm losing my mind," he said miserably as soon as he saw me coming around the bend of the truck. His eyes shone with desolation as his breath came out in short little spurts. I didn't understand. My face must have given me away because he continued on. "I can't think for myself. I feel like I'm constantly under orders. Do this, do that, be here, always be alert. I can't do this anymore, Sophie! I'm tired, I'm not doing well in school because I get no sleep, my mom got my report card and she's threatening to take away my time with you if I don't start getting everything together. I—" he stopped mid-rant to place his hand over his eyes.
I felt my eyes swell with tears at how vulnerable he looked. I ran to him, jumping into his arms, smothering his worried face with kisses. He buried his hands in my hair running his fingers through it.
"You could have asked for help. I'm always here for you, Em," I sighed into his ear and he flashed me a quick smile.
"I am asking."
"I meant earlier. You know I'll help you with your homework. You work too hard." I picked his head up so his eyes would meet mine.
"Are you sure? You have work and stuff like that."
I grabbed Embry's hand and pulled him to the bed of the truck, pulling down the lip so we could sit on it.
"You are always my first priority," I reminded him gently and he winced at my words.
"You know you're mine. It's just the tribe will always have my body, I can't help that, but you have my heart. That's the only thing I can give you, Sophronia. You know I would do anything you asked me to." I was so touched by his words I didn't even grimace when he called me by my full name. I did, however, take note of how the pack would be first. I didn't like it all, but I didn't think now was the time to bring it up. I was too much into the moment. I pounced on Embry, sending him flying back, hitting his head on the floor of the bed with force. I felt bad, but I didn't have time to contemplate that. I was more concerned with fixing Embry. Even though I was sure I broke his skull, but I meant fixing the cracks that were rising up in his attempt to seem perfect for me. I kissed him passionately. I wanted to bring out everything he made me feel. How he could send every nerve cell within me on fire. How his touch made me shiver violently. How one look from him sent a wave of lust over me. How I wanted to desperately love him, more than anything in the world, but every time I plucked up the courage the muscles in my mouth failed me. I couldn't tell him, but I could show him.
I pulled the buttons of his shirt out of their holes one by one before slowly dragging the shirt apart so I could stare at his chest. I was allowed this one thing, but I decided to tempt fate. My hand circled lower, but Embry was way ahead of me. He pulled me off of him, taking a deep breath to steady himself.
"No," he whispered softly in my ear.
"Why not?" I whined like a petulant child.
"Because I love you," he looked at me and cocked his head to the side. He always waited a moment after he said this for me to maybe change my mind. For me to maybe decide that I could tell him I loved him. It never happened. "That's why," he finished after we looked at each other for a full minute.
I crossed my arms with annoyance and looked away. "That's not a good reason. Fine, maybe we shouldn't do that." He wasn't as embarrassed as I was about this thought. His tan face remained almost impassive. Only an eyebrow shot up, which I thought made him look downright adorable and it certainly didn't help the blush that crossed my cheeks. It had crossed my mind a few times, being with Embry; there was no question we would be together like that, I just had a hard time wrapping my head around well, er, actually doing it. I would never, ever, ever tell him this, but I was sort of frightened. See, I had to act like it wasn't a big deal because if he ever caught wind of the fact that I was frightened out of my mind, well, I would be a virgin until I died. "We could still… do other things," I lowered my voice and looked out of the corner of my eye to gauge his reaction. It was thoughtful. Oh, I'd have him one way or another. I just needed to get around his defenses.
A/N: Sorry it's taken a while to update. I've been busy and on vacation. Things are becoming crazy. This isn't my favorite chapter, but tell me what YOU think. Oh and I hope everyone enjoys breaking dawn because this will probably be my last update before it comes out!!
