Disclaimer:

Characters based on Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer.

(Embry POV)

I could have asked the others to rotate me in the patrol next week so that I could spend more time with Tanya. We haven't been together for a week since we reconciled and it would have been great if I could be with her. However, I was away for more than a month and the reason Tanya decided to come back with me in Washington was that so I could continue being the pack's Alpha. It wouldn't feel right if I didn't start taking back my responsibility right away.

I was glad that I slept during the drive home; I was still full of energy even though it was getting late. I decided to tell Tanya about the good news from the meeting. I hoped that she would want to meet my mother.

-----

(Tanya POV)

It felt weird to be back in the Cullen's house after months of being away. It became my home since Embry imprinted on me last September. It wasn't my real home; it didn't feel like the home I left in Alaska, but being close to Embry made it feel special.

Since I was back alone, I wasn't sure how to occupy my time. Maybe I should pick up a hobby or something so that I would have something to do when Embry's in patrol or taking care of pack business. It was never too late to learn how to cook gourmet food so maybe I would do that so that I could feed Embry proper food.

I was going through Esme's cook books when a familiar scent reached my nose. I stepped outside to see Embry walking out of the forest.

"What are you doing here? I thought you won't be back until tomorrow morning," I asked him.

"Well, it's past midnight to it is tomorrow morning," Embry said.

"Ha ha, very funny." We went inside the house and continued our conversation in the kitchen. "Seriously, what are you doing here? Not that I mind, because I don't, I'm just surprised." I started to cut up some salami from the fridge and made Embry a sandwich.

"As soon as I crossed the border, I informed my mom that I was home then I went to Quil's house. They insisted that we hold a meeting with the pack right away, so we did at Sam's place," Embry explained as he took a bite of the sandwich I handed to him. I really should learn how to cook food; this man's appetite seemed insatiable.

"What did you discuss about, or is it a 'secret'?" I teased.

"Well, I'm starting patrol tomorrow night, or should I say later tonight. The rotation is back to normal, as if I never left. They said they could rotate me back in, but I was away for a long time so I decided that I should get back to the routine. I hope you don't mind," Embry said and I nodded, so he continued. "They all asked what happened since I left. I told them that when I finally found you, you ran away."

I gasped, "You didn't! They must hate me now more than ever."

Embry saw the worried look on my face and put his sandwich down on the plate. He rubbed his hands on his shorts before he wrapped his arms around me, "Don't worry about it. I told them what we talked about; how you left in the beginning for my sake, for their sake. They understand us now; I told you that, didn't I?"

I wrapped my arms around and nodded my head, "I guess I'm just worried what it would be like facing them. I met Paul and Jared and that didn't turn out so well."

"You'll meet them soon enough," he said as he placed a kiss on the top of my head.

I looked up at him, "What do you mean I'll meet them soon enough? They are not planning to ambush me, are they?" He laughed at my outburst. I freed myself from his arms and moved across the room, "It's not funny, Embry."

"Tanya, they are not going to ambush you. They want to officially meet you. Whenever you're ready, I'll tell them to have a campfire here or something. Don't worry, I won't let you out of my sight," he assured me as he slowly moved to where I was standing. "Everyone knows how you look like so they would recognize who you are right away even if you have distinct smell," he said when he reached for my hand. I was sure that if I was just some regular vampire, he would have said 'stench' instead of 'distinct smell.'

"How?"

"When we are in wolf form, they could see through my mind. It was your face that occupied my head since the night you left so they pretty much memorized how you looked like. Although, I must say, image does not compare to the real thing," he smiled at me and I couldn't help but return it.

"You're too sweet," I said and gave him a peck on the lips.

"There's another thing I want to tell you." I waited for him to continue. He shoved his hands on his pockets before he talked again. "The Elders and the pack said that you can crossthebordersoyoucouldmeetmymom."

"You know vampires have really good hearing right? And I totally understood what you tried to mumble and I'm scared shitless right now?"

"Okay, I should remember that next time I try to mumble something. Wait, why are you scared? It's just my mom," Embry said.

"Just your mom? Embry, in my entire vampire life, and that's a pretty long life, you know, I never, ever, ever met any of my boyfriends' parents."

"Boyfriend, I like the sound of that," he said with a big grin on his face, which quickly went away. "Wait a minute, how many boyfriends did you have before me?"

I groaned. "You're not serious?" He crossed his arms on his chest and looked at me intently. "You've got to be kidding me. C'mon, I've been alive for decades. I don't know how many boyfriends I had in the past. Isn't the present more important?" I asked sweetly as I hoped that he would be swoon by my sweet voice.

"So unfair," he pouted like a five year old.

"What's unfair?" I asked.

"I'm your, what, millionth boyfriend and you're my first girlfriend," he answered. As if answering the question in my head how come he didn't have any girlfriend before I did, he said, "I phased before I had a chance on having one and ever since I phased, I couldn't tell anybody what I was unless she's my imprint. I willed myself to imprint already so that I could share my secret with someone else, but no luck. Then when I saw you, BAM! You, on the other hand, had so many boyfriends in the past that you couldn't even count."

"But none of that is important. Past is past. Let's just forget it, please?" I pleaded with him.

"I guess. I mean you can't help it if you're drop dead gorgeous. So back to what we were talking about earlier, when do you want to come with me to meet my mom?" Embry asked.

"Can't she just come here?"

"Well, the Elders prefer that you visit my mom in our side of the border, something about being in our own turf. Also, they insisted that aside from me, another member of the pack should be with us, just a precaution," he explained. I nodded. I understood the concern of the Elders. Embry's mom was a human and her safety was the pack's responsibility. "Is it really the location that worries you?" Embry asked when I didn't say anything after he explained the setup to me.

I shook my head, "I'm just thinking what it would be like. What if she doesn't like me? Oh my, what if she hates me?"

"Will you please stop worrying about it? She'll love you. I haven't told her about you yet but she knows that there's someone in my life that changed me. She was pleased to see me looking better than when I left. Please, for me?" it was his turn to plead and I couldn't say no.

"Fine, but you have to give her heads up and I need like a week to ready myself," I said.

"A week? You've met other humans before, didn't you?" he asked and I nodded. "So, why do you need a week to get ready?"

"I told you, I haven't met anybody's mother," I shrieked.

"It's going to be fine, Tanya. How about I tell my mom about it then I'll ask her when you can come over?"

He looked at me and waited for me to answer. How could I say no to my personal angel? "Fine," I surrendered. He wrapped his big arms around me and hugged me tightly. If I wasn't a vampire, I might have broken some bones. "Okay, okay, you can let go now," I said.

He kissed the top of my head before he let go, "Thank you." He saw the time on the microwave. It said ten minutes past one in the morning, "I should go. I don't want my mom waking up without me there. She might think I left again."

"Yeah, you should go home. What time are you coming back?"

"I'll talk to my mom as soon as I wake up then after that, I'll go here. I should be here for lunch," he answered.

"Do you want to meet her or at the clearing?"

"The clearing. I missed it," he said and kissed me lightly on the lips. "I'll see you later."

--

After spending a few minutes inside the house after Embry left, I decided to head to the forest. I was wearing out Esme's carpet by pacing back and forth. Since Embry told me that he was going to introduce me to his mother, my nerves was in frenzy. It was true that I never met any of my past boyfriends' parents. Most of my relationship that lasted for more than a couple of dates went on for only a few months because I couldn't risk exposing our kind to them. The closer I got to them, the more I would draw attention to my real life and I couldn't let that happen.

After I met Edward, I really didn't have any boyfriend because I half hoped that he would change his mind. Even Esme liked me for him before so there was no worry about his 'mother' liking me, but Embry's case was different. I was happy that Embry was planning to introduce me to his mother, but it would be awkward. To make matters worse, we would have a chaperone. Not only would I have to worry about Embry's mom, I would also have to deal with another member of the pack. I wondered who would come with us on our first meeting. I hoped it was Quil; at least he was Embry's best friend so I wouldn't have to worry about him not liking me. Based on what Embry said, he was very supportive of our weird relationship.

I tried to come up with excuses so that I wouldn't have to meet Embry's mom but I was unsuccessful. I couldn't say I wasn't feeling well since he knew that vampires didn't get sick. I promised that I wouldn't run away again, so that was out of the question. I could have said no when he asked but he was so ecstatic for me to meet his mother that even my dead heart couldn't bring itself to turn Embry down especially with his lovely eyes looking at me so intently. There was nothing else left to do but to suck it up and just deal with it. My only hope was that Embry's mom wouldn't agree on meeting me or would give me enough time to work on my nerves before our impending meeting.