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Characters based on Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer.

(Embry POV)

"Esme?" I said when a woman answered the phone.

"Yes, who is this?"

"It's Embry. Is Dr. Cullen home?"

"Oh, hello, Embry. Carlisle's home; is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine. I just needed his, uh, permission on something."

"He's here now."

"Embry, how are you?" Dr. Cullen asked.

"I'm doing great Dr. Cullen."

"Call me Carlisle, Embry. Esme said you needed my permission?"

"Yes, I do. I know that you said Tanya's always welcome in your house here but I was wondering if I could build her a small house of some sort right at the border. That way, she'll be closer to where I am. I haven't asked the Elders yet, I wanted to ask you first since you're not here."

"I don't see any problem with that, Embry. As soon as the Elders tell you yes, start building the house. Does Tanya know?"

"No, I haven't told her yet; I want it to be a surprise."

"She will surely love that, I'm sure."

"Thanks, Carlisle. I certainly hope that she would love it."

I ran quickly to Old Quil's house as soon as I finished talking to Carlisle. Billy usually spent his days there. I would call Sam and Sue when I get there. I sincerely hoped that there would be no problem with my plans.

--

"What did Dr. Cullen said about your plans?" Billy asked.

"He said if he's fine with it; all I need is your approval," I answered.

"Do you have any plans on how you'll do this?" Sue asked.

"I'm hoping the pack would lend a hand."

"I'll help," Sam volunteered and for that, I was thankful.

"Is it going to be a full house or just something that she could stay in?" Old Quil asked.

"Well, I think I could skip the kitchen since she doesn't eat anyway and skip the bedroom since she doesn't sleep. I'm just a bit worried about the bathroom. I learned how to wire for electricity, but plumbing is not my forte," I answered.

"We could ask around to see if they know anybody who can help you out. I'm sure they'll be happy to lend you a hand. Tanya must be very excited," Sue exclaimed.

"She doesn't know yet. I wanted to surprise her," I said sheepishly.

"I never took you for the romantic type, Embry," Sam teased and everyone laughed.

--

Aside from the pack and the Elders, only Emily knew what Tanya was. The other imprints were not aware that Tanya was a vampire. Emily only knew because she was the Cullen's 'extended' family. We didn't want to endanger anybody else by telling them Tanya's true nature. Nor did we want any of them to change their acceptance once they found out the truth about her. None of them suspected her different and Emily guided her along the way on how to answer the question 'why are you not eating?'

The next few months went by with ease. Tanya slowly made her way to my world. Emily's attempt to involve her more in our gatherings did not go in vain, and for that I would be eternally grateful to Emily. She was the heart of this pack when Sam was the Alpha, and now, even when he stepped down, Emily remained as our 'mother'.

Every one, even Paul, lightened up with the whole situation as well. Maybe a part of it was because Kim, Layle and Rachel loved hanging around with Tanya. Emily's house became their little meeting place since Emily couldn't leave Salia, her and Sam's daughter.

Since it was their imprints that got together in Emily's house, Jared, Janus and Paul rotated in coming with me whenever Tanya went there. After she settled, I would excuse myself and proceed to some 'Alpha' task. Not that I needed to be there anyway; Quil was always there for Claire and Collin imprinted on Salia. Sam was not happy, but there was really nothing he could do about it. The others continually teased Collin since his imprint was now the youngest in the group. It took a while before we got off Quil's case; Collin would be the target of baby jokes until somebody else imprints on someone younger than Salia.

--

Spring quickly rolled in. The weather was getting warmer and it would be great for some First Beach fun. However, it was not a good season for Tanya. With her skin sparkling under the sun, it prevented her from joining the others. I didn't mind staying with her at all. I would rather spend my days in doors and be with her than spend hours soaking under the sun when my mind was somewhere else.

My mom missed Tanya's frequent visits. She became a tad jealous when Tanya started to spend more time at Emily's and when spring came; I had to tell her that Tanya had really sensitive skin under the sun. My mom thought of buying a strong sun block lotion but I told her it wouldn't work. The determination of my mother was really strong.

"I'll bring her over at night, how's that?" I tried to compromise with my mother.

"That would be great. It felt like I haven't talked to her for a long time," mom answered.

"She was just here last week," I chuckled but my mom just brushed me off.

--

While Tanya spent her days with the girls, the guys helped me out in building the little house right at the border. Sam managed to contact someone for the plumbing and also to connect electricity from the main road. It was a bit slow in the process since we had to take breaks from time to time, but I was thankful that even though it was moving along slowly, it was getting done. If I had to do it alone, I wouldn't be able to finish it.

Tanya grew suspicious of my everyday 'Alpha' business. She would just ask what I did and I would say I took care of some business. After my answer, she would not talk about it any further. It worried me from time to time that what if Tanya wandered around the border; my secret would be found, but knowing her, she would not even leave the house unless she needed to hunt. Even if she did, she never went to the direction towards La Push. She always hunted north, towards Canada.

--

After a few months, we finished the house and it was already setup to live in. It had a little sitting room with a sofa and love seat. It had a small TV set in one area and a shelf with some books. These were all given by the pack.

A bathroom was in one corner with a shower over tub and a toilet, not that she needed the toilet. That was for me when I visit. Although I originally opted out on a bedroom, Janus suggested that we add one since Tanya would need a changing room and a place to relax other than the living room. The place got a little bigger, but that was it. Outside, we set up a grill just in case the pack wanted to come over and since the house didn't have a kitchen; barbeque would be the only way to go.

When we finished setting up the house, I went to the Cullen's house first thing the next morning. Tanya was sitting in the living room. She was reading. I saw her face lit up as soon as I opened the door.

"You're early!" she exclaimed as she got up and practically knock me over as she hugged me. She finally learned to control her strength with me. She knew when to hug tighter and when to let go.

"I have a surprise for you," I smiled at her

"What surprise?" she asked.

"It won't be much of a surprise if I tell you now. You'll know when we get there. For the meantime, I need you to wear this blindfold," I said and took out a scarf from my pocket.

"What's up with the whole secret?" she asked as I put the blindfold over her eyes.

"You'll find out soon enough," I whispered in her ear and led her outside. "We're going to walk, and don't worry, I won't let you fall." She laughed at that; we both knew that she wouldn't get hurt if she fell, but being the protective boyfriend, I preferred that she stayed upright the whole time.

--

I was nervous when we reached the cottage that the pack and I built. What if she didn't like it? What if she hated it? These questions went over and over in my head while we were still building the house; the pack had to calm me down.

"It's not a mansion," I said to them. "She had been living in a mansion for the past months."

"Yeah, it's not, but it's built with your own two hands, with our hands. You put in your sweat for this," Jared stated.

"What if it's not enough?" I asked.

"Okay, Romeo, I'm really tired of this girly shit you're putting us through. Tanya's lucky enough that you thought of doing this for her. She will like this, and you know how I know? I met her and got to know her and Rachel was raving how great she is. She is not shallow and she will appreciate everything that was put into this place," Paul said, raising his voice up a notch.

"Thanks, Paul, I needed that," I said to him. He did have a really bad temper, but he sure knew how to put his point across.

"You're welcome," he said.

So here I was, Tanya's hand in mine, walking towards the house. There was no key since there was no lock. Tanya didn't need a lock; she never slept anyway.

"Why put a door, then?" Raleigh asked.

"Because it looks weird for a house not to have door," Daniel answered. "I swear, sometimes, you ask the stupidest questions."

"Oh, shut up!" Raleigh snarled.

"Hey, hey, knock it off. We don't want you knocking the house down," Quil called on the two of the younger members of the pack.

"How long before I can take this off my eyes?" Tanya asked which brought me back to the present.

"Not long," I said since I could see the cottage not far from where we were.

After a few minutes, we stood in front of the cottage. I saw Tanya's forehead scrunched up. "Are we meeting the pack or something?" she asked.

"No, it's just us."

"Huh, weird. I can smell them," she said.

"Oh, that. They helped me with the surprise," I said and took off the blindfold from her eyes. As soon as the scarf dropped on the ground, I heard her gasp. "Do you like it?"

"Did you…? How di… Whe…?" her questions were incoherent.

"The pack helped me build this. I thought you might want to have a place to call your own and I really prefer you being closer to me. I asked Carlisle and the Elders if I could built you a little house right at the border so you'll be closer to me and you won't feel like you're invading somebody else's place. Welcome to your new home," I said and opened the door. Tanya stood in front of the house and did not move. "Tanya?" I called to her. She looked at me with much love and adoration. For the second time that day, she ran to me and hugged me.

"Thank you, Embry, I love it!"

Those very words took away all the worries I had and healed all the blisters I got. Seeing how happy she was made all the hard work worthwhile. I couldn't have done all this without the pack, and because of that, I promised to myself that I would never turn my back on them again.