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Chapter 26 – Embry

I caught her scent when she left her house. I heard her footfalls a half mile before she reached me. I could see her now, a quarter mile away, fighting her way through a thicket of young fir trees.

I didn't go to her. We needed to be out of human earshot if we were going to have this conversation. Still, I wasn't that deep in the forest. Rain would set in soon and I didn't want her to get caught in it.

It was a relief to see the scowl on her face. My fighting Becca. But she wasn't mine. She probably wouldn't ever be now.

She saw me waiting in the clearing. Her eyes narrowed and she stalked toward me. She stopped about ten feet away and crossed her arms. Her long hair blew in the wind. She looked like a warrior princess, so beautiful, ethereal, and angry. In the far distance, the sky thundered.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I was trying to protect you."

She let out a frustrated growl. "I trusted you, Embry Call. I believed you when you said that no one was in danger. That the 'weird stuff' was nothing I needed to worry about."

"I was protecting you," I said again.

"Don't. I can take care of myself."

"I know. But I also know you will leave at the first sign of drama. You've been through a lot. We didn't want to make things worse for you."

"I can't imagine anything worse that being lied to by everyone I love." She shook her head. "I guess I was stupid to think that I could just come back here. To think that the people I trust most in the world were still trustworthy. You can't go home again, isn't that the saying?"

I nodded. "It's true. The home you come back to is never the same. Either you've changed, or it has, or both. But Bec, you have to know that we wanted it to be the same for you. That's the reason for all of the half truths."

"How can you decide how to protect me?"

"We've been making that choice for our people for a decade, for generations actually."

She stopped raging for a moment when she realized I had just confirmed her fears, but she recovered quickly. "Well, you're not making that choice for me. I've been through a lot, and I've survived."

"You have survived, but you haven't healed. I'm worried that with any new pain, the old wounds will open and you'll really be lost. You need time to heal."

"I've had time."

"Are you healed?" I wanted to heal her, but I couldn't. Only she could do that.

She clenched her fists like she always did when she was being stubborn and stood at her full height, which was tall for a girl, but still a good foot shorter than me. I still felt like cowering under her glare.

She said, "It doesn't matter. I want the truth. Now."

"Honestly, Bec, I'm terrified. I don't want to lose you. Not when I, when we all, just got you back."

Her scowl deepened, and I knew all hope was lost. She'd come for answers, and she wouldn't leave without them.

I took a deep breath for courage. This was it: the beginning of the end.

"I am allowed to tell you about this secret, for reasons I will tell you after I've told you everything else. But just know, before I say this, that we all love you, we're the same people you know, just changed a bit … for the better I think, at least I do now, though I didn't at first."

Becca took a deep breath. Beneath her calm façade, she was scared. Her heartbeat accelerated and she was having trouble swallowing, but other than that, her exterior remained calm. To any outsider, she would have been the picture of poise.

"Just tell me, Em," she whispered. She took a step forward, but I held out a hand in warning.

"I think the best way is to show you. Don't come near. And maybe, turn around?" An image popped in my head of Jacob showing Charlie our other form. Jake had stripped in front of him, a thing Charlie had been almost as shocked by as the actual wolf transformation.

Becca turned her back, so trusting. I stripped quickly and phased, as I had done so many thousands of times now. I stood there waiting on four legs instead of two.

She didn't turn, so I let out a quiet whine. Startled, she turned around and clutched her heart.

She wanted to scream, I could tell. But she held her heart and breathed through her shock.

"Wolf," she said, after endless minutes.

Yup, I thought. I lowered my head slightly.

"You're the same wolf I saw at the bonfire," Becca said incredulously. "And you're …" she glanced down at the pile of clothes by my paws, "Embry?" The wonder in her voice gave me hope.

In the back of my mind, Quil and Seth were whooping and running toward me. Stay back, I growled.

Give her time, Leah thought.

I'm on my way, Jake thought to me. Good. He should be here for this. His sister needed him.

She took a few tentative steps toward me. Instinctively, I held back, but I was confident that I was under control. I would not hurt her. She reached out. Her hand brushed my jowl. No human had touched this form, this fur. It was a strange sensation, her gentle hand caressing me. Each follicle was incredibly alive. It felt heavenly.

Her nose was right up against my nose. In this form, she smelled better than I could have ever imagined. She looked at me with her big round eyes. She smiled.

Bella says she can tell when we smile in wolf form. I've never seen it myself, but if it were possible for a wolf to smile, I was smiling now.

In this form, being accepted by her, it was the happiest I could remember feeling. The happiest I could remember anyone feeling. Her eyes were filled with wonder. She ran around my big form, trailing her hand along my back, touching my ears, looking in awe at my big paws.

I wanted to phase back, to talk to her, but I didn't want to phase in front of her. It might scare her, and to be honest, I didn't want to be naked in front of her just yet. Things were still new with us.

Hey, Jake thought.

I used my teeth to grab the shorts I was wearing earlier and bolted into the woods. Seconds later I was back in the clearing on two legs.

When she saw me again, she ran into my arms. I wish I could describe what that felt like, but it's too big of a feeling to put into words. It was … everything.

She waited several moments before speaking. Finally she pulled away and said, "So the stories are true?"

I held her hands; so grateful she was still here. "Most of them. The Raven tales really are just metaphors, and I haven't seen evidence of canoes tied to the tops of trees, but pretty much everything else, yeah."

She was calm and thoughtful. Her heart beat just above normal pace. Her eyes were wide, but she wasn't scared. She looked at me in wonder and excitement, but she had that far away look that meant she was puzzling though something. A million somethings probably.

I couldn't wait any longer. "Please, tell me what you're thinking." I had never wished for the pack mind more in my life. I would give anything to be in her head right now.

She smiled. "How fast can you run?"

"Fast." I smiled back. "And it really is the best part."

"Does it hurt?"

"No."

"How long have you been able to do that?"

"Eight years."

That upset her. She pulled away and started pacing the length of the clearing. "You've been dealing with this for as long as I've been gone. Jake? Paul? Sam, too right?"

I nodded.

"Does my sister know?"

"Yes."

"And my dad?"

"Of course." She knew all of this already. My answers didn't surprise her.

She stopped in the middle of the clearing. Her voice was calm and low, and I knew I was in trouble. "My entire family is involved. I'm a part of these legends as much as anyone else. If I had stayed away or asked fewer questions, I would never have known about my family or my tribe. Is that right?

Her voice grew louder. "Would I have ever known what everyone here was going through, or would I just be regaled with half-truths for the rest of my life?"

She was yelling now, something I'd never heard. "Do I even know any of you? My sister is marrying a werewolf, right? And she is doing this because what? He … what's the word, 'imprinted' on her? Is that real, too?"

I answered. "We're shape shifters, actually, and yes, Paul imprinted on Rachel."

Becca scoffed in disbelief. "And Jake, my baby brother." She stopped. "No, oh no. Please, Em, tell me he's not …" She swallowed. "Is he … chief?" She winced as she said it, clearly aware of their heritage and the responsibilities that came with their line.

"Chief, no," Jake said, emerging from the trees. He stood next to me and crossed his arms. "Alpha, yes. Now would you quit making all this racket?"

More of this scene in the woods in the next chapter. Please review! I love your comments!