A/N: 150+ reviews, yay! Keep them coming.

Disclaimer:

Characters based on Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer.

(Tanya POV)

I put the thought of the cliff diving behind my mind. "There was no use worrying," Emily told me so I decided to follow her advice and ignored the thought in my head. I busied myself with activities with Lana and with the girls. It was great how we could quickly pick up our old routines after our little vacation.

Winter months quickly turned to spring and the sun started coming out more. I was thankful for Washington weather that I wasn't held back so much by the weather. The sun was usually hidden behind the clouds so I was able to continue my activities with the others.

Embry, as always, was usually around where I was. Although the pack already lifted their rule 'accompanied by at least two werewolves when Tanya crosses the border,' Embry almost never left my side, unless the pack wanted to do some male-bonding. I noticed it was true for all the imprints, even for Salia. Even though she was just a toddler, Collin was always around her.

While we were in Sam and Emily's house, the guys were gathered at the back for their pack meeting. Once every so often, they held meetings just for an update amongst everyone. They wanted to share any new encounter, or physical develop, or imprinting. Not much went on in these meetings; they usually just end up eating the food we prepared and rough-housing.

--

"You coming tonight?" I heard Paul asked Embry. It was mid-April and the heat was picking up. It was time for cliff diving. The older members of the pack, namely Paul, Quil, Jared, Embry and Brady, I learned from Emily, were the usual organizer of the cliff diving shindig. Collin used to also lead but since he imprinted on Salia, Sam warned him about his participation on the activity. He wanted to make sure that Salia would grow up with her imprinter still alive.

"Nope," he answered abruptly and I smiled. I wasn't part of the conversation; I was not even around them when they had the conversation. With my vampire hearing, I was able to hear what they were talking about.

"Why not? You already skipped on us last week," Quil complained. Being around them for so long, I started to differentiate their voices.

"Tanya's hanging out at the house with my mom and I want to stay in," Embry answered. Lana was planning to teach me some authentic Makah cuisine. She learned it properly during her last visit to Ursula and after she perfected it, she planned on teaching me.

"Tanya can learn without you," Jared said.

"I need to be there to taste the food," Embry said. "You guys go ahead. Maybe next time."

"That's what you said last time," Brady said.

"How about this? If they finish early, I'll see if I could meet up with you guys. Sounds fair?" Embry asked.

"Fair enough," Quil and Jared said.

"I assume you heard that," Embry said to me when he entered the house after his conversation with the other four. I simply nodded. "I'll try not to make it."

"You should have not given them false hope, then. It's not nice," I said to him.

"So you're saying that you'd rather have me jump off a cliff than spend time with you? I'm hurt," he said.

"Ha ha, very dramatic," I rolled my eyes at him.

--

Later that day, Lana had ingredients on the table. She had different kinds of seafood lain on the table and the kitchen counter and there were spices that shoot distinct scent up my nose. Having this strong sense of smell was not very pleasant at this moment. "I've set up everything so we can start seasoning then smoke them outside," Lana said as soon as she saw me enter the kitchen.

"Wow, lots of stuff," I said and crinkled my nose a bit. I saw Embry doing the same thing. Even though we were of different 'species,' we both have strong sense of smell and I could tell that this was bothering him more than it was bothering me. I could hold my breath since I didn't need to breathe in the first place; he, on the other hand, pretty much had no choice. I couldn't really tell how different the smell was but it had a lingering effect on my brain.

"Let's get started," Lana said and Embry excused himself to stay in the living room. Poor guy sneezed as soon as he exited the kitchen.

After some time, Lana and I finished preparing the food that we would set to smoke. Embry already started the fire outside and it was ready to go. Lana taught me how to properly smoke the meat and she guided me through the whole process. After we set the meat on the smoker, we sat outside and watched the night engulfed the remaining sign of the sun for the day.

"I think you can go now. Lana said it takes at least an hour to cook," I told Embry. I was pretty sure that the guys were already gathered and getting ready to jump off the cliff.

"It's okay, I'll go next time. I want to be here when that thing cooks," he nodded to the smoker. "I suffered so much with the spices and starting up the fire, I want to get the taste as soon as it's ready to eat." I laughed and Lana looked at us. Embry just shrugged and I shook my head. Lana got up and stretched her legs. Sitting at the backyard without the proper seating area hurt her back. She said she'll be back when it's time to turn the meat in the smoker.

Lana was not gone long when my body stiffened. I looked at Embry and he looked at me the same shock expression on his face. "You smell it too!" I exclaimed and we both jumped up from out seats. "Go and get them!" Embry did not even take time to change out of his clothes. He ran to the forest and I heard his clothes shred into pieces. I heard him howl, loud enough for everyone to hear all the way from the cliff. I, on the other hand, hurried towards the house and check on Lana. "Lana, are you here?" I called out but there was no answer from the kitchen so I hurried going inside the house.

She stepped out from her bedroom, "I'm here." She saw the worried look on my face, "Tanya, is everything okay? Did something happen? Where's Embry? I heard the howl, was that him?"

"There's no time to explain," I said to her and held on to her hand. "Let's just stay in here until they figure out what's going on."

"Why don't you just tell me," Lana started walking to the front door but I cut her off.

"Please, Lana, just stay put here with me. I can't, we just, okay, I don't even know what to say, but there's danger out there and I can go out there and help, but my main concern is your safety. Embry's concern right now is your safety. Right now, I'm the only one here so please just stay here with me."

"My safety? Wait, are you a werewolf as well? I never heard of a female werewolf before," she said but more to herself than to me.

"I'm not a werewolf, but I can protect you. At least I could try, so please just let me," I pleaded with her. She nodded and sat on the sofa. I went back through the kitchen door and poured water on the fire under the smoker. I didn't want to worry about the house catching on fire when there was far more danger lurking around. I ran back and lock the doors and windows except for one that I needed to look out on. I knew well that windows and doors would not hold whoever it was outside, but at least I could hear if they tried to break anything. I stood there by the window, Lana by my side and waited.

-----

(Embry POV)

I howled to the others with hopes that they were on the hill instead of the water since they would be able to phase faster if there were up there. By the beach, they would to hide by the trees before they could phase.

Embry, what's going on? Quil asked.

Tanya and I picked up two scents. One was familiar but one I never smelled before, I answered.

How about Tanya, does she know who it was? Paul asked.

I don't think so. I had to leave her with my mom so I could get you. The scent is too strong around the house but I already went around three times, the two separated and I can't leave one so I'm waiting for you guys.

They're coming, Jared huffed. Brady, Janus, Raleigh and Daniel are on the beach so they had to run for cover first. The others are trying to excuse themselves.

Sorry, I'm late, Collin said. Harry's not coming, he's trapped in the house to watch his brother. Ethan's running a very high fever.

Dammit! I think he's phasing, I said.

Phasing? they all asked at the same time that made my ear ring.

Tanya and I picked up scents of two vampires. We don't know who they are, but one is unfamiliar. We need to find them quick. I've been running around the house but I can't pinpoint any of them. They are in constant move. In no time, most of them were gathered and running around the house with me. We separated in four teams, just like our patrol and covered all sides of the house. The scent was too strong around the house that it made me wonder why they seemed to be so interested with me.

Maybe because you're the alpha, Kyle said when he heard my thought.

Could be it. Look sharp guys. Quil, Paul, Jared, I trust that you watch your team, you have hands on battle with vampires but they hadn't. Don't try and be a hero, guys, I'm serious. Dr. Cullen's not here like the last time. I thought about the last time that we fought against vampires. Those were newborns and possessed much greater strength than older vampires. I knew the scent of newborns and whoever was looming around La Push right now were not newborns. Leah tried to fight off one newborn and Jacob got hurt in the process when he tried to save her. I heard the inexperienced werewolves whimpered in my head. That's how serious it could be, so don't try anything stupid. Stick together, that's the plan.

I rounded up the back with Raleigh and Janus. Good thing Harry was on my team so we easily made up for his absence. Paul, Tom and Daniel covered the left side of the house while Jared, Bruce and Kyle were on the right. Quil, Collin and Brady were on the front. I saw Tanya the first time I rounded the front and I knew that my mom would be with her so I decided to put the Quil's team on the front since they were the most experienced team. Collin and Brady had their share of fighting, while the others haven't. I wanted the best to protect my human mother and the love of my life. We rounded the place and the scent just kept on moving. Damn vampire speed; we couldn't keep up so we decided to stay put. We did not leave our posts nor each other's team. If not for their strong stench, I would think that they already left. Up until Quil growled.