Chapter Fifteen: Wolf

Embry POV:

The last few weeks have been strange and I knew I wasn't the only one to notice. Mom had mentioned that I had spurted again, joking that I was getting too big and that I wasn't her little boy anymore. I was constantly hungry and my clothes were getting too small. I don't know why but for some reason that pissed me off. My clothes weren't the only thing feeling small, my skin did too. It was like there was an itch under my skin that I couldn't scratch and it made me restless and uncomfortable and edgy.

The restlessness led to anger and I hated it. I was never the guy that lost his temper. I wasn't the type to scream and yell and throw a punch, but for the last week, it was almost becoming a reflex. The other day I yelled at Jake when he blew off Anna for Bella and then almost punched Quil when he told me to chill out. The look of shock on their faces had sent me reeling. I apologize before running out, I felt like a complete asshole, I didn't know why I had done that. I know I didn't want to yell or throw a punch.

Today Anna and I were doing homework at her place. Our schools had similar curriculums, so Anna helped me with English and history while I helped her with math and science. She was finishing her math homework while I started my research essay for English.

I was halfway through my introduction when my back started to ache. I figured it was from leaning over textbooks and papers for the last two hours. I straightened up and stretched a bit and the ache went away. I was looking through the textbook when Anna asked about a question on her biology homework. As I was read the question it felt like someone was turning up the thermostat. The sweatshirt I had been wearing all day suddenly felt sweltering and I quickly stripped it off, but it didn't help the heat as I continued to sweat. By the time I was working on my conclusion, every part of my body hurt. It felt like I had charlie horses and muscle knots all over. I could feel my stomach twisting, threatening to send up my lunch. Breathing my getting hard as my lungs began to feel like they were on fire and my head was pounding with the worst migraine of my life.

'Embry, are you okay?" Anna asked looking concerned.

"My muscles hurt, it feels hot in here." I gritted out. Something flashed across Anna's face, she looked like she'd just connected dots in her head on a hard math question.

"Hold on. I'll get you some tylenol." She said and disappeared up the stairs. When she came back she had the pills and a glass of water. She set them on the end table and helped me to the couch. I felt ridiculous having my girlfriend help me the two feet to the couch, but I knew I wouldn't have been able to do it myself. Getting the pills and the sip of water to go down my throat was harder than I expected and I suddenly more tired then I'd ever felt in my life. She grabbed her cell phone off the end table as I laid sideways on the couch.

"I have to make a phone call. Hold on a sec, I'll be right back." She said and all I could do was nod before she walked out of the room. I tried to hear who she was talking to, but the blood was rushing in my ears too loudly to hear anything else and the pain wasn't letting me focus on much else as I curled in over my stomach that felt it was going to rip in half.

I didn't even see her come back into the room. I had pinched my eyes shut at some point and could feel myself grinding my teeth in an attempt not to scream at the pain rippling through me. The restlessness and the itch had joined the party of symptoms and I tried scratching at my arm once, but it felt like I was being slice by a knife when I did.

"Embry, we have to go outside." Anna said as she grabbed a hold of my arm. It took everything I had not to scream as she touched me. I felt like glass as she pulled me from the couch, I thought I was going to feel my bones break at any moment.

"What?" I grasped out, confused as she led me toward the back door and not the front.

"I think I need to go to the hospital. Something's wrong." I groaned. I felt like I was dying and if I was I wished it would hurry up and take me to end this torture.

"I know what's going on. Trust me; we need to get you outside." She grunted as she opened the back door. How could she possibly know what's going on? I would have asked her, but I just didn't have the energy and I did trust her. I fought to make my feet move and tried not to lean on her. I knew I wasn't light and Anna was rather petite. I was amazed that managed to get me across the lawn and into the woods. I was still confused at what she was doing and then I was hit by a wave of terror as two giant wolves walked out of the trees. I tried to tell her to run, but my lungs wouldn't cooperated. Why wasn't she scared, why wasn't she running? Then Sam Uley walked out of the trees and for a split second I thought I'd passed out and was dreaming. What the hell was Sam Uley doing here?

"Set him down." Sam said, then he was helping Anna lay me on the ground. The motion sent shock waves of pain through my body and I groaned out as I made contact with the cold wet ground. Once I was down the cold ground felt better against my burning skin, but it did little to help. Is Sam who she called? Why would she call Sam? The thought made me angry. Why wouldn't she call Jake? Or Quil? Hell, my mom would have been great at this point. As my temper flared it sent a violent shake through my body and I yelped and curled in on myself. What the hell is happening?

"What's going on, Anna?" I asked. I felt like I was yelling, but I could barely hear myself over the pounding in my ears.

"He's going to help, Embry." She said gently and she kissed my forehead before backing away from me which confused me more. Was she leaving? She was crying, I could see the tears falling down her cheeks as she stepped farther away from me. I knew it most be really bad if she was crying. Anna never cried, she hated crying. Another shutter racked my body and this time I couldn't stop from screaming. When I opened my eyes again Paul had a hold of Anna, pulling her further away and the anger spiked again. Why was he touching her?

Suddenly the pain doubled and I screamed as I curled into myself. I felt like I was being split in two. I closed my eyes against the pain, but it didn't help, nothing did. I felt like my skin was shredding and my bones were breaking. At some point as I screamed, it changed, it no longer sounded like a scream, but like a whine and then the pain was gone, completely gone. I opened my eyes and the light no longer hurt, my blood was still rushing through my ears, but my skin was no longer itchy or painful and I was no longer bone tired like I had been a minute ago.

'What the hell?'

'Welcome to the pack.' I heard a different voice in my head and I jumped. It sounded like Jared.

'Because it is.' The voice spoke again.

'I've gone nuts.'

'Embry, you have to calm down.' Came a different voice and I truly began to panic.

'Oh great, now there's two! What the hell are you talking about, pack?'

'Look down.' Jared voice said and I looked down. I didn't see my hands or just the ground, instead it was two giant gray paws.

'Holy shit! I got paws!' I yelped and tried backing away from them, turning and catching the sight of a tail.

'And a freaking tail! How the hell did this happen?' I demanded, freaking out.

"Embry!" I heard Anna yell and turned out of instinct. My eyes locked with hers and I froze. All the panic subsided and I felt like the world had righted itself. It was like the world had been held together by duct tape and super glue and suddenly it bound itself together like there had never been cracks to begin with. The sun had come up and it was Anna that was putting it there. I felt the pull like there was a steel cable pulling me toward her.

'Holy shit! Three out of four! I thought it was supposed to be rare, Sam?" Jared exclaimed.

'That's what I was told.' Sam muttered but I ignored them as Anna stepped closer. Her big hazel eyes were still glistening from the tears that had been falling down her cheeks. Her long black hair shimmered around her face as she stopped in front of me. She slowly raised her hand stroked my face. It was the first pleasant feeling in hours and I pushed my face further into her hand.

"You need to listen to Sam and Jared. They're good guys and they're going to help you." She whispered and all I could do was nod so she knew I understood.

"Call me when you can?" She asked and I nodded again. She kissed my nose and smile before turning back toward the house with Paul following behind her. I didn't like the thought of Paul going with her.

'Paul's not going to hurt her.' Sam voice said pulling my attention to the massive black wolf in front of me.

'He's just going to bring you're stuff back to La Push.' Sam continued and I nodded.

'Follow us back. We're going to have to work on you phasing back.' Sam explained and walked back into the tree line. Jared followed silently and I gave one last look toward the Swan house seeing Anna walking in the back door before following too.

The run back to La Push was freeing, it was an adrenaline rush to watch the trees whiz by and when we got close enough to the road we were passing cars. Of course that was only after I figured out how to walk and then run with four legs instead of just two. As we ran Sam started telling me the Quileute legends. I'd heard bits and pieces of them from Jake and Quil growing up, but had never been allowed to hear them in full detail due to everyone thinking that mom and I were Makah and outsiders weren't allowed to know the histories. Sam was telling about Taha Aki's third wife when Paul showed up carrying a pair of shorts. I tilted my head to convey my confusion and he he laughed.

"Thought you'd like some clothes when you phased back. You could always go free in the breeze if you prefer. Your choice." Paul jested. Sam and Jared laughed, but their laughter sounded more like choking barks than anything else. I felt slightly embarrassed and was very glad that wolves couldn't blush. Paul chuckled as he walked over to the tree line, leaving the shorts laying against the tree before going behind it and coming back as the gray wolf that I had seen earlier.

'Now that you've calmed down, let's try getting you on two legs again.' Sam said and I nodded. I would much prefer to hear them talking to me instead of just hearing their voices in my head.

'Think about human things.' Jared coaxed.

'Picture arms, two legs, things that make you happy.' Jared suggested and I did. I tried picturing myself human, like every time I saw myself in the mirror, but it did little. So I tried things that made me happy, a reason to be human instead of the wolf. I remember my birthday when Anna and I had gone out to dinner and she had smiled so brightly while I was guessing funny places we may have been going. I cringed as I felt my bones crack and shift, but then I was on my hands and knees on the ground and naked as the day I was born. I blushed and ran to grab the pair of shorts that Paul had left by the tree. Paul, Jared and Sam quickly shifted and Sam motioned toward the house.

"We can finish this inside." Sam said and led me inside so they could finish telling me how my life was changed forever.