my body is a cage

that keeps me from dancing with the one I love

but my mind holds the key

As Sam expected, Alina was particularly good at giving the silent treatment. He wasn't surprised that she was angry at the information of being an imprint, but he was left confused as to why she was angry at him. Emily appeared to be fairing much better than him or Embry, but then again Emily slept next to her every night for past week to soothe her nightmares.

Apart from recounting every little detail she could remember from her dreams, in the hopes that it would be partial memories of what had happened to her, she kept to herself in her room. Alina had an exceptionally good skill at pretending someone didn't exist to her, and to Embry's chagrin she excelled at doing this with him.

Embry was everywhere, to her annoyance, and when not on patrol he loitered around the house and looked at Alina sadly every time she passed him in silence. He wasn't letting up, undeterred by her resilience to his attempts at giving her attention. She hadn't even spared him a glare. No way was she going to let a dumb magical bind tie her to a person she didn't know, even if she found him hot. Alina was particularly weak for tall guys, and Embry went beyond the standard height of eighteen year old guys.

She only vaguely wondered how he made time for school around his patrols and obsessive stalking of her. Brushing the thoughts of aside, reluctant to admit to herself that she thought about him more than she needed to, Alina pulled herself back into the present.

'Who's bike is that outside?'

Alina's voice broke the silence within the kitchen that morning, and Sam looked up from the table startled that she was directing the question half to him. Emily stood at the kitchen island brewing coffee, but didn't look up as she confirmed it was hers.

'It's a little rusty, though. I haven't used it since the summer.'

'Can I borrow it?'

'Where do you plan on going with it?' Sam interjected.

'To the beach.'

'The beach?' Sam said skeptically, and Alina narrowed her eyes in response.

'Yes, the beach. I've been in this house for a week, I need a change of scenery.'

Sam opened his mouth, on the verge of suggesting she go with someone but she cut him off.

'On my own.'

'I don't see why not,' Emily chirped, and Sam sent a look in slight annoyance over the fact she was giving in so easily. 'Just make sure you're back before it gets dark, and dinner.'

Alina nodded, her eyes softening at the smile Emily directed at her, before swiftly turning around and heading out the backdoor to grab the bike. Sam stared at Emily for several moments before she looked up, and held back a smile at the way she adorably rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically towards him.

'She's a teenager, give her some space.'

Turns out biking to the beach was easier than Alina planned, she remembered Emily driving past to and back from Port Angeles, and so it was a straight forward cycle. The sky was particularly grey that day, but there were still some people loitering around the parking lot that overlooked First Beach. Some had even waded into the water, and she supposed that surfers may have liked the waves being that high, though she wasn't an expert.

She parked the bike over by the benches, resting it on its sides as she looked around. Tucking some stray strands of hair behind her ears, she headed over to a group of teens by a pick up truck. Surfboards were piled into the bed of the truck, and they appeared to be packing up. Two boys stood by the drivers side, smoking as they waited for the rest of their group to finish up.

She straightened her shoulders, reverting back to her hard edges that had gotten her by when living on the streets of Seattle.

'Hey, can I bum a cig?' Her tone indicated that she wasn't asking, and the two teen boys looked up at her in mild surprise.

They were white, so Alina knew they weren't from the reservation. A blonde one blinked a few times, pulling the cigarette from his mouth before smirking.

'What do I get in return?'

She stared blankly at him, and continued to do so for several moments until it made him uncomfortable. Alina had a particular stare that could make even Sam squirm, it was one she had perfected out of necessity.

The guy cleared his throat, realising she wasn't going to respond. 'S-sure.'

He pulled out a green packet of Newport Lights from his pocket, opening and holding it out in her direction. She took one, followed by the lighter he handed out. Muttering a low thanks as she lit it, the three descended into silence as she inhaled the smoke, passing the lighter back to them.

'So,' the second drawled out and disturbing the silence, 'you from around here?'

Alina released a breath of smoke, 'No.'

She turned away from the duo, not looking back in their direction. Climbing the bench, sitting at the top and facing the beach as she heard the group pull away.

Second beach was pretty nice, Alina thought, in that quaint and peaceful way that you could only get in sleepy towns hundreds of miles away from busy cities. She hoped that it was even nicer during the summer, though these parts of Washington had never been down for their scorching summers. Resting her forearms on her thighs she inhaled the cigarette smoke deeply, feeling the tightness that had been in her chest for weeks dissolve. Her anxiety had been through the roof since waking up in La Push, and the constant dump of supernatural information she had been fed wasn't helping.

Alina couldn't remember when was the last time she had smoked, and suddenly it reminded her of why she loved it so much. The cigarette felt like a familiar appendage to her, and her body visibly relaxed and she watched the ocean waves overlap, the sounds of the wind, birds and the shore providing a serenity that she hadn't been able to acquire in weeks.

'Smoking is really bad for you.'

The momentary elation Alina felt at the sound of his voice struck her quickly. It was stamped out by annoyance and rage soon enough, and Alina tried not to linger on the fact that heat flooded her cheeks in that small moment where her judgement had lapsed. Of course, he barely felt the icy breeze that nipped at her skin, and she had come to learn that the occupants of La Push just accepted the pack's strange lack of clothing, without understanding the supernatural element. She supposed it was normal for close knit communities to be so trusting.

'Really?!' Alina spat, turning her head to watch Embry walking towards her, shirtless and barefoot. 'You followed me here?! That's creepy. You know that's creepy, right?'

Alina was forced to slide along the bench as Embry came to a stop, and sat beside her. She noted this was the first time they had been alone together, something she had actively avoided in the Uley household, and was easy to do considering how many wolfboy's came and went from their home. Here, she was left bare under his gaze, and it unsettled her. Even from this distance, his body heat radiated off his own russet skin, and she was almost tempted to inch closer to it.

'I didn't mean to follow you,' he mumbled, 'I just knew it was your first time out here on your own and wanted to make sure you didn't get lost.'

Finishing off her cigarette, she curled in on herself. 'I could totally report you for being into a minor.'

Embry's eyes flew to hers in surprise, and Alina held back a smirk as she watched him stammer through a response.

'I- we're both in high-school?! you're a junior, right? I've- I've only just turned eighteen and besides it doesn't have to mean anything like that! I'm whatever you need me to be-'

'Relax,' she drawled out. 'I'm just fucking with you.'

Embry looked at her for several moments, and slowly a smile crept onto his lips. It lit up his features, accentuating his high cheekbones and dark brown eyes. Involuntarily Alina's heart sped up, and she knew he was being kind enough to not acknowledge hearing it, which just annoyed her even more. They didn't know each other, and he didn't even know her birthday, but looked at her like the sun shone out of her ass. It bothered her.

To Embry, she was the most beautiful person he'd ever come across. There was something so effortless about the way she held herself, a fearlessness that had been built overtime to brazenly be who she was. He gravitated towards her in a way that a child would gravitate to a puppy, the pack would ridicule him for such thoughts, but he found he no longer cared. The thrift store college sweater she wore almost swallowed her, but he found it adorable. It emphasised just how small she was, but it didn't deter her audacity to be confrontational in the slightest.

He had seen in Sam's mind how frustrating it was, how someone with such an abrasive nature couldn't even be tamed by an alpha order grated at him.

Her long black had been pulled into a bun at the base of her neck, and she was no longer to hide her face behind it as only a few strands lingered by her cheeks. Embry took in the roundness of her cheeks, and the small but full cupids bow lips as she force them to remain in a grim line. There was something comedic about a girl who looked so small, and so fragile, being absolutely terrifying. He supposed that was her aim.

'Stop staring, it's weird.' He didn't comment on the fact he could see her cheeks warming, or the acceleration of her hear rate.

Instead, he looked away to stare out to the waves, only allowing himself to smile for a moment before they descended into silence. He could feel her visibly relax then, and the heavy sensation that had been building in his chest for the week lessened due to his proximity to her. Embry was aware of how much stronger it would be for him, compared to her, but he still sensed how her body only slightly angled towards him. How her heart rate slowed down, and her shoulders rested lazily, hunching her back slightly now that he was there.

They remained in a comfortable silence for a while, and he was startled to hear her voice when she genuinely asked him a question.

'Aren't you, like, annoyed at this? That something has just made you bound to me?'

Alina was making conversation with him, and Embry had to reign himself in so that he didn't scare her with his answer. She had been through a lot, and if he responded with something intense he knew she'd return to avoiding him. Regardless of how small this step was, it was still a step.

'No.' He said quietly, and he manoeuvred his position so that he could look directly at her. 'I guess it depends on how you look at it, and I've seen it work differently in people. Like with Quil and Claire-'

'That's fucking gross, by the way.'

Embry let out a short bark of laughter, and he didn't miss the amusement in her eyes as he did so. Alina decided that she liked the sound of his laugh.

'I can't speak for you, or anyone else. It just- it felt like a small nudge in the right direction for me.'

Alina pondered on his answer for a moment, thinking about whether 'a nudge' would have been how she explained it for herself. She appreciated him not assuming that she felt the same, as well as taking the time to explain it in simplified terms. Like Emily had a week ago.

'You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. I just think it would be nice if we were friends.'

He muttered it quietly, and though Alina would never admit it the softness in his voice and eyes plagued her with guilt over how she had treated him. She had never doubted that he was a nice person, but she had been so angry at the idea of being literally magically connected to someone, because it didn't guarantee security. Aline had learned to be self-reliant, and find a soulmate had never even been in a ten year plan for her. She just wanted to make it through the each night.

'It's getting dark,' he cut through the silence, 'we should head back. I'll walk you.'

Embry's hand was extended out as he now stood directly in front of her, and against her better instincts, she took his scorching hand as she jumped off the bench.

I REALLY loved writing this scene with Alina and Embry, I find his such a lovely and endearing character. I'm excited to get stuck in with building their relationship, and also I have some scenes with Paul planned coming up. Thanks so much for following and favouriting guys, it's really nice to see the response it's getting. Until next time!