Make Waves

Embry pulled up in front of Freja's house the next week and hopped out of his truck, a bounce in his step. The rocking chair just needed to be varnished and then it would be finished. He was eager to give it to Freja and see her reaction. At the moment, he felt like it was probably the best thing he had ever made. A small bit of pride filled his chest everytime he looked at it.

This was then usually always followed by picturing Freja in it, her legs tucked up under her as she read.

But more than that, Embry was eager to tell Freja about his plan for the weekend. A nice little bungalow down the coast a bit that had a scenic view and was rather isolated. There they would have the privacy that they were both craving of late.

"Oscar? Astrid? Freja?" he called out as he walked in. He stopped for a moment to take his coat off and hang it up, hearing footsteps on the stairs.

He turned just in time to catch Freja as she jumped into his arms and kissed him.

"Someone's happy to see me," he replied with a smile as he set her back down on the ground.

Freja just grinned and then turned, leading him back up to her room.

"Had a good day. Sold a few more instruments than usual and Papa and I are nearly finished with the piano," she said brightly, glancing back at him. "You?"

"Pretty good as well," he replied. "Sold a few more of my pieces and, well, the chair is nearly finished."

They had reached her room by then and Freja stopped, turning to him as excitement lit up her eyes, blue starting to take prominence over the other colors, and a grin filled her face.

God, he couldn't get enough of that smile.

"Really?" she asked. He nodded.

"Should be ready by this weekend," he replied. He then glanced around, realizing for the first time that the rest of the house was rather quiet. "Where are your grandparents?"

A mischievous glint came into Freja's eyes as she wrapped her arms around his neck, the blue becoming brighter.

"Well… they stayed late at the shop to finish up some paperwork and plan to get dinner at the diner in town afterwards," she said casually. Embry's eyes widened slightly as he glanced around.

They were finally, completely, alone.

He gulped. While he knew he was ready for this - hell, he had even been making plans for them to go away for the weekend just so they could be alone - he hadn't expected it this soon. Though now that the idea was planted in his mind, he could already feel a buzzing begin to spread throughout his body, though he was silently urging himself to stay focused.

Damn hormones.

"So, I say we have at least three hours or so before we have to worry about them coming back," Freja continued, now playing with the hair at the back of his neck. A shiver ran down his spine.

"Is that so?" he asked, surprised at how calm his voice sounded. Freja nodded. "Did you plan this?" Freja just shrugged.

"I mean, I might have suggested that I could feed myself if they wanted to grab a bite in Forks after they finished the paperwork," she replied, her face the picture of innocence. "But staying late at the shop was a complete coincidence."

Embry found himself chuckling as he shook his head.

"And here I was hoping to whisk you away to this little place I found down the coast for the weekend," he replied.

"Oh, we can definitely still do that," she replied. "But I thought… why waste a perfectly good opportunity?"

With more strength than Embry thought she had, Freja spun him around and then pushed him onto her bed, quickly crawling up on him. As she looked down at him, Embry decided to forget about his plans - Quil was right. Just go with it.

Just as her lips met his, Embry's stomach let out a loud, large growl, startling the both of them. Freja pulled back, her eyes wide as she looked down at his abdomen and then back up at him. They stared at each other a few moments before both of them broke out into laughter.

"Sorry," Embry said. "Wolf metabolism… you know how it is…"

"I know. We have plenty of time. Perhaps we should eat something first," she said, already crawling off of him and holding out her hand to help him off the bed. She then started for the door.

Embry sighed and followed. He wasn't sure if he was grateful or frustrated by the interruption, but decided to go with grateful for the time being. He really did want to set the mood right for their first time and make it special. He wasn't sure a quickie while her grandparents were out was such a good plan. After yet another unsuccessful talk with Quil and Jacob on the topic, he had bit the bullet and called Leah to ask her advice. After she had laughed at him for a full minute, she actually had some good suggestions for him.

One of which was to focus on Freja and take things slow.

After they walked into the kitchen, he sat on a stool at the island and watched as Freja pulled out a load of leftovers from the fridge and set to reheating them. Now being a longtime guest at the house, her grandmother had adjusted her portions to accommodate Embry and his nearly bottomless stomach, and then again for post-transformation Freja who could eat nearly as much.

"So, tell me about this bungalow," Freja said, glancing over her shoulder at him, smiling.

"It's about an hour drive down the coast. It's not on the beach, but it isn't a far hike to the water," he said. "I asked around the packs for good places and Sam ended up suggesting it."

"Better Sam than some of the others," Freja replied with a chuckle. "I trust his taste a bit more than Seth's."

"That's probably a safe assessment," Embry admitted as he got up and got himself a bottle of water from the fridge and then leaned against the island, watching Freja. "But thought we could drive down after we get off work on Friday and then come back Sunday night."

"Almost two whole days together. Alone. I like the sounds of that," Freja said as she walked over and pecked him on the lips before returning to the food.

"You think your grandparents will be okay with it?" Embry asked, suddenly worrying they might be against the trip.

While they had lightened up tremendously with Freja - especially in regard to Embry - they had spent nearly her whole life being ultra protective. He wouldn't be surprised if they had a few things to say about him whisking her off to a secluded cabin for the weekend.

"Does it matter? I'm 21. There's really not a lot they can say or do anymore," she said, looking over at him with a smile. "But along those lines, I spoke with Amy and Natasha again and they are hellbent on the two of us going to visit them in the spring, though I think they might be planning to come up here for a bit during the winter break."

"Ah, so I finally get to meet the famous Amy and Natasha," Embry said.

"Yep. They are determined to suss you out and determine if you are worthy of their best friend," Freja said slightly dramatically.

"Should I be worried?" Embry asked.

"I wouldn't be. Amy will love you from the start… and then probably ask if you have any single friends. Natasha will put up a strong front, but then cave pretty quickly," Freja explained.

Embry pushed off the island and walked over, wrapping his arms around Freja from behind.

"Then I look forward to meeting them finally," he replied before kissing her cheek. "And honestly, after your grandparents, I really don't think anyone can intimidate me anymore." Freja chuckled.

"This is true. They've scared off many a weaker man," she joked. "But I was right. I told you once they came around, they'd love you."

She quickly finished up her task and then Embry helped her carry the food and plates over to the kitchen table before they sat down and started eating.

"So… when do I get to meet your mom?" Freja asked, causing Embry to choke slightly on his food. Her eyes widened.

"Sorry… just wasn't expecting that at this moment," Embry said, reaching for his bottle. She gave him an odd look.

"Not sure why. You've met my grandparents and all. We're imprints. Don't you think it's time I met her?" she asked. "I mean… she still wants to meet me, right?"

He nodded quickly as he took a drink, not wanting her to think that he was hiding her or ashamed of anything. Embry wasn't really sure why he hadn't introduced them yet, considering his mom asked after Freja everyday practically. Before the Change, it was just rather low on the priority list. And he supposed he just hadn't had time to really think about it since her return.

And if he were being truly honest with himself, there was a tiny bit of worry. Outside of the fact that his mother didn't know about the wolves and imprints, she was rather vocal when it came to her opinions on dating. Tiffany Call had been burned too many times in that department and always warned Embry against rushing into anything - especially while he was so young. He wasn't sure just how happy she would be if he said that he had fallen in love with Freja after only knowing her a few months.

But at the same time, he couldn't keep them apart forever. And he liked to think that his mother would like Freja. Or at least would come to like her.

"Maybe sometime next week you can come over for dinner on one of her days off," Embry suggested. "Though… we have to be careful about everything. Outside of not knowing anything about the wolves, she's a bit jaded when it comes to relationships… I'm not sure she'd understand if we walked in and declared our undying love to each other the first time you two meet."

Freja snorted and then laughed softly, her eyes dancing in mirth.

"Like I'd walk in and tell her that I'm madly in love with her son as I shake her hand the first time. Oh, and that I'm actually a mermaid," she quipped.

"Havsfru," Embry retorted with a smile.

"In all seriousness, I understand," Freja said. "I'm looking forward to meeting her. Especially after everything you've told me about her."

While he had no qualms about Freja understanding the situation, he certainly felt some relief at that.

Freja looked towards the windows to the beach, her expression calm, though Embry wondered if she was more nervous about meeting his mother than she was letting on. She was certainly taking it better than he had meeting her grandparents, for which he was slightly jealous. But then again, it's not like his meeting had been planned.

Suddenly, Freja's expression changed as her brow furrowed and she put her fork down. Ah, there it was.

"It'll be fine. She'll really like you," Embry said, reaching for her hand. Freja glanced at him, confusion in her eyes before looking back out the window.

"That's not what I was worrying about. There's someone out there," she said, starting to stand.

Embry stood as well, turning to the windows and clearly seeing a figure in the water, making its way to the beach. He then remembered Freja mentioning that the other hybrids wanted to come visit. What were their names again?

"Is that one of the other hybrids?" he asked, squinting slightly to try and make out who it was. Though he could now clearly see it was a man.

"Oh my god."

Embry whipped his head over to look at Freja, her eyes now wide as her mouth dropped open.

"What?"

"Holy shit, that's… that's Sven… the clan leader's son…"

OOOO

Freja dashed down the beach, a blanket that she grabbed from the back of the sofa in her hands. She came to a stop at the waterline, not particularly wanting to get wet herself. She couldn't believe her eyes.

Striding through the waves with a slight smile on his face was the clan leader's son.

Of all the people she expected to see coming to visit, he certainly was pretty low on the list, but she was happy to see him. While he could be a bit arrogant, she had found him friendly during her time with the clan.

Sven was tall and lean, the muscles rippling across his chest, though he wasn't nearly as imposing as Embry. He was tan with light brown hair that had a copper sheen to it and hung down to his shoulders, the same eyes as Freja and her grandparents swirling with shades of blue, green and gray. As he met her eyes, his smile grew and he quickened his pace, easily slicing through the water and not caring at all that he was completely naked.

"It is so good to see you again, Flicka," he said as he reached her, throwing his arms around her.

Freja tensed slightly, realizing she had forgotten to explain to Embry that Havsfru by nature were very physically affectionate. Though she assumed he had known considering how much time he had spent with her grandparents while she was gone.

"You as well, though, well, I'm a bit surprised," she said, pushing him back slightly and holding out the blanket to him. He looked at it in confusion and back up at her. "You must be cold… and well… not really cool to walk around naked outside here…"

"Ah, my apologies," he said with a grin as he took the blanket and wrapped it around his waist in a sort of sarong that would have likely had Amy and Natasha drooling.

"What are you doing here?" Freja asked.

"Well, I couldn't stop thinking about all the stories you told of the land and I got curious. So I told my father that I wished to see it for myself, as well as visit you. He sends his regards," Sven answered smoothly. "You made quite the impression on him."

Freja blushed slightly as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She then felt Embry's warmth just behind her and jumped, glancing back at him. Christ, she had forgotten for a moment that he was there.

"Oh, right… Sven, this is my boyfriend Embry. I mentioned him. And Embry this is Sven," Freja said, stepping back to Embry's side as she introduced them.

She looked over, immediately seeing that Embry's entire body was tense as he stared down at Sven, his face neutral, though she could clearly see his hands clenched into fists at his side. He had always been warm, friendly and at times shy, so this slightly aggressive reception to Sven seemed to come completely out of the blue.

"Embry," she hissed, a bit upset. Embry glanced over at her, seeing her frown and then looked back at Sven, a tight smile on his face.

"Sorry, nice to meet you," he said, holding his hand out.

Sven looked down at it and then back up at Embry, a bright smile on his face as he held his own out, though several inches apart from Embry's.

"You as well," he said.

Embry glanced at Freja, his eyebrows rising slightly in question. She just shrugged and looked back at the leader's son. Seemed there was a lot she was going to have to teach him before she let him out in public.

"Um, let's get inside. We should have some clothes for you… and I should call my grandparents," she said, already turning back to the house. She looked over at Embry, offering him an apologetic smile.

This was definitely not how she had hoped tonight would go.

Embry started to reach for her hand when Sven pushed between the two, falling in step as he looked down at Freja. She most definitely did not miss the look of anger that flashed over Embry's face at that.

"Is this your dwelling?" Sven asked, his eyes fixed on the large house as a look of fascination came over his face. "It is rather interesting."

"Well, everyone who lives on land lives in something like this," she explained. "Well… sort of."

Sven rushed ahead of them, easily climbing the stairs and looking around the deck in fascination.

"Walks well for someone who's never been on land," Embry muttered.

"Told you - not like The Little Mermaid. And they often live in underwater caves that have some air pockets, so they know how to walk," Freja huffed. "Look, let's just get him settled and… figure out how long he's planning on staying."

"Whatever," Embry muttered, for some reason instantly not liking the Havsfru man.

Freja just shook her head and hoped her grandparents diffused some of the tension.

OOOO

Her grandparents, as it turned out, were just as suspicious as Embry. They rushed home as soon as Freja called, not quite believing her and then both froze in surprise upon walking into the house and finding Sven sitting on the couch, inspecting the remote control closely.

Freja smiled weakly and shrugged as they walked in and immediately bowed their heads to him. She could hear Embry's soft snort of disapproval from the corner he had relegated himself to. Freja shot him a dark look, silently warning himself to behave. This was the leader's son. If they showed him any disrespect, it could have serious consequences.

"We are… humbled by your presence," Astrid said, taking a seat in one of the armchairs as she glanced nervously over at Freja.

"I must admit, I find this place strange, but so very interesting. I can see why you would wish to stay," Sven replied happily, looking over at Freja. It was obvious he was talking to her as it was a well known fact her grandparents were banished here. He then looked back to her grandparents. "I thank you for your hospitality."

Astrid just blinked a few times and then looked up at Oscar who was standing at her side, his hand on her shoulder.

"Yes, of course," Oscar said, though he too looked a bit confused. "How long do you wish to stay?"

"I wish to understand all there is to know about this place," Sven announced happily.

Freja didn't miss the look that passed between her grandparents. Crap, just how long would that take? Granted, she had a feeling that after a few days, the novelty would wear off and Sven would be heading back home.

"Oh, and I am here to relay a message to Freja," Sven then added. They all looked at her, causing her to gulp slightly. "My father wishes for you to know that you are not banished. You are free to come and go among our clan as much as you like."

"Thanks," Freja said. "I mean, thank you." Sven just smiled and then looked down at the jeans and sweater he was in. "How do you stand these? They are very constraining." He pulled at the sweater a bit.

"It is custom here, to be clothed at all times," Oscar said. "Well… when around others, at least."

Sven just shrugged and stood, slowly making his way around the living room, closely inspecting everything. He came to a stop in front of a photograph of Freja's mother.

"My father was right. You look very much like her," he said, looking over at Freja. She didn't miss the tense look that came over her grandmother's face. Sven then turned and looked around the living room, nodding. "Yes, I suppose this will suffice."

"Just where else were you planning on staying?" Embry asked. Freja turned to glare at him. She then turned back to Sven, seeing the look of confusion on his face.

"Just… a moment, please," she said, smiling nervously at him before she turned and grabbed Embry's arm, dragging him into the kitchen. "Could you at least try?"

"Why? He's the one who showed up out of the blue!" he whispered furiously.

"He's the clan leader's son! We piss him off and he takes it back to his dad and, and… there's no telling what'll happen," Freja whispered back just as furiously.

"So? Your grandparents are already banished. You want to stay here. What's it matter if you get banished too?" he asked. Freja huffed and crossed her arms in front of her.

"I just got a handle of this side of my life and there is so much more for me to learn. But if I'm banished here, I very well can't go out there and get my answers, can I?" she asked, pointing outside.

They were both silent as what she said sunk in. Finally Embry sighed and nodded.

"Fine. But I don't trust him," he said. Freja just rolled her eyes.

"What is he doing here?" her grandmother whispered furiously as she walked into the kitchen.

"He just wants to learn about the land," Freja said, soundly slightly exasperated.

"No, I do not trust him. He is just like his father and he is after something. You watch him carefully, Freja," Astrid said, her eyes lit up in anger.

Freja groaned and looked at Embry, who just gave her a look that clearly said, "See?"

"Both of you, relax. Surely he's only here for a few days. We'll just… bear with it and then life can go on as normal," she said.

"Guess that's a no on our weekend trip," Embry muttered.

Freja shot him a look that must have been a fair bit sharp, because he immediately looked to the ground, a bit apologetic.

"My God, I cannot take this," Astrid muttered as she turned and walked back into the living room.

Freja turned back to Embry and stepped closer, wrapping her arms around his neck. He finally looked up, meeting her eyes.

"Look, he won't be here for long. I know that it's in your tendencies to be protective, but I can handle this," she said firmly. Embry nodded. "And you are my boyfriend. My imprint. So there is absolutely nothing for you to worry about, okay?"

Embry finally cracked a smile and nodded again.

"I know. Just… something about him sets me on edge," he admitted. "But you're right. You can handle yourself. I'm just being… an idiot." Freja chuckled.

"Not an idiot. Not yet, anyway," she said, returning the smile. "And I am sorry about this weekend… I really wanted to go away with you."

"Well, I hadn't booked anything yet, so it's okay," Embry said with a sigh. "We can go another time."

Freja went up on her toes and pecked him on the lips.

"Now, let's go make nice. Who knows? You might actually like Sven," she said. Embry snorted, which earned him a warning glare from Freja.

"Sorry, you're right. I'll try," he said. Freja smiled and turned away, leading him back to the living room.

"Good."

OOOO

Sorry! Sorry! I've been caught up with work and another Lord of the Ring fic that I've started, so haven't worked much on this. But I'm only about 6 chapters away from finishing the writing AND I have next week off, so I will get this done soon. And just to show how sorry I am for neglecting this story, I'm going to put up two chapters tonight.

And hopefully I'll have the Haldir fic finished enough by then I can start posting. Been putting up chapters at AO3 just because I can't help it, but I plan to have it at least half written and some more in-depth editing done before I post it here and in other places.

But yea, I mentioned there would be more drama. Here it comes!

.2020 - Thanks!

CrackHeadBlonde - Thanks so much! Honestly I'm not sure how I connected siren/mermaid lore to Twilight, but I'm pretty happy how this is turning out. ^_^

Thanks everyone for reading and following!