The Forest

Mara squatted down, staring at the spot in the middle of the clearing where the first body was found. The same heavy feeling covered the clearing as the putrid smell of death filled her nose. It had been another murder. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of Mara's stomach as her thoughts turned to everything she had learned about the victim.

Nick White had been an avid hiker. He knew the woods and forests around Forks well, and it wasn't unusual for him to go off by himself camping. That was why it had taken a few days to find him. His parents didn't report him missing until he didn't show up for work Monday morning, thinking he was out on a camping trip all weekend. The coroner thought he had died sometime on Saturday night, though they didn't find him until the following Tuesday.

All the facts of his life ran through Mara's head as she leaned over and touched the ground. He had graduated from Forks High School six years ago and then got a degree in geology. He returned to Forks afterwards to help with his family's camping supply store. He loved the outdoors and nature as did his fiancé. They were supposed to get married later that year and had already built a quaint little cabin just outside town.

He had been a good and kind person. Well loved. And then his life had been cut tragically short that night in the woods. Mara felt tears prick in her eyes, though she quickly blinked them away. It wouldn't do if she got too emotionally attached. She remembered that much from her father. He always told her that as a reporter, she needed to learn how to put her emotions aside.

She then stretched out, lying on the ground looking up. All sorts of things flew through her mind. Did he know that he was about to die? What did he think about in his final moments? Was the pain too strong for him to think of anything else or did he worry about the family and friends he would be leaving behind?

Mara's thoughts then turned to her own past. Did her dad think about her in his final moments? Sighing, she couldn't help the flow of thoughts, wondering how her life would have been different if they hadn't lost him that night 10 years ago.

A rustling in the trees pulled her out of her memories as she quickly sat up looked around, her brow furrowed. Perhaps she shouldn't have come out here alone. She scrambled to her feet as the feeling of being watched washed over her. Her heart rate sped up. She should have told someone that she was coming out here.

People were dying in these woods, after all.

There was more rustling as Mara felt the hair on her body start standing on end and a chill ran down her spine.

"Get a fucking grip," Mara muttered to herself. "It's probably just some animals."

Scanning her surroundings, she started moving back towards the trail wishing she hadn't left her pepper spray in the car. Whatever was coming, she wasn't sure she wanted to stick around to see what it was.

Just as she was about to step out of the clearing, movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention. She spun around, noticing a young man around her age moving out of the trees. She froze, hoping this wasn't the psycho killer.

"Hey," he called out, waving at her. She quickly assessed him, noticing that he was extremely tall and built, though there was a friendly smile on his face. At first glance, he didn't look threatening in his shorts and t-shirt. Granted Ted Bundy hadn't looked threatening either. And who wore shorts and t-shirts in the fall in Washington?

"Hey, yourself," Mara called back, still keeping her distance as another man stepped out from the trees next to him. The newcomer seemed more concerned with looking back into the forest than at Mara.

Okay, one she could potentially outrun. But two? She hoped to god that these guys were just locals out making sure there were no hikers in the area.

"You know it's not such a good idea to be out here by yourself," the first said as there was more rustling from the trees behind the two men.

"I wasn't planning to stay long," she replied, shaking her head slightly as a buzzing started up. She glanced around, wondering if there was a beehive somewhere nearby.

"You okay?" the first man asked, taking a step towards her.

"Yea, fine," she said. "Mind telling me who you are."

"Ladies first," he said, smirking.

"Mara Winslow. The Seattle Times," she said. "I'm covering the recent attacks." The man's eyebrows shot up in recognition. Word must have spread fast.

"Paul Lahote," he said. "From La Push."

"That's the reservation, right?" Mara asked, wincing slightly as the buzzing increased and there was more rustling. Before Paul could answer, a third man stepped out into the clearing, his eyes locking on Mara. She turned her head slightly to look at him and then froze as the buzzing increased and it seemed the world around her faded away as she met his eyes.

For a few moments, it was just the two of them as the buzzing suddenly dropped to a low hum. Mara's heart began pounding as she got lost in the dark brown depths of his eyes. She took one step towards him. He wasn't as tall as Paul, but taller than the second man. While he had similar cropped hair and was just as muscular as the other two, there was something about him that was softer. Gentler.

A zing ran throughout Mara's body and she felt a small, tenuous thread shoot out from her body and connect to the man. It wasn't an entirely bad sensation. But it was still strange.

"Eh… You sure you're okay?" Paul asked. Mara suddenly snapped out of it, her eyes sliding back over to him. He studied her curiously before he looked over at the third man, who was still staring at the reporter, a dazed look on his face. Paul then slowly smiled as he looked back over to Mara.

"Yea, sorry. Not sure what happened there," she said, reaching up to rub her temples as she looked down at the ground. What was going on?

"Again, you really shouldn't be out here alone. We still haven't tracked down the animal that's attacking hikers," Paul said. "We can walk you back to your car."

"It's fine. I'm not that far away," she said quickly. "No need for the bodyguards. Besides, I was out at one of the other sites yesterday and nothing happened." She walked over to where she had dropped her bag on the ground and pulled it up onto her shoulder, missing the look that passed between all three men. She then turned and looked over at them. "Guess I'll get out of here." She started to turn away but stopped.

"Would it be possible for me to speak with you guys and maybe some of the others from La Push?" she asked. The second man frowned.

"Why? None of the hikers were from the reservation," he asked.

"Just want to get some reactions from the local community. See how everyone is taking the attacks," she said.

"Sure. You got some paper and a pen?" Paul asked, earning a glare from the second man. The third still had yet to say anything. Mara glanced at him as she dug around in her bag, fishing out her notebook and a pen before crossing the clearing and holding it out to Paul.

Paul took it and scribbled something down.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" he asked, glancing up at Mara.

"Nothing set in stone," she replied, still feeling the urge to look over at the other guy. Paul smiled, almost as though he could sense her internal struggle.

"Come to this address around noon. Should be some folks there who will talk to you," he said. "That's my number in case you get lost or something comes up." He held the notebook out to her. Mara took and glanced at it.

"Paul Lahote?" she asked, glancing up at him as she wrote his name down.

"Yep. And this is Quil Ateara and Embry Call," he said, pointing to his companions.

"Nice to meet you," Mara said looking over at them, before writing their names down as well. She then slid the notebook back in her bag and pulled out a card. "Here's my contact info. In case something comes up on your end."

Paul took it and glanced over it before sliding it into his pocket.

"See you tomorrow, Mara. Should probably get back to town now," he said. Mara nodded and turned, quickly making her way across the clearing. She glanced back at the guys again, blushing as she met Embry's eyes, then turned her attention back to the trail.

Sighing, she shook her head, putting the odd encounter out of her mind as she disappeared into the trees, heading for the trailhead and her car.

Mara dropped her bag in a chair as soon as she arrived back at her motel room, sighing as she looked around. She knew that she needed to get to work on her article, but the meeting in the woods refused to leave the forefront of her mind. She had been jittery ever since she left the forest.

And she couldn't stop thinking about Embry Call.

"This is crazy," Mara muttered to herself, turning to the table where she kept a bottle of wine. She found it helped on those late nights she stayed up researching or writing so always had some on hand – or the more cliché bottle of whisky. She pulled out the cork and poured some of it in one of the glasses before sitting down at the table and staring at it, her brow furrowed.

Yea, it was probably too early to start drinking, but she needed something to calm her down so she could process what had just happened.

She thought she had a good grasp of weird. She could sense lingering murder, after all. But this was something entirely different. She quickly tried to mentally list every sort of rational explanation she could think of. She hadn't gotten much sleep lately. Maybe she had just overexerted herself and that's why she was lightheaded and heard buzzing in her ears.

It still didn't explain why she had felt some sort of strange connection to Embry.

A sudden vibration from her pocket had her shooting straight up as she reached inside her jacket pocket and pulled out her phone. The caller ID read Richard. Sighing, she answered, placing the phone to her ear.

"Hey, Richard," she said, infusing calm into her voice.

"You got something for me?" he asked.

"Interviewed one of the families. And made it out to another site. Going to the reservation for interviews tomorrow," she said.

"How are things with the pattern angle?" he asked. Mara glanced over at the pile of papers on the floor.

"Still working my way through the old articles, but I still think something's there. And I can probably ask about it in all my future interviews. Get some more information," she said.

"Good. Keep digging. In the meantime, write up a short update for tomorrow and start on a profile of the victim," he said. "Was there anything interesting in the coroner reports?"

"Well, they didn't give me as much as I had hoped," she said with a sigh. "They're pretty basic and don't really going into detail."

"Not uncommon for some things to be redacted," Richard said.

"I know, but these are weirdly basic," she said. "They read almost exactly the same in terms of wound locations and the body diagrams look like they had wounds added to them later."

"Well, this still could very much be your run-of-the mill animal attack. Send me photos of the reports and I'll check it out. But I agree it seems weird that there are a large amount of similar attacks happening in the same area. Keep digging and let me know if you need any help," he said.

"Thought you said I needed to figure this out on my own," Mara asked.

"You needed to learn how to work around problems on your own. Since you did that, I'm now free to step in and help if you need or want it," he said. "Though I doubt you'll need it. If you're anything like your father, you get everything on your own."

Mara looked down at the glass of wine in her hand.

"Yea, but there was no one like my father," she said. "And you know how I feel about that."

"Yea, yea. Make your own way and all that shit. Get back to work and send me that follow-up article," he said.

"Got it, boss," she said. "Talk to you tomorrow."

"Take care, Mara. Be safe," Richard said.

The line went dead as Mara walked over and plugged it into her charger on the nightstand. She then walked back over and pulled out her notebook and opened her laptop, getting things set up. Just as she sat down at the table and waited on the laptop to fire up, her thoughts once again turned to the forest.

Once again, Embry filled her mind. He hadn't said a word during the entire exchange, but there was something about his eyes that seemed familiar. There was something about being near him that made her feel as though she was at home.

She wondered what it would feel like to have his arms around her as her eyes drifted closed, her head tilting to the right. She wondered many things - what his smile looked like, how his voice sounded, his laugh. A soft smile played across her face.

The loud start-up tune played, jarring Mara out of her daydream. Even though she was alone, she felt a blush come across her cheeks as she reached for her mouse and started going through her files.

Christ, this was embarrassing. She hadn't even spoken to this guy and she was already having daydreams about him.

"You're being ridiculous," Mara muttered to herself. "You don't have the time. You are here to work and only work. Stop your damn daydreaming."

Embry was lost in his thoughts as they made their way back to the reservation. Mostly because he was trying to wrap his head around what had just happened.

He knew something was coming before they even reached the clearing. The scent of lavender had hit him and before he knew what he was doing, he was barreling towards it, leaving the two others behind. He slid to a stop when the tingling started, barely remembering that he was still in his wolf form.

He didn't notice Quil and Paul come up, both phasing out and quickly dressing.

Quil had asked him something, but it didn't register as he stared ahead through the trees. Paul had gone ahead to check it out. Embry had finally come to his senses, phasing out and getting dressed quickly as he heard Paul talking to someone. As soon as he heard her voice, it was as though something else took over and he walked out into the clearing.

The second he laid eyes on her, it was exactly as how the others said.

She had turned to look at him, her warm brown eyes wide in surprise – as though she could feel something too. Everything around them shifted out of sight as images flinted in front of his eyes. The two of them together in Seattle. Going for walks. Wrapping his arms around her. In that instant, nothing mattered anymore - worrying about the killer vampire, school, his mother, leaving the reservation. All that mattered was the woman standing in the middle of the clearing.

"Yo, earth to Embry," Paul shouted. Embry shook his head and looked over at the two.

"What?" he asked, blinking slightly.

"I just asked if you wanted to share what happened back there," Paul replied, grinning. It was obvious he knew what had happened. Embry felt his cheeks heat up.

"Think it's pretty obvious," Quil said. "Was it the same scent from yesterday?"

"What happened yesterday?" Paul asked.

"He said he smelled lavender and felt some sort of tingling when we were out checking one of the other sites," Quil explained. "I couldn't smell or feel a thing."

"It was her," Embry confirmed. "Same smell. Same feeling. It was… God. Any of you heard of someone imprinting on a complete stranger before?"

Paul and Quil were silent. They hadn't, though they suppose that didn't necessarily mean it wasn't possible. The fact that it had just happened pretty much proved it.

"She's not from around here…" Embry said.

"Well… that's not so bad," Quil said.

"She's got absolutely no clue about anything," Embry said. "The others, they at least knew about the legends and such. So, it wasn't a complete shock."

"You don't know that. She's a reporter. She could have looked into the tribe legends for background information on the area," Paul said.

Embry sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. He was part elated that he had finally imprinted. But at the same time, he was starting to realize just how complicated this was going to be.

"You sure it was such a good idea to invite her to Sam and Emily's house tomorrow?" Quil asked. "Without checking with them first?"

"She's going to have to figure out everything eventually," Paul countered.

"Yea, but not all at once," Quil said. "And don't you think you should have asked Embry what he wanted to do?" They both looked over at Embry.

"I honestly don't know what to do in this situation," he admitted.

"In what situation?"

They all looked ahead, seeing Jacob walking towards them. "Why are you back so early?"

"Well… we had a bit of a… situation," Paul started. Jacob frowned.

"Like I said, what situation?" he asked, looking at the three of them.

"Okay, so good news, Embry imprinted. Bad news - it was on the reporter," Paul said lightly. Jacob gaped at him a moment before looking at Embry. He raised his hands in front of him.

"Dude, you know we can't control it. And Paul invited her to Sam and Emily's tomorrow," he said quickly, hoping to throw some of the heat off himself.

"You did what?" Jacob shouted, looking over at Paul.

"She's going to have to find out eventually," Paul said.

"How did you even run into the reporter?" Jacob asked.

"Her name is Mara," Embry said. Jacob whipped his head to look at him, though his scowl softened when he saw the look on his face. His fists were clenched as he glared at his pack leader, his protective instincts starting to take over.

"Calm down," he said. "Okay… so start from the beginning."

"We were going out to check the site, like you asked. And then I smelled lavender - like yesterday. And the weird feeling came back. And then… there she was in the clearing and… it happened," Embry said.

"What was she even doing out there? And alone?" Jacob asked.

"Probably for the story," Paul said. "And you have to admit, she's got guts if she went out there alone." Jacob sighed and motioned for them to follow him.

"We need to discuss this with Sam. Since she's coming tomorrow, we should… figure out a plan for how to deal with… this," he said, motioning wildly with his hands.

Embry took a deep breath and slowly let it out as he fell in step behind Jacob. His mind was whirling. Just that morning, the only things on his mind were school, his mother, and the recent attacks. And then within an instant, it had all changed.

Barking laughter threw him out of his thoughts as he looked over at Paul and Quil.

"What?" he asked, looking over to Jacob for some sort of answer. His pack leader was just smiling and shaking his head.

"You haven't lost that goofy look off your face since you imprinted," Paul said.

"Can you blame him? He's only been waiting for this moment for years," Quil said. The two laughed as Embry rubbed the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly. Jacob studied him a bit before stopping.

"You guys go ahead," he said, looking at Paul and Quil. The two shot another grin at Embry before loping off towards Sam's house. "Might as well get it out now. Everyone's going to know the next time we phase."

Embry took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"I always thought that it would be someone…"

"From around here?" Jacob asked. Embry nodded.

"Who I had at least heard of before… Or maybe she had heard of me… She knows nothing about me. Hell, I know nothing about her other than she's a reporter," Embry said. "What if she freaks out and runs? Or thinks I'm delusional?"

"First of all, take a deep breath and calm down," Jacob said. "Next, just because you imprinted doesn't mean you have to tell her everything tomorrow. In fact, I would advise against that. It's a lot to take in at once." Embry nodded. "And well… don't you think this is a sign? You're planning to go to Seattle in the spring anyway. She's from Seattle…"

"Suppose it makes sense when you think of it that way," he admitted.

"Stop worrying so much. She's your imprint," Jacob said. Embry nodded slowly. "For now, just take it a day at a time. Start with something simple - getting to know her."

"Yea. You're right," he said. Jacob smiled.

"Come on, you finally imprinted. You should be happy," he said. Embry couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips.

"I did," he said, as a rush of happiness flooded through him.

"Told you it would happen," Jacob said, turning and starting to walk away. Embry caught up to him, suddenly not so worried. Jacob was right. They didn't have to figure everything out right away. For now, he would just focus on getting to know Mara.

Another day, another chapter! And finally, Embry imprints. But things are about to get tricky…

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