To Know the Truth

"Shit," Embry said once everyone had gathered around the cars and he began pacing. "How could you let him get away?!" He glared at Jacob. "I've got to get to Mara." He turned and started to move away from the group.

"Hold on, we need to come up with a plan!" Jacob shouted, reaching out to grab Embry's arm, while holding his other close to his body. He grimaced in pain.

The vampire had managed to overpower him and run off. Most of the pack including Embry had given chase, but the vampire slipped away yet again.

"She's not safe! He could go after her!" Embry yelled. "I should have told her… I need to tell her everything…"

"Just hold on, Embry. If you go banging on her door right now and tell her everything, her head is going to explode. You saw how freaked out she was!" Jacob said.

"But what if she runs? Or tells her editor?" Embry said. "What if the vampire is there right now?"

"He went in the opposite direction of Forks. He knows we're out here. He won't go after her tonight," Sam said rationally. "Think about it, Embry." He stared at Sam a moment before nodding.

He knew that he was right. The vampire likely wouldn't come back tonight. And if he told Mara about the wolves tonight, it could break her. She was already in a fragile state. But he knew that he needed to tell her everything. Before she left Forks. Everything that had happened that night made it all the more apparent. That is if he could convince her to speak to him again.

The look on her face when she overheard him and Sam was burned in his mind. He could see the betrayal and hurt there. His chest tightened as he worried that he had just lost her forever.

"You haven't lost her yet," Jacob said. "She's strong. Once she's calmed down and you tell her about us, she'll get it." Embry looked over at him.

"I'm going to watch out for her. Make sure she's safe," he said. Jacob nodded.

"I'll see if Rosalie or Emmett can go with you. You'll need to sleep at some point and they don't need to," he said. "They'll be able to help."

"Fine," Embry said. He then started jogging off, easily phasing before running off through the forest.

The only thing on his mind was keeping Mara safe.

Mara leaned against the sink in the bathroom, staring into the mirror a few moments before splashing water on her face.

She had spent the night cowered in the corner of her room, gripping her can of pepper spray and her cellphone in her hands. She wasn't sure if pepper spray would work against giant wolves, but it was the only weapon she had. In her panic, she couldn't settle on what to do, only focused on making it through the night. She had dozed off at one point but was shocked back into wakefulness when a car backfired in the parking lot.

Now with the sun starting to peek through the blinds, she felt a bit calmer. She turned and started the shower, then climbed in after pulling her clothes off, going over her options. She needed to tell Richard. But she couldn't tell her mother. She would worry.

She decided the best course of action was to go to the police station and tell Chief Swan first. He would know what to do. And there was another body out there that they needed to find.

She looked up at the ceiling, frowning. Her sense had never been wrong before. But now… was it really these wolves killing the hikers? Had she gotten it wrong all this time? She shook her head and turned off the water. She got out of the shower and quickly got ready, wanting to get to the station as quickly as possible.

"She's leaving," Emmett said. Embry lifted his head, jumping to his feet as he peered through the trees and watched as Mara poked her head out of the door and then quickly dart to her car. "So that's the girl you imprinted on? Nice."

A low growl filled Embry's throat as he turned his head towards him.

"Relax. I have a mate," Emmett replied with a chuckle as Rosalie rolled her eyes.

"We can't go into Forks," she said. "You're going to have to follow her." Embry turned his head back, watching as Mara pulled out of the motel in her car, a whine coming from his snout.

"You might want to phase," Emmett suggested. "Unless you want the whole town to see you as a giant wolf." Embry walked back into the trees, returning a few minutes later fully dressed.

"Thanks," he said, looking at the two.

'Don't worry about it," Emmett said with a smile.

"Come on, we should check in with Cess and Demetri," Rosalie said. The two then disappeared into the forest. Embry looked back towards the motel, figured there was one place in town Mara would go.

"Holy shit, Mara," Mike said as she walked into the station. Mara froze for a moment but then continued on towards Chief Swan's office. "What happened?"

"I need to talk to the chief," she said, ignoring him.

"Mara!"

She ignored him as she walked into his office and shut the door behind her. Charlie looked up, his eyes widening as he took in her state. All the color had drained from her face and her eyes were wide and bloodshot. He stood.

"Mara, are you okay?" he asked. Mara shook her head as she walked over and sat down. She started shaking again.

"I don't know… god," she said as her eyes started tearing up again. She looked up at him. "There's another body."

"What? Where? How do you know?" he asked.

"I was out at the beach at La Push last night with Embry and… there was a party," she said. "When I left, there was a man… he was, I don't know what he was going to do or where he came from, but he started towards me and then these, these giant wolves came from nowhere. One of them pounced on him and dragged him off and then the other followed them into the woods."

Charlie studied her a few moments, unsure of what to say.

"Chief… I think… are these wolves… is that what's killing the hikers?" she asked, her voice dropping to a whisper. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"I'll send some deputies out to La Push to start the search. In the meantime, go back to your motel and try to… get some rest. You look like you haven't slept all night. In fact, I'm going to get someone to drive you back," he said, starting towards the door.

"I… Okay," she said as she stood. She walked to the door and followed him out. "I'm, I'll wait outside."

She made her way to the door and stopped, seeing a concerned Embry standing there still in his clothes from the night before. Her breath caught in her throat as a million different emotions flew through her. First there was betrayal and hurt. Then anger. But just as quickly, it all faded as she realized she wanted nothing more than to feel his arms around her. Having a near death experience seemed to help put things into perspective. She was relieved to see that he was unhurt. And she knew that she wanted – needed – him in that moment.

She pushed through the doors and ran to him, falling into his arms as the tears poured down her cheeks.

"God, I was so worried about you," he murmured into her hair.

"I'm so sorry," she said.

"What are you sorry about?"

"I don't know, but I just… when I saw the wolves… I-"

"Shh, shh. Mara it's okay. We should get you back to your room," he said gently. "Can you give me your keys? Jacob dropped me off so I can drive." Mara sniffed as she stepped back and nodded, reaching into her purse for her keys. "I got her, Chief." She glanced over her shoulder, seeing Chief Swan stepping out of the station. "And we've already got guys out searching." Charlie nodded at him and walked back into the station.

Embry guided Mara over to her car and helped her into the front passenger seat, then walked around and climbed into the driver's side. He started back towards the motel, sending worried glances at Mara.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked softly.

"I… god… they were so big," she said. "I've never seen wolves that big before." Embry clenched his jaw. "There must be something wrong with me… I've never been wrong before."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"My… sense. It's always been right. But this time… I got it wrong," she said. "It's not a serial killer… it's those wolves."

Embry remained silent, unsure of what to say to her.

"I need to… I need to tell Richard," she said, starting to dig through her purse.

"No, don't," Embry said, reaching over to put his hand over hers. Mara stared at him. "You're too worked up right now and you're not making sense. Get some sleep and then you can call him." Mara looked out the windshield, nodding.

"Yea. That's it… I need some sleep…"

They continued on in silence as Embry fought with himself. He could see that Jacob was right. He knew that she could handle hearing the truth, but right now was not the time.

As soon as they got back to the motel, he helped her out of the car and to the room. The bed was still made. Embry walked over and pulled down the covers then sat Mara on the edge, pulling off her shoes.

"Just sleep," he said. "You're safe. I won't let anything hurt you." Mara laid down on the bed but reached out and grabbed Embry's hand.

"Stay with me," she said softly. Embry nodded and climbed into the bed next to her, wrapping his arms around her.

"Just sleep."

Mara groaned slightly as she pried her eyes open. She wasn't sure how long she had been asleep, but the sun was still up. As soon as Embry had wrapped his arms around her, she had fallen fast asleep, finally feeling safe.

Her dreams were filled with images of the gray and black wolf. She couldn't help but feel there was something familiar about it. And she was surprised they weren't nightmares and she hadn't woken up in a fit of screaming.

For a moment, she contemplated going back to sleep. She could hear Embry snoring softly behind her, his arms still around her. It was cozy and the warmth from his body started to make her feel drowsy as her eyes began to flutter closed again. But then she remembered everything from last night and shot up in bed.

"Mara?"

She looked over at Embry as he peered up at her. He looked about how she felt.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" she asked softly. Embry shook his head no.

"I was too worried about you," he said. "And… our fight…"

"I… it's okay. I know I was wrong," she said. Embry sat up, sighing. "I must have lost it…my sense…"

"You didn't lose it," he said. Mara frowned at him.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "It's obvious that those wolves are the ones killing the hikers." Embry was silent, looking down at his hands.

"It's not the wolves," he said. Mara frowned at him.

"How do you know that?" she asked. Embry sighed and flipped the covers off him.

"Mara… there's something you should know… I've been keeping my own secret," he said, not meeting her eyes.

"What secret?" she asked, feeling her heart sink.

"It's… I didn't plan to keep it from you forever. I just… I wanted to wait until the right time to tell you. And now… now I suppose I have no choice but to tell you," he said, finally looking over at her. He then walked over and took her hand, pulling her out of the bed and towards the door, barely giving her time to slip on some shoes.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked as Embry started towards the woods surrounding the motel.

"I have to show you something," he said.

"In the woods?" she asked.

"Yes," he said. "I need… space."

Mara went quiet as they kept walking, going deeper into the forest. Finally, he stopped in a clearing, turning to look at her. Mara couldn't read his face and the longer he stood there silently, the more worried she got.

"Embry… what's going on?" she asked.

"Mara… I'm going to need you to stay calm," he said. "And open-minded." She just stared at him. "Do you trust me?"

She couldn't answer for a few moments, thinking it over.

Last night she went from thinking there was no one she trusted more to finding out she couldn't. Then the attack happened, and she was so grateful to be alive – and to see that he was alive – that she didn't know what to think.

She looked up into his eyes. It was there that she found her answer.

"I do," she said softly. Embry nodded, starting to back away from her.

"The reason why it was so easy for me to believe you about your sense is because I know that there are things in this world that people – regular people – don't know about. That they can't know about," he said. "That they can't even fathom could exist." Mara blinked.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"You have to believe me… the only reason I kept this from you was to keep you safe," he said. "The only thing I want is for you to be safe."

"Embry, I don't understand what you're talking about," she said, feeling her heart rate speed up. She was starting to get scared. Embry stopped moving, now several feet away. He pulled off his shirt. "What are you doing?" she asked, starting to walk towards him.

"Don't, Mara. I need you to stay back," Embry shouted. "It's for your own safety."

Mara stopped, watching as he undid his shorts and pulled them down.

"I need you to remember that it's still me. And I would never – ever – harm you," he said. "Okay?" Mara was silent. "I need to hear you say it."

"Okay," she said softly.

Embry then took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he locked eyes with Mara.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said again. He took another deep breath and then sudden, his body convulsed. Mara's hand flew to her mouth as she started towards him.

But then Embry flew forward and was on all fours. Mara froze, her eyes widening.

Embry was no longer standing in the clearing. Instead, it was the gray and black wolf from the night before. A scream somehow got stuck in Mara's throat as the wolf growled slightly then whimpered. It lowered its head to the ground, its eyes never leaving Mara's as she remained frozen.

He started inching towards her.

Mara did the first thing that came into her mind.

She screamed and ran.

Now that we're barreling towards the climax of the story, figured I should be posting a bit more regularly. Don't want to make people wait too long for the next installment.

Thanks for reading and following!