Caught Red-handed

"God, I'm starving," Mara said as she and Embry stepped out from her hotel room. "I could probably eat about three hamburgers." Embry chuckled as he put an arm around her waist to lead her over to her car, sneaking a kiss on her cheek. "Though I suppose that's just a snack for you…"

"We need to eat a lot. We burn through a lot of calories," he said.

"Seriously, so jealous of that. I wish I could eat whatever I want and stay in shape," she said with a sigh. "Instead I've got to go to the gym…"

"It's not always as great as you think," Embry said. "I'm constantly hungry…"

"Mara!"

They stopped just in front of Mara's car, seeing Mike jogging up to them. Relief was clearly written across his face.

"Mike, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I was worried. After seeing how you looked at the station this morning. And then you haven't been answering your phone or messages," he said, stopping in front of them.

"Sorry about that," she said. "I was a bit distracted."

"Right…" Mike said as he looked at the ground, seeming a bit uncomfortable. Mara frowned, confused at his reaction. Then it suddenly dawned on her what it looked like. She hadn't been answering the phone and he had just caught her walking out of her room with Embry's arm around her waist.

It was exactly what it looked like, but she didn't want to admit that to Mike. She felt Embry's hand tighten slightly around her as a deep rumbling went through his body. Mara glanced up at him, catching him frown slightly. Was he seriously growling right now? At Mike?

"I was exhausted," she said quickly. "I've been passed out all day. But I'm fine now."

"I see," Mike said, shifting awkwardly.

"Right, so anything new on the case?" Mara asked, turning them to safer topics.

"They're still out searching the woods, though the chief has called back some of our guys," Mike said.

"Right… well, we're just going to eat and then we'll meet you back at the station," Mara said, pulling Embry towards her car.

"Got it," Mike said, turning to go back to his truck. They were quiet as they climbed in, though Embry was still shooting scowls towards Mike.

"Seriously, Embry?" Mara said once she started the car. "What's with all this protective growling and shit?"

"It's a wolf thing," he said quickly. Mara rolled her eyes.

"You sure about that?" she asked. Embry didn't answer. "I told you - there's nothing there. We've just been working on the case together."

"Still…"

"Still nothing, Embry. I know you're all about protecting me, but Mike is not a threat. Not to mention, you've got to trust me," she said, frowning at him. "So, chill the fuck out." Embry smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry… I'm still getting used to the imprint," he said. "But… yea, I'll get control of it. Don't worry. I'll chill out."

"Better," Mara replied.

Once they had settled at the diner with their food and Mara had inhaled half her hamburger, she swallowed and reached for her coke.

"So, what's the plan now?" she asked. "With the case."

"We're going to be in the woods as much as we can until we catch it," Embry said, his voice low as he glanced around. "And you are going to stay far away from the woods until this is over."

"Don't have to tell me twice," she said. "But… you know what this is." Embry stared at her a few moments before nodding silently. "What is it?"

"I can't tell you here," he said.

"Right… public place. Not a good idea," she said. "Does the chief know?"

"No," he said. "And he prefers it that way." Mara frowned as she looked down at her plate, wondering just what was killing the hikers. Embry had said that her sense wasn't off – these were murders. That meant it had to be human. Or something like a human. Just what else was out there that he wasn't telling her about?

"My boss is going to want something," she said. "If I can't tell him what it really is, I need a story. A believable story." She couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth. It went against everything she had believed in as a reporter. And it set her on edge. But at the same time, she wasn't about to out the wolf packs. Not to mention, she was fairly sure no one would believe her if she turned in a story saying that mystical creatures were killing hikers.

Embry, on the other hand, seemed to relax. She was finally getting it.

"Don't worry about that. We have it covered," he said. Mara nodded slowly.

"After this, we'll go to the station and get an update. And then do you have to go out to the others?" she asked. Embry nodded.

"I'll go check in with them while you're with the chief," he said. "I shouldn't be gone long. I'll meet you back at the motel."

"But you don't have a car," Mara said. Embry just stared at her. "Oh… right… so are you planning to be my personal bodyguard?"

"Yes," Embry said. "You need one of us watching over you just in case. You've been all over the woods the last few days. I don't want to chance it picking up your scent and coming after you."

Mara was silent as she continued eating, her mind whirling as she thought over what could possibly be out there. Something that could pick up a person's scent. Track. And then easily overpower and kill a grown man.

She shook her head, putting it aside. She then suddenly remembered that she had the file of photos back at the room she hadn't looked over. She would go to the station and then rush back to the room. She felt that if she looked over the photos, she could finally figure out what this was.

Mara waved at Embry before he turned and started jogging down the road. She then walked into the station and found Chief Swan in his office with a large map spread out across his desk.

"Chief," she said, stopping just inside the door. He looked up, surprised to see her there.

"You're looking better," he said. Mara stepped in and shut the door behind her.

"Feeling better," she said. "Embry explained some things to me." The chief frowned.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well… I know. About… them. The wolves," she said. Chief Swan's eyes widened.

"He told you?" he asked. Mara nodded.

"We, ah, turns out that he imprinted on me. Which means I get to be let in on the big secret," she said, smiling slightly.

"He what?" Chief Swan asked, confused.

"Imprinted," Mara repeated. Chief Swan just shook his head.

"Must be one of those wolf things they didn't explain to me," he said. Mara's eyebrows rose. She hoped that she hadn't just inadvertently revealed some big pack secret.

"It's nothing important," she said quickly. "Basically, just means that it's okay that I know." She stepped over to him, glancing at the map. "How is the search?"

"So far they haven't found anything. No body, no… whatever is killing people," he said, frowning as he looked back down. "They've covered this area and this area," he motioned towards two large swatches of land, "but there's still a lot to go over. I've got officers out around La Push beach at the moment." Mara nodded as she stared down at it.

"Basically, nothing new since this morning," she said.

"Yea, it's going to take some time," he replied.

"Okay. I'm going back to the motel to get some work done. Call me if you get anything," she said, turning from him.

"I will," he said. "Wait, Mara." She stopped and turned to face him. "What are you going to tell your boss?" He seemed worried.

"Well, I can only write what I have evidence for," she said. "So… whatever evidence you give me… that's what I'll write." Charlie let out the breath he had been holding.

"I appreciate it," he said. Mara smiled.

"I understand why you had to keep your secrets. They're now my secrets too," she replied before turning and leaving.

Mara threw her bag on the floor as she sat at the table and started to reach for the file. Now that she was alone, it was time to get to work. She had promised she would only write what facts the police chief gave her, but she couldn't help but want to know the truth. At the very least to see if it was something she could potentially write about.

Just as she was about to open it, her phone rang. Rolling her eyes she picked it up, seeing that her mother was calling.

"Hey, Mom," she said.

"Thank god, what's going on? Kates has been beyond worried. She said that you sounded frantic on the phone this morning. Why haven't you been answering?" she shouted.

"Sorry, I've been busy. The case kind of picked up a lot starting last night," she said.

"What happened?"

"There was another attack last night and they've been out in the woods trying to corner the animal," Mara said, feeling it better to leave out the fact that she had been out in the woods and knew this mostly from firsthand experience.

"Christ, another death?" her mother asked.

"Well… they don't know yet," Mara said, her thoughts going back to the night before when she saw the wolves drag the man into the forest. Was that who was behind all of this? What was he? Embry had said he was dangerous. "They can't find the body."

"Probably dragged off by whatever beast is doing this. God, Mara. When can you come home? I don't like the idea of you being there," her mother said.

"Relax, Mom. I'm not going out in the woods. I'm either at the station or in my motel room. It's not going to break in and get me," she said. Or could it? Was she really safe anywhere? "I should be home soon."

"Good," her mother said. Mara was silent a few moments, going back and forth on whether she should mention Embry. "Mar? There's something else, isn't there?"

"Well, since you asked," Mara said, glancing out the window. "I've… well… I've met someone."

"What? I thought you were there to cover a story?" her mother asked. "When did you have time to meet someone?"

"I am. And I have been. It was… unexpected," she said. "But he's really great, Mom. You'll like him. And he's moving to Seattle, so you'll get to see him a lot."

"Mara Winslow, what the hell? You just met this guy and he's moving in with you?!" her mother shouted. "Have I taught you nothing?!" Mara rolled her eyes.

"God, no. He's transferring to UW in the spring. He was planning it before he met me," she said. Though she couldn't help but imagine Embry living with her. In a way it did make sense. She had that big house all to herself and it wasn't that far from the university. Sure, it was fast, but there was nothing conventional about their relationship. Not now that she knew the truth.

"Oh… so he's younger than you," her mother said. Mara could hear the smile in her voice.

"He put off school to take care of his mom," Mara said. "He's a year younger than me. Been taking online courses and plans to major in pre-med before going to med school."

"Oh, well then," her mother said. Mara couldn't help but chuckle. Her mother wasn't pretentious by any means, but Mara was her only child so she was a bit protective of her. More so after her father died. "I look forward to meeting him. He going to be taking any history classes? What's his name?"

"Embry Call," Mara said. "And I don't know. It's all… still new."

"Well, you sound happy. And that's all that matters to me, Mars Bar," her mother said.

"Mom… I'm 25 years old. Do you seriously have to keep calling me that?" she asked, a small smile on her face.

"I won't call you that in front of Embry," she replied. "But you'll always be my Mars Bar, you know."

"Yea, I know," Mara said. She sat up in her chair, noticing Embry making his way towards her room. "Gotta go, Mom. Work."

"Be sure to get some sleep, Mara. I know how you get," her mother replied.

"I will. Love you," she said.

"Love you, too."

She hung up and stood, glancing down at the file. Looked like she was going to have to wait on that. Sighing, she opened the door.

"You brought dinner? We just ate," she said, eying the bags in his hand.

"It's mostly for me, but you're free to have some," he said, walking in. Mara shut the door and quickly cleared space on the table, tucking the file under some other papers. She felt a little wrong hiding it from Embry, but she knew that he would have something to say about it and she really needed to figure out who was behind the attacks.

"How are things with the pack?" she asked as they both sat down, her brow furrowed as she reached over and grabbed a french fry. Embry sighed.

"They lost the trail again," he said. "But Sam and Jacob have everyone out searching. They sent the police over somewhere else far from where the attacks were happening. We don't want them out there at all, but we have to keep up appearances." Mara nodded.

"Are they okay with you being cooped in here with me?" she asked. Embry smiled.

"They understand. And they agree that for now, it's best for me to be here with you," he said. He looked out the window, seeming to stare at something. Mara looked out, hoping to catch what he was staring at, but there was nothing.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said. Mara looked over at him.

"Well, since you're stuck with me and I'm stuck waiting on updates from Swan," Mara said. Embry chuckled.

"More questions?" he asked. Mara leaned towards him.

"How did you become like this? Were you bitten? Is there a way for others to become like you?" she asked.

"Again, we're not werewolves," he said. "It's genetic – passed down only in the Quileute tribe."

"But your mother is Makah," Mara said, remembering one of their earlier conversations. Embry was silent a few moments.

"Yea… I never met my dad and mom never told me about him. I assumed that he was on the Makah reservation. But when I phased for the first time, it was obvious that she had been involved with someone from the Quileute," he said. Mara's eyes widened.

"Sounds like a soap opera," she said.

"It did create some drama," he said. "There were only three options, and all of them were married at the time I was born."

"God, did you… did she ever tell you who it was?" she asked. Embry nodded.

"It took a long time for me to build up the courage to ask. And well, I knew she was going to want to know how I knew and I couldn't tell her about the pack," he said. "I suppose I could have asked others without going to her, but I wanted to hear it from her."

"And?"

"His name is Joshua Uley," he said.

"Wait… you mean that you're-"

"Yea, Sam's half-brother," he said with a heavy sigh.

"And you never met him?" she asked. Embry shook his head.

"Sam's dad ran off on his mom when Sam was still in school and hasn't been back since," he said. Mara nodded.

"I'm so sorry. I'm sure that was a hard conversation. Does Sam know?" she asked.

"He does. I talked to him about it after my mom finally told me. He always kind of sensed something, though. He's always looked out for me," Embry said. Mara nodded slowly.

"So, this shapeshifting thing is passed on within the tribe," she said. "And it doesn't hit everyone?"

"No, not everyone," he replied.

"Do you know what determines who gets it and who doesn't?" Mara asked. Embry shrugged. He knew what caused the gene to become active, but he couldn't tell her that without giving away the existence of vampires.

"We have stories and legends within the tribe, but we're not completely sure why now," he lied. "Before Sam first phased, there hadn't been any for a few generations. His great-grandfather was one of the last shapeshifters. Up until then, we all thought they were just stories."

"When did you first change?" Mara asked.

"In 2006," he said. Mara frowned. That was around the last bout of mysterious deaths. It had to have been related. "I was one of the first after Sam. He told me all about it and I joined his pack."

"When did they split up?" she asked, remembering that he had said he was part of Jacob's pack. Embry thought a moment, trying to figure out how to explain it without mentioning vampires. He was beginning to think it would be impossible.

"Well, since Sam was the first to phase and the oldest, he took on the role of alpha. But technically Jacob was meant to be it – its normally inherited and his great-grandfather was the last alpha. However, when Sam tried to get him to take it, Jacob turned it down at first," he explained. Mara was silent, taking in the information. "And then… Jacob and Sam had a disagreement. Jacob decided to use his inherited alpha and left the pack – Leah and Seth followed him.

"After a while, I saw Jacob's side of things and decided to join him. I mean, he's my best friend, after all. Quil followed me," he said. Mara nodded.

"Must have been something pretty big if it split up the packs," she commented.

"It had to do with Nessie," Embry said, though as soon as it left his lips, he worried he had said too much. Mara nodded slowly.

"I hope I get to meet this Nessie," she replied.

"Maybe. She doesn't come down to Forks that much," he replied.

He continued on, telling her about the intricacies of the pack and Mara sat back in her chair, taking it all in. Or at least, pretending to. After the sun went down, they watched a movie and then settled in for the night. Mara closed her eyes, pretending to sleep until she heard Embry's breathing even out and he began to snore softly.

Silently, she slid out of the bed, her curiosity getting the better of her. There was no way she could sleep until she looked at the photos to see if they shined any light on the case. She walked over and grabbed the file, then made her way to the bathroom. After shutting the door, she sat it down on the counter and opened it, starting to spread the photos out.

"God," she murmured.

She had her evidence that the autopsy reports had been doctored - most of the wounds added in weren't there. She then focused on close-ups of the wounds. With the blood cleared away, she could clearly make out teeth marks.

Teeth marks that didn't look like any animal she knew. In fact, they looked more human than anything. But there was no way a human could do this. She flipped through to the others, noticing that one victim had their neck snapped. She couldn't recall if any animal could break a neck like that.

They were drained of blood…

Mara's eyes widened as she took a step back and ran into the tub, knocking over a shampoo bottle. It wasn't possible. But then again, shapeshifters weren't supposed to exist either. Hell, even she shouldn't be able to do what she did. Embry had said there were things in this world that people didn't know about – shouldn't know about. Things as in plural.

The thing they were hunting in the woods was one of those. A vampire.

She jumped as there was a knock on the door.

"Mar? Everything okay? Thought I heard something," he said.

"Uh, yea. I'll be right out," she said, quickly gathering up the photos and shoving them into the file as her hands shook. Just before she opened the door, she stopped. Embry obviously didn't want her to know about this. She wasn't sure what to do. Confront him. Or keep playing that she didn't know anything.

What did this mean for the story? She obviously couldn't write that the attacks were being carried out by vampires. She would be laughed out of the newspaper and could kiss her career good-bye. And from the way Embry acted whenever the subject of what was causing the attacks came up, it seemed as though it were dangerous for her to know. But if vampires were out there killing innocent people, shouldn't they have a right to know? To protect themselves?

She looked down at the file a moment and then shoved it into the cabinet under the sink. She wouldn't decide right now. Maybe tomorrow she would bring it up.

She then walked out into the room and crawled into bed next to Embry.

"You sure everything's okay?" he asked, looking at her. She was still shaking.

"Yea, really," she said. "Just had a bad dream."

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

"No, it's fine. Just need to get some sleep," she said, kissing him. She then settled into the bed and closed her eyes.

Tomorrow. She would deal with it tomorrow.

And now Mara knows about the vampires. Of course, she would find out about them. Nearly done with this one! And then I can start posting the other story I'm working on… Trying to limit myself to how many I have going at once.

Thanks for reading and following!