Disclaimer: I own nothing Twilight related.

This will be the last update for a few days. I'm finally going home and that means my laptop will not be hooked up to the internet. But don't worry, I do plan on working on the story when I get some free time and I'll be back at school on Sunday.

The day of my birthday dawned bright and clear; something I had not been expecting. The last few days had been rainy and today was forecasted to be the same but apparently they had been wrong. I was officially eighteen and I didn't feel much different, but I was dreading what Embry had planned for tonight. He told me he was 'taking me out', but I knew that was code for the fact that he had thrown a party.

I was happy to see that in honor of my birthday my Mom made my favorite breakfast items; French toast, bacon, and a tall glass of orange juice. I smiled at her in thanks as I poured some syrup over the French toast and grabbed a few pieces of bacon.

"Thanks Mom."

"You're welcome; happy birthday, sweetie." She replied with a smile.

After I was done eating, I went to take my shower and get dressed. I dressed in some bum clothes to do my chores and once those were done I went outside to play with Brownie. He trotted over to me happily and presented his tummy. I started to play with him for a while, when I glanced down at my watch. It was already two and Embry was coming to get me at two thirty.

I ran back into the house, quickly washed my hands, and darted upstairs to my room. Of course I had no idea what to wear. As for my hair…I threw it up into a messy bun and put in some bobbie pins to keep it where I wanted it. I finally settled on a pair of shorts, and one of my nicer t-shirts.

My Mom was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs with a present in her hands.

"It's not much because of all your graduation stuff." She stated as I started to rip off the paper.

"That's fine, Mom." I assured her.

Once the paper was gone I saw what she had given me. It was the picture of Embry and I right after graduation in a nice silver frame.

"I figured this would mean more to you than that new music device you wanted; although I got that for you too." She grinned as she held out the unwrapped box.

I gasped and threw my arms around her neck when there was a knock on the door. I checked the clock; two thirty right on the dot. My Mom beat me to the door and greeted Embry with a smile. I put down my presents, said goodbye, and followed him outside to his truck.

"So what did you get?" He asked.

"A really nice picture of the two of us, and that new iPod I wanted." I grinned. "So, where's your present to me?"

"You're going to have to wait." He replied.

I crossed my arms over my chest and let out a dramatic sigh. Embry chuckled and placed his warm hand on my bare thigh. As usual my heart started to race at the contact and goose bumps broke out across my legs. Embry chuckled, like usual, and shot me a pleased grin.

We were just heading into La Push when he finally broke the silence that had surrounded us.

"You're not going to like it, but I did it anyway."

"What are you talking about?"

He didn't answer; instead he pulled up at First Beach and parked next to the other cars. My eyes shot down to the sand; there were people gathered and balloons.

"Embry…you didn't have to do this." I whined.

"I wanted to." He replied. "Now, come on everyone has been waiting for the birthday girl."

He grabbed my hand and led me down to the others. It was kind of nice to have a party; I hadn't really had one since my sixteenth and it wasn't much of one at that. Although I did have a piñata. I spotted no piñata here, but there were balloons tied to the picnic table, and a table full of gifts.

"You guys really shouldn't have gone to the trouble." I said.

Emily smiled at me and Kim rolled her eyes.

"Of course we did, Myra!" Emily said as she pulled me in for a hug. "You are a part of us."

I smiled, I couldn't help myself. I was truly accepted amongst this wonderful group of people even though I hadn't been dating Embry that long.

Once the food was done all the guys crowded around the table, but Embry walked over to me with a plate. I accepted it with a smile and watched as he went back to fight for his own food. The way they ate…no… devoured food never ceased to amaze me. I had always thought my brother had a hollow leg, but it was almost like these guys had second stomachs!

It wasn't until I felt everyone's gaze on me that I realized all the food was gone and they wanted me to open gifts now. Embry sat down next to me on the log, and slid an arm around my waist as Emily placed a present on my lap.

"This is from Sam and I." She stated.

It took fifteen minutes to get through everyone's gifts and it wasn't until Jake and Quil started arguing that I realized Embry still hadn't given me his gift yet. I turned to him with what I hoped was a stern expression and poked him in the chest. He laughed, grabbed my finger, and placed a gentle kiss on the tip of it.

"Where is my present, Embry Call?"

"Aren't we impatient?"

Before I could make a comment, he hauled me to my feet and led me down the beach. We kept walking until we were well away from the others, and then he finally turned to me. He pulled a box from his pocket and handed it to me.

It wasn't wrapped, so I lifted off the lid. Inside was a little carved wolf charm for my necklace. The detail was incredible, but I couldn't help but wonder: why was it a wolf?

"It's beautiful, but why is it a wolf?" I asked.

Embry looked nervous and took a calming breath before he replied: "I have something to tell you, but I want to preface it with the fact that I love you, Myra."

Wait. He had something more to tell me that wasn't 'I love you'? What more was there to say? My mind was reeling from those three words. What was love anyway? I sure as hell didn't have a good example of love; my parents would be divorced already if they could afford it. But if love was the feeling of trusting him completely to keep me safe and feeling pain when I wasn't with him…then didn't I love him too?

He didn't wait for my reply though, he kept going. "You remember those legends you heard at the bon fire that night? Well, they're true Myra. I'm a werewolf, and so are all the guys. That's why we're so huge and run a high temperature. Do you remember the story about imprinting? You're my imprint."

Information overload. Holy shit. If he was a wolf, then did that mean he was the wolf that had been watching over my house for the last few months? I was his imprint? I was one of those lucky women that were blessed with a man that would never betray her, and would die for her?

"Myra, please say something."

I looked up into his chocolate eyes; he looked so scared. Scared of what? My rejection? How could I reject him? How could I reject this blessing? So what that this proved that mythical creatures existed; I loved Embry.

"I love you." I stated.

He pulled me into his arms and held me tightly; almost as if he was afraid that I would run away.

"Do you believe it?" He whispered by my ear.

"Are you the wolf that has been outside my house?"

"Yes. Myra, you aren't scared by all of this?"

I pulled back from his arms to look him in the eyes, "Embry, I trust you completely. I would be stupid to turn my back on this. I would never be able to find something as great as this in a million years. I can never tell my family what you are, but so what?"

I was about to say more when his lips crushed down onto mine, effectively silencing me and making me forget what I was about to say. He pulled me so close that I was pressed right up against him, unsure of where I began and he ended. He grunted and lifted me up; my arms immediately went around his neck as well as my legs around his waist. I moaned as his tongue trailed across my bottom lip and opened my mouth instinctively.

We finally parted, both of us breathing heavy. He rested his forehead on mine and gazed down into my eyes. His eyes were dark with lust, and I shivered when I felt his hand travel under my shirt to trace patterns on my back.

"I love you." I whispered.

"Say it again." He whispered huskily.

"I love you." I repeated.

His lips came back down onto mine hungrily and we could've stayed in that position forever if we hadn't heard someone clear their throat behind us. Embry set me down reluctantly and turned a scowl on Quil. Quil laughed and patted Embry on the back, and then he pulled me into a hug.

"Welcome to the pack." He said. "Emily wanted me to come get you guys for the cake."

We didn't get a chance to me alone again until the drive back to my house. I sat closer to him than usual, snuggling into his side, and his arm around my shoulders.

"You can't tell anyone, not even Addie."

That would be extremely hard; I told Addie absolutely everything. But I would find a way to keep it from her for Embry and the rest of the pack.

"I know." I replied.

Embry sighed, "I was so afraid you were going to run away from me."

I scoffed, "Do you know me so little? I love ghost stories and mythological creatures."

"Myra, there are vampires out there that do kill humans. It's not all fun and games."

"I know, but I have you to protect me."

"Who's going to protect you at college?" He asked.

I felt my heart sink, "You're not going to come see me?"

"Of course I am! But I can't be there all the time. I just need to know that you will be safe when you're not with me okay? Stay away from really beautiful people especially if their skin is ice cold."

That seemed a little ridiculous; how was I supposed to decide between people who were beautiful and mortal and people that were beautiful and vampires? I kept my mouth shut though. We spent the rest of the ride in silence, and when we pulled up at my house I watched the porch light turn on.

"Dad." I grumbled.

Embry walked me to the door and gently kissed my lips and forehead before he stared down into my eyes. His eyes held such strong emotions; love, adoration, protectiveness.

"I love you Myra." He whispered before he walked away leaving me staring after him on my doorstep.

Once he was in his truck, I finally opened the door and stepped inside the house. My Dad was in the living room pretending to be interested in something on the TV and I could hear my Mom in the kitchen cleaning something.

I ran up to my room and dialed Addie's number immediately. Sure I couldn't tell her about the whole werewolf stuff, but I could tell her about being in love.

She squealed when I related the entire beach scene to her minus the wolf stuff. I held my phone away from my ear until she calmed down.

"That is so sexy!" She yelled. "I want one!"

I laughed, "Well, you haven't met his other single friends besides Seth yet."

I was secretly hoping if she did meet one of the single guys that they would imprint on her. I loved Kim and Emily but I wanted to be able to share absolutely everything with my best friend.

"How often does he plan on visiting you this fall?" She asked.

"I don't know, but I think it will be a lot. That doesn't bug you does it?"

"Of course not, as long as I don't find you two on my bed or anything!"

"I wouldn't do that!"

"That's what you say now, but have you seen him without a shirt yet?"

"No."

"Exactly; my guess is that whatever is under that shirt is delicious."

"Addie!"

"I'm sorry; I need to go before I freak you out. Talk to you later."

"Bye."

***

I was about to close my blinds when I remembered. I slipped my glasses back on and peered out the window at the edge of the woods. Sure enough there he sat, gazing up at my window. We stared at each other for a minute before he turned and disappeared into the trees. I sighed and crawled into bed just as I heard a long howl outside.