I own nothing apart from Amber and Riley and the plot!!!

Chapter Nine

We stared at each other for a moment, coherent thoughts having left my head the moment I saw him outside my house and I just stared at him blankly, waiting for him to say something to explain his sudden appearance.

He scratched the back of his head, "Hello." Embry said after a moment.

"Do you want to come in?" I asked, wondering if I was going to regret the invitation.

He gave me a charming smile and stepped inside, "I was wondering if we could talk."

"I doubt your going to give me a choice." I grumbled leading him into the kitchen. "Do you want tea or coffee?"

"Coffee would be great." He said, leaning against the counter, "You know I'm not going to let you get out on coming Saturday."

I gave him an irritated look, "I know." I handed him the cup, "What did you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to apologise." That caught my attention; my head jerked up to find him looking at me sincerely, "I'm so sorry about what I said, Amber. I honestly thought you were married or something and I was jealous. It's not a good excuse, I know, but I want to make it up to you." He said pleadingly.

I gave him a small smile, "Part of it's my fault. I should have told you about Riley." I said softly, glancing over to where he was in his room. "But I'm not just going to forgive you that easily after what you called me."

Embry nodded understandingly, looking pained, "I really am sorry." He said earnestly and turned his head over to where Riley's room was, "Do you mind if I go say hi?"

I nodded cautiously, not knowing how Riley would take it. He was, after all, slightly scared by Embry after what had happened. I trailed behind him as he made his way into Riley's room, shocking the little boy who looked at him with narrow eyes.

"Hey Riley." Embry said, kneeling so he was eye level.

Riley flicked his eyes over to me and back to Embry, "What are you doing here?"

"Riley don't be rude." I scolded.

Embry held his hands up defensively, "I'm here to make peace." He said somewhat dramatically, "I wasn't very nice the other day, was I?"

Riley wrinkled his nose and nodded, "I was playing with Matt first." He said childishly.

"You're right and I'm sorry for being rude." Embry said.

Riley considered this and then his eyes brightened, "You can draw with me." He declared, yanking Embry so he was sitting down next to him. "But I still don't like you."

I barely stifled a laugh at the sight of Embry towering over Riley even when he was sitting down and drawing exactly what Riley told him to. He looked as though he was five years old and I suddenly doubted that he was more mature than Riley.

Shaking my head I went back to the kettle and poured his drink, smiling at the sound of Riley's laughter. It's still surprising how easily children can forgive. Embry emerged from the room before I had the chance to bring his drink to him, taking it from me with a thankful smile.

"He's a good kid." Embry said after a moment, sipping from his cup. "He's a good drawer as well."

"He never stops." I said with a small shake of my head, "He's just as bad with his books; gets that from me."

Embry fell silent, stapling his fingers against the kitchen counter, "I have to admit, I came over here to do more than just apologise." He admitted, looking at me sheepishly, "Would you consider, maybe going on another date with me?"

I almost said no, thinking about what had happened the last time. But did I really want to keep this grudge and miss out on what could possibly result in a happy, lasting relationship? I knew I was no where close to forgiving him for what had happened. I was going to make that very clear to him.

I nodded, speaking quickly when he perked up in excitement, "Don't think that because I've agreed to go out with you again that you're forgiven." I warned, pointing my finger at him seriously. "The things you said…"

He flinched, "I can't apologise enough for what I said. But I am going to show you that I'm sorry; I'll do anything."

He didn't stay for long after that and as I was putting the mugs into the dishwasher I couldn't keep the smile off my face. Riley had gone to bed and I was alone with my thoughts. I didn't regret saying yes to another date; I knew he was going to try and make it up to me. I couldn't resist the temptation of him; I wanted him.

Work on Saturday flew by and my nerves had risen and I was fiddling with the pen on my desk. Embry and I had agreed to just go straight to the beach instead; there had been a change of plan and the women had wanted the bonfire earlier on. So instead of waiting we were going straight after work.

I couldn't help but wonder if Kim and Rachel would be there. I was looking forward to seeing them again, remembering how they had treated me. They didn't even know me. But then that's what I come to expect from people when they find out that I have a son.

"You ready?" Embry asked, startling me.

I blushed and nodded, "Yeah."

We were silent as Embry drove, only glancing at each other occasionally. I noticed that we were going to the same part of the beach as the last time and this knowledge did nothing to help my nerves, which were already running crazy. I had butterflies swarming in my stomach and I couldn't remember the last time I was this nervous.

I was preparing myself for the worst.

"So who's going to be there?" I asked nonchalantly.

There was no need to show him how nervous I was. "Well you remember everyone from the barbeque?" I nodded with dread, "Well it's going to be the same people." He said with a shrug.

Oh goodie; this was going to be fun.

When he parked I moved as slow as I could without looking weird. Embry noticed my hesitation and gave me a reassuring smile, taking my hand in his large boiling one. As we drew closer to the group we could make out the sound of laughter and the smell of smoke.

People turned to greet us when we reached them and I stared blankly at Kim and Rachel who smiled politely at me, no trace of the disgust that had been present when we first met. Something was up and I didn't like it.

"Hello Amber." Kim said kindly, "How are you?"

I didn't know how to respond for a moment but I quickly recovered, "Fine thanks. How are you?" I asked hesitantly.

"Great. The kids are so excited to hear the legends." She said conversationally.

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Jake's been getting them revved up a bit. Matt can hardly keep still and Riley's no better."

As if on cue both became uncomfortable and looked at me apologetically, "We just wanted to apologise for when we first met you." Rachel began.

"We're all so close with each other and when we saw how upset Embry was we all kind of got mad. It's no excuse but we'd like to make it up to you." Kim said earnestly.

All I could do was nod as an older man in a wheel chair called everyone into a semi circle around him. We all took seats, me next to Embry who had Riley, surprisingly, sitting on his lap with an eager smile. When we had all settled the man began.

The whole story was fascinating, hearing about the tribal legends. How the men became wolves to protect their land from the 'cold ones'. Riley was captivated from the moment the man, Billy, started and everyone was dead silent. But there were some things that were painfully familiar that Billy spoke about regarding the wolf men; they all grew taller, all developed high temperatures and when they became angry they began to shake and eventual phase into a wolf.

Then it clicked.

Sam, Jacob, Paul, Jared, Quil and Embry all had those signs. But these were just stories right? They had to be; there was no such thing as vampires or werewolves. But I couldn't ignore the similarities. Somehow I knew it was true.

I was surrounded by werewolves.