Sorry for the longish wait! My babies are almost three months! *eeps* Anyway, I want to thank all the reviewers and my fabulous beta, laurazuleta18. This chica...frig, she's awesome! Got this chapter back like THAT!

Enjoy!

Two Winters and a Summer: Chapter Five

"I love you, Shannon," Collin murmured against Shannon's neck. Inwardly she snarled with rage, but outwardly she nuzzled him back… it was essential that she did, no matter how excessive the emotional toll was. He snuffed his nose against her neck and inhaled deeply.

She tried to relax. Think happy thoughts. The Pack could smell her emotions, a problem that was extremely exhausting to manage. She had to be careful about what she said, so that her feelings would match with what her mouth said. They could prove she was lying all too easily.

"You smell… angry," Collin finally rumbled. Shannon sucked in a deep breath and offered a tentative smile.

"I am angry… I'm angry that I can't give in to you like I want. I'm angry that I can't bring myself to fall for you completely." Lies.

His expression softened as he cupped her cheek. She smiled at him.

"Baby, oh baby," he crooned. "I'm so sorry… if only we had met, before you met… anyone else." His eyes darkened considerably and Shannon's anger coiled and sprung to the surface, twisting her mouth and darkening her eyes. Before she let herself snap at Collin, she nodded. She had to keep this caged, boiling fury at bay…

"Yeah, I do too." Her murmur seemed to make Collin very happy, because a contented growl reverberated through his body and he pressed his forehead to hers.

"I love you," he repeated. Shannon swallowed heavily at this horrendous lie. He could never love her, not when he barely knew her! He claimed to have been in love since first meeting her, and that was complete bullshit. She'd hated him; he'd hated her even if he couldn't actually bring himself to admit it.

Imprints, she thought bitterly.

"I know," she whispered back. If she wanted to have him fully convinced, she really should've returned the statement… but that was out of the question. She could not let herself speak those words to anyone but the man she was actually in love with.

Embry… fuck, she missed him. Her body was craving for his touch. She despised herself for doing so, but she began to pretend that Collin's fingers were Embry's, and suddenly it was much nicer. Shockingly, she relaxed as he massaged her hand. "Well, fuck damn…"

"Damn," Shannon cursed as her heel caught in a drain.

"Need some help there?" an amused voice rumbled. Startled, she jumped and found herself facing one of the most attractive men she'd ever met. Muscles bulged from underneath his shirt, and she didn't even try to hide her ogling of his arms.

He did not wait for a reply. Instead, he hooked his hands under her arms and lifted her up then placed her safely on the sidewalk. Her cheeks burned at being lifted like a baby, but she also admired his strength. Her eyes flickered down and she saw, to her delight, that he did not look small…by any means.

"I'm Embry Call," he greeted with a grin full of white, crooked teeth…she instantly fell in love with his smile.

"Shannon," she replied, beaming.

"So, Shannon…"

"Shannon? Hello? You there?" Collin's joking voice hoisted her out of the deep realms of her mind. The memory, having been cut off, hung in her head like the remnants of a dead animal. She offered him a strained smile and he gently smoothed it out with his thumb. "What's wrong, baby?"

"Oh," she said dismissively, "just some bad memories." Her chest burned with all the lies she'd been telling… meeting Embry was one of her favorite memories. It was becoming painful. Collin sighed and kissed her nose softly.

"Stop dwelling on the bad, and focus on the now… the good," he beamed. Shannon giggled as he softly tickled her stomach, halfheartedly pushing his hand back.

"Stop it!" she demanded, breathless as he continued to attack her. The laughter was real, for a first time, mostly because she was extremely ticklish. Embry used it to his advantage frequently.

Oh, fuck… Embry. Embry, Embry…

"Embry fucking Call, who's the hottie on your arm, because it sure can't be your girlfriend!" A young man guffawed as Embry glowered.

"Shut it, Chubby. Guys, this is Shannon. Shannon, this is Chub and Nico, the two dumbest motherfuckers on the face of the planet," he smirked. The one named Nico tilted his head to the side and flashed Shannon a grin.

"Okay, that might be true, but the fact of the matter is you are almost as stupid as us," the muscled man insisted. Shannon pressed her hand to her mouth to hide her smile as Chub slapped the other boy on the neck.

The three friends were nearly identical, the only major differences being Embry was significantly taller than they were and Nico was more slight, and plain. Chub seemed to be naturally good-looking, whereas Embry was exotic, not as clearly defined.

She stepped forward and held out her hands, but the two continued to ignore her. From the looks of it, they were in some sort of mental competition, holding each other's stares until one of them looked down. Only a second after she'd figured this out, Chubby ducked his head and grumbled something that sounded strangely like, "…stupid-ass rankings…"

She dismissed this and politely stuck her hand in Nico's face. He chuckled and shook it before pulling her in for a hug. "Emb talks about you non-stop…it's like we're already best friends!" he said cheerfully. Shannon squeaked but patted the large boy's back.

"Okay, stop squishing her, Nico," Embry grunted with a roll of his eyes.

"Damn it, ugh, Embry! Save me!" she screeched. At the sound of his laughter, she bristled and glared accusingly over her shoulder.

"Save you yourself, Cupcake," her boyfriend grinned. Spewing curse words like a sailor, Shannon finally managed to wriggle free of Nico's hold and landed in a flump on the ground only to see three, muscled guys staring at her in amusement.

"You're a jerk," she grumbled. Shannon stood and dusted the dirt off her pants the best she could. Embry smirked.

"Aw, Cupcake," he snickered, "they just wanted to play with you…"

"You, Shannon, are one amazing woman," Collin rumbled. Without realizing it, Shannon had been gently rubbing the back of Collin's neck, something she'd done to Embry all the time.

"Oh," she giggled awkwardly, "well, thank you." He sighed contentedly and smiled against the bare skin of her back…

"Back off," Embry barked at the sweaty, chubby man trying to grasp Shannon's ass. She slumped in relief as he shoved the man away and dropped into the seat next to her.

"You want me to beat him up?" he offered with a humorous twinkle in his eye. Shannon stifled a giggle.

"Well, thanks for offering, but I don't think it'll be necessary…you scared him enough already!"

"Having a buff boyfriend must have its advantages," Embry nodded, inspecting a chip and then shoving it in his mouth. Shannon snorted.

"Buff is sort of an understatement, Emb. How many hours do you work out again?" she asked lazily, already knowing the answer: zero. Damn it, she was jealous. She usually thought of herself as relatively skinny but next to him she was fucking chubby.

"We should dance," he suggested with a grin, already pulling her to her feet. Shannon giggled and swung her arms around his waist happily. Dancing with Embry was like dancing with the devil himself.

They made their way to the center of the floor just as a new song came on. Shannon's eyes were glinting mischievously, almost evilly. Damn, how she loved to dance.

She took Embry's hand and draped it over her shoulder. The other hand almost unconsciously found its way to her waist, but she smirked and shoved it off. "No way, douchebag. You work for the waist. For now it's one hand, and on the fucking shoulders." She quirked a smile his way and he chuckled.

"Got it," he nodded seriously.

And then they began to move. It wasn't long before she was sweating, moving her hips back and forth in perfect tandem to the beat, one hand in the air and the other grabbing Embry's ass. Her head was thrown back and she was mouthing the words along with the song. Embry's eyes were drinking her in sexily.

"See anything you like?" she breathed, trying to wipe the strands of hair off her face. Embry simply batted them back down in front of her eyes. She huffed.

"Fuck yes, babe. Keep dancing," he encouraged with a grin. She smiled and did just as he asked, thanking the lord that she had picked up her phone when he'd called that afternoon.

She was so happy, in fact, that she let him bring his hands down to her waist, and lower still so he was gripping one of her belt hoops and craddling the back of one of her thighs with his other hand. He was so tall, his arms were so long and she was getting into it, even more so than before. She leaned against him and felt the weight of his body moving against her own, molding as he shifted to compliment her perfectly. There were people all around them, but she was focusing solely on him. In that moment it was only he who mattered, and her stomach twisted just a tiny bit when their eyes met…

She decided she could let herself fall for this one.

"…one more minute, and then you'll be able to talk to her," Collin finished, kissing Shannon's neck delicately. She pressed her lips together, wondering what the hell he was talking about. She wished he wouldn't touch her so softly…it was fucking ridiculous, like she was made of glass. While she held nothing but the utmost abhorrence for Collin, she always liked things to go a bit rough and she knew that if things had been different, much different, she would have been quite bored with this man.

"Talk to who?" Shannon finally asked, feigning interest. He gently tapped her butt, a rebuke that went much unappreciated. A smile was still lighting his face.

"Well, you zoned out, huh?" Collin pressed his forehead to Shannon's and attempted a butterfly kiss. She almost barfed…that was just…gross. "I was saying that I need to talk to you, and then in just one more minute Kim will be done with the phone and you can talk with your mom," he said brightly.

Shannon's heart skipped a beat, hope barely concealed beneath her expression. Her mother..? Maybe she could slip in a clue, and find out a way to call the cops. As if sensing her thoughts, Collin firmly interrupted them.

"We're giving you a cover story, and if you don't stick to the plan, then we'll have to take the phone away…oh, don't get upset. You are connected to the Pack. Just walking outside could mark a target on your back, and there are so many other dangers in the world. We've already told you this, and while you're starting to realize it, I know you have some doubts. So, please, for my sake, stick to the plan," he whispered pleadingly. Shannon's heart hardened into a self-hating resolve.

She knew, she knew, that she'd have to do as Collin asked, because there was no way she'd be able to give up enough over the phone before it would be jerked away, and there was still the whole Emily situation, which she wasn't sure about, at least one-hundred percent. "Alright," she said quietly, "tell me what I need to know."

So he did.

He told her that they had friends who forged school acceptance letters, and that she was finally living out her dream as a lawyer with a full scholarship to Oxford University. Which was total bullshit. She had mentioned to Embry, once, that almost all the way through high school she wanted to be a lawyer, and then she dropped out and opted to go the accountant route instead, which she didn't regret all that much. Sad as it was, she had actually liked being an accountant and she missed her job.

But her parents would buy it, and they'd be proud. Apparently her cell phone reception was bad in England, so she hadn't been able to call them that way, but 'she' wrote them many letters of a reassurance, along with quite a few pictures of her and her friends, both of whom looked suspiciously like Emily and Janice.

Anger coursed through her unabashedly. She couldn't get a hold of it.

So she excused herself to the bathroom and breathed deeply until her emotions were in check. She had to in control for the following conversation.

Once she made her way downstairs she was handed the phone and told that she was talking through a 'phone booth' and she only had 'three minutes to talk'. Once her mom picked up, she quickly told her this.

She was fine. She was having a great time. Yes, she was studying hard. She was keeping up her grades. She was fine on money, she missed her too. She would call more often. She promised. She loved her too. Her three minutes were almost up…yes, they would talk soon. She was safe. She was sorry for not telling her before she left. She loved her so much, she was glad to hear her voice. Goodbye.

Shannon loved her mom so much, and it broke her heart to lie to her. She promised herself that one day, she would fix these lies. She'd make it up to her mom.

Hanging up the phone, hopelessness washed over Shannon like it never had before.