AN: Thank you everyone for your reviews. You have already been amazing at this early stage of the story. I know this isn't a pairing that has been ventured into very often, but I hope you all keep an open mind to the two lesser-used wolves. Also, this is a warning that this chapter may venture into some uncomfortable concepts. As always, I appreciate your feedback and am curious to hear your opinions on things.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"Nature always sides with the hidden flaw"

Embry's POV

I began to fall into the same routine with everyone. We patrolled on a daily basis, even if we hadn't found any vampires yet. Signs were beginning to show, however. They were only trace scents, but it put us on alert. We would normally split up in pairs, each taking two sides of the reservation. I noticed that the others seemed to rotate their routes, as I never was paired with the same wolf on consecutive days, despite keeping the same borders. I think Sam was trying to keep me off of the border near the ocean. I wasn't going to ask, but I appreciated the sentiment.

After we'd run the borders, we normally met back up at Sam's. His imprint, Emily, was an amazing cook and constantly provided food for us. I know that they had help from the council, but I still felt like I was imposing on them. She seemed to sense my hesitation and always insisted that I join them. As much as I appreciated it, I always felt uncomfortable around them. I'd never had someone that actually cared for me. Considering that I'd never been in a relationship for obvious reasons – and the aforementioned lack of positive emotions at home – I wasn't used to the vibe here. I guess I had just grown used to neutrality.

One night my mom had caught me coming into the house after a late night patrol. We'd been running for hours because of a strong trail, but ultimately ended up with nothing. It was so frustrating to have these creatures a step ahead of us. Anyway, mom was not too pleased when I traipsed into the house around midnight.

"And just where have you been all day?" she asked, not disguising her annoyance.

"I was out with friends. I lost track of time." I said casually. I mean, it's summer. Why does it even matter?

"Listen Embry. You know that you've got a curfew. In the past week you've disappeared one night with no explanation and now I find you creeping in late like this? You owe me an explanation!" she demanded, her voice rising as the rant continued.

"I'm sorry, but I need you to trust me. I'm not doing anything bad…" I deadpanned. Maybe it would be easier to just tell her. Just not yet. I needed to get a grip on everything first.

"You're not going to tell me, are you? I've already heard that you were seen with that gang that everybody seems to think highly of. Are you becoming a thug or something?" she questioned, refusing to let it drop.

"It's not a gang. They're just a group of friends that like to hang out. It's not that unusual." I implored.

"I will not have you 'hanging out' with that Uley boy and his group of misfits!" She spat.

That's when it hit me. "Does this have anything to do with his dad? Is it true that Sam's my brother?" I asked, turning the tide of the conversation.

"We've discussed this before Embry. You are not to ask about whoever he is!" She yelled.

"Guess it's true then. Better than some of the alternatives" I mumbled to myself. Unfortunately she heard it too.

"You ungrateful little mongrel! I've given you everything you've had and you still don't appreciate anything. You know what, you're grounded! I don't want you leaving this house until I say so!" She fumed before angrily stomping to her room.

Shit. Maybe I'd chosen the wrong time to bring that up. I guess it'd gotten me off the hook with getting in late, but now I had other issues. I would still be required to do patrols and I doubt that "I'm grounded" would work as an excuse for them. Guess I should be glad that she worked, but if I got caught…I shuddered at that thought. Our relationship was rockier than usual right now, and this wasn't helping things.

I lay on the bed as I let my thoughts consume me. Why couldn't things just be easy? Nothing ever seemed to go that way for me. Even when one thing would seem decent, others would fall to shit. I must have been a real asshole in a previous life or something. I finally found some sleep, but it was far from restful. I continuously relived Quil's rejection. It was even more depressing knowing that it was a memory rather than a fear. He really didn't want anything to do with me now and the pain of that knowledge was beginning to gnaw at me.

The next day I left the house to go on my usual patrol. I told Sam what had happened and he apologized, but admitted that he wouldn't be able to let me off of patrols. We were beginning to pick up stronger scents, so if anything we needed to add to our patrols. I had a feeling that I needed to bite the bullet and deal with mom. Either she'd accept it and life would be somewhat easier or she wouldn't and…well, I don't know what would happen.

I was running the eastern border with Jared when I picked up a new scent. It was headed directly towards the reservation, so we bounded towards it. As we laced in and out of the trees, I began to realize that we were headed towards Quil's house. We split up, planning to ambush the leech. I pushed myself even faster. Even if he didn't want me around, I still cared deeply about him. He'd been one of my only friends for years. Just because we had a falling out didn't mean that I could turn off those built up emotions.

I approached Quil's house at full speed, only to see my first hostile vampire. Why he had come here I had no idea, but I was going to get rid of him. I halted about 25 feet from where he was, waiting for Jared to circle around him. The creature had dreads and darker skin. He looked at me curiously as I slowly stalked closer to him. He wasn't nearly as pale as the Cullens I had seen around town, but his eyes were blood red.

"It looks like I've gotten mahself a little too far into ya land." He said with an odd smirk on his face. He knew he was in trouble. Why was he still calm?

"I got a plan though. You're gonna let me right by you." He laughed. Fat chance of that happening. I was going to kill him.

He jerked his head over to the side and that's when I saw him…Quil. He was staring out the window, looking more miserable than I'd seen him in years. I was sure he couldn't see us through the trees, but that didn't prevent me from being able to lock eyes with him. As soon as I did, my entire world changed.

It was like gravity no longer existed. Hell, none of the world's laws did. Any care that I had for myself or others seemed trivial compared to this. There was only Quil. Making him happy was all that mattered. He was the only reason I had to be on this earth and I wanted nothing more than to be by his side…

"EMBRY!" I heard called out. I shook my head to see Jared blaring by me, the leech no longer in sight. He could have killed me if he wanted to, but I guess he decided that his time would be better spent getting the hell off our land. Sam and Paul had made their way over to our side and I quickly joined Jared as we all sped towards the fleeing vampire.

Unfortunately my distraction had let him get too much of a lead on us. He crossed the border, forcing us to stop in our tracks.

"What the hell Embry! You two had him trapped and you let him run right by you!" Sam roared as we trotted back. I could do nothing but hang my head. I wasn't going to admit what had just happened. I was too distraught over it myself.

"Dammit Sam, lay off" Jared said, nudging me as we walked.

"Why should I? He let a leech get away!" Sam retaliated.

"Do you realize where we were? That was Quil's house. Imagine if your mom or someone you cared about was that close to a vampire and tell me you wouldn't hesitate. I'm aware that I don't know much about him, but even I recognize that Quil & Jake are the only two on this reservation that have been there for Embry." Jared stated firmly. I looked at him with a new sense of respect. I guess I'd never really noticed him, as he was a year above us, but he was observant. He didn't know how accurate he was…

Sam let out a heavy sigh. "Just don't get distracted again…" he trailed off as we neared the reservation and split ways. I nodded solemnly before getting back into the house, narrowly beating mom back in. That's the last thing that I needed to top off this miserable day.

I can't believe that I'd let the leech go. People could die because of my lack of focus. He seemed to know though. I'd heard of their kind having special abilities. Maybe he could read my mind or somehow figure out people I cared about. Both thoughts sent a shiver down my spine. If either of those was right, he'd have no trouble hurting me without even needing to come near me.

Which brings me back to my earlier question. Why can't things ever be easy? There was no denying what had happened. I'd seen it in all three of the others' minds. That pull could only be caused by imprinting. If that was the case, Quil was supposed to be my soul mate. As much as the thought should elate me, one thought completely dominated everything: I'm fucked.

I couldn't have a mate that would someday return the feeling. Quil had already completely denied me. Sure, the imprint hadn't been in place yet, but I already knew what was going to happen. He wanted nothing to do with me and just because some supernatural leash had tied me to him wasn't going to change that.

I pulled out the last carving I had been working on. I hadn't worked on it since the day of the bonfire and my first phasing. As I shaped it into yet another wolf, I allowed my mind to wander again. Life just kept getting more complicated. What little household stability that I'd had over the years was diminishing quickly. I needed to tell her, sooner rather than later. I guess I could live with this for now, but if she found out I was still sneaking out, it might be time.

Then there was Quil. I guess my feelings for him had been justifiable after all. He was supposed to be my other half. The one to complete me. Instead, karma had decided that only I should have the feelings. I felt the anger and sadness at that thought course through me. The sudden emotion caused me to tense up and I felt my carving knife slice through the wood as if it was butter. It didn't stop there and I soon had a large gash across my hand.

"FUCK!" I yelled out, as the pain snapped me from my thoughts. I guess I wasn't used to this new strength. Note to self: Don't mess with knives while distracted.

I watched as the cut suddenly began to heal itself, leaving no evidence of a wound that would have required stitches without the wolf gene. I guess this healing was pretty fast-acting. The only evidence left was the red glint on my blade.

As I stared at the glistening tool, my mind began to really feel weighed down. I couldn't control that my mom hated me. I couldn't control that Quil was disgusted at the revelation that I loved him. I couldn't control that Sam seemed bitter that we might be brothers or for my being a weak link in his pack. I couldn't even control that I had turned into a giant wolf and imprinted on the only person I'd ever been interested in. These were things that were pretty much out of my hands.

The blade however, was not. The quick mistake had made me realize something. Pain that was from outside sources was eating me alive. It dominated my thoughts and was completely taking over my emotions. The slip had been a blessing. I had found something that had taken my mind off of everything else, however briefly.

I slowly lowered the blade back down, dragging it across my arm and watched as the crimson liquid rose to the surface. Pain flooded my mind, canceling all other things out. It forced me to be aware of the present, not stuck in my own head. Even as I hissed at the pain, I relished in the dominant simplicity of the feeling. This pain was basic and without strings attached. I'd found a release and it was something that I could control.

Quil's POV

Things were falling apart. I still hadn't spoken to Embry since the bonfire. I felt miserable because of it. I'd actually gone to his house, but he wasn't around. Probably off with Sam's group now. I just really hope that he's happy. They've obviously been more welcoming to him lately than I have.

I haven't spoken to Jake in a couple of days either. One afternoon I was watching him work in the garage, as usual. Throwing in my occasional remarks and trying to engage him in conversation. He just seemed really frustrated. His anger's been getting to him lately, and without having Embry there to act as a buffer for some of my nonsense, he finally snapped at me. I'd been joking that he was never going to finish his Rabbit when the wrench flew by my head. That was enough of a sign that I'd worn out my welcome.

I looked out the window, thinking about all that had happened in the past week. I'd betrayed one of my best friends and pissed off the other. I needed to make things right. I'm sure that Jake and I would be fine at some point, but I needed to find a way to talk to Embry. He had never avoided Jake and I for this long. We'd been his safety net before I went and fucked everything up. This time apart has really made me realize how much I need him in my life. I'm starting to wonder if it would be worth it to just face the world with him by my side. Of course, at this point I'm not sure whether or not he'd even still be interested. I just wish I knew what he was thinking…

AN: I feel like I should say that I do not suggest the use of self-harm as an escape. I'm not one to judge, as everyone has their own issues and sometimes you have to find your own coping mechanism, but I would recommend avoiding such extremes. There are better distractions out there.

That being said, I'm curious how you felt about this chapter. If you have hostile opinions about it, I'm curious to hear them. If you enjoyed it, I'd love to hear that too. Feedback really does play a major part in my writing process.

Final note: It may be a while before I'm able to update. I'm going to be extremely busy, so it may be a week or two before I'm able to return to this. I won't be abandoning it, but I do have to sort some real life things out. If I get time, I'll try to get some writing in, but there's a solid chance that it'll be a little bit before I can...