AN: Sorry that it took so long to get this update up. I've been extremely busy dealing with real life things, so I haven't had the time to write. Finally got enough free time to write up a chapter, so I hope you all enjoy. I truly appreciate all of your reviews and feedback.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Special Note: I would like to take this time to recognize my friends in New Zealand. The world lost a great man this week, as Matt passed away on May 2, 2012. I will truly miss our talks and banters, but I know that he's watching over his family from a better place, free of the pain that he's been in throughout these last few months. I hope that you guys find some peace as time goes by. None of the cliche statements really help in this situation, but I want you to know that you're in a lot of our thoughts. Matt reached out to a lot of people and was a great man. I'm sorry for your loss.

"If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong."

Embry's POV

It didn't take long for my newfound habit to fit into my routine. I'd wait for mom to go to work before slipping out for patrols. We'd run silently, continuing to find traces of the vampire that I'd let escape. Fortunately mom's work schedule was predictable and Sam helped me by working my patrols around it. I knew he wanted me to tell her so that he wouldn't have to cater to that need, but I was afraid. I knew I couldn't put it off forever though.

As I said, my cutting began to be more normal as well. I knew I should feel like shit for resorting to such an escape, but I couldn't help it. I was used to pain, so being able to be the source of it was a nice change. I began to experiment with deeper cuts. I could feel the fact that my energy was being drained from the constant need to heal, and I hadn't had an appetite recently. That probably had something to do with the imprint eliminating my cares about this world.

I couldn't help but to wonder if it was possible to make a cut that wouldn't heal. The thought of death started to rise in my head. My parents didn't want me as a son. My alpha didn't want to deal with me in his pack. My soulmate didn't even want me near him. Would it really be a bad thing if I was gone? Nobody would miss me and maybe it's what I could do to actually make everyone's lives better...

It had been about 2 weeks since I imprinted. I hadn't seen Quil since that day. I was doing what he had wanted me to: not be something he had to deal with. Thus, I pretty much only did patrols and sat in my room. Today was the day that things were going to change, one way or the other. We were running patrols when Sam finally released us for the evening. He was even going to give us a day off. I guess even Protectors needed an occasional rest.

I hopped up into my window, hoping to find some sleep. The pain of the nightmares was only somewhat as bad as regular life. I stopped dead in my tracks as I realized that my room wasn't empty. Mom had gotten home early...

"Decide that my grounding you was a joke?" she asked, glaring at me.

"No...it's just that I had responsibilities to take care of" I sighed.

"Responsibilities? I think it's time you explained!" she yelled.

"All right...let's go in the living room." I mumbled.

She walked out of the room and sat down on the couch, watching me with anger brooding under her eyes.

"I guess I'll get straight to it. You know about the legends that they tell around here, right? About werewolves and vampires?" I asked, wondering if she had ever actually listened to them.

"Yes, those childhood fairy tales. Do you plan to actually get to the point?" she snapped.

"They're not just stories mom. They're true, and I'm a wolf. It's why I asked if Uley was my father. Only a few people could carry the trait." I mumbled.

"You can't expect me to actually believe you." She asked incredulously.

"How about I show you. Let's go out in the woods and I'll prove it." I said. This was the easiest way.

She nodded and we went out back. I went behind a tree and began to strip before focusing on the animal within. He quickly emerged to the surface and I felt myself fall onto my paws. I walked out and approached my mother, who had a stunned look on her face before she darted back towards the house.

I phased back and ran in after her. "Mom!" I yelled as she quickly emerged out of her room with a frantic look on her face.

"I'm sorry, Embry. You tell me there's vampires and that you're a wolf guarding this place?" she asked.

She's sorry? That's gotta be a good thing, right? I mean, maybe she'd unground me. "Yes, that about sums it up." I said, hopeful that it meant that she'd finally understand.

"I'm sorry, but I can't deal with this. I've been contemplating leaving to Seattle for a job, and this just seals it. I can't live in a place surrounded by vampires while housing a beast in my own home."

"What? You're just going to leave!" I yelled. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. I had a knack for people not wanting to be near me.

"I don't want this in life. You're part of a group, right? Have one of them take you in. This place was pre-furnished, so I don't have to worry about dealing with movers." She rambled off as she threw things in boxes. I stood their shocked as she quickly placed her clothes, belongings, and everything else into the back of her SUV.

"I'll be contacting the landlord to know we're not continuing our time here. I'm sorry, but I can't have a…a freak under my roof. Goodbye Embry." She said firmly, without any sign of emotion as she stepped into the vehicle and drove away.

I was in turmoil. My home was gone. I silently walked into what had been my house for most of my life. What was I going to do? Move on, I guess. Not like I had much of a choice.

I had a couple of plastic tubs that I used to throw what little I had in. That really consisted exclusively of my clothes, carvings, and a few other odds & ends that I had accumulated. I finished by taking off the sheets and pillows from my bed. It didn't take much to stow my life into something I could carry. Guess not having much did have its advantage every once in a while…

I took the bins outside and thought about where I would go. The answer was pretty easy to figure out. Long ago, Quil, Jake, and I had found this really cool cave in the woods. There was a small river near it that ran to the beach and the shelter would be enough to protect me from the elements. I locked the door to my house one last time before making my way slowly through the woods.

It took me about 20 minutes to get to the cave. It was quite out of the way, so I didn't have to worry about being found. I thought about what my mother had said. I couldn't ask to live with one of the pack. Sure, Sam would probably do it because he's the Alpha, but I'd rather be out here than do that. I was already the weak link and probably his unwanted brother. I was not gonna be a charity case.

I quickly set all of my things inside the cave and began to walk down to the river. Cupping my hands, I took a gulp of the fresh water, glad that my wolf genes would fight off any potential diseases in it. After getting cooled down, I made my way back to the cave.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that she took it this way. I mean, she had a point. Who'd want to live in a place that historically featured vampires, let alone have to live with a werewolf? It was more than anyone who wasn't raised on the tribe's beliefs to grasp easily. Hopefully she'd be safer in Seattle. As much as I recognized that our relationship was rocky, I never thought she'd just abandon me. Even if she didn't like me, she'd always provided what I needed to survive. Now I had no address, no phone number, or anything else to get in contact with her. I was truly disconnected.

I heard my phone beep. As I pulled it out, it powered itself down because the battery was dead. Maybe I could charge it at Sam's or something. For now, I guess I was just cut off. I looked at my pillows, realizing that nothing would actually make the rock ground comfortable. Then the idea of phasing came into my mind. As I let the heat boil inside, I was suddenly a wolf again. Curling up in a ball, I was able to feel as comfortable as possible on the hard surface as I tried to get some sleep.

That night I dreamt, just as I always do. Doesn't take 3 guesses to figure out who the subject was. I kept replaying the moment at the beach and the pain of feeling Quil storm off away from me.

"What the hell am I? And what are these thoughts I'm seeing?" I heard someone loudly yell, startling me awake. I panicked as I realized that someone had phased and apparently my subconscious thoughts weren't nearly as shielded as my conscious ones were. I shook my head to clear the cobwebs. No more sleeping in wolf form.

Why was someone phased? Everyone should be taking their day off right now. It's not like anyone phased for fun or anything.

"What's your name, wolf?" I asked. I could see through his eyes and caught a glimpse of a russet colored fur as he ran through the trees. New recruit?

"Who are you? And how do you know I'm a wolf? Better yet, why should I answer anything you have to ask?" he ranted. There was an authority behind his presence that made me slightly cower down, similar to when Sam was around. Though from what I'd heard, there was only one other person that was supposed to be capable of carrying the authority of an Alpha. That could only mean one thing…

"Is that you, Jake?" I questioned.

"Yeah, who's asking?" He growled back.

"It's Embry…" I mumbled.

"Oh, Em! Thank God it's you. Is this why you ran off to join Sam and his gang. Is this what you guys are?" He rambled on.

"Yeah. Normally Sam would tell you all of this, but the legends are true. We protect the reservation from vampires." I summarized. He knew most of the legends, so it wasn't too hard to explain what was going on.

"How long since you became one of them? Was it around the bonfire?" he queried. Guess he would notice when I stopped hanging around, but that was only part of the reason.

"Yeah, that night actually." I murmured. It was easier to just keep things simple for now.

"We were wondering what happened. Quil seemed really distressed when he saw you out there with Sam and company." Jake mentioned. Distressed. As much as I wanted it to be because he was worried about me, I knew that it wasn't the truth. He didn't want to be around me and seeing me had reminded him of what I was. Apparently he hadn't told Jake though, which was a relief. Still, I had a feeling Quil would be next, and then everyone would know.

"Speaking of Quil, what were those thoughts that I first saw. Did you two have a fight or something?" he pressed.

Shit. I didn't want to talk about this at all. Fortunately he didn't seem to know exactly what happened, so I felt that I could be vague. I just mentioned that we got into a spat on the beach because of my growing temper and that I'd phased shortly after. He accepted the explanation unquestioningly, remembering back to when he threw a wrench at Quil. Guilt suddenly flooded through him at the memory, but he shook it off.

"So, anything else I need to know about this wolf thing?" Jake asked.

I explained about how most of the pack could see through each other's eyes and communicate freely. Jake admitted that he couldn't see my thoughtsbut got a little fidgety when he realized I could see whatever was on his mind at present. He seemed to be trying to avoid thinking of something, but I wasn't going to push him. I had the unfair advantage of being immune to their prodding. I mentioned imprinting and the temper that explained why the pack stayed away from others. Jake seemed to be taking everything in stride.

I eventually went into how he could phase back and it wasn't long before I felt his mind slip away from mine. He had said something about wanting to meet up sometime soon to hangout again and I told him we'd get together that afternoon. I told him to phase later and we'd meet up because my phone was dead and I didn't have the charger. It wouldn't have been the first time that had happened and it was more or less the truth. I was just missing the charge, not the charger.

I hunted a deer down to make sure that I actually had some energy. My appetite was all but gone, but my wolf still seemed to want to hunt to stay alive. I guess it was the human side of me that had lost hope in things. I'd just have to rely on my wolf for now.

As I walked back to my cave, I felt the crushing loneliness come back. I had gone from lying to my mother to lying to my pack brothers. Oh well, they don't need to be weighed down by my thoughts. Whatever keeps them happy in their own lives is all that matters…

Quil's POV

I'd had enough. I hadn't seen anything of Embry in weeks. He was doing a hell of a job avoiding me, but I'd had it. It was the middle of the afternoon, and I'd seen Jared and Paul hanging around town. That meant that Sam's little gang wasn't all gathered. Embry had to be at home.

I went over and knocked on the door. Nobody answered, but I wasn't going to be deterred this time. We needed to talk. I looked under the flower pot and found that the spare key was still there. He'd shown me it years ago, but I never needed it. It was rare that doors in this town were ever locked. Nobody seemed afraid that anyone would rob them. Then again, most of us didn't have too much that would be valuable, other than old heirlooms. Most of them were affiliated to the particularly family, so it'd be obvious where things came from. Ultimately, nobody really had anything to fear.

I opened the door and walked inside of the dark house. The first thing I noticed was how empty it was. None of the usual clutter or anything. I walked to Em's bedroom, only to find it completely cleared out. All of his clothes were out of the closet and there was nothing in the room other than the furniture. I looked in his mom's room to see the same thing. What was going on?

I walked out and headed for the beach. It seemed to be the only place that relaxed me, and I needed that right now. I had been feeling a lot hotter lately and even gotten in a shouting match with my grandfather. His cane had left a nice lump on my head after that one.

As I was walking along, I caught sight of Jake in the distance. He had his back turned to me, but it wasn't hard to figure out that it was him. With him was the person I'd been looking for…Embry. Before I could take off after them, however, a loud howl filled the air and the two took off running into the woods. I tried to chase after them, but found no trace. I cursed as I headed back home, more confused than ever. Jake was hanging out with Embry again, but did that mean he had joined Sam's cult? On top of that, why was Embry's house empty if he was still here? I needed answers, but I was going to have to track him down first. I wasn't going to let him get away again if I could help it…

Well, that's the latest chapter in FML. Once again, I apologize for the wait, but I hope to at least get back to weekly posts (if not twice a week, but I'm not sure yet). As always, I appreciate any feedback that you have. To be honest, this is probably the least-edited chapter I've written for any of my stories, so I apologize if it's a lot worse.