Chapter 10

Annalise's POV

I rub my sleepy eyes and look around. I'm in my bed in the cottage. How did I get here? I feel the bed shift and turn my head to meet a sleeping Nessie. I slowly turn to face her completely and her eyes fly open.

"Hey," her voice groggy.

"Hey," I smile. My hands tucked under my face.

Her face falls. "What do you think happened? I was sitting in the couch with Jacob when I see him jump up and run phasing in the process," she whispers.

I frown remembering how Embry reacted. "There was something, it smelled like our family and ran fast too," I sit up and replay everything. "I saw it, it was a man. Tall, slim yet built. He was wearing-" I squint hard as if that was going to help me remember. "He was wearing a navy blue suit jacket… it was so fast. Embry phased and chased after it,"

Nessie also sits up and frowns. In a flash her expression turns to worry. "You think they caught him?"

I shrug, "I have no idea but I truly hope everyone is ok," we sit in silence thinking of what really is going on.

Embry's POV

We're all around the Doc's office. The Cullen's with the exception of Emmett stay quite while the rest of us are yelling suggestions.

"We need to have patrols 24/7!" Seth says.

"We have to protect the tribe!" Jared yells.

"We can catch him by surprise! Then kill it!" Quill suggest.

"How if every time we get near it, it sends us in a different location?!" Leah sneers.

Jacob slams his fist on the table making a crackling sound. The room falls silent. "We need to act smart and make rules to insure the people we love are safe. The wolves who have imprinted will patrol areas near your imprint and the rest will patrol the main lands. We will patrol the boarders around the clock. When I'm not here Embry will be in charge,"

They all look at me and I look at Jake in shock. "Jake, are you sure?" I don't think I'm capable.

He pats my shoulder. "Of course I'm sure."

"The rest of us will keep guard near forks and port Angeles to see if we catch the scent there," Carlisle's calm voice says.

Jacob curtly nods. Edward stands next to the Doc. "My daughter and my niece are not permitted to go to La push. They will have a curfew of being in their house at six pm. If they are with you while in the woods then you would need to be in you wolf form," and Edwards parental side has showed up. He stares at me and Jacob dead in the eyes.

We both nod. I mentally sigh, I know Annie is going to hate this.

Annalise's POV

"Why? We went cliff diving the other time," I don't understand why we can't go. He has refused to take me to the beach, mall, the walks down the forest, and now cliff diving. I sit on the floor with five books open around me, a notebook in my lap, and a pencil in my hands looking at Embry with a frown.

He seems frustrated but not at me at… I don't know really. He stands from my bed. "We can't go Annie, now do your homework,"

"Do my homework? I want to know why all of a sudden I can't even go to the bathroom by myself, someone has to be with me all the time," I cross my arms livid. I breathe in and out to try to calm myself.

He runs his hands over his curly hair and over his face as he paces my floor. His eyes wild, "I can't, ok!" I stare at him in shock. Not once has he ever yelled at me. My eyes begin to water, "Shit," he mumbles. His eyes soft. In seconds he flings my stuff to the side and sits next to me wrapping his arms around me. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you." He sighs heavily as I try to recap what just happened. "This situation is driving me crazy. It's crazy and dangerous and I can't tell you to protect you," his finger curls under my chin to lift my gaze from the ground. My eyes meet his deep brown ones. "I need you to trust me. Please, trust that whatever I'm doing is to make sure you're safe,"

I sigh. It's killing me to not know what's actually happening but looking at his eyes I understand the need he has to keep me safe and for that I'll try to pretend things never changed. "Alright." I see his body relax and his beautiful smile appears. "But," his face falls. "I can't just sit around doing homework all day every day. I want to have fun."

"I just-"

I roll my eyes and stop him, "-I know what you said. Who said that to have fun you have to leave the house?" I smile and begin standing. I stretch my arm out with my hand open, "May I borrow your phone?"

His eyebrow shoots up, "May ask for what?"

I giggle, "To call Nessie silly. She's just as trapped as I am and we can do something fun together," he has a huge grin as he fishes for his phone. I search for Jake because I know for a fact he's there.

"What's up?" No hello, weird.

"Hey can Nessie come on over here?"

"Annie?"

I roll my eyes and chuckle. "No, my voice just got higher." I hear him laugh along with Nessie. "Yes its Annie, just knew Nessie's with you and I need her here,"

"Sure, sure," I close the phone and hand it back to Embry with a smirk.

He squints his eyes. "What are you up too?"

"You'll see," I hear a lot of commotion and mix scents of almost my whole family. Daddy's in my room in a flash.

"What's going on? Why did you need Nessie?" he's been jumpy too and practically shadows my every move.

"I just needed a prison buddy." I hear Nessie laugh before walking in.

"And you saved me from a physics lesson, thanks," she winks.

"Anytime. Now I was thinking-"

"-That can't be good," Jacob sly grin makes everybody in the room chuckle…except me.

"Well, Jakey," we all begin laughing and his smile disappears. I know he hates it, well not when Ness says it but Embry and I laugh at him over it. "You along with Embry are going to have fun with what I had planned,"

He swings and arm over Nessie and at Daddy's growl he takes it out just as quick. He clears his throat now embarrassed. We snicker, "And what will that be?"

"Baking!" Nessie giggles and high fives me and Embry's expression along with Jake's are blank.

Daddy stifles a laugh. "Great idea honey. Um… have fun guys," he pats Embry's shoulder as he walk out the door with a big smile in his face.

"Yeah Annie, good idea. I've always wanted to bake but I was too small and then I totally forgot about it."

"And I thought maybe bake for the whole pack. I notice that they've been all busy," I look at Embry and see him stiffen. "So let's get baking," I smile at him and he relaxes once again.

It's still killing me not knowing but I need to trust he has a good reason. Ness and I walk down the stairs and into the kitchen taking out the bowls and stuff. The guys stay in the background. Jake leaning against the wall and Embry standing with his hands in his pockets by the entrance of the kitchen.

Ness takes out the cook book and two of us look at all the recipes. Since this will be our first time really cooking anything we settle on a simple cake. Actually several of cakes so each wolf can have one of their very own. We know how hungry they can get, more so after their patrols.

I mix all the ingredients into a bowl while Nessie puts the prepared batter in the oven. When she's done she stands next to me and grabs my hand. Annie I was thinking. Jake and Embry are good at making the small details on cars look amazing. What if we ask them to decorate the cakes with the name of the wolf and anything they think they might like. Who knows them better than their alpha and second in command? She smiles.

I nod. And look at the guys who look bored out of their minds. "So…" I begin and I see Embry's head whip up to my direction. "We have a job for you," I smirk.

"Oh god, what is it? And I'm not wearing and girly apron," Embry points to Momma's pink apron I'm wearing.

"Fine, but you will decorate the cakes," I nod with finality.

Jake took more convincing but before they knew it they were almost down with the last cake. "Paul is going to pee his pants when he sees it," Jake laughs with his fist by his mouth as Embry puts the last frosting on the cake. I look at the cake and see a boat in the water. I laugh remembering the story they told me.

As they were busy decorating the cakes of all the wolves Ness and I were decorating the cakes of the most important ones.

I feel hot in my face as I hold Embry's cake in my hands and walk up to him. I clear my throat…

Embry's POV

I hear a delectable throat clearing and I turn around laughing at Paul's cake. I stop shocked at the site before me. My little imprint stands before me with a blush and an amazing cake in her hands. It has my name professionally written in the middle with a wolf howling out the side and a half sun at the background. "For you," her blush grows bigger.

I look at the cake then back at her. I take hold of the amazing cake and set it on the island and immediately hug her wrapping my giant arms around her small frame. I look back at her hypnotizing gray eyes. "You didn't have too," her eyes fall. "But I love it!" she beams.

"You do?"

"Yes, I don't even want to eat it,"

"You better eat it…you know after a few pictures," we laugh. She truly is amazing. I see Ness has also given Jake a cake with his wolf only it covers everything. It fits, he is the alpha.

We get busy inviting everyone to the cottage of course after they double check that they didn't smell anything. Leah surprised us all by hugging Nessie and Annie, she looked touched. They all laughed at what Jake and I decorated on the cakes. Everybody congratulated them in making good tasting cakes, more that that was the first time they ever baked. Paul almost fell out of his seat laughing but he said that good part of all this is that he'd get to eat an entire cake by himself.

I laugh and smile but I can't stop looking at my cake and Annie. She is an amazing little girl and it fills me with happiness to think what the future holds for us…