Chapter Nine: The Deity

The sound of the doorbell ringing startled me, pulling me immediately from my half-asleep state and caused me to uproot myself from my fetal position. I made a dash from my bedroom and down the stairs, heading straight to the front door. Peering through the spy hole, I saw a young man with russet skin, closely cropped dark hair, and a lean and attractive build. Immediately curious, I unlatched the door and pulled it open, darting back from its impressive frame, and raised my eyebrows to the visitor.

"Hi," I say, and the guy's eyes immediately pop and he looks as if he's suddenly found something he's lost. "Can I help you?"

"Sorry, I was looking for Chief Partridge," the guy says, stumbling over his speech. "I must have the wrong house..."

I chuckle at his insecurity; not in jest, but it was so refreshing to finally talk to someone who didn't have it all figured out. "No, it's cool, you don't have the wrong house. He's just out fighting fires right now. Did you need something?"

The guy shakes his head again; he is a foot taller than me, and his muscles are indeed impressive to look at, if you're into that sort of thing. "No. Chief Swan and Sue are just having a get-together across the street. Charlie said that we should go and see if Chief Partridge was available to come by..."

I shake my head. "Dad's at work—sorry. I know he and Charlie are close."

The guy's perfectly arched brows shoot upwards. "Wait—you're Chief Partridge's daughter?" he demands.

I nod, throwing up a hand. "Guilty," I reply.

"I'm Chief Swan's grandson-in-law's best friend, if that makes any sense," he says, a light chuckle escaping his perfect lips as he puts out a hand. "Embry Call. So, that must make you Elizabeth, right?"

I smile and reach out to return his handshake, ever-loving this simple formality with this mystery door knocker. "Beth," I tell him quickly. "Never liked all the formality attached to that name, you know?"

Embry laughs. "I hear you. Listen, the invitation was extended to you, too. Chief Swan said that your dad was invited, but Sue said not to take 'no' for an answer. Edward said that you were here all alone and Sue hates not including people..."

I smile at that. "That's sweet, really." I turn back and look at the empty house, and think it is a marvel that I've managed to keep my sneakers on for so long. "All right, I'll go." I make sure my cell phone is still in my pocket and I make a grab for a sweater from a peg on the wall just inside the door before pulling it shut and locking it with my old, brass key. After Embry's assurance that I don't need to bring anything with me to the Swan house, I allow him to escort me across the street and up the set of stairs, shorter than ours, and Embry walks right in like he owns the place.

"Sue! Charlie!" he calls. "Chief Partridge wasn't at home but I managed to find someone with that last name!" he says, putting an arm casually over my shoulders and leading me into the kitchen, were Sue is preparing something that smells delicious.

"Oh, Beth, at last!" Sue says warmly, quickly washing and drying her hands. She had been cutting onions, but their juices don't seem to affect her, as no tears leave her eyes. She walks across the room to me and embraces me, and she feels so soft and warm that I find I am not averse to this sudden physical contact.

"Nice to finally meet you, Sue," I say, feeling confident that 'Mrs. Swan' would be far too formal for this occasion.

Sue pulls back and stares at me and flashes me a smile. "Spitting image of your father, no doubt about it," she assures me, patting my cheek. "Soda, water, and fruit juices are in the fridge—show her, will you, Embry?—and everyone's gathered in the living room. Make yourself at home, Beth."

Embry saunters over to the fridge, pulling out an individual bottle of orange juice for himself and gestures to the various shelves. "Want anything?"

I duck under his arm, flashing him a smile as I take a bottle of apple juice out of the fridge with a small giggle. "Gotta be quicker than that," I tell him, and Embry has the decency to look flushed at our close physical contact. I find my heart skip a beat as I stand near him as I shut the fridge and walk into the living room, cursing myself for flushing, too as I make my way over to a couch.

"Hey, Beth," Bella says with a smile.

"Good to see you," Edward puts in. "You just missed Jacob and Renesmee, although if I couldn't sense what he was thinking, he'd have left a long time ago."

Bella swatted his knee. "Not here," she hisses at him. She raises her eyes to Embry, who is standing behind the couch, directly behind me. "You okay, Embry?" she asks him, looking genuinely concerned.

Edward raises his eyes to Embry, and something seems to register within him, because he laughs and lowers his eyes. "He's fine," he assures Bella.

I look from Embry to Edward and back again, wondering what is transpiring beneath the surface, and wonder if I'll ever be privy to it. I settle into the couch then, and find that it is remarkably comfortable for such an old model; Sue must've had the cushions replaced recently, I reason with myself, unscrewing the cap of my apple juice and sipping it slowly, looking around the living room. There is a definite sense of outdoorsman around the place, for Charlie seems to have a fisherman theme going on, something that he and my father had done many a weekend before when they both had work off. "Your dad catch anything lately?" I ask Bella.

"Caught some salmon on the Columbia River a few weeks ago, as a matter of fact," Charlie says, stepping into the living room then, beer can in hand. "Sue and I get this annual Christmas present from Bells and Edward where we go salmon fishing in the summer. We always look forward to the gift," he goes on, looking affectionately at Bella as a few more boys step into the living room behind him, all with similar coloring to Embry, and raise their eyebrows at my sudden appearance. I do my best to smile and greet them all in turn; I don't want anyone thinking I'm an impolite guest.

I'm introduced to them one by one by Embry, and I absorb their names rather quickly: Quil, Jared, Paul, and Sam. Sam, although he seems to have kind eyes beneath the surface, is the tallest and most muscular of the bunch, and I catch the glint of a gold band upon the third finger of his right hand. A young woman comes in from the back—I'd heard her speaking to Sue in the kitchen—and Sam immediately puts his arm around her, almost as if he sensed her coming. I'm told her name is Emily Young, and that she is Sam's wife of several years; half of her face is perfect, while the other half looks as if she'd been mauled by a wild animal. I don't make a show of not staring, for I want everything to appear normal. Emily is visibly pregnant, and I am quick to congratulate her.

She beams. "Thank you!" she says, moving away from Sam's side and coming to sit down next to me on the couch. "It's our third."

"Well, you look amazing," I compliment her.

Emily looks touched. "You're sweet," she replies. "We've got two boys now—named Joshua for Sam's father, and then there's Caleb, after Sam's grandfather. We're finally expecting our first girl by next year," Emily glows, "and we're thinking of calling her Charlotte after Sue's mother."

"Charlotte's a beautiful name," I reply.

"So, I know that your father is a firefighter," Emily says, clearly interested in continuing our conversation, "and I know he and your mother never got married."

"Emily," Sam says, softly, a warning.

Immediately, I turn to look at Sam. "It's fine, really," I assure him with a quick smile before turning back to Emily. "No, they didn't get married, but it doesn't matter. My mother has a new boyfriend—he's a B-movie actor—and she went to go and see him filming his latest monster movie project in Europe."

"That's exciting!" Emily says.

I shrug. "I guess if you're into that sort of thing," I reply with a small laugh. "I'd rather just get on with a sense of normalcy, you know?"

Emily nods like she understands, and we continue making small talk for about another fifteen minutes before Sam claims that they are running late to pick up their children from a playdate in La Push. Emily sighs, regretful that we can't talk anymore, and quickly embraces me, and, while thrown, I return her hug. I wave goodbye to her and Sam as they head out and, quite soon, Quil, Jared, and Paul leave as well.

Edward and Bella head into the kitchen, with Bella helping Sue clean up from the party and Charlie and Edward shooting the breeze outside. Embry comes around the couch and sits beside me, having gotten me another juice, and we two make small talk for a little while. He asks me where I was born and I'm honest with him, and he says he was born in La Push, and we continue chatting.

"You're lucky to have a dad," he says after a while.

I take another sip of my juice. "Oh, yeah? Why's that?"

Embry sighs. "Because I don't know who my dad is," he replies. "My mom never told me, although it's been narrowed down considerably for me..."

I raise my eyebrows. "Has it?"

He nods. "Yeah. It's either Jacob's dad, Quil's dad, or Sam's dad."

I nearly choke on my juice. "I know Jacob's dad was married..."

Embry laughs, grabbing a napkin from the coffee table and gently dabbing my face. "He was, yeah. Of course, everyone wants it to be Sam's dad."

"Why?"

"Because Sam's dad always had a bad reputation," Embry replies simply.

I nod. "Well, I can see why people would want it to be Sam's dad, then." I check my phone then and see a text from my dad, from fifteen minutes ago, that he'll be home in an hour. I tell Embry that I'm cooking for me and my dad that evening, and I feel the palpable disappointment in my voice and in Embry's eyes.

"I'll walk you home," he says, getting to his feet and offering me his hand.

I chuckle at that, allowing him to help me up. "It's across the street."

He shrugs. "Does it matter?"

I shrug back. "Guess not," I say, flashing him a grin and walking through to the kitchen to say goodbye and thank you to Charlie and Sue.

Sue embraces me and Charlie grips my shoulder affectionately before Bella pulls me in for a swift hug. Edward gives me a half hug and says goodbye to me as I zip up my sweater and head outside. I manage to get down the stairs without twisting my ankle or killing myself as Embry shuts the door behind me. We walk down the small path between the stairs and the sidewalk and make our way into the middle of the street; Embry reaches for my hand and I allow him to take it.

We get across the street in one piece and head up my father's walk and up the stairs, back onto the front porch where I met Embry just a few hours ago. I turn and face him then, heart in my throat, wondering what to expect next. Despite my mother's urging, I'd never dated anyone down in California, and hadn't done anything with guy's my own age. Having a totally hot one less than a foot away from me was truly a daunting experience.

"Would you mind if I called you sometime?" Embry asks. "Or...texted..."

I laugh a little bit, and that sound eases the tension as we swap phones and put each other's numbers into our contact list. "Thanks," I say as he hands his phone back to me. "You know, other than my dad, you're my first Forks phone number. And that just sounded way more pathetic than I intended it to..."

Embry smiles. "Didn't sound pathetic to me."

I shake my head then, my thoughts turning dark as a cloud moves suddenly over the sun, and the heavens open and it begins to rain. "Oh, rain!" I cry out, shocked.

Embry laughs a little then. "Some say rain is romantic."

"Some say?" I demand, and a crash of thunder overtakes my senses.

Embry smiles, putting a bit of hair behind my ear. "I'd say so."

I lower my eyes. "Maybe," I allow.

Embry reaches out then and tilts my chin up, leaning in and brushing his lips with mine. I feel immense disappointment when I feel absolutely nothing, but it doesn't dissuade my kissing partner. Not wanting to disappoint him, I remain rooted to the spot, crossing my fingers that this loathsome activity ends soon...

The following morning, as dawn broke over the treetops, I kissed Richard goodbye and slipped from the bedroom. I saw Rosalie and Emmett heading into the nursery and I stepped forward, putting a hand on Rosalie's arm. She seemed pleased to see me yet shocked at the physical contact, but I flashed her a smile.

"Rosalie, it would mean a lot to me if you would be willing to be one of my Bridesmaids," I said to her.

Rosalie was touched. "Oh... Oh, Beth," she says, stepping forward and embracing me. "I can't believe it. Thank you."

I pull back then, a bit shocked at the fact that she hasn't released my hands. "Yes. Well, you know as well as I do that you're my sister, Rose."

She grins at that. "I am," she replies. "Emmett and I were thinking of taking the twins and Sarah to Port Angeles to do some more shopping before the move to London. Would it be all right with you if we did?"

I shake my head. "Of course not, Rose. Go right ahead. Have fun."

Rosalie thanks me and slips into the nursery with Emmett as I make my way down the rest of the hall and down the back staircase and outside. I felt like a rat, slipping out of the house just after dawn, and avoiding Alice, knowing that she would be hurt that I was not allowing her to plan my wedding. Besides, I reassured myself, she must've planned Rosalie and Emmett's many weddings over the years, and there were bound to be more. It's not as if I was knowingly taking some satisfaction away from her...

I reach the edge of the woods and, just as I am about to charge through the trees, I hear a howl off in the distance. I wonder if Renesmee is visiting Bella and Edward this morning, and I initially think that the howl resonated from Jacob. Thinking nothing of it, I move to continue walking through the sparse trees, which is when I hear a twig snap. Turning, I see that the howl came from Seth Clearwater, and I find myself smiling at him. Other than Jacob, he was the most receptive to the kindness of the Cullen's and, as Bella's stepbrother, he was part of the extended family as well.

"Hi, Seth," I call out to him, forcing myself not to hold my nose. Even though he was a lovely person, I still had difficulty with their scent.

"Hey, Beth," he says, stepping forward and giving me that sweet smile of his. "How's it going today?"

I return his smile. "Fine, thanks. How are you?"

He shrugs. "Can't complain. Listen," he says, stepping forward, a concerned look in his dark eyes, "you know how us shapeshifters can hear each other's thoughts when we're in our element?"

I nod. "Yeah, Bella and Edward mentioned that..." "Well, I think you should know that Embry's pretty torn up about what happened on the night of your birthday party," Seth blurts out, almost as if he'd been debating telling me Embry's intimate thoughts and feelings on his love life. "I know he probably wouldn't want me saying anything, Beth, but he's like a brother to me. I hate seeing him hurt, and I think he'd really like it if you could give him another chance..."

I sigh. "It's really not that simple, Seth. For one thing, he and I haven't really talked at all, and then he suddenly declares his love for me. Plus, he was really insulting to me when we first met and everything..."

"But I know he's really sorry about that, Beth. He said so."

I smile at him. "I'm sure Embry is sorry, Seth, really. But I don't think it would be a good idea if he and I were friends."

"Why?" Seth asks.

I sigh, shaking my head; I guessed then that werewolves probably weren't really the gossiping kind when it came to other creatures. I held up my left hand, the diamond catching in the morning light as the sun rose; as the great ball of light hit my face, the giant jewel was not the only thing sparkling. "Seth, Richard has asked me to marry him," I reply, slowly, gently. "He asked me last night to be his wife."

Seth shuffles from foot to foot. "And I guess you're not just keeping that jewel warm, am I right?"

I nod. "You would be," I reply. "I told Richard I would be his wife."

Seth nods. "Well, I guess I understand. Hey, everyone wants to be happy, right?"

I nod back. "You'd be right." I chatted with him for another few minutes before excusing myself to continue heading down to the cottage. I open the door without knocking and step inside the living room; the fire is crackling again and, as soon as I shut the door behind me, Bella zooms into the living room.

"Good morning, bride-to-be," she jokes.

I laugh at that, looking behind her. "Where's Edward?"

"Abducting Emmett and Jasper—as Groomsmen, they're obligated to bend to his will when it comes to planning the bachelor party," Bella explains. Her laptop is under her arm and the two of us sit cross-legged on the couch as she opens it, placing it center stage upon her imported French coffee table in front of us. "Now, I assume you want the wedding somewhere memorable?"

I shake my head. "No. Here is fine. I saw some of the shots taken at yours and Edward's wedding, and it was beautiful."

Bella smiles, touched. "Well, then, location is all taken care of. Now, flowers?"

"Roses," I reply, instantly. "They're my favorite and the smell relaxes me. Plus, they're one of the few flowers I can still smell now that I'm a vampire."

Bella smiles in sympathy and writes down the kind of flowers I want. "You and I can go to Seattle or something..."

I smile at her. "There's a David's Bridal in Lynnwood."

Bella raises her eyebrows. "You looked into it?"

I nod. "Yes. Booked us all an appointment for a week and a half. You, Rosalie, Alice, Esme, and I all have to go in there. You need a Maid of Honor dress, Rosalie and Alice need Bridesmaid dresses, and Esme needs a mother of the bride dress. Checked with her already and Esme is all on board."

"And you'll have to tell Alice," Bella says softly.

I nod. "Yes. That'll be a conversation for the books..."

"So, dress shopping appointment has been set, you know what flowers you want, you've picked your location..." Bella types furiously, and as efficiently as a top-notch wedding planner or a college freshman amped up on coffee. "Are you picking out what Richard, Edward, and the Groomsmen will be wearing?"

I shake my head. "But I do have final approval."

"We can get Angela's father to recite the vows if you like," Bella suggests.

I smile and nod. I'd never met Angela face-to-face, but the few times Bella had spoken to her on Skype proved her to be very nice. She had been Bella's closest human friend, and was now happily married to her high school boyfriend, Ben. She and Ben had welcomed their twins, Ophelia and Rex, just a short time ago, and I knew that I would want them all at the wedding.

"Any thought on color?" Bella asks. "For the Bridesmaid dresses?"

"Yes," I reply. "Rosalie in blue, Alice in purple."

Bella smiles. "And me?" she asks, genuinely curious.

"Green," I reply. "Looks good with our hair, you know."

"And you'll be wearing white?" Bella asks.

"Of course," I say, ending on a laugh. "I've always imagined the length, style, neckline... I think I'd like a strapless ballgown of some kind," I reply, lowering my eyes and letting out a small giggle. Leaning in closer to her then, I say quietly, "Do you ever find that certain memories come back to you the longer we're immortal?"

Bella's eyebrows knit together. "Sometimes," she replies. "Why?"

I shrug. "I don't know. It's mainly the week leading up to the transformation that's suddenly coming back to me."

"And you don't think that you might just influence your mind to remember certain things because you're having second thoughts, are you?" Bella asks.

Immediately, I shake my head. "No, never," I say, raising my eyes to meet hers. "I love Richard and I can't wait to marry him."

"Okay," Bella says. "What are you remembering?"

"I remember being alone at my dad's one afternoon and you, Edward, Renesmee, and Jacob went over to your dad and Sue's place," I say softly. "I remember Embry coming over and initially inviting my dad over but when he found out that my dad was at work and that I was his daughter, Embry told me to go over to your dad's and I did." Bella smiles. "Yes, I remember. Edward almost blew his cover on his ability to hear thoughts to you," she says. "Neither of us could explain it, but we were very comfortable around you, more so than other humans. I'm convinced that Alice saw a bit of your future and told Jasper to influence our minds and thoughts and feelings to automatically accepting you. It wouldn't have taken very long if they didn't, however..."

I bite my lip then, concerned. "Embry doesn't seem to remember meeting me initially, but I think that he may have inadvertently imprinted on me..."

Bella shakes her head. "Unless you reciprocated his feelings, he couldn't have. For a long time, Jacob was convinced that he could have imprinted on me. But I never returned his feelings to the degree that he did."

I run my hands through my hair. "He kissed me, and I let him..."

Bella reaches out and grips my hand. "Doesn't mean anything. I know what you've mentioned to me of your past..." She sighs. "In my years of being a vampire, I got a degree in psychology, and I can tell you upfront that, due to your past, you have an instinct to please others for fear of being hurt again."

I lower my eyes. "Dammit...you'd be right..." I sigh, wishing to cry then, and feel my shoulders caving inwards. "God, Andy hurt me so much... All I can remember is trying my best to keep on being nice just so he wouldn't continue... I remember when Embry kissed me, I flashed back to all of Andy's dirty deeds and I just..."

"What?" Bella asks.

"I felt like I was eager to please him," I reply, shaking with broken sobs as Bella reaches out and pulls me into her arms. Even though no tears came, I sobbed brokenly, shaking in my sister's arms. "All I could think of was 'Will he be mad at me if I don't kiss him back?' I just couldn't live with myself if..."

Bella nods. "I know. I can't imagine. I'm so sorry, Beth."

I pull back from her again, letting out a sigh; it was unnecessary, because vampires didn't need to breathe. I rolled my shoulders to get a sense of normalcy before turning to look at Bella's precise notetaking on her laptop screen. "More planning," I say, tucking a stray hair behind my ear and wanting to forget.

Exactly a week and a half later—and a full week after telling Alice that Bella was going to be my Maid of Honor—Bella, Esme, Rosalie, Alice, Sarah, and I all drove along the highway to the Kingston ferry. Once across, we made our way through the city of Edmonds and down south to the city of Lynnwood, where our appointment at David's Bridal was set promptly for eleven a.m. on the dot. Once arriving, I stepped forward and gave my name, and told our attendant, a rather flamboyant gentleman named Harrison, everyone's select roles in my wedding, and he promptly showed us to our space.

"Based on your likes and dislikes for your style," Harrison called over his shoulder, "I've selected a few strapless ballgowns for you."

"Thank you," I reply.

"And I managed to fetch your Bridesmaids a few things in your specifications in the colors you selected."

"How wonderful!" Rosalie said, clapping her hands.

"Pretty fabric," Alice said, running her hands along a purple number meant for her.

"Mother of the Bride, I take it?" Harrison asks, looking Esme up and down.

Esme smiles. "That's me."

"The bride has suggested something in a rose gold for you," Harrison says, and Esme flashes me a smile, touched. "Something in A-line, I think," Harrison continues, "with a diamond neckline and tulip sleeves..." Harrison takes Esme's measurements just to be sure before showing Esme over to her corner, before his eyes land upon Sarah. "And who do we have here?" he asks. "What's your name, sweetheart?"

Sarah smiles shyly, clearly enjoying the attention. "Sarah," she replies.

"My daughter," I say, and, to his effort, Harrison tries his best not to look so shocked. Of course, with Sarah visibly four-years-old, and me looking seventeen forever, it meant I would've had to have her at thirteen, which was clearly shocking.

"Of course," Harrison says. "You must be the Flower Girl."

Sarah grins. "That's me!" she cries, and Rosalie turns from admiring a mermaid-cut blue dress—which would suit her perfectly—and smiles indulgently.

"She's cute, isn't she?" Alice says softly to Rosalie, from her corner of the room, where she is looking at a tea-length purple dress.

Bella chuckles softly at Sarah, and proceeds to look in her corner, where she seems to be taken with a simple, old-fashioned, high-low pale green number. Her perfect eyebrows raise when she sees that its exactly her size, and follows Alice and Rosalie into the suite of dressing rooms around the corner. Sarah gives Harrison some ideas of what she's interested in, and Harrison absorbs her likes and dislikes like some kind of flowery plant. He then puts up a perfectly manicured finger and assures Sarah that he has exactly what she's looking for, and takes her over to another corner where some of the prettiest party dresses I've ever seen are hung up.

Bella, Rosalie, Alice, Esme, and I, of course, decline the offer of champagne but Sarah claps her hands and accepts a sparkling cider. Harrison is careful not to damage the little dresses intended for Sarah as she sips her drink and looks all of them over. Finally, one catches her eye in particular—a sleeveless white gown with violets decorating it. It also sports a white silk ribbon around the middle, and its skirt flares out wonderfully. I move to take Sarah's drink from her and place it upon a side table as Rosalie—now dressed in that beautiful blue mermaid-cut dress—takes her by the hand and leads her back into the dressing room to try it on.

Bella, now dressed in her pale green number, guides me over to the beautiful selects of wedding gown Harrison selected for me. Pouring over them all, I find each is more beautiful than the last, and find out just how difficult this choice will be. My mind wanders then, and I wonder if Richard could manipulate Embry's mind into thinking that he and I had never met before. Of course, I would have always selected Richard naturally, but the very notion that he could have hindered my decision making struck a chord. It was almost as if he was purposefully manipulating my choice to his favor, which didn't really seem fair...

I selected a gown at random and Bella accompanied me back into the dressing room. I held onto the bar along the wall as I stepped into it, getting a look at myself in the small mirror as Bella positioned it correctly and laced it properly in the back. She pulled a bit at the long train and smoothed it in the back while I did so in the front. I raised my eyes to the mirror to look again, but Bella took me by the hand and led me out of my dressing room and down along the others until we got to the 'showroom'. I stood upon the provided hassock in the center of the room and Alice, Rosalie, Esme, Sarah, and Harrison all turned to look at me in this impressive gown.

"One of our originals," Harrison puts in proudly.

"You look beautiful," Alice praised.

"I love the fabric," Rosalie cooed.

"Absolutely gorgeous," Esme put in.

"You look like a princess!" Sarah cries.

"It really suits you," Bella tells me quietly.

I smile at their praise and turn to look at myself in the floor-length mirror behind me. This gown had a sweetheart neckline, was strapless, was white, and was a ballgown. It was everything I wanted in a dress, and I immediately selected it. Alice helped me choose a veil and promised to help me with my make-up the day of, and Rosalie told me that she and I could look in various bridal magazines she had saved and could decide on a proper hairstyle for me. I thanked them all, and even took Esme's advice to wear a tiara inside my veil, as it would look more old fashioned that way.

We bought all our dresses and accessories, which Alice would store in her massive closet until the day of, just to make sure they wouldn't be looked at. Edward had promised not to actively read Alice's mind in the last couple of weeks leading up to the ceremony, so as not to spoil the surprise for anyone. We arrived back home in just under two hours, and Bella went off in the direction of the cottage; Sarah had fallen asleep so Rosalie was going to take her up to the nursery, and Esme and Carlisle were going to go over some more wedding plans with Alice, who was now on board. As I made my way towards the house to see Richard, Bella called me over.

"Edward sent me a text while we were out," she says. "He has an early wedding present for you and would like you to come to the cottage."

Perplexed at what it might be, I moved to follow Bella, taking down my shield. It'd better be good, I joked inwardly, and I swore I could hear a chuckle from the cottage. We made our way through the remainder of the woods, over the lake, and into the last of the trees as we approached the cottage. Bella walked up the small lane first and I followed, shutting the door behind us as she continued down the hall to their bedroom, while I opted to wait in the living room.

"Beth."

I turned to see Edward stepping in, Bella just behind him, and smiled. "Hey," I said as a little sister might say to an older brother, stepping forward and embracing him ever so slightly. "So, why have I been summoned, big brother?"

"It's so weird not being the youngest anymore," he says, shaking his head and producing a box from his pocket. "Open it up," he said encouragingly.

I smile and take the box. "What did you do?" I ask him, pulling slowly at the ribbon that he must've tied himself.

Edward smiles. "Nothing. Promise."

I bite my lip then as I get the last of the ribbon off and lift the lid. Inside the velvet interior of the old box lay one of the most beautiful pieces of antique jewelry I'd ever seen. It was a double rope of pearls, the middle of which would hang downwards towards my bosom and a lone pearl drop dipped from the center. In between the ropes and the pearl was an intricate pattern, with a larger diamond in the center, and was decorated beautifully with smaller jewels. My jaw dropped and, had I still been human, I probably would've dropped the thing and it would've crashed into a thousand pieces.

"Edward..."

"Before you say anything," Edward says quickly, "it was my mother's. Esme, Alice, Rosalie, and Bella all have various pieces of my mother's jewelry. Bella's ring is the most recent piece I gifted," he said softly. "I realized as your wedding approached that, not only had I not gotten you anything yet, but you were still lacking a piece of jewelry once belonging to Elizabeth Masen."

I shake my head. "Edward..."

He smiles, reading my thoughts. "Yes, Rosalie had her eye on this one. Whenever she and Emmett were getting married again, she'd always ask for it, but I knew that Rosalie wasn't the proper owner of this piece of jewelry. And then we met you and I just readily assumed it was for you, and it is."

I smile. "It's beautiful," I say, carefully taking it out of the box and making my way over to the mirror, where I clip it around my neck. "Gorgeous," I whisper, turning this way and that so as the jewels catch the light. "I'll wear it with my wedding dress," I whisper, putting it safely back into the box. I love it, I love it, I love it, I assure him mentally before pulling him into a second hug. "You're amazing, Edward—thank you."

I leave the cottage soon thereafter to allow Bella to tell Edward all about our shopping experience in Lynnwood. I make my way through the woods back towards the house, and soon I am up and over the lake and just by the final batch of trees. Just as I am about to leave them, the familiar twig snap comes forth from behind me and I turn, totally shocked to see Embry behind me.

"Hello, Embry," I say levelly.

He steps forward then, purpose and determination in his eyes. "That leech you're going to marry wiped and restored my memory," he says, flatly.

I stiffen visibly then, knowing that Edward must have read my mind and sent along the message to Richard. Stay out of this Edward, I growl at him. "Did he?" I ask Embry. "I'm sorry—I didn't know."

"How could you not know?" Embry demands, clearly hurt.

I sigh. "Embry, I'm a shield, like Bella. I can't always allow certain abilities to—"

"Affect you, of course not," Embry says, angry. He shakes his head. "I know it was barely for a week, Beth, but we had so much time together..."

I sigh. "I'm sorry, Embry. Memory is a mysterious thing when you're a vampire, really. Every day, it seems, I get another set of my human life into my subconscious, and I'm able to recall more and more. These last couple of days is when I was able to remember some of what went on between us..."

"Did you?" Embry asks.

I nod. "Yes. And I'm sorry to tell you that when I remembered that first day, when the rainstorm happened, and you kissed me, I didn't feel anything."

"You were probably just in shock," he says quickly. "We'd just met a few hours before all that. I mean, sometimes we wolves tend to go too far..."

"Embry." My voice is firm, so he stops talking and making excuses. "It didn't have anything to do with the fact that I'd just met you—it was nothing like that at all. It had to do with the fact that, like Jacob, you believed I had feelings for you. I didn't match those feelings, so you were unable to imprint on me."

Embry looks as if I've knifed him. "That's not true..."

"Embry, yes. Yes, it is true."

He charges at me then, and grabs me by my arms, and it takes all the restraint I have not to lash out at him. "There's still time," he assures me. "We can make this work..."

"Didn't Seth talk to you?" I ask him then.

"Seth?"

"Yes, Seth," I say, firmly. "I'm engaged," I say, just managing to barely hold up my hand. "I accepted Richard's marriage proposal. We're getting married."

"No. No!" Embry says, and lets me go then. Then, after a moment, he says passionately, fervently, "It's not too late," and takes me totally by surprise when he proceeds to lean in kiss me.

"Embry, don't..." I say, but it is too late and he kisses me, throwing his arms around my frame and bringing me up against him. At once, I see red, and shove him away from me, punching him quickly in the face, sending him backwards and hitting a tree. "What's the matter with you?!" I roar at him, and hear a door slam and quick footsteps. I see Edward running from one direction, Bella just behind him, and I feel Richard behind me.

"Edward?" Bella says, shocked.

Richard seems to ambush Embry then, grabbing him by his collar and shoving him up against the tree he'd hit. "She's my fiancée, my fiancée!" Richard hissed in Embry's face, sounding a combination of broken and enraged. "Never touch her again..."

Edward promptly shoves Richard back, holding him firmly. "Richard, let it alone," he tells him, knowing that no good would come of him going into full attack mode.

"Oh, no," Bella says then, and my eyes become unglued from Edward holding Richard as Bella crouches to examine Embry. She gingerly touches Embry's back, where he'd hit the tree the hardest, and Embry lets out an earthshattering scream. Bella dashes to the edge of the woods, presumably about to scream for Carlisle, when Carlisle himself dashes out of the house, breezing past me, Emmett at his heels. Immediately, guilt washes over me as Carlisle examines Embry, and instructs Emmett to help him in lifting him up into the air. The pair of them say nothing as they carry the shapeshifter into the house, just as a car pulls up in the Cullen's driveway. I watch as Jacob gets out of the driver's seat, Renesmee out of the passenger, with Seth, Leah, and Quil getting out of the back. The small group moves up to the main stairs of the house, while howls echo in the distance.

Shaking, I barely glance over at Richard as he moves to comfort me, and dash through the woods, past the cottage, and just keep running. I scale the side of the mountain in no time and climb up to the first cliff I can find—the cliff. I fall to my knees as soon as I reach the top, and let out a scream of frustration, which mingles with the howls of pain I hear, and know that the wolves can feel a lesser extent of Embry's pain. I knew in that moment that I'd pushed Embry away in order not to hurt Richard, but a small part of me had awakened as soon as his lips had met mine. Yes, I loved Embry, but, since I'd given my acceptance to Richard's proposal, I'd given him my heart, and, therefore, could not be imprinted on by Embry, I saw that now.

Letting out a scream of anguish for what could have been, I raise my hands skyward, still shaking. I hoped that Edward wouldn't tell Richard my thoughts in these moments, for I didn't want the world to continue to be black. Yes, I loved Richard, and yes, I wanted to marry him, but as I split the sky, rain and thunder came shooting from me then, and I couldn't see myself doing much of anything.

"Beth."

The word was soft, comforting, and I turned, seeing Richard standing just behind me. I let out a dry sob, dashing to him as the rain fell around us, and threw my arms around him. "Is Embry going to be okay?" I ask him, desperately.

"Yes. Carlisle thinks that he'll be back to himself in a few hours."

I lower my eyes. "Good."

Richard gently raises my chin. "I know."

"Edward told you?" I guessed.

He shakes his head. "He didn't have to. I saw it when he kissed you. I know you only shoved him away because you didn't want to hurt me."

"And are you hurt?"

He smiles, sadly. "Well, I'm only hurt that I didn't give you the opportunity to be with Embry if that's what you wanted."

I shake my head. "I want you," I tell him, instantly.

"And I want you, too, Beth. Even though you love Embry..."

"I love you more," I tell him, firmly.

"I know," Richard replies.

I sigh. "If you don't want to marry me anymore," I say, twisting the ring ever so slightly on its finger, "I understand."

Richard reaches down and takes my hand, hindering me from taking it off. "If you want to give it a shot with Embry..."

"No," I reply. "I don't want to give it a shot with Embry. Promise."

He smiles again. "All right. So, we're still getting married?"

I step forward, and his arms go around me automatically. I tuck my head beneath his chin, and I still find myself feeling safe in his arms. There was no place I'd rather be, in the grand scheme of things, and I knew that this wedding would happen. "We're still getting married," I whisper softly against his throat.