CHAPTER 7

Leah POV:

I walked into the house and hollered, "Seth!" Nothing. "Seth! I need to talk to you."

Mom came out of the kitchen and said, "He came in, slammed the door and went up to his room. What is going on?"

"Embry kissed me and Seth punched him in the face!" I told her in a hurry. I headed upstairs.

"What?" I heard her say behind me. "Leah!"

I went to Seth's door and started pounding on it. "Seth! I need to talk to you. Seth!"

"Go away! I don't want to talk to you," he yelled from inside.

He never locked his door, so I turned the knob. The door flew open. "Well, that's too damn bad because we are going to talk."

He was laying on his bed with his arm flung over his eyes. He sat up as soon as I sat on the bed. "Look, Leah, it's your life. If you want to fuck it up, go ahead. I don't want any part of it!" he spat at me.

"Why are you so pissed off? I thought you liked Embry. I told you, I was kissing him because I wanted to. He wasn't hurting me in any way," I told him.

He snorted. "I didn't hit him because I thought he was hurting you, physically! Geez, Leah, I know you can defend yourself if you need to. It's because . . .it's Embry! Don't you get it? Do you really just want to be one of his 'ladies?' You've patrolled with him. You see how he is with girls. He makes out with them and dumps them. God, Leah, you can't be that stupid."

I smiled. My little brother is so cute. He really cares about me! "Of course I know how he is. I witnessed it first hand on the beach today with him and Mandy, his bimbo of the week. But, Seth, it was so weird. He was with her, but he kept staring at me. She got pissed and made him take her home. Something changed today between us. Tonight we finally gave into it and we kissed. Because you are my brother, I will not go into detail, but it was amazing."

"Yea, but, what if he . . . like Sam . . ." Seth stuttered.

I hung my head and said, "Yea, we talked about that." I looked over at him. "But, I'm not looking to fall in love with the guy, you know? He's not that type. Maybe I just want to kiss a guy, you know? I never really dated anyone but Sam."

Seth nodded and we were quiet.

"I'm sorry. I'll apologize to Embry if you want me to," Seth said.

I smiled. "No, you don't have to. He gets it. Great punch, by the way!" He smiled at that! "Did he hurt your hand?"

He laughed and said, "Yea, a little. I never punched a guy in the face before. I didn't even think about it – I just did it."

I stood up and smiled. "I'm tired, I think I'll go to bed. Thanks, Seth, for being a good brother." I leaned down and kissed him on top of the head, then turned and headed for the door.

"Love you," he said quietly.

"Love you, too," I said as I headed across the hall to my room. I walked into my room to see my mom sitting on my bed!

"Sorry, Leah. I had to see what was going on. Hope you don't mind?" she said.

I smiled as I sat down on the bed beside her. "No, I wanted to tell you anyway."

"So, you and Embry. I didn't see that one coming,"she said with a smile.

"I didn't either. Not at all! It just kind of . . . happened. A few weeks ago, after our first patrol together, we took a walk on the beach because I was having a particularly tough day. God, I've been such a bitch to these guys for so long. And I was really feeling bad that day because of Emily being pregnant. Embry was so nice! He asked me to take a walk, and he offered to listen. Unfortunately for him, I lost it. I told him how I felt and I cried and cried. He just held me and let me cry all over him. Then, he told me about how he felt about not knowing who his dad was. It really helped me to see that he knew how I felt. He told me it was like 'having a hole inside that only one person can fill. But you can't have that person, so it just aches.' That's exactly how I felt! So we talked a little more, and after that, Mom, I have felt so much better. It's almost like I dumped everything there on the beach that night, and walked away from it."

She looked at me with tears in her eyes and pulled me to her. "Oh Leah. I have noticed lately how you are more like your old self. I thought maybe it was just time that had healed you, but I see it was more than that. Whatever it was, I am so happy for you. You were hurt terribly, and I was so afraid that you might never be the same again. It is so good to see that is not true."

She let me go and I said, "Yea, well, Embry has been a big part of that. But that's what scares me too. What if I . . . for some reason, I fall for him, and then he . . . you know imprints . . ."

"Oh honey, listen," she pulled my face around to look at her and said, "in any relationship, there is a chance that things will not go like you want them to. Werewolf or no werewolf! People fall in love, and sometimes one of them falls out of love, or . . . dies." She put her head down for a moment. We all missed Dad so much, but I knew it almost killed her. She sniffed and looked back at me with tears in her eyes and went on, "But honey, that's the risk we all take. Love is worth the risk. I know that if that happened again, it would be devastating. But, what if it doesn't? What if you two stay apart and it never happens? What if you two are meant to be together? You said it was amazing. "

"Yea, it was. But, Mom, we just kissed, you know? And let's face it, Embry's not the type of guy to fall madly in love with a girl. I don't even want to think about love and relationships. Maybe I just want to have a little fun, you know? I never did that. I fell for Sam when I was 16, and I never even dated any other guys. Maybe it's time I do that, huh?"

"Well, there you go. Leah, I can't tell you what to do. You have to do what's best for you. But I would hate for you to be alone all of your life because you are afraid to love again. You would miss out on so much. But I don't want to see you rush into anything either. Take some time. Figure it out. I'll be here for you if you want to talk, OK?"

I hugged her and said, "Thanks, Mom. I'm glad you're here. I love you."

"I love you, too, honey." She pulled away and stood up. "I'm beat! I've got another 12 hour shift tomorrow, so I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

"Night, Mom," I called as she left the room.

I got up and shut my door. I pulled off my clothes and put on a night shirt and crawled into bed. I flicked the light off and laid there in the dark. Images of Embry kept floating into my head. His strong arms around me, his lips on mine . . .

I smiled to myself. It was time to have a little fun. And Embry was just the guy for that.

Embry POV:

For the first time in my life, I went to bed knowing who my father was. Well, I knew his name, but I didn't really know any more than that. Except that Sam thought he was an asshole. Yea, great. But I knew now who I was. I'm a Uley. I wasn't sure what that meant to me. Did it really change anything now that I knew who my dad was? I mean, he wasn't around. All those fantasies I had as a kid – meeting him, talking to him, going to a ballgame or fishing with him – none of those had a chance of coming true. I mean, no one knew if the guy was alive or dead! He walked away and never looked back. Great role model.

Leah told me I should talk to Sam about the family tree. Wow,I had a family tree now! I mean, I guess I had a family tree on my mom's side, but she never talked about it. Her parents were dead, and I never knew if she had any other family. She left that tribe before I was born and never looked back. I guess she and my dad had a lot in common.

I rolled over and tried to get comfortable in my little bed. I closed my eyes again and there was Leah. I could still feel her lips on mine and her body pressed so close . . . She is so gorgeous, and she doesn't even know it. She is so different than the chicks at school. She's smart and really cares about people. And those eyes . . . you could drown in those eyes. Images of her kept floating through my head . . . her smile, her laugh, her walking out of the water in that bathing suit . . Ahhhh! I already took a cold shower when I got home. I really didn't want to take another one. I rolled over onto my stomach. I closed my eyes again and tried to go to sleep. My eye still stung a little where Seth had slugged me. That made me smile. He was protecting his sister from me. I always knew I liked that kid.

I finally fell asleep sometime in the middle of the night. I heard my mom get up and go to work, but I laid there and tried to go back to sleep. I was going to head over to Jake's and work with him in the garage again today. He was getting more and more work, thanks to his dad and Bella's dad, Charlie, spreading the word around. He asked me to work with him and he was sharing the money. I got to do something I loved to do, and get paid for it Sweet!

I finally hauled my ass out of bed and got dressed. I walked to the kitchen and grabbed a box of cereal, a bowl, spoon and the milk and sat down at the table. As I ate my cereal, Leah crept into my mind again. What is it with this girl? Why was she so different? Why could I not get her out of my head?

I finished my cereal and decided I better get going. I put my dish in the sink and went to brush my teeth. I looked in the mirror and my bangs were hanging in my eyes again. I had to get over to Emily and have her give me a haircut. I would have to remember to call her. I could get a haircut, and talk to Sam about the family.

I walked outside toward my truck. "Hey, stud!"

I looked up and there was Mandy, leaning against the truck, in a pair of really short shorts, and small little tank top.

"Um, hey! What are you doing here?" I said.

She came running at me and launched herself at me. I had no choice but to catch her. She put her lips on mine, and her tongue, before I knew what hit me. I surrendered to the assault for a moment then I set her down on the ground and pulled myself away from her.

"Mandy! God! What are you doing? Give me a break. I just woke up," I said rather gruffly.

"Geez, Embry. I thought you would be happy to see me. What's your problem?" Mandy said.

"My problem is you, Mandy. I'm sorry, baby, but this isn't going to work. I thought it would, but you were right about me. I can't stop thinking about Leah. It's not fair to you to be with you and think about another girl." There, I said it. Now go away.

She raised her arm and slapped me across the face! Of course, being a big strong werewolf, I barely felt it. I had to keep from laughing, really. "I hate you, Embry Call! You are a . . . jerk! I never want to see you again!" She turned and flounced away.

As soon as she was around the corner, I let out the laugh that I was holding in. I climbed into the truck and thought, "I can't wait to tell Leah about this."

I drove off to Jake's, looking forward to spending the whole day under the hood of a car.

Leah POV:

What the hell? Not even 12 hours later, and he has his lips and hands all over her!

Since I couldn't sleep, I got up early this morning and baked. I made some banana bread and thought I would bring some to Embry for breakfast. Just as I turn the corner to his house, I see Mandy launch herself at Embry and put her mouth on him. She straddled him and he had his hands on her ass, kissing her. God, Seth was right. I felt so fucking stupid!

I turned and walked away quickly so he wouldn't see me standing there gawking. Tears ran down my cheeks as I ran for home.

Embry POV:

Jake and I worked all morning then hunger made us take a break for lunch. Bella had come over and made sandwiches for us and we were all sitting at the table eating.

I looked over at Jake and said, "So, um, Sue got the test results back and she gave them to me last night."

Jake looked over at me anxiously. I knew that Bella knew about the test. I found out with these imprints, you can't keep anything from them! Emily knew too. "And . . ."

"And, Sam's my brother," I said.

He nodded but didn't say anything. Then he looked at me and smiled and said, "Well, to tell you the truth, I'm kind of disappointed. I was really hoping we were blood brothers for real, you know?"

I did know. I was hoping for that too. "Yea, me too, bro. But we are blood brothers, remember? When we were 10? You stole that pocket knife from your dad and we each cut our thumbs then held them together?"

He laughed, and so did Bella. She said, "You guys really did that?"

Jake said, "Yea, we did. I told Embry I was sick to death of having just sisters and I wished he was my brother. We had seen on some old movie on TV where these two Indians had done that. So, we decided since we were Indians, we could do that too. God, we were such dweebs."

"I don't know. I think it's kind of sweet," Bella said with a smile. Jake looked over and kissed her.

"Oh come on guys! What has it been, like 10 minutes? Can't you go any longer than that without liplocking?" I cried. "I'm still eating here!"

Just for that, Jake pulled Bella close and really kissed her.

"OK, OK, I get it. I'm going back to work." I picked up my sandwich and can of Mt. Dew and walked out of the kitchen toward the back door.

"Come on, Em! You don't have to go," I heard Jake holler.

Yes I did. It made me think of Leah, and I was trying hard NOT to think of her right now. It made me crazy to think about Leah! Ever since I saw her on the beach that day, I couldn't get her out of my head. What was going on here? I walked back into the garage and set my pop down on the bench. I finished my sandwich and took my new cell phone out of my pocket. I was finally making some money, so I bought a cheap, pay as you go cell phone. I dialed Leah's number and waited.

"Hello?" God just hearing her voice made my heart skip a beat. What was wrong with me?

"Hey, baby. I was thinking about you, and it made me miss you," I said.

Click. Nothing. What the hell? Cheap cell phone! Must have dropped the call. I dialed again.

"Look, Embry, I don't want to talk to you, OK?" Click.

What? She doesn't want to talk to me? What the fuck was that about?

Jake came walking back into the garage just then. "Making a hot date for tonight?" he said with a smile.

"Um, no. Not really. I called Leah and she hung up on me. Said she doesn't want to talk to me," I said slowly.

"Leah? What's going on there, Embry? I have a feeling it's more than just her helping you with the DNA tests."

I looked over at him. "Yea, it's more." I told him all about last night. Her being so damn gorgeous in the bathing suit, going there for dinner, after on the couch. "Kissing her is so different that kissing any other girl, man. I don't know how to handle it really. I can't get her out of my head."

"Is it because you actually care about her? I mean, that would be different for you. Actually caring about a girl you were making out with!" Jake said.

"Thanks, Jake! You make me sound like a real asshole! I've cared about girls before!"

He gave me a look.

"What? I have!" Haven't I? Maybe I haven't. "OK, so maybe you have a point. But how would you know? Like you have any experience. I mean, you've only ever loved one girl since you were like 10. That doesn't make you much of an expert," I told him.

"Well, I've kissed other girls, Embry. Come on, you remember Becky in the 6th grade and then there was Allison at the 8th grade dance. And, what was her name, oh yea, Carly in 9th grade. She was hot, actually. She was all over me. Scared the shit out of me!"

I laughed. "Oh, how could I forget! OK, so Mr. Expert, how is it different kissing Bella than ALL of the other three girls you kissed before?"

"Um, well, I kissed her once on the beach, and she slugged me, so, that one doesn't count. But right before the big fight with the newborns, I kissed her. I convinced her to let go and just feel what she felt for me, and she did. Once she gave in to her feelings, it was amazing! Then those two days she spent here with me, taking care of me when I was hurt? Best two days of my life, man. We made out and every time it was so . . . I don't know how to describe it. But I think after the imprinting, now it's so much more intense. It's like there's a connection there that flows between us or something. It's freaky and hard to explain, but it is there. And, dude, when we made lo . . . oh, maybe I shouldn't talk about that. Bella would kill me! Although, when we are in wolf form, you'll probably know anyway. It's hard to get out of my mind."

My eyes grew wide and I said, "Are you fucking kidding me? You and Bella . . . you know, did the nasty? And you are just now telling me? Jake! Come on!"

He laughed. "Yea, I'm so sure she would love to hear it described that way. But yea, and talk about intense. Embry, there is nothing like being with a girl you love like that. Nothing! To hold her and to be able to touch her like that, man . . ."

"Gee, thanks Jake. Like I want to take another fucking cold shower," I muttered.

He laughed and said, "Sorry, bro!"

"Hey, was she a virgin, or did she, you know, do it with . . . him? I asked. "Can they even do that?"

He laughed. "Well, that's really none of your business, but, no she didn't. She said they kissed and stuff, but he never went any further because he was afraid he would lose it and hurt her. I guess that's one thing I can like about the guy," he answered with a grin.

"Wow. Never thought you would do it before me, bro," I said.

He looked at me and said, "You mean, with all of the girls you've been with, you never 'did the nasty?' "

"Hey, unlike you, I tell you EVERYTHING! You think if I had sex with a girl, I wouldn't have told you already?"

He laughed. "Yea, that's true.

"I mean, I had the opportunity a couple of times. And I went pretty far, but . . . I don't know. Something always held me back."

"Maybe you are just waiting for the right girl," Jake said.

"Yea, maybe," I said quietly. An image of Leah smiling at me popped into my head. Maybe I just found her.

He clapped me on the shoulder and walked over to the car he was working on and got back to work.

I did the same, but couldn't get Leah out of my mind. I wish I knew why she was so pissed? Did she decide she didn't want to see me anymore because of the imprinting thing? Was it Seth? What was it? This is going to drive me crazy!

I finished the work on the car, and started it up. Yes! I shut it off and went to the bench to write up the work I did, and put down the cost for parts and labor. "Jake!" I called out. I wasn't sure where he went.

"Yea, under here," I heard him call back.

I looked over to the other car just outside the garage and saw Jake's legs sticking out. I jogged over and said, "Hey, I'm done with the car. I put the paperwork and keys on the bench. Can you call him and let him know it's done? I really want to find Leah and find out why the hell she is so mad at me."

He crawled out from under the car and sat up. He gave me a smile. "You're lucky I feel sorry for you, bro. If it were any other of your bimbos, I would say no. But for Leah, well . . . I'll make the exception."

I laughed and said, "Thanks, dumb ass. I love you, too."

"Go on! Get out of here! Go beg for forgiveness!" he shouted as I sprinted toward my truck. I was in such a hurry, I thought about phasing. But you couldn't keep your thoughts to yourself that way, and I really didn't want everyone knowing my business.

I jumped in the truck and it groaned to life. I took off and headed for her house. I had my foot down on the accelerator making the truck go as fast it would go, which was about 50 mph. I wondered if Seth would be there, and if he was still pissed at me too. Whatever was going on, I wasn't going to leave until I got to the bottom of it.