CHAPTER 19

Embry POV:

Leah and I filled our plates and were sitting on a blanket on the sand eating when I looked over and noticed Paul was practically glued to Rachel's side the whole time we had been here. I set my plate down and said to Leah, "I want to say hi to Rachel." She nodded and followed.

I walked over to her, pulled her up into a big bear hug. "Oh my God! Rach? When did you get back?"

I let her go and she laughed and said, "Just today, actually! God, Embry, you're huge! What happened to that scrawny little kid that used to hit on me all the time?"

"Hey, baby, you missed out! I got me another girl, now." Leah was standing behind me. I stepped back and put my arm around her.

"No way! Leah? Leah Clearwater? Oh my gosh! How long have I been gone! You're gorgeous girl!" She gave her a big hug. "Wow, it is so good to be back here. I've really missed everyone!" she said.

"I want to hear about college!" Leah said. Rachel was more than happy to oblige. They started talking and I moved over to talk to Paul who was staring at Rachel.

"What's up with you, dude? You look like a love-sick puppy," I said quietly. "It's like you're glued to Rachel or something."

Paul looked at me and said, "I don't know, Embry. I feel really weird. I hardly know Rachel. I knew Jake had twin sisters, but I don't remember much about her. And she shows up and I looked at her and it was like . . . the earth moved or something. I almost fucking passed out, you know? It's weird! I can't stop looking at her. She's so hot! I just want to be with her, you know?"

Uh-oh. Another one bites the dust. "Uh, Paul. I think you need to tear yourself away for just a minute, dude. We need to talk to Sam." Man is Jake going to be pissed! I touched Leah on the arm and said, "We are going to go talk to Sam. We'll be right back." She nodded and went on talking to Rachel.

"Sam!" I hollered. He looked at us and Paul and I walked toward him. "We need to talk. I believe that Paul here has just imprinted on Jake's sister." We moved away from the crowd a little.

Paul shot me a look. "What? What the hell did you just say?"

"Are you shitting me?" Sam asked. He always had such a colorful way of putting things. Must be a family thing!

"Paul. Tell him what happened when you saw Rachel," I commanded. He told Sam the same thing he told me. Sam got a big smile on his face and slapped Paul on the back.

"Congratulations, bro! You are IN LOVE!" He looked at me and we just cracked up at the look on Paul's face.

"Oh shit," he said. His face was priceless! He looked so lost.

"Oh wait," I said. "Hey Jake! Come here a minute, will ya?"

Jake looked up from his plate of food and yelled, "I'm eating, what do you want?"

"Believe me, it's important!" I yelled back. He put his plate down beside Bella and came jogging over.

"What's going on?" he said.

I looked at Sam and he looked at me with a big shit-eatin' grin. "Take a look at Paul. Does he look different to you?" I asked him.

Paul looked up with that lost look on his face. "What the hell, Paul? What's wrong with him?" Jake asked.

I looked at Sam and nodded. Sam put his hand on Jake's shoulder and said to him, "He just imprinted. On your sister."

"What the fuck did you just say?" Jake said very quietly and evenly.

"You heard me, dude. He imprinted on Rachel."

Paul looked up at Jake and said, "I'm sorry, bro. I don't know what happened!"

Sam and I couldn't take it anymore. We lost it and laughed our asses off! Jake was fuming! He wanted to kick the shit out of Paul, but he knew he couldn't with everyone around. And there was Paul. The one who was always ready for a fight, looking like he was going to hurl at any moment. What a great birthday!

Just then Rachel and Leah walked over and Leah said, "What the hell is going on over here? What's so funny?" That got Sam and I laughing all over again.

"Jacob? Are you OK? You look really pissed about something?" Rachel asked him. Oh, I couldn't take it anymore! I took Leah by the hand and we walked away and I filled her in on what happened.

"Paul? Imprinted?" she asked. "Jake wants to kill him, doesn't he?"

I nodded. "Yea, can you imagine those two patrolling together? Oh man, I gotta be in on that one!"

Leah looked at me and said, "You know, you seem to be enjoying this just a little too much. Come on. Give Paul a break."

"Are you fucking kidding me? Paul NEVER gives any of us a break! He has a bigger mouth than me and he's always shooting it off. Nope. I am going to enjoy this. What a great birthday!" I said with a grin.

Leah rolled her eyes and shook her head at me. "Come on, let's get more to eat. I'm still hungry."

After I ate at least 4 plates of food, Jake and Quil reminded me that they had a special present for me. Yea, special!

"Well, it will have to wait. We have some presents for you to open, you know!" Leah said.

"What? You didn't have to do that. This party is enough." I told her.

Leah and Claire brought wrapped presents over and set them in front of me. Everyone was sitting or standing around watching me. Claire insisted on helping me open my presents, so I let her. She's just so cute!

Sue gave me a couple of pairs of new shorts, because she said she knew that 'these boys never had enough clothes!' Billy made me a wooden box, carved with the same symbol as our tattoos. It was really awesome. Jake gave me a socket wrench set because he said 'he was sick and tired of me always stealing his!' Claire colored a picture for me that she presented to me with a hug and a giggle, and Quil gave me a new wallet 'to hold all that money I was making with Jake.' I couldn't believe it. All of this for me.

Emily came over with this wrapped box and gave it to me. I opened the box and took out a book. It was a special scrapbook full of the Uley family history. There was a beautiful family tree that Emily had drawn and she added pictures of each person. It was almost a work of art instead of scrapbook! "Oh my God, Emilly. This is amazing," I said as I looked through it.

"I did the artwork and Sam found the pictures and added all of the history. We are making another one for our baby, and he or she can hand it down to their children. We hope you will do the same." Then she bent down and kissed me on the cheek. "We love you, Embry." I found myself blinking back tears as I stared at the book. There was a picture of him, Joshua Uley. I glanced at my mom and saw here staring at the picture. I could see what she meant about the eyes. They did look familiar. I wondered what it was like for her not knowing what happened to him. I closed the book and said, "I'll look at it when I have more light. Thank you so much you guys." I stood up and hugged Emily.

Sam stepped up and said, "Pretty amazing, huh?

"Thanks, Sam. This means a lot." I hugged him and he pounded me on the back in a typical "bro hug" fashion.

I stepped back and said, "OK! Enough chick shit! Let's Party!" I yelled out. Jake and Quil came running over and picked me up and took me down to the water and threw me in.

This was a tradition we started back when we were little kids. Every year on Jake and I's birthdays, we throw each other in the water. Quil's birthday is in the winter, so we throw him into the snow.

The three of us came back on shore and shook like dogs right on Bella and Leah, who screamed at us. We all laughed and I said, "Maybe we should start spreading this tradition around? Isn't Bella's birthday coming up soon, Jake?"

She gave me a look that said, "I'll kill you." I just cracked up! "Uh, no. No more birthdays for me," Bella said.

Jake laughed and said, "It's OK, babe, I'll protect you." Then he planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Embry, get your ass over here so we can cut the cake! I've been waiting all day for a piece of this thing," Sam called out. I jogged over to the table where Emily had set up this enormous cake. Everyone sang a very off-tune version of Happy Birthday, and Emily cut the cake. It was delicious, just like I knew it would be.

I looked around and couldn't believe that this party was for me! It was amazing that I had so many good people in my life. I loved all of them, and would be lost without them. I couldn't wait to get home and look through the book that Emily made for me. Wow. That was awesome! I was still getting used to being an Uley.

Everyone settled in around the fire. Billy shared one of the old legends with us. It meant so much more to me now that I knew where I came from. My mom was sitting with me and I watched her face as Billy talked. She was mesmerized. I was so happy that she knew and I could share this with her. He finished the story and everyone started chatting again. I looked at Leah and nodded my head toward Billy. She smiled and nodded and we walked over to him.

"Hey, Billy. Can we talk to you a minute?" I asked him. He smiled and said, "Sure. What's up?"

I explained to him the theory that Sam came up with. "What do you think? Is that possible?"

He thought for a minute and said, "Well, he's right about one thing. Leah, you are a mystery to all of us. We don't know why you phased. It's never happened before. But I do think he's right that you would not imprint on someone outside of the pack. Imprinting is about preserving the gene. I believe you would choose another pack member. I am not sure why Embry, or why now."

We nodded and I looked at Leah. "Billy, I know I feel very different. When I was with Sam, neither one of us had phased. We were just normal humans. I know I was younger, but it was very different between us. I know I loved him, and he loved me. But it wasn't . . . " she looked at me and I nodded "physical like it is between me and Embry. I feel like I need him, or crave him." She looked embarrassed and said, "This is so hard, sorry."

Billy laughed and said, "It's OK, Leah. I know. Go on."

"It's very physical, but not just physical. I love him very much. It took me a long time to admit it because I was so afraid I would fall in love with him and he would imprint on someone else, like Sam. I can't go through that again. So, I guess that's why this is so important to me. I want to know I won't have to worry about that."

"I wish I could tell you for sure that you won't have that worry. Imprinting is very difficult to predict. But how do you feel about Leah?" Billy asked Embry.

"I can pinpoint exactly when it changed for me, Billy. I saw her walk out of the water on the beach, and even though I was with another girl at the time, I couldn't take my eyes off of her. It took everything I had not to get up and run to her. Got me in big trouble with that girl! That night, I kissed her and nothing has been the same for me. I think about her all the time, I crave her touch, her kiss. She makes me crazy! I love her. I can't be without her." I looked at her and smiled and she took my hand.

"Well, then what are you worried about? It sounds like you two are meant for each other. I can't say that for sure, because nothing is ever 100%. All I can say is love each other. Leah, just let go and be happy. You deserve it, and so does Embry." He reached out and took our hands in his. He said Quileute blessing over them and smiled at us.

Leah's eyes shown in the firelight with unshed tears. She looked so beautiful. I smiled at Billy and said, "Thanks." He let go of our hands and Leah bent down and gave Billy a hug. We walked back over to where we were sitting at the fire and sat down. I put my arm around her and pulled her to me. "Well, do you feel better about everything?" I asked her.

"Yea, I do. I want to be happy, Embry. I want us to be happy." I leaned in and kissed her on the lips. She smiled.

"I will do everything I can to make that happen, baby. I promise." She put her head on my shoulder.

The parents all cleaned up and cleared out. Quil took Claire home and Paul and Rachel disappeared somewhere. I noticed Jake glaring at Paul earlier. Poor Jake! The few of us left sat around the fire and told stories. It was a great night.

I finally got up and announced that I needed to head home. Jared and Kim and Jake and Bella were the only ones left. My mom had taken all my gifts home for me, so I wouldn't have anything to worry about. Leah picked up the blanket we had been sitting on and folded it. We said goodbye and I took Leah's hand and we walked back to the trail that would lead to her house.

She walked right by the entrance to the trail and led me over to a place at the edge of the woods and beach. I looked around and noticed it was kind of secluded and there was a nice little patch of sand in the middle. What was she thinking? She flung the blanket out onto the sand and bent to straighten it. Then she crawled onto the middle of it and said quietly, "As you can probably guess, I brought you here to make out. So, what are you waiting for?"

I laughed and plopped down beside her. I took her into my arms and she whispered, "It's after midnight, Embry. Happy Birthday." Then she put her lips on mine and wound her arms around my neck. As always, we started out slowly kissing each other then it intensified quickly to the point where we were both having a hard time catching our breath. I kissed her throat and whispered in her ear, "Leah, you're making me crazy. I love you so much."

I wasn't wearing a shirt, as mine was wet. Leah had her hands on me was running them over my back. She smiled then leaned forward to kiss my chest and shoulders. She even nipped at me with her teeth like I did on her sometimes. "Oh wow, Leah! I really like that!" I whispered. She kissed her way back to my lips and teased me with her tongue. She wound her fingers into my hair and pulled at it. I wanted to feel more of her. I let go of her and pulled up on her shirt. She smiled and helped me pull it off over her head. Then she put her lips back to mine.

I let my hands roam her body. She pressed herself closer to me and my hands crept back toward the hooks of her bra. She was so lost in kissing me that I don't think she realized that I had it unhooked and that my hand had crept back toward the front and was under her bra until my thumb brush against her . . ." Embry?" she said against my lips.

"Mmmm, hmmm?" I kept kissing her. And I didn't move my hand.

"Are you sure?" she whispered. "I want to so much."

"Yes, baby, yes," I whispered into her ear as I kissed her neck. I nipped her on the shoulder and she jumped and sighed. I pushed her back until she was lying on her back on the blanket. I let my hand roam and feel her and she put her head back and whispered, "Embry, I like that." Oh I wanted this girl so bad it hurt! I moved against her and I knew she could feel how badly I wanted her.

She arched her back a little and whispered, "Embry, it feels so good." It did feel good. And so right. Being with Leah always felt right. Like I was home. I kissed and touched and she kissed and touched. We took our time to learn each other's bodies. Not like last time when we were so out of control. The rest of our clothes had disappeared and we were laying there together, under the stars, and I moved over her and looked down. Her eyes were pure black and filled with desire. She smiled at me and I leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. I kissed her again and again and again . . . it was like I could never get enough. I whispered, "Leah, I love you. I want you, baby . . ." I entered her slowly this time and she sighed and grabbed my shoulders. Her legs came around me and we began moving together in a rhythm, perfectly in unison. I felt the heat build between us and we both cried out as we reached the peak. "I love you, Embry," I heard her whisper.

I cut her off with a kiss. A rather long, slow kiss. I propped myself up so I could see her face. "Baby, that is the best birthday present I could have asked for. Thank you so much for saying it. I really needed to hear it."

She smiled at me and said, "How did I get so lucky to have you fall in love with me?"

"Oh baby, you don't know how many girls have wished they could say that. But you are the lucky one!" I teased with a grin. She rolled her eyes and laughed.

Then I said seriously, "No, Leah. I am the lucky one. I don't deserve you, baby."

"What?" Her eye grew wide and she smacked me on the shoulder. "That's the dumbest thing I have ever heard you say, Embry Call-Uley! Don't even go there! After everything you have done for me? You brought me back from hell, Embry. I was letting all of that anger and rage just rot my insides. I couldn't pull myself out of it. You saved me from that. You! Don't you get that?" She looked me in the eye and said, "I know that I love you, Embry."

I smiled and said, "It's about fucking time!"

She laughed and said, "I'm sorry it took me so long to say it."

I kissed her slowing then pulled her to me. Suddenly, I felt like we were one person instead of two. It's like we melted together. It was so amazing. I knew then, at that moment, there was no way I would ever live without this girl. EVER.