CHAPTER 48

Embry POV:

Dad's truck was at the house by the time I got there. I walked up the steps and into the house and found them sitting on the couch talking. As soon as Mom saw me, she jumped up and hurried over to hug me. "Oh, Embry. Are you OK? Your dad has been telling me what all happened today. Leah's OK?"

I nodded and she let me go so I could sit down in the chair. "Yea, everyone's OK, but I am beat." I put my head back and closed my eyes. "I can't remember ever being this tired!"

She laughed and said, "Well, get to bed and we can talk tomorrow. I can call in to school for you in the morning if you want me to."

I looked at the clock. It was already quarter to one in the morning. "I don't know. I'll see how I feel in the morning," I told her.

She had sat back down beside Dad. I looked over at him and asked, "Is Josiah OK?"

"His brother, Jason, picked him up and took him home. I told them I would be over on Saturday to talk some more with them. I gave them some advice on what to do in the meantime if he phases again."

"Are you going to send him to that reservation up north?" I asked.

He nodded. "I think so, for a little while at least. I'm not sure."

"I'm just worried about him coming back here for Leah."

"Yea, I get that, son. I plan on talking to him more about that. Leah seems to think that he . . . well, I'm sure she told you about her imprinting theory."

Imprinting? I don't remember Leah saying anything about that! "Imprinting? Who?"

Dad hung his head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have opened my mouth."

"Yea, but you did, so talk," I ordered.

He looked over at me and said, "Leah is worried that Josiah may have imprinted on her."

"What? That's impossible! Leah and I imprint . . . well, we thought we might have imprinted on each other. Why would someone else imprint on Leah?"

"Well, I don't think he has. I talked to him a little about it and asked him a few questions. He's convinced that he has some kind of connection with her, but I don't think it's imprinting. Whatever this connection is, it's not as strong as imprinting."

Why didn't Leah tell me? Did she think I would me mad at her about it? It wasn't her fault. "I guess she didn't want to worry me," I said.

"I'm sure that's it. You've been through enough today," Dad said.

"I'm going to bed. Thanks, Dad, for your help today."

He stood up and hugged me to him. "I'm glad I was there for you. Get some sleep, son." Mom stood up and hugged me and said, "Goodnight, honey. I love you."

"Love you, too," I said. I walked slowly to my room and closed the door. I fell onto my bed and wondered again about why Leah didn't tell me about this imprinting thing. I guess I'll ask her tomorrow. Right now, I'm beat. I was out in no time.

In the morning, Mom called me in as sick, but after I got up at ten, I decided to go for at least a half day. I didn't want to get too far behind. At lunch time, I called Jake and asked him if we could work on the Jeep. I really wanted to get it done for Leah. I also wanted to get back to normal as soon as possible. He told me he thought that was a great idea and he would be ready.

We thought that we might need another pair of hands today, so I was sitting in the truck after school waiting for Seth. Where is this kid? I was impatient to get going. I finally spotted him. He was standing over by a car with his lips on a girl. Wait. That's not Ashley. And it doesn't look like Abby. That's Ginny Long, and she's a senior! And not just any senior – she was fast. I remember making out with her fall of my junior year. She was one of the ones I almost went all the way with. It was a good thing we were interrupted or I would have. She was hot! Maybe he was more like me than I thought.

He finally pulled himself away and jogged over toward the truck. He hopped in and grinned at me. I shook my head as I pulled out of the parking lot and said, "Dude? What the hell was that? What happened to Ashley?"

"Ashley and I broke up. I moved on."

"Yea, but I thought you moved on to Abby. Remember? Abby? The girl you were making out with last night?"

"Yea, me and Abby are cool. She's breaking up with her boyfriend right now," he answered.

"So what's with Ginny Long? She's a senior, bro! How did that happen?"

"Well, I was standing in the hall talking to Jared and Kim and Ginny comes up to ask Kim something. I just looked at her and nodded and said, 'Hey.' She gave me a stellar smile and then finished talking to Kim and walked away. Next thing I know, after school she comes up to me and asks me to walk her to her car. I said, 'Sure,' and well, you saw what happened next. She was all over me, dude! She is hot!"

Oh man. I really need to talk to this boy. He was going to get himself in a heap of trouble. "OK, Seth. You and me need to talk." He looked over at me with a curious look on his face. "You are moving way too fast, bro. And here's why. You see, now that you've phased and joined the pack, there is something you need to know about being a wolf. For some reason, after we phase, we become more physical. Do you know what I mean?" I glanced over at him and added, "Sexually." He quickly looked out the window and avoided my eye contact. "Seth? You know what I mean, don't you?"

He looked back at me and muttered, "Yea. I have been feeling, well, really different lately. I've been . . . thinking about that . . . a lot."

I smiled and said, "Yea, I get that. And part of that is just natural for a guy your age. But, being a wolf makes it . . . more intense, I guess. And it doesn't help hanging out around us, does it?"

He shook his head and said emphatically, "No, it really doesn't. Especially Paul."

I laughed. "No one likes to see what goes on in Paul's head! Look, I remember when I first phased. I was just 16 and it was so hard being around Sam. He had imprinted on Emily not long before that and . . . well . . . it was more than I wanted to see." I glanced at him and went on, "I had kissed girls before I phased, but . . . you know, just kissed. Nothing else. But after, well, it was really hard to keep myself under control. When I found myself with a girl, all I thought about was kissing her. Then, when I was kissing her, it would turn into a make out session and I felt my hands wandering and myself thinking about doing other things. Do you know what I mean?"

"I know about sex, Embry. How could I not?" he shot at me.

I laughed. "Yea, I know you know about sex. But knowing and doing are two different things, bro. I want you to talk to me before you find yourself in a situation you don't know how to get out of, OK? You're only 15. That's too young for girls like Ginny Long. I went out with her, and dude, if we hadn't been interrupted . . . well, she is hot. But she is way too hot for you. Get it?"

"Yea, I get it. You don't want me having sex. But why can't I have a little fun, bro? You made out with a lot of girls, Embry. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

I smiled. He had me there. "Yea, OK. But you have to remember to treat them right. I went out with a girl because I liked her and wanted to spend time with her, not just to make out with her. And I NEVER forced myself on a girl. EVER. That's not cool, dude. And if you really like Abby, then don't be going off with girls like Ginny just for a quick make-out session. How do you think Abby will feel if that gets back to her?" He hung his head and shrugged his shoulders.

I pulled up to Jake's garage and turned off the engine. I looked over at Seth and said, "Listen, Seth. High school can be a lot of fun, and I want you to have fun. Just be careful, OK? And don't rush into anything. As hard as it was to hold back, I'm glad that I didn't have sex with any of those girls. I'm glad that I waited to find love first. I know that sounds really corny, but, I guess I want you to have that, too, OK?"

He smiled and nodded. "Yea, I get it. Is the sex talk over for now?"

I laughed and shoved him. "Yea it's over . . . for now." We climbed out of the truck and walked into the garage. Jake had pushed the Jeep into the garage to be ready for today. "Jake? You here?" I hollered.

"Yea!" He walked out from behind the Jeep wiping his hands on a shop rag. "Bout time you got here!"

"I had to wait for Seth here to pull his lips off of Ginny Long. Can you believe that?" I told him.

He whistled and looked at Seth. "No shit? Ginny Long? Dude, she's hot. You better watch yourself with her."

"Yea, yea, I know. Embry already gave me a sex talk on the way over. Can we just get to work or what?" Seth said.

Jake laughed and said, "OK, let's get to work. You can tell me all about Ginny later. This I gotta hear!" Seth just grinned as Jake grabbed him around the neck and rubbed his head. He let him go and told him to run into the house and grab us some pop to drink. Seth took off and Jake turned to me and said, "Ginny Long? Dude, he IS just like you!"

I laughed and said, "I know, right? Why do you think I talked to him about sex on the way over?" I walked over to the bench and picked up some tools. "Come on, let's get going on this engine. I can't wait to give this to Leah!"

We were so close to finishing the Jeep I could taste it! It was going on six, and Jake had dinner plans with Bella. Besides, I hadn't seen Leah since last night and I really missed her. "OK, let's knock off for tonight. We can finish this tomorrow," I said with a touch of disappointment.

Jake smiled and said, "It's OK, bro. I'll try to work on it tomorrow during the day. I know you're in a hurry to give Leah the Jeep."

I grinned at him. "Thanks, Jake. You're the best."

"Yea, I know. You don't deserve me," he shot back at me with his famous grin. I shoved him and said, "I really don't, but I'm glad you're around."

Seth rolled his eyes and said, "Come on, you guys. Are you gonna kiss now, or what?" We both grabbed at him and made smoochy noises at him and all three of us were on the floor wrestling in no time. That's when Bella walked in.

"Hey! Hello? Can you stop rolling around on the floor and grow up a little?" she hollered at us. Of course Jake jumped up right away.

"Uh, hey, Bells. Just having a little fun with Seth, that's all." Spineless. Completely spineless.

I stood up and held out my hand to Seth, who took it and stood up. "Yea, did you want to join us?" I said with a leer.

She rolled her eyes and said to me, "In your dreams, Embry!"

"Hey, how have you seen my dreams?" I shot back. Jake gave me a very evil look and I just laughed. "Oh come on, bro. Just having a little fun with Bella. She knows I'm just teasing her."

She was laughing. "I know. You only dream about Leah. Too bad for me, huh?" Jake looked at her in shock and I just cracked up. I walked over to her and picked her up in a big bear hug.

"That's my girl!" I said as I set her down. She smiled and messed up my hair. I smoothed it back into place as I looked over at Seth and said, "Come on, little brother. Let's get out of here and give the lovebirds some time alone."

He said goodbye to Bella and Jake then we headed for the truck. I started the engine and tore out of the drive. "I'm in a hurry to see your sister."

"Maybe I'll call Abby and see how it went breaking up with her boyfriend."

I glanced over at him and grinned. "Life is more fun with girl in it, bro. I cannot deny that."

He grinned back and said, "I have to agree with that!" We laughed and I pressed the gas pedal to the floor.

Leah POV:

Mom left for work but not before she left me a list of chores to do today. I missed the due date for my paper, so I emailed the professor and asked if I could email to her this afternoon. She answered back that was OK, but she would have to deduct 10 points for lateness. Oh well. I sat down and finished it first thing and emailed to her. I was glad to be rid of it!

Then I started on the chore list. I was actually glad to have something to keep me busy. Less time to think. My mind was crowded with my talk with Josiah, my talk with Mom, and thoughts of Embry. Not to mention, Seth and Abby! I was mopping the kitchen floor when the phone rang. I put the mop in the bucket and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Leah? It's Josh."

"Oh, hi! What's up?"

"Well, I wanted to let you know that I kind of spilled the beans last night about your imprinting theory with Josiah to Embry. I'm so sorry. I just figured you had already told him." Shit. "Then I found out you hadn't. So, I didn't mean to cause any trouble. He told me he thought you probably didn't say anything because you didn't want to worry him."

"I didn't. I wanted to wait until you talked to Josiah to see if there was anything to worry about!"

"I'm sorry, Leah. I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, it's OK. I'll talk to him tonight."

"Well, I wanted you to know that I did ask Josiah a few questions, and I really don't think he has imprinted on you. He is convinced there is some kind of connection, and maybe there is, but it's not as strong as imprinting."

"Huh. Weird. Well, I'm glad he didn't imprint. I could never return those feelings, and his life will be hard enough."

"Yes, it will. OK, I'll let you go. I just wanted to give you a heads-up before you talked to Embry."

"Thanks, Josh. Talk to you later," I said.

"Yep. Bye." I hung up the phone and leaned against the counter. Great. I hope Embry isn't upset with me. I really didn't want him to worry about it.

I walked back over and picked up the mop to finish the floor.

I finished my chore list and went to take a shower and clean up before Embry came over. I walked into my room with a towel around me and looked into the closet for something to wear. The days were growing much cooler now as we headed into October. It was rainy and cool today, but with my high temp of 108, I still couldn't wear sweaters anymore. I pulled on some jeans and a tank top then threw a purple blouse on over it. I brushed the tangles out of my hair and added a little eye shadow, mascara and lip gloss. I decided I had better hurry. It was almost six!

I had a roast in the oven with carrots and potatoes and a salad ready in the fridge. I had even baked a cake earlier in the day for dessert. I felt like Betty Crocker or something! I didn't mind. I liked cooking for Embry and Seth. They were always so appreciative and made me feel like a good cook.

I heard the door open just as I hit the top of the stairs. I ran down them and into Embry's arms! He lifted me off of my feet and said, "Hey, baby. I missed you today." Music to my ears. Then he kissed me. And kissed me. And kissed me.

"Come on, guys. That's long enough," Seth complained. Embry stepped back, but kept his hands on my hips and said, "Not nearly long enough, dude."

"Hey, I gave you longer than you gave me today," Seth said. "And then you yelled at me for it!"

She looked at me and said, "You yelled at him? For what?"

I grinned at her and said, "You bet I did. I was waiting for him after school today and caught him making out with Ginny Long."

She spun around and walked over to Seth. "What? Seth! What were you thinking? Ginny Long?"

"Why does everyone say her name like that? Ginny Long? Like she's some criminal or something," Seth complained.

"Maybe because of her skanky reputation! She's way too fast for you, little brother. And what happened to Ashley? And Abby? You were all gaga over her just last night!"

"I broke up with Ashley. And, me and Abby, we're cool. She went to break up with her boyfriend after school. I'm going to go and call her and see how it went."

He started for the stairs when I reached out and grabbed his arm. "Hold it! So how were you making out with Ginny Long, of all people?" I asked him.

"Look, Leah, Ginny came up to me, I didn't go to her. She saw me talking to Jared and Kim during lunch then after school she asked me to walk her to her car. Next thing I know, she's all over me and she asks me if I want her to kiss me. What am I going to do? Lie? Of course I wanted her to kiss me! So, we . . . kissed. That's all."

"Uh, yea. They were kissing all right. I told him Ginny was too fast for him. We had a talk, Leah. He understands," Embry explained. He looked into my eyes and I finally got that he meant THAT talk.

I nodded then said to Seth, "Well, good. You better watch it, little brother. I don't want have to go to school and kick Ginny's ass, but I will if I have to!" Embry laughed at that and asked, "Can I watch?" I smacked his arm and told him to shut up.

"Yea, whatever. It's not that big of a deal," Seth sulked. "You need to quit treating me like a baby, geez." Embry chuckled at that, and I gave him a look. Seth stomped upstairs to call Abby.

"Yea, well, stay away from Ginny Long! And dinner is in 10 minutes!" I called after him then I turned and headed for the kitchen to check on the roast.

Embry followed me and said, "Come on, Leah, he's right. He isn't a baby anymore."

"Yea, I know. That's what worries me!" I said as I checked the timer on the oven. I turned back to Embry and said, "I mean, Ginny Long? I may go kick her ass anyway."

Embry really laughed at that. Then he pulled me to him and kissed me like he wanted to but couldn't because Seth was in the room. I melted into him and let him. I pressed myself into him and teased him with my tongue. He pulled his lips from mine to whisper in my ear, "How long until dinner?"

"Ten minutes," I whispered back.

"Mmmm, not nearly long enough," he said as his hands slid down to cup my ass. He put his lips back on mine and kissed me until I thought I would faint. He backed me up to the refrigerator and I put my hands under his shirt and slid them up and down his back. "What is it about you that drives me so crazy, baby? I want you ALL the time!"

"I don't know, but I want you all the time, too. I have a feeling when we do get married, we won't EVER get out of bed!" I told him.

He pulled back and looked into my eyes and laughed. "I can't think of anything better than that."

He kissed me some more then the timer on the oven dinged. I pulled away and said, "Dinner's ready."

"Good thing I'm hungry," Embry said with a smile. I moved to the oven to take the roast out.

"Can you call Seth?" I asked Embry. He went to get him as I finished putting dinner on the table.

They both walked into the kitchen and sat down. I handed the fork and knife to Seth and told him to cut the roast while I got drinks out of the fridge. I sat down and we all dug in.

"Oh my God, Leah. This is delicious. I am so glad that you are such a good cook!" Embry raved. "I can't wait until we can get married. Maybe I will finally gain some weight." I laughed at him.

"Married? Are you guys . . . engaged or something?" Seth asked. "Why don't I know about this?"

"No, we are not 'officially' engaged, but we've been talking about getting married someday," I told him.

"Yea, I gotta work up enough guts to ask the man of the house if I can marry her. I seem to remember someone telling me you were the man of the house," Embry said as he shoved another bite of meat into his mouth.

Seth smiled at that and said, "Whenever you get up enough guts, I'll talk to you." He took another bite of potatoes.

"Mighty nice of you," I commented. He laughed.

"So how did it go for Abby? Did she break up with her boyfriend?" I asked

"Yea. He wasn't real happy about it, I guess. She said they have only been going out for three weeks, so she thinks he'll get over it."

"Well, I hope so. So, are you two going out now?"

"I don't know. Do I have to ask her out on a date or something?"

Embry laughed at that. I gave him a look then said to Seth, "Well, seeing that you already made out with her, uh, yea, I think you should ask her out. Maybe you guys can double with me and Embry."

Seth raised his eyebrows and replied, "Yea, OK. I'll ask her to see a movie this weekend."

"Sounds good," I told him.

We finished dinner and I brought out dessert. "Oh man, dessert, too? What's the occasion?" Embry asked.

"We are celebrating being back to normal," I answered. They both smiled as I cut the cake and handed them each a piece. After they both ate three pieces each, we all pitched in and cleaned up the kitchen. I even managed to save a plate of dinner for Mom AND a piece of cake. That's not easy with three wolves in the house!

Seth announced he was going back upstairs to call Abby back. "I figure you guys want to make out anyway," he said as he headed up the stairs.

"You're a good man, bro!" Embry called after him. I rolled my eyes as he put his arm around me and led me to the couch. We sat down and he said, "Now, where were we before we interrupted by the oven timer." He bent to kiss me, but I put my hand up to his lips and said, "As much as I want to make out, I think we should talk for a little bit, OK?"

I felt like we should talk about what happened yesterday between me and Josiah. I felt guilty not telling him, and I wanted to get it over with. He gave me a curious look and said, "Why? What's going on?"

"Um, it's about Josiah." He nodded. "Last night, you asked me if anything happened between us and I wasn't completely truthful. I want to tell you about it now."

He settled back on the couch and said, "OK, let's talk."

I told him about when I took Josiah some food, and how we talked. I explained how Josiah felt there was a connection between us. I told him that I offered to be Josiah's friend, and how he took my hand. "And then, he leaned over and kissed me. I didn't see it coming, Embry! It was a short kiss because I jumped back pretty quickly."

I watched his face and could see the anger creep into his eyes. "I am so sorry, Embry! I should have told you, but at first I was afraid maybe Josiah imprinted on me, and I wanted to ask your Dad about it before I told you. I didn't want to get you upset if there was nothing to be upset about. But, I should have told you anyway."

He nodded, but didn't say anything. "I did talk to your dad today, and he says that he's pretty sure that Josiah DIDN'T imprint on me. He says he doesn't quite understand this connection that Josiah feels for me, but he doesn't think it's strong enough to be an imprint."

He nodded again then sat up and took my hand. "You didn't tell me because you didn't want me to be angry at Josiah, or you?"

"Both, I guess. I knew you'd want to hit Josiah for kissing me, and none of us needed that. I quickly explained to him that I was in love with you, and he backed down right away. I don't think he'll be a problem."

Embry cleared his throat and said, "Baby, when are you going to learn to trust me? I want you to talk to me. I don't like it when you keep things from me, OK?"

"I know. I am so sorry. It just freaked me out! I guess I went straight to your dad because I knew he would know how to handle it. I promise, from now on, I won't keep things from you because I am afraid they will upset you. Are we OK?"

He smiled and pulled me to him. "Oh yea. We are more than OK. We are perfect."