Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of Stephanie Meyer. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any Twilight franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 4 – Beginnings
"The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live." ~Flora Whittemore
The wind blew gritty sand into her eyes as it raced across the waves and onto the beach. Up until an hour ago, it had been one of the rare sunny days seen on the Olympic Peninsula. Now overhead, black clouds boiled and danced to the sound of distant thunder.
Rory had been lingering here for hours. Even with the threat of the storm she was unable to pull herself away. The wind picked up and whipped her long hair violently around her head. She noticed the tide was coming in. She gazed at the waves as they crashed against distant rocks, fascinated by how the once calm and gentle ocean had become so violent and unrelenting.
She could feel the storm coming.
Rory sighed, leaning back against the driftwood she was perched on. Sunset was fast approaching. She had hoped to catch images of Rialto Beach at twilight with her camera, but if the wind kept up its relentless dance with the clouds, that may not happen. The last thing she wanted was to get her camera wet.
It had been so long since she felt so relaxed. The breeze felt seamless against her skin. Far from shivering with cold, she welcomed the cool tendrils that almost seemed to be trying to communicate with her. They pushed her south, urging her towards some unseen destination.
Rory laughed quietly to herself. "Daddy was right. I am a drama queen." She stared at the horizon deep in thought. She had been on the road for months now, stopping only to refuel or pull into a local campground for the night. From the number of missed calls on her cell, she knew this nomadic lifestyle was driving her father crazy. Rory loved it though, or had loved it up until recently. The closer she got to the west coast, the more edgy she had become. It was like something was pulling her along, urging her to go a little farther each day. Then, a week ago, she had arrived here on the peninsula. She immediately fell in love with the ocean, the distant mountains, and the sound of rain hitting the forest canopy.
Three boys suddenly gallivanted out the woods startling her. No, not boys, Rory thought. Men. Oh my God, how they were men. They were tall, dark, and heavily corded with muscle. She zoomed in on the tallest one's washboard abs with her lens.
Mmmm, yummy, Rory thought to herself, as she absently tucked the hair obscuring her view behind one ear. Two of them seemed to be fighting over something. She focused in on their hands; a Barbie doll? "What the-" The click of her shutter was instantaneous. Rory snickered to herself. "Wait until Jade sees these shots." She lowered her camera and smirked
Quil made a grab for the object in Embry's fist.
"Come on, Embry. Give it back!"
"Come on, Embry. Give it back!" Embry parroted Quil's panic as he dove out of the slower wolf's grasp.
"Embry, so help me, I'll kick your ass!"
"Embry, so help me, I'll kick your ass!"
"Stop repeating everything I say!"
"Stop repeating everythi-"
"Guys, chill. We have an audience." Brady had spotted the girl as soon as they left the tree line. She was tall, maybe 5'10", with long dark hair that fell in waves to her waist. A tiny little waist he could hold with just one hand. He felt a tightening in his groin.
Embry's nostrils flared as he turned. She smells like vanilla
"Dude, check it out. She's hot." Brady could feel his blood pressure rising as he took her in.
"Grow up, Brady" Embry cast an uneasy look at his friend. Brady had been having difficulty controlling his hormones lately. Not that the girls on the reservation minded. The pack was beginning to worry about him. None of them wanted a dozen little Bradys running around the Rez. He was still a baby himself after all.
"Seriously, look at that rack. It's-"Embry's fist quickly silenced Brady's last thought.
"Embry, what has Jake told you about beating the puppies? So not cool, man." Quil made a grab for the Malibu Barbie dangling from Embry's fist. Claire would be so upset if he didn't get it back to her soon. "Aw, you got his blood on her dress! Claire is going to pitch a fit!"
Embry sighed and cuffed his pack mate on the back of the head. "Seriously, dude, we need to get you out more." He turned to look at the girl and glanced up at the sky. His inner wolf twitched. "Let's go see who she is. She's obviously not from around here. She'll need to head for cover soon. This storm is going to be a bad one"
Rory watched as the trio stalked across the rocky beach towards her. They looked so eerily alike; it was unsettling. God, they were beautiful. She raised the camera to her eye and snapped a few quick shots. Surely they wouldn't mind. She drew herself up as they approached. Three sets of warm brown eyes stared down at her.
"You do realize that we take thievery very seriously around here?" Quil grinned as he took in her wide eyes.
Rory paled at his words. What thievery? "I don't understand. I haven't taken anything." She twisted one toe in the rocky sand and craned her neck up to look at them. God, these three are tall.
"Your camera. . ." Quil's eyes twinkled in the rapidly fading light. "It steals souls."
Rory's mouth worked but only noises came out, "Oh! Oh God! Oh, my God. I'm so sorry. I didn't think about that. I didn't realize. . ." Her skin flushed as she fumbled with the buttons on her camera. "Just let me delete them then-"
"Oh no, you don't!" Brady grabbed the camera from Rory's' hands. "Don't listen to that jackass. He's just playing with you." Brady smirked, fumbling with the camera as he cycled through the shots. "God, I am so hot!
She raised her eyebrow in disbelief and scowled. The camera looked like a child's toy in his huge hands. "Be careful with that. It's delicate."
Embry smiled. She was a fiery one. He liked that. He crouched down so he could be at her eye level. He noticed they were green, Hazel, maybe? Her irises were flecked with gold. They reminded him of the leaves in autumn at the moment they started to turn. "The storm that's coming in is going to be a bad one. You should get off the beach ASAP. I really don't want you to make the acquaintance of a lightning bolt."
Rory laughed. "Yeah, you're probably right. I just love it here. I really don't want to leave." She sighed as her gaze lingered back to the ocean. "Everything is so beautiful." She reached her hand out to him. "I'm Rory, by the way." His hand around hers was large and warm. She felt a flutter in her stomach.
"I'm Embry. The baby on my left is Brady. The man-child holding the Barbie is Quil." Thunder rumbled in the distance. He grew uneasy. "Where are you staying?"
"I have a site at Mora Campground. It's about three miles from Rialto to there, I think. I jogged here in about half an hour"
"Jog. . ." Embry pinched his eyebrows together. There was no way he was going to let her travel that far by herself in this weather. He was feeling oddly protective of this one; there was something about her. Something about her eyes drew him in. He turned to his friends as he rose to his full height. "Brady, Quil, head back to the Rez. I'll take Rory back to the campground."
Brady slinked up to Rory, throwing an arm around her shoulder. "Why don't you let me take you darling? I'm far more entertaining than Embry, here."
Quil gave Brady a pointed look and frowned. He agreed with Embry that Rory shouldn't be left alone. But, no way in hell was he leaving her with Brady. "Sure, Embry, we need to get this back to Claire anyhow." He dangled the Barbie in his hand in front of Brady's face. Cutting off his view down Rory's top. "Come on, Brady. Let's head back."
"But-"
"The Rez, isn't that across the river?"
Embry tugged on her hand to distract Rory as his friends ran off into the trees. Quil was practically dragging Brady along. "Come on. We should get going."
"But. . ." She glanced down at where their hands connected and shivered. He's so warm. A part of her was irked that he was being so presumptuous."Seriously, do you think I'm going to take a walk in the woods with a strange man I just met?"
Embry looked down at her upturned face. The wolf behind his eyes didn't like that she was cold. He didn't like that she looked at him warily, tensing her legs as if ready to take flight. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "Trust me. I won't let anything happen to you." His wolf growled in agreement.
Strangely, the pull she had been feeling for days now lessened a little and settled a bit. It was still there, though. She strained to listen as it whispered disjointedly at the back of her thoughts. Sighing, she snuggled deeper into Embry's embrace. Rory, the girl who trusted no one but herself, trusted him.
"Okay, then. Let's go."