"Embry!" Phyre couldn't hold back her excitement when she saw him standing next to Quil's truck in the school parking lot. Karen, Collin and Brady laughed as she ran to jump straight into the man's arms.

Embry hugged her close, supporting her weight as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He nuzzled his face into her neck and purred as he inhaled her scent. Phyre was too busy doing the same thing to his neck to care if it was a strange scene. They had been apart for nearly five whole days.

"I take it you missed me?" Embry whispered.

"Mmmm." She nodded. Part of her still hated that he had such an affect on her. But, in that moment, she just wanted to be home. With him.

Karen sighed. "I still can't believe this. One by one, you boys go from every girls dream hook up to every girls dream commitment, practically over night."

Embry rubbed his nose against Phyre's. "Whose your new friend?" His lips were hovering so close to hers that she could feel his breath as he spoke.

"Karen." Phyre pulled back and climbed down off of Embry. "Karen, meet Embry. Embry, meet Karen."

Embry smirked. "Nice to meet you Karen. I am glad to see Phyre actually made friends."

Phyre scoffed. "What? You didn't think I could talk to people?"

"Oh, no. That was never the question. You can definitely talk. I just wondered if you could manage to talk to people nicely enough to make friends." He chuckled.

That did it. "Well, then, you can forget your plans for the day Bubba Gump. I don't go on dates with guys who don't think I can fucking be nice. In fact, maybe I will just call Seth for a ride home."

Brady and Collins laughter at the scene came to an abrupt stop at her threat. Even Karen stayed quiet. She remembered that story.

Embry looked furious. "Are you fucking kidding me?" He growled.

"Your the one who just insulted me." She crossed her arms. Her wolf was really pissed off at her for threat. She knew it would piss him off. Of all the people to suggest calling, it was the man that Embry caught her trying to have sex with. She immediately wanted to take it back. But, her anger would not let go. He didn't know her. He had only spent time with her during the worst break down of her life. And, he said he didn't think she could be nice or make friends?

Karen leaned over to Collin. "Is this normal?" Collin shrugged.

"You know what? Forget it. I can walk home just fine. I don't need a man." Phyre stormed off. The house was literally just down the street anyway.

Embry ran up behind her and pulled her to a stop as it started to rain. "What in the hell do you think you are doing?"

"I don't get you!" She shouted. "You tell me that I have an amazing heart and what a wonderful person I am and then a few hours later, you are shocked that I am nice enough to make a friend?"

Embry whimpered. "I didn't mean it like that. Shit!" He pulled her in for a hug. But, she remained tense and not refused to hug him back. "Phyre, I just meant that I was surprised that you remained in control of your wolf enough to relax your first full day in public. I know how much the wolf aggression scares people away. Damn. It wasn't anything about you, your heart, or your personality. I knew you would make friends eventually. You are too wonderful not to. I just thought the tension with the wolf would keep you more closed off from people to start with. That was how it was for all of us. It took weeks if not longer before we could talk to anyone other than a pack member without snapping their head off. Fuck, I couldn't even talk to Jake or Quil for weeks because of it all. Not until they phased too."

Phyre didn't know if she could trust that. She was hurt. But, then she thought back on it. And, she did isolate herself and was bitchy at first with Karen. It was Karen's persistence to not give up on herself that kept things moving until Phyre could open up. Fuck, Embry was right. The wolf did get in the way. It was a miracle that anyone talked to her at all that day. Even that fight was an instance of her emotions taking off on a runaway train. Too much to control.

"Please. I'm sorry that I screwed up." His breath ghosted over her temple. "And, the fact that you didn't even come close to phasing while you were that hurt and upset proved just how wrong I was. Please forgive me."

"That is because you were there. I want to be angry, but you always calm me enough to have control. I am sorry I got so upset. I thought..." She shook her head. "And, I never should have thrown Seth out there like that. It was really petty and stupid." She sniffed. She refused to cry again. She cried a lot during the days prior. She wanted to spend time with Embry and not have it be an emotional break down.

He dropped his head to nuzzle into her neck again. "Can we start this over?"

God, he felt so good against her neck. Without thinking, her arms wrapped around him and pulled him closer. Her hands slid over the soft cotton t-shirt he wore, gliding over every contour of the muscles hidden underneath.

Someone cleared a throat, bringing the moment to a crashing end. They turned to see Collin and Brady glaring at them.

"Karen was worried and made us come over to make sure you were okay." Brady said.

Embry smiled down at Phyre. "Give me your bag and go say goodbye to your friend." Phyre leaned up on her tiptoes and placed a quick kiss to his cheek before she complied. She giggled as she caught Embry rubbing his cheek affectionately, savoring the feel of her lips on his skin.

"Where are we going?" Phyre asked.

Embry sent her a very sexy lopsided grin. "You'll see."

"Embry, I don't even know if I am dressed right for this."

Phyre had to get new clothes before she started school. Not only did she leave most of her clothes in Spokane, but what she had brought with her either did not fit right anymore or ripped apart from her unexpected shifts to wolf. She had grown four inches during the change. She topped off at 5'9" and her figure had toned out from her more curvy past. Paul and Anna had money, but not tons of it. So, Phyre requested to go to the thrift shops. More clothes for less money. She wasn't so image conscious that she needed name brands or hot styles of the season. She could live comfortably with thrift store shopping. She had her whole life already. Besides, the whole wolf thing kind of shifted her views on styles. She wanted comfortable, stretchy, easy to take off and put on clothing. Plus, bras and underwear were questionable. Just added steps before shifting to wolf and more awkwardness if others walk up to the clothing left behind. So, she had found a whole collection of tennis dresses. Some sports store had donated a bunch of stuff. But, the dresses were perfect. Stretchy materials, built in sports bra, very flattering on her. Then, she paired them with jackets and sweaters to wear around school. Since wolves have a higher body temperature, she didn't really feel like she needed a coat most of the time, but walking around school without one would draw too much attention in October. And, she got several pairs of capris to wear under the dresses. If necessary, she could shred the capris and just peal off the dress. So, that is what she wore. a dark red and grey tennis dress over black capri pants, a black hoody, and red chucks. Not really the ideal date outfit.

Embry glance over at her. "You are beautiful. And, you are dressed just fine."

Before she knew it, Embry had parked and led her down to a small beach surrounded by ragged cliffs. He stepped in behind her as she looked at the area. His whole body pressed against the back of hers as he wrapped his arms around her. "What do you think?"

"This is beautiful." Don't let go. Please don't let go.

He dropped his head to place gentle kisses along Phyre's neck. "You mentioned that you like swimming. The pack comes here to go cliff diving. The water is calm today, so I thought that I would introduce you to it."

"Hmmmm." She couldn't find her voice for a moment. His lips on her skin was absolute heaven. It sent shivers through her body. "But, it is October. The water is cold."

"And, we're wolves with higher body temperatures."

Phyre grinned. Cliff diving did sound like a lot of fun. And, he put effort into thinking of something that she would enjoy, not just cliche date stuff.

She leaned back further into him and realized that she could feel him. All of him. Boy was he hard. Oh wow, he was huge. And pressed against her backside. God did that turn her on. To feel his attraction to her flooded her body with heat. Her breasts tightened and her core pooled with lust. Phyre had never had such a physical reaction to any guy before she arrived in La Push. The moment with Seth was more about running away from her pain. With Embry, it was all raw lust.

Embry let out a low growl and rubbed himself on her before he quickly pulled back. "Damn, you are sexy as hell. And, I can smell your arousal. But, I had better put some space between us before I lose control and push things farther than they should go for a first date in a relationship that you want to take slow."

Phyre just stood there. Stunned by his sudden absence from her body. Her mind not able to catch up and refocus.

"Wait here, I will be right back with some stuff." Embry grumbled as he readjusted himself. Before long, he returned with a few blankets, towels, and a cooler.

She had enough time to regain her senses and smiled brightly as he laid out a blanket for them to sit on and opened the cooler to show that he brought drinks, fried chicken, sandwiches, two bowls of some kind of broccoli rice casserole. An odd combination, but it looked wonderful. She was so hungry.

"You did all of this for me?" She asked. She bit her lower lip as she looked it over. Her chocolate eyes were bright with joy.

Embry grinned. "Of course. How about a quick sandwich and some diving?" She giggled.

They made fast work of their sandwiches, then took off unnecessary layers such as shoes and jackets. Laughter echoed off of the cliffs as Embry led Phyre up the path to the diving locations. He told her stories of the boys and their first times diving. They all loved the adrenaline of the dive. But, some were more scared than others.

"Really? I thought Collin would be more fearless than Brady." She chuckled.

Embry grinned. "Yeah, but they were still only 13 at the time."

Phyre stopped. "They phased that young?"

"Yup, there were several issues with large groups of vampires for a couple years. The sheer volume of the threat triggered a lot more changes. But, because the gene is only in the three family lines, there were not as many options. Eventually, there were seven others even younger than Collin and Brady."

She shook her head at that. She couldn't imagine being so young and shifting to a wolf. It was hard enough at 17.

Embry stopped her from going too far down that path. "Once the threat was dealt with and the vampires mostly left, the younger ones stopped phasing. They still keep the secret. But, they returned to just being human. We are all happy for them."

Phyre hugged him tight. "God, this is a lot to learn about."

"I know love. You have all of us to help you. But..." He emphasized the last word. "I did not bring you here for more overwhelming wolf talk." He stretched a hand toward the edge of the cliff.

Phyre looked over as Embry watched her carefully. She slowly stepped back away from the overlook. "Where you hoping to scare me by bringing me to the highest cliff first?" She smirked and ran for the edge. The cool air rushed past her until her feet broke the surface of the colder water. Phyre heard Embry's laughter the whole way. Breaking back through the surface, she wiped her now short black hair out of her face and glared up at him. "What are you waiting for Call?" He quickly followed.

"Damn!" Embry laughed when he caught up to her. "You are reckless woman!"

She grinned. "This should go down as the best first date idea that La Push has to offer!"

He shook his head. "Nope. Most other girls would never have jumped. This is all you."

The couple spent at least an hour repeating the dives and laughing as they climbed back up to the top.

Phyre and Embry curled up in each others arms on the blanket and ate their chicken and casserole while they talked. The sun would set after about an hour, so they took the time to dry off before moving on to other plans. Embry intended to make the most out of every minute he could get with her.

"Seriously!" Embry chuckled. "It was awful! I was so shy when I was a kid. I could talk to Jake and Quil and that was about it. I had a permanent fear of being called on in class to speak publicly."

"So, what changed?" Phyre asked.

He tilted his head. "The wolf thing. My physical changes drew more attention. My aggression superseded my fears. I figured that if I was gonna have the attention anyway, might as well go for it. After all, I could beat the shit out of anyone that laughed at me for something."

Phyre shook her head. The boys and their need to threaten everyone, constantly. Yeah, she would beat the shit out of anyone that messed with her or someone she cared about. She just didn't feel the need to say it every hour.

"Well, I am glad that you found your confidence."

Embry groaned slightly. "My dad ain't." She looked at him, confused. "He was used to the quiet kid who did what he was told. He wasn't prepared for the smart ass that I became. And, it was embarrassing to him that his own deputies were scared of me for a while."

"Yeah, I don't think he likes me much either." Phyre sighed.

He lifted her chin up to look at him. "It's not you Phyre. Well... okay, maybe a little bit you. I mean, he did catch you shop lifting. But, he will get over that. Especially with the circumstances. He is a pretty reasonable man about that kind of shit. No, most of it is about me. He was not thrilled when I became a wolf. He understands the need for the pack. As Sheriff, he works well with the pack. But, he didn't like how becoming a wolf changed me. And, he sure as hell did not like that it tied me to the rez. He wanted me to go to a university, get a degree and life experience out in the world. Having you in my life just adds to the ties to keep me here."

"Oh." She didn't want to hold him back from anything.

As if he knew exactly what she was thinking. "And, I am not complaining one bit about that. I am already building a life here. You just make it more of one to look forward to."

She blushed. "You are too sweet." A wicked grin split his face. Trying not to get lost in his lips, Phyre prodded for more. "So, what life are you building here?"

"Well, you know that I work in the garage. Old Quil technically owns the place. Quil's dad owned it. Well, my dad, I guess. Still not used to that. Anyway..." He shook his head. "After the car accident, the ownership went to Old Quil since Quil was only 10 at the time. The plan was that Quil would take it over. However, after the accident, Quil never really wanted anything to do with cars. I can't really blame him. So, the shop sat for a few years. Then, when we all started to shift. Quil and his grandfather had a long talk about the shop. Quil was 16 and could take it over if he wanted. But, Quil thought it would be a good way to help the pack get jobs. Now, it is run kind of like a co-op. Jake, Paul, Seth, and I; we all work together. We set a standardized pay scale and pricing. And we each pay a quarter of the bills for the place. But, whatever we work on is what we get paid from. If I work on 10 cars that week, I get paid the profits of those 10 jobs. If Paul works on 2 cars, but they are more work, they have more profit. He makes that profit. It gives us room to discount if we feel it is warranted. We can work the hours we want to make sure the work gets done. After all, if we are too lazy, we don't get paid. It seems to work."

Phyre smiled at him. "You like working on the cars?"

"Yeah. It is relaxing most of the time, but still offers a bit of a challenge."

"But, you don't own a running car?"

He grinned. "Well, this is a small place. I can pretty much walk anywhere, or turn wolf in the woods and run. Or just bum a ride off the others. General rule is if they need me somewhere at a specific time, they better pick me up. I can get a little distracted if I walk there. No telling what time I will show up." He chuckled.

"Good to know!"

"But, you can distract me any time. They can go to hell and wait while I am with you." Embry's voice dropped low and gravely.

Phyre's toes curled at the sound. "Oh man, is that wickedly delicious."

He growled and rolled over her to kiss her neck. Phyre loved the feel of him around her neck. However, she was hoping he would eventually kiss her lips. "Fuck!" Okay, kissing her lips can wait, that nibble on her ear felt amazing!

He nuzzled once again and spoke softly in her ear. His breath ghosted over shell. "If you keep moaning like that, I am not gonna have any control left."

"Who said I want you to hold back?" She breathed.

"You did, when you asked to go slow." Embry regained composure and pushed himself back. "And, I know for a fact that if we went too fast, Paul and Sam wouldn't just kill me, they'd skin me alive."

Phyre growled. Damn. She went from 0 to 60 way too fast around those boys. She blushed at the memory of what she did with Seth. With the imprint, she did not think about Seth that way at all anymore. But, she still remembered how she felt. Ugh, she wanted to get there with Embry so she would not think about that one experience anymore.

"Fine. What else do you have going on for you?" She asked. Distracting her from her train of thought.

Embry tilted his head. "Let's see, I own my own house. Quil lives with me. I bought it before the car, thus why the car is still not running, just got it six months ago. Quil and I both take online classes. He is working on Criminal Justice or something. I am working toward a degree in Environmental Studies."

Phyre perked up at that. "Environmental Studies?"

"Yeah. You know, I can always be a mechanic. I like it. But, I keep thinking about what happens if the Cullen's move away and we all stop phasing like the younger ones? What if I could leave the rez? With us being wolves we spend a lot of time in the forest. I see a lot. Even if I could not phase, I don't think I could give up that connection to nature. Plus, we have a National Park and a Wildlife Refuge around us. I could work with the parks or on the rez itself and not leave my home, just get out for work."

She looked in his eyes. Those amazing bright amber brown eyes. "You are full of surprises." He blushed.

"And, what do you think about Quil being your brother?" She hesitated to bring it up, but she honestly wanted to know.

He grinned. "Jake and Quil are my best friends. I am happy with either of them. So long as it was not Sam." She couldn't agree more.

"I think it is funny that you work in a shop that Quil's dad ran and is owned by his grandfather now; while Quil works for your dad."

Embry shrugged. "It works better that way. Trust me. Dad never would have survived me working for him." She giggled.