I'd like to apologize. Somehow I got the chapters out of order and this one was skipped. I deleted the most recently posted chapter and this is the replacement.
Chapter 44 - Rebirth
On the other side of the reservation, Embry Call was pouring whiskey into a glass. He'd tried not to let the sting of rejection show when his imprint went home with Leah tonight. It took everything he had not to go wolf and sleep on the doormat like some pathetic pussy. The urge to phase was so bad that he could barely contain it, but he was determined not to. Knowing that if he did, he'd end up baying at the moon and whimpering beneath the bedroom window.
That would go over like a ton of bricks with Leah. Girl loves sleep. She'd sink a claw into my nutsack just to hear the skin break. Tonight, that made Jack his new best friend.
Hands shaking, he sloshed some of the amber liquid on the counter, knocking over the glass when he tried to right it. "Shit." Setting up again, he poured himself another, this time managing not to drop it like some sort of animal. Tossing back three fingers- neat- he reveled in the stinging burn sliding down the back of his throat. But it wasn't enough. It would never be enough. There was only one cure and she was a half mile away ensconced in Leah Clearwater's spare bedroom.
"Fuck it." Embry capped the bottle and slipped on some shoes, refusing to be a total caveman. A casual night time stroll. That's all it had to be. If he ended up standing on the edge of the woods staring at the house like some kind of creepy stalker, so be it. Anything was better than feeling like this.
Wrenching open the door with more force than necessary, he all but ran smack into the small raised fist ready to knock on the cracked wood.
She looked for all the world like little red riding hood standing there dressed in an old red hoodie two sizes too large with dark tresses peaking out from underneath. A wicked smile curled the corners of his lip, tugging it upward into what he was sure probably looked like some twisted sense of humor. "Come to visit the big bad wolf?"
Embry berated himself mentally for the statement. Jackass. You sound like a dick. "Sorry, bad joke," he apologized, trying to look anywhere but her lips. Redder than the sweet summer strawberries that tickled his nose, her skin more beautiful than the scent of freesia which clung to her. The beast inside him wanted to ravage every part of her and show her just what kind of wolf he really was.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. I can leave." Máire turned, heading back into the darkness.
Embry caught her by the wrist. "Please don't," he whispered. "I'd like it if you stayed." Every inch of him felt vulnerable. It was like being a gangly sixteen-year-old all over again, trying to impress some girl miles out of his league.
Looking into his sad eyes, Máire saw the torment hidden behind them and allowed him to bring her inside.
Standing in the entryway, body cramped in the tight space, he felt awkward, unsure of what to do. "You want a drink?" he offered, sliding away without bothering to wait for a response. Jack sat on the counter, calling out like a siren song of sweet honey. Even if she didn't need one, he did.
His hands shook again when he poured it into the glasses, but this time it was for a different reason. Ice. She probably wants ice. Embry crossed the few paces to the freezer. When he turned around, she was there, leaning against the counter like some sort of siren temptress calling out his name.
"I know what it cost you to leave me tonight and I'm sorry." There was no pity in her voice, no pretense. He liked that.
"It's alright," he shrugged, brushing past her shoulder to set the ice down on the counter. Just the feel of her warmth, the energy radiating through the soft, crimson fabric of her sweater sent tingles like a thousand zaps of electricity buzzing beneath his skin. "Been through worse."
"Tell me." Small fingers curled around his wrist. Embry pinched his eyes closed, holding back the wolf on a tight leash.
"Tell you what?" he asked, trying to sound casual, when the way he felt was anything but. "What do you wanna to know?"
"Anything, everything."
Those eyes, so demure, framed by the darkest fan of lashes feathering over creamy cheeks, blushed rosy from walking on a cold winter night. Embry wanted to know what they'd look like, flushed with carnal desire. The knuckles on his left hand turned white from gripping the counter hard enough to lock it down. "Look, I don't know what you want me to say. This isn't exactly cake for me. I'm the bastard son of a father who never bothered to claim me. I've got a mother who pretty much disowned me the second I turned eighteen."
Fire flashed in his eyes, the wolf rife with indignity and neglect mixed with a primal need to stake a claim over what was his. Without conscious thought, he took a step forward, then another, forcing her backward until she was pressed tightly against the counter with nowhere to go.
"I'm a shape-shifting warrior because the gods or whatever decided that they needed to play some sick joke on the universe. Now I've imprinted on my best friend's girlfriend's great great grandmother who just happens to be a fairy. So, what else do you want to know?" The tenor of his voice had dropped, more animal than human, a silent snarl reverberating somewhere deep in his heaving chest. The air between them was electric, the heady scent of lust combining with sugar and freesia. Ducking his head to whisper in her ear, her tightened nipples brushed against bare skin.
Both of his hands rested on the counter, caging her in. She couldn't get away now if she tried. The rough stubble of his chin skimmed the delicate skin of her cheek, the corner of his lips almost, but not quite touching hers.
"How I feel?" he whispered, giving in to desire, teeth lightly nipping her earlobe. "Fucked up. Desperate. Confused. You're standing here looking at me with the sexiest lips I've ever seen on a woman and I wanna kiss you so bad that I can't even think straight. So, how's that for screwed up?"
Embry reached for the full glass of whiskey, ready to feel the burn, but before he could, Máire's tiny hands pulled his face to hers and in a second, her mouth was on him consuming every last piece of sanity he had left. A shower of fireworks exploded in his veins making his blood boil over with unadulterated lust. In a matter of seconds, any idea of not going wolf died, just as the need to claim her grew. When she twisted one leg around his thigh, Embry thought he'd explode. The tight denim of his jeans strangled his cock, pointing like a compass home. Gripping her thighs, in one swift movement she was in his arms, pinned against the flat surface of the wall while he ground against her hard, like some teenage boy in a porno induced fantasy.
One by one, the thin threads that held his sanity started to come undone, unravelling into a million strands beneath his feet. Máire consumed him, intoxicated his senses, drove the wolf wild with the urge to mate. The more she panted, the harder she pushed, the stronger the urge became to sink his cock deep inside her and his teeth into the soft juncture of her neck. Holding her with one arm, Embry pressed one hand flat against the wall. The shift had begun and he felt powerless to stop it. Fingernails raked sharp as claws down the wall, pulling away paint and plaster. Heat licked the base of his spine.
Body trembling, Embry tore his lips away from hers. "Aw, Fuck!" he cursed, backing away. "I have to get out of here. I gotta go shift or this isn't gonna end well." Seeing her back pressed against the wall, lips swollen and the bright flush of desire warming her breasts, almost changed his mind. "Come with me." He wasn't asking and he wasn't telling.
When she offered up her hand, he took it gladly, leading her out into the new fallen snow. A burn ripped through his chest, lungs stealing gulps of December air. The forest and moon called, demanding the sacrifice of his human flesh to become one with the wolf. Without pretense he allowed it to take over. Flesh and bone tearing and shifting, muscles coiling, burning flames of fire searing from the inside out. What was left of his jeans fell to the ground like confetti.
In his place emerged the wolf.
Shimmering silver in the moonlight, the marks of a raven's wings kissed his back. A thousand scents overwhelming and electrifying his body. Massive claws, razor sharp, penetrated the frozen ground beneath his paws when he bowed low before her. The animal bade its mate to acquiesce to his demand.
When her fingers tangled into the thick, warm fur across his neck, the wolf bolted into the trees, navigating rocky inclines and frozen streams. It travelled deep into the waiting forest, scattering a trail of wet snow behind him. Atop the crest of a hill, where the sitka and cedar grew large overhead, a moss-covered building stood. The crumbling remnants of a forgotten past, where the spirits of his people still celebrated ancient rituals belonging to the warrior. The house of wolves, select and few. Gifted by the ancestors who walked the path of stars.
The steam of his breath rose as icy fog in the moonlight. The wolf bowed low to the ground, allowing his mate to slip from his shoulders. Then he circled her, inhaling her scent, eyes memorizing every detail of her quivering form.
Suddenly fur gave way to flesh and Embry stood, every inch the warrior, his regal bearing imposing in the silvery moonlight.
"I remember this place." With the wave of a hand, the empty stillness of the forest transformed. Melting snow gave way to lush, green grass and moss, its verdant carpet decorated with the pale lapis of geranium and purity of may lily.
Warm, slanting light fell from behind a leather cloaked doorway, the thrum of drums and song of the warriors demanding an answer to their mighty call. Laughter echoed between the walls of the longhouse, shaking loose the dust from the rafters.
Stepping across the threshold into another time, one hundred years past when the call of the wolf spirit was revered amongst the Quillayute, Embry stood in awe of the men of legend, witnessing the greatness of their strength.
A warm fire burned low and hard in the center of a planked floor while the warriors danced, cloaked in tanned hide and softened cedar. Straight shoulders bore the weight of giant headdress and finely carved masks while they performed the steps of their guardian spirit.
Sparks high into the night, flying out of the mossy roof to join the stars. Eerie shadows passed over the faces of the warriors, painted ochre, white and raven hues. Rivulets of sweat etched rivers steeped in blood and soot down the amber flesh of their chests and backs, pierced with sharpened bone and needle-tipped spears.
The shamans lay forth offerings of the people, darkened salmon soaked with the oil of whale, drawing Embry forward into the song. Women and children sat along the walls, voices woven in cadence with the rhythmic percussion of beaded rattles and pounding drums. It was a rising of the blood, vibrations of the soul in an otherworldly light. With new eyes he saw those who came before him. Men who bore none of the names of the white man, only those granted as part of Tkokwali.
The wooden planks beneath his feet began to quake. Voices lifted in song, the powerful chants of shaman and ancient rituals of their people melded together in a fiery crescendo of searing flame. They demanded he take all that was his, to claim the honor cast aside from the moment of his birth. Arms spread wide to embrace the warrior, a blinding surge of power and light filled the aching well of his soul erupting forth in a mighty battle cry.
Embry Call was no more. In his place was only the warrior wolf, falling back to earth on whispered clouds of prayer. The initiation complete. The house of wolves embracing the future spirit of their people into their midst.
The illusion fell away. When he opened his eyes, the fire still burned, but the longhouse stood empty, crumbling into ruin. Across the flames, Máire smiled softly, waning moonlight seeping in through between the broken chinks of the walls, illuminating her mass of raven tresses in a halo of innocence.
Glittering flakes of snow blew through the open doorway, landing in fluffy drifts of pristine white over weathered planks of gray. Icy wind whistled through the trees, its frozen fingers shaking the crumbling rafters above. The longhouse should have been cold, but even though a storm raged outside, inside it was warm, safe and inviting.
She was inviting.
With new purpose, he crossed the few feet of distance between them, standing naked save the colorful woven blanket tied around his waist. A leftover remnant of the illusion and initiation gift of the gods. In the corner he spied a mask, its once bright paint chipped and faded, the curling strands of hair all but gone with the passage of time. Máire pressed the palm of her hand over his wildly beating heart.
A flash of heat, hot white like a poker burned through his flesh. Her dark eyes were closed, rose colored lips whispering unknown words in a foreign tongue. The sting of pain faded as rapidly as it came, leaving cool warmth in its place. Her hand fell away, leaving in its place a symbol, sacred to her people. An ancient tree, its roots deep and branches wide, intertwining into an unending circle surrounding its might.
Drawing a small blade from her pocket, Máire pierced the tip of her finger, drawing her crimson blood across the silvery tree. As if by divine miracle, leaves unfurled, tiny blooms of delicate pink blossomed with the vinous scent of honeyed wine. Apples of green streaked with gold grew from the branches, the forbidden fruit blushing with the bright stain of crimson. "The tree of life has no end and no beginning, it is father, mother, earth, wind and the song to the Tuatha Dé Danann . Danu has blessed us, inviting you to rest beneath its shelter. One day it will give you safe passage to my land, to see and hear with your own ears the harmony of my people."
"Máire." His breath came out in a whisper, caressing the blush of her cheek, fingers tangling beneath and between the silken mass of dark curls tumbling about her shoulders. Steadfast and earnest, gazing into her eyes, Embry gave her the promise held in his heart. "I'll never leave you."