i dont own anything Stephenie Meyer owns the characters and tootoo owns the plot

Rhyme A Dark Imprint Prologue -------------------------------------------------------------------------------The fridge whooshed another breeze of cold air in my face as I dug myself inside it. The mixed scent of garlic and beef almost turned me off, almost discouraged me. My will built up inside me. You have to do this, Mary, I thought, you have to. Blood rushed through my veins and my trembling hand went in a little further . My breath caught in my throat, my heart doing leaps. The shiny, perfect brown beauty, hidden in the far corner of my disgusting brother's tiny fridge was defi nitely worth it. I could imagine it in my mouth, desolving, sending jolts of ecs tasy through my body. Finally, I was just an inch close. There it was: the moment of victory, of pure bliss. "Mariah!" I froze. Perfect timing, bro. Just plain perfect. "What are you doing in my - oh," my annoying 11-year-old brother said once he st epped in his room. "Chocolate again? I thought we talked about this." Shamefully, I dragged myself out of his room, silent. You see, I was on a diet. A chocolate-free diet. And me, being the chocoholic I was, couldn't resist the f laming desire inside me to calm myself with a soothing, large bite of this brown bliss. Today was just bad, and a bite wouldn't have made a huge difference to m y diet as much as it would have to my happiness. The day started out pretty smoothly - I woke up at seven sharp, jumped into my f avorite skinny jeans and red sweater and walked to school. School was okay. Then I got home, and logged in to my accounts, and found a rather-disturbing e-mail from my beloved ex. The last thing I needed was to open my e-mail to find this: Dear Mary, I'm going to find you. You can't just disappear and expect me to be okay with it , you know? You lied to me, you made me believe you were something you never wer e. You're going to pay for this, I promise you.

Chapter 1

"...and then Jennie was like, what the hell and then I was like, you deserve it. Then she was like, oh yeah? And she had this look on her face..like she was up to something bad. I dunno, I don't really care. I mean, what's the most she can do, really? Manicure my locker? She's so childish, you know. I don't know how... " Stacy rambled in my ear. I tried my best to tune my friend's voice out, but it was just physically impossible. I buried my head in my pillow as she went on. " ...alright? I'll pick you up in an hour." "Huh?" She sighed. "The mall! We're meeting the guys at the mall. Nessie said she'd bri ng some other friends, too - some people from Forks I guess? Not really sure..bu t they're coming in Jake's Rabbit so we're gonna have to fetch our own ride. Tom said he'd drive us there - get your lazy ass up and get ready." I groaned. "But I don't feel like going to the mall," I whined, "I'm tired." "Get. Ready." And then I heard the oh-so-familiar beep and I knew I had no choice. God, why di d I have to endure this? I swear the only reason I ever hung out with Stacy and the guys was because of Matthew. Matt and I were neighbors, and he was the first , and most welcoming, person I met around here. Since I moved to Port Angeles ab out six months ago, Matt has been my closest friend and ally. I remember when I first saw him, the day we moved here, and he was so pissed at his little sister that he kept yelling a couple of her rather embarrassing childhood moments, not noticing there were people around, and I kept laughing at him. I hadn't laughed so genuinely in ages, so it was more than refreshing. Next thing I know, we're inseparable. We spent the whole summer together, someti mes hiking, other times just watching a movie at home or making a huge family di nner. It wasn't until school started that I knew he was one of those boys - the jock that only cares about sports and his rather idiotic friends. But he never f orgot or ignored me. And this is how, ladies and gentlemen, I was friends with S tacy (okay, so maybe she wasn't completely bad but she was still annoying as hel l), his best friend's girlfriend, Samantha, the chick who surfs too much and Nes sie, the Cullens' center of interest, and therefore the most famous girl at scho ol.

Being friends with this type of people had never been a quality of mine. But onc e I left my old life behind, I knew there was no coming back, and having friends , no matter how superficial I thought they were, was probably the best thing tha t could happen to me. Matt never knew of my past, or whom I left behind, but he knew something happened and he was kind enough not to ask what or why. I got up from my bed, stretching. After a long day at school, all I wanted was t o get some sleep, but oh well. I quickly changed into my skinny jeans and an ext remely oversized t-shirt that went mid-thigh and my sneakers. Stacy would just h ave to deal with this. I was in no mood for dressing up, especially with other g uys around. I just wasn't yet comfortable with having any kind of attention, no matter how minor, from new people. I was one of those girls who usually disappea r - you don't notice them, not even when they speak, and the last thing I needed was attention. I lazily lifted my hair up in a ponytail and threw myself back o n the bed, my phone in my hand, waiting for Stacy to text me when she wanted me to come down. A minute later, the doorbell rang. Didn't she say an hour? Who else would be her e? Knowing Mom and Dad weren't around, and bro dear never answers the door, I ran d ownstairs and answered it, only to find Matt in front of me. Unlike me, he was a ctually dressed decently - even his honey-colored hair was perfectly put togethe r. I smiled. "What are you doing here?" He leaned his figure on the door frame. "Picking you up. Let's go." "Isn't Stacy-" "I called her. Come on I wanna show you something!" he said, dragging me outside . When I resisted, he eyed me. "Come with me, or I tell Stacy what you're wearin g." I huffed. "Fine," I said, letting him drag me all the way out, "But how are you gonna p-" I stopped, staring at the beauty in front of me. She stood proud, her body curve d perfectly, her accessories as shiny as the stars, the leather of her interiors even shinier. In front of me was a maroon Audi. Perfection on earth. Love expre ssed in metal. "Is - is -" "It's mine!" he said, wrapping an arm around me, "Dad was feeling extra generous the night I won that tennis match last week." I was still perplexed, unbelieving. Without averting my eyes, I asked him, "Do y ou really feel like going to the mall?" "Well, yeah. I still wanna drive-" "Let's go to La Push." "What?" he said, dropping his arm, "La Push? Why?" I rolled my eyes. "To take this beauty for a ride. What do you think? Switch pho nes off and go?" --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Woo!" Matt said, one hand out of the window, the other on the steering wheel, " How did you know there aren't any speed limits inside La Push?" I grinned. "Who do you think finished the Mercedes' gas tank last month?" He raised his eyebrows. "You didn't! Your dad would kill you if he knew." I shrugged, smiling. The scenery around us soon changed from the tall, damp tree s to a couple of houses and First Beach. The air filled my lungs, and I sucked i n a deep breath. "Nah, he loves me too much," I said, "So." "So.." "Tell me about Emma. Are you guys, like, dating?" He shrugged. "Yeah, a little. Why though?" I put my hand on my chest and pouted. "You're cheating on me. My heart is broken . I don't do what to do with my life. Oh, I wanna die." He laughed and pulled over near the beach. "Oh, dear Mary, don't be so sad," he said and pinched my cheek, "I'm sure I can date two pretty girls at the same tim e." I stuck my tongue out. "Very funny, Matthew." He chuckled, staring out of the window. He stayed silent for a while, his featur es still. I closed my eyes and tried to filter my mind. I couldn't get it out of my mind how my ex-boyfriend threatened me, told me he'd find me and make me "pa y". The thought of seeing him again made me shiver, tears welling up behind my e yelids. I was in no way or shape ready to face him and the threat itself shook m e like nothing ever could, and the worst thing was that I couldn't tell anyone a bout it. I couldn't let it out, I couldn't seek protection in others. No one els e knew. I didn't tell anyone about him, at all. I didn't tell anyone anything an d it choked me a little more every minute. My hand grabbed Matthew's, squeezing gently. I didn't know why, I just did it. I opened my eyes to find him staring at me before squeezing my hand back. "Is eve rything alright?" I shook my head, staring out of the window at the beach. The w aves riffled roughly and I used their sound to cover up the sob that echoed in t he back of my throat. I felt so weak, so vulnerable. "You can tell me, you know. You can trust me, Mary." I whimpered. "I know I can, I just-" I took a deep breath. "Matt, I can't tell a nyone yet." He squeezed my hand one more time before letting it go. "Take care of yourself." I grimaced. "Look, I'm sorry but-" "You don't need to apologize." He started the engine. "Just know you can come to me, alright?" I smiled apologetically and was about to say something when I saw the most eccen tric thing on the beach. A couple hundred meters away, there was a huge, horse-s ized wolf standing, whimpering, rolling on its side. I gasped at its size and co lor - gray with dark spots. It looked absolutely beautiful, and at the same time extremely dangerous. "Matt! Matt - go. Let's get out of here! Look at the wolf! "

"Whoa," he said, speeding his way out of the place. "What is that?" "No idea," I mumbled. Once we got out of La Push, I spoke. "You think we should call Stacy yet? She must be pretty angry." He grinned mischievously, looking at me for a split second. "No, I wanna see the look on her face when we show up," he said, "You know, I never really-" Suddenly, and literally out of nowhere, while his eyes weren't on the road, a ma n appeared in the middle of the way. He looked extremely pale, but the stern loo k on his face, the confidence radiating off his shiny red eyes and how he stretc hed out his hands on both sides of him terrified me. We were only a couple of fe et away. There was no way we would be able to walk around him in such a tiny roa d on near the cliffs. "Matt!" I cried, "Matt watch out! There's a man - watch out! Oh my God!"

Chapter 2 "Matt!" I cried, "Matt watch out! There's a man - watch out! Oh my God!" By the time he could react all he could do was turn to the left, hoping the man would step away in time. The red-eyed man wouldn't stop staring at us, staying c ompletely immobile. I could hear my heart pounding, my breaths getting harder an d harder to catch. The man moved to the left with us, leaving us with no choice but to try to stop the car. The space was too small - the man too fast - and we couldn't. The car stopped with a loud screech and the man, suddenly, hopped on i ts front glass. Matt and I screamed, and he knocked with the palm of his hand on the glass, wher e the man crouched, still eyeing us silently. "Get off the car!" he yelled, "Do you hear me? Get off of it!" The man grinned, running his hand over the glass in circles. Once, twice. With t he third time, he lightly pushed the glass with the tip of his finger and it sma shed into fine powder. I gasped. I didn't have the time or power or free mind to think about how he did it, or why he looked like he could eat us alive. All I could think about was ho w to get out of here, how to call for help without exposing ourselves to danger. Suddenly, Matt pushed my shoulder, unlocking the doors. "Get out!" He hopped out of the car and I followed. For a second, I looked at him and we silently agreed to run, but my hopes were crushed once I felt icy cold, rock-hard arm around my neck. I screamed. "Matt!" Matt looked behind him and froze at the scene, hyperventilating. The stranger ch uckled, and it sounded more like music than a laugh. If my blood hadn't already left my head, maybe, just maybe I would have relaxed at his velvet voice. "I hav en't smelled something so...delicious in so long."

"S-Stay away from her!" Matt yelled, striding towards us. "Let her go! What do y ou want?" The stranger ignored him and proceeded approaching my neck with his face. "What' s your name?" I gulped, trying to wiggle free. Needless to say, my efforts went in vain. He re peated his question, tightening his grip around my neck. "M-Mary." "Mm," he said, licking my neck. I shivered in fear. "How old are you, Mary?" I looked at Matt, begging him to say something, to do something. His eyes were w ide as saucers, his limbs shaking. I'd never seen him so terrified. My body was trembling, both from fear and coldness. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, collecting my strength and attempting to punch his stomach with my elbow just t o distract him for a minute only to be met by a body as hard as bricks. I whimpe red in pain, a few tears escaping my eyes. Before I could catch my breath again, I heard a howl far away. Great, both brick -man and the wolf. My day just couldn't get any better. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Embry's POV -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Eh, just when the day couldn't get any more boring. First, Jake takes Seth and N essie out, then I have to go on patrol after the leeches that have been hovering around the area for a while now all alone. I couldn't even have the luxury of h aving Paul or Jared patrol with me as everyone on the reservation was getting re ady for Paul and Rachel's wedding in a few days. And now, I was getting this wei rd...pull. Like the one I got when Emily baked fresh cookies, but a little diffe rent, more intense. The waves of salty water in front of me went quieter and, to distract myself for a while, I listened to the atmosphere around me. Trust me: there could be some seriously amusing conversations around the res. This time, all I could hear was a girl stuttering through her name. In my wolf form, I was confused. Not a second later I heard an ear-piercing shrill that made my heart ache. Fuck, it was an attack. But the leech escaped into the water...was there another one? I didn't have time to think, I needed to get there as soon as possible. I howle d, letting the bloodsucker know I was there, marking my territory. They were sta nding a couple of seconds (of running) away from me. There was a boy, about sixt een or so, was standing a couple of feet away from the bloodsucker who had his a rm around the girl, his face nuzzled in her neck. I growled but the vampire wouldn't move. I walked behind him, crouching low, rea dy to pounce whenever he stepped away from her. Without turning around, he spoke . "Go ahead, kill me. Any move and I'll kill her too." The boy looked confused and I growled louder. He looked at me, then the girl, th en his car, obviously calculating the risks of running away. Thankfully, I felt someone phase. I heard you howl. What is it? Come over here, Leah! I need someone on the other side of the road.

Once Leah's paws approached the area, the vampire visibly tensed and vanished in to thin air. Ha. Looks like Edward found a match for his speed. The girl lost ba lance and if I wasn't in my wolf form, I would've caught her. Instead, I let her fall and turned the other way, running towards the woods. That was close, Leah thought, that girl looks familiar though..I think I saw her at the Cullens' before. I mentally frowned, hiding between trees, hearing the boy trying to comfort the girl, apologizing about how he couldn't protect her. But, hey. He wouldn't be ab le even if he'd tried - that was the best scenario possible. Do you think she's a friend of theirs? A friend of Nessie's, maybe? Could be, Leah thought, after all they do attend high school now. Yeah. I phased back into human form and jumped into my shorts, running to them on the road, trying my best to look like I was jogging near by. Sure, I was a shirtless jogger in mid-November, but they wouldn't know any better. When I went there, I found the boy, probably the girl's boyfriend or something, crouching in front of her while she sat in the car, examining her swollen elbow. "I think you broke it," he said, "I'm so sorry, Mary. I wish I-" She sniffed, pushing a strand of her beautiful black hair back behind her ear wi th her undamaged hand. Her painfully pale complexion sent daggers through my hea rt, for some reason. She let out a silent sob as he pressed on the side of her a rm again. "Wha-What was that?" she asked, "What happened, Matt? I still don't ge t it." Broke it? Well, maybe if we could make it to the Cullens in time we'd be able to get her treated without so many questions on the...type of the attack. "I got his features memorised, we have to report this." Well, damn. "I think you r dad can get things done pretty quickly, right?" She shook her head. "What are we gonna say? Some freak broke the glass then he w as...licking my neck? Someone jumped on a car -" He sighed. "I get it. But we gotta get you to the hospital." I cleared my throat and walked closer to them. "Is everything okay? What happene d here?" They exchanged glances and Mary closed her eyes and leaned on her side, taking a deep breath. "Just a bit of an accident," Matt said, "You know any hospitals ar ound here?" I frowned, feigning concentration. "Well there aren't any hospitals too near," I lied, "But there's this doctor who lives just a bit away.. he's Dr. Cullen, if you know him?" Matt stood up and Mary frowned, still closing her eyes, clenching her jaws due t o pain. "Yeah...yeah, Dr. Cullen - I heard of him. His daughter is actually a fr iend of ours." I smiled. "Nessie? Alice? Rosalie?" I suggested, "Bella?"

He nodded. "Yeah, Nessie. Do you know them?" More than you would think, boy. "Sure, sure. Can she walk?" Her eyes still closed, she nodded. "I can, yes. But it's a long way there isn't it?" With that, she opened her eyes. With that, my world stopped. Just with that, I i mprinted. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mary's POV -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Our eyes connected for what seemed like ages. I forgot the accident, the pain. H ell, I think I forgot how to breathe. My heart caught a rapid pace as I looked i nto those dark, sparkling eyes. Something in me wanted to know who that boy was, something in me encouraged me to speak. "I know you," I said. I did. I was sure I did. How? I had no idea. But his face seemed so familiar..."Did you attend Forks High at some point?" He shook his head, whispering a "No." And then it hit me. "I saw you at Charlie Swan's house a couple of years ago, am I correct? Do you know him?" "Charlie? You know Chief Swan?" "Yeah, he was Dad's boss..." I trailed off, leaving out the part where we moved away. Matt cleared his throat. "Should we get her to the Cullens already?" The boy nodded then looked at the Audi. "Can we use the car?" Matt looked at the shape of the Audi and winced when his eyes landed on the glas s. "Y-Yeah, I guess," he said, "Hey, can you - can you drive? I don't think-" The boy didn't let him finish; he went to the driver's side right away. Matt hel ped me rotate inside the car and closed the door before hopping into the backsea t himself. As soon as the boy started the car, I heard Matt's shallow breaths. I turned my head a bit. "Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" He shook his head. "I'm fine, don't worry about me." "But you're-" "I'm fine, Mary!" he snapped and I grimaced, looking back to the road through th e crushed glass. The boy beside me shifted slightly in his seat. "I'm Embry, by the way," he said, "Embry Call." I pulled the corners of my lips to the nearest thing I could manage to a smile w hile in so much pain. "I'm Mary, and the grumpy one in the back is Matthew." "Nice Audi, Matthew," Embry commented, smiling lightly.

"Yeah," Matt grunted, "A nice crushed Audi." Embry chuckled. "Don't worry, man. I know someone who can fix it up in no time." He looked at me. "Jacob Black. Do you know him? Nessie's boyfriend." I nodded. "He's good with cars?" "Excellent," Embry said as we turned to the Cullens' mansion. "How's your arm?" I sighed, looking back at Matt, who moved forward in his seat and patted my head . "Sorry." "Stop saying sorry," I insisted as Embry pulled over, "It's alright, trust me. I 'm gonna be just fine. I've been through worse." He balled his hand into a fist and slammed it beside him. "I couldn't protect yo u, damnit! What if something had happened? What if he'd kidnapped you?" I huffed. "I'm fine, Matthew! I'm just fine! We're gonna get this done - you cal l Jake and get the Audi fixed - and then we'll go home like nothing ever happene d." He rolled his eyes. "Plus, I could've totally taken him down. I just needed one more minute." He chuckled and Embry threw a "Yeah, right." I smiled at him. "So you-" I was cut off by Edward knocking on the window before he opened the door. "Hey.. .Mary, Matt," he said, ducking his head in. "Embry? What are you doing here? And what happened to the car?" "There was-" I cut Matt off. "We were speeding down at La Push and some rock flew and broke t he window." Okay, that was the worst lie ever. "Oh," Edward said thoughtfully, "And that rock magically hurt your elbow, true?" he said, eyeing my swollen elbow. "Mary, don't," Embry said, "Just tell us what happened. Did you guys hit somethi ng? Someone?" "Can I just..." I said, "Edward, is Dr. Cullen in there? I was just wondering if he could take a look at my arm." "Yeah sure," he said, "Come on in." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Embry's POV -------------------------------------------------------------------------------I sunk in the Cullens' comfy, white couch next to Bella as Mary went inside with Dr Cullen and Matt, who needed to sterilize a few minor cuts that resulted from the glass breaking. I took a deep breath, trying to grasp the whole situation. Could anyone believe it? After all these years, I finally imprint. I imprinted o n a stunningly beautiful woman, with long black hair, creamy complexion and the most amazing eyes I had ever seen. And on the day I imprint, my soul mate gets a ttacked by some random sadistic vampire.

"Look who's the whipped one now. Go find yourself something to do, wolfie," Bell a said, grinning. "She's hurt," I replied, "The leech was too fast - even Leah couldn't run after it." "At least he didn't bite her, right?" I sighed. "Yeah, I guess," I said, "Hey, you call Jake yet?" "I'm right here," Jacob said, walking in with Nessie, who looked disturbed. "Wha t's the emergency?" "I- she-" I stuttered, "I kind of imprinted." He laughed. "Kind of?" he repeated, "Alright, and what's wrong with that?" Just when I was about to speak, he cut me off. "Don't tell me...you're gay aren't you ? I knew it. I always-" "Why won't you just shut up for a moment?" I growled, shaking a bit. He wrapped an arm around Renesmee, pulling her closer to him. "Em, calm down. Te ll me what happened." "I imprinted on Mary - you know, your friend, Nessie?" Her eyes widened. "Mary? Where did you find her? She was supposed to be out with us today, but when we called her, her phone was off." I nodded. "She was out with that dude - Matt - her boyfriend or whatever," I sai d. I could see Nessie was about to say something but I went on nevertheless. "Th ey were attacked - or rather almost attacked - by one of the leeches we smelled the other day." They both gasped. "Oh my God is she okay? Where is she?" Nessie asked, breaking out of Jake's grasp. "She's fine, just a fractured elbow. Leah and I got there in time, thankfully." "She- she doesn't...know, does she? What it was...or what you are...or-" I shook my head. "Oh thank God." Carlisle came down the stairs, his features neutral. "Mary has called her father , he's coming here to pick her and Matthew up," he said, "They're going to repor t the attack." "Bella," Edward said, "Call Charlie, he knows her father. He's the one who moved him to PA. Make him...explain it was an accident. The last thing we need is PA PD on this one." She nodded and got up. I looked at Carlisle, waiting for him to say anything els e but he didn't. For a moment, they all got silent and once I heard the footstep s I knew why. Mary and Matt were stepping outside the room, walking down the sta irs. She had her free arm resting on his and it burned deep in my chest. I wante d to be the one she leaned on, depended on. But, look at me. What was I but some stranger on the road? A shadow she didn't n otice?

Chapter 3 "So you went out without telling us," Dad said, gritting his teeth, "Went to the reservation, switched off your phone, got into trouble and couldn't bother call ing us until Dr Cullen told you you had to!" I grimaced. Mom nudged him subtly. "Easy on her, William. It's not like she mean t to get into trouble." "Yeah, Dad," I said, "That guy just appeared out of no where and, and -" "And what? Held you? An unarmed man hopped on a car, broke its glass and then he ld you against him and you couldn't resist? Matthew couldn't have done anything? " he mocked, "How would you expect me to believe that, young lady?" "Well, it was what happened!" I yelled, getting up from the couch in our living room, fed up with their doubts. "And if you two just can't believe me then it's just too damn bad!" "Mariah Jane Anderson don't you dare-" I cut Mom off. "Stop fucking doubting me! Why would I make this up, huh?" I said , "Why would I do this?" "Watch your language, young lady!" Dad yelled. I bit my lip in frustration, pulling on the sleeves of my shirt. "You never beli eve me," I mumbled, "Not now, and not even back then. You would never believe ho w your beloved Jackson could ever-" I paused, tears welling up in my eyes in the memory of my ex. "How can you ever expect me to come to you when you can't even believe me?" Dad cursed and Mom kept exchanging glances with him, looking back to me with an apologetic eye. "You know what? Just...just leave me alone." I ran my way to my room, slamming the door shut behind me. My parents were alway s like that. There was nothing I could tell them they could take for granted - t here was nothing I told them they believed without solid evidence. I had no idea why they never trusted me, it wasn't like I deceived them before, or used to li e to them the whole time. They were the reason I ever became friends with Jackso n, the reason I kept telling him everything, bonded with him not because I liked who he was, or thought he was my prince charming, but because I needed him - I needed someone to listen to me, to believe me, to soothe me. All I ever wanted w as to them to think my feelings, my emotions, were valid. It would've been nice to talk to them without being told I was lying, or I was being an emotional bitc h. He was my resort, my safe harbour. We would talk to each other the whole time, t ext each other the whole day, hang out with each other every minute of every spa re hour. It didn't take us long, about a couple of weeks, to go out together on real dates and it only took one date before we were officially a couple. The fir st two months of our relationship were heaven, I had to admit. My life depended on his presence. I couldn't do anything without telling him, couldn't make a dec ision completely by myself. Instead, I relied on him. I didn't even let myself t

hink things through, and he knew it. He knew just how much he could control me. He knew it, and he used it. I buried myself under the covers, savouring the warmth of the bed. I curled in a ball, taking deep breaths. It has been two months since I dumped Jackson, but w henever I remembered him, my life with him, everything in me shook. Sometimes, a t the beginning, I mistook that for missing him. Truth was, what I missed wasn't Jackson -hell no- but the feeling that I could talk to someone. Something not even my own parents could give me. Sometimes I wanted to talk to Matt, my closest friend. But no matter how close w e were, how much I knew I could trust him, I just couldn't do it. Something in m e was convinced that what happened wasn't Jackson's fault - it was mine. It was my fault what happened actually happened. It was my fault I let him control me l ike that. I didn't want to make another Jackson out of Matt. I was safe alone, w ithout anyone interfering in my life. True, it burned and choked me that I could n't talk to anyone but myself - not even my diary in fear someone would find it someday - but it was safer. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I slid it out, answering it. "Hey Matt," I wh ispered, clearing my throat. "Jake got it fixed," he said, his tone flat. "Mary, look, I gotta-" "If you're gonna apologize again, I seriously don't wanna hear it." He sighed. "Not really," he said, "I wanna make it up to you." I rolled on my side. "Yeah? Make my parents believe me. All I want." "What happened? What did you tell them?" I huffed. "What really happened," I said, "I told them everything that really ha ppened and they couldn't bring themselves to believe me." "Aw, I'm sorry," he said, "Wanna hang out sometime?" "When? Today?" "Nah," he said, "Tomorrow morning. I got this tennis thing and then I'm free. Ne ssie called me a while ago - she said you wouldn't answer her?" "Oh," I said, "Yeah she called while I was arguing with Dad." "Yeah, anyway: she was wondering if we could join her and Jacob, and a couple of guys from La Push in a bonfire they have on First Beach," he said, "What do you say?" "Well that depends," I said, "Can you get me a couple of bars of chocolate on ou r way there?" He laughed. "Yeah, sure. See you in the morning - I'll wake you up when I'm done with tennis and then we can hang out somewhere before going to the bonfire, may be?" "'Kay, sure." "Alright, bye!" he said and hung up. I smiled and slid my phone back in my pocke t, glad thoughts of Jackson were gone and closed my eyes, hoping I'd get some sl

eep instead of having to deal with le family during dinner. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------It was my wedding day. To whom was I going to get married? I had no idea. But ev eryone seemed happy for me, so I went along. My friends from Forks were helping me with my make-up and I had the most gorgeous wedding gown I'd ever seen - brig ht white with riffles and sparkly goodness. While I was staring at my reflection in the mirror, I felt my feet get wet. For some reason, it didn't bother me. Th e water kept rising up, soaking me in my dress, bit by bit, until I was all cove red in water. I struggled to breathe, all the oxygen in my lungs was spent in a split second. I woke up with a gasp, still struggling for breath as I did in my dream. I sat u p, trying to calm myself to get some air. My chest was tightening, hurting, with every breath I tried to take. I felt my face heat up and I had to endure the pa in in my chest to get some air until it was unbearable. I tried to scream, but i t was useless; I couldn't even breathe let alone get out any type of sound. I tr ied to wake someone up but I couldn't move, and my vision got blurrier every sec ond. I closed my eyes and worked my best to calm myself, to slow down my heartbeat. I hadn't got any of these attacks in a long while now, but when I used to get the m, my doctor had told me they were all psychological, that I could control them. I tried my best to focus but all I could think about was the whole day - Jackso n's threats, the accident, my parents, everything. It wasn't until a couple of minutes later that I could breathe normally again. O nce I could, I went into tears. It was like everything was back again. My old li fe struck back with full force. I glanced at the alarm clock on the side table t o find it was a bit after 1 am. I couldn't bring myself to sleep again, afraid I might get another attack, and I couldn't call Matt or Stacy or anyone - no one would be awake that late, would they? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Embry's POV -------------------------------------------------------------------------------I couldn't sleep. All I could think about was Mary. Mary, Mary, Mary. Technically, I knew nothing about the girl yet - but the feelings I had for her were as strong as steel. Onc e I saw her, my world both physically and mentally shifted. The center of the un iverse wasn't mac and cheese anymore, it was the most beautiful, angelic creatur e I had ever laid eyes on. She was so incredibly amazing. But the feelings I was having now weren't of love or adoration, but of worry, of anxiousness. Something in me wasn't relaxed - I had a feeling she wasn't alrigh t, that she needed my help. I brushed it off, though; we had found the vampire t hat had dared to lay hands on her earlier and I had the honor of tearing his sor ry limbs into tiny shreds and setting them on fire. The other leeches had escape d into the water, and until this very moment no reports of any scents were given . Maybe it was just something...natural. Maybe I was just worried because she wa sn't right in front of me, but rather far, far away. I couldn't wait until the bonfire tomorrow. I would see her, here, and spend som e time with her - maybe even talk to her, who knew?

"I'm so damn happy you imprinted. You know why, Em?" Leah said, grinning mischie vously, sitting beside me on the cliff. It was where I went whenever I couldn't sleep or rest at home. "Why, I wonder?" "Because from now on you can't think about those skanks you sleep around with." She laughed. "At least it would be only one." I playfully hit her. "Don't compare Mary to the others." She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I bet she's this angelic perfection-on-e arth that has never been in a relationship," she said, "'Cause that's the only w ay she'll ever be your girlfriend." "Ouch," I said, "Take that back." She laughed. I sighed. "Nah, she has a boyfrie nd." She frowned. "That boy she was with earlier?" I nodded. "Aw, I'm sorry, Em." I shrugged. "I'm whatever she needs right? We're destined to be together, I'm su re there would be some way I could -" Leah gasped. "When did you grow up so much?" I huffed. "Leah..." She chuckled. "Alright, alright," she said, "So tomorrow - the bonfire - it's a code red, eh? No mentioning wolves, imprints, vampires..." "Yeah, you know the drill." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------I was on First Beach ever since the sun rose, just sitting there. I even helped Emily and Kim with setting up everything for the bonfire. We had burger, salad a nd lots of drinks - and a ton of desserts: cupcakes, cookies, muffins, the whole thing. As Emily put it, it was "a way to keep the pups mouths shut and not expo se our secret". Throughout the whole process, Emily kept telling me how happy sh e was I finally imprinted and kept showering me with questions about Mary - how she looked like, how I saw her, whether or not I did something dumb while talkin g to her (which barely happened). By seven, everything was ready. The elders weren't going to attend tonight - the whole thing was just an excuse to meet her again. And honestly, the last thing we wanted was for her to connect yesterday's accident with the legends. I basica lly went to Jake and begged him to set a date with her for me, and he was all fo r the bonfire idea. Everyone was here now: Seth, Amy, Jared, Kim, Sam, Emily, Pa ul, Rachel, Brady, Collin, Leah and a couple of newly-phased newbies. We were ci rcled around the fire, each chatting with each other, waiting for Jake, Ness, Ma tt (unfortunately) and Mary. Jake and Nessie were picking Matt and Mary up. I heard the Rabbit screech into the parking lot and my heart sped with excitemen t. I looked their way as they approached, my eyes only focused on Mary. She look ed absolutely...miserable. I frowned. Her eyes were half-closed, the area under her eyes dark, the rest of her face pale. She was dressed in an excessively-long -sleeved pullover and skinny jeans, her hair lifted up in a pony tail. She clasp ed her hands together, rubbing them. Her shoulders looked like gravity had been pulling on them for days, and she walked so lazily, lifelessly.

"Hey!" I said, waving to them - or rather just her. She looked at me for a secon d before recognition hit her and her lips spread into a small smile. "Embry," she whispered so low that, if I wasn't a wolf, I wouldn't have heard he r. Matt and Jake said something as well, but I didn't pay attention, nor did I care . I was only focused on her, much to no one's surprise. "Guys!" Only Mary, pleas e. "Come over here!" A bunch of "Oo"'s and "Ah"'s spread across the guys and Paul nudged my shoulder. "Whipped puppy." I rolled my eyes and watched her as she walked awkwardly to where I was. She tur ned to the others and simply waved at them, they smiled -some laughed- and waved back at her. Then she looked up at me, and it was the first time to notice how short Mary really was. She barely made it to my shoulders. "Embry, right?" I laughed. "Yeah," I said, "Mary, right?" Mariah Anderson, junior at Port Angele s High. Nessie only told me that much. She nodded. "Yeah...I never got to thank you last night." She looked back to fin d Matt hanging out with Nessie and Jake, getting introduced to a fellow tennis p layer, Collin. "Thanks a lot, for everything." I grinned. "Any time, Mary. How's your arm? Feelin' any better?" She only half-smiled. "Yeah, sure. A lot better." "Did you report the accident?" I said as I sat down and patted the space beside me. She sat down too, next to me. She shook her head. "Nah, not really." Her voice was strained, broken. "Is everything alright?" She frowned, her eyes connecting with mine. "Um, yeah, sure. Why?" I shrugged. "You just don't...sound that well." She looked down at her hands and winced. "How'd you know?" Oh, I don't know. I just imprinted on you - so I kind of feel everything you fee l, to some extent. I can read you like an open book. And all that. "I dunno, I j ust do. You sound a bit off." She averted her eyes to the scenery around us, taking a deep breath. "Hey, do yo u surf?" I shook my head, smiling. "You're impossible," I mumbled, "Yeah, I used to, back when I was seventeen or eighteen." She frowned. "Oh? How old are you now?" About seven years older than you. "Hey, you want some burger?" She laughed and got up. "Yeah, sure, whatever." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mary's POV -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Everyone at the bonfire was pretty nice, especially that Embry dude. He kept fol lowing me around like a lost puppy, and since I had nothing better to do, as Jak e and Nessie took Matt away to show him something at the cliffs, I just played a long. He took the responsibility of introducing me to everyone there - and they were a lot. "So those were the guys," he concluded, "And their girlfriends - wife in Sam's c ase." "Aha," I said, "Are you all, like, related somehow?" He licked his lips. "Not really - like, Sam is my half-brother and all, but othe r than that, we just grew up together, I guess. I even work with Jake and Paul a t Jake's garage in Port Angeles." "Ooh!" I said, "Nice. So you're good with cars, I get it?" He smiled, lying back on the sand. "I am great with cars, my friend." "Oh yeah?" "The best," he arrogantly said. I rolled my eyes. "And motorbikes?" He flexed his hands. "Please, you're offending me," he scoffed. "I made one of t hose babies from scratch." "Show me or it never happened." Without ever sitting up, he pointed at a shiny white motorbike in the parking lo t, standing proudly, elegantly. "That's my baby." I was almost drooling, looking at how magnificent it looked. "No way in hell you built that!" He laughed. "Come on, you're underestimating me!" he said. "You know what? How a bout I pick you up from school Monday and I'll take you to the garage - so you c an see magic happen right in front of you. We're working on this Porsche these d ays - absolutely beautiful." I grinned. "Sounds like a plan," I said, "I'll let the folks know and see if I c an spend the whole day - Jake would be there too, right?" He frowned. "Ah, yeah, sure," he said, "Why don't you call me? Lemme know if you can make it." I bit my lip. There was nothing wrong with this, and it would be more than amazi ng to be able to watch him work on a real car - and a Porsche for that matter. I slid my phone out of my pocket. "Yeah, sure." I handed him the phone. "Save you r number." He grinned and typed in his digits, making sure to ring himself so he could save my number, too. As soon as he gave me back my phone, it rang. I thought it was Matt, so, without even checking who it was again, I answered.

"Hey you. Where have you been?" "Looking for you." I froze. It was Jackson. I got up, walking away from Embry and everyone. "What d o you want?" "I wanna see you," he said, "Come on, Mary, I just want to see you." "How did you find my number?" "Ah for fuck's sake, Mariah, stop asking so many questions." "Stay away from me, Jackson," I said, "I swear to God - if you ever come anywher e near me I'll-" "What? Report me? Tell your daddy?" Jackson mocked, "Because you can't and you k now why. You know what I can do, Mary. You better not mess with me." I sobbed, my chest clenching. "Please, Jackson, don't." "Then meet me." "Look, I can't, but-" He huffed. "But what, Mariah?" It took me all my courage, all my nerves, to hang up on him. I held the phone cl ose to my heart and ran to the parking lot, not wanting anyone to see me as I cr ied. I hadn't felt so weak, so vulnerable in so long. My heart was racing, my te ars unstoppable. I wrapped my arms around myself and sat on the ground, hiding b ehind a car, sobbing. I kept shaking, my head getting heavy. My health issues ne ver helped with this bullshit, but I did my best to calm myself down. "Mary! Mary!" Embry called, looking for me. I tried to stop crying, but I couldn 't. It was out of my control. "Where are you?" Matt's voice joined in. I didn't bother to move. I was well aware of how pathetic I looked. Hell, Embry might not want to hang out with the emotional bitch I was anymore, but I didn't care. I was absorbed in my own pains, my own memories, and the last couple of da ys, in addition to the events of the past year, came hitting me with full force. "Oh my God," Matt mumbled when they found me. He knelt down beside me, and Embry did the same, on my other side. The only difference was that Matt was patting m y shoulder, half-hugging me. "Mary? Mary, what happened? Did you get hurt?" Before I could answer, Embry spoke. "She was alright, laughing even, and then sh e got a call and walked away." Matt pulled me a bit closer and moved his face in front of mine. I heard a growl somewhere, but I ignored it. I was still crying, shaking. "Who called?" I shook my head, refusing to answer. He didn't know anything about Jackson nor d id he ever need to. "Nothing. No one." "Mary, this is serious," he said, "I've never seen you like this. Tell me what h appened, please."

Could I? Could I trust him? Could I tell him? I didn't know. I couldn't think st raight. I couldn't do anything. I needed to be safe. Safe, yes. Safe was keeping the secret buried inside me. No one ever needed to know, no matter what. "Please take me home," I whispered as I stopped crying, my chest heaving. "Did anyone bother you? You can tell me, eh? I'll teach them a lesson," Embry sa id, smiling, trying to lighten the mood. I'd almost forgotten his presence for a moment. "No, Embry. No one did," I said, wiping my eyes. Matt patted my back gently. "I' m sorry for...this. The bonfire was great. I'll see you Monday," I said dismissi vely and stood up, both of them doing the same as I did, and turned to Matt. "Ta ke me home?" Jacob cleared his throat from behind Embry. "Embry - take the keys to the Rabbit . I gotta stay here for a while. Drive them home, Matt will tell you where to go ." He nodded and looked at me. "C'mon, let's go," he said gently, his voice soothin g. Matt kissed ded, lying. at he said, t Jackson's ve it. Now, the top of my head as we got to the car. "Feeling any better?" I nod "Cool. Give me your phone." I frowned, but before I could process wh he'd already taken it, scrolling down my Received Calls list. He sen number to his phone as he opened the car's door for me. "There. I ha do you wanna tell me, or do I have to find out for myself?"

Chapter 4 Mary's POV -------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Y-you can't be serious, Matt," I whispered as soon as Embry dropped us off. The whole ride was silent, tensed. He'd told me to think about it and either tell h im what happened or let him find out for himself. "But I am," he said, "You're my friend, Mary, and friends look out for each othe r." I grimaced. "Yeah, I know, but-" "No buts." He ran a hand through his hair. "Look, I know you can't talk to your family about whatever that happened, and you're my best friend - you gotta tell me, Mary. I can help you, I promise." I looked down at my feet, silent. "Come on , your parents aren't expecting you home now. Why don't you come over at my plac e? Everyone's home but I bet we can have a room to ourselves." "Matt, no."

He sighed. "Mary, look at you," he said, "You're a mess. C'mon, I can help, Mary . Even if it's just listening." I shook my head. "You don't get it. If I tell you, you'll never treat me the sam e again." He rubbed my shoulders soothingly. "You'll always be my best friend, alright? I promise whatever you're gonna say will never change anything." I wished. How was I supposed to believe that? As soon as I tell him, he'll eithe r not want to know me anymore, or he'll start treating me like an injured kid. T he last thing I needed was sympathy. Yes, I needed support, I needed help, but I didn't need sympathy. Especially from Matt. When I didn't answer him, he patted my back gently. "Come on, let's go inside." I nodded, surrendering. He took my hand and led me inside the house. His parents were sitting in the kitchen, having dinner. "Hey, kids," his father said, "What brought you home so early?" "We remembered we had this school project to finish," Matt lied, "So if you'll e xcuse us..." They nodded dismissively and we walked up the stairs. "Matt?" I whispered. He lo oked down at me. "Are you sure?" "Totally," he whispered back as we got to his room, "Trust me, Mary. You're like a little sister to me." As soon as we got in, I sat down on his chair and he ho pped on his bed. "Spill." I licked my lips. "Where do I start?" "From the beginning," he said, "Who called you?" "A guy I used to know in Forks." "A friend of yours?" I shrugged. "You can say that." He leaned his elbow on his knee. "What did he say to upset you so much? Were you guys close?" I rubbed my hands together, hesitant. Even though I'd obeyed him and went up wit h him, I couldn't yet bring myself to tell him everything. I knew he said he reg arded me as a little sister, and it made me relax a little bit. But I couldn't s peak up until I kept reminding myself how it was safe to tell him, that it would feel better to let something out. Maybe I wouldn't tell him everything just now , but at least I'd let him know who Jackson was. It was time he knew if I wanted anyone to help me against Jackson in case he thought of finding me physically of waiting for me at school or showing up somehow, somewhere. The chair was big enough for me to cross my legs, and I did, sighing. "He was my boyfriend." Matt frowned. "And you broke up when you moved?" "Not really," I said, "I'd dumped him a while after that. About two months ago." "Why?"

I bit my lip. "I don't really wanna talk about it." "Fine," he said, "But tell me what happened today. Why were you so upset?" I loo ked down at my hands and shrugged. He stood up and came to sit down on the arm o f the chair I was sitting on, leaning his arm on its back. His other hand was br ought to my chin, lifting it. "What did he tell you?" I wasn't really sure what happened then. His closeness, maybe, or his caring ton e - I couldn't really put my hands on it but something made me want to confide i n Matt. I knew that I could rely on him, like a sister does on a brother. I look ed up at him and took a deep breath. That was it. I was finally getting it out. Someone was going to know, and the world wasn't going to crash down because he d id. I swallowed the lump in my throat, collected every ounce of courage I had, a nd spoke. "He told me he wanted to meet with me. I don't wanna see him anymore." "Then why don't you just say no and that's that? What's so upsetting about rejec ting him?" "I-" I whispered, "He - Back when we were together, he wasn't exactly...nice to me." He frowned. "What do you mean?" I felt blood run away from my face, my limbs getting cold. "He - he -" I stutter ed, "He hit me and blackmailed me. A lot." "What?" Matt snapped, "Are you serious? While you two were together?" I nodded. "Why - why would he do that? Why would you stay with him after he did it?" Tears rolled down my cheeks. "Whe- Whenever I - messed up or - said something wr ong..." I trailed off, "Or whenever I wouldn't - wouldn't be with him...or - or -" I couldn't go on. I broke into sobs. Matt hugged me close, soothing me. "And I just - it was my fault, all the time. I couldn't just -" When I couldn't speak anymore, Matt patted my back, still holding me close. "It wasn't your fault, Mary. Trust me." I shook my head and he sighed. "It's over no w anyway, okay? No matter what he's telling you, you can't see him again," he sa id, "You're lucky you left Forks." I wrapped my arms around him. "But he found me, Matt," I mumbled, "And I'm - I'm afraid..." "Why don't you tell your parents?" he said, breaking the (pretty awkward) hug, " Why didn't you file for a restraining order if he was abusive?" "Mom and Dad didn't believe me when I told them," I explained, "They said I was lying." "Why would you lie about that?" I shrugged. "Unbelievable." "I - I can't meet him alone, Matt. I mean, I just...I won't be leaving the house for a while. Home and school and that's it," I said, "I might go to Jake's gara ge for Embry's sake - I mean I couldn't thank the guy earlier - but that's it." "For how long, Mary?" He walked towards his window, his back to me. "Forever? Yo u're bound to meet him some day." "I know, but - but I can't. I don't know what might happen...how angry he would be - anything."

He slid his hands in his pockets. "Call him," he said, "Call him now. Tell him t o meet you at Jake's garage - when are you meeting Embry, Monday?" I nodded. "Te ll him to meet you there Monday at three, right after school. I'll be there, Jak e and Embry will be there. Nothing can happen. How does this sound?" "Are you sure, Matt? You'd do this for me?" He turned to face me. "I swear to God if he even tries to lay hands on you I'll fucking kick his sorry, woman-beating ass up until he begged for mercy." I half-smiled, wiping my tears. "Thank you, Matt. Thank you so much." He smiled faintly at me. "Just call him," he said and typed down Jake's garage a ddress. I got out my phone and dialled his number, my hand shaking slightly. I h ad more confidence, though. As Jackson answered, I put him on speaker phone and motioned to Matt to come closer. "Hello?" "H-Hey...Jackson," I said. "Oh look who's calling," he mocked, "Have you thought about what I told you?" "Yes," I breathed, just loud enough for him to hear. "How about Monday at three? After school?" "Brilliant," he said, "Where, Princess?" I winced. "There's this garage I'm gonna be at..because..um-" Matt mouthed an ex cuse to me. "Because I'm getting my car fixed." "Car? You got a car?" "Yeah, sure," I lied. "Ha. That would be fun to watch. Alright then..give me an address and I'll be th ere." I dictated the address to him. "Cool. See ya then, Mary." "Bye." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Monday morning I didn't even want to get outta bed. My stomach twisted as soon as I heard my alarm, but I knew I had to do it. I had to go to school, act like everything was okay, and go on with the rest of this eventful day. I called Embry last night to tell him I was gonna meet him and he sounded pretty excited about it. I wasn't. But the fact that I would have Matt w ith me, in addition to two (very) huge guys - big enough to scare my father off, and he was a cop - made me feel a tad better about it. I got up, did my morning routine and stood for what seemed like ages in front of my closet, trying to pick something to wear. I wasn't usually the one to bother with picking certain clothes for different occasions but today was special. Tod ay was the first time I meet Jackson after I left Forks. According to Matt, I ha d to "deliver the message that I was much better off without him and that I neve r did or ever will need him to feel good about myself". In short, I had to wear something that said: confident.

I ended up with a short, beige, sleeveless dress, matte black tights, my black b lazer (the heavy one to keep me warm) and black ballerina shoes. I left my hair loose on my shoulders with the exception of a clipped strand on the right. I usu ally went without make-up, but today I framed my eyelids with a black eyeliner a nd mascara, with a slight light brown gloss on my lips. I took a last look at my reflection in the mirror, a bit taken aback by the change in my shape. I almost looked like I used to before knowing Jackson. Almost like a girl. Ha. My phone rang once and I looked out of the window to find Matt waiting in his Au di for me. He'd agreed to drive me to school every day, since he was the one wit h the car now. For a lazy ass like me, this was a lot better than walking there and it offered me twenty whole minutes of extra sleep every single morning. Read : heaven. I rushed out of the room and down the stairs, throwing Mom a quick "bye" before I went out and ran to the still-beautiful Audi, hopping inside. "Mornin', Matt." He turned to look at me and his eyes widened. "Who the hell are you?" I rolled my eyes. "Come on..." "No, seriously." He shook his head. "You? In a dress? And loose hair? And...make -up?" He started the engine and drove. "Good enough?" "More than that," he said, "You look great. That's exactly what I meant." "Hey Matt?" "Yeah?" "Everything will be okay, right?" He smiled at me. "Don't worry. Everything will be perfect." I sure hoped. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------As soon as the final bell rang, I found Matt standing outside the classroom, wai ting for me. He held out his hand for me and I took it. My heart was beating rap idly in anticipation and fear, both. I wanted this to be over as soon as possibl e and I was afraid. Afraid he might threaten me again. But this time I had peopl e on my side. This time I wasn't alone. Unlike what I thought before telling Mat t, I did not in any way regret telling him. At least not yet. Once I was seated next to him in the car he started telling me stuff like it was n't a big deal and that he was there for me. I appreciated it. Really, I did. Bu t in order to relax I needed to at least pretend to forget what was to come for a moment. I felt a bit better but I was in no way relaxed. All I could think abo ut was how I was going to mess up or how everything was going to go the wrong wa y. When I made it to the garage, at 2:30 exactly, I found Embry waiting for me, a h uge grin on his face. A grin that, by the sight of Matthew, got smaller. I grima ced. "Hey, Embry - sorry I didn't tell you earlier but..um.. Matt thought he'd c ome with me 'cause he...err-" "I need to ask Jake a couple of stuff," Matt lied and patted my back, getting in

the garage, leaving me with Embry. I had to take a step back to be able to look at Embry in the eye. His smile was so wide and so surprisingly calming that my heart beat got slower, more relaxed. His russet skin contrasted with his bright white teeth, making him look so stun ningly amazing. I would stop drooling, but I needed a distraction. "You look pretty," he commented, eyeing my outfit and hair. I felt my cheeks getting darker and I looked at the ground. "Thanks. So...uh," I said, "Are you working on the Porsche now?" He chuckled and took my hand. His hand was so stunningly hot that I gasped inwar dly but he didn't seem to notice. He led me inside and showed me the white Porsc he Jake was buried under. Jacob slid out, his face all greasy, and smiled at me. "Oh hey, Mary," he said, "Whatcha doing here?" I looked at Embry who looked like he could shoot his friend and back at Jake. "I came here to check if Embry really could work with cars like he said he could." Jake laughed. "Embry? Cars? Nah I bring him around here to mop the ground." Embry rolled his eyes. "Stop that, she'll believe you." Jacob laughed harder. "Alright. Look, Mary he's great with cars," he said before looking at him, "Happy, Em? Just stay away from this one until I check the engi ne again." He chuckled, raising his hands in the air. "Whatever." He turned to me, releasin g our hands. "Lemme show you the place then." The garage was pretty plain - the walls were covered with wood, where they hung their tools on little hangers. Inside, they had a little room where they kept al l the heavier stuff - the boxes and spare parts and all of that. They also had a secretary and all - some blonde that looked like she couldn't add up two number s together. We ended up sitting in a corner. "So how are things? How's your elbow?" I grinned at him. He was just so easy to be with. "Yeah, I'm fine. How are you? You still jog shirtless?" He laughed. "Yeah, sure. It's fun. You should try it out sometime." He wiggled h is eyebrows. I gave him a look that said 'Seriously?' to which he responded with a wide eye and a defensive manner. "I'm kidding! Jesus." I laughed. Matt walked towards us then. "He's here, Mary."

Chapter 5 Embry's POV

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Her smile was the most amazing thing I had ever witnessed. Imagine an angel, wit h long hair that went a little past her shoulders and dark, sparkling eyes, spre ading her shiny, full lips into a perfect smile. I wished I could pause time and just stare at her. True, I hoped I could be alone with her, without her boyfrie nd or Jake or even the amount of grease around here, but I still couldn't believ e that she was sitting right in front of me, talking to me. That person was my t rue soul mate, and she was right here. I would do anything, no matter how imposs ible it might seem, to be with her for the rest of our lives. Just looking at he r smile, I vowed to love her, protect her and keep her happy for the rest of bei ng. I wanted that smile to last forever. Much to my disappointment, it was replaced with a shaky grimace as soon as Matt told her someone was here. My brain glitched for a second. Who? Who was here? Di d she tell someone to meet her here? Was that why she was all dressed up, lookin g as hot as ever? To meet him, whoever he was? She looked at me apologetically. "Look, I'll explain," she promised, "But for th e meantime, just -" she glanced at Matt and then at me, "Stay close, alright?" Was it just me or was everything suddenly disordered? I couldn't understand a th ing and seeing by how fast she went up and out of the garage I didn't have time to understand anything either. She straightened her dress, flipped her hair and waited in front of the garage for a couple of seconds until a tall kid, about ei ghteen by the looks of it, joined her. She kept her distance and didn't touch hi s outstretched hand, much to his obvious dismay. Matt leaned close to me. "He's her ex," he said, "Just stay where she can see you because she could use as much support as she could get at the moment." "Why?" I asked. "Just stick around. I can't really tell you much." I huffed and went out to stand a couple of meters away from them, so only she co uld see me and he couldn't. They both stayed silent for a while, just staring at each other. She had that look on her face - a look that strived to be confident and careless but on the inside, I knew, I just knew, that she was shaking with fear. What the hell has he ever done to her to scare her so much? "Look at you," he said, "You miss me, don't you? Is that why you're all dressed up?" She crossed her arms over her chest, silent. He approached her face with hi s hand and she backed away for a moment, but it didn't stop him from pulling a s trand of her hair behind her ear. She winced, for some reason and I growled. How dare he touch her when she obviously didn't want him to? "What do you want?" He had a hand on her neck and he leaned closer to her like he was going to kiss her. Her breath audibly caught up in her throat and she bit her lip. But instead of kissing her, he leant close to her ear. "You owe me, you lying bitch," he wh ispered and kissed her earlobe before backing away. A tear slid down her cheek a nd it took me all the control I ever learnt to stay in my place and not beat him up. I was shaking so hard that even Jake noticed it and from his place in the g arage, he mouthed, "Stay cool." I glanced at Matt, wanting to see his reaction and his jaw was clenched, his han ds balled into fists. I might not exactly like the guy but seeing this reaction on him pleased me just a tad. Mary looked at the kid with begging eyes. "What di

d I ever do to you?" she breathed. "Ha. Let me count," he said, "You lied to me about loving me. Remember when you used to say that you loved me so much you would do anything for me?" He trailed his finger on her forearm, "And when I asked for one simple thing..." "I wasn't ready," she said, her voice choking, "And you got what you wanted in t he end, didn't you?" "But then you left me, Mary," he said, "You left me when I told you not to. You left me when I needed you." Her hands gripped her elbows while her arms were crossed. She looked away from h im and at the sky. "Do you even know why I left you?" "Honestly? No. I treated you like-" She cut him off. "Like a fucking slave. You threatened me, you treated me like s hit, you got every fucking thing you wanted from me whether I liked it or not." Her voice was menacingly cool. "I barely slept. I barely saw my friends. I barel y had a life. You took away everything I had and gave me nothing in return, Jack son." I was shaking so hard. Extremely hard. If it wasn't for Jake's alpha order to st ay cool I would have phased right there and then and killed that asshole. No, I wouldn't have killed him. I would have tortured him, torn away his limbs, burnt him and made him beg for me to kill him. And, trust me, I wouldn't have had any kind of remorse or regret after doing that. None. Matt was standing right behind her, pretending to look the other way but his fis ts were reddening from pressure. By the non-surprised look on his face, I had a sense he already knew about Jackson - enough that her words didn't simulate any kind of surprise from him. Jackson's reaction was immediate. He didn't yell. All he did was slap her and pu ll on her hair, pulling her close to him. "You fucking bitch. I would have done anything for you." "Stay away from her!" I yelled, yanking him away from her from his shoulder. She screeched a little as he pulled on her hair one more time before releasing her. Matt walked out and grabbed her arm. "Get inside." She looked once more at us, then at Matt before running inside. I could hear her dry sobs and it enraged me even more. I turned around to face Jackson, who push ed my hand away. "What the hell?" Without talking, my fist connected with his face. He backed away slightly and I took a step forward. "Listen, you son of a bitch," I hissed, "If you ever try to see her or talk to her again I will kill you." He tried to push me back but I didn't budge. "Mind your own business!" he said, wiping away the blood from his nose. "This is something between me and my girlfr iend." "Mary is not and will never be your girlfriend, Jackson," Matt said calmly, cros sing his arms over his chest. "I suggest you go away now and not try to contact her again." "Or else...?" Jackson asked mockingly. I growled.

"Or else we file for a restraining-" I cut Matt off. "Listen, Jackson," I growled, taking a step closer to him, "I've killed before." Killed vampires, yes. "So don't you think for a second that I w ould hesitate to hurt you." He took a step back, looking behind me at Mary. "Slut," he mumbled and got in hi s car. I turned to Mary, finding her sitting on Jake's chair with a bottle of wa ter in her hand, courtesy of Jake. Her hands were trembling, her hair falling do wn to cover her face. Before I could make it to her, Matt had already rushed by her side and taken her into his embrace. Jealousy burned in my chest and if Mary wasn't there, if I wasn't trying to get as much time with her as possible, I wo uld've ran away and phased. While she was hugging him she was looking at me, mou thing a 'thank you'. She patted Matt's back. "Thanks for being there for me," sh e whispered in his ear, "I appreciate it." "I'll always be there for you, Mary," he whispered, "No matter what, alright? Bu t I - I - gotta go now, I'm sorry. I have this practice thing for tennis..." He broke their hug. "But - But it's Monday..." "It's an...emergency thing, for the match next...Thursday," he said hesitantly. She nodded. "Sure, go ahead. I'll take a cab home." "You sure?" he breathed, patting her head, "'Cause I can cancel -" She shook her head. "Don't. Please go," she said. "Thanks for everything." He turned the other way, facing me as he got out. He patted my shoulder as he di d. "Thanks, man. Take care of her." His eyes were red, his voice strained. I nod ded and he took off in his Audi. I didn't wait for him to leave before I went to the crying beauty in the garage. I knelt down in front of her. "Is everything okay?" I asked. "Do you need anything...?" She looked at me, her eyes full of tears. "Thank you, Embry," she said, "Thank y ou so much. I owe -" "You don't owe me anything, Mary," I insisted. "But I do. You -" I smiled at her simplicity, trying to lighten the mood. "Well I know a way you c ould repay me..." She blinked away the tears in her eyes and stared at me, her face breaking into a small smile after a while. "How can I?" "Dinner. With me." She grinned. "Oh?" "Mhm." "As in a friends thing or..." More than friends, I wished, but I knew I couldn't ask her that. I didn't want h

er to feel like she was going out with me, as more than friends because she owed me. I could wait for her forever. "Friends, sure. Whatever you like." She smiled and nodded, running her hand through her long, wavy hair. "Ah damn." She stretched her arms beside her. "Do you know any place where I can get some c hocolate around here?" I grinned at her. "Why don't you come with me and we'll get you some chocolate?" "Awesome," she said and got up, walking with me to my bike. Today was my day off here anyway, the only reason I came was for Mary so I was sure Jacob wouldn't m ind. Because she wore a dress, I made her sit in the front, so that she faced th e right. I sat right behind her, stretching my arms on both her sides. She looke d at me, blushing, as the bike roared to life. She clung to my t-shirt as we got out of the parking lot and into the main street. As soon as we stopped accelera ting her hand relaxed on my shirt, but she still clung to it slightly. "There's this place two blocks away - a small candy shop I guess," I said, not e ven trying to hide the happiness in my tone. "But I was thinking more of a resta urant. What do you think?" "The candy shop sounds cool." "Okay then," I agreed, "Whatever you want." We stayed silent for a moment until I stopped in front of the shop. She stayed s eated, looking at me. "Look, Embry, about Jackson..." she trailed off and I kept my mouth shut, waiting for her explanation, "I'm sorry. You didn't have to see this." "Mary, don't - it's okay," I reassured her. "I don't mind looking out for you." Her eyes connected with mine. "But you don't have to - I mean, I just met you a couple of days ago..." I half-smiled at her. "You have no idea." I breathed, too low for her to hear. " Mary?" "Hm?" Her eyes were dreamy. They made me feel like I could stare at them forever . "I'll always look out for you," I whispered. Our faces were so close I could fee l her breath on my mouth and it drove every cell in me crazy. I inched a little closer to her. "Always, Mary." She licked her lips. "But why?" Because I imprinted on you. Because you're the center of my universe. I breathe you. I live for you. My utter goal in this life is to be with you, to protect yo u, to be everything you ever needed. I am your genie, Mary. I can be whatever yo u want me to be. But I couldn't tell her that, could I? If I wanted anything to ever happen between us the last thing I needed was to scare her off, or overload her with information she could easily live without. I was not about to take her life away from her. I was not about to become another Jackson. But when I leaned closer, and I bout was how much I loved her th her. It didn't last a second scare her off. What I felt for d maybe, just maybe, she wanted gently kissed her lower lip, all I could think a how much I wanted to forget everything and be wi and I broke it off immediately. I didn't want to that moment was too strong to ignore, though. An it too. Maybe that was why I felt that way to st

art with. I was about to get off the bike when she grabbed my arm and pulled me close to h er. I didn't resist. She moved her hands to the back of my neck, one of them sli ding up in my hair and she rose her body until our lips met again. This time, sh e kissed me, licking my lips, taking my lips in hers. I moved my hands to her wa ist and pulled her closer, so that our chests were touching, kissing her deeper, unconsciously licking her lips and she opened her mouth, letting my tongue in. As soon as our tongues touched, we moaned. She sucked on my tongue for a second and kissed my lips for one last time, breaking off the kiss altogether. We were both breathing heavily by then and her face was flushed. I gently ran a finger on her warm cheek and she kept looking at me for a second. We didn't say a word and she bit her lip and hopped off the bike. "Let's go." I pulled out the keys and walked behind her as she proceeded towards the store. "Mary, wait!" She turned to me, her lips quivering. "This." She licked her lips. "Never happen ed. Okay?" I looked at her with sympathetic eyes. I knew, I just knew, I couldn't ask her f or anything more than being friends for now. What she needed the most was a frie nd, I realized. "Okay." She smiled faintly at me and skidded towards the shop, pushing the door in, rush ing inside. I waited for her by the cashier and watched her as she practically t ook a bit of everything that had the hint of chocolate in it. Mary wasn't exactl y fat, but she was...curvy. She had those delicious curves to her but she wasn't what one would call fat. However, by the looks of it, those little demons she h ad in her hands probably had more calories in them than my daily average. And th at was a lot. Before she made it to the cashier I had already paid more than she would cover for her chocoholic dose. Surprisingly, she didn't object. As soon eft the shop, though, I knew why: she'd left her book bag, which had her in Matt's car. She kept rambling about how she'd repay me but I couldn't ss. My money, body, soul and everything I had was hers anyway. need to as we l money, care le

"I know the perfect place where you can eat all of those..." I said, "Stuff." "Mhm?" she said, sucking on a piece of chocolate-flavored dried strawberry and I started the engine. "Yeah," I said, getting out of the place, "The cliffs in La Push..it's only like fifteen minutes away if we're fast enough." She shook her head. "Nah," she said, "I have a better place." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------"The top of a very old building," I stated as soon as we were there. "How...roma ntic." She laughed, throwing a chocolate ball in her mouth. "It's not meant to be roman tic, idiot." "Right." From our place here, we could see the whole city. The lights, the buildings, the

houses. It almost looked magical. Except that the cliffs were much more beautif ul, but anything she said had to be done. She crossed her legs and sat on the gr ound, putting the load of sugar in front of her. I sat down beside her, but still keeping my distance. "You can't possibly eat al l that, can you?" She narrowed her eyes at me, then hesitantly, after a moment of thinking, she pi cked one of the bars in front of her and held it out to me. "Want some?" I laughed and shook my head. "It's not that." She smiled, eating another mouth-full. "You know, Embry?" she said, cocking her head to the side, "I've never gone out with someone I don't know all alone like that." "If you don't feel safe..." "No, no, it's not that, silly," she said, "This was just my way of saying thanks for making me comfortable. And for buying me chocolate." She moaned. "Damn this is heaven." She stuck her tongue out, laid another chocolate ball on it and I w as dying to take it away from her with my mouth. Unfortunately, I had to shake o ff those thoughts. Fuck. I couldn't forget how her lips felt on mine, how her to ngue tasted so delicious. "Oh look!" she suddenly said, pointing at the sky. "A shooting star! Make a wish. Out loud. Let's both go at the same time." "I wish," she said, closing her eyes. "I never have to deal with Jackson again." "I wish this day never ends." She looked at me and smiled, her lips smudged with chocolate. "Me too," she brea thed. "I mean, look at all this chocolate..." I patted her head. "Eat, eat," I said, "This might be the last time you ever get to see so much chocolate in one place." She grinned, eating another bite of a new bar. "I know, right? They say I have a sweet tooth." "One? More like teeth." "Ha ha. Very funny, Embry." "I'm just sayin'," I said, "You look like you haven't had any sugar in ages." She looked at me. "Looks like someone's jealous." "Me? No!" "C'mon. You're as distracted by this chocolate as I am." "Nope. I'm as focused as ever." "Yeah? What's the top speed of the Ferrari 458?" "2011?" "Mhm." "About two-hundred miles per hour."

"Damn." "I know, baby. I know." I grinned smugly. "I am awesome." She rolled her eyes and rolled on her side as she unpacked the last bar of choco late. Her eyes were half-closed and her cheeks bright red. Her eyeliner was ruin ed from her crying earlier but I couldn't care less. She bent her knees and made herself comfortable. "I feel so good right now," she said and I kept watching h er, amused, "You have no idea. Chocolate gives you this sort of...high feeling. I feel so high right now. The last time I felt that was back when I used to smok e...Ha. That...uncontrollable feeling of being so free, so amazing." I frowned. "You smoked?" "U-used to." She yawned, leaning her head on her arm. "What did you smoke, Mary?" She yawned again and stretched her arms, rolling on her back. "Sometimes cigaret tes, sometimes..weed..." "You serious?" I breathed. It was so unbelievable. It didn't match the angel tha t laid in front of me. I wasn't disappointed in her or anything, but it was a bi t of a shock to me. "Mmhm." She closed her eyes completely. "He made me do it a couple of times, but it's no biggie. It's not like I do it anymore." She rested her hands on her sto mach and stretched her legs. "Ah, I'm so tired." I leaned on my side. "You wanna sleep, Mary?" She didn't answer. Her chocolate-smudged mouth opened slightly and her muscles s eemed to relax. The bar in her hand obviously stained her beige dress but she di dn't care. She was already in another world, a dreamy one. She almost looked lik e a child, with her chocolate and her innocent face. A child that grew up too qu ickly, a girl with hopes and dreams probably as simple as a kid's imagination. I took off my jacket and laid it over her body and she relaxed a bit more. I smil ed, watching this little kid, mistakenly a seventeen-year-old girl, sleep.

Chapter 6 Mary's POV -------------------------------------------------------------------------------My cheeks were immersed in delicious warmness and it took me a while to realize that I was sleeping - that I needed to wake up. Where was I? The last thing I re membered was being on the top of an old building with Embry and a lot of chocola te. Did I fall asleep? Apparently. I tried to guess where I was by the feeling o f it, but instead of the cold floor of the building I was on a warm, comfy sort

of couch or bed, I wasn't sure. I yawned and the warmness on my cheek disappeare d. My eyes fluttered open and I found myself lying down on the backseat of a car . The door was open and Embry was standing next to me with a smile on his face. "Look who woke up," he mumbled, touching my nose. "C'mon, we need to get you ins ide." I frowned. "We? Where? Where am I?" His smile widened. "You fell asleep while eating chocolate and I called Nessie, who came and picked us up. You looked so peaceful so I didn't really bother waki ng you up," he explained, "We're in front of your house now. It's about seven." "Mhm, cool." I yawned again. "Thank you." I sat up and rubbed my eyes. "Um...whe re's my book bag?" "With Matt." "Right." I crawled my way out of the car. Nessie was standing behind Embry. "Hey Mary." She waved at me, grinning wide and exchanging glances between me and Embry. "Had a good time today?" "Today was awesome," I mocked. "The best day of my life." She frowned and tilted her head a bit. Embry gave her a look that said 'I'll-exp lain-later'. "Ookay, let's get you inside." "Um," I said, "I can find my own way there, thanks." I closed the buttons of my blazer, covering the chocolate stain right on my tummy. How did that happen anyw ay? Embry looked a little disappointed at my response. "But," I said, "Thank you , Embry. For everything. For the thing at the garage, and the chocolate -" and t hat damn great kiss " - and all." He flashed me a dazzling smile and I had to remember how to breathe. "Can we han g out again sometime then?" he asked, "As friends, of course." Of course. Damn my luck. Okay, so my mind insisted that I couldn't be in a relat ionship at the moment, and my heart seemed to agree with it on that one, but a g irl likes some attention, some persistence. It wouldn't hurt to hang out as frie nds though. Embry seemed cool. "Yeah, sure," I said, "Gimme a call sometime, I'm sure we can work something out ." A moment of awkward silence. "Alright, I gotta go." Without any introductions, or warnings, I found myself lifted up from the ground and into a bear hug. It took me a second to wrap my arms back around Embry. As much as it sent butterflies through my body, I leaned close to his ear and whisp ered, "Okay, you can let me go now." He set me back on my feet slowly and whispered a "take care" into my ear before hopping into the car with Nessie and leaving me on the pavement of my house. I w as going to walk in when I remembered I had to pass by Matt's first. His house w as the one next door, so it didn't take me a lot of time before I was on his doo r. I rang the bell and waited, rubbing off the chocolate on my mouth and eyeline r beneath my eye as I did. After a while, his mother answered the door. "Oh hello, Mary." "Mrs. Williams is Matt back from his practice yet?"

"Practice?" she retorted, "It's Monday, dear. It's his day off." He lied. "Um, yeah, my bad," I mumbled, sticking my hands in my pocket, "Is he h ere though? He has some of my stuff." She nodded. "Come on in." I walked into their house and straight to Matt's room. It was locked. I knocked twice. "Go away, Kelly." "It's Mary." I heard him fall and curse before he opened the door. "Hey, what are you doing h ere?" I eyed his messed blond hair, dirty shirt and tired-looking eyes. "Are you okay? " "Are you okay?" I smiled cunningly. "I had three bars of chocolate and about 200 grams of mixed chocolate candy," I said, "I'm glorious." "You did what?" His eyes widened. "Tell me you didn't." "I did!" "Well, what about your diet? What about your high blood sugar level? Are you try ing to get yourself into a coma?" "I don't give a fuck." "Language!" Kelly, Matt's younger sister, remarked as she walked into her room. He pulled me in his room and slammed the door shut. "Before you say anything," I said, eyeing his smashed up room, "I just had a bad day. Speaking of which, what the hell happened to your room?" He sighed. "I just had a bad day," he repeated. "So you went up smashing everything in eyesight?" I asked, looking at the crushe d vase and disordered clothes. Matt was one of those guys who couldn't stand it if their room was just a little bit untidy, so seeing his room like that was lik e seeing a fish walk on land. "I was just upset." "You lied to me," I stated, "You had no tennis. Why'd you leave?" He threw himself on the bed. "You matter to me, Mary," he said, "You matter to m e so much. You have no idea how much you mean to me. And seeing you...like that. ..today with Jackson was just...unbearable. And I can't believe I was so calm. I wanted to yell. I wanted to smash his head but I was just so...calm. I felt lik e such a failure - I mean, you depended on me and -" "Do you really think I wanted a bloodbath there?" I asked, "If you'd hit him, yo u would've been with Embry against one. Something seriously bad would've happene d."

"You don't get it." "Well, enlighten me!" I yelled. He stared at me, silent. "Sorry," I whispered, " I just hate seeing you like that. I mean." I picked up a piece of glass from the ground. "I had no idea your vase's interior was pink. This is horrible." His eyes connected with mine and we both resisted laughing for a second before w e broke into hysterics. He stood up and hugged me. "I -" he started then paused. "I never knew it was pink." I giggled and hugged him back. "Who has a vase in their room anyway?" He rubbed my back and we stayed like that for a moment: his arms around my waist and mine around his neck. To a stranger, it must have looked like we were...rom antically involved, if that's the word for it. But to us, it was nothing more th an a brother-sister relationship. Matt was my best friend, a friend as close as a biological brother. Though, I would argue that not all biological brothers are close. Exhibit A: my brother. Suddenly, my vision blurred and my head felt heavy. I couldn't hold my arms arou nd him. They fell and I closed my eyes, trying to regain my balance. He tightene d his grip on my waist. "Whoa, are you okay?" I nodded and practically fell on his bed. As soon as I lay back, my vision start ed getting better. "I'm fiiine," I sang, "You have no idea how awesome I feel." He crawled beside me on the bed. "Can you breathe well?" I just rolled As much as I liked how close we were becoming I hated that, during the le of months, Matt witnessed me perform all of my magic health tricks. nce, faint, have a panic attack - the whole lot. When I didn't answer, oned my blazer. "Hey!" I complained. "It looked too tight, and you just had a lot of food..." He shrugged and lay dow n beside me. "You should probably stay like that for a while." I laughed. "This day is weird," I said, "I mean, first with Jackson, and then Em bry, and then the chocolate...and then now..." He chuckled. "How was your day? Did he show you the car thing?" "Nah." "What, then?" I smiled, the memories of my few hours with Embry flooding back, making my cheek s redden. I flipped on my side, facing Matt, my hair falling on both sides of my face. He looked at me, anticipating my answer. I bit my lip then spoke. "He bou ght me the chocolate," I whispered. He mock-gasped. "No!" He smiled. "What else though?" I had no idea why I saw Matt today in a totally different light. Suddenly, he se emed so close to me. He gave me this brotherly care that I'd always strived for. I felt like I could completely and blindly trust him especially after he knew. Maybe he didn't know everything, but he knew just enough, and the fact that he d idn't seem like he was treating me any differently made me relax. "Can I tell you a secret?" I whispered, biting my lips, leaning so close to him my eyes. past coup Lose bala he unbutt

that my hair was touching his cheek. He gently put it away, nodding, keeping eye contact. "Before we went in to get the chocolate, Embry -" I paused. Did I want to tell him this? I mean, I'd told Embry to pretend it never happened. It sure doesn't feel like it didn't, but a couple of hours earlier I regretted it. I reg retted the first kiss I'd ever willingly grabbed a boy for. The only kiss that m attered so far. A kiss so gentle, so loving, so heavenly but so, so wrong. It wa s wrong, I could feel it inside me. Whenever I remembered his smooth lips on min e I couldn't help but recall the last time I'd kissed anyone. I must've looked s eriously pathetic to have him kiss me like that - like I mattered. Like he wante d to be with me. The thing is: I didn't matter - not to him, not to anyone. Mayb e to Matt, as a sister, but that's all. I would never deserve to be treated like those fairy tale princesses or those little angelic girls everybody love. I had to remember - I was me. I was Mary. I was probably the single most patheti c girl in a hundred miles radius. I was worthless. I didn't deserve anything lik e that. If I deserved anything, it would be the treatment I'd got from my ex. I felt the tears well up in my eyes, my lips shaking. Matt looked confused, his brows furrowed, but I looked away. What was I doing here, claiming care from som eone who shouldn't have to worry about me or listen to me at all? Was I really t hat damn desperate? I quickly got up, buttoning back my blazer, grabbing my book bag from where it l ay next to Matt's desk, flipping it on my shoulder. "I gotta go. Sorry." Matt followed me, an anxious look on his face. "Mary, wait! What's wrong? What h appened?" Tears were threatening to roll down my cheek. I had to hold my breath to hold th em in. "Nothing happened, Matt." He grabbed my arm as I made my way out of his room. "Lies! What did Embry do? Di d he tell you something?" "Nothing! Okay? Just leave me alone." He tightened his grip on my arm and I winced. "Tell me, Mary." At his rough touch, my mind went back four long months, on the day I told Jackso n I was leaving Forks. He'd grabbed my arm in the exact same way and dragged me all the way across the room, throwing me on the bed. "You're leaving?" He repeated for the thousandth time. I nodded, frightened, cov ering my face with my arms. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" "I-I- I did-didn't know," I stuttered, my breath coming out in short waves. "I s wear I didn't!" He yanked my arms away from my face, slapping me. "Liar!" "I'm not lying," I found myself whisper, "I swear I'm not. I swear I didn't know ." I was shaking hard and I noticed how Matt's grip had loosened considerably. I struggled to control my breathing, feeling myself drown as I'd felt earlier thi s morning, closing my eyes, letting my tears free. I could feel my face lose col or and my limbs grow insensitive. My vision was getting blurry and I had to focu s on how to breathe. In a moment, I found myself wrapped in Matt's arms. He kept hushing me, running his hand on my hair, whispering things I couldn't really make out. All I was try ing to do was stay conscious and I couldn't even get myself to move my arms and

wrap them around Matt. My heart was doing leaps and my knees were giving in and if it wasn't for Matt's support, I would've been on the ground by then. "If you don't wanna tell me, it's totally fine," Matt whispered after a while, " But if it's too bad, I want to know. If Embry -" "It's not about Embry," I whispered, "I'll tell you. Everything." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Embry's POV -------------------------------------------------------------------------------I growled hard, getting out all the negative energy within my system. Paul, as a wolf, growled back, hopping beside me, moving to bite my neck but I dodged him, pushing him away. That's it, boy, he thought, let it out. Hurt me. I have to find him, I thought, I have to kill him. I howled, letting myself fall on the ground. I'd spent all the time ever since I left Mary at her door in my wolf form, runni ng, fighting my (very willing) brothers, trying to wrap my head around what had happened today. Not the last part - no. The first part: the part where Mary slip ped from my hands to his in a blink of an eye. The part where I stood and watche d him treat her like he fucking owned her and it enraged me: it sent waves of fl ame through my being, literally. There was this thing about imprinting (which sometimes sucked): whenever your im print feels something - anything - you feel it, too. All while she slept I could only feel my rage. When she woke up, her pure content and happiness cooled me d own a little. Her touch froze any kind of hateful feelings I had towards anyone -including that asshole. But now - all I could feel was pure agony. I ached for her, for her suffering, for everything that happened and I had no clue of. I howled again, wishing I could be on her side, comforting her, making her feel better. I couldn't get over the scenarios that kept running through my mind - th e various situations that could have happened to her and I didn't know. The vari ous scenarios that could be happening to her while I was away. I wanted to take her and keep her safe, right under my sight. I wanted to make sure no one, nothi ng, was upsetting her. She hated herself. I could tell that much. Why? I had no idea. She needed to be protected, even from those thoughts and feelings. I needed to protect her, yet I couldn't. Paul sighed. Another difficult imprint. I'm sorry, Embry. It's not just difficult - it's impossible. How would you feel if Rachel had been so broken, huh? He wanted to stay silent, but I saw through all his thoughts. He would feel exac tly the same. He would want to protect her, but take revenge at the same time. I wanted to see that bastard fucking die. But how would I reach him? How would I know who he was? From how it seemed, they had been in a seriously long relationship together, so

he might had known her from where she was in Forks. Forks, yes! She said she kne w Charlie! She said her dad was a cop, too... That was it, Charlie! Charlie would know him. After all, Forks was all a couple of hundred people or something. They all knew each other and most importantly, C harlie knew them all. You think I can take Jake and go? Why Jake, though? Paul asked. Charlie knows you. Because I might lose it. I don't know how I'd react if I found that son of a bit ch. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------We had to wait until the morning because Jacob wanted to sleep. Fucking Alpha, b ossing everyone around. I was interiorly glad Nessie was part vampire; no one wa nted a mini Jacob to boss them around in the future as well. I waited in his Rab bit while he kissed his fiancee goodbye. While I waited, I checked my watch - gr eat, it was twelve. It was time for Mary's lunch at school (it was helpful how N essie went to the same school, but skipped today). I dialed her number and heard the phone ring. Once. Twice. Fifteen freakin' times with no answer. I huffed, only a tad worried (she could still be in class for any reason, after all), waiting for Jacob to join me. I pushed the honk to get his attention. "Com e on already!" He rolled his eyes as he slid inside. "I don't get why you want to go to Charlie ." "I need information." The car roared into life. "About?" "About Jackson." He frowned, getting on the main road. "Seriously?" "Do I look like I'm fucking kidding?" He grimaced. "Look who's grumpy.." "I just fucking am, okay?" I yelled, "When Nessie was the one abused* you didn't seem like you had a problem killing the guy." His grip visibly tightened around the steering wheel, his teeth gritting togethe r. "Fine. You have a point." The rest of the ride was completely silent, the tension almost visible. We made it to Charlie at the station in no time and he was waiting for us, as his grandd aughter had called him earlier to give him a heads up. We all sat at his desk in awkward silence before he decided to speak.

"I get it you wanted to ask about something, Embry?" I shifted in my seat. "Chief Swan, did you know Mariah Anderson? She's the daugh ter of a colleague of you, I get it. They moved to Port Angeles a while ago..?" He frowned in concentration. "Mary. Yes, I know her. Is something wrong?" I turned towards him, licking my lips in anxiousness. "She had a boyfriend named Jackson, right?" "Jackson Storms - they used to date for a whole year, I think." "Yes- that one. Do you know anything about him? Like, did he have violence probl ems at school.." Charlie's shoulders suddenly tensed and Jacob warningly kicked me. I could have crossed a line, but I couldn't care less. "May I ask why you're concerned about the kid, Call?" I exchanged glances with Jake who nodded, giving me permission to speak. Charlie was practically family anyway. "I met him. I know Mary. I was just -" "Interfering. Getting your nose where you shouldn't, Call." "Charlie," Jake spoke for the first time, "This issue concerns the elders. Mary. ." He looked at me and back at Charlie. "Mary is an imprint," he whispered, lean ing close. "Embry's." Charlie, during the past couple of years, had grown to know pretty much everythi ng about us, wolves. Maybe not all about vampires, but everything about us - mos t of the information was courtesy of one of the most important elders - Sue Clea rwater (soon Sue Swan). Suddenly, Charlie stood up. "Then the elders should be the ones contacting me. I 'm afraid this meeting is over, gentlemen."