@HotHeadSheWolf
Was that what I was doing? Was I hiding behind the always happy guy that people had grown to expect from me?
“I don't even know why I do that.” I admitted without meaning to. “That is good advice most of the time. But it didn't serve me too well tonight wine I spoke without thinking.”
I shrugged a little, catching the scent of the night air through the open window. “But honestly... I feel better. I know Jake will forgive me, and maybe now things can go back to normal until >
Taking a few long slow deep breaths I closed my eyes as he spoke. Listening to him and the hum coming from the windows. Bringing the two sounds one of a living person and the other of the our ancestors together.
“I don’t think we know half the time why we do stuff. Sometimes it just becomes a thing until someone stands up and shows us a mirror.”
My wolf flashed the moment our eyes landed on him at the underground fight, then when he fought his way into the changing room. -
@BadBoyEmbryCall - I shook the thoughts back away. I got the message.
Opening my eyes I turned my head to look up at the ceiling, letting my head fall back into the couch again.
“You and Jake, you’re li—“ I stopped and corrected myself. “— are brothers. He knows where you came from. I don’t think he will ever hold the delivery of the message against you. The part he may hold you up on is not telling him sooner.”
Swallowing hard, because I knew that went for me too. But I couldn’t.
@HotHeadSheWolf
I smiled, this time at the irony of her words. She was right... He was probably still wide awake with Nessie right now... asking her why... why did I wait, why did I hold that inside for so long. Why didn't tell him?... Hell, why didn't I scream it at him like I did tonight weeks ago?
She lay back against the couch, anything to avoid looking at me when she was saying something that revealed more of her to me. "That great advice..." I said a hint of mischief. "Have you ever >
And there it was, some how he’d made the same connection and he wasn’t afraid of saying it too.
‘He’s a bright spark this one. I like him.’ My wolf sat up at nice again, a little too pleased as the fact that Call was ok the same page as her.
I told her to shut up, and to lay back down. If she kept this up, I’d swap out my next run. That would teach her.
“We are talking about you, and the advice you aren’t seeing. Not what I should or shouldn’t be doing.”
-
@BadBoyEmbryCall - Just because I knew what I should’ve be doing, didn’t mean it was easy and plain sailing to just step up.
I had to be ready for the fall out, the what ifs where winning. And that pissed me off too. I hated 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧?.
@HotHeadSheWolf
I knew she would go that... I just laughed softly and shook my head. I shifted closer and nudged her knee with mine. Trying to get to look back at me... That depth in her eyes that had become so apparent lately gave me insights into her that I never knew existed before.
“As much as I love talking about myself...” I teased her. “I think we're done with part of the conversation. Look... I’m not trying to tell you what to do. But you should give it some thought. Maybe even >
@HotHeadSheWolf
< talk it over with someone wiser.” I tapped a finger against her tattoed bicep, just lightly and for a split second.
“Just remember that it's an option and that Jake has your back too... All the pack... So just... Give it some thought. And if you need a sounding board you know where to find me. I've kept your secret so far... I think I could keep a few more.”
The sound of my couch moving was the give away before him slipped closer, and then my hand was fisted and I lifted it up to give him a dead leg when his knee touched mine.
But my wolf stopped me, so instead I combed my fingers through my hair and then glanced over to him.
He wasn’t giving in. ‘Would you? Have you when he needed help?’ She said it again.
But then he was doing that thing with his eyes again. Just like his mom, it was like they had a way to deep dive -
@BadBoyEmbryCall - into a person’s secrets.
“I’ve done nothing but think about it.” Talking to someone wasn’t so easy, but then that’s what #TheGreatWolf had been there for.
The tightness in my chest was easier now, but it didn’t mean all was well again.
My skin felt a jolt, making the muscles in my arm react to his touch. That was new. Static electricity… it had to be…
“Are you reminding me of my own lessons to you? We call that recycled advice here Embry Call.”
My eyes reminded on -
@BadBoyEmbryCall - as I spoke now.
“It’s not fair that I am making to keep secrets. I…” needed someone to trust.
‘Trust him!’ She whispered.
“I know what I have to do, I know what they want me to do. But I’m not sure I am the right choice.”
The words came out like I was throwing them on a wall hoping they would stick and not slide to the ground.
“It’s hard to know you messed up before you were of the age to step up. So… I fucked up, before any of you arses new how to wipe your nose.”
@HotHeadSheWolf
“Have you really, though? Have sat and thought specifically about saying all of this to #Jacob?” I asked her, not because I wanted her to answer. I just wanted to hear the question, you plant a seed of it in her.
I laughed a little when she said she wasn't sure. That sounded familiar. “I've heard the before you know. When Jake phased the first time. I heard it from him... I felt it from #Sam. And honestly, I think with that hint of doubt there's no feeling of responsibility. >
@HotHeadSheWolf
< if it's handed to simply because you were the first or because of your last name... Your bloodline. Then you are entitled... It hasn't be earned, why strive to be better when your title tells you you already are. And I'll you what I told #Jake... And I still stand by it today. You may not be sure, Leah... But I am. The wind is shifting, he knows it too.”
My gaze didn't flatter from hers once. “He didn't listen to me... And it ended with brothers and sisters at what with one >
My mouth parted at his first question, did he think I was lying to him. Of course I had.
‘Would you listen for once.’ I was about ready to lock her up and throw away the key, but I did listen.
My eyebrows pulled together, I knew it was something #Jake wasn’t sure of. But I’d forgotten he was that uncomfortable with the choice he made to break away and become his own pack. Of course he hadn’t expected #Seth and me to follow suite. But that’s another story.
“You told Jake -
@BadBoyEmbryCall - that? I didn’t know.”
I was thinking about all outcomes that could play out. What I had figured was that it would go a way that would cause issues.
“How do you know? There go way you could know that if…. IF I stepped up.. it would be smooth Sailing.”
@HotHeadSheWolf
“I did but he decided he wasn't ready... And maybe at the time it wasn't right for him. But I know he has regrets, he feels like he turned us against each other when he broke from #Sam.”
I shook my head and smiled. “I never said it would be smooth sailing. But that doesn't mean it's not with going. And as for how I know...” I shrugged. “It just makes sense… you’re dedicated, you’re a natural leader, you’re fair and honest to a fault. You were always a great strategist even >
Speechless… for the first time in my life, it wasn’t that I didn’t want to talk, or I didn’t want to part take in the conversation. It was that I had no words.
What is a woman to even say to so many observations being made about them all in one go?
How… when… what… so many questions were all whipping around in my head when my mind stopped spinning from the bombardment from Call.
How did he come to such conclusions?
When did he have the time to find such insight?
-
@BadBoyEmbryCall - What had been seen in my family to know where and how we all stood, together and alone?
Where was I even to start answering him?
Then when he spoke about how things were changing. Him being a Spirit Warrior, #Ness being an imprint, #TheGoofball and his #Nerd. And how they came together. #Collin himself being a Spirit Warrior was a change in itself.
And then it came to Bloodlines… the Clearwater’s and where we sat on the chain.
I curled one arm around my face. -
@BadBoyEmbryCall - Closing my eyes and letting it all sink in.
“Why hadn’t I even thought about this part? If I steeped up… what would it mean for all those who are different?”
The question was more to myself. But, I had to say it out loud. Just so I knew I wasn’t losing my touch.
@HotHeadSheWolf
< more capable of showing them their place.
“Did I you ever stop and think what it could mean for the others… the girl’s especially, the kid’s that will come along, even council… a female Alpha is a game changer. They’ll have step out of the dark ages and start seeing things in a light.” I knew it was a lot to put on her shoulders. But she always carried the weight of the world on them.
My body jerked upright, and I sat up combing my fingers through my hair, pulling it to the side.
“Call…” the Spirits… my mind was reeling now. It took someone on the outside of the want from me to notice the things I had been missing. “No…. I hadn’t thought….” I had thought so much. About all the things… how me stepping up would break what was there and in place.
“Fuck…” biting the inside of my cheeks. I frowned looking at the boy who now was becoming a man. How had he -
@BadBoyEmbryCall - seen what I somehow hadn’t?
“I…. Spirits.” Standing up I stepped around his long legs and made my way back to the open windows. Standing in the middle of it I looked out and then closed me eyes.
The wind blew into my hot skin, settling as the whispering sang to me.
‘Naquu agowadvdi digvwalosv atsvsdv.’
( Now see through the light. )
“Light? How had I been in the darkness when you were all with me all this time?” I whispered back.
Why had Call been the one and -
@HotHeadSheWolf
I could see my words sinking in... and even though there was no way she knew she was doing it, I saw those high walls she kept around herself fall away as she crossed the room.
I didn't say anything, I just let her think... and those words she whispered... they weren't for me. The breeze through the window carried her scent to me again, my stomach di that oddly satisfying and very confusing twisting thing again.
It was hard not to stare when she was lost in thought like this.>
@HotHeadSheWolf
< The light from the lamp she'd lit cast her in shadow against the cloud-covered moonlight coming from outside.
After a long moment, I moved quietly from the couch and stood behind her. Putting my hand on her arm without really thinking about what I was doing.
"It's a lot to think about, Leah." I broke my silence. "You don't need to make any hard and fast decisions right away... you need to look at it from all the different "angles.
I was lost, listening to them, hearing what they were telling us and then passing on to the spirits who weren’t here to be seen or heard.
I wished #TheGreatWolf was here, spirits did I have so much to ask him. And yet Call had stepped into a place that I hadn’t seen open.
My eyes had been gliding over the darkness of the forest behind my house, when I felt the touch on my arm.
I didn’t mean to do it. It was a reflex that was ingrained into my DNA.
-
My opposite hand moved to sit over his. I gripped his hand hard, and twisted it around and up from free my arm.
Using my shoulder to push back into his chest, my elbow hit the middle of his ribs, and I took his legs out with one swoop of my foot.
‘LEAH!!!!’ My wolf cried out.
“Fuck!” I exclaimed. “He shocked me!” Which I didn’t even know anyone could do. But now his body was flying back towards the ground and I was left in a spin.
“FUCK!”
@HotHeadSheWolf
I really should have known... But here was assuming we had some kind bonding moment... and we had (Not that Leah would ever admit it, but it happened). But bonding or not... she was Leah Clearwater.
I only had a split second between her grabbing my hand and knocking the air out of my lung to comprehend all of this. Then I was prioritising my survival as I fell...
One... Don't land on her furniture, because If I was the cause of any more damage to her house I wasn't going to >
@HotHeadSheWolf
< live to see another sunrise.
Two... Don't land on my head... even if it didn't knock me out she was fast and the few seconds it might take me to focus would be all she needed.
I managed to land on my shoulder and pull in enough air to sweep her legs. While she looked just as stunned at her reaction as I was.
As I stood about to grab him before he hurt himself, my legs were sweeper out from underneath me.
“Fuck!” It was becoming my go to word tonight, my body fell towards him, but I landing with my arms outstretched. My hair falling forward covering the frown on my face.
“What…” before saying anything, I flipped myself up on an handstand, sending myself over his fallen body, just missing my coffee table. I landed head to head behind him.
Reaching up behind me, -
@BadBoyEmbryCall - I slapped his head.
“What was that for? Don’t you know better than to come up behind a Spirit Warrior by now? It’s not like you are one too!”
The wind wasn’t knocked out of me. But he move had taken me by surprise. Because my wolf had been shouting in my head about sending him flying.
@HotHeadSheWolf
I sucked a few deep breaths. "Really? What was that for?" I was with a very aggressive eye roll.
"Yeah I am one and I tend to tackle my pack brother the ground whether they come up behind me or not." I huffed and swatted her hand away a little too late.
What the hell did she think of me if that was her go-to reaction when we were alone?
I chewed my lip and pinched the bridge of my nose, pushing that thought down. I was the one invading her space....again.
"I think >
I rubbed my hand over my face. What was wrong with me? But the truth was I knew what was wrong. It was taking a little longer than normal to shed the skin I wore in Seattle.
I kept my mouth shut and lay there, this time my wolf didn’t say anything as all the wall came up. And I didn’t even know when they had come down.
And he thought I was the right pick by the Spirits?
“Hmm..” is all I side, pulling my upper body up off the ground. I combed my fingers through my hair, -
@BadBoyEmbryCall - pulling it up into a mess bum over the top of my head.
“It… it will be here when you feel it’s safe to take it back.”
‘Aren’t you going to tell him why you reacted?’ She whispered low and this time I pushed her back and closed the door.
This was no one’s business, this was something I was dealing with. The Spirits had helped me, but the human and the Warrior needed to catch up.
@HotHeadSheWolf
I could see that she was beating herself up over her snap reaction... I didn't need to add to that, not everything that I was sure was on her mind after everything we had spoken about tonight.
I watched her do that thing with her hair and my heart faltered, even though the light had dimmed a little in her eyes. I told myself it was from the shock of being dropped on my arse for a momentary lack of common sense. I nodded and gave her a real smile.
I did wish that I could >
@HotHeadSheWolf
< trust myself, but when it came to Mom I tended to act first and think later. And a small thought in the back of my mind told me that it was another reason to see her. But that was stupid... I saw Leah almost every day. But the gratitude for her holding onto the guitar was real.
"All of this will work out Leah... I know you don't do the talking thing... but the offer still stands... and you know where to find me." I grabbed my jacket and made my way out of her living room >
@BadBoyEmbryCall I didn’t look back at him, just got myself to my feet and straighten out. It was a fools move, and it only happened because somehow I had let my guard down.
The songs on the air had stopped, and the night sky had started to lighten. The time has disappeared on me without my seeing it.
Raising my eyebrow, I heard his heart do something off key. Had I hurt him? Nah… it was Call, he had taken a lot harder from me in the past.
-
@BadBoyEmbryCall - I moved to the coffee table, picking up the two glasses to take them to the kitchen, listening to him reiterating his offer. And when I finally did look up at him, he was smiling?
The kind that touched his eyes, and told you it was true. It stopped me in my steps and I just nodded my head. I knew, he knew, I didn’t go looking for people. I hadn’t in all my grown life.
“Don’t do anything stupid on your way home.” I’d made my way into the kitchen, placing them glasses in -
@BadBoyEmbryCall - the sink.
I made me way to the kitchen opening by the front door, opening it wide and standing back.
@HotHeadSheWolf
Something in her seemed to ease... but still. The glimpse of her that I had seen just a few moments ago...was gone. And I didn't know why... but the idea of not seeing that woman she had hidden away inside, again... It didn't sit right with me.
I chuckled as I shrugged into my jacket. "I make no promises!" I flashed her another smile. Hoping it let her now she had no need to explain herself... whatever this was tonight; it was between us, and it was okay. I stepped out into >
@HotHeadSheWolf < The chilled air.
"Good ni--" I stopped and looked up and around me. "Good morning, Trouble. I'll see you soon."
I knew she wouldn't come looking for me to talk about any of this stuff. But maybe I had planted a few seeds tonight. I knew if just spoke to Jake... it would take so much of this weight off her shoulders.
My eyes drifted up to the sky, the start of the birds song just hitting from afar. The night had turned into the next day, and Embry Call was still at my doorstep.
“Not if I see you first.” I was leaning back to give him room. Two spirit warriors in the doorway of a house in La Push was a squeeze on the best of days.
And there he said it again. ‘Trouble’, it used to grate on me because of the irony of it. But now… after tonight.. and my actions… I guessed he was right. -
“See you soon Dimples.”
Reaching out I closed the door. I wasn’t going to stand there watching him walk away. This wasn’t the end of some sad movie or book. It was life, and in real life. Leah Clearwater didn’t do that crap.
Turning I rested my back against the door. Rubbing my face. My lips parted but I stopped myself from saying something. He was still in ear rage.
@HotHeadSheWolf
I laughed and shook my head. Fine... I could let her have the last word. I mean she'd shown up to the sanctuary and she hadn't slammed the door in my face when I turned up here.
When I heard her door click shut I rubbed my jaw and remembered her punch. I glanced back and rolled my eyes. Maybe I shouldn't have let her have the last word. I popped my headphones into my ears and hit shuffle on my favourite Irish artists playlist. Walking on Cars played. >
@HotHeadSheWolf
< 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘺
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸
The words played and I was only a few steps away. I didn't if it was Sorcha on the keys.... Or Patrick Sheehy's flawless vocals. But I turned around and walked back up to the door. Even with the music playing in my ears I could hear her heart beating on the other side of the door. "Leah." I said softly through the barrier. "Open the door."
My head jerked up, I could hear the muffled sound of the music playing, the sound of his footsteps returning. My eyebrows pulled together when I heart the sound of his heart beating and then his voice.
My mind worked over what he could have forgotten. Only the guitar, it was the only thing he had arrived with. And he wasn’t going to take that back with him. I wasn’t going to let him make that mistake.
Slowly I pushed off the door, my brow still worried as I opened -
@BadBoyEmbryCall - door to find he stood there and not the sound of the Song he was listening was clear.
Was he stealing from my playlist again? It was the only reason her had so many of the tracks I liked.
“What’s the matter?” I asked, my eyes finding his.
@HotHeadSheWolf
I put one foot inside her door again and the moment I did, my heart raced.
"Nothing." I answered her then I was pushing the door behind me to conceal us from the deserted street. Only I would be crazy enough to come to Leah's door at this hour and not have an emergency.
But, in a way... this was something that couldn't wait. A moment of clarity, a moment to grab on to and live in completely. ... even if the craziest thing I had ever contemplated. >
@HotHeadSheWolf
<
I stepped in closer to her, my tongue darting over my lips. She was going to kill me. "Don't Kill me." I whispered and leaned down brought my lips so close to hers that I could feel the heat of her breath on my skin... And Spirit's... had she always smelled this good?
My stomach wouldn't settle... and I wasn't sure I wanted it to. I pressed my lips against her, a light, lingering kiss and everything lifted... the weight on my shoulders... >
He moved to come in again, so without thinking about it my feet took me back into the house. My keen eyes saw everything, something was off about him. The tentative step over my threshold. The way he looked at me, the sound of his heart beat, the lick of his lips.
“What…?” I tilted my head trying to understand what had happened, what was happening. Why would I kill him?
And then he was right there, he’d close the space between us, and a fire was set alight within me. -
Nobody had dared to break that hard line I had drawn in the sand. And here he was again. Embry Call and his bloody hugs?
I was about to hold my hand up to stop him, but then his lips were just inches away from mine with our eyes locked together in an unbreakable way.
It all happened so fast, so slow all at the same time. A million questions and emotions raised their head, but for once my Wolf was shocked into silence. -
@BadBoyEmbryCall - She watched with wild eyes, but her words of wisdom had dried up.
“What… The… Fuck…” The reaction came without time, no time to think, no time to stop. My left hand fisted and the next thing I knew my right pushed him back and my left upper hook met his jaw. The pain of the hit darted up to my elbow and I stumbled back from him. Anger fuelled my action, or was it?
Something was off in that moment, I knew how I should feel, how I should react, how I should go in -
Embry Call
ᒪEᗩᕼ ᑕᒪEᗩᖇᗯᗩTEᖇ