The boiling temperature of the shower did little to ease her nerves as it normally would. The steam around her was oddly suffocating, even if it did not restrict her lungs as it would whilst human.

She had scrubbed her skin raw, or at least she would have had she been capable. The amount of force she used was deadly but she apparently could not harm herself with a forceful shower. With her hair damp and falling limp around her shoulders and a loose pair of pyjamas hanging from her, Reyna walked toward her bedroom slowly- a towel clutched in her hand and dabbing at her hair.

Standing in the doorway silently, Reyna watched as he moved around slowly. He looked at various books, flipping the pages and peaking at the few notes she had left. His nose scrunched as he squinted at her rushed and tiny handwriting, not understand the things that she wrote.

His shoulders were relaxed, seemingly at ease in her space. Chest still bare and dirty feet leaving faint spots on the floor. Embry was still an enigma to her while she was basically out in the open- having spewed multiple facts about herself to any of the wolves when possible.

It made her wince; how love-struck she was of a boy that did not want anything to do with her, a boy that she hardly knew. Though the image of him standing in her room was fitting, he looked like he truly belonged.

Flickering in and out of focus nervously, Reyna glanced at her clothes subconsciously. They seemed much smaller, showing off skin that he probably did not want to see. The red of the silk fabric was mocking, a poor choice on her part due to her described diet- he would not like the sight of red on her, he couldn't.

It took a moment for him to acknowledge her, dark as snapping to her as her clean scent probably filled the room- vanilla and strawberries, her feeble attempt to smell human and cast out the smell of the blood she tracked in, to try and erase the sweetness t that clung to her so as not to burn his nose. She had been too quiet for it to have been anything other than her smell.

"I wanted to be an architect," Reyna explained, pointing half-heartedly at the books that were scattered around her room. "Perhaps in a few years, when Carlisle thinks its okay, I'll get a degree."

Inwardly wincing at her choice of words, she continued anyway. "You probably knew that though, Bella must have said something, and I'm positive I've mentioned it to at least one of your friends."

Embry nodded, fingers falling from the book he was holding open and tucking a hand loosely in his pocket. He turned to face her fully, and Reyna was suddenly glad she had was dead and could not blush. His habit of wearing little clothes was proving to be both a blessing and a curse in her books.

When he didn't make a move to reply, Reyna darted her eyes to her slightly open window. It would not take her long to take a quick dash and disappear into the forest surrounding the house. She began to believe that perhaps this had been a horrible decision, that maybe it was better off with him pretending that she did not exist.

This situation was an enigma that she could not peace together, he was a contradiction in and of itself. It was hard to know the right way to go about such a foreign situation.

She cleared her throat. "Can I do anything for you? Get you a drink or something?"

"You have human food around here?" he asked skeptically eyeing her.

It was easy for her to smother her natural reaction to his words; repressing the wince and smothering the hurt that struck her core. She tried to convince herself that he didn't mean it.

"Of course, the house is always stocked for Bella and they keep plenty of things around for my comfort." She gave him a plain smile, forced and lacking any real emotion.

He nodded briefly, letting the information settle before gathering his thoughts. From what she could tell, Embry was not a very good conversationalist- though that could only be because of her. If she was anything else this would have been easy, they could have already been together.

Though she probably would not have met him otherwise, or maybe she would. She had no way of knowing the turn of events and how they would pan out. It was possible that they would have met at the wedding, as a good friend of the bride she would have been there but maybe she would have already left for college? Reyna may not have had the chance to be present at such a ceremony, would've missed her chance.

Would she have still been his imprint, his soul mate, had she been human still?

The thought caused her to release a choked sound from the back of her throat, her carefully held breath tumbling passed her lips in a whoosh and she sucked in new air greedily out of habit.

The scent of him enveloped her, swirling in her lungs in a fashion that burned. Reyna became acutely aware to the sound of his steady heart, the muscle pumping confidently in his chest. He did not seem to fear her, Embry was proud in his ability to defend himself.

Forcing it down, she clamped her mouth shut firmly, a hand coming up to cover her flared nostrils. The itch in her throat was addicting- she could grow accustomed to the way he made her feel.

"The food you've been bringing to the treaty line?" Embry eyed her slowly.

"Yeah, I make everything here before I bring it. I can't really go out like they do so this helps keep me occupied. There are a lot of hours in the day," she told him, words muffled by the position of her hand. It was a risk, speaking now when she was so embraced by the vibrations of his blood.

Embry drew closer and Reyna felt oddly like he was testing her, trying to see how far he could push her until she felt like she would snap. There must have been something that changed in her appearance, other than her hand that covered her mouth. She figured it was it was her eyes, the dark pools that always changed with her thirst whenever he was present to tempt her.

Her shield pulsed warningly in front of him, stopping him in his path- her free hand suspended feebly before her as she let it fall simply back at her side.

"I wouldn't get too close," she advised shamefully, looking anywhere but at him.

It was silent, her words suspended in air and Reyna wished that her heart worked simply so she could hear it racing in her chest.

"Do you think you would hurt me?" he pushed, inching forward carefully.

"I don't want to risk it. Ever."

Abandoning the tense atmosphere, she crossed the room to her window, her arm brushing against his sinfully. Sparks shot over her, electrifying her veins, and sending her head reeling. It made so much more sense now, why so many vampires clung to their mates other than to combat the loneliness- it made them feel alive, a simple touch made her feel alive.

Fresh air hit her face and the sensation was gone, her lungs filling with the clean air from the forest- pine and dirt filling her. She perched herself on the ledge, hair tucked behind her ear so she could watch him easier.

"Why did you come?" Reyna finally addressed the question. "Why now, after so long?"

He bit his lip, worrying the skin dangerously as he considered her inquiry. If she didn't know better, her first guessed would have been instinct, some more primal part in him driving him to come to her.

Her eyes were drawn across the room, falling on her phone as it began to ring shrilly. Sparring him an apologetic glance, she had the device pressed to her ear in a burst of speed.

"Hello, Bella?" Reyna answered, fingers playing with the ends of her hair distractedly.

"Reyna, oh thank god," the human girl whispered over the line, breathless and panicked.

"What's wrong? What happened?" she was suddenly alert, catching snips of conversation from the family downstairs- worried and fearful.

"I need your help, you have to help me," her friend rambled, voice coming out rushed. "I'm coming-"

"Reyna," her name was curt and sharp. Rosalie stood by her bedroom door, cars keys clutched tightly in hand and eyes pinning Embry to his place.

"Rose, what the hell is going on?" The dark-haired girl stepped between the other two slowly.

"Rosalie? She'll explain everything, please Rey, you gotta help me," Bella pipped up pleadingly.

The room felt painfully too small, as though it was closing in around them. She could feel the heat of Embry at her back as he stepped up to her, hauntingly. Bella's words echoed in her ears as she faced the blonde's determined gaze.

"Of course, Bella, anything for you," she replied, cutting off the call immediately.

She tossed the phone to the bed, not caring where it landed. She was far too focused on everything else around her.

The pieces of the muted conversation downstairs finally coming together, Rose's stance painfully clear as the woman waited for her response. Embry standing behind her, and she realized that she could only keep him blissfully ignorant for so long if he stayed here.

It was all happening too fast for her to keep up, even with enhanced speed she could not discern how to exit such a dream-like trance that had her mind tripping. It was impossible, it had to be.

"We need to go," Rose cut through the muddy water of her thoughts, reeling her back. "Get dressed, I'll bring around the car."

Reyna nodded. "Nothing too flashy or fast, Rose."

The blonde disappeared. "Be quick."

Snapping into action, Reyna removed her comforting pyjamas, tossing the articles carelessly over her shoulder as she sped to her closet and began to pull on a random dress.

It was silly, ironic even, that she had previously been self-conscious about the way she looked what could have been moments ago but now was practically prancing before him in an immodest state of undress that could have led most men to temptation.

"What's going on?" He stalled her in her path to the door, freezing her mid-stride with a pair of heels firmly in hand.

Cursing herself inwardly, she felt dread fall to her stomach. It had taken so much for him to come to her, to cross the bridge that she had built specifically for him yet she was leaving him- cutting their time short and running to deal with whatever problem that had presented itself.

For so long she wanted things back to normal, as normal as they could get when one was destined to be with a boy that shifted into a wolf, but normal none the less. He was her normal, Embry was the only thing she allowed herself to hope for anymore.

She wondered if she was guaranteed any happiness if she stayed here, with him. Everything that she would allow herself to want was here, before her.

The sound of a car's horn broke her train of thought, lighting the flaws in her selfish path. "I'm sorry but I really need to go. Please understand, I'll come to see you as soon as I can, yeah?"

Without thinking, she pressed a chaste, barely there, kiss to his cheek. The warmth of him flushed over her cool face, a numbing tingling spreading over her lips.

She was gone from sight the next moment, moving at advanced speeds and flickering in and out of focus. Reyna had settled in the front seat for less than a second before they were moving again.

Maybe, she thought, maybe he would still be there when she returned. Maybe he would wait for her as she had been for him. Maybe he would go back home but would still welcome her with a careless smile along with the likes that his friends sported.

Maybe everything would be alright.

"Bella's pregnant and she wants to keep the baby. She wants us to protect her."

Or maybe, she thought, maybe destiny was toying with her.

☼☼☼

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Ive been getting quite a few requests to update so here ya go, it may not be very good but watcha gonna do?

Thanks for sticking around while I dealt with an extreme case of writers block.

2017-10-17

Unedited