Howl.

"Wait - what? Where are you going?"

I shoved some clothes into a small duffel bag that had been buried at the bottom of my closet since my Lacrosse days. Mary sat on the edge of my bed, confused as hell. "I already told you. I'm going to find my father."

"But why? Lilly, he left."

I growled, and looked at her, my hands on my hips. "I know that. But there are some things that I need answers to."

"Like what?"

I sighed, and pushed my hair out of my face. I still refused to cut it, no matter how many times Embry or Jacob told me that the longer my hair was, the longer my fur would be. "God, you ask so many questions."

"I'm just trying to understand why you're being so fucking weird," Mary snapped. "Are you still sick? Maybe your fever has messed up your head."

"No, I'm not sick," I said. I realized that she couldn't know that I'd changed, and kept my mouth shut as I searched throughout my room for various items: my headphones, iPod, cell phone, books, socks..

"Bull shit." She slid off of my bed and pressed the back of her hand to my forehead. "You're still as hot as you were."

I swatted her hand away, and groaned when I couldn't find my Washington State University sweatshirt. "I'm going whether you like it or not."

"Then why can't I come with?"

I stared at her, and pondered her question for a second. "Because Embry's going. I can only imagine how hostile the environment would be if you went, too."

She groaned, and crossed her arms.

"You know," I said, "we're together now."

Mary's eyes widened with surprise. "What! Are you serious?"

I smiled. "Yup." Zipping my bag closed, I threw it over towards my bedroom door. "It's not like, totally official. But he kissed me, and yeah..."

"You really are something, Lilliana," Mary grumbled, and I laughed. I knew that deep down inside of her, Mary was really excited for me. But she hated Embry with a passion otherwise, and so it was pretty funny that she seemed to against it.

"Are you going to help me finish getting my stuff together or are you just going to stand there and pout?" I asked, glaring at her. She sighed, and pushed her black hair out of her eyes.

"Fine, fine. What else do you need?"

"I-um.. my wallet is in my nightstand drawer, and.."

I lifted up my mattress and pulled out my sketchbook. It'd been at least three months since I'd drawn in it. Grabbing the charcoal pencil and the gummy eraser, I shoved it into my other smaller bag.

"I think that's it," I said, sighing.

"Lilly, are you sure this is a good idea?" Mary asked, frowning. "I mean, your dad left. What if he's got like, a whole other family where he lives now?"

I shook my head. "This is way too important to me. I need to find him."

My bedroom swung open, and a very frustrated looking Embry appeared. "Your mother is crazy, Lilly," he said, exasperated. When he saw Mary, he smiled, a devillish sparkle in his eyes. "Hey, Mary."

"Don't talk to me," Mary snapped.

"Rawr." Embry reached down to pick up my bag, but stopped. "Are you sure you want to do this, Lilly?"

Mary heaved a sigh, more like she was trying to prove a point. I rolled my eyes. "Yes, I'm positive. Can we go before someone else tries to talk me out of it?" I could feel both of them staring at me, but I tried to ignore it. I slung my small bag over my shoulder and ambled down the stairs, clutching the handrail to keep myself from losing my balance.

Mom stood in the kitchen doorway, her arms crossed and a frown on her face. "Be careful, Lilly," she said. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'll be fine, Mom," I said, a small smile on my lips. Embry stomped down the stairs, and Mary followed, her footsteps light and gentle. They were two completely different people but I was still close with both of them.

Embry helped me take my bags out to the truck, where he already had a bag for himself sitting in the backseat. And after a few more 'be careful's we got into the truck. My stomach flopped, and I wrung my hands as Embry pulled out of the driveway.

"So, did you find everything that we needed?" Embry asked, turning the radio down. I slid my hand into my pocket and pulled out a slip of paper.

"I got everything that both Mom and I could remember. He was born in Little Rock in 1960, where my grandparents still live. Mom said that he probably went back to around that area, because he never wanted to leave in the first place." I looked at Embry, and he took my hand, squeezing it. "It feels like it's been years since he left," I said. "It's only been eight months."

"Yeah, but don't you think it'll be easier to get over it if you know why he left in the first place?"

I shrugged. "Anything goes with Dad."