Howl.

It was a quiet drive. We were on the interstate within ten minutes, and from there on, we listened to the hum of the truck and the soft radio that was merely wallpaper music. I stared out through the window, admiring the architecture of Seattle from a distance. I had only been there once in my whole life, but I always wanted to go back.

"Let's play twenty questions," Embry said, startling me. I looked at him from the side, and shrugged.

"Sure."

"Do you know how to play?" He didn't take his eyes off of the road, but one of his hands found mine and pulled it into his lap.

"Yeah," I said. I used to play this game with Mary when we were younger, probably around thirteen. We really learned some dark things about each other at that time. "You go first."

"Hmm," he pondered. "Let me think for a minute."

I did, and listened to the soft radio static as we drove down the high way. I was getting closer to Dad, and it was nerve wracking. What was I going to say to him when I saw him? Dad just up and left. I wasn't sure exactly how I was going to react. There was always a possibility that he had a whole different family down there.

It felt like it had happened yesterday. I remember waking up to the sound of Mom crying in the living room. When I crept into the hallway, Dad was thumping around in their bedroom, packing a suitcase. I stood in the doorway, confused, and when he saw me, he frowned. "I'm sorry, Lilly," was all he said before he left. Turns out, as Mom had told me about a month later, she answered the phone late the night before. It had been another woman, someone that Mom wasn't familiar with. Then, the roof caved in. The fat lady sang. My dad was gone.

"What's your favorite childhood memory?" Embry asked, breaking my train of thought.

I smiled, and laughed quietly. "The time at camp when you and I got lost while we were on the group hike. We didn't manage to find our way back until it was so dark out that we couldn't see. How we got out of there, I still can't figure out."

Embry laughed, and nodded his head. "Dude, must've been our wolf instincts or something. Because I bet on my life that nobody else could've found their way out."

I sighed contently, and thought over my question. There were no restrictions in this game. I could ask him anything that I wanted to. The only thing lingering on my mind: "what was it like when you first changed?"

Embry glanced at me, and he shrugged. "I don't know. I remember getting home from the mall with you the day before I called you, and .. it was so weird. My dad said that something about you and I lost it. It wasn't painful.. just.." Embry sighed, and shrugged his shoulders again. "I was terrified."

"Me too," I whispered. He squeezed my hand, and it took me by surprise. I had almost forgotten he had taken it.

"Ok, hold on a sec. I had a good question, I just forgot." Embry smiled, and bit down on his bottom lip. "Oh, yeah." He glanced at me, but his eyes flickered back to the road. It was starting to get dark outside. "Why didn't you react to the whole imprinting thing the way that most of the others did?"

I sighed softly, and let my head fall back against the seat. "I don't know. I suppose because I lo- I've always been really close to you."

Embry smiled, and my breath hitched in my throat. I had been so close to saying something that, now when I think back on it, I wouldn't have meant.

When we crossed the border of Washington into Idaho, then Montana, where the skies were the clearest I had ever seen them. All of the stars were visible and for a moment, I was awestruck. Glancing down at the clock, the luminescent green glow of the digital numbers hurting my eyes for a moment. It was already past one in the morning. That's what we get for leaving so late.

I yawned, and attempted to stretch my arms over my head, but after changing, it seemed that my body had grown an extra foot. "Are you tired?" I asked, taking a deep breath.

"Yeah." He looked at me. "You wanna stop somewhere and get some sleep?"

"Em? The next place is like, an hour away."

"Oh, yeah," he sighed. "I s'pose it is. There's a rest stop near us, I think."

We drove in complete silence for about ten more minutes until the dim lights of a rest stop were visible. There were a few semi-trucks parked, but other than that, the lot was virtually abandoned.

Embry pushed his chair back once we had found a space far away from the truck drivers. I thought for a second, and then grabbed my duffel bag from the back seat and escaped outside the truck, where a blast of cool air refreshed me. I opened the back of the truck, and pulled myself into the bed. I could feel Embry staring at me from his seat in the cab, and I motioned for him to come outside. If there was going to be at least a semi-comfortable way to sleep tonight, this would be it.

"What are you doing?" Embry asked, closing his door behind him.

"It's not like we can get cold, Em," I said. He rolled his eyes and jumped up onto the bed beside me. "Besides, we can see the stars." I pulled my pillow out of the duffel bag and lied back, shifting my weight so that it was evenly distributed between the grooves of the metal.

Embry lied back beside me, leaning on his elbow. "What is with you and the stars, anyway?"

I looked at him, my eyelids heavy. "You don't think they're amazing?"

"Eh. I never really looked before."

"You should. It's really humbling." I had always had a crazy fascination with stars. It reminded me that I was much smaller than I liked to make myself believe, that the world was so much bigger than me.

Embry was quiet for a long time, and I thought he had fallen asleep. But, "you're right. The stars really are amazing."

"See?" I whispered. "You just have to look."

"I don't have to look hard to see the prettiest star, though."

I stared at the sky, trying to figure out which star he was talking about.

"I'll give you a hint: she's right in front of me." And then, he leaned down and kissed me.