Howl.

It was almost ten when we woke up the next morning, and after we had breakfast and got everything packed up into the truck, we were on the road by eleven thirty. There were still about nine hundred miles left to go, and both Embry and I were eager to get there as soon as we could so that we could go home.

"Did you ever date anyone while we weren't speaking?"

Our game of twenty questions had kept going ever since we first started the road trip, only going through two or three each a day. We already knew so much about each other that it was hard to ask questions.

Embry sighed. "Sort of? It was a weird thing. I had a thing for her, and she was completely in love with me, but it wasn't right. It wasn't fair to her."

I tried to picture Embry with various girls, but none of them seemed to be his 'type.' "Who was it?"

Another sigh. "Her name was Zora. She lived in Forks."

"Was she pretty?"

Embry glanced at me, a weird expression on his face. "Yeah. I mean, she wasn't as pretty as you are." I formed an 'oh' with my mouth, but didn't respond. The truck was quiet for a few minutes, the only things I had to listen to were the hum of the tires and Embry's occasional sighs. "Are you alright, Lilly?"

I looked at him, confused. "Yes?"

He made a face. "I mean, it's so weird to be around you now. You're a lot different than... before." Embry looked at me, but only for a short second. The traffic was starting to thicken as we neared the Iowa - Nebraska border.

My stomach dropped, and I clenched my jaw. "Of course I'm different. I was fucking raped for God's sake." Pushing my fingers through my hair, I turned away from him, pressing my forehead against the window. "It's not like I can pretend it didn't happen, Embry."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"Do you ever mean anything you say?" I looked at him, and my eyes misted. "Has there ever been a promise that you've made me that you haven't broken?"

Embry looked at me, and I could tell that I'd hit a nerve. "I had no control over what happened, Lilly. I couldn't tell anyone. You really don't understand how tight the pack is. If Sam tells us to do something, we have to do it."

"This isn't about Sam," I growled. "The fact that you didn't even speak to me after you changed is what really hurt me. I would've understood if you had said, 'hey, Lilly, I'm different now. We can't hang out as much but we can still be friends.' No, you completely cut it off and .. fuck it." I crossed my arms across my chest and looked through the window, trying to calm myself down. I couldn't remember the last time that I'd had a fight this big with Embry. We only ever bickered and argued about stupid things.

"I'm sorry, ok?" His voice was more frantic. "I know I made a mistake. A really big one. But I couldn't risk the chance of you finding out what we are."

"Because the pack is more important to you than I am, right?" I whispered.

"Believe me, Lilly, if I could've seen you, I would have. There was a lot going on during that time and I hardly even had time to fucking think."

"Whatever."

"God, don't be mad at me. I'm sorry. I really am."

I tried so hard not to cry, but I couldn't hold it all in. My bottom lip quivered and I had to bite down to make it stop. My efforts to stifle the crying didn't seem to work too well, because Embry said, "are you crying?"

I wiped my cheeks with the backs of my hands. "No." My voice cracked.

"Lilly -"

"No! I'm fucking ok. Just leave it."

Embry groaned, and pulled off of the interstate. I cried even harder, trying to keep it quiet, but the more I tried, the harder it became. We entered Omaha, and I didn't pay much attention to where he was driving. Embry pulled over on the side of the road. The gravel crunched underneath the tires and I turned away from him, hugging my stomach. Another sigh, and Embry got out of the truck. Before I could scramble away, he opened my door and grabbed my shoulders. "Stop it, Lilly." I took a deep breath, my waterworks still going. He unbuckled my seatbelt and pulled me out of the truck. Embry crushed me against him.

I pushed at his chest, but he wouldn't budge. "Let me go, Embry!"

"Not until you stop crying." He caressed my neck, and kissed the top of my head. I took a deep breath. "Look at me, Lilly," he whispered. I did, and he wiped my cheeks with his thumbs. "You are my best friend, and I couldn't ask for anyone better."

I took another huge breath and let it out slowly. "You're a real dick. You know that, right?"

He smirked, and nodded. "Yes, unfortunately Jacob tells me that all the time."

I tilted my head to the side, looking up at him. "Embry..." my voice was soft, barely a whisper. I need to tell you something. But I just don't know if I can. My lungs stung from all of the air I was breathing, but it felt good. He bent down and kissed me softly, barely even a kiss.

"Come on," he said after a few long moments. "We've only got about nine hours left." We kissed again, on my request. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling myself up to make it easier, seeing as Embry was almost a foot taller than me.

"I don't want to," I mumbled into his neck. He laughed, and squeezed me.

"Let's get going. We can be in Little Rock by tomorrow night. Let's go find a place to sleep." I sighed, and kissed him. It was still a strange thing to be so close to him, but the more we were, the more comfortable I became.