Primitive Instincts

R I V E R

I'm not sure how long Embry and I just stood there, wrapped in each others arms. All i knew was that it felt right. I eventually sighed and pulled away, looking up at him and smiling.

"Let's go." i whispered, trying not to wake Max. I wasn't even sure what we were going to do. All i knew was that we were going to be headed towards the beach. Which could mean another bonfire, a day in the water, a picnic, or maybe it would be like in those romance movies when they rode horses in the sand. I had no idea. He grabbed my hand and we walked back down the hall.

"First, you'll need a bathing suit." he smiled. "Now hurry up, i wanna see how you look in a bikini." he said, shaking his eyebrows at me. I made a face and shoved him, then proceeded to cross my arms over my chest feeling extremely embarassed.

"Yeah well i want breakfast first." i said, hoping i might look semi-healthy with a full stomach. I ran in to the kitchen and found everyone already gathered around the table. I walked around the table, trying to find an open spot and found one next to Seth, one of the youngest in the pack. He seemed nice.

I sat down next to him and grabbed my plate, trying to get a good amount of food on it before Emily gave the go-ahead to the rest of the boys.

"Hey Seth." i whispered, not really sure if i was allowed to make friendly conversation with other people in the pack. He looked away from one of the other guys and smiled at me.

"Hey River. How are you feeling today?" he asked, trying not to make it obvious but he glanced down at my stomach. I knew i was skinny and needed to gain a lot of weight back but it still made me self-concious when someone noticed.

"Um a lot better actually." i smiled, biting into a giant muffin i had finished slathering with butter. I put four peices of bacon, three link sausages, and a giant scoop of cheesy eggs on my plate as well.

"How about you? That...um...meeting seemed kinda intense." i said, thinking back to the way Embry had been ready to pounce on that other wolf. I still hadn't figured out who it was.

"Are you talking about Embry and Paul?" he guessed, smiling a little bit. "It wasn't anything serious, Paul can just be a real dick sometimes." he whispered, but loud enough so that Paul snapped his head over at us and growled like he would when he was in wolf form. "Calm down Paul." Seth sighed, rolling his eyes at the temperamental shape-shifter.

I laughed lightly and then felt the bench seat groan beneath me. I looked over and saw Embry sliding in next to me, causing a grumble of protest from the left half of the seat.

"Hey." i smiled, noticing how he seemed to be glaring at Seth. I rolled my eyes and grabbed his hand, rubbing my thumb across his own. He returned his attention to me and locked his eyes with my own. I saw his face slip into a smile and then finished my breakfast.

"Kim do you have a swim suit River can borrow?" Embry asked around a huge mouthful of eggs. I rolled my eyes and looked at Kim. It had been a while since i'd talked to her and i wanted to catch up.

"Yeah. Come on." she said, to me, wiping off her mouth and then dragging me with her outside. We walked all the way down the road and through town, catching up and talking about random stuff until we reached her house.

She pulled me into her room, explaining that her parents were both at work. I wondered why she wasn't in school today but shrugged it off, it wasn't any of my business. I followed her into her room and was finally able to catch my breath. She had blue walls and a black bed-spread with pictures of her and Jared all over the walls. It was cute.

"Here." she said, tossing me a striped, green and grey bikini out of one of her drawers. "The bathroom is down the hall, you can change in there and I'll call the guys and tell them to meet us at the beach." she smiled. I smiled back but as soon as i was out of the room my face fell. How on Earth could i wear a bikini in front of Embry?

I closed the bathroom door and leaned against it. I sighed and striped down to nothing and quickly jerked on the bathing suit without looking at myself. Then I gave up and turned to the mirror. My body looked a little too thin but nothing too bad. But that wasn't the problem. Then i turned around and looked at my back in the mirror. Several long crude scars ran down the length of my back.

Some over-lapped others, making them seem extra noticeable. I closed my eyes to stop the tears from falling. I hated those scars so much. I refused to be seen without something covering them. I picked up my purple plain t-shirt off the ground and put it back on over the swim suit top. Embry would just have to settle for seeing my legs.

I kicked back on my flip flops and opened the door. Kim was standing outside, waiting for me. She glanced curiously at my shirt but didn't say anything.

"Let's go!" she smiled, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of the house, not even bothering to lock the door. Everyone liked each other here. And i was just starting to get comfortable with everyone.

I thought we would head straight to the beach but instead we started hiking up a path through the woods.

"Ummm Kim, i thought we were going to the beach..." i started, getting a little nervous as the path began to wind uphill.

"Well...not exactly." she said, and smiled back at me. "Don't worry, it'll be fun." she said, putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder. I still felt nervous though and i began to feel perspiration gather on my forehead.

The trees began to thin and i found myself at the cliffs again, with all of the guys already there and jumping around like a bunch of excited little kids.

I let Kim run ahead of me and crossed my arms over my chest, feeling a little sick. She stripped to her cute little red and black bikini while i kept my shirt on and just kicked my shoes off.

Embry walked over to me and raised his eyebrows at my shirt.

"Don't ask." i sighed, really not wanting to explain. He nodded but i could still see the curiousity behind his eyes.

"LET'S DO THIS!!!!" i heard Paul scream, and then run and jump off the edge of the cliff. I let out a small shreak and ran as close do the edge as i dared. I watched Paul hit the water with a splash.

"Oh my god." i breathed, holding my breath and then i saw him resurface close to the shore. I released the breath and put a hand on my head, feeling dizzy from the height. I backed away, a little unstable. "What the hell?!" i screamed at the guys, who seemed to be laughing their butts off. I was scared, and Kim seemed the catch on and put a hand on my shoulder.

"It's just cliff diving River. It's okay." she said. That's when Embry realized that i was really scared. He walked over and pulled me into a hug. I heard another yelp as Seth ran and jumped off the edge as well.

"It's fun. I promise." he said, looking in my eyes.

"No, no E-embry you don't understand," i began, hearing another person go and jump. Embry had walked us farther away from the edge and i couldn't see Kim anywhere. "I have this thing with..with..." i trailed off, gripping his arms tightly and probably digging my nails into them, although he didn't react.

"With what?" he asked, searching my face.

"Heights." i whispered. I heard another person jump. I was starting to feel foolish.

"River," he started, placing a hand on my cheek. That didn't do anything to help steady my breathing. "I'll jump with you okay?" he asked, motiong towards the cliff. Everyone had jumped by now, leaving just Embry and I still at the top.

"Embryyyy..." i whined, feeling a small sheen of tears start to gather over my eyes. I was realllyyyy, afraid of heights. I closed my eyes until they were gone.

"River...do you trust me?" he asked, pushing me away and moving towards the edge of the cliff. He extended his hand towards me.

"You know i do it's just....it's a long way to fall." i stated.

"I'm not gonna let anything happen to you River. I promise." he said, leaving his hand out to me. I looked into his eyes, trying to find any hint of mock or uncertainty in them.

And i believed him.

I will never know why but i walked over to him and grabbed his hand. He pulled me closer to him and we ran towards the edge, leaping out over the rock and into the open air.

I opened my mouth and let out a terrified scream so loud that i was sure people on the road could hear it. I kept my arms wrapped around Embry's shoulders as we plummeted towards the water. I felt the air rush past us and raise goose-bumps on my arms and legs.

I closed my eyes and gulped down a huge breath as we hit the water and were driven down so that the light was starting to fade. Then there was a moment of weightlessness before Embry began kicking towards the surface, dragging me with him.

When we broke the surface i let out a little yelp of surprise that the air felt so cold. I kept my arms around his shoulders and wrapped my legs around his waist, holding on for dear life.

"I probably should've mentioned," i began, feeling my teeth start to chatter, "that i c-can't swim." i said, feeling myself shake from the temperature and from the after effects of the exhilaration.

Embry stared at me for a second before letting out a booming laugh that was extremely contagious. I felt my own chest start to vibrate as tiny, and eventually hysterical giggles.

"That scared the shit out of me." i managed to choke out between laughs.

"Good." he said, before pulling me into a kiss that was interrupted by more of our laughter.

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

We continued to jump off the cliffs until dinner time, when everyone else decided to head back to Sam and Emily's. I, on the other hand, went home with Embry to meet his mom. I was so full of energy and still hyped up on adrenaline that i was practically bouncing up and down as he knocked on the door.

I was squeezing his hand so tight that i was sure any normal guy would've been crying out in pain. But Embry wasn't a normal guy, and he certainly didn't seem to mind, considering he looked just as nervous as i felt.

The door swung open to reveal an averaged height woman with long dark hair and some of the same facial features as Embry. She was beautiful. But she looked tired, and worried. For a moment it didn't seem like she had comprehended that Embry was standing there, but when it finally settled in she gasped and yanked the door open.

"Embry! Where in God's name have you been?" she cried, pulling him into an awkward hug considering his height. i was taller than her as well and it seemed odd that this woman had even been able to give birth to a child who had grown into such a tall young man.

"I've been...busy mom." he said, i could tell that he wanted to tell her. But he wouldn't. He probably never would.

"Well you couldn't have picked up a phone and called? Or come home at night? Or even told me you were leaving? I woke up in the middle of the night to check on you and you were gone Embry. Poof! I have been worries sick! You are in sooo much trouble young man. When I..." she trailed off, just noticing i was standing there. "Who is this?" she asked politely, trying to regain her composure. Before she had seemed on the verge of tears, and i actually felt a little irritated at Embry for putting his own mother, who loved him, in such a state. But not too angry. I could never be very mad or stay mad at him.

"This is my girlfriend mom. This is River. River this is my mom." he said, stepping back and motioning between us. I could tell he had never done this before and wasn't really sure what he was supposed to say or do.

"You didn't tell me you had a girlfriend." she said, looking a little hurt before she shook it off and turned a bright smile to me. "Hi River I'm Ms. Call. I'd like to say I've heard all about you but..well...i haven't she said." throwing in a half-hearted laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Call. I actually have heard a lot about you." i smiled. She seemed nice, kind, and everything a mother should be.

"Well...it's getting late, why don't you too come inside for dinner. I'm sure i can wipe something up." she smiled, sighing a tired but friendly sigh.

"Thank you Ms. Call." i smiled, walking into the house and wondering what exactly would happen tonight.