Mythical Beings & Mystical Feelings

I really hadn’t done much of anything since we got home that day. I stayed in the guest bedroom unless called for something or for meals. I still felt horrible for causing such a commotion a few days ago. I was also trying to remember where I had heard that name—Carlisle Cullen—from. It was taunting me every second of the day, a puzzle that seemed like it would forever remain unsolved.

I wanted to find that missing piece.

I needed to find that missing piece.

If I didn’t, it would probably be the death of me.

A knock on my door brought me out of my brooding mood and I looked up at the wooden barrier, crossing my legs comfortably on my bed. “If its Paul, fuck off,” I muttered, fully knowing that the person behind it would be able to hear me crystal clear. A familiar laugh made me smile, and I knew it was Embry. “Come in, Embry.”

The door opened and the tall boy walked in with his grin on his lips, closing the door behind him and sitting next to me on my bed.

“How’ve you been? You’ve been all alone in here for a while, and even though I’ve only known you for about a week, I know that’s not normal for you.” He said.

“I’m just thinking about everything that I caused.”

“You didn’t ‘cause’ anything. It was just something that was taken the wrong way. It happens, Ali.”

I smiled at the nickname—I hadn’t really had one before. “Ali?”

“It’s either that or Lia, which sort of reminds me of Leah, so… actually you’re stuck with Ali.” He smiled.

“I like Ali, but what about Lee?”

He put a hand under his chin and put on his ‘thinking cap’. “I think I can live with, Lee.” He rustled my hair with his large hand and we both laughed after I swatted it away.

“So, why did you come up here?”

“Can’t I just visit you whenever I please?”

“You can, but there’s usually a reason for a visit.”

“How about… just to see a friend?”

“I guess that’ll have to do for now.” I smiled. “Oh, what happened to that ‘conversation’ you, Sam, and that prissy bitch had?” I asked, referring to Paul.

He sighed. “Nothing. He yelled at Paul mostly. He told me that I had to keep myself in line too, not just Paul. He told Paul to get over himself and to treat you with respect because you saved Leah’s life.”

I chuckled. “Well, I’m glad that Paul got put in his place. I’m tired of him always snapping.”

“Yea, you and me both. Paul’s hating life right now though, so I’m pretty happy.” He laughed. “I’m sure he’ll warm up to you in a few weeks—maybe a few months.”

“I’d say years,” I rolled my eyes.

“Yea… you’re probably right.”

“Why was Jake with them that day?” I asked curiously.

“With who?—The Cullens?”

“Yea… yea, the Cullens.” I nodded.

“Oh… well, before she changed, Bella, the mother of Renesmee, was a close best friend since their diaper days.” He said. “Not to mention that Renesmee is his imprint.”

I felt my hands ball up into fists and the blankets that were beneath my fingertips were now scrunched up underneath my white knuckles.

Embry’s eyes looked down at my hands and his widened. “Whoa,” He chuckled. “Wait… do you… have a thing for Jake?” His eyebrows wiggled in suspicion. “Or did you imprint on him?” He grinned.

“That’s ridiculous. Female shifters do not imprint.” I lied and looked away from his penetrating gaze, feeling a blush creep upon my cheeks.

I seriously needed to improve my lying skills.

He burst out laughing. “You imprinted on him?!”

“Shut up, Embry!” I yelled and smacked him upside the head.

He continued to laugh. “Don’t worry, the only person here is Emily, and she can’t hear us from downstairs.” He said, rubbing the sore area. “So… you really did imprint on Jake?”

“Yes, but you’re not telling anyone, got it?”

“Yea, yea sure,”

“I’m serious, Embry. I don’t want anyone finding out about this.”

“Yes, I promise. But you’re going to have to tell him, you know.”

“Nope, that’s not on my to-do list.” I shook my head in disagreement.

“Why not?” He looked at me shocked. “Allia, he has the right to know that you imprinted on him.”

“It’d only complicate things, Embry. He has his own imprint.”

“So? Allia, it doesn’t change the fact that you imprinted on him. You’re always going to feel something for him no matter what. Hey, who knows… maybe he’ll return the feelings?”

“I doubt it.” I groaned out. “His heart is for Renesmee and for Renesmee alone. It doesn’t work both ways. It’s impossible. You can’t love two people with so much passion.” I said. “Besides, I imprinted on him. He didn’t imprint on me. He imprinted on the demon baby.”

“Don’t hate now, you know people can’t control who they imprint on.”

“Obviously. If I could control who I could imprint on, I’d have done it by now and not with Jacob.” I said. “He probably hates my guts because I growled at the girl.”

“Well, I wouldn’t put it that way, but he sure as hell isn’t fond of you right now.”

I felt my gut twist into a knot. Embry saying that Jacob didn’t like me right now really put me in the wrong mood…

“Sorry, didn’t mean to put you down or anything,” He said. “I just thought I’d warn you.”

“What do you mean ‘warn me’?” I eyed him suspiciously.

Something was just screaming at me that this wasn’t going to be good.

“Sam decided that you were going to go with Jacob patrolling tonight.” He grinned sheepishly.

“Oh my God…” I groaned and my face went straight into my hands in disbelief.

“Don’t worry, I’m patrolling, too!” He added quickly. “But… you’re not going to be able to hear me… and I’ll be running in the opposite direction, so…”

“You’re not going to be there.” I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for the false hope.”

“Anytime, Ali,” He smiled. “Hey think of it this way, he can’t hear you, and you can’t hear him.”

“What’s good about that?”

“It means that you don’t have to talk to him about what happened.”

“But I have to!” I yelled.

“Why?”

“Because I have to tell him how sorry I am for growling at that girl!” I explained. “If I don’t he’ll despise me forever.”

He chuckled. “Spoken like a true imprinter,”

“Oh shut it,”

I scolded myself mentally. What had happened to me fighting my instincts…? I didn’t have time for ‘love’, especially when I had other things to worry about—like Devin for instance. I had to kill that son of a bitch…

“You know what? Never mind, I don’t need to apologize for anything because I just remembered something. I don’t need anyone like Jacob. I don’t need an imprint. I can live without one.”

Embry’s jaw dropped. “That’s like saying that you want to try living without air… without food!”

Of course he’d concentrate more on the food part… I thought, and I felt my lips curve slightly upward in a small smile.

“Hey, I’ve survived this long without an imprint. I think I can live without one for the remainder of my life.” I shrugged.

“Yea, but now you’ll know that you actually have one. You didn’t know that before. This changes everything.” Embry debated. “It’ll kill you knowing that you lost your imprint without even trying to get him.”

“Damn it, I hate it when you’re right.” I muttered, causing him to smile victoriously. “Hey, Embry… why do you care so much?”

“I haven’t imprinted yet, and I want to… so badly. Every time I pass a new girl on the streets, I always hope that she’ll be the one, but it never ends up happening. I sometimes think I’ll never find an imprint, and that I might stay alone forever. Everyone else is imprinting and I’m the only one who hasn’t. Just yesterday, when Rachel, Jacob’s sister, came over for a visit, even Paul imprinted. Mother fucking Paul, who doesn’t give a shit about commitment, imprinted.” He sighed. “Maybe I’m not as good as the others.”

“Don’t start with the whole ‘self-pity’ thing, Embry. It’s so not you.” I said. “You’re looking at a girl who didn’t imprint until she was 114-years-old. These things take time, Embry. They don’t just magically happen like that… okay, so they do, but you know what I mean!” He laughed and nodded in understanding. “Just think of it this way… each girl you pass up isn’t special enough. The longer you wait for the right one, the more special that one will end up being. My guess is she’ll be amazing for you and everyone will love her.”

Embry smiled and pulled me into a hug. “Thanks, Ali that does make me feel better.” He said softly. “It means a lot.”

I nodded and pulled away from the warm and welcoming embrace. “Sure, Embry. You’re my number one.” I smiled.

There was a knock on the door and Emily’s head popped in. “Hey you two, everyone is just getting here. Come down, dinner’s ready.” She smiled.

We both exchanged hungry glances and went down the staircase and sat at the dining room table that was beginning to become crowded with hungry people with empty stomachs.

-{}-

Everyone had just left, Sam and Emily ascended the stairs up to their room, while the others headed to their respective homes. The only two remaining were Embry and Jacob who were still ravenously eating what seemed to be their fifth serving of dinner. I had finished on my second serving. My being only a half-shifter caused me to not have as big an appetite as they did.

I took my plate and my cup to the sink to wash it, and Embry and Jake soon brought me theirs. I washed them quickly, and finished minutes later only to find Jacob sitting down at the table, tapping his foot to an unknown beat impatiently.

“Um… where’s Embry?”

“He left for patrol,” Jake replied. “C’mon, let’s get going. We’re late.”

Awkwardly, I followed Jacob out of the house and towards the trees that would provide their usual cover for us.

I remembered the apology I wanted to make to Jake and decided that I should in fact do it right now. Even though I had decided to try and fight against my instincts to love him unconditionally, I still felt the need to apologize for being a threat to his imprint. It was the right thing to do.

“Wait,” I called before he disappeared to shift.

“What?” He asked sourly, turning to face me with an annoyed look.

Embry wasn’t lying when he said he was pissed at me.

“I’m sorry,” I began. “for growling at Renesmee and also at Bella. I didn’t know who she was and I went solely on smell and instincts. Then when I heard her heartbeat, I didn’t know what to do.” I said. “Bella came out and then my instincts took over again. I growled at her too, and then you came and I know it didn’t look pretty from your view.” He continued to look at me with his rock hard stare, not showing any sign of emotion—it was making me intimidated. “I just… I’m so sincerely sorry. I promise that I’ll never do it again. I know if someone ever tried to do something to someone I cared deeply about, I definitely would hate their guts, too.”

He sighed, and ran a hand through his black hair. “It’s fine… just… don’t do it again.” He said. “I should’ve made it more clear to you since you’re new here and all. Any normal shifter would’ve done the same thing.” He looked at me and I finally saw an emotion in his brown orbs—hope. “I’m glad that we can put this behind us.”

“Me too, thank you, for understanding.” I nodded.

He simply nodded. “Go on and shift. We’ll be heading to the north.”

I walked behind a few trees, tied my clothes onto the same string that Emily had given me, shifted, and walked out from behind my cover, seeing a familiar russet fur coat in the distance.

I jogged over to him and then we both began to sprint up north, sniffing the air and dirt beneath us for any scent of an unknown leech that could pose as a threat to anyone on the reservation. Hours had passed and nothing had been found. There was not a single trace of any bloodsuckers.

We were headed back towards Sam’s house when Jacob came to an abrupt halt. I stared at him funny, wondering what could’ve been wrong. He gave a quick motion to the right with a nod of his head, and went darting off. I followed him with speed and was right behind him as he raced into a new direction.

I was hoping that this had nothing to do with Embry being in danger.

A blur of gray came towards us and I saw the familiar dark spots on the animal’s back. It was an unscathed Embry. I smiled wolfishly and went up to him quickly, nudging him in the side with my head, thankful that he was alright.

By the way him and Jacob were staring intensely at each other, I knew that they were both deep in a mental conversation—a serious one. Embry turned and began to jog away, Jake followed and I could only assume that I had to follow as well, so I did.

Embry stopped and Jake and I sniffed the ground.

A low growl escaped my throat…

It was Devin.

He was here.

And I had just put a lot of people in danger.

Embry’s head nudged me and I saw concern in his dark brown eyes. I’d tell them all what happened when we got back home.

-{}-

“I’ll get Sam,” Jacob said.

“You’re not going to wait till the morning?” I asked.

“No, there’s a bloodsucker out there, we’ve got to tell him and the others.” He replied.

Embry came running up the porch stairs along with the others in tow. We had gone separate ways when we left the area. Jake and I came home, while Embry went for them.

Jacob and Sam soon came down, rubbing the sleep from his eyes tiredly and then looked at us with a serious expression. “What is it, Jacob?”

“There was smell, a new one.” He said. “Embry found it not far from the border.”

“Was it new or had it been there for a while—could you tell?”

“It was strong.” Embry said. “Maybe a day old.” He looked over at me. “Why’d you growl, Ali?”

“It was Devin. The vampire I was talking about.” I said. “He’s here for me.” I looked at Sam, ashamed. “I’m sorry for coming here. I’ll leave immediately if that’s what you want, I can understand. He’ll follow me away from here and La Push will be safe again.”

“No,” Embry said. “We’ll take him.”

“Devin’s dangerous. You don’t know the full capability—”

“We’ll take him.” Jacob restated. “It’s only a stupid leech, Alia. Besides, we’re a pack, you were alone when you fought him. We’ve got numbers. We’ll take him out in a second.”

I sighed, but gave a nod.

“Okay, we’ll talk more about this in the morning.” Sam decided. “Go home and get some rest guys.”

Sam retreated up the stairs and the rest of the guys left. Embry was the only one who remained.

He gave me a smile and then a warm hug. “Don’t worry, Lee, we’ll get him. We’re smarter than that stupid leech.” He said. “See ya in the morning. Night.”
“Bye, goodnight.” I said and walked up the stairs as Embry left the premises.

I changed my clothes, and crawled into bed, honestly tired. I stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, my mind absolutely buzzing with thoughts and suspicions.

What in the world could stupid Devin be doing here?

Finally, my eyes began to droop, and I fell asleep soundly.

“Who are they, Daddy?”

“Vampires… they’re known as vampires.” He said gravely. “They’ll attack you and hurt you to do things that will make them feel better. I don’t want to tell you what they do exactly, it’s too grotesque for you to hear at this age. Avoid them at all costs. You’ll know who they are immediately when you’re older.”

“Why Daddy?”

“That’s just in their nature.” He sighed. “It cannot be helped. Promise me that you’ll avoid all vampires, but will trust in one in particular.”

“Of course, Daddy!”

He smiled. “That’s my girl. There’s one vampire who you can always trust no matter what—his name is Carlisle Cullen. He’s actually a friend of mine.” He said. “You and your mother have to find him. It’s like he’s playing hide-n-seek, alright?”

“That sounds fun, Daddy!” I shouted.

“It is fun, Allia,” he smiled and then hugged me. “Daddy has to go and run an errand right now, but I’ll be back—I promise. You can count on me.”

“Okay!”

He kissed the top of my head and then walked to the door. “I’ll see you,” He smiled. “Sleep tight, dream of me and your mother.”

I nodded eagerly and he walked out of the room.

My father walked down the hallway, and towards the door, kissing my mother goodbye and slinging his cloak over his shoulders. He walked out of the house and over to his large white horse that was drinking and eating from the feeder, taking the reins and getting upon the saddle. The horse’s head went up in slight surprise and my father led the horse away from the feeder and down the trail at a brisk walk until they were at a sprint.

They left Pienza and continued to head through other small villages in Tuscany, until they came to one in particular… Volterra.

When my father reached a certain building, the horse refused to go on, trotting back a few steps. My father got off of the horse and patted his head soothingly to calm him down as he took off his riding gear.

“I’m afraid that this is the end of the line for us,” He said. “Thank you for getting me here. Go on,” He slapped the horse’s side and the horse went galloping off, getting the idea.

My father turned to the building, walked through the door, and then headed downstairs into the darkness. He walked out and came to large, towering double doors and went through them.

People were lined up against the walls in an orderly fashion, while three sat in king-like stone chairs.

“Aro,” My father greeted, not showing fear to the intimidating group.

The one in the middle with dark brown hair, an all black suit for his attire, chalk white skin, and piercing, blood red eyes smiled a wicked and pleased smile. “Ah, Phillip, how nice to see you again.” He spoke. “Did you think about my offer?” His wicked smile grew.

“Yes, I’ve decided that I’ll be stepping in for my daughter.” He stated.

Aro’s grin faltered, but remained on his face nonetheless. “Fine, that’s acceptable.” He spoke. “Come here.”

My father walked towards him and his footsteps echoed in the large room, the air thickening with tension. Aro stood up and smiled when Phillip reached him. Aro moved his neck to the side, his lips curling up and revealing his white and elongated fangs. They soon punctured his neck, and everyone could hear the pleasing ‘sucking’ sound as Aro drank his blood, but only Phillip could feel it.

He screamed and thrashed around in Aro’s tight grasp. Aro pulled away soon, wiped his mouth clean daintily with a silk white handkerchief and put it away in his pocket.

Phillip was now on the ground, writhing and yelling in pain.

Aro looked at him in slight pity. “Take him to his chambers.” Aro looked at his few guards expectantly, who then began to quickly grab Phillip and hold him up by taking one arm over each shoulder. “Oh, and Phillip…” My father’s head slowly rose up shakily, and looked at him through his blurry vision. “Welcome to the Volturi.”