I woke up the next morning, and Embry wasn't there. I almost freaked out, not knowing where one of my only support system was. I grabbed my pillow and held it to my chest. If only he was there.

"Payton!" Emily called from downstairs. "I made breakfast!"
I moaned, got out of bed, and slouched downstairs. When I got down there, all the boys were there. I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Hey, Payton!" Paul got up and hugged me warmly. "God, it's so good to have you back."

I smiled. "Thanks."

"Get off my girl, jerk," Embry laughed, and then took me in his arms. "How are you baby?"

"Good," I whispered. "And you?"
"Great, now that you're here."

I smiled softly and rested my head on his chest.

Emily called from the kitchen again. Breakfast must've been ready because when I walked in, Jared, Jacob, and Quil were there. I slowly took my seat, and Emily put a plate of food in front of me; Embry sat down next to me.

I looked down at my plate of food and sighed. It was great and had all my favorites (eggs, bacon, toast, chocolate chip pancakes, and sausage), but my stomach was still in knots that I couldn't even eat. How was I supposed to eat when I was freaked out of my mind?

"Payton?" Emily came behind me and put her hands on either side of the back of my chair. "Are you going to eat?"

I looked up at her. "Yeah, I guess."

"You don't have to eat if you don't want to," she assured me. "I won't be offended."

"Sorry, Emily," I whispered. "I'm just not hungry."

"Are you sure?" Embry asked me.

I looked over at him. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"It worries me when you don't eat," he told me.

"I'm just not hungry," I repeated.

He shook his head and turned his eyes away. I felt so bad. It wasn't like I didn't want to eat; I just couldn't. I wanted to make everyone feel better; I felt like it was my fault everyone was so upset.

I looked down at my food for a second before asking Emily to take it away. All the guys, except Embry, had already left the kitchen and went into the living room.

"I'll leave you two some time alone," Emily whispered, and then left.

I couldn't look Embry in the eye, but I could feel his gaze on me. He wouldn't stop looking at me.

"Payton, you're scaring me," he whispered.

"Why?"

He took my hand. "Because you're depressed all the time. I don't want you to be depressed anymore; it makes me depressed."

I looked up at him. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?"

"Because I make everyone upset. If I hadn't even come, then everyone's lives would be better."
"Don't ever say that, Payton." His voice was soft, but I could hear the firmness in his tone. "If you weren't here, my life would be empty. A part of me would always be missing. And what about Emily? Or Sam? Or Jared? Or Kim? Or Camryn? Or Jacob? Or Taya? Or Quil? Or Paul? How do you think they'd feel? They'd be devastated if you were gone. You can't talk like that."
Suddenly, I burst into tears. I didn't know why I was even crying; I felt so stupid. Embry quickly took me in his arms and pulled me onto his lap as I cried.

"Oh, baby," he whispered. "I didn't mean to make you cry. Please stop crying."

"It's not your fault," I cried. "It's mine. I'm selfish."

"Payton, you're not selfish." He took my chin with his warm, muscular hand. "Do you know why I love you?"

"Why?"

"Because you're amazing, and you're not selfish. Besides, even if you were selfish, I would still love you. I could never stop loving you."
"Why Embry?"

He looked me straight in the eye. "Because I imprinted on you."

My eyes widened with curiosity. "Imprinted?"
"Fuck." He immediately ran his hand through his hair. "I should NOT have said that."

"No, tell me," I whispered. "What's imprinting?"

"It's hard to explain," he continued.

I dried my eyes. "I'm listening."

"I don't think you want to know," he whispered.

"I do. Please tell me."

"Well, me and the boys, we're something different; something you probably never thought was real."

"What are you?"

"I'm, well, I'm…."

"Please tell me," I whispered.

He looked up at me with soft eyes. "We're werewolves."
Immediately, I got off his lap.

"What?"
"I told you, you didn't want to know."

"How long have you been a werewolf?" I screamed. "How long have you not told me?"

"I've been a werewolf for at least two years," he whispered. "I didn't want to tell you because you were going threw so much, and I didn't want you to be scared of me; I never want you to be scared of me. I love you so much, and I don't ever want you to be scared of anything. Please don't be upset or scared. I would never hurt you."

"All the boys are werewolves?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Even Sam?"
He nodded once more.

"So I'm surrounded by shape-shifting freaks?"

"We're not freaks." He sounded hurt. "It's not our fault we're werewolves."
"Then whose fault is it?"

"The Cullens," he growled.

"The Cullens?"

"They live in Forks."

"What makes them so special? How did they turn you into werewolves?"

He shook his head. "It's so complicated."

"You're werewolves. How much more complicated could this get?"

"Well, when our tribe first started, we were attacked by people we called "the cold ones". They reeked havoc in our land and wouldn't let us be. So, to protect the tribe, a few select members of the tribe were turned into shape-shifters. We're descendents of those select tribe members."

"But where do the Cullens come in?"

"They're the cold ones," he growled.

"What are "cold ones"?"
"They're vampires."
"So… there are vampires and werewolves in this area?"
He nodded. "It seems that way, doesn't it?"
"So, what is imprinting?"

"It's when a male werewolf finds his mate for the rest of his life. He will do anything for that woman; he'll be a boyfriend, or a husband, or even a friend if need be. And you're my imprint. From the first time I saw you, Payton, it was like my heart started beating for the first time."
"What about Kim and Cameryn and Taya?" I asked. "What about them?"

"Kim is Jared's imprint, Cameryn is Paul's imprint, and Taya is Jacob's imprint. Actually, Emily is Sam's imprint."

I nodded. "Oh."

Everything felt so weird. It was just a few minutes ago when I trusted Embry again, and I didn't even know what to say after that. I needed to know that he was a werewolf, and he kept that from me. Why the other guys hadn't told me they were werewolves, I didn't understand. All I knew was that I was lied to for the past two years of my life, and that didn't feel very good.

"You're upset, aren't you?" he whispered.

I nodded. "Kinda."

"I don't want you to be upset."
"Then you should've told me in the first place."

"If you knew before I caught your dad, you wouldn't have even given me the time of day, would you?"
I thought for a second, and I knew he was right. If he told me this news before, I wouldn't have talked to him. I would've been too scared to even look at him. But, since I had been with him for about a year and a half, it felt a little better knowing after my dad was in jail. It made me feel safer.

"Yeah, you're right," I whispered.

He smiled softly. "Then why aren't you in my arms?"

I shook my head and smiled back as I walked back into his arms. He pulled me onto his lap again and pressed my head against his chest. Everything felt so weird, so strange; it was like I didn't know any of the guys anymore, but I didn't care. I felt protected knowing all the guys were werewolves and that they had imprints, because it meant that they would protect us girls no matter what.

"Embry, I love you."

He petted my hair. "I love you too, Payton."

"I'm gonna go upstairs and take a shower," I laughed. "I look like shit."

"You always look good to me," he chuckled back.

"Thanks." I removed his hands from my body. "Now I'm going to take a shower. I'll be back down soon, and you can hold me then."
"Alright, Payton, I'll be waiting."

I slowly let go of his hand and walked upstairs.