"Mommy, will you tell me a bed time story?" Helena tugged at my pant leg, sticking her lower lip out in a pout. Her ebony curls were in disarray and her pudgy cheeks were pink. Her four year old face was too much for me to resist; I had to give her a story.

"Sure sweetie, what would you like to hear? Little red riding hood? Goldilocks? Oh I know, Sleeping Beauty!" I swept her up in my arms, plopping her on the couch, tickling her sides. She giggled and squirmed around, almost falling off the edge of the couch, before I stopped.

Helena was gasping for breath when she tried to compose her face into a serious expression. Well, as serious as a four year old girl can manage. "No mommy, not Sleeping Beauty! I wanna hear about the time you and daddy met!" She sat up on her knees and looked up at me with her large eyes, her daddy's eyes. I smiled softly at her.

"Sure Helena, that sounds like a wonderful bedtime story." I leaned down to whisper in her small ear, "Should we make daddy help tell the story?" I laughed as she squealed in delight.

"Oh yes, yes! Can we please get him mommy? Please?" Helena was bouncing up and down on her knees, hands clasped in front of her.

"We'll go get daddy after you get ready for bed, alright?" She nodded her head enthusiastically, clapping her hands. She jumped off the couch, taking my hand in her tiny one. "Come on mommy, we have to brush teeth and change into pajamas!"

After brushing Helena's teeth, she chose a pair of pink pajamas with blue polka dots. They were her favorite. "Helena, I'm going to go bring daddy to your room. You go snuggle up and bed and get comfy." She nodded her head, and smiled at me. When I heard her feet padding down the hall towards her room, I went to find my husband.

I found him sitting at the kitchen table, finishing off the remnants of his supper. "Patrols run late?" I ran my hands over his shoulders, massaging gently. We remained in silence for a few moments while I waited for him to finish eating.

He turned to look at me, eyes filled with a tired sort of happiness. "Yeah, we caught a scent but it disappeared into the water. Sam made all of us stick around for an extra hour, just as a precaution." He stood up, circling his arms around my waist. I placed my hands on his chest and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"That's my wolf boy, protecting the tribe from bloodsuckers." He chuckled, the sound causing his chest to vibrate.

"Wolf boy? You mean wolf man, right? Because there is no way this-" he motioned towards his body, "is anything less than manly." It was my turn to laugh.

"Well, wolf man," I pulled away from him, twining our fingers, "Helena is waiting for us to tell her a bed time story."

We stopped in front of her room, pink wooden letters spelling out Helena across the door. He looked at me quizzically, his voice questioning, "Why do you need me to help with that?"

"Because she wants to hear the story of how we met." I kissed his nose. His fingers brushed against my collar bone. "Come on big guy, lets go tell our daughter a story!" He laughed and followed me into Helena's room.

"Daddy!" Helena yelled, jumping out of bed to hug him. "Did you scare all the monsters away?" She looked at him with her pleading brown eyes.

Laughter rumbled in his chest. "Yes Helena, I scared all the bad guys away, just for you!" They brushed noses, and Helena smiled happily, cuddling back into her purple covers. She patted the empty space next to her head and I sat down, followed by my husband.

"Tell the story now mommy, tell the story now!" Her curls were swirled out around her head and her small lips were turned upward.

"Okay okay, Miss Bossy Buttons. But try you're hardest to go to sleep. It's a long story and you have a doctor's appointment early tomorrow."

Helena sighed impatiently, "I know, I know mommy. The story?" I laughed and leaned back against the wall, stroking my little girl's hair. Her eyes closed briefly before she pushed my hands away. "The story mommy, the story!"

"Alright, alright, I'll get to the story," I laughed and closed my eyes remembering it.

Rain pattered against the roof of the small convenience store. My chin was resting in my hand as I sat reading Wuthering Heights. It was a slow day, not many customers. It was around three in the afternoon, almost time for my shift to be over. I toyed with a strand of my chocolate hair, as I read about Cathy and Heathcliff, of their love, their passionate, tragic love. Tears slid down my cheeks as I read about their story. The bell above the door chimed and I quickly tried to swipe the tears from my eyes. I knew my face would be blotchy but that couldn't be helped. I stuffed the book under the counter just as my third customer of the day rounded the shelves.

My eyes flitted over him briefly, but before I had the chance to turn back to my hidden book, I had to do a double take. Defined muscles were hidden underneath a tight black shirt, and rich black hair flew off his head in all directions.

He grabbed a package of hot dogs and hamburger buns. He turned as if to come check out but turned at the last second, swiping a bag of Lays off the shelf. I watched as he turned toward the register through a curtain of brown hair.

He threw his items on the counter, tapping his fingers against the linoleum counter top as I rang up his purchases. Keeping my hair in front of my face, I bagged his items. "Your total is $7.82."

I looked up briefly as I went to grab the ten dollar bill he was holding out. Our eyes met from under my lashes and his stare intensified. I ducked my head down, letting my hair fall like a curtain back over my face. I reached out to take the money from his but his fingers were clenched tight around the bill, shaking slightly.

I tugged at it and he seemed to realize what I wanted. He released the money and I procured his change. I looked up again and smiled tentatively. He grinned back.

That was my first encounter with Embry Call.