/AN: Hey guys, i hope you like this - it my longest chapter yet, and please please please R&R! I need to know what you guys think :)

all rights go to the original author of twilight.

Chapter Nineteen – Look at me.

Patrolling had become almost all Embry did. I barely saw him. But I could always count on the fact that when I was lying in bed in the middle of the night, I'd wake for a split second to hear my bedroom door click, my mattress dip on the right side and then feel arms carefully sliding around my waist to hold me, and in the morning I'd wake up on a chest going up and down.

But generally life was becoming harder. I was still scared to bits whenever I had to leave the Rez, but after the incident at the supermarket, someone from the pack always came with us when Kim and I went to classes. It was moments like that I wondered what my life had become. I was now girlfriend of a shape shifter, in danger of being attacked by vampires and might never travel to see the world again. All my focus was on what I was loosing or giving up, which obviously gave way to some heavy arguments between Embry and I. It seemed that arguing had become our way of communicating, and the others felt it too. Kim had become even more focused on wanting to talk whenever we were alone, not being followed around by a 'bodyguard', and that did help sometimes. But everybody in the Rez was visibly more on edge, arguing more and so were we.

That morning wasn't any different.

"Why would I spend all my time at your house when you're never here anyway?" I said while packing my bag for classes.

"I know I've been gone quite a lot, but I'm still here when you go to sleep?" Embry tried.

"Correction, you're there when I'm already asleep Em, and if I'm lucky, I get to see you in the morning for an hour before you leave again." I grabbed my lunch from the fridge walked towards the sofa to fetch my jumper.

"Okay point taken, but it'll be over soon, and then we'll just go back to how we were before those idiots showed up. I know it's really frustrating now," Embry sat on the stairs watching me walk around hurriedly.

I let out a frustrated sigh. Where the hell was my textbook for creative writing?

"Of course it's frustrating! I don't remember signing up for any of this! I came here to finish a degree and now I can't even go to my classes without a bodyguard! And where the hell is my book?" I threw a comforter to the side while searching his sofa getting more and more agitated.

"You know it's necessary to have someone with you when you go to classes Nica." He sounded like he was done with this discussion and probably was since it wasn't exactly the first time we'd had it.

"I KNOW! GOD! Sometimes I wish I'd never actually come here!" I didn't even look at him when I said it. I didn't mean it either. But his silence stopped my movement as I fully registered what I'd just said. His eyes said it all. His posture was ridged and he was biting the inside of his cheek not looking at me. I dropped my bag on the sofa and walked over to him, held his head in my hands trying to force him to look at me.

"I'm sorry Em, I didn't mean that…Look at me…I really didn't. I just…I just wish things were different right now. I'm sorry."

His body gradually relaxed and his tension was released by each sentence. He let out a long and deep sigh.

"I know you didn't, just…don't say stuff like that…please." He still didn't look me in the eyes.

"I'm sorry…I was just frustrated." We kept still like that for a bit, resting our foreheads together and breathing in and out until we were both calmed down.

"Why don't we just stay home together today?" I asked, thinking it would be just what we needed. It felt like there was something unfinished and in need of urgent care. Maybe even damage control, but I wasn't sure what it was. It was just a feeling.

"I don't think we can…you have classes and I-"

"-Have patrolling…I know…" I finished for him.

Just as if on queue, Kim knocked on the doorframe, getting our attention.

"Hey guys…ready Nica?" She seemed to know she'd just stepped into a delicate situation, and sent us a small comforting smile.

I let go of Embry and went over to get my bag from the sofa. I looked back at him briefly when walking out the door, saying a small "bye" which was met with a sad side-smile and a tiny wave that almost shouldn't be called a wave.

We sat in the car on our way to classes and Kim had been side glancing at me the whole time. I sat there in a slumped position with my head resting against the window.

"Just say it Kim," I said in a calm voice.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" she tried carefully.

I let out a deep sigh.

"Yeah I do…but I can't because we're not exactly alone…"

Kim looked back at Paul who sent her a smile that seemed to say sorry.

"It'll change soon…it'll be over then."

"I know…I just…we argue all the time."

"I know…I hate not seeing Jared as much as before…"

"It's just that…it's been like this a while now…it feels like it's who we are now…" Kim looked at me as if she wanted to say something, tell me I was wrong, but she kept her mouth shut.

The rest of the way was in driven in silence and I drifted in and out of sleep only realizing so, because the song on the radio had changed.

That day seemed longer than most, and I was caught countless times daydreaming instead of paying attention to the teachers.

The drive home wasn't too different from the drive there, but I was texting Jules who had been picking up on the mood I was in and wanted to know what was going on. I told her that it was just boyfriend trouble and her response was typical Jules. First heartfelt, then an attempt to lighten the mood by saying I should just stay single like her. I did smile, because we both knew she didn't stay single voluntarily. I considered setting her up with one of the guys from the Rez but then had a shameful thought of not wanting to inflict the burden on her that inevitably followed. I was ashamed of that thought because I for a brief moment thought that I wouldn't have chosen this life for myself. My mind was really fucked up when we entered the Rez and when I told Kim to drop me off at my own place instead of Embry's she shot me a very worried look.

"Are you sure?" she asked, clearly hoping I'd change my mind.

"Yeah…I'm sure."

I was dropped off at my own house and took a deep breath when I walked through the door, inhaling all the now familiar smells. I felt it calm me down a bit, and I let myself slide down the door with my back turned against it.

I don't know for how long I sat there, but when I got up, I was sore and the darkness had taken over though out the house. I didn't have anything in the fridge, but I had some cup-noodles in the cupboard.

As I ate curled up on the sofa, I watched a romantic film I had watched a million times before. 'French kiss' was the name of it. It told the tale of a strong-minded woman who fought to get her fiancé back, even though he clearly wasn't meant for her. And along the way she meets a man who's rough around the edges but charming and caring, though he'd never admit it himself. Done eating, I felt consumed by the film, in fact so much that I didn't even hear the door open and close.

I jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder and coward away from it looking up towards the owner.

"It's just me," Embry said in a calm voice.

I looked into his eyes. There was something I couldn't place, but it almost looked like fear. He shouldn't be back from patrolling yet so I knew something was wrong.

He walked around the sofa and crouched down in front of me, his hand sliding from my shoulder to my hand, holding it while looking into my eyes.

"Look at me…tell me what you see," he said, in a careful tone.

I searched his eyes.

"I see fear…" I said, not sure what he wanted me to say besides that.

His eyes flickered a second before he continued:

"What else…"

"…I don't know…"

He kept looking into my eyes and I could tell he had a burning question and that he was afraid to ask me.

"Are you leaving me Nica…?"

His voice didn't even waver. It didn't crumble to his fear of the answer. It was strong and even, but not confident or loud.

I felt my mouth dry and I could barely think.

"I…I-I…" my mind clouded and words wouldn't come out. I couldn't look him in the eyes, and he let go of my hand.

We sat in silence for a while. I felt my eyes well up and I tried to figure out what to say. How to go back before everything became this hard.

He got up from where he was sitting, still not looking at me. I could see he was trying to say something, he kept opening his mouth a bit, but nothing but a strangled noise came out. It sounded a bit like pain. I think it was.

He started moving towards the door and I shot up from my seat panicking.

"Please Embry…don't go! Stay, please!" I begged, and felt the first tear fall.

He stopped, with his back turned towards me. I heard him sniffing briefly.

"I can't…I can't stay if you're leaving." His voice was small but I could tell he meant it.

"I don't know what to do Embry…I just need a bit of time…" I said in almost a whisper, my voice effected because I was crying. I moved closer to his still turned back.

"And you don't…you don't think your silence said it all?" he asked with his head turned a bit, not fully facing me though.

I didn't know what to say again. I reached out, trying to touch him.

"Don't," Embry whispered just before my fingers reached his shirt.

"But…right now you're the one leaving Embry…" I said just a low as him.

"Don't do that. Don't pretend it's me doubting this…us." He sounded angry but mostly hurt.

"I just…I don't have all the answers yet…I don't know if-"

"-If you're leaving me!" he finished.

He let out a sigh, and then wiped his eyes in a quick and angry way.

"Maybe that's the answer!"

And with that he stormed out of the door. It took me a moment to fathom what had just happened. I ran out after him calling his name, but he didn't stop. He shifted and disappeared into the woods and I was left there in the dark starring into the trees.

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. I knew what had happened, but I felt paralyzed, stuck to the gravel in my driveway. I don't know for how long I stood there, but Kim came running after a while towards me and approached me carefully. I assumed Jared had heard what had happened and sent Kim to see me.

She put an arm around me and just as she did I broke down. I crumbled to the ground and cried so hard I barely gave myself time enough to breathe. She held me as tightly as she could and kept whispering that it would be okay, that we'd figure it out and not to worry it wasn't the end of him and me.

After what seemed like an hour but must have been about 20 minutes in reality, she helped me inside and took me to bed.

"He just needs to cool off, I'm sure of it!" She said while stroking my back in a comforting way.

"I should have said something. Made him stay…" I said my voice raw from the continuous crying.

"He was upset, and he needed to get away Nica. They do this when they get upset…they're afraid they'll do what Sam did to Emily…that's why they need distance…"

I thought about it. I had been told about the argument that had made Sam so angry that he had slashed his girlfriends face open, and how lucky she was that she'd not lost her sight. He would never forgive himself for that, even after she did.

"But…we're broken up now Kim…how did everything get so messed up?"

Kim shushed me quietly and held me closer while I started crying again.

"It's not the end of you two Nica…you'll figure it out! Maybe even tomorrow already."

She stayed the night and held me until I stopped crying and fell asleep.

I woke up feeling sore all over. It felt like every bone in my body was aching. I opened my eyes and at first felt confused because Embry wasn't there. But then I remembered what had happened the night before and my throat closed up as my eyes started to well up again. Everything was so fucked up. Kim moved next to me and I realized that she'd stayed because I was upset the night before.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" She asked, sleep still holding on to her voice.

"I'm not sure…I can't believe it happened," I said. I sat fidgeting with the edge of the covers trying not to cry again.

"I think I'm gonna go for a walk…you know…to clear my head…do you mind?"

Kim looked at me with a small sad smile.

"No of course not…take all the time you need…want me to stay here until you get back or?"

We both sat with our backs against the headboard.

"No that's okay…you should go home to Jared…it's enough that one of us is now single, go nurse your relationship," I joked, or at least attempted to joke. Kim sent me a crooked smile.

"You guy's will figure it out…and in the meantime, you should figure out what you want…for everybody's sake."

A pang of guilt ran through me, and I couldn't look her in the eyes. Instead I nodded and got up to get dressed in a warm knitted jumper and long denim trousers so I could just brush my teeth and be on my way out.

A couple of days passed and I didn't have any contact with him. I woke up from nightmares and slept horribly. I knew I should reach out and talk to him, but I had no idea what to say. I needed time to figure this whole thing out and figure out what I wanted to do. Taking walks was helping me clear my head and Kim was there for me to hear my gradual progress. We went to our classes and life was getting normal. Paul was always with us when we went into town. He was kind enough to not give his opinion on what had happened or tell me how Embry was doing. That day I had come home to a bag on my porch. It was filled with the things I had left at Embry's house.

It had been a week since that night we broke up and talking a walk every day had become my way of coping with my thoughts and that day I did something that I hadn't done in a while. I put in headphones, turned my phone onto fly mode and basically unplugged from everything around me. I just walked. Through the woods, passing tree after tree and went deeper than I'd ever gone before. The woods seemed to swallow me up and it took my mind with it. I needed to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I loved Embry, I knew that much. But why couldn't I tell him that night if I was leaving him or not? What was holding me back?

I thought about my life up until now. I had been looking for a family and a place to belong since I was 17 years old, but I had also been running away from it. I almost found it with Tom, but his betrayal had made me question everything about myself again. I didn't think I was worth anything, or that anyone could love me, like I loved them. And that's when it hit me. I didn't really believe Embry loved me.

I know it sounds crazy, I thought it was too. I stopped dead in my tracks and starred at nothing while I just thought.

I doubted his love for me because of the imprint. Was he brainwashed by his DNA or supernatural side or whatever thing that made him imprint on me or did he truly love the person I was? And did it matter if it was just the imprint? It was still love…right?

I started breathing faster because I couldn't figure it out. I didn't know how to tell the difference between real-love and just imprint-love. And what if there was no difference? Or maybe there COULD be a difference but there wasn't in this case? I needed to figure out what I wanted!

My mind was so clouded and I couldn't think straight. I had begun walking again without realizing, and found myself in front of a deep rift in the ground with a tiny clearing in front of it. There was perhaps a hundred meters down and it was at least 6 meters wide. My fear of heights created a tiny pull in my stomach and I took a step back and let out a deep breath. I looked around me and saw a knocked over tree and decided to sit.

"I can't live like this…" I said out loud.

Lost in thought I took out my phone, turned it off fly mode and saw the messages tick in. Three from Kim, saying reassuring things. Non from the one person I wanted to hear from the most.

"Nica,"

I whipped my head around towards the voice that had just said my name and stood up in one quick motion.

I thought to scream and wondered why I wasn't already. It wasn't until his hand was covering my mouth in a strong almost painful grip that I realized I already was.

"Don't be scared…" his voice was silky and tempting.

I shivered against his cold dead skin and my eyes couldn't leave his golden ones. He shushed me still covering my mouth. I couldn't move and noticed the cold on my arms as well. I looked to the sides and there were more of them.

"Don't scream…I'm going to let go, but please don't scream," the cold man said to me. I'd never seen him before, but I knew what he was. He took his hand off my mouth slowly and held his eye contact as if he could read my mind if he stared into them long enough.

"You don't have to be scared, we have no intention of hurting you," the one on the right said to me still holding my hand though. It was a woman with short-ish hair and a warm smile.

"What do you want from me?" I asked in a tiny voice.

"We want to talk to you." The one in front of me said and continued; "My name is Edward, this is Alice and Jasper…I believe you've met Esme and Carlisle," he gestured towards a couple behind him I recognized as the vampires from the supermarket.

"Why me?" I asked. I was scared…everything I'd been told about these cold ones made me believe they would kill me for even blinking too much.

"You're as impartial as it's possible to be when you're in a pack like the one in the reservation. Besides, you're one of the few ones that can't change into something that can rip our heads of in one bite." He smiled at me. I felt myself smile back a tiny bit.

"You're wondering why where here, and it's probably best to get straight to it if we want to make it before the dogs come running to your aid." Edward said. Alice took over the conversation.

"We're here to check up on a person who once belonged to our family. She's now part of yours but that doesn't mean we don't still care for her…I'm usually able to see how she is once in a while when my visions aren't blocked by her…mate…" I was insanely confused. Not by whom they meant, it was obviously Bella they were talking about but had this Alice woman been spying on her?

Edward looked at me again as if he could look into my mind, and perhaps he could cause the next thing he said was: "Alice has the ability to see possible outcomes of the future…we call them visions. One reason for them to stop happening is if a person is close to a shape shifter like the wolves, or if…if that person…is no longer with us…"

I squinted at him, first not sure what he was getting at.

"Oh shit, you think Bella died?" I asked wide-eyed.

"That was our concern, yes," Carlisle said, holding a comforting arm around Esme.

They all looked at each other and genuinely looked concerned all of them. Really worried actually.

"No, no Bella's fine! Better than fine actually…she's…well, she's pregnant and happy and all that…" I said with knitted brows, not sure how to convince them she was okay.

"Pregnant?" Alice asked with big eyes.

"Yeah…I'm not sure exactly how far along she is by but she's healthy and happy…" I said. They looked around at each other again but with relief on their faces.

"She truly belongs to that family now, that's why we can't see her future anymore," Carlisle said to the other cold ones and Edward looked sad but accepting. Alice put a comforting hand on his shoulder and offered him a smile.

"We should let her go entirely now then…" This was Carlisle who spoke. It sent a ripple through the others of nods and small smiles.

"That's why you came? Why you've been here for weeks…?" I asked, and secretly wondered if they'd go away now they knew she was okay.

"Yes…and we'll be on our way again before you know it, and this time…we're not coming back. You have my word," Edward said.

His eyes were sad and I felt drawn to them.

"I promise he's taking very good care of her…she's loved every single day…" I don't know what made me say it. He just looked broken, and I completely forgot how scared I had been of them. It felt like my mood was lifting, but I didn't know what caused it.

"Ah yes…the imprint-love in it's purest form…" he said, still sounding sad.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing…we better go, they're getting close," Edward said to the others, and they all nodded.

"It was a pleasure Miss," Jasper said in a southern accent and did a polite small bow with his head. Carlisle came over to me and held out his hand for me to take.

"Please tell them we're sorry for the disturbance we've caused…we just had to know…she was once ours to protect…that doesn't just go away."

I shook his hand, and nodded, promising I'd tell them. He sent me a warm inviting smile and then they were on their way. They disappeared so fast that I wondered for a split second if they had even been there.

Just then four wolves came storming through the woods and into the tiny clearing by the ledge. I made a jump and let out a tiny yelp. They all shifted back to their human form and I looked away as they got dressed in the shorts they always had tied to their leg. In a fleeting thought I remembered thinking how impractical it was when I first saw that.

I noticed Embry first and my body went through a rollercoaster of emotions.

"Are you hurt?!" Embry said grabbing my arms and checking me all over.

"Embry I'm okay…they didn't do anything, they just wanted to talk."

He looked at me like I'd gone insane.

"What they just wanted to talk? What the hell? Their stench is all over you Nica! Are you trying to tell me they didn't touch you?" He sounded so angry, and his grip on my arm tightened.

"No, no they did touch me but it didn't hurt…that came out wrong," I tried again, "They just like held onto me so I didn't run…that sounds bad too…just, fuck…forget that part, they came to talk and they've left for good now!"

"What did they say?"

The rest of the pack that gathered around me, listening as well. Embry let go of me and I told them everything that had happened and had been said.

"And it was weird cause I wasn't really scared of them, and they were really…polite…" I said, ending my story. Jake had looked like he was going to explode when I had told them they had been here to talk about Bella, but seemed satisfied by the fact that they were going to leave her alone for good now that they recognized her as a part of his pack.

"One of them has the ability to manipulate your emotions, that's why you weren't scared," Jared chimed in.

Embry walked away a bit.

"So it's all over now?" Quil asked looking at us.

"Yeah I think so…they're gone and said they won't come back…" My voice was small and I knew they all picked up on it.

"It's over…Quil, Jared why don't we head back…" Jacob said. It wasn't really a question, more like an order.

Embry and I were left there together. He was still not looking at me.

"Will you walk me home?" I asked.

He looked up for the first time but only shortly.

"Sure…it's getting dark soon…we should go now."

He had taken last night a lot harder than I had imagined. I thought he mainly just needed to cool down from our fight, but now I wasn't so sure.

We had been walking for half an hour without saying a word, and I suspected there to be about 15 minutes left of our walk. I had to say something. The silence between us was excruciating.

"I'm sorry Em…about all of it…" I said, my voice small but filled with truth.

He didn't respond. It broke my heart. A few minutes went by again before he said something.

"We should be there soon…"

"Okay…" I didn't know what else to say.

We walked through the gravel and pictures from that night ran through my head.

"I should go," he said behind me. I turned around. He didn't look at me and stood with his hands in the pockets of his black jeans.

"It was nice to see you…" I said in a soft voice, hoping he'd say something. When he didn't I just said: "Thank you for walking me home."

"You're welcome."

He voice was monotone and foreign to me. He turned around and started walking away. I felt like I was watching him leave me again, just like that night and my eyes started watering.

I closed the door behind me and whispered to myself: "I can't do this anymore…"

I went to bed and woke up around midday feeling extra sore that day. I didn't get much sleep because my mind kept racing.

I called Kim.

"Are you okay?"

She'd obviously heard what had happened last night and I reassured her. We talked about it for a while, while I walked around in my bedroom.

"I'm just happy it's over and everything can go back to normal," Kim said.

I held a pause. She noticed.

"What? What are you thinking about?"

"It…it won't really go back to normal." I looked at my bags on my bed. I had already filled one of them while talking to her.

"What do you mean?"

I sat down on my bed.

"You told me to figure out what I wanted for everybody's sake…and…and I've made up my mind."

"No…don't…don't tell me you're leaving…" Kim's voice was small and sad. It broke my heart.

"I'm sorry…I just can't do this… I'm the one who's broken and he's…he's fine…he barely even looks at me when I'm there and I just can't see how I'm gonna fix this."

She sniffled. So did I.

"You shouldn't leave just because of him…"

"I know…but I'm gonna move on…just like I always do…this is who I am."

"Are you sure you're not running away Nica?" Kim asked.

I felt a tug in my stomach.

"This is who I am…" I repeated, "I move from place to place. This is no different then all those other times."

Kim let out a sigh and sniffled once more. I could tell she was crying just like me.

I heard Jared in the background.

"I'll come by and say goodbye when I'm done packing…okay?"

"Okay…" it was close to a whisper.

All packed two hours later I took the bags to my truck. I brought some of the things I had bought for the house to remember it by. I realized that I had really loved this house. I hopped in and drove towards Kim and Jared's house.

They we're outside already when I got there. Jared had his arm around Kim to comfort her. She was already crying and I started crying again seeing this.

I got out and walked over to them.

Kim held me in a tight hug.

"Please don't go Nica…" She said.

"I'm so sorry…I have to…" I said my voice strangled from my crying.

We stood like that for a while and when she let go, Jared did the same thing.

"You don't have to do this, you know?" He said.

"I think I do…it's all too messed up…" I said looking into his eyes. He looked like he had some sort of inner battle but didn't say anything.

"I have to get going…"

I took out the key for my house. Well…Billy's house.

"Would you do me a favor and give this to Billy?" I asked and gave it to Kim.

"Sure…I'm gonna miss you so much Nica…" Kim said holding on to my hand.

"I'll stay in touch, I promise…"

With one last hug and a lot of tears I drove away and out of the Rez. I cried the whole way.

I headed for Seattle and it took me just over 4 hours getting there. I had to stop at one point due to crying too much. I took out my phone to look up cheap hotels after deciding I didn't want to sleep in my tent after all that had happened that day. I just wanted a good night's sleep. I had two messages. I expected them to be from Kim. One of them was, reminding me of staying in contact. The other was from Embry.

*I'm sorry*

That's all it said. I'm sorry. I didn't know whether to respond or not…I did.

*Me too…*

I didn't know what else to say. I checked into the hotel I had chosen and sat on the bed. It was quite nice and had a TV. I tried watching some, but my mind kept drifting off.

I just sat in silence.

Days went by like that and I texted Kim everyday. She'd stopped suggesting that I could just come back and I had stopped telling her I wouldn't. For some reason I had stayed in Seattle. I couldn't decide where to go. Usually my mind drifted off to a place and that's how I knew that that was the place to go. But this time it didn't come to me. I was just wandering around in Seattle, looking for jobs and generally moving around from hotel to hotel, until I found an affordable room to rent. I had a roommate who luckily wasn't there during the day because of work and most nights she stayed at her boyfriends place. So most of the time I had the place to myself.

It had been a three weeks since I left the Rez and I was still in Seattle. I was tidying up in my room and emptying the last bag, which I for some reason hadn't gotten around to. I had almost emptied it when I found my book "Wild". The book that always made me want to pack up and leave for my next adventure. I felt the itch build in my body and felt for it. It disappeared before it told me anything, and I put the book next to me on the bed with a sigh. I got up and started making dinner.

As I sat in bed that night I took the book in my hands again and flipped through the pages. It was just past nine o'clock. I felt the itch again, and tried not to think too much about it, letting it take over my mind. I felt it then. I knew where to go, and I wanted to go now. I got up and got dressed quickly.

Not long after I was in my truck. It had never felt this clear before when I thought of where to go. Hours went by, while the music from the radio played some of my favorite tunes. I looked over at the tiny bag i had packed thinking I'd have to go back for the rest of it if this went well. I reached my destination in just under four hours and my stomach flipped and warmth spread through it when I saw the sign. La Push.

I drove up towards his house in the middle on the night and saw the light being turned on in the bedroom. I practically jumped out of the car and ran to his front door. After waiting shortly he came to the door and stood there just looking at me with huge eyes.

"Embry…" I started. He still just stared at me, mouth agape.

"I'm so sorry…I should have fought more for us… I'm sor-" I was cut off by his lips on mine. I held onto him as if letting go would be forever, and his hands did the same.

He broke the kiss and rested his forehead on mine.

"I was so angry…I should be the one to apologize…the anger was the only thing that helped with the pain" He said.

"I'm sorry I left…I'm sorry for all this mess…I didn't think you…I thought you were fine…" I said.

He looked at me with knitted brows.

"What made you change your mind?"

"I realized that…that I really wasn't fine…and if I wanted to be then I had to fight for you…because I love you and I don't care how much I'm gonna have to fight for that."

He smiled and kissed me again.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear that."

I smiled, and then a worrying thought came into my head.

"You said the anger helped with the pain?" I asked my eyes probably showing my worry.

"Yeah...it's...quite painful to be away from your imprint..." he said, and I could tell he didn't want me to worry.

"There is something I need to know…" I said, scared to even ask.

"What?"

"Are…are you in love with me because of the imprint? Or do you love all of me and not just…just because something tells you to love me…?

"It's…it's not like that…There's something that tells me that you're perfect for me, but whether that's as a friend or something more…that's up to us…so, yes…I'm in love with all of you and that will never change…"

He stroked my cheek.

"I'm so relieved," I said, letting out a deep breath, "Because…I'm done Em…I'm done running…I know I'm gonna freak out over something and we're gonna fight about things that you think are stupid and I'm gonna be angry for ridiculous reasons, but I'm here to stay…I know that now."

He looked at me with his deep brown eyes.

"You're sure?" was all he said.

"Yes…I love you, and I've never been so sure about anything in my life."

He grabbed my face with both his hands and kissed me. My ridged body finally let go of everything and I melted into the kiss and his warmth.

He broke the kiss and rested his forehead against mine again.

"I just realized something," I whispered.

"Mmhh?"

"I don't care what house we live in…being here when you hold me, that's when I feel at home," I knew it sounded cheesy, but it was truly how I felt. I didn't care which house we lived in, what city or what part of the world. I just wanted to be with Embry and whenever he held his arms around me I felt safe, loved, relaxed and carefree. In other words - Home.

The End...

/AN: Hey guys, i can't believe it's over after like two years... but here it is.. I'm working on an idea for an Epilogue, but i don't know if it's needed/wanted, so let me know if you'd like to know what happened in the future.

I'm also starting a new project which won't be Twilight, but still with an AU-character as the main person, so look out for that.

It has been a pleasure to write this, and I've learned so much during it. Thank you for your comments and reviews, i really do appreciate it!

As always - good vibes guys - DN