Ghost of Ourselves (Twilight X Reader)

Chapter 20: Night Watch

Looking at their faces now, relaxed but still alert, I wonder how many threats they've chased from these lands. How many dangers have passed near me without my knowledge, kept at bay by wolves and vampires playing their eternal game of protection and predation?

The tension gradually dissolves into laughter as Embry starts splashing water at me. The cold Pacific spray makes me shriek, but there's something freeing about it—something that makes me forget about red blurs in forests and running wolves.

"You're dead, Call!" I laugh, retaliating with my own splash. He could easily dodge with his supernatural reflexes, but he lets it hit him, grinning as water drips from his hair.

Soon we're both soaked, the salt water making my clothes cling as waves crash around our legs. Embry's eyes keep finding mine, holding something warm and significant in their depths. His hand catches mine as a bigger wave hits, steadying me with that supernatural grace.

The returning pack members find us like this—laughing and dripping, Embry's hand still wrapped around mine. They've all changed clothes, and there's a wild satisfaction in their movements that speaks of successful hunting.

"Water fight!" Seth yells, immediately joining in. Soon the whole pack is involved, their supernatural strength carefully contained as they play like regular teenagers. Paul, usually so intense, actually smiles as he helps Seth orchestrate a particularly impressive splash.

"You're soaked," Emily observes when we finally trudge back onto the beach. She starts to offer me clothes, but Embry steps forward quickly.

"My house is closer," he says, something almost desperate in his voice. "Mom's probably home—she'd love to meet you."

The others exchange knowing looks, and I catch Paul muttering "smooth" under his breath before Sam silences him with a glance.

Embry's home is warm and welcoming, filled with beautiful indigenous art and the smell of something delicious cooking. His mother is stunning—tall and graceful with kind eyes that crinkle just like her son's when she smiles.

"So you're the girl my son won't stop talking about," she says warmly, and Embry makes a strangled sound behind me.

"Mom!"

"What? It's true." She looks at me knowingly. "He's never brought a girl home before."

"Let me get you some dry clothes," Embry says quickly, pulling me toward his room before his mother can embarrass him further.

His bedroom is exactly what I'd expect—posters of bands mixed with traditional artwork, books scattered around, and a general sense of contained chaos. He grabs some clothes from his dresser, then turns to face the wall with exaggerated propriety.

"I won't look, I promise."

The clothes smell like him—forest and sunshine and something wild. As I change, I notice him fidgeting, like he's building up to something.

"There's something I need to tell you," he says once I'm dressed, his voice serious. "About wolves. About... how we connect to people."

He guides me to sit on his bed, then starts pacing. "There's this thing called imprinting. It's rare, sacred. When a wolf finds their... their perfect match, their souls just know. It's like gravity shifts. Like everything that tied you to the earth just... changes. Suddenly, that person becomes your center, your reason, your..."

He stops, looking at me with such intensity it takes my breath away.

"You're trying to tell me you imprinted on me," I whisper, heat flooding my cheeks.