You Are My Sunshine

Chapter Thirteen

Sam's POV

Embry fell apart on the floor and I almost went down right along with him. All that stopped me was my very worried imprint waiting for news in La Push. Wasting no time as I dragged in deep breaths of relief, I dialed Emily's number.

"Please tell me you have good news," she said, forgoing a hello.

"Em, babe..." I forced out. Maybe I should have waited until I could form a complete sentence before making this call.

My imprint made an irritated noise on the other end of the line. "Samuel Uley, I said you better have some good news for me." It was cute how she tried to sound assertive. I could tell it was all bravado—she was freaked out. Not that I could blame her, with me over here practically gasping for air.

"Sam..." she pleaded, her voice wavering now.

And just like that, I gained control. My chest was still tight and every breath took effort, but at least I could speak clearly enough to tell Emily, "She's been found. She's alright. She'll be here soon." Shit, I had tears in my eyes. I refused to let them fall as I continued. "She's on her way home, babe."

Emily didn't respond, but I could hear her sniffles. She was crying. It didn't help my effort of holding myself together, and I needed to be strong for when my baby sister got here. So I said, "I've got to go now, Em. Both she and I will be home soon. Okay?"

A soft hiccup sounded before Emily whispered, "Okay. See you soon. I love you."

Closing my eyes, I tipped my head back as a heavy sigh escaped me. "Swear on everything, I love you, too. So damn much. See you soon."

I slipped my phone back into my pocket, then opened my eyes, glancing around. I felt like I needed to do something, but there was nothing for me to do. Not yet. Not until she was here. I considered asking Esme if she had any idea of how long they'd take to arrive, but decided against it. We'd all heard the entire conversation with Carlisle. No mention of arrival time.

Embry made a jagged sound, dragging my gaze to his form on the floor. Okay, so apparently there was something I could do right now.

My steps were careful as I moved toward him, in case his animal instincts were tempting him. The last thing any of us needed at that point was for Embry and I to get into a battle for dominance. Obviously I'd win, but it was a fight that would surely upset Kinley when she arrived. She was probably scared and upset enough as it was; Embry and I didn't need to add to that.

Carefully, I placed my hand on his shoulder. The noise he made stopped.

My eyes were focused on Embry, but I sensed everyone else in the room watching us. Not like they had anything better to do either. They'd already eaten all the food Esme set out.

A soft whine came from Embry's mouth, and then he looked up at me. His expression was pleading.

"She's okay," I told him, forcing as much confidence into my voice as I could. I hadn't been able to ascertain this with my own senses yet, obviously, but I was clinging to the vampire doctor's words with everything I had. "She'll be here soon."

Embry's mouth settled into a straight, angry line. "She's probably terrified."

I couldn't argue that—she most likely was. "We'll help her through it."

"How will she ever feel safe again?"

"We'll help her through it," I repeated. Inside, I felt like a failure. Of a brother, of an alpha. I had let Kinley get kidnapped from my territory. I couldn't get her back myself. And now I didn't have anything to offer to help her through it other than these words to her imprint. But I couldn't let that affect how I handled my pack. They needed me to be strong. They needed me to have answers. So I dug deep inside myself for the hope they needed me to pass onto them.