Sunrise

12

"Kari!"

Kari gasped, her eyes snapping open. Her hand flew to her throat, her heart pounding in her chest, and she found Embry's frantic face covered with worry and concern and shock. Without warning, tears started and she sobbed into his chest.

Embry held Kari securely, tightly, in his arms. He'd just walked into the house when he heard her blood curdling scream. He stroked her hair and hushed her, whispering soft reassurances to her as she sobbed. Neither knew what time it was when she finally calmed down. His voice was quiet when he finally spoke. "You okay?"

"It was horrible," Kari whispered. Her eyes were screwed shut against the images in her mind, her hand fisting the shirt Embry was wearing- which in itself was a rarity these days. "You can't go. Don't leave me."

"Sam needs me to help," Embry said softly. He ran his fingers through her matted hair, gently taking out the tangles he came across. "I won't get hurt."

Kari blinked, seeing the horrible images from her dream behind her eyelids. She pulled away slightly and looked up at him through new tears. "Someone will. Someone isn't going to come back. I can feel it."

Embry said nothing. There was nothing to say. Nothing was going to convince Kari she was wrong. The fight was in two days. Seth would be with Bella and Edward during the fight, and the younger wolves would stay in La Push to make sure none of the newborns got loose. Kim, Emily, Claire, and Kari would be at the house.

Embry sat back against the headboard and simply held Kari in his arms. She spoke again before he could find the words he wanted. "I think you mean more to me now than Jacob does."

Embry didn't want to get his hopes up. He pressed his lips to her hair. "Do you want to tell me what had you screaming?"

Kari took a shaky breath. "I see it when I close my eyes. I don't want to go to sleep, Em."

"You don't have to," he whispered.

Kari chewed at the corner of her lip before speaking up. "She was trying to kill you. The one you're after... I couldn't watch it. I had to do something."

"She won't get close to me," Embry tried to assure.

"I did the only thing I could think of," Kari continued in a whisper.

That confused Embry. He shifted to look down at her. "What are you talking about?"

"In the dream," she said. "I knew it was a dream, but I still couldn't stand by and watch you die. When I looked down, I was holding a knife..."

"It was just a dream," Embry whispered. He didn't know if he was trying to convince himself or the girl in his arms.

Kari's voice barely had any sound. "I slit my throat. I had to do something..."

"Oh honey," Embry pulled her to him again, securing his arms around her tightly. "Kari, you won't ever have to do that. Especially for me. Nothing is going to happen to me. I swear to you."

"I don't understand," she whispered through new tears. 

Embry waited for the fresh wave of tears to pass. "What don't you understand?"

"How I care so much about you," she admitted. "Why I care so much. It's so confusing... I mean, I thought- but I don't understand anymore... Everything is changing faster than I can comprehend. My whole life has changed so much since... since the accident..."

Embry thought for a moment, his lips pressed into a thin line, before he let out a quiet sigh. "I think there's something you should know. I wanted to wait until after the fight, but I didn't know what to expect to happen. It's different with us."