BLOOD MOON » Embry Call

13. SCARS

   "HEY, EMILY. It's Ava."

   Embry was staring at the half empty plate in front of him. Everybody else was sitting at the table with him—minus Collin and Brady who were at school, as well as Seth, Leah, and Jared who were out on patrol.

   Jacob had been on his way home the previous night, when he suddenly picked up the scent of an unknown vampire. For all they knew it could have been a nomad, although they weren't aware of any recent deaths or disappearances in the nearby area. When Embry had seen Avery's car going way above the speed limit however, he couldn't help but run into the street to see if it was really her. Jacob had already scolded him for accepting such a risk, but he understood. Avery was his imprint after all.

   "Again, sorry." A chuckle could be heard, a male voice, and Embry furrowed his brows at the unfamiliar voice. She had been all by herself when she left La Push. "Also I uh—I almost ran over a giant wolf last night?"

   Jacob shot Embry another scolding glance and he averted his gaze yet again.

   "I don't know which one it was but if you see him, can you tell him that I'm sorry? I really had to hurry. Alright then, talk to you soon."

   A beep signalled the end of the message and Emily picked her phone back up, tossing it onto the kitchen island. "So she knows?" the woman asked, fingers intertwined with Sam's, her small hand almost disappearing in his.

   "I didn't tell her," Embry spoke, eyes still on the remains of the scrambled eggs. "She must have known already, but—"

   He was interrupted by Paul yawning, stretching out his arms above his head. "Does it matter? The point is she knows, but right now there might still be a leech in the area. Avery isn't, you've heard her. Priorities." — "Paul," Sam nudged him, softly snaking his head. He blinked before leaning back in his chair, sending his brother an apologetic smile.

   "No you're right," Embry mumbled, all eyes on him now as he stood up from his barely touched breakfast. "We have to find the leech before someone dies."

❖

   The living room was even fuller than when they had arrived. Avery wondered how many more people were in the other rooms of the house—the Olympic pack had evidently seen a massive growth over the past few years. She only recognized very few faces.

   A fair amount of glances filled with mistrust followed the Dalton girl through the room, until she passed through the door leading to the gym. She found Jason by a sandbag which hung from the ceiling, his knuckles were bruised and bloody.

   "Ever heard of gloves?" Avery asked, arms crossed in front of her chest as she stood a few feet away from the wolf. "I'm serious. You're getting the blood all over that thing. Someone's gonna contract something at some point."

   "Why are you even awake already?" Jason turned around, pearls of sweat running through his hair and down his cheeks.

   "I've slept enough." — "It's been two hours."

   Avery rolled her eyes back. "Are we training or not?"

   Jason picked up a towel and cleaned his hands, stepping onto a different mat and waving for Avery to follow him. Sera hadn't let her train properly in a long time and it bugged Avery. So much that she had signed up for a Wing Tsun class as soon as she started university, just so she was at least doing something.

   "So I take it you're the boss now?" the girl asked, as she kicked off her boots and stepped onto the mat, facing Jason. She bent her knees slightly, balancing most of her weight onto her right leg.