Total eclipse of a heart (Embry Call)

03. A clue

Rachel and Paul dragged me from the party so fast my mind was spinning. Neither answered my questions, despite my insistence and only exchanged glances I could not understand. I know they're hiding something big from me, something they fear I might not understand and I can't help but wonder if it has anything to do with my mission. If it does, I wonder how.

I've been in La Push for less than a day and things are already heating up, leading me toward the mystery and I feel I am close already. I feel it in my bones. And if Rachel refuses to help me, I will do it on my own as I have for my entire life. Loneliness never bothered me before. I'm used to it. I am.

"Left or right side?" Rachel asks, glancing to the bed briefly and I shrug, not answering. Silent treatment might be childish, but it's my strong suit.

"I promise you will find everything out eventually. All in the right time. Tonight was messy and there were secrets that aren't mine to spill." She says, exhaling heavily like it's hard for her to keep this from me as well. However, her tone relays she's being truthful. She's never lied to me before and I know she wants to be open and tell me everything, so whatever it is that she can't talk about must be big.

She knows.

They all do.

I couldn't sleep that night. New moon is up and I know come full moon I'll be hunting in the woods, looking for the beast.

The moon illuminated the tenebrous, starless sky as if the stars ensconced themselves behind the dim, grey clouds. I'm restless to say the least, perhaps even nervous. My mind keeps replaying the evening, the fight that erupted and that guy, Embry.

Why did he attack Jacob?
Why did he say those things?
Why am I still thinking about him?

It feels as if I'm haunted by his face. His dimple chin, high cheekbones and earthy hues, cropped black hair with bangs slightly longer than the rest of La Push men I've encountered so far. He's tall and slender with long, well rounded muscles that gave him a threatening, intimidating build.

He wore nothing but knee length shorts and a muscle tee, bringing up questions of his ability to tolerate the chilly night.
It's not just him, but most men I've seen on the beach. They all wore clothes that are a better fit for warm summer nights, and it certainly wasn't that warm.

Troubled, I sit up and let my legs dangle freely off the edge of the bed, the tips of my toes touching the cold floorboards. The rustling of leaves with the slight breeze just outside my window is like a lullaby meant to lure me away from the bed and outside, where things lurk in the dark. And I don't fight it.

Throwing on a black hoodie, I take my black bag on my shoulder and sneak out with shoes hanging from my fingertips. I didn't want to alert Rachel, so I decided to lace up my boots in the living room. I knew I wouldn't be disturbed because she sleeps like the dead and Jacob never came home.

Determined to find a few hiding spots for my weapons, I head outside and shiver slightly when the first gust of wind blows past me. Clenching my jaw, I raise my head and look left to right before heading toward the tree line. I move fast and carefully, scanning the area around me in case any sneak attacks happen.

I'm not sure if it's because of the dark or my own haunted mind, but I feel uneasy and on edge. It feels like someone's watching me, following my every move. I turn and look around, hearing nothing but the trees and animals inside the forest.

Maybe I'm just paranoid. However, in my line of work, paranoia is never just that. So I keep my guard up and keep my mind focused.

Taking a deep breath, I nod to myself and enter the first line of bushes that lead deeper inside. My heart beats like a hammer and my body is already pumping with adrenaline. I see a bush about fifteen feet in and decide to make it my first stash. I leave a small crossbow and five arrows, covering them with two extra leaves for safe keeping.

Huffing, I stand and look around again, the feeling of being stalked never quite leaving me.

I move forward, watching my ever step to prevent tripping over a root or a rock and getting injured. It would be the biggest cliche, straight out of a horror film and the only thing missing would be a big bad wolf to eat me up. For all I know, there might be one nearby. But it's the new moon! There's no werewolves at this time of the month.

"Scout the area and take a deep breath. Calm your heartbeat and you'll be deadly for anything crossing your path. You've trained well, now go and serve. Don't get yourself killed." I repeat quietly, over and over, the last words we tell those who depart and hunt on their own. It's not much, but it's comforting in the dead of night when owls sound scarier and any broken branch makes my blood run cold.

I find a different bush, one I can easily recognize. It's got blooming flowers around it and I know it's a good way to remember my stash. No bushes had any flowers so far.

I reach into it to clear a small area only to frown when my hand touched onto fabric instead of wet ground. I grab the strange object and pull it to the surface, raising my left eyebrow once I realize it's actually a pair of shorts. Digging back inside, I tap around only to find more shorts laying around and my intrigue spikes.

Who leaves several pairs of shorts lying around the forest?

Why?

I take it as something to think about and investigate later, leaving them in that lair of sorts like I found them.
Brushing the dirt off my palms, I go to stand only to find footprints leading away from the bush. It goes deeper into the forest and I follow them slowly with vigilance. I'm not sure I'd be ready to face off against someone right now, especially not several men as the footprints would have me believe. However, five minutes into my search and thinking this might be some sort of a nudist orgy party, the footprints stop.

Well, the human footprints disappear and a different set replaces them.
Paw prints stop me dead.
They are fresh, overlapping older impressions in the soft soil. I hold up a small branch, the tell-tale mud says the tracks were made after the rainfall that broke up the beach party only an hour before.

I bend to take a better look. The prints have four oval toes like a feline or canine, but the claw marks give them away as the latter. I hold a finger to each toe impression for comparison and then straighten. It's hard to tell for sure, but the toe sizes are identical and that makes it more likely a wolf than a tracker dog. A rather large wolf as the impressions are as big as my hand and I know that can't be natural. Human footprints don't magically turn into paw prints and I know what I'm up against.
This is my first clue and considering the number of prints, I'm not dealing with only one creature.

It's a werewolf pack.

Gathering my bag and weapons, I keep a knife in hand. You never know what might come out of the veil of darkness demanding my blood. Blinking fast, I walk backwards, following my own tracks and covering them as I put some distance between me and the bush. 
The worst thing for me right now would be to run into the pack. I'd take a few down, but I'd surely lose the battle.
No. I have to be smarter than that. I have to find out who they are in their human form first. They're most vulnerable as humans. I can beat them as humans, one by one.

My other problem: how did they turn during a new moon? 

Almost home, seeing an end to the dense forest I finally allow myself to breathe and relax. I'm so close, a few steps at the most. 

Only a step when a series of wolf howls break through the air, bringing goosebumps to my skin. My heart is beating so fast I feel faint, a shimmer of fear coursing through my veins. My hands shake and legs begin numbing, freezing me in my spot.

There's too many of them.

How can I ever survive this?!

Turning on my heel, I dash from the woods and run to the house without daring to look back. My legs are burning, breath ragged and shallow as panic constricts my airways and renders my vision blurry. 

I trip on the first step, falling to my hands and knees, leaving painful scrapes that force a hiss from my sealed lips. 

Scrambling to my feet, I go inside and close the door shut, sliding down until I'm sat on the floor with knees to my chest and head in my hands.

I hope they weren't the ones following me as it would put me to a big disadvantage. They would know who I am and I'd have no clue who they are.

"I'm so dead."