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honeykngdom · 10 months

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𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚢 | 𝚎.𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕 | 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝

Pairing: Embry Call x Original Character Summary: Join Ainsley and Embry as they embark on a journey where they are forced to question everything they thought they knew, and embrace the pain that is inevitable to avoid in love. An imprint story. Self-discovery. Angst and romance. Word Count: 4.7k Warnings: NSFW - mentions of prior sexual assault, mentions of prior ingestion of date rape prev. chapter | next chapter

The sun broke through the curtains, pulling me from my slumber. Embry left the window open throughout the night, making the air within our shared room frosty and bitter; I sunk deeper into the mattress and pulled the thick duvet under my chin. My eyes strained against the light, and I gave a sort of whining noise as I stretched my legs, entire body aching with the movements. A pair of warm arms tightened around my waist and Embry’s nose pressed into my neck as he hugged me closer to his half-asleep frame.

My eyes watched the gentle fall of the snowflakes, a small smile breaking across my lips as I gingerly ran my hand along the arm that held me. “Look, babe. It’s snowing.” I whispered quietly; the gentle lift of his chin was followed by a slight hum, then a lingering kiss was pressed to my jaw. It was mornings like these that I wanted to freeze in time forever. Wanted to remain in bed all day with Embry and his warm embrace. “I have to get up.” I lamented, my breath faltering into a laugh as Embry groaned in reluctance.

I spent several minutes trying to coax him into letting me go – it ended with multiple kisses and disapproving mumbles. I had an early shift at the diner, and needed to give myself ample time to get to Forks so that I wasn’t late. I rushed through my shower, slipping on two pairs of socks to keep the cold tiles from bothering my feet. Once I was satisfied with my hair and no longer looked lifeless, I returned to the cold bedroom to see Embry’s frame spread across the bed frame. He laid on his stomach, hugging his arms around the pillow his head was resting on. The bed was a King, and still, he almost looked too big – as though he were sleeping on a double.

I pressed my cold lips to his back, evading his desperate fingers as they searched blindly for me. “I’ll see you at Emily’s tonight – I promised her we’d help out.”

“Your keys are in the ignition.” Embry grunted in response.

I expected the Jeep to be buried under a mountain of snow, but instead it sat in the driveway cleared. Embry must have slipped out while I was showering to clear it off for me - and had even started the heat inside. I shivered in the warmth of the vehicle, thanking all the Gods for my boyfriend before I pulled the car into drive and sped off down the road towards the highway out of town.

It took me an extra twenty minutes to get through the snow banks; the plows hadn’t come through the reservation yet but I was certain the drive home would be less daunting. I parked behind the diner, rushing through the backdoor. I was shrugging out of my jacket just as the clock ticked to 7:00 AM.

“Mornin’ chickie!” Debbie chirped from the front counter, her red hair curled uniformly away from her face.

“Morning.” I smiled, kicking my boots off at the door to pull my sneakers on. “Where’s Angie?”

Speak of the devil, and the devil shall appear. The short-haired girl rounded the corner, supporting the tray with her hip. I could tell Angie had recently buzzed the undercut, leaving the three inches up top to grow out a little more. I smiled wider, catching the cloth that was tossed in my direction.

“Hey, nugget.”

“How’s the rush?” I asked.

“Not much of a rush,” Angie sighed, sorting the dishes off her tray. “Damn snow.”

I bumped her hip, rolling the sleeves up on my white blouse to wash my hands. “Don’t knock the snow.”

“What’s so great about it? It’s cold, it’s wet, it gets ugly when exhaust and cars run over it all the time.”

I rolled my eyes. “It means Christmas is coming.” I rinsed the soap from my skin, and flicked my fingers at Angie’s face, water droplets pelting in her direction. “Plus, it means my birthday is almost here.”

Angie was about a year older than I was. When I first started working at Shaker’s, Ang’s hair had just reached her chin, was parted in the middle and was a warm chestnut brown. After her break up, she buzzed the undercut and kept it short, just long enough to grab a decent fistful whenever she was stressed. Her teeth sat in perfectly straightened rows – many thanks to the braces she endured in her teen years. Her pale skin made me envision red sunburns in the summertime. She was simple, but still pretty. It was her firecracker attitude that made me fall in love with her.

“There’s somebody out there asking for you.” Angie stuffed her towel into the back pocket of her black jeans. “All morning - showed up right when we opened.”

I pulled my brows together, tying my apron around my waist hastily as I wandered towards the front. The girls were right – the diner was essentially empty, except for the two occupied booths in the corner. There was a man that sat at the front counter, his hands wrapped gingerly around a cup of coffee and his hat pulled down over his eyes. I grabbed one of the breakfast menus as I wandered towards him.

“Special for the day is blueberry pancakes. Trust me, you’ll want to try ‘em if you’re just passing through.” I mused lightly, sliding the laminated booklet in front of him.

When he looked up, I froze. I would have recognized that petulant stare from a mile away; his brown orbs now darkened into a sort of black, his mouth pulled back into a slight grimace. I braced my hands on the countertop between us, trying to keep the bad taste from rising completely up my throat.

Maddox looked as though he had been through hell and back a few times. I couldn’t find the heart to feel any sort of sympathy.

“Not hungry,” he said finally, pushing the menu away with the tips of his fingers.

I watched him carefully for a moment, assessing the way his shoulders hunched forward, the way his movements seemed controlled and careful. He was trying to make himself small, so much different from how he used to be.

I had loved him once. Prior to the date-party, prior to my unhappy ending, I had believed him every time he said he’d marry me someday, that he’d make me happy. He’d take care of me. That is what I had counted on - being with someone that could protect me from any sort of danger, although I had never fathomed what that danger could possibly be. His honey-brown orbs used to make my head spin, the way he carried himself made me feel as though he was an unstoppable force of nature.

When he was hanging out with my brothers, he spent fight nights stepping into the shoes of some stereotypical douchebag, trying to put on a show to get the cash flowing. He knew people would never bet against him if no one ever landed a solid swing or two on him. He never wanted me to be there, mentioned something about it being too crowded, too busy. I never listened, obviously. Travis always kept good on his promise to sneak me in, but always failed to make sure I didn’t go missing.

“What are you doing here?” I asked curtly, pulling the menu from the countertop to drill holes into his forehead.

Maddox lifted his chin and sighed, his eyes wandering just above my head for a split second before he cracked a small half-smile. “Staying with some friends in the area,” he lied, cocking his left brow, “what are you doing here? Don’t you live on the reserve?”

I pulled my brows together. “How did you know?”

His eyes rolled. “Because you told me where you were born, love.”

“Do not,” I seethed, leaning forward to get in his face, “come in here and pretend like you know me.”

“But I do know you.” Maddox pressed, leaning back away from me quickly. “Your favourite colour is purple. You absolutely love ketchup even though it’s awful for you. You can’t stand the rain yet you can’t seem to find yourself anywhere sunny and warm to live. You’d never admit it outloud, but Trenton is your favoured brother -”

I held up my hand, having heard enough. I was certain he could go on and on. We had spent the majority of a year together as an item; being young had meant we spent more time in private than at house parties. The first time I agreed to go to a frat party was only because he was a freshman and had begged me to come along. Maddox was on bitch duty, had to make sure everyone had a drink in their hand, and had to be the one to clean up the house once everyone had left. Before that night, I thought I had met the one, thought I knew what it was like to be loved.

If only I had known a love like Embry’s, I might’ve been able to save myself from the months of nightmares and internal torment.

I moved down the countertop, wiping the space at the end of the counter where my regular usually sat. He only came in Tuesday mornings, right before his shift at the department with my father. My lips broke into a slightly forced smile as Charlie took his seat, shrugging out of his coat.

“Regular black?” I asked as I pulled a mug from the dishwasher.

“Yes ma’am,” he beamed; his face was old and weary. TJ talked about Charlie quite a bit, with him being the Chief and all. When I finally met him, we clicked and he swore up and down he’d only come in for breakfast or dinner on the nights I was working. He always tipped generously, and always left smiling. Last I heard, he was dating Sue, Seth and Leah’s mom.

I glanced at Maddox from my peripheral vision; he had removed his hat, light brown hair pulled back into a small bun. He was watching me, assessing my movements much like I had been watching him earlier. I tried not to let my annoyance surface, poured Charlie’s coffee and tossed the empty canister into the sink.

I set the mug in front of Charlie, leaning against the countertop. “The special’s blueberry pancakes.” I said cheerfully, browsing through the laminated pages of the menu. “But, you have yet to try any of the omelets – which is a sin, because they’re so delicious.” I mused, eyes scanning over the page.

“How about just a big stack of bacon.” I glanced at him with slight disapproval. “What? Look at the crap I gotta deal with today, I deserve some pig meat.”

“Only if you get eggs with it.” I finalized, standing up straight.

“Fine.” Charlie replied bitterly, taking a sip of the steaming coffee. “Poached.”

“Bacon burnt to a crisp?” I asked, slipping the menu back into its place under the register. Charlie nodded.

Customers trailed in one by one over the course of the next two hours, each seated with heaping mountains of warm breakfast filling their tables. Maddox had yet to finish his coffee, but I was certain it was ice-cold by this point. When I walked past him for the umpteenth time, I swiped his mug off the countertop, dumped the contents in the sink and poured him a fresh cup.

“You didn’t have to do that.” He said once I replaced it in front of him, leaning back on the stool when I neared. I pulled her brows together first in confusion, then annoyance.

“Yes, I did.” I grumbled, wiping the counter around him. “My boss does keep an eye on me, and the customers.”

Maddox pursed his lips together, settling his hands around his mug again, “You’re doing a good job.”

“Don’t.” I hissed, turning to pile the empty and used mugs into the dishwasher up front. When I turned around to restock the napkin dispenser, Maddox was wearing a smug smile. His smugness was nothing like Embry’s - and that made me want to launch my fist right into his nose.

“Would you prefer it if I left?” He asked.

“Yes, actually,” I braced my hand on the counter and the other on my hip, trying to keep my face straight and emotionless, “because I don’t know why you’re here.”

“I wanted to see you.”

I clenched my jaw together tightly, lifting my eyes from his to scan the restaurant. Charlie was pulling his jacket over his uniform, offering me momentary relief.

“I never wanted to see you. So, I think it’s best if you leave.” I pressed, hard eyes cutting back to the unwelcome visitors before I pushed away from the counter to meet Charlie at the till.

Another hour passed; another hour where Maddox waited patiently, where his coffee remained untouched, another hour where I could feel my irritation building. I pushed through the doors behind the kitchen, wandering over to where Angie sat on a pile of skids. I sat down next to her, leaning against the wall for support.

“Still there, huh?” Angie asked with a laugh, working her fingers through her cropped hair.

“Mhm,” I sighed, fixing my ponytail. “I wish he’d leave.”

“Tell him off.”

I rolled my eyes, “Don’t you think I haven’t tried that, Ang?” My friend tossed me a sheepish smile over her shoulder, shrugging meekly. “Debbie would be pissed if he left a bad review.”

“Would he leave a bad review?”

I thought about it for a moment. “Probably. Just to spite me.” We exited the kitchen together, working to clear the tables on our respective halves of the floor, quickly wiping down tables and restocking condiment containers. By the time lunch pulled around, I opted out of walking down the street to buy lunch. I tossed my apron onto the skids in the back, and walked out into the dining area, around the counter with my food.

Maddox watched me take a seat in one of the booths. Much to my dismay, he slipped off his stool, bringing his cold coffee with him.

I watched him settle into the booth across from me; I began pouring the syrup across my two slices of french toast, trying not to pay him any mind. We sat in silence for five minutes before he spoke up, “I’m sorry, did I do something wrong?”

I dropped my fork on my plate, folding my arm., “That’s funny.”

“What is?”

“You’ve got a lot of balls, Maddox.” I spat, cutting through the second piece. “To show up here and pretend like I don’t have every reason to completely hate you. The only reason why I’ve been playing nice is because this is my job, and I have to be nice.”

Maddox leaned forward. “And if we weren’t here?”

“I would’ve kicked you in the fucking balls three hours ago.”

He laughed, mainly to himself, folding his hands on top of the table. “Still feisty, it’s adorable.”

“Yeah,” I growled, “my boyfriend seems to think so, too.”

“I’m sure he does.” Maddox – for the first time that morning – took a small sip of his coffee, face even, smooth and emotionless. “Embry, isn’t it?”

I paused again, eyes burning holes into his, jaw clenching shut again. “How do you know his name?”

“Are you happy?”

I shook my head, pushing my plate away from me. “Dammit, Maddox.” I growled, leaning back in the booth. “How do you know so much about my life here? I haven’t seen you since –” I stopped talking, pursing my lips shut tightly. I watched the slightest hint of remorse flash in his dark eyes. “You need to leave.”

“Ainsley.”

“No. You don’t get to show up here and pretend like nothing happened – like you have a right to know me.”

“Your friends aren’t the safest people to be around, Ains.”

“What friends?” I asked bitterly.

“Jacob, Embry – the rest.” His tone was suggestive as he leaned forward. “They’re walking timebombs, love, you gotta know that’s not safe.”

“Better than a bunch of rapists –”

“I am not a rapist.” He retorted, his eyes flashed quickly and his voice was low and raspy. The sudden change in his demeanor sent a shiver down my spine, causing the hairs on my arms to stand at full attention.

My tongue moved slowly around the words. “No. You’re just an accomplice, which is just as bad.”

Maddox was moving quickly then. He slid out of the booth, reaching into his wallet for a twenty. He slapped it on the table, his nostrils flared angrily. “For the coffee.”

“Coffee’s two-fifty –”

“Then consider it a tip.” He growled, pulling his hat back over his head. Maddox paused for a brief moment, then inhaled deeply and bent down quickly, pressing his lips to my hair – which I tried to refrain from recoiling from. He then turned and appeared to glide towards the front door, walking into the white storm with his hands shoved deep into his pockets. I moved my eyes back down to the twenty on the table, then looked up to meet Angie’s eyes, sinking down into my seat with a sense of defeat washing over my body.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

I parked next to Emily’s house, cursing myself for not thinking to pack an extra set of clothing for after my shift. The baby shower was tomorrow, and I promised Emily I would stop by after I finished at the diner to help set up. There were sisters from her hometown that would be driving in, along with the entire pack plus their significant others, and some extended family. Embry and I had gone halfsies on adorable onesies. One read “You People Are Huge” (my choice) and another read “Watch your language asshole, I’m a baby” (Embry’s choice, unfortunately).

I slipped my boots off at the door, leaving my jacket draped over one of the kitchen chairs. “You shouldn’t be doing that.” I chided, moving to help Emily down from the mini-ladder. The kitchen had been overfilled with streamers and balloons carefully and strategically hung from banister to banister.

“My husband wouldn’t help.” She growled, resting a hand on her swollen tummy.

Sam popped his head out from around the corner of the living room, his thick brows pulled together. “You yelled at me and told me you could do it yourself!”

“You’re not supposed to believe me!” Emily hissed, shoving the leftover garbage into the white bag that sat in the middle of the table.

Embry came up from the basement with Jared on his tail; I felt my chest lighten, hands instinctively reaching forward to him. “Warm.” I mumbled happily, wrapping my arms around his stomach, pressing my cold hands against his bare back. He leaned down with a quiet chuckle, pressing his lips to my hair.

And then shoved me away quickly, arms gripping my shoulders tightly.

“Ow.” I whined quietly, trying to squirm away from his grip. “Emb, ease up.”

“You stink.” Embry said definitively, his eyes hard and cold.

I stopped moving, feeling the heat rise in my chest. I looked around the room uncomfortably, then lowered my voice. “No, I didn’t have time to go home and change, I’m sor–”

“No, shut up.” He growled, pulling me into him again, returning his nose to my hair. Embry inhaled deeply, pulling his face away with a look of disgust before he looked over his shoulder, “Sam, c’mere.”

I shoved his arms away from mine, hands rubbing over the skin tentatively, hoping that it wouldn’t be too heavily bruised. I planned on wearing a short-sleeved dress for the shower. Sam put his empty wrappers into the garbage, then leaned over the chair to sniff the air around me.

His face hardened, much like Embry’s had, a certain distaste crawled over his features as a visible tremor rolled down his spine. Emily watched from behind Embry with a confused expression, carefully keeping close eyes on Sam’s frame. “That’s the scent.” Embry finally said, taking a step away from my frame.

“They’re in Forks.” Jared said quietly from his seat on the stairs.

“What are they doing in Forks?”

“Who’s in Forks?” I wondered out loud, looking up at Embry for some sort of explanation. He ignored me, following Sam into the living room as the pair began conversing hastily. Jared rolled his eyes, giving Emily a knowing glance.

“Woah, what stinks?” Paul scrunched his nose up, Jacob, Leah and Trent following suit as they entered in from the crisp outdoors. Paul and Jacob were bare-chested and wearing cut-offs, which meant they were back from their evening patrol.

“Ainsley.” Jared grumbled in reply to Paul, his eyes narrowing in my direction.

Emily threw a roll of tape in his general direction. “Give it a rest, Jared.”

“What’s going on?”

Emily rolled her eyes, sitting next to me at the table, “Ainsley came across one of the scents today and brought it home, so I’m sure Sam and Embry are in the living room plotting how to eliminate the threat.”

Paul sat on the other side of me, sniffing again. I blushed. “That’s the males – how did you manage to bring that home?”

“Bring what home?” I asked, annoyance dripping off each word.

“The leeches scent. You’re covered in it.” He stated, as if it were the most obvious thing.

I paused, rearing my thoughts back to my day. I always kept an eye out for anything that seemed out of place, people that seemed obviously beautiful and perfect. People that seemed restrained. “Maddox ..” I whispered quietly, feeling my chest cave abruptly. There was no way –

“Maddox?” Trent asked from across the table. “What’s he doing in Forks?”

“He was looking for me at Shaker’s.” I replied absently, eyes unfocused on the table in front of me. “Came by before I even showed up, didn’t leave until after lunch rush.”

“What did he want?” Paul asked, kicking his feet up onto the table. Emily grimaced.

I shrugged, hoping I could remain cool and collected. “No idea, honestly. That would explain how he knows you all by name – that’s what he meant when he said you were …” I sighed, letting my eyes slip shut. “This makes sense.” Kind of.

“His scent is saturating you, Ains.” Embry drawled from the doorway, arms folded across his broad chest. Sam stood next to him, mimicking the same seriousness.

I could feel my shoulders drop forward, attempting to make myself small under the careful watch of everyone in the room. “He sat with me when I was on break.”

“You let the scumbag sit with you?” Trent asked dubiously.

Better rip the bandaid off. “And he might have kissed my head before he left.” I conceded.

“Ainsley –”

“I told him to leave.” I said desperately, trying to avoid bringing my eyes to meet my boyfriends. Embry had tried his best to keep his temper from coming forward when I was around, trying to believe nothing I did was to purposely hurt him. But in that moment, I could see Leah move in between Trent and Embry, hands braced on the back of his chair. The room had shifted; it was suddenly thick, hot and uncomfortable.

“Who’s Maddox?” Jacob asked, breaking the silence in the room. I shared a look with Trent, hoping he would keep good on his word. When he met my eyes, his face softened in understanding. The situation I had thrown myself into was not one out of choice: undoubtedly, Embry was fuming. If not because a vampire had been close enough to his imprint that I could have died, then because said vampire had actually touched me. Kissed me.

“Someone from Seattle that I knew.” Trent said finally. “Worked with him for a few months. Not the greatest guy.”

“Perfect. So, we’re doing the world a favour, then.” Embry suggested, anger dripping from his words. It was uncomfortable to hear him speak so freely about the idea of killing someone, although I knew they didn’t necessarily see it as murder. Couldn’t kill what was already dead.

“What are you going to do, Emb? Kill him yourself?” Leah asked from behind Trent, her tone half-teasing.

“Yes.”

All eyes shot to Embry then, watching his arms settle at his sides, fists trembling the slightest bit. I thought back to Maddox – small visions played across my mind. Embry’s large gray wolf ripping through his flesh, his growls filling the empty air. I tried to suppress the urge to shiver.

“Guess we’re heading back out there.” Jacob sighed, nodding toward Leah. “Embry, maybe you should go home with Ains. If one of them knows her, it might be better if –”

“No.” He said angrily, his hard eyes cutting back to me briefly before he returned his gaze to Jacob dutifully. “I'm going with you.”

At this point, I couldn’t tell if he was adamant about finding Maddox to kill him, or if he really didn’t want to be stuck with me. I was trying to pretend like the latter wasn’t a possibility. The room emptied quickly, each warm body following Embry out of the front door, slamming it shut behind them. Trent, Emily and I sat around the kitchen table, quietly looking around the half-decorated room.

“Better finish this, then.” I said finally, grabbing a roll of tape. Emily and my brother watched me for only a moment, both of their faces heavy, before Trent stood and came to help. We spent the following hour hanging multi-coloured ribbon from the ceiling, turning Emily’s kitchen and living room into open areas with lots of space, full of balloons and streamers.

I offered to give Trent a ride back to Leah’s, seeing as Jacob had been their original ride to Emily’s. Once we were in the Jeep, he turned the heat on full and turned to me.

“Are we going to talk about what happened?”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“C’mon, Ains.” He sighed, leaning his elbow against the window. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“That’s a load of shit,” he grumbled, “Maddox gave you hell.”

“Maddox wasn’t the one who defiled me and left me on the bathroom floor.”

Trent clenched his jaw. “No, but he was the one who let frat scum slip a pill into your drink.”

“Trent, leave it alone.”

“Why?” My brother asked, neck craned so he could look at me with a hard expression. “Maddox deserves everything Embry wants to do to him, and probably more.”

I didn’t respond; my hands gripped the steering wheel tightly while my eyes focused on navigating through the white sheet of snow that whirled around in the darkness. I didn’t want to talk about Maddox. I didn’t want anyone to know about what had happened, or give Embry more of a reason to get angry. I didn’t want to make excuses for the man, but I didn’t want to think about my boyfriend taking pleasure in killing anyone.

“Ainsley,” Trenton finally broke the silence, a sigh tumbling from lips. “Do you wanna go home? We can go home. I’ll stay at the house with you.”

I shook my head vehemently. “No, I should probably be there when Embry comes back.” I sniffled, wiping my nose on my sleeve. I was still sick and the outside weather wasn’t helping me feel any less crappy. “You’re living with Leah now?” I asked, glancing over at Trent in the darkness.

He shrugged. “My idea. Took a lot of persuasion.”

“I bet.” I mumbled, turning into Leah’s driveway. “She doesn’t seem like she’s the type to jump head first into all of this.”

“Definitely not.” He laughed, pulling his hat over his ears. “See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah.” I nodded, offering him a smile as he exited the vehicle.

The ride back to Embry and Jacob’s side of the reservation was slow; neither of the men were home when I arrived. To spare any sort of argument later, I showered as quickly and thoroughly as I could, and threw in a load of laundry in hopes of eliminating any traces of the vampire stench. The clock on the kitchen wall read 11:56 PM by the time I finished eating and cleaned the dishes.

My eyes fought sleep until my phone read 2:00 AM. I finally gave up waiting for Embry to come home, and gave in to the exhaustion that draped over me like a thick blanket. I locked the windows tightly, ensuring to keep any harsh winds from coming through. Then, I collapsed onto my side of the bed, pulling the thick white duvet up to my chin, shivering slightly in the bed that was colder than usual.

#embry call fanfic #embry call x oc #embry call x reader #kiowa gordon #embry call #twilight #* mine #series: SAH

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