CHAPTER TWELVE:
WHAT SHE KNOWS

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FOR A WHILE, THINGS seemed almost normal again. Well, as normal as they could possibly be with what Mae now knew. She'd found some of her closest friends in the pack. With no more secrets left between them, they were as thick as thieves, the girls especially. On days when Mae wasn't with Embry and the other girls were free, they'd meet at Emily's house and the older woman would teach them different recipes or simply laugh along to their teenage gossip. Usually, this gossip would revolve around Mae and Embry, who were closer than ever. He drove her to school each day. Then of an afternoon, they'd go hiking together, stopping for food on the way back or to watch the sunset. Sometimes, Embry would shift into his wolf form and the two would walk side-by-side as they found a new view for Mae to paint or a new spot for her to bring her dad on their own weekend adventures. Mae was the happiest she'd been since her family moved to Washington, and they could see it too.

But where Maeve Cooper had been brought back to life by the supernatural world, she'd lost sight of Lina Song in the dark. Something strange was happening with her sister. The same day that Embry revealed the truth about the pack to Mae, she came home to find Lina locked away in her room. She refused to say a word to anyone, simply claiming she had a migraine and wanted to be left alone to rest. Kira and James took her word for it, but not Mae. At first, she didn't give it a second thought. Lina was Lina, after all, and this wasn't the first time she'd done something like this. But in the few occasions that Mae actually got to see the girl, she looked ashen, like she'd seen a ghost.

She'd asked her about it, but instead of Lina opening up like she'd expected, the exact opposite happened. Lina Song was angry, and for some reason, Mae Cooper was the reason for this rage.

"Just leave me alone, Maeve," she had snapped after one too many of her sister's worried questions. "God, can't you see I don't want to talk to anyone, especially you?"

Mae wouldn't admit it but that hurt. She felt like she was losing Allison all over again. Only this time, her sister was willingly shutting her out.

Finally, after a week of this strange behaviour, their parents had started to notice. It was in the little things at first. The way Mae refused to meet Lina's eyes whenever Kira forced them to eat dinner together, how Mae spent even less time than usual at home, making up excuses to allow James and Kira to let her crash at Kim's or Maggie's. Mae Cooper was happy, yes, but not around her sister. Not anymore.

It wasn't something anyone saw coming, and Kira and James tried their best to fix it, but there were certain things that parents couldn't fix, and with every strange encounter she shared with Lina, Mae felt more and more certain that this was more than some petty sibling anger.

"Do you think she knows something?" she asked Embry on the way to school one morning. He himself had been on the receiving end of Lina's frustration when he came to pick up Mae and was unfortunate enough to have Lina answer the door. "What if Sam and Jared missed something when cleaning up Victoria's mess? Or what if she saw something, maybe she came home..."

"We would've known if she was there, Mae," Embry was quick to try and sooth her, reaching out to hold her hand in his. "Maybe she's just stressed out about school or something. You'll see. She'll be back to her normal self soon."

But even he didn't sound so sure.

More days came and went, and Lina Song's anger rose like a volcano. Now it was her going out at all hours of the night, coming and going in this one jeep that Mae had never seen before. She never got to spot who was behind the wheel, but once she was sure she caught a flash of blonde hair before Lina said something and the car sped away. It left Mae with an extremely eerie feeling, like she was seeing her sister for the last time whenever she left the house. Lina Song wasn't the type to fall in with the wrong crowd, but then again, if someone had asked Mae if she believed in the supernatural just six months ago, she would've thought they were crazy.

Mae was just glad she had Embry there. And the pack, but none of their assurances helped quite as much as his did. Call it cheesy, but Maeve Cooper was really starting to fall for Embry Call. She had a feeling he knew, too. He was still the same shy boy who'd been too nervous to talk when she asked him for a pen in English, but there was a sense of boldness to him now. He held her hand without reason, gave her random compliments and smirked in an expression worthy of Paul Lahote whenever she blushed. And finally, finally he asked her out on a date and meant it.

"Is this just as friends or a real date?" she questioned when he marched up to her locker after class and asked if she was free that night.

"Real date," he grinned, shockingly confident.

"And what if I don't want it to be?" she said, though both of them were aware she was just teasing. Mae Cooper liked Embry Call, and he was finally starting to catch on. "What then, Embry?"

"Well, you called the last one a date when we were at the cliffs," he pointed out rather smugly. Mae's face flushed. She was surprised he remembered that. "So is that a yes or no?"

"It's a yes," she decided after pausing, just for dramatic effect. "But don't stand me up this time, yeah?"

It was Embry's turn to blush. "You know I didn't have a choice with that."

She did now. Mae had been sure to ask him once she knew the truth. Was the supernatural the reason behind his sudden cold feet? According to him (and later confirmed by the rest of the pack) Victoria had been causing trouble for a while now. The Cullens — a family who resided in Forks — were vampires too (Mae didn't know who the hell they were, but just the mention of them gave her the creeps) and Bella Swan, Jacob's little crush, happened to be dating one of them.

Cut a long story short, Bella had told the wolves that Victoria was after her and Maggie (for a reason that Maggie hadn't yet shared with her but Mae didn't want to push her if she wasn't comfortable) but weren't any closer to actually capturing her. They needed every bit of help they could get, and one of her nights of terror just so happened to fall on the day Embry had first asked out Mae.

Just their luck, right?

Still, Mae loved how flustered Embry got every time she mentioned it.

"So what are we doing on this date you've planned?" she asked, smiling as Embry scooped her books into one arm and held her hand with the other. That was another thing, he walked her to class now! Mae truly felt like the lead girl in a rom-com. She wasn't sure if she loved it or hated it just for the clichés.

"That's a secret, Mae," he insisted as they stopped outside Mrs Sullivan's door. It wasn't open yet, leaving her students to hang around in the corridor as they waited for her. One of these students was Lina. She stood at the front of the line, her hard eyes locked on Mae and Embry's approaching figures. Her gaze dropped down to their hands and her nose wrinkled in disgust.

Mae let out a sigh. She didn't get it. She really didn't. Lina liked Embry, why the sudden distance?

"Jeez, if looks could kill..."

"You'd be dead, bro," a voice piped up from behind them.

Paul had just said goodbye to Maggie and was making his way over to the two when he saw Lina's face. He hadn't ever said it to Maggie but he'd never really liked her sister. Lina was nice when she wanted to be, but she was stuck up and cold to everyone else around her. He didn't appreciate how she treated his friends, and it certainly didn't help that her sudden strangeness had extended to his girlfriend too.

"Just ignore her," he said at the sight of Mae's frown. "You won't get through to her so long as she's got that stick up her ass."

Mae hated to say it but Paul was right. With a sigh, she turned to face Embry, squeezing his hand to draw his glare away from Lina. "You should head to class," she suggested, her frown lifting as he pouted. "I'll see you at lunch, okay?"

Embry nodded. "I'll save you a seat."

Then, much to both Mae and Paul's surprise, he pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek. Mae's eyes lit up in a way that neither boy missed. It made him feel the slightest bit better about what he'd just done. With one last stutter for a goodbye, Embry retreated with the giddiest of smiles. Paul watched him go with a shake of his head. The moment he was out of sight, he poked Mae in the ribs.

"You two are disgusting," he said as Mrs Sullivan finally let them inside.

"Shut up, we are not," Mae hissed.

Still, she couldn't stop herself from reaching up to touch the place where Embry's lips had lingered.

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UNLIKE LAST TIME, MAE didn't have Lina to help her get ready for her date. She had tried to ask her, but the moment they got home Lina slammed the door to her bedroom and blared the first CD she could find. Fortunately, her mother wasn't home, or Mae was sure she'd have copped a massive lecture. So Mae sat in the bathroom alone, trying her hardest not to poke out an eye as she struggled with the mascara.

She wished Lina would just let her in. Hell, she even approached the girl's door at one point, hoping that she'd find the old version of her sister if Lina saw the mess that was Mae's mascara attempt. But the closer she got to the bedroom, the more she chickened out. How messed up was that? Mae was anxious about speaking to her own sister. Never in her life had she been worried about what Lina would think. She hated it. And so she turned around, deciding to go with eyeliner instead of mascara.

She didn't need Lina anyways.

Unlike last time, Embry was knocking on her door right when he said he'd be there. Mae hurried to open the door before her father could, sending James a cheeky smile as he shot her a pointed stare and retreated back into the kitchen. And with a heavy heart, she opened the door.

For a moment, Embry just stood there, jaw dropped. She wasn't wearing anything too different. She'd gone for a similar ensemble to what she would've worn if she'd been asked on a date back home (cold weather be damned! Mae Cooper wanted to look cute!) but Embry still stared at her like she was dressed to the nines, eyes lingering in all the right places. Mae's proud smile seemingly snapped him out of his trance.

"You look ho — beautiful, Mae," he stammered, deciding at the last second that hot wasn't the right word to describe her when her dad could potentially overhear. "Really beautiful."

"Thanks, Em." She decided then that she was glad Embry had unintentionally stood her up before. It hurt, but the way he was looking at her now made up for it. "So, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, I—"

But Mae never got to know what he was about to say. Embry froze, his hands clenching on the door frame as he looked behind her. Mae followed his gaze worriedly only to find empty air. Her dad wasn't watching. Mae could hear him opening the back door. But something had gotten under Embry's skin. Carefully, Mae reached for his jaw and guided his eyes back to hers.

"What's wrong?" she asked, making sure to keep her voice down.

"I can smell two vampires down the hall," he said, his skin hot beneath Mae's hands. He pressed his face closer to her, like she was the only thing stopping him from losing himself. Mae probably would've kissed him had there not been so much tension. "Cullens."

It was safe to say their date was rescheduled again. 

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A/N: I already mentioned this in the summary but Kira and Lina's surname has been changed to Song. I was doing some more research for a future Lina scene, and I realised that the website I found her surname on was inaccurate. So meet Kira and Lina Song! That aside, I want to hear your theories on the cliff-hanger! What does Lina know? And why are there two Cullens in Mae's house without her knowing? Let me know what you think :)