What Happened in the Forest

Next Moves

Mara groaned as she opened her eyes and looked around the room. Her head was heavy as she rubbed her eyes, feeling as though her brain had been replaced with cotton. There was a dull throb in the back of her head. She then stared up at the ceiling, frowning as she tried to think back over the night before. She reached out and felt the bed empty next to her.

Where was Embry? He had been there, right?

She then sat up slowly and reached for her phone on the nightstand. There was a message from Richard asking about the storm damage and telling her he'd see her on Monday.

"Storm damage?" she muttered as she got out of bed.

She then turned towards her slightly open bedroom door, hearing noise from downstairs. She quickly made her way down the hall and the stairs, stopping as she walked into the living room.

"Thought you might sleep a bit later," Embry said, smiling from where he stood in the kitchen. "Breakfast isn't quite ready yet."

Mara blinked and looked towards the gaping hole in the back of her house where a pair of French doors used to be. The sun was shining through as she saw Jacob, Paul and Quil joking around in the backyard, surrounded by wood, doors, and various other implements they would use to fix up the house. The dining area had already been cleared and she wondered where her table was.

"They got here an hour ago. Should have it fixed up by tonight," Embry said.

Mara nodded silently as she walked over and pulled out a stool then sat down at the island. A pounding started again in her head as she tried to think back to what had exactly happened the night before. She remembered the storm. Vague recollections of glass and wood flying. Her dining table being destroyed by something.

Her head smacking into the wall as glass and wood cut her face. She hadn't looked in a mirror, but if she looked anything like she felt, it probably wasn't pretty.

"How are you feeling?" Embry asked, his brow furrowed in concern as he sat a mug of coffee in front of her. Mara stared at it a moment.

"I... what exactly happened last night?" she asked, looking up at him.

Embry pursed his lips together, not saying anything at first.

"What do you remember?" he asked.

"The doors blowing in. My table being destroyed... being out in the rain," she murmured. She looked over into the living room.

"You got hit in the head pretty hard," he replied. Mara looked back over at him.

"I did?" she asked.

"Flying debris," he said. Mara nodded and looked back out into the backyard, struggling to power through the haze that filled her mind. A wolf. And then... three others... pale skin...

Her eyes then widened as it all came flooding back.

"Marcus," she said. She looked over at Embry. "He came here looking for me. And then you, Demetri and Cecily killed him."

Embry sighed in relief.

"I was worried about your head wound. I wasn't sure if you had a concussion so kept waking you up," he said. "Scared me there for a second."

"And here we were discussing whether or not I should have Cecily wipe my memories," Mara replied with a haggard laugh.

She was glad that she decided against it, even more now that she had a taste of forgetting for just a few minutes. But it was more important that she remembered. Even if it terrified her, Mara felt like she needed to know what was out there so she could be prepared.