Embry stood at the edge of the beach, his feet sinking into the sand as the waves crashed against the shore. The evening sky was painted in shades of pink and orange, the sound of seagulls filling the air. He’d been enjoying the quiet, letting the cool breeze wash over him, when a sudden, strange pull hit him like a wave crashing from the inside. It wasn’t a physical force, but something deeper, primal—something his packmates had warned him about. He froze, his heart racing as he scanned the empty beach around him. No one. No one except the waves, the sky, and the distant treeline. He felt a pang of confusion, maybe even a little panic. Was this what it felt like? The imprinting? But there was no one here. His mind scrambled, trying to make sense of it. Was he just imagining it? He’d heard all the stories—Jacob, Sam, Paul—but he never thought it would hit him like this, and certainly not without a person to connect it to.