Chapter One: Transformation

It didn't matter. No matter where I went or what I did, I couldn't shake the fact of all the stuff that I had been involved in. My friends had abandoned me, with death. I couldn't fight it, I couldn't prevent it. Chained down, I had to watch as they were torn limb from limb, their blood spilt upon the grassy floor, the life leave their eyes, and the sound of their voices howling at me, demanding me to run and never look back. I hesitated but I listened, no longer questioning it and ran.

I didn't stop. I kept going, my legs growing weak and my heart pounding hard in my chest. My face was cold, all the feeling almost gone. My skin was becoming more pale as I moved on, the cold stinging every inch of it. I didn't have a destination but I knew that I had to keep going. I would be next if I stopped. I was frightened, worried and angry. They taught me to control my anger, convinced me that it was essential that I didn't let it get the best of me and take over. I had always listened, never questioning them but now I was wishing that I had. Was there a reason why? There had to be but what could it have been? I would never know now, and that upset me even more. I was eager to know, it felt like a secret being kept from me, but at the same time I was worried.

I shook my head in an attempt to get the thought out of my head. I was determined to hide now. My very life was in some serious form of danger, and even though I was supposed to run and never look back, I was determined to fight what was chasing me. I could feel my blood beginning to boil, my rage starting to grow and I knew what was wrong. I wanted revenge.

"WATCH OUT!"

I skidded to a stop as I heard the voice, making a quick mental note that I was on a highway or some kind of back road. The screeching of tires caused my eyes to bolt towards the quickly approaching vehicle. I froze up, dead in my tracks. The lights grew brighter but I couldn't move. I could hear the honking coming from the vehicle but even that didn't help. Instantly, I shut my eyes and waited for the crashing impact to come.

I opened my eyes, unsure of what was going on. I was alive, yet there was a boy next to me. I looked at him, watching his eyes as they were focused on me.

"What happened?" I asked him. No response. Wow, this guy was a charmer. Sighing, I scratched the back of my head and stood up. I watched his dark brown eyes as they stared into the deep blue color of my own. I glanced back at the road to find the vehicle had continued on its merry way and I couldn't help but sigh once again.

"Sorry to cut this little encounter short but I gotta keep going. I have to keep running. They'll catch up if I don't." I told him as I glanced behind me. My clothes were torn from the constant run-in with branches as they caught onto the fabric, ripping it as I ran through. My face and skin was dirty, my hair a complete mess. My eyes held a look of fear, anger and desperation. I knew that I had to do this, making sure to never look back. This was my new life. I had no home, no family, nothing but running. I had to forget my previous life, start a new one somewhere far away from this place.

"Good-bye." I muttered as I bolted back into the trees. The wind rushing against me as I ran. I had been boiling warm a couple seconds ago and this wind was cooling my body down. I couldn't afford to let my body overheat and want to shut down. There was no time. I had to keep moving. The sudden pain in my stomach made my eyes widen as I moved through the trees. I needed food and water, more so rest. Animals in the forest had tempted me, taunted my mind, made me think more than once about killing them. The thought made me stop and look around, my eyes darting towards every sound. I quickly fell to my knees, my stomach growling fiercely as I heard another growl come from somewhere around me. Instantly, I could feel my body tense up.

"Who's there?" I shouted as I quickly jumped to my feet, my body turning towards the sound. My eyes had lowered into a glare as I pulled a knife from the holster on my back and stood defensively in the middle of a clearing. The growling continued as I felt this weird feeling in my gut. It was if I knew what the growling was and I was reacting to it.

"Come out!" I demanded as I watched a large black wolf walk out from the trees, my body standing up straight as I held the knife tightly in my hand. My body was heating up and it felt as if something was growing inside of me. I stood my ground, the growling louder than before and I took a step back as I felt my heart racing once more. I was slightly shaking now, my eyes focused on the animal in front of me.

"What the hell is this?" I snapped as I heard more growling. Looking around, I noticed that there was a whole group of wolves surrounding me. I suddenly felt threatened as I turned to the sound of human footsteps.

"Who are you?" He asked me, his dark brown eyes staring into mine again.

"Heh, you expect me to tell you my name when I've got a pack of mutts surrounding me? You're funny." I growled as I watched them carefully.

"This isn't a game." He spoke again as the wolves got closer.

"…tch… Yeah, you would probably say that but the last time I checked, I didn't think this was a game. I don't like being surrounded." I spoke as I flipped the knife around in my hand, pointing the blade down towards the ground as I stood there.

"Why do you have that scent?" He asked.

"… scent? Uh, what are you talking about?" I asked him, smelling my clothes. It wouldn't surprise me if I smelled bad. I had been running for days.

"… Yeah, you smell like… a dog." He walked towards me, examining me carefully as the black wolf took a step forward.

"… a dog? Wait a sec! Who the hell do you think you are? I definitely don't smell like a dog!" I snapped at him, taking a step towards him in a defensive manner. As soon as I had taken a step, I felt a pair of teeth sink into my shoulder and then sudden pain in my back as I collided with a tree a few feet away.

"Thanks Sam." The male spoke as he picked up my knife from the ground and tossed it into the trees.

"Do me a favour. Call off your pets, would ya?" I asked him as I stood up, examining my now bleeding shoulder. Sighing, I cracked my shoulders and watched them.

"I think she's from a different pack." The male spoke again.

"Look, I don't know who you are and I don't care. I have to go. I can't…" I stopped when for some odd reason, my nose caught onto a familiar scent. My eyes widened and I turned in the direction it had come from. Quickly, I bolted towards the scent and skidded to a stop when I suddenly came face to face with her.

"Hello again, mutt." She spoke with a grin, her sharp teeth visible as she took a step towards me.

"So it was you. I was beginning to wonder if you would ever catch up to me." I smirked as I walked around in a circle with her, our eyes locked on each other as we watched the other for sudden movements. I could hear the sound of the wolves and the boy heading this way but I would deal with them later.

"Such a cocky little bitch." She spoke as she ran forward.

"Not even close." I grinned as I grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into the ground, a sudden feeling of adrenaline rushing through me as I felt like my skin was beginning to tear.

"And the transformation begins." The blonde woman laughed as she kicked me off her, jumping back into the tree tops.

"W-what are you talking about?" I shouted at her as I fell to my knees, my body burning as I closed my eyes and finally felt my skin tear. It was a serious amount of pain as I howled and heard the sound of a wolf. Glaring, I spun around to find no one was there.

"Oh, this is priceless!" The woman laughed as she watched me from the trees.

"What are you talking about?" I shouted again, only to find that my voice wasn't my own. My words came out as some form of a bark mixed with a growl. What the hell was going on? I looked down at myself to find a silver wolf instead. My eyes widened as I stepped back, shaking my head. The sound of the wolves and the boy coming towards us made me jump as I looked around for some place to hide. Quickly, I ran behind a tree as they walked out from the shadows.

"We know that you're here!" The boy shouted as he looked around.

"Go away!" I demanded, once again the weird barking echoing through the trees. Sighing, I stepped out to face them as I glanced up at the tree. Glaring, I ran towards the tree and rammed it with my shoulder, watching her fall and jump back.

"That was uncalled for!" She snapped as she ran towards me, digging a large branch into the open wounds in my shoulder.

"Bitch!" I cursed in my mind as I howled in pain and snapped at her, my teeth inches from her as her foot collided with my jaw. Wincing, I stepped back from her and watched her stand in front of me, her very presence taunting me. She was the one I wanted revenge on, that I needed to kill to get the satisfaction I craved. Glaring, I ripped out the branch she had buried in my shoulder and ran towards her, watching her move to the side. Smirking, I grabbed her leg and sunk my teeth in as I tore it right off. It was like breaking a statue.

"You filthy mutt!" She screamed at me as she picked up a rock, whipping it at my head.

"I'm going to finish this now." I thought to myself as I walked towards her, avoiding the stone as her eyes finally began to show fear. Quietly, I stood over her as I lunged at her head, ripping it from her torso and threw it against a tree, scratching apart the leftover corpse. Smiling, I found myself sitting down and licking at my shoulder. It hurt, a lot. My eyes darted towards the wolves that moved silently in my direction, and a growl echoed from my throat as I stood up, my teeth bared at them. This wasn't going to end well if they decided to attack me. I didn't like the odds I was up against. I'd obviously be dead if they decided they wanted to attack.

"Who are you?" The male asked once again.

"I…" Wolf speak again. Awesome. How the hell did you change back to a human or was this permanent? I didn't know, and I was starting to worry. People would notice a large wolf wandering around the forest, especially the hunters. Oh god, the hunters. They would definitely try to make a trophy out of me.

"Can you change back?" He asked me as he looked back at the black wolf.

"No." I shook my head. I didn't know how. Hello! I just randomly changed into this thing! How am I supposed to know how to change back?

"Come with us." He spoke as he shifted into a wolf himself and took off with the others.

"But I…" Sighing, I quickly followed after them. It felt weird to run on all fours instead of on my own two feet. It was like… something out of a dream. You know when kids dream they're an animal? This is what it would be like for them. This was some crazy dream. It had to be, I mean… these kinds of things didn't exist. Vampires and werewolves? What the hell was going on?

I watched the wolves ahead of me, the way they moved and I noticed the different coloring to their fur. This was so weird for me. I just wanted things to be normal. Was this what had happened to my friends, my family? Were they wolves like me? Could this be why I was supposed to keep my anger under control? I was beginning to wonder as we came to a stop and everyone shifted back to their human form. My eyes widened as I came to find that they were all male, and they all had the same kind of tattoo.

"Alright, just calm down and think about your human form." One of them told me.

"Okay." I nodded my head and thought about it, watching as I shifted back into my normal self. A smile reached my face as I spun around, examining myself and then looked at them.

"There we go. Human again." He laughed.

"Who are you people?" I asked them, brushing the hair from my eyes. I really needed a shower and some clean clothes. This was ridiculous. I felt so gross.

"Sam Uley." I watched him as he spoke, his voice rather deep, and I knew that he was the alpha male. He was quite tall, his brown eyes standing out slightly against his copper skin, and he had an older face along with cropped black hair.

"Jared." This one spoke quickly, as if he didn't want to much hold a conversation with anyone. His brown eyes didn't bother to even look in my direction as I examined him. Like Sam, he had black cropped hair as well, and his eyes didn't really stand out against his red-brown skin. He looked like he wasn't a very open guy.

"Jacob Black." My eyes darted to him as he spoke, his voice sounding soothing and calm, but he also had the tone that could belong to an alpha male. His brown eyes stared into mine as I shifted my weight from one leg to the other. He was taller than everyone, probably about 7ft, and his hair was slightly longer than everyone else's. It suited him, with his russet skin.

"Paul." Another one who didn't like to talk much. I examined him, noticing he was slightly similar to Jared. His red-brown skin, brown eyes and cropped black hair. Yeah, similar to Jared.

"Terra." Was she the only female? I glanced around quickly. Yeah, it would seem like it. Her dark brown eyes held my gaze strongly as I watched her standing closely to Jacob. She was shorter than him of course, and her skin was a tad lighter than his, as if she was permanently tanned. Her dark black hair extended down past her shoulders, slightly hiding half of her face as she stood there. She was slender, but it was obvious that she could hold her own in a fight.

"Seth Clearwater." My eyes glanced at him, he looked more like he was the youngest member of this pack. Again with the slightly cropped black hair, and the russet skin. His face held a slight grin as he watched them. He was like an excited kid who wanted candy. I couldn't help but smile as I scratched my head.

"Quil Ateara." The second last male spoke as I turned to look at him. His brown eyes stood out slightly against his russet-brown skin. I watched as he scratched his head, his hand running through the messy black strands.

"Embry Call." My eyes immediately shot to him. He was tall and slender, his dark brown eyes were clearly focused on me. I followed the curves of his muscles, his red-brown skin and cropped black hair, even though it was still longer than most. His voice was soothing to me, and I couldn't figure out why. This was the male who had found me, and I didn't expect much from him for a conversation.

"I'm Zari Tamashii." I spoke quickly, scratching the back of my two-toned hair, the platinum blonde above the original black coloring of my hair. It probably looked silver to them. I glanced up at the full moon and sighed. It was still so mesmerizing to me, and I could remember when I hated the moon.

"It's getting late. Everyone head home. Embry, stay here." Sam spoke as he looked at me. I watched as everyone shifted again and then they were gone. I looked from Sam to Embry, my heart racing. What were they going to do?

"Embry, take her back to your place. I don't want her running around with vampires after her. It could cause problems for us." Sam ordered. I glared at him.

"Excuse me? You guys wouldn't leave me alone long enough for me to get away from here!" I barked at him.

"C'mon, you're not staying out here. Sam's right." Embry spoke as he grabbed my hand, dragging me along with him as I continued to glare at Sam.

"Yeah, and he's only right because he's your damn alpha male." I growled. I stood up straight as we stopped, Embry turning to face me with a deadly look in his eyes.

"Listen. Do you want to sleep outside with the bloodsuckers? There's a group of vampires nearby and they don't happen to take kindly to our kind. But hey, by all means, go nuts and have yourself some fun. I'm heading home where I won't have any problems. And for your information, he's not right because he's the alpha male. He's right because we don't know anything about you or why the vampires happen to be chasing you, so think about that one for a moment before you open your mouth." He growled.

"Alright, alright. I take it back then, geez. Let's go." I muttered as I followed him, my footsteps silent as I walked alongside him. My eyes watched him carefully, slightly nervous about another random burst of anger. He didn't seem like the type to get angry often, or was I mistaken?

"Hm, I'm going to have to tell my mother something about why you're coming home with me." He spoke as he stopped in front of his house.

"Oh, right. Uh, what can we tell her?" I asked him as I stood at the bottom of his steps.

"I'll make something up to tell her." Embry muttered as he opened his front door and walked inside, holding the door for me.

"Sure." I sighed as I walked inside, noticing a woman sleeping on the sofa. Looking at Embry, I followed him into the living room and watched patiently as he woke her.

"Mom, this is Zari. Do you mind if she stays with us?" Embry spoke softly, his eyes moving slowly to me. It was obvious that she was staring at the condition of my clothes.

"Oh, is everything okay Embry? She looks like she's been through hell." The woman spoke.

"Yes ma'am. I've just… had a bad day." I told her as I brushed the hair from my eyes again.

"What happened to you?" She asked me, walking over and examining the cuts all over my body.

"I've been running through the forest for a couple days. My family… is dead." I whispered, Embry watching me carefully.

"Oh, you poor girl. Go on upstairs and wash up. I'll make you both something to eat. Embry, give her something to wear for the night and I'll take her shopping tomorrow." The woman spoke as she headed into the kitchen.

"Thank you so much, Ms. Call." I smiled as I looked at him. I watched his dark brown eyes before following him upstairs. Carefully, I walked into the bathroom and quickly stripped myself of my clothes, climbing into the warm water.

"You're supposed to shut the door, Zari." Embry called from his room.

"Oh… uh… sorry about that!" I shouted back to him as I felt the sudden sting from my open wounds, the dry blood running off into the bottom of the tub and down the drain. The dirt and mud washed itself from me as I stared at the ceiling. Why were they doing this? They didn't even know me.

"Hey, the clothes are on the counter." Embry told me as he shut the bathroom door, sighing.

"Thank you." I muttered as I shut off the water, climbing out and looked at the clothes. I could smell his scent on them. He had an interesting scent, one that constantly caught my attention. It was weird. Carefully, I slid the clothes on and shook my head, my hair almost dry already.

Glancing out the door, I could smell the food from the kitchen as I headed towards the stairs. As I turned around, I came face to face with Embry.

"Thank you." I told him, smiling softly. I watched him stare directly into my eyes, his face quite serious. What was up with him?

"Yeah." He smiled back after a moment, walking down the stairs as he scratched his head.

"Mmm. Smells absolutely delicious." I grinned as I walked down after him, entering the kitchen.

"I hope you like it." The woman smiled at us as she set the food down on the table.

"I'm sure I will. Food is amazing, no matter which way you look at it." I grinned, sitting next to Embry and following him as he started eating. It tasted delicious! Food back home never tasted this good. I grinned as I devoured it and smiled at his mother.

"Oh, you must be starving." She laughed, a warm smile on her face and a kind glisten to her eyes.

"Yes ma'am, I was. Thank you so much for your hospitality." I smiled as Embry motioned for me to follow him.

"We're going to get some sleep, okay?" Embry told her, watching her expression.

"Okay, good-night you two. Sleep well." She smiled as she headed back to the sofa, turning on the TV again.

"Good-night, Ms. Call!" I called to her as I walked up the stairs, watching Embry flop down on his bed. Quietly, I leaned against the wall and slid down it, sitting on his floor. It was weird. I felt more welcome here than back at home.

"C'mon, you're not sleeping on the floor." He told me, grabbing my hand again and pulled me towards the bed.

"Oh, okay." I laughed, laying down and quickly made myself comfortable. It felt nice to lay down on an actual bed. I could finally rest.

"Get some sleep. I'll wait for you to wake up." He smiled, pulling the cover over both of us and set his head on his arm as he closed his eyes.

"Mhm." I whispered, his scent filling my nose and comforting me as I moved closer to him. He was giving off heat and I was cold again. Then again, when wasn't I cold? For a wolf, you were supposed to be warm, everyone knows that… but with me, I'm always ice cold, like a vampire. Quietly, I stayed close to him, my head just below his chin as I pressed my hands against his chest. I couldn't tell if he was sleeping but I didn't care. I was cold, he was warm and I wanted sleep.

"Go to sleep." I heard him whisper as he placed his arm over me and held me against him. As soon as he did, I was out cold.