I sat at the top of the stairs without my parents knowing and listened to them converse about my future below. It was very early in the morning and the sun had not yet risen. Just a while earlier it had been decided that I should be forced to move to the Quileute reservation. My father had grown up there and he thought that it would be good idea for me to have a change of scenery after the recent death of my great grandmother Laura, my Nana. When the topic first came up I hated the idea, but as they discussed it I grew more and more fond of the idea. I could keep my friends and I wouldn't have to break up with my boyfriend. They'd only be a few hours or so away, in Seattle, and not only could I drive, there was a car sitting in the driveway with my name on it.

"Alastrina, come down here please," my mother called. I walked down the stairs and into the living room where my parents were waiting. My mother's blonde hair was swept up in a messy bun and her blue eyes looked worried about what they were about to divulge. My father however, looked confident as he sat, his shoulders back and his head raised high.

"Alastrina we have decided that it would be in your best interest if you went to live with your uncle Sam and his fiance Emily on the Rez," my father said as I took a seat on the chair across from him.

"Okay, I'll go." I got up and, without looking back, walked up to my room to pack. I sped quickly between my room and the bathroom and managed to stuff everything I wanted to bring into one large suitcase. I lugged the bag down the stairs and out side to my old Mercedes. It was a refurbished '55 Mercedes 300SL "Gull Wing", painted beige with madras fabric covering the seats. My father had found it in the junk yard and fixed it up for my sweet sixteen. I always hated the fact that my dad owned a motor repair shop, until then. I opened the passenger side door and it raised over my head. I lifted the suitcase into the car and laid it down flat on the back dash. I ran through a quick mental check list then sprinted back to my room. On my desk sat a wooden picture frame, in it was a photo of my boyfriend, Nick, and my three beast friends, Megan, Kelsey and Josh. I would call them from the road. I couldn't handle mushy goodbyes, besides it wasn't goodbye, it was more like going on on vacation. I'd be back to visit. Hopefully. I walked back down stairs and out to my car. I opened my car door and had to take a large step back when I realized I was too close for it to open all the way. I climbed in and threw the frame onto the seat next to me. I adjusted the seat, remembering that Nick was the last one to drive my car. The thought of not being able to see Nick was slightly upsetting but I would have to deal, I all ready said I would go. There was a faint click as I put on my seat belt and before starting the car I made sure that my purse was still on the floor of the seat next to me. I grabbed and made sure I had money for gas then turned the key in the ignition. The motor purred to life and I headed down the driveway and onto the busy streets of Seattle, and that was it, I left my family without a backwards glance. I pulled into the full servos gas station, turned killed the engine and cranked my window down as the guy walked briskly to my door.

"I need gas and an oil check," I said. I could have done it myself but I was feeling a little lazy and I only really needed a few gallons. He filled the tank and checked my oil.

"Oil's fine, that'll be twenty dollars."

"Thank you," I said, handing him the money. The sun started to rise and I started the engine and got back to my trip. I turned onto US- 101 W and settled in for the ride. I turned on my radio which was plugged into my iPod and blasted my music. I knew the way because we had visited uncle Sam's house before. He was my father's younger brother. The drive was easy and before I knew it I was turning right onto La Push road. I found his house easily and pulled into the driveway, window open and My Chemical Romance blasting. A large group of boys had been making their way through Sam's front door but turned when they heard me coming and I immediately regretted not taking the time to change out of my pajamas before leaving. I was wearing a black shirt that read My Chemical Romance and had I picture of a little marching man and black and white, cheetah print shorts, an unzipped MCR sweatshirt hung from my shoulders. I debated wether or not to leave before killing the engine and opening the door. I stepped out and could feel their eyes follow me as I walked around the back of the car to get to the other side. I opened the door and bent in to get my suitcase. I heard the the door open and turned just in time to see Emily whack each one of them in the back of the head. Most of them muttered apologizes and wandered inside but to waited behind, one of them was Sam.

"Alastrina! How are you?" Sam questioned.

"I'm okay, it's been kinda hard since the funeral," I admitted. "I hope you don't mind."

"No, you can come and stay anytime you want. It's great to have you here." He took my bag and I followed him through the door. The other one stood there like he was rooted to the spot and only came in when we were making our way down the hall to my new room. I thanked Sam and shut the door before pulling out some skinny jeans and put them on. I walked back to the living room to find everyone eating. Emily jumped up when she saw me and ran into the kitchen returning with a hot plate full of fresh food.

"Here," she said, "eat." She handed me the plate and I looked around the room for a place to sit. Six large, shirtless men sat around the room, stuffing their faces with food and the room felt awfully small. I decided to sit on the floor right where I had been standing. On my plate were two large pancakes, a huge helping of scrambled eggs and two pieces of bacon. Surprisingly I ate it all. I looked up from my plate to find everyone staring at me again. When I looked up they all put their heads back down, all, except one. The same one from before.

"Guys, this is my niece, Alastrina. She's going to be living with us for while," Sam said, trying to brake the tension. I waved shyly and everyone laughed.

"I'm Quil, that's Embry, Paul, Jarred and that knuckle head," he said pointing to each in turn and then to the one that had been staring at me, "is Jacob." I thought about it and the name seemed to ring a bell.

"Seth and Leah are on their way," Sam said.

"No," someone called from the front door, "Seth and Leah are here." They walked into the room and I instantly knew who Leah was. Her jaw dropped when she saw me and she yelled, "Sam! Why didn't you tell me Trina was coming?" I jumped up and ran over to give her a hug but pulled away when I felt how warm she was.

"Leah I think you have a fever. Are you sick?" I asked.

"No, I'm fine. When did you get here? How long are you staying?" she asked.

"I got here earlier this morning but I'm not sure how long I'm staying." I replied.

"Here, eat now, talk later," Emily said handing Leah a plate of food. Seth was all ready sitting, cross legged on the floor with a plate of food in his lap. I sat back down and thought more about Jacob. I knew a Jacob from somewhere but it wasn't from my school. My brow furrowed in thought I came up with the only conclusion I could, Jacob Black. We had been friends when I was really little but something had happened right before we moved. Something stupid that made me say I never wanted to talk to him again. I couldn't even remember what it was but I had stuck true to my promise and never spoke to him since. My head shot up and I looked straight at him, he was still watching me and I was sure that he knew. I was worried, would this ruin my chances at setting things right? Would I be able to get my friend back? Sam glanced my way and followed my line of sight to Jacob. His eyes widened a bit before he regained his calm demeanor.

"Hey Jake, can I talk to you for a minuet?"

JACOB'S POV

"Yeah, sure," I said. I got up and followed Sam out the door but my eyes didn't leave Al's until I was out the door.

"I know you remember Alastrina and why they left but she needs friends right now. Nana Laura just passed away last month and she's taking it pretty hard. Laura raised practically raised her. I know on the inside she's pretty beat up," Sam said. I was shocked. Everyone called her Nana Laura because she was close to all of us but she was really Al's great grandmother on her mom's side. It was upsetting to hear of her death and I knew Seth and Leah would be sad as well. She took care of all four of us.

"Are we going to tell her about all of us? You know she might have the werewolf gene in her." Sam's brow furrowed in thought and he started pacing.

"We can't tell her yet, but if she shifts then we'll have to," he said, coming to a stop in front of me. "There's more, isn't there?" he asked, grimly.

"No," I lied. Of corse there was more, there had always been more, but he didn't have to know, not yet. Before he could ask anymore questions I went into the house. My eyes automatically found hers and my hand shook when I saw how she was tucked between Quil and Embry on the couch. Leah, seeing my slight movement, got up and gave a stern look to Embry.

"I'm sorry Alastrina but Embry and I need to get to work," she said and I realized she was right, Embry and her had patrol this morning. I made a mental note to thank Leah as Embry sighed and stood up to follow her outside.

"I have to babysit Claire today so I guess I'll get going too." Quil hadn't really caught what Leah had but he wasn't stupid either. He got up and left to go take care of his infant imprint. I took his place next to Al and she visibly scooted over so that we sat with enough room between us for someone to sit between us. I tried to calm my shaking but it only increased when Seth took the open seat and sat there casually.

"Hey, Seth, remember our little deal?" Paul asked. "You have to come and clean my room before lunch. Why don't you come along Jared?" Some of the guys definitely caught on faster than others. My arms were shaking slightly now and I was so mad, at him but also at myself for my lack of self control. They left and Sam and Emily went to get groceries but I couldn't control it. I had to leave or rick hurting her, I was to mad at the others, at the horrible death of Nana Laura, at myself for not being able to talk to her and for realizing after all those years that what I felt for the girl who sat next to me was not a simple crush. I had imprinted on Alastrina Uely and I couldn't do anything about it.

Alastrina's POV

He sat there, shaking uncontrollably but I couldn't bring myself to ask him what was wrong. Suddenly he stood from the couch and made his way quickly out the door. He hadn't said anything, nothing at all and while I sat there thinking I remembered what had happened between us all those years ago.

*FLASHBACK*

"Guess what?" a five year old me screamed as I ran up to a boy about the same age with dark skin and shaggy black hair.

"What?" he asked returning all of my enthusiasm.

"I have a crush on a boy!" I squealed and continued to jump up and down.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"I'll tell you but you have to double pinky promise not to tell anyone," I said, holding out both pinkys and crossing my wrists. He held out his and we latched them together. "It's Daniel," I whispered.

He wrenched his fingers from mine, took and huge step back and in an angry voice said, "Alastrina Uely, we are no longer friends." From there he went on to tell everyone he knew and we vowed never to be friends again.

*END FLASHBACK*

I ran to my room, crying and quickly unzipped my suitcase. One small compartment held a tiny pocket knife. With it in my hand I threw open my window and climbed out. I sprinted into the woods to find a good place to hide before adding another deep gash to my left wrist. I started cutting right after my Nana's death and now my wardrobe was prohibited to either a long sleeved shirt or a sweatshirt everyday. No one seemed to notice and as my right arm grew full I had to start on my left. I tried made sure that todays addition would be painful and long lasting but as I cleared my tear filled eyes to look at it it seemed as if I had never made the cut. I cried out in anger and cut again, biting deeper into the flesh of my arm. There was the initial sting but it faded all too quickly and I watched in amazement as it healed instantly. I started blindly gnawing at my wrist with the knife but as I made each cut the previous one healed. My body started to shake and soon I was on the ground writhing in pain. After what felt like hours of laying there, my body convulsing I was able to think straight and sit up but as I sat up I noticed that I was no longer in my own body. Was I finally going mad? No, my body was definitely covered in pure white fur. I was definitely going crazy. I started to run on all fours in no set direction. I just ran away from it all because there was nothing else I could do. I was a big white wolf and there was nothing I could do about it. I started to remember some stories that my father used to tell me about wolves. He said that the Quileutes had been descended from wolves and that we all had a little bit of them left in us. I guess this is what he meant. I remembered back to Sam's living room where I had been sitting within an arms reach of Jacob. He had been shaking like when I first started to change. It scared me to think that he could be like this too, but maybe it was just me. Maybe I was alone. I felt that I was alone in the world and there was no possible way that any other person could be experiencing this. I ran until the pads on my paws were cracked and bleeding and I collapsed to the ground, my tongue lolling out of the side of my mouth. I lay there panting and waited for my heart rate to slow down. When I was finally calmed down enough to think straight a horrible smell hit my nose. It was sickly sweet and reminded me almost of rosemary. Some sort of primal instinct told me that this meant danger. I jumped up and looked around but I could see nothing out of the ordinary. I did the only thing I could do, I threw my head back and howled out my distress. Then a voice popped into my mind.

"Stay right where you are. I'm on my way." I didn't know if I had grown even crazier or if it really was Jacob that I had heard. Wether or not it was, however, didn't matter because I followed the command and stayed right where I was. Moments later a large russet brown wolf broke into the clearing. He was panting hard and he carried something in his mouth. He dropped it at my feet and I saw that it was a paper bag. I looked back at him and cocked my head to the side.

"Clothes." He didn't really say it. It was more like he sowed himself going to my new room at Sam's house and grabbing the pajama shorts I was wearing earlier and a random shirt. I instantly understood. My clothes had been destroyed when I transformed. He walked back into the woods and I began to grow worried.

"Don't worry, I am right here. You wont want me to be standing right there when you change back," he thought in my head. Somehow I knew exactly what he meant and what I needed to do to be human again. I concentrated as hard as I could and then heard a loud pop. I stretched out my arms before me and saw human hands and I couldn't have been any more relieved. I quickly tore open the bag and threw it to the ground. I pulled on the clothes inside and for some reason I felt relieved that he hadn't gone into my underwear. I ran quickly into the woods to find Jake. As soon as I saw him I ran at him and tackled him to the ground. With my arms around his neck I hugged him and he hugged me back. I started to sob into his bare shoulder.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled through my sobs. I wanted so badly for him to forgive me.

"I know you're sorry. I'm sorry too but it's not safe to be out here like this. We have to get back. I all ready called a pack meeting." He pulled away and we walked back through the forest hand in hand. We walked until I could faintly see a dirt road on the other side of the trees.

"Stay behind me and stay silent. No matter what happens," he whispered. I stepped behind him and clamped my mouth shut. He stepped out of the forest and I followed right behind him.

"What is this about Jake?" I could hear Sam ask.

"I'm sorry, I had a little hold up," his eyes passed to each member of the group, "Victoria was," he was cut off by Paul.

"What the hell is she doing here Jake?" Paul asked, pointing at me. "You went and did it again didn't you?" His arm twitched and I knew, probably before he did, that he was going to attack Jake. This time there was no pain as I shoved Jake out of the way and shifted. Even before Paul was able to blink I had him pinned. He was still human and all movement had stopped.

"Ha! Leah, you've found you're match!" Quil joked boisterously. I curled my top lip back and growled at Paul as I retreated. He wouldn't be attacking any of his pack members anytime soon. Not while I was around.

"It would be nice if she knew what was going on," Jacob said. "I found her in the woods, like this, with Victoria hiding in the woods not far away." He came to stand beside me and scratch behind my ear, I would have to wait for someone to get me more clothes and I couldn't speak as a wolf so I would have to trust Jacob to be my voice on the matter.

"Paul, Jared, Quil and Embry, go see if you can pick up Victoria's trail. Leah, go get clothes for Alastrina. Seth, go gather the elders." Sam finished giving his directions and every one started to leave.

"Leah, make sure you remember a sweatshirt," Jacob said. Leah looked at him oddly but left without asking any questions. Jake knew me too well. I was always cold, even in the summer, and I wore sweatshirts all year round. I would have to thank him later. There were other reasons that I wore a sweatshirt and I could probably count them on my wrists.