1. Jacob

The forest was a blur in front of my face. I could feel the packed floor beneath my paws, the sticks snapping violently and the shrubbery grazing my furry sides. I remembered, with some hilarity, the point in my life where I had hated the fact that I was a werewolf. I let out a throaty laugh -more of a growl, really, you see, wolves can't laugh- and stopped running. I was near the ocean again, shrouded in the trees just off the beach. I wanted to phase back into my human form, to run to Forks as fast as I could and take Bella Swan into my arms. I wanted her to forget all about that pathetic bloodsucker she seemed so infatuated with; forget him, and love me. I was sure I had imprinted on her. Absolutely sure. I shook my wolf head, whimpering sadly to myself. I began to pad slowly on the edge of the forest. I could hear the slow, rumbling rush of the waves as they hit the shore. I remembered the many, many times I'd strolled with Bella on this beach, sat on our tree; held hands.

I smiled beside my rotten mood. It was quickly wiped away from my long, grizzly muzzle. It made my chest tighten painfully, thinking about those times. It seemed like such a long time ago now; a hundred years, maybe longer. She was due to be married soon.

I felt morose, dead, and cold despite my normal one-oh-eight-point-nine temperature. But the dull ache of my heart and the blood I heard pounding deftly in my ears proved that I was very much alive.

Which was a disappointment to me, because, at this point, I wanted nothing more than to become a pale, heartless zombie. And dead. That's how Bella liked them. Bloodthirsty.

My face immediately fell into a pit of confusion. What?

I couldn't believe what I'd just thought. Envying vampires? Filthy leeches. Now I must be going insane.

I shook my shaggy head again, eyes tightly closed. I laughed mirthlessly at myself. Then, my eyes flew open again in a fit of shock. Once I realized what was happening, I sighed.

"Jacob?"

Sam's voice echoed again, louder this time, more authoritively in my head.

"Back to Emily's, now, Jacob. Someone here I'd like you to meet."

He faded at the end of his words, obviously phasing back into his human form. I sighed again, louder this time, more pronounced, so I knew he'd hear it. Then my shoulders heaved, as I took a step backward, exploding back into my original body. I shook my legs -now there was only two of them- and stretched my arms luxuriously. I untied the blue jeans I'd strapped to my leg, and slipped them on in one quick, fluid motion. Another perk about becoming a werewolf was the underlying grace. It made me angry, sometimes, when I did things more fluently than I'd originally planned upon. It reminded me of one of them; the leeches that I hated so much.

I looked down out of my reverie and suddenly realized that my jeans had two holes in the knees. I growled -a doglike growl, but human in it's own way- but didn't care. Well, I didn't care enough to run home and change, anyway. If the person Sam wanted me to meet was all that important, I'd soon face retribution from the leader's end.

I slowly began my trek to Emily and Sam's house. The small shack came into view, hidden by the trees and bushes. The flowers that fell along the edges of the white house brought a touch of gentility to the place. My over sensitive nostrils picked up each different scent; each different kind of flower. I grinned. Emily's garden was the best I've ever seen.

I looked up as I heard calm voices drifting from the open windows. It was a reasonably sunny day, and a warm breeze drifted through the air. It ruffled my hair as I took the three steps in one leap, and wrenched the screen door open.

Emily greeted me with a swift kiss on the cheek that she had to jump to give. I smiled at her as warmly as I could, but she was not convinced. There was nothing but worry in her dark eyes.

"You okay, Jakey?" she asked, touching my arm briefly with the tips of her fingers. I nodded at her, donning a look of innocence. "I'm alright, Em, really!" I said, a little too exuberantly. I noticed Sam staring at me from the secluded corner of the tiny kitchen. His face was perfectly calm, one of his dark eyebrows raised in faint interest. His russet skinned arms were folded lazily across his broad chest. Only now did I realize he was smiling, just a little. The smirk playing across his lips made me narrow my eyes.

It made me nervous.

He only smiled like that when he was planning something; something that he was extremely careful not to think about. He pushed himself away from the wall he'd been leaning against using one of his feet. Sam then reached over and clapped me on the shoulder. He and Emily shared a mischievous glance. Now I knew something was up.

"Jake, I'd like you to meet Emily's cousin, Lurai Ralay." Sam said, hand still placed firmly on my shoulder. He tightened his grip briefly, before releasing me. Emily's eyes shot toward the doorway to the kitchen, and her grin grew as wide as her ruined face would allow. I turned to see what they were staring at, and my eyes grew wide with unhidden shock.

Lurai Ralay had to be the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. Her hair fell into the middle of her slender back in gentle waves. Her skin intrigued me; it was a lighter shade of russet than I was used to seeing. It was refreshing, in a strange way, to set my eyes on such a pleasant change. And then I noticed her eyes. They fell in perfect accordance with her thin nose, and full lips; not to mention that they were an electrifying, bright blue. They drew my attention so fiercely that I found myself unable to look away, for fear that the gorgeous girl would disappear if I even took a second to blink. She was smiling, her bright, perfect teeth blinding against her skin. I felt myself smiling too. Suddenly, I felt much, much too warm.

Sam nudged me in passing, his elbow colliding directly - and painfully- into my spine. It brought me roughly back to attention, and I struggled with myself to find the right words to say to her. My mouth opened and closed a few times like a fish before I finally choked out a pathetic sentence.

"Hi. I-I'm Jacob. N-Nice to meet y-you."

I had the incredible urge to smack myself in the forehead.

Embarrassment swelled in my chest, followed by a new emotion that, until now, I'd only felt in the company of one other person.

I knew what imprinting felt like now, and I liked it.