Chapter 1

A New Beginning

I took a deep breath as the car pulled up and onto the driveway of a strange looking house. The picket fence that was once white was now faded and splintered in areas. Some fence planks had become loose and were hanging off the frame. The lawn was overgrown grassy and untidy, some long daisies dotted amongst the blades of grass.

The house itself was not too bad. It was in desperate need of a coat of paint and the windows were slightly tainted yellow but it had it's charm. The house was situated on the edge of a glorious green forest and it was quite apart from the other houses in the block. Each house slightly different from the next, it wasn't like at home where every house on the street was identical.

I sighed to myself, it's a long way from England. I tried to look on the bright side. The countryside here was absolutely breathtaking. The forest at the edge of the house was tall and mysterious. I felt like it was drawing me in. I wondered vaguely if they had bears here...

"You going to sit there all day?" asked a deep voice interrupting my thought. I turned to my Grandfather. He looked back at me sternly. "Well?" He pushed.

He doesn't like me at all. I was a constant reminder of the mistake his daughter had made. A constant reminder that I was nothing like him. Everything about me was the polar opposite of him. His hair was jet black and hung flat framing his face and mine was red, wild and curly. His skin a bronzed copper and mine pale and freckled. He was broad, muscular and strong and I was tall, lanky.

"Of course not sir." I said, not really understanding what he wanted me to do.

I grabbed at the door handle and clambered out of the car. Shortly followed by my Grandfather who was muttering a few curse words under his breath. He opened the boot of his car and he grabbed my large suitcase with ease. For an old man he sure was strong. My father had only mentioned him once or twice to me in the past and it was never anything nice. I really didn't know what to do with myself. I pulled my coat around myself shivering trying to adjust to the climate here was going to be a shock. I guess this was home now, I looked towards the darkness of the forest feeling as though someone was watching me...

"Come on girl!" hissed Grandfather, looking at me irritatingly, "stop dawdling." I looked back at him and he was almost up the pathway to the house. I quickly ran and caught up with him, blushing at being so easily.

"I'm sorry." I said quietly, following the old man into the house.

The house wasn't all that different on the inside, it must of been last decorated about 20 years ago, the wallpaper patterns faded but it looked homely. It was a large bungalow really, that was the best way to describe it. When you walked thought the front door you could see the living room and kitchen all in one area. It seemed surprisingly spacious. With a couple of doors leading off to other rooms to the left. I wondered which one was my room...if I had.

"This one is yours." Said my Grandfather, as though he was reading my mind.

He opened the door closest to the front door...escape route; I noted. I peered into the room. The walls were painted in the same faded red as the living room. There was a large window with a view of the little blue house next to this one. Under the window was a single bed with a fresh bed cover and a bedside table with a lamp missing a lampshade. There was a wardrobe the opposite the bed, which looked like it could collapse at any moment. I don't know what I expected really but I knew I should be grateful. This man had only held me as a newborn baby and here I was coming to live with.

"I expect it's not what you're used to." He said, breaking the silence. Images of my bedroom in England flashed into my head. My emerald green wallpaper and my large comfy double bed.

"No it's lovely." I replied, trying to take my suitcase out of my grandfathers hands. He pushed me to one side and moved it onto the bed with ease. The bed made a wheezing noise underneath it. He muttered something that I couldn't make out. "Really," I said, trying to get eye contact. He seemed to not want to meet my eye, "I mean it. I can't thank you enough for letting me stay here with you."

"It's not like I had much choice." He said, looking up at me finally. I didn't really know what to say to that. I sat on the bed next to the suitcase. The bed wheezed underneath me."I'll let you unpack..." He moved towards the door, with two strides he was across the room; "dinner is at seven."

"Thanks Grandfather." I said, calling him that for the first time. He turned around to look at me.

"Call me Briarwood." He said.

"Okay Grandfather Briarwood." I replied, trying to lighten the mood. His face didn't even move. And with one more step he was outside the door. He quickly closed it behind him. I sighed to myself, leaning back against the bed, at least it was comfy.

The rest of the evening was uneventful. He made us some questionable stew which reminded me slightly of gruel but there was a large loaf of bread to eat with it so I was surprisingly full. I didn't really hear much from grandfather, or grandpa I should say? I really couldn't get used to saying it, was grandad better? I had never had to use it before so I'd never really thought about it...It had always just been me and dad. And now he wasn't around any more I guess it's just me. I decided that Briarwood was the strong silent type. And maybe it was best for me to stay out of his way. He seemed to spend a lot of time outside sitting on his porch and watching the road. Over the next few days I heard him yell a few things at passers by. I thought it was best to stay in my room. But I was slowly going mad. It was the school summer and without school there was nothing much to do. I had unpacked my suitcase and read all three books I had brought with me. TWICE. He didn't have a TV so there wasn't much I could do really. Except get out of this room. Go for a walk...

One day I plucked up the courage to ask if I could go and get some groceries from a local shop. We had eaten Grandpa's gruel stu for at least 4 days now and if I had to eat another bowl I think I might be.

"Briarwood" I said, that still felt weird too. Was it better than Grandfather? I stepped into the sunlight on the porch. He looked back at me from his rocking chair, a pipe in his hands. He looked very surprised to see me.

"Oh it's you." He said, looking at me strangely. He looked me up and down. I could feel my face heating up, I was just wearing a plain black tea dress. Nothing fancy. "Yes what is it?" He continued.

"I was wondering if I could nip to the shops and get something to make us dinner with?" I asked, trying to sound a lot more confident than I felt. He eyed me wearily, as if I was up to something. "You've been so kind to me and I wanted to do something to say thank you." He studied me for a second before opening his mouth to respond.

"Briarwood!" Barked a voice from the bottom of the garden path. A man in a wheelchair grinned back at us, his eyes fixed on my grandpa. Briarwood stood up quickly surprised, almost choking on his pipe. The man pushed his way through the long grass up to the porch to where we were stood. He looked from me to my grandpa a few times with a massive grin on his face. He seemed to find my presence amusing.

"It's none of your business Black!" Shouted Briarwood, standing up taller and towering over the man called "Black." This only amused the man further, a hearty chuckle erupting from his throat. He was the polar opposite to Briarwood who was looking very angry.

"I didn't say anything." 'Black' replied, winking at me. I felt my cheeks heat up, I didn't really understand what was happening but I knew it was infuriating Briarwood. "But now that you mention it. What are you doing with a young girl on your property? I thought you said that 'the youth of today were nothing but hormonal fellonies waiting to happen'."

I looked at my grandpa, his draw dropped and he looked anxiously to me and back at Mr Black...Was that really what he thought? He must of been delighted when he got the phone call about me.

"Dad," shouted a voice from behind Mr Black.

A muscular man jogged into view, he was wearing a tight black tshirt and cut off khaki trousers, he was dressed like he had just come from the beach, he wasn't even wearing shoes. He had the trademark Quilete copper skin and the jet black hair but his eyes...his eyes were deep pools of brown, but not like the others, they were deep brown. Something about them drew me in, pulling me towards him. His face was playful one moment and stern the next. His expression changed completely as his eyes caught mine. His eyes burrowed as his black eyebrows peaked out from under his choppy haircut. His shoulders were broad and muscular, in fact he looked like a body builder. You could almost see every muscle under his T-shirt it was that tight. Yet his waist was tiny. My eyes drifted downwards a second before I looked back at his eyes. Deep brown pools, I could almost reach out and swim in them, like a river of chocolate. I'd never met anyone so beautiful in my entire life, I had to stop myself from stepping towards him.

After a moment I realised that I was staring and I quickly looked away feeling my cheeks heat up. When I looked back a second later I realised that no one had said anything for a while and he was still starring at me. Mr Black's son was starring right at me with a totally blank.

"No." He muttered, I almost couldn't make it out under his breath. He didn't take his eyes off me but he suddenly looked furious. I didn't understand what I'd done wrong. He just stared and me and started yelling. His hands started shaking now, almost vibrating. I had never seen anything like it. "No." He said it louder this time taking a step back further away from me. "NO!?" He cried again, turning around and running off toward the forest. I'd never seen anyone move so fast! My heart sunk. Where had he gone? What had I done? I sighed, my heart thundering against my rib cage.

"Jacob!" Yelled Mr Black, trying to make a move to keep up or follow his son but the wheelchair was no match for the long grass. "JAKE!" he shouted, his eyes watching him as he disappeared into the darkness of the forest. Mr Black turned to me, he wasn't smiling or joking anymore; he looked deathly serious. I moved down the steps to get a better look at the trees which had just swallowed up the man called 'Jacob'. My heart was thumping in my chest. Why was he...Why did he run off like that? My stomach turned unpleasantly. What had I done to upset him?

"Who are you?" Asked Mr Black, looking up at me from his wheelchair, his eyes full of concern.

"She's my granddaughter," said Briarwood, looking strangely at me as well. I didn't understand what was happening, not one bit. "And she'll have nothing to do with your boy!" He was glaring at Mr Black. Who didn't seem to be taking any notice, he just continued to look up at me, his face.

"Granddaughter." He murmured, the corners of his lips twitching. "What's your name?" He asked me, pushing his wheelchair closer to me. I squealed and grabbed the skirt of my dress as the wind picked up suddenly.

"That's not your concern!" Said grandpa, closing the distance between him and Mr Black. Mr Black didn't look perturbed in the slightest. "Azalea get inside." I looked at my grandpa he hadn't used my name before. I was beginning to wonder if he had forgot.

"Azalea." Repeated Mr Black, who was smiling at me now. I couldn't stop myself smiling.

"Get inside now!" Roared my grandpa. My face fell but I ran quickly inside not understanding one single thing that was happening here. "Go to your room!" I heard a voice yell after me.

I went into my room and closed the door most of the way and tried to listen with my ear against a small gap in the door. I couldn't hear anything clearly, just a few murmurs and then some raised voices. Something about imprints or implants? I chuckled to myself, maybe Jacob had peck implants and they caused him to have spontaneous bouts of denial shouting 'no no no!' I had an image of him running naked through a supermarket shouting 'no no no!' I shook my head quickly. Where didn't that come from? Naked...Jacob? I remembered those muscles, I had never seen anyone like that before. Especially anyone as young and attractive that ripped. Not in person anyway. Maybe on a tv.

I didn't hear from my grandpa again that evening. I asked what happened when I heard the front door shut about half and hour after I'd been sent inside. He just ignored me and dead-bolted the front door...What were they talking about for so long?

We ate gruel again in silence. I didn't manage to get up the nerve to ask about the shops. I'd try again tomorrow.

That night I lay in bed wondering what was going on...Who was Mr Black? And more importantly who was his son; Jacob?...I went to sleep dreaming about the beautiful brown eyes of Jacob Black.