Don't own Twilight and never will (obviously) but here's what I dream about... That actually sounds sad, even in writing.
Full Summary:
Iris Clearwater has faced a life full of danger by the time she has reached age sixteen. As a Shifter, your life is never certain. Vampires lurk and enemies kill. It is a dangerous game. But Iris has been on the run ever since she bit a normal child in front of normal people. That's when her parents ran away with her.
After a while, her parents give up. They send her to La Push where life only gets tougher. With finding a weird girl in 'love' with a vampire and a pack of wolves who live beside that family of vamps, she's the runner. But that only brings another problem.
Paul.
He's annoying, frustrating and aggressive but Iris gets along great with him. They're the same, sort of.
Orphans. Outcasts.
Yet, no one understands how they get on so well but never imprint. Although, there is has never been a tale of two Shifters imprinting on each other.
Has there?
OOO
Prologue
It all started when I was younger, only a toddler, really. My life changed then, seeming to turn into a complicated but childish game of Chance and Luck. Everything turned into taking chances and, mainly, those chances were based on pure, utter luck. Honestly, I knew that my good luck would run out sooner or later, it was natural to do so, but I just didn't know when, exactly. If someone had asked me back then 'what to do you think about all of this?' and if I even understood that question at such a young age, I would not have had an answer for them.
At the young age of three, I started showing signs of being an animal…
OOO
A tiny blonde-haired girl stood by her mother, hand-in-hand, as they watched children play in the park just across the road from where they stood. Looking longingly, the child tugged of the adult's hand, whimpering slightly when she got a glare in return. The icy look in the woman's eyes made her daughter cower and even though she didn't show, guilt was coursing through her like the blood in her veins.
"Cassie, give her an hour", the woman's husband smirked, smoothing down the child's wild locks. "She'll be good as gold, won't you, Iris?"
Iris, the little girl, nodded excitedly before glancing over the road at the other children playing happily. Laughter and screams of joy could be heard from the playing kids. Her excitement only built up higher when her father threw her over his shoulder then strode straight over the road, chuckling when his wife grumbled something along the lines of 'the Fates were wrong about pairing us together'. She hated it when he disagreed with her but Cassandra knew that he wanted his daughter to grow up with a normal-ish childhood.
"Rudy!" Cassandra yelled, shocked when he leapt over the small fence with his daughter on his shoulder, ignoring the gate entirely. "We are in public".
Rudy's laughter only rumbled louder in his chest, grabbing the attention of the adults in the park. It would have been a comical moment when he noticed all of their eyes widen but anger was quickly making its way through him. They knew what they were and the fear was so strong that it could be smelt. Most acted as if the couple and their daughter were werewolves, which was not true. Many believed they were but they just weren't. Shifters and Werewolves were two very different species. His eyes fell on a mother who was slowly shuffling her son out of the park and towards their car; her wide eyes glancing in his direction. The boy didn't even bother to complain as he followed his mum's eyes, recognising the tanned, broad shouldered man. The family had been around so long that everyone seemed to know them. Know what they were.
See, this was why little Iris could never be normal. For what she and her entire, extended family were; it was believed to be a curse. To be a death sentence for all of their kind. Being a Shape-shifter wasn't believed to be a good thing but then they weren't normal either. These people who feared the Shifters were living their little lives without any need to be frightened. There were things in the world that could kill them but they worried about the people who transformed into large mutts every once and a while. Shape-shifters were true warriors, descendants of ancient spirit warriors.
"Daddy?"
Glancing over his shoulder to see his daughter's confused face, the anger faded until it was a dull ache, dimming to a faint light. Her silvery grey eyes, a gift from him, were filled to the brim with tears that, he knew, she would never let fall. It had been a lesson from Cassandra; never let anyone see you cry because it only shows weakness. Iris was only three but she understood everything that her parents told her, believed every word they muttered.
"Okay, hun, you have an hour, okay?" Rudy forced a small smile, "Just stay within view and don't leave the park gates".
Slowly, he lowered her to the grass-covered ground before watching her scamper off, stumbling over her petite feet. Two slim arms wrapped themselves around his waist tightly. Looking down, Rudy had to smile at Cassandra, watching as her moss green eyes followed their daughter's fast movements. It was all motherly instinct. A little bit of an animalistic instinct somewhere inside her too.
"She's fine, love", he whispered, kissing her hair. "She's our daughter, right?"
His wife nodded, a smile twitching at the corners of her lips.
"Then we don't need to worry about her".
So for the next twenty or so minutes, the couple sat with their backs against the fence, watching as their three year old ran around. Her pale blonde curls flying around her head as she leapt over the rabbit holes and little twigs. She was a wild child, used to the dirt and trees but not used to the few chattering children that wandered around with her. It wasn't until that Iris fell into the sandbox, did her father begin to panic.
"Rudy, calm", whispered his wife, tightening her grip on his hand. "She needs to learn alone".
The two of them stared as the boy, who had sat quietly while playing in the sand; army crawled over to their little Iris. He frowned when he noticed the girl had fallen right into one of his earlier sand-castles. How long had it taken him? That particular castle had taken the longest as he had put a lot of detail into it. Twigs, pebbles and pieces of grass were placed around to make it look like a real castle. And now she had flattened it.
"S-sorry", Iris whispered, pushing off of her stomach with ease.
He kept quiet, glaring at the back of her head until she turned towards him, eyes downcast. It was then that Iris could smell the boy's fury at her accident. That was when she changed, snapping her eyes up to glare at him. It was as if her curls crackled with an angry type of energy, frizzing around her head in every direction. Like it was mimicking her moods, changing from excitement to rage. But that wasn't the worst of it.
The boy only made it ten times worse by saying, "Apology not accepted".
From where her parents were sitting, they watched in horror as the teeny toddler stalked closer to the boy. Iris' features weren't innocent as they scowled up at the taller child; eyes blazing, nostrils flaring. This wasn't the daughter they had watched for the last three years. No, an animal had taken over. An animal that had hidden so long inside the body of their child, waiting for a strong enough emotion to take control. Now, it seemed, there was a chance.
"Rudy?"
There was no time to answer as Rudy leapt to his feet, weaving between the parents while keeping his eyes on his daughter. He watched, stunned, when her silver eyes darkened until they were completely black.
"Cassie, go get Stanley!" Rudy yelled.
The sounds of his wife obeying the command echoed through his ears as everything began to play in slow-motion. Iris had grabbed the boy by his arm, nails digging deep enough into his skin to draw blood. She yanked him closer to her with shocking strength for a young girl. Her other hand grabbed his chocolate brown hair, tugging his head to the side to show his neck to her. Instantly, her father knew what she was doing. Being the daughter of an alpha, she had the strongest kind of blood for a Shape-shifter. Alpha blood. Dominant.
Chanting 'no, no, no' over and over in his head, Rudy watched in fear as his daughter's lips curled back, revealing canines. As if everything else blurred over, he focused only on his daughter as her teeth clamped down on the flesh that joined the shoulder and neck. An almost silent whimper left the boy's mouth before his eyes rolled back in pain. It was a sign of power. She was showing that she was at a higher rank than him in the pack. Especially when her father was Alpha, she knew the control she possessed over everyone in the pack, even at a young age.
"Iris!"
Rudy's arms wrapped around his daughter, one around her middle while the other locked around her throat softly. He applied little pressure, knowing she was so fragile that she could snap in half, but enough for her to react. When her mouth released the boy, he fell backwards, holding his struggling child to his chest. It wasn't long before Iris burst into tears, quickly realising what she had done. Forgetting the words her mother had said about the weakness of crying, Iris let the streams of grief roll down her cheeks. That was when her mother made an appearance, Stanley jogging along with her.
The man quickly set to work at healing the boy. Holding a towel to his neck to stop the bleeding as he ripped medicines and bandages from his healing bag. There was yelling from around, mostly the boy's mother who had a few choice words about the attack on her son. She spent a short amount of time consoling the boy but then, all of her focus was on the man with the sobbing girl.
"Monster!" The woman shrieked, "That child should be killed, murdered, taken away and locked up. It shouldn't be here, where normal people are. It's a little freak".
Many people shuffled away from the scene yet one took a brave step forward, frowning deeply at the young girl. His eyes zeroed in on her eyes that were changing colour, fleck-by-fleck. Once the child's eyes were fully back to their silvery state, he cleared his throat, dragging the attention of Rudy, Cassandra, the still screaming woman and the other adults. The look that he received from the alpha couple enforced the thought of them knowing what he was.
"Mr and Mrs Clearwater, I am saddened to believe that you have not been able to control your own pup", the man's tone commanded attention. "It will not go unnoticed by the Higher Pack that this child has brought harm to a child who didn't mean any danger. I am extremely sorrowed by what I am next forced to say but it must be done".
A growl ripped from Rudy's throat, his quivering arms tightening around his daughter when he noticed that the man's eyes dropped to the quivering child. The sound was totally an animalistic noise, nothing more but nothing less. There was a dangerous warning behind that rumble, one that should be taken seriously.
"Tut tut, Mr Clearwater, that will not help you in this situation. You see, your lovely daughter will be taken away to be disciplined and taught our ways by the Higher Pack. We will train her to become a true protector of the people we are meant to help and care for".
Suddenly, Cassandra was in front of the man; her face pulled into a sneer as she snarled at the man. Each person, Shape-shifter and human, silenced as the woman shook as her eyes flashed to a shockingly bright colour of amber. The fire that burned in the golden orbs over took her being as she pushed the man further away from her baby girl.
"Threaten my daughter again and I will kill you. I don't want to but I will… And it will be painful… But please, if you have a heart, you will give us time to discipline her. To teach her our ways and help her a little, please". Cassandra whispered her final words, "I can't lose my baby, I just can't".
He sighed, sounding almost frustrated, "Well, Mrs Clearwater, we may be able to help your daughter in another way but this may not be the best idea for your pack".
Rudy stood then, holding Iris tightly to his chest, "We'd do anything for our daughter, sir".
"Such manners", the man chuckled, "if only your daughter had been taught them before she was let out amongst the people. But Mr Clearwater, do you really think your pack would survive without you ever coming back? I mean, someone else would be appointed as Alpha and, well, you might not be able to stand not giving orders to other Shifters?"
"I would do anything for her".
"Then I would tell you to get moving because the Higher Pack will be on your tail soon", the man warned, "and I'm sure you don't want to be killed for the law your daughter has just broken. So be on your way, Clearwater clan, because as soon as I get back into the Higher Pack grounds, I'm going straight to my Alpha and telling him you're gone. I'm just hoping you've made the right decision".
With those words said, the man nodded curtly and left, leaving behind two extremely stunned adults and a sobbing toddler.
OOO
So for thirteen years, we were on the run from the Higher Pack. After many close calls and a lot of new houses, Dad finally called it quits, telling my mum that there was no point in running anymore. One way or another, we were going to get caught and killed. Quite positive, huh? And, of course, Mum didn't argue, nodding along with her husband's words and never once glancing in my direction. I understood what they were getting at. My dad was a very proud man, only needing help in the rarest of moments and with the silliest of things.
It was that year that my parents sat me down and looked at me with sorrowed eyes, filled with so much sadness and grief that it broke my heart in half. Seeing such strong emotions in Mum's green orbs was worrying but to see my dad in that kind of state, made me fear what was to come. They hadn't sat me down ever and I had heard from people at the schools I had attended that being sat down by your parents was never a good thing. Boys, I knew, got most of the arguing while girls got more of the tears. Most of the time, it ended in arguing or crying so I had no hope for keeping my eyes dry or my throat from going raw.
OOO
Rudy swept his greying hair back, away from his forehead as his daughter sat, frozen, across from him, her eyes widening with each passing second. The look on Iris' face would have been comical to him if the situation wasn't as serious or heartbreaking. Her skin had paled quite a bit, taking away the slight tan that she had received over the years, and her pale eyebrows were drawn together in confusion and annoyance.
"Iris?" Camilla said, scooting closer to her husband a little. "Baby?"
"I am not a child, Mother!" The teenager snapped, flashing her eyes over to her mum.
The woman cowered slightly, recognising the look of pure irritation in the silvery grey orbs that had narrowed as soon as they focused in on her. How that little girl had grown up. Gone was the tiny tot that just wanted to play with other kids and before her now was a young woman, seeing the horrors of life for the very first time. She was right. Iris wasn't a child, or a baby, anymore. But things would change and Iris would have to deal with those changes.
"Respect your mother or-"
Camilla interrupted her husband, "No, Rudy, she's right. My little girl's gone. She's all grown up, now, and that means she has to face things as an adult! No more babying or taking the answer 'no' from you anymore, Iris. We're doing this for your safety and you will go".
As his daughter mouth was about to unleash a protest, he cut in, "Your mother speaks truly, Iris. We know you don't want to leave us but we need you to be safe now. We want you to grow up into a real Shifter, you know? With all the stress you've taken in, I'm surprised you still haven't changed yet! The anger and all that should've shoved you over the edge but it hasn't, somehow".
Growling, "I don't even know them. I've never met them and you're sending me to live with them. Why? I can change and fight with Dad or I can help Mum if I don't! But I will and you can train me up and I'll-"
"No!" Both parents yelled, Rudy almost snarling and Camilla glaring icily.
Stunned into silence, all Iris could do was stare at the two adults who looked near tears. Rudy was quivering just a little and Camilla was holding in the whimpers that wanted to leave her mouth. The pair of them wanted to rap the girl up and hide her somewhere so they were doing just that, minus the wrapping part. Rudy's older brother, Harry, lived on a reservation just outside Forks, in a little town named La Push. There was a pack there. A pack that had promised to look after Iris until the Higher Pack gave up their search, which might take a few years.
"Your uncle is an extremely nice man, Iris, and his wife, Sue, knows about the tribal stories being true. They've got two kids, Leah and Seth. Seth's about your age, I think? The kids haven't phased yet, either, so you'll be able to get along fine with them but you can't tell them about the turning-into-a-huge-dog thing, okay? Once they phase, Harry will explain it to them 'cos he's one of the Elders of the Quiluete Pack".
Iris watched as Rudy strode over to an old, worn cabinet at the other end of the living room, swinging the doors open and yanking out the largest album on the shelf. Dust fell from the top of the album, floating to the floor, as her dad flipped through the pages until he grinned at the one photo he had been searching for.
"This is their family", he said proudly, holding the album out to his daughter.
She stared at the four people all huddled close together in the view of the camera. An old-looking man had his arms wound around a petit woman's shoulders, beaming at whoever took the picture. Harry looked nothing like Rudy, with bronzed skin, nearly black eyes and greying hair. The woman was smiling contently, her hand laid on the shoulder of the lanky boy who sat in front of her. He was grinned widely, showing a small dimple on his right cheek. Beside him, sitting a little further away from the smiling three was a tall, slim girl, who seemed to be glaring straight the picture at Iris.
"That's Leah?"
Camilla laughed lightly, "Yeah, she's had a hard time lately. A guy, the pack's Alpha, was her fiancé but he imprinted on her cousin, Emily, and obviously Leah's heart was broken. The guy, Sam, tried to fight it but you can never fight the imprinting, remember that, Iris".
Knowing to take her mum's words seriously, Iris nodded, filing the information away from later in life. Dad had said it many times, telling her again and again how important the wolf's mate was in life. All children raised in Rudy's old pack, had been told about the mating and imprinting situation and how serious that time of your life would be. It was a lesson all the pups would learn before they met their soulmate, by their parents or the Alpha, but most of the time, preparation was not needed. Inside their souls and hearts, they would feel the fire roar to life, or that's what Rudy had told Iris, and the tunnel vision that would be experienced would lead the wolf and person to their one and only mate.
"She looks depressed and mad", Iris grumbled, passing the album back before flopping down on the sofa, "and I don't do depressed or mad so I won't go".
"You're a teenager", Camilla said, frowning, "and we have to deal with the mood swings that go on for days, almost a full week sometimes".
Rudy chuckled at the look of confusion on his wife's face, finding her furrowed eyebrows and scrunched up nose to be 'cute'. To him, she hadn't changed since his eyes met hers, nearly twenty-two years ago, and his daughter was nearly the spitting image of her mother. Blonde hair, button nose, petit build and clear, slight tanned skin. Her eyes were the only thing like Rudy's. Silvery grey and rimmed with thick, long eyelashes. She was an angel, really she was.
"But-"
"Don't argue anymore, Iris, 'cos it's not gonna work on us and you will be going to stay with my brother and his family, okay? It's for your safety and I will give an arm and a leg to make sure you never ever have to worry about that Higher Pack snapping at your tail", Rudy grimaced when his daughter's eyes filled with tears. "They won't hurt my baby, I won't allow it. If the try and fight me, I'm taking them down".
OOO
They didn't even wait a week before driving me out to live with Uncle Harry, Aunt Sue, Seth and the depressed girl, Leah. My parents stuck to their frustrating words and forced me to pack everything I had, which wasn't a lot, into a few black bags and, once I was done, Mum stuffed them into the boot of our small, blue Ford Focus. Dad winked at me, saying something along the lines of 'you're gonna have fun in La Push, hun' but I couldn't listen to him for too long. Everything they said to me brought a lot more sadness and a few more tears went streaming down my cheeks.
So we were off by the end of the week, driving through Montana then Idaho until we were within Washington, being greeted by heavy droplets of rain. Dad had grinned, saying he was 'home' and Mum laughed at his childish antics before getting a distant look in her eyes, like she was off in a memory. Probably remembering the summer, all those years ago, when she met him on a winter holiday in Forks, visiting her grandparents. They were weird, sometimes, but I loved them for it. I really did.
OOO
"It'll be a load of fun, baby girl, with all those teenagers", Camilla smiled around at her daughter, who was glaring out the window. "Harry phoned last night, saying that Seth was so excited and that if any of the boys caused trouble, he'd sort them out".
Iris could sense the smile in her mother's voice but she paid no attention, only focusing on the trees blurring by in a wall of in different shades of green and brown. Her parents had been blabbering on about the people she would meet and the teenagers that were going to 'be her new friends'. School was supposed to be 'fun' for her and Rudy had explained she'd be attending the same school he had as a teen. He was proud of his old home, Iris knew he was. It was easy to see the glimmer he got when he spoke about La Push, remembering how his first change had been the first one, making him the Alpha. Harry hadn't shifted and had married Sue the year before Rudy moved away with his new wife, and mate, Camilla.
"C'mon, honey, you'll be able to be around people your own age", Iris' mother laughed lightly, "and maybe there'll be a boy that will catch your eye, if you know what I mean".
A quiet growl ripped from Rudy's throat at his wife mentioning boys to their daughter. To him, she was too young, too innocent to be around the male percentage of the world. Especially teenagers. Toddlers that liked to play in the sand, he could put up with. Teenage boys? Huge no, no! But that was what all fathers were like, right?
The blonde girl snorted, "Mother, honey, I'm gonna be a free spirit as soon as you go. I'll bolt somewhere far away until you can't follow and I'll be happy all by myself! You can go all super hero on an other girl's ass and-"
"Language!"
"-she'll have to put up with it, not me. Maybe then, I won't feel like I'm useless all of the time, huh? I mean, what's the difference? Find a teenager who actually wants overprotective parents, alright?"
There was a seriously awkward silence then, the only sounds were the rumbling engine, the rain battering off of the metal and the ragged breathing of the teenager, covering her parents own breaths. She had her hands clenched into fists, staring out of the window with narrowed eyes and continued to build more anger inside. From a child, with the blood of an Alpha running in her veins, controlling her rage had always been a tough job. Smashing mirrors, crushing glasses, breaking toys and all of the other damage she had caused throughout her life was only going to carry on building until she met her mate. Or that's what Camilla was hoping. Hopefully, Iris' mate would be someone to decrease her anger levels but Rudy believed that might not happen.
"Well, maybe if you run, you won't have to worry about us, huh? Risking our lives for you? We're helping you here and what do you do? Throw it back in our faces!"
"I didn't ask you to!" Iris snapped. "This was your decision".
The silence came back, hovering over the three people in the car as they all went back to their own thoughts, blocking out the other individuals in the vehicle. Their eyes were all focused elsewhere: Rudy's out the windscreen, Camilla's on her ruined copy of Jane Eyre and Iris' was still out the window. It was a little while later that they passed the sign welcoming them into Forks.
"Ah, I remember this well", Camilla sang, giving Rudy a 'secretive' wink which wasn't very 'secretive'.
He returned the gesture, "The romance that lasts forever, am I right, Cam?"
She smirked before glancing back down at her book, going back to reading while her husband took in the familiar but different scenery. His eyes noticed the very subtle differences of the streets and shops, smiling when he saw that The Lodge hadn't changed. Just as he was about to turn around and tell Iris his thoughts, a sickly sweet stench hit him, flooding his nostrils within seconds. The sound of choking behind him alerted him to how the scent was affecting his daughter. This could only mean one thing. Vamp-
"Vampire?" She coughed out.
Nodding, he swallowed thickly before speaking, "Yeah but it's alright. The pack will sort it out or they'll do something to stop them, whatever the Elders decide will happen".
They fell back to their own thoughts. Iris was scowling, thinking of how the protectors would allow their enemies into the same area. It was their job to do so. Protecting the tribe. That was another lesson that children were forced to learn in the old pack. To protect the tribe, you fought against every threat until the security was actually there and wouldn't break for some time. Patrols would take place and Shifters would run guard throughout the day and night. It was one huge cycle.
The ground beneath the tyres changed slightly, turning more gravely as the car turned into La Push. Searching out of the window, Iris smiled slightly at the sight of a few children running around in a front garden, squealing happily at each other. Already, she could see that the place wasn't as bad as she had expected. Children and dogs were the best judgement of character and she was a bit of both, really. Judging La Push as a person with character, Iris could see this would be an okay move for her until the time came for her to run.
"Here we are", Rudy chuckled, cutting the engine and taking out the key.
Her eyes looked at the three people who stood on the porch: Harry, Sue and Seth. The three of them were grinning widely, giving a wave in greeting as the men, which you could call both Harry and Seth, stepped towards the car, heading towards the boot.
"Ready?" Camilla asked quietly, turned back to look at her daughter with concern.
Iris shrugged, saying the only four words she could that wouldn't turn around to be a lie:
"As I'll ever be".
OOO
Now, you may be thinking that just because I hadn't already leapt from the car and done a runner, that everything would turn out okay, right? Well, let's just say me life wasn't known for being simple or normal or even sensible.
Fun would come.
Tears would fall.
Fights would commence.
The pack would become greater.
And, for me, everything would increase in danger.
Especially my life.
OOO
So, what did you think? Good start? Seriously crap? Tell me, please, it would be a great help.
That little REVIEW button feels unloved... :(
