Alcide Herveaux shot through the darkened wood outside of Bon Temps Louisiana, loving the feel of his paws brushing the undergrowth. He ran alone, weaving his way through the maze of trees.

It was a clear starry night, the full moon illuminating the darkness above.

Alcide ran to forget, to leave his troubles behind, gladly shedding his human skin for a night to see the world through canine eyes. He'd shifted hours ago, enjoying the wilderness of Bon Temps.

He had been skirting the edge of a small pond, trotting towards the trees, when he'd felt it.

A burst of energy, raw power, coming from a short distance away.

It flashed like lightning, there for a split second, gone the next, but nonetheless leaving its mark.

Alcide could smell something, something effeminate, but not completely human, and different from anything he'd ever smelled before.

Instinctively he followed it, eager to find the thing that had flashed forth an alarm like that, like a flashlight in the darkness.

This was a dangerous night for such beacons

Following his unfailing nose he raced towards the unknown entity, knowing other supernaturals would soon follow. His search led him to a small clearing, a patch of grass and flowers - a meadow of sorts.

There, lying in the middle of the clearing was a slender figure, a female, curled up onto her side to protect her pale naked flesh, her ebony hair spilling onto the ground like a rich dark liquid.

She was conscious, but she seemed confused, almost angry. She was shivering, though the late summer Louisiana air was comfortably warm. She lifted her head and looked around. Alcide waited in the trees.

She awoke to find herself in a dark wood, naked. Just like it used to happen when she was younger. It had rushed on her, and suddenly that familiar feeling had erupted in her toes and fingers, quickly spreading to the rest of her body. It had felt like sparks buzzing, and she knew it was going to happen.

She was going to teleport again.

She couldn't control it. She cursed to herself, she'd been in her hotel room, about to take a bath when she found the engagement ring her fiancé, ex- fiancé she reminded herself fiercely, had given her, and all she had wanted was to be somewhere else, anywhere else.

Apparently she'd been taken to the middle of freaking nowhere. Fantastic.

She wrapped her arms around herself, trying for a shred of modesty, and slowly got up. It wasn't cold, thankfully; in fact it was comfortably warm. She examined her body, nothing seemed damaged, but she felt sore and stretched, like a rubber band that had been snapped violently back into place.

Suddenly she noticed in a pair of bright piercing yellow eyes peering out at her, eerily glowing against the otherwise dark forest.

She took several cautious steps towards those eyes and saw the body they belonged to, a large timber wolf with white gold fur. He was a huge majestic wolf, and he would have scared her, but nothing in his stance suggested hostility. If anything he looked...curious.

"Well hey there handsome", she said to the wolf, "you wouldn't happen to know of any houses nearby," she looked behind her, scanning the woods as she spoke, "I think I still remember how to pick a lock"

She turned back and looked to where the wolf was standing; only there wasn't a wolf there anymore.

There was a man, a very tall, very handsome man with dark features, a broad chest and strong muscles.

She gasped and quickly turned around, making sure her hands covered her chest, and addressed the stranger over her shoulder, "Oh my god, who are you? Where did that wolf go? And why are you naked?"

The man had his hands up, palms facing her, as if to show that he wasn't going to hurt her, saying "I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you, I'm the wolf, well not anymore, well I was. This isn't coming out right. I'm a werewolf, and I was runnin' in the woods when I felt your uhm….energy burst" She raised her eyebrows at his description of her teleportation, "and I came to see what was goin' on. I'm Alcide Herveaux" he said sticking out his hand for her to shake.

She gave him a shy smile and said "I would shake your hand but…" she didn't finish but he understood all the same. "It's nice to meet you Alcide, I'm Elina"

"Elina." he repeated "What's a pretty girl like you doing out here?"

"It's a long story" she replied, "and one I'd prefer to tell you with clothes on, do you have an extra shirt or something, you look big enough it would fit me like a dress."

Alcide thought for a moment then spoke, "I can do you one better, I have a friend, her name is Sookie Stackhouse, I'm sure she'd be more than happy to give you some clean clothes and a hot meal."

Elina studied him, wondering whether she could trust him or not. Nothing about him seemed sketchy to her, nothing that would make her uneasy. Still, just to be safe she asked, "How do I know I can trust you? You could be lying, about everything, the whole wolf thing."

Alcide smirked and took a deep breath, then the air around him seemed to shimmer and then before her stood that same golden white wolf. He shifted back, panting slightly.

"Okay. You got a car?" She said

Nodding he replied, "Yeah it's not too far to Sookie's house, about a ten minute drive", and led her out of the forest, to the edge where his warm blue pickup truck was parked.

He opened the passenger door and shuffled around inside for a second, extracting a red plaid flannel button up, which he handed to Elina, while he put on some jeans and a dark tee shirt.

While she quickly did up the buttons she chided herself on her ability to get into ridiculous situations.

Alcide climbed into the truck, Elina already settled into the passenger's seat, and started the car saying "Like I said it's a short drive to Sookie's place, I'll call her if you want. Now, my question. What were you doing all alone in the woods like that?"

Elina sighed and leaned back into the headrest, "I've been able to teleport all my life, but it's not something I can control. It sort of comes and goes with my emotions" she paused and closed her eyes as she continued; "I was engaged. We were happy. Or that's what I thought until I found my fiancé, Tim, in the middle of screwing the neighbor...twice. I was fed up with his bullshit so I'm at a hotel in Shreveport until I can figure out my next move. Right before I teleported I found my engagement ring, which I thought I had thrown away, and I couldn't help but think about him and what I saw when I caught him cheating. These feelings of anger and hurt just rose up in me like a wildfire and the next thing I know I'm stark naked in the middle of a damn forest"

Alcide smiled knowingly, "Yeah I know a little of what that's like. Learning to control the shift"

Elina looked over at him and asked in a soft voice, "does it hurt...when you shift?"

Alcide kept his eyes on the road as he answered "Yeah at first, but you get used to it. Like growing pains"

Elina nodded in understanding. Alcide continued, "How 'bout you? Does it hurt when you teleport?"

"No not really, it's more of a buildup and release. Like an orgasm" she said with a laugh.

She continued "I'm surprised you're handling this so well. I've only told one other person about what I can do and it took her a full week to even look at me the same"

Alcide shrugged and answered "Hey, I'm the last person that can pass judgment on someone else for their abilities. But I will say that you're the first teleport I've ever met. Honestly I didn't even know teleports existed, but I guess you learn somethin' new every day"

Elina laughed and they settled into a comfortable silence. Finally, as they pulled into Sookie's driveway Elina asked "what about other people, will they judge me?"

Alcide said "Don't you worry; I think you'll fit in to Bon Temps just fine"