The Hoh Rainforest
Prologue
A great many things have happened within the trees of the Hoh Rainforest; many people were born there, died there and fell in and out of love among the roots and branches. The forest has observed the supernatural creatures within it for centuries including the Olympic Coven and the Spirit Warriors of the Quileute tribe.
When Ephraim Black became chief of the Quileute tribe, he was met with an old enemy of the people called the Cold Ones, creatures of stone that fed on blood. This prompted Ephraim to phase into a large wolf, something that hadn't happened in the tribe for many generations. Soon, Quil Ateara II and Levi Uley joined him and the trio became a pack with Ephraim as the Alpha. The invaders, the Cold Ones, recognized the strength of this pack was plenty to ensure them a permanent death. The five Cold Ones called themselves the Cullens. The Cullen family claimed to be vegetarians, vampires that only fed on animals, but the shifter trio that guarded the land were skeptical. Chief Black and Carlisle Cullen, the leader of the Olympic Coven (a name they would later be known as), agreed upon a treaty; the Olympic Coven could hunt only animals in the area outside the tribe's territory and should any of them bite a human or cross onto Quileute lands, the treaty would be broken and would result in total war. Eventually the coven left and the pack passed on the treaty to the elders to be shared with the next shifters.
After about seventy years, or so, the Cullen family returned with two new members and this triggered the transformation of the first wolf in the new pack, Sam Uley. Eventually more wolves would come into the fold, but this part of our story is for later.
The Cullen "children" attended Forks High School where they met Isabella Swan, nicknamed "Bella". Edward Cullen, Carlisle's first sire, had an instant infatuation to the human partly due to her resistance to his mind-reading abilities and she was curious about him as well. Ms. Swan eventually found out about the Cullens' true nature and resolved to become one of them. She used every opportunity she had to ask Edward to change her so that they could be together forever, but he insisted that she remain human so he would watch her grow old.
The months passed normally until the night of Isabella Swan's eighteenth birthday and she got a paper cut from a gift Edward's sister Alice tried to give her. This triggered a thirst inside of Jasper, one of Edward's brothers and the newest vegetarian; he sped to attack Bella but was held back by Emmett, Edward's other brother. After Bella was bandaged and taken home, Edward thought it would be best if the family left. Bella had been in a rut since then, but she eventually found kinship with a native boy named Jacob Black who was a direct descendant of Chief Ephraim Black.
Jacob had no clue what was happening when he phased into a wolf for the first time because knew next to nothing about his heritage as it was decided by the elders of the tribe. He knew nothing except for his growing love for Bella Swan, so when he was offered to take his rightful place as alpha of the pack, he turned it down to be with her, to protect her.
Bella Swan, on the other hand, wanted to do something reckless; she decided to go cliff diving and then everything went black. That was the vision Alice Cullen saw and relayed to the rest of her family sans Edward. They conclude since she couldn't see the end, it meant that Bella Swan had died. Alice decided to return to Forks, Washington alone to be sure. She asked the rest of the family to remain silent about the vision, but Rosalie Hale, Edward's other adoptive sister, felt her brother had the right to know.
Alice returned to Forks to find an alive and soaking wet Bella Swan, much to her surprise. Jacob stayed inside the Swan house, despite the presence of a Cullen to protect the girl he loved. Alice figured out the reason she couldn't see Jacob saving Bella was because Jacob, like the rest of the pack, was part of Alice's blind spot. Suddenly, Alice had a vision of Edward going to Volterra to commit suicide to be with Bella. Bella and Alice got to Italy in time to stop Edward from showing himself to the humans, but then they were taken to Marcus, Caius and Aro the leaders of the Volturi.
Bella thwarted every mental attack Aro threw at her and like all things that fascinated him he offered her a place in the guard. "You want me to join you? Like as a human?" Bella answered Aro.
"No my dear Isabella. I wish for you to join me as a vampire."
"Yes! Please change me! I've been waiting for nearly a year for this whiner and his family to change me." She motioned to Edward and Alice. Isabella Swan joined the Volturi and Alice and Edward went back home. The other Cullens were waiting for them at the airport.
"Where's Bella?" Esme, Carlisle's wife and Edward's mother figure, was the one to ask.
"She's dead," Edward replied coldly. The Cullen family went to their home inside the Hoh and Carlisle expressed his decision to move on from Washington.
Before the big move, Edward needed to feed; he hadn't fed since he left for Italy. After Edward was finished downsizing the Washington mountain lion population, he decided to take a walk through the Hoh. He knew he'd be back someday…maybe the next century. As much as he loved this forest, there were too many bad memories here.
Jacob Black was growing more and more frustrated. His Bella hasn't returned from saving the leech. 'She chose him over me. Why the hell do I still care? Because she's human. No, because I love her and if she gives me a chance, I know that she can love me back.' "This is so stupid!" Jacob phased and ran through the trees he has called home all his life. He caught the scent of a leech, but he was too irritated to pay mind to the boulder-like figure he was about to crash into. 'Oh shit! This hurts! Yup. This definitely hurts,' Jacob whimpered as he tried to alleviate the pain on his head.
"Ow. I don't think I've felt pain like this in ninety years," Edward groaned while holding his side.
'Speak for yourself buddy! Tell that to the concussion I obviously have,' Jacob replied, not knowing that the other guy could hear him.
The duo immediately recovered and as soon as Jacob and Edward laid eyes on the other, Jacob Imprinted and Edward initiated a Mate Bond. At that moment, the Hoh became host to a story that would haunt the lives of the creatures it had sworn to shelter and protect.
Jacob shifted back to his human form and put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt out of clear sight from the man he just encountered. The pale man in front of him appeared visibly distressed. "What's the matter?"
"I never. I thought. It seems that fate just couldn't let me leave this wretched place yet," Edward commented bitterly with an equal smile "I've finally found my mate and he's a HE, first of all, and a wolf! How can God allow my heart to break only to be led to a mutt that might as well kill me now? Do it. Do it now dog! Put me out of my misery."
Even though he asked for it, the punch that connected to Edward's face was a complete surprise to him. He looked up to see the young Quileute boy seething and practically forcing himself to calm down. "First, my name's not 'Dog' or 'Mutt'. Second, get over yourself you damn leech. You're not the only one who's world is kind of fucked up at the moment." In a more soothed, grim voice Jacob continued, "Lastly, don't ever ask me to hurt you again because that's the last thing I could…would ever do."
Edward curled away from that tongue lashing and reflected on his poor behavior towards the virtual stranger in front of him. "I apologize. I shouldn't have dumped all of that on you. You don't deserve it." He offered his hand to the admittedly beautiful boy in front of him. "My name is Edward Cullen and thank you for putting me in my place," he said with that crooked smile that made Jacob's stomach flip and cheeks flush.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Jacob Black, but you can call me Jake if you'd like. Can I call you Ed?"
"Sure." If he were not made of stone, Edward would've returned the blush right back at Jake.
The pair ended up talking the entire night with each of them returning to their homes with dazzling smiles. The Olympic Coven had decided to delay their plans indefinitely. Edward and Jacob were still wary of each other in many ways even after knowing the other for some time. Still, whenever they would meet they kept talking and when they didn't talk they would enjoy the silence. The subject of Isabella Swan didn't come up until later in their relationship. By then, the pair's trust in each other had grown too much for someone like her to tear apart.
One threat defeated did not nullify the others. Jacob had been afraid of what his pack would do if they ever got wind of his Imprint; he was most afraid of Sam. Although he respected the elected alpha, Jake recognized the wariness Sam had toward the Cullen family and he was right to worry. When Sam Uley found out that his beta had Imprinted on a vampire, he tried to force Jacob to fight against it. Sam believed Edward Cullen had placed a mind control of sorts on the young wolf and tried to break their bond.
Jacob wouldn't have it. He fought the Alpha Order and won. In doing so, he broke free from the pack and became his own alpha. Four other wolves followed Jacob into exile from the pack and from the reservation, their home. None of them would ever meet the families and friends they left behind again.
When Jacob told Edward what had happened, he confessed that the secret reason he had turned down that alpha position in the first place was because he didn't think he would be an effective leader. To which Edward pointed out all of Jacob's leader-like attributes. He made Jacob blush in the process and proceeded to invite Jacob and his pack to live on his family's land. Jacob's pack had joined the Cullens on their property, but never in their home, except for Jacob who had taken up residence in Edward's room; both sides were still wary of the other. Even in all the heavy-heartedness of it all, Jacob and Edward's relationship grew into the love that it was meant to become. Although the stubborn nature of both men kept them from admitting it directly, they gave each other knowing smiles.
With their silent agreement, they never dwelled in the dark because they believed that they would always remain in the light. The coven and the pack lived beside each other for a little over a month and during that time they learned to tolerate one another. They joined in game nights, wrestling, shopping, and the wolves loved Esme's cooking. At the same time Esme felt jovial that she finally had people to cook for. The group fell into a state of contentment until the other shoe eventually dropped.
"What is that?" Since the start of the day, Edward had heard what sounded like a hummingbird's wings flapping. That alone wasn't odd since there were many hummingbirds that inhabited the Hoh Rainforest, except the sound itself changed direction whenever Jacob changed direction. Edward had little time to investigate the sound because the Volturi was coming to kill his family and soon.
Alice was frustrated; she didn't understand why she wasn't able to see the coven in her visions sooner. She got her answer when the Volturi arrived with Isabella Swan in their guard. Isabella's mental shield had blocked her clairvoyant powers enough to lead the Olympic Coven and the Black Pack to their deaths.
The Volturi only had one casualty while the Cullen vampires and Quileute wolves were nearly vanquished. Before she died, Alice shared with Edward one last vision. After witnessing that piece of the future, Edward urged Jacob to run with Esme, but Jacob refused.
"No! You have to come with me. Please Ed," Jacob implored.
"I'll be right behind you, I promise."
"Don't lie to me." Jacob's voice wobbled.
Edward cupped Jacob's cheek and lightly touched his abdomen. "I love you both." His voice cracked. The emotion behind it was too overwhelming. He gave Jacob one last kiss. His goodbye.
Jacob and Esme ran. He turned back to see if Edward would follow, but he was met with the decapitation of his Imprint. If Esme hadn't been dragging him away, he would've also died that night. She forced Jacob on the passenger side of one of Rosalie's fastest cars and as she was speeding away from Forks, a song came on the radio. Jacob started singing what would become the anthem to the rest of his short life. "These wounds won't seem to heal. This pain is just too real. There's just too much that time cannot erase…"
The Hoh Rainforest is home to many origins and conclusions and it has witnessed enough to know that these events were only the beginning of a new story that's roots laid in the end or rather, the future.