Disclaimer: I don't own anything from any of 'The Twilight Saga'.

A/N: This story takes place during 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon'.

Chapter 1:

I watched the trees go by as I sat in the back of the taxi, mesmerized by the beauty of the forest.

Forks. It was good to be back. So many memories held in the forests and the beach. Forks was a home away from home. Even though it was one of those places that you couldn't tell what time it was because it was always dark and gloomy, I loved it just the way it was.

Watching the trees made me think of all the times I played games, running between the trees and trying not to trip on the roots.

I laughed as ran around the trees. "Catch me!"

"I'm comin' for you, Nita!"

I stopped behind a tree and tried to steady my breath. I stood still as Jared quieted, which made it harder for me to tell where he was -

"Boo!"

"Ah!" I screamed, tripping over a thick root on the ground.

Paul laughed from above me. "Poor, Nita."

I pouted from the ground, holding my elbow. It didn't hurt, but I would pretend to make sure Paul got in trouble.

"Nita!" Jared ran to me and looked at my elbow, then up at Paul. "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Paul tried to play innocent.

I looked up and saw Jared glaring. "If you didn't want her to play with us, you could've just said so."

Paul sighed dramatically. "I don't want to play with her, Jared. She's a baby."

"She's my cousin," Jared shot back. I sniffled, still on the ground, and Jared picked me up, putting an arm around me. "Let's go back to Sam's."

I looked around Jared's arm, back and Paul, and stuck out my tongue.

"Jared!" Paul yelled, pointing at me. "She's doing it again!"

Jared looked down at me, and I smiled up at him. Jared turned back to Paul. "Cut it out, Paul."

Paul grumbled, trailing behind us.

Jared and Paul were my two favourite people in La Push, but for two very different reasons. Jared was my cousin, but he was more like a brother. When we were young, we adored each other, and we still did. Jared was family. Paul was Jared's best friend, and he always hated me. He probably hated me so much because Jared liked me so much. For that reason, I milked it through my childhood.

Jared came and visited me every once in a while, but I hadn't seen Paul since he was fourteen and I was thirteen. I was hoping that he wouldn't be so annoying.

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts, it barely registered in my mind that I was at the Cameron household. I almost didn't get out of the car because Jared was already by my side, opening it for me, and tugging me out. He wrapped his massive arms around me small body, bringing me into hit six-foot frame.

"Jared," I wheezed out.

"I missed you, Nita."

I winced. "I missed you, too, but you're choking me."

Jared pushed me away, gripping my shoulders and looking me over. "You've changed."

I merely laughed. "Like you didn't."

Jared used to be short and a little pudgy. He used to be the funny one, crazy one, and he still was, but now he looked like he belonged on the football team - captain maybe. He was only seventeen, but he did not look it.

I remember the last time he visited, and he was so different. He had just turned sixteen, and no longer the short, pudgy Jared I knew. He shot up in height, going from five-six, to six-three. And his long hair was cut short. You could imagine my shock when he walked through the door, looking like a completely different person. I was blown away how someone could change so drastically, but I guess that was puberty.

Jared shrugged. "Details, details." He moved to the trunk, picking out my luggage with ease. Then he moved around the car and put his arm around me, leading me inside. "My mom's been talking about you for weeks. I swear, they cleaned the house a million times."

I loved my aunt and uncle, but I found it hard to spend time with them because they worked so much. They were geologists and they traveled more than they even walked. They were going on a huge expedition tomorrow, surprising letting me room with Jared, who they thought was very responsible for his age - plus the Black's and many other people on the reserve keeping a close eye on Jared.

I laughed. "You know, you guys don't have to do that."

"Believe me, we do."

I walked inside, the house as clean as Jared was making it seem. From the clean kitchen, my aunt and uncle appeared.

"Nita!"

I smiled, hugging both of them tightly. "Hi!"

"Hi, hi, hi." My aunt pulled me away from her, looking at me the same way Jared did. "You're so grown up."

My uncle touched my shoulder lovingly. "So beautiful."

I smiled wider. "Oh, I missed those compliments." I hugged them again.

Oh, it was good to be home.

Jared picked up a shirt from my suitcase. "I'm so glad you're here. Mila's getting lonely, being the only girl who wants to go cliff diving."

"Kim doesn't like to go?" I asked, taking out another shirt from my suitcase and putting it in the drawer.

Jared shrugged. "She always says she's got too much work to do. Gotta love Kim." He smiled.

I laughed. "How is that goin'?"

Jared smiled happily, and I swore that overtime he talked about her, his eyes glazed over, just thinking about how beautiful she was. "It's...I love her."

I nodded, giggling. "Sounds great."

"She is."

I threw a shirt at him. "Hey, lover boy. Continue unpacking."

Jared threw one back, laughing. "I'm goin', I'm goin'."

After a moment of silence, I started talking about the rest of the boys. "How is everyone? Sam, Emily, Jacob, Embry, Quil, Brady, Collin, you know, the boys," I listed them off, not hesitating. They were all family to me, and you don't forget family.

"You forgot Paul."

I definitely remembered Paul, but I didn't say his name on purpose. "Oh, yeah. Is he still annoying as he was three years ago?"

Jared laughed. "More. But, uh..." Jared shrugged. "Things changed. Paul, Embry and I don't really hang out with Jake and Quil and them anymore."

"Oh." I tried to offer a smile. "Well, as long as you're all getting along."

"Yeah." Jared shrugged again. "Hey, Sam's having lunch at his place on Saturday, and you're invited. Everyone'll love to see you."

"And I'll love to see them." I closed the drawer, sighing and falling onto the bed. "I'm so glad I convinced my parents to let me come here for the rest of high school."

"Me, too." Jared set my empty suitcase on the ground, falling down beside me. "This is gonna be a good year."

"Oh, yeah." I held out my hand, and Jared high-fived me.

Breakfast at the Cameron's was the best. Pancakes stacked upon pancakes, whip cream, and fruit galore. The only weird thing was Jared.

I just stared at him, watching his eat his pancakes.

He would take one and finish it in less than thirty-seconds. He wouldn't even wait until he swallowed the last bite to get another pancake onto his plate. He would pile the fruit into his mouth, and he had almost all the whip cream.

Jared slowly turned to me, feeling my stare. "What?" He said, mouth full.

My eyebrows still raised, I said, "Do you know that you just had six pancakes and I'm on my second."

"Yeah?"

"You just ate six pancakes in three minutes."

"So?"

I shook my head, looking back at my own pancakes. "You're an animal."

"You love me," Jared said, mouth still stuffed with food.

I shook my head again, ripping the whip cream from his grasp. "Slow down."

Jared mimicked my voice, over exaggerating the girly-ness of it.

The rest of the morning spent that way, and we didn't stop poking fun at each other until I walked over to the couch, sitting down and turning on the TV.

Jared came up behind me, grabbing my shoulders. "I'm goin' to see the boys. You comin'?"

"No," I said, flipping through the channels. "I have to drop by the school to make sure I'm registered and good to go."

It was halfway through the school year - awkward time for me to come back to Forks, back to school. But with my parents, it was just how it worked out.

"Alright," He said, walking to the door. "I'll see you later, Nita."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye."

"You're all set."

I stood, smiling. "Thanks, Abey."

"You're welcome, Nita. It's wonderful that you're home." She smiled kindly, holding my hand in her warm one.

I smiled, too. "I'm glad to be back."

"Do you need a ride home?"

"No." I shook my head, looking out the window. "I miss the forest. I'm going to take a trail through there."

"Okay," Abey said, sounding nervous. "Just be careful."

"I will." I patted her shoulder, waving goodbye and walking outside, immediately slipping into the forest.

As I walked along, I breathed in the air and kicked up the dirt. I ran my fingers through the grass and touched every other tree as I walked past them. Being back in the forest was wonderful, and everything I ever loved.

I started to laugh, feeling overwhelmingly happy. I spun around, watching my long, thick, dark hair whip around me. I stopped, laughing and leaning against a tree. As my laughter died down, it was quiet enough for me to hear something in the distance.

Footsteps? The sound too heavy, too loud to be a person. As they approached, I quickly slipped behind the tree, breathing heavily.

The sound of rustling and snapping filled me ears. My curiosity took over and I peered around the trunk.

Two wolves-they couldn't have been. They were much too big to be wolves. And they were wrestling with each other. I couldn't think of anything else other than that there were two big-huge-wolves fifteen feet away from me.

I wasn't scared until I took one step, a twig snapping under my foot, and the wolves looked up at me. I looked one of them directly in the eyes and fear filled within me.

I didn't put much thought into my next move as I just ran the other way, completely exposing myself to danger.

But nothing happened. And I ran as fast as I possibly could back to the building and hid.

I ran into the house, closing the door and locking it behind me. I sighed, leaning my forehead against the door.

"Nita?"

I jumped, spinning around. "Jared!"

"What's wrong?"

I breathed heavily, shaking my head. "Nothing."

Jared looked down on me, giving me a serious look. "Clearly, something's wrong."

"Why are you never wearing a shirt?" I asked, walking past him, wanting to get off the topic.

"Why are you sweating through yours?" Jared asked, following me to my room. "Just tell me."

I spun around, blocking the path to my room. "I saw something, Jared. I think I'm going insane."

"What'd you see?" He asked eagerly.

My breaths started to get more spastic as I remembered the moment I looked into the wolves eyes. "A wolf," I breathed out, not looking him in the eyes. "Two wolves. But they were massive. They weren't normal wolves."

When Jared didn't say anything after a minute, I looked up at him. He looked at me with intense eyes, and he didn't seem surprised at all.

"Come on." He grabbed my wrist, stomping down the hallway in a determined matter.

I started at his back, being dragged through the house. "What?"

Jared didn't say anything else, and when he took me outside, I started to shiver. Half from being scared, half from being cold, and I wondered how Jared could be shirtless, in cutoffs, no shoes even.

We walked into the forest and Jared let go of my wrist, telling me to stay where I was. He walked a couple feet from me, then turned to face me, looking nervous.

"I don't tell you everything, Nita."

"Okay?" I shook my head. "What are we -"

Jared reached for the button of his cutoff's, and I spun around.

"Jared!"

"When I turned sixteen, I went through some changes."

"Yeah, Jared, I know," I sighed, still not believing that this was happening.

"And this was one of them."

It was silent, then the snapping of many branches, like something heavy landing on the ground.

I breathed heavily, slowly turning around.

A wolf. A huge wolf was in front of me.

I stumbled back, falling onto my butt. I crawled backward, not looking it in the eyes. Then it whimpered, and I looked up confusedly. When I looked in its eyes, it felt familiar, not scary, familiar. It wasn't the wolf from before. This one was different.

The wolf stepped closer to me, not making any move to hurt me. It was then that I knew all those legends around the campfire, all the stories I had been told. They were all true.

"Jared."

The wolf nodded, then rubbed its face on mine, and it was confirmed.

I laughed, for reasons unknown to me. "Jared?" I reached up, placing my hand on his fur gently, rubbing the short, but thick, brown fur. He let me pet him, and I leaned up, wrapping my arms around his massive head. When I pulled away, I looked into his eyes again, now knowing that it couldn't have been anyone else.

Jared backed away, running behind a tree. It was silent, then I saw Jared's human leg stick out, grabbing his clothes between his toes. A few seconds later, he came out from behind the tree, smiling wide.

I ran to him, jumping onto his tall frame. "I hate you."

Jared laughed, hugging me back. "I'm sorry."

I let go of him, my feet touching the ground again. "Why didn't tell me sooner? Why didn't you tell me as soon as it happened? It's not just you, I know that because of earlier, so who else is it? Who -"

"Nita." He covered my mouth. "To answer your questions, Sam doesn't want us going around telling everyone, and you were away, so I thought it was okay if you didn't know. Yes, there's more people that are wolves. Sam is the pack leader, and I'm his second in command. Paul is his third. We're suspecting Embry to change soon. Everyone else is..."

"Normal?"

Jared chuckled, running a hand through his short hair. "That's why I changed. That's why I grew, I -"

"I get it, Jared." I nodded, looking at his face, still in awe of the situation. "I never thought -"

"Me either."

"And I -"

"Yeah."

I sighed, placing my hands on my hips. "Is that why you never wear a shirt?"

Jared chuckled lightly, putting his arm around me and leading me back into the house. "I'm just hot all the time."

"Okay -" I laughed. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."