I watched my cousin Jacob pace around my Bedroom. He kept mumbling to himself and fingering the old, blackened pouch that hung around his neck. I could barely understand what he was saying, but I thought I heard, "Is it them? Or someone else…"

"Whose them?" I asked. He stopped pacing and focused his black eyes on my. Then, as if removing something from his mind, he shook his head and started pacing again.

Jacob wasn't just my cousin, he was my best friend. But I didn't even know him until about a year ago. My dad died a couple of years back, so when Jacob showed up, saying he was Dad's nephew, Mom trusted him entirely. She gave him David's, my brother who moved away to California, bedroom in our small house and after a month, enrolled him at my school.

He said that he was my age and supposed to be in my grade, but he didn't look the part. He was tall and muscular; he looked about eight years older than the guys my age. Nether less, he went to my school, lived in my house, and slowly came into my life as my best friend.

We did look a little alike, though. We both have the same black hair, only mine was down to the small of my back. His was to his shoulders. We have the same jaw lines and eye shape, but his eyes are dark, almost black, brown, and mine are green. And he looked more Quilleute than I did because Mom doesn't have a drop of Quilleute blood in her.

Jacob kept pacing and I thought I might actually go insane from watching him pace. "Jake, it's just a fever. It'll go away soon."

I had been in bed for the past few days with a fever, but I wished I had gotten this two weeks ago before summer break started. I didn't feel anything but extreme heat. I had been wearing tank-tops and shorts, but I haven't left the house even left the house. I'm fine enough to walk around; neither my stomach, throat, nor anything else hurts, but Mom still won't let me leave the house.

She says my temperature is high enough to kill me, but I refused to let her take me to the hospital. I don't feel sick and I don't think we could afford it since Dad left, and Mom's job as a secretary at a law firm in Port Angels doesn't contribute much.

Jacob looked at me again. "You have no clue what you're talking about," he said sternly. When my fever hadn't died down by today, Jacob became convinced that it wasn't just a fever. But he wouldn't tell me what he thought it was.

"Why don't you just tell me what I'm supposed to be talking about?"

"Can't. It's not just my decision," he shrugged.

"Come on, Jake!" He didn't say anything, which in 'Jake World' meant "This conversation is Over!"

I sighed and rolled my eyes, "Whatever."

Jacob narrowed his eyes, "What was that?"

"I said, Whatever, as in, I don't care. Don't tell me!" I hissed. "I don't want to know anymore. But if you don't want me to know, STOP TALKING ABOUT IT!" She thought for a second. "And get out of my room!"

Jacob stared at me. I hardly ever yelled at him, but sometimes he was too much. But I completely regretted it this time when I saw Jacob's hands shake.

"Isabella Emily Black," he said, in his Izzy-needs-a-lecture-voice. "Have you ever heard of a thing called 'Respect'?…" I sighed. Sometimes he treated me like a little kid, and the other times he acted very immature. I think I'd take the annoying, irresponsible Jake, over the no-nonsense, father-like Jacob any day.

Apparently I had zoned out during the lecture because Jacob asked, "Do you understand?" but I nodded my head anyways. "Good," he responded.

Jacob snapped out of lecture mode and sat on the edge of my bed. He leaned back and laid next to me with his eyes closed.

"Jake?"

"Hmm?"

"What is that you think is happening to me?" He opened his eyes and sat up.

"Izzy…"

I put my hands up in defense. "Sorry, sorry. I'm just really curious."

He sighed. "Fine. I need to talk to some people first, wanna come?"

I blinked in disbelief. "Yeah but I'm not aloud to leave the house remember?"

"Hmm. True. I guess they came come here," he thought out loud. "Is Carrie gone?" Carrie's my mother.

"Yeah," I answered, thoroughly confused. "She's at work…"

"Good," he interrupted.

"Uh…Jake, what's going on?"

He grinned his special smile. "You'll see."

Jacob made me stay in my room. I seriously wonder what goes through his head that justifies his authority over me, I mean were "supposedly" the same age. But I didn't feel like arguing any more with him, so I let him have his way.

I heard him make some phone calls, but the walls were still too thick to catch his conversation. A couple of minutes later, I heard some people talking in the front yard. I looked out my window to see Grandpa (George Black) along with Ryan Atera and Mary Clearwater, the Quilleute Elders, coming up the walk to our front porch. They seemed to be hurrying pretty fast and spoke as if they were extremely anxious.

They disappeared from my view and I heard the doorbell ring. I opened my door just enough to press my ear against the opening, feeling stupid for not thinking this before. Jacob welcomed them, but when Grandpa started to talk Jacob cut him off, saying, "Excuse me for a moment, George." I thought that was kinda rude of him, because that's his Grandpa too.

I heard him walking down the short hallway to my room. As he opened the door, I quickly jumped from the floor to my bed. He stepped in and grabbed my MP3 Player off my desk and handed me the headphones. I scowled at him as I put the headphones on. He searched through my music, ignoring all my favorite songs, until he found one of his bands that he put on there. I watched in horror as he turned up the volume to an ear-shattering high. He handed it back to me, but when I tried to turn it down he shook his head and turned it back up. Then he turned around and left my ears to bleed.

After a few minutes of torturous music, I figured he'd be back in the living room talking to the Elders. I turned down the music, hoping to catch some of the conversation. Jacob hadn't bothered to close the door all the way so I started to lean down off the bed to listen. I heard Jacob say, "Excuse me." Then he yelled, "Izzy! Turn it back up!"

I was completely startled. I yelled back, "Aww...but Jake! My ears hurt!..."

"IZZY!"

I sighed and pressed the damned "up" volume button. I knew that Jacob had frightening-good hearing, but anyone in the world would agree with me that that was just ridiculous. He was like a dog who could hear a car coming from a mile away, but hearing the volume of music in headphones in the next room over is just silly.

After the song repeated the fourth time, I decided to get some reading done. I tried to read this book on my summer-reading list that was written sometime in the early 2000's. But the stupid music made me read the same three lines five times. I sighed and looked under my bed and found an old Sears Catalog dated 2089, last year. That got really annoying and now the song was on it's eighth repeat.

At that moment I hatched a brilliant plan. I took off the headphones, but quickly pressed them lightly to me cheek to make it seem like they were still in my ears. I didn't hear anything sudden from Jacob, so I got down and pressed my ear against the open part of the door. "So we're agreed then?" Jacob said. "Good. I'll go get her."

Shit, I thought. I got back on the bed and put my headphones on. I picked up and opened my book at the exact time he opened the door. He leaned over and took out my headphones. He looked down at my book and chuckled. "I've read that book before. Is it better upside-down?" I looked down and saw that the text of the pages was wrong-side up. I looked up at him and stuck my tongue out. He stuck his tongue right back and smiled. "Come on."

He walked out of the room and I got off my bed and followed. When I reached the living room, I waved at Grandpa, but he just smiled at me and motioned for me to sit down. I did, but Jacob stayed standing.

He started talking about the Quilleute culture. I was certain I had heard every story, until Jacob started to tell me a story that I'd never heard before. It was about these ancient warriors that fought with their spirits. After this giant fiasco, somethings happened and the warriors didn't leave their bodies anymore, but could transform into wolves. And these warriors' propose was to protect the Quileute tribe from these evil beings that drank blood and supposedly smelt bad. He told me about the pouch and how it was full of these "cold ones" ashes. Then he told me about this treaty that was made between the Quileutes and a group of the cold ones, who had given up drinking human blood and gone "vegetarian".

When he finished¡ll was silent for a few minutes. But after awhile, all I could say was, "Wow." I thought it over, and said, "Well that's a great story Jake. But what's it got to do with my fevers?"

He sighed and shook his head. He looked up and smiled. "Izzy, you're turning into a werewolf."