Dear Readers,

Hi(: Welcome to my first ever Twilight Fanfic! I honestly never thought I'd be writing a Twilight fanfic, but I got this very cool idea, and I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I wrote it, and I'm going to share it. I think you guys will like it:) It is a Jacob Black/OC Romance, which I know some people aren't a fan of. It's hard to accept an OC after reading the original book and loving the characters. Here's the thing though, I don't actually love the character Bella, and besides, she chose Edward, and I'm always rooting for the under-dog. Jake is clearly the under-dog (haha, get it? I know, -eye roll- I'm not funny...) in Twilight, and this is my chance to give him a happy ending:) Just like I did for Gale & Katniss in my Hunger Games Fic: The Last Burning Embers. Anyways, I hope you'll give it a shot, and please review; your feedback is the best way to know if I'm writing something you like or not.

-BecomingScarlett2012

Oh, and BTW, there's an Author's Note at the end explaining the Timeline* for this story, because that can be a little confusing...On with the chapter now;)


Chapter One - Too Little Too Late

There comes a time in every young adult's life where they realize who they are as a person, and what they want to do with their life. For some, this happens naturally, their path unfolds before them without a hitch, and they don't have to wonder where they fit in, they simply know. Those are the lucky ones. For others, it just isn't that easy. Not everybody's future comes delivered to them in a box wrapped up pretty and secured with a bow. Sometimes, it takes a journey to discover who we are, or a series of very tough choices that shape our future. Other times, it is a person who helps us realize the truth, whether or not we want to know it. And sometimes…sometimes it's all of those things that bring us to that epic moment where we stop wondering, and we finally know: This Is Who I Am.

For me, my path, my future, began before I was even born. It started with a secret, which my father kept from my mother. After the secret, came the lies, so many lies. My life was built on lies, and the naïve child that I was believed them all to be true.

There are many things I could say that I regret about being such an oblivious kid, but what good would that do? I can't go back and change what happened now. I can't open my eyes to something I didn't know was there. I can't turn back time to save her, or to change his mind. Even if I could…I don't think I'd risk changing a single thing about what's happened, because in spite of all the bad things, it brought me to him.

It all started on Friday June 27, 2006…


"Happy Birthday Avalon!"

The relief on my best friend's face when the off-key singing of her friends and family finally comes to an end is quite comical. The whole song beforehand was pretty hysterical as well. Nearly every person in this room must be tone deaf, or they just don't give a shit, because that was the worst rendition of 'Happy Birthday' I've heard in my life. To be honest, the fact that every adult at this party is more than a little tipsy might have something to do with the horrible singing, but it's not my place to judge. I send Ava an over-the-top, cheesy smile from across the table and she returns it with a mischievous grin before blowing out the candles on her cake.

Gavin and Nora really outdid themselves with this Sweet Sixteen party for their oldest daughter Avalon. They rented a ballroom, invited all the kids from our high school, and booked an awesome DJ. Nora chose a Midsummer Night's Dream themed party and decorated the ballroom with pink, purple and white flowers, green vine-like streamers, and enchanting flower centerpieces with soft-lit candles. Ava's younger sisters, Gemma and Delaney, are dressed up for the themed party as fairies, with wings and fairy dust and all the works. They look adorable, but that's nothing unusual. Ava looks like a princess in her rose red ball gown, her elbow-length blonde hair curled and accessorized with a crown made of roses and sparkly zirconium diamonds. She looks stunning and amazing, as does the whole event. I haven't seen Ava this happy ever!

I help Ava cut up the cake, after being prompted by Nora in her pleasantly bossy tone to do so, and then the two of us sneak off with a bottle of cotton candy flavored vodka. So that is what Ava was grinning about before. I guess her birthday wish is to party the night away. There's no reason not to. It is her Sweet Sixteen Birthday Party, school is out for the summer, and we're nearing our 1-Year Anniversary of moving to Fort Collins, Colorado. It's a pretty big deal for our families to have stayed put this long, but that's a story for another time…

"Oh my God, that is sickly sweet," Ava comments after cracking open the bottle of vodka and throwing back a long swig. She puckers up her lips and makes a face like she just licked a lemon. I giggle at her expression as she passes the bottle over to me. "It tastes like cotton candy, but it's so…so…"

"Alcoholic?" I fill in, raising an eyebrow in amusement. I sniff the open container and wrinkle up my nose from the burning sensation. "This stuff is strong."

"Just drink it, Elyse," Ava orders with a roll of her blue eyes. "It's not that bad."

I sigh, but put the bottle to my lips and toss my head back. My throat constricts and I nearly gag at the flavor, but I keep my face neutral because I know Ava will make fun of me if she sees I don't like it. I hand the bottle back to Ava and lick my lips, which now taste of cotton candy. She was right, it wasn't that bad, but it sure wasn't that great either. We silently pass the bottle back and forth for a while, standing outside on the roof of the hotel with our backs against the cool metal door, staring up at the stars and the full moon above.

"Do you remember my birthday last year?" Ava asks, interrupting the silence between us.

"How could I forget?" I respond, shaking my head at the memory.

Ava and I were convinced Gavin and Nora were on the verge of getting a divorce. It was silly, really. We had absolutely no evidence to prove it, besides the fact that they were arguing more often and spending less time together. Ava was so scared her was family was going to be split up, and I was scared too. Gavin is my dad's best friend, and a second father to me. Nora has been more of a mother than my real mom the past seven years. Ava is my best friend and my sister, and so are Gemma and Delaney. We were devastated at the thought all of that could be forever changed if Nora and Gavin got divorced. I knew how bad things could get if they went through a divorce, because my parents had gotten one when I was 9, and it was awful. Although my dad had to fight my mentally unstable mother for custody of me, so that may have made matters a bit more difficult.

"We spent my whole birthday crying about a divorce that wasn't even going to happen," Ava says between giggles. "They should have just told us we were moving again though. We can handle that sort of information."

"I know," I agree with a wistful smirk. "Remember your dad? What did he say, oh god, it was so funny!" I rack my brain, trying to recall what it was Gavin said to us when he discovered Ava and I were following him, us thinking we were going to find him having an affair with another woman.

Ava covers her mouth to muffle her laughter before busting out an impression of Gavin, "'Girls! What the – what are you doing here? Are you trying to get yourselves killed? You don't – I don't – how did you? But I-?'" She trails off, both of us cracking up over the memory. The look on Gavin's face and his reaction to the sight of us had us convinced we were right in thinking he was having an affair. Why else was he acting so sketchy?

"'Who is she?!'" I demand in mock-anger, straightening up tall and pointing at Ava accusingly before poking her shoulder, just as she'd done to her dad. "'Huh? What's so great about her? Why are you doing this to us? You're ruining my life!'" I grab on to Ava's shoulders and shake her as I say that last part. The two of us start to laugh so hard, we don't stop until tears are rolling down our cheeks. It turns out Gavin had been on his way to the airport in Albany, New York that day to fly here, to Colorado, to check out a home for his family and mine.

"I was–" Ava gasps for air, "Such a drama queen." She sighs, finally having caught her breath from the excessive laughter. She glances over at me and meets my gaze, which clearly says 'Were a drama queen?' She corrects, "Okay, fine, I still am. But I'm not as bad as last year."

"You're right, you're not," I concede. "But my life would be so boring without your dramatics, Ava!" I tease, nudging her shoulder with mine.

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Ava rolls her eyes, but smiles anyways. "And my life would be boring without your witty sarcasm and utter angst about everything."

"Hey!" I protest, "I do not angst about everything…only some things." I smirk sheepishly. "Do you want to go back in now? Nora is definitely going to notice we're gone."

"One more shot!" Ava says as she bends to pick up the vodka she'd placed on the cemented roof next to her feet. She drinks a long shot from the bottle and passes it, "Here, Lys, you too. Then we'll go in."

I take the shot as she requested, it is her birthday after all, and then we head back inside the hotel to the ballroom. The guests have finished with cake and ice cream, the tables are cleared of the plates, and the DJ is mixing up some sick tracks. Ava drags me to the dance floor, where most of our friends and classmates are swaying to the beat, and we join in. I notice Jayson, who is a soon-to-be senior and the boy Ava's been crushing on since Christmas, checking out the birthday girl herself, so I give her some distance. As soon as I'm out of the picture, Jayson moves in and asks Ava to dance. Her cheeks flush, but she accepts his offer with a pearly-white smile. I cross my fingers for her that he'll ask her out after this. I grab a cup of water from the bar, and retreat to the table where Gemma and Delaney are watching a movie on Gem's portable DVD player.

"Getting tired, Dizzy?" I ask Delaney, who is seven, almost eight, and not usually up so late. She also is not usually so still, which is how she got her nickname. I was the first to call her Dizzy Delaney, because she was constantly running around, jumping on everything, and blabbing her mouth all day long. She was so full of energy; it was exhausting trying to keep up with her. As the years went by, and her energy level remained the same, Dizzy stuck. I call her Dizzy now more than I ever call her Delaney.

"Nope," Dizzy shakes her head back and forth, glitter raining from her honey blonde hair as she does. "I could stay up," she yawns, "All night long." She rubs at her eyes a moment later.

"I bet you could," I comment, even though all signs point to her being tired enough to fall asleep right at this moment.

"Please, don't encourage her," Gemma, who is twelve, says with a sigh, "She's already driving me crazy. If she's up all night, I'm stuck with her talking my ear off, and I want to go to sleep."

I laugh and reassure her, "I don't think you have anything to worry about. No one's pulling an all-nighter tonight. I think the party will be ending soon."

Suddenly, my phone is ringing, and I'm wondering who the heck could be calling me when everyone important is already here at the party. I don't recognize the number, but it's from an area code that I do recognize: Forks, Washington. My mother's home. I haven't spoken to my mother since my birthday in May, and before that it was…Christmas? Our phone calls are brief and awkward, and never this late at night. It must be important though since its right around midnight.

I pick up on the fourth ring, "Hello?"

"Elyse! Oh, Elyse, is that you?" I sort of recognize the voice of the older woman on the other end of the line, but I can't pinpoint it.

"Yes…" I reply hesitantly. "Who's this?" It's definitely not my mom. Not unless she aged twenty years and developed a smoking habit as bad as…

"It's your Gramma," Her slightly raspy voice cuts into my thoughts, "Gramma Perrot." My mom's mother. Wow, no wonder I didn't know who it was at first; I haven't seen her since she and mom visited us in Chicago around my thirteenth birthday. They left without saying goodbye. Dad says Gramma and Mom were mad because he wouldn't let them take me back to Forks with them.

"Oh, Gramma, hi," I greet, feeling confused. I think the cotton candy vodka has finally settled in. My stomach is kind of queasy. "Is everything all right?"

I am met with silence for a few moments, followed by a shuddery sigh. "No dear, I'm afraid everything isn't all right. My Kat – your mother…there's been a terrible accident."

My heart skips a beat and I ask quickly, "What kind of accident? Is she okay?"

"No," Gramma replies, voice thick with grief, "She's dead."


Saturday June 28, 2006

After hearing the news, I found my dad and told him what Gramma told me. He called her on his phone and walked away from me, locking himself away in the bathroom outside of the hotel's ballroom for hours, and leaving me to sit and watch the happy party guests dance. I wondered how my mom had died, what kind of accident was it? Gramma never answered my question. Soon everyone left, and I was the only one left besides Ava and the rest of the Sinclair family. Dad finally came out of the bathroom around two in the morning, and he said we had to go; he had booked a flight to Washington leaving in a few hours. Needless to say, I got no sleep that night because we were on a plane at 6AM headed to Forks. I guess I jinxed myself when I told Gemma no one would be pulling an all-nighter. I sure did.

I was not happy, obviously because of the depressing news that my mom died, but also because I was hung-over. The plane ride made me nauseas, but thankfully I held in the urge to blow chunks all over the airplane. After we landed at the small airport in Port Angeles two hours after take-off, dad rented a car, and we drove the rest of the way to the home I was born and raised in until I was nine. That's when my parents got divorced and Dad took me away from this miserable place. I never wanted to come back. As soon as we walked inside, Gramma was hugging me and crooning over how much she'd missed me and how beautiful I've gotten, how Mom should've been here to see me home again. I didn't know what to say. She offered Dad and I breakfast, and explained she needed help with planning Mom's funeral. Dad took charge, like he always does, and before I knew it, he and Gramma were leaving me to go to the funeral home. Dad said they'd be back soon.

Once they left, I realized I was surrounded by photos of me, and a woman I barely know, a woman who's dead now so I'll never get the chance to know her. All of these things were her things. I remembered some of them, but most I didn't. It was all too much at once. I couldn't handle it, so I ran out the back door and took a walk to get away from it all.

That was an hour ago, and now I'm lost. I don't know why I went into these stupid woods in the first place. I don't know them anymore like I did when I was a kid. Back then I had a tree-house, which I can't find by the way, and I knew how to tell which direction was home. I wish I still remembered what my daddy taught me; that would be so helpful right now. I had to learn back then because this isn't the first time I've been lost in these woods. When I was six, I was lost for a whole night, and when the police and my parents found me, I was so scared I didn't talk for a week. I had nightmares for months. I didn't want to go in the woods ever again. But then my mom told me a story, an old Native American tale, and I wasn't afraid anymore.

I don't realize I'm crying until my vision blurs, and hot tears drip down my cheeks. I'd forgotten all about that story, and all the other ones Mom used to tell me. I'd forgotten how my mother held me close every night when I was afraid. When I was little, she was the best mom anybody could ever ask for. What changed? I still don't understand what happened to her when I was nine. That year, something altered her, and she was never the same. Dad says she went over the deep end, but I don't know what that's supposed to mean. He says she was crazy, delusional, thought people were out to get her when they weren't. He says it wasn't safe for me with her, but I don't remember ever feeling scared. After Dad announced he would be taking me, that's when I saw the crazy side in Mom emerge. She lost it, went completely psycho, throwing things around the house and screaming at the top of her lungs. She'd said Dad was manipulating me. She'd said he was turning me against her. She denied she was crazy, but I saw her. She looked crazy to me then.

I slump to the ground at the base of a tree and hug my knees to my chest, burying my face in my hands to hide my tears, even though no one is here to see them. I don't know why I'm crying over losing a mom I never even cared about seeing. I avoided her phone calls, I despised her visits, and now I realize I was the one who pushed her away, and I was wrong. If I'd known I was going to lose her, I would've…

Snap. Snap! Snap!

I look up and wipe my face quickly of any traces of tears while I look for the source of the breaking twigs. It's so dark in the thick-brushed forest, despite the fact that it is mid-morning, and it's hard to see anything but shadows from a distance. The crunching leaves and twigs are growing closer, and at an alarmingly fast-pace too. I stand up quietly, but stay still, with my back pressed against the rough bark of the tree behind me. I'm about to call out to whoever is there when I see it.

A wolf.

My mouth falls open and I gasp.

The huge wolf stops in its tracks, standing perfectly still, dark brown, almost black, eyes boring into mine. It's beautiful. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am paralyzed with fear at this point, I couldn't run away if I wanted to, but I am in awe of the sight before me. This monstrously giant wolf stands as tall, if not taller than I, and has deep rusty-brown colored fur. Its eyes have not left mine since the moment it spotted me. I find my feet are moving closer without my own consent. I am creeping slowly towards the wolf, not away.

I'm thinking to myself, What are you doing, Elyse? Are you asking to be mauled by a wild wolf right now? This is not a petting zoo, stop approaching the dangerous animal and run away! I think I know where this curiosity is stemmed from: the story my mother told me as a girl. It was about a man who turned himself into a wolf…or something like that.

"That was only a story," I whisper to myself aloud, hoping to snap myself out of this trance-like state I'm in. "Only a story…"

My words seem to awaken the wolf from its stupor as well, because the next thing I know, it has stepped forward, stretching up its neck tall until it is looming over me. It bares its teeth, huge and razor-sharp, and a low, threatening growl emerges from deep within its massive throat. My body shudders involuntarily, and I finally come to my senses. I am only feet away from a monstrous wolf that looks as though it could swallow my head whole. I am going to die!

In a wild attempt to save my own ass, I whip around quickly and start to run away. Then, I do the dumbest thing anyone could ever do when being pursued by a flesh-hungry predator.

I black out.


A/N: So what did you think? Please Review!

*Timeline: I'm following the timeline from the books, not the movies, so this story will be taking place where Eclipse ends and Breaking Dawn begins. Jacob's birthday is the same as it is in the books (January 14, 1990), so he's 16. Elyse's birthday is May 7, 1990, so she is also 16. The day Elyse and her dad fly to Washington (Sat. June 28th) is the morning that Jacob receives the invitation to Bella & Edward's wedding. Hopefully that will help you guys make sense of where this fits into the Twilight Saga:)