1/ New Neighbours

Emily Uley hadn't seen the sign removed from the neighbour's lawn. She had seen it hammered in, shortly after the saddened passing of Mr Agate, the eighty-two year old tribe elder. There was a great ceremony for his passing; Emily, herself, had never witnessed a traditional burial such as this, where songs were sung and dances were danced and food was eaten. Mr Agate was a sweet man, somewhat senile, who used to compliment the color red whenever she wore it. "You look beautiful, young Emily. Like vibrant fall." Mr Agate left his house to his son and family who, shortly after discovering the derelict state of the house, put it up for sale.

Now the sign was gone and the new neighbours were afoot.

Emily hated to think of herself as nosy but she had little else excuse for peering nosily from the front porch as the truck rolled up. She had no expectations for the new residents. A selfish part of her hoped they weren't a young family with children, and she squashed it down. Her own apparent bareness shouldn't dictate the happiness of others.

Still, she sort of hoped.

A cab pulled up and Emily watched as a young man stepped out. He was a boy of about seventeen and lean, though only in comparison to the other seventeen-year-old boys she knew and loved. He stared at the house for a long moment, not particularly happy, and gestured to someone in the back of the cab. The door opened and a young girl stepped out. They were of the same age, but whereas he was brunette, she was almost golden blond, a startlingly color in the sea of natives. They spoke quickly and started heading to the truck. Emily waited for another cab to pull up, for the parents or the guardians, but an hour went by and the truck was nearly empty. Emily was in disbelief. Surely not.

"Emily?"

She jumped, startled. Despite his large bulk, her husband Sam was a light footed giant. He managed to creep up behind her. "What are you up to?"

"I'm spying on the neighbours," she admitted unabashedly.

"Anything good?"

"They're young."

"Mmm," he wrapped his long arms around her middle. "Newlyweds?"

"No, I mean, really young. Teenagers."

Sam tensed slightly.

"I'm sure they're lovely," Emily said quickly. "We shouldn't judge until we have reason."

"Of course," Sam said. "Still, it can't hurt to drop by and say hello."

Emily recognized the authority in his voice; Sam would do what he did best and that was to keep those of La Push in order and security.

Setting down the last box, Eve barely had a chance to sit down before there was a knock on the front door. She exchanged looks with her boyfriend, Noah, who shrugged sleepily from the mattress on the floor. "Who knows we're here?"

"Answer it," Noah said.

Eve did so. She opened the door—her new front door—and immediately backtracked. Standing on the threshold was a large man, thick like a trunk, with tanned skin and raven hair cropped short. He was the first Indian she'd seen and she wasn't disappointed. "What's up?" she asked.

The man sort of quirked his mouth. A woman suddenly appeared behind him, smaller and scarred. Eve gaped at the side of her face, like fingers of pink webs across her cheek and eyes and neck. She was smiling warmly but it was hard to focus.

"I'm sorry about him," the woman said. "I'm Emily. This is my husband, Sam Uley. We live next door."

"Um," Eve said.

"We don't mean to intrude," Emily said. "If you need anything, feel free to come across. We have a lot of food and many visitors."

"Right," Eve said. Then she remembered her manners. "Oh, I'm Eve."

"Nice to meet you, Eve."

"You too." Eve couldn't stop staring between them; first, at Emily's scars and then, to the beast of her husband. She wondered what kind of place they winded up in.

Before anything else was said, Noah hollered from inside the house. "Who is it?"

"The neighbours!" Eve yelled back. She noticed Emily flinch.

"What do they want?"

Eve shrugged even though Noah couldn't see her. She heard the springs catch as Noah lifted himself and approached them. He was shirtless and sweaty from moving furniture and he smelled kind of bad. Eve saw Sam stiffen at his appearance but wasn't surprised. Honestly, it was the reaction Noah gathered from most people.

"I'm Sam, this is Emily, my wife."

"What's up? I'm Noah." Noah extended his hand. Sam took it and they shook, and Eve thought she saw Noah flinch and flex his hand once it was released.

"Welcome to La Push," Emily said, beaming to break the tension.

Noah nodded. "Thanks," Eve said.

Noah grabbed Eve by the waist and pulled her back suddenly, slamming the door in their faces. Eve fought him until she didn't, and sagged against his naked chest. "That was rude."

"Who cares?" Noah said. "I'm hungry. Let's get pizza."

"We should be cool with the neighbours," Eve said. "I mean, they're going to be around it a lot anyway."

"You be cool," Noah said, already dialling the pizza joint they spotted on the way through town. "I'm ordering pepperoni."

Like clockwork, the second the oven timer chimed, a hoard of men and men-like boys stormed the house. It was Friday night, meaning that Emily cooked a feast for her extended family. Earlier, Sam had collected two new chairs from the garage for the two new wolves to the pack; Collin and Brady. They sat timidly among the boys, though they livened up once the food was set out in front of them. Seth barely took in his first mouthful when he felt a weird tugging sensation in his belly. He lowered his drumstick. He hoped it wasn't a stomach bug, though he wasn't sure it was possible to get viruses anymore. He ignored it and continued eating before it all disappeared.

"The sign is gone," Embry said. He was the most observant of them.

"We have new neighbours," Emily said near the head of the table. Something about her voice was off. Seth looked to Sam who seemed displeased with his meal but of course that wasn't possible.

"What are they like?" Quil asked with a mouthful.

"They seem…nice."

"Just nice?" Embry asked.

"Well, they are a bit young."

Seth wondered what the definition of young was to them. He, himself, was sixteen, though he looked about nineteen. Colin was only fourteen and Brady recently turned fifteen. Even they didn't look their age.

"Do you like them?" Paul asked Sam.

"I find them…unsettling."

"Which means, no," Paul chuckled. "Awesome. You like everybody."

"Except bloodsuckers," Jared put in.

"Fuck them," Paul said.

Emily smacked him with her spoon.

"We should go say hi," Paul said, cracking his fingers wickedly.

"You won't," Sam said. "Until they do something wrong, we leave them be." He didn't seem overly happy with it, either.

Seth pushed them from his mind when desert was offered to him. He ate as much ice cream and cake as he desired. He barely stopped to ponder that strange twisting in his gut. It was like a sense of doom, almost, or like someone walking over his grave. He wasn't the superstitious type. Not really. He sort of believed in the supernatural because, well, he was one. Otherwise he didn't avoid cracks in the pavement or hiss at every black cat. He wasn't, you know, bonkers or anything. But the more he thought on the neighbours, the more the feeling increased. Besides Emily, he was the first to stop eating, which was alarming to his sister, Leah. She gave him the hairy eyeball from across the table. "What's up with you?" It was rare the Leah spoke at Emily's house, much less joined them for dinner. It was only Seth's insistence that she gets over herself and join them that she actually did for once.

"Nothing."

"You stopped eating."

Seth purposely lifted the last of his muffin and chomped on it slowly. Then he grinned at her toothily, revealing the mush between his teeth.

"You're fucking gross," Leah spat.

Emily cringed but didn't scold her, not like Paul. It was awkward like that.

He watched the rest of the pack inhale the food when Embry perked up suddenly. "Emily, are you still cooking?"

"Did I not make enough?" Emily actually looked concerned.

"Of course you did," Sam said, shooting Embry a warning glance.

"No, I mean, I can smell something burning."

As one, everyone lifted their noses and sniffed. Embry was right. There was the distinct smell of something burnt; not food, but something else. Sam was out of his chair before the rest of them. He approached the window in the living room and drew it back, peering at the neighbours.

"Sam?" Emily asked.

"Stay here."

Sam left and the pack followed. Seth was just as eager to see the commotion caused by the new "young" in town. He crossed the lawn in long strides, flanking Paul and Jared, who seemed keen for conflict. The burning smell became apparent when a large fire crackled in the neighbour's yard. It was wild and untamed, and yet the boy was adding more fuel to it, a pile of papers. He was shirtless and tattooed, with a cigarette in one hand and a can of coke in the other.

"Noah!" Sam barked.

The kid jumped, and then waved. "Sup."

"Oh man," Quil mumbled. "He just 'sup'ped, Sam."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm, you know, burning stuff." The kid, Noah, was a smart ass. He reminded Seth of Paul, though even Paul wouldn't speak like that to the Alpha.

"This fire is out of control. And illegal."

"It's fine, dude. I got it."

"Put it out."

Noah didn't sense the command in Sam's tone, or if he did, he ignored it. Seth had to admit the kid had guts. As they watched, he lifted the cigarette to his mouth and inhaled, before puffing it out. Then he flicked it into the fire. "Eve!" he called suddenly.

There was an answer from inside the house.

"The neighbours are back. Apparently you weren't cool with them after all." There was sarcasm.

Sam was getting irritated. Seth had never seen him so easily riled before. His back was twitching and his hands were fisting. If only this kid knew what he was up against.

"Hey, dick!" Paul couldn't resist any longer. He bounded forward. "Put the fucking thing out before we end you."

"Paul," Sam scolded.

Noah only laughed. "End me? Who speaks like that, dude?"

Paul was shaking.

Suddenly, Seth heard another set of approaching footsteps. "Noah, what are you doing?" A girl appeared in the back door. She was wearing nothing but an oversized t-shirt that fell off one shoulder. Her legs and feet were bare. She had hair like sunshine, bunched high on her head. Seth took one look at her and promptly exploded. Not literally, of course, but in the most phenomenal way he knew. It was like his skin was set on fire, yet it didn't hurt, and his insides jumped and realigned and his heart hammered like a trapped bird in his ribcage. He felt completely winded. Everything else faded away—the pack, the fire, all of it—until this girl was the sole centre of his entire universe.

"Shit," Embry said suddenly. He rarely swore. He was looking at something behind Seth, but Seth didn't care. Nothing mattered anymore. Just her.

The girl, Eve, took no notice and walked down the porch, approaching the fire. Seth watched her every step. He was ready to launch himself at her in case she got too close to the roaring fire. Noah grinned and slung an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. He kissed her smack on the mouth, and Seth felt positively sickened at the sight. There was a weird choking sound behind him. By now, everyone but Seth was looking at something else, each with bewildered expressions. Finally, and wishing to look away from the horrible scene, Seth turned and caught his sister's stricken face.

"Leah just imprinted."