I stared down at the blank page in my sketch book. No, glared, really. It was so frustrating. We had just moved to Missouri, and my parents had moved again.

My dad had joined the church there after he quit his job in Georgia. After a few months there, the church had decided his services could be used elsewhere. In someplace called Forks.

FRUSTRATING!

I tried to stare down the page, gave up, and looked back up at the meadow again. It was so pretty. That's what had caught my eye. Summer was here, and the wild flowers were in bloom. I smiled as a cool breeze brushed the grass back, blowing past my cheek.

There weren't any clouds in the blue sky that day, and I was thankful. It had rained every day for the week we had been there. I had sat in the house surrounded by boxes and read at least 5 books.

As soon as the rain had stopped, I had rushed outside into the warm air, and headed straight for the woods across the street. I had brought a book, my camera, a couple granola bars, and my sketch book. However, instead of finding the peace I had wanted, I had ended up frustrated again.

The meadow hadn't been too far in. My anger at the world might have kept me going, though, I mused. I wasn't too bad at getting lost, so I wasn't really worried about the trip back.

I leaned back against a tree and looked up at the cloudless sky. Vertigo took hold after about ten minutes, and I snapped my head back down.

I reached for a granola bar for something to do. Ripping open the wrapper with my teeth, I closed my sketch book and put it in the grass beside me, dropping my pencil on top. The bar was chocolate chip, and I ate it quickly, not realizing how hungry I was. I looked back up at the sky, wondering how late it had gotten.

When I looked back down, it was staring at me. Instantly, I froze against the tree. The thing was huge! I tried to stay as quiet as I could so the big wolf wouldn't attack. It was just standing there, its russet coat shaggy for summer. How had I not heard it walk in?

After a few minutes, the wolf flopped down next to a little stream that trickled though the meadow a few yards away. It laid its head on its paws in a lazy way, and stared into my eyes almost intelligently. Shocked, I stared back, unafraid. It was acting like a huge dog.

Suddenly, its ears pricked up, and a growl coursed through its throat. Shocked, I froze again, not realizing that I had relaxed. Unable to breathe or release my eyes of the size of it, I watched as it turned its head in the direction of the woods behind me. Giggling was issuing from the trees. That released me.

Grabbing my things, I turned quickly towards the sounds. Being only fifteen, I wasn't tall or strong, and knew that if the horse-sized wolf suddenly attacked, I wouldn't survive to tell about it. The sounds were my only chance.

Almost tripping in my haste to get through the trees with my books, I started to run. Something stopped me. I knew suddenly that my life had ended. The wolf had my shirt. I screamed.

It picked me up by the back of my shirt and I screamed louder, calling in the direction of the voices. It then turned around and made its way quickly toward the other side of the meadow. The giggling, of coarse had stopped, and there was the sound of an anxious voice. It sounded like a girl, and I started to struggle, still screaming my head off.

I looked up at the wolf, unable to stop screaming, and it looked down and seemed to almost roll its eyes at me. I stopped screaming, shocked, but not before I saw them. I waved frantically at the boy and girl running towards me as the wolf started to run, too.

I was thrown unceremoniously on its back as it started to doge the trees. Unable to do much else, I grabbed two handfuls of fur and tried to hang on as it swerved around the trunks.

"Jacob?"

The wolf growled. I shut my eyes, blocking out the sight of the couple running. No, that couldn't be right.

They were running to the right of the wolf, the girl was on the boy's back and they were running along side. I hadn't noticed that the forest had been slightly blurred when the giant animal had gained speed. We were going nearly as fast as a car.

Gulping, I opened my eyes at the touch of the girl. "It's going to be all right, sweetie, don't be scared." I shook my head, unable to speak. I could feel myself starting to panic, all hope to live gone.

Growling once more, the wolf started to go even faster. "Stop, Jacob! Put her down!" Was this her pet or something? I shut my eyes tightly, willing the whole situation to disappear.

As the thing started to gain more speed than I thought possible, even for one this size, a freezing hand suddenly grabbed me and pulled me off. I was slowing, unable to open my eyes, thinking I was finally dead. When I opened them, I thought I must have died because I was obviously staring at an angel.

My heart almost stopped as I stared up into his face. "Are you all right?" he asked, worry lines crossing his forehead. I shook my head, still unable to speak.

He sighed. "Bella, we're going to have to take her to Carlisle. Do you know where Jacob went?"

"No, I didn't see him, he raced off pretty fast. Is she okay?" She was running my way. With a tinge of jealousy, I realized they must be a couple.

"Bella, I don't know. She won't talk. She's got a few bruises, but other than that, I think she's fine," he said as she ran up.

"Should we take her to Carlisle anyway?" she asked, clearly worried, "She's not very old. She could go into shock."

The boy looked at me again and my heart skipped a beat. He looked about 17 years old, but had honey colored eyes that showed centuries of layered pain. His face was pale and smooth, but wrinkled a bit with worry for me at the forehead. Unable to look away from his smoldering stare, I kept still. "She's only three years younger than you, Bella," he sighed, finally looking away towards her.

"I know," she said, a bracelet on her wrist sliding down her arm as she started to chew on her nails, "I just-" Her words were stopped as he shot up and kissed her. I glowered at them both from the ground.

I started to get up. "Oh no, you don't," he said, breaking the kiss, "You're coming with us." I glared.

"What if I don't want to?" I challenged. My patience had disappeared with the kiss. I stood and brushed the wet leaves off my back, trying to comb them out of my hair.

He smiled at me. "She kind of reminds me of you," he said to Bella. The hair on the nape of my neck stood up and I blushed.

He picked me up and hugged me to his chest. I breathed in his sent and almost fainted. "Hold onto my neck," he called to Bella, and took off.

Being so intoxicated with his scent, I didn't notice when the trees ended. We stopped just outside the woods' edge. There was a silver car parked there, parallel to a trail I hadn't known existed.

He let me go, setting me on the ground. I sighed, not wanting it to end. He let Bella slide off as well, and opened the back door for me. "Ladies first," he said, smiling a little, crooked smile. I walked in a daze toward the car and got in. He shut the door and slid into the driver's seat.

I stared at my hands the whole way there, not wanting to look up at their clasped ones. When I finally did, I noticed the ring. Shocked, I looked back down. Of course, they were so much older than me. Must have graduated this year. I tried to hold back the unwanted tears. I was always rejected.

He glanced in the rearview mirror, worried. "Are you sure you're not hurt?"

I didn't glance up at his voice. Why did it have to be so velvety?

Why did I even care?

He slid neatly to a stop in front of the biggest house I'd seen in the little town. "Welcome to our home," he said, grinning at my expression.