Chapter 1: Shifters of New York
I look up at the glass ceiling, the midnight sky dark as ever while the full moon shined bright. You can't see much of the stars here, with all the lights of New York. It's such a busy place to live in, but I love it. I remember as a kid I would always watch the night sky with my mom, Sarah. She would sit me on her lap on the front porch of our house, looking up at sky counting all the stars. Back then, we were in Forks, Seattle, so we could really see the stars. I felt an overwhelming sense of pain thinking of her.
She had passed away fifteen years ago, when I was 13. She was suffering from major depression and unfortunately she killed herself. She self-medicated with alcohol, but on my father's death day she took too many pills. At that time I was so angry with her for leaving me alone in this world. When I found her body in the bathtub, I couldn't move. The world stopped spinning and my heart fell to my knees. It was the worst feeling in the world as it felt like an out-of-body experience. I never thought at that moment, my mom would leave me. I thought that she loved me. But now I know that it was inevitable. She just didn't trust herself with me, so she entrusted me to my dad's little brother, James. Uncle James didn't know she was going to kill herself, but before she did, my mom wrote an e-mail to him. Apparently, she told him that she had some important business to attend that would last for months. She had asked him to take me to Irondequoit, New York, where he lived with his wife and two sons. He agreed and that weekend, when he was supposed to come pick me up, she did it. I think the main reason why she did it was because of my dad who died in his mission in Afghanistan two years earlier. But I still feel as if I was reason for her death. I should have seen it coming and I should have helped her.
I got off my bed and walked through my flat, trying to find my crappy cell phone. It was in the bathroom. I took off my shirt and tossed it in the laundry basket. I stood in front of the mirror and saw my tired face. My patrols had been getting later each day. It's usually from 12 am to 3 pm. Then I have 4 hours to sleep before I go to work. My cell phone rang just then and I quickly answered.
"What's up Ash?" I asked, walking to my closet to find my clothes to wear for work so not to rush the last minute. Asher is my alpha and I was his second in command; he was also James older son, but he was more a brother to me than anything. Uncle James was had native blood from Washington—Quileute I think, and Aunty Lucy is Greek. I am also Quileute, but I don't know any of my relatives back home. Mom wouldn't tell me.
"Noah, where are you?" he asked, his voice urgent.
"At my flat, why? What's wrong?" I can't help wonder if a new leech was lurking around the borderlines.
"We've found a pack of shape-shifters," he said.
"What? Are you serious?" I couldn't believe that there were more people like us.
"Yeah man, there from...Forks." Forks...my home town. I haven't gone back for fifteen years. I was silent for what seemed like forever.
"You there Noah?" he asked, his voice filled with concern.
"Yeah I'm fine. How did you find them?" Washington was a long way from here.
"Apparently, there was a battle between the Volturi, a coven of vege-vamps, and some of the shifters two years ago. One of the vamps from here is part of the Volturi and kidnapped one of the pack member's girl friend last week. Corbin found him whining around the woods like a lost pup. " I couldn't help but laugh. What kind of idiot doesn't look after his girl friend?
"I see. Who is he?" I asked.
"His name is Seth Clearwater. He's been searching for her with his vamp friend, Edward Cullen. They have a lead in the old abandoned home near the river."
"This guy has a vampire for a friend? You got to be kidding me." I was shocked. What the hell? Was there something in the water back in Washington that made them crazy?
"Apparently, it's a long story. I gotta go. Meet me by the river in ten."
"Gotcha." I hung up and look back up in the mirror. They are from Forks...my hometown. I felt for the first time in the last fifteen years, home-sick. I wanted to go see my mom. Well at least her grave. I walked out of my flat and ran to the back yard. I quickly looked around to see if anyone was there and phased. I felt the wind through my dark black fur as I ran. I loved being a wolf. My pack, which just included my two cousins, Asher and Corbin, met me near the river. A whine came from behind me and turned around to see the saddest wolf I've ever seen. This must be Seth Clearwater. I also smelled a disgusting leech behind him. This must his so called friend. I snarled at him.
What is that doing here?
"I am here to help my dear friend find his girlfriend," he said, smirking. This bloodsucker can read my thoughts?
Get out of my head leech.
"I'm afraid I can't help that. Sorry," he said, rolling his eyes. The nerve of this guy, I would rip him to shreds.
Noah, calm down. We're here to find the girl, said Asher.
Whatever, I replied. Seth couldn't talk to us since he wasn't part our pack, so Edward had to translate his thoughts.
"Her name is Ella. She was taken a Volturi member called Stephan. He was threatening us that if we don't give what he wants we will kill her." Seth made out a low whimper and looked in the direction of the old house.
What does he want? asked Asher.
"My daughter," replied Edward. His daughter? Vampires can't have babies.
"She's a hybrid." Fuck, this is so messed up.
Why do they want her? I asked.
"I'm not sure why. We will know soon enough."
I looked in the direction of the old house and sniffed the air. I can definitely smell them. I can also smell the blood of a human, but I could hear her heart beating.
Let's go, said Asher. We've ran, trying not a make a sound. We've reached the place and hid behind the bushes. I could hear whimpering coming from the house. Seth was on his feet and was ready to move, but Edward stopped him. He made a signal to say that he will go first and talk with them. So we let him. I looked over at Seth and gave him a reassuring look. He nodded and looked over to the house. I could clearly hear the conversation.
"Well my dear, it looks like your boyfriend is late," said one humor-filled voice.
"Please don't hurt me...please..." she said, softly. The room filled with laughter. There were at least five voices. Edward made his way to the front porch of the house and knocked. The laughter halted, and we were ready to attack.
One vamp opened the door, and his expression seemed amused.
"Well, well, well, look what we have here guys, Edward Cullen." Laughter filled the room again, and I was getting annoyed.
"Stephan," said Edward curtly.
"Can I help you my old friend?" asked Stephan, smirking.
"Just give me Ella and I will be on my way," said Edward, calmly.
"Sorry can't do that." Two other vamps came out and stood beside Stephan. Edward's face looked like he realized something.
"Seth!" screamed Ella. Seth's head snapped up and in two seconds he smashed through windows.
Come on, order Ash. We followed him and came behind Edward.
"Well I see you bring mutts to do your dirty work Edward, how pathetic," said Stephan. I went inside the house through the window to find Seth snarling at the vamp threatening to bite Ella. Ella looked scared out of her wits. The other vamp was snarling back at Seth, but when he saw me coming, he took a step back. I was bigger than Seth, and a lot scarier. I growled loudly enough to scare the vampire who had had Ella. Seth, in those few seconds, ripped off his hand from with his teeth and ran after him. At that time Ella fell on the floor. Before the other vamp who backed away could get her, I grabbed her shirt my teeth, and swung her over onto my back. I could hear her heart beating fast as she held my fur with a death grip. I heard Edward and my pack fighting Stephan and the other two vamps outside. I looked back at the leech in front of me. I snarled and growled, and he flew off. I was going to go after him, but I didn't want to bring Ella with me.
Guys, I have Ella. I'm going to bring her to my place.
Okay, make sure that no one is following you, replied Ash.
Also order some pizza, said Corbin. I rolled my eyes at him and ran to my place. No one was following us, so I ran like the wind. Ella held onto to me as tight as she could. I made it and kneeled down so she can get off of me. She looked quite pale and winded. I took the pouch off my knee and splayed on the grass. I picked up my house keys from the pouch with my mouth and motioned her to go inside. She looked at me confused, and I had to roll my eyes. I motioned again, and she seemed to get it. She took the keys, and ran to my house, opening the door and closing it behind her. I quickly phased back and put on my shorts and shirt. I picked up my pouch, and walked inside. She was on the sofa crying, and when I came in, she screamed.
"Hey! It's me, the wolf that saved your ass," I said, putting my hands defensively. She stopped, and wiped her tears.
"Oh, sorry..."she replied, looking away. I walked up to her and kneeled down, so I could face her. She looked up at me, her eyes red, and her face scarred and full of blood.
"How about you go take a quick shower and after I can stitch those wounds. Ok? I will also order some pizza." She must be really hungry right now.
"What about Seth?" She asked, about to panic.
"He will be fine, I promise. Now up you go, I will leave some of my clothes for you on the table beside the bathroom. The guest towels are in the cupboard under the sink." She smiled a little and walked over to the bathroom. I picked up my phone and called the pizza guy to bring ten large pizzas. I could hear Ella turn on the shower as I hung up my phone. I heard some wolf howls from outside, and looked out the window. Ash, Corbin, and Seth were walking up to my back porch. I opened the door for them, and immediately Seth started to ask where Ella was.
"She's taking a shower right now," I said.
"Is she okay? She looked so scared..." Seth said, with a hint of guilt in his voice.
"I don't know man. She had some deep cuts on her face and hands. It looked like they drank her blood." Seth shivered and looked like he could kill more of those bloodsuckers. He threw his hands in the air and sat down on the couch.
"I'm such an idiot! I knew I should have gone with her to the club! Fucking idiot!" He yelled, clearly blaming himself.
"One of them got away," I said to Ash.
"We know man; Edward is currently looking for him. We killed Stephan and the other three."
"Oh, okay." I said, walking over to my fridge.
"Beer?" I asked them. They all said yes, except for Seth. I gave them beer, and took a sip myself. We all took a seat on my couch. Suddenly, Seth's phone rang. He picked it up and I could hear an angry voice on the other side. It was a cute voice though.
"Seth, where are you?!" asked the female voice.
"I'm with Ella, and the shifters from New York," he said. I chuckled at that, shifters of New York eh? The guys thought it was funny too.
"I've been worried sick! You little toe-nail! Can't you pick up the phone? I've been trying to call you!" she asked. Who must she be? His mom? What kind of mom would call her kid 'toe-nail'?
"Leah please, I was kind of pre-occupied trying to find my imprint", he said. What the hell is an imprint? Asher's head snapped up at the sound of the word, and he blushed. Freaking blushed. I never saw Asher blush before. Does he know something about imprints?
There was a long sigh on the other side. "Fine, when are you coming home?" she asked.
"I don't know, maybe in two days," he replied.
"Okay, call me when you leave twerp," she said, and hung up. She seemed like a fun person to be around.
"Who's that?" I asked.
"My annoying older sister, Leah," he replied. Leah, it's a cute name.
"Does she know you're a wolf?" I asked. To that, he chuckled.
"Haha, yeah. She's also a wolf," he said. To that, all of our eyes bulged out. A female wolf! What the hell, I never heard of that. That's actually really cool!
"Are you serious?" I asked, wondering how her wolf looks like. Just then Ella came out in my baggy clothes, her long black hair wet. Seth ran up to her and hugged her tight as if he's never going to let her go.
"Baby, are you okay?" he asked, kissing her head and all over her face. She stifled a cry and nodded as she hugged him back. I saw Asher looking at them, blushing, and turned his head to his phone. There's something going on with him.
The door bell rang, and Seth looked at me with worried eyes, holding Ella tight to his chest.
"Relax, it's the pizza guy," I said, opening the door. He must think he were crazy for ordering ten large pizzas for just the five of us. But hey, do I look like I care? I paid him, and brought the pizzas to the table. I went to the bathroom, and got out my first aid kit to stitch up Ella's scars. Even when I had to work on her, Seth wouldn't leave her side, holding onto her hand, telling her how much he loves her and how sorry he was. I don't blame him. But his eyes are filled more than love. I just couldn't explain it. I never have seen this type of devotion before. Frankly, it was a bit scary. When I was done, I saw that Corbin has eaten like three boxes already. I slapped his head, but he still stuffed his face.
"Leave some for the rest of us jack-ass," I said, picking up three slices for Ella. I brought it to her and she smiled at me. I smiled and went over to get some for Seth and me. Well two boxes to be exact. We all ate in silence. Seth kept looking at her every two minutes just to make sure she was okay. Ella looked up at me, and had a confused look on her face.
"What are your names?" she asked.
"I'm Noah, and this," I pointed to Ash, "is Asher and the guy stuffing his face over there is Corbin."
"Oh, okay. I'm Ella," she said smiling. I'm glad she's feeling a bit better.
"Oh we know," I said, chuckling. She blushed and looked up at Seth, who smiled and kissed her lips.
"I know maybe it's too soon, but mind telling us why you were kidnapped," asked Asher. Ella looked sad and bit her lips.
"They wanted Nessie, so I was bait. They wanted to do experiments on her," she said. Nessie must be Edward's daughter.
"Oh," replied Asher, "Is this Nessie the hybrid?"
"Um yeah. But she's totally cool. She's not venomous or anything." That is strange, a vampire who isn't venomous. But she is a hybrid, so maybe that explains it.
"You know you kind of look like my Alpha Noah," said Seth. I gave him a confused look.
"What do you mean?"
"His name is Jake. You look so much like him." `
"Are you Quileute?" I asked. He brightened up and nodded.
"Yup! And so is Ella over here!" he said, pulling her closer so she could sit on his lap. I smiled.
"I used to live there with my mom," I said, staring at the carpet. I could feel Ash's and Corbin's eyes on me. They knew this was a touchy subject for me.
"Seriously! Maybe you're related to him!" Was he right? Was I related to this Jake?
"Maybe...what is his last name?"
"Black, Jacob Black." I looked up at this surprised.
"So is mine." I shared a look with Ash, and then he looked away, trying to think of something.
"Holy Shit! I bet you're his long lost cousin or something!" yelled Seth.
"Yeah maybe. I don't know." I said, running my hand through my shoulder-length hair. I felt like I wanted to go to Forks—no I needed to go to Forks. I don't know why but it's just this feeling in the pit of my stomach. I wanted to know who I am—where I came from. I wanted to see my parents even if I could only see their graves.
There was a knock on the door, and I smelled Edward. I stood up and opened the door for him, giving him an annoyed look. He smelled vile.
"Thank you Noah, so do you." I snarled, let him enter. I'm going to have to mop the floor after he leaves, just to get the smell out.
"Ella, are you okay?" asked Edward.
"Y-yeah...I'm okay. I just want to go home now," she said, cuddling closer into Seth. Edward nodded, and looked at Ash.
"Gerald ran away. I wasn't able to get to him on time. He must be out of the city by now. I'm thinking he probably went back to the Volturi to tell them all about this," he said.
"I see. Well as long as he's not in New York, he is not my problem. I heard they wanted to experiments on your daughter. What makes her so special?" asked Ash.
"Well, she has a very special gift of transferring her thoughts to others. She is also a hybrid, and not venomous. I guess they wanted to know what makes her not venomous. She also grows quite fasts. She is technically two years old, but she looks about thirteen." What in the world? That is the most bizarre thing I've ever heard in my life! This world is so messed up.
"Hmm, so why is she not venomous?" I asked.
"Usually female hybrids aren't venomous, but males are. But we aren't really sure why," he said. I nodded and asked to talk to Ash privately. We came out to the back porch, and there looking up at the sun rising.
"So what do you want to talk to me about Noah?" he asked.
"What is an imprint? I know you know something about it Ash," I asked, look at him in the eye. He blushed and looked away. He was silent for a long time, so I nudged him.
"Well? What is it?" I probed.
"I don't know exactly, but from what I gather from what dad told me, it is kind of like love at first sight. It is when you first see her, she's the only thing that matters—the only thing that keeps you alive." Ash never talked like this, so to say I was surprised was an understatement. Him blushing, talking like such a love-sick puppy—it made me wonder if he...
"Who is she Ash? Was it the girl you were trying not to think about last time we patrolled together?" I asked.
He blushed, and ran his hand through his hair.
"Yeah her name is Stella," he said, his voice was soft when he spoke her name.
"Oh, so you love her?"
"Haha, I guess so. I can't stop thinking about her man. She stubborn though, and she makes me crazy." I laughed, and patted his back.
"Did you tell about her being a wolf?" I asked.
"No...not yet. I am waiting for the right time. It's only been two weeks. But after today, I have to tell her soon though. She needs to know." I nodded. He was right—she needed to watch out for herself and be able to tell him when she needed his help.
"Yeah, now you have to tell her about the imprinting thing too," I said. He sighed.
"This will never get any easier." I nodded.
"I think I want to go to Forks for a while. Just to, you know..." Ash looked at me, worry and sorrow filled his eyes.
"You don't have to say it. I know you Noah. You need to go there, it's been fifteen years. You must miss it."
"Yeah man, you should go," said Corbin, patting my back. I looked at them and smiled.
"Thanks guys," I said, "But how are you guys going to patrol around here just the two of you while I'm gone?"
"We can manage man, don't worry. Plus I think there will be new pack members. It looks that famous lacrosse kid from Irondequoit high school has some wolf genes from the Irondequoit tribe," said Corbin, "It's just a matter of time." I laughed, and shook my head.
Corbin had to go to school, while Ash and I went to work. Ella, Edward and Seth stayed at my place till they got word to go home. I told them about me staying there for a couple of weeks, and Seth was ecstatic. Was he always that happy?
Work was long and I was tired at hell. I just wanted some shut eye. I parked in my driveway and quickly greeted everyone. I went straight to bed and slept till 11 pm. I started to pack my stuff for my trip back home. Home. I actually missed the place I never thought I would go back to. I packed and said good bye to my family here, and drove with Seth, Ella, and Edward to the airport. Edward had to sit beside me, lucky me. Seth and Ella were cuddled together in the back seat, kissing each other. Urgh. Can't this wait?
We got on our plane, and I sat beside the window. I was going to miss New York. But I had this good feeling about Forks. Like I was meant to find something there. I saw the clouds pass me, and slowly drifted to sleep.