I packed my last suitcase and headed for the door.
"Hey!" My friend Taylor called from her old pickup truck.
I put on a small smile and waved back. I opened the door and hopped into the passenger seat.
"I haven't seen you in forever Anna Marie!" Taylor said giving me a small hug. I gave her a small smile and made a weak attempt to hug her back. Don't get me wrong, I was very thankful to her and her Uncle Sam for letting me come and live with them. No matter how cheesy it sounds I started finding it really hard to smile anymore.
"Thanks for letting come live you and your uncle." I said in a low monotone.
"You're really taking this hard aren't you?" Taylor said tilting her head and putting on a sympathetic face.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that." I said.
"Well, La Push is a really fun place, maybe it'll cheer you up!" Taylor said hopefully.
I nodded; I really hoped she was right. I was getting tired of falling asleep crying and seeming depressed.
"I hope so." I agreed.
We drove to the airport. It was too long a way to drive from Birmingham, Alabama to La Push, Washington. I didn't talk to Taylor at all on the plane except for a little small talk about what was going on since she had left to go live with her uncle, which I felt bad about later.
We got off the plane and drove for 4 hours to Sam's house.
She jumped out of the car and I followed her through the front door.
"Welcome to La Push, Washington!" She said.
As soon as the words were out of her mouth I heard footsteps on the creaky wood floor. A man that was at least 6'5 came onto the room.
"You must be Anna Marie." Sam said, sticking out his hand.
I put a forced smile and nodded and gently shook his hand. His hand was REALLY hot. I pulled my hand away as I felt the burn coming into my hand.
"Oh yeah, Sam's a werewolf." Taylor said with ease.
"Taylor! You can't just go around and tell everyone you meet that I'm a werewolf!" Sam complained.
"Well, it's going to be a lot easier living here if she knows." Taylor argued.
"Well how do you know that all you did was scare off and now she doesn't want to stay here anymore?" Sam asked looking at me.
"Y'all are just kidding right? You're not really a werewolf; I mean those aren't even real." I said.
"Actually, they are Sam is the alpha in the pack. There are a lot of different things about them and fictional werewolves though. For example, he can change, or phase, whenever he wants, not just at the full moon. Plus, have I ever lied to you?" Taylor asked.
"Well, no." I agreed. I didn't think that it would be that easy to believe in fictional characters, but it actually came easy after all, with what happened to my parents…..
"Follow me and I'll show you your room." Taylor said as she winded through the different halls.
She showed me to a room covered in purple with a small desk with an old computer on it.
"Thanks." I said, it didn't come out sincerely, but I really did mean it.
"You're welcome, I'll go fix dinner, the pack's coming over to eat tonight so it'll take a long time to cook, but you'll get to meet everybody!" Taylor said cheerfully.
"Great." I said almost sarcastically, but I hoped it didn't come out like that.
I unpacked my suitcase and put everything in the set of drawers by the closet.
Taylor was right; it did take a long time to make the dinner. I got bored so I decided not to be to anti-social, so I went to help her fix dinner. I had always loved to cook and I thought it would be a good way to make up for not talking to Taylor on the plane.
I got up off the creaky bed and found my way back to the kitchen.
"Do you need something?" Taylor asked when she saw me coming into the kitchen.
"Um, no, I was just wondering if you needed any help with dinner." I asked immediately wishing I hadn't asked. I was surprised I didn't notice him right when I came in. He was just as tall if not taller than Sam and he had big, bulky muscles.
"Sure, I can always use help when cooking for these guys." She said pointing to the guy beside him.
"Oh, sorry, this is my boyfriend Embry. He's part of the pack. He imprinted on me. That's when one of the pack members sees a girl and he knows that she is her soul mate. He just sees her and automatically loves her forever, and they live happily ever after, the end." She explained.
Embry gave her a look that said that she had told me too much.
"Oh, relax! I already told her all about how y'all are werewolves."
"Well, then, hey." He said and stuck out his hand.
I shook it and it was the same temperature as Sam's. I flinched.
"Are all you guys so hot?" I asked.
Embry chuckled, "Well, thanks!"
I turned beet red, I was soo embarrassed.
"Embry," Taylor said elbowing him, "You know what she meant."
"Yes, all our temperatures are beyond normal." Embry answered still trying not to laugh.
I hung my head down. It was silent for a while.
"So, what about that help with dinner?" Taylor asked.
"Sure." I said quietly.
I helped her cook, stirring things, getting ingredients and taking things out of the oven.
When we were finally finished, I turned to start putting things on the table and saw that there were a lot more of the big bulky guys.
We sat down and Taylor said, "Before we start, I'd like to introduce someone to y'all. This is my friend Anna Marie. Her parents died and so she's come to live with me Sam and Emily. Anna Marie this is Quil his imprint Claire, Jared his imprint Kim, Paul and his imprint Rebecca, Seth and Leah who are brother and sister, Jacob, Brady, Collin, you know Embry and Sam, then there's Sam's wife Emily." Taylor said pointing to each person as she said their names.
I smiled and I got a chorus of hey's, hi's and smiles. For the first time since my parents died I felt like smiling, I felt like I couldn't smile because it felt wrong to smile after their death, but I still felt like smiling.
Throughout dinner one of the guys, Jacob I think, kept staring at me the whole time. I couldn't ever meet his gaze it was so intense. Sam kept looking from Jacob to me, like he wanted really bad for dinner to be over so he could tell us something.
When dinner was finally over, I went to help Taylor and Embry with the dishes. Jacob followed, but he didn't get very far before Sam called him.
He looked sadly from him to me but Sam just kept motioning for him to come.
After we finished the dishes I was walking to my room when Jacob stopped me.
"Hi." He said, staring at me like he had during dinner, almost... lovingly.
"Hi." I said cautiously.
"Um, I sorta, um, imprinted on you." He said quickly, I was surprised by his words and how he came straight out with it.
"Uh, okay?" I said unsure of what to say or do.
He told me all about imprinting, and I hung onto every word. I remembered what Taylor said, "He just sees her and automatically loves her forever, and they live happily ever after, the end." It was weird to think that someone loved me like that.
When he was finished he said, "You should probably get some sleep, I'll see you tomorrow." He said and he ran off. I stood there stunned. I walked into my bedroom took a shower, got into my pj's, brushed my teeth and went to sleep. I dreamed of the love that Jacob had described to me and how he loved me that way, even though he had just met me.