PROLOGUE

"And so, as the Third Wife looked at the battlefield around her, she knew that unless she did something drastic, she would lose her husband. Taking a knife from one of her younger sons, she plunged the weapon into her heart; the scent of blood distracted the Cold Woman long enough for Taha Aki to destroy her. The battle was won due to the Third Wife's sacrifice." Grandma Calore retold the legend with such passion that eight year old Zara Calore hung onto her every word, awe stamped across her face.

"I hope that I can be as brave as the Third Wife was." Zara wished, admiring Taha Aki's wife and the love she had for her people.

"You already are, my little wolf. Her bravery lives on in you." Grandma Calore placed her hand on Zara's chest, above her heart. "You are the descendant of the most bravest tribe leaders we had. Never let anyone make you forget the power inside you."

"Tell me more about the wolves and their imprints." Zara exclaimed, loving the time she spent with her grandmother.

Being part of the Quileute tribe meant that Zara had grown up listening to the legends of the shape shifters and the Cold Ones; she loved hearing them despite the many times she had before and wished to one day be as strong and empowering as the tribe leader's wife.

Once her grandmother had finished explaining how the imprint made both members involved feel, Zara decided that she wanted an imprint. She wanted somebody to care for her that much. She wanted somebody that she would go to the ends of the Earth with, no matter what.

"I hope to have a love like that when I'm older." Leah Clearwater was sat next to her best friend staring up at Grandma Calore with a wistful look.

Zara and Leah had been best friends since the day they were born. Their mothers had been best friends since they were children and so the two girls had been forced together, and not left each other's sides since.

"So you shall, Leah. Any young man would be lucky to have you. And one day, you'll achieve great things, Zara. Just like our tribe members did. The power lies within you."

Zara didn't understand what her grandmother meant by that until many years later.

Sixteen year old Zara Calore was having a devastating year. All of La Push had turned up to the funeral of Grandma Calore. The Quileute tribe had all lost a family member; the old woman had looked after everyone of them at some point or another and now they would never hear her stories, or eat her cooking every again.

Sat between her mother and father, Zara shed some tears once she realised she would never have her grandmother trying to convince her the legends were real ever again. As she got older, Zara's belief in the legends started to fade but she still listened as her grandmother told them, just to see the old woman happy. Now that was gone.

"I'm so sorry, Z." Leah Clearwater pulled her best friend into a tight hug, and whispered soothing things into her ear.

"I just can't believe she's gone." Zara managed to choke out, sobbing in to Leah's neck.

"Me either but she would want you to remember the good times and be happy. If she saw you crying right now, she'd hit you with her shoe."

Zara let out a disturbing sound that was a mix of a snort of laughter and a sob. The two girls remained in their hug until Sam came along to offer his condolences and whisk Leah away.

Recently, Zara's household had been filled with the screaming and shouting of her parents. For the millionth time in the past couple of months, Zara had escaped the angry household to sit on the beach and think about how much her life had changed.

She had lost her grandmother, her parents were drifting, Leah was dating Sam so was spending less time with Zara, and she was faced with the end of Freshman year.

Letting out a deep sigh, Zara kicked a rock down the beach before settling on the sand and staring out at the waves. Earlier that day, Zara had come home from school to an empty house, shattered picture frames and a crappy note. Trying not cry, the brunette dug her hands in the sand and tried to blink away the moisture in her eyes.

"Want to talk about it?" Leah's voice pulled Zara out of her thoughts.

"He's gone."

"What?"

"My dad. He's left us. I came home and all his stuff was gone, he left a note for me." Zara scoffed, her voice wavering.

"Did he tell you why he left?" Leah shuffled closer to her best friend, trying to seek some warmth.

"His excuse was just that he couldn't stand me living in a house where the only sound was constant arguing so he did the 'noble' thing and removed himself from the equation." It was at that point that Zara finally broke down in tears. "I just can't believe he didn't even say goodbye to me. He's my father."

Wrapping an arm around Zara's shoulders, Leah pulled her into a tight hug and pressed a kiss on the side of her head.

"It'll be okay, Zara. I know it hurts but you've got me. You've always got me."

Despite the pain, Zara knew she could get through this. She will get over it. Her grandmother's words coming back to her; the power lies within.