Rae Alexander, a student at Peninsula College in Port Angeles, recently dumped her boyfriend of 3 years, after only two weeks of being engaged to him. She knows she's not ready for marriage at 19, and wants to take some time to know herself. A good change comes in the form of Emily Uley and her infant son Ian. Now with the new babysitting job opportunity, Rae can also become a little more familiar with her Quileute origins. Little does she know that she will contact her true soul mate in the process.

Prologue

"I've already explained it to you Adrian. We haven't been working for the past couple of months." I repeated for the umpteenth time to my now ex-fiance as I grabbed my tall mocha latte from the Starbucks barista. I sighed out loud as he began to protest.

"Rae, you've got to be kidding me. Are you really doing this to us? We were happily engaged just two weeks ago. I don't understand-," I rolled my eyes at his tone, before cutting him off.

"Yeah, I know. But I'm not ready for that, okay? We're only 19. 19, Adrian!" Why couldn't he just understand, "I'm just starting out my second year at Peninsula, I have other things to worry about other than a wedding.-"

"You're wrong, Rae. I don't care what you say. Where are you? We need to talk in person-"

"No, Adrian! Look... I need to go. My 10 AM lecture starts soon. Just drop it."

"Rae, don't hang up-" I quickly pressed the end button on my phone, shutting his rant off before he sucked me into another one of his hour-long, and quite detailed reasoning sessions on 'why our love can survive my sudden cold feet,' and how 'we need to follow through with our engagement'.

I groaned in frustration, and took a large sip of my hot coffee just thinking about the arguments to come.

I was one to look at things in the long-term, and I realized while we might have been good together now, we weren't the best in the long run. I just wished I figured it out before I agreed to the engagement. Adrian and I did make a good couple. We got along, lived well together, and had history. He was my best friend, but that's not enough for me. Where was everything else? The excitement, the butterflies, or fireworks? All the novelties and exciting things about us stopped being exciting about a year ago, and fooling myself to believe that we still fit together was something I was sure to regret later. We were only 19, and had been together for 3 long years. He was my first, and only, serious boyfriend. He was so familiar and safe, and he wasn't what I wanted anymore. In fact, I have no idea what I want, but I knew I wouldn't find it with him. I needed to see who I was without him; without a serious boyfriend. It was time for me to work on myself for once. Which is the entire reason I've tried to stop anything between us. He seems to think he could change my mind though, and that's the hardest part of it all.

I made my way to the exit of the coffee shop in a less than happy mood, trying to push the thought of Adrian to the back of my mind. Before leaving, I held the door open for a young woman and the baby strapped into the stroller she was pushing.

"Thank you so much." She stated a bit frazzled, while the baby gurgled in its seat before letting out a little wail. Some people nearby gave them some unpleasant looks for disturbing their peace. The baby then flung the little stuffed monkey he had held onto the floor in front of my feet.

"Oopsie, don't want to lose this." I said as I bent down to grab it, and set it next to the baby with a little pat. "There ya go. You're friend would miss your cute little face if you left it behind." I smiled down at the infant, before looking back up at the mom sheepishly.

"Hope you don't mind. I just really love babies."

"No, not at all," she waved off, "His name is Ian. I'm Emily." She stated, holding out her hand to me with a warm smile. I finally took the time to look at her face. She and her baby had dark features; dark hair, eyes, and a tan complexion to match. Though her face was marked with scars running from the corner of her eye, and down to just below her jaw, you can still see that she was beautiful.

"Rae Alexander." I introduced myself as I shook her hand. "Nice to meet you guys." I cooed as I grabbed baby Ian's little finger, and shook it in a mock handshake. Emily smiled down at her son and laughed as I did so.

"Can I bother you for a bit?" She asked. I was surprised that she asked me for anything, but she seemed nice enough.

"Oh, what is it?"

"Can you stay with Ian for a few minutes while I order coffee? I'm sorry, It's just I could really use the help, I've been running around Port Angeles all morning, and it's hard when you're not from around here. Throw in a new baby and things can get a little stressful." She explained quickly.

"Of course, I totally understand. I'll stay with him, no problem."

"Thank you. You're a true saint Rae." She said before leaving and taking her place in line.

I looked down at her baby, who had stared up at me for some time now. He had big dark eyes, with long curly lashes framing them. His dark hair was abundant on his little head, standing straight up in little tufts. I couldn't help but laugh at how cute he looked, which made him smile in response.
"You are too darn cute kid." I told him as I wiggled my fingers in front of his innocent face. He stared on in wonder.

"Fingers are weird, huh?" I half joked as I continued playing with him. He spit some little bubbles as he got excited and started flailing his little chubby arms in front of him.

I knew I wanted kids eventually, but definitely not now or anytime soon. This was another deal breaker for Adrian and I. I knew he wanted babies, and If we had gotten married like we had originally planned, the pressure to become pregnant within the year after tying the knot would have become very real. I don't know what I was thinking when I agreed to marry him...

"Thanks again, Rae." Emily said, pulling me from my thoughts. That went a lot faster than I expected.

"Really, no worries. Ian was the best distraction from my real world problems." I said as an after thought, not really understanding why I even mentioned anything involving my current issues. Emily just nodded, looking a little curious but not pushing for further explanation. She seemed to study me for a bit, before setting a determined look on her face.

"I know we don't know each other at all, but I have a good feeling about you. My last babysitter had to leave us to go to school on the east coast. I was wondering if you'd be interested in watching Ian every once in a while. You know on the occasional date night for his father and I. We live in La Push, about an hour-long drive away from here, and I know it's a long way, but I think Ian would love to see more of you. So would I actually." She said in all seriousness. I was beyond shocked. Being a college sophomore, I most definitely would love the extra money, and I like to think I'm good with kids. I used to work at summer camps every year during high school after all. This just might be exactly what I needed.

"Oh, wow. I would love to watch him for you. It's funny that you mention La Push. I'm actually part Quileute, and live in Forks now. I'm doing the college commuter thing." I was really surprised by their closeness to my home. It was something I never expected since we were meeting for the first time out here in Port Angeles. Forks was a small town, and La Push wasn't a big place either.

"Great! Here's my number. Contact me when you get the chance, and we can figure out the rest later."

"Sure, sounds good." I still couldn't believe that this happened. I took the slip of paper from her hands, and tucked it into my wallet before looking back to her, "I have to get going, my lecture starts in 20 minutes. But it was a pleasure meeting you two."

"You too. Hope to hear from you soon, take care." She sent me a large smile before heading out the door. The one that I first held open for her and her baby. A new part-time job, involving a cute little baby? Hell yes! Emily just made my day a lot better. With that I left the Starbucks once and for all, heading down the street to my designated bus stop, and feeling a little more enthusiastic about attending my class.

And all problems centered around Adrian were momentarily forgotten.

I meet up with my friend Charlotte for our weekly lunch date after class. When we first meet during freshman orientation last year, she had left me with a lasting impression of herself. She had literally, ran from one side of the room to where I was standing around on the other to tell me that my aura was one of the purest she had ever sensed. Before allowing me to respond, she gave me a wire wrapped quartz necklace, and declared that we were friends. And friends we remained.

"So how's your second week coming along sweets." Char asked while flipping her menu open.

"You know the usual. Classes are picking up a little, but it's all note taking right now. Charlotte I gotta tell you about what happened to me this morning." My words quickly gaining her attention.

"Okay, I'm really curious now. Do tell." She watched me as she daintily sipped her water.

"Well, Adrian called again when I was at Starbucks this morning-"

"That guy needs to just stop." I send her a look telling her to let me finish.

"-and I thought for sure I would be in a weird funk for the rest of the day. But then I meet this woman Emily, and her baby Ian. I'm surprised at how much we got along, she even asked me to watch Ian for a short while as she made her order. Afterwards she offered me a job, and asked if I'd like to watch Ian on her 'date nights'," I looked up at my friend to gauge her reaction, "they live in La Push." I emphasized how near they lived to me.

"No way! That's crazy. It's fated," I rolled my eyes at her choice of words, "Don't roll your eyes at me! Hey!" she laughed as I kept giving her a look. She's such a little hippie, I love it, but sometimes she gets a little carried away when she explains our lives through her Wiccan or astronomical ways.

"Anyways, she gave me her number so I could contact her. I'm pretty sure I will to. Don't you think this is good for me? It's something new. And it's something not Adrian involved, and I feel like this will finally get my life moving in a direction away from anything related to him."

"Yes," She said easily, putting her glass down on the table with a loud thud, "Whatever you think feels right, go for it. Rae, you did the right thing you know. With Adrian I mean. You are really young, and things have the tendency to change a lot at this point of our lives. I know he's been hassling you to get back together, but you've already changed since you've broken things off with him. Everything with you guys has changed since then. And Emily and Ian sound awesome. You never know what can come out of things like this. Maybe you'll gain a new friend through Emily. Did you catch her age?"

"Thanks, Char." I smiled at her encouragement, "And no, I didn't. But she can't be that much older than us. I'd say 25 max."

"Okay, well isn't that exciting. I think this will all turn out great for you. Maybe you'll get a little more in touch with your Quileute side along the way."

"I mean I've heard of some of their legends before, but I've already forgotten most of them."

"Wait, they have legends? What?! I want to know them, do you remember what they're about?"

"Hmm, not really," I answered as I thought about it, "mainly mythical things and stuff. I can't summarize for you if that's what you were asking."

"Those are my favorite!" She exclaimed excitedly, "Okay, that's your homework once you start working as Ian's sitter. Re-introduce yourself to the legends of your people and then recount them to me!" I smirked at her declaration before turning my attention to the waitress standing above us.

"Are you ready to order?" 'Sarah' asked patiently from the end of our booth. I gave her my order, and sat back as Charlotte started to give hers.

"Yes. I'll have the -"I drowned them out, and got lost in my own thoughts. After lunch I had one more class to attend before making my way back to Forks for the night. I knew, that as soon as I got home I would call Emily, and make plans to watch Ian for her. This whole situation just felt right. After deciding that I wasn't ready for what Adrian asked of me, everything else sort of felt lighter. We tried so hard to be perfect, and get our lives straightened and planned out, we forgot how to let ourselves grow on our own. I'm just glad I got myself out of the engagement before it was too late. Even though Adrian might not feel the same way, I hope that he'll later realize he could be happier. I still cared for him as a person, and I didn't want him to be stuck in a place where he couldn't explore who he was without me. This was best for both of us. I could feel it.

AN:

Hello all! I'm back after a long break away from writing, and I have a new vision for my work. Since I'm older, obviously I want my writing to show it. This story will be a little more mature, in themes, and in the way my characters interact. Hope you enjoy the story so far, and please let me know what you think in a review! All feedback is welcome and appreciated :)

-Vivi