Prologue: Part 2 – George

It was the first day of sign-on week, a week of collecting timetables, maps and student numbers, of joining student societies, and of desperately hoping you'd see someone you recognised. As I waited in line to have my picture taken for my student card I heard my name being called. I looked around to see a familiar figure waving at me like a fanatic. I jumped out of the line (which hadn't been moving anyway) to give him a hug. It was George, QB1 and captain of the Olympic Peninsula Wolves. We'd become good friends, what with my being captain of the cheerleaders.

The night Sam dumped me, I'd been sitting on the edge of the roof of the gym, weighing up the pros and cons of jumping. I'd been too proud to let him see me cry, but that didn't stop me from crying the moment I was out of his sight. I was more or less decided on jumping when I heard someone else climbing up the scaffolding on the side, crossing the roof and climbing onto the edge to sit next to me. I hadn't even looked up from where I sat, still sobbing because the boy who'd been the love of my life had just told me that not only did he no longer love me, but that he was in love with my cousin, a girl who'd been the closest thing I'd had to a sister.

The person put an arm around my shoulders. "Are you going to jump?" I immediately recognised it to be George. I'd shrugged in response. He hopped back onto the roof, and then picked me up, lifting me back to relative safety. I was sitting against the lip of the roof, knees pulled up to my chest, with my forehead resting on my knees. "I got a call from Seth. He was freaking out, saying he saw you run off after talking to Sam and he didn't know where you'd gone. I was pretty sure you'd come here. You broke up with the Neanderthal?" George knew that for the past couple of months, ever since ... I couldn't even think his name ... had disappeared, we'd been having issues. He couldn't (or wouldn't) tell me where he'd been, even though I'd been beside myself the entire time, organising search parties, hoping and praying that he'd be alright and that he'd come back. And when he reappeared he'd been different. George had never really liked Sam, and I couldn't shake the feeling that he'd known this day would come. And now here he was, having pulled me off the roof, ready to talk it out.

"Emily. She... he..." I couldn't even articulate what had happened.

George shifted back in his crouch and was silent for a moment. "Well shit." Was finally all he could come up with.

"I can't go back there." I realised. At least not for a while. I needed time to get over the initial pain away from them.

"Come stay with me. Mom and dad are out of town, and my sister's at college. Unless you'd rather jump. Because it's your choice, and I'm not going to try to stop you." He took one of my hands in his. "It'd be great if you didn't, though."

I took a shaky breath and tried to stand. I was so exhausted from crying that he needed to help me up. We climbed down the scaffolding in silence to his truck.

The next couple of days were apparently quite unpleasant. George told me later that I spent the time oscillating between extreme rage and abject misery. And he just focussed on keeping me away from sharp objects. After a week, I went back home, only to find Emily there waiting for me. So I turned around and left again. A week later, Seth called to tell me that Emily had been attacked by a bear and wanted to see me. I didn't come. Whatever we'd had between us, it was gone.

The thing that killed me the most was the fact that I couldn't hate Sam. Regardless of everything he did to me, I still couldn't bring myself to hate him. And I hated myself for not being able to.

Eventually I returned home, although if I ever saw either Emily or Sam I left La Push immediately. George's parents got used to a tearstained me turning up at random times, and treated me as if I was just one of the family. We tended not to talk about that night on the roof of the gym, and I just focussed on getting into college, my one way of getting away from everything.

Seth and I started growing. Little Sethles, who had been a pretty scrawny kid, suddenly shot up a foot and a half, and actually grew some muscle. I grew about eight inches in as many weeks, much to my surprise. Seth was just going through his growth spurt, but I'd already had mine – I'd been the same height since sophomore year.

Abruptly, Seth started acting differently. It was as if overnight, my sweet little brother had been replaced by someone else, someone I didn't know. It was disconcerting, but whenever I asked him anything he would avoid the subject. Mom and dad were treating him differently as well, letting him out at all hours of the night. He'd return looking beaten down, generally with little bits of greenery in his hair. He also seemed to stop getting bruises. He'd never been the most co-ordinated of people, so he always had bruises somewhere from walking into things, or scratches from tripping over, but suddenly those all disappeared. It was weirding me out, but since I was hitting a conversational brick wall with my family, the only person I could really talk it over with was George. He kept reassuring me that it was just Seth turning into a teenage boy. But it wasn't. I knew it was something more than that.

Then came the haircut. To be honest, I'm not too sure what came over me. It had been at the back of my mind all day that it had been a year exactly since he had dumped me. And then I'd overheard one of the cheerleaders commenting on my hair. Memories had started resurfacing – ones I didn't want to deal with. So I headed straight for the nearest pair of scissors: the ones mum had in her room for quilting. It wasn't as if I shaved it or anything, I just wanted it shorter. Out of the way, so to speak. As I cut it, I was crying. Again. It was as if anything to do with either of them would set me off again, no matter how hard I tried to forget everything that had passed between us.

By the time I was done, I looked at myself in the mirror. My eyes were puffy, and I now had an irregular pixie cut. In my opinion, I looked fierce. I looked like I was ready to waste anyone who thought to cross me. It was a start. Hopefully the rest of me would catch up with my appearance.

I came downstairs, having heard everyone come home as I cut off one more memory of Sam. And all the stress and worry and everything else that mom had been bottling up all came out. Within moments we were both yelling at each other. Seth had the good sense to be absent, leaving the two of us to vent. Dad just sat there, cooly observing, waiting for everything to blow over. Only it didn't. As the anger started to take control, I felt myself shaking, and then everything exploded. I was only a wolf for a moment or so, but that was long enough, because the moment wolf-me was there in the kitchen instead of human-me, dad just sort of choked and then collapsed.

Mom caught my eyes with a look which basically told me 'get out while you can'. I didn't know why at the time, but I did what I was told – running upstairs to throw on some clothing before jumping out the window and running into the woods. I was halfway out the window when I realised why I'd shifted back so quickly. The moment I was in wolf form I could feel Sam's mind in there with me. So I got the hell out.

I also knew that dad was dead. It was a moment of insight which struck whilst I was in wolf form. I didn't know how I knew, only that I did. And it was killing me, because I knew it was my fault. I didn't even know where I was going until I was on the roof of the gym again, wondering what the hell had just happened to my life.

As if by magic, George appeared over the top of the roof. "I saw the look on your face. It was the exact same one you had on your face the last time we were up here." He took a cautious step towards me. "You're not thinking of jumping, are you?"

Everything just came out in a jumbled mess. "I killed dad and then Sam was in my head and then mom told me I had to get out and –" but by then the stress of the situation was too great and I once again shifted. This time I couldn't feel Sam's presence in my head. Only

Paul?

Leah? What the hell?

I shifted back as fast as I could. I didn't know how much he had seen, or if he knew where I was, but just in case, I wanted him out of my head. And so once again, there I was, on the roof, only this time I was completely naked thanks to the whole shifting thing. Great. George was, of course, an absolute gentleman about it, giving me his shirt without question.

"My PE stuff is in my locker." I gave him the combination, and he ran off, leaving me to deal with the fact that on top of everything else, my best friend had just seen me completely naked.

Eventually he was back, and to his credit he took the whole wolf thing very calmly. He just handed me my clothes, turned around, and asked "So what was all that about?"

I'd had some time to think it over and order things in my mind, so I started from the beginning. "Mom and I were arguing. I just got really mad, and then the next thing I know, I'm a wolf. And in that moment, I felt Sam in my head. Which is not good news. At all. And dad had a heart attack, and I know he's dead. I don't know how I know, I just know. Mom basically told me I needed to get out of the house, soon, as if something really bad was about to happen if I didn't. So I got the hell out. And just then, I felt Paul. In my head. And I don't know what to do, and it's freaking me out, and –" my babbling was cut short by a hug from George, at which point I just dissolved into tears.

"There's nothing you can do now." He whispered.

The funeral was the next day. I stood there with mom and Seth, who I now knew was a wolf. It was the obvious explanation for everything that had been going on. The whole time, I could feel Sam staring at me. He knew. I didn't know how that would affect things, but he knew.

When the funeral was over, Sam managed to get me alone. Somehow, we were surrounded by Jacob, Quil and Embry, Paul and Jared and even Seth. We were well into the woods, far separated from all the people still at the funeral.

"You can't run from the fact that you're part of the pack, Leah. We know you're one of us."

I just stood there staring at him, arms crossed over my chest. I was done crying over him, what I desperately wanted was for him to be out of my life. I stood there, without moving for what felt like an age.

He reached out as if to touch me. "Lee-lee..." he began, but was cut off by my shifting in a moment of blind fury.

YOU DON'T GET TO CALL ME THAT. EVER. AGAIN. YOU'VE DONE MORE THAN A LIFETIME'S WORTH OF FUCKING UP, SAM. JUST LEAVE ME ALONE TO GET ON WITH MY LIFE.

I can't let you leave. You became a wolf for a reason. It's so that you can work with us to protect our families from evil.

I don't care. I'm done.

I was about to shift back. Screw being naked in front of all the guys, I needed to get out of Sam's head. Because he pitied me. The dickhead had the audacity to pity me. But then came the command.

NO.

It was as if I lost all control over my actions. All I could do was obey.

Two weeks later, I was back at school, and all it took was a look from George to tell me that he knew. He knew I had to deal with being inside Sam's head, and with being the only female wolf, and he knew there was nothing he could do about it.

Finally my acceptance letter came. I actually looked forward to the pack meeting that day, because I'd finally be able to get out.

I'm going to college in the fall. I'm leaving.

That command came again. But this time I was ready to fight it.

That's not your call to make. I'll be here over summer break, but I am not staying here my entire life. You saw to that.

Seth and Jake backed me up that night. I was free. For nine months, I didn't have to be anywhere near Sam's thoughts if I didn't have to be.

It was the first day of college and it was good to know that I still had my best friend nearby, just in case anything else went wrong in my trainwreck of a life.