Alice's POV

It was a nice day out, for the dead of winter. Small, fluffy flakes of snow were leisurely falling from the sky and landing upon the frozen ground. The air was cold, but it wasn't the temperature that threatened to freeze you down to your bones.

Not like I had to worry about that ever happening. If I got cold all I had to do was tell one of my brothers. They could hug me for three seconds and fix that problem. I considered all of the pack my family; I was so intertwined with them.

Jacob, my cousin, was the alpha of the pack. Of all the people in the world, I liked him the best. We grew up together; we lived in the same house still. Everyone in the community, even our own parents, considered him my brother.

Our friends from when we were little were wolves, too. Embry, Quil, and Paul. I liked Paul the most, even though our tempers clashed frequently. That made him more fun, though.

Leah was pretty much my sister-in-law, and one day she probably would be for real. She lived with us now that she was married to Jacob. They were having a house built near the heart of the town, but it wasn't really close to done yet. Her friends Jared and Sam were always hanging around when we were kids. They were the big-brother sorts to everyone.

The younger wolves I didn't have too close of relationships with. I had gone to school with Logan and Caleb, but they were both younger than I was.

Collin and Gary were cousins, and they were okay, but they were both too serious for me to really want to spend time with. Brady was just like Quil, and very lovable, but he liked to stick to the ones closer to his age.

And then, last but most certainly not least, there was Seth---my closest childhood friend, and my over-protective (sometimes feral seeming) love interest. I suppose that was expected, though, when he imprinted on me four years ago.

Speaking of Seth, he was standing under the tree I was currently situated it.. We were collecting firewood for Uncle Billy, because he took the last he had for the ceremony tonight.. A new wolf was possibly being induced into the pack. I was invited to come and watch for the first time.

"Do you need some help up there?" Seth asked me for the millionth time as I started swinging on one of the branches. I ignored him, as I had started doing after the third time he asked. If I needed help he'd be the first to know!

My weight shaking the old wood from side to side snapped the thick branch right off of the tree. We both tumbled downward. Seth caught me in his strong arms, and the wood clattered to the ground. Snow fell on top of us and I laughed, "Success!"

Seth smiled gently. He set me on my feet and laughed, "You can't just use an axe."

"Where's the fun in that?" I asked playfully. "I don't have an excuse for you to hold me if we used an axe."

His eyes glittered darkly and he leaned in close to me. He promised, "You don't need to fall from trees if you want me to hold you."

I felt myself blushing a little bit and we both smiled at each other. I was fifteen when he imprinted on me. Jacob was ecstatic. Dad was almost giddy about it. Everyone in the pack was happy for us---except for me. At that age I looked at a boy and wanted to challenge him to see who could jump off the highest cliff. I didn't want all that romantic stuff in my life.

I'd since gotten over it, and now we were sort of starting to fall in love. Just for fun, I liked to refer to it as puppy love. We all got a kick out of that. Seth was far from a puppy. He was an inch shorter than Jake when they were not phased, but he was bigger than Jake in wolf form. Dad said he was as big as great-grandfather Ephraim had been.

My dad was Carlisle Black. He was born a Cullen, orphaned as a toddler in Canada. He told me once that Ephraim---who was his and Uncle Billy's father figure since Grandpa Matthew died when Billy was little---had been contacted by family and asked to come get him. Dad felt for Billy like I did for Jake. He was so young when he came here, that he said he'd never once felt like he wasn't actually born a Black.

Seth's arms stiffened a little and his head snapped to the side. I followed his gaze curiously. He announced, "Hey, that's Leah's scent! The division is almost home!"

"Let's go greet them!" I excitedly demanded as I ducked out of his grip and abandon our firewood. We'd come back for it later. I started up the hill, towards the edge of the forest. Seth scampered after me and it wasn't long before we were standing just on the edge of the forest behind the house.

The others came into view a few seconds later. Leah, Jared and Logan were walking as humans. Caleb and Sam were in their wolf form, holding onto their vampire. It was the first I've ever seen.

Did they all look that … wild?

His hair was muddy and very disheveled. He was wearing a bloodstained, dirty shirt that had such large tears in it I could see the sparkling skin of his chest and stomach. There was a pale, rugged looking scar gouged deeply onto his neck. It shined unnaturally in the sunlight. I felt my heart skip a beat when his head turned my direction, and a pair of horrifically red eyes pierced through me.

Seth wrapped an arm around me and pulled me closer to him as my heartbeat began to speed up. The vampire's eyes swirled darker and darker within seconds, turning black as he heaved in a deep breath.

A crooked smile twitched it's self onto his face and asked in a silken voice, "Mm, that one smells delicious. Twice as good as Mike."

Caleb's fur bristled and he growled warningly. Jared and Logan both glanced at the vampire, their eyes hostile. He looked absolutely amused with the knowledge it took to little to rile them up.

I knew the story of Mike. He was a Forks resident, who spent a lot of time here in La Push during his young life. He had been a pretty close friend to Leah. When she found out they took him … things were bad for a while.

The creature's face tightened and he growled suddenly, making me shiver. He hissed, "Why don't you come over here and let me have a taste, girl? It'll only hurt for three days."

Sam snarled, and the grip he had on the man's arm tightened. A terrible screeching noise shattered the air and I heard frightened birds flying away. The vampire howled in agony as his arm started splintering, almost breaking off his body.

"Stop messing around and get him to the others!" Leah ordered sharply. Sam let his jaw relax and the pained look on the creature's face faded away as my brothers half-yanked him along. Jared and Logan still followed.

Leah had come to stand with us. Seth asked her tensely, "Was he a lot of trouble to get home?"

"See the tears on his shirt? He almost escaped us twice. He came very close to biting Jared when they were restraining him." She frowned deeply, her eyes looking troubled. After a second she glanced at Seth. "I need you to do something for me. Find Paul and have him bring Willow to the Chamber. Jacob says we will begin as soon as she is ready."

Leah blasted into her wolf form, darting after her fading unit. I glanced at Seth with wide eyes and gasped, "Willow Blackwell? She's the new wolf?" She was just a kid! She just celebrated her thirteenth birthday a few weeks ago!

"The blood is strong in her." Seth answered casually. "She is Paul's little sister. She volunteered." I shook my head, unhappy. He assured me, "It's for the good of the entire tribe, Alice."

For the good of the tribe. I guess I understood that. Even the youngest of kids knew the legends of the werewolves. When a child was old enough to learn the importance of not letting anyone outside of the community know, they learned that the werewolves were real and protecting the community. They were risking their lives for the good of the tribe.

I couldn't argue logic I'd always been taught, logic my closest family and friends devoted themselves to. So I just took Seth's hand and idly chatted with him as we made our way towards Paul's house.

Only a select few of us were in the Chamber, which was just a small room connected to the town's Great Hall where the coronation took place. A very select few of us were permitted to attend, even within the pack.

Mr. and Mrs. Blackwell were here. Uncle Billy, dad, and Harry were here, and I was here. Jacob, Brady, Collin, and Quil were here as well. Paul was with Willow, helping her prepare.

Embry was on the opposite end of the room with the vampire. His arms were bent behind his back and Embry was holding them there, effectively restraining the monster. He stood rigid, staring straight ahead. Unblinking, not breathing, absolutely still. It was almost as if we had encased him in a shell of cement or something. There was some sort of metal gag in his mouth. I figured it was either to keep him quiet, or stop him from biting.

"Jake," Uncle Billy called out over the whispers and small talk rattling through the congregated people. "It's time."

Jacob nodded to Quil. The senior pack member turned the lights down, so that it was barely torch-flicker looking inside the room. I felt myself bubbling with excitement and Collin and Brady exchanged anticipation-filled glances. Jacob settled onto a mat in the center of the room as Quil went to the back to retrieve Paul and Willow.

The bulky male returned a moment later, coming to stand beside Embry and taking one of the vampire's arms. Paul had a rectangular cloth wrap in one hand as he led his younger sister out into the main room. She pranced proudly after him as they came to sit with Jacob on mats in the center of the room.

The cloth was handed to Jacob. He held it and looked directly at Willow, his eyes more intense than usual. His voice had a sort of darkness to it that I wasn't used to hearing. "Willow, you approached me yesterday and expressed your wish to join the pack of La Push, and become a protector for your people."

Willow's eyes glittered and she nodded with enthusiasm. Paul was staring at her, an affectionate smile on his face but his eyes sad. I was confused by this confliction in my friend.

Jacob's rumbling voice distracted me from my thoughts, forcing me to pay attention. "The sleeping genes that lie deep within you have been awakened, Willow. With the presence of this monster," Jake's eyes flashed to the vampire for a brief moment. "Your transformation has begun."

I felt myself wanting to cheer for her, but I didn't dare break the thick silence that had settled in around the room. Jacob was unwrapping his cloth, and my eyes widened when I saw there was a knife within it. He held it up for all to see. It was an old looking sort of steel, and the blade was stained with a few shades of old blood. The handle was a howling wolf's head carved from elk horn.

Jacob's voice rang clearly in the quiet room. "Ephraim Black, the very first there ever was to fight for this tribe, made this with his own hands. Willow, hold your palm out."

Paul's jaw tightened. Willow just calmly squared her shoulders and lifted her arm so that her palm was facing Jacob. I flinched for her when he pressed the blade against her skin and dragged it horizontally, ripping the flesh open.

An instant, guttural snarl bubbled slowly from the throat of the vampire. Quil and Embry just held onto him so he couldn't escape. Willow didn't even bat an eyelash at the sound that made me shiver. She sat still, looking expectantly at Jake as her blood dripped onto the floor.

Jacob sliced his own hand open in the same fashion. He pressed his massive hand against Willow's, and their fingers intertwined. I felt shock thrill through me when I realized what he had just done.

He recited a phrase that I had heard the others call out to each other from time to time, but I didn't know what it meant because I didn't speak Latin. "Frater in cruor, insquequo terminus."

"Frater in cruor … insquequo terminus," Willow whispered back, her eyes wide with wonder.

Jacob smiled, withdrawing his hand from hers. He glanced at it, watching it as it healed its self three or four seconds later. Paul hugged his sister, and then led her over to my dad. He was waiting with small first aid kit. She didn't have the healing abilities just yet. The three of them situated themselves at his table, their attention on Jake as dad cleaned and started to bandage the wound.

Jacob was on his feet once again, and he was pacing the room slowly as he started to talk. "Alice, Willow, you both know much about our sort of world. But do either of you know how this all began? How these vampires, these demons, started the war with our peaceful community?"

We both shook our heads. Jacob glared directly at the vampire, who held his hateful gaze without flinching. Jacob almost seemed to growl as he spoke, "It was three hundred years ago that Ephraim was forced into becoming the very first werewolf anyone around had ever come into contact with."

Jacob turned around, his eyes darting between myself and Willow as he spoke. "He didn't have a clue what was happening to him. His body started to change, he started acting differently. Suddenly the day of the transformation arrived---and he had no prior knowledge or warning before he just exploded into his wilder form."

His heart-felt tone and flashing eyes painted a very vivid and emotional mental picture for me. I could swear that I saw the tall, sturdy russet man prowling through the forest after a deer---spear in hand and wolf skin cloak across his back---when suddenly he crumpled over and a tremor ran along his spine. The sound of tearing flesh could be heard as the crumpled body was replaced with the sleek-furred, magnificent silver giant that my great-grandfather once was.

I gave myself a shake. I was being silly, and letting my imagination get the best of me. I'd never asked for stories of Ephraim's turn. He could have been on the beach or even at the market when it happened. Besides, why would he have been silver-furred when Jacob was russet and Uncle Billy had been a very dark gray?

I felt the vampire's eyes burning into me all of the sudden. I tried to ignore the unwelcome feeling it brought by totally focusing on Jacob.

He was crooning sadly, "Poor Ephraim was terrified. Could you girls imagine what that would be like? To suddenly just be a wolf that was larger than any bear in that time? He had thought he went mad. And then the other two, Levi Uley and Ardell Clearwater showed up and they were just relying on him to help them when he couldn't even help himself."

He paused for dramatic effect before whispering, "It was panic. It was chaos. It was frightening. These poor, innocent young men didn't even know how to phase back to human. They were mentally falling apart. And why?"

The other wolf boys all looked tense and angry. They knew what came next. I was surprised to see that even dad looked unhappy, and he was almost constantly smiling. He liked to find the best in even bad situations. What could possibly come next to made him frown?

Jacob jerked his arm towards the vampire. "That is why. Because one of those vile monsters were lurking within the shadows of the town, threatening the well being of the tribe. He was stalking our people, calculating which target he wanted to brutally murder for his own amusement."

My stomach clenched with horror and I glanced nervously at the vampire. He was still leering at me, which made me squirm in my chair a bit and instantly wish Seth was beside me.

"Did the leech kill someone?" Willow asked, sounding horrified. Her eyes had a slightly haunted look in them. I remembered that she was one of the kids that found Aunt Sarah's body in the park eight years ago. She'd have been five---it was no doubt a traumatic memory. She probably wouldn't like being reminded of it.

Jake's full attention snapped onto her, his eyes dark. "Yes, he did. He tore her throat out and sucked every single drop of blood from her body. Ephraim then knew that the vampires were evil, un-natural creatures that we have an obligation to eliminate. In honor of that dead woman, for the good of the tribe, Ephraim declared to the Gods that his descendants would not rest until every last one of these murderers were defeated."

I had gotten so drawn into the story that I felt my heart skip a few beats when there was a sudden, loud thump within the room. The metal piece that the vampire had been biting onto had been snapped in half by his murderous jaws and clattered to the ground. Jacob turned around to face him, his harsh brown eyes narrowing suspiciously.

The vampire looked up at Jacob through his eyelashes, a humored grin spreading across his face. He laughed once, "Well that is quite the interesting interpretation of that story. Not exactly how I heard it happened."

Jacob's body tensed and he spat, "Nobody wants to hear your lies, bloodsucker."

The vampire jerked his chin up, his eyes blazing with excitement from the challenge. He tsk'd loudly and shrugged once. "My story is a lot more fun. It's okay that you don't want to hear it. I don't have the time to tell it to you, anyway."

Without warning, very unexpectedly, three pale shapes cannon-balled through the roof and landed so hard they splintered little craters into the ground.

A female was the first to move after landing. She grabbed Quil and Embry's arms---the ones restraining the other vampire. Both of them yelped, as they were suddenly jolted across the room. The tall black haired male grabbed the one Jake had been holding prisoner and they fled.

Jacob growled and made a move towards the two remaining creatures. Before he got two inches, the wood on the ceiling cracked again and a third male appeared on the scene, crouching three feet in front of where I was pressed up against the wall.

He was possibly worse than the most menacing and alarming creature I had ever been able to image as a child. Even as the young adult I was, when my knowledge of horrible things was broader.

His threatening burgundy eyes glinted with a light of bravado that made it obvious this male was not feigning the air of power that was pulsated off of his strong, dangerous body. A shirtless body that was just overwhelmed with the same sort of scars as the kind that was on the redhead's neck. The blond man's eerily white teeth glimmered as his lips pulled back and a snarl more savage than I'd ever heard before rumbled steadily out from the depths of his chest.

Mouth a-gape and eyes simply bewildered with the surprise of this swift and abrupt attack, Jacob actually stumbled away from this formidable creature. I was unable to look away from the demon as he pushed himself into the upright position. A small female appeared at his side, her hand pressing timidly against his back.

My heart started doing something really weird the moment those inhuman red eyes turned to meet mine. I wasn't sure if it was trying to gallop out of my chest with fear, or if it was actually so petrified it stopped working all together. I felt it constrict with terror as the male slowly closed the small distance between us.

Forget breathing or heartbeats, I couldn't even think through the fog of fear that swirled in my mind

A quiet, chilling growl slipped through his hard-pressed lips as he loomed over me. I shuddered and fleetingly hoped I wasn't cowering. I'd be okay with cringing and trembling, but if I cowered in my final seconds of life I would die in shame.

The last thing I remember before the blackness came was a sharp, sudden pain cutting into my cheek, and my dad desperately crying my name.