I woke in the early hours of the morning, knowing I had the best night of sleep that I had ever since I first started to phase. It had been a year since my life changed for the better and for the worse in the same night. I found I belonged with those who had been following me for the last few months, those who were like me. Blessed and cursed to take the role of protector of our lands and the tribe. Honestly I wasn't sure which side of the argument I found more persuasive. I was able to see both the positive and negative aspects and in all honesty they ruled each other out; leaving me with the constant feeling of sitting on the fence. I watched as my friends found their ultimate love, but saw the devastation it can have on those who loved you; the power that came with phasing but also the restraint you needed to control that power for everyone's safety; the unusual ability to stay young and fit, but the pain that would come from watching those you love age and die. As I said I sat on the fence with this argument constantly while the pack bickered over what was right and what was wrong.
I sighed as I rubbed the heels of my palms over my eyes, that dream felt so real, it was like she was there beside me, feeling everything I was feeling. The touch of her soft skin, the way her body seemed so perfect, like it was carved by the spirits/gods; whichever you saw fit to acknowledge for the beauty she held. But the pain of knowing that neither girl nor woman in the area of La Push or Forks was the one thing that killed that awesome dream for me. If someone lived in the near vicinity looking like that, who made me feel so connected to them without words; I would surely have found them by now.
The howl outside my window brought me from my inner whine as I sat up and stretched out the tiring muscles in my body, the bones cracking and popping with the slightest of movements. Quickly grabbing the cut offs that had been tossed over my chair from the previous night's patrols I made my way slowly down the stairs to meet my family. My mum was sitting there at the table dishing out food left right and centre while my dad was sitting down talking to someone on the phone. While I could easily found out who it was just by listening in, I turned my attention to the delicious smell of bacon, eggs, biscuits, and hash that had been spread across the table in preparation for breakfast. I grinned at my mum, who knew all too well that I would be starving after last night's patrol. While Emily cooked for the ravenous pack we are, nothing could ever beat a breakfast at home. I knew there was a meeting over at Sam's and Emily's house after school, but there was no way I was going to be missing out on the food sitting in front of me.
I knew I was able to help myself once I saw the wink my mum shot at me, instantly telling me not to worry about waiting for her or anyone else to start to eat. And while I was able to appreciate the food that was sitting before me; enough to feed a small army not just one werewolf, that dream from last night still played on my mind. Who was that beautiful girl, no woman? And why was she now staring in my dreams? My food long since forgotten I stared out the open window, lost in thoughts of the one that would never be, how could she since she was only a dream, a fantasy that I would hold to myself as long as I could.
The sudden sound of multiple howls coming from the forest near the back of our home sent me reeling back to reality faster than the thought of food, shocking how something can take over your mind without invitation from yourself. I rushed out the back doorway with the curious looks of both my parent's, both wondering if today was the day that I would get hurt. After watching others from the pack injured and needing their help in healing it was no wonder that they worried about me, about my sister, about all of us. I rushed towards the tree line, freeing myself of all the thoughts that had been plaguing me, tormenting me in the worst possible way. Flashes of a dream would go through my mind, and by the sounds of the call now was not the time to be fantasizing about my dream girl.
The feeling of my bones popping, changing and some even disappearing all together, the twisting of the muscles stretching to cover the amount of growth that I knew happened every time we phased took seconds, giving me a few more quiet seconds before my mind was flooded with the voices of those whose fates had been changed forever. I ran towards the barren field that became our meeting place of sorts while we were all wolves. As I heard the questions thrown around by the rest of our pack. Obviously I wasn't the only one who had been resting before the planned meeting at wolf central as Paul and Embry had come to call Emily and Sam's house. But no answers were provided for the sudden change of time, not that any had been expected since the questions were being thrown so fast it would have been difficult for anyone to answer.
I entered the field, arriving at the same time my sister did from opposite sides, having moved out of the house a few months ago, once things finally settled down for her. Or more specifically once she had accepted that she had in fact imprinted on the one person she least expected. Rich wasn't a bad guy really; a little eccentric considering the lavish lifestyle he had set himself and Leah up in. But while they both loved one another; they were both as stubborn as one another. It led to some interesting trips in Leah's head if you were paired with her for patrol. While she used to be the one no-one wanted to be paired with before imprinting, now it was the funniest thing. It was never dull in her world now. And as much as she bitched about it, you could tell she loved it all the same. She scoffed at my thoughts but nudged me all the same. I was her younger brother; it was my god given right to torment her to all ends of the earth and back again.
"Once you have finished jack assing around let's get down to business." Sam's alpha tone rang out automatically shutting the rest of us up.
"Right, now after Seth and Jake had swapped over a new presence was found in the forest. Not a vampire, or werewolf, but not completely human..." as Sam trailed off we watched the replay of the focus of the meeting. At least now we understood why it was called for a wolf meeting and not the one we were due to have later on...
A shimmer of light had been walking through the woods, slowly at first but with no fear of what was following it. As it touched the trees around it a small glimmer of light lingered on the bark before disappearing as if it sunk into the tree itself. Impossible as it sounds it was like whatever the new creature was it was caring for the lands and all that lived within it. But with each time Jake had sped up so too did the light, until eventually they were walking at a slower pace than before. This seemed to have gone on for hours but realistically couldn't have taken more than an hour, two at most.
As the light made its way deeper into the forest it began to sing like something godly with no words, but it was like it sung to your soul, not needing words to communicate the message. As the sound gradually became louder the light began to slow down, until it stopped. Never turning around to face Jake, wings sprung out from its back. What it was I couldn't tell you, but it was beautiful.
"I mean you or your friends no harm. You have my word." It said.
I couldn't tell you if it spoke aloud or if the voice was within Jake's head. But it was beyond beautiful and sweet. Without warning the wings that looked small spread to their full length before launching itself into the night sky. We watched as Jake began to follow the light from the ground, searching for its landing area for more information. But it was lost after a few seconds of the chase. It was fast, faster than us faster than the Cullen coven that was nearby. Whatever it was though made me want to trust it, to know that it wasn't going to hurt any of those around us. If anything it would replenish that what had been taken away.
We stood there in silence as each of us digested the situation. Sam was right it wasn't human, vampire or werewolf. It was something different. But somehow I didn't think it was going to hurt us; if anything I felt that we needed to protect it from something more dangerous than we had yet to encounter.
"I go the same feeling. What the hell is that thing, that light?" Embry questioned as he listened to my thoughts before he looked from one of us to another.
It was quiet as we all replayed the image in our minds; it was like surround vision in a way, but not. The way the light was able to tread through the forest with no fear of what may be lurking around the next tree was slightly unsettling to say the least; but once those wings sprouted from its back you understood why it was not afraid. A gentle creature like that could hide in plain sight yet had such strength behind it; I was in awe of the creature.
"I think we need to keep an eye out for this creature, we don't know what it is or what it wants. Look out for it but don't approach it. Let it come to you first. Any sightings call for immediate back up." Sam's ordered us.
He was right, we didn't know who what where when or why this creature was roaming our lands and for the safety of our tribe we needed to be careful. Who knew what it could do, while it may have said it wouldn't hurt us; who knew if that was the real reason.
"Right go home, Leah you're on patrol with Paul and no bitching each other out. Seth I'll go back to your place and talk to Harry and Sue maybe they might know what this thing is." As Sam dismissed the pack I saw the beginnings of last night's lover's quarrel between my sister and brother in law. At least Paul would be kept entertained for the duration of the patrol.
"You know little wolf." He chuckled before running in the opposite direction of Leah's snapping jaws.
Shaking my head I raced back towards home knowing I was going to be late for school in the first day. While I knew I wasn't going to get any grief about this, it brought un-necessary attention to the pack. It was bad enough that I was on look out duty for the twins that were still showing signs of phasing, but I actually had to keep on top of my studies while patrolling and watching everything else. Normally I wouldn't mind as long as I was able to get to school on time, it meant that I would gain less stares from the other students and I would be able to relax slightly. Sam and I made it back to the house and while he and dad sat and talked I made my way towards my room to change once more and grab my things. I had barely 5 minutes before school would start, meaning that there was no way I was going to make it on time as I ran out the door to face the monotonous babble from the teachers; learning things I had already learnt through the pack mind. It made school somewhat easier knowing that I had all those memories from everyone else's time at school as well as the information that the teachers were throwing at us.
I sat in every class listening in case I was asked something of importance, but my mind would drift back to the dream and the creature in the forest. Could they be the same thing, or was it just a coincidence that they happened last night? I noticed how the twins were growing at a faster rate than they were in the last week, their anger showing up more often, but so far there was not tell tale sign of phasing. This meant that they would be joining the pack whether we liked it or not.
I sighed as I made my way over to Sam's place after school, giving him a head's up on what was going on with the final two pack members. It wasn't like we were not counting anyone else; it's just that other than Embry's sudden, and unexpected phasing all those with blood ties to the previous pack had already joined. The final two we could find were Collin and Brady. While I didn't care about being a shifting teen-aged werewolf, I wouldn't want anymore to join our ranks. Nobody did.
Sam met me outside his house where the rest of the pack had been sitting around doing whatever they did when not at work/ school or patrol. That would mean mucking around or eating it seemed these days. I had to wonder how Sam and Emily were able to keep up with the food cost; but I had a sneaking suspicion that it had to do with the council elders picking up the bill to an extent.
"How was school little wolf?" Paul called from his perch.
"It's school need I say more?" I answered gaining a few laughs at my response.
I watched at Paul mock tipped his hat, as I gave my little report to Sam about the boys, watching how everyone's faces seemed to drop a little at each word. It seemed that I wasn't the only one who was bummed at the prospect of these two younger kids joining out group. They had it hard enough as it was living with their grandmother who was older than old Quil to begin with. Adding this would just make their lives harder.
"What did dad have to say about the light thing in the forest last night?" I asked once everyone had come to terms with the number of our pack growing in a few weeks.
"Nothing much, only that he had to talk to the elders before they could tell us anything; something about talking to Charlie too. But why they would need to talk to Chief Swan I'm not sure. I mean it's on Quileute land and everything so it doesn't have anything to do with him now does it?"
I watched as Sam ran his hands through his hair, something we had all picked up from him when thinking about something that was troubling him. But I was stuck on something he said. Why would Charlie Swan have anything to do with what was going on in the res, as Sam said he wasn't a part of the tribe so it had little to do with him. Unless it was to see if anyone had reported seeing a white light that suddenly grew wings, and was able to talk to you in your head. But somehow I doubt anyone would actually own up to something like that.
When I woke up I felt like I had ran a marathon, my muscles hurt and I had zero energy, the worst part was that I had to start school today. Nothing and no-one would make this feeling of dread that had fallen over me go away, and really starting a new school halfway through the year, let alone the accident that caused me to move to this small town had to have spread throughout the area, a topic of gossip. I could practically hear the teachers whispered words of how the poor girl lost her mother and step father in a tragic accident only weeks ago; how she had been traumatized and should be treated like she was fragile. I sighed as I snuggled into my bed a little more, waiting for the alarm to go off once more after I had hit the snooze button. I was comfortable, safe, and most importantly warm. The drastic change of weather from the constant sun and heat of Phoenix to the never ending drizzle of Forks was something that I was going to have to get used to at one point but obviously today was not the day.
Cringing at the sound of the alarm as it began to blare through the room once more I climbed out of my bed heading for the bathroom. Nothing relaxed my muscles better than the hot water that only a shower could control, the pulsing drips that fell from the shower head massaging my back and arms slowly was one of my favourite things about living with Charlie, well obviously living with Charlie was the best since we were so much alike. He let me be; only talking if something was absolutely necessary to talk about and even then it was only the points of interest. It was like living on my own, but cooking for a guest that regularly stayed over. But it worked for us, and I was glad he wasn't the type to constantly watch over me, like I was going to break with everything that happened back home. I respected him for that more than anything.
Stumbling out of the shower after the water started to cool I raced into my room to throw on a pair of jeans, t-shirt and jacket before heading downstairs to grab some breakfast; throwing my hair in a messy bun on the way down. Having had already set my shoes and bag near the door so I wasn't forgetting anything this morning; I grabbed my supplies I would need, keys and wallet before heading out the door to face the first day of a new school. I hadn't even made it down the stairs before my natural clumsiness took effect on my day, slipping on the second last step and landing on my ass. Great way to start the day... I thought as I stood back up wiping my butt of any lasting effects before I made my way over to the 2005 Chevy truck that Charlie bought me for my 16th birthday last year. He had one of his deputies drive the two day trip here, and had one of his friends check it out before allowing me to even step foot in it.
The drive to the school was quick, too quick really. I thought that if I left a little earlier I would be able to head into the office and get all the paperwork and collect my schedule before I had to worry about classes. Obviously I didn't realise that the population of the town was smaller than my entire high school beck in Phoenix and that the drive would only take 5 minutes between my house and the school grounds. The parking lot was practically empty of other cars, and those that were already here I would bet to say were the office ladies and teachers. Unless there were some over reaching kids trying to get out of here with the best possible grades for college. Either way I was both happy and mortified how early I truly was. Grabbing my bag and throwing my keys in my pocket I made my way towards the large brick building in front of the school, obviously housing the staffroom and offices that the school required.
As I stepped into the office I was hit with the overly sweet smell of perfume that the middle-aged woman had bathed in this morning. Not sure if it was because of whether, of the long day ahead of her, or because she was oblivious to the smell of said perfume. I stood there a few minutes before she looked up with a sweet smile laying on her face.
"Can I help you dear?" she asked as she tried to figure out who I was.
"Um, I'm Isabella Swan. I'm starting today." I mumbled as her smile grew once she placed me.
"Of course you are, such a lovely young lady. I would guess that you were after your schedule since the chief has already taken care of the paperwork?" her happy demeanour was something I welcomed.
Miss Cote seemed to be a lovely lady as she rummaged through the paperwork that was piled high on her desk. I could only wonder how she was able to find anything in that mess, but it seemed to work for her. I watched as she came to the counter with a few pieces of paper.
"Okay sweetheart. This is your schedule for the remaining year; you need to have your teachers sign this each period and return to me after school. Finally this is a map of the school in case you get lost."
She patted my hand before she turned towards her desk and started to type away at her computer. I had to hope that the rest of the day I wasn't accosted by others like the Miss Cote; while I'm sure she is a lovely lady I'd probably get lost in all that sugary sweetness. I hadn't realised how long I had been in the office until I returned to the corridors that had become crowded by students. I made it to my locker before anyone had noticed the new girl; I guess I was able to blend in a lot more than what I thought I would be. I couldn't help but smile at the whole idea of it. However once I closed my locker I was confronted by a young girl with long-ish light brown hair and hazel eyes. She stood close to my height that I would have to say she too was in my year.
"Hi, I'm Jessica; you must be the new girl Isabella Swan right? I can't believe we get a new student; we hardly get new students ever. The last group came nearly two years ago and still they seem to be stuck with the new kids label..." she continued; and I couldn't help but wonder if she was able to talk without breathing.
I think my eyes must have shown my shock at her ability to talk so fast and without breath as she giggled before looping her arm through my own.
"Don't worry you'll get used to It." she whispered as she led me through the corridors towards the first building.
"Oh, I totally forgot to ask you what you had first. English right?" I smiled and nodded as she began to bounce on her heels. Wow she was way too excitable for me.
I had made it through my first few classes with either Jessica, or her friend Angela beside me. I liked Angela and was definitely grateful for her quiet demeanour; her long black hair and dark brown eyes; it was obvious she countered Jessica's energy. She stood a good few inches taller than me; making her roughly 5'8 give or take an inch. She offered her opinion but didn't force it on you. So far with all the little introductions Jessica had given me today she was by far my favourite one. She and Jessica led me into the school cafeteria which housed the entire student population at one time. When the hall suddenly stopped all conversation I knew it was because everyone wanted to look at the new girl. Ducking my head I let the two girls lead me towards the line and then towards a table where a small group had started to talk once everyone noticed where I was sitting.
We were sitting at the table while everyone was talking about the coming school events when it became quiet once more. Turning to see what had caused the sudden change of noise I was met with the sight of five of the most beautiful people. They looked like they had just stepped off some magazine cover or something.
"Those would be the Cullen's; their like together but at the same time together if you know what I mean." Jessica whispered in my ear.
I wasn't sure if she expected me to be shocked at this little bit of information but truly it didn't bother me. I was from a much large population back where I used to live, so I had seen something like this before. To me as long as they weren't related by blood it didn't bother me. So rather than fishing for more gossip like I guessed she was waiting for I shrugged my shoulders. Yes they were beautiful, but for some reason they just didn't appeal to me in any way other than being people who were in my school.
"So Isabella; how are you liking wet little Forks. Gotta be different than what you're used to." The tall blonde guy at the end of the table called bringing the conversation back to the group.
"Um, it different but so far it's okay. Colder that's for sure." I answered truthfully.
It was different but I was shockingly fine, the only thing I had any problems with was the cold mornings. While Charlie had offered to turn the heat up for a few weeks while I got used to the difference I really didn't see it working. It would only make it harder to get used to the different weather. I tuned out of the conversation once they started to talk about sports and dances again; something told me that I wouldn't be going to those things as much as the others wanted to include me in. I didn't mind attending those sorts of events, but my co-ordination was not something that was safe for others to be around. I jumped at the sound of the lunch bell went off. Two more classes until I could go back to Charlie's house; home and relax.
I walked with Mike as I found out the blonde guy's name and Angela towards our joined biology class and waited for the teacher to make their appearance before I took a seat; I didn't want to mess up any preset arrangements or anything. But from what I could see there was only see one spare seat, besides one of the Cullen kids. Kind of ironic really since they seemed to be the focus of the school still.
"Miss Swan; kindly take a seat next to Mr Cullen over there. This is your text for the remainder of the year." The teacher pointed towards the seat I had seen being still available.
I nodded and made my way towards the desk, looking anywhere than at his face. I didn't want to be rude, but it seemed that he and his family had been subjected to staring for two years already; they didn't need me to add to the discomfort of being the new toy in school. However it didn't mean he was going to show me the same courtesy it seemed. It was like he was trying to read my mind or something, but at the same time his eyes held this protective vibe. I had never been so confused by his reactions. The grimace that would suddenly form on his face were slightly alarming, like he heard something that deeply offended him; yet since the teacher was the only one who was actually talking I had to wonder what was worrying the poor guy. However before I had the chance to ask him once the bell rang to signal the end of class he was practically running out the door. I was confused, did I do something, or was he sick.
Gym, ah a klutz's worst enemy. While I was given the luxury of not having to dress for the class since it was my first day I still seemed to have found a way of falling over at least twice between the time I walked into the class to the time I walked out and to my truck. I was so glad that the day was over; all I wanted to do was go home and relax. For a first day it wasn't that bad but it still was draining; and since I was still feeling the effects of a bad night's sleep I was glad to be able to put my feet up and rest for a little while. If today was anything to judge my day to day life at Forks High school, I think I might be able to handle it without too many problems.