Chaper 2: New Ending

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending."

Maria Robinson

I got up from the couch and started pacing for the two thousandth time in the last twenty-four hours. I felt like a lion trapped in a cage. I really needed to get out because I couldn't think of a single thing I could do in this house. I'd been in La Push a grand total of three days, two of which I spent moving in and cleaning and I was already going insane.

I'd moved the furniture around at least ten times until it was absolutely perfect. I put away clothes, dishes, and books and even cleaned my room three times. I hoped Mom was watching me because she'd never believe it unless she saw it with her own eyes.

And in all this time no one had showed up. I could smell the other wolves so they could smell me right? Well if they could they certainly didn't seem to care. I could hear them in the forest and every time I heard the sound of their paws on the soft ground I hoped they were on their way here. But they never came. Sometimes I hoped it was because they didn't know I was here but then the strong smell of wolf saturated the air and I realized there was no way that was possible. They just didn't want to help, so they ignored me instead.

I sighed and fell back down onto the couch. I switched on the TV and flipped through the channels. I wasn't really paying attention because there never was anything interesting on. I used to love watching television. I watched everything and anything. My sister was the bookworm and I was the couch potato. I smiled at the memory of my mother trying to get me to turn it off. If she were here she'd tell me to get up of my sorry ass and go do something useful instead of melting my brain cells on worthless shows. So that's exactly what I decided to do. I switched off the TV and marched straight out the door. If they didn't want to help me then they were going to have to say it to my face.

I walked towards the woods and listened for any footsteps, well paw steps and heard nothing so I just kept on walking. It's not like I could get lost right? After about ten minutes of pointless wondering I walked into a meadow. I realized that walking aimlessly around the forest wasn't the best idea since they probably didn't want to be found. So I went and laid down in the middle of the meadow to try to figure something out. The sun was shining and it felt wonderful on my skin. I closed my eyes and tried to figure out a plan.

If they didn't want to be caught I'd have to figure out who they were and confront them in a public place so they couldn't get away. But then again they could always pretend they didn't know what the hell I was talking about and then people would think I'm some crazy lunatic. Maybe I could go to one of their houses and demand that they listen. But there too I didn't know if their families knew about everything and I didn't want to embarrass them, or myself for that matter. I thought of chasing one of them until I caught them but I really didn't know if I could out run them. If they were anything like the wolves in my dream, they are much bigger than me, which probably means they're faster.

I heard a noise in the forest to my right and I tried not to move praying it was one of them and they would think I was asleep. I laid very still and tried to keep my heartbeat at a normal pace but it seemed to have a mind of its own. There was a gust of wind and the sweetest smell I'd ever smelled filled my mind. It was an indescribable mix of perfection. I gasped and sat up whipping my head around in the direction of the smell. I heard a whine so low if I hadn't been listening desperately for anything I wouldn't have heard it. There was a wolf there, I couldn't see his face but his eyes were locked with mine. Somewhere in the back of my head, I thought that I should look away but I couldn't. I knew that if I did, I would probably never see those eyes again. For all I know I was imagining everything.

I stood up never taking my eyes away from his and slowly stepped forward afraid it was a mirage and would vanish if I got too close. The wolf took a step forward as he let out another whine. This one was one of longing, like a puppy whining for his mother. It broke my heart and I walk just a little faster. As a got to the edge of the forest another wolf came running out of nowhere and ran right into my wolf knocking him deeper in the forest where I couldn't see him.

I froze. Once again when my feet needed to be running I froze. I was really going to have to work on that. I concentrated very hard, trying to see further than my wolf eyes could see but there was nothing there. So I listened and I heard nothing. All these stupid over developed senses never came in handy when you actually needed them. I turned back towards the meadow already longing to look back into those mesmerizing eyes. I started walking back to where I was sitting and glanced towards the forest a few times just in case. That's probably why I didn't see her walk out of the forest because when I finally realized someone else was there she was already standing ten feet away. I did a double take and let out a small and very embarrassing squeak. Note to self: no more squeaking in public.

"You shouldn't be out here" she said, her voice was so familiar. She didn't look very happy and her eyes were like daggers. I swear if she could have she would have killed me right then and there.

"I'm s-sorry" I stuttered, "Is this your property? I'm new around here. I didn't know. It won't happen again…. I-you… I'm just gonna go now" I couldn't seem to make a normal sentence so she probably just thought I was stupid. I turned around to leave which was ridiculous because I came from the other side, but I wasn't going to change directions now, she already thought I was stupid. Unfortunately for me, she noticed.

"Wait, kid, " she said grabbing me by the shoulder and turning me back around. To my big surprise she was smiling. "First of all, this is no one's property, it's just very dangerous out here and God knows how much I don't want you getting hurt. Secondly, I'd like to talk to you and thirdly you're going the wrong way. Your house is that way." She finished pointing in the opposite direction I had just been going and smiling widely at me.

I just pushed her hands away from my shoulders and started to walk away. "I can very well take care of myself and I know where I live I just wanted to go for a walk before I went home. I've been locked in my house since I got here you know. I feel so welcome here." I spat at her sarcastically and to my surprise she smiled wider.

"Listen kid, we can go for a walk if you want but I'm not letting you out of my line of sight, so might as well get used to it." She crossed her arms on her chest and stared at me. I crossed my arms just like hers and stared back. She was an incredibly beautiful woman. She looked in her early twenties, with short pitch-black hair. Her skin was a beautiful copper tone and her deep black eyes were beautiful and threatening.

"Fine whatever" I said giving up, " So what? You're gonna follow me around like a watch dog or something? What's the big threat anyways?"

She huffed but kept smiling; I guess she liked me or that she had something wrong with her facial muscles because I really couldn't see why else she wouldn't stop smiling. Well maybe I was just hoping she liked me. "Listen, let's start this over kid, " she held out her hand towards me, "Hi, nice to meet you, my name's Leah but most people call me Lee."

My heart forgot to beat for a moment when I heard her name. Lee. She was the wolf from my dream. She was real, maybe they all were. I mean, I knew there were wolves but I only hoped they were the ones from my dream. This couldn't be a coincidence. I quickly took her hand and shook it.

"I'm -," I stuttered almost saying my old name, "my name's Haven and no one calls me kid."

"Well now I do kid, so get used to it." She said," Where do you want to go for your walk?"

"I don't know I was just wondering around" I answered, raising my shoulders, "let's just go that way." I pointed in the direction were the wolf had left, hoping we would see him.

She rolled her eyes and started walking. It was quiet for a long time, neither of us spoke but I felt very comfortable with Leah. I didn't know where I was going but tried very hard to follow the trail left by my wolf. After a while though she started glancing at me from the corner of her eyes when she thought I wasn't looking. It was really starting to get annoying.

"What?" I said after she glanced for the four hundredth time. She stopped walking and stared at the ground. I saw her hesitate a few times like she want to say something but just couldn't find the right words. "Just spit it out Leah, I don't bite and in case you hadn't notice you're kind of scary so even if I did I wouldn't try."

She looked up at me and smiled before blurting out: "Do you have a boyfriend?"

"What?" I answered stupidly. Why did she care about that? She raised an eyebrow and tilted her head to one side. "I mean, no! Of course not! My mother and sister died 6 months ago! The last thing I'm thinking about right now is having a boyfriend! What the hell do you want to know anyways?" I crossed my arms on my chest and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh," she said putting her hand on her mouth, "I'm sorry Haven, I didn't know about your mother and sister. I mean it's none of my business if you have a boyfriend or not. I just wanted to get to know you better, that's all." She looked at me with sad eyes. It was strange that somebody who barely knew me would actually worry about me. I guess I was wrong about the wolves not caring. Apparently Leah did.

I looked down at the ground and started digging into the soft ground with my foot.

"No, it's ok. You couldn't have known," I said fighting back the urge to cry. I really didn't need to cry in front of Leah. "I'm sorry I –I" the tears started rolling down my face and I turned away and started to run.

"Hey, wait!" I heard Leah yell behind me and I stopped unable to resist her demand. I heard her coming up behind me and soon felt her hands on my shoulders as she turned me around to face her. "I'm sorry kid, I really am. You shouldn't be ashamed of crying for your family. I lost my dad a few years ago and up to this day not a second goes by that I don't mourn his absence." She pulled me into her arms and I rested my head on her chest. It felt so warm and safe, just like my mom's did. "I know this is going to sound weird because we just met, but you can always count on me kid. No matter what you need I'll always be there for you. Now why don't we go back to your house and you can tell me about your family. You'll see it helps to remember them."

She lifted my chin so that I was looking at her and I just nodded. I followed her as she walked and after a few minutes we exited the forest right in my yard. I walked into the house with Leah trailing behind me and curled up on the nearest couch. She sat down next to me and pulled me down so my head was lying on her lap. If I had an older sister, I would have wanted her to be like Leah. She didn't say anything and just let me cry. I saw a few tears roll down her cheeks as she started to play with my hair. I felt a little better knowing that someone as strong as her would cry in front of me, so I smiled at her. She wiped away the tears on my face and smiled back.

"So are you ready to tell me about your mom?" she asked. I sat up and nodded.

"Mom was a lot like you actually. She always knew what to do and what to say to make me feel better. She wasn't the hugging kind but when I really needed one she had the best hug. She always tried to do what's right and told us to think things through before we did anything rash. My sister was just like her. " I said playing with the bracelet my sister had given me, "I just miss them so much, you know? "

"Yeah, I know kid, I know," she said patting my knee, "You'll see, we'll take good care of you here, I promise. So tell me about your sister."

"We were inseparable, which is funny because we were complete opposites," I said crossing my legs in front of me on the couch, "She always thought a lot before doing anything and I always just did everything I felt like. I love clothes and stuff and she just wore whatever she found on the top of her pile. The one thing we had in common was music. We both loved to sing and liked the same songs."

I told her stories about when I was a kid and everything seemed so easy, about how I used to drag my sister into a lot of trouble. She was always too serious and I was kind of jealous so I made her draw on walls and climb onto my grandma's roof to get a better view of the garden. Of course my mom always figured out that I was behind everything and I ended up being punished too but I didn't care. We were a unit and as so if one of us was into trouble we both were. This was the first time I had to go through something without her. I wished she was here with me. I wished I could just talk to her even for a short time. I hoped she knew how much she meant to me.

Leah didn't say anything as I told her everything about my life before I got here. She just smiled at the right moments and squeezed my hand when I needed support. For some reason, I never talked about being a wolf and she didn't ask. I wondered if she even knew it. I don't know why but I decided not to tell her.

When I was finished telling her about how my sister and I had loosened the bolts on the neighbor's wheels to see if they would come off when he drove away, we were laughing so hard that I couldn't breath. It was amazing how easy our relationship was. We had just met and yet it felt like I'd known her forever.

After I'd finally calmed down, I looked outside and realized that the sun had already set. My stomach made a very loud growling sound. I guess it was time I started eating on a regular basis.

"You want to eat something?" I asked as I got up and walk into my kitchen. It was a very big, modern kitchen made mostly out of stainless steal and marble. It had a central island with a few stools around it.

"Sure, " Leah answered, pulling out one of the stools and sitting on it, "What have you got?"

I started opening cupboards trying to find something to eat but I came up empty handed except for a box of cereal. I really hadn't been eating since I got here. Leah frowned when she saw the empty shelves.

"Cereal is fine for today, but tomorrow I'm taking you to the store and you'd better start eating better than that." She said grabbing two bowls and filling them both to the very top. "And what about school? You're going to go to high school on the res right? Do you need help with that?"

"Um-" I answered hesitantly, "I don't know. I didn't even think of that. I mean I guess I should finish high school at least…" I trailed off not wanting to think about a possible future I felt so undeserving of.

"You're damn right you're going to finish high school," Leah answered between huge bites, "and you're going to go to college after that, you hear me?" I didn't know what to say so I just nodded. I normally didn't like to be told what to do but right now it was nice to have someone care enough to worry about my future even if I didn't.

"So tomorrow, we'll get all that straightened out ok?" she asked but the look in her eyes said it wasn't really a question. I didn't even bother answering so she continued. "I'll bring my little brother along cause he's always so damn happy you just can't be sad when he's here. I'm sure you two will get along REALLY well." She winked at me and I blushed. She chuckled slightly before adding. "I know a girl I'm sure you'd like but her parents are weird and don't let her out much. I'll try to bring her by one of these days so you two can keep each other company. She doesn't have many friends her age."

I was about to answer when I heard a wolf howl in the forest behind my house. I ran to the window desperately hoping it was my wolf but I saw nothing. I turn around and saw Leah putting her bowl in the sink.

"Are you leaving?" I couldn't hide the sadness in my voice. Leah was the only company I'd had in a long time and I still didn't quite believe she would come back the next day.

"Yeah kid, I've gotta go." She said walking to the front door as I followed close behind. "But I promise I'll be here first thing tomorrow okay?" She picked up a paper on the table next to the door and scribbled a number on it before handing it back to me. "If you need anything before then, just call me."

"Thanks Leah," I took the paper from her and tried my best to smile, "for everything. I'll see you tomorrow"

The wolf howled again but much closer this time and Leah muttered something that sounded like "I'm coming so shut up" before turning around and walking away.

"See ya kid and I already told you to call me Lee"

I closed the door and slid down it, pulling the paper to my chest. This was the beginning of my new life and it all started with Lee.