Shauna Black's POV

Benjamin and I were curled up together in a hammock on the beach.

"Shauna," he said gently, "you know I have to go back home for a little while. I've got to finish up some of the work I dropped to come up here."

My head resting on his shoulder, I nodded. "I know, Ben."

Turning a little to face him, I snuggled into his side and lay my head against the crook of his neck. "Thank you for coming up here to be with me. I know how important this summer physics research is to you. It's your dream project, and I want you to take full advantage of it."

"But I have to admit," I told him, "it felt so much easier, dealing with everything, because you were here."

I was certain that Benjamin didn't fully understand how soothing his presence had been to me these past few days. Some nights, when the anxiety and depression of losing Grandpa and watching Dad trying to find himself again all became too much to process, I started to shiver. I felt like I was going to lose control of myself. I had never experienced panic attacks before, but I was guessing that this is what they felt like. But Benjamin was there for me. He was technically supposed to stay in the guest bedroom in our house, but he snuck out every night. He came to my room, slipped in my bed with me, and held me close. He gently stroked my hair and waited for me to calm down and fall asleep.

Mom was irritated when she found us asleep together on my bed. In fact, "irritated" was putting it mildly. "You're brash, and you can't control your feelings, Shauna," she told me sternly. "It's dangerous to be together when you're not in control of your emotions."

Thinking she was talking about sex, I'd blushed and responded defensively, "It's not even like that!"

She just shook her head at me, half disagreeing with me and half telling me to keep my voice down so that I wouldn't bother Dad. It never even crossed my mind that she could be talking about something other than sex.

Almost as though he'd read my thoughts, Benjamin murmured, "Maybe your mom will like me better if I leave for a bit?"

I laughed a little. "I don't think her attitude has anything to do with you. I wouldn't worry about it."

"Really?" Benjamin said hopefully. "Well, then, I can come back in a couple weeks, if you'd like."

"I'd love that," I said honestly. "But you know, I can always go up to you, too."

Benjamin frowned. "As much as I want you to come over, my childhood home isn't always the best place to be."

"Because of your dad, you mean?" I asked, keeping my voice soft.

"Yeah," Benjamin admitted. "I don't ever want you to see him when he's drunk. I would be so embarrassed. Sometimes, he gets even more difficult in front of guests. I don't want you to have to see that, and I don't want my dad to hurt himself, either."

"Then, yes," I told Benjamin, "come back to me."

He smiled. Reaching up, he gently pushed my face up so that he could press his lips against mine.

Suddenly, we both heard a loud wolf-whistle. Lifting our heads, Benjamin and I both squinted to see Quil, Liam, and Theo some twenty yards away from us.

"Look at the little lovebirds!" Quil crowed, waving at us.

Embarrassed, I told Benjamin, "Ignore them."

But Benjamin sported a somewhat puzzled smile as he politely waved back at them.

Quil laughed and waved again before taking off, dragging Liam into the water just for the hell of it. Benjamin and I watched as Quil attempted to wrestle Theo down besides Liam, but Theo resolutely stood his ground, immovable as always. A moment later, Theo turned the tables and easily launched Quil into the water. Quil spluttered in indignation. Benjamin and I both laughed before we turned away from them. We slipped back into our little world, where only the two of us existed, talking about our dreams and sneaking kisses between replies.

After Benjamin left to return to his home that evening, I went for a run, wanting to get away from the grief that lingered so heavily in my house. My mind was preoccupied during the entire run, and for the first time, I didn't focus on my speed and jogged somewhat slowly. So, it was a slight shock when I realized how quickly night had fallen. Damn, I'm too far into the forest to turn back now. I can't go traipsing through the forest in the dark. I'll just have to power through to the main road. I picked up my pace.

As I ran forward, I suddenly realized that my feet had taken me back to the empty house at the end of the main road. Oops, too far east... I should turn back.

With a sigh, I started to jog steadily past the house and up the main road when that strange scent hit my nose again. That sickly sweet scent… I started to grimace, and I waited for the momentary wave of nausea to pass over me. Instead, I felt my body began to shiver.

What is going on with me? Calm down, I told myself.

But then I saw it. Hiding between the trees, a pair of blood red eyes and pale skin.

I knew immediately that this was the source of that poisonous smell. Upon being seen, the creature hissed.

I tensed and I felt my entire body trembling violently. Shit, what is happening to me?

Suddenly, the creature leapt at me. In a blink of an eye, she had crossed a hundred yards - out of the trees and over the main road - to reach me.

I felt something snap violently within me. It was an odd feeling - as though someone had reached down and yanked on a string deep within my soul that I'd always knew I'd had, but had never thought to touch. But when it snapped, it snapped hard.

Just before her hands reached my neck, I exploded into a growling beast. I nearly ripped her head off in the midst of my transformation.

She backed away, her mane of blonde hair shivering angrily.

A low rumble built up in my throat and came out as a fearsome growl.

She hissed and grabbed at me again. I dodged her. I made to bite her, but she kicked me hard in the shoulder. I flew back and rolled once in the grass. Spitting angrily, I leapt on all fours again, my fur bristling all over. But by then, she had disappeared.

It was late at night when I finally climbed in through my bedroom window. It had been hard to calm down this time. I couldn't just write off my experiences as lack of sleep or from the shock of losing Grandpa. No, I had definitely transformed into a wolf, and if I wasn't mistaken, I'd just fought with a vampire.

What the hell is all this? This can't be real, right? I must be losing my mind. Still shaking, I reached into my drawer and pulled on a new shirt - my old one was gone, ripped to pieces by my transformation. As I threw the shirt up and over my head, I felt a painful tension in my shoulder. I frowned, and pulling my sleeve down, I examined my shoulder. A large, splotchy bruise covered the better half of my shoulder.

Suddenly, my bedroom door opened. I hastily pushed my sleeve back up, and turned around to find my mom fuming at me.

"Shauna. Black. Where were you?" Mom was seething. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

I stood still, refusing to feign remorse. Last time, Mom had asked me if I'd transformed into a wolf. She clearly knew more about this than she was letting on, and after tonight's events had solidified in my mind that I was, in fact, a werewolf, it made me angry to think that Mom knew about all this and was purposefully keeping me in the dark.

"Do you have anything to tell me?" Mom demanded from me, crossing her arms.

My temper rose, and I hissed back, "Do you have anything to tell me?"

"Tell you?" Mom repeated, confused. "About what?"

"Oh, I don't know - say, about wolves?"

The fury abruptly disappeared from my mother's face. It was replaced by something I'd never seen in my brave mother: a strange mixture of fear and vulnerability.

My anger broke and dissipated. In a careful voice, I called out, "Mom?"

"Shauna, tell me what happened," Mom said.

I took a deep breath. Then, I admitted, "I transformed."

Mom closed her eyes. For a moment, I thought she was going to pass out.

"I thought you knew," I said hurriedly, confused.

After a moment, Mom opened her eyes again, but they were downcast - sad, almost. She wasn't looking at me.

"I hoped it wasn't true," she said quietly. "What happened to set it off?"

My mind immediately jumped to the creature I'd seen in the forest, but something in me tugged at my conscience, and warned me not to reveal anything about the vampire. Again, it was so strange to me that Mom seemed to know way more about the situation than I did, and yet she was seeking answers from me instead of explaining what she knew. Whatever is going on, I need her to be more honest and open with me before I reveal everything...

So I just told her, "When Grandpa passed away…"

"Of course," Mom sighed. "It would trigger it."

I needed answers. "Mom," I said, "are the Quileute legends true? Am I… a shape-shifter?"

Mom's eyes flickered up to meet mine. Her voice was heavy as she replied, "It sounds like it, Shauna."

There was a moment of silence between us.

"What does it mean?" I asked her, suddenly afraid.

"I don't know. But at the least, we should all be careful, especially you." Mom started to turn away.

I called out after her. "This isn't the first time you've seen this happen, is it?"

Her outline framed in the doorway, Mom slowly shook her head. "No, it's not the first time."

"Get some sleep, Shauna," she said softly. Then, she left.

I got into bed, but I couldn't fall asleep. I stared up at the ceiling, pondering what had happened to me and what this could all mean. With a frustrated sigh, I turned over onto my side. I started to close my eyes, when I suddenly realized something. My shoulder! It should hurt since I'm lying on it, but it doesn't. I don't feel any pain or discomfort. I sat up and pulled down my sleeve. I paused. The bruise is completely gone. As though I was never hurt. Is it possible to heal so quickly? Or was I even hurt at all? I let out a long, slow breath.

This was all too cryptic for my taste. Mom's side-stepping my questions, that vampire hanging around the abandoned glass house, the tribe's legends about wolves... I could obviously sense that all of this was connected, but the question was: How? And why is it affecting me? And how come Mom won't talk about it?

I needed answers. But I knew I couldn't go around asking the Elders for answers. They would tell Mom, obviously. So the next morning, I went to the only person I could trust to not tell Mom anything.

The door opened.

"Here's my favorite niece."

"Hi, Uncle Seth," I greeted him.

"Come on in, kiddo."

"You've upgraded," I remarked, noticing the new décor matching the couch in the living room. "Finally decided to be an adult?"

My uncle grinned sheepishly. "Don't know about that."

I walked into the kitchen where I saw a pile of dirty dishes in the sink.

"Ah, there's a familiar sight," I teased. "Now I know you're my Uncle Seth."

He smiled at me as I teased him.

"I cleaned the couch for you, though, so take a seat," Uncle Seth replied.

Humoring him, I walked back to the couch and sat down.

"So what's up?" he asked, sitting in the recliner besides the couch.

I shrugged. "I just had a few questions and I thought Mom might get mad if I asked her."

"Like what?" my uncle prompted. "Don't tell me you came here to ask for advice on beer or cigarettes or anything like that. Leah would kill me.

"No," I said quickly, "of course not. I want to keep you alive, Uncle Seth. You're the only defense I have against Mom sometimes."

Uncle Seth grinned. "You used to come running to me whenever Leah got mad at you for something. But I guess you've outgrown that now."

"Never," I replied, with a smile.

"So, then, what is it this time?"

"The tribe's history…" I said thoughtfully. "All the legends… Are they true?"

Uncle Seth paused, surprised. "I don't understand why Leah would be mad at you asking her about that."

"I brought up the legend of the Quileutes as Shape-Shifters," I told him.

"Ah," Uncle Seth closed his eyes and nodded. "I guess that would do it."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Uncle Seth put his head to one side as he studied me, as if calculating how much he could divulge to me.

"She's admitted already that she's seen it happen before," I pushed, hoping that Uncle Seth would disclose more if I was completely open with him.

Uncle Seth did not disappoint. He chuckled lightly as he said to me, "She told you that?"

I nodded.

He shook his head as he revealed, "It's not just that Leah's seen it all before. She's lived it all before."

I paused as the information sunk it. "Wait. You mean she is a shape-shifter?"

"Was," Uncle Seth corrected. "She stopped shape shifting long enough to age again, which is, incidentally, the only reason you and your brother could be born."

"We all stopped shape shifting together," Uncle Seth told me, reminiscing. "Just as we all started together. We're a tribe… and we're a pack."

"We all…? You were a Shape-Shifter too?" I said in disbelief.

"Of course. It was me and your mother and Embry, Quil, Jared, and Paul. Even Brady and Collin… They were our youngest members. Then, of course, there were our Alpha leaders: Sam and Jacob."

"Jacob… as in my dad," I repeated in an awed voice, still not believing him.

"So, everyone transformed into wolves?" I asked, trying to picture an entire wolf pack comprised of my parents, relatives, and friends.

Uncle Seth nodded.

"How is that possible?" I wondered aloud.

"Don't you know the legends?" Uncle Seth reminded me. "From the beginning, our tribe members have had magic in our blood. The members of our tribe now that are descendants of our ancestor Taha Aki have inherited that magic. Ephraim Black has the strongest tie with the bloodline of Taha Aki. So that power filters down to your father and now to your brother and you. But we, the Clearwaters, have the magic in our bloods as well, and we transformed when we were needed."

"Needed…?" I repeated, confused. "What need could there be for…?" My voice died away as I realized exactly what would call for the existence of wolves: vampires.

"The Cold Ones," I said, answering my own question. I shivered.

"Yes," Uncle Seth confirmed. "A group of them lived right here, in Forks."

"In Forks?"

"Mmhm. But they were different. They had golden eyes and claimed that they did not hurt humans. They drank from animals, not humans. So our ancestors made a treaty with them. They disappeared some years ago, but returned when your parents and I were around your age."

"Are they still in Forks?"

"No, they've disappeared again," Uncle Seth replied. "And after they left, our wolf forms weren't necessary anymore. So the tribe… no, the pack decided to stop shifting."

"Why?"

"In order to age and carry on with our lives," Uncle Seth explained quietly. "See, you don't age when you shape shift often. Your body doesn't… move on. You heal faster and grow stronger, but you also trade in growing over time. It's as though many years of growth hits you at once."

I realized, that explains the bruise on my shoulder disappearing so quickly last night...

"It affected Leah especially. Your mother was the only female werewolf," Uncle Seth said, and he sighed as he recalled the past. "Her menstrual cycles had stopped and she was worried. Females historically never became wolves. It never happened before- until her."

I remembered what Grandpa had told me: "Women are heroes in our legends just as often as men, but women were never Spirit Warriors. At least, not in the old legends... Perhaps when you're older, you should ask your mother again."

"She was frightened that she would never be able to have children," Uncle Seth said softly. "And of course, being the only female in a pack of teenage boys, she didn't exactly receive any sympathy from the rest of us."

"Still," Uncle Seth said, with pride in his voice. "She never gave up her identity as a werewolf. She was a valuable asset. She was always the fastest. It's like she was born to run. If Jake was the fighter, your mother was the runner."

I blinked. Mom was the fastest? At last, I knew where my speed came from.

"The tribe and the pack are one and the same, Billie," Uncle Seth told me. "When we transformed into wolves, we even had telepathic communication. It just proves that being a Quileute means something very deep down. We are a family. I remember that when I transformed, the others were there to comfort me, to reassure me that I wasn't going insane. I would never have made it through without them. It's so disorienting when you become a wolf for the first couple times. You couldn't believe it."

"No kidding," I said dryly.

"But you understand why Leah- your mother- might be sensitive on this topic," Uncle Seth said seriously, looking me in the eye.

I nodded.

"And don't go spreading this information around. When we made the decision as a pack, it was to ensure that the whole tribe would continue living, striving for the future instead of being caught up in the past. If we thought it would help you, we would have told you. That's why I'm telling you now - so that you understand that Leah isn't just being cold to you or dismissing you. Your mother's trying to protect you, and everyone else. Because reopening past wounds like this… It wouldn't help the community one bit."

"I understand," I said, and I did. I had no desire to tell anyone.

Then, I realized something. I snorted.

"What is it?" Uncle Seth asked me.

"Now I know why everyone looks so young," I replied. "It's not flawless skin genes, its werewolf genes."

Uncle Seth grinned at me.

Annabelle's POV

Night fell and we resumed our tracking.

"Let's see," Alistair began. He closed his eyes.

"What are you-?"

"Shut up," he growled.

I fell quiet instantly.

As a light wind picked up and rustled through the trees, I felt uncomfortable, though I couldn't quite place the reason for it.

"This way," Alistair said, and began to step towards his right when he suddenly froze. I watched him with wide eyes. I stepped towards him but he grabbed my shoulder, preventing me from moving. He lifted his head and sniffed the air. Then, he cursed tersely, "Shit."

"I thought you would notice us. Impressive as always, Alistair."

Four figures appeared from behind the trees.

"Alistair," an angelic, feminine voice rang out. "It's been a while."

Alistair did not reply to her. Instead, he muttered grimly under his breath, "The Volturi, of all people, and to be caught with you. It seems my luck's run out once and for all."

Then, he murmured to me warily, "Prepare yourself."

"For what?" I asked anxiously.

A white mist began to roll out of the trees towards us. If I wasn't mistaken, the mist was not some strange natural phenomenon, but it was coming from and directed by one of the hooded figures.

"Run," Alistair ordered. But for once, I was already ahead of him. I was in the lead, outrunning Alistair easily thanks to my newborn strength, when suddenly, a shout of pain rang out behind me. I abruptly stopped and turned.

Alistair was on his knees, yelling in pain. Meanwhile, the white mist rolled ever closer to him. It was now practically lapping at his feet.

"No!" I shouted. I sprinted back to Alistair as fast as I possibly could. I tried to drag him forward with me.

At that moment, the cloaked figure who had trained her gaze on Alistair suddenly turned her eyes onto me. A horrible, intense pain tore through me. I thought I was literally being ripped in half. It was pain to such intensity that it brought back memories of being changed again. I screamed and I dropped to the forest floor. After a seemingly endless unit of time, the pain finally stopped. I lay curled up on the floor, gasping for air that I didn't need.

"Fool," Alistair grimaced at me. "You should have run."

Before I could respond, the white mist descended upon us, enveloping us in a haze so thick I couldn't even see Alistair right beside me. All-consuming numbness descended upon both of us, subverting any desire for action into a strange, abstract form of nothingness. I sat on the forest floor, unblinking and mute.

"Felix, Demetri. Tie them up and take them aboard," the female voice ordered. She sounded bored.

There was a stretch of time that I did not recognize, nor did I feel any need to ask how much time was passing, or why I was so numb...

However, the numbness was abruptly broken by a faint burning sensation around my wrists. I squirmed uncomfortably.

"Hold still. Unless you'd prefer to have another taste of pain," that light, lilting voice threatened smoothly.

I paused as my mind flashed back through the white mist of nothingness to the sharp burning of pain. I held still, though I immediately despised the feeling of this strange, metallic, almost glowing rope tied firmly around my wrists.

A soft laugh rang out. I looked up from my wrists to see a male vampire standing besides Jane. He was exactly her height, and shared all of her features except for his dark brown hair, as opposed to her blonde hair. "You tame them so well, sister," he murmured.

"Not as well as you, Alec," Jane replied. "What I wouldn't give to be able to incapacitate a crowd at once..."

At her words, tossed out so casually and so cruelly, I shivered slightly. Who are these people? Why are they doing this to me and Alistair?

Just then, I heard an amused voice besides me, "You didn't think you could outrun me, Alistair." I turned my head to see an olive-skinned vampire with short black hair and thick eyebrows. He laughed lowly at Alistair, but Alistair didn't respond. He said nothing. A strange expression of resignation and defiance played across grimly on his face.

When the female vampire with the lovely voice approached Alistair with golden rope, the olive-skinned vampire with black hair shook his head. "Rope doesn't work on him, Jane," he reminded her. "Remember last time?"

"I do remember, Demetri," Jane replied, staring down at Alistair with utmost distaste.

Last time? So, Alistair had encountered these vampires before - and they'd caught him, but he had managed to escape somehow. That didn't surprise me anymore. Alistair's combination of tracking and independence made him very hard to pin down at any given moment - even when he was right in front of you.

"Felix. Guard Alistair," Jane snapped. An incredibly large-statured and muscular vampire stepped up and took hold of Alistair.

"To the brig," Jane commanded.

Suddenly, I was jerked forward by the rope, which Demetri had picked up and was now harshly tugging forward.

"Wait!" I blurted out. "Please listen. You've got the wrong people. We didn't come here to do anything harmful. We just wanted to visit a friend."

"Oh, we know," Jane said lightly. "Carlisle Cullen. The conspirator."

"Conspirator?" I repeated, bewildered. "He's not a conspirator. He's a doctor!"

"The two are not mutually exclusive. In fact, I'd say that his weakness towards humans is partially what twisted his sense of loyalty," Jane informed me matter-of-factly. "He was once one of us, you know. He lived with us, learned from us... Though, even then he was strange. He refused to feed on humans. I wonder if all that animal blood he drank made him lose his mind..."

"It didn't make him lose his mind! It allowed him to retain his humanity!" I shot back.

"I highly, highly doubt that," Jane said. Her eyes glinted dangerously at me.

I instinctively flinched.

"Don't worry," Jane assured me, sounding terribly amused. "You'll see him. In the afterlife, which for us - is hell."

With a grim, but nonetheless pleased smile, Jane watched as Alistair and I were dragged onto the ship.

Alistair and I were both thrown into a metal cage of some sort. As soon as they walked away, I turned to Alistair.

"We have to get out!" I said, breathlessly. "We have to leave. Escape."

"Well, by all means, try," Alistair replied dully.

Under his breath, he muttered, "This is what I get for entangling with others. Foolish of me to think that any good would come of it."

Though my hands were still bound by the gold ropes, I reached out and gripped the golden prison bars. I tried with all my strength to break through the cage. However, not only did the metal bars not budge, but they seemed to burn against my skin. I realized the the metal bars and the rope around my wrists were both made out of the same material.

"What is this metal?" I grimaced, staring down at my hands. "It burns. And I can't break through it, even with my newborn strength."

Eyes closed, Alistair sighed out an explanation wearily. "It's metal reused from ancient sun dials. It repels us because it's created from the two things that do us no favor: sunlight and time."

I sank to my feet, sitting beside Alistair. I whispered to him, "Alistair, where are they taking us?"

"Volterra," he murmured.

"What for? What's in Volterra?" I inquired.

Alistair opened one eye and glared at me. I got the less than subtle hint to shut up.

I hugged my hands and knees to my chest as my mind kept spinning. What could be in Volterra?

Then, I remembered something Carlisle had told me: "The largest and most powerful coven is the Volturi. Most of our kind consider them the ruling body of the vampire world."

So, then, we're being taken to the Volturi to be judged. I shivered.

a/n: to wonderwallgurl1: Thank you for your support and comments! :)