CHAPTER ONE: STRANGERS LIKE ME

I waited until I was hidden by the shade of the trees, deep in the forest, to phase back into my human form. Slumping against a tree, I caught my breath. It had been a long, arduous flight. I hadn't realized how hungry and exhausted I was. Flying across the Pacific Ocean could do that to someone, even with a few stops along the way. I had never made such a long journey in all the years since I'd first morphed into a bird. True, I'd gone across the Atlantic Ocean, but as an amateur flyer at the time, I had mainly taken rides on the tops of cruise ships and airplanes.

"All right, Melody," I sighed. "Stop being lazy, let's see where we are." I decided to walk around and survey the forest, rather than fly up and get an aerial view. I missed my legs, missed being human, especially since the exhilaration of flying is lost when you fly for such extended periods of time.

I took in everything about the forest. I noticed the tall evergreen trees looming over me, dappled sunlight casting shadows onto my skin. My dark hair was heavy, swinging against my back with each turn of my head. I noted each bird species I saw, out of habit. As I was starting to notice more, the fog of exhaustion beginning to lift, I heard a voice behind me.

"It's not often I see someone like you here," the voice said, masculine yet, musical.

Clearing my throat, I turned around. It had been so long since I'd spoken, I almost had to remember how.

Seeing him in front of me, I have no trouble finding my voice. I screamed. Every time I had met a creature with red eyes, the unnatural hue had spelled danger. The way he looked at me, like I was something to eat, was only furthering the sense of fear that swept through me.

"Not so fast, darling," he said with a smug grin widening on his face. His open mouth now showed his teeth, and how sharp they were.

I sped away. I only managed to sprint a few feet before the red-eyed creep appeared instantly in front of me. His speed shocked me. I'm a bird, after all – a raptor, an apex predator in my other form. I can run like I'm flying. He could catch me, and not only that, but overtake me?

I tried again to dodge him. I didn't get half as far before he was standing right in front of me.

I froze, petrified, unsure what to do.

I moved to run again, but he instantly grabbed my wrist. I wrenched it out of his grip, and this time he looked shocked. He was clearly not used to that. I took advantage of the moment of weakness, running away again. I looked back to see him standing there still. Faster, Melody, Faster. I urged my legs to keep going, to push faster.

"You're not human, are you?" he called to me. "Well, I'll still give you a head start, sweetheart. I'll play your game."

I tried to ignore him, to ignore his disturbing pet-names. I wasn't playing a game; I was trying to save myself, though I didn't know what from. I certainly didn't want to stop and ask. There was something familiar about his particular brand of terror, but the physical fatigue had worn down my usually sharp mind.

Daring to look behind me when I heard pounding footsteps, I saw him, suddenly right behind me. He must certainly be inhuman, like me, but he was entirely a monster.

A clear thought made its way out of my mind, clouded by fear. How did I not think of this before?

When we reached a small clearing, I pushed myself to run as fast as possible, trying to gain momentum. I heard vicious snarling as I jumped, diving into the air. Wings sprouted out of me, and I hovered in the air, flying up. I looked down as I flew onto a tree branch to land.

The red-eyed man was being torn apart piece by piece by a pack of wolves. I dropped in shock, falling to hit a tree branch lower down, and I turned back into a human from the sudden impact. I began rolling off the branch, and grabbed it quickly, as I swung upside down, still holding on. I felt the evergreen pines grab at the edge of my dress.

I looked down as I lowered myself to perch comfortably on the branch below me. I saw the wolves back away from the dismembered body. I stared, confused, until one by one, they moved behind the trees, and re-emerged; as humans.

I stared in awe. They were just like me, they took two forms. Leave it to me to stumble into two sets of supernatural beings within minutes of returning to land. My mouth hung open. I could barely believe it. They had saved me; I owed them, possibly, my life. I knew I should thank them, but I was simply frozen, glued to the branch.

They gathered together, and as I snapped out of my daze, I climbed lower to hear what they were saying. I lay down on a branch, turning my head to face the small clearing. Half of them moved away from the body, while a few others stayed, approaching it carefully.

I squinted my eyes, trying to see more clearly. I saw one pull out a lighter. Quickly, he lit it, dragging the flame around all the body parts. A fire erupted, and I felt the blazing heat all the way from my tree.

I was so shocked by the inferno my hands became clumsy. I spun, falling off the tree branch, hitting the ground with a loud thud.

"Shit," I muttered, holding my aching head with my hands, trying to ease the slight throbbing.

I felt their eyes on me. Looking to my right, I saw several of the wolf-men approaching me. I sucked up the pain I knew was short-lived, and forced myself to stand up. Surprisingly, I found myself still craning my neck up to look at them. From the height of the trees, I hadn't realized they were all so tall. Two were standing decidedly in front of the others, with their arms crossed.

"Well, hi there," I said nonchalantly, brushing dirt off of my dress and bending down to pick up the small satchel that held all of my 'worldly possessions'. The same two wolf-men in the front practically stared me down, and something felt authoritative about them. I did a quick inspection of the group. They each wore shorts, lacked shirts, were incredibly tall, ridiculously muscular, and had dark cropped hair. They carried a sense of unity with them; they all had traits that marked them as a distinct group – a pack.

"Who are you? And what are you doing here?" asked one with a deep, strong voice. He seemed to be the oldest of them all. I began walking to my side as I answered.

"Didn't you ever learn any manners? Ever heard of an introduction?" I asked, my automatic defensive nature dictating my words. I turned around, immediately regretting my response. I saw the face of the man who had spoken to me, and he looked shocked. Most likely, he wasn't used to people giving him attitude. I felt nerves slowly creep onto me as I saw several pairs of hands ball into fists.

"I'm sorry," I blurted out, as sincerely and apologetically as I could manage. "I must've forgotten my manners at the other end of the Pacific." I tried to form even a small smile. Then, it fell. It seemed as if I'd confused everybody more. I decided to just answer the questions he'd given me.

"My name is Melody. I flew here, without –" I was cut off.

"This is the girl the leech was chasing. The one that turned into a bird," said the other wolf-man who also acted like a leader.

"So you noticed," I nodded, trying to figure out what he'd meant by "leech," when it dawned on me. "You mean a vampire, don't you? I should have realized, especially after Romania…" I said, my thoughts trailing on.

"Well then, Melody," said the younger leader "how is it that you seem to know so much?"

"I'm just like you, aren't I? I noticed you all phase, but you know that of course. Otherwise, you wouldn't be so hostile, would you?" I said, knowing their facial reactions meant I was right. "This is just as much my secret as it is yours. It's one I've always kept," I finished, and saw their expressions calm.

"She's right. We'll bring her back to the house."

I nodded in agreement, knowing that it was an order for everyone, not a suggestion.

"I'm Sam," he said, looking back to me, "this is Jacob, Paul, Jared, Leah, Seth, Brady, Collin…" he continued as I whispered under my breath, trying to keep the names straight.

"I think I got it," I said, running through the list and looking at everybody.

"Let's go," said Sam, nodding. I followed them as they began walking.

"Meet us at the house," Jacob shouted, to the two trying to tame the fire burning the vampire. A thick smoke rose from the inferno, clouding the air. I stifled a cough as Jacob turned around to me again.

"We'll get there faster if we phase," Jacob stated as everyone else turned around. I realized they were all looking at me.

"Okay," I said, pushing through them. As soon as I was in front of all of them, I broke into a sprint.

"Where is she going?" Sam growled. I nearly laughed, realizing they probably thought I was running away, though no one was running after me. I jumped up, springing into a back-flip as I phased. I turned in flight to look at them. They all stood still, even when I flew around them in a circle. I landed on the ground in front of them, and phased back.

"Are you coming? I don't exactly know where I'm going." I said, staring at them, waiting for some reaction. All I got was I smile from Seth. They started ducking into the trees, and came back out as wolves.

"Thank you," I smiled. They ran alarmingly fast in one direction.

"Here goes nothing," I muttered, running forward and phasing again to follow them.