Opening my eyes, I am in a forest. Looking around I get off the ground. I start walking and come to a river and see a young woman sitting there and singing.

"Excuse me can you tell me where I am please." I say as I walk closer to the woman.

She looks up and I gasp. It is Sarah Black looking young and happy. She smiles at me and motions me forward with her hand.

"Nicole you have grown so much!"

"Sarah? How are you here? Where am I? Did I die?" Panic starts to rise in me as tears start to form.

She stands and gathers me in a hug. I close my eyes as I inhale her familiar scent lavender and sandalwood.

"Calm down sweetheart everything will be explained. Come sit with me"

I follow her to bank of the river and sit.

"Do you remember the story about the third wife?"

"Yes of course Billy always tells us it at the bonfires. She watched her sons get killed by the cold woman and sacrificed herself for her husband and her tribe."

She smiled softly at me. "Yes, my dear the story I want to tell you is way after that"

"The spirit warriors in exchange for protecting their village were given a gift from our ancestors. The gift of their other half or soul mate as you might be more familiar with. The warriors were thankful for the gift bestowed upon them."

"How would they know it was their soul mate?"

"The world would shift and nothing and no one would matter in that moment. Just the warrior and his other half. Many warriors found their other half and some did not and married others. When they did meet their other half the warrior was torn between honor and the gift bestowed upon him. This caused a lot of tension in the village."

I nodded knowing that I would be upset if my husband found his soul mate and wanted to leave me.

"Because of this most warriors began to wait for their one. As the years went by fewer and fewer warriors found their other half and began marrying. This is where our story begins." She smiled briefly.

"The first Jacob Black the chief of his tribe fell in love with a young lady named Mora. He was determined to have her as his wife. They began to court. While this was happening in the nearby Makah tribe they were attacked and sought shelter with the Quileute tribe.

The moment Jacob laid his eyes on Aiyana he knew she was his other half. This infuriated him he did not want his ancestors choosing his love when he already had one."

I shake my head deeply intrigued. I knew Jacob was named after one of his ancestors but have never heard this story before.

"Aiyana felt the pull to Jacob immediately. Knowing that Jacob was in love with someone else hurt her. She had no clue why. So, to stay close to him she became his friend and that eased the ache so to speak. Even seeing how compatible they were Jacob still ignored it.

I rolled my eyes "Of course he did.

"Jacob so deeply in love with Mora he ignored his gift from the ancestors. They were not too happy about that."

"I bet it was like a spit in the face to them."

Sarah grimaced and nodded her head.

"You are correct. They came to Jacob in a dream to tell him the mistake he was making by denying the gift. Blinded by love he refused it again and told the ancestors that they were making a mistake and Mora was his other half. So the ancestors told Jacob they would put Mora and Aiyana to the test and if Mora passed they would accept the union. If she failed however there would be dire consequences."

"Let me guess, Jacob accepted?"

"Of course, he was so sure that his love would not falter. The next day Mora was greeted by the most beautiful man she had ever seen. He promised her everything she could ever want all she had to do was run away with him and he would make her beautiful like him for eternity. Aiyana was also greeted by the same man. He told them that he would be waiting by the bank of the river for them at dawn."

She looked at me very serious before continuing.

"The ancestors told Jacob to be at the bank of the river before dawn and explained that the woman who showed up would be the one who betrayed him. 15 till dawn Jacob was at the bank waiting sure that he would see Aiyana come through the trees."

I leaned in as Sarah paused to take a breath.

"Jacob was appalled to see Mora sneaking through the trees calling out for what she thought was her future lover. Disgusted Jacob fled intent on going to Aiyana to beg for her forgiveness. When he got to her house what he saw made him drop to his knees in agony. While Jacob was waiting for his love the man came to Aiyana's house and slaughtered her."

I gasped in shock and felt tears coming forward.

"Jacob begged and pleaded for the ancestors help but they were silent."

"So, because Jacob ignored the ancestors, they killed Aiyana?! How is that fair? She was innocent in all this shouldn't they have killed Mora for betraying her love?"

"The ways of the ancestors are never meant to be understood but to be respected. Jacob had to go his life knowing he was the reason hos other half was no longer there. He never married and always felt the emptiness that his other half left behind."

"Wow that's pretty intense."

"Yes, and after the tribe always made sure the no matter what the warriors other halves would be treated with the upmost care and respect. Until the warriors were no longer needed and phased out."

"But what does that have to do with why I am here? It's not like I'm not happy to see you or anything but I think that I was hurt bad. I can't remember what happened. Jacob he just freaked out and like turned into a-a."

"A spirit warrior."

I look into her eyes shocked.

"If Jacob is a spirit warrior, why did he attack me?"

"Its complicated and you will know more soon."

Sarah looks off into the distance, smiles sadly, and gets up.

"It looks like my time is up. I must leave"

"Wait you didn't tell me why I'm here! Is Jacob my other half? Am I going to die?"

Sarah leans in and gives me a kiss on the forehead.

"Please tell Billy what you have learned here and tell him is snowflake is waiting for him."

I awake with a gasp and instantly am in extreme pain.