It wasn't supposed to be like this. I wasn't supposed to be alone on a Friday night again . Billy's gone to see his friend, Charlie, in town and hasn't come back yet—something about a game running late—and Quil and Embry haven't been around for weeks. Since Sam Uley rolled into town, it seems like nothing's been the same. I used to love the guy—who didn't? He's basically like everyone's older brother—but lately, he's been getting on my nerves. Something about him and the rest of the guys on the res have been creeping me out lately. It's not just the way they've all cut their hair and gotten these weird tattoos. It's in the way they ignore me and silently watch me. Like they're waiting for me to sprout wings or something.
Couple that with what feels like the hottest damn fall in La Push history and I'm pretty bummed about the way my weekend is looking. Every time I check the weather, it says it's a normal 70 degrees, but I know what September feels like and this isn't it. Even the damn weather station is lying to us now.
I rev the engine of my old bike and let it purr under my fingers. That's what I'm talking about. Just a few months of love and this baby is singing for me. It's late, but I might as well take it for a spin since no one is around to stop me. It's better than sitting around and baking in the oven that is this garage. It's a bitter thought, but you would be too if all of your friends had abandoned you for Sam.
I kick the engine into high gear as I take the turn onto the main road a little too fast. La Push is beautiful at this time of day, with the colors of a bleeding sunset over the water and smell of rain in the air. Life on the res is far from perfect—hell, a huge part of me just wants to leave and find something better—but damn me if it doesn't feel like home. The cool wind feels like heaven on my skin.
I turn on the headlight and follow the road into the woods. I could ride here forever if Billy wouldn't worry about me. It's only then that I remember that I should've worn a helmet. Cursing, I debate turning around, when I see it. It's just a flash, but it's unmistakable.
It's absolutely massive. For a minute I think it has to be a moose, but there's no way. The shape is too wrong. It was some kind of dog or wolf. I spin around, trying to get a better look—there's no way. The thing is a wolf on steroids. There's no way an animal of this size has been on the res and no one has seen it. A wave of nausea runs through me.
We stand there, staring at each other in the dark, its eerie yellow eyes watching me. The hair on the back of my neck is standing straight up. It's time to go. I have to tell Billy about this. He has to warn the elders. If something like this is in the woods, it can't be safe for anyone to be out here. I'm beginning to regret my little joy ride a little, especially since it suddenly feels like I've caught a stomach bug or something.
The single pair of eyes is suddenly accompanied by two more. No, three.
Okay, I'm beginning to regret my little joy ride a lot. I kick my bike into high gear as more eyes appear in the dark. Sweat rolls down my back despite the chill in the air. My hands are sticking to the handle. There's a crunch of gravel as the beast steps onto the road and I suddenly get the sick notion that maybe my ancient bike isn't fast enough to outrun this thing.
The creatures are suddenly keeping pace with me, their teeth gnashing. Howls fill the air and then everything happens at once. The engine gives out, the front wheel skidding into the dark forest, and I go flying. This is it. This has to be how it ends. Alone and in the dark. I haven't thought much about death, but I never thought I'd go out like this.
I land with a sickening crunch and the pain is enough that I barely notice it increasing as my bike lands on top of me. Something wet is pooling underneath me. As my vision fades, the last thing I hear is howls in the night.
It's burning hot. I wake up in my room and it feels like someone has lit a fire right under my bed. La Push can get hot during the fall, but this is just unreasonable. My head hurts. That was one hell of a dream. I sit up and the blinding pain is enough to let me know that whatever happened in the woods was anything but. Immediately, I throw up in a conveniently placed trash can next to my bed.
"Easy, Jake," someone says as my head-and every other part of my body-throbs. It's Sam. He's sitting at the foot of my bed and I immediately try to move away from him, but the pain is too great to do anything but shuffle a few inches until I'm leaning against the back wall.
"Why are you here? Where's Billy?" I ask, my mouth tasting like vomit so much so that I almost puke again. Did we suddenly get heating? This is insane. My sheets are covered in sweat.
"Have some water. You have a long night ahead of you," Sam says in that monotonic voice that I used to find so cool as a kid. Now it's just unsettling. He hands me a bottle of water. I take it reluctantly and drain it.
"What do you mean? I...had an accident, I think. Why aren't I in the hospital?" Then I remember. "Sam, there's something in the woods. You gotta tell everyone. It's-"
"We know," Sam says. He sighs and rubs his face. "Listen, we have a lot to talk about, okay? You're going to be immobile for a while, so I thought this would be a good time." He says it in a way that's almost mournful.
"Uh...yeah. Okay. Can we crack a window or something first? I'm dying here."
We both look toward the window and it's fully open, letting in the night air. And it's not making a damn difference.
"You're going to be hurting for a while, but it's not from the accident," Sam said. That's when Embry and Quil push through the blanket over the door frame to my room. I've never been jumped before and I've known these guys since before we could walk, but I suddenly feel like I'm about to get jumped.
"We know what you saw out there, Jake. They were following you because they sensed it on you. I had told them to stay away, but it's hard when you smell like one of us now. They just got excited."
The room is spinning. He told them to stay away? One of us? This has to be another dream. Embry and Quil are just standing in the doorway looking like it's Christmas and I still feel like I'm standing on the surface of the sun.
Sam leans forward in his chair. "I guess I should start from the beginning. You remember the story of Taha Aki?"
It was the worst week of my life, but this? This is incredible. I've never felt so right. I could use a little privacy, for sure, but I'll take this over being alone any day.
Don't make me yartz, Jared calls out from miles away.
Focus, Sam says. Okay, that I could live without, but it's a fair trade-off.
Sam's given me the rundown as to why this happened-the Cold Ones and protecting La Push and all that-but since I turned, all I can think about is how incredible it is to be part of something. The weeks without Sam and Embry had been wearing on me, but it was worth this. I'm still not over how Paul, Jared, and Brady destroyed my bike, but I'll get them back one way or another.
Will you? Paul asks. Prove it . And suddenly he's literally at my throat, but I'm much larger than he is. We roll around for a little bit until his neck is in my jaws and he squeals like a child. Morphing back to my human self-can I even call it that anymore?-still feels weird, especially since I'm suddenly much taller and heavier than I was before, but I do it anyway as we approach Sam's house.
"You're a dick," Paul says with a grin, as he spits blood into Sam's front yard and we throw on one of many pairs of pants that are just littered around the forest around Sam's place.
"You started it."
"Oh, good," Sam says, stepping out from behind another tree, already fully clothed. He's on the phone with someone and from the look on his face, it's not good news. "Yeah. We can go." A pause. "No, I don't think any of them will be happy about it, but if that was the point of all this, then of course." After a brief moment, Sam nods and then hangs up.
"Go bundle some proper clothes-shirts too. Both of you," he says.
"Why? Who was that? Where are we going?" I ask as Paul is already halfway to the house.
"Funny enough, it was Harry. He just spoke to your dad and the elders. They want us to figure out why more of us are turning." He shook his head. "Seth's got a 'fever'." Damn. Seth's only fourteen. That's too soon. Kid's barely had a chance to be a real teenager yet.
"How are we supposed to do that?" I asked. "You told me we were just supposed to protect La Push."
"Sometimes protecting is more than just running patrols, Jake. We gotta go to the only ones who may be able to give us an answer to why this has started up so suddenly after all these years."
"You mean-"
Sam scowls and there's something almost feral in his expression. "It's time to go see the leeches."