Luna Ateara

La Push

April, 2006

"Not what you expected, right?" Spike scoffed at me.

"It's not that bad." I replied, trying not to roll my eyes as I looked at my new home. "Didn't I say to you that I wanted a simple life?"

"Yes, Miss Hilton. We can even make your new life into a TV show if you like." Spike said in a mocking tone, leaning in to kiss me on the cheek.

I bit my lower lip as I looked at my uncle's house for the first time, nestled amongst the trees. It was a very simple house, made of planks of wood and pained white. The roof was a faded rusty color and plants had begun to encroach on the house. This place was nothing like my fancy apartment in L.A.

"Come on." I said, getting out of the car.

We walked up to the door and I took a deep breath. Spike knocked on the door. We waited, our breath bated, as someone came to answer the door.

"Can I help you?"

The woman at the door looked me over with pursed lips. From one look I could tell she had been pretty in her youth. Her skin was the right shade of russet to show she was Native American. Her eyes were dark brown, and she seemed to be looking right into my soul. Her hair, onyx black with silver lace, was tied up in a neat pony tail.

"Yes. Hello." I stammered, suddenly unsure of myself. "I'm looking for Quil Ateara."

"Quil is not here." She said, looking me over. "Are you a friend of his?"

"My name is Luna. I believe he is expecting me." I said.

"Luna?" The woman said, raising an eyebrow, but she clearly had no idea who I was.

"I'm his niece." I said careful. "My father is Hank Ateara."

"Niece?" The woman said, looking confused and with a hint of pain in her voice. "I wasn't aware we… I mean, Quil had a niece?"

"Yes." I said keeping my angry tone in check, but my hands were shaking. "Am I at the wrong house? Would there be any way from me to contact my uncle?"

"No, Luna." The woman said. "I'm afraid you have been misinformed."

I swallowed, anger rising in my chest. The shaking in my hands was getting worse and I could see the woman had noticed. Instead of looking afraid, she was quiet and thoughtful.

"Please, my father had an arrangement with Quil." I said through clenched teeth. "I have the letters in the car."

"Joy?" A voice came from inside the house.

I watched as an old man in a wheelchair emerged from a room inside the house. His hair was long and white. It was clear that this man was brittle and ancient.

"Who is this?" The man asked, his voice soft but holding the hint of a musical tone.

I bowed my head respectfully, feeling like I was in the presence of greatness.

"My name is Luna Ateara." I said softly, captivated by this man.

The old man looked me over carefully. "Yes. I had heard something about you awhile back."

I blushed, a million news paper articles flooding my mind. "Don't always believe everything you hear. Especially about me."

"Come here, my dear." He said, coming into the doorway.

I looked at Spike, who nodded back at me. Joy moved off to the side, giving me space to stand in front of the man. I dropped to my haunches so that I was able to look into his dark eyes.

"You are very beautiful, Luna." He said, smiling at me. "You are defiantly your mother's child; you have her eyes. But you are like you're father in so many ways."

I couldn't help but smile back. I pushed a lock of dark hair out of my face.

"Thank you. But how do you know them?"

The old man gave a chuckle. "Your father was always ashamed of me. I don't suppose he told you much about our family?"

I shook my head, clicking that this man was connected to my family, especially those I had never met. "No, but I want to know. There… There is something… I just don't know how to put it into words."

Looking at Spike, I tilted my head. He nodded and ran back to the car to fetch my bag. I couldn't help but smile at how we were so good at communicating without words.

"I'm sorry. I just want to know about my family. I've been having these weird dreams about…" I looked away towards the forest, my mind full of my dreams. "It's silly, but I think it has something to do with my family."

Spike came back and handed me my bag. I dug around, looking for my sketch book. Inside was a drawing of my family symbol; the tattoo on the arm of the man in my dream.

When the old man saw it, recognition spread over his face.

"Yes. I know it. It's the tribal symbol of the Quileute tribe. A tribe descended from the wolves themselves. Come inside, we have a lot to talk about."

Once we were inside the woman introduced herself as Joy Ateara. She was the widow of my uncle, and she began to explain my family tree.

"This is your grandfather, Quil Ateara the Third." She said, formally introducing the old man to me. "My husband was Quil Ateara the Forth and my son is Quil Ateara the Fifth."

"What happened to my uncle?" I asked quietly, not wanting to dig up scars from the past.

"He died in a storm while he was out fishing." My aunt said quietly, looking out the window. "Quil was still very young…"

Spike touched my shoulder, his gaze fixed out the window. "Come on, Luna. It's getting late and we better head out. We'll stay close so that you can talk again tomorrow."

I looked at my friend and nodded.

"Wait. It's getting late and I'm not comfortable with you driving in the dark." My aunt said. "Stay the night. We can work something out."

Spike looked at me and shrugged. "I'm not used to driving on wet roads."

"Thank you." I said, smiling at my aunt and grandfather. "We appreciate the hospitality. If there is any way for us to help out, just ask."

My aunt smiled. "It's only a pleasure, hun."

"Are there any stores close by?" Spike asked.

My aunt nodded and gave him directions. Spike was giving me the space to talk to my family in private.

"I'll see you soon." Spike said, leaving the house.

Once he was gone, I turned back to my grandfather.

"I can't believe Hank lied to me for so long." I said. "About his family…"

"Hank was always getting into trouble. His only goal in life was to get out of La Push and make a name for himself. He didn't appreciate the simpler life we had out here."

I gave my grandfather a half smile. "He didn't want to be a fisherman."

My grandfather laughed. "Yes, that's true. Did he ever tell you about the legends of the area?"

"It has something to do with the symbol, right?" I replied, suddenly interested in the conversation. "People turning into wolves, the Cold Ones…"

"I'm surprised he told you." My grandfather said with a nod. "Hank always thought those stories were… farfetched."

"He told them to me when I was a kid." I smiled fondly at the memory. "Bed time stories."

"What happened to your father?" Old Quil asked.

I saw the deeper meaning to the questions and chose my answer carefully.

"He got too busy with the business. I see him once every three months for lunch." I said with a sigh, "My mom is not much better. That's why I needed to get away from them."

Not wanting the old man to see the tears in my eyes, I looked out the window.

"She hated me, you know. She made me call her Cami. Not mom. I was never allowed to call her mom. And she blamed me for… Well, for everything I guess. I was never good enough or beautiful enough for her. In fact, she was glad when I told her I was leaving."

Anger was building inside of me, but I swallowed it down. By clenching my hands into fists, I managed to mask the shaking.

"It's alright, Luna." Old Quil said.

I stood up. "Sorry, I just need to go outside for a while."

"Take your time." He said, touching my hand as I left.

Quil Ateara (Old Quil)

I watched Luna as she left the house, noticing that she was tall for her age. Taller than what her genetics would allow. My hand was still warm from touching hers, but it was clear that she was running a slight temperature. Nothing that was too noticeable, but it was there.

"What do you think?" Joy asked as she came from the kitchen.

She sounded worried; she knew Luna's fate just as well as I did.

"I'm not sure." I said, distracted as I tried to put the pieces together. "It's possible she could go through the transformation, like Leah did. But then, according to the stories, girls shouldn't be turning into wolves."

Joy went a little pale. "That poor girl. And she had no idea?"

"None." I said with a slight shake of my head. "Maybe we should let her stay indefinitely. See where things go from there."

Joy nodded. "Things are going to be tight, but we can manage. Quil will be happy to share his room, but it will hinder his patrols at night."

I frowned, thinking. "She doesn't seem to be as… shallow as her father and mother. Maybe we let her stay with you until something else can be arranged."

"That poor girl." Joy said, not really directing her words at anyone.