And now things are getting interesting! Most of the story from here on is going to be Miriam's POV, but Seth gets a few moments here and there as well. So far I haven't gotten a lot of reviews, but it's really early in the fic, so I'm hoping to get more (hint hint).

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Twilight. Wish I did, but I don't. I only own Miriam, Elsie, and Mackenzie.

WORD COUNT: 2350


Monday, April 19th, 2032

Lunch and fourth period went by at a snail's pace, and fifth period was even slower. I kept glancing at the clock every minute or so, completely ignoring Mr. Gaines's math lesson going on up front. Elsie was almost as anxious; she kept looking at her watch and tapping her pen impatiently on her desk.

I always looked forward to the end of the school day – really, who doesn't? – but never as much as this. Mr. Hale seemed to know something about me that I didn't, so naturally I was dying to find out. On the other hand, I was also dreading going to his office. Part of me was terrified of that man, especially after he just shattered that pen with his bare hands. And those scars... What the hell had happened to him? It'd looked like he'd been bitten hundreds of times over and over again, especially around the face and neck. I couldn't believe he'd lived through that. What fate awaited Elsie and I when we went to see him after class?

Ages later, the bell finally rang. Elsie and I quickly gathered our books and, instead of heading to our lockers, took off for Mr. Hale's office.

His door was shut, so we stood outside awkwardly, wondering if we should knock. A minute later, it opened, and Mackenzie Cahill stepped out. Both of us took a cautious three big steps backwards, as he was known for being in a constant bad mood that 'therapy' only worsened. Shockingly, he was calm. Serene, even. The small, relaxed smile on his face seemed out of place, completely alien. He turned to look over his shoulder and back into the office. "Thanks, Mr. Hale," he said calmly, "That talk really helped." He edged past us politely and made his way down the hallway, humming to himself.

"What happened to him?" Elsie whispered, "Man, that Mr. Hale is good!"

"Thank you." Mr. Hale appeared at the door, startling us. "I was worried you'd be too nervous to show up, Miriam."

I gulped. "How'd you figure that?"

He smiled wryly. "Let's just say I have a certain... talent for picking up on things like that. That's why I decided to go into this line of work."

"Oh... Okay. What do you want to talk to me about?"

First, I need to be sure of a hunch I've got. Earlier you said that you didn't think you were completely human. If I'm wrong, then I can't help you, but if I'm right, and I'm sure I am, then I know exactly who you are. First things first, I need you to answer a simple question: you are adopted, correct?"

I was surprised by such a random question. "Yeah, Andrew and Catherine Darville adopted me when I was five."

"And you don't know anything about your birth parents?"

"No, the foster parents I first had just said that a doctor they knew wanted me to go with them. I don't know if he was a father or a family friend. What does this have to do anything, though?"

"Trust me, it's important. We need to go into the woods to prove my theory, though."

"Why?" Elsie asked somewhat suspiciously.

"A test. Come on." He shut his door behind him and nodded toward the rarely-used side exit. No one was in the hallway now, so nobody saw the three of us leave and head into the forest by the football field.

I shifted by bag from my shoulder to my hand, ready to swing it at Mr. Hale if he tried anything. Why else would a young male teacher take a couple female students into the woods, where no one could hear their screams? 'This is suicidal, Miriam,' a voice in the back of my head warned, 'Turn around and run, scream, do SOMETHING!'

'But he might know something about who – or what – you are,' another one argued, 'You have to find out!'

'No, it's way too sketchy. Get out of here while you still can!'

'Oh, shut up, you! Look, Miriam, you probably won't get another chance! Go for it!'

I tuned out the voices as Mr. Hale, Elsie, and I stopped suddenly. They were as annoying as the angels and devils that appeared on people's shoulders in cartoons. Even more so, because I wasn't sure which one was the angel and which was the devil.

Mr. Hale picked up a random t-shirt that had been lying on the ground, holding it with just the tips of one finger and thumb. "Close your eyes," he instructed me.

"What?"

"Please, trust me. Just close your eyes." I huffed and did so. "Now, what do you hear?"

I focused, humouring him. I could hear the wind rustling through the leaves of the trees and scattering the remaining snow, running water in Bear River not too far away, the rumble of car engines as they left the school parking lot, and... heartbeats. I counted two of them close by. One was my own, and the other had to be Elsie's, given that it came from right beside me.

But when I listened for Mr. Hale's heart, I couldn't find it.

"Two heartbeats," I murmured, "But I can't hear yours. It's like you're not even there."

"I thought so. Now, what do you smell?"

I cracked one eye open. "Huh? How's this proving anything?"

"Just focus. Focus on all the scents around you."

I did so, not sure exactly what kind of weird game he was playing at. Plenty different aromas surrounded me. The first I picked out was tobacco smoke. There were a few smoking areas around the school. Then I recognised the odour of Elsie's lavender body lotion, and a sweeter one from Mr. Hale, as well as a slightly musky smell coming from the shirt.

"Alright, now. This shirt belongs to one of my friends, and he's somewhere in this forest. Try to find him only using the scent from this." Even though I still had my eyes closed, I could hear him tossing it to me, and I caught it easily.

I held the shirt to my nose and inhaled, absorbing the scent. It was rather nice when I thought about it. Slowly opening my eyes, I looked around, breathing deeply. I could smell every separate odour around me, now that I was focused on the task. Several trails crisscrossed the forest floor, some of them animals, and some of them more... human-like. Ignoring the fact that I had no clue how exactly I knew that, I searched for a scent that matched the shirt.

Now, you're probably wondering why the hell I was actually going along with this, when just a minute earlier I'd been fully prepared to smack Mr. Hale with my backpack and make a run for it. But... it's hard to explain. I just felt this drive to follow the trail, like meditating on my sense of smell and hearing had awoken the tracker in me. But go ahead, you can still think I was nuts.

Many similar, musky odours had once grouped around the spot where the t-shirt had been abandoned. They'd arrived together, then split off in different directions. I identified four different sources, one of them matching the shirt. It led deeper into the woods, but I followed it anyway. Elsie and Mr. Hale hurried behind me. Well, maybe not 'hurried'. Elsie may have been struggling to keep up, but Mr. Hale moved along with ease. I could tell from what I heard in their footsteps behind me.

I continued to follow the invisible trail. Occasionally, the other scents crossed over it, but I kept my focus. I almost lost my concentration, however, when I heard a new heartbeat about twenty yards away. I looked up to see a dark-haired, tan-skinned young man leaning casually against a tree. He was barefoot, wearing only a ragged pair of cut-off jeans and a worn, brown t-shirt. Elsie gasped when she saw him. "There!" she cried, jogging towards him.

I started after her, but stopped. I was directly downwind from him now, and I could smell him clearly. "No," I stated, "It's not him. Besides, he's still got his shirt. And here I thought you were the smart one." She glared at me.

Mr. Hale chuckled slightly. "Nice try, Embry," he said, "Come on, let's see if she can find the kid, too."

Grinning, 'Embry' loped over. I realised when he got closer that he was really tall. Seriously, Mr. Hale was no shorty, and this guy was a head or two taller than him! Once Elsie realised this, she scurried over to me. "Maybe we should make a run for it," she whispered, "Before more come and we're outnumbered!"

I shook my head. "I don't think they're going to hurt us." With that, I found the trail again and continued following it until it led to the base of a very tall tree with lots of thick branches. Even though the new spring leaves hadn't fully grown in yet, it was impossible to see the sky between the giant limbs, except maybe for a small crack here or there.

Mr. Hale released an exasperated sigh. "I told him not to do that," he groaned. He shouted up into the treetops. "Seth!" It wasn't like he was shouting, really. He barely even raised his voice. "I explicitly remember saying you had to stay out of the trees!"

"I got bored!" another voice called down. I felt my heart jump a little at the sound, although I had no clue why. "Why can't she just come up here?"

"Come on, Seth!" Embry added, "I think we've proven Jazz's theory!"

I consider sitting and listening to them arguing with the guy and waiting for him to come down. But as entertaining as that might be, I had to be home by three to let Brooke into the house and pick the twins up from daycare. I didn't have all day. Bending my knees, I leapt up to catch the lowest branch, about five feet above my head. It zoomed easily into my grasp, and I started climbing up.

And up...

And up...

Until I was nose-to-nose with the hottest guy I'd ever seen. He had the same hair colour and skin tone as Embry, and glittering black eyes. He was barefoot, too, and didn't have a shirt, revealing a circular tribal-design tattoo on his left shoulder. "Hi," he greeted me. The sound of his voice up close made me breathless.

"Hi," I gasped back, "I guess you're Seth, right?" I couldn't stop staring into his brown eyes. They were so warm, so full of life.

"Seth, get down here!" Mr. Hale's voice rudely interrupted us. "Miriam, there's someone here I'd like you to meet!" I sighed and broke my gaze with Seth. I clambered down a few feet before dropping down the rest of the way. I landed with surprising ease, and Seth came down right beside me in the same manner.

Two other guys had shown up. Like Seth and Embry, they all had deeply tanned skin, black hair, and dark eyes, and were very tall and well-muscled.

One of them, the biggest one, looked strangely familiar to me. "Miriam, I'd like to introduce you to Jacob Black, Quil Ateara, Embry Call, and Seth Clearwater. They're close friends."

"Hi," I greeted them shyly.

"Earlier today, you said you weren't sure if you were completely human. You were right, and I know what you are."

I swallowed hard. Remembering that brought my good mood right back down. "So what is it?"

Mr. Hale smiled. "I know this is going to sound crazy, but you are one-quarter human, one-quarter vampire, and half shapeshifter."

...

"What?"

"Your parents are very close friends of mine. In fact, Jacob here is your dad."

I stared at the man he'd referred to as Jacob Black. He had to be in his mid to late twenties! That would put him at around ten years old when I was born. It was impossible that he could be my father. Older brother, maybe, but definitely not my father.

"Don't let their appearances fool you," Mr. Hale continued, "These guys haven't aged in about twenty-five years. The same goes for your mother; she aged very fast for seven years and then stopped around the physical age of seventeen. It's because she's half vampire. Her mother was human when she gave birth, but now she's a vampire, too."

It was insane, implausible, and unbelievable, but I couldn't help but think that it was all real. "Explain it a bit more," I insisted.

"You actually believe this?" Elsie asked incredulously, "This is like something out of a fantasy book!"

"I know, but I can't help it. It feels like I've known this my whole life." I turned back to Mr. Hale. "But how are you involved in all this?"

"Your maternal grandfather is my brother of sorts. We're part of a vegetarian vampire coven, meaning that we live off the blood of animals, not humans. Your mother, Nessie, is a vampire-human hybrid, and she married Jacob. Ten years after she was born, they had you, but couldn't keep you. I couldn't believe it when I put two and two together and realized you were their lost daughter. If you'd like, I can take you to meet your mom and the rest of your family."

My family? "Yes please!" I blurted out those words the second I found my voice.


And so it really begins...

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