Chapter One

"It's so good to see you again sweetie," Embry's mom said as I set my bag down in the hallway. She pulled me into a tight hug and I smiled, remembering how long ago I was that I had visited last. But the house still looked and smelled the same.

"It's great to see you too Aunt Nina. I forgot how much I love it here," I replied, looking around to see the many pictures she had hanging on her walls. I laughed as I saw one of Embry when he was much younger. His front two teeth were missing, but he smiled proudly anyway, showing off his small fish to the camera.

"What do you think you're laughing at midget?" I heard a deep voice say from behind me, and before I could do a thing, Embry had picked me up in the air and started tickling me.

"Embry…please…stop!" I shrieked through my fit of laughter, but he just continued anyway.

"Come on, put Jeannette down," Aunt Nina said with a smile. Embry sighed and set me back on my feet, grinning down at me. And when I say down, I really meant it. It had been three years since I had been here, but even that wasn't long enough for anyone to have grown so much.

"Gosh, how tall are you now?" I asked.

"Six five and still growing," he said, "Why? Are you jealous cuz?"

I giggled. "No, not jealous, just…surprised!"

"Don't lie, you are jealous!" he told me matter-of-factly, poking my stomach. "I bet you wish you had actually grown some!"

I pretended to pout, and then, I childishly stuck my tongue out him. "Five three really isn't that short Em! It just looks that way when compared to a monster like you!"

He rolled his eyes and then easily picked up all three of my suitcases in one hand, gesturing for me to follow him with his other. He took me up a small flight of stairs, ducking his head under the doorframe.

"Sorry that you're stuck in the attic," he said sheepishly. "The house is kind of small, and mom and I never really needed more room then…"

But I cut him off "Embry, it's fine. Nice and cozy! I'm just glad that your mom let me stay here while my mom is…never mind," I said, catching myself before I said too much.

He looked at me, slightly confused, but didn't push the subject. "It's no problem. Mom loves having you here. Every time you used to visit, she would talk about you for at least a week after," he told me, rolling his eyes again at the thought. I laughed at this, and then we were both quiet for a few moments.

"It's nice here," I said absentmindedly as I pushed the suitcases into the closet. I would deal with them later. "It's nothing like home, but in a way, I kind of think that's a good thing."

Embry nodded, and leaned back against the door. "Wanna go out to eat?" he asked out of nowhere, "I know this place down the road that makes the best burgers!"

"Sure," I replied smiling. "Are we walking?"

"Yeah. I don't exactly have a car, and it's really not that far away," he told me hesitantly.

"Okay, lead the way then!"

It only took about ten minutes to get there, and the walk allowed me to see how beautiful the reservation was. Everyone lived in small houses that to some people may have looked cramped, but to me, just looked very homey. I smiled as we passed a few deer, amused at how they backed slowly away from Embry as he passed. I had to admit that he was pretty frightening looking if you didn't know him.

We walked up to the front door and then out of no where, two boys stepped out in front of me. I jumped back, accidentally stepping on Embry's foot.

"Chill cuz," he said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "This is Seth and Quil, my friends from the reservation."

I looked up at the two of them, and realized that they weren't exactly boys like I had first thought. They had to be just as tall as Embry was, and just as big. How old were they?

"Is every one of your friends as tall as you Em?" I asked him.

The three of them laughed at something I didn't understand. "Yeah, pretty much!"

Then Quil turned to Embry with a suddenly serious face. "Sam needs us…now!"

"Now?" Embry questioned, "But I didn't hear…"

This time Seth piped up. "He sent us to find you, but we didn't know that she would be here. I guess she could stay at Emily's place. This shouldn't take too long,"

I stood there silent, without any clue of what they were talking about. Only that the conversation had turned towards me.

"Sorry for being rude," Quil said with a soft smile, looking at me again. "I'm Quil Artera and this is Seth Clearwater. You must be Jeannette, Embry's cousin."

I nodded, "Nice to meet you!"

Then Embry pulled on my elbow, away from the restaurant. "Change of plans. My friends and I need to be somewhere, and I'm sorry it's on such short notice. But like Seth said, it shouldn't take long at all. You wouldn't mind waiting with one of our other friends Emily would you?" he asked.

"No, I don't see why not," I replied, knowing that I didn't really many other options. I reminded myself to ask Embry about his "friends" later. It seemed a little different then that; almost like...a gang?

Embry led me through the parking lot, following Seth and Quil. We stopped in front of a small pick-up truck. "We're not all going to fit in the front," he said, stating the obvious. I was pretty sure that not even two of these overgrown boys would fit in the front.

"I'll ride in the back," Seth eagerly said, hopping into the bed of the truck. Embry then pushed me into the seat beside Quil. I was wedged uncomfortably between two giants, with no idea where we were headed. This day was proving to be pretty interesting.