"Well, basically, I'm a wolf shape-shifter," I whispered, once I'd phased back. I sat, somewhat crouched before my two best friends, tears freezing as they rolled down my cheeks. It was well after midnight, below freezing, and beginning to snow. And I was naked. Not at all a good combination. "I'll explain everything, but can I just get dressed first?" Maryse and Summer nodded simultaneously, still entranced by my transformation from human to wolf and back to human. Summer hurried into the shed and came out with her pink fuzzy bathrobe and a pair of matching slippers.

Handing me her robe and slippers, she attempted a weak smile. "See? I'm always trying to tell you guys, but it really comes in handy sometimes to over-pack." Maryse and I laughed anxiously, as I slid into the robe and slippers.

"I'll be right back, okay? I'm just gonna get new pajamas on and I'll get you guys some coffee. The explanation might take awhile," I told them, before running to the back door of my house. I crept through the halls and up the stairs to my bedroom, hoping to avoid waking my mom. Collin was on patrol on Monday nights, so I didn't have to worry about waking him up.

I reached my room and carefully pushed open the door. I turned on the overhead light, brightening the room. Geez, was it a mess. I needed to clean up, I realized, as I tripped over a pile of schoolbooks and loose papers. I'd have to do that tomorrow. I quickly and silently pulled on some clothes before going back downstairs to start a pot of coffee.

I made the coffee and added plenty of sugar and milk to it. The three of us all liked our coffee the same way: more sugar than coffee. After grabbing three sage-green mugs and the thermos, I rushed back to the shed to meet my friends, who were probably impatiently awaiting answers.

I pushed the door open with my elbow and slipped inside the shed. Summer was sitting against the back wall of the shed, anxiously checking her phone. She looked up when I came in and threw her phone onto her overnight bag. "Alright, C. We need to know what's going on."

Maryse was lying on her stomach, feet in the air, one hand under her chin- as usual- and the other nervously twisting a lock of her hair. Her eyes were wide, and were darting from me to Summer and back down again, like wild gray-green birds caged within her dark lashes.

"Well, the story starts two weeks ago, on my birthday," I said, my voice sounding a bit shaky as I handed Summer and Maryse their cups of coffee. I was really nervous as to how they would handle this new information. They hadn't run away screaming yet- which was a good sign- but who knew what they would do once they had their answers? I wasn't so sure I wanted to know.

"You know how I got sick all of a sudden?" They nodded. "It was one of the scariest moments of my life. I just felt all wrong in my own skin, like I was suddenly being turned inside out. Collin hurried me home, and not ten minutes after I was home, I began to phase. Shaking overtook me, and next thing I knew I was this huge beast of white fur. My mom started to cry and Collin just shook his head sadly. It was awful. The worst part were the voices in my head."

"Voices in your head?" Maryse asked, alarm in her voice.

"Yeah. You see, I'm not the only 'werewolf'. There are more of us. And we can talk to each other through our minds when we're in our wolf-forms. And Leah Clearwater and I, we're the only girl wolves. We don't know why that is, but for whatever reason, only two girls have had the dominant gene to turn into wolves. It's all because of our ancestors. You guys know the legends, right?"

Summer murmured as soft yes, and I continued on, "There aren't werewolves every generation, of course. We only crop up when the enemy is living nearby. The enemy is the vampire. Yes, Maryse, vampires are real," I said in response to her quizzical expression. Her face lit up in delight.

"You can't be serious, C. All those mythical creatures are real? And you're one of them? It's just so unbelievable. But, truly fantastic," Maryse sighed, happily. She was lost in one of her daydreams. I should've known she'd think it was cool that I was part of the 'mythical creature' population. It was just like something out one of her fantasy books she was always reading.

"Fantastic isn't exactly how I'd describe it, but to each his own, I guess," I smiled tentatively. "Getting back to the story, a lot of the Quileute boys we know are werewolves. Sam Uley, Jacob Black, Seth Clearwater, Collin, Brady…"

"Brady's a werewolf?!" Summer called out in alarm.

"Yeah, he is. He's actually my patrol partner. He's been really helpful with the transition," I told her, trying to calm her down a bit. "Anyway, phasing is really difficult to control in the beginning. I've only been an active shape-shifter for two weeks now, so I still have a lot of trouble controlling it. Usually anger or extreme sadness triggers it. Jealousy, too. After awhile, it gets easier, or so Sam has told me."

Suddenly, an expression of revelation crossed Summer's face. It was obvious a "light-bulb" had gone off, and she was suddenly putting something together. She grinned wickedly. "So wait, did your anger over me almost doing it cause you to phase? Or was it jealousy over whom I was about to do it with?"

I stared at her, not fully understanding. Then the realization crept over me. Summer could tell I had a crush on Brady. "Alright, I'll fess up. I like Brady. A lot. But now that he's been with you, I don't really know how I feel about it…."

Summer smiled, "I knew you liked him. I just knew it. And anyway, we didn't actually do it. We almost did. But then, Brady got all weird, saying stuff like he didn't really care to do it with me. He kept muttering about how he'd rather wait for his imprint to do it with, which was weird because I had no idea what he meant. I decided I didn't really like him much at all anymore, anyway. So I dumped him."

Summer's words made me feel incredibly relieved. It was still going to be a bit weird and awkward, but Summer didn't mind that I liked Brady and the fact that they hadn't "gone all the way" alleviated some of the awkwardness.

"Do you know what he meant by imprint, C?" Summer asked me.

"Yeah, an imprint is sort of like a shape-shifter's soulmate. It's this whole love at first sight sort of thing. Maryse, you'd probably love it. Me on the other hand, not so much. I just think it's kind of silly. But apparently, it's like real true love. Sam imprinted on Emily, Jacob imprinted on Nessie- which explains their weird behavior." I decided to leave out the fact that Nessie was half-vampire. Less information about the vamps was probably for the best.

"Wow, that would be kind of neat," Maryse smiled. "Did you imprint on anyone?"

I shook my head. "No, and I don't want to. I'm much happier doing things the normal human way. I think I'd feel sort of cheated out of different experiences if I imprinted. I'd be stuck with that one guy for life."

"I guess that's true. So are you and Brady going to start going out or anything?"

I shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine. I like him a lot. More than I think I've really ever like any other guy. But he has this thing where he likes to call me "Little Sis" and I guess that's just his way of making things clear that that's all I'll ever be to him." I sighed. Love was a tricky business. Perhaps imprinting wasn't so terrible after all.

Summer yawned loudly, stretching her arms high up over her head. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm exhausted. And I think we've had enough secret-spilling and surprises for one night, don't you think?"

I laughed quietly. "Yeah, I suppose you're right, S."

I turned out the light, and we all slipped into our sleeping bags. "Goodnight," I whispered softly.

Both of my best friends quietly whispered back, "Goodnight."

A/N: I've been thinking about doing two spin-off stories, one for Maryse and one for Summer. I'm not sure yet, though. What do you guys think? Would you read Maryse and Summer's stories?

And I want to say thank you for all of you who have reviewed! Your feedback makes me day :)