Chapter Six-"If Werewolves and Vampires Exist, Why Shouldn't Sea Monsters?"

As you may have already guessed, I've made quite a first impression. Between lowering Sam's chances of having little freaky child-puppies or accidently proving to the entire pack that I am, in fact, a girl, the last thing I want to do is face any of them right now. But here I am, sitting in Sam Uley's kitchen, redder than the wax apples in a bowl on her kitchen table.

Thank God I had brought some extra clothes. I ripped my own clothes (which included my favorite weekend jeans!) to shreds and the boys were only carrying shorts. Thank God twice none of them offered to spare their only article of clothing for me, the only thing more humiliating then them seeing me naked. I dodged behind a tree, fighting the waves of humiliation, and took the backpack they tossed my way with shaky hands.

We walked silently back to Uley's house, the sun bright in the sky by the time we returned. Emily didn't really know what was going on, but she already had a mountain of pancakes set up for us when we got back. I almost experienced cultural shock twice. A woman. In a dress. Making pancakes. In the kitchen. My mother's version of cooking breakfast would be throwing a bagel at me as I'm walking out the door, and the closest thing to homemade pancakes is a takeout box at McDonalds. As if I don't have enough to worry about, now I have freakin' Martha Stewart making me breakfast and I have no idea if I should just sit there or offer to do the dishes.

Sam introduces the pack to me. Most of them, I already met. The others are Jared and Seth, who's the youngest.

I catch everyone making glances at me, some more deliberate than others. The only two who seem to be comfortable with it are Sam and Jared. Sam looks older than me, plus he's engaged, so I can understand that, but I expected less from Jared. So far, I like him best.

Sam leaves to talk to the "elders," whoever they are. Jake, Jared, and Seth go patrol the forest. It's a basic routine, apparently. No biggy. As if I'll ever really be cool with this. Quil and Paul go get some sleep. Between running me over and taking me to the hospital, it's been a very exhausting day for them. Boohoo. Embry offers to show me around the place before school, and, since no one's offered me a place to catnap, I decide it'll pass the time.

I make myself some coffee, under the protests of Emily. No offense to her or anything, but I bet even Miss Martha Stewart can brew up coffee the way I like it.

After chugging down my second mug, I follow Embry as he shows me their cute little excuse for a town. One convenience store, a school the size our library, a tourist shop, a diner, a nine-bedroom inn, a library, an old music shop, and a clothing store are all they have to show for it. Apparently if you need a doctor, a mechanic, or anything relatively important, you go into Forks. Adorable. I swear, I made a bigger town in preschool out of play dough and chewed up blocks.

He's lived on the Rez his entire life and doesn't realize how incredibly bizarre this whole place is to me, their deep dark tribe secrets aside. As he talks me through the tour, he tries not to look at me much, which is fine with me, but he seems friendly enough. He describes it as if it's one giant family, pointing out who lives where, who runs what, and sometimes throws in some out of the ordinary information. When he does, his dark eyes seem to brighten and he smiles.

It doesn't take me long to realize that he's got a nice smile. It's warm and natural, like a fresh Toll House cookie after walking six blocks through sleet to get, the kind where you can split it down the middle and see the melted chocolate chips. It's one thing I like here versus the fifty-nine things I don't.

The most exciting part of the trip, however, is the beach. I've only seen pictures of beaches in books or on TV, and the only time I've ever been a pool of water bigger than my bathtub was the community pool at the Y. My new senses enhance the experience. Seagulls fly in circles above me and the black waves roll calmly up the rocky shore.

"So this is the beach. A few blocks down from here, there's a surf shop, but that's mostly for the tourists we get around the summer. The locals tend to hang out here….what are you looking at?"

I shrug at him. I guess he caught me staring longer than I should. "Everything," I reply. "I'm not used to this kind of thing back home. It's sort of…cool."

"This kind of thing? Aren't you from California?" His tone is doubtful.

"We're not along the coastline. It's mostly just asphalt and concrete, unless you live on the south side of town."

"What's on the south side?"

"Plastic grass," I answer with a smirk.

He barks out a laugh. "Wow. So that's what the cities like, huh?"

"Well, that's Westridge."

"Sound's pretty weird."

I whip my head around to make a face at him. "Weird? May I remind you that there are bloody werewolves patrolling the town's borders for vampires as we speak?"

He considers this for a moment. "True."

We walk down to the beach, and I feel the way my shoes sink into the sand. Embry starts laughing at me.

"Just take your shoes off," he insists. I'm hesitant, but since werewolves apparently can't catch colds, I decide why not. I run my toes through the sand. It's dry and squishy, like the sandbox Toby and I used to play in. When we get to the water, I know I've really made his day.

"Really?" he asks skeptically. "You're afraid of a little water?"

"I'm not afraid," I answer defiantly, my cheeks turning hot. I hope he doesn't recognize the building color in my cheeks, but since he's only a few feet away, he probably does.

"Then what's the matter? You've been swimming before, haven't you?"

"Of course I've swam before!" I retort, which isn't technically a lie. I did, when I was four, and I had floaties.

"Then get your little butt over here and show me."

When he mentions my butt, my cheeks get hotter, but I don't move my feet. I cock my head to the side. "How do I know the Loch Ness Monster isn't swimming around in there?"

Embry rolls his eyes at me. "Don't be ridiculous. Everybody knows a werewolf could totally take down a sea monster."

"I'm not wearing a bathing suit," I come back with, staring down at my rolled up jeans and T-shirt.

He gives an exasperated sigh, walks over to me, and shockingly, hoists me up over his shoulder. "This is ridiculous," I hear him mutter and he starts pacing down to the water. My cheeks are on fire now. I'm kicking and throwing punches at his back, but he doesn't notice or he doesn't show it. We're a good four feet out, which a few inches over his waist, when he stops. My heart freezes.

"Now all you gotta do is kick your legs, okay. Take a deep breath and hold it. You're gonna be fine."

"Go to hell," I yell at him as I'm clinging to his back for dear life. I'm staring wide-eyed at the black water below and I swallow.

He pries me off him and tosses me into the water. I'm in midflight for one whole second before I hit the water below. I start thrashing around wildly before I realize I can stand up. I choke and gasp due to the giant amount of seawater I just inhaled.

"I told you to hold your breath," he replies, a wicked grin on his face. I push my dripping hair back from my face to glare at him. "It's official."

"What's official?"

"I like Quil better than you."

He smiles again, takes my hand, and helps me back to shore. That's when the cell phone by my left shoe rings, and Embry answers.

"Hey, Sam….Yeah. She's with me…Okay…Bye."

"What now?" I ask, almost annoyed. I ring my hair out and slip my shoes on, even if my feet are now covered in sand.

"That was Sam," Well duh. "He wants us to meet him at Billy's house. He found a room for you."