Chapter 1: First Encounter
I ran through the lush forest, using my nose to guide me. I hadn't fed in three weeks and the burning in my throat was becoming unbearable. I didn't know why I'd decided to torture myself and wait so long to feed—normally I would do it every few days to stop myself from getting too thirsty. I took a deep breath to clear my head and concentrate on the air around me.
I could smell the grass, the trees, some wildflowers, and the fresh, aquatic scent of a stream nearby…
I closed my eyes and listened carefully to the sounds around me. I could hear the stream flowing to the west and as I focused my hearing, I thought I heard…
A heartbeat.
I turned towards that direction and inhaled deeply, taking in the sweet, succulent scent of blood. I kept my eyes closed and kept listening, hearing multiple heartbeats. It sounded like a group.
I shot off towards them and didn't hesitate as I took down two of them, barely registering that the rest of the herd had run off. I snapped the necks of both of the elk and drained them of their blood, instantly feeling the burning in my throat subside.
I wasn't sure where I was exactly, but it was drizzling rain. The last time I'd checked, I'd been in Tacoma and then I'd run off to feed, allowing my feet to guide me. I hadn't encountered anything worthwhile until I'd ended up here—wherever here was. I put my duffel bag on the ground, sat on the riverbank, and looked around, spinning my ring on my finger as if it was a nervous habit.
Before coming to Washington, I'd been in Vancouver but I hadn't stayed there very long. I'd realized that I'd hit a dead end in the search that I was on and I'd felt like Vancouver was a place where I could easily be found, and that was the absolute last thing I wanted.
It wasn't easy being both the hunter and the hunted.
I was about to pull my phone out of my bag to figure out exactly where I was, when I tensed, hearing a twig snapping in the distance. I rose from the riverbank, completely on guard.
The smell hit me before my eyes could make out what was emerging from the trees. It smelled like a wet dog and it made me crinkle my nose slightly.
Immediately, I sank into a defensive crouch, watching the trees where I'd heard the noise. Through the trees, I could see the glint of a pair of golden eyes stalking towards me. As it approached me, I realized that it was a giant wolf. Its' fur was as black as night and it was absolutely massive. Its' teeth were bared at me just as mine were at it. Behind the wolf, two more appeared, one a chocolate brown colour and the other slate grey.
The black wolf let out a low growl and I bent further into my defensive stance. My mind was reeling—I was strong but these were bigger than any wolves I'd ever encountered before and I was completely outnumbered. If it came to it, my best option was to just run away. I should've bolted away by that point, but something had kept me rooted to the ground where I was.
It was a feeling I wasn't used to, something I hadn't truly felt in years.
Fear.
Suddenly the black wolf's body began to shift and change, its' body shrinking and fur disappearing until a man with jet black hair and copper coloured skin stood before me. He swiftly pulled on a pair of shorts that had been attached to his leg by a cord and he towered over me, scowling at me and not giving me a chance to say anything before he was speaking to me.
"You have broken the treaty," he growled. "You are waging a war."
"Treaty?" I asked, bewildered.
Surprise flitted across his face before it was replaced with the same scowl as before. "You are not part of the Cullen clan?"
"Who?"
The two other wolves also transformed into men, also pulling on their own pairs of shorts and flanking the first guy. The three of them all towered over me and their muscular bodies would intimidate any human who got in their way; I immediately began to estimate my chances of winning a fight, but I knew that even with my vampiric strength they'd likely take me down without much effort. They all looked similar as if they were related, but for some reason the one who'd been the grey wolf was standing out to me. He had slightly angular and sharp features, yet there was a kindness deep in his dark brown eyes that wasn't present with the other two.
And his eyes were trained on me.
I felt the intensity from his gaze and met his eyes, brow furrowed and wondering why he was staring at me so intently. For some reason, I was finding it difficult to look away from him.
"What do we do with her?" the one who'd had the brown fur asked, finally drawing my gaze away from the man who'd been the grey wolf. I cocked a brow at him and smirked. What were they going to do with me?
The one who'd had the grey fur spoke swiftly in a language that I didn't recognize and that threw me off. During my travels, I'd been able to pick up many languages through the years and it wasn't normal for me to encounter one that I'd never heard before.
While the one who'd had the grey fur spoke, I noticed that he still hadn't taken his eyes off of me. Had he not been speaking another language, I would have assumed that he was speaking to me, given how intensely he was still looking at me. The one who'd had the black fur looked surprised, while the one who'd had the brown fur looked distressed.
"You can't do anything to her, Sam," the grey wolf said, addressing the first man. "You can't hurt her."
I was getting more than a little irritated, but I decided that my best plan of action would be to just stay silent for the time being. I'd just seen these men transform from wolves into men in front of my eyes. I'd never encountered anything like this before and while I had no idea what was going on, the smartest thing to do was to stay quiet until I could find an escape route.
"What do you think of this, Jared?" Sam asked the one who'd had the brown fur.
Jared shrugged, feigning nonchalance. Despite his charade, I could see that he was distressed by whatever was going on. "He can't help it, you know how it feels."
"I do know how it feels, but has it ever happened this way?" Sam demanded. "Her kind is the enemy. This isn't right. Is it even following our laws?"
The other two didn't say anything—they seemed just as unsure about whatever the fuck was going on as Sam was.
From behind me, I could smell other vampires. I turned to see a tiny woman with a short, jet black pixie cut standing with a tall, blond man. They surveyed the scene in front of them and I noticed that they both had golden eyes just like mine.
I was a bit relieved by that—I didn't have the best history with vampires who fed on humans.
"Do we have permission to cross the border and talk?" the woman asked. I turned to look at Sam and he nodded. The two vampires came closer to me and stood to my right. "What's going on here?"
"You tell us," Sam replied. "We found her hunting on our land. We thought she was with you."
The woman turned to me. "What's your name?"
"Natalie."
"I'm Alice Cullen," she said with a warm smile. "Where did you come from?"
"Recently or originally?"
"Both," the man who'd had the grey fur replied—I still didn't know his name.
I glanced at him, wondering why he thought he'd answer a question that hadn't been asked of him, but I answered anyway, turning my attention back to Alice. "I grew up in Boston, but recently I've been in Vancouver and Tacoma trying to keep a low profile. I needed to hunt and I kept running until I ended up here." I decided to leave out the real reason that I'd come to Washington—I didn't know them well enough to trust them with that information yet. "I didn't know anything about a treaty or a coven or anything here."
"It wouldn't apply to you, anyway," Sam said gruffly. "You aren't part of the Cullen clan. You have permission to come into La Push as you please."
"I didn't plan on staying here," I said. I noticed the guy who'd been the grey wolf stiffen slightly, but I didn't look at him for too long before Alice grasped my arm, drawing my attention back to her.
"Since you're here now, you're more than welcome to stay with us," she offered. "We share the same lifestyle and we have tonnes of extra space. There are only five more of us—soon to be six—none of us would mind, I promise."
"I don't want to be a burden," I said. She rolled her eyes at me and gave me a pointed look. "Like I said, I wasn't planning on staying here. I have some things that I need to take care of."
"At least come and meet the rest of us!" she pleaded. "I'm sure whatever business you need to attend to can wait just a little bit?"
As much as I wanted to say no to her, I couldn't. Oddly enough, I was finding it difficult to decline her offer. It felt like, deep down, I craved what being part of a coven would give me. I craved the stability but most of all…I craved the protection that a coven of seven other vampires could provide to me. "Okay, fine, I'll stay for a little bit."
She clapped her tiny hands together. "Jasper, Esme will be so excited!"
"Esme?" I asked.
"You'll meet everyone soon enough," the vampire I now knew to be Jasper said with a slight Southern drawl.
"Can't wait," I muttered.
"Does that mean that she'll have to be part of the treaty?" the guy who's name I still didn't know asked. "If she joins them?"
"No…she can't be," Sam said. "I don't think that it would…work."
My brow furrowed. What Sam was saying wasn't making any sort of sense to me—what wouldn't work? Why couldn't I be part of the treaty?
"Do you want to head over to our house?" Alice asked, obviously not caring about whatever Sam was concerned about. "We can introduce you to everyone."
"Alright."
"Wait…" the grey wolf said.
"Can somebody please explain to me what the hell is going on?!" I demanded, temper flaring. "Who is he and why is he staring at me like this?!"
Sam took a deep breath and addressed him. "Are you going to tell her or should I?"
The one who'd been the grey wolf finally took his eyes off of me and turned away from everyone, but he kept his mouth shut. Sam looked at him expectantly for a few moments before exhaling deeply and turning back to me.
"His name is Paul, he's part of my pack, and he's imprinted on you."