Beta'd by the awesome, talented, oh-so-very amazing Sparkling-Iris.

Hello again! This an Embry OC Story.

What happens when Embry imprints on a girl who believes romance can only lead to heartache and pain? Sometimes even death.

AU: This current story is written in the pretense had Edward never returned. Victoria was defeated without creating a newborn army, because in all honesty sometimes, I think it's difficult to believe a bunch of wolves couldn't take down one lone vamp, no matter how damn fast she is…just saying. Thus meaning Jacob and Bella are together.

AU: Embry and Sam's father Joshua Uley returned to La Push an extremely wealthy man when Embry was 11 and Sam was 15, however the two grew up always knowing they were brothers and seemingly got along, so when Embry phased, it didn't shock the Elders or the other pack members. We'll dive more into that subject as the story progresses.

Warning: This story is rated M for a reason. There's discussions of drug abuse and other mature matters.

All recognizable Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, however the original characters and story are mine.

Pics of characters and places are up on my profile.

Current Ages:

Sam, Leah, Emily and Rachel are 23.

Bella is 21.

Embry, Jacob, Quil, Jared, Kim and Paul are 19.

Seth and Claire are 17.

Brady and Collin are 15.

All Twilight characters belong to SM.

Chapter One: A New Beginning

Ester POV

Corey Wells once wrote; "Believe it or not…life is not fair. Occasionally the bad guy wins, people do play favorites, some good people die young, some people will let you down, and not everyone is honest." Damn. Corey must have lived a life similar to mine. At the age of seventeen, I have seen and experienced more hardships and unfairness than most folks will in a thousand lifetimes. I truly am a survivor, still trying to survive.

It was a little after six o'clock when I arrived at the small shoebox apartment I shared with my mom Diane and younger sister Abigail, who I affectionately called Abby.

Most girls my age would probably be at the mall right now, maybe talking on the phone to their boyfriend, or cramming for some major exam the next day for school.

But I'm not most girls. I got my GED when I was sixteen after my mother relapsed again. Someone had to work full time in order to ensure the bills got paid, and although I had been working part-time since I was fourteen, twenty hours a week just wouldn't cut it anymore-not to mention my grades were really starting to take a major nose dive. Getting my GED was for the best.

My mother had struggled with all sorts of addictions for pretty much her entire life and I had personally seen her high on something more often than I'd seen her sober.

As I got out of my car, a small smile crept across my face when taking one more look at my purchase. A 1999 Toyota Corolla. I recently bought it from one of my co-workers at the distribution center. He sold it to me cheap, since he recently discovered he was going to be a dad and needed something bigger to accommodate his growing family. Dads. My smile slowly faded as I allowed myself to think about the one I lost. I missed him terribly.

My father was a former addict who met my mother during one of her many stints in rehab. He never turned back to street drugs because my mother became his new addiction. They say love is blind, but did it have to turn people into stupid spineless, weaklings as well? It did for my dad. I never understood how he could be so forgiving and understanding of her bullshit and the constant pain she put us through with her many relapses. Even when she cheated on him and got pregnant with Abigail, he didn't leave her! Instead, he took on the responsibility of being a father to my little sister. He signed her birth certificate and gave Abby his last name. He never made Abby feel like she wasn't his. Don't get me wrong, I love my little sister immensely. I just couldn't understand how my dad was able to as well. But he did.

It had been seven years since my father passed away from colon cancer, at least that's what the doctors wanted me to believe he died from; but I knew better. He may have been diagnosed with cancer, but loving Diane too much is what really killed him. From that day forward walking away from my father's burial site I made a vow to myself. Never fall in love. I have my sister. Abigail's love for me is unselfish and unconditional, just as mine is to her. To hell with romance.

I took a deep breath before walking inside, only to see my mom passed out on the sofa with a dirty syringe left out on the table. Her drug of choice tonight was heroin. I was furious as I stared down at her. "Diane!" I yelled her name. She didn't budge. "Diane, wake up!" I kicked the sofa this time.

"What?" She groaned, turning away from me.

"Where the hell did you get the money to buy this poison?!" I demanded. She started laughing quietly. "What's so damn funny?"

"You are." She sniggered, finally turning over to look at me with glazed-over eyes. Diane used to be beautiful, but years of drug abuse had taken her looks away. Her once light auburn flowing hair had lost its luster, and her dark brandy eyes had no life left in them. Her once flawless snowy skin was riddled with lesions from methamphetamine abuse. Abigail was a stunning uncontaminated, carbon copy of my mother. I on the other hand, favored my father. My skin was slightly darker, giving off the appearance of a natural year round tan, courtesy of my father's rich Native American roots. My hair was naturally jet black, but I lightened it with highlights. "Ya know Ester, if you want to hide money, you should do a better a job." She nodded her chin towards the kitchen. Shit! I hid $300 in an old cookie jar.

"How much did you spend?" I was livid.

"All of it." She murmured nonchalantly.

"Damn it, Diane! That was half of the rent money!" I screeched.

"Rent's not due until next week." She shrugged turning back over. "Besides, don't you get paid tomorrow?" She added before passing out again.

"You're fucking unbelievable." I mumbled as I stormed down our short narrow hallway to the bedroom I shared with Abigail. I proceeded to bang on the door; our radio was way too damn loud there was no way she could possibly hear me. Abby always locked the door whenever Diane got high, since she had a tendency to invite her druggy friends over. They were pretty unsavory characters; my little sis didn't trust them and neither did I.

"Go away you crazy bitch! I'm not letting you in!" My sister screamed over the music through the door.

"Abby, it's me!" I yelled.

"Thank god!" She exclaimed. It took her a while to unlock the door; I could hear furniture sliding from the other side before she was able to remove the chain and two extra locks I had installed for our safety. As the door flew open and I saw her face, my anger returned. Abby had a fresh bruise across her cheek.

"That bitch!" I snarled, examining my little sister's face. I then began to look over the rest of her body for any more battle wounds she may have received tonight for going at war with Diane, but she quickly jerked away.

"Please don't start anything with her tonight!" She begged me. "I'm fine." She assured, pulling me inside and relocking the door. "She was trying to come inside our room and I wouldn't let her. I was afraid she would find your money stash and see our packed bags." She whispered.

What Diane didn't know was that tonight would be the last time she'd ever see either one of us again. Since the day I started working when I was just fourteen, I had a plan; save up as much money as possible, buy a car, take Abby, and run away from this hell we called life. "I even found my birth certificate and social security card." I already had mine.

"Were you able to get your school transcripts?" I asked her.

"Sure did." She laughed, waving a large envelope in front of me. "I didn't even have to sneak into the principal's office. His student aid has a major crush on me. Did you get the fake ID?"

"Yup." I smirked. Although I already had a license, it showed my real age. Seventeen. I needed one that showed I was twenty-one. I pulled the fake license out of wallet and showed it to Abby.

"Wow! This thing looks real."

"It should, for what I paid for it."

Sneaking out with our bags was pretty easy, since Diane was still passed out. I pulled away from our apartment complex for the final time. I reached into my glove compartment and found the one sheet of paper that I held near and dear to my heart. The deed to my grandmother Ester's house given to me upon my father's deathbed; the childhood home my father grew up in, given to him after his mother died. It was ours now. Abigail and I were finally moving to La Push. Although we had never been there before any place is better than our current living situation.

Several Hours Later

A few hours on the road and Abby was in bad shape. It appeared she may have gotten some sort of stomach bug. I had already made several stops so she could use the restroom. We were starting to run out of daylight and I was in desperate need of sleep. Based upon the MapQuest directions, La Push was less than ten minutes from where we were.

"Pull over Essie, I think I'm going to hurl again!" My sister groaned. I quickly pulled over and helped her out of the car. Just as I pulled hair back into a makeshift ponytail, she began dry heaving. Panic stricken, I place my hand on my little sister's forehead. Shit! She was burning up!

"This isn't good Abby, I think I need to take you to the emergency room." I sighed heavily.

"No!" My sister began shaking her head frantically. "Doctors ask too many questions, you know that!" Abigail and I had, had a few trips to the ER in dealing with Hurricane Diane. We pretty much became experts at lying. We knew that if we ever told the doctors the truth about our home life, we'd be taken away, thrown into the system, and most likely separated forever. We loved one another so fiercely, that we'd much rather live in hell with Diane together, than in heaven apart.

"I have to do something. You're in bad shape." I argued, helping her back into the car. Once I got back in and tried to start the engine, it stalled. "Damn it!" I slammed my hands on the steering wheel, causing Abby to jump. "Sorry." I apologized for startling her, as I made another attempt to start my car again, but this time it wouldn't even make a sound. "Shit. This cannot be happening right now." We were in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a bunch of woods, in the middle of the night. Could life get any worse?

I rested my head against the steering wheel. Even though I had my cell phone, who could I call? Definitely not Diane. Just as I thought all hope was lost, a set of headlights pulled up behind us. "Stay in the car." I advised Abby as I got out.

I was relieved to find two middle aged women get out. "Are you having car trouble?" One of them asked, holding a flashlight in her hand. I simply nodded. The woman holding the flashlight had black hair and eyes with a thin face.

"I'll call Embry and see if he or one of the guys can tow it to their garage." The other woman smiled. "I'm Tiffany by the way, and this is Sue." Tiffany looked a little younger than Sue. She was quite attractive for someone her age.

"Is there anyone we can call that can come pick you up?" Sue asked as Tiffany walked back towards their car.

"No, I have no one." I answered honestly. "My sister and I were actually driving to La Push."

"La Push?" The two ladies replied, staring at me.

"I've lived in the reservation my whole entire life, and I've never seen you before." Sue gazed upon me suspiciously. "What is your name?"

"Ester…Ester Moonflower." Sue's eyes widened slightly as did Tiffany's. "I was named after my grandmother, my father was…"

"Timothy." Sue whispered. She knew my dad!

"That's right." I responded with relief. "How did you know them?"

"Ester Moonflower is a distant relative to Billy Black. He is the current chief of our tribe." Just as I was about to open my mouth, my passenger door flung open and Abigail nearly collapsed, I rushed to her side, followed by Sue.

"It hurts so much!" Abby sobbed, gripping her stomach.

"Let me take a look at her." Sue asked me, I immediately felt apprehensive, I didn't know who Sue really was, although she knew my father I didn't know her. I wasn't sure if I should trust her just yet. "I'm the tribal doctor." She revealed. "Ms. Call is my nursing assistant." She motioned for Tiffany to join her.

"I thought tribes had shamans, or medicine men," I grumbled.

"We have one of those too. But knowledge of modern medicine helps too." Tiffany smirked. "Embry and Jacob will come pick up your car."

"Who are they?" I wasn't just about to let a bunch of random men drive my car.

"Embry is Tiffany's son, Jacob is Billy's." Sue answered. "The sooner I can take a look at your sister, the sooner we can figure out what's ailing her." I took a deep breath and reluctantly handed Abby over to Sue. After examining her, she figured out what wrong was. "It appears your sister has food poisoning."

"Food poisoning?!" I exclaimed.

"The Sloppy Joes at school did taste a little off today." Abby grated.

"What happened to your face?" Tiffany asked noticing Diane's handiwork. Shit!

"School fight." Abby lied effortlessly. "You should see the other guy."

"We'll drive you two back to Tiffany's. It's closest." She helped my sister up. "Come on, we're going to get you something for the pain and get you some liquids, you're severely dehydrated." Abby nodded weakly.

"Thank you Sue." She needed to know I was grateful for her assistance, and I felt a little guilty for not trusting her initially. "I don't know how I can possibly repay you." I told her.

"You're with family now Ester, family helps one another." Evidently, Sue never met Diane.

A/N: So what do you guys think? Next chapter will be Embry's POV. Review, add to your favorites, and alerts. Thanks for reading.