"Bella! C'mon, get up."

"Mmmm?" I mumbled sleepily, yanking the covers over my head to try and drown out the intruding voice.

"We need to go," came the voice again. "Sam caught a suspicious scent on the southern edge of town. He wants us to come check it out."

I finally opened my eyes, as my curiosity had been triggered. Jacob was sitting on the side of my bed. An amused look crossed his face as I sat up.

"What's so funny?" I asked tiredly.

"Your hair," he snickered. "It looks like it's been electrocuted."

"I've been sleeping, idiot," I retorted irritably. "No one's hair looks perfect in bed."

"Except mine, of course," he teased, running a russet hand through his short hair. "Now come on, Sam wants us there ASAP."

Glancing at the clock, I complained, "It's one in the morning."

"Duty calls."

"Sam's the alpha—shouldn't he be able to check out the scent on his own?" I asked.

Jacob sighed, rolling his eyes. "You can sleep all you want in the morning. It's summer. But right now we need to go. Who knows what's out there?"

"The abominable snowman?" I suggested.

He chuckled. "Is the abominable snowman afraid of werewolves?"

"He should be," I answered. "We're pretty scary."

"And I'm going to get really scary if you don't hurry up and get out of bed," Jacob warned. I knew him well enough to know that he was mostly joking, but I still recognized the small truth in his words. Wanting to avoid his exploding into an oversized wolf in my bedroom, I finally swung my legs gracefully over the side of my bed to get out of it. One upside to changing into a giant dog was improved balance, and for a klutz like me, that was something that really came in handy.

Jacob led the way out, and I shut off the lights again and closed the door behind me. Charlie wouldn't suspect anything—it was past the time he usually came in to make sure I was sleeping. As long as I was back before dawn, I should be okay.

Once out in the crisp night air, my mind quickly awakened from its half-conscious state. I breathed in a lungful of air that smelled of a light rain, something that was very common in this tiny town of Forks, Washington. It was mostly dark, save for a veil of moonlight that spilled from the clouds overhead. Our eyesight, far better than any human's, allowed us to see a good distance in all directions.

"Let's go," Jacob said, shifting into wolf form. I copied him.

As wolves, we looked nearly as different as we did in human form. Jacob was an enormous, red-brown wolf, whereas I was a white wolf with brown eyes, the same chocolate shade as my human eyes, slightly smaller than Jacob. Each of us had amazing speed, though, becoming little more than blurs when we were at full hilt.

Not a moment after I'd transformed, I could feel the familiar probe of Jacob's thoughts in my mind. All werewolves could read each other's minds in wolf form, and I still hadn't decided whether I would ever get used to that. I admit, it did come in handy, as we were unable to actually speak to each other in wolf form.

Jacob bounded off, his powerful legs carrying him a far distance in a short amount of time. I raced to catch up, and soon we were speeding side by side through a dense grove of trees. Even on a cloudy night like this, it was best to stay out of sight. No one had suspected us yet, but Sam was always warning us about it.

In a matter of minutes, Jacob and I slowed to a halt in an open plain, where we met up with three others—Sam, the alpha, and Jared and Embry. Sam was easily the largest of the group, and radiated a calm yet assertive energy that none of us ever dared to challenge. We all respected and liked him, and would have chosen none other than him to be our alpha.

The scent has gotten stronger, he informed us through thought. There are vampires around, no doubt. But how many, I can't say.

The reaction was quick, and expected. Jared and Embry's massive paws shifted uneasily. A growl slid from Jacob's throat. I felt the fur on the back of my neck bristle instinctively. Vampires were our mortal enemy, and it was our duty to protect humans from them.

Sam calmed us with his thoughts, and soon we were listening again. I don't want us to split up, but if we're going to find the vampires soon, we'll have to. Jared, you go with Embry. And Jacob, you go with Bella.

What about you? Jared immediately argued.

You're not going alone, I agreed. What if the vampires find you before you find them?

We'll cover more ground, he insisted, and with such authority that none of us argued the point further. Still, I couldn't stay the nervousness I felt of Sam going off on his own. I glanced sideways at Jacob, whose wolf eyes were looking just as troubled as I felt. Sam recognized our fear, and said, I'll be fine. If I feel that I can't handle whatever I come across, I'll retreat and find the rest of you.

We started to split up into our respective groups, but Sam reminded us, Don't immediately start trouble. Find out why the vampires are here, and what they want.

At this, Embry let out a peculiar snort that sounded like a half-growl. What do you think they want, Sam? Just to drop by? All vampires want the same thing.

I shuddered involuntarily, and Jacob moved closer to my side. We knew what vampires wanted, and all of us were determined to stop them.

Sam turned his wise and penetrating gaze on Embry, who immediately lowered his head submissively. Find out what they want, Sam repeated firmly. If they mean harm, kill them. If not...

He didn't finish this last thought, and we were left to split up. Still numb with fear for Sam, I didn't move, and Jacob had to nudge me in the side. Shaking my head slightly, I trotted to his side and we were off, once again running through the night.

……………………………………

Well, obviously I've changed a few things. I don't know if there is such a thing as a female werewolf, but now there is! And in case any of you were wondering, the werewolves don't lose their clothes when they explode. I'm too lazy to have to deal with any clothes issues, so I just made it that they always have their clothes when they transform.

If you leave a summary, PLEASE MAKE IT HELPFUL! Comments such as "kool update soon" really get old, and they don't help me at all. If you liked the story, please tell me why. If you didn't like it, explain things that I could improve on. I will love you forever.