Chapter 1 First Day

My name is Anne Simon-Uley. I'm seventeen and I'm moving to Forks to look for my heritage.

My mother committed suicide the day I turned sixteen. For my birthday everything changed. In her note she wrote about my father. She wanted me to go look for him. All she knew about his past was that he was full Quiluete.

So I'm going to look for him. I got my Nursing Degree early. I've always been smart. Forks Community Hospital has an opening. So I found a rented room to stay at.

I would miss Vermont and my Abenaki tribe. My grandmother knew I had to do this. She's the only one that knows what I am.

Werewolf.

I pulled into the driveway of the house where I would be staying. The house belonged to Sue Clearwater. She was a Quiluete elder. Maybe I could get the answers I needed from her.

I hadn't given her my full name. I wanted to find out more before I told anyone that I was a Uley.

I opened the door of my car. Mist swirled around me. It was overcast, but that was normal for this area. I pulled out my single duffel bag and walked to the front door.

It was a medium sized house. It was a faded gray and had blue shutters. A small flower garden lined the walkway. How did the flowers live without sunlight? I wondered.

I took a deep breath and knocked. Almost immediately a woman answered. She had short-cropped hair like my own. Lively black eyes danced underneath shapely eyebrows. She had russet skin and looked to be in her mid forties. She looked wary, like she wasn't sure if I was dangerous or not.

"Yes? Can I help you?" she asked.

I swallowed hard and answered, "I'm Anne Simon. I was told that there was a room for rent here?"

Sue smiled, the nervousness gone from her face. "Of course, come in."

I wiped my feet. I wanted to make a good first impression.

"The room used to be my husbands study. There's a nice picture window facing south and the furniture is sturdy." Sue said as we walked up the stairs.

We were in a hallway; there were five doors, two to each side and one at the end. Sue led me to the door on the far right. The door squeaked as she opened it.

The room was open, with a bed on the far wall. A dresser and a desk were on either side of the window. The walls were a faded green with a matching rug; the woodwork was a deep brown. It reminded me of the woods outside.

"No loud music after 9:00. Come down later and I'll give a tour of the rest of the house." Sue said. "I'll leave you to get settled."

I nodded my thanks. Sue left and I sat down on the mattress. There was a mirror on the dresser. I stared at my reflection, searching out details from my mothers face.

I had red brown skin; it had caused me grief at school. My eyes were a strange green that didn't match my skin. None of my family knew where they came from. My hair was limp and black, cut short. It was easier that way. Otherwise my wolf form was shaggy.

It was my nose and mouth that belonged to my mother. Our noses were small, with an uplifted tip. We had shared full lips. I remembered the feeling when her lips brushed my forehead.

I closed my eyes and sighed. The mattress groaned when I got up to put my things in the dresser.

I stopped and sniffed the air. Most of the time I tried not to breathe through my nose. It became uncomfortable when I could smell things that others couldn't. But this smell was both familiar and strange. It smelled like me. But it had a different quality. No there were two scents, I decided. A male and a female. That both smelled like me. Maybe, there were others like---

I broke myself off. I couldn't afford to hope. Hope was something that made things much harder then they had to be.

I put my clothes away in the dresser. I had given up wearing dresses and other things. When I lost my temper I destroyed them. I finally decided that easily replaceable things were the best.

Finally I went downstairs. Sue was sitting on a couch in the living room.

"Have a seat, there are some things I need to explain," Sue said. I sat on a chair next to the couch.

"I'm an elder of the tribe. That means that a lot of the time people are going to come here. My son and daughter still sleep here occasionally. It's a strange arrangement, but it works."

Sue looked at me hard for a second. "Don't get them angry. They both have problems with their tempers, Leah more than Seth."

I nodded my understanding and Sue continued on a more cheery note. "The kitchen is in the other room, the bathroom is over there. The door of the fridge is yours, as is the top shelf of the linen closet."

A knock on the door interrupted her. I watched as Sue's eyes lit up. She excused herself and went to answer it. "Charlie what are you doing here?"

"I came up to drop off your sweater, you left it at my house." The speaker was a middle-aged man. He had receding brown curls and a potbelly. He wore a jacket with a police badge on it. He had brown eyes that twinkled mischievously. His eyes widened when he saw me.

"Who's this?"

"This is Anne Simon, she's renting the upstairs room. Anne this is Charlie Swan." Sue introduced us.

"Are you Quiluete?" Charlie asked.

I avoided the question. "I'm part Abenaki." I saw his confused look. "They live in the Northeast. Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and a little bit of Canada and New York."

Charlie nodded, looking a little less dazed.

I turned to Sue, "Thanks for showing me around. I'd better get some rest before work tomorrow."

"Where do you work?" Charlie asked.

"I got a nursing job at Forks Community Hospital." I explained.

Charlie smiled. "You'll be working with Dr. Cullen then. He's a great doctor."

I noticed that Sue didn't seem to have as good an opinion about this 'Dr. Cullen'. Her face pinched. She seemed to be worried. I smiled and headed back up the stairs.

I sighed as I pulled out the picture of my mother. I traced her features. I didn't understand how Uley could have affected her so much that she died over him. I held back tears as I looked at the picture. Gently I set it down on the bedside table. I pulled out the note that Mom had written.

My baby,

I'm so sorry that I have to leave you. I held on as long as I could. I'll miss you so much. Try to live your life as well as you can. I love you. This has nothing to do with you. You have been the best daughter a woman could have. Don't do what I did, no matter what happens.

Look for your father. I know that he was full Quiluete. The La Push reservation is in Washington, near Seattle. I love you so much. Goodbye, my darling Anne Simon-Uley.

I put the note back in my bag. I couldn't hold back the tears. I let them flow while I changed into my nightshirt and rocked myself to sleep.

Morning dawned, dreary and early as opposed to bright and early. I dressed and ran downstairs to eat breakfast with Sue. I declined the bacon but accepted the eggs and toast. I explained that I was a vegetarian, I believed in saving lives, not taking them.

After I grabbed my jacket and nearly ran to my car. I barely noticed the drive to the hospital. Suddenly I was pulling into the parking lot. I stepped out of my car.

"You must be Anne. I'm George Crewman." The speaker was a middle-aged man with a receding hairline. He smelled of cheap soap and a strong aftershave. He reminded me of Charlie, somehow.

I smiled and nodded. I had to make a good impression. I had volunteered at the hospital back home, but this was my first real job.

"I'll show you around. Your shift doesn't start till 6:00. I'll introduce you to people." Over helpful, but sweet.

As I stepped into the hospital a cloyingly sweet scent filled my nose. I had never smelled anything like it. It was sweet, but painful somehow. I sneezed repeatedly, my eyes watering.

"Are you alright?" George asked.

I tried not to breathe through my nose. I didn't know why I had been breathing through it, but I quickly stopped. "Just allergies." I gasped.

George smiled and showed me around. Names blurred, I hoped that no one would expect me to remember the titles.

One doctor stood out however.

"Dr. Cullen this is Anne Simon. Anne, this is Dr. Carlisle Cullen."

Dr. Cullen looked like a model, not a doctor. He looked to be in his early twenties and had blonde hair and perfect features. He had light amber eyes. His only flaw was the smell that came off of him. Even breathing through my mouth, I could smell the painfully sweet odor.

"A pleasure to meet you, Anne." He was looking at me as if he smelled something unusual too. "I read about you in the Boston Globe, you're the youngest nurse ever."

I blushed, thankful that I had dark skin to hide it. "I tried to not get that published."

Dr. Cullen laughed. It sounded like bells, but I felt a quiver of fear go through my body.

"I have to go to surgery, but it was good to meet you," he said. I watched as he left. He was remarkably graceful, but like a giant cat was graceful. It didn't put me at ease.

By then it was time for my shift. I lost myself in the work. I loved being a nurse. It was amazing to use my speed to help save lives.

Before I was ready, my shift was over. I headed to my car. It was an old station wagon. I liked it, it had character. Plus it had gotten me from Vermont to Washington.

I carefully pulled out and headed to the highway. It was 3:00 in the afternoon.

I wasn't ready to go back to my rented room, so I pulled up to the La Push beach. A family was playing in the surf.

I sat on a rock near the waves. I thought about things. It was disturbing, the smell at the hospital. I couldn't ask anyone about it, I had learned to separate what normal people smelled and what I smelled. Dr. Cullen was dangerous. I didn't know how I knew that, but Grandmother had told me to listen to my instincts. A shout disturbed me from my reverie.

"MY BABY!" Came the scream. I looked up to see a small head of black hair get sucked into the undertow. I didn't think, I just dove in.

I didn't have time to take a full breathe before went under. Opening my eyes underwater I saw the little girl drift down. I lunged and grabbed her by her hair. Trying not to inhale seawater, I shot through to the surface.

I don't know how I made it to shore. Hands pulled the girl from me. I shook my head and set to work pumping the water from her lungs.

"Get blankets or towels, she's going to be cold." I snapped. I flipped my hair out of the way and breathed into her. It was the most beautiful sound when she took a gasping breath. "Claire, Claire," gasped the mother.

Now that I knew that the child was alive, I could relax.

"Somebody get Quill!"

"Call an ambulance!"

I pitched my voice over the babble. "Calm down! She needs to rest! Get her to place with a heater or she'll go into shock."

A crowd had formed. They stared at me. "I'm a nurse, I know what I'm talking about," I snapped. My hands shook. No, I thought, I don't have time for that.

"Quill! I want Quill!" the girl screamed. Thank God, I thought, if she has enough energy to throw a fit, she's going to be fine.

We were hustled into a house near the parking lot. A heater was turned on. "Is there a fireplace?" I asked. When the answer was yes, I continued, "We need to get a fire set up in there. Electrical heat will dehumidify the air. A natural source of heat is best. We'll need liquids, preferably some sort of sugary stuff, like juice."

I took the blankets and pulled them around the child. She had fallen asleep. That was all I could do for her. I rattled off instructions to her family. I was always like this in an emergency. I took control without thinking about it.

Finally I looked around. The girl's family was huddled around her, stroking her face. Three guys were staring at me. They had the Quiluete russet skin and were standing in the same positions. All they were wearing was cut-off jeans. I could see that they were extremely muscular.

The door burst open, a panicked looking young man ran to the girl's side. He picked her up and held her close.

"Claire, Claire, Claire," he crooned.

I rolled my eyes and took Claire from him. A gasp rose. I glared at the young man. "She needs to rest." I put her back down next to the fire and piled more blankets on her.

The young man glowered at me.

I challenged him with my eyes. "A piece of advice. Never get between a nurse and her patient."

"Who are you?" The voice came from the largest of the three men.

I sighed and ran my fingers through my short hair. A thought occurred to me, I breathed through my nose. A musky scent filled my nostrils. They were like me. Their scent was exactly the same as mine. I still didn't trust them.

To the guy I said, "I'm Anne Simon, I've got an RN. I know what I'm talking about when it comes to medical stuff. Anyone at the hospital can vouch for me, as can Sue Clearwater. I'm staying at her house."

Sue's name clearly affected them. I decided to ignore them.

I turned to Claire's mother. "Keep her warm and give her lots of fluids. She'll be back to normal in a few hours." I left Claire's mother instructions on how to take care of her. I also left her my phone number, incase she had questions.

Still ignoring the young men I let myself out. I tramped to my car. Great, I thought, I'm wet.

The cold didn't bother me. I ran a higher temperature then normal people. 107 degrees F. I drove myself back to Sue's house.

As I got out of the car I looked around. Someone was watching me. I sniffed the air, trying to be subtle about it. There was an earthy smell, but the wind was against me. Still wary, I went inside.

"Anne, you're soaking wet! What happened?" Sue gasped as she saw me.

I picked at my wet clothes. "Do you know Claire?" when Sue nodded, I continued, "She almost drowned, I dove in and saved her."

I laughed at Sue's astonished look. "I do things like that, you'll get used to it. I need to take a shower."

I went upstairs to get my bathing supplies. I took a quick shower. The smell of the lavender shampoo soothed me. Mom had always worn lavender perfume.

As I toweled myself dry, I heard voices in the living room.

"How much do you know about her?" The voice was male.

"She's seventeen, she moved here from Vermont. She said that she's half Abenaki. She didn't mention what the other half was. She does work at the hospital. I don't think that she's dangerous." That was Sue.

Only one of us can manage that undertow. I'll look into it."

Who was she talking to? And why was she talking about me? Dangerous? I'd sometimes felt like I couldn't be trusted to be around people, but it had been a long time since I had lost my temper like that.

I waited until I heard the front door close, before I came out of the bathroom. Sue was in the kitchen. Quietly, I snuck up the stairs to my room.

I moved the desk chair to the window. Putting my elbows on the windowsill, I looked out into the night. It was clear tonight, the stars and the moon gilded the trees and turned the mist to quicksilver. I opened the window. The cool night air blew into my room.

Suddenly, I felt a longing. I wanted someone to share this night with. I wanted someone to understand me and reassure me that I wasn't a freak. My eyes closed in agony.

I didn't want what happened to my mother to happen to me. I couldn't, wouldn't leave a child like that.

Then again, I didn't have the comfort of suicide. My body healed remarkably fast. I snorted. Fast enough that anything I did wouldn't work.

I turned from the window and pulled out my mother's letter once again. The tear's came immediately and I didn't try to stop them like every night since my mother's death, I cried myself to sleep.

Sue opened Anne's door. If Anne was awake, Sue had the pretense of leaving sheets. It happened that she was asleep. From the looks of it, Anne had fallen asleep crying. In her hand was a grubby note. Sue gently took it and read it. She gasped. "Werewolf," she whispered.