A new beginning

Home sweet home

The air was cold around her as she took a deep breath, and let it out. The cold was unusual, after so many years in New Mexico and Iraq, she was used to the warm air. But the forest in Washington state was cold in the evening, even during the summer. The forest was also unusually quiet. She could not decide if she liked it or not. In a way, it was beautiful and she had the perfect place and time to think and heal her soul. On the other hand, it was very lonely. And Nessie was not used to loneliness. At least not in the physical sense of loneliness, she always had people around her. She even shared her room with her sister, and back in the days she was sharing with her brother. As a soldier, she always shared a room with other people as well. As a nurse, and later as a psychologist she was consistently around someone. Even as a music manager, she did not have many quiet moments, her musicians were always around her, like a bunch of baby ducks around their mother. She smiled at that thought.

She didn't mind actually, she was a people person after all. She lived to help others, to lead, to teach, to manage. Everything she did, her studies, her work - it was for others. That kept her going in life. But she had to be alone for a while. To heal from her wounds, to rest and get herself together - even this was for others. You have to put your own oxygen mask first, before you can help others do the same. She knew she had to heal before she could help to heal others. She was running always from the problems and pain, and she knew it would catch up with her with time. Running always is never a solution. She took a vacation, which she never did before - and left. Left her family, her jobs, because this was a road she had to take alone. Certain things in life take some alone time, like healing from the loss of her baby, and the betrayal of her ex-boyfriend. She loved her friends and family so much, she wanted to be fully with them. Emotionally, not just physically.

She was so lost and hurt after losing him. She was working hard, trying to keep her mind as busy as possible, but it was just the type of coping mechanism that did not work for long. And she did this before, and it didn't work out too well. After her abuela died, she literally went to Iraq and became a soldier, just to run away from her problems.

She didn't want to do something reckless because of her pain.

That is why she had made the decision to leave from work, and she's been traveling in the past month, all alone, camping the woods, driving the road aimlessly. It's been incredibly hard, for someone like her - who lives for others, to be alone with herself. But she needed it, and after the first two weeks, she started to feel better. She was writing a lot, almost filled an entire diary with thoughts and new songs. It's been her therapy, and even though she wasn't happy yet, she was calm and collected.

This night in the forest was especially weird though. She doesn't remember ever visiting this region of the country, she was in a forest near a small town called Forks. But she had a feeling, like it was familiar. The lush green trees, the rain and the moss, the damp air. It was so familiar, but she couldn't remember why.

She drank the remaining bit of canned soup, which was her dinner, checked her phone - still no signal. She sighed, because this means she will have to go down from the forest tomorrow and call her sister from there. It's been two days since they talked, and she knew she was worried about her. And it took a toll on her as well, she really missed her little sister. And even though she looked and acted like a sixteen year old now, she was still worried how she managed without her.

With a smile on her face, she put out the little fire and went to her tent. It was already eleven PM, so it was time to sleep. She took one last look at the beautiful stars before she closed her tent, and went to sleep while wondering, why is this forest so familiar to her.

Next morning she woke up to the singing of the birds. It made her smile. She loved the forest so much, it made her calm to be in nature. She had decided that she had enough canned soup and pasta in the past week, so it's time to find a coffee shop for some fresh coffee and bakery goods. After packing her tent and backpack, she went down on the little road that was leading to her truck at the start of the forest.

It was almost eight in the morning when she came across a beautiful meadow in the middle of the forest. It took her breath away, and not just because it was beautiful, but it was also so familiar, she could swear she has been here before. She just couldn't rack her brain when. She was mesmerized by the flower, and how the sun shone through the trees, creating a little stage of sunlight in the middle of the flowery meadow. She walked there, enjoying the sun on her skin. She really loved the sun, it was one of the things which she missed a lot from Mexico. Before she could really lose herself in the sun and in her thoughts, she heard growling from the bushes behind her. She spun around and found herself in front of two very angry and big wolves.

She instantly realized, these are not normal wolves. They are bigger and stronger, and their eyes are so intelligent. Human eyes. These are shapeshifters. She panicked for a minute, she knew she smelled like a vampire, but only a little bit, she has a pulse, a beating heart, and she is even tanned a bit from living in Mexico. This is probably the reason why they didn't rip her to sheds, but they were still growling and circling around her. She slowly put up her hands in surrender.

- Hi. - she said shakily. - I am sorry for trespassing, I did not know there was a pack in this region. But I don't mean to harm anyone. I am not killing people, not drinking human blood, I am not entirely a vampire. I am half human, and I was just leaving the forest, I swear. Can you guys maybe change back so we can talk?

They have stopped circling around her, and the two wolves just looked at each other in confusion. She knew that look, her type or let's just say, her kind was rare. It's not surprising that they never met a hybrid before. They looked back at her, then one of them sat down in front of her and the other sat down behind her. She was quiet for a moment. This was weird. They stopped growling, so maybe they were willing to listen to her and let her go, but it didn't seem like they wanted to change back to their human form, so they did not feel safe with her. She was an experienced soldier, and also she was very experienced with the supernatural as well - this was a middle ground, and they did not know how to decide so they were waiting for someone. Probably their alpha, and she honestly did not want to meet him. She should be on the road by now.

- Okay. - she slowly started. - I have nothing against you guys, moreover I really love wolves. But I really need a coffee, and I need to be on the road. So.. - she started to take a few steps back, initiating that she is going to leave, but the wolf behind her stood up and started to growl again.

- Wonderful. - she sighed and stopped. - Listen, my brother is a shapeshifter as well. I know you can communicate in your thoughts, and you are probably calling for your alpha. I get it, but really, it's unnecessary, I am not going to harm anyone and I really just want to leave.

The wolves raised their heads, and they had a puzzled expression on their faces. It's funny how the human emotions can still reflect on their faces, even in their wolf form. She knew that what she said was confusing, how can a half vampire and a shapeshifter be siblings? Obviously, not by blood relation, but she wasn't in a mood to explain it.

Before she could have time to think about her options, she heard running. It was another wolf, and she lost her breath when she saw him. He was huge, and had the most beautiful russet coloring she had ever seen on a wolf before. He was as big as her brother, so that meant he was the alpha. She took a deep breath as he stopped before her, and looked into his eyes. There is a chance he won't kill her. Maybe he just wants to understand what she is, at least she was hoping that is the case. She was a good fighter, but still she can't take down a pack of wolves on her own. She was at his mercy.

As she looked into his eyes, she took a sharp breath. It was brown, but so dark, it was almost black. And it was beautiful, and familiar. Why is everything so familiar to her here?

She was sure the wolf someone recognized her, she could see it in his eyes. She could see so many emotions in those eyes. Hurt, surprise, confusion, love, tenderness... Then he bowed his head in front of her.

She was definitely confused now. What is this place? Who are these wolves? She had met with wolves before, even a few alphas, but they never acted like this.

- I am sorry, but do I know you? I have never been here before, or I don't remember it at least. But I really don't mean to harm anyone, I know I smell like a vampire, but I don't live like one. I don't feed on humans, and I would really like to leave. So if you don't mean to kill me, then ... - but she couldn't finish the sentence, because the wolf suddenly lifted his head up and looked at her again. He looked hurt, like she had slapped him or something. She was speechless. What's up with this guy?