The One

Chapter Two: Miley

Not even two days in La Push and I'm already witnessing odd things. What was with those wolves and that person? The wolves were huge, so how was that person able to hold onto the over-sized dog?

Being home felt good, and that forest incident hadn't scared me. I didn't know why, but it probably had something to do with the powerful connection I felt to the wolf that was about to be killed. As soon as it saw me, it fought fiercely and broke free.

To top it all, we'd been invited to Emily and Sam's for dinner. They were good people, but Seth told me my old friend Jared Cameron spent all his time there and was almost never at school.

We were on our way there now, and Seth wouldn't stop telling me how weird it was. Apparently, after Jared got sick, he started following Sam around like a lost puppy and stopped talking to his old friends.

I didn't want to believe it.

"We're here, kids," Mom told Seth and I. Leah, my older sister, had gone to our friend Kim's. No one told me why.

I got out of the car and was greeted by a hug from Emily as soon as I reached the sliding door. "Can't...breathe...Em."

"Oh, you've grown so much!" She smiled. "Come in, I've got dinner in the oven."

I entered the living room to see Jared Cameron sitting in there. He was muscular, very tanned, and had a serious yet playful look to him. The kid next to him looked the same.

"Oh Miley," he said. "Hi!"

The other boy stood up and shook my hand. "Hi, I'm Paul Lahote, good friend of Sam and Emily."

We made eye contact and there was that connection again. More stronger this time.

"Miley Clearwater, Seth and Leah's sister."

Paul and Jared had a silent discussion before Paul got up and told me to follow him outside. He kept walking without waiting for a response.

I bit my lip and followed him.

"What did you see in the forest?" He asked. "Don't deny it, please. I know you were out there yesterday."

"If I tell you, you're gonna think I'm crazy." I mumbled.

"Try me."

I told him everything I saw. The whole time he didn't even smile or call me crazy. When I was done, he told me to stay where I was and he ran to the bushes.

There was a low growl and that same large wolf came out. The one that had fought so fiercely. He whimpered and lowered down in front of me. I pet his head.

"The old legends are true then." I said. "Sam and Jared, is that what they are too?"

He nodded.

"I'm not supposed to know about this, am I?" I asked.

He shook his head. He started drawing in the sand. He drew a U, fire, and something that looked like story telling.

"You...fire... story telling." I read aloud. "You were supposed to wait until the bonfire for the storytelling."

He nodded and continued drawing. U, ear, heart, one.

"Have you heard about love?" I asked, puzzled. He shook his head. He drew the same thing, except he wrote "true love" and "imprint" sloppily. "Have you heard about imprinting?"

He nodded.

"From the old stories."

He nodded. His next drawing was easier to decipher: I ❤ U. Translation: I imprinted on you.

"That strong connection, is that what that was?" I asked.

He nodded. He went into the bushes and came back in shorts. "You don't have a problem with what I am?"

"No. The old stories say you protect the tribe, against the cold ones. Why should I have a problem if it's protecting our people?" I replied. "You guys are the reason we've stuck around so long."