WARNING: coarse language

MAYA CHAPTER ONE: MOVING
THE PLANE TRIP WAS SLOW AS hell. It took over half ora of nonstop boring conversations with my mother and father, and then another two and a half hours of absolute silence between the three of us. I guessed that it was then, after that half hour, that they realized that I was furious with them for dragging me all the way from sunny New Mexico to dreary La Push, Forks, Washington – a city that I didn’t even know existed. Mom detto that it was so I could connect to our old roots, since her and my father both were born there but, truthfully, I didn’t really care about my roots. I only cared about my life now, with my Friends back home in Santa Fe.
I wasn’t exactly excited when the plane finally landed in Seattle, because that meant that we had another awkward, silent forty-five minuto drive to La Push. I wasn’t exactly looking inoltrare, avanti to that, since my parents and I have been having some friction since I found out about the move. Plus, while my parents were the type of people who had no problems at all talking 60 miles per minute, I was the complete opposite. My dad actually considered himself lucky if he could get me to speak più than two words to him o my mother at the cena table.
“Maya, can te please attempt to smile?” my father asked in aggravation after thirty-eight minutes, looking at me through the rear view mirror.
I answered him honestly. “Not unless we go back to Santa Fe,” I said. For emphasis, I crossed my arms over my chest and looked out of the car window. Okay, I was overreacting, but, hell. That’s what parents get when they bring something like this up on a teenage girl.
Dad sighed. “You’re going to thank us for this someday,” he told me.
“Not today,” I muttered. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the headrest. I really didn’t feel like talking about this with them o anyone; I’d rather suffer in silence.
“You need to know your roots,” Mom intervened. “You’re going to enjoy this when te don’t have to deal with your silly parents embarrassing you.”
I snapped my eyes open and turned to look at them. “WHAT?” I yelled. “You guys aren’t even moving with me?” Now, I was furious. This was beyond unfair. They weren’t just dragging me cross-country; they were leaving me cross-country. So much for developing a parent-daughter relationship, I thought sardonically.
“No, we’re not staying with you,” my father sighed angrily. I swear that man hated me with all of his being. “Your mother got a new job in Madrid, so you’re going to be living with your Uncle Seth until te graduate high school.”
“So, instead of taking me with te to a place as awesome as Spain, te drag me to Forks, Washington, where everything is dull,” I accused. Then under my breath, I added, “That makes perfect sense.”
Mom turned and smiled sadly at me. “Maya, te know we can’t afford to bring te with us, even though we really want to, but you’ll be fine without us.”
“Mom, te do know that I only say that te piss te guys off, right?” I asked, basically using every trick I could, even guilt, to get them to take me with them.
“Maya, you’re not coming and that’s final,” Dad said, his voice ringing with finality.
“And I get no say on the matter?” I demanded angrily. Then, under my breath, I added, “I Amore te too, jackass.”
Dad slammed the breaks on the outskirts of the Quileute Reservation, right outside of Forks. “Maya, don’t make any harder than it needs to be,” he hissed. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Then don’t be such an ass,” I retorted, watching the little blue vein in his forehead pop as I spoke.
That was his breaking point.
He opened his door and walked over to mine. Opening it, he growled at me to get out the car and walk to Uncle Seth’s. When I refused, he threw all of my stuff out of the car and yelled at me again to get out of the car. I looked over my mother, who had tears streaking her face, while my father was screaming at me.
Mom mouthed the words that made it all okay. “Go, Maya. I’ll call te when he’s calm.” I nodded and unhooked my sede, sedile cintura and got out of the car. Dad yelled at me for being disrespectful, slapped me in the face and walked away.
He slapped me.
He turned to look at me from the driver’s seat, and, with my bitchy poker face on, I smiled as cruelly as I could and raised my hand at him, palm facing me. Then I bent all of my fingers into a fist, except for my middle finger, and whistled like I was calling for a dog.
I had always wanted to do that to him.
Dad grew so angry that he immediately drove away, driving at about 60 miles per hour. I found myself sending a silent prayer that he’d be pulled over da a cop for speeding o something.
I picked my stuff up off of the ground and walked into La Push with my head held high, not willing to let him get me down.

Uncle Seth lived a long way from the place where my parents left me, so da the time I had gotten to the middle of the reservation, I was exhausted and plopped down on my butt. My legs were tired and aching, and my feet were in no better condition. I kicked my shoes off and lied down, planning to sleep on the sand.
It felt like a good thirty minuti when five guys found me lying on the ground. They all asked me if I was alright o if I was drunk o stuff like that, and that’s when I realized that they were half naked. Holy shit, I thought to myself, I’ve died and gone to heaven.
I told them that I was alright but I needed help to get to my uncle’s house, and they agreed to help me. I stood up and dusted myself off and reached back down to get my suitcase, when an olive-toned hand touched mine and reached for the suitcase himself. I stood up and looked at the man this hand belonged to, and my breath caught in my throat.
He was very handsome. He had this short hair that still managed to cover his left eye and was black as pitch, much like his eyes. Like the others, he wore no shirt, which allowed me to take advantage of his masculine chest. Also like the others, he had this unusual tattoo on his shoulder, which was beautiful itself.
“Allow me to take these,” he said, his voice deep and smooth. Unable to speak, the best I could do was nod in agreement. He smiled a brilliant smile, which took my breath away even more, before turning to walk away towards a big F-150. I stared after him like an idiot before following him and the others to the truck.
Once at the truck, the man who took my suitcase opened the passenger’s door for me and waved a hand that indicated me to go in. I did obediently, mumbling a quiet “thank you” before he shut the door. He walked around to the back of the truck where his Friends were all sitting and gave one of them my suitcase, telling them something with a serious expression on his face. He then walked around to the driver’s sede, sedile and closed the door.
Buckling his seatbelt, he asked, “So, who’s your uncle, anyway?”
“Um, Seth Clearwater,” I answered nervously, looking at my hands.
“Oh, really?” he asked, seeming stunned.
“Yes,” I replied. “His older brother, John, is my dad.” Well, he was my dad, I thought bitterly.
“Huh,” was his only response. “You know, Harry never did tell anyone what happened once his eldest son got married.”
“He moved to New Mexico and had me,” I told him, tasting acid in my voice. “That’s what happened.”
“Okay,” the man said, putting the car in gear and starting the drive to my uncle’s home. “I’m Embry, da the way,” he says. “Embry Call.”
“I’m Maya Clearwater.”
“Nice to meet you.” He smiled that brilliant smile again, and I found myself struggling to breathe.
“You, too,” I managed to spit out. God, I was making myself look like such an idiot. If I kept this up, this boy wasn’t going to like me very much.
Trying to calm myself, I inhaled deeply, which turned out to be a huge mistake; my throat burned at the smell. Ugh. He was recently around a vampire o something, because he smelled horrible. It was like sticking my nose into a rotten pomodoro and, stupidly, inhaling. God, it smelled horrible.
Wanna know I can smell vamps? Yeah, I’m a werewolf. Cool, huh? Yeah, you’d think so. It’s really not, though, considering that I’m so new at it. I found out when I was sixteen and found that my usually caramel-colored skin was sickly pale, and my eyes had turned glowing blue. It was creepy.
The rest of the trip to my uncle’s house was completely silent. Neither of us spoke and I guessed it was because he didn’t like me. I didn’t speak because my throat was still burning. Because of this, I was relieved when we stopped in front of Uncle Seth’s house. I opened the door and walked over to the house, where Uncle Seth was waiting for me.
Uncle Seth was only nineteen, which was two years older than me, while my dad was in his early thirties. He looked a lot like the guys who drove me here, the same dark eyes and pitch black hair and olive-toned skin. Also like the guys who were now coming from the truck, he wore no shirt, even when it was only twenty degrees? Was there some kind of no-shirt rule around here for guys? If there was, it was good that they let me know now.
“Hey, Maya,” Uncle Seth greeted me eagerly, stepping inoltrare, avanti to hug me. I accepted the hug. We were interrupted da the group of boys running towards the house and whooping. My uncle let go of me and greeted Embry and the others. He slapped hands with all five of them before turning back to me.
“Maya, these are a few Friends of mine,” he told me. Then he went to introductions. “These are Paul, Jared, Quil, Jacob, and Embry.” I shyly detto hello to all of them, keeping my eyes down. They smiled at me and detto hello back, all except Embry, who just looked at me intensely. I cleared my throat and looked at my uncle. “I’m going to go lie down, if te don’t mind,” I told him. “Jet lagged.” He nodded and without another word, I went inside of the little barn-look-a-like house. I walked around the halls for a little while until I found the guest bedroom. When I found it, I went in, closed the door, and immediately lied down on the letto and went to sleep.















EMBRY CHAPTER TWO: TRUTH COMES OUT

SETH WELCOMED US ALL INSIDE, TELLING us that Leah wasn’t home. That was all the invitation that we needed. We followed him inside and instantly went into the kitchen. Paul was as hungry as a dog – no pun intended – so we all went to find food.
Jacob grabbed me da the wrist and pulled me aside while the others were in the kitchen, keeping me in the den.
“Embry, what the hell is up with you?” he asked me. His eyes narrowed as he waited for my answer. Of course, I knew what he meant, but didn’t want to acknowledge it.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Jake,” I replied, unable to look him in the eye.
“Embry, why were te looking at Seth’s niece like that? What happened?” He asked these domande quietly, as if not to alert the others, though they’d know soon enough.
“Jake, I-I think I imprinted on her,” I admitted, not exactly sure of my emotions. A part of me wanted to go over to room where Maya was sleeping, to follow her scent there and make sure that she was alright, but the other part – the scared little pup part of me – wanted to just stay here.
“Are te sure?” he demanded. “How did te feel when te first saw her?”
“Euphoric,” I answered honestly. “It felt like she was the only thing that kept me to the ground.” It also felt like I might explode when she looked upset when we spoke in the truck, when she was telling me about her father. I guessed she had a bad relationship with him, so I made a mental note not to mention him again.
“Okay, so you’ve imprinted with Seth’s niece. Hmm…” He deliberated for a moment. “I guess the only thing we can do right now is just waiting for a clear sign,” he finally said. “If we notice that it really looks like te really have imprinted with her, then we’ll tell her what we are.”
I nodded. “That sounds fair,” I agreed. And it did. Plus, it meant that I had the chance to get to know Maya a little bit before weirding her out. That was a good sign. “So I guess this means we’re telling the others?” I guessed.
Jake nodded and not a secondo later, the others walked into the den. “What’s up, Jake?” Paul asked while stuffing a handful Dorito chips into his mouth.
“Embry thinks he’s imprinted on Maya, Seth’s niece,” Jacob explained. Everyone’s eyes bulged out and they turned to stare at me, incredulous.
“Really?” Quil asked. I only nodded in response, still unable to speak.
“Well, that makes six imprinted wolves,” Jared muttered, “and counting.”
“No shit, though?” Paul asked. “I mean, he really imprinted on her?”
Jacob nodded again. “He thinks so, but I want to be sure, just in case,” he explained. “I want to keep watch over them for the successivo few days, to make sure he really has imprinted on her. If he has, then Embry will tell her what we are. If not, then we don’t tell the girl anything. Everyone got it?”
We nodded in agreement. Everyone in the pack knew that imprinting on someone was pretty confusing stuff, so we all just wanted this to go over easily.
We moved on to cheerier topics after that, teasing Seth for the successivo few hours about how he was going to handle having jail bait living in his house. Well, it was cheerier for them; for me, the very idea made me want to rip Seth’s throat out.
Then, I heard Maya’s voice down the hall, and my cuore almost shattered at her tone.
“So, te guys are just going to stay in Madrid?” she asked, sounding heartbroken. She paused. “No, I mean, I’m happy that te got the job, but couldn’t te take me with you? I’m not that difficult… Well, that’s his problem, not mine… I know, Mom, but I’ll still miss you… No, I won’t. In fact, he can go to hell for all I care… Because he’s a bastard! I don’t know what te saw in him, Mom, but he’s just not my preferito person right now, just like I’ve never been his… Yes, that’s absolutely true… Oh, no, Mom, te don’t have to do that. Mom, don’t do that.” She paused for a long while as she listened to whatever her mother was saying.
“Damn it,” she groaned after a while. “Yeah, I Amore you, too. I’m sorry I caused this… Yes, it is my fault, so don’t blame yourself… Got it… Bye.”
I heard her exhale heavily and snap her phone shut. Then she growled and there was suddenly a loud thump followed da a loud hiss and a string of profanities.
“Shit, shit, shit!” she yelled at the superiore, in alto of her lungs. I jumped out of my sede, sedile on the floor and almost ran over to Maya’s room.
“What wrong?” I asked, unable to hide my concern.
“I got mad and punched the wall,” she answered in a hiss, clutching her left hand. “Goddamn, this hurts.”
“You need to go to a hospital,” I told her, pulling her da her good hand to her door.
“No!” she yelled, her eyes bulging out. “I’m not going to a hospital, Embry. I’ll be fine without a doctor.”
“Don’t be a martyr, Maya,” I begged her. “Your wrist is broken and te need to see someone about it.”
“Embry, listen to me,” she insisted. I looked her in the eyes, those beautiful deep green eyes, and waited for her to speak. “Embry, I need to mostra te something, so please don’t freak out.”
“What is it?”
“Look at my hand,” she detto simply. I did as she detto and looked at her hand, amazed at what I saw. Her wrist was completely healed; the bone had been threatening to stick out back in its right place. The blood that been coming from her knuckles dried up and faded away. And I thought I healed fast.
“How is that possible?” I asked, my voice only a whisper. What the hell was she? “How can te heal so fast?”
“Because I’m not exactly human,” she whispered.
“Yeah, I figured. So, what are you?”
“I’ll explain after I get a bag of ice. My hand may be healed, but it still hurts like a mother.”

We went to the cucina and got that bag of ice and wrapped it in a washcloth before putting to her left wrist, which didn’t even look bruised. I was a little freaked out da the fact that she healed even faster than one of us ever could have, so I was very curious to know what she was.
The guys looked at Maya’s wrist and narrowed their eyes at me. Oh, so they thought that I would do something to hurt her. Nice. I rolled my eyes at them, hoping that they’d realize that she inflicted this on herself. They seemed to understand, their eyes widening back and turning back to the girl.
“Maya, what happened?” Seth asked.
“Oh, I just got pissed and punched the bacheca in my room,” she answered angrily.
“You didn’t break the wall, did you?” Paul joked.
Maya smirked. “Actually, I left a dent the size of Texas,” she replied, seeming smug. “Plus, to make it even better, I really fucked up my wrist.” She sighed and added, “Well, at least it isn’t broken.”
Like it was before, I internally added. I wanted to say that, but I instead said, “I’m gonna take her outside for some fresh air.”
Jared snickered. “Ten bucks says they’re going for a romantic walk on the spiaggia – hand in broken hand,” he chuckled.
“Ten bucks says that I’m going to knock te out with my good hand,” Maya retorted. Jacob, Paul, and I laughed at that, while Jared just rolled his eyes and pretended that she hadn’t spoken.
Maya turned for the front door and I followed, not enjoying the lovesick cucciolo jokes that I heard on my way out. We walked out to the truck and sat in the bed, our feet dangling off the edge. I waited for her to speak, to explain what she was, and I didn’t have to wait long.