I wasn't supposed to be here.

I don't know how exactly I'd even gotten to the beach in the first place. One second I was trying to focus on my geometry homework and the next second I was lying in the damp sand while the relentless rain pounded down on my face. Maybe I really was going crazy.

It was a horrible day. The kind of day where you stay inside as much as you possibly can just to attempt to avoid the dreariness of it all. Gray skies, foamy white waves, rain that sounded like bullets and felt like hail. I hated the rain. You'd think someone who lived in the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State – the one place in the world where sunshine was nothing more than a myth –would get used to these ugly days. But I didn't. I never did.

Everything was normal, but something had changed. I felt like my whole world was falling apart and I didn't know why. Why did the waves seem to be crashing to the shore louder than normal? Why could I hear every rustle in the wind? My head was going to explode. I pressed my palms to my temples and groaned, trying to fight back the headache.

"You okay?"

A man, a few meters away from myself, cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted something. I hadn't noticed that someone else had been on the beach. Which was weird and also relieving, because it meant that I really just was going crazy, not gaining some sort of superhero senses.

"Hey, man, you shouldn't be here," the man said, his feet crunching beneath the sand as he came closer and closer to me. By the time he stopped his long strides, he was towering over my sprawled out form, and I could make out his face through the downpour.

I recognized him. And he wasn't a man at all. Just Paul Nato, a senior at La Push High who everyone seemed to instinctively avoid. He hung around that older guy, Sam Uley, who my mother was convinced was involved in some sort of cult activities. She warned me to stay far away from Sam, and Paul, and their other friend, Jared. "They're up to know good, sweetie," she'd say, pursing her lips in distaste. That was okay though. I hated Sam's gang of friends.

So, I was really fucking pissed. Who was Paul Nato to tell me I shouldn't be here? It was a public beach for crying out loud, and I could come here whenever I damn pleased.

"Just minding my business," I snapped at him. My hands were shaking, and I balled them into fists as I sat up. Then suddenly, my entire body was shaking. I couldn't even see Paul so much anymore; his form blurred as my shaking heightened.

And I know it's crazy, but I was pretty sure I was dying. Because why else would it feel so hot right now? It was Washington State! I was wearing shorts and a T-shirt and didn't feel the slightest bit cold. Plus, the shaking wouldn't stop. I couldn't control it at all. I felt wild.

"Whoa, chill out," Paul warned, looking at me like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Embry, right?"

I didn't die. Instead, I quite literally exploded out of my skin. And I mean I exploded out of my skin. Suddenly, I was several feet higher than before, and for a few incoherent seconds all I could think about was relief that the shaking had stopped. Then I realized I had fur.

Hello, panic attack!

I tried to let out a scream of horror, but all that came was a loud, long howl that vibrated through my entire…body. Except it wasn't my body. Not at all.

Calm down.

I was now schizophrenic, too.

I was still howling and hyperventilating and I took off into the forest just because I was now sure I was asleep, and the running would probably help me wake up.

Embry…Embry Call, that same voice in my head called. Slow down. It's okay. Calm down and I'll explain everything.

And I did slow down, eventually. But when Paul did explained everything, I really wished that he hadn't.

So, for some reason, I got the idea for this story and I'm just kind of going with it. These first couple chapters are kind of fillers before I get to the whole Leah part, but I hope you enjoy them. Please tell me what you think :) Thanks!