Chapter 1 – Coming Home

Mika's grey eyes started out the window of the Amtrak train; the scenery flying by at insanely wild speeds. She could almost feel the eyes of judgment on her. She just knew people were staring at her and knew what she was hiding. She hadn't been back to La Push in two years; consequentially missing her sophomore and junior years of high school. She'd spent the last two years on the Makah reservation with her Aunt Lucy.

Now she wasn't so sure going back to La Push was going to be the best idea. But she had been chosen. And she couldn't turn it down. No one had ever turned it down. Traditions within the Quileute tribe were far and few between but they were permanent and permanent they would always remain.

Even after she'd been attacked.

Quileute legends were nearly unbelievable. They were the descendants of wolves. The legend was -that her people some umpteen years ago- had come across strangers called on their land that were hard as stone and cold as ice; blood was their life elixir. The cold ones, well, they were vampires; and were the Quileute's mortal enemy. Anytime the Quileute with the specific wolf gene inside of their blood were near the vampire's they transformed into massive wolves to defend their land.

She wouldn't even know all of this now if it hadn't been for one person.

Paul Redson.

She knew people could be cruel and uncaring, but no one was more cruel and uncaring then Paul Redson. He'd made her life a living, breathing daily and nightly nightmare. She had been living on the Makah reservation when her father uprooted her and moved to La Push, six months after her mother died. Her father had met and remarried a woman from La Push.

Mika had never been the ideal girl; nor did she consider herself girlfriend material. She was chunky, maybe even slightly overweight, but she wasn't so fat she couldn't see her feet. Paul Redson fed off her insecurities about her weight issue. Of course at the time her father's new skinny ass wife always made her feel even worse about the weight she couldn't lose. Leann always called it her baby fat she couldn't get rid of.

Mika rolled her eyes at the terrible memories. Paul teasing her and Leann telling her he wouldn't do that if she took some initiative and went on a diet. Plenty of nights her freshman year were spent letting her pillow soak up her silent tears.

It only got worse the day she found out what imprinting was.

She could still remember it all so clearly.

~Flash Back~

Nyla sat in her sister Emily's kitchen counter as she watched her older sister busy herself cooking dinner for the guys in the pack. Nyla always disappeared before the pack got there. She couldn't chance facing Paul Redson. It was bad enough he was torturing her during the day at school and at night during her nightmares, she refused to be the disgusting punch line of all his jokes between 3pm and 10pm. She needed at least a few hours of peace.

Emily smiled softly at her little sister. "Kayla, you know your whole life isn't going to be like it is during high school. High school just happens to be the four suckiest years of anyone's life."

"Em you have no idea. You're a flawless beauty and you have a man who things the world of you and thinks the sun rises and sets in your eyes. He wants to marry you and have a ton of babies with you. I'm never getting married. I don't even want to date. Relationships are too complicated. All those unrealistic feelings and lies you have to tell each other to make each other believe you've got a perfect life together."

Emily scoffed audibly. "Makayla, do you honestly think my life is perfect? And flawless beauty…Really?" Emily frowned as she pointed to the scars on the right side of her face. Did you somehow forget how I acquired the un-flawless part of my face?"

"No I didn't. I'm still not sure how you forgave Sam. But then again I can see the kind of love he has in his eyes for you. It's the endless and unconditional love. To me your life is perfect. You don't have to share a home with dad and the wicked step-mother. You know where she constantly reminds you that if you went on a diet, then Paul wouldn't be as cruel if I was skinny."

A year earlier Sam Uley the alpha of the pack had gotten mad very fast and phased into a wolf with Emily's standing too close. The result was three claw mark scars on the right side of her face and on her right arm. She was still a flawless beauty to Makayla. Sam had endless guilt flowing through him, due to his injuring his fiancé. Sometimes Makayla could see the guilt etched across his face when he was off standing across the room staring at Emily. Then she'd turn and wink at him or blow him a kiss and a smile would adorn his handsome features and suddenly all was magically forgotten.

Emily's smile turned into a deep frown. "She's still trying to feed you those handfuls of bullshit? I'm going to have a talk with dad. The way he allows her to treat you is completely repulsive and unacceptable."

Kayla shook her head negatively. "It won't help. He's got heart shaped eyes for her only. There is no help for either of them."

Emily watched as Kayla physically jumped when the back door swung open and hit the wall behind it as Jacob Black, Embry Call and Quil Ateara Jr. They were laughing and shoving each other around. "I can't believe Paul finally admitted he imprinted on Emily's sister. He's such an…-ass." The words died on Embry's lips when he looked over and saw Emily's little sister Makayla looking rather uncomfortable.

"What's imprinting?" Makayla would have perfect hearing and have to ask.

Embry rubbed the back of his neck. He knew now that he'd said the word imprinting in front of her it would have to be explain, Embry cringed. "Sorry Em."

Emily sighed heavily. "It's okay Embry. She needs to know. Would you guys excuse us? Let Sam know what's going on." The trio of boys nodded as they moved out of the house, pulling the door closed behind them.

Makayla's eyebrows furrowed. "What do I need to know?"

Emily pushed a chair out at the table as she tapped her finger on the table and watched as Kayla walked over and sat next to her. "Imprinting is when the wolves find their soul mate. They'll never love anyone more than they do their imprint. They are destined to be together. It's basically a push in the right direction…And Paul seems to have imprinted on you."

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? HOW IN ALL THAT IS GOOD AND HOLY DID THAT HAPPEN?"

Emily's eyes grew wide as she watched her little sister stand up with a sudden burst of energy and knock over the chair she had been sitting in as she had a verbal freak out in the kitchen.

Sam walked up to the house with Paul and Jared as he saw Jake, Embry and Quil standing outside trying to look innocent and inconspicuous at the same time. His excellent wolf hearing picked up the yelling going on in the house. "Okay what's going on? Who's yelling and why?"

Embry cleared his throat trying to be smooth. "It's my fault Sam. We didn't know Kayla was here and I sort of let it slip that Paul imprinted on her. Emily was explaining what it meant."

Paul scowled as he snorted through his nose. "I hope that cow doesn't think I'm accepting her as my imprint. I refuse to accept anyone as my imprint who is as ugly as Quil."

Sam growled. "You will not be disrespectful Paul. Not in my home, not to my fiancés only sister."

Paul growled out when Jared smacked him in the back of the head. "Dude you don't have to be so rude."

Paul glared at Jared. "Look dude, just because you're whipped with your imprint doesn't mean I have to be with mine."

Embry scowled at Paul. "Yea because God forbid you actually be civil to Kayla for a whole two seconds." Embry rolled his eyes as he jogged into the trees and phased. He really couldn't stand the way Paul had been treating Kayla. She was such a sweet girl. And definitely deserved someone better then Paul Redson.

Emily stood up as she grabbed Kayla's shoulders and stopped her from pacing and effectively stopping her from ranting any further. "Kayla it's not that bad."

Kayla scoffed. "Not that bad? NOT THAT BAD? Are you kidding me? You just told me the same little asshole that has made it his life mission in making my life a living freaking hell for the last umpteen months is essentially bound to me for the rest of both our lives. As if my life couldn't get any more miserable. He's a God damn bully and the elders seem to think he's some knight in shining armor hero in a fur suit. I really can't see Paul Redson as nothing more than an over grown shitty diaper wearing baby. I'm going home before the bringing of doom shows up. I refuse to let him get to me when I'm not even in school."

Emily nodded; she would've loved to be able to have her sister there with the guys, but knew Kayla refused to be in the same room let alone house when Paul was around. Emily pulled her sister into her arms for a loving hug. "I love ya sweetie. Call me later."

"I love you too Em. Thanks." Kayla grabbed her back pack and walked out the front door. She walked down the steps and pasted the group of overly large shirtless men in the front yard. She vaguely heard something Paul was smarting off about as she rolled her eyes and continued on through the woods to get home.

Mika was pulled from the memories as the Amtrak train lurched to a stop in Port Angeles. Sighing heavily she ran her fingered through her waist length hair as she grabbed her shoulder bag and put it over her right shoulder. She could only hope the future that was in store for her was better then what she thought it had been two years ago.

The four scars that went from her ribcage down to the middle of her now flat stomach were tingling. Her hand rubbed them softly through her t-shirt. Maybe it was a sign. Maybe it was a warning. Hell maybe it was gas. Whatever it was it didn't hurt. At least not right now.