I suppose any story really should begin, aptly, at the beginning. I was born to Charlie Swan, the Chief of Police in a little town called Forks, Washington, and to his second wife, Sue Uley. My father had gotten married, for the first time, in his twenties to a young woman named Renée, and the pair of them had a daughter named Bella, my paternal half-sister. My mother had gotten married to Harry Clearwater and with him had Leah and Seth, my maternal half-sister and half-brother respectively.

My sister Leah kept a close eye on me almost as soon as I was born. Both my parents were in their mid-forties at my birth, so I had turned out to be a happy accident. My mother was a little frail when I was born, eight weeks before her due date, in the winter of 2015, just a month before Christmas. If it weren't for Dr. Carlisle Cullen, Bella's father-in-law, I wouldn't be alive today, as I was very small when I was born.

I soon turned out to be a happy and healthy baby. Even my brother Seth liked me, although he often joked that he would have preferred a younger brother who would look up to him. I looked up to him anyway, physically at least, and I stopped growing when I reached the height of five feet five inches during my first year of high school.
I had been sent to an exclusive boarding school in England due to my high grades and had been absent from Forks since the age of ten. I was given a laptop to Skype my family during these appalling periods of absence but somehow we made do. I was fifteen the summer after my first year of high school ended, and I decided that enough was enough. I flew home that summer and put my foot down, and now I just have to figure out what I'm going to say.

"I'm not going back!" I said for the sixteenth time that afternoon, hating that my voice was trembling ever so slightly. "I miss you all so much..."

"Sweetheart," my mother says calmly, gently pushing the black hair I'd inherited from her, Leah, and Seth out of my face. "I know you miss us. We all miss you, too, but we don't always get what we want, love."

I felt very angry. I could not believe it; they seriously did not understand. I felt sick for the millionth time that year, feeling hot all over. I backed away from her, but she wouldn't leave me alone. She even tried to braid my hair like she used to when I was little, but all I wanted was some space. She didn't understand anything, least of all her teenage daughter...

"Mom, please don't touch me right now," I tried to say, but it came out like a roar which quickly erupted through me, and suddenly I fell to my knees, my clothes ripping from my body, and suddenly I had paws.

"Alex!" cried my mother, backing away, her eyes full of fear. She managed to run to the front door and threw it open, and I darted outside.

Suddenly I had voices in my head that were not my own, and I couldn't think straight at all! I desperately needed to get out of there, I thought, keeping to the trail of the woods behind my father's house. I kept running, not getting tired, when a small gray wolf crossed my path. I naturally screamed, and what sounded like a desperate howl filled my ears.

Alex, calm down! came Leah's voice in my mind.

I blinked. Leah was a wolf?! I could not believe it. I'm scared! I thought back to her.

Leah sighed. I know, she replied in an understanding tone of voice. I managed to call the other's off. I explained to them that because you and I are the only girl werewolves ever, that you should have some time to get used to all of this...

Werewolf?! I demanded. I looked down at myself for the first time; this was so not happening... I saw great mounds of pure white fur, and I felt myself shaking my head in pure and complete disbelief.

Yes, you're a werewolf, Leah informed in a calm voice. And you really did a number on Mom's emotional state back there...

Thanks a lot, I replied sarcastically.

I know you didn't mean to, she said gently.

How did I become this way? I whispered to her.

You phased, Leah said simply. Lemme guess, Mom said no to something you really wanted, right?

I immediately felt very awkward. Yeah...

Leah sighed. Well, the Cullen's are entertaining two of Jasper's old friends, Peter and Charlotte, from his days as a Newborn. Their presence not so far away must have set you off. It's okay, though. We're all here to help you.

Newborn? I demanded. What are you talking about...?

Leah sighed again. Look, we never told you because we never thought it'd be an issue, you know? And Charlie doesn't know, so...

What doesn't my dad know?! I demanded of her. What the hell is going on?!

The Cullen's aren't exactly human either, Leah explained. Didn't you ever notice how attractive they all are, and how cold they are when you hugged them?

I felt myself blinking in my new body, feeling completely stupid. Oh, my god, I said. So, all those old stories, about the Cold Ones? They're not just Quileute folklore? The Cullens are actual vampires?!

Yeah, Leah informed me patiently; she would be patient, given that she had grown up on the stories herself, and likely had been a werewolf for quite some time... Look, this is going to take some getting used-to, but we're all here for you, okay?

All? I found myself asking, my voice raising an octave at that.

Many wolves stepped out from the trees around us then. There were two who stood together, a mighty black one and a reserved-looking reddish-brown one. I blinked, trying to pick out who was who.

Welcome to the wolf pack, Alex Swan, said Sam's voice, which came from the mighty-looking black wolf.

Try not to be too formal with her, Sam, said Jacob's rather easygoing voice. She is my aunt, after all.

Half-aunt, by marriage, said a pale brown wolf, and I was shocked to hear Seth's voice, and apparently my face showed it. It's sort of a family thing, Alex, Seth explained to me as a means of explanation, although I seriously thought I'd need some severe therapy after this...

There was a chuckle then and I turned quickly to see where it had come from. It came from a gray wolf riddled with black spots and other various black markings and patterns. He looked at me full on then, and it was then that I considered if wolves could faint.

I don't know about that, replied the wolf in Embry's voice.

Ah, yes. Embry. Embry was one of Jacob's best friends, who sort of hung out with Seth, now that Jacob was more than a little preoccupied with his wife, Renesmee. I nodded and did my best to appear nonchalant.

Leah, how do I...? I stopped, thinking quickly. I've got to go back home to Mom. Apologize...

Oh, yeah, she said. She gave all the other boys looks before they made excuses about having to get home for dinner and sped away. Seth said that he'd meet us back at the house and Leah and I walked slowly to a clearing where she quickly phased back into her human form. Concentrate, she said, nodding at me as she retrieved clothes from a hollow tree.

I nodded. I shut my eyes and felt something like a fur coat slip away and suddenly I felt as if I should be freezing but oddly was not. The sensation of Leah thrusting something in my hands made me look up at her.

"Put these on," she said, averting her eyes as I quickly stepped into the shorts and pulled the T-shirt over my head. "I don't want to see those boobs or that booty of yours..."

"Why?" I asked stupidly as I followed her home.

Leah sighed. "Because when I'm in my wolf form I could do something stupid like remembering you naked and we know we don't want any of the boys to see you that way."

I blushed. "Maybe one of them..."

Leah stopped walking and turned around to face me. "What?"

I sighed. "Leah, come on. You know me almost as good as anyone. You know that I've liked Embry...a lot...more than any other boy...for as long as I can remember..."

She sighed. "You're very young..."

"I'm sixteen in five months," I replied defensively. "I am allowed to like a boy."

She shook her head and dragged me the rest of the way home. Mom was in the kitchen making chicken and potatoes while Seth was perched on a chair at the kitchen island. He had his hand in the bamboo-woven fruit bowl, which was a normal occurrence, while his other hand contained a half-eaten apple, which he chewed as he chattered away to our mother.

"She's amazing, Mom!" he cried. When he heard us come in, he turned and looked me up and down. "Wow!" he said. "And you said you were five feet five..."

I blinked. I knew that I'd grown a bit over the past year, but I didn't know how much until Leah and I stood side by side. My older sister was around five feet ten and, now that I stood beside her, I noticed that I was around the same height as she was.

Our mother turned and smiled at us all, and then sighed. "I've called Woldingham School," she said, naming my school. "I informed them that you've decided to have your remaining high school years here, in Forks with your family. You will attend Forks High School like your sister Bella did."

"Okay," I said, relieved that we didn't have to argue about it anymore, although I realized that it likely had to do with me not being completely human.

The front door came open then and we all turned to see my dad. He did a double take when he saw me, and Mom took Leah and Seth into another room while I sighed. I knew this had to be talked about, but I knew it would have been nice for some fellow-werewolf support in a situation like this...

"Hi, Dad!" I chirped, going up to him and throwing my arms around him in what seemed to be appropriate daughter behavior.

"Alexandra," he said formally, and I was taken aback by this. He always called my sister "Bella" or "Bells", despite the fact that she was well into her twenties... "How's everything?"

"Dad, just Alex, you know that." Lexi had been my nickname up until I'd gone to boarding school, and I had phased it out by the time I was about twelve or thirteen. Ha-ha, phased...

"Yeah," he replies, setting down some of his things, barely looking at me. "Your mom making that chicken of hers?"
"Yeah, Dad..."

"Quickly becoming a favorite meal of mine," he goes on.

"Dad... Do you remember when Jacob talked about changes?"

He nodded, stiffening slightly at the memory that I was now privy to, which made me wonder if we werewolf's had something FCC related in our innermost thoughts about one another. As a cop, my dad was used to strange occurrences, but I didn't want him to have a heart attack or anything, like Seth and Leah's dad...

"Yes," he said, his tone slightly uneasy.

I sighed. "Dad, I have to show you something...something you should know," I begin slowly. I had previously managed to clear a space in the living room yet I made a vow to pay Leah back for her clothes as I felt a low growl erupt from me and I was then a white wolf in front of my father, who naturally turned the same color that I did and backed into a chair.

My mother came walking out and I immediately lay down to show her that I wouldn't harm anyone. She stroked me behind my ears and then went to sit with my father. She spoke to him calmly while I went into the bathroom and phased back into my human form. I grabbed Leah's robe on the back of the door and came out.

"Dad...I'm sorry..."

"Don't," he said. "Go to your room. I can't see you right now."

"Dad, I—"

My mother fixed me with an impatient look. "Alex, go on. Your father just needs some time right now..."

I sigh, but nod at that. I went upstairs and put on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, all the while trying and failing to hold back my sudden onset of tears. I stopped dressing myself then and tore off my clothes before jumping through my window naked, phasing immediately. I ran and ran all the way to my sister Bella's cottage, and yowled mournfully at the door.

Edward opened it and looked more than a little surprised at my appearance. "Wow, have we met before?" he asked.

"What is it?" Bella asked, coming to stand beside him. She blinked in shock at the chocolate brown eyes, which had been hers in human form, and immediately told Edward to excuse the two of us. I knew he knew it was me then, and he gave me an understanding smile before walking up to the big house. "Can you phase back?" she asked me patiently, and once I did, she hauled me into the house and handed over a set of clothes for me and told me to sit down in her authoritative older sister voice.

I did as she said and watched as her phone buzzed softly from the pocket of her jeans. "Hi, Sue," she said. "Yes, Alex is here. I'll bring her back later, don't worry about it. I'm sure Dad's just... Yeah, exactly. Yeah, of course I'll bring her back. See you all later," she said, ending her call with my mother.

I pulled my now-clothed knees upwards and towards my chest. "I just needed to get away and out of the house..."

Bella nodded, moving to sit on the couch beside me. "How was England? Did you just get back today?"
I sighed. England seemed like a lifetime ago now. "Yeah," I replied. "I'm not going back."

"Because of...?"

"Yeah. And because I..." I looked away from her.

She smiled. "You like someone," she said with a knowing look.

I nodded. "Yeah."

Bella leaned closer to me. "Anyone I know?"

"Yes. It's Embry."

Bella grinned. "He's a nice guy, Embry," she said softly. "Have you told him how you feel?" she wanted to know.

I shook my head at her, feeling hot all over. "I haven't seen him yet. Well...not really. He saw me in my wolf form."

Bella thought for a moment. She pulled out her phone and accessed her contacts with a smirk and dialed a number. "Alice," she said.

"Bella?! Are you okay?!" her sister-in-law demanded, sounding very, very worried. "I couldn't see you..."

"I'm just with Alex," Bella replied.

"But Alex is in England..." Alice began.

"No, she came back today," Bella explained patiently.

"But why can't I see any..." Alice was then at Bella's front door, and stepped inside without knocking. She got a good look at me and immediately made a face when she did. "Oh gawd... Bella, what is that god-awful wet dog smell?!"

Immediately I blushed and looked away from her.

"Alice," Bella chastised lightly. "It's Alex's first day as a werewolf," she went on. "I don't want to have to make you be nice to her."

Alice sighed, obviously counting to ten in her head in an effort to calm herself down. "What did you need me for?" she asked.

"Alex here likes Embry," replied Bella. "I was thinking that perhaps you could help us select something appropriate for her to be viewed in for the first time. Embry has not seen Alex in her human form since she was ten, before she left for England. My little sister wants to make an understandably good impression."

My wet dog smell forgotten, Alice's sweet face lit up as she jubilantly clapped her hands. "Oh, that's wonderful!" she said, taking me by the arm and yanking me down the hall with Bella trailing behind us. Alice walked into Bella's closet and poked around.
If I had inherited my mother's hair, my father's eyes and Leah's height, I had inherited Bella's skin and her size. Bella would often send me clothes from Alice that she would get, not like and therefore not wear, and then I'd get them. Simple, I thought as Alice rifled through various articles of clothing my sister owned.

"Ah-ha!" Alice said then, pulling out a creamy white dress; I knew that there was no way that she knew that I was a white wolf.

The dress itself was slightly above the knee in length with a scoop neck with a thin layer of lace on top of the base fabric. The sleeves were around three-quarters of my arm in length and Alice suddenly got an idea into her head.

The short vampire hastily stripped me down without permission and pushed me into the shower and instructed me how to wash in a seemingly proper manner. Once I was out of the shower she blow-dried my hair and brushed it long so that it was black and silky and hung almost all the way down my back. She then put me into a white laced bra with matching underwear before putting the dress over my head. She put a necklace with wooden beads around my neck and had me step into white pumps.

She then looked to see where Embry was and dragged me outside again, where I hollered a quick goodbye to Bella. She pulled me towards the big house and to the massive garage where her 2006 yellow Porsche 911 Turbo was and drove quickly and quietly on some roads before coming to a full stop.

"I can't go any further, due to the treaty," she explained. "Just up the road there is First Beach, as I'm sure you remember. Keep walking along the main road here and..." She stopped for a moment in order to have maximum concentration. "I've seen Embry seeing you! Go!" she said, and pushed me out of the car without ceremony and I walked on the sun splashed highway down the road to the beach.

I could hear shouts of the boys and tried my best to look confident as I kept on walking. I was gripping Bella's worn copy of Wuthering Heights and trying to decipher the real relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine when suddenly I heard every voice on the beach go from loud and exuberant to completely soft and silent.

I kept right on walking and reading, beginning to see why my sister enjoyed this story so much. I remembered that love and romance languages went hand in hand, and considered which language I would study at Forks High School. Likely Spanish, as I had learned both French and Italian whilst in England.

As I walked, I also remembered how magical First Beach was, as Jacob's older sister, Rachel, first met Paul, a friend of Sam's, and now the two of them were very happy together. Everyone was related to everyone, and Sam was mine, Seth, and Leah's third cousin through our mother. I was just considering how complex a great many relationships, both familial and otherwise, might prove to be when suddenly footsteps walked towards me.

"Hi."

I looked up slowly, seeing none other Embry Call in all his 6'4" glory standing directly in front of me. Keep it cool, Swan, I told myself. "Hi," I replied.

"How are you?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know," I replied, forcing myself not to be the stereotypical damsel in distress and/or the main female character in a Nicholas Sparks novel. "What I do want to know is, can werewolves faint?"

Embry smiled larger. "I assume so," he replied. His expression changed then, to that of a more serious individual. His dark eyes seemed to take on a broader understanding of the world around him, and his face seemed to clear of any humor at all.

I wondered what was happening to him when suddenly I felt an extreme force telling me that Embry was the one. It was almost like a gravitational force was compelling me never to be separated from him ever again. I couldn't explain it, but I knew that he felt it, too, especially when our hands wove together.

We gazed at each other then, and it was almost as if the stars were aligned in our favor, as if this very moment was always meant to happen between us. It seemed as if we were in perfect tandem, and nothing would ever change that. His perfect lips pulled up then, and I felt mine following suit.

"It's you," he said softly.

My smile did not waver. "It's you," I whispered back.