The Only Exception

Author's Note; I'm not going into detail about the legends, just an FYI.

The sick feeling returned and my stomach growled in protest, but I was going to go through with it and ask him. I walked into the house and called out for Oliver and got no answer. He was usually home before me on Friday's. I sighed and walked into the kitchen, opening the fridge and grabbing myself a water. I called for Oliver again and got no answer.

Once I was in my room I set down my bag and checked myself in the mirror. The bruises were becoming more noticeable around my neck so I grabbed my cover up and rubbed gently over the purple spots, which wouldn't heal up for awhile. After I covered myself up I brushed my hair thoroughly before letting myself fall on my bed.

I let time pass, just staring up at the plain colored ceiling. What would happen tonight, after I asked Oliver? Would he let me go, or torture me before I could go - if I could go? I placed my hands over my face and closed my eyes and shook off the thoughts - they weren't worth thinking about. And before long, I heard footsteps downstairs and figured that Oliver was home. I pulled myself off my bed and pulled myself downstairs.

"Oliver?" I called out as I stepped into the kitchen.

"What?" He answered through his teeth - he was close to being hostile already, it would be a definite no.

"Um, I got invited to a bon fire tonight..." Oliver snapped his head to me and gave me a glare. I blinked, "And I was wondering if I could go?"

Oliver sighed and shrugged, just before sending a slap across my face. "You can go, dear." He said with a sickly smile. I shuttered at the look he gave me before backing out of the kitchen and over to the door.

"I'll be back soon." I muttered as I left the house in a hurry. I ran down the sidewalk and began my walk on the side of the road. My eyes wandered at the scenery around me and soon I was transfixed on the beauty that this place held. I found an opening in the forest and took my chance to check it out.

I bent under branches that were close to touching the ground, and leaped over dead logs as I stumbled around in the forest. The scene before me caught my attention and that was all that I could think about. The tall green trees that planted themselves firmly in the ground all over the place, the certain woodsy smell that seemed so familiar yet so different.

The sounds of any normal forest seemed so normal to me - I always loved walking in the forests back home. There, I could escape anything, when I fought with my parents, when my parents fought with themselves, and after my mother died and the beatings started. But the sounds in this forest were totally different, hardly any noises at all. Except one.

The sound came from behind me, sounds like heavy footsteps, or heavy dragging. And then the snorting noise which anyone could recognize as a bear or any animal with a snout. Then the heat that crawled across the back of my neck, and the slow and even breaths of it. I turned around slowly to become face to face with a giant, russet colored wolf? I gasped and flinched away from the giant animal.

A small whine came from the wolf's mouth and his encentric brown eyes lowered to my height so that we were looking at each other evenly. A small smile crept onto my mouth and the wolf moved his large head closer to mine. His cold nose pushed against my right cheek and leaving me with a cold breeze. I slowly reached my hand and the wolf came forward and touched its nose to my hand.

"You're so... beautiful." I whispered as I started to run my hands through the wolf's soft fur. It closed its eyes and let out a happy groan that was almost like a positive purr. I giggled quietly as I pet it some more. When its eyes opened, it let out a whimper before licking my face and running off into the forest.

"Wow." I whispered, amazed at how unafraid I was to bond with such a large, wild animal, and I didn't even run from it. I sighed and began my walk - or more of a stumble, through the forest before finding a clearing just a bit from the beach.

"There you are." A husky voice said, relieved. I jumped and let out a small scream as I turned to find Jacob walking up to me. "Sorry, did I scare you?" He gave me a toothy grin as I nodded and tried to get my breathing back to a normal rate.

"It's fine." I mumbled.

"So, why are you in the forest? You know it's really dangerous out here." God, he sounded like an actual caring parent did. But I had none of those, so what was the point. I shrugged and kept walking until both Jacob and I were finally on the beach.

"I found nothing dangerous." I protested quietly.

Jacob sighed and shook his head. "Let's just get to the bonfire - legends are being told."
"Legends?" I looked at him skeptically.

"Yup." He said, popping his 'p'. We walked across the beach until we were finally close to the large group of people crowding around a massive fire. The whole group stopped talking as Jacob and I arrived. I felt a bit queasy and Jacob noticed because he suddenly spoke up. "Guys, this is Braylin. I invited her here - to hear - the stories." He empathized each pause as he looked deeply into every pair of eyes.

"Welcome, Braylin. I am Emily, and this is my fiancée, Sam." A beautiful woman with long black hair approached me with a warm hug. When she pulled away I got one small look at the three scars that marked her face. I looked away quickly not wanting to be rude.

"Well, let's sit down and start the legends." Sam announced as the others filed into random spots. Jacob pulled me over to a log and sat me down between him and a younger boy whose named I later learned was Seth. He was a really cheery guy, and I wasn't all for that so I ignored him most of the time.

Sam began to speak of the ‘cold ones’ and the magic that they gave to the tribe, I felt the hairs on my arms stand up. Jacob shifted uncomfortably as Sam continued to talk about the coven and the change they made from human to wolf. He also, with a knowing look at Jacob, went on to talk about relationships between werewolves and their mates. Apparently when a werewolf found their soul mate, a certain connection called Imprinting was made. The strong bond between the two really struck me because I knew nothing like that would happen to me. And besides, none of this was real, they were just legends.

As Sam finished up the legends, Jacob somehow found a way to scoot closer to me so our arms were hardly a centimeter away from touching. I bit my lip as the butterflies swarmed around in my stomach - I had never been this close to a human boy, let alone a gorgeous one. The closest that I had been to any male, was my father. And I didn't even want to think about the possibilities of what he could do to me.

Once Sam was finished, I side glanced at Jacob and found him nodding up at Sam with a firm expression. Before I could get too nosey and curious about what they had mentally shared, I turned my stare over to a girl with short brown hair, sitting by herself. She somehow felt my presence because she looked up at me. Her eyes met mine, and I felt a sense of understandment between us. She gave me a weak smile before putting her head back down and drawing circles in the sand.

"So, would you like to go walk on the beach?" Jacob broke my thoughts clearly and I looked up at him and nodded. He pulled me up and soon we began to walk down the beach. I was glad that I had worn sandals because I was close enough to the water that every now and then, the waves pushed up further and covered my feet.

"So, how are you liking La Push so far?" Jacob awkwardly broek the silence. I let out a breath of air and gave him a weak shrug. I didn't know what to think, or even what to say. I'd only been here a few days, and to be honest, I wasn't really caring so much for this place.

"I like the forest." I answered him simply. Jacob gave me a weird look before responding.

"You really should listen to me and not go into the forest alone." His words were like a harsh demand, yet he was only suggesting it.

"Why not?" I looked up at him, questions buzzing to come out of my mouth.

"It's just not safe." He answered. I rolled my eyes and forced myself not to groan in aggrivation. If he was going to make me stay away from the forest, he should atleast give me a reason.

"Whatever." I muttered. Jacob sighed and pulled on my arm, making us both stop in our tracks.

He let out a huge breath, "I know you saw a wolf." No expression played on his face, he was being serious.

I gaped at him shortly before retracting what he just said. "Wait, were you following me that whole time?" I almost yelled. Jacob zoned out in thought, as if debating on what to tell me. It should be the truth, though.

Jacob's brown eyes locked with mine, "Yeah, I guess I did."

Shaking my head I asked, "Why would you follow me?" He shrugged in response, nothing more to say. I pressed myself not to groan, and decided to roll my eyes instead. "Well, whatever you say." I turned away from him and began to walk away. A large, warm hand grabbed at my arm and pulled my back. I winced at the pressure he was putting on my bruised arm.

"Really, Braylin. Please - just don't - God just stay away from there!" He yelled, and his body began to shake again. If Jacob shook at Paul's stubborness, and my own, I couldn't even imagine -

"I have to go." He said quickly before running off into what? Oh, that's right - the forest. I rolled my eyes and glared at the entrance which Jacob had gone through. A small pull began to tell me to follow him, to figure out what in the world he was talking about. But I ignored that pull and walked abck to the bonfire.

Paul's large smile was the first thing that I saw when I found my way back to the bonfire. He gave me a small hug and pulled me over to a log. I felt a little jittery as I looked around for Jacob. If he was going to warn me about how dangerous the forest was, why was he going in it?

And why was I even daring to care about this Jacob Black person? Why was my heart beating at a non-normal pace - ever since Jacob left me on the beach?

~

"Thanks for taking me home, Paul." I smiled as I unbuckled myself from his car. I looked at the time in his car which read 12:15 am. I was dead.

"No problem. Uh - we should hangout soon." He began, giving me a shy smile. He was cute when he was nervous - when he began to blush. I shrugged and hopped out of his car.

"I'll think about it." I teased. "Night, Paul."

"Night, Bray." One last smile, and Paul had pulled out of my driveway and soon he was out of sight. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as I opened the front door. What would be in store for me tonight?