Sunsets and Silhouette Dreams.

Anthony Meadows stared at his wife, a look of mingled sadness and love on his face. Ruby had always wanted children, he knew. Normally, Anthony would give her anything she wanted, he loved her so dearly. Children, however, were different. He couldn’t risk having a boy and cursing him with his own affliction. Ruby knew this, but he could still see the dark cloud in her eyes whenever she saw a baby. His beautiful Ruby was lonely, and he couldn’t think of a solution.

He watched her washing dishes, her long dark hair shining down her back. There had to be something to let Ruby have a child, but the child be safe. When suddenly, it came to him.

“Ruby, I’ve got it!”

She turned from her dishes, a bemused smile on her lips. “What, dear?”

“We could adopt,” He said excitedly, moving over towards her. “It wouldn’t be our child, but it would be a child, a safe one. We could have a family, Rub. What do you say?”

His delighted wife threw her arms around his neck, her soapy hands wetting his back. He didn’t care.

“Anthony, that’s a wonderful idea!”

A week later, they found an adoption agency they liked, and set up an appointment. The paper work and classes they had to take were well worth it, in the Meadows’ eyes. Even the home inspection was taken in stride. Ruby looked happier than Anthony had seen in her months.

Finally, after a few months, Ruby and Anthony were getting to pick out the child they wanted.

“Ant, I’m scared,” Ruby said on the car ride to the agency.

“Why?”

She bit her lip. “I don’t want any of the kids to feel… left out. The ones we don’t choose.”

“Different children are for different people, Rub. They know that. We’ll just find one that’s perfect for us. We’ll know.”

Ruby nodded, reassured. Anthony would be a wonderful father, and help her through this.

The adoption agency was clean and bright, though Ruby knew it was no place to raise a child. One of the workers lead them to the room full of babies while Ruby tried not to look into the eyes of the other children. She pitied them all.

The nursery was painted yellow. One of the babies was crying while a woman changed his diaper. Ruby bit her lip again, but smiled when a little blonde girl locked eyes with her. When the baby reached her arms up, Ruby crossed the room quickly to hold her.

“That’s Lucy,” The worker, named Jane, said to Ruby kindly. “Isn’t she a doll?”

Ruby nodded, almost breathless. And Anthony smiled.

“Is that her?”

“That’s her.”

And so it was settled. By the end of the year, Lucy Jane Meadows, a one-year-old baby, lived with Ruby and Anthony as their adopted daughter. And Lucy thrived. She always knew she was adopted; it was obvious, since Ruby and Anthony were obviously Native American and their adoptive daughter was fair-haired and pale. It never mattered to Lucy, though. Ruby was her Mommy, and Anthony her Daddy. They tried hard not spoil the girl, but it didn’t always work. She was a happy little girl.

But things weren’t perfect. From a young age, she had dreams about huge wolves. Anthony worried and wondered about Lucy. He’d never wanted his child exposed to the dark world of the shape shifters, but from his daughter’s descriptions, that’s what she was seeing. And Anthony could not for the life of him figure out why.

Lucy grew older. She was always beautiful. The girl had friends, of course, but she was never very sociable. It worried Ruby, of course, but Lucy was simply content alone. Especially after her first break-up with a boy named Adam. It was unusual, but it was simply Lucy.

“Daddy,” Lucy said, perching next to the dark-haired man on the couch.

“Yes, Sunshine?”

Lucy smiled. Sunshine had been her family nickname for a long time. “Daddy… where is La Push?”

He jumped. “Why?”

“In one of my dreams… I saw a sign that said ‘Welcome to La Push.’ But where is it?”

Anthony sighed. “It’s in Washington. It’s where your mother and I are from.”

“Daddy… I want to go there.”

“Lucy, you don’t understand, there are dark things there, things I want to protect you from. That’s why I moved you and your mother here, to New Jersey.”

But Lucy was determined. “If you don’t take me, I’ll just go when I’m eighteen. I’ll be by myself then.”

Anthony stared at his seventeen-year-old daughter. Her small frame and pretty green eyes told him to stand his ground, but the hard set of her face and the way the nightmares sometimes made her scream made the decision for him. “I’ll see what I can do.”

She smiled brightly, thanked him, and walked out of the room. Anthony pulled out his cell phone and stepped outside.

“Hello?” Sam Uley said.

“Hey, Sam, it’s Anthony. Anthony Meadows.”

Sam, on the other side of the country, remembered the name, spoken by the elders. The man who had run from his fate, who Sam had only conversed with a time or two. “What can I do for you, Anthony?”

“This is going to sound crazy, but my daughter, she’s been having… dreams. Always has had them, actually. She sees the wolves in her dreams. She talks about them all the time, as if she’s actually seeing the pack. Is there a sort of reddish brown wolf in your pack?”

“Jacob.” Sam’s voice was tense at the mention of his friend and pack mate who ran away after Bella Swan’s wedding. “What about him?”

“Lucy sees him the most. Says he’s in Canada, she thinks. But Sam, it’s strange - she’s my adoptive daughter. She’s got no connection to the Quileutes, but she still has these dreams.”

“Well, why are you telling me this?”

“She wants to go to La Push. I just don’t know if it’s safe… I would’ve called old Quil Ateara, but I figured you would know more about what was really going on, since you’re the leader of the pack.”

Sam was quiet on the other end of the line. He knew Anthony, had talked to him a few times, trying to convince him to come back to La Push. His daughter, Lucy, must have been something. “Not that we know of. There’s a coven of vampires nearby, the Cullens, but we have a treaty. They won’t harm the girl. Everything else, we can protect her from. As a matter of fact… I’d suggest a move back, Anthony. You know Ruby misses the town, and you can’t run forever.”

Anthony sighed. He knew it was true. Anthony himself was one of the wolves, though not in Sam’s pack. He hated that side of him, but Sam was right. He couldn’t run forever. “Okay, Sam. We’ll be down there by the end of the month.”

After Anthony hung up, Sam phased, hoping his wolf brother would be a wolf. And he was correct. He could hear Jacob’s angry thoughts.

Jacob, Sam thought. You need to come home.

That an order?

Not yet.

Then no.

Jake, there’s a girl. She needs to meet you.

I’m not meeting any girls. They aren’t… they aren’t her. Pain seared through Jacob Black at the mention of his love, Bella Swan, who had gotten married. He missed her greatly, but he couldn’t stand to see her. Which was why he returned home for the wedding, then left again, as quickly as he could.

Not for that reason. She’s Anthony Meadows' adoptive daughter, but she dreams about us. The pack. Particularly… you. You don’t need to meet her, but she needs to meet you. She needs answers. They’re moving down here by the end of the month, and I want you home. That is an order.

Anger filled Jacob’s mind at being bossed around, but there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t defy his alpha.

Jacob Black would have to come home and meet Lucy Meadows.