Endless Secrets

Nearly a week had passed since my pack was welcomed into La Push. I was still surprised at how easily they accepted us, knowing we were strangers from across oceans. Perhaps they were able to trust us because we are like them; I can’t imagine they’ve met many other shapeshifters, if any. Honestly, shifters tend to stay away from other packs, especially large ones in communities like La Push. Like normal wolves, we were naturally territorial. In Europe, where there were much more wolves and packs, fights over borders were common. The Quileute pack was lucky to be one of the only shapeshifter packs in this part of North America. The closest pack that I was aware of lived in the middle of Canada, and the closest in the United States was down in Texas.

No pack in Europe was anywhere close to the size of the Quileutes. The largest I’d seen was no more than eight or so wolves; more than that, they fought over authority. There were many smaller packs there that often got into fights – nothing too bad, but annoying nonetheless. Asia was a whole different story. Packs rarely existed there; normally no more than three wolves stuck together. Even then, they weren’t loyal. It was everyone for themselves, unless you had a mate. It was more common to see loners, or two wolves travelling as mates. It was also more of a ‘free territory’ all around, yet even more violent because they tended to be more aggressive. Was it wrong to admit I liked it there better than anywhere else?

In just the couple of days we have been here, Marisol and Lionel have gotten close with the pack. Lionel’s been hanging around with Paul; they seemed to balance each other out. They had very nearly become best friends in the little time. It seemed that when one was around, the other would be close. Marisol enjoyed all the boys, Seth especially. There weren’t many girls around her age, it seemed. She didn’t mind. I figured there was something going on between the two behind closed doors, but I didn’t feel as though it was worth it to pry. It wasn’t my business, and she seemed happy; that’s all that mattered to me. Marisol was basically my younger sister. I felt like she deserved someone to take care of her like Seth seemed to. They were in a state of puppy love; it was adorable.

Sam and Emily enjoyed my company as I enjoyed theirs, but I wasn’t so sure if I could call them friends. Good acquaintances, sure, but we weren’t that close. I felt as though Sam was only being kind to me because of the alliance we’d created; he was wary after Jacob had said, despite defending me. I also met another woman, Leah; the only female shifter in the area. She was certainly…something. Leah argued with everyone and had a general bitchiness; she was the worst with Sam. For whatever reason, she disliked me and kept bring up what Jacob said. They must be close, I suppose.

But I still didn’t understand what Jacob had been talking about. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t know who Alice was or what she could do. We had never actually met, but I had heard a lot about her and her “family” from other people, in my years of travelling. They seemed to be quite in interesting and powerful bunch.

Why would Alice say I was going to bring everyone trouble? Before I had even arrived, people were against me for no reason. It made me angry knowing that she could spread something around about me, and not even give specifics. The situation was similar to high school. Someone was always hearing rumors about themselves, without knowing the source. In this case, however, I knew the source – I just didn’t know the rumor. How the hell was I going to create trouble? Coming here, I didn’t have any particularly bad intentions. I suppose people could say what I was doing was a little shady. All I wanted to do was keep an eye on things, honestly. I wanted to see what the all the talk was about, how the pack and the vampires got along, and I wanted to see the girl – the hybrid. She was what interested me most. I didn’t know what Alice had seen or believed, and I felt like it was something I needed to know. She gave me a bad impression before I had even arrived, and I wouldn’t stand for it.

Today, I finally decided I would pay her a visit. After taking a shower, I walked into my closet, holding a fuzzy pale green towel close to my body. Marisol and I had gone on a shopping spree the other day and had already stocked our closets with the latest fashions – I’d be lying if I said I didn’t care about my appearance. I chose a shin-length skirt at random; it was floral and longer in the back. Grabbing a matching black pullover and a cream-colored scarf, I pulled on the clothes and threw the towel on the floor in the bathroom. I’d pick it up later.

I walked down the stairs and grabbed some leftover pizza from last night, scarfing it down before waving goodbye to Lionel and Paul, who were playing video games on the couch. Since I had no car to drive me, I walked. It wasn’t difficult, however, especially since I was graced with extra speed – even in my human form. Another reason for the shifters to be cautious around me, eh? Though I didn’t actually know where Alice lived, it was easy to find them. As soon as I left the boundaries of La Push, the smell of vampires overwhelmed me. It didn’t take much longer to find my way to their house.

Faintly, as I approached the house, I heard voices.

“Who is that?” A man’s voice asked. “Must be Jacob. Coming to visit Nessie again. The mutt can’t stay away.” Another voice replied, different from the first. I smirked. They’d be in for a surprise when they saw me, a foreign shapeshifter. Then again, wasn’t Alice expecting me? Surely she didn’t know when. Pursing my lips, I walked up to the house. I paused at the door, hesitating for a moment, before knocking. Someone ran to the door and waited a couple seconds before opening it, almost as if they were trying to act human. Hah.

A short woman with black hair and a pixie-like appearance opened the door. Immediately, her friendly grin dropped and her eyes narrowed, flickering between black and gold. I could hear the metal doorknob twisted as the clenched it tightly, obviously holding back. It was the devil herself who’d opened the door.

I frowned right back at her and glared. “I assume you’re Alice, then.” I growled. Already I started growing angry; something I’d always had problems with. I let out a breath, calming myself. I couldn’t let my temper control me – at least not yet.

“Yes.” She responded quietly, her voice strained. I could tell she was trying as hard as I was to keep her temper. Alice looked like someone who didn’t normally get angry; I figured this was new for her.

With a noise of distaste, I placed my hand on my hip and stared down at her. “Why the hell are you spreading rumors about me like an immature schoolgirl?” I hissed at her, nearly seeing red.

“I—” She began to defend herself, but I wasn’t finished with my rant.

“Do you know just how hard it was to get here? I had to fly on a fucking plane from Italy, run around for months trying to find this goddamn place! And when I got here, I had some imbecile telling lies!” I spat at her, my voice rising with each sentence. “Already, I had a bad reputation. For what? Some girl saying I was going to cause trouble? How fucking mature.” I was shouting at this point, throwing out swears every couple of seconds. It wasn’t something I could help; when I got angry, I tended to only get my anger across with harsh language.

Alice was quick to reply to my anger, her voice rising similarly to mine. “My visions are not lies!” She hissed back at me, glaring and trying to intimidate me; a five-foot tall girl compared to my five-foot-six. “I saw what I saw and if it comes true, so help me, I’ll kill you myself!” Her voice was in near hysterics at this point as she continued. “I won’t let you do this to me! I won’t let you ruin everything I have worked for, I won’t let you hurt Jasper or my family! I won’t!” She took steps towards me, forcing me to walk backwards down the porch steps.

“Darling, I have no idea what you’re talking about. It seems like you only care about yourself, though.” I replied in an even voice, smirking. At this point, I was asking for a fight. The wolf within begged me to lash out at Alice; it wanted me to rip apart my species’ enemy.

“What?” She hissed at me in disbelief. “I only care about myself? Why would I have gone to all that trouble to warn everyone about you if I only cared about myself?!”

“You’re a conceited bitch who goes above and beyond.” I shrugged, as if I hadn’t just hurled an insult at the girl’s face.

Her face twisted in anger. “You little—get the hell out of here, Silvia!”

Before I could mock her, another voice joined in.

“Who’s Silvia…?”

His soft-spoken voice was rather gravelly, with a hint of a southern accent that any normal girl would die for. My head lifted involuntarily to meet his honey-colored eyes boring into mine. Immediately, the anger disappeared from my body and my gaze softened. I sucked in a breath of air and held it, unable to breath properly. I felt as though something had wrapped around my heart and soul and squeezed the life out of it, only to breath it back in. At that moment, it was only his gaze holding me to the ground, only his happiness that mattered, only him. Everything around me turned blurry and started to spin – only he remained in focus. I couldn’t even pay attention to Alice, who was screaming incoherently at me. Lightly studying his face, I assumed it was similar to mind; in complete bliss and wonderstruck at having found my soul mate; ecstatic to find someone to spend the rest of my life with. At the same time, they seemed to be in pain for those who he would lose because of it. His eyes were dark and gloomy, knowing he’d lose me one day to death. I wasn’t a vampire, he thought; I wouldn’t life forever. I wanted to tell him everything. I wished I could.

It wasn’t love at first sight. This was a connection of the souls, a change in gravity, a new chance at life. All that mattered was him. All I knew was that I needed to make him happy. I would be whatever he wanted me to be: a guardian, a friend, a lover. I wanted – I needed to spend the rest of my life with him. I knew that, without him, the rest of my existence would be spent in misery. The thought of living without him was too painful to bear. The thought of being alone after this made me want to die. As much as I wanted to protect and to love him, I wanted the same in return. I wanted someone to hold me, someone to console things when life got tough. I wanted someone who I could share all my secrets with, without worrying of them getting out.

I don’t have to be alone anymore – do I?

Tears sprang in my eyes at the thought. More than anything, I now longed for lifelong companionship. Could he be the one? Oh, please –

What’s his name?

I don’t even know my soul mate’s name.

The started realization was enough to cause me to break eye contact and destroy the seconds-long bliss we’d shared. I finally let out the breath that had been caught in my throat with a breathy gasp and began to collapse into the grass.

He got there before I touched the first blade. His hands grasped mine desperately as he lowered me down gently, falling into the grass beside me. Staring into my eyes, he caressed my cheek and wiped away a tear; one I hadn’t realized had fallen. His golden eyes were swimming with emotions, all of which I could sense at that very moment. Disbelief. Confusion. Despair. Pain. Pure euphoria.

Alice’s shrill voice ruined the close moment. We both turned to look at the furious, vitriolic woman fuming on the porch and the audience that had gathered behind her, all having confused expressions.

“What? She’s a mutt! A mutt?! No! This is sick!” She screeched, throwing her hands into the air. Her eyes were pure black as she continued screaming, “This makes it so much worse! She’s going against everything she’s supposed to stand for!”

Alice lunged at me like a tiger would attack and enemy. Everything went by slowly. I could see her family behind her, horrified and confused. One leaped forward to try and stop her a moment too late. The man next to me tightened his grip on my arm. Alice’s face was contorted in anger. Despite all this, I couldn’t move. I sat there, completely overwhelmed. I didn’t come here expecting to imprint on a vampire. I didn’t come here expecting to be broken down and rendered defenseless. My limbs were frozen, unable to function. I was nothing more but a deer in a car’s headlights, unable to do anything but brace for the impending impact.