Sam Uley

 I heard the snuffing sound a couple of more times and even faintly heard the sound of something brushing against the trees. I started looking around some more and realized that I was near where I met the girl screaming a few weeks back. God, that feels like a lifetime ago.

 I started backing away from the sounds I could hear in the distance and started planning retreat routes in my head if I needed to run. When Charlie found out I was spending a lot of time in the woods, he made me and Bella watch a video on dangerous sounds and sights in the forest. The video was played at all travel centers near the area, in the hopes it would help the tourists recognize a danger.

 Out of nowhere, I heard a voice, "Hello? Is someone there?"

 The voice was deep and obviously male, it sounded loud in the forest, breaking the silence that had descended moments ago. I sounded out, but just enough to reach the person asking.

 "Over here, but you shouldn't shout too much, I thought I heard the snuffing of a bear not long ago. Don't want to draw in a newly awakened one by shouting."

 After I answered the voice, I could hear someone headed my way. I saw movement finally as a man stepped from around a large tree. He had Short Black hair and brown eyes, copper skin, and stood about 6ft 6 inches tall, his frame was large and full of long muscle. He wasn't cut like I was, his muscles looked rounder and more natural, less exaggerated than mine. I also noted that he was only wearing a pair of cutoff jeans and no shoes. It was easy to see he was an indigenous Indian, so I assumed he was a part of the Quileute tribe.

 I waved at him and made a show of putting my pepper spray back into my pocket. "Hello, I'm Thomas. I hope I didn't come too far into Quileute land but with no visible barrier it's hard to tell."

 "It isn't a big deal, we don't mind hikers as long as they are respectful of the forest and don't leave any trash. My name is Sam."

 "Thanks for letting me know Sam, I came across a girl a few weeks ago and caught her at the wrong time. She was less than friendly, so I couldn't ask any questions." 

 Sam smiled and shook his head. "These cliffs are part of tribal lore. It is said that if your bad emotions are overwhelming you then if you come here to let them out, they will not affect the peace of the tribe." He laughed a bit and continued, "Though I think some smart parent made up that story to get their kids to leave the camp and do their screaming away from their ears. The elders probably adopted it as lore to make dealing with hormonal teens easier." 

 As Sam spoke to Thomas he had a bit of an epiphany, {It would also make it apparent to the elders what teens were having anger issues and get them out of camp if they were about to make the change to wolf.} He shook his head and returned to his conversation with Thomas.

 "Thanks for letting me know there was a possible bear nearby, this early in the spring they are not choosy about what they eat. You look a bit familiar, have we met before?"

 Thomas looked closer at Sam, thought for a moment, and then answered. "Not that I am aware of, but ironically you feel familiar to me as well. I only came to town in January with my sister to live with her dad. So, I can't think of any time we could have met." 

 Thomas thought again about his conversation with Edythe's dad, "Though these days everyone claims to be part indigenous Indian, I was just reminded that my great-grandmother was supposed to be from this area. Not that I think that makes me some long-lost royalty like some politician's claim to get the minority vote."

 Sam Laughed at my comment. "It could be as simple as blood recognizing blood. Do you wander the woods often?"

 "Yeah, it has a calming effect on me. I have a bit of a temper sometimes and a heavy dislike of crowded places."

 Sam seemed to think for a few minutes, "There are many legends in my tribe of the forest calling to you before a great change happens. In the stories, the land offers a calming influence to support you through troubled times. If you find yourself in a situation you can't explain or easily accept, then you should return to the forest. The same thing happened to me a few months ago, and I thought I had gone mad, but the forest calmed me and later my tribe helped me understand what happened."

 I took in his story and felt he was holding back, but I didn't think I had the right to ask what he didn't want to share. Instead of blowing it off as I first intended, I found my mind clinging on to every word he said, "Thanks for the advice, I hope to never need it. But I will keep it in mind." 

 Sam nodded and started to walk away, but then he stopped. "One other thing Thomas, if you ever smell an overly sweet smell that has no place in the forest you need to be careful. But if you ever smell a sickening sweet smell like burnt sugar... Run, run as fast as you can, and try to get to this stream. You may not be tribe, but blood is still important."

 With those mysterious parting words, Sam walked back into the forest, and I soon lost sight of him. 

(POV Sam Uley)

 After my parting words with Thomas, I made my way back into the forest far enough that he wouldn't see me and removed my shorts, rolled them up, and put them in the elastic band around my calf. Reaching into the fire in my mind, I invited the warmth to enter my body and make the change.

 With no pain, my body felt like it simply turned to fluid and then returned to solid form in the shape of a giant wolf. The elders couldn't tell me why I was such a big wolf when according to Old Quill, his father was a normal-sized wolf. Supposedly the whole Black pack in the 1800s all looked like normal wolves with Ephram being the biggest, but nowhere near as big as I was. 

 I wonder if Thomas will be as big as me or Jared for that matter. I think Jared is closest to making the change, I give him a month or so. Thomas feels like he should have made the change already but something is holding him back. Thinking of all the boys close to my age in the reservation I tried to guess who would turn before the Cullen's left. Jared Cameron, Paul Lahote, Jacob Black, the only other boy close in age is Embry Call, but that can't happen because his mother came to the Quileute reservation from the Makah reservation already pregnant, so there is no connection to the blood there.

 I thought again about Jacob Black. He will have the Alpha claim when he changes, and I couldn't be happier. It will be nice to have brothers in the pack, but I don't want to be responsible for their lives. I just want to be a member of the tribe and protect our land. I casually loped through the forest in no hurry to be anywhere, just checking the borders of the tribal land. There is plenty of time before I'm supposed to go to Leah's house for dinner.

 I knew Emily finally made it to town today, so I want to give Leah and her plenty of time to talk and vent to each other. I know that things haven't been easy for Leah because of me, and I have finally come to the decision that I will tell her everything once Emily is gone. The stories talk about imprinting, and they say I will know when it happens. Well, I know I love Leah and it is causing me pain to hurt her so much. I cannot think of my life without her, we are just waiting for her to finish school before we marry anyway.

 The only thing that will change is that we will no longer be talking about moving off the reservation. As a Wolf Warrior I will be needed here, I am sure she will understand that. My steps lighten as I make my decision and finalize it in my head. I won't be able to tell Leah at dinner tonight but maybe I can drop enough hints that she will be satisfied until next weekend when Emily goes home. I realize that this makes me a bit of a hypocrite, first I couldn't wait for Emily to come and help Leah and now I can't wait for her to leave so I can tell Leah everything. But that's just fate, I guess.