I heard the snuffing sound a couple of more tis and even faintly heard the sound of sothing brushing against the trees. I started looking around so more and realized that I was near where I t the girl screaming a few weeks back. God, that feels like a lifeti 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 ti in the woods, he made 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 soone there?"
The voice was deep and obviously male, it sounded loud in the forest, breaking the silence that had descended monts 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 soone headed my way. I saw movent 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 fra 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 assud 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 co 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 na is Sam."
"Thanks for letting know Sam, I ca across a girl a few weeks ago and caught her at the wrong ti. 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 co here to let them out, they will not affect the peace of the tribe." He laughed a bit and continued, "Though I think so 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 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 t before?"
Thomas looked closer at Sam, thought for a mont, and then answered. "Not that I am aware of, but ironically you feel familiar to as well. I only ca to town in January with my sister to live with her dad. So, I can't think of any ti we could have t."
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 so long-lost royalty like so politician's claim to get the minority vote."
Sam Laughed at my comnt. "It could be as simple as blood recognizing blood. Do you wander the woods often?"
"Yeah, it has a calming effect on . I have a bit of a temper sotis and a heavy dislike of crowded places."
Sam seed 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 tis. If you find yourself in a situation you can't explain or easily accept, then you should return to the forest. The sa thing happened to a few months ago, and I thought I had gone mad, but the forest cald and later my tribe helped 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 sll an overly sweet sll that has no place in the forest you need to be careful. But if you ever sll a sickening sweet sll 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 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 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 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 sothing 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 Caron, Paul Lahote, Jacob Black, the only other boy close in age is Embry Call, but that can't happen because his mother ca 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 mber 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 ti 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 ti to talk and vent to each other. I know that things haven't been easy for Leah because of , and I have finally co 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 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 ho. I realize that this makes a bit of a hypocrite, first I couldn't wait for Emily to co 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.
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