On a dark and stormy night, a police car pulls up to a tragic car accident. The vehicle was utterly totaled and wrapped around a tree. An ambulance was parked on the side of the road, and paramedics removed two disfigured bodies from the car. A handsome young man steps out of the police car. He stood about six feet tall with an average build and wore a police uniform. The man had chocolate brown eyes and straight, dark brunette hair. "Charlie," a paramedic greeted as he wheeled one of the bodies past the officer. Charlie opens his mouth, but the sound of a baby's cries causes everyone to freeze. Charlie is the first one to react and runs towards the sound of crying. He runs past the car and into the woods. Charlie pulls out his flashlight and flicks it on as he follows the cries. He finds a damaged Infant car seat not too far from the vehicle. He lifts the canopy, revealing a little green-eyed baby girl. The baby was taken to Forks Hospital for a complete checkup while Charlie tried to find records of the baby or her parents. After days of finding zero information about the parents or documents on the baby, Charlie came to the conclusion that the parents were off-the-grid troglodytes and that something must have forced them to leave their seclusion. This made it impossible to find any living family members to take in the infant. Charlie knew this would lead to the baby being put in an orphanage, so he decided to throw his hat in the ring. He was tired of being lonely since his wife had left him and taken their baby daughter with her. This could give him another chance to be a good father.
Seven years later, two little girls and a boy run around in front of a small wooden house with narrow windows. The dull red paint makes it resemble a tiny barn. A garage is located around the side of the house, hidden from view by a thick band of trees and shrubbery. One of the little girls was pale and had Charlie's chocolate brown eyes full of innocence. She had also inherited her father's straight, dark brunette hair. She giggled as another girl with lightly tanned skin, wavy light brunette hair, and bright green eyes chased her. A little boy with smooth, russet-colored skin runs after them. He has dark brown eyes that almost look black, like his beautiful, long, glossy hair. Charlie sat on the porch drinking a beer with another man. The man was a very tall, handsome native with dark russet skin and similar dark brown eyes that almost looked black. Like his son, he had beautiful, long, glossy hair that reached his lower back. A woman walks out with a tray of cookies and milk, gaining the children's attention. They run over excitedly. The woman was of native descent, just like her husband. She two had smooth, russet-colored skin and dark brown eyes. She has beautiful long glossy hair that reaches her butt and is in a braid. "Now, Koda, do not wolf your food down like that, or you'll get a tummy ache," she reprimanded, causing the little green-eyed girl to give her a sheepish look.
"Sorry, mommy B," Koda apologized.
Charlie chuckled, "I think it's just hunger from the sudden growth spurts she has had lately, Sarah," he explained, causing a worried look to wash over his friend's face, but he didn't notice. Sarah glances at her husband and then looks at Koda, who is already on her fourth cookie.
The man speaks up, "I have a story I think you three would like to hear," he said, causing the children to move onto the porch and sit on the floor around him excitedly. "Legend claims that we descended from wolves and that the wolves are our brothers still. Now, The Quileutes have been a small tribe from the beginning... But we've always had magic in our blood. We were great spirit warriors... Shapeshifters that transform into the powerful wolf. This enabled us to scare off our enemies and protect our tribe. One day our warriors came across a creature... It looked like a man, but it was hard like stone and cold as ice...," he explained. Koda noticed her sister growing a little scared, so she pulled her close. "Our warriors' sharp teeth finally tore it apart... But only fire would completely destroy it. They lived in fear that the cold man was not alone. And they were right. She took her vengeance out on the village. Our elder chief, Taha Aki, was the only spirit warrior left to save the tribe after his son was killed. Taha Aki's third wife could see that he would lose... The third wife was no magical being, no special powers, but one... Courage. The third wife's sacrifice distracted the cold woman long enough for Taha Aki to destroy her. She saved the tribe," he said as Koda looked up at him in amazement. She wanted to be a mighty spirit warrior like Taha Aki and as courageous as his wife.
A year later, on the night of a full moon, Charlie bangs on his friend's front door, looking disheveled. Billy opens the door, half asleep, with confusion in his eyes. "Charlie? What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.
"Koda is missing! I woke up to what sounded like a struggle in her bedroom. I rushed in, but she was nowhere to be seen, and everything was in disarray! I called the station, and they are out looking for her, but no one knows the woods like your men," Charlie explained in a panicked tone.
Billy grabs his shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze, "We'll find her, Charlie, I promise," he vowed.
An hour later, people from the reservation and the police station look around the woods behind the Swan residence. Officers walk around with flashlights and search dogs that sniff around just as it begins to rain. Charlie and Billy walk through the woods together, carrying flashlights. The rain starts to come down even harder. "If this rain keeps up, we will have no chance of finding her," Charlie said worriedly.
"We'll find her, Charlie. There are other ways to track someone," Billy explained as he kneeled beside some broken branches. Charlie follows Billy further into the woods until they hear movement in the distance. They halt their movement at first and listen as the sound grows closer. The bushes in front of them shake, and then a bear cub tumbles out of it. The men could tell the cub was in distress as it scrambled to its feet but kept falling like it wasn't used to its own legs. Charlie looks around for any signs of the cub's mother until he sees Billy pick it up.
"Billy, what are you doing?!" he asked in surprise.
"Charlie, what I'm about to tell you will be hard to accept, but this cub isn't normal....this cub is your daughter, Koda," Billy explained.
Confusion then anger fill Charlie, "My daughter is missing, and you're making some joke?!" he yelled. Billy doesn't flinch from his yelling and looks Charlie in the eyes.
"This is no joke, Charlie. My people's stories are true, and we aren't the only ones of our kind. There are others, and your daughter is one of them. Just look at the cub's eyes, Charlie," he ordered. Charlie hesitated, not wanting to listen to Billy, but they had been friends since they were kids, so he looked down at the cub, finding familiar bright green eyes looking up at him. By the morning, the little cub shrinks down as its bones pop and its fur sheds, revealing an unconscious Koda.
Nine years have passed since Koda's first shift, and since then, many things have changed. She was no longer allowed to leave Forks to see her sister Bella, who had stopped coming down during the summer. This put a strain on the sibling's bond since they could only talk over the phone, and Bella was too busy caring for her free-spirited mother. But Koda's relationship with Billy's son Jacob had grown since the car accident that killed his mother and put his father in a wheelchair. She had also grown close with the other kids on the reservation. After Koda's change, Charlie learned everything he could from Billy about shifters and the Cold Ones, though Koda was very different from the Quileutes. Unlike them, Koda was affected by the moon's sway. One evening, Koda runs along a small strip of sand by the sea covered with large rocks and driftwood trees near the tide. She stood at six foot seven with very lean muscles like a track runner. The spray from the waves left droplets on her lightly tanned skin as the wind blew against her shoulder-length, wavy, light brunette hair. She wore a black sports bra, gray basketball shorts, and white sneakers. Koda jumps over a log and then follows a trail from the beach into the woods. She starts to pick up speed, causing the surroundings around her to blur.
Koda slides to a halt just at the tree line behind her home. She jogged towards the back door and headed inside just as it started to sprinkle outside. Koda grabs a hair tie from her pocket and pulls her hair up, revealing shaved sides as she walks into the kitchen. She grabs a water bottle from the fridge when she hears a car coming towards the house. Koda smiles and rushes out the front door as Charlie pulls up in his police car with Bella in the front seat. She jumps off the porch and runs towards the car. The moment Bella steps out of the vehicle, she is engulfed by long, warm arms. Koda practically lifts her big sister up in her arms, giving her a bear hug. Charlie couldn't help but chuckle at how small Bella looked in Koda's grip. Bella was only five foot four, which Charlie always thought was funny since Bella was older by a few months. Even though Bella had lived in Phoenix with her mom, she was still very pale. Bella's straight, dark brunette hair was longer since Koda had last seen her. Koda finally sets her sister down and takes in her features, which have also changed since they were kids. Bella has a widow's peak, a heart-shaped face, and a wide forehead. Her chocolate doe eyes are large and widely spaced. Bella's nose is thin, and her cheekbones are prominent. Her lips are a bit too full for her slim jawline. Her eyebrows are darker than her hair and are straighter than they are arched. Bella looked up at her little sister in amazement at how tall and beautiful Koda was with her sharp features, but one thing had still stayed the same, and that was the mischief in her sister's green eyes. "Wow, Ko, what has dad been feeding you?" Bella asked, making her sister smile as she grabbed Bella's bags.
"You know, Dad and his fishing, it must be something in the water," Koda explained as she carried her sister's things into the house. Bella followed her up to the second floor and into her new bedroom. The room had light green walls, bright blue translucent curtains, a twin-sized bed with purple bedding, a cork/bulletin board, an oak desk, an oak dresser, and various strings of white lights hung about the walls. The room is also filled with childhood remnants that have seen better days.
Charlie stands in the doorway, "I put Grandpa's old desk in your room. And I cleared some shelves in the bathroom," he explained.
"That's right. One bathroom," Bella said with a grimace. Suddenly, they hear a Honk from outside. Koda runs across the room and looks out the window to see a faded red truck pull up next to Charlie's police car.
She smiles, "They're here!" Koda said excitedly, then rushed out of the room with Charlie right behind her. A few minutes later, Bella walks out of the house to find Charlie and Koda greeting a young male Indian. He has long and glossy black hair pulled back with a rubber band at the nape of his neck. His skin was beautiful, silky, and russet-colored; his eyes were dark, set deep above the high planes of his cheekbones. he still had just a hint of childish roundness left around his chin. Koda helps him get his father out of the passenger's side and into a wheelchair. The father was heavyset, with a deeply wrinkled face and dark russet skin with black eyes.
"Bella, you remember Billy Black," Charlie said as his daughter walked over.
"Glad you're finally here. Charlie and Ko haven't shut up about it since you told them you were coming," Billy explained, causing Charlie and Koda to blush in embarrassment.
"Keep exaggerating. I'll wheel you down the hill," Charlie joked.
"Right after I ram you in the ankles," Billy threatened, then took several rolls at Charlie, who dodged. The young native boy shakes his head at their actions as he shyly approaches Bella.
"Bell, this is Jacob Black. We all used to make mud pies together when we were little," Koda explained.
"Yeah... I think I remember...," Bella said, then looked at Charlie and Billy, who were still messing around. "Are they always like this?" she asked.
"Yeah," Koda and Jacob said simultaneously.
"It's getting worse with old age," Jacob added. Charlie walks over and pats the hood of the truck.
"So what do you think of your homecoming gift?" he asked, surprising Bella.
"No way. The truck is for me?" she asked in disbelief.
"Just bought it off Billy, here," Charlie answered.
"Koda and I rebuilt the engine and..," Jacob explained, but Bella interrupted them.
"It's perfect!" Bella said as she beamed with joy. She rushes to the truck while Jacob eagerly joins her. Koda smiles and stays back, giving them alone time.
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