The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (49 page)

As a freshman in high school, Leah began dating, and then fell in love with, Sam Uley. They were involved in a serious relationship for three years.

During her junior year of high school, Leah’s life was thrown into upheaval when Sam disappeared. The police and forest rangers were involved, but could find no trace of him.

Two weeks later, Sam reappeared. He gave no explanation for his absence, and from that time forward he was a changed person. Leah knew there was something big he wasn’t telling her, but she had no idea what it could be. She tried to give him space to resolve whatever the problem was, and continued to love and support him.

Not long after that, Leah’s second cousin Emily Young
came to La Push. Emily was Leah’s closest girlfriend—almost a sister—and a frequent visitor. She had met Sam several times before this visit. But this time, when Sam came over to see Leah, he saw Emily for the first time since his disappearance. Leah didn’t understand his bizarre behavior. He left very quickly, but came back later that night to break up with Leah. She could tell he was truly devastated, but she didn’t understand what could have happened to change him so completely. She understood more when Emily came to her and told her—with dismay—that Sam was pursuing her. Leah, who had wanted to give Sam the benefit of the doubt, because clearly something very odd was going on with him, could no longer imagine that he had any excuse. She became furious with him. Emily supported her, and Leah relied on Emily’s refusal of Sam’s pursuit.

Leah started to realize that Emily was spending a great deal of time with Sam, ostensibly rejecting him. She became suspicious. Then she heard that Emily had been mauled by a bear and that Sam was inconsolable about it. Initially, she was mostly concerned about Emily’s well-being. However, it became clear shortly after the accident that Sam and Emily were a couple, and Leah’s concern turned into bitterness. Part of her felt like Emily had gotten what she deserved.

Emily asked for forgiveness, but Leah wouldn’t speak to her.

Leah kept her distance from Emily and Sam as much as possible. Emily asked for forgiveness, but Leah wouldn’t speak to her.

Leah was so angry that her whole body started shaking, and then she exploded into a werewolf in their small living room.

Time passed, and Leah found herself growing angrier than she had been before, though there was no new catalyst for her feelings. She flew into a rage
over the smallest irritants, sometimes getting so angry that she would physically shake. Privately, she worried about this change in her nature, and wondered if she needed counseling or medication. Before she had time to think it over more, she phased for the first time. She was arguing with her mother about her mood swings, and her father joined the conversation in support of her mother. Leah was so angry that her whole body started shaking, and then she exploded into a werewolf in their small living room. She didn’t touch either of her parents in the process, though she did destroy a couch. However, the shock of Leah phasing triggered her father’s fatal heart attack. Harry was aware of the reality of werewolves, and expected to someday deal with that issue with Seth, but he was so secure in his belief that only male ancestors had the potential to phase that he missed the signs with Leah. He was completely shocked. Reacting to the chaos and horror of the moment, Leah’s little brother, Seth, also phased, though he was younger than the usual age.

It was extremely difficult for Leah to deal with her first weeks as a werewolf. She’d just lost her father and blamed herself for his death, though of course she’d done nothing to hurt him intentionally. Sam was the usual guide for the new wolves, the one who explained everything to the newcomers and assigned the roles in the pack; there couldn’t have been a harder person for Leah to have to face. It was even worse because now, knowing the whole truth, she could no longer blame him for his actions. There was no choice but to forgive both him and Emily, and that took so much that Leah
had few emotional resources left to deal gracefully with any other problem. She did agree to support Emily by being a bridesmaid at the wedding. She tried not to show how much that hurt her, but as a wolf, there was no way for her to keep secrets.

The shared-thoughts aspect of being a wolf was definitely the hardest part for Leah. The second hardest was trying to understand the changes in her human body—the halt of her menstrual cycle, specifically—and what that might mean for her future. The only thing she really enjoyed was being faster than the others.

E
MBRY
C
ALL

Tiffany Call moved to La Push while she was pregnant with Embry. Tiffany was of Makah descent, with no known connection to anyone in La Push, and people wondered why she would relocate. However, as time passed she became an established member of the community and people stopped speculating about her past.

Embry grew up with Jacob Black and Quil Ateara. He was especially close to Jacob. They both were interested in automotives and liked to ride dirt bikes together.

His transformation was a shock to the rest of the wolves: Only descendants of Taha Aki had the ability to become werewolves.

Embry was the fourth werewolf to join the present-day pack. His transformation was a shock to the rest of the wolves: Only descendants of Taha Aki had the ability to become werewolves. Because Embry’s mother had no genetic connection to the Quileute Tribe, Embry’s ability to transform had to have
been inherited from his father. The men with the strongest connection to the last pack were therefore the men most likely to be Embry’s father. Those men were Billy Black, Joshua Uley, and Quil Ateara IV—all three of whom were married at the time of Embry’s conception—making Quil, Jacob, or Sam Embry’s half-brother.

This information caused some strain in the tribe, but for the most part the wolves ignored it. Embry wanted to ask his mother for the truth—she had always said his father was someone she had not known well and had lost track of before Embry was born. Now Embry knew this story wasn’t true, but he was unable to tell his mother why he knew. Because he had to keep his werewolf heritage a secret, he was unable to confront her.

S
ETH
C
LEARWATER

When Seth’s older sister, Leah, phased in front of the family one night, the shock caused their father, Harry, who already had a weak heart, to have a fatal cardiac arrest. The upheaval all around him catalyzed Seth’s own transformation, earlier than it would normally have happened; he phased that night, too.

Although Seth was deeply saddened by the death of his father, he accepted his transformation far better than Leah did hers. He didn’t have the same challenges to deal with. Seth enjoyed being a werewolf. He saw being a pack member as a cool kind of magic that made him special, rather than viewing it as a curse. He is known in the pack for having the best hearing.

Seth is the most open-minded of the wolves. He sees the
Cullens not as monsters, but as individuals who have chosen to live in a way that makes them good guys.

Q
UIL
A
TEARA
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