Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does. I also took some ideas for this story from the book Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater.

Liberty for Wolves

Part One: The Cold

Chapter One: The Suffering

'Liberty for wolves is death to the lambs.' – Isaiah Berlin

LFW

When all the evidence is pointing towards them, who will believe that the wolves are innocent? That, maybe, a wolf in sheep's clothing is just a sheep, and you shouldn't look too hard for something that isn't there? Nobody; nobody at all.

LFW

bella:

it was the coldest winter i'd ever suffered through. the snow and ice tore into my paws, causing vibrations to run over my body as i tried to get warm. but it was so, so cold.

in my free time, i longed for my human form. i wished that i could find enough warmth in this frozen forest to return to my comfortable home, to lounge in front of the fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate, listening to the sounds of my family laughing and talking around me.

none of them had to face this curse as i did. none of them invited me in when the cold came. none of them cared enough to.

LFW

Edward

Running was a favourite past time of mine; it allowed me to escape the minds of the humans, and my family – if only for just an hour or two. Being around couple all of the time got old, especially when you can hear all of their thoughts; especially when you've been alone for a century.

The trees looked beautiful this time of year; the way the snow hung off the leaves, the icicles reaching down towards the forest path, almost beckoning to those. As always, though, the meadow was the best part of the forest.

I slowed as I emerged from the forest line into the place I had found many decades ago; the place I kept returning to when I needed the solitude. The snow here was untouched – no doubt the animals had sensed that a monster like me was a frequent visitor of this place.

The weather reports this year had all been saying the same thing: coldest winter on record. I could definitely feel the chill in the air, though it didn't affect me as it did the humans. Even though I loathed the cold when I was human – who truly likes the freezing weather, but for the beauty of the ice and snow? – I wish I could feel it now. Anything would be a break from the emptiness I feel.

As if somebody had heard my inner thoughts, a low whine came from the forest behind me. It was a heartbreaking sound – and though I knew it was just an animal – a crushing feeling came over me.

It was like a vice; warmth surrounded my heart, squeezing it, pulling it. It seemed to be leading me somewhere, almost pleading for me to give in, to find what I needed. I'd heard this peculiar sensation described before, even felt it through the thoughts of my brother and sister as they had found each other.

The mating bond.

Just as the warmth had, happiness spread through me as I realized what the pull meant; just beyond the treeline was my mate. The one I had been waiting a century for.

For a moment I basked in my new found joy, letting the warmth spread to my fingertips, relieving me of the slight chill I had felt. Then I remembered the low whine that had starting this feeling; my mate was in trouble, or worse – in pain.

I'd never moved so fast in my life, of that I was positive. In mere seconds I was around the trees, staring into the warm, brown eyes of my mate. Although, I can't say it was what I was expecting…

The eyes did not pierce me from the eyes of a human; instead, dark blonde fur lined the eyes, brushing down into a small, fine-lined face. The fur continued; over the shoulders, down the back… it stuck up in odd ways, like ice…

Two things came to me in that moment; the first, that my mate was frozen. And the second, that said mate was a wolf.

I moved again, closer to her; reaching out, I left my hand to hover in the air uncertainly. Would she be scared? Would she shy away from me, run, as she should?

As I worried, something smoothed against my palm; she had leaned into me, closing her eyes as she nuzzled in, as if trying to seek warmth. It broke my heart all over again as I realized that she would get no warmth from me. She didn't shy away from my cold temperature, though.

I'd heard of this from the others; the mating bond, the imprint, was felt by the other part, vampire or not. Esme had said she had felt safe with Carlisle, connected to him, when they had first met when she was sixteen and very human. She had later confessed that she had felt like something was missing the ten years they spent apart after that, before he had found her again, dying, and changed her.

My mate could feel our connection; my mate was not afraid.

I couldn't help but smile, even despite the situation. "Come on, sweetheart," I murmured softly, causing her to open her eyes again. "I'll take you home; we need to get you warm."

At my last word, her ears perked up, and she turned towards me, almost eager. She understood what I had said. I had no time to ponder over this peculiarity, though; like I said, she needed to get her someplace warm.

I smiled again, leaning over and pulling her closer to me. As I gathered her in my arms, I felt a great shiver run through her, causing me to wince. "I know, sweetheart; don't worry, I'll get you warm soon."

And before she could react in anyway, I sped off towards the house, needing to end her suffering.

LFW

Author's note: First things first, if any of you thought that Bella's part at the beginning (where it wasn't grammatically correct) was annoying, I apologize, but I purposely wrote it like that. It is staying that way; I will not be editing it to fix the grammar errors. Also, the paragraph before Bella's is almost like a journal entry of Bella's. It will become clearer as the story progresses.

Now, onto bigger and brighter things:

This is, indeed, a new Strange Imprints story. Aren't you happy? I hope you are. I'm just glad I finally have a story up that I have even the slightest hope of finishing. I have a pretty basic idea of what needs to happen in this story, and where it is going to go, however I have not solidified my idea of the major conflict. If you have any ideas that you are willing to pass on to me, please do so; it would help me finish the story much quicker. But don't just limit yourself to conflicts; if you have any ideas at all for this story – or for other stories you'd like to see me write, even – send me a message or leave your idea in the reviews.

Review, please, and remember me!