Makah tribe, she is Quileute on her mother‘s side.
HAIR COLOR: Black
EYE COLOR: Black
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Emily has long, dark hair and satiny copper skin. One side of her mouth is distorted due to injury. She also has a trio of scars on the right side of her face from her hairline to her chin, and more scars extend down her right arm to her hand.
EDUCATION/OCCUPATION: She has graduated high school. She teaches weaving and traditional Makah and Quileute arts at the local high school and nearby community colleges.
FAMILY MEMBERS: She is a cousin of the Clearwaters. She is engaged to Sam Uley.
PERSONAL HISTORY:
From early childhood, Emily Young and her second cousin Leah Clearwater were like sisters. They grew up together and were always best friends. Emily was very involved in Leah‘s life, and vice versa. Emily was friends with Leah‘s boyfriend, Sam, and approved of him. Leah did not approve of Emily‘s serious boyfriend as much, and Leah was right; Emily got tired of his self-absorbed behavior and broke up with him. Things like romantic interference did not come between them. After Emily dumped the narcissistic boyfriend, she dated a few boys casually.
Most of her time was taken up with learning traditional native arts and languages, something she was very passionate about. She and Leah kept in constant contact.
She shared Leah‘s relief when Sam came home, and then Leah‘s frustration when Sam wouldn‘t confide in her.
Emily was one of the first people Leah told about Sam‘s disappearance. Emily stayed with Leah through the first week, and then helped organize searches in the area around her home after her return. She shared Leah‘s relief when Sam came home, and then Leah‘s frustration when Sam wouldn‘t confide in her. Emily was Leah‘s shoulder to cry on throughout the whole experience. Busy with school, Emily was not able to visit Leah during the difficult time after Sam returned, but she went to see her as soon as she could.
Sam showed up late to the Clearwaters‘ barbecue. Emily intended to watch him closely; she was suspicious of his recent behavior and how it would affect her cousin. Sam walked in, taller and bigger than Emily remembered, and stared right at her with an expression she couldn‘t define; it might have been shock, or it might have been amazement. Emily felt like Sam had something important to tell her. He began to walk toward her, and she had a strange feeling that he would not keep his big secret from her as he was keeping it from Leah. But then Sam turned quickly and walked away. Emily felt oddly unsettled by Sam‘s behavior, though she tried to hide it. It was Leah‘s confusion and upset that mattered, not Emily‘s. That night, Sam came back for Leah. Emily expected Leah to be out for the evening, but she returned only ten minutes later, sobbing — Sam had broken up with her. Emily found herself unsurprised, though she was not sure why she felt that way. She told herself it was just a predictable consequence of Sam‘s bizarre behavior and silence.
Emily was disturbed when she left Leah that Sunday night to head home. She told herself she was upset by her best friend‘s heartbreak, but she knew there was something more to it. The next day after class, Sam was waiting for Emily at her house. Emily knew she should be shocked to see him, but she wasn‘t; his appearance felt somehow inevitable. What he told her next also should have been surprising, but felt just as inevitable. Sam told Emily that he loved her and had left Leah to be with her. Emily thought of Leah‘s tears and was furious. She knew she‘d done nothing wrong, but knowing that Sam had chosen her over Leah made her feel guilty. She told Sam to leave. Looking tormented, Sam walked away without another word. As she watched him go, Emily felt like she‘d done something wrong, though she knew it was right. She also realized that she should have told him to never come back.
She called Leah immediately to tell her, feeling horrible about what the news would do to Leah and because she felt that she was somehow betraying Sam‘s trust. Of course, that shouldn‘t matter at all. Leah was beside herself with rage, and Emily agreed that Sam was a horrible person, though deep down she had some doubts about that. She supported Leah as best she could.
She thought he would leave; instead, he told her everything — that he was a shape-shifter, that all the stories were true, that he had imprinted on her.
She knew Sam would return, and when he did — the next day — she was prepared. She demanded that he tell her everything, all the secrets he‘d kept from Leah. Where he‘d disappeared to, and why. She thought he would leave; instead, he told her everything — that he was a shape-shifter, that all the stories were true, that he had imprinted on her. Emily had some Ateara blood on her mother‘s side, and she‘d heard the myths before, but she laughed at him, surprised that he thought her so gullible. He told her he could prove it, so she led him into the forest on the outskirts of town and told him to show her. He did, and Emily was shaken to her core. She struggled to wrap her head around this new world of magic. Though now she could not doubt anything he‘d told her, she knew it shouldn‘t change anything. He belonged to Leah, and she would not accept Sam‘s feelings for her. She told him to go away again, and she went home.
Instinctively, she knew she could not betray Sam‘s secret.
Emily told Leah that Sam had been back, but mentioned nothing of what had happened.
Instinctively, she knew she could not betray Sam‘s secret.
He returned the next day, as Emily expected. They went to the forest again. Emily decided it was her job to convince Sam to go back to Leah. Sam tried to describe what imprinting felt like, and how impossible it was for him to have a relationship with Leah under the circumstances. They were both frustrated. Sam defused the situation by telling Emily about other things — all the lore and magic that was a part of his life now. Emily couldn‘t hide her fascination.
They met again, several times. Emily continued to push him to forget about her and return to Leah. Sam was honest, insisting that would never happen. He continued to tell her all about his new life, even bringing his two packmates to meet her. Emily was captivated by the wolves, but adamant in her purpose: Sam must return to Leah.
Emily was so wrapped up in this new world that she was unaware that others were watching her — until her mother told her that people were talking. Word had gotten back to Leah, and another cousin had called. Emily‘s mother didn‘t know what to say. She asked her daughter what she was doing. How could she treat her best friend this way? Emily was aghast. She realized that she should have refused to see Sam after that first afternoon. She couldn‘t explain her behavior to herself or to her mother.
Emily went to her and Sam‘s usual place in the woods, ashamed at the thought that they
