TW: Brief mention of self defense that ends in death

Thomas and Shelby Riley counted the day their daughter was born as the happiest of their lives.  They had wanted a child badly, tried hard and finally were blessed with Emery.  From the very beginning, Emery was a handful, constantly getting into things and was far too smart for her own good.  She could often be found with one parent or the other chasing after her as she toddled off towards danger.  They both breathed a sigh of relief when she was finally old enough to go to school, though they both secretly worried that she would prove to be a handful to her teachers.  Thankfully, her loud personality tended to win adults over, even as she grew older and a hairpin temper seemed to emerge.  Thomas and Shelby took their daughter to various specialists to try to understand why she had trouble regulating her emotions, especially when it came to anger and frustration.  There were no clear answers because there was something else at work. 

You see, Shelby was an untriggered werewolf --- although she had no idea she was any different.  She had no idea werewolves were anything more than a story.  She came from a long line of untriggered werewolves and she had passed that particular gene onto her daughter.  Maybe Emery would have continued the long tradition of going through life without ever fully understanding what she was if it wasn't for that night.  

Emery made it through school with a few suspensions and enough detentions to be on a first name basis with the monitor.  School was not for her.  She was restless enough so she began hopping from town to town, often taking odd jobs.  Mostly in the service industry.  It was at a bar in some backwater town that her life changed for ever.  Emery was behind the bar serving drinks when a fight broke out.  She did the right thing and called the police but while she waited for them to arrive, she had no choice but to jump in.  This guy pulled a knife and so she reacted quickly, hitting him with a bottle.  He went down like a stone, hitting his head off the bar in the process.  After a few days in a coma, he passed away.  

Emery was devastated.  

She was cleared of any wrong doing officially but she had no idea that the next full moon she would find herself going through her first painful transition into a werewolf.  Now she is confused, terrified and trying to figure out what the hell is happening to her.

Please note: Emery is an OC character that follows TVD werewolf lore.  She is always a work in progress and will be updated as she develops.  Check out her headcanons below to learn more as well.