The Denali's are coming…the thought rattled my mind
"There's nothing to fear, Bella. The Denali pose no danger to you. Long before Carlisle had sworn off feeding on humans, they had. He learned much of his self-control from them you know."
"I'm more worried about the past than being eaten, Alice. What worries me are the beautiful female faces that will be emerging from Edward's closet."
Alice laughed at the statement that broke from my lips. "When will you finally start realizing just how much, how deeply Edward loves you? Even if he did love one of the Denali's in the past, you're all he dreams of for the future."
Alice's' words had calmed the initial pangs of jealousy erupting from my being but they also stirred new feelings of uneasiness. Even if he loved one of the Denali's in the past…the words echoed in my head. Great, an attractive female vampire was coming our way, one who may have had an attraction to my beloved decades before I was even born. How could I defend against that?
"They're here" Alice chimed, as her eyes quickly darted to the door of her luxurious bedroom.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. It sent a jolt of anticipation down my spine. The Denali's had finally arrived, and their presence heralded an unmistakable truth that something was coming. Alice grabbed my hand and together we dashed out her room into the hallway. At an instant, Edward was at my side, grasping my hand. Together we walked to the edge of the staircase. Esme had already reached the door and was letting three of them into the foyer. As I gazed down at the three figures, all dazzlingly beautiful as usual, I sighed. Couldn't there just be one ugly vampire for a change!
The other Cullen's had already made it to the room and were awaiting the final entries in the foyer. Reaching the final step of the staircase, I gazed into the black night outside the Cullen's doorway. Six more pairs of eyes greeted me from the alluring darkness, as Edward and I stepped into the foyer. There were nine of them in all, each as beautiful as the next, with the same fiery topaz eyes as those that I had grown to love in the Cullen's. I continued to peer into the doorway as a blazingly handsome young man who couldn't be a day over 20 with a chiseled face and graceful body glided into the foyer. I looked on in awe.
"Think you made the right choice for a vampire husband" Edward breathed into my ear as his infamous crooked grin enveloped his stunning face.
"Shut up!" I laughed as I whispered back, shaking my head.
Just then, she emerged from the midnight shade, a true goddess on earth. Her features were indescribably delicate, yet strong, and she carried with her a presence that could captivate any room. Immediately she carried not just the gaze of Edward, but also that of all the Cullen males as she entered the vast foyer. There was something about her presence… so hypnotic, so radiant…it left a trail of longing. It was easy to see why; her beautiful black hair spiraled down around her perfectly sculpted face to just above shoulder length. Then there was her exotic caramel skin that seemed to sparkle like diamonds even without the need for sunshine. Along with her perfect figure, she could easily give Rosalie a run for her money. I chuckled to myself quietly with a quick glimpse at Rosalie's face as she entered. Was that a tinge of insecurity on her perfect face?
But more than that, it was her astonishing presence, her being rather than her beauty that had drawn all the attention to her as she entered. My gaze trailed after her and I continued to ponder whether it was possible to be half-divine, half vampire. And yet, there was something I felt about her aura that I couldn't quite understand…
The final four members of the Denali clan entered soon after the goddess made her way over to Esme. "Well, you're home is as lovely as ever Esme" her sweet voice chimed.
They began to chat quietly, but my mind was instantly perusing the room at the nine new beautiful entities within the Cullen's foyer to pay too much attention to their words. The round of greetings and introductions started in a blur…Tanya, Bernardo, Cynthia, Damien, Karmen, Gabriel, Elizabeth, Laticia, and Helene.
"This is Bella, the newest addition to our family" Carlisle stated. His voice snapped me out of my trance as I struggled to plaster a smile onto my face. "Shall we make our way into the living room," Carlisle then suggested.
Suddenly, the goddess appeared before Edward and I.
"It's been a long time Edward…" her soothing voice finally pierced the haze of amazement I was in. In an instant I felt a pang of jealousy rise in my brow. Was this the one whom Alice had talked about, that had stirred Edward's heart years—perhaps almost a century—before I had?
"And, it's nice to meet you, Bella" she chimed. I was too dumbstruck and wrapped up in my own thoughts to reply before she turned and joined the others.
The Denali's made their way into the bright open space of the living room, and took their places like great works of art amidst the furniture. The Cullen's followed. All this beauty in one place is blinding, I thought, it should be a crime. Just then, the remembrance that I would hopefully soon follow in their glorious beauty, and not feel as much like an outsider for reasons other than being the only human, filled me with hope.
"I see your numbers have grown since we last met, Tanya" Carlisle stated as we all took our seats.
The reunion chat began as I once again began to slip into a trance undermining my self worth in this kind of setting. Only occasional chuckles from Edward drew my attention away and back to reality, only to slip again into self-reflection. I don't know how much time had passed before the voice of the goddess cut into my self-critique and had me out of the haze of my mind.
"We should get down to business. I fear we have interrupted some very important planning and happy events," she said with a half grin, looking dead at me with a knowing that was beyond all understanding. "I suppose congratulations are an order, Edward, although I never took you for the type to marry—let alone that you should be marrying a human."
In an instant, the eyes of every member of the Denali clan were on Edward and I as we snuggled close together on the Cullen's couch. How on earth could she know that! I thought as I gazed awkwardly back at her enthralling topaz eyes. I mean the human part was understandable, with my scent and all, but the wedding! There was not the slightest hint of it within the Cullen residence except in Alice's room, which was at my request of course. I couldn't stand the constant reminders of my soon to be happy doom. It couldn't even be the ring, which was missing from my finger temporarily and lay within the confines of Alice's room.
"Thank you, Karmen" was Edward's simple reply as he grinned at the goddess, whose name I had now learned… Karmen.
"Certainly" spoke Tanya, whose gaze quickly averted from my astonished expression to Carlisle. "I'm afraid we have grave news…"