Chapter one:

It's Just The Beginning

I don't know what it was about these yellow-eyed vampires that were so different – or how they managed to live completely different from the others, from me, but I didn't question it. The eldest of the group – Carlisle, was his name – would willingly spare my life if I swore to behave as they did. Had this happened again, I knew Riley wouldn't have spared me – I would have been too weak and useless for him, I see that now – and Raoul or Kristie would have torn me apart in seconds, happily. The only people whom I would have had a chance with were Fred and Diego.

Diego.

My heart ached at the thought. Had I thought of escaping in the very beginning, we would be safe somewhere far away, where none of the others would have thought to follow us. Except Fred, maybe, because he was more perceptive than any of the others. If that wasn't the case, then maybe I could have convinced him to stay quiet, to not trust Riley like he had been so open to. But those thoughts were futile. There was no point in wondering of if's when it was clear than he had been disposed of a long time ago.

The one called Jasper, the blond whose body was covered in scars, both fresh and old, was cautious. His teeth were bared in a show of distrust and anger. If he had his way, I would already be dead, burning in the fire along with my fellow newborns – although I refused to associate with any of them before and I did not refer to them politely.

"We can't have her around when the Volturi arrive, Carlisle. Do you realize what this would look like?" The blond spoke rationally, seeming to observe the situation unbiased, though I knew that was not the truth. He was making sure they were safe, even if that meant I would have to die.

The woman, whose wavy brown hair and yellow eyes were so trusting and so open to hope, stepped forward, resting her hand on Jasper's shoulder. "She's only a child, Jasper. She doesn't know any better."

"How can we be so sure?" His eagerness to disprove me filled me with a sudden surge of frustration.

"I –" I started to speak. The blond's sudden glare in my direction silenced me, and I lowered my gaze to the floor, as if it were the most interesting thing in the world, attempting to pretend that I was somewhere safe, somewhere that I didn't have to think about these yellow – eyed people, or Riley and the newborns, or Diego.

Agreeing to the boy's request, I was suddenly under his command.

"Follow me and close your eyes."

I was reluctant. Already my sense of smell was impaired. The smoke was thick and made it almost impossible to rely on. To lose my sight would be to render myself completely defenseless.

"Do it!"

Closing my eyes, I felt all the more helpless.

"Follow my voice and don't open your eyes. You look and I'll snap you in half. Got it?"

I nodded my head, focused on his voice, all the while wondering what was so important that he didn't want me to see. Still, a wave of relief rushed over me knowing that by not wanting me to see, he thought I would be around for a while. That gave me hope.

"This way."

It was a straight path that he led me in, soon stepping into an open field. The smell of my fellow newborns burned stronger and I knew we were nearing the fire pit where they were already dead. I could feel the sun warm on my skin – a feat I would have thought impossible days ago – and came to a stop as he commanded me to do so, so close to the fire that I could feel the heat radiating out.

"Sit. Keep your eyes closed." His commands were limited to broken phrases, as if it wasn't worth his time to explain.

My eyes still firmly shut; I had not the faintest idea of what was going on around me, though I yearned to know. There was a strange howling, it was savage and loud and, for a moment, my eyes fluttered, but the blond snarled warningly and I drew them shut fiercely. Not knowing was worth it, if it gave me my life.

Jacob, Leah, Sam. They were all distant noises of names being called out by one of the vampires farther from me.

The howling slowly dissipated, until only two were left, then one as it let out a heart-wrenching howl that shook me to the core. It brought back the image of Diego and what he must have gone through as she tore him limb from limb, what his scream must have been like.

Listening harder – as all I could rely on was my hearing – I focused in on the strange thumping noises that filled the air around me. The thumping that resembled all too much the thump of a heart beating. But they were not human, that sound I had grown to recognize immediately – the quickening pace they took as they neared death, even the faint decreasing as they slowly died. But this, this was stronger and louder than anything I knew. I sniffed the air once, but all I could smell was the pungent odor of burning vampires and the smoke it went up with.

Without a warning, something touched my ears, clasping tightly blocking out the last ability I had. I panicked, jerking in an attempt to brake free from whomever held me. I dared to flicker my eyes open, only to come face to face with Jasper.

"Stop. Close your eyes and do not open them."

I did as I was told, rendering myself both blind and deaf to my surroundings. What occurred around me for the next four minutes or so, I did not know. All I could hear was faint mumblings and the sound of the wind rushing around me. Everything else was a blur that felt like an eternity.

"You should open your eyes." Jasper's hands left my ears and my eyes fluttered open, quickly taking in my surroundings, searching for a change of some sort. Something in the tone of his voice made me worry.

I looked around, but the smoke clouded my vision and I saw nothing of immediate danger. I could only guess that the Volturi were the people who scared him so. If my assumptions were correct, and these were the people I had seen with Diego as we hid in the trees, he was right in his fear.

Behind Jasper, four vampire were spaced out in a loose formations, their backs turned to me. Of them, I recognized only Esme. Next to her were a tall blonde woman, a tiny black haired girl, and a huge dark-haired male that seemed to tower over them all. Behind the last of them, were three more. One was Carlisle, who was kneeling, the others I didn't know; a red head male and another figure that I could not see.

The vampires, whose feet where the only part I could see, slowly started to get up – clumsily, like she was a silly human.

The breeze shifted, blowing smoke across my face. For a moment, all I could focus on was waving the smoke away to get a clear view of what was happening. Then, a gust of wind picked up and I could smell everything.

Jasper hissed and pushed me down roughly from my crouching position.

That smell – it was her. The human that Riley had made us hunt, the scent that he had made us lock onto at the house. It was a sweet, enticing smell like nothing I had ever smelt before. Not even the bloodbath we had created on the ship earlier could quench the sudden burn at the back of my throat.

I needed to taste her.

It was a struggle to try and remain level-headed. A part of me continuously reminded myself that Jasper was waiting for any sign of an attack to tear me down and toss me in the fire. The other part – the instinct – made it harder. It was a battle between two opposites, but the hunger was beginning to win.

Big, brown, human eyes started back at me with surprise. Like she didn't expect to see me there – and, though I admit I didn't expect to be there either, I would think she would be afraid most of all. It was, after all, all I could do to keep the snarl from coming out and baring my teeth at her.

Fiercely, I thrust my eyes in any other direction; just looking at her made it worse. I could see the blood coursing through her veins, tempting me with its unusually sweet smell. No matter how I tried, my eyes would dart right back to her, and the hunger would intensify.

The vampire had both arms around the human, protectively, almost. She had both hands resting on his chest and nothing about her screamed that she feared for her life around him. I tried to understand this concept of a coven that kept a human, a pet, without the faintest use as a snack – especially when she smelled so decadent. If she were a vampire, I would have thought them to be together.

"She surrendered – Carlisle gave her the option." The red head explained, the one she was clinging to, and I knew instantly that Carlisle had explained that to him in the time Jasper's hands had been on my ears.

I could not focus on what they were saying next, it took all of my focus to keep myself from rushing forward – though doing so would ultimately kill me, I knew so from the look the red head shot me as the thought of touching her entered my mind. Ugh! It was impossible. The burn in my throat grew stronger and stronger as the wind continued to blow her scent at me, a knock in the face each time. I could just barely fight my instinct – the one Riley had formed to his twisted will – and I let out a frustrated scream.

Jasper snarled, baring his teeth, warning me and I tried to keep my body from moving into a natural crouching position. She was too much the prey in my mind. I did all I could: I dug my hands deep into the ground, searching for something to hold onto, but found nothing. Nothing to keep me from launching. The blonde leaned into a crouch, ready to attack, and even that did little to stop my mind from the thirsty thoughts that plagued it.

"You have to control yourself," Carlisle said calmly, although nothing was calm about this situation. "We don't want to kill you if it is not necessary."

"I can't control myself," I breathed out, my voice filled with the strain of thirst. "How can you? She smells so good. I want her!" I stared at her, the wind blowing another gust of her sweet scent in my face. Oh how I wished she and I were alone.

"You have to. Control is the only thing that will save your life."

I wanted to scream as I continued to dig my hands deep into the dirt. If my only option to survive was for her to remain alive, I was finished. I couldn't stand the burning, or the sweet smell that taunted me so openly. Although I trembled at the struggle I underwent to keep myself from tearing her apart, she studied me with unshielded fascination. Almost, I thought, like she wanted to ask me about being a newborn, as if there were anything good about it.

My resolve was slipping. It was becoming increasingly difficult to restrain myself. If a voice from behind the smoke hadn't spoken, freezing me in fear, I would have launched myself at her, attempting to ripe her throat out.

The dark – cloaks stepped out of the smoke, and I was absolutely still. There were four of them again, just like Diego and I had seen from the trees. Their attention was solely focused on the yellow-eyes for the moment, and I wished that I had control of my body. If I hadn't been so afraid, I would have tried to run.

"Welcome, Jane," said the red head that held the human. His tone was pleasant enough, though nothing about the situation was.

The youngest of the four, a petite girl, scanned over each of their face until, finally, she landed on me. Her eyes laced with curiosity and confusion. "I do not understand."

"She has surrendered."

The four seemed shocked. It looked like no one had come across the situation of a surrender before.

"There is no surrender for those who break the rules. They must be punished."

"That's in your hands," Carlisle started. "As she was willing to do us no harm, I saw no necessity in destroying her." It was almost like he pleaded for her, although the stone face of the girl made me fully aware that it would do very little to aid me.

"You," she snarled, her head snapping in my direction. "Your name."

From the look in her eyes, I was dead anyway, condemned unfairly for something Riley had done to me. Defiantly, I refused to answer, glaring at her. Jane smiled; it was an innocent smile that one would expect to see on the face of a child, but suddenly, I was on fire. This is the type of vampire Riley had explained – the reason he was so afraid to come and fight himself. She held this power to bring her enemies to their knees with a simple look – she was untouchable.

The pain was worse than anything I could remember, any pain I had ever come across in my short life as a vampire, but – against my nature – I refused to let it show. I held her gaze and hid all signs of pain, though inside I screamed for my life and begged for it to stop.

"Curious," she muttered, letting the fire fade to a dull nothing. I barely kept myself from sighing in relief.

The red head who held the human gazed at me with sympathetic eyes. I suspected that he was the mind reader, as he seemed sorry for what I had just endured and, if Jane hadn't noticed it, I was sure no one else had. "Why don't you just tell her your name?"

"Bree," I answered, tearing my gaze from Jane, only answering because the pain would be to unbearable for me to handle again.

Another question left her lips, "Victoria, did she create you?", but the other three remained silent and observant.

I shook my head. "I don't know," truthfully, what I did know was scarce. "Riley never spoke her name. It was so dark the night he brought me that I didn't see anything. But the pain, it was horrible."

My answer seemed to satisfy her. "Why did this Riley bring you here? What was his objective?"

I recited as much as I could of the lies Riley had told my coven and I. "He told us these yellow-eyes were going to come and get us. That they wanted the city, when it was ours. He said they would be easy to kill. But he left before he even reached the field."

"It seems like he was wrong."

Hoping that it would make her forget about me, I agreed, nodding my head and ignoring the twisted smile on her face. Suddenly, her attention shifted, and I was no longer the center of her cruel attention. Carlisle, however, was.

"You wish to keep her alive, to let her live because she surrendered?" It was simple question itself, but I knew the answer would determine my fate.

Carlisle – bless his soul – nodded his head. "She has done nothing wrong yet. There is no reason to punish her for something she does not understand."

Surprisingly understanding, shocking not only me but the yellow – eyes and the human, along with the three other cloaked vampires, Jane nodded her head. "I will allow you to keep her. But," and here was when the conditions came. "I expect that no humans will die. No one will be turned."

I looked expectantly to Carlisle. Would he save my life? Or would he let me die?

"I understand."

The breath I had been holding flew out, relief flooding my system. Out of sheer luck, I would live to see another day. These kind yellow – eyes, whom my coven had failed to kill, were risking their lives to save mine, when I felt undeserving at the very least.

"Then I will see you in a couple months to check on things. Remember, no one is to be turned. Except," Jane paused, looking back at the human girl in the red head's arms. "Bella here, who I see is still human. Yes, we'll check on you."

Jane signaled for the rest to be ready to leave. Before they disappeared, she turned to face me once more. "As for you, Bree, I'll be sure to tell Aro about you. He'll be interested to know my powers don't affect you."

Hello there!

This is yet another story that I am deciding to start, although updates won't be as frequent as I really feel a connection to Bree Tanner, the girl whom I instantly sympathized with after reading "The short second life of Bree Tanner," by Stephenie Meyer, and want to make the most of this story in its development - don't be surprised If I edit this prologue a few times. If you haven't read it, you should. It's a short novella that basically follows the short life of Bree Tanner, one of the newborns involved in the attempt to kill Bella by Victoria. I was reluctant to read this, as Bree had not stuck with me as I read Eclipse, being such a minor role in the novel. Yet, this novella really made me open up and sympathize her position. Letting her get killed, I decided, was unnecessarily cruel and led me to wonder what her life would be like if she survived and lived with the Cullens. Basically, this will follow her life as she adjust the to sudden change in her way of life.

I know that, for the people who haven't read the book, this is confusion with its mentions of people like Riley and Diego, and the events that aren't clear. But don't leave yet! I promise that everything will be explained later on. The Cullens' will find out and so will you. You don't have to be familiar with the novella to read this!

I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think! And, I hope you begin to feel as connected to Bree as I do.