Bella is half human, half vampire. When she runs into the Cullens, they allow her to join their coven – will she stay with them? Will she fall in love? What will the Voltori do when they find out about her?
Chapter 1
My throat was burning.
I ran through the forest, dodging the trees with so much speed I almost thought I was dreaming. I tried to occupy my thoughts with anything other than the fiery sensation that enveloped my throat. Then something caught my attention – a sweet smell, a mouthwatering smell.
I ran towards it. I was so hungry.
I attacked the mountain lion before I had a chance to adjust my thoughts. I tackled it to the ground and as I straddled the top of it, I tried to pin it down and gnaw on its neck.
The keyword being tried.
It used its claws to scratch at my face and as the sharp points made contact with my lower jaw, I jumped back in pain. Blood dripped down the side of my neck to stain the top of my ripped blue sweater, and created a sticky mess in my hair as it did so. The lion jumped to its feet and crouched in a defensive stance as it growled at me, right before bolting the opposite way into the forest.
I felt a tingling sensation in my jaw, and I knew the wound would cease to exist in a matter of seconds. That's something I still haven't gotten used to during this last week in the forest; my injuries always heal seconds after I attain them. All except for one – the scar in the shape of a half-crescent moon which inhabited the inside of my left wrist.
I ran again. That seemed to be the only thing I could do.
I tried to distract myself again by thinking of my dad. He would probably have a search party organized already, knowing him.
Tears started to break free as I sped up. I didn't know where I was, I didn't know where I was going – but I had the feeling I just needed to go.
And then I collided with something. Hard. I fell backwards as my body ached from the impact, and I grunted as I hit the floor. Then I screamed as I felt something moving on top of me.
"Sorry! Hey – hey, calm down!" I continued pushing and hitting as frantic hands and bronze hair obscured my vision. Finally the pressure lifted and there was someone standing in front of me. He was a young looking boy – around seventeen or eighteen – with untamed bronze hair, and a look on his face that looked as if he didn't know whether to apologize or laugh. He extended his hand and I ignored it as I got up quickly, and ran the opposite way.
Right into the arms of another hard body. I squirmed and yelped as I tried to break free.
"Wait…hey, stop - ouch!" The muscular boy in front of me let go as Ikicked against him and I positioned myself in a crouch similar to the mountain lion's earlier.
"What do you want?" I growled, giving my most convincing dangerous look. The bronze-haired boy and the muscular one shared a look.
"You ran into us, Squirmy. We were just minding our own business before you and Edward decided to…get down." The muscular one grinned and raised his eyebrows at the other boy. I could feel the red spread across my cheeks. "You're on our permanent property. You aren't allowed to hunt here."
"Is that…blush?" The bronze-haired one – Edward, I guess – had a disbelieving look on his face. "And why can't I hear you? Are you…what are you?" What did he mean hear?
I was trying to decide whether to run or not. I noted the topaz in their eyes which confirmed my thoughts – they were vampires. They could outrun me. They looked like nice enough…people...but if I had learned anything over the past week, it's that I can't trust anyone.
Edward must have sensed my dilemma. "Carlisle!" He called. Before I could make up my mind on what the best move would be, a light-haired man showed up beside him, looking at me with wonder.
"Hello," he said, gently. "My name is Carlisle." He extended his hand.
I ignored it. "Can you point me to the direction of the city? I believe I've lost my way." All I could do was pray they would just let me go.
"Lost your way," he looked thoughtful, curious. "How old are you?"
"Seventeen."
"I meant how long have you been one of us?" He asked.
"A week," I said, flatly. "I'll be out of your way as soon as you point me in the direction of the city."
Please let me go.
The three pairs of eyes trained on me opened wide, disbelieving. "A week?" Edward asked. "You can't go into the city after a week! Do you have a coven? Who changed you?"
Four stunningly beautiful people emerged gracefully from the trees. One of them hopped over to stand next to Edward with a smile on her face. She had a short, pixie-cut hairstyle with bright eyes and a wide smile on her face. Moving to stand beside her was a blonde boy who looked maybe a little older than Edward, with watchful eyes. A little behind them stood a gorgeous woman with caramel hair who had a very warming look on her face, and a blonde woman who looked like she was a Victoria's Secret Model.
I backed up a bit, startled by all of the new faces. "I'm all alone." I said plainly. I internally scolded myself for saying that – I should have told them I had the cast from Muscle Cars or Just Muscles standing behind me, waiting for me to say the word for them to come and kick ass.
The caramel-haired one looked saddened by my words. "How about you come back to our home so we could get you cleaned up? You could borrow some of Rosalie's clothes, I'm sure they would fit you."
"She isn't one of us." The blonde boy stated. "Don't you smell her blood? Her tears? She isn't like us." He looked at me accusingly.
The man stared at me for a few good seconds. "I think it would be wise if you came with us. We can help you." He said.
"We don't know what she is!" The blonde one looked at the man with disbelieving eyes.
"I have a good guess that she doesn't either," the man said. "Do you see how scared she looks? Our family should never reject the opportunity to help." He said sternly.
The blonde boy didn't say another word, but kept his eyes watchful. The pixie girl grabbed his hand.
"Come on, honey. Let's get you washed up." The caramel haired woman took a step forward.
"I just want to go to the city!" I said and backed up even further.
"Jasper." The blonde man said. And suddenly everything felt calm – I wasn't afraid anymore. Everything felt fuzzy, like my thoughts couldn't exactly form themselves fully.
Then the man lightly held on to my upper arm, and I found myself being led through the forest.
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