Seven years ago I was in pain. Pain that permeated my body and made me feel as though every cell was on fire, cauterizing my blood over and over again forever. I was in a world where relief would only come in the form of death, and I begged for it to happen during the times I wasn't screaming in agony. Time was nonexistent in the depth of that hell.

Then a voice. For a fraction of a moment, the pain gave way to shock. But then the pain was back, and my screams began again.

I awoke with a start, my unnecessary breath hissing between my teeth. I didn't like that dream and luckily it didn't happen often. Remembering that always caused a burning in my stomach that i knew too well. I quickly forced the thought from my mind and quenched the warmth back. There was a knock at my door.

"Are you alright Taylor?" Jasper's voice came through the wood. Of course he would sense the feeling brewing in my gut.

"Yeah everything's alright," I replied. And it was true, everything was alright. But I was new to the Cullen coven, and a drastic change in emotion was sure to set them on edge. I was an unknown to them. Something they had never heard of before. On top of that, I was young. I had only been a vampire for seven years. A vampire. I chuckled at the thought. According to the stories I grew up with, vampires were vicious, blood thirsty monsters who would feast uncontrollably at night and sleep during the day to avoid burning to a crisp in the sun. Even after seven years, these preconceived notions stayed with me. I'd learned a lot since I started living with the Cullen's.

"We're headed for school" I could hear Alice call to Esme. Seconds later I heard the doors on the Volvo close and the car jump to life. It still surprised me that they could act so normal, like a family. I didn't go to school, yet. Carlisle thought it would be best if I didn't interact with the general population until he fully understood what was going on with me. There was a gentle tap on my door.

"Carlisle would like to see you in his study when you are ready," It was Esme, their, I mean, our mother. It was weird to think of her that way, but I knew I would get used to it. Esme was very caring; her capacity to love each of her adoptive children was incredible. Though I had only been living with them for a couple months, it seemed to have veiled over me as well.

"I'll be out in a moment" I replied and quickly jumped out of bed. Within four seconds I was fully dressed in a white button down shirt and khaki cargo shorts. I didn't bother with shoes, I preferred to be barefoot. Another two seconds and my bed was made. I owed a great deal to Carlisle and Esme for taking me in. I had met Dr. Cullen and his wife four months ago in December. I had spent six years roaming the woods in northern Canada alone before I ran into a passing pair of nomadic vampires who pointed me to the Cullen's after attempting themselves to figure me out.

The day I arrived had been extremely tense. I had barely made it to the porch when my arms were pinned behind my back by who I would come to know as Emmett. A snarl rippled from his lips as he pulled me back from the door. Immediately I was surrounded by the coven, each face portrayed a mixture of anger and fear. Not knowing what I should say in the situation, I relaxed in Emmett's grip and lowered my head to show submission, allowing them to make the first move. Carlisle stepped out of the ring toward me demanding that I explain my presence. I had explained as much as I could about my meeting with the nomads. It turned out that they had been friends of Jaspers who, with a command from Carlisle, took off north into the woods to verify my story with the ones who sent me.

I was secluded under constant watch by two of the coven at any given time. During the time none of them spoke to me even when I curled up on the ground and slept each night, but I could tell they were bursting with questions. Whenever the smallest of the clan, Alice, would watch over me I would see her face falter from suspicion to frustration as though she were trying to concentrate on something far away. I discovered later that she had an ability that would allow her to see into a decided future, however whenever she tried to view my future directly, it would go blank, as though someone had thrown blinders over her eyes. Jasper returned a week after his departure and after a brief consultation with the group, they approached me cautiously. They let their questions pour out in torrents. Answering their inquiries as best I could I had survived the onslaught and was given a chance at a haven within their ranks.

I walked down the brightly lit hallway to the study, the door was already open. Stepping inside I saw the doctor standing beside his desk, writing on a notepad his back to a wall made completely of large windows. The clouds were heavy over the trees as they were most days in Forks; the perpetual promise of rain saturated the dim light. Carlisle's amber eyes looked up as I crossed the doorway. He motioned for me to come in. I walked to the center of the room feeling no need to sit in the chair. This had become so routine that I knew it wouldn't last long.

"Good morning. How did you sleep?" He grinned. I knew he found it humorous to ask this question as vampires didn't sleep. At least normal vampires didn't sleep.

"I had the dream again, but other than that I slept like a rock" Carlisle scribbled on his notepad "How long was I asleep for this time?" I added as an afterthought.

"Two days, so I think we found your limit for how long you can go without sleep."

"Eight days and forty-one minutes," I remembered easily.

"You should probably try to avoid staying awake that long though, people may notice when you get irritable around day three. I think it best you should sleep at night as though you were a human."

I nodded in agreement biting my lip lightly as I recalled those last five days that I struggled to stay awake. It hadn't been a walk in the park, and by the end of it Emmett had to hold me against my will when I almost put my fist through the glass door. I had been driven insane by a finch that wouldn't stop chirping outside. Rose had laughed haughtily at my anger, which earned me a swift knee in the back when I hissed an angry retort in her direction. I would have to apologize as soon as they came back from school. Carlisle must have seen the worry on my face and guessed accurately at my slight distress.

"They don't blame you, they just don't understand. As a vampire you are far from the normal."

Far from normal was an understatement. As far as we could figure the only thing I had in common with a vampire was the lack of a pulse. I went over the list of my abnormalities in my head. I slept, my skin was warm, and I didn't feed. A short list, but it might as well be an ocean trench when it came to me and my adoptive coven.., family. I had a good idea of why these differences were present but I wasn't ready to share that with the Cullen's yet. It was a good thing I found out very shortly after arriving that Edward couldn't read my thoughts at will. Apparently I had to 'let' him read them, which I had learned last month. Carlisle theorized that my own ability was so similar that rendered my thoughts in a way humans, and vampires, couldn't read. After I was reborn I discovered that I could 'hear' animals' thoughts and communicate back. When I was human I always had an affinity to animals. I could tell when they were happy, sad, or in pain. I had spent most of my time out of school volunteering at local animal shelters where I fast became known as the go to person with a difficult to handle animal as I could usually reign in their misunderstood behavior. Carlisle had explained that often humans who had an underdeveloped talent would have a pronounced ability when they were turned.

"Are you feeling thirsty this morning?" Carlisle asked methodically. It was a question he asked after each time I woke up.

"No"

"Jasper was watching over you while you were sleeping. He told me your moods were changing drastically. Do you remember any of your dreams other than the one where you are in pain?"

"No, just that one."

Carlisle placed his pad on his desk and walked over to where I stood. Gently he placed his hand on my forehead for a full minute, then took his index finger and pressed it into the skin on my shoulder. I knew he was judging my temperature and skin pliability, but I couldn't help feeling a little self-conscious about how it would look if someone other than the family were to walk by the study door.

"Ninety Five point three and skin still soft compared to ours" Add another to the list of abnormalities, my skin was softer than a vampires should be, but a human would have a hard time deciphering the difference between it and a rock. He looked into my eyes, "Eyes still amber though you have never fed." I looked down shyly, again I knew more than I let on. "There's no reason to be ashamed of it, in fact I envy you" Carlisle said misreading my thoughts, "I would love to never have to drink blood again."

He walked back to his desk and picked up his notepad again. "Do you have any plans today?"

"I am going to go back into the woods."

"Alright, just keep in mind the treaty boarder please." I could tell Carlisle was through with his procedures for the day so I headed for the door.

"I will."

More than one hundred years ago Carlisle and his family formed a treaty with the Quileute Tribe on the reservation close to Forks. Since the Cullen's didn't drink human blood the Quileute's had allowed them safety and exclusivity as long as the family promised never to harm a human life. This allowed them to have a permanent residence to return to every few decades. They loved it here and I was quickly falling into that notion. The woods were a wonderful place to walk, I would spend long days hiking, well more like running, to the coast and up mountains. I would sit for hours taking everything in, sights, sounds, and smells, every breath of wind and creak of the trees. The views were spectacular and the wildlife thrived so I always had someone to talk to. An ecosystem that lived well in harmony with the humans in town. Sometimes I would venture to the woods around Forks High School where Emmett, Rose, Jasper, Alice, and Edward all attended. A ruse that they formed as to not bring suspicion to their lives. I would be joining them next year, a grade behind them as Dr. Cullen's newest adoptive son. When I was changed I was nineteen so it would be easy to fit in as a junior. I just hoped I wouldn't draw as much attention as the rest of the Cullen's did. I could hear the other students talk about them almost every time I went to visit. I had yet to visit town and meet the people. I wanted to fit well into my role as the new kid in town this summer.

I walked down the stairs headed for the front door, passing Esme who was sitting in a chair reading a novel which I was not familiar with. She looked up as I passed and smiled warmly at me. I grinned back at her.

"I'm very sorry about the way I acted a couple days ago Esme,"

"Oh honey it's ok, we all have our limits. Just try not to break anything next time." She laughed merrily as my smile faded into a grimace. Her eyes shifted back to her book as I moved to the door. As it opened I could smell the incoming rain on the breeze. It smelled wonderful mixed with the pine scent drifting from the forest. A smile split my face as I opened my mind to the chatter from my friends waiting for me in the forest. I could feel deer pressing for me to run with them, a small pack of wolves touched my conscious with an image of newborn pups that they'd been expecting any day. I formed an image of myself at their den and they replied with delight.

I took off into the early morning dim at top speed not wanting to waste a minute of the day, but stopped short as I felt a new awareness prod my mind. I would feel minds come and fade as the circle of life ran its course through the inhabitants of the forest, but this had a tinge of familiarity. The thoughts were rough, unrefined. I concentrated on this new presence, gently nudging my own thoughts against this new intruder.

Anger, fear, confusion, a red haze crossed over my eyes. A loud growl reverberated through the air, I wasn't sure if it came from me or this foreign entity. It only took a fraction of a second for my thoughts to push back violently and my vision to clear. I was vaguely aware that Esme and Carlisle were at my side, hands at the ready in the event I needed to be restrained. All I could concentrate on was the new thoughts running through my mind.

Who are you? What is happening to me?

These were not my own thoughts.