PROLOGUE - MARCH, 2008: FORKS, WASHINGTON
The cold was biting.
Not because of the weather, but because of the company.
Honestly, it was more surprising to me that the company wasn't biting harder than the cold. But that's really another matter.
"I could get you a blanket."
I turned to see who had spoken so suddenly. Of course, it was Edward. Who else would have known what I needed without me having to say anything? I shook my head, not wanting him to do me any favors, and tried to focus on the task at hand. It wasn't easy, not with Edward's sister, Alice, breathing down my neck the entire time.
"You okay?" she kept asking. "Don't panic if you see something move - there are a lot of animals out here."
"I know," I said for the thousandth time. "I'll survive."
"Yeah, you will," said Alice in a whisper that I might have missed had a breeze been blowing. "You'll be fine."
I shook my head again, this time from agitation. I hated that she knew the future when I could barely hold onto the present. All I knew about myself was that my name was Anne Maundrell, that my past was no longer a part of me, and that I was easily one of the strangest creatures these vampires would ever come across.