I just want to say that I am truly honored and gratified at the positive response the first chapter of this story received, and so I will be continuing it, alternating updates with my other story, Morning Star. Thank you everyone!

I hope you continue to enjoy where this story takes us... it's pretty exciting when the characters take up residence in your head and tell you how they want things to go! I experienced this phenomenon once before with a story I was writing and it was definitely a headrush. It certainly makes the writing fly... :)

~xXx~xXx~

Chapter Two Hunting 101

Jasper returned a few hours later, looking apologetic, with a cell phone for each of us. "We want you to feel like you've always got a connection to us, that you never have to 'go it alone' at any point," he explained as he showed us the numbers pre-programmed into the phones; each member of the Cullen family had their own number, except for Bella. I wondered why that was, but didn't ask.

"It's going to be a few hours yet," Jasper said with a grimace. "Bella is still with Alice, though she'll be leaving soon, and Carlisle and Edward are still down in La Push. I thought perhaps we should take a practice hunt, before you get really thirsty, seeing as we're changing the food supply up a bit on you."

"Oh?" Fred frowned, frankly curious. "How's that?"

"Our family doesn't hunt humans," answered Jasper, meeting Fred's gaze levelly. I felt a calm settle over the room despite the tension inherent in the conversation. "We hunt animals instead... it's why our eyes are yellow instead of red. Carlisle introduced us to this way of life when we joined his family some time ago... and he's been following it for centuries... he could not reconcile the idea of losing his humanity by taking other human lives. It's an adjustment, but one that we make gladly, because there are many benefits to it."

Fred stared at Jasper as if he'd grown extra heads, and I'm sure my expression was much the same. "What benefits might those be? Are you stronger? More satisfied?"

Jasper regarded his feet as he shook his head. "No. The benefits have more to do with how you regard the world at large... and each other. You retain your memory better of what it means to be human. The bonds between you and your family members is stronger. Covens larger than two or three of red-eyes tend to tear themselves apart because the members are so egocentric, they have no capacity for love and cooperation between family members. We are... eight, and about to become ten. That is unheard of... even the Denali coven only numbers five at the moment. The Volturi coven is large only because of their military nature."

Fred frowned. "Well, that sounds... cozy... but how is that of benefit? I don't understand."

Jasper nodded. "Let me reduce the equation for you. Cooperation. Trust. Being able to work together toward a common goal without losing focus and tearing each other apart. Knowing that your team members truly have your back. Does that ring any bells for you?"

"And drinking the blood of animals does all that for you?" Fred's brow was still crinkled as he struggled to assimilate this information, even as I nodded beside him. I had seen all that had gone wrong on that battlefield, and in the time leading up to it. We had not been able to trust in each other, and our leader had deserted us in battle. We had lost our humanity, and all of our human values.

"Bree's getting it," Jasper commented. "Yes... you begin to value human life more. What it stands for. Morals and ethics. It gives you back your conscience. That's hard to explain, I know... and it's something I still struggle with, having spent so much time as a 'classic' vampire." His hands performed air quotes as he smiled. "Our private joke is that we're vegetarians because we have this alternate food supply that gives us a different view of our existence. But it's real, and it's valid, and it's worth working towards. Even if you 'slip up' now and again." He looked a little sheepish with this last admission, and I wondered if his last 'slip up' had happened recently.

"Soooo... what's on the menu?" I grinned, speaking for the first time. I figured Fred would need some time to let this absorb, but it all made sense to me after what I'd seen. I doubted that I would have gotten a second chance had Edward and Carlisle and the rest of the Cullens not had that sense of humanity about them, and if this could be afforded by a change in diet then I was all for it.

"Elk is available locally, we can find other species the further out we range," Jasper answered with a smirk. "I figured we'd keep it simple the first time."

"All right, let's do this," Fred answered with a shrug. I was glad he was willing to give this a go, and beamed at him as he looked down at me. He scooped me up in a bear hug, then tossed me over his shoulder playfully as we headed out the door.

"Hey! Put me down!" I yelled, pretending to be offended, as I smacked uselessly at his broad back. He laughed and took off at a dead run behind Jasper, and all I could do was grab at his belt loops and hang on, giggling.

Several minutes later, we stopped while still within a thick stand of trees. Jasper held a finger to his lips as Fred dropped me to my feet, and we stood-stock still as we gave control over to our senses of smell and hearing. I could sense them almost immediately: six elk in all, two bucks and four doe grazing a mere sixty paces east of us in a small clearing next to a small stream. Their scent was not particularly appealing, but I was game to try. I dropped into a crouch and moved off in their direction cautiously, noting in my peripheral vision that Fred had joined me in the hunt while Jasper stood back, watching.

When we were almost upon them, Fred and I split up to attack at separate angles so as to confuse the beasts; it was a tactic we had learned in our hunting parties against the humans. The strategy was still sound, and we each took down our first kill with no trouble whatsoever. The blood was tangy, almost bitter, but clean, and gone before I knew it. I took down a second and a third kill immediately and drained them both, while Fred polished off the other two. When we were done we stayed by our kills and looked back toward Jasper as he joined us in the clearing.

"Full?" he asked with a smile.

"I think I might slosh upon standing," Fred answered, his own face quirking into a grin. "Poor Bree must be ready to pop."

I rolled my eyes at them both. "How do you want us to clean up, Jasper?"

"Take them into the trees, spread the bodies out over several hundred feet, and cover them with brush and pine needles," Jasper instructed. We nodded and hastened to obey. The chain of life would take care of the rest, we knew. Much simpler, much more natural than how we had had to deal with human carcasses. I could get used to this.

"Come on back to the main house with me," Jasper said when we were finished. "Bella's gone by now, and you can stay with us while we wait for Carlisle and Edward to get back." We followed him back to the white mansion I had seen only briefly before, crossing the back yard and entering through the kitchen at the back of the house.

Alice greeted us brightly when we walked into the living room. "Carlisle and Edward are on their way back and should be here shortly. Come sit and get comfy!" She took a hand of each of us and led us to one of the couches, pulling us down to sit near one end before scooting over to the other end to sit on Jasper's lap. I noticed that Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie were already seated on the other couch. My eyes flicked about the room as I took in my surroundings and I noticed Fred taking stock surreptitiously as well.

"How was your first hunt?" Esme asked kindly, smiling softly at both of us. We nodded to her and murmured words of satisfaction. She then held out her arms to me, beckoning. "Come here, little one. May I brush out your hair?" I just looked at her, and I'm sure my shock and surprise registered with her. I had not heard words strung together like that in ages. "It's all right, sweetheart, I won't bite, I promise. I just want to take some of the forest out of your hair." I raised my hand to my head self-consciously and realized that there were indeed bits of twigs and needles caught in my hair; without a word I half-rose and scooted down to sit on the floor with my back between her knees.

She was still brushing through my hair – and oh, it felt so good – when Carlisle and Edward came through the front door not long after. Carlisle smiled indulgently at his wife and dropped into a chair while Edward walked back to the glass wall, facing out to look at the forest beyond the river.

"Jacob is healing well," Carlisle announced. "I've set him up with a morphine drip and he is resting comfortably. It should only be a matter of days before he is back on his feet, though full recovery will still take several weeks."

"Good," Emmett commented. "He was a good comrade-in-arms, fleabag or no." I could hear Edward's harsh laugh from the back of the room.

Jasper spoke up. "The wolves fought well and admirably." His eyes flicked to Carlisle's. "On another note, Fred and Bree have settled in and successfully completed their first hunt. I have to say I am nothing but impressed with them so far. Both display excellent control for being so new to this life."

"Good to hear," Carlisle smiled wearily. "I'm sure you two have questions, as do we. Now is the time to ask and answer them." Fred and I exchanged a look; it made sense that he would be the one to ask the questions for us.

Fred took a deep breath and spoke slowly. "I'm still kind of wrapping my head around the philosophy behind the 'vegetarian' diet that Jasper described. He says that this allows you to live as families... and you actually live among the humans and interact with them, yes?"

"Yes, we do. I'm a doctor at the hospital in Forks, and Edward and Alice just recently graduated from Forks High School. Jasper, Rose, and Emmett graduated last year and are in college now."

"How long have you been here? Are you all local to this area?" Fred's gaze moved to each of the yellow-eyes in turn as he asked this question.

"Forks? Only about three years. We're usually able to stay in one area for only eight to ten years before we must move on so the humans don't get suspicious about the fact that we never age." Carlisle shifted slightly, leaning forward to capture our attention. "We come from all different times and backgrounds, and we've been to many different places around the world. This area is perhaps our favorite though, since it allows us to spend more time out and about during the day due to the constantly overcast skies."

"How long have you all been together?" I asked in awe. I couldn't help myself. "And how did you all find each other?"

Carlisle smiled softly at me. "I was alone for a very, very long time. Edward joined me in 1918, and Esme a couple of years later. Rosalie joined us in 1933, and Emmett a couple years after that. Jasper and Alice joined us in the mid-1960s." Carlisle looked at each family member in turn with a tender smile as my jaw dropped with the years he'd mentioned. "As for finding each other, well... I sired Edward, Esme, and Rosalie after finding each of them close to death. Something about each one of them touched me," he tapped his chest, "and I couldn't bear to let them die... Rosalie found Emmett and brought him to me to turn. Alice and Jasper found us... she had found Jasper already and was just drawn to us somehow. I think we were somehow fated to be a family."

"And you've followed this lifestyle since the beginning?" Fred asked. Carlisle nodded. "So you've been doing this a long time. Does the bloodlust get easier to deal with over time?"

"Yes and no. You're still newborns, and so yes, definitely your general control over your thirst will improve with time. Animal blood is not as satisfying as human blood, as I'm sure Jasper may have mentioned, and so in times of weakness you may be tempted... nearly all of us have 'slipped' at one point or another. But if you remain committed to our lifestyle, you see over time that the benefits far outweigh the... discomfort." I noticed that all of the yellow-eyes were enthusiastically nodding at this, but Fred looked uneasy. Carlisle noticed, too. "What's wrong?"

"I can't help but think that this sounds awfully like what a religious leader would be spouting at us to get us to join his cult. And I'm sorry... I'm just a little gunshy after what we've just been through with Riley."

"No need to be sorry. Very understandable under the circumstances. And.." Carlisle paused briefly and smiled as I heard Edward chuckling from the window. "I am the son of a minister. But I swear that I'm not trying to coerce you into anything."

"He's not," added Rosalie. "We all have free will and we remain with this family because we choose to. Edward over there actually left for several years and came back seeking the peace of mind this lifestyle gives you. I'm probably the most selfish of us all, and even I get why this is such a big deal." Edward coughed suspiciously, rolling his eyes, but she ignored him. "You don't have to be a monster, you can open yourself up to other possibilities. You can open yourself up to love." She smiled at Emmett, who grinned back at her.

Fred nodded slowly, his face thoughtful. "So we do really have a choice." The yellow-eyes all murmured assent. "Well... if we were to join you, how would you see us fitting into the family dynamic?"

"That's a very good question, and a lot would depend on you. What you were doing before you were turned, and what you'd like to see yourself doing in the future. And of course, how you fit in with everyone who's already part of this family." Carlisle looked thoughtfully at me. "Bree, you were what, fifteen years old? You should definitely get the chance to finish your basic education. We'd likely need to send you up to Alaska for that, though, to the Denali coven."

I was taken aback at this. "Why?"

"Well, because you might be recognized if we enrolled you at Forks High. It hasn't been that long, I'm sure your parents have been frantic looking for you and they've likely circulated your picture."

"I – I'm not local." I stammered. "I came down from Alberta, Canada when I ran away, I was actually headed for California."

"What made you run away?" Esme asked gently, her hands still in my hair. I drew away carefully and pulled my knees up into my chest, hugging them. This story was hard to tell, even though I felt so far removed from my human roots, because it reminded me of how alone I really was. It was the one clear human memory I had. I knew nothing of a family built around love.

"Ever since my earliest memories, my father would beat up my mother time and time again, but she wouldn't leave him. She said that he really loved her and didn't mean it and even if we went away for awhile we kept coming back and she kept forgiving him. I don't remember much of it, but I know things'd be really good for awhile and then it would start all over again. He never touched me, it was always her." I stopped and looked around, noting everyone's eyes on me. Edward had moved away from the window to perch on the edge of the couch by Jasper and was watching me closely. I swallowed hard and went on. "One day, I came home from school and they were arguing really loudly in the kitchen. He'd been drinking and he was already starting to strike out at her, and suddenly – I'd just had enough. I'd had a bad day at school, and I wasn't thinking clearly... I – I got in the middle of it, trying to break it up, and he hauled off and backhanded me across the room and I hit my head against some cabinets."

I paused again with a wince, finding myself breathing hard. Fred was looking at me sorrowfully. I closed my eyes to block everyone out, as I could no longer bear to see their reactions. "Mom was cowering in a corner crying, she didn't even come to check me out to see if I was okay. My father stood over me and spit on me as I wiped the blood off my jaw, and I saw he was going to kick me with his work boot. I didn't even think twice... I swiped his legs out from under him with my backpack and took off. I never looked back and no one came after me. Luckily I had some money on me and I was able to cross into the States before it ran out. I figured they could never catch up to me then and I could go look for a job or something in California."

I felt Esme reach forward and draw me back against her, wrapping her arms around me and hugging me gently. I resisted at first, but gave in as she started to murmur reassurances to me quietly. I broke down and buried my head in her neck, trying to regain control of my unnecessary breathing.

From where I sat, I could hear Carlisle sigh deeply. "I'm so sorry, Bree. I hope you'll let us show you what a family is really supposed to be about." He shifted in his seat. "Fred, what about you?"

Fred hesitated, clearly affected by my story. "Well, I'm local in the sense that I was attending university in the area, but I'm Canadian as well... from Ontario. I'm sure no one's been looking for me, either... I pretty much severed all of my ties to home when I left to come here for school," he finally replied bitterly. I was surprised at his tone, though I did not look up. Fred and I had never talked about our pasts.

"Why? What happened?" Esme could sense another miserable family story, which seemed to pain her deeply. She had me sit up and turn around again so that she could continue to brush my hair, and I saw that Fred now wore a deep scowl. Jasper was watching him closely, and I saw him flick his eyes in Edward's direction, who was also watching Fred with an odd look on his face.

"I'm really not ready to share that now." His tone was clipped. "Trust me when I say that it's not a concern of yours, and it will not affect how I interact with you all."

"I don't know," Esme replied softly. "You seem pretty angry about it." Fred merely shrugged and rolled his eyes. Carlisle was about to say more to him when Alice suddenly stiffened and cried out in alarm.

"Edward!" We all looked up to see Alice staring straight ahead, her face contorted in pain. Edward stood up abruptly, his face wearing a similar expression, and ran out of the front door without a word.

"What's going on, Alice?" Carlisle asked gently as Jasper rubbed her arms soothingly.

"It's Bella," she answered, sounding grief-stricken. "She just left La Push and she's on the side of the road, crying so hard..." her voice trailed off.

"Is Jacob all right?" Carlisle asked in alarm, rising quickly and pulling his cell phone from his pocket. At Alice's shrug, he hit a number on the phone and greeted whoever answered politely before asking if everything was all right in La Push. He listened for several minutes, then thanked the person quietly and hung up.

"He's fine," he intoned as he sat back down gracefully and rubbed his face in his hands. "Apparently Bella had a very difficult conversation with him and it's upset both of them. Edward's going to her now."

The silence in the room was heavy for several minutes, finally broken by Esme as she resumed brushing out my hair gently, counting softly to herself. My eyes trailed to Fred's on the opposite couch and he looked back to me. We had a lot to think about. This coven of vampires obviously cared for each other in a way neither of us had seen up to now and seemed poised to extend that regard to us. Could we – should we throw in our lot with them? or was what they were offering to us too foreign to accept?

~xXx~xXx~

Esme's such a mother-figure, and it looks as though she's taken a shine to our Bree. Fred's got some kind of dark secret there, though I'm sure Edward already knows what it is...

Obviously it's my aim to have them join with the Cullens, but I think you can see why it wouldn't be an instantaneous decision for them... what do you think would help tip the scales?

Reviews rock my world :)