I stayed perfectly still in the top of the tree, watching the group that approached my hiding place. There were six of them; all vampires. They were about three miles away.

I was amazed to see a large group of vampires together. I had assumed that vampires didn't stay together because of the two I had been in contact with – well, the one that had bit me and the other one that it fought. I still had a lot to learn.

I could hear a little of their conversation as they approached.

"Come on Edward, she'll be fine while you're gone. Alice is with her. She's safe, really. Get over it already."

"But, with so many newborns around, I hate to leave for a minute. What if something happens and I'm not there to keep her safe. I'd never forgive myself."

"You need to eat, son. You have to be strong for the battle. If you are going to keep Bella safe, you need to help us destroy the newborns."

"Man, you are becoming neurotic. Well, more neurotic than before." A loud laugh rang through the trees.

"Thanks a lot, Emmett."

They came closer.

The one they called Edward stopped suddenly. He started to scan the forest in front of him, finally resting his eyes on the tree where I sat.

The others all stopped and got very tense.

"What is it Edward?"

"Someone is there."

"Who?"

"I don't know. They are watching us, wondering about how we can be together. They think all vampires tear each other to shreds." He paused for a moment, then whispered, "It's a newborn."

All six of them crouched into a fighting position. I could hear their snarls and hissing.

For the first time since I realized how strong I was, I was afraid. Apparently, I was the newborn they were talking about. And it didn't sound like they liked newborns!

I froze. I knew I was in trouble. Six vampires against one, I would be shredded instantly. I'd seen what could happen to a vampire, torn limb from limb. I shuddered.

I heard the chimes of a cell phone ringing. Edward grabbed the phone from his pocket and answered, "What's going on Alice?"

He listened for a moment. Everyone looked at him, except the really big guy, he was watching me.

"What does she say? Is this the one from Bella's room?"

Edward held up a finger to stall them and continued to talk to the person on the phone.

"Ok, we will. Is Bella safe?"

I could see Emmett roll his eyes.

"Take her to our house. I'll be there soon."

He closed the phone and spoke to his family without looking away from my tree.

"Alice says she doesn't know about the other newborns. She isn't part of what is happening in Seattle. She won't fight us."

He spoke to me then, "Why don't you come down and talk to us? We won't hurt you."

I hoped that he was telling the truth, but either way I needed to get down from the tree – to run or to meet the group of vampires standing in front of my perch. I jumped, landing within twenty feet of the group.

One of the men stepped forward, his hand outstretched, "My name is Carlisle Cullen. This is my family." He pointed at each one as he spoke, "Edward, Esme, Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper."

I tried to smile, saying hello to each one. Jasper looked like he was ready to jump on me. I grimaced at the look on his face.

"I'm Allysa Brooks." I jumped at the sound of my voice. It was unfamiliar, changed.

They looked at each other, recognition on their faces.

"You are the girl who went missing near Seattle," Emmett said.

"Yes."

"What happened to your boyfriend, Jim?"

"He's dead."

"Well, how did you end up like this then?" Rosalie asked impatiently.

"I think it was an accident." I explained what I could remember about that night.

"The newborns," Edward said, frustrated.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

Carlisle stepped forward then, explaining "You are a new vampire, we call new vampires newborns." He went on to explain that there were a lot of 'newborns' in Seattle.

"Two of the newborns must have been at the lake. They tend to fight each other a lot," he said.

Well, that explained why I was attacked, and left bleeding, to change.

"You'll probably want to leave the area soon. The Volturi will be here soon to deal with this problem, if we aren't forced to do it first."

"What's a Volturi?" I asked.

"She really doesn't know anything," Jasper said. "We can't just leave her on her own without telling her about the rules. Why don't you finish hunting, Edward? Emmett and I will stay with Alyssa. We'll explain a little more about being a vampire. We'll tell her about the Volturi. She needs to know."

"I'm staying too," Rosalie said. Nobody argued with her.

Carlisle looked at Edward, nodding slightly. It seemed like they were having a conversation, but they weren't speaking.

"Fine. Let's go. But, I don't want any of you telling Bella about this! She has enough to worry about."

They all agreed and Carlisle, Esme and Edward ran into the woods.

I stood looking at the trio of vampires, unsure what I was supposed to do. Where they really here to talk to me, or where they going to destroy me?

Emmett smiled, but Jasper still looked like he was ready to pounce. Rosalie just looked irritated.

"What do you think, Jazz?" Emmett asked.

"She's confused, scared. She isn't ready to attack."

"How do you know?" I asked, even more confused now.

"It's just a little thing that Jasper can do, ok," Rosalie said with a smirk.

"We stayed to answer your questions, to try to help you. We also want to make sure you stay away from our home," Jasper said.

"Why?"

"Because we don't want suspicious activities going on around where we live – we don't want to pick up and move. Got it?" Wow, Rosalie was in a bad mood.

"Why would you have to move?"

"Are you really that stupid?"

"Lay off, Rose. We're trying to help her, remember."

"Fine. You help her," she said and ran into the woods. Emmett stared after her, a frown on his face.

"Sorry about Rose," Jasper said. "Do you have any questions for us?"

"A few. I've already figured out a couple of things. I know the sun won't hurt me, and I know it's not a good idea to be seen by humans when the sun is out."

"What!!"

"Oh, I caused a little accident on the Pacific Coast Highway the other day."

"That was you?" Emmett said, his laugh booming out over the mountain.

I nodded, a little embarrassed.

"So you know about your speed and strength, right?" Jasper asked, rolling his eyes at Emmett.

"Yeah."

"And, your diet?"

"Well, I kind of figured that one out on the day I woke up a vampire. See, there were these guys looking for me and, um, they smelled so good," my mouth started to fill with fluid just thinking about it, "and I took all three of them down so quickly, like I knew exactly what to do."

"It does come pretty naturally," Japer said, shrugging.

It did. No question about that. But, I had so many other questions I needed to ask them.

"Will my eyes be black like yours soon? Or golden like Esme and Carlisle's were?"

"Well, they'll be black when you are hungry. But, if you continue to feed on humans, they'll be red."

"Then why are their eyes golden?"

"Because they don't feed on humans," he paused to take in the look on my face, and something else, but I couldn't quite figure it out, "they feed on animals. We all do."

I wrinkled my nose. I had smelled the animals out here. They weren't appealing.

Jasper explained their lifestyle choice. I knew it wasn't something I wanted to do, at least not right now. He also explained about my venom, and why I had changed when I hadn't died from the attack. Things were becoming clearer, finally.

"So, what is a Volturi? You said you'd explain."

"Well," Jasper said, a look of reverence on his face, "they are kind of the guys in charge, I guess you would say. They enforce the rules."

"Rules?"

"Mostly one rule. Our existence must remain a secret. If you do things that would expose our world, they'll find you and destroy you."

"Oh." A thrill ran down my spine.

We spent most of the afternoon talking about how to keep humans in the dark. It sounded like I would be separated from everyone, alone, unless I joined a coven like theirs.

"Can I come home with you for a while?"

"That's not a good idea. We are around humans a lot. Some even come to our home."

"And you don't attack them?" I was incredulous.

"No. We don't."

I thought about that. Sounded pretty hard, human blood was so appealing. But, I really didn't want to be alone, so I asked again, trying to be more persuasive.

"Wow. Maybe I can do that. I'd really like to spend some time with you. Please. Can't I go to your home? Please."

An odd look came over both of their faces, almost like they were stunned, confused.

"Um….sure, I guess you could come for a little while," Jasper said, hesitantly.

"Yeah. Come with us, we'll take you there."

"What do you think you're doing?" Edward was furious.

I guess I could understand why, somewhere in the snarling desire that was tearing my throat apart.

"I'm not really sure," Emmett said.

I was pinned to the forest floor by Emmett, my arms being held above my head by Jasper with one hand, his other hand clamping the bottom of my jaw, closing my mouth. I fought against them, venom dripping.

All I wanted, all I could think about, was the human blood that I could smell. I could hear her heart beating, somewhere in the house. I just needed to leap across the river, and I would have her within seconds.

"I'm going to take Bella home. You need to get her away from here. Now! And make sure she doesn't follow us!" He turned to run back toward the beautiful home, "We'll talk about this later."

I could hear him as he walked through the house, slamming doors. Something shattered.

"What's wrong Edward?" The voice, so compelling, so human, made my desire flash.

I snarled and growled. I was aware, somewhere in my mind, that Edward was making up a lie, telling Bella a story about a bear. Emmett's dinner.

"Let me go," I tried to say through my teeth.

"Not till she's gone."

I tried to regain some composure, now that the thrumming of her heart was out of hearing range, though her smell lingered.

"Let me go." I was sounding a little saner.

Jasper relaxed his grip on my jaw and arms. Emmett started to stand up.

"Don't follow them or we'll rip you apart. No second chances on that!"

I sat up, breathing hard, probably out of habit, I wasn't really winded.

"Who is she? Why do you care whether I kill her or not?"

"Bella is Edward's mate. If you try to kill her, we'll kill you. Simple, right?"

"But, she's human! Why would he want a human mate? How can he be around her and not attack?" Personally, I didn't think that was possible!

"It's a long story," Emmett said, looking toward the house.

He looked at me, "I really don't know what we were thinking, bringing you here. They have enough to deal with right now."

"Like what?"

"That's really not your problem. C'mon Jazz, we've got to get her out of here."

"Please tell me what's happening." He looked a little dazed. I tried to be more persuasive. "Please, Emmett. Jasper. Will you tell me what is going on here?"

They looked at me for a moment, and then they both sat on the ground next to me. They proceeded to tell me all about the problems with the newborns in Seattle and with the Volturi. Seemed there might be a wedding in the near future for the Cullen family, if Edward got his way.

They even filled me in on a little pack of wolves that lived nearby. I'd avoid that area.

Carlisle and Esme returned from their hunting trip while we were talking. Edward had been so anxious to return to Bella's side this afternoon, he hadn't hunted with them. He had returned to make sure that Bella was safe.

I knew a lot about the Cullens now. My time with Emmett and Jasper had been extremely informative.

Carlisle wasn't angry, like Edward, but confusion spread over his face when he saw them sitting with me at the edge of the forest, talking like old friends.

"Why did you bring her here?"

Emmett looked at me and stated simply, "She wanted to come."

"Wasn't Edward a little upset?"

Emmett and Jasper both laughed.

"Is Edward ever just a little upset about something that might harm Bella?" Emmett asked.

"He told us to get her away from here, and to make sure she doesn't go near Bella. I'll bet he won't leave her side for the next week!" Jasper said.

"Why didn't you take her away, then?"

"She wanted to stay."

Carlisle looked puzzled.

"It would have been better if we had listened. Edward was feeling murderous when he left," Jasper said.

Carlisle was exasperated. He sighed, and asked, "Are you sure? Is he going to calm down?"

I looked at Jasper, realizing that there was something about him, something that they all knew, but I didn't.

"How do you know what Edward was feeling, Jasper?"

He looked at Carlisle and I saw the slightest shake of his head. Emmett glared at him and mouthed 'no'.

I really wanted to know what was going on. Maybe I could persuade them.

"Jasper, please, tell me what is going on."

He looked confused for just a moment, and replied, "I sense people's moods. I know how you feel right now. And I can influence other's moods, as well."

"Wow. How do you do that?"

"It's just something I can do - a special vampire ability."

"Do the rest of you have special abilities?"

Emmett's mouth was grim. Carlisle looked slightly upset. They were talking too much, and he knew it.

"Please tell me."

"Edward can read minds and Alice sees the future," Esme blurted out, surprising herself.

It was at that moment that a slight, lovely vampire I hadn't seen walked out of the back door of the house. Alice, I assumed.

"Carlisle, I need to talk to you!" she said.

Carlisle took two steps and leapt over the river, landing right in front of Alice.

"There's something you need to know about our 'guest'," she whispered, although I could hear her, and I was sure everyone else here could, too.

"What is it?"

"She dangerous."

"Is she going to attack us?" Carlisle was obviously worried. Emmett and Jasper tensed, as if ready for an attack.

"No. It's something else. She has an ability that Aro will want."

"What?" Carlisle almost shouted.

Alice leaned closer to Carlisle and really whispered now. I was dying to know what she said.

"Well, I guess that explains a lot," Carlisle said, turning to look at me.