Disclaimer: The Twilight Series and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. Any other characters, settings etc. are property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter 2 E'sPOV:

I lie on the ground, satiated; the warm blood of the mountain lion still running through me. Lions were my favorite; carnivores' blood always tasted better than herbivores. I was happy to have stumbled across one so close to the city.

We all decided to hunt nearby in preparation to the first day of college —one of the many first days of college in our long lives. A day we'd be surrounded by the sweet smell of human blood.

Although we all were very capable of resisting the siren call of blood, we always over-fed when we were around humans. Why tempt the devil?

Life in Seattle promised a lot more excitement than life in the little town Forks —not that much could excite the impossibly monotonous life of a vampire. But the change of scenery should count for something.

All night, I've been mentally preparing to be bombarded with thoughts of humans around me. I would see, family dramas, sexual fantasies, I would know who is noble, and who is evil. Who is sincere, and who is deceitful.

I breathed deeply and looked up the cloudy sky. "Just once, only once, I wish I could tune out the voices in my mind. I want to feel normal."

It was hypocritical of me to wish for normalcy; my gift —reading minds— had helped us in the past out of unsafe situations for people like us; people who needed to keep secrets. But I couldn't help to wish for the impossible.

I was tired of hearing people's secrets. Tired of meeting women and knowing what was in their mind; if my money was their main attraction, or my looks. Sometimes they just wanted to have a good time —I willingly provided that. But I wanted more.

I wanted what my family had: A soul mate.

I never met a woman who shook me to the core just by being in her presence. Who made my old frozen heart want to beat again. I've never fallen in love.

I probably never will.

I sighed and headed back home.

As I approached the house, I noticed everyone was back from hunting — I could hear the voices in my mind. This dress goes perfectly with my figure. Duh, what doesn't? Rosalie's thoughts were always vain.

I wonder if Jasper would give me a rematch before school. He probably cheated. I wonder how… Emmett, the sore-loser in the family.

He'll be fine, Alice's thoughts were concerning her husband, Jasper. From all of us, he was the most recently converted to quit drinking human blood. He still had a hard time controlling his urges, but out of love for Alice, he did.

Carlisle… I immediately blocked Esme's thoughts; the tone and huskiness told me direction of them. I didn't even want to be close to Carlisle thoughts.

I walked in the house and went straight to my piano. The music will help me block my family's voices in my mind. They deserved privacy.

After a while, it was time to go.

Alice was the first to fly down the stairs. "I'm ready!" she announced. Her enthusiasm was incomparable.

Jasper, following behind her, smiled at her. His thoughts were always revolving around the little pixie.

"Rosalie, Emmett, let's go!" I said. They were still in their bedroom. Rosalie had a last minute outfit change. Emmett was enjoying the changing part. Another mental block was required.

"Go right ahead without us," Rosalie said. "I want to take my car, anyway."

I shook my head. They were not going to make it to school today. "Let's go," I told Alice and Jasper.

We headed toward school.

As I walked the hallway, I fixed my eyes on the pattern, color and size of the tiles under my feet; it was a way to tune out the voices in my head; voices that were screaming with the excitement of the first day.

I entered the room and sat in the first desk available. I took out a book and started reading, waiting for the class to begin.

A girl sitting next to me was staring at me. She was pretty; with long blond hair and dark eyes. At the moment she was struggling to find a subtle way to introduce herself.

Why not be a gentleman and ease the lady's exertion? I put my book down, turned to look at her and smiled. "Hello, I'm Edward." I extended my arm and she shook my hand.

I expected her to recoil at the coldness of my skin; it was a normal human reaction, but she surprised me by shuddering…with pleasure. Ooh, cold hands! And long fingers too. It would feel so good as they go in and out of my pussy— I wonder if his dick is also cold and long, thick—

Okay. Once they start imagining my sexual anatomy I simply blocked them.

It's hard to meet women with a clean mind now days. The last four years, I met three women who were nice, and sweet. We had a great time, and developed a friendship —with sexual rewards, that was fulfilling at least for them. I was happy to please them, if only for a while. But once they started forming deeper feelings about me, it was time to move on.

I couldn't offer what they deserved.

"Hi, my name is Diana," the girl said.

"Nice to meet you," I said politely and returned to my reading, ignoring the puzzled thoughts of dirty Diana.

The rest of my classes went on uneventfully.

As I exited the East building, Alice and Jasper joined me and we walked toward my car. I was internally laughing at Jasper who had to take a fashion class just to humor his wife. He hated it.

The sweet smell of a vampire wafted through the air. It was delicious; like nothing I'd ever smelled before. I wanted to drown myself in that scent.

I turned to Alice It's a female. Parking lot she thought.

Without words, we hurried our pace and went to meet the newcomer. A vampire in school grounds was bad news.

The vampire made it to the parking lot before we did. We walked toward her.

As we approached her, she deliberately assumed and attack position. We stopped, and I took the time to study her.

She was gorgeous, I was immediately drawn to her. Her flawless pale, heart-shaped face glowed under the moonlight and was framed by thick, dark hair. Her body was…perfect. And her eyes, yellow amber, were looking at us with wariness.

She was the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.

Why is she looking at us like she is ready to kill us? Alice thoughts brought me back from my assessment of this angel.

Alice was right. I hadn't noticed her expression until now. I was also surprised her thoughts didn't invade my mind like it usually happened.

I listened more carefully to hear her thoughts.

I heard nothing.

Feeling off balance I listened harder. This was nothing I'd encountered before. Again, I heard nothing.

Fascinating.

Edward! Cough if we should get ready for a fight. Read her! Alice shouted in my head.

"I can't," I told her. Her mind was a black thick wall. There was..."nothing," I added aloud. How frustrating. I turned to look at Alice who looked at me with an incredulous expression.

You can't…cough? Nothing…what? Come on, Edward. Speak coherently! Alice said and I glared at her.

Alice didn't mention we would have an encounter with a vampire. She always "checked" into the future before we moved to a new place. But she never saw this outcome. "What about you? Did you see anything at all?" I asked her anyway.

No. I never saw her until a few minutes ago. How is that possible? Alice said with frustration. This was a first for her as well.

"Interesting," I whispered.

I turned to look at Beauty, and tried once more to read her. Maybe if I concentrate harder…I looked intently into her beautiful golden eyes. Still, there was nothing.

Beauty glared at me, and she looked even more beautiful when she was mad. How about that! I couldn't contain my laughter.

Instead of trying to look inside her mind, I looked at her body. Her shapely legs defined by the denim of her jeans looked just perfect, and I could tell, even under the baggy sweatshirt she had beautiful breasts. I couldn't wait to see them, touch them or to taste them.

Jasper, who had been monitoring Beauty's reaction, had just felt a wave of anger aimed at me. Whatever you are thinking, Edward Jasper said in my mind you better stop it.

I turned to look at Jasper. "Yours works," I told him, and an incredible vision in Alice's mind made me turned to her.

In Alice's mind, Beauty and I were engaged in a pleasurable position that involved a bed, satin sheets and naked bodies; although, with my body covering hers I was not allowed to see her naked. Pity

"I like what I see," I told Alice and turned back to Beauty. I bit my lower lip hoping that vision was to become reality soon. I also realized, the vision meant I had decided to make this woman mine. Not at all a surprising decision; this woman was perfect.

Suddenly, the beautiful vision shifted to one to one where Beauty and I were engaged in fight —a violent fight, where she was really hurting me.

I didn't like this vision —at all. I turned to look at Alice. "No, no, no. Go back to the one before," I told her, even though I knew that the future is not set. Decisions and choices always altered the outcome of a possible event. But I hadn't changed my mind, on the contrary, I wanted Beauty more than before.

Alice rolled her eyes. "It doesn't work like that. You know better."

Of course I knew. "I didn't change my mind," I informed her.

Alice smiled smugly. "You didn't. But she made hers up."

A wave of pure unaltered anger coming from Beauty hit Jasper, and I turned to look at him "Ah, look at all that passion! I could just imagine channeling it to a very different venue." A sexual venue that is.

Alice understood my unspoken words and glared at me. Men! She thought and turned to talk to Beauty. "Hello," she said. "My name is Alice. And these two are Jasper and Edward. "We mean you no harm," she added.

Beauty seemed to relax, but Jasper could still feel her uneasiness. "Hello, Alice. What brings you around here?" she said in a beautiful musical voice.

Her words were laced with waves of apprehension. I looked at Jasper. She fears us Jasper thought

I turned to look at her. "It's true, honey. You have nothing to fear from us."

Has she been hurt before by vile vampires? I thought. A wave of protectiveness washed over me. I didn't want her to fear me. I wanted her trust.

A flood of fury hit Jasper again, and by Jasper's thoughts it was aimed at me. God, this girl was so passionate. "So much anger!"

Her expression changed from irate to worried. Why? It was so frustrating not to know what she was thinking. Be careful what you wish for, I chastised myself. "I wish I could see what's going on inside that beautiful head of yours."

My words seemed to relax her. How strange.

"What makes you think I'm angry? You just admitted you couldn't read my mind…" She said.

"Yes, about that…How is it possible? Jasper seemed to have no problem going through your shield."

At my words her relaxing stage abruptly changed and she was ready for a fight, again.

Jasper used his power for the first time and sent a wave of relaxation toward her. It worked —sort of. She somehow managed to snap out of it and glared at Jasper.

Jasper smiled, impressed with her willpower.

I was impressed as well.

"If you mean no harm, why do you need to force me to put my guard down with waves of calmness?" She asked annoyed.

"Beautiful and smart," I told no one in particular. "Jasper uses his gift to subdue any tense atmosphere. It's hardly threatening," I explained.

"You know what?" …Alice chirped in. "Why don't you boys, take a walk and let me talk to…"

"Bella," she said.

I inwardly smiled. I had it right. Her name meant Beauty.

"—Bella," Alice said, "—girl to girl."

Her protective husband didn't agree. And neither did I.

"No," Jasper said.

"Come Jasper, what could…"

"No!" Jasper interrupted her more firmly.

Beautiful, sexy, overprotective Alice sighed resigned "You have to forgive my husband, he is a little overprotective," she told Bella.

"It's all right," Bella said. "We could talk here and be civilized." Was that sarcasm? I turned to Jasper. He confirmed it.

Why? I leaned against an old truck and another wave of anger hit Jasper, again aimed at me. "What did I do now?" I asked her

She ignored my question and took a deep breath "Let's start from the beginning," she said. "My name, as I said before, is Bella. I've been living here for the last nine months. As you can see by the color of my eyes, I don't feed on human blood, which allows me to interact with them. Why are you here?"

"You have a beautiful name, Bella. Just as beautiful as you are." I was not trying to be gallant. I meant it. "My name is Edward Cullen. We just relocated to this area about a week ago. Our family also includes Carlisle and Esme, who play the role of our adoptive parents, and our other two siblings Emmett and Rosalie who in reality are married to each other."

"You refer to your coven as family. Why is that?" She asked, puzzled. Jasper felt her confusion.

"Because we are family," I said and tried to explain. "Although we are not tied by a blood bond—" I grinned. "Get it? Blood bond? —we love each other unconditionally."

She kept a blank face but Jasper could feel her skepticism. "Why don't you believe me?" I asked.

She glared at Jasper. She quickly understood how I was getting around not being able to read her mind. Like I said, she was very smart —and becoming more attractive by the minute.

"Don't you love the members of your family, or coven; if you prefer that term?" I asked, hoping my sudden future didn't crumple if she mentioned she already had a mate.

"My family died a long time ago," she said, and I released a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Alice said with sincerity, and I felt a twinge of guilt and my happiness that she was indeed alone.

"Thank you," Bella told her and turned to me. "Are you planning on staying long in the area?"

As long as you're staying I thought. Suddenly I wanted to know how she felt about my presence. "Do you want me to?" I asked seductively.

"Please don't take offense, but I would appreciate it if you'd leave the area as soon as possible. I've been trying to live here inconspicuously, you understand," she explained in a cold tone. "Seven more vampires in the area will be too noticeable. Don't you agree?"

This was not the answer I wanted to hear. It was a blow to my ego. "No I don't." I said. "We have successfully stayed in places for as long as ten years at a time and people have never found out about us. Eight, instead of seven vampires won't make a different."

"Are you saying you're planning to stay here for years?" She said in despair. Why?

"Yes," I said. "We're already enrolled in the University. Carlisle is already working at the hospital—"

"—A vampire works at a hospital?" She asked surprised.

"Yes. My father's self-control put us all to shame." I said proudly.

"How old is Carlisle?" she asked.

Could she have met Carlisle before? I didn't think so. Carlisle would have mentioned meeting such a fascinating creature. "You would have to ask him yourself," I said. "Why don't you come back to our home with us and we can talk comfortably?"

"I appreciate your invitation, but I have to decline. I need to go home and get ready for work," she explained. "Perhaps some other time." Of course she didn't mean it.

"Of course," I said. "It was nice meeting you, Bella." I extended my arm.

She thought for a moment before shaking my hand and when she did, it felt like touching silk. Her hand was smooth and soft, that make me want to touch all of her —her body, her hair, her lips…with my lips.

The first vision Alice had about us came back and I smiled bursting with anticipation.

Bella, unaware of the future I had just witnessed, turned to Alice and Jasper. "I'll see you around,"

She walked around us and climbed in the old truck I would never guess it was hers. She revved the engine and backed out of the parking spot.

I watched her leave, and locked eyes with her through her review mirror.

Why are you so apprehensive, Bella?

Who could have hurt this beautiful angel?

It didn't matter.

I would make her forget. I promised.

I turned to Alice and Jasper. "What do you think of my future wife?"

Alice clapped her hands as a vision of her and Bella having a good time came to her mind. "Ooh, Jasper. We will be best friends. Isn't it wonderful?"

Jasper just smiled at his wife.

I looked at the direction where Bella's truck had disappeared and smiled.

I'd make sure the last visions of a wonderful future didn't change.

I promised.

A/N: Many thanks to Marijee