Chapter 2

A/N: First of all, I want to thank everyone who has put this story on alerts or favorites list and reviewed.

Second, this will be alternating POV, but I promise not to use this to repeat what had been said in previous chapters. I probably won't label each pov, but it shouldn't be hard to figure out who is speaking. The only time I will name the speaker is if I change it during the chapter.

Finally, all characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, and nope still not me.

Looking at the clock in my room for the third time in an hour, I sighed. Time can be an enemy when there is nothing but time. Existing as my family and I do as immortals, nothing ever changes. We are stagnate, frozen in time. Of course because we never age, we do have to move frequently so there are always new faces, new places. But to me that is just a change of scenery.

I guess that the world has run out of surprises for me. It makes matters worse that I can hear the thoughts of everyone around me, what I wouldn't give for some silence for a change.

I turned up the volume on my wireless headphones trying and failing to tune out the thoughts and actions of my siblings. They had been fortunate, they had found their mates and were content if not happy with our lots in life. Despite their attempts at discretion in order to spare my feelings it can be difficult to not feel like an outside in my own home.

There had to be something wrong with me. I was emotionally stunted I believed. Sure I had felt a physical attraction to girls before, but as soon as I heard their insipid thoughts, usually along the lines of "he's so hot" or "yummy" to the most vulgar home movies running through their heads staring yours truly, I was instantly repulsed.

It's not like I am without options, we have what we consider to be family that lives in Denali Alaska, family in the fact that they are like us and only feed on animals. We are quite the oddities in our world. One of the "cousins" is a beautiful woman named Tanya, and she has been trying for decades to convince me that we would be perfect together. I wish that I could feel the same, but there is nothing other than familial affection for her at best. I truly wish that I could find my mate, if for no other reason than to stop the pity that everyone felt for me.

Pity that, Esme my mother for all intents and purposes, was feeling for me now. Her thoughts were alternating between missing my father Carlisle, who was late returning from the hospital and wishing that I could find my other half as she liked to call it.

Fortunately I was beginning to hear Carlisle's thoughts, meaning he was within a couple of miles of home. However, his thoughts were troubled, he was thinking about a patient that was brought into the emergency room earlier that evening. A young girl had been attacked brutally and he was mentally cataloging her injuries; It appeared that she had broken bones, was slightly malnourished, bruises and a healing broken rib from a previous incident. She had been sexually assaulted, and because of Carlisle's enhanced sense of smell, he believes it was by more than one person.

I knew that if Rosalie heard this story it would enrage her. This is very similar to her story, and while Rose likes to put on a facade as a tough as nails bitch, I knew that for the most part it was a front. It wasn't until Carlisle began to think of the injuries to her head that I realized that I know this girl. Well I don't know her, but I know who she is, her name is Bella Swan.

Other than the fact that she is Charlie Swan's daughter and seems to be very shy, I know very little about her. While my siblings and I don't socialize out of necessity, she is even more out of the social scene than we are. In fact not only have I never heard anyone's thoughts about her, the few times that I've been around her, I haven't heard any of her thoughts either. Or it was entirely possible that I had, but didn't recognize them as hers, I'm not quite sure.

I began to wonder if this girl was alone as I am. Curiosity began to get the best of me, so I ran down the stairs to meet Carlisle at the door. He hadn't had the chance to take off jacket before I assaulted him with questions.

"Carlisle, is she going to be ok?" I asked, shocked by my concern for someone I didn't know.

"Edward, you know that it's not polite to eavesdrop." He scolded me mildly.

"I'm sorry, you know that I sometimes I just can't help it, your thoughts were very loud." I reminded him.

By this time Esme, had joined us in the living room, relieved to have her husband home, but now concerned for the poor girl that Carlisle was telling her about. Esme is just naturally maternal and despite the fact that she had never met Bella, she would have wept for her if she could.

Just as Carlisle finished telling Esme the tale, we heard the sound of breaking glass. It appeared that Rosalie had been on the stairs listening the whole time. The remains of a shattered bottle of blood red nail polish were dripping onto the floor. Just then Alice appeared with a bunch of rags and a bottle of nail polish remover.

Alice had not even finished cleaning the mess from the floor, when Jasper followed by Emmett had joined the impromptu family meeting.

"Did she say who did this to her?" Rosalie asked Carlisle, her voice deadly calm, her topaz eyes turned to obsidian. This was Rose at her most dangerous, like a cobra, she was ready to strike and end the person or persons responsible for this. Emmett's thoughts were panicked, He wanted to wrap his arms around his mate to comfort her, but was reluctant to do so because he was afraid of her reaction, to anyone thinking that she needed to be comforted.

Thankfully that's when Jasper stepped in; using his unique gift of effecting the emotions of those around him to slightly defuse Rose's rage. Esme then wrapped Rose in a hug as they both began to cry dry tears.

"She wasn't conscious for very long and for the brief amount of time that she was, she didn't speak." Carlisle said.

I could tell that there was something else on his mind even though he was able to block me from hearing the thoughts.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's just that the scents that I could detect were familiar, but not any that I know specifically."

Suddenly, pictures of werewolves, well not really werewolves, but more like shape shifters that turned into wolves, formed in his head. I arched an eyebrow to question him about the wolves.

"The scents don't belong to any of the pack that I deal with, but still the odor is there." He said quietly.

"Newly phased?" I asked.

"Most likely." He agreed.

Emmett picked that moment to begin paying attention to the conversation going on around him and said "You mean that the fucking mutts did this?"

I was surprised that Esme didn't scold Emmett for his use of profanity, but it's possible in this case, that she was in complete agreement with him. We had a strained relationship with the wolves and many years ago, we had come to an agreement that as long as we stayed off of their land and we weren't feeding on humans, we would try to coexist. They love to call us monsters, but this speaks volumes.

"What did you say to Chief Swan?" I asked.

"We tried to reach him, but he is out of town for some sort of convention, and I was unable to reach him at either his hotel or on his cell." Carlisle advised us.

"Well, does she have any other family that we could contact?" "I hate to think of this poor girl all alone in that hospital." Esme asked, while shaking her head with sadness,

"Her file says that her mother is deceased, there is no other emergency contact." Carlisle said as he bent down to place a tender kiss on her forehead in order to soothe her sadness.

She then perked her head up and asked us, "You kids go to school with her, who are her friends, maybe we could call one or two and say that she is ill and they should go visit her."

"I don't know of any friends, if it's possible, she's even more of an outcast than we are." Alice offered.

"I've never seen her with anyone either." I offered, suddenly feeling guilty for never making an attempt to befriend her, even though, we're not really in the position of making friends. We can't risk the exposure to our family.

Just then Alice's face lit up with a smile and then quickly changed to one of horror, she looked at Carlisle without saying a word and he nodded his head in confirmation. I tried to listen to his thoughts, but all that I was getting was a picture of a bank safe, with an envelope marked private on top. Damn he's getting better at keeping me out. I thought in frustration.

"Well Rose and I are going to the hospital tomorrow, and we're going to take her new pajamas, and slippers and a new robe and some magazines and chocolate, girls are always saying that they want chocolate when they don't feel well and…."

"Whoa, stop right there pixie." I warned her. "We can't just go out and get involved in this girl's life. It's too dangerous for her and for us." Why do I always have to be the voice of reason?

"What are you going to do to stop us, Edward?" Rose asked me. As a sign of solidarity Emmett and Jasper rallied around my sisters as if to say don't mess with them.

"Fine, but you know the risks, don't say I didn't warn you." I said with a sulk and decided that I need to go for a run in order to work off all of my nervous energy.

I was about to turn away to do that, when Emmett said "besides Eddie, if the wolves are involved, then we are the only people that can protect her."

Damn, I hated it when he made sense, he is right, if the wolves are involved it is our responsibility to protect her.

"I'm going for a run" I told them as I was heading out the door. If I had been listening I would have heard Alice giggling behind me. Instead I was just assaulted with an image of a hospital door with a room number posted in bold black print.

I had no idea, where I was going, I was just running on instinct. First I found myself in the woods directly behind Bella's house. I could smell her blood from the back yard, fuck it smelled good. I felt a stirring in my pants that I haven't had to deal with in a very long time. For some reason I associated the smell with strawberries, even though I don't really remember eating them. Her blood made my mouth flood with venom and I was desperate for a taste.

Next thing that I knew, I was running for the hospital, I knew that I would have to stay away from her, because at the moment I didn't think I could be in control of my urges. I'll just go in and check in on her, make sure that the mongrels haven't been back and I'll leave.

Running at full speed through the darkened halls of the hospital, I found her room. Her door was open and I stepped through the doorway and hid in the corner. With my eyes closed, I took a sniff. I was flooded by the scent of her blood, but this time it was tainted by the medicine that was being pumped into her through the IV tubing. My thirst was once again under control, so I started listening to her heartbeat, it was too fast, but it was strong and steady. That is when I decided to open my eyes, and I was stunned to see her staring back at me.

"If you're here to kill me, just do it, I don't care, I won't scream." She said, it came out muffled, because it appeared that her jaw was broken.

I stood still as a statue taking in every inch of her appearance, my God, how had I never noticed her before? Even battered and broken, she was stunning. Her long hair was a shade of mahogany, highlighted by shades of chestnut, copper, and even a touch of gold here and there. Her eyes were deep pools of melted chocolate that I could have easily drowned in. She was thin, much too thin, fragile. Her skin in the dim light of the room appeared to be a delicate ivory. She looked just like a broken angel. It was like being struck by lightning, my legs gave way and I crumbled to my knees. The only word that came to my mind was MINE.