I do not own this, just the story line.

Chapter Two

The Thirst

In the three months that I had been living I had never thought that there could be a down side to being a vampire. I had everything a human did not, strength, awareness and power that they could never hope to have. And yet for the first time I was starting to wish that I had none of this…the world was so much…darker this way. While my human memories remained nothing but a dark shadow in the back of my mind I could remember everything from the last few months perfectly, every scream, every drop of blood and all of the people I had met were forever going to be imbedded in my mind.

"when I take you to her and hold you as she tears off your legs and then slowly, slowly burns off your fingers, ears, lips, tongue, and every other superfluous appendage one by one"

I was never going to forget those words. She had done that to him. Victoria. Some how her name sounded dirty, like filth in my mind.

Darkness had fallen and even with everything that had happened today I relaxed slightly in the darkness, even though I knew that the sun would do me no harm I still felt safer in the dark. I knew the darkness, it was familiar, something I understood. I was still sat in the field, the yellow eyes talking around me, wondering how they were going to handle me. The mind reader had long gone, taking their human pet with him.

The burning in my throat was still there but it had lessened since she had left. I didn't understand them, they were so different from me. Human's had always been nothing but food for me, my next meal and yet they spoke to her like she was one of them. Like they cared about her. Were all vampires meant to be like them? Had that been another thing that Riley had lied to us about? Even as I thought this the burning in throat told me I was wrong, there was no way I was meant to be like them.

"Jasper, give this a chance" The short dark haired vampire placed her hand on his shoulder but he was still tense as he looked at me. He had been looking at me for the last hour. Just waiting for me to do something worthy of killing me. I knew he would not go against Carlise wish's, he respected him, I could tell, but that did not stop his distrust towards me.

"We're risking to much for her Alice, she is unpredictable. If she gets away from us and starts feeding on the humans around here-"

"She won't. We'll watch her and show her our way of life. Our deal with Jane was that we would keep her with us and that's what we're going to do" Alice replied.

The brown haired vampire, who I now knew was called Esme spoke, her voice gentle and slightly pleading.

"She is only a child. She needs us. And she is going to need you as well Jasper, you of all people know how hard this is going to be for her. She'll need someone to be there for her…a big brother"

I watched for a change in his face as she said this and even if I did not understand her words he did, his expression changed for two thirds of a second and then it was gone. If I had not been looking for it then I was sure I would of seem nothing.

"Very well" he walked over to me and pulled my up by my arm, I could of tried to fight against him if I had wanted to but there seemed no point now, I had already faced death once today. I did not want to do it again. "When did you last feed?"

"Last night" I said automatically, I understood enough not to mention how many humans I had killed and drank dry that night.

"You need food" he stated, just from those three words my hunger seemed to worsen as I thought of sweet, thick blood. He was right. "Emmett, Carlise, can you come with me? I think it would be best if we all stayed with her when she hunts"

Carlise and the large yellow eyes vampire nodded before both of them stood at my sides and Jasper stood behind me, I had to stop myself from flinching, everything was telling me not to let him stand there, he was a danger but a necessary one. To anyone else it would of looked like they were protecting me but I knew better. They were protecting people from me.

"Esme, Alice, Rose go back home" Carlise said with a small smile "We'll be back soon"

And with those words we ran.

I never thought of running as anything other then it was but in that moment it almost felt like freedom. I had not been scared of dying as I had known it would happen but now, when I was getting a third chance to live, I realised how much I wanted it. How much I wanted to live. Even with nothing to live for the air that I breathed in was sweet.

I looked to my right to see Carlise looking at me, his gaze not threatening as Jaspers but thoughtful. I wondered if he liked books as much as I liked them. As much as Fred liked them.

Fred.

He had come back for me and I could not understand why. I had learned a lot more in the last few days then I had in the last three months, as unlikely as it sounded I had started to think that there was more to life then blood. Then feeding. There were friends. And the only two I had had were no loner here with me. Diego had died and Fred was on his way to try and save us both. Learning so much had done nothing but get the only two people I had cared about in trouble.

Being my friend had gotten Diego killed.

"Stop here" Jasper said suddenly and without thinking I did as he asked, I liked him as much as he liked me but right now he was the only thing I had. The others stopped with us but still stayed in their places, not leaving an opening for me to get away. "Can you hear that?"

I listened to the sounds around me and I wondered which one he was talking about, was it the sounds of the cars as they drove passed? The vibrations of wings as the birds flew away, knowing danger was near? Or the sounds of the heart beats of the near by animals?

"The hearts Bree, the blood that's in them-"

"Animal blood?"

"Yes" Carlise answered "I don't think you were told a lot about us Bree but as you may have been able to tell we have…different views from most vampires. Rather then hunt humans we…live among them"

It took a second for what he was saying to sink in. Riley really had lied about everything.

"You want me to live with humans?"

Emmett chuckled and for a second ever Jasper looked amused.

"No, we would never get you to do that. You not nearly ready, but hopefully one day you will be. For now you won't be seeing humans for a while"

I had a bad feeling about this, the way he was looking at me with caution and how Jasper suddenly tense behind me, ready to stop me if I did something.

"You'll be drinking animal blood from now on"

Animal blood. They wanted me to drink animal blood. Like I was some kind of animal myself, in that second I looked at him like we were two different creatures, I was a vampire and he was something else. I knew he was more powerful then me, even if I was slightly stronger as a new born. We were not the same.

I thought of Diego and knew what he would of wanted me to do. He would of wanted me to live, to find out all of the answers that we had so badly wanted. These people could answer my questions, show me what Riley had not. So I nodded and agreed to do something against my nature. At least for tonight I would lower myself to animal blood, it could not be as bad as a drugged human blood. Both of them were not pure.

I dropped the corpse of the deer to the floor and tried to ignore the small burning in the throat, it was not nearly as bad as it had been but no matter how much I drunk that small twinge would not go away. The only thing that could make it was human blood, a luxury it would seem I was being denied.

"Bree, your done?" I nodded to Jasper and he was at my side with Carlise and Emmett, ready to run and go to the place that they called home.

Home.

I wondered what it was like to have one. The broken down houses we had all stayed in had never been referred to as home in my mind, to me they were just our next hiding place from the sun. From something that we had never even needed to be scared of in the first place.

We ran once more but this time Jasper was in the front, leading the way.

Barley three minutes passed before we started to slow down and as the smell of Esme, Rose and Alice hit me I knew that we were there.

The last of the trees cleared and I had to make myself carry on walking, their house was nothing like the ones I had stayed in. It was large and grand and even from the front I could see the furniture inside. Things they did not need, they really did live like humans.

The door opened before we could reach it and Esme walked out, a front on her face and a small black bag in her hands. Before she could open her mouth Carlise was by her side, concern of her face.

"What's wrong?"

"Its Jacob, Sam called and asked for you to go to La Push, they need you there. They can not take him to a hospital, it would be too hard to explain. He asked me to get you to go there as soon as you got home" she said as she handed him the bag "they all know your coming so you'll have no problem getting there"

He nodded quickly and looked to Jasper, giving him a look I didn't understand.

"I'll watch her"

Ah, he was worried about me. I smiled slightly, trying to reassure him but he was already gone, running the opposite way we had came. Esme looked after him before she turned to me and smiled warmly.

"Bree, welcomed to our home"

I nodded and walked up the steps, Jasper and Emmett following my every step, I had a feeling that Jasper was going to be doing this for a long time. Possible every minute that I was here. He worried for the others here. He cared about them.

"Jasper, she's a guest. Give her a little bit of room" Esme said lightly but I could hear a small warning there, she didn't want me to feel even more threatened.

"You have a nice home" I muttered as I looked around, I was not sure what a good home was but something told me this was it. It just looked right.

"Thank you" Esme beamed. "I do try and keep it look nice, though with seven of us living here it can be hard some times"

A thought came to me.

"Why are there so many of you? Is it for protection, as we did?"

"No, we're…something of a family. Carlise is my mate, just as Alice is Jaspers, Rose is Emmett's and…Bella is Edwards"

Mate.

"You all have mates?"

She nodded.

"Is that normal? Does every vampire have one?"

"I like to think so, two vampires who are right for one another know when they meet the other. Its like finding the other half of yourself, you would do anything to protect that person, no matter what it cost you"

I nodded but stopped listening to what she was saying.

Diego. I had never really labelled what I had felt for him but had that been it? Was he my mate? Was that why I felt so helpless now, because he was gone? I asked him something that I had been wondering.

"Do you only get one?"

"Normally, yes"

"What happens if one of them dies? What does the other do?"

She looked taken back by my question but answered within a second.

"I think that depends on the person, you can't always tell, some of them go on living while others simple…give up"

Give up.

I remembered what I had said to Carlise: "Please" Please make it quick. I had not even cared that I was about to be killed, I just wanted it done.

My mate had died.

Without warning a sob ran threw my body as reality sunk in.

Diego was not coming back.

I was alone once more.

Haraldzidla.