Thanks to everyone who read the 1st chapter of my 1st ever story. I am so pleased that it has been so well received. I love you all.

Huge thanks go to Jayeliwood for her help and assistance in keeping my grammar in line. You are an amazing Beta and deserve lots of love for your patience xxx

Chapter 2

Emmett and I escorted Bree out of the house. As I sensed some hesitation from our ward, I thought we should probably have a quick chat before continuing. So, we stopped by the river behind the house. I motioned for Bree to sit on a tree stump with Emmett and I sat on a large flat rock opposite of her.

"Do you have any questions for us?" I asked.

"Not really, but lots at the same time, if you know what I mean," Bree breathed quietly, "I guess, I'm just a bit nervous. No one ever explained what has happened to me. All I know is that my throat hurts when I am thirsty."

"You do know that you are a vampire?" Emmett asked.

"Yes, of course. I am not completely stupid," Bree seethed showing her volatile nature for the first time. "But vampires don't exist or at least they're not supposed to. I just don't know what to believe now," she said through clenched teeth. I snorted quietly. So, she wasn't the pushover that Emmett thought she would be.

I sensed annoyance from Bree and knew that Em was just a bit taken aback by her sudden outburst.

"Yes, vampires do exist." I said quietly. "As do other creatures that you probably believed were only the creations of fictional authors. If you can just bear with us for now though it will all be explained to you when we return to the house." I'd rather wait until Carlisle and Edward were with us before the explanations started, I thought. Carlisle would be the best person to explain and Edward's considerable talents with mind reading would help me explain any emotional changes.

Then showing exactly how quickly newborns could turn their attentions from one thing to another, I felt an overwhelming sense of undiluted awe. Bree was clearly completely overwhelmed by her surroundings. She gazed around at the luscious green forest and flowing river. It was obvious to me that she found her new surroundings completely alien. I felt sorry for her. What had happened to this young girl to provoke such emotions?

"Would you like to continue?" I asked.

"I'm not sure," Bree responded despondently. "I don't know how to do this. Why are you helping me? I don't deserve your help."

I was suddenly bombarded by a strange combination of emotions. Sadness mixed with shame and regret. Mostly sadness.

"Why?" I enquired.

Her emotions seemed to intensify somewhat as she replied, "I am no-one. A complete non entity."

I felt compelled to go to her side and put my arm around her shoulder. Emmett beat me to it.

"Can you tell us what happened to you?" He enquired softly. Although he was no empath for once he had clearly picked up on some of the desolation in the child's voice.

"Not now but maybe later," she whispered softly.

"Whenever you are ready we are all here for you," Emmett told her gently.

"Thank you. You've all been so kind," Bree responded.

I felt that the time had come to take charge and move forward so with that in mind, I moved to kneel in front of her, "I think it's time to go now. You will feel much better once you have fed. We will start you off with something simple, deer. They will taste a bit strange to you, not nice at all really, but they will fill you and take most of the pain of your thirst away."

"Blood is blood though. You'll get used to it fairly quickly," added Emmett encouragingly.

"Okay, let's go then," she whispered as she stood up. Emmett and I each held out a hand to her and with just a fraction of hesitation, she joined hands with both of us.

So, with one of her tiny hands each in one of ours, we led her into the dense forest. We ran through the tall trees for a few minutes, each of us completely focused on the task we were undertaking.

In full hunting mode, I easily traced the scent of a small herd of deer just a few miles to the north. I turned to Emmett who nodded with a smile. He had clearly caught the same scent. Bree hadn't quite gotten there yet. She was mesmerised still with the sights and smells of the forest floor. The height of the trees and the scent of the shrubbery made it difficult for her to focus on the hunt.

"Bree, turn your focus to the north. Not far, what can you smell?" I asked.

"Ew," she turned her nose up in disgust. "What is that?"

"That is exactly what you are looking for," laughed Em. "This is gonna be funny to watch, not so much fun as an irritated grizzly, but funny just the same!"

"Do you really feed from that?" She asked, looking directly at my brother.

"We sure do and so will you. Don't worry about it. You'll get used to it," Emmett boomed, finding this all really hilarious.

At that, we all ran towards the deer and stopped just before we reached them.

"Don't over think things, Bree. Just do what is instinctive to you," I encouraged. I felt the hunger build in her along with a little of the excitement that hunting brings.

Before Emmett and I knew what was happening, she leapt forward and took down the largest of the deer. She had it drained before the others sensed what was happening and quickly moved on to her second. The remaining deer scattered before she finished with the second. She looked towards the spot where Emmett and I were watching. With a priceless expression of disgust on her young face, she announced, "not exactly what I'd consider to be a gourmet meal! Filling, but definitely not tasty."

Emmett and I burst out laughing. She was so cute, reminding me slightly of the way my darlin' wife hunts, deadly but definitely cute at the same time.

I felt a strange sense of pride coming from Emmett, something I definitely did not expect. He was growing increasingly fond of our newest family member. This in itself was not unusual, my brother generally found something to like about most of our kind. We'd only known Bree a few short hours though, so his feelings for Bree had increased at a surprisingly rapid rate.

"Well done, Bree," he enthused. "That was really good for your first time. How are you feeling now?"

"Much better," came her timid reply. She was shy and apprehensive again, I could feel it.

"Do you want more or would you prefer to go home now?" I enquired.

"Home," was her one word reply. Her emotions were so strong. They almost overwhelmed me. There was an underlying sadness but more than anything an overpowering elation that I could tell she had never felt before.

Again this made me wonder what horrors this young girl before me had to endure in her short life.

I hoped that she would soon feel comfortable enough with us to tell us of her experiences. Only then would we be able to understand and help her.

As we made our way back towards the house Emmett teased her lightly, calling her shorty.

"Shorty, is it?" She laughed, "I may be small, but I'm definitely cuter than you and I'd bet that I am just as strong as you are."

"Yeah," Emmett laughed "I don't know about that. Even if it's true, it wont last forever. I reckon I'm faster than you. I bet I could beat you in a race."

"That sounds like a challenge to me," Bree raised her eyebrow questioning him. "I think I could totally beat you in a race," she retorted, suddenly filled with a new found confidence since she had eaten.

"Bring it on then, Shorty," came Emmett's quick response. They agreed on a short race with the finish line, a large spruce tree, around half a mile ahead. Bree won the race easily but I had a feeling that this wasn't entirely due to her newborn strength and speed. I glanced in Emmett's direction. He met my eyes and shrugged his shoulders. I could sense a little embarrassment coming from my brother but more than that, a need to protect Bree. He wanted her to be happy regardless the cost to himself. Very strange, I thought. Emmett never ever threw a race. I felt a strange almost possessiveness in his feelings towards Bree but I also sensed hesitation. Whatever his new feelings were, Em wasn't quite ready to face them yet.

We reached the house a shortly after the end of the great race. As we neared I felt a new wave of apprehension from the girl at Emmett's side. I stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm. "Bree, what's bothering you? Are you alright?"

"Yes, I think so. I am just finding it really difficult to understand why you all seem to like me."

"What's not to like?" Emmett laughed at her.

"This is your new home now Bree. I think you'll find that things will be a lot different for you now. You are part of our family and I know that feels strange to you, but, that's just how things are. Are you ready to go back inside now?" I enquired.

She nodded and in a whisper that I am not sure Emmett or I was supposed to hear uttered one small word, "home."

Please, please review. It makes a whole lot of difference to know what you think.

Should I continue?