Hi! Here's the next chapter! I'm sorry it took me so long but my beta was sick and I had a hectic weekend... Well, the next one won't take so long!

REVIEW please. I like to know what you're thinking!

Thanks to my amazing beta Adri1577 for her wonderful help!

Disclaimer: Everything recognizable from the Twilight series belongs to Stephenie Meyer; the rest is mine! No copying allowed!


Chapter 2

Isabella arrived home with her heart about to leap out of her chest. The burning on the back of her neck that had started when she had looked at the beautiful boy still hadn't worn off, but she couldn't believe it had happened.

He was a vampire! How was it possible? It didn't seem reasonable, yet, all the signs were there and that scared her. In one morning, her life had taken a huge turn and everything had fallen out of her control.

The morning hadn't started all that well, to begin with. Isabella hated to be the new girl, especially in small towns. Everyone tried to hover and get her to sit at their lunch table just because she was the new shinning toy, and she hated to fell like an object. She hated that everything most of those kids cared about was looks. She knew that besides the fact that she was new in town, she was also considered beautiful for human standards, and everyone wanted to say that the new beautiful kid was their friend. The pettiness of the human minds was something that had always bothered her. Eventually she would end up finding one or two humans that were actually kind and would hang out with her because they actually liked her, and then she would have to leave them behind because nobody could know she wasn't human, and because of that she didn't age. It was hard but it was one of the cons of being stuck at seventeen for over a hundred years and counting.

Ever since the war with the vampires, she had been hiding among humans because it was the safest for her. Vampires had decimated her species to such an extent that she doubted the vampires created after the war even knew about their existence. Moving frequently and not having someone actively looking for her, made her life easier, but she still lived always looking over her shoulder.

So, yeah, Isabella's life was just one big replay. Two or three years in one place, then move and do it all over again, but she had gotten used to it. She knew she couldn't get too attached to her friends or people in general because they could never be a constant in her life. Truth be said, she had very little constants in her life… the people in it definitely weren't one of them.

She had fallen into a routine, and she expected it to be the same in the small city of Forks, but it wasn't going to be! One look into the gorgeous vampire's eyes and everything changed. The thing was she had been waiting anxiously for that moment, and now she wished it hadn't happened because there was no way things were going to work out.

Just the day before, Isabella was extremely excited about going back to Forks. She had never been back since she had lived here with her parents and brothers for a couple of years before the war. Her family had always mingled with humans for small periods of time in the past and that had definitely helped her adapt to her life among the human species. The house had been in worse shape than she had expected since she was hoping her father's Quileute friends had taken care of it like they had promised, but they had surely died already.

After those minutes in the cafeteria, the excitement and happiness she had felt just the day before vanished completely because from then on her life depended on another and that was something incredibly hard to deal with, considering whom that someone was.

After freaking out for a few minutes, Bella decided to think clearly about the vampires she had seen in the cafeteria. Should she run immediately or see where things went? What made her hesitate was the fact that those vampires looked different from what she was used to. They didn't have red eyes; they lived in a big coven, and they tried to mingle with humans.

There was also the predicament she found herself in with the bronze haired vampire. She didn't think it would ever happen to her, that she was meant to be alone forever… but wasn't it the same? He was completely off limits and for a moment that saddened her. She wanted what her parents had had, the companionship, the love, the happiness. But it never seemed to come, and now all of her hopes had been shattered. As soon as he entered the cafeteria, she felt it, the burning in the back of her neck, the fire as if she was being branded. After realizing what he was, her first thought was that she needed to leave. She felt a pull to him, as she passed the group on her way to the cafeteria door, and when she opened it, and a breeze blew, blowing her scent towards him. She prayed fiercely that he wouldn't react at all, but he did, and strongly too. As she looked behind, she saw his whole body tensed up, and his eyes turning black with hunger, all but burning holes through her back. It would have been just a matter of time before he came after her, so she fled as quickly as possible.

She had already lost her family in the name of a pointless war because of vampires, and now she had been cheated out of her happiness by one of them. She just wished she could know what she had done wrong to deserve such fate.

It was all so confusing and strange. She needed concrete answers, information that would help her choose the best course of action because there wouldn't be a lot of choices in a few weeks, unless she did something. The only person she could think of to help her was her father's friend at the Rez, or rather his descendants. She could only hope that they would know about her existence and could help her. They should certainly know something about the vampire coven, given the fact that some of the tribe males were or at least had the potential to be werewolves and their biggest enemies were the vampires.

After applying a bit of a special lotion that would sooth the uncomfortable stinging and burning in her neck she headed to the car and drove to La Push. After a few walk arounds and a lot of memory effort, Bella parked her car in front of a red well-lived house with an equally red and rusty old truck parked in front of it. Soon she was standing on the porch while she waited for someone to open the door.

A tanned boy, no older than sixteen, opened the door and looked unabashedly at her until an older man appeared behind him.

"Jacob! Where are your manners, boy?" the old man scolded before turning to her. "Uh, am, I'm sorry, miss. Is there anything we can help you with?"

"I was looking for the Black family. Are you descendants of Ephraim Black?" She asked politely.

"Yes, we are. I'm Billy Black, and this is my son Jacob. Is there anything we can do for you?"

"I'm Isabella. My father was a great friend of Ephraim; I believe you've been watching over our house in Forks for a while now." I explained quickly.

"Oh! Are you a Swan, dear?" I assented, and he immediately told me to enter. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Ephraim made sure that the story of his friendship with your father was passed down from father to son. I'm sorry for the state of the house, but ever since I'm in a wheelchair I can't go there, and Jacob is still a bit young…" He apologized.

"I understand completely, and the house isn't in such a bad state as you think. It's still quite livable." I grinned. "I came here hoping that you could provide me with some information regarding the vampires that are currently living in Forks. You must be aware..."

"Yes, we are. But the Cullens are different, and so far they haven't done anything to prove otherwise. We've made a treaty with them, the last time they were around, that states that they can't come to the Rez, nor bite or change a human, and they have stuck to it without giving us any trouble. Besides I'm sure you've noticed some differences."

"Yes, I'm afraid I can't understand what I see, though, since I have never met vampires that live in such a big coven and have golden eyes. How do they manage that?"

"There's seven of them; the golden eyes are because they feed from animal blood, not human's. They are very civilized; the oldest one, Carlisle, is a doctor at Fork's hospital even."

"Are you telling me they aren't dangerous?"

"God, no! They can still be dangerous, but they do seem to have some morals. If you were human, I'd do my best to keep you away from them but you're not. And I'm aware you're probably older than me so I'm not going to dare to tell you what to do."

"Thank you so much for the information you've given me. I'd love to stay in Forks but with them here, I'm not sure. I'm afraid they'll hurt me or turn me in because of what I am."

"We don't trust them entirely but I don't think Carlisle would do that. He's a pacifist… but I don't know much about your quarrels with vampires. Just stay away from them or leave if you think it'll be safer for you. However, if you decide to stay you're always welcome in La Push. And if you ever need protection from them don't hesitate to ask. Your people were very good for us in the past and we don't forget that."

"Thank you for the offer. I might have to you up on it if I decide to stay around" If vampires knew what she was and tried to kill or capture her, her skills and dagger wouldn't be very effective against seven of them at the same time.

Bella returned to her place, thinking about everything Billy had told her and trying to decide what to do. She could stay and risk being killed or captured or she could pack and leave. Unfortunately her second option wouldn't have a very different ending from the first one. What happened at the cafeteria came back to her… her neck still burned and she knew that leaving wasn't really an option… she wouldn't last long.

She didn't like the bond that had started to form between her and the bronze haired vampire, the first time she looked at him but that didn't mean she could fight it, because she couldn't, at least not for long.

Alice had discussed and dissected everything that had happened in the cafeteria with Carlisle who had listened with rapt attention and delight. When she had finished describing Edward and the girl's reaction to each other, Carlisle was smiling widely and she could almost see the wheels turning in his head as he had tried to find an explanation.

"Do you have any idea about what she is? Because I'm absolutely positive she's neither a vampire nor a human and most certainly not a shape shifter because she smelled amazing."

"You said that, besides Edward, none of you was particularly affected by the scent of her blood?"

"Yes. I mean, she smelled amazing, probably the best scent I've ever encountered but not in a 'I want to drink your blood' way. Edward, however, according to Jasper, was completely crazy with hunger and there was also some underlying lust. This is so strange…" While Alice rambled, Carlisle was going through some of his notebooks; he was almost certain he knew what was going on and if his theory was correct he would have to handle everything very carefully but he would also consider himself the luckiest vampire alive. It would be an opportunity like no other.

"Can you repeat how the girl looked like?"

"She was so incredibly gorgeous, Carlisle. What stroke me the most was the beautiful clear green of her eyes… so inhumanly beautiful. Her face was almost as pale as ours and she moved with incredible grace; she looked like she was floating instead of walking. There was also this heavenly aura around her, like if she was the purest of creatures."

"I think I know what she is and if I'm right, we're going to have to handle this very carefully Alice. I won't tell you my theory until I see her with my own eyes. Now, listen to what I'm going to say and I want you to follow my instructions rigorously! We can't drive her away… it wouldn't be good for her nor for Edward and believe when I say that she'll fly at the smallest of mistakes."

"I don't know why you're being so secretive about this but okay. What do we have to do? Do you want us to convince her to come to our house?"

"No, Alice. I just said we have to take this slowly! Don't push her. Just try to show her that we don't mean her any harm. Say hi, when you see her but never block her way or pressure her to talk to you. Gently try to talk to her and when you feel that she might have realized we don't want to hurt her, invite her over. Also, don't try to hide what we are around her, answer her questions and don't mention Edward for now." Carlisle was very precise and took all the care in explaining his kids how they should approach the girl. He wanted to make sure that everything would go well.

"It's a shame it's Friday… otherwise we could start tomorrow…" Alice said disappointed; she couldn't wait to be friends with the girl.


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