AN- Hey guys! Thanks for reading my story! It means sooo much to me! Thank you all!

This chapter will have a lot of May's backstory and it will be quite informative. It may help clear some things up!

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Stephanie Meyer, except the plotline and the character 'May', she is mine!

Chapter 5

After the three wolves had left, the living room began to empty out. Rosalie looked rather bored and she wanted to go for a hunt, so she took Emmet with her. Carlisle went upstairs to his study to look through his collection of books for possible explanations. Esme offered to show me where I'd be staying, but Renesmee said she would do it. Soon only she and her parents remained. She kissed their cheeks and told them that she would see them in a few minutes.

She led me up the stairs to what she said was her father's old room that had recently become hers. Along the way, she showed me around a bit. She pointed out which rooms were which, but I couldn't remember them all. I'm sure I would get lost at least once and have to rely on my vampire senses to find my way out.

Finally we reached her room and I was absolutely in awe of it. It was large and airy. The wall to the far right was almost entirely made of floor to ceiling windows. A queen sized bed was at the center of the room directly in front of me and it was adorned with light and airy blankets. They were as white as snow. A vast canopy covered it and on either side of the bed sat silver bookshelves with a variety of CD's and records. A plush white rug was placed under the bed itself and it spanned outward at least four feet in every direction from the bed.

"It's beautiful!" I exclaimed.

"Thank you. Aunt Alice helped me design it. At first, she wanted it to be more frilly with a lot more high-end furniture. I opted for the more basic route" she shrugged. "The bathroom is through that door there if you'd like a hot shower" she pointed to the left. "Do you need to borrow some clothes? I wont mind at all" she said seriously.

I suddenly remembered my backpack full of supplies. I had been carrying it for so long, its' weight hardly registered. I patted my shoulders, slightly surprised to still feel the straps there. "No, I'm fine. I have a few things in my pack" I smiled at her generosity. I slung it off, knelt down, and sorted through my possessions. The plastic bag of keepsakes, the smaller bag of money, a few shirts, some socks and underwear, and the clothes I wore while I was swimming here.

She crouched down next to me "I can ask Esme to wash your clothes for you. Don't worry, you can borrow some of mine while they get clean. I really wont mind at all. Alice gets me clothes all the time, I have plenty."

I paused and thought it through. Her face looked so eager to help. I sighed and nodded at her. Her face broke into a gigantic grin "Great! I'll get right on it! Go ahead and shower. You can use my shampoo and everything. I hope you don't mind the smell of strawberries. They're my mother's favorite scent and mine as well. The shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel are all strawberry scented." she said as she gathered all my clothes into a bundle and headed for the door. Before she actually left, she paused and looked back at me. "I'm really glad that you decided to come here, May. I haven't really had any friends besides family and the people at the reservation. Plus, none of them really know what it's like to be a half-bred. You do. It's nice to know someone is just like you." she admitted with a slightly embarrassed look.

"I know exactly what you mean." I said with understanding and I gave her a thankful grin. She nodded and then headed down the hallway.

I went into the bathroom and softly closed the door. I turned the shower knob and slipped out of my clothes and my sneakers while I waited for the water to warm up. Once I took off my socks, underwear, and bra the water was just perfect.

The hot water relaxed my muscles and I allowed my mind to drift. Scrubbing my hair, I sorted out the day in my mind. Things had gone well. I met some kind people and tomorrow held more promise. Despite all the new names and faces in my head that I could think of, my mind kept flitting back to Embry. His scent swirled through my head and I could still picture his warm brown eyes as they held my gaze. The way his breath hit my neck and his nose brushed my skin…

Snapping out of my daze, I noticed that the water was getting colder. How long had I been thinking? I rinsed my hair and conditioned it. While the hair on my head grew rather quickly, I didn't need to shave my legs. My body hair grew at a snail's pace. Ted suggested that it was because a vampire's body resists change, but the hybrid part of me grew at an accelerated rate. The result was slow growing body hair, yet fast growing locks on my head. One of the few perks, I found, to being born the way I was.

I turned off the water, stepped out of the shower, and used one of two towels hanging on a hook to dry off with. I wrapped the white towel around my body and opened the door into the bedroom to discover that Renesmee had left a pile of clothes out for me on the bed. I unfolded them to find a white t-shirt, cottony blue shorts, a pair of socks, a bra, and underwear. The bra and underwear both still had the tags on them and I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were my sizes. I was about to change into them when a glance at the giant wall of windows changed my mind. Creepy.

I took the clothes into the bathroom and shut the door. I quickly slipped them on and put my old clothes in my backpack. I didn't want to sleep on Renesmee's pillows with wet hair and possibly damage them. I also didn't want to rummage through her drawers to find a hair-dryer, out of respect for her privacy, so I towel dried my hair as much as I could. I then grabbed the unused and still dry towel left on the hook in the bathroom to cover her pillows. I turned off the lights, crawled into the bed, and hoped the moisture from my hair wouldn't soak through the towel.

The windows seemed far less creepy now. The view was breathtaking. The full moon illuminated the backyard and the forest looked like a silvery wonderland. The trees shimmered and the little river that ran behind the house looked like flowing glass as the moonlight glittered off of it. I let my hearing branch outwards. The leaves rustled against each other and made gentle shushing sounds. The running water trickled and clang like tiny bells.

I was just about to drift off to sleep when I thought I saw a grey and black wolf stroll through the trees. I only saw it for a second, so I wasn't sure if it was my imagination. My silent debate ended when sleep took me off into a place of darkness and quiet.

XXX

I began to stir when it was almost uncomfortably hot. My eyes were still closed, but I saw glowing red everywhere. I became alarmed, but then I realized that it was the sun shining through my eyelids and illuminating the blood under my skin there. I carefully peeked my eyes open and, sure enough, the sun was beaming through the large windows. It's rays broke through the early fall leaves on the trees. The colors of the foliage around the house were just starting to change to gold and copper. It was a beautiful sight to see first thing in the morning.

I stretched and yawned rather loudly. I felt completely refreshed. It seemed like I awoke after what days of deep, dreamless sleep. Realistically, it was probably only about ten hours. Glancing around the room for a clock, my eyes caught one sitting on the bookshelf to my left. It was angled towards the bed, so I could read it carefully.

8:30 am

Falling back onto the bed with a sigh, I allowed my hearing to reach throughout the house. I could make out the clangs of pans and cookwear in the kitchen two stories below the room I was in. The front door opened and I heard people entering the house. The sounds of loud laughing and joking conversations flowed up the stairs.

With a deep breath, I got up off of the bed and got ready to head downstairs. I abruptly stopped halfway to the door when I remembered that I was just wearing borrowed clothes to sleep in. Frowning, I paced around the room trying to decide what to do. Thankfully, my pacing was cut short when a knock was heard on the bedroom door.

"It's Alice" her clear voice rang. I opened the door for her and saw that she was holding my clothes, freshly washed and dried.

"I thought you might need these." She smiled and lightly tapped her temple. She had seen my dilemma and came to help me. "Thank you! You're a life saver." I replied.

"You're very welcome. Now, hurry up and dress so you can get some food before it's all scavenged by the wolves" she laughed. My brow furrowed slightly, but vanished when I remembered that some of the pack members said that they would be returning this morning for breakfast. That must have been the ruckus I heard earlier. I nodded at Alice and she skipped down the hall, leaving me to change.

I decided to wear my long sleeved mint colored shirt and my denim shorts. I just had on some plain white, low cut socks. I doubted I would need to wear shoes indoors. I ran my fingers through my hair and then headed down the hall.

As I was making my way down the stairs I heard a familiar voice. After a moment, I remembered theface that matched to sound. It was Embry. Curiosity flooded through me and I quickened my pace down the steps.

When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I turned around the corner and headed into the kitchen. To the left, Esme was at the stove constantly flipping, stirring, or serving up some food item. At the counter an array of breakfast foods were laid out on plates. There was an attached bar that was basically just a higher counter with four tall stools sitting along it. At the bar I saw Renesmee closest to me, Jacob was sitting next to her, Embry next to him, and the last seat was empty.

Renesmee saw me enter the room and she waved me over with a welcoming smile. Jacob had his left arm around her waist and he lifted his right hand into the air, mumbled 'hey' while simultaneously scarfing dawn a pancake, and attempted to grin without spilling food from his stuffed mouth. I chuckled and waved back. Embry heard me and he leaned around Jacob's giant form to give me a wide, beaming smile.

He motioned to the empty stool next to him, "Hey May! You can sit here if you'd like."

"Thank you, Embry" I said. His name felt strange coming from my lips. I didn't know if it was a good or bad thing. I decided on good.

Esme looked over her shoulder at me and greeted me. "Good morning, dear. I'm thinking you'll take the same order as Nessie?" I glanced down the counter and saw that she had a plate of eggs, bacon, and sausage. A tall glass of milk sat in front of her plate. I nodded at Esme eagerly while my stomach growled loudly.

"Whoa! You sounded like you could rival Paul's growl for a second there." Embry joked. I gave a slight laugh and figured he must mean one of his pack members. "Which one is 'Paul'" I asked him.

"Me" came a loud, rumbly voice. I spun around to see that at the far right of the kitchen was a breakfast nook with a table. Four more seats were there and I saw that they were filled with muscular, tan figures. I recognized Sam, but the others I had never seen before. I glanced around at their faces as Sam introduced them. "Paul Lahote" the one who had spoken to me earlier raised his eyebrows and grinned mischievously. "Quil Ateara…the fifth, and Seth Clearwater. His sister Leah said she would drop by later." I smiled and waved to them.

Quil stood up, or attempted to with the table in his way. His waist bumped the table resulting in glasses of orange juice and coffee sloshing about. Groans erupted around the room and Quil blushed and muttered an apology. He put his hand out to me and I got up from my seat to shake his hand. His grip was firm and he smiled eagerly at me.

"So, Embry told me all about you—well as much as he could, anyways. Nice to meet you May" he rushed. Was he always this excited?

Paul cleared his throat and added nonchalantly, "Embry just filled us all in on who you were since we weren't there. Sam had to go home early to his wife, Emily, and he couldn't tell us in detail what happened." He shrugged like it was no big deal.

"Nice to meet you guys" I giggled awkwardly and then headed back to my seat at the counter. As I turned, from the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Paul looking pointedly at Seth. Seth looked like he was holding back a laugh.

Well that was odd.

By the time I sat down, a large plate packed with bacon, eggs, and sausage was waiting for me. I could see the steam rising off of the food and my stomach growled loudly again. I wolfed down my meal quickly, ignoring the burn of the hot food. It had been awhile since I had an actual hot meal to eat. Esme filled my plate with seconds and I smiled at her thankfully. By the time my brain could register that I was full, I had crammed three helpings down.

Esme had run out of food and everyone seemed pleased with their breakfast. I sighed in content but I still had two strips of bacon on my plate. Embry was the only one that claimed he had room. Poor guy had eaten five servings and still looked hungry. I bumped his side with my elbow and motioned to my plate.

His eyebrows shot up and he asked me "You sure you had enough to eat?"

I scoffed, "If I eat anymore, I'll explode" and then chuckled. His face spread into a wide grin and he replied, "Thanks, May. You're the best." My grin matched his.

XXX

After everyone had their fill of breakfast, the crowd in the kitchen began to migrate into the living room and conversations picked up. I stayed back for a minute to help Esme with the dishes, despite her gentle protests. I figured that it was the least I could do. Plus, I was kind of putting off the upcoming discussion that was to happen. I knew that it was important to be present, and I wanted to be there, but I was nervous. I felt like I was standing in line for a rollercoaster.

By the time I was walking towards the living room, everyone was already seated—well, the vampires stood around the edges of the room since their legs didn't grow tired. The furniture was all a beige color and there were two couches, a loveseat, and a recliner chair in the middle of the room.

On the large couch I spotted Paul, Quil, and Seth sitting rather squished. The couch was pretty big, but three werewolves were a tight squeeze because of their size. On the smaller couch sat Sam, Jacob, and Renesmee. The loveseat was only occupied by Embry and the reclining chair held a tall, strong looking woman that I concluded could only be Seth's sister Leah. She just glared off into space and spoke to no one.

When I stepped from the kitchen into the room, everyone grew quiet and glanced at me. I looked down rather awkwardly and cleared my throat. Finally, the awkward silence was ended by Carlisle, "Well you guys now know May and I'm sure that the story of her travel here has been passed between your packs though shared memory." At this I raised an eyebrow. "I expect you are all filled in. May, why don't you take a seat and we can discuss any concerns or questions."

I nodded and glanced around for a place to sit. The over packed couches were out of question. Embry patted the spot next to him on the loveseat and smiled at me, once again saving me a seat. I thanked him quietly as Carlisle went on. "So, does the pack have anything they'd like to ask May?"

Leah scoffed and turned to me, "Yeah I do. How do we know you haven't come here to run around slaughtering our people?" She looked angrily at me.

"Um, well—" I fumbled for words, clearly shocked at her accusation, when Edward cut me off.

"I would know. May's thoughts are nothing but inquisitive and curious. Her intentions are pure." I was a little shaken up by this.

Pure intentions and thoughts?

How could he think that when he saw the murder of an innocent man, first hand though my thoughts? Edward must have heard my questioning of my statement because he turned to me and gave me an understanding look. I would need to talk to him about this situation later.

Can we talk about that sometime later? Privately? I thought to him.

He nodded at me and then continued to speak to Leah, "She also exhibits the same control and assurance as Renesmee. Unless you doubt the ability of my daughter and your alpha's mate?" he implied.

Leah's eyes widened slightly and she looked at Jacob. She then turned back to me, eyes narrowed. "Fine. I will trust you for now. But if you step out of line I will—" Embry glared at her and she huffed, then went on, speaking now through gritted teeth "do nothing. Absolutely nothing." She practically hissed the last few words.

Sam spoke to me next, "Don't worry about Leah. The pack used to hate all vampires. We had a treaty with the Cullens that lasted decades, but we still didn't like them. That all changed with Nessie." He smiled at her and she blushed deeply. "Now thanks to her and Jake's relationship, there is peace between the Cullens and the people of La Push. We still hold hostility to outsiders, though." He frowned "Leah is just being careful."

Seth asked me the next question. "Are you gonna come visit us at the Rez? Now that you and Embry are…friends…you can come see us all. We have a huge bonfire planned for next month. Nessie is coming with Jake. Oh, I forgot to mention that: Nessie is allowed on the reservation, since she is half human and Jake's girlfriend after all. So can you?" Poor kid hardly had time to take a breath during his rambling.

Truth is, I didn't even know how long I was going to be here. I told him exactly so and his face fell, as did Embry's. I felt so bad that I promised I would go if I was around by that time. He seemed satisfied with my answer and nodded eagerly.

The next question came from Bella. "So this 'Ted' raised you and you called him your uncle? Do you know what happened to your parents? Your mother?" I flinched and realized that I hadn't thoroughly explained this yesterday. I didn't want to because it was too painful.

I looked down at the ground and answered, "I killed my mother when I was born." Gasps erupted around the room and my head sprang up to surprisingly see nods of understanding. I swallowed thickly and pressed on. "My father came back to my mother's body to claim me. The Volturi found him and executed him for the recklessness of his actions. They spared me thanks to you guys" I smiled. "Because of Renesmee, they knew I was no threat to them and they searched through their extensive employees for someone to raise me. Ted volunteered as soon as possible."

"But why did he volunteer?" Carlisle inquired.

I frowned, "He told me that when he was human, he had a newborn baby girl and a wife to go home to. He was robbed of them when he was attacked on his way home one night. Changed into a vampire, his control was very week for many decades. He didn't want to risk harming them, so he never saw them again. He just stayed away for the rest of their lives. I guess I reminded him of the child he never got to raise, so he chose me."

Bella, Esme, and Rosalie looked distraught at what I had said. Rosalie quickly left the room and Emmet went after her with an apologetic smile to the rest of us. I was about to ask if I said something offensive when Edward just shook his head at me.

Carlisle asked me another question, "I wonder, how was your diet as you grew up?"

I thought for a little while and finally answered, "When I was an infant, my uncle fed me bottles of blood that the Volturi gave him. As I grew into a toddler, Ted experimented with animal blood and then eventually human food. He found out that the only human food I can eat had to be animal based: eggs, dairy, and meat." I said with a shrug.

Renesmee nodded eagerly at this and spoke to me next. "Same here, but we're trying a new experiment!"

I tilted my head in question and Carlisle helped fill me in. "Nahuel told us that there is a way to get Nessie to eat other human food. Vegetables, fruits, berries, and nuts can be eaten by hybrids too. It just takes some time to get your body used to them, according to Nahuel's information. We like to try this with Ness during dinnertime. A few green beans here and there, a spoonful of corn." I wrinkled my nose at the thought of eating those foods.

Wait, who's Nahuel? I thought to Edward.

"Nahuel is a half vampire/human like you and Nessie. He roams around South America with his aunt and half siblings. We call him from time to time with questions over Nessie's development. He also visits every now and then to check up on her" he explained.

Why hadn't I heard of this 'Nahuel' and his other brothers and sisters? Did Ted know? The Volturi?

I didn't intend to ask those questions to Edward, so I was surprised when he answered me. "The Volturi knew about Nahuel and they even got to meet him and his aunt. I am not sure why they weren't mentioned to your uncle Ted. That seems rather odd…" he trailed off.

Alice changed the direction of the conversation by asking me the next question. "Do you have any gifts? Edward, Bella, Jasper, Renesmee, and myself all have noticeable 'powers'. Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary?"

I was deep in though for a minute. I tried to remember if anything was different about me, besides my vampire qualities. I couldn't think of any, so I shook my head at her.

She put her hand under her chin, "Hm…what about personal qualities that are enhanced? Carlisle's attention to the body when someone is hurt, Esme's kind and motherly care, Emmet's extreme strength, and Rose's beauty are all considered their 'gifts' they brought into their vampire lives."

Slightly confused, I tried to think of anything that seemed like an 'enhanced quality'…

"Um, I'm good at drawing and painting?" I proposed. Embry looked down at me in awe. Weird… I tore my gaze from his and went on. "Could that just be from my ability to see better than average humans? I mean…I'm very attuned to fine details if I focus hard enough. It tends to make my artwork highly realistic and exact."

Nods came from around the room. Carlisle confirmed my theory, "Yes that does seem to be from your eyesight. I dabbled in oil painting for a few decades when I was in Europe. Vampires can create rather lovely works of art." I frowned. Great, not only did I lack a gift; now I was talent less. I had really liked being able to paint and draw with ease. It cleared my mind and made me proud of the work I made. It was all thanks to my vampirism.

"Is there anymore questions for May? I'm sure she'd like to start asking us some questions now" Carlisle addressed everyone in the room—well, Rosalie and Emmet have yet to return. The pack (or packs technically) was surprisingly quiet after Leah's outbursts. I glanced at Embry next to me out of the corner of my eye. He was staring out the window, lost in thought. I could feel the heat pouring off of him in waves. Was he sick? He seemed to be overheating.

When nobody spoke up, Carlisle turned to me. "May, the floor is yours. Ask away."

This was going to take awhile…

AN- So, the Cullens and the Pack(s) got some info from May. Next chapter it's time for May to get some answers!