Thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed. I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

Pixie Tip: Pixie kings are different than regular pixies. They're faster and stronger and all that, but they also leave a trace of glitter…like, actual gold glitter, wherever they go. Seriously.

Zara

The doctor pricked me with another needle, making me gasp sharply in pain as the iron burned my skin and my head pounded, but he apologized softly, and Astley was obviously trying to help, his hands gently on my arm as he shared his strength with me. He'd apologized several times now for not bringing any of our iron pills, and all mine had been in my bag, which I assumed had gone home with Cassidy. I closed my eyes, dropping back against the pillows as he injected me with some kind of medicine to reduce my fever. I could almost taste Astley's anxiety and made a concentrated effort to relax, smiling at the doctor and thanking him once more. The kind man…vampire smiled and shook his head, waving off my thanks once more. "Would soup be acceptable?" He asked, gesturing to where his wife stood in the kitchen doorway. "Vegetable or chicken noodle?"

I started to protest that they didn't need to cook for me when Astley broke in. "Vegetable would be preferable…please, allow me to help." He stood, but Esme seemed to disappear.

"My wife loves to cook, and she so rarely gets the chance now." Astley didn't argue further, instead moving to retake his place by my feet which were covered with a blanket that had been hanging off the back of the sofa. Suddenly, I didn't feel awkward anymore. Actually, I felt at peace…calm and collected…Astley was looking at me strangely, then back at Carlisle, and the others who were smiling slightly.

"You…how…" Carlisle chuckled, moving his head towards the blonde who was sitting on the floor by a chessboard….or, several chessboards with the big guy.

"Jasper…he is…gifted." Jasper grinned at me, and I widened my eyes at the overwhelming calm and contentment that flooded me. Astley was staring at him in surprise as well, his hand on my leg once more over the blanket.

"Gifted?" I had to ask, unable to help feeling completely calm and relaxed, and the doctor smiled.

"Yes. A few of my children are gifted….along with Renesmee of course." I lifted an eyebrow, glancing back at the kitchen where the girl was helping Esme. Astley only nodded, but I stared at them curiously. "Jasper is…I suppose you could call him an empath. He can feel and control the emotions of others."

I looked over at Astley in surprise. "Like you…" Carlisle leaned forward a little, but Astley shook his head, looking over at me with his full attention…I wondered how he did that sometimes…like I was literally the only person in the room.

"I can only sense your emotions, and I cannot control them." He told me quietly, then turned to Carlilse. "Because she's my queen…that's how I knew that she was injured. It's my duty to protect my queen and know if she is in danger." He spoke seriously, his face solemn, and the doctor nodded thoughtfully.

"Does it matter how far away you are?"

"No. I can sense her emotions from anywhere, and if she is particularly distressed or injured, then I feel pulled toward her." Carlisle nodded, obviously fascinated, but continued on with the conversation.

"Edward can read minds, but Bella is a shield…she keeps him from reading our minds now." My eyes widened…I couldn't imagine living with someone who could read all my thoughts. Edward grinned at my expression.

"It is inconvenient at times…when I first changed, I was often answering Carlisle's thoughts instead of his words…the shield makes it easier to have our privacy in the house."

"Do you block everyone?" I wondered, looking at the beautiful woman…well, she looked about our age, maybe a bit older, but she had a thirteen or fourteen year old daughter…so I assumed she was older than she looked. That went double for Carlisle and Esme.

"Only our family, and only at home, really. At first it was difficult to control all the time, but I've gotten the hang of it." She spoke more like me…like she was closer to my generation, while the others spoke kind of like Astley, with formal sounding words and the calm assurance of age.

"Here you go, sweetheart." I looked up in surprise when the vampire woman handed me a hot bowl of soup, her hands icy cold when they brushed against mine, and Astley took a similar bowl from the young girl.

"Thank you." I murmured, unable to help myself when I added, "You really didn't have to…"

"Don't worry about it. I enjoy cooking." She smiled, taking a seat next to her husband, and they all pretended to watch TV or read their books while Astley and I ate the delicious soup slowly. Right as I was swallowing the last mouthful of soup, an almost familiar smell hit my nose and the door was thrown open.

"There are other wolves around!" The booming voice filled the room and Bella sighed, rolling her eyes. "I've been trying to track them down and talk to them, but one of the bastards attacked me! I called for Seth to come up, and maybe Leah…if there's another pack…" The words broke off when the owner of the voice turned the corner from the corridor. A huge man, muscled and broad shouldered with dark skin and darker eyes took up the entire doorway, staring at my where I lay on the sofa, and at Astley who had stood, his body positioned in front of me. "What's going on?" The man asked, glancing over at Bella and Renesmee who sat together on the adjacent white sofa, then at Carlisle who had also stood.

"Jacob, this is Astley, a pixie king, and his queen, Zara. Zara was attacked a few days ago…possibly by one of the wolves you were speaking of." Carlisle spoke with a calm but almost scolding voice, like a parent speaking to a toddler who they'd caught yelling in a library. "Astley, Zara, this is Jacob, a…friend of the family. He is a shapeshifter….the wolf I told you about." Wary of any unfamiliar werewolves now, I just nodded to him. Probably able to feel my anxiety, Astley didn't move from his position in front of me, but held out a hand, his voice courteous.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Jacob."

"What the h*ll's a pixie?" The were snapped, crossing his arms and eyeing us dubiously. I felt a slight twinge of annoyance from Astley who dropped his arm, and then his glamour. I was surprised to realize that it felt different, when I could feel his emotions, and when I felt the emotions that Jasper had pushed at us. Jasper's had come from outside of me in some way, but I could feel Astley's emotions differently…as though they were my own…but I knew they weren't. A pixie thing, I supposed. I wasn't at all repulsed by true form either, much to my ongoing surprise, and I remembered when I'd seen him after his mother had tried to poison him…how despite his blue skin and sharp teeth, I could still see him…Astley, my king…someone who was most certainly good. I felt a wave of affection for him that I didn't quite understand, something I'm sure he felt, but didn't react to at the moment. He was tense, as if expecting an attack, but the werewolf only stared at him for a long moment, taking an involuntary step back.

"I am a pixie, were." He told the man coldly, his arms crossed in obvious displeasure at the rudeness we'd been shown.

"Were?" Jacob looked at him strangely, then at Carlisle.

"Werewolf."

"He's not technically a 'werewolf.'" Carlisle explained. "He's a shapeshifter. Werewolves are more…to stereotype I suppose you would say. They transform during a full moon and cannot control themselves while they are in their wolf form." I lifted my eyebrows, sitting up a little, then flinching and deciding to move a little more slowly. All eyes went to me for a brief moment, and I realized that being the center of attention in a room full of impossibly beautiful mythical creatures was getting old fast.

"But we know other weres….an eagle, a tiger…a bear." That last one was said more quietly as I remember the death of our friend, the kind woman who'd volunteered to go in my place to the bridge…who'd tried to get Nick back for me….and who'd been blown up in the attempt.

"Really? I have heard of other such shapeshifters…but never met any. They must be rare."

"But…there are other werewolves? Like…crazy, monsters that transform with the full moon and can only be killed with silver bullets?"

"Well, not the silver bullet part." Edward put in from his wife's side, his arm going around her shoulders and touching Renesmee's hair.

"I believe it may just be a difference in terminology." Astley suggested, finally backing away a little and sitting at the other end of the sofa once more. "Some weres….or shapeshifters, as you would call them, go feral…turn into monsters and kill anyone they see, but that is more of a disease than a constant state they are in. It is sometimes passed down in families and does not manifest until adulthood…regardless, I don't believe we have to worry about these types of werewolves. I would know if there were any in our area." He was speaking to everyone, or I thought he was, but he looked only at me, his voice soft and reassuring.

"But that doesn't really solve any of our problems." Jacob reminded everyone, rolling his eyes, and I gave him a cool glare, starting to get a bit annoyed with the wolf. I wondered if all werewolves had tempers like this. He reminded me of Nick.

'But why is that a bad thing…I love Nick.' But I wasn't so sure about that anymore. Nick had called me a soulless monster…he'd been cruel ever since I'd let Astley kiss me…all to save him. And then, when I'd finally gotten him back, he'd been hateful and prejudiced and…on several occasions, refused to even speak to me. Astley never treated me like that, not when I was human and not now.

"We have to find these guys and…."

"And what, Jacob?" Esme wondered, crossing her arms. "Kill them?"

"Well, they attacked her!" He gestured to me with his thumb. "How do we know one of them won't attack us?" He seemed to be looking specifically at the young red headed girl, and Emmett, the largest one of them all, jumped to his feet.

"Don't worry about that. We'll find them." Jasper stood as well, and both looked eager to start hunting these wolves down, when Esme shook her head.

"Not alone, you won't." The woman scolded him, crossing her arms. Out of all the vampires, she looked to be the oldest, although I wasn't sure if I could go by her looks. She seemed the most maternal though, along with Bella who was holding the teenage girl at her side, speaking quietly to her. "If they attacked both a stranger in the woods and Jacob, then we all need to confront them. Together." She glanced over at us as she spoke, hesitating for a moment. "We should go tonight…before anyone else gets hurt, especially if we're ever going to hunt in the area." I wondered if she felt nervous about leaving us in their home alone, but her next words negated that worry. "Renesmee, you should stay home, as well. You'll be able to call us if anything happens, we won't be far. And I don't want you in the middle of that confrontation." The girl looked like she was about to argue, but the others were all in agreement.

"You stand guard, Ness." The large one, Emmett spoke up, seeming to disappear and then reappear at the girl's side where he mussed her hair fondly. "If any of them come to the house, you'll be here to lock up the house. You know how."

"Of course I do." The teenager snapped, pulling away from him and smoothing her hair, but Emmett just grinned.

"Oh no. If Nessie's staying, then I'm staying!" The wolf insisted, but Edward shook his head.

"As much as I hate to admit it, we need you to help us communicate with them." He argued, but Jacob snorted.

"Why? Can't you read their minds?" Edward rolled his eyes.

"It's harder to read their minds when they're in their wolf form, you know that."

"You didn't have any trouble with me."

"Because I know you." Edward spoke slowly, as though he were speaking to a child. "Besides, if we can prove that we have an alliance with wolves already, then negotiating a treaty with them will be easier." I looked over at Astley questioningly, but he only shrugged a little, still listening. I found Jasper staring at us, his face wary, and I looked between him and Carlisle, waiting for some kind of explanation, but none came. Carlisle stood, looking between the arguing males.

"We will all go tonight. Astley, I hope you can forgive us…" Astley shook his head, lifting his hands.

"Of course. We will be fine."

"Renesmee will stay, and she has a way to contact us if need be, but you should be fine. We haven't seen any of them around the house…we didn't even know there were any wolves in the area until we found you, Zara." I glanced outside at the sun that was on its way to the horizon quickly…they would be leaving in only a few hours. I felt a twinge of nerves…were they safe, these strange creatures who'd been so kind to us, who'd taken in a strange pixie girl without having ever seen such a creature and helped save her life? Were they in danger from these wolves? I knew nothing about vampires, honestly. Jasper must have sensed my nervousness, as it seemed to disappear.

"You don't have to worry about us. We're pretty indestructible, but if the wolves attack, we are more than capable of defending ourselves." Everyone seemed surprised at the statement he directed toward me, but I nodded, smiling at him gratefully. Esme seemed to soften even more, flashing over to my side in a strangely disconcerting movement and touching my head.

"It's kind of you to worry about us." She told me softly. "We should only be a few hours…we won't stay out too long. You will be safe here, both of you. Please help yourself to anything in the kitchen. There is a spare bedroom, upstairs, the third door on the left. Feel free to sleep there if you need to." The blonde doctor's eyes were alight with curiosity, so I smiled slightly, and answered her unvoiced question.

"We sleep about as much as humans." I informed them.

"We can go longer without sleep, however, it will catch up to us." Astley added, obviously aware of what I was doing. "We are stronger and have better reflexes, but our bodies work in much the same way as humans." Carlisle nodded, obviously taking note of that.

It was quiet for a little while as they prepared to leave, all except Renesmee who seemed upset with the arrangement, not because of us, but because she obviously wanted to see the action. Still, they all hugged her, kissing her hair or pulling her into their arms, and insisting she not wait up all night for them. She apparently needed sleep like we did, and I could tell her eyes were drooping. Finally, they all were ready to go, standing at the door, giving the girl a quick goodbye, and nodding to us where we still sat on the sofa. Shutting and locking the door behind them, they left the three of us alone in the house.

A bit shorter than normal, but I hope you enjoyed anyway :) Thank you for reading.