Chapter 4: Lyssann's POV

"No! Oh, Stephen, honey, no, it was nothing like that!" I reach for him.

He buries his face in my neck and said, "Thank the Heavenly Lord!"

"Why would you ask such a thing?" I say softly.

"Well you did say he bit you where only a husband had a right to look… didn't you mean on your… breast? I guess, I thought if he bit you in such an intimate place he might have been wanting a bit more than blood… if you catch my drift." He says solemnly.

I give him a sad smile, "He just wanted to hurt me. That was pleasure enough for Felix." I pat Stephen's cheek. "I was weak when I recovered from the venom. He didn't leave me much blood. All I could catch for the first few days were rats and squirrels. I moved up to a fox on the 5th day. Then I rested in the forest for a few more days. I didn't have anyone to show me how to function in a town or even just as a vampire, so, it wasn't really a decision. It was a necessity to survive on animal blood."

Carlisle is just nodding and saying 'I see' every once in a while, so I continue.

"It was about 3 years later that I met another vampire. Her name was Anna; she was from Italy and she was so sweet to me. She was confused about my choice in food, but she allowed me to travel with her and her mate, Angelo for almost 5 years. They didn't feed on animals so they wanted to go into the towns. Anna got caught trying to lure a boy into the woods. She was burned at the stake for being a witch. Angelo left me to fend for myself after losing her. Before he left, he said 'How can I go on without my Anna!? I will go to Italy and anger the Volturi and they will kill me!' This is when I learned of the rule and the Volturi."

Carlisle is in shock. "Amazing! That's just what my son Edward did when he thought Bella had killed herself! He went to Italy and would have provoked the Volturi leaders but Alice and Bella got to him just in the nick of time! They stopped him and all was put right in our world. Please, continue."

"Ok, about a month after Angelo left my company, I saw the first human since I'd left my parents home. She looked like such a sweet girl. I watched her pick flowers and berries. I saw her talking and interacting with other humans. I decided to speak to her, maybe make friends… Her scent was amazing and I hadn't fed since Angelo had gone. I felt my throat BURN…" I can't meet Carlisle's sympathetic gaze. I whisper my confession. "I couldn't help myself… I attacked her. I didn't mean to! I didn't want to!" I feel my eyes tingle as I choke out tearless sobs. Stephen puts his arms around me. I half expect Carlisle to stand up and say 'You don't deserve my help and you certainly don't deserve this young man as your mate!' Instead I hear a soft murmur…It shocks me out of my tears.

"La Tua Cantante…" he says it so softly; almost reverently. "That's very rare. It's even more unheard of to resist the call of it."

"What does that mean…la tua cantante? I've never heard that phrase." I say with a frown.

He regards us as students now. "It is translated as: Your Singer. It means that the girl's blood sang to you… or attracted you with an inescapable effect. You could not resist. It takes remarkable restraint to resist human blood at all. With 'La Tua Cantante' it's almost impossible to stop yourself. I say 'almost' because it has been achieved!" Carlisle's face practically glows with pride as he continues, "My son, Edward… his wife Bella was his 'singer.' He was somehow able to resist the call of her blood for the length of their relationship. I think it was a miracle. He says his love for her was stronger than the call. In any case, it wasn't your fault."

I nod sadly accepting. "Okay. Uhmmm… the only other momentous thing that has happened is meeting Stephen." I then mumble something only Carlisle can hear, "And the kiss you witnessed earlier."

I see a tender expression cross his face, gone as quickly as it had come. "My family has all coupled up. I am incredibly happy to see each of them happy, and I'm equally happy for you. I don't really know what you need my advice on though. I can tell you that the only real way to avoid the Volturi involvement is to change Stephen, ASAP. "

"Change me? Wait! I'm confused." Stephen says. He's starting to panic. I stroke his arm trying to calm him. "Whoa! I don't know if I'm ready for that!"

"Calm yourself, please, all I meant is that's the only sure way. There may be other ways. For now, something just occurred to me… something unpleasant… Lyssann, you said the man who made you was named Felix?" He looks shocked. I nod. "And you told us he was a big man…Did he have a slightly olive complexion with black hair?" Carlisle's eyes are wide and worried.

I nod again, slowly this time. His voice sounds like we are in a tunnel, "Your Felix is still around! He is a member of the Volturi…"

"The Volturi guard to be precise. He's basically one of their enforcers." Carlisle explains.

I look at the floor. This scares me to my core. Stephen will never be safe if he stays human. I know that now. I turn to him. "If this is true, I feel I have to warn you. If Felix finds out about us he will hurt you to hurt me. If you are human you will not survive. That is certain." I glance at Carlisle. "Could we have a moment, Carlisle?" He nods and walks out onto my deck. I keep my eyes on Stephen's, as I say, "If he hurt you I couldn't live with myself. As I see it, we have 2 options: Either we break this off before it gets around that we're together…"

He shakes his head. "No, I don't like that one. What's the other?"

I put my hands lightly on his face and stare into gold flecked eyes. "The only other option is… I believe it's to change you." His heart skips a beat and then speeds up a notch. I can't breathe. I'm waiting for him to decide.