New chapter is up. Hope you like. Thanks for reading...I don't own twilight...
Johona POV
The flight to Seattle was quiet and uneventful. I spoke with the vampires when they asked questions, but for the most part I kept to myself. It wasn't completely uncomfortable. Once we landed, we took off on foot in a Northern direction. I really didn't mind the run. In cat form I couldn't talk to them and that was just fine with me. Also, the exertion helped burn off some of my nervous energy.
My inner voice only yelled at me about my stupidity for the first few hours of our trip. Apparently, it really is possible for your own mind to give up on keeping you sane. If all went as the Doc planned, this whole trip would be worth it in the end. I really hoped so. My inner voice can be a real bitch when she's right.
After crossing the Canadian border, we run for about an hour or so until we came to a secluded clearing. Parked by the road was a large SUV with dark tinted windows. Two people were leaning against the vehicle. One was obviously a vampire. She was very pale, with short brown hair and golden eyes, just like the Doc and his wife. The other person was most definitely not a vampire. He was tall and well built, with an obvious Native American look to him. As we approached, I also noticed a very distinct and rapid heartbeat. This had to be their shapeshifter.
Esme ran right up to the vampire, giving her a hug, then turned to the shifter and did the same. He certainly did seem to be a part of the family. He didn't even wrinkle his nose from being that close to a vampire and he returned the hug wholeheartedly.
Carlisle stood beside me a few feet away. I sighed, then relaxed my muscles and the burning took over at full force. Carlisle caught me before I could crumble from the pain and it hurt so bad that I didn't mind the help. Besides, in a few days he would be removing a good portion of my blood. I figured I could trust him with the simple task of keeping me standing. Once human again, I took a few breaths as the pain subsided and walked with the Doc to meet his family.
"Johona, this is Alice and Jacob. Alice, Jake, this is Johona."
I nodded in recognition, but did not approach. The small woman, Alice, spoke first.
"It's OK. We won't hurt you."
"She's right." Jacob added. "I've lived with these bloodsuckers for almost 5 years and I'm still here to talk about it. They're good people. I promise."
I looked both of them in the eye as they spoke and saw no lie. It was very handy being able to see the truth in the eyes of people. It was a talent I treasured and used regularly to keep me alive.
"It's nice to meet both of you. Forgive my shyness, but I'm very...suspicious...of new people. Particularly vampires. I believe you will not harm me, but it's against my better judgment."
Alice smiled big and started to bounce slightly. "Don't worry, we'll be like family in no time."
My eyes widened and I looked over Jacob, who seemed to be fighting hard not to laugh.
"Don't mind Alice." He said, finally getting a handle on himself enough to speak. "She's like this with everyone. I won't worry, she can't see you in her visions any more than she can see me. She's just very optimistic." He leaned in closer to me. "She's also a bit hyper." He whispered.
"Hey, I can hear you, ya know!" Alice said, trying to sound angry, but failing miserably. "And I will have you know, I'm not hyper. I prefer to call it youthful exuberance."
I laughed. I couldn't help it. As timid as I was around strangers, these two bickered like siblings should. You would never guess they were not totally human. Carlisle and Esme were both smiling fondly. They really did see these two as their children.
Carlisle finally cleared his throat to get our attention. "Anyway, we should probably get home. Esme and I will sit in back with Johona."
"That's OK, Doc." Jacob added quickly. "You can sit up front with Alice. I'd like to sit back here and talk with Johona." He looked at me. "If that's alright with you, of course?"
"I"m OK with that." I kinda liked the guy. They obviously brought him along to make me feel comfortable and darned if it wasn't working. If he was indeed the only non vampire in this coven, I guessed he was probably excited to have another shifter around. Even if it was only for a short time.
I climbed in the very back seat and Jacob and Esme took the seat in front of me. Once we were on our way, Jacob turned around in his seat to face me. He had a big smile on this face.
"So, The Doc's gonna be treating you?"
"Yeah, apparently I've been bitten by too many vampires."
Jacob gave me a confused look.
"Her blood is highly contaminated with vampire venom." Carlisle stated from the front. "I'm going to remove a portion of her blood and replace it with clean donor blood. Hopefully after two or three transfusions, the venom will be diluted enough to alleviate her symptoms."
"And what are your symptoms?" Jacob asked. "You're not turning into a vamp, are you?"
"No, thank goodness." I replied "It just burns my veins when I shift from Kitty to human. It's more of an inconvenience than anything else, but I really don't want to find out what will happen if I get any more bites. Why else would I voluntarily allow a vampire to remove my blood."
"Don't worry, Carlisle is an excellent doctor. Once he had to re-break and set a couple dozen of my bones. It sucked, the whole re-breaking thing, but he did an excellent job."
"Thank You Jacob." Carlisle replied.
"Credit where credit is due, Doc. I'd be a cripple right now if it weren't for you."
I looked out the window and watched the landscape speed by, allowing my mind and body to relax. The shifter, Jake, wasn't lying to me about his fondness for his adoptive family. I could only hope that these vampires were as civilized as they seemed.
To Be Continued...
Well, what do you think. Don't worry, Jasper and Johona will meet soon. Again, thanks to everyone reading and following my stories. It's much appreciated. I'm glad people are enjoying my ramblings.
