I followed Edward tentatively inside. The interior of his home was even more beautiful than the outside, its grandest feature being the elegant spiral staircase that dominated the center of the room. The floor plan was open and roomy, yet warm and cozy at the same time. It certainly smelled very different here. I remembered at first thinking the vampires smelled much too foreign for my liking, but I might just get used to this.

I jumped as I noticed movement to my left, where there was a polished grand piano on a platform. Next to it were none other than Carlisle and Esme Cullen, Edward's parents. Strange how I considered them "parents" now, whereas before I'd considered them "coven leaders."

"Carlisle, Esme," Edward introduced formally, "this is Bella."

"A pleasure to meet you, Bella," Carlisle said, offering his hand. I shook it, as was polite, and tried to ignore the strange cool feeling of his skin on mine. Esme smiled warmly and welcomed me to her home. Either they were sincere in their greetings, or very good actors.

My acute senses were drawn to the top of the stairs, where a short, spiky-haired vampire and a tall, honey-haired vampire appeared. Alice and Jasper.

Alice danced gracefully down the stairs; Jasper followed behind. They both smiled at me, although I could sense that they didn't hold quite the same warmth as their parents. Nevertheless, we said our greetings. Alice had a high-pitched voice, but not irritating. In fact, it sounded quite musical like her brother's. Jasper held out his hand, which I shook. Immediately, I felt calmness spread through me, and I suddenly recalled Jasper's power.

"You're quite an interesting character," Alice stated, and I felt a blush crawl up my face. From her tone, I decided to take it as a compliment.

"Thank you."

I could tell that Jasper had radiated ease throughout his family members as well, because they now seemed much more comfortable around me. This didn't last long, however. I heard more movement from upstairs, and not a moment later another of their family appeared.

Still tall, still as muscular as I'd ever seen anyone, was Emmett. Quite opposite from him, and breathtakingly stunning, was the blonde-haired female, who must be Rosalie. Emmett didn't appear to notice me at first, and asked bluntly, "What's that smell?"

Then he noticed me, and froze. Before I could stop myself, my foot eased backward. I thought I felt Edward's hand lightly brush my arm, but when I looked down, both hands were at his sides.

"Emmett, Rosalie, this is Bella," Carlisle introduced. My own greetings were frozen in my throat. Both of them regarded me with such coldness that I felt a nervous tingle weave its way up my spine.

"What's she doing here?" Rosalie asked. Her voice held a mixture of curiosity and repulsion. I glanced at Edward, who was glaring at her, but she didn't appear to notice him.

"You know why she's here, Rose," Alice said, a hint of anger in her voice.

Rosalie's eyes narrowed, and Emmett was still with shock and uncertainty.

"Bella, I'll show you my room," Edward said, dismissing any further conversation. I nodded gratefully—I was much more comfortable around him alone than his entire family. Of course, I knew it probably wouldn't work out perfectly the first time, but I'd hoped for a little more warmth from Emmett and Rosalie.

Edward moved swiftly up the stairs with me in his wake, and he almost shoved past his brother and sister, avoiding their faces. I didn't dare look at them up close; I didn't want to see any more of the coldness of their eyes.

I didn't bother to pay much attention to the bedrooms as we made our way quickly down the hallway; I was only concentrating on not losing Edward. He stopped at the last room, held the door open for me, and then shut it loudly behind him.

His room was large and open, and the entire south wall was made of glass, providing a gorgeous view of the lush landscape behind the house. I could see the river in the short distance, and the expanse of the blue sky. My eyes moved to take in the arrangement of his room. A long, inviting black leather couch was placed against one wall, along with various other pieces of furniture, but no bed. Another wall was taken up entirely by the largest CD collection I'd ever seen, and from what I could tell, it was mostly classical music.

I turned finally to look at Edward, and was shocked to see his eyes black with anger. I took a step back to give him room.

"I'm sorry," he said, trying to control his fury. "But Emmett and Rosalie…"

Realizing the problem, I said, "You can't blame them, Edward."

"They had plenty of warning from Alice's vision. They knew you were coming, and why. They're just being stereotypical."

I sighed, remembering my recent conversation with Jacob.

"This was a bad idea," I said. "I shouldn't have come. I'll leave, and give your family time to—"

"No," he interrupted. "Emmett and Rosalie will tolerate you as long as I tell them to."

And from the dark look in his eyes now, I pitied the person who didn't listen to whatever he told them to do.

"What…what about the others?"

He sighed. "Sit down, Bella."

I did as I was told, trying to make myself comfortable on the couch, but failing because of tension. He sat down beside me, closer than I would have expected.

"Carlisle and Esme," he explained, "are quite pleased with the effort you're making. They think you're brave. A lone werewolf comes to a houseful of vampires, her mortal enemies, with only peaceful intentions. That takes courage, Bella.

"Alice," he continued, "is mostly just very surprised, but she also admires your bravery. Knowing her nature, she would most likely accept you very quickly. Jasper…he likes keeping things to himself. But as you've seen, with my mind-reading and Alice's future-seeing, it's very difficult to keep a secret around here."

"I can imagine," I said.

He nodded. "I admit, Jasper wasn't thrilled about the idea of a werewolf coming to our house. But now that he's seen you, and spoken with you, even if only a few words, he regrets thinking any negative thoughts about you. Emmett and Rosalie…"

"Don't like me," I finished for him.

He looked down, anger pooling in his eyes again. "They're being difficult," he said. "Out of all our family, they are the most stubborn. If the others can reason with them, try to make them see that you're not just an overgrown dog…" he smiled, hoping to lighten my mood.

I grinned back. "…Maybe there is hope."

"There's always that."

"What about you, though?" I asked him. "I would have expected a family like yours to reject me, just because I'm a werewolf. Why have you been so trusting?"

He pondered his answer for awhile before saying, "You're not an easy person to read, Bella. And coming from a vampire who can read minds, that's something to be proud of. But I can see that you're sincere with your intentions. You really want peace between our sides. While there's no actual war between us, there is heavy tension, which could snap any day. You're going against all your instincts, and I'm guessing you're going against the orders that your pack has given you. You arrived here, knowing fully well that we could turn on you, but you were willing to make an effort. And I admire that."

After this speech, I didn't know what to say.

We sat for awhile in silence, though not an uncomfortable silence. I was slowly growing accustomed to the strange scents of this house. I wondered what the rest of his family were doing. Probably talking about me, I thought.

The door burst open, causing me to jump. Alice stood in the doorway, a frantic look on her face.

"What is it?" Edward demanded.

"The werewolves," she gasped. "They're coming. They know she's here, and they're furious."

It took me a moment to realize that she'd seen a vision of my pack coming here. What would they do once they got here? I shuddered to think.

Edward's eyes widened. "How soon?"

"Only a few minutes," she answered. "Bella, you've got to get out of here."

I nodded, standing up from Edward's couch and making my way swiftly to the door, Edward close behind. Alice stood back to give us room. When we reached the living room, I saw that the rest of the family was gone, probably back in the other rooms somewhere. I realized I'd never actually gotten a tour of Edward's house.

Edward and I hurried outside, and he shut the door behind us. I started down the porch, but he reached out to catch my arm. His hand moved out into the sunlight, and my eyes widened as his skin began to sparkle, as if it were embedded with thousands of tiny jewels. He realized that his hand was exposed to the light, and quickly drew it back, a look of horror on his face.

"Bella, I…"

I wasn't sure what to say. Was I repulsed? No. Amazed? Yes.

"Edward—"

My words were cut off by angry barking in the distance.

"Go!" Edward said, careful to stay in the shadows. Before I turned away, he added, "Bella…be careful."

I opened my mouth to respond, but the barking grew louder, and I quickly transformed, moving off the porch to do so. My white fur was bathed in sunlight, and Edward stared at me in awe.

I'll kill them…

What was Bella thinking?

I hope they didn't hurt her…

I'LL KILL THEM!

Confused, worried, angry…

All these thoughts bombarded my mind, sending me into a panic. With a last glance at Edward, I shot away toward the trees, my paws pounding against the ground with every heartbeat.

…………………

Yay, another chapter done! Sorry about the shortness of Bella's conversation with Edward's family. There will be lots more, I promise. And in case any of you were wondering, the Cullens aren't really attracted to Bella's blood because she's a werewolf. They aren't repulsed by it (well, except for maybe Rosalie and Emmett), but they don't have the desire for it like if she were a human.

And also, I really appreciate all the reviews! I'm glad so many people are enjoying my story. I can't decide if I'll make a sequel yet or not…I guess it all depends on how long this story ends up being.