Chapter 10

I heard a last inhale come from each of the seven members of my family before complete silence fell over the room. My eyes were wide with surprise as I watched an entirely new rainbow of colors unfold, each surface looking completely different than it had from my human eyes. Sensations I didn't know existed were hitting me from every angle. I could make out each individual speck in the streams of dust moving with the airflow in the room. All I saw was brand new.

I felt a slight shift on the bed, and before I could comprehend a reaction I felt a low growl come from deep in my chest. Not wanting to seem aggressive, I stopped growling immediately and leaned forward to adjust into a sitting position, but instead landed in a crouch at the foot of the bed. This is going to take some getting used to.

Everyone but Alice and Esme followed suit, crouching into a protective stance as if I were preparing to attack. I felt a hand touch my leg and turned to see Edward looking up at me from his position on the bed, his other hand held palm-forward in the air. "Bella, it's Ok." Jasper let out a low warning growl in response to Edward's actions.

I straightened up, giggling quietly at the reaction of my family members. Everyone but Jasper seemed to relax from their defensive positions. Jasper remained in his animalistic crouch, standing between me and Alice.

"It's Ok, Jasper. She's fine." Alice stepped to his side and stroked his arm reassuringly.

I scanned each face in the room, trying to absorb the new features I saw layered over the familiar ones. My eyes landed on Emmett first. He seemed softer than I had remembered him, but still emanated rugged masculinity. I moved my gaze to Rosalie and couldn't believe that I had thought I knew what perfection looked like through human eyes. She was absolutely stunning in every sense of the word, shattering the mere beauty I had seen before. Alice's charming, animated demeanor was only intensified, her movements flowing together like a ballet of expression.

Only when I looked at Jasper did I realize I hadn't been breathing, taking in an unnecessary gasp of air. White shimmering crescents nearly covered his face and neck, causing me to feel eerily aggressive. I moved on quickly, not allowing myself to react to the marks I could only assume were scars from his newborn battles.

Esme's eyes were the softest I had met yet. She radiated love and gratification, the deep emotions causing my intense stare to falter, my mouth forming into an appreciative smile. Esme returned my smile, gently squeezing Carlisle's arm as my eyes moved to meet his. I instantly felt what had drawn every member of this family to Carlisle. His entire being seemed to exude paternal wisdom and devotion, and I immediately understood why his lifestyle was so easy to follow – the mere thought of disappointing him caused an ache in my dead heart.

I turned to my right and looked down, meeting Edward's face. There was no sunlight in the room, but Edward's entire body was glowing. It looked as though fireworks were being set off behind him as I stared into his eyes, unable to move. He was exquisite – every ounce of the gorgeous Edward I had previously known, with so much more that I had never seen. His intense eyes seemed to bore into my soul, making me momentarily wonder if he could hear my thoughts. I quickly moved past that thought as my eyes made their way down to his lips – perfect faded-cherry lips that silently called out to me. I leaned forward slightly and saw his chiseled jaw flex at my movement. I felt my face form into a smile as I stilled my advance. He relaxed noticeably, his lips pulling up in the most sensual crooked smile I had ever seen. I leaned in again, preparing to attack them with my own when I felt a rush of calm relaxation rush over me. I laughed out loud – the sound louder than I had expected – as Edward and I both turned to look at Jasper.

"Jasper, she's fine." Edward rolled his eyes as he looked back toward me apologetically.

"I know she's fine – it's very strange, she's actually more than fine. But I don't think now is the time for, um, that." I couldn't help but laugh at his words, embarrassed by the realization that he also felt the intense emotions I had been feeling.

I turned toward Jasper and bent forward to climb off the bed, but instead found myself on the other side of the room standing behind Alice. Everyone giggled as I turned around, confused as to how I got there.

"Vampire speed." Jasper explained my confusion as Alice bounced around me excitedly.

"Oh, Bella, we are going to have so much fun! We need to go shopping, and soon! I already know what you're going to wear on our first girl's night out, it's going to be amazing!" Rosalie rolled her eyes at Alice, giggling at her enthusiasm as I stood victim to her incessant chatter about visions of our upcoming excursions.

Edward finally broke in, bringing the focus back to the present. "That sounds, um, fun, Alice. But right now I think Bella needs to drink. Bella?" He motioned for me to join him as he moved to a sitting position on the edge of the bed.

I hadn't noticed the thirst until he mentioned it, the notion of drinking causing a dull burn to flare in the back of my throat. I saw him reach for a plastic cup on the nightstand as I sat next to him.

"What is the cup for?" The burn intensified as he brought the cup closer to my face, a sweet earthen scent filling the air around me.

Edward sighed and rested his free hand on my leg as he began to explain. "It's for you. We can't hunt just yet, so this is to satisfy your thirst until the situation has been sorted."

Situation? I thought for a moment, but found no other words to explain my thoughts accurately.

"Situation?"

"Yes. Do you remember what we were preparing to do two days ago, just before your change began?" Edward watched me nervously as his words registered – my surprise not coming from the recollection he had expected it to, but a different realization entirely.

"Two days ago?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes, Bella. Your change only took two days. We believe it was because of the amount of venom in your system."

I was silent for a long while, trying to comprehend the thought that it had only been two days. I had been convinced the change had taken weeks. The thought that the others had gone through that for a third longer than I had sent a shiver up my spine.

"Bella?"

I regained focus, giving way to the thirst that was slowly intensifying in my throat - most likely due to the aroma coming from the container now being held under my nose. Without any further prompting I took the straw into my mouth and emptied the contents of the cup, the straw crumbling between my lips as I urgently searched for more.

The blood was strangely satisfying. I sensed the underlying taste of sweet honey, which was overpowered by the intense flavor of raw earth - the scent of wet soil and foliage filling the room.

I groaned in satisfaction, scanning the nightstand for more as I asked what it was I was enjoying so fully.

"That is mountain lion." Edward smiled proudly, clearly pleased with his selection for my first meal. He disappeared momentarily, returning with a larger container filled with the same decadent liquid.

I consumed the entire mountain lion as well as two small deer before I felt completely sated. The deer weren't nearly as satisfying - being herbivores - but weren't as repulsive as I had feared they would be.

I took an unnecessary breath, letting it out slowly as I began the dreaded conversation.

"Do they know?"

Edward's face turned sad as he responded. "No, not yet. Carlisle called Sam the evening we were supposed to meet and said you were exhausted from our trip. Sam called this morning and spoke with Esme, who said we would contact him as soon as you were feeling better."

My eyes met Carlisle's instinctively as I waited for the leader of our family to give his advice, terrified of the possible outcomes of this unknown scenario.

He seemed to contemplate the situation for a couple of minutes before answering my unspoken questions. "Bella, I think we need to contact Sam soon. The longer we wait, the higher the chance of suspicion in their minds. I also think it best if you don't go to meet him. We need time to explain the situation, and I'm not certain they would give us that time if they saw you first."

I clenched my jaw as I considered the pack's reaction. What if they decide to attack, and we aren't all there? How could I let the others take the fall for my decision? I couldn't fathom any member of my family getting hurt.

"No. I mean, yes, we need to call him soon, but... can't we just explain over the phone?"

"I considered that option, but I think we would be in more danger if we didn't face the situation in person. Sam appreciates honesty, and that is what I plan to give him. Edward will be there, and will warn us if..."

Carlisle's words were cut off by a loud gasp. The whole room looked toward Edward to see his eyes wide with terror as he whispered, "No."

"Edward." Edward turned to face Alice, his eyes growing impossibly wider as she silently conversed with him.

A howl sounded in the distance, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end. The deafening silence only lasted a moment longer as Edward and Alice finally broke their stares, his expression turning fierce as he began to spout instructions.

"Sam and Quil will be coming from the north. Carlisle and I will meet them at the tree line. Esme and Rosalie, you will go to the west. Leah, Seth and Jared will be there. Emmett and Jasper will be to the south - they will be met by Jacob, Embry and Paul." Edward rose from the bed and motioned for everyone to follow him downstairs. "They have all been instructed not to attack until Sam gives them the signal. Sam will be the only one in human form, so be prepared. They know."

He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before continuing. "Alice, stay with Bella. Don't come out unless I call for you."

He stopped and turned to meet my eyes. "Bella, please stay inside. I can't bear the thought of you getting hurt if this does not go well. Please." I nodded in approval as I felt my chest clench in fear. The situation was momentarily forgotten as he raised me off the floor, pulling me into a heated kiss - one which would have previously caused my knees to tremble. He set me down lightly on my feet as he brought us back to the events at hand.

"We need to go." He released me with one last kiss on my forehead, and disappeared out the door.

I stood motionless for what felt like an eternity of silence, my body stiff with terror.

The quiet was broken by the sound of a low growl forming. The sound was coming from multiple creatures, both south and west of the house. Oh no.

I took a step forward, but was stopped by Alice's hand on my shoulder. I turned and she just shook her head, her eyes fixated on the north door as we heard Carlisle speak. The thundering growls stopped immediately after the sharp snap of fingers, the sound coming from Edward and Carlisle's direction.

"It's nice to see you again, Sam. Although, I would like to apologize for the unfortunate circumstances." Carlisle's voice sounded genuinely friendly and apologetic.

Sam responded with a similar greeting, his holding an entirely different undertone. "Good to see you as well, Carlisle. I would have liked this to be a more pleasant meeting, but it seems that you have broken the rules of the treaty."

"I wouldn't agree with that conclusion. Yes, Bella has gone through the transformation, but the process was initiated unintentionally. Once it had begun, Bella would not allow Edward to reverse it."

I heard a snarl erupt at Carlisle's words, halted a moment later by Sam's voice.

"Edward, I'm not sure I understand what Carlisle means. Can you please explain what happened?" I felt a spark of hope as he asked for clarification.

Edward seemed to measure each word, speaking slowly as he explained. "Bella and I were having an... intimate moment. I wasn't aware that she had an open wound until after my venom entered it. When I tried to reverse the flow, Bella stopped me."

He was silent for a moment, and then answered an unspoken question. "Yes. Her exact words were, 'I want this.' And yes, I could have, but I will not go against her wishes again - I have promised her that."

"I need to speak with the rest of my pack, as well as..." Sam's words were ended abruptly by a tiny shriek coming from next to me.

"Oh God."

I whipped around to see Alice staring to the west, her mouth agape as though she were screaming.

I heard Edward take a sharp inhale, his voice sounding urgent as he spoke. "Sam, we need to continue this discussion at a later time. An unannounced visitor is on the way - one of our kind, who is not aware of your existence here. We would like to keep it that way."

I grabbed Alice's arm, my eyes begging her to explain. She looked at me and whispered, "She's coming."

'She's coming'? I gasped as the realization hit. 'One of our kind, who is not aware of your existence here.' There was only one explanation. The Voturi. My mouth fell open to match Alice's previous expression of horror, and my breathing stopped completely.

"You need to go, Sam. Now." Edward's voice was urgent and I silently begged Sam to listen, terrified of the possible outcome if he didn't.

Sam was firm as he responded to Edward's warning. "Is this a welcome guest, or unwanted company? Our duty is to keep our people safe, and if there is a threat nearby then we will make sure that threat is extinguished."

"When?" Edward's voice was quiet, his question directed at Alice and answered with a single, terrifying word.

"Now."