Tenth Chapter of the Prequel for:

"Where's the Excitement?"

"Where we've been"

Stephanie Hunter:

As soon as I got approval from Isabella, I was out the door and running after the vital newborn that was on the loose.

I could smell Trisha's scent in the air, she had been close to the house, but decided not to come in.

It smelt like raspberries and old books, an interesting scent, but it was intoxicating just as any vampire scent.

I remembered the day when I awoke as a newborn.

The sheer panic and rage… the desire to kill everyone in the room.

I felt the anger inside of me, bursting from inside towards Isabella for damning me to such a cruel and harsh world.

I couldn't understand why anyone would want this life, but Melissa had been so grateful to be alive, well not technically, but in function nonetheless.

I promised myself that I would do anything for my sister and when she asked me to just calm down and accept this; I looked at her and read her painful memories, and sighed. She was happy with this life and this new opportunity to do something for herself. I couldn't say no.

I agreed to shut up and follow through.

And then there was Ethan.

He was sarcastic, flamboyant, and annoying, and for some reason he followed me around like a little lost puppy, and whimpered when I yelled at him to leave me alone. I cursed at him and shouted and he just slammed into me and kissed me, he pressed himself against me, trying to soak me in. I couldn't get him away from me. I tried to ignore the feelings he brought out in me, but eventually I gave in, and then boom, the connection that he had been rattling off about was so obvious.

He was sweet, young, excited, and very hyperaware. He wanted to keep me safe but let me be myself. I thought he was the most handsome man I had ever met and Mel felt the same way about Andrew.

They explained to us the concept of mates, we figured that was what we were, and the rest was history.

I tried to focus on looking for Trisha. I was afraid of what she might do to the human population in the area. I knew all about Isabella's techniques in taking away our desire for human blood so that we won't kill humans, but even with that, some of us have felt the bloodlust get through. It is a very strong feeling, it completely takes over your body and you follow it with your last dying breath.

If Trisha felt that, there would be nothing to stop her from destroying all of Las Vegas and there would be no way to cover that up, no way in hell. All the humans would know what we are and we'd be massively fucked.

It took vampires like Isabella to stop that from happening, she has trained us all to know what is right and wrong in our world. Letting a newborn vampire loose in Nevada is not a very good idea.

A newborn was a newborn through and through, no matter the packaging, they all want the same things. They all fight for the same two things: lust and blood. Put them together and they equal: bloodlust. Lusting for blood, it's as simple as that.

I knew all too well about all these things.

It's my job to know pain, it's my job to know misery, it's my business.

I rule these things with my hands and my mind. I can have you living through your worst fears from your childhood, or things that haven't even happened yet.

I know your future pains and your past ones.

I am a fear keeper, I try to help the ones who suffer, but sometime like right now, I end up chasing after my prey.

Trisha should have never run, but she didn't understand anything that was going on. We are some of the most reasonable vampires on the content. If she got into the hands of the wrong people, god knows what they would do to some poor innocent newborn.

Newborns can't think straight, I know, I was one, we all were at some point in time, and if anybody besides Isabella had been there, we might not have been able to control of ourselves.

Being a newborn is like losing your mind and not knowing which way is up. I had to get to her before something bad happened and it was unfixable.

I followed her scent to the mountains in Basin, the other large national park besides Death Valley in Nevada; well at least she didn't kill anyone…yet.

She was growling and venom was dripping from her mouth, her teeth were coated in her venom, she looked like the epitome of a feral animal.

I couldn't help the laugh that escaped me; it was funny to me that this newborn thought she was threatening.

She lunged for me, but I caught her by the neck and threw her on the ground. I slammed myself on top of her to keep her down while I looked into her eyes and saw her past.

The first thing I saw was her rape, she was just a sixteen-year-old girl, having fun with her family on vacation, but she got gotten lost in the crowd. Then a man named grabbed her arm, dragged her into an alley, and attacked her.

I saw it all, clear as day, but I didn't want her to relive that awful past so I let her up.

She growled at me, "Who are you?"

"Would you calm down because you look ridiculous, your clothes are ripped to shreds, there's shit in your hair, and you've ran clear across this state, would you just sit down you crazy newborn!"

She stopped and looked up at me in a strange way then fell to the ground in submission.

"Well that's better, thank you. Now, my name is Stephanie and I will be living with you once you are under enough control to go back home. Isabella promised to help you so why did you run away from her? What happened?"

She looked up at me, I let her feel my pain and she gasped and curled in on herself, so I gave her my hand. She waited a few moments before hesitantly giving me her hand, like a lifeline, I pulled her into me. I laid her head in my lap, pulled the crud from her hair, and let her talk.

"I was so afraid after I had killed all those animals, I looked at them and I was disgusted with myself. How could I have done such a vulgar thing to those lives? I felt awful, I could almost feel their lives being drained from them as I took their blood. Is that how you felt?" She was so sad and afraid, it was kind of cute.

I looked down into her shiny eyes and sighed, "It was difficult for me in the beginning too, but I had my sister and mate to help me. How about I try to help you the way they helped me? I'll help you figure this whole thing out. Starting with the animals, listen to me; you have no reason to be disgusted, okay? Animals are over populating this country as it is, surprisingly enough we are actually doing the world a favor by killing them and then we burry them and they become a natural fertilizer for the ground. It's completely humane. I'm sorry Isabella didn't have a chance to tell you that before you freaked and ran away."

"Oh…I never thought of it that way. That makes me feel a little better…but do I still have to kill them?" She asked warily.

"Yes Trisha, you have to kill the animal, it's quickest if you snap the neck before you drain it, so it doesn't feel any extra pain. Our coven is very humane, we try to protect human life, we do not covet it, and we protect it when we can. If it weren't for vampires like us, the humans would be way worse off." I explained...more like exaggerated but whatever.

She was starting to feel better about everything. She smiled at me and snuggled in closer. I placed a small kiss on her forehead and looked down at her. She was quite beautiful and striking in her own way…with her black hair and small enchanting eyes, to some they may have looked terrifying, but to me, they seemed to fit perfectly on her small quaint face.

"You're very beautiful. I hope you know that Trisha."

"All vampires are beautiful, I'm not that special." She sighed.

"Oh don't say that. You are very special! Didn't you notice your gift? Any vampire with a gift immediately outranks one without a gift. You already got most vampires beat, so you are very special Trisha."

"Thanks for saying that…hey Stephanie?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah hon?"

"Could you tell me your story?" She asked nervously.

"Will that make you feel better?"

"I want to know I'm not alone in this world of pain and suffering, so yes it would help a great deal." She replied honestly.

"Well then let's see…Melissa and I were seventeen-years-old and we had just gotten out on summer break. We were driving home when our car broke down in the middle of nowhere. We didn't have cell phones because our parents thought they were a stupid invention, so we were stranded. I suggested we start walking, and so we did. We walked all the way to the county line until a red pickup truck stopped us, the man asked us if we needed rides, I was hesitant, but Melissa has never been a patient person so she quickly agreed for both of us."

"That doesn't sound like a good idea…I can feel it…" Trisha muttered. I nodded and continued.

"Well that man didn't take us home, he brought us to a tree house in the middle of a field somewhere in the middle of a forest in Virginia, that's where we are from. We had no idea that the water bottles he gave us were laced with sleeping pills, so passed out on the drive and we had no idea we were being kidnapped. We woke up naked and handcuffed to a wall. We were terrified. And for the first time in my life, I let my fears come out, and I cried in front of my sister. I had been depressed for years, being twins, there is always one who is more popular, has more friends, has a boyfriend, and more attention from the parents, and that was Melissa. I had nothing, I got decent grades and spent all my time in my room smoking, drinking, and listening to emo. I was a freak to everyone, no one liked me and I honestly didn't give a shit about anything. I could care less if I died, but to see my perfect sister shackled there too made it clear. We were going to die." My mind was clouded over with the memory of what had happened to us. I remembered it like it was yesterday.

"Keep going, I don't judge, clearly I cannot, you've seen my past Stephanie, we are like two peas in a pod." Trisha smiled at me, kissed my cheek, and encouraged me to go on.

"The man, the one who had kidnapped us came back, he told us to just call him Sir, and that we didn't need to know his name. He tortured us. I'll spare you the gory details and just say, I know what rape feels like. I wasn't a virgin, but Melissa had been and there was a lot of blood. I remembered seeing him leave her there hanging, and let the blood drip down her legs… that was the first time I threw up on myself. The smells and sights in that tree house still haunt us today. I don't know if we got lucky or if Sir got lazy, but he had uncuffed us, so that he could perform one of his most desired fantasies, a threesome. We were weak and broken, I don't know why he thought we would be able to perform for him, but he forced us anyways. It was awful. Well after he was done raping us, he passed out almost immediately and it took us a few hours to realize we could escape."

"Hours? What were you doing for hours?" She asked with a disgusted tone of voice. Not surprised because it was disgusting, the things he would do to us and make us do to each other. He was a vial being and I'm glad that he died.

"We were trying to clean ourselves a bit, but it was useless. I had to drag Melissa out of there. She was just more dead weight for me, but I was the older one, I had to protect my sister. I lifted her somehow and had to throw her from the tree house on to the ground, afterwards I jumped down afterwards. God must have been listening that day because he let us get out and across half the field before passing out because of the loss of blood and broken bones. I remember asking god to send an angel, and he did, Isabella. She saved us. And she killed Sir. She murdered that son of a bitch and she left his body to hang. She found out later that he had a record for all of this beginning in Louisiana, he had murdered his wife and two kids, he had been given the death penalty but he escaped."

"Wow I can't believe you actually survived long enough to get away. I wish I had been strong enough to get away, but I was just stupid and got lost…"

"It's not about your story Trisha, it's about what you now. I walked away, well I crawled with my sister on my back, but I still did it, I had too. I had a duty to my sister, I was always shielding her from the harsh realities of the world. The boys who only wanted sex, or druggies who would crash in my room and sleep with me to make me feel numb, she didn't understand that world because I had never allowed her to enter it. Her being a vampire and having Andrew makes it easier for me, knowing she is in capable hands. He loves her so much and I know he would never let anything happen to her."

"I wish I could remember if I had any siblings…"

"It's okay sweetie, not all of us remember things from our human lives. I only remember that because I can see it all happen just by touching my sister. I can't forget and I won't let myself forget either. I need it to be who I am."

She smiled at me and put her small hand on my cheek. I felt a strong connection to this girl. I felt a weird feeling inside, I already knew that I loved Trisha, all I needed to do was look into her feral stare and I was captivated, but there was something else. She seemed dark and broken, just like me, but stronger. Her entire persona just screamed danger. I was intrigued. Maybe just turned on, but I couldn't tell the difference right now.

"Trisha, maybe we should head home now? We can go slowly, we don't have to run just walk. Okay?" I asked as I offered her my hand. She smiled at me and lifted her small stone hand into mine without shocking me.

"Let's go home Stephanie."

VvVvV

It took us a good five days to walk home, but when we did get home, everything seemed normal.

"I'm afraid, what if they don't like me?" Trisha whispered as we approached the front door.

"Hon, they are just as accepting as I am, maybe even more. No correction, a lot more. I am usually mean to new people, so you got lucky with me. We are the better vampires in the world, well besides some other vegetarian vampires. Come on, you got this." I pulled her along behind me as I reached for the door.

Trisha was hiding behind my shoulder as she held on tight to my arm.

I saw Ethan run down the stairs and looked at me wide-eyed.

"Baby?" He asked weakly, his voice cracking.

"Trisha, this is my Ethan. Ethan I would like to introduce to you, Trisha Hunter, the new and improved, never slipped up, nervous vampire. Do not jump on her!" I said with sarcasm, but he knew what I meant.

He smiled, walked over, bowed his head slightly, and introduced himself, "It's lovely to meet you Trisha, and I hope you will feel at home soon. We are very happy to have you with us." He smiled and kissed my cheek.

Melissa and Andrew came in from the family room and smiled.

"Trisha this is my sister, Melissa, and her mate Andrew."

"It's nice to meet you Trisha, I'm sorry for Ethan, sometimes he can be a bit much." Andrew kid.

"I thought he was funny…" She whispered.

"Well it's a good thing someone thinks so, it's good to see you Trisha, and when you have a minute, come to my office." Isabella said in passing as she came in through the back door with Henry.

"Hello, I'm Henry, I'm just a friend I won't be staying much longer, but it's lovely to meet you." He said as he lifted her hand to his lips.

"Wow you didn't shock him." I whispered approvingly into Trisha's ear; I felt her inhale unexpectedly and she gasped.

"I didn't! Wow!" She exclaimed in excitement.

"Good day Miss Trisha." Henry said as he left, walking up the stairs after Isabella.

Ethan and Andrew came over to us, "Hey you guys want to go out for a while?"

I could tell something was bothering them, so I nodded and pulled Trisha out the back door with me. Melissa gave me a stern look, something was definitely up.

They all took off and ran out to Lake Mead; I sighed when we reached the riverbank and sat down against a rock. Trisha looked at me with fear and panic in her eyes. I shushed her and waited for my siblings.

"Okay, let's talk, what's going on?" I asked Andrew as he pulled Melissa into his lap. Ethan sat down next to me and smiled.

Melissa spoke up, "I do not like that Henry guy! I know something is off with him, but I can't place it. What the hell is Isabella doing with him…?"

"Well is 'Oh fuck me Henry! Oh god you are soooo good', tell you about what she is doing with him? Because it speaks a whole lot of shit to me…" Ethan mocked. I hit him in the arm, "Ow! Why? Babe, you should have heard her with him…"

"Don't mock her, you ass! For one thing, you are no better," I said with a smirk, "but also, she is our maker, our sire, she is the one who watches over us and gives us every fucking thing and you go around mocking her…? Really, are you that dense? And yes, I have heard them thank you very much! What is going on here, since when have you ever cared who she sleeps with, or who she's fucking?" I said with anger.

I was angry, of course I was, if Isabella wants to think she is raising haters and backstabbers, she could think that about the rest of them but not me, I love that woman.

"Steph! What has gotten into you? We are just being honest, why do you think we came all the way out here to talk. She knows what we are thinking, she can hear us! She knows everything! She even knows about this, but she lets us vent, why are you being such a bitch?" She almost whispered the last part, but I heard her.

"Mel, what is your problem? Just shut your trap!" I hissed at my sister. I got up in her face a lot, but she never looked at the whole picture.

It always had to be about Mel.

She stood up and went to slap me, but I quickly grabbed her arm, twisted it behind her, and pushed her down against the rocks.

"Don't you dare try to hurt me you pathetic bitch, whose sister are you? I took care of you when we were dying and now you have the decency to try and hit me? Seriously?" I just couldn't believe her behavior toward me. It was like something inside of her was changing, making her bitter and angry.

She whimpered, and Andrew growled at me and pushed me off of her, pulling her to him. She grabbed onto him and cried into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry I wasn't good enough for you Steph, I really am." She said with venomous tears in her eyes. "I watched him hurt you, I always watched them hurt you, I never said anything, and I pretended I didn't know, but I did."

"You know nothing." I hissed.

She shrieked and pushed off of Andrew and flew at me.

"I always knew! I knew everything! You think mom and dad would have let you get away with any of your stupid shit if I didn't back you up and cover for you all the fucking time!"

"Shut up you bitch! You don't know me!" I screamed at my sister.

"Stephanie, please stop this." Ethan begged.

"Stephanie?" Trisha whimpered, "Please, stop, please?" She looked at me with black eyes and sadness written across her delicate features.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you Trisha, come let's go hunt, you shouldn't have to watch this." I pulled her into my side and walked off.

VvVvV

Melissa Hunter:

I watched my sister take the new girl away and I huffed loudly. I saw her tense at my noise, but she just kept on walking away with Trisha.

Ugh whatever. Bitch.

"Sweetie, will you calm down, please." I heard my darling Andrew trying to comfort me. I looked into his gorgeous amber eyes and nodded. I went to him and he pulled me into his arms.

"What is up with her? What were you two talking about exactly?" Ethan demanded.

"Nothing, it's nothing Ethan, just don't push it okay?" Andrew told him. Andrew kissed my hair, and sighed loudly in frustration.

"Baby, I'm sorry you had to see that, she can be really temperamental sometimes." I said as I kissed Andrew's cheek. He chuckled slightly and looked down at me with love.

"Really? Sweetie, you are sisters, of course you're going to fight, and I would never expect you to be perfect."

Perfect…I always tried to be perfect.

I just wanted everything to be in its place and stay that way. Things seemed to be spiraling out of control lately. After the wedding, we had gone out and gotten hotel rooms, nothing special but just so we could spend some private time with our husbands, but then we got the call.

That stupid call, we had a new one, that dreadful tone of voice she had used when she said it, it was just downright scary. She knew that she would be powerful, but she also knew she was dangerous.

Dangerous.

I knew she was dangerous, I didn't like her, not even a little bit, she seemed strange, and she was stealing my sister from me.

Not cool, not at all.

She looked so worn down, dead inside, like…Stephanie.

When Stephanie was human, she looked just like Trisha, dead inside and out, like she had nothing left to live for.

I hated thinking of my sister as a dead person, but recently, she had been looking at me like she hated me.

"I need to be alone, I'll come home later, see you guys." I kissed my husband and took off for Vegas.

It only took me two hours to get there while running my fastest. Once I got there, the sun had just gone down on the horizon, but it was still a little light out, I glowed, no sparkles, but still beautiful.

Always beautiful.

I walked the streets of the strip, stupid men giving out porn and drunks laughing and pissing themselves. I laughed at the stupid humans, they had no idea that I was the most dangerous predator in the whole world, and they were all one slip away from being killed.

I could never tell anyone, but I always wished that I stuck to our natural diet; I wanted to kill humans, rid the world of the evil that walked it and was hurting the innocent humans here. I knew that I was never going to be allowed to do that, but I needed it.

My monster had been hiding away, but I knew what I wanted.

I wanted blood.

Human blood.

The red crimson running down my throat, soothing my unrelenting burn, soothing my desires.

Too bad, it would never come.

I stopped at the Prada store and bought a new outfit, mine was dingy and dirty, I wanted to look good.

If there was anything I loved it was fashion, it was the one place where I felt perfect. My long dirty blonde hair, long shapely legs, thin waist, not too busty, but perfect.

The perfect body that all vampires had, the flawless skin that I had always wanted, but now I couldn't show it off to all of my friends. Now I was a monster.

Walking the strip always put a smile on my face, the lights and the craziness. I stopped at a bar, and ordered an apple martini. Men ogled like always, but I just sighed and blew them off.

"Melissa?"

I turned around at Andrew's voice. I saw Stephanie off with Ethan dancing, and I just rolled my eyes.

"Hey sweetie, are you okay? What's wrong?" He was desperate for me to tell him, tell him anything. I wanted to, I wanted to tell him what I needed, what was wrong with me, but I just didn't know if I could voice it.

"Hey Andrew, take a load off, let me talk to my sister will ya?" Stephanie sort of just pushed him away, he sighed and ordered a drink and went to a booth.

"Okay, spill it sister, what is it?" She demanded.

She never asked for anything, she always just took what she wanted, no mercy, just harsh and cold orders. She is so like Izz.

"I want blood." I hissed.

Ethan and Andrew's head snapped up. They growled low.

"Do you need to hunt?" She asked.

"No, I meant I want a fucking human! I want to slice their throats open and drink their blood and watch them die." I cursed. I hissed. I was pissed.

"Okay, just calm down." She tried to shush me.

"No! You don't understand! You don't get it, I want it and I am going to take it."

With those last words, I walked away.

I got up, I left that bar, and I ran away.

I knew I had a couple choices of where to go, but if I went to Peter and Charlotte, they would just call Isabella. I had to go somewhere where she wouldn't follow.

I went to the airport and I got on a fucking plane. I flew all the way to Italy, and searched for the Volturi.

If there was anywhere that I could go to get blood, unabashed without shame, it was with them, everyone knew that.

It wasn't hard to find them in Volterra. When the doors opened, there was Demetri. He looked at me with shock.

"What are you doing here?" He hissed.

"I need to see Aro." I demanded.

"Who is that Demetri?" I heard a voice, it sounded female. A beautiful woman with long dark red hair stood behind him, she moved around him and stared at me long and hard. "Who are you?"

"My name is Melissa Hunter and I would like to speak with Aro, please, it's urgent." I raised my black eyes expressively, I think she understood, but I wasn't sure.

"My name is Erica, please follow me. Demetri would you hold her please." He nodded and took my arm, lightly.

They brought me to the throne room all while I was trying to register what was going on with me and in the castle. The smell of human blood was all over the castle, I noticed Erica must be new or new since Isabella was here.

She pushed the doors open and I saw a young blonde girl with bright red eyes drop a drained human, a male, maybe in his early twenties, dead, drained of life, on the floor.

I grinned malevolently.

Yes, this is what I wanted.

"Ah, Erica, who have you brought with you?" Caius asked in a deep voice, eww I think he was trying to be sexy or something.

"She said she was a Hunter." Her voice turning dark and sultry.

Aro's eye's almost popped out of his head as he growled and moved away instinctively. "Get out! I do not want you here! You have come to kill us haven't you! This is how Isabella repays me? How dare the little bitch!" He hissed.

Hearing him talk about my maker that way infuriated me to no end, but I kept my growl inside.

"I am not here for her, I have come alone. I would like to join you. I am not happy with the vegetarian diet, and I want to try things your way, please?" I couldn't help the longing I felt. I just wanted to be accepted somewhere.

"If you are lying we will know, give me your hand." The pleasantries were gone, there would be no niceness here.

I lifted my hand into his, I felt his past and future happiness come into my mind, but sadly there were no future ones, only past hunts, no love…no happiness, this man clearly had not had a good life.

"Interesting? You are gifted are you not?" Aro asked.

"I am, but it isn't a very helpful gift. I can see your past and future happiness, any happy moments I would see them. I am sorry to say that you have not had a very happy life, nor will you lead a happy future," I took my hand back and lowered my eyes to the floor.

"You will not last long here, Isabella will come for you." Caius said sternly.

"I know, but I need human blood, and she would never allow it. She would destroy me. I just want to try it, and if it doesn't suit me, I will leave, I won't let her come after any of you, I swear it. Demetri please, tell them, they can trust me can't they?" I pleaded with him. Come on man, back me up!

"Demetri, you know this girl?" Aro seemed a little confused.

"Yes I do sir, and you can trust her. She would not have any other motive in coming here than the one she gave you."

"Thank you, please Aro, a year, just a year. That is all I am asking for." I pleaded.

"Let's see what we can do for you Melissa." Aro's voice rang out as he sat in his throne.

I smiled an evil grin.

Finally, I would have everything I wanted.