Olivia had decided to bring Maggie to the beach since no vampires would be there. She'd debated with herself for a long time, wondering if Nessie would disturb Maggie or if she'd go mad in the presence of so many weremen, but in the end, decided that if she got too troublesome, we could put her in the car for awhile. Maggie was excited when we got into the car. She wouldn't sit still so Olivia could get the seat belt through her harness and I eventually had to growl at her. Maggie thinks I'm her alpha, so she settled down at once.

Once we got there, Maggie was ecstatic. She pulled at the leash, trying to get down to the beach faster. She spotted Nessie and Jake and became nearly delirious with excitement. Nessie grinned when Maggie began sniffing around her feet. "I seem to have that effect on dogs," she said, looking sideways at Jake.

Jake grinned. "When have I ever sniffed your feet?" he asked.

Nessie giggled. "Seriously, though, pets seem to like me," she said. "Dogs and cats and parrots and anything that hangs out with people regularly. I guess I smell human enough that the other smell on me is intriguing to them."

Maggie gave up on Nessie then and turned to Jake. She sniffed at his knees for a minute, then sat down, tail wagging, and panted happily up at him.

"Maggie, this is Jake and this is Nessie," said Olivia.

Maggie looked between Jake and Nessie as if memorizing their names.

"She does a great trick," said Olivia. "Watch. Maggie!" Maggie looked at Olivia. "Where's Jake, Maggie?"

Maggie looked at Jake, and then back at Olivia.

"Where's Nessie?"

Maggie looked at Nessie and back to Olivia again.

"Where's Embry, Maggie?"

Maggie looked at me.

"That's crazy," said Jake, grinning.

"I have no idea where she learned it," said Olivia. "But, once she knows somebody's name, if you ask her where the person is, she'll look at them."

"What if that person's not in sight?" asked Nessie.

"She'll sniff them out," said Olivia. "She's amazing."

"Hey, there's Seth!" said Jake, grinning over our shoulders. "He's bringing that girl he met."

"Christie," I said.

"Yeah, her," said Jake absently. "That must be her. Hm. She doesn't look like a Native."

"Jake, don't stare!" said Nessie, poking him in the ribs.

Everyone else on the beach was making their way over to us, so they'd all be in place to meet Seth's girl. She was pretty- she had a round face, dark, straight hair cut in many different layers and dark, curious eyes. Her skin was very pale, though, not at all the right color for a Native. It was that pinkish peach of a Caucasian. She was very curvy. That was evident from the clingy- but not tight- jeans and t-shirt she wore. The t-shirt was black and had a picture of an Eagle and the words "Broken Walls" printed on the front.

"Hey, guys!" called Seth as they approached, hand-in-hand.

"Hi, Seth!" called Jake.

I waved.

Maggie barked once and proceeded to wag her tail.

Christie grinned at the dog and steered Embry towards her. She smiled- careful not to show teeth- down at the dog and held out a hand to her. "I'm Christie," she said.

Maggie sniffed her hand once and licked it.

"That's Maggie," said Olivia.

Christie glanced up, then straightened. "Miss Casey!" she said, a broad grin spreading across her face.

"Call me Olivia," Olivia replied, returning the grin.

"I'm Embry," I said, holding out a hand to her.

Her face lit up like she knew me, too. "I've heard a lot about you," she said, shaking my hand.

Seth introduced the rest of us. She gave Nessie a speculative and half distrusting look, but didn't say anything to her. She seemed to like Leah right away.

I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was something different about Christie. She seemed very familiar, but I couldn't figure out why. I chalked it up to the fact that she was dressed very similarly to most of us- jeans and t-shirt, no shoes. It didn't seem quite warm enough for regular humans to be dressed like that, but she didn't seem to notice. Maybe Michigan was colder than I thought it was. Or maybe she just liked the cold better than most people.

Quil showed up with his Claire and Claire went mad over the dog. The dog seemed to like her, too, so Olivia let Claire hold the leash and made her promise not to let her off it, no matter what. "Maggie likes to run and we'll never get her to come back if she gets loose," Olivia explained.

Claire promised and she and Maggie went to go play in the shallow waves that washed up on the shore.

"Well, at least she won't need her weekly bath," Olivia said with a grin as Claire shrieked that the water was cold.

"Seth," said Christie suddenly, glancing suspiciously around at all of us.

"Hm?" said Seth, his attention immediately on her.

"How much…" she trailed off, looking nervous. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Uh… okay," said Seth, allowing her to lead him off.

"Oh, just tell him," muttered Olivia to herself.

"What?" I asked.

"Never mind," said Olivia.

"Hey, Olivia, can we get a little help over here?"

It was Sam. He and Paul were trying to get the fire started, but apparently the only book of matches they had had gotten wet and Paul wasn't having any luck with it. Olivia looked around furtively and walked casually towards the pile of driftwood. A few seconds later, she stepped back and the pile was now covered in blue flames. She held up one hand, thumb and forefinger extended like a gun and blew on her fingertip.

"That never gets old," snickered Collin.

"You've seen it, like, twice," said Jake. "Of course it hasn't gotten old, yet."

Nessie immediately went looking for sticks on which to roast marshmallows.

"You don't even like marshmallows," protested Jake.

"No, but Claire does," said Nessie, not giving up her search. "And besides, there's something satisfying about watching fluffed sugar burn."

"Isn't it a little early for marshmallows?" asked Quil as he and Claire approached.

"It's NEVER too early for marshmallows," declared Claire, struggling to hold Maggie on her leash.

Olivia went to take Maggie's leash and Claire gladly exchanged the dog for a marshmallow on a stick which she stuck over the bon fire. Quil warned her not to get it too close because the blue flames were hotter than normal and it would burn. Claire informed him that she LIKED them burned.

Maggie was busily sniffing Leah's knees and Leah kept trying to scratch behind Maggie's ears, but Maggie was absorbed in her task. Finally, though, she sat down and panted up at Leah and Olivia told Maggie her name. She then entertained Leah by demonstrating Maggie's "Find People" trick. Leah got a kick out of it.

I was just remembering the first time Olivia and I had been at First Beach together when we all heard a sudden cry of delight and exultation from the forest across the street. I looked in that direction, but didn't see anything.

"Was that Seth?" asked Leah.

"Sounded like it," said Jake. "He sounds happy."

"Wonder what about," said Sam.

Seth came running out of the woods, smiling excitedly. "Jake! Leah!" he called. "And Embry! And Quil! And Collin! Come here! You are NOT going to believe this!"

"What's up, Seth?" asked Jake.

"Just come here!" Seth called. "Quick! It's amazing!"

Jake motioned to us to follow as he started towards Seth.

"Will you be okay?" I asked Olivia.

"I'll be fine," she said. "Sam will keep me company. Hey, where's Rachel today, anyway?"

"She wasn't feeling very well," answered Paul. "I was gonna stay home with her, but she actually pushed me out the door. She doesn't like me sacrificing for her."

I hurried after Jake, Leah and Quil. None of us had missed the fact that he'd called all members of our pack that were there at the time- James, Tom and Michael hadn't arrived yet.

"What's going on?" asked Jake as we approached.

"Follow me!" he said, turning and heading into the woods. "I can't believe it. Oh, god, it's amazing!"

"Seth," said Leah as we followed. "Do we get any clues?"

"No," said Seth, nearly ready to burst. "It's not far. Come on!"
We followed obediently into the forest. We hadn't gone far when we came across a tree on which hung a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt with an eagle and the words "Broken Walls" printed on them. "Uh, Seth," I said, pointing to the clothes.

Seth nodded eagerly. "Christie!" he called.

From deeper in the woods we could hear something large running towards us. A huge white something appeared in the distance and before it arrived to stand before us, I recognized it as a large, purely white wolf. Even her nose was white. Her fur was shaggy and all different lengths. The way it hung around her eyes reminded me of the Jonas Brothers.

Jake swore.

Leah gaped.

I blinked several times.

"Are you serious?" Jake breathed.

"Yeah," said Seth, pealing off his shirt. "I can hear her, too! It's amazing!"

Christie politely turned her head to give us some privacy. She didn't really have to, I supposed, since we were all so used to changing around Leah, but it was a nice thought. I didn't hesitate to pull off my own clothes.

Leah, however, did. "Do you think it'll hurt the baby?" she asked.

Christie huffed and shook her head.

"Are you sure?" Leah asked, still looking wary.

Christie nodded.

"Okay," said Leah hesitantly. She began removing her own clothes; now that she had Bradon, she didn't really care how much we saw her naked. In fact, if she ever caught us thinking about it, she would tease us openly instead of ripping our heads off.

The instant I transformed, I was completely aware of Christie's presence in my mind.

Hi, she said cheerfully.

Jake chuckled mentally. Hi, he said. I didn't realize there were any others.

Oh sure, said Christie. Apparently, we're all over the place. According to an Elder who was acquainted with my great-grandmother, anyway.

So this is what Olivia was talking about, I said. She said you had a secret and that Seth would like it.

Christie laughed inwardly, wondering vaguely how Olivia would have known in the first place. She quickly set that aside, though. I had only just started to suspect he was one, too, she said. His hand didn't feel cool to me. And then Leah… well, I don't understand it, but apparently us werewomen seem to know each other somehow.

That's why you seemed so familiar to me, said Leah. It was like I'd known you for years.

Yeah, said Christie. I guess it's always like that, but I've never met any other than my great-grandmother and that's not much of a proof since I already know her.

You don't look like a native, really, said Jake.

Well, I'm only a quarter, she said. My grandfather was full. He imprinted on a German girl and my dad imprinted on an Irish woman.

Imprinting really isn't all that rare after all, is it? commented Leah, sounding a bit disappointed.

Frighteningly common, actually, said Christie. It's so common that if wolves decide to marry before imprinting, they refuse to look anyone of the opposite sex in the eye for the rest of their lives. It tends to make them look like jerks, but they don't want to ruin their wives' lives.

In a flash, we all picked up a bit of her history. She'd known of the local Pack since she was about 6 years old because one of her older brothers had joined it. All four of her brothers and she were in the Pack, but her older sister was not. She'd briefly dated their alpha, but they'd decided to give up on it when she left for college because neither had imprinted on the other. She'd met Jack in college and had dated him because he was a good guy and she thought he deserved some love, but she hadn't really loved him. When he'd asked her to marry him, she'd agreed because it had been a public proposal and she hadn't wanted to hurt him. It had been six weeks until the wedding when she'd walked into the dress shop to pick up her dress and imprinted on Seth.

Wait, I said. YOU imprinted on HIM?

Wild, isn't it? said Seth. I don't think wolves have ever imprinted on each other before.

There's a pair in Russia, I think, said Christie. Or maybe it was China. I don't know. Asia anyway.

How many werewomen are there? muttered Leah almost to herself.

Not many, as I understand it, answered Christie. There's no official census, but my dad says that if our Packs are any indication, less than ten percent are female.

Packs? said Jake. Plural?

There are three, said Christie. Josh was my alpha, my dad's an alpha and my great-grandmother was an alpha. She's retired, now, though, so her second cousin took over. He sorta reminds me of Cheech Marín.

Who knew? said Jake. And here, we thought we were an anomaly.

Hardly, said Christie. There are packs all over the place. We're scattered now, and a lot of them are dormant because the leaders can't bear to keep them going if there's no threat. A lot of them seem to think it's a curse, but really, it's an honor. Especially for the girls, right Leah?

!

Leah was so surprised, no words came immediately to her mind. The only thing we got from her were disjointed emotions. She couldn't think, for the life of her, why it would be an honor to be a wolf.

Yeah, said Christie. Now it was her turn to be confused. Because only the strongest girls can be wolves. I mean emotionally strong. We're stable. Or at least relatively stable. Most girls are too emotional for stuff like this, but you and I, Leah, we can handle anything. Don't you protect your boys from anything? Bullies don't dare pick on your boys, do they? And nobody even thinks of slandering any of them, either, because you'll be there to stick up for them. And if they need it, you tell them off, don't you? And if there's trouble, you're the one to keep cool and do what needs to be done.

Leah thought it all over. Random images of chasing off bullies and yelling at us flitted through her mind. She'd even once told off Charlie to defend Quil. Hm, she said. I suppose you're right. Does that make me special?

It does, said Christie. Special in a weird way. We're oddballs, isn't it wonderful? It just means that our minds work more like a man's mind than a woman's. We can forget about how we feel and do what needs to be done.

So, what, we were meant to be men?

Christie laughed. Definitely not, she said. I always feel it later. Once, I managed to get a gun away from a man who was robbing a bank. I didn't even think about it, just did it. And later, when the cops were taking my statement, I fainted. Can you believe it? When I was wrestling with the guy- nothing! But, when the cops asked me how the hell I did it, it overwhelms me and I pass out! A man would NEVER do that. No, we're definitely girls. Our minds are just slightly more masculine than the normal woman's would be.

Always knew you were abnormal, Leah, said Seth.

Shut up, Seth, said Leah, but her voice was soft.

Christie grinned. I'm getting out of this form, she said, snatching her clothes from the tree with her mouth. Call me old fashioned, but I don't want a bunch of men to see me naked. At least not just yet. Maybe, if you let me join your pack, I won't care, but for now…

You let me see you, said Seth.

That's different, said Christie, heading of into the trees. You're going to see me that way sooner or later, anyway. I hope sooner.

She was out of sight and out of our minds at that point.

Seth was shocked.

Come on, said Jake. Let's get back to the beach. We'll have to tell Sam.

He shifted back and we all followed suit, quickly pulling our clothes back on.

Christie rejoined us after only a few moments and slid an arm around Seth's waist. "I'm surprised," she said. "I'd have thought you guys would have wanted to talk about me while I'm not around."

"What I can't figure out," said Jake as we headed back towards the beach, "is why we can suddenly hear you."

"I think it's because Seth and I imprinted on each other," she answered. "It forced me out of my pack and into yours. I nearly freaked out after I met Seth. I transformed to try to get in touch with my pack and they just weren't there. I thought about it, though, and that's what I came up with."

"Why wouldn't Seth have been forced into yours, then?" asked Jake.

"Probably because we're closer to your pack," Christie said. "Or maybe because he's the guy. Sometimes nature is chauvinistic."

Leah made an angry noise.

"I didn't say I like it, but there it is," said Christie. "The men are always supposed to protect the women and children. Female birds have dull, flat colors to blend in with the trees and the male ones have bright colors to lure predators away. Which, if you think about it, is pretty good for us: we get to sit there, safe and sound, while the men go out and risk their necks for us."

"Except you and me," said Leah.

"We're the moms," said Christie. "We're here to keep this lot in line." She poked Seth's ribs; Seth jumped and playfully swatted her hand away. "And, we're wolves. Wolf mothers don't sit around while the fathers fight. They get out there and fight with the fathers. And they're more aggressive and more daring. Not because we have anything to prove, just because it's our nature. Sometimes our nature makes us do stupid things, though."

"Like chasing a Vampire alone?" said Jake pointedly.

Leah turned red.

Christie shrugged. "Or wrestling a bank robber for his gun," she said.

"That WAS amazingly stupid," said Jake.

"Like I said," she said simply.

Seth squeezed her shoulders.

Sam and the rest of them- including the rest of our Pack- were waiting anxiously to see what was going on.

"We have a new Pack member," Jake announced.

Sam's eyebrows scrunched down. "Where is he?" he asked, looking around.

"Not he," said Jake. "She." He gestured Christie forward.

Sam froze. Tom's mouth hit the beach. James stared at Jake as if he were insane.

"But, she's not even…." trailed off Collin.

"Quilleute," finished Sam.

"I'm Chippewa," answered Christie. "Well, a quarter, anyway. Most of my family is in one of the three packs we've got in Michigan."

"There are packs in Michigan?" asked Paul, looking confused.

"There are Packs all over the place," said Christie. "All over the world. Most of them are dormant, though, because the elders don't want to 'curse' the young with this. So, unless there's danger, they let it die out."

"That's something I didn't understand," said Seth. It was now his turn to look confused. "Do you mean to say that the Elders of the tribe could keep this going, even if there's NOT danger?"

"Sure," said Christie. "Our Elders do. That's how I joined the Pack. You can feel them when they reach the right age and you call to them, somehow… I've never figured out how, though. My dad knows how to do it. He called all my brothers and me out."

"Your dad had a choice and he let you-" Sam cut himself off, looking angry.

"Sam, relax," said Jake, placing a hand on Sam's shoulder.

Sam shook him off. "Don't you get it, Jake?" he said. "Her own father doomed her to this! He knew what she would become and he just-" again, he cut himself off.

"No!" exclaimed Christie. "It's not like that! It's… not a doom. It's… well, it's nature, for one thing. We were wolves and something changed us. Something… well, never mind. For another thing, it's an honor. Sort of like the army. The Green Berets."

"Christie's right."

We all turned to see Olivia standing there, hands on her hips, Maggie seated calmly at her feet.

"What?" asked Sam.

"It's not a curse," Olivia said, and somehow, her bearing and stance were almost regal. Standing there in jeans, T-shirt and wind breaker, she looked every ounce the Princess she was.

"And what would you know about it?" Sam asked.

Olivia's eyebrows shot up towards her hairline. "More than you," she said. "Don't forget- I'm older than all of you put together."

"Huh?" said Christie.

"I'll explain later," said Olivia. "As for you, Sam, I'm afraid you have the wrong idea about your pack. It is not a curse and is, in fact, an honor. Your ancestors were wolves- a race of super intelligent wolves, in fact. They were asked to take a second form in order to better protect the animals of the Earth and they agreed. This is why you are honored and not cursed."

There was a long silence.

"I'm not making the connection," confessed Jake, scratching his head.

"I think I see," said Nessie, eyes narrowed.

"Would you care to explain it to the rest of us?" asked Sam.

Nessie took a breath and hesitated. "It's difficult to explain," she said. "But, I think, because you have two forms, that THIS is the honor."

"What, having two forms?" said Paul, looking supremely disappointed.

"Yes!" exclaimed Christie, looking exultant.

"I think I missed something," I said.

"How many beings on this planet have more than one form?" asked Olivia.

"Just us, I think," said Jake.

"And Elders," said Olivia. "Who can be Vampire or human-like. And, of course, Faeries- who can change their appearance at will."

"Faeries?" asked Christie.

"I'll explain later," promised Olivia.

"So does that mean that Elders and Faeries are honored, too?" asked Sam.

"Definitely," said Olivia. "Anything that can take more than one form is honored."

"But, WHY?" asked Sam.

"Because of the extra responsibility that comes with those forms," said Olivia. "The Elders to protect humanity, the Wolves to protect beasts and the Faeries to protect the Earth. Because we have so much extra work, there is compensation."

"In the form of honor?" said Paul, still disappointed.

"Don't knock honor," said Christie seriously. "It gets you privileges."

"Like what?" said Tom disbelievingly.

"Like college paid for," I said. "I never could have gone to college if the tribe hadn't helped me out. And I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have helped me out if I hadn't been a wolf."

"Or putting in a good word for you to help you get a good job even though you don't have any experience at all," said Seth. "How else did I get that job with the construction company right out of a two year community college drafting program?"

"Or travel expenses to the Mayo Clinic," said Jake, his eyes on Tom.

Tom's eyes dropped to the sand. Two years ago, his mother had been diagnosed with cancer. On the recommendation of the doctors, his dad had wanted to take her to the Mayo Clinic, but they didn't have the money to get there. The council recently gave the family the money and his mother was currently in remission. She was due to come home next week. "You don't think they'd have done that if I wasn't a member of the Pack?" he asked.

"I'd like to think they would," said Leah. "But, the truth is… probably not."

"Like I said," said Olivia softly. "Compensation."

There was a long pause which Christie broke suddenly. "I'm a little surprised you guys didn't want to talk about it," she said with a grin. "Me joining, I mean."
"I didn't think we had much choice," said Jake.

"Well, you don't," admitted Christie. "You could banish me, but given that Seth's imprinted on me, he'd probably be forced out, too. But, still, it's customary to discuss things like this, even if you already know the answer."

"Okay," said Jake, looking around at us all. "Does anybody have any objections?"

"I think it's great," said Collin.

Leah beamed at Christie. Somehow, I knew she'd be thrilled to have someone to whom she could relate. Those two would be best friends before the week was out and Leah would probably pick Christie as the baby's godmother.

Everyone else agreed with Collin.

"Right," said Jake, turning back to Olivia. "You're in."

Christie rolled her eyes, but grinned. "Well, that's something, anyway," she muttered.

With a wild whoop, Seth scooped Christie off her feet and twirled her in the air. She laughed and demanded to be put down, but he wouldn't do it without kissing her first.

"Okay," said Christie once she was back on the ground again. "Now, what's this about Faeries?"

Olivia gave Christie a similar demonstration to her previous two, but because we were outside, she was able to make it bigger. She made the bon fire leap fifty feet into the air, caused the waves to stop all together for a few minutes and made the earth shake a bit. She absolutely refused to do anything with the weather, though, claiming that on such a clear day, it could really screw things up.

Christie was delighted and Seth sat gazing at her in absolute wonder. When she finally realized he was staring, she returned the gaze with her own version which was mingled with euphoria. Olivia turned to roll her eyes at me, but found me echoing Seth's gaze. I grinned sheepishly as she squeezed her eyes shut, laughing out a moan.

Christie went back and forth between Leah and Olivia for several hours. At one point, Leah wondered away from Bradon to join Olivia and Christie and the three were inseparable from then on. Maggie kept getting passed from Claire to Olivia until Jacob decided that he needed to run with her. He tired her out. She finally gave up and plopped down at my feet, looking exhausted.

Finally, near dusk, the clouds started rolling in and Olivia started to look uncomfortable. Now that I knew minute changes in the Elements disturbed her, I understood what was wrong. I offered to take her home, but she wanted to go back out to the Cullen's again.

"Are you sure?" I asked her.

"Yes," she said. "Now ask me if I really want to."

"Do you really want to?" I asked her.

"No," she said with a smile. "But, I'm going to anyway. I need to."

I slung an arm around her shoulders as we said our goodbyes to everyone. Seth told me he'd see us at the Cullen's later; he wanted to introduce Christie to his best friend, but he had to warn her about him first. I thought that was a good idea. Taking a wolf to visit a Vampire without warning was a bad idea.

Olivia and I dropped Maggie off before heading over to the Cullen's. Bella was waiting for us on the porch when we got out of the car.

"Jake and Nessie aren't even back yet," she said as Edward joined her.

"The weather change was getting to Olivia," I explained.

Olivia glanced at me. "I didn't realize you'd noticed," she said.

"Of course he did."

Olivia looked at Edward. "What?" she said.

"He imprinted on you," Edward explained. "He knows everything about you by now."

"What's my favorite color?" Olivia asked me.

"I would say pink because you wear it all the time," I said. "But your whole house is in greens. You like green. You just look good in pink."

"Very good," she said. "Now for a tougher one. What's my mother's name?"

I thought for a second. "You told me it once," I said finally. "She's going by Penelope now, but her given name is Galima."

"Geez," she said.

"I know," I said.

Edward laughed.

"Come on in," said Bella. "Edward went after fresh honey and milk about an hour ago."

Olivia's eyes brightened and she immediately followed Bella into the house.

I rolled my eyes at Edward. "Girls," I said.

"No," he said, giving me a half a grin as he followed the girls into the house. "Faeries."

Olivia looked back at him over her shoulder. "Ha ha, Vampire," she said.

Bella laughed.

Olivia shared her milk and honey with me this time and I had to admit that it was pretty good. I'd never had milk straight from the cow before. It was thick and heavy and sweet. I wouldn't want to drink as much of it as Olivia did, though.

Olivia had just popped that last piece of honey soaked bread into her mouth when we heard two car doors slam.

"Seth," said Edward. "And a girl."

"A wolf," said Bella, surprised.

"Of course he's a wolf," said Edward, confusion masking his face.

"Not Seth, the girl," said Bella, brow wrinkling.

Edward's eyes took on a far-away look as he apparently studied the girl's mind from afar. "You're right," said Edward. "She IS a wolf. And she's nervous as all get out."

"Just how nervous IS get out?" asked Olivia, giving Edward a serious look.

Edward paused for a moment, then gave her that same half a grin that spoke of reluctant amusement. "I don't know," he said finally. "But, I would have to guess it's VERY nervous."

Olivia grinned back at him and Bella and I exchanged very relieved looks.

"Let's not keep Seth waiting," said Edward, heading to the door.

When we reached he hall, we could hear Seth reassuring Christie on the front porch and Christie worrying that she would loose her temper too easily and rip Seth's best friend's face off. We waited until the doorbell rang and Bella swiftly crossed to the door and flung it open.

Christie winced behind Seth, but Seth only smiled. "Hey, Bella," he said. "Jake and Nessie were heading over to Sam's for awhile. They told me to tell you that they'll be here in a few minutes. This is Christie," he said, pulling Christie forward.

Christie, however, was resisting. "Hi," she said her head turned half away from Bella.

"It's okay," said Bella with a small smile and half a glance at Edward. "We don't bite."

Christie gave her a laugh that was half frightened and half amused. "That's not what I'm afraid of," she muttered.

"Seth won't let you hurt us," said Edward.

"Neither will I," I promised her.

"Nor I," said Olivia unexpectedly.

I turned to stare at her, but she only gazed sympathetically at Christie.

"Come on," said Seth, pulling Christie into the house. "He's got a grand piano in here. And you should hear him play!"

Christie grinned as she caught sight of the piano and when she glanced back at Edward, both Seth and I knew that Edward had already won her over.