Hey, to everyone bothering to read this *laughs* sorry for the long hiatus, haven't been able to get down to this. Oh, and I won't be updating for a few weeks. Exams. :/ So anyway. Ta-dah.

CHAPTER TEN:

Vivian could hear sounds of pursuit behind her, crashing through the undergrowth. It was big, whatever it was. It smelt strongly of rage, of wolf, and of boy. But it wasn't loup-garou . The creature was unbelievably fast, and although Vivian herself was of wolf-kind, it was fast catching up to her. She eyed the trees, and made her decision. She ran up the trunk of a tree, grabbed onto a low-hanging branch, and swung herself up. She crouched there in wait. Then she heard a snuffling sound, which stopped after a while. Her breathing even, she scanned her surroundings warily. And then – in a heartbeat, surprisingly silent, it appeared beneath her tree. It was a monstrous russet wolf, bigger than any wolf Vivian had ever seen.

"Impossible," she gasped. The wolf's head jerked up. It went rigid, ears pricking up. It had heard her. Vivian shrank back against the tree, melting into the shadows. The wolf started to circle the tree, sniffing its roots. A breeze gently caressed the tree tops. The wolf stopped. Vivian cursed her luck silently. It had caught her scent...

A howl sounded, not far off. The wolf shifted its attention to the howl. Where are you? It sounded angry. The wolf beneath Vivian's tree lifted its head to howl back. I am here. I am coming. And with that, the wolf made its way through the trees.

It was sunset before Vivian got out of her tree, shaken by what she had seen. She managed to stumble back to Charlie and Bella's house, where Aiden was waiting on the porch. At the sight of her, Aiden jumped up.

"Vivian! I – Vivian?"

"I'm okay."

Aiden stared at her. Her clothes were rumpled, and her hair was messy. She looked unusually out of breath.

"What happened?"

The front door opened, and Bella stepped out.

"Hey guys, you ready to go?" she chirped, a little too enthusiastically. Aiden and Vivian glanced at each other.

"Go?"

"Yeah...to dinner?"

They gave her blank looks.

"Oh... I forgot to tell you, didn't I."

They nodded.

"Oh. Well. Sorry about that. Um. Edward invited you guys to dinner at his house. As a sort of...welcoming dinner. Thing."

Bella looked vaguely hopeful, and Vivian wondered if she was hoping for them to accept or decline the invitation. She exchanged glances with Aiden.

"I'm fine with it if you are," Aiden said to her quietly. Vivian nodded.

"Dinner sounds great."

The Cullen house was beautiful, like something out of a storybook. But as soon as Vivian stepped out of the Chevy, the alien smell rushed at her, overwhelming her senses with its acidity. Her hand found Aiden's, and she squeezed it, comforted by his presence. Aiden kissed the top of her head and smiled reassuringly at her. The door was opened by a tall, pale boy with bronze-coloured hair and inhumanly beautiful features. Vivian stiffened. The alien scent rolled off him in great waves. He smelt dangerous.

"Hello, Edward," Aiden greeted the boy genially. The boy inclined his head graciously in reply, a gesture Vivian found unsettlingly old-fashioned, but somehow fitting on this strange boy.

"Good evening, Aiden."

Even his reply sounded like it came right out of Victorian London, complete with "care for a cup of tea?"s and whatnot. Edward shifted his cold gaze to Vivian, and she felt a shiver run through her body, giving her the sense of being x-rayed.

"And this must be...?"

"Vivian."

"Charmed." He smiled crookedly. Vivian held his gaze firmly. To the humans, it looked like they were having a staring contest. Then another pale, beautiful person flung herself at Bella enthusiastically, breaking the awkward silence.

"Hey, Alice," Bella smiled. Alice detached herself from Bella to give Vivian a welcome kiss on the cheek and a warm handshake to Aiden.

"Welcome, Vivian and Aiden! Any friend of Bella's is a friend of ours!" she beamed.