A/N: Thank you all for your support and amazing number of views. And to show my appreciation, I'm updating like crazy.

Chapter 10

Several cars waited for them when they exited the forest and on to the road. It seemed that Bella had not been carried as far as she had thought. Bella noted that all the cars that were parked on the road side looked like expensive sports cars. They sure are loaded, she thought as she climbed into the backseat of Alice's canary yellow Porsche. Edward slid in after her and waited for Jasper and Alice to get settled at a human pace.

No one said a word as Alice peeled onto the road, swerving past Carlisle's car. The dense foliage blurred into a wall of green and Bella closed her eyes to keep nausea at bay.

"Are you okay Bella?" Edward asked gently. She shook her head in response without opening her eyes. "Slow down Alice. You're making her dizzy."

The car slowed down a notch, but Bella knew better than to open her eyes. Instead she concentrated on her close proximity to Edward. She inhaled deeply and caught the scent of cinnamon, honey, lilacs and sweet summer day. When the nausea slowly passed, she opened her eyes and gazed down. Her hand was still entwined with Edward's. It was gentle as though he was afraid to crush her bones. It was almost as though she was resting her hand on a marble statue's hand that was perfectly sculpted for her.

Usually she would blush heavily whenever Edward was around, but this seemed natural. It seemed right. There was no embarrassment that usually followed after being in such close proximity to him.

Her eyes flickered to the window when highway signs began to appear. Olympic National Park. The vampire had carried her over 30 miles in a few minutes. She then wondered how fast the Cullens were. Each pair of Cullens seemed to have brought their own vehicle, and she remembered Edward appearing with debris in his hair and clothes. How fast is he? He had appeared before those that drove.

Bella studied him for a moment, before cautiously plucking a leaf out of his windblown hair. He sat frozen, only his eyes followed her movements. Taking that as a good sign, she began to methodically pick out other bits of pine needles.

Jasper let a chuckle rip through the silence, momentarily startling her.

"The look on his face... priceless," Jasper said as he looked in the rear view mirror.

"It's better than the one he had when he found out you were missing," Alice said as she slowly increased the speed. Edward only gave a short growl in response.

Silence blanketed the car again as everyone was lost in their thoughts. After ten minutes had past, Jasper was the one to break it again.

"What were you doing out here? Who took you?" He asked, meeting her eyes in the mirror.

Bella hesitated a moment, unsure how to answer. The truth required mentioning that she knew what they were. But she couldn't think of another way to explain what had taken place. She wasn't even sure what had occurred after the three vampires crowded around her.

"I don't know if the car is the best place to discuss this," Bella shifted her eyes to look at Alice, "I don't really want to die in a car accident when Alice reacts to my explanation." She was met with Alice rolling her eyes. "And I think it's best that everyone was present so I only have to explain once."

"You're right," Jasper nodded.

The remainder of the drive passed quickly when they pulled off highway 101 and took the back roads past the Calawah River. They were the first ones back as the rest seemed to have slightly obeyed the speed limit.

Edward released her hand as he exited the car and looked around the garage. He seemed to sniff the air around him. Bella observed him quietly as she compared him to the three vampires she had met. He was as pale as them, and the green seemed to be fading from his eyes and tinged with red. Now that she knew the true meaning behind red eyes, she could feel fear brewing in the pit of her stomach. Before it could mature, she felt calmer.

"Let's get inside," Jasper held the door open for them.

As though she were in a daze, she followed Alice in and immediately headed up the stairs towards Alice's room out of habit.

"Bella?" Alice called hesitantly.

"Oh right," Bella turned around and walked back down. She wondered what their reaction might be once she admitted to knowing their secret. Would they kill her? She shook her head immediately. Esme wouldn't be able to do it. She trusted Rosalie and Alice enough to believe that they would try to intervene should she be threatened.

Lost in her thoughts, she walked towards the dining room table and pulled out a chair. The wood scrapped loudly against the floor, making her flinch slightly. She placed her elbows on the table and tugged at her hair as she mulled over what she would say.

Several car doors slammed, and within seconds they were seated around the table. Bella looked up in surprise as she noted the absence of noise as they seated themselves. Only Edward was missing, but then she felt something soft being wrapped around her from behind. It was the jacket he had been wearing earlier. Bella froze as she remembered the vampire shredding the back of her hoodie and bandages. Her arms immediately wrapped around herself to pull the jacket even closer.

"I'm so sorry, Bella," Esme began, "I shouldn't have left you alone. I thought I could find him first. I had no idea that-"

"It's okay Esme," Bella said softly, cutting her off. She was trying to think of a way to segue into the more important topic at hand. "So, how did you guys find me?"

"Well, Bella," Carlisle hesitated.

"She already knows. There's no need to dance around the subject," Alice rubbed her temples as though she had a bad migraine.

Bella looked around the table and the various expressions on their faces. They varied from shock and disbelief, to anger. Why is Edward so angry? Shouldn't he be happy that I know their secret and haven't run away screaming?

"What happened today?" Emmett asked.

"Why are your eyes not red?" Bella countered.

"It's a lifestyle choice," Carlisle said.

"It's because we don't feed on humans. Instead we feed on animals. It makes our eyes a golden color," Rosalie explained.

"So no contacts," Bella stated as she let her gaze linger on each one of them.

"Nope," Alice answered, "well except for Edward." Bella looked towards him. The green was completely gone from his eyes, and a reddish-orange color was in its place. When she looked at his face, he seemed so sad and guilty, it hurt her heart. She leaned over the short distance between them and cupped his cheek as he had done before.

-x-

Edward closed his eyes when Bella placed her warm soft hands on his cheek. How he wished he could make the moment last forever. The tingling sensation her touches left were new and exhilarating. If he had not just stated that he was a murdering monster, the moment would have been perfect. He desperately wished his eyes were golden instead of red. Although he had been feeding on animals again the change was slow.

"His name was James. The one that was in the garage," her voice was soft but steady. He snapped his eyes open. Fury began to brew.

"How did you get away?" Carlisle asked and though of various possibilities.

"He was killed. I did catch two other scents that I wasn't familiar with," Jasper added.

"Dead? Who killed him if it wasn't one of us?" Emmett jumped to his feet and knocked the chair over.

"I don't know. It's just blank," Alice frowned. There's just holes everywhere. Edward watched as Alice replayed the memory of her vision back repeatedly, trying to find what was missing.

"You think it was one of them?" Esme wondered.

While his family mulled over the various ideas they had in their minds, Edward watched Bella. Now that she knew what they were, although she had not told them herself, his family dropped their human charade. He watched Bella's reaction to Emmett's sudden movement that would have appeared odd to the human eye when he was sitting one second, and the chair was toppled over in the next. She watched them all carefully as though they were specimens under a microscope. It maddened him to not know what she was thinking.

Bella must have noticed their absolute stillness when they stopped fidgeting like humans altogether. Edward had to admit that for a human, her instincts seemed all wrong. Abet Alice had pursued Bella from the moment she appeared in her vision, but Bella actually trusted them. Most humans shied away from them, sensing that something was off about them. They instinctively kept their distance, as prey would give a large berth to their predators in the wild.

"Wait. What do you mean you didn't see?" Bella asked suddenly. Of course this would not have escaped her. She was unusually astute for a human.

Crap. Alice thought as she tried to come up with an explanation. She watched the outcome of each explanation she came up with and wasn't satisfied.

"I think we'd better start from the beginning," Carlisle said gently as he looked around the table.

"The truth?" She inquired with skepticism in her voice.

"Yes, now that you know that we are vampires," he paused to gauge her reaction having said the word aloud, "there is no need for you to know the public story, although we ask that you tell that story to the public should anyone ask."

Bella nodded solemnly, her eyes wide. Edward couldn't understand how she was taking it all in stride. She actually seemed eager to learn about them instead of being terrified.

They're solidifying, Alice thought happily as she showed him the visions of him and Bella together with crystal clear clarity.

"As you have probably figured out, none of us are related by blood, but by our choice of abstaining from human blood," Carlisle stood up and began to pace at human speed. "I believe that when one becomes a vampire, they bring their strongest traits from their human life. Both physically and mentally."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"For example, take Rosalie for example. She was perhaps the most beautiful girl in Rochester, and when she was turned, she turned exceptionally more beautiful. She is a sight to behold even to our standards."

Edward couldn't help but roll his eyes when his sister caught her reflection on the window and admired herself.

"All vampires are beautiful?" Bella questioned, and her eyes briefly flickered onto Edward's face. If he could still blush, he would have been red to his neck.

"To humans I suppose so. Merely a part in our unnecessarily large arsenal to catch our prey," Edward answered to make it appear as nonchalant as possible.

"So what about mentally?" She asked. He noticed that she intentionally ignored the part about their arsenal to catch their human prey.

"One example would be, our personality. It's frozen in the state that we were transformed in. Our likes, our dislikes, our temperament are set in stone. It takes something quite profound to change us..." Carlisle's eyes flickered to Edward. Like finding your mate.

"Something like love?"

She is really quite observant isn't she? Jasper thought amused. "Why do you ask?"

"It's just the story Esme told me earlier in the day about how you all joined this family at different times, yet I can clearly see you love your partners," Bella blushed heavily and Edward could feel the venom beginning to pool in his mouth.

Careful now, Jasper warned and Edward shot him a look.

"As if I could lay a finger on her after I thought she was dead or being damned to this life for the better part of the day,"Edward growled quickly at his brother, much too fast and low for a human to make out.

"Yes, it's true. Vampires do tend to mate for life," Carlisle chuckled.

"So, no such thing as a divorce with you guys?" Bella asked jokingly.

"You would never want to do such a stupid thing! It's such a stupid modern concept," Emmett scoffed.

"So what was another example?"

"Some have gifts when they're transformed. It's almost like an amplification of a gift they had as humans. It is rare in our world, but it does happen," Carlisle answered.

"Gifts? Like telekineses or 'The Beautiful Mind' type of gift?" Bella began to lean forward as she grew more and more interested.

"I would say more along the lines of telekineses."

Edward watched as Bella seemed to try to process this idea. They were already freaks, and Carlisle was pointing out that even in the vampire world there were freaks. He wondered what her reaction might be, and predicted that she would have the opposite reaction of a normal human, and she didn't disappoint.

"So which one of you is it?" Bella asked genuinely curious and excited. Her body seemed to hum with excitement.

"Jasper was very charismatic when he was human. We think that he may have already been able to influence emotions around him before he was turned. Now he's an empath."

"An empath?"

"He would be able to excite a lethargic crowd, or vice versa. He can manipulate your emotions as well as read your current one," Carlisle grinned as he watched Bella put the pieces together.

"You? Damn it Jasper. I knew those random bouts of calm rolling on me couldn't have been coming from me. I trusted you," Bella glared at Jasper as though he had betrayed her.

"I just didn't want you to have a panic attack Bella," he said gently.

"And Alice can see the future." Bella stated flatly, feeling betrayed by the two that she had first placed her trust, and Alice only nodded. "Anything else?"

"Edward can read minds," Carlisle answered.

"Oh no!" Her mouth fell open in horror.

This is it. This is her breaking point. She's going to run off screaming and want nothing to do with me, Edward thought sadly.

"Can you hear what I'm thinking now?" She asked uncomfortably.

"No," he replied.

What? All of his family members with the exception of Alice were stunned.

Emmett began to laugh, "This is great. The one person that Eddie can't listen in on is Bella. You should play chess with him sometimes. He always cheats."

"So, there's something wrong with my brain?" Her brows were furrowed.

He couldn't help but grin at her assessment. "You find out that I can read minds, and you think there's something wrong with your brain?"

"You can hear what Alice is thinking?"

"Yes."

"Emmett?"

"Yes."

"Carlisle?"

"Yep. You are my only exception," he said before she could continue the list around the whole table.

"Could you hear the thoughts of the other two vamp-" Bella didn't complete her sentence and her eyes grew wide. Edward grew wary, she was keeping something dangerous from him.

"You were taken by three vampires?" Jasper asked incredulously.

"No," she replied hastily.

"Lying won't do you any good, just tell us Bella. Trust us," Jasper said, and Bella glared at him.

Her shoulders slumped as though resigned. After she released a large sigh she began, "James made me walk into the forest, and he was curious about me. Then he told me that you were vampires and called you 'Yellow eyes.' It sounded like he knew about you all, but I didn't believe him at first. It sounded pretty ridiculous. Then this red haired woman and Laurent appear, and he throws me over his shoulder and runs. I mean really runs. Like how Alice was driving," she shot Alice a glare, and Alice grinned sheepishly. "Then they taunt me, telling me you kept me as a taste tester." She hesitated briefly, "then I sort of blacked out, and then there was this fire in front of me and I saw you guys."

Edward could see that she edited her story, but didn't pursue it although he was desperate to learn every detail to track the other two vampires that were still alive.

"The scent that we tracked was definitely on the ashes," Jasper informed.

"Vampires could be killed?" Bella asked alarmed.

Why would she ask that in alarm when it saved her from death, Edward asked himself.

"We're immortal, but yes a sentient being can cease to exist permanently. Our teeth can dismember our kind, and setting the pieces on fire is the only way to truly kill a vampire," Carlisle grimaced.

"So no stakes, holy water, sunlight?"

"All myths my dear," Esme smiled.

"Who killed him then? Why didn't they kill the other two?" Bella pulled the jacket even closer to her, and Edward caught her inhaling deeply. He smiled at her small action.

"We have no idea. There were no other scents. We thought the other two came to your aide and killed James," Jasper frowned. I don't like not knowing. Edward nodded, sharing his brother's sentiments.

"It's going to be sunny tomorrow," Alice announced randomly.

"Yes! Thank you sun for sparing me from monotony of high school," Emmett cried.

"I thought you said sunlight doesn't kill you," Bella looked curiously at them.

"It doesn't kill us, but it does give us away as being inhuman," Rosalie explained.

"Could you show me? Tomorrow?" She asked shyly.

"Yes," Edward answered quickly before anyone else could respond. He was eager to share everything and anything with her. To give everything he had to her.

Down boy, Rosalie thought amused.

That is so cute, Esme grinned.

"Why don't we go picnicking tomorrow?" Esme suggested. Edward flashed to the memory of Alice's vision with them all sitting in the sun with Bella. Could it be that the vision was coming to fruition so quickly? "I'll contact your previous school before we leave and have everything faxed to the school."

"Sounds great," Bella said before breaking into a big yawn.

"You'd better rest up Bella. You've had an... interesting day," Jasper said grinning. The current emotion of the room was light and hopeful and it affected Jasper.

"You guys don't sleep?" She asked as she stood up.

"Nope, not a wink," Alice grinned. "Now let's get you into pajamas." She darted up the stairs at vampire speed, and left Bella bewildered and staring at the empty space that Alice had just occupied.

Without thinking she shrugged off Edward's jacket and handed it back to him. When she sleepily walked towards the stairs, he winced. Her back was left exposed, and although he had seen it through Rosalie's eyes, he felt as though someone punched him in the gut.

Carlisle was at her side in a second before she could realize what happened.

"Bella, what happened to your back? Come we need to wrap those bandages again so you don't scrape those scabs off when you sleep," he led her towards his study. It looks like something a Roman scourge weapon would look like.

Edward could see texts and images about this horrific Roman method of punishment pouring out of Carlisle's mind. The specific weapon Carlisle had in mind was called the "Scorpion" for it's metal hooks on the end of several leather thongs. He shuddered at the images but didn't understand how this would apply to Bella. This form of punishment was reserved for Roman slaves.

When Carlisle had Bella seated in his study, Edward could see through his eyes that 39 gashes marked her flesh. Hebrew law prohibits anything past 40 lashes. But they usually carried out 39 to make sure they never went over, he thought as he methodically dressed her wounds. How odd that someone would know this fact.

Bella's eyes began to droop after Carlisle finished bandaging her. He felt a twinge of jealousy at his father's ease when working with humans. How he could touch her knowing that he would never hurt her, or catch her if she nodded off without fear of bruising her. Before he knew it, Edward walked into Carlisle's study.

You may take her upstairs now son. Carlisle thought before gently shaking her awake.

"Bella? Why don't you go to sleep upstairs in a bed?" He asked.

"'Kay," she mumbled sleepily. Edward's arms twitched with desire to carry her upstairs, but he knew she wouldn't be pleased with his action. Instead he offered to support her up the stairs when she stumbled slightly.

He gently wrapped his arm behind her back and led her out of the study. The potent scent of her blood had him in agony but he kept breathing her scent in, trying to become desensitize to it. It felt as though someone set his throat on fire, but he kept silent.

Jasper appeared at the top of the stairs with a concerned look in his eye. Only Jasper would know how he was truly feeling at the moment. Edward began to see images of Jasper's memories of his life prior to meeting Alice, and he nearly choked. This was a dangerous situation for Bella. Two vampires with the worst track record for feeding on humans, with an incredible thirst.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to think of it," Jasper apologized quickly and began to think about Alice and their anniversary gift, much to Alice's disappointment.

Thanks a lot Edward. He had been so good keeping it from me until now, Alice pouted as she opened her bedroom door. "Come on sleepyhead. Let's get you to bed."

"Thanks," Bella mumbled as she blindly grabbed for the blanket and curled herself into Alice's bed. Edward lingered for a moment by the side of the bed until Alice shoved him out the door.

"You, out. I'm going to dress her in pajamas. You can come back later," she hissed.

Excitement for Bella talking uncensored in her sleep had him brimming with energy. If he was going to spend another night observing her, he would need to hunt immediately. As soon as his foot hit the moist dirt outside, he ran faster than he ever had.

A/N: Sort of short, compared to the last, but Bella has more to process! My brain does as well. I wrote an outline on my phone but have no idea how I'm going to go from point A to point B. I need a beta desperately but I'm scared to go ask for one :X lol some girl at a coffee shop said my bf looked like Rob Pat when he wears my RayBan Wayfarers. I guess that means he needs a new haircut! I don't need my man being ogled! Lol REVIEW!