Corin POV
As we flew home, I watched the woods sail past underneath us. There was an almost endless sea of tall greenery, which made the clearing I saw ahead an oddity, and as we flew over it, I stopped in midair, almost breaking my touch with my angel in the process, which would have been inconvenient for us both. But I focused on the small being in the centre of the large clearing. It was a child, curled into a sobbing ball. And approaching fast, I could see a bear. It smelled wrong, and all I knew in that moment was that I couldn't allow the child to be destroyed, that Allette would be devastated to witness such an event and that I could not live with myself if I allowed that otherwise inevitable conclusion to play out. I dropped fast from Allette's grasp and landed between the bear and the child. By now, the child had uncurled itself and stood shaking in fright behind a rock on the edge of the clearing. I dealt with the bear quickly and drank of it as quickly as possible in order not to allow myself to harm the child in a moment of weakness and not to frighten him either. Allette dropped down beside me and folded her wings behind her before following my lead and draining what was left of the bear before moving its body away from the child's view. I approached the rock where he was hiding slowly as Allette drank, calling out so I wouldn't frighten him any more than I must have already. He tentatively poked his head out from behind the stone barrier, and, seeing that the bear was gone, just as tentatively stepped out to meet his rescuers.
Allette POV
The boy was young, and looked no older than twelve. When he said nothing, I introduced myself and my angel to him, and when I asked his name, he responded, "Jude."
"Where did you come from, Jude?"
"I don't know. It was a long way away, I think. My mother told me to keep going until I found someone who wanted me. She never said where that would be, and until now, I haven't found anyone or anywhere that wanted me. So I kept going, and I ended up here."
I was shocked. He was so small and vulnerable! How could anyone leave him on his own like that? I vowed I would do anything to protect him, and that's when Corin proved how much he and I were in sync in every way.
"Jude, you are most welcome to come home with us. I want to make sure you will be safe. Allette and I will take you with us, and as long as you listen to us, you'll be safe with us for now."
It never occurred to me to keep our abilities hidden from him, though. When I took him on my back and told him to hold on tight before I took off running, he gasped with delight at the speed of our run. Corin ran behind me to keep an eye on our new ward, and within twenty minutes we had reached the road near the house. I still thought I preferred flying. I had to leave Corin with Jude when I went to the house to explain the situation to the Cullens, and it was only then that I realised that this could all end up very, very badly if any one of us lost control.