Note: Sorry for the long wait, but I have a new parttime job and we've had good weather, so I was outside more.

On the upside (or not), I got you a big chapter to read. It got away from me a bit, but I hope you like it. (it's like with the other Blonde)

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Timeline: Somewhere in October – November 2009. Just after Nick and Anoushka arrived at the Cullen house. Alistair is travelling for now, Fred hasn't arrived yet.

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Music:

Venus – Shocking Blue (old Dutch group)

Use somebody – Kings of Leon

Talking to the moon – Bruno Mars (I want to howl, listening to this song)

Radar Love – Golden Earring

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Chapter 34: Tanya – Longing

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Life had been okay, though I often felt lonely, being the only one without a partner. It was especially hard when the others indulged themselves in some loving. I left the house then and sought out a bar or club to get some human male attention. It was easy, with my looks, but hardly satisfying.

When they weren't drunk, I'd talk a bit and flirt, maybe share a kiss, if I really liked him, however I'd stop it there. The days where me and my sisters took some home were gone. It seemed wrong now somehow. So, a night out often ended with a hunt by myself. Very boring. Luckily we could count on visitors from time to time.

Right now we had some staying for an extended period. The reason why was very bad, but I welcomed it. A lot had been going on because of those ratchet Italian bastards. Gave us much to discuss. Stephan and Vladimir talked at length about the war they fought against the Volturi. They were eager to fight and challenged Benjamin to give them all he's got.

Quite entertaining to watch rocks fly and see the Romanians buried ten feet in snow and stuff. Our young Egyptian lacked a little in his control of fire. I guess he feared it a bit, as his best asset was also a danger to himself. He needed training and of course Alice saw that. This lead to an interesting phone-call with Carlisle. The Cullen house was packed with guests, some of which I could hear in the background.

"Goodmorning Carlisle, I said picking up on the first ring, how are you?" "Busy, he answered with a little sarcasm, as you can hear." The voice of a boy or young man came through behind the doctor. It sounded like Seth, one of the wolves, who was protesting about someone leaving. I smiled; we liked him. Esme asked Seth and some girl to quiet it down. "What's the reason of your call?" I inquired next.

"Well, Carlisle started, Alice had a vision of Benjamin." "Ah, yes, I cut in, he could use some help." "Indeed, he replied, and we have our new family member who can do that." Hmm, I remember him mentioning her when the Volturi last threatened us. "You're talking about May, right?" I asked.

"Yes, he said, she's gifted and has been a great support to others who also have an ability." - "What is it exactly she can do?" I wanted to know. "Ah, he answered in a teasing voice, that's a surprise, Eleazar will be the one to tell you." I let out a frustrated sigh. "Damn Carlisle, you're making me very curious." He chuckled.

Again I heard voices in the background, getting louder. The girl, who I was thinking might be May, was explaining to Seth that he had to stay because of school. He didn't like the fact that she thought of bringing some other guy along. I wondered what that was all about. "Carlisle, I asked, who's arguing with Seth and why?" He let out a breath and responded.

"That's May, as you might have guessed, she and Seth are pretty close, so he's already missing her before she even left." The way he said that, I wanted to know what he meant exactly, but didn't ask. There would be plenty of time to question May once she got here. Meanwhile Carlisle had continued; "May won't be coming alone, Jasper will join her and possibly an acquaintance of our youngest daughter too."

"He's the first vampire she met after being turned." Like us, he's a vegetarian now." Carlisle added a bit more information to that last sentence, so I could understand. Which did not include the guy's name. Well, that's interesting, I hoped I'd get to meet this man. We ended our conversation with some chit-chat.

The next day we were all standing in front of our house waiting for them to arrive. Curiosity reigned, as I had told them about Carlisle's call. A midnight blue Mustang pulled up, looking good in it's fully restored state. The paintjob it got was very unusual with the wolves and made it stand out in a crowd. I wondered who's car it was, it didn't fit Jasper's personality, so was it May's?

The drivers door opened and Jasper got out. He was dressed in nice black jeans, a shirt and v-sweater, topped off with wool coat. Right after him, from the backseat, a girl with dark-brown curly hair follows. This must be Timmain or May. She looked confident, able to handle herself, dressed in leather.

Brown pants and a black jacket, with a royal blue cashmere sweater underneath. "Hello Tanya, Jasper started, Kate, Garret, Eleazar, Carmen." He acknowledged all of us one by one. "This is May, he continued, looking at the girl, as you might've guessed." Our newest family member, though it feels she's been with us longer than almost three years." I could see him grinning at her and she smiled back generously.

"It's nice meeting you all," she said with a melodious accent while nodding slowly. "We brought one more guest, if you don't mind," she added. The passenger door opened and a gorgeous man got out, just my type. My eyes automatically locked onto him, checked him over. His seemed to do the same to me. I barely registered May's other words. "I thought it would be a great idea to bring him along, don't know why, call it instinct."

Oh, don't worry girl, I thought, you were right, good instincts. Looking at him, I started with his black boots, his grey-washed jeans (tight fitting), charcoal coat and white turtleneck. His face was set on strong shoulders, matching his chiselled jaw, nice lips with charming smile and admiring gleam in his golden eyes.

I finished with his blonde, curly hair, which had sun-kissed highlights. He could've walked right out of an add. And right to me, reaching out with his hand. I shook it lightly as I came out of my light daze. "Hello beautiful Tanya, he greeted me, lifting our hands, my name is Nicolas Romanov, but call me Nick." It's a great pleasure meeting you," he added before kissing my hand.

Damn, the charms of this man. If I were human I might've blushed. Argh! Not something I wanted to happen. I was in charge here, I was the predator, the one dazzling men and not the other way around! Regaining my composure I responded to his statement. "Nice to meet you too Nick, I said, you must be the vampire who explained everything to May." Carlisle told me about you briefly." He nodded and let go of my hand.

"Well, come in you three, I continued, let's talk." We went into our big 'log cabin'-like house. The main area had kind of a den, a place where we could sit around in a circle. I loved that, especially right now, with guests, plenty of room. When we were all settled, I asked May to give us her brief life story, up until she met Nick. To say her tale shocked us was an understatement. The blatant neglect of her creator was awful. Stephan immediately stated that this wasn't an accident, but a deliberate act. May frowned and said Nick had come to the same conclusion. 'Hansom' confirmed with a nod.

After this the newest Cullen member decided to wrap up that part of her history. "I'm glad my creator never found me, she grumbled, and I hope he or she never does, because they'll be sorry for crossing me, as I will demand answers." Hmm, a touchy subject it seems, but understandable. Next up was Nick, he filled us in up until the same moment in time. Hah, he was like me and my sisters, a male version. A womanizer. Fitting I guess, with his looks.

Also, like me, he was never really interested in 'dating' other vampires. Though he confessed that May had left quite an impression. "You changed my life, curly, he explained while looking at her, you introducing seals made things so much easier." She smiled and then scowled at him.

"I'm glad they helped, she said, but ehm, don't call me 'curly', please."A cheeky grin spread across his face. "Okay, he said, I won't do that again, kitty." Oh, this guy's a tease and looking for trouble. May narrowed her eyes and glared in warning. "Oh, sorry, he chided, not liking that either, huh, sugar." Jasper rolled his eyes and muttered; "Oh boy, you've gone too far …."

We didn't know it yet, but we were in for a demonstration of May's gift. She flashed towards Kate, who was sitting next to 'mister smarty-pants'. I was on his other side and decided to move away a bit. May touched Kate's hand with her left one and then pressed her right to Nick's forehead for a split second. He trembled, receiving an electric shock and fell on his back. May smirked and was in her seat again before he recovered.

Kate was surprised and amused, her eyes lighting up. "You're a feisty one cousin, she commented, I like that." "Thanks," was her simple reply. Our other guests chuckled softly. Nick was stunned and annoyed. "That wasn't funny!" he pouted. "Awh, I teased, yes it was, puppy-dog." Jasper and Carmen burst out laughing at my little nickname. My coven stared at our major, we've never seen him do that, letting go, so relaxed.

"Well, Eleazar said, I guess I don't have to explain that part of her gift anymore, huh." Garret raised his hand; "Ehm, I'd still like a full description here, if you don't mind." Several more nodded in agreement.

"Alright, he said, as you could see, our new cousin was able to copy Kate's ability, by touching her." As far as I can tell, she can do that with any gift, as long as there is skin-contact." He looked at May for confirmation and got it. "Interesting …, Vladimir stated, and what is the other part you mentioned being there?" "Oh, yes, Eleazar responded, now that's even more unusual."

"It has to do with energy, just as the copying part has I think, but is more of a direct result of her abilities as a human." He paused, taking in a breath. "Dear Timmain here can heal wounds, injuries, new and old." Jaws dropped, including mine, though not Nick's. Or Jasper's of course. Wow, this was such a weird thing for a vampire. So counterproductive.

"You knew about this, didn't you?" I asked 'hansom'. "Yes, he replied calmly, I met Anoushka, May's second vampire acquaintance, who had seen her use it first hand." She and I came to America together."

This bit of information got our cousin talking again, she told us the rest of what happened after she met Nick. Up until Esme asking her to stay. Jeez, if it wasn't for the fact that she was so young still, new to this life, she could've been like the Amazons. Garret, he liked this story, he saw a challenge, clearly, there was a gleam in his eye. "Girl, he beamed, that is some story, you've definitely walked on the wild side."

"And, you're the one who got Emmet to stop hunting grizzlies, right?" May's eyes widened. "Yeah, he told me that, Garret added, in an evasive way, as we talked on the phone." My sister's mate grinned like the Cheshire cat. "He lost some bet, huh?" And you're wolf-girl." She smiled wide at the memory.

"Yes, we made a bet that first week after I arrived," she replied. "We had a fighting match and I won." Now it was Garret's turn to be surprised, his eyebrows shot up. "Oh, don't get too exited, she continued, it was only because his strength also being a gift." "Really?" Eleazar cut in. "Yes, she said, to me it is." And another conversation was sparked.

May's certainly something else. A great addition to the family. Jasper's stories of the things she's done made it clear, they're happy to have her. Everyone gained something out of their relationship with her. Our empath had more control, which he demonstrated on our tour through the extensions to the house. It included a trip to the storage-room for donor-blood. No reaction at all. Cool as a cucumber.

When we finished we stayed outside. Garret and the Romanians wanted to spar with May right away. A very entertaining sight. Every object around got used. Trees and rocks were shattered. Snow flew all over the place as they dive-bombed into the white fluffy crystals dozens of times. In the end, no one won as they were pretty evenly matched.

One difference though, the guys were soaked, where as May was not. She laughed at their faces and dusted the snow off of her. "The benefits of leather clothing, guys," she chided. They went inside to change and clean up. May dried her hair with a towel.

I moved to stand beside her for a girls chat. "So, I asked, why do they call you wolf-girl?" It can't just be because of your past." She smiled gently before replying. "No, it's not just that, though it's probably at the heart of it." You know, I've never seen the Quileute wolves as you do, as enemies." There was an instant connection when I saw them first and they don't smell bad to me either." I arched an eyebrow.

How could she say that? That wet-dog smell was almost worse than skunk-spray. May grinned when she saw my expression. "I know you can't imagine it, just like Rose couldn't," she explained. "She gave me that nickname by the way." But I was used to the canine scent of my Russian pack, so it made me feel at home, in a way."

I sighed and smiled briefly. Her point of view, I just couldn't relate to it. However, I did see Rosy giving her this nickname. "It's such an unusual life you've led, I told her, the restrictions you put on yourself, deliberately, I don't understand." In principal, to me, us, all animals are prey and predators just smell so much better, why wouldn't you hunt them?" You're so much stronger and faster, they're not equals at all."

May let out a long sigh. "Well, she responded, you stopped hunting humans, who are our natural prey and very much inferior too." Why did you do that?" Because you felt bad?" Or because they are thinking, feeling beings?" She gave me a serious look in the eye. "Well, yes, I said, I guess those are the reasons." So, what are you saying, animals are like that too?" If so, what is there left to hunt?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm saying some animals are just one step below humans as far as intellect." Many predators belong to that category." They have to work for their food, think about how they're going to catch it, just like us." And if it wasn't for us vampires, they'd still be at the top of the food-chain."

"Think about it, who hunts cougars, bears and wolves to eat?" No one." Humans only kill them for their pelt, as a prize or because they're dangerous." My mouth had popped open a bit at her speech. She had obviously put much thought in this. And I admit, she has some valid points. A silence was left for a moment. How to respond? Could I swear off predators now? What did she expect from me?

"I understand your reasoning better now," I say, "and well, I'll think about not hunting predators anymore, okay." Her eyes light up; "Really?" I smile; "Yes, we've cut back anyway, I recall now, because you pointed us towards seals." Thanks for that by the way." She nods happily. Easy to please. The more I learn about her, the more I feel we'll get along fine.

"In addition, I comment, I'll tell you we stopped hunting wolves about five years ago." Their numbers were dwindling slightly and since we've met the Quileute bunch, it felt even less right to kill them." Even when Irina wanted revenge when she was alive." My dead heart ached in my chest and I flinched. We didn't always agree with her, but we couldn't help missing her like crazy, every time her name came up.

A comforting hand touched my shoulder and startled me. I had zoned out completely. "I'm sorry, May said, for your loss and making you jump." Turning my head, I saw the gentle look on her face. "Thanks," I breathed. "You're welcome, she replied, but you've got every right to feel sad, … and angry, horrified." I stared. "I've witnessed her death, she clarified, it was the first time I saw somebody die, right before my eyes." And she didn't deserve it."

"I can imagine you want to kill Caius still, he was so cruel." Sadistic bastard!" The memory flashed by in my head and I stopped breathing. Almost three years had passed, which felt like nothing to a vampire's brain. Argh! Then I was crushed into a big hug and hit with a wave of calm. Over May's shoulder I noticed Jasper, giving me a nod. I let out a big breath and sagged against my cousin.

After pulling myself together again, I went to hug Kate and Carmen. Nick came up behind me. "Are you alright?" he asked, his voice soft and sincere. "Yes, I was just overwhelmed when my sister's death came up." He took my hand. "Yeah, I heard something about it through a friend of a friend, of a friend." My condolences, it must've been terrible." I sighed.

"I've also lost someone who was like a brother to me," he went on. "One of the many reasons I want to stand against those Italian rats." The way he said that, I couldn't stop a corner of my lip curling up. "So, I jibed, you can be serious, huh, sometimes." He smiled a little. "Of course, he answered, not everything is fun and jokes, though I try to keep things light."

"Hmhm, I responded, it's good you get that, because we'll kick you right out if you keep on stirring up trouble." He raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Oh, was I doing that?" he quipped, well, tell me then, what do I have to do, to stay out of trouble?" Lifting my hand he was still holding me kissed the back of it. "Is this bad?" he inquired. I shook my head, this guy was too much.

It had gotten dark while we talked and everyone returned outside. We decided to show them all the area we lived in. And did a bit of hunting while we spotted some caribou and a moose. Surprisingly the Romanians joined in on our chase of that last prey. The big bull moose had some major antlers on him and a giant temper.

He knew he was the biggest and toughest male out there, not afraid to challenge anyone. We'd seen this old chap around, he was getting past his prime, though he didn't think so. We had a bit of a soft spot for him and chose to let him be. Strange I realised this now, after what I told May earlier. However, his time had come and we let him go out with pride.

He charged us a dozen times with flared nostrils. Steam coming out in the cold air. Vladimir danced around behind him, staying just out of sight. This irritated the big boy immensely. Stephan darted around in front, almost within reach. In the end he even let himself get caught and tossed in the air.

Laughing loudly he landed in a tree. "An … amusement park ride for vampires!" he exclaimed, quite entertaining, I must say." He checked his clothes for damage. Garret and Kate drained the bull together and gave him a proper burial.

The next day May started with Benjamin's training. At first she got acquainted with his ability a bit, testing the possibilities. She picked up on it so fast, as if she used it herself all the time. The Egyptian was taken aback a little. May noticed and apologised. She asked him questions concerning fire. He explained that he felt it was the most uncontrollable element. "Like it's alive and breathing, he explained, and has a mind of it's own."

May got a thoughtful look on her face after that. "Well, she said, what if you combined it with another element?" It got silent for a few seconds. "You mean I could practise with hot coals for example," Benjamin prompted. "Yes, she replied, or with a candle." They did that and it worked. We were all fascinated to see the flames grow and shrink back down again. The day flew by.

In the evening we talked and watched some movies. Jasper took a call from Alice about something unimportant. May too chatted to someone on the phone. I picked up that it was Seth, before she excused herself to go outside for some privacy. Still I couldn't help overhearing the first part, which left me with questions I wouldn't be able to ask. –

Flashback (-ie): Rring! 'Hello, love,' she answered. "May, I miss you," Seth whimpered. 'Honey, she replied, it's only been a day.' "But it's so quiet and lonely in here, all by myself," he countered. 'You'll be asleep soon, she bounced back, so you won't really notice it.' "Yes, I will … - Then I couldn't hear them anymore, she was out of hearing range.

Ugh, it was wrong to eavesdrop, but my mind only reacted by jumping to one conclusion; they were in a relationship, a romantic one. What to feel about that? Weird, was the first word that came to mind. But that faded quickly. How could this not fit with the unique person she was? Second thought; were they really seriously involved? Or was it puppy-love? I giggled internally at that description.

Hmm, I could see obstacles for two who supposed to be enemies/ were opposites. Ah, the other Cullens must know about it, for sure, so, if they've given them their blessing, I shouldn't be worried. But what if they sent her here to be separated from him? No, when they spoke, they didn't sound like they were forcefully pulled apart. And I also remembered what I overheard with Carlisle. No, I said to myself, don't pry, if she wants to tell us, she will.

The following three days were filled with training, for all of us. We fought one on one and in teams. Without thinking I gravitated to Nick for that. I began to like him more and more, as he showed different sides of himself. He may have been a womanizer, but wasn't disrespectful towards women. He was good at working together, he had my back and was prepared to take a hit for me.

I started to compare him with other men I knew and concluded he was a mix of Garret, Emmet and Jasper. With his whit, jokes and banter, battle knowledge and minor matching scars. Benjamin really improved, shedding his fear. At this moment he had formed a giant ball out of burning coals. It floated in the air as he pressed them tighter together, to make the ball firmer.

Satisfied he let the fire grow slowly until the whole thing was ablaze. Moving it around he asked if anyone wanted to pose as a target. No one reacted, of course. He laughed and hurled it into a lonely tree, which was immediately engulfed in flames. Soon it blackened and fell apart. A flying snowball put an end to the spectacle. The applause that erupted showed how impressed we were. This would be a great weapon. In the den we discussed strategies.

The evenings were always concluded with some fun game or a movie. May however, always had a call, from Seth no doubt. With each passing day though she'd stay out longer and seemed a bit sad when coming back in. Sigh, she missed him too and seemed to be getting a little homesick. After a week she suggested we join her when she meditated. Apparently it was a regular thing she did.

Jasper too, he swore it was very relaxing and energizing all at the same time. "It helped me to focus, he stated, and come up with ideas." So we all sat down on blankets in the snow, in a circle, assuming the lotus-position. The Romanians looked a little sceptical, but went along anyway. May and Jasper touched hands, sending out calming and Zen-like waves. Her voice became soothing and hypnotic.

It was fairly easy to let your mind drift with that kind of help. She asked us to go over everything we could remember. To think of things that were important to us. The people we would be fighting for. Irina popped up straight away. It was painful at first to think of her death, so I switched to when we first met. To the good times we had. Arriving at the moment of our 'mother' Sasha's and baby Vasilii's demise I flinched a second.

I went over the days surrounding that event in detail. It was hard, to recall how out of control things had gotten. And that Sasha wouldn't hear one wrong word about that precious child. Of course we loved him too, but all the killings, the attention he drew, it couldn't go on. I cringed, as I admitted to myself that their death had been the only way for it to end.

Still, the smug faces of Aro, Caius and Jane were uncalled for. They took pleasure in ending lives and I hated them for it, to the deepest corner of my soul. Marcus participated too, but kept a blank face while doing it. Probably because of the bonds he felt. I wondered about his true nature, with a gift like that. Was he really tired of life and all the violence? What did he do every day, besides watching visitors from his throne and feeding.

I couldn't imagine going on like that for centuries. Than, he had no choice, as it was commonly known that Aro kept him bound with the gifts of his guard. Hmm, it would be harder to do now, without Chelsea. What could that mean? Maybe he was finally starting to break free. Curiosity gave me the idea to ask Alice and May for a closer look at the goings on around this king.

We came back to reality and talked a lot, feeling positive. Late, at midnight, I noticed that May hadn't come back in yet, after her phone-call. It had been hours. I opened the front door and found her sitting on the porch. "May, there you are, I said, are you okay?" "Yeah, she replied with a sad tone, I just need some time alone to meditate some more."

I understood why and let her be with the warning I'd be checking up on her later. She nodded. Inside I suddenly had the urge to cuddle up to somebody and went looking for Nick. It was nice, having an arm around me and playing 'twenty questions'. His fingers brushing through my hair felt soothing, wonderful. When we stopped chatting, we just looked at each other.

He cupped my face and asked permission, before gently pressing his lips on mine. The kiss was sweet and loving. I needed that and his shoulder to lean on. The comfort of having someone close. To know you're not alone. He seemed to feel the same way and didn't press for more.

At one point I saw light coming through the windows, very faint. Was it dawn already? I glanced at the clock. Yes, oh, I jumped up and rushed to the door, ripping it open. "May, I exclaimed, what are you still doing out here?" I shook her shoulder and got no response. She felt weird, so solid. I kneeled down to look into her eyes. They were half closed and lifeless.

I grabbed both her shoulders firmly now and shook her harder. Still nothing. Her body wobbled stiffly, like a statue, it freaked me out. The others came to investigate my noise. "What's going on, Tanya?" Eleazar asked. I explained how she'd been here since last night and wouldn't wake up. "This is freaking me out, I said anxiously, something is wrong." Where is Jasper, maybe he knows what to do." Silence.

Carmen spoke up; "Ehm, he went with the Romanians who wanted to hunt." I gave her a 'what?!'- look. Didn't we have donor-blood? She sighed; "They were getting bored, with the bags and sitting around." I rolled my eyes. "Jasper went along to guide them in choosing a victim, she explained, he doesn't like it anymore than we do." Taking a breath, I said 'okay' and questioned what to do next when the phone in my pocket started buzzing.

I swiftly got it out and heard Alice on the other end. "Tanya, I've seen what happened just now and we think we know what's going on." I frowned; "What do you mean, you think?!" "Well, she answered hesitantly, to do what we think she did, she usually needed help." I had no idea what she meant. In the background I could hear panting and the faint sound of somebody moving, pacing.

"You're not making any sense," I said, my volume going up, but let's just assume she did what you think she did." I want to know what we can do to fix it, make her come back to us." Alice sighed; "There's nothing you can do but wait." "What?!" I shouted, staring at the phone. "Give her to me," Edward said softly. He took over, though not giving any reassurance.

"Is there a wolf-pack in the immediate area?" he questioned. "Huh, I replied, why is that important?" "I'll tell you in a second, he said a little annoyed, just answer my question." I opened my mouth as howl came from the north. "Well, I said, as you can hear, the answer is yes, there's a small pack nearby." "Well, he continued, that howl sounded like a distress-call and May might have reacted to another one earlier."

Still not making any sense, I thought. "Reacted how?" I demanded. "I'm not sure, he said, but I think she made contact with them with her spirit." Not sure why either, but we'll figure that out." How could he stay so calm? "So you're saying her spirit left her body or something?" I questioned. "Yes," he stated. There was a pause before he spoke to somebody else.

'You think so too?' he asked. No one spoke back aloud, so mindreading was involved. 'Can you hear her?' Again silence. 'No …, guess she's too far away then.' What? Oh, she might try and lead them away from danger.' Yes, I'll tell them to look.' Ugh, these kind of one-sided conversations were so annoying! I could never get used it. Luckily Edward started talking to me again.

"Seth is here beside me, he explained, in his wolf-form." Normally, when she's outside her body, she's connected to the collected mind of Jake's pack." Right now, however, she's too far away for them to hear her." The limit is about 300 miles." He waited for me to absorb this information and maybe react.

All I could think was; alright, interesting, this girl has many talents. "Okay, I murmured, go on." "Well, he continued, when she's making contact like this, she's also able to kind of persuade animals to do things." One or more wolves might be coming in your direction." My eyes widened in surprise. "Really? I asked a bit sarcastic, she's like a ghost dog-whisperer?" Edward chuckled and said that sounded right.

So, we started looking around and listened for a tell tale noise. Unthinkingly we walked a few hundred yards away from the house, in different directions. Twenty minutes or so passed before I spotted movement and heard one heart beating. In the distance a wolf was running in our direction. A female I think. It's coat was a mix of pale gray and brown. To human eyes she looked white, like the snow.

Her eyes had a caramel colour with flecks of yellow. When she was close enough to see us, she slowed down, panting, her tongue hanging out. At about fifty yards she stopped moving completely. Unsure about being here, her ears twitched back and forth, her tail swishing softly. What now? I took a step forward in her direction, carefully. She stayed where she was, watching me intently.

There was something in her eyes, like she was more than an animal. I lowered myself into a crouch to be at her level. Holding my breath I stretched out my arm. She lowered her head and sniffed to get a whiff of me. Her nose wiggled adorably. Strange to think that … and a human memory flashed through my head.

My family had dogs? The image I saw suggested it. We bread them on occasion, I recalled petting puppies. Baffled, I sucked in some air and blinked. Returning my attention to the creature in front of me, I noticed she had crept a little closer.

'Tanya …, Edward whispered, put the phone down on the ground and on speaker.' I totally forgot having the device on as I had stuffed in my front pocket. Mindlessly I did as he asked, though I didn't know why. 'Now move back a bit,' he continued. 'May, he called softly, are you there?' Give us a sign.' Can you return to your body?' I glanced over my shoulder to see my family and guests.

Carmen and Eleazar had moved back to May's frozen form. Looking concerned, they switched their attention to me and back to her. The others were half way between me and the house, silently watching without breathing. I turned back hearing a loud whine coming through from the phone. The 'white' wolf walked over to it, listening.

She whined too a second before throwing her head back, a loud, long howl erupting from her mouth. It made me feel choked up, because there was a longing in it and a sense of loss. I plugged my ears as a similar howl came through from Seattle in response. Then they stopped and the wolf sat down on her haunches calmly. This was followed by a slight rush of air and a light popping sound behind me. Plus a startled cry from the porch.

We all spun around to see May moving again, flexing her muscles. She got up quite smoothly. "I'm sorry everybody, she said, for scaring you." I will explain in a moment." Walking at a fast human pace, she was in front of the wolf quickly. Kneeling down, she stroked it's head three times and asked it to wait. The animal wagged it's tail up and down in the snow.

May came to me and motioned the rest to join us. She took a breath to begin talking. "Last night I was thinking about the person who is most important in my life, really important, the one I can't do without." Soon I concluded that it was Seth." That earned her some surprised stares. She didn't react to them and went on. "I miss him badly, even if it's only been a week and I phone him every night." Her eyes said it all.

"I want to touch him, hold him, so I subconsciously tried to reach out to him with my mind." Tapping into the feeling of our mental connection." And then she howled …." May marked the wolf. "Next thing I know I'm flying, I'm outside my body." Without thinking I followed the sound of her voice." Something drew me to her." I'm not sure how to explain it, but she's kind of my animal soulmate." And she needed me."

May paused to check our reaction. Nick was shaking his head. "You are really something else, girl," he commented, what more can I say." He grinned. "I second that, Garret cut in, with you around it's never boring." Kate sighed; I can't follow your line of thinking, but I won't judge you." I like you." Our cousin smiled. "You keep on teaching us things, Benjamin said, unbelievable." "I don't know what to make of all this," was my reaction.

Carmen was last, she touched May's shoulder. "So, what happens now?" she asked. "You want to go home?" May nodded. "Yes, and I want to take Dani with me." My mouth dropped open. "What, why?" I questioned. "Dani?" Garret cocked an eyebrow. "Her pack is dead, May explained, shot by poachers probably, I couldn't find the bodies." There was a lot of blood."

"Dani, I shortened Denali for her name, had separated from them and was therefore spared their faith." I want to introduce her to a pack back home, which I visit regularly." A lot of questions came after that and May had good answers for all of them.

By the time we were done, Jasper, Vladimir and Stephan had returned. I had retrieved my phone. May had lead the wolf, Dani, out of sight to her car. It was an amazing sight to watch the animal follow her calmly, like a dog. She trusted our cousin completely, so relaxed. Then a shortened version of the whole tale was relayed to Jasper. He seemed only slightly surprised, knowing wolf-girl well.

He had one remark; "How are we going to travel, there isn't enough room in the car?" Nick offered the solution. "I will stay here, he said facing me, if you don't mind, I want to get to know Tanya better." A smile and wink were added. I said I didn't mind. So May shifted the drivers seat and motioned the wolf to get in. She did and laid down on the backseat. Jasper looked a little uncomfortable, getting behind the wheel. But when May touched him, he was okay and they drove off.

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Note:

Hope you weren't too overwhelmed. But this was a vital part of my story, so it had to be told.

Remark: The scene in the movie with the 'pre-battle bonfire' is stupid. Benjamin can't create fire of course, he'd kill himself. He can only manipulate it.(keeping it away from his flamable body)

Oh, as I was researching some music for the battle chapters, I came across stuff to do with wrestling. And I thought of Ulrich, what he would look like. And I found a big guy named Paul Wight. So, if you want to imagine Ulrich, think of him, only with hair on his head.

Last; for the next chapter, I gonna try something new, a 3rd person POV (or outsiders pov, or narrator pov). I feel that's the better choice for what I'm going to write.