Chapter Ten: The Stranger
Mason (POV)
"You may never understand
How the stranger is inspired
But he isn't always evil
And he is not always wrong
Though you drown in good intentions
You will never quench the fire
You'll give in to your desire
When the stranger comes along" - Billy Joel
Their house was lovely, well maintained and clearly a home. All the residents were gathered in the front sitting room listening to a gloriously composed piece of music played by someone who had more experience on the instrument than most mortals could dream. Then there was some commotion, someone had a vision… Alice. They knew I was coming and when.
"How wonderful." I whispered to myself as I closed the last few feet to their door.
I knocked firmly and when the door opened, I found myself confronted with a truly unusual sight, six mature vampires and a newborn all clean and dressed in fine clothes. Their expressions were curious yet guarded. The leader was at the center, but they didn't seem to be deferring to him as their absolute ruler. Best of all, beyond the newborn, they all had the eye color that marked them as abstaining from human blood.
"Good Evening. I imagine coming here is both random and unexpected. I am new to the area and I would like to introduce myself. My name is Mason, and it is a great pleasure to meet all of you." I bowed my head slightly in respect, and then examined each of their faces as I waited for a reaction, finally lingering on the face of the newborn, who surprising looked familiar.
"Why are you staring at her?" The bronze haired boy looked said somewhat defensively of his obvious mate. His posture and position partially in front of her made it obvious. While jealousy and affection in our kind was common, any form of protectiveness was unusual.
"My apologies, I was just observing that she is the young woman I read about this morning. You are Isabella Swan?" All of them seemed momentarily agitated so I thought I would put their minds at ease.
"I have no intention of making an issue of it; I was only making an observation. At the very least I didn't mean to sound accusatory. I would very much like to start on the preverbal right foot, especially since there is no need to defend an induction. May I come in and get to know you better?" Nervous and antiquated, I knew I should've practiced my introduction.
"Please excuse my manners, come in Mason." The blonde man in the center of his coven continued to act as their leader, or possibly the patriarch. They nearly all had his scent, perhaps all of them were his children. Save one exception, the small dark-haired woman. Yet even she seemed to be a firm part of this coven. Her story was something I knew I would want to investigate at some point down the road.
"You must be Carlisle?" I guessed from the rumors that drew me to this town in the first place. His pleasant face hardened slightly, and I could see he was trying to make a connection that wasn't there. I was ahead of my plan again, and I had to be careful not to reveal too much about myself, even though for some reason I felt safe with them.
"I believe we have a mutual acquaintance." I explained easily, while true it was touch misleading.
"Do we? Who might that be, and I'm assuming they told you about me? Would you care to enlighten us as to what they said?" He tried to be friendly, but his expression was still too hard.
"Aro. I must say you have amassed quite a coven here Carlisle. Aro is right to be impressed with you. In truth, we haven't spoken for centuries. I heard that you were beautiful and compassionate, and refused to give into the impulses of our kind." Dredging up Aro was painful, but necessary. It was impossible to think of my son in any positive way after his betrayal. Yet this Carlisle could be the salvation I had been searching for.
"This is not my coven; they are my family." He paused and looked back at all of them before continuing. He had let me into the foyer, and then led me into the living area. But he stayed between me and his coven, his emotional connection to them was almost physical. Family did seem like a proper description, but I had to be sure.
"You know Aro?" His question seemed almost accusatory, and I couldn't blame him. Aro was likely the most famous of all vampires in the world, save for Caius, Marcus, Alec and Jane.
"He was important to me once. Although not anymore, I don't hold the same values as the Volturi, and I despise their methods." Carlisle nodded at me in agreement, and then his face soured as he puzzled over my statement.
"We have been miserable hosts, please sit. We are all greatly intrigued by you." The woman standing by him said offering me a chair. Yet they didn't seem surprised by my visit. I took a seat in one of the stand-alone chairs which proved to be quite comfortable. Then I positioned myself so that none of them were behind me. Wary of an ambush or an attack, I extended my powers to search their intent, emotions, and gifts if any.
Much to my surprise, the first thing to hit me was a wave of goodness; there was no ill intent in any of their hearts. I let down my guard a little and sighed. But what impressed me more than their intentions, were their gifts. This family was extremely special. The Bronze haired boy had telepathy, and I could see in his mannerism he was using some form of physical language to speak to Carlisle. The smaller woman was the precognitive Alice, and the newborn Isabella had the most powerful mental shield I had ever seen. Yet, the latent powers of the rest of them also sparked my interest.
"Thank you, I haven't been around those I would consider kindred spirits in a long time." I gave them all a wide thankful smile and Carlisle nodded; the rest of the family separated out into distinct groups. Four pairing off as obvious couples, and three lingering near one another, but not tangled around each other. I glanced at the trio, the bronze haired boy, the tiny black-haired woman, and the newborn. All three gifted. Yet there was something more, and I had to know why this family was so different. So reluctantly I tapped into the power of the telepath to get an impression of this... family.
"Aro never spoke of him. I wonder who he is." Carlisle pondered.
"Why is he so different?" The large one, Emmett, thought, "I wonder if I could take him if I needed to?"
"He is exactly like I saw him; I hope he's a friend." The tiny dark-haired girl pondered, as she examined me thoughtfully.
"His mind is blocked, why can't I read him? First Bella and now… am I losing my gift." The copper haired boy questioned; his troubles came through in his dower expression. When I tried to focus on her I found out how powerful her shield was, and it nearly physically hurt when my mind bounced off it.
"Carlisle seems to like him, as long as he doesn't hurt my children, I can accept him." The slightly older woman, Esme, was obviously the mother figure, and the emotions she expressed suddenly made me realize the true difference between this family and other coven. It was real love, not obsession or false affection, or even jealousy painted as love. Most of the time, the darks shades of emotions lingered from the remnants of our humanity. Those vestigial impulses carved deeply into the core of our kind. But this love they had for each other was full, vibrant, and powerful. Their bond was very much one of a true family. Still, as I felt myself take a deep sigh of relief, and draw my power from the telepath, I caught a stray thought from the beautiful blonde.
"First Bella, then Carlisle drops a bomb about the wolves threatening her, and now this stranger, what else are we going to have to deal with?" She seemed shallow even to the telepath, but I could tell she held a deep well of compassion for those around her.
Involuntarily I went stiff, by the off-handed way she tossed about the idea of werewolves in the area. I felt sick, and although I had already crossed too many lines, there was little choice I had to know more about these beasts. I searched the all their memories in an attempt to glean what information I could about these wolves. Eventually I stumbled upon the truth in the mind of the telepath.
The wolves were all part of a tribe called the Quileute, that made their home near the ocean. But unlike Cain and the rest of his kind, these wolves derived their power from a form of ancient ancestry magic. No infection turned them into monsters. These were noble beasts, and it seemed their only goal was to protect their people. If I had encountered them alone, I would've hidden myself, now I was almost intrigued and determined to meet them.
Then I noticed a deep underlying concern attached to these wolves. It was linked entirely to Bella, and her recent change. Digging deeper I found that their treaty stipulated that no human could be bitten by Carlisle's family. Not needing anything more, and already feeling guilty for pushing that far, I withdrew from the telepath's mind, and relinquished any control I had over his power.
"May I ask how long that has been since you've been around, kindred spirits?" Carlisle broke the short silence, nearly startling me. I smiled at him and thought about his question before continuing.
"Quite some time. I would prefer not to elaborate just yet; I don't like to dwell too much on my past. The memories are not pleasant for me." I smiled weakly and looked down at my hands. I could almost see the blood on them, centuries later and I could almost smell it.
"That's fair, I've had my share of painful memories." I could tell by the tone of his voice that he really did understand my feelings. I raised my eyes to meet his and felt a connection to him. This place was more than familiar, in a strange way it had the feeling of home. Which was something I hadn't felt since Samantha's death. I needed to change the subject, so I forced it by bringing up a concern.
"You are all unique. I have never met a family like yours before. Even my own coven wasn't so close. I envy you in a way. You must be very tempting to the Volturi, because you are all so special. But I must ask the rest of you, is this a choice that each of you made? Or was the idea of forgoing your natural instincts an involuntary one? Has Carlisle influenced your feeding habits by force or coercion?" Carlisle seemed mortified which answered my question without words. But each member of his family stepped forward in protest.
"He would never! Carlisle isn't like that!" Emmett brash in his defense of his father spoke volumes about their connection.
"Emmett's right, we were all given a choice. And we all chose this lifestyle." Esme said defending her mate and this family fervently.
"What about that young one?" I glanced at Bella. She raised an eyebrow and stepped forward.
"I already made the choice, and Carlisle never suggested it was anything but mine to make. Even without their influence I would never purposefully hurt anyone. If you're going to make accusations, then you should probably leave." She looked to the faces of her family for reassurance, and they all looked at her with pride. They were all so young, and so passionate. I felt an odd yet deep desire, no it was almost a painful need, to join this family. They were everything that I had spent ages in search of.
"It was never my intention to accuse, only to acquire information. You see, I can't stand by if a leader forces his people to do his bidding. No matter if their intentions are noble, choice is an absolute requirement to this existence. It is something I have fought for, in fact it's almost my raison d'être." My voice had turned solemn and serious.
"I think I understand. You're an ancient, aren't you?" Carlisle nodded, and I smiled at his intuition, even though it was far too perceptive, I would need to be careful how much I told them.
"That is very perceptive Carlisle. If I may ask, would you introduce me to your family? I would very much like to meet them." I said choosing my words carefully, changing the subject.
"Very well, however, we would like to know more about you. Would you be willing to explain yourself a little, any information would be appreciated." I nodded slightly, and then he continued. "This is my wife Esme." His mate stepped up and wrapped a protective arm around Carlisle's waist.
"And this is my first son Edward." The telepathic nodded politely, although his gaze on me still intense.
"I'm Emmett, and this is my wife Rosalie." He pulled the beautiful blonde into his arms, and she immediately rolled her eyes at him before turning and kissing him on the cheek.
"And I'm Alice, and this is Bella." Alice danced forward and held out a steady hand to me. I shook her hand and smiled at her kindly. She broke contact politely and quickly returned Bella's side. Bella gave me a terse smile but didn't relax all.
"It is a great pleasure to meet all of you. I guess I should explain my visit. But first, at your request, I'll explain myself a little. I apologize if I was evasive before, but I am more than acquainted with Aro. He is, in fact, my blood." I waited for their reactions. They seemed to take the information in stride, but their reserved expressions made me think they were repressing shock. Carlisle spoke up after a couple of seconds.
"I've never heard of one of our kind being so old. You don't look like an ancient. In fact, you don't even look like one of us." His question had merit and deserved an answer. But I wasn't sure how much to tell them. So, I nodded at him and thought about it carefully.
"I know I look quite a bit different from others who have reached a substantial age. But I attribute that to the fact that for a vast majority of my life I have feed exclusively off the blood of animals. My eyes, well that is a particular talent of mine, and it would difficult to explain in full." I flashed my external power briefly revealing my golden eyes. They all looked contented and a little startled.
"That is some trick." Carlisle looked at me thoughtfully but still apprehensive, I wasn't going to win them over in an evening.
"That was merely an extension of my gift. I don't mean to put you ill at ease. I am here for one reason, to find a place of peace. I wish to live in this area perhaps permanently, and I need your blessing before settling in. In time I promise, when trust is gained on both sides, I will tell you my life story." I spoke from the heart and hoped that they understood my concerns and desires.
"Well then," Carlisle looked quickly around the room meeting the eyes of each of his family. They all gave him an unspoken look. It wasn't hard to grasp that they were voting. It was a nice conformation, to see that he wasn't their ruler at all. Even Bella seemed to understand and vote. "I see no reason to say no, you are welcome to make your home here Mason. I hope to get to know you better."
"Thank you for your gracious hospitality." I stood and walked casually over to Carlisle who had never sat down. He held out a hand, and I clasped it firmly. Then in a moment of monumental importance for me, he shook my hand cementing his acceptance.
Author's Note: I will reveal more about the character in future chapters, there is a lot. From his powers to his former coven, I will go into it all.
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Thank you for reading!
