I don't own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.

Cheryl, Noles, and Gabby, thank you for pre-reading, and April, thank you for editing. Any mistakes left are my own.

Ch. 1

My family and I trekked deep into the Canadian boreal forest. We were far away from civilization. The black and white spruces were tall and thick, untouched by man. I was starting to feel like we were sent on a wild goose chase—and I wasn't the only one.

Rosalie came to a stop and placed her hands on her hips. "Carlisle, this is ridiculous. There's no one out here."

"Plenty of game." Emmett, her mate, licked his lips, and his golden eyes shone as he recalled the grizzly bear he had drained an hour ago.

Carlisle gave Rosalie a patient look. "Just a bit further, Rose. I promised Aro we'd check things out for him."

Carlisle was the leader of our coven. Although, unlike other vampires, we saw each other as family and Carlisle as our father. He was approached by Aro, one of the leaders of the Volturi, to check out an anomaly. Since we didn't want them close to our territory, Carlisle agreed. Still, in the back of my mind, it bothered me that Aro had asked in the first place, rather than having the guard handle it.

"Alice, can you see anything?" Carlisle asked, turning to my seer sister.

Alice closed her eyes, using her talent to search into our future. I was able to see everything she saw with my mind reading. She was getting frustrated when she came up empty—literally.

"What's wrong?" Alice's mate, Jasper, placed his hand on her arm, reading her emotions.

"It's all a void." She opened her eyes, looking worried. "This has never happened to me before. All I can see is us running toward nothing."

"What do you mean nothing?" Emmett frowned.

"It's like a continuous loop—like we're hamsters on a wheel." I was trying to make sense of it myself.

"Carlisle, I don't like this." Esme moved closer to his side, placing a hand on his arm.

As he tried to decide what we should do next, a woman's melodic voice filled the air, and it was accompanied with a heartbeat. The sound was entrancing, and I found myself drawn to it like a moth to a flame.

"Why would a human be all the way out here alone?" Jasper grew leery.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." I took off, running in the direction of the enchanting music.

"Edward, wait!" Alice cried.

She was concerned since she couldn't see the outcome. I was curious myself why I couldn't read the woman's mind. However, it was only one human, and we were a coven of seven, so we had the upper hand.

My family followed behind me, not letting me go forward alone. After several yards, the woods thinned and opened to a clearing. A small cabin sat in the center, with a tiny billow of smoke coming out of the chimney. To the left of the structure was a little garden of herbs and vegetables. Behind it, a clothing line with linens flapping in the breeze. A pond shimmered in the eastern corner of the homestead. I felt like we'd stepped back in time.

The singing was louder now, and I caught the scent of lavender and lilac—it was intoxicating. I was drawn to this female like I had never been before. I was surprised my attraction to her had escaped Jasper's attention.

That's when I realized, I couldn't read his mind—I couldn't read any of them. I caught Jasper's eyes, he looked as unnerved as me. He raised an eyebrow and was trying to communicate with me.

"You can't read my mind, can you," he stated more than asked, after a moment of unsettling silence.

I shook my head. "Are you blocked too?"

He nodded and the rest of my family exchanged nervous glances before turning to Alice. She was standing at the edge of the clearing, looking lost and scared.

"I don't like this. I don't like this at all. We need to leave," Alice whispered anxiously. "Jasper…"

I glanced back at my brother, who had moved further out of the woods to a pile of ash on the ground. He knelt beside it and pinched a bit in his fingers. He frowned and glanced at the house sharply, then moved in a protective crouch in front of Alice.

"That's vampire remains. I'm positive of it," he asserted.

"If that's true, then I agree with Alice." Carlisle frowned. "We need to get out of here."

"Oh, please, it's one little human versus the seven of us. Even if it were Buffy, we'd still come out on top," Emmett scoffed, taking a step forward.

His body jerked to a stop and he couldn't move. Rosalie tried to go to him but found herself frozen too. Emmett growled as he fought with little success. It was then I realized we were all stuck in an apparent spider's web.

"I would say welcome to my home. But that would be a lie."

A beautiful woman appeared in the middle of the field. She was petite with a heart-shaped face and long wavy mahogany hair that danced in the wind. She was wearing an ankle length flowy skirt with a peasant style blouse. She raised off the ground and hovered in the air. Her eyes started to glow a vibrant purple. Whoever she was, she was powerful. She wasn't a vampire nor could she be human.

Yet, I didn't fear her like my family appeared to. She was an enchantress, who was breathtakingly beautiful yet familiar to me. Every fiber of my being wanted to go to her and wrap her in an intimate embrace.

She was mine.

"I don't know who you are or how you're doing this but let us go. Or—" Rosalie hissed.

My anger flared at my self-absorbed sister. I didn't have to read her mind to know she was jealous.

"Or what?" The woman's eyes narrowed. "You came to my home and have the audacity to threaten me? How dare you!"

When her gaze locked with mine, silver cords materialized and wrapped around us, and I felt a stronger pull toward her. The beauty's expression changed from anger to anguish. She landed on her feet and rushed to me. Her now brown eyes filled with tears as she hugged me tightly. My arms were still stuck to my side, but I desperately wanted to hold her in my arms.

"Edward? It is you. How?" She reached out to touch my face. "How are you alive? He told me—"

The enchantress stepped back, and her head snapped to Carlisle. Her expression became murderous, and her eyes flashed back to purple. He was lifted off the ground and was flung through the air. He fell in a lump at her feet.

"You lied to me. You stole my mate!" she screamed, so loud birds flew out of the trees.

"Isabella, I can—" Carlisle stopped short and cried out in pain. He withered on the ground. I watched in shock and confusion.

"Please, stop!" Esme begged.

Isabella glanced at Esme for a moment, then her face softened. She halted her torture on Carlisle and allowed him to stand of his own accord.

"Then explain," Isabella stated. "Explain to me, why did you keep him for yourself? Why doesn't he know me?"

I found myself free from whatever spell that had held me. I also could read minds again. I glanced at my siblings to find they weren't as lucky.

In Carlisle's mind, he pictured her by my bedside at the hospital. She was mopping my brow with a cloth and singing softly to me. The same song that called to me through the woods.

"Carlisle?" I stared at him, perplexed.

He silently apologized to me before facing her. "I'm sorry, Isabella. Truly, I am," he said sincerely. "I believed that you were mortal. It was my first time changing anyone, and I was unfamiliar with how to deal with a newborn vampire. I thought Edward would kill you. I was trying to protect you both. When he woke, he didn't have any memory of you, so I thought what I was doing was right. You were young and healthy. I couldn't reason changing you too. Please, let my family go. Punish me if you wish."

Isabella stared at him, then turned to Esme. For a worried moment, I thought she would hurt her. I could see the anguish in Carlisle's eyes too.

"I won't kill you. I won't do that to your mate. I would never wish the pain I felt for the last century on anyone else," Isabella said heartbrokenly.

Isabella turned to me and grabbed my hands. "I wish you could remember me. Perhaps—" Her eyes glowed lightly and suddenly it was as if dawn was breaking.

I remembered walking Isabella through the park. She held my arm with one hand while licking an ice cream. We were laughing and enjoying a summer's day. I tried to steal a kiss, and she mischievously shoved ice cream in my nose. Then there was another memory in the same park when I got down on one knee on a bridge.

"I used to call you Mía Bella," I recalled.

A breathtaking smile spread across her lips, and she threw her arms around my neck. "You remember. Oh, how I've missed you." She buried her face in my neck, and I felt her warm tears against my skin.

"What have you done to him? Edward, obviously she's lying. You can't—" Rosalie's mouth continued to move but no sound came out.

"She isn't lying, Rosalie. I feel the connection between us. My connection to her is stronger than anything I've felt before," I told her as I held Bella protectively.

"What are you?" Jasper demanded.

Isabella stepped back from my embrace and tilted her head. "I would think it was rather obvious. But then you vampires have always been self-centered, thinking you're the most powerful beings to walk the earth—yet you are wrong. I'm a witch."

"Bella, if you're a witch, why didn't you heal me yourself?" I asked her, glancing over my shoulder at her.

Tears shimmered in her eyes. "Because, I hadn't reached my eighteenth year and hadn't come into my full power. If I had, I could've saved you."

"I want my ability back, and I know you have something to do with it," Jasper demanded, getting frustrated.

"I'm not about to release any of the rest of you at the moment. As the large one said, six against one isn't a fair fight. And three out of the five of you are plotting my demise."

I glared at the three I knew she was talking about. Since I could read their minds again, I could see they were calculating. The most cunning and unwilling to bend was Jasper. He didn't like that he was powerless and couldn't protect Alice. I gave him a warning growl. I'd protect Isabella from them even though it would pain me to do it. I knew in my own heart what she was saying was true. She was my mate.

"Edward, you'd fight your own family?" Emmett seemed confused. His plans were already faltering, as he hadn't counted on me being on the opposing side.

"Emmet, I won't allow anyone to touch her. No different than how you would fight for Rosalie," I told him.

Bella eyed Emmett. "Edward wouldn't ever hurt me. Our mating connection would never allow it. I will release the binds on everyone once you're ready to leave. I won't let you use your abilities against me, like the last ones tried."

Carlisle furrowed his eyebrows. "There have been others?"

"Yes, it started a few decades ago after I was visited by a vampire named Eleazar. He seemed friendly and invited me to Italy, but I refused. After that, I received visits every few years or so with an invitation from your Volturi. Over the last decade, the requests had become a demand. Aro has sent others trying to capture me and bring me to him. They want to turn me and have me serve them since my powers would make me a powerful vampire. I've tried to live in peace for over a century, living by myself to mourn my mate. I only destroyed them to protect myself. The vampire you discovered used to be a vampire named Alec. Over closer to the house was a vampire named Demetri. Emmett is standing in someone named Jane."

Emmett looked down at his feet with a look of uneasiness. "Uh…"

Bella smirked and lifted him in the air, then set him back down next to Rosalie. Emmett gave her a small look of thanks. Bella paused for a moment, then released most of the others. Only Jasper and Rosalie remained petrified. Rosalie's glare became lethal.

"Perhaps, if you two stopped plotting ways to harm or kill her, she'd let you go too," I growled.

Rosalie tried to speak but still found herself speechless. Jasper was unwilling to bend either, until Alice came to his side and touched his arm.

"Jasper, stop. She's Edward's mate, hurting her would hurt him. Besides, if she wanted us dead, we would be ash by now. She has the right to protect herself. I trust her," Alice reasoned with him.

"Can you see the future?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes, and right now I can't see you in it," Alice said nervously. "Please, don't push her."

Jasper sighed and finally gave in. Alice sighed in relief and hugged him. Bella released him from his binds moments later. Rosalie fumed in her spot as Bella refused to lift her binds or allow her to speak.

Bella turned to Carlisle. "I'm tired of Aro sending his minions to capture me. Go back and tell him to leave me alone."

With a blink of an eye, my family was gone.

A/N: This was the start of my one shot for the Thirst Contest. I have split it up over the first few chapter, as well as, made a few changes, and add more to it. After that it will be all new stuff. I will be updating every Friday and teasers every Wed. on my Facebook page(May T. Brown)

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.