Chapter 5

Jasper called a family meeting in the dining room immediately upon arriving home. Edward and Alice had gone to school already so they would have to be filled in later. Carlisle had been about to leave for work but stayed as Jasper wasn't sure what they were dealing with which made Carlisle nervous. No one took a seat. Esme clutched Carlisle's arm while Emmett crossed his arms and frowned. Rosalie stood impassively nearby, picking at some flowers in a vase, unsure what this had to do with her. If someone else was in town to kill Bella, she did not want to get involved again. Once had been enough.

"I found the girl Bella described and she is definitely something other than human. I don't know what though, we were interrupted before I could ask her any questions," Jasper said, glossing over the whole encounter, pleased that Edward was not around to hear the truth.

"Her name is Analeigh Hale," Jasper continued, looking directly at Rosalie.

Every eye in the room turned to Rosalie as her hand froze over a flower petal and her mind whirled, trying to pinpoint that name. It was familiar but from her human life, so long ago. Then it clicked.

"That's impossible," she snapped back at Jasper.

"She looks exactly like you Rose. Who is she?" Jasper replied. As an honorary Hale, so to speak, he should know the family tree by heart, but this name eluded him.
"Analeigh Hale was my grandfather's older sister. She was killed at the age of 17 during the Civil War. She never married or had children." Rosalie said stiffly, eyes narrowed. There was simply no way it could be the same person. Similar tragedies in one family just decades apart? Perhaps the Hales were cursed.

"Killed how?" Carlisle cut in. "Was there a body? A funeral?"

Rosalie frowned, "I don't know any details. No one ever spoke of her. It happened before I was born."

Jasper threw a file on the table in front of them, with a stamp on the front that said Property of Forks High School.

Rosalie glanced down but didn't touch it. Jasper rolled his eyes and flicked it open for her while Carlisle and Esme leaned in closer to see.

There was a four by six school picture of a smiling girl paper clipped to the left side of the folder. Everyone in the room gasped as they saw it. It was the human version of Rosalie, with a few subtle differences. Rosalie gripped the table as human memories of her staring at her own reflection in mirrors while growing up came dimly back to her. Even though she was so much more beautiful now, this girls healthy human beauty stabbed at her frozen heart. Her blue eyes, her rosy cheeks; even if she wasn't quite human, she still looked it and Rosalie was jealous.

"I've been around the La Push wolves enough to know their scent by now. This girl, this Analeigh, has traces of werewolf DNA as well as vampire DNA. She looks human, eats food and sleeps. She also has great strength and speed." Jasper was in full report mode now, hands clasped behind his back as he paced up and down the side of the table.

"We need to warn Alice and Edward about her. They need to keep an eye on her, but stay back for now," Jasper added, realizing that Alice had no knowledge of the possible danger.

Carlisle already had his cell phone out and was dialing. The phone went straight to voicemail and he tried to swallow back his disappointment as he said, "I got Edward's voicemail. I'm leaving a message." Carlisle cleared his throat and waited a moment before saying, "It's Carlisle. The girl is not one of us but she is not human either. Be careful. Call me when you can."

Ana did not pay attention to her classes or Mike as she should have. She was busy mulling over the fact that the vampire who had attacked her this morning had yellow eyes instead of red. Ana had never seen a vampire with yellow eyes before and had no idea what it meant. Was her mission compromised? She could smell traces of other vampires throughout the school grounds now and knew there were at least three of them in this town. Plus the human girl who smelled like a vampire. Ana wondered if she could get some information out of her.

Ana stalked the campus right after third period, fending Mike off with a bathroom excuse. He had honestly seemed upset that she wouldn't let him go to the bathroom with her; this guy was definitely clingy. No wonder his attention had been so easy to get. Ana walked around, sniffing the air, trying to pinpoint the human vampire girl to pump her for information. Ana had learned from Mike that her name was Bella and that she was dating this weird loner type guy who only hung out with his sister. Ana knew this to be the vampire, as she could smell his scent mingling often with Bella's.

Ana followed Bella's scent to the edge of the school property; it led directly into the woods. Ana looked around for any wandering eyes and then plunged through the trees at an inhuman speed. She ran, following the trail with her nose. It led to a clearing and there was Bella standing in the middle of it. Ana hesitated, looking around. This felt like a trap.

It was a trap. Strong white hands came around her head suddenly and pushed over her mouth and nose, suffocating her. She grasped at the hands blindly, making direct eye contact with Bella who stood not 20 feet away, looking terrified. Ana was soon out cold.

Ana woke up on a table top in a dimly lit room. She knew she had allowed herself to be taken and she was mad as hell about it, but first, she needed to assess her situation. Her breathing must have alerted her captors that she was awake though as suddenly a blonde man was leaning over her. Ana immediately growled and tried to throw a punch but was startled to find that her wrists were bound to the table by metal braces.

"I'm Carlisle and this is Esme." The blonde man nodded to the woman standing behind him with a clipboard. "Now don't be afraid. We aren't here to hurt you," Carlise said softly, peering into Ana's eyes.

Ana laughed directly in his face. She'd heard that one before. She looked around and felt her panic rising. Clipboards, lab coats and metal restraints; it was happening all over again.

Ana glared at Carlisle as she used all of her strength to break the bonds that held her. The metal braces snapped off the table and Ana leapt up. The woman called Esme gasped and started writing furiously on her clipboard.

Before Ana could decide what to do next, another blonde man came at her from behind, holding her arms behind her back tightly so she couldn't escape. Ana growled in pain and anger, recognizing his scent as her attacker from this morning.

"This is Jasper," Carlisle politely introduced. "Can you tell us the names of your parents?" Carlisle now asked her softly.

Ana regarded him with surprise and scorn. "Why? Spoiler alert; they're dead," she snarled.

Jasper gripped her arms tighter. "Names," he snarled back.

Ana gave the names, as they meant nothing to her now, watching as Esme appeared to cross reference something on a piece of paper and then nod at Carlisle.

The knowing nod was what pushed Ana over the edge. These people thought they knew her? Knew who she was? Her story? No, they didn't.

Ana kicked at the table and shoved herself backwards with all her considerable strength, landing on top of Jasper as they both tumbled to the ground. He tried to keep her there but she squirmed out of his hold, kicking with all her might at his shoulder, trying to tear it off his body completely. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Carlisle shielding Esme from her. That almost made her laugh. A vampire shielding another vampire? What kind of place was this?

She didn't plan to stick around to find out. She summoned her inner strength, pictured her living room and disappeared. The others stared open mouthed at the empty space where Ana had just been standing. They exchanged looks. This was definitely not something they had ever dealt with before. Carlisle held up a test tube filled with red liquid. "I did some blood work while she was unconscious. Now at least, we can study her more."