Chapter 4:

Ariella

As I ran I felt the wind caress my cheeks. I felt my shield stretch behind me as I continued to cover Edward. I could smell Alice's signature scent and followed it to the large manor I had only passed by a few times, her part of my shield pulling me towards her as well. I walked up the rest of the drive taking in the magnificent house. No doubt had Edward been a source for worry if they were anything like my adoptive family. Now I was to meet the rest of the famous Cullen family. I almost snorted by myself, but Bella clearly cared about them, even Rosalie, whom apparently did not seem to like her very much. Well, the blonde Goddess-like vampire was about to meet another pain in her side then. I smiled widely at the thought. If Bella thought Rosalie a blonde Goddess, then I wondered what she thought of me in my more vampiric way. My cousin had always been looking down on her own looks, not seeing her own true beauty, and the strongest beauty of all was her heart. I thought it a bit sad as part of it had to be aunt Renée's doing, even if the woman was not aware of it herself. It had to come from somewhere, and with her Bella had lived most her life.

I let my simple gold V and emblem rest above my blouse and straightened my flowy skirt. My boots were a bit muddy, but I could always take them off. I combed my fingers through my long blonde wavy locks. I flipped my hair behind me and let it rest in its waves to the middle of my back. I walked up the steps and saw Alice open the door before I had time to knock, her bright smile only had me widen mine.

"Come in!" she greeted me excitedly.

I laughed. "Alice," I breathed as she pulled me into a hug.

"I'm sorry, Carlisle is out hunting. But come meet my siblings!" I hid my disappointment well. He and I needed to have a little chat about his son.

The other three waited just inside in the living room. I could take my guess whom they were before Alice introduced them. After all, after I had coaxed Bella out of her shell, she had shared a lot of what she knew, also her relationships to the different siblings.

"I assume Alice has filled you in on a few things," I said and shifted from foot to foot as my shield started to make the changes. Jasper had also had brown eyes as a human. Emmett had blue, while Rosalie had blue, almost violet eyes, they were truly beautiful. Their skin tones changed. And I could suddenly feel Jasper's influence as he was underneath my shield. "Don't be too startled when you see your own reflections."

Alice was out and back with a mirror vampire speed and while the three siblings commented on their looks, I let my own gaze wander around and then out the window. It had started to drizzle and I wondered how long the leader of the coven would be out.

"I saw Alice and Edward, but wasn't sure what to believe," Rosalie muttered.

"It seems he will be gone for a bit longer," Alice spoke and came over to me. "I can give you the general direction so you may speak to him."

"Thank you, that would be great. Before the rain removes all distinctive scents," I said and smiled again at the others. "It won't disappear unless you travel quite far from me, or I from you. As long as you stay within the town boarders you should be covered. That means you will be able to be out in the sun without attracting too much attention. But as people remember you differently, I would try to refrain from being seen."

"Of course," Jasper responded.

"What about Alice and Edward, if they go back to school?" Emmett wondered.

"Leave that to me," I answered and went to put on my boots again. It wasn't as I would get less muddy.

I took off running the direction Alice had pointed out for me. The vampiric scents around were almost completely gone with the heavy rain that had been earlier in the day. I tried to sniff for any distinctive scents that did not belong to the ones I had already met, but so far came up blank. I kept going fast, opening my senses to smell, hearing and sight. My eyes still a clear red from the human blood I had been drinking in Volterra, now revealed. Still full, I did not need more blood for a while. I tried to look around me and a whiff of air sent an appealing scent towards me and I started to follow it, curiously. It went around for a bit and I started to feel my frustration build up. I was getting further and further away from Forks and my shield would soon only cover myself. I barely had time to react when he came from the side and tackled me, apparently still mid-hunt if the growl was anything to judge by.

I hissed in response as we fell and some of my clothing teared. I pushed against and we kept rolling. Fast at that. We crashed into a tree, making it crack and we managed to split. I jumped backwards, growling at the male, my instincts kicking in. He composed himself, shaking and clearing his head as he stood, halfway turned away from me. I recognized it then, the scent, the one I had been following. It belonged to the blonde male.

"I apologize, you were in my path mid-hunt." He had a melodic, soft and pleasant voice. It felt warm somehow and I blinked, also standing. His golden eyes met mine then I breathed in with surprise. It was as if everything made sense. As if my heart was beating again even if it truly wasn't. It felt as if all was right in the world as long as he was there, and would be with me. I could feel the invisible connection between us, the one that marked us as soulmates. I could no longer live without him. I loved him without really knowing him. It was no wonder Alice had been so secretive, and Marcus too when it came to the bonds. They had somehow both seen this. Because Carlisle and I were mates. By instinct I moved forward, at the same time scared that he would turn away from me. After all we were different. He had such a long existence already on this earth and lived a lifestyle by his own beliefs with ultimate control, whereas I had only a few years in comparison and were perhaps a bit more modern in my thinking. Would he even accept me? Would we function together?

Everything went through my mind in the matter of seconds and I saw him take a hesitant step towards me, then another. As if the pull between us could not be ignored. He scanned me and I scanned him. His eyes glancing twice over the Volturi necklace I wore. He looked a bit older than twenty-three, probably because of the times he lived in when he was changed, it did not make him less beautiful. Because that was what he was. Like an angel. Had I met him as human I was sure I would have associated him with one. He was strongly built, but not as big as Emmett who was huge in comparison to any male. But he seemed to have more muscles on him than Edward and Jasper, of course I could not fully know, but my shield was already working against his skin, softening his colors while mine. His eyes a beautiful blue, now with golden flecks. I knew mine were back to my sky-blue as his eyes took me in again.

It was hard to believe that it all happened in a matter of seconds, at max a few minutes, but then I was in his arms, staring up at him, all control over my instincts gone in the matter of seconds, because all that mattered was being with him. His eyes seemed so kind, and were only enhanced by his blue irises, giving more warmth. I could see how he was a good doctor just through staring up into his eyes.

"Carlisle I presume," I said as I let a hand rest against his cheek.

"Ariella," he breathed.

I was thankful for Alice, because then she had described me to him as it made everything a bit less strange. For when our lips met, I had no longer control. His scent mixing with mine. And I felt fire and butterflies at the same time. All I wanted was to truly mate with him. For there would never be another.

Only him.

I stared at our mostly tattered clothes as the new day was dawning upon us and the frenzy of our instincts had calmed, if only for a bit. I tried to piece together some of the clothing and shook my head in dismay as I found another strip. Strong arms embraced me from behind and I automatically leaned against him. His lips found my neck and I let out a soft moan. His chuckle resonated through our bodies and I turned towards him.

"We do need to return," he said, tone a bit regretful.

"We're practically naked, there is no way to sneak around."

"Alice would have seen enough to lay out clothes for us."

I felt his fingers glide through my hair, plucking a way a few twigs and leaves. I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling. How could I even go back to the land of the humans at this moment? All I wanted was to stay with him. Alone.

His restraint was better than mine though, thanks to all those years restraining from his natural habits as well. Oh, we had plenty of time to get to know each other. We had been more than just naked together, so I would say that justified getting over any sort of possible awkward moment.

He lifted me up and I giggled as he carried me through the woods towards Forks again. At one point he stopped and I smelled Alice's distinctive scent just as he did and he took a little detour. We found clothes and dressed in a hurry. I had to get my car and go back to the house, but worried a bit about seeing the rest of the family again, after now mating with their coven leader. And still I had not talked to him about Edward and the rest that took place in Volterra.

Oh, what would my brother's say to the new development? Aro and Marcus would already be somewhat aware as Marcus had seen it in my bonds, and I assumed they would be pleased as Aro did not mention anything. Caius was a bit harder to pinpoint as he could be fiercely protective when it came to the ones closest to him in the coven. I was sure Alice and Edward would have spoken most of what had happened in Italy already, but it did not change the facts that I still needed to talk with him, as the supposed leader.

"Carlisle! What are you doing?!" I protested as he lifted me up again.

"Keeping you as close as I can for now," he responded and kissed the tip of my nose before running straight towards his house. He let me down, but held onto my hand as we walked up the stairs.

My shield was already in place before Alice even opened the door. "It was about time! I was nearly sending Emmett after the two of you." She was grinning.

"We were a bit-" I had no time to finish.

"Oh, everyone is aware of what the two of you were doing!" Emmett's booming voice resonated through the whole house, followed by loud laughter.

"I'm so happy for you both!" Alice hurried to hug us both and then handed me my phone.

"When did you get hold of that?" I asked, astonished.

"When you decided to go looking for Carlisle. Otherwise it would have been crushed, just as some of your clothes ended up in tatters." She lifted a brow.

Emmett's laughter got louder as he also joined us by the entrance. "Should I call you mom now?" he asked and grinned.

I raised a brow at him.

"Ignore him," Rosalie said as she came up beside him.

"Most, in fact, do just that," Jasper said and embraced Alice. "Welcome to the family." He smiled.

Carlisle was staring softly at me when I looked up to meet his eyes again. I felt as if I could get lost in them. Time seemed to still and the sound of forced coughing made me blink and shake my head before looking at Emmett.

"You are influencing Jasper here quite strongly," he muttered.

Jasper seemed more at peace then I had seen him the day before. I could only assume Carlisle and I also projected our feelings quite strongly as we were just a newly mated pair. If that was the case that would not be the only thing he would be feeling.

"Ariella, you need to go now, you can come back in a few hours, but Charlie will wonder if he does not see your car when he goes to work," Alice said, and rushed keys into my hand.

I let my gaze linger on Carlisle as I waved and walked down to my car. "I'll be back soon!"

He seemed to realize I was going and hurried to my side. "Not without me," he said.

The rest of his family present laughed at the motion and I smiled softly. "You'll have to sneak in the window with me then."

"Gladly."

"Don't break the house!" Emmett called after us as I sped away.

I did not bother to check on Bella as I could still feel Edward's presence clearly in the house when we arrived. We both jumped through my window that I had left open for my return. Carlisle carried my smaller suitcase that I had brought for the trip but left in the car, and handed it to me while he made his way through. It was almost comical seeing such a male coming through the window in a secretive way. Before I knew it his arms were around me and we laid down on my bed and just listened to each other breathe. Taking in our scent that had started to become one.

Not long after I heard Charlie get up, and within a few seconds Edward was in my room while my uncle checked on Bella. If he was surprised that Carlisle was in my room he did not show it. At least he had the decency to look sheepish and quietly apologized before he went back after uncle Charlie closed my cousin's door. I heard him pause outside my door, and then he took the stairs down.

It felt like forever waiting for my uncle to leave the house. When he finally did, I felt that I could speak freely, even if Bella and Edward were in the room next to us. "You are aware that the two of us needs to talk about certain things," I whispered for only his ears.

"Right now," he whispered back and quickly rid me of my top. "We do not need words."

His lips met mine and I wondered how we would not break anything when the outdoors had suffered enough after our visit.

A knock sounded on the door. I had not even noticed Bella waking up. "Ariella?" she asked softly.

"Yeah," I responded with more volume. My other instincts, the protective ones, kicked in and I quickly put on a bathrobe. I opened the door and saw my cousin take a long look. I wanted to ask what I could help her with, but then I saw her smile and she threw her arms around me. "Hey! Don't squish the vampire!" I joked.

"I'm so happy for you! Edward told me just now! You look so…so utterly happy!" she exclaimed happily.

"And you look quite tired and need to get to school. You'll see both Edward and I later," I responded softly. She too seemed happier. As if the pain that had been there was just a painful memory.

"I know, but I had to see you and understand. It happened so fast!" Her eyes were wide and shining.

"Instincts take over a bit easier as vampires, Bells, I already told you that."

She nodded. And then she had a far-away look.

"Hey," I said, my tone almost a whisper. "We can talk more about this later, alone. I see there is something on your mind."

"I would like that," she responded and then with one more hug she disappeared into the bathroom.

Shaking my head, still smiling, I closed the door and let go of the bathrobe. I walked slowly towards my mate and let the skirt Alice had laid out for me fall to the floor. I could see the hunger in his eyes returning, the animalistic desire to claim me as his, and only his, returning. The arousal between my legs getting more potent as my feelings and instincts responded in full. I pounced on him and he flipped me over. With a few movements his clothes too were gone.

Another knock.

We froze.

"Can I borrow your car?" Bella asked through the door.

He rested his forehead against mine and we laughed silently.

"Of course! Keys are where they usually hang!" I yelled back, loud enough for her to hear.

"Thanks!" she responded and I could hear her stumble a bit down the stairs.

I tried to calm myself as I heard that she and Edward were speaking. Soon enough she would be out the door and I would have my mate all to myself.

"Maybe we should have stayed out," he murmured and let his fingers trace down the side of my body. He kissed my neck then and in response I opened my legs for him. The other sounds in the house barely mattered.

"Maybe," I gasped out as his teeth graced my skin.

I let a hand run through his hair and he closed his eyes and I took hold of his neck so his lips could meet mine again. I pushed him away and with vampire speed I got dressed into a flowy dress. He stared at me and I grinned. "Catch me if you can!" I challenged and escaped out the window. I laughed loudly as I ran between the trees. It did not take long before I heard Carlisle catch up to me and his laughter rung behind me. And tease had been muttered I was sure.

It was the most wonderful feeling. Would it ever stop? According to Aro, he still felt the same for Sulpicia, even after all the time they had had together. The same went for Caius and Athenodora, even if he did not speak much about it. The thought was fleeting and I just about slipped out of his arms again when he had caught me off guard. It was exhilarating. I wanted to get caught, but at the same time I wanted him to chase me a bit longer. I had misinterpreted the sound with the distance between us and had been fooled as I turned and ran backwards for about a second when noticing how close he actually was. His grin told me he had the upper hand.

He didn't know me well enough yet and my tricks. I slid against the ground between his legs and rolled back to my toes and took off again in a different direction. I heard his surprised outburst and I felt giddy inside. The sound of a stream made me push on, and only because I had had the advantage of surprise did I still manage to outrun him, but he had years of experience and would not be fooled a second time. As I landed on the other side of the stream, I felt arms around me and we tumbled to the ground. The motion was almost familiar, but in a completely different setting and this time I let him pin me down.