Hey guys! I am so sorry for the delay in posting again. Life continues to be crazy and a tad overwhelming. But thank you for your continued support.

We have another peek into Edward's mind in this chapter. This is based only on the events of Halloween. It doesn't go into any other day because I really wanted to get really specific and detailed about this day through his eyes.

Don't forget to review/favorite/follow! And to enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of the Harry Potter or Twilight series.


It was very rare for my siblings to reach out to me in school. I tried to give them as much privacy as I could so I made sure to not seek out their minds while we were in class. It had gotten difficult with the arrival of Dahlia, but I had managed.

And then Jasper's voice rang in my head on Halloween.

"Edward! Edward!"

And with it came a projection of his class.

He was in History and Dahlia was sitting next to him, but it wasn't the Dahlia I had grown so used to seeing. She was tense in her seat and the look of rage and pain on her face made me weak.

The class was staring at her and the teacher in increasing horror while the man himself looked to be in the middle of a tirade.

"...you saw the side of good and justice overtaking evil in the our modern day era's greatest battle-"

But it was too much for Dahlia, I felt the absolute heart-wrenching pain through Jasper and the anger bubble over her.

"It wasn't a battle!" she yelled. She leaned over in her seat and her next words almost had a snake-like hiss to her tone, as she fought for control over her emotions.

"Calling it a battle means somebody won. Nobody won! This wasn't attacks, or fights, or confrontations. And there was certainly no diplomacy! It was a genocide! Avalon's Fall was a slaughter."

To Japer, the whole room went cold. I felt if I had a beating heart, it would have stopped. The students were uneasy and the teacher was finally realizing exactly what he brought into the classroom. I wanted to break out of English and run to her, to Dahlia, and protect her from the raging storm inside of her on what could be the worst possible day for this to happen.

Grim realization and determination and anguish floated into Jasper, all coming from Dahlia.

"You want to know the gorey details the public doesn't know about, well let me give them to you," Dahlia said, getting up from her seat. The vindictive look on her face was also trying to hide the tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. The very heartbreak in her eyes made me want to kill the man without question. The monster inside of me roared at her pain.

"Miss-Miss Black-" Harrison tried to stop her, but she ignored him.

"The Fall of Avalon. February 2, 2004." Dahlia said, and with a growing horror I realized everything I had been trying to figure out about her and her injuries stemmed from a date that didn't even happen a year ago.

"Grown men and women came into my school. They came in the middle of the night with one goal in mind, to kill every last one of us." she said, her words were shaking and her right hand was clenched into a fist.

I saw through Jasper's eyes the cloudy look that seemed to overtake her face. And with it came the feeling of loss and helplessness. It only lasted for a few seconds before the rage came back like a tidal wave.

"Grown men and women came to kill children!" she shouted, her hand slamming into his coffee cup. It flew across the room and shattered on impact leaving coffee and ceramic shards everywhere. A girl in the class screamed at the sight.

"And they did. Some of them killed their own children, killed countless children and teachers because they believed in the fanatical teachings of a man too absorbed in his own self worth." She was speaking so fast she could barely get the words out. I felt sick and I knew Jasper felt sick too. My hands were clenched on the desk I was sitting in and I wanted nothing more to tear through the halls to come and protect Dahlia.

She had begun crying and hyperventilating and the students around her were a mix of scared of her or having pity for her. She didn't need pity, she needed me. I needed to be there for her but it felt like I couldn't even move in my seat.

"I watched friends, I watched the people I was closest to, the only people I had left, get blown up into pieces! I watched 11 year olds get slaughtered on stairwells because they were running from their own parents! I watched 239 people die in a single day!"

She was screaming. Only now, for the first time I was seeing something. And it was something from her mind. Flashes of stone walls with blood splattered across them. Dahlia running, grieving over the bodies of children she found on the way. Dahlia flying back from a force of green light.

Let's finish this how we started Tom. Together!

Before I could see the image associated with it, I was out of her mind and back in Jaspers.

"And you sit there like it's some fascinating part of a barbaric history to be studied. We haven't even been able to mourn all of our dead, it's not in a single history book, we are still grieving and trying to move on and you sit there like some fucking asshole who knows better than me? You don't! You don't know what happens every time I close my eyes. And you certainly don't want to know how hard it is to physically get out of bed every goddamn morning and not blow something up too!"

I have to stop her, Jasper's voice rang in my head. Almost too quick to be human, Jasper got out of his seat and wrapped his arms around her. He poured as much calming and peaceful emotion as he could into her. Dahlia went limp in his arms but she was still shaking and crying. And then she grabbed her left arm with her right and horror filled into her before she got out of Jasper's arms and ran out of the room.

Chaos rang out in the classroom. Some of the braver students now took up the mantle of shouting at Harrison. Other students were texting their friends outside of the class and I could hear even students' phones in my class go off. Including Jessica Stanley.

Why is Andrew texting me in class? Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God Dahlia. Dahlia went off on Harrison about Avalon. Crying? Oh my God I have to find her.

"Can I use the restroom?" Jessica interrupted the class before not even waiting for a response and rushing from the room. I followed her mind until she met up with Mike and Eric. Pretty soon they found Dahlia crying in the girl's restroom. My heart felt like it was being squeezed at the sound of her heartbroken cries.

I never felt more grateful to someone as I did Jessica Stanley. Her determination to help her best friend, my Dahlia. She comforted her and soothed her when I could not and I would be eternally grateful. I thought Jessica was just another shallow human, overthrown by our beauty, but she wasn't. She had her moments, every human did, but if she could be this kind of a friend to Dahlia, then she certainly wasn't a bad person.

I knew class was coming to a close soon so I was getting ready to leave Jessica's mind when Dahlia spoke to her.

"Jess...i have to tell you something...Something about Avalon's Fall." Dahlia muttered, almost too quiet for Jessica to hear.

"You don't have to tell me anything you aren't ready for." Jessica reassured, not wanting to push Dahlia, but Dahlia only shook her head.

"I want to tell you. At Avalon...it was more than losing my friends and any family I had left. Something...something else happened to me that day." Dahlia said, but she seemed nervous to finish her sentence. Jessica remained patient.

And then the next words out of her mouth almost killed me again.

"I lost my arm Jess…" she whispered out. I vaguely heard the school bell ring, but I ignored it. The shock of the statement took me out of Jessica's mind and left me seemingly trapped in my own. The roaring in my ears seemed to grow louder and louder.

She lost her arm. It wasn't just burns, how did she get that past Carlisle? How didn't I see this? She lost her arm, that's why it was always so stiff. That's why she hugged like she did. She lost her arm. Dahlia lost-

"Edward." Alice's voice broke me out of my mental torment. The classroom was empty except for me and now Alice and Jasper. Jasper had Dahlia's bag in his hands.

"She-She-" "I know" Alice interrupted me.

"I saw a vision of it happening right before, I couldn't do anything to stop it. I'm so sorry Edward." she soothed.

I felt the soothing calm that Jasper tried pushing in me. I accepted it, needing something in me so I didn't go on a rampage. Old anger that I held down for so long seemed to want to seep back into me, but I wouldn't allow it. Dahlia did not need that.

Alice and Jasper steered me to our usual table in the cafeteria. No one bothered getting food. Emmett and Rosalie were looking at us in concern, but I ignored them. I ignored everyone and let myself wallow in everything Dahlia thought she would have to hide.

It made absolute sense why she hid it, I was certainly not angry or upset over it. I was upset because she had been going through all of it alone. I wanted to be there for her. I wanted her, and as much as my own damnation didn't want me to, I didn't want to stay away from her. I couldn't. God I loved her. I've loved her for so long and I kept hiding it, thinking it wouldn't be good for her, but what if I could be? What if I could be the person she wanted and needed? Surely my damnation could have one small mercy and let me love Dahlia the way she deserved?

Alice and Jasper filled the other two in on what wasn't being sent through texts in the school, including what I found out from reading Jessica's mind.

"I'm sorry man." Emmett said, unusually gentle, reaching around to squeeze my shoulder.

"She's definitely a warrior." Rosalie said, the usual bite also out of her voice, but I knew she didn't quite know what to say. Neither did I.

When Dahlia walked into the cafeteria, the whole room went silent. She was in between Mike and Jessica with Eric at the end. Jessica had maneuvered Dahlia's left hand to be able to hold it like one normally would. Dahlia's eyes were rimmed red, but otherwise, she looked significantly more like herself and her emotions were much more level. Everyone was staring at the group.

"Go about your business!" Jessica shouted, and the glare she sent the student body made them all do as she said quite quickly. I saw Dahlia's eyes scan the room before she landed on us. The memory of what she had said in the classroom came back over me again and I knew I probably didn't have the most friendly expression on my face from the memory.

"I'm going to get my bag on my own. You guys eat what you can. Enjoy your Halloween and your party. And I'll see you tomorrow ok?" Dahlia asked. They all nodded, giving her hugs and words of support before going to their own table. Tyler and Lauren were already there, wanting to know more of the story.

She turned back to us before straightening up and walking over with her head held high. Gone was the grieving warrior, now stood the Dahlia I had come to know.

"Are you ok?" Alice asked before anyone could say anything.

"Day by day I will be," Dahlia said with a sad smile. She turned to Jasper.

"I'm sorry Jasper. That you had to see all that." She apologized. I saw him soften towards her.

"You don't need to do any apologizing Dahlia," he said, handing her back her bag.

She took a deep breath before speaking in a much softer tone.

"I can bet my emotions were a little much to handle. Especially in a room full of humans"

I stopped breathing. The shock was clear in all of us. How did she know? How could she possibly know? None of us had done anything to draw that kind of attention, there had been no slips!

Dahlia reached over and unclenched my fists with her right hand, rubbing against my palm softly. If only I could have a scent to register with her. But even to this day, nothing ever came from her unless it was a perfume or a lotion. It always made it feel like something was missing.

"I'm feeling very raw right now. And I know how easy it would be for all of us to go to my place right now. But someone needs to keep up appearances. And it can't be me right now. After school you can all come to my house. Give me a little time and I will explain fully and truthfully about everything I can. Including that I have known about your secret since the moment I met you. Bring Carlisle and Esme." Dahlia explained. The moment she met us? She went to release my hand but I couldn't help but grab hers back. I didn't want to let her go.

"I promise. I'll explain. Just let me go so I can not feel so exposed right now." she swore to me, looking into my eyes. The bright emerald green jewels were begging for patience and understanding. I could do that. I slowly nodded and released her.

"We will be there promptly at 3:15." Rosalie said, her defenses up now that she knew someone had knowledge of our secret. Dahlia left without another word.

"I'm calling Carlisle." Rosalie said, ignoring us and walking out of the cafeteria with her phone.

"How the hell would she know about us?" Emmett asked us, knowing we hung out with her the most.

"I-I don't know. I didn't see it. I don't see things directly related to Dahlia unless it impacts those around her. She's been hiding things for so long, I think today was the breaking point." Alice said softly. Jasper pressed a comforting kiss to her head.

"The emotions coming off of her. I've never felt a human feel so much and so deeply all at once. It was so much to take in, I don't know how she has been doing it. I knew she was keeping things out of the story, it must be directly related to how she knows about us." Jasper theorized.

I didn't say anything. I couldn't say anything. I was so scared of when Dahlia might find out about us, although I never wanted that to be the case. I was terrified of what her reaction might be to something like me, but she knew the whole time? And she didn't care?

"If you aren't a good person Edward, then I'm doomed." Her words from weeks ago filled my mind. What is her secret? What makes her think she could be worse than me? Then the damnation I am doomed for.

School was unbearable now that I had to wait for it to be over to see Dahlia. Her words made sense. Someone did have to keep up appearances and I wouldn't force her after her emotional upheaval.

Thankfully it became 3:10 soon enough, and we all enclosed Dahlia's driveway. Esme and Carlisle were waiting for us, worry coming from them.

"Hey guys. Before we go in, has Dahlia ever given any inclination of knowing about us? Any at all?" Carlisle asked.

"Never." Alice answered.

"How could you have missed her arm?" I asked him, suddenly incensed over the fact that we had both somehow missed it in her medical report.

"I don't know Edward. After Rosalie called me I went to her medical file again. I stared at it for ten minutes and I couldn't read anything about her being an amputee. Every time I thought I might have seen something, my eyes slid over the page. And then I lost it. I don't understand what is going on with the girl." Carlisle explained.

"Then why don't we find out." Esme suggested.

Carlisle led us to the door and rang the doorbell. The door unlocked itself but Dahlia didn't open the door. After a couple of seconds we heard her from inside the house.

"It's open." she said, and then the sound of her taking a sip of what must be tea came after. We all came into the house silently. Emmett brought up the rear and locked the door. Finally I could see Dahlia again.

The living room was different. There were more chairs in the room and a settee I had never seen before. There were scrapbooks on the coffee table, one I recognized from when Alice and I stayed over, and the other one I didn't. There were also logs by her fireplace as well as food and drink on the coffee table, but it was on plates with strange symbols written on them.

She was sitting in the purple chair she liked so much, the maroon and gold blanket tucked around her. She had a cup of tea in her hands just like I thought. Her hair was in a braid and she was in a blue t-shirt. And she wasn't wearing any gloves. So now I could see both of her arms. The upper part of her left arm had thick paleish red burn scars that went to right above her elbow. That's where the prosthetic started. It was the color of human skin, but where the joints would usually be, you saw the silver metal instead, connecting the pieces.

She was tense, staring at us in trepidation. Her heartbeat was pounding in my ears. I flashed over to her, down on my knees and looked up to her. I slowly took her left hand, suddenly so conscious of my own strength. It was cool to the touch and hard, so much like my own skin. Overtaken my emotions, I pressed my forehead to the back of her head. All of a sudden, the hand moved, her fingers lifted my chin to gaze back up at her. They moved individually though, prosthetics can't do that. The confusion must have shown on my face because she graced me with this beautiful gentle smile of hers that I had come to know. Come to love.

For I did love her. I knew that no matter how hard I tried to hide it from myself. But how could I have her?

"I have a lot to tell you and it's a very long story ahead. I ask that you be patient with me and know I kept this from you all because I don't trust very easily, especially with the secrets I have. But I don't want to hide from you anymore." she explained, although her gaze never strayed from me.

"That sounds like a fine idea Dahlia. Thank you for allowing us into your home." Carlisle said politely before everyone made themselves situated. Emmett took an ottoman next to the couch and Rosalie took the side of the couch next to him while I took the spot closest to her chair so I wouldn't have to let go of her hand. The gentle squeeze she gave me hopefully meant she didn't want to either.

Jasper and Alice took the two new chairs while Carlisle and Esme chose the large settee to sit in.

Dahlia took a fortifying breath and a sip of tea before she began to tell us her story.

And she dropped a literal bombshell on us. She wasn't human either. She was a witch. A true witch with a wand and a broomstick and a magical school that she went to so she could learn. There was even a flying sport! Carlisle remembered the stories the Volturi had told him of magical society, but was under the impression they had died out centuries ago.

She began to explain her story, the real story of how she came to America. She spoke of the war that had erupted before she had even been born. Of the magical equivalent of Hitler and the Nazi Party who terrorized and slaughtered families left and right. The Killing Curse sent a cold chill down all of our spines.

The prophecy was a hard and bitter subject to her. I could tell. And if it was fake then that made sense. I wanted to take her into my arms as she recounted the death of her parents, the betrayal of Peter Pettigrew, and the unjust imprisonment of her godfather Sirius.

The knowledge of the Killing Curse not working on her made me tighten my hands around hers. God I could have lost her so many different points. There must be some type of miracle at work for her to be here. But then again the miracle to me, was Dahlia herself.

She spoke of getting her letter for school at eleven. Hogwarts, what we had all come to know as Avalon.

And then she said her real name. Dahlia Lily Potter. And she wasn't 16, she was 18. I had always thought she looked younger than her age, but no she was older.

She recounted her years of schooling, the harrowing adventures, the happy times, and the tragedies that took place in such a short span of time. I could tell from her body language she was ashamed of what she had done to her professor her first year, but she was defending herself. It didn't diminish her in any way, she was a survivor of that horrible event. I tensed badly over the knowledge she could have died in her second year, but whenever I did she would slowly rub her thumb over my hand. We were both seeking comfort from each other.

I tried looking for the scar she was talking about on her right arm but she tilted my chin up again to look at her.

"That scar, along with a fair few others, got blown to bits with my arm. You won't find it." she explained. Other scars? I could only nod.

She recounted her third year to us. Meeting Remus Lupin and discovering Sirius Black as a mad man. Her description of the dementors along with their attacks upon her sent chills up my spine. The betrayal she and her family faced from the man named Peter Pettigrew made me boil on the inside. If I could go back in time and kill him I very well would. When she revealed that Remus Lupin was a werewolf I heard the shock and horror in my family's thoughts. I had some thoughts of my own, but her staunch defense of the man she called a part of her family, the man who died for her, soothed any worry in my mind.

"In the end Peter got away. Sirius had to go on the run and Remus got fired because people found out he was a werewolf. But finally...finally I had some family of my own to look forward to one day. At least I thought so." she said. The heartbreak was clear on her face. She had lost both of them in the end. And it absolutely wasn't fair.

The next years were harder for her. She didn't give as many details as she did the others. When she brought up Sirius' death and the training that came with it, Jasper felt the warring emotions of guilt and shame inside of her. Lord only knows what she meant by training, but even without reading her mind I could tell it weighed heavily on her. When she mentioned Dumbledore, Jasper felt the tinge of resentment in her. The resentment of her headmaster, I couldn't tell why, but it must have to do with the training and Sirius at the very least. Horcruxes sounded like vile horrible things. If I could be nauseous I probably would be, and my family's thoughts mirrored my own opinion.

Alice wanted to spare her retelling of the battle, but she persisted.

"I'm not reliving. I don't think I can right now. Simply adding. I watched 239 people die that day. 46 of them, including Voldemort, died at my hand." she said before her worried gaze turned to me. She must have thought this would change my opinion of her. It could never and will never.

"I told you I wasn't all that good." she said, but I shook my head in absolute disagreement.

"You were trying to survive," I told her. "So were you." she said, and it made me think of that night with her on the couch. It made me want to pull her to me. Protect her.

"After I had killed Tom, a surviving follower of his cast a spell that blew up the wall I was next to. My body and my arm got caught in the blast. And I lost it." she said, her voice shaky. She pulled from me and I mourned at the loss.

There were so many warring emotions going on in my end as I finally had pieces of the puzzles that were Dahlia Black. Or Dahlia Potter.

I, of course, reassured her that she could never lose me over the knowledge of her past. As if I would let that come between us. If she knew even a little of my own, I could only pray she feels the same. And I truly think, or hope, that she would.

"How long is your lifespan?" Rosalie asked, interrupting the quiet that had fallen on us. I gave her a harsh glance but she ignored me.

"Depends. A healthy witch or wizard with an average amount of magic might live up to 150-200 years old and look half that amount of years. I have a quite larger magical level in me. I was advised I might have a 300-350 year life span. Maybe even 400 if I'm careful." she explained. I felt myself sag in relief. She had centuries to live. She wouldn't be taken from me so soon. I had time with her.

"How come Edward can't read your mind?" Rosalie asked, the defensiveness in her tone, hiding the unnecessary worry in her thoughts.

"Reading minds is quite possible as witches and wizards. I'm absolutely rubbish at it because I was trained too fast. They focused on blocking my mind as Voldemort was quite adept at invading your mind. I made an impenetrable defense in my mind, based off of a maze that was part of that sham of a tournament I was in during my 4th year. " she said. It brought me back to the very moment we met her. The dark hedged maze I had encountered, the fog, the feeling of fear and foreboding; they were all the defenses she had created. She was absolutely amazing.

Her gaze turned to me and seemed to melt under my own.

"One day...i would very well let you in." she muttered to me, suddenly so shy in my presence. But it endeared her all the more to me.

"Why can't we smell you?" Rosalie asked, cutting into it again.

"Rosalie" Esme admonished, but Dahlia didn't look offended. If anything she looked amused at Rosalie.

"When I realized you were vampires, I wanted to be able to help where I could. So I started using my magic to dampen my scent so you wouldn't be able to smell it." she said. That was possible?

"Are you dampened now?" Carlisle asked. She nodded. Never being able to know her scent to me suddenly made sense. Her care of us was astounding. Barely even knowing us at the time, she sought to give us some relief from the daily struggle of being around humans.

"I can lower it. If you want?" she offered, but Jasper tensed in his seat at the thought.

"Hold on a second." she muttered, a contemplative look on her face, before she got up and went into her kitchen. After a moment of going through her cabinets she pulled out a bag of…red lollipops?

"Got it!" she said, a bright smile on her face, but we were all confused.

"We can't have candy, you know? Or did you skip that part in school?" Emmett teased. Dahlia only gave a smirk and it made me want to kiss it away. God why am I a hormonal teenager now?

"This isn't ordinary candy." she said, coming over and holding one out to Jasper.

"It's a Blood Pop. And unlike the non-magical equivalent, it is very literal." she explained. We all stared at the candy wide-eyed. Candied blood? At the knowledge that it was animal blood we all took one. I hesitated for a moment before bringing it to my lips.

At the first lick, the burst of flavor hit me. It was like…a lion? No, I couldn't tell the animal, but it was good. You tasted the sugary element to it barely, just this little lollipop left me sated. The relief in Jasper was immense. With the looks on our faces plain to see, Dahlia promised to acquire more from her friend Ginny.

"Can we see magic?" Emmett asked, very excited. She gave us all a smirk before snapping her fingers. My eyes didn't catch it right away, but suddenly I realized that all her pictures were moving. Alice and I looked to the mantle, seeing all of the pictures in a new light. My eyes were drawn to the photo of Dahlia, Hermione, and Ron. Ron was waving into the camera, flexing his muscles, but it was to draw away from Dahlia and Hermione. Hermione had an arm wrapped around Dahlia and while both the girls were smiling, with the moving photo you could see how exhausted Dahlia looked. Ron and Hermione looked very different to the ones I had witnessed already.

The second photo on the mantle was Dahlia and Sirius. They were in a dark living room and in their pajamas. There were paper crowns on their heads and they were clumsily dancing around and laughing. Dahlia looked so happy. Sirius looked like he was also trying to talk to someone outside of the photo frame.

The third photo was Dahlia much younger than the other two photos. She looked twelve or thirteen. She was sitting on a stone bench and looking up in the air smiling. All of a sudden the white form of Hedwig the owl soared down from the upper part of the frame before settling next to the younger Dahlia who began to softly pet her precious companion.

The last photo was of her parents. It looked like another from their wedding day and the two were dancing. A younger Sirius and Remus rushed into the couple planting kisses on their cheek and making them all laugh into the camera frame. Dahlia's father chased Sirius out of the photo frame and Lily danced with Remus instead.

I knew the conversation had continued around me. But I turned to Dahlia and just listened as she talked. Every second of every day she was more endearing to me. I wanted to call her my mate, but it felt like my instincts couldn't quite say it no matter how much love I had for her. Could it be the dampening? Could it not only be dampening her scent but the markings of our mateship? There was only one way to find out.

"Take off the dampening." I said. Everyone turned to look at me. Dahlia's expression was open, the rest looked concerned.

"Edward I don't-" "Dahlia please." I cut off Carlisle. Ignoring their thoughts I pleaded with Dahlia in my eyes.

The room was silent as she stared right back at me. She looked like she too was trying to seek something from me. Answers to her own questions she might have of the magnetism between us. Certainty and determination seemed to fill her gaze before she let out a deep breath.

Suddenly her scent hit me like a freight train. Warmth of vanilla and cedar flooded my senses and along with it came the rich and heady smell of what could only be described as a bonfire in the night entered my core. It felt like I was being warmed from the inside and everything that I had been holding back was suddenly being let out. I had no idea I had moved until I had Dahlia pinned to the wall. My face was buried into her neck, desperate to take in more of her scent.

It was like the greatest aphrodisiac. I didn't want to bite her though, I could never hurt her in such a way. But I craved to know the taste of her skin, to feel her shudder from pleasure by my hand. I wanted her completely in every way possible. I had one hand on her waist and I wanted it to roam over her entire body. The love I had for her seemed to pour out of me. I would do anything for her. I would be anything and everything for her. I finally had the answers I sought. Dahlia was my mate. My one and my only. As if I could ever doubt that. I knew Dahlia was affected by me. Her breath was labored and I could taste the attraction and arousal coming from her. It took everything in me to not take her for myself.

"Mine." I growled out into the open air. Dahlia's breath hitched and she looked at me wide-eyed. Happiness filled her gaze. I could only purr. I caused that.

"Yours" she whispered back. Her cheeks were turning red and I couldn't help but run my face against her own. She was breathing deeply, almost like she was taking in my own scent. I could only hope I was just as pleasing to her as she was to me. But she was everything. She was mine. And I was hers. My mate. I had a mate. I wasn't damned as much as I had thought. There were so many questions still running through my head. But they didn't matter at this moment. Only Dahlia mattered. My Dahlia.

"Edward. Son. Can you take a step back from Dahlia?" Carlisle asked. I growled at his suggestion. How could he ask that of me?

Dahlia slowly placed her hands on my chest. Her small fingers gripped tight to the fabric and made me purr more into her. A vampire's purr was to comfort and please their mate. I only wanted to be good to my mate.

"Hey Edward." she started. "Your family is freaking out a little. Can you step back for me? I promise...I won't go anywhere." she said. I didn't want to, but I would never deny Dahlia. Slowly I stepped away from her, unable to soothe the hunger in my gaze. And I was hungry for her, in ways I had never been before in my life. Only when it came to her. The arousal in her scent heightened and before anyone knew it, I grabbed her and secured her into my arms. She lifted her left arm from her right arm to pull it close.

"Edward son, what are you feeling right now? Talk to us." Carlisle asked. He tried to step closer, but I pulled us both away. I couldn't stop the threatening growl even if I wanted to. There were too many people with us. I needed to keep her safe.

It was only the soothing voice of Esme that let me give the explanation to my family. Or more like the confirmation.

"Mate"

Dahlia gasped in my arms and I felt her heart rate speed up. But it didn't worry me. I saw her emotions through Jasper. Happiness and love filled me. Love. She felt the same.

"Mate." She said, completely at ease. I knew without a doubt everything would be ok.

I had my Dahlia. And that's all that mattered.