Chapter Eight: DNA

Bella's POV:

Edward walked in soon after me, having gotten sidetracked by Rosalie outside, who was under one of his cars. Immediately, he saw Leah sitting on the same couch as Renee, laughing and talking with her as I watched from the other couch in confusion. He donned an expression of confusion akin to mine, and came to sit beside me. But as he listened to Leah's thoughts, he seemed to understand.

"Edward," I began, imploringly. "Please tell me what's going on. Jasper just keeps smiling at me, and won't tell me anything."

Edward smiled at me, and for a moment I was afraid that he would just join Jasper to tease me, but he chuckled. "She's, well, thinking about her ability to have children, at the moment," he whispered in a low voice, making sure that Leah couldn't hear him.

I knew at that moment that if I had blood I'd be blushing beet-red again.

"Oh," I said, my voice a little high.

He smiled at me again, before Renee caught his and my attention.

"So, how long has she known, Edward?" Renee asked, an eyebrow raised.

"She guessed it pretty quickly, Renee," Edward admitted. "With a little help from Jacob, she realized what I was, and you can only imagine my surprise when she said that she didn't care about what I was, what I was capable of."

Renee rolled her eyes and smiled. "That's my girl. Vampire-friendly, born and bred."

Then she turned to me, eyes excited. "Sweetie, I had an idea last night. Alice called, and she and I talked it over a little. I'd like to see if you might have the gene required for shapeshifting, and I thought Carlisle might be able to help. Would you mind if he took just a small DNA sample?"

I softly bit the inside of my cheek. "Er, I don't mind, but have you thought about where you're going to get this DNA sample from? I don't have any more bodily fluids anymore. And cutting off a piece of me will never grow back again, will it?"

Edward shook his head. "No, if we cut your hair or your nails or something, they would never grow back again. But Renee isn't thinking about those things. She's thinking about the one bodily fluid you do still have."

I swallowed, realizing what Edward was talking about.

"My venom?" I asked. Renee nodded, and I groaned. "Would my venom have the gene, you think?"

Carlisle, who must have been listening from his office upstairs, spoke. My vampire ears could hear him, though he only spoke in a normal volume. "Your venom is still a part of you, Bella. It is the only thing your vampire body will ever manufacture. There is simply one problem…"

"If she has to be near a blood source powerful enough to draw her venom out, she might lose control?" Edward gasped. His arms wrapped tightly around me, and my eyes widened. There was no way that I wanted to test that theory out. So far, in my life, I'd only tasted the venom in my mouth once before; the two humans I had once hunted. I didn't want to lose control like that again, and possibly end up hurting someone. Edward looked down at me, his eyes gauging my alarm. "No, there has to be another way."

Carlisle spoke again, coming down into view. "There's no other way that I can think of, dear. But we'll all be there to hold you back if you do lose control."

I glanced at Edward. It was now my turn to gauge his reaction. His face mashed together, as he listened to Carlisle's fineries being added to the plan. He looked like he didn't want to listen, but as though it was actually a plausible idea. I sighed, as I realized that it could be done.

"Fine, I'll do it," I said. "As long as you guys can guarantee that you can hold me."

Edward smiled, though his eyes were still wary, and cradled me a little tighter to his chest. "I could hold you forever, Bella. But are you sure? We don't have to do this, if you don't want to."

I nodded. "But I do want to. I desperately want to know if what Renee says is true," I said. I turned to Renee. "As a theory, I mean. I don't doubt you truly believe all this."

Renee nodded and smiled. "Of course. I don't blame you a bit."

Leah snorted from next to Renee. "And if everyone else can't do it, I'll make sure you stay back. Don't worry."

Again, this sounded strange. Encouragement from Leah. Not openly accusing me of putting someone's life in danger, which I supposed was the whole exercise anyway, but simply saying that she'd hold me back. I gave her a very quizzical look, which she studiously ignored for now.

"So, Renee, you truly believe I could still find an imprint?" Leah asked, and suddenly I felt like I could understand what must have been going on within her. Her whole body centered itself around the answer to this question. I could almost detect her soul yearning for an affirmative, like she was just wanting to know if her imprint existed or not, somewhere out there.

My mother laughed a little. "Yes, I'm sure of it. It just wouldn't be fair otherwise. But you don't have to imprint to find love."

Leah laughed sarcastically, but I could see the hints of an ebbing emotional scar in her eyes. "Yeah, but I've learned from before that I can't make relationships if my imprint is just going to turn the corner one day."

Suddenly, I remembered what she was talking about. Leah loved Sam, but he had imprinted and felt horrible about it. Both of them had lost a lot of sleep and tears. Leah had been devastated.

This was her, healing from that pain all those years ago. That's why she was so happy suddenly. She knew that she would heal.

And just like that, I knew I had found a kindred spirit. I remembered the pain she must have gone through, even if hers could not even be compared to the intensity of mine. When Edward had left, it had left such a gaping hole in my heart. When he came back, it was like there had never been a hole, though I had been desperately terrorized that he would leave me again.

To reassure me and ground me back in the present, I squeezed his hand. He looked down at me with so much love as he held me, and I sighed, relief pouring through me as I realized once again that he was mine, and he would never leave me again.

Eventually, it seemed that Carlisle and Renee were too excited to wait any more. They wanted to know the answer to my abilities even more than I did.

"Bella, whenever you're ready, we'll go and try to collect some venom," Renee said, reminding me for the twelfth time.

Edward looked down at me with an amused smile as I hid my face into his shoulder.

"Ugh, I don't know… I don't want to lose control. I don't want to maybe hurt somebody. I just… ugh," I moaned into Edward's shirt.

"Are you sure you still want to do this then?" Edward asked me softly. "We don't have to."

"At this point, if we don't, Renee and Carlisle are both going to explode," I said. I straightened up in his arms. "Let's just get it over with."

Renee immediately bounced up, and walked over to the door.

"So, I think maybe we should just stay here in Forks?" Renee wondered aloud as she opened the door. "Or do you think we should try a subway station or something in Seattle?"

I swallowed back my fear. I was nowhere near ready to purposely lose control in an airport. Too many witnesses, even if nobody did get hurt. They'd wonder why I was suddenly jumping around and growling.

Renesmee looked over at me, and jumped down off of Jacob's lap. She walked over to Edward, who bent down. She touched his cheek.

Edward smiled, before picking her up.

"Carlisle," he said. Carlisle appeared next to him a moment later, already holding an eyedropper and a vial. "Renesmee had an idea. Get ready."

I turned to look at him. "Get ready for wha—"

Renesmee's hand touched my cheek.

Suddenly, waves of thirst scorched my throat, and the scent of blood filled my nostrils. I gasped, my eye twitching. I was vaguely aware that my mouth was opened and something was stuck in. Venom was pouring into my mouth. I could feel… control… slipping…

So… thirsty…

The thing was removed, and suddenly the scent of blood ceased, as instantaneously as it had begun. The thirst died down to a manageable hum at the back of my throat. I stepped back in surprise, and saw Renesmee, Edward, and Carlisle smiling at me. Jasper was laughing in the background. Carlisle was holding a full vial of my venom in his hands, which was smoking dangerously. The eyedropper had already melted.

"What—" I said, when I was sure I was in control again. "What was that?"

"Renesmee thought she'd remember the thirst, a few moments after she was born. She showed it to you to help you make venom, and imagined it a little more potently. She didn't want you to be scared of hurting anyone else, so she told me about her idea," Edward explained.

I was both slightly angry, and impressed. I took Renesmee.

"That was a very smart idea, Renesmee. Thank you," I said, hugging her. "But please, don't do that to me again without a warning."

Renesmee touched my cheek again, her expression concerned. She replayed what I said a few moments ago, and I could feel remorse lacing the edges of the memory.

"That's okay, I forgive you," I said, smiling.

Renesmee brightened again, and hugged me back. Then she dropped lightly to the floor, and pranced over to Jacob again.

Leah's POV:

I had to admit, the little half-vampire was growing on me. Maybe that was Jacob's imprinting affecting me, maybe it was just the way the little girl in his arms behaved. I just couldn't hate her like I used to.

Especially now that I drew confidence from her mother, who I also used to hate. I couldn't do it. It wasn't fair or right, or even possible anymore.

That didn't mean, though, that I had to get all lovey-dovey like Jacob was.

I rolled my eyes at him as he looked at me, grinning as though he had heard my thoughts in this form. I stuck my tongue out at him, and he did the same.

I was very glad, and frankly impressed, at the little girl's idea. She had evidently known that her mother didn't want to hurt anybody accidentally. Though she probably hadn't guessed it, I was also very apprehensive. I was a wolf for the sole reason that I was going to protect the humans from vampire threats. But her solution hadn't brought anyone in danger, really.

I turned to face the window as I thought about the conversation Renee and I had had. She was convinced I would also be able to find my imprint. I was elated. I felt an electric hum in the air, and it charged me with energy. I wanted to meet this guy, whoever he was. My perfect half. I had to find him at some point, right?

It dawned on me, in the back of my head, that having four imprints in our tribe at once was a phenomenal occurrence. In all likelihood, I would not find my imprint. But the other, carefree side of my brain didn't want to hear it. For the moment, I just relished in the fact that it was still possible to find my other perfect half.

I giggled at myself as I realized that I was already fantasizing about what this guy would look like. Listening to my rampant thoughts, I sounded like a schoolgirl with a crush on somebody I hadn't even met yet. I reigned in my brain, before this got out of hand.

'Easy girl, one thing at a time,' I told myself. 'For now, just be happy about this news. We'll work about that imprint stuff later.'

I saw Dr. Cullen step away, his eyes eagerly shining as he studied the glass vial in his hand, steaming as the liquid inside tried to eat its way out. I hoped he had something that could hold that vampire venom from eating all the way to the core of the earth.

The thought of Bella's heritage suddenly struck me to the full extent. My eyes widened in shock, as I realized that it was actually a possibility that Bella would become a sister in the pack.

How did I feel about that? I mean, I guess I couldn't hate her anymore, like I already said, but… to have her in the pack?

That might be awkward.

Like a tape recorder playing back condemning evidence against a criminal, I suddenly recalled some of the words I had said to Bella, back when she was still human, and pregnant with her daughter. I visibly winced. Those words had felt so right when I said them, and I was sure I'd never take them back. But c'mon, Leah. You definitely were much harsher to her in those few words than she had been towards you the entire time you had known her.

I bit my lip as I looked over at Bella. Her skin was pale now, as compared to then when I had said those things. She was the thing I had feared and despised, and yet I couldn't hate her. She was actually quite decent. She hadn't even looked at me strangely, aside from a few questioning glances. She was snuggled up against her bloodsucking husband, but it was hard to miss the contentment on her face and the peace as she cuddled up, her dazzling child in her arms.

They painted a pretty picture alright. If I were to open a window, they'd glow like a million diamonds. If I were to put a bowl of blood in front of them, they might drink it eventually. If I were to swipe a knife across their throats, I'd most likely just bend the knife. They weren't meant to exist, it was unnatural.

That, at least, was what I had been told. And what I had agreed with. But I looked over to Ms. Dwyer. She was just laughing and talking among them earnestly. And they were smiling and talking right back to her. They were old friends. She had found something in them worth getting to know. So had my brother.

I turned back to my window, these thoughts running through my head as I pondered over my actions and motives.

?'s POV:

She was so beautiful in the fading sun. I could see her clearly now. She was standing there, absently stroking a lock of hair as she stared out of the window in deep thought. I barely dared to breathe, for fear she would hear it, as I studied her from my perch on top of the tall treetop.

My expression drooped. There's no way she would want anything to do with me. I was a cast-away from society, cursed by my heritage. Others would view this as a great gift, but not me. My 'gift' has only ever chased those close to me away. I've been scarred before, and I didn't want to feel that pain again.

My tail wrapped tightly around the spruce I was sitting on, anchoring me. My wings had disappeared for now. I was feeling confident I'd be able to shift them back, but while I didn't need them anyway, I would keep my tail handy, in case the branch under me cracked.

My attention remained riveted on her as I thought these things. The way her hands, strong and yet also feminine and delicate, gently played with her short, shoulder-length dark curls. Her flawless copper skin gave the impression that it shone softly in the fading sunlight. Her eyes were just barely hidden from my sight as she stared into the forest, as if studying something.

I sighed again, as I leaned against the tree, staring up at the sky longingly. She'd want nothing to do with me, in all probability. I was too much of a freak of nature, and that was saying something, considering that she was a wolf half the time. At least her form was accepted in this town. In any town, even if they didn't know that the wolf also had a human inside.

I stared down at the hard, armored texture coating my hands. Like rows upon rows of fitted plates of solid steel. They flickered as I thought about them, before turning into human flesh once again.

I slid down, sitting on the tree branch over a hundred feet into the air, and putting my head on my knees. What was I going to do? I couldn't just walk up to her, but if anything I've seen about her was true, she at least understood the feeling of being a freak, even if she was in actuality the most beautiful person I had seen.

I caught a whiff of smoke, and I groaned. I looked down from my knees, in time to see the remainders of my shirt peel off, burned into a smoking piece of ash once again. The scars across my back were revealed to the world, angry and red under the extreme heat of my body, which was now a constant factor. I'd gotten used to the constant burning sensations. I sighed. In all probability, the lower half of my wardrobe would follow soon, and I needed to be out of sight.

I strained. Please, let me be able to conjure my wings. Please, please, pleasepleaseplease…

I sighed, as my wings refused to sprout from my back. All I managed to do was magically make the curved black horns suddenly sprout from my head, stabbing into the tree behind me.

I tugged, and the wood capturing the horns attached to my head gave way. I took a shaky breath, before I began to climb down the tree, hand after hand. When I got low enough, I'd jump to the next tree, then the next, until I was out of her sight.

Just then, as I was already nearly halfway down, I felt a popping sensation as suddenly my wings popped into view. I yelped, as my leathery wings were scrunched up painfully in the branches. I flexed them as I turned to jump outward from the tree. This was just not my… decade.

I took another breath before leaping, spreading my wings in the fading sun. I closed my eyes as I flew away; not wanting to see the ruby-red wings that reminded me of my curse, my burden, my pain…

…my past…

Crashing through the brush. Running. Wheezing in pain. The constant scent of smoke, causing him to cough as he struggled for air. The sounds of the approaching hordes behind him were beginning to get louder.

Hot tears fell down his cheeks. He had been on the run for a while now, trying to find somewhere that nobody recognized him, somewhere that he could hide from society. But he was getting hungry. He had tried to pay for what he could buy, and he tried to only come at night, but he could only avoid detection for so long.

The sound of pursuit crashing through the jungle brush was closing in on him quickly, gaining. If only he had room to get into the air…

As he ran, he felt his body trying to respond to the threat he felt behind him. He felt his bone structure trying to morph and change into his true form, but as always the transformation was not complete. He had no idea what his true form really was, but he knew the basics, and that's what scared him. Short, curled black horns on his head that poked up through his hair. A second set of skin, ruby-red, smooth and impregnable. Leathery wings. A tail that ended in a long spike.

He sobbed again. He didn't know what he was, but he was afraid of what it often appeared he was. His parents had died when he was young. If only they could explain what was happening to him.

The young man jumped, soaring over a fallen tree, and landing deftly on his feet. His shoes had long since exploded when his body tried to morph. In their place, he only had three toes, which ended in sharp black claws. His lower legs looked more like the structure of a horse's back legs. He had to admit, he could go fast, when he had space to run. But here, in this dense jungle, he had no elbow room to utilize any of his escape mechanisms.

The sounds of the dogs behind him were virtually at his tail by now. In just a few more moments…

He leapt again. A dog whimpered as it crashed into another fallen log underneath him. He scrambled forward, trying to get away to a clearing in the jungle. He saw the place where he might be able to take off—

Suddenly, a hand lashed out from nowhere, grabbing him by the collar. He yelped in surprise and worry as the hand jerked him back, pressing him against a tree.

"I swear, I didn't mean to—" he began, more hot tears falling down his cheeks, steaming as the water remained in contact with his red-hot skin.

"Shh!" the woman suddenly said, clamping her hand over his mouth. But she had several jungle leaves between her hand and his face. He was glad, since it felt like her hand was sub-zero temperatures. But everyone felt like that to him, whose skin burned so hot. She glanced around the tree's trunk, listening to the quickly-approaching sounds of pursuit. She turned to him, who was still confused.

"What is your name?" she said, speaking quickly. She glanced at the horns protruding from his head. "You're obviously not normal."

"R-Rye, ma'am," he said, still crying a little. This woman was strange. She looked very beautiful, like she was carved out of solid marble. She was pale like it too. And her eyes… as red as his wings and lower legs.

"Rye, I'm going to get you out of here. Don't scream," the woman suddenly said, in a soothing tone. She grabbed the boy under the arms, more leaves around her hands like she was using potholders.

"Don't screa—" Rye began, confused. But the woman didn't wait to finish.

"STOP RIGHT THERE, DEMON!" Rye heard his pursuers shout behind him. He paled, almost as pale as the woman.

The woman just gave Rye a wry grin.

She jumped.

Rye, clutched tightly in the woman's arms, felt his breath fall away as they were suddenly soaring straight up through the jungle's thick canopy. The woman reached some of the thicker branches in the foliage, and simply shifted her weight. She landed on a branch, which only bobbed lightly in the wind under her weight as she landed on it deftly. She carefully set Rye down on the branch, near the trunk. Rye's tail immediately lashed out around the bough under his feet, and the claws on his feet dug into the wood, anchoring him. His toes curled around the branch like a goana's.

The woman expertly walked to the end of the bough, balancing as though she was floating in the air, rather than walking a thin branch.

"So, you're definitely not a vampire. You can't be a Child of the Moon, and you don't seem like witch-material. What ARE you?" the woman said quietly, turning when she reached the end of the branch she was on.

Rye felt his knees feeling weak. He slowly sat down, though his feet and tail were still tightly wrapped around the branch. Unless his feet or tail decided that he was in no more danger, he wouldn't be falling.

Not that it didn't feel like he was already falling to the earth far below. Vampire? Child of the Moon? Witch? What?

He could feel the tears streaming down his face again, as he stared at the woman. Confusion, fear, worry, panic, and bewilderment were the prominent emotions running through his head and his expression. The woman seemed to finally register his expression. Her jaw dropped.

"Y-You didn't know?" she said, wondrously. She stepped forward slowly. "You had no idea about any of this?"

Rye could only shake his head, and put his head on his knees.

Then he thought better of it. The woman in front of him… if vampires did exist, she must be one of them. He looked up, wanting to keep his eyes on her at all times. Though his normal instincts wanted to shout that vampires didn't exist, he'd looked in too many mirrors to not believe in the supernatural.

The woman in front of him was sitting on her feet on the branch, like he was. Her arms were around her knees, as she looked at Rye's face, which was still constantly trying to shift into whatever his other form was. She tentatively reached forward, and slowly touched the ever-shifting skin of his cheek, taking a tear from his cheek. She gasped a little as the heat touched her skin, but she reigned in her expression again.

"Perhaps a shapeshifter?" she asked softly. The wind bobbed the branch, but neither of them were shaken from their perches.

Rye nodded slowly. If there was ever a word that could describe this… condition of his, that had to be it.

… Other than the one word that he despised most of all…

The woman smiled, letting the tear fall to the jungle floor below.

"Don't worry," she said, her voice silky and soothing, her beauty in the moonlight stunning. "I will take care of you, Rye. The humans will torture you no longer. I'll make sure of that."

The ten-year-old boy, overwhelmed with exhaustion, grief, and pain, nodded slowly, before he blacked out. The vampire woman reached out, steadying him on the branch as the humans passed underneath them. She hissed, a smile growing on her face.

"I'll make sure of that," she repeated, her red eyes gleaming maliciously in the moonlight.