Denali Home, Alaska

June, 1990


The Denali Coven watched an obviously pissed teen pace in front of them. Her mocha face reddened with anger and frustration, and hands clinching. Victoria sat with a slight smile. Seeing her mate so fired up was extremely amusing.

Raven called an impromptu family meeting to discuss their decision not to let her go to high school until she turned fifteen. This angered her but not nearly as much as being banned from going out with her friends.

"I'm going insane in this house! If I can't go to school yet, why can't I just go hang out with my friends? Their parents let them go out all the time," Raven complained. Her brows were pulled together so tightly, her family thought she might have an aneurysm.

"You met those girls at Walmart one time. I don't think you can call them friends just yet," Irina chuckled, earning herself an impressively harsh glare.

Victoria covered her mouth to muffle a laugh and Irina sneered at her.

"That's irrelevant and untrue. I talk to them on the phone all the time. You would know because I can't get any privacy in here, which is why I want to go out! Is it really too much to ask?"

Raven looked close to begging. It hurt the Denali's to see her so desperate. They had thought she was happy to only be around them and the Cullen's every now and then. However, with age came the need for independence.

"Vic," Raven said with pleading eyes. If anyone would have her back it would be her.

Victoria's eyes widened, not expecting to be called out. The Denali's glared at her, warning her not to give in to her young mate no matter how bad she wanted to.

God, she wanted to.

"I'm sorry, Ray. Anything can happen and we can't keep you safe if we're not with you," Victoria said, unable to look at her. She could feel the deadly glare that pierced through her like a spear.

"This is fucking ridiculous," Raven growled, storming away dramatically.

"Hey! Language, young lady," Carmen called half heartedly. She sighed, hearing Raven's door slam. Soon after, loud rock music flooded the home.

"You know, maybe we should let the child go have fun. I can't even imagine what it's like being a teen locked inside all day, every day with no one your age to talk to," Eleazor said, feeling bad for the young girl.

"I could always follow her and make sure nothing happened. At the end of the day, I'm responsible for her," Victoria chimed in.

It hurt to see Raven suffering. She would never say it, but she was irritated with her new coven. Raven was her responsibility and they were making decisions for her mate as if they had the right. The feral part of her that always lie close to the surface wanted to assert itself.

"I know you would take care of her but it isn't only about her physical safety. She is apart of our coven now and she is too young. I don't know if she's ready to be around other kids yet. What if she told them about us," Tanya said solemnly, making them all think.

Victoria believed that Raven would never do such a thing, but she did not know for sure. She was becoming more and more rebellious. If Raven were to spill their secret, the Volturi would get involved. That was something none of them wanted to experience again.

Thus, their decision was final.

Raven paced her room as Joan Jett and The Blackhearts rang in her ears. She jolted, faintly hearing a knock on her bedroom door. She wiped the tears that streaked her face, and turned down her music. She already knew who it was.

"Come in," Raven called hoarsely, trying in vain to appear as if she weren't just bawling.

Victoria closed the door behind her and sighed, leaning against it.

"There's nothing I could do to help you. I'm sorry."

Raven rolled her hazel eyes, and plopped onto her bed with a huff. Part of her wanted to be angry at Victoria for not doing more. She wanted to say something snide or get an attitude, but she just couldn't. It wasn't Victoria's fault.

Raven blinked and Victoria was sitting next to her. The smell of chai tea and honey wafted into her nostrils and tension melted from her shoulders.

"Do you like being here? We could always leave. It would be just you and I again," Victoria asked with one perfect, crimson brow raised.

Raven frowned deeply. "What do you mean? They're my family. I can't just leave them behind."

Victoria smiled, liking her answer.

Although she would have loved to go back to her nomadic life with Raven, it wasn't just about her. The girl loved the Denali's and she was better off having a strong family structure during her teenage years.

"You may not always agree with your family's choices, but always remember that they would never do anything to hurt you. I know you love them, but you need to trust them. Trust me when I say that we are only doing this because we love you and we want you to be prepared before you go out on your own."

Raven looked at her hands, feeling ashamed of her behavior. Victoria was right as she usually was. Her family had never done anything to hurt her. Although she still didn't know why Victoria left years ago, she didn't believe it was meant to harm her.

They simply wanted her to be safe, even if she was bored out of her mind.

"I'm sorry for being an asshole. Sometimes I just wanna go crazy and have fun with kids my age. Do something wild like go to the cinema and watch Dirty Dancing," Raven said, sarcastically. Victoria laughed aloud, taken off guard.

"How about this? You and I can go wherever you want to go until you're old enough to go out. Within reason, of course. Dirty Dancing is off the table. I hate that movie even more than Robo Cop 2."

Raven smirked and the vampire felt a tinge of fear. "Want to guess what's gonna be in theaters all weekend?"

Victoria groaned in pain.

The sound of raucous laughter echoed through the house.


Meadowdale Beach, Alaska

May, 1991

After hours of surfing, Raven tiredly towed her board back to shore. She unzipped her skin tight wet suit and pulled it down to her waist.

She tilted her head back as the sun rays penetrated into her skin, her wild, damp curls falling down to the middle of her back like a lion's mane. Her toes dug into the wet sand and disappeared.

She inhaled the familiar smell of the ocean and smiled faintly. Her eyes followed a small seagull as it floated on the strong sea breeze to escape the massive, ever crashing waves of the Pacific.

Victoria watched her with an unreadable expression. This person before her was not the child she had once taken care of.

It seemed like just yesterday Raven was a little girl, eager to play catch and ride her bike. So happy just to be involved in anything Victoria was doing or talking about. It was an interesting feeling to watch that childlike innocence fade and be replaced with young womanhood.

This...young lady stood at 5'7" tall, could speak multiple languages, and play multiple instruments at just fourteen years old.

She was quick to speak her mind without hesitation, filter be damned. Her attitude rivaled that of Rosalie Hale...thanks to said vampire, and she was loathe to follow any rules whatsoever.

The Denali's were being driven stir crazy by her constant attempts to sneak out. It was as if she didn't care that she was in a house full of vampires and they could hear everything.

It didn't stop her from trying.

However, Victoria didn't mind it at all. This irked her coven mates to no end.

In fact, she had expected Raven to be a fiery spirit. It only seemed right that any mate of her's would be wild and untamed. Her little bird was more of a lion cub, it seemed.

Raven turned around to find Victoria watching her with a small smile. Her breath hitched.

Her eyes traced a perfect, glittering face and watched waves of flaming hair flow behind her in slow motion. Every angle and curve of this woman was crafted by a master sculptor.

"I'll be lucky if I look half as good as you when I'm a vampire," Raven laughed, plopping down onto the sand. Victoria's brows raised and then she chuckled.

"All vampires are beautiful. It's just a part of our nature. You, however, are stunning already."

Raven blushed heavily and Victoria laughed at her uncharacteristic shyness. Suddenly, the younger girl became thoughtful.

"What were you like as a human," she asked curiously.

Victoria was quiet for a moment, surprised by her question. It was not often that Raven asked questions about her human life or anything about her past at all.

"I had blue eyes. My sister and mother had them, and my grandmother as well. In Ireland, it was not uncommon. My family owned a farm and I loved to take care of the animals and get dirty. I was alot like you. Free-spirited and wild. Utterly fearless in the face of danger. My sister, Anna, often called me a lion cub," she said, blurry human memories playing in her mind.

Raven nodded slowly, imagining a human Victoria. She imagined her skin being warm and her eyes the brightest sky blue. She could see them both running through the tall ryegrass of northern Ireland, laughing together.

It was so foreign to think of her as a human. She only knew the cold, hard Victoria. The woman that could take down a grizzly with effortless grace. She loved this Victoria.

"Do you regret becoming a vampire," she asked quietly, seeing the sad look on her friend's face.

"I used to hate this life in the beginning. After awhile, I came to enjoy hunting and that's what I lived for. Until I found you," Victoria murmured, looking at her young mate lovingly.

Raven's heart warmed and she leaned into her, wrapping an arm around the vampire tightly.

"What made you save me...from my parents? You didn't care about humans before. Why me," she asked quietly, eyes searching the vampire's face.

Taken by surprise, Victoria was silent for a moment. It was almost impossible to describe the feeling that urged her to go against the man she once believed to be her mate. The feeling she had experienced that day defied who she thought she was for majority of her undead life.

Looking the young woman beside her now, she felt that warm feeling again.

"I was a predator before I found you and I loved it. I was good at it. I am still a predator, but sometimes the universe, or God, brings people into our lives that have the potential to change us for the better. To give us a life we could only dream of," Victoria said softly, a small smile on her lips.

"We have the ability to take that chance or to refuse it. When I saw you, there was no way that I could walk away and I would do it again."

Raven hugged her tightly, remembering the moment she saw Victoria and how safe she felt with her. The comfort she felt in Victoria's presence was unlike anything she felt with her other family members. She wondered if there was someone out there who could give her that same feeling.

After a long moment of silence sitting closely together under the slowly setting sun, Raven spoke words that her vampire never wanted to hear.

"I hope I find someone like you one day."

Suddenly, Victoria felt queasy...