Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, Stephanie Meyer does.

This story is non-canon and contains femslash.

Third Person POV: The Denali Sisters

Kate and Irina were diverted from their match by Izzy sprinting past. She disappeared into the house and the sisters looked across the yard at Tanya who was pinching her brow. The girls approached their distressed sister.

"What just happened?" Irina asked.

"I think I fucked up…" Tanya groaned.

"You'll have to be a little more specific than that sister." Kate drawled, obviously thinking of more than one thing Tanya had fucked up recently.

"She is my mate." Tanya told them tentatively. Her sisters had waited nearly as long as she had to meet their mates. So, she was worried that they may resent her for the bond she shared with Izzy. But to her relief, her sisters just smirked - they weren't surprised by the news at all.

"I figured there was a reason you were acting so weird lately. I'm happy for you Tan!" Kate said and gave Tanya an affectionate shove.

"I second that. But what'd you do to make her run away?" Irina asked. Tanya let out an exasperated sigh.

"We were sparring, and I pinned her. But she got aroused and I didn't want to take advantage of her instincts. You know how newborns are - all they want is sex and blood. So, I gave her some space and… well, then she just darted." Tanya explained.

When she had pinned Izzy, it had taken all her willpower not to whisk her away to mate and mark her. Izzy deserved better than a rushed mating and Tanya wanted to establish a solid foundation before their friendship evolved into a romance. She wondered if Izzy even knew the basics of mating. The evidence was pointing to the contrary.

"Damn, it's only been a week and you've already managed to upset your mate." Kate joked.

"She probably just feels rejected. She'll come around eventually." Irina consoled.

"I didn't reject her! Would it not have been worse if I took advantage of her?" Tanya argued and her sisters didn't argue. "When we become intimate, I want it to be out of genuine affection and not impulse."

"You need to explain that to her then." Kate said and Tanya shook her head.

"No, I want to wait until after her newborn year to tell her about the mate bond." She insisted. The last thing Tanya wanted to do was pressure Izzy into relationship prematurely. Her top priority right now was her mate's comfort. Once Izzy was settled into her coven and had matured out of her newborn phase, she would attempt to court her.

"Well, you have all the time in the world, just don't keep her in the dark for too long." Irina advised.

"I know, but in the meantime, please don't make it obvious." she said looking pointedly at Kate.

"Fine, fine, I'll keep the jokes to a minimum." said Kate with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"That's probably the best I'm going to get, so I'll take it." Tanya relented.

First Person POV: Izzy

A knock sounded on my door, and I promptly ignored it. I sat with my knees tucked under my chin. I was curled up in a nest of bedding and pillows atop my mattress. And I was content to hide from the world until I was forced out by thirst

"Sweetheart, can I come in? I think we should talk about what happened earlier." I heard Tanya call from outside the door.

I groaned and dropped my forehead to my knees. So much for hiding... I supposed we would need to have this talk eventually. I might as well get the awkward converstaion over with now.

"Fine, come in." I grumbled. I unlocked the door and returned to my nest.

Tanya slipped through the door and approached the bed. She perched on the corner of the mattress. I gazed out the large windows that framed the forest. It had been a long day and the sun was now setting, painting the sky and clouds vibrant pink.

"Izzy…" Tanya began. I gathered my courage and met her eyes as she addressed me. "I think it's time I tell you my story." She told me apprehensively.

Now, that caught my interest. I had been hoping Tanya would confide in me ever since she mentioned her extensive list of regrets. It was difficult for me to believe that an individual as perfect as Tanya had any regrets at all. But then again, my crush on her probably made me biased.

"I was born in a small ancient Slovakian village in the year of 1000 AD. I was biologically related to my sire, Sasha. She had been watching our family line through the generations. Sasha had been lonely from centuries of solitude and so she chose me to join her in this life. She encountered and sired my sisters not long after me. When Sasha stopped adding to our coven, I believed she was content with only my sisters and I as her companions. However, I soon found out that this was not the case. The Volturi arrived abruptly one night. They charged Sasha with creating and harboring an immortal child." My eyes widened in surprise. The nomads had told me of the Volturi and their laws. Immortal children had been one of the less palatable topics.

"When a vampire turns a human child, that child ceases brain development and is stuck at that age forever. The results are catastrophic - immortal children will ravage villages in their tantrums. They have no concept of secrecy or moderation. But they are created and kept alive because they are the very vision of beauty and innocence. Everyone who knows the child loves them and would fight to the death to protect them." Tanya paused and looked down at her hands resting in her lap. I waited patiently for her to continue - this conversation was clearly difficult for her.

"The Volturi ripped Sasha and her immortal child, Vasilii, apart right in front of my sisters and me and then set fire to their pieces. We were only spared because of our ignorance in the matter. I felt like a piece of my heart had been ripped out and burned right along with Sasha that day. I had never known life without my sire…" Tanya sighed sadly and twiddled her thumbs. Her face tightened in distress, and I wondered what she was preparing to tell me.

"My sisters and I… we were lost without Sasha. And we turned to sex as a way of coping with our loss. We mainly preyed on human men who rarely made it out of the encounters alive. Those who did survive went on to spread the legend of the succubus - the female demon who seduces human men. My life had become a constant stream of counterfeit intimacy. Sleeping with those men… it served as a distraction, but it never filled the hole in my heart." I felt my eyes moisten, I really felt for Tanya. I couldn't even imagine the pain she must have felt.

"It wasn't until I adopted this way of life that I was able to heal and find contentment again. So, I hope you can understand why I reacted the way I did earlier. I never meant to upset you; you did nothing wrong. I was just as caught up in the moment as you were. But I won't allow myself to partake in loveless intimacy again." I let out a breath. That was a lot of information to absorb.

"I understand… and I'm glad that you felt comfortable opening up to me." I told her earnestly. Tanya looked up at me, surprise written across her beautiful face.

"You're not disgusted with me?" She asked me tentatively.

"Of course not! I won't judge you for your past Tanya. I'll judge you for who you are today. And for the record, I really like who you've become." I replied, ducking my head shyly.

Tanya surged forward and wrapped me in a hug. The force pushed me back onto the pillows behind me. I giggled and embraced her back, allowing myself to indulge in her sweet scent. I swallowed back the venom that filled my mouth. I wondered if there was a reason that I was always tempted to bite Tanya - I never got that urge around the rest of our family members.

Eventually Tanya broke away, giving me one last firm squeeze.

"Come on, let's go see what my sisters are up to." She said, pulling me out the door.

Time Skip:

I laid back on my bed with my acoustic guitar in my lap, picking a leisurely tune. I hummed a melody softly in time with the song I'd created.

I was now almost three weeks into my stay with the Denali's. My conversation with Tanya had really opened my eyes up to the fact that my family members had lived long lives before I had met them. I realized that I had built them up and idolized them in my head. I was naïve; we were all imperfect individuals who were just trying our best in life. And although I had been abandoned by my sire, I didn't know true strife.

Over the past weeks, I had made significant progress in learning guitar. I had mastered all the basic chords and was now perfecting my bar chords. I had memorized several common strumming and finger picking patterns. And most others I was able to mimic after a few repetitions. I had started dabbling in song writing but I always had trouble conjuring up the right lyrics to go with my compositions. I had also been learning to play songs by ear though I was finding that skill the most challenging of all.

Kate had set me up with a music streaming service on my laptop recently and I had spent the past few days engrossed in exploring the application and learning my own taste in music. Although I found myself enjoying nearly every song I listened to, I particularly enjoyed hard rock and folk. The only genre I couldn't get behind was jazz and even that wasn't unwavering.

I heard a light knock over the reverberations of my guitar and stood, carrying my guitar by the neck. I found a smiling Carmen behind my door. I was surprised to see her holding her own acoustic guitar. I invited her into the room.

"I didn't realize you played guitar." I said while admiring the flame of the wood on her acoustic.

"I would say that I can play just about every string instrument that you can name dear." She said with a chuckle.

"Wow..." I said, that was quite impressive. I was surprised I had never heard her play before.

"I thought we could jam together." she proposed.

"I'm not very good yet, I don't know if I'll be able to keep up with you." I told her with hesitance.

"That's alright dear, you can just play along with the chords if you prefer." She reassured me.

I agreed, and she took a seat on the couch against the wall of my room. I perched on the edge of my bed facing her.

Carmen slipped the leather strap of her guitar over her head and propped her guitar on her lap. She started in with a simple four chord song and an upbeat strumming pattern. I observed the chords as her fingers transitioned across the neck of her guitar. After a few loops through, I was confident I had the correct chords and began to mimic her strumming pattern. Once I had the pattern down solid, Carmen branched off. She began improvising a melody that complimented the accompaniment. Her fingers flew across the frets with grace and precision. I watched in appreciation as she added in a few slides and hammer-ons for flare. She was a master compared to me.

Carmen continued with her solo for a few measures and then transitioned back to playing chords. She looked at me hopefully and I knew she was giving me a chance to try my skill. Mustering my confidence, I began to improvise my own melody. My solo wasn't as fancy as Carmen's nor my fingers as agile, but she smiled at me proudly none the less.

Just as I was starting to really get into the flow, someone knocked on the door. I faltered in my playing and accidently hit a wrong note. I cringed at the jarring difference, but Carmen didn't seem to notice. She eagerly rushed to the door and cracked it open.

"Is it ready?" I heard her whisper lowly.

I walked across the room to place my guitar back on its hanger and then went to investigate who was at the door. I walked up behind Carmen and found Eleazar standing in the doorway.

"Good morning dear. The girls have a surprise for you, come with me." He told me and waved for me to follow. He guided me downstairs and through the foyer. Then he walked through the arched doorway that led to the living room. Once inside, Eleazar stepped aside, and I spotted the girls. They sat on a beige four-person couch, smiling broadly over their shoulders at me.

"You actually go it?!" I squealed in excitement.

I stepped around the couch, taking in the moment. The girls had left me a center spot on the couch between Tanya and Kate.

"Custom ordered just for you sweetheart." Tanya told me.

I was touched. I had thought they were just kidding about getting a four-person couch to include me, but they had really done it.

I plopped down in my new spot and took a shaky breath, pressing my lips together. I was trying desperately not to get emotional at the sentiment of the gift. But this couch was far more than a piece of furniture to me. After months of isolation and condemnation of what I'd become, this gift was acceptance. This gift was truly belonging somewhere.

Venom tears filled my eyes and I grinned through them.

"It's perfect!" I exclaimed. "I don't care if I don't remember my human life, I know this is the best gift I've ever gotten." I threw my arms around the girls' shoulders and smooshed them together for a group hug.

This family had accepted me, faults, inadequacies, and all. They took me in without expectations and had showed me nothing but patience and affection.

"I love you guys!" I declared passionately and they chuckled.

"We love you too little one." Kate responded and was echoed by both her sisters. I felt them each place a kiss my on cheek.

"Get in here you two, you're not exempt." I called back to Carmen and Eleazar who were watching the scene with warm smiles. They laughed genially and joined the group hug.

"I'm the luckiest vampire in the whole world." I stated with finality.