God, I hope I'm not talking alone. Just to warn you, dear invisible reader, that there is a somewhat lengthy rant at the bottom about how I expect this story to go. You may skip it if you want, but it doesn't contain spoilers.

Enjoy the new chapter!

Chapter Two

The sun was much brighter than the moon, and it shed light on many things he'd rather confront under the cover of darkness. At least during the night he didn't have to worry about being proper.

It was not that he wanted to be improper, per se, but the girl clearly had formed an attachment to him - like a lost puppy, except that the puppy was the size of a horse, and had claws as long as his fingers - and wanted him to help her. But he couldn't offer comfort to a naked and barely conscious girl, not like he would have offered to the gentle werewolf.

So when he could not take her hand and she started trembling, Esme and Carlisle had taken the girl upstairs to give her a bath and calm her down. Distrustful as they were of werewolves, their parental instincts could not ignore the poor dirty girl at their house.

Emmett, on the other side, was almost vibrating with excitement.

"Well, well, Eddie boy, I wouldn't have imagined you had it in you," he said in feigned surprise. "Curled up on the ground with a girl like some kind of savage. Were you guys raised by wolves?"

Edward massaged his temples, but did not reply. Emmett wanted to see him squirm, and he would not give him that pleasure.

"She seemed ready to take a bite out of you, didn't she?" He continued.

"Emmett, stop."

"I wonder if the children will be born puppies or little Draculas-"

"Emmett, STOP!" Edward roared at him. The jokes he could stand, but the insinuations...his body, taut with tension, was ready to spring forth at the slightest provocation. Emmett mirrored his instance, an eager smile spreading across his face.

"Do you not have any common sense?" he asked, angry and mortified. "Do you not realise she might be listening to your obscenities?"

Emmett laughed. "So what? Do you want me to pity you or the girl? You're a coward and she is a damn monster!"

Edward's body moved on its own. It collided with Emmett and both of them traversed the wall, landing on the snow outside. He punched his brother in the face, and a loud crack echoed through the woods.

"How dare you? How dare you?" Edward backed off, afraid that he might do something he'd later regret. He couldn't feel tired, but his breathing was unsteady just the same.

"I should be the one asking you that! How could you leave?" Emmett got up, his fists balled tightly, but made no movement to attack. His thoughts were wordless, centered around betrayal and hurt, not revenge.

Edward's anger deflated like a balloon as he realised his brother's annoying remarks were just a way of getting his attention. "I needed time, Em," he said, feeling, not for the first time, the weight of his 109 years.

Don't lie to me! You were trying to die. The words Emmett wasn't strong enough to say flooded his mind. Edward sighed.

"I am alive, am I not?"

"I will not trust you with your life until you're back with us and far away from werewolves. You're too stupid to be left alone." He sighed, then added, "I don't know what you were thinking back then, but your Wolfie gave me the creeps." Though she is kinda hot as a human. Or whatever she is.

Edward gaped at him. "How can you think that? Especially after you called her a monster-"

The truth is the truth, bro. The chick is hot. And she's just a different kind of monster, anyway.

Edward supposed she might be "hot". He didn't look at her, or anyone, that way. For all his sins, lust wasn't one of them.

He had to know if she hunted humans, however. Edward was willing to accept his family's company because he knew they were trying their best to be mindful of humans, and he could not accept someone who didn't - he judged she probably wasn't a very violent wolf, as she hadn't tore him to pieces at first sight. It didn't occur to Edward that the girl's stay with them was bound to be a brief one, or that she might not need nor desire his acceptance.

Emmett called his attention. Promise you won't leave again. I don't know if Bella could take the blow.

Edward nodded solemnly; he was a good liar. He had to be.

"Where is she, by the way?"

Long story short, Alice could not see our future, so she was kinda unnecessary here, and then Jasper, Bella and Rose decided to stay with her at the house to maintain appearances. Officially, bad boy me and you are on a bonding trip through Europe with our parents. Sounds good, huh?

That Alice could not see the future was interesting information. He realised he couldn't read the girl's thoughts, only gleam emotions - and even then, he was not sure they were hers or the wolf's. Could it be that she was blocking them?

"Remarkable," he said, just before Esme burst through the front door, a frown on her face. She is beautiful, Edward, but so lost. I don't know why Fate has chosen her to be such a creature.

Now that she was clean and clothed, Edward noticed her size. The girl was small, even when compared to Esme, with smooth skin and large golden eyes; not the yellow colour of vegetarian vampires, but a much brighter, lighter tone. He recognized that she had, indeed, a kind of untamed beauty, one that exuded poise and health.

A beautiful monster, just like the rest of them.

The girl extended her arm, trying to reach him, and opened her mouth, though no sound came out. She tried again, without success.

"We don't think she is mute," said Carlisle. "But she seems unwilling or somehow incapable of saying anything."

"And we're sure she understands us, so watch the things you say," said Esme, looking at Emmett. He had the decency to appear contrite.

The girl looked at the couple with rapt attention, and Edward could see that she, or maybe the wolf, indeed understood the meaning of the words. She turned to him again and extended her hand.

Edward massaged his temples. "What do you want from me?"

He could sense her impatience. She seemed eager to...something he couldn't quite identify. He hoped werewolves didn't look for mates in vampires.

"Werewolves don't have mates, do they?" he asked no one in particular.

Carlisle started, but the girl's eyes lit up. Edward was alarmed.

"Do you think I am your mate?"

Her eyes widened, and she shook her head. The motion caused her scent to spread around the room, but it wasn't unpleasant - nor overly pleasant, for that matter. She smelled like the sun and the citrus shampoo she'd used. It was like she had embodied a prairie.

No, son, I'm afraid they don't, Carlisle replied, amused. His response almost slipped through Edward's mind, but he managed to recover his wits in time.

"What could she want, then?"

You tell me. Can't you read her mind?

Edward was ashamed to admit that no, he couldn't quite read it. Carlisle had a look of wonder on his face. Just like Bella, he thought. I wonder how many more there are…

"It's not like Bella," Edward interrupted. "I can gleam a few things; I just don't know if they are her thoughts or the werewolf's."

Are they not one and the same?

"It seems not. I-"

"Would someone please disclose the conversation to us mere immortals?" asked Emmett, crossing his arms like a spoiled child. The girl backed off from him; it seemed that Wolfie's wariness had not abandoned her in human form.

Carlisle explained the situation to Emmett, who guffawed. "Man, Bella will be so bummed when she realises she's not the little special snowflake anymore."

Edward closed his eyes at the idea. He would not tell her, or he wouldn't ever have another moment of peace.

"She doesn't need to know. It's not like the girl's sticking around for long, anyway." Edward heard a quiet intake of breath and immediately felt guilty. He didn't know for how long the girl had been alone around Russia's most desolate terrains; judging by her eagerness for contact and inability to speak, a lot of time had passed, so he hastened to add, "Unless she wants to, of course."

"What?" Emmett almost stuttered. "You would take a werewolf to the United States? Are you mad?"

"I don't think that is a good idea," Esme added shyly. The fact that she was willing to contradict her son spoke much about her worries.

Only Carlisle remained hesitant. Edward knew how much he wanted to study the creature, so he turned to him, "Carlisle?"

"The Volturi would not like it," he said. I'm sorry, son.

"Volturi," said the girl, though it seemed to pain her. "Aro not good to you?" Her voice broke mid-sentence.

"You know the Volturi?" This was said almost in unison.

She nodded, eager again. "They study werewolves too."

"Caius hates werewolves. Why would he study them?" Carlisle stated more than asked. Edward knew he didn't mean to sound skeptical, but such was his surprise that his manners had been forgotten.

Her tone was sad as she answered. "To kill the naughty ones easily."

"How do we kill them?" Emmett asked at the same time Carlisle said, "Naughty?"

She looked between them, her eyes twinkling at their questions. The wolf's mind - for Edward was now sure it wasn't the girl's thoughts he was reading - performed the emotional equivalent to an eye roll.

"Aim for eyes. Or neck. Not easy, though." She motioned her hands as if strangling something, then turned to Carlisle, who was feeling uneasy at Emmett's line of questioning. "Naughty is bad. Maneater."

"Why are you telling us this?" Edward interrupted. He trusted the wolf, not the girl (though he was beginning to want to. She had put herself so easily in their hands, he couldn't quite ignore the instinct to reciprocate) and she was giving far too personal answers for him to believe them.

She turned her bright eyes to him.

"You said you wanted to study," she replied, and then inhaled deeply to say her longest sentence yet. "You were dreading to leave with your family because of me."

I don't want a pet, he had said. I'm just dreading having to leave such an opportunity to study werewolves.

"Oh," he said.

"Aw, man," Emmett complained. "Are you sure you're gonna be all nice to Eddie? I'll feel bad for leaving you."

"I like it here," she said. "Don't feel bad."

"And she's gonna be all nice to me too!" Emmett turned to Carlisle, batting his eyelashes. "Dad, can we keep her?"

The girl frowned at his choice of words, and Carlisle gave her a reassuring smile. Inside, however, he was eager to take her home, where he would be better equipped to study her tissues.

"The Volturi have no problem with you?"

She shook her head. "Do you not like them?"

"I do, actually," he said. "I like them enough not to disobey them. They are known for killing werewolves."

"You don't believe me," she observed. "Ask them."

"No need," said Edward. "I can confirm it's true."

"You said you couldn't read her mind!" Emmett interrupted.

"I can't read hers, but Wolfie's thoughts are clearer. I can see them in the throne room."

She looked at him with something akin to amusement in her eyes, but said nothing.

Carlisle cleared his throat. "May I ask your name, then? I'll write to let them know you're with us."

She smiled, a genuine smile that made her eyes close briefly in contentment. "Mother called me Kitty." She hesitated, then added, "Catherine."

Emmett snickered. What a kitty, though.

"Does it hurt to speak, Kitty?" asked Esme.

"A bit. Tongue too big, teeth too sharp," she explained.

"How old are you?"

"Fifty?" She said it like a question. Edward decided she must have been bitten when she was around his age, for she didn't look more than twenty.

"And your mother?"

Her face fell a bit before it became blank. "Dead."

Esme's heart filled with compassion, and at that moment Edward knew. They would take her back with them to Canada. And though he had, indeed, wanted to study her, he wondered whether it would be a good decision, to go back. He didn't want to live anymore than yesterday. The newness of Catherine had distracted him from the void in his chest, but it would pass in time. After all, how many secrets could a werewolf hold?

The flight home was quiet. They had called Alice to let her know, and she had thrown a fit - mostly because of the blinding aspect of Catherine. It was just for a few weeks, Esme had soothed. Nothing would happen to them. Or to others, she had hoped silently.

Carlisle also had his own doubts, but if Catherine had worked with the Volturi, as she affirmed and Edward believed, she was no more dangerous than a stray vampire. The eight of them could easily restrain her.

Emmett was worried about Rose. He knew his wife didn't deal well with changes to the family dynamics, and bringing a wolf into the house was definitely classified as a change. But, he had thought, if Kitty hadn't bitten his head out yet, she wasn't likely to do it to anybody, and his Rose was safe, if not a little disgruntled.

Edward didn't care much. He had found Wolfie interesting and affable, but females being gentle with him wasn't exactly news. He returned only to satisfy his family and his curiosity, which he judged as great as Carlisle's.

He sat beside Catherine; God forbid him from sitting beside Emmett. However, not even distance could drown his low voice.

"Are we there yet?" he asked in a childish tone. "Kitty, I'm hungry."

"Me too," she said. Her speech was much less stilted now that Emmett had been inviting her to speak nonstop. "How about I eat your damn tongue?"

Edward recoiled a little at the little hoyden. He was not used to women speaking so.

Catherine must have seen through him. She shrugged and said, "I know I'm not as well mannered as you expect. I'm only sorry it causes you distress."

As he said nothing, she continued, "You should open your eyes, though. I spoke no differently than you did just a few moments before."

Edward's response - But you're a woman! - died on his tongue. It would not do to say it; it was a stupid reason, he knew, ingrained in his mind during his early years. If only it were so easy to forget.

"You're right," he murmured. "It's time to let some notions go."

"You're damn right!" Emmett said. "We're all feminists here."

The three of them passed the remaining time of the flight in much of the same easy banter, and Edward got to know Catherine better. He knew she wasn't dangerous before, but now he realised she was kind, just as kind as Wolfie. Despite Emmett's provocations and her threats of bodily harm, her blood pressure never increased - except when Emmett made a passing remark at her being found curled up around Edward, and she looked deeply ashamed, her heart beating erratically. Emmett noticed this and, by the end of the flight, Edward was convinced he'd made her regret Wolfie's actions with all her might, if she didn't before.

As they exited the airplane, Jasper's menacing thoughts reached him. If she gets within ten feet of Alice, she dies.

He looked at Catherine, looking so fragile in clothes too big for her, and felt his protective instincts kick in. He knew she could manage herself, but he wouldn't let it come to that. She wasn't dangerous, and Jasper would see it. He would make him.

His family didn't even greet Carlisle, all yellow eyes were focused on the petite girl by Edward's side. She looked at them, seeming uncertain, then gave a small smile.

"Hi," she said softly. There was no reason to - no prey of werewolves needed allurements to be caught - but her voice was beautiful. Like the wind sighing through the woods.

Alice was the first to react. "OK, you're beautiful," she said, begrudgingly. "And in desperate need of clothes. I'm starting to like you."

"Don't be fooled, Alice, she has a foul mouth. Worse than a drunken-ass sailor, I would say." Emmett made to pat her head, but a gasp from Rosalie stopped him. "Hey, beautiful," he turned his attention to her, attempting to get closer. "How you doin'?"

"Don't," Rosalie sneered. "You smell like a dirty dog."

Bella was the last he noticed. She was standing at the back, eyeing Catherine with curiosity.

"May I get closer?" she asked finally.

"If it doesn't offend your nose too much," Catherine conceded.

It didn't, it seemed, for she came close enough to give Edward a quick embrace and shake hands with Catherine, effectively showing to the skeptical half of the family that the girl was, indeed, controlled enough not to bite everyone in sight.

Jasper's thoughts remained menacing, but they were always like that.

While they drove home, Edward's thoughts wandered. Would he use those few weeks to give goodbye to his family? He wasn't so certain anymore. A few days ago, the void had been immeasurable; he had no emotion, no hope at all. But the easy banter with Emmett and Catherine, the protective instincts he had felt, everything meant that he had not permanently lost them. They might be just buried under the boredom of eternal life. But did he want to continue living as a damned being, craving the blood of the innocent, going mad about the pointlessness - inherent evilness - of his life?

Catherine's head found a spot on his shoulder, and he heard her soft breathing and slow heartbeat. She was sleeping peacefully, again warming him with her breathing. She was a monster, too, he reminded himself; she was just as damned. But her warmth felt so real, her smile so serene...how was she evil? How did she deal with all the sadness, the loneliness in her life?

He decided he might be living just enough to find out.

Hello again! This is your reviewless writer talking. I'm not complaining, ok? I'm just, yeah, complaining.

This chapter was a kind of transition, so I understand if you were disappointed. I hope you won't give up on the story because of it, though. Give it a chance? Pretty please?

About how I expect this story to go: there are so many things I want to do I don't even know where to start, so it comes out as the mess you just read. However, I know I want Edward to grow out of his prejudiced, misogynist, depressive, maniac self. This is also (I'm repeating myself) a slowburn - Edwards despises monsters like him, so he isn't going to give in so easily to his feelings. And he's 109 years, which means this is happening 5 years after his first meeting with Bella at Forks.