AN: I know the draft of this was the pilot I posted, but I've done some major revisions to it and added a couple of things. With any luck, Chapter 2 should be out just about US Thanksgiving. Enjoy.

Chapter 1

Can't Stay Away

So where do I begin in the last three months of my new life? I'd gotten engaged to the most beautiful creature in the world in Edythe Cullen and been accepted by the last holdouts in her family. We've tentatively set the wedding date for her vampire birthday, August 13th. She always thought that she didn't have anything to celebrate on it, so I figured why not get married on it. It'd at least give her something to want to celebrate from now on, even marriage scared the... well, absolute hell out of me. Thank goodness my parents would never find out; after all getting married was basically the kiss of death for Charlie and Renee.

But there were still a couple of other things that bothered me. The biggest being that Edythe's first instinct when she found out that Joss had bitten me was to suck out the venom. Why? Didn't she want me; didn't she love me? Maybe I'd ask Carine about it one day when I wasn't such a coward.

It still hurt that I couldn't see Charlie or Renee any more. I knew why; if they ever found out about the secret world of the supernatural, it meant that they'd have two choices: vampire life or death. Charlie might be able to keep the secret, but mom… that was hopeless. She liked to gossip just way too much. Edythe was right; there wasn't any other option, but that almost hadn't been enough to stop me the last few nights.

My eyes, no longer a vibrant crimson and now more of a mid-amber, no longer gave away my newness. I had surprised everyone; well everyone except Archie with my control. There were even a couple of times where despite Edythe's best efforts, I had come way too close to humans in my first few weeks, and even thought the scent of their blood sent a piercing wave of desire down my throat, with her by me I knew I could resist. The first time… well I guess that Bonnie was my first time, but you know what I mean, was on Edythe and my second hunt together when I caught the smell of a human who had cut himself while mountain climbing and though I began hunt him, I found a way to come to my senses. I never found out who it was; whose life I had nearly ended, but as soon as I realized what was happening I turned to Edythe and let myself get engulfed in her scent, burying my nose into her hair. Her scent was always enough to calm me and make me forget about anything. She couldn't believe that I was able to stop myself; no one other than Archie could believe that I was able to stop hunting when I smelled human blood being so new. Not even Carine, who was beyond awed with me. Jessamine on the other hand looked… well pissed. I found out why later that night from Archie. Jess hoped that I'd find the transition difficult; that I'd rack up a huge body count in the first few years. Jess and El had gone as far as to bet on it, with Jess betting high. But with Edythe with me, I knew there was nothing I couldn't do. I had chosen this life and I wouldn't let the Cullens down. I'd be the best vampire I could be; hopefully as good of one as Carine.

It was on the third day of my new life, Royal had let it slip while he was working on Eleanor's Jeep that she and Jess had made a bet on how many times I would slip up during my first year. For the first time, they even allowed Archie in on their wagers, since what he proposed seemed just so preposterous to them; that I wouldn't kill any humans for my first year of this amazing new life. But his prize for such a bold proposition was large; the two of them would split the cost of buying him a bright yellow Porsche 911 Turbo.

It had been almost a week since my last hunt, so my eyes were a little darker than they'd been in a while. The phone rang shortly after darkness fell and Carine answered. I didn't hear all of the conversation, but about two minutes later, Carine knocked on mine and Edythe's room. "Beau?" She asked as she opened the door.

The two of us were sitting on the couch just talking about many of the things she had seen in Edythe's nearly one hundred years. Completely silly and ridiculous stuff, but I still wanted to know everything about her that I could, even the reasons that she went off into what she described as the darkest time in her immortal life. I looked away from her at the sound of the knob being twisted and said, "Yes Carine?"

"That was Bonnie Black. She'd like to see you in about an hour if you feel up to it."

I was nervous since it had been so long since my last hunt. I wasn't eager to test my unnatural self-control on any humans, let alone my dad's best friend but Bonnie hadn't tried to even call since the day of my funeral. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" I asked. "I mean I haven't hunted in a while and I don't know if"

Edythe cut me off. "You can do it Beau. I trust you," she said as she pulled me into her and kissed me gently. She was so confident. It was obvious that Carine knew more that she was telling me and Edythe had caught on about what wanted Bonnie to tell me.

I smiled from her touch, the electricity zinging from the spot where her hand touched my shoulders. Edythe could always make me feel better and this was no exception. "Okay, I guess. Where are we meeting?"

"She's only bringing one other with her, so she requested that just I accompany you," Carine said as she motioned me through the window of the third story.

That sounded absolutely insane. No matter how much I trusted Carine, Edythe was my true soulmate. I could resist anything for her, but her next comment stunned me. "She coming to the edge of the property though so all of us can be close if you need us."

She knew how much I liked to jump in this new body, so many times the family… well all of them except for Royal who was still really guarded about his past around me, would just leap from the window with me rather than run down the stairs. I followed after Carine within a few hundredths of a second.

I was shocked after landing on the lawn; that's when the reality of what we were about to do hit me. Bonnie was coming onto what she had to consider enemy territory with only one other werewolf? It made no sense, but maybe she was trying to show us that she trusted Carine so much now. "Okay… I guess. Let's go."

Carine and I took off at a full sprint to the edge of the property standing just at the head of the driveway as Bonnie and one of them came into view in an old sedan. My first thoughts were I wonder what Royal could do to that thing to make it run better, since the engine had random knocks and bangs.

Bonnie was driven by a girl I didn't know all that well. She was tall, just like Sam and Paula were, a little over 6 feet, her hair black and she had brown eyes. She just had this look on her like I should know who she was when she got out of the car and carried Bonnie into her wheelchair.

I wasn't surprised that Bonnie didn't think of the meeting the same way that that I did, but I was just so glad to see her. She looked upset but the girl, she looked friendly almost like I had met her before. That's when I placed her; it was Emma Call, who I remembered that Julie always called Em. One of Julie's best friends along with Quinn Ateara.

I was only a little surprised when Carine wandered away into the forest to give us some privacy. Was this one of Bonnie's requests? I wondered. Emma was still in her human form and carried Bonnie around like the other girl did the first time I saw Bonnie after I was changed; like she weighed nothing. I slowly went to hug Bonnie, and despite her shiver to my cold touch, she returned it. The smile on her face looked genuine, although Emma was now a little more guarded. I knew why; I was barely two months old to my still unbelievable new life.

"Hey Bonnie!" I said with what I hoped was a welcoming smile as I retreated to give a little more space between me and Bonnie, which I hoped would make Emma a little more comfortable. I deliberately tried to position myself upwind just in case my thirst would flare up.

"Beau, you look... well I guess." Bonnie said with a nervous smile.

I smiled again and nodded back. My eyes weren't quite as freaky any more, so I felt more comfortable in public even if Archie still insisted that I wear the stupid contacts. "What's going on on the reservation?" I asked trying not to inquire too much.

Emma was getting nervous about something.

"Oh, it's just been a little busy. Emma here had her first phase about a month ago, and Julie-"

I interrupted her. "Julie's a werewolf?!" My volume betraying me and a snarl escaping my chest before I saw Emma started to vibrate like she was having a seizure. "I didn't mean anything. Em, I'm sorry." She calmed down, as Bonnie placed a restraining hand on her left arm.

"No, at least not yet," Bonnie answered with a slight laugh. "But she doesn't have much time left. She's just had a massive growth spurt."

"That's putting it mildly," Emma joked back. I was so relieved that she was back in control of herself. "Six inches in two weeks isn't a spurt, not without HGH; it's Giambi-esqe."

I had absolutely no idea of what she was talking about, but the two of them laughed.

"It's natural for them, but still it's not very convenient," Bonnie added with a smile and another faint chuckle. It made me happy that she was able to laugh about what was going on. "Julie's outgrown all of her clothes and she'll destroy anything new I get her when it happens."

"Was that all?"

Bonnie's look was much more friendly and open. "We need to talk to Carine about expanding the boundaries of the treaty. Julie really wants to see you and I don't think you're a danger to anyone."

I rushed her almost at my full speed and hugged her. Emma unfortunately didn't realize that I was completely in control of myself and she phased right there in front of me, her clothes shredding instantly as she exploded into a gigantic wolf with grey fur with random black spots . I positioned myself between her and Bonnie to make sure that she would hurt her. Archie had warned me that werewolves, in particular young ones, were extremely unstable and I felt I needed to protect Bonnie. I looked back at Bonnie as she was saying something to Emma. She was proud of me; proud and then disappointed in herself for not trusting Carine and the rest of them to do what they agreed to.

"So she knows… that I'm okay and happy?"

Bonnie shook her head, a small frown coming over her face. "Not yet, but she will very soon."

"So how's it happen," I asked curious about the mechanics of the change from human to werewolf. "I mean, how do you know that Jules is about to... you know?"

Bonnie looked at me like she wasn't sure if she should explain or not, but she must have decided to still trust me. "It starts with the growth spurt. Normally it's about four inches or so in a couple of weeks, but that's not all. Next it's her filling out, almost blossoming into a woman. And lastly is the warming up. Normally that's the last sign that the first phase is imminent. Their body will heat to more than 104 degrees, but she'll show no sign of being sick. When that happens, the first change is usually less than 24 hours away. That hasn't happened yet to Jules, but when she does phase and can control it, she's going to want to see you. After that… well you just saw Emma phase, it's just that the first one is a little more violent since the werewolf isn't sure what's happening to her. Fear and anger are usually the most common triggers."

"I really want to see her," I said, my missing her not hidden.

"I know. When her body heat increases is when we can tell her everything; that everything that she thought were just silly old legends and stories were in fact one hundred percent truth. Sam unfortunately didn't know what was going on with her when her first phase happened and had to figure everything out for herself. Luckily she didn't go completely mad, but once we, the elders that is, realized what had happened to her, we knew that there'd probably be more of the children phasing so we knew to look for it and spot the signs."

"So she'll know about me?" My voice sounding expectantly happy.

A tentative smile crossed Bonnie's face and I couldn't understand why. "We can tell her if you'd like us to."

I thought about it for a minute. "Please do. I really miss her."

Bonnie looked hurt, I could only assume because she hoped the two of us might have hit it off. "I will," she finally said a minute later.

"Bonnie can you do me one more favor?" She looked reluctant, but nodded. "Could you tell Charlie that I'm happy? I don't really care if you have to tell him you saw me in a dream or whatever, just could you let him know that? Please?" I begged

She smiled, relieved. "You really are still there. Of course." She hugged me and then I thought about how to make everything easier on her.

"You're not telling me something, are you?" I asked looking at Bonnie skeptically.

She sighed before deciding to tell me what was really going on; the real reason for her coming to what could only be described as enemy turf. "It's your dad," Bonnie finally admitted after another minute. "He's all but given up on going on. Holly and Shawn have tried to distract him by going fishing, going to ballgames, anything but the quiet has had the opposite effect on him than what we all hoped. When he thinks, his thoughts always go to never having the chance to say goodbye to you. And now," Bonnie broke off in tears. She couldn't stand to see Charlie like he was and neither could I.

I had to see him, even if he wouldn't know that I was really okay or not. Maybe I could leave him a letter somewhere and date it before I died. Maybe that would give him some closure. "I'm so stupid," I whispered out when Bonnie broke down. "I shoulda never met that damned tracker, stupid Joss, but I thought he had my mom."

Bonnie gasped like I said something that she wasn't expecting. "Your mom? You know about what's happened to Phil and your mom?"

"What about them?" I snapped, which made Emma start snarling and snapping at me as she swung back around between Bonnie and me so fast that my old human eyes would have never caught it. "Wait Em. I'm okay, see?" A calming and restraining hand on her hackles from Bonnie made her calm down.

It looked like Bonnie was contemplating whether she should tell me or not, but after an awkward thirty seconds or so, she did. "Your mom and Phil are missing. They disappeared about a month ago from Dallas. The last time that anyone saw them was just outside of their hotel when Phil was on the road for his baseball team. The two of them went out for dinner after a game and that was the last anyone's saw of them."

"So that's why Charlie is losing it," I gasped. This was too much for him. Not just losing me, but now Renee too; this was just so not fair to him.

"Your dad is hanging on by a thread. I've tried everything I can, but he's been thinking about taking his own life."

"He can't!" I screamed, but what could I do to stop him? I really needed to see him as soon as possible. There had to be a way.

"When I went to see him today, he had three empty bottles of booze, not beer but hard liquor lying on the floor and I had just been by a couple of days ago; there weren't any then. His thread is starting to fray," Bonnie said sympathetically. "That's the real reason that I had to see you now. I don't have a clue any more on how to even try to help your dad. It seems he's worse when he goes fishing; the time he has to think just makes him think of how bad he screwed up letting you leave when you did. He thinks that if he had stopped you that he'd still have you, even though," she stopped there.

If she was going to say that I was Edythe's slave, and she was right in one way. I was hopelessly in love with her and nothing that any of the Quileutes could say was going to change that. As much as I cared for my parents and Phil, the way I loved Edythe was something altogether different; like I was absolute toast the second that I realized that she felt the same way about me as I her. "Thanks Bonnie. Can you do one more thing? Just keep trying to help him." She nodded. "I'll try and think of something I can do."

"Wow," Bonnie gasped. "You really are still Beau." She laughed as she added, "So at least one of those legends are complete bunk."

I joined her with a chuckle and we said our goodbyes.

In the end, nothing would stop him from the path my dad was on except one thing; that I knew. It was going to be extremely dangerous for me to see my dad, and even more so for him to see me and know the truth if that was even a possibility, but I didn't think I had any choice left. If the options were my dad killing himself and me telling him something that could get him killed, wasn't the latter the better options? Even if the odds of him being able to know and still be in my life, wasn't it better to at least try? I had to see him now.

It took five minutes, but we invited Bonnie back to the house for a cup of tea. Earnest always loved hosting company and now had a reason to for one of the first times ever. It was cordial, even with Emma's snarling just outside. After about a half hour, when Emma was sure that we wouldn't try anything with Bonnie, Emma left running on four legs as a wolf and Archie called Charlie to ask him to get Bonnie from the Cullen's. The story she gave him was that she came to try and bury the hatchet with us, but her car wouldn't start. Charlie was more than willing to give her a ride back to the reservation. I would see Charlie soon enough.

But there was always one thing that I knew I needed. I needed to try to give him a sense of closure; to say at least one last goodbye. Of course the first thing I did when I knew what I needed was to talk to Archie. We went hunting to Banff National Park in Alberta for the weekend, where there had been reports of bear attacks on people visiting. The winter had been particularly harsh in the prairies and the bears were just beginning to come out of a longer than normal hibernation. Eleanor had wanted to come, but I had wanted a guys' weekend; kind of like a bachelor party, or maybe calling it a stag party would be a better double entendre. Unfortunately Royal and I weren't yet on the best of terms, and Earnest had decided to stay behind since Carine was going to be attending a medical conference in New York. In response to the attacks, the park had been closed for the past week in preparation for bear hunts. Archie and I beat the human hunters and took advantage. In the first couple of hours we were there, I had drained two bears and even a mountain lion which had become my favorite. Unfortunately, I still hadn't mastered how to hunt without ruining my wardrobe. Luckily this time, everything was still in one piece, just covered in the blood of my prey. It would clean up okay, but still Archie laughed at me.

"You and Edythe are perfect for each other," Archie said laughing at me just after I drained my lion.

I laughed, because he was right. Although Archie and I had gotten so bad together that Edythe couldn't stand to be by us when we just joked around. It still drove her absolutely insane that she couldn't hear me and what made her even madder was for some reason when I was around Archie more than anyone else, although Earnest had become a very close second, their thoughts got muffled to her. Carine didn't understand it either and had invited Elena and a few of her coven mates to come from Alaska and see me. They hoped that there might be a reason for my… well muteness, at least to Edythe and with Elena's extra talent she might be able to find it.

"You still want to see your dad, don't you?" Archie asked as soon as we crossed the border back into the States during our return. He drove, since he could see where we'd be best able to cross without having any suspicion.

"Yeah," I answered with resolve returning to my voice. I nearly snuck out the day before Edythe left with most of the rest of the family to hunt somewhere in Northern California to see Charlie, but Archie stopped me, and no sooner had he done so that Edythe was at the door too to block me. She looked pissed growling at me, not playfully as she did when we spent time together going just a little too far physically. She wanted to wait for us to be married before we actually… you know, and I could respect that. Her growl that night had been… well terrifying. "I wasn't going to actually talk to him. You know that."

"I know," Archie said as his left hand touched my right shoulder. Physical contact with Archie made me feel really calm, almost as much as Jess could do. "But we just don't want to risk you losing control of yourself and doing something you'd regret." He laughed at something he saw. "At least not until the end of the school year. Royal'd kick your butt if you made him leave before finishing high school. He's never been to Cornell."

"Come on," I joked back, "he's been to Harvard and Yale already; who cares about Cornell? That's almost as bad as Brown," I added poking fun of the 'red headed step-children' of the Ivy League with a disgusted look on my face as I mouthed the word 'yuck'.

He laughed back.

"Archie?"

"Yeah bro?" At least I thought he said 'bro'.

"I wouldn't… you know?" He had to know what I meant that I couldn't say. It was hard enough for me to even think about hurting my dad.

"Yeah, I know. No you wouldn't hurt Charlie, but you need to let him grieve. If he saw you…"

"I know, I know. It'll start the whole thing over again." Renee took my death a lot harder at my funeral, but I had been told that she was getting better; at least before she disappeared. Her grief ran its course much faster, but Charlie couldn't help but think that if he'd stopped my from going to Arizona that night by any means necessary, even thinking of arresting me or having me committed according to Edythe, that I'd still be alive to him. He couldn't see me. "But what if I just went to watch him as he slept; you know, kinda like what Edythe did with me?"

Archie closed his eyes. In the past when he did this it scared the hell out of me, but now I didn't really care. I was as indestructible as the rest of them now, although wrecking Eleanor's Jeep wouldn't be easy to make up.

"What'd you see?" I asked realizing that something was on his mind not relating to the whole me and Charlie situation.

"Nothing," he said, but I knew he was lying.

"Come on Archie. Please tell me," I begged. Something about his expression was just so wrong.

He thought for a minute before deciding to tell me what was going on. "Edythe is going to have something to tell you when we get home, but just know that she'd lying to herself. I don't want to spill too much."

"Please?"

He looked even more tormented from having to out his sister. "She doesn't feel worthy of you and is going to break off your engagement."

"What?!" I growled in response. I couldn't handle it, and even thought I was full, something in me snapped and I nearly took the door off the hinges in anger with bloodlust filling me.

"Calm down Beau," Archie said as he restrained me with his left hand. "Don't do something that you'd regret later."

"What did you see?" I asked terrified of what it could have been.

"You were about to run off and kill someone." He said it so calmly that it terrified me, like it was going to happen if I didn't chill out right now.

I gasped. "I'd never," but I stopped because I knew that he was right. Carine had warned me about the mood swings more than anything else; how intense anger and rage would lead to horrible missteps quicker than anything else.

"Just relax Beau. Edythe is lying to herself. She can't leave you, but she wants you to think that she's not good enough for you."

"What brought this on?"

"She's still a little peeved at herself from all she stole from you; you know, your humanity and everything. She hates herself for taking your family away; not giving you a chance to say goodbye."

I hated that part too, but that was why I wanted to be well fed. I wanted to see Charlie, and even if he'd be oblivious to it, I wanted to say goodbye to him. Maybe he'd think it was a dream; I could hope for that at least. "You know that'd I'd woulda given it all up for Edythe, right?"

Archie laughed. "Yeah I know. When I was able to get Jess and Royal to not want to kill you I saw it for the first time, but Edythe still hated it."

"And in the Jeep after the game?"

"Then too. That's when the path became crystal clear, only two possibilities left and you being alive human for long wasn't one of them any longer."

"What does she really want?" I asked, almost worried about the answer. "I mean, how did she want us to go on?"

"She wanted you human, even if it meant that you guys could never get physical."

I dropped my head in disappointment. She never really intended me to be around forever with her, which was all I wanted. Did she really not love me as much as I loved her?

"It's not that," Archie said, almost like he was reading my thoughts. "She just would have liked you to not have to give up anything about being human, like your family. She didn't mind giving up everything for you."

"But all I want is her. I never cared about what it would cost me."

"I know, but she still hates how everything played out."

About five minutes of silence followed as I couldn't help but think about how she wanted everything to go. I'd never be able to give her the one thing I wanted to give her more than anything else; my very being. Renee had said that making love with your true other half is something that she couldn't compare to anything else, and she thought she found it in Phil. If Edythe was indeed my soulmate, my true other half, then I couldn't help but think about not expressing it in the most carnal way possible. "Hey Archie," I finally said about ready to blush, if it that was still possible.

"Yes," he answered. He had to know what I wanted to ask, but waited a minute before he did answer. I couldn't ask it. "There was about a fifty-fifty possibility of you two getting intimate if you had stayed human, and it was about two in five that you didn't survive. Only in about five percent of the possibilities where you survived, did you escape serious injury." He laughed as he added, "There was even one where she bit you when you both climaxed and changed you. But in any case, she wasn't going to be intimate with you until you married her."

I was a little embarrassed. Archie had a vision of me and Edythe doing it. I have to admit it kinda freaked me out, but I was sure that he didn't do it on purpose. "What does she really want with that," I said not sure of what to do now. "I mean, she wants to marry me, but what am I screwing up?"

"She just really isn't sure on herself. She knows she can't live without you, and it terrifies her to even think about it, but she doesn't think she's good enough for you."

Now it was my turn to laugh. "She's still so far out of my league that it's gotta be the other way."

Archie joined in with me laughing. "I know, but she'd still would have liked everything done more traditionally. Starting with you asking Earnest for her hand, and then getting on a knee to propose. That's one of the things that bothers her most about how everything happened."

I could only laugh. Her vision just seemed so old fashioned, but then again she was born in 1901. That was the world she grew up in, so shouldn't we do everything her way? "I just don't have any way to buy her a ring if that's what she really wants."

"You're kidding right?" Archie asked looking like he was hurt by me not even thinking of asking him. "Any of us would give you the money if you'd ask, but Carine has the ring that belonged to Edythe's mother in her safe. I have a feeling that she'd love you to give her that one."

So that was really it. It wasn't that she didn't love me, or her feet were colder than mine. Yeah, I was scared to death to actually marry her, but I wouldn't want anything else for the rest of eternity. Just Edythe, and if that's what she really wanted, then that's what she was gonna get.

"Can I ask you one more thing?" I didn't want him to out Edythe any more than he already had, but one thing still really troubled me.

"Anything," he said smiling, but before I could get to words out he answered my question. "I told you about it in Phoenix because we all knew that it always had to be your choice."

So that was it; this was the reason Archie was so set to tell me about the method of the vampiric conversion. "All of you?"

He chuckled, "Well, all of us except for the last two holdouts. But Jess had started to come around, but he still thought that you only had two choices: join us or die." I scowled. "It's not his fault; he just takes the Volturi's rules more serious than the rest of us."

"Why me?" I asked. It wasn't so much out of pity, but I really wanted to know why Edythe didn't just bite me. All I wanted was her.

"Carine always resented never giving any of them the choice. After I knew that sucking the venom out wasn't gonna work… well I wasn't going to lose my best bro," he said giving me a gentle 'bro hug' even though he was driving, "not for that."

"So who convinced her?"

Archie smiled as wide as I ever had before. "Carine and Earnest. Earnest was first to put it in her head just before you came to the house the first time; that you might choose it. But Carine was able to make her question her own very deeply held beliefs when they were trying to hunt Joss."

"Why didn't she want this for me?" I wasn't sure if this was something he'd be willing to share, but I was glad when he did.

"Edythe thinks were all damned. I mean eternally damned; you know, hellfire and everything. That we've lost our souls. Carine's worked for a century to try and convince her otherwise. That our souls are just as redeemable as any human's. But seeing the way you've transitioned has made her think that just maybe Carine is right; the weak and wicked when turned stay that way, while the strong and pure will also."

"But Edythe…" I didn't even know how to ask about when she ran off.

"Edythe was curious when she tried to feed the traditional way, but she always focused on the evil. See? She was still inherently good trying to save the innocent, and even when she killed the wicked she never made them suffer."

I smiled. Even at her worse moment, Edythe still tried to do what she knew to be right. There was no way that we were damned for this.

We were just about to cross Snoqualmie and then we'd head south towards Tacoma to go around the Sound. I took a glance at the gas gauge, and realized why Archie was exiting the freeway. Sunrise was about an hour away and it made sense to fill up now. I went inside the store to feign using the restroom as Archie pumped the gas. Coming out of the restroom, I picked up a copy of this morning's Seattle Times. The headline caught my eye and I couldn't stop myself from reading the article on the front page.

'Three unsolved homicides plague Seattle in the last week

It has been less than a decade since the apprehension of the Green River Killer, Gary Ridgeway, who plead guilty for killing 49 women over a twenty year period, but the number is suspected to be closer to 90. But now, something even scarier may be stalking Seattle. In the past week, there have been three unsolved homicides in the city, while there have also been a number of disappearances that cannot be explained away through any other means. The first disappearance was that of Riley Biers, an 18 year old freshman at the University of Washington a little more than a month ago. She was last seen leaving the restaurant where she worked part time just off campus, but without explanation never returned to her dormitory. Her roommate was just as stumped as anyone else, because the two had plans to go out that evening. She called the police the following morning, but there was no indication of her after he left work. As of this time, she is classified by SPD as missing, presumed deceased.

The following week, two more unexplained disappearances occurred from just outside the King County Juvenile Detention Center, and the following day, the first body was discovered in a burned out dumpster. The King County Coroner is stumped as to the cause of death, since there was substantial damage to the remains from the fire of Jeremiah Kraft, 24, a corrections officer at the Juvenile Center. It also appears he was the victim of an animal attack, as there is a significant amount of damage to the remains including shattered and crushed bones but bite marks that appear human, and the body was drained of blood despite much of the flesh and muscle untouched. Even more disturbing, all injuries appear to have occurred before death. In the past week, three new victims have been identified with a very similar M.O.: Jacquelyn Paulson, 56, George Dickens, 43, and Aurora Adams, 13, have all been killed in a disturbing similar manner to Officer Kraft. Police have no leads at the present time to any of the murders and other disappearances, but only one thing can be certain; something dark is stalking Seattle.'

I gasped when I finished reading the article, but Archie wasn't surprised for some reason. Had he seen what was going on? "This is horrible," I whispered which elicited no reaction from him other than a shrug. "You know something, don't you?"

He was trying to hide it; of that I was certain, but I couldn't let him. "Please Archie," I begged, "what's going on?"

"You'd be surprised how often our world collides with your former one."

I knew what he meant. "A vampire?"

He nodded. "Brand new, crazed with thirst. Like we all were." He smiled with a chuckle before adding, "well all of us except you."

I smiled back. So that's what Edythe and Carine had been so afraid of when I was new; that I wouldn't be able to control myself. "What can we do?"

"Nothing, at least not yet. If it gets any worse the Volturi will step in."

"But why? I mean why Seattle?"

Archie tried to look into the future to see if he could find anything. After a minute, a frustrated sigh. I knew what that meant and I shouldn't have been surprised. It would be difficult for him to find the actions of a random aged vampire, let alone one who was brand new.

"We'll swing through Seattle and see if maybe we can catch the scent," he said giving me hope. "The cloud cover will help us, but I still don't think we should try to peruse them on foot."

"Them? You think it's more than one?"

Archie nodded. "Even a vampire that was brand new to this life wouldn't be able to rack up this kind of a body count; not even close. At most three humans a week."

"But there's only been three murders," I started but before I could finish my thought Archie was already shaking his head.

"Three confirmed murders, but another four disappearances. I'd say it's three newborns, minimum behind it."

We swung through the city and couldn't even catch of whiff. Not a big surprise with the rain last night. But now I was even more committed to keeping my father safe. If this mess was only a matter of minutes away for a vampire, what would stop them from coming to Forks? Nothing, that was what. So I decided then and Archie actually looked understanding.

"I'll hide if I have to, but I've gotta see my dad," I all but begged him.

"Why don't you talk to Royal first," Archie suggested. "He knows what it's like to lose your family; something none of the rest of us really had to do."

I nodded, but I was already too committed; I was going to see my dad tonight. I just hoped that Edythe wouldn't come home early.

I left the Cullen's house about midnight hoping that Charlie would already be asleep. I perched myself in the same tree that Edythe had the first night she came here. It seemed kind of strange, almost ironic, but at the same time should I really have been surprised about it. After I was sure that Charlie was asleep, I had listened to his steady snoring over the TV for twenty minutes, I slid open the window to my room and went through some of my stuff. I never really noticed my human scent before, but I understood what Archie said. I did smell good when I was a human. Charlie must have been in too much grief to even start to clean out my things because everything was where I had left them. My copy of 20,000 Leagues under the Sea still sat open face down to the last page I read before leaving with Edythe to the baseball game. I even remembered the last sentence I had read, allowing myself to read it again and then the whole page. I planned on coming back here on a night when Charlie was away to collect some of my stuff so I'd never forget him; never forget who I was before.

Charlie's snore broke off in the middle of my reveille and it startled me. But it was temporary as within a minute, it resumed steadily again. I needed to see him, even if I he wouldn't know that I said goodbye. I hurt him way too much; there had to be a way to keep him still in my life. Coming down the stairs, I covered him in his blanket and carried him back to his bed from the couch. I don't know why I did, but I just did. As soon as I touched him, I thought he woke up but his snore never broke off.

Charlie's scent sent a fistful of flames down my gullet. He was even more tempting then any human I had even smelled but this was my father. I could resist; I knew I had to.

"Beau, I'm sorry," he said through another of his snores. So that's where I got it from; the sleep talking. "I can't do this anymore." His words so clear I wondered if he was awake or if not, what he was dreaming of. I wish Edythe was hear with me; she'd know.

I stayed watching him for another few minutes after moving him to his bed before I knew it was well past time to go. Edythe would be pissed, but I'd deal with her later. I thought Archie was right; maybe Royal would know how I could deal with this.

I exited through my window, shutting it but not locking it since I hoped that I'd come back at some time. But when I got across the street there was a faint growl. At first I thought it was Edythe but the scent was all wrong; wet dog, the same as when I met the wolves and Bonnie after my funeral. This wasn't a pack, but rather a lone wolf that I hadn't seen before. But there was something just so familiar with it, but I couldn't place her. Her fur was reddish brown and its eyes' a brilliant black. I knew those eyes. And her face was hurt. Hurt, but relieved if that was possible. After we locked eyes, the wolf turned and ran away. I started to run after her, but was caught by someone I wasn't expecting to see; someone who looked really pissed at me. Edythe.

So were off and running. Edythe is pissed at Beau and who can really blame her, after all she said he needed to give up his human life and settle for taking care of Charlie behind the scenes. The basic plot will follow largely through NM and Eclipse, with a few turns that I want. This chapter was a lot longer than I normally write, and I have a feeling that it will have a bunch of chapters in the 5-7k range, so updates may be a little slower than normal. Thanks for reading, and reviews and comments are always appreciated. Don't forget to frequently check the Prologue for updates to the character list to see the comparisons to Twilight.