CHAPTER 4

I didn't have to pretend to be nervous or tense when Edward promptly pulled me down on his lap after he'd settled in a seat opposite the other six confounded members of his coven. Although, my nervousness had absolutely nothing to do with meeting my mate's family. It was all because my ability to act wouldn't just be put to the test but under the microscope as well.

Edward couldn't have cared less about his family's stares though. He contentedly played with my hair, tracing the tip of his nose up and down my neck while also keeping a steady grip on my thigh. Not out of possessiveness or fear I would make a run for it, but to ground himself.

He was still dealing with his overwhelming need to claim me—the affects that instinct had on his body couldn't have been more obvious to me where I sat. It was a very real possibility he had situated me in his lap for that reason alone—to hide the situation from his family or have to explain all of that to them.

"So you two are together now?" the little seer asked. "Just like that?" She turned to her own partner, and they shared a quizzical look. "Did you know each other from before?"

Edward didn't appear to listen, so they expectantly turned to me for an answer. I laid on my performance thickly to really portray an inexperienced vampire and grabbed the hand on my thigh.

"Edward," I whispered, his name already so familiar in my mouth. "They're staring at me."

He inhaled my scent deep into his lungs, and then, almost exasperatedly, gave his attention to his family.

I was raptly fascinated by his behavior. Obviously, I hadn't been around when my parents initially went through their mating phase, but I wondered if it was normal for everything else to lose its importance the way Edward displayed it or if we were a special case. My scent was, naturally, more potent because I was pure vampire. I'd never been human, and for Edward, whose senses were now tuned in to everything concerning me, that scent would be close to intoxicating to him.

"Bella and I met outside the hospital," he explained. "We've never crossed paths before, but we belong together."

The empath narrowed his eyes. "How do you know that?" His voice was soft and lulling, and I could understand why he'd developed his particular gifts. I'd only spent thirty minutes in his presence, and this was the first time he spoke, but charisma oozed out of his pores, and you automatically wanted to listen to him. It had absolutely nothing to do with his gift either because it didn't work on me. He was simply a man who knew how to conduct himself.

"We just do," Edward replied, and I felt pleased to hear how he so confidently included me in that statement.

"But—"

"No 'but', Alice." His voice turned stern as his eyes moved over to the seer. "We can't explain it. We have a connection, and it's clear to both of us how unbreakable it is. All you have to do is accept it."

I prepared myself to speak, hoping to appear tentative. "I know this must be strange to you. It's strange to us too, but I hope you'll come to terms with me as Edward's partner."

There was a moment of silence, and then the matriarch—the doctor's wife and co-leader of the coven—took the first step. "Please, Bella, would you tell us a bit about yourself? I'm certain everything will feel better, for all of us, once we get to know each other."

I had already prepared myself for that question. I knew I couldn't be completely truthful in order to protect myself and Edward, but at the same time, I wanted him to get to know me. Not the girl I pretended to be to gain his family's sympathies. Therefore, as I started telling my story, I only changed the details that had to remain secret for now.

"I belonged to a large coven in Europe some time ago. Actually, we were more a family than a coven, much like yourselves." I had observed their relationships, and it held some similarities with my own family. I thought if I flattered them, they'd be more open to me. "I called my creator 'Father' and his wife was very much a mother to me. We mostly kept to ourselves. Never really left our own territory or disturbed anyone, much less attempted to create any sort of conflict."

It was easy to speak once every word I said had a ring of truth to it. I wasn't lying. Father had been a very tranquil ruler. He wasn't a monster or dictator as stories of him wanted people to believe. Humans had come to him from all over the world—some asking to be changed, others asking for favors, and some even willingly becoming feeders to us.

Real vampires oral venom was like an aphrodisiac to humans, and our retractable fangs were naturally coated in a numbing agent that meant little to no pain for the human. Some even experienced great sexual pleasure by being fed off of.

The same couldn't be said about the modern breed. They lacked the numbing coating on their blunt teeth, and because they were less sharp, being bitten by this new version was nothing but painful.

"Our life was quiet and peaceful. Some would even call it boring, but we were happy. Unfortunately, a new coven wanted to claim our territory. They were all younger, and they had studied us for quite some time from a distance, so they knew our weaknesses." Just like every time I talked of it, I was transported back to the time and place when my world fell apart. "Before we could truly grasp what was happening, they had burned our home to the ground. My father had forced me to flee by myself, and I couldn't go against his wishes, but leaving my family behind was too painful, so I went back."

I squirmed a little bit in Edward's lap, tears threatening to push forward as my memories assaulted me. I was so used to only giving myself comfort whenever my heart started to bleed, so when Edward pulled me tighter against him, almost as if he wanted to shield me from my inner demons, it took a moment for me to relax and accept it.

"I was the only survivor."

"That is horrible, Bella. I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

I nodded appreciatively and forced myself to think her name—Esme. I needed to start acclimating myself to calling them all by their names, or I could potentially slip up. "Thank you … Esme." She smiled warmly, but I wasn't fully ready to embrace her kindness, so I turned myself even more into Edward's embrace. "I've been alone ever since. I came to America, I think, twenty years ago or so. Time has a tendency to be fleeting, and I haven't been very good at keeping track."

"Where are you from exactly? I can't hear an accent."

It was another one of the ungifted vampires who asked that. The blonde girl who I knew had a very tragic start to her vampire life, and the one I was most afraid of revealing the truth of mating to. Through my research of the Cullens, it had been as plain as day to me that this girl, Rosalie, was a natural-born mother but without children. She yearned for them but would never be able to have them with her husband.

There wasn't a doubt in my mind that if she found out she could have children, but only with the right man, she'd tear worlds apart to find him, no matter the cost. It wouldn't even matter to her that there was a possibility her true mate wasn't even born yet or that he had already lived and died. It would be impossible to determine that as well because true mates could only be revealed if both parties were vampires, hence the reason true mates were so very uncommon.

That particular secret was one I planned to keep to myself for as long as I possibly could. When the time came, and I could reveal my true identity to Edward, I'd only tell him for the sake of not shocking him to death when—yes, when, not if—I became pregnant with our offspring. It was an inevitability.

"Our territory was in eastern Europe," I answered carefully, never really divulging any crucial details, but I also had to weave a few lies in. "As a human, I was born in Italy, and my name was Isabella Piccione. Naturally, I changed my last name when I became a vampire, but after my family's death and I moved to America, I felt the need to protect myself against the coven that attacked us. I don't know how much they know about my family's human past, but I didn't want to take any chances. Piccione is the Italian word for pigeon, and when I tried to find American last names equivalent to other birds, Swan was the most common." I shrugged as if I was embarrassed. "It wasn't my proudest moment, but it works."

The doctor, or Carlisle as I had to start calling him even in my own head, chuckled. "We've all dabbled in our own name schemes. No need to feel ashamed. However"—he leaned forward with his elbows on his knees—"I'd like to know what you were doing at the hospital tonight."

Once again, I'd prepared my answer.

"Since I came to America, my hunting habits have been erratic at best. I've mostly drifted around. Existing more than living, and often, I've even forgotten to feed. Not until I've been mad with thirst have I realized I'd gone too long, and it would be impossible to kill humanely. Whenever that happened, I would break into the nearest hospital for blood bags." I gave him a sheepish look. "I had no idea a vampire worked there until I caught your scent outside your office, and at that point, I only saw it as luck. Surely, a vampire doctor would have a couple blood bags stashed away in his office." I attempted an uncomfortable smile. "I'm sorry about breaking the lock though. I was desperate."

Carlisle took a deep breath, and then smiled with a slow nod. "Don't worry about it. Locks can always be replaced. It feels comforting to know you didn't have any ill-intent though, or that you planned to go on a killing spree on my patients."

"I'm not a cruel person, Dr. Cullen. I don't like to inflict pain on humans." That wasn't a lie. I had never intentionally caused pain to a human. They were my food source, and negative emotions such as fear or pain made the blood taste sour.

"Good, and, Bella, please, you are clearly my son's partner. You can call me Carlisle." I nodded. "Fortunately, you won't have to worry about food again. We don't believe in hurting humans either, but we all must eat. Every six months, we organize a blood drive under the ruse it's for the hospital. Half of it goes where we claim it goes, and half goes to our personal pantry. We have enough to feed one more."

"I appreciate that, Carlisle."

"It's my pleasure. I haven't seen my son this content since I changed him."

I looked at Edward, and he wasn't at all ashamed to confirm his creator's words. The smile I gave him in response wasn't even an act.