Edward had been gone fifteen minutes and I'd spent the entire time replaying our conversation over and over in my head when I heard a low moan from Alice. I instantly turned to her to see her eyes were completely blank. "Alice?" I asked worriedly as I realised what was happening.

She was having a vision.

"Alice!" I say again, moving towards her. I had no idea what to do. "Come on!" I mutter angrily. "What is it? What are you seeing?"

I'd asked this question rhetorically but she answers me. "Edward is in danger. Vampires in the woods." She moans.

Icy cold fear doused me, making me gasp. "When?" I cry out.

"Now." She blinks suddenly, her eyes back to normal.

I grab at her in my panic. "What's happening Alice? Where is Edward?" I growl.

She doesn't even bother replying. She turns around instantly and sprints in the direction Edward had taken off. I race after her without a second's hesitation.

We sprint into the woods, running faster than I ever have before. I easily overtake Alice, focused solely on Edward's scent. I didn't know what Alice had seen exactly but I knew that Edward was in danger. I wasn't going to allow that. A minute part of me wondered why I felt so protective about him, but the bigger part of me ignored it, urging me to go even faster.

I was running so fast that even the trees were beginning to blur. Which is why I didn't see the vampire until it was too late. I ran straight smack into her, our skin colliding with a crash that echoed off the mountains. I fell back but managed to regain my balance, courtesy of my vampire senses.

The other vampire didn't have the same luck. She stumbled backwards and fell on the hard ground, my collision totally surprising her. "Who the hell are you?" She snarled, pushing her pale blond, chin-length hair off her face. Out of nowhere, another blonde vampire drops out of the trees close to me, landing in a crouch next to the fallen vampire.

And then Alice was there with her hand wrapped in the newcomer's hair. "What have you done to my brother?" She screams wildly as the fallen vampire blurs to her feet.

I turn to Alice, momentarily distracted. "These are the vampires you were talking about? The ones you saw in your vision?" I demand harshly.

I felt a cold hand touch mine but I didn't look away Alice. "This is where I last saw Edward." She snarls, dancing away from the blonde vampire in front of her as she lunged for her.

Fury consumes me as I realised these vampires must have had something to do with why Edward wasn't here now. I turn around with such a fierce growl I flinch at myself. I was momentarily surprised to discover that the cold hand that had touched me had been the new vampire, the one who'd jumped from the trees. She had long blonde hair that was as straight as corn silk and she was staring at me in complete and utter shock. "How?" She gasps but my attention is diverted as I'm flung to the ground. I flip over to see Alice's golden eyes staring into mine in the same second as the pale haired vampire launches herself at where I'd just been, obviously aiming for me.

Alice backflips to her feet and neatly grabs her throat. In one smooth move tiny Alice has her pinned against a tree. The long haired blonde vampire snarls suddenly and dives towards Alice's back but we're both one step ahead. Alice ducks at exactly the same instant I grab the long straight corn-silk hair, roughly yanking the vampire backwards. She yowls, turning on me so suddenly I freeze. She starts towards me but then her legs are yanked out from under her. Alice lightly jumps up, grinning. I smile at her gratefully as I lunge across the clearing, re-pinning the dazed pale blonde against the tree while Alice grabs the fallen blonde vampire and yanks her up.

Or I should say attempted to yank her up for, as soon as Alice touched the corn-silk haired vampire's skin she jerked backwards like she'd been electrocuted and her knees buckled as she crumpled to the floor. The vampire instantly jumped on her and I had to release the vampire I'd been pinning in an attempt to drag the other vampire off Alice before she hurt her. I had only just released the pale blonde when something pale whistled past me, hitting the corn-silk haired vampire with such force that she fell away from Alice.

In the next second the vampire I'd just released was yanked away from me and pinned against the tree again. Alice blurred to her feet, ready to attack the newcomers when she froze. We all did.

There were two new vampires in the clearing. One was a female. She was extraordinarily beautiful, with blond curly hair that bounced along her shoulders with a strawberry tint and her eyes were as golden as Alice's. She was pinning the corn-silk haired vampire to the floor. But she wasn't important because, standing next to me, pinning the pale blonde against the tree was Edward.

He was just as good-looking as ever and from the looks of it, completely unharmed. My head spun in confusion and Alice growled. Edward looked sharply at Alice. "Alice! Stand down!" He growls. "They're not a threat! Look at their eyes!"

He instantly releases the vampire he's pinning and she shakes her pale blonde hair, growling fiercely. "Irina." Edward says sharply, causing her to freeze instantly. "Attack Bella or Alice and you'll really regret it. Tanya, let Kate up."

The strawberry blonde vampire instantly releases the corn-silk haired vampire who blurs to her feet, staring at me with wide golden coloured eyes. I instantly shift my eyes away from her, a feeling of guilt surfacing. I'd completely missed the fact that both the vampires had golden eyes. Alice and I had been too busy attacking them when we'd thought they'd hurt Edward.

Alice hisses in shock, staring at the female vampires. "You all hunt animals?" She asks in disbelief.

The strawberry blonde one answers her. "We do. According to Edward, so do you." She says softly.

I narrow my eyes involuntarily when I hear the way she says Edward's name, almost with reverence. Then I instantly frown at myself. Why was I so bothered how the strawberry blonde was saying his name?

Alice laughs suddenly. "Incredible!" She sings, her voice a high soprano. "I thought that we were the only ones!"

I don't share her enthusiasm. I growl menacingly and Alice instantly stops laughing. I fixate my eyes on Edward, furiously pacing closer to him. He swallows and steps back but I don't let his obvious discomfort at my closeness stop me.

"So you think you can just wander off when you're supposed to be hunting so that Alice and I think that these vampires," I snarl harshly, pointing at Kate and Irina, "have killed or done something to you so we attack them when they're actually completely innocent and then you just saunter back up here and think it's okay because you've discovered three vegetarian vampires!" I roar. "Well it's sure as hell not okay! We could have killed them!"

"They nearly did." Irina says suddenly, her voice light but serious.

I feel a stronger flash of guilt. "Sorry about pinning you to the tree." I mutter.

She smiles at me to show that there's no harm done. "That little one," she points to Alice, "is a seriously talented fighter. It was like she saw my moves before I made them. She was always there."

Me and Alice snort at the same time, trying not to laugh. The other blonde vampire, Kate, glares at me. "Who are you?" She asks suddenly, her tone unfriendly.

"Please forgive my rudeness." Edward says instantly, backing even further away from me. Tanya moves with him but Kate doesn't take her golden eyes away from me. "I'm Edward Cullen and this is my sister Alice." Her points to Alice who smiles softly. "And Bella, a guest of ours. Bella, Alice, this is Tanya Denali." He says, gesturing to the strawberry blonde vampire who smiles angelically at him. "And these are Kate and Irina, her sisters, who've you already met." He bites his lip to stop himself from laughing.

Irina smiles at me and Alice, showing that there are no hard feelings. Kate, however, does no such thing. She growls and blurs across the clearing, reaching for my hand at exactly the same time Edward yells "NO!" and lurches towards me.

I step back away from Kate as she grabs my hand. I idly wrench it away from her, my gaze locked on Edward's frightened face. There's a few seconds of shocked silence and Edward visibly relaxes. I instinctively turn to look at Kate, wondering why she isn't continuing her attack. She's stood there gaping at me, visibly frozen to the spot. I self-consciously glance around the clearing to see Irina, Tanya and Edward all staring at me with the same shocked expressions. I look at Alice in puzzlement. She shrugs, peering curiously at the four golden eyed vampires.

Kate is the first to speak, her face finally composed. "I thought as much when you didn't feel my touch the first time." She frowns. "That's rather interesting. I've never met anyone who can't feel it, vampire or otherwise."

I frown at her. "Feel what?" I ask curiously.

Edward answers before Kate can. "Kate is gifted. She has the ability to make anyone who touches her skin feel pain so intense they can't physically stand up." He scowls at Kate. "You could have hurt Bella."

Edward's protective tone makes me feel strange but I ignore it, staring at Kate. "That's why Alice's knees gave out when she touched you." I state.

Kate nods but she's looking at Edward in confusion. "Yes Bella. It only downs a vampire for a few seconds but it's enough." I shiver, thinking of how close Alice was to death, even with her ability. "How did you know about my gift Edward? We never mentioned it before."

"You aren't the only one who is gifted Kate. I can read minds. That's how I knew it was safe to go with Tanya while she explained about your family."

Kate looks shocked. "A mind reader? Seriously?" She asks.

"Think of a number." Edward challenges. There's a second's silence and then Edward speaks again. "57.2, what kind of number is that?" He sounded amused.

Kate laughs suddenly. "Impressive."

"I agree." Tanya's bright voice rings out suddenly and I glance at her to see she's staring at Edward earnestly. Jealously grips me and I struggle to refrain from flitting across the clearing and throwing Tanya and her strawberry blondness against a tree.

Edward laughs suddenly, as musically as ever. "I can read your mind too Tanya." He says gently.

She grins, not embarrassed at all. "Are there no exceptions to your talent?" She flutters her eyelashes.

Edward smiles crookedly and his eyes meet mine. I force myself to remain still. "Just Bella." He says neutrally.

The three female vampires turn to look at me as once and I meet their eyes steadily, even Tanya who is glaring frostily. It is Irina that speaks. "It seems that Bella is full of surprises." She says lightly. "Correct me if I'm wrong Bella, but you're a newborn, aren't you?"

"I'm eight months old." I agree.

Irina blinks, her golden eyes shocked. "You have incredibly good self-control for a newborn. You reacted earlier to defend yourself but did not continue attacking when the fight was over. Not many newborns would be able to reign themselves in like that."

"Truly Bella is something special, something new." Edward smiles, his voice full of pride. I find myself smiling back at him as Tanya interrupts, her voice of contempt.

"Not that special. She still drinks human blood."

Alice, having been quiet all this time, rolls her eyes. "Actually Tanya her eyes are only red because she is a newborn. She drinks animal blood just like us."

Kate turns to stare at me. "A newborn drinking animal blood? How strange." She muses.

I bite my lip, uncomfortable under her scrutinising gaze but luckily Alice saves me from having to answer. "So let me get this right, you come across Edward in the woods, see his golden eyes and guess that he doesn't drink human blood. Tanya goes and talks to him and you two stay here, all alone. That's when me and Bella came along and attacked you, right?" She says petulantly, her tone sharp.

Edward frowns at her, obviously attempting to read her thoughts. Kate answers. "Yes that is what happened."

Alice frowns. "Then who are they?" She points upwards. Every vampire in the clearing looks up straight into the startled faces of two vampires, near enough hidden on a high branch directly above us.