I am sooooo sorry i haven't updated in like FOREVER, but hey enjoy this. Sorry it's so short. oxox

I lowered my crouch even further, getting ready to spring. Carlisle had said that they were only curious, but when they smelt the human I knew they would attack. "Take your hair down" Edward said to quietly to Bella. I rolled my eyes, like that would help, her smell was something that couldn't easily be diluted. They came from the out from the fringe of the trees, two males and one female. I immediately looked for their eyes, if they were crimson then they were young and we would have no chance of stopping them from attacking Bella. We were luck , their eyes were a dull burgundy colour; they were not young. The leader appeared to be the dark haired male, he had taken point. The other male was a blond and the female was a redhead. I focused on her. If they attacked she would be my target. From the corner of my eye I could see Alice was flicking back and forth from the future very quickly. Her eyes were blurring and focusing again so rapidly that a human would not be able to see it. Her brow was furrowed as she tried to see the outcome off this meeting, the frustrated look on her face didn't fade. This made me worried. The nomads approached fairly slowly for our kind, they were obviously wary at being faced with such a large group. The dark haired smiled at us, but the other two did not seem as comfortable as him. The female's eyes were darting restlessly in their sockets, and the other male, although he was not staring in all directions like the woman beside him; he seemed to be seeing more. I was working hard to keep the growl that I was dying to let out behind my teeth; there was no need to make them feel threatened. The dark haired male took a step in Carlisle's direction saying "we thought we heard a game." His voice was relaxed with a hint of a French accent. "I'm Laurent, these are Victoria and James." They didn't seem hostile. I slowly straightened out of my crouch. "I'm Carlisle. This is my family, Emmett and Jasper, Rosalie, Alice and Esme, Edward and Bella." He pointed us out in the groups in which we were standing. When he called Bella one of our family I saw her stiffen with shock, if she carried on like this she could get us all killed, did she not realise that these vampires would kill her if they realised what she was? Not only that, she had no idea that the rest of the family were likely to get killed trying to protect her. I ground my teeth, now was no time to loose my temper. Laurent was talking again "do you room for a few more players?" His voice was friendly, light. Carlisle matched his friendly tone "actually we were just finishing up. But we'd certainly be interested another time. Are you planning to stay in the area for long?" He asked. Laurent seemed perfectly happy for the friendly discussion to continue. "We're headed north, in fact, but we were curious to see who was in the neighbourhood. We haven't run into any company for a long time."

"No, this region is usually empty except for us, and the occasional visitor, like yourselves."

"What's your hunting range?" Laurent asked casually. They thought we were traditional vampires like them, they must not have noticed our eyes yet, that was odd. Most nomads we meet are very quick to see the difference between us and them. Carlisle ignored the assumption he had made "the Olympic range here, up and down the coast ranges on occasion. We keep a permanent residence nearby. There's another permanent residence like ours up near Denali." I saw Laurent's eyes widen. "Permanent, how do you manage that?" It was unsurprising that he was curious. Normal vampires couldn't stay in the same area for very long, I mean no matter how careful you are murders can be traced. My concentration had left Laurent and Carlisle, and was now focused on the two vampires behind them, Victoria and James. Laurent seemed totally agreeable, but I was not sure about them. What was making me even more suspicious of them was the look that Edward was giving the male. Edward was shooting a look of pure venom at him; whatever was going on in this males mind, Edward did not like it. I refocused on the conversation between Carlisle and Laurent just in time to hear him ask to follow us back to our house, when a breeze blew through clearing.

Edward went rigid, and the second male, James, turned to face Bella, his nostrils flaring. He had realised what she was. James lurched forward, sinking into a crouch. Edward threw himself into a crouch, growls ripping through his throat. Emmett had also crouched low, preparing to spring. I moved from my position and stood next to him, sinking down to a low crouch myself, I would not let him fight alone. About half a second had passed since James had smelt Bella when Laurent spoke again "What's this?" he exclaimed, the surprise in his voice was clear. "She's with us" Carlisle replied, all the friendliness was now gone. "You brought a snack?" Laurent asked incredulously, taking a step forward. The growl that Edward released was enough to make him step back. "But she's human." He exclaimed.

"Yes and..?" This was the first time Emmett had spoken. Laurent's eyebrows were raised. "It appears we have much to learn about each other."

"Indeed" Carlisle replied coolly.

"But we will accept your invitation, and we will not hurt the human girl." Laurent was speaking in a soothing tone, clearly trying to diffuse the situation.

"We'll show you the way" Carlisle said, his tone was once again friendly. "Esme, Jasper, Rosalie?" he called. I stared into Emmett's eyes briefly and then I turned away and began to run back to the house. I knew that girl was going to be trouble, I knew it.

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