.:Bella's POV:.

Being nomads, it was evident that we would eventually run into others of our kind. The timing, however, was terrible. We were all still so new to this life. I had no idea what the outcome of our encounter would be. The last time another group of vampires unexpectedly arrived...well, they were James, Victoria, and Laurent. Enough said.

Although there were no humans here, we were still temperamental newborns and any little thing could set one of us off in attack mode. Being the close friends we were, if one of us was attacked, the rest of us would fight to protect. It was nerve wracking to think that it was possible to get carried away and hurt one of our own. And it wasn't likely that these nomads we were encountering would be bad people — they could be very innocent and friendly. It would be wrong to attack them, yet we might not be able to hold back, to resist.

"Here they come," Mike said, his nostrils flaring, his jaw clenching.

The newcomers' scents were amazingly strong. Ben stood protectively in front of Angela, Eric by his side. I stood in front of them, as the self-proclaimed leader. There were five of them by the sound of it. Three were light weight, two much heavier. Five was a lot for one coven. Most traveled alone or with another, and definitely no more than three.

This worried me.

The only vampires I had ever known or heard about that actually had more than three members were the Cullens and (their cousin clan) the Denalis.

Was a large coven more common than the Cullens suspected? Perhaps my luck was simply so bad these days that it lured one of the very, very few larger groups to us.

But no, it couldn't be me at all. This was merely coincidence.

Or was it? We were heading to Alaska, after all. I remembered the Denalis were located there. Running into them would not be such a far-fetched idea.

What if my old family was with them? Whether visiting or living with them, they could have been hunting when they came across our scent. That would make them curious. Especially if it was Carlisle, because he would wonder about our numbers.

I shook my head of that thought immediately. Any one of the Cullens appearing through the trees, let alone five, was ridiculous. For me to even think it was stupid. It would be a crazy coincidence, and was highly unlikely. Wherever they were, they were nowhere near me, and I would keep it that way, because it was obviously what they wanted.

Despite the odds, deep down inside me, I still hoped that maybe, just maybe, it would be the familiar faces I'd been longing to see that would emerge.

As five vampires edged slowly into our sight, stopping a few yards away from us, I scolded myself for getting my hopes up even the tiniest bit, because it was no one that I knew who appeared.

I took in the strangers' appearances, and I was shocked to find that they were still so young, in more than one way. I had to be extra careful now. It was difficult enough to get used to my old friends and their flaring tempers, along with my own, but now there were five other newborns to deal with. If I was worried before, then I was downright frightened now.

A blonde boy was ahead of the rest, which made me assume he was their leader. Remembering Laurent, though, I realized that might not be the case.

Another tall guy raised his eyebrows at us. He was furthest away, but he was big, someone who you knew you did not want to fight, especially when being a newborn meant all you had to rely on was your strength, because that guy had a lot of it. I couldn't help but compare him to Emmett, but at least he still wasn't quite that muscular.

"They're all like us," the tall, big guy said, sounding shocked. When his crimson eyes met mine suddenly, his reaction confused me. His eyes narrowed, and his lips curled back.

Automatically, I responded with a low warning growl, causing him to crouch, ready to spring at me. Mike did not like this; he imitated the boy.

Already things were not going well.

The other vampires were becoming edgy, glaring menacingly at me like I was something they had been waiting a long time for.

"Don'g kill her," the blonde boy demanded, his voice loud with authority. "That's not our job," he finished, eyes glued to me.

What exactly were they talking about? Not one of them looked familiar to me, and with the way they all stared at me it was very, very hard not to get defensive. Were they trying to start an all out newborn battle?

I could hear Mike and Eric growling behind me. A low rumbled was coming from Jessica's chest, along with Ben's. Angela was the only one who remained quiet, but she had to be fighting hard to control herself. Who knew how long she would last? In a way, she reminded me of Esme. She didn't want to fight, even as a newborn, and she was fiercely trying to keep her cool. I appreciated that, and greatly admired her for it, too. It helped me concentrate on my own self-control.

I held my hand out, cautioning my friends to stay calm. They quieted only a little.

"Riley," a black-haired girl on the left addressed the blonde boy. "This is our chance to get her. We can't just stand here and wait."

Riley nodded. "We have to wait. Just make sure she doesn't leave." The others glared at me.

"What are you talking about?" Jessica asked finally. "Who are all of you?"

"That don't matter much," said the big guy. "You're all gonna die anyway." He smiled dangerously at us, taking a step forward. A couple of hisses erupted from behind me, and I immediately raised my hand for them to stop.

My temper was shaking within me. I had to keep it under the surface and not let it get the best of me. I felt like a young werewolf rather than a vampire.

"I'm sure this doesn't have to end in violence," I said carefully. Maybe if I could talk calmly with them, they wouldn't feel any ill will toward us. It always worked for Carlisle, didn't it? Though, Carlisle did have a cool air about him, not to mention centuries of experience.

I grimaced.

"Not for them," Riley replied, gesturing his head in the direction of my friends. "If they leave now, they won't get hurt. But you will die, there's no doubt about that."

The black-haired girl's laughter pealed. "Yeah. No one survives when our creator is after them."

Me? What did I ever do to anybody? I was technically just born for goodness sake! Why would their creator be after me? That made no sense.

"I think you have the wrong person," I decided. But Riley shook his head, confident.

"She wanted you when you were human, and she almost had you, but those giant dogs appeared."

My eyes widened.

Riley smirked at my reaction. "You see. Now you understand, don't you? There is no mistake."

Impossible. When he said 'she', he couldn't possibly mean...

My thoughts jumbled as I rushed to fit the pieces together. Someone who was after me. A vampire who wanted me even while I was human. Someone who created the newborns in front of me, who had been the ones to attack Forks. The flash of orange right before I was bit. There was no mistaking who it was, and I couldn't help but shudder.

It happened unpredictably fast after that. Riley took a step forward, and Mike sprang.

"No!" I yelled, moving to catch Mike, to intercept him before he reached his target.

Fighting would not end well for any of us. Someone would be lost, and I couldn't bear to lose any of my friends.

It was too late when I got in between the two boys. Mike slammed into me, sending us both hurdling toward Riley. The sound of our bodies colliding thundered through the air. I hissed, shoving Mike off and trying to hold him back at the same time. He clawed at Riley, desperate to strike, his jaw snapping between fierce snarls.

Someone grabbed me from the back and threw me aside. I hissed again, reflexively crouched down to defend myself, but Riley was paying no attention to me; his focus was entirely on Mike. They wrestled around, their glistening teeth snapping just millimeters from each other's skin.

From my side view, I quickly took in the whereabouts of my other friends.

The big looking vampire had lunged himself at Mike, but Eric had intercepted and was now going head-to-head with him. While Jessica and the black-haired girl glared at one another, their venomous teeth bared out in warning.

Angela's composure had slipped. She was growling at the two other females in Riley's group, as they danced around the clearing. Ben was stanced protectively in front of her, not sure whether to back up his friends or stay to make sure his mate stays unharmed.

I didn't know what to do about any of it, so I settled for launching myself into Riley. I threw him off Mike.

"Stop, Mike! Stop!" I ordered, gripping his arms and forcing him back. Of course, that did no good. Those damn crazed newborn instincts made him bare his teeth at me. I fought to keep myself at bay, but it did me little good. I snarled as someone slammed into my back, their hold so tight on me that I could feel my bones beginning to crack.

Angela was shouting for Jessica to stop, and that's when I saw the short female lunge herself at Angela.

At the same time, Eric went smashing into the trees — the big guy definitely had the advantage.

Angela gasped loudly, yet something told me it wasn't about Eric or the little short girl who attacked her. Something else had caught her attention. And as I looked around, I could not believe what I was seeing, nor could I understand it.

Directly behind me, Mike had his hands clasped to the immobile body of Riley, who's eyes were fiercely intent on me. Surprised, Mike let go and jumped back.

The two female vampires who were closing in on Angela and Ben were rooted in place, along with the big one who was just inches from Eric.

The black-haired girl amazed me the most, as she was in mid-spring. Jessica was still crouched, but her eyes were wide as she stared up at her enemy's frozen, floating form.

"What—" Eric started, at the same time Mike said, "What the heck?"

Mike staggered away from the vicious-looking Riley, as I did the same.

Whatever happened, whatever did this, it did not freeze us too. I quickly assessed my surroundings, searching for information. Ben's hands were outstretched, like he was trying to halt traffic. One was reached toward Mike and me, the other toward the short girl who was just about to reach Angela. Even though it did his body no good, Ben was breathing heavily, panting. His eyes darted around, his face crumpled and concentrated.

Did Ben do this? How? There was no way.

Mike, Eric, Jessica, and I moved back to where Angela and Ben were, still focusing on our recent attackers.

"Ben? How did you do this?" Angela asked. She sounded extremely positive it was his doing.

Ben did not answer. He was fixated on the ones frozen before him. He blinked and looked at me, panicked. "I don't know, but I don't think I can hold on much longer. I have no idea how I'm doing this!" he shouted, saying it all in one quick breath. I heard the pleading in his voice, saw the anxiety in his eyes when he looked at me for help. There was nothing I could do for him, though. I had no idea what was going on myself.

Riley moved a fraction of an inch, catching my immediate attention. My friends and I watched silently as Riley appeared to be in slow motion, finishing the step he was taking just before he froze, and closing his arms around the space where I had been standing. The rest of his coven moved at the same sluggish pace.

It was then that my brain clicked and realization came crashing down on me, wiping out my newborn tendency to lack any common sense. I knew we had to get out of here. Obviously, we were not doing well with the fighting. Mike and I couldn't even take out one guy on our own; Eric was having no luck at all (one of his hands was even distorted); Jessica wouldn't last against her opponent; and, as strange as it was, Angela and Ben weren't much for fighting at all.

There was only one solution for us: escape.

"Come on!" I said, turning to the direction we were headed before our encounter with these hostile newborns. "We have to leave while we can!"

Nobody argued with me. We raced through away as fast as we could. Angela paused when Ben was the only one who didn't move. I told the others to keep going, as I stopped where Angela was.

"If I move...whatever this is will break," Ben said, his voice strained.

"It looks like it's already breaking, Ben," I said. "When you let go, they will be distracted by our sudden disappearance. That should give us enough time to get out of here." Or at least to get far enough ahead so they wouldn't come chasing after us.

Ben glanced at Angela with an uneasy expression. Then he nodded, took one deep breath, and suddenly he was running our way. He grabbed my and Angela's arms as he went.

We hurried through the snow-covered forest, running speedily away from the confused, angry growls erupting behind us. The noise grew further and further away, until I was certain we had succeeded in escaping. Yet, even if we had gotten away, my nerves did not ease. Riley's words hung in the air around me, ringing through my ears, hovering in my thoughts. Their creator could only be one vampire, and there was only one who would want me, whether I was mortal or not. No more did I suffer from constant nightmares, but that did not mean they were gone. My death would always be a priority to her, to Victoria. Fear radiated through me just thinking about her. And now I had doomed my friends along with me.

"We should have stayed and fought," Mike mumbled, clearly irritated with having to flee.

"Yes, Mike, because you were doing so well," Jessica retorted, sarcasm dripping from her words.

Mike scowled in her direction. "I was doing just fine. I would have torn that puny blonde apart if Bella had stopped getting in the way."

"Sure, blame Bella." Eric rolled his eyes.

Before Mike could argue with Eric's own poorly fought battle, I spoke up. "We can't just attack whoever we meet. We need to learn to control our tempers or innocent people, including us, will get hurt."

"Well, excuse me. From what I remember, they were the ones who wanted you dead. I was protecting you," Mike responded, astounded and offended that I did not seem just a little more appreciative.

"Who died and made you boss, anyway?" Jessica added.

"We all died, Jessica," Eric answered sourly. He was about to say more, when a strange feeling hit me — the sudden awareness that we were being followed. I was not the only person who felt it, judging from the tension seething off my now quiet friends.

Mike spun to a halt, planting his feet in the ground. His lips curved into a deadly smile. "Perfect. Let them come."

The spark igniting in his fiery eyes made me realize the real reason Mike was seeking for a fight with the other newborns. The flames burning within his ruby irises was that of vengeance. He wanted revenge for the town, for his friends and family.

I would have never expected that Mike was capable of holding such a dark passion. It was unsettling to see.

"No, Mike. We have to keep going—"

"Then you go on ahead," he hissed back at me. I shook my head, as a sharp growl threatened to tear through my clenched teeth in irritation. I found myself lost in an inner struggle to control my annoyance with Mike, and to resist my own self-preservative urge to defend against Riley and his gang.

Our pursuers reached the point that made my body react on its own. My lips pulled back and a wild snarl ripped through my throat.

Ben flung Angela behind him, holding his hands out in front of him as if he was ready to repeat our previous escape method. But I knew he was uncertain on how exactly to attempt the strange phenomenon.

The wind blew against us, striking us with the scents of our enemies. My muscles tightened in readiness. The incoming vampires began to slow their pace, maybe in wariness, or perhaps in strategy... No, newborns did not strategize. Their only strategy was already planned out in their brains when they were born — fight or flight. Direct attacks were all they knew, so when that didn't work, they ran. We were perfect examples of that.

In the distance, the vampires leaped from the shadows. Mike danced forward eagerly, but then skidded to a halt when the faces were different and unrecognizable. His already driven instincts told him to keep going for the kill, but the slight reason on his face told me that he was fighting to find his common sense, that this was not Riley.

And as I made the same conclusion with everyone else, I gasped. My focus zeroed in on the one detail that changed everything. I stared, wide-eyed, as the new vampires slowed, gazing warily at us, their honey-hued eyes locked on my bright red ones. There were only three of them, something I should have noted upon first hearing their advance.

Mike hesitated, unsure of what to do, wavering back and forth on his feet. The fire in his eyes was put out, replaced with bewilderment as he grimaced at the newcomers.

The others were motionless behind me and Mike; if it weren't for their distinct scents, I would have assumed they were no longer there.

Obviously, these gold-eyed vampires were not the Cullens. I had never seen them before, and the others behind me would have recognized them, too.

There was only one other coven who came to mind.

"The Denalis." I whispered my thought out loud in wonder. Ahead, the three strangers seemed startled. I had thought right, apparently.

"The what?" Eric asked. He kept his voice low.

"Young one," called on of the Denalis; a beautiful female with golden blonde hair.

Mike tensed beside me, causing me to do the same. I quickly remembered that there was no threat here, and I worked to relax.

"How do you know us?" the woman questioned. Her eyes were narrowed while she spoke. The other male and female, both with a somewhat darker complexion, looked at each other before turning their attention back to me.

"The Cullens knew you," I said.

Mike's head snapped to me, and I could guess the others were staring at me, too. But those were the only words I was able to get out, for new footsteps sounded, approaching from the east. This time, I counted that there were five of them.

Riley!

Mike and I stiffened, slanting our bodies in that direction. Our instincts demanded not to turn our backs on these three seemingly friendly vampires just yet.

Ben warily looked away from the Denalis, pushing his hands out in front of him again.

The Denali male raised an eyebrow at Ben's gesture. Then his eyes scanned the rest of us. It was like he was reading something. Maybe he was.

.:Kate's POV:.

"An odd bunch of newborns, aren't they?" I said, chuckling at the absurdity of it.

Carmen nodded.

"Definitely unique," Eleazar agreed. "They are actually attempting to reason with themselves, something most newborns do not even bother caring about, mainly because they are oblivious. These six are different."

I noticed the distance in Eleazar's voice. He was observing the gifts these young ones possessed. Judging from his expression, they were juicy.

Then his head turned to the east. "Others. The ones we smelled before."

After feeding, we came across an aroma of newborns. Hearing about what had happened in Washington, we easily assumed the newborns could be a part of that, and we greatly did not want to become involved if the Volturi were, as the Cullens had said was the case. We had tried to keep our distance from them. They seemed intent on something else, so it was no problem. But then these six ran past us unexpectedly, swiftly heading north, in fear of something, we presumed. This was a larger group, and their scent was much more potent. Eleazar had assumed they were only hours old, which surprised me. At first, I wondered if the newborn army was still creating new members. If so, we would have to stop them from going anywhere close to home. With my power, and Eleazar's experience, they would be no big problem to deal with.

Yet, we finally caught up with them, and there they were, fighting their natural violent urges to defend against us, and claiming they knew who we were, as well as having been in the presence of our Cullen cousins. It was mystifying.

This was turning out to be one of the most exciting hunting trips I've had in ages.

"We cannot go up against eleven newborns," Carmen said, concern in her tone.

She was right to an extent. Technically, these six were no threat, just those five on their way here. However, if it turned into a fight, those six would not have the self-control they appeared to have at the moment, and that could prove costly for us if we involved ourselves carelessly.

"If that boy can use his gift accurately, it won't have to turn into a fight," Eleazar said, gesturing to the protective looking boy holding his hands out gingerly in front of his body. The girl who looked to be his mate — which was odd in itself, because it was astonishing they had formed that kind of connection already if they were truly hours old — placed a hand on his shoulder in an encouraging manner.

The brunette girl, who spoke our name before, glanced at us. Eleazar's words were loud enough for them to hear if they were paying attention, and it must have caught her attention. Her ability to focus on us while her senses were warring for a battle was amazing. As Eleazar had said — definitely unique.

"Ben," the girl addressed, eyes still on us. "Can you do it again?" Her head turned to him, and their eyes met. He did not seem confident, that's for sure. He nodded slightly anyway.

"It won't last long," Eleazar said loudly, speaking directly to Ben this time. "It will hold them still for a few seconds before it starts to slip, and that's if you're concentrating hard enough. With practice, you can become stronger, I assume. But for now it will only give you three seconds to make your move."

The six newborns gaped at us. Carmen and I shot Eleazar a curious look, too.

We were helping them now? And how did he expect a pack of newly born vampires to trust us, let alone listen to our advice?

"Eleazar, if these newborns were part of the massacre..." Carmen trailed off in a whisper.

The Volturi popped into my head, and I shuddered. I did not care for an appointment with the Volturi.

The brown-haired girl started shaking her head, alarmed by Carmen's words, it seemed. She stared at us with a pleading gleam in her round eyes.

"... I don't think they are," I said, hesitant.

"Victims!" the girl burst out, just as the five incoming newborns broke through the wall of trees and into our sight.

My eyes carefully took in every detail of the 'enemy' newborns who had a ways to run before they actually collided with us, but my mind was elsewhere.

Victims? She expected us to believe that impossibility? There were no survivors of the massacre.

My lips pursed as my mind reeled.

Then again, being turned into a vampire sure didn't equal survival. It would clear up why they were terrified of the second group of newborns, if what that girl said was true. There were questions that I failed to rid my head of, however.

How did this girl know us? How did they know the Cullens? The Cullens had gone back to Forks to do their own investigating for reasons they never told us. Their affection for that small town was always undeniable, despite that they tried to hide any trace of attachment to it. Did the Cullens arrive, find these six innocents, and told them to head to us for safety? That sounded very Carlisle-ish to me.

I met Eleazar's eyes for a brief second. We nodded to each other, coming to a mutual conclusion.

Carmen sighed, her thoughts with ours. "Then we must help them," she said.

"Wait for the one named Ben," Eleazar said.

The six newborns braced themselves. I could see that they were uncertain about our conversation. However, they conveyed the impression of wanting to believe us, to trust us. We had to be careful around them ourselves, but with their uncanny effort at self-control, it should be considerably easier.

I crouched down, in preparation, just in case thing did not go according to Eleazar's plans.

It was a wasted effort, though, as Ben let out a feral snarl, pushing his hands forward and pulling them back, like he just pushed some invisible force through his palms. I watched, stunned, as the five crazed attackers froze in mid-step. An invisible force indeed.

"Incredible."

Carmen took the word right out of my mouth.

It was quiet for a split second. Then Eleazar pointed north, ordering Ben and the others to follow us. I composed myself as the shock of Ben's fascinating power wore off. Carmen lead Eleazar and I, while edging close to us were the six strange vampires. Nerves were rattling in the pit of my stomach, totally involuntary. I knew I had to give credence to our followers, as they did to us, but it was still going against the grain to have them behind me, instead of in clear view in case they decided to suddenly attack. Eleazar was lucky I was so old, or I'd have a fit with this plan.

The nine of us ran in silence for an hour straight, until Carmen came to a steady stop once we hit a decent sized clearing.

"This should do for now," she concluded, as Eleazar and I landed next to her. Ben, his mate, and the girl who knew who we were, were bold enough to arrive close to us. The other three, however, hesitated a few yards away.

"Not as trusting of us, I see," I commented to them.

"Which is perfectly understandable," Carmen assured kindly, glancing my way disapprovingly. I smirked, shrugging innocently.

Ben and his mate looked to the girl next to them for guidance, which made me curious all over again.

"How do you know us?" I asked the girl, my tone demanding. I couldn't quite help that; I was intensely interested in the answer to my questions.

Her blood-colored eyes jumped from me to Carmen to Eleazar. When she spoke, her voice was a strange mixture of relief, calm, and anxiety. Weird girl.

"My name is Bella Swan. The Cullens told me about you, that you were the other vegetarians."

My eyebrows rose at her casual use of the term we jokingly call ourselves due to our unnatural preference of food. The way she said it... It was like she was already attuned to the name. That it was normal, as if she was already one of us despite the ruby hues her eyes displayed.

"So, the Cullens did send you to us," Eleazar said, nodding.

Bella raised a brow. Ben and his mate looked confused, too.

"No one sent us to you," one of the boys from behind said, frowning uneasily at us. "We don't even know who you are." He paused as his gaze set on Bella. "Except her, I guess," he grumbled.

He was annoyed with Bella. Why?

The girl next to him answered my unspoken question. "Bella knows everything, apparently. Didn't know she was such an expert on fictitious characters until we all became one."

"The Cullens didn't send you, then?" I asked, trying to ease the tension these newborns were spreading between themselves. "You did see them though, right? They just pointed you in this direction maybe?"

All six of them shook their heads. Bella was staring at the floor, a sadness evident on her face. Did I say something wrong?

"Our encounter was purely a coincidence. The Cullens aren't in Forks anymore." Bella raised her head, her voice straining to be calm.

This didn't make sense, though. The Cullens were headed back there when we last spoke a little over twenty-four hours ago. That was what Carlisle told us.

Carmen and I exchanged a look.

"They moved nearly six months ago," Bella continued.

Oh. Well, this unclouded part of my confusion. It was simply a misunderstanding. She must not have known the Cullens went back just recently.

"You knew them while you were human?" Eleazar asked, bewildered. My brow furrowed; I hadn't caught on to that implication.

Bella was not the only one to respond to this. All six of them nodded.

"They went to our school," Ben's mate clarified.

Ah, that was how they knew the Cullens.

But, still, if they hadn't seen them in months, how did they know the Cullens were vampires, and about us? I eyed them, mainly this Bella girl, who instantly noticed my suspicion.

"I knew what they were even when I was human," she explained. "They taught me everything I know about vampires."

I felt my eyes widen, while questions upon questions assaulted my thoughts. The Cullens never mentioned anything about a human girl. Was that the secret they were keeping from us? Was this girl the connection between the Cullens and Forks? Was this the reason for Edward's mysterious isolation from his family?

Eleazar leaned forward, his forehead creased. "Tell us what you know," he ordered gently. "Start from the beginning please."