Things had been tense in the Cullen household ever since that day in august, when they all came home and Rosalie and Alice informed Esme and Cassie about Edward's fascination with the new girl. Cassie seemed to be getting more and more irritated with Edward and Jasper was as well, while Alice seemed to be sad and depressed as the days went on. It was barely November when the tension between all of them broke. Five days after Edward saved Bella from her would be attackers.

Cassie snuggled into Jasper's arms one night mentally exhausted. Her children had gotten out and were almost attacked by those damned shifters, she was just lucky that she was able to get to them before they accidently crossed the border. She knew that those animals wouldn't have a problem ripped her little ones apart. Edward was still ignoring Alice and seemed to be making gooey eyes at that Isabella girl, Alice was retreating into herself the longer that Edward didn't acknowledge their bond. And then Rosalie and Emmett as well as herself were the most confrontational about it while Jasper, Carlisle, and Esme looked on in disappointment. If he wasn't hurting her little sister, than Cassie might have been inclined to feel a little sorry for the guy. Oh well, the woes of being a teenage vampire.

Her voiced caused everyone to still, even the young child stopped waddling around the room – Cassie was so proud of how they were coming along – when they heard their mother. Cassie's emerald green eyes were glowing in anger and power.

"Want to run that by me one more time? I think I heard you wrong," her voice was deceptively calm and soft.

Edward wanted to cringe at her livid tone, they all found out that she was rather unpleasant and vicious when angry. She had tried to kill Emmett when he left the twins on their own one time.

"I'm interested in Isabella Swan," his voice was filled with hesitance and trepidation, though steady. He had never wanted Cassiopeia to turn her anger on him.

Cassie's arm tightened around Bi, who was in her arms this time, feeding, "a human –no, not even just a human but you singer! Your freaking mate is standing in this room and you ignore her for a damned singer."

Edward got a bout of courage then, "and what right do you have to tell me –"

"You're hurting my little sister because you are selfish and want something that is right in front of you." Cassie's clipped tone broke him off. Bi finished his bottle before motioning to be put down so he could go play with his sister.

"You know what, Alice deserves a mate that actually cares about her." Cassie turned around to Alice, whose eyes were emotionless, showing them all just how hurt she was, "Alice go get ready. We're finding you someone else."

A growl had her turning on her heels sharply, "don't you dare growl at her, you hypocrite. You want to go out and search for your "true love" then Alice can go out and find someone who can keep her happy and treasure her like she deserves. Not to mention get her mind off of you!"

Cassie walked over to her mate, who was leaning against the kitchen wall, and kissed his cheek, "we won't be long maybe an hour or two alright love."

Jasper puffed out hot air with the building emotions in the room, but he kissed his wife knowing that they couldn't actually get Alice a new mate, but it would – hopefully – shove Edward in the right direction of getting his head out of his ass.

"See you when you get back, sweetheart. Rosalie and I will watch the kids with Esme."

Cassie beamed at him before pulling him down to her petite level and kissed him good and hard before turned to the stairs.

"Alice you good to go?" Cassie waited for Alice to appear at her side.

Alice slipped her arm into Cassie's, "where are we going?"

Cassie waited until they were far enough from the house that none of them could hear her reply, "A vampire bar in Seattle's magic district." Cassie looked over Alice's attire, a loose skirt that fell above her knees, a pair of Doc Martins and a lace shirt with a white cami underneath. Good for a night at the bar.

"There are vampire bars?"

Cassie chuckled at the incredulous tone, "yup, don't worry there is animal blood drinks as well."

Alice quirked a little smirk, "good. Don't need to break our dietary habits just to forget about my dumb-bo mate."

Cassie only wrapped an arm around her shoulders, despite being smaller than Alice. "He'll either smarten up or get his ass kicked by the others."

Her words seemed to do little to reassure Alice, but Cassie wasn't doing this to reassure the girl, she was doing it to get her mind off Edward.

Cassie apparited out of the woods showing up in a small alleyway that opened into a busy street with dull lights. Looking at the bar, Alice couldn't help but laugh at the sight of a line like one would find at a normal human bar and the bouncer that was about as muscular as Emmett.

Cassie walked on up to the man, "Hey Joshua. It's been a while," she was smiling as if they were old friends.

The burly man, Joshua, uncrossed his arms and looked down at the two tiny women, "Cassiopeia, my, my, it has been a long time. What's happened with you?"

Cassie shrugged, "found my mate, had a pair of twins, you know this and that."

"Twins! A tiny thing like you! What's their names? How old are they? They as gifted as their mommy?" Joshua smiled eagerly with his questions.

"A boy and a girl. Bi is short for Anubis and Sia for Celosia. They're just had their second birthday a month ago. And Celosia is controlling shadows and Bi is focusing on something but I don't know what his gift is yet."

Joshua laughed, it was chest deep and Alice caught several people – both men and women – shiver in want seemed like pleasure at hearing it. Alice could admit that Joshua wasn't a bad looking man, his face wasn't as baby faced as Emmett's was. It was more chiseled and cut, with a hard body and seemed to have a Middle Eastern skin tone. His eyes were a combination between the animal drinkers gold and the human drinkers red.

"Bet you little boy has a dark gift, you did name him after a god of death."

Cassie squeaked indignant, "I followed my instincts and named my little ones."

Alice watched on but she knew just how proud of the twins Cassie was. Apparently, their growth was faster than other born vampires.

"Only you would say your instincts told you to name one of your kids Anubis. Well go on in and enjoy a little "girl time"." He ushered them in.

Cassie threw a smile over her shoulder, "it was good to see you again, Josh."

Alice looked around in apprehension, honestly she had never been to a bar before. She just followed after Cassie, who seemed comfortable in this type of scene. Taking a seat at the bar, they ordered a drink, animal blood if the bartender would be so kind.

"Abraxan and Hippogriff ladies," a martini glass sat in front of them filled with the requested drinks.

"Thanks," Cassie dropped a few silver pieces on the bar surface before they made their way to an empty table. They were intercepted by a red-head with high cheek bones and red eyes. His grin was sharp and predator-ish. Cassie flashed her mating mark by pulling her collar down and walked away. Alice was glued to Cassie's side because she didn't have a solid show of her bond and it left her free game to them.

"Cassie," Alice started, eyes skirting over all the vamps staring at her hungrily, "maybe this wasn't a good idea."

Cassie opened her mouth before snapping it shut as her phone rang, "hello."

Alice could hear the conversation easily enough.

"Edward's gone to our sister coven in Denali," it was Jasper.

"Mmm," Cassie sipped her drink, "is that so?"

"Yes darling." Jasper's voice was filled with affection. "I think we've all driven him crazy so he left to think properly and by himself."

"Think properly? Think about what? He just needs to think about how to apologize and ask her to be his mate. End of story."

Alice could hear Jasper sigh, "Yes I know that sweetheart. But he is the angst-y kind."

"Yeah, you're right." Cassie looked around before she saw a vampire head their way. A claiming bite told her that he was mated but the aura he gave off suggested otherwise. Interesting.

"Love, I just found something amusing, I'll call you back or tell you when we get home."

"Alright, what say you to having Rosalie watch the twins tonight?"

"I say you're a mind reader, dear. See you later, love you."

"That would be Edward, love you too." They hung up and the confusing man made it to their table.

"You ladies alone?" his voice was cocky and arrogant.

"Nope," Cassie popped the ending.

The man turned his attention to Alice immediately, every vampire knows not to challenge a claim without a sure way to win. Most don't even try, "And you honey?"

Alice was looking everywhere except the man, "her mate is ignoring her." Cassie supplied.

There was a flash of acknowledgement in his eyes, "but you don't smell claimed."

He was fishing, Cassie realized, he was curious about them just as she was curious about him, mainly because he has a claiming mark but doesn't smell claimed any more than Alice did. That could only mean that he and his mate were intimate with each other.

It was slightly strange to see a vampire fidget, "he refuses to acknowledge our bond."

"How long that been going on? I wouldn't have had the ability to ignore my bond for two minutes when I first meet her."

"Three years," Alice whispered. Cassie wondered what Edward would do if he knew that Alice was embarrassed by their bond at the moment.

"Well damn. I guess I should be happy that my mate at least let me claim her before she started to refuse the bond." The man had sympathy and compassion for Alice's situation.

Cassie could only think back to several seconds ago to when the man walked up as if he owned the world and everyone owed him thanks. He made a complete 360 in a short few seconds that much Cassie knew.

Alice had a look of surprise when the man mentioned his mate, "why would she refuse the bond?"

"Because she doesn't think that I had a legitimate claim to being her mate, and that I'm not providing enough for her." The man took a seat and smiled gently at having found a kindred spirit, "oh yeah, name's Layton Chesark by the way."

"Cassiopeia Whitlock," Cassie tipped her head forward, touching her chin to her chest before returning to look around. She felt a flash of hope in her chest, that this man could help Alice with her own mate problem.

"Alice Cullen, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Cassie held in a snort, Alice always had been the bubblier and politer one between the two. Of course, Cassie could layer on the polite and charming, but that is a bunch of energy that Cassie preferred to waste with her husband. Watching the two of them converse, Cassie sort of wished that Alice had gotten a mate like Layton. His humor was easy and quick, he smiled soft and charming and he seemed to be as happy and as quirky as Alice was. They were the perfect match, but fate decided on two different people for them. Fate always did have a funny way of handling people even when she was human. Cassie was always cursing fate before learning to go with the flow. It's just this time, Cassie was cursing fate for Alice.

As she watched the crowd, Cassie had an idea. Not something that the others would know about, they probably wouldn't understand why she was going to do it anyway. But Jasper was always behind her to support her and willing to help her.

As the hour drawled to a half hour longer, Cassie cleared her throat gently, gain the attention of both of them. Cassie showed Alice the time on her phone.

"Oh, we need to get home." Alice squeaked softly.

Cassie stood from her seat and turned waiting for Alice, "thank you for the conversation, it was wonderful."

It seemed to Cassie that a wonderful friends had started to blossom between the two already as the exchanged numbers to talk more. They both knew that nothing romantic would come of the friendship but it was always good to have someone to talk to. Cassie hoped that this friendship helped Layton just as much as it seemed to help Alice.

"Did you have a good time?" Cassie asked as they walked back to the alley way so that they could apparite away. She would have face palmed when she realized how that sentence made her sound like an overly worried boyfriend on a first date. But she really did want to know if Alice had a good time or not, so if sounding like a worried first time boyfriend to her little sister then so be it.

Alice looked off to the side, "is it bad of me, that I kind of wish Layton had been my mate?"

"No Alice. Wanting a better life isn't shameful, he seems to be a good man, but fate has a different plan for the both of you." Cassie laid a hand on Alice's shoulder gently.

"I mean, I love Edward. I really do, but he's so captivated by that human girl and I'm left as second best by my own mate." Alice looked like she'd be crying if her body was physically able to.

Cassie stopped and gathered the slightly taller vampire into her arms, "listen to me, Alice. Edward Cullen is an idiot who looks to have finally gotten his head out of his ass after three years. And when he comes to his senses make it difficult for him and enjoy it. Fate choose him for a reason."

Alice looked so pained by the thought of her mate that Cassie just wanted to say 'screw it' to fate and find Alice a new mate.

"You want to take a long route and complain to me about Edward? It might make you feel better." Cassie would do anything to help her little sister feel better.

Alice nodded her head. Cassie apparited them just outside of Tacoma so that they could walk back to Forks. It wouldn't take them to long to run back, but it was going to be a long night.

• • •

It seemed that Alice had a lot of grievances with Edward from his way of thinking that they were soulless monsters to his recent lust for his singer Isabella Swan. She made wild hand gestures with her complaints, but Cassie listened and listened without saying anything. She just let Alice talk and get everything that the pixie like vampire had bottled up inside. Soon Alice ran out of fuel, figuratively speaking and they walked on without a word spoken in between them.

"Thank you," Alice's voice was soft and not bubbly like usual.

Cassie hummed, "it was nothing Alice, you are my little sister. You needed to get away from the tension with all that was going on and I suspect that Edward won't be home for at least a week if he wants to think and sulk by himself."

Alice looked down as they walked, "do think this is the kick in the ass that he's needed for the past three years?"

Cassie didn't say anything as they started a slight jog that would give them the time to talk but also give them a chance to enjoy the wilderness around them. By the time that they had reached Quinault in the Olympic National Forest and not too far off of Forks for the vampires, Cassie finally figured out her answer,

"I think that when he met Isabella Swan and couldn't distinguish between his mate and his singer, he was in too deep in his isolation and loneliness. When he finally opened his eyes and saw that he was losing his family, he finally realized that he needed to think about what he was going to do, so yes, I truly think that this might be the push that he needed to finally acknowledge you as his one and only."

Alice could see the conviction in her eyes when she looked in Cassie's glowing emerald eyes. She could also see the determination; Alice could only imagine what Cassiopeia would do to Edward to open his eyes if this reprieve doesn't do it for her.

Looking over at the spikey-haired pixie, Cassie was careful not to decide anything about her idea so that Alice wouldn't see her and try and stop her.

Cassie just hoped that she didn't get the shifters involved with her scheme, that damn alpha Sam Uley wouldn't leave her family only if given the opportunity to target them. Especially if they thought she was attacking a human.

• • •

Jasper's arms were wrapped around her waist while her children threw their arms around her legs when Alice and Cassie walked into the living room. Her children were rambling off small words in rapid succession as they told her all about what they had done in the almost two hours that she had been gone with Aunt Alice. Her children cut off when they saw that their daddy mash his lips against her.

Jasper contained the snarl that wanted to break free and ignored his vampire that growled out ideas of taking their mate up to their room and reclaim her as they could smell all the unmated males that had been around her at the club. He trusted his mate, that wasn't the problem. No the problem in his mind was that all those idiot that thought that they could come onto his mate. Pulling away, Cassie smiled up at him. Jasper slouched slightly in relief, it never ceased to amaze him how amazing his mate was and how she knew what he was thinking before he even said anything.

Cassie bent down and lifted her two babies up off the ground. Sia threw her arms around her mother's neck and pressed a kiss to her cheek and then Bi repeated his sister with sincerity. When she set them back down on the ground, Bi grabbed a hold of his mommy's dress and pulled her to the back door,

"What is it sweetheart? What do you want to show mommy?"

Jasper chuckled amused, "just what darling, he's been waiting for you to come home to show you. He did it only forty-five minutes ago."

They walked out of the back door and stood on the back porch, Sia standing on her left side and Jasper standing behind her with his arms around her waist. Her little Anubis held out his little hand, she wanted to coo as his eyebrows puckered in concentration. Then, she gasped; a little skeleton was running around the backyard. Her son brought back the dead, she watched as muscle and meat slowly filled the skeleton and then fur skin covered it until what looked like a Maclear's rat was scurrying across the large field in the back.

Cassie couldn't stop herself from squealing in excitement and pulled her son up into her arms to twirl him around beaming, "Oh my baby boy. I knew you would be able to connect with your powers soon enough. Mommy is so proud of you."

Turning to her husband, Cassie was so happy, "Love, how amazing is this. Our son can control the dead and our daughter can control shadows. We have such strong children."

Jasper laughed lightly at his wife and beaming son, who was so happy to make his mother proud of him. Jasper wouldn't tell Cassie but he could remember when Sia showed her gifts and Bi couldn't. He remembered that Bi felt like he had disappointed his mommy. While their children loved both of them, Jasper and Cassie knew a daddy's girl and a mommy's boy when they saw them.

Lifting her daughter up into her remaining free arm, Cassie walked back inside where Rosalie and Emmett were waiting. Each twin gave their parents a kiss on the cheek and a hug around the neck that probably would have crushed a human's, before they went with their aunt and uncle.

Going up to their room, Cassie threw up a silencing ward before Jasper was attacking her neck and had her up against the wall using his body to hold her there while his hands ran all over his mate's body.

When she felt his hands in places that only he would ever touch, Cassie forgot her forming plan involving that human Bella. She would worry about that after her mate brought her to pleasure and they were just cuddling in the afterglow.

'Yup that sounded like a plan' she thought when Jasper latched on to the top of her cleavage.

• • •

Vampires! She couldn't believe it. There were vampires in Forks, but…but how were there no strange disappearances. Do they leave Forks to – what do they call it – hunt? That sounds impersonal to her. But this would explain why they were so beautiful. Bella wondered if she could get close to Edward Cullen and convince him to turn her.

Bella wanted to laugh at the thought of how Jacob helped her figure it out, even when he said that she should stay away from them. That much hatred against them could only mean that Jacob was also something supernatural. But Bella didn't care about that at the moment, no she had to figure out how to get Edward to change her, no matter the cost she didn't plan on aging another year even if she had to slit her wrist right underneath his nose and force him to bit her.

Though her thoughts strayed to Jacob Black for a minute, was it possible that werewolves were real. That was the only creature that she could think of that hated vampires so much, unless creatures like this hated each other just natural.

Oh well, werewolves couldn't make her more beautiful like vampires could; besides Edward wasn't bad looking. She could have some fun with him before she left to discover the world with glee knowing that she couldn't die. Bella fell asleep with a smile on her face dreaming about a future in the next two hundred years and still being seventeen forever.