Ann sat on the couch quietly. Though the other vampires were talking around her, she did not speak. The Cullen family thought it was because she was traumatized; but Ann was silent for a different reason. Different thoughts were streaming through her head all at once. Family, happy, death, burn, pain, sadness, beauty, love… The list of her thoughts was endless. And all because of this one coven of vampires, not unlike herself. After all, they were vegetarian, like herself. So why was there still this underlying instinct not to trust them? They were kind to her. Six months, Ann thought to herself. Half a year.
As Ann was thinking this, the vampire called Carlisle came through the door. His son Edward was to the side of the figure in between them. As Ann looked closer, she smelled what it was. Recoiling back in horror, she emitted a low growl. She knew not what the beast was called, but it was the same kind as that which had been chasing her. Ann observed the creature carefully, and saw that it was leaning up against the vampires. She is hurt, Ann thought. But to her dismay, this thought led to others. Pain, help, fire, death, sadness, blood… Her thoughts trailed off as Edward looked up into her eyes. He looked confused as he looked at her, and she didn't know why. Did she know him? No, she would have recognized him.
She shrank away from his stare, and Edward, noticing her discomfort, looked away. Ann soon found, however, the werepyre was staring at her. She looked away and found herself looking at the girl named Alice. She had short black hair and was rather fairy-like. Alice looked up and smiled at Ann. Ann was still for a moment, then smiled back. When she did, she realized she had not smiled in a very long time. It felt good to be able to.
Edward was now speaking the vampire called Esme in hushed tones for a vampire's ear even. Esme nodded to what he said and stood up. Coming over to Ann, she spoke. "Ann, would you care to stay with us for a while? We have a room upstairs for you and it would be so nice to have company…" she trailed off, waiting for Ann's answer.
Ann considered the offer. I have nowhere else to go, but why should I be a burden on this family? She thought to herself. She pondered it for a little longer before giving in. "I would be honored to stay with you," Ann said to Esme and stood to follow her upstairs.
Alexa wasn't sure which to be more amused by: the fact that a coven of vampires would own enough kitchen supplies that they could open their own shop, or that Carlisle had already gone through two and a half pads of paper trying to figure out the perfect way to write a letter to Wolfwing, the leader of the vegetarian werepyres in this region. Either way, Alexa knew that it was best not to laugh; not only would that be rude, but it would also cause her ribs to hurt more.
One of the vampires, the only male that Alexa hadn't been introduced to yet, came into the kitchen quietly. He put a finger up to his mouth, signaling to Alexa that she should remain silent. Alexa watched amusedly as the vampire snuck up behind Carlisle and began reading aloud. "'To Wolfwing, esteemed leader of the werepyres…' Yeesh, Carlisle, what are you trying to do? Bore them to death?"
Carlisle whipped around, chucking the notepad at the vampire's head. "Obviously, Emmett, you fail to realize the diplomatic nature of this letter and how carefully worded it has to be."
Alexa couldn't help but burst out laughing. As she tried to stop, for the sake of her aching sides, she commented, "I wouldn't worry about it too much, sir. My dad's just going to be glad me and my pack mates didn't get ourselves killed."
"Wait…" Even with the enhanced mental speed that being a vampire granted, Alexa's comment took a minute to fully register with Carlisle. "You mean Wolfwing is your dad?"
Alexa nodded sheepishly, fully aware that Carlisle and Emmett were staring at her. After a moment of silence, Emmett almost fell over laughing. "That… is… so… FUNNY!" Emmett rushed out of the room, calling out to the others. "Hey guys! Listen to this!"
Alexa rolled her eyes. Within a matter of moments, everyone in the house would know of Emmett's news. Carlisle was watching her with a mixed look of surprise, apology, and amusement. Carefully, Alexa slid down off the counter, wincing when her feet hit the floor and jarred her injured ribs. Instantly, Carlisle was at her side, ready to help her. Alexa put up a hand to signify that she didn't need help. Carlisle took a step back, watching as Alexa carefully made her way over to the area of the counter that was now littered with letter drafts. Scrounging up a clean piece of paper, Alexa grinned at Carlisle. "You dictate; I'll edit."
Ann sat upstairs on her bed, thinking about what to do. She knew before long she should probably leave, but the question was when? She was so deep in thought that she almost did not here the knock on her door. "Come in," she said, and the door opened to reveal Edward.
"Hi," he said as he stood in the door frame. "Can I talk to you for a little while?"
Ann moved over indicating for him to sit down. He did and they sat in silence for a moment as Ann thought. What does he want? Why worry about me? That girl downstairs has been injured more than me. Why isn't he with her?
"To answer your questions, I'm here because I want to know more about you. I'm worried about you because you seem to be holding in a lot of pain. I'm not with the girl werepyre downstairs because Carlisle doesn't need me right now," Edward said, looking at Ann. Ann looked back at him in shock. "Don't worry about it," Edward continued. "It's my special vampire talent to read minds."
Ann glared at him angrily. "My thoughts are my own," she said coolly and looked away from him.
"I'm sorry. I'm not very good at controlling what I hear when I'm not used to the voice. It's harder to block out vampire's voices anyways. But anyways, earlier, you went down a very odd train of thought…" Edward began before Ann cut him off.
"I thought I told you – my thoughts are my own!!! So leave me alone!"
Fifteen minutes later, Carlisle and Alexa had not only negotiated and debated the exact wording of the letter, but Carlisle had copied it onto a piece of nice, yet not too fancy, stationary (as Alexa had instructed). They stood there for a moment admiring their handiwork before Carlisle carefully folded it up and put it into an envelope.
A knock came from the patio door, which led from the kitchen to the backyard. Alexa and Carlisle simultaneously looked up to see Jasper standing there with a suspicious, yet complacent Brett.
Carlisle walked over to the sliding door and opened it, purposefully walking at a speed only slightly faster than a human. Jasper stepped inside, nodding at Carlisle as if in answer to some unspoken question. Brett immediately rushed over to Alexa. "You okay?"
"Perfectly fine, minus the ribs," Alexa replied, noticing the anxiousness in Brett's voice. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Jasper leaving the room. "Where's Chane?"
"In the Jeep. The engine's running," Brett hinted.
"Hope he's got the radio on so he won't be bored," Alexa countered, dismissing Brett's want to get out of there so quickly. She motioned at Carlisle. "Brett, this is Carlisle Cullens. Carlisle, this is my cousin, Brett. He's my second-in-command."
"Pleased to meet you," Carlisle replied, holding out his hand so he could shake Brett's.
Brett looked suspicious for a moment, then shook Carlisle's hand briefly. "I'm glad to see that your family is settling in well," He said.
"More like 'Glad to see you're vegetarians', I think." Edward said as he entered the room.
Brett locked eyes with Edward, as Alexa hurried to make introductions. "Brett, this is Edward. He has the ability to read people's thoughts."
"Well he should stay out of mine…" Brett muttered.
"I'm getting that a lot today." Edward commented, his face unreadable. When he turned his gaze to Alexa, he asked, "How about you? You're the only new face today who hasn't put forth an opinion on the matter."
Alexa chuckled. "You've got the power; you might as well use it. I trust you."
Edward's gaze softened a bit. "Thanks. I promise I won't abuse your trust."
A horn sounded from outside the house. Alexa rolled her eyes. "Chane can be so impatient. Come on, Brett. We'd better get going." She grabbed a scrap of paper off the table as well as the pen. Scribbling down some words and numbers quickly, she handed the page to Carlisle. "These are some phone numbers you might find useful, as well as my email. Feel free to contact me or any of my pack if you need help, especially if it involves more rouge werepyres."