A/N: Warning, mentions of female slash but not with Kagome. And Edward is with Bella. I'm sorry but I'm not a big fan of Edward so yeah. Also, I'm very disappointed with the lack of reviews ; v ; If I make the chapters longer, will you guys review please? I'd love to hear your comments / opinion's ~

Chapter Two – Revelations

Bella squeezed Edwards hand, the sound of crunching marble echoing in her ears under the strength in her slender fingers. Her mind was in a whirlwind of confusion and hurt – at the family and her husband.

The pain shot up his arm and Edward winced, but didn't remove his hand from her tight grip. If he did that, Bella really would rip his hand off – arm and all.

"W-why didn't anyone tell me anything from the beginning? Edward?"

She turned her accusing, amber eyes upon her husband, the man she loved more than life itself and would have died for. "Why did you keep this from me? I thought we were in this together – forever, you said."

"Love, I – "

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. 'Edward' was the very one who asked us to keep quiet. It wasn't proper, he said. And we all knew you wouldn't understand anyway."

"Wouldn't understand? I – "

"Rose, please." Carlisle chided. He couldn't see this ending well but Bella had to understand.

Of course, Bella was much too hurt ( and angry ) to even think of forgiveness. It felt like the ultimate betrayal, especially since Edward chose to keep yet another thing from her. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Of all the years – only now they seemed to bother to share this precious piece of information with her?

Maybe Rosalie was just pulling her leg and all this wasn't happening. That no, her make-shift Vampire family wasn't falling apart.

"Perhaps it's best if I explained, maybe." Carlisle started.

"What's there to explain?! It's simple – Me, Alice and Esme were always companions, never anyone's true 'mate'. We only agreed to this because neither one of us liked the idea of existing alone." In a way, everyone knew Rosalie was right. "And Alice had a vision fifty-years ago about their mate. That's when it started. This whole, 'let's all just pretend were happy and together like a normal, human family. Except, for one, we aren't human anymore!"

Neither one of them chose this life.

Rose plopped herself on the sofa, crossing her arms and looking particularly annoyed about the situation as a whole. In her opinion, she didn't even know why they'd hid it in the first place. And for once, Bella would actually have to agree.

'Why didn't anyone tell me? I-I...I don't understand.' She thought when she became a Cullen, that she'd finally feel like she truly belonged – like family, she thought. Carlisle and Esme were like her parents and Alice was the big sister ( and best-friend ) she never had. And Jasper, well, her and Jasper never had much to talk about from the start and the birthday incident only made the distance greater. But she figured that her becoming a Vampire would somehow ease the tension that was between them.

Bella thought she'd finally be accepted. Unfortunately, it seemed as if that 'tension' extended to the rest of the family and then some.

Emmett gave her a stare, silent but with a curve of a smile at the corner of his lips. But he didn't much comment otherwise – which was completely out of character, even for Emmett. He'd always been the goofball, the one she bantered with back and forth relentlessly. Crack a perverted joke or two for laughs once in a while and wrestle who was the strongest; newborn status not-withstanding.

He was like the big brother she always wanted while growing up.

But when she looked at him now, eyes full of mirth and that bit of mischievousness, now, she could see the touch of longing and want he hid deep inside.

Longing, for what? His true 'mate'?

Had it been there all along and she just couldn't – wouldn't, see it?

'Maybe.'

Edward placed a hand upon the back of her head, in a placating manner perhaps, in order to soothe the turmoil her emotions were in. Or maybe to distract her from her tumultuous thoughts that kept bouncing from one topic to another every three seconds.

God, being a newborn sucked when you still had reflections of your human-self lingering in your pores.

Still. Bella couldn't help but feel like she was missing the bigger picture.

But – wait. Rose said something earlier, a remark at the end of her sentence. "When you said 'their', did you mean as in plural? Or as a whole?"

Stupid question perhaps, since deep, deep down, Bella knew the answer herself seeing as it didn't take a genius to piece things together.

Funny, Alice often remarked that many vampires that went through the change would always end up losing parts of their human-self. As a human, she'd always been rather good with weird; piecing things together and seeing the canvas in the frame (as Carlisle would put it).

And Jake always did tell her she could figure things out fairly quickly.

Becoming a vampire probably only increased those genes. 'Well, whatever wasn't dead, that is'

There was a long pause when no one answered and Carlisle took that moment to fill the tense silence and maybe alleviate Bella's curious nature. "Bella, you have to understand, some vampire's can spend years, centuries even, waiting for their mate. Some never find them at all – leaving them to live a life of eternity in solitude."

Emmett's eyes, for once, looked somber. He was still smiling like he usually did but now that she knew, his smile seemed...different. His voice was excited though, despite the harried thoughts that were probably roaming through his head. "But good thing for us, Alice saw her coming. Well, sort of. She was born some twenty-years ago. And we've been trying to find her since. "

She furrowed her brows, more confused now then ever. 'What in the world did he mean by 'we'?'

"Honestly, Bella, don't you get it already? I would have thought you'd have it figured out by now." Alice tilted her head and gave her one of those deep stares that meant one thing, but could be interpreted to mean something entirely different.

'Probably the latter.'

Esme smiled, ignoring her oblivious, but shocked, look, and just that smile alone seemed to set Bella's worries into overdrive. It wasn't the normally happy, overly kind, motherly smile she usually gave Bella. "It may not sound conventional, Bella. But Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper have been waiting centuries for their mate. It's why we came back to Forks in the first place." No, it wasn't the same anymore.

Her family was falling apart. The meaning behind those words rang in her head and she just couldn't seem to wrap her mind around it.

Rose shook her head, rolling her eyes at the disturbed look on Bella's face. This whole situation could have been avoided if they'd just told her when she was still a human. Maybe they wouldn't have nearly lost their lives to the Volturi last winter. And honestly, the only good thing that came from Edward and Bella's 'marriage', was Reneesme. Probably the only thing Bella could atone for. Unfortunately, Nessie took after her mother in that regard.

But they had Jasper to thank for everything else, honestly. Considering the events that occurred last winter and months before that – none of them, not even her brother 'Edward', knew how to fight or defend themselves. They would have been decimated and defenseless against anyone! Volturi or Nomad; the foe didn't quite matter in the least. Strength meant nothing if you couldn't control it.

"B-but, wait. You mean, you all?..."

Alice huffed. "As in, together with them all? Then yes, Bella. They all have the same mate." She knew what was coming next, seen it happen before she arrived. She just hoped Bella could learn to understand that all this was necessary for them to each find happiness.

Even Bella.

"A-and you guys? You've been helping them? Why? I-I mean, your not all going to be with her too, right?" Bella couldn't see how they all thought this was okay. That it was normal for three Vampire men to share one mate. Were they all in this together or something?

Emmett looked slightly affronted by her outburst, his jovial smile replaced by a frown. He was slightly hurt, he'd admit. Jasper could atone for that by the silent glance they exchanged and he thanked his brother for the bit of happiness he'd sent his way. He was always quiet during gatherings of any sort; probably a habit he accumulated from his previous lifestyle. But honestly, Emmett would chalk it all up as Bella still being a newborn.

Unfortunately, Rose wasn't one to let things go. She noticed, her golden eyes narrowing finely at Bella's disgusted expression plastered on her pale skin. "Look, even if it were true and we all had to 'share', it wouldn't matter in the first place! Vampire's are free to love whomever their mate is. Gender not-withstanding. You'd be the biggest hypocrite in the world if you couldn't love someone based on gender "

Bella looked offended, and angry. "Excuse me? What the hell are you talking about? I've always loved Edward. And Jake has always been my best friend. Whatever relationship we had has – "

"Oh, please." Rose rolled her eyes and flitted to the open patio, arms crossed and permanent scowl upon her flawless face. "We all know your little secret Bella. Do you not remember? Or you just don't want to? It was the day of your wedding, and you just found them beautiful, I'm sure. Jasper could feel the growing attraction you had to one of the succubi sisters – your arousal was obvious, especially since you were still human then."

Suddenly, the room grew quiet. Rose turned her back against everyone and waited silently for the incoming chaos to erupt. She could practically feel Esme's disapproving glance but things were bound to turn out crappy anyway. So why not add more fuel to the fire?

Carlisle sighed. He never expected the family meeting to turn out this way. But from Bella's clenched fists and the crunching marble against his ears, a fight was inevitable. Bella was still a newborn and Rosalie had never tolerated her attitude in the first place. "Bella, please, understand, Edward felt – "

But he never got anything more out until Bella and Rosalie were left careening through the front patio, a flurry of colors flipping and crashing through the air and into the surrounding forest. He could hear the growls and curses lilt the air as he and the family made their way out onto the patio – what was left of it that is. Esme was already flipping chairs over and beginning to straighten things out as best she could while Jasper seemed to be silently warring with himself whether or not he should get involved and break the two girls up or just leave them to fight it all out.

Emmett made that decision for him when he lifted his arms up and began jeering them on. Honestly, after how many decades and you'd expect him to grow up a little.

"They'll be fine, Carlisle. I mean, Bella's honestly a natural at this." Edward stuck his hands into his pockets and just watched with a proud look as Rose and Bella flew through the air, the earth tearing up and dirt flying everywhere like a huge storm had just hit.

Rosalie had never been a fighter but she could handle her own given the small bit of training she received from Jasper. Still, Bella was still a newborn and she was quite stronger than Rosa at the moment. 'Actually, she's still quite stronger than us all right now.'

He truly hoped he didn't have to end up putting limbs back on.

"Honestly, Bella, you guys don't have to fight!" Alice huffed as she perched herself on the ledge of the patio that wasn't broken. She was slightly ticked off that Bella took things the wrong way. She'd seen it happen and even shared this bit of information with Edward but in the end things turned out the way it did. It had to, of course, no matter how much she wished Bella would be accepting. "Like a bunch of animals, I swear!"

Still. "Leave them be, they'll stop eventually." Carlisle hated violence if it could be avoided. He saw it necessary if it truly came down to it but he never agreed it was always the answer. A strange notion for a vampire to have, maybe, but he was a doctor first and foremost. He was just glad his mate would never have to see such violence. That would stop the moment she arrived.

He was lost in thought as Esme approached, silently, a worried look in her eyes as Bella and Rose continued their little debacle. Honestly, they were tearing and biting each other now and he was slightly surprised no limbs were coming off, yet. "Someone should really stop them, they've never fought like this before, Carlisle."

And it was true. Rose had never been a fan of Bella from the beginning but Edward made his decision, which made Bella family. And a Cullen. So Rosalie accepted that, for Emmett's sake. He was like a brother to her and she did indeed, love him. But she also understood how important finding his mate was so she sucked it up for the sake of the family.

So far though, it didn't look as if they were about to stop until either party was satisfied.

"Well, I think there getting along just fine. Rose just has to let off some steam and Bella's a newborn, so she'll be fine. I mean seriously, cat fights are hot!" Emmett made a whooping noise and began taking bets with Jasper on who would win while Edward was having a silent conversation with Alice off to the side.

Honestly, he hoped Alice was right and they'd meet their mate soon. If her sudden reappearance was anything to go by, he was hoping with all he had that it was soon. He didn't know how much more he could continue to put up with at this point.

But he was a patient vampire, and vampires had all the time in the world.

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A week after the debacle between Bella and Rose, Edward came to her and thought it'd be a good idea if she went "hunting" with the girls for the weekend near Seattle. She rejected the idea completely, at first, until Alice piped in that her and Esme were coming along too, making it a girls weekend. Bella couldn't exactly say no to that, no matter how much she wanted to stay with Edward and Reneesme. But Bella later found out that the trip had already been decided on even if she said no because Alice would have had Jasper force her to want to come anyway. Damn it she still had trouble with her shield.

Which, was low, even for Alice. But she lamented, in the end.

So, ten hours later, Bella was all packed and ready to go. Emmett had the bags in the trunk and Rose was already in the drivers seat and warming the car up. Alice was completely ecstatic and made it clear that they'd have to go shopping together in Seattle before the weekend was up. In order to get more 'suitable clothing' for their eventual move to Alaska.

Bella didn't see how that was going to work out considering her extreme dislike for clothes shopping ( something that didn't exactly change from when she was human ) in general. But, she figured if it helped mend things between her and Rose then she could learn to suck it up, for Alice` sake. Edward had urged her the previous night to make right with Rose since they were, in a sense, sisters.

And Alice had always wanted the three of them to bond as makeshift siblings. "Triplets", she'd often say.

Edward had gripped both her hands and looked her in the eyes with such an earnest expression for a topic that wasn't serious that it surprised Bella slightly by it. "Do this for me, love. You know how Rose can be, just try to apologize when you get the chance. Please?"

After that, she huffed and promised Edward she'd make an attempt. But if Rose didn't accept her apology ( he argued she would ) then she'd leave it at that and try to put it out of her mind.

'He said that but I still don't know why I have to be the one to apologize'

Before they left that Friday evening, Bella and Edward shared a small goodbye on the fixed patio and they headed off in Roses` red mustang. It wouldn't be a long drive since Rose had always been a fast driver ; she guessed they'd be at their hotel in Seattle in less than two hours, at best. Which would be enough time for them to check in and go hunting near the forests. It was Cullen territory so they didn't have to worry about approaching any coven head for hunting rights.

Which made their trip that much better, in Alice` opinion, at least. Esme and Rose were mostly quiet, only commenting here and there since they were usually quiet vampires from the get-go. Bella surmised that would be much of the case during this trip since her and Rose had yet to speak since their fight a week ago.

But that certainly didn't stop Alice from at least trying.

She was giddy as she sat placidly in the back seat, amber eyes full of excitement. "It'll be perfect Bella, you'll see. Your going to simply love it and we'll all be having a nice time before the weekend is up ~"

Bella wanted to roll her eyes, but the notion was foreign to her as a newborn so she opted to tune Alice out as she ranted on endlessly. Just as the last vestiges of the Cullen House pulled out of view, Bella couldn't help but notice Edward's faraway look in the rear-view mirror and Emmett's excited expression he bore besides her husband.

She couldn't help but feel like she was missing the bigger picture again.

" – Bella! Are you even listening to me?"

God, it was going to be a long weekend.

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Edward waited till the car was mostly out of sight before he turned on his heel and moved into the house, past the foyer and into the living room where the others were situated. It would definitely be a long weekend indeed, for the upcoming revelations he was about to reveal would no doubt change all their futures.

Even his. And Bella's.

Because honestly, the only reason why he had Bella go on that all-girls 'trip' was for one reason alone – Alice's vision. That one vision she had three months prior before leaving without a word.

Well, he had known the reason, as had the others. Alice had always randomly disappeared from time to time before he found Bella. It was a normal occurrence and he didn't think Bella should have been told anything because he knew how precious these 'visions' were to each and every one of his brothers – even Carlisle. He'd been the makeshift father, Cullen patriarch, but he had always considered his sire more of a brother than anything else.

Alice was there saving grace and kept them sated with bits and pieces of their future with their mate.

Well, whatever she could tell them, at least.

He was the only one that knew though, that Alice honestly couldn't even see the whole vision because something was blocking her. In fact, she didn't even know what their mate looked like even after all their years of searching.

Edward admitted to the others a long time ago that he'd been incredibly angry and disturbed when Alice first brought up the fact that none of them were true mated pairings. At the time, he had been the only one un-mated and had yet to find Bella. But the others, he figured, were all waiting for his mate, his Bella.

Alice told them otherwise.

And everything that occurred from that point on was never the same.

Carlisle went into a silent denial and Jasper never spoke a word to anyone but Alice, clearly trying to come to terms with what that meant for him, for them.

Emmett was well, Emmett. He and Rose always seemed to have a brother – sister relationship in the first place so it was no surprise to them. Although it literally took Rose a decade in order to accept the fact that the three Cullen men would, in fact, share one mate.

But time went on and they came to terms in their own way.

Which brought them here, to Forks.

As he sat himself on the sofa, Emmett stole the single across from him and draped his meaty arm along the top, propping his foot up on a nearby love seat. "C'mon bro, don't keep us in suspense. Spill it already~"

"Patience, Emmett. Edward will tell us when he's ready."

"Which hopefully won't take long, right Eddie?"

He could feel the weight of their eyes upon him the longer he took but Emmett's incessant begging in his mind and Carlisle's pressing stare was honestly about to drive him crazy! And though Jasper had always been a quiet individual he had to admit that even he was getting rather impatient.

God, he wished Alice had been the one to do this instead of him. But she insisted that Bella had to be away and he had to tell them himself.

"Alice," He started off, pausing minutely as he reflected on the conversation he had with the pixie three days after she came back. She caught him while Bella had been away to drop off Reneesme at Charlie's, an opportunity to speak privately, he'd concluded. "told me that she doesn't want any of you to get your hopes up but to practice caution and make arrangements immediately before the weekend was up. Her vision, though, was...strange."

That had been the only word he could sum it up too since even he didn't know what he'd been seeing himself when Alice had shown him her vision. The only word that came to mind was...strange.

Jasper immediately looked worried. He knew Alice's visions were sporadic but he'd been feeling anxious for months since the 'bout with the Volturi ended. "What did Alice see? Is she – our...mate...alright?"

There was never a time where Jasper wasn't worried about his mate; he hadn't met her yet but he'd finally come to terms about the possibility of actually having one – and actually keeping her. But he could almost feel his dead heart drop to the bottom of his stomach at Edward's statement. Carlisle was calm, collected, but there was an underlying veil of discomfort just beneath the surface. And Emmett, Emmett actually surprised him when he could feel no other emotion coming from him than excitement.

But Jasper knew they all shared the same thoughts and feelings no matter how much they tried to hide it.

Edward nodded though, giving him and the others a minute smile. He tried to keep out of their minds as much as possible since privacy was a virtue they couldn't afford but he could practically hear Jasper's unease penetrating his thoughts. "She's fine, as far as I know. But," he paused, carefully choosing his next words as he said, "there's been...unexpected development and it is...perplexing."

Carlisle frowned. He was a patient vampire but this was a matter he was most prudent about. "If you could elaborate, Edward?" he gestured with his hand.

There was a distinct feeling of trepidation and the anxiety in the room seemed to increase ten-fold with just that statement alone. Carlisle wouldn't press anything more until he heard what Edward had to say but he was most anxious that there was new development in Alice's vision; any information concerning his – their, mate, was always welcome.

"Alice has reason to believe that two more vampire's will be joining this clan – a couple months from now."

Jasper's neutral expression never wavered but his eyes narrowed finely at Edward's words. "The Volturi will see this as treason, what would we gain from adding two more members to our...coven." his tone was leveled but there was a lilt of vexation that latched onto his words. He didn't see how this had much to do with his mate but he knew there was always a hidden agenda when it came to Alice.

"Jasper's right. Aro was generous the last time – he would sooner see this family destroyed if we add anymore members to our family. And take no offense, Edward, but what does this have to do with our mate?"

The smile on Emmett's face faded just as quickly as it came. He was worried now – they all were. Edward didn't need to be an empath like Jasper to know they all worried about the safety of their mate. It was only natural and he'd surely feel the same if he was in their shoes.

"I take no offense, Carlisle, but just remember that Alice's vision aren't definite – the future can always change. So practice caution, please. That's all Alice asks." he inwardly sighed to himself and the situation Alice got him into. If Bella had just been fine with it all, then none of this would have had to transpire.

But now he was left with how to better approach the situation instead when there were three pressing stares and too many questions being thrown at him in his mind. "Please, just listen. And be patient, Emmett." his golden gaze pinned his behemoth of a brother with a look that clearly said, 'don't start' but the latter just shrugged his shoulders and gave him a shit-eating grin.

Emmett was fucking impatient. He wasn't known to take things by increments nor was he one to beat 'round the bush; everything with him was straight-forward, to-the-point, and direct. By this point, he was tired. Not physically, just mentally. "Ed, just get to the point, man. We can worry about the Volturi later, I just want to know if our mate is alright and when we're gonna meet her."

But despite saying that, he, like everyone else, couldn't help but feel that sense of distress that was practically ringing like a siren at the back of their minds. They asked the question and voiced their concerns but it was there in plain sight.

Two more vampires. Clearly, Alice was joking and they all wouldn't have to share the same mate as well?

"Yes, you will. Alice was positive these two vampire's will join the coven because you all share the same mate. There's potential for more but she thinks your mate won't be ready yet to meet them and will need all of your support in order to do so. Everything else is...unclear."

No one voiced their thoughts and perhaps that was good because Edward honestly wasn't looking forward to all inane questions that would come after. He knew this was a piece of information that they would rather do without but Alice was positive that they wouldn't join for any other reason.

What they needed to do now was process and prepare – soon the missing puzzle pieces would slowly fall into place and all the waiting would be over.