Chapter 5
Moving and Shifting.
"Yes." The soft, human voice said.
"Absolutely!" Came the second, pixie-like voice.
"Hell yes!" The Deep booming bass of the third voice sounded out.
"Why not?" The fourth voice sounded utterly bored.
"Yes." Said the fifth in a calm and calculated manner.
"Of course." Compassion and love pouring from the words that the sixth voice spoke.
"Definitely." Said the seventh with seriousness.
"Yes." Said the eight and the last. The authority unmistakable.
I stared at the eight people assembled around me and I stood frozen to the floor. They said yes. I stood staring like a complete moron. Not staring, Gaping like a complete moron. Gaping at the family that had just voted to keep me as one of their own. The voting had been surprisingly unanimous,The voted to allow me to stay with them. I couldn't speak. I couldn't move. I couldn't actually think beyond the shock of being allowed to be here. After what seemed like a century, I managed to force out two little words.
"Thank you."
I was barely finished them when I was assaulted by hugs and kisses, some warm and comfortable; and one very hot little one, from my family. Well, that would take getting used to... family.
"So, what now?" Bella asked as a grin spread across her face.
"Uh, I'm not sure." I answered honestly. I was positive that I was supposed to be here. I just wasn't sure what to do now that I was.
"Alice, it's too late to for shopping." I snapped my head round in time to watch Edward roll his eyes at my new little sister.
"But she needs them!" She argued right back, hands on hips.
"Who needs what?" I was confused. I just got given the most amazing gift. No-one on the planet had more than I did right now. What else could I possibly need?
"Kali, Alice wants to take you clothes shopping." Rosalie offered, still sounding as bored as ever. Apparently, Rose didn't need to be a mind-reader to know where Alice's thoughts were heading.
"Is her taking me shopping a bad thing?" I was still puzzled. I liked to shop occasionally. How could it be a bad thing that she wanted to take me?
"Kali, it is important you understand... Alice is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to shopping. It is not to be taken lightly." Edward warned. I nodded once in response and turned to Alice. Her eyes glassed over and she started to jump up and down, clapping her hands. She grabbed hold of my hand and pulled me towards the garage door. "You asked for it Kali..." Emmett teased as I was pulled towards the cars. She pulled me towards Edwards Volvo.
"Oh no. We are taking mines." I protested, pulling her towards my car now.
"Edward's is faster." She argued.
"Mines has more boot space." I countered.
"Fine, but I'm driving." She squeaked as she bolted to the drivers side. I wasn't fast enough. she was in the seat, buckled in and her eyes glassed over.
"Sit there all you like munchkin, but I have the keys." I muttered smugly.
"Who said I needed Keys?" Alice asked knowingly and proceeded to hot-wire my very new and very expensive BMW. Stupid annoying pixie. She was done within ten seconds and was tearing it down the driveway at a speed that was highly illegal with a wall of black steel that was the trees zoomed past us on either side.
The others had been right. Shopping with Alice when unprepared was horrifying. If I didn't have Vampire stamina, I would have caved after half an hour. Three hours into this pioneering voyage into retail therapy, I called time on the expedition. Both Alice's and my own credit cards had took a hammering, the car was practically groaning under the weight of our endeavors. My new little sister was unstoppable; complaining strongly when I wanted to go home. The only way I could get her to give in was to promise her that I would let her come to the Seattle house and ransack my wardrobe. I was already regretting the decision before I was finished saying it.
"Esme will come with us!"
Alice's eyes were clouded. She shook her head, re-focusing on the present. She had been scanning the future to see how difficult I would be. I was surprised to hear that Esme would be coming. "Apparently, she thinks I need to be kept under control." Alice pulled a face and I laughed at her. If Esme was coming, she was probably going to get a lot worse. The shopping would seem like a spa trip by comparison. I made a mental note to start hiding half of my clothes before I let her into the house. "Don't even bother, Kali. I will find out where you put them as soon as you decide anyway."
"Bloody pixie!"
Alice was too busy compiling my summer ensembles to bother responding. I just drove. I was glad I was able to drive. Driving my own car allowed me to feel a little normal. Today had been so extraordinary that this little piece of normalcy was really very helpful. It never occured to me until three days ago that I might be allowed another family. I had already lost two... I didn't see how it was fair that I got another one. But I had and I was going to fight for it with everything in my considerable arsenal.
I was so preoccupied with my thoughts that I hadn't noticed we were getting near the turn off the the Cullen's house. Alice actually shook me to get my attention, pointing the the gap in the trees. I nodded once and turned off and drove up the uneven dirt road at a considerable speed. I steered the BMW into the garage and parked it in the empty space between a black Mercedes S55 AMG and an enormous red jeep.
"Kali, you might need to move this in the morning if you park here. Edward likes to park here."
"Tomorrow is Wednesday. Wednesday is a school day. Edward can park somewhere else. I ain't moving it." A wide grin came to Alice's face
"Oh, Kals, there's hope for you yet." she stated, climbing out of the car.
"Oi, pixie! Did you just call me Kals?"
"Yeah... I saw you wouldn't mind it."Alice said, slightly panicked by the look on my poker face.
"I've never had a nickname before... I kinda like it." I said, smiling as I patted her on the arm and helped her with the bags.
Esme was adamant that she take the Mercedes to the Seattle house. She was certain that me and Alice were not to be trusted driving it as it topped out at just under two hundred miles per hour and we would attract attention to ourselves. More than one sounding of 'spoilsport' was heard because of that one. It didn't take us that long to get to the Seattle house. Maybe about twenty minutes longer than it would have if we had vampire driving speed on our side. It was maybe just after eleven pm when we got there and the house was lit up like a show home. A small "Oh" was heard from the drivers seat as we approached the front door.
"This is a beautiful home, Kali." Esme stated, not quite recovered yet. I found it funny, they had a gorgeous house in the middle of a meadow and countless acres of land around it. The only difference between the two was that they had a river and I a reasonably large duck pond... why wouldn't I have the same type of home as them?
"Thank you Esme. Would you guys like the tour?"
Esme and I walked slowly around my over-sized house. Alice politely declined the offer and demanded access to my wardrobes immediately. I shuddered internally at the thought of what she was doing with my clothes.
"She will eventually give up on you." Esme said, seeing the distress clearly on my face.
"When did she let up on you?"
"Soon hopefully." she replied, letting out a delicate snort.
"Kali!" Alice called from upstairs " You need to talk to Jasper when you get back about documents if you want to enroll in time!" I rolled my eyes. Of course the pixie knew that. Esme looked perplexed.
"I was thinking about going to school... Kepping up appearances and all that. I'm going to have to do something. I ran into Bella's father earlier when I was coming to your house. I told him I was your niece and I might be staying a while."
Esme beamed at me. "Jasper knows a very good forger. I'm sure he will be able to get the paperwork organised for you." she offered, venom creating a teary sheen over her eyes. She was ecstatic.
"Um, sure... if you think he can." I smiled back at her. "Incidently, when are we heading back?" I asked, eager to get 'home' and spend time with my new friends.
"I'm not sure. Alice?" Esme said.
"Sixteen minutes. I'm just putting together some ensembles for you."
"Oi, pixie! I'm perfectly capable of dressing myself!"
"Kali, you didn't have me to help you before..." she concluded in a very final tone.
"Is there any point in arguing?" I asked, sure that I didn't want the answer.
"No." Esme and Alice said at the same time, causing me to burst out laughing, conceding defeat.
"Jazz, I swear to God, If you don't knock it off, I will have Alice dress you as a girl for the rest of the year!" I said, yawning loudly.
I hadn't yawned for over half a millennium so it took me a moment to recognise what it was as waves of lethargy crashed over me. Playing chess with Jasper was a hazardous activity. It normally involved several bouts of mood control, a military mind, threats of extreme violence and balls of steel. The man was ruthless in the pursuit of a win.
"All's fair in love and war, Kals." He grinned, finally easing up on the emotional manipulation. I slapped my own face a couple of times then shook my head to clear the cobwebs that Jasper had so recently festooned there. I focused on him and shoves a strong sense of shame towards him. The grin fell off his face Immediately, replaced with puppy-dog eyes and a down-turned mouth.
"Damn it, Kali!" he growled.
"You started it, brother. Do you want to play match the mood or do you want to play chess?"
"Chess."
"Then it's your move Blondie." I teased, ruffling his curly hair.
The game had lasted for four hours when we called time on it. We weren't done yet and with no end in sight, we took a break. Nine chess boards were set up in a three by three configuration. After the first quick, one hour game that we had for educational purposes, (I had to learn Jasper's rules for this, the most complex chess game I had ever played.) I found that I loved this game. There were two hundred and eighty eight pieces at the start of each game and there were about half of that left now. Both forces had sustained heavy losses with key players being taken out.
"You guys better wrap that up. Bella will be here soon." Alice called from the other room.
"Alice, she will be here in two bloody hours! Quit it!" I retorted, frowning at my ever-annoying little sister.
"Yes, and I have to assemble your outfit."
"I don't need you to 'assemble my outfit'! I have been dressing myself for six hundred and two years. I WILL MANAGE!" I yelled militantly.
"Kali, you shouldn't fight her on this one." Jazz murmured. I stared at him with complete incredulity. "She usually wins these things." He explained.
"I don't care. I ain't playing Kali Barbie with Alice." I said stubbornly. I crossed my arms and pouted like a petulant child.
Alice had already spent two hours preparing ensembles for me to try on. I had agreed to try on a couple, but my couple and Alice's couple differed somewhat. I sighed internally, accepting defeat. Maybe if I let her away with it this time, I would be spared the next.
"Yay!" Alice called out in victory.
"Kali, before Alice kidnaps you, can I have a moment of your time?" Carlisle said from his study. There were two floors between us and I could hear him like he was whispering in my ear. I stood up from the chess game
"Be right there, Carlisle." I said, turning to face Jasper. "No cheating!" I warned him, pointing a finger at his face. He just chuckled and shook his head.
"Scout's Honour, Kals." I nodded once and went upstairs to the study.
This was the first time I had been in this room. I scanned it, memorising everything. The biscuit coloured carpet was thick and soft. The walls were partly paneled by a darkly stained oak. The parts of the walls that were not clad in wood, were given over to the endless books and paintings that were present. The artwork was flawless, of course, but was arranged in no real order that I could see. I assumed that Carlisle would have a reason for this organisational pattern. One of them did grab my attention though. Relatively small compared with the others. It was the painting of a lion standing on top of a banner that bore three clover leafs. A hand was held above the lions majestic mane like a crown. I pulled my eyes away from it to look around some more. The large mahogany desk which filled the central space had an array of office and personal items on it. On one side of the desk, two high-backed red leather chairs were present. Even as a vampire, I thought they would be comfortable to sit on. On the other side of the desk, the object of my attention was trying to claim it. Carlisle was sitting behind the massive desk, his hands clasped over a fat book that he just lifted his head out of.
"What's wrong, Carlisle?" I asked, worried by the serious expression on his face.
"I wanted to talk to you privately, Kali. You have been here for just over a week now and I wan..." I blocked him out. This was it. Oh, God. He had gotten sick of me and wanted me to leave. My dead heart felt like it was breaking, shattering like glass.
"It's okay, Carlisle." I said, interrupting him with a very small voice. "I understand. I'll say goodbye to the others and leave." Just saying the words out loud was too painful to bear. Devastation rocked my to my core.
"Kali, I'm not asking you to leave." He reassured me. The comforting tone of his voice was reflected on the features of his glorious face. "I'm going to tell you more about our life here so that you will be safe to come and go as you please." Relief crashed around me, threatening to knock me over.
Carlisle smiled at my reaction. He took one deep breath before he began to speak again. "Kali, We are able to exist here because of our lifestyles. We forsake our very nature to allow us to hold on to a degree of our humanity. It allows us to love and live in the human world. We settled here once before this, around seventy years ago. We came across a Native American tribe called the Quileutes. Their ancestors at some point diverged from humanity at a genetic level. Stop me if I confuse you." Carlisle offered.
I simply waved my hand for him to continue. Genetics were science. Science was good. It was facts and facts that couldn't change. I liked them.
"Some of their young men" Carlisle continued. "when they reached maturity, had the ability to shift. They could change from human form into that of a wolf. The shape-shifting is genetic, passed from father to son for generations. The shifting gene lays dormant for the most part. When it becomes active, however, the change happens."
I felt my eyebrows rise until it felt like they were almost hiding in my hair-line. I was staring at Carlisle like he had three heads. And with good reason. What he was talking about what ridiculous and I was NOT buying it.
"Your face tells me you are having trouble believing." Carlisle interjected, with slight amusement playing on his face. "But I promise you, it's true. There are a pack of wolves about twenty miles away in La Push that could testify to that."
"You are talking werewolves, Carlisle." I said, fully aware of the skepticism in my tone.
"No, I am talking shape-shifters. They do not pass on the ability through biting. It is genetic."
"Okay, say that I believe you..." I bloody well don't though. "Why are you telling me?"
"The Quileute wolves have one natural enemy." He stated plainly.
Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me?
"Carlisle, please tell me that you are kidding when you say that the possible shape-shifters located not twenty miles down the road are our arch enemies." I almost pleaded with him. It would be typical of my luck, however, if what he was saying was true.
"No, Kali. We are able to co-exist with them because of our lifestyle. Their number one goal is to protect their people and other humans. As we pose no threat to humans in this area, we have a treaty in place which prevents them attacking us." His words made my diamond hard skin crawl.
"We don't hunt the humans so they don't hunt us?" I summarised. "In a manner of speaking, yes."
"Are we safe?" My vampire mind started buzzing with possibilities. Mostly about my new family being harmed in anyway. Just thinking like that brought on a bloodlust that I didn't experience often and didn't like to. I couldn't control it.
"Yes we are safe because of the treaty. They don't cross into our land and we don't cross into theirs. They are aware of seven mature vampires that belong to this family. To add another, requires meeting with them." He said in a somber tone.
"Carlisle, I am enjoying spending time here. I am not alone here. I felt a shift when I came to this house. When Bella shook my hand for the first time, I changed." I told him in a small voice. "But I will not be the source of any danger to you. I will not put your family... my family at risk from a pack of teenage boy-wolfs. I will leave if I have to."
Those last words nearly pulled me under. Just thinking and saying them felt like I was burning.
"You won't be asked to leave, Kali." he said. I looked into his eyes and saw an odd spark in them. "You said you felt a shift. A change?" he asked excitedly.
"Yes."
His new found enthusiasm threw me a little. Weirdly thankful for the subject change, I allowed this line of questioning. "What changed?" He asked, his eyes flashing with intrigue.
"I did." I stated flatly. It was true. Every single dead cell of my body had been altered by this, most wonderful of families.
"I don't follow you, Kali"
"It's hard to explain, Carlisle. After that first night, after the first handshake with Bella, everything that I was moved. The anchor that held me in place moved to the center of this family. I felt like I belonged here. I loved this family before it accepted me. The emotions were so strong, Carlisle. I felt like they were drowning me. When I surfaced, I felt bound to you all; like this was where my whole existence had been preparing me for being. I was sure, in that second, that this was where I was always supposed to end up."
Carlisle looked slightly shocked, but oddly, unsurprised. "Do you know what that was?"
"I have seen it before with others of our kind, Carlisle. I know what it means."
"And that is?" leaning forward eagerly, despite himself.
"It means that even if you told me to leave, if you forced me to go, I would never be able to. I would always be around in some way. My heart belongs to this family. I feel like I found my soul again when I found you all. I would kill and be killed to protect this family." He was going to think I was nuts. He kept his eyes on my face as he templed his fingers over his book.
"I will write a letter to the leader of the Quileute tribe to inform him that you will be staying with us for the foreseeable future. As a mature vampire, you will have to bear the responsibility that being a Cullen entails." Carlisle's voice was firm. "You will respect and adhere to the treaty restrictions and stay off of Quileute land and avoid hunting there." He was accepting me. I was part of his family. I had a family. The thought caused a lump to form in my throat.
"Would you like me to inform the Tribal Leader that you are a part of this family and will be staying with us?" He asked, placing the choice firmly in my hands.
"Oh, God, yes!" I almost shouted in his face. I jumped up, arou8nd the table and pulled him into a fierce hug. Carlisle, after getting over the shock of my sudden movement, laughed and squeezed me. He let me go and took a step back.
"Edward and Emmett will take you out later tonight and show you the La push boundary line. You are not under any circumstances to cross that line. If you did, war would break loose. Do you understand?"
"Yes, DAD." I said in a sing-song voice, then burst out laughing. He chuckled with me then shooed me out of his study. I knew why. Bella would be here soon and I still had to endure my make-over session with Alice. I could only pray that I made it out of there alive.