I took a shower, erasing the grime of the sewers from my hair and off my body. I put on clothing that would allow me the most movement; a newer pair of jeans, a long sleeved shirt and my new endurable tennis shoes. I pulled my hair back in a braid to get it out of my face. Lucky watched with mild interest as I got ready, more interested in his new chew toys and the ample amount of food in his bowl.

I knew the sun had finally set, and I could sense the three vampires outside my door before they let themselves in.

"Oh, sorry," Julian said, stopping short. I turned to look, to see what he apologized for (aside from his rude entrance into my home). He was looking at the Lucky, who was growling maniacally. "Should we wait until you're finished?"

It finally clicked what he meant. I laughed. "No Julian, this isn't dinner. This is a stray I picked up today."

The three vampires glanced at each other surprised yet again. "This young one holds nothing but surprises," Katherine said, smiling at me. She wore a simple blue tank with thick khaki pants. "Are you ready?"

I nodded and followed them out of the apartment, down the alley and out of the city.

The rest joined us at the edge of the city and they ran with us, holding specific ranks: Gavril and Julian leading, the females and I in the center of the group and the four other males were following behind us. It was silent except for Katherine who ran next to me, filling me in on the family.

Katherine and Julian had found each other around 1759 while in northern Finland, where she was born. She was a new vampire at the time, and still wild. Julian helped her tame the vampire in her, and they have been together ever since. The next to join their group was Locke, who was already a decade old, and they moved around Europe for the next 50 years, in that time Gavril found his mate Lena, who was one of the vampires killed by the southerners a few days ago. When European towns became bustling cities, and it became harder for vampires to feed without going noticed, the group moved to the new world, America. They landed in Rhode Island, and immediately laid claim to most of the northern states.

All the stories Edward had told me of Jasper's southern vampire wars didn't seem to be the first fights over hunting grounds. They had been going on since the mid 1800's.

Katherine, Julian, Gavril and Lena were the main dictating driving force in the North Eastern United States for several years. The only interference came after they had been in the US for 15 years; the Volturi confronted them and ordered them to retreat farther North and have a smaller hunting ground.

"It took us a few years to realize that they felt threatened." Julian interjected, as we ran farther north. "We were gaining soldiers from all over who would do anything to be part of a vampire government. It was all about power."

The clan then picked New York City as their one and only hunting ground. Garrett and his mate Sarah, the beautiful red haired female joined them in 1900, and then the group gained the twins.

"Twins?" I asked, looking at the vampires for any who seemed alike.

"Locke and Laura were bitten by the same vampire and awoke at the exact same moment. This somehow gave them the powers they have. They're able to communicate telepathically and can always sense each other." Katherine explained.

"It comes in handy; let me tell you that!" Gavril yelled, letting out a rough and low laugh. The rest muttered or laughed here and there, it was obviously an inside joke.

The last to join their group was the youngest, Jonathon, the black tendriled man with the almost tan complexion and his brother Jeremiah. Jeremiah had been attacked by the southerners and killed as well.

So it was a real family. Not exactly like the Cullens, but with the same camaraderie. They supported and liked each other at least. In the end, it probably was the draw of power in numbers that kept them together.

We finally arrived in a large field several miles away from New York City. From what I gathered, this was a regular practice field for them. Locke and Jonathon fell immediately to my sides, feeling more like I was being guarded then anything. I gave Julian a look, but he just smiled and motioned for me to follow.

We gathered in a loose circle and Gavril and Julian took over. They had dealt the most in the vampire wars and were the experts, so to say.

For the first part of the night, they demonstrated familiar attacks that the southerners would take and the best way to avoid being surrounded. The demonstrations were fast, and almost…exhilarating. I leaned forward, eager to pick up any detail of their footing, their movements.

After that, they broke us up into teams, Gavril and Julian paired with me.

"Now you're the youngest which means you're also the strongest. They may look at you like a weak spot though. If there's anyway you could get your arms around one of them though, they'd have no chance of getting you off." Julian explained. Gavril spoke little to me, still frustrated by the fact I was allowed to be apart of their battle.

"Now Gavril is going to come from the side, doing whatever your instincts tell you to do."

Gavril rushed and I leapt straight up, spinning in the air and landed quickly on his back, my arm around his neck. The other pairs stopped to see what had happened and froze. Gavril cursed as I let my arm down and leaped off his back.

"Did I do it wrong?" I asked, surprised by the others looks of shock.

"No, not at all," Julian answered, still awestruck. "On contrary…that was very good. It must have something to do with the fact you've seen vampires in action, you've studied their movements, even before you were one yourself. I'm surprised though…."

Locke and Laura exchanged surprised side long glances then looked away. The group had gone awkwardly quiet. But I ignored it as I went back to practice.

The rest of the practice went the same. We switched partners once or twice. The hardest was when we practiced multiple attacks, although this did give Locke and Laura a chance to show off their skills.

They moved coordinately and with such intent, they had Sarah pinned in under a minute. They looked up smugly, and Laura gave one last side long glance at me before joining Locke at the opposite side of the circle.

I felt a small temperature rise as it grew closer to dawn. Julian called the practice to a close and we ran back to the city in silence.

This was the eve of war, I could tell. The practice, while my first, had been their last. I didn't feel prepared or ready, I felt unsure.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

A/N

Kind of a boring chapter which is why I left it short, but I also wanted to show the conflict between Julian's family and what Bella feels like is festering behind all of their 'good intentions'. Can they really be trusted?

Reviews, love! Please and thank you.