Chapter 1

"Tessa!"

I groaned, "What?"

"Hurry it up," he called back to me. Like I said the building was shallow, it repulsed me; a boating house, where there had been a murder, a kitty was killed here by a fox. We didn't know that yet. So I entered. The building was dark and dinky, my word for small; it smelled highly of fish and men, beer, and plastic. I held my hand over my mouth and he took my hand and we entered the boat house as we followed the scent of dried blood, almost washed away from the water from the small dingy lake. I took one look and I moaned: there was still some fur and a whisker left.

He looked at me, "It's alright Tessa. Come on, we should go."

"Yeah." Outside I punched him in the shoulder, "Jerk. What was the point in coming here?" I shouted and he burst out laughing.

"Come on, I'll be late for my date."

"How do you date when you can't eat and where do you go?"

"All over the state, my current boyfriend thinks I'm a traveling clown for kids birthday parties." I giggled, he forgot to mention that part earlier. Luke is tall and muscular, lean and kind, shabby in the clothes department. He likes torn jeans and stained shirts. Red hair and usually always yellow or topaz eyes. His shirt tonight was clean however with brand new jeans, I just ordered for him. We rarely go shopping in public because the humans are over whelming at times. I almost lost control twice in the last three years we've lived in Washington State and we've been together for over fifty years… almost sixty now I think.

Luke returned my punch and I yelled out in surprise, "That hurt!" I said perhaps too loudly.

He laughed at me, "Well, you started it."

I laughed at him and I took his hand; we began home and we caught the scent of a couple bucks and decided to go after them before he left for his date with the human man. Luke was careful when around humans, more then I am. Luke is kind and dependable; as vampires, even we have problems like leaking sinks and I know he'll fix it right away because God knows I know nothing about that kind of stuff.

We tackled a buck together but didn't eat; I looked up to see a doe and two fawns watching. I almost saw their gloom. "Wait," I said as he was about to bite. He looked up, "He's a daddy. Look." He looked where I was pointing and he laughed.

"You dam softy!" he laughed again as we got up and I jumped onto the buck's back and used the antlers to hold on.

I whispered to the deer, "Alright Beau. Let's go for a run. Come on Luke." I laughed and we played with the buck and the doe and the fawns lay down and watched the two bucks- the one Luke caught- and me race. Luke had the ability to communicate with animals; he told me the bucks enjoyed their lives and thanks us and in return for letting them live, they let us race on their backs for only an hour.

I won all ten times.

Luke was annoyed and angry with me, called me a animal coaxer- somehow he got the theory that I was hiding my animal talking ability from him because they liked me more then him. Suddenly we heard something else the doe and fawns were gone; the buck bucked and I fell off landing on my back. "Luke!" I yelled and we went after them, hunters- probably. Human hunters for deer season.

Luke came up beside me as we got the deer gone from the area, "Back home. Now Tessa." We couldn't be seen by gunman hunters. People here knew us. I nodded and before we could move- a bear came from the woods behind us. Someone was on it. He was tall and big arms, handsome but not my type- hell, I don't have one. The same two fawns were running with two others chasing after them. Luke tackled a girl and I kicked the boy, bronze haired, into a tree, which shook violently and I turned and went to help Luke but he was wrestling with a blond vampire.

He began laughing, "Like that's so scary." He said happily and I took his shoulder, he read my mind without actually reading my mind. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Wow, that was exhilarating." We turned to leave.

"Wait, just like that you leave?" the blond snapped.

We turned back to her as the two males joined her, I ignored them all as Luke- our spokesman- talked for the both of us. "We don't hang around other vampires. It's uncanny and so icky." He said, trying to make it clear of his sexual status. I began laughing. "Do be going after my Rudy, young man. The cubs are very fragile nowadays that the humans killed off the female." Luke likes to think he's older then ancient beings

"You know the bear?"

"His name is Rudy and yes- we'll wait until the cubs aren't cubs anymore."

"Who are you?"

Luke bowed, old English style: sticking out his right leg so his toes touched only and his arm back with the other across his stomach. "Luke Von D'onne and my companion Tessa Pratt," he stood up. They stared at him and I folded my arms at his showing off.

"Are you… together?"

"Me, with him. Don't be stupid, he's gay. His boyfriend- oh you should hurry. You'll be late and you should change before you go."

"Blast!" he yelled, trying to English on top of the English bow, "Oh bloody hell."

"Go!" I yelled and he hurried away, skipping through the air as he sprinted as fast as he could. I turned and went in the same direct but the bronze haired vampire grabbed my arm and I turned to stare into an angel's face. His was so handsome, I felt my knees almost literally give out but to keep him from noticing, I stepped back. His skin was white and his lips were thin and pale; he wore a jacket with fur on the collar; his jeans were clean and looked new. His shirt under the jacket was green; he wore a leather belt. The other male, brown hair was in a green shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His arms folded, even I could gleefully admit he was attractive. The girl however was in a pair of lounge pants and a plaid pink, yellow, and red shirt; it made my eyes hurt. Good thing it was darker out now. Her thick long blond hair was almost twice as long as mine and she was just shy over five foot five and I knew that both males were probably over six feet tall.

"Why did you kick me?"

"You were going after the fawns," I answered. "They are totally off limits. Even the hunters know better around here. Anything but them," I said looked at Luke who was glaring at the blond female who stuck out her tongue at him.

He burst out laughing, "We are not in preschool anymore my dear, no need for that kind of behaviour!" he laughed and I smirked at him as he held my shoulder for support. She just stared at him as if he was insane and even after all the time I've known Luke, I thought he was crazy sometimes too.

But just sometimes.

I held his wrist and he brushed me away politely, "I'll be fine." He cleared his throat and ran his hands over his hair, "I need to go home and take a long nap!" he said suddenly and I stared at him, "It was a great pleasure to meet you all and I do hope we run into each other again. Come on Tessa." I turned to follow but the boy I'd been ogling at stopped us, "Yes?"

"More introductions," he said simply. "My brother and sister, Emmett and Rosalie. I'm Edward Cullen."

"Like I said, Luke and Tessa. As I also already said, it was pleasure to meet you- especially Miss. Rosalie here. Great laughs, good times, lots of fun," he chortled and I made a face. "What is that face for Tessa?"

"Are you drunk?"

Edward chuckling, "Does he not act this way all the time?"

"Of course not. Perhaps I should take you home; I'll call Derek for you."

"Oh, good; after that little thing there, I've no energy for our date tonight."

"I'm not carrying you again Luke."

He glared at me. "Why not?"

"Because you're a big boy you can walk. Come on," then I added to them. "It was nice to meet you."

"Likewise, um, Tessa." Edward mumbled and Emmett and Rosalie glanced at him. I smiled at him and linked my arm with Luke's we headed home.

I spotted his eagle and I pointed her out, "There's Tara."

"Oh, my, she caught a fish. That's my girl!" he smiled and we talked about Tara and her babies all the way home, we felt more comfortable while talking about the animals. It was something we had in common with our uncommon lives before and after we met.