Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyers owns Twilight. I do not. I do however, own my 'gang'.

A/N: Flying solo folks.

Thank you to my reviewers.

Chapter 58

"So how's the paper coming along?" Taylor flicked a glance at me before turning back to his laptop.

"I'm making progress."

The apartment was filled with the mouthwatering aroma of freshly baked peaches and cream oatmeal cookies I had cooling on a wire rack. Fortunately, Ryan didn't hear when the timer went off, so the cookies would have a little time to cool before he attempted to scarf them down.

"You sure? Because it doesn't look like it." One dark eyebrow rose mockingly as his fingers paused on the keys.

"I already have it outlined." I released the spoon and tapped my forehead with my finger. "I've got it all up here." I went back to mixing.

"At least that's one problem out of the way. What about the other one?" Taylor leaned back in his chair, calmly sipping his herbal tea.

Four days had passed since I learned about Taylor's secrets and our lives had returned to normal… for the most part. I now found myself noticing many things that I'd overlooked in the past. Like the way Taylor preferred herbal tea over coffee, saying that coffee made him (and by extension, his demon) irritable. Everything in his life, from eating habits to relaxation techniques, was designed to minimize his stress levels as much as possible. My heart swelled in admiration, realizing the lengths he went through on a daily basis, to maintain a normal life.

Eventually I began to realize that Taylor aspired to be normal with the same single-mindedness that I had when I wanted to become a vampire. Taylor desired to be ordinary so badly that he was willing to suppress a part of himself to achieve it. The only difference was that Taylor's desire stemmed from fear and self-loathing, while mine had sprung from selfishness and a low self-esteem.

"Nope. Still stuck on the answer to that problem," I supplied, while adding a cup of fresh blueberries to my flour mixture.

It was my junior year of college and I still hadn't figured out what I was going to do with myself after graduation. All of my friends had already chosen exciting career paths, and had taken the necessary steps toward their goals. Ryan had his football league, Taylor gave piano lessons, Zach had his seasonal park ranger gig and Liz had that internship at the museum. What did I have? I had English, which was a fine choice back when I wanted a career in teaching. I'd changed since then and now I wanted… more.

"Don't stress yourself out. You still have time." Taylor's fingers practically flew across the keyboards and I smiled to myself. It was a welcomed sound over Ryan's loud guffaws, coming from the living room. He'd planted himself in front of the television after I chased him out of the kitchen for stealing cookie dough.

"Yeah but shouldn't I have an idea by now, at least?" I paused to pop one tasty berry into my mouth before continuing to fold in blueberries into the dough.

The tapping suddenly stopped and Taylor assessed me with his gaze. "What are you doing?"

"I'm greasing a muffin tray. What does it look like?" I muttered sarcastically.

He lifted an eyebrow. "That wasn't what I meant. I was referring to all this baking you like to do. Why don't you do this for a living? Open up a bakery or a café."

"What?" I began to laugh then stopped. "Wait… you're serious?"

Taylor was dead serious. "Why not? This is something you're good at, and don't tell me you don't enjoy it because I'll know you're lying. God knows you're obsessed with any drink that has coffee in it."

I picked up the mixing bowl and began to spoon batter into the muffin pans. "It's one thing to bake for you guys. But it's a whole other story baking… professionally." Ever since the whole Jacob baking fiasco, baking had become something I did whenever I had the free time. It was the hobby I turned to whenever I needed to think and organize my thoughts. I'd never given any thought toward selling my pastries. "Besides I wouldn't even know the first thing about running a business."

"Just give it some thought before you completely dismiss the idea." Taylor smiled ever so slightly and resumed his typing.

"I don't even think my treats are good enough to sell." I frowned in thought as I sprinkled the crumb topping mixture over my muffins.

Taylor looked up with a short bark of laughter. "Good enough to sell? Woman, why do you think I'm working in here?" When I shrugged my shoulders, Taylor nodded subtly in the direction of the cookies.

"Seriously?" I laughed, and placed the muffin trays in the oven.

"The last time you made cookies, I only got one because I got here too late." He smiled smugly. "But that's not going to happen this time."

"And here I thought you came in here to stare at all of this." I gestured to my body.

"As much as I enjoying the sight of you bending over, I'm here for the cookies." Taylor slanted me a heated look.

I turned away from his gaze, and felt my shoulders droop when I caught sight of the pile of dirty dishes in the sink. This was my least favorite part; the clean up.

I was startled when a pair of strong hand hooked around my waist and turned me around. Sneaky bastard. I didn't even hear his approach.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" I asked when his arms tightened, pulling me against his body.

"Well, seeing as the cookies aren't cool yet. I think I'll nibble on something else in the meantime." His eyes burned with sexual intent as he backed me against the counter.

"But there are dishes." My breath caught, cheeks warmed as one of his hands began to tug at my apron.

"The dishes can wait." Hands grasped my hips and lifted until I was sitting on the counter top. He was breathing roughly as he positioned himself between my legs.

"But I'm covered in flour." We had to maintain some sort of decency. For crying out loud, Ryan was in the next room. But those thoughts faded when his finger rasped over my hardened nipple and I arched into his grasp.

"You're my goddess." He stared back at me with darkened eyes and I flushed with delight. The guy sure knew how to make a girl feel beautiful.

"So you worship me? Tsk tsk, Taylor. That's blasphemy," I teased with a sensuous smile tilting my lips. A firm hand fisted in my hair, and tugged until my neck was exposed.

"Oh, no… not the… not the neck," I murmured, quickly losing the battle as his tongue raked a heated trail down my neck. My arms went around his neck, legs moving to draw him closer. Damn him for attacking one of the spots guaranteed to reduced me to a puddle of goo.

"Oh hell, not this again," Ryan's groan effectively ruined the mood. "Come on guys, we talked about this. You can't do that stuff around the food."

Taylor's gaze was wicked as he stepped away, giving me a look filled with promises of things to come. I shot him a mildly irritated look that said it was about damn time! It had been four days; a new record for us. Taylor had insisted that his demon was too close to the surface ever since his power surge. He needed to be abstinent in the time it took to center himself again. No matter how many times I assured him that his fangs were sexy, Taylor didn't want to risk having them pop out in the middle of sex.

I hopped off the counter and landed on slightly unsteady legs.

Before I could stop him, Ryan dashed over, burned his fingers on a cookie and almost knocked over the cooling rack. And Taylor was no better, trying to steal a cookie while Ryan had me distracted. I ended up chasing both him and Ryan from the kitchen with a spatula. Of course, the ridiculousness didn't end there and grew worse when Zach showed up with Liz hot on his heels. Zach called dibs on one tray and Liz threatened to cut someone if she didn't get at least two cookies. In the end, I traded the cookies (minus three for myself) in exchange for them doing the dishes.

Tantalizing curls of steam rose from my cup of cappuccino as I retreated to the living room to relax. I kicked my feet up on the couch, listening to the sounds of four grown-ass adults arguing over cookies, and began to give thought to Taylor's café idea.

Me, a business woman? Yeah right.

"Where would you like to live after college?" Taylor inquired from the bathroom.

It was almost midnight and I was reading my book assignment before bed. Taylor's question had come as a surprise as I hadn't given much thought about what would happen after college. Taylor was getting ready for bed, probably brushing his teeth with my toothbrush.

"I haven't given it much thought. Why'd you ask?" I glanced up at him as he emerged from the bathroom, wearing nothing but a pair of loose pants. He settled into the spot beside me on the bed.

"I don't know. Earlier today when you were talking about your career, it just got me to thinking about the future." At Taylor's talk about the future and the seriousness in his stare, I grew a tad nervous.

"Do you have a place in mind?" I closed my book and set it aside on the nightstand.

Taylor frowned thoughtfully. "I don't know. What do you think about staying here in Hanover?"

"Here?" Taylor nodded. "I like it here, but the winters are tough. I actually wouldn't mind moving to someplace warmer." Wherever we decided on, I hoped we'd all be moving there together.

"I guess we should all sit down and discuss this. We're in our junior year now but we'll be seniors before we know it. We should start making plans." Taylor spoke carefully as if he was anticipating a bad reaction from me. I couldn't blame him for that. Being that I wasn't a person who willingly embraced change.

After some consideration, I agreed with him. "You're right. We should start thinking about the future."

One dark eyebrow swept upward, appearing genuinely surprised by my speedy accession. "Just like that? I start talking about our future and you don't bring up the happiness police even once?"

"I said I would try, so this is me trying. Don't be a smartass." I grumbled, folding my arms across my chest.

Taylor released a short bark of laughter before he reached over, pulling until I was pressed alongside him. My irritation was forgotten when he brushed warm lips against my forehead in apology. "Well, I appreciate you not getting weird on me."

"That's right. I'm wearing my big girl panties." I grinned, feeling mildly proud of myself for finally experiencing true growth. I gently trailed my fingers across his stomach muscles, feeling them tighten beneath teasing fingertips.

"And speaking of panties…" my voice trailed off when I felt his fingers lightly caressing the tiny scar on my neck. It was something Taylor did whenever we cuddled like we were doing now. I didn't think he was even aware of his habit.

I found my memory travelling back to the night he bit me, and the unadulterated bliss I'd experienced. It felt like more than just sex. I'd asked him not to do it again because I'd been weirded out by how much I liked it. But now I was curious about what had happened between us that night. Apart from what it felt like, I also remembered him licking my blood off his lips.

"I was thinking about when you bit me. I never felt anything like that before. Did you…" I hesitated and then decided to just come right out and ask. "Did you feed on me?"

The languid stroking of Taylor's fingers came to an abrupt halt and his voice was curiously soft when he spoke. "No, you're blood isn't food to me. What I did is called pairing."

"Pairing?" I rolled onto my stomach, and propped myself up on my elbows.

"It's the draken practice of exchanging essences." When my brows rose in silent question, Taylor continued, "Your essence is the life force housed in your blood. When I bit you, I tapped into your essence; absorbing it into my body and giving you mine in return. Pairing is something sacred to us because when we doing it, we're literally sharing our lives with someone."

At Taylor's confession, I was hit with a flurry of emotion. On one hand, I was flattered that he'd done something so intimate and spiritual with me. On the other hand, I was pissed for that very same reason. Something so important should have been done with my consent.

Taylor warily eyed my angry scowl. "You're angry with me." It wasn't a question.

"Try livid, Spanish man. How could you do something like that without asking me first?"

"It happened in the heat of the moment. I didn't plan on pairing with you until after I'd had the chance to tell you the truth about myself. But I'd underestimated how intense our first time would be and I couldn't resist," he explained with a wry twist of his lips. "Besides, I kind of did have your permission."

"That's funny because I don't remember giving it." I was all set to argue.

"Something like tampering with your life force would require your complete trust. We wouldn't have been able to connect like that if you didn't want to. I would've been stopped dead in my tracks if I'd attempted that and you weren't ready." He stared at me intensely.

"No, don't give me the sex look. I have more questions to ask." I refused to be sucked in by his heated gaze.

"Ask away then." Taylor stretched out, looking completely relaxed.

"Have you paired with anyone else before me?"

"Of course not. I wouldn't do something like that with just anybody." Taylor wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"So does pairing mean that you like own me now? Any if you say yes, I will throw a fricking fit." My eyes narrowed in warning and Taylor laughed completely unthreatened by my rarely seen "ferocity".

"You're like an angry kitten." Taylor's grin slipped a fraction when my glare failed to lessen. "Relax, woman. Pairing has no effect on you whatsoever."

There was something off in the way Taylor worded his answer. Did pairing have an effect on him?

Morbid curiosity led me to ask another question. "You said that my essence was in my blood. How did my blood taste?"

"It tasted sweet like nectar." His eyes glazed over from the mere memory alone and gave me a tiny chill.

"You liked it." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, I did. But don't freak out. It's not like I feed on blood for sustenance or anything like that. I'm not a vampire." His face was weary as he ran a hand across it and I immediately regretted my reaction. Still, the idea of drinking blood unsettled me.

"So any more draken customs I should know about?"

His smile faded suddenly and he glanced away, seemingly racked with indecision. When our eyes met again his expression was grave. "There's one other ritual that I was told about. It's called bonding but it has been centuries since the last draken bonded. Marianna forbade anyone from attempting to bond after all the deaths it caused." Taylor quickly shook his head. "I can't say anything more about it. Sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up in the first place." Taylor clammed up as if he was afraid he'd get in trouble with Marianna for telling me their secrets.

Bonding? Deaths? The more I learned about Taylor's family history, the more I wanted to know everything.

"Oh, come on. You can't just stop there." I wasn't prepared to let the matter drop, but I observed the stubborn set of Taylor jaw and realized that I'd get nowhere by badgering him.

Suddenly an idea occurred to me and I decided to try another tactic.

"You know, I can use my feminine wiles to make you talk." I sat up grinning.

"Can you?" His eyes darkened as I climbed on top of him.

I reached up and freed my hair from its ponytail, allowing it to cascade over my shoulders. His stomach muscles tensed when I swept my hands over them. A slight wiggle of my hips and I felt him harden beneath me.

"So are you ready to talk yet?"

Taylor opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted when a rather loud Oh God! came from the next room. Liz and Ryan were at it… again. All night we'd been trying to ignore the breathy moans and loud groans to no avail.

Taylor rolled his eyes. "Remind me again why we're spending the night in your room."

"Because you're still creeped out from walking in on Zach having phone sex with Leah in the living room," I was kind enough to remind him in a teasing tone.

The whole situation wouldn't have been as bad if Zach's pants hadn't been around his ankles at the time. Since then, both men avoided making eye contact with each other. Men were so silly about little things like nudity. Liz and I had seen each other naked a bunch of times, but we were still cool about it.

"Thanks for reminding me," Taylor muttered dryly.

"Well, I guess you're not interested…" I made as if to climb off and Taylor took the bait.

Before I knew it, I found myself flat on my back with Taylor on top of me. A strong hand held mine above my head, pinning them into the soft mattress. Strands of dark hair fell forward, tickling my forehead as he hovered above me.

"How about we give them some competition?" He murmured heatedly at my ear and I released a tortured moan, feeling teeth scrape along the curve of my jaw.

I managed a very weak yay as long fingers wandered across my stomach. The ability to speak went away when those fingers slipped beneath the waistband of my panties. I shuddered with anticipation by the time I feel the warm caress of his fingers.

Ryan's agonized scream jolted us out of our passion induced haze.

Taylor halted all movement and raised his head. "That sounded…"

"Painful?" I supplied and Taylor nodded in agreement. Before we could begin to speculate, a flustered Liz burst through my bedroom door.

"Liz!" I screeched, quickly scrambling out from under Taylor to reorganize my clothes.

Liz didn't seem to register that she'd barged in on us, just as Taylor was about to go in for the kill. Her hair was disheveled and dampened by sweat. She scanned the room with wild eyes, panting softly in her sloppily tied robe.

"You have to come… I–It's Ryan. He–you have to come now!" Liz was on the edge of hysteria.

"What's wrong?"

"I didn't mean to do it." Those words sent a shiver of fear down my spine as a multitude of thoughts attacked my mind. Did Liz's guardian surface and attack Ryan? How badly injured was he?

Taylor charged out of the room, leaving us to hurry behind him. Upon entering Liz's room, Taylor stopped so abruptly that I bumped into his back. Wondering what had him so stunned, I craned my neck to peek around him.

Ryan's nude form was lying on the bed, curled in the fetal position. His face was flushed and there was moisture on his face. I suspected it was a mixture of both sweat and tears. Large veins stood out on his forehead and his neck. He let out a pained whimper that ended in with a pitiful groan. The most disturbing part of what we were seeing was the way Ryan was clutching at… himself.

Taylor cautiously approached the bed when Ryan called his name.

"Taylor… I think I pulled something, man… I need you to take a look." Ryan released a choked sob.

When Taylor seemed to hesitate, Ryan whined, "Come on, man. I'd look if it was you."

Taylor wrinkled his nose but relented, "Fine." He was clearly annoyed at being forced to look at another man's penis for the second time in forty-eight hours.

Ryan spread his fingers and Taylor's eyebrows flew up into his hairline. "Wow… I don't think it's supposed to look like that."

"No shit," Ryan snapped irritably.

I wasn't able to gain a good view from the doorway. I didn't realize I was standing on my toes until Liz smacked me on my arm. With a sullen glance in Liz's direction, I sank back down on my feet. Apparently it was okay for her to interrupt my sex, but I wasn't allowed to see the reason for the interruption.

"You need to go to the hospital." Taylor blinked owlishly.

Ryan shook his head. "No way, man. We should put some ice on it."

"Ryan, it's bent in middle. Ice is not going to fix that." Taylor looked over and found me standing by the door. "Call, Zach."

"We should keep this between us." In Ryan's mind, the less people that knew about this, the better.

"Look, I'm going to need help getting you dressed and I am not doing that by myself." Taylor raked a hand through his hair in agitation.

I shouldered passed a visibly guilt-stricken Liz, and went to phone Zach from the kitchen. He grumpily picked up on the fourth ring.

"Zach, it's me."

"Izzy? Do you know what time it is?" Unless your name was Leah Clearwater, you did not get to mess with Zach's sleep.

"Just shut up and get over here. Ryan needs your help."

"Ryan? This had better be good," Zach groused and I rolled my eyes.

Less than five minutes later, Zach was standing at Ryan's bedside, trying not to laugh. Trying and failing miserably. "Dude… how the hell did you manage to break your dick?"

I didn't realize I was snickering until Liz elbowed me hard in the side.

Taylor immediately took charge of the situation. "Now's not the time. We have to take him to the hospital. Help me get him dressed." That wiped the smile off of Zach's face.

Liz and I were subsequently banished to the hallway and ordered to stay there. In silence we listened to Ryan's muffled cries, and Taylor repeatedly telling Zach to shut up every time he complained when a part of Ryan's anatomy brushed up against him. When the door reopened, a fully dressed Ryan emerged with his arms thrown over Taylor's and Zach's shoulders. Taylor, not anticipating a quick fix, had packed an overnight bag, already predicting that Ryan would have a prolonged hospital stay.

"I'll call you from the hospital." By the meaningful look Taylor gave me, I understood that I was to stay with Liz.

"Wait, I'm coming with you," Liz insisted stubbornly.

"Liz, this will be humiliating enough without you being there to make it worse." Ryan looked as if walking alone was sheer agony. He was miserable and didn't want Liz to witness the humiliations he would have to endure tonight.

Liz look like she wanted to argue, but she regarded Ryan's crestfallen face and promptly shut her mouth. I did hear her murmur stupid male pride under her breath as we watched them leave.

"I can't believe this is happening," Liz lamented as we settled on the couch.

"Me neither." Knowing it was wrong to pry, didn't stop my curiosity from getting the better of me. I was dying to know what happened. "Just for educational purposes, how did you break Ryan's penis?"

"We were trying out this new thing I'd heard about from Keisha," Liz admitted reluctantly.

When I heard that Keisha was involved, I groaned. "Something you heard about from Keisha? Why the hell would you try anything that comes out of that crazy girl's mouth?"

"We were experimenting!" Liz sat up and the movement almost undid her robe. After retying the sash on her robe, she continued, "Anyway, she told me about this thing called daggering. It's like the ultimate rough sex."

"Daggering? The ultimate rough sex?" I grimaced, and pressed my legs together. The word daggering alone sounded violent. And violent was not a word I wanted to use in association with my sex life.

"Well yeah. So we were… you know and things were good." Then an amorous gleam came to her eyes. "Really good."

"Liz, concentrate." I snapped my fingers to get her back on track.

"Like I said, things were going great and then he missed and then there was this awful popping noise." Liz paused when she saw the horrified expression on my face. "God, Izzy. It was terrible."

"It sounded terrible." I agreed and made a mental note to myself. No daggering with Taylor. Not that we'd be missing out on anything. Taylor and I were already pushing the limits in the bedroom as is.

"When you barged in on us tonight… For just a second, I thought that you'd lost control of your guardian and accidentally hurt Ryan."

I was a bit worried that I'd insulted her but she just laughed it off. "Something like that would never happen."

"Why not?"

"Well for one thing, we could never hurt Ryan. He's too important to us." Liz revealed without a hint of a smile.

"We? Us?" I raised a skeptical eyebrow.

Liz gave me an embarrassed grin. "I know it sounds weird, but when I said we, I was speaking for my guardian too."

"Okay. So you can't hurt Ryan because he's your boyfriend?" I was attempting to determine whether or not Taylor's feelings for me would be enough to keep his guardian from attacking me the way it did Walter.

Liz appeared hesitant but then ventured, "Ryan's more than just my boyfriend, Izzy."

"Is he your intended?"

A wrinkle immediately appeared between Liz's eyebrows. "Did Taylor tell you about that?"

"No, I sort of overheard him and your dad talking about it last year." I also remembered that Taylor never answered when Walter asked about me being his intended. "By the way, what's an intended?"

"Every draken has a true-mate." At my perplexed frown, Liz went on to elaborate, "A true-mate is the person we're most compatible with and the only person we'd ever consider extending our bloodline with."

"Oh, you mean babies?" Liz nodded. "I understand that part, but that still doesn't explain what an intended is."

"An intended is the person you'd like to become your true-mate. Like a potential true-mate," Liz supplied after a tense silence.

"So, Ryan's your true-mate. How did you know he was the one for you?" In other words, how did one get themselves bumped from intended to true-mate status?

Liz shrugged her shoulders. "One day I just knew that I'd never love anyone else but him. Once we decide on a true-mate, that's it. We'll never love anyone else until the day we die."

Liz's explanation only filled my mind with more questions. Was I Taylor's intended? Did he think of me as true-mate potential? Did I want him to? He paired with me and said he loved me. But he hadn't said it since. What did it mean? He said he didn't just pair with anybody, so I had to at least be special to him.

During my silent musings, Liz was staring at me with a thoughtful expression on her face. I hoped she wasn't using her feelers to read my emotions. Although I'd warned her about using her gift to spy on my emotions, like Alice, I knew she wasn't above sneaking an occasional peek.

"What about your mom and dad? Were they true-mates too?"

"Yeah and even after my mom went back to Spain, there was never anyone else for her." Liz sighed sadly. "That's the biggest risk with choosing a true-mate. There's no guarantee that the relationship will work out, and you're stuck loving that person for the rest of your life."

The whole true-mate business sounded a lot like imprinting but with a choice. The thought that a draken could choose who they would love for the rest of their lives made it easier to swallow than imprinting. Being shackled to a complete stranger for the rest of my life wasn't my idea of romance. My past experience with imprinting might have been the reason why it had left a bitter taste in my mouth.

"Has Taylor told you about what's been happening with his guardian?"

"That it's been surfacing so it can get a look at you?" I nodded. "Yeah. I know he's worried about what it means but I promise it's nothing bad."

"How can you be so sure?" Maybe it doesn't like me. Maybe it thinks I'll take Taylor away from it.

"Because I know it's not some evil monster, Izzy. My brother doesn't understand it and won't even try to. It doesn't want to take over, it just wants to share." An odd look shadowed Liz's face then.

"Does your guardian ever surface?"

Liz grinned mischievously. "Yeah, it does and sometimes… I let it take control."

Her admission startled me into sitting up. "What? I thought you said you had a dormant type guardian. Doesn't dormant mean asleep?"

"Yes but it doesn't sleep all the time. You have to remember that I merged with my guardian. So when it's awake, it experiences everything I do. It loves shiny things, has a ridiculous sweet tooth and loves itself some Ryan." Her smile faded as she went on. "Taylor has an aggressive type guardian. It feeds on his anger, and uses it to try to get free because Taylor won't let it out any other way. To our guardians, this world is a giant playground they want to explore. To Taylor's guardian, you are a part of that playground," Liz finished with a faraway gaze.

I'm a part of the playground? What the hell did that mean? Taylor said it was curious about me. Was it an I want to play with you curiosity or was it an I want to see what your insides look like curiosity. Since Taylor refused to talk about it, I had no way of finding out which. Well, there was one way, but that would involve me having face time with his guardian.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Liz asked out of the blue, and it took me a while to register that she was referring to Ryan. Now that Liz was done reassuring me, she was in need of some cheering up.

Her genuine apprehension compelled me to draw her into a hug.

"I'm sure Ryan will be just fine." Couldn't say the same for his penis though.

"Can I sleep in your room tonight?" She asked in a small voice.

"Okay but…" I sniffed Liz and then quickly pulled away. "You're taking a bath first."

"Oh, right." She had the decency to blush.

As soon as she disappeared into her shower, I made a mad dash for the phone. Leah absolutely had to hear about this one, given the one time Liz thought that she had broken Zach's penis.

Leah's displeasure at having her sleep disturbed was evident by the snarl in her voice. "Who the hell is this?"

"It's, Bella." I bit my lip, trying to contain my giggles.

"Jesus. I swear. The one time I try to get a full night's sleep… This had better be good," Leah grumbled, her voice thickened by sleep.

"Liz broke Ryan's penis." I revealed and the phone went so silent that I thought she'd hung up on me.

The loud cackles that followed were enough to dispel that fear. I just knew she would get it. Making sure to keep the noise low, I joined her in some hearty laughs of my own. After we calmed down, I gave Leah the shortened version of what happened, and quickly hurried her off the phone when I couldn't hear Liz's shower anymore.

I stood up and suddenly had to grab the counter to keep from falling. One of my legs had gone numb. How did that happen? I'd only been sitting for a few minutes. I dropped heavily into a chair, and stared at my leg in confusion. What the hell is going on with me?

Minutes later, Liz strolled into the kitchen to find me massaging my leg in an attempt to get the feeling back.

"What's wrong with your leg?"

"It went numb but its fine now." My endeavors were rewarded when I was able to stand, and follow Liz back to my room.

We fell asleep, despite our efforts to stay awake and wait for Taylor's call. The mattress shifted beside me and I awoke to see that Taylor had returned from the hospital.

"How's Ryan?" I asked.

"He has a penile fracture and is going to need surgery." Taylor exhaled a breath, bending over to remove his shoes. I bumped into Liz when I tried to make room for him to lie down. I took in her still form and assumed that she was still asleep.

"Poor thing." I surrendered my pillow, choosing instead to use his chest as a substitute. "Crazy night, huh?"

"Yeah. Just let me get some sleep and tomorrow I will rock your world." Taylor joked around a wide, jaw cracking yawn.

My closed eyes flew open when Liz decided to chime in. I'd almost forgotten she was in the bed next to me. "Rock your world? It's a miracle anybody ever gave you sex with those lame ass lines."

"Quiet, penis breaker," I muttered and felt Taylor's chest shake with laughter.

"So not cool, Izzy," Liz grumbled before falling silent with an indignant huff.

"So rain check?" I tilted my head to stare at his features.

"Rain check." Taylor leaned in for what was supposed to be a quick goodnight kiss. It didn't take long for that short peck to turn into a heated make-out scene.

"Aye! Still in the bed with you guys," Liz complained and we pulled away in chagrin. We'd forgotten about Liz again. I bit back a groan of disappointment and tried to bring my raging hormones under control. Who'd have thought that Liz would ever become a cockblock?

What would game would Taylor want to play later? Would he cuff me to the bed and then torturously cut my clothes off with his knife, one piece at a time? Maybe I'd be gagged and blindfolded again. Or maybe we'd engage in sensory play. I could never predict what kind of mood he'd be in. I couldn't wait for tomorrow.

With the excitement of a child on Christmas Eve, I drifted off to sleep.

Ryan was discharged from the hospital two days after having surgery. He was advised that he would have to refrain from sex for six weeks. From the moment I heard about that little restriction, I knew I would be in for a tough time. Liz and celibacy didn't go hand in hand. She was snappish and pushed me harder than ever on our morning runs. After three weeks of celibacy, Liz was practically climbing the walls.

We were having breakfast in the kitchen one morning. Spring break was almost upon us and Liz, Ryan and Zach were talking excitedly about the upcoming trip to Florida. I couldn't wait to see my mom and Angela. I was also looking forward to meeting Trent, otherwise known as the love of Angela's life.

I was eating my breakfast, or at least trying to, but Taylor kept burning a hole into the side of my face.

"Stop," I murmured softly, so as not to alert the others sitting nearby.

"Stop what?" Taylor asked with a sly smile.

"You know what?" When he didn't look away, I said, "Taylor, I'm serious. Stop looking at me like that."

"Like what? How am I looking at you?"

"Dirty. That's how." I blurted and Taylor's sexy grin widened.

He grabbed hold of my chair, pulling until it next to his. "You want to know what's dirty." Taylor breathed into my ear and I felt the goose bumps on my arms raise. "That thing you did to me last night."

"Oh yeah? What thing was that?" I giggled softly when he nipped my earlobe.

"When you used your tongue–"

"Please!"

Liz's outburst startled us and we quickly separated to discover three pairs of eyes staring back at us.

"You two are driving me crazy with your sexy feelings. God, don't you two ever stop?" Liz huffed and Ryan glared at us.

"And all night with the noise. There are other people who would like to sleep, you know?" Ryan complained and Zach tried unsuccessfully to suppress his grin. This was all very amusing to him. Hell it was funny to me too, remembering all the nights Liz and Ryan kept me up with their freaky barnyard noises.

"It's called karma. Don't hate." I speared a piece of waffle with my fork and popped it into my mouth.

Ryan turned to Taylor. "And it's not just the sex. Look at what you've done to her. Izzy used to be sweet and innocent. Now look at her, all sexed up and wanting it all the time."

I promptly broke into a coughing fit and Taylor gently patted my back until I calmed down.

Ryan's gaze was full of disdain as he went on. "Now I get to listen to you violating poor Izzy every night."

Oh my God. "Violating? Seriously? You guys need to get a grip. And while you're at it, get some earplugs." Taylor and I weren't that bad, were we?

At this point Zach decided to chime in, humor dancing in his eyes. "Come on, Ryan. It's not their fault Liz bulldozed the only tree in your forest." Zach guffawed loudly. The bastard was thoroughly enjoying himself.

Taylor's discomfort was evident in his stare, though faint amusement tugged at his lips. "And you should be the last one to talk about violating. Like I haven't spent years listening to you violate my sister… I'm still going to need therapy."

"Hey, Liz violates me plenty!" Ryan protested loudly.

Silence filled the room until Liz smacked his arm and hissed, "Shut up."

"Way too much information, dude." Zach made a face as he shoved away from the table, taking his plate over to the sink. Zach meandered to the door and his grin took on a lecherous slant. "Long live the new Ryan and Liz." He quickly left to go to class.

Liz and Ryan left shortly after, grumbling about Taylor and me needing to be hosed down. I stuck out my tongue and teased them about sour sex grapes on their way out. We finished our breakfast and I sat on the bed watching as Taylor went into the bathroom.

Taylor squeezed toothpaste onto my toothbrush and I objected, "Taylor, don't use my toothbrush. It's gross."

His reply was a boldfaced stare as he went about the business of brushing his teeth with my toothbrush.

I sighed with irritation. Why did the man insist on always using my toothbrush every time he slept over? Sometimes I thought he did it to get a rise out of me. The same way I always put my feet up on his dashboard, despite knowing how much it annoyed him. It was almost as if a part of me enjoyed getting on his nerves. Jeez, how weird am I?

A wave of arousal went through me as I watched him examining his jaw in the mirror. He was trying to decide if he should shave now or leave it for another day. Even though I still had a couple of red scratches on my thigh from it, I didn't mind his rough stubble. My gaze wandered down his shirtless figure and I almost groaned out loud. Too bad he had a class starting in thirty minutes. If he didn't, I'd part my robe and offer him some thigh.

My thoughts suddenly drifted toward the draken.

Taylor had told me stories about how his mother was a gifted healer that had the ability to heal any wound or disease with the touch of her hands. Marianna had suspected that her gifted had poisoned her body and ultimately led to her demise. He often talked about the different gifts the draken had. Like his uncle Ramon who had the ability to dissolve into a mist and pass through walls. His aunt Gema had the gift of persuasion. She could make people do whatever she wanted by merely suggesting it. Gema was especially fond of using her gift on little boys who refused to take baths. Another cousin, Aaron, could communicate with and control plants. Any one of them would willingly sacrifice themselves to protect the family's matriarch, Marianna.

Most disturbing were the stories of draken being stone to death by humans who thought they were evil. Some were even condemned as witches and burned alive during the Spanish Inquisition. Vampires weren't the only ones draken learned to be wary around.

Finished in the bathroom, Taylor stood leaning against to doorframe and regarded my faraway gaze with interest. "What's on your mind?"

"Why does Marianna hate vampires so much?" Taylor raised his eyebrow as if to say I was asking the obvious. "I know how the hatred got started. But you told me that Marianna didn't start training draken to fight back until she was around four hundred years old. Up until that point, the draken were more concerned about staying in the shadows. You said they didn't fight vampires until they had no choice. Something must have changed."

"Do you remember that vampire I told you about? The one that started everything?" I nodded and Taylor continued, "Well, that wasn't the last they saw of him. Every few years he'd show up with a bunch of other vampires, start a fight and then disappear again. It was during one of these battles that they turned a draken."

"Turn? I didn't even think it was possible to do that."

"No one did, until a male draken got bit. None of them knew what to do so they took him home and waited. He spent the next two days screaming in agony and then it was over."

"He died?"

"The human part of him died. Without a human mind, his guardian went insane and murdered his wife. The others came together and destroyed him in the end." Taylor's expression was grave.

"After that, the vampires changed their game. Before it had always seemed like the draken were being tested, but then it became their goal to capture one of us alive. But things didn't escalate until they killed Helena, Marianna's daughter."

"What?"

Taylor smiled, it was a hollow smile. "Maybe I shouldn't have said killed. I meant to say turned."

"How did it happen?"

"I'm not exactly sure though from what I was told; Helena was tricked into capture by a human she trusted." Taylor's eyebrows drew together in a scowl and I found myself mirroring his expression. I suddenly understood Taylor's reluctance to telling me his secret.

I swallowed around my discomfort. "A human?"

"Yes. Believe it or not, there are humans that are so desperate to become vampires that they would do anything, even lower themselves to pet status." A dark shadow crossed Taylor's face. "The vampires wanted to make a trade. Marianna's life for Helena's."

"What did they want with Marianna?" A thread of confusion wound through me.

"Marianna is over a thousand years old. Can you imagine the things she's seen… the secrets she knows? There were even rumors that Marianna knew the location of other draken relatives who had managed to infiltrate high ranking government positions. If the vampires ever got their hands on her…"

"Every draken living in secrecy would be in danger," I finished for him with a sick feeling in my stomach. Marianna sacrificed her daughter to save her people. It was a choice no mother should've had to make. "So Marianna refused."

"Yes and they turned Helena as punishment." A dark shadow flitted over his face.

"So, what happened after she was turned? Did Helena's guardian go insane too?"

"Helena wasn't like me, Isabella. She was one of the few born completely human."

I looked up in surprise. "Completely human? That happens?"

"Not often, but yes it does happen. Though the odds of a human and a draken producing a draken are greater." His face instantly became guarded and he suddenly refused to meet my gaze. I fidgeted awkwardly in the long silence that followed his statement.

Taylor was saying that if we ever had kids, they'd most likely turn out like him. I didn't know how to feel about that possibility. Given that we hadn't gotten around to talking about kids or (big gulp) marriage.

My mind revisited an image I once had of two dark haired children, running through the forest with the wolf who was to be their father. I'd pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind when I walked away from Jacob. I wasn't sure I wanted kids or if Taylor wanted kids. Besides, it was way too soon to even be thinking about that anyway. We were still in college for crying out loud.

I cleared my throat and lumbered my way back to our previous topic of conversation. "So… what happened with Helena?"

Taylor was only too happy to follow my lead. "She became a vampire, and Marianna packed up the family and disappeared."

How sad. "Did Helena ever try to contact the family again?" Where was she today? Did she stay with the vampires that destroyed her life? Was she alone?

"Not that I ever heard, though I doubt she even tried. Helena knew that the second she became a vampire, she no longer existed to my clan. The moment her heart stopped beating, she was dead to us. And if she ever crossed paths with the draken, they'd be duty bound to destroy her." Taylor turned to me with a serious expression on his face. "The rules are that if one of us is ever captured by a vampire…" Taylor trailed off as if unwilling to complete the sentence.

"What?" A terrible feeling of dread struck me.

"We're supposed to… commit suicide rather than let ourselves be turned into a mindless weapon." At the horrified expression on my face, Taylor rushed to explain. "You have to understand how it is for my clan, Isabella. We believe in life in this world until death, and then our souls journey to the afterlife." His hand came up to cup my cheek. "That's why we believe that vampires are a crime against nature. Nobody should live forever, Isabella." The finality in Taylor's words unnerved me.

The draken would rather die than live life as a vampire. If it were Taylor, would he choose death instead of immortality? The question was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't bring myself to ask for fear of what his answer would be. All I could do was hope that it would never come to that.

Apparently I was unable to hide my concern from Taylor's searching gaze. "You have nothing to worry about. I'll probably never see a vampire in my lifetime." When his words failed to have the desired effect, he smiled. "I very much want to live."

Those were not the words I wanted to hear. I wanted him to say that he wouldn't kill himself for any reason.

No more was said about that topic after Taylor threw a quick glance at the clock. If he didn't leave now, he'd be late for class. He went over to the dresser and began rummaging around for a t-shirt to wear.

I discovered his discarded sock lying on the ground and went to pick it up. The dull aching in my head worsened as I bent over and I immediately abandoned the task. The pounding lessened when I stood up straight. It was getting so that I couldn't bend over or sneeze without pain anymore.

Taylor spotted me while I was massaging my temples and queried, "Another headache?"

"Yeah," I grimaced.

Taylor frowned. "Why haven't you gone back to the doctor?"

"I did go back. All he did was write me another prescription for stronger pain meds." I chose to leave out the where he made me feel like I was a neurotic, crazy person who was wasting his precious time.

"You know what? If we don't see a change in those headaches soon, I'm taking you to see a neurologist. I'm worried about you." Of late, his concern for my well-being had been placing an additional strain on him.

One of his hands moved to cradle my cheek. He used his other hand to tilt my face up to his, revealing the extent of his distress.

"Don't be. I don't get them every day and they're usually worse in the morning. They'll go away in an hour or two." I mustered up a small smile for him.

It was difficult to remain optimistic seeing another doctor. The prospect of hearing another doctor tell me that the pain was only in my mind, and suggest that I seek psychiatric treatment was depressing. Still, Taylor might've had a point. Maybe I should see another doctor.

I pushed those unsettling thoughts aside and returned to our previous conversation.

Taylor was moving around the room gathering scraps of paper and his notebooks.

"That first vampire–the one that discovered the tribe. You said he kept coming around?"

Taylor paused in the middle of packing his bag, his brow furrowing. "Yeah, but it wasn't just him. He'd always be with two other vampires. They never participated in any of the fighting either. They'd just stand around like lords observing a sport or something." Taylor couldn't keep the heavy disgust from his voice.

He went back to gathering his books while the peculiar feeling of déjà vu was creeping up on me.

Lords? Three vampires?

I practically chased after Taylor as he hustled out of the room. "Did your people ever find out that first vampire's name?"

"You're full of questions this morning," Taylor joked lightly as he grabbed an apple and a muffin off the table, stuffing them into his bag. He always liked to have a little something to nibble on between classes. "I'm sure I was told the name, but I don't remember what it was. I do remember that they were part a group with a ridiculous name," Taylor murmured distractedly as he left the kitchen with me hot on his tail.

"What was it?" I was barely able to keep my voice from shaking.

Oh please, please. Anyone but them.

"What were they called again?" Taylor paused with his hand on the door, mumbling softly to himself. He was halfway out the door when he stopped. "I remember now. They were called the… Volturi."

Without a backward glance, he left me standing in the living room, feeling like my entire world had come to an end.

A/N: Finally managed to crank out another chapter. Thanks for all the PMs reminding me that you guys are still waiting on your update. Your messages forced me to tear myself away from my crippling self doubts, and get my ass working on something I had control over (this story). Oh well, on to funner topics...

Big Announcement!

I will be ending this story in 60 chapters. Wait! Before you throw tomatoes and start internet stalking me, I've decided that this story is too long, so I'll be starting up a new story(or sequel) that will begin with Bella's return to Forks. My attention to detail has made this story far too long and I need a fresh canvas to paint on. I could already hear the wolf's voice in my head and he ain't happy with the way I allowed Taylor to take over a story that was supposed to be about him and his Bells. Well, he'll have plenty to say in the sequel which I am very excited for.

Just TWO more chapters left and then Bella returns home. (Doing the cabbage patch in the background).

Back to the story: So Bella's getting some career ideas...

Taylor and Bella are discussing places to live after college. Too bad life is about to throw a devastating wrench in their plans.

How do you break a guys penis? Well... now you know.

Has Taylor already chosen Bella as his true-mate?

Are Bella and Taylor the new Liz and Ryan?

Bella's problem is allowed to get worse because her doctor refuses to take her seriously.

So, which of you guys are surprised by the Volturi reveal?

I bet you guys can already guess the identity of the first vampire.

What do you think about the bloody history between Marianna and the Volturi?

The Volturi turned Marianna's daughter, do you believe their blood feud is over?

Now that Bella knows about Taylor's connection to the Volturi, what should she do?

A/N: Review and receive your teasers people! The final two chapters will be nail bitters. You'll definitely be wanting your teasers.