Chapter 2

Present day

"48...49...50" Izzy muttered, keeping count as she slowly pulled herself up. Hands gripped tightly on the pull-up bar as she stared up at the ceiling. Feeling her muscles screaming in response, she pushed past the pain, abs clenched and legs bent at the knees, and raised herself up until her chin was level with the bar before slowly lowering herself in a controlled movement. Izzy had been training for months to increase her upper body strength, and the progress was finally paying off. She felt a sense of accomplishment as she finished her set.

Izzy couldn't explain it, but as it neared her eighteenth birthday, she'd begun to feel more and more restless.

The girl had always had a lot of energy; ever since she first learned how to crawl, she'd been on the move. Most days, she could be found attempting to climb over the baby gates that Carmen had installed.

The baby-proofing was done after Tanya had returned home one day and found Izzy sticking her head out of the space between the railing on the second floor loft to greet her; she'd blurred to the child and grabbed her before the young girl could even blink, and the rest of the house returned to find an almost catatonic Tanya lying in bed with her arms wrapped protectively around a sleeping Izzy.

All three blondes had refused to let the girl out of their sight for the next week, however with constant reassurances from Carmen, they'd hesitantly left to hunt, returning merely an hour later and taking up watch over their young mate once again.

Despite the baby-proofing, the girl's energy continued to be a challenge for the three blondes, who had to constantly keep an eye on her. However, they were determined to keep her safe and happy, and their efforts paid off as the little girl grew into a healthy and active child.

No, this wasn't Izzy's usual restlessness. From the moment she'd woken up, she felt like her body was shaking, like when you force yourself to try and go to sleep but your body refuses to cooperate due to pent up energy.

When she'd brought it up to her mother, Carmen had merely smiled and held her daughter to her chest, running her fingers through her hair, an action that never failed to relax the young girl. Carmen had explained that perhaps the girl simply needed to work off the excess energy she was feeling, though she wasn't convinced, and from the look she saw in her mother's eyes, she could tell that neither was she.

Izzy tried to take her mother's advice and went for a run, but it didn't help. As the day went on, the feeling only intensified, leaving Izzy feeling like she was on the verge of exploding. Eventually, the girl decided to try and workout some more.

This brought Izzy back to her current situation. Having jumped down from the bar, the girl moved to the gym floor and started to do some stretches to loosen up her tense muscles. Halfway through her routine, she paused and perked up, a large grin making its way onto her face as she heard the telltale crunch of gravel outside, followed by the opening and closing of multiple doors.

Hurriedly putting away the exercise equipment she'd been using, Izzy straightened up her clothes as she rushed down the hallway to the stairs leading to the main section of the house. Taking the steps three at a time, the girl ran towards the foyer and stopped inches from the door before it flew open and she felt arms lock around her.

Breathless and laughing, Izzy hugged back, her heart swelling with joy as she was enveloped in a comfortable warmth. "Kate..." the girl sighed; she felt her shoulders relax, and she leaned into the firm yet soft figure of the blonde holding her, her nose buried in her neck as the blonde ran her hand across her back.

She felt a deep rumbling purr from the blonde, the arms around her only tightening further before she felt hands on her shoulders slowly push her back. Staring into her honeyed eyes, Izzy felt her restlessness dull, and for a moment she was able to push the feeling to the back of her mind as she surveyed the tall blonde.

"Not that I'm complaining, Iz, but maybe greet the other two before they actually succeed in burning a hole through my head", the blonde smirked, turning her head to eye her two sisters. Irina had the sense to look sheepish as she looked away, clearing her throat before looking back with a beaming smile aimed at Izzy.

Tanya merely raised an eyebrow, an amused smile on her face as she regarded their young mate, "And perhaps you should turn that shirt inside out, Izzy". Staring at the two blondes, it took a few seconds for the girl to register what the strawberry blonde had said, much to the three's amusement, before the girl flushed, mumbled something about changing, and rushed off upstairs to her bedroom.

Laughing, Tanya made her way further into the house; a pouting Irina followed while grumbling, "I didn't even get a hug", to which Kate cackled obnoxiously and stuck her tongue out at her younger sister. The two women continued to tease each other as they made their to the kitchen, playfully shoving and poking at one another.

Rolling her eyes, Tanya walked into the kitchen to see Eleazar sitting at the kitchen island with a newspaper in hand while Carmen was busy standing at the stove and working on their mate's breakfast. "I see you're back", Carmen replied, looking over her shoulder with a smile before returning to the impressive stack of chocolate chip pancakes and cutting up some bananas to go with them.

"What clued you in love, the sound of the car or the tiny earthquake?" Eleazar grinned; he was met by an unimpressed look from his mate and a snort of laughter from Kate. "We can't help if our mate is excited by the idea of us coming home", Kate shrugged, sitting at the small table near the island, kicking her feet up as she did so, and winking conspiratorially at Eleazar.

"I still can't believe she's turning eighteen tomorrow," Irina sighs, pushing Kate's feet off the table before making her way to the chair across from the now disgruntled blonde. Tanya simply nods, walking over to the bay window at the far end of the dining room and staring at the snow-covered trees outside.

It had definitely been an interesting eighteen years. Irina reminisces about all the ups and downs they had experienced together after having found their mate, while Tanya contemplates how fast time flies and how much their young mate has grown.

They had watched their mate grow into an intelligent, beautiful, and sometimes mature young woman, and it seemed as though time was just passing by too quickly. To a vampire, eighteen years was like a month, yet she could feel in her bones that tonight was going to change their lives forever.

As she heard bounding footsteps rushing down the stairs once more, she felt the nagging feeling in the back of her mind slowly disappear, and it was instead replaced by a calm sense of peace. Watching her mate tackle Irina in a bone crushing hug, she couldn't help but smile at the adoration she saw shining in brown orbs.

Of all three blondes, Irina was surprisingly the most affectionate with their mate, yes, Kate was extremely loving, as was she, but Irina surprised everyone. The young vampire had always been the most detached and seemingly unaffected of the bunch; she even rivaled Rosalie with how cold she could be, yet with her mates, that side of her seemed to just melt away. It was a heartwarming sight to see Irina finally opening up and showing her true emotions.

It was as if their mate had unlocked a part of her that she had kept hidden for so long, and it made the whole family feel closer than ever before. As she watched her stare up at their young mate with gentle, loving eyes as she excitedly relayed a story from her weekend, Tanya could see her slowly relax, and the sight made her smile.

Tanya was so engrossed in her thoughts that she only snapped back to reality when she felt warm and strong arms wrap around her shoulders and pull her into an equally warm body.

Sighing, the blonde closed her eyes and slowly reached around her mate, resting her hands on the girl's shoulder blades as she laid her head against her chest, her heartbeat slowly lulling her into a blissfully dazed state, the scent of her mate surrounding her. For a moment, Tanya forgot all her worries and just basked in the comfort of her mate's embrace.

"I missed you, Tan," the girl whispered, afraid that if she spoke too loudly, the moment would end. Smiling, Tanya simply fisted her hands in the girl's shirt, letting out another sigh as she relaxed further into her, "I missed you too, Isadora."