AN: So, as I'm writing this story, I'm changing minor, unimportant details. Don't panic, if it's a major change I will go back and correct other chapters. An explanation of the changes I made will be added in another AN at the bottom of the chapter.

Anways, please enjoy this nice long chapter!


Chapter Eleven

We followed the path back to the village and were greeted by all of the men. Esme led the group new women towards Carlisle, who was standing proudly in front of a group of men. I counted the numbers and found that there was an even amount. So, there would be four new mated couples. I wondered if they planned this. I'd have to dig a little deeper.

I jumped when a large hand gently touched my back on my back. I should be used to it now; obviously physical contact was a huge part of their culture.

"I am sorry," Edward said, removing his hand. "I did not mean to scare you."

"No, it's okay." I said, my hand covering my thumping heart. "I just wasn't expecting it."

"I see my mother fixed your skirt and your hair," He chuckled. "I'm not very good at it."

"It's alright. I thought you did a good job," I turned back to the gathering group. "So, what happens now?"

"Now the mating ceremony continues. Last night they successfully hunted the scaqnaks. The women are cooking it now and once it is finished, we will finish the ceremony by feasting together. Now the women will choose their mates. Once they've chosen, the men will take a lashing from the thorned whip to prove their worthiness."

"So, the women pick the men now?"

"Yes," He nodded. "Once they've chosen the males they want, they'll—,"

"Edward!" A small boy cried as a group of them ran over to where the two of us were standing.

The small boys growled before circling and attacking Edward's legs. He laughed and dodged their attacks before jumping over their heads and leading them to an open area that wasn't occupied by people. Edward rolled to the ground while the boys and started wrestling with them.

I chuckled as I watched Edward interact with the boys. Several men and women looked over to see the commotion, but only chuckled and laughed at Edward and the boys. I couldn't help but smile as well; it was sweet seeing such a large, intimidating creature as Edward being so gentle with children. And he seemed to be genuinely enjoying wrestling with them.

"Edward is good with the children," A woman said to me. I looked over to see a tall, blonde woman who was probably several months pregnant.

"It looks like it," I said. "I'm Bella."

"I know. You're all Emmett and Edward have been talking about for a few days." She smiled. "My name is Rosalie."

"I met your hus—your mate. Emmett? Edward's hunting partner."

"Yes," She chuckled. "He mentioned he was going to test Edward before finding the usno fruit. He's yet to return."

"Oh, are you worried?" I asked.

"Not at all, Emmett is the third best hunter in the village."

"The third best? Who are the first two?"

"Carlisle is the best hunter; he has to be since he's our protector. And then Edward is the second best since he's training to take Carlisle's place one day. Emmett is the third best."

"So, the protector is the best hunter in the village?" I asked.

"Yes," She nodded. "The goddess gives our protector extra abilities so that he may protect us. Carlisle is the strongest and the fastest. No one can match his ability… well, aside from the outcast. But Carlisle has bested him several times over."

"The outcast? Who is that."

"Shh!" An older woman with brown hair said, her eyes wide. "We do not speak of him! Rosalie, you know better!"

"Sorry sister," Rosalie smiled bashfully before turning to me and whispering. "Ask Edward."

I nodded. "So, when are you due?" I asked, changing the subject to avoid getting into trouble.

Rosalie smiled and rubbed her large belly. "Hopefully soon. I am very tired. I've been pregnant for so long, I'm at the point where I'm ready for it to be over and I'm ready to meet my daughter."

"You're having a girl?" I asked.

"Yes. I assume it is a girl. All of my other babies have been girls, I suspect this one is a girl as well."

"You have other children?" I said; I was surprised because I thought Esme had told me that everyone only had one child.

A look of sadness washed over Rosalie's face. "Unfortunately, I have had to drift my other children. The goddess blesses me with chances to try again, but I get far and then lose them during birth. I'm not sure why."

"Huh," I said. "I'm sorry about your babies. I really hope you have a successful pregnancy this time."

She smiled at me. "Thank you. We're doing everything possible so that I can have a successful pregnancy—,"

"Rosalie!" I heard the familiar deep booming voice of her mate, Emmett.

Rosalie sighed. "I've been caught."

"Rosalie you are supposed to be laying down," He said as he scooped her up off the ground. "You're not supposed to be walking around. You need to rest."

"I got tired of resting. Esme said it was alright for me to walk around for a bit, as long as I didn't do anything too stressful."

"Come on, let's go laydown. I got you the usno fruit."

She sighed again, heavier this time. "Alright. I will go lay down."

He walked off with her in his arms. I smiled at Emmett's gentleness. He seemed like such a big brute, but with Rosalie, he was very gentle.

"Go play," Edward said to the boys as he jumped back at my side. "I am tired of fighting weak competitors. Come back when you are men."

One of the boys let out a very adorable squeak, which I was sure he meant to be a roar.

"You cannot runaway now! We were winning!" The boy shouted.

Edward threw his head back and laughed loudly. "You think so huh?"

As Edward was laughing, one of the boys snuck around him and grabbed a hold of his tail before chomping down on it with his teeth.

That stopped Edward's laughter. He snarled and ripped his tail away, which threw the boy to the ground. My eyes widened as Edward reached down and grabbed the boy by the nape of his neck and held him in the air. The boy was now eye level with Edward. Which I'm sure was terrifying, since Edward was so tall.

"Boy, have you lost your mind?" Edward snarled at him. "You know better! How about I take a bite out of your tail? Do you want me to do that?"

"N-no sir, I was just p-playing," The boy whimpered.

Edward growled and gave him a little shake. "Tail biting is not playing. It is a challenge. Do you really wish to challenge me?"

"No," The boy said, twisting slightly to grab Edward's arm. "I'm sorry."

"You're right you are," Edward said as he dropped the boy roughly to his feet. "Go find your mother and tell her what you've done. I will check later to make sure you told your mother, and you received your punishment."

The boy ran off, presumably to find his mother like Edward told him to do. Edward let out a sigh and shook his head before inspecting his tail. He hissed a bit before shaking it around a bit.

"Little boys are so ridiculous," He said as he shook his head. "They are always too big for their knickers."

I burst out laughing. Edward looked over at me and cocked his head to the side.

"What did I say?"

"Sorry. Remember when I told you about idioms? You just said one."

His brows furrowed for a moment. "Too big for their knickers? Is that it?"

"Yes," I chuckled again. "It's just strange to see you and hear that accent. If you knew what British people looked like, you would be shocked too."

He smiled and shook his head. "I like it when you are silly. You are getting happier now?"

I bit my lip for a moment. "I mean… if I stop and think about everything that's happened, I'm sure it would ruin my mood. Right now, I'm happy. There are a lot of strange distractions."

"I am strange to distraction to you?" He asked.

"Distraction, yes. Strange, not anymore." I smiled at him. "Your tail doesn't freak me out anymore. But the animal that probably has me the most freaked out was the one with the huge antlers. Not in a bad way, but it was really pretty."

Edward's brows furrowed. "The huge antlers? Did it have very large feet? And it was completely white?

"Yeah, that's exactly it. Except it had two blue lines running down its back and some green spots. Have you seen it? What's it called."

Edward's face was complete bewilderment. He stared at me with the widest of eyes. After a moment, my brows furrowed.

"What?" I said with a bit of a snap; I didn't like to be stared at.

"Only… Only my mother can see the ektix…"

"Oh, well, I saw it. I'm not lying," I said. "If you don't believe me, I drew a picture of it."

He cracked the slightest of smiles before shaking his head.

"What?"

"I do not think you are lying. I just… we need to speak to my mother."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing at all."

I sighed. "Well, it looks like your mother is busy. But I did have a question."

Edward chuckled. "I'm not surprised."

"Who is the outcast?"

Edward paused before inhaling deeply. "We cannot speak about that now. Please. You don't want to upset my father. Not right now."

I looked over to see Carlisle, who was currently unrolling a long, thorned rope. My eyes widened as I suddenly remembered what Edward said about the dagger whip. I shuddered.

"Is Carlisle really going to whip them?" I asked.

"Of course. How would they prove their worthiness?"

"I mean, I think the hunting is enough." I said.

"The successful hunt was not enough to prove their worthiness. It is only the first step. Now the women will choose their mates. Once they have chosen, the men will take their lashing."

I watched as the men lined up, their chests puffing up proudly. Esme handed the first girl with black hair an ornately carved pink knife. She took the knife and locked eyes with the man at the end of the line up. She walked straight to him before asking him something.

The man smiled widely before bowing his head before her. She handed him the knife before pulling her long braid over her shoulder. The man gently cut the braid out of her hair before unraveling it. Her hair was now flowing freely down her back. Esme took the knife back just as the man push his fingers through her dark locks and pressed his forehead against hers. They both closed their eyes, sharing in a very intimate moment.

Carlisle stepped to the man and briefly placed his hands between his shoulder blades. The man seemed to tense up, but he stayed in place. Carlisle took a few steps back before raising the whip high into the air.

"Edward, I have a question, but I don't want you to be offended." I said as I completely turned to face him to avoid the whipping, of course I could still hear the sound which was almost sickening to hear.

"Of course. Ask me anything." He smiled warily.

"How come you don't have a mate? Did no women pick you?"

"He sighed, "Today, the women choose their mates, but years ago, when this litter was born, the men choose their mates. Each one in this litter was born only days apart. Once every pregnant female has given birth, the new parents will bring the babes together to bond. The males begin a heartbond with the female that calls to them. So, essentially, the men picked their mates long ago and have spent all of their years courting their chosen female." He turned and scanned the crowd before pointing to his sister and the young boy who was talking with her. They were both laughing and seemed to be enjoying themselves. "Jasper selected Alice when they were brought together. They are only eleven years of age, but when he becomes a man and she becomes a woman, she will select him as her mate, but he truly selected her as his mate the day she was born. He's spent his entire life protecting and courting her."

"So, you didn't select a female?"

"I did not. I never made a heartbond with any of the females in my litter. There was a female who remains unmated because of me. She chose me the day she became a woman and I a man, but I refused her. Now she remains mate-less and childless."

"Do you feel bad about not choosing her?"

A shameful look washed over his face. "I feel terrible for it. I spent my childhood trying to force myself to create a heartbond with Tanya, but it never worked. And when she asked me to unbraid her hair," He placed his hand over his chest. "I couldn't bring myself to do it. She was very sad, and remains sad to this day, but she would be even sadder if I had forced myself to take her as a mate."

"What would've happened if you had taken her as a mate?"

"It has only happened once. With the outcast," He whispered the last part. "When you take a mate that you don't share a heartbond with, you can never consummate the mating. Which means you are never able to give your mate a child. Males who do this, who cannot consummate their mating, become violent and extremely aggressive."

My eyes widened and I whispered. "What did the outcast do?"

He looked around and licked his lower lip before grabbing me by the arm and pulling me away from the crowd. Once we were far enough away from everyone, Edward placed his hands underneath my armpits and lifted me onto the stump was a tall tree. I was now eye level with Edward.

"I will tell you about the outcast because I do not want you asking anyone else. And I do not want anyone else to overhear us," He peeked through the large bushel of flowers and leaves that grew on the stump around me. "Everyone is occupied now."

He placed one of his large hands on my bare thigh before stepping between the open space my parted legs created. He was so close to me I could feel his cool breath brushing against my face as he spoke. My heart started beating faster.

"Tell me about the outcast," I whispered to him, staring into his now red eyes. It took me a moment to realize that Edward's eyes only turned red in the darkness. We were in the huge shadows of the huts and trees that towered over us. Each time the small specs of light hit his eyes; they would flash gold before turning back to red when he moved out of the light.

"Well, the outcast was my father's brother."

My eyes widened, "But I thought—,"

"My grandfather gave my grandmother two seeds the night they consummated their mating. They were born hours apart. My grandfather did not realize he had given my grandmother he had done this. My father was born during the night in the birthing waters. For a babe to be welcomed into our family, he must be birthed under the moon and in the waters into the arms of the healer. As soon as the babe has been birthed, he must be presented to the family by the protector. This is why our family comes together, not only to support the female as she gives birth, but to see the new addition to the family as soon as he has been born. My father was awarded this luxury. He was born in the waters and was presented to the family by my grandfather, who was the protector at the time. My grandmother did not realize she had another babe coming. She left the waters, sick from the babe still inside of her womb. She slept in her hut with my father, and as she slept, the sun rose high in the sky, and she birthed her next son. The babe was born so quickly that my grandmother did not have time to position herself to catch her son. He was born into the arms of no one. He could not join the family. His birth nearly ripped her apart. She could no longer walk, and she remained very weak and sickly the rest of her life. His birth caused her death. She died when my father was very young. Which caused the death of our previous protector and our healer. You wouldn't know this, but my father and mother are quite young to be in the protector and the healer. They do a wonderful job, however," Edward smiled softly before sighing and closing his eyes.

I placed my hand on his chest. "Edward, how does this make your father's brother an outcast? I'm sorry to say this, but it seems as though it was your grandfather's fault. He gave your grandmother two seeds, whatever that means."

With his other hand he grabbed mine and placed it onto his cheek before opening his eyes.

"The family had tried to accept the outcast. My father… my father protected his brother many times and refused to see the violence that lived within his brother."

"Oh," I said. "He was violent? Perhaps—,"

"Boys need to be trained roughly because they have a tendency to become violent." Edward said. "I know you found my treatment of the boy who bit my tail harsh. I felt it." He said as he placed his hand over my chest.

"No, I—,"

"It's alright," he smiled before dropping his hand. "But if I didn't treat him harshly, he would never learn how to behave. We must be tough on the boys, so they know how to properly take care of their mates."

"Okay, so how was the outcast violent?"

"He always started fights with the other boys and he fought unfairly." He said. "What made him a true outcast, was the night of the hunters moon."

"What happened?"

"The outcast snuck away from the hunt and sought out my mother," He said. "Since my father and his brother shared a womb, they were extremely similar. They even developed the same heartbond with the same female. But the female chose my father and stayed by his side."

"What did he do?" I asked, fully invested in this story.

Edward inhaled deeply. "He made it back to the village. He found my mother and he tried to…" Edward shook his head. "There isn't a word for what he tried to do. He tried to force a mating. That's all I want to say about what he did. But it didn't work of course, she didn't share the same heartbond. She fought him and gave him a permanent scare across his face. My father felt my mother's panic and fear. He abandoned the hunt and saved her."

"He didn't kill the outcast?" I asked.

"No. Not because my father didn't want to kill him, but because the outcast was able to get the upper hand on my father by nearly killing my mother. She had passed out from fear and when he had thrown dirt into my father's eyes, he grabbed my mother and threw her. My father reacted on instinct and saved my mother, which gave the outcast the opportunity to escape."

I shuddered. "That sounds awful."

Edward started purring, which immediately calmed my nerves. I sighed in relief.

After a moment, he stopped and pressed his forehead to mine.

"Don't fear. The outcast lives high in the forbidden mountains and he never ventures down. And if he suddenly becomes brave, then my father will kill him, and we shall feast upon his flesh."

I jerked back, my eyes wide. There was a twinkle in Edward's eye eyes and the corner of his mouth was lifted. After a quick second, I realized that Edward was only joking.

"You're not funny," I said. "I thought you were serious."

He laughed and lifted me off of the stump. "Come, we should return to the ceremony."


I hope you liked it! I spent all day editing it. I'm not sure why it took too long. Anyways, if you get the chance to leave me a little review, please do. I appreciate them!

AN: The only change I made was the fact that there were many females who wanted to mate with Edward. I inserted the whole heart bonding detail. It's not a major change, I don't think I need to go back to the chapter that I had mentioned the females that wanted to mate Edward, but I know it was a very short dialogue between Edward and Bella. Hopefully it wasn't too much of a change!