Tanya's offer sounded remarkably like a date. I didn't want to agree because I didn't want to get her hopes up that I would be willing to date her. On the other hand, it would give me an opportunity to talk to her more, which was something I was actually looking forward to.

I held my marker tightly in my hand, trying to find the best way to reject her without making it look like I was trying to go back on our deal. I wasn't… but after talking to Irina I worried that, that would be her expectation.

Yes, I wrote before I could stop myself. I mentally kicked myself. I hadn't intended to say yes but it was too late to change my mind. Perhaps, this would be a good thing. I would have a chance to talk to Tanya and Charlie would be happy I was making friends and settling into Alaska better.

Tanya was grinning at my acceptance of her offer. She turned to her sister. "Irina?" she questioned.

"Go on," Irina said waving me away. "Take your time but at least try to be back by three."

I removed my apron and put it in the break room. I checked myself out in the mirror to make sure I was presentable. It was already going to be embarrassing being seen next to Tanya. That was expected when in public with a vampire. There were spots of coffee on my face. I quickly washed it off before leaving the break room.

Tanya was waiting for me with my whiteboard in hand. She handed to me and then offered me her arm. I glanced out the window and sighed. The ground was rather icy which meant it was best that I did take her arm so I didn't fall. Tanya beamed as took her offered arm.

"We're walking to our destination," she told me as we left the shop. "It's just down the road. Have you had Greek food before?"

I shook my head. Renee was adventurous in a lot of ways but food wasn't one of them. Most of her preferences were extremely basic. Charlie was a bit more adventurous, at least when it came to me cooking, but preferred a simply burger when it came to eating out. "We can go somewhere else," Tanya offered.

I pulled my arm free so I could write on the whiteboard. Tanya kept a hand on me so keep me steady while we walked. I've always wanted to try different types of foods but my parents aren't really that adventurous and I never got a chance.

"Denali may be small but we do have a wide range of cuisine. What cannot be found here can be found in Anchorage. If you would like, I could take you to some of those other places," Tanya said.

Maybe. I wasn't sure how I felt about potentially spending even more time with Tanya so I didn't want to say yes and be stuck with my choice. I also didn't want to reject her right away, in case I did decide that I wanted to go.

We made it to the restaurant and Tanya held the door open for me. I shivered from the cold. I forgot to grab my jacket, thinking we were driving to our destination. I regretted it. Tanya shrugged off her own jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. The jacket was cold due to the temperature outside and her skin, but just like yesterday, I felt better wearing it.

Thank you, I wrote.

Tanya nodded in response to my message before leading me to the front. The restaurant looked a bit fancier than I was expecting. No one was dressed up, but it was definitely more than just a fast food restaurant.

"Table for two," Tanya told the hostess.

"Right away," the hostess said.

She grabbed two menus and led us to a table by the bar. She sat the menus down and Tanya and I sat across from each other. "Your waiter, Richard, will be with you shortly."

"Since you've never tried Greek food before, I thought we could order a few appetizers," Tanya suggested. I scanned the menu and saw a couple of things that looked interesting. I nodded at her. "How does dolmades and falafel sound?"

I've never had either so not sure. But we can try it. Tanya grinned. Where are you from? I know you and your sisters are, um, old. But we never discussed where you were from originally.

Tanya had a strange expression on her face. "We were born in Slovakia," she answered. "Once I turned my sisters we stayed in Russia for a while, isolated, until Kate and Irina got control. We stayed in several countries throughout the centuries, Britian, Egypt and even Greece. When we heard about settlers coming to America, the three of us also came."

She paused when the waiter came over and introduced himself. He didn't seem at all bothered by Tanya's presence. "What can I get you to drink?" he asked. I pointed out lemonade while Tanya ordered iced tea. It was still strange watching her in a restaurant, with no disgust at the smell of food. "Would you like any appetizers?"

"The falafel and dolmades," Tanya requested.

"I'll be right back with your drinks," the waiter promised before leaving.

Did the sunlight ever make it difficult to live in these places?

"At times," Tanya answered. "Back then we killed humans. So, if we were noticed we simply killed them and moved on. We didn't stop hunting humans until we moved to the west coast."

The waiter returned with our drinks. He didn't say anything, he simply sat them down and hurried off.

You fed on humans?

"Yes," Tanya admitted. "Does that scare you?"

A little but your eyes are gold, so I know you don't now. Why did you stop?

Tanya sighed. "Are you sure you want the answer to that question?" she asked. "It doesn't paint me, Irina and Kate in a good light."

I thought about it for a minute. Tanya had always answered my questions… although we've only known each other for less than twenty-four hours so I couldn't really say always. The fact that she wanted to make sure I wanted the answer was concerning. What could they have possibly done?

I want to know.

The waiter returned with our appetizers. "Are you ready to order?" he questioned.

"Bella?" Tanya asked.

I nodded and pointed to the Olympian pita. It appeared to be a sandwich of some sort with chicken and gyro meat. It sounded delicious.

The waiter nodded. "It comes with a side of hummus and pita chips, is that alright?" I nodded again. The waiter turned his attention to Tanya. "And what can I get for you?"

"I'll take the chicken skewers," Tanya told him. She closed her menu and handed it to him. "Hummus and pita chips are fine with me as well."

"Alright then, I'll be back with your food," he said. He took the menus and left us alone.

Tanya pushed the dolmades toward me. "Try it," she encouraged.

I grabbed one and dipped it in what smelled like a lemon sauce. I took a small bite and chewed it up. It tasted fantastic. I tried to think of something to compare it to but it was impossible to do.

"What do you think?" Tanya asked curious.

I dropped the rest of the dolma on my plate. I quickly wiped my hands off so I could write. It's delicious! I can't believe I've never had it before.

"Alaska is well known for its variety of cuisine," Tanya informed me. "Anything you can think of, you can find. Anchorage has the best selection. If…" Tanya shifted. "If you ever want to go, I would be more than happy to take you."

Thank you for the offer.

Tanya nodded. She grabbed a dolma and took a small bite. "Before I tell you about me and my sisters, you need to remember this was a thousand years ago. A thousand years is a long time to be alone. While my sisters and I had each other, we didn't have a mate. Our mates are our reason for… well everything. To be without one for some long is painful."

She paused to take another bite. I grabbed a piece of falafel. It looked to be a sort of fritter. I wasn't entirely sure what it was, or what was in it. I hesitantly took a bite and was surprised by how good it was. I dipped what was left in the tzatziki sauce to try it. It was equally good. I wonder if I could drag Charlie here. It was highly unlikely. He was very much a burger and fries kind of guy. The only time he tried something knew was when I cooked it.

I glanced at Tanya, waiting for her to continue her story. She was very reluctant to tell this story. I had a feeling the only reason she was telling me was because of her promise to be honest. I should tell her she didn't have to tell it. Just her willingness was good enough for me but I was curious.

"Have you heard the story of the Succubus?" Tanya asked suddenly.

Beautiful women, typically supernaturally beautiful, that lure men to their deaths, I wrote. I was confused at what point she was trying to make.

"My sisters and I are the origins of the Succubus legends," Tanya told me. My marker dropped in shock. "We used to have sex with men and then feed on them. If the sex didn't kill them, then they ended up dead when we fed. The one thing the legends got wrong was that we didn't limit ourselves to men. We also lured women into our beds. For centuries we lived like this. The sex was meaningless and we were never fully sated."

I nodded. I could understand why she didn't want to tell me. I wasn't bothered by her past. Tanya had been alive for over a thousand years. That was a long time to be celibate and the feeding… well she was a vampire.

I don't understand. Why are you so worried about telling me?

Tanya frowned. "You're not bothered about my past?" she questioned in disbelief.

You're a vampire. I showed her that message so I could erase it before anyone else could see it. I guess it's just… I don't know, expected. You're a predator and humans are your prey.

Tanya leaned back in her seat. "I… thank you Bella," she said. She reached over and gently took my hand. I didn't like it… but I did. I couldn't deny how comforting her presence was anymore. I couldn't deny that her touch was equally comforting. I squeezed her hand. "You don't know how many years I spent agonizing over my mate's reaction to my past."

I pulled my hand back so I could write. What changed? I mean… why did you stop killing people?

"We grew tired of it after a while," Tanya said honestly. "We started to care about the humans we were bedding. We'd spent so much time equating sex with blood that we couldn't have one without the other. So, we started feeding from animals instead, until one day we were able to bed humans without killing them."

Was it hard to be around the humans once you started feeding from animals? I know Jasper struggled.

"It was difficult," Tanya admitted. "The first few years were the hardest. We did slip and kill humans occasionally. After about a decade, there were no more slips. When we met Carlisle, we'd been exclusively on the animal diet for more than a century."

Why do you think it's so hard for Jasper?

I thought about my birthday party. It was still painful to think about that. That had been the moment when everything went wrong. I didn't blame Jasper for trying to kill me but at the same time I wondered how different that night would have turned out if he hadn't tried to attack.

"It's his gift Bella," Tanya explained. "He can feel others blood lust and that causes him to react. It's why he continues to slip decades later. I talked to him once and recommended him and Alice go off on their own for a while but he didn't want to do it."

I nodded and grabbed another piece of falafel. Do you really think Victoria will follow me all the way to Alaska?

"I don't know," Tanya said honestly. "I think it's a real possibility. If you flew here then it will be a lot more difficult to track you. If they were truly mated, she will want revenge."

Why me though? Why target me when he was the one to kill James?

"There's a couple of possibilities," Tanya said. She wiped her hands on a napkin. "The first is that you're simply the easier target because you're human."

You don't believe that's the reason, do you?

"No, I don't," Tanya answered. "I believe she's targeting you to punish Edward." I flinched. "He killed her mate, so she will kill his mate."

But I'm not his mate. It was painful to admit but it was true.

"No, you're not," Tanya agreed. "Victoria doesn't know that and I doubt she will care. In her mind, you were the reason James was killed and she'll want retribution for that."

My face fell. All I wanted was a chance to start over, to live a normal life away from everything. That had gone out the window the minute I met Irina and it was fine. I could deal with a vampire. But then I met Tanya, and now everything had changed. I was now mated to a random vampire.

I glanced at Tanya. She seemed content to keep the silence for now. I suppose there were worse vampire to be forever bound to. Tanya had been nothing but kind to me. Like any other vampire, she was attractive. Far more attractive than even Rosalie, not that I would ever admit that to anyone, in fear of someone finding out and telling Rosalie.

This was the first time I really took the time to study her appearance. She didn't look any older than the Cullen's, though she was psychically order than all of them, except Esme, from what I was told. She definitely couldn't pass as a high school student, neither could Irina. I assumed Kate was the same. I wondered if that was part of the reason they didn't move around all the time.

"You're staring Bella," Tanya teased gently. I blushed and looked down. "I didn't say I minded, but if someone looks over here they're going to wonder what is going on."

Sorry. I was thinking.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Tanya asked.

It's nothing really. I was thinking how you're older than all of them and physically older than most of them, but you don't look any older. It's strange I guess.

"Does it bother you, knowing how old I am?" Tanya questioned. She pushed the plate toward me, encouraging me to eat more if I wanted it. I grabbed another dolma.

No, I wrote as I ate. I used to have this thing about getting older. Once we moved here, I stopped worrying about it so much. I guess I realized I was going to age and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

Our food arrived and I put aside my whiteboard so I could eat. The gyro was just as good as the appetizers. I instantly regretted eating so many appetizers because I was sure I would never finish this.

"Do you want to turn?" Tanya asked.

I looked up and saw her room a piece of chicken from the skewer. She placed it into her mouth and chewed it up slowly. It was still strange seeing a vampire eat like a human.

I did, I wrote after wiping off my hands. Even after they left, I wanted to find a way to turn so I could go with them. I shook my head. It's stupid. He doesn't want me. He made that perfectly clear. I showed her the message before erasing it. Right now, no, I have no desire to turn.

"Your interaction with vampires hasn't been the best so I can understand that," Tanya said. She took another bite of chicken. "I asked you a question yesterday and you weren't sure of the answer. I was wondering if perhaps you had an answer. If not, that is understandable seeing as it has only been a day. What do you want from me?"

I took the time to think about her question. Yesterday I had told her I didn't know what I wanted from her. It was true then and honestly, it was still true today, but I thought that Tanya deserved something more than a simple I don't know.

When I first saw you, and learned about you, I wanted nothing to do with you. The Cullen's, their leaving hurt me badly and I can't go through that again. But, I've gotten to know you yesterday and today and I find that I don't hate you as much as I wanted to. My answer right now is still the same, I don't know what I want from you, but until I figure that out, I'm okay with having you as a friend.

My message was rather long but it still only took Tanya a few seconds to read it. "I can accept that," she said. "Thank you for being honest." She lifted a piece of chicken to eat before shaking her head and putting it down.

Can I ask you something?

"Yes, of course Bella," she said.

We've covered what I want from you, but I realize now I never asked what you want from me. Irina said you're under the assumption that giving you a chance to prove yourself, is a way for you to woo me.

Tanya sighed. "Irina is right as usual," she muttered. "I'm sorry. To me, to a vampire that is, proving myself is a way to show that I am a worthy mate. I will readjust my plan, to make you more comfortable. It seems to me that your biggest issue with vampires is trust, correct?" I nodded. "Then it's simple, what I want from you is to be given the chance to prove I'm trustworthy. From what I can tell, you're afraid I will leave you if you allow yourself to get too close." I looked down. She knew me far better than I expected. "I want to tell you right now Bella, that will never happen. If you ask me to go, I will keep my distance, but I will never truly leave."

What if I'm not ready for a relationship with you? What if it takes years?

Tanya shrugged. "I waited a thousand years for you. I can wait a thousand more."