Edward had introduced Bella to his world reluctantly.

Vampirism. Blood. Immortality.

It had been a weird whirlwind of thoughts and ideas for the week after the reveal.

"I had been so close to losing it, Bella," Edward had told her, his hands sandwiching hers. "When you kissed me, I was losing control very quickly."

Bella had unashamedly found that to be quite hot, but the direness in his tone had put her back in her place. After all, Edward had been scared about delivering the news.

"I thought it would go one of two ways," he had said. "Either you threw a glass of water in my face and called me a freak, or you'd be forever afraid of me." He had shaken his head, as if he couldn't accept either outcome. "I can't lose you, Isabella Swan. I cannot."

The desperation in his voice was chilling, and it did things to her stomach that she hadn't felt since her teenage years. She felt like she was—for the first time—reading something she shouldn't have. She was in a glorious love story—one with supernatural beings. Love, lust, and a delicious fight for control. It was a breathtaking combination.

"I don't want to lose you either, Edward," she had replied with a whisper. And there was acceptance there, whether she had acknowledged it or not. And perhaps, she hadn't quite thought through what it really meant that her new boyfriend was a vampire. But it didn't matter. It was exciting.

Soon, she found herself adjusted to her day-to-day life with Edward, the vampire. This also meant that she was automatically inaugurated into his family.

And apparently, that included vampire baseball.

As soon as Alice had pitched the ball, Bella knew that this wasn't just a regular game of baseball. She sat on the damp grass and watched as this group of vampires ran farther than she could see. After a while, Bella stopped trying to track the ball, because everything was happening too fast for her to follow.

"Well." Edward appeared beside her after merely twenty minutes of gameplay, brushing some grass off of his pant leg. "What do you think?"

She put her fingers up to create a camera frame, grabbing Carlisle and Esme in her scope. "I need a device that can automatically slow-mo what I'm seeing."

Edward chuckled, and Bella beamed at the sound of his laugh. He sat and put an arm around her as she snuggled against him—not so much for warmth, because that was a lost cause, but to shield herself against the wind.

"Kicked. Your. Ass." Emmett enunciated as he strutted around the field. Bella looked up to see Alice sticking her tongue out at him.

A flash of lightning licked the sky, and its boom could be heard a few seconds later. Alice had explained before the game started that the storm was crucial to their ballgame. It was a miracle that they only broke a few aluminum bats with the amount of force they put into their hits. The lightning was the most important part to mask the sounds of ball against bat.

Emmett sauntered over with his wife. Sticking his bat into the ground, he leaned on it casually and addressed Bella. "This was the first time we've brought a human to the game."

"I sat here and looked pretty. I hope that was all that was expected," she teased in response.

Emmett laughed. "Unfortunately, this could get really dangerous for you, really quickly."

Bella knew. If the ball hit her at the speed it was thrown by them, it would probably go straight through her. She imagined herself as a cartoon with a giant hole in her torso.

Friendly banter was exchanged as the family picked up their equipment. Bella found it a little odd that they'd slow down and move at a human pace for this part. Were they just trying to make her feel a little more comfortable?

She was going to ask Edward just this before she was yanked up from her spot. She felt a pop in her shoulder and immediately bit her lip against the pain. Her hand came up to put pressure on the area as she tried to focus on her balance. Edward was standing in front of her, blocking her view. She looked around to see that the rest of the family was crowding around them.

Something was clearly wrong, but Bella couldn't see what. She rose on her tiptoes to see around Edward's shoulder, and she caught sight of three unfamiliar faces.

Instantly, she knew they were vampires. But they were different.

They were vampires.

They were what Bella had imagined Edward would transform into the moment he had said the word. She shifted to get a better angle, and she stared at the three porcelain figures with piqued interest. There were two men, and one woman. And their eyes were bloody red.

Of course the Cullens couldn't have been the only vampires. Edward had even said as such—that his family was the odd one out in his world regarding their unique diet.

"We're just passing through," one of the men said. His skin was darker than all that were present. "My name is Laurent."

Carlisle was the one that spoke. "This is my family."

"Hello, family," the woman from beside Laurent said, almost seductively. "Victoria." She placed a sensual hand on the last one remaining, with this blond hair slicked back into a short ponytail. "This is James."

James was starting directly at Bella, and she noticed this after Victoria finished her introduction. His eyes were piercing, and Bella felt hypnotized by the feeling of being watched so intensely. It was probably more of a prey reaction—a deer caught in headlights.

But then, she felt the discomfort in her shoulder intensify. The adrenaline was wearing off, and the stabbing pain was setting in. She squeezed her shoulder tighter.

"You have a human," James said, and his smirk was nothing short of devilish. When he took a step forward, the entire family seemed to shift around Bella. Some crouched low in front of her, others covered her closely. Bella, frozen, couldn't keep her eyes off of James.

"And she seems injured," Victoria said, trailing her fingers down James' arm. "Why haven't you ended her misery?"

At her comment, Bella tightened her grip on her shoulder. Edward whipped his head back to her and keyed in on where she clutched herself tightly.

"She is with us," Carlisle spoke diplomatically.

Laurent cocked his head to the side. "A human pet?"

"We could use one." Victoria licked her lips. "James?"

Bella watched as James's chest expanded with a deep breath. And in the next second, she realized that he'd been smelling her.

"Yes," he said, his eyes still shamelessly on hers. "We certainly could."

Edward took a step back, which meant Bella did as well. "Let's go," he murmured into her ear before throwing her into his arms. The force jolted her injured shoulder, and she couldn't help the yelp that escaped her lips.

Edward said nothing as the world started to blur. They were running, she realized. No, Edward was running. She was being thrown into hyperspeed travel.

Her stomach was in knots by the time she was placed on her feet. Once her head stopped spinning, she was able to discern that she was right outside of the Cullen house.

The rest of the family started to arrive in the next few seconds. Gripping her shoulder, she turned to Edward, but Carlisle appeared in front of her.

She watched as he placed his own hand over her injury, the cool touch providing some reprieve from the dull ache she felt. Then, she was forced to take a quick breath as he maneuvered her arm out, and the pain inevitably intensified.

"It's dislocated," he said. "I'll need to pop it back in."

"Pop it back—?"

Without wasting any time, or giving her any further explanation, Carlisle gripped her arm firmly and pushed. Bella gasped through the resistance her bones provided, and then felt the full relief once her bones popped back into their place.

She didn't even have a moment to process the medical intervention she had just received, because Carlisle had left. She was looking around her surroundings when he reappeared again.

"This could take weeks to heal," he told her, then proceeded to give her some simple, but necessary instructions for home care. He was holding a sling.

Quickly, he showed her how to put it on, and had disappeared once again. In fact, as Bella turned a full circle, the Cullens who had followed them back to the house had all left—all except for Edward, who was a few feet away.

Bella wanted to thank Carlisle, but she wasn't even sure where he ran off to. Cradling her arm, she approached Edward, who began pacing.

"I should keep this on Carlisle said, and—"

"I've changed my mind," he said, cutting her off. "I'm taking you home."

Bella could tell that he was about to grab her arm, but seemed to shrink back at the last second. No, it couldn't have been easy to know that you had unintentionally dislocated your girlfriend's shoulder.

"It's okay," she reassured him, but he was silent.

He walked over to his car and opened the passenger door for her.

"Edward, are you sure—"

He was furious. "Get in the car, Bella."


A/N: Vampires and humans. A hard mix.