Bree POV

No way was I going upstairs with him. I may have been greatly outnumbered, but I wasn’t going without a fight. I bared my teeth and let out a feral growl. Jasper placed himself right in front of me and emitted an equally menacing growl of his own.

“Cool it, Jazz. Jeez, overreact much?” Emmett muttered.

I sensed that I may have a possible ally in Emmett, so I scooted closer to him. He looked like he could take Jasper on, and at least he never growled at me. I was pretty sure he could sort out the mind reader too if need be. I glanced at Edward, and I thought I saw the beginning of a smile twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Carlisle seemed to understand the reason for my reluctance, and he gestured towards Esme, saying, “Esme will show you where everything is, and I’m sure Alice will find you some fresh clothes. The rest of the family will wait for you down here.”

Good, this could be my chance to get away. I could follow my scent back to the clearing and then find my way to Fred. What time was it now? He said he would wait for twenty-four hours, but I didn’t want to hang around here for too long.

As I followed Esme towards the curved staircase, I registered how light the whole room was. Everything was so white and clean, and I suddenly felt very grubby. I hadn't even considered taking a shower since the change. It didn't seem important when you’re in a dirty, run down house that will most likely be destroyed by the random violence that comes with young vampires. As I ascended the stairs with Alice behind me, I became aware of the human’s scent once again. She had been upstairs in this house. Why did she come here? What did they do with her?

At the top of the stairs, a long, wood-panelled hallway led to several rooms. Esme stopped at a door towards the end of the hallway. Alice suddenly bounded in front of me, causing me to back up against the opposite wall and hiss at her. She ignored my warning and indicated the open door in front of me. She practically skipped over the threshold and beckoned to me. I followed her cautiously, waiting for her next move.

“This is my room,” Alice trilled. Her arms spread out in a semi-circle in front of her as she spoke. “The bathroom is through there.” The ever moving arms gestured to the door on my left. “Help yourself to anything in there while I find you a change of clothes.”

I kept my eyes on her as I walked towards the bathroom.

“Oh, and just so you know,” she added. “Yes, there is a window, and we will hear if you open it. One of the guys will be outside before your feet even reach the ground.”

I stared at her with my mouth wide open. Edward hadn’t been entirely honest; he was not the only mind reader. That would make escape more difficult. I know Carlisle had said I could go after we talked, but I didn’t know how long that would take, and I wasn't sure how much of the twenty-four hours I had left. I resolved to make this a very quick shower.

The bathroom was huge  almost the same size as the bedroom. There was a long counter along the far side filled with shampoos, shower gel, bath foam and all sorts of paraphernalia. I read some of the labels, but I didn't know what half of them were for. I grabbed the nearest bottle of shower gel and turned on the spray. The warm water on my bare skin felt heavenly, and the gel smelled wonderful. The label said it was Jasmine. I didn’t know if Jasmine really smelt like that, but I liked it. I couldn’t remember the last time I had taken a shower and wished I could have enjoyed it longer.

I wrapped myself in a towel and peeked through the door into the bedroom. A small pile of clothes lay just outside the door, so I snatched them quickly and closed the door again. Alice had left some pink lacy boy shorts with a matching bra. I wasn't about to wear someone else’s underwear, but then I noticed the store tag was still on them. There was also a pair of jeans and a shirt. The jeans had a designer label. I'd never worn designer jeans in my life, but they did seem to fit well. The shirt was pale grey with red sleeves and a logo in red on the front. It was a little big, but it was clean.

When I returned to the bedroom, Alice was on the bed. She cocked her head to the side and said, “Well, we had better get a move on. It seems like you have a date.” With that, she jumped off the bed and led me back downstairs to the main room.

Jasper was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. His glare remained fixed on me as I walked down behind Alice. I skirted around him and threw him a glare of my own.

Carlisle got up from the smaller couch where he had been sitting with Esme and asked me to take a seat. I glanced around the room. Edward was standing next to Esme, and Emmett and Rosalie were seated at one end of the large couch. Rosalie was leaning casually on the arm, and Emmett had his arm draped around her shoulder.

I could sense Jasper watching me, shadowing my movements as I walked across the room, so I opted to sit next to Emmett. I wanted to move closer to him again, but I didn’t want to leave room for anyone to sit next to me. Before I connected with the seat, Alice nudged me over with her hip and planted herself next to the other arm of the chair, leaving me sandwiched between her and Emmett. The unexpected contact earned her another hiss from me. Jasper went to stand behind her, and a low growl rumbled in his chest. I edged closer to Emmett, still sure he could deal with the overbearing ass if necessary. Emmett placed his free arm on the back of the couch behind me, but didn't touch me. Edward looked at me with a crooked smirk on his face. I narrowed my eyes at him but held back from making any noise. Jasper was too close, and I was fed up with his constant growling.

Carlisle cleared his throat. He didn’t need to do that, so I guessed he just wanted my attention. “How old are you, Bree?”

“About three months. I’m not sure of the date,” I responded.

“No, dear, I meant how old were you before you were changed?”

“Eighteen,” I lied.

Carlisle raised his eyebrows, but he didn’t make a verbal response. Emmett, on the other hand, didn’t hold back. “Yeah, right, kid.” His arm slipped around my shoulder, and he leaned towards me. The gesture didn't feel threatening, but I still had to fight the urge to attack. “There’s no point lying,” he whispered conspiratorially, nodding his head in Edward’s direction. Why was he bothering to whisper?

“Well why don’t you just pick the information out of my head? Then I can be on my way.” I snapped at Edward. It probably wasn't the best response, but at that moment, I really didn’t care.

“I can only know what you’re thinking at the time,” he answered calmly. If my snapping bothered him, he didn’t show it.

“Well I’ll just think about everything I know while I’m on my way. You can follow me, and then you’ll have all the answers.”

“I’m sure you have questions for us too,” Carlisle interjected. “We also need to make sure you have the necessary information and rules to keep you safe before you leave.”

How long would that take? How many rules were there? I didn’t have time for this; I just wanted to leave. A sense of frustration overwhelmed me, and I leapt up and started to head for the door. In my haste, I almost knocked Alice over the side of the couch, and the whole room became an explosion of movement. I couldn't focus on anything other than my desire to leave and the feeling that they were stopping me.

I became aware of hands gripping my upper arms and being held face down against the floor. I heard a familiar growl. Jasper. I’d had it with him. I pushed back and managed to get to an upright position. He obviously wasn’t as strong as Emmett. Wrestling my arms free, I turned to face him, and I felt an overwhelming urge to lunge at his throat. His scars were practically screaming a warning at me, but I was just too angry with him for that to stop me.

The split second it took for these thoughts to pass through my head was all it took for Emmett to place himself between Jasper and me. He held me against the wall with a hand on each shoulder. I couldn’t move him, but that didn’t stop me from baring my teeth and trying to bite a chunk out of him.

“Careful, Em.” A female voice advised. Was it Rosalie?

I was fuming, but I couldn’t seem to keep up the level of anger required to fight. I felt unnaturally weak, tired almost. I never felt tired; something must be wrong with me.

Emmett’s grip loosened a little. “Ease up, Jazz. You don’t want to put her in a coma.”

Was Jasper doing this  messing with my head and making me feel ill? Was he like Fred? What did these yellow-eyes really plan to do with me? They had invaded my head, made me feel ill, and fed me deer blood. I had to get away from these freaks; they were dangerous. That was possibly the one thing Riley hadn’t lied about. Well, that and their human pet.

Emmett's hold had relaxed enough that I was able to slide to the floor. I pulled my knees to my chest, and my hands came up to the side of my head. “What now?” I asked simply.

Esme came and knelt down in front of me.

“Don't get too close,” Jasper warned.

“Bree, dear, come and sit back down.” I looked into her light gold eyes; she seemed to be genuinely concerned. “I'm sure this is all very confusing for you. We will explain our way of life, and you can ask about anything you don't understand.”

I allowed her to lead me back to the seating area where Emmett and Rosalie were already seated on the couch, their positions reversed. I approached them, intending to sit next to Rosalie, but she scooted over, leaving a gap between them, and I sat there. Alice started towards the couch, but Jasper stopped her and pulled her into an embrace. He then turned her to face the room but did not release her.

“Before we get started,” Edward said. “Who is Fred?”

Damn.

“Oh, so that’s his name,” Alice piped up.

“He's a friend.” I kept my reply simple, as I didn't want to tell them too much about him. It was bad enough they knew about him at all.

“Why are you so anxious to get to him if he is just a friend?” Edward probed.

“He's a very good friend. I doubt I would still be here if it wasn't for him,” I explained. “We arranged to meet in Vancouver, but he said he would only wait twenty-four hours, and I don't want to miss him.”

“You could probably make it there in less than four hours. You have plenty of time,” Edward told me.

“I need to go back to Seattle first.”

“Who is in Seattle?” he asked suspiciously. I glanced at Edward, then sighed; there was no point lying.

“My friend Diego,” I confessed. I wasn't doing a good job of keeping anything from them.

“Is he the one you are thinking of now?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“I'm sorry, Bree. Victoria destroyed him,” he informed me sympathetically. I must have already known this somewhere deep down. I wasn't surprised by the news; I was just sad to have it confirmed.

“Was that her name?” I asked. “The one with red hair,” I added for clarification.

“Yes.” There was a small hesitation before he continued. “Was Riley close to Diego? His demise seemed to trouble him. Your friend's destruction was on his mind before Victoria turned against him.”

So Victoria had turned against Riley. Had she destroyed him?

“They weren't close really, but Diego had survived the longest.” Diego was dead; it didn't matter what I said about him now. “He wasn't as stupid as most of them. Riley trusted him, let him do what he wanted mostly.”

There was silence for a while; I assumed no one knew what to say.

Esme broke the silence. “I'm so sorry about your friend, dear. We have asked you a lot of questions, and we have many more, but is there anything you would like to ask us?”

I had so many questions, but I didn't know where to start.