Bree POV


I had so many questions.  Where did I start?

I decided to go for the obvious.  “Why are your eyes yellow?  Will mine do that when I get older?”

“Our eyes are yellow because we feed from animals,” Carlisle answered.  “We choose not to hunt humans.” He added with a small smile.

“What!” I cried.  “You’re kidding.  Are you telling me you drink that awful deer blood all the time?”  My voice had gone up an octave.  Why would they do that?  Human blood, even the drug or alcohol-tainted kind, was a hundred times better than that.

“Well, the blood of carnivores is better, but we just needed something to help with your thirst quickly,” Carlisle explained.  I really didn't care if carnivore blood was better; I had no plans to try it.  Did they not kill humans because of the girl?  No one had mentioned her, and Edward wasn't too happy when he caught me thinking about her earlier.  I didn't want to annoy Edward, so I decided to stick with something that had already come up.

“Do you all have er... skills?” I asked.  Diego's word for the extra talents some vampires possessed seemed as good as any other I could come up with.  “I know Edward and Alice read minds, and Jasper can make you feel ill.  Fred can do‑” I stopped myself.  I hadn't meant to tell them that about Fred.

“It's okay.  I already got that much from your thoughts when you found out about Jasper,” Edward confessed.  “I know Riley gave you some information about our abilities.  We can explain them a bit more, and then perhaps you can tell us a little about Fred,” he compromised.

Would it matter if they knew about Fred?  It wasn't as if they would ever meet him.  After deciding it would probably be okay, I nodded in agreement.

Edward volunteered information about himself first.  “I can hear everyone's mind within a two to three-mile radius.  I can focus on one mind for clarity, or un-focus to give some privacy, but I can't switch it off.”

“Isn't it a bit noisy?” I asked.

“It was, at first,” he replied.  A slight smile appeared at the corner of this mouth.  “I've learned how to manage it over the years.”

“Do you find it noisy?”  I turned to ask Alice.

“Oh, I'm not a mind reader,” she replied.

“But you knew what I was thinking upstairs.”  I gave her a smug look, thinking I had caught her out.

“I can see the future.  Outcomes mainly, depending on what decisions are made.  I didn't know exactly what your plans were.  I just saw you jumping out of the window,” she replied, returning my look.  Could anyone really see the future?  Then I remembered the conversation I had overheard between Victoria and Riley.  Her apparent indecisiveness suddenly made sense.   

“Victoria knew, didn't she?”  I didn't wait for an answer.  “She told Riley she couldn't make any decisions, supposedly to protect us.  Did she know about all of your skills?  Did she know that Jasper could make you feel ill?”

“Jasper doesn't make you feel ill as such,” Alice answered.

“Not unless he's overdoing it,” Emmett butted in.

Alice simply stuck her tongue out at him and carried on.  “He is an empath.  He can sense the emotions of others, and he can also project them.  He was just projecting a calming influence over you to help you control yourself.”

“I think I'd be a lot calmer if he just stopped growling at me,” I retorted.  I glanced up at Jasper and was surprised to see he was actually smiling.

“What about Emmett and Rosalie?” I enquired next. 

“Well, I'm sure you have realized Emmett is very strong.  He's not much weaker than some newborns, but neither of them has any obvious gifts.”  Carlisle answered that question.

That figures; they would be the normal ones. 

“That depends on your definition of normal,” Edward snorted.  Did he always answer their thoughts?  How did they stand it? 

“My apologies, Bree.  I’ll only answer your verbal questions from now on.” Edward apologized.

“Thanks,” I responded trying to keep the irritation out of my voice.  “What about you and Esme?” I asked Carlisle.

“No, we don't have any gifts either.”

Three out of seven with skills seemed a lot to me.  Maybe Carlisle was better at selecting people to change than Victoria.  Now that they had told me about their eyes and their gifts, I couldn’t decide what to ask about next.  There were so many things I wanted to know, but it was hard to focus on one thing at a time.   My immediate surroundings brought one of the many thoughts to the forefront of my mind.

“If you don't hunt humans, how did you get this house?   Did you just kill the owners, but not drink from them?”   I didn't think it would be possible, but I had to ask.

Esme gasped; she looked horrified at the thought, but Carlisle merely patted her thigh before he answered me.  “No, we own this house.  Esme and I bought it about seventy years ago, but we have only been living here for about three years.”

“Seventy years!” I shrieked.  “Jeez, how old are you?”  It wasn't until the words came out of my mouth that I realized how rude they sounded.

Carlisle didn't seem to mind, as he chuckled a little.  “I am actually about three hundred and sixty years old.”

My mouth fell open.  Well, that was another thing Riley hadn't lied about.  They may not all be weak, but they certainly were old.  I stole a quick glance at Edward, but he remained true to his word, and didn’t comment on my thoughts.

“Many of our kind are considerably older than me.”  Carlisle informed me.  I guess it made sense.  I'd only known young vampires, apart from our creator, and I'd never considered how old she might actually be.

Alice suddenly let out a small gasp and Jasper's arms tightened around her.

“Where is she?” Edward asked.  He was already at the door.

“Just passed the Quileute border.  She won't try to drive again before you get there.” Alice called after him.

“What is it, dear?” Esme asked Alice.  Her voice and face showed her concern.

“Bella is in her truck; she's upset.  I think she's just been to see Jacob.”

“Oh my goodness,” cried Esme.  “You don't think something has happened to him, do you?” she asked Carlisle, grasping his hand.

“It's unlikely; he was fine when I left.  The healing process had already begun.”  He reassured her.  “I'll call Edward in a while to see if there is a problem.”

Who are Bella and Jacob?  Are there more of them?  Riley had said there were only seven.   I didn't know if I should ask.  They had said they would answer my questions, but they hadn't mentioned these two.  Maybe they didn't want me to know about them.   Alice had mentioned the Quileute border, and Carlisle did say it was dangerous there.  Were these two in danger?  Was that why Esme looked so worried?

“Sorry about that, Bree,” Carlisle apologized.   “Now we have answered some of your questions, perhaps you could answer some of ours.”

“Okay,” I agreed.  I really wanted to know what was going on with the other two, but I guessed he changed tack because he didn't want to tell me.
 
“Edward may not be here, but I will know if you are lying.  Your emotional reactions will give you away.”  Jasper’s smile had gone, and the familiar glare returned to accompany his words.

I huffed and rolled my eyes.   He really could be quite annoying, and I hoped he had picked up on that.

“I know you’re annoyed.”  He let me know how well he was reading my emotional state.  “I don't mean to be so overbearing, but we can't take chances.  You are still new to this life, and you could unintentionally harm a member of this family if you lost control,” he added, giving me a brief glimpse of his smile again.  He didn't look so scary when he smiled, and at least he seemed to have stopped growling.

“How old are you, Bree?” Carlisle asked.  His eyes held mine, and I could tell he expected an honest answer.

“Sixteen, I think.  I was close to my birthday, but I lost track of the days before I was changed.”

Rosalie began to stroke my hair.  It was odd, as her touch should have startled me, but it actually felt quite soothing.

“Did you live in Seattle?  Do you have any family that may be looking for you?”  Carlisle continued with his questions.

I dredged up the foggy human memories.  “I lived in Redmond, but I ran away.  I've been living on the streets in Seattle for a while.  I don't think my dad will be looking for me.  He was probably glad to see the back of me.”  The feeling was mutual.  I didn't miss him.  I was glad to be away from his fists.  The only thing I missed about home was the regular meals.

Rosalie's body tensed, and her hand stopped mid-stroke.  Emmett's arm reached behind me and patted her shoulder.  She relaxed and resumed her soft comforting strokes on my hair.

“I'm sorry to hear that, Bree.”  Carlisle sounded genuinely concerned.  “But your unfortunate circumstances will actually make any decisions about your future somewhat easier.”  

I didn't know how to respond to that, so I said nothing.  He didn't need to decide my future.  I just needed to get out of here and find Fred.

“Did all of the newborns created by Victoria come here today?  Are there any left in Seattle?”  His next questions weren't what I was expecting.  Why did he want to know if there were others?  The fight obviously had nothing to do with human blood.  They didn't even drink it.   Did they want to destroy any others?  Would they destroy me when I had answered their questions?  Carlisle had said they wouldn't harm me, but what if he was lying?  Riley lied, Victoria lied, would anyone tell the truth?   Maybe I shouldn't have told them my dad wouldn't be looking for me.

Panic exploded from within me, I couldn't control it.   I jumped up again, seeking an escape.  Emmett's arms clamped around my arms pinning them to my side, and my back was held firmly to his chest.  I could feel the wave of calm Jasper was bombarding me with, but the panic was fighting back.

“What caused that?”  Emmett's voice came from behind me.

“I don't know.  She just felt an overwhelming sense of panic.  She's still fighting me now,” Jasper's response came through his gritted teeth .  It was as though the effort it took to quell my fear was too much for him.

Rosalie approached me slowly.  “Careful, Rose, watch her teeth,” warned Emmett.

“Bree,” she called softly.  And then more sharply.  “Bree, look at me.”

I looked into her golden eyes and only saw concern.  “Bree, can you tell me what made you so afraid?”  The softer tone had returned to her voice.

Jasper had obviously given up trying to calm me and just gave me a heavy dose of lethargy.  It was actually an effort to keep my head up.

“Why does Carlisle want to know about the others?” I asked Rosalie.  “Does he want to destroy them?   Will you destroy me when you have your answers?”

They all looked shocked, genuinely shocked.  Esme recovered quickest.  “No, no of course not, we wouldn't … we couldn't do that.”

“I only wanted to know because any others will be without guidance now that your creator has been destroyed.”  Carlisle quickly reassured me.  “Unsupervised newborns can cause problems for our kind.”

“Victoria's gone?  Riley as well‑ are they both gone?” I whispered.  Emmett's hold relaxed, and Rosalie and Esme both reached out for me as I slumped forward.

“I think you can ease off now, Jasper,” Rosalie said while giving him a pointed look.

“Yes, dear, they're both gone.”  Relief washed through me with Esme's words.  I was trapped in a house with six vampires, but I felt free.  Fred and I wouldn't have to spend the rest of our days looking over our shoulder for either of them.

We all resumed our previous positions.  Jasper still held Alice close to him, but his features had softened again, and at least he hadn't growled at me when I'd lost it.

Carlisle shifted slightly in his seat.  I could tell he wanted to return to the subject of the other newborns.  I let out a sigh before I started to speak.  “Fred left when we got here.  He didn't want to fight either.  He agreed to leave a trail for me in Riley Park, in Vancouver.  Some of the others had left before.  Riley said they were burned by the sun, but I guess they just figured out Riley was lying and ran away.  Or maybe he destroyed them because they knew he was lying.”

“I don't see that anything can be done about the ones that may have run off, but your friend Fred is another matter,” Carlisle said.

“Why? He’s not a problem.”  What did he want to do about Fred?  I was worried.  Had I put Fred in danger by talking about him?

“Do you know when he was changed?”

“No, but he is older than me.  He didn't need to hunt as often.”

“That's good; he will be able to control his thirst better.  I'm sure you know that humans are unaware of our existence.  It is essential that it remains that way.  A coven of very powerful vampires enforce this rule.  They are referred to as the Volturi.  If any vampire attracts the attention of humans due to their behavior, or irresponsible feeding, they will be destroyed by this coven.”

“Are they the ones with the cloaks?” I asked.

Carlisle nodded.

“Did they get rid of Victoria and Riley?”

He glanced at Jasper, and I thought I saw Jasper's eyes move quickly to the side and then back again.  “No.”  Carlisle didn't expand on his answer.  What was he not telling me?

“It is important that Fred knows about the Volturi,” he said, leaving the topic of Victoria and Riley's demise unfinished.  I was about to mention that I had told Fred a bit about the ones with cloaks, but Carlisle continued.  “I'm sure none of us want another visit from the Volturi.”

“Is that because of your human pet?”  I asked.  “Riley told us about her.  Does she know what you are?” 

“She.  Is.  Not.  Our.  Pet.” Alice ground out.  Her eyes flashed with fury, and she leant towards me.  I was thankful Jasper kept a restraining arm around her.

I was confused.  “But she's been in the house, and you have her scent on you.  If she's not your pet, what do you do with her.” 

Alice had calmed down a bit.  I was not sure if it was due to Jasper's influence, but for a moment she was almost as scary as her husband.

“We don't do anything with her.  She's Edward's mate.”  The anger had faded and her voice was almost playful now.

“What?  Like a best friend?”  

“No, silly, she's his mate, like Jasper is mine.   They're getting married.”  She clasped her hands together in front of her as she announced the wedding.

 “You mean they're dating?”  I'm sure my face showed my disgust.  I couldn't have hid it if I tried.  “I thought the brother and sister being married thing was gross, but this‑ isn't it like dating a hamburger?”  The words were out before I could stop them, and my hand flew up to cover my mouth.  I stole a quick glance at Alice; she was not happy.

Emmett's arm reached around my shoulder again.  The gesture was not threatening, but his voice when he spoke was definitely a warning.  “Bella is very special to all of us.  She's going to be a part of this family, and we all think of her as family already.”  I made a mental note to engage my brain before I opened my mouth again.  I also noted that he had called her Bella.  So she was the one that was upset.  That just left Jacob as the unknown entity.

I hesitated a moment.  I wasn't sure if I should say any more, but I still didn't understand.  “If she is going to be a member of your family, why haven't you changed her?  Why didn't Edward change her before they started dating?  You know how to do it, don't you?”  I felt a bit ridiculous asking.  Carlisle had a house full of vampires.  He must know how to do it.  Maybe he didn't.  I'd just assumed he had changed them all.  Maybe he just found vampires and invited them to join him.  That would explain the high proportion of  skills in this coven.  Is that why Emmett wanted to know if they were going to keep me.   

“Knowledge is not a problem.”  Carlisle's voice broke into my thoughts.  “Edward does not want her to be changed.  She is his mate, and we will not go against his wishes.” 

This still made no sense.  Were all vampires like these?  I had nothing to compare it to.  The way the newborns existed was wrong.  That was why Victoria was destroyed.  But living in a nice house, feeding off animals, and dating humans seemed just as wrong.  Humans were our source of food.  We were not even the same species anymore. 

Despite their explanation, I still didn't understand the point of keeping Bella human, so I finally decided to ask the question I really needed the answer to.  “The giant wolves, they're your pets, aren't they?”

Everyone's eyes turned to Carlisle.  How much would he hold back this time? I wondered.