Bree POV

There was silence, then a voice.  “Thank you, Seth, we'll take it from here.”   I opened my eyes slightly.   At the tree line stood the darker brown wolf and two blond, male vampires.   Both of them had yellow eyes.   One of them was covered in scars.

Instinct made me lean forward.  I tried to stop myself going into a full crouch; I didn't want them to think I was about to attack.

Wait a minute; did he just talk to the wolf?  Was it his pet or something?

The one with straight hair moved forward slowly, holding up his hands palms forward as he came toward me.   The scarred one followed him.   Something about him reminded me of Fred.   Maybe it was just the hair.  His posture was more threatening, almost leaning into a crouch.  His scars were frightening enough; he didn't need to assume attack mode.


“Hello, my name is Carlisle Cullen and this is my son, Jasper,” The straight-haired male addressed me.  “We mean you no harm.”   I tried to take in his words, but my focus kept shifting to the crouched male and I found myself leaning forward even more.  I began to feel unnaturally calm, but my mind was still buzzing trying to figure out an escape route.

“Can you tell us your name?” he continued.

I wanted to make something up, but I remembered one of them could read minds.   I didn't want to annoy them by lying.  My mouth opened, but I could barely make any sound come out.

“Bree,” I replied.  “Bree Tanner.”

“Well, Bree, I need you to come with us.  We have a residence close by an‑”

“I don't want to go with you,” I responded before he could finish.  “I want to go to Vancouver.”  I didn't want to go with them or for them to know about Fred.  I tried to think about the other newborns; I wasn't sure how their mind reading worked.

“You can't stay here.  You are too close to the Quileute border; it is dangerous for you here.”  His hand gestured towards the trees.  “Come with us. I assure you, you will not be harmed.  We will talk, and then you will be free to go where you choose.”

I didn't understand.  Where is Quileute?  Where was this border and what made it so dangerous?  But this didn't concern me most.

“Are the others there?” I asked.

“The other members of my family are there.  I will introduce you to them.”  He smiled as he responded.  “None of them will harm you.”

“What about the vampires with cloaks?” I enquired further.

He exchanged a glance with the one he called Jasper before he addressed me again.

“The vampires with cloaks have gone.  Have you met them before?” he asked.  His voice remained the same, but something was off and what was that look for?

“No, but I saw them in Seattle before we came here.”   I wasn’t sure how much to say; I didn't know how well they knew them.   I didn't think the cloaks liked the yellow-eyes, but they obviously hadn't destroyed them.   Maybe if I went with them, I would find out what was really going on.
 
“I understand you have some concerns, but it really would be best if you came with us.”  Carlisle’s hand remained pointed at the tree line.  “I'm sure we both have questions about what happened here today.”

I nodded and moved towards them.   Something wasn’t quite right.  I should be more anxious than this.  I was about to follow two strange vampires into the forest and yet I felt quite calm. 

They came to meet me, and we headed into the forest with one of them on either side of me.   My attention turned back to the wolves as they came to stand behind us.   They were still about ten feet away, but I didn't want my back to them.   I looked over my shoulder and growled a warning.

“Don't worry about them.” Jasper spoke for the first time.   “They just want to make sure we are clear of the boundary line.”

“What boundary line?”  

“We will explain everything when we get back to the house,” he responded.  His tone was clipped, and he didn’t even look at me.  I guessed he didn't want me to ask any more questions.

We began to run; the wolves stayed with us, keeping their distance.   I glanced at them every few seconds; their presence bothered me, but strangely my anxiety level still wasn't what it should be.  Eventually their heartbeats faded, and when I glanced back, they were gone. 

We arrived at a river and stopped.  The one named Carlisle leapt across and waited for us.  Jasper indicated that I should do the same.   I leapt and he followed almost at the same time.  We continued our run, and ten seconds later a three storey, rectangular house loomed in front of us.   Were we going to hunt here?  Surely that would be too obvious.
That thought soon vanished as two more male vampires came to stand on the porch.   One was huge with short dark hair.  He leaned against one of the posts, muscled arms folded across his chest.   He was obviously not feeling threatened.   The other was shorter and leaner, similar in build to Jasper, but with a riot of red hair.  Not as red as my creator, more bronze I guess.   He was less relaxed and he stared at me intensely. 

Jasper placed his hand on my back and urged me forward.   I stiffened at his touch, but again I didn’t seem to feel as agitated as I should.   What was wrong with me?

There was no way I was going into that house with four male vampires.   I wasn’t stupid.  I’d been on the streets for months.   What were these yellow-eyes up to?  Were they running some kind of vampire sex slave trade?   Was that why they lived in a house like this?

A smile quirked at the edge of the bronze-haired male's mouth as he came down the steps followed by the larger one.  As they approached, I caught the scent from the red shirt.  It was on the smaller male.  Is she in the house?   What are they planning to do with her?  My mind was racing and the fire in my throat roared to life again. 

“She needs to hunt,” the shorter male stated as his eyes bore into me.

A few seconds later a small, dark haired form bounded in from our left, a large deer across her tiny shoulders.  This vampire was about my height, but she restrained the struggling beast with ease.  So what, are we going to have a barbecue now?  What is wrong with these yellow-eyes?

“Bree, I know this is not what you are used to, but you need to feed.  The blood will soothe the burn and help you focus,” Carlisle said.  I could barely register his words as the thumping of the deer’s heart seemed to grow louder, blocking out everything else.

When my senses returned, I was aware of the rough hair on my tongue.  I was drawing in blood, and the burn was easing, but the taste was wrong.   The more I drew in, the worse it got.   Soon I could take no more.  I stopped and spat out the blood that was still in my mouth, then wiped my tongue on my sleeve.   Looking down I realized I was seated on top of the deer, and I had almost drained it dry.  Eww, gross, why did I do that? 

I jumped up, instinctively leaning into a crouch, facing the four yellow-eyed males.   The female had gone.   Three of them were also in a half crouch but Carlisle was smiling, his hands facing me again.
 
“I hoped that helped.”  He smiled.

I straightened up and nodded.   It had helped, but I wouldn't be doing that again.  I needed to hunt properly.

“Let me introduce you.”  Carlisle gestured to the male with bronze hair.  “This is my son, Edward.”  He then gestured to the other male and added, “My other son, Emmett.”
  
Edward gave me a small nod, while Emmett gave me a wide smile.  Why was he calling them his sons?   They obviously weren’t his sons; I doubt if they were even related.   Riley had referred to us as his kids.  Was this Carlisle in charge of these other vampires, the same way Riley was with us?

Turning his head back in my direction, he gave me a reassuring smile and said, “Boys, this is Bree Tanner.”

“I think we should go inside now, perhaps you would like to clean up a little.”   He waved his hand in the direction of the house as he spoke and began to move forward.   I didn’t move; I had no intention of going in that house.   Then an awful thought occurred to me.   What if they would only let me hunt properly if I did what they said?   Would I starve?   Could I starve?   Would they leave it until the burning got so bad I’d do anything they wanted?

“Oh for goodness sake.”  All eyes were suddenly on Edward, following his outburst.   He stood there with his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose.
 
“Edward?”  Carlisle’s voice held concern.  

 “She won’t go into the house because she thinks there is a possibility you are running a brothel and trading sex slaves,” he explained.

Carlisle turned and looked at me. He said nothing, but the horrified look on his face spoke volumes.

“That explains a lot.” Jasper’s voice held some amusement and possibly relief.

The booming laugh that exploded from Emmett made me jump. “That’s priceless.”  He managed to get out through his own amusement. 

It was at that point that I realized Edward had been reading my mind.   The others hadn’t commented on my thoughts up until now.  Was he the only one that could do this?   I glanced at him and he nodded then rolled his eyes.   What was that for?

“Emmett, don‑”   Before he had finished, Emmett had me over his shoulder and was bounding up the steps to the house.   I immediately began to struggle, pounding on his back and trying to twist in his grasp, but he was too strong.   I should be stronger than him.  The yellow-eyes were supposed to be old and weak.   Maybe he wasn’t that old.   I tried to bite his back, but as I prepared to sink my teeth into him, he flipped me onto my feet and held me facing away from him, his hands on my shoulders.

I was face to face with the small dark haired girl, a caramel haired woman with smile that reached her eyes, and the most stunning blonde female I had ever seen.  I was also assaulted by that scent again.   The human girl had obviously been in the house, but it wasn't just that.   It was coming from the short girl.   What was the deal with this lot and the human?

“Not very clever, Em, she could have attacked you, bitten you or ripped off your arm.”   Jasper was in front of me now.  He clearly didn't think much of Emmett’s solution to getting me into the house.

“Ha! seriously, dude, are you kidding me?  You really think this little girl could rip my arm off?”  Emmett laughed off Jasper’s concern.

Who was he calling a little girl?   Annoyed by his statement, I whirled around and let out a fierce growl.   His smile only grew wider.

“She's funny. Can we keep her?” he asked.

“We are a long way from making that kind of decision.  We can’t keep her just to amuse you, Emmett,” Carlisle replied.

They were talking about me like I was a stray dog.

“Jasper has a point,” Carlisle continued.  “You are not familiar with newborns; their size is not always an indication of their strength.  Their volatile nature can make them quite vicious if they feel threatened.”

I rolled my eyes.  “Don't mind me; just pretend I'm not here,” I muttered under my breath.  Of course they all heard me.

Carlisle turned to me and smiled apologetically.   “I'm so sorry, Bree, do forgive me.  I haven't introduced you to the rest of my family.”  Was he for real?  I'd just been carried into a house containing a coven of vampires, and he was gonna introduce me like I'd just popped round for afternoon tea.

The woman with the caramel hair moved forward and Carlisle took her hand.  “This is my wife, Esme.  Esme, this is Bree.”

Esme smiled warmly.  “So pleased to meet you, Bree.”  I smiled back but didn't say anything.

Carlisle then indicated the blonde woman.   “This is my daughter, Rosalie.   She is also Emmett's wife.”   Did he just say his son and daughter were married? 

“Hello, Bree.”  Her greeting was polite but cautious.  I gave her a small nod.
 
Carlisle finally gestured towards the last girl.   “This is my other daughter, Alice.  She and Jasper are also married.”   He may not be running a brothel, but this brother and sister married thing was gross.  No wonder the cloaked vampires didn't like them.

“Hello, Bree.  It's lovely to meet you.”  Alice skipped towards me and held out her hand.   The movement was unexpected and I instinctively hissed a warning, but Jasper had already caught her around the waist and was holding her to him.
 
“Aww, Jazz, I was just going to give her a proper welcome.”  She pouted.

“I think Bree has been manhandled enough for today,” he replied, looking pointedly at Emmett.

I wondered where they'd put the human girl.   I couldn't hear a heartbeat, so she definitely wasn't in the house.   Did they keep her with their wolves?   The house didn't smell, so they weren't house pets like her. 

“She is no concern of yours,” Edward suddenly snapped at me.  His eyes blazed with fury, but he didn’t move towards me.

Did he do that all the time?  “Do you have to do that?”  I snapped back at him.  “Can’t you stay out of my head?”

Rosalie moved around me to stand next to Emmett and reached up on tiptoe to give him a peck on the cheek.

“She's on my wavelength, definitely a keeper,” she purred, turning to give Edward a stunning smile.

Edward rolled his eyes, while Carlisle gave her an impatient look.

“As I said to Emmett, we are a long way from making any decisions.”  Carlisle then turned to me and suggested, “Perhaps you would like to go upstairs and get cleaned up.”

Oh so now we are getting to it.  No way was I going upstairs with him.