A New Life

"You kept me waiting long enough."

"My apologies, ma'am."

Those words -- those sentences echo in my mind and I can't help but smile. My vision came true of meeting my true love. My soldier. My broken soldier -- one who had left a terrible women with viscous ideas. I glance over at him and I can't help but be sorry for the amount of scars on his neck. He had showed me the others that speckled his torso and arms. I winced when I saw them.

I squeeze his hand and his head swings my hair. His blonde hair is tucked securely with gel under a fedora hat and we had the opportunity to buy him a clean suit with a clean tie and folded collar -- light brown in colour.

I wore a dark blue skirt that hung past my ankles. I had a white plaid button down tucked into it and my short hair was curled tight against my scalp. My shoes were simple pointed-toe heels -- red in colour.

We were walking down the streets of Forks, Washington and we were getting closer to completing the vision I had after I was made into a vampire.

I stop abruptly and shudder. I lean forward to clutch Jasper's coat arm and I squeeze my eyes shut. I can't help but remember the shocks that they used on me -- trying to cast out the evil that was inside my body. It was another piece of my puzzle. I endured terrible shocks. When I was turned, I lost all the memories of my past life. I plan to revive them, however. I will revive them and find out who I really was before I was made a vampire. I suck in a breath and I feel small circles on my lower back. My eyes snap open and I stare into tawny eyes.

"Alice, is it a vision?" Jasper asks, his accented voice meets my ears and shatters the past feeling of my human life.

I release my grip on his jacket and keep my arm looped through his and move us so that we are walking again.

"No," my voice chimes out and I look over and smile sadly at him, "no, but I remembered something. I endured electroshock therapy when I was in the institute. I just had a feeling of one of the shocks just now."

Jasper makes a face, stops, and pulls me to him. He wraps his strong arms around me and I relish in the scent of him.

"I'm sorry," His drawl meets my ears and I close my eyes, enjoying the moments in his embrace.

Thoughts of love and romance and couples filled my mind. I sneered in disgust. Rosalie and Emmett's thoughts. Carlisle, Esme, and I were finally allowed near the house again after a solid decade. This, of course, was nearly ten years ago since it was 1950 but their thoughts still were loud and clear on what they wanted to do.

I lounge in my room, flipping through a Shakespeare text -- anything to get my mind off of their ridiculous thoughts.

Jealousy. Yes, that's exactly it. Perhaps I should go visit Tanya, at least she gave thoughts of love and interest towards me.

I banish those thoughts, too. I would suck it up and be with my family, make up for my rebellious years. I owed Carlisle that much. I wouldn't go running off unless I had a solid reason to visit the Denali.

My finger pauses mid-turn as my mind picks up new thoughts within our area. I vamp to a standing position before the book hits my couch and I go still. I listen to the bright thoughts thinking about family and a someone named Jasper.

I move and vamp downstairs and another thought enters about newborns, fighting, and Alice.

"Carlisle," I say in a normal voice, knowing her would hear me wherever he is.

I enter the living room and see Rosalie and Emmett entwined on the couch. I ignore them and move to the front door.

My adopted father is at my side in another instant. "Edward, what is it?"

I listen to the thoughts again and they are thinking about love and passion. I make a face, "More family members--" I cut off when I hear the thoughts of the female thinking something about Carlisle.

I nod, "Yes, definitely more family members." I open the door because the thoughts are getting closer.

There, on our doorstep, is a tiny vampire with a tall, scarred vampire beside her. I blink and Carlisle steps beside me.

Before either one of us can speak, the little one pipes up, "Hello, I'm Alice and this is Jasper Whitlock. I have visions and in my first vision when I became a vampire, I had a vision of Jasper and I joining your family, Carlisle."

I realized that Alice knew exactly who Carlisle was because she was staring straight at him. I noticed Jasper's red eyes but Alice's were golden in colour as if she knew we would be living off of animal blood. She must have seen it.

Their hands were clasped together and I blinked and looked away.

I also know that you can read minds.

I froze and glanced back at her. Alice was staring at me. My mouth twitched, neither a smile nor a frown.

Carlisle welcomed them into the family. Of course he would -- he was too generous and open with his offer of a family. Alice told him more about her visions and how she met Jasper.

I played with a button on my vest and kept my eyes away from the couple. Great, another couple to hear about constantly. Perhaps now would be the perfect time to get away from it all and go visit Denali.

"This is Edward, he has the ability to read minds," Carlisle said, gesturing towards me.

I reluctantly brought my eyes to the new pair, "Hello."

Jasper nodded and Alice grinned.

"Now, Jasper I hope you understand that we feed off of animals and not humans here. I hope you are able to accept that," Carlisle said.

His thoughts told me that it would be hard -- that he would have a hard time moving from human blood to animal blood since he had lived off of human blood for years.

"You'll be able to do it," I told him under my breath and his red eyes flashed to me. He nodded.

Alice brushed past us both and greeted Emmett and Rosalie. Esme came from the kitchen area and hugged Alice immediately, taking a liking to her and Jasper.

She turned on her heel and smirked at me, "By the way, Edward, we claim your room because it's the largest."

I groaned but I couldn't help but smile at her. I think I would take a liking to Alice and Jasper, too.

I let the middle-aged man drop lifelessly to the cement ground, swallowing my last gulp of blood. I moan very softly to myself in satisfaction, feeling my stomach fill and enjoying the last tastes of it on my tongue.

When I'm positive I'm finished, I look down at the man. A pang of guilt hits me when I see him, but fades quickly as I realize I did good. I stalked him, made sure he had no real significance in life- he did not have a wife nor kids. A simple man, with a simple job. He plausibly wouldn't be missed.

I adjust my small hat on my head from the tousle with the man, tilting it slightly to the right side for fashion purposes. I double check my wool coat for any conspicuous blood stains. Flatten down my long skirt with both pale hands.

I slip on my little leather brown gloves and easily pull the man to the side of the alleyway. As I stand straight up again, I whip my head around. I always do so at the most unexpected of times; he is a tracker, after all. He could find me, corner me, at any moment. I'm afraid this paranoia will soon consume me alive.

Once I know I am safe, my hands find my extremely short, mahogany brown hair, and fix it at the nape of my neck; I smile softly as my eyes scan the alley once more, as if covering up a mistake made at a social event.

I am clear. I begin strutting down the opposite way I came, my high heels clicking with each step. They were quite loud; I would have to search out different shoes tomorrow, and maybe even a new outfit. A more casual style. Something easier for hunting.... For running on a moment's notice. Though, that wasn't ever hard for a vampire, really, no matter what they wore.

I briefly wondered if there were any other people like me in this area. Vampires. How incredible it would be to come across one! To have someone to trust, and stick with. A friend... Maybe a new family.

I sigh audibly, my human family suddenly coming back into my mind. It happens without my concisely knowing I'm even beginning to think about. Their screams as they were killed.... My pain as I was changing... The monster who did it because he refused to accept my turning him down at an offer of love. The monster who is seeking me out now.

Tears spring from my eyes, and yet they cannot pour. The world is such a lonely, fearful place.

Oh, so, so lonely.

I chuckle at my mate's comment; we just walked into this house of new, strange vampires, and already she chose a room. A room already occupied, too. I take a moment to admire her powerful, helpful gift.

I can see, as well as feel, that this family is taking a liking to us. A small smile forms on my lips as I take my hat off and stand. "We truly thank you for allowing us to join you all," I begin, my southern drawl spilling out. "It's been a tough time for both of us." I gesture to my love, who stands next to Carlisle's mate (is what Alice told me earlier on), Esme.

She has a heart-shaped face and caramel colored hair that sits formally in a clip on her head. Her warm smile matches her golden eyes, and I can just by that tell she is a compassionate, caring, kind woman. I smile back at her.

"I believe it," Carlisle replies, understanding present in his voice. "We have all had our own share of difficulties as well. It's rare to come across a vampire with a... simple reason for becoming one." I nod. He's right.

"This is my lovely wife and mate, Esme." Carlisle gestures to her gracefully. A wave of adoration swims over me from him, and I grin, deciding to stop being shy. I step forward and we shake hands. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am." Esme laughs softly, her face lighting up. "Please, Jasper, call me Esme."

I nod, still wearing my grin. "Of course." I plant a light kiss on her hand, a common notion. As I step back, I look at Alice, who is beaming.

"Rosalie and Emmett are also soul mates," Carlisle says with a smile. As I walk to greet them at their chair, Carlisle continues. "The story is quite interesting. I assure you we will tell all backstories later, once you and Alice are settled in."

"That sounds fantastic, Carlisle!" Alice sings. I hold out my hand to the beautiful blonde woman, who is intertwined with a buff vampire. Rosalie offers a brilliant smile and shakes my hand. "Hello, Jasper." I nod a hello to her, and then shake her mate's hand. A smirk dominates his face. "Greetings, my new brother." A laugh escapes me. "Same to you," I reply.

"And Edward, our mind reader, as you know." I turn and nod to my additional new brother, offering my hand. His bronze colored do is gelled, like mine. His mouth upturns slightly, so slightly a human would not notice. "Welcome, Jasper." I perform a simple greeting in return.

"So a soldier, huh?" A deep voice speaks up behind me. I turn to see the voice was Emmett's. I smile without thinking. Alice mentioned my small part of the past when explaining how we met, and how we arrived here.

"Yes," Edward says, his mood changing from unsure to interested. "A soldier?" Despite the worst of my past, I am still proud I was in the war, and I can feel it show in a smug smile on my face. "I was the youngest major in the Texas calvary," I say. "Confederate Army."

"The Civil War," Carlisle says in awe.
"Story time!" Alice pipes up in a cheerful voice. "I'll just tell you all the future rather than wait: in a minute or so we're all going to be sitting on the couches, as if human, telling backstories." She vamps to one couch and smooths her long blue skirt, then looks up and smiles.

"Jasper and I will settle in afterwards. Let's get more acquainted, shall we?"

As soon as I'm settled on the couch across from Rosalie and Emmett, Jasper vamps beside me, wrapping his arm around me. I snuggle in closer to his body and look around the family.

Emmett and Rosalie are sitting together -- Rosalie on Emmett's lap, her arm slung around his broad shoulders. The gorgeous one and the strong vampire, I confirm in my mind. I remember seeing them in my vision.

Esme and Carlisle move to a love seat and nestle in together and Edward's lean frame is near the doorway to the kitchen. He's half turned towards us and half turned away. His face looking out the window and I know he's reading our minds. I watch his face and see the slightly change in his mouth. A smile. I'm already beginning to enjoy our silent way of communicating.

I see the future and I know that I'm the one to begin this conversation.

"I don't know much about my past," I tell them, placing a hand over Jasper's that is resting on his knee, "I wasn't changed too long ago but all my memories were erased when I was changed." I breath out and my eyes search the ground, trying to remember everything that I possibly could. "I was put into an insane asylum. I don't know why I was put there but I believe it was because of the visions I might have had when I was human. I just recently found out that they shocked my body -- as if they were trying to get rid of my visions and craziness." A wry smile crosses my lips as I continue, "But I must have met a vampire there and he changed me therefore enhancing my visions. The first vision I had was of Jasper and then of all of you."

My eyes meet Esme's and I see sympathy in her expression. I smile at her, shaking my head, "Don't worry, I'm glad that this happened to me. I met my Jasper and now I've met all of you." I let a bubbly laugh sneak through my lips before I fall silent, staring down at Jasper's covered forearm.

"I don't know all the pieces of my past but that is something I would like to find out," I tell them quietly, "I believe I was sent to you all so that you might help me discover my past eventually. I only knew my name was Alice because that was stitched onto my asylum uniform." I grimace when I remember the light blue clothing.

"Don't worry, Alice," Carlisle says and I look up to meet his soft, golden gaze, "We will help you the best we can. We will all help search for your lost past. I know we will find something eventually."

I smile at him, my new father figure.

"Thank-you, Carlisle. I really appreciate it. And thank you for letting us into your home," I connect my eyes with each of my new family member, landing on Jasper's last. I still see faint bits of red swirling in his orbs and I know that it will take plenty of time before he is fully well and accustomed to the new way of eating.

I look up at Edward and silently say to him, Your turn.

I hear Alice's story and I feel sorry for the petite vampire sitting on my couch. Her broken up past had made her even more certain about the future. I am glad that Carlisle accepted them into our home. Her bubbly laugh made me smile, we could use some different vampires in this home. However, I was not thrilled with the thoughts of love spilling from either of the two newcomers.

I continued to stare out the window, one hand in my pocket and the other holding my vest. The pixie mentions that I should go next and my eyes darken.

"There's nothing much I can say. I was dying of the Spanish Influenza in 1918 and Carlisle saved me by turning me into a vampire. Eventually, we found Esme and the three of us moved around and lived together for many years," I say, not bothering to meet anyone's eyes. Most of my family new my story anyways. "I rebelled against Carlisle, though, and lived away from him and Esme for quite some time. I returned when I realized what I was doing was not good. Ever since then I've been with them."

I become disgusted with myself once again when I think of the time that I left and killed human after human. I take my hand out of my pocket and begin to twist my hands. An irritated sound rips from my throat and I dip my head towards the other vampires, "Please, excuse me. I think I need some fresh air."

I hear of Esme's concern for me but nobody moves as I cross the living room to the front door. I'll hear of the soldier's story later and I've already caught some pieces of it from him when they first arrived. For now, I need to go into town and get out of this house full of love.

At a time like this, I just want my life to be over.

I don't bother with the car, I vamp towards Forks then stroll casually into the small town when I arrive. The day, thankfully, is a cloudy one. I walk down the sidewalk, slipping past the humans with ease. As much as I want to blend in, I can't. I hear human females' thoughts about me when I pass them. I hear them turn around to stare at me a moment more, commenting on my looks.

I make a face at the thoughts and I stop when I hear a dying human's thoughts. I search for the location of the thought and I hear another, thirsty thought. A vampire.

I move as fast as I could without being noticed to the location and find out that it's in an alleyway. I see blood spilled on the ground and a female vampire is on the throat of a young male who is unconscious. I move and grab the woman around the throat and vamp her against the opposite wall, the brick making a dent around her head. I hear the human slide to the ground. A growl rips through my throat as I stare at her, her face hidden by the shadows.

"What do you think you're doing?" I hiss at her, just loud enough for her to hear.

She snarls at me, clawing at my hand but I manage to keep my hold on her. I see her next move and I swing to the side, avoiding her kick that would have sent me flying.

She leans forward, our eyes meet, and my mind pauses.

I lean forward slowly and connect eyes with this damn vampire who disturbed my meal. His eyebrows lift automatically, and his grip lessens a bit. I take the chance and kick him in the midsection, sending him flying backwards to the opposite wall.

"What do you think I'm doing? What the hell do you think you're doing?" I hiss right back, adjusting my long necklace back in place. I took a break from lunch to find myself some new clothes, something more comfortable. More me.

The young boy vamps up, adjusting his vest. I take a closer look at him and realize he can't be far from my age; seventeen, maybe eighteen. And he's quite handsome. He has golden-reddish-brown hair; bronze. A somewhat square jaw. Perfect physique.

But then he looks up and our eyes meet again, and his are golden, like butterscotch. I swallow, now realizing why he must have gotten upset. I had heard things about "vegetarian" vampires, but really didn't know what to believe in this new life.

"I apologize for attacking you," the boy begins, hesitantly. "I simply... wanted to be sure you were feeding in a safe, hidden place." My red eyes narrow. "Why did you interrupt my meal, then?"

This time he swallows, but his eyes harden. "I was just in an unfortunate state of mind. I acted without thinking." I grind my teeth, suspicious of him, and simultaneously attracted. "I deserve more of an explanation."

"Maybe I came to teach you how to have class when you feed," he snaps back. "Because an alleyway is so gracious!" He finishes sarcastically.

I shrug off his idiotic comment and scan this vampire once more. A laugh escapes me. "Boy, you sure do fit into this era," I comment.

His frustrated eyebrows that had gathered lift again in surprise. He glances down at his attire and then looks back up a bit shyly. "Thank you....?"

"Sure, take it as a compliment, if you'd like," I wave my hand. The guy's golden eyes widen as if he had said something wrong. I chuckle and shake my head, taking a few steps toward him.

"My goodness, Mr...." I tilt my head at him. "Cullen," he replies, and I take notice of how pleasant his voice sounds.

"Cullen," I repeat, testing the name on my tongue. I stop a couple feet in front of this new vampire and hold out my pale hand. He takes hold of it with just enough pressure, and electricity runs through me. This time I'm the one whose eyebrows pop up on their own accord.

"Edward Cullen," he shakes, his voice and eyes softer. I nod at him, holding his gaze. "Well, Mr. Edward, you sure do need to relax."

Another small laugh escapes me. "I'm Cherie Winters."

I tighten my arm around Emmett's broad shoulders while the little pixie told us her story of her past life and I immediately felt sorry for her and what she's gone through.

But I don't let a look of sympathy settle on my face since a look of anger has already made itself comfortable on my now white skin which used to be so bright and full of color when I still human.

Listening to Edward now tell his short story before rushing off outside to get some fresh air, I glance around at the faces that I've grown used to seeing since I've been turned and joined the family.

'A family...psh, I wish I could have been able to have my own blood family but instead I'm this monster...' I keep my thoughts to myself since I know that Edward is able to hear our thoughts.

Letting my eyes go over everybody's faces slowly, my look of anger slowly softens into a warmer look as my eyes rest on Esme and Carlisle....'It's not all that bad I guess,' I think to myself before leaning my head onto Emmett's shoulder as I reach a hand up to tangle my fingers through his soft curls.

I really don't know how these other vampires are going to take my story of my past life....it's ending is worse than any of theirs' I feel as I let a soft blond tress of my hair fall over my eyes.

'I hope they can wait....until I'm ready,' I think to myself, shrinking against Emmett's side; hoping by some miracle I'll just disappear and won't have to say anything quite yet.

A grimace is plastered on my face as I listen to Alice's story, suddenly feeling terrible for her. My compassionate nature enabled me to empathise with others, and I can tell she has had a harder time than she is willing to admit, you don't have to be Edward to figure that out. I give a small nod towards her, wanting to embrace her in a motherly hug and promise her a family, her and Jasper.

"You'll have a family here, Alice." I promise her, leaning more into Carlisle's touch. "And you, Jasper." I add, smiling kindly towards them both before glancing at Rosalie and Emmett. I sigh inaudibly, I know each of us wish that perhaps things could of been different, even Alice must do at some point but I'm glad we've all come to acceptance.

We can't do anything about it, and I wouldn't want to. I have Carlisle and my family, what more could I be offered? To live seventy years with my Carlisle wouldn't be enough, I think everyone else can agree with me about their mate, too. Human life is short, we've been given an opportunity to spend forever. We shouldn't dwell for eternity, we should make the most of it.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I look at everyone else and their thoughtful faces as the silence falls upon us. It's a comfortable silence, no one feels the need to fill it. I look at my Carlisle with a loving expression and then to everyone else individually. I feel sorry for them, but also being selfish, I want them to remain here. It isn't bad here, we're a family and we're not monsters. We've learnt a way around that, we're alright now.

My thoughts return to Edward, worrying about him as I always do. I wish he had a mate, maybe he would feel more... alive if he did. I just hope he doesn't go off on his own, I don't think he wants to, although I always have that small percentage of doubt lingering in my mind. Surely he wouldn't, I decide to take my thoughts down a different road and wonder about the future, with our two new additional members.

I rub Alice's hand that sits atop my knee comfortingly as she tells her story, looking at her. Sympathy fills in my heart for my mate. I cringe when she speaks of her uniform...

Once the sullen vampire Edward leaves after his short backstory, I return my attention to the rest of the family.

Edward was both born and changed in Chicago in the early 1900's due to the Spanish influenza. Interesting. Carlisle had been in the right place at the right time, I suppose.

I notice the long silence between the family after Miss Esme's welcoming comment. My eyes find Alice's again and she smiles at me, taking my breath away completely. I gulp in some unneeded oxygen anyways and smile back at her.

Surprisingly, the silence isn't too uncomfortable. I felt... good here in this beautiful house, with these new people. I can feel the emotions in the room, and they are happy and welcoming, with a hint of worry from someone. My eyes break my love's gaze to look back at the couples.

Carlisle sits up a bit straighter, an arm warmly wrapped around his wife. He offers a small, kind smile. "If you two would like to go and get settled, be our guest."

"Be our family is more like it," Esme corrects, and we all laugh. "We can finish the stories a little later." Taking Alice's hand, I stand, picking up my hat with the other.

"Thank you so much, Mr. and Mrs. Cullen," I nod, my accent spilling out. I smile at Rosalie and Emmett as well. Alice skips ahead of me, taking the lead, probably already knowing her way around the entire house.

"Thank you all so very much!" My soulmate's smile lights up the room as she curtsies to them. I laugh and shake my head at her silliness. Alice takes my hand again and tugs me along towards the staircase.

"Don't worry about Edward," I hear a low, female voice speak up. Alice and I turn back around on instinct, our eyes finding our new sister.

"He's just...lonely, right now," Rosalie finishes, eyebrows pulled together. Esme nods in agreement. "Edward just needs time."

"Well that's good, because he's got eternity," Emmett smirks. "Eternity to mope around."
"Eternity to find someone," Carlisle scolds.

Alice pipes up before I can respond. "It's no worries at all! We'll cheer him up somehow." She pauses, her beautiful golden orbs finding the floor for a moment. I can tell she must be having a vision.

"And I have a feeling he'll find someone soon." She returns her tugging and I nod at the family in understanding before following my darling up the wooden stairs.

The vision hits me and I see my new brother, Edward, with another vampire with red eyes. Esme tries to ask me more about the vision after I blink my eyes several times but I shake my head and grin, "Don't worry, everything will fall into place." 

I turn on my heel and Jasper and I head up the stairs. I already have the vision on how our new room is going to look. Edward will be in a smaller room that has a large window. 

After throwing open Edward's door, the room is bright with many windows -- perfect, just like in the vision. 

I bring Jasper into the room, gripping his hand tightly and grinning up at him, "This is our room, Jasper! We need to get to work to clear out this space and make room for our new furniture. We will move his things down the hall to the smaller bedroom. I already know he doesn't mind." 

Jasper chuckled, throwing his hat onto the bed and wrapping an arm around me, leaning dangerously close to my face, "Ma'am, please, a bit of time with you would be perfect right now." 

I put my hands on either side of his face and peck his lips once. I move my face down to kiss a scar on his jar then I press a finger to his lips, "Just wait, Jasper, we need to--" 

A vision hits me and I go slack in Jasper's arms, living through the vision. 

After it's finished, I turn my head towards the door and say in a plain, clear voice, knowing that my new family downstairs will hear me, "Carlisle, that is a fabulous idea. We should do so." 

I hear confused remarks from the couples downstairs and Jasper stares at me, raising an eyebrow, hands still around my waist. 

I laugh at his expression then I raise my hands above my head and say, "We are going to get married!"

I watched the vampire run a hand through her short, dark hair -- shorter than Alice's. Her red eyes were locked on mine and her jaw tight. I look at her features again and figure that she is attractive enough. I can't see her figure well enough since she has a coat on that is several sizes too large for the woman. 

She is fiery and has passion. I read her thoughts and I raise an eyebrow when I realize she is thinking about me. I wonder momentarily about whether or not she has a gift.  

"Well, Ms. Winters, I have a coven nearby here and we would appreciate if you fed somewhere out of our territory," I say in a low, musical tone. 

She nods slowly before a frown crosses her features, "You...you have a family?" 

Something inside of me yearns to comfort this vampire. I try to banish that, though, because isn't she is just a nomad -- someone passing through? Or is she visiting someone here? I scan her thoughts and she isn't thinking about anyone except me at the moment and she is thinking about how I interrupted her meal. Why should I care for someone like her? 

She looks like someone broken and lonely. Her eyes move to the ground, her face becoming hidden by the shadows. I take a small steps towards her, "Yes, I do. Don't you?" Before she can reply, I already know the answer for her answer crosses her mind. She is alone, a nomad. 

Shaking her head, Ms. Winters looks up at me. 

I manage a small smile, deciding to be nice to this female vampire. She seems harmless enough -- someone without a family. I turn my body to the side and hold out my arm, "Would you care to hunt with me, Ms. Winters? I could teach you my way of eating."

I can't stop the huge smile that slowly spreads across my face, my eyes widening along with it. "We're getting married," I repeat the news my mate has just told me, but breathlessly. I couldn't believe it.

Well, of course I could believe it. I had planned on marrying her the day I met her. It just wasn't ever the right time to purpose, and we were busy searching for this family. I decided once we found them, I would finally perform the action that would legally bind us together, for eternity.

Alice nods excitedly, smiling. "We're getting married!" I shout, not caring in that moment who hears. I lift her up by her waist and get my arms around her, which brings her body to mine.

I spin us around and plant a passionate kiss on her pink lips. "Oh, Alice," I say. "You haven't... You have yet to see the proposal, yes?" I ask, suddenly worried. I have the main idea of how and when planned out, but still must think about it.

She presses her lips together and shakes her head. "Nothing at all," she says. "Yet!" She taps my nose with a giggle, and I shake my head, laughing. "I will do my absolute best to keep it a surprise."

"And I will do my absolute best to keep the future away! Now come here, mister..." Alice tugs the collar of my suit, and I kiss her again, taking a few steps back.

We fall onto the bed together, laughing, kissing, touching.


 I have never felt so incredibly happy in my entire life. And I owe it all to this magnificent woman.

I look at the vampire- Edward's- arm and slowly slip mine into his. The same electricity I had felt when shaking his hand sparks inside me. "You would do that?" I ask in disbelief. Not a minute ago we had been arguing, and now he was offering to hunt with me. Not only that, but teach me his way of hunting.

"Why not?" He replies, his small smile growing a tad wider, and begins leading us out of the alleyway.

I watch the concrete for a few seconds, thinking. "So it is true, then? There is an alternative to humans?" I ask lowly, moving my gaze to his attractive face.

Edward glances to me and nods, speaking in the same low tone as mine. "Indeed, a much better one." His golden irises meet mine fully now, a small smirk forming. "Animals."

I feel my mouth open a bit in surprise, then close it immediately. Animals? How funny. How...smart. "Who thought of hunting animals rather than humans?" I ask without thinking, curiosity getting the better of me.

"Who knows," Edward replies simply, seeming to grow more comfortable with me by the minute. "I learned the lifestyle from Carlisle, who had been living on the animals his entire life- and still is."

"Carlisle?" I repeat. Edward shakes his head. "I apologize. Carlisle Cullen, he is the father figure of our family."

"Oh," is all I can manage to say as I take in this new information. The new vampire looks at me. "You can be quite serious when you want to be, I've noticed."

I run a hand through my short hair and smile at him. "When I want to be, yes. But most of the time I am-"

"Careless? Spontaneous? Conspicuous?" He eyes my clothing as he speaks the last adjective. 

"I was going to say relaxed. Unlike some people," I smirk, eyeballing him this time. "I try to enjoy this life and its advantages. Why not?"

I get a chuckle out of Edward. "Why not, indeed." We continue walking in the cloudy weather down the unpopulated sidewalk of town until we reach a point of trees rather than small city life.

Both of us glancing around quickly, we strut into the forest. "So, Ms. Winters, before we begin..." Edward says as we enter the middle of the woods, releasing my arm, 

"I hope you don't mind my asking, but, where did you come from?"

I laugh as I fall against my mate. So very happy to hear that Jasper agrees with us getting married so quickly. Only recently have we walked into each other's lives. I crush my lips to his, tangling a hair in his blonde locks.

I move my mouth against his when a vision hits me. Through it, I realize that the look of this room has already changed because I've seen a glimpse of our wedding.

"Alice?" Jasper's voice meets my ears and I draw my eyes back up to him, smiling. I tap his nose again and plant a kiss over his heart.

"We need to get this room in order, my lovely Jasper. It has already changed! I've seen white everywhere." I grin and run my hands down his shoulders before I vamp up and hold out my hand for him, "Come along, now. Let's take the car into town and buy us some new furniture." He places his hand in mine before vamping up and wrapping an arm around me.

I'm about to move when I pause and glance at him, admiring his features, tracing the scars, "Actually, we should move all of Edward's stuff into the other room, first." Turning my head back towards the door I say, "Emmett, you can get off your butt and come help!"

I hear chuckles from downstairs and a "Yes, ma'am!" from Emmett.

I wait until Emmett is up then I instruct the two to begin, waving my hands at Edward's possessions, "Everything needs to be moved out and across the hall. You may begin!"

She shrugs her shoulders, looking down and I lead us through the forest, darting around the trees. We enter a clearing and I turn to face her, my brow furrowing slightly. She whirls around with a grin on her face, hands on her hips, and says, "How about you teach me to catch an elk and then I will tell you everything about where I come from."

I dive into her thoughts, briefly, and see a whirlwind of screams and faces and a pair of red eyes. Blinking out of them, I return her privacy to her, almost embarrassed that I did such a deed. I nod, "I suppose, Ms. Winters, that that will do for an agreement."

I gesture with a hand out towards the vast forest laid out before us. "Ms. Winters, tell me what you smell."

"Pine, grass, robins..." she replies, shrugging, her nose slightly raised upwards.

"And what do you hear?" I ask, placing my hand in a pocket.

She pauses, closing her eyes, "The grass moving, the birds moving from branch to branch, footsteps--"

"Ah-ha!" I say, a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth, "Footsteps. Perfect. Now, lock onto those footsteps, Ms. Winters, I need you to feel which direction they are coming from, feel the body attached to those footsteps, and smell this creature."

Upon opening her eyes, her head jerks to the right. "An elk, not too far from here."

I smile, "Great work, Ms. Winters." I pause to glance over her features from the side, "Now, we need to move quietly and quickly towards this animal. These animals have sensitive hearing, too."

The vampire rolls her red eyes, "Mr. Cullen, I know how to stalk my prey." She's then a blur through the forest, heading towards the animal. I dart after her and I come upon her perched on a rock, peering over at the animal. I jump up beside her and peer over the edge to see the animal grazing.

"Great work," I say again, almost inaudibly.

"Thanks for your help," she replies in the same tone then she's over the rock and vamping towards the animal. She has its neck snapped before it even comprehends what is happening. Her teeth are in its neck and she drinks for a few seconds before she glances up at me and offers the animal.

I raise a hand, "No thank-you. I just ate recently."

Her red eyes linger on mine for just a millisecond more before she's back down to drinking. I mentally sigh -- it would take a few more elks before her eyes would be a complete gold like mine and the rest of my family's. Even Jasper's needed some work still and it looked like he was drinking animals for quite a few weeks.

Upon finishing, she rises, brushing her jacket off. She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and looks up at me again, "Thank-you, Mr. Cullen. That really isn't too hard. I just need to learn how to listen for animals more. Humans are always so noisy so its easy to find them but animals are a lot more quiet."

I nod once, smiling and tilting my head to the side, "Now, Ms. Winters, I believe you have your end of the agreement to hold up."

I vamp to a nearby tree, away from the dead animal, and gesture up it with my hand. "After you, Ms. Winters, we might as well have a seat." I say with a wry smile.