Adult-FanFiction.org : Books

The Newborn
By : belladonnacullen
Category: Twilight Series > Het
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Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or make any money from this story.
Chapter List
- 20
- 21
- 22
TPOV
We had planned something of a reception for Rosalie and Emmett: music and dancing, a bouquet and a garter to throw. Unfortunately, the newlyweds apparently had other, more spontaneous plans, and the reception had been hastily scrapped in an effort to give them some privacy. Esme and Edward returned to my clan’s house after the ceremony, and Carlisle and Eleazar joined us there after safely returning the minister to Anchorage.

“They’ve been all over that house,” I heard Katrina giggling to Irina as they sat on the piano bench in the study, Katrina picking out the notes of a piece she had begun to study after learning Wagner’s march. She didn’t have the same ear for music that Edward had, but I could already tell that we would have to endure countless hours of Katrina’s playing in the near future. She could hardly keep her hands away from the keys. “I dare say that house is more theirs than anyone else’s. Did you hear what Carlisle found them doing in the study!” she continued, as her fingers inexpertly plunked out the melody.

“Yes, it’s sad to see the house go to waste,” Irina replied. “It’s too big to be so empty again, so soon.”

My sisters looked conspiratorially between Carlisle and I. I couldn’t but help agree, but Carlisle pretended like he hadn’t heard a thing. Which was ridiculous. The man was a vampire. He could easily hear the ticking of the clock in the back bedroom, and we all knew it.

I was about to interrupt Edward and Esme’s conversation when the two began a battle about some piece of Great Lakes trivia. They both left for Edward’s old room, where he still had an atlas that would settle the score between them. With Carmen and Eleazar cuddled on the loveseat, amorously spurred on by the wedding, Carlisle and I were left awkwardly eyeing one another. We may have settled our argument, but the circumspection with which we regarded each other was unchanged.

Carlisle turned toward the windows, and he was instantly bathed in the orange glow of the enormous summer sun as it skirted the nightless sky. I made the first move and closed the space between us.

“You’ll be travelling in reverse this time, Carlisle.” The first time he’d found us, he’d made his way up the Pacific coast to Alaska. We’d each heard rumors of one another’s existence, and Carlisle had come to see if they’d been true.

“I fell in love with the northwestern coast of North America the last time I passed through, but I was searching for something very specific.” His eyes twinkled as they flickered in my direction. “So I didn’t linger as long as I would have liked.”

“And I’m eternally grateful that you made that journey, Carlisle. I only wish that in addition to my clan, you’d also found a home.”

“Tanya, this is your home. Edward and I, perhaps even after Esme… we could have assimilated, somewhat. But you know that there can’t be two leaders this close to one another.”

And I did know that. I would always assume that I was in charge of any vampire in the area. Carlisle was seven hundred years younger than I, give or take half a century. It went against my nature to consider him the head of his own coven while he was here. He was so young in comparison to me, and in my estimation, he’d already made so many mistakes. I could show him how to deal with Rosalie and Emmett. He was too agreeable, too giving and pliant. It would never do.

“You know I’m right, Tanya. I can see it on your face even as we speak, as plain as the sunshine on the solstice,” he said, nodding toward the sun.

“I see your point, Carlisle. But, we’ll all miss you. It’s good to have new blood, so to speak.”

“Yes. Delicious,” he added, smiling at the double entendre.

“Please, let’s remain in better contact, though. I don’t want to find out about your next addition when your family comes limping through the wilderness, begging for help.”

“You can be assured that we will stay in contact, and that we will not return begging for help. I’ll never do that again.”

“Never is a long time, Carlisle. I’d watch my words if I were you.”

Carlisle smiled, but made it a point not to retract his vow.

“Are you certain about the coast, though? Last time, it seemed as though the journey had you out of sorts.”

“Yes… I don’t know if I could explain it, even now. A simple geographic location has never so enchanted and so repelled me, all at the same time. At first, I thought… I don’t know… it seemed similar to something I’d encountered in Europe. But, I was wrong; this was different. I couldn’t even say how, really. I was quite possibly fooling myself.”

“A vampire, spooked by shadows?”

“I’m sure it was nothing. As I mentioned, I was so drawn to the location… perhaps something within me was simply warning me not to become attached to the place. Because really, how often could I visit? Every hundred years?”

I seized the opportunity. “I don’t like the sound of it. Perhaps --”

Carlisle smiled at me knowingly. “We’re not staying, Tanya.”

“That’s not what I meant to say, at all!”

*****

EPOV
I admit that I avoided Tanya that last night at her house. I didn’t have to hear her thoughts to know that she wanted me to stay behind. Of course, I know that it wasn’t all about me. She enjoyed Rosalie’s company as well. The two had become close friends in the time we’d been in Denali. And Irina and Katrina always seemed to like having a newborn around. I’d catch them gazing at Emmett whenever they found a spare moment without Rosalie nearby.

But the tension between Carlisle and Tanya was palpable, and our clans couldn’t afford a rift. We counted on one another’s support for our existence. I knew that Carlisle and Tanya needed time apart to sort through their differences. In the meantime, though, both had looked to me for support in the matter. Carlisle was my maker, my father, in so many ways. I could never side against him. Yet, I felt guilty taking his side. In my relatively short existence, I’d turned my back on Tanya so many times. I felt that now I was doing it all over again, and then leaving on top of it all.

I thought that by speaking openly and plainly with her regarding my feelings, that we’d clear the air. I didn’t know if she’d have me in her life without the potential for a physical relationship, but she had welcomed me back as a friend, gladly.

Yet, things managed to become convoluted once again, despite our conversation. Ever since Tanya had dashed into my room a week ago, worried that I was in love with Rosalie, I’d had a hard time sitting in the same room as her. I enjoyed her shrewd wit, her taste in literature and music. She was so strong and wise, and she had accumulated such a wealth of knowledge after a millennium on the earth. She listened to all of my worries with an open heart and an open mind. I never had to be ‘good’ for her, like I felt I must be with my parents. I valued our friendship. Yet, with her, everything seemed to come back to sex.

I shouldn’t have expected any less from a succubus. But it didn’t make the situation easier.

So, the night of the un-reception, I strung out a playful argument with Esme about the size of Lake Michigan versus Lake Superior. I gave Katrina tips about how best to use the piano pedals, I listened to Eleazar’s thoughts on the superiority of new double-paned windows, and I obliged Irina and agreed to an awkward waltz.

Tanya eyed me balefully, her mind flitting from thought to thought, yet never settling on thoughts of me. I knew she was doing it purposefully, trying to keep me from knowing her true mind. It was painful. When the waltz was over, I chose to watch the sun rise on a bench by the front door instead of confronting her.

Tanya had other ideas. I heard her thoughts before I heard her footsteps.

“Please, stay.” She was suddenly seated next to me on the bench.

“He’s my father, Tanya.”

“And you’re a grown man. You could choose to stay.” She shifted, and the bench creaked and knocked against the wall of the house. “For all of us,” she added quickly.

“But they’re my family. I belong with them.”

“With Rosalie, even?”

“You’re not still under the impression that I have feelings for Rosalie? She’s mated, married.”

I saw Tanya trying to suppress a small smile out of the corner of my eye. “No, I know you, Edward. I wouldn’t think that.”

“If you know me, you know I won’t ever leave Carlisle. I owe him…”

“One day, for the right woman, perhaps…”

“You, Carlisle, Esme, Katrina, Irina, Emmett… everyone thinks about finding a women for me; everyone except me.”

“We only want to see you happy.”

“And I’m closer to that than I’ve been since… since before --”

“All the more reason that you should stay. You’re almost happy here.”

“I appreciate the offer.”

“But the answer is still no?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“And I don’t suppose I’ll hear from you until the next time your family is in Denali?”

“Tanya, you’ve been such an amazing friend in so many ways, but I feel as if I’ve done nothing but hurt you. Perhaps I’m no good for you. Not the friend you deserve.”

Quite suddenly the ease of the conversation changed. Tanya stopped gazing at the sunrise and spun around, grabbing my chin so that I’d be forced to look her in the eye. The air between us practically crackled with tension.

“Our friendship is one of the most precious things I can claim as my own in this life, Edward. Without you…” Tanya’s words trailed off, but her mind spun in a maelstrom of disjointed thoughts, pictures, and ideas…

Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, Jelly Roll Morton, The Hudson River, The New York Metropolitan Museum, football, baseball, existentialism, The Great Gatsby, e.e. cummings, Stravinsky...

Tanya grabbed my hand. “You’ve brought life to my existence, turned the world to color from shades of gray. Without you, I wouldn’t have had the drive to seek any of those things out. Don’t ever underestimate yourself, and what you’ve given me.”

Tanya’s eyes were wide and clear, and I knew she was speaking from her heart. I hadn’t a clue what to say in return. I heard our clans making their way to the front door, saying goodbye, making promises to visit and keep in touch. “It seems it’s time for us to go,” I replied, lamely, inadequately.

Tanya threw her arms around me, pulling me into a tight hug that forced all of the air out of my lungs. “At least say you’ll write.”

“I’ll write.”

“I…I…--” she stammered. But it was as if there was a wall up in her mind, and she couldn’t think or speak past it.

“There they are!” Katrina giggled as I heard the front door open. I hastily disentangled myself from Tanya’s embrace, which had suddenly begun to feel like more than a hug. We both stood to our feet. Six vampires were crowded around the front entrance, each looking more uncomfortable than the next.

I scowled and stepped away from Tanya. Why did everything come back to sex? There was nothing between us. We were friends. We’d been friends for nearly twenty years, and nothing more.

Katrina lunged forward and gave me a quick hug. “You’re so sweet, Edward. Your family is so lucky to have you.” “Please stay,” she added silently. "It would make… all of us so happy!”

Irina bounded over and threw her arms around the both of us, trapping me in the women’s embrace. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, Edward,” she silently joked. Outwardly she just giggled. We both knew how unlikely that was.

“Ahem,” Tanya cleared her throat and her sisters immediately released me.

I walked over to Carmen and Eleazar and noticed Eleazar tighten his hold on his mate. “Thank you both, again. If it weren’t for the two of you, I don’t know when I would have returned.”

Carmen placed her hand over mine. “You belong with your family, Edward. It would only have been a matter of time. Anyone can see the bond you all share. Even with the newlings, Rosalie and Emmett.”

“Thank you, just the same. To give up a year for me…”

“I would do it again,” Eleazar interrupted, giving me a quick one-armed hug. “It seems like now, finally, everything is set right.”

“Edward, we’ve telephoned Rosalie and Emmett to let them know we’re on our way. We shouldn’t wait too long or I’m afraid they might get… distracted, again. We might lose our window of opportunity to leave,” Carlisle said with an uncomfortable chuckle.

So, with quick hugs and wishes for a safe trip, Carlisle, Esme and I left the Denali clan, headed southward where we’d meet Rosalie and Emmett before continuing on our journey. I had the strange sensation that Eleazar was right; we were finally headed in the right direction.

*****

TPOV
The next evening, I sat in the study; leafing through the atlas that Edward had left there the night before. His deft hands and long fingers had held these pages so gingerly. The contrast between his gentle touch and the confident, primal power I’d seen the night we hunted together still haunted me… and I felt desire inevitably making its way through my body languidly, settling deep within my core.

But, the sound of my sisters readying themselves in their quarters shook me from my sensual reverie. Carmen and Eleazar had already taken off for a hunt. But I would have to wait another hour until Irina and Katrina finally left for the evening. Then I would truly be alone, and I’d bask in the delicious after-effects of Edward’s glow, in the warmth that lingers in the evening, even after the sun has set.

Ironically, only now that he was gone, could I luxuriate in his presence, letting its effects wash over me fully, truly, without hesitation. It stung, of course. His brief attendance tore at the scar tissue that had formed to hold the pieces of my heart together over the ten years of his absence. But I preferred this prickling and edgy feeling to the numbness that I’d settled into while he was gone. I would hold onto this burn as if it were a life raft. It allowed me a glimmer of what I longed for, instead of the dullness of a never-ending dark night.

Eventually, my sisters danced down the stairs, and to my great displeasure, I heard them coming straight for the study, instead of proceeding to the front door.

“Tanya!” Katrina sang out. She would be quite happy; she was going to meet her new man. I’d heard he was a large lumberjack, and Katrina enjoyed large men. Over the last months I’d caught her gazing at newborn Emmett whenever Rosalie’s eyes were elsewhere. It happened perhaps four times in seven months.

“Yes?”

“Irina and I were talking…” Katrina paused and shared a sly smile with her sister.

“I don’t have all night for this, Katrina. Out with it.”

“Don’t you, Tanya? Don’t you have all night?” Irina asked.

“I have reading that I’ve been putting off.”

“Geography?” Irina asked, glancing at the book in my hands. I quickly placed the atlas on the coffee table at my knees. “I don’t think the continents would mind if you took a night off.”

Katrina rushed to my side and perched on the loveseat next to me, resting her hand gently on my thigh. I raised my eyebrow at her, and she removed her hand.

“Tanya… Edward is gone. Come out with us. Put him behind you and enjoy your life. It’s been so long… too long. You were the one that showed us how this was done. You are a vampire; your nature cannot change. Don’t let one sexless vampire get in the way of living your life!”

“And what if he showed interest in you, Katrina?” I asked my sister. “What if you had a chance with Edward?”

“Well, I’d give it a try. Who wouldn’t? But do you really entertain the thought that you have…?” I shot her an icy glare, and the rest of that sentence lodged itself in her throat.

“And perhaps if you’re still unmated at one thousand, maybe you would settle for me?”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Tanya. I would hardly be settling. I would only be giving in.”

The memory of his words made my heart flutter, even though they were uttered in jest, and dispassionately at that. I noticed my sisters staring at me intently, and worked to hide ridiculous excitement from my face. (I could live another thousand years.)

Irina took a step closer. “Come with us, Tanya. Don’t sulk. It’s unbecoming,”

My head snapped up in her direction, my anger flaring immediately, intensely. “Who do you think you are, speaking to me in that manner?”

“Well, someone has to. We all think it, yet we all tiptoe around the house so we don’t upset you. Now he’s gone. Please, Tanya, show us that you are the head of this family.”

I stood to my feet and walked silently to the door of the study, resigned. I held myself erect, my hand leaning on the doorframe, my eyes on the floor.

“Give me five minutes, sisters.”

*****

Cheechako Tavern, downtown Anchorage. So, Katrina’s man was a newcomer. I’d taught her well. If she’d chosen aptly, the man would be a closet romantic, courting both Alaska and Katrina for a season, and then he would write heartfelt, idyllic prose about the experience in his journal, never to return again.

Katrina’s excitement was palpable as the doorman opened the heavy wooden door. He shrunk backwards, repelled by our alien nature, yet he couldn’t take his eyes off of us. We were too beautiful. Our presence clearly disarmed him, so we grinned and giggled and looked at the floor playfully, putting the man at ease with the guise that he had the upper hand.

“Ladies,” he intoned, his voice only cracking slightly. Our girlish gambit worked nearly every time. Human men were so easy… Not like -- No, I wouldn’t even think of his name this evening.

Edward.

Sigh.

I looked over the young doorman from head to toe and he shivered in his worn, brown shoes. He would never do. I would likely break him in two.

Katrina clutched my arm, and pulled me over the threshold, her other arm linked through Irina’s. I was immediately assaulted with a heady mixture of cigarette and cigar smoke, strong liquor and human sweat. Katrina was practically quivering with excitement, and it was hard to keep from smiling back at her. The wonder of taking a human male had never lost its first blush for her, no matter that she could never actually blush herself. In her eyes, humans were like soft sunshine: warm and elusive, something to bask in. I wondered, in passing, when that had become a trait unique to Katrina.

“Let’s find Len, first?” she asked, bouncing on her heels.

“Yes, let’s. I’d like to meet this young man that has been monopolizing your evenings… To see if I approve.”

“Oh, Tanya, stop it! Loosen up! There’s no need to act like an uptight schoolmarm, judging to see whether I’ve done well on an assignment. Let’s just have fun tonight. It can be like old times.”

…Like old times when we would sweep into a town, and draw all the men into our thrall, ply them with liquor, and later, materialize before them while they were in a drunken haze. When the three of us worked together, men would whisper the next day about their inappropriate dreams, and the possibility of tainted spirits, and word would spread that, perhaps, all of the wicked faerie tales were true.

To the best of my knowledge, they were.

But time had changed things for the three of us. The passage of the centuries had left human males more jaded and less likely to believe in something besides the hard monotony of work and the meager joy that family and friendship could bring. Even the idea of god was greeted with growing skepticism. And while I’d never cared to believe that any man could wield power over me, whether invisible and divine, or made of flesh and divinely muscular, it was still alarming to see the human populace relinquish the one belief that anchored them in the world. For their lives were fleeting: like fireflies, they burned brightly for such a short time. They needed anchors; but now their anchors were facts and science and hard data. Even the roughest among them would seek the counsel of a chemist before consulting with their own sixth sense.

This all made our way of life more difficult. If we weren’t drunken visions, or magic, or faerie tales, than we had to be real. The Volturi did not like humans left with the impression that we had corporeal bodies with very real, very thirsty, needs. So, we had to find the right man, and we had to pay attention, and we had to go about our business very discretely, in just the right fashion. And only then could the succubi make an appearance again in the twentieth century.

“Tanya?”

“Oh. Yes?”

“Do you see anyone you fancy?” Katrina’s eyes danced, openly pleased that I was out on the town with them.

I glanced around the overly crowded room, and the humans looked anywhere but at me. I don’t shrink from their lascivious eyes like a human woman might, and this was unsettling to most males. I wouldn’t give the time of day to a human that couldn’t meet my strident gaze. I did not want my man to stare at his feet the entire time we were together. The men I usually sought were brave, even in their mortal fragility, and large, and outgoing, and… willing.

“No, not quite.”

“What about that one?” Kate asked, pointing to a broad shouldered man in work clothing, who was knocking back a malt liquor beverage. He smirked in my direction and raised his eyebrows suggestively. Yes, after hundreds of years Katrina would be on to my ‘type’. But tonight, this man meant less than nothing to me. I loathed him.

“No.” My voice was clipped, and Katrina jumped, smarting at the force of my terse reply.

“Perhaps we thought wrong, Katrina,” Irina said, as if I weren’t standing next to them. “Perhaps she has changed, for good this time.”

“Would you like me to send you home, Irina?” I challenged.

Irina stood her ground and eyed me coolly, yet kept her mouth closed.

“Let’s find your man, Katrina. We’ll go from there.”

*****

Len was tall and dark with large hands and sparkling green eyes that followed Katrina like a lovesick puppy dog. His heart raced at nearly one hundred beats per minute in her proximity. He was flushed and sweaty, and I immediately approved. But as I overheard Katrina inquire about dates for her sisters, my mood turned sour. I did not need her charity!

I stalked away wordlessly, and the humans immediately parted on either side of me, like I was Moses and they were the Red Sea. I traveled to the rear of the establishment where the gambling took place. The males there coughed and stirred nervously in their seats as they snuck furtive glances in my direction. I was the only woman in this part of the building, yet no one hazarded to approach me and escort me out. I would have liked to see them try!

I took a deep breath, savoring the heady scent of fear that illegal operations can lend to a place. That was all it took for my mind to speed back in time to the nineteen twenties, to the jazz clubs I frequented in New York, with Edward. It was such an exciting time. The humans seemed so carefree back then, caught up in the rush of easy money and illegal liquor. I was there for years, thousands of humans streamed by nightly, and I barely took ten to bed. What a waste.

But a small voice inside my head whispered that I didn’t care. That my heart was his, even then. That I’d give him more than my heart, if only he would let me.

Those seditious thoughts were dangerous, though, and they snapped me out of my reverie. If I pushed, Edward might leave forever, shattering our covens’ alliance and my heart with my carelessness.

Of course, the Cullens were gone, many miles away. And even though I wasn’t in the comfort of my own home, retracing the patterns Edward’s fingertips had made on the cover of an atlas, imagining that path traced on my own flesh, I could let my mind go. Finally! This new freedom left me feeling dizzy, and I leaned on the door jamb and studiously considered Edward’s hands. I’d held them, touched them, bare skin to bare skin. They were smooth and warm, a study in contrasts. He could softly caress piano keys, and tear a wolf limb from limb. And I felt his strong arms around me all over again, as he’d embrace me in a friendly hug. His muscles felt so long, lean and strong underneath his clothing. Not like some of the overgrown oafs here tonight. And his eyes were such deep bespeckelled amber, ringed with sunny golden light. They glittered, always giving away his heart.

I was once again startled from my thoughts as a human male brushed past me. He walked by with nary a glance in my direction, his indifference immediately piquing my interest. His arms were crossed carefully in front of him, as he watched the other patrons. His hazel eyes flickered over everyone, knowingly. I could immediately tell that he was charged with rooting out cheaters, card counters and the like. He must have been quick-witted and intelligent, and strong enough to attend to a brawl. His dark blonde hair needed cutting and hung over his forehead in a messy wave, but he dressed well, in a slim-fitting suit that accentuated his long and lean physique. He gazed at me impartially, satisfied that I had neither cards nor chips in my hands, and his eyes moved on. I knew immediately that he was the one. I would take him. Apparently, he was my new type.

A challenge.

*****

A challenge… I rolled my eyes as I easily talked the fellow into his sixth shot of whiskey. Sadly, all it took was some batting of my eyelashes, suggestive posturing, and a hand placed strategically over his chest whilst my thigh accidentally rubbed his. Throw in the promise of free liquor, and I’d defeated myself at my own game. I didn’t bother with the charade of leaving and then re-appearing at his bedside. The man was quite drunk and would need me to hold him, if he were to make his way home at all. I’d try to remember in the future that a slim build often meant a lower tolerance for alcohol. Next time. Right.

His one-room apartment was well furnished, compared to some of the other rustic hovels I’d seen in the wilds of Alaska. He owned books, there were rich carpets on his floors, and his four-poster bed was large and outfitted with soft, clean sheets. There was a stand-up piano pushed against a wall.

His boozy breath sought my lips as soon as we were through the door. Untempted, I pushed him away and he tumbled backwards onto his bed, his hands clutching at me in an attempt to pull me down on top of him. If he had his drunken wish, though, he’d be dead, crushed beneath me. I collapsed on the mattress at his side instead, and gazed steadily down at the man as his blood-shot and unfocused eyes raked over my body.

“So beautiful, baby… who are you?”

I smirked. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Damn right, I would. Now get over here, sweetheart. Yer wearin’ entirely too much clothes,” he slurred.

His hot and sweaty hand touched mine, and I involuntarily recoiled.

“I don’t burn,” he mumbled, angling to touch me again. He might as well have burned me, for all the desire I had to feel his naked skin against mine.

“Un uh,” I muttered, standing to my feet and looming over him. He scurried backwards on the bed, towards the headboard.

“Undress,” I commanded, coldly.

He waited a beat too long, his heart visibly hammering in his chest, the smell of liquor coming through his pores. And quicker than he could track, I braced myself over him, my mouth at his ear. “Undress,” I hissed, low and lethal sounding.

For a moment, his heart stopped.

But then slowly, as if thawing, his hands began to stumble awkwardly with the buttons of his shirt, as his heart shuddered back to life. “Quickly,” I growled, suddenly standing at the foot of the bed again.

Once more I’d moved too fast for him, and he eyed me sickly, first going pale white, then gray-green. His chest heaved; he threw himself sideways, and spewed vomit on his pretty Asian carpet.

And, shockingly, my own lifeless stomach lurched, disgusted. I was disgusted with the human, and with myself. This was supposed to be fun. This should have been amusing. But his sickeningly sweet warmth and his wan smile, instead, chilled me to the core.

And within the space of time it took the nauseated man to blink his eyes, I was out the window, disappearing into the dark night.

*****

EPOV
There was no reason to rush as we skirted the Pacific coast, traversing glaciers, leaping over fjords, swimming out to explore the thousands of islands that dotted the shoreline. Wildlife was overabundant, as all manner of animals made their way to the water’s edge to feed. We were sated, and quite content. Rosalie was happier than I’d ever seen her, as a human or a vampire. And Emmett was one big playful smile, completely smitten with his bride, and thoroughly enjoying all of the new sights and tastes of coastal Alaska. This state of affairs left Carlisle and Esme beaming. It was as if, quite suddenly, things had fallen into their rightful place.

We still had to take caution with Emmett near humans. And, of course, there were many more human outposts along the shore than there had been inland. But just the knowledge that he could abstain when pushed left Emmett full of pride, and he took pains to be on his best behavior for his new wife. I couldn’t help overhearing thoughts about a certain arrangement that they’d made with regard to the length of time Emmett was able to steer clear of human food. It was tempting enough that it was nearly all Emmett thought about. I’ll leave it at that.

Carlisle picked up the pace considerably as we passed from the frozen tundra into a warmer climate. His heart swelled with a deep love for the misty green and gray trappings of the temperate rainforest. The fir trees stood tall, in dense, impossibly large forests. The air grew warmer and wetter, and the sky seemed much closer to the earth, low and stormy and silver-gray. The ground was soft underfoot, cushioned with pine needles over moss, and springy ferns whispered at our ankles.

Here, we were able to travel both night and day, even among the humans, as the low hanging clouds masked the sparkling appearance of our skin. I could feel Rosalie’s relief more than anyone else’s, as she finally strolled down the sidewalk holding her husband’s hand, admired by men and women alike. She’d been waiting years for the opportunity, and had never really thought the day would come.

But Carlisle hurried us ever southward, pulled by something he couldn’t name: a feeling he’d never been able to completely shake. We’d stopped to examine land for sale in Juneau, and then near Margaret Bay and Squamish in British Columbia. But I felt Carlisle’s urgent need to move on, and we all knew that his meeting with the realtors was only a formality. We hadn’t found what he was looking for yet.

So, we didn’t stop moving for months. We continued to travel south through Blaine, Bellingham, Anacortes, Mount Vernon, Everett, Seattle.

Seattle… The city clung to the slopes of the Cascadian foothills until it slipped right into Elliot Bay, a small stretch of water that separated mainland from the Olympic Peninsula and the snowcapped Olympic Mountains. The bay snaked past Bainbridge and Whidbey Islands to the strait, and then to the northern Pacific.

Positioned as it was, Seattle had grown to be a massive port city… A place of departure for men journeying to the peninsula to cut trees, to Alaska in search of gold or salmon, or just to leave: to take a running leap from the corner of the continental U.S.

The country was still held in the grips of the Great Depression, but there was more cosmopolitan flare in this lonely outpost of civilization than any of us had seen since Rochester. More sophistication than Emmett had ever seen, I imagined. There were museums and music halls, and all manner of both small boutiques and large department stores where Rosalie and Esme might update their wardrobes. Yet, despite its cosmopolitan trappings, and the capitalist zeal that sent men packing for distant shores, Seattle was a hotbed of socialist and communist ideas and organizing. After such a long time in the wilderness, all that the city had to offer easily swept four out of the five of us off of our feet. Carlisle was impatient to keep moving, but Esme persuaded him to let us linger in the city, at least for a day.

We rented a large suite at the Mayflower Hotel as home base. Rosalie was immediately tugging Esme out the door, aiming for the high-end boutiques on 2nd Avenue.

“Rosie, baby, don’t leave. What’ll I do without you?” Emmett asked, wrapping his arm around Rosalie’s waist, trapping her against him. “And, did you see the size of our bed?” he added under his breath, no matter that we could all easily hear him.

“Just look forward to what we’ll do when I get back,” she cooed. And her mind conjured up several different pieces of lingerie she hoped to bring back from her shopping trip. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder, you know.”

“Impossible, Rosie,” Emmett growled, his mind wandering through a wide range of possibilities for after Rosalie returned.

“Excuse me,” I snarled, pushing past them, hoping to find a local newspaper in the lobby.

“You could try not to listen, you know,” Emmett silently called out as I waited for the elevator.

Did he have any idea what he was asking? All I did in this life was to try not to listen.

*****

Emmett met me in the lobby, his eyes wide as he surveyed the granite floors, the marble countertops with gold inlay, the large bouquets of fresh flowers on every surface.

“Carlisle’s goin’ to the library to do some research on the coast. So I guess it’s just you and me. A whole day for just us guys.” He threw himself into the chair across from me, and it only creaked slightly. He was getting better at this.

“Well, I was hoping to peruse the Frye Collection. The northwest artists are making great strides. And I was just checking the paper to see who would be playing at The Paramount and the Blue Moon. It’s been many years since I’ve heard either live jazz or a symphony.”

Emmett’s mouth hung open, gaping at me. “You’ve got to be joking.”

“What do you mean?”

“A day with no women, and without, uh, our father around I guess, and you want to look at pictures and catch some old-fashioned music?”

“Excuse me, Emmett, don’t let me rain on your parade. I believe the brothels are on Bowery.”

Emmett was in front of me in a nanosecond, pulling me to my feet, his peppery breath wafting over my face. “Don’t you ever say anything like that to me again, you little…”

I stood to my full height. Emmett may have been infinitely broader, but he was only a couple inches taller than I. If he wanted to manhandle me like that, I was up for the fight. He immediately caught the meaning behind my stance and couldn’t help but grin. “Seriously. Not funny, Edward. Never. I’m a married man.”

I relaxed a bit and smiled back at him, pleased to hear that I’d assumed wrong.

“Alright then, Emmett, what manly pursuits would you prefer to engage in?”

And then Emmett looked truly perplexed. I listened as he thought through all the things he’d done with his male friends in the past. None of it fit with the situation he found himself in: a mated vampire on the streets of downtown Seattle. “Damn city… I can’t think of a thing. Couldn’t we just leave… go hunting? Throw around a ball around somewhere?”

“It’s only one day, Emmett. We’ve been traipsing around in the woods forever. Isn’t there anything civilized you’d like to try?”

Emmett sat back down and began leafing through the paper in frustration, searching for something that might hold his attention. He left me nothing but the business section. And that’s when it dawned on me.

“I did say I’d help you find a way to financially support Rosalie. We’re in a large city. Why don’t we find you a broker and put your wedding money to work?”

“Hey, sweet. And then in a month or so, maybe Rose and I could buy a house of our own, like the one Carlisle built in Alaska. She loves that place.”

“A month?” I laughed. But I admit that the possibility of Emmett and Rosalie purchasing a house of their own was attractive. I wouldn’t feel the need to take to the hills each night.

“Two?”

“Emmett… we’re in the throes of an economic depression. We’ll get you invested primarily in precious metals and futures, with some strategic long-terms gambles, but without the ability to see the future, it’ll take many years to accumulate that much wealth.”

“Years,” he scowled.

“You could purchase a smaller home. Or perhaps you could simply just begin by buying Rosalie a dress, or some flowers. Emmett, you have eternity. There’s no hurry to build a mansion.”

“I wanted to take care of her now.”

“It will have to wait. There’s no legal way you could make that kind of return any sooner given the macroeconomic…” But my voice trailed off. Emmett’s mind was racing, his demeanor had transformed from frustration to elation in the space of a few seconds.

“No,” I answered his unspoken request. “Absolutely not.”

“But it was your idea!”

“It certainly was not my idea, Emmett.”

“You said there was no legal way to make that kind of money quick. You can read minds; we can both count… really fast. We couldn’t lose.”

“Emmett, we just arrived in town. We don’t even know where to find a gambling parlor.”

“Yet you knew where to find the brothels?’

“Because I can…”

“Exactly.”

“Emmett, I won’t. It’s cheating; we’d be lying and stealing. And it’s illegal.”

“Damn, Edward, you’re such an uptight hypocrite!”

“What?”

“Is Edward Cullen your given name? How old does your birth certificate say you are? Does it list your actual date of birth? Or maybe I should be more specific. Maybe one of your birth certificates has all the real information. How many do you have, Edward?”

“That’s necessary in order to integrate ourselves with humanity.”

“And after you were turned… the paperwork that you and Carlisle must have filled out to you to get your ‘inheritance’? Necessary for survival?”

“That was different,” I muttered, distracting myself with the humans walking past the front window. Carlisle had managed to obtain a piece of my humanity to take with me through eternity. He wasn’t stealing money from strangers. Not exactly. There was a difference.

“There’s no difference!” his voice thundered in my mind, and I startled in my seat. It was almost as if Emmett was directly contradicting my thoughts. “I have a wife and no money to support her. And it would be fun. We won’t tell anyone, okay? Come on… It’s not like we’re going to kill anyone.”

I jumped to my feet and held Emmett up by his collar.

“Man, lay off! It’s a figure of speech. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

I let go of Emmett’s shirt, but continued to stand nose to nose with him. “It was just this kind of thing that got me into trouble in the first place,” I hissed under my breath. “Gambling --”

“What? Gambling made you kill people?”

I rolled my eyes. “No. I wasn’t gambling.”

“Edward, you’re kidding yourself. No matter what you did back then, it was something inside you that made you try out a human diet. Maybe it happened quicker, whatever you were doing. But, living this way, eating animals, is hard. Really, really hard. If it weren’t for Rosalie there wouldn’t be a chance in hell that I’d live off bears and deer.” He spat the word ‘deer’. Emmett reviled herbivores more than any of us, and would almost prefer abstaining and going hungry, than drinking even one.

“You make a good point. Very recently, it was difficult for you to stand next to just one human. A man of god, at that. Could you even manage being with many humans, having them brush up against you in a small, poorly ventilated space?”

“For Rosalie… to make money for her, I think so. And besides, we have this deal where…”

“I know enough about your arrangement, thank you very much.” All the more reason to get them that house.

“See, Edward, you need to loosen up. Come on. It’ll be fun. We won’t kill them, but we’ll come out ahead in a different way. Show we’re on top of the pecking order anyway.”

“By stealing their money?”

“It’s not like they’re saints. They’re gambling too. Please? I’ll drive you crazy in a museum. I promise, I’ll embarrass the hell out of you. And a symphony? I won’t be able to sit still for a symphony. And even I know that you shouldn’t chance leaving me alone.”

I looked Emmett over. He was wearing a plaid flannel shirt with snap closures and a pair of sturdy canvas trousers and work boots. “First things first, Emmett. Those clothes will never do.”

Emmett’s grin took up his entire face. “That’s more like it!”

*****

It would have been preferable to have our suits custom made, but there wasn’t time. We hurried downtown to Frederick and Nelson’s and employed a personal shopper to help us pull what we could from the racks. And with a little extra incentive, the on site tailor was able to tuck and hem in double time so that the garments were finished while we waited.

Styles had changed since my time in New York. Suddenly, it seemed, all well dressed men wanted to emulate either Carey Grant or gangsters like Bugsy Siegal, perhaps a bit of both. I felt conspicuous sporting a jacket with wide cut shoulders and slim cut waist and hips, and a pair of baggy trousers. But Emmett was a sight. His shoulders were naturally as broad as a barn door, and the sleek lines of his suit turned his physique from impressive to superhuman. Our shopper didn’t disappoint, and found stylish silk ties and handkerchiefs, new wingtips, and fedoras to top it all off. On a whim, I ordered another custom suit for each of us, cut to our measurements, to be ready the following day. Emmett raised his eyebrow at me and I watched our shopper swoon in a silent response.

“A man needs more than one suit, Emmett.”

“Not this man,” Emmett mumbled, looking himself over in the full-length mirror of the tailor’s shop, turning stiffly and carefully. A clutch of saleswomen were attempting to discretely peek at him through the doorway. “I feel like I could tear through it at any moment, just flexing my arms,” he sighed.

We both heard the chorus of titters at his statement.

“You have admirers,” I chuckled.

“Huh. Oh… wow.” I believe Emmett might have blushed if he could.

“The garments are made for a human, not a vampire. You have to learn to move carefully, staying within the material,” I said in a voice too low for the humans to hear. One of the salesgirls actually leaned in so far, in an attempt to hear our conversation, that she lost her balance and fell onto the floor.

Emmett looked uncertainly at the human sprawled out across the threshold, weighing his desire to eat her with his impulse to help her to her feet.

“I think that’s our cue to leave,” I suggested.

*****

All too soon we were standing in a damp alley that smelled of rotting fish and stale cigar smoke. In the time it took to collect the wedding money and wander the streets in search of thoughts that would lead us here, Emmett had explained the rules of blackjack and Texas hold’em. I’d never played before. Emmett was incredulous.

“How many seventeen-year-olds do you know that play poker?”

“Like every single one,” he replied. “Anyway, you’ve been seventeen for almost twenty years.”

“I don’t gamble.”

“Yet,” he snickered.

I knocked on the squarish metal door and waited. Emmett paced behind me, nervously shooting glances over his shoulder. As if anyone could actually sneak up on us.

The grating over the eyehole slid open, and the man behind the door asked a question in Mandarin, or perhaps Cantonese. With all the languages I’d studied over the years, I’d never covered any of the Chinese dialects. Luckily, though, I didn’t need to understand the doorman. I’d already heard what I needed to say for us to gain access.

“Wah Mee sent me.”

There was a suspicious pause, followed by a brief argument behind the door. The same question was posed again.

“Wah Mee sent me,” I repeated.

Emmett sighed behind me, pacing back and forth. “Should we leave?”

“This was your idea, Emmett,” I hissed.

The door swung open and a cloud of smoke billowed into the ally, along with the strains of poorly played jazz piano. A small Asian man in a sleek red suit stepped forward, eyeing Emmett and I critically. A cigarette dangled precariously from his lips.

“Where are you from?” he asked, somehow keeping the cigarette in place without using his hands.

“We just came down from Alaska,” I replied coolly.

He looked us over again, from the tips of our well-made hats to our shiny new wingtips. Dressed as we were, there was no doubt in his mind about what we brought back with us from Alaska. He wasn’t thinking salmon. A broad, gold-toothed smile took over his face.

“Ah, yes, Wah Mee. Right, right. Good man, Wah Mee. Please, please, come in.” He extended his arm in welcome, and nonchalantly patted us both down as we entered. “My name is Tseng Geming. You can call me Doug.”

But as soon as Emmett and I crossed the threshold, I knew we’d made a mistake. There were no windows, and there were men everywhere, crowded around tables, milling in clusters, sweating, stinking, their blood pounding out an intricate rhythm that sent venom gushing into my mouth. I glanced nervously at Emmett.

He stood still as stone, his hands clenched, his eyes unblinking. I took him by the elbow, and tried to turn him back towards the door.

“This was a mistake. Let’s go,” I whispered under my breath.

“I can do this, Edward. I can.” “I have to, for Rose.”

“You don’t have to do anything Emmett. I can hardly tolerate the stench.”

Emmett blinked and shifted his weight on his feet in an attempt to look more human. Then, steeling himself, he hazarded a breath. But as soon as the scent of the humans hit the back of his throat, his eyes flared with desire and he was, once again, immobile.

“Come on big guy. It was worth a shot. Maybe another time.” I took Emmett by his shoulders and managed to swivel him around so we were facing the door. It appeared to be the only way in or out.

“Gentlemen, gentlemen, you’re not leaving, are you? You just arrived. I’m sure we have something here for everyone,” the little man in red offered, stepping across our path.

“Blackjack?” Emmett asked, wiping away venom with the back of his hand.

“Of course. Many tables… come,” Tseng Geming offered.

“Just listen to my thoughts, Edward. You’ll know if I’m having trouble.”

“You’re already having trouble, Emmett,” I hissed back at him. But even as I objected, we were moving deeper into the parlor, following Tseng Geming, or Doug. It was a no-frills operation. The walls were whitewashed and somewhat dirty, there was an old red carpet underfoot, the tables and chairs were well worn, and the humans were all focused on their games. The one piece of finery in the large room was a sleek black baby grand that was pushed up in a corner, and was being played so poorly, that if I were human, I might have cried.

“You’ll know if I’m having more trouble, then, if you’re gonna be so goddamned precise.”

“Emmett,” I growled. “I’m not sure about this.”

“Here, gentlemen. Open seats.” Four men were hunched over the table; either discretely tapping the felt or giving a small wave that meant they were standing. Not a one hazarded a glance in our direction.

“Drinks?” Doug asked.

“No, uh,” Emmett looked askance, suddenly, even more unsure of himself. “I, uh, don’t --”

“St. Raphael on ice perhaps?” I interrupted Emmett’s stuttering, and he stared at me with wide, disbelieving eyes. “Not to drink,” I whispered too quick and low for Doug to hear. “For show.”

“Of course, and for your --”

“He’s my brother.”

“Yes, yes.” “I don’t see the resemblance at all.” “What would your brother like to drink?”

“Uh, whiskey?” Emmett replied like he was asking a question.

“Will Schenley do?”

“Yes?” Emmett asked again. I kicked him under the table.

“Very good. Enjoy yourselves, sirs.” Doug bowed a little before leaving us to the game.

*****

The rules of blackjack, as Emmett explained them, were simple. Counting cards was also quite easy, for a vampire, at least. It required complete focus, and a quick mind. No trouble there. Unfortunately, counting cards didn’t guarantee a win, it only increased your odds at beating the dealer. Our plan was to throw enough money around on the blackjack table for me to get invited to play poker. There, my special abilities would almost ensure easy money. No amount of bluffing could wipe the visions of the players’ hands from their minds.

I sat back and watched Emmett play a round to ease my way into the game. By chance alone, Emmett won the first round. He smiled his boyish smile, his amber eyes sparkled and he clenched his fist and hissed, “Yes!” I couldn’t help but smile along with him. Emmett moved on to another round, increasing his bet with the increasing card count. I was literally on the edge of my seat, waiting to see which card the dealer turned over. This time I was the one to jump with excitement when Emmett beat the dealer again.

But we’d planned that I would be the one to place the larger bets, and to have the best luck. I needed to be the one at the poker table later, not Emmett. So, as the count continued to go up, I placed three hundred dollars worth of chips in my circle. The man next to me whistled, and I grinned nervously, my foot tapping impatiently against the leg of the stool.

The heady feeling that took over me when I won the round was exhilarating. That turn, Emmett intentionally lost. No one seemed to suspect a thing. This might just work, I thought to myself.

An hour later our table was the center of attention. Our tablemates would slap each other whenever I’d win another round, wisely choosing not to actually touch Emmett or I. I was ahead by several thousand dollars, and Emmett was down by four hundred. The small potted plant next to Emmett was swimming in imported whiskey, and my St. Raphael always found it’s way into the glasses of the men on either side of me, until they were both struggling to sit upright. I watched Doug at the other end of the room speaking to two other men in shiny suits, gesturing towards Emmett and I. But with their thoughts in Mandarin (or Cantonese), I was at something of a loss.

Emmett and I were both immediately on guard as Doug crossed the room, coming straight for us. Despite the smooth smile on his face; I saw a glimmer of suspicion in his eyes. “Quite lucky today, sir,” he observed as he came to stand at my side.

“I only wish some of it rubbed off on my brother.”

“Yes, that is too bad for… I’m sorry, what was his name again?”

“Ames, Ames McCarty.” We’d decided to use our middle names.

“I don’t believe I know your first name either, Mr. McCarty,” he said to me.

Emmett guffawed across the table, and I shot him a quick warning glare. He immediately went back to being a disconsolate loser.

“Anthony,” I answered.

“Is there anything I can get for you, Mr. Anthony McCarty? Anything besides a winning hand for your brother?”

“Actually, blackjack’s really my brother’s game.” The little man raised an eyebrow and we both shared a hearty laugh. “Perhaps not this afternoon, though.” Doug laughed harder, slapping his thigh, his eyes scrunched tight in exaggerated amusement. I heard a low rumble in Emmett’s chest. He wasn’t enjoying being the designated loser.

“I wouldn’t mind throwing my winnings into a game of Texas Hold’em,” I suggested.

Doug raised an eyebrow again. I wasn’t surprised. The words ‘Texas Hold‘em’ felt strange coming out of my mouth, and didn’t sound natural at all.

“I’ve never played before,” I added as an afterthought. “But I’d like to try.” The honesty of the statement lent a ring of truth to my request.

Armed with that information, Doug’s eyes glittered and he jumped to his feet. “Let me see what I can do, Mr. McCarty. We aim to please, here at Wah Mee’s.” He chuckled at his rhyme and stood on tiptoe to slap me on the shoulder, then tried to surreptitiously shake off the resulting sting when he thought I wasn’t looking.

In no time at all the little man found me a seat at a high stakes table in a private room. And as I settled into my seat and read the minds of the men assembled around me, something became abundantly clear. As much as I abhorred gambling and cheating, I was made for this game. I knew every hand, and I had the straightest poker face of them all. Bluffing wasn’t an issue because I simply kept my face blank. I let my mind drift to Emmett out in the other room, while I easily took hand after hand, purposefully losing every so often to throw people off our game.

And as I sat at that table with those humans, with nothing to do but study their minds, I began to consider them differently than I had before. They weren’t food, they weren’t something to resist, they weren’t something that needed rescuing, and they didn’t easily fit under the labels of good or bad, black or white.

Their minds roamed almost haphazardly, so easily distracted; with ideas like larks - beautiful but fleeting. And they worked to mask this, but never could; they were so easy to read. From whether they were holding a royal flush to whether they were about to lose their home, their feelings showed through their eyes like the glow from a lighthouse on a moonless night. They all housed such big hopes in such delicate packages. And for a moment, I caught a glimmer of what Carlisle saw in humans, what he valued, what could be gained from contact with them. A fleeting glance at what real life looked like, in all of its fragile and unlikely grace.

I could have sat at that table for days studying the minds of those around me. But humans need sleep. After tentative handshakes and a few cautious slaps on the back, I made my way into the main room to join Emmett.

“How much?” he asked, under his breath.

“How much did you lose?” I snickered. I couldn’t hide my smile. I was quite proud of my game.

“Save it, Edward. I was supposed to lose. It was the plan.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy beating you, just the same. Come on, let’s get out of here.”

“This isn’t funny Edward. It’s my future with Rose we’re talking here.” I rolled my eyes. I don’t think Emmett understood the extent of Carlisle’s wealth. There was no reason, besides Emmett’s pride, to worry about quickly amassing a fortune. He was being needlessly dramatic. I shook my head in exasperation.

“Twenty thousand,” I answered under my breath.

“Hot damn!” Emmett hollered, slapping me on the back, and nearly sending me flying into the wall. “Nice work, brother… Anthony McCarty,” he chuckled. “Wonder if ma knows about you.”

“Mr. McCarty!”

Emmett and I both spun around to see Tseng Geming bustling through the crowd with a female in tow.

The woman was tall and slender with fine features. Her strawberry blonde locks were held carefully in place, sculpted against her scalp. Her bright blue eyes glittered and she eyed me in a manner that was meant to convey shyness, but the set of her jaw and the pout on her lips gave her away. There was an air of confidence about her, even in the presence of so many men. Her blue silk gown rustled as she took long strides in my direction. Her shiny red lips puckered in an uneven smile as she held out her hand for me to shake. I noticed her well-manicured nails, her deep, even breaths, and the irregular beating of her heart - the only thing that gave away her fear.

Even so, she looked at me hopefully, taking another bold step in my direction. I watched the blood quiver in the deep blue veins of her long, thin neck.

“Mr. McCarty.” The female smiled her dishonestly shy smile.

“I thought, perhaps, after such a long game, you might like the chance to unwind, Mr. McCarty,” Doug offered matter-of-factly.

I balked, completely at a loss for how to turn them both down without offending. I turned to Emmett who shrugged his shoulders. “Why not?” he thought. I scowled in response.

“I’m sorry, Doug, but we really must be going. We were just on our way to cash out.”

But Doug was desperate to keep us there in order that we might loose some more of our money. “We could find someone for your brother, Mr. McCarty, if that’s the problem.”

“I’m a happily married man, Mr. Tseng,” Emmett boomed, suddenly even more buoyant as he considered Rosalie’s reaction to finding out that they were twenty thousand dollars richer.

“There must be some way for me to reward such luck, Mr. McCarty. What would you say if I offered you a spot on a cruise? The ship leaves tomorrow evening from pier twenty-three. We’ll tour the Bay, refreshments are provided, and there will be card tables on the lower deck. Ames could bring his wife. Perhaps she’s the good luck charm he needs.”

Emmett’s eyes glittered. “Yeah, I think that might work. I’m in! What about you, E--, uh, Tony?”

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, Amie.”

“Edward!” Emmett silently roared. “We could make forty thousand in two days!”

I glared back at him. I had no intention of a repeat performance.

“Please, gentlemen, this doesn’t need to be decided on the spot. Consult your schedules, your wife. I would be honored to have you there. Give them my name at the dock. Pier twenty-three. Black tie. I hope to see you both. Say good evening to Mr. McCarty, Lorraine.”

“Good night, Mr. McCarty,” Lorraine cooed and batted her false eyelashes, before turning on her heels and sashaying away.

Emmett whistled under his breath. “Was it because she was human?”

Did he really know me that poorly? “Human or vampire, that had nothing to do with it, Emmett.”

“Well, then was it because she kind of looked like Tanya?”

I hadn’t noticed.

A/N: Thanks so much to all of The Newborn readers out there for hanging in there and waiting for me to finish The Necklace before continuing this story. It had to be done for my sanity, my sleep, my family and my job. Now that The Necklace is complete, you can expect more regular updates. Thanks for all the messages and inquiries in the meantime. It kept me on track and it helped to know you missed this little story.

So, Edward and Tanya both spend some time hanging out in gambling halls, yet both having very different experiences... What do you think? P.S. They're so close to the peninsula, I can taste it. Next chapter: Ephraim Black. xxx, M
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The Newborn	By : belladonnacullen Category: Twilight Series > Het Views: 3452 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or make any money from this story.

The Newborn