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Shayla's New Moon: Chapter 20

2010-06-26T19:44:04Z

Chapter 20: Chill

Shayla’s POV

The newcomer was small, little, and above all, insignificant to us all. I nearly scoffed at her size, if she was a girl that is. It was hard to tell. She was just as tiny as Alice but her size seemed to be of no problem to the other guards, Felix and Demetri, as they relaxed their offensive positions to blend in again with the shadows of the opposite wall. Alice moved in front of me and blocked me from her, protecting me. Why? I could take her if I wanted to, she was smaller then Alice, and if it wasn’t for Alice’s abilities, she had yet to beat me in a fight.

Despite her small size, the newcomer was very pretty. She was slim and androgynous under the cloak, and could have easily been recognised for a young boy except for one thing. She let down the hood of the cloak and allowed us to gaze at her beautiful face. She was wide-eyed with full lips along with short, blonde hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. Eyeliner surrounded her red eyes which gave her a sinister look and that was what made me suddenly recognised her. Only one vampire had that look in her eyes.

The petite vampire glared at Edward abruptly and he too, dropped his arms and relaxed – but in defeat.

“Jane,” he sighed in resignation. In front of me, Alice folded her arms across her chest, her expression probably impassive. I let loose a small rumbling growl to show my distaste for the situation

Jane, as I slowly recognised her to be, took no time in submitting orders. “Aro sent me to find out what was taking so long,” she said with her childish voice, annoyance floating in. She didn’t want to be the one fetching us. “Follow me,” she then ordered before she turned and drifted forward, going back the way she came.

Felix smirked and gestured for us to go first.

Alice walked after Jane at once, her hand wound around my own, as she tugged me along. I followed her and she kept a tight hold on me. Like she was making sure I wasn’t going to run. It was like… she was protecting me from myself. Even though I was a bit aggravated at the fact she was treating me like a little kid, another part of me was silently thanking her for it.

Inside, as we walked along the slowly narrowing and downward sloping alleyway, I was beginning to feel terrified. I knew what the Volturi would do to us. Kill us, the vampires, and then, perhaps, eat Bella. I nearly shuddered at the thought. I didn’t to die; I wasn’t even near fifty years old yet! And Bella… she was barely eighteen! She needn’t die yet!

We kept on walking until I heard Edward speak behind me. I turned my head ever so slightly to glance at him. “Well, Alice…” he began, in a conversational tone as we walked further into the darkness ahead. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised to see you here. As for you Shayla…”

You’re an asshole, Edward, you know that right? I snarled at him in my head, causing him to smile grimly.

“It was my mistake,” Alice answered in the same tone as Edward. “It was my job to set it right.”

“What happened?” he asked, trying to sound disinterested but I knew him. He secretly needed to know but he didn’t want Jane, Felix and Demetri to find out.

“It’s a long story.” Alice’s eyes flickered towards Bella with disapproval, while I did my best to stop myself recalling all of my memories of her, they still bubbled to the surface in a volcano-like fashion. Alice kept going on. “In summary, she did jump off a cliff, but she wasn’t trying to kill herself. Bella’s all about extreme sports these days.”

“Hm,” Edward grumbled curtly as he saw all of the memories in our minds, sounding rather impolite for the delicate ears behind us.

We came around a loose curve in the alley until Alice picked up the pace a little as we strode towards a brick wall, just as the little Jane disappeared. Alice released my hand and dropped her self into a tiny hole in the stones, set into the deepest part of the street. It looked like a drain, and I eyed the grate suspiciously before I saw Bella and Edward coming up behind us, with Bells looking very worried.

I sighed mentally and jumped down the hole. The wind whistled past me for a short time before I saw Alice take two steps back so I could land crouched, one hand helping to brace my fall that would have severely injured a human, or worse, killed them. Beneath the darkness of her cloak (she had pulled the hood up again), I saw Jane roll her eyes. According to her, I assumed, we vegetarians were an embarrassment to the vampire race.

Edward started to talk but I couldn’t quite catch his words. And then suddenly, I heard Bella call our names as she swung her legs into the hole. “Alice? Shayla?”

“We’re here Bella,” Alice called up, as she got underneath Bella, ready to catch. I went to the other side to help.

Edward lowered her into the blackness. “Ready?”

“Drop her,” we called up together.

In a flash, Bella was dropped by ‘Assward’ (my new nickname for him. It could be worse – I could think up a lot of name more horrible for him), biting her lip furiously before she landed on our rock-hard arms. Alice slipped her off and held her upright while Bella rubbed her arms painfully. She was going to have some bruises for sure.

I glanced up the see the sun disappear as Edward leapt down too, followed quickly by two more shapes. And then we set off walking again, with Bella tight against Edward’s chest. Somehow, the grate above us slid shut with a heavy clanging, trapping us in the dark, dank sewers of Volterra.

Alice was scared, like me. Her lips were pressed into a tight line as her forehead creased with worry. Behind us, the only sounds were Bella’s rapid breathing, her equally as rapid heartbeat, and her even footsteps on the cold, uneven, stone ground. Every few minutes, Felix or Demertri (I couldn’t tell which one) would sigh impatiently or mutter curses under their breath.

We suddenly began to speed up as the path began to go at a slow descent between our feet, taken us deeper into the earth. Alice was a lot closer to me then normal and she kept shooting me ‘be calm’ looks. I almost wished Jasper was here. We could calm us all down. Or even Mom. If someone could sooth me to be composed, it was her. She knew exactly what to say and do – exactly like a real mother. Exactly like my mother would have know how to do. The sudden subject of my mother brought a long lost memory to me.

A woman of thirty reached out to me as I played happily in the dirt as a small child, a typical tomboy. She murmured unheard words before she brushed me off and picked me up. I let out a cooing, baby laugh before my mother kissed my forehead and carried me away.

My only memory of her… And I was going to die soon. Oh well, on the bright side, I was going to see Ma again. She would be in heaven with Pa… Of course, I would miss my other family, Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper but there wasn’t much I could do about it. All hope was lost. I seriously hoped I would get into heaven. I hoped my soul was still pure enough for God to let me in, even if it was only for a few seconds.

The sewer seemed to be getting lighter. My perfect topaz (but slowly fading) eyes started to pick up tendrils of light, snaking up around the walls. The blackness was slowly turning to dark grey. Along the stone wall, black liquid seeped out the cracks like black ink, like blood.

I heard Bella start to shake behind me; her teeth were chattering. Out of coldness or fear? I half-turned out of curiosity and concern for her welfare but quickly changed my mind when I saw Edward’s determined gaze/glare. He moved away from her, his obviously frigid skin causing pain for her.

But she apparently had other ideas. “No-n-no,” she chattered, throwing her arms around him, not caring if she froze.

He chafed his hand along her arm, attempting to warm her body with the friction created between them. Behind us one guard, Felix I assumed, sighed impatiently to Bella’s slow human progress.

Finally, we reached the end of the tunnel, and in our way, there stood a thick grate. The bars were thicker then my arms, unbendable to a human, but very much breakable to an immortal. A smaller door made of thinner, interlacing bars stood open in the middle, large enough for us to fit throw, small enough for it to be shut closed, even by a innocent, insignificant and barely strong human. I noted the rough surface of the worn bars and ran a single cold, white finger over it, feeling its texture, its oldness, its breakability…

We hurried through to the brighter stone before us through the cage-like bars, before the door shut through with as heavy clang! The snap of a lock followed. I glanced behind, to see Demetri smirking at Bella, though she couldn’t see. I had the sudden feeling of being in a max-security prison now, just one we couldn’t bust out of, even as vampires.

On the other side on the room, beneath the low-hanging room and illuminated by the hanging lanterns and torches situated in stone brackets on the walls, was a low, hanging door. It was very thick – I could tell this because it was hanging open.

I set my jaw tight and let loose a low, thunderous growl. I was determined now. Would we win or lose this fight? I didn’t know the answer to that.

And so, we were led through the door, to go to our fate and destiny I suppose.

Chapter 19: Welcome to Volterra

2010-06-26T19:41:25Z

Chapter 19: Welcome to Volterra

Shayla’s POV

We wound up the hill at a crawl, as the road began to get too crowded with cars to weave through. Bella was panicking insanely and my sister was strained as she tried to soothe her.

“It’s the only way in,” my sister explained in a strained and slowly cracking voice.

I fiddled around in my bag until I pulled out the dark hoddie I packed. Pulling it on and pulling the hood around my head, so that most of my skin was out of view. The sleeves were extra long so I just pulled them down over my hands. This would be enough to protect from the sun’s rays. Bella flashed me a curious look, but I shook myself mentally and ignored her.

We went, if it was possible, even slower up the hill. The sun glared down, like an angry hot face. As we reached the top, I could see cars parked along the side of the road and people getting out to walk the rest of the way. At first I thought it was just humans being impatient – but then, as we came out around a switchback, we saw the filled out parking lot as dozens of people walking through the gates. No one was being allowed the drive through.

“Alice,” Bella whispered urgently, seeing the cars and what was going on.

“I know, she answered. Her face was chiselled from ice.

It was starting to get windy, one woman lost her scarf in the billowing wind as it whipped up from around her and flew into the air, as she hopped madly, trying to snatch it back though unsuccessfully. It was lost in the sea of red filing into the gates. Red was everywhere, red, red, red. Red robs, red hats, red scarfs, red flags…

“Bella,” Alice started to speak. “I can’t see what the guard will decide now – if this doesn’t work, you’re going to have to run along with Shayla. She’ll have to leave you at some point though, so just keep running and asking for the Palazzo dei Priori, and keep running in the direction they tell you. Don’t get lost.”

“Palazzo dei Priori, Palazzo dei Priori, Palazzo dei Priori,” Bella repeated under her breathe, trying to remember the name and to get it right.

“Or ‘the clock tower’,” I translated roughly for her, “if they speak English that is. Just keep asking if you can’t find it.”

“I’ll go and try to find a secluded spot behind the city to go over the wall,” Alice said as we crept even closer to the front of the line.

Bella nodded. “The Palazzo dei Priori,” she repeated again, getting it perfect this time and glancing at me. I nodded, trying to encourage her.

“We can do this, Bella,” I said to her. “We can and will, dammit! We just have to stay focused on Edward, okay?” She nodded, not quite paying attention.

“Edward will be under the clock tower, to the north of the square. There’s a narrow alleyway on the right, and he’ll be in the shadow there. You have to get his attention before he can move into the sun.”

Bella kept nodding furiously as we inched towards the front of the line. The car in front U-turned and went to find a parking spot down the road. The uniformed man motion lazily, not paying attention. Alice accelerated, edging around him and heading for the gate. He shouted something at us, but held his ground, waving frantically to the next car to stop it from following our bad example.

The guard at the gate wore a matching uniform. As we approached him, the throngs of tourists passed, crowding the sidewalks, staring curiously at pushy, flashy Porsche.

The guard stepped carefully into the middle of the street. Alice angled the car carefully before she came to a full stop. The sun beat against the passenger side but threw the other side, mine and Alice’s side, into shadow. Alice reached behind the seat to grab something from her bag, which I passed to her.

The guard came around the car with an irritated expression and tapped on her window angrily.

She rolled it down halfway, and he did a double take when he saw her face.

“I’m sorry, only tour buses are allowed in the city today, miss,” he said in English, but with a heavy accent. He was apologetic, now, as if he wished he had better news for this strikingly beautiful sister of mine. Not beautiful like Rosalie, but still beautiful nevertheless, which apparently I was as well.

“It’s a private tour,” Alice replied, shooting a dazzling smile at him. She reached out the window, into the sunlight with something in her closed fist. I nearly cried out in panic when her hand reached into the sun, but I then saw the elbow-length tan glove she had on and I breathed out in relief.

The man took whatever she had in her hand and folded his fingers around it. He stared at the thick wad of cash. The outside note was a thousand dollar bill and I knew there may be many more in the bundle. “Is this a joke?” he mumbled.

Alice gave him a blinding smile. “Only if you think it’d funny.”

He stared at her, eyes wide, before I glanced at my watch. We had five minutes left until Edward… yeah; we just had five minutes left. My breathing accelerated and I clenched my jaw shut, but my hands shook with panic. Fear coursed through me. We were going to be too late if we didn’t hurry up… And Edward would die…

As if she read my mind (ironic isn’t it?), Alice hinted to the man, “I’m in a wee bit of a hurry.”

Less then a few seconds later, we were speeding down a red flag-covered lane, with Alice driving in quick starts and stops while she kept urging Bella that is was, ‘Just a little further.”

We didn’t have to stop for cars but avoid the crowds of people. They squeezed into doorways when we travelled down narrow lanes, which were obviously not meant for cars, with the red flags on either side nearly meeting in the middle of the narrow road. The buildings were taller, and no sunlight touched the ground here. Alice turned down another lane with no people and over hanging balconies and fire escapes.

“Shayla, this is your land,” Alice said to me as I tightened my jacket around me. I eyed the overhanging structures cockily. A flag would make a great cloak to protect my skin from the sun, maybe.

“I’ll see you later, Bella,” I said to Bella and before she could say anything in response, I wound down the window and eased my upper body out of it, using the room as a way to pull myself out, as leverage. I then pushed myself onto the roof and stood, like I was car surfing. I crouched down as Alice sped up and then leapt onto a fire escape, which was on one of the final buildings before the square.

I ran along the tile roof and kept low, watching the red crowd just as I saw the Porsche stop in the square. Bella got out and ran through the crowd straight through the middle towards the clock tower on the other side.

She was shoved the wrong direction by the crowd but kept pushing on. She ran into the huge fountain in the middle, but launched herself over the low wall of it, and ran straight through the freezing water.

I saw my brother in the shadows of the alley, standing perfectly relaxed. Eyes closed with rings of purple shadows beneath them, palms turned forward, his arms at his side… A peaceful expression was upon his face, like he was in a very pleasant dream. His chest was bare, I saw, with his shirt at his feet.

The clock then began to ring loudly, about to give twelve for midday. A few down the square, mostly children, covered their ears at the noise.

Bella pushed her way through the crowd, with no space to move between the red-robed people. And across the square, only a few dozen feet from Bella, Edward raised his foot to take the step that would set him right into the sun, and that would confirm his death.

DONG… She wasn’t going to make it… I had to help her! No matter what it took, I was going to do my damn best to save my bro and Bella too! Screw the stinkin’ Volturi, if they wanted to kill me when my family escaped unscathed… so be it.

I kept low on the rooftop and darted to the far side, and hurled myself over the edge to land on a balcony where a bright red robe was located, obviously taken off by someone as they visited their home for a brief second. I stepped into the shadows, removed my jumper, before I tossed on the robe and leapt off the balcony and then ran as fast as I could at a human speed towards the ally.

Suddenly, I heard Edward’s voice and I sighed with relief. She made it. He was alive and so was she! And we were going to get home!

“Amazing… Carlisle was right.”

“Edward!” Bella gasped, chocking on her own words. “You have to get back in the shadows. You have to move!”

Bella was panting and seemed like she was struggling to force him back into the shadows.

“I can’t believe how quick it was,” Edward mused, blissfully unaware of the danger he was setting us all in by not moving, “I didn’t feel a thing – they’re very good. Death, that hath sucked the honey of thy breath, hath had no power yet upon thy beauty,” he then quoted, and I recognised the line Romeo said in the tomb to Juliet. The clock above us boomed to its final chime as he continued to speak. “You smell exactly the same as always. So maybe this is hell. I don’t care. I’ll take it.”

“I’m not dead,” Bella interrupted, impatient. “And neither are you! Please, Edward, we have to move. They can’t be far away.”

There was a noise of struggling before Edward asked, “What was that?”

“We’re not dead, not yet! But we have to get out of here before the Volturi –”

I heard Edward fling himself back and him growling. And then I peered around the corner to see two shapes dishevel themselves from the shadows. One was huge, thick and hulking, almost as big and muscular as Emmett under his cloak; the other was smaller, leaner but just as muscular.

“Greetings, gentlemen,” Edward said calmly, ignoring me as I tried to hide myself from the shadows. “I don’t think I’ll be requiring your services today. I would appreciate it very much if you would send my thanks to your masters.”

“Shall we take this conversation to a more appropriate venue?” A smooth voice whispered menacingly, an unknown voice to me, and coming from the big one.

“I don’t believe that would be necessary.” Edward’s voice was colder, harder then it was before. “I know your instructions. I haven’t broken any rules.”

“Felix merely meant to point out the proximity of the sun,” the other, smaller shadow said in a soothing tone. “Let us seek better cover.” I recognised their voice as the head Volturi tracker, Demetri. He was talented, a thousand times better then James. He picked up someone’s ‘voice’ or ‘tenor’ of their thoughts and would track them over immense distances for enormous amounts of time.

“I’ll be right behind you,” Edward agreed. “Shayla, why don’t you take Bella back to the square to enjoy the festival?”

“No, bring both the girl, and the young one,” the first one, Felix, said, somehow injecting a leer into his threatening whisper. They thought I was young, and not much of a problem to them. I hissed at him and from beneath the safety of his hood, Felix smirked, knowing that he had upset me.

“You can go to hell,” I growled through clenched teeth but before I can get another word in, Edward held up a hand to silence me as he kept holding his protective stance on Bella up against the alley wall. I moved to stand next to him, forming a wall around her.

“I don’t think so,” he then responded calmly to them, basically rewording my original statement.

“No,” Bella mouthed behind us, just as Demetri and Felix exchanged sour and frustrated looks. Apparently, the Volturi hated even numbers, even if they thought one was barely a challenge. But I was. I could tear their limbs off their bodies, crush their spines, shred their faces, rip their dead hearts from their chests if I wanted too… and burn them in a blaze, all by myself. I could do it, I believed I could. I believed I could.

As I imagined killing the two guards in front of me, the conversation kept going and I blanked out before I heard Edward snarl, “Then I’m afraid I will be unable to accept Aro’s invitation, Demetri.”

“That’s just fine,” the hulking Felix purred.

“Aro will be disappointed,” Demetri sighed.

They then strode closer towards the mouth of the ally, attempting to force us deeper into the shadows and to avoid a scene. No light touched them as they were deep in their dark cloak’s protective shadows. I took an automatic step back, feeling threatened by the two warriors, but I still bared my teeth menacingly and growled, low and deep in my chest.

But Edward didn’t move an inch.

Suddenly, light footsteps caught our attention. I whipped my head around to see Alice dance out of the shadows.

“Let’s behave ourselves, shall we?” she suggested coldly as she came to my other side. “There are ladies present.”

“I’m not a lady?” I muttered under my breath, half upset but I wasn’t fussed about it right now. We could deal with that matter later – if we were still alive that is.

Then the two guards exchanged more sours looks. Now they were outnumbered fully, two to three. Thy straightened up as the wind swirled through the ally, ruffling their black cloaks.

“We’re not alone,” Alice reminded them.

We glanced over our shoulders to see a small family staring at us, a few yards away in the centre of the square, the father, I assumed, went a few feet back and tapped a red-blazered man’s shoulder before they started to talk and gesture at us.

Demetri shook his head in an irritated way. “Edward, let’s be reasonable.”

“Let’s,” he agreed. “And we’ll leave quietly now, with none the wiser.”

Demetri sighed again with frustration. “At least let us discuss this more privately.”

Behind us, more men joined the family as they watched us. Edward’s protective stance was causing their alarm but they couldn’t do anything but watch us cautiously. I wanted them to leave before they got killed by the vampires. Whether it would be them, the Volturi… or me.

Edward’s teeth suddenly snapped together. “No,” he growled, and I could not tell who he was talking too.

“Enough!” A high voice called from somewhere as suddenly, a sinister but rather small, new, cloaked vampire began to slink toward us from the depths of the alleyway.

We turned to face the new stranger.

Shayla's New Moon: Chapter 18

2010-05-14T10:56:34Z

Chapter 18: Race

Shayla’s POV

Thanks to Alice’s crazy but fast driving, we made it the airport with moments to spare. As soon as we were in the air, I breathed out a sigh of relief.

We’re coming Edward, I thought, even though I knew he couldn’t hear. Just hang on bro, we’re coming. Stay safe.

Bella was anxious. The two of them, Bella and Alice, sat in front of me while I sat by myself behind them. The trip would be a test of control but I was determined to make it. I wasn’t thirsty but they did smell… rather appetizing.

Alice was on the phone to Jasper with Bella pretending not to listen beside her. “No, you can’t… she murmured ever so quietly. “Tell Emmett no… Well, go after Emmett and Rosalie and bring them back… Think about it, Jasper. If he sees any of us, what do you think he’ll do?”

She nodded to herself. “Exactly. I think Bella is our only chance – if there is a chance… I’ll do everything that can be done but prepare Carlisle; the odds aren’t good.”

She laughed then. “I’ve thought of that… Yes, I promise.” Her voice then earned a pleading edge to it. “Don’t follow me. I promise, Jasper. One way or another, I’ll get out… And I will get her out as well… I love you.”

I had a sneaky suspicion ‘her’ meant me.

Alice hung up the phone just as I leant over the rest my crossed forearms between the headrests of Alice’s and Bella’s seats, before I rested my head on my arms. Alice sighed and leant back into the seat, like she was exhausted, and muttered, “I hate lying to him.

“Tell me everything Alice,” Bella begged. “I don’t understand. Why did you tell Jasper to stop Emmett, why can’t they come to help us?”

“Two reasons,” Alice whispered with her eyes closed. “The first I told him. We could try to stop Edward ourselves – if Emmett could get his hands on him, we might be able to stop him long enough to convince him you’re alive. But we can’t sneak up on Edward. And if he sees us coming, he’ll just act that much faster. Throw a Buick through a wall or something, and the Volturi will take him down.”

“That’s the second reason of course, the reason I couldn’t say to Jasper. Because if they’re there and the Volturi kill Edward, they’ll fight them. Bella.” She opened her eyes and gazed at Bella. “If there was any chance we could win… if there was any chance the five of us could save my brother by fighting for him, maybe it would be different. But we can’t, and, Bella, I can’t lose Jasper like that.”

Alice was protecting Jasper, my brother. If the rest of them tagged along and got caught exposing ourselves to the humans, we would all be killed, no questions asked. Rose, Emmett, Jasper, Alice, Edward and me… Carlisle and Esme would be rendered childless, assuming that Bella was with us. But she wouldn’t be killed for exposure; she would be killed because she simply was human and it so happened to be dinnertime.

Bella and Alice were still talking and discussing how Edward wouldn’t hear them, with his abilities I meant. Alice was convinced that if we ran up to him going, ‘She’s alive, she’s alive!’ he wouldn’t believe us because, believe it or not, it was possible to lie with your thoughts.

“Who are these Volturi?” Bella was now demanding to know in a whisper. “What makes them so much more dangerous than Emmett, Jasper, Shayla, Rosalie and you?”

Alice took a deep breath and went to talk but then shot a dirty look over her shoulder. A man in a business suit with a laptop on his knees was looking away, trying very hard to appear as though he wasn’t listening. But when the three of glared at him with irritation, he opened the computer and very conspicuously put the headphones in.

Bella leaned in closer to Alice while she, my sister, breathed the story in her ear.

“I’m surprised you recognised the name,” she began. “That you understood so immediately what it meant – when I said he was going to Italy. I thought I would have to explain. How much did Edward tell you?”

“He just said they were an old, powerful family – like royalty. That you didn’t antagonise them unless you wanted to… die,” Bella whispered in response.

“You have to understand,” Alice said in a slower, more measured voice. “We Cullens are unique in more ways than you know. It’s… abnormal for so many of us to live together in peace. It’s the same for Tanya’s family in the north…”

“Or my band, in Australia,” I butted in, grinning cheekily. “It took a while to convince them to go back to ‘normal’…” I made one hand form quotation marks in the air, “after they went back to their old traditional standards. They had just given up, but I guess that I just provided a spark of hope for them. They listened, and they learned.” I beamed proudly.

Alice nodded along to my words. “Yes, some attempt, then give up, or partly live on animals, if they’re in remote areas, But for the most part, none live like us. Carlisle speculates that abstaining makes it easier for us to be civilised, to form bonds based on love rather then survival or convenience. Even James’s little coven of three was unusually large – and you saw how easily Laurent left them. Our kind travel alone, or in pairs, as a general rule. Carlisle’s family is the biggest in existence, followed by the Australian coven, with the one exception. The Volturi.”

“There were three originally,” I started, telling the story along with Alice. “Aro, Caius and Marcus.”

“I’ve seen them,” Bella mumbled. “In the picture in Carlisle’s study.

Alice nodded. “Two females joined them over time, and the five make up the family. I’m not sure, but I suspect their age is what gives them the ability to live peacefully together. They are well over three thousand years old. Or maybe it’s their gifts that give them extra tolerance. Like Edward and I, Aro and Marcus are… talented.”

She continued on. “Or maybe it’s just their love of power that binds them together. Royalty is an apt description.”

“But if there are only five –” Bella questioned.

“Five that make up the family,” I corrected softly. “That doesn’t include their guard.”

She took a deep breath and glanced up at me, leaning on her seat. ‘That sounds… serious.”

“Oh, it is,’ Alice reassured her. “There were nine members of the guard that were permanent, the last we heard. Others are more… transitory. It changes. And many of them are gifted as well – with formidable gifts, gifts that make what I and Shayla can do a parlour trick. The Volturi chose them for their abilities, physical or otherwise.”

“In other words, they, by which I mean mostly Aro, are like collectors,” I explained. “Except they prefer the vampires over the stamps. I spent a few moments with them once upon a time. Never again. They wanted to keep me but I refused to leave my family. Disappointed, they let me leave but… others stay. They like the power, the wealth and the blood, above all the blood. They can feed without fear of exposure and without hassle. And they feel big with the others on their side, who are just as powerful, or if not more, then they are. It’s sick to me, just sick.” I shuddered dramatically.

Bella’s mouth opened and closed a few times before Alice nodded her head and spoke what Bella must have been thinking (I wouldn’t know, I wasn’t Edward). “They don’t get into too many confrontations. No one is stupid enough to mess with them. They stay in the city, leaving only as duty calls.

“Duty?” Bella echoed, wondering out loud.

“Didn’t Edward tell you what they do?”

“No,” Bella answered, a look of blankness on her face,

Alice glanced at the laptop man again who was typing furiously away, before she began to whisper ever-so quietly. “There’s a reason we call them royalty… the ruling class. Over the millennia, they have assumed the position of enforcing our rule – which actually translates to punishing transgressors. They fulfil that duty decisively.”

Bella’s face was one of shock. “There are rules?” she hissed, a little too loud for our benefit.

“Shh!” we hissed back at her.

“Shouldn’t somebody have mentioned this to me earlier?” she whispered angrily. “I mean, I wanted to be a… to be one of you! Shouldn’t somebody have explained the rules to me?”

Alice chuckled as I stifled my giggles. “It’s not that complicated, Bella. There’s only one core restriction – and if you think about it, you can probably figure it out for yourself.”

“Nope, I have no idea.”

Alice shook her head, disappointed. “Maybe it’s too obvious. We just have to keep our existence a secret.”

“Oh.”

“It makes sense and most of us don’t need policing,” she continued. “But, after a few centauries, sometimes one of us gets bored. Or crazy. I don’t know. And then the Volturi step in before it can compromise them, or the rest of us.”

“So Edward…”

“Is planning to flout that in their own city – the city they’ve secretly held for three thousand years, since the time of the Etruscans. They are so protective of their city that they don’t allow hunting within its walls. Volterra is probably the safest city in the world – from vampire attacks at least.”

“But you said they don’t leave. How do they eat?”

“They don’t leave. They bring in their food from the outside, from quite faraway sometimes,” I explained quickly, recalling long lost memories of accompanying the guard on such treks. “It gives their guard something to do when they’re not out annihilating mavericks. Or preventing Volterra from exposure…”

“From situations like this one, like Edward,” she finished for me.

“I doubt they’ve ever had a situation like this,” Alice muttered, disgusted with our brother. “You don’t get a lot of suicidal vampires.”

Bella gave a quiet sound of pain and Alice wrapped her thin but strong around her shoulders. “We’ll do what we can, Bella. It’s not over yet.”

“Not yet,” Bella replied softly. “And the Volturi will get us if we mess up.”

Alice stiffened. “You say that like it’s a good thing.”

Bella shrugged and I, very lightly, tapped across the back of the head with my hand.

“Knock it off Bella or we’re turning around in New York and I’m taking you back to Forks,” I growled at her

“What?” she demanded.

Alice sighed. “You know what. If we’re too late for Edward, I’m – we’re are going to do our damnedest to get you back to Charlie and I don’t want any trouble from you. Do you understand that?”

“Sure, Alice.”

Alice pulled back so she could glare at her. “No trouble,” she repeated sternly.

“Scout’s honour.”

Alice rolled her eyes in response to this. “Let me concentrate, now. I’m trying to see what he’s planning.”

Alice left her arm around Bella, but let her head fall back and closed her eyes. She pressed her free hand to the side of her face, rubbing her fingertips against her temple.

I settled back into my own seat and shut my eyes, pretending to be asleep. I felt the plane turning in the air, but I didn’t know when we were there until the plane slammed down.

We ran towards our connection and Alice told me in passing that there was nothing new. I breathed a sigh of relief to myself. Nothing new… that’s good right?

As soon as we were back on the plane, I checked my phone despite the nasty looks the stewards shot at me. They didn’t dare talk to me though. I suppose I had that air around me, that makes humans realise that I’m not quite right, not quite… normal, I suppose. They didn’t know it, but it was their instincts telling them that if they didn’t stay away, they might end up being on the dinner menu.

I had several missed calls, one each from each member of the family. Carlisle, Esme, Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie. I deleted them all. I would deal with them later. If there was going to be a later that is.

When night fell, mostly everyone fell asleep. Except for the stewards and two vampires of course. I pretended to sleep until I heard Alice hissing to Bella, who had been sleeping for not very long.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s not wrong,” Alice hissed, her eyes gleaming with faint hope as she smiled fiercely. “It’s right. They’re deliberating, but they’ve decided to tell him no.”

“The Volturi?” Bella muttered, groggy from waking up.

“Of course, Bella, keep up. I can see what they’re going to say.”

An attendant asked if they wanted a pillow but tiptoed past me for when I heard him, I went back to pretending to be asleep. My eyes were shut, but my ears and nose were alert to the conversation in front of me.

Alice whispered that the Volturi denied Edward’s request because they though he might have been useful to them. ‘Wasteful’ was the word Aro apparently used but Edward was formulating a plan, and was getting creative. The longer he spent of them, the better it was for us as it gave us more time.

I zoned out for their next discussion, where Alice actually promised Bella that she might turn her. Good. The less chance I have of killing her, the better. If she was strong and beautiful… it might save us. But transformations take days and we didn’t have days.

“Go back to sleep,” Alice encouraged after Bella argued with her. “I’ll wake you up when there’s something new.”

“Right,” Bella grumbled, unhappy but she did go back to sleep.

“Shayla?” Alice called my name softly.

I leant back over the seat. “Yessum?”

Alice peered up at me, anxious. “How you holding up?”

“I’m fine. You?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

I sighed and glanced at Bella. “How could he do this? Especially to her… and to us?”

Alice shook her head. She needn’t ask who ‘he’ was. “I really don’t know Shay, I really don’t know.”

I shook my head too. “If the Volturi don’t kill him, I will.” I settled back down into my seat and before long, the sun began to brighten up the eastern sky. Alice snapped the shade closed and the noise woke Bella up.

“What’s happening?”

“They’ve told him no,” my sister whispered quietly. Her enthusiasm disappeared very quickly.

“What’s he going to do?”

“It was chaotic at first. I was only getting flickers; he was changing plans so quickly.”

“What kind of plans?” Bella pressed.

“There was a bad hour; he’d decided to go hunting.”

I shot up to stare at her, worry etched all over my face. Bella looked confused.

“In the city,” Alice explained. “It got very close. He changed his mind at the last minute.”

“He wouldn’t want to disappoint Carlisle,” Bella mumbled.

“Probably,” Alice agreed.

“Will there be enough time?” As Bella spoke, the plan began to angle downwards, and there was a shift in the cabin pressure.

“I’m hoping so – if he sticks to his latest decision, maybe.”

“What is that?” Bella and I asked at the same time.

“He’s going to keep it simple. He’s just going to walk into the sun.”

Walk into the sun… who could ignore that? A glorious immortal, sparkling for all of the humans to see. No Volturi guard would let him live. He would be torn apart, bitten, destroyed and burnt to a crisp… all for a few sparkles.

I shook my head, ridding the images in my mind as Alice and Bella continued to speak.

“Say,” I cut in on their conversation. “How far is it from Florence to Volterra?”

Alice flashed me a grin. “That depends on how you fast you drive… Bella?”

Bella jerked her head to look at us, both grinning mad like monkeys. “Yes?” she asked.

“How opposed are you to grand theft auto?”

Approximately ten minutes later, we were screeching away in a bright yellow Porsche with the word ‘TURBO’ scrawled in silver across the back. Everyone had stared at us as Bella and I jumped inside when Alice barked “Hurry, Bella, and Shayla!” We might have well been wearing balaclavas.

“Sheesh Alice,” Bella complained. “Could you pick a more conspicuous car to steal?” I snickered at that remark.

The interior was black leather with dark tinted windows, almost like Carlisle’s Mercedes. It felt safer inside.

Alice was already driving away, way too fast for Bella’s liking, weaving through the slow airport traffic while Bella fumbled for her seat belt. I chuckled and just bounced around the backseat.

“The important question,” Alice corrected, “is whether I could have stolen a faster car, and I don’t think so. I got lucky.”

“I’m not sure that will be very comforting at a roadblock.”

For the first time in days, almost weeks, Alice laughed. “Trust me, Bella. If anyone sets up a roadblock, it will be behind us.” She hit the gas then to prove her point.

We weaved through the Tuscan landscape then, the world outside flashing by almost as fast as if I was running, not flat-out, but still running. I had never been to Italy, but I still didn’t pay attention to the scenery such as the hills or walled towns that resembled castles. This could be my last trip anywhere.

“Do you see anything more?” Bella asked.

“There’s something going on,” Alice muttered. “Some kind of festival. The streets are full of people and red flags. What’s the date today?”

Bella sounded unsure. “The nineteenth, maybe?”

“Well, that’s ironic. It’s Saint Marcus Day.”

“Which means?”

Alice chuckled darkly as I began to explain. “Volterra holds a celebration every year called Saint Marcus Day. The legend says that a Christian missionary, Father Marcus – also known as Marcus of the Volturi in fact – drove all of the vampires from Volterra over fifteen hundred years ago. The story claims he was martyred in Romania, still trying to drive away the vampire scourge. Of course, that’s bullshit – he never left the city. But that’s where all the superstitions like crosses and garlic come from. Father Marcus used them so successfully. And vampires don’t rouble Volterra, so they most work.” I grimaced. “It’s become more of a celebration of the city and recognition for the police force – after all Volterra is an amazingly safe city. The police get all of the credit. Ironic, no?”

Bella looked a little dim. “They’re not going to be happy if Edward messes us Sain Marcus Day, are they?”

Alice shook her head, her expression grim. “No, they’ll act very quickly.”

Bella looked away, biting her bottom lip. Bleeding was not really the best idea now.

“He’s still planning on noon?” she asked.

“Yes. He’s decided to wait. And they’re waiting for him.”

“Tell me what I have to do.”

Alice’s eyes didn’t drift from the winding road as the speedometer needle tipped more and more to the right.

“You don’t have to do anything. He just has to see you before he moves onto the light. And he has to see you before he see Shayla or me.”

“How are we going to work that?”

“I’m going to get you as close as possible, and then you’re going to run in the direction I point you.”

Bella nodded.

“Try not to trip,” my sister then added. “We don’t have time for a concussion today.”

Bella groaned in response, probably at her klutziness.

“Shayla?” I snapped my head up to look at Alice as she gave me orders. “The rooftops are your goal, seeing as you’re the best at climbing. Find something to blend it, find or steal a cloak, whatever, I don’t care. You’ve got jeans on right?”

I glanced at my outfit. Long denim jeans, skate shoes, a flat-brim cap and a My Chemical Romance concert t-shirt. “Yeah. Steal something to blend in, got it.”

The sun continued to climb in the sky while Alice raced against it. It was too bright, and that was what had me worrying. Maybe he wouldn’t feel the need to wait till noon after all.

“There,” Alice suddenly said abruptly, pointing to the castle city atop the closest hill.

I stared at it with Bella, a new fear creeping in. It was very beautiful and that’s what terrified me.

“Volterra,” I announced in a flat, icy voice.

Shayla's New Moon: Chapter 17

2010-05-14T10:52:27Z

Chapter 17: Edward

Shayla’s POV

I drew in a sharp intake of breath and started cursing widely as I wrapped my arms around Alice and started hissing questions into her ear. But she ignored me so I watched Bella instead.

She had frozen, out of what could be assumed as pure shock, while Jake started swearing, like me, and hissing profanities into her ear. Humph, he was clearly a bad-boy and would be a terrible influence on Bella. What was he, eighteen, nineteen? Bella was then pulled to the couch by him, rather roughly, so I snarled at him but he ignored me. Lots of people seem to do that a lot round here…

“What did you do to her?” he demanded to know as the couch shook under his quivering body.

Alice ignored him as she approached her. “Bella? Bella, snap out if it. We have to hurry.”

“Stay back,” Jacob warned.

“Calm down, Jacob Black,” my sister ordered. “You don’t want to do that so close to her.”

“Keep your trap shut, dog,” I snarled menacingly to Jacob at the same time she spoke to him. “Unless you want me to do it for you!”

“I don’t think I have any trouble keeping my focus,” he retorted, but his voice sounded rather a little cooled. “And you,” he suddenly snapped before he glared at me. “I can say what I want here.”

I growled. He growled back, rather less threateningly sound might I add, before Bella spoke up. “Alice?” he voice was weak. “What happened?”

Alice’s answer was a wail of despair, something I rarely heard. “I don’t know, what is he thinking?!”

My grip around her shoulders tightened. Bella stiffened and then pulled herself up from the couch, holding onto Jacob’s arm and using it as a lever to get up.

Alice pulled herself away from me and pulled a silver phone from her bag and dialled a number so fast her fingers were a blur, even to my eyes. And when she put it to her ear, I got a look at the number she dialled.

“Yes?” The beautiful voice on the other line answered innocently. A little too innocently if you asked me. Like she was trying to hide something.

“Rose, I need to talk to Carlisle now.” Alice snapped at her sister, her voice whipped through the words as she spoke. I heard Rosalie’s reply with ease with my super (somewhat) hearing.

“Oh, Alice! Carlisle’s hunting. What –”

“Fine, as soon as he’s back,” Alice snapped in response to that. Rosalie was awfully cheery for some odd reason. The word cheery didn’t suit Rosalie at all, not one bit. Angsty, bitchy and moody, yes, but cheery? Not, not at all.

“What is it? I’ll track him down right away and have him call you –”

“No,” Alice interrupted again. “Look, have you heard anything from Edward?”

“Well, yes, Alice. Actually, I did talk to Edward. Just a few minutes ago.” She took a sharp intake of breath and then started at Alice, in an angry tone. “You and Carlisle wrong, Edward wouldn’t appreciate being lied to. He’d want the truth. He did want it. So I gave it to him. I called him… I called him a lot. Until he picked up. A message would have been… wrong.”

Oh no. Please tell me I didn’t hear what I think she just said. Pleas tell me I heard wrong, please, oh god, please…

“Why?” Alice gasped. “Why would you do that Rosalie?” Oh shit, she did do it! Oh, man, when I got home she was so dead. I put out my hand for the phone so I could yell at my other sister but Alice ignored me and turned away. I let out a frustrated sigh.

“Because the sooner he gets over this, the sooner things go back to normal.” Rosalie continued on. “It wouldn’t have been easier with time, so why put it off? Time isn’t going to change anything. Bella is dead. Edward will grieve and then get over it. Better he begins now then later.”

Alice’s jaw tightened and her eyes flashed angrily as she narrowed them. I growled and Jacob bared his teeth before he held on tighter to Bella. Like I was going to attack her. Hah, I don’t make the same mistake twice in a row.

“Well, you’re wrong on both counts, though Rosalie,” Alice continued, though in a fierce, vicious tone.

“Bella’s still alive?” Rosalie whispered through the phone.

“Yes, that’s right, she’s absolutely fine –”

“Fine? You saw her jump off a cliff!” Rosalie practically cried, as if she didn’t believe her.

“I was wrong,” Alice replied bluntly.

“How?”

“It’s a long story.”

“Well, you’ve made quite a mess.” Wait, Rosalie was blaming Alice? When it had been her that told Edward? That son-of-a-bitch… “Edward’s going to be furious when he comes home.”

“But you’re wrong about that part too, that’s why I’m calling,” Alice growled into the phone. She was possibly even madder at Rosalie then I was. And that was pretty pissed off.

“Wrong about what? Edward coming home? Of course he will.” She laughed mockingly through the phone and Alice’s fist tightened. “What? You think he’s going to pull a Romeo? Ha? Like some stupid, romantic –”

“Yes!” Alice hissed, with her voice like ice. “That’s exactly what I saw.”

“No. He’s not stupid. He – he must realise that –” Alice hissed into the phone, covering the rest of Rosalie’s sentence. “I – I didn’t mean it like that, Alice! I just wanted him to come home!” Her voice was a howl of despair.

“It’s a bit late for that Rose,” Alice replied, her voice harder and colder then ever before. “Save your remorse for someone who believes it.”

She snapped the phone shut with a sharp twist of her fingers. Her gaze was tortured as she turned to stare at us all. With Jacob shaking and holding a slightly stunned Bella to him, and then to me with bared teeth, and trembling hands. Growls were coming from deep in my chest.

“Alice,” Bella suddenly blurted out. “Alice, Carlisle is back, though. He called just before…”

Alice stared blankly at Bella as I shifted my gaze to her as well. “How long ago?” Alice asked in a hollow voice.

“Half a minute before you both showed up.”

“What did he say?” She was focused on Bella, waiting eagerly for an answer.

I didn’t talk to him.” Bella’s eye’s flickered to Jacob.

Alice turned her penetrating gaze on him. He flinched slightly but held his place. He shifted and sat awkwardly, like he was trying to shield Bella with his body.

“He asked for Charlie, and I told him Charlie wasn’t here,” the boy muttered resentfully, sounding a bit younger then his true age. Or maybe he was younger then what I had guessed? Maybe he was physically a man but perhaps inside, he was still a boy… I did not know.

“Is that everything?” Alice demanded in an ice-like voice.

“Then he hung up on me,” Jacob spat back, before a tremor rocked his body.

“You told him Charlie was at the funeral,” Bella reminded Jacob.

Alice’s head jerked back to Bella. “What were his exact words?”

“He said, ‘He’s not here,’ and when Carlisle asked where Charlie was, Jacob said, ‘He’s at the funeral.”

Alice moaned and sank to her knees. “Alice?” I cried panicked as I sunk down beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Come on, chica, you know I hate secrets, what’s going on? Where’s my hermano?” I went into an old habit, speaking in certain Spanish terms to her, from my early days of high school, where I would eagerly learn Spanish with Edward patiently helping me. I swallowed a mouthful of venom as the old memories resurfaced, and as Alice turned to gaze meaningfully at me before she fixed her gaze on Bella’s bewildered face.

“Tell me, Alice,” she whispered.

“That wasn’t Carlisle on the phone,” Alice answered hopelessly.

“Are you calling me a liar?” Jacob snarled but everyone, even Bella, ignored him.

“It was Edward,” Alice chocked out. “He thinks you’re dead.”

I heard nothing after this statement except for two heartbeats. Thump, thump, thump, thump… Bella’s meek human one accelerated as Alice’s shocked words reached her ears. Jacob’s kept going at it’s regular fast pace, thumpthumpthumpthump…. He was not shocked, or scared like we were.

“Rosalie told him I killed myself didn’t she?” Bella said, sighing as she tried to relax her body.

“Yes,” Alice admitted, her eyes flashing hard again. “In her defence, she did believe it. They rely on my sight far too much for something that works so imperfectly. But for her to track him down to tell him this! Didn’t she realise… or care…?” Her voice was horror struck and I knew the answers to her questions. No… she mustn’t have realised the consequences of her actions… but if she did, she wouldn’t have cared, not one bit. I held my face in my hands before I sighed deeply and stopped the growls in my chest that had been rumbling involuntarily for the time Alice had spent talking to us.

“And when Edward called here, he thought Jacob meant my funeral,” Bella concluded, realisation hitting her like a speeding bus. She dug her nails into Jacob’s skin, he didn’t seem to notice… or care.

Alice looked at her strangely. “You’re not upset.”

“Well, it’s really rotten timing, but it will all get straightened out. The next time he calls, someone will tell him… what… really…” She trailed off as she saw Alice’s tortured gaze. Alice was panicked, her face twisting with pity and horror… It was about what she had seen and right now, even I didn’t know what was going on. It was something about what Rosalie said, and her sudden remorse… not remorse for Bella, but for her family, her brother…

“Bella,” Alice whispered. “Edward won’t call again. He believed her.”

“I. Don’t. Understand.” Bella said each word slowly as I she couldn’t quite comprehend what was going on.

Alice took a deep breath. “He’s going to Italy.”

The length it time that it took me to realise what he words meant was less then one of Jacob’s heartbeats. I gasped and stepped back, my mouth forming a little ‘O’ of horror. My fists clenched in my hair as ran my fingers through it before I began to swear and curse. “No, no, no, no, no! Alice!” She glanced at me. “He won’t, he can’t! Can he?” She nodded slowly, an agonising, tortured gesture.

“NO!” Bella suddenly shrieked, making us all jump at her denial of the situation, with the blood suddenly rushing to her face. “No! No, no, no! He can’t! He can’t do that!”

“He made up his mind as soon as your friend confirmed it was too late to save you.”

“But he… he left! He didn’t want me anymore! What difference does it make now? He knew I would die sometime?”

“I don’t think he planned to outlive you by long,” Alice said quietly.

“How dare he!” Bella screamed, on her feet now. Jacob rose to plant himself between her, and us. But Bella would have none of that.

“Oh, get out of the way, Jacob!” She elbowed her way around his trembling body. “What can we do?” she begged to us both. “Can’t we call him? Can Carlisle?”

I shot a panicked look at Alice. I didn’t know what to do. She would know; could we call him? But she shook her head. “That was the first thing I tried. He left his phone in a trash can in Rio – someone answered it…”

“You said before we had to hurry. Hurry how? Let’s do it, whatever it is!” Bella cried hastily.

“Bella, I – I don’t think I can ask you to…” Alice trailed off uncertainly.

But Bella didn’t care. “Ask me!” she commanded.

Alice still looked unsure. “Come on Alice,” I urged. “Let’s just do it! Let her come with us! She might be our only chance.”

Alice put her hands on Bella’s shoulders, holding her in place, her fingers flexing sporadically to emphasize her next words. “We may already be too late. I saw him going to the Volturi… and asking to die.” All three of us cringed when she said the words and Alice’s eyes went blind. I held a hand to her shoulder, a protective gesture. “It all depends on what they choose,” she continued on. “I can’t see that till they make a decision.

“But if they say no, and they might – Aro is fond of Carlisle, and wouldn’t want to offend him – Edward has a backup plan. They’re very protective of their city. If Edward does something to upset the peace, he thinks they’ll act to stop him. And he’s right they will.”

Bella stared at her before her jaw clenched in frustration. Alice kept going. “So if they agree to grant her favour, we’re too late. If they say no, and he comes up with a plan to offend them quickly enough, we’re too late. If he gives into his theatrical tendencies… we might have time.”

“Let’s go!” Bella and I yelled at the same time, before we both glanced at each other and I grinned cockily at her.

“Listen, Bella, Shay! Whether we have time or not, we will be in the heart of the Volturi city. I will be considered an accomplice if he is successful. You, Bella, will be a human who not only knows too much, but also smells too good. There’s a very good chance that they will eliminate us all – though in your case it won’t be punishment so much at dinnertime.”

“This is what’s keeping us here?” Bella asked in disbelief.

“Surprisingly,” I said in a rather bored voice. “Yes.”

“I’ll go alone if you’re afraid,” Bella threatened to Alice while she stole a hopeful glance at me. Like she was asking, if she won’t, will you? I gave a swift nod of my head. Yes, yes I would.

“I’m only afraid of getting you killed,” Alice replied.

Bella snorted in disgust. “I almost get myself killed on a daily basis! Tell me what I need to do!”

“You write a note to Charlie. I’ll call the airlines. Shayla, please tell me you brought a passport.”

“Bingo.” I held it in front of her face along with a wad of cash.

“Charlie,” Bella gasped, suddenly having a look of great anguish and pain on her face.

“I’m not going to let anything happen to Charlie,” Jacob growled in his gruff and deep voice. “Screw the treaty.” If it was anyone else but Bella’s father I would have been angry at this statement but now wasn’t the time to get upset over treaty lines. He needed to be kept safe, which was the most important thing right now.

Bella ran to the kitchen with Jacob on her heels. Alice dialled an airline and arranged a flight to Italy with a stop in New York for Bella.

“Don’t go,” Jacob whispered from the kitchen to Bella.

“Please, please, please take care of Charlie, Bella said as she dashed back to the front room where I now stood with Alice with a bag over each of our shoulders.

“Get your wallet – you’ll need ID,” Alice ordered to her. “Please tell me you have a passport. I don’t have time to forge you one.”

Bella nodded once and ran up the stairs. I could hear her fumbling around, grabbing items, opening and shutting drawers. She soon fled back down but the sound her footfalls were interrupted by Alice’s and Jacob’s heated confrontation by the front door. They were standing so far apart, clearly disgusted by the other’s smell, that you couldn’t tell they were arguing at first.

“You might control yourself on occasion, but these leeches you’re taking her to –” Jacob was furiously accusing her.

“Yes. You’re right, dog,” Alice snarled back at him, just as furious as the mutt. “The Volturi are the essence of our kind – they’re the reason your hair stands on end when you smell me. They are the substance of your nightmares, the dread behind your instincts. I’m not unaware of that.”

“And you take her to them like a bottle of wine for a party!” he shouted back.

I growled at him before Alice spoke again. “You think she’d be better off if I left her here alone with Victoria stalking her?” Alice had a comeback for every sentence he unleashed.

“We can handle the redhead.

“Then why is she still hunting?”

Jacob growled then and his body shuddered.

“Stop that!” Bella suddenly yelled at us, very impatient. “Argue when we get back, let’s go!”

We turned for the car and run. Bella was still on the porch, locking the door as I dove into the backseat.

I glanced out the window to see Jake grab Bella’s arm. “Please Bella. I’m begging.”

“Jake I have to –”

“You don’t though. You really don’t. You could stay here with me. You could stay alive. For Charlie. For me.”

Alice started the car which she coaxed into a purr, thanks to me and Rose’s mechanical skills. It however thrummed impatiently when Alice revved it.

On the porch, Bella yanked her arm free and shook her head at Jake, tears starting to appear.

“Don’t die, Bella,” Jacob chocked out. “Don’t go. Don’t.”

Bella sobbed before she hugged him briefly and then kissed his palm. “Bye Jake. Sorry.”

She turned and ran towards the car. I reached over the passenger seat to yank open the door for her. She threw her back pack to me and slid in, before slamming the door.

“Take care of Charlie!” she shouted out the window but Jacob was gone. And as Alice stomped on the accelerator and raced out of the dark street, a single shred of white was caught on a tree. A piece of shoe.

Shayla's New Moon: Chapter 16

2010-04-28T20:05:45Z

Chapter 16: Vision

Shayla’s POV

When we left, we stayed far away from the house to give them privacy, but close enough so we could keep an eye on them. We rain circuits around the house in the forest, passing each other occasionally.

I took the quiet moment to think as we ran silently. What was going on with my family? Has Rosalie told them about Alice’s vision? Did they believe her? Did Edward know? What would happen if he came home and found out she was live through our minds? Would he be furious, or grateful?

These were questions I didn’t have the answers to, and I didn’t know where to find them. Edward… every decision in the past few months have revolved around him, hasn’t they? In one way, it made me livid… he was the ‘Golden Boy’ of the family, one who could do no wrong. So, you wanna leave Forks, Eddie-Boy? Sure let’s go then! Who cares about the rest of the family?

I suppressed a growl as I stopped my running and skid to a graceful stop. I immediately felt guilty for my horrid thoughts about my brother. Thank the lord for the fact that he couldn’t hear me.

I sighed and leant against a tree, as I stared up at the cloudy morning sky. My mind was wandering, going from Bella to my family, to Edward, and then back to my family, but not my ‘real’ family.

My friends had become like a second family to me. They were the main coven of Australia, because they were the most civilised and one of the biggest groups there.

Not that they always had been. Civilised, I mean. Once upon a time, they had been savage and bloodthirsty, like all non-vegetarian vampires. And, as cocky as this may sound, if I had not me them and helped them change their ways, they would still be the same. And all it had taken to change them was one little accidental meeting with them…

I ran through the dark bush, paying extra-careful attention where I was going. My feet were bare, clothes ragged and torn, and for the first time in weeks, my eyes were a, though unsteady, golden colour, one almost equal to topaz or honey, but with a small tinge of burgundy and black to them.

I didn’t hear the footfalls until it was too late. I was only focusing on getting to the capital of Tasmania, Hobart, and then, out of nowhere, I was tackled to the ground.

My first instinct was to fight and struggle to get out and away. I kicked my legs out and threw my shoulders back to send whoever had landed on me right off. The figure fell off and gave a small cry before I leapt to my feet and crouched, ready to fight if I needed to.

I locked eyes on the vampire before me. She was very beautiful, probably a rival to Rosalie in looks with her model-like physique and light chocolate-coloured hair. She was about, oh, twenty-two in physical looks, maybe? I wasn’t too sure. She wasn’t an animal-eater, shown by her red eyes, but she did hold an air of compassion around her. Which I saw in action a few moments later.

“Wait!” she cried out, holding a hand up. “I need to ask you something.”

I stopped and stood straight, still wary and slightly defensive, but in a more friendly position. “Um, ask away.”

“Your eyes…” she started. “They’re golden… how? I have fed on humans for decades and they have always stayed this colour.” She gestured to her eyes and then chuckled darkly.

I pointed to my own eyes. “These bad boys? Easy. If you promise not to try and kill me, I’ll show you. Deal?”

“Deal,” she agreed as I took off at a small jog, breathing in deeply. I made sue that she was in my sight line at all times.

“By the way,” she suddenly said from beside me. “I’m Maddy.”

“Shayla,” I replied as I smelled a collection of foreign and musky scent. A kangaroo mob was up ahead, drinking from a billabong. As I came into sight of them, Maddy quirked an eyebrow up but I ignored it. I put of a burst of speed as she slowed to watch me hunt.

The mob fled. Kangaroos were slippery little basterds, more of a challenge to hunt then deer or mountain lions. They were faster then both of them, and a lot faster then humans. But I was still faster.

One got separated, a young female. I let myself get in touch with my animal side and soon, the race was over for the roo. I leapt, jaws wide and angled for he back of her soft neck, and I almost severed it clean off with my bite.

The other vampire gawked as I managed to drain it. I then dug a wide and deep hole at superhuman speed before I picked up the corpse and tossed it into the hole to be buried.

I wandered back over to Maddy. “Animals,” she said, dumbfounded. “No humans, just animals?”

I nodded. “This was how I was taught. I could hunt humans, if I wanted to… but the truth is I don’t want to be a monster. My family and I, that’s how we co-exist and live so peacefully with one another; it’s because we’re not bloodthirsty and fighting over our food.”

I expected Maddy to scoff at this and laugh. But instead she said, “Tell me more!”

I explained the situation with my family, how I changed, how I raised to be a ‘veggie’ vampire, and about my family all together, like their gifts, their personalities, and pretty much just everything about them in general. Somewhere in this talk we ended up in a tree as we laughed and swapped stories.

Maddy eagerly told me a bout her coven, a bunch of vampires that had come together for protection from the evil nomad gangs roaming the land.

“You’re lucky I found you,” Maddy had warned, her friendly tone now one of darkness. “Anyone else probably would have killed you on the spot. But I was curious so I decided to find out.” She grinned. “And I’m glad.”

Maddy was a compassionate vampire it seemed, almost like my father, Carlisle. She was friendly and even invited me to meet her coven. I accepted.

As we ran up some rocky hills, Maddy explained that she would be willing to try our diet. “I wouldn’t mind, but I’m not sure if the rest of us would.”

There were five more in her coven, her mate, a pair who was mated, and then two more that were biologically related. None had been created by anyone in the coven but they seemed to live someone-what peacefully with one another, despite the constant bickering and fights they had.

When the hill became steep, I saw our destination. A cave with a ledge jutting out of the hill, so it was almost impossible to get in, and with firelight flickering from it. I got on all fours and managed to clamber up the hill easily. Maddy showed me how to jump up, by rebounding off some rocks, and I copied her.

I should have been suspicious like my instincts were saying, but her kind and willing nature to change tore that from my mind. She was genuinely friendly; anyone could see that.

She walked ahead of me into the deep cave which went into the hill a little bit, and around a tight corner. “I’m back!” she called.

Five vampires were lazing around a fire on logs and rocks. They all had dark red eyes.

One in particular caught my eye. A tall male with dark hair, almost like dark chocolate that, when Maddy stood beside him, complemented her milk chocolate coloured hair perfectly. It gave him an air of sweetness, friendliness, quite like Maddy’s, but the look on his face wasn’t. He was dangerous, tense, wary… protective. I think Maddy must have been his mate judging by his tense stature.

The rest stood nearby, not exactly glaring at me, but yet still giving me a look that told me I wasn’t exactly welcome. There were four more of them, two that looked like twins with their identical blonde hair, straight, angular features, and young, youth like stature. They were young physically, probably only just into their teenage years. They weren’t mates, but probably related.

The other pair was mated together, shown by their joined hands. The girl had raven-black hair which fell to just beneath her shoulders, while the male had curly, blond hair, very similar to Jasper’s. It seemed to have other colours running through it, was it possible for vampires to dye their hair? I should find out…

But now wasn’t the time. Maddy suddenly began to speak quickly. She explained who I was, my diet, and how I could help her family-like coven. And then she turned to me.

“Shayla, I’d like you to meet these people I would dearly call family. This is Theo and Tiff…” The guy with the dyed hair winked at me as he wrapped an arm around his black-haired mate’s shoulders.

“G’day,” he greeted, with a strong Australian accent is his voice. “I’m Theo and this is my girl Tiff.” He gave her a squeeze.

“I’m Shayla,” I replied, trying to let some of my natural and almost-forgotten accent to seep in. “But my friends call me Shay.”

This seemed to amuse Theo and he chuckled at my voice and grinned widely. Despite his ruby eyes, I could see myself getting along with him.

“That’s Corey, and Jessie, the twins,” Maddy then said, as the very similar vampires came forward. But only just an inch or two.

They didn’t seem comfortable with me being there. Their eyes were wary and they seemed fidgety, as they kept twitching their limbs, and they seemed to be set on flight or fight.

“And finally, this is Matthew,” Maddy finished as she led the final vampire forward to greet me. With the hard look in his eyes, his set jaw, and his almost frozen body in a dominate position, I could tell that he was the, or one of, the main leaders in the coven.

“So,” he started, glaring down at me while he spoke. “Your name is Shayla… where you from and what’s your purpose in our territory?”

“Matthew!” Maddy hissed as she punched him in the arm. She was acting like an overprotective older sister. I rolled my eyes. I already had two; I didn’t need another one, for I had three annoying and rather obnoxious older brothers as well.

“Yeah, that’s my name, what’s it to ya?” I snarled. I wanted to see how far I could push him, for he struck me as the overprotective alpha that had a rather short fuse. I just needed to light that fuse.

He growled loudly, a low and rumbling sound in his chest. “I don’t like your attitude shortie.”

“And I don’t like your face,” I retorted smugly. “But you don’t hear me complaining about.”

I heard two of the vampires behind Matt snigger loudly. “Ooo, you got burned by the new girl, Matty!” I glanced to see Tiff laughing along with her mate as Theo snorted at my comeback. He then gushed excitedly, “That was a good one Shay! I hadn’t heard a decent comeback like that since I was human.” He stepped forward towards me and held out a fist. “Bump it.” We smashed our fists together and I grinned. Theo seemed like an all-out decent and awesome guy. I liked him.

“Humph.” Matt seemed unimpressed as he turned away and stalked off towards the back of the cave. Maddy shot me an apologetic look before she followed while the other vampires settled around the fire. I stood there, uncomfortable in this rather awkward situation where I had been invited to another coven’s ‘home’ but the person that had invited me had left. It was like a party you went to and you knew no one at all and had spent it drinking vodka alone behind the back shed.

However, unlike that certain party, that troublesome problem was soon eliminated.

“Join us Shay,” Jessie invited in a soft voice, as she patted the rocky earth beside her, “We won’t bite…”

“Much!” Corey laughed, finishing his twin’s sentence. I frowned, slightly confused until someone, if I think, and whispered that he was kidding.

We sat there for a while, talking quietly to one another. I found out that they had not always been people-eaters. They were once vegetarians but after Corey and Jessie joined, who were not vegetarians, they drifted back into old habits and hadn’t attempted to break them.

Suddenly my day-dream was cut off by Alice flying past me. “Alice!” I yelled. “What the hell is going on?” She ignored me and ran back to Bella’s house, before she darted back in through Charlie’s window. I sighed and followed and just as I came to the top of the stairs, I saw Alice at the foot of them, her eyes wide and shocked as she chocked out Bella’s name. Jacob was there too, frozen in place as he stood there.

“Alice, what’s wrong?” Bella cried as I darted down the stairs, just as Bella placed her hands on Alice’s drawn whiter-then bone-bone face to try and calm her down, as she trembled uncontrollably.

“Edward,” Alice whispered.

Shayla's New Moon: Chapter 15

2010-04-28T20:01:06Z

Chapter 15: Reunion

Shayla’s POV

Deep in the forest, high up on a branch, I stalked a mountain lioness as she in turn stalked her prey, a squirrel of all things. I paused, watching the cat twitch her tail in preparation, as the wind changed direction, to send my scent washing over her.

She spun around hissing, and then growled a warning at me. For some strange reason, out of all the animals in the forest, I could understand carnivores. Just the meat-eaters, though, though I could just understand deer slightly, but nothing else. It was weird, but helpful, to me at least, when I hunted.

What are you doing! Get away! The cat hissed out this warning as she swiped her hooked claws at me. I shrunk down lower, before I pounced, just like this lioness was about to. I tackled her off the branch and we tumbled down to the forest floor.

I found my meal at her throat which I sunk my teeth into, as I began to feed on the slightly appetising feast. She struggled widely and I held her still as her teeth struggled to find purchase at my neck, and her claws at my arms and chest. Soon her shrieks and struggles ceased, and she fell silent as the only sound was of me feeding on her hot, wet blood.

Finally, she was drained and I buried the body quickly, while I wiped my face with my shirt. Everyone teased that I was a messy eater, kind of like Emmett. I often returned from hunting trips with bloodstained and torn clothing. The ones that were unrepairable, I threw out and Alice took great pleasure in buying me more. She was such a good sister.

I brushed the dirt off my plain black tee with a silver patter running down the front, looking like a great shining dragon, before I inspected the damage. A few tears in the design but no great big rips. I said a prayer of thanks; this was one of my favourites.

I sniffed, and tried to pick up Alice’s scent. I found it and set off at a run to the north, before I found Alice confronting a giant black bear.

I found it quite amusing that such a tiny pixie could not be the least be fazed by a monstrous black bear as it towered over her. Her eyes were almost golden – I knew if she fed on the bear there would be some left over.

So I darted to her side and grinned as the bear roared unhappily and swiped with a massive paw at us both. I caught it in a hand easily and threw it back, sending the bear off balance and to be tackled by Alice who sunk her teeth into its hairy throat.

They crashed to the ground in a flurry of fur, leaves and limbs, as Alice began to drink. I wandered to her side, and picked up a forearm and sunk my teeth into the vein, feeding on the fallen bear we shared.

Usually, when my kind is hunting, we don’t share, vegetarian or not. If there is a limited source of food then yes but by normal standards, no, we don’t. But, my family has learnt to share. We must hunt carefully to keep a steady rate of both carnivores and vegetarian prey in supply.

Depending on how thirsty you are an elk, moose or bear can feed at least two of us. We can have one to ourselves first, if you’re dead thirsty and of course, no one is stupid enough to try and share another vampire’s first feed of the fortnight when they’re desperately thirsty. It was just plain foolish.

But Alice knew that she couldn’t consume the bear in one go by herself without being completely uncomfortable. So that’s why she let me help, and to not throw me at against tree or to snarl a warning. She was kind and considerate, and had some humanity in her to keep some manners with her while she hunted. Not me though; I once threw Emmett into a boulder when he wandered too close to my grizzly. I was rather overprotective of my food; Jasper had found that out on my very first hunt,

She finished first and waited patiently for me. I released my teeth from the furry limb and rose from my crouched position as Alice effortlessly lifted the bear over her tiny shoulder. Together, we disposed of the corpse easily by hiding it in some thick scrub.

And then we began to run back, without speaking once. We had gone home beforehand to find some clothes and we had left them in bags in a tree near the edge of Bella Swan’s lawn.

Alice was inside first and into the living room, to sit on the makeshift bed that she wouldn’t need. I followed in to see that Bella had made one up for me as well, but on one of the armchairs. A tiny glimmer of hope that she was trying to accept me as a friend sparked up inside of me. Was she being friendly or just humouring me?

I heard Bella scoff down her dinner in a rush, gulping down a few gallons of milk, before she came into the room.

Alice patted her pillow as I sank into the armchair. “Thanks,” she said.

“You’re early,” Bella stated, her face lighting up and her voice adopting an elated tone.

She sat down next to Alice and leant against her. My sister sighed and hugged Bella to her. I moved to sit down on their other side, leaning back against the couch.

“Bella. What are we going to do with you?” Alice sighed.

“I don’t know,” Bella admitted. “I really have been trying my hardest.”

“I believe you.”

“We believe you,” I corrected in a hard voice. “I believe you as well Bella.”

Bella seemed surprised that I believed her. She fell silent until she worked up the courage to talk again.

“Does – does he…” She took a deep breath. “Does Edward know you’re here?” She gave a shiver and kept breathing out loud raspy breaths. Damn you Edward, I wish you could see what the hell you have done to her!

“No,” Alice and I answered at the same time, and in the same flat, unhappy voice. She, like me, was still angry at him. She hadn’t seen what I had seen, physically, but she knew enough.

Bella kept talking. “He’s not with Carlisle and Esme?”

“He checks in every few months.”

“Oh.” Bella paused as she gathered her thoughts. “You said you flew here… Where did you come from?”

“We were in Denali. Visiting Tanya’s family. Shayla drove while I flew. She’s a speed demon when it comes to that car.” I snorted at this remark.

“Is Jasper here? Did he come with you?”

Alice shook her head. “No, it’s just us. He didn’t approve of my interfering… We promised….” She trailed off and then her tone of voice changed. “And you think Charlie won’t mind me being here?”

“Charlie thinks your wonderful, Alice.” She turned her head to me. “I don’t think he’s ever met you Shayla.”

I shook my head. “No, never. I hope he approves.”

“Well, we’re about to find out,” Alice said, glancing towards the door.

I pricked my ears and cocked my head to the side, as a car pulled up outside. Bella jumped up and hurried to the door to open it and go outside. I heard her and Charlie converse in muffled tone about Harry before Bella spoke again. “Um, Dad? You’ll never guess who’s here.”

Alice and I moved closer to the door, still out of sight. She moved into the doorway before I did and spoke first. “Hi Charlie,” she greeted in a subdued voice. “I’m sorry we came at a bad time.”

From my place behind Alice, I could see him peer at Alice expectantly, as though he expected someone other then the tiny girl in front of me. “Alice Cullen?” he asked, bewildered. Apparently he had a soft spot for Alice, even calling her an angel at times. “Alice, is that you?”

“It’s me,” she confirmed. “I was in the neighbourhood.”

“Is Carlisle…?” he asked, trailing off. I knew he wasn’t talking about Carlisle really.

“No, it’s just my sister and I.”

“Your sister?” he glanced around and I decided it was my turn to show my face around him.

I stepped out into his view line. “Hello Chief Swan. My name is Shayla; I’m Alice’s younger sister.”

He blinked confused. “I didn’t know Dr Cullen had a kid…”

“He didn’t, I’m adopted as well. He took me in when I was thirteen. I got sent to boarding school in Australia for two years when I turned fourteen and I returned around last year sometime. So… yeah.”

Yep, that was my cover story for being away. Apparently I was a ‘difficult child’ because my parents had died young and my previous foster parents were drug addicts and did a lot of other criminal behaviour. The best option was either sending me to boarding school or to be put medication. Since Esme didn’t want me on drugs and Carlisle didn’t believe that they would work (of course not, I can’t eat), they sent me away. But when I came back, I was a changed girl and have had no problems since. Well, no ‘human’ problems.

“They can both stay here, can’t they?” Bella suddenly asked, almost pleading. “I’ve already asked them.”

Charlie looked uncertain but then he answered mechanically, “Of course. We’d love to have you both.”

“Thank you Charlie,” Alice answered for us both. “I know it’s horrid timing.”

“No, it’s fine, really. I’m going to be really busy doing what I for Harry’s family; it will be nice for Bella to have some company.”

“There’s dinner on the table for you Dad,” Bella informed him next, and he murmured a thank you, before he shuffled towards the kitchen.

We went back to the couch and Alice pulled Bella towards her shoulder. “You look tired,” she stated, not asking, but stating a very obvious fact. Bella had faint shadows underneath, like she was a vampire who had just fed, but still slightly thirsty.

“Yeah,” Bella agreed, shrugging. “Near-death experiences do that to me… So, what does Carlisle think of you being here?”

I sniggered quietly. Alice shot me a ‘shut-up-and-behave’ look before she answered Bella. “He doesn’t know. He and Esme were on a hunting trip. I’ll hear from him in a few days, when he gets back.”

“You won’t tell him though… when he checks in again?” Bella wasn’t talking about Carlisle now, Alice and I knew that.

“No. He’d bite my head off,” Alice replied grimly. I grimaced at the thought. Edward defiantly would not be happy about this.

Bella laughed once, a quick, short laugh, before she sighed and lay back onto Alice’s shoulder. She shut her eyes, and eventually, she drifted herself to sleep.

I knew I had to pretend to sleep so Charlie wouldn’t think that it was odd that Bella’s two closest non-human friends did not sleep. So I snuggled down into the makeshift bed and closed my eyes.

It was for a fair few hours I sat there, just sat there, before the sun rose from behind the horizon. I peeked a little and tilted my head listening, but there were no sounds of life in the house apart from Bella’s now peaceful sleep and Charlie’s snore. Huh, guess he wasn’t the ‘Wake up at the crack of dawn’ person.

But a few hours later, he did wake up and peeked into the living room before he called out softly to us, whispering our names and when I poked my head u expectedly, he asked me if I wanted breakfast. I nodded, not seeing another option, and followed him into the kitchen, poking Alice as she slid from Bella’s hold to follow us.

While the chief went out to tack the trash out, Bella gave me a quick demo on how to hide and eat human food. All I had to do was to chew it as much as possible so it was almost liquefied, and then swallow it. Sure, it would be thrown up later but that was tough luck. I had no other option. Alice on the other hand was an expert on hiding human food in other places, so she wouldn’t have to empty her stomach later. I knew that she had the better option but I took the easy way out.

It was bacon and eggs for breakfast, or just bacon for me, after I told Charlie I wasn’t fond of eggs. He smiled slightly, and told us he wasn’t either but Bella apparently loved them. I smiled back and tucked in.

It was gross, swallowing the bacon as he talked to Alice. When they got onto the subject of Bella, I listened eagerly.

“How bad was it, Charlie?” Alice asked softly.

Charlie sighed. “Real bad.”

“Tell me about it. I want to know exactly what happened after we left.

Charlie paused as he got up to shut a cupboard door, and to switch off a dial on the stove.

“I’ve never felt so helpless,” he began slowly. “I didn’t know what to do. That first week – I thought I was going have to hospitalize her. She wouldn’t eat or drink, she wouldn’t move. Dr Gerandy was throwing around words like ‘catatonic,’ but I didn’t let him up to see her I thought it would scare her.”

“She snapped out of it though?”

“I had Renee come to take her to Florida. I just didn’t want to be the one… if she had to go to a hospital or something. I hoped being with her mother would help. But when we started packing her clothes, she woke with a vengeance. I’ve never seen Bella throw a fit like that. She was never one for tantrums, but, boy, did she fly into a fury. She threw her clothes everywhere and screaming that we couldn’t make her leave – and then she finally started crying. I thought that would be the turning point. I didn’t argue when she insisted on staying here… and she did seem to get better at first…”

He trailed off and it was obvious how much this pained him to talk about this. In the other room, I heard Bella shift and her breathing sped up. Ah, she must be awake now and, knowing her, probably listening to our conversation.

“But?” Alice prompted, allowing Charlie to resume his previous talk.

“She went back to school and work, she ate and slept and did her homework. She answered when someone asked her a direct question. But she was... empty. Her eyes were blank. There were lots of little things – she wouldn’t listen to music anymore; I found a whole heap of CDs broken in the trash. She didn’t read; she wouldn’t be in the same room when the TV was on, not that she watched it much before. I finally figured it out – she was avoiding everything that might reminder of… him.

“We could hardly talk; I was so worried about saying something that would upset her – the littlest things would make her flinch – and she never volunteered anything. She would just answer if I asked her something.

“She was alone all the time. She didn’t call her friends back and after a while, they stopped calling.

“It was the night of the living dead around here. I still hear her screaming in her sleep…”

He gave a shudder and I realised. Bella hadn’t fooled him. He knew what was happening, the screaming, the nightmares... I shuddered too before I heard Bella sigh sadly.

“I’m so sorry Charlie,” Alice said back glumly.

“Me too,” I agreed as I pushed my plate forward, unable to swallow any of the nasty stuff down anymore.

“It’s not your fault girls.” The way he said made it clear who was responsible. My dumb, idiotic brother. “You, Alice, were always a good friend to her. And Shayla, I don’t know you all too well but you’re a good kid and perhaps even a better friend to my girl. Not too many around these days. Stay like that.”

“Thank you Chief.” I nodded my head respectively.

“She seems better now though,” Alice resumed the previous conversation.

“Yeah. Ever since she started hanging out with Jacob Black, I noticed a real improvement. She has some colour in her cheeks when she comes home, some light in her eyes. She’s happier.” He paused and his voice was different, almost with a proud tone in it. “He’s a year or so younger then her, and I know she used to think of it as a friend, but I think it’s something more now, or headed that direction anyway.” Charlie said this in a tone almost belligerent. It was a warning, not for us, but for us to both pass along. “Jake’s old for his years,” he continued on, sounding kind of like he was bragging and he was getting defensive as well. “He’s taken care of his father physically the way Bella took care of her mother emotionally. It matured him. He’s a good-looking kid too – take’s after his Mom’s side. He’s good for Bella you know,” he insisted.

“Then it’s good she has him,” Alice agreed. I nodded my head when Charlie eyes me warningly, as though I didn’t agree. If Jacob made Bella happy, who was I to stand in their way?

Charlie sighed and let out a big gush of air. “Okay, so I guess that’s overstating things. I don’t know… even with Jacob, now and then I see something in her eyes, and I wonder if I’ve ever grasped how much pain she’s really in. It’s not normal, Alice, and it… it frightens me. Not normal at all. Not like someone… left her, but liked someone died.” His voice cracked a little but he held on to keep talking, in a hopeless tone.

“I don’t know if she’s going to get over it – I’m not sure if it’s in her nature to heal from something like this. She’s always been such a constant little thing. She doesn’t get past things, change her mind.”

“She’s one of a kind,” Alice agreed.

“And Alice …” Charlie hesitated, speaking only to Alice for a moment. “Now, you know how fond I am of you, and I can tell that she’s happy to see you, but… I’m a little worried about what your visit will do to her.”

“So am I, Charlie, so am I. We wouldn’t have come back if we’d had any idea. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t apologise honey. Who know? Maybe it’ll be good for her.”

“I hope you’re right.”

There was a long silence as Charlie ate and Alice ‘ate’ as well. Forks scraped against plates, and while Charlie chewed nosily.

“Girls, I have to ask you something,” Charlie said awkwardly.

I tilted my head, confused, but Alice was calm. “Go ahead.”

“He’s not coming back to visit, too, is he?” Charlie had suppressed anger in his voice as he made it perfectly clear who he meant.

I hid my anger at Charlie very well while Alice answered him, in the most calm and reassuring voice that she could. “He doesn’t know I’m here. The last time I spoke to him, he was in South America.”

“That’s something at least,” Charlie snorted. “Well, I hope he’s enjoying himself.”

I narrowed my eyes at this accusation and for the first time, Alice’s voice gained a bit of steel in it. “I wouldn’t make assumptions Charlie.” Her eyes flashed when she used that tone.

Charlie scooted back on his chair, making a horrible scraping noise, as he took the plates to wash in the sink.

In the other room, Bella ‘woke up’. I grinned at Alice. We both knew she was listening. “Alice, Shayla?” she called in a raspy voice.

“We’re in here Bella,” Alice called, adding no hint in her voice that we had heard her eavesdropping.

Charlie left then to arrange the funeral but we stayed another day, talking to Bella about our family, about all but one. We explained where we were living now, what we were doing, and Alice explained about her past. And then after a brief pause, we talked about the spring break and kept on talking until Charlie returned, just after dark. We ‘slept’ in the living room again.

The next morning, Charlie tiptoes down the stairs, wearing an old suit that was too small for him, as the jacket hung open and was perhaps a little tight. The tie was a little out of style too. I could tell Alice and Bella were also awake and we let him go.

As soon he was gone, Alice sat up, fully dressed like me. “So, what are we doing today?” she asked.

“Yeah, what’s on the agenda for today?” I asked too in a teasing voice. “Is it going to be bungee jumping, kayaking or sky-diving?”

Bella laughed in time with me before she told us that she had some chores to do, since she has been neglecting them in order to spend more at La Push.

While she worked, we talked some more. While Bella started with the bathroom, Alice leant against the doorjamb and asked question about her, or rather, our high school friends. Her face and voice sounded casual but she disapproved of how little Bella could tell of them.

When Bella was scrubbing the bathtub, the doorbell rang. Alice jumped, surprised and a little worried judging by her expression. Hang on, Alice was never surprised.

“Hold on!” Bella shouted as she got up to rinse her arms off.

“Bella,” Alice suddenly said, slightly frustrated. “I have a fairly good guess who that might be, and I think we’d better step out.”

“Guess?” Bella echoed, slightly confused.

“If this is a repeat of my egregious lapse in foresight yesterday, then it’s most likely Jacob Black or one of his…”

“Mongrel friends,” I finished.

Bella stared. “You can’t see werewolves?”

Alice grimaced. “So it would seem.” Alice was annoyed by this fact, very, very annoyed.

The doorbell rang again, buzzing quickly and impatiently.

“You don’t have to go anywhere, Shayla and Alice. You were both here first.”

We laughed darkly. “Trust us Bella; it wouldn’t be a good idea to have me, Shayla and Jacob Black in a room together.

And then, after Alice kissed Bella’s cheek and I gave her a one-armed hug, we vanished out of Charlie’s back window.

The doorbell rang once again.

Shayla's New Moon: Chapter 14

2010-04-28T19:54:22Z

Chapter 14: Visitor

Shayla’s POV

Bella stared at Alice, shock written all over her face, before her knees trembled and she ran and slammed into Alice, but not even moving her an inch from where she stood. It would have been like running headlong into a solid brick wall.

“Alice, oh Alice!” she cried as locked her arms around her and gasped, smelling Alice’s perfect floral scent.

“Bella?” Alice asked, confused but relieved. I let out a sigh, a loud, relieved one, and locked my arms around my chest to stop me from running and embracing Bella in a hug.

Bella began to sob then and Alice dragged her to the couch where she pulled the crying Bella to her lap and soothed her by rubbing her back, and waited for her to control herself.

“I’m… sorry,” Bella blubbered out. “I’m just… so happy… to see you!”

“It’s okay, Bella. Everything’s okay.”

“Yes,” Bella bawled.

My sister sighed. “I’d forgotten how exuberant you are,” she said and her tone rang with disapproval.

I snickered and wandered over to the couch before leaning over the back of it. Bella’s eyes snapped up to mine and I nodded my head, a greeting and a warning in one.

Bella then looked up at Alice through her streaming eyes. Alice’s eyes were blacker then night, her neck tight, straining away from the human on her lap, and her lips together. She was in no better shape then I.

Bella smelled delicious. What I wouldn’t give for a taste of her blood. But the sane part of my head, the one that had my family’s faces imprinted on it. I was smart enough to know that, even though I wanted it very much, I couldn’t kill Bella. I would withstand it. I could do this.

“Oh,” Bella puffed, as she realised our problem. She smelled appetising to two very thirsty vampires. “Sorry.”

Yeah, like it was her fault in the first place. I should have been smarter and hunted earlier instead of ignoring the ache in my throat.

“It’s my own fault. It’s been too long since I’ve hunted. I shouldn’t have let myself get so thirsty.”

“Nor should have I,” I said, speaking for the first time to Bella.

“But we were in a hurry today,” Alice continued on. She then glared at Bella. “Speaking of which, would you like to explain how you are still alive?”

Bella stopped her sobs. She must have realised what must have happened, and why we were here.

She swallowed loudly. “You saw me fall.”

“No,” Alice disagreed, narrowing her eyes. “I saw you jump.”

As Bella pursed her lips, I glared at her too, a frightening gesture. Not that it mattered anyway. Hardly anything scared Bella, practically nothing. I wouldn’t say anything, she was more Alice’s friend then mine and this was her time to talk.

Alice shook her head. “I told this would happen. ‘Bella promised,’” she then quoted our brother, imitating his voice almost perfectly; so much that Bella froze in her seat as she listened. “‘Don’t be looking for her in the future either. We’ve done enough damage.’”

“But because I’m not looking, doesn’t mean I don’t see,” she went on. “I wasn’t keeping tabs on you, I swear Bella. It’s just that I’m already attuned to you… when I saw you jumping, I didn’t think, I just told Shayla and I jumped on a plane while she drove. We both knew it was too late but we just couldn’t do nothing. And then we got here, thinking maybe we could help Charlie somehow, and you drive up.” She shook her head, this time in confusion. Her voice was strained when she spoke again. “I saw you go into the water and I waited and waited for you to come up, but you didn’t. What happened? And how could you do that too Charlie? Did you stop to think what this would do to him? And my brother? Do you have any idea what Edward –”

It was true of course, all of her words were true. If Edward found out that she ha committed suicide, he would be utterly devastated. Would he want to keep living his existence? No he wouldn’t.

But before Alice could continue though, Bella cut her off. “Alice, I wasn’t committing suicide.”

Alice eyed Bella dubiously before she looked at me and we exchanged a confused look with one another. “Are you saying that you didn’t jump off a cliff?”

“No…” Bella answered, grimacing when she did so. “It was for recreational purposes.”

Alice’s expression hardened and I chuckled quietly. Cliff diving was one of my passions. I was an adrenaline junkie and I loved to do anything that would get a human’s heart pumping and the venom in my system racing like the adrenaline in a human system. There weren’t many things that the humans offered to do that got such things happening but, with my brothers helping me, I could find my own things that was higher faster and more exhilarating then anything a human could do.

“I’d seen some of Jacob’s friends’ cliff diving,” Bella insisted. “It looked like… fun, and I was bored…”

We waited for a better explanation. We didn’t have very long to though.

“I didn’t think about how the storm would affect the currents. Actually, I didn’t think about the water much at all.”

I believed her but Alice, she didn’t buy it at all. Bella must have saw this and tried to distract Alice with a different subject. “If you saw me go in, why didn’t you see Jacob?”

Alice cocked her head to the side, distracted. All I said was, “Huh?”

Bella continued on. “It’s true that I probably would have drowned if Jacob hadn’t jumped in after me. Well, okay, there’s no probably about it. But he did, and he pulled me out, and I guessed he towed me back to shore, though I was kind of out for that part. It couldn’t have been more then a minute that I was under before he grabbed me. How come you didn’t see that?”

Alice frowned, her perfect face confused. I too was confused, and my face probably almost imitated hers perfectly. “Someone pulled you out?” Alice asked.

“Yes. Jacob saved me.”

Emotions flickered across Alice’s face. Confusion… doubt… pity? Was her vision bothering her, how she couldn’t see the wolf-boy? She never mentioned not seeing them before, even though she had only met them once and that was to sign the treaty.

I sniffed, and I detected a very, very disgusting smell. Alice must have picked it up as well, because she sniffed Bella’s shoulder, who has frozen in her seat.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Alice mumbled, sniffing a bit more. Her sense of smell wasn’t as strong as mine, so I could pick up the scent from where I was at the back of the couch, as strongly as if I was sitting where Alice sat now.

“What are you doing?” Bella demanded to know but Alice ignored that demand.

“Who was with you out there just now? It sounded like you were arguing.”

“Jacob Black. He’s… sort of like my best friend, I guess. At least, he was…” Bella hesitated and looked distracted.

Alice nodded once, seeming preoccupied. I wandered around to the other side of the couch and sat of Alice’s other side, feeling a bit annoyed that I was being ignored.

“What?” Bella asked Alice.

“I don’t know,” she answered. “I’m not sure what it means.”

“Well, I’m not dead at least.” Well, thank fucking God.

Alice rolled her eyes when she said that last part. “He was a fool to think that you could survive alone. I’ve never seen anyone so prone to life threatening idiocy.” She shot a look at me and jabbed her elbow in my ribs while I was in my slouched position. “This one here doesn’t count since, technically, she can’t die, even though some of the things she does is completely and utterly foolish.”

“Shut it,” I answered. “At least I’m doing something fun.” She rolled her eyes to this comment.

“Hey, I survived,” Bella pointed out, interrupting our mini argument.

Alice went back to thinking of something else. “So, if the currents were too much for you, how did this Jacob manage?” Good question.

“Jacob is… strong.”

There was reluctance in her voice. I exchanged a look with Alice who twisted her neck around to gaze at me. I shrugged before Alice turned back around and raised her eyebrows.

Bella gnawed on her bottom lip as she sat there. “See, well, he’s sort of a werewolf…” she finally admitted. “The Quileutes turn into wolves when there are vampires around. They know Carlisle from a long time ago. Were you with Carlisle back then?”

Alice gawked at Bella for a moment and then recovered herself, blinking rapidly. So, I had been right after all. “Well, I guess that explains the smell,” she muttered. “But does it explain what I don’t see?” She frowned again, her porcelain forehead creasing.

“The smell?”

“You smell –” Alice began to say but I cut her off.

“You stick Bells, it smells like a really, really strong wet dog scent. It’s goddamn awful.” To illustrate my point, I turned my face away from her and plugged my nose with my fingertips.

Alice smiled for a brief second before she kept talking. “As Shayla just pointed out, yes, you do smell awful. A werewolf? Are you sure about that?”

“Very sure,” Bella promised, as she winced slightly. “I guess you weren’t with Carlisle the last time there were werewolves in Forks?”

“No, I had only just found him when they first appeared but when we signed the treaty, about twenty years later, they found our scent and tracked us. It was during Shayla’s first year as a vampire as it so happened to be.” Her eyes widened and we both stared at her. “You best friend is a werewolf?”

Bella nodded. I shook my head. Werewolves were not good company to keep.

“How long has this been going on?”

“Not long,” Bella said, her voice getting a defensive edge to it. “He’s been a werewolf for a few weeks.”

And it just keeps getting worse doesn’t it?

My sister and I glowered at her. “A young werewolf? Even worse! Edward was right – you’re a magnet for danger. Weren’t you supposed to be staying out of trouble?”

“There’s nothing wrong with werewolves,” Bella grumbled, slightly annoyed and stung by Alice’s critical tone and the irritated glare on my face.

“Until they lose their tempers.” Alice shook her head sharply from side to side as I rolled my eyes. “Leave it to you Bella. Anyone else would be better off when the vampires left town. But you have to start hanging out with the first monsters you can find.”

Bella was trembling but then she spoke again. “No, Alice, the vampires didn’t really leave – not all of them, anyway. That’s the whole trouble. If it weren’t for the werewolves, Victoria would have gotten me by now. Well, if it weren’t for Jake and his friends, Laurent would have gotten me before she could I guess, so –”

“Victoria?” Alice hissed. “Laurent?”

I opened my mouth and hissed in time with Alice before I clenched my teeth together and instead, let a deep, throaty growl slip out in pure anger and frustration.

Bella didn’t seem fazed one bit my snarls and instead continued on before she pointed to her chest. “Danger magnet, remember?”

I shook her head at Bella and Alice did too. “Tell us everything – start at the beginning.”

Bella started to talk, telling of her depression and when we left, before she moved onto how she and Jacob become best friends. She explained how he ‘dumped’ her and then about the wolves. I hated her hurried explanation about the cliffs and boredom before she talked about seeing a strange flame in the water before she said that she thought it was Victoria.

Alice’s eyes were narrowed at this part and if was really freaky to see her look so deadly, so dangerous – so much like a real vampire. I probably looked like one too with my bared teeth, clenched fists and furious-looking eyes, as well as the loud rumbles echoing from deep in my chest. Bella seemed a little fazed but hurried on with an explanation of what had happened today, when old Harry Clearwater had a heart attack.

But we kept listening without argument. I tutted occasionally and Alice shook her head and the crease on her forehead before it looked like it could become of permanent residence on her head.

Finally Bella fell quiet and sat silently. I gazed at her curiously, until Alice spoke.

“Our leaving didn’t do you any good at all, did it?” she murmured.

I gave a small scoffing noise. “Ya reckon?” I mumbled.

Bella didn’t hear me and laughed a hysterical laugh. “That was never the point, though, was it? It’s not like you left for my benefit.”

Alice scowled at the floor as I glared at the ceiling, still fuming slightly. “Well…” Alice said. “I guess we both acted impulsively today. I probably shouldn’t have come back.”

Bella’s face went white as she clutched Alice. “Don’t go Alice,” she whispered. “Please don’t leave me.” She looked like she was about to hyperventilate which she did, seconds later.

Yep, thanks for wanting me to stay too, Bella.

Alice’s eyes widened. “All right,” she answered, pronouncing every word with slow precision. “I’m not going anywhere tonight, and neither are you Shayla,” she added as I made the decision to leave. “Take a deep breath Bella.”

Bella peered around Alice as she tried to breathe. “Stay… please…” she whispered. She extended a hand out to mine and I took it.

“I will,” I promised. “Until you want me gone for good.”

Bella smiled slightly and I grinned at her. I was happy, I felt like I was wanted, needed now, and not just a prop sitting next to my sister.

Alice waited until Bella seemed calm enough to speak again. “You look like hell, Bella”

“I drowned today,” she reminded her.

“It goes deeper then that. You’re a mess.”

Bella flinched. “Look, I’m doing my best.”

“What do you mean?”

“It hasn’t been easy. I’m working on it.”

Alice frowned. “I told him,” she muttered, more to herself then to us. I nodded.

“Alice, Shayla,” Bella sighed and we snapped our faces towards he. “What did you think you were going to find? I mean, besides me dead? Did you expect to find me skipping around and whistling show tunes? You both know me better then that.”

“We do. But I hoped.”

“Then I guess I don’t have the corner on the idiocy market.”

Then the phone rang.

“That has to be Charlie,” Bella stated as she dragged herself to her feet and staggered over to pick it up. “Charlie?”

“No, it’s me,” a voice answered on the other line. It was rougher, huskier, and slightly deep as well, but it was difficult to tell by the phones old cables.

“Jake!” Bella cried.

Damn mutt. We both scrutinized Bella’s reaction to this phone conversation.

“Just making sure you’re still alive.” I snarled at this remark. He won’t be if I ever got my hands on him. Who does he think he is? The tog dog? I nearly giggled at my joke.

“I’m fine. I told you it was –”

“Yeah. I got it. Bye.” The friggen dog hung up on her! Talk about being rude.

Bella sighed as she replaced the phone, and let her head hang back, staring at the ceiling. “That’s going to be a problem.”

Alice got up and squeezed Bella’s hand. “They aren’t excited that we’re here.”

“Though they have a right to,” I agreed, knowing that though, as much as I hated the wolves, they were right. We left, and so they took over the territory like they should’ve. We came back, they had to go back to La Push and protect only their people. It was a difficult situation all round.

“Not especially,” Bella answered us as I joined them. “But it’s none of their business anyway.”

Alice placed her around Bella. I could have done the same, except, well, Bella and I weren’t as close as Alice and her well. It would have been awkward with a capital A. “So what do we do now?” she mused, talking to herself. “Things to do, loose ends to tie.”

“What things to do?” Bella asked

My sister’s face was frozen, careful as she picked her words carefully. “I don’t know for sure… we’ll need to see Carlisle.” She glanced at me. I nodded in response, a quick jerky movement.

Bella looked shocked. “Could you stay? Please? For just a little while. You have no idea how much I’ve missed you both so much.”

I blinked out of habit and surprise. “You missed me?”

She nodded. “You’re like the little sister I never got to have. You’re so fun and full of life. Just to be around you makes anyone happy.”

Alice spoke again. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea, us staying I mean.” Her eyes were unhappy, uncertain.

“I do,” Bella argued. Still oh-so-stubborn. “You could stay here – Charlie would love that.”

“We do have a house, Bella.”

She nodded, disappointed but quickly resigned. Alice hesitated next, as she spoke for the both of us.

“Well, we’ll need to go get a suitcase of clothes.”

“Alice, you’re the best!” Bella threw her around her before she put one around me as well. I held my breath as her delicious human scent tickled my nose. My venom glands released more venom into my mouth which I swallowed quickly and glanced at Alice.

Alice saw this and said, “And I think we both need to hunt. Immediately,” she added, in a strained voice.

“Oops,” Bella mumbled and released us taking a step back.

“Can you stay out of trouble for an hour?” Alice closed her eyes and focused, holding up a finger as a symbol for Bella to stay silent. Her face went smooth and blank for a few seconds before she opened them.

“Yes, you’ll be fine. For tonight, anyway,” she answered her own question before she grimaced.

“You’ll come back?” Bella asked in a small voice, glancing between us. My body was tense, set, to run the minute Alice decided we should go.

“I promise – one hour,” Alice answered as Bella glanced at the clock. She laughed at this and kissed Bella on the cheek. And with a swift glance at me, we bolted.

Shayla's New Moon: Chapter 13

2010-04-28T19:52:50Z

Chapter 13: Flight

Shayla’s POV

Previously on Shayla’s New Moon…

Alice froze solid, like a marble stature, and then, her lips parted slowly and she whispered in the most dead, shaky and unsure voice that I have never ever heard her speak with before, “Shayla, Bella’s dead.”

The words that Alice had spoken rang in my ears, not quite comprehending to my mind. But as reality set it, I gasped out loud. My stomach twisted and tightened and my knees felt like they were about to give out. I grabbed the doorframe beside me to steady myself but my hand smashed through it, leaving a hole in the size and shape of my curled fingers. I released my hand from it, making it bigger with splinters jutting out before I spoke but all my words were gibberish. “Wha-what? How-how-how could it, why did it-it-it, when… I mean, how did it happen?”

Alice looked close to sobbing. “She jumped off a cliff at La Push. She screamed all the way down. The current was too strong and she was dragged under. Before she jumped, she was talking to herself, saying something about, ‘You wanted me to be human.’ She must have gone crazy.”

A strange sound filled the air, like a ripping noise mixed in with rumbles. I was perplexed but I then realised what it was. Me. The sound echoed from my chest as I sobbed. Alice hugged me as she too cried. We stood there for a while until the door burst open.

“Have you seen Emmett? I can’t find him anywhere.” Rosalie cut in on our moment of grief when she strode in. She stopped short when she saw us. “Um, what’s going on? Alice? Shayla?” I noticed that she said my name with a lot more difficulty.

I looked up from where I held my sister to me. I opened my mouth to speak but I couldn’t. Alice patted my shoulder affectionately, before she spoke for me. “Bella’s dead Rosalie, she committed suicide today. I was trying not to see her and I missed this. It’s too late to stop her.”

Rosalie’s face lit up for a brief moment before she arranged it into a cold mask, one that displayed her indifference for the situation. “Oh, oh I see. Well that’s good isn’t it? I mean, Edward can come home now right?”

I didn’t respond with words. I let a horrific, gruesome snarl burst out from behind my lips as I drew them back to expose my razor-sharp teeth, at her face, and her heartless attitude. She took a step back, a good idea, while I hugged Alice. Sometimes I felt like I should have been the big sister – not her. I gave another threatening growl.

Alice’s tone and face matched my disgust at Rosalie’s feelings. “Rosalie! How can you say that?” Alice growled, a furious noise coming from such a tiny girl. “That is the most selfish, most heinous thing I have ever heard you say! Shayla’s right – you really are a bitch sometimes!”

Rosalie scowled, yet still looking quite beautiful, before she flipped her hair over her shoulder and stalked out the door. “Whatever,” she called. “But he will come home soon, I’ll see to it.”

I stood there as my vision partly clouded over and I saw nothing but rage, white-hot anger. She may have been my sister, but Rosalie was such an idiot sometimes! And she was incredibly selfish too. My fists clenched at my sides and my teeth locked together before I considered ripping her head off.

“Shayla.” My head snapped towards Alice’s. “I have to go, to see Charlie. It’ll be too late, but it’s the very least I can do. I’ll need you to tell them what’s going on so, can you –”

“No way,” I interrupted. “I am coming too Alice. Bella was almost like a sister to me too, despite the fact that I always felt like killing her. I am coming with you.”

She looked unsure as I gave her my best puppy-dog eyes look. “Please Alice,” I begged. “Please Alice, I am begging you. Let me come. I can help.”

There was a brief silence. “Well… alright,” she finally said. “We’ll need to get a plane.”

“But that’ll only get us to Seattle,” I argued. “I can take the Mercedes if we need to be discreet.”

“I don’t think separating is the best idea.”

“You got a better idea though Alice? Huh? Seriously, do you?”

She shook her head. “No I can’t and I can’t see anything, anything at all. Nothing. Just blurriness. Like a photograph that’s been smudged. I can make out… voices... and places… but when it comes to seeing Bella and Forks… nothing. I have never experienced anything like this before.”

Wow, that was unexpected, I swore and started to pace before I began to formulate a plan. After several minutes I turned to Alice to tell her my idea but she saw it coming and cut me off. “That’s a great idea.”

“You call the airlines!” I ordered as I ran upstairs to get a few things such as money, ID, passport and licence, both for Alice and I, as all of these items for a ‘just in case’ scenario. I threw them into two separate bags for the each of us, and then, after following Carlisle’s scent, I found the keys to his car in the room he and Esme were staying in.

I could hear Alice arranging a flight to Seattle in an extremely fast, snappy human tone to the airline and before long, I heard her call up to me. “Quickly Shayla, there’s no time to waste!”

I flew back downstairs and tossed her the keys. “Start her up for me; I just have to do one little thing.”

Alice nodded and the next thing I knew, I could hear the soft purring of the Mercedes. Alice must have foreseen what I was about to do.

I found a piece of paper and a pen in the downstairs study, and with shaky fingers, I began to write a letter.

Dear family,

Alice has had a vision of Bella committing suicide. It’ll be too late to stop her, but we are still heading to Forks to see her family and help out. It’s the least we can do for them all.

Don’t worry about us, we’ll be fine. I’m sorry Carlisle, but we had to borrow your car, for it was the only way for us to remain discreet.

We love you all, and will be back soon,

Love, Alice and Shayla, xoxo

I folded the note and wrote the names of the rest of my family on top on the folded paper before I sprinted outside. Alice threw open the door for me and moved to the passenger side, as I leapt in. My bag went into the backseat as I planted my foot. I did a burnout to turn around before I took off along the winding mountain road.

I took Alice to Anchorage, the closest major city to Denali, and just in the nick of time as she predicted her plane would be boarding in five minutes. After giving me a swift peck, she raced into the airport.

I took off as soon as she was out of site, and sped along the roads before I reached the main highway. Seeing as it was getting close to the middle of the day, I had to keep my speed in check as I spied more then one patrol car hanging around on corners, in breakdown lanes, and behind billboards.

When I was about halfway there, I received a text from Alice.

If you want to get there before me, hurry up! – Alice

I growled softly but took a hand off the wheel to text back.

I’m going as fast as I can without getting caught by the coppers. Just hang tight. Do you know if I’ll be there before you or not? – Shay

Her reply was almost instantaneous. Yes, I’ll beat you by ten minutes, tops. So speed it up girl! – Alice

When the way ahead of me cleared as I took the exit that would lead me to Seattle, I planted my foot down on the accelerator, and zipped ahead.

As I entered Seattle and checked my rear-vision mirror, I did a double take. God damn it, my eyes were going dark. My lips moved as I almost silently counted back the days I had hunted. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven…

Those eleven days, eleven short days, was almost a fortnight. How on earth did I last this long? I was so caught up in the drama everyone else was experiencing because of me; I had paid no mind to my throat.

But I couldn’t hunt now. It was too late, I needed to meet Alice. I pushed harder on the pedal and shot forward to weave through the Seattle streets in the busy late afternoon traffic.

I kept the windows locked up tight as I pulled up at the airport. I left the car running and it had barely been a minute, when the door to my side opened and Alice poked her head in.

“Move over,” she ordered and I meekly obliged, setting me into the passenger seat as Alice readjusted the seat, before peeling away at a strongly illegal speed to be going at in a built up area.

“Jesus Christ Alice!” I yelled as we overtook many cars before being hit by another in the opposite lane. Many honked their horns at us. “Slow the fuck down or we’ll get totally busted!”

Alice snorted at this but she did slow down a reasonable bit as well. Out of the corner of my eye as I stared ahead out the windscreen at the road, I saw her shoot me a dirty look.

“What?!” I snapped at her. “What Alice? I’m just being cautious. If you got caught, how the hell would we get out of it? You tell me how.”

Alice didn’t respond but did give a small hiss at my words. I curled my lips back and hissed right back at her. She gave me a curious, yet annoyed look, but didn’t respond in any way other then that. I leant back into my seat, feeling slightly smug at having beaten the little psychic pixie for a change.

“This isn’t contest to see who wins, and who loses,” she muttered. “I just want to get there in time and hopefully see her just one last time, before, before…”

I held a hand to her shoulder. She was right of course. “Yeah, me two. Just… just floor it Alice okay?”

She nodded once, a simple bob of her head, before she planted her foot to the accelerator.

The sky darkened as we got closer and closer to our destination. The headlights were switched on, and I moved to the backseat, to the darkness, as Alice kept driving. I lay still for the entire trip from then on, thinking, worrying and fretting.

Bella was dead… what did that mean for Edward? Would he come home? Or would he keep hunting Victoria, if he hadn’t already caught her that is.

What was my family’s reaction the news that Bella had since passed? Esme and Carlisle would be utterly devastated. Their forth daughter… was dead. Yes, they would be, and probably Emmett as well. Rosalie wouldn’t give a friggen’ damn, I knew that much. And Jasper… I wasn’t too sure about him but I was sure that, for Alice, he too would be upset.

Overall, with the exception of one, the family would be destroyed, crushed, shattered… again, whose fault was it? Mine and only mine. Again.

It was completely dark by the time we rolled into Forks. When we pulled up outside’s Bella’s, no, now just Charlie’s house, the old red Chevy was gone. Of course. It’ll be near the cliff where Bella jumped off, or, if they had discovered she was… dead, they would be driving it home now.

Alice parked the car and we walked across the street. The house was dark, empty and as Alice unlocked the front door, I took a final look around the street, before I followed my sister inside the house.

It looked exactly the same as I remembered from my previous trip here, well the outside at least. Inside, old Christmas decorations lay here and there, and obvious Charlie items were around like an unloaded gun, his belt on a hook by the door, as well as his boots that were near the stairwell.

I sniffed, smelling the room. Bella’s scent was still fresh, not even a day old. Charlie’s lingered here and there as well.

And then Alice paused, with a look of shock on her face. “Go into the kitchen Shayla, now,” she whispered and I did, hiding around the corner. I peeked around the doorframe as Alice stood in the front hall, watching the door.

A rumble from outside announced a truck pulling up. I heard several voices, two to be exact. One was male, the other was female. And they were arguing.

“It’s not a trick. It’s Carlisle. Take me back!” the female yelled, her voice hysterical but yet oddly familiar.

Bella.

“She’s alive,” I breathed.

“No,” the male voice replied coldly. The owner of this one was unknown to me and I had no clue who it belonged to. I furrowed my brow and snuck a glance at Alice but her back was to me. I shrugged to myself and continued to eavesdrop.

“Jake, it’s okay –” Bella tried to argue with this ‘Jake’.

“No. Take yourself back Bella.” His voice was sharp, almost like a slap, and I too winched as I heard it.

“Look Bella,” Jake stared to explain. “I can’t go back. Treaty or no treaty, that’s my enemy in there.”

And that’s when I realised. Jake was really Jacob Black of the Quileute tribe of the La Push reservation. He was a wolf, a werewolf. My jaw clenched as I struggled to contain the growl that was building deep in my chest.

“It’s not like that –” Bella replied to that.

“I have to tell Sam right away. This changes things. We can’t be caught on their territory.”

Damn right they couldn’t!

“Jake, it’s not a war!”

The door to the truck opened, and someone jumped out, while it was still running. I could guess that it was Jake.

“Bye Bella,” he called while he sprinted away. “I really hope you don’t die.”

There was a brief silence, before Bella drove back around to the house. Once the headlights were off, it was very dark, at least for her. The porch light was off.

The doorknob twisted with a squeak as she slowly opened the door. Her heart was hammering in her chest, rather loudly too. Ignore it, ignore it, ignore it! I chanted to myself.

I heard her fingers hitting the wall as she searched for the light switch. When I poked my head around to see her, the lights clicked on.

And there standing in the hall before my sister, looking like a half-drowned but very much alive rat, was Isabella Swan.

New Eclipse stills!

2010-04-24T06:36:03Z

Over at Twilighters-Anonymous, they have a heap of Eclipse stills! Too many to upload here... so go have a look!

http://gallery.twilightersanonymous.com/eclipse_trailer_stills-thumbnails-303-page-1.html&sort=ta

Shayla's New Moon: Chapter 12

2010-04-11T20:49:47Z

Chapter 12: Denali

Shayla’s POV

Things settled down after I got home. But then they revved up again as we started to prepare to leave for Denali, for the CornellUniversity spring break. Carlisle had gotten time off at the hospital for a month and we were leaving just after New Years Day, January the tenth to be precise.

Rosalie wasn’t speaking to me, still too angry that I had travelled back to Forks to see her almost worst enemy, and that Esme and Carlisle were not angry at me about it at all. Because she was being bitchy to me, I was almost as bitchy to her. We spoke in hard voices and only when needed, and whenever one entered a room where the other was, the first one would walk out in a huff. I felt bad, having to stoop to her level, but I didn’t really care.

Poor Emmett was torn. On one hand, he wanted to remain to his wife and mate Rosalie, but on the other, his little sister (me) was there. He wanted to please Rosalie but stay loyal to me. Whenever I came into a room where she and Emmett were located, and she would stalk off in a huff, calling a reluctant Emmett after her, where he would meekly glace at me and mouth an apology, before he scurried off after her, like a little lost puppy.

Alice and Jasper were staying out of our feud. Jasper wanted to support me, but at the same time, he felt a tie to his ‘twin’. In order to protect both of our feelings, he proclaimed himself out of the quarrel and refused to hear, see or talk about it.

Alice was the same; she refused to even go near the subject. She busied herself with mini projects, one that involved clothes, and I, for a unique change, allowed myself to be her Barbie-doll guinea-pig. She dressed me. She re-dressed me. And she re-re-dressed me until she found the perfect style to wear that particular outfit. And she would drag me, ugh, shopping. But, like the human Barbie-doll thing, I did not complain and allowed myself to be dragged around various malls, giving my opinion on various clothes, and carrying bags and bags of outfits in the proximity of some rather appealing humans. The one good thing was that she let me go into comic-book, video-game and media stores. She not once complained about my boy-like tendencies as I emerged grinning with several bags of my purchases.

Esme and Carlisle… they were trying to keep the order alive in the household. Order in a family of vampires… that was just a recipe for disaster. Esme was ‘trying’ to fix mine and Rosalie’s grudge against one another by forcing us to talk and apologise. She wanted an apology for me running off to Forks to see Bella. I refused as I felt what I was doing was right. We were going nowhere so in the end, Esme threw her hands in the air and told us that, “We better sort this out before we leave for Denali.”

That wasn’t say we hadn’t made any progress at all. We were speaking again, in more softer, less cold voices to one another. No long conversations, but short words of kindness to one another. Emmett was thrilled and proud of us for making the short steps.

So here I was now, packing the small backpack of winter clothes to take up to Denali. Part of it was filled with thick ski clothing, just for show to the humans, and the other half had my normal clothes in it, just jeans and a few t-shirts. I would go hunting in them.

It was almost time to go. “Are you nearly done Shayla?” Jasper asked as he poked his head in through my door.

“Just about!” I answered as picked up other belongings I would need: wallet filled with cash, cell phone, driver’s license, and my passport just in case…I put them all in my bag before I shoved passed Jasper and raced downstairs.

We were taking two cars: Carlisle’s Mercedes and Emmett’s jeep. I was going with Carlisle and Esme in the Mercedes while the others claimed the jeep. I was personally very happy about this. While Alice and Jasper weren’t so … flamboyant I guess, about their relationship like Rosalie and Emmett, but there were times when they forgot that their younger sister was in the room or car. Esme and Carlisle, they never did anything more then a peck on the cheek, or a simple touch of the hands but still, it was kind of gross.

However they kept that to a minimum in the car ride up to Alaska. I sat lounging across the backseat, staring out the window with my iPod in my ears, watching the landscape change as we raced across empty black roads at twice the legal speed.

I was looking forward to spending the spring break with the Denali’s. I was cautious, mainly because of Laurent, wondering how my family would react. I was only slightly glad that Edward wasn’t around to invade in on my private thoughts anymore. It was quite lovely to have privacy but, I missed my eldest brother very much.

I sighed sadly as I turned the music up, before skipping the next few songs, before coming to a rather depressing yet meaningful song, Fall for You, by Secondhand Serenade.

Esme flashed me a troubled look when I changed it, raising a perfect eyebrow, but dismissed it hastily after I looked at her, rolling my eyes at her unnecessary concern. My father saw this and smiled slightly to himself. He knew I didn’t like to be looked after, and that I hated people to worry about me. It came from growing up on a farm by yourself while your Dad was workin’ hard to make a living and put food on the table for you.

“Are we almost there yet?” I asked as I watched snow falling from the sky outside of the car. “Surely we must be. Running is so much faster.”

Carlisle chuckled quietly. “Yes, almost Shayla, only just a few more minutes.” To emphasise his point, he put his foot down harder on the accelerator and the car drove ahead faster up the winding mountain road, always staying on the right side of the road, and never slipping on the slippery ice.

I laughed quietly and watched as we ended up pulling up to the Denali’s cabin-like mansion, one they used for when we stayed with them. It was a lot bigger then their normal house and it offered a lot more privacy to everyone, especially for the couples.

Kate came charging out when we pulled up, Emmett and the others weren’t there yet, seeing as how the jeep was missing. “Shayla!” he called enthusiastically as she ran up to me and embraced me in a hug.

“Hey Kate!” I greeted my sister-like ‘cousin’ just as enthusiastically. “Long time, no see. Sorry I didn’t manage to say a proper goodbye before I left – something big came up.”

“Nah, it’s okay,” she laughed back, giving me a quick squeeze around my shoulders before she whisked me inside. “I knew you wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye unless it was an emergency!” She giggled and poked me in the ribs, resulting in me jabbing her back with my elbow.

Inside, Carmen and Eleazar greeted us appropriately, just as Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper and Alice pulled up. While they got the welcoming treatment, Kate tagged along beside me as I retrieved my only bag from the car and then headed upstairs to the spare room that Tanya pointed out when I passed her on the stairs. After she had, of course, she hugged me and kissed me on the cheek before she ran downstairs to see the rest of my family. I knew that she would be disappointed that Edward would not be there. Even when Edward and Bella were still together, it hurt to think that weren’t like that anymore, Tanya still liked Edward – a lot.

When I finally headed back downstairs, my siblings were no where to be seen. Instead though, Carmen, Elezar, Esme and Carlisle where seated around the fireplace with a roaring blaze set in it. Tanya and Kate were there too, sitting on a gorgeous Persian rug with a chess board set up in front of them. I paused, but Tanya turned to smile sweetly at me before she patted the blank space of rug beside her. I sat in between the two of them, so that three sides of the board had a vampire on it.

“Where’s Irina?” I wondered out-loud to the group. “Shouldn’t she be here?”

“She’s with Laurent, they have their own little place,” Carmen explained. “It’s so delightful for her to have her own one now, no?”

“Yeah, that’s brilliant,” I replied, not adding what I really thought of Laurent. Despite the fact that Irina was easily the one of the Denali coven I disliked the most, I couldn’t help but to feel pity for her about Laurent.

While I was thinking this, the front door banged open, and the wind sent a scent across my nose. I turned to see Irina step in, snow covering her hair and clothes, before she flitted over. “Sorry I’m late!” she said, smiling slightly. “Laurent got a call from a friend who he said he absolutely ahs to meet. He says he’ll be back in a few days.” She beamed.

Irina seemed to be better behaved then my last visit. We stayed in the house, conversing with our ‘cousins’ and getting reacquainted.

As the days went past, I discovered I was increasing in strength to resist. No where near the impressive record of Alice, Rosalie, Carlisle and Esme, but still strong in its own way. I couldn’t help how proud I felt sometimes, and I felt somewhat bad for Jasper, who was many years older then I but yet still struggled with his thirst. I knew his story, and knew it must be difficult for him – especially after we tried to attack Bella.

That was another problem. If human blood was spilt, could I still be strong? Or would I become a monster again? I had no way of knowing the answer to the question and frankly, I didn’t want to know anyway. Some questions must remain unanswered after all.

And so, about a week later, the boys took off hunting with Carlisle, Esme, Carmen and Eleazar, while Tanya, Kate and Irina took Rosalie into the nearby cities for some shopping. I would’ve gone hunting with the guys, but I shrugged off the small but rapidly increasing pain in my throat.

And I was also rather surprised at Alice when she said she didn’t want to go shopping. I was shocked.

“Geez, Alice, you feeling okay?” I had teased, holding a hand to her forehead. “Are you sure that you’re not sick or something?”

“You’re such an idiot sometimes,” she answered seriously, swatting my hand away, but she grinned widely, before letting out her tinkling, bell-like laugh.

I laughed along with her but then, she stopped short and gasped. Her body shook, her eyes widened and glazed over, as she gasped and held a hand to her mouth. It looked like she was having a seizure rather then a vision.

“No,” she whispered. “No… it can’t have happened… no, not yet… oh dear God no!” She yelled the last part loudly and glared at the ceiling, as she forced herself to experience another vision, trying to see before a sob burst out of her chest.

Shayla's New Moon: Chapter 11

2010-04-11T20:48:15Z

Chapter 11: Broken promises

Shayla’s POV

The deer fled nosily as I darted after them, ready to catch one as my prey. They were a small herd, with about ten of the slim creatures, and all but three of them were mothers with fawns. I did not count the fawns as part of the herd. I would let them live, to continue the population and to not let the amount of deer get too low. I never hunted anything that had young with it. I would be taking their mother away, just like mine had been taken away, not due to my kind but to sickness, one which I had never found out what it was. Everyone, animal, human or vampire, deserved to have a mother. Who was I to take away that right? I refused to play God.

As I easily caught up to the biggest doe, I leapt, flipped and landed on it, feet-first, with my toe-claws digging into its skin, before I gripped it’s neck with my hands and pulled. It let out a shriek of pain as its pelvis shattered underneath my weight and as its neck snapped. I jumped off before it fell and landed crouched beside it. I drained it quickly, neatly cutting its jugular in two, temporally soothing the ever-present burn in my throat, before I picked up the body and carried it over to some bushes, to hide it. I deliberately left a few drops of blood on the bushes, to attract animal predators that would, hopefully, eat the flesh and avoid arousing suspicion to any human hunters that may pass by.

I hunted the remaining deer, taking the two without fawns and let the rest flee away from me. I sighed sadly and walked to the river to wash my hands and face.

And that’s when I saw them. I heard their footfalls at first and when I jerked my head up, I saw the solid form of Emmett, and the beautiful body of Rosalie, jogging towards me.

“Rosalie, Emmett,” I breathed as they both came closer to me. Emmett’s usually joyful face was serious for once, and Rosalie’s had a pained expression. When she came closer, she threw herself at me. Emmett smiled a little and let out a low chuckle.

“Hey! Ow, what the hell?! Rosalie…” I complained as she hugged me tight to her tall form.

“Don’t you ever, ever do that to us again!” she snarled, thumping me on the head with the palm of her hand, despite the fact that she was hugging me. I winched, and held up my arm in defence. “How could you Shayla! I ought to…”

“You ought to shut your trap,” I snapped back as I stepped out of the way of her blows. “I don’t want to hear it. I came back for Esme and Carlisle, and Alice and Jazz, not to be revved by you for my choice!”

Emmett stepped between us before Rosalie could respond to my harsh words. “C’mon Shay, just come home with us. Please,” he pleaded. “We all miss you heaps.” He offered me his hand and I stared at it.

But I knew I couldn’t stay out here forever – I had to go back sometime. Was I wanted back though? I had, after all, run off away from my family for the second time in two years. One was a year, the other, a few days. I went to take it but hesitated.

Emmett, tired of my uncertainty, grabbed me and forced me onto his back in a piggyback position. I protested but he clamped my arms around his neck and took off, Rosalie by his side. I clung to him tighter then a backpack.

Emmett ran as fast as he could with me on his back, which was his normal seed as his super-strength helped a fair bit, and we reached home in hardly any times at all. I looked up at the old house, smiling slightly as I hopped down off my brother’s back. I stood on my tippee-toes to kiss him on the cheek before whispering in his ear, “Thanks.” He grinned in response.

I walked inside to the back room, just as Esme and Carlisle, followed by Jasper and Alice, came downstairs.

“Mom!” I cried as I ran towards her and embraced her in a huge hug. She hugged me back and laughed softly as I refused to let her go. “I’m so, so, so sorry Mom! I never should have left, I should have stayed, I –”

“Shh Shayla,” she whispered to me. “It’s all okay. You have nothing to apologise for. You did what you thought what was right. That’s nothing to be sorry for. I forgive you.”

I let go and stood back away from her. “At least one of you does,” I mumbled.

Carlisle moved towards me and placed a hand on my shoulder. “I forgive you Shayla,” he informed me. “We all do.”

Alice didn’t look unhappy with me. She looked positively thrilled as she flitted down the stairs and embraced me in a hug before kissing my cheek. “I wasn’t really mad at you,” she explained to my confusion. “Just sick to death with worry!” She laughed and we all laughed with her.

We all moved into the living room where they all sat down on the chairs, Carlisle standing with his hands on Esme’s shoulders as she sat in an armchair, Jasper in another armchair with Jasper, and Rosalie and Emmett spread across the couch. I stood in front of them.

“Are you going to tell us where you have been Shay?” Emmett asked me from his sprawled out position on the couch with Rosalie’s head in his lap.

I paused, wondering. They didn’t know where I had been, and I was sure that they wouldn’t take too kindly to the thought. I suspected Alice had a good idea, but I was sure that she had only that. Once I made the decision to speak, she would see what I would say and figure the rest out.

No point hiding it then. “Well…” I started, glancing nervously between my family. “I went back to Forks a few days ago as some of you may, or may not know.” I ignored Rosalie’s furious gaze at me as I turned my head away so I couldn’t see her. “And I went to check up on Bella.”

I ignored all their looks of surprise and Rosalie’s one of fury. I took a deep breath before I continued on.

“She was asleep when I checked up on her and…” I paused and gulped, remembering what I had seen that night. “And, I swear to god, I have never seen anything, or anyone like her.”

“She was fine at first but then she began to sleep talk. Something about Edward not going, and with her wanting him to stay. She began to scream then, horrifying, terror-filled screams. I have never felt more helpless in my life. I managed to get out of there when she pulled herself awake, looking like she just had a nightmare.”

They were all staring at me when I continued on.

“She looked absolutely horrible too. Skinny, pale… she looked like she was eating, but not quite enough. Though it’s like she took a piece of Edward’s soul, it is actually Edward who took a portion of hers. In my thirty-eight years, I have never seen anything more heartbreaking then this…” I finished my story and waited for their reaction.

Carlisle spoke first. “It almost sounds like she’s suffering from some kind of depression.”

Alice let out a whimper. “I have to go back; I have to go help her!” She leapt off Jasper’s lap and ran to the door.

I caught her on the arm before she could escape. “Alice you can’t,” I told her. “What I did was wrong and I shouldn’t have done it. What’s going to happen when Edward finds out? He’s going to rip me apart, put me back together, rip me apart again and then burn the pieces!”

“Let go of me Shayla!” Alice snarled at me, her usually petite face screwed up into a gruesome grimace as she struggled to escape my iron hold on her arm.

Jasper stepped in then. He took the struggling Alice from my grip and she surrendered to his embrace. He soothed her as she began to sob into his shirt.

“It’s not fair,” she cried. “Why does she have to suffer so much?”

Rosalie rose from the couch and stalked out of the room, glaring mercilessly at me. I bared my teeth at her, a warning and a threat in one expression. Don’t you dare blame me Rosalie Hale!

Emmett glanced between the sobbing Alice, now being comforted by Esme with Jasper hovering protectively over them both, and his retreating wife’s form. He meekly mouthed a “Sorry!” before he ran after her. I heard the backdoor being slammed open before it fell with a crash off its hinges. Though Emmett was much more likely to do such a thing, I suspected that the very greatly irritated Rosalie had.

I sighed. “Rosalie’s not very happy with me, is she?”

Jasper looked up at my words. He hesitated before answering. “She… she wasn’t happy that you went back to Forks. ‘Why can she go back, while we have to stay away from her!?’” He imitated Rosalie’s irritated tone perfectly with his voice. “She was angry that while we all promised to stay away from Forks, that you could go off whenever you pleased!”

“Hang on!” I interrupted. “I never promised anything! You all did without me, while I was gone, and the only thing I could do was agree! I never got a say in any of it! It was completely unfair!”

Carlisle looked unhappy. “Shayla, you had a choice. Everyone has a choice, you could have —”

“Stayed in Forks, all by myself?!” I snapped back, finishing his sentence. “Yeah right, like your precious Edward…” – I sneered my brother’s name – “Would’ve let me! I hate this! And I hate living here! It doesn’t even feel like we’re a family anymore, it feels like a bloody coven! And I want it fixed!”

“Shayla…” Carlisle then warned, knowing that a temper tantrum from me was probably coming. I ignored him and went to continue my rant but then, my anger faded out to be replaced by calmness.

“I’ve said this before, and I’ll say again,” I whisper furiously, though without anger, to Jasper. “Damn your gift!”

He grinned briefly for a second before I gave a low growl at him. Alice, having recovered from her upset over Bella’s news, turned to glare at me. “Don’t Shayla; you know he’s only trying to help.”

I wanted to argue back but all the emotions, all the mixed feelings that I had been holding in since my return overwhelmed me, I sunk to my knees and held my face in my hands.

Esme was beside me, kneeling down as she wrapped her arms around me. I sobbed in her embrace.

“It’s, j-j-just n-n-not fair!” I sobbed. “I d-d-didn’t want t-t-is to happen! I’m s-s-so sorry!” I cried out dry sobs as Esme took me in her arms, picked me up and carried me to the couch. I heard Jasper and Alice leave the room, as Carlisle sat on the side of Esme where she held me in her lap, rubbing circles on my back as I chocked out embarrassing dry sobs.

“Shh, Shayla, shh…” Esme whispered, her mothering instincts kicking in. “Its okay, its okay. We are all here for you.”

Carlisle offered his soothing words of comfort as well. “It’s all going to be okay my child. It will work out one way or another. It will, it will. Trust me.”

“I’m sorry Dad,” I mumbled as I threw my arms around him and tugged him to me, while Esme still hugged me. He let me, and wrapped his arms around me. “I didn’t mean what I said, I’m so sorry. A thousand apologies couldn’t make up for what I have said.”

He patted my shoulder while in the hug. “No need to apologise Shayla. Listen, why don’t you go out for a run? Clear your head… get some fresh air. It’ll do you some good.”

“Okay,” I agreed as I hopped off Esme’s lap “I think I will.” I kissed both of my parents on their foreheads before I waved goodbye to them, and I then dashed outside.

“Love you both!” I called out to them, earning a low chuckle from them both, before I sprinted into the forest to have a long, undisturbed and peaceful run.

Shayla's New Moon: Chapter 10

2010-04-11T20:46:41Z

Chapter 10: What have I done?!

Shayla’s POV

I formulated my plan of ‘attack’, a.k.a go see how Bella is holding up, the day after my heated phone conversation with Carlisle, Esme, Alice and Jasper. I would go at night, very late, so the chance of her not being awake would almost be guaranteed. I could not risk getting caught, by her or her police chief father. I was pretty sure that this wouldn’t go down too well with him. I didn’t want to get arrested and thrown in jail in something.

And so, I finally worked up the courage to go check up on her on the twenty-fifth of December: Christmas Day. Not the greatest day to go do my task, I admit, but I promised Mom that I would be back in a week, and that week was almost up. I needed to do this and I needed to do it now.

I changed into a tan button-down shirt and jeans; the kind a back-packer or hiker might wear, and I wore my hair down, for mere connivance really, no hat on today. I went barefoot, so my shoes wouldn’t get ripped off when my feet morphed, if they did that is. I was getting more controlled with it nowadays but still… if I got angry enough, it would happen. But, like said, I could control it better. And going without shoes was a lot more convenient as well too.

I set off towards the main part of Forks as soon as the sun had finished its descent into the horizon. I stuck to the woods, silently thanking the Lord for surrounding Forks with such thick forests, that no reasonably intelligent human could ever think to wander in. Especially since there was a significant population of vampires frequently hunting the animals there.

I had never been to Bella Swan’s house before so I had no clue where it was, but I knew where Charlie Swan’s work was: the police station in downtown Forks. Fortunately by mere chance, he was leaving there when I arrived to follow his cruiser home, so I didn’t happen to wait. Where there had been dense trees to hide me, I stuck to them sprinting flat-out, sometimes moving faster then the car could move. And when the trees thinned, I slowed to human walking speed and casually followed the cruiser, as Charlie drove slower then normal through the dark, rainy streets.

When he reached his house, I immediately darted into the woods and stayed there until I heard the lights click off in the Swan household. I had heard Charlie talking, but no whisper of sound from Bella apart from a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ to every question Charlie asked. She was cooking, steak by the smell of it. When they had eaten, Charlie had tried his best to communicate with Bella but she only replied with one word answers.

I couldn’t see them but the sound of Bella’s voice told me enough. Bella was dead.

Not physically dead, but she was broken, depressed, gone… she wasn’t Bella Swan anymore. When Edward had left her, he had taken part of her soul.

But yet at the same time, ironically, she had taken, or more correctly he had left, a proportion of his soul with her.

To get inside, I crept around to the front yard, keeping as low as I could to the ground before I came to a huge tree that grew right up in front of the house, blocking some windows from view. I touched it and immediately, smelled my brother’s scent. It too was old, but only by a couple of months, dating back to September, I concluded. That was the month for when he left Bella.

I climbed up the tree easily, before I reached a wide branch. I kept low on it like a lynx as I slinked towards the closest open window. It was dark inside but with my keen eyesight, I could see through it easily. I saw nothing but a plain, dark wall though.

The branch I was standing on was still a few feet away from the window and so, I carefully jumped and landed with barely any jolt on the windowsill. I lifted the window easily with one hand; testing it first for noise, which it did, squeaking noisily in the old frame, but I ignored it and kept on going, pushing it up all the way.

I slid into Bella Swan’s room, and as I entered, I paused to survey her room.

An oldish computer was sitting on a plain desk surrounded by a few books. She was into the classics, no Harry Potter, no Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants… she had quite good taste. There were a few Shakespearean titles but to my extreme relief, there was no Romeo and Juliet. That was what I felt until I caught sight of a hardbound copy on her bedside table. I cursed myself silently, Bella was into all of that gooey, romantic shit. Yuck.

Wait, what was I doing? Why was I analysing her books when I needed to see her?

I turned around to see her in bed. She wore sweatpants and a ragged grey t-shirt with holes all through it, and she lay curled up in the foetus position, curled up on her side. I could see her dark mahogany hair, which I now noticed was a very similar shade to mine, was wet and stuck to her face as she slept.

There was something different about her. Way different. I didn’t notice until I silently walked around to the side of her bed.

She looked pale, almost as pale as I. She looked skinny, a bit too skinny for someone of her age and weight. Her skin was stretched tight over her cheeks and beneath her closed eyes, dark shadows that indicated restless nights of sleep were present. She hugged her stomach tightly, like she had to hold herself together.

“Oh god Bells,” I murmured, as I fell to my knees beside her. She shifted slightly, and shuffled towards me a bit, as though it was like she had heard me. I raised a hand and went to reach out towards her but I stopped suddenly when she began to sleep talk.

“No… Please… Don’t! Stay… Edward, stay! Don’t leave me... No!”

Her words were mumbled, confused, and they rang with despair. I went to grasp her hand, to tell her it was all going okay before she opened her mouth and screamed.

Not a normal hight-pitched scream, but a horrifying, bloodcurdling, halfway-through-transforming scream. She writhed in her bed, and to my extreme terror, she tugged a pillow to her face and held it there, muffling her screams but barely.

As I kneeled there, my mouth fell open in absolute horror, a though occurred to me. Where the hell was Charlie? Why was he laying in bed, possibly awake, listening to his only daughter screamed her lungs out over my brother?

Soon, after a few minutes, I heard Charlie’s bed next-door squeak as his snores suddenly cut out and as he sat up in bed. Bella’s screams cut out as on cue, and were replaced by horrible, gut-wrenching sobs. Her closed eyes were now screwed up as tears leaked out of them and down her bony cheeks.

I wanted to do something but I couldn’t. I wanted to hold her tight and tell her in was okay while she cried. I wanted to go race after my son-of-a-bitch brother and kick his ass into next century for doing this to her. This alone was the most gut-wrenching, saddest, heart-breaking scene that I have ever seen. No movie, book or song could recreate the sight I saw before me.

And then, I felt my chest rock with a sob as her pain began to affect me. I held my face in my hands, trying to stop myself but I couldn’t hold it all in. I fled the room.

I bounded out the window just as I heard Bella wrench herself awake, just as my legs disappeared out the window. I paused in the tree and peaked inside as Bella sat up in her bed, panting like she had just ran a marathon, or had just experiences a horrible nightmare. Seeing what I had just witnessed, I didn’t need to be a genius to figure out that she was having nightmares, absolutely horrifying nightmares.

And it was all my fault.

If I was stronger, if had been able to hold Jasper back and contain my insane bloodlust, I wouldn’t be here, perched in a tree, watching Bella fall back to sleep sobbing. I would be at home, with all of my family, and Edward would be with us.

All my fault... oh, dear God what have I done?!

I raced home. My family needed to know about this. They all did… Alice was going to kill me, not just for running away but for what I have caused… Dear Gold, they are all going to hate me!

As soon as I reached the house, a few minutes past midnight, I grabbed all of my stuff, whirring around the house faster then the Tazzie Devil, I raced out of it, heading back towards my new home, all the way in Ithaca, thinking hard.

Why? Why oh Lord wasn’t I strong? Why wasn’t I strong like Esme, or Rosalie, or Alice, who all had near perfect records, unlike me? Why did I have to be the weakest link, the first of the chain to snap off when the weight got too heavy? Why?!

The whole time I ran, rumbles of grief where emitting from my chest, making me sound like an angry warthog but I didn’t care.

I kept on forcing myself to go faster and by the time I had reached the boundaries of Ithaca, the sun had risen above the horizon by a small fraction. Every time Bella’s pale face swam to the front of my mind, I pushed it back, trying to think of my family and when I would be seeing them again.

But eventually, the pain I had felt in Bella’s room took hold of me and it felt like I was drowning, like it was dragging me down into blackness, into absolute despair.

I stopped and leant against a tree, when I was a few miles from home, before I fell to my knees onto the forest floor. I sat there and cried, dry sobs rocking my body as I unwillingly recalled the memory of Bella sleep talking, screaming out, and panting out loudly as she woke up from her nightmares.

Even as the sun rose, I didn’t move but instead shifted to a curled up position, with my arms wrapped around my legs and my chin resting on my knees.

I couldn’t go home, how would I explain what I have caused to my family? And at the same time, I couldn’t go anywhere else. My family was everything that I have had. Only once had I left them for a prolonged period of time and that was for a year. Other times… they were just a day or two.

And so I just sat there, lost and confused.

Jasper’s POV

I had been downstairs, helping Esme clean up on the Christmas wrappers when I came across a small pile shoved in the corner under the tree. Curious, I brought them forward.

Christmas wasn’t a really big thing for us. Before I had even met Alice, I didn’t even acknowledge that the day had passed. When we had first joined the Cullen’s, they showered us with more gifts then the others, to Rosalie’s annoyance, but now, we received the normal amount and gave out more then we intended, especially to Rosalie. Rose just loved to get presents.

I picked up the tag of the first present, one that looked like it could be a video game. To Shayla, love Carlisle and Esme, it read. I picked up a small container beside it, one that could contain jewellery of some kind. Shayla, love Alice xoxo, it said.

These were Shayla’s presets. I missed my little sister a lot. Although Rosalie and I got on extremely well, it was Shayla who was my favourite sister. We had bonded over her very first hunt, and as her immortal years past, we grew closer and closer. Alice was never jealous: she understood. It was like her relationship with Edward, one I was never jealous of. I understood. We both understood each other. That’s why I loved her so much.

Upstairs, I could here my Alice humming away as she put her presents away, which included a mountain load of clothes, and then, out of no where, she gasped, like she had an extraordinary vision.

I expected sadness, worry or even frustration radiating from her but instead I fel joy, nothing but joy. She laughed and raced to the top of the stairs.

“Jazz!” she called. “Shayla’s coming home!”

She laughed as she ran to Emmett and Rosalie’s bedroom who both emerged when she banged on the door. Annoyance and irritation emitted from them both until they both heard her words: Shayla’s coming home.

Emmett whooped as he picked up Alice and hugged her, swinging her in a circle, laughing madly with her. All I felt was joy, happiness and surprise radiating from my family as Esme and Carlisle came up, both beaming.

I couldn’t help it, I grinned widely. Shayla was coming home… who cared about the reason, all we cared about was the fact that she was coming home!

We were all happy but then Alice stopped, her joy turned into confusion, and then heartbreak. She stood still as I came towards her and pulled her towards me.

“Alice?” I asked cautiously as she stared off into space. “What is it? What do you see?”

She didn’t say anything, but horror and shock tumbled off of her. I felt them affect me, but I reeled them in and started to radiate calm as I felt everyone else around me start to panic. They relaxed as it hit them.

Alice was upset about her vision. I didn’t know what it was but I knew I had to comfort her. I pulled her closer to me and wrapped my arms around her. “Hey, hey, it’ll be alright Alice, just tell us what you saw,” I said softly, trying to calm her down. It worked and she relaxed. She then began to speak quickly.

“Shayla changed her mind. She’s not coming home, but she’s not going anywhere else. She’s deeply upset about something…” She paused as she still scanned the future. “I know where she is… and I’m going to go get her and bring her home – now.”

“I’m in!” Emmett boomed. “Let’s go!”

“Maybe a few of us should only go…” Rosalie mused. “I’ll go with Emmett.”

Alice looked mad. “But I –”

Carlisle cut her off. “No Alice, send Rosalie and Emmett. It might turn out well.”

Alice nodded her head. “I understand. And it will turn out well. I have seen it. Go Emmett, go Rosalie. And go quickly. She’s on the outskirts, near a river. Just go north until you pick up her trail. And stay downwind so she won’t smell you and run off.”

Nodding to her words, my brother and sister quickly sprinted out into the dark woods, to go find Shayla.

Shayla's TWilight: Chapter 9

2010-03-29T19:50:10Z

Chapter 9: Running back

Shayla’s POV

After Edward’s departure, it was all quiet in the Cullen household. Emmett and Rosalie left for Europe soon after Edward’s departure and they would be back in time for Christmas. In the Cornell spring break, we were going to Denali for a holiday. I hadn’t told them Laurent was up there.

Carlisle’s shifts increased in length, spanning for hours on end as he tried to co-ordinate between teaching and being at the hospital.

Alice and Jasper went on a road-trip a few days ago, as Alice tracked down her old asylum and cemetery where she was buried. She had discovered her real name and ‘death’ but she was still pretty upset about it, so I hadn’t had a chance to ask her anything. She’d taken off hunting with Esme as soon as she returned.

So, before Alice and Jasper came back, it was just me and Esme in the house. I spent my lazy days watching TV, playing video games, reading, listening to music and running out in the woods. I would always return from running every few hours to check up on Esme. I couldn’t leave her alone for long; she would go crazy from loneliness.

And I felt lonely too. Not just lonely, also stir-crazy. I need to do something… rebellious, adventurous, crazy…

But what was the question? I could see if I could track Edward down and help him follow Victoria… but I knew he wouldn’t accept my help.

As I was thinking of this, I wandered to the back room and stared out the glass door and across the lake, with the early morning sun gleaming off the surface. A flock of water birds rose from on the horizon and took off into the sky, flapping their wings madly and screeching out their cries madly.

I wondered how Edward was doing. Had he reached Forks in time? Had he picked u Victoria’s trail? And more importantly, to me at least, had he seen Bella?

I gasped in realization as a thought occurred to me. Edward wouldn’t be in Forks, he would have tried to avoid there, but if I went there, to check up, there was no harm in that right?

I had remembered my mental note to check up on Bella from earlier. I giggled with glee as I began to formulate a plan. I needed to run, if would be a lot quicker and I could travel more distance. Stick to the trees, pack a bag with a few belongings, stay at home, check up on her and then be back home before Edward could figure out what I’ve done.

I raced upstairs and threw open my closet. I stepped inside and rummaged through one of the drawers to pull out a sturdy backpack. I grabbed a few spare shirts, a pair of jeans and a spare pair of skate shoes, just in case I needed to go public. My cell phone went in my pocket while I also snatched my wallet with cash, I.D and a driver’s license – both for a motorbike and a car. I paused as I turned to dash out the door as I spotted some things on my bedside table.

The first thing was a flat-billed cap. I smiled slightly, remembering when Emmett bought it for me.

“Now you can be awesome like me,” he had crowed out, pointing at his own, before pushing it on my head, messing up my hair a tad. “Yeah, go sis!”

I grabbed it and pushed it on my head, pulling my hair out of its ponytail, and pushing all the loose hair from around my face.

The second item was a family photograph. I smiled at it fondly, before putting it in the pack. I needed something to remind of them didn’t I? Not that I could ever forget them. I loved them way too much to ever do that

I turned and raced out the door, into the woods, and on my way back to Forks.

'Alice'’s POV

After coming back from Boston, I immediately went hunting from Esme. She, at first, tried to ask about my findings but before she could even get the words out, I had cut her off. “Esme, please, I don’t want to talk about it. Not just yet anyway.” She had kept quiet after that.

After tackling my second deer for that morning, I waited patiently under a tree, until Esme had finished with her elk. But then I gasped out loud when a vision hit me at an astonishing speed.

Shayla ran, at a somewhat fast speed that could be only kept up with a pack on her back, occasionally leaping up tall trees and crossing deserted roads. She paused by a sign, before following the road that lead into the town beyond.

The sign said FORKS.

“No!” I half-yelled out, making Esme jerk her head up in surprise. Her eyes widened in shock before she dashed towards me, leaving her kill exposed and half-finished.

“Alice? Alice! What is it? Talk to me,” she demanded. “What’s happening, who is it?”

I held a hand to my throat as I tried to see. Shayla’s future did not stray; she still went straight on towards Forks.

“Shayla,” I managed to chock out. “She’s going back to Forks. Why I don’t know but we have to get to her before it’s too late!”

Esme didn’t question my vision but turned and sprinted back across the plains, her white dress billowing out behind her, the early sunlight making it seem eerie, ghost-like even. She was always faster then me; it might have something to do with the fact that she was taller then me by a foot. But not being the fastest didn’t bother me, I had the advantage with my clairvoyance ability.

I raced after, pounding my short legs as fast as I could, keeping up with Esme as she ran. I was not necessarily fast, but graceful and so, we reached the house in no time at all.

But it was empty. “No!” I cried out as I tore into her room. I saw that her favourite cap, and the family photograph that she kept on her bedside table, was gone.

Esme followed me in and searched the closet furiously. “Some of her clothes are gone!” she called out. “I’ve got a trail of her scent here too!”

Together we raced back through the house to follow Shayla’s distinct, musky scent. We stopped short as we entered the front yard. There she stood, halfway through flinging herself through the trees. She half-turned, caught both our eyes and mouthed, “Sorry…” before she zipped away into the eternal darkness.

Shayla’s POV

I knew they had seen me; after all I had let them. As soon as I heard Alice tear into the house, screaming out for me, I had paused up the tree I was in, waiting until my mother and sister burst out, still yelling out for me. I stared directly at them, mouthing an apology, before I flung myself away and into the darkness.

I had kept running through the woods, using my knowledge on the United States to tell where I was. I was out of the state of New York by midday and kept running. When the woods began to thin a little and turn into mountains, nevertheless I embraced them and chugged up them, occasionally leaping onto on all fours, moving as swiftly and quickly as I could up the steep slopes, my body as agile and lean as a mountain lion.

I hit the Olympic Range by sundown and I paused to gather my bearings as I leapt onto an outcrop of rocks atop the mountaintop, my hands clutched onto the higher-placed piece of brittle bolder in front of me, my legs stretched out behind me onto the more solid rock. I tilted my head to the side as I surveyed the memorable landscape, spying the dark woods, the all-too-familiar baseball field where we once ran, leapt, wrestled and played together. And then, a bit further back, the town of Forks, its few dim lights twinkling at me, and the La Push reservation slightly to the side, a bonfire set up on the coastline. Where they really still celebrating our departure?

I sniffed, smelling only clean air, salt water and other natural scents before I galloped down the mountainside, hitting the woods in only a few minutes, before I came to the clearing. Our clearing. The Cullen clearing.

I walked across it, slowing as I passed where the faint marking of our baseball diamond lay. My family’s scent was still strong where the dirt trails ran as well as all over the boulders we used as a spectator ‘stand’. I sat on it and ran my hands over the course rock, feeling it came off in tiny shards of stone as they came into contact with my granite hands. I lifted them and held them close to my face, sniffing slightly as I inhaled the faint yet distinct scent of my family.

I sighed sadly before rising to my feet and jogging off in the direction of home. The year-old scent of the nomads, James, Victoria and Laurent, touched my nostrils, but I shook it off and kept running.

Soon, when the sun was almost finished it’s decent into the horizon, I reached the old, white mansion-like house we had grown to love as our home. Remembering that the upstairs windows were unlocked, I sprang up one of the cedars, as light and silently as a cat. I inched open the creaky window before I leapt into the hallway.

The place was covered in dust, and every time I put my foot down, it sent tiny particles flying into the air, almost invisible to a human’s, but very much visible to mine.

I walked slowly down the hallway, as I pushed doors of rooms’ half-open, to peek inside them. Plain, white sheets covered all of the furniture, most of which we had left behind. I entered Carlisle’s study and looked around at the emptiness of it. Perhaps coming back wasn’t such a good idea… maybe I should leave.

NO, I scolded myself. I had come this far, no need to be a chicken and back out. I will control myself and stay. I am not a coward. I will not run away.

I dumped my backpack downstairs, where I will be spending the majority of my time, before I unlocked the front door. It was safe to do so and leave, even if the house was empty for hours. Hardly any humans knew where our house was located and, apart from the occasional nomad, we hardly ram into our own kind. Anyone who picked the scent of our entire family, our unusually large collection of scents would scare them off. We were the largest coven, apart from the Volturi, and the Australian coven (also known as my friends).

I decided that I wasn’t going to see Bella tonight. I needed to clear my head. I went upstairs to the bathroom and had a warm, soothing shower, as the hot water ran over my tense muscles, making them loosen up.

As soon I was done, I headed back downstairs, towelling my hair dry, before I picked up the remote and switched the TV on. It was late, and there was nothing but a few late night crime shows, and humans trying to sell products no one would ever need, on. But yet, still, I threw my towel onto the banister of the staircase, and flopped down on the couch, staring at the TV with disinterest as I changed the channels at superhuman speed, trying to find something that was worth watching.

All of a sudden, my phone went off. Before it could even get to the third line of Starstruck, it was on my ear. “Hey.” I needn’t to glace at the screen to see who it was.

“Shayla Cullen…” My fathers disapproved voice came out of the phone as I sat up quickly. “Imagine my shock when I came home from the hospital to find Alice and Esme deeply upset and that you had run away!”

If he was trying to make me feel guilty, he was doing a mighty good job. Even though my father was a kind and compassionate man, when we did something wrong, we had to be punished. Not physically but groundings, chores… whatever was appropriate.

I might as well get the apology out straight away. “I’m sorry Dad, but… but I had to go. I knew you wouldn’t all understand so I had to get out of there as fast as I could without anyone knowing. A snap decision.”

“You could have talked to me about,” he replied. “I could have –”

“Would you have let me go though?” I demanded to know.

There was a brief silence from his end. “No, I wouldn’t have,” he admitted. “But really Shayla, did you expect me to? Despite your vampire age, you are still like a child to Esme and I.”

I growled quietly into the phone as I heard him switch to speaker phone and place it down on a solid surface. The rest of the family was probably listening in on this, not that it mattered.

“I am NOT a child Carlisle; I can make my own decisions for myself!” I snarled into the phone.

I heard Esme speak next. “Shayla, we are only worried about you. Please, please, please, come home!” she pleaded.

I scowled to myself before I inhaled and spoke back to her. “I will Mom, just… just not yet.”

I heard her sigh sadly as I heard Alice ask for the phone. What I was prepared for though, was her voice blaring out of the phone.

“Shayla Kara Cullen! Imagine how worried I was when I saw a vision f you running away! And our shock when we couldn’t stop you!” She stopped to take a breath.

“Alice, I’m really sorry,” I said quickly back to her, before she could get her next words out. “But I needed to do this.”

“She has been out of her mind with worry,” Jasper interrupted.

I growled at him before I continued on, speaking more directly to the family now. “I ask that you all do not worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

“Did you even look at the date before you left?” Esme whispered to me through the phone. “It’s the twenty-third of December Shayla. Hadn’t you noticed me getting the house ready for Christmas? Emmett and Rosalie were meant to be flying in today.”

Shit, had time really passed by that fast? I had noticed the decorations Esme had put up but when I made my decision to leave, all memory of the date was obliterated from my mind.

“I’m sorry Mom, I… I didn’t think of the date… I’m so sorry.” I took a moment to collect my thoughts before I continued on “Listen, I’ll be back soon after Christmas, a week, a week-and-a-half at the max. I won’t be gone for long and Alice… don’t look for me. Please.”

“Fine,” I heard her huff unhappily. I heard Jasper whisper comforting things to her which I couldn’t hear.

“I have to go now,” I continued. “Bye, I love you all.”

They had barely any time to say goodbye to me before I snapped the phone shut and threw myself backwards onto the couch in frustration.

Shayla's New Moon: Chapter 8.

2010-03-29T19:46:37Z

Chapter 8: Brother, my brother…

Shayla's POV

"I'm leaving."

The words came quick, fast and blunt from Edward, who was sitting nearby on the couch. I raised my head to stare open-mouthed at him from my position on the floor.

We had been watching a movie with the rest of the family. Emmett and Rosalie were leaving in less then a week for their European honeymoon so we were spending some good ol' family bonding time together. Like a true family, I fought, argued and wrestled with Emmett to claim the last remaining armchair and like a typical older brother he had one while I had lost and was now curled up the rug on the floor while my Carlisle, Esme, Emmett and Rosalie had the armchairs, Alice had claimed the loveseat and was leaning against Jasper's legs as he sat on the long white couch, and Edward was curled up on the other end.

"What?" I demanded to know, not sure I had heard him correctly as I started scrambling to stand up. "Why bro?"

Edward ignored me as he too stood up. He turned his head in Carlisle's and Esme's direction. "I have thought about this decision plenty of time and I have decided – I'm leaving. Don't try and stop me." Their mental voices were obviously pleading with him to stay – their faces said it all.

I knew what would happen if Edward tried to leave. He wouldn't be able to help himself. He would go back to Bella and either kill her or change her, which he didn't want to do. Those were Alice's two recent visions. Her visions of Bella hadn't changed one bit since he left her. She would still become a vampire – but not a vegetarian one. This meant that someone, other then us, would change her or leave her. That could not happen; I could make sure of that. But how to do? I quickly buried my plans in my head and made a mental decision to visit my friends -- that would keep Alice happy.

Edward caught the gist of my previous thought. "I will NOT do any of that to her," he spat at me while glaring furiously. "I will NOT damn her to this life! I will stay away from her!"

I didn't want to rest of the family to hear what I was saying next. How do you know that someone else won't Edward! Alice has seen it and its more inevitable then the sun rising in then east and it setting in the west! And what if you couldn't resist! You just let yourself slip up for one tiny, little second and went to check up on her and BAM, next thing you know she's—

He didn't let me finish. He growled and threw himself at me, with his fist aimed for my face. I swerved out of the way, despite the fact that I knew it was useless as he could tell when and where I planned to move, and his fist skimmed past my face. I spun around and kicked out at him, aiming for his back, but he spun round, caught my foot in the last second and threw me off balance. I snarled as he pinned me down. I struggled madly, sounding a little like a piglet as my snarls became a little shrill. He kept me pinned despite my efforts so I used a last resort truck to get free. I pulled my lips back and unleashed a horrible, high-pitched squeal, so high that I doubted humans could hear it. Edward reached up to cover his ears, letting out a cry of pain, before I shoved him backwards off the top of me, before kicking backwards and into his stone chest. I didn't turn around, but I heard him hit the opposite wall. I rose from my crouched position and turned to face him.

He whirled and growled angrily at me. I felt the urge to crouch down, to defend but instead, I repressed it. Would I fight to the death, like my instincts were telling me to? No I wouldn't.

I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists before folding my arms and standing straight up in front of him. No Edward. You're my brother and I will not fight you like that. You know I'm right and that's that.

He glared balefully at me. "You think you're right Shayla but in reality you're wrong," he spat out through his clenched teeth.

"Hah! I think not," I countered, growling a little at him.

Carlisle stepped in then. He must have said something mentally to Edward because Edward removed his fierce look from me before storming outside, Carlisle on his heels.

All of my family's faces flashed toward my one. I then realised I was staring after my retreating father and brother's back, scowling slightly at Edward's words.

"You shouldn't antagonise him like that Shayla," Alice spoke first, her bell like voice tinkling with disapproval.

I turned my head slightly, and looked at her. "Alice, c'mon, you of all people know that I'm right. We all know what's going to happen."

Rosalie flipped her hair over her shoulder. "He won't," she said quite rudely. "Even I know that. When Edward wants to, or in this case, doesn't want to do something, he will do everything in his power to do just that."

I gritted my teeth in frustration. I knew I was being horribly stubborn and obnoxious, but I knew what would happen with my brother. I wasn't stupid. I opened my mouth to respond but I couldn't get any further.

"Let's just wait and see what he does," Esme said, cutting between me and Rosalie's glares at each other. "Carlisle will sort this out with him."

And so we waited. Alice moved up from the loveseat to perch in Jasper's lap while Esme busied herself by quickly dashing to Carlisle's study to find herself a huge book to read. I turned the TV back on to some old sitcom, which I soon realised was Bewitched, a show I had loved back when it was first made and when I was younger.

Eventually, Edward and Carlisle returned. I hit the off button on the remote before moving to sit on the unoccupied armchair. Esme stood by me, her hands resting on my shoulder as I looked up at Edward's grim face. I could tell that is wasn't good news.

Edward turned his face towards mine. "It's for the best," he said softly. "Believe me Shayla, if there was a better way, I would take it."

I tilted my head to the side, as I ignored the rest of my family who was not focusing entirely on our conservation, or at least the half they could hear. Where will you go bro?

He shrugged. "I'm not sure where to start but there is a certain vampire I really need to check up on. One who would want revenge on us. One whose tie I had not seen before. One whose existence needs to end very, very soon." His eyes flashed while he spoke and his lips curled back into a vicious growl.

I frowned. Who could he be referring too? He said they were a vampire… I started rattling off names in my head, searching every memory I had of nomads or friends, watching as Edward shook his head at every one.

That was until I got to the memory of the baseball night. That was the night where we met James and his coven. The night where Bella was with us, watching as we slammed balls into the sky, and soon, she had become the goal in a cruel game of hunting.

James was dead and I was sure that Laurent wouldn't be running around either. He seemed pretty tied down by Irina. But there was a third vampire, a female with a starling amount of tangled, fire-red hair.

"Victoria," I managed to gasp out loud. "Edward… you're going to attempt to track Victoria? What had she got to do with any of this?"

"I caught her thoughts while she was still hanging around," he growled out. "She wants revenge. Mate for mate. Bella Swan will live. Victoria will not touch her. I'll track her and then end it all for her."

Esme looked worried as frantically glanced between us. "Edward, you do whatever you have to do. Whatever happens we love you." I knew that it must have been hard for her to say that – she didn't want Edward to leave, no one did. Even Rosalie looked unhappy, her inhumane beautiful face troubled as she embraced Emmett. Emmett looked worried and Jasper's face was calm, emotionless, just like Carlisle's. Alice's was blank – she must be scanning Edward's future, trying to find anything that would help him.

"You should travel humanly at first, and then try and get a lead somewhere," Jasper recommended, giving advice. "Try starting around Forks, that's where we know she was last."

"But don't go anywhere near Bella," Rosalie cut in. "She's bad news Edward, I'm being serious. Don't let her back into our life."

"I know Rosalie, I know," Edward replied back coldly. "We've done enough damage." He turned to Alice. "And don't go looking for either."

Alice huffed. "Just because I won't look doesn't' mean I won't see." She emphasised the last word.

Edward glared at her. "Just don't. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really have to start packing."

He stomped up the stars all the way to his penthouse. He slammed the door so hard, that the old house shook on its foundation.

I sighed. "Sometimes I worry about that boy. This isn't the greatest idea that he has had."

"He'll be fine Shayla," Carlisle soothed as he put an arm awkwardly around my shoulders.

"I know," I admitted. "But I'm just worried about him… and her as well."

"Oh, she'll get what's coming for her," Emmett laughed, still in his personality to find humour in any grim situation. "I hope he gets her good."

I shook my teeth in frustration. "I wasn't talking about Victoria Em, I'm worried about Bella."

No one responded to that, probably because they didn't know how. Carlisle rose and he headed up to his study, probably to do some paperwork. Esme went up to talk to Edward, Emmett and Rosalie retreated to their room (I seriously didn't want to know what they were doing) while Alice and Jasper went out into the woods, hunting.

Edward carted his suitcase down about an hour later. I went and called Jasper but before I could even get the 'Get home now' message out, Alice took the phone and told me that they would be there in ten minutes. I had sighed and then growled rather irritably at her, "Sometimes you can be down-right annoying, you know that?"

I heard a distinct giggle when I snapped the phone shut, grinning a little, as Carlisle and Edward prepared to leave. Carlisle was driving Edward to the train station in his Mercedes, where Edward would head to Seattle, and start his journey there.

We gathered outside as Carlisle backed out of the garage. Edward seemed impatient, eager to go.

So eager to go bro, are we really that terrible to live with? I joked, trying to lighten the situation. It worked; he cracked a smile and chuckled quietly, earning a curious look from Emmett.

Edward took his time with the each of us, shaking hands with his brothers and father, and allowing the girls to hug him – even Rosalie. Esme looked close to crying, if she could, as she squeezed Edward tight.

He left me to last. "I'm going to miss you buddy," I whispered to him. "Promise me that you'll visit or call, or whatever. Just keep in touch Edward. I will miss you in an insane, weird way."

His cold eyes softened at my little speech. "I will miss you too Shay. Even though you can be such a pain sometimes."

I laughed in response. "That's how I roll bro, that's how I roll."

He reached out and pulled him to me, as I embraced him. I wrapped my arms around his waist as I laid my face against his chest. Will miss you heaps.

He kissed my forehead. "As I'll miss you."

Brother, my brother, tell me what are we fighting for? Isn't life worth so much more? We should love one another; can't we just pretend this war never began? We can try… Brother, my brother. I sang in my head, as we stood. He needed to know how sorry I was, for causing this whole mess.

"I forgive you," he whispered before he moved swiftly to the car and got in the passenger side as Carlisle hoped in the drivers seat.

They pulled out of the driveway quickly, waving to us, and I stood there for a long time, watching and waiting as I hoped my brother would return.

Someday he would. I knew that in my heart. Someday.

But the big question was though, when was 'Someday' going to arrive?

Shayla's New Moon: Chapter 7

2010-03-25T19:42:37Z

Chapter 7: Hunting

Shayla’s POV

When you are an immortal being, time passes quickly, faster then it would if you were just a mere human. Even if you were in a double period of boring old English with a psychopathic teacher that was obsessed with Romeo and Juliet, or even if was the time you spent observing your family as they rushed around, preparing themselves for their each individual activities. And time began to pass quickly here, with several months passing and soon enough, it was approaching January.

Carlisle finally started at the hospital, taking night shifts from five in the afternoon to midnight, before leaving early in the morning to go to Cornell University, to teach Medicine.

Esme was making frequent trips to inter-city Ithaca, where she was going to various stores to start renovation our new home. The living room was already done by two days; she painted the walls a brilliant white colour, hung light curtains, bought a Plasma TV along with new furniture.

During the night time, Rosalie and Emmett were planning for their getaway to Europe, but in the day, Rosalie and Jasper would go to the university to study while Emmett stayed home to ‘watch the house’ as Esme put it but I really knew that he was meant to be looking out for Edward and I.

Alice would either go shopping or spend the time in her room, trying to find what she could off the internet about what happened to her as a human. She wasn’t finding much, even when I offered my assistance to her, and she was rather disappointed. The only thing that would cheer her up is when I took her shopping late at night, despite my best wishes, and when Jasper came home from university. That was when I would slip off into the woods to hide away from the couples.

I didn’t like living in Ithaca. It wasn’t… it wasn’t what I expected. There a bit too much sun for my taste, and that was coming from the girl who spent a few months living in the bright and sunny southern land of Australia. Sure, I had been in Tassie, but still, sunlight was sunlight. It made the grass, flowers and trees grow, gave humans a sizzling tan, and made us vampires sparkle.

And even though we lived out of the main city, there was still too many humans hanging around. Our driveway was shorter then the one in Forks and we could hear the cars that drove way too fast past it quite clearly. A wicked bend snaked around a good kilometre ahead and it had caused many crashes before we came, many of then fatal. I feared that, since after my incident with Bella, I wouldn’t be able to resist them if there was spilt blood from a serious crash.

Usually I would keep all of these and many, many more ranting thoughts locked up tight in my head, occasionally venting it to Edward if he was listening in but lately, I hadn’t. I didn’t want to cause Edward any more pain.

So, I was now pacing on Rosalie’s room, unleashing my seething rage in verbal form to her. She was the only one who would listen to my rants. She was one hundred percent with me on the whole moving issue but was against me moving away. Rose might seem to be hostile to those who didn’t know her, but to me, she was just an insecure girl… who could be a total bitch when she wanted to be. And that was kick-ass awesome.

I was glad that Rosalie was the only one to hear me rant now. Emmett had managed to drag Edward out go hunting, Alice and Esme were shopping, and Jasper was attending the university while Carlisle was teaching there. Rosalie had been nominated for ‘babysitting Shayla’ duty by Alice. I had almost chocked on my mountain lion when I first heard of the babysitting thing. It was to ensure that I was never left alone, as a precaution. Carlisle had explained to me that, because I was younger then Jasper and still had less control then him, I was to have someone around me until I got my bloodlust back under control, which shouldn’t take any longer more then a few weeks. But still it was nice to have company, company which I could rant to.

“It’s not fair!” I ranted to her as I paced backwards and forwards across her room, my arms folded across my chest. “Why should we all have to suffer because he thinks it’s the best idea? I mean, sure, I tried to kill her… but it was only an accident, and it was to be expected! I mean, c’mon, we’re vampires, what the hell did he expect to happen!? ‘Oh, look blood. And since I’m not a vampire, I’m going to go outside and go play in the woods.’ Gah!”

Rosalie made an ‘Mmm’ noise as she turned the page of the fashion magazine she was reading. She was leaning against the headboard of the bed, with the magazine in front of her face when I snatched it from her grip. “Are you even listening to me sis?”

“Hey!” she protested as she snatched for it but I danced out of the way of her reach, before rolling the magazine up and smacking her on the head with it, crumpling it a little. “Watch it little sister,” she growled at me. “Or I’ll squash you like a bug.”

I threw back my head and laughed, despite my crabby mood. Sometimes I wondered if I had Bi-Polar disease, since I could switch moods so fast. But I knew that was impossible. “I’d like to see you try!”

She hissed and launched at me, but I spun out of her way, and smacked again with the magazine before dropping it, and racing outside. She followed me into the backyard, just near the tree line, as we engaged in a mock-fight, playful snarls and growls echoing from our throats. Her hands were curled into claws, quite different from my own, and we danced around each other, swiping and punching, our hands pulled up like a boxers in front of our faces, guarding them, despite the fact that we were deliberately trying not to hit each other.

Finally we slowed to a stop in our dance and we sat down on the grass, giggling at bit as we discussed each others techniques.

One of me and Rosalie’s hobbies was training. Though Rosalie didn’t like wrestling full-on, like I did with Jasper, Emmett and Edward, she did enjoy just little mock-fights. If she wasn’t in the mood, I could get in the mood simply by making a teasing remark at her. For example: ‘Hey Rose, scared you would break a nail?’ or ‘Don’t worry, I’ll go find someone who ISN’T a coward.’ Saying that, she would do what Rosalie did when she was pissed off at you: she would give an angry hiss and swipe at you or if she was too far away, would throw something at your head.

“The boys would be coming back soon,” she noted as we stared up at the sky. It was dark, but we could see the sun lightening in the east,

And then, as on right on cue, the wind carried Emmett and Edward’s scent across us. I stood up, and watched them come into view, from around the shore of the lake. Emmett was grinning as usual but Edward looked normal, or as normal as his did these days. His eyes were dark, despite the recent hunt, like they saw without seeing. They were empty of life, like his heart. When he had left Bella that eventful day, he had left his heart, his soul, and his life with her.

“Shayla, Rosalie,” he muttered as a greeting before he ran outside. Emmett paused between us as we watched our brother run inside.

“I don’t know what to do about him,” Emmett said sadly. “When we were hunting, it was like he wasn’t Edward anymore. He just ran, killed, drank, and then did it all over again. It was like he had lost all of the humanity he had gained. It was surreal, it was monstrous, it was, it was… it was like seeing a stranger in Edward’s place.” He sighed. “I want the old Edward back.”

“Em, we all do,” I agreed, as I reached up to pat his shoulder with difficulty. Emmett turned around and placed his huge hand on my shoulder.

“Well, now that your back, I feel like going for a hunt,” I mentioned as I went to run off. “Are you coming Rosalie? You look a bit thirsty as well.”

Rosalie turned her head from where she and Emmett were staring meaningfully at each other. Talk about being sickly sweet. “Now that you mention it, I am quite thirsty,” she admitted. “Let’s go.”

Rosalie didn’t like hunting. In fact, she hated it. She felt detached from her humanity, more then she ever would be in her immortal years, and it caused her great pain. I hated to see any of my family in pain, no matter the reason.

I on the other hand, didn’t mind hunting. I knew…. I knew we had to do it in order to survive. It felt natural and it was a great feeling, letting all those contained instincts out and letting my inner vampire out. Just as long as it was on innocent animals, I was fine with it. Survival of the fittest wasn’t it?

We took off at a steady jog, racing through the forest. Rosalie broke into a graceful run, making herself go faster then me and danced ahead of me.

I forced my legs to move faster, the ground seemed to fly out from beneath me and I shot passed her, smirking the entire time. She scowled and we raced each other, neck-and-neck, through the dark woods

Finally we crossed the scent of a small herd of deer, white-tailed deer to be precise. I groaned loudly when I though of the movie, Bambi. “Damn it, their Bambi’s!” I muttered darkly, more to myself then my sister.

She smirked a little before we found the herd. It was smaller then we first thought, with only six of them, two bucks, one older then the other, and four does. We divided them up by merely glancing at them. Rosalie would take out the younger buck and two does, while I had the older male and the rest, because my eyes were darker and I was thirstier then her.

We stuck quickly. While she attacked her first kill, the young buck, I ran in a circle, herding the frightened animals together. They stood closely together, the big buck protecting them as he snorted with anger, stomped his hooves, and tossed his head with the magnificent crown of antlers around. I almost laughed; it was nearly exactly the same as my very first hunting trip, except that time I had been with Jasper, not Rosalie.

I leapt forward and the buck made a cowardly attempt to fled, bounding away as the wind carried my scent over to it and as its instincts kicked in.

I leapt like a lion attacking a zebra, with its teeth bared, claws out and eyes glinting with hope. Except that there was no gleam of hope in my eyes. It was a spark of certainty, for I knew I would always get my prey. I crashed down on the deer, sinking my teeth into it’d neck and grasped it’s head and neck in my powerful jaws, before putting it out of its misery by breaking it’s neck in one swift motion.

I drained it quickly, leaving only a small bit wound just above its jugular, and I left it where it lay, as it was truly a magnificent animal, and perhaps a lucky human hunter would like to lay claim to it.

We chased down the remaining deer, as I anticipated the right moment to finish them off. I gave on a burst of speed as the deer threatened to disappear into the woods. But I was faster and when they passed each other at the exactly right moment, I smashed into them and broke their necks at the same time.

I drained the first easily, the smaller one, before moving onto the larger, groaning with delight as I felt the hot liquid cascade its way down my throat, creating an almost euphoric sensation. I tilted my head slightly to the left, angling my jaws better as I fed from the slighter older doe, straining to consume every last drop of blood from its veins. I was over-thirsty and needed more, and so I was suckling at the animal’s neck for far longer then what was necessary.

Rosalie’s hand on my shoulder made me jump. Even though my kill was already drained and finished, I still felt the instinct to defend my prey. I whirled round, snarling as I lurched into a crouch.

Rosalie realised her mistake and held her hands up in defence. “Calm down Shay, it’s only me.”

I straightened up and offered her a small smile. “Sorry Rosalie, you just scared me for a second there.”

She grinned at me. “My fault, I was just going to ask if you’re done. Are you?”

I shrugged. “It’ll be enough for now. C’mon, let’s run back.”

And we raced back through the woods, towards our new home.

Shayla's New Moon: Chapter 6

2010-03-22T11:29:55Z

Chapter 6: Maternal Instincts

Shayla's POV

After we returned from our day-long hunting trek out in the woods, Carlisle called us in to the new dining room for a family meeting. The dining room wasn't as worn as the living room; it had emerald green (though slightly faded) carpet, chipped wood-panel walls, and a dining table, supposedly antique, with wooden claw-foot chairs.

We came in at our own pace, sitting where we would have back in Forks. Esme and Carlisle were already sitting when we walked in. When we sat down, everyone had their own feelings and emotions. Alice was really excited, Jasper was quite happy for her, Emmett was grinning and Rosalie was haughty and pissed-off. I could tell that Rosalie still didn't like the idea of moving here. And frankly, I agreed with her.

When Edward finally came in, he looked calm. He glared at me when he caught track of my thoughts. You seem to be okay now, bro. I still don't see why we all had to leave Forks. Jackass. I added that last line after his glare. Don't act like you're mad at me, bro; you're the one who made us all leave. He gave a small growl and I curled my lip up, slightly baring my teeth.

"Ahem," Carlisle coughed and we turned our attention back to him. "I think we need to choose what we are doing during our stay here. I will be at the hospital and I have decided that I will start teaching at Cornell soon." He turned to my older siblings. "Perhaps you might like to study there, Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper?"

Emmett and Rose exchanged looks.

"Well, Carlisle, we were thinking of taking another honeymoon," Emmett admitted gently. "Not going straight away, but we were thinking of going to Europe for a while."

Rosalie nodded, agreeing with her husband. "I could study engineering until we are ready to go though."

"And I might go study philosophy," Jasper chipped in. "It's a quite interesting topic and I would really love to learn more about it."

Carlisle nodded his head and looked at Alice. "Alice, what about you?"

Alice was quiet.

"I'm not exactly sure," she admitted. "But I would like to find out more about my human life by using that tape James made last year."

Last year, during the whole drama with James, he had tried to use a video camera to record himself torturing Bella, but while he was doing so, he revealed crucial information about Alice. Apparently he had met Alice when she was human, while she was in a mental hospital for suffering from visions. Alice had smelt to James like Bella had to Edward; beyond mouth-watering. But to protect her, an older and compassionate vampire had turned Alice. She had no memory of him or her time in the asylum. Only that tape had cleared up what she didn't know.

I could understand what Alice wanted. She wanted answers. Why was she put in a mental hospital? Why did her parents do such a thing? What had happened to her family? She needed to know these things.

Esme nodded her head as she spoke. "Of course, Alice. We understand."

Carlisle glanced at Edward. He didn't speak, but Edward answered. "No Carlisle, I don't want to."

My father nodded, Edward obviously had been listening to his thoughts, and then he focused on me. "Shayla, what are you doing to do?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I don't look old enough to get into university, though I'm not at the right age anyway, and I don't really want to go back to school. I might have a year off, and then maybe… I don't know… go travel for a bit…" I shrugged again.

My parents agreed with this and after another quick discussion of what Esme planned to do to the new house, we were dismissed.

I went to my room to move the rest of my things in. Jasper and Emmett were shooed out of their rooms by Alice and Rosalie, so I invited them into my new room to help me unpack my stuff. The problem was that they were not very good at following my particular method of organization.

"Hey, hey, hey!" I yelled at Emmett as he attempted to stick one of my many posters on the wall. "Pink goes over there…" - I gestured to higher up on the wall, slightly to the right, where my other posters of singers and bands were - "Up between Katy Perry and My Chemical Romance, and just below Jessica Mauboy!"

"Picky much?" I heard him mutter darkly in reply, before he removed the poster and stuck it where I had directed him to.

I went back to patiently unpacking my other belongings, such as my small collection of books. They were mostly fantasy novels, such as Harry Potter, Eragon, and a few that were concerning vampires like The Vampire Diaries. They, my siblings, had scoffed and laughed at me for reading such untrue tales, but I quite enjoyed struggling not to laugh at the ignorance humans had for my species.

My species… what had I been reduced to? Referring to my kind as a species? Moving away was the worst idea that had ever been suggested in our family's time.

I could feel myself getting more and more desolated and depressed as I thought about our decision and I sighed with sadness. But then a wave of great calmness and happiness crashed over me. I shot a sly grin at Jasper, who was smiling slightly as he pretended not to pay any attention to me, while he sorted my CDs into alphabetical order in the CD case in the corner of the room.

"Jazz, stop screwing with my emotions," I said to him, widening my smile into a grin as more emotions soared through me and replaced those less desirable feelings. Pain, sadness and irritation disappeared to be replaced by calmness, happiness, and joy.

I couldn't help but smile fondly at Jasper, and that wasn't his doing. Jasper was my favourite brother, not to bag on Edward and Emmett, but Jasper… he was always there for me. He took me on my first hunt, helped me after I killed my first human by accident, and even taught me how to be out in public and how to drive. Basically, he was a brilliant older brother. Emmett and Edward were too, but… Edward was too depressed all the time and Emmett was always joking around, never being serious. Though I loved that about Em, there were times when that just got plain annoying.

And Edward… I loved him more than anything, but ever since that party, he had gone into a deep depression, even worse than the one before he had met Bella. I secretly wondered how she was doing. I made a mental note to check up on her one day, to see how she was coping. Deep down inside of me, a certain feeling of dread told me that she wasn't, that she was acting the same, if not worse, than Edward.

After unpacking everything I had brought, I shooed the boys out and back to their girls before I took the empty boxes and suitcases to the closet down the hall. It was empty, so I figured I was the first to be fully unpacked.

I went downstairs to find Esme in the dining room, already making plans to renovate. She eagerly told me her ideas.

"I'm going to knock out this room and replace this with glass, just like our old home, and then I'm going to move the dining room into that spare study downstairs and open this all up," she told me excitedly. "It's not just going to be a house; it's going to be a home soon. Would you like to come help me pick out some furniture later? We could go into the city too…" she then asked me.

I shook my head sadly. "No thanks, Mom, I don't think I could handle it. Some other time maybe?"

"Of course." She nodded at me before turning around and murmuring something about picking out either wallpaper or paint.

I dashed upstairs to the second floor, but didn't stop there; I went straight up to the top floor.

There was a short hallway here, with arch-shaped windows set into the walls, which led to a single room: the penthouse. Or better known now as Edward's new room.

I knocked on the door. Edward, you there, bro? I didn't hear an answer, but I did detect a faint trickle of his scent.

Edward… I tried to call him again, but there was no answer. I heard him walk across the room and move some things around.

Edward, I'm sorry that I'm trying to be pushy… but I'm just so worried about you, bro… Please talk to me.

I heard him stop moving around and then I heard him sit on the bed, its springs squeaking. But then I heard another sound, one I had not expected to hear. Sobbing.

Edward was crying.

I yanked the door open and rushed to Edward's side as he sat on the bed with his knees drawn up to his chest, his arms wrapped around his legs, and his face buried into his knees as his shoulders shook and dry sobs fell loose from his quivering jaw.

"Oh, Edward," I whispered, as I came closer to him. He made no movement to state that he heard me; there were only the rumbles of desolation echoing from him. I came closer still and I then came to stand before him. I sat down on the bed beside him before wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

Oh, Edward… Edward, you don't know how sorry I am. Sure, you may hear it in my thoughts, but you cannot feel in my heart how sorry I am. I wish I could take all of it back… I am so, so, so sorry.

I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him into my lap, like I was the older one instead of him. It felt weird, but surprisingly natural. Maternal instincts; they might have been buried deep, but they were there. I kept my arms around him, hugging him to me as he sobbed. I watched him, almost tearfully, as he cried. Oh, how it pained me to see him like this.

I kept saying his name, both mentally and vocally, as I shifted my grip on him to cradle him in my arms. I stroked his shoulder gently. I knew that he liked to be sung to, he always used to say that I had such a beautiful voice. "Na, na, na, na, nah… na, na, na, nah… you are the music in me…"

I kept humming and singing to him, like he was a young child, like he needed a lullaby to fall asleep. But he wasn't a young 'un. He was my brother, who had lost the love of his life – and it was all my fault. I hadn't realized that I was thinking of Bella, when all of a sudden, he started to growl softly.

"Sorry, bro," I whispered as I cradled him. He lifted his head for a moment before he wept into my shoulder. I hugged him tightly to me, telling him that it was okay to cry.

"Shayla…" a voice said from the doorway. I looked up to see Carlisle standing there in the dim light, his face barely lit up by the moonlight filtering in through the closed blinds.

"I heard him growling," my father whispered to me as an explanation. "Is he… okay?"

I glanced from Carlisle to Edward. Edward had stopped sobbing but his shoulders still shook. With a tilt of my head, I beckoned to my father to come over.

Carlisle sat beside me as he comforted Edward. That was my cue to leave. I slid him off me and into Carlisle's lap. My father wrapped his arms around Edward to comfort my brother.

I slipped out of the room and met Alice on the stairs.

"How is he?" she asked, though I knew that she would already know my answer.

I sighed with frustration as I leant against the rail of the staircase. "He's not good Alice, not good at all. He's destroyed himself, he's not Edward anymore. He's an empty shell without her… it was like before they met… but worse. And there is not a damn thing I can do to help him!" I felt like slamming my fist into the rail in frustration.

Alice caught my hand before I could do so. "That isn't going to help," she said sternly. "It's not your fault Shay, it's expected of us."

"I know that now… I only wish I knew how to help him," I admitted.

I stared up at the ceiling in sadness, where I could still hear the faint sobs coming from my sad, lonely brother, Edward.

QUESTIONS???

2010-03-20T10:43:59Z

When will the New Moon DVD be out in Australia?

AND

When will the graphic novel be out in Australia as well?

Cheers, Ha-Za 10:43, March 20, 2010 (UTC)

Vote for Twilight!

2010-03-17T21:35:03Z

Twilight is up for voting on the Nick Kids Choice Awards with Taylor Laurent as Favourite Movie Actor, Bella/ Edward and Bella/ Jacob as Favourite Couple, and the Twilight Saga for Favourite Book Series! Go to http://www.nick.com/kids-choice-awards/vote/ to vote for them!

Vote 1 for Twilight! XD

Shayla's New Moon: Chapter 5

2010-03-14T04:44:09Z

Chapter 5: Ithaca

Shayla’s POV

We had decided to move to Ithaca, of northern New York. We had never lived there, northern New York, yes, in Rochester where Carlisle rescued the town darling, a.k.a Rosalie, in hopes that she would become a mate to Edward, but that plan had failed miserably. We had never resided in Ithaca, a beautiful town surrounded by gorges and waterfalls. I had looked it up on Google and had discovered that the sun rarely shone there, it was always cloudy, but it hardly rained. The clouds were suspected to be from pollution but it wasn’t confirmed. Not that it mattered to us anyway.

Carlisle was getting a transfer from Forks to the local hospital, but it wouldn’t be valid for a few weeks. But we were still moving the day after I came home.

Rosalie and Alice helped me pack. They manage to clean out my almost-bare closet and analysed my few pairs of shoes before they went shopping to get me some more of each, despite my protests. And then Jazz came in, offering to help me pack up my other stuff. He was a good brother to me, and I didn’t really deserve it. When I tried to explain this, he refused to leave and instead helped me. This later turned out to be a good thing as we had to then go around at vampire speed, packing most of our personal belongings into boxes and suitcases, before carting them downstairs to the garage.

We packed all of my CDs and books into boxes, needing only one for each, as well as my stereo, electric guitar and several other electronic items. We decided to live my decorative swords behind as well as my drum-kit. Even though I did enjoy playing it, I rarely did anymore and it was Theo that was the star drummer. I called him on my cell and he happily arranged to pick it up.

But then there was one thing that I was going to leave behind and that I really didn’t want to. My motorcycle, which was a ’97 Harley Sprint, was that certain thing. I had first gotten after Rosalie saw it and had saved it from being reduced to scrap metal. It resembled the much older and rustier one that I had ridden as a kid on the farm.

To me, taking the bike would mean that I would be taken the last scrap of home away from where it belonged.

I kept thinking of all of this as the rest of my family drove their cars out of the garage. Jasper had his jade green Mercedes AMG, Emmett had his jeep, Rose had her BMW, Carlisle had his Mercedes and Edward had two cars, his Astron Martin Vanquish and his Volvo but he was leaving the Astron Martin behind and taking the Volvo. Esme didn’t have a car and nor did Alice.

I stood at the garage entrance, staring at my lonely old bike standing by itself by the wall while my family packed their cars. I let out a sad sigh as I looked at it.

Emmett came and rested a huge hand on my shoulder. “You don’t want to leave it behind, do you?”

I shook my head at him. “I don’t want to but…” I looked up at him. “I want something of mine to stay here. And it means I don’t have a ride, so be it.”

“That’s what you think,” a voice chuckled behind us all, just as a loud revving noise roared behind me as a car skidded to a stop behind us. Too loud to be any of my siblings’ cars, and even though it sounded a bit like Emmett’s jeep, but it just didn’t have the same vibe as it.

So I spun around to see the most kick-ass car that I have ever seen in my thirty-nine years. It was a metallic black Subaru Impreza WRX but it had been done up majorly. Someone, and I had a fair idea who, had painted neon green ragged green stripes along the side doors and hood, spray painted the rims to an electric blue colour, and had added a big black spoiler to the back. It looked like it belonged on a drag-racing track.

And sitting on the hood was Corey, with this huge cocky grin on his face. I ran up to him and he slid off and we hugged each other. “Dude, what are you doing her man?! I thought you went home!” I asked him after I pulled back.

“Alice called and told us you were leaving. And she said that you wouldn’t have a ride,” he explained. “So me and the boys…” He gestured to Theo and Matt who had both hopped out of the car, which I then noticed had a leather interior. “Decided to fix up for you, with some help from the girls of course.” Maddy, Tiff and Jessie beamed at me as they hopped out of the wide backseat.

Corey held out the keys to be. “Here, take them, it’s yours now. Six-stack CD player, fair amount of horse-power, automatic with the special nitro stuff they use in drag racers, whatever the hell it’s called… the full package.”

“It’s road-worthy, right?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow up.

“Course it is Shayla. It cost us a bit and little bit of time but we worked hard to get it done for you ‘cause we love ya. Anyway, do you love it?”

If I could cry I would have had tears springing up in my eyes. It was just so… so… so thoughtful. “Oh guys, you’re the greatest!” I manage to squeak out before I threw my arms around Corey. We all went into a group hug as I made sure to hug each of my friends. “You’re the best friends a girl could ever want!”

They laughed good-heartedly just as Alice coughed and stepped forward, a digital camera in her hand. “Group photo anyone?”

We grinned in response before we stood in front of my brand-new car, grinning madly. I had Maddy and Tiff on either side of me, with their mates beside them, and Corey and Jessie on the end, doing identical ‘peace out’ signs with their fingers. We all laughed when Alice was done as my friends said their goodbyes to me.

Maddy was the last one to come up to be. The others had darted away, except for Matt who was waiting patiently near the trees. I opened the trunk of my new car, noting the large space and subwoofers, and placed my guitar, my suitcase of both brand new clothes, and then followed by the boxes of books, CDs and various electronics.

“Well,” I started as I shut the boot and turned to Maddy. “This is good-bye then.”

“It doesn’t get any easier, does it?” she admitted sadly as she shook her head slightly.

“Good-bye Mads. I will miss you –heaps.”

“Same here, babe,” she grinned. I nudged her in the ribs with my elbow and we giggled together before embracing in a wide hug. “Good-bye Shayla, don’t forget to write!” And then she darted off into the woods with Matt by her side.

I sighed sadly and walked to the driver’s side of the car. Esme came and sat in the passenger side. She would be coming with me as I had no idea where our new home was, and she had the job of navigating me.

“You will see them again,” Esme said, guessing my thoughts. “You will have an eternity together.”

I couldn’t help but chuckled at her words as I turned the key in the ignition, and switched the car on. It roared to life, which Rosalie glared at jealously, and nudged the accelerator with my toe before we raced out of the driveway.

I had driven before, but was used to a bike, being out in the open wind, racing along the highways with nothing but my thoughts to distract me. Driving was very different for me.

Following Esme’s directions, we followed Edward in his Volvo out along the highway. We had left at sunrise, to avoid the traffic and police, and we raced along at full speed.

“Er, breaker, breaker, Grizzly to Baby Bear, do you copy. Over.”

Emmett’s voice broke through the radio. I laughed out loud when I realised that they installed a short-wave radio into my drag-racing-like car. Rosalie had installed them into the other cars, as a precautionary and Emmett’s favourite hobby was hijacking them. He had come up with aliases for all of us. I was Baby Bear (despite my protests), Emmett himself was Grizzly, Rosalie was Goldilocks, Jasper was Texas, Carlisle and Esme were Papa Bear and Mama Bear respectively, Edward was Speedy and Alice was Pixie.

I looked around for a microphone and grinned when Esme opened the glove-box and pulled out what resembled Bluetooth ear pieces. She clipped on her ear and helped me clip mine on. The car didn’t move an inch from the centre of the lane.

“BB reads you loud and clear,” I answered him. Even though my mouth piece was up on my ear, Emmett and the others could pick my voice and what I was saying quite easily. “What’s up bro?”

“Nothing much,” he answered. “But I think Rosalie is a bit jealous of your new ride.” He gave a chuckle as Rosalie hissed from her BMW beside me. I revved my engine at her before I sped up past her, earning a glare.

We kept talking to each other as we raced up the high way at illegal speeds, occasionally separating from each other as we overtook each other and raced each other, and occasionally getting scolded by Carlisle and Esme as we ribbed each other over the radio. We had no need to stop apart to get fuel but since I had a full tank, Esme and I kept going.

Finally, we entered the State of New York. We avoided going into the capital city and stuck to the back roads.

And finally, Esme directed to a road and we passed a sign that read ‘Ithaca is Gorges!’ According to Esme, it was the city’s motto.

But we didn’t go in to the city. We went around it and instead headed to our new home on the outskirts. We turned down a worn, dirt drive-way, almost as long as the one we had back in Forks, and stopped at the house.

It was very old and I could see that it dated back at least three hundred years, one of Esme’s favourites to work with, and had tree-stories. It had a porch wrapped around the ground floor, and a veranda on the top floor, near a set of double-glass doors that I assumed went into a pent-house of some sort. The house backed onto a magnificent lake and I was sure that if I could get onto the roof, I could do an exhilarating, forty or so foot, dive into the water.

We were pulling my luggage out of the boot when the others pulled up. Esme and I were discussing plans for a garage; there was an old barn nearby and that would be perfect for it.

“So, this is it?” Rosalie noted, looking up at the worn house, a distasteful expression on her face.

She was with me on the fact that she didn’t want to move. In fact, she was against the whole idea before I put my opinion in. Of course, she was happy that Bella was out our lives for good, in her belief of course, but she had grown to love that house in Forks as her home, and she never wanted to leave it. She hadn’t spoken to Edward since he first insisted that we move.

I rolled my eyes at her. “No Rosalie, we have just stopped here and unpacked all of our luggage to admire it,” I shot back to her sarcastically. “It’s a beauty isn’t it?”

She hissed softly at me and I growled back at her. “Now, now you two,” Carlisle chastised gently as Emmett held his hands on Rosalie’s shoulders, just holding her back. Rosalie’s temper could flare up at any moment like my own and seeing as she was still pissed off at Edward… the smallest things set her off.

“No fighting,” Carlisle declared as he picked up his and Esme’s suitcases while Esme unlocked the door. I stacked my boxes on top of one another and placed them on top of suitcase, before lifting them all up and following my parents inside.

The living room was pretty bare and dust covered. The lounges needed replacing, the fireplace had burnt bricks in it which the distinct burnt smell, and the plain white plaster walls were cracked.

“It’ll need a lot of work done on it,” Esme said to us all as my siblings followed me in. “But it’ll be worth it when it’s done. Now why don’t you all go and claim your rooms.”

I heard Jasper and Emmett dropped their luggage before sprinting up the surprisingly unworn to stairs to fight over rooms. I darted after them to find that Emmett had claimed the largest room after the master bedroom, which had a large bathroom for Rosalie, while Jasper had gotten the smaller room with a study.

Alice and Rosalie were laughing at their husbands as I walked past their rooms and came to one at the end of the hallway, which wrapped around a large room in the middle of the house that I couldn’t seem to find a door for, just near the back of the house.

I walked in, expecting to find a closet or something, but instead it was a beautiful room. It was completely square with large, plain windows that showed a view of the lake, and had a few small furnishings such a double-sized bed, a wooden dresser and a matching bedside table. A glass door led out to a small veranda with a patio table and chairs. The room went off a bit to the right of me to reveal a large plain wall with a single sliding door. Assuming this to be the closet, I slid it open.

It was a huge walk-in closet with many shelves for shoes, racks with hangers, and even more set of drawers. There were two more sliding doors set across from mine diagonally, so that they were in a triangle formation. Just between each of the doors was a pull-out sliding screen, to allow privacy I assumed. They went all the way to the centre where a large white pillar was situated, with small glass shelfs circling around it. I walked over to the door on the left first and banged on it hard with my fist before doing the same to the other. “Oi, get in here!” I called out to my sisters. “You have got to see this!”

Alice and Rosalie walked in, confusion etched on their faces, and with their husbands peaking warningly over their shoulders. But the moment they laid eyes on the walk-in, their faces lit up.

“Wow,” Rosalie gasped as she stared around the room. “It’s magnificent!”

“Most defiantly,” Alice agreed as she scanned the future excitedly, probably trying to envision all the clothes that she would buy to fill up the room.

“Beauty isn’t it?” I grinned at them. I may not be a ‘girly-girl’ like them but sometimes; there were times where I couldn’t help but get all excited about the simplest things, like this closet or the new clothes that I would fill it up with.

In less then three seconds, they brought their several suitcases in and zipped around their section of the room, putting shoes on shelves, hanging dresses and shirts on hangers and placing these on the racks and folding what couldn’t be hung up and placing them in drawers.

I copied them, noting that I had a lot more of spare space left over then they did.

“Hm,” I mused to myself, tipping my head a little to the side as I stood with my arms folded while analysing my closet space. “I think I need to get some more clothes.” I picked up a old grey t-shirt, which was ragged and had torn sleeves and rips all through it. I hung it back up carefully – it was a favourite and I wasn’t willing to throw it out.

“We can do that later,” Rosalie said back to me as she came over.

Emmett followed her. “Let’s go outside and see what there is to hunt.”

“But I’m not thirsty, it’s only been two day since I’ve hunted,” I protested. I would need to feed again in three day – maybe. I could go for a week, a week-and-a-half without hunting, but it was hard. The burn in my throat… it controlled me. It limited when, where and what I could and who I could see. It was a terrible thing.

But that was the only bad thing about my existence, the thirst. I could run across open land and reach my destination that would take a human a week in days. I wasn’t fragile so I could do anything a mortal couldn’t do for fear of getting hurt. I was strong when it came to being physical but mentally… I wasn’t.

I remembered the time that we had lived in Ashland. Esme, Carlisle and Edward had lived there for a few years – in fact, it was where Esme was found by Carlisle and turned. I had been just passed my mark of being five vampire years old.

I had not been strong then. A pair of nomads, whom where old friend’s with Jasper, Peter and Charlotte, came to visit one evening. I had been wary of them, for I had never met non-vegetarians apart from the Volturi before, and their presence had scared me a little. I had not hunted in a few days, almost a week, and was trying to prove that I could last as long as my family did sometimes – a fortnight.

When I had finally cooked up the courage to come out of the woods after two days and meet them, it had been a horrible mistake. The faint scent of human blood had surrounded them after a recent feed, and I had immediately gone into a blood-driven frenzy.

Jasper had to work hard to calm me down while Edward and Carlisle tried to restrain me (Emmett and Rosalie were living separately from us at the time). I had slashed at my father with my claws, ripping his shirt and causing an ugly grating noise as my claws dug into his chest and tore his granite-skin. Despite the strong man he was, he still let out a shriek of agony as he still tried to restrain me. But once I had swiped at Edward as well, thankfully missing his face which was what I had been aiming for, they let me go.

Horrified at what I had done and tried to do, I did the only thing that made sense: I fled. I raced through the woods, going as far away as I could from my family.

Eventually, I had detected the soft sounds of vampire footfalls behind me and I instinctively turned, not ready to attack but to defend. My newborn year may have been up but one thing had remained that was now demising – my temper.

“What do you want?” I had snarled at him, angry at myself for letting myself to be found.

He pleaded with me, trying to get me to come back home. But when I refused out of fear for my family’s safety, he did something that I would have never expected him to do He stayed with me through the night. We talked, and we grew closer then we ever had been before. When morning came, I followed him home.

Though my father healed quickly and didn’t blame me for the incident, I would never forget that day, even with my flawless, perfect memory. It had been a turning point in my life, when I realised I must not try and tempt fate by tying to not hunt in order to be up to par with my siblings. I was new to this world and I needed to accept that.

“Yo, earth to Shayla!” Emmett’s voice broke through to my thoughts. I glanced up to see them watching me. I gave my head a little shake. “Do you want to come and see what’s around here, hunting-wise?”

“Um, sure. Let me just change,” I told them as the boys exited and us girls pulled the curtains across to give each other privacy.

A few minutes later, after we changed into older clothes that could withstand mud, dirt and blood stains, we ran outside to join Jasper and Emmett. They rolled their eyes at us girls’ tendency to change whenever we went out, before we took off into the forest.

Shayla's New Moon: Chapter 4

2010-03-12T05:20:43Z

Chapter 4: Running in the snow

Shayla’s POV

I spent the next few days in Alaska, or just one-and-a-half to be exact. During the day when humans would be about in the woods, hunting, hiking or doing whatever they liked to do, we stayed in the cabin, playing chess and having long conversations until sunset. And when night fell that first night, we all went out to hunt.

I always loved the Alaskan wildlife and when we all went hunting that first night, they all saw that. I managed to track down a heard of elk and rounded them up, showing off my very own hunting style, on all fours, running around them like I was a wildcat of some sort.

I snarled at them, feeling the instinctive growl rumble my body, and grinned before leaping at them. I attacked a young female first and locked my powerful jaws around her neck, squeezing tight while digging my clawed feet into her body, and grasping her neck with my equally-clawed hands. Her high-pitched bleats cut off with a gurgle as her air supply was kicked off and I sliced my razor-sharp teeth through her thin tissue and onto her federal artery. I drained her quickly and easily and threw her body aside before tracking down the others that had fled and fed from them as well.

After I finished my quick feeding session, I buried the bodies in a scattered formation under the snow. The others, especially Laurent, seemed fascinated by my hunting style. Whenever we visited them before, I either went hunting alone or with a single family member, usually Jasper, or sometimes Emmett.

“Shayla, your hunting style… it quite perplexes me,” Laurent had mentioned once we stopped in a small clearing to talk. I sat on a boulder as a result of a human habit of needing to sit and when he spoke, I lifted my gaze from watching my claws shrink back into my fingers. When I had first changed, the sensation was uncomfortable, like someone was tickling me as hard as they could, and I couldn’t get to stop. But now, it felt normal, just a small numb sensation just after the final joint on each of my fingers and toes as that was when my claws first sprouted, hardening over the ends and then sprouting long, deadly-sharp silver claws.

“That’s my gift, it’s called animalistic senses, or something along those lines,” I explained. “My senses are sharper, stronger then a normal vampire’s, save for my hearing. I am more animal then human, more like the monster I am destined to be… but the one that I refuse to be.” He still looked confused so I decided to show him more. “And I could also do this…”

With a grunt, I lifted my hands up and concentrated hard. In less then a second, I thrust my hands down to help them thrust out, and then the silvers claws grew out of the skin, sending a tingling sensation down my arms.

Laurent looked worried as he eyed me nervously. I examined my hand casually, feeling a little smug at his uneasiness, and tried to avoid smirking. But then suddenly, we heard music blasting, and it seemed to be coming from me.

Nice legs, Daisy dukes, makes a man go whoo-whoo! That’s the way they all come through like whoo-whoo! Low-cut, see-through shirts that make you whoo-whoo! That’s the way that she comes through like whoo-whoo!

My cell-phone was going off in my pocket, with the ringtone being Starstuck by 30H!3. I shrunk my claws back in and quickly managed to snatch it out of the pocket of my coat, which Kate had kindly leant me, and glanced at the screen, to see who it was via the Caller-ID.

Alice.

Why the hell would she be ringing me? We always just texted each other when we were far away from each other. She wouldn’t call me, unless… unless it was an emergency…

“Alice?” I asked as I saw the others flit away, their pale forms disappearing into the snow, as they tried to give me some privacy. “What’s wrong? Why did you call me?”

“Shayla, get home NOW,” she cried into the phone. “It’s a major emergency just run home as fast as you can. There’s no time to explain, hurry!”

The phone hung up with a beep and I stared it. What on earth was going on? An emergency? There were rarely any emergencies that could cause serious worries or threats to a vampire so what emergency could this be?

I didn’t know but I knew what I had to do…

I took off back towards Washington, to find out whatever this emergency was.

I could feel the elk blood in my still veins, absorbing into my tissue. I gritted my teeth and forced myself to run at full speed. The fresh blood, it was like an energy drink, it gave me a boost of pure power. I unleashed it into my muscles, and pumped them as fast as I could.

I flew over the snow-covered ground on my own two legs, dodging every tree, seeing every individual leaf, every scrap and piece of bark on their trunks, and leaping over the black boulders of the Alaskan landscape. I let out a howl as I raced towards home, feeling my vampire side to come to life. This was who I am, my true being. I was not Shayla Cullen if I couldn’t fly through the air like a bird, race across the landscape like a wildcat, and roar my lounges out like a grizzly bear.

The snow slowly transited to dirt under my feet before I reached the rainy rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula. It had taken me six hours to reach there and I had nearly forgotten where the border line was. But I remembered and I raced along it and I reached the river near home in a few minutes.

I immediately leapt onto all fours and leapt like a mustang across the river, before landing upright and racing into the house.

The back room was empty. “Carlisle, Esme!? Emmett, Rosalie!? Jasper, Alice!? Edward!?” I yelled out to them. But then I inhaled and picked up their individual scent trails. Dining room.

I raced onto the dining room and was met by a solemn sight. They were all seated around the table with Carlisle at the head, Esme by his side, Jasper and Alice seated to his right, Rosalie at the other end with Emmett, and Edward around on Carlisle’s other side, with other chair empty. That was where I would sit.

They looked up when I entered. “What’s going on? What’s the big emergency?” I asked them as Esme hopped up and hugged me. I walked around to my seat, passing my siblings along the way. I bumped fists with Emmett and Jasper as I passed them, and touched my sisters shoulder’s affectionately as they smiled at me.

But Edward was still and made no move or sound to say that he acknowledged me. His eyes… they stared without seeing, He didn’t breath and his looked like a lost man. A man who has lost something important, like the thing that he holds most dear to him.

I didn’t know what to think of this.

I sank down into the chair and Carlisle cleared his throat. “Shayla, we have decided that we are leaving Forks.”

Talk about being blunt. As soon as he said those crucial words, I swivelled around in my chair from where I had been facing Edward, stroking his arm in concern as I tried to figure it out what was wrong with him.

“What!?” I hissed at the man who had become a second father to me. “Why the hell are we? We still have a few more years and this is myhome Carlisle. My father’s family has lived in this area for generations! I have only left here for a few times and those were necessary. This is my home!”

Carlisle and Esme exchanged looks. I guessed that they would figure that this would me my reaction. But their look also gave me the impression that they didn’t like the idea much either, and that it was no their idea.

Edward’s voice rang with misery as he spoke. “It’s for the best Shayla.”

I turned back to him. “You suggested this Edward? But, but, why? What about Bella?”

He flashed a look at me and realization dawned on. She’s not coming is she? You’re leaving her behind.

“She’s human, she’ll forget about us,” he answered calmly. “Just like every other teenage girl.

I growled at him, Bella wasn’t like the other girls. “Edward, you idiot! Do you really think that she will forget!? This is going to kill her, it’ll destroy her!”

“It’s what’s best,” he answered, still calm.

I snarled. “What’s best for her? Or what’s best for you?”

“It’s to keep her safe! Can you not understand that?” He finally lost his temper and leapt from his chair, sending it flying backwards. “I love her more then anything in the world! But that birthday party opened my eyes. She will not become one of us! She’ll have a chance to have a normal life, which we couldn’t have! She’ll finish school, go to college, have a career, maybe even get married to someone who can’t kill her and have children! I will not damn her to this life, a life for eternity! I will not take her soul!”

I stood up too and glared at him. “So this is because I tried to kill her? Well, that’s fixable without moving the whole family! I’ll just go away for good. I’ll go back to Australia and stay with my friends, or I’ll go be a nomad! I’ll go anywhere to keep her safe from me Edward! Like or not, she’s my sister too and if I have to stay away from my family to keep you two together…” I took a breath and looked him straight in the eyes. “So be it. This is our home Edward, and I won’t let you take it from us!”

“It’s too late Shayla,” he answered bluntly. “We’re moving to keep her safe from all us, not just you, and me. Especially me. No arguments!”

“Who the hell do you think you are, my father!?” I yelled back at him, tired of his bossiness of the situation, before I stomped up the stairs to my room, and slammed the door with enough force that it cracked down the middle and fell off the hinges, and the whole house shook from the strength of me slamming it.

How could he this to us! Of course, it was my entire fault – if I had been strong enough to resist the temptation and had held my brother down instead of trying to attack Bella as well – we wouldn’t be in this mess!

When a vampire gets into a situation where they just feel the need to let all their anger out, they usually destroy something. And that was what I felt like doing except… well, I couldn’t really do anymore damage to our poor house. I had already broken the door and parts of the doorframe. So I did the next best thing: I put heavy metal/ punk rock on at volume that would’ve sent a human deaf in a matter of hours if they had been listening to it.

The CD I put on was My Chemical Romance’s Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. A good choice for people who didn’t want to think about the horrible things they had to face and they didn’t want to think about it.

With a sigh I threw myself backwards onto my bed, and pulled a pillow over my face before curling up on my side.

I heard someone walk up the stars, a miracle I thought because of the mind-blowing, head-pounding music, and step into my room. They, whoever it was, shifted the door out of the way, and when they did, a small wisp of their scent fluttered over to my face under the pillow.

My mother sat down on bed near my shoulder and rubbed my arm affectionately. I shrugged away from her touch but she wouldn’t allow it. She pulled me closer to her and removed the pillow. I sighed out of irritation as I sat beside her. “Esme, this is all my fault. I have to go away so you don’t have to move. I won’t let Edward leave Bella.”

She sighed as she wrapped a comforting arm around my shoulders. “Shayla, I love you with all my heart. I cannot bear to see you ripped away from the family. Edward has made up his mind and, as much as I hate to admit it, we do need to move. Carlisle is claiming be to thirty-three now and they’re getting suspicious at the hospital. We’ve done this before, and I know it’s different this time, but we do need to move on before we get caught.”

I ruined and looked at her before sighing sadly run my fingers through my air. “But, Mom… he’s going to die without her. They belong together… forever. She’s meant to become one of us, and now she won’t because I wasn’t strong enough. ”

“It’s not your fault though…” she whispered back. “But I know what you mean. But there are times, when if you love something so much, you’ll do anything to keep them safe.”

I couldn’t help but nod at her solemn words as we embraced each other as we prepared to leave her human daughter, and my human sister, behind.

Shayla's New Moon: Chapter 3.

2010-03-10T10:06:21Z

Chapter 3: Alaska

Alice’s POV

“Where’s she going?” Rosalie asked with hurt in her voice as we watched Shayla run away from us. Well, not running exactly, but more like climbing and swinging through the trees. Though a noisier way to travel, it made her virtually untraceable.

“I don’t know,” I answered sadly. “Her decision of where she is going hasn’t been made. I’ll go after her when I know.”

I turned to Jasper who looked downright pitiful as Esme and Rosalie consulted him. Despite Rosalie’s cold nature, when it came to her and her ‘twin’, they cared for each other deeply. They were really close, like Edward and I but their love of cars fuelled their relationship rather then I and Edward’s bonding of abilities.

I bent down to Jasper’s level. Ironically enough, it was usually him that had to bend down to reach me. “Jazz, its okay,” I whispered, cupping his face with one of my hands and brushing my thumb gently over his cheek. “Really, it’s all going to be okay.”

“Alice… no, not now,” he murmured before standing and running away into the woods in the opposite direction, just like his sister had moments ago. I only sighed just as I saw Edward in a vision, running after him. So he had decided to listen to Bella, Carlisle and I.

“Go after Shayla Alice,” Esme urged. “I’ll run ahead to home and try to get the scent out. I will send Carlisle out here as well. It’ll be best for him to talk to her as well.” She began to dart off. “Emmett, Rosalie!” she called over her shoulder and the two ran after her.

I turned and followed where Shayla had fled beforehand. Even though she had attempted to make herself untraceable, my gift was lending me a hand as I saw her in a vision.

She was up at a cliffy area, up in the mountains, by a waterfall. She was kneeling down with her eyes closed, her hands clasped like she was in prayer. She was mumbling words and was then silence for a moment. She then lifted her head and focused her golden-toned gaze on the glittering night sky.

“Amen. I love you Ma, I love you Pa,” she whispered.

I ran to where I saw her. Her scent grew stronger as it suddenly dipped from the tress and her footprints appeared on the ground, further apart then what they usually would be. Ah, she was running at her full speed, that is, in her hunting run. She rarely ran like that anymore, only when she wanted to get somewhere fast.

And then there she was, sitting right on the cliff edge on her knees, praying.

She lifted her gaze to the sky. “Amen,” she then whispered. “I love you Ma, I love you Pa.”

‘Ma’ and ‘Pa’ where not referring to Esme and Carlisle. They were referring to her deceased parents; one whom had died when she was only a baby, the other one was murdered – by her. Her father had been in the woods near our old home and had accidently shot himself. He wandered too close to the house when Shayla was only just a newborn. She had drained him instantly and, once she had realised what she had done, she had felt utterly helpless and sick with grief. She had even tried to kill herself by starvation. But the attempt was unsuccessful.

She had managed to hunt again and then move one, but her grief and guiltiness always remained. The only person that was allowed to talk about her father and mother was Carlisle. Sometimes, they would pray together.

Shayla wasn’t very religious but rather spiritual. She believed that we had souls and that we had an afterlife. She believed in ghosts and spiritual beings, and even aliens. She annoyed the hell out of Edward with her beliefs but, he put up with her. We all did, even if she was our little sister. And a little sister is designed to be irritating; Emmett teased me about that for months.

“Shayla,” I whispered and I saw her swivel her head around before rising to her feet.

“Hey Alice. How’s Jazz holding up? He should know that it isn’t his fault – It is my own.” She spoke quickly and without attention, proceeding to stare out across the open land.

“He’s fine – And it’s no one’s fault, especially not yours.”

She made a noise of disbelief. “Did you miss the part where I let go of Jasper and tried to bite Bella’s hand off?”

I flinched at her suddenly harsh voice, an effect of her short temper. “I don’t miss things Shayla,” I eventually replied dryly. “But I’m going to say this one more time and you better get it this time. It is NOT your fault. We’re vampires, it’s to be expected, and it was only an accident. It was no one’s fault. Listen to me!” She had turned her head away and closed her eyes, trying to avoid looking me in the eye. “There is no way in hell that this is your fault!”

She let out a breath and sighed. “If it’s not my fault then why do I feel so guilty?”

“You might be a vampire with your instincts but you’re still got human emotions and feelings,” I explained. “That is why we are different from the others. A normal vampire wouldn’t feel guilty for nearly killing a human. Hell, they wouldn’t feel guilty if they did kill.”

“Hmm,” Shayla mused turning her face back to me and opening her eyes. “I suppose you’re right… But I have made up my mind about something…”

I instantly scanned her future, looking to see what she had decided.

She sat in a wooden cabin while a blizzard raged outside with a chess board in front of her. On the opposite side of the board, a beautiful girl, about two or three years older then her, with long, pale blond hair sat concentrating hard as she scanned the pieces. She picked up one and moved it but then groaned as Shayla moved another piece forward and laughed.

“That’s checkmate Kate,” she chuckled. Kate scowled before standing up.

“It’s your turn Tanya!” she called out to another girl sitting in the corner. “I can’t beat her!” Kate then darted from the room and outside.

Tanya, a kinda-short girl with strawberry-blonde hair sniggered as she put down her book and walked over to Shayla. “C’mon Shayla, we’ve had enough chess for today. Let’s go outside and see if we can have some real fun!” She giggled and Shayla joined in before they both ran outside.

My vision ended and I glanced at Shayla. “You’re leaving?”

She nodded. “It’s for the best Alice.”

I let out a sad whimper. “But… But you don’t need to leave… What if something big comes up?”

She moved towards me and hugged me. “Hey, it’ll only be for a day or two. It’ll be nice to see them all again, Kate, Irina, Tanya, Eleazar and Carmen… They are almost like family, our cousins remember?”

I hugged her back sadly. “Call us when you get there?”

She laughed and kissed my forehead. “I will.”

I shut my eyes and watched a vision of her running there. All would go well even though it was a vicious blizzard and it would take her a good half a day to reach there, but she would be fine. I did worry about her, because she was the youngest, but not the weakest, and we protected her. Not that she needed it. It was time for me to let her go where she needed to be.

“Bye Shayla, I love you,” I whispered but as I opened my eyes, she was already gone.

Shayla’s POV

I had taken off as soon as she finished speaking but I had not missed her ‘Bye Shayla. I love you’. I didn’t think that she would let me go – Esme certainly wouldn’t and nor would my brothers have.

I kept heading north, running at full speed and then I hit the snowy region of Alaska, USA. There was a blizzard, a ferocious thing, but my keens eyes could see through it easily and my powerful leg muscles could thrust me through the foot-deep snow like it was nothing.

But I grew weak from my diminishing thirst. I had hunted four days before but I needed to hunt at least every five to remain at a controlled level. I had been travelling for many hours, at least six or more, the sun was rising above the horizon, and I needed to reach the Denali’s territory before I lost control.

I manage to get to Denali in the nick of time, and headed to their home, a medium-sized cabin buried deep in the forest when I saw an unknown man leaving there. He looked familiar, with olive-toned skin and dark, dreadlocked hair. His eyes were golden-toned but still held a hint of scarlet.

Laurent.

He was once the coven member of James and Victoria, but he had blabbed about them to us after he accepted Carlisle’s invitation to come back to our home. He wasn’t the kindest person in the world then, but he had mentioned heading here¸ to try out their diet. But I was still trying to figure out why they’d accept him. He was a two-faced, backstabbing low-life.

I darted over to where he exited the cabin and called out to him, against my better judgement. “Laurent?”

He turned and smiled a small smile. “Hello there. It was Sasha, right?”

“Shayla,” I corrected in a hard-voice. “Is Kate in?” Kate was my favourite, followed by Tanya. Kate was spunky and tough, not afraid to show off who she was, personality-wise. She loved to play-fight and wrestle but I was the only one who could almost withstand her gift. She could ‘taser’ a person just by touching them. It stunned them temporarily, giving her enough time to deal some real damage. She could adjust how much damage she could do by having a ‘setting’, as she called them. Usually her ‘low setting’ just stung just a small past of your body and made you wince in pain, but her ‘high setting’ could wipe you off your feet if she tried hard enough. But she didn’t use it sadistically, only in self-defence. Not that she needed to do so up here, it was too quiet and no other vampires other then her family and mine ventured up her.

“Um, yes, she is. I’ll just go get her…” Laurent managed to stammer out before he turned and re-entered the cabin.

I waited patiently outside for a few moments before I heard a scream of my name in a high-pitched squeal, “SHAYLA!”

And then I was tackled in a hug by Kate, who was almost like a sister to me, as she refused to let go of me. God, had it been that long since I’ve seen her?

“Ugh, Kate! Get off me!” I yelled to her, shoving her off me easily. “I know it’s been long but, damn it you didn’t need to tackle me!”

She grinned up at me from the ground, with snow all caught in her clothes and golden hair. “But I missed you, it’s been ages! Come inside, and see the rest of them!”

She dragged me into the cabin and announced me. “Hey, look who showed up! It’s our baby cousin!” I glared at her. I was no baby.

Carmen and Eleazar were in front of me in a flash. “Well, if it isn’t the poco bebé of the Cullens!” Carmen said excitedly. “How are you, primo?”

I nodded my head politely, “Could be better I suppose.” I added a shrug to my remark.

“Well, c’mon dish it out!” I looked up to see Tanya darting in, her strawberry-blonde hair flaring out behind her. She twirled to a stop in front of me and grinned. “C’mon, tell us!”

I sighed and then I told them. Everything. About Bella, my bloodlust for her, the party… They didn’t speak during my story, instead listening intently until I was done talking.

“So I told Alice that if it would be best if I came up here,” I finished. “So here I am. You don’t mind, do you? I hate to be a bother…”

“Oh, no, no it is fine Shayla.” Eleazar beamed at me. “Have you met our latest coven member before, Shayla? Laurent burst in here saying that you wanted to see Kate and he seemed to recognise you.”

I scratched the back of my hand with the other before speaking. “Well, around a few months ago, when Bella and Edward first started being together, we went out for a game of baseball. This was all very well and good until…” I hesitated as I saw Laurent enter the room, with Irina almost hanging off his arm, but I turned my back to them and continued talking to Kate, Tanya, Carmen and Eleazar. “Laurent was a part of another coven, nomads, with two vampires named Victoria and James. James was a tracker. He decided to hunt Bella and we raced to protect her and her father from him and Victoria who wanted to help him. Laurent didn’t. Carlisle invited him back home and we explained our lifestyle to him, mentioning your family. After he told us everything that he knew about James, he left. We managed to end James and cause his friend to run off but we never saw Laurent again. Personally, I hoped we wouldn’t.”

“And what is wrong with that?” Irina suddenly growled at me.

I resisted the urge to hiss back at her but I was perplexed. Why did Irina care so much about him? Irina was always serious all the time and we never really talked. But she was nice enough to me, just being polite I guessed. But now she wasn’t being polite.

“Well, seeing as he wanted to feed from my sister and how loyalty isn’t high on his list or priorities, I thought it wouldn’t be the best idea for us to run into him.”

Irina curled her lips back into a growl, and this time, I returned the gesture and snarled right back at her. She lent down into a crouch and I copied her but made mine defensive, to counter back from her offensive stance.

I expected Kate or Tanya to step in between us. Or even Carmen or Eleazar. But to my great surprise, it was Laurent, the former friend of an enemy to my family.

“Please, stop it you two,” he pleaded with us both before he turned his gaze towards mine. It was obvious that he had changed his feeding ways as his eyes were mostly golden, but they were darker, with a small hint of scarlet in them.

“I am no longer like that. I have found peace here with Irina and her family and I have changed my ways. Even though I sometimes find it hard to stick to my new diet, I know that with the love Irina gives to me and that I give back to her, we can overcome it.” He turned to gaze misty-eyed at Irina while I resisted the urge to barf. I hated all of that lovey-dovey couple shit. It drove me insane at home, now being the only ‘single one’. Most of them tried to save it for when I wasn’t around and arrange ‘date nights’ that I could get out of the house for and leave them in peace.

I readjusted my posture, so that I was in a normal standing position and smiled a little at Laurent. “Well… okay. I believe you. I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions.” I bowed my head a little and gave him a sincere smile this time.

He dipped his head back at me and moved forward. “Apology accepted. I can understand why you and your family would think that and I can’t possibly blame you.” He offered me his hand and I shook it, as a sign of respect between the two of us.

And that was the day, that I become friends with my former enemy, Laurent and his mate, Irina. He dipped his head back at me and moved forward. “Apology accepted. I can understand why you and your family would think that and I can’t possibly blame you.” He offered me his hand and I shook it, as a sign of respect between the two of us.

And that was the day, that I become friends with my former enemy, Laurent and his mate, Irina.

Shayla's New Moon- Chapter 2

2010-03-08T10:43:31Z

Chapter 2: Party Time

Shayla’s POV

After ringing Maddy who had informed me that she and the girls would be there soon after they finished shopping, and that the guys were bring all the equipment out in Corey’s jeep, I had stepped downstairs into the living room and started to clear it for Bella’s party. Alice had told me that Edward would manage to convince her to come out for a small ‘party’. And I was just getting my gift ready. We just needed to practise some more.

You see, my gift was to have Midnight Blood play here at home. And I was going to be joining in. Despite our name, we were more of a pop group then a heavy metal/ emo rock band. We had cooked up the name on a random brain storm after seeing another band called Vampire Weekend, except that they were human. We rarely even got gigs because we all looked too young to be able to play in bars and clubs, and the sun was always out around Australia. Why they lived there, I didn’t know. But it was a damn good place to live though.

The afternoon rolled around and quickly turned into night. We had cleared a space in the living room while Alice flitted around, putting dozens of candles and crystal bowls filled with roses everywhere. She put up a table with a white cloth and stacked crystal plates, more roses and a small pile of presents on it. I thought she had done far enough but then she came out with a big pink birthday cake.

I had been strumming on the electric guitar but had stopped suddenly once I saw the cake. “Alice! Are you nuts?”

Theo snickered from the drum kit as Alice put the cake down. She glared up at us, with me on the lead guitar, Maddy on the violin/ fiddle, Theo on the drum kit, Corey on keyboard, Matt on the other guitar, Jessie on bass and back-up vocals, and Tiffany was controlling all the sounds we couldn’t produce through a sound board set up on a table on the back. There was also an acoustic guitar to the side. “No, but Bella would appreciate the gesture.”

“Bet you can’t keep down a slice for an hour,” Matt shot at Theo.

“Bring it, boy!” Theo laughed back as he made a move towards the cake.

“Hey, no touching the cake!” Alice said, cutting in and standing in a protective stance in front of it.

Maddy scolded them, “Boys, behave!” She was the oldest of us, physically twenty-two and just past one hundred and ten years old and she acted as the martyred of their unique ‘family’. They were smaller then us, with only the seven of them and the only other group of vampires other then the Denali’s and us to be vegetarian. But sometimes Corey and Jessie cheated, but they had sworn to be on their best behaviour tonight.

But that there was on of them that was missing. Peter, the one who I had admitted that I had a small crush on at the prom. Unfortunately, he had been unable to come into America to play with us but, he had promised to call later. We had talked after the prom and according to Matt; we were ‘a thing’ now. We weren’t really dating but maintaining a long-distance close friendship thing. Even though I did like him –a lot.

We headed upstairs to change with advice from Alice. Us four girls stuck to my room while the boys borrowed Edward’s room. They had brought clothes so we didn’t need to borrow anything but it was still cool to try on new things.

Finally, after deciding on to just wear skinny jeans and various t-shirts (mine was a white tank-top, Alice called up to us. “Guys, it’s time! They’ll be here in five minutes!”

We rushed downstairs and quickly went over our final song-list. We had decided to play songs that I knew Bella liked or ones that we would think that she would approve of. Theo, the idiot, stuck my favourite flat-billed hat on my head and grinned at me. We then bumped fist, grinning at each other. Theo was awesome and hilarious, no doubt about it.

We took up our positions as Edward and Bella pulled up. I could hear them. “If I take this will you show up in the picture?”

I couldn’t help it; I let out a bark of laughter at that. The girls giggled with me while the guys grinned. Even Rosalie cracked a smile as my family chuckled with them.

And then the door opened.

Bella stepped in with Edward, looking a bit embarrassed, which had automatically intensified as she caught sight of me and the band standing opposite her with instruments in our hands. Her eyes widened in shock as my family yelled out a chorus of ‘Happy Birthday Bella!’

“Hit it up guys!” Jessie yelled suddenly.

We launched into Green Day’s 21^st Centaury Breakdown followed by The B-52’s Love Shack. Everyone cheered us when we finished and Bella was grinning like I had never seen her grin before.

“That was amazing!” she said after we packed up and I waved the band out. “I never knew you could sing that well!”

I laughed quietly, shaking my head slightly. “It’s nothing really. The real amazements are Matt, Maddy, Tiff, Theo, Corey and Jessie. They are the greatest friends a girl could ever ask for.”

“Ah.” She nodded. “Was that my present?”

“Yep!” I laughed. “Did you like it?” I scratched the back of my hand with the other, a thing I did when things got awkward, like Edward’s noise pinching and Alice’s temple massaging. “Er, I didn’t know what to buy you and I knew you would disapprove as well.”

“I loved it,” she assured me, taking a step close and holding her arms out a bit. Her scent tickled my noise but I held my breath while I analysed what she wanted. I then realised she wanted to hug me. I stepped closer to her and we wrapped our arms around each other in an embrace. “Thank you Shay,” she whispered in my ear.

We let go and I grinned widely. Shay, she had called me by my favourite nickname. She was finally warming up to me, finally seeing me as a sister.

For the first time, Bella looked around the living room and cringed slightly as she took in the presents, roses and candles.

Carlisle swept over to Bella and wrapped an arm around her and stage-whispered in her ear, “Sorry about this Bella, we couldn’t rein Alice in.”

Emmett and Rosalie stood behind them. Rosalie didn’t smile at Bella but she didn’t glare. At least that was a slight improvement. Emmett, who went up to Bella next and started to tease her before he stated that he had to step out before winking at Alice and I. “Don’t do anything funny while I’m gone,” he added, more directed at me then Alice. I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him.

“I’ll try,” Alice answered as she let go of Jasper’s hand and skipped forward to Bella. Jasper smiled but stayed by the stairs. I joined him, smiling at him as we leant against the stairs together.

“Time to open presents!” Alice declared as she gripped Bella by the elbow and dragged Bella to the present table.

“Alice, I know I told you I didn’t want anything –” Bella protested.

“But I didn’t listen,” Alice interrupted, slightly smug. “Open it.” She pressed a silver package into Bella’s hands.

It was the empty box of the new stereo for Bella’s truck. When Bella realised, she laughed and called out to Emmett, “Thanks, Emmett!” He let out a booming laugh in response.

“Open mine and Edward’s next,” Alice urged, so excited that her voice was a high-pitched trill. She had a small, flat square in her hand which I knew was a home-made CD with Edward’s piano pieces.

Bella turned to glare at Edward. “You promised.”

But before he could answer, Emmett bounded in. “Just in time!” he crowed. He pushed in behind Jasper who had drifted closer then usual to look. I shoved him to the side and stood beside him.

“I didn’t spend a dime,” Edward assured Bella as he brushed her hair back from her face.

Bella turned back to Alice after inhaling. “Give it to me,” she sighed which cause Emmett to chuckle with delight.

She fumbled with the package, while adding an eye roll before she made a jerking movement.

“Shoot, she muttered as a single drop of blood oozed from the cut and down her finger.

I saw it drip and immediately held my breath. I was aware of Jasper stiffening beside me. I saw a crazed look in his eyes as they fixed on Bella’s cut. He then launched at her and at the same time I leapt at him, my hand reaching to grip his arm.

“NO!” Edward roared as he threw an arm out, sending Bella flying across the table, scattering the cake, the flowers and the crystal plates. He held up his other arm and he slammed into Jasper, sounding like a rock-slide. At the same time, I wound my arm around Jasper’s neck and dug my feet into the carpet as I pulled him back into a chokehold. I may have been the strongest female, but I still needed Emmett to help and as soon as he saw this, he rushed over.

And then I made my deadly mistake. I opened my mouth and took a breath as I worked up words.

Oh God, the scent of blood was intoxicating. It made my head spin, my stomach twist with anticipation, my venom flow in my mouth. I wanted her, and I wanted her now.

I released Jasper as Emmett and Rosalie restrained him and I launched at Bella, my teeth bared and a grisly snarl burst out from behind my lips.

“No Shayla!” Alice shrieked as she and Esme launched at me, grabbing me by an arm each. I might have been strong but I couldn’t take both of them.

The scent was sending me into a frenzy. Never mind that it was my human little sister that was bleeding or that my brother was trying to feed from her as well. All I knew that is I needed her.

“The hell you do!” Edward snarled and I roared back at him as I snapped my teeth in anger.

“Get them outside!” Carlisle called out, as he rushed to examine Bella’s arm which now had a long cut from where the crystal plates cut her. And which was still pulsing fresh, delicious blood.

I was dragged outside and then forced into Esme’s arms by Alice before she darted back inside. They, Emmett, Rosalie and Esme, then ran us through the woods, far enough so we couldn’t hear Bella’s heartbeat or smell her blood.

The next thing I knew I was being dumped on the ground as Emmett held Jasper in a headlock as he tried to calm down.

I didn’t struggle; I was so ashamed, deeply ashamed. I thought my thirst was under control now. It still hurt to smell the humans but I thought I was string enough to resist. Obviously, I was wrong.

I sighed as I curled up into a ball, wrapping my arms around my legs and resting my chin on my knees. I tried to be silent as I could but a whimper escaped from my lips. In a second, Esme was beside me, her mothering instincts kicked as she wrapped her arms around me and kept whispering words of comfort into my ears.

“No, don’t,” I mumbled before standing up and moving away from her. I felt my face form a pained expression. “I’m such an idiot! I knew that party was a bad idea!”

“It’s not your fault though,” Alice replied as she jogged into where we were assembled.

“It is, and I know it is!” I snarled at her. “If I could have held him back…” – I pointed to Jasper who was now standing up and calmed down – “And kept my fucking mouth shut, none of this would have happened!” I unleased a grizzly snarl as my vision turned red with rage. I saw nothing but anger as my guilt and shame flitted away to be replace with nothing but white-hot fury.

“Shayla, cool it!” Emmett tried to calm me down with his words but I merely growled in response. He growled back before he launched at me in an effort to restrain me. I turned and ran, leaping up a tree, running, fleeing from my family. As long as I kept high enough from the ground, they couldn’t track me.

And so I kept running.

Shayla's New Moon- Chapter 1

2010-03-08T10:42:05Z

Shayla’s New Moon

Author’s notes: This is the sequel to Shayla’s Twilight. If you haven’t read it already, you won’t fully understand this story. But here is a quick summary for you:

Shayla Cullen is the youngest of the Cullen family, with only being created in the early 70’s. Her gift are her animal senses, meaning her senses are stronger and she is almost at one with her animal side with her growls and the sprouting of claws, she’s wild and unpredictable in battle but she can control it.

Anyway, she comes back after a year-long absence to find that her brother Edward has now found Bella, a human whom he loves very much. Shayla battles her thirst and then, a tracker shows up while they are playing baseball and wants to kill Bella. Alice, Jasper and Shayla whisk Bella away to Phoenix buy James, the tracker, follows them and ends up with Bella in a ballet studio. But the Cullens show up and beat James, but Bella gets injured. Shayla goes home but the story ends with the prom night where Bella is nearly fully healed except for her broken leg.

So basically, it followed Twilight’s storyline. And as you can guess from the title, this is Shayla’s New Moon. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 1: High School is still Hell…

Shayla’s POV

It was a pretty normal day in Forks. It was drizzling, no surprises there, and the local vampires were still battling their thirst. Well, some where. Okay, it was just me. But it was a special day today despite the normality of it. Today, Bella Swan turned eighteen.

My little human sister. Or sister-to-be. I liked Bella a lot. She made my brother… happy. Even though a few weeks back we had some trouble with a sadistic tracker by the name of James, we had finished him and his little fire-headed friend had run off as fast as her legs could carry her.

But none of that mattered now. They weren’t coming back. Bella was safe. But not safe from the birthday wishes and presents that she desperately didn’t want and had requested for none. But seeing as Edward and Alice had ignored her request, I had decided to ignore as well.

“Happy birthday Bella!” I cried as I skipped over to where she, Edward and Alice stood. She flushed red but seemed relived that I didn’t have a present.

“No present?” she asked, her relief flooding into her voice.

I didn’t answer straight away but snickered in response. “That’s what you think.”

Her face composed herself into worry and Edward wrapped an arm around her. “Now be nice Shayla,” he said warily to me. He knew I loved to tease people but there were occasions where I took in one step too far. Like now.

“Sorry,” I muttered before stepping back and darting away as quickly and humanly as I could. The wind had just blown over the school and Bella’s scent plus a thousand more had just hit me as hard as a speeding school bus would hit a human. It still made me thirst for her; despite the few days I spent trapped in a hotel with her while we hid from James.

I headed to my class, English, and was the first one there. I leant against the wall and closed my eyes, focusing only on my breathing.

“Hey,” a quiet voice suddenly said and I looked down to see Alice standing before me. “I saw what happened. And I am not talking about my visions. It’s okay, you can be strong.”

I glared at my sister in frustration. I needed to be strong. But I wasn’t. “I need to be –but I can’t. That’s the problem.

Alice put her fingers to my cheek and gazed intently into my eyes. “It’ll be okay. Are you still up for tonight?” She was referring to my ‘present’ that I had organized for Bella.

I grinned. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world! The guys are really excited. And so are the girls, especially Jessie and the newest guy, Corey.”

“Excellent,” she concluded just as the class began to file in, including Edward and Bella. We sat up in the back row, with me on the far end, Alice next to me, Edward beside her and Bella was beside him.

The class was boring, as usual. The teacher, an old woman with greying hair, glasses and a temper issue, Ms Ashore, was droning on and on about Romeo and Juliet, a pathetic love story which I had nor the time or patience to listen to. I had things to do, people to see. I had to figure out when they would show up… I was daydreaming and not really listening to the teacher when someone yelled at me.

“Shayla Cullen?! Are you still with us?!”

I looked up to see Ms Ashore looking very, very irritated as she stood in front of the blackboard which was half covered in notes.

I raised an eyebrow, the one with the small silver stud pierced in it. “Yeah Miss?”

“Don’t you ‘Yeah Miss’ me Miss Cullen. You seem to have no interest in anything I say now so why don’t you express YOUR opinion on Romeo and Juliet? Hm?”

I sat up straighter in my chair. “Well, personally, I find Romeo and Juliet to be… the most pathetic and sad love story ever written. And when I say sad, I’m not talking about the emotion, I mean as in its downright lame.”

I heard some of the girls gasp at this and some of the boys sniggered at my daringness to challenge Ms Ashore on Romeo and Juliet. We all knew that she practically worshipped Shakespeare for writing the tragic play and that those who dissed it, well, they were toast. Not me though. She had asked for my honest opinion and I had given it, freedom of speech wasn’t it?

Ms Ashore’s mouth opened and closed a few times before she managed to hiss at me, “How so Shayla? Would you care to elaborate?”

“Certainty,” I answered boldly. Alice, Edward and Bella shot me dark and worried looks. Ms Ashore was notorious for her debating skills and would often shoot down both students and teachers alike who dared to challenge her. But I had a back-up on my side.

“Well first of all, the ending is slack. It seems that he, Romeo, had a religious view of the whole situation, with believing that he and Juliet shall be together in the Afterlife. Wrong,” I said this all with confidence and I made the last word sound blunt and final.

“How so?” the teacher dared to ask.

“’Thoult shall not murder?’” I quoted, looking up at her. “The sixth commandment? Although we don’t know for certain, we can assume that Shakespeare was Christian and that this faith was passed along to his characters. And if that being said, Romeo murdered Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt, and Count Paris as well, and so he broke that certain commandment –twice. Off to Hell he goes while perfectly innocent Juliet waits up in Heaven for her lover that is never going to come for her. Quite pitiable really.”

Ms Ashore looked quite red in the face. “But that is wrong,” she eventually snarled at me.

“You asked for my opinion,” I argued back. “And I gave it. And I must admit, it sounds a lot better then the crap you are going on about it being the best damn love story ever written.” I couldn’t help it; I had to tell her how stupid she sounded, going on and on about the ‘star-crossed lovers’ who weren’t to be.

“Shayla Cullen!” she then shouted at me, angry. “How dare you speak that way to me! Where are your manners?!”

I rolled my eyes at her rage and crossed my arms. “At home… right next to my ability to care about this stupid topic.”

The class couldn’t help themselves. The majority of the boys, Mike, Tyler and Eric leading them, made ‘oooooo’ noises at my words to the teacher. Ms Ashore face went from red to purple with rage as my smart-ass comment.

“Out,” she hissed. “Shayla Cullen, I’ve had it up to here with your lazy attitude and your smart-mouth comments! March yourself down to the Deputy’s and give her this note!” She quickly scribbled a note as I packed up my books.

“You’ve done it now Shayla,” Alice whispered quietly to me that no human could pick up. “They’ll probably call Esme –again.” Edward sighed with frustration as he picked up my ‘I don’t really give a damn’ thoughts.

I grunted and walked past them. Ms Ashore, with her face full of fury, held out the note for me at the door. I snatched it and stalked out. She slammed the door behind me and I heard her turn back to the class. “Now then, now that our resident Romeo and Juliet hater has left the building, we can now resume our board notes on why Romeo and Juliet was indeed a legitimate and true love story. Now write!” The class groaned in protest.

The deputy principle wasn’t pleased. After reading the note which had concluded that I had been mocking Ms Ashore’s teaching style and opinion, that I never paid attention in class, and that I was continuously being rude and brash to the teacher, she called home.

Esme was coming to get me. When she arrived, I had been sent out into the office hallway while they had ‘a chat’ which I had tried not to listen to while I focused my energy on updating my status on Facebook via my phone. Carlisle had only let me keep it after I promised that I wouldn’t add humans (Bella was the exception to this rule but she rarely hopped on it) and that I would only use it to keep up-to-date with my Australian friends, Maddy and Matthew Carter, Theo and Tiffany Woodley, and Corey and Jessie Green. The first two pairs were mates and married but Corey and Jessie were twins –literally. An unknown vampire had changed them both together and when they woke up, they had no one. They had lived like savages until Maddy found them and, being the kind and caring person that she is, she adopted them and shown her the ‘vegetarian’ way. They were young, only fifteen years old physically but a good ten years older then me in the vampire way, but they quickly adapted to the lifestyle.

Of their family, Maddy, Theo and Tiff were the only gifted ones – Maddy could see a person’s memories by simply being in their presence but could see them better by touch. Theo had telekinesis and could move objects and beings around him simply by focusing on them and moving his hands which almost seemed to ‘glow’ with power. And Tiff could create a ‘bubble’ around her and others that protected them from physical harm. It wasn’t as strong as Renta’s of the Volturi, but it was strong enough to withstand multiple blows. Depending on how hard and fast you came as her, and how prepared she was, it could take as little as one hit or up to, maybe twenty or so, to break through. It was useful when solving our petty fights as well.

I had met Maddy while in Australia for a brief holiday and she had introduced me to her mate, Matt, and her ‘sister’ Tiff who was Theo’s mate. Corey and Jessie were new though, I had met them after the prom last year where they, and the rest of my friends, were a part of the band that Theo managed, funnily enough called Midnight Blood. I was a part-time member, occasionally jamming with them when they came into town.

When I had finished updating, (I had written: “Dang it, at the Deputy’s again :( Damn English teacher lol), Esme had came out and I had earned a clip on the ear from the Deputy for having my phone out. She would’ve taken it but Esme promised that she would deal with me later.

Esme would not speak to me until we safely made it to the car, which was Carlisle’s Mercedes. Unlike the rest of us, Esme didn’t have her own car (or bike in my case) and required on us to get her around. We didn’t mind, after all, we owed Esme for a lot of things.

She didn’t scold me right away. Esme wasn’t the yelling type. Instead, as we hit the highway near home, she muttered to me, “Shayla this has to stop.”

I had been staring out the window when she had spoken this and I glanced back towards her. “It wasn’t my fault. That was unfair,” I argued.

“Shayla did you, or did you not mock the teacher’s style of teaching?” she asked.

I paused to answer. “Well… I did state that I thought what she was teaching us was wrong.”

“Is that exactly what you said?” she questioned further in a stern voice.

I grinned sheepishly. “Um, not really. I said that I thought her opinion of it being the best damn love story ever written was crap.”

Esme didn’t say anything for a moment. But then she sighed at me. “Shayla, sweetie, you have to stop this impulsive back-chatting that you do.”

“So you’re siding with them?” I snarled. “That’s so unfair; Ms Ashore has hated me from day one. It’s not my fault that I was the only brave one to stand up for myself with my own opinion.”

“I’m not siding with them,” Esme stated sadly. “I am just worried about you. I know you are physically sixteen and are forever stuck in that adolescent stage but, I think you just need to tone it down a bit.”

We pulled up at the house then. I threw myself out and stormed into the house. I heard Esme call out, “I’m going to pick Carlisle up after I go shopping. Stay out of trouble!”

“Shayla, stay out of trouble? That’s rather unlikely…” a voice behind me chuckled. I spun around to see my brother and sister who were meant to be in Africa, Emmett and Rosalie, standing behind me. I was surprised that I hadn’t picked up their scent.

“Em, Rose!” I squeaked out and threw myself at them, hugging Emmett around the middle and embracing Rosalie in a tight squeeze. Even though he could be an annoying jack-ass and she could be a bitch, I had missed them both heaps.

“Yeah, I missed you too Shay,” Rosalie laughed, kissing my cheek.

“Same here,” Emmett agreed. He then raised an eyebrow. “So, you got busted again at school?”

I made a sour face at him. “Yeah, I had a go at a teacher over my opinion of Romeo and Juliet. And I called her belief that it was the greatest love story ever written crap.”

They both snickered in response. I frowned at them. “It’s NOT funny. Esme is really disappointed in me.” I sighed. “Now, I’m going to go ring Mads and see when she’s coming around. See yas later.”

And with those words I darted upstairs to ring my best non-sibling friend.

Shayla's Twilight: Epilogue

2010-03-08T04:15:08Z

Epilogue: An occasion

Shayla’s POV

Three weeks later…

“Is this really necessary?” I demanded to Maddy as she danced around me, fiddling with my hair. Her oval face formed itself into a grin as she paused to push her long, brown hair back.

“Of course it is!” she eventually admitted. “You are going to be the bell of the ball there Cinderella!”

I sighed and bit my bottom lip. Maddy had convinced me to go to the prom because my family was going despite the excuse that I didn’t have a partner. But then Matt volunteered to take me and Maddy had agreed because it meant that she could dress me up. When she and Tiff arrived armed and ready at the house, they had got on like a house on fire with my sisters. My vampire sisters that is.

I considered Bella a sister now. Even though she was a human, a human with blood flowing through her veins, I loved her, not in the way that Edward loved her but the way that Alice did –as a sister.

But even though we did love her, we couldn’t help but tease her merciless as Rosalie and Alice dressed her up for the prom. She had no idea where we were going and was quite annoyed about it.

When Maddy was done with my hair –she was straightening it and it felt and looked quite good –before she threw me the dress I was wearing. It was silk and royal blue in colour and was a very simple design. It was a halter neck so it was back less with a long flowing ribbon that went right around me, and went right down to the floor. Around the halter were some gold beads implemented into the design. It was very beautiful.

I was going to protest but Maddy beat me to it. “Don’t argue, just put it on okay?”

I sighed and changed into it before Maddy handed me a pair of shoes, silver high heels.

She forced me into a chair as she tied my hair up into an elegant knot up on my head before she began to apply makeup.

“Is this really necessary?” I demanded to her as she applied blush to me. She had already down the lipstick, eye shadow and eye liner.

“Yes,” she answered, in a tone that stated the obvious. It was like she was saying, ‘Duh!”

Finally, she was done. “Geez, Mads,” I complained. “You didn’t have to do all of this! I must look like an idiot.

“You don’t,” she assured me. “Matt’s downstairs waiting for you. They all are actually.”

“Yeah so hurry up!” Emmett boomed from the living room. I heard Jasper, Alice and Rosalie laugh at his comments.

“Coming!” I called back before I walked very slowly to the stairs. Even though I had terrific balance as a vampire, I could NOT walk in high heels.

I came down the stairs gingerly and approached them all by the front door. The boys were all wearing tuxedos while the girls were all dressed up beautifully.

“Wow Shay,” Matt said as I approached him. “You look… you look amazing.” He produced a bunch of yellow flowers from behind his back. “Here, I brought some Golden Wattles.” He was referring to the flowers and he handed them me nervously. I inhaled deeply at the scent. “I know you love the scent,” he added.

“Wow Matt. You know me to well,” I answered, brining the strangely-shaped flowers to my face and sniffing them again. They reminded me of Australia. My old home.

“Watch the dress!” Maddy suddenly cried before turning to Matt. “Look after her okay?”

“I will, I promise,” he answered before leaning down to kiss her. “See ya later babe.”

In a few minutes, we were at the school, after having travelled in Rose’s BMW. I had never been to many proms in my time, seeing as I could never get a partner. Once, Emmett took me but Rosalie hadn’t stopped glaring at me for two days afterwards.

The gym looked amazing with the crepe paper chains, the balloon arches and the confetti everywhere. There was even a band whose members did look awfully familiar...

Matt bought our tickets and we walked towards the dance floor where Alice, Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett were dancing. Alice and Jasper were dancing modestly, almost shyly as though not to cause attention even though the crowd was now hanging around the edges of the dance floor, watching them uneasily. But Emmett and Rosalie, the show-off that she is, were dancing in a waltz that they had learnt for their third wedding, about two decades ago.

“C’mon,” Matt laughed. “Let’s show ‘em what we got!” He winked at me before taking my hand in one of his before poking a finger at the band. “Check out the band.”

Up on the stage, Maddy winked at me from the microphone up front while Theo controlled the drums and Tiff did back-up and keyboard. Several others that I didn’t recognised were on the other instruments. The bass player was really cute.

“That’s Petey,” Matt whispered to me, catching what I was looking at. “He’s a friend of mine.”

“He’s kinda cute,” I admitted.

Matt chuckled. “He’s going back to Australia tomorrow but I’ll give him your number okay?”

I hugged him. “Thanks buddy.”

He made a clicking noise as he winked at me and tilted his head towards me. “No worries mate. Now let’s go show these fools how to dance!”

We laughed before linking arms and darting over to the dance floor. He was a good head taller then me, but despite that, we could dance easily. We swayed from side to side before twirling around, my long dress flaring out from behind me.

“Show-off!” Rosalie hissed as we pirouetted past her and Emmett.

“The original!” I declared back happily just as two more entered the dance floor. I recognised the clunking footsteps.

Edward lifted Bella up onto his feet like a five-year-old and the two swayed around the dance floor. She was wearing a gorgeous navy dress and her hair was curled beautifully upon her head.

“Wow Bells,” I said as we danced close to her and Edward. Matt’s nostrils flared at her scent but I tightened my grip on him, resulting in a small growl from him. I continued talking though, as if he hadn’t done anything. Screw my thirst. “You look really pretty. Alice got through to you?”

She giggled before nodding. “Yes she did. Did she get you too?”

“Nah, his girlfriend did,” I answered gesturing to Matt. “I swear Mads only agreed let him come so she could dress me up.”

Edward chuckled. “No Shayla, she was just fooling around with you. She loves you like a sister.”

Maddy waved at us from the stage. I waved back before turning back to Bella and Edward. “Gotta go guys; see yas round like a rissole!” And with those words we danced over to the stage.

We began to dance less else elegantly with the crowd. Head-banging, hip-hop dancing, generally dancing in a more modern way then what my siblings were.

This was the life. I had the best friends in the world, their coolest brothers and sisters a girl could dream for, and I could live forever, living out my dreams. Even though I battled my thirst every day, it was worth it.

But why? Because, God dammit, I was Shayla Cullen and she might have a bit of a temper issue, some immature tendencies, a small show-off, and could be a bit of smart ass. But none of that mattered to my family or friends. They said I was kind, witty, compassionate and fun. I don’t know if any of that is true but it doesn’t matter anyway.

Cause this is who I am. Yeah.

THE END

Shayla's Twilight: Chapter 12

2010-03-08T04:08:59Z

Chapter 12: Fighting for Bella

Shayla’s POV

The scene was shocking in the slightly dark room. Though I could see every detail of it easily, the drawn blinds created an element of darkness and fear.

Bella laid in a pile of glass with her leg at an odd angle and was withering in pain. James was standing over her, smiling slightly.

Edward roared in anger and threw himself at James. James’s face snapped up and he met Edward in mid air, grappling with him.

James was strong, far stronger then Edward it seemed, for he pushed Edward into a mirror easily with one hand, and squeezed his throat in a death grip. He smirked.

“You’re alone, because you’re faster then the others,” he growled. He smashed Edward’s face against the mirror, shattering it. “But not stronger…”

He couldn’t smell us because the air-conditioning was blowing the air the wrong way… and he was too focused on Edward to notice the sound of our breathing.

Edward hissed out air between his teeth and growled, “I’m strong enough to kill you.”

He shoved James back and James flew towards a beam before slamming into it. He fell and landed in a crouched position before streaking forward to meet him. They collided and Edward snarled at James before slamming him against the wall with both hands wrapped around the trackers throat. James squirmed against Edward’s grip and let out hisses. Edward gave a great roar of outrage before biting down on James’s neck and tearing off a chunk of pale, granite skin. James screamed in pain as Edward practically tortured James, showing that he was strong enough to kill him.

Carlisle put a hand on Edward’s shoulder as he restrained him slightly. “Stop Edward, remember who you are.”

Edward shot a filthy look at Carlisle but my father continued to talk before shooting a look back at Bella who had Alice clutching at her hand and telling her that it would be okay. “Bella needs you. Your brothers will take care of it.”

At his words, Jasper and Emmett took James by an arm each and dragged him away from the others to the middle of the dance floor.

“Start a fire, get the floor boards!” Jasper ordered. I ripped up the boards and caught the lighter Carlisle tossed at me. I held it close to the wood and it ignited before I leapt back, dodging the flames.

Edward was crouched over Bella with Carlisle and Alice as the scent of fresh blood tainted the air. Focus Shayla; kill the son of a bitch who hurt my sister.

“Shayla!” Jasper called, needing my help as he pulled James back to his original spot.

“On it!” He started to struggle at my words and lunged out with his teeth bared at Jasper’s arm. Jasper shoved James’s head back easily as I growled at the tracker. “Oi, back off mate, or you’re going to be my next meal!” I didn’t know where I was going with the threat, because I was going to kill him anyway, but I knew one thing. It was going to be painful.

I scaled him easily, digging my claws into his thighs and biceps before I paused. His face was contorted with fear as I gave a sadistic smile at him before giving a throaty growl and biting down on his shoulder. He howled in pain as his flesh was torn away when I jerked my head back before leaping off him, slicing his arm off at the same time.

Jasper, who had been holding onto that particular arm, tossed it onto the flames and it alighted at the first touch.

Emmett then pulled with all his strength and together, he snapped James’s other arm off while I tugged his body away in the opposite direction, ignoring his screams of pain. The armless James’s stumbled away clumsily. I gave a cougar-like snarl as my animal senses kicked in. Carlisle had concluded that when fighting another vampire, a condition known as an ‘Animalistic Frenzy’ occurred with me. Basically, I became like a newborn, wild, uncontrollable and feral. It made me become somewhat of an animal, and I hated it. But it was useful. It was unpredictable and usually surprised our enemies. I was strong… and I rather liked it that way.

Jasper then dealt a shattering kick to James’s in the side, sending him flying into Emmett’s arms, who quickly tore off both legs and threw them in the fire. James fell like a football to the ground as Jasper and I reached James at the same time. I bit down on his neck and tore his head from the torso while Jasper tore at his chest like a beast. I tossed his head on the fire and the whole thing billowed up as the main source of venom hit the flames. I danced on the tips of my toes around the fire, kicking any parts we missed into it.

“Got it all?” Jasper called to me as he darted around the fire as well. Emmett copied him.

“Yeah!” I answered as I picked up a finger and tossed it in. The fire flared up for a moment before wafting blue-grey smoke over us, smelling like very strong incense.

And then I saw Bella. It was a grim reminder of what she was— human. Her leg was at an odd angle, most likely broken, her body was beginning to bruise and she had blood pouring out of her gashes and wounds.

And on her forearm, a bite wound. A vampire bite wound. The almost cleared-coloured venom was leaked around it and it sizzled with a hissing sound as it mixed with her blood.

Her blood, it sent my thirst into a frenzy as I stifled a growl. I stepped back, pinching my nose with my finger and covering my mouth with the rest of my hand. I felt so tempted to just lick it up from her arm and just suck on her wound until she was bone-dry. I wasn’t thirsty but yet still… I wanted her blood.

“Let’s go Shayla,” Emmett suddenly said quietly. I hadn’t realised that he had wound his arm around my free one. I didn’t move as he tugged on it softly.

“Now Shayla,” he said, more urgently this time. He pulled on my arm again before picking me up and carrying me out of the room to the foyer. The side windows were open and the scent of Bella’s blood was gradually being lost as fresh air blew in. Jasper was by one of the windows, sticking his head directly in the breeze.

I stood by him and kept breathing in fresh Phoenix air, concentrating on nothing else. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out…

Suddenly, an ear-splitting scream cut through the silence. Not a howl of agony like the other cries of pain, but a high-pitched, hysterical scream.

I turned instinctively towards the door as the smell of blood seeped through and the soft sounds of someone feeding. Feeding?! But James was dead. So who could be drinking from Bella? Surely not…

“He didn’t!” I gasped out loud. “He’s not… he’s stronger then that…”

“Shayla, Shayla, its okay!” Jasper told me as he wound his arms around me as I began to dart towards the door. He was holding me back easily. “He’s not feeding from her! He’s saving her!”

Saving her? “But…” I started to say as my confusion took over my instincts. “But she wanted to be like us?”

“This is not the right way though…” Jasper said but his tone was wistful, almost sad.

He was right of course. If Bella wanted to be changed, there was a right way and a wrong way. This… this was the wrong way. No one should be changed like this, by being bitten by a sadistic tracker. It was like having your life stolen from you, even though this is what Bella wanted.

“I’ll bring the car around,” Jasper suddenly said as he ran off to get the Mercedes.

“I’m going to help Carlisle,” Emmett responded as he ran back into the studio. “You can destroy the evidence Shayla!” he called over his shoulder.

Destroy the evidence? Ah yes, I knew exactly what to do…

Holding my breath, I ran back through the doors to see Edward lifting Bella effortlessly while the nearby fire still blazing but dying down quickly.

I grabbed the end of a plank of wood with the other end alight and ran around the studio with it, holding it so the embers flicked on the floor and the flames licked at the wood. Soon, the place was starting to come alight. The walls started to burn and soon enough, the whole place was filled with smoke and flames. I took a step back as I watched the place burn.

“Hurry up!” Emmett boomed from the car as it revved impatiently from out the front.

I darted out and dove into the passenger seat before slamming the door. The car squealed away and Carlisle drove as fast as we could.

“We are taking Bella to the hospital,” he explained. “But if you need it, there is a very shady park with some old buildings nearby. You should be safe there from the sun.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose with my fingers because, even though Bella wasn’t bleeding anymore thanks to Carlisle make-shift bandages, I could still smell her blood. And it was tempting me. “Drop me off there, I can’t stand it!”

Carlisle didn’t answer but pulled up the large, shady park just near an old and very dank warehouse. I shot out and into the building.

As I sunk into the darkest corner of the building, I slammed my fist down on the concrete floor, shattering it. Why? Why the hell wasn’t I stronger? If I was stronger I could’ve helped instead of being the baby who has to get whisked away when she can’t handle the heat! God, it is so annoying!

Suddenly a figure crouched in front of me and held a hand to my shoulder. A calming influence spread through me and I lurched forward into the arms of my brother. He held me close as he calmed me down.

“Oh Jasper,” I managed to finally say to him. “Why am I so weak?”

“You’re not weak,” he murmured softly. “You’re still only young to this life. I am the one who is weak, not you.”

I smiled slightly at his reassurances. “But I should be able to control myself better though. If… if I wasn’t so focused n killing James…. I’m sure that I would have killed Bella. And I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if that happened.”

“He wouldn’t let you,” Jasper replied firmly as he stared hard at my face. “Edward loves Bella too much to let any one of us hurt her.”

I sighed sadly. “I know…”

He pulled me towards him and crushed me against his chest. I let out a squeak of com plaint. “Dude! You’re crushing me!”

He laughed in response and pulled back grinning. A feeling of pure happiness crashed over me. I grinned back at him before swearing. “Damn it Jasper, can you go for ten minutes without feeling the need to manipulate my emotions?”

He chuckled. “C’mon Shayla, let’s get out of here. We’re going home.”

I jerked my head up at his words. “’Home’? As in, back at Forks ‘home’? With Esme and Rosalie?”

“The very same. Carlisle thought it would be best. He’s lending you his car, he’ll get a rental home – or just steal one.” He held out the keys to me as I stood up. “You can go whenever you want. But don’t do anything stupid.”

II won’t,” I promised. “Thank you Jasper.” I took the keys and pulled my clothes tighter around me as I began to walk towards the door. I turned around suddenly. “Jasper?”

He glanced at me, a questioning expression on his face. “Yes Shay?”

“She will be okay, right?” I asked hesitantly

He grinned at me. “Alice says that she’ll be home in about ten days, two weeks at the most.”

“Remind me never to bet against Alice,” I grinned at him before running outside and into the safety of the car outside. I revved the engine before heading onto the road and speeding back towards Forks, my home.

Shayla's Twilight: Chapter 11

2010-03-08T04:06:55Z

Chapter 11: Runaway

Shayla’s POV

It was early morning when Bella woke up again. I had spent the night in the bedroom; keeping an eye on her while she slept, as Jasper and Alice watched TV. Alice kept trying to see the future and I could hear their supposably quiet voices. They were speaking quickly and with urgency. I was about to see what was going on when I heard Bella wake up.

She glanced at me as I approached the door before rolling over until her feet hit the floor.

We walked out to see Alice and Jasper sitting together on the sofa, Alice sketching again while Jasper looked over her shoulder. Bella stood by Jasper to peek while I glanced over Alice’s other shoulder.

“Did she something more?” Bella asked Jasper quietly.

“Yes. Something’s brought him back to the room with the VCR but its light now.”

I watched carefully as Alice started draw a square room with dark beams across the low ceiling. The walls were panelled in wood, a little too dark, out of date. The floor had a dark carpet with a pattern in it. There was a large window against the south wall, and an opening through the west led to the living room. One side of that entrance was stone –a large tan fireplace that was open to both rooms. The focus of the room from this perspective, the TV and VCR, balanced on a too-small wooden stand, were in the southwest corner on the room. An aged sectional sofa curved around in front of the TV, a round coffee table in front of it.

“The phone goes there,” Bella whispered, pointing.

We stared at her. How did she know that?

“That’s my mother’s house.”

Alice sprang off the couch, her phone in her hand, and was dialling while Bella stared at the rendering of her mother’s house. Jasper slid close to her and touched his hand to her shoulder, trying to calm her down I guess.

I could hear Alice talking at vampire speed, her lips trembling as she tried to avoid Bella’s hearing. “Carlisle, he’s at Bella’s mother’s house. He was running a VCR in the dark. I’m not sure what his doing but we need to get Bella out of here.” I couldn’t fully make out what Carlisle’s response was but I heard the words ‘Edward’, ‘hide’ and ‘while’.

She then called out to Bella. “Bella, Edward is coming to get you. He and Emmett and Carlisle are going to take you somewhere, to hide you for a while.”

“Edward is coming?” Bella looked surprised, almost relieved that my brother was coming to get her.

“Yes, he’s catching the first flight out of Seattle. We’ll meet him at the airport, and you’ll leave with him.”

“But my mother… he came here for my mother Alice!” Bella cried out, hysteria bubbling up with every word that she spoke.

“We’ll stay here until she’s safe.”

“I can’t win, Alice. You can’t guard everyone I know forever. Don’t you see what he’s doing? He’s not tracking me at all. He’ll find someone, he’ll hurt someone I love… Alice I can’t –”

“We’ll catch him Bella,” Alice tried to reassure her.

“And what if you get hurt Alice? Do you think that’s okay with me? Do you think it’s only my human family he can hurt me with?”

Alice glanced meaningfully at Jasper. A feeling of lethargy touched me but it drew back. I watched Bella’s eyes close as Jasper tried to influence her to sleep. But suddenly her eyes cracked open and she stood up, stepping away from Jasper’s hand.

“I don’t want to sleep,” she snapped before walking to her room and slamming the door. But this time, Alice or I didn’t follow her. She needed to be alone.

I could hear her sobbing in her room. The minutes she spent crying soon turned into hours. The only hope that she had left was that she could see Edward again. Perhaps he could find a solution for her.

She only came out when the phone rang; looking a little ashamed of her behaviour while Alice was talking rapidly on the phone. I paid no attention to her this time though and watched Bella. She glanced at the clock– surprised at the time. It was five-thirty in the morning.

“They’re just boarding the plane,” Alice told us both. “They’ll land at nine-forty-five.” So only just a few more hours to wait.

“Where’s Jasper?” Bella asked.

“He went to check out,” Alice answered her as I gathered up out few belongings and stuffed them into our few bags.

“You aren’t staying here?” Bella asked.

“No, we’re relocating closer to your mother’s house,” Alice answered just as the phone rang. Alice answered it before mouthing ‘your mother’ to Bella. I took that as my cue to leave.

I went downstairs with our luggage to find Jasper. He was waiting patiently in the lobby, sitting on a couch with a car key in his hand.

“Ready to go?” I asked him as I sat our few bags on the ground before sitting next to him. I wrapped an arm around him as he leant his face into his hands, his elbows leaning on his knees. The blonde secretary was giving me the evil eye as I comforted him.

“Let’s go back up to Alice,” I suggested as a bellboy came to load out luggage onto a golden trolley. Jasper handed him the keys, whispered some hurried instruction before following me upstairs. As we re-entered the hotel room, Alice looked up worried. Bella was nowhere to be seen and I was worried… until I heard the shower in the other room.

‘I had a vision,” she told us glumly. “We’re going to fail… I saw Bella… And James, in the room.”

Jasper walked swiftly to her side and began to mutter in her ear. “No we won’t Alice. We’ll do everything we can to keep her safe. We’ll keep a close eye on her. Very close. Nothing will slip past us, I promise.”

Alice still looked unsure. Jasper kissed her, while wrapping an arm around her. I heard Bella exit the shower. I heard her ruffle around in her bag just as Jasper handed me a pair of sunglasses. I slipped them on as Bella came out.

Back downstairs, I slipped into the backseat this time, sitting as far away from Bella as possible. Alice sat with her back leant against the door of the car, facing Jasper, but shooting glances at Bella and I every few seconds.

“Alice?” Bella asked indifferently.

She was wary as she glanced at Bella. “Yes?”

“How does this work? The things that you see?” Bella stared out the side window but her voice was curious but yet still somewhat bored. “Edward said that it wasn’t definite, that things change?” A wave of serenity washed over us all, Jasper was obviously trying to calm Bella down. Still.

“Yes, things changed,” Alice murmured in response, sounding somewhat hopeful. “Some things are more certain then others… Like the weather. People are harder. I only see the course their on while their on it. Once they change their minds –make a new decision, no matter how small –the whole future shifts.

“So you couldn’t see James in Phoenix until he decided to come here,” Bella concluded while nodding to herself.

“Yes.”

We got to the airport quickly thanks to Jasper’s driving and it was packed. The plane Edward was on was landing at terminal four, the largest terminal and where most of the flights were landing so it was no surprise that his was as well.

We parked in the huge garage on the forth floor. Bella led the way, knowing her surroundings of the airport better then any of us. We took the elevator down to level three, where the passengers unloaded. Alice and Jasper were discussing the departing flights.

Soon we settled in the plastic chairs by the metal detector to wait for Edward’s flight to come in. Bella’s foot was tapping involuntarily while Alice, Jasper and I people-watched but every time that Bella shifted or squirmed in her seat, we would glance at her quickly from the corner of our eyes.

The minutes began to pass quickly, something which I had grown used to as an immortal, and Edward’s arrival grew closer. At least once every ten minutes, Alice would ask Bella is she wanted to get breakfast. Bella kept telling her that she wasn’t hungry and maybe later.

As Edward’s flight ticked closer to the top of the board and when he wasn’t due for another thirty minutes, there was a change. Instead, his plane would be flying in ten minutes early.

“I’ll think I’ll eat now,” Bella suddenly said quickly.

Alice stood, “I’ll come with you.”

Bella shook her head. “Do you mind if Jasper comes instead? I’m feeling a little…” She didn’t finish the sentence.

If Alice found this odd, she didn’t show it. But she did look confused. Jasper stood and guided Bella away to the cafeteria.

“That was… odd,” I eventually remarked. “Why would Bella want Jasper instead of you?”

Alice looked a little worried now. “I think… I think we are still going to fail…. I don’t know how but I can still see James and Bella in the room.”

“Jazz is there,” I reassured her and that was the end of it. We sat silent for a few minutes as the arrival of Edward’s plane drew closer.

There was two minutes to go before the plane was due to land. We waited anxiously, standing by the terminal but Alice suddenly stiffened.

“No…” she whispered. “No, Bella.”

“Alice, what’s wrong?” I cried, panicky. I was never one to stay calm in a bad situation. Jasper would calm me down but just the presence of my family was enough to make me feel safe.

“Bella, she’s in the sunlight, in a taxi. She’s going to the studio,” Alice explained, her voice dripping with concern. “She’ll get there in half-an-hour. But…”

“It’ll be too late,” I finished her sentence. “But how? And what are we going to do?”

“Stay here,” she ordered. “I’m getting Jasper.” As she darted off as quickly and humanly as she could she shouted, “Thirty seconds!” over her shoulder.

I stared after her for a few seconds just as the roar of the plane came into my hearing range. It was very close to landing. I spun around as it landed safely and the passengers started to come out of the terminal. I searched for my lanky brother, trying to see his hair.

I saw Carlisle first with Emmett and Edward by his side. Edward looked anxious, Emmett worried and Carlisle, calm.

“Carlisle!” I called out and ran over to him just as Alice and Jasper returned.

“Shayla!” Carlisle called back as he and the others came closer. I hugged them Carlisle and Emmett first but as I turned to Edward, he stepped back, apparently having other ideas.

“Where’s Bella?” he demanded.

I gulped nervously, swallowing a mouthful of venom, before speaking. “She’s… she’s gone. She took off. We couldn’t follow her, she went into the sun.”

“WHAT!” Edward roared so loud that several people stared at him. “How the hell did she get away?” He glared at me for a moment before Alice and Jasper came to defend me from his abuse.

“Edward, calm down,” Jasper ordered. “It was my fault. Bella wanted to eat so we went to get her food but she needed a… a human moment so I let her go. Next thing I know, she’s gone and I managed to track her to outside but by that time, the sun had come out.”

Edward looked murderous. “We have to go find her—now. Before Alice’s vision happens!”

“No one is arguing with you there,” Jasper replied. He quickly explained what Alice had seen to Emmett and Carlisle. Their confused expressions soon turned to shock and then determination.

Slipping into the garage, Alice managed to produce several items of clothing to use to cover our skin and to stop the sun hitting it. I pulled on the long-sleeved shirt and jeans that Alice tossed at me and the leather gloves as well. She helped me tie a scarf around my face before I slipped on the black sunglasses.

“You drive,” she then ordered, tossing me the keys. “I keep getting visions and I need to concentrate on them.”

I nodded and got it, revving the engine impatiently as Carlisle hoped in the front with Edward, Jasper and Alice in the back. Edward expression kept changing as he analysed each of Alice’s rapidly changing visions.

I sped out of the parking lot, going as fast as I could. Like the others, I loved to go fast and when I was on my motorbike, the best thing was feeling the wind in my face as I raced down lonely highways and on deserted trails in the woods.

“Keep an ear out for cops,” I murmured to Edward as I ran a red light. A car honked in protest as it swerved to avoid me.

Edward gave an irritated growl. “Not now Shayla.”

Alice kept talking as we drove, keeping tabs on Bella and giving me directions. “Go down there Shayla, there’s less traffic. Watch out, there’s a cop on the next corner… No, Bella, don’t…”

It went on and on like this. Finally I saw the street which would lead me to the ballet studio but Jasper put a hand on my shoulder. “Pull over,” he ordered.

“What for?” I demanded but I did so anyway.

Edward nodded his head at Jasper. “Good idea Jasper, get that one there.” He pointed to a silver four-wheel-drive parked a few spaces away.

I now understood what they were doing. If any destruction happened to the ballet studio, and someone saw the car, we could be tracked down and our secret could be revealed.

Jasper quickly jimmied open the door without causing any major damage and I stuck my hand under the steering wheel, pulling out some wires from beneath the panel under it. I knew my days as a small-time criminal would come in handy one day. I had never done anything major like armed robbery, just a few breaking-and-enterings, car-jacking, and a few protests were I had been arrested for whatever reason. But it wasn’t like I did it for the fun of it of course; there was a reason behind every one of my crimes. I only had gotten caught once but, thanks to Jasper and his grand computer hacking skills, my criminal record was clean, completely clean. Carlisle and Esme were not too pleased about my criminal activities though, even with the reasons behind them.

“Got it,” I grinned as the car rumbled to life.

“Hurry Shayla!” Alice urged as we took off again.

Everyone was anxious as I skidded to a stop in front of the ballet studio. The blinds were drawn and I could hear the air-conditioner running. An ear-splitting scream echoed from inside it.

“NO!” Edward thundered as he raced inside. We all ran after him. I could hear Bella’s sobbing and screams, followed by a sadistic laugh from James. He was dead meat now. Because no one touches my little sister when I’m around.

Shayla's Twilight: Chapter 10

2010-03-08T04:05:22Z

Chapter 10: An apology

Shayla’s POV

Bella and Alice emerged from the bedroom minutes later. Bella sat on the floor while I laid across the couch on my stomach, my feet up on the arm next to Alice; Jasper had since gone to sit at the desk in the corner, as far away from Bella as possible. I would have gone further away but one, I didn’t want to be rude, and two, I couldn’t really be bothered. A quick look in the mirror told me that my eyes were starting to darken and a dull ache in the back of my throat confirmed that I was starting to get thirsty. However, it was fairly easy to ignore and if I could get a chance, I would hunt at night or perhaps now, just to be safe. I wondered if Alice would agree to this.

She caught my eye and gave such a small nod that it went undetected by Jasper. Usually Jasper never missed those small movements that Alice and I made at each other as a silent conversation.

Bella picked at her food, not really caring what it was. I tilted my head towards her and looked at her for a moment before resting my head back on my crossed forearms to watch the TV. Nothing held my interest and I soon became still, so still that I ceased to breathe.

Alice shifted near my feet and I glanced back around at her to find her looking down at Bella.

“What’s wrong, Alice?” she asked my sister.

“Nothing’s wrong…” Alice answered with her golden eyes were wide, honest… I suspected Bella didn’t trust them. And nor did I.

“What do we do now?” Bella asked.

“We wait for Carlisle to call,” Alice answered calmly.

“And should he have called by now?” She was right of course. Carlisle was meant to call by now. Alice’s eyes flickered to her silver phone resting on top of her leather bag and back to Bella’s face.

“What does that mean?” Her voice quavered but she fought to control it. “That he hasn’t called yet?”

“It means that they don’t have anything to tell us.” Alice’s voice was even and calm.

Jasper stood and moved to beside Alice, standing closer to Bella then he usually would. “Bella,” he said in a suspiciously soothing tone. “You have nothing to worry about. You are completely safe here.”

“I know that,” she answered, as she abandoned the food.

“Then why are you frightened?” he asked, confused. Jasper might have been able to read the tenor of someone’s emotions but knowing the reason behind them was something different altogether.

“You heard what Laurent said,” she said in a whisper that came out sounding like a whimper. “He said James was lethal. What if something goes wrong, and they get separated? Carlisle, Emmett… Edward…” She gulped. “If that wild female hurt Esme…” Her voice rose in volume and seemed to have a touch of hysteria added to it. “How could I live with myself when it’s my fault! None of you should be risking yourselves for me –”

“Bella, Bella, stop,” Jasper interrupted her, his words pouring out so quick that Alice and I could understand them but I was pretty sure whether that Bella couldn’t as easily. “You are worrying about all the wrong things, Bella. Trust me on this– none of us are in jeopardy. You are under too much strain as it is; don’t add to it with wholly unnecessary worries. Listen to me!” he suddenly ordered when she turned her head away from him. “Our family is strong. Our only fear is losing you.”

“But why should you –” Bella started to say but it was Alice who interrupted this time, touching Bella’s cheek with her cold fingers.

“It’s been almost a centaury since Edward’s been alone,” she said softly. “Now he’s found you. You can’t see the changes we see, we who have been with him for so long. Do you think any of us would want to look into his eyes for the next hundred years if he loses you?”

Her words stuck a cord with me. I had too noticed that he was no longer sullen, no longer unhappy and feeling alone in the house. We were the only ones to not have a mate but I didn’t mind, I was too busy being a teenage vampire to notice much. Of course I spent time with my two closest friends/ siblings in the world, Alice and Jasper but when they needed time to themselves, I was always careful not to intrude on them. And it always ended up me and Edward spending time together, being brother and sister. Carlisle once hoped that perhaps I could become Edward’s mate– but the feeling remained at brotherly and sisterly love. There was nothing more, and nothing less. I could see first hand of how depressed Edward was.

And I could see how happy he was now. Bella had lit up a light in his life and I was sure as hell that I wasn’t going to let some sadistic tracker take it away from him.

I stood from the couch and walked to the door. “Going out for a while, I’ll be back before dawn.”

I could feel Alice’s eyes burning into my back as I left the hotel room.

There wasn’t much to hunt in the city. I stuck to the ally ways and away from the streets, fighting my gut instinct to go climb up a fire escape and snatch a defenceless human while they slept. It would be so easy and so simple, but no… I mustn’t think that way.

Instead, I found some stray cats near a restaurant exit, fighting over scraps in the dumpster. Their scent imitated what their blood tasted like – foul and unappetising. But it would have to do until I got home. I drained them quickly and hid them down the sewer drains. I still had a dry ache in my throat but it was less noticeable and easier to ignore.

I jogged at human pace through the slowly lightening streets back to the hotel. I slipped in unseen but instead of returning to the room, I headed up to the rooftop and stayed in the shade of a maintenance shed and watched the sun rise. I know I had promised Alice that I would be back before dawn but I didn’t want to go down yet.

I flipped out my cell and turned it on. I went to my contacts list and went down it until I got down to the ‘Rs’.

Rosalie’s name was the only one there. My thumb hovered over the call button as I debated with myself. She needed an apology, a real one this time, not just a mumble. I regretted calling her a stuck-up bitch; it was just the heat of the moment. Her words about me though had been spot on. I was a smart-ass and I was immature. Therefore, I was an immature smart-ass.

“I wonder if Alice could see me deciding,” I said aloud to no one but myself as I pressed the button.

It rang twice before it was answered. But not by the person I hoped.

“Shayla?” My mother’s voice sounded worried as she answered. “What’s wrong? Is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine Esme,” I said quietly, in case anyone journeyed up onto the roof. “I just wanted to talk to Rosalie.”

“Of course,” she murmured. I heard nothing but silence for a few seconds as she assumingly passed the phone to Rosalie.

“What?” Rose’s cold, hard voice blared out at me. “What do you want Shayla?

I sighed wearily. Rosalie could be such a drama queen sometimes. Resisting the urge to bite her head off for being so impatient, I instead said, “I just wanted to apologise for my rude comments. They were spur-of-the-moment and unjustified. My behaviour was unacceptable and unprovoked.” I swallow a mouthful of venom before continuing on. “So, basically what I’m trying to say here is that I am sorry. I’m sorry for being stubborn and impatient. I’m sorry for being immature and a smart-ass. And I’m sorry for calling you things which you are not. I –”

She cut me off and gave a hiss of annoyance. “You called me up to apologise for one little fight?” She gave a high pitched laugh and I gave a low growl at her. “Seriously Shayla, are you going soft on me?”

“How can you laugh? I thought you were mad at me?” I snarled at her.

She sighed impatiently. “I was. But with the way you’ve been lately, I’m surprised that you took it out on me so calmly. You’ve been crabby even when you’re not thirsty, so I decided last night that I could forgive you. After all you’re only sixteen.”

“Physically sixteen,” I corrected her in a hard voice. “But emotionally and mentally, I’m nearing my forties. I should know better.”

“As should I Shay. I knew how easy you lash out and I went against my instincts to shut up. I should be apologising too. You are not stupid, even if some of your decisions and choices have not been smart.” She paused, probably wondering if she’d offended me.

But I nodded to myself. “Yes, that’s defiantly true.”

“And you’re not a smart-ass. You are quite witty, which I love so much about you,” she replied before giving another sigh. “So long story short, I’m sorry. Do you forgive me?”

“I do. Do you, in turn, forgive me?”

“Yes. I love you Shayla, never forget that.”

“I love you too. I have got to go now, the sun’s coming up. Tell Mom I love her.” I glanced behind me at the slowly lightening sky. “Bye Rose.”

“Bye Shay.” The phone hangs up with a beep and I snap mine shut. I couldn’t help but smile at it. Rosalie and I may have had our disagreements, or fights if you will, but we always, always, made up after it.

I head back downstairs and go back to the hotel room. Jasper was on the lounge by himself. He raised an eyebrow as I entered. “So?”

“So what?” I asked, confused as I stood before him.

“You know what Shayla. Alice told me. I can sense that you’re feeling relieved now,” he answered, lifting his head from the TV to look at me. “Did Rosalie accept your apology?”

I nodded. “She didn’t even expect one.”

“Because she loves you,” he murmured gently. “You have had plenty of fights over the decades. What makes this one different? That it’s over your brother and his girlfriend?”

I shrug. “I don’t know Jasper, I honestly don’t know. You know I hate to fight but if it’s to protect my family, I will.”

He nodded and hugged me. “I understand.”

That’s when I notice Alice and Bella are missing. “Where are Alice and Bella?” I asked.

Jasper nodded his head at the door to the bedroom. “Bella went to sleep but now she and Alice are talking about how you become a vampire. Edward didn’t tell her and he doesn’t want her to now. But Bella wanted to know.”

I listened and I could hear Alice talking. “It’s not very pleasant.”

I walked towards the room and opened the door a crack. Bella was lying curled up in bed with her chin resting on her knees while Alice sat on the end of her bed with her legs crossed. Bella looked up when I entered and I nodded in her direction as a greeting. Alice kept her back to me while Bella spoke. “Edward said it was very hard to do… I don’t quite understand.”

“We’re also like sharks in a way,” Alice explained carefully while Bella and I listened intently even though I knew how you could become a vampire. “Once we taste the blood, or even smell it fit that matter, it becomes very hard to keep from feeding. Sometimes impossible. So you see, to bite someone, to taste the blood, it would begin the frenzy. It’s difficult on both sides– the blood lust on one hand, the awful pain of the other.”

“Why do you think you can’t remember?” Bella asked.

“I don’t know. For everyone else, the pain of the transformation is the sharpest memory they have of their human life. I remember nothing of being human.” Her voice was wistful, almost sad. I wrapped an arm around her and hugged her gently.

And there we sat, each of us wrapped up in our own individual thoughts. I removed my arm from Alice’s shoulders and folded it across my chest, staring at the floor thinking hard.

But then Alice leapt up, landing nimbly on her feet. I looked up at her in alarm before leaping off the bed myself. “Something’s changed,” she said.

Jasper reached the door the same time as she did with me hovering behind her. He guided her to the bed and they began to speak in low tones. “What did you see?” he asked, staring intently into her eyes.

“I see a room. It’s long and there are mirrors everywhere. The floor is wooden. He’s in the room and he’s waiting. There’s gold… a gold stripe across the mirrors.”

“Where is this room?”

“I don’t know. Something is missing– another decision that hasn’t been made yet.

“How much time?”

“It’s soon. He’ll be in the mirror room today, or maybe tomorrow. It all depends. He’s waiting for something. And he’s in the dark.”

Jasper’s voice was calm, methodical, as he continued to question her with Bella and I listening intently. “What is he doing?”

‘He’s watching TV… No, he’s running a VCR, in the dark in another place.”

“Can you see where it is?” I asked her, keeping as calm as possible.

“No, it’s too dark.”

“And the mirror room,” Jasper questioned her again. “What else is there?”

“Just the mirrors, and the gold. It’s a band, around the room. And there’s a black table with a big stereo and a TV. He’s touching the VCR, but he doesn’t watch the way he does in the dark room. This is the room where he waits.” Her eyes drifted again before flickering to Jasper’s face and then mine before focusing on Jasper’s again.

“There’s nothing else?”

She shook her head at him. Then they both sat motionless and I wrapped an arm around Alice again, hugging her once more.

“What does it mean?” Bella asked from behind us. She got up out of the bed and moved so she was in front of us.

I hesitated on whether to answer. But Jasper made the decision for me. “It means the tracker’s plans have changed. He’s made a decision that will lead him to the mirror room, and the dark room.”

“But we don’t know where these rooms are?”

“No.”

“But we do know that he won’t be in the mountains north of Washington, being hunted. He’ll elude them,” Alice added, her voice bleak.

“Should we call? Bella asked us all. We glanced at each other, trading serious looks, undecided.

But the phone rang.

Alice was across the room before Bella could even register that it had ringed. She held it to her ear but didn’t speak at first. “Carlisle,” she breathed, not seeming surprised or relived. Damn future-seeing pixie.

“Yes,” she then said before glancing at Bella. She listened again.

“I just saw him.” She explained her vision to Carlisle. “Whatever made him get on that plane… it was leading him to these rooms.” She paused. “Yes. Bella?” She held out the phone out to her and Bella ran for it.

I slipped out the door to give her some privacy. Alice and Jasper followed me. I sank into the couch before leaning my elbows on my knees and holding my face in my hands. I ran my fingers through my hair.

“I knew I should have stayed and hunted him,” I remarked bitterly. “All I’m doing here is nothing.”

Jasper patted my shoulder affectionately. “It’ll be fine Shay. With your animal senses and Alice’s visions, it would be impossible for James to hurt Bella. You know that.”

I scowled at him. “But is that a guarantee?”

He stayed quiet. “No, it’s not,” he eventually admitted. “But, we do have a fair chance of beating him.”

I growled softly at him. Fair chance; I wanted a good chance. A good chance was better then a fair chance.

Jasper growled back at me but Alice cut in between us. She hated to see us fighting and would never take sides. She hated choosing between her husband and her sister. But I would never suggest that she should pick me over Jasper; that was just unfair.

“Stop it you too!” she growled at us. “Fighting isn’t going to protect Bella.”

“Right,” I muttered. Jasper nodded in agreement and I lifted my arm to gesture to Jasper that I wanted to give him a hug. He obliged and I murmured in his ear, “Sorry Jazz.”

He nodded at me before handing Alice some of the hotel stationary. She began sketching on it a long, rectangular room with a thinner, square section at the back. The wooden planks that made up the floor stretched lengthwise across the room. Down the walls were lines denoting the breaks in the mirrors. And then, wrapping around the walls, waist-high, a long band. The band which Alice had said was gold.

“It’s a ballet studio,” Bella suddenly said, having finished talking on the phone.

We all looked up at her, surprised.

“Do you know this room? Jasper asked her calmly but there was a hint of another tone that I couldn’t identify. I looked back over his shoulder to Alice’s work now. Her hand was flying across the page, making the shape of an emergency exit against the back wall, the stereo and the TV by the right front corner.

“It looks like a place I went for dance lessons –when I was eight or nine. It was shaped the same.” She touched the page where the square section jutted out, narrowing the back part of the room. “That’s where the bathrooms where –the doors were through the other dance studio. But the stereo was here...” –she pointed to another section of the room, the left corner – “It was older, and there wasn’t a TV. There was a window in the waiting room –you would see the room from this perspective if you looked through it.”

We all stared at her.

“Are you sure that it’s the same room?” Jasper asked her calmly.

She shook her head. “No, not at all –I suppose most dance studios would look the same –the mirrors, the bar.” She traced her finger along the ballet bar set against the mirrors. “It’s just the shape that looked familiar.” She touched where the doors were set.

“Would you have any reason to go back there?” Alice asked.

Bella’s head jerked up. “No, I haven’t been there in almost ten years. I was a terrible dance –they always put me in the back for recitals,” she admitted. I stifled a laugh with difficulty. I could not imagine clumsy human Bella dancing.

“So there is no way it could be connected to you?” Alice asked, ignoring me.

“No, I don’t even think the same person owns it. I’m sure it’s just another dance studio, somewhere.”

“Where was the studio you went to?” Jasper asked in a casual tone. Yeah, as if this was a casual situation. He sends out a wave of calm at me as my frustration goes up a notch.

“It was just around the corner from my mom’s place I used to walk there after school….” Bella said, her voice trailing off. Alice and Jasper exchanged a look. I glanced between them. Bella seemed to catch the look they exchanged as well.

“Here in Phoenix then?” he asked her, his voice still casual.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Fifty-Eighth Street and Cactus.”

We all sat in silence, staring at the drawing. This was bad news. If James was in Phoenix, around the corner from her mother’s house… He could quite possibly track Bella. Not that Alice, Jasper and I were going to let that happen.

“Alice is that phone safe?” Bella asked suddenly.

“Yes,” Alice reassured her. “The number would just trace back to Washington.”

“Then I can use it to call my mom.”

“I thought she was in Florida?”

“She is –but she’s coming home soon, and she can’t come back to that house while…” Bella’s voice trembled.

“How will you reach her?”

“They don’t have a permanent number except at the house –she’s supposed to check her messages regularly.”

“Jasper?” Alice asked.

Jasper thought about it. “I don’t think there’s any way it could hurt –be sure you don’t say where you are, of course.”

“Couldn’t hurt to check though,” I added. Without waiting for an answer, I dialled my cell number. It rang and I glanced at the screen, checking the number.

“Unknown number- Washington,” I read out. “Yeah, it’s safe.”

Bella quickly dialled her mom’s number before leaving a message telling her mom to ring her at the hotel number. She repeated it twice before hanging up and closing her eyes. She sank down on the couch and started to pick at the half-eaten food. Poor Bella. Were we ever going to get out of this mess?

I watched the news, bored. Bella, Jasper and Alice did too but Bella seemed to be playing extra-close attention.

Immortality grants you endless patience. Even thought once I got up to look out the window before sitting on the floor with my back against the wall, I did not feel obliged to do anything. I stared at the walls, watched the TV or watched Alice sketch the outlines of the mystery room on the paper.

Finally Bella fell asleep. I got up and went to pick her up and carry her to the bedroom but Alice beat me to it. She mouthed, ‘I’ll do it,’ at me and I nodded before sinking back onto the couch.

It was going to be a long night.

Shayla's Twilight: Chapter 9

2010-03-08T04:02:50Z

Chapter 9: Waiting

Shayla’s POV

The car ride was long even though we raced through the empty freeways at twice the legal speed. It was quiet except for the almost-silent purring of the Mercedes and Bella’s occasional sobs and uneven breathing. She tried to evade sleep and during the night, she ended up leaning against Alice; somehow her cold, hard skin seemed to comfort her. Alice’s shirt was wet from Bella’s tears that had run her tired eyes dry.

‘Poor girl,’ I thought. I felt terribly guilty and sorry for her. When I felt this as we were entering Phoenix, Jasper took a hand off the wheel and held mine in a brotherly gesture.

“I know,” he whispered, so low that Bella wouldn’t hear. “I know what you are feeling Shayla, but it’s not your fault.”

“It might as well be though,” I murmured back. “Perhaps if I hadn’t defended her like I did–” He cuts me off there.

“Shayla, I know how you feel about her. She’s like a sister to you now and you’ll do anything for her, right?”

“Right,” I sighed as I released his hand and moved it back to my lap. I turn to check on Alice and Bella. Bella was staring out the window, her eyes not focusing on the scenery that shot past us. I flashed Alice a concerned look.

“Which way to the airport Bella?” Jasper asked, finally breaking the silence.

“Stay on the One-Ten,” she answered automatically. “We’ll pass right by it.”

“Are we flying somewhere?” she then asked Alice.

“No, but it’s better to be close though, just in case.”

I turned back to the front as we were entering the loop of road around the airport. About halfway through, gentle snoring could be heard from the backseat. Bella had fallen asleep. How I’d envied her, I wish I could sleep again and dream.

“How much further?” I asked Jasper.

“There is a hotel nearby. That’s where we are going to stay for the time being.”

A few minutes later we pulled up at the hotel. Alice paid for a decent room using a fake credit card– Rachel Lee was the name on the side– and we half-carried, half-dragged an exhausted Bella to the room on the fourteenth floor.

As soon as we were inside the small room with the door closed and locked, I lifted Bella and carried her to the bedroom where a queen-sized bed lay. I pulled back the covers and place her gently on the bed before pulling the covers back up over her. I crept to the open door and scanned the other room for her bag. As on cue, Jasper came in the door with it. He handed it to me in silence and I placed it on the dresser. I tiptoe back out and shut the door silently.

I exhaled with relief as I lied down on the plain couch. Jasper sat on the arm and Alice prodded my leg impatiently, wanting me to move. I swung my legs off and instead leant onto the side of the couch, my arms at my side. Alice sat herself down beside me and glanced at me. “Are you okay Shayla, how are you holding up?”

“I’m fine,” I replied. “I’m only worried about Bella. And the rest of the family.” I added.

“I’m sure their fine,” Jasper said. “Alice would have seen if anything would go wrong and they would have called.”

“True, but you can’t help but feel worried; it’s like a gut feeling or something. Do you know what I mean?” I cocked my head to the side, looking at him curiously.

“Of course we do Shayla,” Alice patted my shoulder. I tilt my head back, close my eyes and just let the scent of my family and Bella fill my nostrils.

Jasper’s POV

I watched Shayla uneasily. All she was doing was breathing, breathing in our scent and Bella’s. So if James even tried to enter Phoenix, Shayla would be onto him.

She was worried and slightly scared, I could feel it. And so was I too. How long could she last here with a human? Even though she had recovered slightly from the incident yesterday in the forest, she was still as uneasy and volatile as a newborn. It was like her first day as a vampire all over again…

We walked back slowly as she was in no rush to go home. We had just finished her first hunting trip. When we got closer to the house by following the river, Alice was waiting on the branch of a huge tree,

“Have fun?” she asked while raising an eyebrow and leaping down gracefully.

“Um… yes?” Shayla answered while giving a shrug of her shoulders.

“Yeah, we did,” I answered for her. “She’s a natural.”

Alice smiled. “Just so you know Shayla, Emmett is planning to jump you when you get back. He wants to have a wrestling match.”

“Wrestling?”

“Surprising eh?” I laughed. “He wants to verse someone new because Alice and Edward cheat, Esme gets angry if we really go for it as we usually do and Rosalie won’t get her hair messed up.”

Shayla grinned. “Alright then, cool. He better bring it then,” I could feel eagerness pouring off her.

“Just be careful,” Alice warned. “As a general rule, newborns are much stronger in their first year then other vampires because of the human blood still in your body. Human blood makes you stronger then animal blood. Look at your eyes in the river.”

Shayla walked to the riverbed and bent down to see her reflection in the water surface. I lent over her shoulder as she peered into the water. She did a double-take when she saw her eyes.

“My eyes… their red…” she whimpered but then she glanced back at us. “But yours are gold.”

“Yes, ‘vegetarian’ vampires eyes are gold but newborn and non-vegetarian vampires are red. Yours will go gold over the course a year, if you keep drinking animal blood.”

“Of course, I don’t think I could ever kill a human.” she replied, shaking her head.

“You would be surprised how many newborns say that but end up doing it anyway,” I replied and I felt sadness and disappointment radiate off her. “But with our help, I think you can resist.”

Shayla smiled and I can tell that she is happy, nothing but happy. But then that smile turns into a wicked smirk.

“So I’m stronger eh?” she chuckled. “Well maybe I can give Emmett a little surprise.”

I glanced at Alice. “She’s evil,” I joked.

“Diabolical,” she answered with a small giggle. “I can see what you’re going to do and I must say that’s a very useful gift.”

“What?” Shayla and I said at the same time.

“Shayla has improved sense of smell and she is more athletic then us. She is more animal-like as well. You should see her agility!” Her words tumbled out and I could feel that her mood was soaring. She was so excited, I swear she could have been hyped up on sugar (not that she would be) and no one could have noticed the difference.

“That sounds really cool!” Shayla exclaimed to our surprise. “I’ll have to experiment a bit and find out what I can do.” She gave an enormous grin and more happiness flooded off her. “But what I was doing, while hunting… was that a part of my gift?” She tilted her head to the side in confusion and Alice nodded in response. Shayla’s grin becomes wider, if that was possible.

Then with superhuman speed, she took off and that’s when I noticed her skills for the first time. She changes direction and dodges the trees so fast that it was obvious that she was gifted. The most uprising thing of all was when she came to a huge oak that stood in our way; she simply leapt up it and climbed like a spider monkey through the branches before leaping off and climbing through the next couple of trees. All vampires could climb but when she did it, it was much quicker and obviously easier. When we got to the edge of the back yard she dropped down with ease and landed gracefully. I gave her a small smile and sent a wave of confidence at her.

“Are you doing this Jasper?” she asked me and I nodded. “That’s a pretty cool gift but I assume it does get annoying right? Feeling what everyone else is feeling.” I nodded again and she gave a smile. She touched my arm gently and all I feel from her is love.

She loved me as a brother. Even though we had known each other for only a few days, she thought of me as her brother and truly loved me. Not just me but everyone else: Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Edward, Emmett and even Rosalie. She loved them all so much, especially Emmett, Alice and I.

Then as on cue, Emmett charged out with the goofiest grin on his face, ready to grab her. Shayla turned smiling too and dodged his swipe for her with ease. Emmett seemed surprised. “You’re quick,” he noted to which she grinned in response.

“Yeah, cool isn’t it?” she said back grinning like mad. “It’s weird but for once I feel like I belong somewhere, for a change.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Emmett asked. Shayla hesitated before answering.

“Let’s just say that my human life wasn’t all that good, let’s leave it at that shall we?” Her eyes seemed to fill with sadness when she said this and no one spoke for a while.

“What now?” she then asked, breaking the silence.

“Esme just fixed up your room,” Emmett told her. “So you won’t have to bunk with Shorty here anymore,” he added with a laugh and Alice stuck her tongue out at him.

Shayla chuckled but then stopped short. “Wait did you say, my own room?” She seemed very surprised at the thought of her very own room.

“Yep!” Alice was very excited.

“So I’m like, family now?” she asked. Emmett and I glanced at each other before grinning.

“Welcome to the family!” we exclaimed at the same time and we then laughed at her shocked face which soon turned into a grin.

“Alice, Jasper, Emmett!” Esme called from the house, scowling us. “Stop torturing the poor girl!”

We laughed again, with Shayla joining in, as we entered the house. Esme’s mouth dropped as she saw Shayla. She was caked in mud, dirt, leaves and blood. “Jasper, what did you do to her?!”

I chuckled. “Nothing Esme, she’s just a natural hunter.”

Esme bites her tongue to avoid laughing but I can tell that she’s amused. “Well, why don’t you have a shower Shayla? Rosalie went shopping for you and bought you a brand new wardrobe.”

“I hope she didn’t buy skirts or dresses. I HATE wearing them. I didn’t wear them as a human and I’m not going to start now.”

“Alice looked into your future and said that she saw you never wearing a dress so a disgruntled Rosalie bought you t-shirts and jeans.”

Shayla grinned. “Alright then, shower time. I stink!” She ran up the stairs, two at a time.

“Oh, how can she hate wearing dresses and skirts?” Alice exclaimed as she ran in. “I will have to persuade to wear at least one!”

“Oh sure Alice,” Shayla said, sounding partly sarcastic. “When hell freezes over!” She gave a booming laugh as she turned on the shower.

I gaze uneasily at Shayla. After a moment, she opened her eyes and glanced at me. “What?”

“Nothing, I’m just worried about you,” I answer. She glared at me, which reminded me of Rosalie.

“I’m not a kid Jasper,” she grumbled as she turned the T.V and watched it with an uninterested gaze in her eyes. “So stop worrying about me.”

She was annoyed. Shayla was a proud person and hated being looked after. It was like me in a way, I guessed.

Alice suddenly sat up and walked to the door of the bedroom where Bella was sleeping. “Bella’s going to wake up in a few minutes.”

I nodded my head in response and Shayla gave a small noise from her nose. Not quite a snort but more sounding like she exhaled quickly. She was frustrated.

I was used to her ever-changing emotions. It was like being on a roller-coaster that never ended. I had recently taken it on myself to watch her emotions. She was happy that she was back but sad because she missed her friends in Australia. She was frustrated that she couldn’t control herself and she was irritated that resisting was so hard.

But now, all she was emitting was worry. She was completely worried about something. I suspected that it was her family. Of course it would be, I corrected myself.

Shayla’s POV

The early morning went slow as Jasper, Alice and I watched the T.V without interest and as we waited for Bella to awake. Around 3 AM, Alice announced that Bella was waking up in a few minutes. I exhaled through my nose too quickly, making a small noise to which Alice glanced at me in alarm. I rolled my eyes at her. She tutted impatiently and heads into the bedroom.

“I better go get some food for Bella,” I said to Jasper. “Edward wouldn’t be happy if she starved.”

“Alright,” he answered and I exited the room going as fast as I can in human speed.

I head down into the dining room of the hotel. A kind looking women is at the counter of the buffet, placing fresh food in. It looks slightly appetizing but I know I couldn’t deal with the slimy, disgusting gunk sliding down my throat only to be thrown up later.

“Hello dear. What can I do for you?” she smiled at me.

“Hi. My friend and I just checked in and we just wanted to get some food,” I said to her. I wouldn’t have a clue of what Bella would like to eat.

“Oh, of course. Help yourself.”

“Well, I would but I’m not sure what my friend would like. Perhaps you can help me?”

The woman takes a platter and stacks on some of the most expensive things on. I resist the urge to snort with disbelief. She handed me the platter back, now covered with a metal dome, and I handed her the small wad of money that Carlisle had bestowed upon me. She took two twenties out and handed me back the money.

“Keep the change,” I muttered as I head back upstairs.

“Food is here,” I announced as I enter the hotel room, balancing the platter expertly on one hand. I placed it on the coffee table and sat back on the couch, leaning back again. “Anything new?”

“No.” Jasper shook his head before he looked up at me with his slowly darkening eyes. “Alice has gone in to talk to Bella.”

I nodded before giving a tired sigh and sat on the floor beside the couch near Jasper. I leant against his leg and for once, I didn’t try to control my emotions around him. I was so worried, not just about Bella, but about Esme, Carlisle, Emmett, Edward and even Rosalie. I was sorry that I had fought with her and called her a bitch. I gnawed my bottom lip, like I was a human again, as I think. Jasper sent a wave of love and calm at me. I sighed again and looked up at him. He places a hand on my shoulder as we watch the TV again, with him sending another wave of calm at me.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on nothing but the calm he sent at me. Jasper was my brother, my best friend, even my mentor in a way. He taught me everything that there was to know about vampires and guided me through my newborn years. I loved him.

His hand moves from my shoulder and I flinch, forgetting he was there. “I love you too Shayla,” he murmured to me from the couch.

“You better,” I smiled at him.

Shayla's Twilight: Chapter 8

2010-03-08T03:56:38Z

Chapter 8: Tracker

Shayla’s POV

I gave a snarl as the three vampires emerged from the woods. The first male fell back allowing the other olive skinned, dark haired male to go forward, displaying who led the pack. The third was a woman with a startling amount of tangled, red hair.

As they approached close I noticed their gait was very cat-like and on the verge of slipping into a crouch. They were dressed in backpackers clothing with button-down shirts and jeans with heavy, water-proof fabrics. They were barefoot and their clothes were frayed with wear. Although the men had neatly cropped hair– the leader was down to his shoulders– the woman’s was a wild, tangled mess of orange with leaves and debris from the forest caught in it. She seemed to walk like a feline of some kind.

The first man flashed a smile at us but I never relaxed my stance. I stood with my arms crossed slightly in front of Bella and between Edward and Jasper. Jasper elbowed me in the ribcage and shot me a disapproving look. I dropped my arms and relaxed my pose as the vampires crept forward. They reminded me of lone animals that are approaching a big group of their own kind.

The man in front was the most beautiful; I could admit that. His skin was olive-toned underneath the paleness and his hair a glossy black. He was of a medium build, hard muscled but he was nothing compared to Emmett’s brawn.

The women was wilder, her eyes shifting between the men in front of her and the loose group crowded around Bella, her hair ruffling in the breeze. The second male hovered near her, his hand twitched towards hers. His light brown hair and regular features both nondescript. His eyes, though completely still, were somehow the most vigilant.

Their eyes were a deep burgundy red colour. I glanced at Bella to see her reaction. She gave a small shiver. I admit it did look scary; it made them look disturbing and sinister. That was how my eyes once looked.

The dark haired man then spoke. “I thought we heard a game,” he said in a relaxed voice, with a touch of a French accent. “I am Laurent and this is Victoria and James.” He gestured to the vampires behind him. Victoria gave a small nod of her head in greeting but James simply tilted his head, keeping a steady eye on Edward. I resisted the urge to growl.

Carlisle introduced us, calling us out in groups and not drawing attention to us. Bella seemed surprised that he called her name.

“Do you have room for a few more players?” Laurent asked sociably.

My father matched Laurent’s friendly tone. “Actually we were just finishing up. But we’d certainly be interested another time. Are you planning to stay in the area long?”

“We’re headed north, in fact, but we were curious to see who was in the neighbourhood.”

“No, this region is usually empty except for us and the occasional visitor like yourselves.”

I suspected that Jasper was using his gift to calm the situation from a tense atmosphere into casual conversation.

“What’s your hunting range?” Laurent casually inquired.

Carlisle ignored the assumption behind the inquiry. “The Olympic Range here, up and down the Coast Ranges on occasion.” I flashed him a disapproving look but he ignored me. “We keep a permanent resident nearby. There is another permanent settlement like our up near Denali.”

Laurent rocked back on his heels slightly. “Permanent? How do you manage that?” There was honest curiosity in his voice.

“Why don’t you come back to our home with us and we can talk comfortably?” Carlisle invited. “It’s a rather long story.”

Victoria and James exchanged a surprised look at the mention of ‘home’ but Laurent managed to control his expression better then them.

“That sounds very interesting, and welcome. We’ve been on the hunt all the way down from Ontario and we haven’t had the chance to clean up in a while.” His eyes moved appreciatively over Carlisle’s refined appearance and that’s when I realised what he just said. I opened my mouth in alarm but Esme shot me a look. I get a lot of those.

“Please don’t take offence, but we’d appreciate it if you’d refrain from hunting in this immediate area. We have to stay inconspicuous, you understand,” Carlisle explained.

“Of course,” Laurent nodded. “We certainty won’t encroach on your territory. We ate just out of Seattle anyway,” he laughed. I bit my lip to stop myself saying something I will most likely regret.

“Well, we’ll show you the way if you’d like to run with us– Emmett and Alice, you can go with Edward and Bella to get the Jeep. Shayla, you can get the bike and head with them as well,” he casually added as we started to head off. I watched James carefully as he stared curiously at Bella. I didn’t like the way he looked at her at all.

Then three things happened at the same time. One, Bella’s hair rippled with the soft breeze that came over us suddenly, two, Edward stiffened and three, James suddenly whipped his head around to face Bella, his nostrils flared.

Edward and I dropped into a crouch followed by the rest of the family who darted back. Esme pulled Bella back and Edward bared his teeth, a feral snarl ripping from his throat. I snapped my teeth together and gave a deep growl. Victoria leapt into a crouch beside James and I lined up in her view, blocking Bella from her line of sight. I gave a snarl and she responded with a hissing noise. I feel my hands shake and then my silver, lion-like claws burst out of my fingertips.

“What’s this?” Laurent exclaimed in open surprise but I merely hissed at him before baring my teeth menacingly like Edward. None of us relaxed our aggressive poses. James feinted to the side and Edward shifted in response. I flexed my claws menacingly.

“She’s with us.” Carlisle’s firm rebuff was directed at James. I could see Laurent had caught the scent less powerfully then James but awareness dawned on his face.

“You brought a snack?” he asked and he took an involuntary step forward.

I gave a loud growl and removed my gaze from Victoria. “She’s with us!” I snarled at him as I stepped forward, ready to rip him to shreds. Edwards snarled more harshly at him, his lip curling above his bared teeth. Laurent stepped back.

“We said, she’s with us,” Carlisle corrected in a hard voice.

“But she’s human,” Laurent protested, no aggressiveness in his voice, merely astonishment.

“Yes.” Emmett was very much in evidence at Carlisle’s side, his fixed eyes on James. James slowly straightened out as did Victoria and I but I could see that James’s eyes never left Bella, his nostrils wide and flared. I gave a small snort and bared my teeth again. Edward stayed tense like a lion by my side.

When Laurent spoke again, his tone was soothing– trying to defuse the sudden hostility I guessed, Jasper could of done a better job. “It appears we have a lot to learn about each other.”

“Indeed.” Carlisle’s voice was still cool and calm. How, I would never know.

“But we would like to accept your invitation.” Laurent’s eyes flicked between Bella, Carlisle and Edward. “And, of course, we won’t harm the human girl. We won’t hunt in your range, like we said.”

James glanced in disbelief and aggravation at Laurent and exchanged a look with Victoria whose eyes were still flickering eagerly from face to face before resting on mine. I glared at her, challenging her for look away. She in turn glared back, daring me to do what I was doing to her.

“Stand down Shayla,” Alice murmured from nearby. I gave an exasperated growl and at the same time, Victoria and I turned away from each other.

Carlisle, Esme Rosalie and Jasper were leading the foreign vampires across to the woods which led home. I followed the others, shielding Bella from sight to the other side of the woods. Not bothering to wait, I ran ahead, bouncing off the trees with Edward close behind followed by Alice and Emmett.

I got to the bike and turned to see Edward throw Bella in the back of the Jeep. Alice is in the front and Emmett in the back. I heard Edward growl a series of swear words and profanities before he got in the front seat and stomped on the accelerator.

I leapt on the motorbike and revved it angrily. I followed Edward and over take him as I think angrily to myself, knowing he would hear. I should rip their faces off!

But then, he turned away onto the highway, heading away from Forks. I missed the turn-off and shot past.

Idiot! I scream at him in my head. What the hell are you doing? Oi jackass!

I guess he didn’t hear me. I scowled and go faster towards home. When I get there, I skid my bike in, nearly hitting Rose’s car and sprinted into the house to find Rose, Carlisle, Esme, Jasper and Laurent.

“Shayla, where’s the others?” Rosalie asked as I skid to a stop in the lounge room where Carlisle was having a civil conversation with Laurent.

“Edward’s taking Bella away from Forks for some dumb reason,” I growled. “And I’m assuming Emmett is helping him, the idiot. Alice won’t go down without a fight, I bet.” I then realised only one of our new ‘guests’ is present. “Hang on, where’s Victoria and James?”

“I don’t know,” Laurent said sadly. “I believe James might start tracking the human and Victoria is helping him.”

“What the fu-” I start to say but Jasper puts a hand over my mouth to stop my swearing. I gave him a dirty look and he released me. “Hate you Jazz.”

He doesn’t smile for once. ‘What are we going to do about this Carlisle?” he asks Carlisle instead.

“I know what I’m going to do!” I ranted. “I’m going to rip James’s face off!”

“No Shayla,” Carlisle said. He had a firm grip on my arm. “I know you now consider Bella a member of the family and I also know how protective you are of us but for now we need to consider our options.”

“I see only one option,” I growled. “Kill him or let him kill Bella. Your choice Carlisle.”

“There are other options Shayla,” he said again, firm and calm. Esme glanced between us and Jasper placed his arm on my shoulder. I look up at him.

“You agree, right Jasper?” I asked. He doesn’t answer which bugs me.

“What are the other options?” he then asked Carlisle.

“We wait until Edward comes home and then we’ll figure it out,” he said, still calm.

“But that could take ages!” I protested. “Edward is stubborn! He would do what he thinks is best for Bella.”

Before anyone could answer me, I flip out my phone and speed-dial Alice. “Alice, what’s going on?”

“We are heading back now. Bella’s telling her father that she is going home to Phoenix. Jasper and I are going with her while Edward, Emmett and everyone else stays to hunt James,” she explained. She knows that I would know that James was a tracker.

“What do you want me to do? Protect or hunt?” I ask.

“Come with us, we’ll need you.”

I sigh. I wanted to hunt James. “Okay. Are you heading home now?”

“Yes. Shayla,please be careful and don’t go after him now.”

“I won’t,” I promised even though I was seriously considered it “I’ll see ya soon.”

“Bye Shay-Shay,” she hung up and I turned to the family. “You heard all that?”

They nodded and we stay silent for a moment until Rosalie decided to speak.

“Why should we help her in the first place anyway?” Rosalie asked. I give a feral snarl at her. Rosalie hissed back sounding like an angry snake. “She is causing nothing but trouble,” she hissed angrily.

“Bella is with Edward Rosalie,” I snarled, sneering her name slightly. “And I don’t know about you, but I protect my family. Even if it does so happen to include a human.”

Rosalie bared her teeth and sneered at me. I growled and bared my teeth back at her in return. She shifted into a crouch-like position, a sign that she may attack. Rose and I rarely fought, but when we did, it was horseplay just like I was wrestling with my brothers. But I had never attacked her seriously in an attempt to harm her or worse, tear her to shreds.

I don’t adjust my body to an attacking position. Instead I fold my arms and narrow my eyes at her. “I won’t fight you Rosalie.”

She glared at me and I glared back. “Why Shayla do you need to protect her?” she then asked.

“’Cause Edward would kill me if I wouldn’t. You know me Rosalie; I protect my family and friends– even if it means getting injured in the process or even killed.”

“You are willing to sacrifice your life for Bella?” she asked, quite surprised.

“Yes,” I simply say, bowing my head.

She seems to consider straightening up but instead she shifted forward. I shift into a crouch position, identical to hers. So she still wanted to fight eh?

“Stop it you two,” Esme cut in, her mothering voice on. “Fighting isn’t going to solve anything.”

“It might solve her attitude problem,” I murmured, knowing fully well that Rosalie would hear me.

She hissed again and gave me the ‘Ice Queen’ stare. “Shut up Shayla.”

“Make me,” I replied, rather immaturely.

“I’ll make you,” she snarls coldly. Carlisle and Esme glanced between us, wondering whether to intervene or not but they know that once Rosalie and I started to argue, almost nothing will shut us up. She was pigheaded and I was just as stubborn.

“Two words.” I give a smirk. “Bring it.”

Rosalie launched at me so fast that she’s a blur but yet, I still had time to sidestep her easily. Well not sidestep exactly, but rather leaping out of the way. She turned and snarled at me. I growled in response. She tried to leap at me again and that’s when I decide to infuriate further.

She threw punches and swipes at me which I dodged easily when I recite my favourite lines from the TMNT movie. “Funny thing about anger… Let it consume and soon enough…” I ducked underneath her outstretched arm and creep behind her, and whispered the next line near her ear. “You lose sight of everything.”

She swiped again, spinning around for me but I am behind her again, where I was standing from originally. She glared at me. “You are nothing but a stupid and immature smart-ass Shayla.”

“And you are nothing but a pigheaded bitch Rosalie,” I countered, dropping my smirk and baring my teeth slightly. This was one of the worst fights we have ever had.

We stared angrily at each other for a long time before Jasper intervenes. “Rose, Shay, stop it now! Fighting isn’t going to solve anything. Right?”

I nodded with my jaw tight. “Yeah, yeah, I guess. Sorry Rosalie.”

She flared her nostrils. “Sorry Shayla. And you’re right Jasper.”

I suddenly whipped my head around. I smelled Bella’s scent along with Edward’s, Alice's’ and Emmett’s. I also smelled James’s but his is further away. I snorted with frustration. “I can smell the tracker. His scent is sickening.”

“I know,” Jasper says softly. “Just don’t breathe.”

I hold my breath and the absolutely foul stench disappears almost completely. But the taste-like sensation stays in my throat.

The door flew open and Emmett raced in, clutching Bella. Edward and Alice soon follow. Laurent, who has remained quiet the whole time, rose from the couch. I heard Emmett give a grumble as he set Bella down beside Edward.

“He’s tracking us,” he announced, glaring balefully at Laurent.

Laurent’s face was unhappy. “I was afraid of that.”

Alice danced to Jasper and whispered in his ear; her lips quivering from her almost silent speech. They then flew up the stairs together. I decided to fly up as well. Not bothering to use the stairs, I ran towards the wall by the side of stair case and leapt, bound off it, grab the railing in one hand and propel myself over it. I ran into my room, almost breaking the door, and grabbed a backpack from my closet. I stuffed a change of clothes in there and headed back downstairs, slinging the bag over my back as I went.

Laurent was talking again. “Are you sure it’s worth it?” He was talking to Carlisle about Bella, no doubt. Edward let loose an enraged roar and I gave a furious growl. I also heard an angry snarl come from Alice as well. Laurent turned to look at me for a moment before cringing back.

Carlisle ignored me, Alice and Edward and turned and said gravely to Laurent “I’m afraid you have to make a choice.”

Laurent understood what he meant. He deliberated for a moment. His eyes took in every face, and finally swept the bright room.

“I’m intrigued by the life you’ve created here. But I won’t get in the middle of this. I bear none of your enmity, but I won’t go up against James. I think I’ll head north- to that clan in Denali.” he hesitated. “Don’t underestimate James. He’s got a brilliant mind and unparalleled senses. He’s every bit as comfortable in the human world as you seem to be, and he won’t come at you head on… I’m sorry for what’s been unleased here, truly sorry.” He bowed his head and I saw him flicker a curious look towards Bella.

“Go in peace,” Carlisle said formally and Laurent hurried out the door.

The silence didn’t last long.

“How close?” Carlisle asked Edward and me.

I sniffed, trying to pick up a scent. “By the river, about 3 to 4 miles out. The female’s is further away, around 5 miles away.”

I looked at Edward for conferment. Hr nodded at me and Carlisle. “He plans to meet with her.”

“What’s the plan?”

“We’ll lead him off; and then Shayla, Jasper and Alice will run her south.”

“And then?”

Edward’s tone was deadly. “As soon as Bella is in the clear, we hunt him. Shayla can run back if she’s like.”

“I guess there’s no other choice,” Carlisle agreed with his face rather grim.

“No, I think it’s better if I stay with Jazz and Alice,” I cut in, my face determined. Edward saw this and said no more, before turning to Rosalie.

“Go upstairs and trade clothes,” he commanded but she merely stared back at him with livid disbelief.

Bad move Edward.

“Why should I?” she hissed. “What is she to me? Except a menace- a danger you’ve chosen to inflict on all of us.”

I saw Bella flinched back from the absolute venom in Rosalie’s voice.

“Rose…” Emmett murmured, putting one hand on her shoulder. She shook it off.

“Shut up Rose!” I suddenly snapped at her. “You’re not helping!”

I turned to Edward, knowing of his temper. But he ignored her, and acted as though she hadn’t spoken, or even existed.

“Esme?” he asked calmly. Esme would, I knew she would.

“Of course,” my mother murmured and then she took Bella upstairs.

I could hear Rosalie arguing almost silently with Emmett. I rolled my eyes and pulled out my mobile. I hit speed dial for my Australian vampire friend, Matthew.

“What are you doing?” Carlisle asked curiously.

I put the phone to my ear before answering. “My friend Matt is in town. I want him to take my bike, so James will think it’s a decoy.”

I hear a Matt answer the pone. “What’s up Shayla?”

“Hey, Matty-boy, how’s it going? Listen, I need a favour. We got a small tracker problem and I need you to take my bike for a few days.”

He didn’t ask for details. “When?”

“Now.”

“I’ll be 5 minutes,” he promised.

“You know where our place is? It’ll be out the front,” I said as I ran out into the garage and started wheeling the bike out.

“Yeah, okay then. See you soon Shay.”

“Peace out bro,” I said as a goodbye. Matt and the rest of his friends, both boys and girls, were like adopted brothers and sisters to me while I stayed in Australia for a few months. I heard a small chuckle from him and then the line goes dead. I snapped the phone shut with a twist of my fingers.

“What now?” I asked when I run back into the house. Bella and Esme are back. Esme is in Bella’s clothes and Bella in Esme’s. Everyone was ready to leave and Carlisle was handing out cell phones to Esme and Alice. He was also was giving last minute instructions to Bella and Edward.

“Will they take the bait Alice?” he then asked Alice. She closed her eyes and became still.

“He’ll track you. The woman will follow the truck.”

“Will Matt be okay? On the bike?”

She nodded. “He’ll head back to his hiding place, a cave in the mountains. I see two girls and a boy with him.”

I think before giving a nod. “Ah… Maddy, Tiff and Theo. Theo is his best friend, Maddy is his mate and Tiff is Theo’s mate.” I turn away from her face and glance out the window, now worried. What if my friends got hurt because of me?

“Let’s go,” Carlisle walked toward the kitchen.

I walked there with them just as Edward pulled Bella to his side. He seemed unaware that his whole family was watching as he lifted Bella and kissed her with her feet off the floor. I glanced away, feeling uncomfortable and when I glanced back, he was gone along with Emmett and Carlisle. The others looked away from Bella as she had tears coming down her face streaking noiselessly. I walked over to her and held a hand on her shoulder, as gently as I could, to comfort her.

“Bella, it’ll be okay,” I whispered, even though I didn’t know if it would be.

She made no moment or sound to say that she heard me. The silence seemed to drag on before Esme’s phone rang. It was at her ear in a flash.

“Now,” she said. Rose stalked out the door, throwing a glare at Bella and I. Esme followed but lingered by Bella, her cold hand brushing her check.

“Be safe,” she whispered before turning to me. “Take care of her Shayla.”

“I will Mom,” I murmured. “I promise.”

She slipped out the door and we heard the truck thunder for a moment before slowly fading away. Then the roar of my motorbike was heard before it too faded away.

We waited. Alice’s phone rang and was at her ear before it seemed to ring. “Edward says that the woman is on Esme’s trail. I’ll get the car.”

I followed her and slid into the front seat. As it slowly backed out, I sighed and threw my head back. She shot me a questioning look while raising her eyebrows.

“I said it would be okay,” I mumbled. “I told her it’ll be fine. But what if it’s not, what if I’m wrong?”

“I don’t know,” she frowned. “There are a thousand decisions being made by everyone, it’s impossible to see.”

We stopped then and she ran into the house and returned with Bella in her arms. She slid her into the back seat before following and Jasper slid into the driver’s seat.

“Let’s go,” I said impatiently and we pulled out into the dark night, leaving the bright lights behind us.

Shayla

2010-03-08T03:52:32Z