Chapter 1

August 14, 1948

Upper West Side, NY, USA

I almost thought I was dead looking at my cousin. "Come sei stato?" I couldn't tell her I was great, I was too shocked. "Non posso credere che tu sei come me." I couldn't manage pleasantries. I was reeling at the sight of her granite skin and golden eyes. We looked like sisters again.

"I tuoi genitori?" I wondered aloud how my aunt Miranda and uncle Evan were. They'd be octogenarians now at least 84 years old.

"Essi non fanno domande. Essi piacerebbe sentire che stai bene, se non ti dispiace." Cate said they missed me and with my consent would love to know I was alive and well.

"Sono stato adottato da un medico e sua moglie." I grinned telling her about my new parents.

"L'ho visto. Ti andrebbe di cacciare dopo la lezione con Rob ed io? Voglio sentire tutto." She asked if we could go hunting with Rob after classes.

"Come back with me and I'll introduce you. What happened to your brother?"

"Like us, nomadic for the most part, eats traditionally. Mother swears that once she's gone he'll meet a girl,change his diet,and settle."

"Class is over for me. Wanna go now? I believe my father has left campus."

She nodded and we headed out of the building. Catherine's husband of more than twenty years was waiting for us underneath a willow tree. "Rose!" Rob Townsend kissed my cheek, pleased to see me. "I'm glad you're better. I met your father. I told him Catherine was a student here and he wanted to introduce you." "Let's go," I replied. We ran all the way to the house and up the drive. They waited outside. "Carlisle,Emmett,Esme,I have some people I want to introduce you too." "Who?"Esme and Emmett asked noting the unfamiliar scents. Carlisle and Edward came a moment later. "Perché si esclude tuo fratello Rose?"Rob asked me why I didn't call Edward as well. Edward gave me a curious look. "I ran into someone from Manhattan at school. She's just like us and we're going hunting. I wanted to introduce you to her and her husband." Cate and Rob stepped into the room and Cate gave me a look that only she can pull off. " I'm Catherine and Rose is being evasive with you all." "How so?"Esme wondered. "We're blood related," I whispered. "We're cousins," Catherine said at a human decibel. "Our mothers are sisters," I added at Carlisle's mildly confused look. "Rosalie perché sei evasivo. Non ci morde solo perché ti amo tanto come fa la mamma," Cate tried to calm me telling me that my new family wouldn't hurt my old relatives simply because they loved me and wanted me happy. "Excuse her, my birth mother is Sicilian," I said at Emmett's confused expression. "Lo so che è solo strano soprattutto perché Jack non è in giro a diffondere la paura nel mio stomaco," I said to Cate. I was only nervous because Cate's little brother wasn't around to diffuse the fear in my stomach. "Nice to meet you,"Emmett hugged Cate pulling her off the ground. "Emmett you'll scare her away,"Esme chastened. "Attendere fino a quando Jack torna a casa," I laughed aloud. "Translation please?"Emmett asked. "Rose was just saying that I'm used to it. My younger brother is around your size but his muscles aren't as visible," Cate said as Emmett put her on her feet. "Maybe you'll get to meet him; I think he's coming back to New York in a few weeks. He's nomadic at the moment," Rob chimed in. "At the moment?"Carlisle and Edward asked.

"My mother in law, Miranda is convinced that after she passes on he'll meet a girl, become a vegetarian, and settle down. She says she has inklings of more grandchildren though Cate has told her time and time again how unlikely that is, given his new medical condition. She pretends to accept it and asks nothing of it when we see her." "More?"Esme asked. I bit my lip wondering if Cate could bear saying it aloud.

"I had a son before. We married very young and Ethan passed away when he was three from tuberculosis, I miscarried a few months later, which spurred my change. My brother and my husband went through it that same night. We all stayed away from humans until our eyes cooled and after my brother made appropriate excuses with our parents he started traveling. He sends word when he leaves the country but he's mostly seeing the southern states very carefully. He's drawn to Atlanta and my mother says that the girl he will marry comes from there. Whether she's alive has yet to be determined," Cate laughed at her last sentence making me laugh too.

"Would any of you like to come hunting with us?"Cate offered. My brother and parents declined. "I wanna hear all about how badass my Rosie was before," my oaf of a husband grinned at Cate. "I've got all the pictures you could ever want Emmett," Catherine smiled deviously glancing at me as Emmett spoke. "I think we're going to be great friends Cate."