AN

Disclaimer: Do I have to? I guess I do… Twilight is owned by, yes, that's right! Stephanie Meyer, peeps! ;)

Chapter 1: Edge of night – Billy Boyd

I ran through the forest with my vampire speed. I wasn't really sure if I was going the right way. I had only been in the USA for a decade, but never this far up. I was in the state of Washington as I've heard of others like me have a residence near a small town called Forks. They lived off animal blood as I had since I overcame the cravings of a newborn and I had had my revenge against the people who murdered my brother. It hadn't been easy to find the Doctor, but I had found him after a few decades and made it look like a heart attack while he was swimming in the ocean – apparently seeing my face was enough to make the monster's heart fail, even though I had more painful ways of killing him in mind. I still felt cold, consuming fear at the thought of the Doctor even though I was close to indestructible and he was long dead. Sadness and pain overcame me when I recalled my brother as I often did. It was hard to picture him like anything other than the scared, malnourished boy he was just before he died. All his blood drained from his body before he was given the vampire venom like me, but it turned out that you need your blood to make the venom take effect.

Growling and heavy footsteps as of that from a great animal pulled me out of my tortured thoughts. Two wolves were chasing me, but they weren't normal wolves. They were the size of a warhorse and smelled heavily of wet dog – if I weren't a vampire, I would most likely vomit. Yuck.

I pushed myself a bit further. I didn't really care if they caught me – I wouldn't even use my gift on them - and killed me, but I would like to meet the other vegetarians before my death, thank you very much. I had heard great things about this coven and the curiosity I felt towards them was more than I had felt in a long time. I leaped over a river, and looked over my shoulders to see the wolves stopping on the other side and starting to howl. Were they calling for back up? Before I got time to figure it out, something smashed into me and I was tackled to the ground by a hissing, bear-like vampire. Geez, that guy was huge! I hissed back before I realized the color of his eyes. They were golden! Yes, I've found them!

Now if he could just refrain from killing me until I've explained myself that would be great. It wasn't as if I could use my gift to get him off – I could only move inanimate object, but I rarely used it as I saw no reason to. I could move with inhuman speed, what did I need telekinesis for any way? Yeah, Aro thought it was great, but I just thought it useless.

"Emmett, let her go, she means us no harm" a male voice cut in and the bear-like vampire got off me. I looked around me to see the vampires whom I had searched. The big one – Emmett – went over to a blond goddess-like woman. They all seemed to be in couples except for one. This one didn't look like a vampire, but she was definitely not human either. That must be the hybrid then. Her strange heart confirmed my assumption.

"Why were you looking for us?" the bronze-haired male spoke again, and I stood up. He must be the mind reader then. I've heard this coven that was more like a family than any other coven.

"I…" I started in the empty voice that had become mine over the years.

"It's so good to finally meet you in person, Andrea… or do you prefer Ann? I know we're going to be good friends" a pixie-like female cut in and hugged me tightly. Her mate didn't seem to like her being close to a stranger. I didn't know how to react to the hug. I haven't been hugged in decades. It felt so strange and almost broke my un-beating heart. I blinked rapidly even though I couldn't shed any tears.

"I prefer Ann" I finally got out. Andrea died in that chair back in Germany with her twin. Oh, shit, I better watch what I'm thinking! I don't want the mind-reader to know my life story… nothing personal. The last bit was directed at the bronze-haired dude and he nodded in understanding. God, when was the last time I felt this much? I was surprised, flustered, uncomfortable, insecure and curious all at once. I felt a want to get to know this coven. If what I've heard about them was even slightly true, they were a coven worth getting to know.

"I've actually just come to see if the rumors were true. That you were vegetarians too" not to mention, I wanted to meet the famous Cullen-coven whom had stood up to the Volturi a few years back, but I left that bit out – I didn't want to come off as a deranged fan girl. The mind reader chuckled and I would have blushed if I could. Damn, I forgot already!

"It's ok, my name is Edward and this is my wife Bella and our daughter Renesmee" the brunette at his side waved a bit shyly.

"Or Nessie" the hybrid smiled.

"I'm Alice and this is Jasper" the pixie said eagerly snaking an arm around her mate's waist.

"I'm Carlisle and this is my wife Esme. You've already be acquainted with Emmett and by his side is Rosalie" the blond male – who I guessed were their leader or father or whatever they called it – finished the introductions.

"Let's go to the house. It does not do to just stand out here in the forest like animals" Esme urged in a motherly tone that brought back unwelcome memories. Maybe coming here wasn't such a good idea after all. Their warmth and kindness only seemed to rip open old wounds in the end. Oh, well, I probably wasn't going to live that much longer anyways so who cared if I tortured myself a little bit more. When my visit at the Cullens was over, I could always introduce myself to those freakishly big wolves. I'm sure they wouldn't have the same problem ripping me to pieces as that stupid Aro had. Having a gift apparently gave you a free pass or something. But then again, I could just have revealed myself to the humans and the Volturi would have to kill me, but for some reason… I didn't. Maybe I wasn't as suicidal as I thought. Weird.

Edward gave me a concerned look and I quickly averted my thought to the musical 'We will rock you', singing Killer Queen quietly in my head.

"So, Ann, how old were you when you got turned?" Alice asked happily and I stiffened for a moment. Turned. Oh, that brought up fond memories.

Her mate seemed to sense my inner turmoil as he pulled Alice a bit away from me. I shrugged it off and kept walking human pace besides them.

"I was turned 69 years ago when I was 15 years old" I answered – my emotionless voice sounded strange compared to their sincere and welcoming voices, but… It was safer to burry my emotions as I had done for the past 69 years. It didn't do to let these loving vampires get to me even if I strangely enough wanted them to.

"Then you're about as old as me – well, physically at least" Nessie said cheerfully and I looked at her properly. Yeah, I guess she was right. She did look like a 14-15 year old, even though she most likely were around 4 years old. I felt a pang of jealousy as I realized she would age another few years, while I was stuck in the wrong end of the teenage-years. I tried giving her a friendly smile, but it felt more like a grimace. God, I couldn't even remember the last time I smiled! How pathetic was I?

"You're not, Ann, and you matter. This world has so much to offer, if you just give it a chance" Edward seemed to have been listening in on my thoughts again. I sighed. He couldn't help it. Many vampires had abilities they couldn't turn of. This wasn't my first encounter with one of those vampires.

"I've never been one to give second chances" I stated plainly. What could a world without my brother possibly have to offer? Even if I tried to move on, I would only feel too guilty to enjoy myself. This suffering in my immortal life was a reminder of not only my beloved brother, but also a reminder of how powerless I felt in my last years as a human so that I would never have to feel like that again.

"That's because you've never met us before! I'm going to take you shopping tomorrow and you're going to love it" Alice almost jumped in excitement and I felt the urge to smile, like really smile, but it still felt far to strange. I did like shopping – at least I did before the war changed everything – and I hadn't shopped in decades.

"You seem awfully enthusiastic" I said, my voice almost sounding happy. God, how could I even think of being happy?

"We're all enthusiastic about Alice finding a new doll to dress up" Bella interjected and they all laughed at something I didn't quite get. Was Alice a shopping monster? Did I have something to fear? I was starting to get that Alice was the one who could see the future, but did that mean I was going to love shopping with her or that she simply hoped I would love shopping with her?

Edward chuckled.

"You'll find out tomorrow, won't you?" he said, which only made me more nervous. Oh my.

"We're here. Welcome to our home, Ann" Esme said warmly as the threes cleared and a grand house came into view. It was beautiful and light, and couldn't be more unlike the houses I knew from my human-life which only made me love it even more.

The insides were just as grandiose and I felt dirty coming in. How long was it since I bathed in that lake? Days? Weeks? No it couldn't have been weeks.

"Come, come, come, I simply have to get you out of those clothes, before my eyes burn holes in my brain," Alice said cheerfully as she pulled me towards the stairs.

"That didn't sound dirty at all" Emmett commented with a smirk and was rewarded with a smack on the head by Rosalie, and Jasper snarled warningly. I simply rolled my eyes at how utterly ridiculous and dramatic Alice was being. Ok, sure, I wasn't wearing the newest most modern clothes as it was something I picked up over the years – and a bit of a mix match. Ok, I could see where she was coming from, but still… I had no change of clothes. The only thing I owned was what I was wearing and that was nothing personal from my human-life or anything of the sort, not that I wanted anything to remind of my life as a human. It was nothing but disappointment, pain and loss.

"So glad, that isn't me anymore" I heard Bella tell Edward who chuckled in response before Alice dragged me into a bright and beautiful bathroom.