Chapter 5. New Guy:
The four of us departed at once. We didn’t bother with a car, we just ran. It took no time at all, well, for me. I was there first. Seth was waiting outside for us. As soon as I got there I swept him into a hug. Seth and I had only met twice before, when he I had to meet all the werewolves, and then when he showed me one of the boys who was becoming a werewolf. (They wanted me to know the signs) But we just clicked. He was the only werewolf I felt I could trust.
He laughed.
“Hello Ali!”
“Hey Seth!” I pulled back from the hug. “Good to see you again.”
“You too, here come the others.”
The rest of my family arrived then. They all hugged Seth and said “hi” in turn.
“Come on guys. Let’s go inside. Sorry for the stink.”
We all laughed as we walked in to Seth’s home. His home was beautiful. It was very welcoming and had a smell of warm bread. I had a feeling that his mom was baking something.
I saw his sister Leah sitting on the couch. She ran to greet us. After the almost fight with the Volturi, Leah began to like the Cullens and Hales. She was now pretty close to them, and was already close to me. I had met Leah the same time I met Seth. I liked her too. Leah was very nice to me, which surprised me.
When Leah hugged me, I smiled.
“It’s nice to see you Leah.”
“You too Ali. You need to come visit more often.”
“I do. I will.”
Once Leah was done hugging us, she sat back on the couch and beckoned me to sit by her. I sat by Leah on the couch, Alice sat by me, Carlisle sat in the armchair and Edward sat in the loveseat.
“So,” Seth clapped his hands together. “To what do we owe this great honor?”
“Well, Alice had a vision of just a blank white space,” Carlisle explained. “This means that she was having a vision of a werewolf doing something that involved us.”
Seth’s face was contemplating.
“So we just came to ask if anything weird was going on with the wolves. Something we should know about.”
“The only thing I can think of is that we got a new wolf the other day. He transformed a little later than normal,” Seth informed us.
“He is about 22. That barely ever happens with wolves,” Leah continued.
“Hmmm,” Carlisle had his chin in his hands with his elbows resting on his knees. He was thinking. “That is unusual, but I don’t see how that would affect us. This is something we will need 2 think about.”
“Can we meet him?” Edward asked.
“Sure, let me get him,” Seth got up and ran outside. He returned a few minutes later with a tall man with jet-black hair much like Damian’s. His eyes reminded me of someone, but whom, I did not know.
“Cullens, and Hale,”
I laughed.
“This is Achilles.”
Carlisle got up and shook Achilles’ hand.
“You have a very interesting name.”
“Thank you. Its Greek.”
“My name is Carlisle. This is my son Edward, and my daughters Alice and Ali.”
As I shook this new werewolves hand, something arose inside of me. I couldn’t out my finger on it. But it was not a good feeling.
Alice reached out for his hand, when she touched his skin, she fell to the ground.
“Alice!” I kneeled down beside my sister. Her eyes were open wide, as if she had been having a vision, but this was no ordinary vision.
“Alice!” Carlisle pushed me out of the way and kneeled in my spot. “Alice? Alice can you hear me? ALICE!”
Suddenly, she blinked and sat up.
“Alice what happened?” Carlisle asked.
She scanned Achilles with her eyes. A look of terror was on his face. But somehow, I could detect a look of triumph on his face.
“I don’t know,” she whispered.
We left the house that minute. Seth and Leah apologized over and over. Edward had to constantly tell them that it wasn’t their fault. We hugged them and said our goodbyes and made our way back to the mansion.
When we got back, we explained what happened to the rest of the family. None of us had any idea what happened to Alice. It scared us all deeply in a way I could never describe.
I spent the first half of the night listening to music and thinking about why what happened to Alice had happened. I came up with nothing. The werewolves have nothing against us, at least i thought they didn’t…
Tink!
There was a small noise from the window.
Tink!
I ran to my window and looked outside. It was dark, around 9:30 I suspected.
Tink!
I flung my window open. And there, standing in my backyard, was Damian.
I heard my door swing open and Edward ran in.
“So,” he said, “you saw him.”
I nodded.
“Why didn’t you tell me before? Or why didn’t someone else for that matter?”
“We tried, but you had locked your door and your music was up too loud. We had to break the door, sorry. I’ll fix it. Ali, you have to tell him to leave.”
“I know I do. I’ll go right now.”
Edward nodded and left.
Changing quickly into pajamas that were never slept in, I leaned out the window.
“I’ll be right down!”
He smiled triumphantly.
This pained me inside; I couldn’t let him love me. I had to move slowly, for I couldn’t let him see me run.
Once outside, he ran to me.
“Damian!” I scolded. “What are you doing here?!”
His face didn’t change at all, even with my harshness.
“I had to see you!”
“Damian! I saw you yesterday!” Was it really that short a time ago? Felt like ages…
“I know. I’m sorry.”
I sighed.
“And seriously, throwing pebbles?”
He shrugged.
“Thought it would be romantic.”
“You just thought of that cause we are reading Romeo and Juliet in English.”
I laughed. His face softened at the sound.
“Listen, you have to go. Right now, you won’t understand why, but you will, I promise.”
The sad look on his face made me ache as he nodded.
“You’re right, I shouldn’t have come.”
“I’m sorry. But you will understand one day.”
I pulled him in close and lightly pressed my lips to his. He tried to keep me there, but I was stronger.
“Now, I’ll see you MONDAY.”
He laughed, and seemed a little bit flustered, then ran around to the front of the house. As I heard his car drive away, I ran back inside.
Chapter 6, Oliver:
Monday came in a flash. It was a bittersweet feeling that morning, I was glad to see Damian, but I knew that I was getting in too deep. I knew, every time I would see him I would feel guilty, because I would just end up hurting him.
And that wasn’t the only thing plaguing my mind. Alice’s incident also filled my thoughts. Plus, I still couldn’t figure out what was so familiar about Oliver. Ideas bounced around in my head but nothing stuck. They all seemed stupid. I couldn’t remember ever meeting him.
Snap!
Damian snapped in front of my face and I refocused. Back to reality, it was lunchtime. I could think about how I knew Oliver when I got home. It was then I realized that Oliver was absent from the lunch table.
“Are you ok?” He asked me. “You seem a little off today. Not like yourself.”
“I’m fine.”
“Maybe you should eat,” he pushed a plate of pizza towards me.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’m good thank you.”
“You know, I don’t think I have ever seen you eat since I met you. You never eat lunch, you didn’t eat popcorn at the movies, what’s up?”
“Nothing.” I looked around awkwardly and saw on the clock that the bell was about to ring. Thank goodness, I thought. I was up before the bell rang and was heading to my next class. I shouted, “See you next period!” at Damian as I left. Kami ran to my side.
“He is right. You don’t seem like you.”
“Like I told Damian,” his name burned in my throat, “I’m fine.”
“No you’re not.” She stepped before me and I stopped just before I ran into her. “What is bothering you?”
She knew me all too well.
“You wouldn’t understand. The only people who would are my sister and brother. It’s a Cullen and Hale thing.”
“Ali, you can tell me anything.”
“Not this. It would end up hurting you too. And I can’t let that happen.”
“Hurting me too?”
I sighed. Oh no. I slipped up.
“Yes, now can we get to class?”
She sighed and we headed off to class, not saying a word. If Kami knew about me, she would probably end up getting killed. I couldn’t let that happen to her.
Finally, next period came, where I could sit next to Damian. I hoped that Kami would just forget about what happened.
Just before I went into French class, the smell of werewolf hit me hard in the face. But I couldn’t find where it was coming from, because just then, I heard Damian creeping up behind me, probably trying to scare me. Right before he could “scare me” I turned around and kissed him.
As I pulled back, he started laughing.
“I can never scare you!”
I laughed and walked into class with him in tow. We took our usual seats, right in front of Oliver and Cian. The smell of werewolf got stronger. Was there a werewolf in my class? Or was I just being paranoid? This I did not know.
Our teacher announced we would be watching a video today. Once it started, I looked back at Oliver through my hair. He was playing with a piece of paper. Suddenly, he dropped it and a blood droplet came out of his finger. My throat burned. I held my breath and prepared for the hunger. But it didn’t come. His cut was healing fast, as fast as a werewolf. My eyes widened. Oliver?! I thought. That was where I recognized him from. I noticed the signs of the change. When I had first met him, he was turning into a werewolf. Now, the change was complete. My gaze shot back to the front of the class, I hoped he hadn’t noticed me.
My thoughts drifted back to the day I met Oliver. I new there was something strange about him. But then, the change was just starting. Then I remembered, a few days ago I was looking at Oliver and noticed that his eyes were becoming fierce. And his smell was unusual, not his normal smell of pine. It had become repulsive to me. And his skin, it seemed to have been becoming darker, stronger. Now I knew why. Oliver was a werewolf. I pondered why the Cullens had not been notified. Normally, they knew of all new werewolves. Not this one. What had Oliver done? I looked back at him. He cut his finger again, this time, it healed faster than usual. Not like a werewolf, but something not known to even vampires. Oliver had done something to himself. I had to figure out what.
For the first time, I was upset that class was over. Oliver was hiding something, this I couldn’t deny. I had to notify my father right away.
I rushed out of class. Since I couldn’t run as fast as I wanted, Damian caught up with me.
“Okay, now I KNOW something is wrong with you. What is it?”
“Damian, not now. I have to call my father. You will-“
“Understand later,” he completed my sentence. “I got it.” Damian’s deep blue eyes made me ache. They had the look of intense pain and sadness, rejection.
I placed my hand on his shoulder and kissed him.
“I mean it. And you know I mean it. This is really important. I’m gunna come up with an excuse and leave for the rest of the day. And while I’m gone, can you promise me one thing?”
“Anything.”
“Stay-away-from-Oliver.” I annunciated every syllable. He had to understand. I looked deep into his eyes.
“What? Why?”
“He isn’t normal Damian. Well, I’m not either, but he is dangerous. Trust me. Just stay away from him. Can you promise me that?”
He nodded and I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank you. I will see you tomorrow.” I kissed his cheek swiftly and ran out.
When I ran off, I heard him yell “But tomorrow is-“ and I didn’t hear the rest.
I said I was sick and needed to call my father. When I called Carlisle, I told him that I needed to come home, that it was an emergency. Luckily, he believed me, and they let me leave. Once I was outside vision range of the school, I ran like I had never run before. I was inside my house within a matter of minutes. Quickly, I explained the situation to my family. When I was finished, they were all speechless.
Carlisle shook his head slowly.
“Ali, are you sure about this?” Jasper asked me.
“No Jazz, I’m joking. Yes I’m sure!” my voice was harsh and urgent. They HAD to understand.
“You actually SAW him heal?”
“YES! And the second time, he healed quicker than a werewolf. I think he did something to himself.”
“Like what?” Carlisle asked me.
“I’m not sure. But I’m going to find out.”
“And how exactly are you going to do that?” Why did Rosalie always have to be so smug all the time?!
“I don’t know! But Oliver trusts me. We are friends. At least, I thought we were…”
“Let me help you Ali. You just get him to think about it, and I’ll hear it.” Edward told me. That made sense, it would be a lot easier then getting the information myself.
“Good idea Edward. And Jazz, can you help us keep him calm? We don’t want him to overreact and freak out.”
Jasper nodded.
“Okay, Now when should we do this little, confrontation?”
“How bout tomorrow? You don’t have school.”
I sighed.
“Dang it. I forgot. Okay.” That was what Damian was trying to tell me, that there was no school tomorrow.
“I’ll find him,” said Edward. Then he ran off.
“Okay. Well, what should we do till then?” I looked around at them all.
“Just try and figure out what you are going to say to him to get him to think about whatever he has done.” Carlisle told me.
I nodded. I had no idea how I was going to do that. But I had to try. Oliver was hiding something, and I had to figure out what and why.
A few hours later, I was hanging out in Alice’s room, playing with her touch screen computer. Edward ran in and sat by me.
“I found him.” He whispered to me. “But I also saw something that you aren’t going to like. We don’t have to interrogate him anymore, I found out what he has been doing. I think you have to see it for yourself.”
My gaze shot to him.
“Take me to him.”
It was very hard to follow Edward when I was so much faster than him. But eventually, we got to a place very near Edward and Bella’s meadow. A large clearing appeared before me. This clearing reminded me of the clearing we used to play baseball. But it was different. It had grass that was taller than Edward. We walked into the grass so we wouldn’t attract attention. I had never smelled a werewolf scent so strong. Either many werewolves had been there just once, or only a few werewolves had been there many times. It pained me to walk among this scent it smelled so bad. But I dealt with it. For somewhere in the grass, there lay a new werewolf that was very dangerous. And I was sure, that no matter what I endured, Oliver would be there.
Suddenly, there was a break in the grass. And lying before me, just like I expected, was Oliver. But what I hadn’t expected was to see an IV sticking out of his arm. It led to, as I knew it, a solar powered machine that was pumping some kind of clear liquid into him.
“Edward, what is that? What is he doing?”
“I’m not sure. I figured that you should be here when I figured it out.”
“Well, thank you. But what is it?” I watched the liquid feed itself into Oliver.
Edward closed his eyes then they shot open abruptly.
“It is adrenaline.”
“Adrenaline?”
He nodded slowly.
“Ali, that is why he healed as quickly as you said. He is enhancing his werewolf powers. He will heal quicker, change quicker, be faster, hear better, everything. The adrenaline will enhance his entire system. I don’t know why he is doing it, but that is what he is doing.”
My breath caught. Oliver would now be the most powerful werewolf there is. My question was, “Why?” Why would Oliver do this? What need did he have?
Just then, Oliver stood and pulled the IV out of his arm. The wound healed so quickly I barely saw it. My eyes widened. I couldn’t restrain myself any longer.
“Edward, we are doing this now.”
Before he could protest, or even blink, I jumped out in front of Oliver. He jumped back, but didn’t seem in as much shock as I would have liked. A wide smirk appeared across his face.
“So,” his voice seemed very smug. “You finally found me. Took you long enough. Pretty slow for a vampire don’t you think?”
I took a sharp intake of breath.
“Oh yes Ali, I know what you are. I have known for quite some time now. So I suspect you know what I am?”
I nodded.
“Yes Oliver, I know that you are a werewolf. I also know that you have been pumping yourself with adrenaline to enhance your werewolf abilities.”
He clapped slowly.
“Good job. Your ‘brother’ tell you that?” he inclined his head behind me. I smelled Edward behind me. He had come out of the grass.
“Anything else you know? Because to find out what I’m ‘up to’,” he put air quotes around ‘up to.’ “There is a lot more you need to know.”
The smell of werewolf became even stronger. Someone else was joining us.
“You aren’t alone in this. Who is it?”
He shook his head in disappointment.
“You don’t know?” he laughed. “I’m surprised of you Ali. I would have thought that do to all of the weird occurrences over the last few days, you would know by now.” His eyes widened.
Then something suddenly made sense to me.
“Achilles,” I said.
He smiled and nodded.
“He is my brother.”
Achilles suddenly appeared behind Oliver, he had on the same smug look that Oliver did. When I had met him, I knew I recognized him.
“There is a reason he is named Achilles. Our mother was a psychic, much like your aunt, Alice.”
I gasped.
“Yes, I know that too. I know that you were born in 1925. I know that Alice Cullen is actually your blood aunt. Now, to get back to my story. Our mother was a psychic, and she had a vision about my brother and I right after he was born. She knew that one day we would be doing this. So she named him Achilles, it means pain. When I was born, she tried to deny our destiny and named me after a hero in a book. But there was no denying what we would do.”
The look in my so-called friend’s eyes took me back to the day I was changed. It reminded me of the vampire that changed me. I never did learn his name…
“You know Ali,” Oliver’s voice brought me back to the present, “I don’t think you will want to stay here very much longer.”
“Why not? You can’t take both of us down.”
Using my power, I threw aside the machine that pumped adrenaline.
“Besides that, Edward will know your every move.”
He looked at the machine.
“That’s okay. I don’t need that anymore. My blood is now purely adrenaline, as is Achilles’.” He smiled and looked back at me. “No, that isn’t why. You see, I have recently discovered that the adrenaline also enhances my ability to communicate with wolves. I can now communicate with normal wolves too, I can tell them what to do.”
“So what? You’re more of a threat to me then they are.”
“I know that. But they are a huge threat to a human. Especially a human like…Damian.” He spit Damian’s name threw his teeth and smirked at me.
“What did you do to him?!”
I could feel power coursing through my veins. My venom stirred in my mouth.
“Well let’s just say that it is dangerous to have a human around that is so close to a vampire. Especially a vampire that could bring you down.”
Edward put his hand on my shoulder.
“Ali you have to go now.”
“WHAT DID HE DO TO DAMIAN?!”
“He sent a wolf after him Ali. Hurry. He is north. I will run back to the house and tell everyone the situation.”
And then I was running. I was just focused on Damian, I through trees out of the way with my mind. When suddenly, I heard an ear-piercing scream that made me cringe. It was a guy. “Help!” I knew that voice anywhere. Damian, I thought. Then I was running faster. I couldn’t even control myself; all I knew was that I had to get to Damian. My Damian. I was at Damian in a matter of seconds. My jaw dropped. His leg was trapped under a fallen tree and a wolf was attacking him. Edward was right. I ran to him and kicked the wolf off of him, crushing its skull. Picking up the body with my mind, I through it in the river and didn’t wait to see it wash away.
“Ali…” Damian said weakly.
I sat beside him and put his head in my lap. “Damian it’s going to be fine. You will be alright.”
He shook his head. “I love you Ali. Remember that please.”
“Damian, there is something I have to tell you. I’m a…a…” I struggled with the word. “Vampire.”
His eyes opened wide and he shook his head again. “A vampire?”
I nodded. “Damian...I am an immortal vampire. I will never age or die. I don’t sleep. My skin is cold and hard, and I don’t eat human food.”
“That explains a lot.”
“I can make you like me. I can make you live forever, with me.”
He smiled. “That’s what I want. Make me like you. I want to be with you, forever.”
“Damian, are you sure? Once you are changed, there is no going back. For a long time all that will matter is blood. You might not love me the way you do now. The hunger will be what matters most.”
His smile didn’t change. “I highly doubt that. I have always had good self-control. Do it.”
“What about your parents?”
“I never told you this, but I’m an orphan. I live alone. This is my choice; I want to be with you, as a vampire, forever.”
“I’m going to take you to Carlisle.”
“Dr. Cullen? He is a vampire?”
“All of the Cullens are Damian, and the Hale’s.”
“Wow. I never knew.”
I smiled. “Good. Then our disguise is working.” I stood and threw the tree off of him without touching it. His face was very amused.
“Come on my love,” Effortlessly, I picked him up, careful not to hurt his leg even worse. Without a second thought, I started to run. I had to get him to Carlisle; I couldn’t have changed him myself. I knew I wouldn’t have been able to stop.
Edward prepared for me and had the back door was open when I got home.
“Carlisle!” I yelled. “Carlisle!” In a matter of seconds he was in front of me, his eyes on Damian.
“What happened?” He asked.
“It was Oliver. He was pumping himself with adrenaline. He learned how to communicate with and control normal wolves. He made a wolf do this. I was right.”
Carlisle’s eyes shot to my face. “Well maybe if I got him to the hospital in time.”
I shook my head. “Carlisle, he is dying,” I hesitated. “I-I want him.”
My father’s eyes widened. “Ali, no. I can’t change another. Our family is too big. You said we didn’t have to change him.”
My eyes became pleading. “Carlisle, I love him. I need him. I want him. I can’t let him die. And we don’t have to pretend like he is my brother or something. When we graduate, we will get married. Please Carlisle, I can’t let him die. Please.” I knew I would have been crying if possible.
He sighed. “Ali…”
“Don’t ‘Ali’ me! Come on Carlisle! You changed Esme for you; Emmett for Rosalie; Bella for Edward.”
“Edward changed Bella, Ali.”
“But you let it happen. Why can’t you do this for me?” Damian shifted in my arms. I had to convince Carlisle, Damian was slowly dying. “Carlisle, I talked to him about this a little bit ago. HE said he wanted it. I told him about me being a vampire, and that he could be one too, he told me to change him. I even warned him that once it is done, it can’t be undone, and about the thirst. He doesn’t care. He wants this. And he is dying. Please father,” Carlisle’s face softened, I hadn’t called him father before. “Don’t let my love die.”
Softly, Carlisle took Damian from my arms and laid him on the couch. With a second of hesitation, he bit hard into Damian’s neck. I cringed but didn’t look away. The scream that pierced the air made me want to kill myself. My Damian was in pain, a pain I know and have experienced; and I couldn’t stop it.
Carlisle made it look all too easy to pull his mouth of off Damian. Looking back up at me, he wiped his mouth sadly. As he stood up, I pulled him into an intense hug.
“Thank you so much father. I can never thank you enough.”
He hugged me closer. “You are welcome my daughter. Now take him to my study and lay him down, he will experience the change there.”
Although it made me ache, I endured Damian’s screams and picked him up.
“I am so sorry my love. The pain will leave soon.” I looked back at my father. “May I stay with him?”
“Of course,” Carlisle turned from me.
“Father…I’m sorry. But I need him, and he needs me.”
He sighed. “I know how that feels Ali. I don’t blame you. Now go.”
I hesitated but turned and ran into Carlisle’s study. There, Damian experienced the change.
Chapter 7, Reborn:
The next 3 days were hell even for me. I couldn’t bear to think about how bad it was for Damian. I could tell he tried not to scream. But every once in a while, one would slip through. When that happened, it was like I was going through the change too. Damian’s screams made me wish I could kill myself. But still, I wouldn’t leave his side. I think that me being there made it easier for Damian, and I wanted to do everything I could to ensure he experienced as little pain as possible.
So now and then, I would kiss him, or tell him it would be over soon, or sing to him; anything to make him feel better. I would constantly stroke his hair. Seeing him like this pained me in a way I could never describe.
On the third day of the change, Damian started mumbling.
“Mallee…” was all I could hear. But then he started talking; it was coming to an end.
“My…Ali…” it wasn’t very audible, but I was pretty sure that’s what he said.
Suddenly, Damian’s eyes opened. His oceanic eyes that I had fallen in love with were gone; crimson red eyes, hungry eyes, had replaced them.
“Ali,” he looked at me.
“Damian? How do you feel?”
Just then, Edward came into the room, followed by Carlisle and Alice.
“I-I feel,” he looked around. I knew what he was feeling. The first day is very overwhelming. “Powerful.” He finished.
I smiled.
“Are you thirsty?” Alice asked.
He raised one of his eyebrows.
“Thirsty?” he shook his head slowly. “Not really.”
I looked at Carlisle.
“Maybe he has what Bella does. He can control himself a lot better then any of us.”
“I told you,” I looked back to my vampire love when he spoke. “I have great self control.”
I smiled at him, and then kissed him.
“I’m so glad Damian. I was worried about how you were going to go to school. We will take next week off okay? Get your thirst under control, if you have any.”
He laughed, he was so light-hearted still.
Then he stood up fast as lightning. I laughed at his bewildered face.
“You will get used to it.”
Carlisle, Edward, and Alice left us in peace. Damian brought me into a tight hug, I was glad that it wouldn’t hurt me because I had his same strength. Then he placed his hands on the sides of my face and kissed me. When he pulled back, he looked me in the eyes.
“You don’t feel like you did before. You’re the same as me.”
I nodded.
“Is that okay?” I asked him.
Then he nodded and smiled.
“So is it official? Am I a vampire?”
“Yes. You are now a vampire.”
He hugged me again.
“I have never been happier.”
“I’m so glad.”
I pulled back and looked into his thirsty eyes.
“Let’s hunt okay? We need to get your eyes normal.”
“My eyes?”
I gestured to the mirror at my right. When he looked in it, he gasped.
“They won’t be like that for long. I promise. They will look like mine.”
Damian looked back at me.
“Butterscotch?”
“Yes. Except when you are thirsty. Then they will be black. And the ‘bruises’ under your eyes will become darker.”
“Wow. I have a lot to learn.”
I laughed.
“Yes, you do. I will explain everything to you after we hunt. Sound good?”
I could see the joy and wonder in Damian’s crimson eyes as I jumped out the window and he followed me. He was laughing the whole way. He doubted that he could clear the river like I could, but he did fine. It seemed to me that Damian was destined to be a vampire all along.
All of a sudden, Damian stopped. I ran back to him. His eyes were wide and he was breathing very heavy.
“What is it Damian?”
Then I smelled it. There was a heard of deer and elk to the west. Near where I had found Damian 3 days ago.
“Damian? Are you okay?”
“I feel it Ali.” His voice was a growl. “The hunger. There is a fire in my throat and an urge in my head.”
“Damian, tell me,” I tried to stay calm, “What do you smell?”
He looked at me.
“Deer, elk, to the west.”
I smiled at him.
“Good. Follow the scent love, follow your instincts.”
He looked at me, his eyes were still hungry.
“So you want me to go with the flow?”
“No. I hate the flow. Go against the flow. I do.”
I laughed.
“So you want me to be like Salmon?”
“Salmon?”
“Yes, the Salmon go against the current. Not like everybody else, the Tuna, they go with the current.”
We both laughed.
Just then, he ran. It was fairly easy to catch up.
“Damian, remember, NO-PEOPLE.”
The look in his eye was beginning to scare me. But he seemed to be under control. Right before where the heard stood, he jumped gracefully into a tree, and I followed him.
“Take it easy okay? Start with the deer. I will take care of the Elk.”
He nodded, and then pounced. He did pretty well for his first time, managing to take out half of the deer while the others ran. I couldn’t help but laugh at him. There was blood all over the front of his shirt and his mouth. But I remained perfectly clean.
He examined himself and also laughed.
“Not bad for your first time.”
Laughing, he licked the blood from his lips and removed his shirt. I gasped. He was perfect. The lines of his chest were like a perfect marble statue. I had seen vampire men without shirts before but Damian was something else. He also gasped when he looked at himself.
“That’s one of the effects of the venom.”
“Wow,” His eyes widened. “I had always wondered why all of you guys are so perfect.”
I noticed his eyes were getting better. But they wouldn’t be butterscotch for a long time. But the ‘bruises’ under his eyes were almost gone. I figured we could go home.
“Want to go home now? You don’t need anymore.”
“In a minute. I remember, before you ran me back to the house, you threw the tree off of me without touching it. How did you do that?”
“It’s my power. I can move things with my mind. Like this.” I picked up a fallen tree with my mind then threw it back down. “Some of us have powers. Like Edward for example, he can read minds. Alice can see the future.”
“Any more?”
“Want to hear the whole list?”
He nodded and sat on the ground, motioning for me to sit in his lap. I obliged.
“Well, Jasper can control emotions. Renesmee can put images in your mind if she touches you. Bella is a shield. Nothing mental affects her, and she can project her shield out to protect other people. Um,” Carlisle had told me about most of the vampires with powers once. I had to remember them. “Well in the Denali coven, Kate can zap people with a touch. There are a lot of different ones. The only other ones I know are, Benjamin can control the four elements. Zafrina can block out what you are seeing and make you see what she wants you too. Jane can make you think you are in intense pain. Alec can block out your senses. There are many others, but I have not learned them yet.”
“Do you think I have one?”
I shrugged.
“The only way we can tell is, I was told of Eleazar, he is the leader of the Denali coven. He can tell if someone has a power.”
“And that is HIS power? To see if someone else has a power?”
I nodded.
“Cool. You see, I feel like I have one. I just don’t know what.”
“Do you think it is physical, like mine, or mental, like Edward’s?”
“Both.”
I furrowed my brow.
“What do you mean?”
“I feel like I have more than one power, you know?”
“Huh, weird. Well let’s go home. Maybe Carlisle can figure it out.”
Carlisle had no idea what Damian’s power could be, if he had any. So we gave up. We figured that if Damian had a power, it would show itself eventually.
I showed Damian around the house and introduced him to my family. When that was said and done, we went to my room and sat on my couch so I could explain to him all about being a vampire.
I told him everything, even my story. I told him that Alice was really my blood aunt, that I was born in 1925, that I killed the man that changed me, everything. I told him about being a vampire. That we don’t sleep, don’t eat human food, sparkle in the sunlight, everything about that too. It all seemed to fascinate him. It surprised me that he accepted all of this like it was nothing. I had done it; I had found my perfect man. He didn’t mind being a vampire. He thought it was cool. I recall him saying “You read about vampires, see movies about them, but you never think they are real and live among us. And now I am one.” And he said it with a smile.
When I finished telling him everything he needed to know, he simply kissed me and said, “Now begins the rest of our endless lives.”
I smiled at him.
“I love how chill you are about this.”
“Well, it seems like I wouldn’t get to be with you if I wasn’t like this, and that’s what I have wanted since I first met you. And its pretty cool, being a mythical creature.”
We both laughed.
“Now that I know everything, what do you want to do?”
I looked out the window; it was about midday on Friday. We had talked for A LONG time.
“You should arm-wrestle Emmett.”
I looked back at him; his face was bewildered.
“Why?”
“Because Emmett is the strongest of all us, besides me.” I laughed. “I want to see the look on his face when you beat him too.”
Damian chuckled.
“Okay.”
Right then, I thanked god that the change didn’t change his Irish accent.
“Emmett!” I flung open my door as he came running in.
“What?”
“I was thinking. Would you like to arm wrestle Damian?” I smirked.
My teddy bear of a brother smiled at me.
“Sure. Let’s go outside.”
“This will be interesting,” I whispered to Damian as we jumped out the window.
I called the rest of the family and they met us outside. We found a suitable rock to do it on and Emmett and Damian set up.
“Okay boys. I want a clean fight,” Edward laughed as he put a hand on each of their shoulders.
“What did you say?” Damian was looking pointedly at Emmett, but he hadn’t spoken.
“I didn’t say anything,” Emmett was as confused as I.
“I heard something, in Emmett’s voice, but his lips didn’t move.”
“Damian,” I moved to his side, “did you just read Emmett’s thoughts?”
“I-I think so…”
Edward gasped and took his hand off of Damian and Emmett’s shoulders.
“I guess we know his power,” Carlisle said.
“Do it again,” Alice urged.
Damian looked around at all of us.
“I’m getting nothing.”
My brow furrowed, then I realized something.
“Edward, put your hand back on his shoulder.”
Edward obliged.
“Now I can hear all your thoughts again,” Damian told us.
“I think he can copy someone’s power if he is touching them! Let me try something.”
I replaced Edward’s hand with my own.
“Damian, try and move something without touching it.”
He looked around and focused on a tree across the river, effortlessly, he lifted it with his thoughts. I gasped and removed my hand. The tree fell as I did.
“That is so cool!” Damian exclaimed. “Jasper, come here!”
Jasper ran over swiftly and put his hand where mine just was.
“Okay Damian. Now, just focus on someone, and think about how you would like them to feel.”
A few feet away from me, I noticed Alice relax; it was working.
“Oh my gosh! That is awesome!”
Damian laughed his angelic laugh. Once Jazz removed his hand, Alice went back to normal.
Sweet, I thought.
The four of us departed at once. We didn’t bother with a car, we just ran. It took no time at all, well, for me. I was there first. Seth was waiting outside for us. As soon as I got there I swept him into a hug. Seth and I had only met twice before, when he I had to meet all the werewolves, and then when he showed me one of the boys who was becoming a werewolf. (They wanted me to know the signs) But we just clicked. He was the only werewolf I felt I could trust.
He laughed.
“Hello Ali!”
“Hey Seth!” I pulled back from the hug. “Good to see you again.”
“You too, here come the others.”
The rest of my family arrived then. They all hugged Seth and said “hi” in turn.
“Come on guys. Let’s go inside. Sorry for the stink.”
We all laughed as we walked in to Seth’s home. His home was beautiful. It was very welcoming and had a smell of warm bread. I had a feeling that his mom was baking something.
I saw his sister Leah sitting on the couch. She ran to greet us. After the almost fight with the Volturi, Leah began to like the Cullens and Hales. She was now pretty close to them, and was already close to me. I had met Leah the same time I met Seth. I liked her too. Leah was very nice to me, which surprised me.
When Leah hugged me, I smiled.
“It’s nice to see you Leah.”
“You too Ali. You need to come visit more often.”
“I do. I will.”
Once Leah was done hugging us, she sat back on the couch and beckoned me to sit by her. I sat by Leah on the couch, Alice sat by me, Carlisle sat in the armchair and Edward sat in the loveseat.
“So,” Seth clapped his hands together. “To what do we owe this great honor?”
“Well, Alice had a vision of just a blank white space,” Carlisle explained. “This means that she was having a vision of a werewolf doing something that involved us.”
Seth’s face was contemplating.
“So we just came to ask if anything weird was going on with the wolves. Something we should know about.”
“The only thing I can think of is that we got a new wolf the other day. He transformed a little later than normal,” Seth informed us.
“He is about 22. That barely ever happens with wolves,” Leah continued.
“Hmmm,” Carlisle had his chin in his hands with his elbows resting on his knees. He was thinking. “That is unusual, but I don’t see how that would affect us. This is something we will need 2 think about.”
“Can we meet him?” Edward asked.
“Sure, let me get him,” Seth got up and ran outside. He returned a few minutes later with a tall man with jet-black hair much like Damian’s. His eyes reminded me of someone, but whom, I did not know.
“Cullens, and Hale,”
I laughed.
“This is Achilles.”
Carlisle got up and shook Achilles’ hand.
“You have a very interesting name.”
“Thank you. Its Greek.”
“My name is Carlisle. This is my son Edward, and my daughters Alice and Ali.”
As I shook this new werewolves hand, something arose inside of me. I couldn’t out my finger on it. But it was not a good feeling.
Alice reached out for his hand, when she touched his skin, she fell to the ground.
“Alice!” I kneeled down beside my sister. Her eyes were open wide, as if she had been having a vision, but this was no ordinary vision.
“Alice!” Carlisle pushed me out of the way and kneeled in my spot. “Alice? Alice can you hear me? ALICE!”
Suddenly, she blinked and sat up.
“Alice what happened?” Carlisle asked.
She scanned Achilles with her eyes. A look of terror was on his face. But somehow, I could detect a look of triumph on his face.
“I don’t know,” she whispered.
We left the house that minute. Seth and Leah apologized over and over. Edward had to constantly tell them that it wasn’t their fault. We hugged them and said our goodbyes and made our way back to the mansion.
When we got back, we explained what happened to the rest of the family. None of us had any idea what happened to Alice. It scared us all deeply in a way I could never describe.
I spent the first half of the night listening to music and thinking about why what happened to Alice had happened. I came up with nothing. The werewolves have nothing against us, at least i thought they didn’t…
Tink!
There was a small noise from the window.
Tink!
I ran to my window and looked outside. It was dark, around 9:30 I suspected.
Tink!
I flung my window open. And there, standing in my backyard, was Damian.
I heard my door swing open and Edward ran in.
“So,” he said, “you saw him.”
I nodded.
“Why didn’t you tell me before? Or why didn’t someone else for that matter?”
“We tried, but you had locked your door and your music was up too loud. We had to break the door, sorry. I’ll fix it. Ali, you have to tell him to leave.”
“I know I do. I’ll go right now.”
Edward nodded and left.
Changing quickly into pajamas that were never slept in, I leaned out the window.
“I’ll be right down!”
He smiled triumphantly.
This pained me inside; I couldn’t let him love me. I had to move slowly, for I couldn’t let him see me run.
Once outside, he ran to me.
“Damian!” I scolded. “What are you doing here?!”
His face didn’t change at all, even with my harshness.
“I had to see you!”
“Damian! I saw you yesterday!” Was it really that short a time ago? Felt like ages…
“I know. I’m sorry.”
I sighed.
“And seriously, throwing pebbles?”
He shrugged.
“Thought it would be romantic.”
“You just thought of that cause we are reading Romeo and Juliet in English.”
I laughed. His face softened at the sound.
“Listen, you have to go. Right now, you won’t understand why, but you will, I promise.”
The sad look on his face made me ache as he nodded.
“You’re right, I shouldn’t have come.”
“I’m sorry. But you will understand one day.”
I pulled him in close and lightly pressed my lips to his. He tried to keep me there, but I was stronger.
“Now, I’ll see you MONDAY.”
He laughed, and seemed a little bit flustered, then ran around to the front of the house. As I heard his car drive away, I ran back inside.
Chapter 6, Oliver:
Monday came in a flash. It was a bittersweet feeling that morning, I was glad to see Damian, but I knew that I was getting in too deep. I knew, every time I would see him I would feel guilty, because I would just end up hurting him.
And that wasn’t the only thing plaguing my mind. Alice’s incident also filled my thoughts. Plus, I still couldn’t figure out what was so familiar about Oliver. Ideas bounced around in my head but nothing stuck. They all seemed stupid. I couldn’t remember ever meeting him.
Snap!
Damian snapped in front of my face and I refocused. Back to reality, it was lunchtime. I could think about how I knew Oliver when I got home. It was then I realized that Oliver was absent from the lunch table.
“Are you ok?” He asked me. “You seem a little off today. Not like yourself.”
“I’m fine.”
“Maybe you should eat,” he pushed a plate of pizza towards me.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’m good thank you.”
“You know, I don’t think I have ever seen you eat since I met you. You never eat lunch, you didn’t eat popcorn at the movies, what’s up?”
“Nothing.” I looked around awkwardly and saw on the clock that the bell was about to ring. Thank goodness, I thought. I was up before the bell rang and was heading to my next class. I shouted, “See you next period!” at Damian as I left. Kami ran to my side.
“He is right. You don’t seem like you.”
“Like I told Damian,” his name burned in my throat, “I’m fine.”
“No you’re not.” She stepped before me and I stopped just before I ran into her. “What is bothering you?”
She knew me all too well.
“You wouldn’t understand. The only people who would are my sister and brother. It’s a Cullen and Hale thing.”
“Ali, you can tell me anything.”
“Not this. It would end up hurting you too. And I can’t let that happen.”
“Hurting me too?”
I sighed. Oh no. I slipped up.
“Yes, now can we get to class?”
She sighed and we headed off to class, not saying a word. If Kami knew about me, she would probably end up getting killed. I couldn’t let that happen to her.
Finally, next period came, where I could sit next to Damian. I hoped that Kami would just forget about what happened.
Just before I went into French class, the smell of werewolf hit me hard in the face. But I couldn’t find where it was coming from, because just then, I heard Damian creeping up behind me, probably trying to scare me. Right before he could “scare me” I turned around and kissed him.
As I pulled back, he started laughing.
“I can never scare you!”
I laughed and walked into class with him in tow. We took our usual seats, right in front of Oliver and Cian. The smell of werewolf got stronger. Was there a werewolf in my class? Or was I just being paranoid? This I did not know.
Our teacher announced we would be watching a video today. Once it started, I looked back at Oliver through my hair. He was playing with a piece of paper. Suddenly, he dropped it and a blood droplet came out of his finger. My throat burned. I held my breath and prepared for the hunger. But it didn’t come. His cut was healing fast, as fast as a werewolf. My eyes widened. Oliver?! I thought. That was where I recognized him from. I noticed the signs of the change. When I had first met him, he was turning into a werewolf. Now, the change was complete. My gaze shot back to the front of the class, I hoped he hadn’t noticed me.
My thoughts drifted back to the day I met Oliver. I new there was something strange about him. But then, the change was just starting. Then I remembered, a few days ago I was looking at Oliver and noticed that his eyes were becoming fierce. And his smell was unusual, not his normal smell of pine. It had become repulsive to me. And his skin, it seemed to have been becoming darker, stronger. Now I knew why. Oliver was a werewolf. I pondered why the Cullens had not been notified. Normally, they knew of all new werewolves. Not this one. What had Oliver done? I looked back at him. He cut his finger again, this time, it healed faster than usual. Not like a werewolf, but something not known to even vampires. Oliver had done something to himself. I had to figure out what.
For the first time, I was upset that class was over. Oliver was hiding something, this I couldn’t deny. I had to notify my father right away.
I rushed out of class. Since I couldn’t run as fast as I wanted, Damian caught up with me.
“Okay, now I KNOW something is wrong with you. What is it?”
“Damian, not now. I have to call my father. You will-“
“Understand later,” he completed my sentence. “I got it.” Damian’s deep blue eyes made me ache. They had the look of intense pain and sadness, rejection.
I placed my hand on his shoulder and kissed him.
“I mean it. And you know I mean it. This is really important. I’m gunna come up with an excuse and leave for the rest of the day. And while I’m gone, can you promise me one thing?”
“Anything.”
“Stay-away-from-Oliver.” I annunciated every syllable. He had to understand. I looked deep into his eyes.
“What? Why?”
“He isn’t normal Damian. Well, I’m not either, but he is dangerous. Trust me. Just stay away from him. Can you promise me that?”
He nodded and I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank you. I will see you tomorrow.” I kissed his cheek swiftly and ran out.
When I ran off, I heard him yell “But tomorrow is-“ and I didn’t hear the rest.
I said I was sick and needed to call my father. When I called Carlisle, I told him that I needed to come home, that it was an emergency. Luckily, he believed me, and they let me leave. Once I was outside vision range of the school, I ran like I had never run before. I was inside my house within a matter of minutes. Quickly, I explained the situation to my family. When I was finished, they were all speechless.
Carlisle shook his head slowly.
“Ali, are you sure about this?” Jasper asked me.
“No Jazz, I’m joking. Yes I’m sure!” my voice was harsh and urgent. They HAD to understand.
“You actually SAW him heal?”
“YES! And the second time, he healed quicker than a werewolf. I think he did something to himself.”
“Like what?” Carlisle asked me.
“I’m not sure. But I’m going to find out.”
“And how exactly are you going to do that?” Why did Rosalie always have to be so smug all the time?!
“I don’t know! But Oliver trusts me. We are friends. At least, I thought we were…”
“Let me help you Ali. You just get him to think about it, and I’ll hear it.” Edward told me. That made sense, it would be a lot easier then getting the information myself.
“Good idea Edward. And Jazz, can you help us keep him calm? We don’t want him to overreact and freak out.”
Jasper nodded.
“Okay, Now when should we do this little, confrontation?”
“How bout tomorrow? You don’t have school.”
I sighed.
“Dang it. I forgot. Okay.” That was what Damian was trying to tell me, that there was no school tomorrow.
“I’ll find him,” said Edward. Then he ran off.
“Okay. Well, what should we do till then?” I looked around at them all.
“Just try and figure out what you are going to say to him to get him to think about whatever he has done.” Carlisle told me.
I nodded. I had no idea how I was going to do that. But I had to try. Oliver was hiding something, and I had to figure out what and why.
A few hours later, I was hanging out in Alice’s room, playing with her touch screen computer. Edward ran in and sat by me.
“I found him.” He whispered to me. “But I also saw something that you aren’t going to like. We don’t have to interrogate him anymore, I found out what he has been doing. I think you have to see it for yourself.”
My gaze shot to him.
“Take me to him.”
It was very hard to follow Edward when I was so much faster than him. But eventually, we got to a place very near Edward and Bella’s meadow. A large clearing appeared before me. This clearing reminded me of the clearing we used to play baseball. But it was different. It had grass that was taller than Edward. We walked into the grass so we wouldn’t attract attention. I had never smelled a werewolf scent so strong. Either many werewolves had been there just once, or only a few werewolves had been there many times. It pained me to walk among this scent it smelled so bad. But I dealt with it. For somewhere in the grass, there lay a new werewolf that was very dangerous. And I was sure, that no matter what I endured, Oliver would be there.
Suddenly, there was a break in the grass. And lying before me, just like I expected, was Oliver. But what I hadn’t expected was to see an IV sticking out of his arm. It led to, as I knew it, a solar powered machine that was pumping some kind of clear liquid into him.
“Edward, what is that? What is he doing?”
“I’m not sure. I figured that you should be here when I figured it out.”
“Well, thank you. But what is it?” I watched the liquid feed itself into Oliver.
Edward closed his eyes then they shot open abruptly.
“It is adrenaline.”
“Adrenaline?”
He nodded slowly.
“Ali, that is why he healed as quickly as you said. He is enhancing his werewolf powers. He will heal quicker, change quicker, be faster, hear better, everything. The adrenaline will enhance his entire system. I don’t know why he is doing it, but that is what he is doing.”
My breath caught. Oliver would now be the most powerful werewolf there is. My question was, “Why?” Why would Oliver do this? What need did he have?
Just then, Oliver stood and pulled the IV out of his arm. The wound healed so quickly I barely saw it. My eyes widened. I couldn’t restrain myself any longer.
“Edward, we are doing this now.”
Before he could protest, or even blink, I jumped out in front of Oliver. He jumped back, but didn’t seem in as much shock as I would have liked. A wide smirk appeared across his face.
“So,” his voice seemed very smug. “You finally found me. Took you long enough. Pretty slow for a vampire don’t you think?”
I took a sharp intake of breath.
“Oh yes Ali, I know what you are. I have known for quite some time now. So I suspect you know what I am?”
I nodded.
“Yes Oliver, I know that you are a werewolf. I also know that you have been pumping yourself with adrenaline to enhance your werewolf abilities.”
He clapped slowly.
“Good job. Your ‘brother’ tell you that?” he inclined his head behind me. I smelled Edward behind me. He had come out of the grass.
“Anything else you know? Because to find out what I’m ‘up to’,” he put air quotes around ‘up to.’ “There is a lot more you need to know.”
The smell of werewolf became even stronger. Someone else was joining us.
“You aren’t alone in this. Who is it?”
He shook his head in disappointment.
“You don’t know?” he laughed. “I’m surprised of you Ali. I would have thought that do to all of the weird occurrences over the last few days, you would know by now.” His eyes widened.
Then something suddenly made sense to me.
“Achilles,” I said.
He smiled and nodded.
“He is my brother.”
Achilles suddenly appeared behind Oliver, he had on the same smug look that Oliver did. When I had met him, I knew I recognized him.
“There is a reason he is named Achilles. Our mother was a psychic, much like your aunt, Alice.”
I gasped.
“Yes, I know that too. I know that you were born in 1925. I know that Alice Cullen is actually your blood aunt. Now, to get back to my story. Our mother was a psychic, and she had a vision about my brother and I right after he was born. She knew that one day we would be doing this. So she named him Achilles, it means pain. When I was born, she tried to deny our destiny and named me after a hero in a book. But there was no denying what we would do.”
The look in my so-called friend’s eyes took me back to the day I was changed. It reminded me of the vampire that changed me. I never did learn his name…
“You know Ali,” Oliver’s voice brought me back to the present, “I don’t think you will want to stay here very much longer.”
“Why not? You can’t take both of us down.”
Using my power, I threw aside the machine that pumped adrenaline.
“Besides that, Edward will know your every move.”
He looked at the machine.
“That’s okay. I don’t need that anymore. My blood is now purely adrenaline, as is Achilles’.” He smiled and looked back at me. “No, that isn’t why. You see, I have recently discovered that the adrenaline also enhances my ability to communicate with wolves. I can now communicate with normal wolves too, I can tell them what to do.”
“So what? You’re more of a threat to me then they are.”
“I know that. But they are a huge threat to a human. Especially a human like…Damian.” He spit Damian’s name threw his teeth and smirked at me.
“What did you do to him?!”
I could feel power coursing through my veins. My venom stirred in my mouth.
“Well let’s just say that it is dangerous to have a human around that is so close to a vampire. Especially a vampire that could bring you down.”
Edward put his hand on my shoulder.
“Ali you have to go now.”
“WHAT DID HE DO TO DAMIAN?!”
“He sent a wolf after him Ali. Hurry. He is north. I will run back to the house and tell everyone the situation.”
And then I was running. I was just focused on Damian, I through trees out of the way with my mind. When suddenly, I heard an ear-piercing scream that made me cringe. It was a guy. “Help!” I knew that voice anywhere. Damian, I thought. Then I was running faster. I couldn’t even control myself; all I knew was that I had to get to Damian. My Damian. I was at Damian in a matter of seconds. My jaw dropped. His leg was trapped under a fallen tree and a wolf was attacking him. Edward was right. I ran to him and kicked the wolf off of him, crushing its skull. Picking up the body with my mind, I through it in the river and didn’t wait to see it wash away.
“Ali…” Damian said weakly.
I sat beside him and put his head in my lap. “Damian it’s going to be fine. You will be alright.”
He shook his head. “I love you Ali. Remember that please.”
“Damian, there is something I have to tell you. I’m a…a…” I struggled with the word. “Vampire.”
His eyes opened wide and he shook his head again. “A vampire?”
I nodded. “Damian...I am an immortal vampire. I will never age or die. I don’t sleep. My skin is cold and hard, and I don’t eat human food.”
“That explains a lot.”
“I can make you like me. I can make you live forever, with me.”
He smiled. “That’s what I want. Make me like you. I want to be with you, forever.”
“Damian, are you sure? Once you are changed, there is no going back. For a long time all that will matter is blood. You might not love me the way you do now. The hunger will be what matters most.”
His smile didn’t change. “I highly doubt that. I have always had good self-control. Do it.”
“What about your parents?”
“I never told you this, but I’m an orphan. I live alone. This is my choice; I want to be with you, as a vampire, forever.”
“I’m going to take you to Carlisle.”
“Dr. Cullen? He is a vampire?”
“All of the Cullens are Damian, and the Hale’s.”
“Wow. I never knew.”
I smiled. “Good. Then our disguise is working.” I stood and threw the tree off of him without touching it. His face was very amused.
“Come on my love,” Effortlessly, I picked him up, careful not to hurt his leg even worse. Without a second thought, I started to run. I had to get him to Carlisle; I couldn’t have changed him myself. I knew I wouldn’t have been able to stop.
Edward prepared for me and had the back door was open when I got home.
“Carlisle!” I yelled. “Carlisle!” In a matter of seconds he was in front of me, his eyes on Damian.
“What happened?” He asked.
“It was Oliver. He was pumping himself with adrenaline. He learned how to communicate with and control normal wolves. He made a wolf do this. I was right.”
Carlisle’s eyes shot to my face. “Well maybe if I got him to the hospital in time.”
I shook my head. “Carlisle, he is dying,” I hesitated. “I-I want him.”
My father’s eyes widened. “Ali, no. I can’t change another. Our family is too big. You said we didn’t have to change him.”
My eyes became pleading. “Carlisle, I love him. I need him. I want him. I can’t let him die. And we don’t have to pretend like he is my brother or something. When we graduate, we will get married. Please Carlisle, I can’t let him die. Please.” I knew I would have been crying if possible.
He sighed. “Ali…”
“Don’t ‘Ali’ me! Come on Carlisle! You changed Esme for you; Emmett for Rosalie; Bella for Edward.”
“Edward changed Bella, Ali.”
“But you let it happen. Why can’t you do this for me?” Damian shifted in my arms. I had to convince Carlisle, Damian was slowly dying. “Carlisle, I talked to him about this a little bit ago. HE said he wanted it. I told him about me being a vampire, and that he could be one too, he told me to change him. I even warned him that once it is done, it can’t be undone, and about the thirst. He doesn’t care. He wants this. And he is dying. Please father,” Carlisle’s face softened, I hadn’t called him father before. “Don’t let my love die.”
Softly, Carlisle took Damian from my arms and laid him on the couch. With a second of hesitation, he bit hard into Damian’s neck. I cringed but didn’t look away. The scream that pierced the air made me want to kill myself. My Damian was in pain, a pain I know and have experienced; and I couldn’t stop it.
Carlisle made it look all too easy to pull his mouth of off Damian. Looking back up at me, he wiped his mouth sadly. As he stood up, I pulled him into an intense hug.
“Thank you so much father. I can never thank you enough.”
He hugged me closer. “You are welcome my daughter. Now take him to my study and lay him down, he will experience the change there.”
Although it made me ache, I endured Damian’s screams and picked him up.
“I am so sorry my love. The pain will leave soon.” I looked back at my father. “May I stay with him?”
“Of course,” Carlisle turned from me.
“Father…I’m sorry. But I need him, and he needs me.”
He sighed. “I know how that feels Ali. I don’t blame you. Now go.”
I hesitated but turned and ran into Carlisle’s study. There, Damian experienced the change.
Chapter 7, Reborn:
The next 3 days were hell even for me. I couldn’t bear to think about how bad it was for Damian. I could tell he tried not to scream. But every once in a while, one would slip through. When that happened, it was like I was going through the change too. Damian’s screams made me wish I could kill myself. But still, I wouldn’t leave his side. I think that me being there made it easier for Damian, and I wanted to do everything I could to ensure he experienced as little pain as possible.
So now and then, I would kiss him, or tell him it would be over soon, or sing to him; anything to make him feel better. I would constantly stroke his hair. Seeing him like this pained me in a way I could never describe.
On the third day of the change, Damian started mumbling.
“Mallee…” was all I could hear. But then he started talking; it was coming to an end.
“My…Ali…” it wasn’t very audible, but I was pretty sure that’s what he said.
Suddenly, Damian’s eyes opened. His oceanic eyes that I had fallen in love with were gone; crimson red eyes, hungry eyes, had replaced them.
“Ali,” he looked at me.
“Damian? How do you feel?”
Just then, Edward came into the room, followed by Carlisle and Alice.
“I-I feel,” he looked around. I knew what he was feeling. The first day is very overwhelming. “Powerful.” He finished.
I smiled.
“Are you thirsty?” Alice asked.
He raised one of his eyebrows.
“Thirsty?” he shook his head slowly. “Not really.”
I looked at Carlisle.
“Maybe he has what Bella does. He can control himself a lot better then any of us.”
“I told you,” I looked back to my vampire love when he spoke. “I have great self control.”
I smiled at him, and then kissed him.
“I’m so glad Damian. I was worried about how you were going to go to school. We will take next week off okay? Get your thirst under control, if you have any.”
He laughed, he was so light-hearted still.
Then he stood up fast as lightning. I laughed at his bewildered face.
“You will get used to it.”
Carlisle, Edward, and Alice left us in peace. Damian brought me into a tight hug, I was glad that it wouldn’t hurt me because I had his same strength. Then he placed his hands on the sides of my face and kissed me. When he pulled back, he looked me in the eyes.
“You don’t feel like you did before. You’re the same as me.”
I nodded.
“Is that okay?” I asked him.
Then he nodded and smiled.
“So is it official? Am I a vampire?”
“Yes. You are now a vampire.”
He hugged me again.
“I have never been happier.”
“I’m so glad.”
I pulled back and looked into his thirsty eyes.
“Let’s hunt okay? We need to get your eyes normal.”
“My eyes?”
I gestured to the mirror at my right. When he looked in it, he gasped.
“They won’t be like that for long. I promise. They will look like mine.”
Damian looked back at me.
“Butterscotch?”
“Yes. Except when you are thirsty. Then they will be black. And the ‘bruises’ under your eyes will become darker.”
“Wow. I have a lot to learn.”
I laughed.
“Yes, you do. I will explain everything to you after we hunt. Sound good?”
I could see the joy and wonder in Damian’s crimson eyes as I jumped out the window and he followed me. He was laughing the whole way. He doubted that he could clear the river like I could, but he did fine. It seemed to me that Damian was destined to be a vampire all along.
All of a sudden, Damian stopped. I ran back to him. His eyes were wide and he was breathing very heavy.
“What is it Damian?”
Then I smelled it. There was a heard of deer and elk to the west. Near where I had found Damian 3 days ago.
“Damian? Are you okay?”
“I feel it Ali.” His voice was a growl. “The hunger. There is a fire in my throat and an urge in my head.”
“Damian, tell me,” I tried to stay calm, “What do you smell?”
He looked at me.
“Deer, elk, to the west.”
I smiled at him.
“Good. Follow the scent love, follow your instincts.”
He looked at me, his eyes were still hungry.
“So you want me to go with the flow?”
“No. I hate the flow. Go against the flow. I do.”
I laughed.
“So you want me to be like Salmon?”
“Salmon?”
“Yes, the Salmon go against the current. Not like everybody else, the Tuna, they go with the current.”
We both laughed.
Just then, he ran. It was fairly easy to catch up.
“Damian, remember, NO-PEOPLE.”
The look in his eye was beginning to scare me. But he seemed to be under control. Right before where the heard stood, he jumped gracefully into a tree, and I followed him.
“Take it easy okay? Start with the deer. I will take care of the Elk.”
He nodded, and then pounced. He did pretty well for his first time, managing to take out half of the deer while the others ran. I couldn’t help but laugh at him. There was blood all over the front of his shirt and his mouth. But I remained perfectly clean.
He examined himself and also laughed.
“Not bad for your first time.”
Laughing, he licked the blood from his lips and removed his shirt. I gasped. He was perfect. The lines of his chest were like a perfect marble statue. I had seen vampire men without shirts before but Damian was something else. He also gasped when he looked at himself.
“That’s one of the effects of the venom.”
“Wow,” His eyes widened. “I had always wondered why all of you guys are so perfect.”
I noticed his eyes were getting better. But they wouldn’t be butterscotch for a long time. But the ‘bruises’ under his eyes were almost gone. I figured we could go home.
“Want to go home now? You don’t need anymore.”
“In a minute. I remember, before you ran me back to the house, you threw the tree off of me without touching it. How did you do that?”
“It’s my power. I can move things with my mind. Like this.” I picked up a fallen tree with my mind then threw it back down. “Some of us have powers. Like Edward for example, he can read minds. Alice can see the future.”
“Any more?”
“Want to hear the whole list?”
He nodded and sat on the ground, motioning for me to sit in his lap. I obliged.
“Well, Jasper can control emotions. Renesmee can put images in your mind if she touches you. Bella is a shield. Nothing mental affects her, and she can project her shield out to protect other people. Um,” Carlisle had told me about most of the vampires with powers once. I had to remember them. “Well in the Denali coven, Kate can zap people with a touch. There are a lot of different ones. The only other ones I know are, Benjamin can control the four elements. Zafrina can block out what you are seeing and make you see what she wants you too. Jane can make you think you are in intense pain. Alec can block out your senses. There are many others, but I have not learned them yet.”
“Do you think I have one?”
I shrugged.
“The only way we can tell is, I was told of Eleazar, he is the leader of the Denali coven. He can tell if someone has a power.”
“And that is HIS power? To see if someone else has a power?”
I nodded.
“Cool. You see, I feel like I have one. I just don’t know what.”
“Do you think it is physical, like mine, or mental, like Edward’s?”
“Both.”
I furrowed my brow.
“What do you mean?”
“I feel like I have more than one power, you know?”
“Huh, weird. Well let’s go home. Maybe Carlisle can figure it out.”
Carlisle had no idea what Damian’s power could be, if he had any. So we gave up. We figured that if Damian had a power, it would show itself eventually.
I showed Damian around the house and introduced him to my family. When that was said and done, we went to my room and sat on my couch so I could explain to him all about being a vampire.
I told him everything, even my story. I told him that Alice was really my blood aunt, that I was born in 1925, that I killed the man that changed me, everything. I told him about being a vampire. That we don’t sleep, don’t eat human food, sparkle in the sunlight, everything about that too. It all seemed to fascinate him. It surprised me that he accepted all of this like it was nothing. I had done it; I had found my perfect man. He didn’t mind being a vampire. He thought it was cool. I recall him saying “You read about vampires, see movies about them, but you never think they are real and live among us. And now I am one.” And he said it with a smile.
When I finished telling him everything he needed to know, he simply kissed me and said, “Now begins the rest of our endless lives.”
I smiled at him.
“I love how chill you are about this.”
“Well, it seems like I wouldn’t get to be with you if I wasn’t like this, and that’s what I have wanted since I first met you. And its pretty cool, being a mythical creature.”
We both laughed.
“Now that I know everything, what do you want to do?”
I looked out the window; it was about midday on Friday. We had talked for A LONG time.
“You should arm-wrestle Emmett.”
I looked back at him; his face was bewildered.
“Why?”
“Because Emmett is the strongest of all us, besides me.” I laughed. “I want to see the look on his face when you beat him too.”
Damian chuckled.
“Okay.”
Right then, I thanked god that the change didn’t change his Irish accent.
“Emmett!” I flung open my door as he came running in.
“What?”
“I was thinking. Would you like to arm wrestle Damian?” I smirked.
My teddy bear of a brother smiled at me.
“Sure. Let’s go outside.”
“This will be interesting,” I whispered to Damian as we jumped out the window.
I called the rest of the family and they met us outside. We found a suitable rock to do it on and Emmett and Damian set up.
“Okay boys. I want a clean fight,” Edward laughed as he put a hand on each of their shoulders.
“What did you say?” Damian was looking pointedly at Emmett, but he hadn’t spoken.
“I didn’t say anything,” Emmett was as confused as I.
“I heard something, in Emmett’s voice, but his lips didn’t move.”
“Damian,” I moved to his side, “did you just read Emmett’s thoughts?”
“I-I think so…”
Edward gasped and took his hand off of Damian and Emmett’s shoulders.
“I guess we know his power,” Carlisle said.
“Do it again,” Alice urged.
Damian looked around at all of us.
“I’m getting nothing.”
My brow furrowed, then I realized something.
“Edward, put your hand back on his shoulder.”
Edward obliged.
“Now I can hear all your thoughts again,” Damian told us.
“I think he can copy someone’s power if he is touching them! Let me try something.”
I replaced Edward’s hand with my own.
“Damian, try and move something without touching it.”
He looked around and focused on a tree across the river, effortlessly, he lifted it with his thoughts. I gasped and removed my hand. The tree fell as I did.
“That is so cool!” Damian exclaimed. “Jasper, come here!”
Jasper ran over swiftly and put his hand where mine just was.
“Okay Damian. Now, just focus on someone, and think about how you would like them to feel.”
A few feet away from me, I noticed Alice relax; it was working.
“Oh my gosh! That is awesome!”
Damian laughed his angelic laugh. Once Jazz removed his hand, Alice went back to normal.
Sweet, I thought.
As with the "new" Bella, there will be new changes to the story. Such as:
1.) Fanged vampires
2.) Burning in the sunlight
3.) Bella fighting back
4.) Taking bloody and daring turns
5.) A slightly darker and more grim version to the family
I'll write the first one soon. And I hope the ones who read it enjoy it. It's my first fanfiction, if you would call it that, and I tried on the storyline. Really.
