Becoming a Cullen

[Haz]

Becoming a Cullen


Author's notes: Another Twilight fanfiction I wrote. To understand this fully you have to read Shayla's Twilight.

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Chapter 1: Boredom

Jasper's POV

I watched Shayla with interest as she balanced the soccer ball on the bridge of her nose, keeping it steady by moving her head to the side every few seconds and with her arms held slightly out to the side. She kept stepping in every direction as she kept the ball balanced. We were in the backyard and I was rather bored while everyone else was out. Esme was shopping, Carlisle was at the hospital and the others were at school. Carlisle thought it would be better if I stayed home with Shayla because she was unable to attend until her eyes went gold and she learnt to resist human blood. Rosalie didn't like the two of us staying home together. But really, what were we going to do? Massacre the whole town? I chuckled at this train of thought.

"So... This is considered fun?" I finally say to Shayla while cocking an eyebrow up and giving a cheeky smile. Her eyes flickered to mine for a brief second before she gave a small smile in return. She let the ball roll off into her hands and she tilted her head down to its original position. She twisted her neck to the side before a small crack issued from it.

"Yep," she answered. "When I was human, I lived on a farm with my father and several other families, the majority of them had kids. We didn't have a lot of money so we would do whatever we could to keep from being bored. We go fishing, skateboarding and BMX at the gorge, mud fights, anything was the go as long as it didn't leave us bored. It was fun times."

I listened to her with interest. Even though she had been living with us for almost a month now, she never talked about her human life. She did tell us that she was a farm-hands daughter and that she was beaten rather badly when she was 12 but other then that, we knew nothing about her human life.

"So, you basically improvised your fun?" This sounded weird to me but I was curious.

"Yeah. It was either that or working. But eventually as we entered our teens, the boys got jobs and I was left behind. Being female, I couldn't get a job so I had to be stuck at home all the time. The farm owner's wife tried to teach me to be a lady," she scoffed at the word and rolled her eyes. "But I wasn't interested and instead, spent my days with the animals. I learnt to talk to them as you know." She had explained the last part to me and the family after she was changed. She could talk to animals. Unusual I will admit that, but it was amazing that she managed to learn how to-- and she was still human while doing so.

"I'm going to guess that you didn't like that idea much?" I asked and she shook her head in response. I waited for her to speak but she instead looked away, gazing at the forest and river.

"I don't really like to talk about it," she finally says. I could feel that she was quite sad.

I wanted to ask her about it but I held my tongue. Instead I said, "The others will be home soon. What do you want to do now?"

"Hmm…" She pauses to think. "Let's just stay out her and kick this around," she throws the ball in the air before kicking it up. I kick it back to her before running to the other side of the yard.

We kick the ball to each other in silence. Until I kicked it too hard at a funny angle and when she kicked it back, it flew towards the house. It hit the big glass window of the kitchen and then there was a great smashing noise. The window had smashed from the hard kick.

"Shit," I breathed and I ran into the house. The ball was in the sink and the bench around it was covered in glass. The ball had knocked some plates over (they were purely decoration) so they were in pieces as well. I would need to clean this up before everyone else got home or Esme would be mad.

But it was too late. I smelled her before I heard her but she was coming up the drive. Damn it.

I sighed and got the dustpan and broom out from the closet on the second floor. By the time I walked slowly back downstairs, she was inside.

"Jasper, what happened here?" She gasped as she placed her shopping bags on the counter.

"Shayla kicked a ball through the window. But it was my fault and plus, she doesn't know her own strength yet." I told her as we started to clean up.

"Where is she anyway?" Esme asked after we put most of the glass in a pile.

I glanced out the back. Shayla was gone but her scent lingered. It was leading into the forest.

"She's run off. Funny, I didn't hear or see her go," I answer. Esme shook her head before it shot up as the sound of Edward's car approached.

We waited patiently while cleaning up as Edward pulled into the garage. The kitchen looked like nothing had happened at all excepted for the missing window.

Edward's emotions were clear as he came in. He was upset and horrified. I replayed what happened in my head so he would see. His face was clean of emotion however when he came.

"Where's Shayla now?" he asked. I shrugged in response.

Alice, my angel, danced in after Edward with Rosalie and Emmett behind. She spied the window and then Esme's glum expression. Obviously she had not seen this coming.

She was worried about her new sister. Alice and Shayla had grown close over the last month. Alice was excited to have a little sister but Shayla teased Alice by calling Alice her little sister. Shayla was tall, almost as tall as I and she towered over Esme, Rosalie and Alice. But yet Shayla still seemed uncomfortable with the idea of belonging in a family. It was quite odd and it reminded me of when I first joined the Cullens with Alice a few decades ago.

"I can hear her thoughts," Edward said from nearby. "She's upriver. She's sorry that she ran off but she was scared of punishment. When she was punished as a human, it was painful. She was often beaten."

"Oh, that poor girl!" Esme cried suddenly. "She didn't need to fear punishment, I could never hurt her," she had worry and love radiating off her. "We need to find her before she gets too far." She was now Mother Esme. She glanced between Alice, Edward and I. "One of you will need to go."

"I will," I offer and silently, I run out the door and into the woods.

I follow her scent to the river where massive rocks line its banks. She's sitting on one of the grey boulders, her back to me. She is curled up with her chin resting on her knees, her arms wrapped around her legs. But she knew that I was there without even turning. Her fear escalated greatly.

"Shayla?" I say warily as I step forward cautiously forward towards her. "Esme sent me to get you."

"Is she mad at me? I didn't mean to break the window," her voice quivers slightly as she raises her head to look at me for a brief second before turning back to the river.

"No, no, of course not. You needn't fear punishment Shayla; you know that nothing she can do to you will hurt you. You're a newborn and you don't know your own strength."

"I'm weak though. I shouldn't have run away," she mutters bitterly as she rises from the rock. She turns to me but pauses. I lift my arm up and hold my hand out. She gazes at it for a moment before accepting it and allowing me to guide her down the rock.

"Let's run," she suggests and without pausing, she breaks into a graceful run with long, bounding strides. I run to catch up but she always stays ahead of me as she runs like a gazelle. It was ironic really. When she didn't hunt she was a swift and graceful as a gazelle but when she hunted, she was as ferocious and sleek as a cheetah.

She slows down when she spots me having trouble to keep up. She shoots me a grin but then she jerks her head up with her nostrils flaring.

She speeds up greatly and crashes through the trees. I follow her in alarm but when I find her, she is kneeling down beside a grizzly cub, just after she finished draining it. She wipes the blood off her lips with her tongue and then turns around, and catches me watching her. "What's with the look?" She jokes, her eyes bright and alert. She gives a small smile. I found it amazing that she could switch between being upset and then to being happy so quickly.

"Are you trying to waste time?" I accuse her.

"Me? No, never. You must be mistaken," her voice is so full of sarcasm and her face with innocence that I burst out laughing at her. She gave a small chuckle and grinned. "Alright, you caught me. I would like to go back but I'm scared of their reactions. I don't want to get hurt."

"Shayla, they won't hurt you. Esme won't be mad and Carlisle may give you a lecture but that'll be the worst of it. If anyone even tries to hurt you Shayla, I will protect you and that includes Alice as well."

"Well, if you're sure about this…" she mumbles before taking off with me behind her.

We reach the house in no time and to Shayla's dismay, everyone was home and waiting in the dining room. Even Carlisle was there, seated at the head of the table with Esme by his side. Rosalie and Emmett were on his right and Edward was on his left. Alice was leaning against the wall behind him. She beckoned to Shayla, urging her to come towards her. Shayla hesitated for not even a second but then she moved to Alice's side.

Carlisle spoke first. He always did. He was our father and leader in our family so it was his job to lead these 'conversations'.

"Shayla, no one is mad at you for breaking the window. Newborns, as we have already explained, are stronger in their first year because of the human blood still in their system and are much stronger then other vampires. Edward has explained your past to us…" Shayla hissed angrily at Edward, resulting in Edward to glare at her in return. Carlisle continued as if no interruption had been made. "And we understand how you fear punishment. But we need to know why."

And then we waited.

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[Ringtown'sBest]

nice fanfiction story you have but more action would be nice

 

[Haz]

nice fanfiction story you have but more action would be nice

Thank you, the action will come in the next chapters, probably the third and final one. And that was the quickest review I've ever got :P

 

[mickmon95]

I love Twilight! And I like ur fic alot!!

 

[Haz]

@Micknon95: Thanks, hope you keep reading it!

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Chapter 2: Scars

Jasper's POV

Carlisle knew why Shayla feared punishment with Edward's help of course, but he wanted to hear it from her, in her own words of why she feared punishment. I mean, all of us feared it but most vampires, even newborns, would suck it up and take it. But Shayla had fled. She believed she was a coward and weak. Perhaps she was right.

That was what I thought until she moved forward, closer to the table.

"This is why I fear punishment," she stated to us as she turned around so her back was facing us, and lifted up the back of shirt, just enough so we could see her lower back.

Very few know this but when vampires are created, some human marks will retain. Freckles, moles and unhealed sores will disappear but permanent scars or marks like birthmarks will stay.

And there were permanent marks across Shayla's back. They were about half-an-inch thick and were laid horizontally up her back, going right up to where her shirt was being held up. The marks were dark red and were sunk slightly into her skin. They were thick at alternating ends up her back before thinning at the other. They seemed to almost resemble tattoos.

Carlisle was by her side in an instant, examining them closely. Shayla made no move to disrupt him but after a minute or two, she dropped her shirt and smoothed it out. Carlisle leant back, pure shock and horror displayed on his face. The family's and mine mirrored his as well as their emotions, but Carlisle managed to calm himself down.

"Shayla, how –" he started to say but Shayla cut him off.

"If you think that's bad, take a look at this," she pulled up the side of her shirt to show us her right hip. Across it, looking more like a tattoo then any of the other marks, was an imprint of a cattle skull and beside it, the numbers 1971. They were printed small but still plainly obvious to people. They were a dark, rusty brownish-red colour and looked absolutely horrid on her pale skin.

A wave of emotions came at me at once. The first was shock, absolute shock, coming from everyone but Shayla. There was fear and pity also flowing. Anger came from Emmett and worry from Esme and Edward. Alice was horrified. Carlisle however managed to keep himself calm and looked at Shayla for an explanation.

"I got hit with a branding iron," she explained as she dropped her shirt back down to cover the mark. "When I was about 14, I think. My father's boss was angry because I accidently let some of his prize-winning cattle out. He liked to cause physical pain, Mark did. The closest thing was the recently used iron. The only thing that was more painful then that was when I had been bitten," she shook her head and shuddered a bit.

"Oh my God Shayla," Esme spoke for the first time. "No wonder you fear punishment. But what about the marks on your back?"

"Whip marks," Shayla answered so calmly is was like she was telling someone instructions. "From horse whips, thin branches, sugar cane leaves, whatever was within reach."

"Whip marks!?" Emmett exclaimed. "Why, if I catch the son of a b-" his threat went unfinished though as Esme yelled at him for using foul language.

"Come on, relax," Shayla said quietly. "It doesn't matter anyway. What's done is done."

I had never endured physical pain as a human, only as a vampire so I could hardly understand how she felt. But I could feel the pain poring off her and I tensed up at it. Alice looked up at me in alarm and placed an arm on me, trying to calm me down.

"Doesn't matter?" Rosalie managed to speak. "How can you say that? Those sores on your back, the mark on your hip, how can you say it doesn't matter?"

"It was a long time ago," Shayla mumbles. She's embarrassed and ashamed about. But yet she still speaks. "By the time I was 15 I think, I can't really remember exactly, I stopped getting beaten. I guess I was old enough to stand up for myself," she shrugged, as if she was trying to make this last comment offhand somehow.

Esme, a firm believer in woman's rights, moved to Shayla's side who had since sat in the empty chair beside Edward. "Did you ever tell anyone?"

Shayla shook her head. "No. But who would believe me anyway? He was the boss and if my father had confronted him, he would have lost his job and we would have had nothing," she gives another shrug.

"Shayla, I think those marks will fade eventually like the vampire bite scars but I'm not sure if they'll ever disappear," Carlisle admitted sadly.

Shayla gave another shrug. "You win some, you lose some I guess. But do you all now understand how I feel?" she looked around at us and we all nodded. "Okay then, I might go for a run, to clear my head a bit. See yas."

She bounded out to the back before launching into a full-on sprint. We all kept quiet until she was out of hearing range.

Esme spoke first. "Oh my God, I don't blame her for running. Those scars look horrible!"

"You have no arguments there Esme." Emmett said, nodding his head. "If I ever got my hands on the sorry basterd who did that to her…" his threat went unfinished as Rosalie whacked him in the head and told him not to be stupid.

"Well, we have to do something!" he protested.

"No Emmett. Rosalie's right," Edward said, speaking for the first time. "She just wants to move on and forget about it."

Carlisle spoke to Alice next. "Alice, do you see anything happening?"

Alice closed her eyes and sat perfectly still. After a moment she opened them. "No, nothing. Shayla just wants to move on, like Edward said."

Emmett sighed and shook his head. "Fair enough I suppose."

"Why doesn't she want revenge though? That man tortured her and she doesn't care at all?" Rosalie hissed from Emmett's side.

"Rosalie, you and Shayla are two very different people," Carlisle explained. "I know you would want revenge but Shayla is more…" he couldn't finish the sentence.

But I nodded, knowing what he meant. "She hasn't said a bad word about anyone since she was changed. Her mood swings are slowing down and all she seems concerned with is settling in here. She thinks of us as family now and she loves us all," I added when Rosalie gave a scoff.


"She loves me?" Alice asked, sounding surprised.

I nod. "She loves all of us Alice. Especially you."

"She thinks of you as the sister she always wanted but never got," Edward added. He glanced at Rosalie. "The same for you Rosalie. And she sees us," he gestured at himself, Emmett and I. "As brothers. And Carlisle, Esme," he paused as they looked at him curiously. "She adores you too both, more then any of us. She thinks of you as her parents."

Esme beamed. "Well, she's our daughter, what did you expect?"

The love radiating from them was so strong that I nearly slipped off the wall. Alice giggled and pulled me back. But then, her eyes glazed over as a vision hit her at full force. She placed a hand to her temple and a small gasp escaped her lips.

"Alice, what is it, what do you see?" I demanded while helping her into one of the dining chairs. Everyone looked at her in alarm.

"Nomads, three males," she said timidly. "The leader of them is gifted, super-strength like Emmett. Another one is too but I can't see what it is."

"What are they after?" Carlisle asked calmly.

"Everything that we have. And us." She pointed to herself, Rosalie and Esme. I fought back a growl as Emmett placed an arm around Rosalie. Esme shifted closer to Carlisle.

"How long?"

"Less then a minute, they are running." Alice answered. She was afraid like Rosalie and Esme. She didn't want to fight but she knew she might have to.

And then another vision came over Alice. She shuddered and then uttered a single word. "Shayla."

"What about her?" Emmett asked.

"She sees them, overhears their plans. She's running back now. I can't see if she'll make it back in time or what will happen if she does."

This was bad. Even though we were more then a match for them, it was a bad situation. One of our own was out there – a newborn, which made her inexperienced in fighting our kind – with three nomads, two which were possibly gifted. We had barley anytime to make a strategy.

"This the place?" I heard a male voice outside ask. Did they not know that we could hear them?

"Yeah," A voice growled in response. You know the plan guys, take out the males, leave the girls," he added, chuckling in a way that made me sick to my stomach.

Their emotions were overconfident, smug. I turned around, ready to run and hurt those basterds for thinking that they could take my Alice.

"Wait!" Edward cried out suddenly. "Listen!"

We did. Footfalls were beating hard towards the house. A fierce growl erupted from whoever was running.

"NO!" It roared and it slammed someone or something into the house. It rumbled from the impact.

Carlisle stood and ran outside followed by Edward and Emmett. I turned to Alice, to tell her to stay but she glared at me.

"No way, I'm coming to help," she growled before barging past me. It was surprising to hear Alice talk in a growl but at the same time, I loved it. Rosalie and Esme shoved past me before I could realise that I was the only one left. So I bounded outside to see what was going on.

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Sorry about the ending, I couldn't figure how to end it! This was the best I could do unfortunatly :/

 

[Haz]

Warning! This chapter is a bit gorier then the others. You've been warned.

I know I said it would only be three chapters but I couldn't resist writing more :P.

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Chapter 3: A fresh scar

Jasper's POV

I didn't know what to expect when I came outside. The nomads advancing on my newborn sister? my Alice caught in the arms of one of the males? Or my brothers and father being torn to shreds? I stiffened back another growl.

I shoved past Emmett on the back porch to find a most confusing scene. The range of emotions was perplexing me. Anger, irritation, shock and joy?

I heard Shayla laugh as she dodged the smaller blond-haired nomad's grab for her by ducking and doing a tumble turn on the ground so she ended up behind him. She spun around, half crouching on the ground, and leapt forward, digging her knee into his back before a snap was heard. She had never fought our kind before, only Emmett and I and we went easy on her, so she was overconfident. The nomad she attacked collapsed onto the ground from the blow just as the second, dark-haired nomad snatched her arm and suck his teeth into her arm, ripping her shirt in the process. Shayla cried out in pain as she was flung away.

"C'mon, we have to help her!" Emmett boomed and he ran forward, barging into the biggest nomad with the reddish-coloured hair and started to grapple with him. The nomad who Shayla had first tried to attack rose and went for Emmett's unguarded back.

I leapt off the porch and ran towards him and shoved him roughly out of the way and into a tree. The tree shuddered from the blow just as Shayla leapt from out of no where; I could see the wound on her arm was still wet with venom, and back flipped in midair, one of her bare feet making contact with his chin, snapping it back. She landed crouched on the ground from where she leapt a determined smirk upon her face. She launched forward again just as the nomad went to attack again but her teeth was on his neck in an instant. His head fell, dismembered from his shoulders and Alice ran to help, snapping his limbs off before tossing them into the fire that Carlisle and Esme had started with the firewood.

"Nice work Shayla!" Carlisle called. Shayla shot a bemused grin in his direction before holding her hand out to Alice for a high 5. Alice slapped her hand against Shayla's and they ran to assist Emmett.

Edward had dealt with the other nomad, he and Rosalie managed to tear him apart easily, but it was the leader that was the problem. He was strong and I nearly wondered who was stronger: him or Emmett. Emmett let loose a roar as he restrained the nomad and then to my surprise, Shayla responded with a snarl as she leapt at the nomad, her fingers and toes morphing into claws as she dug them into his arms and legs. She bit down hard on his neck, severing his head and leaping off, just before Emmett tugged at his damaged limbs, dismembering them and killing the nomad.

And then, it was over. The bodies were in the fire and everyone was accounted for.

Emmett had a dislocated shoulder which Rosalie had cracked back in place for him. Alice was shaken but unhurt and Edward had a small bite wound on his forearm but he had managed to suck the venom out. I was fine and so was Carlisle and Esme as they had avoided the fight by being in charge of the fire.

"Shayla?" Alice called to her sister, who had taken refugee under a tree. She was nursing her arm, wincing slightly, which was oozing venom. She looked up at the sound of her name.

"Over here," she called as she rose from beneath the tree. She walked over to Alice, obviously ignoring the pain in her arm.

"Are you okay?" Alice asked her. Without waiting for an answer, she moved forward to Shayla and looked at her arm. The sleeve of her shirt was dangling by a shred of fabric and the whole bite had taken a small chunk out of her arm. There would be a huge scar, one that would nearly go around her whole bicep.

Carlisle was by her side too. "Come inside so we can clean it out."

Shayla walked inside to the kitchen with Carlisle. The others went upstairs but I decided to stay with Shayla. I hovered in the doorway, watching.

She was sitting at the kitchen bench by the sink where Carlisle was wetting a towel. He then sponged the venom out of her wound, slowly as not to cause her pain but she still flinched. After he was sure all the venom was out, he wrapped a white bandage around it.

"This will keep it clean until it heals," he told her. "It'll heal faster though if you're not thirsty." He lifted his head from his work on her arm to check her eyes. They were crimson red and the shadows underneath were faint. She wasn't thirsty at all thanks to the bear cub she drank from before.

"I'm fine," she said. "Damn, it hurt though!" I heard her swear under her breath. Carlisle smiled at her before leaving to place the towel in the wash. He was moving at human-speed.

I chuckled as I entered the kitchen. "Yes, it does, doesn't?" I rubbed one of the scars on my arm self-consciously.

"I know how you feel now Jasper," Shayla said sadly.

She was worried about my scars again. But wait a minute, wasn't she the one that got bitten?

"Hey, weren't you the one that got bitten?" I laughed. "Don't worry about me."

If she could have flushed red with embarrassment I swear she would of. I chuckled again and she glared at me.

"Where are the others?" she asked suddenly asked.

"In your room. They're waiting for you."

She gave a sigh and darted up the stairs at superhuman speed with me on her tail. Before I could get to the door though, I heard Emmett whoop with joy. "Dammit Shayla, why didn't you tell us you could kick ass like that!" There was a great crash and I heard Shayla swear under her breath again.

I entered to find Rosalie and Alice sitting on Shayla's bed (she insisted on having a bed, God knows why) and Edward leaning against the opposite wall from the door while Emmett was flat on his stomach near the right-hand wall which now had a huge crack on it. Shayla was sitting cross-legged on him, a superior smirk on her face.

"You going to get off me anytime soon?" Emmett asked Shayla. Shayla smirk grew wider in response.

She pretended to ponder her response. "Hmm… Depends."

"On what my I ask?" he said, raising an eyebrow as he tried to get up. Shayla shifted and forced him back down.

"Oh Rosalie!" she sang, turning towards my 'twin' sitting on the bed.

"Yes Shayla?" Rosalie answered sweetly. I never heard them talk so nicely to each other before. Rosalie though Emmett and Shayla had romantic feelings for each other. But I and everyone else knew that they were just close. After all, he was the one who brought her to Carlisle to be changed.

Shayla gestured to Emmett in a rather amusing fashion. Alice and Rosalie both giggled and I laughed out loud along with Edward. It was a funny sight after all. Emmett, a big, brawly vampire who looks like a 20-year-old had a lean, skinny 15-year-old Shayla on his back, holding him down with almost no effort.

"Alright, let him up," Rosalie said. Shayla rose and leapt off Emmett gracefully. I've never seen her look or feel so happy. Emmett sat up before sitting on the bed next to Rosalie before pulling her into his lap. I leant against the wall at the end, near where Alice was leaning against the same wall on the bed.

She caught my eye and smiled. I could fell love and happiness radiating from her. I leant over and kissed her cheek. I sent another wave of love at her as she took my hand in hers and we entwined our fingers together.

"Alright, fun and game time is over," Edward said. "We need to talk to you Shayla."

Shayla's brow furrowed in confusion. "'Bout what?"

Rosalie sighed in irritation. "I think you could figure it out."

Shayla's eyes widen as realization. "The fight with the nomads? I didn't think I did anything wrong though. They just wanted to hurt you and I couldn't bear to see that happen…"

"Shayla, relax. You're not in trouble," Alice spoke quietly. Calm, Shayla. Her eyes snapped towards me and narrowed in irritation but she then gave a small bemused smile.

"We want to thank you for helping us. Even though there were more of us then them, they still had the advantage of surprise and they had less to protect. But you helped us. And we'd like to thank you."

"I would do anything to protect my family," Shayla said simply.

Family… It was odd that a simple word could have so much meaning. As Shayla said that word, love radiated off her and into me. I sent it back out to everyone in the room. But Shayla's words were enough to emphasise how much she loved and cared for us.

There was a silence before Alice gave a squeal of delight and threw herself at Shayla, giving her a bone-breaking hug. Rosalie hissed something from the bed but then a bark of laughter cut it out. Shayla was laughing and hugging Alice back. Her mouth was formed into a huge grin, identical to Alice's.


"Let her breathe Alice, geez!" Emmett laughed from nearby.

"Dude, I don't even need to breathe so it's all good," Shayla grinned.

The room cracked up into laughter just as Esme came in, stiffening giggles. Obviously she heard us. "Carlisle would like to see you all downstairs," she told us.

We all ran downstairs to the dining room. Carlisle was at the head of the table but standing this time.

"There will be no need to sit," he said. "I only wanted to give Shayla something. I was saving it for Christmas but I think she deserves it now."

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[Haz]

Chapter 4: An unexpected gift

Jasper's POV (still)

Carlisle pulled a small velvet bag from his pocket and drew from it a silver bracelet with a charm on it. The charm was of our family crest.

Carlisle had given us all a piece of jewellery one Christmas a few decades ago with the family crest on it, to represent the uniting of us as a family. He had given Edward, Emmett and I leather cuffs, a pendent for Rosalie, a choker-like necklace for Alice, Esme a silver and green bracelet, and for himself, a silver ring.

"This is the Cullen family crest Shayla," he told her, pointing to the oval charm. "On December 25th, 1968, I gave every member of my family a piece of jewellery with the crest on it as a symbol of us all uniting as a family. I thought our family was complete but that was until you came along. So with this, we officially adopt you into our family."

Shayla held out her left arm and he placed the bracelet on. "Thank you," she whispered, not just to Carlisle but to everyone. "Thank you for accepting me."

Esme moved forward. "Shayla, we love you. We all do. You are one of us now." She moved as if to hug her but she seemed to reconsider. Shayla moved forward and embraced Esme, hugging her fiercely despite the height difference. A flicker of surprise came from Esme but it turned to joy.

Shayla took a step back and smiled. "I love you too. All of you," she added, looking around at all of us.

It was the first time she told us this and she truly meant it. Emmett moved forward and hugged her, nearly crushing her. Emmett gave a booming laugh as she hugged him back just as hard.

"Alright, my turn!" Alice sang as ran forward and kissed Shayla on the cheek before hugging her. "I'm so glad that you're finally happy!"

"I am too Alice, I am too," Shayla patted Alice affectionately on the head – because she was so much taller – and gave a grin. "Can I call you pixie-girl?" she joked to her.

Emmett, Edward and I sniggered just as Alice let go and stepped back, glaring but I could tell that she was amused.

"I've always wanted a sister that wasn't fashion-obsessed," Edward teased as he gave an awkward one-armed hug to Shayla.

Shayla made a face at the word 'fashion'. "I rather have jeans and a plain ol' t-shirt any day."

Her Australian accent had slipped out. Like my own Texas accent, she tried to hide her own but occasionally, it slipped out.

Rosalie pursed her lips, trying not to laugh but she then gave Shayla hug. "We'll drag you shopping somehow!" she whispered furiously.

"Over my pile of ashes," Shayla retorted, causing us to laugh. Honestly, when did that girl ever fail to amuse us?

She turned to me and hugged me. "Thanks Jasper, thanks for everything," she whispered so softly that I was sure I had only heard it. She moved back and smiled timidly. I noticed that when someone touched her, she flinched. Why though? She knew that we would never hurt her. Edward caught my eye and raised an eyebrow.

'You noticed too?' I asked him in my head. He gave a small nod, so small that I doubt anyone noticed it.

'Why though?' I said to him. He shrugged in response.

Carlisle then cleared his throat, attraction our attention. "I would just like to thank you again Shayla, for helping us fight those nomads," he said. "I knew them from a few dozen decades back and they were rather sceptical about our, or rather my, lifestyle. The leader of them didn't believe in hunting animals instead of humans even though his fellow coven members attempted to occasionally. But they always ended up feeding on humans again. We met up a few times over the centauries but our friendship, if it was that, came to an end. His mate had been killed by the Volturi for having an immortal child. They spared him but he believed I had reported his immortal child to Aro as I was living with them at the time but I did no such thing. He swore revenge but after decades of nothing, I thought he had been killed or forgotten. I never imagined that he would return.

"But why was he after Alice, Rosalie and Esme?" Shayla asked. "Replacement mates?"

Carlisle shrugged. "Possibly."

"Disgusting!" she growled. When Shayla growled, it was frightening, even for me. It seemed to be in touch with her animal-side, building from deep in her throat and turning into something ferocious.

"Yes, it is," I agreed, wrapping an arm around Alice's shoulders.

"Say, what was that name you said before? The Volturi? Who or what are they?" she asked Carlisle, cocking her head to the side.

"Come with me, I want to show you something. It'll make everything easier to explain about the Volturi," Carlisle told her. He walked up the stairs with Shayla following.

"We should have explained about them earlier," I said after they had both gone up, shaking my head a little. "She is gifted after all. What if they came for her?"

"Relax Jasper. I have foreseen that the Volturi do send a guard but it's just to check up on us. Aro doesn't trust us after all," Alice said, holding my hand so I could feel the calm and relief coming off her easier. "I just hope that they don't seed Jane or Alec. If they tried to fight her, Shayla wouldn't stand a chance."

We all knew of Jane and Alec's powers. They were twins that had extraordinary yet sadistic abilities. Jane could inflict an illusion of pain on a victim, torturing them but not even harming them in the process. Alec can cut off a person's senses making them unable to attack. It appeared in the form of a hazy mist according to Carlisle, so he could affect a number of people unlike his twin. They were feared and respected in the vampire world and they both knew it. I had never met them before and I didn't want to. I didn't fancy being tortured or being blind, numb or deaf.

"Do you see who will come though?" Rosalie asked.

Alice shook her head. "No. They will definitely send someone but they haven't decided who. They are leaning towards sending Alec and Demetri. And maybe Jane or Chelsea."

Demetri is Aro's right hand man in the guard. Regarded as one of the greatest trackers in the world, he could track someone from catches the 'tenor' of their thoughts and is drawn to it. Chelsea could strengthen or untie relationships thus making it easier for desired members to join the Volturi. But she couldn't undo relationships that were more then just friends or acquaintances.

"Demetri is okay, I quite like him when he's not around Aro," Edward commented, distracting me for a moment from my train of thoughts.

"Yes, but he may be polite but I still don't trust any of the Volturi, especially their guard," Esme said. "It's wrong how Aro 'collects' them and tries to force them to join by using Chelsea."

We could hear Carlisle explaining about the Volturi above in his study. He was explaining about the members of the guard and their gifts. Out of all of us, he knew the most about them as he had briefly stayed with them centauries ago before he came to America.

Alice let out a small 'oh' noise. "They're going to send Demetri along with Alec and Chelsea. Aro wants them to stay a few days and observe us. I think they may know about Shayla," she told us, giving a small frown.

We heard Shayla and Carlisle coming back down. "You heard everything?" Edward asked them.

"Everything," Shayla replied, frowning. "But why me though? Is this my fault? I didn't– "

I cut her off before she can continue. "Shay, stop it. It's not your fault," I take an unnecessary breathe before continuing. "The Volturi don't trust us especially me. I met them once when I was with Maria and they were, well, anxious of me I guess." I rub a scar on my forearm, which happened to be the one that Shayla did when I first took her hunting, absentmindedly. "And they don't like Carlisle for drinking animal blood instead of human."

Shayla gave a scoff. "What do they think he does, force-feed us deer blood?"

"That's exactly what they think," Edward said, shaking his head a little.

"Geez, paranoid much," Shayla mumbled. I wasn't sure if she wanted us to hear her.

"Yes, Aro is a bit like that," Carlisle said before giving a small sigh. "Ever since the Volturi took down the Romanians, he's been scared that the Romanians will seek revenge or that another larger coven– us for example as we are the largest family aside from them– may overthrow him. That's why he keeps such a great number of guard who are gifted, to destroy any who oppose them. So if he thinks we oppose him, well…"

"He'll kill us," Edward finished Carlisle sentence. "So Shayla, you mustn't do anything to provoke them. It'll be hard as a newborn, I know, with your instincts but you need to remember that."

Shayla nodded her head, her brow furrowing as she seemed to be thinking hard. She sighed softly as she looked out the window, her blood-red, newborn eyes focused on something far away, too far away for my eyes to see.

"Going out," she said suddenly, and without waiting for us to react, she was out the door and racing into the woods.

"What was that about?" Emmett asked Edward.

Edward shrugged in response but then Alice turned to look at him. She raised her eyebrow at him and he shook his head, smiling a bit. "I can't say."

"But I want to know," she pretended to whine. "C'mon Edward, what's she up to?"

"Now, now Alice, I'm sure Shayla has her reasons," Esme soothed Alice by patting her on the shoulder affectionately. "Just let her be."

Alice looked into the future, talking about it as she went. "She's sitting on a hill and I can see that the sun's starting to set. Someone's there with her but I can't see who it is. One of us but I can't see who it is."

"So someone goes up to find her?" I ask. Alice nodded in response.

We glanced among ourselves. Who should go? I suspected Emmett would want to go but I doubt Rosalie would let him.

"I'll go," Rosalie offered, startling everyone. We stared at her.

"What?" she stiffened up and glared at us all. "She's my little sister; I have to take care of her. Someone's got to."

And with those words she flitted out the door.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

I apologise for the lack of update I was away.

 

[Haz]

Chapter 5: Revenge with Rosalie

Rosalie's POV

I ran swiftly through the darkening woods, following Shayla's musky scent until I came to a hill and the sound of her footfalls, only detectable by vampire ears, fell silent. I slowed down and carefully walked up the rocky hill, staying low and downwind so she couldn't smell me and run off. Carlisle and Jasper had warned us not to sneak up on her, even as a joke. Her instincts could kick in any time and could either attack me or run like the wind.

At the top, I found her sitting on a boulder, looking down at the valley below where the small village of Mengo was located. It was mainly a collection of farms where over half the population of 250 people worked and lived. It was so small that it wasn't even put on maps. The children and teenagers that lived there went to school in Forks, the closest town with about an hour drive to the north. We attended the school there as well. The students avoided us like they knew they should.

"Shayla, you okay?" I asked cautiously as I walk closer to her. I touch her shoulder, grasping it to somehow comfort her.

"Yeah, I think so," she answered as she stood up from the rock. I noticed that she seemed to glare at the town as though it had insulted her.

"How's your arm?" I asked her. She moved her arm, testing how sore it was before unrolling the bandage. The bite was already healed with a large scar resembling two crescent moons, one on each side of her arm.

"Its fine I suppose," she muttered. She tossed the bandage over her shoulder and down the hill. Something was bothering her, I could tell.

"Something's troubling you Shayla, isn't there?"

She bit her bottom lip, looking more human then I have ever seen her, before answering. "Well, I have been debating on whether or not I'll pay a little visit to a certain… person," she said, hissing out the final word but I didn't know what she was going on about. That was until she ran a finger over her hip, tracing her scar through her shirt.

"Your abuser?" I asked. She nodded before giving a low hiss.

"He needs to pay!" she growled with such ferocity that I took a step back, slightly frightened by her reaction. She realised her mistake and stepped back too, lowering her offensive stance into something that would be considered as submissive. "I'm sorry Rosalie, it wasn't meant to be directed at you."

"It's okay," I say, moving forward again. Everyone including Edward, the smart-mouth, had told me to be careful around Shayla. She was as stubborn as a mule and Emmett feared we would clash. I admit I did have a bit of a fiery personality but I doubted that Shayla and I would fight. Even though she is a bit of a smart ass. "If you want, I could help you deal with him," I said, changing the subject.

"Yeah, that'll be helpful. I know how proficient of an assassin you are," she joked, stifling a giggle.

I raised my eyebrows at her. "How did you –"

"Know? Emmett told me," she confessed. "I don't blame you for doing it either. Those monsters, they deserved to die…" She looked away, embarrassed that she expressed her opinion. Except for Carlisle, none of the others talked about me murdering Royce King and his boorish friends in Rochester many moons ago.

"Yes, well, I can make him pay, like you said, but you'll need to help," I said curtly.

She nodded in response. "I have some personal items I would like to retrieve anyway." She paused before taking a long breath. "I would really like to go now and not tell the others. I know you would want to tell Emmett but I would really prefer it if we kept it to ourselves."

She glanced up at me, judging my reaction. My fingers twitched in annoyance but I kept my face calm. How could she not expect me to tell my mate where I was? Emmett would be fretting around like an injured puppy dog if I was gone for not even an hour.

"Fine!" I sighed, knowing that I wouldn't win an argument with her. "Let's just go, okay?"

She nodded before running down the hill, leading me towards the village. We stuck to the shadows, keeping in the darkness until the sun had fully set.

We stopped in the woods outside of a small property, just by a pasture of cattle and horses. Shayla glanced into the pasture, her eyes focusing on each animal as though she was searching for something. She licked her lips, wetting them with venom.

I elbowed her in the ribs and shot her a look. She realised what she'd done and mumbled an apology.

"Which one is this 'Mark's' house?" I asked her.

She pointed to the old, wooden cottage. "That one. I shared it with him, his wife and my father. My father…" she trailed off as she blinked her eyes, as though she would cry.

"It's okay," I soothed, patting her back affectionately. "He won't get hurt, I promise."

"No it's me that I'm worried about," she whimpered as she flinched from my touch before moving away from my hand. I drew it back hastily. Newborns didn't like to be touched as a general but I feared it was something more with Shayla. "Remember what happened when we girls were all out hunting? That was a stranger and yet I wanted his blood. What if I lost control and drank from him? I'll never be able to look Carlisle in the eye again! I –"

"Whoa Shayla, stop," I ordered. She shut up, but her mouth was twisted into a pout. "You won't lose control; I'll be there with you. Here's our plan. You go to your room, grab everything that you need and then we'll kill him. But not a single drop of blood is to be spilled though. You won't be able to resist."

"So, get in there, get my stuff, break his neck and go home, right?" she said as she cocked an eyebrow at me, a smirk developing on her face,

I give a quiet laugh at her before resuming my attention on the house. I could hear the clinking of glass on wood and several men's loud, jubilant laughs.

"They're drinking," Shayla told me in a whisper. She adjusted her position so she was kneeling down, one knee on the ground, her hands dangling just above the ground with her fingers barely touching the bare dirt. I imitated her position while a ripple of anger coursed through me when she said the dreaded word. Drinking. Human men lost their humanity when they drank and instead became the monstrous pigs that I had suffered at the hands of. And so had my new sister as a matter of fact, but I secretly hoped not in the same way. I suddenly felt pity for the man we were going to murder, he was going to suffer so much when we were through with him. I hissed softly.

"This should be fun," Shayla then chuckled evilly from my side. I raised an eyebrow at her but she missed the gesture.

"Alright let's go," I said.

We jogged forward to the cottage where the lights were now getting switched off. I stayed near the front door, keeping as a lookout, while Shayla circled the house, searching for a way in. I heard her call me in the softest whisper and I found her standing besides a huge tree which long branches shot past the first floor. One was extremely close to an open window.

She scaled the tree with ease before turning to check on me. I gracefully leapt up the tree and together, we crept towards the window. She slipped in but then stopped, half-blocking my view of the room.

"Shayla!" I hissed at her. "What's wrong, what's going on?"

"It's… It's my room," she whimpered. She moved forward and sat on the bed, gazing around the room.

"This was your room?!" I asked, thunderstruck. It was a lot different from the one she lived in now. This one was completely bare except for a closet, bed and a bedside table. The wall were painted plain white but worn, chipped and cracked in many places. The bed was merely a mattress on an old wooden frame with the dirty sheets strewn around. The closet door was slightly ajar and I could see the plain clothes inside. Not like the expensive clothes I had bought her, but these were all ragged and torn.

"These were your clothes?" I asked as I pulled a pair of jeans from the closet. They had a hole on each knee and they had loose threads hanging off them.

"Yeah…" she replied, uninterestingly as she reached under the bed and pulled out an acoustic guitar. She strummed on it, making it emit a beautiful noise before slinging it on her back via the leather strap.

"Their so… frayed," I said softly as I rub a thread between my thumb and forefinger.

"Well, I think we bought them second hand. Maybe, can't remember the details exactly." She shrugged as she pulled a photo from the drawer. Her face drew into a confused expression as she examined the photo. It was very old and when she flipped it over, I saw that is was a very old photograph of a baby being held in a women's arms. The baby was playing with the necklace that hung around the women's neck, a pendant with a charm shaped like an 'S'.

"Shayla and Sienna- 14th of February, 1955," she read off the back. "Mom?" she then asked to no one in particular as she drew her mouth into a frown.

"Huh?" I took the photo from her hands and looked at it. Even though there was a huge difference in age and the photo was only in sepia, the similarities between the two were astounding. Their face were both slim but yet still full, their eyes seemed to be of the same shade and they both had a rather goofy, crooked smile.

"Your mom?" I asked her as I gave her the photo. She folded it up and placed it in her pocket before answering me with a shrug.

"Let's just get this over with, hey? This is all the stuff I need," she said, changing the subject. "Oh and this…"

She lifted her mattress before pulling out a flat, green container and then opening it to reveal silver chain with a pendent shaped like an 'S'. The 'S' had tiny green gyms set into it.

"Is that…" I start to ask but she cuts me off quick.

"The same pendent that my mom is wearing? Yes, yes it is." She puts it on around her neck and rubbed it affectionately between her fore finger and thumb. "It's my most treasured possession. I never really wore it because I was scared that someone would steal it or I would lose it." She sighed and walked to the closed door and opened it a crack, just enough so we could hear the men leaving.

The lights clicked off downstairs and I saw a burly man stumble up the stairs, rubbing his stubby fingers through his greasy black hair. He banged into the doorframe as he entered a room down the hall.

"Go home Rosalie," Shayla suddenly growled from the door. She turned her face towards me and all I could see the in darkness was anger on it, a cold mask set over her real face.

"But –"

"Go!" she barked at me harshly before I obliged and slipped out the window. I hit the ground running and flitted back through the black forest towards home. As the trees thinned I could see Emmett was waiting patiently on the back porch step. He rose as I came into the yard. Before I could blink he had swept me up into an embrace and had planted his lips on mine. I returned the kiss, wrapping my arms around his stone neck. He gave a small throaty growl as I traced his bottom lip with my tongue just as someone coughed unnecessarily behind him. I pulled away from my mate with difficulty and turned to glare at the interruption.

It was Edward. "Rosalie, what's going on? What have you done?" he growled at me. "Something is going on so you better tell me!"

I flinched slightly as he shouted at me but my courage perks back up when I feel Emmett's hand on the small of my back.

"Why should I? It's mine and Shayla's business and not even your little mind tricks will get it out of me!" I shouted out the last words before storming into the house. Jasper yelled at me as I entered.

"Rosalie calm down! You're giving me a headache! If that's even possible…" Alice giggled at his comment from the lounge room.

"Rosalie what's going on? Where is Shayla?" Edward snarled at me again as he followed me inside. Emmett stood to the side, unsure whether to intervene or not. Edward stood in front of me, his hands in fists as he struggled to contain his anger. Did he and Alice see what were planning? Obviously not or Alice would have been yelling at me as well. I stopped in the kitchen and turned to face my brother.

"Nothing, and not telling," I answer him calmly as possible but I was angry. He didn't need to know what Shayla and I had planned and he wasn't going to find out.

But he caught the trail of my thoughts. "What!?" he shouted. "Rosalie, she is only a month old! And you told her to go…" He glared at me angrily and I proceeded to respond. If he wanted a fight then he would sure as hell get one.

"I did it when I was only a few months! It was her idea and she needed to–"

In a few seconds, we were screeching at each other, yelling insults and arguing over my decision. I seriously thought he was over reacting. Poor Emmett stood to the side looking broken as he watched his brother and mate fight over his little sister. In a few seconds, Carlisle, Esme, Jasper and Alice had joined us.

"Rosalie, Edward, stop that! Now, what on earth is going on here?" Esme demanded as she stood between us.

"Rosalie 'encouraged' Shayla to go do murder!" Edward spat at her, his face and eyes filled with fury. But his rage wasn't needed. I had done nothing wrong and nor had Esme.

I glanced at Jasper, trying to tell him without speaking that Edward needed to be calmed down.

It worked. Jasper held his hand on Edward's shoulder, just touching him gently, but when Edward tried to shrug the hand off, Jasper's grip tightened and calm bleed out over us. Edward sighed and sat on one of the stools lining the bench. He had calmed down significantly.

"Alright, now what is this all about, really?" Carlisle asked calmly. Emmett strode over to me before he pulled me to him to comfort me. One of his hands rested my shoulder and the other held one of my own hands. He squeezed it gently, letting me know it was okay to continue.

"Well…" I start to say before hesitating. There was another encouragement squeeze from Emmett; I continued when I felt it. "Shayla was feeling a bit down and she suggested that she got some revenge with some assistance from me."

Alice closed her eyes before furrowing her brow as she tried to see the future. "Urgh, why didn't I see this!" she eventually groaned.

"It was a sudden decision on her part. I should have never encouraged it but she wanted me there. She knew about my past from Emmett…"My husband stiffened beside me and I squeezed his hand, letting him know that I wasn't mad at him. "But once we got to her old house, some unpleasant memories of hers arose and she kicked me out so to speak." I frowned slightly as I think back to the incident.

"Why though?" Jasper asked. "She knows she could lose control even if one little drop of blood is spilled. And so do you Rosalie!" He shook his head at me. "How could you be so irrational? Shayla is young, much younger then you were when you committed your murders. She has only been one of us for a month for God's sake!"

I cut him off before he can speak further. "Look, I know what I did was wrong but she needed to do this! It was torturing her and I simply encouraged her to do what was best– for her. Not for me– for her."

"You were a fool to leave her alone though," Edward growled at me, his temper arising. "She could have exposed us and then we'll have to move again!"

I opened my mouth to respond but Emmett beat me to it. "Shayla is a responsible, mature girl, especially for her age. She can control herself, I know she can! Rosalie is not a fool at all!"

Edward went to respond but Carlisle cut him off. "Okay, okay everyone, calm down and control yourselves. Let's sort this out. I'm sure that Shayla is fine. She's a strong, independent girl and like Emmett said, very mature and responsible for her age."

"She would never do anything to harm herself or us," Alice said. "She is extremely loyal us, perhaps even more then any of us when we first joined the family."

A feeling of pride set into me, like I had just won a gold medal at the Olympics. I glanced at Jasper who gave a small smile. "That sense of pride is what Esme feels," he explained. "And I think we should too. She's has only been one of us for just over a month now and she's already that loyal."

Esme beamed. "She's my daughter now. How can you not expect me to be that proud?"

Edward chuckled, apparently over his mood now. "We can't."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Haz]

Chapter 5: Revenge with Rosalie

Rosalie's POV

I ran swiftly through the darkening woods, following Shayla's musky scent until I came to a hill and the sound of her footfalls, only detectable by vampire ears, fell silent. I slowed down and carefully walked up the rocky hill, staying low and downwind so she couldn't smell me and run off. Carlisle and Jasper had warned us not to sneak up on her, even as a joke. Her instincts could kick in any time and could either attack me or run like the wind.

At the top, I found her sitting on a boulder, looking down at the valley below where the small village of Mengo was located. It was mainly a collection of farms where over half the population of 250 people worked and lived. It was so small that it wasn't even put on maps. The children and teenagers that lived there went to school in Forks, the closest town with about an hour drive to the north. We attended the school there as well. The students avoided us like they knew they should.

"Shayla, you okay?" I asked cautiously as I walk closer to her. I touch her shoulder, grasping it to somehow comfort her.

"Yeah, I think so," she answered as she stood up from the rock. I noticed that she seemed to glare at the town as though it had insulted her.

"How's your arm?" I asked her. She moved her arm, testing how sore it was before unrolling the bandage. The bite was already healed with a large scar resembling two crescent moons, one on each side of her arm.

"Its fine I suppose," she muttered. She tossed the bandage over her shoulder and down the hill. Something was bothering her, I could tell.

"Something's troubling you Shayla, isn't there?"

She bit her bottom lip, looking more human then I have ever seen her, before answering. "Well, I have been debating on whether or not I'll pay a little visit to a certain… person," she said, hissing out the final word but I didn't know what she was going on about. That was until she ran a finger over her hip, tracing her scar through her shirt.

"Your abuser?" I asked. She nodded before giving a low hiss.

"He needs to pay!" she growled with such ferocity that I took a step back, slightly frightened by her reaction. She realised her mistake and stepped back too, lowering her offensive stance into something that would be considered as submissive. "I'm sorry Rosalie, it wasn't meant to be directed at you."

"It's okay," I say, moving forward again. Everyone including Edward, the smart-mouth, had told me to be careful around Shayla. She was as stubborn as a mule and Emmett feared we would clash. I admit I did have a bit of a fiery personality but I doubted that Shayla and I would fight. Even though she is a bit of a smart ass. "If you want, I could help you deal with him," I said, changing the subject.

"Yeah, that'll be helpful. I know how proficient of an assassin you are," she joked, stifling a giggle.

I raised my eyebrows at her. "How did you –"

"Know? Emmett told me," she confessed. "I don't blame you for doing it either. Those monsters, they deserved to die…" She looked away, embarrassed that she expressed her opinion. Except for Carlisle, none of the others talked about me murdering Royce King and his boorish friends in Rochester many moons ago.

"Yes, well, I can make him pay, like you said, but you'll need to help," I said curtly.

She nodded in response. "I have some personal items I would like to retrieve anyway." She paused before taking a long breath. "I would really like to go now and not tell the others. I know you would want to tell Emmett but I would really prefer it if we kept it to ourselves."

She glanced up at me, judging my reaction. My fingers twitched in annoyance but I kept my face calm. How could she not expect me to tell my mate where I was? Emmett would be fretting around like an injured puppy dog if I was gone for not even an hour.

"Fine!" I sighed, knowing that I wouldn't win an argument with her. "Let's just go, okay?"

She nodded before running down the hill, leading me towards the village. We stuck to the shadows, keeping in the darkness until the sun had fully set.

We stopped in the woods outside of a small property, just by a pasture of cattle and horses. Shayla glanced into the pasture, her eyes focusing on each animal as though she was searching for something. She licked her lips, wetting them with venom.

I elbowed her in the ribs and shot her a look. She realised what she'd done and mumbled an apology.

"Which one is this 'Mark's' house?" I asked her.

She pointed to the old, wooden cottage. "That one. I shared it with him, his wife and my father. My father…" she trailed off as she blinked her eyes, as though she would cry.

"It's okay," I soothed, patting her back affectionately. "He won't get hurt, I promise."

"No it's me that I'm worried about," she whimpered as she flinched from my touch before moving away from my hand. I drew it back hastily. Newborns didn't like to be touched as a general but I feared it was something more with Shayla. "Remember what happened when we girls were all out hunting? That was a stranger and yet I wanted his blood. What if I lost control and drank from him? I'll never be able to look Carlisle in the eye again! I –"

"Whoa Shayla, stop," I ordered. She shut up, but her mouth was twisted into a pout. "You won't lose control; I'll be there with you. Here's our plan. You go to your room, grab everything that you need and then we'll kill him. But not a single drop of blood is to be spilled though. You won't be able to resist."

"So, get in there, get my stuff, break his neck and go home, right?" she said as she cocked an eyebrow at me, a smirk developing on her face,

I give a quiet laugh at her before resuming my attention on the house. I could hear the clinking of glass on wood and several men's loud, jubilant laughs.

"They're drinking," Shayla told me in a whisper. She adjusted her position so she was kneeling down, one knee on the ground, her hands dangling just above the ground with her fingers barely touching the bare dirt. I imitated her position while a ripple of anger coursed through me when she said the dreaded word. Drinking. Human men lost their humanity when they drank and instead became the monstrous pigs that I had suffered at the hands of. And so had my new sister as a matter of fact, but I secretly hoped not in the same way. I suddenly felt pity for the man we were going to murder, he was going to suffer so much when we were through with him. I hissed softly.

"This should be fun," Shayla then chuckled evilly from my side. I raised an eyebrow at her but she missed the gesture.

"Alright let's go," I said.

We jogged forward to the cottage where the lights were now getting switched off. I stayed near the front door, keeping as a lookout, while Shayla circled the house, searching for a way in. I heard her call me in the softest whisper and I found her standing besides a huge tree which long branches shot past the first floor. One was extremely close to an open window.

She scaled the tree with ease before turning to check on me. I gracefully leapt up the tree and together, we crept towards the window. She slipped in but then stopped, half-blocking my view of the room.

"Shayla!" I hissed at her. "What's wrong, what's going on?"

"It's… It's my room," she whimpered. She moved forward and sat on the bed, gazing around the room.

"This was your room?!" I asked, thunderstruck. It was a lot different from the one she lived in now. This one was completely bare except for a closet, bed and a bedside table. The wall were painted plain white but worn, chipped and cracked in many places. The bed was merely a mattress on an old wooden frame with the dirty sheets strewn around. The closet door was slightly ajar and I could see the plain clothes inside. Not like the expensive clothes I had bought her, but these were all ragged and torn.

"These were your clothes?" I asked as I pulled a pair of jeans from the closet. They had a hole on each knee and they had loose threads hanging off them.

"Yeah…" she replied, uninterestingly as she reached under the bed and pulled out an acoustic guitar. She strummed on it, making it emit a beautiful noise before slinging it on her back via the leather strap.

"Their so… frayed," I said softly as I rub a thread between my thumb and forefinger.

"Well, I think we bought them second hand. Maybe, can't remember the details exactly." She shrugged as she pulled a photo from the drawer. Her face drew into a confused expression as she examined the photo. It was very old and when she flipped it over, I saw that is was a very old photograph of a baby being held in a women's arms. The baby was playing with the necklace that hung around the women's neck, a pendant with a charm shaped like an 'S'.

"Shayla and Sienna- 14th of February, 1955," she read off the back. "Mom?" she then asked to no one in particular as she drew her mouth into a frown.

"Huh?" I took the photo from her hands and looked at it. Even though there was a huge difference in age and the photo was only in sepia, the similarities between the two were astounding. Their face were both slim but yet still full, their eyes seemed to be of the same shade and they both had a rather goofy, crooked smile.

"Your mom?" I asked her as I gave her the photo. She folded it up and placed it in her pocket before answering me with a shrug.

"Let's just get this over with, hey? This is all the stuff I need," she said, changing the subject. "Oh and this…"

She lifted her mattress before pulling out a flat, green container and then opening it to reveal silver chain with a pendent shaped like an 'S'. The 'S' had tiny green gyms set into it.

"Is that…" I start to ask but she cuts me off quick.

"The same pendent that my mom is wearing? Yes, yes it is." She puts it on around her neck and rubbed it affectionately between her fore finger and thumb. "It's my most treasured possession. I never really wore it because I was scared that someone would steal it or I would lose it." She sighed and walked to the closed door and opened it a crack, just enough so we could hear the men leaving.

The lights clicked off downstairs and I saw a burly man stumble up the stairs, rubbing his stubby fingers through his greasy black hair. He banged into the doorframe as he entered a room down the hall.

"Go home Rosalie," Shayla suddenly growled from the door. She turned her face towards me and all I could see the in darkness was anger on it, a cold mask set over her real face.

"But –"

"Go!" she barked at me harshly before I obliged and slipped out the window. I hit the ground running and flitted back through the black forest towards home. As the trees thinned I could see Emmett was waiting patiently on the back porch step. He rose as I came into the yard. Before I could blink he had swept me up into an embrace and had planted his lips on mine. I returned the kiss, wrapping my arms around his stone neck. He gave a small throaty growl as I traced his bottom lip with my tongue just as someone coughed unnecessarily behind him. I pulled away from my mate with difficulty and turned to glare at the interruption.

It was Edward. "Rosalie, what's going on? What have you done?" he growled at me. "Something is going on so you better tell me!"

I flinched slightly as he shouted at me but my courage perks back up when I feel Emmett's hand on the small of my back.

"Why should I? It's mine and Shayla's business and not even your little mind tricks will get it out of me!" I shouted out the last words before storming into the house. Jasper yelled at me as I entered.

"Rosalie calm down! You're giving me a headache! If that's even possible…" Alice giggled at his comment from the lounge room.

"Rosalie what's going on? Where is Shayla?" Edward snarled at me again as he followed me inside. Emmett stood to the side, unsure whether to intervene or not. Edward stood in front of me, his hands in fists as he struggled to contain his anger. Did he and Alice see what were planning? Obviously not or Alice would have been yelling at me as well. I stopped in the kitchen and turned to face my brother.

"Nothing, and not telling," I answer him calmly as possible but I was angry. He didn't need to know what Shayla and I had planned and he wasn't going to find out.

But he caught the trail of my thoughts. "What!?" he shouted. "Rosalie, she is only a month old! And you told her to go…" He glared at me angrily and I proceeded to respond. If he wanted a fight then he would sure as hell get one.

"I did it when I was only a few months! It was her idea and she needed to–"

In a few seconds, we were screeching at each other, yelling insults and arguing over my decision. I seriously thought he was over reacting. Poor Emmett stood to the side looking broken as he watched his brother and mate fight over his little sister. In a few seconds, Carlisle, Esme, Jasper and Alice had joined us.

"Rosalie, Edward, stop that! Now, what on earth is going on here?" Esme demanded as she stood between us.

"Rosalie 'encouraged' Shayla to go do murder!" Edward spat at her, his face and eyes filled with fury. But his rage wasn't needed. I had done nothing wrong and nor had Esme.

I glanced at Jasper, trying to tell him without speaking that Edward needed to be calmed down.

It worked. Jasper held his hand on Edward's shoulder, just touching him gently, but when Edward tried to shrug the hand off, Jasper's grip tightened and calm bleed out over us. Edward sighed and sat on one of the stools lining the bench. He had calmed down significantly.

"Alright, now what is this all about, really?" Carlisle asked calmly. Emmett strode over to me before he pulled me to him to comfort me. One of his hands rested my shoulder and the other held one of my own hands. He squeezed it gently, letting me know it was okay to continue.

"Well…" I start to say before hesitating. There was another encouragement squeeze from Emmett; I continued when I felt it. "Shayla was feeling a bit down and she suggested that she got some revenge with some assistance from me."

Alice closed her eyes before furrowing her brow as she tried to see the future. "Urgh, why didn't I see this!" she eventually groaned.

"It was a sudden decision on her part. I should have never encouraged it but she wanted me there. She knew about my past from Emmett…"My husband stiffened beside me and I squeezed his hand, letting him know that I wasn't mad at him. "But once we got to her old house, some unpleasant memories of hers arose and she kicked me out so to speak." I frowned slightly as I think back to the incident.

"Why though?" Jasper asked. "She knows she could lose control even if one little drop of blood is spilled. And so do you Rosalie!" He shook his head at me. "How could you be so irrational? Shayla is young, much younger then you were when you committed your murders. She has only been one of us for a month for God's sake!"

I cut him off before he can speak further. "Look, I know what I did was wrong but she needed to do this! It was torturing her and I simply encouraged her to do what was best– for her. Not for me– for her."

"You were a fool to leave her alone though," Edward growled at me, his temper arising. "She could have exposed us and then we'll have to move again!"

I opened my mouth to respond but Emmett beat me to it. "Shayla is a responsible, mature girl, especially for her age. She can control herself, I know she can! Rosalie is not a fool at all!"

Edward went to respond but Carlisle cut him off. "Okay, okay everyone, calm down and control yourselves. Let's sort this out. I'm sure that Shayla is fine. She's a strong, independent girl and like Emmett said, very mature and responsible for her age."

"She would never do anything to harm herself or us," Alice said. "She is extremely loyal us, perhaps even more then any of us when we first joined the family."

A feeling of pride set into me, like I had just won a gold medal at the Olympics. I glanced at Jasper who gave a small smile. "That sense of pride is what Esme feels," he explained. "And I think we should too. She's has only been one of us for just over a month now and she's already that loyal."

Esme beamed. "She's my daughter now. How can you not expect me to be that proud?"

Edward chuckled, apparently over his mood now. "We can't."

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