Alice froze and nearly dropped her shopping bags. Jasper, and the rest of the Cullen family, could feel Alice's trepidation like a dark, icy blanket gently covering their still hearts. It wasn't hard to tell she was having another vision. They waited for her to say what she saw as her expression changed to confusion. Her eyes seemed to wonder as she tried to put together the puzzle that was her vision.

"What is this? It's...disorienting...I see Jayme...but I'm seeing something in the shadows..." She said with a tilt of her head, her round, hazel eyes narrowed and focused. "It's Jayme...she's on her way home... but she's not alone."

"Not alone? What, is a human following her? Then, let me go get her." Emmett gave a sly smile as he walked up behind Rosalie, punching his fist into his palm. The firey excitement was extinguished when he received a glare from the parents of the household. "What? No human's gonna want to mess with my baby sister once they've met me."

"Keeping our family under the radar is still foreign to you?" Edward asked in a mocking tone.

"There are three figures hiding in the trees..." Alice explained slowly, raising her head slightly like she was looking into the trees. "I don't think they're humans, otherwise I would be able to see them more clearly. But, I think she will need someone to walk her home. Her pursuers are wearing masks and dark jumpers, I can't make out anything else."

Jasper felt everyone's emotions switch to deep concern in a flick of a switch. Even he was worried about her. Jayme was the newest member of the vampire clan, but she was different from them. She had a mixture of werewolf, possibly not from the Quilette Tribe, in her blood. She was more human, had a bit more muscle on her body, ran faster and doesn't sparkle. Which made it easier for her to blend in with the rest of the humans at high school. She decided to exploit that advantage by joining in after school activities. In the process, she listens in on the gossip in the community for any word on the Cullens secret longevity and beauty.

Carlisle, head of the Cullen Clan, glanced over at the calendar on the fridge. It was the start of the week, which meant that Jayme was volunteering at a small Fork's preschool. It, also, meant that she would arrive home in about an hour or less, depending on how many kids she had to watch. And since she hasn't found a car of her own, yet, she walks home every day.

The Quilette Tribe wouldn't set foot on our land, Carlisle thought to himself, even so, there is no way they could've known about her. So this must be...

"Where did you see her?" Carlisle asked, slipping on a dark blue rain coat and readied himself to dash into the trees.

Alice massaged her temples, straining to remember where she saw Jayme. She was in a heavily wooded area, the forest trees were casting large shadows, the setting sun illuminating her features. Jayme's blond hair fell over her shoulder's as she turned her head to the right, staring upwards with a small smile.

She always smiles at the mountains! Alice screamed in her thoughts.

" She's not far, she's near the mountains!"

Carlisle was the first out the door, landing on the ground and took off like a bullet out of a gun. Edward, Emmett and Jasper were about to follow until they heard Alice in the background.

"Wait!" She shouted. "If need be, they can outrun them. I can't say for sure why I can't see them, but they might be involved with the Tribe. Carlisle can handle them."

"I'm sure he'll be just fine. Carlisle can deal with a few stalkers, human or not." Esme said with a confident smile. "Besides, if the Volturi were here, we would have heard something about it by now. And Alice would have seen them. There's no need for all of you to go."

Carlisle ran as fast as he could to reach his newest daughter. Jayme was strong, but she's like Carlisle; an overly compassionate person with their hearts bigger than their heads.

He zoomed through the thick woods, bouncing off broken tree branches, dodging low branches. He listened intently at each pause, sniffing the air for a different scent, his hazel eyes scanned the thick woods for her. The other fact that made Jayme different was that she had a faint heart beat and had a bit of a rancid smell like milk before it went bad. The heart beat would be impossible for a human to detect, but her scent would set off the werewolves of the Quielette Tribe, and there would be a chance that another vampire would mistake her for a human.

A woman with bright blond hair came into view moments later and he slid to a stop right beside her. She gasped and jumped back, her hands on the straps of her dark blue back pack.

"Whoa, hey dad." She said with a smile, her blue eyes wide with shock. "Nice stop. Come to see the mountains with me?"

"Hi, Jayme." Jayme was the only child of the Cullen Clan who addressed Carlisle as 'dad'.

He scanned the area behind her for the figures in dark jumpsuits, he couldn't pick up any unfamiliar scents or hear any other heart beats.

"What's up?" She asked watching his gaze, clutching her bag tightly. Then, she lowered her voice down to a whisper. "I have to admit this is the first time you've joined me on this walk."

"Well, first time for everything. Nothing wrong with escorting my child back home." He placed a hand on her back and nudged her forward.

"Ummm, sure, that's ok." Jayme waited a few moments before speaking again. "Is there someone behind me?"

Jayme wasn't dumb, she knew that no one in the Cullen household would run all the way here just to walk her back. Carlisle gave her a slight nod, just enough for her to see. Jayme, as calm and relaxed as she could, picked up the mirror Alice gave her. The pearl pink colored object fitted into her hand, she flipped the top open and stared at her own reflection for a second.

No, don't get distracted, she instructed herself. Her reflection, still, surprised her every time she glanced into the mirror. Her hair and eyes stood out like crystals in comparison to her human features. Swallowing back the lump in her throat, she pretended to be doing her hair when she spotted a figure walking in the shadows. She held her breath and listened to the sound of three more heart beats, and an unfamiliar scent coming from behind her.

"Don't pay any attention to them." Carlisle whispered harshly, wrapping his arm around her thin shoulders. "Just keep walking and, maybe, they'll go away. We can't tell who they are, but they are not vampires. And it's not James or that rogue wolf, both have been dead for a few years now. They can't hurt you."

"And what if they don't?"

"Then, we'll make a run for it." Jayme glanced up at Carlisle as a smile spread across his face. "Nothing is going to happen to you. Not while I'm here."

"Ok." They continued walking ahead, and, every now and then, Jayme would pretend to drop things and she would risk a glance behind her. Only to find nothing, but trees and bushes. The hearts and the scent still remained. After 20 minutes of pretending to trip over her shoe lace and picking things up, she saw a dark clothed figure dashing behind a tree at last minute.

Jayme gasped and shot up onto her feet.

"I just saw someone behind us." She whispered sharply.

"On the count of three, run as fast back to the house and do not look back." Carlisle grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side behind a couple of trees.

"One, two, three go!" Carlisle said, loudly. Both of them dashed into the woods, running as fast as their feet could carry. Jayme was ahead of him, tripping over twigs and roots, and regaining her balance. Carlisle looked behind them and found no one. Still, he pressed forward. They ran until they came to a clearing, standing back to back, scanning the trees and thickets.

Then, Jayme heard a rustle in the trees in front of her. In a blink of an eye, three figures dressed in dark hood's and leggings appeared behind them, their faces hidden behind masks with different colors on each of them. Carlisle grabbed Jayme and shoved her behind him.

"Jayme, run home. I'll deal with them." Carlisle commanded, his focus on the three figures.

"But-"

"I'll be fine, I haven't bumped into anything I couldn't handle."

Jayme groaned softly, then dashed ahead.

"Wait!" One of them yelled, wearing a mask with a thick branch painted across it. Carlilse stood in front of them, standing battle ready.

"Stay where you are." He said to the tree branch masked figure, his hazel eyes hard and cold. "Before you speak to my daughter, you will deal with me. I am aware that you are not humans, I can hear your hearts beating, but you were able to keep up with our running speed. Why have you been following her? What business do you have with her?"

"How did he know that we were following her?" The one on the left with a painting of flames coming down the center of the mask. "We were being so quiet."

"Pyro!" The first one yelled over her left shoulder.

"That's impossible, he couldn't have heard us or seen us." The third figure with flames resembling blossoms all over her mask.

"Phoenix!" The first one yelled again, looking over her right shoulder. Then, she looked back at Carlisle. "Tell me your name."

"I'm Carlisle Cullen."

"C-Cullen? Your last name is Cullen." She asked in a shaky tone.

"Yes and now for you. What is your name?"

She hesitated for a moment and raised her arms in a sense that says 'I mean you now harm'.

"I will answer your questions, but first, I have to ask that you don't run away." Tree branch pleaded." Because when I remove my mask, what you see will shock you. So, please bear with me and don't run away."

Carlisle narrowed his eyes, studying this persons words. He could tell that the three figures were women based on their voices. And due to her mask, he couldn't read this person's emotions or guess their intentions. At moments like these, he wished he had powers like Edward or Jasper, it would make this situation easier.

"Sister Gaea, are you sure you want to do this?" Pyro asked, uncertainty was heavy in her voice.

"You know what can happen and if the end result is not what you were hoping, it can do some serious damage to your emotional health." Phoenix stated, leaning closer to Gaea.

Gaea nodded.

Carlisle could see a pair of bright blue eyes staring back at him, causing him to feel a bit tensed. At the same time, he had another feeling that this Gaea was not willing to fight him. "Yes, sisters. This has to be done and I am ready for this, it's been too long. This is important to both him and I, it is a deep secret that was never revealed to him. And I need him to be patient and...forgiving."

Deep secrets? Forgiveness? Carlisle toyed around with those words. There were not many that Carlisle knew who had wronged him, they were his friends or family. They, all, shared a bond with him, in some shape or form. Then, he began to wonder about those he tried to save, the ones he wanted to bring into his family, the days he extended his hand in friendship. Carlisle was never offended when the offer was refused. But now he wondered if this was one of those persons begging for his offer again.

"Gaea, I give you my word that I will not run away when you remove your mask. So, since you are asking for my trust and my forgiveness, I will ask again; why are you after my daughter?" Carlisle asked again as Gaea took a step towards him, then another. Slowly, she raised her hands and pulled down her hood, revealing bright blond hair balled into a bun on top of her head and unclipped the mask.

Slowly, hands trembling, she lowered the mask to her side and met Carlisle's gaze. And for just a brief moment, they stared at each other in intense silence.

Carlisle gasped, his mouth agape, his shoulders laxed, staring at her in utter disbelief. He blinked several times, clenched his hands into tight fist, as though he were trying to wake himself from a dream. His feet slid back, his mind spinning, his dead heart breaking as old memories flooded his mind. She stared back at him with watery eyes, her pale features were bold and beautiful like a model.

"Carlisle-"

He spun around and ran towards the house, hear his name echoing in the sky. His mind spinning as fast as his running speed.

No no no no no no.

Edward's head shot up, hearing Carlisle's loud thoughts as though he were sitting next to him. After Carlisle left, Edward tried to listen in on Carlisle's thoughts in case if he needed help. Until Carlisle got too far for Edward to hear a single word, he debated about following behind him and keeping a far enough distance to be within ear reach of Carlisle's thoughts. In the meantime, he chose to listen in on the families thoughts to keep himself occupied. Their voices were silent, but their minds were as loud as kids at a rock concert.

It wasn't until a moment ago that their thoughts became silent and their voices were heard. Edward heard Jayme thoughts as she came up to the house. She, quickly, informed the family of the situation, which added more questions to their thoughts. When she finished, the women took Jayme to the center of the house, out of sight of the windows while the men stood guard at the corners of the house, staring out into the woods, waiting anxiously for someone to show up.

Minutes passed by like hours as they waited for Carlisle. Edward, feeling fed up, was just about to sneak away into the woods until Carlisle's thoughts rung, loudly, in his head.

LIES LIES LIES LIES

"Something's happened." Edward stated, running up to the door.

"What? What's happened? Is he ok?" Jayme asked, popping her head around the corner.

Edward's golden eyes narrowed, trying to decipher Carlisle's words. Bella took both of his ice cold hand in hers, praying that everything was alright with Carlisle. Like many other members of the family, Carlisle was a second father to her and they cared for each other as though they were related. "I don't know, exactly. I heard him ask himself wonder who the woman was and he was running a list of names in his thoughts. She must have removed it and he recognized her, otherwise, I can't think of any reason why he would want to run away or these thoughts I'm hearing."

Just then Carlisle appeared, his wide eyes spotted Edward and Bella, then began shouting,"Get away from the windows! Do not let anyone see you! Go!"

Edward was so surprised by Carlisle's tone of voice that he ignored the urge to run out the door to Carlisle's side, and pulled Bella into the other room. They hid around the corner with Jayme and the other women, Emmet and Jasper still stood by the windows at the back of the house. Edward continued to listen to Carlisle's thoughts.

Esme, concerned about her husband, sneaked around Jayme and Edward, and peered around the corner just enough to see the back of Carlisle's head. She g at Edward for answers.

"They've followed him." He answered in a low tone of voice, keeping Bella within arm's reach.

Esme, even more worried about her husband, tip toed ahead of the family and hunkered down behind a fixture, keeping the top of Carlisle's head in sight. She wanted to run up to him, it wasn't often that they dealt with terrifying situations separately. They've always worked like a team, leaning on each other for support and encouraging one another during the darkest moments. It didn't feel right that he would keep her hidden away from any foe.

Then, the three figures appeared and Esme gasped. All three figures had removed their mask's and the center one had bright blond hair that stretched all the way down her back like a long drape. Even though she was on the bottom of the hill just beneath Carlisle, Esme could tell she was just slightly shorter than Carlisle, her figure was trimmed and fully covered in a black jumpsuit. But that's not what's left her in shock. Esme braved a few more steps closer and saw the woman's face. Her pale face, her chin, the shape of her eyes and her lips were identical to Carlisle's.

Except her eyes were bright blue.

"Carlisle, you promised me that you wouldn't run off. " She said in a dark tone of voice. "I did not realize that this last century has turned you into a liar."

Hearing those words sparked anger in Esme's cold, dead heart. Carlisle was a man with his own secrets, just like the rest of the members of the Cullen's, but never lied. How dare this woman call her husband a liar?

"We did warn you." The right girl stated.

The other two were identical twins with long brown hair, but one had orange highlights and other had deep red highlights.

"I am no liar, do not blame me for running before my heart broke any further. As a matter of fact, I should be the one calling you the liar." Carlisle stated with an angry tone. "How could you do this to me? You have betrayed me! You, of all people, betrayed me! Why?"

She pinched her thin, pink lips together and lowered her gaze to the ground in shame. "I'm sorry I never told you-"

"Never told me what?" Carlisle snapped. "That you were alive these last few centuries? That you never bothered to find me or connect with me during that time?"

"You and father believed I was dead, everyone in the village believed I had passed." She explained with a hard glare. "I couldn't just call and say 'Hey I'm alive but don't freak out ok?'. What was I suppose to do?"