Putting his own questions and worries aside, Edward spent the next few hours showing Bella how to hunt, the different tracks and scents of each animal that made its habitat in the area. He tried schooled her in which animal tasted the best, the closest to human blood but she insisted on finding out for herself instead of learning from his experience. Her stubborn nature stayed intact.

There were things that worried him though, made him fear for her. Her speed, as a newborn, should've been more pronounced. She should've been able to outrun him but she couldn't. She stayed to the shadows, the cover of the trees, careful not to stray into direct sunlight, like the sun would harm her. More than any other difference he marked though was her unusual self-control when it came to blood lust. It was a phenomenal anomaly. Her other emotions, however, seemed to heighten and intensify.

Still, she was extraordinary, so unlike anything or anyone he had ever seen, vampire or human. Her cheeks still blushed with color and her skin was still soft and pliable to the touch and nearly as warm as it once was. It was hard for him to reconcile that she was a vampire at all. At least until he watched her stalk a black bear and feast on it like she was born to do so.

When she dropped the remains of the beast and looked up at him, chest heaving, eyes hooded and blood dripping down the side of her mouth, he thought his whole body would explode with need. It would take some time to get used to the distortion of her face as she drank; the fangs, the veins that stood out in bold relief under her skin, stemming around her eyes and cheeks. It was sexy, feral and primitive. It was driving him insane.

She backed up further into the shadows with a come-hither look.

"I want you," he said in a harsh whisper, flexing his hands, waiting impatiently for permission.

"Come get me."

He needed no further encouragement. Within a second, he had her pressed up against a tree, his mouth at her neck, kissing her greedily. His hands found their way to her shirt, ripping it open. Buttons flew in all directions. She pressed up against him, a mewling sound coming from deep within her throat, urging him on.

"Don't hold back," she said with a moan and a writhe of her hips.

A switch in him flipped. He always had to be so careful before. Not now. Not anymore. Oh God, he never felt anything as good as her fangs scraping against his neck and her tongue darting out to lick at him. When had his shirt come off?

She gave all of herself, not holding back, driving him on and he gave as good as he got. On the forest floor, on a bed of leaves and rocks, he made her his in a whole new way. His body urgent with desire to claim as he had never claimed before, he found his teeth at her neck once more, her scent stronger and more intense with her arousal.

"Yes," she screamed underneath him.

Do it. Do it.

Rational thought escaped him. He pulled back his lips, baring his teeth and sunk them deep into the flesh of her neck as they both hit the pinnacle of their mating. She screamed loud, more with pleasure than pain. Her blood, the sweetest ambrosia, tasted amazing, like it was created for him and him alone. His own special brand of heroin. He had drunk from her before. Back then it was tainted with James' venom and morphine but this, this was pure, unadulterated Bella.

Bella! His eyes snapped open even as his body still bucked. Somewhere in the back of his mind a voice was yelling, demanding him to stop, that he would drain her dry if he didn't. Bella's hand cupped the back of his head, tugging at his hair, urging him to take more.

Just a little a more. A few more drops.

"No!" He ripped his mouth away from her; panting with the effort it cost him .

"What's wrong?" Bella stared up at him with satisfaction heavy eyes tinged with confusion.

"Why didn't you stop me?" With the pad of his thumb, he wiped at the corners of lips, thoroughly disgusted with himself, with his weakness. "I could have killed you."

Bella fought hard to keep herself from smiling. Poor Edward. She thought with their recent lovemaking that he had already adjusted to the fact that she was a vampire, as immortal as he was. He hadn't been careful. He hadn't treated her like a delicate piece of crystal that might break. It felt normal. He must have hit his limit though when he began to suck her blood.

It had made everything that much more intense, magnified, to know, to be aware that she was able to give him that pleasure. To have her blood within him sealed their intimacy and union more than ever before.

"You can't kill me that way. Not anymore."

"We don't know that! I won't take chances with your life. I can't."

"Fine." She stood up, brushed herself off and began searching for her clothes. "By all means, let's go talk to Carlisle then." She snatched up the mangled remnants of what was left of her outfit with huff, trying unsuccessfully to retrieve some semblance of decently dressed. Feeling failure and anger bloom, she sunk back down on her knees, pulling the edges her tattered blouse together and clutching them close to her chest.

"Bella?" Edward knelt down in front of her and tipped her chin up with his forefinger. "What's wrong?"

She felt trapped by his gaze and tempted to lie. How could she explain it when she didn't quite understand it herself? Emotions flooded her, making her skin itch and her stomach clench with anxiety. One second she was aroused, the next disproportionately angry and the next she was sinking into the depths of despair. It was like having PMS on steroids.

"I'm not normal. I wasn't normal as a human and I'm definitely not normal now."

"Oh, Bella," he sighed with a shake of head and a small smile. "You talk as if that is such a bad thing."

"Isn't it?" She gave a frustrated growl and kicked at the dirt, creating swells of dust clouds around them. "I blush, I bleed, I sparkle…well, sort of." She tried to swallow back a manic laugh that bubbled to her throat. Brushing a stray tear from her eye, she showed it to Edward "Apparently, I cry too. I only wanted to fit in. I thought once I was a vampire, I'd feel a sense of belonging, a sense of home that I never really had. I couldn't even do that right. I don't belong anywhere."

Taking her by both shoulders, forcing her to face him, Edward spoke to her with absolute conviction, "You belong with me. Always."

Once they arrived back at the house, Bella walked past everyone with as much dignity as she could muster given her state of dress…or undress as the case may be. Ignoring the quizzical scrutiny, she walked up the stairs and back into the safety of Edward's room. Everything was exactly the same, everything but her. Well, her and the now boarded up window she had taken a flying leap through earlier. She shook her head, biting her lip.

After rummaging through Edward's dresser drawer, she shed what was left of her clothes and yanked one of Edward's t-shirts over her head and pulled on a pair of drawstring shorts to wear. All she wanted to do was lie down and not think; not think about how weird she felt, the changes in her body, what they meant, not think about Charlie who was sure to be back from his fishing trip by now and wondering why he hadn't heard from her.

Would he notice the changes? She snorted. Of course, he would. Charlie may only be a small town cop but he was still a cop and one who was very perceptive. Then again…

Bella pushed herself off the bed and inched up to the full length mirror behind the door. She faced it with her eyes clenched shut, afraid to open them, afraid of what she would see. This would be the first time she saw herself as a vampire. Would she still look the same and just a little enhanced? Or would there be any change at all? Wouldn't be ironic if all these differences she felt were only on the inside and on the outside, she was still plain, old, Bella?

She forced her eyes open and stared at the image in front her. The feeling was so surreal that she reached out to touch the mirror just to make sure the image was hers. The changes were subtle. Her hair seemed thick, fuller with more red highlights. Eyes that she always considered mud brown seemed more vibrant, the color lighter with flecks of green and gold.

Edward had said they were the same color, she mused as she brought her finger to her eye and leaned in closer to the mirror, peering at herself more intently. Was it possible? Were her eyes always this color, this blending of earth tones, but her vision was just too human to see it? He often said that she didn't see herself very clearly. Maybe he had been right all along. He wasn't speaking metaphorically. He was being literal.

Steady footsteps climbing the stairs alerted her that someone was coming. They stopped right outside the closed door and there was a moment before she heard a soft rapping of knuckles against wood.

"Bella, may I come in?"

Carlisle. Of course. She sighed, knowing her reprieve was over. It was time to face reality once again.

"Sure," she said, stepping away from the mirror and sitting cross-legged on the bed. Feigning nonchalance wasn't her forte but she was going to give it the old college try.

Carlisle walked in empty handed, no medical bag, no machines, just him. Maybe becoming a guinea pig or a science project wasn't on the agenda after all. She had enough of being poked, prodded and dissected to last a lifetime.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself. No one likes a complainer. I should be grateful. I'm alive, well, not in the dictionary meaning of the term but still.

How could she be angry that she was immortal, able to spend lifetimes with her loved ones? This was what she always wanted, since knowing what Edward and his family were. Did it matter that it wasn't exactly in the form she expected or happened a little sooner than she wanted?

"You have every right to be upset."

Her eyes snapped up to meet his. Having her thoughts so easily read by everyone was disconcerting. To be so open, to lack the privacy, it bothered her.

"I know I have to get used to that but I can't bring myself to make me want to. I wish I knew why this was happening and how I could control it."

"I have some theories about that," he said, sitting down next to her, "if you're open to hearing them, of course."

"I would…but first, I want to say I'm sorry about the window." She spared a glance toward the wooden boards obstructing the view of the forest. "I-"

"There's no need to apologize. You were upset and felt cornered and then Rosalie…" He shook his head. "We should be apologizing to you. I can't imagine any of that was easy to wake up to."

"No," she said under her breath then forced a smile. "So about these theories of yours…"

Bella listened intently as he spoke, surprised at how much he was able to learn in such a small amount of time and how much was still yet to understand. She was a little miffed to find out that he invited another vampire named Eleazar to visit but in the end she figured if this Eleazar character could shed more light on what she was, she couldn't turn down the offer for his help.

"So this friend of yours, Eleazar, thinks the reason you can hear me is because I let you?"

"In a fashion. It was when I did the CAT and MRI of your brain that I saw it, an actual border separating your hippocampus into two parts. At first, if you remember we had thought that attributed to the memories from your past life held in check, to keep them from bleeding into the present until Bonnie did the spell. Now, I wonder, if it is more than that, that even as a human you had the ability to shield yourself for protection. Although many people try to hide behind a metaphorical shield to appear less emotionally vulnerable, yours is actually physical. It explains why Edward can't read your thoughts and why Jane had no effect on you. It's extraordinary really."

"I don't understand. Shouldn't that 'shield' be stronger, more defined now?"

"As a hybrid, it appears you've inherited many of the qualities of a Nocturne, one of them being intensified emotions. It makes this shield unstable."

"Intensified emotions and unstable. That's an understatement," she mumbled, pondering that a bit. "Is that why I feel so PMS'y?"

Carlisle laughed, trying to cover it up with a cough into his hand but his eyes still sparkled with mirth. "That is certainly one way put it. But seriously, I'd like to do some tests to see just what attributes of the two different vampire breeds you've acquired and which ones you didn't."

"Of course, you would. That's going to include needle and my blood isn't"

"I'm afraid so. As natural as the instinct may be, until I do a full examination, I've asked Edward to refrain from drinking your blood. That was very dangerous, Bella." He gave her an admonishing look. "For both you and him."

"Is Bella alright, Edward?" Esme asked, her eyes full with concern as she watched her oldest son enter in the house behind Bella, his shoulders slumped.

He turned to look at her, his brows drawing together in confusion at the question. He didn't know how to answer. He hoped she was. But then again, she was eerily quiet on the run home and it bothered him more than he was willing to say.

"She's fine. It's just going to take her a bit to get used to."

"Us as well," Jasper said. "Hybrids are pretty rare."

"Rare." Edward pivoted on his heel to face Rosalie. "But not unheard of. Not according to what you discovered."

"Thanks to yours truly," Rebekah said with a smug smile.

Rose gave a stiff nod of recognition with a curl of distaste on her lips. "She suggested we go to Arizona to find answers."

"Because Brutus and Blondie wouldn't stick out like glitter glue on white paper in the sunny desert of all places." Damon rolled his eyes and snorted.

"It worked though didn't it, you ass."

"Who are you calling-"

"Stop!" Edward shouted issuing a glare to them both. "Rose, please continue."

"As I was saying…"

Sedona, AZ

Cloaked by night, Rose and Emmett followed Rebekah through the dirt trails, shouldering past the tourists that seemed to cluster around the various vortex attractions even well after the sun went down. So they waited, needing to conduct the rest of their journey without attention.

Rebekah let out a snort and shook her head as they perused through a hokey gift shop biding their time.

"What's your problem, now?" Rose asked with impatience and a sideways glare as she rifled through the various souvenir brochures. Traveling with the Original vampire was trying her last nerve. Never had she met anyone so high maintenance, so prone to petulant tantrums. There were several times she wanted to kick the girl in the face but she stopped herself, reminding herself this was for Bella, who God knew what was happening to her and this little twit may actually help.

"This…this is a mockery. A disgrace. This place was sacred at one time, now it's nothing more than a tourist attraction. Case and point," she said handing a booklet over to her with the word's "Witch's Mountain" on it.

"What do you care? I thought witches were the mortal enemy of your type of vampire."

"Yes, they are," Rebecca said with a sad smile. "Want to know the most twisted irony of all? If it weren't for a witch, our whole species wouldn't exist."

"Are you saying a witch created the nocturnals?" Emmett asked her, curious.

"It was my mother, actually. She was a very powerful witch." Her voice was soft as she stared up at the converted church. She sighed and motioned them to walk with her towards the rear entrance. "When we lost my brother, Henrik, she was devastated. It was through that devastation that she used witchcraft to make us immortal, to protect us. She loved us so much she turned us into vampires, the first of our kind, The Originals. A family that was supposed to stay together, fight for each other. It was us against the world." She let out a bitter, mocking laugh. "You saw first-hand how well that turned out."

Rose flinched. She didn't want to care. She didn't' want to feel any sympathy but she couldn't imagine how it must've felt to be threatened and betrayed, locked up for nearly a century in a tomb by the hands of your own flesh and blood.

"That's fucked up."

"Yes, Emmett. I couldn't agree with you more. C'mon let's get out of here. I want to be done with this."

Sneaking through red rock crevices, they began to climb a formation now known as Witch Mountain. When they arrived at the very peak, Rebekah revealed a camouflaged passageway, obscured by jagged edged rock. It was a large red stone, too heavy for human hands to lift but not for a vampire.

Dank air mixed with some unnameable odor wafted up from the bowels of the dark opening. They walked down age warped stone steps, deeper and deeper into the mountain and finally wove through an intricate network of underground tunnels. Scorpions, lizards and red ants scattered in their wake and moisture seeped from the tunnel ceilings and walls.

"Here we are." Rebekah stopped in front of a wooden door, suspiciously without rot and water damage and decorated with elaborate ancient carvings. "Hopefully, my old friend will have answers. Be forewarned though, he's a bit quirky."

"I'd be a bit quirky too if I had to live down here," Rose said, pulling cobwebs from her hair, her lips pursed in disgust.

"Be careful who you call quirky, darling." The door opened swiftly revealing a tall, refined looking man with pale, ageless skin and a wealth of bronze hair. "Come in, come in. I've been expecting you," he said as he ushered them inside.

"It's been a long time," Rebekah greeted him with an air kiss over his gaunt cheek before walking inside.

"Bekah, you look enchanting as always."

Rose was hesitant to venture inside the cavernous underground chamber. The man or whatever he was, with his hair and golden eyes could have passed for Edward's long lost brother. She hovered with Emmett at the threshold, not liking this recent turn of events.

"Oh for heaven's sake," The man said with a roll of his eyes. "It's perfectly safe. I don't bite. Much."

"Sage is The Guardian."

"Guardian of who exactly?" Emmett asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion and his fists clenched ready to fight.

"Guardian of what, would be more appropriate, Emmett McCarthy Cullen." He raised his lips into a grin. "Follow me. I'll show you."

"Wait a second, time out," Damon interrupted. "Did you say Sage? Tall, bronze and freaky? Guardian of the Gate? Of the Treasures of the Kitsune? That Sage?"

"You know him?" Emmett asked.

"You could say that," Damon mumbled under his breath.

"He sends his regards, by the way."

"Did he now? Did he also happen to mention a bottle of wine he owes me?"

"No, now can I please continue with my story?"

"Sure, Blondie. You have our undivided attention."

Sage turned his back on the three of them and walked soundlessly down another hall. Rebekah, Rose and Emmett followed closely behind until they stopped abruptly in front of a steel vault, the thick door open wide. His spindly hands motioned to stacks and stacks of ancient tomes behind him.

"What on earth?" Rose stepped into the room, her eyes wide as she stared at the haphazard stacks that were littered throughout the small space that smelled heavily of patchouli incense.

"Ancient Codices. Each one documenting the origins and histories of supernatural creatures through to present time. He gestured to a thick book, laid out on a pedestal and already opened. "I believe that is the one you seek."

"Wait," Edward interrupted Rosalie's tale. "You're telling me that there are books detailing every supernatural creature in existence and in one location?"

"Yes," Rose huffed impatiently. "Do you want me to get to the point or not?"

"Please."

"Okay. So, there was one known hybrid in existence, ever." Rose looked meaningfully around the room until her eyes locked on Edward's. She sucked in a sharp breath and exposed the thoughts she kept hidden from him. "Her name was Didyme."

A/N - So, good news. I have once again been nominated for several categories in The Burning Diamond Awards. It is an honor to be recognized, especially along with some really great authors. Voting ends on 1/15/14 and if you feel I'm deserving of the nod, then please cast your vote (and check out the other stories nominated too). The voting link is on my profile. Oh, and please review here, if you are so inclined. Thanks!