Chapter 007
"Who would want to hurt her?" Edward's voice cut through the silence, sharp and demanding. "Tell me."
Carlisle's expression remained calm, but I caught the flicker of concern in his golden eyes. "Edward, let's not—"
"No." Edward's hand tightened on mine. "She deserves to know what she's facing."
"She deserves not to be terrified," Carlisle countered gently. He turned to me, and his voice softened. "Maya, there are... governing bodies in our world. Ancient ones. They maintain order, enforce laws, and ensure our kind remains secret from humans."
My stomach dropped. "And they wouldn't like me."
"They wouldn't understand you," Jasper corrected, his drawl more pronounced. "Humans with supernatural abilities are rare. Most who develop them are either turned into vampires or..." He trailed off, jaw tightening.
"Or eliminated," Rosalie finished coldly. "If they're seen as a threat."
"Rosalie." Alice's voice carried a warning.
"What? She should know the truth." Rosalie's amber eyes fixed on me. "You can't un-know what you've learned, Maya. You can't go back to being a normal human girl living a normal life. The moment you started sensing our emotions, the moment Edward saved you in that parking lot, you became part of this world. And this world has rules. Dangerous ones."
The weight of her words settled over me like a physical thing. Edward had gone rigid beside me, his jaw clenched so tight I worried he might shatter his perfect teeth.
"The Volturi," Carlisle said quietly, and something about the way he spoke the name made the hair on my arms stand up. "They're the oldest, most powerful coven of our kind. They've governed vampire society for over three thousand years from their seat in Italy. They value secrecy above all else, and they deal harshly with anything that threatens exposure."
"But I'm not threatening anyone," I protested. "I barely understand what's happening to me."
"You know we exist." Rosalie's tone was matter-of-fact. "You've witnessed supernatural abilities. You possess them yourself. From their perspective, you're a liability. Either you join our world permanently—become one of us—or you become a security risk they can't ignore."
"That's enough." Edward's voice was barely controlled. "You're scaring her."
"Good," Rosalie shot back. "She should be scared."
"Everyone calm down." Carlisle raised a hand, and the room fell silent immediately. He had that kind of presence—quiet authority that didn't need to be demanded. "Maya is not in immediate danger. The Volturi are far away, and they have no reason to know about her. Yet. What matters now is helping her control her abilities and deciding how to proceed."
"How to proceed?" I heard my voice shake slightly. "What does that mean?"
Carlisle's expression grew thoughtful. "It means we have time to train you, to help you understand your gifts. And eventually, you'll need to make a choice about your future."
The unspoken implication hung in the air: vampire or victim.
I felt Edward's anguish through our connection before I saw it on his face—a raw, desperate fear that had nothing to do with himself and everything to do with me.
"I should take her home." Edward stood abruptly, pulling me up with him. "Her father will be wondering where she is."
"Edward—" Carlisle began.
"She's had enough for one day. We all have." Edward's tone left no room for argument. He looked at me, and I saw the careful control in his expression beginning to crack. "Come on."
The drive back to town was quiet. Edward had insisted on taking me in his Mercedes, despite Alice's protests that she'd brought me. He drove with one hand on the wheel, the other holding mine, his thumb tracing absent circles on my palm.
"I'm sorry," he said finally.
"For what?"
"For all of this. For dragging you into a world you never asked to be part of." His jaw clenched. "Rosalie is right. Your life was normal before you met me."
"My life was boring before I met you," I corrected. "And lonely. And safe, sure, but safe isn't the same thing as alive."
He glanced at me, surprise flickering across his features. "You can't mean that."
"Why not? Edward, something in me recognized you the moment I walked into that Biology classroom. Not who you are or what you are, but that you were... important somehow. Like I'd been waiting for you without knowing it." The words tumbled out, raw and honest. "Whatever I'm becoming, it started before Forks. Before you. You just helped me see it."
His hand tightened on mine. Through our connection, I felt his conflicting emotions—hope warring with fear, desire battling self-loathing, love fighting against the belief that loving me would destroy me.
Love.
The word echoed in my mind, drawing from what I'd sensed in him. Too soon, too fast, too intense. And yet completely, undeniably real.
"Maya." He pulled the car to the side of the road, put it in park. When he turned to face me, his golden eyes were molten. "I am dangerous for you. Not because I want to hurt you—I couldn't, even if my survival depended on it. But because my world is dangerous. And the closer you get to me, the more danger you're in."
"Then teach me," I said. "Teach me how to survive in your world. Jasper can help me control my abilities. You can all show me what I need to know."
"And if that's not enough? If the Volturi decide you're a threat?"
"Then we deal with it. Together." I reached up, touching his face with my free hand. His skin was cold as marble, smooth and perfect. Through the contact, his emotions flooded into me—and I didn't pull away. I let myself feel what he felt: the fierce protectiveness, the aching loneliness finally broken, the terrifying certainty that I was the most important thing in his long existence.
"You're very stubborn," he murmured.
"You have no idea."
Something in his expression softened. Then he smiled—genuinely smiled—and it transformed his face from beautiful to absolutely devastating.
"I'm going to regret this," he said.
"Probably."
He laughed, the sound surprising us both. Then he pressed his cold forehead to mine, his eyes closing. "Alright, Maya Reeves. We'll try it your way. But the first sign of real danger—"
"We face it together," I insisted.
"You're impossible."
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
Dad was pacing when I walked in. He took one look at me—my rumpled clothes, my flushed face, the way I couldn't quite stop smiling—and his expression cycled through relief, concern, and something that looked suspiciously like parental panic.
"Where have you been?" He tried for stern but landed somewhere closer to worried. "School ended hours ago."
"I was with friends." Not technically a lie. "Lost track of time. I'm sorry."
"Friends." He studied me carefully. "Would these friends happen to be the Cullen kids?"
My stomach dropped. "How did you—"
"Small town, Maya. People talk." He limped to the couch, gesturing for me to sit. "Mrs. Stanley from the grocery store mentioned seeing you at lunch with them. And Mike Newton's mother called to check if you were feeling alright."
"Mike's mother called you?" Horror replaced my earlier happiness.
"She was concerned. Apparently, her son is worried you've been pulled into some kind of cult." Dad's tone suggested he thought that was ridiculous, but his eyes were sharp. "So I'm going to ask you straight: are the Cullens giving you trouble? Because Chief Swan speaks highly of Dr. Cullen, but if there's something going on—"
"No! Dad, no. They're good people." I struggled for words that were true but not dangerous. "Alice has been really friendly, and Edward... Edward saved my life when that van almost hit me. They're just different, and people don't like different."
Dad's expression softened slightly. "That Edward kid. The one who pulled you out of the way."
"Yeah."
"He's important to you."
It wasn't a question, but I nodded anyway.
Dad sighed, rubbing his bad leg—the one that had ended his career. "You're young, Maya. And I know I can't stop you from making your own choices. But be careful. Sometimes different isn't just different. Sometimes it's dangerous."
You have no idea how right you are.
"I'll be careful," I promised. Another truth hiding a larger lie.
He nodded slowly. "Alright. But kiddo? If anything feels wrong, if you need help—you tell me. Okay?"
"Okay."
I went upstairs before he could ask more questions I couldn't answer honestly. My phone buzzed as I closed my bedroom door.
Alice:Tomorrow at lunch, bring your questions. Jasper wants to start your training soon.
Alice:Oh, and fair warning—people are going to be VERY interested in your friendship with us. Small town drama is about to get interesting.
Alice:Also Edward is brooding outside your house. He's very subtle. By which I mean not subtle at all. You should probably wave or he'll stay there all night.
I moved to my window. Sure enough, Edward's Mercedes was parked across the street, far enough away to seem casual but close enough that I knew exactly why he was there.
Watching over me. Protecting me.
I waved. Even from this distance, I saw his relieved smile.
My phone buzzed again. This time, an unknown number.
Unknown:This is Carlisle. I hope you don't mind—Alice gave me your number. I wanted to share something that may help you understand the situation better. There are laws in our world, ancient ones, that govern everything we do. The most important: the secret must be kept. Humans cannot know what we are. Those who do either join us or... well. The Volturi enforce these laws absolutely. Your abilities make you unique, Maya. Special. But also visible. We'll do everything we can to keep you safe, but you should know what we're facing.
Unknown:Also, tell Edward to stop lurking outside your house. It's making the neighbors nervous. - C
I read the message twice, my hands shaking slightly. The Volturi. Ancient laws. The implicit threat underneath Carlisle's gentle words.
Join us or die.
My phone lit up with another text, this one from Edward.
Edward:Carlisle is a worrier. Don't let him scare you. I won't let anything happen to you.
Edward:Also I'm not lurking. I'm... observing. Protectively.
Despite everything, I smiled.
Me:Go home, Edward. I'm fine.
Edward:Not until I'm certain.
Me:Certain of what?
Edward:That you're safe. That you don't regret this. That you're not going to wake up tomorrow and realize how much danger you're in and decide the smart thing to do is run.
Me:I'm not running.
A long pause. Then:
Edward:I know. That's what terrifies me.
I watched his car for another moment, then pulled my curtains closed. Tomorrow would bring new challenges—school gossip, social tension, and apparently training with Jasper to control abilities I barely understood.
But tonight, I lay in bed and replayed every moment of the day. Edward's cold hand in mine. Jasper's assessing gaze. Alice's friendship. Carlisle's gentle warnings. The weight of a choice I hadn't fully made yet but felt inevitable.
Vampire or victim.
Except there was a third option, one no one had said aloud but that hummed through my emerging abilities like a tuning fork finding its frequency:
Something else entirely.
Something rare. Something powerful.
Something that scared even vampires.
I fell asleep with Edward's emotions echoing through my mind—protection, fear, and underneath it all, that devastating, impossible love.
Tomorrow, I'd face the consequences of becoming part of their world.
But tonight, for just a moment, I let myself feel safe.
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