Waning Moon

The ride to La Push gave me time to think about the vampire, Dora. I remembered the vampires I had met when the Volturi accused me of being an immortal child, though the memories were a bit blurry. Dora was in none of the pieces I can remember. Also, her eyes were brown with red tint, not golden like me and my family’s, so that must mean her diet consisted of human blood, not a vegetarian like us.

I weighted the options, deciding whether she was an ally or an enemy. I couldn’t risk letting her know about my special stats without being certain about her reactions. Though she was quite friendly to me when Mrs. Newton introduced us, or she was just pretending since she could hear my heartbeat and smell my blood…

My blood. If my blood was as alluring as mother’s blood used to be, she might attack me. I have to be cautious. Then, I could confront her.

‘Thanks for the ride, grandpa,’ I yelled as grandpa Charlie drove away. I told him I would return on foot. The ride was simply ridiculously long.

I walked to Jacob as he embraced me in his strong arms. He’d missed me, I could tell. He’d always missed me whenever I left him more than a minute. He had been with me no matter what happened. I wondered if staying with me was a choice or not. I could feel his love and all, but was I stripping away his other sources of happiness? This is the thing I worried the most.

‘Hey, Jake.’

‘What, no hello to us?’ a voice said.

I looked behind my boyfriend. Seth and Leah stood by the trees, enjoying the shades provided. I ran toward them, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

‘Aunt Leah, Uncle Seth,’ I joked, laughing as they made a face together.

‘Nessie, I thought I told you not to call me that,’ Seth said. ‘Call Leah what you want, but don’t call me “uncle”.’

Leah glared at her brother.

‘Why?’ I asked. ‘With the rate Aunt Sue and grandpa Charlie is going, I’d say they’ll be together soon.’

‘You’ve said that for years.’

‘Nuh-huh. This time I have Aunt Alice to back me up,’ I lied. Seth’s face turned a little pale after my comment.

I giggled, giving the frozen werewolf a little shove. ‘Just kidding.’ I gave Leah a light hug, careful not touch her so much. I knew of her running doubt and dislike towards vampires, though she had once remarked ‘you smelt better than those leeches’. Being a mind-reader, dad knew her thoughts on us, but for me and Jake’s sake, they try to tolerate each other. Their relation was quite well, actually.

‘Hey, Leah.’

‘Hey,’ she whispered back. I believed she had grown a soft spot for me over the years, like an elder sister would. I hung out with Jake so much that she couldn’t help but to adapt.
‘Hi, Seth,’ I gave Seth a hug, giving him a proper greeting.

‘Hi, Nessie.’

‘Okay, enough with the ‘hey’s and the ‘hi’s. Let’s just take her to where Edward and Bella are,’ stated Jake as he pulled me away from Leah and Seth.

‘Aw, is someone jealous?’ Seth mocked in a baby voice, earning himself a growl from Jake.
‘Cut it out, you guys. Stay here, Nessie.’ Leah walked to the west while Jake and Seth went to the east side of the forest.

Before long, Jake and the rest came out in their werewolf forms, all carrying their clothes in their mouths. Seth had grown bigger, nearly larger than his sister now, matching the size of Jake. Jake signaled me to ride on him

‘So, where’s the destination?’

Seth whined and barked a few syllables, which I could not understand.

‘I have no idea what you’ve just said, Seth,’ I told him. ‘But that sounded more like “the usual clearing” than “Billy’s”.’

Jake and Leah snickered.

Billy, on the other hand, was like Leah. He didn’t trust my family at first, his guard was always up. Yet Jake had imprinted on me, so Billy had no solution but to accept the fact. He tried to be nice to us, though sometimes he just couldn’t pull it off. But what more could I ask for?

Riding Jake was an interesting thing to do. Though unlike how mother used to be carried by dad, I could see and hear everything clearly during the journey. The forest was shown vividly in front of my eyes. Every animal to every plant, I could feel their life, their every single breath.
They stopped at a clearing, where mum and dad were chasing a deer. I got off Jake quickly and joined them. The natural instinct took over, coursing through my blood. The adrenaline rush motivated me to move faster. With a jump, I caught the deer. I sunk my teeth into the deer’s veins. Blood poured into my mouth, filling me like an oasis would fill a lost man in the desert. I had not drink blood for quite a long time now; it pleased me to finally have a taste of it again.

‘Nice catch,’ my father complimented.

‘Father, mother,’ I kissed them. They both smiled and kissed me in return.

‘How are you, honey?’

‘I’m fine, mum. Grandpa Charlie’s fine too.’ I added.

Father and mother still looked the same, so perfect and beautiful. They were a well-matched couple, I thought. I liked how flawless their face looked, and especially how their skin would sparkle like a diamond under the glaring sunlight, different from my glowing ivory skin. They would assure me I was the most beautiful, yet I liked their appearance better.
‘Hi, Bella, Edward,’ Jake said, transformed back into his human form, Seth and Leah by his side.

I wiped away the blood from the corner of my mouth immediately. I forgot Jake was watching me when I was hunting. Stupid, stupid!

‘You were graceful, dear,’ father promised.

I blushed in embarrassment.

‘You’re still worried about that? I told you that you are perfect, Nessie.’

‘Do you want more?’ mother asked me in a soft tone. I nodded timidly, like a shy kid. ‘Can I?’
‘Of course. Hunt as much as you want.’

‘Not really,’ Seth interjected. Jake punched him in the shoulder.

I smelt another deer a few yards away, south thirty-nine degree west, hidden by some bushes beside an oak tree. Focusing, I started running to the target.

‘Wait,’ my father suddenly shouted, but the warning came too late.

A shadow leaped on me, pulling me down onto the earth. I put my hands in front of my face, pushing away the attacker who bared its fangs at me. I didn’t waver to send horrid images to him or her. My attacker screamed in pain as Jake grabbed it from behind.

I stood up and stared at the attacker. The long dark hair, goddess-like face, and crimson iris. The familiar face could only be the one person I knew. Or rather, the vampire.

‘Dora?’