Luciana had only been in Forks for a day and there was a noticeable shift in the Ibarra family. It was impossible not to notice and yet Paloma couldn't deny that the change had been a good one. Everyone was less tense and if felt as if their family wasn't as broken as they knew it was since their mother had died.

But now it felt as if they were all on the same page for the first time in a long time.

"It's official, Paloma will begin her training tomorrow." Luciana said as they all gathered around the table and as the words came out of her sister mouth Paloma still couldn't help but question whether of not she had made the right choice. It was a choice entirely driven by what had happened to Kennedy.

Had her friend not gone missing Paloma knew that she would want nothing to do with vampire hunting. Even now she couldn't ever imagine killing a vampire. Her family didn't consider them human anymore, that they were only monsters and nothing more. But when she thought of Edward she didn't see a monster.

But she had to remind herself of what was happening in Seattle. That there was a vampire who was a monster and was killing innocent people. That the vampire could easily be Edward because that kind of bloodlust was in a vampire's nature.

They had all agreed on her becoming more involved on the condition that she continue going to school for some semblance of normalcy. It was something that Paloma recognized that she would need so that she wouldn't completely lose her mind by being overwhelmed by the pressure of it all.

There was a large map of Seattle across the dinning room table, red markers going across most of the city representing everyone that had gone missing or had already been found dead.

"The bodies found dead have all been drained of blood, and all these bodies isn't the work of just one vampire. It can't be." Luciana said thoughtfully as she inspected the map carefully.

"Are there any other vampire covens in the area?"

"No only the Cullens." Her father replied dismissing the possibility of it being another vampire coven. They all knew that it couldn't possibly be the Cullens they had a peace treaty with both the hunters and the werewolves. If they took a human life that treaty would be broken. "I suspect that however is doing this isn't part of a coven. No vampire coven would be reckless enough to attract this much attention. They wouldn't risk being hunted by the. Volturi."

"All of the bodies that have been found were violently torn apart." Emiliano noted as he set stacks of crime scene photos on the table for them all to see. Paloma struggles to not look away because she had never seen anything so horrifying. The idea that they would find Kennedy like that haunted her. "This has to be the work of multiple newborns."

"So, someone is turning people into vampires in a reckless way." Paloma said trying to gather her thoughts. All of this was new to her and she couldn't think the way that the rest of her family did. "That means they have to be eager, desperate to get it done quickly."

Luciana sighed as she shook her head knowing that they were missing a large piece of the puzzle. "The question is why?"

Paloma couldn't help but think about Paul and Jacob. How they told her that they shared an enemy, as if they were suggesting that they work together. Maybe they had that missing puzzle piece, but she highly doubted that her family would be open to working with the werewolves.

Realizing that they didn't have much else to go on they began to put away all the files that they had gathered. Luciana and their father had already agreed to go to Seattle early in the morning to investigate further.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" He whispered and out of everyone she was surprised that it was Emiliano who seemed to be against the idea of her joining them. Emiliano who never failed to vocalize just how much he despised vampires.

"Its what I need to do." Paloma replied honestly.

Although Paloma didn't elaborate she could see that her brother knew exactly what she meant. That she had to do this and she had made it clear that she would only be involved until they hunted down the vampire that was doing all of this. Outside of what was happening in Seattle Paloma had no interest in continuing being involved with vampire hunting.

It was more difficult than ever going to school and knowing that she had agreed to change her life forever. The more the reality sank in the more Paloma felt as if she had signed her life away. But it was too late to change her mind now, especially when she felt as if she owed it to Kennedy to find out what had happened to her.

It was difficult not think about Kennedy or worry about Saira who refused to answer any of her calls now. Considering that Paloma hadn't bothered on making any other friends she found herself alone at school now, something that was oddly new to her. She had never been the loner type at school, but sometimes Paloma wondered if she was even herself anymore.

"Bella and Edward are back together." Jessica Stanley said in a tone that made it seem as if she was revealing alive changing secret, but her voice was so loud that anyone in the hallway could have heard her if they wanted.

Paloma shared a history class with Jessica Stanley and had never found her as someone that she particularly liked. Now she was suddenly someone who Paloma wished ceased to exist.

"I thought she was still with Jacob?" Angela Weber whispered as Paloma began to unlock her locker doing her best as if to seem that she wasn't listening into their conversation. Even if they hadn't been talking about Edward, she was never one to resist gossip.

"I was driving by her house and Edward was coming out." Jessica replied clearly excited and a little annoyed about the fact. "I'll never understand what everyone's fascination with Bella is."

Paloma didn't get to hear what Angela's reponse was because once she had gotten her locker open a small piece of paper fluttered to the ground. Out of instinct Paloma reached out and caught it before it hit the ground.

She knew immediately that the paper hadn't come from any of her notebooks, the parchment in her hands was ridiculously expensive to the touch. Paloma cold t explain it but she knew exactly who the parchment belonged to.

Letting her curiosity get the best of her Paloma unfolded the piece of paper revealing the beautiful handwriting inside.

Meet me in the woods in front of the school during lunch.
~Edward

Paloma looked down at the piece of parchment in disgust before crumpling it in her hand. It truly amazed her how he simply refused to let her be, especially when he had Bella now. Whatever it was that he wanted to say she didn't need to hear it, she was done playing games. She couldn't believe it had taken her friend going missing to realize just how serious everything going around her truly was.

Closing her locker she walked over to the nearest trash can tossing the piece of paper inside as she walked by. As she headed towards her first period class.

Taking a seat at the lab table Paloma couldn't help but think of Saira once again, and how she missed seeing her friend every morning. She had been sitting on her own for the past week, so when she felt someone take the seat next to her she froze. It was an odd thing how she knew that it was him without looking, and she was determined not to look.

It took inhuman strength for her to not look over at him, Paloma knew that once she did it would impossible for her to continue to pretend that he didn't exist. She focused on the anger that she felt that he would even dare sit next to her. On the anger she was trying to ignore about whatever was happening between him and Bella.

She continued to focus on taking the notes projected on the wall, pretending that Edward wasn't sitting next to her. But that proved impossible when she felt his cold fingers brush against hers as he slid another piece of paper beside her hand.

This time she didn't even bother reading the note as she placed her hand on the piece of paper before crushing it in her hand. She had no doubt that the note was asking for them to talk, something that she had absolutely no intention of doing.

The class went by painfully slow as Paloma counted down the minutes to be able to leave.

The moment that the bell rang Paloma was ready to stand but before she could even make a single move, her stool suddenly moved. It took her a moment for her to realize that it was Edward who had moved her stool closer to his. She couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by his proximity, and how impossible it was to ignore how much she had craved in the last couple of days.

"What are you doing?" Paloma questioned as she finally looked up to meet his eyes. They hadn't been this close since she had visited him at the Cullen house, and she couldn't help but wonder if he was just as overcome as she was.

"Meet me in the woods during lunch." He whispered and it was the urgency in his voice and in his eyes that had Paloma realizing that this had to be important if he was so insistent. He had spent a week without trying to speak to her, something had to have changed for him to approach her now.

She said nothing as she picked up her books and left the class. It astounded her that he continued to insist and she couldn't imagine what could possibly be so important.

By lunch time it had started to rain and Paloma had come to the realization that her own curiosity and stubbornness were going to be the reasons for her downfall. Pulling her hood over her head she stepped out into the rain and began to walk across the empty parking towards to woods. Some part of her hoped that once she stepped into the woods she would find herself alone.

That Edward wouldn't show considering that she had never agreed to meet him. But there he was standing in rain not even bothering to wear a jacket, though she supposed that he didn't need it. There was something infuriating about the fact that he knew that she would show, like he couldn't imagine her ever cutting ties with him completely.

"What's this about?" Paloma questioned as she tried to find some kind of cover under a large tree. She didn't know why Edward wanted to meet out in the woods though he suspected that it had something to do with his siblings.

"Its about your sister." Edward stated and Paloma couldn't deny that he had taken her completely by surprise. She hadn't expected him to want to talk about Luciana, she was expecting some kind of explanation of what was happening between Edward and Bella. "Just tell her to stay away from Paul Lahote."

"Why?" She questioned knowing that his words were ridiculous but she still felt curious about why this was so urgent to him. It didn't even make sense considering that Luciana hadn't even been in Forks for two whole days yet.

Edward almost seemed reluctant to answer her question. Not because he didn't want to tell her, he clearly did, but he seemed worried about how she would react. "He imprinted on her."

"Imprinted?" Paloma repeated slowly knowing that she had heard him correctly but not entirely sure what he meant. She had read about the wolves but her focus had always been learning more about the vampires. If she had read about imprinting couldn't remember.

"An intense unbreakable connection that the wolves can form." Edward tried to explain but even he seemed at a loss on how to explain it correctly. "Its like mating for vampires but much more intense. He won't be able to stay away from her."

Paloma knew that he was telling the truth, he had no reason to lie about this. She just couldn't wrap her mind around it, it seemed impossible especially knowing her sister. Luciana would never want anything to do with Paul or any supernatural being. They all disgusted her. "How do you know?"

"I read his mind."

For a moment Paloma was about to dismiss his words as some kind of terrible joke, but he looked entirely serious. Besides Edward typically wasn't one to make jokes. "I'm sorry you what?"

"It's my gift." He replied simply.

Paloma knew that there were some vampires that possessed special abilities. She had never really considered whether or not Edward had a gift of his own. Now she couldn't help but be shocked and slightly relieved knowing that he couldn't read her mind. At least while she had the pendant around her neck, for the first time she couldn't help but be grateful that her father always insisted that she never take it off. "Well, today is just full of surprises isn't it?"

"How are you feeling?"

His question caught her off guard. Initially she thought he meant how she felt about Paul imprinting on Luciana, but she slowly realized that he meant Kennedy.

"I don't really think that's any of your business." Paloma snapped not wanting the conversation to go beyond what he had been so insistent on telling her.

The truth was that he had hurt her. She had gone to hime before anyone else in her life and all she had gotten in return was nothing but disappointment. That truth alone made it easy for her to turn away from him as she began to walk towards the school.

"Those rumors about Bella and I aren't true." He said suddenly, his voice was soft yet it seemed to echo in the empty woods. Against her better judgment Paloma froze as she turned around to meet his eyes.

She wasn't sure if his words only made her more angry or if they brought her some kind of relief. Over the last couple of days it had become difficult to sort through all her emotions. But what she did know was that his words changed nothing. Whether or not he was if Bella it didn't change their situation. He still kept secrets and he was still something that she was meant to hate.

"It doesn't really matter does it?"

"It matters." Edward stated firmly as he took a step closer to her. The rain was coming down harder around them and at this point their coats did nothing to protect them from the downfall of the rain. "I'll tell you everything if you give me the chance."

Paloma shook her head as she pushed some strands of wet hair away from her face. "I think it would be easier if we continue to pretend like we don't exist to each other."

"You thought that was easy?" He questioned as he looked at her with disbelief. He almost seemed upset, but that melted away when he took another step closer to her. "Please."

"If I miss class my dad will know." Paloma said immediately grateful for the excuse.

A small smile touched his lips as he continued to close the distance between them. He was close enough that if Paloma wanted she could reach out and touch him. "Tonight then."

"My sisters home I won't be able to sneak out." She told him and there was a part of her that was glad that she wouldn't be able to sneak away. Paloma knew just was well as he did that if he did tell her everything that she wouldn't have a good enough reason to stay away from him. "I have to go."

There was nothing else for her to say as she turned away again and headed back towards the school. It had stopped raining and it wasn't until she had reached the double doors leading into the school that she dared turned around. She wasn't surprised to see Edward standing at the tree line looking back at her.

Although Paloma couldn't see him clearly and although there was so much distance between them there was no denying the pull that she felt. It was like an invisible string that connected them and as much as she wanted to cut through that thread there was nothing strong enough to cut through. The most that she could do was ignore that the connection wasn't there at all.

A/N: After this chapter things are going to start moving at a faster pace but I am so excited for what I have in store for you all.