Redshift by Ashlynn Chantrea (free ebook reader for ipad .txt) 📕

“We have another alternative, if you are interested.” Carlisle offered.

We turned and looked at him.

He explained his alternative to hunting humans. They hunt wild game. Fascinating. I hadn’t thought that was an alternative. It never really showed up in the old myths and legends. But that was hardly a reliable source.

“No!” Rain protested. “We won’t do that!” Zephyr agreed. “We can’t kill an innocent animal!” Meadow added.

Typical. Where Carlisle jokingly called his family vegetarians, the triplets would be the vegans of the vampire race. Pacifists, determined not to take life in any form. Well, at least my alternative was still an option for them.

“Sounds interesting.” Pim said.

“I’ll try it.” Bianca agreed.

“Yeah, me too.” Hector said.

“Sounds intriguing.” I looked over at Laney, “Want to try it?”

She looked at me, then around the room, then back up at me. She shook her head.

“That’s okay. I’ll find a blood bank, get what I can, bring it back for you and the girls. Then Pim, Bianca, Hector and I will go try out game hunting.”

“It isn’t easy to control yourself, once the scent of blood is in the air.” Jasper warned us. “You could start drinking the donor blood and lose control of yourself. You might start hunting live people before you realize what you’re doing.”

I looked at Bianca. I wondered if she could override the instinct that took control when we sensed blood. Would her power of suggestion be strong enough to cancel out our baser instincts, the ingrained need to survive?

She met my eyes. She seemed know what I was thinking.

“I think it will work.” She answered me.

“Bianca can alter perception.” Edward said, answering another unspoken question. “She can make others follow her suggestions, make them see things that aren’t there, disguise herself and others just by speaking.”

He did a lot of the talking for his family. Probably because no one else really had to. They just had to think it and he’d know. It was too bad he wasn’t like Zephyr as well. They’d be able to communicate without anyone ever knowing.

“It’s more than that.” Bianca said proudly, “I can make it real. You don’t wonder if it’s an illusion. It’s real. I can make it so we keep ourselves, our conscious thoughts while we feed. We won’t have to worry about losing control.”

“Will that work on anyone?” Jasper asked.

“Almost.” I answered.

“It won’t work on you.” Edward said to me.

“It doesn’t need to. I was thinking more of Bella. Bianca’s suggestions would be disrupted. They wouldn’t get through.” I replied.

“I’m fine.” Bella said. “I’m pretty good at keeping myself under control even while I’m hunting.”

“She’s had amazing self-control from the beginning.” Edward beamed.

“So unfair.” Pim said under his breath.

“I know, right?” Hector sympathized.

“I’ve been working for decades to control the thirst and I still have trouble.” Jasper admitted.

“I think I can help you with that.” Bianca offered gently. “If you want.”

“I might take you up on that.” He replied.

“Jasper.” Alice said in surprise.

“It’s his decision, Alice.” Carlisle said.

“But he doesn’t need it.” She insisted.

“Alice.” Esme said, her tone a strange mixture of sympathy and reproach.

“He’ll be the same as he was before.” Edward told her, “Just better able to control his urges.”

Just as I was truly becoming engulfed in the drama of the situation, my attention was pulled away by the strangest sound. It was a pair of heartbeats but not human. One was loud, too loud for a human. The other was light and fast. Twice the speed of a human heartbeat. My eyes tracked to the back window, following the sound. Two people approached the back door. I couldn’t believe it.

One was a man, close in age to me. He was tall, gigantic. He looked strong and very tan with short dark hair and brown eyes. Definitely not a vampire.

The girl looked to be a teenager. As I analyzed her appearance I noticed the similarities in her facial structure, build and hair color to that of Bella. I could also detect some genetic similarities to Edward. She was beautiful and very much alive.

I noticed that the room went still as they entered the back door. And then I noticed the smell. As did the rest of my friends.

“Holy crap!” Pim said in disgust.

“Oh!” Rain exclaimed. “Wow!” Zephyr said, looking as though she might retch. “That is terrible!” Meadow added.

“What is that?!” Hector joined in the chorus of complaints.

The scent was profound. It triggered the response I once associated with skunks. It made the air feel too thick. I quickly blocked the response in my mind. The smell was still profound but it didn’t bother me anymore.

“Bianca,” I said quickly, “You’re up.”

She was quick to react.

“Just give it a second.” She said, her influence resonating in her voice, “See how the smell fades after a second. It’s barely noticeable and not nearly as repulsive now.”

The whole room relaxed, everyone becoming much more at ease.

“Wish she had shown up sooner.” Emmett commented.

The two at the back door had frozen in place as soon as they had walked through the door.

I was focused on her. I had so many questions.

“She’s your daughter.” I stated, since it was obvious and I wanted them to know I knew, “Is that normal? Do vampires procreate often?” Without thinking, I looked over at Laney. I felt this strange pull, as I thought of family, biological family. Could we do that? It was a strange inclination, one I shook off immediately.

“No, vampires can’t have children.” Edward said.

“Bella was still human when she gave birth.” Carlisle explained.

“It isn’t something I would recommend.” Bella added.

“She nearly died.” The girl said.

Rain teleported next to the half human girl. She reached over and lightly touched her long curly hair.

“You’re so pretty.” Rain said in awe of her.

The man standing next to her suddenly began to shake violently. The next second there was the sound of clothes ripping. In the blink of an eye, he changed. He transformed into a giant wolf.

Bianca, Hector, Pim, Laney and I froze. Definitely wasn’t expecting that.

The triplets reacted entirely differently.

“Aww!” The three of them sighed at once. “They have a dog!” Rain said excitedly. “That is so awesome!” Zephyr enthused. “We’ve always wanted a pet.” Meadow added, just as excited as her sisters.

Zephyr and Meadow rushed over to their sister, cooing over the wolf. He snarled and bared his teeth at them. They giggled.

“It’s all right, Jacob” Edward said. “They’re friends. They won’t hurt her.”

“We’d never hurt her.” Rain reassured the wolf. “Or you.” Zephyr said soothingly. “We’re nice.” Meadow added. “We promise.” They said together.

Jacob whined.

“We didn’t expect you back so soon.” Edward said in replied. “We would have prepared you and them if we had known you would be back so quickly.”

“So you were trying to get me out of the house.” The girl said accusingly to her parents, “I knew you were acting weird! Stop treating me like a child! I don’t need you to protect me from everything all the time.”

“They love you.” Rain said softly to her. “It’s a parent’s job to watch out for their child.” Zephyr added. “It just means they care.” Meadow said.

“They were right send you away for our arrival. Especially considering where we came from.” I interjected.

“So, what’s going on?” She asked curiously.

“We came to ask for help.” Rain explained. “We had to run away.” Zephyr said. “From…” Meadow started but her voice drifted. They looked at each other for a split second and then looked at me.

Should we tell her, they were wondering. I could see it in their eyes but I had the same thought as well. Her parents went through the trouble of hiding our arrival from her. Part of that, I’m sure, was because they didn’t know how dangerous we would be near their living, breathing daughter. Another part may have been to protect her from the gravity of the situation. Did she really need to carry the weight of this? If it was at all possible I’d find a way to keep them from fighting. She didn’t need to worry about something she wouldn’t be involved in.

I shook my head.

The sisters nodded once in unison.

The girl was less than pleased.

“What is going on?!” She demanded in a loud, petulant voice. She looked at her parents, “You never tell me anything! You always treat me like a child!”

“Perhaps if you did not act like one, we wouldn’t have to treat you like one. Please, just calm down.” Edward said.

“Make me!” She shouted defiantly.

“Renesmee!” Her mother reproached her.

“It’s nothing.” Rain said. “Really.” Zephyr said. “We’re just visiting.” Meadow assured her.

She didn’t look mollified.

“The girls are very open.” I said to Renesmee, “And they sometimes forget to think before they speak.” I shifted my eyes to the triplets. They didn’t look happy. With emphasis I said, “Some things are not ours to share.”

The edge faded from their glare. They nodded again. Smart girls. They had figured out I was telling them to be more guarded in what was said around Renesmee.

“I don’t understand.” She said, her tone still frustrated but I detected a note of defeat as well.

“And that’s okay.” I replied.

“Renesmee.” Rain said, just to hear how it sounded but the girl turned to Rain when she heard her name. “Such a beautiful name.” Zephyr said. “Very unique.” Meadow added.

The girls started talking, introducing themselves, telling their new friend how they got their names and so on. Things calmed down quickly.

Then the wolf huffed. I looked at him, so curious about the creature. He was looking out the back window. I followed his line of sight, wondering what had attracted his attention. In the trees I saw four more huge wolves. This reddish brown wolf seemed to be communicating with them somehow.

Unfortunately, the triplets noticed them as well.

“Oh my gosh!” Rain squealed. “There’s more of them!” Zephyr exclaimed. “They’re so adorable!” Meadow said admiringly.

Then they were surrounding me, hands clasped in front of them, jumping excitedly.

“Can we have one? Can we have one? Please! Please!” They begged in unison.

There was a chuckle in the air. Carlisle’s family was very forgiving of their childish exuberance. Pim and Laney sighed. Bianca and Hector kept their opinions to themselves.

I was deeply embarrassed. Aside from the fact that I had seen him in human form, Edward had communicated with him, read his mind. He was sentient. And they were asking to own one of them.

“Don’t be rude, girls!” I scolded, taking on the father mantle again, “Jacob is a sentient being. He can understand you.” They were still looking at me with pleading eyes. I sighed, completely frustrated. Then I snapped at them, “No! You cannot enslave a sentient being!”

“Better apologize to him.” Laney added, smirking. “You’re probably pissing him off.”

I looked over at Jacob. He didn’t look angry or defensive based on his posture but I felt bad all the same.

“Sorry about them.” I said directly to him, “You can bite them if they get on your nerves.” I looked at the three dejected girls standing around me, “It might do them some good.”

They turned around and faced Jacob, “Sorry.” They said as one. “We didn’t mean to seem cruel.” Rain explained. “We just like having animals around.” Zephyr said. “Feels more like home.” Meadow sighed.

They migrated to the sofa and sat down, looking dejected. I couldn’t win. Now, I felt bad for the girls. It was hard to concentrate with so many emotions going through my system. It was easier to focus before I started caring about others. I looked into their nearly black eyes and found a little clarity.

They needed blood.

“Carlisle,” I called softly and he came over quickly, “Do you know where we can find a blood bank?”

“I can get blood for you.” He offered. “I work at the hospital in town.”

“Wouldn’t that be conspicuous? We don’t want to blow your cover here.”

“No, not at all. I make house calls on the reservation from time to time. It isn’t unusual for me to stock up on blood. It will be fine.” He insisted.

“All right.” I agreed warily. We’d have to find a more permanent solution later. I’d do some day trading on the stock market, get some cash set aside, maybe buy out a blood bank somewhere remote. Somewhere where they wouldn’t keep