A blonde man stepped forward from the group, appearing older than the rest of those present. He exuded experience and authority. Jasper and the woman who had guided me down the stairs moved around me and joined the others who had spread out in the room.
"I am Carlisle Cullen," the blonde man introduced himself. I noticed that he, like the two people I had already met, also had golden eyes. I looked around the room and realized that each of the people present shared this same characteristic. They all seemed unusually beautiful and extraordinarily stiff. They didnât appear to move, not even to breathe. Only Carlisle moved fluidly and gracefully toward me, extending his hand.
"You've already met Jasper and Alice. Also part of our family are my wife Esme, as well as Edward, Rosalie, and Emmett." Carlisle named the people in the room while nodding lightly in their direction. Alice, the young woman who had enthusiastically taken me along, smiled at me. It was a relief to finally assign names to this pretty, fairy-like being.
"Iâm Mary," I replied softly, my voice barely above a whisper. Uncertainty washed over me as I regarded the many unfamiliar faces, their radiant beauty and mysterious aura both fascinating and intimidating. Carlisle smiled gently at me, as if he wanted to ease my fear.
"Come, Iâm sure you have many questions. Please sit down on the sofa," said Carlisle, gesturing toward the inviting piece of furniture in the corner of the room. His voice was soothing, and I felt he wanted to give me time to collect myself. With a sharp glance, he then instructed his family, "The others probably have something to do." One by one, they left the room until only Carlisle and Jasper remained.
Despite Carlisle's penetrating gaze, Jasper stood unwavering in the corner. "I won't leave you alone with a newborn, Carlisle," he made clear, casually leaning against the wall. The term "newborn" caught my attention. I hadnât seen a baby, let alone heard one. Was this a code word I didnât understand? Thoughts swirled in my head, but I decided not to press further. Instead, I sat down on the sofa and tried to organize my burgeoning questions.
"Well? What do you want to know, Mary?" Carlisle spoke with a patience that comforted me, as if he had all the time in the world. His gaze was penetrating, and I felt he was analyzing me down to the nuances of my being. His eyes frequently roamed over my body, as if he were committing every blink, every twitch, every movement to memory.
"It's all so confusing. Jasper said I was bitten by a vampire and that I would transform into a vampire. And he mentioned something about a doctor? Am I a vampire now? And what about the pack? What will happen?" The more questions shot out of me, the quieter my voice became. Uncertainty overwhelmed me, and I wondered if I truly wanted the answers to these questions. What would it mean for my life if all of this were true? The idea of being a vampire was not only unsettling but also overwhelming.
"The Quileutes brought you to us," Carlisle began, his voice gentle and soothing, yet his words felt like a cold shiver running down my spine. "I am the doctor Jasper told you about. I don't know if he mentioned that I am also a vampire, just like the rest of my family. And as much as the Quileutes hate us, they knew they couldn't just take you to a human doctor."
I sat there, caught in a whirlpool of thoughts and emotions. What had I expected? Perhaps not this shocking truth: that the entire family standing before me seconds ago were vampires. The thought made me freeze for a moment. They were not only supernatural and beautiful but also possessed this extraordinary eye color.
Somehow, it made sense; perhaps I was a vampire after all if this wasnât tied to the eye color. Instantly, the terrifying realization washed over me: if I was a vampire, I would never see my family, my friends or Paul again. The thought tightened my throat and brought forth a deep sense of sorrow, weighing heavily on my heart. I felt something inside me break as I accepted the inevitability of this new reality.
In that moment, I noticed Jasper, who had an expression of pain on his face that was only visible for a fleeting moment.
Carlisle paused for a moment, his eyes searching for the right words. "Typically, the transformation into a vampire takes at least three full days. I have never experienced someone waking up before that. At the same time, I am surprised at how you managed to survive the venom without becoming a full vampire."
Once again, I felt the ground beneath me sway. I wasn't a true vampire? What did that even mean? Was I a half-vampire? A human? Perhaps something entirely different? For a brief moment, I contemplated this, but then a dreadful thought overcame me: Would I die?
"What does that mean? Not a full vampire?" I tried to keep my voice calm and objective as I fought against the panic rising within me. Waves of uncertainty crashed over me, but at the same time, I felt an unexpected wave of relaxation envelop me. My muscles loosened, and I sank into the sofa as if it were a lifeline in the midst of a storm.
Carlisle's gaze drifted to Jasper, and I noticed a silent understanding between the two of them. It was as if they could read each other's thoughts in that moment, their connection deeper than I could ever have imagined. Carlisle smiled at Jasper.
"You have brown eyes, not red like a normal newborn. Your heart beats; ours is still. Blood flows through your veins," Carlisle counted off the differences between us. The word "newborn" came up again, and I began to understand what it meant.
Carlisle took my hand; his grip was cool as he examined my skin closely. "But you seem to have changed. Your temperature is cooler than a human's, though not as cold as ours. You have a slight shimmer in the sunlight, and your skin seems firmer, harder to break. Those are just some of the traits I can identify. Have you noticed anything else?"
"I seem to be able to hear, smell, and see better. At home, I needed glasses, but here I can see everything clearly. I could hear the front door even though I was so far away. And I could smell Alice as if she were standing right next to me." I tried to recall more changes, but nothing else came to mind.
"That's really interesting," murmured Carlisle, slightly furrowing his brow without moving otherwise. "I don't know what has halted your transformation, but I will find out. For now, you will stay here with us anyway. The Quileutes have not yet decided whether you are allowed to return to their territory."
At these words, I felt another crack form in my heart. The thought of being rejected by the Quileutes sent a chill through me. I was not only trapped in a new, frightening reality but also in an uncertain state that could change my life forever. The fear of being alone and not knowing what would come next gnawed at me.