❄ 32 ❄ Reborn ❄
The Cullen House
Thursday, May 19, 2017
Venom flowed like hot lava through her veins, tormenting her from head to toe. Masika couldn't do anything against the searing pain. She couldn't scream or yell or beg for anyone to kill her. Her toes pulsed with pain before it gradually dissolved, leaving them blissfully cool. The pain pulsed through her calves and thighs before traveling up her belly to settle inside her chest, near to her heart.
Her heart started pounding against her ribcage frantically as the pain intensified. Her fingers pulsed with fire as the fire began traveling, leaving her fingers heavenly cool. The pain traveled up her arms and over her shoulders to settle near her heart. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, to beg God to end this excruciating pain and receive her into His loving arms in blissful peace, but she held it in, thinking of her loving mate Nahuel and their son, Neyen.
The beautiful image of a small baby in her arms fluttered through her mind, seeing the caramel face, the exact replica of Nahuel's, staring up at her with wide, aquamarine blue eyes, her aquamarine blue eyes. A wave of longing rushed through her, pushing through all the pain, sustaining her until the end, willing her to hang on to the image of her son. The pain inside her chest intensified suddenly and she arched against the pain as her heart gave one final, hard thud, and then grew still and silent. She laid still as a statue, totally confused.
Was it over? Was the pain finally gone? She thought to herself, her head fuzzy from the endurance of her change. She could hear her name being whispered, as clear as day, next to her ear.
"Masika?"
She bolted upward on the bed, startled by the sound, and turned to stare at the person who had spoken her name. Masika stared into the worried coal-black eyes of Nahuel. She blinked up at him in confusion. He looked the same yet different - it was like a fog has been lifted from in front of her eyes and she was seeing him for the first time. His features were rugged and handsome, his skin as dark and creamy as caramel, his hair was long, flowing just to his shoulders. She stared at him, unable to speak. He was beautiful, more beautiful than anyone and anything she'd ever seen in her entire life and she was only sixteen years old.
"Nahuel." She whispered softly, unable to recognize the voice that sounded like a brook bubbling over a bed of rocks.
He nodded his head in acknowledgment and smiled, relief replacing the worry in his dark eyes. Masika shrieked in delight and threw herself at him, crushing him in her arms. He released a painful gasp and she jumped back, landing lightly on the balls of her feet on the other side of the bed. She stared at him with wide eyes, horrified that she'd hurt him. Nahuel rubbed at his bruised ribs as he smiled at her happily. She looked down at the floor, waiting for the heat of blush to burn her cheeks. It didn't happen.
"I'm sorry." She whispered to him brokenly.
He came around the bed and touched her arm lightly. Masika relaxed slowly, marveling at the heat of his skin. She remembered that he was warm before but now his touch felt like a heated blanket. He spoke suddenly, drawing her from her internal musing.
"It's fine," Nahuel said in a soft, soothing voice. "You will be stronger than me for the first few months after the change. Over time you will be able to control your strength."
Masika glanced up at him underneath her long lashes to see him smiling at her sweetly. She met his gaze and smiled back. The door to the bedroom opened and her head snapped around to see Carlisle, Wren, four boys, two of them she knew had to be Edward and Rhys. She smiled at Wren in greeting and started forward, walking towards her. Rhys, the on with the messy black hair, stepped in front of her, eyeing Masika with cautious golden topaz eyes.
She stopped moving immediately, eyeing him cautiously in return. Wren sighed in exasperation and placed a hand on Rhys' arm.
"It's alright, Rhys. She's calm." She told him.
He glanced at her skeptically before turning to look at the tall, blonde-haired boy standing next to Edward. Jasper nodded his head in agreement with Wren's words. Rhys stepped backward and leaned against the doorjamb, his golden eyes trained on Masika. Wren, unhindered, stepped forward again and took the other girl's hands in her own.
"How are you feeling?" She asked the other girl, concern flaring inside her ice-blue eyes.
"Different but I'll get used to it," Masika answered with a small smile.
The other girl smiled back at her and nodded her head in understanding. She then turned around and began leading her towards the door.
"Come. You must hunt," said Wren.
Masika stopped walking and she stopped walking with her. She turned and gazed at her curiously.
"Hunt?" She asked, gazing at the other girl in confusion. "Why?"
"Do you feel a burning sensation at the back of your throat?" Wren asked instead of answering her question.
As she spoke, a searing burning sensation flared at the back of Masika's throat. She inhaled deeply, startled, and the pain was suddenly gone like ice-cold water had been trickled down the back of her throat, a heavenly scent of crisp apple and winter swirling in her nostrils.
"Yes, briefly, but now it's gone." She said, gazing at the other girl curiously, noticing that the scent came from her.
Everyone all stared at her in confusion. Wren glanced over her shoulder at Rhys before looking back at the other girl.
"Of course." She said softly, to no one in particular.
"There is something about your blood." Masika blurted out, staring at her closely. "I knew you gave it to me to keep me alive, but there is something else that is bothering me."
Everyone remained silent, staring from her to Wren, waiting for either one of them to speak. When Wren remained silent, Masika took a deep breath and blurted out what was on her mind.
"I've just noticed that after you came to Forks and started hanging around with the Cullens that Jasper seemed relaxed, no longer in pain."
Silence followed her words after she had spoken. She glanced around at all of their faces and saw that they were thinking about what she had said.
"It is true," Jasper said, backing up her claim. "Ever since you came and I smelled your blood, it doesn't pain me to be around humans. It's like your scent is masking the scents of the humans."
Silence followed after his words as everyone turned to stare at Wren. She looked calm, totally nonchalant about these revelations. She nodded and glanced over her shoulder at Rhys once more. He nodded his head back at her and looked at Carlisle.
"We shall speak later." He told him.
Carlisle nodded as Wren took Masika's hand and start towards the door once more. Masika stopped once again and the other girl turned to look at her. She could see the sympathy shining in her ice-blue eyes as she waited for her to speak.
"Can I see him?" She asked quietly.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Jasper stiffen suddenly. Wren shook her head sadly, her eyes full of sympathy.
"I'm afraid you can't, not until you've hunted." She told her.
"I'm perfectly fine and you know it." Masika snarled, starting to become annoyed with them all and all of their precautions.
Wren's expression turned cold suddenly, making her eyes shimmer like ice blue icicles. A shiver of apprehension raced down Masika's spine and she backed away from the other girl in sudden alarm, unconsciously dropping down into a protective crouch. There was a low growling sound from behind her and she felt Nahuel move closer to her. Wren turned her icicle eyes onto Nahuel but made no move to attack him. Rhys pushed away from the doorjamb and came to stand at Wren side, his golden topaz eyes on alert.
"Don't be foolish, Nahuel. You and I both know that I won't be able to stop her." He said to Nahuel quietly.
His eyes then turned onto Masika and she met his gaze cautiously. The pupils suddenly grew darker, bleaching to color so darkly as the dilated so quickly that her non-beating heart trembled inside her chest at his intensifying gaze. She started to feel uneasy suddenly and tried to look away from him but found that she couldn't. It was like he was looking into her head, dissecting her brain. Another shiver of apprehension raced down her spine as she fought to look away from him.
"You must do as she says, Masika. She is only doing this for son's protection, as well as yours." Rhys said in a deep, hypnotizing voice.
There was a soft, tugging inside her mind, pushing her to obey him. Masika fought against it as long as she could, but, without her consent, she nodded her head in agreement. Rhys smiled, suddenly looking less formidable, and the strange spell was broken, his eyes returning to their bright golden color.
"Come." He said, holding his hand out to her.
She straightened to her full height and walked over to his side obediently. Wren was staring up at him, a frown shadowing her beautiful features. Rhys returned her gaze, his mouth pulled down into a thin line. Masika suddenly had this strange feeling that they were silently communicating with each other. Wren looked away from him and straight at her. She smiled warmly, the ice blue icicles in her eyes melting at the sudden warmth.
"Come." She said to the other girl in a soothing voice. "You will see Neyen after you have hunted. We will go out of the window at the end of the hall."
Masika shot an uneasy glance at Rhys as the girls walked passed him and stepped out into the hall. The girls walked down the hall, followed by Edward, Rhys, Jasper, and the tall muscular boy whose name she didn't know. As if reading her mind, the boy grinned down at her suddenly, deep dimples forming at the center of each cheek. His golden eyes were glowing mischievously.
"I'm Emmett." He introduced himself to her.
"Hi." Masika greeted him, returning his infectious smile.
They all arrived at the end of the hall and the window opened automatically as if an invisible hand had pushed it open. Wren stepped forward first and dropped out of sight, landing with a soft thud on the ground four stories below with Rhys following quickly behind her. Nahuel took Masika's hand in his and led her over to the window. She glanced out at the dark night, amazed at how she could see everything so clearly, even though the moon was currently hidden behind a thick screen of dark clouds. She could also see Wren and Rhys standing a few yards to the left of the window.
Rhys was standing with his back to the house, his gleaming, golden topaz eyes scanning the trees beyond the river running through the clearing. Wren was standing beside him, her glittering ice blue eyes gazing off to the right. Nahuel squeezed Masika's hand suddenly, gaining her attention. She looked up at him curiously, only to find him smiling down at her excitedly.
"Don't be afraid." He spoke quietly to her.
"I'm not." She informed him. She heard Emmett snort from behind her and whispered quietly to Jasper.
"I bet you can feel her fear from here." He said.
Masika glared at him from over her shoulder before dropping out of sight. She landed with a soft thud earthy ground beneath the window, Nahuel dropping down next to her quietly. He straightened to his full height, took her hand once more, and led her over to where Rhys and Wren were waiting. She could hear three more soft thuds before Edward, Jasper, and Emmett were standing next to her and Nahuel.
"Let's go," said Rhys.
Wren suddenly took off with such velocity that Masika could barely see her moving, even with her new vampire sight. The other girl jumped the river in one graceful move before landing and disappearing into the forest. Rhys raced after her just as suddenly, already disappearing into the forest behind her. Masika blinked at the place where they had disappeared and looked around at Nahuel. He looked just as surprised as she did.
They both turned to look at Edward, Emmett, and Jasper, who all shrugged their shoulders before racing across the clearing, Edward in the lead, jumping the river, one after the other, and disappearing into the forest. Nahuel sighed quietly and she glanced up at him humorously.
"Are they always like that?" She asked him curiously.
He shrugged his broad shoulders and grinned down at her, his dark eyes twinkling with amusement.
"I have no idea." He replied, laughter sounding in his voice. "I guess we will have to ask their wives on our return."
Masika nodded her head in and raced across the clearing, jumping the river, leaving Nahuel behind. She laughed out loud as she landed deep within the forest.
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