*Carlisle's POV

  Me and Alice first hunted and then, impatient, I faced her. "Alice, what is going on? And stop with the unspecific hints. This is important." I warned her.

  She grinned at me. "I take it, you liked your te night visitor?"

  "Of course you knew..." I frowned at her. "Was that nightgown her own choice or you've got a hand in that she wore so little too?" It made her ugh, not helping my frustration. "Alice, seriously! Why do I want her so much? This is not right! She's Edward's mate, damn it!" I couldn't understand why seeing them together and Edward touching her bare skin made me so angry.

  Alice's smile softened. "I don't know how it happened or why is Edward convinced that she's his mate, but she is not. If you managed to stay just a moment longer, you'd see her pull away from him. She might like him, but they don't belong together and she knows it too. I saw her decision to talk about it with Edward this morning. That's why I told Jasper to be there if she needed his help."

  I just stared at her. "Elizabeth isn't Edward's mate?" I asked incredulously.

  "No." She giggled. "Don't you feel it? You said it yourself that you want her. She feels it too." When I gave her a disbelieving look, recalling how Elizabeth ran away from me st night, Alice continued. "She needs time, Carlisle. I've been watching her for a while. Long before she came to Forks. Her life wasn't easy and more than once she thought of ending it. She is just confused and afraid to believe that something good might happen to her. She's scared to allow herself to love anyone so they couldn't hurt her." Alice expined.

  "But yes, she does feel the connection. Jasper told me that he caught her looking at your painting in the library. She was so taken by you that she reached out to touch your face on the painting feeling nothing but affection. Give her t-" Alice suddenly gasped as she got pulled into a vision and coming out of it she was frantic. "Something changed. This wasn't supposed to happen! Not now!"

  "What is it Alice?" I caught her shoulders.

  "Elizabeth! Something went wrong. The result isn't clear, we might lose her!" The moment those words left her mouth, I was already on my way back. About halfway to the house we met Rosalie with Emmett and they joined us.

  "What happened, Carlisle?" Rose inquired upon seeing our worried faces.

  "Elizabeth is in danger." Alice answered her before I could.

  "Not this again." Rose scoffed. "I told her that she'll end up like Bel. I knew-" Rosalie's words got cut off and her eyes widened in shock as a sudden wave of rage overtook me and I smmed her into a tree, keeping her there by her throat.

  Others froze in pce. "You did what?!" There's no way I'd allow that to happen! "She's a part of this family and you will treat her accordingly!" I growled. "Alice?" I turned to her. She nodded and we set off again. Confused Rosalie and Emmett followed us.

  Once we got to the house, we saw Jasper and Edward fighting, but my only concern for the moment was the girl ying on the ground not far from them. Please be alive! I was desperately trying to push away thoughts about how the scene was all too familiar and that I'd never hear her say my name again. Hearing her heartbeat calmed me down a little.

  Elizabeth's arm was bloody and there was a vampire bite on her wrist. She was somewhat conscious but the venom already spread throughout her body. She must have been in great pain, her eyes occasionally fluttered open but she stayed silent. I came te. There was no way for her to stay human anymore and she had no idea what was happening to her. "Who bit her?!" Once I got a tad of relief knowing that she wouldn't die, the fact that someone else left a mark on her body before me made me livid.

  "She fell and started bleeding. Then Jasper attacked her." Edward answered me. I knew that Jasper still struggled and all the more if she was bleeding but I was seething and wanted to beat him for biting my mate. When I raised my fist, though, out of nowhere I heard Elizabeth's voice. "Leave Jasper alone!" It was as if she yelled inside my mind.

  Confused, I froze. How...? I turned to look at her but there was no change in her condition. Even after three and half of a century I remembered the process clearly. She wasn't able to talk right now. Nonetheless I somehow did hear her voice and for some reason she wanted to protect Jasper. Why...?

  I let my fist fall back to my side and decided that everything else can wait. "I don't want anyone near her until she wakes up." I told them, scooping Elizabeth's feverish body into my arms to carry her inside, to have her safe and comfortable until she awakens.

  "But Carlisle-" Edward spoke up again, in protest.

  I'd find out ter whether he was aware of the fact or not but I wouldn't let him touch my mate again. "I said, no one!" I warned him and continued into the house.

  I brought Elizabeth to her room. She will probably not recognize it when she wakes up because she spent only one night here. However, it was still the most familiar pce to her in the whole house. Carefully cleaning her arm I found that the wound didn't look like something she'd suffer from a fall and growled. What the hell happened here?

  Wondering how I'll expin to Elizabeth that she's no longer a human once she opens her eyes, I stepped to the window and gazed into the deep green surrounding our house. I saw Jasper between the trees nearby, looking into her window, back at me. My hand involuntarily balled into a fist as anger bubbled up in me again.

  I understood that it was harder for him, but I couldn't help it. I saw him frown and slowly shake his head as if he was denying biting her. Then Alice appeared by his side. It looked like she was comforting him as she put her hand on his arm with a smile. I couldn't hear what they were saying but in the end Jasper shook his head again and with a st exasperated look towards me, he left.

  *

  I didn't leave Elizabeth's side and everyone kept their distance as instructed. Everyone... except for Alice, of course. Sometime by the end of the second day of Elizabeth's transition there came a light knock on the door. Before I could say anything, Alice slipped into the room and stayed by the door as she closed them behind herself. "What Alice?" I asked, annoyed that she didn't listen.

  "We need to talk, Carlisle. I know you're angry but Jasper says it wasn't him. I don't know why Edward would do something like this but I trust Jasper."

  "Naturally, Alice. He's your soulmate. But you know as well as me how hard it is for him to resist human blood." I turned back to the girl in bed. "It's not like it matters right now. Whoever did it doesn't change the outcome for her and we should learn what really happened when Elizabeth awakens."

  Alice stayed quiet for a while before speaking up again."Carlisle, I get that it's probably the st thing you want to hear now but... you have to let Jasper come to her."

  With a growl I spun to face her. "And why would I have to do that?"

  "Just... go talk to him first. Please, Carlisle! I don't know what happens if you keep Jasper away from her. I told him to give you time to calm down but it's been two days now and Elizabeth needs him! She's scared."

  I knew Alice would keep her safe but I didn't want to leave her side. She's scared... of course she is! Nobody told her that the people she came to live with were vampires. Not that she was supposed to turn into one before she learned about us either. "Carlisle... he's waiting outside. I beg you, hear him out."

  Reluctantly I stepped away from Elizabeth. "Fine... I'll hear him out. Can't promise I won't beat him too, though." I warned her and went to find Jasper.

  He was waiting for me in the woods not far from the house. "Carlisle..." He started when I didn't say anything. "I know you don't believe me but I wouldn't hurt Elizabeth." He didn't seem to be lying but then what happened? Why would Edward say it was him? "I have to go to her. She's calling me." He continued.

  "What are you talking about?" I frowned.

  "She keeps calling for me. She doesn't understand what happened and is scared that something happened to me as well." He said. "I know you heard her too." Continued Jasper when I gave him a confused look. "You must have heard something from her."

  "What you mean?"

  "You wanted to punch me, didn't you? I felt your rage and nobody did anything to stop you. So why did you?"

  Shocked, I thought back to that moment. It was true. "I heard her voice... But that's impossible..."

  "Is it, Carlisle? It's just as impossible as my empathy or Alice's visions." It was true, she could have a gift. "She's been calling me this whole time. Please! She needs to know that I'm alright, to calm down. You don't want her to wake up like this."

  "Let's say I believe you. Why don't I hear her anymore?" I asked cautiously.

  "She couldn't control her ability at all when we met. She's convinced that it makes her a freak and I can only imagine that she's been treated like one before, by those that found out what she can do." He expined and what Alice said about her life being hard suddenly made perfect sense.

  "She asked me to keep it a secret, but given it's you... her ability seems to be tied to strong emotions. If it's people around her, she can hear some of their thoughts. When it's her, she can project her thoughts to others. She had no control over it when I found out by chance but I think that she tried to control it and intentionally called for me when she got angry while arguing with Edward."

  "Why you?"

  "Ell said that I'm the only one who didn't freak out about her ability. She doesn't want anyone to know what she can do. She hates it. She also realized what I can do, when I calmed her and I promised to help her keep her emotions from getting out of hand, so she wouldn't use her telepathy by accident again."

  Alice said they became friends. It would make sense. I still had no idea what happened here except that she got bitten. Jasper's eyes suddenly flickered towards the house and he looked like something hurt him as his jaw tightened. "What happened?" I couldn't keep from asking, taking a look at the house behind me.

  "She's convinced, something happened to me and that she's alone again..." Replied Jasper quietly. "I swear I'd never hurt her. I've no idea why but it's way easier to be around her than other humans. Whether you believe it or not, even when Edward scratched her arm, I didn't find it too hard to resist her blood. I don't know why he did it but he'd kill her like Isabel if I didn't get him away from her."

  I wanted to believe him. Nothing made sense anymore. I believed what he said about her special communication though and his concern for her seemed to be genuine too. "Alright." I said finally. "I still don't understand what happened or which one of you bit her but come with me." He just nodded and followed me back inside the house.

  Alice knew we were coming. She opened the door to Elizabeth's room before I reached for them and smiling walked out to let us in. "I'll be outside."

  *Elizabeth's POV

  Jasper! Tell me you're alright! Please! I was constantly being swallowed by invisible but painful fmes. The only thing I could focus on aside from the burning was my fear. Fear that Jasper was hurt too or worse and that I was alone. Alone and burning. The longer there was no answer to my calling and the longer I burned, the less I could take it. It hurts! Kill me, please!

  When I heard Carlisle say that there was no way back for me, I thought I was dying. However, I kept burning for what felt like forever and the calm release of death wasn't coming. "Hey Ell, can you hear me?" I finally heard Jasper's voice. Jasper! I felt a little calmer but he couldn't help me from the pain.

  "I know that pain, I can feel yours too. But you have to hang on, Ell. There's someone who's been waiting for you too long for you to give up when he finally found you. So please, don't say that again. I'd miss you too, you know." I couldn't see him now but I'd swear he had that little smirk on his face again.

  Who could possibly be waiting for me? Not Edward! Keep him away from me! I'm begging you! "No, no. Don't worry, I... we won't let him hurt you anymore." He assured me, but who was 'we'? "Actually... Once you can move again, you'll be stronger than him for a while."

  If I could, I'd ugh. Although it would ck humor. Did he see how Edward moved? How could I ever be stronger than him? But then, how did Jasper get him away from me? It was hard to concentrate through the constant burning, which as much as I considered it impossible, intensified again.

  I felt the burning endlessly slowly release my fingers and toes, moving slowly out of my arms, head and legs. The more of my body was released from the fire though, the more it seemed to burn my heart.

  Every beat of my burning heart was less bearable, until finally it stopped. The fire was gone. But so was my heartbeat. I didn't understand. I didn't feel dead. I felt... comfortable, lying in a soft bed. Then I heard voices. "Why do you let Jasper see her and I can't? She's mine!" It was Edward's voice. But it sounded different than what I could remember.

  I knew I should remember something. It was like my memories were obscured by a fog. "She never was and will not be yours!" Said a different angry voice. Even though it sounded very angry, it seemed to sooth me, pull me towards its owner.

  "Beth is my mate and I'm going to her!" Beth... how I hate that nickname! Then I remembered. Edward... He attacked me. He caused me all that pain.

  "Ell?" I suddenly heard another voice much closer than the others, but I was already out of bed and running. Subconsciously realizing that I was moving faster than what should have been possible, I just ran. I had to get away from Edward so he couldn't hurt me again.