My hand smacked away whatever was poking at me, attempting to disturb me from my slumber. It was only when the thing slapped back that I truly came into consciousness.

Opening my eyes into pitch black darkness, I rubbed the sleep from them and glared unhappily at my sister, who knelt at the side of my bed, staring at me.

"What the hell do you want, Isabella?" I grumbled, glancing down at my watch which disturbingly read, 3:26am.

Bella chewed at her lip, glancing behind her at Edward's shadow engulfed form. I caught her look and became filled with so much disgust and rage. 

"Get the fuck out of my room. Both of you." I snarled quietly, though waking Charlie at this moment wouldn't be the worst thing. It was one thing to let the bloodsucking demon into her room, but to allow him into mine was crossing a line. 

"Evelyn, please, we have to talk." Bella pleaded. "All of us."

Edward could hear the eldest Swan's heartbeat speed up and even in the darkness could see her face turn a shade paler.

"Evelyn, my family won't hurt you, you have my word." He said quietly.

I sat there, considering what my sister had said before realising that whatever had happened in Italy, I was too curious not to know. So I moved from my spot in bed and shrugged on a jacket over my tank top. The loose leggings I'd worn to bed were acceptable for company, considering said company had snuck into my room after basically kidnapping my sister.

"Your word means nothing to me. Not a dime." I said moving towards the door, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible. 

The gentle scraping of my window being opened stopped me in my tracks.

"We have to go out of the window, we cannot wake Charlie," Bella said before climbing out of the window and into Edward's arms. I hadn't seen him leave the room, but since I was painfully aware how fast vampires could move, I couldn't say I was surprised. 

I grit my teeth and also climbed out of the window, wishing now that I'd worn proper pants, even if just to reclaim some of my dignity as I allowed Edward to scoop me up and elegantly jump from the porch roof to the ground. I shivered at his touch. Not just be cause I could feel the undead coolness of his skin, but because the last time a vampire touched me, I almost ended up in the hospital.

"Thanks." I said as he put me down. "Now don't ever touch me again."

V

It wasn't long before I found myself surrounded by vampires in a beautiful home in the middle of the woods. The resident doctor and his perfect wife both gave me careful, but welcoming smiles.  If i had been unaware of what they were, I no doubt would have smiled back. 

Alice too, shot me a warm smile as my eyes caught her across the room. Her obvious partner giving off more of a grimace when I looked at him. 

There was a blond, model-like woman standing next to a giant bear of a guy. The blond paid me no mind, glancing over me before staring back at her brother, however the bear grinned and waved.

I pursed my lips, whatever kind of welcoming vibes they gave off were all in the allure, they were still the most dangerous things on the planet. I hadn't come here to give them my trust or to make friends. 

Bella seemed to be in her element as she broke from Edward and stood centre stage at the top of a small set of stairs. I stood higher up on the adjoining set of stairs, closer to the door, closer to an escape even though I was aware it would do me no good. 

"You all know what I want," My sister started, glancing at each individual in front of her. "And I know how much I'm asking for." She took a deep breath, turning to make eye contact with me. I wasn't sure what she was looking for in my eyes, but I doubt she found it as she turned away from me without a word.

"The only thing I can think of, for it to be fair, is to just vote." She stumbled on her words slightly as they rushed out.

I shook my head, slamming my palm against my face. I tried to breath through the anger overtaking me. I told myself that I wasn't here for Bella, not anymore. Now I was here to see what my sister had involved me in. There was nothing else she could have meant by saying we all needed to talk. 

"You don't know what you're talki-" Edward's hushed words were cut off by Bella's exasperation.

"Shut up."

My mouth twitched, appreciating that Bella still had some of my backbone in her, despite wanting to cut ties with me. 

"Alice?" Bella asked, though her voice didn't carry any concern, every occupant in the room knowing what the seer's answer would be.

"I already consider you my sister." Alice said, walking forward to hug Bella.

My teeth gritted together, resentment and despair welling up inside of me. I couldn't understand how she'd thrown away her blood sister so long ago, but could accept this dangerous creature in my role like it was the easiest thing in the world. 

"Thank you." Bella breathed as she took a few steps down with Alice.

"I vote yes. It would be nice to not wanna kill you all the time." 

I slumped down onto the stairs, shaking my head even further that I'd had to hear those words spoken so nonchalantly. 

Bella awkwardly smiled and nodded.

"I'm sorry," The blonde said, catching my attention. "I'm really sorry to both of you, for how I've acted. And I'm really grateful that you were brave enough to go and save my brother. But this isn't a life I would have chosen for myself."

I eyed her carefully, grateful that she was willing to disagree with her family in order to save Bella from the path she wanted to be on. I admired that, but knew it would do no good.

"I wish that there had been someone to vote no for me. Like your sister. So, no."

Bella took a deep breath and nodded.

"I vote hell yeah," The bear said coming forward and grabbing Bella, picking her up into a hug and spinning her before placing her down with more grace than he looked to have. "And we can pick a fight with these Volturi some other way."

Frowning, I stood moving down a step or two. What they hell did they mean 'pick a fight'? Edward glanced at me and shook his head, most likely telling me not to ask. 

The motherly figure, Esme, as Charlie had told me before, smiled over at Bella. "I already consider you a part of the family. Yes."

Carlisle, the good doctor, sighed and stepped forward, looking to Edward. My heart dropped, the uneasy feeling I'd had in my stomach since meeting Alice Cullen began to worsen. 

"Why're you doing this to me?" Edward asked, having clearly read his mind as I had found out was a thing he could do. "You know what this means."

"You've chosen not to live without her. Which leaves me no choice," he said firmly. "I wont lose my son."

It was in that moment that I truly realised that I was losing my sister. 

"Now, we must talk about Evelyn." The doctor's smooth voice and words washed over me before they truly sank in.

There was a part of me that wanted to run and there was a part that wanted to fight. As usual, my fighting side won.

I stood firmer now, just as I had that day in the clearing with Bella and Laurent, not that it was intimidating to these monsters. "I don't give a damn what you do to her. She's made her mind up and there's nothing I can do to save her. But I'll be damned if you're gonna make me one of you." I spat, hoping the venom in my words would make them reconsider. After all, they were supposed to be the good guys.

Carlisle shook his head, smiling calmly. "My family and I would never do that. I'm assuming you haven't been informed of what transpired in Italy?"

I shook my head.

"When Bella saved Edward, it put her in a very difficult position." He started, choosing his words carefully. "Our kind have rulers, king's if you will. They oversee the vampire world and uphold the laws." 

I raised an eyebrow, not liking where this was going at all. "So, you're civilised, well done. How does this affect me." I asked, wishing they'd cut the chase. 

"If humans know about vampires, vampires must be willing to turn or kill them." Edward said, hearing my thoughts. 

"They almost killed Bella, but Alice saw a vision of Bella as one of us and so she was allowed to leave so long as we turn her within the year." 

My jaw clenched, not liking how soon it was. Bella's selfishness hurt me the most, this would kill Charlie and he'd been through so much already. 

"Alice's vision wasn't just about Bella," Edward told me. 

Dread filled my insides as I tried to breathe through it. "What else did she see?"

"You, as one of us." 

"No." I said, stumbling back as I made for the door. My future was not going to be decided by some erratic vampire or their damn kings. Not a chance.

"Evelyn, wait." Bella rushed up the stairs and grabbed a hold of my arm.

"No, Bella, none of you decide my future and you lost that privilege when you decided you didn't want to be my sister." I spat out in a fury. "Now you can stay here with your new family, but I told you that if you dragged me and Charlie into your horrific little world I'd make you regret it."

Bella took a step back, feeling ashamed at herself for causing irreparable damage.

"I'm letting you go, maybe it's time you let me go." I shook my head and left through the front door, waiting until I was far enough away to swipe the tears from my eyes as I began the wet trek home. 

a/n: 

I changed a couple of things as I edited. Most of you will notice that the lengthy explanation that Carlisle gave about the mating bond and Evelyn's connection to Caius is gone. I've changed it up a little.