Eclipsed Secrets

A New Alliance

The early morning mist rolled in across the silent landscape as Althea wandered through the outskirts of Forks. She'd been following a trail of rumors about a coven living nearby, vampires who had adapted to a life so unusual, so against their nature, that many of her kind found it laughable.

Vegetarian vampires. The thought seemed almost impossible. Yet here she was, drawn by equal parts curiosity and a vague sense of need, the latter of which she couldn't quite place. A century was a long time to be alone.

She had wandered for hours through the forests, growing closer to where she had heard they might be. The Cullens. She repeated the name silently, weighing its importance. If the rumors were true, then maybe—just maybe—she could find something worth staying for.It wasn't long before she caught a scent on the wind, faint yet unmistakably vampiric. Her instincts flared, sharpened by the centuries of caution and solitude, but she pushed them down. She wasn't here to fight. Not yet, at least.

She followed the scent, carefully making her way through the dense underbrush until she found herself near the edge of a large, open meadow. Her eyes narrowed. Standing there, almost as if he had been waiting for her, was a tall, blonde man. His golden eyes shone with a gentle wisdom that put her strangely at ease, though she still kept a wary distance."You can come closer, if you'd like," the man said, his voice kind, but with an underlying authority that reminded her of leaders she had known long ago. He gave her a small smile. "I'm Carlisle Cullen."

Althea paused, studying him. He seemed as though he genuinely meant her no harm, yet she couldn't ignore the warning in the back of her mind. Vampires rarely showed kindness to strangers. And the Cullens, if what she had heard was true, were far from ordinary vampires."Althea Ross," she replied finally, stepping a little closer. She noticed Carlisle's faint surprise, as if he recognized the name. She shouldn't have been surprised; her past had a way of following her, no matter how much she tried to escape it."I've heard of you," Carlisle said softly, his expression never wavering. "A vampire who chooses solitude over conquest is quite rare."

She tilted her head, giving him a guarded smile. "And a vampire who lives among humans and denies their nature is rarer still. I almost thought it was a myth."Carlisle chuckled, his eyes filled with understanding. "It's real enough. We choose to live differently. We believe that we can control our instincts, find a way to coexist rather than dominate."Althea looked away, a flicker of doubt crossing her face. "I've lived long enough to know that control can be fragile," she murmured, almost to herself."You're right," Carlisle agreed, his voice carrying a sincerity that struck her. "But we believe it's worth the struggle. We believe that there's something greater to strive for, even if we might never fully achieve it."

The words resonated with her more than she cared to admit. She'd spent decades in isolation, distancing herself from the chaos of other vampires, from the violence and the constant hunger for power. But she'd also distanced herself from meaning, from the chance to find something beyond survival."I came here because... I've grown tired of the isolation," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "I don't know what I was hoping to find, but... perhaps this could be different."Carlisle's face softened, understanding her hesitation without needing her to explain it. "Althea, you're welcome here," he said gently. "We're a family, in the truest sense we can manage. We don't turn away those who need a place to belong."The word "family" struck a deep chord in her, one she hadn't realized still existed. She remembered the way her own family had faded into the haze of memory, how she had once loved and been loved, but now only the shadow of it remained. The idea of finding something like that again felt like a distant dream.

"But I've spent so long as an outsider," she said, her voice laced with uncertainty. "I don't know if I belong in a coven... let alone one as structured as yours.""We're all outsiders, Althea," Carlisle replied. "That's part of why we're a family. The way we live may be different, but it's not a rejection of who we are. It's a choice to build something better together."Althea took a deep breath, as if testing the weight of his words in her mind. She knew joining them wouldn't be easy. She had seen enough of herself over the years to know that her trust, once lost, wasn't easily given. But something in Carlisle's calm gaze reassured her that he was genuine, that perhaps this choice could be hers to make.Finally, she nodded, a tentative glimmer of hope surfacing for the first time in years. "I'll join you, if you'll have me," she said, her voice firm.

Carlisle's smile widened, his relief almost palpable. "I believe you'll find a home here. The others will be excited to meet you—though one of them may take a bit of time to adjust. Jasper, our... youngest in terms of experience with this lifestyle, is not always comfortable around new vampires. But I think you'll understand each other better than you realize."Althea's gaze flickered with a spark of interest at the mention of Jasper, though she suppressed it quickly. She had no illusions about forming bonds quickly, not after so long alone.As Carlisle led her toward their home, Althea felt a strange, quiet anticipation. She was stepping into the unknown, into a world that felt as fragile as it did hopeful. 

But for the first time in a century, the shadows that had surrounded her began to recede, replaced by a flickering light—a small, stubborn flame that just might become something worth holding onto.

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A/N omgg second chapter is done yayy, hope you had fun and stay safe <3