Tooth and Claw

Reborn

When Charlotte opened her eyes, she instantly knew something had changed.
Everything in the strange room around her, seemed like it was being shown to her through a zoom lense.
She also seemed to be able to hear things, like birds in the trees, even though there were no open windows anywhere near her.
Unsure of where she was or what had happened, Charlotte sprung out of the bed she had been laying on, and turned to find 2 people  staring at her from the other side of the room.
One was a woman and one was a man. She recognised the man, so she decided to lower her guard.
"Doctor Carlisle, what happened?" She asked the kindly doctor who had treated her so many times.

As the words left her lips she felt unnerved, as they didn't sound like hers.
She immediately lifted her hand to her neck, but found no imperfections there, that would cause the change in her voice.
This was when she realised that her arm was no longer in a cast, and the other wounds that she usually felt around her body were gone to.
"What's happened to me?" She asked again.

Carlisle took a step towards her, "It's going to be O.K".
Even with everything frightening her, Charlotte still felt calmed by her doctor's soothing voice.
"You called me after being attacked in the street. I was able to save your life, but in doing so, you had to go through a transformation" continued Carlisle.
"Transformation. What do you mean?" Questioned Charlotte.
"This is going to be a big shock for you I'm afraid. But in order to keep you alive, I had to turn you into a vampire" revealed Carlisle.
"A what!".

****
After several long minutes, Carlisle had finished explaining what had happened to Charlotte during the past few days. And informing her that she had become a blood-sucking vampire, had not been an easy thing to do.
"So, you and your family are all vampires, and you agreed to change me into one too. Why? Why me?" Asked Charlotte.
Carlisle frowned, "What do you mean, why you?".
"Hundreds of people die everyday. Why did you choose to save me?" Charlotte questioned curiously.
"I've been treating you your whole life. And since you've been in my hospital so many times, I've gotten to know you quite well. Besides, you called me, you trusted me to help keep you alive, and I didn't want to let you down"
"Fair enough".

"We can talk more later, but right now you probably want to get your thirst under control" admitted Carlisle.
The second he said the word thirst, Charlotte suddenly felt a pain in her throat and a longing for sustinance.
"Yep. Sounds good" was all she could manage.
"Alright then. Since I'm the one you know best, I'll take you for your first hunt" replied Carlisle.
Charlotte nodded her head and began to make her way towards him. But before she could reach him, she caught sight of her reflection in a nearby mirror. And the shock of seeing herself made her forget all about hunting.

"Is that really me?" She quizzed, not quite believing what she was seeing.
"Becomming a vampire does change your appearance somewhat. Aside from the red eyes, which will fade to gold in time, and the pale skin, you will find that you look more-"
"Beautiful" interupted Charlotte.
She had never found herself ugly before, just ordinairy, as there was nothing special about her.
But now she looked extrordinairy.
"My scars are gone" continued Charlotte, as she carried on inspecting her appearence.
"Yes, that's an added feature of becomming a vampire" replied Carlisle.
"I like it".

****
After her first hunt was complete, Charlotte made her way back inside the house, to where the rest of the Cullens were waiting for her.
"It's time you officially met the rest of my family. Since they're your family now as well" smiled Carlisle.
Charlotte suddenly became extremely self conscious, as the people in the living room stared back at her.
"Starting from the left side of the room we have my wife Esme, who you saw earlier, and our adopted children; Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, Edward. Then you have Edward's wife Bella, and their daughter Renesmee" continued Carlisle.
"Hello" waved the young girl named Renesmee.
"Hi" replied Charlotte awkwardly.

"Welcome to the family" beamed Esme as she moved to her husbands side.
"Thank you. I've never been part of such a big family before" admitted Charlotte.
"You haven't even met everyone yet. You've still got to meet the wolves" announced Renesmee.
"Shh" whispered Bella, hushing her daughter.
"The wolves?" Questioned Charlotte.
"We share this area with 2 packs of werewolves, one of which we are very close to do" Carlisle answered.
"Werewolves are real too. Great"
"Not in the way you think. They are more like shapeshifters, since they can turn at will, and do not rely on the moon".
"Jacob is my wolf" grinned Renesmee.
"Jacob is the leader of one of the packs" explained Edward.

"So these wolves are friendly?" Asked Charlotte.
"They're on our side most of the time, if that's what you mean" replied Carlisle.
"The wolves won't hurt any of us. Especially not me and you" revealed Renesmee.
Charlotte frowned, "What does that mean?".
All the Cullens shared a look, and Charlotte folded her arms, as she didn't like to be kept out of things.
"What is it?" She asked again.

"It's complicated" sighed Carlisle.
"I may be young, but I'm not an idiot, so I'm sure I can keep up" replied Charlotte.
"I'm not questioning your intelligence, it's just not an easy situation to explain. And I think it's better if it comes from them" admitted Carlilse.
"You won't have to wait very long. They're on their way here now" revealed Edward.
"I thought they were going to give us a day with her first" admitted Esme.
"It seems like they can't wait any longer. They want to meet her" Carlisle replied.