*Jasper's POV

  Annabell fell asleep in my embrace. It still wasn't easy for me to prehend that this amazing being was to be mine and mine alone. Just as I was hers.

  Then I remembered Peter. I mean, he is happily mated and my brother in almost every ossible. But I don't like how friendly they seem to be with each other. Peter never mentioned being friends, or whatever their retionship is, with any human or that he knew Annabell. A, it seems they know each other for a long time. I frowned.

  Suddenly Annabell's body stiffened. I felt her fear and ay. Then she whimpered. "Jasper, please... help me..." Her voice quiet, yet clearly desperate. She was still asleep but even so, her face ale like when I found her after the attack by the school. It made me worried and I did what I could to calm her down. When her body finally rexed again she clutched my shirt and pressed herself to me as if I was the only thing holdiogether. "Thank you." She whispered from her sleep again and I caressed her silky ebohat was her hair. "Anytime, my sweet." I answered, although I knew she doesn't hear me and I wished I could scare away all of her nightmares. When I get my hands on that bastard, he's gonna wish he ouched her! She slept peacefully again afterwards.

  When the dawn colored the sky, light shades of pink and e, I gently slipped out of bed ao look for Peter and Charlotte. I found them i. There was a french toast and a gss e juice prepared on a tray. Charlotte greeted me with a smile. "Good m Jasper. We prepared breakfast for the girl. How is she?"

  I relutly returned her smile. "I let her sleep, but she seems better. By the way, her name is Annabell." I turo Peter, "How do you know her?" I didn't try to cover my displeasure.

  Peter uood I am not in a mood for his humor and said only, "That's quite long story and..." pausing, his look shifted behind me "I am sure our little devil over there would like to tell it herself." What...? fused, I followed his gaze and found myself looking into the emerald green of Annabell's eyes. "How...?" I blurted out. Peter ughed at my shocked expression. "Well, you should learn to listen out for her heartbeat or she'll sneak around you without you even notig. She learo ceal her presence just as a kid. And I see you perfected it even further."

  Peter sounded like a proud father if I heard one. But something he said earlier didn't sit with me. I turned ba and so quiet as to keep it from Annabell's ears I warned him. "Annabell isn't ours."

  Warm hand on my arm surprised me again. I didn't hear her move. "I am mine." She said to me, in nearly the same tone I was talking to Peter. Then she smiled and turo the pair across the table. "I heard something about breakfast. Pete, I'm starving." Amazed, I could only watch as she found the edge of the table before her and pulled one of the chairs, so she could sit.

  " I eat it here, please. I don't think I would make it back to that room. Who in the world came up with a spiral staircase? It makes me dizzy and I feel like falling." She pined softly.

  "Of course you eat here, hon. Here's your breakfast." Smiled Char and sat the tray with food in front of Annabell.

  Aook a bite from the toast and a smile returo her lips. "Mmh, my favorite. You remembered! Thank you!" She excimed, making me wonder about their retionship again.

  "How could I fet, sweetie." Peter smiled warmly at her, then warily looked at me. I was still stunned by all that's been happening right in front of me.

  Auro me again and reached for a chair beside her. I uood she wants me to sit o her, so I took her hand in mine and sat down before she found it.

  "Well since, in spite of that you didn't bother to keep in touch, your memory seems to be fine, Pete, I don't have any obje to you telling the story." Lightly squeezing my hand she turned back to her breakfast.

  I looked at Peter. fused as be, I waited for him to start.

  "Remember my traveling fourteen to ten years ago?" I nodded. At that time he used to cim he still didn't see anything of the world and so he was gone almost all the time. Every time he came home, he bragged, he found something new and iing. I didn't care and Char, even though she loved to listen to his tales of fn pces, she apanied him only two or three times. Once, Peter came from his trip, seemed quite down and didn't have any adventurous story for her. It was his st trip sihen and we never got to know what happened.

  "At one of my trips I stumbled across a little girl, lost in the woods. She was sitting on a boulder three times taller than her and she was g. I remember w how would that tiny being climb something so big. At first, I thought someo her there a her to her fate. I was careful to not attract her attention. No other human would notice me. However, this little girl suddenly stopped g and looked straight at me." He shook his head as in disbelief but smiling and it was obvious he sees the little girl in forest instead of our kit.

  "I was surprised, first by the fact that she obviously sensed my presence, even though if I wasn't looking right at her, I wouldn't know she was there. Then I realized I was looking into eyes of the clearest and deepest green I've seen. Since I was caught, I asked who she was and why she was g. She told me that other kids are mean to her because she is weird. I didn't find anything weird on her so it fused me. I found her quite adorable. My fusion deepened when she said that she wants to see my fad reached her hands towards me. Then I uood what was supposed to be weird about her. Another surprise was when I allowed her to feel my fad she stated that I'm the same as uncle Chris."

  Annabell finished her breakfast and with amused smile interrupted Peter. "Yes, and when he came moments ter, because he khat's where he has the best ce to find me, you had real hard time expining who you are and that you don't present any dao me." Her maiion now was joy and I tried to imagine her as a little girl. "Guess history tends to repeat itself... And just to correct you, Pete, I told you a million times I was not lost. I khat pce already and as I showed you ter I erfectly capable of climbing that rock by myself."

  "When we cleared all that, old Chris let me in on her little training a me help." tinued Peter. Suddenly I heard Annabell gasp. She felt even worse than in the night and looked like death itself touched her. "That... 't be..." She breathed.