Chapter Text
The cold Alaskan wind of August blew through Dani's brunette hair, as she rode her bike. A light sheen of perspiration coated her skin, due to panic that she wouldn't make it to class in time. The university of Fairbanks had a lot to offer and the chemistry labs were packed with the latest tech. The brunette didn't want to be late yet again, so she drove a little faster.
Today was her last lab exam and later that day, she'd have to catch a flight to port Angeles. It was her half-sister's wedding day and, although she wasn't all that enthusiastic about her younger sister getting married at eighteen, she'd promised to come.
Her parents met in the police academy, both very young and nine months later, through a stupid one-night-stand, Dani was born. Her mother tragically passed away, while giving birth to her, due to complications. The umbilical cord wound around Dani's neck and she herself was dead for two minutes. Then her mother got a heart attack, right when the doctors performed the c-section to safe her newborn self.
Charlie's parents took care of her, while he finished his training as a cop and helped him raise her. When Dani turned four, Charlie met a woman - Renée. She got pregnant and they got married. After Bella was born, Renée filed for a divorce, saying it was all too much. She was young and couldn't take care of a baby and a five year old kid.
Her father was heartbroken when Renée left him and his parents took care of Dani again, when he was at work. Charlie was a good man and a good father too. He did work a lot, but he had a big heart and loved Dani dearly, which made up for his absence.
When Bella was young and summer breaks started, she'd visited Forks and it was like both of them grew up together from the start. Dani didn't care for the five year gap between them. They were glued to the hip. Where ever Dani went, Bella came along and when other kids tried to pick a fight with her baby sister, she'd given them bloody noses. That - of course - resulted into Dani getting scolded and grounded, but she did it again and again; until every kid in Forks knew not to mess with Bella.
They were fundamentally different. Where Bella was shy and stumbled over her own feet, Dani was bold and spoke her mind. Bella had brown eyes and pale skin, Dani inherited the green eyes and tan skin of her mother. They did share the same mouth shape, which they both got from Charlie.
"Ah, Miss Swan." The professor stroked his white mustache. "Just in time! Take your coat and glasses and let's begin."
The exam went by fairly quickly and Dani only broke one test tube, which her professor nonchalantly waved off as nothing more than a little hiccup. Overall she performed very well and she got a good grade.
The drive to the airport was a blur and Dani parked her bike in the vast parking lot of the airport grounds. She adjusted her duffle bag and hurried inside. A stewardess waved her through and she was sitting in her seat in no time. She dozed off and was woken by the same patiently smiling stewardess. Once she got out of the plane, she hurried into the public restroom and ruffled through her bag to pull out her navy blue trouser-suit. Changing quickly, she stuffed her other clothes back into it and went outside to call a taxi, giving the driver the address.
She'd never met Bella's soon-to-be husband and she was a little nervous. Who was this guy? Making her sister fall madly in love to the point of getting married at eighteen? She wasn't into guys, but this dude had to be insanity gorgeous to explain it.
When the taxi stopped in front of a big mansion, which was more glass than stone, she paid the driver and stepped outside, with her jaw hanging open. Alright, Bella was marrying into money - old money, it seemed. Her eyes scanned the house and the fancy cars and she was rooted to the spot. A petite pixie opened the door and Dani's eyes snapped to her.
"You must be Daniella, Bella's sister!" She rocked up and down on the balls of her feet and clapped her hands in excitement.
"Uh yeah, that's me. But just Dani is fine and you are..."
"I'm Alice, Edward's sister. Which means we're sister-in-laws!" She stepped forward and hugged Dani.
"Oh, okay." The sudden hug startled the brunette a little, until she awkwardly hugged back. When they pulled apart, Dani spoke again. "Nice to meet you, Alice."
"Come on in, your timing is perfect!" The energy that the petite girl radiated, made Dani raise the tips of her lips - it was contagious.
Dani followed the girl through the big house and into the front yard. The decor was beautiful. A row of chairs and a dais was situated at the far end, with an archway made out of white flowers. Fairy lights littered the canopy, ready to be lit tonight and make the atmosphere even more breathtaking.
Dani spotted her father and made a beeline for him. He enveloped her in a hearty hug and kissed the top of her head. "You look gorgeous."
"Thank you, dad. You look handsome yourself." She smiled at her father before letting her gaze wander through the crowd again. "Where is Bella?"
"Over there with Edward." He pointed out and Dani was on her way, when her father was pulled into a conversation with other people.
She pushed through the crowd and came to a stop in front of the soon-to-be married couple. "Dani!" Her baby sister let go of the boy, she was standing next to and practically crashed into her. "I'm so happy you could make it." Bella's voice was muffled.
"Couldn't miss my baby sister's wedding, now could I?" Dani chuckled while both of them let go and Bella stepped back into the embrace of the boy.
"Dani, this is Edward. Edward, Dani." Her sister introduced proudly. The boy was sickly pale and had the weirdest colored eyes Dani had ever seen. To think about it, his sister had these eyes too. His smile was the only charming thing about him. There was something peculiar, that Dani couldn't quite put her finger to.
"It's nice to finally meet you. Bella told me so much about you." His voice was smooth and the smile never faltered.
"I hope only good things." Dani gave a smile of her own, but she still felt a little uneasy in his presence.
Unbeknownst to her, another pair of amber eyes watched her. The strawberry-blonde's gaze didn't falter, since her eyes caught the sight of the woman, that walked in after Alice.
Kate leaned slightly into her older sister's space and whispered low enough, only for vampire ears to hear. "Would it hurt you to blink every now and then? The humans will think you're one of those lizard people, they talk about on the internet."
Tanya ignored her sister, her undivided attention was on the brunette. There was something to her that drove her in. A pull inside her undead heart, its source originated from the human.
Kate followed her line of sight, until she had her eyes on the soon-to-be married couple. Totally misinterpreting the situation, she tried to consol her sister. "I don't know what you see in him. He could never handle a confident woman like you. More likely he'll get a stroke." Now the platinum blonde whispered even lower, so only her sister could hear. "I've heard that he wouldn't have premarital sex with her. Edward, the good old prude."
The wedding went by in a blur, Tanya still had only eyes for this human woman and would tune into the conversations she'd have with other guests. Tanya'd learned, that her name was Dani and she was Bella's half-sister, older by five years - making her twenty-three. That she lived in Fairbanks and studied chemistry. She came only for the wedding and would depart the very next day.
Soon it went dark and the fairy lights coated the area in a warm yellow glow. And whenever Tanya caught sight of Dani's captivating green eyes, the lights reflected in them beautifully.
When Carmen and Eleazar joined the freshly married couple, Kate took Tanya by the arm and dragged her along. "Come on, it's not polite just standing here."
The spanish couple just finished giving their congratulations to the bride and groom, when Kate and Tanya came to a stop, just a few feet in front of them.
Edward introduced them to his bride. "These are our cousins from Alaska. Eleazar and Carmen, Tanya and Kate."
"We've heard so much about you." The platinum blonde said with the sweetest voice she could muster. Yes, they've heard much about Edward's Bella. She was his singer and the girl, that was immune to his mind reading abilities. Isabella Swan, who was more trouble that she was worth.
Then Dani joined the group and Tanya's attention immediately snapped to her. "Bella. Edward. Congratulations!" Dani hugged her sister and then nodded to the other people, standing nearby. When her eyes landed on the strawberry-blonde, all the vampires could hear her heart rate picking up. Tanya cocked her head slightly. This was an interesting reaction and it happened only toward her.
"Daniella, these are my cousins from Alaska. Didn't you say you're a student at UAF?" Edward smiled, seemingly having a field day reading Tanya's and Dani's minds.
It took Dani a few seconds to snap out of her stupor, reluctantly peeling her eyes away from the captivating woman in front of her. She turned to her brother-in-law. "Yeah, I am."
"The UAF? What a coincidence, we live just an hour drive from Fairbanks away." Carmen's chirping voice announced.
"How do you like Alaska? Handling the cold alright?" Kate tried to make small talk with Bella-number-two.
"I'm living there for three years now. Love the cold, actually. It's better than rainy Forks." Dani smiled and Tanya swooned right then and there.
Could it really be what she thought it was? Tanya never felt like that with anyone before. Sure, she had a lot of sex, both with humans and vampires - men and women alike. And yes, she did try to pursue a relationship with Edward. Thinking about it, made her brows knitt together in confusion. Why did she want Edward again? Because she was so lonely and he was the only option available? Yes, that was it.
Nothing was more important now, than the brunette with green eyes. Never in the past hundreds of years, Tanya had felt like this, ever. She knew now what she felt. She could place a word to that feeling. Tanya had finally found her mate and it was the sister of no other than Bella Swan.