𝕆𝕟 𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℍ𝕦𝕟𝕥 ➾ 𝕆ℂ 𝕩 𝕆ℂ [𝕋𝕎𝕀𝕃𝕀𝔾ℍ𝕋 𝕊𝔸𝔾𝔸]

Golden Eyes

Mount Chase, Maine

1949

Maxwell Sanford Cullen

 Max was reading If This Is a Man by Primo Levi for the third time when he heard four sets of light footsteps rush towards his one-person log cabin. The aroma of vampires hit his nose as he quietly closed his book. He began to worry if it was Volturi looking for him but a surge of calmness rippled throughout his body — he was perplexed by his sudden mood swing.

He was ripped out of his confusion when a gentle knock was placed upon his front door. He was hesitant to answer it. He sniffed the air again. Two of the four vampires smelled slightly sweeter than the others; only two of them drank human blood. The revelation put him at ease — they likely were not the Volturi.

Max shot up from his leather armchair and gracefully strode over to the door. His amber eyes landed on the four strangers on his front porch. It was immediately clear to Max that the group consisted of two sets of mates. Two tall gentlemen with honey blonde hair were each respectively holding onto two petite brunettes with short hair. The couples seemed to be mirror images of each other. Except one couple had matching dark red eyes, while the other shared honey-colored orbs — the same eyes Max had.

"It's lovely to see you, Maxwell!" The brunette girl with amber eyes exclaimed as she hugged him. Maxwell's eyes widened. The girl's mate seemed close to laughter at his bewildered state. 

"Have we met before?" Max inquired as the girl slinked back into her spot next to her mate.

"No, you haven't met me, but I've known you for a while now," she answered with a huge smile.  Max's confusion only increased tenfold. 'What the hell did she mean by that?'

"Alice, don't confuse the poor man," the man with red eyes chuckled. 

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry," the girl reached her hand out. "I'm Alice!"  Max shook her hand politely, even though he still had many questions.

Alice's mate was next to extend his hand for a handshake. "My name's Major Jasper Whitlock, sir," he greeted with a southern drawl. 

"I'm Peter," the next man introduced with a firm handshake. "And this is my mate, Charlotte."  She shook Max's hand as well.

"Private Maxwell Sanford, but you seem to know that already. Please, come inside," he held the door open for them. Once they were situated on either the chairs or the couch, he turned to Alice. "How did you know my name?" He still wasn't sure if they worked for Aro.

"I'm assuming you are aware that some vampires are gifted, correct?" Max nodded at her. That sentence only made him more scared but just like before, a wave of tranquility passed over him.  Alice continued, "My gift is that I can see the future."  She let that sink in for a second before speaking again. "I saw you in one of my visions.  As you can tell, Jasper and I have the same diet as you — I got the idea from a vision of a coven some years ago that also fed on animals.  In my most recent vision, you, Jasper, and I became a part of that same coven, and we lived happily and peacefully."

Max couldn't contain the joyful look on his face. The idea of having a family again sounded splendid. It certainly beats being lonely all of the time. "Are you sure it was me?" He asked.  He didn't want to get his hopes up. 

"Alice's visions are hardly ever wrong," Jasper smirked as he looked at Alice in adoration as she nodded in agreement.

"The idea of having a family again sounds nice but..." Max hesitated.  "But if we join, won't having a big coven gain the Volturi's attention?"