Plot Bunny Teaser

When I wrapped up Sovereign Fate, I was determined that I wouldn't work on anything else except Breakaway and the original story I have entered for the tWCS contest. Well, that lasted all of four days before I got a new, dark plot bunny growing in my head. I can't shake it...so I wrote the first chapter and now I'm REALLY excited. I won't start posting until after I finish Breakaway, but I'll be working on it behind the scenes so I'll have a few chapters saved up. In the meantime here's a taste.

Just to fill you in before you start...this first chapter only deals with the Cullen 'Kids' and Bella. We will see Carlisle and Esme later, but at this point, Dr. Cullen is Edward, not Carlisle. Bella is the team leader with the Cullen gang as her team. There's a bit of a backstory to explain how this happens and Edward is the newbie on the team. Just so you're not confused, McCarty is Emmett, Hale is Rosalie, Whitlock is Jasper, and Brandon is Alice. Since they get all mixed up from the time to time in the fandom and i just use last names in this chapter I thought I should clear up the confusion right away.

I'm a huge fan of Bones, Criminal Minds, and The Closer, so this is going to be a very dark, murder/mystery forensic type story with a romance subplot because, well, you guys know I can't seem to write anything that doesn't have romance, but it's not going to be the focus of this story. I'm looking forward to your impressions of my teaser. I want an idea as to whether this is something the fandom in general might enjoy, so please leave me some notes :)

I stood up, moving around the body to examine the things she pointed out. “Good, good, Hale. Thank you. Have they completed processing the scene yet? I would really like to examine the rest of her body and get back to the lab before the storm cell reaches us.”

Lightening illuminated the sky to the west, punctuating my desire to move the body as quickly as possible as I looked up at McCarty.

“Yes, I believe that they are done.” He looked around locking eyes with several workers who nodded back.

I looked back up to see Whitlock and Brandon packing up their supplies, leaving a few things out in case there was more evidence underneath the body to be collected, as Hale repositioned herself in order to examine the body after the move. I glanced over to see Cullen looking at me intently, his brow furrowed deeply. I gestured for him to come talk to me as I moved to ask the photographer to get a close up of something that looked off to me before we repositioned the poor girl's naked form.

I jumped when I turned back around to find Cullen standing next to me. It never ceased to surprise me how stealthily he moved. I shook off my fright as he tried to hide an amused smirk. I rolled my eyes at him before looking him square in the eyes.

“I haven’t known you long, Dr. Cullen, but I can tell something is bothering you. What’s wrong?”

He sighed, glancing around him again before looking back at me solemnly. “Something is off. There’s something I’m missing, something more…”

Just then, McCarty and two other techs he asked to assist shifted the body to expose the victim’s back as the group gasped and Hale let out an uncharacteristic scream. Cullen and I dashed to her side to see what moving the body had uncovered, the sight making my stomach boil with bitter bile.