"F-fuck off," Antonio muttered, ducking away from Kate's hand.

He was curled into a ball in the corner of a bedroom, his back pressed to the wall. Shivers racked up and down his body, making him shake as he hugged his knees to his chest.

Kate had come in a few minutes ago. She was now trying to get him to get up so she could get Carlisle to look over him, but Antonio wasn't cooperating. It didn't help that every time she tried to touch him, his skin burned her.

Antonio curled up more as the shivers got worse. He pulled the shirt up to his face, burying his nose into it to breathe in the masculine scent that had surrounded him before.

He ignored Kate as she left the room, resting his head against the wall. He inhaled the scent deeper as he closed his eyes, his body relaxing slightly as the shivering faintly slowed down.

He let out a gasp of shock when he was no longer on the ground, but he didn't panic as the scent of pine and cedarwood got stronger. He rested his head against a broad chest, relishing the coldness the body gave off.

He was carried out of the bedroom and into an office, furrowing his eyebrows as he saw Eleazar, Carlisle, Edward, and the woman with the cherry blossom scent waiting in the room. They were all standing next to a metal table that was pushed against the far wall of the room.

He was set down on the table, his legs dangling off of the edge. 

Another shiver racked through his body as the burly man's touch left him. He watched as the giant made his way back over to the pretty lady in the room.

His gaze flickered between Carlisle, Eleazar, and Edward as the three talked in hushed voices.

Antonio cleared his throat, only to wince as the burn of thirst flared in the back of his throat. He gripped tightly onto the edge of the metal table, not hearing the metal bend under his grip.

"What's going on?" He asked, his grip tightening more as a particularly bad shiver went through him.

It was silent for a moment before Carlisle came over.

"We're not exactly sure," he said, "but Eleazar said that your gift feels stronger now. I can't exactly say for sure, but I think that the shivering may be because of your gift."

Antonio looked to his adoptive father, relaxing slightly as Eleazar nodded his head in confirmation.

"So, how exactly would it cause this?" Antonio asked as he looked back at Carlisle.

"I don't know," Carlisle said, before gesturing to Antonio's shirt. "May I?"

Antonio furrowed his brows in confusion, but he nodded his head nonetheless.

Carlisle moved around Antonio before rolling up the back of his shirt. He heard as Carlisle's habitual breathing stopped, his gaze flickering from Carlisle to Eleazar.

"What?" He asked, "What's on my back?"

"I believe it's your gift. You said your gift spreads along your body, right? Like Kate's?" Carlisle paused, before continuing when Antonio nodded. "I can't say for sure unless I got a sample, but I don't think that's what your gift is doing. It doesn't dance over the skin as Kate's does. I think it's inside you."

Edward cut in after seeing Antonio's confused look.

"It's not outside of you. It's traveling through your body. It travels through your veins like blood. Or that was at least the first thought. That's all it did at first. But now, we think it's running through your nerves as well. That's why you keep shivering. Why your hand just twitched for the fifth time since getting in here—,"

Antonio tucked his hands between his thighs after it had been said aloud, but he knew it was pointless as they had all been watching him already.

"How do you know all of that?" He asked, his gaze flickering between Edward and Carlisle.

His attention instantly shifted to the pretty lady as she stepped forward.

"Down at the river, after Paul touched you, the veins and nerves along your spine were visible. They were . . . black. They all turned black," she said, before remaining quiet for a moment. "I'm Rosalie, by the way. And this is Emmett. Carlisle is our adoptive father. It's nice to meet you."

Antonio furrowed his brows at the first bit of information, not having expected that as an answer.

"Um, Antonio. I'm Antonio. Nice to meet you, too," his gaze moved over to Emmett before he added on, messing with the sleeves of the oversized shirt he wore. "Thanks for the shirt; you smell nice— t-the shirt. The shirt smells nice."

He quickly looked away in embarrassment as Emmett and the others chuckled. 

The urge to crawl into a hole and die suddenly became very prominent in Antonio's mind.