Chapter 1

Bella's P.O.V

The mountain lion that was pacing underneath the branch I was crouching on had no idea that it was currently living it's last few moments. The burning thirst in the back of my throat was calling for some blood. I got deeper into my crouch and pounced, taking less than a few seconds to break its bones, and then quickly draining its blood; the blood smooth against the back of my throat and satisfying the fire of the blood thirst, cooling it to an ignorable, background feeling.

After disposing of the lion, I stood up and brushed off any dirt that I had got when I attacked it and were fortunately free of any blood. Any excuse for a shopping trip would suffice Alice, even though she has probably restocked my closet more times than I can actually count. I don't think she takes notice when I remind her I am perfectly comfortable in my jeans and a shirt.

The thrist was comfortable enough that I didn't think I needed to hunt another animal. I looked around and checked the air for Edward's scent. He was hunting with me today, but we split up briefly as we each went to our separate kills. I caught his scent on the wind and was about to make my way towards him, when I saw him making his way towards me.

He was running gracefully, his hair windswept and his eyes sparkling from the recent hunt. I marveled at how beautiful he was, and how perfect his features were, but as he got closer to me something wasn't right. It was then that I saw the mask of worry and sadness covering his face, and it confused me as I didn't know what had caused him to be upset.

He slowed down to a walk as I made my way to him, and as soon as we reached each other he wrapped his arms around me and held me close to him. I was confused by his sudden sadness and comfort. I looked up into his golden eyes, only to see the sadness reflected there as well, so I tried to read the emotions on his face, question what had happened that had upset him. Had something happened back at the house? Was someone hurt?

He held my head between his hands and lifted my head to look at him, his hand brushed gently over my cheek as he said, "We need to go home." The distress and urgency was heard in his voice, his hands moved from my face and reached my hand, pulling me into the direction of our home.

I restrained a little keeping him back, so he turned around and looked back to me, "Edward, what's happened?" He must have understood my tone as he walked back over to me and embraced me again, leaning his head down to rest on my hair and spoke lightly, "I've just heard Nessie, back at the house. Something has happened and she's upset...they're all pretty much upset. We have to go back to the house, it involves you..." I watched as he debated telling me what was wrong, but instead he sighed and said, "I don't think I should tell you. I'm so sorry." He whispered.

He moved away from me but kept hold of my hand, and then pulling me in the direction of the house without me stopping him. After a while I let go of his hand to run separately from me and stepped up the pace to get to the house quicker.

We soon reached our home within a matter of minutes. Both of us crossed the garden and slowed down as we reached the back door. We entered and I walked hastily to the front room where I guessed everyone was waiting.

I don't think they were expecting me to know something was wrong as they were all suddenly looking at me with pity. Nessie was sat, wrapped in a ball with her head buried into Jacob's chest as he comforted her while she cried against him. Jacob saw me walk in and he had the same look of pity as everyone else, but his seemed to show more of the emotion than the other vampires could, he looked back down to Nessie as he rubbed his hand up and down her back in comfort.

Carlisle and Esme stood across the room, along with Rosalie and Emmett, still as always, but there faces were filled with anguish. Alice sat on the floor, with her head between her knees, Jasper alongside her, and I could tell he was trying to calm everyone down, but I think all the emotions in the room were too much for him as the sadness shown by him seemed to be magnified. I turned to Edward who was staring at the floor but was holding my hand within his again.

"Can someone tell me what's happened?" I choked out, looking around the room. Nessie finally looked up at me then ran to my side, grasping me into a hug. My arms automatically wrapped around her and I could feel her shake from sobs, warm tears dripping onto my clothes.

She was crying too hard for her to get her words out, so I looked back up to Jacob. "Jake?" I asked him.

"Renee just called us; she said...she said something's happened back at Forks." I looked to him confused, back at Forks, we hadn't been in Forks for forty years, so what was it that had caused everyone to become so upset and suddenly pity me, what was back in Forks that could somehow affect everyone like this...

"Oh no." I whispered out, as I slowly started to understand why everyone was sympathising me, but I didn't want to know this, I wasn't expecting it.

Nessie nodded against me and lifted her head up so she could speak easier, "She called saying that Grandpa was rushed to hospital after he collapsed at home, they said…" She broke down into more sobs and couldn't get her words out, Carlisle moved from where he was standing and moved to me.

"Renee told us that he had a heart attack at home. The Doctors there at the hospital say the attack has damaged him badly and that he's too weak to make a recovery." He placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, "They're surprised he is managing to fight for this long, but they say that with his age it's likely he won't make it. I'm so sorry Bella"

The words were being told to me, but I wasn't listening to them properly as I didn't want to fully believe them. You don't really think your parents are going to die. A small part of you just secretly imagines that they'll last forever, and never leave you. I knew that by becoming a vampire I would watch the ones I loved disappear before my eyes, and at an expense as I can't even see them before they pass because of what I am now. But I felt that it was too soon for Charlie to go. Yes he was in his eighties, but I still didn't believe this time would come, and I was not expecting it either, being told right now just hit me full force.

I only heardsome of the major, disheartening words Carlisle say like keep him alive...only two or three weeks left. My mind was still in shock over it, and a numbness I hadn't felt before started to spread through my body, and making me feel like I could collapse. Can a vampire even faint? I was close to breaking down but the numbness seemed to be stopping that, cutting off the rest of the world as fuzzy human memories started to return to me.

They were re-appearing in my mind, my cherished memories of times with Charlie, from really blurry images of my two weeks every summer I got when I was young, to when I returned back to Forks, my graduation, walking me down the isle and giving me away on my wedding day, and the clearer memories I had after I was turned, all flooding my mind.

I vaguely heard the others in the room trying to get my attention. Nessie was asking for me but she was probably receiving a blank face. I heard Edward calling my name, but I still couldn't focus on him or anything else in the room. My legs collapsed beneath me and my body fell before being grabbed by two arms, and lowered gently to the floor trying to get me to speak to them or get a response.

I heard the worried call of Edward, anxious for something he probably never seen before, but I couldn't respond, my eyes wouldn't close, but he knew I was gone. The world which involved my dad was collapsing around me, I couldn't bear it. Looking up into the room it wasn't the faces of my worried, upset family I saw from my eyes, but instead various images and memories of one of the most important figures in my life.

My dad.