Title: Secret Identities

Author: Nadia Mack

Rated: T

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Twilight/Covenant related. I own utterly nothing, which is depressing.

Author's Notes: I wanted to thank Music for pointing out a mistake in the opening chapter. It should be fixed now. Shadeslayer390, thanks for the comment. I'll be working my way up to their inevitable meeting, until then; don't be surprised if you see one of them pop up in the next few chapters. The Sons of Ipswich won't actually appear together until I work New Moon into the story. Northernlights, Bella won't be getting her powers back until she ascends, which should be interesting if my thoughts-to-page transitioned anywhere close to what I have in mind. lol


Previously…

Bella spun around and caught the sight of the Tyler's dark blue van that was skidding, tires locked and squealing against the breaks, spinning widely across the large patch of ice on the parking lot. Worse, it was headed straight toward her.

Bella's body tensed up and her instincts naturally geared to protect herself before she realized that her powers were binded and she was literally left helpless from the oncoming vehicle.

Unable to move fast enough, she braced for impact when she felt the onslaught of another push her body down. With eyes suddenly unfocused, she saw an outstretched arm stop the van just a couple of feet shy from where it would have crushed her. Bella's eyes widened as she looked at the face of her savior, Edward Cullen. One arm secured around her waist and the other leaving a remarkably large dent against the passenger side door.

Before she could even process what was happening, Bella was surrounded by dozens of students. Some asking her if she was okay. Others calling for 911. The rest just wanting to get a glimpse. While that was happening, Edward discreetly disappeared from view; leaving Bella with questions she was annoyed that she wanted answers to.

Chapter 1

The next couple of hours passed by in a whirlwind of events. Other than Tyler's mild head wound and her bruised arm, no one was severely hurt. She vaguely even remembered the ambulance hurling her away from the school lot and to the local hospital where Charlie was standing beside her, glaring at Tyler.

He had been frantic with worry at first, but after he saw that his daughter was all right, Charlie put the full weight of his Chief of Police authority on poor Tyler, going as far as threatening to take away his driver's license.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Charlie queried to his child once again.

"I said I was fine," Bella replied for the umpteenth time.

"This is not fine." Charlie gestured at her bruised arm as if the simple black and blue mark was indicative of something even more fatal. "You could've died."

"But I didn't."

At that moment, the double doors opened. "I heard the Chief's daughter was here," Dr. Cullen said walking towards them.

"I'm really sorry, Bella," Tyler apologized once again but Charlie put a stop to it by pulling the curtains covering him completely from her view as soon as Dr. Cullen made his way to their side.

The first and most immediate thing Bella noticed was the paleness of Dr. Cullen's skin. It matched the rest of his foster children to a tee. In addition to that, what was most interesting also was the color of his eyes, it matched Edward's exactly yet the general consensus was that Dr. Carlisle was by no means related at all to the kids he adopted.

It was peculiar but not out of the realm of coincidence. Perhaps they were all distantly related? The observation would not have been in the forefront of Bella's mind had she not witnessed first hand Edward's remarkable abilities of speed and strength.

As a human born with magic, there was little in the world that could possibly surprise her, but the Cullen's, especially Edward certainly did, much to her chagrin.

Dr. Carlisle checked her over. His movement's gentle and his voice soft and welcoming. His very presence invited warmth, even when she pressed the fact that if it wasn't for Edward shoving her away from the van, she would have ended up in the morgue instead of the exam room.

"You're very lucky," Dr. Carlisle said simply before heading off to work on her discharge papers. She got the distinct impression that he was aware that she knew.

Interesting

At the end of the afternoon, Bella finally ran into Edward on the way outside just as she finished calming her mother down after her father made the gigantic mistake of informing her of their daughter's non-fatal accident. It took a good twenty minutes to soothe her mother's fears before Renee even felt comfortable enough hanging up the phone.

"Can I talk to you?" she asked when she spotted Edward hanging around by the side of the building.


Edward approached her slowly, tentatively. "What?"

Without preamble, she went straight to the point, which wasn't completely unexpected even though he couldn't read her mind at all. "How did you get to me so fast?"

Edward made an attempt at ignorance. "I was right next to you Bella."

"No." Bella was not easily swayed. "You were across the lot."

"You hit your head. I think you're confused," Edward pressed but it was clear Bella didn't believe him, and it was asking too much for him to even try to convince her otherwise. He felt exposed, and this feeling of vulnerability around a mere human has left him utterly weak since the first time he caught her scent.

"I know what I saw," she continued point-blank.

His jaw clenched. "And what did you see?"

"You stopped the van." Bella recounted with obvious clarity. "You pushed it away with your hand."

Edward inhaled deeply, wanting the interrogation to end before he says something he shouldn't. "No one's going to believe you," he settled for saying.

"I wasn't going to tell anyone."

Edward blinked, continuously surprised by the way this girl's mind works. It was normal for a human to talk, to share secrets and mysteries, yet this mortal human defied conformity. When she said she wasn't going to tell anyone, he was overwhelmed by the sheer instinct to believe her. Her eyes didn't lie. Observant and far more perceptive than anyone he has ever met that was not one of his kind, it had left him uncertain how to react in her presence.

He settled to avoid her as much as possible these past months yet the allure to be around Bella was too seductive. Watching her had become a habit he could not break. He even succumbed to violating her very privacy by sneaking into her room the last few months after so many weeks of agonizing torture via listening in on her conversations with her human friends.

It was ridiculous and totally out of his understanding why he would do so considering that any further attachment he formed with her, intentional or otherwise, risks his and his family's very existence as well as hers.

He'd literally become a stalkerish vampire and an actual teen pathetically obsessed over a human girl.

"I just need to know," she added.

"Well I hope you enjoy disappointment." He left it there before he ended up further engrossing himself in her spell and headed straight away to the one person who could sympathize.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"What was I supposed to do Rosalie, let her die?" Edward shot back defiantly. After his brief confrontation with Bella, after he made his way straight to Carlisle's office, instead of the father figure he desperately wanted to speak to, he ended up with Rosalie. A far crueler fate if her thoughts were anything to go by.

"This isn't just about you," she reminded him viciously. "This affects the rest of us."

"She's not going to tell anyone," he said with certainty.

"Oh, and you know this how?" she replied skeptically. "Can you suddenly read her mind?"

Edward gritted his teeth. "No."

"Then how do you know she isn't lying?"

"She wasn't," he answered back determinedly. His need to protect Bella overriding all other senses that it had gone way pass irrational. He only knew that saving her was a necessity.

A need.

A want he couldn't easily explain into words.

"You've exposed us all!"

"Calm down, Rosalie," Carlisle's soothing voice suddenly enveloped the room and Edward was finally able to relax a bit. He knew the longer he and Rosalie argued, the more volatile it was going to get. "We'll deal with this as a family but for now, there's nothing else we could do. Charlie is taking his daughter home. We'll know more about what actions to take in the next few days."

Rosalie continued to glare at him angrily. "You better be right about this, Edward."

He glared equally at her retreating form.

How are you feeling son?

Edward's attention snapped up at his father's open thoughts.

"I don't know what's happening to me. Ever since I came back after that first week…" he faltered in search of the words to say. "She… she shouldn't be this important to me, Carlisle." He dared not mention his nightly visits to her room and the sudden revelation that he may, in fact, be falling for her. "We've only ever had one conversation, and that almost didn't count."

"Alice foresaw—"

"I know what Alice saw," he cut in aggressively. "And that won't happen to her either. There's got to be another way."

Carlisle crossed the office and leaned against the edge of his desk facing him. "You've managed to hold your own with her nearby." He finished He finished the rest through his thoughts. "And I'm incredibly proud you've overcome that side of you that wanted to take her."

"I still don't know if I'm strong enough," he revealed painfully.

"If that was the case, you never would have saved her today."

"I don't want her to die." It was the only truth that made sense to him at this moment.

"That leaves you at a precarious position, son."

Edward sighed. "I know."


Edward was ignoring her again, that much Bella knew for sure. Any interaction between them was either class related or him continuing to remind her that 'it's better that we aren't friends.' At this point, she stopped trying to figure out how he saved her life. It would be hypocritical of her to start messing with what she knew was a well kept secret when she carried some of her own.

Christmas and New Year's came and went without anymore incidents apart from the occasional trip and fall.

When did she become suddenly clumsy?

Bella and her father got along remarkably well. Charlie was a quiet man who preferred to keep to himself. To top it all off, he never hovered. But he was a bad cook; she discovered this the first day she moved to Forks. It was no big transition when she took over kitchen duties. She didn't mind at all. It was rather satisfying to watch his eyes glaze happily at every new or different dish she put before him and it helped to take her mind off things.

It was March now, the sun made a surprise appearance when the clouds decided not to interfere when she was invited to head down to La Push Beach. She'd heard of the place from Jacob Black, a childhood friend she vaguely remembered making mud pies with when they were children.

Jacob was a nice kid; he was a year younger than she was, thoughtful and kind who always seemed to have a smile on his face. He treated her father with respect, which earned him additional brownie points on top of his carefree personality.

They ran into each other at the beach with all the other kids from school. At some point, walking along the shoreline, he told her stories of werewolves. It didn't interest her at first, having learned about the creatures through the Book of Damnation. It was the story about the 'Pale faces' that piqued her interest.

Later that same week, she hung out with Jessica and Angela in Port Angeles to help them search for the perfect prom dress. Unfortunately, she wasn't much help in that department. She had nearly zero interest in fashion, preferring comfort and vintage clothing over designer or anything remotely sexy. Annoyingly, that didn't stop guys from propositioning her.

Bella left the two girls to debate over which dress they were going to purchase while she drifted her way to the local bookstore. She loved to read and needed something new to fill her time when she wasn't doing homework or cooking for Charlie. There were just so many times she could reread Wuthering Heights or Romeo & Juliet.

Upon leaving, she noticed she was being followed.

Great, she thought annoyingly.

They whistled and taunted, following her to an empty parking lot. The pros and cons of being without her powers made itself abundantly known the second time this year and she couldn't help but curse her vulnerability against such bad luck.

Caleb was wrong; he really should have wished her luck.

"Come on, baby. Let's have some fun," one drunken fool said.

Bella ignored him and internally debated her best possible options. Taking four guys down is out of the question. Outrunning them might not be any better even in their intoxicated state. She was fast, but she was hardly an athlete.

One man suddenly grabbed her arm, and Bella reflexively kneed him in the stomach.

"You shouldn't have done that," one guy sneered.

The next thing she knew, a silver Volvo appeared from the street almost running over her would be molesters. Edward stepped out of the vehicle. "Get in the car," he commanded.

Bella immediately obeyed, thinking her chances with Cullen was a heck of a lot better than the other options.

Through the windshield, she could see Edward approach the group of men who looked like they were about to shrivel away in total fear. A part of her new Edward could be dangerous because of his strength and speed, but up until now, she's never seen it in action.

A moment later, he was in the driver's seat driving us away with a speed and maneuverability of a racecar driver high on rocket fuel. He was driving so fast, she was getting a bit dizzy.

"Would you slow down?"

Edward's grip on the steering wheel tightened. "I should go back there and rip their heads off."

Bella eye's widened. She shook her head. "No, you shouldn't."

"You don't know the vile repulsive things they're thinking."

"And you do?"

"It's not hard to guess," he said forcefully. "Could you talk about something else? Distract me so I don't turn around," he pleaded.

She spoke the first words that came to mind. "Put your seat belt on."

Edward laughed humorlessly. "Why don't you put your seat belt on?"

It wasn't until they parked in front of the restaurant that Edward finally looked relatively calm and non-homicidal. She stepped out of his car just realizing that he was already there holding the door out for her. She passed him in silence while he trailed slowly behind.

Bella caught up with Jessica and Angela just as they were leaving. Since they didn't know how long she was going to be late, they ate ahead but as soon as Edward appeared things got a little awkward.

Edward offered to stay with her to get something to eat, going as far as making sure she gets home safely, and to quell her own curiosity, she agreed. She ignored the shocked and awed looks from her friends and proceeded into the establishment without any more backward glances.

Inside the restaurant, their waitress made no qualms about showing her preference but Edward seemed oblivious. Once she got her order and disappeared, Bella couldn't help but address the reactions people have toward him.

"You really shouldn't do that?"

"Do what?"

"Don't tell me you have no idea the affect you have on people, especially girls. Our waitress is probably in the back room right now hyperventilating."

Edward tilted his head to the side and smiled.

"See, that's exactly what I'm talking about," she pointed out. That smile of his could stop traffic easily.

He blinked, looking extremely confused. "What did I do?"

"You just… have a way of dazzling people."

"I dazzle people?"

"Yes"

He leaned a little forward. "Do I dazzle you?"

She took a sip of her soda and gulped. "Frequently," she muttered under her breath, a slight blush on her face. "Anyway, let's not go off on a tangent here. You gotta give me some answers now." Bella was done giving his space when it was he who was intent on becoming her Knight in shining armor every chance he got.

"Hmm," he said thoughtfully. "Yes. No. To get to the other side. 1.772455—"

Bella cut him off impatiently. "I don't want to know what the square root of pi is."

Edward looked surprised. "You knew that?"

Bella nodded. "Okay." She got up to leave but Edward suddenly looked fearful.

"Please," he said. "Don't go."

Leave it to Edward Cullen to dissuade her from her original plan. "Were you following me?"

"I… I feel very protective of you."

A simple yes or no would've sufficed but it was oddly flattering nonetheless. "So you were following me."

His next words suddenly poured out. "I stayed as far as possible just in case you needed my help… but then I heard what they were thinking and I just—"

"Wait a second," she interjected. "You heard them? Like in their minds?

Edward took a deep breath before answering. "I could read every mind in this room, apart from yours." He looked over me to the unsuspecting strangers around us. "Money. Sex. Money." Then his gaze focused on the bartender and his stare turned amused. "Cat." He faced her and let the full power of his penetrating eyes immobilize her senses. "But you… nothing. It's very frustrating."

This knowledge came as no big shock to her system. Her friends back home and the Covenant have expressed how completely impenetrable her mind was. She didn't understand it, no body else had that kind of problem and a few have made the observation that it was probably due to her having a very private mind, whatever that meant.

She acted surprised regardless. "Is something wrong with me?"

He chuckled almost in disbelief. "I just told you that I can read minds and you're wondering if there was something wrong with you." He breathed in deeply and she couldn't help but note his discomfort out loud.

"Are you okay?"

Edward looked at her then, pain etched on his features. "I… don't… have the strength to stay away from you anymore."

Her answer seemed simple. "Then don't."

To be continued…