Rated M for mature content.

Stephanie Meyer owns all.

Chapter 2 - Discovery

EPOV

As I tore through the living forest, I finally spotted the Chief's house, still distant through the dense foliage. I stopped at the very edge of the forest, taking deep lungfuls of air, feeling whole. I felt elated, and the first genuine smile since september of last year stretched my mouth wide.

I was home, and I was a fool for ever leaving her. My heart and body belonged to Bella, and I was eager for her to reclaim them.

Bella's truck was parked in the driveway, but I could detect no heartbeats from within the house. Had Bella been there, I would have known in an instant, as the beat of her heart was the most significant sound in my world. I could detect it from almost a half mile away, discern it's unique sound from everyone around her.

Oh, how I missed that beat; how it would speed up at the sight of me, causing her face to redden with her telltale blush. How it would stutter when we kissed, how it would smooth out and soothe me she slept in my arms, and how it would race when she opened her beautiful eyes to me in the early morning. Thinking of her, knowing I would soon be talking with her, made me feel alive, like my own stone heart beat in my chest.

I needed Bella; I knew that now. I would never again make such a foolish mistake as leaving. Nothing would ever part us again. I would beg her for her forgiveness, make myself her slave, do anything for her.

As I thought these pleasant things, the shrill sound of my cellphone interrupted my fantasies. The ringtone identified the caller as Alice, and I quickly answered the call, feeling lighter than I had in months.

"Hello Alice," I said, the happiness evident in my voice.

"Oh Edward, I am so excited for you! It's been too long. You should never have left," squealed Alice, her excitement and effusiveness echoing through the phone.

I chuckled softly. I had missed my sister. "I know, Alice. I will never leave her again, if she lets me stay," I ended quietly.

"She loves you Edward, of course she will let you stay. I have no doubt!" exclaimed Alice.

I hesitantly asked : "Have you seen anything Alice?"

For the first time, I sensed uncertainty coming from her. "Well, not so much. I cannot get a read on her. It's like she is a blank to me, and then she suddenly pops up for a moment, but is very blurry. I don't know why."

This worried me, and I needed an explanation. "Can you see anything solid Alice? Anything that will help me?" I was not too proud to ask for help. For Bella, I would crawl on my knees across the world, begging, if that was what was required to win back her heart.

"Well, I see her getting home soon, and I see her turning around as you approach her. But beyond that, it's not clear."

I pondered this a moment, before Alice continued; "School is letting out about now, so she should be home shortly. I don't know how she got to school, as I can see you at her house now and her truck is there," she finished.

"OK, Alice. Thank you. For everything."

"It will all work out, Edward. We are here for you. Come back to the house when you can, or call us later. For now, just worry about you and Bella. We are going out for a quick hunt and then we will finish getting the house ready."

We said our goodbyes, and I closed my phone, waiting impatiently for Bella to arrive. A few cars would appear at the end of the street, but all of them passed by her house without stopping. I spent a few idle minutes wondering who had taken her to school. Angela? Or perhaps that scoundrel Mike Newton had moved in while I was absent?

A loud, rumbling sound was coming down the street now, and in the distance I saw an old motorcycle approaching. The driver was a large, russet skinned Native American with closely cropped hair. Clearly a Quiluete, but no one I recognized. He had a smaller passenger behind him, all in black and wearing a helmet, with arms draped around the drivers middle.

The bike approached, but to my surprise, instead of continuing on, it pulled over in front of Bella's house. The driver stood up to his full height - probably a good six foot six and heavily muscled - and toed the kickstand open to keep the bike upright. I moved further back into the trees, watching this strange scene unfold.

At the moment they stopped, I suddenly heard the sound of Bella's heartbeat over the idling rumble of the bike's engine. I also got a faint whiff of something that smelled like wet dog, and the memory of the last time I had smelt such an offensive odor came rushing back to me with a shock.

But before I could react to this unexpected event, the passenger stepped off the bike, pulled the helmet off and shook out a glorious mane of dark hair. Bella's glorious scent - a smell unlike any other - assaulted my senses. It had been a long time since I had smelled her luscious blood, and it did strange things to me. I expected the monster inside me to come rushing to the surface, desperate for her blood; that was my usual reaction when I had not been in Bella's presence for a while. Even after Phoenix - after tasting that sweet ambrosia when she lay broken in the ballet studio - I fought to keep my inner beast at bay.

But instead, despite the flames shooting down my throat, all I felt was peace. The burn was welcome; it meant Bella was near, and alive. The agony I had endured during our separation seemed to have quieted the monster in me, as if he too knew that her continued survival was essential for my existence, and would not harm her in any way.

As this epiphany hit, my eyes took her in, like a man dying of thirst in the desert who spots a pool of cool water. She was exquisite. Her figure had matured in the past ten months; so that, despite being thin - thinner than I remembered - she now had a saucy flair to her hips, and a narrower waist. She wore tight fitting black pants, and a pair of black mid-calf boots with a low heel that made her legs look fabulous. She wore a tight fitting leather riding jacket over what appeared to be a red v-neck blouse. Tantalizing amounts of skin were visible at her neck, and on her pale chest, where the shirt revealed more of her skin than I ever remember Bella showing before.

Her hair was longer, and looked thicker. There were curls to it now, and it almost reached her waist. Her reddish highlights were more prominent, almost as if she had it colored lightly. It looked soft as silk, and I wanted to caress it, sniff it, wrap my fingers in it.

And her face - her beautiful, unforgettable face - made my undead heart clench in my chest. Her lips were luscious as ever, and covered with a light coating of ruby red lipstick. As I looked higher, I was further surprised to see black eyeliner around her beautiful eyes, and mascara on her already long lashes. Her cheekbones were higher, more angular, and any trace of teenage roundness had faded. Her chin, too, seemed fuller, firmer. She was fully a woman now, stunning, gorgeous. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and I felt the fire of raging desire race through my dried out veins.

I watched Bella exchange a few words with the wolf, lean up, kiss the rider on the cheek, and walk slowly back up towards her house. I clenched my fists in rage at the display, but before I could act on my murderous impulses, the rider took the helmet back, put it on his own head, and, with a loud roar and a puff of grey smoke, peeled-out on the motorcycle and disappeared down the road.

I watched my Bella walking towards her door, and I started forwards out of the trees, suddenly afraid and apprehensive. Why was Bella riding on the back of a motorcycle? And with a werewolf no less! Why was she wearing makeup? What has been going on?

I didn't have long to ponder these things, as Bella was unlocking, then opening her door. I hurried across the street, her scent intensifying, my need increasing. My Bella was only a few feet from me now, her back turned to me as she opened her door. If my heart was capable of beating, it would have been thundering out of my chest.

Bella somehow sensed my presence, as she immediately stiffened and straightened upright, the door to her house open in front of her. I stopped, a few feet from her, my arm seemingly moving of it's own volition, reaching up slowly towards her, palm open and beseeching.

"Bella," I whispered, half prayer, half lamentation.

As she turned slowly around, I was aware of time slowing and stretching out; I could hear everything, from the whistles of the birds in the forest to the sound of her thrumming heartbeat pulsing in my ears. Finally, finally, Bella was facing me. The reality of her was more real, more alive, than any memory my perfect mind could conjure up, and I drank the image of her in greedily. Her eyes - those beautiful, soulful eyes - wandered briefly over my face, and then finally met mine.

I wasn't sure what I saw there. Confusion? Surprise? Anger? I wasn't sure. My own eyes burned with the intensity of the love I felt for her, and I repeated her name again, in a breathy voice. "I've missed you, Bella."

I stood, frozen, waiting on my doom or salvation. Would she send me away from the only heaven I will ever know? Or would she let me stay, let me back in, let me have whatever scraps she would give me? I would lap them up, willingly.

I saw a dozen different emotions dance in her eyes, before they lowered and settled on my lips. Her breathing picked up a notch, and once again my Bella did the unexpected.

She suddenly reached forward, pulling me roughly towards her, her lips coming up to meet mine in a passionate kiss. I didn't hesitate. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her tightly against me, meeting her desperate kiss with my own. I felt her hot breath in my mouth, and I didn't pull back this time. I was like a drowning man, gasping for air. And she was my air.

For the first time ever, I let my tongue slide past my deadly teeth and invade the space of Bella's mouth. It was warm, and delicious. Nothing could compare to the taste of her, nothing. Our tongue's wrapped together, ice against fire, and we both groaned at the sensation of it.

Her hands were in my hair, pulling me closer, and her legs left the ground and wrapped themselves around my waist. Her lips left mine, and she kissed my face, my neck, anywhere she could reach. Her kisses left trails of fire across my chin and neck, and my arousal reached a fever pitch and I let my groin press into her.

"God, I missed you Bella," I mumbled out, kissing the shell of her ear, and the spot behind it that I knew she liked.

"Mmmm," she breathed out. "Lets get inside and upstairs. Now." She wasn't asking, and I wasn't stopping. So with a lightning quick movement, I secured her legs around my waist, stepped inside and gently kicked the door closed, and raced her upstairs into her room.