BPOV

Burning. My body was on fire, and not the good kind of fire. Real fire. Real flames. Real burning. At least, it had to be real. I didn't see any flames, didn't smell any smoke, and yet, here I was. Every part of me was disintegrating under the intensity of the heat. I just wanted to die. I kept waiting for death to come. But it just wouldn't.

I could hear someone whispering to me, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I could feel fluttering over my body; cool hands were touching me everywhere, but the fire was just too hot. They were useless.

I thought about Charlie and Rosalie, the two most important people in my life. Would they be okay when I was gone? I wished I was able to tell them how much I loved them. Jake, too. Now that I was dying, I would give anything to hear his voice one last time. I hoped they moved on quickly. I didn't want them wasting any time dwelling on my death. It was just too sad. How the hell had I gotten here?

James. Fucking piece of shit. I knew I shouldn't have trusted him ... that he was too good to be true. He was too good-looking and too nice. It was just my luck that the first time I jumped into bed with someone after years of celibacy, they kill me in a slow, painful, and horrific way. Just my damn luck.

As the fire in my veins steadily increased, I could start to hear things more clearly. I could hear a voice off to my right whispering, "It's okay, Bella. It'll all be over soon. Then we'll be together forever. You're going to love this life, I promise. You'll be stronger, faster, and smarter. We'll travel the world together; we'll go wherever you want to go."

The voice belonged to James, and I screamed loudly in pain. If I could, I would rip his stupid, fucking face off. I had no idea what was happening to me, but I knew if that jerk-off came near me, and I was capable, I would make him die a slow death - just like I was.

I didn't know how long I burned. I felt the flames coursing through my veins, turning my insides to dust. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, any more painful, the fire burned hotter. I couldn't scream anymore. I thought my throat was already burned away, the pain growing, ripping through me. My heart was pounding furiously, to the point where I thought it would explode from my chest.

"It's almost time."

I vaguely heard the words whispered into my ear. I didn't know how long it had been, how long I had burned. Hours? Days? Weeks? But just when I thought I could take no more, it stopped. The pain, the burning ... my heart. Just stopped.

And that is when the sounds hit me. The buzzing of electricity flowing through wires, the sounds of cars passing by on the street, bugs skittering across the ground, the scratchy sound of a cat licking itself, and the sound of James releasing a breath.

James.

My eyes shot open immediately, and I was suddenly bombarded by bright, vivid colors and the most amazingly clear 3-D images I could ever imagine. What the hell? I blinked my eyes, trying to get my vision back to normal. I could see the dust particles floating around in mid air, and I just stared at them blankly, trying to figure out why I could see them. I lifted my hand in front of my face and stared at it. I could see every line, every crease, and every dent.

"Bella."

I felt a snarl deep in my throat, and before my brain even told me to stand, I was on my feet in one fluid motion. I looked at James and cocked my head to the side, still completely and utterly confused about what was happening to me.

"You!" I growled at him, as he looked at me with amusement. "What did you do to me?"

James smiled widely, and I fought the sudden urge to lunge at him and rip him to pieces. So many thoughts were coursing through my mind - too many thoughts. How the hell was I able to think about so many things at one time? I grabbed my head as if I were in pain, trying desperately to feel normal again, trying to will away all the weird things that were happening to me. It wouldn't stop.

"Bella, relax. Everything is okay," he said, taking a step toward me.

I held my hands out and took a step back, wanting him nowhere near me right now. He was a monster.

"I know you are confused," he said, "but believe me when I tell you that you are going to love this life. You and I, we're going to have a lot of fun together. The things you can do now will amaze you, I promise." He smiled at me again and held out his hand. "Come with me. I will get you something to drink."

My hand shot up to my throat as I felt a slow burn travel up from my stomach. It wasn't really painful, just irritating. It was unlike any feeling I had ever experienced before, and I was scared. But fear took a backseat to the sudden anger that rose in me, and less than a second later, I had James on his back, my hands around his neck.

"What am I? What did you do to me?" I repeated my earlier question, and for a split second, I saw a flash of fear cross his face. I wanted to kill him; I wanted to hurt him. How dare he do this to me? Who the fuck did he think he was?

"You're a vampire," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I turned you into a vampire, like me. It's what you wanted, Bella. Don't you remember?"

I gasped loudly and pulled back to look into his face, trying to find the lie there. He stared back at me seriously, no trace of joking in his facial expression. I tried to remember what he was talking about. How did I want this? I thought back on the last thing I remembered before waking up, but it was too hazy, like it was a dream. I remembered going to the bar and having sex with James, and I remembered him biting me, but it felt like ... a different life. I didn't remember ever telling him to turn me into a goddamn vampire.

A fucking vampire? Vampires didn't exist. This crazy bastard needed to be committed; there were no such thing as vampires. They only existed in the movies and Anne Rice novels - not in the real world. I was pretty sure I would have heard about it if there were vampires roaming around the world, sucking blood from people. I guess he was going to tell me next that the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy were real, too. But ... how else could I explain ... No. It could not possibly be true.

"Vampires don't exist," I echoed my thoughts aloud, still gripping James' neck. My mind was a jumbled mess, and I just stared at him, willing him silently to tell me it wasn't true.

He chuckled loudly as he carefully removed my hands from his neck. "I can assure you vampires are real. We are living proof." He reached up and ran a hand through my hair. "What's the matter, Bella? You told me you wanted to be mine for all eternity. Now, you will be. I gave you what you wanted."

"I said that in the heat of the moment, James." I gritted my teeth, finally remembering. "We barely know each other. I didn't ask to become a monster."

A flash of pain crossed his features, but quickly disappeared as he smiled. "Well, we have plenty of time for that. We were meant to be, beautiful girl. Don't you feel it? I have roamed this earth for over two hundred years, Bella, never taking a mate, until you. I never cared enough about anyone, let alone a human, to commit myself for all of eternity. But you changed me, and when a vampire changes, it's irrevocable. Permanent. You are mine, and I am yours, forever."

I pushed myself away from him, horrified. Tears burned at the back of my eyes, but they refused to fall. "You're crazy!" I screamed. "You're fucking insane!"

I had to get away from him. I needed to get out of there, back to the comfort of my own home. I needed Rosalie, my best friend and support. I wanted her to hug me and laugh with me about this whole crazy situation, telling me, "You sure know how to pick them, Bella," as only Rosalie could. I wanted to forget this had ever happened, to just wake up and find that it all had been some messed up dream. I wanted to go back to my boring life and my boring job, and forget all about James and vampires. I wanted to forget the fact I could see and hear everything and could move at the speed of light. This wasn't real. It just couldn't be.

I shook my head violently and tore out of the room. I was going home. Away from that loon James, away from this creepy house and the burning bed, and away from the total madness that had just erupted into my life. I was downstairs before I knew it, reaching for the door handle that would give me my freedom.

Then, out of nowhere, James was in front of me, blocking my escape. "You can't go out there, Bella. We need to talk first."

"Seriously? Talk? Talk about what, you lunatic?" The anger returned with a vengeance, and I found myself inches away from his face, growling at him. "I am going home. Right. This. Minute. And you cannot do a damn thing to stop me. And after I leave, I never want to see you again. EVER! Do you understand me?" I spat out vehemently, poking his chest with my index finger.

He winced at my words, and then a look of heartbreak crossed his features. He breathed out deeply, a resigned breath, and ran his fingers through his hair. "Bella, I do not wish to cause you any pain. Your happiness is important to me. Please believe me. But there are things you need to know about us. You need to know who we are, what we can do, how we feed, and you need to know about the rules. As your maker, I cannot unleash you onto society blind to the ways of our world. You are a newborn vampire. You are my responsibility now, whether you like it or not. Please, just come sit with me for a few moments, let me explain, and then you can go. But Bella, just remember... Our lives are now intertwined; you are my mate, and I am yours. I'll allow you your space for now, but I won't be far." He held his hand out to me. "Come and sit down."

I realized for the first time that I hadn't taken a breath of air the entire time he had been talking, and I sighed. I guess I didn't even need to breathe anymore. This was so fucked up. But he was right; I needed to know everything, if this was who I was now. I couldn't believe this shit was happening to me.

I turned abruptly and gracefully made my way into the living area, scowling at the bearskin rug and stupid stone fireplace that had started all of this shit. I was still amazed at how different everything looked now with my new eyesight - so different, and so much clearer. I threw myself onto the white sofa and shot James a death glare when he moved to sit next to me. Smirking, he quickly backed up to take a seat in a chair that faced me from across the coffee table. I quirked my eyebrows at him, signaling that I wanted him to begin.

He sat back in his seat and brought up his left leg to rest on his right knee. He scratched his head and eyed me carefully as he spoke. "We are vampires."

I rolled my eyes at the obvious and waved my hand, indicating he needed to get on with it.

"But you and I, Bella, we are unlike others of our kind. We are not vicious monsters that prey on defenseless humans like the rest. In fact, we survive on a diet of animal blood, not on human blood. Human blood is disgusting, putrid. I have only had it once in my two hundred years of existence, and that was when I bit you three days ago. I got violently ill and expelled most of it afterwards. Some say it's a gift, since vampires are known to have them; any vampire that you meet will say it's a curse, for obvious reasons. However, after many years of research, I have come to the conclusion the venom in our bodies is lacking a certain compound other vampire venom has. It's definitely odd, and I'm not really sure how exactly it happened, or if there are many others like us out there. I have only met one: my maker. It's a good thing, though, Bella. We get to keep our humanity." He smiled.

My mind swirled with the information I had just received. There were so many questions rumbling around in my head that I didn't even know which one to start with. I picked one and threw it out there. "So, you are saying that you've never killed a human? Never drank their blood?"

James smirked. "I never said that I have never killed a human, Bella. Accidents happen all the time. I've lived a long life; it happens. But I've grown more careful over the years. I am not a monster. I still feel. I still have compassion. Most vampires you will come across do not. They lost their humanity the minute they were changed, and they will kill like it is nothing. They see humans as their food source, their prey. They are lower beings on the food chain. Since we do not drink from humans and are not even tempted to, we can live among them easier. We can blend in and lead semi-normal lives. We are still very different, though, Bella."

"How?" I asked, my curiosity growing by the minute.

He smiled at me, jumped up from his chair to retrieve the heavy iron fireplace poker, and walked over to hand it to me. "See if you can bend it."

I reluctantly took the poker out of his hands, shooting him a wary look. I put one hand on each end of the sharp poker, and barely using any force at all, I twisted the poker into something resembling a pretzel, the iron groaning loudly in protest.

I looked up, surprised, and James let out a loud, barking laugh. "I bet you couldn't do that a few days ago! See? We are extremely strong, extremely fast, and can jump really high. Our bodies are made of stone, with the exception of our thick skin, so we are exceptionally durable. There is nothing in this world that can penetrate our skin, with the exception of vampire bites, vampire strength, and the bite of a werewolf. And of course, there is fire. Once a vamp is torn to pieces, the fire is a must in order to disintegrate the vampire, so it can't be put back together."

My eyes jumped to his at the mention of werewolves. "You have got to be kidding me. They're real, too?"

James nodded slowly. "They are very dangerous to us and are our mortal enemies. They are designed to kill us - the only other being besides our own kind that can. And since they travel in packs, if you run into them, you have virtually no chance of survival. One on one, maybe. The odds are better, but it usually doesn't happen that way. Because of the wolves, they give us yet another reason why we should leave Forks as soon as possible."

"Leave Forks, why?" I panicked. Forks was my home. There was no way I would leave my home, Rosalie, Charlie, and all of my friends. "I am not leaving Forks," I stated, lifting my chin to give off an air of defiance.

James sighed loudly. "Very well. Then we'll just sit around here and wait for the wolves to come get us. There is an Indian Reservation not too far from here that is rumored to have some of the boys and men already phasing into wolves because of my presence here."

My eyes grew wide. "They're human boys? From a reservation near here?" Oh God, shit, shit. Jake! "What's the name of the reservation you're talking about? Please don't tell me that the name is ... La Push."

"La Push," James repeated at the same time I did.

I buried my head in my hands and tried desperately to cry. Jake and I would now be mortal enemies. I grew up with him, our fathers were best friends, and we had been best friends throughout our childhoods. He had been my first love. We'd lost our virginities to each other. FUCK!

I sobbed uncontrollably but grew increasingly frustrated at the missing tears and screamed loudly, earning a smirk from James.

"You cannot cry anymore, Bella. Nor can you sleep or eat regular food. You can't bear children, and you can't walk outside on sunny days."

My head snapped up again, and I thought it would explode due to all of this new information I was receiving, but I had to ask, "Will I burn up in the sun, like in the Anne Rice novels and Buffy?"

"No," James said, laughing loudly. "That's just a stupid myth, so very cliché if you ask me. You will sparkle, though, like a disco ball, and that would be sure to draw enormous amounts of unwanted attention, believe me. Which brings me to a very important rule that must never be broken, or it will mean imminent death." His face grew solemn, and a serious expression was etched all over it. He took a deep breath and stared me in the eyes, my body tensing automatically. "You must never, ever let the humans know what we are, Bella. We can never expose our true identities to them, or the Volturi will kill us and any human you tell. Do you understand?"

I nodded my head ever so softly, afraid to ask my next question. "Who are the Volturi?" I was not sure I really wanted to know the answer.

James sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. "They are vampire royalty. They have been on this earth for thousands of years and are basically the vampire government. They make the rules, and they enforce them. They are extremely powerful. You do not ever want to be on their radar, Bella. Do you hear me? Just ... Don't tell anyone about us, and we'll be fine."

I stared at him, my eyes wide. My voice came out so low, I was surprised he could even hear me. "I have to tell Rosalie. She's my roommate, my best friend." I let out a loud sob. "I have to tell her."

James sighed heavily and stood from his chair. He walked at a human pace over to the large picture window and stared out into the darkness. After a couple of minutes of silence, he turned to me. "If you tell Rosalie, you must change her."

I instantly jumped out of my seat, anger rolling through me. How could he even think I would kill my best friend? This man truly was fucking crazy. "So, what, James? That's your answer for everything? Why don't we just go from house to house and turn all the people in Forks into monsters? What the hell is wrong with you?"

James didn't move from his spot by the window, but turned his head away from me to look back out into the darkness. "We are not monsters, Bella," he whispered quietly. He hung his head and turned towards me. "Don't you see that? Yes, there are others of our kind out there that would be considered monsters, but not us. We're ... the good guys."

"In order to be the good guys, James, you have to do good things."

He smiled and walked towards me. "That's just it. We can do whatever we want to do. Do you want to be a superhero, Bella? Because if that's what you want, we'll do it. We'll walk the streets at night and find the murderers, rapists, and the dregs of society, and ..."

"Kill them?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Sure, we can kill them. Or we can drop them off at the police station or put them on a one way flight to Guam, whatever, Bella. Whatever we want."

I huffed loudly and glared at him, "Why do you keep saying 'we'? We are not a 'we,' James. We've been on four dates, had sex once, and you think I am just going to devote the rest of my life to you just like that? After you've turned me into some supernatural freak against my will? After you changed me into this... this thing, completely changing my life as I know it? What makes you think that there would ever be a 'we' or an us at all?"

He grabbed my hands in his at that moment and looked into my eyes. His face showed a mixture of anguish, desperation, and maybe a little bit of hope. His golden eyes gazed into mine, and he brought my hand to his lips. "I know this is crazy, Isabella, but I love you. I will do anything to make you happy. You are my mate, and that will never change. We are bound by love and by my venom. We are connected now, so yes, when I speak of the future, I say 'we'. I won't let you go. I can't let you go. You are mine."

I ripped my hand from his grasp and pushed him back a step. "I don't love you, James. You can't expect me to ride off into the sunset with you after all of this. I still have a choice, and you can't take that from me. Think about it... If I am truly your mate, and I am talking on the terms of soul mates here, because I am not sure how your kind defines the term 'mate'. But if I was your mate, wouldn't I feel it, too? Wouldn't I be attacking you right here, right now, ripping off your clothes and engaging in some hot, animalistic, vampire sex?"

He shook his head sadly. "I don't know how it all works. I've never done this before. But yes, I admit I thought that's how it would happen."

"You thought, huh?" I smiled evilly and turned away from him, heading to the door. "You should have fucking known, James, before turning me into ... this."

And with that, I was out the door before he could stop me. I heard him yelling my name from inside the house, but by the time I heard him approach the front door I had just exited from, I was already long gone. I was going home.