Author's Note: Disclaimer in first chapter. Thanks again for all of you that have taken the time to leave a review or comment. They are always appreciated. I decided to post this tonight since I won't be able to post anything tomorrow. See you on Thursday for Chapter 5.

Chapter 4

Contrary to what you might think, I didn't immediately run up to my room in order to start getting ready for a night of debauchery with the guy that calls me his mate. I'm a modern single woman. That means when there is sex to be had then I need to be involved in the decision making. No nineteenth century born vampire was in control of my virginity any more than the Governor of Washington.

What I did do was put my clothes on with what remained of my dignity and finished putting the groceries away. Then I prepared a heart healthy casserole for Charlie and popped it in the oven. Then and only then did I go upstairs at a leisurely pace to shower and change for the evening.

Jasper must have been smoking vampire weed or something if he thought he could just say that I was going to be naked and in his bed. He probably thought that I'd just lie on my back and take him in me missionary style or something. Well, that wasn't going to happen. There would be no taking of any kind, especially none of Jessica's reverse cowgirl, or doggie. I was definitely not breaking in any new yoga moves either.

Just because I really took my time to shave my legs extra smooth, and make sure I used the honey blossom lotion Alice left for me didn't mean anything beyond the fact that I wanted to look good for nobody but myself. It definitely wasn't for any misogynistic blonde vampires that may or may not make me want to not wear any panties for the evening. Panties were definitely going on and staying on. The black lace panties, with the high sides that dipped down in the middle, right where what little hair I hadn't shaved off in the shower, were staying on all night. Well most of the night anyway. I was planning on coming home after all and changing again. The only reason I wore the miracle bra, and pushed my breasts together enough to create the illusion of another cup size was because it matched the panties. That's the only reason.

My mind was firmly set on going over to the Cullen's place and questioning Jasper on anything I could think of that would finally put to rest the issues of their secrets. By the morning I planned to be totally satisfied… with the knowledge I would gain, of course.

My cell phone chirped at me and I checked for a text message. It was predictably from Alice, most likely with a clothing choice that would turn Jasper on, no doubt. Well, that wasn't happening. I'd wear what I wanted.

"You look nice," Charlie said as he sat down to dinner.

I was wearing a little black dress in velvet with tiny off the shoulder sleeves. The only reason I was wearing it was to state to Charlotte that I wasn't there for training, but for conversation. Since I was in a dress, I obviously couldn't train. The heels were to enforce the message. Who could fight in three inch heels? Definitely not me.

"Thanks. I'm going over to the Cullen's tonight."

Charlie raised an inquiring eyebrow. "Not…"

"No, Dad. Jessica has her sights set on Edward. Besides, I was the one who broke it off with him."

"Right," he said pointing his fork at me with a satisfied nod. "You broke it off with him. So, you and Jasper, huh?"

I froze in place for a microsecond, but it was all the time Charlie needed to tell something was going on. Sometimes it sucks to be the daughter of a cop.

"Nothing has happened between Jasper and me."

"I didn't say it did, Bells. I'm just wondering why your undershirt was lying in the corner over there. You normally don't strip in the kitchen."

Crap!

I could swear that I put it on when Jasper left. Come to think of it, I didn't remember taking it off when I got in the shower.

"It was warm in here with the oven on. I just took it off and set it on the counter. I'll make sure to…"

Charlie's lips tilted up. "I'm teasing you, Bella. You're an adult now and well aware how to use contraception devices. Just make sure I'm not a grandpa this time next year and we'll call the subject closed."

My face had gone blindingly red; I could actually feel the heat radiating off my face, shoulders, and chest. I briefly wondered if I could blush anywhere else.

"I—I… I'm not dignifying that with a response."

He just gave me a quick smile and kept on eating. He and I both noticed, I'm sure, that there wasn't a denial anywhere in my retort, and saying anything further would effectively dig my own metaphorical grave.

"I'm leaving."

Right when my hand touched the doorknob I heard one last dig at me. "Should I expect you home tonight?"

~O~

"Well, somebody looks nice tonight," Charlotte said as I slid out of my big red truck and adjusted my dress. "No training I take it?"

I shook my head and shouldered the purse I pulled off the seat. Normally I don't carry one, but my backpack would look really tacky with the dress and I needed something to carry my wallet and my notebook. Vampires may have eidetic memories, but I just had my human brain to remember things. Granted, I've had an easier time with recall since my turning, but if I really wanted something to stick I still used paper and pen so I could study it later. Also, it doesn't hurt to have records of these things so I could refer back to them if I'm unsure about certain facts.

"Jasper and I are having a come to Jesus talk."

Charlotte snorted cutely. I kind of hated that about her. She did everything so cutely. She walked, talked, moved, and even kicked my butt repeatedly, all looking very cute.

"Very well. That'll give me more time to welcome my man home."

Eww. Peter wasn't bad looking. He was tall like my Jasper, but not exactly as tall, and he was built, but not quite as nicely, but the thought of him and thinking of Charlotte and him having sex… just, eww.

I tried to push the image I had of the two of them doing it, out of my head. Sex had absolutely no place in my brain tonight. This was purely academic, and personal. Answers before pleasure… actually answers, no pleasure. Although getting the answers will make me pleased and that's a form of pleasure. I just want it to be understood that I'm talking about any other kind of pleasure, like sweaty and rough up against the wall or falling off the bed kind of pleasure; definitely not that kind.

Charlotte was gone and the front door opened before I made it halfway up the front steps. Jasper stood there in his overly tight jeans, cowboy boots, and a dark fitted western shirt that showed off just enough of his chest to make me wonder what else he was hiding underneath. He obviously wore all of this thinking that I would be distracted by his rugged look. However, I undeniably wasn't. When I reached the top of the stairs I watched him take every single inch of me in, from my silky smooth legs all the way up to my lightly made-up eyes. His jaw shifted and at that moment I knew I had him unbalanced.

"Why are you feeling so satisfied, Bella?"

Crap! I forgot about his stupid empathy gift. How could I be so reckless? It was probably better to play this off as something I planned so it'll look like I didn't have anything planned. Did that make any sense?

"A girl likes to have the work she's put into an evening appreciated, Jasper. I'm sure Alice likes it when you compliment her? I thought you were supposed to be this legendary Southern Gentleman. I'm keeping count, you know. This is twice you've blown it."

Jasper's jaw shifted ever so slightly again. I could tell I was getting to him and I didn't have to have some special vampire gift to do it either. That's me, Bella Swan, Vampire Annoyer. It's a step up from Bella Swan, Vampire Groupie. There have been times since my change that I've actually like my new personality. It's tough and I very rarely take crap from anyone any longer. In fact, I don't remember any time since I woke up that I have taken crap from anyone. Excellent; Bella Swan: she doesn't take crap from anyone. It was my new motto.

He cleared his throat and tilted from his hips a few degrees to show respect. I'd seen this move of his a hundred times when he defers to Alice on some esoteric subject.

"You look beautiful tonight, Bella. May I escort you inside for my… inquisition?"

I took his arm without any more ado. It was best to pace these sorts of things. If I came off too bratty then the evening wouldn't go my way. Besides, I had other things to be angry about; important things.

"Is that what you think this is, Jasper? An inquisition? All I ever wanted was the truth and not to be treated like a porcelain doll. That's kind of what ended my last relationship in case you don't remember."

Someone muffled a laugh from the living room that we were still several feet from. If I had to guess, it was probably Emmett. Who else would find amusement in the chopping down of their brother so much?

"Do we have an audience tonight or is this a group participation thing?"

We stopped before entering the living area. "Do you have a preference?"

I shook my head minutely. "As long as I get my questions answered without things held back, for my own good of course, then the whole family is more than welcome."

He seemed relieved I'd said that. It meant everything wouldn't be put on his nicely broad shoulders. It was the truth from my angle though. I really didn't care how I got the information and if Jasper didn't know the answer to my question then somebody else might. They might also expand on any answer he gave me. The more the merrier.

"Well then, Alice, and Esme wanted to join us. Carlisle said he'd like to be here as well, but he has a shift at the hospital tonight."

That was too bad. There were advantages to having the longest lived vampire in the room to mine information out of. Having Alice involved was uncomfortable, seeing as how a lot of what I had to ask involved relationships. How in the world was I going to be comfortable with Jasper's ex, my best friend, in the room?

"That's fine. They're more than welcome."

"Yea!" Alice cheered from around the corner before she pounced into view. "This is going to be so much fun, Bella. You come up with some of the best ideas."

What was she talking about? I never have any ideas, much less good ones. Esme distracted Alice from squeezing me to death, thankfully. I love Alice like a sister, really, but sometimes she's just a little too exuberant.

"Hello, Bella. I thought we might do this in the living room, so you would be comfortable."

I nodded grateful for the suggestion. "Thank you, Esme."

Jasper glared at Emmett momentarily, but it was Esme who laid down the law. "Emmett, if you're going to participate or just sit there then I must insist on decorum. This is going to be stressful enough on Bella and Jasper without your snickering."

He held up his hand and extended three fingers. "I'll be good. I promise. Besides, you and me are the only other mated pairs here."

I scoffed. "You were never a Boy Scout."

Emmett cleared his throat unnecessarily, but he did it with his boyish grin on display. "I was an Eagle Scout, thank you very much. If there was a patch then I earned it. Rosie even likes it when I wear…"

"Emmett!" Rosalie screamed his name from upstairs.

"Sorry babe!"

"That doesn't make any sense. Didn't they teach you to stay away from bears?" I referred to, of course, how he was injured enough to warrant Carlisle initially changing him into a vampire.

He scrunched up his nose like he was trying to remember. "I don't think they had a patch for that."

"Bella, would you like something to drink?"

I stole the only single armchair in the room before Alice forced me to sit with Jasper on the love seat. Her pout was proof she didn't see me make that decision until the last second.

"No, thank you, Esme."

Reaching into my purse I pulled out a blank steno pad that was once part of Charlie's collection long before everything went computerized in Forks. Uncapping my pen, I leaned back in the chair and noticed everyone was staring at me. Oh right, questions!

"So, uh… Mates."

Esme smiled softly. "What would like to know, dear?"

"Everything really. Something other than, 'You are my mate.'"

She turned her head to the once Southern Gentleman who was slowly palming his face in embarrassment.

"Really, Jasper? Nothing?" she said.

He tried lamely to defend himself. "It's not like that."

"Ohh," I said, almost chuckling. "It's definitely like that."

"I explained to you about your scent."

"You're right, I apologize. Let me rephrase. 'You're my mate. You smell like honey."

Emmett slapped his hand over his mouth and literally vibrated on the couch. His eyes were sparkling with mirth. Though I could have sworn I heard Rosalie laughing from upstairs.

Esme rolled her eyes and then directed them at me. "There is truth to the fact that we might recognize our mates by scent in the beginning. Where our specific trouble lays is that we also have Alice who has seen your future. Normally, the two vampires involved are initially attracted to each other through scent, and then they start a relationship much like human couples."

"Vampires date?"

Alice took this one after she daintily crossed her legs at the knee. "You can call it dating. Obviously things differ. I mean you can't really go out to eat in the traditional sense. Vampires are territorial when they feed. Let's just say that they spend time together and develop a relationship."

I nodded with understanding and jotted some notes on the pad. "So, what's it supposed to mean. When Edward and I dated he said that we were mates, but that obviously wasn't true. Does that mean he was wrong or…"

I left that one hanging because I didn't want to come right out and say he was a liar or anything. I truly believe that he thought we were mates.

Jasper leaned forward surprisingly; at least to me.

"We've discussed this with Carlisle and he thinks it's because you're his singer that he believed you were supposed to be together. Actually, most of us didn't even blink when he said you were his mate, and maybe that was one of the reasons so many vampires have a hard time finding their other half. They run across their singer only to kill them in a fit of blood lust."

"That's depressing," I muttered.

"Luckily, it's probably not a true theory. Another hole in that same theory is that we're supposed to only have one true mate, and Emmett has already come across someone that sang to him, yet Rosalie is his mate."

Emmett gave me a thumbs-up after Jasper finished.

"Okay," I started my partial summary. "So Jasper smells me and wants to date?"

He nodded.

"What comes after that?"

Alice grinned and looked at Esme, but it was Emmett who couldn't restrain himself any longer. "Bow chicka bow wow!"

"Emmett Cullen!" Esme snapped.

I raised my hand. "That's okay," I said as I tried to stop my giggle before it started. "That was probably delivered better than the alternative."

Esme glared at him while I defused the situation. "So, basically it's a traditional relationship after that."

"No, not at all," Alice exclaimed. "Vampires mate for life, Bella. It's a much truer relationship than anything even Hollywood has put together. You'll never fall out of love and it only gets stronger the longer you live. Jasper will never cheat on you, he will never even think of another woman like he thinks of you. He will be totally devoted to you until… well, forever. There is no vampire divorce, because there is never a need for one."

My eyes slowly turned to Jasper who was looking at me rather intensely.

"Are you saying that's how you feel about me right now?"

He visibly measured his words very carefully before he spoke. "Not exactly. It takes two people to create the bond. It just isn't magically there. As you've noted we aren't like the wolves with their imprinting. There should be some sort of attract by this point on your side, but with you not being a vampire and instead something other than human, we don't exactly know what to expect. Do you…

Jasper shifted uncomfortably. "Has my scent changed for you?"

I shrugged. "It's not like I've gone around sniffing all you guys, and you've always kept your distance from me until recently."

He nodded in understanding. "Of course. Perhaps a practical demonstration."

Jasper stood and closed in on me. I panicked slightly and glanced at Alice who was smiling with encouragement. She wasn't exactly making it easy for me to ignore the whole thing in hope that it would just go away. Instead of being a fraidy-cat, I stood and waited to see what he was going to do. His hand came up and touched the side of his neck.

"Just smell here and see if there's any reaction on your part."

Who does this? Me apparently. Because of his height, there wasn't an easy way to do this. I was almost a full foot shorter, so I had to reach up on the balls of my feet and Jasper had to stoop slightly, enough to set his hands on my hips and for me to reach over his shoulder for purchase, so I wouldn't fall onto him. Anyone in their right mind would see we were just short of an intimate embrace and considering where my face was going, they would be right.

I frowned and then leaned into sniff lightly. There was that leather smell that I remembered from the day of my awakening. The cologne that I couldn't place was a little different. Leaning in further, I closed my eyes and tried to place the scent, breathing deeper. My head was starting to spin and I had an overwhelming desire to let my tongue flick out for the tiniest taste, but I pulled myself back.

"Um… yeah." Rocking back slightly on my heels, I let Jasper steady me by my hips before he released me and stepped back. Sitting was probably a good idea.

My thighs rubbed together slightly and I knew I needed to keep them firmly clenched unless I wanted the entire Cullen Clan to know how he affected me.

"Another indicator is our emotions." Jasper stopped and sighed. "May I show you?"

I blinked. Oh, right, empath. One of these days I'm going to remember. "I think I got enough of that yesterday.

His eyes dropped for a second before darting to the others. "That was something different."

Lust, yes, I'm well familiar with the emotion.

"What I'm feeling now is something I've been experiencing since your awakening."

"Um," Alice nodded and smiled softly at me before I gave my assent. "Sure."

Before I could even take a chance to breathe I was filled with the most profound sense of longing I'd ever experienced. It was as if every crush I'd ever had was condensed into one event. There were the beginnings of love, but definitely not the full blown affection I had even toward Edward. It was too soon for that, because we barely knew each other. However, there was one other thing I felt amongst all the chaos of emotion Jasper sent my way. It was a pull directed straight at him. It felt as if I was on one of Charlie's fishing hooks and Jasper had a firm grasp on the rod and reel. The thing that was hooked was somewhere deep inside me. I told Edward once that I didn't care about my soul if I actually had one.

Well, I can tell you that it's there and it's broken, like half of a ten thousand piece puzzle looking for the other half to fill in all the odd shapes along its jagged edge. I knew for an undeniable fact that he held the mirror image to my puzzle. It was right there waiting, longing, screaming to be united; if only it could close the space up then it could be whole, and that was a terrifying thought.

What would it mean to join the two sides? Would I even be me anymore or would I be part of him. Well, that was the whole point, wasn't it? See soul mate, mate with soul mate, and create a nice soul mate batter to stick in the proverbial oven to bake for eternity. I was really getting tired of hearing and saying the word mate. From now on I'm calling it… pizza.

No, I'm not quite insane… yet. A few more seconds of feeling all of these emotions and I probably would be. Pardon me for not being about to eat mine and Jasper's portion of the giant soul pizza. See, it sounds a lot more palatable than mate. Am I right? I'm thinking it would visually be like a super deluxe with all the veggies and meats on top. Green Peppers, for instance could represent how we both feel about holding hands, and pepperoni could be vanilla sex, because vanilla sex is the most used position and pepperoni the most used topping. I think I'm really starting to lose it here. Canadian Bacon and Pineapple anyone?

Then it all went away and I could breathe. Actually I could hyperventilate.

~O~

"Just breathe, Bella," Esme said as I was bent over at the waist huffing raggedly into a large plastic freezer bag.

"I'm… wheeze… never eating pizza again… wheeze…"

"Jasper," Alice whined. "What did you do? Pizza?"

"I swear; I have no idea what she's talking about."

Tossing the baggie to the side, I stood up way too quickly and swayed on my heels. It was a stupid idea to wear them. Emmett caught me until my equilibrium stabilized a few seconds later.

"You're my soul pizza," I said weakly.

Esme started to fidget and vampires didn't fidget. "Maybe I should call Carlisle."

"No. I'm fine… just… I didn't think it was real."

"Didn't think what was real?" Alice asked.

"Our souls."

That got her attention. She leaned in inches away from my face. "What do you mean?"

Swallowing, trying to make sense of exactly what I experienced I looked at her. "I felt it… them… and I kind of saw them too, but not really. It was more like actually knowing they were there."

"You saw our souls?" Alice panicked for a millisecond and then ran out front and yelled, "Edward! Come quick!"

I was wondering what happened to my erstwhile ex-boyfriend. While I noticed his absence earlier I thought it was because of the topic covered in the meeting that he'd made himself scarce. It isn't often that the love of your life discusses her pizzaing to someone else. And no, I'm not changing the name of that back to the old one.

In seconds Edward was there in the living room and Emmett was lowering me back to the chair.

"Jasper showed her what it felt like at the beginning of a mating and something happened."

I looked up at Edward as Alice explained what occurred then I realized why she wanted him there in the first place. Edward thought he didn't have a soul anymore, that it died or went to hell or whatever when Carlisle turned him. Yeah, out of all the people in the Cullen family, Edward would benefit the most in knowing that he wasn't already damned.

"Bella," Jasper said as he patted my hand, not really knowing what else to do. "Just tell us what happened."

With a nod I relaxed. "I felt your emotions like I always do when you do your thing. Except somewhere along the line I felt it… a tugging, a pull. And then there was the puzzle."

"Are you sure you don't want me to call Carlisle?"

A small smile lifted my lips at Esme's caring. She thought I'd finally spilled all my marbles. "I'm fine. It was really there. Think of a really big puzzle, that's the only way I know how to describe it. It's split apart in two sides down the middle, but not quite. The edges are all jagged and very distinct, so that they could only be joined together by their other half."

Edward was really confused. "Why did you call me, Alice? I can't…"

She smacked him on the shoulder. "She's talking about our souls, Edward. She saw them! You're not a soulless monster you big idiot! I told you, but does anyone listen to Alice when she isn't having a vision? That would be a big no. I told you we have souls and now I can say I told you so… so blea."

Even when she stuck her tongue out at her brother, Alice was cute.

"Are you sure you weren't hallucinating."

"No, Esme. I'm not really sure, but what else would it be? It was almost tangible, and it wasn't an emotion, so it wasn't Jasper's gift that I was experiencing."

With that revelation out in the open, I reluctantly looked at Jasper, who was now kneeling beside the chair.

"I guess you were right. I'm your soul pizza, but if I hear one crack about the smell of anchovies I'm unsheathing my claws."

"Pizza?" Edward asked.

Alice bounced in place and slipped her hand under his arm. "I think Bella has changed the word mate for pizza. Maybe she had an aneurism explode?"

"I'm just tired of the word mate. It's so overused in today's literature and media. So I changed it to pizza instead. Anyway… so, love of my life and it never gets old or stale. I'll never get tired of you forgetting to pick your boxers up off the floor…"

Jasper was staring at me intensely the entire time I was speaking. "I don't wear boxers or any underwear for that matter."

Did I really need to know that at this point in our relationship? Not that we had a… oh screw it. It's not like I can deny it any longer. That ship has sailed, that song of denial is over, and Elvis has left the building stealing any excuse I had to say it was all bull-hockey.

"TMI, Jasper."

"You're the one that wanted the full unvarnished truth."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "About vampires in general not about your personal lack of civilized hygiene… what?"

Everyone was looking at me and I would have sworn if they were human they would have been blushing, except for Emmett.

"Vampires don't need to wear underwear," he said with a smirk on his face. "But Rosie sometimes wears it to bed for other reasons."

Okay, I really didn't need to hear about their sex life, so I just tried to ignore the last minute of my life and sighed loudly.

"Fine, is there anything else I need to know about vampire pizzaing habits? Rules? Do's and don't's?"

"We're protective of our mates…" I shot Jasper a look and he eyed me oddly. "We're protective of our pizzas… this is stupid. I'm not calling you my pizza."

Alice snorted a giggle and covered her mouth.

"Protective how?"

"That's the reason I won't spar with you."

One of my eyebrows lifted at that. "You refuse to teach me how to protect myself, so that you can protect me? That's kind of misogynistic of you, honey bunch."

Esme saved his pale sparkly behind. "He means that we can't physically or mentally harm each other if we're… companions."

I see what she did there. Apparently Esme was anti-pizza as well.

"Ah. Okay. That's why you called Charlotte."

"Exactly."

My eyes ticked over to Edward and I refused to let myself get dragged into an argument about how Edward nearly destroyed me in the forest before the Cullen clan decided to bolt out of Forks last year. Apparently, nobody had a clue that something was odd regarding how he could do that to his pizza. Water under the bridge and all that.

"Tell her about the sex," Emmett said with an almost joyful exuberance.

"The sex?"

Esme didn't even flinch when it was brought up, so that was my first warning sign. Well, that and Edward disappeared, leaving behind a whoosh of air displaced from the living room.

Jasper cleared his throat unnecessarily. "That's how the bond is finalized… though sex. After that…"

"We're stuck with each other," I finished for him.

"Bella!" Alice protested. "That was completely unromantic."

"Nothing about this relationship or my life since I woke up has been in the least bit romantic. Pardon me for keeping with the trend."

"Jasper! No poetry? No flowers? No chocolates? No banjo?"

What? "Banjo?"

"Jasper plays the banjo."

I looked at him. "Never ever play the banjo for me. I don't need the Deliverance flashbacks. Okay, anything else?"

Everyone looked at each other and shrugged.

"Great. I'm going home now."

That was a lot easier than I thought it would be.

"Bella! Jasper! Romance!" Alice stomped her foot childishly.

I glanced back at Jasper who was looking decidedly uncomfortable. Right… romance. Whatever. Obviously, he never got the memo during Southern Gentleman class back in Dixie.

"Goodnight everyone and thanks for coming clean." I left 'finally' unsaid, but I'm pretty sure it was implied.

It was when I was halfway to my truck when he decided to show up. I was expecting an appearance, but not so soon. Alice probably nagged at him. Like I've said before, I love the girl like a sister, but what in the world made her just give up on Jasper like that I had no idea. While Edward and I dated I would have pounced on any girl that even thought about taking him away… well, probably not pounced. In fact I most likely would have just glared at her and then nothing else. It felt like I was a totally different girl, the timed lamb before and the angry cat after the change. Roaw! Ffft fft!

I just raised my brows waiting for whatever it was he wanted to say.

"Bella, I… Alice is right. I've been doing this all wrong and I've got nobody to blame but myself."

Okay, so far so good.

"Would you like to…" he paused and then opened his mouth as his eyes rolled, stupefied.

Jasper had no clue how to date a human type person in the twenty-first century.

Unsolicited advice is always best. "If the words dinner and a movie leave your mouth then I'm leaving."

"Would you like to go danc… um, no, not that either."

At least he could remember I can't dance.

His phone buzzed and it looked like it was Alice to the rescue with an emergency text message. This family would literally implode if she wasn't there to guide them every step of the way. Instead of commenting I just looked at my watch. It didn't work, but that was beside the point.

"Bowling?"

My eyes lit up. "Bowling?"

Seeing a semi-positive response from me he jumped on it quickly. "Would you like to go bowling?"

"Um…," I'd never been before. "Sure."

That seemed to brighten his evening. "Excellent. I'm going to go hunt down the closest center."

"Now?"

"Uh," he paused unsure. "Yes?"

His phone buzzed again. "Tomorrow?"

I mildly glared at him. "Tell Alice that I'd be happy to accept a date for tomorrow. Goodnight, Jasper."

Men.

~O~

It may sound really weird because Forks isn't the most progressive town in the world. I mean there are ten bait and tackle stores along the main drag, and only three clothing stores. This doesn't include my old job at Newton's. They don't even have a movie theater. However, they do have their very own bowling alley. I figured we'd have to go all the way to Port Angeles at least.

I thought jeans and decent sweater would be best since I wasn't looking to do anything other than go on my first real date. That was sad. Here I was, nineteen, and I hadn't been on a single date in my life. Even Edward, the supposed love of my life, at one time, had never taken me out on a traditional date, meadows, and dinner in Port Angeles notwithstanding. Those were more of times of opportunity than planned outings, alone with my honey.

With a sigh I dipped into my makeup, which consisted of an eye pencil, mascara, and a tube of neutral lipstick. High maintenance I wasn't, still. That was something to be thankful for at least.

When I had both rims of my eyes colored in I reached for the mascara and froze. Right on the edge of my listening ability I heard noise from the back of the house. It was muffled to be sure, but it was definitely the sound of two… maybe three people approaching from the forest. If it was Jake or Edward coming to check up on me I might be having words with my erstwhile suitors.

Spinning in the chair, I looked out the window and didn't see anything, but that didn't mean there wasn't someone there. Foliage in the Olympic Rainforest is thick. Someone could be perched in tree, watching me, and I'd never know. That prompted me to open my window and glare as menacingly as I could toward the tree line.

"Who's out there?"

I nearly crapped myself when a short blonde haired girl that I was quite familiar with walked out from the brush. She was wearing a dark cloak and was bookended by two much larger guys. There were a few things I knew. By the cloaks and the face of the girl I knew them to be Volturi, by the delighted look on the girl's face I knew Jane was very happy about something, it was well past the time I was to be turned into a vampire and here I was, not a vampire, and lastly, this was my execution squad.

My hands flew across my cell phone with a text to Jasper.

911 Volturi Home. Hopefully he'd figure it out and I wouldn't be a bloody smear on the ground outside.

"Hello, Jane. I'll be right down," I said with as little emotion as possible.

"Do hurry, human. I have others to punish tonight."

Crap.

The Cullens were probably next on their list of things to burn for not making sure of my progress into sparkliness. My sweater got tossed in lieu of a wifebeater, which was much less expensive to replace if I survived. I decided to go barefoot as well. There was no time to leave Charlie a note describing how sorry I was for being a pain in his butt this last year. Jane would be ripping off my door if I wasn't punctual. Stalling wouldn't help my case anyway.

I closed the kitchen door behind me and stepped onto the damp grass, still wet from the shower the night before. Jane and her goons were in the same position I'd left them.

"I was assured you were to be turned when we visited last."

Dropping my hands to my sides I gave her an inquiring look. "When was that?"

"The day the Cullens destroyed the newborn army."

"Well, that's true. They brought me in their house and Jasper pumped me up with his venom."

Jane looked at me oddly. "Then why are you not a vampire?"

I shrugged. "Didn't take? Carlisle is still researching it. Nobody knows why yet."

"Obviously this has something to do with their diet. Felix."

Before he even tensed to move I held a hand up. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Jane's eyes narrowed and her lips turned up into that sadistic smile I saw her wearing when she was torturing Edward in Italy. "Proceed."

By this time I was well used to deciphering the blur that is vampire motion. Spending time with Charlotte made me well aware of what they could do. So I wasn't surprised when Felix, the largest of the three went into motion. His hands rose to grab my head and left shoulder; presumably to spread them apart long enough to either bite me or rip my head off. But I'd already had my days of burning. I didn't need any more.

Snikt!

As his hands came down I crossed both mine and raised them in a quick arc. Both arms fell to the ground after bouncing off me because of the centrifugal force built up from the attack. I spun to the side and plunged my claws into his torso, jackhammering my arms so that he was so full of holes in a short manner of seconds that he collapsed screaming while my claws split his head from his neck.

In a short second I was already back in my normal prepared attack stance.

"I warned him."

Jane's eyes were wide and she even took a single step backward. "What are you?"

It wasn't my fault that she set herself for the follow up line so well. I'd probably never get another chance to say the words so I took it. "Your worst nightmare."

Okay, it sounded more cliché coming out of my mouth, but apparently Jane had never watched any of those movies that used it, so I was cool and I didn't seem to be so much of a moron.

"Demetri," she growled.

I almost felt sorry for him. He looked down at Jane with a twinge of fear in his eyes and then back up at me. The look on his face said it all. If I could take down the biggest of them then what sort of chance did he have?

It was a given that he stepped forward much more cautiously than his Volturi brethren, and I was almost all out of surprises. I had no false hope that I'd be able to beat a seasoned vampire fighter that now viewed me as a lethal threat. I wasn't some human to toss around or bite like they expected. If Jasper didn't get here soon I was pretty sure that this would be known as Bella's Last Stand.

I had three advantages going into this. He didn't know exactly what I was capable of, even after my short battle with Felix. He didn't know about the claws in my feet, and I actually had weapons which extended my reach a little and kept him at bay. That meant I'd have a little more time until the Calvary arrived. Hold on… the Calvary were Union soldiers not Rebel.

Oh crap… I'm screwed.

"I'm giving you the same warning I gave your buddy. You don't really want to do this, Demetri. This is your last chance to run or I'm slicing and dicing with your body parts."

He really looked back at Jane; I kid you not. I saw the determination on her face and knew the moment Demetri turned back around he was going to rush me, so I dropped to the ground and used the strength in my arms to pivot my body and legs around.

Snikt!

It was horribly sloppy, but it was also effective. My foot claws sliced cleanly thought his shins like they weren't even there. When Demetri fell forward he instinctively held his hands out to catch himself, but my wrist claws were already arcing up into his throat. It was then that I realized what Jane's plan was. Wait until I was otherwise occupied and only then attack me.

Her hands raked across my face, digging in and rending flesh. I think I may have lost a tooth or two along the way, but I was more concerned with slicing wildly at anything in front of me. She screamed, and then the attack stopped with her falling on top of me in pieces.

Something gooey flopped on my chest as I tried to scramble away. Eww, vampire brains. That was enough for my stomach to rebel.

~O~

"Oww!"

Carlisle pulled the gauze pad away as I flinched. "Sorry."

"No… go ahead. The venom stings worse," I said with a grimace.

"I'm impressed. You took down Felix," Charlotte said as she leaned against the kitchen counter with her arms crossed looking at Carlisle nursing my wounds. "There aren't a lot of vampires… I take that back. There aren't any vampires that can say that since everyone he's fought is dead."

"He thought I was human," I said through gritted teeth since my skin was still knitting itself together.

It seems as if fresh venom slows the process a little.

"Ah."

"I took off his arms before he could touch me."

"Well that explains that." As if I was totally inept. "How about Demetri. He's no slouch."

"The spinning sweep thing you were teaching me."

"Oh, excellent!" Charlotte clapped. "It works!"

I glared at her, but Carlisle cut me off before I said anything in reply. "You're not scarring, and I can see your missing teeth are coming in nicely. This healing ability of yours is amazing, Bella."

Jasper chose that moment to enter through the back door. He saw that I was almost back to normal and I could view the tension dropping off his shoulders. "I had a chat with Felix."

My eyebrows rose. I could have sworn that I cut off his head.

"We can even heal our heads getting lopped off." At my small nod he continued. "He was pissed to say the least. Volturi this, pain and dismemberment that… he even threw in a rue the day comment before I burned him. Yeah, there's no way this isn't coming back to bite us in the ass."

"Well, I'm sorry for not laying down and having my body torn limb from limb."

Jasper growled. "That's not what I meant."

"He means that Aro won't stand for his best fighter, and his best tracker, and the person he relies upon to torture vampire kind to go without being avenged," Charlotte reiterated with a confirming nod from Carlisle.

"Without Demetri, the odds of Aro finding us are reduced considerably. However, we must move post haste. I think perhaps the Northwest Territory?"

Jasper shook his head. "Aro would bet on us going to ground. I would suggest south. Blend in a large city. That way if they come across us they can't do so in large numbers or they'd attract attention."

"You're not thinking about Texas are you," Charlotte asked with a note of tension in her voice.

"No, not that far away. I'm thinking Vegas or L.A."

"I'm not leaving," I said to nobody in particular. They all looked at me like I was crazy. "What? I'm not leaving Charlie, not to mention all the other people that live in this town to get overridden by vampires. It's not going to happen."

"Bella," Carlisle said in his placating tone that I was getting real familiar with recently. "Once the Volturi realize we are not here they will leave and try to find us through use of their guard. They won't be able to use the other covens or even the nomads because of the stigma of losing their best people to a coven of vegetarians. Believe me; Aro is egotistical to a fault. He won't want their reputation ruined over this. However, if we are here then we all will be made an example of in the worst possible way."

The last of the muscle in my face finished knitting together and I could move my jaw properly for the first time in… fifteen minutes? That's how long all of that took from start to finish?

Charlie didn't deserve any of this, but I wasn't about to lead a bunch of stark raving mad vampires to Forks if I could get away with it.

"Dammit." I closed my eyes and wiped off a chunk of Jane's brain from my shirt. It plopped wetly as it hit the floor. "What if we can get him to stay in Volturi?"

Carlisle's eyebrow rose slightly in interest. "How would you accomplish this?"

I shrugged. "Prank call. You got his number?"

"Bella…" Jasper warned, but I waved him off and took my cell out.

Carlisle rattled off an overseas number and I waited through all the weird dial and ringing tones for it to connect.

"Volturi Industries," a girl with a said sickly sweet voice. "How may I direct your call?"

"Aro."

"One moment please. May I ask who is calling?"

"Isabella Swan." I figured it wouldn't hurt to be polite to the receptionist. She didn't do anything to me and I figured she was probably human anyway since her voice didn't do that weird wind chime thing that all the girl vampires seem to have going for them.

After another click Aro's simpering voice virtually echoed out with excitement. "Isabella! It is a delight to hear from you. How is vampire life treating you?"

"Aro. You set your goons on me."

"Now, now. There's no need for hard feelings. It is one of the duties of the Volturi to make sure that all humans that know about us are either turned or disposed of. Surely you already know of this. We even discussed it here in the castle."

"Oh, I know. But you see when you sent Jane, who you know hates me because her gift doesn't work on me, she tends to sic Felix on me instead of being all politic."

"I see," he said, but I didn't buy that he was unaware of what he was doing when he sent her.

"Do you? I really don't think you do, because I'm not with the Cullens anymore. Edward and I broke off our relationship. So I'm here all by myself and your three goons came by to pay me a visit."

"Hmm, you sound very coherent for a newborn, Isabella. Might you be lying to me?"

"I'm not a vampire, Aro. The venom didn't take. That's one of the reasons Edward and I broke up."

There was a slight pause as he digested the information. "The venom didn't take? I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with this Americanism."

I cleared my throat. "I was pumped full of vampire venom and it didn't turn me into a vampire. Is that clear enough? It turned me into something much more dangerous."

I saw Jasper by the door palming his face and shaking his head.

"I see. May I assume that Jane and her companions are no longer of this Earth?"

"They're burning as we speak. I was disappointed in Felix. I heard from the Cullens that he was to be feared for some reason. It only took me all of three seconds to make him armless and take his head."

Something popped loudly on the other end of the line.

"Demetri… well I wasn't even able to break a sweat. And Jane was just pitiful when I removed the top of her head and her brain fell out… I'm sending you the dry cleaning bill by the way."

"Yes, yes, it's all quite amusing. Well, Isabella it looks as if my guard will be coming for you."

This was the critical point in the conversation and I didn't know if my acting abilities were up to the challenge. I started laughing. Then I laughed some more.

"Oh Aro… you're killing me here. I thought Felix was your best? But it doesn't matter."

The sound of grating teeth made me pull the phone away from my ear for a moment before he asked. "And why is that?"

"Because, Aro… I'm coming for you."

That seemed to take him aback. "What?"

"You, Aro, and anyone that gets in my way. However, if everyone stands aside while I rip you to shreds I'll let everyone else live. Or if anyone there happens to rip you to shreds and leaves your head in a box in front of the castle then I'll just turn around and start touring Europe."

"You listen to me you insignificant girl…"

Click. I hung up on him.

"Christ…" Charlotte said. "I think you might have pissed him off."

"Here's hoping that he was taking that call in the throne room." I looked up at Jasper and he'd finally taken his hand away from his face. "It's not a bad idea to have those around him question his leadership capabilities especially with Jane out of the picture. I doubt a coup will be staged, but it will definitely put Aro on edge enough to question the loyalty of those around him."

My phone vibrated and I looked down at the caller ID. It was the number I just called. I clicked the green button and put the phone up to my ear.

"Swan's Vampire Disposal: Would you like your vampires fried or fricasseed?"

"Cease this inane blathering, Isabella. You have made a grievous error in judgment if you think you can intimidate me, Aro of the Volturi!"

"Are you kidding me? Have you even stepped out onto the street in the last century?" I countered. "You're a coward, Aro. You send all your little minions all over the world and sit there nice and safe on your throne. You don't have the balls to actually face me yourself."

"Royalty does not roll around in the mud with the commoners."

"Ah. I see. And who made you royalty?"

"I did," he said menacingly.

"Okay, I want to be a princess. You may call us Princess Isabella of…Earth." I figured Princess Isabella of Forks just didn't have the right kind of intimidating ring to it. If I was going to be pretentious then I was going for the gold. "There I'm not a commoner anymore. Now you can face me like a man… or a little weasel. You know, you have little weasel features, with the overbite and the pinched look on your face like you're constipated all the time."

"This is ridiculous!" Ah, I had him screaming now. "I won my title by battle millennia before you were even conceived. You can't hope to even comprehend of the power I hold."

"I'm pretty sure I can comprehend it. I did graduate high school you know. You had others do your killing for you and then you said one day, I'm King! Well, I won my title a better way. I killed the best you had in single combat and now I'm a Princess."

"GAAAHH!" There as a loud crash on the other end of the line.

I covered the phone and whispered to the others, "I think he's mad."

"Your blood! I will bathe in your blood!"

"Now you're just being gross, because you know I'm right. And by the way, try not stealing a line that was in some cheesy movie. It makes you look cliché. Oops, too late, coward."

Everything went still and quiet on the other end of the line. "Why are you tempting me to come and wipe out your existence and every person that has ever known your name?"

We were already back to tricky situation time.

"Because, I know you are no threat, Aro. I already destroyed your assassination squad in less time it takes me to change my shoes. I figure the entire guard will take… what, maybe ten minutes to run through before I take your head for a decoration for my Christmas tree. I've got some shopping to do and then I'm heading out to Europe. I'll see you soon, Aro."

Click.

"Can we go bowling now?"

"Princess Isabella?" Jasper said with caution.

"Too over the top?"

Carlisle stood and closed up the first aid kit. "You might have delayed the Volturi's appearance here. However, we still need to leave Forks, Bella, no later than tomorrow morning. Pack whatever you really need. We can buy anything else whenever we get settled in Los Angeles. Jasper will stay behind and help you with anything."

My pizza seemed surprised that his suggestion to live in the city was taken. That made me wonder exactly what goes on in Carlisle's brain. Sure he makes all the monumental decisions for the family, but shouldn't he listen to the guy that has actually made war on other people. Well, in this instance I guess he did. Maybe that's why he's in charge. Nevermind. Maybe I took a knock to the head during all that mess a little while ago.

"Charlie?" I wasn't aware I was holding my phone to my ear before I heard his voice on the other end of the line. "I need you to come home… now."

~O~

"Do you really need a photo album, Bella?"

I glared at Jasper and looked to the two boxes of things I decided I couldn't live without. "Yes. Don't nag me, Pizza Boy."

"Bella?" The yell came from downstairs. Charlie had arrived.

"Up here, Dad!"

"We'll wait outside," Jasper said as he headed to the window.

"No, stay."

He was puzzled, but complied with my wishes for the time being. Charlie was in his police outfit along with a police issue handgun. That was probably bad planning on my part. It didn't take a degree in physics to figure out why the two boxes were sitting on my bed.

"Bells?" He said before looking at Jasper and glaring his Chief of Police glare.

"Dad, you know Carlisle; this is Jasper. He's my… um, boyfriend, I guess."

My pizza had a pleasant smile on his face right up until the I guess portion of the evening.

"Boyfriend?" Charlie said gruffly.

"Yeah. He's also a vampire."

"Bella!" I think I may have forgotten about telling the Cullens what I had told Charlie.

"Sorry, Jas. He sort of knows everything already."

The hand on Charlie's gun was most likely for his own comfort since he already knew it was useless against vampires.

"What's this all about, Bella?"

I shoved the photo album down in the box and closed it up as I started talking.

"I killed three vampires in the back yard about an hour ago." I watched as his eyes widened and then dart to the window. "They were sort of royal guards or whatever for the vampire world. The Cullens and I are leaving Forks for now so we can make sure they don't come here and start killing people."

"The hell you are. You can stay right here. I can get on the horn with the Governor and…" He already saw the futility of that call as he leaned against my dresser and ran his hand through his hair. "What can I do?"

Jasper shook his head. "Nothing. If people come here that look like me, pale skin…"

"I know what a vampire looks like, son. I'm staring at one."

"Right. Just tell them we left and took Bella with us, which will be true."

"Where… nevermind. It's better that I don't know."

"I changed my mind. I'm not leaving," I said. "You guys are welcome to go."

"Bella," Jasper said most urgently, like he was my overbearing husband or something. "They won't hurt your father. He's too much of a public figure, and he grew up in this area. People won't believe a bear attack."

"Yeah, that's probably true. But if Aro shows up and touches my dad then he'll know that he knows and that'll put the kibosh on leaving him alive, so… no."

Carlisle nodded sagely. "Bella is right. The odds that Aro will show up in force are too good, especially after the death threats Bella delivered."

I shrugged. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."

"If we were moving then it would have been."

Jasper tapped on the side of his face as he mulled things over. "I'm thinking massive battle showdown in a large clearing, like with the newborns. We can get the wolves involved again, maybe call in some of our friends as backup."

"Lame," I said to the table since I was the girl, and nobody ever listened to what I said in the first place.

"What?"

"It's already been done," I explained. "I'm sure Aro's already seen Jane's memories of the fight. He'd be ready for that."

"Not about the wolves. She wasn't there by that time."

Narrowing my eyes at him like I thought he was stupid I sat up in the chair. "Are you telling me that Jane or any of the other Volturi that were there didn't notice the massive stink of werewolves all over the place? Aro is supposed to be ancient, right? What are the odds that he's never seen, or read the minds of someone that has never seen a wolf? I'm thinking not so good."

Carlisle pondered that for a moment. "If Caius knew they were here then the Volturi would already have attacked en masse."

"Are you saying that Aro tells his brothers everything?"

Charlie was awfully quite throughout all of this, but chose that moment to speak up. "I'm thinking Guerrilla Warfare. We have the home field advantage. Your type is afraid of fire, right? I have friends in the National Guard. I could get ahold of some napalm…"

"Charlie, no," Carlisle said with a shudder.

Go Charlie! I kind of liked his idea, but that would bring a lot of unwanted attention to the area.

"How about Claymores?"

Carlisle shook his head. "Swords are useless against my kind."

"Not the sword, the anti-personnel mine! How old are you anyway… swords."

Jasper had understood. "No. They wouldn't harm us. The most it would do would be to knock someone down or if they were close enough knock them away."

"Oh… well, I'm all out of ideas."

"Thanks, Dad."

"No problem, Bells. Just doin' my part."

~O~

"Aro is in hiding," Alice said, seemingly confused. "Why is he hiding?"

"Bella may have gone all Rambo on him." Jasper looked somewhat proud when he told her.

"Rambo?"

His voice went lower and shifted to a bad New York accent. "Aro… I'm coming for you."

Emmett guffawed. "That's what I'm talking about! Our little Bella is channeling her inner action movie heroes."

I swear I've never seen the movie he was talking about. I'm more of a romantic-comedy watching person. Give me Reece Witherspoon anytime and I'm happy. Musicals on the other hand… well, I could have probably sent Aro screaming for the hills with my rendition of My Big Fat Greek Wedding songs. Maybe I could call him back.

"I don't… I don't see him coming."

"Really?" Okay, even I was stunned at that.

Alice looked boggled. "That doesn't mean he won't be coming, just that I haven't seen him decide to do it yet."

"Hold on," Emmett said. "Jasper's tiny Bellzie-bub scared away the Volturi? Seriously?"

"I'm not Jasper's, yet."

That made my pizza man frown.

"Just a matter of time, and opportunity. Once he gets you alone, in the forest, in your room, in his room… heck, maybe even in this room…," Emmett stopped for a second and raised an eyebrow at his brother. "Dude, don't do it in here. I play my video games on this carpet. I'd be smelling that for weeks. No offense, Bella."

"I do shower on occasion."

"It's not that smell that soaks into the carpet…" That was about all he got out before Alice smacked him on the arm. "Hey, I'm just saying."

I cleared my throat before the conversation delved any deeper into the gutter. "Maybe he's not the one that's going to claim me. Maybe I'm going to claim him? Did you ever think about that?"

"Oh… wow. That's hot." A weird look crossed Emmett's face and then he smiled. "Gotta go. Rose is calling."

"Bella Swan, the love doctor." Alice rolled her eyes. "I'll keep an eye on Aro's decisions. You and Jasper go be romantic."

He was standing there with his hands firmly planted in the front pockets of his jeans. "So…"

"So…"

"Do you want to come up to my room?"

"Seriously, Jasper? Can we use Emmett's grunts as mood music?

He cleared his throat. "Your room?"

"Charlie is there planning World War III. I think he just wants to blow something up. I blame riding around in a cop car for this. Too many drunk teenagers and too little NCIS. And don't even suggest the forest, cowboy."

He swaggered over… seriously, he swaggered. It was like watching one of those old westerns that Charlie put on Saturday afternoons. You know the ones I'm talking about: the cowboy walks into a saloon, all dusty and rugged looking like he's been on the trail all day, got a nice five o'clock shadow working, shirt is ripped a little exposing some tanned skin. He tips his hat up once he hits the bar and orders a shot of whiskey.

Yeah… I think my panties are wet. Crap.

TBC...