Disclaimer: The Twilight Series and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. Any other characters, settings etc. are property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Note: Italic letters are Bella's thoughts.

~x~

Last time:

Driven by an unknown force, I pulled myself from the floor throwing Felix and the other vampire against the wall. My strength was so unbelievably powerful the vampires' body broke the stones that built the walls of the room. But my focus didn't stay on my captors for long; I spun to face the irresistible scent that ruled every sense left in me.

Through my thirst-driven chaos, I noticed Heidi, standing at the doorway, with an arm wrapped around a young woman, about twenty-five years old, with blond hair and beautiful blue eyes. She looked at me with a horrified expression.

I took a deep breath, letting the scent fill my need, and barely aware of my movements I drifted toward the door. Toward my prey.

Chapter 4:

The world seemed to stop around me. The delicious scent, so warm, so enticing wafted smoothly through my nostrils making my throat burn with thirst.

Although my primary focus was the alluring smell, I was also aware of everything else around me. Felix and the other vampire had straightened and were again guarding Aro, who was smiling; it seemed as if this…event had brought excitement to his day.

The deceitful Heidi smiled at me and stepped aside, away from the terrified woman, clearing my path toward the intended target.

I didn't know how I was able to keep in perspective all that surrounded me when the smell coming from the young woman was so maddening.

Not a full second had passed.

I kept, slowly, moving toward her. My eyes fixed on the artery at her neck, and I could hear her heart beating uncontrollably, pumping blood. Blood that promised to quench my fiery thirst.

I slowly ran my gaze from her neck to her face and our eyes connected.

What I saw in those beautiful blue eyes saved her life, at least for a few moments.

Through the thick haze in my brain I saw my mother's eyes. This young woman's eyes were the exact same color as my mom's, and that, right there stopped my advance.

This terrified woman reminded me of the mother I had just lost forever, and I was about to end her life?

In a Herculean effort, I stopped breathing; cutting the flow of the maddening scent.

For one precious second I was able to rationalize again.

And that's all I needed.

I launched myself across the room, darting toward the door, but instead of attacking my intended target, ignoring what my instinct was ordering me to do, I rammed through Heidi, who was standing next to the young woman.

Heidi obviously was not expecting my reaction, so I was able to push her and slam her body against the hallway wall, breaking some stones with the impact of the inhuman force.

I needed to escape. I needed to avoid smelling the hideously appealing scent again. I knew I would not be able to stop myself if the smell reached me again. So I ran.

"Seize her!" Aro said.

I ran faster.

The rate of speed I reached was unbelievable; I felt as if I was ghosting across the floor so quickly my feet barely touched the ground. Everything was a streaky blur, but I was able to focus.

I ran the long hallway, passing closed doors, archways, and windows. I didn't stop at any of those —I had Felix and the other vampire right on my heels. I needed to find the exit.

I flew down the stairs and finally saw a door that looked like an entrance, and hurried toward it. I opened it —it was not an entrance but a back door. It was an exit.

The beautiful manicured lawn in front of me was the most amazing sight. I was glad it was daytime; the sun shone brightly over the garden.

This was it.

I could just walk under the powerful sun and burst into flames. I was a vampire, right? I could end this monstrosity.

I heard Felix behind me. "Bella, don't!"

I closed my eyes and without a drop of fear, I stepped out into the sunshine, and waited for my end.

I felt the warmth envelope me, but didn't feel the pain I expected. I slowly opened my eyes and wanted to weep in dismay. Instead of flames, my body was a rainbow of sparkles —sparkles that danced around my skin; the beautiful colors swirling with the warm sunrays.

I fricking sparkled?

Unbelievable!

Edward's sweet smell drifted through the air and I opened my eyes. They were here. I uncoiled from my crouched position and prepared for the encounter.

Edward was the first to spring into sight, about twenty yards from me, followed by Jasper, and a big, muscled male —Emmett or Carlisle.

Alice made a flashy entrance, leaping onto the tip of a ledge of black rock and balancing there on the balls of her heeled feet. Show-off

A male, blond and handsome, along with a caramel-colored hair female, and a beautiful blond woman were the last to enter the clearing.

Alice was the first to talk. "Hello, Bella. I love your Doors T-shirt. I think Jim Morrison was amazing!"

I thought so too, but didn't reply to her comment.

The blond male walked toward me and extended his arm. "Hello, Bella. I'm Carlisle. It's nice to finally meet you."

So this was their leader.

He was young, tall and looked friendly. I took his hand and shook it. There was no reason to be uncivil.

Carlisle released my hand and gestured toward the woman with caramel hair. "This is Esme," he said.

Esme was beautiful. She was svelte, a little taller than I was, and looked more like an older sister than the mother she was supposed to be —even an adoptive one. She was looking at me with an odd expression —something between elation and sympathy. It felt like she wanted to… hug me.

"You haven't met Rosalie," Carlisle continued the introductions and I looked at the beautiful blonde.

I thought Heidi was beautiful, but this vampire beat her in the beauty department easily.

Rosalie was tall —supermodel height, and had long, thick, shiny, blonde hair that would make Gisele Bundchen weep with envy. Her body was one of those that men worshiped. She was the only one without a smile on her face. Rosalie was either being honest and hated my presence as I hated theirs, or simply didn't feel like smiling at the moment.

"And this is Emmett," Carlisle concluded.

I turned to look at the last member of the coven. Emmett in contrast to his mate was grinning. He was the tallest of them all; well muscled and brawny with curly brown hair framing his face. He reminded me of a playful Saint Bernard, which was wrong, because St. Bernard dogs were noble creatures and this was a vicious vampire.

What was wrong with me? Comparing vampires with beautiful dogs!

I nodded as a way of acknowledging them, and tried not to look at Edward. From my peripheral vision I could see him looking at me intently and, I could feel his eyes roaming my body as if touching it, creating an unwanted feeling of awareness within me.

Before Jasper could feel what I was feeling, and consequentially transfer the thought to Edward, I spoke. "Let's be direct," I told Carlisle.

The sooner we finish our little chat, the sooner I'd be out of here.

"I've been living in this area for the last nine months. I think that gives me the right to be a bit territorial. I want you to leave."

Carlisle raised an eyebrow.

Maybe that was a little medieval.

Okay, a lot.

I realized this was not the appropriate way to start a peaceful conversation. I needed to backtrack. "I'm afraid that the fact of having eight vampires in the area might blow my cover. So I'm requesting you and your coven to please look for a different area to relocate."

There! That was more polite.

Carlisle smiled. "Bella, you have nothing to worry with our presence in the area. It's for our own benefit to be inconspicuous. You can be rest assured we will not…blow your cover."

Yep. I was right when I told Jake asking nicely was not going to make them leave. I sighed. "Let me be frank, Carlisle. As you must know by now, in this same area there are some friends of mine who by nature won't get along with your…family. I think it's in everyone's benefit if you reconsidered your decision to stay here."

"How many of your 'friends' are we talking about?" Edward asked, speaking for the first time since arriving.

I didn't want to reveal any information about my werewolf friends, but it would be easy for Edward to find out their numbers.

I turned to look at his gorgeous face. The man was devastatingly beautiful. It was a shame he was a vampire. "Two," I answered him. I omitted the fact that the pack was much larger than that, but since I'd never met them, they were not my 'friends', so I was not lying. Besides, I didn't even know their exact numbers; it was classified information exclusively known by The Quileute.

"We don't have any ill wishes against your friends, Bella," Carlisle said, interrupting my little interaction with Edward. "I don't know if you are aware, but we made a treaty with young Black's grandfather. So if he, or they, are willing to honor Ephraim Black's word, we don't see any problems."

I raised my arms in frustration. "There is a big problem. The proximity between you and them could lead to a confrontation —a deadly confrontation."

Edward took a couple of steps, moving closer to me. I didn't like his nearness; it made me uneasy. He stopped and scrutinized my face. "I can't speak for the other werewolf," he said. "—but the one I saw didn't seem to have any problems getting close to you. And you are one of us."

I repressed a snort. "Jake knows me. And if you were paying attention while rummaging inside his head, you would've noticed he did have a problem with you."

Edward narrowed his eyes. "Yes, I noticed. I also noticed that the dog seems to have developed a certain attachment to you. He feels he needs to protect you —a vampire, from me —one of your own kind. Why is that, Bella?"

I didn't like Edward insulting my friend. "First of all, his name is Jacob, not dog. And my friendship with him is none of your business."

"Well," Edward said. "If you don't want us to be a threat to your friends, you have to convince us they are not a threat to us. The way I see it, it seems there is some kind of danger looming towards you, otherwise the do—Jacob wouldn't have risked his life in order to protect you. And if you are in danger, potentially so are we."

"I'm not in danger. Jacob is, by nature, overprotective. That's all."

Edward smiled. "It's good to hear. But there must be a reason why he…overreacts around you. So in order to understand his…protectiveness, I need to know the reason. Understanding will …lessen any danger from me toward him."

Blackmailing son of a bitch! He was going to make him tell him why Jacob felt like I needed protection against a vampire, if I wanted to keep my friends safe.

Asshole

I glared at him. "Fine! I will tell you. But after that, you better stay away from us," I told him.

Edward seemed to fight a smile. I wanted to punch him. "I can't promise anything until I know all the circumstances," he said indifferently. "Then I'll decide if I stay away or not."

I noticed Edward was using "I" instead of "we". I didn't even notice when this negotiation transferred from Carlisle to him. I decided it was safer to talk to Carlisle. Like I said, Edward made me uneasy.

I turned to Carlisle. "Many decades ago, I was forced to become a vampire by the Volturi."

All of them, without exception, were surprised by this fact. "Aro himself changed me," I added.

"He must've recognized a great power within you, for him to do the task himself," Carlisle said.

I smirked. "He couldn't read my mind when I was human; and that impressed him," I said with disdain, and continued my story. "Aro and the rest of the Volturi massacred the people around me. Until that moment I didn't know vampires existed.

"Later that night, Aro changed me," I explained.

I heard Esme whimper. I turned to look at her and her and saw her pained expression. Why?

"So you became part of the Volturi," Edward said.

I turned toward him. "I was never one of them!" How dare he assume something so gruesome?

"Why do you feel horrified by the idea," Jasper said, and Edward glared at him. "Being part of the Volturi is considered an honor by most vampires. Only the strongest, most powerful could join their elite group."

"They're vicious!" I informed him.

"Jasper," Edward warned.

But Jasper was on a roll. "They have to be vicious. They have an important job controlling the creation of vampire armies. Newborns, without a higher arm to rein them in would cause chaos, death and destruction all over the world."

Jasper seemed to know firsthand about newborn armies. I wondered if his scars were a consequence of it.

Either way, that didn't justify the existence of vampires like the Volturi. "If you think the Volturi are a godsend gift, you're wrong. The Volturi are a power-thirsty group that believes they can decide who lives and who dies. Who gave them that power? Huh?"

"Newborns need control," Jasper said.

"Newborns should never be created!" I told him, raising my voice.

"Bella," Carlisle said in a soothing tone." Jasper's point of view is based on his life before he joined us, a life where vampires without scruples, created armies just for power. The Volturi exterminated these radical groups, saving human lives in the process."

I scoffed at his words. "And that makes them the good guys?"

"No," Carlisle said, "But it makes their existence necessary."

"They kill people. They lure them into their home like cattle. They don't care if they're leaving orphans behind, or parents mourning the disappearance of their children. They're cold-hearted, arrogant monsters!"

Carlisle gave me a tender look and I realized I said more than I intended. Damn! I didn't want anyone's pity.

He sighed. "Although I —we—don't agree with the vast majority of vampires feeding from humans, we understand that it is very difficult to overcome our instincts," Carlisle explained. "With our change, not only were our longevity, strength and senses enhanced, but also our basic instincts; we became more animal than human. We can't really blame a vampire for feeding from a human, as much as we can't blame a cheetah for killing a gazelle. It's simply natural."

"It's not the same," I argued. "Even after the change, we always retain a piece of humanity that stops us from acting without rationalization."

"I agree," Carlisle said. "But it's extremely hard to find that humanity left in us. Knowledge, guidance or certain circumstances allows us to make the choice to a different life-style. But it's a choice —an extremely difficult one."

I knew Carlisle was right. If that girl, the one the Volturi offered me like a sacrificed lamb, would have been a boy, or would have had brown eyes, I would have never been able to stop myself from feeding from her. My instincts were just too strong.

That didn't mean I had to accept the Volturi.

I was done analyzing theories. "Anyway… To conclude my point: Aro made me a vampire against my will. I never wanted to be a vampire, but it's something I can't change. I refused to feed the way they did, and as a result I've never taken the life of a human being. Jacob knows my story, he feels sorry that I have to bear a fate I never wanted and thinks I need his protection. That's all."

Edward grunted. I turned to look at him. He was frowning at Jasper and Carlisle. Then he looked at me and his frown eased. "How did you learn to feed on animals when all the vampires around you fed…differently?" Edward asked.

I shrugged my shoulders in response. I was done talking about my past.

"It's really remarkable," Carlisle said. "To turn away and resist your instincts without guidance; you are very strong indeed."

I don't need compliments "So. If you are not planning to relocate, please stay away from my friends and me. It will be better for all of us. Believe me."

I noticed how Alice exchanged looks with Edward, and her expression was… pleading. I wondered what mental communication was going on between those two.

Edward turned to look at me. He seemed determined. "I'm sorry for the way you were brought to this new life. Having said that, you still haven't convinced us that your friends are not a threat to us so, you leave me no choice but to keep an eye on you."

"What do you mean?" I asked warily.

Edward shrugged. "You are going to have to allow me to see for myself that you and your friends are not a threat to my family. And then I'll leave you alone."

Tyrant, arrogant son of a bitch! "And how do you plan to accomplish this?" By now, I was starting to see black.

He smiled. The fucking bully smiled. "Very simple; I will become your shadow. I will follow you everywhere to make sure you and your friends are not planning some kind of retribution to makes us pay for what the Volturi did to you."

"If we wanted to hurt you, we would've done it when you were in the bar —alone. We don't want to fight," I said between clenched teeth.

"Well, it could also mean that you didn't want the wrath of my family to descend upon you, if something happened to me. You knew the size of my family after all," Edward said.

I grunted exasperated. "If that were the case, you still outnumber us. So be rest assured that we'll keep our distance. We just request the same from you."

"No," Edward said firmly. "I will need to see for myself that you are not threatening. And then I'll leave you alone."

Stubborn… Agggh! I turned to Carlisle. "You are their leader. You can make a new treaty with me. Keep your distance and we'll keep ours."

Carlisle smiled at me apologetically. "I'm sorry Bella, but you're under a misconception. I am not their leader. We are a family with equal rights and we make decisions on our own. Edward feels…uneasy with the presence of the Wolves. He has the right to act accordingly. But you should not fear his nearness. Edward will never hurt you. Ever."

But what about my friends?

Talking to them was a loss cause. I turned back to Edward. "Very well. You can survey my everyday life, but don't you think for a moment you can intervene in it. You can be an …outside observer if you will, for a limited time. And at the first sign of you threatening my friends, the deal is off. I automatically will become your worst nightmare. That, I swear!"

With nothing more to say, I whirled on my heel and with starling speed left the Cullen's behind.

Why did the fact that Edward was going to be close to me, bring a shiver to my spine?

It must be the nerves. It had to.

Many thanks to Marijee.

A/N: Sorry about the delay.

I want to thank my reviewers for your comments about the Edward's point of view chapters. It's difficult and intimidating to put his words and thoughts in writing. I'm glad you liked it.

And as you saw he is not a bad guy after all :)