A/N Okay, first of all, I know it's frustrating when stories we like aren't updated, but let's please try and stay civil. I am trying. I wanted to get my next chapter up on the other story first, but I haven't had time to finish it yet.

Secondly, I changed the ending of the last chapter, after several of you pointed out that Alice should have sparkled. So you may want to reread the last couple paragraphs.

Third, and lastly, though all my reviewers are awesome, even the one who told me to stab myself with a pencil :) I'm dedicating this chapter to the one named Boo, because, he/she kept me in perspective with Bella's character. Thanks

Chapter 3

"Alright Bella. Work with me now." I pleaded as I once again tried to get my girl into some damn clothes. Esme was starting her lessons today, and I refused to let anyone look at Bella's body. It was bad enough my mother had gotten a glimpse of it. Getting her into the basketball shorts had been pretty easy, considering what I expected, but the top was going to be difficult. For some reason, Bella seemed particularly opposed to wearing anything on her upper half. This would be my third attempt at getting her in a shirt. The first one had short sleeves and was immediately ripped off. The second was a tank top, and stayed only slightly longer. This time, I thought I'd figured out a way to cover up her girls with as little obstruction to the rest of her as possible.

"Hands up." I said, showing Bella with my own arms so she'd mimic me. She was grinning that special feral smile of hers, looking all too amused at my plight. I chose to ignore that fact as I fitted the belt of elastic cotton over her chest. In actuality it was a halter top that I had ripped the bottom off of so that there'd be as little restricting fabric as possible. Just a strip large enough to conceal her breasts from others views. As was typical, Bella performed her little wiggle dance to see how much of a hindrance it would be to her movement. After a minute of this, she looked at me, deliberating something before finally letting her left hand wave off her side a little. I'd come to realize this was her way of shrugging and beamed at the acceptance.

"Thank you Bella!" I gushed, relieved as I wrapped my arms around her overly warm and bare torso. It was a millisecond after this action that I considered the last time I'd given her a hug. Thankfully this one didn't seem to trigger her mating impulse, so I let myself linger, reveling in the soft skin under my hands and cheek.

Her arms remained limp at her sides, but when I didn't let go, they wound around my back, shadowing my actions. When I finally pulled back there was a soft smile on Bella's face, but her eyes were stormy with confusion.

"Liss?" I don't know how, but I instinctively knew what she wanted.

"Hug." I told her, giving a name to our action.

"Ha-guh?"

"Yes Bella. Good. Hug." I said again smiling and leaning in to give her another quick example.

This time her response was immediate, wrapping her arms tightly around me and giving my body a little squeeze. I hid my goofy grin in her shoulder.

"All set Alice?" Esme's voice interrupted from downstairs and a little growl ripped from my lips. Why must she interrupt my time with Bella. I know she's excited, but really?

With a sigh I pulled away, noticing Bella's concerned expression. I forced a smile onto my face to ease her worry, all the while cursing my mother in my head.

"Come on." I said, pulling on her hand and leading her out of our bedroom. It was only the three of us in the house, and I hoped that would mean she wouldn't feel the need to change into her cat form.

It appeared this would be the case as she only hesitated briefly at the top of the steps, taking a few large breaths to check for other scents, before finally following me down.

When we reached the classroom Esme had set up, she had already written the alphabet up on the whiteboard with different colored markers, looking very pleased.

"Good Morning Bella." She said smiling at the shy girl who held my hand tightly as she shifted just the slightest bit behind me. I led her to the desk in the middle of the room and had her sit, pulling up another chair so I could be beside her, since it was pretty obvious my leaving would be a deal breaker for Bella.

The next hour proved to me that I could never be a teacher. I tried to stay involved as Esme patiently went through each letter of the alphabet, making the appropriate sounds. Bella was listening, but didn't seem any more excited about this lesson than I was. In fact her eyes had taken on a kind of glazed look and I couldn't help the tiny giggle that escaped me. The sound made Bella turn in my direction, her gaze back to that piercing green fire I loved, as she regarded me curiously.

"Alice, stop distracting her. She's trying to learn." Esme scolded lightly.

"Sorry." I muttered, casting my eyes down, but only to keep from seeing Bella's expression and laughing again. Esme sighed, putting down the pointer in her hand and rummaging in a drawer next to her.

"I suppose she might need a break anyway." She said, placing a coloring book on the desk in front of Bella with a few crayons. I rolled my eyes.

Esme moved back to the front to look over some books while Bella grabbed a crayon in her hand, bringing it up in front of her face and peering at it. I knew what was coming before she even made the movement, and stilled her hand from bringing the colored wax to her mouth. Holding her irritated gaze, I gently lowered her hand to the paper and showed her its proper use, drawing a red line down the page.

I let go of her hand and she looked between me and the coloring book for a second before drawing another line. That was the end of coloring, it seemed, as she dropped the crayon and stared at me. I hadn't realized until now that the look of 'Are you serious?' was universal, but apparently it was because that's exactly how Bella was regarding me right now.

"Liss." I laughed at her obvious annoyance, raising from my seat with Bella following my lead.

"Where are you going?" Esme asked alarmed.

"Bella needs a break." I told her, pulling on Bella's hand.

"Alice, she just started, I…" My growl cut her off.

"I decide what's best for Bella." I hissed, glaring at my mother. She was pushing my beast's buttons, and I couldn't help snapping at her.

"Alice…" Esme said softly, holding her hands up in front of her and taking a couple steps back. "I'm only trying to help. Bella needs to be able to communicate...so we can understand her." She pleaded.

"I understand her. You don't need to." A hiss from beside me accompanied my growled words and I looked over to see Bella also glaring at my mother. Her distress snapped me out of my primal state and I wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into my side. "It's okay Bella." I soothed, my fingers rubbing circles into her hip. I took a deep breath trying to calm my frayed nerves.

"Esme, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. I know you're just trying to help, but Bella isn't a child. I mean, coloring books?" I asked sneering at the book I held up in my hand with an outline of a puppy on it.

"I thought they would help build her creativity." Esme said frowning at the discarded object.

"She is creative. Yesterday she made me a bracelet out of wildflowers." Esme continued to frown at me. "She's not stupid!" I reiterated, the growl slipping back into my voice, grip tightening on Bella's waist.

"Of course she isn't! I would never suggest that she was!" Esme said loudly, her own anger starting to show. Bella had a constant growl in her throat now, and my beast was clawing at its cage.

"I think we all need a few moments to calm down." I finally got out through clenched teeth before quickly shuffling Bella out of the room and into the backyard. I knew she felt more comfortable outside, so I hoped it would soothe her, which would in turn soothe me.

Once we were away from the tension, I flopped down onto a lounge chair while Bella made her way out to the grass. She was silent, but I could see the frustration in the way she ripped up dandelions and tore them apart. She was so beautiful, even in this state. Her lightly tanned skin was luminescent, showing the outline of well-toned muscle. I followed the line of her long gorgeous legs down to the adorable bare feet that stomped about. Even clean and partially clothed, Bella still looked indescribably feral to me with her wild and flowing hair blowing around in the wind. Her posture gave her a half crouched look as she prowled the yard. Her glowing green eyes would occasionally dart over to me, making sure I was still there.

I was surprised out of my Bella watching by the light purr I started to produce unconsciously. As soon as I realized it was me making the sound, I immediately stopped, standing and moving to the edge of our porch. I decided this was a good time to reinforce the lesson I'd taught Bella earlier.

"Bella." I called, causing her to stop her random pacing and swiftly move to stand in front of me. I held my arms out in a welcoming gesture, a smile on my face. "Hug." I said, giggling at the grin that broke across Bella's face. A moment later she had me circled in her arms and I copied her. My beast took comfort from her warmth, and before I knew it I was purring again, only this time, I was joined by Bella's deeper purr.

I could feel both our bodies relaxing, tension easing from our arms and shoulders. It was peaceful, the only sound being birds singing off in the woods. Unfortunately, our moment of bliss was short lived.

"HA! I SAW THE CAT GIRL!" Emmett's voice rang out across the yard.

A fierce snarl tore from my lips as the interruption startled my beast. It's aggravation too much for me to quell at the moment. With no thought to what the man at the corner of the house meant to me, I lunged, rapidly throwing punches wherever I found open flesh.

"Woah, woah. Alice. Calm down. It was just a joke." Emmett said, the fear evident in his voice as he tried to block my blows. My mind was paralyzed by rage. I couldn't stop myself if I wanted to, and I didn't.

"WHAT THE FUCK ALICE!" I high-pitched voice screamed at me, shoving me to the side. I turned to see Rosalie's angered face. Her body was coiled and ready for a fight. I was eager to provide one. Charging at her, I grabbed her blonde hair, yanking her head back while landing a solid boob shot. It was a dirty move, but none of the Cullen women were known for fighting fair. Before Rosalie could respond, strong arms wrapped around me, pinning my own arms to my side.

"What the hell?" Emmett's voice spoke behind me as I struggled in his grip. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of white and suddenly I was free. I turned back to Rosalie, but she had darted over to try and stop Bella from clawing her husband's face off. I tackled her half way to my lion's fight, rolling us across the ground while we both attempted to gain the upper hand.

"STOP! STOP!" Edward's voice screeched over our tussles. I felt hands trying to break Rosalie and I apart, but we both shoved them away. There were three voices now, and this time my flailing body was ripped away from Rosalie. I snapped at the hands holding me, but was restrained. A face swam into my focus and I recognized Esme.

"Alice! Honey! Calm down! Come back to us!" She pleaded, her face full of worry. I'm sure my eyes were a soulless black as I continued to snarl at her, wrenching my arms free and reaching to claw out her eyes.

New hands joined the effort to restrain me, as Esme leapt backwards out of the way.

"Alice! Stop!" Carlisle's voice demanded from behind me. Despite not knowing where my mate was or if she was safe, I couldn't help reacting just slightly to the head of my coven's command. He was my elder and leader, and by nature, I felt compelled to follow him, but even that authority didn't overshadow the need to protect my mate. However, it did allow me just enough control to harness in my anger. I continued to growl, but stopped struggling.

"Mate." I snarled, head whipping around, searching for Bella.

"She's okay, Alice." Carlisle said turning me around to see Bella locked in a choke hold. Emmett's arms had her neck in a vice grip, while his legs wrapped around her middle halting her movement. The sight of her almost set me off again, if it weren't for Edward's assurance.

"He's not hurting her, just restraining her until you are calm."

"She'll attack us if she thinks you're in danger. Go to her." Carlisle said, finally releasing his hold. I ran from his arms, towards Bella as Emmett also let her go. We were both growling loudly, but the anger would have to wait for a moment. I needed to make sure my mate was okay. My hands checked every inch of her, searching for any injuries. At the same time, Bella was sniffing me, likely for the same reason. When our inspections were complete I turned back to my adversaries to find only Carlisle left, a grim look on his face.

"We need to have a family meeting." He stated before turning and going inside. I looked back at Bella with a sigh, my adrenaline finally starting to recede.

Inappropriately, the only thought I had as Bella and I entered the house was, 'I hope she doesn't start associating our hugs with interruptions and snarling.'

A/N I know it's short. Sorry.