Disclaimer: Not mine, no matter how much I wish I had SM's bank account.

A/N: Holy crow, you guys! Thank you so much for all your amazing reviews and support, they really keep me going. As such, I was so motivated that I have a bonus chapter for you, my pretties! I know this story seems to be moving fast but I'm trying not to drag out the "Bella has no clue the supernatural world exists" game. My Bella is OOC (as I'm sure you've noticed) and she's a little bit quicker to realize the truth and accept the truth. I will be explaining why this is because I do have a good reason for it. Plus, it gives me more room to add more sarcastic remarks. On with the show!

~.~.~.~.~.~

We'd been crisscrossing Canada for two days when a realization hit me. The signs have been screaming at me. The color changing eyes, the pale skin, their temperature. They never stopped unless I asked. They never got hungry, sleepy, or even had the urge to pee. I never saw them rest or eat or drink. Jasper liked to go for early morning "runs" and Alice liked to go for afternoon "strolls." I knew the legends from the tribe. Yellow eyes meant these Cold Ones were animal drinkers. I was shocked they never mentioned me knowing about the Quileute histories. I'd decided to speak up after Jasper's last hunting trip.

"So, Jazz? What did you eat today? Deer? Maybe a moose?" I asked, reading the book Alice picked up for me on our last stop. It was a romance novel. Not my normal cup of tea but better than true crime.

Alice and Jasper both froze again and I couldn't help the laughter that bubbled over me. I was laughing so hard, tears were pouring from my eyes. As they started to thaw, they exchanged hesitant looks between one another.

Once I had my laughter reined in, I rolled my eyes at them both, "Oh come on! I told you I knew the legends. Did you guys really think I wouldn't figure out that you're vamps? We've been trapped in a car together for days! You guys haven't even tried to fake sleeping. It's a good thing you got me as your human baggage because anyone else would be freaked right now. At least I know you're animal drinkers," I smirked and returned to my book.

Jasper considered me before responding, "How do you know we drink animals? What if I wanna just end this now? Why should I let you live, now that you know my secret?"

I nodded, "Firstly, your eyes are yellow, not red. Secondly, you don't want to end anything because you like me. And thirdly, I know one of you would end up telling me your secret anyway because something non-human is after me. Therefore, since I was going to find out anyway, there is no point in killing me now." I met his eyes directly and knew he could feel the truth of everything I was saying. My gift gave me my confidence, as well as the answers to his questions.

Alice beamed at us both, "Well, now that we all know the truth, can you explain how you know that whatever is after you is non-human? Even we don't know that. Peter never told us."

"I can feel it through my gift. Also, if it was a human that was trying to get to me, Peter could have just come on down and eaten them before they got to me. He wouldn't have had to ask me to run or even contact me at all. In fact, hmm...about a year ago there was a guy who really wanted to hook up with me. I kept denying him, he kept coming back around. It started to get my tingles going. One day, he followed me while I was running errands. Every stop I made, he was there. I never saw him after that day," I speculated, Oh Petey-Pire. You ate a bad guy for me, didn't you? The Yoda phone buzzed for the first time since Alaska.

Yep, ate him all up. He tasted like shit, you still owe me.-P

My snort response got their attention so I showed them his text. Jasper frowned, "How are you communicatin' with him? There aren't any responses from you on here." With a small grin I replied, "I think shit, he knows shit. I bet if you two really focused your thoughts at him, he could pick them up. It will be easier for you, Jazz, since you are closer to Pete." He shook his head slowly, like he couldn't believe me, "You are somethin' else, little sis. Everything you say, you feel such strong conviction. It's astonishin'!" When he noticed my questioning look, he explained his gift, then Ali explained her visions in more detail. Suddenly, I got another buzz from the Yoda line.

Thanks for tellin' The Major he can talk to me in his fool mind, ya bitch! Now he ain't never gonna shut it!-P

Eh, I would say sorry but we both know I'm not. You ever gonna show your face?

Not yet, Nugget. It ain't the time. 'Sides, I don't need ya fallin' for me too soon, Char would eat ya.-P

Smiling, I slid the phone back in my purse and went back to the romance I was reading. We would stay on the road in Canada for another day before moving on to Colorado.

~.~.~.~.~.~

The rest of the trip to Colorado was uneventful. I gave Jasper the envelope that was marked with his name and it had our documents to get us back into the States. We talked and got to know more about each other. Alice and Jasper were so wonderful and loving. I never really had friends and of course, I had no siblings. Jacob Black had always tried to get closer to me but he was never really my kind of person. He was silly and bright, which I loved but he was also annoying and clingy. He used to tell Embry and Quil that I hated them and didn't want them around. I never felt that way. Much to the contrary, I had a slight crush on Embry. He was kind and smart with a warmth and genuine personality. The last summer visit I went to Washington was two years ago and it was also the reason I hadn't been back.

~Flashback~

Jake and I were walking to First Beach to play around in the water and hang out. He kept trying to grab my hand and I kept dodging him. He was never someone I wanted to date. Jake felt like family. Hell, I called his dad my uncle. It was just creepy to me, even the thought of something like holding his hand was off limits. I didn't want him to get the wrong idea.

"Uh, Jacob? I'm not really comfortable holding hands. That's more a boyfriend thing and you are more of a cousin to me. I'm sorry," I tried to convey my sympathy but also stay strong about what I wanted.

"Damn Jake! That sounds like the little Swan is over your crap!" Quil's voice carried over the sound of the waves. Standing behind him, Embry was grinning at me. I returned his smile and offered him a quiet greeting as Quil picked me up and ran me to the edge of the water. I kicked and screamed and laughed as he ran. Once we got there, he dipped my toes in the sea and set me down gently, "You didn't think I would really toss you in, right? Then I'd have to swim out there and drag your pale white butt all the way back!"

I just giggled as Jake and Embry ran to us. Before I could say a word, Jacob had jumped on Quil and started to punch him in the face. For a minute, Embry and I were too stunned to move. Jake was screaming profanities and filth in Quil's bloodied face. My body was shaking, as was Embry's. He grabbed me and we ran to Billy's. When we got there, I called Sue Clearwater to track down our dads who were fishing with her husband, Harry. She was so upset to hear what was happening and she promised me she would go to Quil right away and get him some help.

We didn't think it was a good idea to stay at the little red house in case it's resident came back. "Bells, come back to my house. Mom is home, maybe she'll make us a snack. We can call Sue's and leave a message for your dad. I don't want you around Jake today, I don't think it's safe," his voice sounded muffled and defeated. As we walked quickly to his house, I let my thought wander. There was nothing I could think of that I did to cause Jake's reaction that day. Quil didn't hurt me, in fact, he was way more gentle than he needed to be. The only thing that kept coming to my mind was he must have thought I belonged to him. He thought he had some kind of claim on me.

We told Embry's mom what happened and she was so angry that she told Em he couldn't hang out at the Blacks' house for a long time. As soon as she said it, I knew I wouldn't be coming back next summer and maybe, never.

Remembering the things that happened that summer always gave me the chills. I was still afraid of Jake, my tingles always on high alert whenever I thought of him or I got a letter from him. He had tried calling for months after I left and when I never answered, he gave up. I thought I was in the clear but two days after the calls stopped, I got a package in the mail. It was full of gifts a young boyfriend would give a young girlfriend, like teddy bears and paper roses. Jacob had written a ten page letter of apology and explained to me how he has always been in love with me and how he felt we would be together forever. He tried to say we were soulmates which I instantly knew was a lie. Ever since, I continued to get letters and gifts periodically but after that first one, I always put them back with a big fat "DENIED-RETURN TO SENDER" on the label.

I was considering my past with Jacob when Alice found me. We had been in Colorado for four days, after six days on the road. The home we were staying in was huge. It was a three story log cabin, consisting of six bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a huge chef's kitchen, multiple living rooms, offices, studies, dungeons, even a game room! Okay, so maybe I hadn't found a dungeon but the converted basement apartment was a little dark. My favorite place though, was the indoor pool and hot tub. It was surrounded with greenhouse glass and always full of sunshine this time of year. Alice said Pete chose this home (the spoiled shits owned probably about a hundred different places) because it was least likely for other vampires to come around this area this time of year due to the sunlight. In our time here, they had filled me in on their lives a bit more. Jasper didn't like to talk about his life before Alice but I knew it wasn't good. He had scars, a lot of scars. Considering how difficult it was to cause injury to their kind, I knew he had been through some serious shit and it only made me love him more. Alice didn't talk about her past much either, as she had no memories from her time as a human. They explained about covens and how they were even more rare than just being animal drinkers. They were also unique in the fact that they belonged to two covens, the Whitlock coven and the Cullen family. Peter and Charlotte were the Whitlocks and the Cullens consisted of five other vampires, one mated pair and three singles. Peter had told them not to give me more information about the Cullens than that and I wondered why. I thought maybe it had to do with the danger I was in.

As my thoughts ran away from me, Ali dropped her cold hand to my warm one and smiled. She was always kind and gave me a little extra time to come back from the haze of my mind. Jazz said I got the same blank look on my face when I used my gift as she did on hers when she had a vision. It made it a little easier for her to control her constant excitement and give me time to get used to using my gift more. They were trying to help me learn to use it at will. I was progressing but not as quickly as I hoped. There was something holding me back from mastering my skills and we weren't exactly sure what it was. I blinked quickly and rolled my head in slow, soothing circles until I came back to myself. Nodding her approval, Ali explained why she was here. "Bella? I need to tell you something but I also need you to stay calm," she spoke softly. "Sure, I can do that. Tell me the worst part first," I requested.

She sighed and closed her eyes while tilting her head back. As she brought her head back up, her eyes met mine and they were black, not a good sign, "Jasper scented three unknown vampires in the ar..." I cut her off, tossing my book to the side, "WE HAVE TO GO NOW! THEY WILL KILL YOU!" She gasped and her eyes went blank as she searched her future, "Fuck! You're right! They're after me, not you or Jazz but I don't know why!" I did but I knew we didn't have time to continue. Pete, what do we need to do? I waited for the buzz and wasn't disappointed.

It's time to come on home, sugar. Pete's gonna meet ya halfway. He's already runnin' to ya.-Char

"JAZZ! CHAR SAYS TO GO HOME, NOW!" I bellowed and suddenly, there were cold arms throwing me against a cold back. My arms and legs wrapped tightly around Jasper's body as everything blurred around me. We were running.

~.~.~.~.~.~

We ran for what seemed like hours. My arms and legs were sore from trying to keep a grip on Jasper's back. I had long ago buried my face in his neck to keep my stomach inside my body where I like it. Suddenly, he came to a stop. I still felt like we were moving and lost my grip, falling to the ground and moaning. "Ow! Oh sweet baby Jesus! I don't think I can run like that anymore."

As soon as the words left my mouth, I heard a new voice answer me, "Well, then Nugget. How do ya 'spect to get back to the house? I ain't gonna pick ya up and carry ya like a princess." I looked up into the red eyes of a new vampire. He was long and lean, taller than Jasper but just as blonde. It was Yoda, Peter, Petey-Pire himself!

Jasper let out a huge gust of air in relief, "It's about damn time, asshole! Bells said these bastards wanna kill my mate. Can we take 'em out already?"

Once he was quiet, he noticed what the rest of us had already seen. Flocks of birds were bursting from the trees and headed our way. Pete winked at me, "Alright, sis. You're gonna climb on Alice's back. Ali, you stand right there and don't move or speak. Now, I know that's pretty near impossible but you gotta listen. Watch and learn, girls! Your brothers got this, little one. We won't let anyone hurt Ali for ya."

I nodded and let him help me onto Alice's back. It wasn't long before the others showed up. We were in a tiny clearing, maybe a fifty square yards. Alice had backed up to the edge the furthest away from our attackers. As they stepped through the trees, I inspected them. There were three, two blonde men and one red headed woman, all with red eyes. I noticed the older looking man with longer hair staring at Ali. He was trying to burn her with his hateful eyes when he addressed her, "Mary Alice! Its been many years since I've seen you. I was so heartbroken when that idiot changed you. I so enjoyed coming over for my late night sips. Your blood was delectable." His eyes were now black, "Of course, that little morsel on your back will be a welcome compensation."

My tingles were going nuts. I could tell there was something I needed to say, if I didn't then things were going to go sideways, fast. Pete, I have to say it. Are you ready?

He turned to me and winked, giving me permission to start the battle. I took a deep breath and locked my eyes on the asshole who liked to hurt my Alice, "So, uh, you drank from my sister here? Why not just drain her? You used her like your personal unlimited blood keg, you sick son of a bitch! Did you touch her too?"

Instantly, I knew I had hit the right chord. Jasper was so still, he was a frozen pool of hatred and I could sense the tendrils of his rage. Peter nodded, "Yeah, we know what ya did, ya sick fuck. Too bad little Mary Alice is mated to the God of War, Major Jasper Whitlock. I would introduce you but I think he can do that just fine."

My words were the catalyst to unlocking The Major. Jasper was afraid to let him loose with me around and he needed to be loose to kill these monsters. My intuition spiked again and I had to warn Peter. You have to take the female when The Major takes the fucker. She is his mate and can evade but you can take her with your gift. The young blonde will be easy for either of you, he is new.

With a slight smile on his lips, Peter spoke once more, "Major, I have received my orders. Your orders are to rip that motherfucker to pieces. Move!"

Everything was over so fast, I had completely missed the fight. Jasper was standing over what was left the abuser, of which there wasn't much that was recognizable. Peter was tearing off the other blonde's arm when he started laughing. I looked at him in confusion and he answered me.

"It seems Riley here had asthma when he was a human," he held up the medical alert bracelet the arm had on. I lost it, I started laughing so hard that I slid down Alice's back and just laid in the grass, tears of hilarity streaming into the earth. God, Pete, I love you!

He smiled a genuine smile that lit up his beautiful face as he sped to scoop me up. "I love you too, little one. Let's get you home to Char 'fore she gets pissy and tries to rip my manliness off for bein' late!" Peter ran with me in his arms, Jasper and Alice following us.

I watched as the purple smoke rolled through the sky and I smiled, snuggling deeper into my brother's arms. My family isn't to be tested. We do not fail.