Alice's POV

We were on our way to Seattle for a day of major shopping, when I was suddenly hit with a vision. I could see Emmett snuggling up to Carlisle like a clingy toddler. That's strange. Then I saw Rosalie who had a look of utter shock on her face. Frustrated that my vision ended there, I quickly told Jasper to pull over the car, and ran directly home.

As I was nearing the house, I could sense both Jasper and Edward running close behind me. With the sudden outbursts of yelling in the house, all three of us increased our speed, and rushed into the main entrance of the house. Rosalie looked at all of us with mortification and embarrassment, upon realising her outburst was witnessed by the whole family. She quickly recomposed herself, and marched into the kitchen. Never in the years I have known Rosalie, had I ever seen her express such raw emotions. Something major must have occurred.

"What happened, Carlisle? Why did I see Emmett cuddling up to you? What's with Rosalie? What were you guys talking about?" I asked, eager to find out the cause for all these odd behaviours.

Instead of answering my questions, Carlisle asked us to all take in a deep breath, and smell the scent on him. Wow! The refreshing scent of freshly picked passion fruits and guava surrounded every part of my body like a warm tropical breeze, making me suddenly feel very playful and high-spirited. Now I get why Emmett got all giddy and cuddly with Carlisle.

I looked around me, and noticed everyone in the room also seemed happy and smiley. How interesting.

"So what did you smell? How are you all feeling?" Carlisle asked intrigued.

"The smell reminds me of the soothing winter balm my mother use to rub on me when I was sick as a child. I'm feeling the same sense of calmness and contentment I did back then." Jasper described.

"I can smell fresh pine forest and sandalwood. It's pleasant, and brings me back to the memories of my first beloved grand piano." Edward said thoughtfully.

I also shared what I smelt, and how I felt. Carlisle looked deep in thought for a moment, then elaborated on who this scent on him belonged to. He also told us about everything that had happened with him since meeting Bella at the hospital.

I was very intrigued now. How does one human girl have the power to ignite such strong personal reactions from a whole coven of vampires? I can't wait to meet her.

Rosalie's POV

After that embarrassingly unexpected outburst of mine, I felt very exposed and vulnerable. Feeling quite bottomed out, I couldn't seem to muster up enough energy to build up my previous walls, so I walked into the kitchen to give myself some physical space away from prying eyes.

I could see Esme had laid out her mountains of baked good across the entire kitchen island. I couldn't help but smile while imagining all the happy children that will be stuffing their little faces with these sugary treats in no time. I picked up the packaging and started helping Esme wrap up the treats, trying to keep myself busy. I could hear the conversations still going on in the foyer, and couldn't believe just how powerful this Bella's scent seemed to be. Why am I so affected by her? Why do I feel so protective of her already? Why can't I stop thinking about her? She's just another human nobody that will risk exposing us, right? We need to stay away from her. Ouch! My heart! What the fuck? Okay, fine...we will let it be. Sigh...

"Rosie, dear? Do you want to talk about it?" Esme asked suddenly standing opposite to me, wrapping the treats as well.

"I'm okay for now, thanks. It's just a lot to digest at the moment." I replied softly.

"I understand. Why don't you join me and Carlisle tonight at the charity fundraiser. I'm sure the children there could help take your mind off whatever is bothering you." Esme suggested.

I thought about it, and agree it was a good idea, but just as I was about to answer Esme, Alice burst into the kitchen followed by all my siblings.

"We're coming too! Bella will be there with Chief Swan! It will be a very interesting night!" Alice squealed while jumping up and down like a hyperactive child.

Hearing what Alice just announced, I instantly wanted to change my mind about going. But before I could get a word in, my dumb fuck of a brother just had to open his stupid mouth...

"Hell yea! Shotgun on first hugs with my little hot waffle!" yelled Emmett.

Over my dead body, you will! I found myself screaming in my head. I marched over to Emmett and yanked him by his left ear.

"You listen to me, boy! You touch her in any way without my permission, or you scare her at all, I will rip off your favourite toy, and use it to smash up every gaming system you hold dearest to you. Understand?!" I growled out loudly.

I could feel Esme's hand lightly squeeze my shoulder, trying to tell me to calm down, but I just couldn't. The thought of anyone touching My Bella just made me so furious! I kept yanking and growling threats at Emmett until I felt he genuinely understood my message.

Once I let go of Emmett's ear, Alice giggled and clapped her hands enthusiastically. What is she up to now?

"Great! We will all be going tonight then." Alice said with a sly smile.

That sneaky clairvoyant bitch! You just wait...

.

.

.

.

Bella's POV

After what felt like a very long nap in the car, I finally got shaken awake by Charlie. He smiled at me softly and announced that we have arrived. I got out of the car, did a few stretches to loosen out my muscle kinks, and followed Charlie towards what I assume was the community centre.

The place looked quite similar to the scouts hall I use to go to as a kid, except this place was bigger, and definitely much more well maintained. I could see a group of teenagers playing basketball on the court next to the building, and random kids running around everywhere. Once inside the building, Charlie walked us over to the main function hall where I could hear a lot of music and chatter.

The closer we got to the hall, the more I could feel dread and anxiety building up inside me.

Ever since I was young, I didn't do well with attending social events. My heart wanted to go make friends and be outgoing, but my brain made me extremely awkward and anxious. The moment we entered the hall, and all eyes turned to look at us, a sense of something bad started setting in. I was feeling light headed, and wanted to either vomit or pass out. Perhaps both. Charlie looked at me very concerned, seeing as my face was very flushed and my body was stiffening. He led me to sit down on a chair in a quiet corner, and told me to wait there of a moment. Oh god! Oh god! He left me alone! Why is it so hot in here? Why is it so hard to breath?! I think I'm having a panic attack! Shit! Shit! Shit!

In the midst of my hyperventilation, I vaguely felt someone kneel down next to me. I could feel a soothing cool hand rub circles around my back, and hear a calm gentle reassuring voice encouraging me to take in deep breaths. Finally, after what felt like forever, i felt myself ease up, and gain better awareness of my surroundings. Mmm feels so nice. Wanting to see who my comforter was, I finally opened my eyes, and looked up. Holy shit...

Locking eyes with me was a beautiful blond goddess. Her overwhelming beauty had me speechless, and unable to form a coherent sentence. She smiled at me, swiped some hair out of my face and said "Hi, I'm Rosalie."

Oh. My. God...

Rosalie's POV

I decided to drive my own car to the venue. I told my family I would meet them there as soon as I've hunted one more time. I needed to let out some steam if I was going to be stuck in a room full of humans for a whole night.

After feeling much more in control of myself, I finally got out of my car and reluctantly strolled into the community centre. I could see Esme fussing over some kids at the dessert table, my siblings stand to one side huddled away from the humans, and Carlisle talking to who I believe was Chief Swan. I could hear Chief Swan telling Carlisle about how Bella looked sick. I swiftly turned my head to where he was wildly gesturing to, and there in the quiet corner, I could finally see her. Bella. MY Bella. MY MATE! Oh my God...Bella was MY MATE!

Telling Carlisle I would go take care of Bella, I quickly rushed at a humanly possible pace over to where she was sitting. My heart hurt seeing Bella like this. I wanted to just scoop her up onto my lap, and kiss away all her pain and anxieties, but I knew I shouldn't. Well not yet anyway. So instead, I opted to kneel by her side, talk to her, and rub what I was hoping were soothing circles on her back. Once her panic attack subsided, she seemed to realise I was next to her. That adorable look she gave me when we locked eyes, oh how I wanted to smother her face in kisses. Don't lose control. I told myself. Don't scare her off.

Not being able to deny myself of at least some form of affection towards Bella, I reached my hand out, brush some hair out of her lovely face, and said "Hi, I'm Rosalie."

She was so precious! One simple greeting from me, and my poor Bella was all flustered again. At least this time it was out of shyness, not anxiety. For a few moments, she just stared at me with a face of a million thoughts, then as if snapping out of some sort of trance, she finally replied in a timid voice "Hi, I'm Bella."

Wanting to make my mate feel more comfortable around me, I stood up and invited her to come get some food and drinks with me. I wanted to laugh at how quickly her face lit up at the mention of food. It was like she became a whole different person from the shy timid girl sitting there just moments ago. Well I guess she's food motivated.

I boldly grabbed Bella's hand, and walked with her over to where all the food was placed. I could see Esme still there, so I walked over to her with Bella in tow.

"Hi Mom, this beautiful girl here is Bella. Bella, this is my wonderful mom." I introduced.

"Well hello, Bella! I'm Esme. It's so nice to meet you." Esme greeted with her warm motherly smile.

"Hi Esme, it's nice to meet you too." Bella replied shyly. My Bella has an Australian accent? How unexpected. Her eyes then drifted off to all the food on the table, and I had a feeling I would be losing Bella's attention to the food very soon. I could see on Bella's face that she really wanted to try the food, but perhaps because of shyness, she refrained from doing anything about it. Instead, she looked around the hall as if trying to find something, or maybe someone.

Being the wonderfully observant mother that Esme is and forever will be, she took it upon herself to start piling up plates of food for Bella. She then placed them on a nearby table, and invited Bella over.

"Bella dear, come sit over here and eat. I want you to taste all these distinguished dishes, each made by the very best cooks of Forks. And make sure you get a second helping of my famous Mac and cheese." Esme said with a wink.

I tried not to show my disappointment when Bella squeezed my hand lightly, then let go. She made a beeline towards Esme, and her multiple plates of Fork's 'famous' dishes without looking back at me. Stupid smelly food.

"Being ditched for food. Ouch!" I heard Emmett comment teasingly from the other side of the room. As much as I wanted to go over and rain fire on his sorry ass, I really wanted to immediately follow Bella over to where she was now eating with Esme.

Before I made my way there though, I realised I better go introduce myself to Chief Swan first, to make a good impressions, and also to let him know Bella was feeling better. Taking one final longing look at my mate, who was currently being fussed over by Esme, I went in search for the Chief.

Chief Swan was standing by the ticket booth writing something, so I headed over to talk to him.

"Excuse me, Chief Swan, sorry to interrupt. My name is Rosalie Cullen, Carlisle Cullen's daughter. I just wanted to let you know, Bella is feeling much better now, and is currently eating over there by the food area with my mom." I informed him politely, pointing to their direction.

I could see the man was startled by my sudden presence, but quickly composed himself. He looked over to where I said Bella was, and his face became one of relief and amusement.

"Hello, Rosalie. I want to thank you for helping Bella just now. Your father reassured me that you would be the best person for the job, and I can see he was right. So thank you." Chief Swan sincerely replied.

"No need to thank me, Chief Swan. It was my pleasure to be able to help Bella. My Bella. She seems like a lovely girl. I'd really like to get to know her, and hopefully become good friends. And lovers." I charmingly told Chief Swan.

Chief Swan laughed awkwardly and said he would appreciate having someone like me befriend his daughter. After a bit of idol chitchat, I smiled at him politely, and excused myself. I was missing my mate already, and was desperate to be near her again. A few minutes away from her honestly felt like too long. Walking as quickly and gracefully as I could, I rushed back over to where my timid beauty sat, contently eating everything Esme pointed at. How is she so adorable, even when stuffing her mouth full of disgusting human food. From the looks of how Esme was fretting over Bella, I think Esme has just found herself a new baby Swan.

I took a seat next to Bella, and placed my hand on her lower back. She didn't seem to mind at all. That's a good sign. She looked up at me, mouth still full of food, and gave me the happiest closed mouth grin I've ever seen. Well someone is happy to see me.

"Are you enjoying the food, dear?" I asked Bella affectionately.

"Mmhmm! All these food tastes amazing, but I think Esme's Mac and cheese is a clear winner." Bella shared zealously. She must really love her food.

I could see Esme and Bella getting quite smitten with each other already. Bella seemed to have warmed up to Esme, and was becoming quite talkative with her. She allowed Esme to stroke her hair, and accepted random sample of dishes being offered to her. In normal circumstances, a vampire would probably become quite jealous and threatened by anyone who wasn't them interacting with their mate like that, but I wasn't. Somehow, my inner beast knew my mate needed Esme's maternal affections. It's quite the sight to see really, but in that moment, I wish it was me that was touching and feeding Bella like that. I wanted to get to know Bella. I wanted her to grow close to me too.

"So, Bella, I was thinking. Since you are new to Fork's, would you like to hang out with me this weekend? I could show you around, help you unpack your things, and maybe do something fun? What do you think?" I asked Bella nervously. I really hope I sound more confident to her than I'm feeling.

Bella thought for a moment, and suddenly leaned in giving me a very warm hug. "That sounds perfect, Rosalie. Thanks for being so nice to me. And thank you for helping me just now, you've made my time here feel so much better already."

I hugged her back eagerly, and was disappointed when she let me go. But seeing that excited smile on her face, and hearing her so willing to accept my invitation of spending more time together, I knew I had hope. I will get my warm hugs again. Hopefully something else too.

As she resumes her task of demolishing the plates of food, I couldn't help but lightly ran my thumb across one of her smooth cheeks, pretending to wipe a bit of crumb away for her. She didn't seem to mind, and gave me another sweet smile. As she moved on to start on her plates of desserts, I could hear Emmett's whiny voice talking to me from somewhere.

"Rosie~ Rosie Posie~ Could we come meet Waffles yet? You've already hogged her the whole night! It's not fair you let Esme play with her, but not me. Pleaseee!" Emmett begged.

Using a whispered growl I replied Emmett, "No one is 'playing' with her. Fine, you can all come meet her. Just give us another give 10 minutes. And Emmett, when you come over here, make sure you keep your stupid nicknames, AND hands to yourself. My previous threats still stand."

I sighed internally as I watched Bella inhale her desserts happily. She really was something special. Never in my entire existence would I have imagined finding the sight of a human girl chowing down her dessert...cute. Is this what all mated pairs feel? Would it be too selfish of me to want to keep Bella all to myself? With all the enthusiasm I'm getting from my family in regards to My Bella, I have a feeling my alone time with Bella will be far and few. Wanting to savour these few more moments of peace with just her, I picked up Bella's free hand, and just held it in mine.

"HI BELLA! HOW'S IT GOING? THE NAME'S EMMETT!" my idiot brother suddenly yelled while standing on the opposite end of our table.

Bella jumped in fright, and started coughing and wheezing. She must have choked on the brownies she was eating. If I wasn't so focused on making sure my mate didn't choke to death, I would have tried to kill Emmett right there. He scared the shit out of my poor Bella. And because of his juvenile antics, my mate was now suffering.

"EMMETT CULLEN, YOU MARCH YOURSELF OUT THAT DOOR, AND WAIT BY THE CAR FOR ME. I EXPECTED BETTER FROM YOU!" I could hear Esme angrily whisper yell. I could see a sulking Emmett being escorted out by Jasper and Edward.

With all the coughing, wheezing, and frantic actions of our family, we have attracted the attention of pretty much every single person at the venue. I don't blame them really. As Cullens, we are stared at anyway, throw in the mix of a new girl in town, AND a frantic chief of police running across the room with a bottle of water, well, it really was a sight to see.

Bella's POV

It has been 15 minutes since the whole Emmett induced choking episode. I have calmed down significantly, and was no long tearing up or wheezing. In the process of soothing my coughing fits, I had somehow ended up sitting on Rosalie's lap sideways. I was in heaven. Her arms were wrapped securely around my waist, and every now and then, I could feel her and Esme pat out any lingering coughs I made. Finally feeling much better, I started focusing more on my surroundings. To my surprise, I could see the table was now full of people. Esme, Carlisle, Charlie, and Alice? were all there waiting for me to fully recover it seemed. Such a lovely bunch. Realising all the eyes were on me, a familiar feeling of embarrassment, and self-consciousness sinked in. Oh god, I've troubled everyone. I've made everyone stop what they were doing just to assist me. I tried to wriggle off Rosalie's lap to stand up, but I couldn't. Rosalie had tightened her hold on me and turned my face to look at her.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" the beautiful goddess asked me in her sweet caring voice. God, she needs to stop with her sweet and caring gestures. I could really fall hard for her, and that would not end well. Especially after seeing how buffed up her mate Emmett was. That guy didn't need to be a vampire to kill me. I am screwed. With that train of thought, I quickly stood up from her lap and tried to put some distance between us.

"I..I'm feeling fine now, Rosalie. Thank you so much for all your help. I really appreciate it. Sorry to have taken up so much of your time. I'm okay now. And thank you Dr Cullen and Esme, your help was also appreciated." I nervously rambled out while trying not to linger my eyes on anyone particular.

Rosalie quickly got up off her chair to stand in front of me, firmly placing her hands on my shoulders. "Hey, what's wrong, Bella? Where are you going?" a seemingly confused Rosalie asked.

I avoided eye contact with her trying to come up with some lame excuse to escape this uncomfortable situation, but my mind was blank. Come on, Ella! Think! You need to RUN! RUN!

"N..nothing is wrong. I just thought maybe you would prefer to spend some time with your own friends and family, m..maybe your boyfriend? You don't have to worry about me. I'll be okay on my own now. I'm sure my dad will be ready to go home soon anyway." I stuttered out lamely to Rosalie.

I could see Rosalie's mouth moving and her hand cupping me face, but in that moment, all I could hear was my heart pounding hard over the deafening silence in my mind. What was happening? Why am I on extreme flight mode again? Was it the fear of me angering that beefcake vampire? Was it the worry of developing a hopeless crush on a straight goddess? Maybe it's the dread of becoming a burden or pity case again?

Ultimately, I believe it was my defence mechanism working on hyper drive mode again. It remembered the old me. The me that needed to guard her already fragile, beat up, old heart...