EPOV

What. The. Hell.

Did that really happen? I stared off into the darkness, completely floored, as my golden-eyed goddess disappeared into the darkness of the night ... again.

I ran my fingers through my hair, frustrated, as I turned and started to walk back to the station. I'd come in tonight to catch up on some paperwork that I had been neglecting since I'd taken on the new case. I never expected to run into her at the station, of all places. I was still in shock over what had transpired.

She was just as beautiful as I remembered - even moreso. I found that she was even hotter when dressed in normal street clothes, than what I had seen her wearing in the alley that night.

Shit!

I felt my pants tighten painfully as I thought about those deep, topaz eyes and long, silky, chocolate-brown hair. Her voice was like music. Her body was perfect. I didn't think I had ever met someone so beautiful in my life.

I replayed our short conversation over and over again in my head. I hadn't gotten the answers that I wanted from her, and I hadn't even asked the most important question. Was she human? She was so mysterious and evasive. Why? How had she found that kid? So many questions were buzzing through my mind, and I needed answers.

Bella. Bella Swan.

I vowed to find her again. I had to find her again. Not only did I need to know what she knew about the businessman murders, I needed to know more about her. Never in my life had I felt such a strong connection to a woman - an indescribable pull that threw out every notion about women that I had ever had. I was a player, pure and simple, but she baffled me and messed up my head in ways that I couldn't fathom. Maybe I just needed to fuck her to clear my head. Yeah, that was it; I just needed to fuck her, and then I could get her out of my mind. I was Edward Cullen. There wasn't a woman in the world that could fucking own me.

Or was there?

Okay, so I had a name. Bella Swan. That had to be short for Isabella, right? How many Isabella Swans could there be in the Chicago area? Maybe there was just one. Who knew?

I sighed, aggravated, as I threw myself down in my desk chair. I could start in the more affluent areas, since that was the direction she'd headed tonight. I couldn't see a girl like her living in the slums, with the dregs of society. No. She was classy. I figured she was probably between the age of twenty-one and twenty-five. I would look up all the Isabella Swans in the north-side suburbs with a birth date of 1986 through 1990. Background checks, public records, real estate. And then, after I narrowed down the list, I would knock on doors if I had to. Perform stake outs. Stalk her. I didn't care. I would find her.

My cell phone started vibrating in my pocket, pulling me abruptly from my thoughts. I quickly answered it. Seeing that it was my mother, I became concerned about why she was calling at this hour of the night.

"Mom? Is everything okay?"

"What? Oh, yes, honey, everything is fine," my mother's gentle voice rang out, and I immediately realized that she was a little bit tipsy.

I laughed softly. My mother rarely ever drank, and she usually only did it when my dad was out of town and her friends were keeping her company.

"Is Dad out of town again?" I asked, grinning as I typed the name Isabella Swan into our computer database. It turned up twenty-six matches. Fuck.

My mom was an interior designer. Very accomplished. She was awesome at what she did, and she could transform even the worst living space into a thing of pure beauty. She was paid the big bucks and worked for celebrities, politicians, multimillion dollar businessmen, you name it. But more importantly, she was the sweetest, kindest person I had ever known.

My mother giggled on the other end of the phone, and I heard a loud bang and another giggle. "What makes you think that, Edward? But since you asked, yes, Emmett and your father are at a conference in some podunk town in Washington State for the next few days. Something about an investigator meeting for a new medication. I don't know the specifics. But I was calling you because - wait, why was I calling you? Oh, that's right. You know I went out with some of the girls from my office tonight, and Edward, I think that I should fix you up with one of them. Her name is Claire, and she is just the sweetest thing! She's blonde and tall, and she's a wonderful designer. I wouldn't be surprised if she had her own company in just a few years, with her talent. She's twenty-five, just like you, and-"

"Mom!" I said loudly into the phone, effectively cutting her off. "Is this why you are calling me so late, to tell me about some woman you want to set me up with?" I asked incredulously. My eyes were wide, and I pulled at my hair in frustration. "Because you seem to forget that I have no problem getting women, Ma. I don't need you to play matchmaker for me."

"Oh, I know that you have no problem getting women, sweetheart. You just have a problem keeping them," she huffed.

I let my forehead drop with a thud onto the smooth, chestnut wood of my desk, and I took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. I hated getting frustrated with my mother; she was an amazing woman and deserved the utmost respect from her children.

"I don't want to keep them, Mom. I'm happy being single."

Or... I was happy being single, until Bella had implanted herself into my thoughts, completely disrupting everything inside of my head and leaving it a jumbled mess of irrational thinking.

"I don't want to be set up. No," I said softly, not wanting to upset her.

I heard her sigh on the other end of the phone, and I could just see the eye roll that she gave me.

I smiled to myself. My mother meant well, she really did. I knew that she wanted to see me find someone nice and settle down. I'd always been the child that did everything other than what my parents wanted me to do. I hadn't done it intentionally, or to rebel against them. I'd done it because it was what I wanted to do. Who I was. I wasn't like my mom, my dad, Emmett, or even Alice. I didn't follow the patterns that were set for me. I had always been the one who'd march to the beat of a different drum, and I was okay with that - my family, not so much. But they still loved me, regardless of the decisions that I had made over the years, and they learned to accept them. That is why I knew that my mother would let this go, and that I would find that someone eventually. On my own terms. Even though I was a player and had lots of fun just sleeping around with no strings attached, I knew that someday, I wanted to settle down with a wife and a couple of kids. Someday ... that meant not now.

"Okay, Edward. No match-making. I got it. But honey, I just worry about you so much," she said, sighing softly into the phone. "Anyway, the real reason I was calling you was to ask you to have lunch with me tomorrow. With your father being away, I get so lonely and need to catch up with my lovely children from time to time. So what do you say? Around noon? I was thinking we could go to Manja, near my office."

I checked my calendar on the computer to make sure I didn't have anything to do tomorrow at noon. "That's fine, Mom. Noon would be great. I'll see you then, okay?"

"Okay, honey, sounds good. I love you, Edward. So much. I just want you to be happy," she whispered.

I shook my head, even though I knew she couldn't see me, and felt a burst of love for her. "I know, Mom. I am happy. I promise."

And as I said those words, for the first time ever, I might not have believed them. Damn that Mystery Girl.

"I love you, too, Mom. I'll see you tomorrow, then. Take some Tylenol and drink lots of water before you go to sleep, okay?"

"Of course, honey. I'll see you tomorrow."

I said goodbye and hung up the phone, sliding it back into my jeans pocket, my thoughts drifting back to Bella...again.

I sighed and leaned back in my chair, scrubbing my hands over my face. I heard a commotion coming from the front of the building and slid my chair out, climbing to my feet to go check it out. A woman was holding a small child in her arms, crying hysterically as he hugged her back fiercely. She was chanting, "My baby, my baby," over and over again. The tears in her eyes glistened as she smiled and peppered the little boy with kisses all over his face.

The little boy was just as hysterical as his mother was, but the relief and joy was evident in his tear-filled eyes. It got worse when one of our cops walked through the door with the man who must have been the boy's father, the one who'd kidnapped him. They escorted him in cuffs quickly into a separate room so as to not traumatize the little boy any further. He would be going to jail for a long, long time. The little boy and his mother would be free.

The scene really touched my heart, and I smiled to myself, knowing that Bella had done this. I didn't care how mysterious or inhuman she was. She was good and kind-hearted and beautiful.

I was going to know her.

BPOV

"Rose!" I yelled needlessly, as I slammed the door to our house and threw my keys on the table. I knew she'd probably heard my conversation with James outside, but I wanted to give her boy toy, who I knew was in her bed, an appropriate warning.

I threw myself down on the sofa and covered my face with my hands, groaning as I went over the events of the night in my mind. Edward Cullen. Green eyes, bronze hair, chiseled jaw, a toned body that had my toes curling in my Chucks.

I remembered every tiny aspect of his face with unsurpassed clarity, thanks to my superior vampire mind. I recalled every line around his eyes when he smiled, the two tiny scars embedded into the skin on his cheek - probably remnants of his years on the force. I could see in my mind every beautiful strand of copper hair that fell into his eyes, and his piercing eyes reminded me of an aquamarine sea, a mix between green and blue. I remembered everything about him. Why? Why was he affecting me like this? I needed to talk to Rosalie. She was going to have a field day with this. Bella Swan falling for a man. Not just any man... A fragile human that I could break in half without even meaning to.

I didn't know how Rosalie did it. She had human lovers on a regular basis - well, she only had human lovers. She'd never been with a vampire. I called her a succubus, even though she hated that term with a passion. She told me that she'd found it very easy to be with human men, and that it took just a little practice to control her strength, at first, but it'd gotten easier the more she did it. She said that most men liked it on the rougher side, anyway.

I rolled my eyes at that thought. It wasn't like Rosalie was a total slut or anything. She had two constants that she was with on a regular basis. Of course, they both wanted to have a relationship with her, but she made it clear that she wasn't into relationships. She knew a relationship with a human would be hard, if not impossible. I knew that she wished she had someone, though. I think that she was waiting for that someone - a mate, in the vampire world. Someone she would have to share our secret with and change eventually. We both knew that there were no other vampires out there in this universe for us - none that lived the way we did. Except James.

I groaned again and threw my head into the soft pillow, burying my face in it.

"What's the matter with you?" Rose asked as she walked into the room, tying up her robe.

I picked my head up from the pillow and blew the hair out of my face, shooting her a pathetic look. "I saw that cop again tonight."

Rosalie's face lit up, her elegant features looked angelic. "Oooh, the hottie from the alley? Shut up, where?" She sat on the edge of the couch, smiling like a loon.

"At the police station, when I dropped off Garrett."

Her smile grew wider, and she raised one perfect eyebrow. "And? What happened? Did you talk to him?" she prodded. "Did you fuck him?"

I gasped and sat up in a flash. "Yeah, Rose, I threw him down right there on the police station floor and had my wicked way with him. Really?" She truly did bewilder me at times.

"Then what's the problem? Why are you acting like your dog just died or something?"

I let out a whine and threw my head back into the pillows. I shouldn't have said anything to her. I really didn't want to have this conversation right now. I didn't want to let on that a man actually had me completely frazzled. Things like this didn't happen to me, and we both knew it.

Her eyes widened at my silence, and she laughed, smacking me on my leg, hard.

"Ow! Rose, what the hell?" I rubbed my leg and sent her a death glare.

"You like him! Like, really like him!"

I shook my head emphatically, trying to deny her incredibly true theory, but Rosalie just kept smiling at me knowingly, and I let out another whine and covered my face with my hands.

I lifted my head out of my hands and stuck my nose is the air. The air around me changed faintly, and I caught the slightest scent of something so vague, I wasn't sure if I actually smelled it. But I did. I knew what it was - or who it was. Why couldn't James just leave me the hell alone? I growled softly and scrubbed my face with my hands.

Rosalie saw my reaction and nodded. "Yeah, I know. He's out there. Lurking, and most likely eavesdropping, probably more often than not." She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.

She sighed and moved to sit next to me on the couch, pulling my hands away from my face and speaking lowly, "What's the matter, B, huh? So what if you like this Edward guy? What's wrong with that?" She rubbed my cheek lovingly and gave me a warm smile. "I think you are over-thinking and totally overreacting. Maybe he's the one. Did you even think of that?"

I laughed dryly and looked at her. "I don't even know him, Rose. I don't know anything about him. We had a five minute conversation after he chased me from the station and-"

"Wait. He chased you?" She eyed me carefully, and I nodded. She smirked. "And he caught you? Shit, Bella, you really do like him."

"That's just it, Rose. I shouldn't have stopped. I knew that I should have kept going, but everything inside of me was being pulled back to him, like a magnet. I can't even describe it. The way it felt when he touched me-"

"He touched you?" She giggled.

"Rose, focus!" I huffed, and she put her hands out in surrender, urging me to continue. "I don't know how to explain it. No one has ever affected me this way before. I don't know what it means, and I'm freaking out. When he grabbed my arm, it was so hot - like, really hot. His fingers burned through my clothes to my skin, but it felt really good. No human's touch has ever been that hot. And when our hands touched skin to skin..." I stopped and stared into Rose's eyes with what I'm sure was a dreamy look on my stupid face. "It was like a bolt of energy, a shockwave that just spread through my entire body, and I panicked and took off. I didn't know what else to do. I was so freaked out!"

Rosalie sighed and pulled me close again, running her fingers through my hair and resting her chin on the top of my head. "Sounds to me like he just may be the one."

"And what if he is? It doesn't mean anything. I'm a vampire, and he's a human. It won't work. And not to mention, it's against the vampire rules! I could get him killed." Rose tried to interrupt me but I cut her off, "No, it's impossible. Not to mention that I think James would go completely psychotic." I raised my voice at the end so the voyeur lurking around outside could hear me loud and clear. Jerk-off.

I was interrupted by the shrill ring of my cell phone in my jacket pocket, and I jumped up to answer it. A number that I didn't recognize showed up on the screen, and my brow furrowed in confusion as I flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Hello. May I speak to Isabella Swan?"

"Yes, this is she."

"Hello, Isabella. My name is Heidi, and I'm calling from Forks General Memorial Hospital. I'm calling to inform you that there has been an accident involving your father, Charles Swan."

My dead heart jumped, and then dropped to my feet, as I internally started to panic. Oh God.

"I-Is he okay?" I whispered, as Rosalie left the couch and was by my side in less than a second, obviously hearing the entire conversation from both ends. She laid a hand on my arm, her eyes filled with worry.

"He was hit by a car out on the highway during a traffic stop. He has multiple broken bones, fractured ribs, lacerations, and a concussion, but the doctor says his prognosis looks good."

Rose and I both breathed a sigh of relief as I let out a dry sob.

The woman on the phone continued. "If you would like to speak with his doctor, I can have him call you-"

"No. That won't be necessary. I'll be on the next flight out. Thank you."

I hung up the phone and turned to Rose, giving her a blank look. Without a word, she whipped my phone out of my hand and called the airport to book tickets for the next possible flight, while pushing me to my bedroom and pulling out my suitcase. When she booked two seats on a six a.m. direct flight into Seattle, I smiled at her gratefully.

"What?" she asked, scurrying to her own room, where she ignored the sleeping man in her bed. "You didn't think I would let you go alone, did you? Not when Jacob and the wolfpack will be within a ten mile radius of you."

Right... I'd forgotten about Jake. We'd managed to escape Forks two years ago, before the wolves descended upon us. After popping in a pair of dark brown contacts and a make-up session with Rosalie to tone down my enhanced features, I'd regretfully said goodbye to my dad. He'd been stunned, to say the least, and although Charlie was usually a man of few words and not one to show emotion, he'd tearfully begged me to stay. He did not understand why I would just up and leave everything behind to go to Chicago. I'd explained to him that I needed to get away from Forks and start fresh in a new city, and that I was unhappy in our small town. It had broken my heart to lie to my dad and leave him. I was his only daughter and virtually his world, but I didn't have a choice.

We'd kept in contact, but I had not been back since, much to his dismay. However, I did not keep in contact with Jake. I think he knew what had happened to me, because, apparently, the smell of a vampire to a wolf is unmistakable. My dad had mentioned to me in one of our phone calls that Jake had gone looking for me at my apartment before he learned of my departure. He had to have smelled me, and since he knew I wasn't dead, I was sure that he had figured out my fate. He had tried to call me a few times, but I'd just let it go to voicemail, and he hadn't left a message.

###

The flight to Seattle was long and boring, and it didn't help that I was anxious to get to my dad. I wanted to see with my own eyes that he was really okay and do whatever I could to make him comfortable during his recovery. I worried so much about him as it was, being all alone. I knew he had a lot of friends to occupy his time and go fishing with, when he wasn't watching sports on the couch with a six-pack of Vitamin R, but I just hoped that he was taking care of himself - and that he was happy. I didn't know how long Rosalie and I would have to stay, but I just hoped we made it in and out of there without any trouble from the wolves. Something told me that wasn't going to happen.

When we arrived at the airport, I could immediately smell the wet Seattle weather - a mixture of maple, pine, and everything that was green. It smelled wonderful. It smelled like home.

Rosalie looked at me knowingly and smiled. "There's nothing quite like it, is there?"

I shook my head and smiled back, eager to get a car and be on our way.

The four hour drive to Forks took us approximately two and a half hours at top speed. I rented a sweet white Audi with dark tinted windows at the car rental place, the fastest and most expensive car that they had, and I was glad I had. I pushed it to its limits, taking the winding curves with ease, reveling in the feeling of the power and sheer velocity at which we traveled down the familiar roads. Rose sat restlessly in the passenger seat, itching to get the pedal under her own foot. You couldn't drive like this in Chicago, and since she had a passion for beautiful, fast cars and knew everything about them, it was painful for her to not be behind the wheel.

I smirked at her as I maneuvered the car down the slick, leaf covered roads, pushing a hundred and ten miles per hour. It was gloomy, as usual - the best kind of weather for Rose and me to be out in. The sun rarely ever made an appearance in Forks, and when it did, the people of the town took complete advantage of it. But not today. The dark, cloud-covered sky opened up when we were almost to our destination, and the cold Washington rain came pounding down on us. It wouldn't be home if it wasn't raining, right?

I slowed down as we got closer to town, enjoying the drive down the forest-enclosed roads.

Rosalie suddenly gripped my wrist tightly and said, "Oh my God!"

I didn't know how I hadn't seen them or smelled them, for Christ's sake, but they were there. All of them, I would presume. In the distance, there were a total of twelve wolves, and they were standing on all fours, completely furry, in some kind of formation that would not allow us to escape around the monstrous beasts. I had a feeling if I tried to drive through them, we would end up with a totaled Audi and twelve really pissed-off wolves.

This isn't good.