A.N - As much as I love not going to school, boredom's a bitch. I'm so sorry for the delay. Again. All my chapters seem to say that. It's true in any case.

Hope you're still with me.


Seven

"I have to get you out of here, Bella." Edward could feel their time together coming to an end, due in large part to the gradually increasing repulsive scent of Jacob Black getting closer. "I need to talk to you. Will you come with me?"

His hand remained wrapped around hers the whole journey. The long, pianist fingers curled elegantly around her own, encompassing her hand in an icy cage of possession, as his other hand wrapped around the steering wheel. Edward barely glanced at the road, his eyes, for the most part, remained solely on Bella and her reactions.

"You aren't scared?" He asked, wonder lacing every syllable that left his lips. "Worried that we'll crash?"

She shook her head, locks of brown waves falling over her pale face as she did so, and glanced up at him with wide, trusting eyes. "No." Her voice was strong; there was conviction in her words. "You wouldn't hurt me."

If only Edward could be as sure. Each passing second with her seemed like an eternity. His own personal, ever-lasting hell to be tempted by the rich fragrance of her blood pumping quickly beneath the surface of her skin and the flutter of her heartbeat quickening as she noticed his eyes had grown black with hunger.

"Would you?"

"No, Bella." Forcefully, he tore his eyes away and looked out at the wet road ahead of them. Raindrops lashed at the windscreen. "I wouldn't."

Not if I can help it.


Only when they had entered the Cullen household did their hands separate. The rush of warm air that brushed against her now chilled fingers was almost scalding in comparison.

"Stay here, Bella, darling," his word were accompanied with a swift kiss to her temple and the swipe of a cold finger along the curve of her cheek. Smiling at her, he turned and called out for Carlisle.

The words spoken between the two were too low and too quick for Bella's understanding. As it was, Edward was apparently talking to himself, for Carlisle didn't open his mouth once. There were however short snatches of time where silence reigned in the house, before Edward continued, as if answering something that had gone unspoken.

Bella bit her lip gently, thinking.

"So, why Jacob?" Edward insisted. "I know he's not here for educational purposes – I could hear his –"

The sentence had gone unfinished but the words weren't too difficult to figure out. 'I could hear his thoughts.' Was that something that Billy had left out of his horror stories? Could vampires read minds?

She looked over at the pair once again, noticing Edward's mouth moving rapidly to get out the words that had forced a frown to settle upon his perfect face. Or was it just Edward?

"Carlisle!" A second voice joined in, followed by a third person joining the room. She was small and waif-like, a vampire pixie. Alice. "I see them. They're coming."

Edward looked up sharply, eyes narrowing at his sister before resting on Bella.

"Who?" Bella asked quietly, as Alice realised what she'd done - what she'd revealed - and turned to Bella with round eyes and an impossibly pale face.

Her vampire was by her side in less then a second, wrapping his strong arms around her as he whispered everything in her ear.

"I didn't want you to know," he started. "I didn't want to scare you. But, Bella, your knowledge of us … of me … Bella, it's not good. Humans must never know of our existence. The Volturi deemed it so."

Bella's nose wrinkled in confusion. "The Volturi?"

"Yes," Edward smiled, kissed her nose. "They're like Vampire Royalty. We live by their rules. And they say that if a human discovers that vampires are real, they must be killed."

The rapid acceleration of her heartbeat in his ears was all that betrayed her fear.

"I won't tell anyone," she whispered into his chest, blinking back tears. "I promise you, I won't tell.

Silence punctuated the room until, "You told Jacob?"

Edward's voice was cool and detached.

"They were just stories, Edward." Bella's voice rang with sincerity. "They weren't supposed to be true. And then I saw you and I just … I was scared. You weren't supposed to exist. I needed someone to tell me that I wasn't going crazy. That my nightmares weren't coming true."

She made a mental note to talk to Jacob when she got home. He wouldn't tell anyone, not if her life was in danger. Of that she was sure.

He stiffened with his arms around her and turned his head to look at Alice, who merely nodded in response. A growl rumbled through Edward's chest as he caught her in a possessive grip and his fingers tightened their grasp of her upper arm. His eyes, Bella saw, were flecked with amber. "Whatever you just decided. Don't."

Her eyes narrowed. "I can't decide to not go home, Edward."

"You can when your future goes black, Bella. You can't go home. I can't keep an eye on you there."

Bella pulled away from his hold, anger radiating from her in waves. "You don't have to keep an eye on me at all - I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself!"

"Have you not heard a word I've said?" Edward's anger was more terrifying than she could've thought. His words bit at her. "There is a death order on you, Bella. There is a very real possibility that you can die." His voice shook. "I will not let you do anything that could take you away from me."

Speechless, Bella nodded and kissed his cheek acceptingly before reluctantly leaving his embrace. Her arms came up to wrap around herself. "What about Billy? What do I tell him?"

Distractedly, Edward muttered, "Tell him you're staying over a friend's house."

Bella nodded again, her eyes focused on the floor.

"Bella, I'm sorry." Edward ducked his head to see her eyes. "I really am. Just, please, understand. I'm terrified. I've searched for almost one hundred years to find you. You can't be taken away from me after less than a week."

Bella's nose wrinkled in confusion once again. "Just how old are you?"

Laughing, Edward captured her lips with his, kissing her slowly and testing how far he could give himself over completely without feeling the need to sink his teeth into her skin. "That, my darling, is a story for another day." The sweet kisses he placed against her lips left her breathless.

Smiling, she kissed him again. "And what about Jacob? He'll know, Edward. He won't believe the stories that I tell Billy."

"Jacob?" Edward stared at the far wall, his eyes glazing slightly as he thought of something, remembering. "Of course, Jacob! He can help us. Alice?"

She shook her head. "I can't see. It's just … black."

"Why does that keep happening?" Bella demanded.

"I think, Bella," Edward turned to smile his perfect white teeth at her, "that it's time for you to talk to your Jacob. He has been keeping secrets from you."