Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. In other words, I do not own Twilight.

A/N: Okay, I know my updating is sporadic, but I promise I post as soon as a chapter is written and beta'd. Expect Ch. 9 to take at least until July 10 to post, possibly later. Thanks to Priscilla and jfairman of Project Team Beta for being GOGs (goddesses of grammar) and forcing me to make sense occasionally.


Ch. 8- Man's Best Friend

I was still sitting at the kitchen table, thinking of the conundrum of Edward's and my relationship, loudly tapping a pencil against the bulbous red eye of the tree frog on the cover of my Biology workbook. He looked quite tasty, like a colorful little lollipop, and I knew I needed to eat before I went back to school and faced poor, unaware Mike.

The sound of the house phone ringing broke into my thoughts, and I glanced at the clock, wondering who could be calling. It was a little past four o'clock. I had been sitting and tapping and thinking for nearly two hours, and by now, Jessica would be home and wanting to discuss the beach trip. I contemplated letting the answering machine pick up, but knowing Jessica's persistence, I decided to get it over with and talk to her.

She would pick me up Saturday morning, and we would go to Newton's Olympic Outfitters to meet up with everyone else. The kids with the largest vehicles would drive us to the beach, and she had already scored us the front seats in Mike's suburban; I hoped she didn't notice how fake my "Yay!" sounded. I helped her decide on her outfit (purple sweater and jeans, because no, it wasn't warm enough for the cutoffs and halter top she really wanted to wear), and she asked me what I planned on wearing. Of course, I'd given the matter no thought whatsoever, so I vaguely told her I would wear jeans and a t-shirt (though she seemed to want me to wear a mini-skirt, as if I would ever willingly show off my freakishly pale legs). She sighed but grudgingly assured me that even in a potato sack I would look "hot."

She proceeded to tell me that she had heard about my accident in Biology, and I told her that I had only sprained my wrist. She had also heard that Edward took me to the nurse's office, and she grilled me about our lunchtime conversation and wanted to know every detail of my fainting spell and what it was like to have him "carry me to my rescue like a knight in shining armor, or a really hot fireman." I grimaced at the phone, even though she couldn't see me.

I tried to play it off like it was all no big deal. I told her it was all rather embarrassing, really. Apparently she wasn't quite convinced, though, because in the end she quietly asked me if I would be sitting with her or with Edward at lunch the next day. I laughed and promised to sit with her, but I knew it was only because Edward would be out of school the next day, and I just hoped she wouldn't realize it when she saw that he was absent.

It was a quarter 'til six when we finally hung up, and when I looked out the window into the gathering dusk, I decided to fly out alone to eat, despite Dad's rules. I told myself that my scare earlier in the day justified a little rule breakage, but if I was being honest, I knew I just wanted to see Edward again before Monday. I went upstairs, unlocked and opened my window. I let the clean outside air fill my room, my lungs, and my head. Night fell in a cloak of oranges and pinks, the sun's last rays bowing out over the treetops, and I knew this was the magic to which I belonged.

Dad had called us children of Nyx, the goddess of the night, but it was in the moments when I waited to become Swan and launch myself into the darkness that I best understood this sentiment. My desires to soar across the star-littered sky and prowl upon the creatures that scurried below me were only superseded by my absolute need to be near Edward.

With only the light of the moon streaming through my window, I slid against the wall, out of sight from the ground, and took my clothes off before turning into Swan. As my body shrank, my focus narrowed, any excess emotion falling by the wayside. Swan didn't deliberate and didn't need to think things through; she had a purpose and nothing would stand in her way.

I ambled to the window, hopping up and out before I spread my alabaster wings, their combined span wider than most men were tall. The wrist area in my wing was still a little sore when I moved it, but there was no longer an aching throb like I had felt in my human wrist. I cut through the air like a torpedo through water, and the moisture that was ever present on the Olympic Peninsula gathered on my back and fell off my tail-feathers. I felt refreshed, newly baptized, and my pleasure only heightened when I finally reached the Cullens' home.

The dying strains of a song I didn't recognize reached me from high above. Even though I only caught a few bars, the sound coming from the piano echoed in my mind, and I equated it with Edward's spicy scent, and the succulent flavor I imagined his soul would have. Human Bella would have cried; instead as Swan I trilled, happily filling the silence left by the end of the song, cheering in my own way at my beloved's mating call, but not wanting to ruin it again with a blasted honk. I had learned my lesson.

Even though I was quieter this time, the front door opened again. I silenced myself, still circling several yards above the three story house, and watched. The family exited, two by two, like they were embarking before a flood, Edward following up at the end, a lone creature without a mate, his hair the color of rust by the light of the moon. I quietly landed on the roof, partially hidden by a chimney.

Emmett and Rosalie stood furthest out in the clearing in front of the house, embracing like they couldn't stand to part, the tall blonde resembling an imperious snow queen more than ever. Alice and Jasper stood slightly to the side, politely watching the first couple, and a handsome blonde man and a chestnut-haired beauty spoke to Edward near the door.

The man, who I assumed was Dr. Cullen, shook Edward's hand while firmly patting his back in a fatherly gesture. Then, the woman next to him reached up and wrapped her slender arms around Edward's neck, pulling him down for a hug. I quietly hissed, though the touch was much more maternal than intimate.

When the woman released him, Edward moved on to Alice and Jasper, where the slender man shook his hand in a formal manner. Edward turned to Alice, and she was wringing her hands. They stared at each other a moment before he whispered, "It's alright, Alice. Stop worrying."

She jumped, a kitten next to his lion, but she managed to wrap her arms tightly around his neck, and she hung onto him for a second before he wrapped his arms around her with a laugh. I didn't like her touching him either, though she was more familiar to me in an unpleasant way. He eventually lowered her to the ground and went to slug Emmett in the shoulder.

Rosalie backed away with her arms crossed and pouted. Emmett and Edward tussled, punching, hair mussing and laughing, until Mrs. Cullen called out to them, "Boys! If this is how you plan on behaving the whole trip, maybe you need a chaperone!"

The two men stopped and turned to her in surprise. Emmett recovered first and bent over with a guffaw. Edward spoke for both of them, "It's alright, Mom, we'll behave ourselves."

Emmett's laughter quieted, and he stood up straight. He looked at his collected family members, especially the women with their varying visages of sadness. "Come on, guys! It's only a couple of days. We're not moving to another continent or anything."

Edward nodded to Rosalie. "They know we'll be back soon, they're just not thrilled about putting up with Rosalie while you're gone."

She glared at him before turning and stomping into the house. Emmett sighed. "Did you really have to say that, man?"

"Yes, because now instead of being sad and missing you for three days, she'll be mad at me, something she's used to anyway," Edward muttered with a smile.

Mrs. Cullen smiled but shook her head. "I do wish you wouldn't provoke her so, dear. I'll go check on her." She walked into the house with a slight wave.

Jasper lifted a hand, and Alice waved too as they followed Mrs. Cullen. Only the patriarch and the two departees remained. "Good luck hunting, boys," the doctor jovially called out. "Enjoy yourselves. Things here will keep until you get back."

I believed he mostly spoke to Edward; Emmett seemed like he'd enjoy himself at his own hanging. With one last nod, Dr. Cullen walked into the house. The men watched him, still as two sentinels, and I watched them in turn. Emmett turned to Edward, his face splitting in a boyish grin. "Hey, whadya say we race?"

Before he could respond, Emmett was gone, leaves floating in the air marking his passing. With a shake of his head, Edward took off after him. My impulse to chase could not be staunched. I catapulted off the roof, a feathered blur of a projectile. I shot through the treetops above Edwards head, keeping up with every turn, every burst of speed.

Edward quickly passed Emmett, and his unexpected speed reminded me of the strength he had displayed earlier in the day. Underneath my human veneer, I always wanted to taste him as it was, but the reminder that he hurt me solidified my plans in my current Swan frame of mind. Though my memories of my past life were hidden, I knew that once, very few would have dared try to harm me, and those that did were taken down immediately. If I couldn't take them by myself, I would raise an army and have them begging for leniency, which of course I never gave. Swan wanted Edward to pay almost as much as she wanted to swallow him whole, and Human Bella could not rein her in.

I plunged, a bullet headed straight for Edward's burnished locks, but somehow, just before I reached him, I managed to clear my head of vindictive thoughts, and I pulled my legs up, leaning back to slow my momentum. Edward happened to duck at the same time, perhaps having heard me swooping down. I tumbled into the undergrowth several yards away. I scuttled behind a large tree and craned my neck around it to watch Edward as he scanned the forest around him. Emmett had come to a halt next to him, and while he looked around, too, he tried to tell Edward what he had seen from his position several feet behind.

"Dude, you just got dive-bombed by a huge freaking bird!" Emmett was, of course, laughing, finding more humor than the situation warranted.

Edward cast him one irritated glance before continuing his perusal of the surrounding trees. I shrank further into hiding, hoping my body would remain hidden by the tree and my black beak would remain camouflaged. Edward spoke without looking back to his chortling brother. "Did you happen to see what kind of bird it was? If it was so 'freaking huge,' I doubt it could remain hidden for long."

I glanced around me, wondering if I could waddle away from them without being caught, but the trees weren't quite close enough to hide my bright white body. I looked back at the tall men, and Emmett seemed to be concentrating as he stared at the back of Edward's head. "See? It was really swift, what do you think? A goose? Maybe a trumpeter swan? Aren't they down from Alaska for the winter?"

Edward seemed to only be half listening as he peered intently at the space around me, still looking several feet above my head. "One wouldn't be this far inland. The swans stay in the coastal waters." He paused, and his posture stiffened. His eyes widened as some glimmer of understanding dawned on him. His eyes dropped, meeting mine, and I became utterly still, not even breathing.

"The Swans…" he whispered in awe and then busted out laughing. He doubled over, clutching his stomach, his eyes squinted closed.

"Ummm, Edward? Are you okay?" Emmett seemed perturbed by his brother's outburst.

Edward turned to him, noticeably trying to control his laughter. He placed a hand on each of Emmett's broad shoulders and looked him in the eye as he continued to chuckle. Shaking his head, he responded, "It's just so obvious, I can't believe I didn't realize sooner."

He continued to shake his head until he realized that Emmett was still watching him like he'd gone mad. His laughter quieted, though he still smiled. "I'm great, Emmett, but maybe we should stop racing for now." He took his hands off the large man and turned. He began to slowly stride away, continuing in the direction they had been running.

Emmett looked annoyed, knowing he was out of the loop. "Do you mind if I ask why?"

Edward turned, but his eyes met mine instead of his brother's. "Because I'm not running away." My brain filed this statement away because Swan Bella didn't care if her food/beloved knew what she was; it was Human Bella's job to worry about things like that.

Our gazes were locked together, until Emmett walked between us with a sigh. "Whatever, man. Let's just go, I'm hungry."

Emmett disappeared out of sight among the trees, and Edward looked after him before turning back to me, winking cheekily, then following Emmett.

Once they were out of hearing range, I began to waddle through the forest, back in the direction of the clearing in front of their house. Luckily, I managed to find a fox, his dark auburn fur standing out to my perceptive eyes against the greenery. He smelled like wet dog and didn't taste much better, but I didn't expect anything to be appetizing after reveling in Edward's scent.

I made my way home and became Bella again, and once I was in the shower, I took the time to analyze Edward's reaction to the idea that a swan had attacked him. Did he know it was me? And if he did, did he know the truth, or was he just guessing at my true identity? He seemed to find it amusing, whatever conclusions he had drawn, so I couldn't find the energy to worry about it too much. I gratefully crawled into my bed once I was clean and fell into a dreamless sleep.

When I woke, rain was drizzling down my window, and gray clouds pressed in making the sky look like a low ceiling. I smiled, certain that the beach trip would need to be rescheduled, preferably to a day when I already had plans, though my calendar was pretty much empty at the moment. Maybe I could find a book club, or a quilting bee, or heck, an AA meeting, anything really as long as I didn't have to sit around pretending to be friends with people who didn't really like me while I tried not to eat them.

I thought of Mike and frowned. Maybe Mike was a true friend, but I definitely couldn't trust myself around him. While I wasn't quite comfortable calling her a friend, Jessica was, for some reason, obsessed with me, and if she hurt herself around me and started bleeding, I would probably make a meal of her, and I would feel at least a twinge of guilt.

I looked at the wrist bandage curled up like a snake on my nightstand where I had left it before my nocturnal foray. My wrist barely bothered me at all, and putting the wrap back on it would probably irritate it more than help it, but too many people knew that I supposedly sprained my wrist, so I sighed and wrapped the bandage tightly around it. I secured it with the little metal teeth, went downstairs, grabbed the coffee Dad had left for me, and headed out.

My truck rumbled into the school parking lot, and Mike hurried over to open my door, Jessica close on his heels. "Jess said your wrist was sprained when you fell. How'd you drive this thing?" he asked with a frown.

I smiled at his concern. "It's not that bad, really. I'm not sure it was even sprained, it's hardly even sore now."

He continued to frown at my bandage and muttered, "Well, you could have at least called someone to give you a ride."

I patted his arm as I smiled and said, "I promise, I hardly even notice it." Geez, I nearly ate the boy, and he's broken up over my wrist? I'm a terrible person, a terrible daemon, a terrible… whatever, I'm terrible.

I looped my un-bandaged arm through my backpack and corralled my friends toward the buildings. I was almost to the sidewalk when the silver Volvo came flying into the lot. I paused, my heart fluttering in hopes that Edward had changed his mind after all, but once I could see clearly through the windshield, I realized that it wasn't Edward behind the wheel but rather spiky black hair that barely cleared the steering column.

The car slammed to a stop within feet of me, and after a second the diminutive, demonic diva honked the horn at me in triplicate, using both hands, no less. I thought about flipping the bird but decided to act like the bigger person, and I turned away as I stepped onto the sidewalk, not looking back at the Volvo as I walked to class. I realized with an ounce of contrition that I had been standing in the middle of Edward's normal parking spot, so maybe she had the right to honk at me for standing in the way gaping at her, but I certainly wasn't going to apologize for my actions.

Throughout the morning, Mike talked about the beach trip the next day, and though I shot pointed glances at the cloudy sky, he maintained his faith in the weatherman. At lunch, Jessica tried to make me solidify my plans for the outfit I would wear on the beach trip I was certain wouldn't happen. When I was still vague and non-committal, she began to throw out ideas based on what she had seen me wear to school. I tried to participate in the conversation, but I was bored stiff.

Of their own volition, my eyes gravitated to the Cullens' table. Rosalie's back was to me, and Jasper and Alice were arguing, but their whispers sounded like hisses from my seat across the room. They stopped and simultaneously turned to me like they felt my attention. Alice smiled at me, and if I didn't know better, I would have thought it was sincere. She lifted a hand and waved me to her. I frowned and turned my gaze back to Jessica, but not before noticing that someone else had caught our brief exchange.

Lauren was looking back and forth between Alice and me and grinned cruelly as she spoke, "Why don't you go sit with your friends the Cullens, Bella? After all, you are almost as much of a freak as they are."

Cow did NOT just say what I think she said.

Mike looked at her angrily and opened his mouth to speak, but I interrupted. "Why Lauren, then I wouldn't get to sit so close to you, and we both know that would be a crying shame." I winked at her, imitating Edward's best seductive smirk.

She blinked her pale, fishy eyes at me a few times, before her face turned purple in embarrassment and fury. Everyone else at our table outright laughed, even Jessica, though she turned her back to Cow so she couldn't see her well.

Lauren stood up from the table, leaving her tray for someone else to clean up, and walked out the cafeteria doors with twenty minutes left of lunch. Spirits at our table seemed to be lifted in her absence, and my suspicions were confirmed that her oppressive presence was the main reason most of my lunch-mates stayed quiet every day. Even quiet Angela added her input in our lunch plans for the trip. I almost felt sad that we wouldn't be able to go. When the first bell rang I felt so pleased I even picked up Lauren's tray so no one else would have to juggle two.

My pleasure faded when I looked up and saw Alice next to me at the tray window. I tried to make a hasty retreat, but she firmly grabbed my arm. I could sense she was feeling regret and a strange mixture of shame and fear, so I gave in and turned to her. "Yes, Alice? May I help you?"

Her eyes narrowed at my overly polite tone, but she released my arm. "I just wanted to talk to you for a minute. Why did you ignore me?"

I shrugged. "You have yet to say anything to me that I wanted to hear."

"But I've only ever said things you needed to hear."

I crossed my arms and shrugged again as I looked in her eyes, the same disturbing shade as Edward's.

"Look, I know we didn't get off to the best start-" I quirked an eyebrow at her understatement. "I wanted to say, I hope you'll forgive Edward for hurting you." She gestured to my wrist and then mirrored my stance, her arms crossing over her tiny middle.

I would have rolled my eyes if I hadn't promised myself I would stop. "There's nothing to forgive, I thought I made that clear to him."

She looked down at the ground, and her lip pouted out just a little. "Maybe you did, but he was mad at me last night, blamed the whole thing on me."

Exasperated, I wished I could read her mind so I could just tell her whatever she wanted to hear and be on my way. "What does it have to do with you?"

She looked at me in surprise. "Do the two of you just sit and stare at each other googley-eyed all the time? Don't you ever talk?"

I turned on my heel to leave, but she stopped me again, this time just placing an arm on my shoulder and muttering, "I'm sorry." She meant it, so I turned back to face her.

She crossed her arms again, and I wondered if she knew I could feel her emotions when she touched me, since she seemed to always touch me just when my knowing her true emotions would help her case.

"Edward and I have certain abilities, and our family depends on them, too much if you ask me, to keep us all safe. You, and maybe your father, seem to be the exceptions to all we thought we knew about those abilities. You're the wild card, and we can't make any definitive plans for our future if you're involved."

I wondered if she was referring to their silent communication and started to ask, when she continued. "I guess it's Edward's place to talk to you about it, and I suppose he'll feel comfortable once you trust him enough to talk about yourself, but please don't drag it out too much longer. You're putting us all at risk the longer you wait, yourself included."

It was more than she had said to me since I moved here, so I knew it must be important. I nodded, and she gave me a small, relieved smile.

It quickly faded, though, into a quizzical frown. "I promised Edward I would try to at least be civil towards you, but I can't help feeling like there's something I'm supposed to know about you, some crucial fact I've forgotten somewhere along the way, and to be honest, it terrifies me." She smiled sadly and then whispered. "Maybe you ran over my dog in a past life, eh?"

She turned and walked away from me, out the cafeteria doors. She had sounded like she was joking, but I couldn't help wondering how much Alice really knew. A shiver ran up my spine like someone was dancing on my grave, but I shook it off and ran to Biology before the late bell could ring.

Saturday morning, I woke to the harsh sound of a fist banging against my bedroom door. "What?" I whined.

"Bells, your friend Jessica is on the phone. She wants to know what time she should come by to pick you up." He sounded confused, and my eyes popped open in surprise.

I looked over to the window at a sight I never thought I would see in Forks in March. The sun was shining, only a couple of white, fluffy clouds in sight. I groaned; the trip was on, apparently, and I hadn't even bothered to ask Dad's permission to go since I hadn't thought it was possible.

I slunk out of bed, pulling on my robe as I opened my door. Dad handed me the portable handset and I leaned against my doorjamb. "Jess?" I asked incredulously.

"Hi, Bella! Will you be ready in thirty minutes? Your dad thought you were still asleep." She laughed, like she couldn't imagine anyone would actually want to sleep in on a Saturday.

I tried to inject some false cheer in my response. "Yeah, I'll be ready in thirty."

"Okay! I'll see you then! And remember, we decided on the light blue shirt with your tight jeans."

"Gotcha." I had no idea what clothes she was talking about.

I heard the dial tone and turned off the set. Dad looked at me questioningly. "Some kids at school planned on going to La Push this weekend, but I didn't bother to mention it since I didn't think there was any way the sun would actually come out today." A tiny beacon of hope lit in my mind. "Of course, I guess if it isn't safe for me to go, I can call Jess back-"

He smiled, shaking his head. "Oh, no, it's safe. The Cullens aren't allowed on the Quileutes' land."

My own smile faded, and I sighed. "Guess I'll get dressed then." I started to push my door open when I noticed that Dad was wearing a wide-brimmed hat, huge aviator sunglasses, and the official Forks PD jacket he never wore. "What's with the get-up?" I swirled my finger around to indicate all of the extra accessories.

He chuckled. "Don't know about you, but I have no intention of looking like I was hit with a gamma ray when I go outside?"

I looked at him in confusion. "What?"

"We glow in the sun, Bella." He spoke matter-of-factly, like it should have been obvious.

"Nooo," I said slowly, "You said it was the vampires who sparkle."

"Right, the vampires sparkle, we glow. Remember that black-light unicorn poster you used to have in your room here? The way the colors would look like they were lit from behind when you turned on your special lamp? You insisted on taking it back to Phoenix with you, but you didn't have a black-light there and you thought the poster was broken."

Great, I would look like I'd been swimming in toxic waste. "But you never said anything about us hiding from the sun like the vampires, back in the day."

"Back in the day, humans worshipped us. We didn't care if they saw us all lit up."

"Well, what the heck am I supposed to do? I guess I'll have to call Jess and tell her I can't go today, but are you going to get me out of school every time the sun shines?"

He smiled, mockingly. "Think again. You'll go with your friends today; you'll just cover up appropriately." He smoothed down his jacket and my mouth dropped open in horror.

"I'll burn up in long sleeves today!"

"Well, kid, you win some, you lose some." He turned and walked down the stairs, tossing the phone in his hands as he went.

I wanted to throw a temper tantrum, but I quietly closed my bedroom door behind me as I stared dejectedly at my closet. I pulled out a pair of jeans, assuming they were the tight ones Jessica thought I should wear, and also grabbed the only light blue shirt in my closet. I then hunted down my lightest-weight long sleeved shirt, and I grimaced when I realized it was a My Chemical Romance hoodie with a bitten apple on the front and snakes down the sleeves. I doubted it would garner Jessica's stamp of approval, but at least I wouldn't have to find a hat to go with my ensemble. I dug around in the purse hanging in the back of my closet until I found my one pair of sunglasses, a retro, bug-eyed pair that Renee had bought me, insisting they were "all the rage." I couldn't remember ever wearing them before, so at least they would come in handy now.

I pulled on my Docs before I left, figuring Jessica was already going to be sickened at my appearance and no one else would care, so I might as well be comfortable. I walked downstairs and Dad was leaning against his spot on the counter by the coffee pot, where he always seemed to be the few times I had made it downstairs before he left for work.

He held out a cup of coffee to me with a chuckle, and I fought not to smile as I took it. I hadn't bothered to look in the mirror before I left my room, certain I looked a fright, so it didn't surprise me that he would laugh at me. Laugh it up, Chuck. I just bet you don't escape a comment or two on your Super Trooper costume.

I heard a horn honk outside and finished off my coffee before heading outside with a wave. Jessica was touching up her lip gloss as I slid into her car, so she didn't look at me right away. When she did, she shrieked, "What are you wearing?"

I shrugged. "I'm cold."

She shook her head. "Oh, no, Bella. You don't even wear a jacket in the snow, and I was wrong."

"About what?"

"You do not look hot in that. You look like the Unabomber."

I stuck my tongue out at her and flipped down the visor to look in the mirror. Okay, maybe she was right, but there really wasn't much I could do about it.

She sighed. "At least you're wearing make-up, and you better be wearing that cute blue shirt under that thing."

I didn't bother to tell her that I wasn't wearing any make-up, but I did assure her I was wearing the blue top, though I didn't plan on anyone else seeing it that day. She turned up the volume on the hormonally charged pop music she had in the CD player, and I gritted my teeth during the short trip to Newton's Olympic Outfitters.

I couldn't get out of the car fast enough and hurried to Mike's suburban, but I had to wait for Jessica so she wouldn't have to climb over me to sit in the middle of the front bench seat. I turned to tell her to hurry up, but she was walking funny, as if she were trying to shimmy her slim hips as she walked. It seemed to be having some effect on Mike, so I turned back to the suburban with an eye roll. I just couldn't resist it.

I said, "Hi," to Angela and Eric but stopped when my gaze landed on Lauren, who glared back at me. I wondered if anyone actually invited her or if she just showed up. She turned and whispered to a girl from my gym class who had once been on the wrong end of my new wicked volleyball spike. She had a black eye for days, and she shrunk back in her seat now as my gaze landed on her. The menacing outfit probably wouldn't improve her opinion of me.

Jessica finally clambered into her seat, and I slid in behind her, slamming the door closed once I was situated. The trip was probably no more than fifteen minutes long, but I could hear Lauren making catty comments about me to her neighbor even though she whispered, and the trip seemed infinitely longer. I wished that banging my head against the window would make me pass out, but I knew that more than likely it would just crack the glass.

When we rolled up at First Beach, I lifted my sunglasses for a moment to clearly see the breathtaking view while I was still in the protective shade of the suburban. The landscape was resplendent in varying shades of gray, a silver-screen version of what one normally assumed a beach should look like, from the white-gray driftwood, to the lilac and blue-gray and green-gray rocks, to the steel-gray ocean. Only the sky wasn't gray, and I knew for a fact that was a rarity. This was the beach of my childhood dreams and fantasies, not the beach in California Renee forced Dad and me to meet at in more recent years.

I was out of the car first, and as I climbed down to the beach, I heard Mike calling out for me to mind my wrist. I waved so he would know I heard him and continued on my way. The coastal wind whipped around me, and my hoodie was no longer so uncomfortable. I carefully stepped around the larger rocks farthest from the water, occasionally bending to pick up small rocks for skipping. I carefully placed the rocks and my subtly glowing hands into my hoodie pockets as I made my way back up the beach.

The rest of the group had made it down and were setting up a few folding arm chairs while Mike lit a fire in a stone circle in the middle. Blue and green flames began to lick up the driftwood, and I watched as the fire grew. Suddenly, I heard the sound of a man yelling, carried on the wind. I jerked my head around and looked at the nearby cliffs, where a man was diving head-first into the freezing water below. His lean copper-skinned form sliced cleanly through the waves, and soon his black-haired head bobbed up again. He laughed and waved to his friends on the cliff-top who laughed in return.

"Daaaaaaammmmnnn," Tyler whispered next to me, before turning to the other boys excitedly. "Guys, guys, we gotta try that!" He pointed vigorously at the next man preparing to dive. I'd never been one for extreme sports, but if the sun weren't out, I would have wanted to join in. It was probably the closest thing to flying I could get to in human form.

The other boys turned to watch the man dive, and their jaws dropped open. "Nuh-uh, no way Tyler, especially not when the water's this cold," Mike said while watching in awe.

Tyler was all bravado, but I could practically smell the undercurrent of fear running through him. "C'mon, guys. If they can do it, we can."

The other boys negated him as well, and I picked up a sense of relief from Tyler. I wondered what he would have done if they had actually gone along with it, or if he'd only brought it up to look tough because he knew they would say no.

The guys and some of the girls decided to hike down to the tidal pools, and I decided to go with them since I had always loved them as a kid, and because Lauren was staying by the fire since she hadn't deigned to wear appropriate footwear.

We hiked through the nearby forest for a short way until we came back out on the beach, and we had almost reached the pools when the girl from my gym class slipped and cut her hand on a piece of sea glass. It was just a small cut, but the facts that I was standing upwind from her and had eaten just the previous night were probably the only reasons I didn't jump on her. As it was, I still drained a little energy from the group as everyone settled in to watch the teeming life inside the pools.

I sat alone at the smallest pool farthest away from the girl, and as I stared into it, I remembered pretending to be a mermaid while my father watched me. The tiny silver fish would dart around my flapping legs, and Dad would laugh with me. I wondered what it felt like to him, watching me pretend to be a magical creature when all along he knew I would someday be a creature of a very different kind.

Perhaps because of the energy I had stolen, it didn't take long for the boys to start complaining that they were hungry. We walked back through the forest and as we exited back into the sunlight, I glanced behind me at the forest with longing. I wondered if anyone would notice if it took me a little longer to get back to the fire, if I could change form quickly, sneak a bite to eat, and then meander back to the group.

"C'mon, Bella, aren't you hungry?" Mike called. He and Jessica waited for me, several yards behind everyone else.

I stifled a sigh and smiled pleasantly instead. "Yep, on my way."

When we neared the fire, I heard Mike mutter, "What the…"

I looked up to see what had grabbed his attention and was surprised to see the men from the cliff standing with our friends. There were five of them, and standing next to the boys I knew, they appeared enormous, well over six feet tall. They all wore nothing but cutoff shorts and had identical short, spiky hair cuts. Most surprisingly, however, was what I smelled in the wind when it swirled around the fire and back to me.

Beneath the wretched scent of the charred hotdogs on the fire, I smelled wolf, but not just any wolf, the shape-shifter Dad and I had encountered a month ago. The second tallest man stood by the fire chatting with Eric, slightly bent over so they could hear each other well despite the height difference. He popped a final bite of hot dog in his mouth, and then his head snapped up. He looked at the tallest man across the fire who was gesturing towards me, and then he turned to face me. His head tilted to the side as he looked at me like a curious dog. Then, he straightened and his face broke into a face-splitting grin.

As I watched, he bounded towards me and then lifted me in what would have been a rib-cracking hug for a normal person. I squealed and he set me down, his face all happiness and sunshine. He finally noticed that I was looking at him like he'd sprouted horns, and his smile turned into a perplexed frown. He bent down close to me and whispered so only I could hear. "Bella? Can't you hear me?"

I looked at him, equally perplexed, and whispered back, "Now that you're talking I can."

He smiled like I had told a joke. "Well, I guess we'll have to talk like normal folks. Don't you remember me?"

Dad had said the shape-shifter we met was named Jake, and I had assumed he meant Billy's son Jake, who I remembered being a couple of years younger than me, definitely not a full grown man. "You're Jake, right? I'm sorry; I didn't catch your last name."

He frowned again. "It's Black, Bella, Jacob Black. I'm Billy's son. You mostly played with my older sisters, but you honestly don't remember?"

I stared at him with incredulity. "Jake, how'd you get to be so huge?"

He looked around at the mixed company and whispered, "You know… puberty." He raised his eyebrows to convey his meaning.

Ah, I get wings; he gets at least a foot in extra height. I whistled as I looked him up and down, and I meant it as an exclamation at his sheer massiveness, but his friends took it as an excuse to make wolf-whistle noises. He blushed and then looked up at them sharply, meeting each of their eyes until they stopped, and I looked away.

Unfortunately, I looked right at Lauren, who was watching the exchange with scornful amusement. "So, Bella, I was just saying to Tyler what a crying shame it is that no one thought to invite the Cullens. Surely, since you seem so close to them lately, I thought you would have at least been polite enough to mention it. To Edward maybe?"

She sneered as she said the last part, staring at Jake as she did so. I could feel him bristling beside me. Was Cow actually trying to cock-block me? Or whatever the equivalent was for bitchy teenaged girls? If I'd actually been interested in Jake, I might have used it as an excuse to take her down once and for all.

"Do you mean Dr. Carlisle Cullen's family?" Jake's taller friend asked.

Cow looked up at him, "How…"

"The Cullens do not come here," Jake interrupted in a tone that brooked no argument and then smiled down at me. "Hey, wanna go for a walk?"

I didn't bother to mention that I had just come from a walk, because I really did want to get away from the crowd and its senseless masticating at the moment.

As we walked back toward the forest, I took some of the rocks out of my pockets to skip and offered him a few. He watched my glowing hands as he took the rocks, and I started to tuck them back in my pockets, but he quickly reached out and grabbed one of them, turning it over as if he were examining it. "That glowy thing you do looks better on you than your old man."

I was glad when he released my hand, because his touch was beginning to make me uncomfortable, though it wasn't entirely unpleasant. We skipped rocks in silence for a moment before I spoke. "That guy, the tallest of your friends? He seems pretty authoritative. Is he somebody important or something?"

Jake was still quiet for a little while. "He used to be the leader of our pack, our Alpha."

They had a pack? I wondered how much they emulated their wolf personas in their day to day lives. I hardly ever thought of Swan during the day, and I certainly didn't know much about the practices of real swans, other than what I had briefly researched.

"What happened?"

He continued to skip stones without looking at me. "My father is the chief of our tribe, so when I…" His throw went wild as he chunked the stone in his hand too hard. "…changed, I became the Alpha."

That seemed like a heavy burden for anyone, to lead a pack of shape-shifters, but it seemed especially tough for a fifteen year old boy, even a gigantic one. "Couldn't you both be Alpha?"

He looked down at me with a smile. "Now, Bella, you can't have two number ones," he uttered in a ridiculous redneck accent.

I laughed, "Whatever, Ricky Bobby. I guess I still don't have a hang on all this mystical crap."

His smile grew, and he clasped both hands over his chest and dropped to his knees, letting the rocks he had been skipping fall. "Be still my heart, you're up to snuff on your Will Ferrell movies and you're already a part of 'all this mystical crap?' Will you marry me? Like, now?"

I laughed along with him, though I was beginning to get uncomfortable again. "Don't be silly. You may not look your age, but I'm pretty sure I'd get in a whole heap of trouble if I tried to marry a minor. Besides, how would it look for my dad? 'Police Chief's daughter kidnaps and marries local youth.'"

He smiled and stood up, wiping off his legs. "Well, you can't blame a boy for trying."

We were close to the forest when I turned to him again. I hardly knew the kid, but I would hate to ruin what could be an honest friendship by accidentally leading him on. "Jake, I hope we can be friends, but, well, there really can't be more between us."

He laughed. "Oh, don't worry about that, I know."

He knew? Did he pick up on Lauren's Edward comment? Could I convince him not to tell Dad?

Before I could say he anything he continued. "Charlie told us about it before you even came here." He lost me, but kept talking without looking at my dumbfounded expression. "Besides, we have this, I don't know, power, I guess? We call it imprinting. Whenever we meet the person we're supposed to be with, it's like BAM! The world just stops spinning and starts revolving around that person instead. We would do anything to be with that person, and no offense Bella, but I don't feel like that about you."

That was a relief, I supposed, but his description of imprinting sounded eerily familiar. My entire universe had been centered around Edward from the moment I met him. "Jake? You can talk to my Dad telepathically, right?"

"Well, we can talk to each other when we're in our animal forms, but he can hear me when we're human. Why?" He didn't understand my change of subject.

"Has my dad ever had you show him something? Like something you've seen, or felt?" I felt like I was onto something.

"Sure, once or twice." He was beginning to sound suspicious.

"I'd just like to understand this imprinting thing better. Do you think you could show me what you're talking about?" I tried to plead with my most innocent expression.

He wasn't completely falling for it, and he shrugged. "Well, I've never experienced it myself…" I continued to give him my wide-eyed, pouty face, and he sighed, rubbing a big hand across the back of his neck. "A couple of the other guys have, I guess I could show you their memories."

I tempered my excitement and looked at him questioningly. "You can show me their memories? Is that because you're the Alpha?"

He shook his head. "We all share each other's memories. It's a bit like being in a three ring circus, sometimes, but it comes in handy."

I remembered Dad mentioning that we had once done the same in ancient times, so I supposed it made some weird, magical sense. "Okay, I'm not as good at this as my dad, so it might take a couple of tries, and you'll really need to concentrate on what you're showing me."

He nodded, and I reached out a hand and placed it on his leanly muscled arm. We both closed our eyes, and momentarily I began to see flashes, outlines of images in neon yellow, green and orange, and the sounds were garbled. I wondered if the images weren't solidifying because they were memories of someone else's memories, or if it was because our connection wasn't as strong as mine and Dad's.

Soon, however, the images seemed to slow down, and I realized he was scanning through, trying to find exactly what he wanted to show me, like he was rewinding and fast-forwarding a DVD. The image he stopped on was in full color but still seemed to have a fuzzy glow around the brighter colors, but when the vision started playing, I no longer noticed the quality.

We were in a school hallway, telling our friends that we would meet them after class. We felt excited, and superior, and like we owned the school, the tribe, the whole world. That is, until we walked into the classroom and saw Kim. She was sitting at her desk, turned toward one of her own friends, politely listening. We had never really noticed her before, she was just another of the girls we had grown up with.

We had hardly even spoken to each other, had never really had anything to talk about, but when she laughed at her friend's story, her voice rang out, a clear, firm, joyful bell-like peal. Her white teeth flashed against her perfectly curved lips, and her long eyelashes swept across her cheeks.

We made a noise, something between a sigh and a groan, and her eyes fluttered open as she looked at us. She blushed, delicately, like she had just a second of a dirty thought, and we wanted to move mountains for her. We wanted to re-align the planets, re-route roads to spell her name, whatever she wanted, it was hers. Being the kind, gentle creature that she was, though, all she wanted, had ever wanted, was us.

My throat felt constricted with tears as Jake began searching for another vision. I knew exactly how Kim's lover felt about her, and though I was only experiencing it third hand, it still seemed to pale in comparison to my feelings for Edward. Yet, it was more pure, because it wasn't tangled up with fear, and mistrust, and danger.

Jake had found the vision he sought, and it began playing before I realized what I was seeing.

Our lips pressed against a minty mouth, our girl, our Leah. She was warm in our arms, already losing her girlish softness as she filled out into womanly curves. We moved our lips away from us to nuzzle her tender neck. She was excited, liking the recent changes in our body, the height and muscle making her feel protected. She curled into us, pressing her firm, high breasts against our chest, sliding her hips against ours.

We were on the couch in her living room, waiting for her mom to get home with her aunt and cousin, a girl we had met long ago who seemed far too uppity for our tastes. Leah's father and brother were at the Blacks' house, so we had a precious few minutes alone. We started to maneuver her so that she was lying on the couch, and we briefly wondered what would happen if her relatives walked in and caught us in flagrante delicto.

We would just have to be quick but still somehow make it good for her. We sat up, reaching in our back pocket for a condom, and she arched her back, making her nipples pucker the thin fabric of her old t-shirt. We forgot the rubber for a moment as we reached out to tweak her teasing nibs, when the door opened. She slapped our hands away and sat up faster than we had ever seen her move, her face dark maroon and mortified. We were almost afraid to face the door, certain we would see ole Harry standing with a double shot rifle pointed at our head.

When we finally did turn to look at the intruder, what we saw was so much worse than an angry papa. We saw the uppity cousin, who no longer seemed at all uppity. She was the most beautiful tropical flower, a slow song in the rain, a breath of clean mountain air, and just like our new favorite hobby, cliff jumping, we fell, but this time, there were no cool waves to catch us, we just continued to fall, in an endless drop, in a never ending effort to reach the core of her soul.

The vision faded, and my hand fell from Jake's arm as I opened my eyes. "Yikes," I whispered.

He chuckled darkly, "Oh, you have no idea. So, did you learn what you wanted to know?"

I nodded, wondering if showing these memories to Dad would help him understand what was happening with me and Edward, or just make him more determined to keep us apart.

Jake interrupted my thoughts. "Hey, are you hungry? Want to head back?"

I grimaced. "Nah, hot dogs aren't really my thing."

He smiled. "Let me guess. You like to eat raw, like Charlie. Would've never pictured you as a raw kind of gal."

I returned his smile. "Like father, like daughter."

He grinned mischievously. "Well, let's go then." He nodded toward the forest. "We can even make a little competition of it. I'd love to see you take down something larger than a squirrel."

My smile faded. "I'm not supposed to hunt large animals in the area. Dad's afraid we'll draw attention."

He shrugged it off. "You're on our land now, and we hunt here all the time, it won't be reported or anything. So, you up for it, or are you gonna chicken out?"

I laughed. "I'll take down something larger and more dangerous than you do, but what do I get if I win?"

He smiled, certain he had already won the bet. "A lifetime of mechanic's service on your truck from yours truly. What do I get if I win?"

I wasn't even concerned. "For a year, you can come over whenever you want and watch whatever you want on the flat screen."

He looked amused. "That's your dad's, not yours."

I shrugged. "Yeah, it's easier to make bets with things that aren't yours."

He laughed loudly then spit in his hand and held it out to me. I looked at it in disgust. "Ummm, no thanks."

He laughed again. "Alright, we can skip that part." He started to walk into the forest, and I followed him until I thought of one teensy little issue.

"Hey, Jake?" He stopped and turned to me. "Do you think I could go in first and come back for you once I've changed?"

He was controlling his laughter. "I knew there was going to be some kind of girly rule."

I frowned. "Geez, I just don't want you to see me nude."

He waved me forward, politely turning his back as he waited. I ran about a quarter of a mile into the woods, just in case, and found a tree with a low branch for me to place my folded clothes. I shifted and flew back out as swan. I landed awkwardly in front of Jake, and he smiled. "I give the landing a three."

He turned and ran into the forest, and I soared back into the treetops. By the time I found him, he had shed his shorts, and even from my position in the treetops, I could see each finely etched muscle contract and release in his back and thighs as he ran in a crouch. He was definitely going to make some lucky lady very happy some day. I felt like was like I was watching him through a haze of heat rising off a hot tarmac. The air around him shimmered as he suddenly swelled, and his skin seemed to roll away from his body as fur appeared. It was disturbing and looked painful, but he just kept running, dropping to all fours as he became more wolf than man.

I turned my attention to finding the largest prey I could, and it didn't take me long. A tawny colored mountain lion was lounging on a branch about halfway up an ancient fir. I circled for a minute, figuring out the best angle of attack, and then pulled my wings in close so I could be more aerodynamic as I swooped for the kill. I opened my beak wide, hoping to break his neck with the impact and drop him to the ground thirty feet below to eat him once he was very much dead.

I was a foot away when his ears pricked and he turned his large head to face me. His topaz colored eyes startled me, but not nearly as much as the blood-curdling scream that left his wide mouth as my beak connected with his neck. With his head turned I couldn't make contact the way I had planned and there was no swift-killing break, but rather a paralyzing fracture by the sound of it. However, I did manage to push him off his thick branch. He continued to scream as he fell to the ground, occasionally hitting and breaking a smaller branch on the way. I made a spiral path down so that I could smoothly land next to him. His body lay broken, twisted at odd angles, and I hoped the fall had done what I hadn't managed to do and actually killed him so he wouldn't be in any pain.

I bit into his shoulder, and as I pulled a piece of flesh off, I heard a soft mewl. I looked at his head, and my fears were confirmed. His eerily familiar eyes were glazed with pain, but they were still aware. His heart beat softly, but steadily. I never wanted to cause him agony, and I felt Swan's normally analytical mindset give way to Human Bella's empathy. For the first time I comprehended that I was a sentient being inhabiting an animal's body, and I should treat my food source with more respect. I stretched my neck until I could clamp my beak around his larynx. It took several minutes, but his heart finally stopped. I moved back down and continued to strip him of his flesh.

I heard a large animal moving towards me, and I lifted my head. I sniffed and knew it was Jake. He stepped from behind a tree, carrying the head of a six point buck in his mouth. He saw me and blinked in surprise at my catch. I blinked back in understanding. We both knew who had won, though my victory felt hollow.

He shuffled away, and I continued eating. When I had finished with the fleshiest parts, I stopped, completely full. I silently meandered back to the beach near the tide pools to clean myself. Other swans, real swans, were already bathing in the shallows, but as I approached they scattered with honks of reproach. Their flat, black eyes glared at me balefully, and I wondered if they didn't trust the smell of mountain lion on me, or my own scent.

When I reached the water, I saw my reflection and changed my mind about what was making the swans nervous. Blood dripped down me like a red silk tie down my long swan's neck. I dunked and rolled in the water, and though I was soon white as snow again, I still felt dirty for some reason.

I flew out of the water and made my way back into the forest and to my clothes. Once I had changed and thoroughly covered my skin, I stepped back out to the beach where Jake waited for me, sitting on the ground in his cutoffs and skipping stones. "I guess we should head back," I muttered with a sigh.

He nodded without looking at me and stood. He shoved his hands in his back pockets as he walked next to me. "I guess you won," he mumbled. I sensed he was uneasy, and I patted his back to find that he was also ashamed that he had underestimated me, and curious about my strength as an ally.

I nodded in return, keeping my eyes on the fire ahead of us. He slowed as we got close and turned to me. "You know, you can come out here anytime you want. That was always the agreement we had with your dad, since he's my dad's best friend and all."

I smiled sadly at him. "Yeah, maybe some day they'll stop being two stubborn old fools and remember that."

He smiled in response and nodded. "It was good to see you again, Bella. I really hope you'll come back and hang out sometime soon."

"Me too, and I will." It was unexpected, but I had really enjoyed myself with Jake, until I became maudlin over killing the mountain lion.

He waved goodbye as I continued to the fire, and he nodded to his friends who followed him away. When I reached Mike, he was looking at me incredulously. "What?" I asked with suspicion.

"What were the two of you doing for so long?"

I shook my head, wondering at his line of questioning. "Just catching up. We grew up together."

"The two of you just up and disappeared, then the girls thought they heard a woman scream, and I tried to convince them it was just a mountain lion, but even I was starting to worry that he'd drug you off to kill you."

I didn't like the conclusions he'd jumped to about my new friend, but I gritted my teeth and laughed. "Well, I'm here now, so I guess he's not an axe murderer after all."

We left soon after, and luckily everyone was exhausted by the outing because the trip home was quiet. Jessica dropped me off in front of my house and told me to make sure to tell her what I discussed with Jake on Monday. I told her I would, but she seemed like she might be tired enough to forget about it.

I took a long shower, hoping to get the lingering feeling of blood off of me. It helped some, but I finally had to accept that it was more of a mental filth than a physical one when the water turned cold. I had my robe on and had wrapped my wet hair in a towel when I walked to my bedroom. I closed the door and leaned against it, closing my eyes in fatigue.

I turned around to face the mirror, wanting to check once more that there was no blood on me before I went to bed. When I opened my eyes, though, I didn't see myself in the mirror. Instead, I saw Alice Cullen in my doorway, absorbed like she had no idea I was even there.

I squinted, realizing something was off. It was definitely Alice standing before me, but she appeared to be a few years older than when I had seen her the day before, and her hair was a little longer and in a curled updo, which she was now taking down pin by pin.

She wore a white floor length nightgown, old-fashioned and simple, yet delicate and lovely. I realized that behind her, instead of my hallway, there was a large bedroom, with a huge four-poster bed taking up most of the space.

I realized with shock that Alice wasn't in my doorway at all; she was actually inside my mirror. She hummed softly to herself as she removed he pins from her hair, then picked up a hair brush from a table to her side and softly began to brush her hair.

A door behind her in the mirror opened with a bang, and the brunette woman from my visions appeared behind Alice. Only her eyes were visible, the rest being blocked by Alice's own body in the reflection, but her eyes spoke volumes. They darted all over the room, searching for something, but seeing nothing.

Alice paused mid-stroke. "Issy?" she asked softly.

I was surprised. She was Issy? I thought I was Issy.

The woman's eyes finally stopped their rapid shifting and met Alice's in the mirror. "What did you do? Tell me how you did it, Lyssa?"

Mad Lyssa, who probably made the first vampire.

She put down the hair brush but continued to play with her hair with her fingers nervously. "I'm not sure what you're referring to."

The brunette's eyes narrowed in anger. "Do not you dare lie to me. How did you change your pet?"

Alice became angry. "Don't call him that. You of all people should know he is so much more to me than that."

The brunette's face crumpled as tears began to stream down her face. "Please, Lyssa, I have to know, before it's too late."

Alice looked at her regretfully. "I'm sorry; I don't really know that I did anything special. I just bit him while he was still alive. Maybe it's something only I can do. I wish I had a better answer."

The tears stopped as quickly as they came, and the brunette looked furious. "You wish? You wish???" She threw her head back and laughed, and over the top of Alice's head I could now see that her mouth was red, her chin too, and what I could see of her neck was scarlet red with what appeared to be blood.

She slowly advanced towards the mirror, and Alice's eyes widened in response. The red mess flowed down passed her neck, down the front of her own white gown, stopping near her knees in jagged drips. Her eyes no longer met Alice's in the mirror. Instead they stared above her, deeper than the mirror, into another dimension.

"Do you know what I wish, Lyssa?" she asked in a girlish voice. "I wish you would forget."

"You don't mean that, Issy," Alice whispered in response.

"Oh, but I do." She giggled, but then her voice took on a sibilant, hissing quality. "You will forget. All of your past, your memories, will belong to me. You may keep your future. All of your plans, all of your schemes to get your way, you can have them, though they'll mean little to you when you have no past to inspire them."

"Please don't do this, Issy." Alice's voice shook.

The brunette's skin had started to glow, and an ethereal wind was lifting the locks of her hair as her burning stare gazed into the mirror. "It is done, and you no longer have the right to call me by that name. It is only to be used by siblings or friends, and you are neither to me now. I am only your Goddess now, and you will call me by my proper name."

Alice visibly shook now, fat tears making wet tracks down her pale cheeks. "Yes, Nemesis."


E/N: Please review! Got any questions, something(s) not making sense? Let me know! I'll either clarify right away or incorporate it later, or both! Also, if you want to discuss the fic, or the mythology behind it, or anything Twi related really, visit the thread on the Twilight forums. .?f=33&t=3943 (http(colon)(slash)(slash)www(dot)twilighted(dot)net(slash)forum(slash)viewtopic(dot)php?f=33&t=3943)