Hello, my lovely Readers!

As always, HUGE thanks to my wonderful betas: SqueakyZorro and Kisbydog.

And of course, my awesome readers and reviewers!

I own nothing Twilight. Stephenie Meyer owns it all.

Now, how about a little Bella and Edward action, hmm?

BPOV

I dropped the carcass of the deer I'd just consumed and turned to look at Jake. He was staring at me with a look of pure disgust on his face. I laughed and walked over to the nearest tree, lifted it gently from the ground, and threw the animal's body into the hole before I replaced the tree.

I wiped my hands on the back of my jeans to get rid of the little bit of dirt. I had come a long way from the first time I had ever hunted, and now, it wasn't as much of a filthy experience for me. Rose, on the other hand, still had some trouble keeping her expensive clothes blood-free after her hunting excursions. But she was getting better at it.

Jake walked toward me slowly with a scowl on his face.

I pointed my finger at him and smirked. "You need to stop looking at me like that. You're the one who wanted to come and see how we hunt. This was not my idea."

After the whole emotional meltdown Jake and I'd - well, more Jake than me - had in the hospital parking lot and the subsequent conversation about Jake becoming a daddy, we both realized that we were starving. Jake had wanted pizza, and I think that I had laughed so hard about that, I might have scared him a bit. I had told him that I was heading into the woods and that if he really wanted pizza, then we could just meet up later.

But Jake's curious mind got the best of him, and after grabbing a pizza, he'd followed me into the woods behind my dad's house. I didn't take long to catch my dinner, and all the while Jake yelled comments about Bambi and how I was slaughtering Bambi's mother. Same old Jake... I had missed him.

When he'd explained me to earlier that he was going to be a father, I must admit that I was shocked. A little pang of jealousy had shot through me at his news. Not because he had gotten another woman pregnant, but because he was about to embark on a journey that I would never get the chance to travel. Don't get me wrong, Jake was my best friend, other than Rose, and I truly was happy for him. It was just a little bittersweet.

"So, Jake, how is Leah dealing with all of this?" I asked as I sat down on a patch of grass underneath a tree.

Jake came over and sat beside me, digging into his pizza.

Apparently, Jake and Leah had started dating a little over a year ago, after she had phased for the first time and completely flipped out. Jake had already been phasing for awhile by that point, and since he was the leader of the pack, he helped Leah get through a lot of it. They'd fallen deeply in love and had been together ever since. Leah had actually been one of my really good friends growing up. I'd grown up with all of the kids around La Push. I had been friends with the boys, but since Leah had been a huge tom boy, like me, we'd connected. She was hot-tempered, foul-mouthed, and beautiful. Perfect for Jake. It made me wonder how the two had not felt the attraction they had for each other practically all of their lives. I could see it even when Jake and I were together, and I guessed that was why Leah's attitude towards me had changed around that time. We'd no longer been friends, and she'd avoided me like the plague. Now I knew why.

"She's a little freaked. It's still kind of early and she's afraid to phase, because she thinks it might hurt the baby. But I keep telling her that she has to phase, or she'll lose the ability to do it altogether."

My eyes went wide. I was trying hard to understand the whole wolf mating thing. "Well, would that be a bad thing? Not being able to phase anymore?"

Jake took a monstrous bite of his pizza and chewed it down before he answered my question. "In any other case, it wouldn't be a big deal. Most shapeshifters eventually stop shifting and grow old once they find their imprints, allowing the next generation of wolves to shift if there is a need for it. Usually, all shapeshifters only have the gene that initiates from one parent; however, our unborn child has the gene from two parents, which hasn't really happened before. But my dad is convinced that even if there are no vamps around when the time comes, mine and Leah's child will still phase. I want us to still be phasing at that time so he or she won't have to go through it alone."

I absorbed the information he gave me and furrowed my brow. "Well, why can't you just keep phasing and let Leah stop?"

Jake shook his head, gulping down a mouth full of food. "Because I won't age, but Leah will. We intend to spend the rest of our lives together, but if Leah stops phasing, she's no longer immortal. When our child starts phasing, we could all live eternally - that is, if we don't get wiped out by you fucking leeches."

I smiled softly at that last comment. "Well, you know it won't be by my hand, Jake."

He grinned back at me. "I know, Bells. But the truth is...I'm pretty sure I can take you."

I cocked an eyebrow at him and smiled evilly. "You think so, huh?"

"I know so."

Hmm. Is that a challenge?

I slowly stood from the ground and crouched down in front of him in a fighting stance. He let out a loud bellowing laugh and threw the rest of his pizza to the side, rising up in front of me. Before I could blink, Jake's body shook violently, and then exploded into the large, russet wolf I had seen when we first arrived in Forks.

I paused for a second, taking in the giant beast before me, still in awe that this was my Jake standing before me on four legs. We'd been sucked into truly a strange world.

I lunged at the giant beast, jumping on his back. He howled loudly as I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck, tight enough to get a good grip, but obviously not enough to hurt him. Once my arms were secured around his enormous neck, I used his back as leverage and pushed myself off of him. I gracefully flew through the air in a high somersault, taking Jake along for the ride, and then I slammed him down on his back onto the soft, wet forest floor.

I giggled as I stepped back, giving him a moment to recover from my attack. But there was no recovery time needed, as he immediately leapt to his feet and pawed the dirt in front of him. He looked like a bull ready to charge, and I squealed loudly, taking off out of the clearing and into the trees. He was right behind me, nipping at my ass, as I ran at full vampire speed through the forest. I was fast, but he must have been just as fast as I was, because he eventually got hold of my clothing and picked me up by the seat of pants. In that position, there wasn't much I could do to get away without ripping my pants completely off, and that just wasn't an option. There was no way I was going to be bottomless in front of Jake, so I just stayed where I was, hanging out of the overgrown wolf's mouth, laughing so hard that I was grateful in that moment that I didn't need to breathe or even pee.

Jake stopped running, but continued to spin me around in circles. I assumed it was to try and make me dizzy, but he didn't realize that vampires didn't get dizzy. So, after a while, he gave up and jerked his huge head back, flinging me about thirty feet upwards into the trees. I landed gracefully on the branch of a tall pine tree and maneuvered myself around the branches so I could get a clear view of him below me.

He took off running, knowing I would be coming back for retribution. I assumed that he thought he had a head start, since I was all the way up in the tree and would need to get down first before I gave chase.

Poor, naïve, little wolf boy.

Jake kept looking behind him as he ran, not knowing that I was keeping pace above him, skimming through the tops of the trees soundlessly. I could see he was heading straight for my father's house, and I laughed softly. Poor Jake was scared of me and had, had enough already. I couldn't help but feel smug. I also felt triumph, knowing that after all of those years having to deal with Jake's annoying competitive nature, I finally had him. And fuck if I wouldn't rub it in, too.

When he made it to the backyard, thinking he was free and clear, I dove out of the trees and took him down to the ground. We rolled a few times, until Jake shakily rose up on all four legs with me securely wrapped around his neck. If that rumble had been real, that would have been the moment that I killed my opponent. But of course, it wasn't real, and I could never kill Jake, so I let go and sat on him like a horse, throwing my arms in the air and claiming my victory.

"What was that, Jake? I thought you said you could take me?" I asked, laughing, hoping none of my father's neighbors could see us through the thick growth of trees that lined the property. That would have been a scary sight to behold, and even scarier to explain.

Jake grunted underneath me, obviously not happy about my victory over him. He took a couple steps back and swung around, trying to throw me off of him. He succeeded - not because I couldn't hold on, but because when he spun around, I came face to face with a pair of smoldering green eyes that I knew could only belong to one person.

As I started to fall off Jake's back, the shock at seeing Edward momentarily making me clumsy, I somehow managed to get a fistful of fur and was able to bring my feet underneath myself, pushing off and making a clean backwards flip into the air. I landed gracefully on my feet - a mere six inches away from the man who made my whole body tingle just being near him.

Rose was standing next to him with an amused smile on her face, and he looked...well, he looked like he had just seen a damn ghost. His eyes were incredibly wide, his mouth agape, and I could hear his heart pounding furiously beneath his chest.

What the hell is he doing here? Am I dreaming?

We just stared at each other for what felt like forever, as Jake made his way back into the trees to phase. I was locked in Edward's green gaze, his eyes burning into mine. So many questions were soaring around us, but not a word was spoken. I could tell by the look on his face that he was struggling with what he had just seen, and I didn't blame him one bit.

Within seconds, Jake returned from the forest, and he and Rosalie set off into the house together, leaving Edward and me completely alone. I was pulled from my trance when I heard the back door bang shut, and I suddenly felt utterly embarrassed about the way I was staring at him. I could feel my walls go up automatically, and my defense mechanism kicked in.

"What are you doing here?" I asked a little too curtly, throwing daggers at him with my eyes now, rather than the awe-filled gaze we had shared only moments ago.

He was visibly shaking, and I immediately felt bad about snapping at him. His bewildered expression told me that he was not okay about seeing me play with a wolf in my father's backyard.

Surprisingly, when he answered me, he kept his voice clear and steady. "I need to talk to you about the murders in Chicago."

My heart dropped for a second and a feeling of sadness came over me briefly, but I didn't let it show. I was a fool to think even for a second that he had come all this way because he felt the same connection that I did. Stupid vampire. He was just there to get information out of me. He was there as a detective - nothing more. No, I was completely dense to even think he was here because of me. It had been my first thought when I saw him standing there, and I'd hoped I was right. What a fool.

I shrugged my shoulders. "So talk."

He gave me a weary smile, and I could tell that he was extremely nervous. "Why don't we take a walk?" he asked softly. I could tell he was hesitant about his suggestion after seeing all that he had, but I figured it was a good sign that he wasn't totally petrified of me if he was willing to go for a walk with just the two of us.

I nodded and started walking toward the forest, with him following close behind. I didn't want to be too close to him, although my body wanted to be. An internal war raged inside me, and I was being pulled in two different directions. The lure of this man was indescribable. Something inside of me was screaming to reach out and make contact with any part of him, to get some relief from the inexplicable need I had for him. It was making me crazy. It was also making me angry...again.

He followed me through the thick brush. He maintained a pretty good pace, but he was nowhere near as agile as I was. I could hear him struggling to keep up, his breathing heavy. When I looked back, I could see that he was starting to sweat, even in the chilly air. I had never been so turned on in my life.

After about thirty minutes of trudging through the greenery, he finally spoke through his heavy panting. "Where - where are you taking me?"

I looked back at him and grinned. "Not too much farther."

He gave me the same weary smile he had before, and even though he looked like a scared rabbit, he was still so damn sexy. I turned back away from him and kept walking, before he found himself with his back against the nearest tree and stripped naked. I don't think that would have gone over so well - especially if I ever wanted him to trust me.

"So ... is this where you tell me that you are actually the murderer and brought me out here to kill me and bury my body?" he joked as he pushed some branches out of his way, but I could hear the slight quiver in his voice as he said it.

He really is scared of me.

I giggled low enough so he couldn't hear me and tried to reassure him. "No, Edward, I'm not the murderer. You're safe with me. I promise."

He seemed to accept that statement, as we continued walking silently for a few more minutes.

We finally made it to our destination, and I broke through the trees, with Edward hot on my heels. I looked around at my sanctuary, knowing that this time of year, it would not be nearly as beautiful as it was in the spring - but it was still beautiful to me all the same.

"What is this place?" he asked, as he spun around in a small circle to take it all in.

"My favorite place in the world," I said softly, closing my eyes and envisioning all of the beautiful purple, red, and yellow wildflowers that covered the entire meadow in the spring. While a little barren in the winter since Forks was always cold and rainy, it didn't snow often, so most of the trees stayed green all year.

"It's my meadow. I grew up here. I can't remember much of my childhood anymore, but I could never forget this place. When Jake and I were younger, we would come here and play for hours. Or just talk. It's so peaceful."

"Jake?"

I turned to him and gave him a small smile. "Yeah...um...the big wolf you saw me with earlier. That was Jake."

Edward seemed totally confused and looked as if he might actually get sick. I knew he really wanted to ask me something by the look on his face, or it could possibly be a million somethings he wanted to ask, but he didn't quite know where to start.

"Jake turns into a werewolf - well, not an actual werewolf, I guess. He's a shapeshifter and can transform from human to wolf, at will. It's kind of bad-ass, if you ask me."

I snickered as Edward went to sit down on a log; there was no doubt in my mind that he was trying to process the information I was laying on him. I hoped Jake wouldn't mind me outing his secrets, but Edward had seen it with his own eyes anyway, and it wasn't like in the vampire world, where they actually had severe rules about that sort of thing. Yes, I was sure that the Quileutes wanted their secrets kept, but they wouldn't kill over it.

"W-What makes him transform? Are there others?"

I plopped myself onto the wet, brownish grass, settling in for what I expected to be a long conversation. I would have sat next to him, but I didn't quite trust myself. "Jake is a protector. He grew up in La Push on an Indian Reservation. They are a tribe called Quileute, and for many years, the boys - and now girl - have been phasing into wolves in order to protect their people. There are a pack of them now, because there was danger near not so long ago, and the gene only kicks in when there are certain...people nearby."

I could see Edward trying hard to understand this, and just maybe he was also trying to accept it, but I couldn't read his emotions, and in that moment, I really wished I had been given the gift to do just that. I didn't know if he was scared, or curious, or if he would run for the hills after hearing all about this supernatural bullshit. And I hadn't even told him about me. Poor guy. He ran his hands through his messy hair, before resting his elbows on his knees and meeting my eyes.

"What kind of people, Bella?"

I broke his gaze and looked away, wondering how much I should tell him. He knew I wasn't human - I had proved that to him on multiple occasions - but I was worried about telling him the whole truth. I didn't want to see anything bad happen to him.

When I didn't answer him right away, he huffed and stood up quickly, pacing back and forth. "What kind of people?" he asked me again, and stopped pacing long enough to look at me. "Do you mean people like you...and James?"

My dead heart just about jumped out of my chest at the mention of James, and I was on my feet in a second. "How do you know James? Have you seen him? Is he here? Oh my God, Edward, he could have ki-"

"Killed me? Yes, I know. That's exactly what he plans to do if I don't stay away from you!" he yelled.

I could see that all of this was getting to him, and my heart went out to him. But I had to focus on the most important matter at hand.

James.

Fear and anger battled inside of me at Edward's words. I should have known that James would stoop so low as to threaten another man away from me. How the hell did he even know who Edward was? I remembered the night that he'd smelled him on me, but I didn't tell him Edward's name. It only fueled my speculations that James had been eavesdropping on Rose and me - probably on more than one occasion. And now he had crossed a line and would have to be dealt with before he hurt or killed someone.

I automatically reached out and grabbed Edward's arm, and the familiar shock and subsequent burning sensation took over my hand. I didn't pull back; I was too scared for him at the moment. "Edward, you need to tell me what happened with James. It's important."

Edward wrenched his arm away from me and continued to pace. "Don't you think I know that?" he barked. "Yeah... Yeah, I'll tell you." Then he spun around to face me suddenly, a pleading look on his face as he said, his voice cracking from the strain, "What the fuck are you, Bella?"

"I don't know if I should tell you, Edward. It isn't safe for you. There are other's out there like me, but they are much, much worse, and they are adamant about keeping our secret from humans. They could come after you - and me."

He stopped his pacing and came towards me, staring me fiercely in the eye. His face was flushed, and I could tell that he was trying to rein in his temper. "I'll take my chances," he spat, walking away from me and returning to the log to sit again. He scrubbed his hands over his face, and then left them there briefly, cradling his head in his hands. I felt the urge to go and comfort him, to talk softly in his ear and run my hands through his glossy sex hair.

Instead, I sat back down on the grass and lay back, resting my head on the cold, soft ground. I stared up at the gray sky, while I thought about everything that needed to be said. I fought internally with myself about telling Edward about vampires. He was involved now, whether I liked it or not. Between me, James, and whoever the vampire was that was going on this killing spree, Edward was a part of it. He had a right to know, didn't he?

I could see him moving off of his spot on the log from my peripheral vision as he made his way over to me, sitting down on the grass in front of me. He took hold of my hands, and I allowed him to pull me up into a sitting position so that we were face to face.

His features were softer now; the anger that had laced his face only moments ago was gone. Now, he just looked sad and bemused. I involuntarily reached my hand out to run my fingers across his cheekbone, and he closed his eyes at my touch.

"Edward, I won't let James hurt you, I promise."

His eyes snapped open, and he pulled back a little. "Who's going to protect you? Bella, he is fucking insane. He said you're his girl and that you two are getting married. I don't know what the fuck he is, but he's a man obsessed. You can't deal with him alone."

I knew what he meant by dealing with him. It was something that played on my mind constantly. However, my eyes bugged out of my head, and I felt the anger bubbling up again. "He said that to you?"

Edward only nodded, taking both of my hands in his again, burning me with his touch once more. We were both quiet as I felt the familiar, and welcome, tingling sensation burn its way through my body, starting with my hands and creeping slowly throughout. I lost myself in the feeling. I could feel the warmth reaching my cold, dead heart, and I swore for a second - just one second - that the long unbeating organ in my chest thumped several times. My eyes fluttered shut so I could mask the blast of emotion and awe that shot through me as it dawned on me what this man had the power to do.

When I opened my eyes and looked up into his face, I saw a look of wonder, and I was sure at that moment that he felt the fire just as I did. And that fact made me realize, right then and there, that this human man was most likely the one I had been waiting for my whole life. I didn't know how else to explain it. He just had to be.

"Do you feel that, Bella?

I couldn't speak, because I was so overcome with emotion, so I just nodded my head, not losing contact with his eyes.

"What does this mean?

"What do you think it means?" I asked softy.

He let go of one of my hands and used it to help himself scoot closer to me so that we were now sitting crossed-leg on the ground with our legs touching. He then sought out my hand again, gripping it in his and bringing it to his lips for a gentle kiss. My heart did flip-flops at the feeling of his warm lips touching my skin.

"Your skin is so fucking cold, but I have never been so warm," he said with amazement. "Please, Bella. Tell me what you are. I need to know because...I don't know how else to explain this fucking connection I have with you. It's completely turning me upside fucking down. I can't get you out of my god-damn mind. I haven't been able to since I first met you in the alley that night, and it just keeps getting stronger. I have never experienced anything like this before."

He stopped talking and took a deep breath, connecting his eyes with mine. "I'm afraid that maybe with your crazy-ass supernatural abilities...you could be doing this to me somehow."

My eyes grew wide at his assumption that I was affecting him this way on purpose, and a tiny giggle erupted from my chest as I shook my head adamantly. "I don't have that kind of power, Edward."

He let out another breath and dropped his head for a moment, only to lift it back up and give me a big, beautiful smile that would make any woman's panties melt. He was so fucking beautiful.

"So, this is real? All of it? My feelings for you? It's all real?

I nodded with a smile.

He continued, granting me a small, sexy smirk as he spoke in a low voice that did crazy things to my body. "Bella, I never cared about any of this shit before. I mean that. And I really don't know where we go from here, or if you even feel the same. But...you need to tell me what you are if we are going to take this forward."

I looked away from him, tearing my gaze away to look down at the grass. "I feel the same way you do, Edward, but it is just so complicated. My kind and yours don't mix; it's not supposed to be. We aren't supposed to be. I could kill you without even meaning to. But I want you...so badly. And I'm scared that if I tell you what I am, you'll leave. I don't want you to run from me," I whispered.

He chuckled quietly and reached out to bring my chin up so he could connect with my eyes once more. "I haven't been the one doing all the running. You have. I'm not going anywhere."

"You don't know that," I said, "You should run. If I tell you what I am and you don't run, I will seriously think something is wrong with you."

He laughed at that remark and brought his hands up to hold my face between them. His smell was so potent this close to me, and I wanted nothing more than to get lost in it - in him. All other thoughts flew out of my head, and nothing else mattered as he held me like this and stared into my eyes. This man, who I barely knew, who did things to me that I'd never felt before in my life, was consuming me. I wanted to tell him all that he wanted to know. I wanted him to not be afraid of me. I wanted him to kiss me. I wanted him to be mine.

Before I knew it, his warm mouth was on mine, moving softly over my hard and unrelenting lips. He tasted so good, so sweet, and I parted my mouth to take in more. I could feel the warmth of his body wrap around me when his hands parted from my face and went around my back, pulling me closer into him. My hands made their way gently into his hair, lightly tugging on the soft strands of bronze. I didn't know my own strength, and I was so afraid I would hurt him. But when I felt his tongue invade my mouth, I threw caution to the wind and immediately allowed it access, making sure I was careful with his tongue, and letting the kiss deepen. I had never been so turned on by a kiss, or felt so completely obsessed by one. Kissing Edward was my heaven, and I never wanted to leave it. I didn't want it to end

But it did. I felt him starting to pull away, and I whimpered as he released me. He rested his forehead against mine and panted softly. "You are so beautiful," he whispered, his warm breath flowing across my face. After he stared into my eyes for what felt like forever, he pressed another kiss to my lips and pulled back once again.

"Edward?" I asked softly as he caressed my cheek with the back of his fingers. I brought my hand up and placed it over his.

"Yes?" he asked, flashing me his sweetest grin.

"I'm a vampire."

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