Disclaimer: I don't own twilight or any of the characters in here except for a few of them.

Chapter 10: Change

Bella's POV

Edward took me home later that day, and, not to our surprise, we discovered Charlie sitting on the couch. The thing that did surprise us was the news report from Olympia that a local restaurant owner had been kidnapped, and the rest of his family had been burned to death.

Fear quaked through me. This was exactly what happened in Seattle not more than a week ago.

Charlie turned around to look at us after the report was over, and stated, "I don't think you should be going to Olympia right now Bells."

I nodded, and Edward said, "I couldn't agree with you more Charlie."

I turned and looked at Edward. His face was blank, showing no emotion.

The telephone rang, and I jumped. Blushing, I went over to it and picked it up. It was Alice.

"Bella," she said quickly, "when Renee calls, tell her yes she can help me with the wedding."

I was confused. "I didn't know she wanted to - "

But I was cut off by Alice, who just said, "Wait for it," and hung up the phone.

No sooner had I put the phone down on the receiver when it rang again.

I picked it up, and said, "Hi mom!"

"How did you know it was me Bella?" asked Renee, half jokingly, half seriously.

"Oh, just a lucky guess," I replied. "Woman's intuition."

Renee laughed, and then said, "Listen, I know that you have Alice planning the wedding, but I was wondering if I could just help out a little bit. Maybe just with picking out a few things, or helping with the cakes, or some of the paperwork."

"I'm sure Alice would love to have you around to help her," I said truthfully, realizing what she had said minutes ago. "So I take it you're coming to Forks?"

"Of course we are," laughed Renee. "You didn't think I'd miss the wedding or help out from home, did you?"

"No," I admitted. "Just remember, it's not just you and Phil anymore."

"Oh honey, I know," she replied. "I'm not trying to take the whole thing over. All I want to do is just help out a little bit. I promise I won't do anything to strenuous."

After a few minutes more of random chitchat, I finally made an excuse to get off of the phone, and then I went up to my room with Edward.

When we got up to my room, he pulled me into a tight embrace and the crushed his lips against mine. After I submerged myself long enough to breathe, he said, "I am serious about you not going to Olympia."

"Why?" I asked. "Are you sure that this isn't just some random occurrence? With Seattle, they didn't focus on families, they just killed randomly."

"Which leads me to believe that they want him specifically," said Edward. "This is the work of Vampires, but it seems to be more careful. There won't be anything on the news for a few weeks, and then it might be on the opposite coast."

He looked at me seriously. "This time, they seem to know what they're doing," he stated. "That makes it even more dangerous."

I put on my best puppy dog face, but that didn't cut any ice with him. All he did was laugh and then kiss me again.

The next day, we went over to Edward's house and as soon as I put one foot through the doorway, Alice grabbed my arm and turned me around.

I stumbled along behind her as she shouted, "More shopping. Sorry Edward," across the yard as we headed into the garage.

"What else could we possibly need to get?" I asked impatiently.

Edward and I had been planning a pleasant afternoon together before Alice had separated us.

"You need to get him a ring, and I just saw that the one you want for him go on sale today," explained Alice as she drove out of the garage, going 0 to 60 in 2.9 seconds flat.

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply as I felt the G forces push against my face.

"Alice," I said after a minute. "How fast can this car go?"

She laughed and said, "Mach 2."

I groaned, and she laughed louder, turning on the radio.

We arrived in Port Angeles, and we practically sprinted to the ring store. Actually, Alice sprinted, pulling me along. As soon as we walked in, I saw it.

It was 100 silver, with a slight design, but nothing too obvious. It was from the right time too. Alice looked at my wide smile, and then walked up to the clerk and told him everything about how the ring should be.

For this, I was eternally grateful, because I wouldn't have been able to speak anyways.

I wondered to myself. 'Are engaged woman all like this?'

After making sure he had the size down and the small inscription on the inside right, we walked out of the store, and too the food court, because I was starving.

Then I saw him. He was tall, thin, and had dark blonde, almost brown, hair with blonde highlights. I'd seen him before. It was the backpacker from the day I told Charlie.

"Alice," I whispered frantically. "That guy over there, I know him from somewhere. He was this guy walking down the road to La Push a while ago."

She frowned, and looked at me. "What is he doing here?" she asked.

I shrugged, and then I looked back at him, and I saw him to the weirdest thing.

His whole body stiffened, and he threw down a large bill on the counter of the McDonalds, and then practically ran out of the mall, sending one fleeting look our way.

Alice's eyes widened, and then we were running after him.

We ran out through the doors, and took a left, just like he did, but once we'd rounded the corner he was gone.

Alice was sniffing the air. "That's odd," she said. "His trail disappears here, and gets replaced by something else."

I frowned. "Is he a werewolf?" I asked in a low voice.

She shook her head. "It changes from human to vampire," she stated. "We'll have to ask Carlisle about this. I have a funny feeling he'd know what we're talking about."