DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM TWILIGHT. THEY ALL BELONG TO STEPHENIE MEYER.

Bella

I had never felt so complete as I did right now.

With my lips on Edwards everything felt right. Like everything that I had been waiting and working for over the last century was just falling into place. Like nothing else mattered.

Because in that moment, nothing else did.

I hated to think of how Jasper was feeling at the moment. If he was feeling even a hundredth of what I was feeling right now, then he was in trouble. I didn't even understand what I was feeling. I had never felt this way before.

I didn't want this to end.

But it did. All too soon he pulled away and looked into my eyes. I couldn't help the contented sigh that escaped me.

He looked into my eyes with his deep red orbs that were so entrancing and yet so deadly. The colour of his eyes was a reminder of how he lived. He was not, and probably would never be, like me. He would feed off of humans for the rest of eternity. And who was I to judge. I had gone through a rebellious stage some years ago, killing humans, and he was older than I was. He had survived off of human blood since he was created. I doubt anything could deter him from that diet. Not even me.

"Your family think you're insane by the way." He whispered, not breaking eye contact. I couldn't help but chuckle.

"I suppose I am." I nodded. "I mean, what sane person, even a sane vampire, would be as drawn to someone like you as I am?"

"'Someone like me'?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah." I whispered. "Well, what-"

He placed a finger over my lips, effectively silencing me. "Not here." He pressed his lips to mine again and disappeared, leaving me standing there, stunned for a moment. I knew what he was leaning towards. He didn't want to have this conversation when it was so obvious that my family could hear everything that was being said.

I decided to go downstairs and face them, knowing that the longer I put it off, the worse the reaction would be.

I walked into the living room to see five grinning faces and a scowling Rosalie.

"Are you insane Bella?" She practically screeched at me, leaping up off of the couch. "I mean, what the hell are you thinking?"

"I'm not thinking, that's the whole point Rose." I hissed at her through clenched teeth. "You think I want to feel this way? I know how dangerous he is."

"So why are you doing this?" She spat, marching around the sofas at a human pace. "Why are you putting the whole family in danger?"

"It's not like I have any choice, Rose." I knew that if I could cry, I would have tears streaming down my cheeks at this moment in time. "I don't know why this is happening. I don't know why I'm feeling this way. But it's … it's like … when he's not here, like right now … it's like something's missing. There's this force in my chest, pulling me towards him. Urging me to go and find him, just …… to be with him."

"You're saying you're in love with him?" She sounded taken aback.

"No…I don't know…I don't think so." I shook my head. I was thoroughly confused.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Alice stood up now, walking up behind Rosalie slowly, a look of concern on her face.

"I don't know." I shook my head. "Maybe, when I was human, I was, but right now…I don't think so. How can I love someone like him? I mean, some of the things that he's done…they're just…… awful." I wrapped my arms around myself, looking away from my sisters.

"What do you mean?" Rosalie asked, sounding curious and yet afraid at the same time. I shook my head, not wanting to answer her. "What does that mean?"

"It means, you don't want to know." I whispered, turning away from my family.

"Where are you going Bells?" Emmett asked and I could hear him standing up off of the sofa. "You're not going to find him are you?"

"It doesn't matter what's going on between us. If there's anything between us. And honestly, I don't think there ever will be but, none of that matters." I shrugged turning to look at the group of vampires gathered in front of me. "He's still the one that made me. He alone holds the answers that I need. He's the only one I can talk to."

"If you're sure Bells." Jasper stood up and wrapped an arm around his wife. He stood there and looked at me, a small smile forming on his lips.

I nodded looking at my family. Gazing over the three couples in front of me, how loving they all were, how much they cared for each other, it really hit home. I had never felt as alone as I did right then.

I knew that Jasper could sense the pain that I was feeling at the moment, because his face contorted into a sort of grimace. He didn't want me to hurt, but he didn't try to manipulate my emotions either. Something I was thankful for, because I needed this.

In my mind, even though I would like to see it working out between Edward and myself, I knew that it wasn't likely to happen. He was still the master of an entire race, whether or not he was my mate. I didn't think I could leave my family, and he didn't belong tied to one place. He was essentially a nomad. It was the way he had to be. I on the other hand, needed my family.

It would never work.

I would have to figure out my feelings and then put them to rest. What was I feeling for Edward? I had never felt this way before. Not that I remembered anyway.

It was all foreign to me.

"Personally, I don't think Edward will harm Bella." The whole family looked at Emmett. He looked at all of us before settling his gaze back onto me. "I mean, think about it. Our first instinct: protect your mate. I mean, if Edward's the "father of us all" as you've said before Carlisle, then wouldn't that instinct be in him too? Even if he doesn't know it." I looked at the rest of my family. All of them but Jasper and Carlisle looked exteremely confused.

"I guess so." Carlisle didn't look as worried anymore as he mulled over Emmett's theory. I was still surprised that Emmett could come out with anything as profound as that. He actually made sense for once. "It would make sense." He turned to look at Jasper. "Jasper, what did you get off him?"

"Nothing." Jasper shook his head, looking apologetically at me. I smiled at him. I didn't expect him to get a reading off of Edward. He was too old to let something like that happen. "He's too skilled at hiding his emotions. I haven't gotten a single thing from him. At all."

"I didn't expect anything else." Carlisle frowned, running a hand through his hair. "I just wish I knew what all this means."

I turned and walked out of the door at a human pace, strolling out and away from the house, not wanting to rush into anything. I still needed to work everything out in my own head. I was too confused to think straight at the moment, and trust me, that is not an easy feat for a vampire to achieve.

You might as well get it over and done with. Who knows, he may be as conflicted in his emotions as you are. You'll never know if you don't try.

Dammit! The annoying little voice inside my head was right.

There was only one way to work through this. I had to talk to Edward. Now. Before it all got out of hand.

I turned my walk into a jog and then into a flat out run. I knew where he was. The tug in my chest was letting me know that I was going in the right direction.

He would be at the rock clearing that we were at before. He knew that my family didn't hunt here, and that we wouldn't be disturbed. It was the perfect spot really.

I stopped in the clearing, seeing him sitting on the same rock he had been on before, staring off into the distance. I knew better than to think that he was ignorant of my arrival. He always knew. It was like he knew everything, but then again, being who he is, he probably did.

I ran over to the boulder he was sitting on and sat on it, just as I had done earlier on in the day. He didn't move, so I guessed that he wasn't aggravated that I was there. Then again, he was the one that practically suggested we go somewhere else and talk.

"'Someone like me'?" He said softly, not looking at me. I didn't really know what to say to that.

"Um," I replied in a not-so-smooth manner. "Yeah. Well …… everyone knows who you are. And how you are. I guess they're just afraid for me."

"They're afraid that I'm going to hurt you." He said softly, closing his eyes and sighing. I nodded, knowing that he couldn't see me. Some part of me felt that he'd know what I was doing anyway, so I didn't bother to say anything. "Bella." He said my name so softly, that if I were human, I wouldn't have heard it. "It's strange, but …… I don't think that I … could …… hurt you …… even if I wanted to."

"Really?" I whispered, inching closer to him, ever so slightly. He opened his eyes and nodded. "I don't understand any of this."

"And you think I do?" He turned to look at me and I saw that he really didn't know what to do. Of course he doesn't you idiot! I mentally scolded myself. A vampire has but one mate for all eternity. And he's practically lived for eternity. "Truth is, Bella. I don't understand this any more than you do. All I know is that I feel …… something …… for you. And I don't know what it is."

"Maybe we could …… figure it out …… together?" I asked, my voice barely more than a whisper. I didn't know how he would react to that suggestion. Would he blow it off completely? Revert to the Edward I had seen earlier on? Or would he remain this Edward? One that I was beginning to think was reserved for me and me alone.

He sighed gently, closing his eyes again. "I don't know."

"Can I be honest with you?" I asked, my voice low and timid. I hated that he was intimidating me again. I could tell that it wasn't intentional this time. It was just something about him that made me nervous, even though he had practically admitted that he wouldn't hurt me. He looked at me and nodded slowly. I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. God, how I wished air had some sort of benefit for me. "I don't know … what … I'm feeling right now. I don't know what to make of it. I've never felt this before. This …… pull." I placed a hand over where my still heart was resting and his eyes immediately flicked to it. "You feel it too don't you?" He looked back up at me, his eyes telling me the truth. He did feel it. "I don't know what it is, but what I do know is that, somehow, I feel like I need to be near you. Like something's missing when you're not there. I don't know if it's something that I've carried over from my human life, because honestly, all I remember of that life is …… when you …" I trailed off but he nodded, knowing what I was talking about. "But in that memory I remember feeling … complete … when you were there. I don't know…" I looked down at my hands, not knowing how to finish.

"Bella." He whispered. I looked back up at him. He had his eyes closed and there was an unreadable expression on his face. He looked almost …… pained. "I know what you're talking about. Why do you think I left the beach earlier on?" I hadn't thought about that. Did he leave because of …… me? I thought that he was just pissed because we'd stopped him from destroying the wolves. "I know what you're thinking, and no, I'm not reading your mind at the moment, but it's obvious and yes. It was because of you that I left." He took a deep breath, opening his eyes but not looking at me. He was gazing over into the distance, seeming to try to figure out something in his own mind. How I wished that I was the mind reader of the two of us. "I'm going to tell you the truth, Bella. It's something I've never told anyone else. Something that I didn't even want to admit to myself, but I think you need to know. I've felt this before, almost a century ago." Was he saying that he'd felt this connection to someone else? "When I was in Chicago almost a century ago, there was someone there. She completely captivated me. I don't know what it was about her, but she seemed to draw me in. It was like I couldn't get enough of her."

"Like a drug?" I offered in a low voice.

"Exactly." He mumbled, still staring off into the distance. Maybe Jasper was right. Maybe all he had ever needed was a real conversation with someone. I wasn't afraid of him, like I had been before. I was still nervous around him, and I knew that to some extent I always would be, but I wasn't scared of him, like so many, well everyone else was. "When I first met her, she seemed like every other human. Insignificant. But there was something different about her. I found that no matter how much I wanted to … I couldn't kill her. I couldn't bring myself to harm her." He looked at me, his expression now unreadable. "I felt drawn to her, much like the same way I do now. But it wasn't as strong back then. Do you know who that girl was?"

I shook my head, trying to figure out where this was leading. Who he was talking about. "Who?"

"You."

Me? He had felt this way about me before he had turned me. Of course. I remembered from my one memory, thinking about how I had known him for two months or so before he attacked me. Why would he have left me be, not killed me if he hadn't felt something for me.

"And now?" I asked softly.

"I don't know." He shook his head, turning away from me again. "This is the same, only more …… intense. Maybe it's because you're a vampire now. I don't know." He sighed and a single chuckle escaped his throat. "I'm fifteen thousand years old and all of this is new to me. Who would have thought?"

"Well, my family believe that every vampire has a mate. Just one." I said softly. "I'm not too clear on it, seeing as I'm new to this myself, but … they say that, when a vampire finds their mate, that's it. That's them sorted for eternity. That they would do anything for their mate. That it's physically impossible for them to hurt them or allow any harm to come to them." I took another deep breath, not really believing that I was going to say what was about to come out of my mouth. "Maybe …… that's why you can't hurt me." I sighed. "Maybe that's why you feel like you can't hurt me, even if you wanted to. Maybe that's why you didn't kill me outright when you first smelled me. Because some instinct within you was telling you not to."

He snorted. "It fits." He mumbled gently.

"I think that …… maybe we can work this out …… together." I suggested quietly, watching him carefully, trying to gauge his reaction. "I mean, it's pretty obvious that something out there wants us to be together."

We sat in silence for a moment, not needing to talk at all. I was all too aware of the pulling, burning sensation in my chest. The part of me that was longing to touch him, to just have some form of physical contact with him. I wouldn't give in to it though. Even though now I knew that he wouldn't hurt me, he was still dangerous.

"We could." He mumbled, turning to look at me, a small smile on his face. "Seeing as I'm stuck with you."

"Hey!" My mouth dropped open. "That's not nice."

"Hey, I never claimed to be nice." He shrugged and I laughed.

"True." I smiled and found him doing the same. Maybe he wasn't the monster that I had first perceived him to be. Maybe Jasper was right and he was just …… lonely. He didn't need to be any longer. Whatever higher power there was in the world had ensured that. I didn't know if I could physically be separated from Edward for any length of time.

I hadn't noticed it before, but while we had been talking, we had somehow grown closer together. His face was mere inches away from mine and I knew that if I leaned forward even the tiniest amount, my lips would be on his again. Would he want that though? I didn't know.

My answer came swiftly though as he tilted his head up and his lips connected with mine gently. That same electric shock was there and I could only wish that he felt it too. The fact that he didn't pull away from me was encouraging.

I took it upon myself to be a little bolder as I pushed myself slightly harder into the kiss. I felt something within me soar when I felt him doing the same thing. He placed a hand on the back of my neck, seeming to draw me in closer to him. This was a side to Edward that I knew no one else in the world would ever see. But I didn't mind. I kind of like the idea of there being an Edward that was reserved for me alone.

He suddenly pulled back, turning away from me, a feral growl rumbling in his chest. Okay, maybe he didn't feel the same way.

"Edward?" I whispered and he looked back at me, his gaze furious. "Are you okay?"

"The fools!" He growled, turning away from me and jumping off of the boulder.

"Edward, what's wrong?" My voice was barely audible to me, yet I knew he would hear it. Being the original, everything about him was advanced, right?

He looked back to me, before turning and scanning the area again. "Two of them." Two of who? "The Volturi." He snarled. "The idiots!"

"Edward?" I called, jumping off of the boulder and joining him. "What's going on?"

"What's going on is that Aro, Marcus and Caius, have a lot of explaining to do." It didn't escape my notice that he practically snarled their names. I was guessing that he didn't like the brothers all too much.

"What have they done?" I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer to that question.

"They disobeyed me." His voice was little more than a hiss. They were in trouble. I could tell that Edward didn't take disobedience lightly.

This was the Edward that scared me. I wanted the Edward that I had been so close to not a minute ago back. This Edward was the Edward that the legends were based on. The monster that humanity perceived him to be.

Then he was off. He suddenly took off running. He was running towards the house. I followed as closely as I could, but he was a lot faster than I was. Even though I was the fastest of my family, even I found it hard to keep up with him. Like I said, everything about him was advanced.

I stopped in the clearing where my family and I hunted regularly. It was another rocky area, known for its booming mountain lion and elk population. It was our favourite place to hunt. Edward was standing there, two vampires with him. One was cowering in front of him and the other, well the other wasn't going anywhere. Edward was standing there, as cool as anything with his foot on his head. I knew he wouldn't hesitate to crush him.

"Now." Edward snarled. "Tell me. Why does Aro think that he can disobey my orders. It was made clear that no one from the Volturi was to approach this area unless I gave the order." The vampire standing in front of him, which I now recognised to be Demetri didn't answer. If he could scare Demetri, then I knew that all the stories Carlisle had told us about him were true. Not much scared Demetri, so if Edward was worthy of his fear, he had to be powerful. "Tell me now, or I'll pop his head like a grape." He looked down at the vampire that was being held prisoner by his foot. "Hell, I might do it anyway, but you're going to tell me either way."

"I'm sorry, my lord." Demetri bowed his head as a sign of respect. "We were unaware that you hadn't given the order. Aro told us that we were needed here, so we followed our orders given."

"Well." Edward was angry now. It was clear that Aro had known that Edward had given no such order, and since I had been with him for most of his time here, except the brief hunting trip he had obviously taken, anyway. "You can go back to Volterra and deliver Aro a message from me. Let him know, that if I get the slightest inclination that any vampire loyal to the Volturi is in these areas, then I will be flying back to Volterra, destroying every single vampire there and starting over again." He took his foot off of the vampires head and grabbed the front of his shirt, lifting him up and glaring into his eyes. "Understood?" The two vampires only nodded, seeming too afraid to voice anything coherent. "Good." He threw the second vampire, who I noticed to be Felix in the same direction that Demetri was standing. "Now get out of my sight."

I walked towards Edward a few steps, which caught the attention of Demetri. He had been interested in me since he had first met me fifty years ago. He had never interested me. And now I knew why. He must have been thinking some pretty unsavoury thoughts, because an extremely feral growl erupted from Edward and he looked back to him in fear.

The two vampires in front of us, started to run and Edward lithely jumped onto a large boulder, so he had a better vantage point. I joined him at his side, standing a little way away from him, still slightly afraid of this particular side to Edward. He was unpredictable and dangerous. Not like the calm, almost sweet Edward I had been with not five minutes before.

His head cocked to the side slightly as we watched them run across the clearing that was spread out beneath us.

"Bella." He asked, his voice light and wistful again. "How many vampires does it take to deliver a message?"

I gulped slightly, not really knowing how to answer. How many people did it take to deliver a message? Especially with our memory. "One?" I asked quietly, not really trusting my voice all too well.

"I thought so." He smirked, his eyes growing dark.

The next thing I knew, the sky had clouded over and there was a great clap of thunder, a bolt of lightning crashing down from the sky, hitting one of the fleeing vampires dead on as they ran.

I gasped as the bolt made contact and I heard the vampire – I couldn't tell if it was Felix or Demetri – scream in agony as they were engulfed in fire. The other vampire sped up, trying to get as far away from the area as possible, before Edward could do the same to him.

"What was that?" I breathed, not wanting to watch the vampire beneath us, writhe in agony as he burned, but also unable to tear my eyes away from the scene.

"Another little message to Aro." He stated simply, as though it was nothing for him to take the life of a vampire. But then again it probably was nothing to him.

It made me realise that he was still dangerous. Probably not as big of a threat to me, seeing as he had pretty much admitted to me that he wouldn't be able to hurt me even if he wanted to, but still I was a little more than nervous now that I had seen him take the life of a vampire so easily.

Surprisingly though, the pull I felt didn't diminish.

It didn't change anything.

Now, if any of you can tell me where Edward's last question to Bella was from, then you'll get a sneak peak of the next chapter.
I'll reveal where it was from in the next chapter, so you're not left hanging for too long.
A bit of an incentive for you. Aren't I cruel?
Mwahaha! Yes I am :D
Please gimme a review. I love them so.
xx