Hey guys! I'm back! I honestly don't know where this story is heading. It should have been finished a long, long time ago. I really want to work on my own book M.E. But well...when life gives you lemons make lemonade. If life gives you a writers block you suck it up and wait till it vanishes. It hasn't vanished, but I make everything in this story up as I go along with it. So here goes nothing...

Epov

Destroy. Kill. Bella, safety.

Destroy. Kill. Bella, safety.

Mate, close. Threat, gone. Run. Bella, safety. Vampire, close. Kill. Hold back. Sounds, familiar.

"...ssshh. Edward, they're gone. Edward, stop growling! Edward, you have to let go, you're holding her too tight. You're frightening Bella. Look at her! Edward!"

At the mention of my Bella I quickly returned to rational thoughts. Alice sighed in relief seeing me release Bella from the tight hold I had unconsciously taken on her. But Bella quickly returned to me spinning around and flinging her arms around my waist. Sobs racked through her tiny body.

Emmet, ever the protective brother, took a step forward to console his little sister only to be stopped by a feral growl from me. Right now, I still wasn't exactly in the right frame of mind. Everyone would be treated as a potential threat by me now. And anyone would be risking losing a limb or worse by closing in on my vulnerable mate.

Slowly, with a submissive posture, he backed away from us. "Easy there, bro. I'm merely concerned about my little sister. I'm not taking her away from you. We'll keep her safe."

His eyes worriedly sought out Bella, making sure she was okay from a distance. I knew Emmet meant her nor me no harm, but that didn't mean I had to like it.

I'll go get the car, bro. We need to get out of here. Be careful with the little one. She's scared shitless.

I nodded gratefully in Emmet's direction.

After reading the hunter's thoughts every cell in my body had been reverted back to something primal. Something incredibly capable of viciously, thoughtlessly and most important of all mercilessly killing whomever I considered a threat to the very shaken girl in my arms.

Bella.

My darling girl was still in a state of terror and still crying her heart's content out into my shirt, to which she clung like it was her lifeline. I wound my arms around her and started petting her long manes. "Ssshh, Bella. Emmet's getting his Jeep. We're leaving. I won't ever let them near you. If they are smart they will leave, otherwise we will hunt them down."

For a moment her heart stopped beating, and I started to panic. Then she hugged me tighter and peaked up at me.

"You mean you'll kill them?" She asked in a small, hoarse voice. I considered lying to her. She was merely twelve and already she had been subjected to some of the harshest truths in the world. Alice made the decision for me.

"Bella, the blonde is a hunter, a tracker. He's going to chase you down no matter where you hide. The moment he scented your blood and saw Edward was protecting you he chose you as his next prey. Simply for the thrill of the hunt, all consequences be damned."

There was a moment of silence in which Alice and Bella looked at each other. Alice truly saw Bella as her sister and best friend, despite Bella's youth. It was obvious the sentiment was returned. The two of them had grown closer to each other than I had seen most actual blood related siblings do in human families.

"You know what that means, Bella. We must destroy him in order for you to be safe."

I heard Bella's heart speed up and she quickly looked up at me.

"But what if you, or any of the others get hurt? What if they kill you first? Don't go!" She started sobbing again, and I threw Alice a glare for scaring the angel bonded to me. She deserves to know the truth, Edward! She can handle it. She isn't as fragile as you would believe her to be. And they are after her, she should be on guard and know for what purpose. I sighed, nodding my acceptance.

I heard Emmet's Jeep on the trail close by. I picked Bella up and ran with Alice to the car. I placed Bella in my lap, knowing she wouldn't want to let go of me.

"Where to? We can't just drop her off home." Emmet spoke looking at me from the rear-view mirror. I grumbled in agreement.

"We need to make up some lie to tell Charlie. I'm taking Bella with me. There's no way that she's going to stay here with the hunter in the area. Jasper can strategize on how to take him and the woman out." I said with a tone of finality in my voice. There was no way I was risking Bella's safety. She was my life, my world, my everything. My whole being resolved around her and I wasn't about to let that be taken away from me after having waited over a hundred years to find her.

"No! I can't leave my dad! There's no way I –" I silenced her with a hand on her mouth. This was not up for discussion.

"Goddammnit! Edward, are you insane? Let her speak! Get real! She's right, we can't you just go around kidnapping her!" Emmet roared from the drivers seat. I snarled at him, but removed my hand nonetheless. Edward... Alice warned me in her head.

"I'm sorry, dear one. You have to realise you are the only one able to hurt me. If anything, anything at all, hurt you, it would kill me." I said, locking eyes with her. I needed her to see how serious I was.

She nodded and moved to put her head on my shoulder. I never got how she could possibly be so comfortable resting against my body, but it probably had to do with the mating enchantment. Right now, it was calming for the both of us, knowing we were together.

"What is going to happen from here? Obviously you guys can't just take me away, and even if you could...it wouldn't remove the problem, would it? He'll find me eventually. I just really don't want my dad or any of you to be caught in the middle." She sniffed at the last part. This girl was way to selfless. At the age of twelve she was willing to sacrifice her life for those she loved. She was exactly what I was not.

"Bella, we'll make sure nobody gets hurt. For now we'll just take turns guarding you and Charlie, until we have...removed the problem." Alice spoke thoughtfully. She was trying very hard to block me, and I really didn't like that. In a situation like this it meant no good.

I decided to let it slip for now. Frankly, I didn't want Bella exposed to any more of this, and if Alice's vision was what I thought it was I didn't want Bella to know about it. She put way to much faith in them.

"How long do you think you can keep that up, Alice? You have roles to keep up. Carlisle has a job, Esme is only one person and the rest of you are supposed to be in high school. And besides, I can't possibly ask that of you. You're lives shouldn't revolve around protecting me. And Rosalie hates me, that much is obvious, so I don't reckon she's gonna be helping you. She's probably going to watch with a bag of popcorn while that tracker eats me." That last comment made Emmet flinch. He really wasn't happy with the way his wife was treating Bella, and while he wanted to stand up for her, he knew Bella had a point. He just really didn't like that his little sister thought so little of his Rose.

"Bella, stop worrying about us! We'll be fine. You need to have some faith in us." Alice assured her.

We stopped in front of the house. I growled menacingly in its direction. I pulled Bella out of the car with me. Emmet and Alice flanked me whilst we made our way up the porch steps.

Carlisle opened the door for us. When we entered I pushed Bella behind me to keep her out of his sight. In the middle of the entrance hall stood Laurent. I scented James and Victoria nowhere, a fact that both did and did not put my mind at ease.

I growled at Laurent who had curiously thrown a glance in the direction of Bella. Carlisle stepped in between us before anything happened, though.

"Edward, son, he came to warn us. We have nothing to fear from him. He won't fight against us. Laurent, could you please repeat what you just told us?" Carlisle asked calmly.

Laurent fidgeted. He really didn't want my attention on him. Well, doesn't that just plainly suck big time for him?

"I have been with James for a very long time. He and Victoria will keep hunting the girl until they get her alone. He will stop at nothing now that he has chosen her as his next prey. In all the time I've travelled I've never encountered anyone as lethal and succesful as James. Victoria will follow his lead and do anything to help him." He focused his attention on Bella for a moment, only looking away when not only I but also Alice and Emmet began to growl. "She better be worth it. They have experience with multiple opponents. I've never seen anyone live after catching James' interest." I roared at the last sentence. I wanted to lung for him, but was stopped by Jasper and Carlisle.

"Thank you, Laurent. We appreciate you staying behind to warn us. I will let Tanya know you are coming up." Laurent shook hands with Carlisle for a moment before disappearing into the night.

I turned around to face Bella. I took her face in my hands and spoke softly to her. "Bella, what Laurent just said doesn't mean anything. I won't let him get you."

"You heard him." She whispered brokenly. "They have experience taking on multiple opponents and nobody has ever walked away after James has laid eyes on them. That's pretty much a death sentence, Edward. The only difference that can be made is whether I let anyone die with me or not, and I'd rather not."

Bpov

"Alice, Rosalie, would the two of you please go check on Bella's father? Esme, could you get her something to drink? Emmet, Jasper, run a perimeter to see if James and Victoria are in the vicinity. Edward, I need you to go outside and calm yourself."

Everyone, but Edward and Rosalie immediately agreed and went off to their respective posts. "No, I'm staying with her!" Edward snarled. Only now I noticed the slightly wild look in his eyes.

Carlisle guided me towards the couch in the living room by now and gently pushed me down. I didn't resist. I looked up to see Edward look at Carlisle as if he had just been insulted by him. Rosalie was occupying herself glaring at me.

"Edward, go! You're too tense. Take your aggression out on some trees and then you can return." For a moment I thought Edward would disagree with Carlisle again, but fortunately he realized it was pointless.

Next thing I knew was that Edward growled at Rosalie and after a longing look at me stormed out of the house into the darkness of the trees.

"Here you go, dear." Esme said while she put down a steaming cup of tea on the table. She sat down next to me, wrapping her arms around me in a motherly hug.

"Thank you." I mumbled. I gave into the hug whilst I heard Carlisle trying to talk some sense into Rosalie on the background.

"No, I refuse! I absolutely refuse! Do you even hear what you're saying, Carlisle? Why should we put our lives on the line for Edward's human? What is she to me?" She ranted. She saw me watching them and smirked. The smirk didn't last long though.

"Rosalie! That's enough! I do not want to hear another word out of your mouth! We are a coven and a family, unconditionally! Act upon it! Bella is with Edward, so she is family. Now do as you were told or you can take you leave to Denali, until you remember the definition of the word family!" I was stunned, and by the looks of it, so was Rosalie. She looked as though she had received a slap, instead of a good talking to.

She threw one more withering glare, then turned to join Alice, slamming the door hard enough to unhinge it.

Carlisle turned to me then. In a flash he was sitting next to me, so that I was between him and Esme. He kissed my forehead and took one of my hands in the both of his.

"Bella, you truly are one of us. You worry to much, my dear. Our coven is the second largest in the world. The nomads aren't the only ones with experienced fighters. So stop worrying so much about us. All you need to do is have a good rest and stay safe. Alice will be keeping watch on you, as well as Edward of course. The rest of us will take shifts guarding you and your father." I nodded. I would never disrespect Carlisle, nor would I go against him, but quite frankly, Rosalie was right. I had known them for just mere months. Why should they be risking their lives for that of mine?

"Bella, you need to promise us you won't do anything reckless. I really don't want to lose another child of mine." Esme pleaded me, her usually sparkling topaz eyes for once without shine in them.

I nodded. "I promise." Could I possibly keep that promise? I really didn't want to hurt Esme or any of them. But if I had to I would do anything. Anything at all.

.

Once Carlisle deemed Edward 'cooled off' I was driven home. Strangely, Charlie didn't even realize I was half an hour late. I immediately said goodnight under the excuse of not feeling so well.

Within the next ten minutes I was ready for bed. I sat down on my window sill and stared into the darkness. Suddenly I saw two flashes of white. My heartbeat picked up for a moment, before I saw another flash of white in front of me. Before any sound could leave my mouth, though, Edward appeared in front of me. He showed me a tight smile and slipped the window open.

"Am I allowed in?" His velvety voice broke through the night. "Of course you are, that's the least I could do for you." I spoke.

It was the first we had said to each other since my conversation with Carlisle and Esme.

"I'm so very sorry, sweetheart. I shouldn't have dragged you into all this. Not into the game, not into my life, not into my world. I – "

"Is that really how you feel about me?" I interrupted him. Tears were making their way down my cheeks. "A regret?"

"No, darling, no! I don't regret anything about you! I could never! You are everything I could have possibly wished for and more. Never in my decades worth of living this life could I have prayed for someone as pure as you! Don't ever think I don't appreciate the mate that was created for me!" He pulled me close to his body, crushing me to him in an attempt to prove his point.

"Who are out there? They can come up too, if they want." I said, feeling guilty for leaving them out even if temperatures didn't bother them.

"It's just Jasper and Alice. Emmet is trying to talk to Rose. And they are fine outside. Jasper asked me to tell you he can help you go to sleep if you wish so. He says you're all over the place." He gave me a once over to ascertain himself I wasn't harmed or anything. I gently squeezed his hand in a gesture of comfort.

"It's a nice offer, Jasper, but I'm okay. I'll try to tone it in. Don't hesitate to come in if you guys want to." I spoke into the night. I received a wave of what I identified as care and calm. I closed the window.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" I asked Edward.

He had moved into the room and was now lounging on my bed with a picture in his hand. The picture of my as Renee's bridesmaid. I had to admit I looked beautiful in the picture. I had on a white feathery dress. It was strapless, shorter in front, coming to mid thigh, while at the back it nearly touched to floor.

I stood in front of the newly happily married couple, smiling broadly as I was hugged by both of them.

"Yes. I'll stay with you tonight." So that's what happened. I slept in his arms while he kept rubbing comforting circles on my arm. It wasn't inappropriate in any way. He was my protector and I needed to be protected.

"Don't leave me, Edward." I mumbled right before I fell asleep. I only barely caught his reply. "I won't Bella, as long as you don't ever leave me either." A kiss to the top of my head and I slipped away to another world.

Sorry guys, nothing special here. Just a filler chap for now. But the next chap will contain all the action! Possibly this week! Review to let me know you're still alive and reading in 2013!

xxx