Bella's quick breathing and grunts seemed to catch everyone's attention in the house, for varying reasons. Esme and Rose were both concerned, Alice was annoyed, and all of us males were turned on.

It had only been going on for a few minutes, but I was already going out of my mind.

"This just seems so dangerous." Esme said from the back porch.

"Apparently they do it all the time, so there is no need to worry." Rose responded, even though she was worrying.

Each muted grunt she made just reminded me of the time we fucked, which in turn made me hard. I could tell Carlisle and Edward were struggling with her sex-like noises. I'm sure it didn't help Edward that I kept picturing Bella naked. I was surprised that it was bothering Emmett only slightly, well he and Rose did do it at least twice a day, so he did have a bit of an advantage over the rest of us. Peter, in his usual pathetic attitude was enjoying himself immensely.

I glanced out the window. Peter was wearing hand targets, which were essentially pillows attached to his hand for training boxers. Bella was pushing him backwards as she kept up a barrage of hits and kicks, always landing them on the hand targets. I could see a glistening layer of sweat covering her exposed skin, which once again just reminded me of when I fucked her against the fridge. I sighed and turned away from the window, trying to concentrate on anything else.

Edward, the poor boy, was in an emotional turmoil. Just like the rest of us he found her appetizing and sexy, which was a rare occurrence for him, but he wasn't sure if she was crazy or not. Peter's and my memories conflicted so much with how she acted now. Adding to his confusion was Bella's light flirting and their nightly piano lesson together which made him so happy.

"Your movements are slowing down, Isabella." Peter said in a teasing manner. Bella's anger shot up so quickly that I literally twitched from the shock of it. The sounds of her hits became louder and faster. "Don't get sloppy." He added on, and Bella's fury was so powerful that I was almost paralyzed by it. I had no idea how she was able to concentrate with such rage and hatred filling her. "Five more minutes, Isabella, and then we can really start training." Her breathing was ragged, but her movements stayed at the same quick pace.

I looked out the window again and was surprised to see that her eyes were focusing on Peter's and not the hand targets. It was so clear that they had fought like this countless times. I tried to filter out the noise and just look at her. I had seen those sorts of movements many times, punches fueled by anger and hatred. I could tell she was exhausted, but she kept pressing forward. Her hands and knees were bright red and I'm sure they would be bruised by tomorrow morning.

"When do you think they'll leave?" Alice asked, startling me. I had been concentrating so hard on Bella and Peter that I hadn't heard her come into the room.

"They've already been here two weeks and I still haven't figured out her endgame. She's got Esme and Rose in her pocket, especially after those sob stories she told them earlier." Bella kept hinting at her past, but rarely gave specifics. "Emmett thinks she's awesome and hilarious, but he does think she has a few screws loose. Edward's on his guard around her, but he's a bit of a wild card. It's Carlisle who I'm worried about." I said in a low voice to her while still looking out the window.

"Why?"

"They're spending increasingly longer amounts of time together playing chess and just talking. She keeps planting ideas in his head about going out and seeing the world on his own and 'to not hold back so much'. Bella likes to read in his office while he is at work so when he's home and she's not around she's in a part of his thoughts. He and Esme hardly slept together before she got here, and it seems even less so now. I don't think Esme has noticed though." I growled and Alice laced her fingers through mine, calming me down slightly. "I don't know what she's after."

"I didn't think she was going to be this much trouble."

"I tried to warn you."

"I didn't think anyone was capable of being so crazy, yet hiding it this well. I tried to talk to Esme about it, but she scolded me for speaking ill of Bella." I glanced down at Alice. I could see and sense how hurt Esme's reprimanding made her feel.

We were both silent, contemplating the situation.

A few minutes later Peter took off the hand targets and they started practicing the same hand-to-hand combat that I had taught him all those years ago. She even knew a few moves that were unteachable, that could only be learned on the battlefield. She moved gracefully and without effort, even when she tossed Peter over her shoulder.

She really would make a fearsome vampire…

I suddenly realized that she reminded me of someone I hated, someone who I feared. Before the paranoia set in, before she realized I could be her best weapon, Maria acted just like this.

What do you think of Jasper's realization?