The Mating Dance

by Xavier2163

AU Edward Cullen and his adoptive family moved to Forks to start a new life, but Edward’s life suddenly changes when he’s drawn into Bella Swan’s strange and dangerous world. Vampires mate for life, but what happens when that mate is human? OOC Lemons ExB

8. Revelations – Part 2 Port Angeles

Disclaimer: Written under the derivative fan works act. All rights reserved to the original creator, Stephanie Meyer.

Title: The Mating Dance

Rating: M for sexual situations, lemons, and hot, steamy, angsty vampire lovin', underage drinking, smoking, drug use and overall bad behavior.

Premise: Alternate Universe. Edward Cullen and his adoptive family have moved to Forks to start a new life, but Edward's life suddenly changes when he's drawn into Bella Swan's strange and dangerous world. Vampires mate for life, but what happens when that mate is human?

Alternate Universe: Canon pairings eventually, pretty much OOC, ExB of course.

POV: EPOV (Edward), Edward's turn to continue the story. Alice will be back later on and maybe Bella, too.

– – – –

Author Notes:

Please note that this story is rated M for a reason, if you'd prefer not to deal with mature themes, please do not read this story.

This chapter ended up being 41 pages long, and over 25,000 words, so I broke it in half to make it easier to get through. Here is part 2.

Please review and tell me what you think.

– – – – – – – – – – –

Chapter 7 Revelations – Part 2 Port Angeles

I sat there thinking about the stories that Jacob told, but I didn't want to believe it. It was just too crazy to be true, but then, I'd seen a lot of crazy things this week, and all the pieces fit. I didn't notice when Katy and Michaela came over and joined the group, but the next thing I knew, Katy was sitting next to me. The conversation changed, and then we were discussing surfing, and waves and different techniques. Katy cuddled up next to me, and I put my arm around her, but it was more out of habit than anything else. It would be nice if my life could stay like this, but I had a feeling that this was just the calm before the storm.

Leah and Katy reminisced about the state cross country finals last year. Katy had won, and Leah came in second. Katy was hoping for a repeat of last year, and Leah didn't want to let that happen. They smiled and agreed to disagree. They both wanted the title, and it was going to be a fun season. Cross country was like track in that none of the meets during the year counted toward the title at the end of the season. Your record didn't count for anything, except to rank how you stacked up against the other runners in your class. The whole season came down to one race at the district finals to see who'd go on to the State finals. In theory, you could lose every race all year long, and then come out of nowhere to win the state title, if you did well at districts, and then beat everyone at State. An unlikely circumstance, but possible.

It was getting late, and people were starting go home. I knew Katy wanted me to drive her home, and have Alice catch a ride with somebody else heading back to Forks. I wasn't ready for that yet. I told her goodnight and left to drive home with Alice. I thanked Jacob again and we told everyone goodnight as we walked to the car. Alice and I got into the Volvo and left for Forks. I had a lot on my mind, and I needed to talk to Alice.

"Alice, how much of the accident in the parking lot did you actually see on Wednesday?" I asked once we were in the Volvo, and headed down La Push road towards Forks.

"I heard the skid and the crash. By the time I turned around, Bella was there trying to lift the motorcycle off of you. Then Jasper lifted it up, and my world changed…"

"Your world changed? What do you mean by that?"

"Ok, Edward, if you're finally ready to talk about this, I guess it's about time we get all of this out in the open. You know what happened the first day of school, right? You've had a connection to Bella ever since they showed up at school. You can sense her presence, and feel a major attraction to her."

"Yeah, I've felt that since school started, but what is it Alice? And how do you know what I'm feeling?"

"I just know, Edward. I don't know how it works, I just know things sometimes. I understand about how the connection works, because I've had the same connection to Jasper since that first day too, but I've known for longer…"

"That night, when we first moved to Forks, that's what you were trying to tell me then…"

"Yes, I knew Katy wasn't the one for you. I knew Bella would come to Forks…"

"That's why you never dated. You knew Jasper was coming too, and you waited for him. Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"I did, Edward. I warned you, but you wouldn't listen to me… Then I couldn't tell you anymore later, it would have influenced your choice…"

"I don't have a choice anymore, Alice. Wednesday, when Tyler's van went out of control, I was going to die. There was no way I could get out of the way in time. Bella was all the way over at her car when the van was going to hit me. She moved across the parking lot so fast I couldn't see her move, and then she slammed her shoulder into the van and stopped it from hitting me. The van pivoted around her, like it hit a boulder in the road, and was still going to hit me. Alice, she grabbed the frame of the motorcycle, and pulled the Harley out of the way, with me sitting on it! When you got there, she wasn't trying to lift it off me; she was holding it up from pinning me down."

"Oh… What do you mean; you don't have a choice anymore? Bella didn't touch you, did she?"

"No… Come to think of it, I've never touched Bella, not even a handshake, or an accidental brush of our hands while working on our labs together in chemistry. That's kind of strange, isn't it?"

"No, it fits with everything else. She wants you to make your own choice, and doesn't want to influence your decision. I touched Jasper's hand at the accident, and everything changed."

"I still don't understand, Alice. What changed?"

"The connection I feel to Jasper, the attraction, the way I could sense his presence, all of it. One moment it was like what I'd felt since the beginning of school, and then I touched his hand. Suddenly the next moment it was all a thousand times stronger… It was like nothing else in the whole universe mattered except Jasper. He's a part of me now."

"That's what she meant when she said she could reach out her hand I'd be hers…"

"I think I started to feel what Jasper and Bella were already feeling all along… But it didn't just get stronger for me; it got even stronger for Jasper too. It's more than just being stronger, Edward… I don't know how to explain it… I need to be with Jasper, I mean I really NEED to be with him… physically…"

"You mean…"

"Yeah, like that."

"Oh…"

"I used to feel a dull ache in my chest when he was gone, and I couldn't feel his presence nearby, but after we touched, I was in physical pain when he left… It was like somebody tore a huge hole in my chest, and ripped out the part that belonged to Jasper. I need him back, Edward, it's like a piece of me is missing when he isn't here."

"Alice, you heard everything that Jacob told us tonight. I told you what really happened in the parking lot on Wednesday. You know those aren't just old stories to scare people. It's all true… Bella, Jasper, their whole family, they're all va…"

"I don't care, Edward! It doesn't matter… I love him, and I need him back…"

"It doesn't matter!? How can you say that? Bella told me that she was supposed to murder Katy! I guess that's how it's supposed to work. Knock off the rival to move in and take their place, and then this crazy instinct thing makes you alright with it, so you don't even care what happened. That just sucks."

"I think we all understand that, Edward. That's why I waited, and you know Bella doesn't want that. She's been fighting this ever since she got here. She wanted you to make your own choice, and I can tell you're on the fence… You could have gone with Katy tonight, but you didn't…"

"Ok, I'll admit it, I have feelings for Bella. I might even be falling in love with her, but I still have feelings for Katy too. I can't just throw the last year away and pretend like it never happened. If I'd gone with Katy or driven her home, you know what would have happened. I'm not going to use her like that if I can't make a commitment, but I guess that's all a moot point now."

"What do you mean, Edward? What aren't you telling me?"

"Alice, have you considered how this is going to affect the other people in our lives? How it's going to affect dad? You know we can't tell Carlisle any of this. You know that if this thing runs its course, we're going to be like Bella and Jasper. Are we just supposed to up and disappear? We're going to have to keep all of their secrets, and be part of their world."

"I hadn't considered dad in all of this… Why can't we tell him?"

"You know I've been trying to get Bella to tell me her secret since all of this started. She said parts of her life were dangerous, and a lot of things about her were strictly need to know information. I met her mother that adopted her in Rainier on Thursday. She knows everything, Alice. She said that I already know too much about their secrets. The only reason I'm not already dead is because of my connection to Bella. They have laws, Alice, and knowing too much about them is against their laws, unless you're one of them."

"Esme told me that I'd either be with Bella, or she'd die trying to defend me. You can imagine where that leaves me when she fails. Of course, Esme also said she isn't going to let anything happen to Bella. She told me I'm going to be part of their family whether I like it or not, so nothing happens to her little girl."

"So if Carlisle even suspected anything, they'd kill him?"

"Yeah, I think they would. Maybe not Bella and Jasper, but Esme was concerned about what this Esteban was going to do when he comes back from Italy next weekend. I don't have any of the details, Alice, but I don't think this is something we'd be able to hide from Carlisle if we're around him. If I choose Bella, I'll have to leave."

"What about me, Edward?"

"You've already made your choice, Alice. You know what you're going to do. It's just a matter of when now."

"We need more information. So far all we really know for sure is that Jasper and Bella are different. You say that Bella is fast enough to run across the school parking lot in seconds, and strong enough to stop a speeding van and pick up a motorcycle. Jacob told us some old stories, and Bella and Jasper seem to be like the people in the stories…"

"No, not the people, the monsters."

"Yeah, well what else do we know? You said that Bella's mom mentioned somebody named Esteban. Bella told me that name too. She said he was like Jasper's mentor or sensei, and that they'd trained together for years. You don't know what his last name is, do you? Maybe we could look him up or I could ask around at White Crane, and see if anyone has ever heard of him."

"Ok, two things that come to mind. First, Tuesday night, Katy and I went to park by the river. Bella appeared out of nowhere, and was standing outside the car. Katy didn't see her, but I said her name, and Katy went ballistic. After I finally got her calmed down, and got her home, I went back to where we were parked. I found Bella's tracks, and followed them. They led to the carcass of a deer in the forest. At the time, I thought it was strange that there weren't more wounds on the body. Whatever animal that had killed it hadn't started to eat it. Its neck was broken and the only other wound was a bite mark in its throat. It was drained of blood, Alice, and Bella's tracks were all around it."

"What, you think she killed a deer to drink its blood? I don't know how I should feel about that. On the one hand, I'm glad you found a dead deer, and not a hiker or some other person. On the other hand, you've got to admit that's got to be kind of sick, but then we don't have all the facts yet. What was the other thing?

"OK, remember when Jasper came to the drive-in on his motorcycle, and he was wearing that leather jacket with the gang colors on the back?"

"Yeah, I remember, the night Jessica asked us to try out for the cheerleading squad."

"Yeah, well the patch on his shoulder said "Familia Moreno Imperecedero", and the motto on the family crest on the back of the jacket said "Morir Joven" across the top and "Vivir Para Siempre" across the bottom."

"Ok, a little help here? I took French, remember?"

"The shoulder patch means something like Moreno Family Immortal, and the motto on the back says, Die Young and Live Forever."

"Those are just slogans and mottos, Edward. That doesn't mean anything."

"Ok, maybe not, but from what I've heard, this Esteban sounds like the boss, or the head of their family. So maybe we should google Esteban Moreno, and see what we come up with."

We were home now, and I pulled into the garage and parked. I'd unload the surfboards tomorrow. We got out of the car and went into the house.

"C'mon, Edward, let's go up to my room, and try that search. I'm curious to see what we find."

"Alright," and I followed Alice up to her room. We went in, and she locked the door. Then she sat down at her desk, opened her laptop, and turned on the power to boot it up.

Alice typed the name into the search engine, and ran the search. Not too promising, the first time around. We got 812,000 hits, with the most prominent being for an Argentine Tango dancer.

"Ok, what else do we know about him to narrow the search?" Alice asked.

She tried Seattle, and martial arts, and knocked it down to 5700 hits or so. Then I thought of something.

"Here, let me try," and Alice got up out of the way and I sat down. I typed in 'Familia Moreno Imperecedero' with Esteban Moreno. That knocked the hit count down to about 2700, but I saw a Wikipedia link about halfway down the page, and I clicked it.

Now this caught my attention. It was a Wiki page about piracy in the Caribbean in the seventeenth century, but what caught my eye was a series of drawings of different versions of the Jolly Rodger, the traditional pirate flag.

Hollywood had popularized the skull and cross bones as the common pirate flag, but in reality, a plain black flag was more common. Some of the more famous pirates had their own personal version of the Jolly Rodger, Like a calling card to strike fear into their victims. It was easier to rob and loot if the victim surrendered, and most pirates rarely murdered their captives when they flew the black flag. It was bad for business, if you had a reputation as a ruthless murderer; it made the prey more likely to fight for their lives. The black flag marked the pirates as criminals, and announced that they had nothing to lose by attacking. If they flew the red flag, then it meant no quarter, and no prisoners.

In the middle of the page was a black flag with two crossed swords with the points of the swords in the top corners, and a closed fist between the points of the swords at the top. The only thing missing was the row of green shamrocks across the bottom, and it would be the same design that Bella and Jasper both wore as a family crest. There was a caption under the flag that read "Flag of pirate Esteban Moreno".

I clicked on the name to follow the link, but it just took me further down on the same page to a brief paragraph about Esteban Moreno. "Esteban Moreno was an early Buccaneer, involved in the colonization of Hispaniola, but later turned to piracy when the colony failed. He is reported to have operated out of Tortuga circa. 1660 – 1670. Moreno was convicted of piracy on the high seas in 1675 at Port Royal, but disappeared on the eve of his execution. Popular myth claims that his escape was aided by a group of Italian adventurers, but there is no public record of the hanging, and he does not appear again in the historical record."

Alice was reading over my shoulder, and I turned to look at her. She was still looking at the screen and I could tell she didn't want to believe what she was seeing.

"Ok, Alice, What about this? That flag is almost the same design as the family crest that Bella and Jasper were wearing. Esme told me that Esteban is coming back from Italy, next weekend."

"That's crazy, Edward! If that was the same Esteban Moreno, he'd be over three hundred years old! What about the shamrocks? They're missing from that flag, what do they mean?"

I did another quick search, and looked up shamrock. I the narrowed the search for pages about heraldry, the art of blazoning and interpreting family symbols and crests. Apparently the shamrock was a symbol of perpetuity or long life. In a sense, the shamrock was a symbol of immortality.

"Ok, I know. Don't say it. I just find it a little hard to believe that a three hundred year old Spanish Buccaneer and pirate is living in Seattle in 2006. Doesn't that strike you as a little odd?" Alice asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Alice, I've thought this whole situation was crazy since the first day of school this year. So what do we do now?"

"Well for now, I'm going to bed. It's been a long day, and I'll need a clear head to think this all through."

"Ok, good night, Alice," I got up and moved to the door. "We're going to have to come up with something pretty quick though, Esteban is supposed to be back in Seattle next weekend. Esme said it would be easier for Bella if she had answers to give him about this situation."

"What kind of answers, Edward?"

I laughed at the irony. I had asked Esme the exact same question, and Alice was usually the one with the answers.

"You know, I asked Esme that same question. It's simple really, that I'm ready to cooperate, and I'm not going to cause trouble for them. That I've accepted the connection to Bella and I'm not fighting it."

"Oh… Are you ready to cooperate? Are you ready to make your decision?"

"Alice, how can you ask that? You know what they are!"

"We don't know all the details yet, Edward! We've only heard one side of the story, and that was from someone that considers them to be a mortal enemy. Don't you think we owe it to them to hear their side of the story?"

"Sure, we need the full story, only problem is, if they tell us, they have to kill us. Might make it a little difficult to form an unbiased opinion, don't you think?"

"Ok, so maybe we need more information before we bring up the subject. Tuesday when I go to Port Angeles, come with me to my class. I'm going to ask Master Nicholls about this Esteban, and find out if he's heard of him. He's been into the martial arts scene in Seattle forever, and knows everything that goes on. He'll have to have heard about this Esteban, if he's ever been active in the Seattle area."

"Ok, Alice, get some sleep, and thanks' for helping."

I went out the door, and closed it behind myself. I went across to my room, but I was still too wound up to sleep. I sat down at my desk and got out a notebook. I started jotting down what I knew, and what I thought the questions were, and let my mind wander as I put down the random thoughts that had plagued me. Then I opened my laptop, and started doing a little more research into topics that Alice wasn't ready to deal with yet.

I ran searches for Apotamkin and the Cold Ones, and got about the results I was expecting. There were some links back to Quileute legends, which surprised me, considering the degree of secrecy about the subject in La Push, but obviously there were other people that didn't take the subject as seriously as the tribal council. Most of the links led me to web pages about vampires. That was what I had expected after listening to Jacobs stories.

I read through some of the information, and browsed a bunch of different sites, but it was really difficult to separate the fact from fiction. Oh hell, who was I trying to kid; it was all fiction. What I was really trying to sort out were sites that seemed get the story right, compared to what I'd seen Bella and Jasper do. Of course, they were really good at hiding that they were different, and did a good job of blending in. I realized I didn't have a whole lot of information to work with, and I knew most of the research I was doing was a load of crap.

Hell, if this society that they were a part of was so secretive, they might be posting half this crap as disinformation to throw people off the track. It was easy to hide in plain site if the whole world thought you were a myth.

Like the whole sunlight thing. Obviously they didn't go poof in the light of day and explode into dust, but Bella had told me the sun wasn't kind to her. She liked the wet overcast weather in forks, so how much sunlight was too much? How much of the rest of the lore was crap? Wooden stakes? Garlic? Holy water? Fact or crap? I had no idea, and no clue how to find out, short of asking them.

I knew where I could get answers to all of my questions, but was I ready to pay the price? Alice had said I was on the fence, and although I had argued with her about her blind acceptance of Jasper, this explanation of Bella's abilities didn't turn me off as much as I let Alice think. Yeah, it was a down side. The vampires were always cast as the bad guys, but what did I really know? Bella and Jasper didn't strike me as your typical eternally damned, so maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought. Obviously a lot of this other information was just plain wrong, maybe there was a positive side to this, but I wasn't going to find it on the internet.

I finally gave up and went to bed and tossed and turned until I finally fell into a fitful sleep. I dreamed strange disturbing dreams. Of course, I dreamed about Bella.

I saw her face but we were in the forest standing in the trees. It was twilight and she moved towards me smiling, but her eyes were different. They were glowing red and filled with a hunger that seemed alien to me. They made the pale white skin of her face and hands seem somehow sinister, and her flowing mahogany hair whipped in the breeze as she came to me in a blur of motion. She reached out to me, but I shied away from her touch, and then I heard the growls as the wolves moved out of the trees. She spun and shielded my body with her own, but she was no match for the wolves, and she pushed me out of harms way as she went down in a flurry of fur and teeth.

"NO!" I screamed as I started awake, and sat up in bed. I was disoriented, and it took me a moment to realize it was just a nightmare. I looked at the clock and then lay back down. I waited for morning, but I wasn't able to go back to sleep.

Sunday we just took a lazy day at home. I got caught up on some chores, and we spent time together as a family. Sunday was Carlisle's day off, and the clinic was closed. I called Katy and begged off from our long run. Normally we went for a fifteen mile run on Sunday's, but I hadn't been sleeping well lately, and we'd had a full day yesterday. She reluctantly said ok, and I told her I'd see her in school on Monday.

We ended up playing some board games to pass the time and ordered pizza for dinner. Alice won at Monopoly as usual, and I conquered the world in Risk. Carlisle won at life, and ended up as a married doctor with six kids, go figure.

Monday we got back into our routine, but it seemed like I was just passing time waiting in anticipation for Tuesday night. I had information about Bella and Jasper, and I had an idea what they were, but like Alice had said, I had only heard one side of the story, and it didn't paint the kindest picture of them or their family. I was eager to get any new information at all, and asking Alice's martial arts teacher seemed as good a place to start as any.

We got to school Tuesday morning, and Bella and Jasper were still gone. The day dragged as I waited for it to end. I hurried through practice, and beat the rest of the team back to the school. I think I beat my best meet pace of the year, and I was actually out of breath when I got back to the school. I rushed to the locker room to shower and change and Alice was waiting for me in the Volvo when I came out to the parking lot. We left for Port Angeles from the school, and didn't bother to go home first. Alice already had her gear packed in the trunk.

Alice had given me as much of Bella's history as she felt comfortable about sharing, without betraying the trust they shared. To say that it was a bare bones account was an understatement, but at least now I knew Esme and Rose ran a nightclub in Seattle. Apparently Alice had even been to it, but she was too drunk at the time to even remember the name of the place. It was something to research though, and I used it as a starting place to find out more.

Best as I could tell from the information, Seattle had a secret criminal underworld that did an excellent job of staying out of the media spotlight, and avoiding the attention of the local law enforcement organizations. There were hints and tantalizing bits of information that started to make sense in the right context. Bella and Jasper had mentioned the Fu's and the McCormick's. Near as I could figure, they were rival families. I wasn't sure how many families there were, but you could add the Moreno's to the list.

So far, it looked like Esme ran an exclusive Club in downtown Seattle called the Flying Dutchman Lounge, and I couldn't tell for sure, but it looked like Esteban owned the building, and probably the rest of the buildings on the block it was located on. The Fu's seemed to operate out of a Club in Chinatown in the International district called the Mandarin Garden Tea Room. I wasn't sure about the McCormick's, but it looked like Hooligan's Still was a local hangout for them. I was keeping notes on my research as I uncovered the picture, and I was keeping everything documented in my notebook at home. It helped me to organize the data, and having one place to go to and review what I already knew helped me to keep the story straight.

I made the trip to Port Angeles in record time, and we were early to Alice's class, but it didn't matter. She had full access to the studio, and was welcome to come in anytime to work out, practice, or spar with the other students and teachers. She got her bag out of the trunk, and we went into the building. Alice stopped inside the door, and took off her shoes. She set them in an open space on the rack next to the door, and I followed her lead. Alice told me to wait up front by the equipment shop, there was a waiting area with couches and a television where parents could wait for their kids, and she went back to the locker room to change.

She was back in a couple of minutes, dressed in her martial arts uniform, and motioned for me to come join her. I walked over and met her at the top of the stairs. We went down the stairs, and came out in another practice room with a smooth clean wooden floor like a dance studio. There was a good sized gym setup in the back with weight machines, exercise equipment and a series of hanging heavy bags for punching and kicking practice.

It was between classes right now, and there was an older man out on the exercise floor practicing some techniques. He had close cropped white hair and his skin was tanned and creased like old leather from spending a lot of time outdoors in the weather, but he didn't look old. He was tall and lean, and I could see the muscles and tendons stand out in his arms and neck where they were exposed under his loose cotton karate gi. He was whipcord thin, moving with a sinuous grace, and looked like he'd be fast and dangerous in a fight. We walked over to him, and he stopped what he was doing to greet Alice.

Alice bowed to him, and said, "Master Nicholls, good evening Sensei, I'm sure you remember my brother, Edward?"

Master Nicholls bowed to Alice. "Good evening, Alice. You're early tonight." Then he turned to me. "So, Edward, are you ready to sign up for some classes? There's a beginners program tonight if you're interested."

"No, thank you. Alice and I have some new friends at school, and she was wondering if you could help us with something."

"Of course, what can I help you with Alice?" He asked, turning back to her.

"Well, you remember Bella, the girl that came with me to class last Thursday?"

"Yes, she had a remarkable skill, I wanted to ask her who she'd trained with, but I never got a chance to talk to her."

"That's kind of what we're interested in too. She's been training mostly with another new boy at school. His name's Jasper Whitlock, but she told me his teacher was Esteban Moreno from Seattle, have you ever heard of him?"

Master Nicholls eyes got wide, and I can't really say he blanched white, but he looked a little pale as the blood drained out of his weathered tan face. He glanced around the room to see who might be listening, and then took Alice by the elbow, and led us to a more secluded part of the gym where we could talk.

"Where did you hear that name, Alice, you say this Bella mentioned him? What did she tell you?"

"I was talking to her one day after school while we were working out at home. We were going out into the yard to spar with bokken, and she said that she usually sparred with kagum or live steel when she practiced with Jasper. I asked her if Jasper ever went to any tournaments or competed, because I'd never seen him at any of the tournaments that we go to. She said that she'd never seen him go to a tournament, but she'd heard him talking to Esteban about a tournament that they'd gone to in Paris before."

"I've never heard of this Jasper Whitlock, but there was a Jasper Hale on Esteban's team at the Paris Tournament in '96. What does this Jasper of yours look like?"

"Jasper? He's about 6'3", honey blond hair, lean and muscular with a scar on his left cheek. He's seventeen, but he could pass for twenty."

Master Nicholls eyes got wide, and I saw a shiver run through him, but he didn't look like a man who was easily scared.

"This scar, was it a thin scar running from the corner of his eye, across his left cheek and along his jaw line?" and he moved his finger on his face to trace the path.

"Yes…"

"That's the man who called himself Jasper Hale at the '96 Paris Tournament. He had an amazing skill with the sword, and put on a cutting demonstration. Esteban had a team at the tournament, that he claimed was from Seattle, but I'd never seen any of them before, and they'd never trained at any dojo I'd heard of."

"This Esteban, he's dangerous, Alice. You should stay away from anyone that knows him. There were several unexplained murders at that '96 Paris competition, and I know it sounds crazy, but there were rumors about Esteban's team drinking human blood to prepare for the tournament. The French Police were at the tournament questioning a lot of people, but I don't think they ever made any arrests."

"I haven't talked about this since that tournament, but I witnessed people being killed with swords there. I was coming in late after we'd been out celebrating one night, and I saw some people out in the alley behind the hotel. I thought they were fooling around, and I was going to go over and tell them to knock it off and go to bed. It was too dark, and somebody could get hurt. I almost realized it was a real fight too late, but I stopped before they saw me. I won't give you all the gory details, but I saw what a sword can do in a real fight that night."

"I got away and went into the hotel, but I saw them in the alley before I went in. They stepped into the light and it was Esteban and Jasper. I don't know who started it, or what it was about, but they finished it."

"I didn't think anyone had seen me, but the next day when the police were there, Esteban came to me and said, 'you didn't see anything in that alley, it was too dark, and you just went to your room, Right?' That's the story I gave to the Police, and then we left the next day."

"You're a good girl, Alice. You've got great talent, but stay safe, ok? Don't get mixed up with Esteban and his crew, or it could go bad for you."

"Thank you Sensei, I'll do what I can to stay out of trouble. Thank you for sharing that with us."

"Just don't repeat that story, ok. I haven't heard anything about Esteban for years now, and I think he left town, but I don't want him to come knocking on my door."

"It's our secret, Sensei. Now, I need to go prepare for class."

They bowed again, and we left Master Nicholls to walk back over to the stairs.

"You can stay down here to watch, if you like, Edward. I need to go get my gear out of the locker room. Be back in a minute, Ok?"

"Sure, Alice, I'll wait over by the gym, ok?" She nodded, and went up the stairs to the locker room.

I moved over to check out the gym equipment, and there were a couple of people working out. Alice was coming back down stairs, when a girl finished her set on one of the universal machines, and waved me over to catch my attention. She looked around to make sure nobody was watching, and then called me over. I caught Alice's eye, and nodded that she should join us.

"Hey, I heard you guy's asking Nicholls about the Moreno's. Man, you need to be more careful. Nicholls might be a good teacher, but he don't know jack about what goes on in the streets. He doesn't live in the real world."

"And you do, Juanita? Ok, spill. What do you know about the Moreno's?"

"Yeah, Pixie, I run the streets. That's why I'm here; to get the skills I need to be somebody. Not like those two-bit gang bangers that think they're the shit. I'm a real fighter. So you want the low down on the Moreno's? My advice, stay away. They used to be the top dogs, but word on the street is they're going down."

"What do you mean they were top dogs? What were they into" I asked.

"Man, for as long as anyone can remember, the Moreno's ran the show in Seattle. That Esteban, he was connected, and nothing happened in the City without his say so."

"What do you mean, 'ran the show', connected how?" Alice asked.

"Don't play little miss innocent with me, Pixie. I know you guys deal. Do I need to draw you a picture? You saw the Godfather, and Good Fellows, right? The Moreno's are one of the local organized crime families, but they're good at covering their tracks, and they don't get their own hands dirty too much. Mostly they provided muscle and soldiers as enforcers for other families. At least they did until about five years ago."

"So what happened? Why are they gonna go down?" I asked.

She shrugged, "Nobody knows the whole story. Word is there was this throw down at that swanky club the Moreno's hang out at down town. They say one of the Fu's soldiers fucked up one of the Moreno's bitches. Everyone was expecting war, but nothing happened. Then the next thing you know, Esteban disappears. At first, everyone thought it was a hit, and the Fu's whacked him, but the Moreno's didn't hit back."

"So this happened five years ago, and everyone's just waiting to see what happens?"

"The Major stepped in, and started calling the shots for the Moreno's, but they started taking less contracts, and backing out of the game, toning down their control. People started thinking they were getting weak, since Esteban was gone."

"Yeah, I can see that. Who's the Major?"

"You guy's were talking about him. You know, tall, blond, scar face, the absolute shit with a gun or a sword, fucking death on two legs. He was Esteban's chief enforcer. He's been running the show since Esteban disappeared."

"Oh…" Alice breathed, speechless.

"Yeah, well the McCormick's tried to hit'em, and learned the hard way that you don't fuck with the Major. You don't mess with the Moreno's and keep breath'n, if you catch my drift."

"Problem is, the families gotta learn the hard way. Word on the street is, the Moreno's are weak, and there's a major turf war brewing. The McCormick's already made a move, and got slapped down hard, but the Fu's are putting the pressure on, and if they can give'em grief and get away with it, there'll be blood in the water."

"So you're saying there's a major gang war waiting to happen, and all these other families have it out for the Moreno's?"

"Yeah, that's about the size of it, but it's not like they're all ganging up on them together, they each want to be top dog, and they'll fight each other too, to get their share of the turf. It's like the balance of power got knocked around when Esteban disappeared, and it needs to settle out and find center again."

"Thanks' for the heads up."

"Yeah, well the Pixie is kinda cool, so I didn't want you guys to step in shit."

I nodded, and then Alice and Juanita left to go start their class and I hung out and watched the practice. Maybe I did need to start learning this stuff, if I was going to get involved with Bella's family. Esme had been pretty sure that I would end up with Bella. Maybe Bella was a fate worse than death. Death was starting to look better and better all the time.

Alice's class was pretty cool. She was training at a very advanced level, and Master Nicholls ran the class for a small group of advanced students, while some of the other teachers ran classes for the other students. They were doing sword drills tonight to warm up, and them they put on their protective equipment and broke up into groups to spar. Gumdo training was different from other sword disciplines, because it focused on real battlefield techniques, instead of just training forms and kata. Kendo focused solely on one on one matches, but advanced Gumdo training taught you techniques to fight multiple opponents, and in groups.

I could only imagine what this would be like with real swords, especially with the speed and strength that Bella had let me see in the parking lot at school last week. If Esteban was really over three hundred years old, he had to have an incredible amount of experience.

That thought made me wonder about Jasper. How old was he? I had assumed he was a teenager, because he was going to high school, but he could easily pass for older, maybe early twenties? Nicholls had claimed to have seen him in Paris in 1996, and if he was in his twenties then, he'd be over thirty by now. I shivered as I thought about it. The evidence pointed at Esteban being over three hundred years old, and now Jasper was apparently older than he looked. How old was Bella? Probably not seventeen like she looked, but I really had no clue.

Alice finished her class, and went to the locker room to shower and change. She came out and we left the studio. I loaded Alice's bag into the trunk, and asked her if she was hungry. We usually stopped to get something to eat before heading back to Forks. Everything would be closed by the time we got back to town.

We went down the street to the little Italian place where I'd taken Katy, and had a quiet dinner. I thought about bringing up the subject of our latest discovery, but decided to wait. We finished dinner and went back out to the Volvo to head for home. I waited until we were on the road to talk to Alice.

"Alice, you don't think Bella is three hundred years old too, do you?"

"Hell, Edward, I don't even believe this Esteban is that old, but if we go strictly off the evidence and what we know or have been told, then no. She's nowhere close to that old."

"How do you know?"

"From what she told me about how she grew up. For starters, she said she flew on a plane from Phoenix to Seattle, so that dates her to age thirteen sometime past at least the mid 1950's. Then she mentioned handheld video cameras, when she was fifteen, so that puts her sometime in the late '70's or better. Given what she told me, she couldn't be older than say about 46, but I'm guessing a lot younger."

"Why do you say that?"

"From what Juanita told us tonight, she said there was a fight at the Moreno's club about five years ago. One of their girls got hurt. Bella was working at that club, and she said what happened to her was an accident. I bet that's when it happened, however she ended up like the rest of her family. That would make her about twenty-two."

"Ok, I'll buy that. What about Jasper, how old do you think he is? And what about this Major crap, where do you think that came from?"

"Well, I haven't heard as many stories about his life as Bella's, but he probably picked up the title Major from serving in the military. You said he considers himself to be a soldier. The only historical reference I have is Bella telling me his favorite period in History is the Civil War, but that ended in 1865."

"No, there's another historical reference, but you're right, it points to the same period."

"What reference? Did he tell you something?"

"No, but you've seen his motorcycle, right? On the side cover there's a confederate flag, and a single gold star. The Confederate army had different rank insignia that the Union. I looked it up. A single gold star was the rank insignia for a Confederate Major during the Civil War."

"Edward, if he was a Major in the Confederate army during the Civil War, he'd be about a hundred and sixty years old! That's just crazy! You don't really believe that do you?"

"Hell, I don't know what to believe anymore, Alice. The one thing I do know is we can't let Bella, Jasper, or any of the rest of their family know how much we've learned about them if we run into them, or when they come back. We don't know how they'd react, and we're breaking their laws by figuring out their secrets. We need to find a way to get more information before we tell them what we know."

"I don't think I'd be able to resist telling Jasper if he came back right now. I don't see how he managed to resist as long as he did, if this is what it was like for him. It would probably be close to impossible for him to resist now."

"Okay. That's probably why he left then. I doubt he's trying to hurt you, Alice. He's probably trying to protect you."

"I know what Jasper's doing and why. That doesn't mean I have to like it. I just want to get through this part and move on. So what do you really think about all of this?"

"Which part, Alice? The part where I'm supposed to join the undead and become part of the eternally dammed? Or the part where I'm being recruited for an organized crime family that's about to go to war with all of their underworld rivals?"

"I suppose that might be a bit of a dilemma. I'm just wondering if you're any closer to deciding which girl you want. Jasper isn't going to make a move until things are settled between you and Bella, one way or the other. I'd really appreciate it if you make up your mind."

"Why would Jasper be waiting for me to make a decision between Katy and Bella before he can go out with you, Alice?"

"God, Edward, you can't be that dense can you? Do you honestly mean to tell me you haven't figured it out yet by now? Especially after everything we heard tonight?"

"What? I don't understand."

"Jasper doesn't care about Katy. He's Bella's guardian. He's been assigned to train her and protect her. Esteban must consider her to be pretty important to assign his best fighter and second in command to personally make sure nothing happens to her. But they came to Forks, and you happened to her. I don't think all of these relationship issues were part of the plan, but now they're causing complications."

"Oh…"

"Yeah, oh. Now you're part of the package. If they lose you, they lose her too, and they've invested a lot of resources to keep her safe and get her trained."

"I'm sorry Alice. This is just a lot to process. I need to think about this and figure out what I'm going to do."

"Alright, but don't take forever, ok? You know, if you would have listened to me in the first place, you wouldn't be having this problem now."

I just nodded, and we were quiet for the rest of the drive home as I considered this new information. Esme had told me their family had a lot of enemies. I guess I hadn't really considered who those enemies might be. Jacob had said that his grandfather had learned that there were factions in Bella and Jasper's world that fought each other. To be honest, I found it all kind of intriguing. It would make for an interesting study to figure out the dynamics of the power structure on this underworld that most people never even dreamed existed.

We got home around ten thirty, but I wasn't really tired, despite my recent lack of sleep. I told Alice good night, and went up to my room. I finished up my homework, and then got out my notebook and started to make notes about what we'd learned tonight. I went online and did some more research on some of the stuff we'd figured out, and the picture was starting to become clearer about just what was going on. I made sure to put the notebook away in my desk. A lot of people would probably dismiss it as some kind of crazy fantasy mumbo jumbo, but not everyone, and I didn't want anyone finding it.

I finally went to bed, and figured I'd have another restless night, but for some reason, tonight was different, and I drifted off into a peaceful dreamless sleep, and got the most rest I'd had in a week. I got up at four when the alarm went off, and I was surprised at how well I'd slept. That was when I noticed the scent of strawberries and freesia in the room, and a smile spread across my face.

I got dressed to go run, and Alice was waiting in the kitchen when I came downstairs. We left to go to Katy's house, but I didn't say anything to Alice yet, I had to be sure. We drove to Katy's, and got out of the car. Michaela was there stretching, and we said hi. As soon as we started to walk up the driveway, I knew.

I leaned in to Alice, and whispered in her ear, "She's back."

Alice turned to look at me with hope in her eyes. "Are you sure?"

I just nodded, and indicated the forest behind the garage with a nod of my head. Alice smiled for the first time in days, and the run seemed more fun this morning for some reason. We went home and changed for school, and Alice was so excited to get out the door, she was practically bouncing when we went out the door. I think she was a little disappointed that Bella didn't show up to drive her to school, and then she was even more depressed when we got there and the silver and grey Ducati and the red Dodge Charger weren't in the parking lot.

We went to our lockers and got our things for class, and met in AP English to start the day. It was almost time for the final bell, when I felt Bella in the hallway, and then the door opened and she walked into the room but she was alone. She walked over to Mrs. Jensen, and gave her a paper to sign. Then she came over to our table, and sat down next to Alice.

Alice looked over at her, and her mixed emotions were plane on her face. She was ecstatically happy that Bella was back, but dejected that Jasper wasn't with her.

"He isn't coming back to school, is he?"

Bella shook her head no.

"But he's not too far away, I can tell."

"It would be too hard for him to try and come back to school, Alice, but I couldn't stay away any longer," and then Bella looked up at me. "I'm sorry, I tried, but I wasn't strong enough."

I smiled at her and nodded. I had missed her when she was gone, and I was happy that she was back.

"It's ok, I understand."

Her eyes got big and she stared in surprise for a second, and then quickly turned away, but I could see her smile.

And there was the rub, I was happy she was back, but I still hadn't made up my mind. I was still torn and being pulled in two different directions. I knew that I had honest feelings for Bella now, beyond the crazy magic that seemed to attract me to her, but I still had feelings for Katy, and I had a history with her that I couldn't just throw away.

It amazed me how easily we all fell back into the pattern we had developed over the first couple of weeks of school. The only distinction was that now I noticed how Bella was different from the other kids in school. Not obvious things, but little things that stood out in the context of what I knew about her. The dark circles under her eyes that made her look like she needed a good nights sleep. The way she seemed to stand unnaturally still without moving when she didn't think anyone was looking. The way she would flinch away and look uncomfortable when somebody would stand too close, as though she was in pain. Little things I had ignored before, but that stood out now, given what I knew.

Alice was glad she was back, and I was glad she was back, but I could tell Katy was less than ecstatic that she was back, when she walked into trig. Instead of going to the back of the room like she had with Jasper, Bella came and sat with Mike and Jessica and me at our table in the front of the room. It was game on now, and I could see the black look Katy glared at Bella as she came to the table and joined us.

Lunch was interesting. Normally I would have taken Katy out to lunch, to avoid sitting with both of them during lunch, but that wasn't really an option today unless I wanted to give Katy false hope. I still had unanswered questions, and I wasn't ready to commit to either girl yet. I walked to lunch with Bella and Angela after Spanish, and ended up sitting between Alice and Angela. Bella sat next to Alice, and Katy ended up sitting across the table with Michaela and Brittany. I could tell she was totally pissed off, as she sat there fuming. Well, she'd started this, and I'd take my own sweet time making up my mind.

Of course that might not matter anyhow. I suppose if I wanted too, I could always run to La Push. If the treaty was real, and Bella's family honored it, I'd be safe there. But honestly, how long could I hide on the reservation? Not to mention I'd be putting my friends there at risk too. Besides the fact that I even knew about the treaty was a violation, and could end up voiding the contract. No, I was going to have to face my demons. Just why did they have to be so damn cute?

Bella told a story about how Jasper's long lost uncle had been contacted by the Human Services agency, and Jasper had gone to go live with him. I knew it was a complete load of horse shit, but Jessica and the other kids bought it. So that was pretty much that. Jasper wasn't planning on coming back to school in Forks, and had a cover story to explain it.

Katy glared at us as we left the cafeteria to go to AP Chemistry, but I just waved and walked out with Alice, Jessica, Mike and Bella. Maybe I was playing with fire, but I had a theory I wanted to test. It seemed appropriate because we were doing a lab today. I tried not to be obvious, but I kept putting my hands in the way where Bella would touch me unless she consciously went out of her way to avoid me. Well, the lab ended and my world didn't change. She was avoiding my touch, so maybe there was something to it. I silently laughed at the exasperated look on her face, but I'd been pushing her buttons, so she had a right to be mad.

She stalked out of the room after class and left for gym, and I heard Alice sigh and look at me with disapproval. She waited until Jessica was out of earshot, and then let me have it.

"That wasn't very nice, Edward! You don't know how hard it is for her to be that close to you, and then have you toying with her like that! That was just mean! She's doing this for you, so you have a choice! Don't do that again unless you mean it!"

"But I don't have a choice anymore, Alice. Wouldn't it just be easier to give in and let the magic have me? All I have to do is touch her and it would be all over, right? Neither of us would be able to resist anymore, and I'd forget about Katy, wouldn't I?"

"Bella doesn't know Esme talked to you, and she wants you to decide. Besides, this whole instinct thing doesn't work like that, Edward. Yeah, neither of you would be able to resist. You'd be hers, and she'd be yours, but you wouldn't forget about Katy. Your feelings don't just go away. That's why she wants you to choose her, so she knows you want her for who she is."

"Oh…"

"Yeah, oh, and now you can't even apologize without coming out about what you know. You're a smart guy, Edward. Think next time, ok?"

I thought about that through US History class, but at least the day was over, and I went out to go to cross country practice. I watched the girls flock around Bella and welcome her back, as the cheerleaders jogged out toward the football field. I turned to jog out to the parking lot to stretch for cross country practice, and Katy was standing by the corner of the building, watching me watch the cheerleaders. She glared at me, and then turned away to go to practice. Some things just never changed, and I just couldn't catch a break today.

Bella drove Alice home after practice, and she stayed at our house to work on her homework and hang out. I went home and changed out of my running clothes, and left on the Harley to go for a ride. I needed to clear my head and think. I cruised for a while, and finally ended up at the drive-in. Alice and Bella were there, talking to Jessica and Angela and catching up on the last week's gossip. Katy was there with Michaela and Brittany and their friends on the football team. I was stuck in the middle, and no matter which way I went, I was sure to piss somebody off.

I sat at a table in the middle between the groups, and ordered dinner. I'd just hang out here, and one of them could make the next move. Tyler came over to say hi, he was feeling better, and he was still apologizing to me for the accident that he didn't even remember. Mike showed up, and Ben came over to talk, and I just hung out with the guys, while Bella and Katy glared at each other.

It was getting close to closing time, when Katy finally made the first move, but I'd been anticipating that. Katy and I had a history, and technically, she was still my girlfriend even if we were taking some time apart to think things through. Bella still didn't want to move in and come between us, so she'd wait for me to come to her.

"Hey, Edward," Katy said as she came over to the table. "Have you got a minute?"

"Sure, Katy, what's on your mind?" I asked, and the guys cleared out to give us some space.

She looked around the drive-in. Although nobody was openly staring or obviously listening, the anticipation was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"I want you to give me a ride home tonight, if that's ok? We need to talk, and I don't want to talk here."

"Just talk, Katy?"

"If that's all you want, then ok, that's up to you."

"Ok, let's go talk."

I got up from the table and walked over to the Harley, and got Alice's helmet out of the saddlebag, and handed it to Katy. I looked over as she was putting it on, and I could see Bella glaring at us. Her eyes were pitch black again but she looked away and pretended to ignore us as she reached for her purse. I got on the Harley and kicked it to life, and Katy climbed on behind me and wrapped her arms around me to hold on. I saw her look over at Bella and smile, and then I pulled away from the curb. I got us out of there, before she pissed Bella off and caused her to do something we'd all regret.

I headed north up the street, and then turned left into Katy's neighborhood, and cruised back toward her house. I pulled the Harley up into the driveway, killed the engine, and Katy got off. I took off my helmet, and set it on the gas tank, and Katy handed me Alice's helmet, and I put it back in the saddlebag.

There was a bench swing with an awning by the kitchen door, under the carport where it would be protected from the weather. Katy took my hand and pulled me over to the seat so we could sit down and talk.

"So tell me what's going on Edward. Am I still your girlfriend? I was hoping Bella was gone for good, but now she's back, and everything's weird again. It's like you can't take your eyes off of her, and she draws you like a magnet whenever she's around."

"Katy, you know I love you."

"Yes…"

"But I need more time to figure this out…"

"What is there to figure out, Edward? It seems simple enough to me. Do you want to be with me or Bella?"

"It's not that simple… There are some strange things going on that I don't completely understand. I need to know more and figure these things out first, Katy."

"What kinds of things?"

"It's like what you said, that magnetic attraction to Bella. I need to know what's causing it. If we went back to the way things were, and I don't find out what's causing it first, everything would still be the same as it has been. I'd still be attracted to Bella, and you'd be mad at me because of it."

"You feel attracted to Bella? Are you in love with her?"

"I won't lie to you Katy. I'll admit I have feelings for her, but I haven't cheated on you, and Bella and I are just friends."

"You said we were friends too…"

"I need to find out what's causing this attraction…"

"Well I think that's pretty obvious, Edward! You haven't been able to peel your eyes away from her since school started!"

"It's not like that, Katy, and you know it. There's something strange going on, and I need time to get to the bottom of this."

"How much time?"

"I don't know… You told me if I was going to be with you, it had to be only you, and I can respect that. You don't want me thinking about Bella when we're together, and I know you're right. Until I know what's causing this attraction, I can't make that commitment. I'd be lying to you if I said I could right now. I don't want to do that to you."

"How are you going to figure this out? What do you have to do?"

"I can't tell you, Katy. It could be dangerous, and I don't want to involve you in this. I don't want you to get hurt, ok?"

"Edward, you're scaring me. What's going on that's dangerous? This doesn't have anything to do with Jacob and Sam Uley's crew, does it? I know about the pot, but are you getting in deeper?"

"No, it's nothing to do with Jacob or Sam, but I really can't tell you, ok? You have to trust me."

"Ok, I'll give you time… I want you back, Edward. I want things back the way they were before Bella came to Forks, but I'm not going to wait forever. If you can't fix this, then I'll fight to keep you, and nobody's gonna stand in my way! You can tell Bella that for me. You're mine, Edward!"

I got up to leave, and Katy got up too. She stepped in front of me and wrapped her arms around my waist. She tilted her head up, and looked into my eyes.

"I love you, Edward, and I'll give you time if that's what you need. I want us to be together. I want us back."

I leaned down, and my lips met hers and I kissed her. It was soft and sweet, and reminded me of so much we had shared together. Could I give all of that up? Was I ready to just put it behind me and walk away? Shouldn't I be fighting to stay with Katy? She owned my heart, but was it enough?

I broke the kiss and stepped away. "I have to go, Katy. I'll see you in the morning, ok?"

"Ok, Edward, good night. Are we still on for our morning run?"

"Sure, Katy, I want to be ready for the meet in Onalaska tomorrow. 'Bye," and I turned and walked to the Harley.

I got on the Harley, and left for home. Why did life have to be so complicated? I knew I couldn't tell Katy what was really going on. They'd kill her to shut her up. Was I getting in deeper? Hell yes, and in way over my head, but if all else fails, take the plunge and hope for the best. Did I know what I was gonna do? Hell no, but Esteban would be back on Saturday, and I had a feeling somebody else would be making my decisions for me.

I turned onto Riviera Drive, and pulled into our driveway, and of course, Bella's red Dodge Charger was parked in the driveway. Well Alice didn't waste any time.

I parked the Harley in the garage, and went into the house through the kitchen door. The downstairs lights were off, and I went up the stairs. I could see light under Carlisle's door, and knew he was probably still up, browsing the internet. I went down the hall, and Alice's door was open.

I stepped into the doorway, and the girls were sitting in Alice's chairs by the window talking. Alice was wearing her pale lavender pajama pants and tank, and Bella was in the blue harem pants and cami. They looked up to see what I wanted.

"Can Bella and I talk for a minute?" I asked

Alice looked at Bella, and she nodded ok. Alice got up and walked over to the door.

"Let me give you a little privacy, I'll be downstairs," and she went out the door, and closed it behind her.

I walked over to the chair where Alice had been sitting, and sat down.

"I see that you've calmed down since I left the drive-in. Are you going to tell me what's going on now Bella?"

"What do you mean, you can see that I've calmed down?" Bella asked.

"Your eyes are golden again. They change color and get darker when you're upset. They were pitch black when Katy asked me to give her a ride home tonight." Bella hastily looked away and averted her eyes, as though that would stop me from noticing.

"Bella, please tell me what's going on. Why was Emmett so angry with me that night at the football game? What am I supposed to know that you haven't told me? Why do you follow me around town and spy on me? Why can I sense your presence, and feel you when you're nearby?"

"You forgot to mention the attraction, and the desire that you feel when we're close together," Bella added.

"Ok, I'll admit that I've felt an attraction to you since that first day of school when I first saw you. Will you tell me why?"

"I can't explain everything, I'm not allowed to, and it would be dangerous for you if I did. Why don't you tell me what you think is happening, and I'll tell you if you're right, if I can, ok?"

"That's a little thin and evasive, Bella."

"I'm sorry Edward that's the best I can do, unless I ask you to make commitments that you're not ready to accept."

"Ok, so there's a connection between us, and it started that first day of school, when you looked into my eyes."

"The connection was already there, Edward. You felt it when I got out of the car. It just got stronger and more permanent when we looked into each others eyes for the first time."

"Ok, so this connection, it's what allows me to sense your presence. Does it cause the attraction and the flare of desire when I'm near you?"

Bella closed her eyes, and bowed her head as a dry sob racked through her, and I could see pain flash across her features, and she sucked in a breath as though she was wincing at the pain. She was quiet for a minute, and then she continued softly.

"No, the connection doesn't cause it. It simply intensifies what you're already feeling. The emotions are your own. The bond simply makes you more aware of them."

"Bella, are you ok? You look like you're in pain!" I reached for her to try and comfort her.

"NO, Don't Touch Me!" Bella yelled, and flinched away from me. She stared at my hand like it was a venomous snake threatening her.

"Ok," I said, pulling my hand back and letting it rest in my lap. "Is that what Emmett meant that night at the football game, about the pain? Do I cause it? Is that what Alice is going through now with Jasper?"

"You're supposed to tell me what you think is happening, and I'll tell you if you're right, remember?"

"You told Jasper and Emmett, that you weren't going to come between Katy and me because she's my girlfriend, but Emmett told you that you knew what you had to do. He was talking about you killing her, wasn't he? You're supposed to claim me and make me yours, aren't you? Isn't that how it's supposed to work?"

"No… I don't want this… Not like that…" She spoke softly as she huddled into her chair, and her voice cracked as she sobbed.

"Please, Bella, you have to tell me."

"You're in love with Katy, Edward. I don't want to end that. I don't want to be the other woman, although it seems I'm destined to be cast in that role. You deserve your free will. She's the girl that owns your heart."

"And you're the girl that owns my soul?"

"No, not yet, not if you don't want it, that's what Emmett meant. That's what I'm supposed to do. That's what I need to do to end the pain. I could claim your soul Edward, and make you mine, but I won't do it against your will."

I was stunned silent as I stared at Bella, and she raised her head and looked into my eyes.

"All of my life, Edward, all of my choices were taken away from me. Everything was done to me or happened to me. Every time I found some small piece of happiness, something happened to take it away from me. The time that I've spent with Esme and Rose and my new family in Seattle was the first glimmer of freedom in my life, and even that was born out of tragedy."

"I'm not going to take your choices away from you, Edward. You love Katy, and if that's your choice, then I'll accept it, but you have to understand, we share a connection and it's permanent. It can't be broken, it's for life. I'll never be far away, we're joined at the soul, and I'll never let anything happen to you."

"Esme said I don't have a choice anymore."

"You talked to Esme?"

"She came to the cross country meet in Rainier on Thursday. She said that when Esteban comes back from Italy on Saturday, Jasper will have to tell him how much I know."

"But that would mean…"

"It would be a lot easier for me to make a choice if I knew everything, Bella. It isn't going to matter anymore after Saturday. Esme said it would be easier with Esteban if you had answers for him when he talks to you."

"I… I wasn't expecting this… Esme talked to you? I need to think about this, Edward."

"Ok, but don't take too long, we're running out of time."

I got up and went to the door. I was reaching for the knob when it opened and Alice walked in.

"I thought you were downstairs? Were you listening?"

"No, I was downstairs, it was just time to come back," and she tapped her temple with her index finger. "Now get out of here and go to bed. Bella and I need to talk, ok?"

"Good night Alice." I turned to Bella, and she was still sitting in the chair staring at me. "Good night, Bella, and think about what I told you, ok?"

She nodded ok, and I went out the door and closed it behind me. I went to my room and went to bed. We were running out of time, but I slept peacefully that night, and I knew it was because Bella was close by. Maybe my choice wasn't so hard after all.