EPOV

Bella had a point and I did like her new nickname for my family. If they kept this crap up after we were married, then I will take Bella away for a few years of isolation. We sat there in silence, calming ourselves until I heard Bella's stomach. I got up and was in the middle of making her dinner when my cell phone rang.

"Bella, could you answer it for me? My hands are greasy and I can't stop what I'm doing." I enjoyed feeling her hands in my pockets. She stood near me and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Why are you answering Edward's phone?"

"You're the psychic, you tell me." She snapped. It was safe to say she was still angry with my family for interrupting us from across town. I'm just glad she wasn't mad at me.

"Look, I'm sorry I sent them, but it really is for your own good. The wedding would have been canceled and Aro would have changed you himself. You would have woken from the change bitter and angry. I will keep doing it too."

"Fine."

"What, no 'thank you Alice for saving my relationship and my future'?"

"Nope, I'm still angry and we'll see how you feel when you can't get any while EVERYONE else around you is. There is a reason that we are isolated here."

"I'm sorry. Should I send Jasper over to calm you down?" Bella was losing it; big time.

"Was there a reason you called?" I asked, knowing full well that she could hear me.

"Yes, there is a nomad passing through. He's friendly and will come across you in about an hour. Greet him and ask him to respect the hunting grounds, then maybe introduce him to a few friends if you know what I mean. There are brown contacts in Bella's purse for him to wear."

"What? It's so unfair that we are the only ones that can't seal our mating bond and you want us to play matchmaker!" Bella screamed into the phone and threw it on the table. She left the room and I heard her walk up the stairs and slam her bedroom door. I could hear her crying. I dried my hands off and told Alice I would handle it before hanging up. I put her meal in the oven and went upstairs. I knocked on the door.

"Bella, may I come in?"

"Yes." Her answer was muffled, so I assumed she was crying into her pillow. I was right and also glad that she wasn't laying flat on her stomach either.

"Bella, I know you're upset, love, but Alice had a good reason for calling. Nomadic vampires are dangerous; even more so if they are unmated. They don't care about exposure, because they usually aren't in one place long enough to be caught. She must have told us to introduce him around because she saw him finding a mate. It's either that or to protect our new human family members, including you. I will fight to the death for you, but I don't like my odds. There are so many unknown variables and you are more precious to me than my family is. I love you."

"I love you too. I'm sorry I'm so spastic. I will apologize to your family later." I walked her to the bathroom and waited while she cleaned up her face. I carried her down the stairs and we waited outside for the nomad to pass us. I took Bella's dinner out of the over to cool and walked outside just in time. I saw him approaching us in the forest across the street.

"Hello." I called out and in his mind I could tell he was confused that I was willing sitting with a human and not killing her.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"I'm Edward Cullen and this is my mate, Bella." I claimed her as a way to protect her.

"You mated with a human?"

"Yes, she will be changed just after the new year."

"I've never heard of this. Do the Volturi know that a human knows about us?"

"Yes. Aro spoke with her personally. He is allowing us to be married first. Another vampire interfered in our lives and forced us to push the wedding back six months. Aro is aware of this and will be attending the wedding." His eyes were wide with shock. Bella handed me the box from her purse. I guess we were going into town for a bit.

"What's your name?"

"Garrett."

"Garrett, my family maintains a permanent home nearby and we hunt only animals. We respectfully ask that you abide by our eating habits while in our land or leave the immediate area to feed. There is more than one human that has mated into our family and we need to protect them until their changes can be made. Again, the Volturi know about them all." Well, not all of them but Aro will know soon enough. Mr. Banner was safe until Irina told him and she had no plans to do that for another year.

"Amazing."

"Quite. There have been three mates found in this town in the last six months. I found Bella just over a year ago."

"Think I've got a shot?" I smiled.

"Yes, my sister called and told me you were coming. She sent us with brown contacts for you to wear. We were told to take you into town. Would you like to hunt with me first?"

"Sure, I'll try anything once."

"Let me make arrangements for Bella's safety. Please come in." I helped Bella up and the three of us walked into the kitchen. I served Bella her dinner and picked up the phone. I was amused to see Garrett wrinkle his nose at the smell.

"Carlisle, would you send someone to Bella's to keep her company for a little while? I need to take our newcomer hunting."

"Emmett is on his way."

"Thank you." I kissed Bella, ignoring the taste of her dinner because I was so used to it.

"How can you do that? It smells nasty in here; no offense Bella."

"None taken. You should have been here a few months ago." She smiled at me.

"Why?"

"I used to eat every meal with Bella and then we would throw up together. It was her way of asking me to support her in the unplanned pregnancy." His eyes looked like they wanted to pop out of his head.

"You got her pregnant?"

"No, another vampire paid off some guys to abuse her because she held me accountable for her mate's death. It's a long story." Edward said with a note of finality to it.

"Um, Edward?" Bella called for me just as Emmett walked in the back door. Bella reached for the paper and pen.

-If he finds a human mate, will he kill her or change his eating habits? I'm concerned for the women of Forks right now.- She was so sweet.

"I'll take care of it, love. Trust me. I'll be back soon. Garrett, are you ready to hunt with me?"

"Not really, but like I said, I'll try anything once."

"There is a herd of deer five miles from here." Emmett informed us. I nodded and took Garrett with me. He was disgusted, but refrained from commenting his distaste for our diet. I appreciated that.

"Alice sent contacts for you to wear. She didn't tell me why, but my guess is that she saw you finding a mate. Are you prepared for that?"

"Sure, why not."

"Are you prepared to settle in one place for a while and change your diet so that you will be of less danger to her?" I asked. The urge to protect one's mate is strong, but when your mate also represents dinner, it changes things.

"Maybe, I don't know. Let's just see if we find her."

"Also, if you find her and decide to stay, are you prepared to go slow with the mating bond so you don't hurt her?"

"I guess. How long have you been with Bella?"

"A little over a year, but we have yet to seal our bond. We are waiting for the wedding night. Our emotional bond, however, is one of the strongest in my family. The other humans in our family have sealed their bonds though. Three of our cousins from Alaska are former succubi and liked human men better than vampire men."

"So you are…"

"Yes, I am." I didn't need it verbalized.

"How old are you?"

"It doesn't matter. Bella and I decided this together long before the attack was made. Even though it no longer remains true for her, in many ways, she is still like me and we are dedicated to waiting for our wedding night."

"So you trust her alone with that big guy in there?"

"Yes, he's mated and thinks of her like a little sister. If I can't protect her, my family will. They love her. Having the diet that we do affords us the chance to bond as a family and love as a family. She is immune to my gift as well as a few others."

"As a human?" I nodded.

"What's your gift?" He asked.

"Telepathy." I answered honestly. We were walking at a swift pace back to Bella's to finish our conversation. We had just broken the tree line to her yard and slowed our pace because her neighbors could see us now. Bella came out to greet me and I kissed her back.

"Are you ready to go to town, love?"

"Sure, I could use some ice cream. Emmett cheats."

"I do not!" He yelled from the house.

"I know he does. What were you playing?"

"Gin."

"Emmett stop cheating or I'll let her kick your ass when she's been changed."

"Yeah right, like she could do that." Emmett snorted and I enjoyed that he seemed to forget what being a newborn was all about. Bella, Charlie and Mike were going to be the powerhouses for a while in the Cullen home.

"Thank you Emmett for hanging with Bella for a bit. We're going into town and most likely coming back here." I said. Emmett nodded, kissed Bella's head and walked to the trees, then running once he was out of sight of the neighbors. Garrett was in disbelief that Emmett and I could be so casual around humans. He put in his contacts and I drove us into town. We walked to the ice cream parlor and I bought my love a cone. Walking toward us were Jessica, Lauren and Angela. Ben and Tyler were tagging along.

"Hey Bella, Edward, who's your friend?" Jessica asked.

"This is Garrett. Garrett, I'd like to introduce Jessica, Lauren, Angela, Ben and Tyler." Garrett nodded at them all, but his focus was on Jessica. What was it about Forks? I could sense another mating had just occurred. Bella saw my face and her jaw dropped just enough to know what had happened. My eyes flinched to Jessica and Bella fought to keep her face neutral as she ate her ice cream.

"We were just coming to get some ice cream, would you like to join us?" Bella nodded and said she'd get a table.

"We'll join you, but we're still full from dinner." I said for Garrett and myself. He thanked me in his mind just before he focused on Jessica again. Jessica's thoughts were on him as well and it was this kind of sexual tension that I was no longer able to handle with grace. I needed Bella more than my next hunt. The next six months were going to be the longest of my existence. Adding insult to injury, I was introducing Garrett to his mate on my original wedding day. Could today suck any more? I looked at Bella and could tell that she wanted to leave as much as I did. Unfortunately, we couldn't until either one of my family members arrived, or Garrett left with us.

"Would you excuse us for a few minutes? I need to talk to Bella." I stood and pulled her to her feet. I walked her down the block where we would have privacy from everyone except Garrett; though he was so focused on Jessica, that he wasn't paying any attention to us. I pulled her to me, willing time to speed up, but knowing it wasn't going to happen. I even half-heartedly wished we were in school just to give me something to distract my body from wanting Bella.

"I love you." She ate the last bite of her dessert and tossed it into a nearby trash can.

"I love you too. Can we just get married already? I'm so close to not caring what my body looks like any more. I need you." On cue, Alice calls.

"You're best bet is waiting until January. Bella will lose the baby if you do anything now." She hung up abruptly. It was a sobering thought and suddenly I had the will power to last for six more months.

"Alice said that if we get married now, you will lose the baby. She said that we are best if we stick to January." She swallowed and nodded. She muttered something though I didn't hear it, even with my enhances senses.

"What was that, love?"

"Stupid Victoria. I'm glad she's dead and I hate saying mean things about people." How right she was. I've never seen her stay mad at anyone longer than a week. Her forgiving personality is one of the many things I love best about her. Okay, I'm a liar; I love everything about her, even the fact that I can't read her mind. I smelled the tears just before they started to fall down her cheeks. I wiped them away with my thumbs and kissed her lips.

"I want to go. Invite Jessica over or something so Garrett can get to know her, but I want to leave." As you wish, my love. I walked her back to where everyone is sitting. Lauren, Angela, Ben and Tyler looked bored, seeing as how they had been excluded from the conversation.

"Um Garrett, Bella isn't feeling well right now and would like to leave." Everyone except for the new couple moved.

"Jess, you coming?" Lauren asked impatiently.

"No, I want to stay and get to know Garrett some more. I'll see you later." She walked away without another word. Angela, bless her heart hugged Bella and then me too, before saying goodbye. The guys just waved.

"Jessica, would you like to come to our house and get to know Garrett there? That way Bella can rest and I won't be abandoning my friend." I knew Alice had seen my decision and was telling everyone to act human because Jessica was coming over. That meant there was no sex to be had at the house while she was there. Kate and Charlie would be told to leave, since their presence wasn't easily explained. Garrett agreed and offered his hand to Jessica. Her thoughts registered how cool his touch was and then she started making comparisons to me. She noticed the pale skin and the of color eyes. I smiled to myself; just wait until you notice more, dear Jessica. At least she wasn't going to hit on me anymore. I held Bella's hand and opened the car door for her. Garrett copied my movements, paying close attention to how I interacted with the humans to improve his skills. He knew just enough to lure one away for dinner and since Jessica wasn't dinner, he needed to change his tactics. I drove all of us to my house where Bella and I can escape the mating madness in our room and let the family monitor them. As soon as we walked in, I made introductions and I knew that she was surprised to see Mike here; he's practically moved in at this point. I was tempted to stay in the room, but I knew that Bella needed rest so I excused us. I could give her a play by play from my room if she wanted me to. I carried her up the stairs, wondering what was going to happen now. Garrett is a nomad and Jessica is human. Alice was following us and waited in the doorway of our room for an invitation.

A/N: Reviews are wanted and appreciated. Have a great day! Kelly