A week. I couldn't believe it had already been an entire week. Waking up on the third day I really did consider turning around and heading back home, but then I thought hey, they are all probably beyond worried and have moved into pissed off, so what's the harm in taking a little more time? Also, if I am being honest, the thought of Edward's anger upset me way more than the thought of my Dad's, but I quickly decided to unpack that another time. Then when the light of my fourth dawn woke me up I realised that what I was doing was technically called running away. I had bristled at that, as if I was some gutless chicken unwilling to face my problems. It helped when I reminded myself that my problems weren't actually in Forks. My problem was one annoyingly evasive vampire, and who knows where she would turn up?

I had never spent this long in wolf form, and even though I was elated by my new found control I was also starting to feel incredibly filthy. Days of running through the Canadian wilderness and hunting anything I could get my teeth around had left my fur covered in mud and dirt and dried blood. I wasn't sure what I looked like, but I would've wagered that I looked positively feral. From what I could see, my usually chocolate coloured fur had darkened considerably, the fur sticking in all directions and matted in some places with mud and what I could only assume was the innards of last nights dinner. I sat back on my haunches and looked at the gently flowing water of an ice cold stream. I moved my weight from one paw to the other as I considered diving in, but with no hands how could I hope to scrub away a weeks worth of muck?

With a heavy sigh I resigned myself to the fact I would have to shift back to give myself any hope of a proper bath. My shoulders hunched inwards and I suppressed a whine as my bones snapped and moved about, I felt like I was being folded in on myself as I returned back to my human form with startling speed. My fur receded into my flesh, leaving behind its dirt and grime on my pale skin.

Finally, I was human again. Although looking at me, kneeling on the banks of a creek, stark naked and covered in blood and dirt, you wouldn't think it. I gingerly rose to my feet, after a week it felt strange to walk on two legs again instead of four. I stepped into the small river, the ice cold waters burning my skin and causing a shiver to run up my spine as goose-pimples covered every inch of me. Small steps was not the way to go about this. With a large breath of air I launched myself into the river, ducking my head under the water for a moment before surfacing with a gasp. Now I had been completely submerged in the glacial currents I was quickly becoming accustomed to them. I tread water for a moment before swimming closer to the bank and standing in the waist high water.

I hummed happily to myself as I scrubbed away the evidence of my week in the woods, happy to let the crisp water rush over my too-warm skin. I turned my back to the river bank, happy to look out over the expanse of rippling water and tall trees that were framed by gorgeous mountain ranges. I was just starting to try and untangle my unruly hair when I heard someone chuckle behind me.

"Well, you're not Charles." A deep baritone jested from behind me.

I yelped in surprise as I turned around in a flash, water spraying up around me as I faced my unwanted visitor. I quickly lowered myself in the water, so the bubbling stream would hide my nakedness and I couldn't stop the feral snarl that snaked up my throat and made my lips curl around my teeth. A tall man stood on the bank of the river, hands raised in surrender. He had shaggy brown hair that fell around a pointed face, but what I noticed the most was his eyes. The stranger's eyes were hooded, and twinkling with amusement, and they were very clearly a startling crimson. My nostrils flared as I took in the scent of the unfamiliar vampire. It was remarkably thicker than the Cullen's, smelling more like death and sickly infection than I was used to, but I was surprised to note that it was no where near the ghastly scents of the nomads I had the displeasure of meeting.

I kept my eyes narrowed suspiciously at the man, watching his every movement. "Who are you." I growled out. I was annoyed at this vampire for interrupting me, but I was also annoyed at myself for letting him sneak up on me like he had.

"Name's Garrett." The vampire replied, a smirk colouring his pale face before he lowered his hands and ducked down into a low bow. "Sorry to startle you like that, but I caught a rather familiar scent and thought it was an old friend of mine. I must say, I have never been happier to be wrong."

I shifted closer to the vampire, taking his scent deep into my lungs. I could taste nothing that would tell me he was being dishonest, rather he seemed simply curious and amused. I figured that I wasn't in any danger, or at least not yet. "How do you know my Father?" I shot the question at him, the implication clear in my tone. If I didn't like his answer, this was not going to end well for him.

"Father?" Garrett raised a bushy eyebrow, "Didn't know the old dog had it in him." He chuckled as he took a slow and measured step towards me to perch himself on a rock near the water's edge. I bit my tongue to stop the snarky remark from taking shape, it did nothing to stop the rumbling growl that rattled in my throat. Garrett raised his hands in surrender again, before slowly lowering them to rest on his thighs, he seemed to be making a great effort to make sure I could see his hands at all times. "Charles and I met in 1776, we became fast friends." The vampire didn't miss my obvious look of scorn and disbelief. "You see, we share a mutual dislike of tyrannical kings. Both of the human, and vampire variety."

With those careful words Garrett had let me know that he did not support the Three Kings, or their brutal regime. The curious vampire sat as still as a statue, perched on the rock by the waters edge the only movement in his otherwise motionless body was his scarlet eyes, which flickered over my face as if he was desperately trying to figure me out. I let the silence hang between us as I mulled over his words, letting the pieces of information slot into place in my brain before I spoke.

"You fought beside my Father in the Revolutionary War." Garrett's static expression twitched a minuscule amount, one side of his mouth lifting into an almost imperceptible smirk. "The Blood Wine, it was for you." I continued, stating the facts I thought to be true about the enigma that sat so calmly in front of me.

Garrett stopped his impression of a marble statue, his face breaking out into a friendly smile. In spite of his unsettling crimson eyes, the essence of his expression was so unlike James' sinister serpentine smirk. "Speaking of Blood Wine, your Father still owes me two bottles."

I couldn't help but snort at that before saying, "Sorry to disappoint, but I gave those away to some friends of mine."

"Ha!" Garrett barked out a laugh before shaking his head in mirth as he chuckled, "You certainly are your Father's daughter, can't help but make friends with vampires wherever you go."

I shrugged in response, lowering my eyes for the first time since the vampire's arrival. I swished my arms around the icy waters a moment before looking back at Garrett to see him watching me intently. I should have been unnerved by how closely he was studying me, but not only was I getting more sure by the second that this vampire meant me no harm, I was also confident that if he did decide to try and hurt me that I would be able to defend myself.

"You never did offer me your name?" Garrett commented,

I shrugged innocently, "Isabella." I responded, figuring I should go with the more formal version of my name since he knew my Dad as Charles a fact that I was going to tease him for when I went home.

Garrett hummed appreciatively, "And pray tell, Isabella. Why are you out here all alone?" The question would have been menacing coming from any other vampire, but coming from Garrett I couldn't help but smile.

"Just out for a run," I shrugged. "If you're truly looking for my Father, you'd have better luck heading west." I continued, gesturing with my head in the general direction.

"Is that right? I may just do that, it's been too long since I have seen the old wolf." Garrett remarked.

I tried to hide my wince when I realised that the Cullen's probably wouldn't be too appreciative of a strange vampire near their territory so soon after the James debacle. Garrett didn't miss the expression, he raised a questioning eyebrow. "Something to add?"

"Just uh…. approach the area with caution. There's a coven that has claimed the territory, and they're probably a little bit wary of strangers right now." I tried not to let too much information slip, while still making my meaning (and my warning) clear. I realised that I truly was my Father's daughter as I employed his trick of not offering any more information than was strictly necessary.

Garrett nodded gratefully as he stood up and turned to leave, before he could I spoke up again. "Oh and Garrett?"

The vampire turned around again and raised a brow in question, "If you happen to stumble across a red-headed nomad by the name of Victoria, let me know. Or better yet, bring me her head and I'll personally make sure you get your hands on some Blood Wine."

Garrett laughed loudly, his hand resting on his chest as if he couldn't contain his amusement. "Sure thing, pup." he chuckled, winking playfully at me before he shot off in a blur of speed.

I finished cleaning myself off, taking much more effort to be aware of my surroundings than I was before. I pulled my fingers through my hair, pulling apart knots and tugging leaves and sticks out of my tangled curls. Trying to manage my hair was beginning to feel like an impossible task without the help of a hairbrush and some conditioner. My frustration was building and I began to wonder why I bothered keeping my hair so long to begin with. There was so many large tangles and snarls that seemed almost matted together with mud and gods only knew what else. I took a deep breath into my lungs and dove under the water, opening my eyes under the clear stream I started my search. I was looking for a rock that looked even the tiniest bit sharp, and soon found a pointed stone that would do nicely.

I grabbed it in my hand and broke the surface, taking in a gasp of fresh air. I hurried to the bank, and found a large flat stone that would serve it's purpose. I start to roughly grind away one side of my pointed rock against the flat stone, and slowly but surely I worked one of the pointed sides to a crude edge. I held it up to assess my work, turning it one way and then another. I gently ran my finger down the newly sharpened blade edge and I was satisfied that it would be sharp enough to get the job done.

I moved back to the waist deep water and held a good chunk of my tangle hair in a closed fist. I took a deep breath to steel my nerves before I took my makeshift blade to my hair. The rock wasn't as sharp as a knife, and I had to saw away at parts of my hair but it was doing the job. As I hacked and slashed my way through, bits of my hair fell into the water and were carried away by the gentle current. The tangled locks were matted with leaves and twigs, and what I think was a rib-bone from the raccoon I ate on Thursday. Happy to see them go I make quick work of my hair, and when I was done I bent at the waist to dunk my head under the water. I ran my fingers through my now much shorter hair, scratching at my scalp and scrubbing away any dirt I had missed.

I flicked my head back and my wet hair fell around my face, I ran my hands through it and I was extremely pleased to note that it was now free of knots. My hair had always been the same length for pretty much my entire life, regular trims had kept it reaching almost to my mid-back. Now the wet strands just grazed my shoulders in what I could only imagine was a terrible looking choppy mess. I was so happy to be rid of the mass of tangled knots I couldn't be bothered to be upset with how bad my impromptu haircut looked.

I dropped my makeshift knife and let it fall to the riverbed before I trudged my way back to shore. When my feet were back on dry land I did my best to shake off the droplets of water that clung to my now clean skin. I drew a breath deep into my lungs, pulling on that part of myself hidden away inside. Furrowing my brows I felt the pull begin in my stomach before the pain soared throughout my body. I bit back a wretched noise, catching it in my throat before it could escape out my mouth. My bones fractured and reformed under my splitting skin and when I fell down onto my hands I had already completed the transformation.

I shook out my damp fur, and quickly disposed of the evidence of my transformation. I lifted my snout to the air, sniffing around for something that smelt appetising. I trotted down the river bank before I caught the scent of something tasty, and then I shot off into a sprint to chase after my lunch.

A/N: Thanks for reading! A few of you asked if you will be seeing Edward's response to Bella running off, and the answer is yes! I plan to write this fic from Edward's POV once it is completed. So stay tuned!