Longtime no see. I present to you Chapter 2. I hope you guys enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All copyright belongs to Stephanie Meyers

Chapter 2- Bearer of Bad News

4 years later

"Ugh, I'm exhausted." says the voice of a young woman with wavy black hair. Bella rolls her eyes as she continues to type her final paper. She cannot believe four years have passed since she came to New York. Although she started a semester late, thanks to summer classes she is graduating right on time. She has one final paper to complete before she is done.

"You are exhausted? Mia, I've been up all night working on my final paper, not to mention my shifts at the bookstore/cafe are killing." Bella loves her life in New York however things have been hectic. She is balancing out her last semester at school as well as work. It's times like these where she is eternally grateful for her scholarship along with her parent's contributions to her tuition. She still has to pay rent for the apartment she shares with Mia not to mention food, clothes etc.

Mia comes up to Bella, putting her arms around her cousin. Bella has come a long way since she came to New York. She used to be shy and naive. Now she is confident, mature, and more self-assured. "Girl you are going to kill this paper. I can't believe my baby cousin is graduating!" She squeals and Bella simply laughs excitedly about graduating college.

She cannot believe she was this close to becoming a vampire. Staying human has been the best decision of her life. She has grown a lot over the course of her college years. For the first time in her life, she feels happy.

Mia leaves her to finish her paper. Hours go by and finally Bella is finished. She re-checks her paper excited that this is her last paper ever. It's also bittersweet. She truly enjoyed her years at NYU. She sends the paper to her professor, closing the laptop. Heading into her room, she puts her pyjamas on. As she crawls into bed her thoughts ponder on Jacob. It has been four years since she last saw him. She wonders if he still looks the same. Whether he has opened his own business like he always said he would. She feels her heart start to ache as she thinks about him having a girlfriend. By now, he probably imprinted. She starts thinking about graduation and her future plans instead of Jacob and his imprint. She should be happy however she wishes Jake was here with her

As she pulls the covers up, she drifts off to sleep. That night she dreams of Jake, a house with an enormous kitchen and small black-haired children squealing and laughing.

A few days later, Bella is standing outside of campus posing for photos. A huge smile takes over her face. She graduated! Bella Swan completed four years of college. Renee, Charlie, Phil and Mia are all here to support her. They have been taking photos for the past two hours due to Renee's insistence. Bella has been smiling so much that her face is starting to hurt.

"Mom, I think you have enough photos," she says.

"I know but this is a monumental day. My baby has not only graduated college but now she is an adult!" She responds with a smile on her face. It is hard to be annoyed or mad at Renee.

"Mom, can we please take a break? My feet are killing me, not to mention we are hungry." For her graduation, Bella decided to wear a flowy white dress underneath her gown with brown wedges. Over the past few years, she has become less clumsy. Before she would have tripped and fallen with these shoes on. Now she can walk without tripping or falling all the time.

Charlie walks over, dressed in a white button-up, black trousers and dress shoes. Charlie never dresses up. His everyday look consists of blue jeans, a flannel and sneakers. However, it's his baby's graduation so he decided to clean himself up. As he pulls his daughter into a hug, tears well in his eyes as he thinks about how time flies. He remembers when she was a little girl how sweet and innocent she was. Now, she is twenty-two and freshly graduated from college. Soon his little girl will get married and he will be a grandfather. He is not excited about that.

Pulling back Charlie says, "Let's go eat some lunch. You can take more photos after we are done eating Renee."

With that, the five of them climb into Phil's SUV, making their way to lunch.

Whilst the family was celebrating, they all failed to notice a small blonde woman watching them. From afar, she looks like your average blonde girl just more on the petite side. Up close, it is evident that there is something outworldly about her. Her hair is more sun bleached blonde, her skin is extremely pale and her blue eyes appear to be coloured contacts. Her smile is malicious, evil. Her phone rings, picking it up she says, "Aro you are never going to believe this. Isabella Swan is still human as you predicted." The woman says with an Italian accent.

"Good work Jane. You are to report back. It seems we need to have a little chat with the Cullens."

An evil grin takes over her face. She cannot wait to get rid of the Cullens at last. They have caused nothing but trouble for her and the rest of the Volturi. She also can't wait to wipe the grin that she saw on Bella's face. Soon, Isabella, you will meet your demise, she thinks to herself. She puts her phone back into her pocket, calls for a taxi and makes her way back to Italy.

As Bella digs into her hamburger (she may be vegetarian but from time to time she eats meat), she cannot help but feel as though someone is watching her. They are sitting outside enjoying the nice sunny spring weather. She looks around her but everyone seems to be preoccupied with eating and talking with their companions. She shakes her head annoyed at how anxious she gets sometimes.

"So Bella, now that you are done with school, what are your plans for the future?" asks Phil. Bella sighs at this. Every time someone asked her what she wanted to do after graduation her thoughts went blank. She wants to be a writer, in fact, she is writing a romance novel that is loosely based on her life. She has spent the last four years in school, she wants a break.

"Well, I was thinking of travelling abroad for a year before entering the work world."

"Sweetie, that's a great idea. You should go to France first. I heard French men are to die for." Bella rolls her eyes unsurprised by her mother's response. Renee is a free-spirited woman who believes all women need to explore and be themselves before settling down.

Charlie shifts in his seat. "Bella, are you sure that's a good idea?"

Renee rolls her eyes. "Honestly Charlie, Bella is an adult now. She can handle being alone for a year." This is why she and Charlie never worked it. She wanted to explore the world whereas he wanted to stay in boring old Forks forever. She's happy that her daughter is no longer the quiet, shy girl she used to be. Bella has matured into a young woman who can hold her own.

"Come on Uncle Charlie, it'll be us, two girls taking on the world." Mia chimes in. At this, he seems to calm down knowing that Bella would not be travelling alone.

The conversation begins to flow again as the males fight over which baseball team is the best. The females laugh at how stupid men can get when it comes to sports. Bella feels content but there is a small part of her that feels as though something bad is about to happen.

"Welcome back to the Volturi Edward Cullen." Says a man of dark skin, dreadlocks and piercing red eyes. He has a malicious smirk on his face as he stares into the golden eyes of a young extremely pale man. Edward's golden brown hair is perfectly tousled, his clothes and shoes scream designer. He appears to be anxious by the constant raking of his hands through his hair.

"Edward, I brought you here because we have problem. You see there is a rumour going around that Isabella Swan is still human." The man pauses to make direct eye contact with Edward. "We had an agreement hum? You agreed to turn her after your little wedding."

Now Edward was nervous. He knew that Aro had sent Jane to Bella's graduation since he was there himself. He remembers how beautiful and radiant she was. Smiling as Renee took photo after photo of her. He is happy about her decision to stay human however he would be lying if he said she wished she was with him.

He flashes the Italian a fake smile. "Aro, I can assure you that Bella is a Cullen therefore she is a vampire."

Aro laughs, a laugh full of mirth. "You and I both know young Isabella never married you. It seems as though the little human was not in love with you. Quite a shock to be honest since she was willing to become a vampire to save you. What happened?

If Edward's heart could ache it would do so. He is still very much in love with her. Bella is an enigma so different from other humans. What drew him to her was the fact that he could not read her mind. She was so pure and innocent. Everything about her draws him in. He should have known better than to end up with a human girl. He sighs in defeat knowing he has no choice but to answer Aro.

"Bella no longer wished to be married to me. I, along with my family, let her love happily as a human."

Rage fills Aro's eyes. He cannot believe the nerve of the Cullens. They know the rules. He should have killed Carlisle a long time ago.

"Edward Cullen you along with your abomination of a family know the rules. No human is allowed to know of our existence. You broke the rules. Isabella gave her word about vampirism." Aro's grin turns wicked. "In fact, I believe she seemed excited at the thought of becoming a vampire."

Edward clenches his jaw hating how right Aro was. Bella wanted to become a vampire. She begged him to turn her down after graduation. He was reluctant but deep down he relished spending an eternity with her. He is a selfish creature after all. If it was not for Jacob Black, they would have been together. That stupid mongrel got in their relationship. Anger bursts through him at the thought of the warrior wolf.

Aro can read Edward's facial expressions. So Isabella found someone else he thinks to himself.

"The human girl fell in love with another. That is really such a shame. Nevertheless, I could care less." Aro's facial expression takes on a deathly look. "Either Isabella becomes a vampire or we will be forced to use drastic measures."

Aro motions to one of the guards to let Edward out.

As Edward is escorted out, fear encompasses him. He knows there is no other way around this. Either Bella becomes a vampire or she will be killed.

"Oh Edward," says Aro in an overly cheery face, causing Edward to turn his head.

"I trust that you will make the right decision. It would be a shame to see the human girl dead at such a young age."

With that, the dark-skinned man leaves humming what appears to be a classic Italian song.

Edward shakes his head. As he breaks out of the castle, he takes his phone out to make a call.

Dialling the number, he brings the phone to his ear.

"Alice, Bella is in danger."

In a place far, far away from the Volturi, a young woman with short spiky black hair drops her phone from her hand. She freezes, her eyes going wide, her whole body seems to be paralyzed. Anyone looking into the car would think that she was clearly experiencing some start of a medical emergency. She breathes back in, rubbing her dilated eyes.

The car door opens, revealing a gorgeous young blond woman who appears to be annoyed. As she got into the car she angrily muttered, "I cannot believe the nerve of 21st-century men. They need to learn boundaries. They are very lucky I did not kill them then and there!" She shouts getting riled up about the men who attempted to grope her. As she gets situated in the passenger, she turns to the dark-haired girl taking in her horrified expression. She rolls her eyes, readying herself to hear about how Louis Vuitton ran out of pink silk scarves.

"Rosalie Bella is in trouble."

With these words, Rosalie gasps. She assumed Bella was safe without her and her family's presence in her life. She seethes thinking about how stupid Edward was for getting into a romantic relationship with a human. Poor Bella went through a lot of crap due to being submerged in the world of vampires. She was relieved when Bella broke their engagement. She wonders why on earth Bella would be in trouble. Did she get kidnapped?

"Alice, I'm confused. Bella is human, why would she be in trouble?" Rosalie is baffled until she remembers Jacob Black. "The damn dog hurt her didn't he?" She says with a look of fury. Although she was never a big fan of Bella she would do anything to protect her. She is surprised that the wolf would harm Bella. Jacob loved her just as much as Edward.

Alice shakes her head. "No, the Volturi are coming for her. Edward was confronted by Aro. Apparently, he sent Jane to make sure Bella was human." Tears stream down Alice's face as she thinks about what she saw in her vision. "Either Bella becomes a vampire or a battle will break out between vampires and the wolves."

Rosalie is flabbergasted. Another battle? She knows Alice went into a vision meaning this will come to pass sooner rather than later.

"When?" she asks.

Alice turns to make direct eye contact with her. "I'm not sure. It could be in a week or a month."

Rosalie, unlike Alice, does not freak out. She instructs Alice to drive to New York. Bella must be warned of all this. Then they can make a game plan on how they will deal with the Volturi.

As Alice speeds down the highway, Rosalie cannot help but think about Edward's idiocy. None of this would have happened had Edward not been a drama queen attempting to commit suicide because of his inability to communicate. She sighs thinking about the storm that is about to come their way.

Night has dawned. Bella is exhausted from her day out. After lunch, Renee insisted on taking more photos. Then, Mia, Renee and her went to Times square to hit the stores. She hates to admit, shopping was a lot of fun. She is sitting in front of the tv munching on some Doritos. A red blanket covers her legs. She is sad that Mia had to work tonight however she is excited about having the night to herself. She ponders on her plans for the future. Earlier Charlie asked if she would be willing to come back to Forks. She has avoided the town since the day she left for college. She cannot cope with seeing Jacob wrapped up with his imprint. As she debates whether or not she should go back to Forks, her phone rings interrupting her thoughts.

She looks at the number confused at who it could be. Picking up the phone she says, "Hello."

"Bella thank god you picked up are you alone?"

Bella's eyes widen as she realizes who the caller is. "Rosalie, is everything okay?"

"Look Alice and are thirty minutes away from the city. Text us your address. We will meet you at your place."

Now Bella is confused. It's been four years since she saw any of the Cullens. If they want to meet up with her it means something has happened. She hopes Edward did not offer himself up to the Volturi. She refuses to go back to that dreadful place.

Sighing she says, "Look, Rose if Edward is in Italy I am not going after him."

"It's not Edward. Bella, just give us your address. It is best for us to all talk in person."

"Okay, I'll text you my address."

With that Rose hangs up. Bella quickly texts her sighing. She should not have assumed the supernatural would stay away. At least she was given four years of peace.

She gets up folding the blanket and the chips. She paces in the living room, nerves getting the better of her. She knows whatever Alice and Rose have to say is not good.

Bella begins to clean the place. It's a habit of hers to bake or clean when she is feeling anxious. Minutes go by as she deep cleans the place. As she is putting the vacuum she hears a knock at the door. She takes a deep breath preparing herself for whatever bad is coming her way. She makes her way over to the door, turning the knob. As she opens the door, slim pale arms embrace her in a tight hug.

"Bella, I missed you so much!" exclaims Alice. Bella laughs as she hugs her back. Alice used to be her best friend and a sister to her. Even though she did things that Bella did not appreciate, she was the first person to become friends with her. She pulls back from the hug to take a look at Rosalie. The blond vampire is still as gorgeous as ever. She actually has a smile on her face which is a surprise from her usual scowl.

"Hey Bella, it's good to see you," she says, appearing a bit guilty. Rose was never the nicest to Bella. The rest of the Cullens were accepting of her except for Rose. She always said nasty things about her not to mention she never hid her disdain for Bella. She can only assume she feels guilty about her treatment of her.

Bella gives the blond a hug to show her that all is forgiven. After the hug, Bella closes the apartment door. The girls make their way to the living room. Rose sits in the armchair whereas Bella and Alice take the large couch.

"As much as we would like to chit chat and catch up, it's important to get right to the chase." Rose looks directly into Alice's eyes to ensure she does not deviate from why they are here.

Alice nods, giving her a look of understanding.

Rose makes eye contact with Bella and says, "The Volturi is coming for you."

Bella gasps. No, no, no! This cannot be happening is what goes through her mind. She thought the supernatural was behind her. Now it's coming back full force into her life.

"Edward was confronted by Aro. Do you remember the promise you made to the Volturi back when my dramatic brother went on his suicide mission? At this Bella nods. "Well, you were supposed to be changed after your wedding which you called off. They found out that you are still human and they are demanding for you to either change or they will kill you."

Tears streamed down her face. This is much worse than she thought. Her mistakes from the past are coming back to bite her in the ass.

She feels cold hands grab ahold of her warm ones. Alice's eyes are filled with sadness. "Bella, that is not the worst of it. After I got off the phone with Edward, I went into a vision. There is going to be a battle between the Volturi and the wolf pack."

Bella feels sick to her stomach. She left Forks to keep Jacob and the wolf pack safe. She caused nothing but trouble and heartbreak for them. To hear that the wolves will be in yet another battle makes her feel guilty.

Rose feels bad for Bella. "You have to go back to Forks. Ask the pack for help and let them know the situation. From there we can make a game plan on how we can deal with the Volturi."

"Go back?! I haven't been back to Forks since the day I left for college. The pack will never accept me after the crap I pulled."

Rose is shocked at Bella's confession. This makes things a whole lot harder. She has to know why Bella avoided going back home for the past few years.

"Might I ask why haven't you been back home?"

Bella sighs. "I feel guilty about the mistakes I made and how they affected the pack. I caused nothing but trouble for them." Now Bella was only telling half the truth. They do not need to know about her night of passion with Jake. "Besides, they are under the impression that I left town for good."

Rose rolls her eyes. Leave it up to Bella to make crap excuses. "You are going back to Forks whether you like it or not. You will ask the dogs for help because news flash they are protectors meaning they protect humans. You are human therefore they will protect you." She says in a tone that does not allow any argument.

"Bella I hate to say this but Rose is right. I saw the battle with my own eyes. You need to warn the wolves so that they can prepare and they can properly protect you." Alice pats her hands in reassurance.

Bella sighs in defeat. "Very well, I will go back home."

Both Alice and Rose smile. "As much as I would love to catch up, we have to let the rest of the family know the situation. Call us as soon as you get to Forks," says Alice. She gives Bella a hug sad about not getting to catch up with the girl she thought of as her best friend and sister. However, from the few visions, she has seen Bella has had it good during her years at school.

Bella laughs at her friend whilst Rose rolls her eyes. "Alice we will catch up soon I promise. Let's tackle the Volturi first."

Bella hugs Rose and with that, both vampires leave. She closes the door, locking it behind them.

It seems as though she is returning to Forks whether she likes it or not. At least Charlie will be happy about her finally visiting him. She goes into her room to pack her things. The sooner she leaves the better. She opens her closet doors pulling out a light blue suitcase, a black duffel bag and a white empire state tote bag. The song Everything Has Changed by Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran plays from the silver speakers. Bella thinks how ironic it is that a song about change relates to her current predicament. She shakes her head as she folds a plain white t-shirt into the suitcase.

"Why are you packing? Wait, you're leaving for Europe without me?" Mia's voice not only interrupts Bella's packing, but it also scares the daylights out of her.

She presses a hand to her chest. "You scared me! Actually, I'm going back to Forks."

Mia is surprised by the news. Her cousin has avoided her hometown ever since she attended NYU. When Uncle Charlie asked whether or not she would come to visit him, Bella gave him a cryptic answer. Now she is packing?

"Izzy, I'm a bit confused. You told uncle Charlie that we were heading to Europe, why the sudden need to go back?"

Bella hates not telling her the truth. Mia has become a sister and the best friend a girl could ever ask for. She cannot endanger her life due to her previous stupidity. She sighs knowing she has no choice but to lie for now.

She looks into her cousin's catlike eyes. "I want to spend more time with Charlie before we can on our girl's adventure to Europe," she says, plastering a fake smile on her face.

Mia knows Bella is lying. Something happened in Forks. Her cousin refused to talk about it but come on if you avoid the town you grew up in for that long something major occurred. She shakes her head, resigning in the fact that Izzy will not open up to her.

"I know you are lying to me. However, I think it's good you are finally going to spend some time with your dad." She goes over to Bella giving her a hug. "You know I am always here for you if you want to talk." Bella smiles, returning Mia's hug.

"Thank you." The two girls pull back. Mia looks around the room and says, "Well I'll leave you to pack."

As she makes her way out of the room Bella says, "Mia I promise to tell you everything I promise. I just need to sort through some things." Her cousin gives her an understanding look before closing her door.

She puts the song back on and gets back to packing. After she finishes, she and Mia spend the night eating junk, whilst watching gossip girl. Bella hates to admit how much she loves the show. Of course, it's an accurate portrayal of life in New York but hey life works differently for the rich. She gets into bed at two in the morning later than she wanted. As her eyes drift off to sleep her dreams have a mind of their own.

Bella is in a sunflower field wearing a white maxi dress, brown gladiator sandals and the wind blowing strands of her wavy brown hair in her face. Strong russet arms wrap around her waist. She turns smiling as she sees the raw, undying love he has for her in his eyes. His lips touch hers, her arms wrap his neck around him. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knows she belongs to him. Her love forever and always.

When Bella wakes up, tears are in her eyes. She wishes Jacob was hers just like she dreamed last night however it will never happen. He has moved on. He probably doesn't miss her. He has his imprint and the wolfpack. She looks at her alarm clock, it's six. Though she only slept for four hours she feels refreshed. She gets out of bed and into the bathroom to take a quick shower. Thirty minutes later she is dressed in a forest green sweatsuit courtesy of Renee. She has a new pair of white converse on her feet and her hair is in french braids. She grabs her things, last night she realized how stupid it was to use a suitcase. She has clothes at Charlie's. She takes her duffel and tote bag with her into the kitchen.

Mia is sitting at the small brown dining table they have with a steaming mug of coffee in her hands. She sees a medium-sized reusable Starbucks cup that contains ice coffee. Before moving to New York, Bella was a tea girl. She never understood why everyone was obsessed with coffee. That was until she had her first taste of iced coffee. She became addicted. Though she tries not to drink it too much.

Bella smiles gratefully for this. The drive from here to Forks is about three to fours give or take however she needs all the caffeine she can get.

Mia stands up to give her cousin one last hug. "I'm going to miss your neurotic ass."

Bella rolls her eyes but laughs at her statement. "I'm going to miss your crazy ass."

She pulls back from the hug, grabbing her cup before heading to the door. She opts out of breakfast because who the hell is hungry at six. Jacob's name pops out in her head. That man would eat at any given hour of the day.

She gives one last wave to her cousin before closing the door. As Mia locks the door, she can't help but feel as though things are about to change. For the better or worst she is not sure.

A few hours later, Bella arrived in Forks. Her heart pounds as she thinks about seeing Jake and the others. She knows her presence is unwanted in La Push after the damage she caused. As she drives down the dirt road, she can feel herself get increasingly nervous. Now she is in the Blacks driveway. Putting the car in park, Bella gets out of the car knowing she has to face her fears. Her life along with the packs is in danger.

She makes her way up the steps to the door. She rings the doorbell. And waits.

Now inside the home, a wheelchair-bound man with russet skin and long black hair is parked a few feet away from the tv with a beer in his hands. He is focused on his baseball game when a knock at his door interrupts his tv time. He huffs in annoyance wondering how on earth it could be. He rolls his wheelchair to the door, turning the knob open. His jaw drops at the person in front of him.

Isabella Swan is here.

She is alive and well.

She looks different from the girl he once knew. Her normally pale skin has a slight tan to it. Her hair is shorter reaching down to her collarbones. She has put on a healthy weight. Not to mention the overly expensive ring Cullen gave her is no longer on her finger. Overall, she looks more vibrant and confident. He is shell-shocked. Charlie has tried to get his daughter to come home for the past four years. Each year she made some bullshit excuse forcing the police chief to commute to the big city. He felt for his best friend. For years neither of his daughters wanted to come back home.

However, he knows Bella is not here to reunite with him and his son. Something is wrong, he can feel it.

"Bella, it's good to see you. How have you been?"

Bella's smile is strained. She hates to inconvenience him any more than she already has. The chief and his son have done so much in the past. Her way of saying thank you to them was nearly getting his only son killed not to mention she shattered his heart.

Billy sees the guilty expression on her face. The girl always felt guilty for things that were out of her control. She is no saint by means however the mistakes she made were those of a naive teen. She is now a mature woman who can stand her ground. "Bella, you need to forgive yourself for the past." He motions for her to come over, taking a hold of her hand. "You made mistakes however you have clearly grown from them. Not to mention love makes anyone do stupid things."

Bella gives Billy a watery smile. She does not deserve his kind words. She squeezes his hand giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for everything you have done for me. I promise I will make it up to you and Jake."

Billy shakes his head. "You have already made it up to us by coming home."

She wipes the remaining tears from her eyes. "Billy, I need to talk to the pack immediately."

He looks up at her, seeing her anxious yet determined stance. He sighs knowing the moderately peaceful life the boys have created for themselves is about to change. With Bella back, it means the supernatural is back in full swing. He does not like blaming the girl; she is merely human however she has a knack for causing trouble.

"They are at Emily's enjoying the buffet she conjures for them." Bella gives him another kiss on the cheek before heading to her car.

"Bella. Do not be nervous. The boys will help you with anything. Just remember to be honest," he shouts out from the doorway entrance.

She smiles again at him before climbing into the driver's seat. As she makes her way to Emily's, Billy is in front of the tv this time his mind is not on the game. He just hopes his son does not take his anger out on her. Lord knows he needs to act like a leader. Trouble is coming for them and they must be prepared.

Bella knocks on Emily's door.

Inside the guys are rambunctious. Laughter fills the air as they munch on the wonderful food Emily has made for them. Paul and Quil are fighting over who gets the last club sandwich. Paul yanks it out of Quil's hands giving the younger shifter a winning grin. Just as he was about to take a bite, a knock interrupted their lunch.

"Paul be a dear and go see who it is," Emily says as she puts a tray of cookies into the oven. Paul gaps at her. Is she serious? He is about to demolish the sandwich he grabbed fair and square now she is forcing him to get up? Why the fuck can't she get one of the youngins to do it. She gives him a pleading look and he leaves hearing the other guys laughing at him.

Whoever is at the door will pay for this. Turning the knob he nearly slams the door in the person's face. He cannot believe she had the nerve to come back. Bella Swan the bane of his existence. He was so happy when she along with the bloodsuckers up and left. The past few years have been vampire-free. Now the leech lover is back which means the leeches are back.

"What the fuck do you want Swan? You should know better than to show up here," he sneers, giving her a look of disgust. In the past, Bella would have cried at his insult. Now she glares ferociously at him.

"Listen hear Lahote, I know you hate me and you are justified in your hatred of me. I came here to talk to you and the rest of the guys." She jabs her index finger in his chest. "Stupid being an asshole and let me in."

He gapes at her. The Bella he knew would never speak to him like that. The girl in front of him is as feisty as Leah Clearwater. Reluctantly, he motions for her to come on in. As they enter the dining room area, the other shifters' eyes widen. They are all thinking the same thing. Is that really Bella? A brief period of awkward silence encompasses the room. The silence is broken when Emily, despite her shock, goes over to hug Bella.

"Bella it's so good to see you," the scared girl says. Bella smiles, returning her hug. She is grateful for her welcome.

Pulling back she looks around at the guys noticing the absence of Sam, Jake and Leah. Good, she thinks to herself. She does not know how the meeting would be if the three people who disliked her as much as Paul did were here.

Taking a breath she says, "I know all of you are surprised to see me. Some of you probably wish I never came back." At that Bella hears Paul mutter a no kidding however she chooses to ignore him. "I came back because-"

"Because you are in danger. It's always the same with you. Haven't you done enough? Are you forgetting Jake almost died because of you," Paul growls out. Bella feels guilty. She knows they all blame her for Jake's near-death and for the way their lives were years back. She cannot go back to the insecure girl she used to be. As Billy said. She was young, naive. She made mistakes and she has grown from them.

She glances at all the wolves present before making direct eye contact with Paul. "Look, I made mistakes. I was a teenage girl blinded by love. You cannot come blaming me for the mistakes of the past. I am sorry for all the trouble I brought into your lives. Believe me, I will make it up to you. I hope you will all forgive me one day."

She looks up and sees all the guys smiling at her except for Paul who has a scowl on his face.

Seth, one of the younger shifters, stands up and gives her a bear hug. "I forgive you, Bella. As long as you promise to make those delicious chocolate chip cookies of yours." She along with everyone else laughs at this, returning his embrace. She missed him a lot. He is like a younger brother to her. She pulls back to take in his appearance. Seth is almost as tall as the older shifters. His hair is still short however he has gained even more muscles than he had before.

"What type of danger are you?" asks Jared. Bella wants to tell them everything however she needs everyone to be present for this.

"I think it's best for me to tell you when everyone is present." Paul looks upset about this. Everyone else needs their heads in agreement.

The room went back to being loud with the guys minus Paul, asking Bella about her life. Just as Emily was plating food for her, five individuals come into the room making the already small space tight. The room goes silent. Bella, who was in the middle of telling Colin and Brady how the subway works, looked up to see why the guys went quiet. She sees Jake, Leah and an unknown female had entered the room. Her heart starts beating at a rapid pace. All three of them give her a death stare. She wants to look down but she knows that is a sign of weakness. She does avoid making eye contact with Jake.

The girl with straight black hair and light brown eyes looks at her with distrust. "Who the hell is she?"

Leah sneers and says, "That's the leech lover we were telling you about. The one who turned her back on us because she wanted to be a bloodsucker."

The girl has a look of disgust on her face. "Why the hell is she back? You said she left with the Cullen clan."

Bella is fuming. How dare they talk about her if she is not there. "Excuse me? I'm right fucking here. If you have questions ask me instead of being a bitch."

All the guys are shocked. Bella Swan has a backbone? The girl who whenever someone insulted her is now defending herself. She really has changed.

Leah looks amused. So the little leech lover can hold her ground hum?

"I am so sorry you're highness. To what do we owe this pleasure?" Leah says in a mocking tone. Bella sees red.

"You know Leah it really is a shame you are the biggest bitch I've ever met. I feel as though we would have been best friends. Quite frankly I don't care whether you like me or not. I came back because I have news for all of you."

The room is silent. Even Leah is flabbergasted. This girl used to be a pipsqueak. Now she is standing up for herself.

"Bella, tell us why you are here," says Jake, acting as a mediator between the two girls. Bella avoided making eye contact with him until now. His hair is still short and tousled in a messy way. He has gained more muscles if that is even possible. He has a stoic expression on his face. The Jake she knew would have given her the sunniest smile.

"I got a visit from Rosalie and Alice Cullen last night. Alice, the short one with the seer power, told me she had a vision. There will be a battle between vampires and wolves."

Leah shakes her head. "Unbelievable. Why am I even surprised at this? Tell us why the hell we would fight with vampires. Let me guess, you pissed one off again."

Bella looks down ashamed of her past mistakes. She should have never offered to turn herself but it was the only way to save Edward. "When I left for Italy to save Edward, I made a promise to the Volturi. They are the proclaimed leaders of all vampires. In exchange for Edward's life, I would be turned into a vampire after my supposed wedding with him."

"Why would you need to do that?" Seth asks.

Bella sighs. "The Volturi are not happy that a human knows about their secret. In their eyes either I become one of them or they kill me." She leaves the part out about the vampire council being interested in her mind-shield powers because it's not important. At least that's what she tells herself.

"Great so let them kill you," Paul says grinning wickedly at her. If Bella could, she would slap the smirk off his face.

"Enough," Jake says in a tone that leaves everyone silent, giving a death glare at Paul. He looks directly into Bella's eyes. He should hate her for all the pain she has caused. She left for four years without ever calling or coming to visit. Now she is back only to ask for help? He cannot deny her anything. He hates the pull he has towards her.

"We will protect you. We will have a meeting tonight with all of us present on how we can prepare for said battle." He looks directly into Paul's eyes. "Don't make me alpha command you." Paul is pissed but he nods his head in understanding.

Alpha command? Bella mutters under her breath. Jake is the alpha now? He always said he would never take his birthright. She wonders what changed.

"Leah, you and Hana may not like Bella and quite frankly your feelings are justified. However, we are warrior wolves called to protect humans. Seeing as she is a human in danger, we will protect her, do you understand?"

Leah and Hana reluctantly nod their heads before each giving Bella one last death glare before leaving the house, slamming the door in their wake.

Bella is hurt at Jake saying their dislike for her is justified. Does that mean he dislikes her too?

"Eat up and get your lazy asses back to the garage."

He turns around pointing his finger at Bella. "We're going outside to talk now."

Bella rolls her eyes at his command. She knows he is mad but there is no need to go all alpha on her. They make their way out to the front porch, closing the door behind them. Bella sits down on the white withered rocking chair whereas Jake opts to stand.

An uncomfortable silence takes over. Jake is having a hard time focusing his thoughts on what's important. He can't stop thinking about how hot she was standing up to Leah. His sweet innocent Bells swearing?! He nearly lost it as his wolf wanted to scoop her up and have his wicked way with her. He clenches his fist as a way to control himself. She got even prettier if that's even possible. The way she bites her bottom lip makes him crazy with want. Control yourself, Jake, remember the pain she caused you he thought to himself. He will not give his heart out to her ever again.

"Jake I-"

"Do you dare apologize," he says in a sharp tone. "You left for four years. Four years. No call, no text, nothing! Let's not forget all the bullshit you put me through." Fury blazed through him. He gave her his heart, his everything to her. Yet it wasn't enough.

Tears well in Bella's eyes. She knows she hurt him. She cannot take back all the mistakes that were made when she was a teen.

He sighs, a look of pain crosses his face before his expression turns stoic. "Meet me at my father's house at 6 pm for the meeting."

He walks down the steps climbing into a shiny black Camaro without giving her a second glance. She watches him speed away. She set her expectations way too high. Four years have passed and of course Jake would not be the same person. She changed so why wouldn't he?

She sighs, getting into her own car. As she drives, she allows the tears to stream down her face. She knows she has no right to cry but wouldn't you if the man you loved wouldn't give you the time of day.

She is dreading the meeting tonight.

On a positive note, she can spend time with her dad before what is bound to be a shitshow of a meeting.

Let me know in the reviews if you like the direction the story is going in. I was having difficulty writing a kid fic. There may or may not be a pregnancy I haven't decided yet. I realized that Forks is not near New York but give me a break I'm not American. Let's pretend Forks is a few hours away from the big city.

PS: I never understood why Americans call university college when college and uni are two different things.

PSS: I would like to post a chapter a week but this month is about to be hectic for me. Bare with me. I want to try and write some one-shots as well