After spending the better part of a century either alone, or under the constant bombardment of the thoughts of others, spending time with Bella felt like a blessing. I'll admit, not being able to read her thoughts took some getting used to. Conversations with her never seemed to go the way I thought they would, but it made for a nice change of pace. Spending time with Bella was simply divine, and I wanted to spend every available minute with her. With that in mind I decided to offer Bella a ride to school, the extra few minutes weren't much, but they were something.

I pulled up behind her truck and walked confidently to the front door, after the day we had spent in each others company I was certain Bella would accept my offer of a ride to school. I knocked firmly on the door and listened carefully to Bella's shuffling footsteps before the door opened. Bella's eyes were wide and wild, my unexpected appearance on her doorstep had taken her by surprise. Her hair was loose around her head in their usual waves, and she was wearing blue jeans and a crimson coloured blouse than hung loosely on her slender frame. Bella was still staring at me, mouth opened slightly in her silent shock.

I smiled at her, "Good morning, Bella. I thought I could give you a ride to school." I briefly glanced back behind me to my car before turning to face her again.

I watched in amusement as Bella's face flushed a beautiful red as her heart skipped a beat. "Uhm. S-sure" Bella stuttered and stepped backwards into the small foyer of the house and I followed her inside, "I'm just gonna go grab my bag." She muttered breathlessly before darting up the stairs. I stayed in the foyer as I listened to her hurried footsteps and rapid heart beat, and before I knew it she was speeding down the stairs towards me, her face still that stunning shade of red.

"Ready to go?" I smiled amusingly at her flustered disposition.

Bella nodded jerkily, "Sure am!" She almost squeaked and smiled broadly. The smile felt queer, it didn't quite reach her eyes and looked forced. I frowned to myself as I led Bella to the car and opened her door before getting in the driver's seat. Had I overstepped some invisible boundary by coming to pick her up unannounced? Maybe I should have asked her beforehand. I glanced at Bella as I put my seat belt on and I couldn't help but think she seemed distant, as if she were pulling away from me. During our time together on Sunday, Bella had been relaxed and at ease in my presence, a feeling I was not accustomed to, but readily enjoyed. This morning it was like some hidden switch had flipped, she seemed agitated, anxious and flighty. Her eyes went from having a glazed thousand-yard-stare to being bright and alight with nervous energy as she abruptly came back to herself and fidgeted restlessly in her seat.

I twisted the key in the ignition and glanced at Bella as I pulled out of the driveway, "Bella, are you alright?" I asked cautiously. I was being truthful when I told her I had no experience in courting, but I had plenty of information to go off of after almost a century of living, and yet in spite of that I still felt woefully unprepared for the reality of dating a woman such as Bella Swan.

"Yeah?" Bella's voice broke and she cleared her throat roughly, and I was once again witness to that well rehearsed stone mask shift into place on her face as she purposefully collected her thoughts and quelled her emotions. "Why?" She asked evenly.

I tried my best to decipher her words and expressions, but found that I was completely baffled by her. Bella's heartbeat was still alarmingly fast, beating furiously in her chest, but I couldn't puzzle out why. Was she nervous to be alone with me? Or was her heart rate the result of her fear? I envied Jasper, and his ability to read emotions as I tried to figure her out. Bella's face gave nothing away, she was much too skilled in the art of deception and misdirection to let her carefully constructed mask slip. Once again I found myself wondering what kind of life she must live, to have such masterful control over her expressions and emotions was no easy feat. It was a skill that took me decades to master after my transformation, but it was a vital necessity, an obstacle I needed to conquer if I wanted to survive. Bella's expertise and finesse rivalled my own, the only time Bella's mask faltered was when she was caught off guard, or became too comfortable during a conversation. I had come to terms with the fact that Bella was not what she appeared to be, that she was so much… more. Bella had a number of facades, and the way she could easily slip in and out of each like a snake shedding her skin told me she was much more experienced than a seventeen year old girl could have any hope to be. Bella Swan was hiding many secrets, and as I studied her outward expression of artificial calm, I was certain that her true age was one of them.

"You just seem…" I paused for a moment as I tried to think of a word to describe her odd behaviour that she wouldn't become offended by. "Distracted." I finished lamely. I pulled swiftly into the school parking lot and parked in a vacate spot.

"Yeah," Bella heaved a heavy sigh and ran a hand through her hair, "I told Charlie about what happened in Port Angeles. I guess I am still processing the conversation." Bella's mask fell slightly as she frowned, her eyes grew worried as she furrowed her eyebrows lightly, she ran the palms of her hands over her thighs in a self-soothing motion and I reached across and took hold of her left hand.

I held it softly in mine and gave it a comforting squeeze, "Are you okay?" I asked tenderly.

Relief flooded my every pore as I watched tiny pieces of Bella's mask melt under my loving gaze. Her face relaxed and her eyes went back to betraying every emotion that flickered through her, Bella's posture relaxed and she leaned back into her seat as she turned to give me a tired smile. "Yeah, of course." Bella said with a shake of her head, and I was utterly enthralled as I witnessed the last remnants of the mask she had so painstakingly created to defend herself, evaporate like smoke before my eyes. Everything was available to me now. Just like yesterday, Bella was once again wearing her heart on her sleeve, and it filled me with unbridled joy that she trusted me enough to expose herself so plainly. "It's just he shared some stuff, and it was pretty heavy… ya know?" Bella looked at me questioningly. I couldn't help but wonder what sort of conversation the pair had had. What did a heavy conversation look like in the Swan family? I desperately wanted to know how her father had reacted to her breaking a man's arm. Was he angry with her for exposing herself so brazenly? Or was he proud of her, like I was? I wanted to ask her what Chief Swan had shared with her that had made her become so withdrawn and anxious, but I didn't want to pressure her. If Bella wanted to share that with me, I was going to let her do it in her own time.

"My dad isn't usually the one to share personal experiences, he's pretty closed off." Bella quirked a half smile that seemed more sad than anything else. "Do you know what it's like to feel like the one person you are closest to in the world is also a total stranger?" Bella hummed morosely. I silently revelled in the new sliver of information Bella had bestowed upon me. I couldn't help but find it strange that Bella felt such a profound connection to her father. It was my understanding that she had been raised primarily by her mother, visiting her father over the summers. I quickly reviewed all I knew of Bella Swan. The only reason for their bond that I could understand was that they were 'the same', as Bella had put it. What interested me about this was that it insinuated that Bella's mother was not like her and Chief Swan.

Unfortunately, I could not empathise with Bella's predicament of isolation. Carlisle was the person I was closest with, and never in our one hundred years together have I felt as if he were a stranger to me. I was sure that even if I could not read his thoughts, that I knew him well enough to always know who he was, down to his very soul.

I could see Bella watching me, and she slowly raised her hand and cupped my cheek. Her soft thumb gently caressed my furrowed brow, "You shouldn't frown so much, you'll get wrinkles." She murmured softly.

I scoffed a light chuckle, smiling warmly at her. What a ridiculous thing to say. "I don't think you have to worry about that." I teased. Bella's worried expression relaxed, and with a quick smile I grabbed her book bag and got out of the car before hurrying around to the other side of the car to open Bella's door. I offered Bella my hand and her small smile widened into a toothy grin as she placed her hand in mine. Bella's small hand was deliciously warm, and as I helped her out of the car I couldn't stop myself from pulling her closer to me. I wound my arm around her slender waist, resting my hand on her hip. Bella was so small, yes she was taller than many of her peers, but I still towered over her, and as I pressed her snugly against my side I felt as if we were two puzzle pieces finally coming together. A perfect fit, made for one another. Similar, and yet still so different. Two halves to the same whole.

I bent my head so I could murmur softly in her ear, "Did you want to talk about it?"

Bella shook her head and turned to smile up at me, "Maybe later?" Bella glanced around, finally noticing the small crowd who were watching us with keen interest. I smiled as I started to guide Bella towards her first class, "Everyone is staring at us." She muttered, and I smelt her roaring blush before I saw it.

Pride swelled in my chest. I wanted everyone to stare at us, I wanted them all to see. See that Bella Swan was on my arm, that she had chosen me. A let loose a loud laugh and pulled Bella closer to me, basking in her radiant warmth. "Not everyone." I quipped.

We came to a stop in front of Bella's English class and I reluctantly let her go, but not before I pressed an affectionate kiss to her forehead. "See you at lunch?" She asked, her doe brown eyes wide and hopeful.

"I wouldn't miss it."

XxXx

I could not remember a time when I had ever felt this happy. Each morning I would arrive to pick Bella up from school, and then I would walk with her to her first class. I would then spend the lunch hour watching her interact with her human friends, completely captivated by her relationships with them. Bella chatted and joked around with the humans with an abundance of confidence, she effortlessly changed tacks or shifted the conversation when one of the humans became unsettled by the current topic. Bella listened to them all and seemed delighted to indulge them as they rambled on about inane topics. I couldn't figure out if her interest was genuine, or if it was yet another mask she donned in order to fit in. Regardless, Bella's presence in my life made the human facade- the tediousness of high-school- much more bearable and I could tell Bella felt the same way.

So it was a disappointing surprise when I arrived at Bella's house on Thursday morning to find her truck gone, and the house empty. I sat in the driveway, my car idling, as I listened intently for any sign of Bella nearby. When I found none I scowled to myself and pulled out of the driveway and began the short journey to school. Why would Bella leave without saying anything? I frowned as worried thoughts whirled in my head, thoughts that eased only slightly when I pulled into the school parking lot to find Bella's truck already there. At least she was here, a small part of me had become concerned that she wouldn't be at school.

Finding Bella was as easy as following her scent, it drew me in like a glowing beacon amongst the fog of all the other scents that permeated the school. Bella's scent led me to the small library, I quickly found her tucked away in the back corner, her nose buried in a book. I smiled at her and slid down the wall beside her, taking a peek at the cover of her book as I did so. Bella was reading The Count of Monte Cristo and seemed completely enthralled by the story.

Bella didn't even acknowledge me as I sat silently beside her. I crossed my legs and watched Bella read her book, I was sure that she would look up and greet me once she had finished the page she was on. A painful ache settled in my chest as I watched Bella turn the page and continue reading, staunchly ignoring my presence. First, she drives herself to school without warning, and now she was ignoring me completely. I couldn't figure out what I had done to deserve such treatment, and I was becoming increasingly anxious and hurt the longer I sat there. The week had been going so well, and now Bella was pretending I didn't exist. I had seen Rosalie give Emmett the silent treatment on more then one occasion, so it was easy enough to spot it now. I bit the inside of my cheek and clenched my jaw, if Bella was determined to ignore me I felt that I at least deserved an explanation as to why.

"Enjoying your book?" I asked quietly, not wanting to disturb her too much.

Bella jerked in surprise, swiftly whacking me on the arm with her book and a scowl. "You really need to stop sneaking up on me!" Bella grumbled.

I forced out a small laugh, "I've been sitting here for almost 10 minutes." I muttered, trying to keep the bitterness out of my voice.

"Oh," Bella furrowed her eyebrows and her lips formed a small pouty frown. She seemed genuinely distraught, maybe she wasn't ignoring me on purpose. I tried to think of what Esme would say, what advice she would give me in this situation. Esme would probably encourage me to be honest, to share my feelings, my fears. I was a frightening prospect, but I knew I would never know for sure unless I asked.

"I was starting to get worried, I thought maybe you were ignoring me." I murmured softly, my eyes flickered away from Bella for a moment before I looked back to her. I studied her expression, hoping to find my answer there.

Bella just looked confused, "Why would I be ignoring you?" She queried.

I shrugged sadly, "I don't know." I admitted weakly, "But I went to your house to pick you up and you weren't there, and then I sit next to you and you don't even acknowledge my existence."

Bella's confused expression turned into a soft frown, "I'm sorry," She sighed sadly, "I'm just not feeling great."

The painful ache of rejection vanished, and was immediately replaced with worry. Was Bella sick? I placed the back of my hand to her forehead, "Hmm," I hummed, Bella was a little warm. Well, she was always warmer than she should have been, but she was running hot, even for her. "You do seem to run hotter than most, but today you are especially warm." I thought aloud, and ran through all known illnesses in my mind, trying to figure out what could be ailing her.

Bella's eyes narrowed as she scowled at me, she roughly slapped my hand away from her forehead. "I wasn't aware you had a medical degree!" She snapped angrily. I let out a small breath of air, shocked and hurt by her sudden anger. I bit my tongue, I wanted to point out that I did indeed have a medical degree, but felt that it would only make the situation worse. Bella's angry glare softened into a look of devastating remorse. "Sorry," She sighed wearily as she ran a hand through her hair, "Mood swings. That time of the month, ya know?"

Oh great heavens.

This had never been an issue for any of the women in my life, and I found myself entirely unprepared for it. What was the appropriate response here? Surely I was meant to say… something. Offer her my condolences perhaps? No, that didn't feel right. This wasn't something that young women openly discussed in my time, I had absolutely no reference point for this topic of conversation. I knew the… practicalities of it, of course. But I was unsure how that information would be received in this situation.

At my stunned silence, Bella flushed crimson in embarrassment, she quickly stuffed her book into her bag and stumbled to her feet, "Right, well… I better get going to English. See ya." Bella muttered quickly before she almost ran from the library.

Fantastic.

I hadn't meant to embarrass her, I just didn't know what to say! I frowned to myself as I slowly got up off the ground, at least I would have another chance when I saw her at lunch.

XxXx

I never got the chance to speak to Bella at lunch, as she didn't arrive. I was forced to silently endure the company of her humans friends without her, hoping that I would be able to speak with her during biology. However, she wasn't there either and as I left my last class for the day I saw her truck was missing from the lot.

I drove home in a sour mood. A part of me wanted to be angry at Bella for avoiding me, but I couldn't stay mad at her, not when I was so worried. I was filled with nervous energy and as soon as I pulled into the garage, I took off outside to go for a run. As a vampire, I never got tired, but as I continued to speed through the forest I felt the bundle of anxiety in my gut slowly dissipate. I had just decided to turn around and head home when the undeniable urge to check on Bella burned through me. I turned and started to run towards Bella's house, and quickly came to a stop in the woods nearby.

I looked up at the small house and could hear a single heartbeat inside, Bella's heartbeat. It was calm and steady. I sighed in relief and smiled to myself, Bella was fine. She was at home, safe and happy. I decided to indulge my more protective, vampiric, side and stay and watch over her for a little while. I figured there was no harm in it, Bella would never even know I was there, and I knew it would make me feel a whole lot better about the days events.

I had just settled in to watch over the Swan house when I heard Bella begin to move around inside. I heard the springs of her mattress creak as she stood up with an angry huff, and then I listened to her heavy footsteps as she went down the stairs and out the back door. I moved silently through the woods to see what Bella was up to, it was approaching nightfall and the last thing I wanted was for Bella to go on an unchaperoned stroll in the woods at night.

My confident stride faltered when I saw Bella walk into the woods in nothing but her underwear. Two powerful emotions battled for dominance inside of me, desire and discomfort. I knew Bella enjoyed exploring the forest, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out why she would be doing so in her underwear. She didn't strike me as the type of woman to have late night liaisons with strange men in the wilderness, and even if she were I was certain she would never betray my trust like that.

I watched as Bella stomped angrily into the woods, and unlike her endearing irritation that I took great joy in riling, this anger was much more sinister. Her brown eyes were alight in a ferociously feral fire, her lips down-turned into a bitter scowl. Bella crossed her arms over her chest, her fingertips dug under her sports-bra in a move to remove it. I physically baulked, taking a step backwards and I winced when I stepped on a tree branch. It snapped loudly in the silence and Bella's head snapped up in my direction. I had seen this look of savage anger on her face once before, when she stared down that man in Port Angeles, and I did not want to be on the receiving end of her ire. I froze, becoming as still as a statue, I didn't even dare to breath. I watched with wide eyes as Bella took a deep inhale, and her expression softened dramatically, a dreamy smile curled her lips as her entire demeanour relaxed. She suddenly came back to herself with a start, and blinked away the wistful look in her eyes.

"Edward!" Bella hollered out in my general direction, I fought every instinct I had to answer back and kept still and silent. "I know you're there Edward! Please just come out!" She continued to beg loudly and I could tell she was becoming increasingly agitated the longer I made her wait.

I steeled my nerves and stepped out of the shadows and took a few steps towards her. As I became closer I couldn't help but glance down at her exposed midriff and bare legs. Bella was completely stunning, thin and toned I could make out the subtle definition of her abdominal muscles, her long slender legs were pale and perfectly unblemished. I clenched my jaw and forced my gaze back to her face, momentarily ashamed of my lewdness. "Bella, what-?" I began but Bella swiftly interrupted.

"Edward, you have to leave. Now." Bella demanded pleadingly as she closed the distance between us.

Irritation won out over worry, "Bella, I don't understand what's going on." I muttered.

"You need to leave." Bella stressed and pushed lightly against my chest with both hands, I knew she had put no real effort into the motion as it barely made me sway on my feet. "What are you even doing here!?" She demanded sharply, glaring up at me.

"I wanted to check up on you, Bella." I took a deep calming breath so I wouldn't snap at her and make everything worse, "Why are you standing in the woods in your underwear?" I whispered hoarsely.

Bella didn't answer and I studied her closely as her righteous anger evaporated, only to be replaced by a distressing level of panic. I could see her clenching her jaw, her hands were balled up into tight fists, and she was trembling violently. Bella looked up at me, and my dead heart was shattered into a million pieces by the look of utter fear in her eyes. She looked up at me, wide eyes brimming with tears of terror and dread, it was like she was trying to wordlessly convey something to me, but I couldn't understand what. "Please, Edward" Bella whimpered out between clenched teeth, "You have to leave. It's not safe."

There was no way I was leaving now, if Bella wasn't safe I would stay here to protect her. I would die a thousand deaths to keep Bella safe from harm. "Not safe?" I echoed worryingly, "Bella, I don't understand." I murmured softly, "Please, just talk to me. Let me help you." I begged.

Bella's expression just became increasingly distressed, her bottom lip was quivering and I was worried she was going to break a tooth with how hard she was clenching her jaw. We stared at each other in tense silence, and I started slightly when it was broken by the sound of a bone snapping in two. It was a sound I was regrettably familiar with, what with my vigilante past, and I was horrified to realise it was emanating from Bella's body. Bella's face turned an alarming shade of grey as all the colour and blood drained out of it as she gasped in pain and took a stumbling step forward.

"Bella!" I moved forward to grab her and keep her upright. My mind went into overdrive as I scanned the forest around us, fervently searching with everything I had. I could smell everything around me, Bella's sweet and enticing scent was paramount but I could also smell the mud and the moss under our feet, the stench of rotting wood and the musk of small animals. I strained my preternatural hearing, but other than Bella's torturous gasps I could only hear the soft creak of the limbs of trees in the wind. Becoming desperate, I reached out with my gift looking for any sign of an unseen assailant, but for all my abilities I could not find who had struck Bella with such force as to break several of her ribs. Bella released a whimpering cry, and I felt sick when I heard more of her bones break. I clamped my hands around her biceps, fulling intending on pulling her close to me and fleeing from the invisible attacker.

I felt Bella begin to slip in my grasp and I struggled to hold on to her without hurting her in the process. Suddenly, Bella fell to her knees and I was left standing there, holding two bloody clumps of human flesh in my hands. "Oh, god." I groaned and I stumbled back a step, completely horrified at my actions. I hadn't meant to hurt her, I was trying to help! My eyes stung painfully and my vision blurred as tears I could never shed filled my eyes. I blinked them away sharply and willed my vision to come back into focus as I heard Bella scream out in agony.

The smell of Bella's blood filled my senses and I felt my eyes darken in hunger, and for the first time Bella's scent caused a small burn of thirst to spark in the back of my throat. I pushed the thoughts of my thirst to the back of my mind as I focused on Bella's prone form, she was on her hands and knees, keening painfully against the muddy ground. I was transfixed, utterly entranced as I watched Bella's shoulder blades move under the skin of her back. With a gasp, Bella arched her back like a startled cat and I could hear more of her bones break, and her spine… my god her spine was writhing like a wild serpent under her skin. I was so engrossed by the macabre spectacle taking place on Bella's back, I barely noticed her spitting out blood onto the ground. My eyes flickered down to her face, her gorgeous face which was now streaked with blood, and I watched as she slowly spat out more blood onto the ground. I looked at the growing pool of blood to see… good lord almighty. In the small pool of blood sat a number of Bella's teeth, and when I looked back up to her face I saw that her mouth could no longer shut completely due to the jarring amount of razor sharp fangs protruding from her gums.

I was rooted in place by the complete shock of it, unable to move forward to help Bella and unwilling to turn around and leave her when she was clearly in such a tremendous amount of pain. Bella groaned, but the noise sounded more like an animalistic growl than anything human, and I watched as Bella's body shuddered and started to grow, expanding out from itself. It was completely impossible, and yet I stood witness as Bella's skin started to split and tear under the strain of her ever growing form. Her pale skin started to peel away, only to be replaced by deep brown fur. I could hear the small bones in Bella's face break and shift and slowly her jaw and nose began to jut forward, elongating slowly until the skin of her face could no longer bear the strain of it and cracked and peeled away to reveal a wolfish snout. Bella released a whimpering whine, sound more like a dog than a human, and hunched down into herself and I just stood there and watched as the final pieces of Bella's human form fell away, leaving a large brown wolf in her place.

The wolf that was Bella Swan rose to her full height, and threw her head back and released a thunderous howl before she shook her entire body like a wet dog, releasing a pale red mist of blood in the air around her. Bella lowered her enormous wolf head and happily scarfed down the remnants of her human self. I covered my mouth with my hand to stop myself from gasping aloud at the scene in front of me. Bella's wet, black nose twitched as she scented the air and she slowly raised her lumbering head and stared at me with two bright yellow eyes.

There was no spark of recognition, no semblance of human intellect in those glowing yellow eyes as they slowly blinked at me. Bella's canine lips twitched as she growled menacingly. Her hackles rose as she bared her teeth threateningly at me, another spine tingling snarl erupting out of her. The wolf was much larger than any wolf I had ever seen, and it irradiated an air of pure danger as it slowly lowered itself down into a predatory bow.

This is what Bella had been hiding from me. This is why she thought of herself as a monster. I had to admit, I didn't agree with her assessment. She was beautiful. A perfect visage of primal rage and animalistic fury. I couldn't understand why she had kept this side of herself so well hidden from me, it was glorious.

Bella snarled again and looked just about ready to attack me. I wasn't sure if she was actually capable of doing me harm, but I didn't want to find out.

"Bella." I breathed and I slowly raised both my hands as a sign of surrender, "Bella, it's me." I murmured lovingly, looking deep into those animal eyes and silently praying to a god I wasn't sure existed that my Bella was still in there somewhere. I received no response as her yellow eyes narrowed and her tail thrashed wildly, "Please tell me you understand me." I begged, "Bella, it's me. Edward."

Something shifted behind the bright yellow eyes as Bella's nose twitched as she scented the air. She released the breath in a pitiful whine as her lupine body trembled and collapsed into itself. Bella's dark paws covered her snout as she whimpered and panted. Bella was… she was crying.

"Bella?" I whispered and took a cautious step forwards. Bella whimpered loudly and as I got closer I saw her bright yellow eyes stare up at me from underneath her paws. Yes, this was Bella. She was in there, she understood me. My chest swelled with an inexplicable sense of pride, this beautiful, amazing, completely stunning creature was mine. I lowered myself down into a crouch, ignoring the way Bella's blood soaked into my pant legs, and placed a comforting hand on her back, between her shoulders, and gently stroked my hand down across her back. A small amount of blood smeared itself on my hand but I paid it no mind. "Amazing." I sighed.

Bella whimpered again and stood up abruptly, shaking off my gently stroking hand in the process. She tilted her head back and howled mournfully, and then without warning shot off like a bullet fired from a gun, disappearing into the dark forest.

"Bella!" I cried out and took off after her, following her scent and continuing howls I struggled to keep up. Bella was fast, and she twisted and turned through the woods in an attempt to throw me off her trail, but I was determined. I was not going to leave her alone in these woods, I would follow her and keep her safe, and then when she returned to her human form, I intended to ask her all of the questions that were currently buzzing in my mind like a locust swarm.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Hope you all enjoyed the update.