A Short one, but a filler before the all important meeting between the Denali coven and Bella!

Of course, here we have Bella remembering certain things, which as you will know from the previous chapter, is starting to happen as she encounters things/people.

Enjoy!

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As I approached Isabella who was now perched in a tree nearby her house, I noticed how she was relaxed against the trunk - legs happily dangling and swinging back and forth. I frowned at her nonchalant posture, my head tilting slightly as I listened to her tentative intakes of breath, testing the air for Charlie's scent. He wasn't the only human in the area, but he was the closest.

I scrambled up the tree, swinging myself onto the branch on the opposite side of the trunk. She smiled as I joined her, before looking back into the window of what I assumed was her old bedroom. The room was decorated with purple, some pictures of Charlie and Isabella on a chest of drawers, some pinned on the wall along with drawings. I could smell Charlie's scent quite clearly, obviously returning home from the station only a few hours ago. I could hear his faint snores on the other side of the house.

"You're not feeling any urge to attack?"

She shook her head, smiling in relief at her own admission.

"He smells familiar, but he doesn't smell appetising. Maybe that's because I know who he is?" I mirrored her expression at her words, reaching my hand out to her. She eagerly took my offered hand and raised my knuckles to her lips, placing a soft kiss making my spine straighten up.

"Still my favourite memory that's returned, so far." She murmured, lips still attached to the skin on my knuckles.

Whatever hope I had of keeping our 'mate' bond a secret for now, was gradually slipping away. She was making it increasingly difficult to just be a companion for the moment. She was a mere few hours old, and already acting like such a natural. A natural with such confidence and awareness. The Isabella I had glanced at in the cafeteria back at Forks High before any of this had begun, was a shy creature. I can still remember the way she had used her hair as a curtain once she'd noticed both my eyes and a few of my siblings, staring at her after Edward was unable to read her. Speaking of which… he'd failed to mention if he could now read her mind. I had a feeling that he was hiding something.

"I'm surprised you remember that. You were in a coma." I simply stated, lowering our hands away from her mouth, separating them to keep her mind on the task at hand. I didn't miss the brief look of sadness in her eyes, before she turned her gaze back to her old house. She shrugged at my words and let her eyes drop to the kitchen window at the bottom of the house.

"That light in the kitchen, it's from a lamp in the corner of the room. He used to leave that on when he came back from work, I'd always remind him to turn it off when he was going to bed." She sighed, closing her eyes and steadying herself in the tree. "I can remember the way he sounded when I'd tell him off about leaving it on. 'Alright Bells, an old man forgets these things' he'd say." I laughed at her impression, the rough voice she attempted not at all suiting her.

"Bells, you liked being called that?" Her brows immediately furrowed, pondering my words. She laughed moments later, shaking her head and glancing over at me.

"I didn't, but Charlie managed to win me over with that one. I was called Bella a lot though, I preferred that."

"Would you prefer if I called you Bella? I'm sorry." I dropped my head slightly, concerned if I and my family had made her uncomfortable until now with the use of her full name. She shook her head and pushed my shoulder slightly, smirking over at me and my instant concern.

"No, there's something I like about the way you say Isabella. It seems to… roll off of the tongue. I guess I used to find it too formal, Bella being the go to afterwards. Please call me Isabella, or whichever you're happiest with." I found her eagerness to keep me happy, cute. I would do whatever it took to continue to protect that innocence.

"Then I will call you whatever the situation deems necessary." I couldn't help but smirk at the giggle she tried to cover up. "Has the house managed to bring any other memories to mind?"

"The woman in the photos on my wall, I think that's my mom. I'm not entirely sure, but I think I remember moving from Phoenix because she and my step dad moved around a lot."

I glanced back into her room, spotting the photos she was talking about. One had a woman with arms around a young Bella, both beaming at the camera.

"She's beautiful, I believe you've got most of your features from Charlie though. Minus the facial hair of course."

"You're an ass." She laughed, punching my shoulder and shuffling further away so I wasn't able to retaliate. I'd get her back for that, when she least expected it.

"Well hey, I think you've made great progress."

"Thanks Rose, hopefully it'll all come back to me eventually." As soon as the last of her words left her mouth, she suddenly grabbed the base of her throat. I turned to look at the house, scanning the building and land around it incase Charlie had suddenly snuck out without us actually hearing him do so. There was no movement, though I then heard the sound of a trash can and it's lid clattering around across the street. Bella gripped the bark of the tree immediately, fingers digging in until parts of the tree began to splinter and snap.

"Hold your breath, this will be a good chance for you to learn." I quickly stood and climbed around the tree so I was sitting beside her on the same branch, gripping her knee with my hand and leaning into her slightly, keeping her trapped between my shoulder and the tree. I watched her jaw lock, eyes narrowed on the house across the street.

A young teenage boy was returning from the trash can at the end of the driveway, he was nodding his head up and down to whatever awful music was being played in his headphones. Bella swallowed and allowed herself to take one small breath, testing the air. She immediately jolted forwards, my arms wrapping around her and pinning her against tree. We were seconds away from falling to the ground.

"Isabella. Stop. Breathing." I ordered through gritted teeth, my lips hovering beside her ear. I felt a slight shiver run through her body. As much as I didn't want to distract her and lead her on at the same time, there wasn't much else that could distract a vampire when they're ready to hunt. Once a vampire has a scent they're interested in, you're unlikely to keep them away.

Noticing the way her body had become, I pressed my lips to the top of her ear. I allowed them to trail down the edge of her ear, taking her earlobe between my lips momentarily until I felt her shift in my arms. One of her hands was now clutching my thigh, the other still gripping the tree like a lifeline.

"Isabella," I breathed gently into her ear "Focus on me, focus on my voice."

She nodded against my lips, her thumb starting to rub circles on my thigh through my jeans. I was determined not to let her touch distract me, it'd be enough for her to break free and attack the teenager. I wasn't prepared to clean up a mess before we left Forks, nor was I trying to deal with a newborn who felt sorry for themselves after killing a human. There wasn't enough time for either.

"You're going to love Alaska. You can run for miles without seeing any wandering humans, the snow is beautiful, the views are breathtaking." A faint smile appeared on her face, though I could still see the resemblance of struggle too as the teenage boy was now picking up the last of two trash bags to take down to the trash can. "You can take some time to get used to our diet of animals, and then maybe you could join us when we attend a different school."

"You guys always go to high schools?" She questioned through tightly clamped teeth.

"Not always, we go to college too."

"Do you prefer high school or college?"

"College." She looked at me from the corner of her eye for answering so quick, wetting her lips when she finally noticed just how close I was to her.

"And why college?" Her voice had dropped to just a whisper, eyes watching my lips prepared for my response. I placed my finger under her chin, lifting her head until her eyes found mine.

"My eyes are up here, Isabella." If she could blush, I'm sure she would currently be bright red. "College is my favourite because it's so much more independent unlike high school, obviously."

I glanced back over to the driveway and watched the teenage boy finally enter his house, closing the door behind him with a loud slam. Isabella's body instantly relaxed beside me, hands loosening their grip on the tree and my thigh. I couldn't help but sigh at the loss I felt once her hand dropped from my thigh. I sat back a little and unwrapped my arms from around her, choosing to instead swing myself down from the tree and land beneath it. I looked back up to an inquisitive Bella who was pouting.

"Come on, let's go hunt before we leave for Alaska."

She hopped off of the branch, landing on her feet with a smug smile on her face.

"I would never have been able to do that when I was human" She brushed off the dirt from her pants and stood beside me, her eyes slightly squinted and distant. "From what I'm remembering, I was always clumsy. I was the type to fall over a speck of dust it seems."

Her chuckle was music to my ears, the satisfied look on her face bringing nothing but warmth to my insides. I longed to reach out, tuck that irritating lone strand of hair that continued to hang separate from the others, behind her ear, and kiss those perfectly sculpted cheekbones. I wished to pull her into my arms, feeling hers wrap around me and fingers clutching onto my shirt as she did so.

Feeling my phone vibrate against my leg, I pulled it out for a quick glance knowing it'd be either a sibling or Carlisle.

When you get to Alaska, make sure she's well fed. It seems as though she's going to have a rough start with one or two of the Denali's.

Rolling my eyes I slipped my phone back into my pocket, avoiding Isabella's gaze and turning in the direction of the forest behind her house.

"Race you to the first catch we find?" Before I could get a confirmation, she was off like a rocket. That little cheat.

I followed, only inches behind, keeping an eye on her route whilst willing my legs to move quicker than her newborn limbs. She bobbed and weaved through fallen trees, jumping through the air landing even further away from me. It wasn't long until we simultaneously caught the aromatic scent of an injured bear not far. Isabella shot me look over her shoulder before jumping through the last of the trees separating us from the bear.

Of course I was eager to latch onto the bear, of course I wanted to win and have the bragging rights over Bella. But I couldn't prevent myself from admiring how she wrapped her arms around the bear's neck, twisting and ripping at it's fur. Her eyes were pitch black, fangs already visible as she snarled and growled viciously, finally giving into her beast and sinking her teeth into it's jugular. I was in awe of her strength, tempted by the mating bond that called to both her and I.

Isabella stopped drinking from the bear and looked up, holding the bear by it's neck out in front of her and gesturing for me to drink. This was one of the most intimate acts for mates to perform outside of the bedroom. One day during a hunt with Alice & Jasper, they had ran off in a different direction and had stumbled across a giant bear also. Alice had been the first to kill it, Jasper had watched from afar. I had noticed they weren't nearby and had gone in search of them. Once I'd found them, they were sharing the same bear. Their eyes were locked and purrs echoed around them. They'd finally noticed me and Jasper was instantly crouched in front of Alice protecting her. It was weird at the time, however now I completely understood the intimacy involved. I couldn't take my eyes off of her.

I decided to accept her offer, jumping over the distance between us and landing perfectly in front of the outstretched animal.

"Drink." She thrusted it towards me once more, smiling when I took the bears arm and sunk my teeth into it's skin, groaning at the sweet liquid that travelled down my throat. I felt her eyes on my face, felt her begging me to look at her. Of course I granted her second request, giving her my full attention whilst enjoying every drop that I was lucky enough to share with her. I watched as her eyes began to gain their colour back, the black disappearing for now. Her eyes were full of satisfaction, longing and… possessiveness. I would have to question her on that one.

Once the bear was drained we dropped it at our feet, caring little for it's carcass. Our eyes were only on one another, chests rising and falling with such unnecessary intakes of air. One single drop of blood was once again trailing from the corner of her mouth and down towards her chin. Before it could stain her shirt, I reached out with my thumb and captured the droplet. I couldn't prevent myself from licking the blood off of my skin whilst gauging Isabella's reaction, I also couldn't stop myself from taking a step towards her and raising my eyebrows.

"You ready to leave for Alaska?"

"Absolutely."

I held out my hand with a smile which she immediately took. We let out the same content sigh and turned in the direction of the car.

"Let's go meet the Denali's."