A/N Sorry it's taken me so long! Due to my school arrangements, I'm only going to be able to update every three weeks...:-( So I'll try to make my chapters extra long. You have no idea how hard it was for me to write this chapter! I swear, I must have done about four different versions, all of which fell flat, before i ended up with this one. Hope you enjoy!

APOV

All I wanted was answers. I had caught scent of Bella last night, and couldn't help the hope that rose in me that she had returned. Sure enough, when I followed the trail to her house, she was sleeping peacefully in her room, as if she'd never been away.

I didn't linger too long, afraid she would wake up and somehow sense me there, but I resolved that, in the morning, I would give her no escape. So, as quietly as possible, I tampered with a few cables under the hood of Bella's monster of a truck. She'd need to catch a lift tomorrow, and that would be with me. I had a sneaking suspicion that she'd try to ignore me at school, and pretend that she hadn't disappeared, unexplained, for a month.

When dawn came, I was back in my room, still thinking of how I could approach her without gaining a hostile reaction once again. But I had run out of time. Taking a deep breath to steady myself, and blanking out Edward's screaming, I leapt into my own car and drove to her house.

I should have remembered, of course, that I hadn't fed at all whilst she was away. That meant my monster was much closer to the surface than I anticipated, and caused things to go awry. I said my first words to her as she was standing in her driveway, looking directly at her.

"Need a lift?"

Her back was to me as I got out, but I could see from my position as the muscles in her body tensed. Was she scared to see me? Did she really know what I was? I held my breath as she turned around, reluctantly. Seeing her face again, after such a long time, did something strange to me. My lust and desire, usually so well buried beneath reason, came rushing to the surface. I kept a small smile on my face, despite the storm that was raging inside me.

Take her! She's yours!

No, she's her own person. She might not even want to see me right now!

That doesn't matter! You can't deny that you want her, wet and moaning beneath you as you-

STOP IT! Just stop it! I can't just force myself on her, that would be something that Edward would do, I-

Pay attention! She's leaving!

Focusing my eyes, I just caught sight of Bella disappearing into the trees, at a non-human pace?

Go and get her.

Maybe I should have been stronger. Maybe I should have remembered to hunt, to strengthen my resistance. Yes, I thought, as I raced after her.

I quickly realised, as I ran, that Bella, for whatever reason, was moving just as fast as I could, maybe even faster. But she can't keep this up forever, can she?

We continued, crashing through bracken and leaping over tree trunks until at last she slowed down just the tiniest bit. I burst forward, my mind consumed with fantasies of what I would do to when I caught her, and leapt at her from the side, landing with one knee on each side of her waist.

My dark eyes drank in the slight of her beneath me, slightly flushed from exertion with a light sheen of sweat on her forehead. I knew my fangs had extended, but I was beyond caring what she thought of me. I want her so bad.

As I breathed in deeply, I detected an even more exquisite aroma than Bella's usual scent – saltier, even more alluring. It was her arousal that came to me and I shuddered with my burning desire, unable to hold down the purr that left my throat. I could feel my own panties become soaked.

Slowly, in my lust haze, I leant forward, pressing into her until I could feel nothing but her delicious body beneath my own. My vampire side rejoiced as I brushed my nose against her neck, taking in the most concentrated dose of that addicting scent that I possibly could. I mumbled something incoherent in her ear, and began sucking softly on her pulse point, the taste of her exploding in pleasurable sensations on my tongue. Bella's hips bucked into me, and I knew that my purring increased, and I completely let go of my consciousness.

I no longer had control of my actions as I vocalised my claim on her. Even as she tried to push me back, I simply watched from behind my eyes as my lips connected with hers in the most sinfully good experience of my life. I was hardly complaining – it all felt so amazing. The moan that I drew forth from her as my tongue swiped her bottom lip did things to me that not even Jasper, with his emotion control, had ever done. At some point, my legs had wrapped around her waist, pushing her back against a tree, and I was grinding into her, seeking that delicious friction that I knew would give us both a release.

Next thing I knew, I felt a sharp pain in my cheek. My eyes snapped open, and suddenly I was in control again. Stumbling backwards, I instinctually took inventory…legs, arms, head? All present and correct? But my attention was almost immediately taken by the girl in front of me.

Her hair was utterly sexed up, her cheeks flushed, and she was shaking her hand, as if in pain. Then the past minute or so registered with me, and if I could, I would have blushed deeply. Instead, all I could do was look embarrassed as she met my gaze. There was silence for a moment, then I realised that she was waiting for me to explain. But I couldn't whilst I was in that state, so I made the excuse of hunting, and rushed off to sate my thirst.

Now I was in the awkward position by which I had to try and explain what had just happened. But to do that, I needed to understand at least a bit about what she had said the last time we spoke. My mind recoiled from thinking about that time, but I knew that it had to be done. Does she really know what I am? And if so, how?

BPOV

What to do, what to do?

I paced frantically back and forth through the clearing in which we had, just a few moments ago, been…intimate. My body still shuddered in pleasure as I remembered the sensations of her teasingly beautiful body against my own.

Focus, Swan!

It's not that I didn't want answers – I hardly knew everything about vampires, and maybe if I found they were safe, I could be with Alice again. But at what cost? Would I have to reveal myself too, in explanation? I still ached without Alice being close to me, but my head was still warning me that my trust in her was, as yet, unfounded. As much as I didn't want to lie to her, I couldn't tell her about me until I knew the coven of vampires better, and could judge their reactions. But I had let so many things slip in the heat of the moment; how much did she notice?

I was still wondering how I could counter any awkward questions, when an angel appeared in front of me, smirking.

"Impatient much?"

She was referring, of course, to my ceaseless pacing. Immediately, I stilled.

"I think maybe we should clear a few things up, Alice?" I was meant to be a statement, but came out as a question when my eyes came to rest on her own. Reassuringly, they were back to their usual golden colour.

She simply nodded, and I waited for her to begin. She appeared to be considering her wording, as she tilted her head to the side slightly.

"You said that you know what I am. If I may ask, what do you think I am?"

"You're a vampire," I stated. This was one truth I could tell, even though I couldn't help the wince that came with the word. She didn't look surprised.

"And how do you know this?"

I'd considered my answer to this question carefully. I was reminded of some legends the Quileutes that were on the reservation told round their beach fires; Jacob had mentioned them to me when he was at my house a few weeks ago.

"I have a friend on the reservation, in La Push. He told me some of his peoples' legends about 'The Cold Ones', and I kind of figured it out for myself after that." It wasn't a total lie.

She nodded, absorbing the information.

"Where did you go, that day? One minute you were right in front of me, the next you'd completely disappeared. And your eyes – they were violet?"

I bit my lip. "Alice, I understand that it may have seemed like an instant to you, but you'd gone into some kind of daze, and hardly moved when I ran out of the bathroom that day. And you saw my eyes as a violet colour?" At this I frowned, as if remembering something. "Yes, that's right; my mom's said the same thing to me a couple of times. It must be the fluorescence or something." Okay, now I was lying through my teeth, but the most frustrating thing was that I couldn't tell if Alice was buying it or not.

"Then why haven't you been here the past three weeks?" Another prod.

I looked down, a sad expression on my face. "I got a phone call about my gramps before you came into the bathroom. He'd died of a heart attack, and the funeral was scheduled a week after that day. But since Mom was away with Phil, I had to make all the preparations, so I went back to Phoenix. I'd been close to my gramps, and I didn't think I could handle school for a little while afterwards." True, but my gramps had died three years ago.

"Okay, so what about just now? You ran fast, Bella. Very fast."

I feigned surprise. "I did? Well, I was being chased by a hungry vampire, after all. Y'know, you're scary when your eyes are all dark like that."

She frowned, clearly not appeased. "You definitely weren't going at a human speed," she said, gazing at me intensely.

"Jeez, Alice, cool off. If you're accusing me of not being human, then you need your head examined. Do I look un-human to you?" Oops. Too close to the truth.

"Looks can be deceiving." She narrowed her eyes, as if trying to discern my un-humanness. Time for a change of subject, I think.

"So, if you're done, I'd like to ask you a few questions. Like, what the hell that was back there?" We both knew what I was referring to, and the sheepish expression she had worn earlier returned.

"I…I'm sorry. I hadn't hunted recently, and I guess my instincts were a little closer to the surface than I expected them to be. Vamps, when they haven't fed, become more like the monster inside them than their human selves, and…there are two things our monsters crave above all…" she trailed off in her explanation.

"Which are?"

"Blood…" I rolled my eyes. Well duh."…and sex."

My eyes flew to hers once more, and although she wasn't blushing, she did look very, very embarrassed. I tentatively questioned her further.

"So, why didn't you just drain me, then?"

"I…uh…how do I explain this…When we hunt, Bella, we rely heavily on our sense of smell to find us a good meal." I shuddered involuntarily at the erotic thought of Alice in the process of hunting. Alice paused, giving me a funny look before continuing. "Your scent doesn't make me thirsty. It doesn't tell me that you are a meal at all. So I'm not tempted to drink from you. That, combined with the fact that I've been hunting animals for the past eighty years pretty much has erased any possibility of that happening."

I started. I knew Alice would be old, but it didn't really hit me until she said it out loud.

"And…the sex?"

Alice bit down hard on her full lower lip, and looked away for a moment, whispering something that, even with my advanced hearing, I could not catch.

"Alice?"

"I said that I hadn't gotten to that bit yet. Whilst your scent does not make me want to drink from you, it does cause other…urges to occur in me." She looked straight at me once more, seemingly gaining courage as I hung off her every word. "Your scent is the most exquisite, alluring thing I have ever experienced. The slightest hint of it, and I want more. I want to smell, touch, taste you. And it scares me, Bella. I'm not sure why it happens, I just know that it does, and I don't want it to end, not matter how much it hurts when I have to resist it. Sorry, I've gone and scared you now, haven't I?"

The scared, vulnerable emotion conveyed in her beautiful eyes was enough to assure me that she was sincere, and prompted me into a confession of my own. Stepping forward, I placed a hand under her chin, tilting it so that she would continue to look at me.

"You probably won't believe me, but I tell you now, Alice, that it doesn't scare me at all. The first time I ever saw you, in the cafeteria that day, you were ingrained into my mind. I couldn't stop thinking about you, and in the beginning it drove me insane. But only from the fact that there was no chance of me being with you. If you can tell me now that what you feel for me is more than purely instinctual, you have no idea how happy I'd be. Besides, if I'm not scared of being this close to a vampire, why would I be scared of anything you tell me, especially when it is truth?" I smiled softly, holding eye contact with her. A grin broke out on Alice's flawless face, and she flung her marble arms around my neck.

"Yes, yes it's more than instincts, so much more my sweet Bella," she whispered, out of range of a normal human's hearing. I laughed in my elation, and immediately any awkward tension was swept away.

"You'll have to stop doing that, Alice, not everybody can hear subsonic!" I remarked. "But I'll take it that it's not just instinctual?" She nodded vigorously.

"No Bella, it definitely isn't just instinctual. Not at all." I grinned, feeling all my worries go away, and suddenly all that mattered to me was the perfect creature in my arms. An idea came to me, and I was about to speak, but it appeared that the pixie vamp in front of me had dazed out. I'd seen that blank look in her eyes a couple of times, but she'd always evaded my questions. What the…

"Eeeee! Yes, yes, a million times yes!" Alice suddenly came back into consciousness, and begun to jump up and down, clapping her hands, then bringing me into another gentle, but firm embrace.

"Uh…" I mumbled. Did I blank out on the bit where I asked her to be my girlfriend? Ah, shit.

When she pulled back from me, she seemed to notice my bemused expression, and proceeded to confuse me further.

"Oh, whoopsie. Forgot to tell you I can see the future, didn't I?"

"Uh…huh…" She seemed to realise that my brain needed more of an explanation than that to comprehend her bombshell of a revelation.

"Well, basically whenever somebody makes a decision, I am able to see what the decision is and its consequences. Like, just now I saw you ask me to be your girlfriend, before you did it, and that explains my reaction…sorta…"

"Wow…" It was all I could say, really. Alice was powerful. I was glad that I could start to trust her again, and things would go back to the way they were before.

"Yeah. But with you, it's kinda messed up. Like, I don't always get a clear image of you."

"Is there something wrong with me?" I asked feigning surprise. That would be my natural mental barrier. Rick told me that all of us had one to guard against any vampires with mind manipulation powers. She laughed, the tinkling sound echoing through the place.

"I tell you that I'm a vampire, and I can see the future, and you ask if there's something wrong with you?" I averted my eyes, feeling my cheeks reddening. I mumbled incoherently, before glancing at my watch. Shit!

"Alice, its lunchtime already. Don't you think you should be getting back to school?" This made her laugh harder.

"I'm sure I can handle it. School is always the same. You, on the other hand…" I shook my head violently.

"Oh no. I've had three weeks off, one more day won't hurt," I pre-empted her. She looked set to argue, but seemed to change her mind.

"Alright then, so what do you want to do?"

APOV

I collapsed back onto my soft mattress, a stupidly wide grin plastered on my face. And to think, only twenty-four hours ago I was so miserable – my mood had been utterly reversed! I'd started the day with so many fears and questions, and it couldn't have gone better.

She had found out that I was a vampire, yes, but seemed totally fine with it. She even managed to slip in a few jokes, and I let out a very big internal sigh of relief that she hadn't run screaming back to Phoenix, although I was genuinely sad to hear about her grandpa.

After she'd asked me to be her girlfriend, we'd spent the rest of school hours in her room, just chatting about what she had missed whilst she was away, and anything else she wanted to know. Despite my zombie-like state these past three weeks, it seemed I had still unconsciously registered all the events of school. She did seem a bit evasive on any questions I asked her, but I put it down to the loss of a close relative. I'd left, reluctantly I might add, so that I'd be home to explain to my family all that had happened. Not before telling her that I would pick her up for school the next day, though, since I had tampered with her truck in the first place.

I'd wanted to give her a proper kiss goodbye, but after everything else that had happened that day, I constrained myself to a peck on the cheeks. I was, though, in a state of elation. She really feels the same way! Inside, I was doing a happy dance, and I knew that nothing, not even my bone-headed brother could bring me down from my Bella-induced high.

Of course, it wasn't long before the rest of my siblings, including said boneheaded brother, returned from school. And I became very confused as I lay back on my sheets with my hands behind my head, as to why it sounded like there was a struggle going on downstairs. Not wishing to get up, I nonetheless went out on to the landing to see what was going on.

The growling and shouting had been muffled by my sound-proof walls, but it assaulted my eardrums as soon as I opened the door.

"Let me at her!"

"Oh no you don't Eddie boy. I don't care what you think she's done, but you are sure as hell not going to attack her while I'm around!"

"Edward, for the love of God, get a GRIP!"

The scene that I was met with as I reached the top of the stairs was even more chaotic than the noise. Edward, his eyes pitch black, was snarling and struggling, pinned to the floor by Emmett, whilst Rosalie was glaring down at him icily. All around them there were smashed bits of vases and other ornaments, with water and flowers covering the floor.

At my appearance, Edward roared in defiance, and almost got free. He hissed at me, his hateful eyes narrowed at me.

"You were with her, weren't you? Her scent is all over you! What did you do to her, Alice! What did you do to my mate? Wait…WHY THE HELL CAN'T I HEAR YOU?"

"Gee, I dunno Edward, maybe 'cos she didn't say anything?" Emmett put on a retarded voice.

"That's…that's not what I mean!" he growled in return, before bringing his attention back to me again. "Why can't I read your mind? What have you done?"

I looked at him in utter astonishment. What does he mean he can't read my mind? I…Whoo hoo! Yes! Fuck you, Edward, now I have my privacy! I couldn't help but be glad. Not only could I now think in private, but also any events that happened between me and Bella would be concealed from him. If he got this angry at just the thought that I had been with her alone, then he could quite possibly hurt me if he could see what had happened today, and maybe in the future. Even still, it was slightly disturbing.

It was at this point that Esme arrived in the foyer.

Some advice: NEVER mess up Cullen household ornaments. It kinda makes Esme mad. Like, really mad.

"WHAT IN THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" Our normally stoic and calm mother was on a rampage. Terrified, I took a step back, practically seeing the waves of rage flowing off her. Emmett immediately jumped off Edward to cower behind Rosalie, and in a fit of common sense, Edward stayed where he was on the floor. No-one spoke.

"WELL? UNLIKE SOME PEOPLE IN THIS HOUSEHOLD, I AM NOT A MIND READER, AND WOULD LIKE AN ANSWER!"

"Well, Mom, we just got back from school, and the moment we got through the door Edward began growling out insults at Alice, and he was just about to go upstairs and attack her, so Emmett did his best to restrain him, and in the process accidently knocked over a few things?" Even Rosalie was tentative in her explanation. It took Esme a while to speak, but when she did she managed to recover some semblance of calm.

"Okay. Rosalie, it's okay, you can go." She was out the door before Esme could get another word in. "Emmett, I appreciate you protecting your sister, but in the process you managed to create a god-awful mess. Please clear this room up. Now." Emmet flashed away, giving a warning glare to Edward as he went. "Edward and Alice, come with me." Uh oh.

Esme led us into her Art Room/Study, and motioned for us to take seats before closing the door behind us. Although I was extremely apprehensive about the coming discussion, it reassured me that my mother figure was seemingly much more serene than in the previous few minutes.

Gazing around, I took the time to appreciate her many beautiful pieces of art, some famous under aliases, others unsung, personal pieces, including the set of portraits of each member of our family, and then another set with the mated pairs together. I cringed as my eyes came to rest upon the one of Jasper and I, smiling happily and looking into each other's eyes. Truly, I had been happy with him, and indeed thought I had loved him. But those feelings paled so much in comparison to those that I felt for Bella, now, that I knew it couldn't have been love. What puzzled me the most was why Jasper hadn't sensed it. My eyes drifted onwards, and I took in the pictures of the other couples of the family. Edward's had yet to be done.

Esme cleared her throat, and my attention returned to the present as she began.

"Now, to start with, Alice, I would like to know why I had to make excuses for you today as to why you were not attending school." Knowing that Edward could no longer read my mind, I felt more confident in my twisting of the truth.

"At dawn this morning I received a vision that showed me that Bella had returned to Forks. Furthermore, that her truck would break down in her driveway and she would have no transport for school. So I decided that I would give her a lift."

"You could have let me give her a lift!" Edward broke his silence to snark at me.

"Edward, let Alice finish! And I am sure that would not have been a good idea, what with all the bloodlust you have recently admitted her scent makes you feel, and the fact that she doesn't seem to like you all that much," Esme countered. "Continue, Alice."

"When I arrived, and offered a lift, she looked at me as if I were a ghost, and then promptly collapsed on the ground. I could hardly leave her there, and I didn't want to disturb Chief Swan from his work, so I carried her onto the sofa – the door to the house was still open – and waited for her to wake up. She did so soon after, and proceeded to tell me that she knew we were vampires."

Esme breathed in sharply, and Edward growled. I hurried on.

"Of course, was she not going to find out sooner or later anyway? At least, since she figured it out for herself, we have broken no law."

"How did she find out?" Esme asked, curious now.

"She said that she had gone to a beach party at La Push, and had heard the 'legends' they tell towards the end of the evening."

"Those stupid mutts!" Edward intoned viciously.

"Edward! Calm yourself!" Esme reprimanded.

"Edward, they were told as just stories; culture, if you like. They are not shown to have truth behind them at all – indeed, most of the non-wolves in the tribe know nothing about the truth behind the words." I paused, drawing a breath. "So, after that I thought it was best to stay with her, and at least make sure that she would tell no-one else."

"And that took the whole day?" Edward challenged.

"After the initial shock, Bella was actually quite curious, and I could hardly deny to answer her questions."

"I see. That is one matter cleared up then, although perhaps it would be a good idea for Bella to speak with Carlisle as well. So, Edward, would you please explain to me exactly why you were prepared to tear your sister's throat out?"

"Well, Alice didn't appear at school all day, so I was already a bit annoyed that she was skipping. Then I come home to find Bella and Alice's scents mixed together and spread all around the house. It got me so angry that after all the time my mate has been away, when she did come back Alice failed to inform me, and instead spent the day with her behind my back!"

Esme's eyebrows rose slightly at Edward's use of the word 'mate', but otherwise she let Edward finish. Then, steepling her fingers, she said to Edward,

"Is that all? That is why you were going to attack Alice? Because she unintentionally spent the day with the human girl that you call your mate, even though she has expressed no interest in you whatsoever, in fact has flat out refused you on multiple occasions, the most recent of which she has informed you that she is gay? I think, Edward, that although Carlisle was being fair to you at the time, that in hindsight it was a bad decision to let you pursue Bella whilst Alice had to watch from the side lines. I am going to tell you now, and I'm sure Carlisle would agree with me if he were here, that you have lost that privilege, and should leave Bella alone and stop referring to her as your mate!"

Esme was getting worked up again, and I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. Edward looked about to argue, but before he did, Esme whispered to me.

"Go, Alice. It may take me a while to deal with my son here."

Swiftly and thankfully, I left the room. I was very grateful to Esme for dealing with Edward's denial, and it would make things maybe slightly easier when I told them that Bella was my girlfriend. After that thought, my mind again wandered to all the possibilities that were now open to me. We would grow stronger in our relationship, and be together throughout our lives. I might even change her, if she wanted it. Oh, all the experiences we could share! All the things I could tell her!

The vision came suddenly, so suddenly that it caught me by surprise. The first thing I noticed was that I could see Bella clearly, not blurred or obscured like she usually was when I saw her. That had me on guard. The second was that her eyes were, once again, and unmistakeable violet. But the aspect of this vision that commanded my attention was that she looked scared. Really scared. She was running, almost in slow motion, as a black…thing descended upon her. I watched in horror as she was completely engulfed before I could even cry out, and I heard the chilling, wicked sound of a heartbeat coming to a stop.

A/N I know I didn't give all the answers, but the girls are still a bit wary about their secrets. And besides, where's the mystery if I just tell y'all? Review!