When Charlie and I arrived at his - our home, I felt my throat constrict. What was I doing here? I was taking advantage of my father's kindness. If it weren't for that Jacob Black, I never would have considered moving to Forks.

I sighed and stepped out of the cruiser. My reasons for coming didn't matter anymore. It was too late to change my mind, even if I could. I helped Charlie with my luggage and headed up the stairs to the bedroom that had belonged to me during less troubled visits. The walls of my old bedroom were painted a faded baby blue and there was an old rocking chair in one corner, remnants of my baby days. Thankfully, Charlie didn't offer to help me unpack. I wouldn't have been able to explain away the tears that fell from my eyes as I set up and sorted my new life.

After dinner - a disastrous affair as Charlie only knew how to prepare breakfast food - was finished, my father announced that he had taken it upon himself to enroll me in Forks High School shortly after I'd spoken to him about moving. The result was that I was expected to start bright and early the next day. I mentally corrected him. No day in Forks started out bright, or ended that way, for that matter.

Nevertheless, I said nothing. I simply nodded, trying to quell the sudden butterflies that fluttered painfully in my stomach at the thought of joining a new school in the middle of the term. I knew that I should be nervous about the favor the werewolf had asked of me, but I couldn't summon up the same amount of fear for a bloodthirsty mythical creature as a crowd of teenagers did.

"How will I get there, Dad?" I asked. I would have loved to have a car of my own, but Reneé had made it exceedingly clear that I was lucky to have my driver's license at all.

Charlie's face broke into an excited smile, and I eyed him warily.

"Well, here's the thing, Bells," he began. "I kind of bought you a car."

I stared at him for a second before squealing.

"No way, Dad!" I couldn't believe it. Charlie wasn't much better off than Reneé.

He smiled even wider at my typical girly reaction. I had to know what the car looked like. I ran outside, wrenching the front door open on my way out. Predictably, I stumbled over the first porch step. Looking up, I saw an ancient red, Chevy truck, partially hidden behind a curve in the road. It had flecks of rust coating its excuse for a paint job and a cab design that hadn't been used in decades, and it was perfect.

I turned back towards the house and flung my arms around Charlie, who had followed me out. He looked shocked at the sudden hug.

"I love it, Dad," I said sincerely. "It's great, but I hope you didn't spend too much on me."

Charlie patted me head awkwardly. He had never been one to express his emotions freely.

"Don't worry about it, kiddo," he said gruffly. "I got from a buddy of mine. He's in a wheelchair now and didn't have much use for it." He paused. "I'm glad you like it."

I smiled up happily at my father and stepped back. Then I remembered the conversation that had led to the big reveal.

"I guess I'd better get ready for bed now." I sighed. "Big day tomorrow."

"You'll be fine," Charlie mumbled. He seemed eager to get indoors and avoid another emotional outburst.

When I was showered and dressed in my most comfortable pajamas: an oversized pair of fleece bottoms and a soft tank with spaghetti straps, I climbed into bed and tried to focus on slowing my breathing. It was an exercise that I had developed to keep my mind off my problems and help myself fall asleep. Despite my doubts, I eventually drifted off to sleep.

xXx

The next morning, I awoke to the sound of rain pattering on my window. Groaning, I rolled over to see that I had only an hour before I had to leave for school.

I hurriedly jumped into the shower to make my hair somewhat manageable and dressed in a sweater and jeans outfit. I had the feeling that I would be wearing that combination a lot. After pulling my hair into a low ponytail, I went downstairs, prepared to use my first day of school as an excuse to skip breakfast.

However, Charlie had already left for work. I read his note of apology that he'd left on the kitchen table with a weak smile. Maybe this day wouldn't be so bad after all. I grabbed my boots and raincoat, the unofficial accessories of the rainy town, by the front door and took a deep breath.

"So how are you settling in?"

I let out my breath in a loud scream. Spinning around, I snagged my feet on the rug in the front hall. As I tumbled to the floor, I saw a very amused Jacob Black sitting on Charlie's worn sofa through the entrance to the living room.

He stood and offered me his hand. I ignored it and pushed myself painfully to my feet.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" I asked, putting as much venom in my voice as possible. "How did you get in here, anyway?"

Black casually crossed back over to the sofa before answering.

"Back door was open. You would think that the police chief would make sure the doors were locked before leaving his teenage daughter alone and asleep." He shrugged off my angry glare and continued. "I'm here to give you a little more information about what you need to do."

"How kind of you." Sarcasm was my last defense.

"You're welcome," he said, gesturing at the recliner across from him. "Sit down. This may take a while."

I gingerly walked over to the chair and perched on the edge of its seat. The command in his voice hadn't been lost on me.

Jacob sat back, clearly at ease in the house. His arms were sprawled across the back of the sofa while his head rested against the wall. As always, he was shirtless, wearing only the bare necessities. I tried to avoid looking at his body, but it was like a train wreck. I didn't want to look, but, at the same time, I couldn't look away. He was muscled up in a way that contrasted with the softness of his face. Judging by his build, he was at least twenty-three. If I focused on his face and voice, however, he was only a teenager.

That voice interrupted my thoughts after a moment of silence.

"I thought that I should warn you that the bloodsucker isn't alone." My head shot up. "He lives with his family." He sneered at the word. "His coven, really. There are seven of them altogether."

I couldn't resist breaking in any longer.

"There are seven . . . of them in this tiny town?" I wasn't able to frame the word 'vampire'.

Black nodded grimly.

"Yes. The two oldest ones are pretending to be a married couple that adopted the others. Four of the 'children' have chosen mates from within the coven, forming two more pairs."

My intuition flickered.

"And the last one?" I asked, already knowing the answer. "Is he the one you want me to 'get close to'?"

He nodded again.

"That's-that's insane," I gasped. "You want me to throw myself on this-this thing and hope that he doesn't kill me? Why? What could that possibly do to help you?"

Jacob was silent for a minute. Finally, he spoke.

"I wish there was some way to do this without putting you in danger. My father has been friends with Charlie since I was born." He gave me a searching look. "You probably don't remember, but you used to play with my older sisters when they went fishing down in La Push."

I was stunned. Jacob Black actually had a heart and a family? He grew up on the reservation barely an hour's drive from Forks? In the weeks since I had met him, I had never seen him this vulnerable. His face was no longer permanently formed into a mocking smirk. I struggled to hide my shock.

"Wait. Are you Billy Black's son?" I couldn't believe I hadn't connected the last names before.

His face transformed into a hard mask, as if to make up for his earlier slip.

"Yeah, but you can't anyone you've seen me. Especially Charlie. He tells Da-ad everything." His voice broke over the word, and I couldn't help but wonder what had happened to cause Jacob to hide from his family. The pain in his face was obvious now, no matter how hard he attempted to disguise it. He changed the subject quickly.

"This coven made a treaty a long time ago with the werewolves," he began. I interrupted again.

"There are others like you?" I asked without thinking. I blushed at my carelessness.

"Not anymore." The mask was back in place. "But that's not what I'm trying to tell you."

I nodded meekly, showing that I wouldn't cut into his narrative once again.

"The treaty states that as long as the bloodsuckers don't harm humans, the wolves have to protect their secret and leave them be." He seemed to choose his next words carefully. "But it wasn't a good arrangement. Their presence attracts others who aren't as . . . friendly, and no matter who they pretend to be, they are nothing but monsters. And monsters can't go for long without slipping up and doing something monstrous."

He looked at me. I assumed that was my cue to speak again.

"So . . . you want me hang around the single one and wait till he hurts me so you have an excuse to get rid of them?" I spoke slowly, trying to make the words sound less insane. "Why does it even matter that he's single or not. It's not like he'd ask me out before killing me."

Black shrugged. "It's rare to see a lone bloodsucker. Any of the others would have their mates to keep under control."

I thought about that for a second.

"But if they would try to help each other by making sure they didn't hurt any one, why do you want to get rid of them? They can't be all that bad."

It was the wrong thing to say.

The man leapt up and glowered at me, hands curling into fists. I was frozen to my seat in fear. I couldn't move. He was literally shaking with fury.

"Because they're filthy BLOODSUCKERS! They can't be trusted. They could massacre entire towns in one night. They drink blood, for God's sake!" Black's closed his eyes as he finished shouting. He seemed to be fighting for control, against his anger.

I was sure that my own eyes were wide with shock, but I could blink. My breath was caught in my throat, and I could feel my heart fluttering at an impossible pace.

After an age of silence, broken only by Jacob's heavy breathing, his eyes opened again and the trembling stopped. He inhaled deeply, searching for calm. He smiled apologetically at me.

"Breathe," he said.

I let out my breath, sure that my face was still terrified. There didn't seem to be anything that I could say.

"I'm sorry about," he said. "You just need to understand how dangerous they truly are. Especially since the younger ones are enrolled at your school."

At the mention of school, I jumped up in panic.

"Oh, my gosh! I completely forgot about school. I'm not even sure where it is. I'm going to be late for my first day." I scanned the room frantically for a clock.

"Whoa, calm down," Jacob said. "It's right off the main highway. You can't miss it, and you still have a good thirty minutes to get there. But weren't you listening. Five of the vampires are going to be there. They'll stand out a mile. That's where you should try to talk to the youngest one. He's has reddish-brown hair and gold or black eyes just like the rest of them."

I stared at him in disbelief.

"Gold or black eyes?" I questioned.

Black nodded.

"I've noticed that the hungrier - thirstier they are, the darker their eyes get."

At this last bit of information, I noticed that there was a hole in Jacob's story.

"But if they do feed here, why do you need my help to attack them? They must have already hurt someone." Jacob sighed.

"They've kept their side of the treaty by drinking animal blood. But you have to remember that that's not their natural diet. They'd slip easily enough given the opportunity." He fixed me with a stern look. "Don't cut yourself anywhere near them. I'll be watching as best I can, but they have super-human senses, and I can only get so close. Especially at your school. Can you imagine your father showing up to arrest me for trespassing?"

I spared a fleeting smile at the mental image. Jacob Black would completely dwarf Charlie, not to mention the fact that apparently no one knew Jacob was in Forks.

"Okay, no bleeding, but talk to the youngest one?" I said trying to compose my thoughts.

"Yep," Jacob said, replacing his look of concern with his customary mocking smirk. "Simple as that. All I need is for it to appear like he wants to attack you and then they're all dead."

I forced back the shiver I felt at the finality of his words. I had to keep in mind that these weren't people Black was talking about murdering. I was helping him rid an innocent town of a large group of dangerous monsters. Jacob seemed to be unaware of the harsh tone his voice had taken on, and I didn't dare comment. So, I left the house, trusting that Jacob knew his way out without being shown the door.

xXx

I had made the drive to the school barely aware of my surroundings. I'd gone into the main office building and collected my schedule and map of the school, forcing me to smile as the chatty secretary made small talk. I had an English class first period. And then Government. Much to my surprise several students actually introduced themselves, rather than giving me the stares I had been expecting. Of course, I got plenty of those as well, but the small town folks in Forks were much friendlier than Phoenix teenagers. I half-heartedly attempted to attach names to faces. It seemed like I might actually have a chance of making friends here - if it wasn't for the obvious threat of the coven of vampires hanging over my head. Darn werewolf.

I had made myself tune into my teachers' lectures enough to determine that I was ahead in all my classes except Calculus. I had expected that; I had been in the accelerated program at my own school, but numbers and I had a long standing feud between us. I had used to the free time while I zoned out the dry lessons to turn the information Jacob had given me in my head. As hard as I tried, I couldn't reconcile my mind with the idea that evil mythical creatures were a part of the student body here at Forks High. It was beyond insanity, but I was much too afraid of Black's anger to disagree with him.

As I now walked into the cafeteria building - the entire school was comprised of smaller separate buildings - with a curly-haired brunette whose name I had long since forgotten, I was brought out of my ponderings by her sudden change of tone.

"And then, there's the Cullens," she said, clearly pleased to be the first one to dish out this piece of gossip to me. She nodded to the far side of the room. There was a table along the wall, removed from all the others. Its occupants sat extremely still, without touching their food. I felt an irrational disappointment at my inability to see their faces. Maybe I would be able to when we sat down.

"What about them?" I prompted as we made our slow progress through the lunch line.

"Well, I suppose you'll see in a bit, but they're all incredibly gorgeous. And they keep to themselves, hardly ever speaking to anyone outside of their family."

My stomach plummeted. I hadn't expected to see the vampires so soon. I tried to compose my features before the girl noticed my reaction.

"So, they're all cousins or something? They can't be in high school together if they're siblings." Jacob hadn't filled me in on their human charade very well and I couldn't afford them getting suspicious. And - as much as I hated to admit it to myself - I was curious about them, the Cullens. The name itself seemed to command the power of hidden secrets. I couldn't get it out of my head. The Cullens.

"Well," the girl - Jessica, that was her name - continued. "They're all adopted, so they kind of are brothers and sisters. But they're all with each other, though."

I decided to play dumb just to see how scandalized Jessica's voice could get.

"I can see they're all sitting together. What do you mean?" I said as we sat down at an already crowded table. I risked a glance over at our topic of conversation, and I could have sworn that one of the boys' head dipped lower, as if to hide a smile. I probably imagined it.

Jessica completely missed the obviousness of my question and leaned towards me as if she was telling a ghost story.

"The blonde guy and the really short girl with black hair and the huge guy and the blonde girl are together together. And they were adopted by the same couple, Carlisle and Esme Cullen, so they live in the same house and everything!"

I resisted the very strong urge to say, "And everything?" I forced myself to widen my eyes in false horror, all the while thinking, If only you knew.

There was no mistaking the quaking shoulders of the large boy now. He was clearly shaking with laughter and doing a terrible job at disguising it. Although, Jessica was staring at the Cullens' table as hard as I was, she seemed to overlook the effect her words had. She couldn't have known that they were capable of hearing, though, so I supposed I couldn't blame her entirely. It appeared Jacob Black had been right able those 'super-human senses'.

With Jacob's instructions fresh in my mind, I made a split decision to do something the mousy Bella Swan would have done back in Phoenix. Raising my voice, although I knew they could probably catch every word anyway, I said: "And the fifth one? Is he together with anyone?"

Jessica looked down for some reason before responding.

"No, but I wouldn't bother, if I was you. He doesn't date."

The rejection was extremely clear in her voice and face. She must have been turned down by him at some point.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said, feeling a thrill of excitement. I was never this outspoken. "What happened?"

Her head shot up at that.

"What do you mean, 'What happened?'" she asked, defensive now.

I smiled kindly.

"Never mind. I thought that there might have been some gossip behind that. I figured you would know it if there was."

Jessica glowed at my compliment.

"Of course, I would know all the stories. But Edward's never gone out with anyone here since his family moved here a few months ago. He may not look like it, but he's really boring."

"Hmm," I said simply. I didn't want Jessica - or the Cullens - to think that I was obsessed with Edward.

I tried to keep my eyes off the far table during the rest of lunch. I'd have liked to believe that I didn't fail miserably at the task, but they repeatedly drew my gaze. From my vantage point, surrounded by chattering teenagers who didn't seem to notice if I responded to their questions or not, I could see that all the Cullens were flawlessly beautiful. Even the hulk of a teenage boy who had laughed at Jessica's comments had perfectly sculpted features. Now that I had a better look at them - the vampire family, I reminded myself - the two older males seemed as if they should be teachers at the school, rather than students. The two girls, a blonde with a to-die-for body and an incredibly slender female who wore her raven-black hair in careful spikes, were easily the most beautiful women in the school and likely in the surrounding counties. But, the one who drew my eyes most strongly was Edward Cullen. He was deathly pale and had dark shadows under his eyes that made him look somewhat sleep-deprived, just like the others. I supposed that was a common characteristic among vampires, but on the youngest Cullen, it seemed to . . . suit him somehow. As if it was a reflection of his past or of his character. Beyond harsh features, he had the face of an angel. Judging by his artistically messy, copper hair that fell gracefully into his eyes, this was the one that Black meant as my target. I felt a lump rise in my throat at the thought. There was absolutely no way that Edward Cullen would ever look twice at me, as prey or anything else.

When the bell signaling the end of lunch rang, I jumped up, eager to end my uncontrollable gaping. Several of the students sitting with me looked up at the abruptness of my movement. I blushed, but asked the table in general if anyone of them had my next class. It turned out that a shy girl named Angela did, so we walked off to Biology II together.

We didn't speak much as we neared the building, our heads bowed against the ever-present drizzle. The silence settled around us, but it was not uncomfortable. I had the fleeting feeling that Angela was a much better potential friend than Jessica could ever be. She seemed to understand that gossip was not essential to high school life.

The classroom was set up much like the science labs in Phoenix had been. The familiar black-topped tables that seated two were a welcome sight to my eyes. It was a nice reassurance that the world had not gone completely insane.

I forgot all of this when I walked further into the room, heading towards the teacher's desk to get my office slip signed. There was the boy - man - vampire - whatever that I was here for. Edward Cullen was sitting at the only desk with an available seat. And he was staring straight at me.

I was sure that he could hear my racing heart.