The men in the room sucked in a shocked breath, and Bella could see the denial plain on Jake's face, as well as the condemnation on Sam's and Billy's.

"Okay, wait! Before you yell at me and try to burn me at the stake! They were really bad dudes." They looked disbelieving so she elaborated. "When I 'woke up' I was in an alleyway. I watched as this woman ran by with a baby in her arms, and these three guys were chasing after her in toga-looking things—"

"Tunics." Jake interrupted.

She stared at him. "Right. Tunics. Anyway, so these guys in tunics ran after her and cornered her in another alley. They backed her into a wall and one of them had hit her with a stick! She was bleeding from her head and trying to protect her baby. They were all laughing, the creeps, and when he moved to hit her again, I just…lost it."

Billy Black gazed up at her with a look in his eyes that took her a moment to place, and when it did Bella's own face scrunched up. He was grieving. He hadn't really considered her dead until this moment, Bella realized. Until this moment where she proved herself to be a killer.

"Good."

Everyone turned to Sam in shock, even Bella, as the words registered. Billy was quick to question him.

"You can't possibly mean that, Sam. Bella killed those men—"

"Monsters." Sam's eyes hardened as he glared down at Billy. "Bella killed those monsters to protect innocent lives. A woman and a baby, Billy. Isn't that that whole point of us?" He gestured between him and Jake. "To help the innocent? To protect those who cannot protect themselves?" Sam stood firm.

A hand clamping down on her shoulder made Bella turn back to her father as he addressed Billy.

"My kid would never hurt an innocent person, Billy. You've known her since she was a little girl. You know that. If she killed those men, then they deserved to die. My kid isn't a monster, Billy, she'd a hero." He turned to look at her when he said that, and Bella was touched. Her eyes filled with tears that she knew would never spill over, and she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his neck. "Easy, Bells." Came Charlie's gasping response, and Bella released him immediately, mouthing 'sorry'.

A wave of relief seemed to wash over the room, and with it, the stress of the day was taking its toll. Sam turned to Bella and Charlie.

"Now, if you two don't mind," he began, "I think this has been a pretty hectic day for all of us. I think it's about time for us to be getting home. A few of the boys outside have been up for a while now, since they had been on patrol when all of this started, and they could really use some rest."

Charlie nodded to him. "Sounds like a good idea. I could get a bit of shut-eye myself." He paused. "And thank you, all of you, for coming over to explain things to me." He ushered the men to the door, and Bella and Charlie waved Billy and Jake off in their car, while the rest of the boys disappeared into the woods. "Alright." He turned to Bella. "Explain. Everything from the top. They told me about the whole vampire thing, and from what I can gather, that's what the Cullens were. Did they turn you into this?"

With a deep sigh, Bella gestured Charlie to sit down and prepared herself for a long night of over-protective father lectures.

OOOOOO

To Bella's surprise, she hadn't received any lectures that night. Mostly, there was just angry swearing on Charlie's part, especially when she went over the details of her birthday and the subsequent withdrawal of the Cullens.

"That fucking man-child thought that he could take my daughter into the middle of the woods and tell her she wasn't good for him?! After everything that entire goddamn family put you through, they have the fucking gall to just up and leave? And with this psychotic Victoria bitch after you? I swear the next time I see that big-headed twat I'm gonna cut his manhood off. He obviously doesn't need it." After his rant, Charlie, still breathing heavily and red-faced, reached into his wallet and put a 5-dollar bill in the swear jar on the counter. He saw her watching and explained. "Just because I swear, doesn't mean it's okay. Do as I say, not as I do."

Bella tried not to mention that she had literally just murdered three human beings and nodded seriously in response.

Charlie headed to bed soon after that, and Bella went up into her room and booted up her computer. She had a theory, a crazy theory sure, but a theory nonetheless, and she needed to at the very least disprove it. After taking a very long, very thorough shower, Bella stared at the necklace she wore, dangling between her breasts.

Colligavit nemo. Cedo nulli.

It took some google translating, and then some extra researching because google translate isn't always the most reliable, for Bella to get the translation. She was right, it had been Latin. No one has bound me. I yield to no one. Bella gently traced the words engraved in the precious metal. The necklace may not have belonged to Bella, but she identified with the words more than she cared to admit. As she flipped it over to try and figure out what type of bird it was in hoped of narrowing down a location or something, Bella saw even more words hidden under the wings of the bird.

Aude aliquid dignum.

Dare something worthy.

It almost seemed like some kind of Family crest, complete with a motto. She spent the next hours until daylight researching the words, as well as the bird on the front of the necklace, but all she found out was that the bird was a Buzzard-Hawk and that the species was sacred to Artemis—Ancient Greek Goddess of the Hunt, and yes that's with a capital 'H'.

The sun peeked through the curtains to Bella's window, and she felt no closer to confirming or denying her suspicions. The togas. The strange language. The houses and seeming lack of electricity or any other kind of modern device.

There is just no way that Bella could have possibly traveled through time.

Charlie's alarm clock went off, rousing Bella from her thoughts, and she headed downstairs to start making some breakfast. She knew that if she didn't, he would just end up skipping or ordering something at that dinner that was slowly clogging his arteries. He tumbled into the kitchen just as she was scooping the last of the eggs onto his plate. She handed him the plate, with him grumbling a sleepy 'thanks kid' before following him out into the living room.

As Charlie ate, Bella stared out the window. It would be another one of many cloudy days in Forks, so it would be easier for her to get around if she kept her head down. Bella had already made some plans to try and see if the Cullens left behind anything that would help her get into contact with them at their house. She knew they left for whatever stupid reason, to 'protect her' or whatever—that turned out great—but she needed help now that she was a vampire.

She had just been changed, and she had no idea what was going on. Bella wanted to survive this, and to do that, she needed to get some more information about what she was, and the only way to do that was to talk to the Cullens.

"Bells."

Bella turned to see her father setting his fork down on his empty plate. "I gotta head into the station today. I'm going to request a bit of time off, just so we can get everything figure out, you know? I've got the 'funeral' tomorrow, so I can just say I need time to grieve, and they'll let me be for a bit."

Bella was shaking her head before he had even finished speaking. "You can't quit. Not because of me. You love your job, and just because some asshole decided to mess with my life, it doesn't mean—"

"Kid! Kid calm down." Charlie interrupted. "I'm not quitting. I'm just asking for the rest of the week off." He smiled at her. "I do love my job, but it would seem either very suspicious, or very unhealthy if I went into work the next morning after your funeral all fine and dandy like nothing was wrong."

Bella let out the breath that she had been holding when she was interrupted. "Right. Yeah, right, of course."

He chuckled a bit at her before getting up to rinse his dish and put it in the dishwasher.

"Don't you want something to eat?" He questioned, before freezing and turning back to look at her.

Bella raised an eyebrow. "No thanks, I'm stuffed." She smirked as a blush took over his face, reminiscent of her old near-permanent blush.

"Sorry. That's gonna take some getting used to." Charlie rubbed the back of his neck, and Bella tried to school her amused expression into an understanding one as she nodded. "So," he pushed past his blunder, "what are you doing today?"

"I'm thinking I should head over to the Cullens' old house." She could see his objections rising, so she quickly explained. "I need to get more information about what I am. I know that the wolves in La Push have some information, but they are the 'sworn enemies' or whatever of my kind, so most of their legends are heavily biased. I'm just looking for some guidance, and the only ones who could give me that guidance are the Cullens." His frown spoke volumes, and she sighed. "I don't really want to see them right now either, dad. I've just been getting my life back to some kind of normal, and then this shit happens. I'm not going to just forgive them and go back to how things were, but I do need their help."

Charlie clenched his jaw, staring off into space for a moment. Eventually, he sucked in a large breath before deflating. "I know, kid. Just," he paused, looking into her eyes searchingly, "don't let them hurt you again. You deserve so much better than those assholes, you know that?"

Bella smiled at her father, touched and teary eyed, and nodded.

"Alright. You be careful kid. Everyone in town thinks you're dead, so showing up suddenly with red eyes might cause a bit of a stir. I can only imagine what that Mrs. Newton would say." A slow smile crept over him, and he seemed to repress a chuckle. "Actually, if you want to swing by her house and give her a scare, I wouldn't be entirely opposed."

"Dad!" Bella admonished him, failing to keep the smile off her face.

"I'm sorry, Bells, but think about it! That woman has been up in everyone's faces about 'that devil worshipping Cullen family' ever since Dr. Cullen denied her eloquent request for his 'healing touch'. Imagine if you showed up all red-eyed and fangy." He let out a small laugh. "Priceless."

Bella shook her head at her father, grinning all the while. "I'm not giving Mrs. Newton a heart attack, dad. Now go, you've got people to convince that you're sad." He put on an over exaggerated sad pout. "Exactly. Work it." He just chuckled and grabbed his keys, waving to her as he pulled down the drive way, and Bella went upstairs to grab another huge coat that she had borrowed from Phil when she first came to Forks. She put it on over her hoodie, pulling the hood up over her head and the glasses were back on her face as she shoved her phone in her pocket and headed out the door.

OOOOOO

Bella made it as far as the start of the excessively long driveway that leads to their house before she stopped.

Bella stared down the road – so far from any other sentient life that it's nearly impossible to find if you don't know what you're looking for – and she held her breath. It had been months since she'd been here, and for good reason. Bella couldn't bring herself to see even a remnant of the family that left her if they weren't coming for her themselves. Why wallow in the fact that she had meant so little to them? Why bear that pain?

She cast her eyes down the shrouded path, illogically waiting for a silver Volvo to tear down the road toward her. She knew they weren't at the end of the trail. That he wasn't. But the possibility still made her heart give phantom beats in her chest at the ache of the wish.

With one last moment to gather herself, Bella steeled her nerves and took the first step down the road.

Her phone rang.

A rush of air left her lips as the breath she'd been holding was released, and Bella faltered back the singular step that she'd taken. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, and the caller ID read Jacob Black. Yes, she put first and last names for all of her contacts, just in case. Bella jerked the phone up to her ear as she pressed the green 'accept call' button.

"Jake, now really isn't a good time." She tried not to be too terse with him, but she knew she didn't entirely succeed.

"You're telling me." He joked, but it was strained. "Bella, there's another vampire in Forks."

What was left of Bella's plan to search their house went up in flames at his announcement, and her mind started to race.

"Is – is it one of them?" Bella paused for a second, but Jacob could tell she was barely hanging on, so he replied immediately.

"No!" Jacob said. "No. It's not a Cullen." Bella couldn't tell if she was more relieved of disheartened by the news, but she didn't have too long to decide as the implications of the situation caught up to her.

"Victoria." Bella whispered into the phone.

"No." Jacob's answer confused her. There weren't exactly that many vampires living in the area, or many that would smell the wolves and stay for long enough to find the source, for that matter. "It's a bit strange, but she smells a bit like the leech that bit you." Jacob continued talking, but Bella's mind was racing as fast as her new vampire brain would let it. Hadn't Laurent been sent to the Cullens' cousins in Alaska? Laurent had said…Bella's eyes widened. "Sam's on her trail now, and she's heading north pretty fast, but we'll catch her soon and—"

"No!" Bella screeched, before wincing when her own voice reverberated in her ears. "Jacob, no. Tell them to stop."

"What? Bella, we almost have her."

"She's the Cullens' cousin. Her name is Irina, and she was dating Laurent, the vampire that bit me in the meadow. She's an animal drinker, Jacob. Call off the pack before they kill her and start a damn war!"

Jacob's startled inhalation was enough to know her words got through to him, but she continued. "Jacob, she has a coven in Alaska. If you are following her trail, you're running straight into a group of vampires who probably aren't feeling very friendly right now, what with you killing a member of their coven!"

There was silence for a moment, then Jake spoke. "Shit."

"Yep."

"Fuck."

"Yes, Jacob. But, maybe you could save the swearing for later and stop your friends from running to their deaths now?"

"Shit. Yeah okay, I'm going. But Bells, even if they can hear me, they might not listen." Jacob spoke worriedly. "They can be, and by 'they' I mean 'we', gigantic hotheads sometimes. If they smell a rogue vamp, they're going after her."

Bella bit her lip as she thought. "Where are they now? Have they reached Alaska yet?" She asked.

"…I don't think so." Jacob spoke hesitantly. "Bella, whatever you're thinking, just wait—"

"I'm going to head them off."

"Bella, no—"

She hung up the phone, and shoved it back into her pocket. Taking one last look at the house, Bella took off towards Alaska at full speed.

OOOOOO

She hadn't exactly tested out how fast she was yet, and Bella was almost shocked as the trees flew past her. The newborn stage is supposed to make vampires stronger and faster, which might be the one upside that's added to counter the nearly uncontrollable bloodlust, but she had no idea just how fast she'd be.

Bella reached the border between Canada and Alaska in next to no time at all. She'd started her run pretty close to Canada already, so it hadn't taken long to reach where she was, but she still couldn't catch the trail of the pack or this new vampire. They must've already reached Alaska by now, Bella thought with some dread.

She wasn't stupid. The wolves may have been able to take down one vampire pretty simply, but a whole coven? She had her doubts that they'd last long enough to even be entertaining to fight.

Just as she was turning to run into the wilds of Alaska in search of her new friends, Bella caught a scent on the wind. It was sweet, smelling of raspberries and some kind of flower, and Bella knew she'd found the vampire. She was peering ahead of her, into the trees that marked the border between the two countries, when she heard footsteps behind her.

They were light, and Bella knew that if she wasn't a vampire, she wouldn't have heard them at all, and Bella had a momentary panic.

She'd beaten them to the border.

She'd thought that she was still catching up to the wolves and their chase, but she'd actually managed to run ahead of them, arriving at the border mere minutes before they themselves did.

Before the vampire did.

Bella spun around, and pitch black eyes met her own ruby ones before the vampire charged her.

OOOOOO

Hey guys, If you're wondering what I'm picturing as the Volturi Queens, check out my tumblr elyzawrites ! I've got pictures up now!