Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Hi again,

Thanks for your continued interest and support, and of course your reviews!

This one is a bit shorter, but we've established that from here on out, we are updating with each chapter as one POV and as such, the length of the chapter will grow as we get further into the story. Also, the person who updates will be the one who wrote that chapter/POV, just in case you were wondering.

Hope you are enjoying the story, and with nothing else to say, we leave it to you to read... see you down the bottom!

~o0o~
October 31, 2014 ~ Bella ~ Sedona, AZ
21 Years Old
~ By ncbexie25 ~

A smile flittered across Bella's face when her back door slammed behind her as she made her way into the woods again. Her marks were glowing again, and something was pulling her deeper and deeper into the thick coverage of the woods, shielding her from the bright Moon's glare.

She was twenty-one today.

Ever since the incident on her eighteenth birthday with her shield, she had slowly grown to know, understand, and work with it. Now she could use it by will, and not just when a threat was perceived imminent. Accepting it was easy—for her, at least. But it was safe to say that it only worried—or freaked out—her parents even more, and she could hardly stand their stares. Suffice to say she had moved out just a few weeks later after graduation.

She hadn't looked back.

It was here, in her little cottage surrounded by forest and thick underbrush that she truly thrived. She used her surroundings as a way of building her supernatural talents and as a shield against the voices and the glares of the Moon at times such as these—nevertheless, she was always drawn out into it.

She sat down against a tree trunk, drawing her legs into a cross-legged seated position. Glancing up quickly, she pulled her shirt sleeve back, the finger of her other hand reaching and caressing the soft skin of her mark. It was strange, the feel of it. It wasn't raised or bumpy or a different texture to any other part of her skin. It was like it was just a part of her—a fundamental part of her skin that was destined to be there.

It comforted her, somehow.

As did her growing dreams of Peter.

She blushed at the thought. Over the years, she had truly come to love him, and she mourned the fact constantly due to her own utter loneliness.

She sighed longingly. She moved away from the tree trunk into the cleared patch between the two trees. And then she reached for the closest stick, stood, and drew. She had no idea what had come over her, but it was something she did most nights she came out here—whenever she thought of Peter.

It was a compulsion that completely overtook her—and she wasn't sure why exactly it came at the times that it did. She could only hope it was because Peter was using it at the same time.

She knew she had started using the pentagram before Peter had. She also knew that it somehow made him feel more connected to the light and open sky, more in touch with his own power—feeling it reach and grow and resonate. She found she felt the same thing when he'd started to do so… everything was heightened. She felt more connected to him.

When she stood in the center she felt what she craved—she felt as though she was wrapped in his arms, she could feel the heat of his fire-making palms on her skin. She absolutely loved it—especially the feelings the sensation evoked.

Sometimes, she touched herself. Others, she would simply bask in the feeling, all loneliness leaving her. It was magical.

She only wished he was truly there to take care of her—in every way.

It disrupted her sleep sometimes; even more so when she would dream of him to the point of arousal only to wake up. It was mostly when she watched him use his power, or exercise—or really anything, considering a lot of the time, he wasn't wearing a shirt. And he was… well, he looked just perfect.

Bella's whole being hummed as she closed her eyes and stepped into the middle of the pentagram. It had been too long since the last time she had worked with her powerful gift, and she needed an entirely clear mind in order to reach the level she was after. She wanted to get further, more, today.

Despite her good intentions, within minutes Bella gave in to thinking about Peter. She giggled when she recalled his pleasure at toasting his prisoners, and delighted in how much more confident he was. Yes, he was perhaps a little bitter and rough around the edges—but so was she. She was completely alone in the world, and had no knowledge of a way to reach the man she loved. Some days, she was sure she was doomed to a life alone.

When those sorts of thoughts came to her, they were always accompanied by a deep longing in her very soul—an ache, almost like a hole was there, completely void and waiting for him to fill it. She so whispered it was possible.

Her eyes snapped open and she sighed harshly. She needed to calm herself, stick with the positive… not dwell on those sorts of things at this moment in time. It was integral for her future. Something, she didn't know what, was banking on it.

She sat down, resting her hands on her knees with her palms facing up to the Moon. Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to fall back into the familiar pattern of controlled breathing, her practiced mind erasing all thought. Within moments, she was centered and in touch with her soul and her power.

With her eyes closed, and in such a trance, she had no idea of what happened next. She felt not the gentle wind picking up, in an almost cyclonic fashion, circling her body, and making her hair whip around. Nor the way the brightest glow of her marks spread throughout the rest of her body, growing brighter and brighter. And indeed, she did not realize when her body began to rise from the earth she was seated on… or when an ancient chant fell from her parted lips, the words having been released from the dreams and into her conscious, where previously her mind had been wiped of the memory of the words.

Her shield was in havoc. It shimmered, closing around the pentagram, protecting her and it, and unknowingly preparing for what was to come.

Her voice grew louder and louder, but to the world around her, there was dead silence. It was almost funny how such an important part of history was only sensed by the supernatural beings and the elements of the world.

The profundity of the moment was lost in Bella. She had no idea until she felt a sharp fire burning through her soul as her lioness was awakened. The ancient prophecy embedded within Bella fell from her lips in the roar of her soul's lioness.

Thrice the Sun shall rise for his Lioness,

Twice the Sun shall recede to Darkness' depth.

Thrice the Lioness shall seek her Sun,

And twice the Moon shall overshadow.

Once shall Lioness and Sun unite,

To bring war of Sun too bright.

For powers of light that be,

They shall unite that once and as is their will,

so mote they overcome,

The dark evil of the Moon!

With the last word falling from her lips, everything stopped and Bella was only cushioned from her fall by her shield. Her feet touched the ground, now outstretched.

And all over the world, the supernatural could hear. They knew it was time. They would answer the call. The mark of the Phoenix on their wrists alit for the first time, glowing.

And when her eyes opened, Bella gasped.

Before her, lying unconscious, was the boy she had dreamed of and loved her whole life.

"Peter!" she shouted, and her body moved her without permission. By instinct, she found herself before him, her shields surrounding his and her body as she took him into her arms. Her shaking hand pressed against his pale cheek, and she felt it—that overwhelming sensation of finally returning home.

She gasped when she looked him over, her eyes just now picking up on his state of undress, and she flushed. Her eyes found themselves resting on parts of him that she had scarcely allowed herself to imagine.

She was only pulled from her thoughts by the sound of a low chuckle.

"Well, hello, Bella," she heard him say. She daren't look at him, her eyes mesmerized as they trailed his body, looking for injuries—and also being so attracted as she was to his gorgeous body. She couldn't look away.

"Peter," she breathed, finally closing her eyes as her body folded to press against his, her hands wrapping around his waist. She felt tears prick, her hand slipping from his cheek as she rested her head on his chest. "You're real."

His voice was softer now as he felt her tears on his chest. His arms wrapped tighter around her, and they both rejoiced in being able to touch and comfort one another as they had ached to for so long. "Yeah, I am. And so are you. I'm here now, baby. You won't ever be alone again."

She clenched her eyes to dispel the tears and then she opened them and slowly looked up at him. Her lips were parted as she simply looked into his eyes, and she gasped as her eyes caught on the wrist of the hand that was slowly reaching up to caress her cheek. She captured his hand, and sat up, straddling him without even noticing—his groan also going unnoticed—as she stared, awe-inspired, at his mark. She'd known it was there, but seeing it in person… she didn't feel like a freak. Truly, for the first time, she really didn't.

"Bella," Peter whispered after a while. Her eyes flashed to his face. "Perhaps we could go inside?" He smirked then, "I'm perfectly comfortable here," he began to tell her, bucking his hips up and delighting in her gasp and blush, "but I think we should probably talk before we do anything like that. There's so much…"

Bella's mouth and lips were dry, and her face hot. But she still managed to swallow and rise up off of him, reaching for his hand to help him up. She averted her eyes, staring up at the moon before checking her shields and wrapping them tighter around the two of them. A very animalistic growl fell from her lips at the sound of the faint whispers in an ancient language she found, with a shock, that she understood. The sound scared her, and she jumped, turning to look around her—only to realize that she was the one to release such a sound.

She gulped and looked up at Peter, who was staring at her, worried. She nodded and gripped his hand. "I think you might be right," she whispered, before turning and letting go of his hand.

She kicked the dirt around, erasing all evidence of the pentagram she had drawn.

When she looked back at him, an "eep" left her mouth as she took in the sight of him. Something was clawing inside her very soul to take him and have her way with him, claim him as hers.

"We should probably get you some clothes, too."

Thanks for reading; please let us know what you think! If you have any questions, feel free to PM or review it. As long as it doesn't give away too much of the plot still to come, we'll answer. :D

See you in two days...

Spuxie