A/N: I would like to apologise for the last chapter. As Reflections of a Curious Mind pointed out, there was a sentence unfinished. I was supposed to be 'Her scent was unusual enough for the vampire to investigate if he or she came across it. Maybe I could... ' My computer is kind of on the fritz right now but I'll fix the glitches.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the Van Allen's, excluding Bella.

BPOV

I was still in slight shock on Friday. Due to the fact that I hadn't gone to school today, I had plenty of time to think about...things. Mainly Alice.

I was sitting in the white leather couch in the living room, feet propped up and Sanderson sleeping on my stomach. His breathing was loud to my ears, as were his little, tiny snores. I could hear Clare in the upstairs game-room, playing arcade games to pass the time until her shift at the bank started. Every time we moved, Clare ended up doing a different job, and this time it was a banker.

This was something that I had never dealt with before, something that was completely new to me. I had always assumed that my first crush would be on a human guy, not a vampire girl. I mean, I had never looked at girls that way before, I had never looked at guys that way before either.

I hadn't actually looked at Alice that way come to think of it, although she did have a great smile and gorgeous eyes and really soft looking hair... Oh crap.

Now that I had come to the realisation that I had a crush on Alice, everything about her seemed different somehow, more real.

I guess this was why I'd wanted to start talking to her again.

I absentmindedly flicked through the TV channels, trying to find something interesting in day-time television.

What was I supposed to say to her? How was I meant to act? Would she know I liked her? How would she be able to tell?

I was harbouring the tiny, miniscule hope that there was even a slight chance that she liked girls. Even if she did like girls, what was there to say that she'd like me? She didn't even know what I was.

So tell her.

As simple as that sounded, I had no idea how she'd react. It's not like it was freak-out worthy, but I'd never told anyone outside my family before and I was hesitant to.

I sighed and got up, doing my best to ignore Sanderson's protests. He huffed and sat down on one of the cushions, thoroughly annoyed.

"Sorry, Sandy. I gotta go fly and we both know that I can't stay here forever."

I padded up to my room, still in my pyjamas. Only sleeping for about an hour last night had been enough for me.

I loved my room, plain and simple. It was absolutely perfect.

The floors were a dark hard-wood, as was the double bed, desk and bookshelf. The bed was raised, with a cabinet underneath for storage and a small wooden ladder for climbing up, not that I ever used it. Like the rest of our house, one wall was completely, made of glass. Being able to fly meant that I didn't like to be indoors a lot, so there was a huge double door on the adjacent wall to the window, also glass. This lead out onto a huge balcony, also made of a dark wood.

The balcony overlooked a huge dip in the forest. It was also very secluded so it made the perfect landing and taking-off pad. The deck chairs and hammocks were for rare warm days.

No matter where we moved, or what house we were in, which was always secluded, my family made sure to include a balcony for me and I loved them for it.

I quickly changed into a light blue t-shirt and jeans, leaving my shoes and socks off. When I was at home, I never wore my ring, so I could see the dark blue wing tattoos on my back.

They weren't like human ones, where they looked inky and heavy, instead, they were so detailed that every feather could be seen in fine detail, better than any human artist could render them. When I unfurled my wings, the tattoos shone and came forth, becoming larger, real versions.

Tying my hair up so that it wouldn't blow everywhere, I went out onto the balcony and hopped up onto one of the wooden railings. Glancing upward, I could see the dark storm clouds and could feel a smile on my face. If there was one thing that I loved doing, it was flying during a storm.

Unfurling my wings, I catapulted off of the balcony, free-falling for a second or two before spreading my wings and catching the air.

I pushed downwards with my wings and shot up into the sky, rain pelting me from above. This was why I loved the rain. When you could fly among the clouds and see the rain falling below you, it was beautiful. It also helped that my wings were waterproof, so I never had to worry about taking a hairdryer to them.

I caught a rising air current and flew into one of the larger clouds. From below, they looked like candy floss, all soft and fluffy when it actually felt like flying through a wall of suspended water droplets, each one single from the rest, yet joined to create a larger form.

The water buffeted my skin and soaked my clothes and hair. I shifted flying patterns and pushed my wings harder, rising above all of the clouds and rain. I waited there for a moment, enjoying the sunshine present up here, and then I tucked my wings in and fell, straight down without direction.

The winds at this velocity were powerful and I could hear nothing past the screeching. I was reaching speeds of 280mph and the ground was approaching fast.

I caught glimpses of the town of Forks off in the distance during my wild spinning, but I was aiming for the forest, far into the wilderness.

I kept falling until I was almost to the bottom, before I snapped out my wings and coasted low over the tree tops.

Letting out a 'whoop' of enjoyment, I pulled up and dropped to the forest floor, deftly avoiding the thick branches. There was no sunshine, so the forest was dark, yet I felt completely at home here.

I started walking in a random direction, my thoughts on whether or not Alice could come flying with me if I eventually told her. She was small enough to carry, that is, if she even wanted to. God, I couldn't even go five minutes without thinking about her. What was I going to do when I was near her?

Blushing at the thought, I looked at my watch. I still had time but I couldn't be out here all day.

I had been walking in no particular direction for about an hour, when I came across a fawn, with its mother nearby.

The fawn began frolicking in my direction, the mother merely picked up her head, looked at me once, and followed her offspring towards me.

For as long as I could remember, animals had been completely comfortable around me. I had once gotten lost in the forest when I was about five after playing hide-and-seek with Lee. They had found me the next day asleep in a bear cave, with the bear and her cub. She had even given me a rabbit, which I hid when she wasn't looking. I had gotten some weird looks from my family that day.

The fawn came over and nuzzled its head into my side. I chuckled and petted its head. "Hey there. Affectionate little thing, aren't you?" The mother was waiting off to the side, nibbling on grass.

Thinking again that I had to get back soon, I sighed. "I need to be going. See you around." The fawn gave something that resembled a bleat, and frolicked back to its mother. I watched as both of them disappeared into the trees. This was why I was a vegetarian. I understood my family's need to hunt animals and I even respected them for it, but I couldn't bring myself to eat meat.

I once again unfurled my wings and shot back up into the sky. The rain had died down slightly and the clouds were a lighter colour once unburdened from their loads.

As soon as I reached my house, I knew something was off. Tucking in my wings and slipping on my ring, which was never far from me, I didn't bother going through the house, instead just jumping onto the roof and walking over it.

The tiles were slippery from all the rain but I kept my balance easily, moving forward at a pace that equalled a human running.

I smelled them and heard them before I saw them.

The scent of canines and the heavy sound of their breathing reached me up on the roof, right before I saw three huge wolves and two men facing my family, all of which were present.

The wolves were easily the size of large ponies, one dark grey, one brown and another a lighter brown. Their teeth, from what I could see, were huge and dagger-like, their claws black and wicked sharp.

The two men were both very tall and covered with muscle, with tanned skin and short black hair.

As I watched, a breeze picked up and sent my scent in their direction. All five of them drew in deep breaths and turned to face me. Seeing me on top of a two story building, the men's expressions became confused. The taller of the two turned to face my family, specifically Micheal.

"She must be Isabella, your other...family member. She does not smell human, but she's not a vampire." His voice was deep and had an air of command.

I scoffed and jumped from the roof, landing on a tree bough near Jesse. "She is standing, or rather crouching, right here and would appreciate it if you wouldn't talk about her as though she weren't."

The large one seemed taken aback by my statement and the dark grey wolf growled slightly.

Jesse scowled at him. "Oh shut up. All you've done is growl since you got here. If you've got nothing nice, or intelligible, to say then don't say anything at all."

The growling became more pronounced. The large one turned to look at him. "Paul, stop. She's right." He turned to look at me. "And I apologise, it's just that we've never come across your kind before. Would you care to tell us what you are?"

I shifted uncomfortably. "Who are you?"

"I'm sorry, I should've done that first. I'm Sam and the man beside me is Jacob. The rude grey wolf is Paul and the other two are Quill and Embry. We are werewolves from La Push and we've come to make a treaty with your..." He trailed off, looking unsure.

"My family."

"Oh. Well the Cullen's informed us that none of you were going to be trouble, but we had to check for ourselves."

"So you don't trust them?"

"Not exactly, no."

"Ok, then, continue with whatever it is you were doing before I dropped in." The other male, Jacob, smiled a little at this, but the smile vanished as soon as he looked at my family again.

Sam spoke up again. "The terms of the treaty are simple. Neither side will reveal the existence of the others to the humans, neither side will in any way harm a human, both sides will remain on their side of the previously agreed line and you will not turn any humans while you are here."

Jesse pouted. "Oh, shoot. And here I was fully intending to build a newborn army and take over the world."

Micheal looked at her. "Jesse, please refrain from teasing the werewolves."

"Fine. Killjoy."

Jacob took a step forward, his eyes on me. "What about Sam's earlier question, are you going to tell us what you are?" He seemed kind of nervous.

Once again, I shifted uncomfortably. "Not really. No offense or anything, but I've only just met you." Then I thought of something. "Hey, does this treaty apply to me, seeing as I'm not a vampire?"

Sam looked thoughtful for a moment. "For some reason, I feel that you're not a threat to us. In fact, I've been feeling very calm since you arrived." His eyes narrowed. "One of the Cullens, Jasper, can manipulate emotions. Is that what you're doing?"

"Heck no. If I could do that, I'd use it to get that stick out of Paul's ass." Jacob tipped his head downwards to shield his silent laughter.

Sam frowned. "Then why do we all feel so comfortable around you? You associate with vampires, no offense, but it's something we usually don't take very well."

My mind instantly flashed to the fawn in the forest. Animals really liked me, these guys were basically giant wolves.

If this weren't so weird, it'd be funny.

"Um, this is probably going to seem strange, but I've got this thing where animals really like me and, um, you're sorta like big dogs. In a good way." I added that last bit hastily. Maybe I should have said 'canines' or 'wolves', not 'dogs'.

He looked at me, confused. "Well, I know that this is an unusual case, but I can't help but feel as though you're not...a bad person."

Now it was m turn to frown. "Neither are my family."

He seemed sceptical. "I'm sorry, but it's in our nature to dislike vampires. We always trust our instincts and because my instincts are telling me that you're no threat to us or the humans, you and only you will be allowed on our land, although I'm not sure why you'd want to."

"Actually, some of the kids at school were thinking of going down to First Beach sometime in the near future, but that's beside the point. Continue with the treaty."

Sam cleared his throat and spoke to my family. "Do you except the terms of the treaty?" His voice was formal.

Micheal was the one who replied. "Yes, we do."

Sam nodded and was about to leave when his eyes flickered to me and he seemed to make a decision. He turned his head back to my family. "We spoke about the killings near Port Angeles before your...daughter arrived. We know now that it isn't you and we apologise for making accusations. However, due to your arrival, many more of our people are becoming werewolves. A lot of them are young and volatile and the possibility of the deaths being the work of a vampire has gotten them yearning for a fight. It would be best if you stayed well clear of the treaty line as they might attack any vampire that they see. I assure you that this is not a threat, but a warning. It will not be their fault, because at such a young age, our instincts take over, but I would prefer to avoid any casualties, on either side."

Micheal nodded. "As would I."

With that said, they walked back into the forest, Sam first with Jacob a step behind him and the wolves flanking.

I called out after them, "Goodbye," and could see Jacob wave at me before he disappeared. He seemed to be the least hostile of the lot of them. While I had seen him shoot my family some dirty looks, I supposed that it was only in his nature, not that I liked it.

Turning to look at my family, I smiled. "They seemed nice."

They were all staring at me.

"What?"

Clare looked confused. "That's just it. They were nice. But before you got here, all of the wolves were growling, Sam was angry and Jacob had a permanent scowl on his face. When they left, the wolves had stopped growling, Sam was completely calm and Jacob was smiling and waving at you. That's a big difference, Bella."

Micheal nodded. "I had no idea that your affinity with animals would include the werewolves. You completely calmed them down."

I shrugged. "The bigger question is; did anyone here know that there were werewolves in Forks? This place seems like a weirdness-magnet."

"It does seem like any supernatural creature within five hundred miles is drawn to this town. Like a big black hole of strangeness." Lee said, a thoughtful look on his face.

We all walked back into the house, bored now that the wolves weren't here to entertain us. Yes, we had a funny idea of entertainment.

Sitting down on the sofa, I pulled a cushion into my lap. "What did he mean by those killings near Port Angeles?"

Micheal sighed, sitting down beside Clare. "The human authorities are saying they are animal attacks, but they could be vampire. It's not that near to Port Angeles, but it is the closest city."

"Will this affect me going shopping with Angela and Jessica?"

"I shouldn't think so. It might not even be a vampire and even then, it is only near Port Angeles. Your scent dissipates extremely fast, so the only way for this vampire, if it is a vampire, to notice you, is for he or she to run into you directly." It was times like these that I loved my screwed-up biology. " The chances of that happening are rare. Also, it's not like you're defenceless. Just, be careful."

"I will, Dad."

Jesse perked up. "On the upside, if you do run into this vampire, maybe it'll eat Jessica."

Lee looked wistful. "One can only hope."

I laughed at the glares they were getting from Clare, which I quickly stopped when she turned it on me.

"Hey, Lee, speaking of Jessica, did she make any more advances?" I was curious whether or not she had gotten the message.

He laughed, his entire six foot frame shaking. "No, thank God, she's gone back to pestering Edward. You should see the look on his face whenever she approaches him, it's like a deer in the headlights." He dissolved into laughter at the memory.

I grinned. "Good for you, bad for him. Well, I gotta go and decide what I'm gonna wear tomorrow."

Jesse insisted on helping me, despite my protests, claiming that I was a fashion-reject.

While Jesse may not be obsessed with fashion, she wasn't a total wash-out, like me. After a small debate which ended with her smacking me in the back of the head and throwing the clothes at me, screaming, "You will wear it!", I was left with dark jeans and a frilly blouse that I was none too fond of.

Despite the multitude of distractions today, Alice was always at the back of my mind.

My worry over what to do regarding her was constant and I finally decided to just go up to her, say 'Hi', apologise for being so frigid towards her and just go from there.

I only had a single thought while I was getting ready for Port Angeles the next day. 'I hope she doesn't hate me.'

A/N: So, it's not my shortest chapter, but it's not my longest either. I hope you liked it and that the wolves were ok.

As always, R&R. ;)