I own nothing. A/N at bottom.

Edward.

"Who would you like to teach you to hunt dear?" Esme asked. The room grew unbearably silent but the excited volume of the voices in my head was another matter. I wanted to be the one to take Bella and also be able to talk with her in private.

Bella looked to me automatically after Esme's question and my heart leapt into my throat. Even with all our siblings dying for the opportunity the thought she might want me to share this experience with her was more than I could hope for. I felt a slight pang when I saw the hesitation in her eyes. Maybe I was jumping to conclusion too fast.

"Umm… guys?" Emmett said hesitantly, the envelope in his hands ripped open. The letter from inside smelt faintly of wet dog.

Edwards not going to like this. I read the angry, barely legible writing, through his eyes. Several greeting were written and crossed out: dear, to whom it may…, bloodsucking mother f…

CULLENS,

It has come to our attention that
Ms. Isabella Swan/ Marie Cullen;
a human in your household, has been
missing for several days. If she does
not make herself known within twenty
minutes of receiving this letter (in the
same condition she was last seen) we will
assume the treaty has been broken and
will take matters into our own hands.

Sam

"What?" I yelled at Emmett. He held his ground. I didn't write it, don't blame me.

"What's going on?" Bella asked, her voice shaking.

I stalked over to her, trying to push my anger aside and failing miserably. "Hunting will have to wait." I sighed. "You have visitors."

Outside I was bombarded with the whole packs thoughts, there were a lot more of them then I had assumed. Last time they had changed, many years before we even found Bella, there were only a handful. Now there were…more.

The rest of the family joined us and we started our march to the border.

"Carlisle, Jasper and I will go first. Explain the situation and keep them calm." I looked to my brother and father and they both nodded their understanding.

"Emmett stays by Bella's side no matter what. Alice, Esme, Rose; be prepared for the worst. Understood?"

Yes, understood. They all thought in agreement.

"What's the worst? I know its Jacob out there. I can smell him!!" Bella huffed angrily gesturing to the woods before us. "I don't want anyone else to get hurt. Why don't I just go talk to them, tell them what happened. I can make him understand."

"They won't understand," I answered and grabbed her hand and squeezed. She didn't pull her hand away, instead letting it rest in mine. It fit so perfectly there I got momentarily distracted. "I don't want you to get hurt so this has to go my way. If anything goes wrong, Emmett will get you to safety."

"And who will get you to safety?" she asked, stopping in her tracks. The rest of the family continued forward as we stayed a few paces back.

"Don't worry about me." I turned to face her. She looked positively distraught. I grabbed both sides of her face and tried to make my words stick. "Do. Not. Worry about me. Everything will be fine."

"That's going to be a problem for me, because I am going to worry about you... more than I maybe should."

"What do you mean?" More than she should?! What is she going on about?

"This isn't the time, just… be careful."

I gave her the most endearing grin I could to lighten her spirits. "Always am."

Bella.

I watched my family disappear through the brush, wishing they would just have listened to me. If I understood correctly, they hadn't actually broken the treaty. None of them had bitten me or any other human since the treaty was made.

Maybe I should have told Edward before he left me with Emmett. I almost let it slip when we were talking about his safety. It didn't matter that he didn't feel the same for me; he deserved to know the truth. He deserved to know that I loved him.

"Don't fret little sister, he'll be okay." Emmett wrapped a comforting arm around my shoulders. "He's just gonna make sure the big bad wolf doesn't blow the house down and then he'll be back."

"Tell me something, Em." I said nonchalant.

"Anything."

"What's 'the worst'?" I asked. His face dropped and a look of worry passed behind his eyes. It disappeared quickly, replaced with a reassuring smile. "Not the edited for Disney version." I accused before he could talk me into submission.

He averted his eyes and searched his brain for an answer. "Just that if… it doesn't even matter. It won't come to that."

"Come to what?"

Emmett sighed and his shoulders sagged with defeat. "In the unlikely event the fight turns south, the girls are supposed to get out as fast as possible. It would never happen though. They wouldn't leave Jasper or Carlisle and Rose wouldn't leave any of them."

"But you would let her go off all by herself?" I looked up at him through my eyelashes and used my sweetest voice.

He smiled down at me under his arm and squeezed. "I'm not the biggest fan of babysitting duty but you're important too. Keep the newborn in check, you know."

"But you would much prefer fight side by side with Rose… right?" The innocence dripping from my tone must have been see through as his grip tightened on my side.

"Good try but not going to happen." He smiled right back at me.

"Agh!!" I tried to stand but he held me in place. "I'm not a child. I'm not even human anymore. What could actually happen?"

"Probably, nothing."

The gears in my head started to spin faster.

Maybe… it should be me. I'm the danger magnet. I should be the one to talk to Jacob; to see that my family gets home safely.

"Is it true that newborns are strong?" I asked thinking back to the stories they told me as a kid.

"Yeah…?"

"And fast, right?"

"Bella." Emmett sighed in a 'don't even go there' tone.

"I'm probably strong than even you. Faster than Edward?"

The confirmation in his eyes was all I needed. "BELLA!!" He bellowed after me as I dashed through the tree.

I felt each tree move past me in a blur as if they were moving at an alarming rate, rather than me. I couldn't hear my footfalls on the soft mulch below me, made up of dirt and fallen leaves. All I could hear were the faint heartbeats of the life around me. I passed a scared rabbit whose palpitations were fast and fluttering. A resting owl in the same tree greatly contrasted the rabbits with its slow steady heartbeat.

I gave the family a wide birth and knew the moment I had surpassed them. I knew they heard me when one set of their steps increased tenfold. Edward was fast… I was faster. I broke through the trees into a large open field that must have been the treaty line. The smell here was more pungent, so much so it was almost unbearable. Jacob and even more imposing man (I could only assume was Sam) stood at the head of a tight half circle of over sized wolves.

Both sets of eyes betrayed how surprised they were to see me. All the wolf creatures grimaced.

"Bella?!" Jacob exclaimed, though didn't look pleased. He took a hesitant step forward before Sam put a hand on his shoulder.

"That is not Bella." Sam said sternly. I had never met the man but immediately felt a great dislike for him.

"That's not true." I said. My voice shaking as all the wolves in front of me grew in size, their hair standing on end and massive bodies shaking with anger. The smell, if possible, seemed to get worse. I covered my nose and held back a gag. "I just had a little accident."

"An accident?!" Jacob's stone expression turned into one of fury. "So you just tripped and fell on your boyfriends' teeth?" his tone dripped with sarcasm. I might have thought the possibility funny if it weren't for the hundreds of sharp bared teeth glinting at me.

"The treaty is not broken. It wasn't like that." I said frantic and almost hysterical. Fear over taking my voice.

"What do you know of the treaty?" Sam asked.

"The Cullen's are not allowed to bite a human, they haven't."

"Obviously they have."

"They didn't do this to me. It was another of their kind."

"Your kind." Jacob growled. "Your kind lies. You're lying to protect him." A concurrent rumble passed through the pack the same moment someone stepped through the trees behind me. I didn't have to turn to see that it was him.

Jacob held a hand up and the crowd of furry masses quieted. They were waiting for his signal to attack. Sam nodded his assent.

Jacob's focus was just over my shoulder, narrowing each step I heard Edward take closer. A moment later the rustle of everyone else arriving could be heard.

I felt Jaspers power working on keeping the whole party calm. It didn't feel the same as it used to. More like a tingly blanket that didn't touch me rather than a feeling being forced on me.

"It's true." Carlisle stepped forward, hands in front of him as he approached Sam, the alpha. Sam didn't smile but his posture visibly relaxed. "The vampire was taken care of at the scene of the attack by my sons. As you can see we were too late to save Bella from this fate but we did save her life."

"Life. Ha." Jacob muttered under his breath, though everyone heard.

Sam shot him a strong look and turned back to Carlisle. "How can we know that you didn't do it yourself?"

Carlisle let out a small laugh. "You're going to have to trust us, as your ancestors did. If not us, then you can trust our eyes. They, unlike my kind, can not lie."

"Very well—" Sam said with finality.

"SAM!!" Jacob roared, outraged.

"IT IS DONE." Sam proclaimed. "Unless you wanted to amend the chain of command."

Jacob had nothing to say to this. He dashed through the trees the other side of the clearing and many pack members raced after him. The others only lingered long enough for Sam to tell us they would be watching and then they left too.

"Bella--" Edward started. His voice was low and menacing. I didn't turn around at the sound. "Bella, can I speak with you… alone please?" His tone made it sound less like a question and more like an unfinished threat.

Now that immediate danger had passed the intense burning at the back of my throat flared again. "Edward, I don't think that—," he appeared at my elbow and started tugging me toward the woods by my wrist.

The pain in my throat smouldered until it reached my stomach and I wrapped my free arm around myself and crumpled to the ground. The cramps were unbearable, so much so, my vision became blurry.

"BELLA!! I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to hurt you." A pair of pitch black eyes appeared before me.

"It-it's not…" I gasped at a particularly vicious one. "It's not you. My stomach…"

Realization dawned on his face and his worry faded into resolve. He helped me to my feet, taking my hand this time, with a new sense of urgency. "We'll have to do something about that." He smiled a heart breaking crooked grin.

We all turn to the loud sounds of a figure barrelling straight towards us. Emmett stepped into the clearing, his eyes raking over all of us. "What did I miss?"

Edward.

After the dogs left I stared at the back of Bella's head. I told her to stay away, stay safe. What's more, I told Emmett to keep her there. Why did she deliberately do the opposite? Why did she have to be able to run so fast? Why did she have smell so good?

"Bella…" I called, allowing my anger to seep in my voice. I was angry for all the wrong reasons but that didn't stop me from being it. She didn't turn when I called or show any signs that she would. "Bella, can I speak with you… alone please?" I was already moving forward and grabbed her wrist with more vigour than I intended.

"Edward, I don't think that—" she protested. We had only moved a few yards when she fell to the ground clutching at her side.

I started to panic. Had I hurt her arm? Was she faint? "BELLA!!" I fell to my knees beside her. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

She stuttered out that it was her stomach and not my actions that hurt her. She was hungry. My lips curled up at the thought of her hunting. I pulled her to her feet, trying to be gentler. I was still angry at her but there were more pressing matters to attend to.

A distant rustling could be heard in the woods and she unconsciously leaned into my body. She fit so perfectly under my arm with her hand held in mine. She wasn't as soft as she used to be but she was still my Bella. What more could I really ask for?

Not my fault. She booked it before I could stop her. Did you see how fast she was?

Emmett appeared through the trees and saw that everyone was okay. He took note that Bella looked more than comfortable against my body and thought back to a conversation they had in the car. Her beautiful face flushed from the cold. She was smiling brilliantly in his memory.

'I think I'm in love with Edward.'

"What did I miss?" he asked. My jaw dropped at the revelation. Emmett started, realizing his mistake.

I did not just think that out loud. He saw my expression and sighed. I definitely just thought that out loud.

I KNOW!! I did it again. a) I promised that it would be confession time three chaps in a row and b) Emmett blows the secret. I really wanted Bella to tell him and then Emmett goes and thinks 'out loud'. I really didn't want it to go that way but now Edward will have to pretend he doesn't know... which might be fun.

And the story get to be just a little longer. I hope it isn't feeling dragged out. Tell you what. Next time for sure (you've heard that before.)

Review!! I will update fast (super sonic) if you do. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!