51

Jake and Seth appeared at the house in wolf form, no one had given it a thought to tell the boys that there were visitors and as soon as they appeared from the bottom of the garden and scented the strange vampires their hackles rose.

Charlie stood on the back porch, a can of beer in his hand and a platter of sandwiches on the side table close by.

"Hey guys, calm down the Cullen's have visitors, but they are…" he waved his hand, unsure how to say what he knew.

"Vegetarians," Esme appeared by his side, two more platters full of food in her hands.

"Yeah, that." Charlie nodded.

All of a sudden the visiting family appeared at the side of the house. Charlie suspected that Edward had told them to show themselves.

Jacob looked even more enormous than usual, with his fur stood on end he was much taller at the shoulder than Charlie was.

Carlisle joined the party, Emmett, Rose, Jasper and Alice also came to the windows to watch the scene.

"Jake? Seth? These are our cousins. Eleazar and his mate Carmen, Kate, Irina and Tanya, their leader." Carlisle pointed to each in turn from closest to furthest from the huge beasts. "They came down to see if they could help with Bella when she comes out of the change."

Everyone seemed to pause, apparently there was a discussion going on but Charlie couldn't hear it. He noticed Seth's fur was now laid flat, though Jake still seemed to be very tense, a low rumble came from him. Alice's laughter sounded through the glass inside. She pushed open the French window and stepped through.

"Oh boy, now THIS will REALLY be interesting!" she said.

"What?" Everyone asked and turned towards the tiny vampire. Jacob stopped growling and started whimpering. Seth morphed back into human form and stood straight on the lawn, ignoring the fact that he was naked.

"Jake just imprinted!" he laughed, Jake sent a disgusted look at his pack mate before turning his attention back to the crowd, or rather one person in it.

"On whom?" more than one voice asked.

"On Tanya!" Alice laughed. It was like a tennis match as so many people turned to the gorgeous woman, then the wolf then back again.

Charlie was puzzled about something though. He had been at the reservation on Sunday evening when a council meeting was called to discuss Leah's 'phasing' as they called it. The consensus was that she wasn't a suitable imprint for Sam and could phase because she was not biologically able to carry children. The imprint was a way to ensure that the strongest genes were strengthened further by intermarriage and reinforcing the genetic trait, though of course most of the elders didn't use such terms to describe it. If that were true though, and Jake was the Alpha and therefore the strongest, why had he imprinted on a female vampire, someone unable to have children by their very nature?

{Of course,} he thought, {they could be wrong, after all they are just guessing. Of the whole council who attended only Uncle Quil was ever a wolf, and with the trouble with imprinting and things, he admits himself he doesn't know much about it.} Sam had refused to leave Emily's side and Jacob had been out on a wide patrol when the meeting was called.

"Maybe imprinting is more like vampire mating than we had thought?" he blurted out. Carlisle looked at him.

"How do you reach that conclusion?" he asked.

"Well from what Bella has told me the connection for you is instant and undeniable?" Carlisle nodded his head. "Well it's not like it's a biological imperative for you is it? I mean none of you can have children." He saw Emmett wince and put a hand on Rose. He felt sorry that he had blurted out the fact, it was obvious that the young woman wished things were different.

"That's true." Carlisle ran his hands through his hair, reminding Charlie of his son-in-law in the room above.

"What does Edward think?" he asked, grins covered everyone's faces.

"He thinks it's great!" Alice said. "Tanya has been alone for over 1,000 years!"

Charlie looked again at the woman, shocked, she was over a thousand years old? He knew that vampires didn't age, but God she looked half his own years.

"Jacob?" Carlisle stepped towards the wolf, accidently getting in the path of his gaze, the huge wolf stepped sideways to keep his imprint in view. "Can you phase back?"

"He can't not yet, he can't develop the… calm," Seth's eyes glittered with knowledge that Charlie thought he was too young to possess.

"Jasper?" Carlisle asked the young man who stepped out through the door. Jacob's fur slowly settled into place again and the whimpering stopped. After a couple of minutes of Jasper's effort Jacob phased back into a human, he turned and quickly pulled on his shorts, nudging Seth to remind him to do the same.

"Thanks." He nodded to Jasper as he turned back.

"Now that is a fascinating ability!" Eleazar said, as Jacob walked towards them.

"Stop!" Carlisle said, standing between the pair before contact could be made.

"Jake, Tanya you must think about this. If you decide that you cannot be mated then do not touch each other, no matter how much you feel you need to. I speak from experience, you can survive the separation if you don't touch. It isn't pleasant but you can manage. If you make a full bond, that's it."

"What do you mean 'that's it'? What's wrong with me?" Jacob bristled. His hands shook and Charlie hoped he wouldn't phase again so close to the Cullens.

"Jacob. Consider, you are the Alpha of the pack, if you imprint fully on Tanya then you can't live on the reservation anymore," he turned to Tanya. "If you allow the mating bond to reach full strength you cannot live as you are used to. You can't go back to Denali, because Jacob won't leave the tribe." Both of them paused to consider, then, with a smile, they simultaneously sidestepped the Cullen sire and their hands met.

"When's the wedding?" Charlie asked, taking another swig of beer.

11:00

Edward listened, as he knew everyone in the house did, as the heartbeat that had pulsed steadily through the building for the last couple of days suddenly laboured.

He held his breath, then laughed slightly as what he had done dawned on him. He was still stood in exactly the same place as he had been for what seemed countless hours.

Slowly Bella had transformed. If he was honest, during her human life she could not have been termed a true beauty by anyone but himself, however she was truly stunning now. Her muscles had toned, her face lost that last vestige of baby fat that had rounded her cheeks. Her eyelashes looked as if a professional make-up artist had worked magic on them, they were sooty black and very long. Her hair, which had always had a multitude of shades of brown to vampire eyes now had an infinite number, along with a sheen of health that glowed in the late morning light. The tiny scars that were visible on her body as a result of her clumsiness were now gone, and her muscles were well defined.

Her legs seemed slightly longer, her hips slighter now she no longer was built to give birth, her breasts, well they were almost the same, he thought. He cursed his body's reaction to her as he watched and waited for his wife to finally wake from the transformation. It was going to be hard enough on her to wake to her new life when she wasn't expecting the change yet, without him behaving like a horn dog.

11:02

Every fourth beat now her heart skipped, the regular pulsing slowed. The whole Cullen family waited in the passageway outside, wanting to come and help if needed, but unable to get through the barrier that still held the doors all closed. The Denali clan stood outside the house, in case she decided to jump out of the window and escape. Newborns were notoriously volatile and though Alice could not see much going wrong, she was still mostly blind.

Charlie had promised to call at midday to ask how she was. He was upset that he could not be there, but understood very well why he could not.

The wolf pack circled the house in a 2 mile radius, the majority concentrated to the south and west to help keep her away from town if she did run amok and get away from the family.

Her heart beat once, paused for three seconds and then again, she drew a shuddering breath and again her heart faltered.

11:03

The second the digital display on Carlisle's desktop ticked over she opened her eyes. Edward looked deeply into her face to see if she had any sign of recognising him, trying with all his might to penetrate the silence of her mind. From the wealth of Jasper's memories of newborns he knew her first reaction would be either defence or attack, he was ready for either.

"Edward?" She jumped off the bed and knocked him backwards, flat onto his back on the floor, her lips fastened to him.

"Ow!" he could not help but exclaim as she hit him with all her newborn strength. It was a miracle that they landed on the floor and didn't fly through the French doors and land outside on the lawn!

Bella took the opportunity of his mouth being open to kiss him fully for the first time, no worries about his sharp teeth now! So much for her being disorientated or not remembering him!

He heard Emmett try the door, and it was only because the family now had free access to the room that he stopped kissing her. He wanted nothing more than to make love to her, but the last thing he needed was to be caught in flagrante delicto by his family.

"Bella!" Emmett bounced into the room and bounced back out again just as quick. Edward couldn't help but laugh at his brother's amazed face as Bella's shield threw him back out of the room.

"I told you not to startle her!" Alice laughed smugly. She walked slowly into the room, a grin on her face. "Hi, Bella." She waved, keeping a decent distance from them where they still lay on the floor. Bella shot to her feet and Edward got to his at her side.

"Hi, Alice!" Bella waved back. The rest of the Cullen's filed into the room, Emmett making sure he stood well back this time. "How long…?" Bella gestured to the hospital bed.

"Just under 3 days." Carlisle said. "How are you feeling?"

"Strange," she frowned, "I feel as if something I expected isn't happening, but I can't seem to remember what it was."

{Strange would be the word!} Jasper threw the thought to him, {I can't feel any thirst from her, in fact I can't feel much at all except a touch of confusion.}

"Are you thirsty?" Emmett asked, thinking with his stomach as usual.

"Not particularly," she said, seemingly thinking about it. She gasped. "That's what's wrong! I thought I was going to be a ravening beast as soon as I woke, but though I could use a drink, I'm not really desperate."

Carlisle took another step into the room, now inside the area of the shield that had repelled Emmett. Another step, and a third and he reached out to touch Bella. She threw her arms around him and laughed.

"I'm ok Carlisle!" she said. "I don't know what I will be like if some unlucky human came near to me but," she paused sniffing the air, "Oh wow, is that Jacob? He smells like a wet dog!" she screwed her nose up.

"Well you stink like bleach!" Jacob came to the door, Tanya at his side to protect him if the newborn went postal on him. Bella should have gone on alert at the presence of a strange vampire, never mind a werewolf, Edward was as confused as Jasper when she waved at the tall blonde.

"Hi, I'm Bella!" she smiled.

"I'm Tanya." The Denali leader introduced herself.

"Wow, you're really gorgeous!" Bella said, a hint of her old insecurity coming into her voice.

"You should see yourself!" Tanya replied, laughing. Before anyone else could comment Alice zipped out of the room and returned with a pier glass that was four feet wide and over six high. Bella giggled at the sight of the tiny woman carrying such a huge mirror. Then she stopped laughing as Alice positioned it so she could see herself. She lifted her hands to her face, touching her cheeks with her fingertips as if she did not believe the reflection was actually her.

She turned and looked at Edward and then back at the glass, he moved to stand behind her, so she could see him directly over her shoulder, his hands around her waist. Her eyes wandered to each of the people in the room and a slight frown flittered across her face. Edward again cursed the fact that he could not read her mind, but she shrugged and her gaze moved to meet his in the reflection, she smiled at him.

"I told you, you were beautiful!" he kissed her neck.

"Is that really me?" she asked, moving to touch the glass with one finger.

"Really you!" he laughed and hugged her tightly. He was actually surprised that she didn't shatter the glass. It had taken him weeks to get his strength under control. The number of door knobs he had pulverised, doors he had broken and chairs he has smashed were countless before he finally managed to adjust to his new strength. Esme, Rose and Emmett had been the same. He could see through Jasper's thoughts that he too had had trouble adjusting. Alice, of course, hadn't known any different as she could not remember her human life, and her early vampire ones had been in the wilderness. She had lived away from such flimsy modern conveniences, such as furniture and houses, though several trees had suffered.

"So, what are you doing here Jacob?" Bella dragged her eyes from the looking glass and looked pointedly at the clasped hands of the wolf and vampire. Jacob ran a hand across the back of his neck, looking sheepish.

"I imprinted." He shrugged and lifted their joined hands.

Bella squealed in delight and ran to hug him. Tanya, not totally understanding their relationship, pushed Jacob behind her, thinking he was being attacked.

Another manifestation of Bella's shield developed as she pushed Tanya away and left herself a clear path to Jacob. This wasn't the overall bubble of a shield that had manifested itself before, it was precise and delicate. Bella jumped on Jacob and hugged him. Edward couldn't read any pain from the young man, so she had already tempered her strength in that way too. He was more and more impressed, and more and more confused. Though actually that could have been Jasper. The civil war veteran had seen thousands of newborn in his time with the vampire wars, and never had he seen anything like Bella's control.

Jacob hugged Bella, but also offered Tanya a hand up. She slowly got to her feet, the electric shock that she had received off the shield had shook her more than Kate's had ever done.

"Sorry." Bella looked contrite.

The rest of the Denali coven, realising that she was not going to escape, had entered the house now and tried to get into the room, but it wasn't really large enough so Edward suggested that they move to the living room on the ground floor.

Once there everyone was astonished at Bella's control as she walked at human pace across the room and lowered herself into a chair.

"Bella," Carlisle still stood at the entrance, "this is Kate, Irina, Eleazar and Carmen."

"Hi!" Bella waved and then lowered her head. Edward knew that if she had still been human that she would be blushing at all the attention.

"Don't you need to hunt?" Irina asked.

"No. Why does everyone think I should be hungry?" Bella asked, a tinge of annoyance in her voice. "After all you only eat a couple of times a week."

"Yes, but newborns usually need feeding several times in the first couple of days." Carlisle explained.

"If it will make you all happy, and stop you asking the same question over and over, then I suppose we should go hunt." She grabbed Edward's hand and turned to exit the house, Edward noticed that her grip wasn't too tight, but before he could comment upon it, Bella was already moving and almost pulled him over.

Through the glass of the huge picture windows she saw something move in the trees, even with enhanced sight it was impossible to see what it was.

"What is that?" she asked, stopping. Edward scanned the area, the natural camouflage of the pack was working well, but he could hear their thoughts.

"It's Sam and Jared, they are here to escort us when we hunt, in case some humans happen to be close by." He explained.

"Well can't Alice see if there are any?" she asked, "I know she usually tells you which direction to find the best game and avoid contact."

"I can't see past the wolves." Alice rubbed her temples, Edward could feel the headache building in her as she tried to push past the influence of the wolves. "Jacob is here all the time now, I'm virtually blind for most of Forks and its surroundings, right to La Push."

"Oh, I forgot." Bella looked down again, evidently upset at forgetting something so important.

"No worries, everything will come back to you in time." Alice assured her. Edward wasn't so sure, most human memories faded quickly after the change, only if something was fundamental to the person did it remain. Like Rose and her revenge, and himself and his music, Carlisle and his wish to heal and Esme and her mothering instinct. However if telling Bella that would enable her to feel more comfortable in herself, he had no qualms about reassuring her with a nod when she looked at him.

"So… where are we heading?" she asked.

"East is probably best. We have a smaller chance of humans and maybe even a carnivore or two." She nodded and then looked down. Esme had dressed her in her favourite pair of jeans and a plain white T-shirt when she had been changing. She bit her lip.

"How likely is it that I will damage my clothes?" she asked.

"Very." He answered succinctly.

"These are my favourite jeans!" she looked at him and then around at the family, evidently she wanted to say something but was unsure what the reaction would be. "If I ruin them, promise me that Alice won't be given the job of buying me new clothes. Sorry Alice, but there's no way in Hell I am going to wear those cocktail dresses you tried to buy me before."

"We can order them online if you want, as you can't go shopping." Esme told her while Alice sulked.

"She would have looked good in them." Alice said in the quick way vampires communicated.

"I can hear you now." Bella said. Emmett laughed and opened the door to the garden. Bella sighed. "Ok, let's get this over with. After you." She gestured for the huge man to go first.

They ran at their normal speed to the river boundary and without faltering the rest of the family jumped the water. Bella paused and then took a deep breath and followed, tightly holding his hand as she did so. Jacob, Sam and Jared swam through the river, unable to make the leap, though they had no trouble keeping up with the 13 vampires as they ran as a unit towards the mountains in the distance. Bella stayed in the middle of the group, Edward at her side.

"This is great!" she exclaimed as she jumped over a fallen tree that was almost 8 feet across. "I haven't tripped or fallen once." Edward laughed to see her so happy.

As they crossed into the wilderness proper the Denali's split off and ran north, Esme, Emmett, Rose, Alice and Jasper ran south, making a corridor for Bella to hunt in. Edward knew that when she allowed her hunting instinct to surface that she would be wary of anyone close to her prey. Even mated vampires seldom made a kill together, especially when they were after carnivores. It was slightly easier with herbivores as the smell was rather unappetising, to say the least.

As the mountain range in the distance came ever closer Edward scented a couple of deer and a mountain lion. A male. He stopped running and Carlisle and Bella stopped as well.

"Close your eyes." He told his wife. "Can you smell it? Can you hear it?" she stood like a statue in the forest, he could tell the second her senses picked up the animals as she lowered into a crouch and growled.

The next second she was stood upright again, a shocked look on her face. "Was that me?" she asked, he looked at her puzzled. "Did I just GROWL?" she asked, and giggled.

He looked at his father who shrugged his shoulders. She just wasn't acting right. As soon as she located her prey the beast inside should have taken over and headed directly for the hapless animal.

"Are you still not thirsty?" he asked.

"Not particularly, I mean I could probably… hunt… if I had to, but I don't really feel the need."

"We would feel better, Bella." Carlisle told her gently.

"Oh well," she closed her eyes again and pointed in the direction of the lion, rather than the deer.

"How far away is he?" Edward asked, not wanting to break her concentration but knowing that this hunt would be a steep learning curve for her.

"About half a mile, that way," she pointed unerringly in the right direction.

"I'm going to stay back," Carlisle told her, she looked at him quizzically. "When you start to hunt properly you will defend your prey from anyone you see as a threat, as your shield allowed only Edward in earlier I think it would be best if only he stays with you." She nodded and took off in the direction of her meal. She wasn't running very fast, in fact not much faster than a human. If Edward didn't know the vampiric nature as well as he did he would say she was reluctant to kill the animal and was trying to allow him to escape.

They broke through the trees into a small glade where a doe and her fawn were lapping water from a small stream. The mountain lion never heard them coming, intent on his own meal rather than trying to avoid becoming one.

As the big cat reared back on his powerful haunches, about to spring, Bella leapt and rolled over with him in her arms, she came quickly to her feet holding him. The herbivores startled and ran away quickly. She held the lion, which was trying to turn his body so he could claw at her with his powerful hind legs. Edward watched, puzzled at the way she held the beast until he realised that she was holding the cat's spine against her front in order to spare her clothes!

"Edward?" she looked up and saw him at the edge of the clearing. "What should I do?"

He looked at her, unable to comprehend how she could not just attack the food in her arms. He shook his head when she continued to look at him for answers.

"Bite into his neck," he reached up and demonstrated on himself where she should sink her teeth. Venom pooled in his mouth as the scent of the lion filled the clearing, heightened by the struggling beast's fear.

Bella lowered her head, the angle was slightly awkward but she finally managed to do as she was told. Blood spurted from the animal, who gave out an almighty bellow and struggled even harder. It was all Edward could do to control his own inner beast as he saw the red, iron rich, fountain spilling towards the ground. She swallowed a couple of mouthfuls and then looked up at him.

"I don't want any more." She told him, "Do you want it?" he was across the clearing and drinking deeply as soon as she asked. His vampire would not be denied. He hadn't hunted for three days and being offered food from his mate was too much to resist.

He gripped the cat, it's struggles now weaker but still enough to shred clothing if he had not known how to avoid it. He drank deeply and quickly, the animal was drained in less than a minute and he looked up just in time to see Bella heading off into the trees.

"Bella?" he shouted and sprinted after her. He could smell now what she had detected, what he had been too occupied to sense. Blood. Human Blood.