Hello…

So, I didn't quite see you soon, did I?

Oh, well. This is the last chapter so no more waiting for you all! :) I feel terrible for not updating regularly, but I've been busy and this story has given me such grief… even if it is close and dear to my heart.

I hope I have done this story justice and that you all like the end. I doubt this will ever continue, but if you really liked it… there's a PDF available.

More on that down the bottom…

This, as with all the previous chapters (except chapter 6), is unbeta'd. All mistakes are mine.

**This chapter had to be edited for lemon content. The true version can be read in a PDF if you PM me for a copy!**

See you down there!

As we ran a few miles west, I tried to concentrate on the hunt. I tried to concentrate on finding my mate a suitable meal while ensuring we weren't close enough to the trail for any unfortunate disasters.

It wasn't quite working out. My mind was too focused on what Bella's lost memories could possibly mean for us and our family. How much did she remember? Did she remember her parents? Was her mind completely wiped of everything except for the memories of the two of us because we were mates?

My heart ached at the thought that, were we not mates, she would remember absolutely nothing of her former life. That she would be another Alice. It seemed that way.

"Edward, are we gonna stop anytime soon?" Bella called from ahead, snapping me right out of my thoughts.

I cursed under my breath at myself, and took a quick sweep of the area, immediately relaxing at the lack of humans. At the same time, my mouth filled with venom when I heard the heavy heartbeats of four elk just a mile out. I ignored the scent—an easy thing to do—and focused on my mate instead.

"Sweetheart, stop," I said and Bella did so immediately, flitting to my side. I softly gripped her elbows. "Close your eyes," I breathed, smiling in spite of myself when her breathing hitched as she did as I asked. "Focus, love," I commanded softly, fighting back a smirk as she closed her eyes, squared her shoulders, and took a deep breath.

"Take a deep breath and then tell me what you smell." She seemed nervous as she opened her mouth just a little and breathed in. Her muscles tensed and the sound of her teeth gnashing together as her jaw clenched and she snarled rung through the otherwise silent air. I tightened my hold on her, stopping her from going after the elk as the breeze swept their scent right to where we were standing.

"Not yet," I breathed. "Soon, love. How many are there? Take another breath if you need to."

She bit her lip, her eyes narrowing as she concentrated. All of a sudden, her eyes snapped to mine. "Four."

I smiled. "Very good, my love… and where are they?"

She was silent for half a second. When she answered me, I could hear, see and feel her excitement. "A mile out, north…" she took another breath "…west."

The right corner of my lip turned up into a smile. "Perfect. Now go; I'll keep my distance. Take as many of them as you want. They are all for you."

She was gone from in front of me as soon as I let go of her. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes as I swallowed back the venom. Then I followed after her, slowly at first so as to not interrupt her hunt.

I reached her just in time to see her stop a few yards away from the bunch of elk. She crouched, her top lip curling up over her teeth as she snarled. Slowly, she stalked forward, closing in for the kill.

I leaned against the tree and as I watched her, the electrical charge that we had always felt between us seemed to heighten.

In an instant, I was enraptured. There was something about her as she sprang on the elk, hissing, growling and snarling as she fought for dominance over the beast, winning easily. Our next movements were instinct driven and quick as I pinned her to the tree, the two of us separate no longer as we became one, marking the other forever.

~oOo~

I had no idea how much time had passed, but it was dark when we finally untangled ourselves from one another. We had claimed each other multiple times now, adding a few more bite marks to the growing tally and both of us had had our fill of the elk surrounding us.

For now, we were finally sated.

My mate was happy as we walked slowly, hand in hand, back toward home. I knew that I needed to speak to her about what was awaiting her back home—namely a family that loved her, a family she did not remember.

I was unsure of how to broach the subject. Naturally, newborn vampires were very alert, very suspicious and very territorial. They did not react kindly to unknown vampires encroaching on what they deemed their territory. For my love, that would namely be me.

"Edward," Isabella whispered and I looked down to see her watching me, a concerned from marring the perfect features of her face.

I smiled, trying to reassure her, but her brow only creased more. I sighed and stopped walking, halting her as she turned toward me. I wrapped my arms around her waist and leaned my forehead against hers.

"I must speak to you about something," I began in a quiet whisper. "And I have no idea how you are going to take it."

Bella swallowed, her hand flitting up to cup my cheek. I purred and leaned into her touch, the electricity between us impossible to resist. After a moment, she dropped her hand and I opened my eyes.

"What is it?" she whispered softly.

I sighed again. I'd been doing that a lot these past few days. "Love, you… the reason you were changed is…" I swallowed, my throat closing up and guilt hitting me hard. I was the reason she was unable to say a true goodbye to her family.

Bella wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me on the lips, rubbing her cheek against mine. "You are so tense, my Edward. Calm, breathe, and speak."

I swallowed and nodded, breathing deeply once. "You were sick," I said softly, squashing the guilt. I needed to simply say the words—the sooner, the better. As I continued, I kept the details of Alice and the others out of the story—chances were that the mention of other vampires… especially females… would only make her irrational and territorial. "I found you unconscious in your bed and quickly brought you back to the room you woke up in. I injected my venom into you via a syringe, straight into your heart."

"What was wrong with me?" Bella interrupted, asking the one question I had wished she would not.

I cleared my throat needlessly. "You… my darling, do you remember why I was changed? What I had?"

She frowned for a moment before nodding. "Um, yeah… you had the Spanish Influenza, right?"

I nodded. "That's right. Well, apparently, the disease is in my venom and when we made love, I accidentally gave the disease to you. If you had been a vampire, it would not have affected you and it won't now. But, because you were human, it did. You nearly died because you had the same disease that I did in my dying months nearly one hundred years ago."

Bella took a deep breath, watching me for a moment. "There's something you're not telling me."

I sighed, my fingers pulling at my hair—a nervous tendency I had picked up from my father. "The virus affected you in a way it had not affected me. It… because of the high temperature you had whilst changing… it caused you to lose some of your memories."

My mate laughed, shaking her head. "No it didn't, Edward; I have all of my memories."

I shook my head. "No, you do not – you only have the ones concerning me. Tell me, my darling, who changed me? Whose house did you wake up in? What are the names of your parents and what do they look like?"

Bella opened her mouth to answer me, only to frown as she realized that she could not. Her eyes widened in shock and she swallowed, whimpering as she looked up at me. "What… Edward, what…"

I pulled her into my arms tightly and she clung to me. "Shh, my mate… it is all right."

She whimpered and shook in my arms. "But I don't even know them and they do, Edward! What am I going to do?"

I leaned back and grasped her chin gently, pulling it up so I could look into her eyes and she into mine. "Isabella, our family loves you. They welcomed you once, and supported you as you grew used to our family and our world… they can and will do it again. The bonds are already there; all you have to do is rediscover them."

She swallowed. "Is there any chance that…" she faltered, but I caught the gist of what she wished.

"We do not know, sweetheart," I told her softly, caressing her cheeks and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "It is always possible, but we do not know for sure."

She swallowed and sighed, pulling away from me. "Ok. Let's go meet the family… again."

I smiled and kissed her softly on the lips. "If you wish, my love."

And as we walked toward our family, I knew that somehow everything was going to be fine. I had my mate forever, we loved each other. I knew that these coming months would not be easy as my mate regained the relationships she had formed with the members of our family. But somehow—just somehow—I felt that perhaps this was for the better.

And I knew that even through the difficult times, above all else, our love would shine through.

So that's the end. I hope you liked it – I know I did. This has been an amazing journey – the only thing I'm sorry about is how long it took between updates. That was inexcusable.

I would like to thank everyone who reviewed, favourited or alerted. And Lorraine for making me get back to this story... ;) Without her, I would not be updating tonight.

Now, back to the news up the top about a PDF. There is one available right now of this whole story. So, if you want a copy, please email me at bexie dot fanfiction at hotmail com

Please check out my other stories if you want. :)

And please review this last chapter…

Thank you…

bexie25