Bella POV

I parked my truck behind the oh-so-sexy yet unfamiliar chrome-on-black Nissan Titan. Hopping down and grabbing my bags, I started walking to the front door, figuring that the truck belonged to the person Alice is so anxious for me to meet.

And that's when it hit me. A gust of wind from behind the house slipped past the Titan and hit my face, assaulting my olfactory system. I staggered, dropping my bags, and attempting to grab the edge of the truck bed. Unfortunately, my fingers slipped and, unbeknownst to me, I was falling face first towards the ground; thankfully I was unaware as I was now in a daze due to the scent still coming off the truck.

I came back to my senses a moment later as I felt the rush of wind whipping my hair around my face. Looking up into the face of the person who was carrying me, I gasped as I saw the most beautiful vampire I'd ever seen in my life and, considering that I know Rosalie, the epitome of beauty, that was saying a hell of a lot.

He appeared to be looking at me with the same sense of wonder that I was gazing at him with. I didn't feel embarrassed underneath his intense scrutiny like I usually do; I also noticed that I didn't feel any fear. I knew I should have felt fear while being in the arms of a strangerpire (for lack of knowing his name), much less a strangerpire with gleaming red eyes. All I felt, however, was safe and surprisingly warm in his arms.

At the clearing of someone's throat, the strangerpire straightened so that we were both standing up but didn't remove his arms from around my waist. He smiled softly at me as he swept a few stray strands of hair behind my ear, causing me to shiver slightly and smile in return. He looked towards Jasper, who smiled back at him with a huge grin while I spared a glance at a grinning, giggling, bouncing Alice with a smile probably matching my strangerpire (yes, I just said my strangerpire), when Edward slammed through the front door.

"Get your hands off of my mate right now!" he demanded, much like a petulant child. I looked at him like he was insane while everyone else looked at him in shock, like they'd forgotten all about him. The strangerpire looked back to me with a saddened expression on his face and made a move to release me. I shook my head and grasped his biceps harder.

"I don't know who you are, strangerpire, but please don't let me go. I'm not his mate, I'm just his singer. He's deluded himself into being in love with me when he really just doesn't want to be alone. He won't even change me to be with him forever. He has threated my human family to make me stay with him," I say as quickly and quietly as possible. I was surprised with myself, I could barely even hear my whisper, although Edward still may have heard.

I chanced a glance at him and could tell that he hadn't heard me, but was currently reading the strangerpire. Here comes the rage in five, four, three, two, one…

"Isabella, I don't know why you feel the need to lie to Peter about our relationship, my love, but you know that we're supposed to be together. Don't you love me like I love you? You are my life, my heart, the one link I have left to my soul. Please don't damage that my pet." Edward had a slight smirk on his face, like I was going to be severely hurt later, but I was the only one to notice it.

My eyes were pleading with my strangerpire while my thoughts were racing. So this is Peter, Jasper's brother? I thought he was mated? If so, where is his wife? Maybe they split? I can only hope so, and I can also hope that he can help save me from Edward.

Peter sent one more fleeting glance into my eyes, as if trying to read my soul, then he released me. The feeling of rejection hurt so badly that I almost keeled over until I noticed Alice pulling me backwards as Peter crouched in front of me, protecting me from Edward and growling. I looked to ask her what was going on when she whispered, "Just watch, you'll understand soon enough. Peter knows you were telling him the truth, that's his gift. We don't know how he does but he just knows shit."

Edward was now crouching too, ready to lunge at any second. I hope that Peter's gift was as strong as Edward's, giving him just as much of an advantage over Edward that Edward had over him. I didn't want my beautifulpire to get hurt by the assholepire.

"Edward, if you step one more millimeter towards my mate, I will not hesitate to rip your head off of your shoulders and burn you in your own pyre." Peter looked back at me briefly to wink, then turned back to Edward, who was flustered and stuttering.

Alice took a step towards Edward and said, "Edward, we both knew that you weren't Bella's mate, you saw my vision. I'm sorry that I blocked who her true mate is from you but, if you knew, you would have never allowed her to come here while Peter was visiting, which would result in her never meeting him. She still has free will and, if she so chooses, can be with you; however, you know that she won't. Peter and Bella feel more for each other now than you could ever imagine feeling for her. Please, Edward, just let her go, let her make her own choice like the crown woman that she is instead of treating her like the glass doll that you perceive her to be."

Edward was tense and strained, like he just heard that his entire family had been killed by the Volturi. "Bella, is this what you truly want? To be with a human drinker that you don't even know? How could you do this to me, to us? I thought that the whole reason you came to Italy was because you loved me and wanted to be with me. Please, love, come with me, I'll keep you safe."

I shook my head as I stepped next to Peter. Instead of pushing me behind him in order to protect me like I knew he wanted to (although I have no clue as to how I know this), he stood beside me, like he knew I needed him to. He was already showing me that he was willing to treat me like his equal instead of like someone inferior to him just because I was a human.

"Edward, you know that I do not want to be with you; I was only with you because you threatened the life of my family. You allowed Jasper to believe that my fear of being around you was a fear of being around him. I understand that you love me in some weird, deluded way but I am far from being in love with you. You are no longer the man that I thought I fell in love with. You were right, you are a soulless monster. Not all vampires are, but you definitely fit the bill. Peter may be a human drinker but that does not make him a monster like you believe; that's just a predator feeding on his natural prey. I understand that you wanted to protect me, but that does not mean that you get to make all of the decisions. Stay away from me and stay away from my family."

I hadn't realized that the rest of the family had entered during my mini-speech but I didn't care at that moment. I reached my hand out for Peter's and he took it instinctively, not only as a statement but also as a sign of protection, companionship, equality, and love. I beamed up at Peter just as I heard Edward open the back door to exit the house. I was sure that this wouldn't be the last time that Peter and I heard from him but we would worry about that when the time came; for now, we'd worry about getting to know each other.

A/N: So there you go, Peter and Bella meet and instantly knew that they were mates. I know that it seems a bit quick but, I can promise you, that this is not where the story is going to end and their relationship is going to probably be slow going, even though they know that they are meant for each other and they love each other immensely. I'm definitely not a review whore, but they are always nice. I enjoy the ones that say "Great story!" and "I can't wait for more!" but I also enjoy constructive criticism. If you're going to flame my story because it's not a Bellward story, please just click back on your browser twice. If hate the story, why bother posting a review that you hate it? I'll just use your flame to fuel my bonfire this weekend.

Disclaimer: I do not own any recognized characters or places in this story, they are owned by SM and her affiliates. I just merely borrow them so that I can make them do my bidding.