Bella POV

The wolf nodded, lowering its head a bit. Its black eyes seemed more than animalistic. They seemed to hold emotion that only a sentient being could know, and so I recognized this wolf as one of the shifters. But Jake? The Jake who had gone after Ren? The Jake who…who I wanted to know so much more about? This Jake, he felt familiar. Had I known him before? Just who exactly was he to me?

"Jake?" Ren repeated, not moving. She seemed a bit wary, and her eyes flicked from the wolf to me, and back and forth several times. Her fluttering heart was racing even faster than it usually did, and her nervousness was so obvious that I could practically smell it.

The wolf whined again, proving my daughter right. Then, unexpectedly, Renesmee screamed and threw the nearest vase straight into the wolf's face. The creature howled, rubbing its paws against its snout, both now covered in glass shards. Renesmee shrieked again, hurtling towards the wolf and pushing him into the nearest wall. Cracks formed from the impact, but the house held stable. Jake didn't move, just stayed still and shuttered in pain. I could smell his disgusting blood, and I was sure at least a few of his bones were broken. I would actually be surprised if Ren had escaped without any fractures herself.

"Now listen here," Ren hissed. "If you touch me again, I will make sure you feel pain so much worse than this that you would rather die."

Jake whimpered, and the look he gave Ren was completely unreadable to me. It was filled with—I don't even know what it was filled with.

The world in chaos around me, I took a second to focus on my surroundings. Something seemed different, off. The air smelled only of wet dog and sickening blood, covering all other scents. Screams from Ren and light growls from the vampires met my ears, Jake's low cries coming next. The disturbance wasn't inside then. I glanced out the window, searching. Tall trees were sprouted around the Cullen house, helping to hide whatever was intruding. Nothing seemed unusual. The culprit knew how to hide expertly. I reached out to the unbroken window I had turned to, touching the smooth surface with one fingertip. Something was out there. I just knew it.

"I—I can't forgive you," Ren went on, rambling now, her upset obvious. I had mostly tuned her out, but at this point she had begun to get more frantic. "I won't—I won't!"

I glanced at her from the corner of my eye, watching as she broke down in front of the man—well wolf—who had almost raped her. I knew I should be more concerned for her, but she could handle herself. I was distracted anyway. Something was there. Did no one else notice?

The Cullens seemed to be more troubled by Renesmee's breakdown than by the fact we were being watched. How dumb could they be? I hissed out of irritation, hoping to catch their attention. Rosalie was the only one who looked, or should I say glared? She narrowed her eyes, flipped her hair over her shoulder, and turned away.

I snarled openly at her, venom filling my mouth in anger. I made a decision then. I jumped out one of the broken windows, ready to confront the intruder. Wasn't I just recently an intruder to this place as well? What was happening to me…?

I wasn't sure why none of the others could sense the strange presence, but it was all I could focus on. It was strange and unique, and it reminded me distinctly of Ren. I'd never met another of her species though, so it couldn't be possible for a half-vampire to be wandering around Forks. The person who watched us didn't seem to be evil, but I was still disturbed by the fact that they were there at all.

Finally I was close enough that I could smell the person. I wasn't sure if they knew I was there yet, but they would soon. The smell was masculine. The woodsy scent overwhelmed my nose with the smell of grass, soil, and the sweet smell every vampire had. What really caught my attention though was the appetizing, but not too appetizing, scent that wafted off the being. This person…smelled both of human and vampire. Could it really be another half-breed?

With quick speed, I tackled the intruder to the ground. He seemed shocked by this, but he didn't fight. The man looked foreign, brown hair, brown eyes, brown skin. But that inhuman beauty was right underneath the otherwise human appearance. I just stared for a moment longer, unable to comprehend the possibility of this.

"I won't run," he told me, staying still. "You can let me up."

I hissed, not moving. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"You don't," he answered simply.

I narrowed my eyes, but did as he asked. I stayed close though, prepared to tackle him once again if he bolted. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard there was another half-breed here," he explained. "I've never met anyone like myself other than my sisters. I was intrigued, and I had to see."

"How did you find out about her?" I questioned, worried now. If he knew, then the Volturi could know, and that would be the end of us.

"Alice," he said. "We've been friends for a long time."

That comforted me slightly. At least no one else knew. But what would I do with him? I didn't even know his name. Could I really trust this stranger? For all I knew, he could kill us all. He was a threat, but at the same time he didn't appear too threatening. And Alice trusted him. That had to be worth something.

He interrupted my thoughts then, saying," I guess I've got a lot of explaining to do."