AN: This chapter is going to establish a few things before we get to their mission, it's a bit of a filler chapter. I've included it because it outlines Bella's training with blood lust and imitating humans. The next chapter will be more interesting, I promise.

Stephanie Meyer owns twilight

CHAPTER 2

BPOV

The trip into town was more exciting than I thought it would be, I had only seen these roads while human. We passed a scorched area; tree trunks were blackened and the earth around it had charred. Green shoots had started growing "that was where the newborns attacked, wasn't it?" I asked, Char nodded "we loaded up your old car with the vampire body parts and set it on fire. Emergency services arrived less than five minutes later and Pete called to report you and Charlie missing, they put two and two together and your deaths became official."

Seeing the accident site hit me hard, I knew Charlie and I were dead to the human world, but seeing this made it too real. "Has anyone checked on my mom?" I asked, J spoke quietly "Sue called her to offer her condolences." He paused warring with himself "just tell me J."
"Your mom's pregnant" I felt a spike of happiness, J continued "it's a girl, they're going to call her Bella-"
"Mom's calling another kid Isabella?" I gaped. He shook his head "no, they're just going to call her Bella."
"Oh. I don't know how I feel about that." I said. J smiled sadly "actually you're feeling uncomfortable, sad and excited for your mom." I rolled my eyes "thanks smart arse." He shrugged, happy to feel my amusement. Damn Empath.

The first few houses came into view, J slowed the car. "Deep slow breaths, honey. Focus your mind." The smell of humans hit me, my blood lust rose, but so did my disgust. Dad's taste aversion worked well. I kept my control, my throat burned but it was manageable. Char turned and smiled "great work, Bella."
"We'll head further into town, keep doing what you're doing honey" J said, smiling at me through the rearview mirror.

The scent grew stronger, but while my throat burned the disgust held my blood lust in check. "She's amazing J." I heard Char whisper, J smiled at me through the mirror and sent me his pride. We drove for another twenty minutes, the scent of humans had plateaued. We were stuck in peak hour traffic. Hundreds of heart beats thudded around me, my focus waivered and venom pooled in my mouth. Char looked at me, her face creased with worry. I shook my head at her, hoping to signal her not to intervene. I swallowed and concentrated on my emotions, namely the disgust. The burn of my throat dimmed slightly and I kept inhaling. "That was amazing Bella!" Char grinned at me, "did you see that J? She totally kicked its arse!"

We circled the town and took the backstreets back home. J parked the car in the outskirts of town and opened my door "your turn" he smiled at me. I gently maneuvered myself behind the wheel and ran my hands gently over the leather of the steering wheel. "Before you start the car, hold the steering wheel as loosely as you hold a pen, underneath the leather is plastic, apply that to level of pressure and you shouldn't break anything." Char twisted in her seat next to me. "I'm going to tap to your foot, keep in mind the pressure I apply, it's what pressure you should apply to the pedals." She moved her legs over the center console. I felt a very slight pressure. "Now try to use that pressure on my foot" I mirrored the pressure on her foot, she winced. I let up and held my foot when she exhaled in relief "that's it. Now lift up and try again." I tapped her lighter and she nodded in approval. I tried a couple more times and got the hang of it.

I slowly turned the key, the engine purred to life, I tapped the accelerator as light as I could. The car rolled forward, I increased the pressure very slightly and was soon driving at the speed limit. The burn in my throat dimmed further as I focused on my body and the feel of the car. All too soon we reached the dirt road, I slowed the car and got used to the change in sensation.

We were near the end of our driveway now. I gently tapped on brake and steered the car into my parking spot and turned it off. I calmly got out of the car and squealed in victory. "I did it!" The others came outside and congratulated me.

I followed dad into the kitchen, J followed close by. Dad stirred a pot on the stove, "pig's blood?" I asked "nah, this is cow. It's the same recipe I made for your first feed." He handed me a cup, the cow's blood held a sour taste but the spiciness of the herbs complimented it. I gulped it down and put the cup in the sink, dad started laughing at me "you got a little blood 'stache going on there Bells" I licked my upper lip, J's shoulders were shaking as he tried to suppress his laughter. I poked my tongue out at him "you're lucky your cute" I teased J and headed into the lounge room, dad was still laughing.

"So what's next on the blood lust agenda?" I asked the room at large, Rose looked at Char and announced "shopping!" I groaned "my choice, right?"
"Of course. You're running low on clothes. We'll head out tomorrow when J and Pete go to meet the Volturi at the airport. We're just going to get some basics and see how you do while in close contact with humans." Char said. "As long as we take it slow I'll manage." I told at my aunties.

"Now, let's see how you go at mirroring human behavior." Pete requested, I stood up slowly, estimating the speed of my movements. I hadn't seen any of the humans sit or stand since I was one, it was difficult to judge. I headed to the end of the room and walked the length of it keeping my steps measured. Rose came over "you were a little fast getting up, but your walk was perfect. A couple of things I recommend when walking amongst humans; keep your posture straight, move your hips more and always look like you're on your way to something important. It's important to seem unattainable, the less human contact you have the easier it'll be to blend in." She said.

"What if someone tries to talk to me?" I asked. Rose smiled and answered me. "Keep your responses monosyllabic, look away a lot and glare at your phone. If that doesn't work, gently pushed past them, be a bitch if you have to. Hell, be a bitch for shits and giggles." Rose smirked. "I learn from the best" I sang, I bumped her shoulder and laughed.

"Now, watch me and try to mirror what I do." She instructed. Her hips swayed with each step, I matched her pace "good, now look up and walk with your shoulders back, stick out those boobs."
"Rose, my dad and uncles are in the room-"
"Just do it." She barked. I straightened just like she taught me, "use your peripheral vision as much as you can so you can stay aware of your surroundings, avoid moving your head and eyes, it lends to the illusion that you're too busy to deal with idiots." I took a few more paces, we'd nearly completed a circuit of the room. She stopped and walked behind me, her hands on my hips, guiding them with each step "try and maintain the swing, you won't fall." She removed her hands and I kept walking "looking good, Bella, keep going"
"Rose I feel ridiculous."
"Well you don't look it, so shut up and keep going" she slapped my arse and moved to sit down. I used to peripheral vision to watch J, he was smirking and watching my butt. Men.

After a few more circuits Char called me over "let's work on sitting down and getting up." She did a few repetitions, I copied her. This was easy. She showed me the correct way to stand up and sit down in a dress or skirt and how to get in and out of a car gracefully. "Why do I need to know this?" I asked, Char rolled her eyes. "Bella, you've seen the covers of those trashy magazines, ladies today have no idea how to get out of a car the right way, there are too many up skirt pictures out there, many of the ones published are of starlets going commando. There's no need to reenact that scene from Basic Instinct." She said. I shuddered and practiced with her.

Rose sped up stairs and came down with a white shoebox. "I know you won't like this, but it's something we have to teach you" she opened the box, there was a simple black pair of heels. "This style is a kitten heel, it's the one you should aim for if you ever have to buy high heels." She put them on my feet "now, your weight is going to be concentrated on the heel so you need to be mindful of your weight distribution, you don't want to break the shoes or the floor. When you get up, at human speed, keep your weight on your toes then gently rock back on your heels. Try to keep your weight balanced between the toes and your heels. Give it a go." I slowly stood up, wobbling slightly, this was strange. I kept my weight on my toes and rocked back slowly, the heels snapped. "Shit!"

"Don't sweat it. We have plenty to practice with, move your center of gravity, keeping it on the middle of your arch-" Em interrupted Rose "I have an idea that could work!" I took off the heels and followed him into the game room. He pressed a few buttons and brought out a white plastic board. "This is the Wii fit, it has a balancing game that shows you where your center of gravity is, if you try it without the heels you may be able to get it right."
"That's brilliant Em!" Rose beamed.

"Won't I break it if I step too hard?" I asked. Pete shrugged. "You will, but we've reinforced it a little. Step on lightly and see how you go, we have plenty of replacements." He loaded up the yoga exercises and pointed at the screen "this one helps you work on your center of gravity while keeping your balance." I gingerly stepped onto the pad, and gently dragged my other foot on to the board, keeping my weight as even as possible. "Good job, kid." Emmett smiled. The screen showed a demonstration, I matched my speed to the demonstration. The screen changed to a view of the board and a green dot appeared off center "that's what your weight distribution looks like, try to move it to the center of the cross."

I'd overshot the mark several times and was getting flustered. "You're moving too fast, kid. Take a deep breath, close your eyes and try to estimate where the green dot is."
"Like pin the tail on the donkey?" I joked. Emmett laughed. I followed his instructions and opened my eyes when I was in position. "See! You did it, I have to say I think your clumsiness as a human could have been brought on by you overthinking your movements. You were concentrating too hard and missed out the warnings your body gave you telling you, you were off balance. Now try again."

I successfully corrected my balance five times in a row, Rose handed me another pair of kitten heels "now give it a go, try it on the Wii fit just like you did before." The heels didn't snap, I gently stepped of the board and circuited the room at normal human speed. "Good, now straighten your back and swing those hips." Rose ordered. I was a little wobbly for the first few steps, but got the hang of it. Char smirked at Rose and ran upstairs. I moved to the chair, maintaining my human speed and movements, and sat down just as Char had taught me. Who knew walking was so tedious.

Char returned and took off the kitten heels "I'll leave these in your closet with a couple more pairs, you never know when you'll need them." She pulled out another white shoe box and opened it, "these heels are average height, it'll take some getting used to, but you've done well so far, especially with Emmett's instruction on the Wii." She slipped the matte black heels onto my feet, I stood up carefully and wobbled. I took a few deep breaths a cleared my mind. I shifted my weight until it felt similar to the kitten heels and took a step. Success!

I took a few more steps getting used to the feel of the shoes. In no time I was keeping my posture straight and swinging my hips just as Rose instructed. "Good work, now try sitting down and standing up." I sat down slowly, keeping my weight balanced between my toes and heels. I reversed the movement and stood up. I repeated standing up and sitting down with no damage to the shoes or the floor. Rose brought down another pair of shoes, "these are five inch pumps, once you've mastered these, you've mastered heels completely."

Within the hour I was given permission to quit for the night. I could now walk in anything with a heel. I vowed to avoid them at all cost, just because I'd gotten used to them and would be able to recall the exact movements and distribution of weight didn't mean I'd liked them.

We turned in for the night. I showered with J, keeping things innocent considering my dad was next door, and we lay down. Our hands roamed over each other, we kissed and cuddled occasionally, relishing the feel of skin against skin. As dawn approached J sat up "I've had an idea, once we've completed our mission do you want to rent a hotel for the weekend?"
"You mean one away from the family?" I asked, he nodded cautiously "fuck yeah" I breathed. I tugged him back on the bed and kissed him "it's too early to get up, let's lie down for a couple more hours." He smiled and tucked me into his arms.

At nine am we finally decided to join the others. We dressed and packed a bag, all we needed was a couple of changes of clothes. "What happens if our cloaks get damaged or dirty?" I asked. "They're pretty easy to clean and maintain, the guard treat the material with protective spray, dirt and venom just wipe right off. Besides, these cloaks are only for this mission, the guard have a constant influx of replacement robes."
"What about our pendants, they could be ripped off."
"The titanium is strengthened with vampire ash and werewolf venom, there is a weakened link at the back so if an attacker grabs hold of it it'll break in a specific part and not decapitate us, it's easily fixed. Felix's always breaks, he just ends up using it as a garrote, its effective too, he's decapitated quite a few enemy combatants that way."

We made our way down stairs, Charlie forced me to drink two cups of the enriched cows blood he'd made up yesterday. I was feeling overly full as Char, Rose and I headed into the city to shop.

Rose turned to me from the front passenger seat. "So, dear niece, how are things going with J?" I didn't rise to the bait, the wolves had cured me of my embarrassment. "Good, but I can't help but feel that everyone's cockblocking us." I said casually. Rose grimaced "I keep expecting you to blush for look embarrassed" She said. I shrugged, "I spent a lot of time with the wolves, they phase naked so their clothes aren't destroyed. I got over my shyness very quickly."
"Damnit. Well there goes my fun." Rose complained.

Char rolled her eyes at Rose "regardless of Rose's feelings on the matter I still want details, how far have you gone? What's he like in bed?"
"You do realize he's effectively your cousin" I smirked, she shook her head "don't care, Rose and I have been mated for decades, let us live vicariously in the new love." Rose cringed at her "Char, he's practically my brother. I don't want to know too much about him." An evil idea popped into my head, Rose couldn't make me cringe, but I could make her cringe. I cackled evilly. Char turned to look at me and I covertly nodded in Rose's direction, she caught on quickly.

"Come on Bella, we want details." Char winked. "Well, we haven't done much, it's hard to when we're in a house full of vampires and my father lives in the room next door. But we shower together and engaged in a little dry humping." Rose turned her concentration to the scenery outside the car and tried to tune out our conversation. "Is he big?" Char asked. I nodded "a good eight inches, it's not that veiny either. The skin looks really smooth."
"Uh huh, is he cut?" Char asked, I shook my head, smirking.

"So, you haven't had sex with him?" Char asked. I met her eyes in the rear view mirror. "Nope, I'm still a virgin. It's a struggle, I can't wait till he's buried in me to the hilt."
"Oh yeah, balls deep." Char nodded in approval. Rose turned on the radio and we burst out laughing, she caught on to what we were doing "you bitches!" I batted my eyelashes at her, "Whatever do you mean, Aunty Rose?" I said, feigning innocence. Her laughter joined our own.

There were plenty of parking spots in the undercover parking garage. It was a week day so fewer people would be around. We stuck to the main corridor and the shadows to avoid sparkling, it was easy to keep my blood lust under control, I practically sloshed from dad over feeding me. The humans smelled nice and my throat burned a little, but I was no danger to them. A small child ran past and fell over, skinning his knee. Char and Rose grabbed my hands in preparation, the blood didn't bother me. I was overfull and enjoying the trip away from home.

We passed a shoe store and I froze, my eyes zeroed in on a pair of cherry red, lace up, knee high boots with a flat sole. I wasn't usually into shoes, but these were so pretty. Rose and Char joined me "they'd suit you, Bells. We should look around, try on a few pairs." Rose said as she led me into the store and asked for a pair of those boots in my size "they also come in green and black as well as red." The shop assistant offered. I nodded and tried on the pair of red boots she brought out, they fit like a glove. I set them aside and requested a green pair as well.

I headed towards Char, she stood in front of a wall of cowboy boots. She leaned over and whispered conspiratorially "J has a thing for cowboy boots and I know he has a pair very similar to these" she held up a black pair with silver and gold stitching "I like them, I'll get a pair in my size added to the others." I said. We headed over to Rose "what do you think of these?" She held out a foot clad in a bright red ankle boot "they look good" I said to her. I spotted a pair of heels along the back wall and headed over to them, they were red tartan kitten heels with black lace around the toe and heel. I found a box of them in my size in the stack below the shelf. "I'm surprised Bells, they're gorgeous. You haven't chosen a single ballerina flat or trainers." Rose eyed my stack on the counter. "I must be getting sick" I joked.

We loaded our purchased in the car and headed back inside. We stopped at a few clothing shops and picked up some more yoga pants and tank tops. I added in a few shirts, long sleeved t-shirts and some jeans and tank tops for J and I. We kept looking through the racks and I saw a dress at the back of the store. It was red, sleeveless and fell a few inches above the knee, a thin black belt cinched the waist. It would be perfect for my new heels. I folded it over my arm with the other clothes and headed to the counter to pay. Rose and Char joined me shortly after, I held up the dress to show them and smiled as they nodded their approval.

After another lap of the non-sunlit shops we headed back home. Rose sat in the back staring out the window quietly, I was in the passenger seat next to Char who was driving. I turned to Char and gestured to Rose, she subtly shrugged her shoulders. I turned to Rose "what are you thinking about?" I asked, she broke out of her thoughts "it's hard to believe you're the same person I met in Forks, you've changed a lot. I like the new you." Her voice softened at the end. I shrugged "I did a lot of growing up after you guys left. I realized how wrong things had been, Pete and Char helped me loosen up and fall in with a good crowd; the wolves."

"Do you remember much about your human life?" She asked. "A fair bit, enough to realize moving to Forks was the smartest decision I ever made. I'd been too serious growing up, I had to be the parent when I lived with mom. She was useless; I paid the bills, cleaned, cooked, got a job to help pay for groceries. I did everything while mom flitted from fad to fad. There were quite a few times I had to talk her out of dangerous situations; sky diving was the last thing I talked her out of, I even had to talk her out of dating a few guys she set her eyes on. Thankfully Phil came on the scene and leveled her out. I got tired of hearing them fuck and decided to move in with dad."

"Do you resent her?" Char asked gently. I shrugged. "Looking back on it I do, she should have either left me with dad or got her act together. I saw how it left me vulnerable to a lot of things. I never fit in with my age group, I fell for the wrong guy, I was insecure and read books about doomed romance. I don't like the old me that much." I said, frowning "I can't complain though, it lead me to my mate and my family, it brought me closer to dad. I guess Pete's right, sometime the bad things lead to good."

"It makes sense that you accepted us so easily" Rose spoke quietly "to the outside world we looked like the perfect family." I nodded and added; "I was easily manipulated by Edward and Alice" I asked a question that had been irritating me "do you think they knew I was supposed to be J's mate?" Rose shook her head "I doubt it, you and J were completely different to how you are now. You were both being clouded by the past and were easily led by Alice and Edward, they're charismatic and know how to use their gifts to hook people. I doubt Alice would have known about you and J, her power is based on decisions, not fate. I doubt she knew what was destined."

We arrived shortly before four PM. Em and Dad were in the kitchen mixing together some blood. Dad grinned at me as we walked into the kitchen "how did you go?" He asked, I smiled "really well, I even kept in control when a little kid fell over and skinned his knee." I told them. "That's awesome" Em boomed with pride. Dad smiled wider and said; "J and I have been talking, he's interested in trying out the taste aversion to increase his control."
"Is he struggling?" I asked dad in concern. "No, he's a hard worker, the blood lust doesn't control him as much as he thought it would, but he'd still like to train a little, I'm going to see if the others want to join." Dad said. I nodded, it'd be nice to work with them.

Char walked in and handed me a duffle bag "you should pack a few of the new clothes. Charlie, Em and Rose will drive our luggage as we run ahead of them. You can hide the duffle in the boot and surprise J" she winked at me. "Will there be enough room?" I asked. "Yep, we're each only taking three pairs of clothes and a couple of extra shoes. On our mission we'll be wearing boots, yoga pants and t-shirts under our cloaks. We only need to change when we're in contact with the human world. Charlie's bringing an urn, a cooler for the blood and some herbs, we'll have plenty of room for one small duffle bag. Now get a move on J and Pete be back soon with the Volturi." She said.

I raced into the walk in closet in Pete and Char's room and put a couple of nice shirts and jeans into the bag. Char walked in and handed me a bag from the back. "Victoria Secret?" I asked in confusion. She nodded "put in that red dress and those heels you brought too" I looked into the bag of lingerie, Char had chosen some nice stuff. There were simple but elegant night gowns and matching bras and underwear. I hugged her "thanks, Char" she smiled "there's a few boxer briefs in there for J as well. Once we're done I'll arrange for a few days at a hotel for you two, you're newly mated and deserve sometime alone." Char said. "Thanks, we're getting pretty desperate" I snickered. Char pushed me out the door "hurry, they'll be here any minute." I ran at full speed and gently opened the boot. I stuffed the duffle bag into the back of the boot.

I'd just joined dad in the kitchen when I heard a large SUV pull up with dad's truck "huh, so that's how the guard will transport their luggage" I murmured, Emmett nodded. I looked at the pot on the stove "what's on the menu tonight?"
"Em caught a couple of bears, there's the blood of one in here and the rest is in the cooler. I know you've already fed, but I'll put aside a thermos for later." Dad said.

The guard came in, chatting with the others. Only Jane, Alec, Felix and Demitri had come, Maggie must be with Sulpicia or her coven. I waved to them as they eyed the pot on the stove. "You guys thirsty?" Dad asked, Jane answered "a little, we were on our private jet, but flying is still irritating, even without humans on board."

Dad smiled and started to hand out cups, the guard smiled as they drank. "This is amazing, Charlie, what's in it?" Alec asked. "This is bear with a few herbs to enrich the blood. Apparently its better than human" he said. Alec agreed; "it is, filling too. Master Aro has expressed interest in trying your cooking, I hope you don't mind?"
"Of course not Alec, I only use animal blood in cooking, I hope he won't mind."
"Not at all, he was intrigued with our experience of palatable pig's blood. Aro is the head of research and development in our coven, he's been trying to synthesize blood to make it easier for our kind to feed without killing humans. I'm afraid he hadn't been open to changing his diet previously, Carlisle was too pushy and the flavor leaves a lot to be desired."
"I can understand that, Uncle Pete and Aunt Charlotte are still human drinkers, although they do supplement their diet with my concoctions. From what J told me animal blood by itself isn't satisfying and can weaken you, I can't begrudge your kind for sticking to the traditional diet, but I'm happy to hear that the Masters are interested in an alternative food source."