Chapter 46

The jet touched down smoothly on the wet Seattle tarmac. It was cloudy and drizzly outside, and I heard the gentle pitter-patter of raindrops on the cockpit windshield, really just another day in the Pacific Northwest. As Demetri taxied the sleek aircraft to its designated spot, he glanced over at me and asked, "Are you absolutely certain you don't want me to accompany you? I can introduce myself to your father."

I smiled at him and rubbed his hand as he finished guiding the jet to its terminal and shut off the engines.

"You know how much I'd like that, but I've told you about the local shape-shifters. Why antagonize them when it's not necessary? I still want to visit Forks while I can, and I don't want them making it difficult for me because of their dumb prejudices. Hopefully, we can arrange for you to meet Charlie in California. I'll do my best to convince him to visit me this year. As I've mentioned before, he's not keen on leaving his home often."

Demetri nodded in understanding, and I loved him all the more for listening to my wishes and respecting my decisions. I wasn't afraid of Jake or his little wolfy friends, but I had no desire to hurt them, and hurt them I would if they attempted to harm Demetri. After witnessing what happened to Chelsea, I wasn't going to let anything happen to him.

Demetri escorted me to the main passenger terminal, where we exchanged numerous kisses and hugs. He whispered in my ear, promising to visit me in California soon, which brought a smile to my face. I watched him walk away until he disappeared from view, and then I turned and walked outside to hail a taxi for the long drive to Forks. Money was thankfully no longer a concern for me, as Demetri had provided me with a credit card on the Volturi's account. Initially, I had objected and didn't want to take it, feeling like I hadn't earned it yet. However, he convinced me of its practicality, and by the middle of my freshman year, I had relented and agreed. While I didn't use it for personal items, it was undeniably helpful for travel and other necessities, sparing me the burden of financial concerns.

Sitting in the back of the taxi, I admired the little stuffed unicorn hanging from the cabby's rearview mirror. I noticed its tiny horn glittering in the sunlight, and this made me gaze out the window, where I beheld a beautiful sight. I couldn't help but wonder if it was a good omen; not only had the sun broken through the clouds, but I also spotted a bright rainbow arching over my quiet little town. It was, I think, the first rainbow I had ever seen here. As we passed the "Welcome to Forks" sign, I couldn't shake the feeling that this would be a great visit. However, when we turned onto the street with Charlie's house, I realized I probably should have called ahead before coming, but it was too late now. Hopefully, Charlie would be home.

The taxi came to a stop in front of the house, and I was relieved to see the squad car parked in the driveway. After settling the fare and giving the driver an extra big tip, I thanked him for undertaking the long drive. He handed me my suitcase, and I began the walk up the driveway. As I looked around, I appreciated the comforting sense of home that the surroundings provided. While growing up, Forks and Charlie's house had always felt like foreign entities to me. It seemed that Forks had been spared a harsh winter so far, as there was just a light dusting of snow on the ground. Reaching the front door, I knocked. It swung open shortly after, revealing the shocked face of my father.

"Bella?" Charlie's voice held a tinge of confusion, his surprise evident in his eyes.

"Hey, Dad. Merry Christmas," I replied, placing my suitcase down and stepping closer to embrace him warmly.

"Merry Christmas," Charlie stammered, returning the hug. As I pulled back a few seconds later, I noticed the uncertainty in his expression, which was quite unlike him. I hadn't expected my visit to be this much of a shock.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" I teased, a smirk on my face.

"Oh, ahh... of course. Come in, Bells," Charlie said, stepping aside to let me in. I walked through the doorway and took a moment to glance around the house. I was quite pleased with how clean everything looked; it appeared much nicer than when I first came to live with him last year. As I peeked around the corner into the living room, I was surprised to see a well-decorated, large Christmas tree, fully adorned with all the bells and whistles. This threw me a little; when we celebrated Christmas last year, we only had two stockings hanging from the mantle above the fireplace.

I was just about to comment on it to him when I heard a voice from upstairs yell, "Who was at the door, dear?" My eyes grew wide, and I turned to Charlie, noticing the redness filling his cheeks as he blushed something awful.

"Dad?" I said with an amused smile.

Charlie looked mightily embarrassed, although there was no reason for him to be. Finally, he called out, "Heather, can you come down here? There's someone I'd like you to meet."

Could it be that Charlie had finally found himself a girlfriend? It certainly seemed like it. I couldn't have been happier for him as I watched attentively while a woman came down the staircase. I observed the smile on Charlie's face, a smile like I had never seen on him before. As she reached his side, she turned to me with interest, and Charlie said, "Heather, I'd like you to meet my daughter, Bella."

"How lovely. I was hoping to meet you one day. Charlie talks about you all the time. I'm Heather," she said with a friendly smile. Heather appeared to be about Charlie's age, maybe a few years younger. She had curly black hair that reached the tops of her shoulders and wore glasses. I couldn't help but notice that she seemed very at ease in Charlie's house.

"It's very nice to meet you, Heather. Maybe we can go sit down and get to know each other, as I'm afraid my dad hasn't mentioned you at all to me. I can't understand it, as you must know how much he enjoys talking about his personal life," I said with a friendly smile. That got a lighthearted chuckle out of Heather. Yes, she appeared to know Charlie quite well.

I quickly walked into the living room and made a point of sitting in Charlie's chair, allowing him to share the sofa with Heather. As they both settled down, sitting rather close to each other, I turned my gaze to Charlie, ready for the conversation to begin.

"Well, Bells, I met Heather last year. She moved here to take over the job of bank manager after the Mallory's moved away shortly after you left for college. We started seeing each other not long after her arrival."

"I'm so happy to hear that. Please, tell me more," I said with an even wider smile. Heather beamed, clearly pleased to see my enthusiasm for her and Charlie's relationship.

I had a wonderful time getting to know Heather. It turns out she was originally from Portland and had been married once before, though the marriage had been short-lived, and she didn't have any kids. I found her personality quite charming, and I thought she and Charlie complemented each other perfectly. Later in the day, we headed to the diner for a meal.

While at the diner, I shared everything I found interesting about my studies and my time at UCLA with Heather and Charlie. I was slowly building up to the idea of inviting them to visit before I left in a few days, hoping to plant the notion of what a great area it was in their minds. I also told Heather all about Demetri and shared my experiences during the fun holiday I had just spent in Italy. I provided a version of what Demetri and I could have done that sounded quite normal. Of course, I conveniently left out the part about the homicidal vampire whom I beheaded.

After dinner, we returned to Charlie's place to give Heather and me more time to get to know each other. We shared amusing stories, and the evening wore on until it started getting late. I had a feeling that Heather stayed over most nights, but I think Charlie was embarrassed as he awkwardly started muttering about it getting late and how he'd see Heather tomorrow. I shook my head silently, realizing that Charlie was quite out of practice when it came to matters of the heart. I certainly didn't want to hear any late-night escapades between them, but I wouldn't have minded if she stayed over.

Heather got up to leave, and as I leaned in to say goodnight, I whispered to her that I would explain to Charlie that I was a big girl, and it would be fine if she slept in the same bed with him. Heather grasped my hand and whispered back, "Thanks."

After Heather had gone home, I hugged Charlie, telling him how much I liked her. He still blushed, but I could see how important that was to him. Wishing him a good night, I retreated to my room, which looked just as I had left it. I was glad I had kept to this time zone during my stay in Italy, so I didn't have to deal with jetlag now. Being around people who never slept, the time I was awake didn't really matter. I went to bed thinking happy thoughts about my reunion with Charlie and the unexpected delight of meeting the new woman in his life.

The following day, I woke up and sent a text to Alice. I had informed her that I would be in town for a couple of days, and she was on her way to pick me up so we could hang out for the afternoon. When I heard a car pull up, I peeked out through the kitchen curtains and noticed a sporty yellow Porsche convertible that I hadn't seen before. I shook my head, thinking to myself, "Hmm, I wonder whose car that could belong to."

"I'm off with Alice, Dad. I'll be back later," I called out to Charlie, who was upstairs. After closing the front door, I approached the car, marveling at its stunning paint job. The car's shine was so intense it nearly felt as though I were staring directly into the sun. I couldn't help but wonder how it would look with the top down in the bright sunlight, and then I took that thought one step further by adding the sparkling vampire driver into the mix, which, in my opinion, the combination would be enough to burn a hole in anyone's retinas.

"Hey, Alice. Nice ride. Is it new?" I gazed at my petite friend, who, unsurprisingly, hadn't aged a day, even though we hadn't seen each other in person in a little over a year.

"Sure is. Jasper got it for me as a present for my 20th birthday, which my driver's license clearly shows was four weeks ago." She winked at me, flashing a wicked smirk as she kicked it into first gear, and we shot down the empty street like we were in a rocket ship.

"Why, happy birthday, Alice!" I said with overly bubbly enthusiasm, accompanied by a knowing smirk of my own. "I can't believe how old we're getting. You especially!" I stuck my tongue out at her as Alice laughed. "No more awkward teen years for us." We continued to tease each other about growing older and the newfound freedoms of adulthood. I had missed this with Alice.

When we arrived at the house, only Esme was home, and we all had a great time catching up and chatting. I shared all the details about my freshman year, including the things I couldn't discuss with my human friends and family. Alice did the same, recounting her own experiences during her first year of college. She also mentioned how the other Cullen's were adapting to the 'new experience' of attending college. Surprisingly, Edward actually had gone out on a date. Alice hinted that she'd seen how it ended in one of her visions, but Edward had sworn her to secrecy. All she would reveal was that it didn't end well, and there was no second date. At least he was trying, I thought to myself. Alice appeared to be quite enthusiastic about her classes, and it sounded like she had a clear plan for what she wanted to pursue after college, which really excited her.

Esme shared some pictures of the next house they were planning to move to, which was located near Denver, Colorado. She showed me some sketches she had drawn outlining her renovation ideas for the house, which appeared just as lovely and even a bit more spacious than their home here in Forks. Their planned move, which was set after the 'Cullen kids' graduated from college, also coincided with my own timeline for undergoing the change. I assured Esme that I'd try and visit after a year or two. I really hoped that by then, I'd have settled into my new life, and I'd be good to travel and be around humans again.

Esme insisted on preparing lunch for me, even though I told her I wasn't a child and she needn't bother. She brushed off my protests, saying she enjoyed cooking for others, and she didn't know if she'd ever get another chance to cook for me. That statement threw me for a moment, but then it struck me: she was absolutely right. In just a few short years, I wouldn't be eating food anymore. While I was well aware of this, there were moments when the reality of my future life hit me more profoundly.

As Esme slaved away in the kitchen, I let my mind wander to my future, and I couldn't resist the urge to inquire. After all, I was sitting next to a freaking seer. With a grin, I turned to Alice and asked, "So, Alice, seen any interesting visions of the future lately?"

Alice gazed at me with a smile and, with her usual enthusiasm, said, "Yes! Just last week, I had a vision of you in what must have been the distant future. You were wearing this lime green jumpsuit, and you had a blue triangle on your head for a hat!"

"What!" I protested, almost yelling. But then Alice started giggling, and I realized I'd been duped. "God damn it," I muttered. But I smiled at Alice, nodding as if to say, 'Well played,' while I chided myself for being too gullible. Alice couldn't even see my future.

"Very funny. Okay, I know you can't see my future, but... Hey, why do you think you can never see my future? It's my shield, right?" After getting to know so many vampires, I'd always found it unusual that Alice couldn't see my future. I believed my gift shouldn't affect her the way it did with others. There was still so much to learn about how vampire abilities worked and interacted with each other.

Alice nodded and added, "I would think so. I've discussed it with Jasper, and we believe you're projecting an aura around your body. Even if you're not aware you're doing it, that seems to interfere with my visions somehow."

I thought about her explanation, and it did seem to make sense. As I pondered my shield and how I could now extend it to cover others, effectively blocking other vampire abilities from affecting them, just as abilities didn't work on myself, a curious idea crossed my mind. I turned to Alice with a quizzical expression and asked, "What if I could cancel or conceal this aura? Do you think you could see my future then?"

Alice appeared intrigued as she pondered the idea. "Maybe. But do you even know how to do that? I suppose the only way to find out is for you to attempt to remove the aura and then make a decision that you believe is significant enough to trigger one of my visions." She observed me closely as I considered her suggestion.

I had an idea, so I stood up and moved to the other side of the room, just in case it made any difference. Then, I started creating a shield around myself, much like the one I used to protect Demetri from Jane. I focused on reinforcing it repeatedly, making sure no supernatural gift could breach it. Maybe this shield could contain any aura I was projecting, keeping it from affecting Alice.

Assuming my plan worked, I had to come up with a decision that would trigger a vision in Alice. A devious thought crossed my mind, and I couldn't help but smile. It was such a nice car too, but, oh well. I made a firm decision that in five minutes, I would walk out the front door of the house and create the biggest explosion I could muster right inside Alice's new car. The thought of its impending destruction brought a wicked grin to my face.

I cast a quick glance at the antique brass clock on the mantle, registering that there were just a little over four minutes left until boom time. Shifting my gaze to Alice, I checked to see if she was experiencing any visions of her car's impending demise.

"Bella!" Alice cried out a few seconds later. Her face displayed a complex mix of outrage and awe, indicating that what I had done must have worked.

"What did you see, Alice?" I asked with excitement.

"My beautiful car. How could you?" Alice shouted, though a big smile played on her face.

I had done it. Alice could see my future if I concentrated on strengthening my shield. I knew we'd have to experiment with this. Perhaps she'd even be able to get a vision of me as a vampire. I wondered if I would want to hear about that or if I'd rather be surprised. Maybe I could ask her to look but not tell me unless she saw an issue.

My musings were interrupted by Esme walking in, carrying a tray of spaghetti and meatballs that smelled and looked mouthwatering. I thanked her as I sat down at the dining room table to enjoy the delicious meal.

While I ate, Alice nearly screeched, "Bella! I can still see you blowing up my car after you finish your meal!"

I lifted my head with a long noodle hanging from my mouth, slurped it up, and swallowed. Afterward, I asked, "Did you want me to change my mind? But then your vision wouldn't come true. Well... Okay." I altered my plans for what I would do after finishing my meal.

"Bella! Not my Jimmy Choo's," I grinned as Alice quickly zipped up the stairs, most likely to hide her massive shoe collection.

Esme, who was sitting at the table opposite me, smiled, "Do I even want to know?"

I chuckled, "Just fooling around with the future. I'm surprised you guys don't do this more often. It's quite fun. I think Alice and I will have a good time now that she can see my possible future exploits." Esme joined in the laughter as I returned to my meal.

After lunch, I suggested to Alice that both she and Jasper should plan a visit sometime during the year. I pointed out that there were plenty of places for shopping and other fun activities that we could all enjoy together. Alice seemed enthusiastic about the idea and said she would discuss it with Jasper in the hopes of arranging a long weekend visit soon.

I extended the same invitation to Esme, assuring her that she and Carlisle were more than welcome to visit. I offered to show her around LA, especially since she had mentioned that she had never been to the city before.

The next day, I had gone to my old haunt in the forest to practice with my abilities. My control over my shield was always improving, allowing me to handle more complex tasks as time passed. I was having a great time spinning three large rocks in opposing directions when the sound of twigs snapping in the forest caught my attention. I halted what I was doing, letting the rocks fall to the ground, and encased myself in my shield just in case. Carefully, I scanned the area in the direction where I believed the noise had originated.

I soon noticed movement behind the tree line, and the massive size of the figure made it clear that it could only be Jake or maybe one of his wolfy friends. If he was attempting to spy on me, showing up as a giant wolf probably wasn't the smartest idea.

"Hey, come on out," I yelled, and before long, a young-looking man, or more likely a teenager, emerged into the clearing. Similar to Jake and his friends, he was clad in nothing but shorts. He possessed the tall and well-built physique characteristic of the other shape-shifters I had encountered, though he seemed slightly smaller, indicating his youth.

With a welcoming smile, I lowered my shield and extended a friendly greeting, saying, "Hello." I nodded at him, waiting for him to introduce himself.

"Hi, I'm Seth Clearwater. I don't think we've ever met before, but your dad used to be best friends with mine." His words triggered a memory, and I recalled Charlie telling me about his best friend, Harry Clearwater, who had passed away a year before I came to Forks due to a heart attack.

"Hi, Seth. Yes, my dad did tell me about your father. I was sorry to hear that," I offered a sympathetic nod as I observed him for a moment, then continued, "You're pretty far from the reservation. How can I help you?"

Seth smiled at me, saying, "Well, Jake told all of us about his encounter with you, and I kind of wanted to meet you myself to see what you could do. The supernatural has interested me ever since this whole wolf thing happened."

I nodded at him. He sounded a little like me, with my own interest in the supernatural. "Okay. How about this? I'll show you a bunch of really cool stuff, which I'm sure will blow your mind. But afterward, I'd like to get a better look at you in your wolf form. I was only able to see Jake for a couple of seconds, and the supernatural interests me as well. I can't really understand how it's possible that you guys turn into giant wolves."

"Okay," Seth said with a big grin. I then proceeded to demonstrate various exercises I enjoyed doing during my practice sessions. Afterward, I lifted him into the air, moving him as though he were flying, which he, of course, loved. We went through the walking-on-air routine, and he found it quite fun. I showed him how I could slice up objects, demonstrating on some tree trunks that were still lying around from my practice sessions last year. Then, I created a large protective shield around myself and asked Seth to charge at me. He complied with enthusiasm, colliding with my shield, which caused him to bounce off and land on his ass. Looking up at me with surprise, he then got up and started feeling around my shield kind of like a mime would who was trying to get inside the invisible box. Finally, I was ready to show him my explosive power.

"Alright, Seth. For this last test, why don't you pick a tree that you're not fond of." I watched Seth look around and then point to a tall spruce tree.

"Okay, get ready for this one. Stay near me," I warned Seth. I then focused on the tree, building up my power until I knew it was at its tipping point, and then let loose on the tree, causing its base to explode in a powerful blast. Wood splintered and flew in all directions. The area was quite wet from an earlier downpour, so I wasn't concerned about starting a forest fire. However, I hadn't considered the rest of the tree. With its base gone, the tree had to fall somewhere, and that somewhere was, of course, directly on top of us. As it started to tip and fall in our direction, I quickly wrapped my shield around the tree, halting it in mid-fall.

"I think we should get out of its way," I suggested to Seth, who was watching the tree hover about 15 feet above our heads with a smile. After we moved to a safe distance, I gently lowered the tree to the ground.

"Damn, Bella, that's some serious power," Seth remarked, clearly impressed.

"You know it," I replied with a smile. "Okay, that's all I've got to show for the moment. Why don't you go wolf out and come on back? I'm really interested in seeing a werewolf up close in person. I know you guys say you're really shape-shifters, but come on, it's much more interesting to say werewolf." Seth nodded at me, clearly agreeing, as he left to do his thing.

When the giant wolf burst through the tree cover and entered the clearing, it truly took my breath away. Seth's wolf form was colossal. I had only glimpsed Jake as a wolf for less than a minute before, and back then, I was mostly in shock, not fully taking in his appearance. Seth's wolf form was easily a foot taller than me. I approached him without fear, eager to examine and make as many observations as I could through sight and touch.

"Okay, Seth, I might have questions, so just nod or shake your head," I told him. He nodded in response. First, I ran my fingers through his fur, which felt remarkably smooth and soft. I bent down to closely examine his paw, which he obligingly lifted for me. His claws appeared sharp, and every aspect of him resembled a wolf, just on a massive scale. I moved on to scrutinize his enormous head and even scratched behind his ears, as I would with a real dog. His eyes seemed to radiate intelligence.

"Hey, could you open your mouth wide?" I requested, and he complied. I peered inside, then wrinkled my nose. "Ick, dog breath! Seth, you really need to brush your teeth more when you're a wolf." I grinned at him, and he responded with what seemed like a wolf version of a laugh. I focused on his incisors, which undeniably looked sharp and deadly; they would have to be to penetrate vampire skin.

I would have loved to obtain blood samples from Seth both when he was human and in his wolf form, but I lacked the necessary experience to know what to do with such samples at the moment. And by the time I would gain such knowledge, I'd likely be a vampire, and I assumed Seth might not be too keen on a vampire collecting blood from him. However, if we maintained a good rapport, perhaps such a possibility could be explored in the future.

I tried not to look at Seth's junk, which was hard not to miss. Thankfully, I wasn't into bestiality. I had some pretty twisted thoughts about things like him going to the bathroom in his wolf form. Would he crap out what he ate as a human, or did it also undergo some change into giant crap to mirror Seth's change? I had so many intriguing questions in my head, but they were definitely not the kind of questions you asked someone you had just met.

"Hey, do you think we could go running through the forest together? I'm fast for a human, but nowhere near as fast as you. Maybe you could go at my pace?" Seth nodded his big wolf head. As we took off, I tried to push myself as fast as I could. I glanced over at Seth, and he hardly looked like he was trying as he effortlessly kept up with my obviously slow pace. I marveled at how bizarre my life had become—sleeping with vampires and running with werewolves. I smiled, knowing I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Soon, we made it back, and Seth stayed in the forest for a moment to transform back into his human self. After he returned to the clearing, I had plenty of questions on my mind, which I tried to tactfully ask. I learned that the whole pack could hear each other's thoughts when they were in their wolf forms. It didn't seem to make any sense to me why they would have that ability, as it had nothing to do with being a wolf, as far as I could tell. Regular wolves cannot hear each other's thoughts.

Another weird revelation was what Seth said about imprinting. I could understand falling in love, but the idea of taking away one's free will in choosing a partner sounded awful. The same went for every wolf having to follow their Alpha's commands without question. This Alpha, as Seth described him, was lucky I wasn't in his pack, as I wouldn't stand for shit like that.

I learned that they were actually faster than vampires in a straight run but were not as maneuverable due to their giant size. It was an incredibly interesting conversation, and it reminded me a lot of my initial conversations with Demetri when he explained the ins and outs of being a vampire.

Before Seth left, I took my phone out and floated it away from us. We posed for a few pictures together, and Seth asked if I could take some pictures of him while I floated him around. I was more than happy to oblige. I even made a video for him to show his pack brothers.

After exchanging numbers, I forwarded the pictures to Seth's phone. As the wolfy Seth was departing, I couldn't help but think he was a really great guy, and I'd be glad to call him a friend.

The next morning, Charlie drove me back to the airport. Before leaving Forks, we made a quick stop at the bank so I could say goodbye to Heather. After my slightly awkward conversation with Charlie, Heather had stayed over at our house for my remaining nights here. As I said goodbye in her office, I reiterated that they should take a vacation and come visit me at UCLA. It seems I had done my job well in promoting the area, as Heather seemed genuinely interested, which was all the confirmation I needed in my book, as I thought Charlie would do anything to make her happy.

The plane ride back to LA was uneventful. After a full day of traveling, I finally entered my dorm room, and there was Rebecca, lounging on her bed. She looked up at me and smiled. "Hey, Bella. How was your vacation?"

"Great," I replied with a smile, hopping onto my own bed. We spent the rest of the night catching up on what each of us had done over our Christmas break.


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