Authors note - so sorry this chapter is late, but here is! Reminder that this story isn't checked or edited by anyone but me. All mistakes are mine and there are mistakes I'm sure. This chapter is all Bella's pov again. Paul just doesn't seem to be talking to me sadly because I loved writing his pov.

Thank you thank you thank you to those still following and reviewing this story. I'll try to get another chapter out this month since I didn't post any in April but no promises.

"Hello. Thank you all for coming."

My breath caught hearing Carlisle voice, memories flashing through my mind. I took a deep breath to steady myself. Despite everything with Edward, despite Paul I once thought these people, these vampires were my family. I guess them leaving without a word proved they were never mine, but still hearing his voice opened a small wound somewhere inside me.

"We know how difficult this must be but based on Alice's visions we feel it's necessary to prepare you all. Us as well. We don't have experience with newborns but my son, Jasper, does."

"Anything to keep Bella safe." Jacob answered. "Are newborns that different from you?"

"Yes. The first year of a newborns life they are stronger and faster. More bloodthirsty than any other." Jasper answered.

I could feel someones eyes on me as they continued to talk. I wished a hole would open up and swallow me where I sat. My wolf nipping at my hand made me realize I had a death grip on him, probably hurting his leg. "Sorry." I whispered, relaxing my grip but not letting go. I barley heard the low whine he let out. "I'm fine. I promise."

It was interesting listening to Jasper explain his history. Edward would never tell me anything about him, only that he was new to their diet. By human standards, of course, what Jasper has done is horrible. The worst kind of monster, but I knew they were vampires. In some degree I understood their nature. It made me wonder if he thought I would have judged them, if he thought the horrors of their past would have made me run screaming from him. I sighed, trying to take my mind off the family I once thought was mine.

"We know it will be difficult but we'd like to run through some training. We can keep it no contact as much as possible." Carlisle said. I felt myself tense.

"That's fine." Jacob answered again. "We are all in control enough that we can train. We do ask that Paul and Edward don't train together."

I looked at him then, wondering what his reaction to that would be. How much did they know? How much had Edward picked from their thoughts? How much did Jasper feel and Alice see? Carlisle glanced at me.

"My son would not hurt any of you intentionally."

"It was my request." I said without thinking. All eyes, vampire and wolf, were on me. I should have kept my mouth shut. I could feel my face heating up and looked back down. "Sorry."

Carlisle cleared his throat. "Right. That's perfectly fine."

I peaked up, feeling my wolf's eyes on me and he winked. I laughed. Even now knowing he was human, a wolf winking looked ridiculous.

"I gotta phase, will you be okay here?"

I rolled my eyes at Jake. "I'm fine. Thanks for sitting with me."

My wolf laid down beside and I leaned against him, running my fingers through his fur. I tried watching them train but it was almost impossible to see the Cullen's as they fought each other. I paid more attention when a wolf was in the mix. They weren't actually fighting but it still made me nervous. When Paul stood up there, facing off a vampire I gasped every single time they disappeared and ran at him. I knew they wouldn't hurt him, but still I was anxious until he came back to my side.

Jasper said the biggest thing was to never allow the newborns to wrap their arms around you so they mostly practiced dodging attacks. I was just dozing off, using my wolf as a pillow when Carlisle called it and said they would meet again. Paul stood up suddenly, growling. I glanced at everyone, trying to figure out what was going on as I stood as well.

Jake phased, covering himself with his hand rather than putting on pants. I rolled my eyes. "Sam wants to know when the newborns are coming"

"We've already told you we don't know exactly when they'll be here." Edward said.

Hearing his voice was like a bucket of icy water being poured on me. Without permission my eyes sought him out. I waited, my breath held, to feel the attraction, the love, the connection. I stared at him waiting to feel something but there was nothing. He was handsome, of course, and looking at him brought back all the memories we shared, but I felt nothing. He glanced at me, meeting my eye briefly and I flinched at the look in his eyes. He looked tortured, like some type of physical pain was happening to him that we couldn't see as he stood there perfectly still.

"I'm sure Alice told you her visions aren't always exact." Carlisle said. "She can't pinpoint it until a decision is made."

Paul growled again. He took a few steps back from me and phased, quickly throwing on his pants. "Alice hasn't been very forthcoming with any information."

"She's told you all she knows. I'm sorry, as I said her visions aren't exact. She is watching Victoria and will know when she ready to make a move. Right now she's in Seattle, keeping a low profile."

"Is that where she's making newborns?" I asked.

"Yes, we believe so. We will alert you as soon as we know more." Carlisle said. "And we'll see you here tomorrow night."

Paul looked like he wanted to say more. His eyes were narrowed, staring at the vampires in front of him.

"Well." Carlisle said after a few moments of silence, clearing his throat. I glanced around at everyone, not understanding what was happening. "We have some things to do…" He looked at me, nodded and they all turned to run at the same time. I took a deep breath, shaking off the tension in my shoulders.

"Something is wrong."

I glanced at Jacob, happy to see he put his shorts on. "What?"

He shook his head. "Something isn't right here."

"Alices visions do change quite a bit." I said, remembering her visions when James was hunting me. "What she sees depends on what someone's chooses. If Victoria is changing her mind a lot, it could mess up the visions."

"Has anyone heard of any murders or attacks in Seattle? Missing people?" Paul asked. The wolves and Jacob shook their heads no.

"Dad hasn't said anything. He usually does when stuff like that is happening." I said, shrugging.

"Can Jake take you back to my place?" Paul asked. "I'm gonna run the boarder, maybe a bit into forks."

"Yeah. But why?

"I just need to check on something. I won't be long." He hugged me, squeezing me a bit to tightly. "Are you okay?" He whispered. I nodded against his chest.

"I'd be more okay if you were coming home with me though."

His chest rumbled under my ear as he chuckled. "I'd be more okay with that too. I promise I'll be back soon though. Wait up for me?"

I nodded, turning my head to kiss to kiss his chest. He stepped back to phase, winking at me again once he was back on four paws. I shook my head, turning to Jake as all the others followed Paul.

"Wolf or human?"

"Human, please." I said, walking closer so he could pick me up.

I woke up cold and sat up quickly realizing that Paul wasn't home. Goosebumps covered my arms when the breeze from the window I opened last night hit me. Leaning over I closed it and looked around, trying to see any evidence that Paul had come home. It didn't look like he had. Sighing, I got up and dressed quickly so I could get home in time for school. I grabbed the clothes I had gathered the night before to wash and headed to my truck. Backing out, I called Jake, hoping he could tell me where Paul was but there was no answer. I tried Emily next, but she said Sam hadn't come home as well and she wasn't sure what was going on. She told me not to worry, that she had stayed up late waiting on him and never heard any howling that would indicate something being wrong.

With that information, I was trying not to panic, but my mind wouldn't stop brining up memories of my dreams. My wolf being attacked, my wolf being killed. Frustrated I drove home quickly, hoping there was a wolf following me so I could ask them where Paul was.

At home I dropped the laundry by the washer and went out back, ignoring dad saying good morning.

"Hey!" I whispered yelled, feeling ridiculous, but just a few seconds passed and Paul walked out of the woods. I stared at him, looking for any sign of an injury. Seeing none, my stare turned into a heated glare.

"I'm sorry." He said, walking closer. Relieved but even more frustrated, I shook my head and walked back to the house, slamming the door closed behind me.

"Well good morning to you too."

"Sorry dad. Would you like some eggs?" I asked going to the fridge.

"I'd love some." Paul said, coming in the back door. I turned to glare at him.

"I'm sure you have eggs at home."

Dad cleared his throat. "Um. No thanks. I think I'll just take my coffee to go. See you after school." He eyed me. I forced myself to smile at him.

"Be careful." I mumbled out of habit.

"Always am."

When the front door closed I turned back to the fridge, grabbing cream for coffee and leaving the eggs.

"Bella… I'm sorry."

"Do you know how worried I was when I woke up and you weren't where you promised you'd be? When I called Emily and she told me Sam hadn't come home either?" I made my coffee and leaned against the counter, still glaring at him.

"I know I'm sorry. I just… I needed," he growled, seemingly frustrated with himself. "I had some stuff to do. I wasn't planning to be so long."

"What stuff? What was more important than coming home when you promised you would?"

He licked his lips, shaking his head. "Nothing. Nothing is more important than coming home to you. I'm sorry."

I narrowed my eyes. "What is going on Paul? Please don't hide stuff from me."

"Bella." He sighed, walking closer and grabbed my hand. "I need you to trust me."

"I need you to not give me a reason not to trust you. You said you wouldn't be long, asked me to wait up for you. I did for two hours and then I wake up to empty bed, not even a note letting me know that you were okay. Now here you are, perfectly okay, and refuse to tell me what you were doing." I told him, pulling my hand back.

"I need you to trust me enough for me to be able to say that I can't tell you what I was doing but I will as soon as it's safe to. I don't want to keep you in the dark but if I tell you this it could be seen by someone."

Immediately I knew he was talking about Alice and my shoulder slumped. Sighing, I handed him my coffee cup, and turned to make me a new one.

"Hey." He grabbed my hang again, turning me back toward him. "I'm sorry. Don't be mad."

I huffed, throwing my hands up. "I'm not mad, Paul! I was worried about you and I'm frustrated that I had no way to know that you were safe. How would you feel if it were me?"

He groaned. "That's not fair. It's different."

"It's not different. You need me to be safe. Guess what? I need you to be safe too!" I took a deep breath, realizing that I was almost yelling at him.

"I know you were worried. Jake was suppose to get over there before you woke up to let you know I'd meet you here. I don't know why he didn't." He told me, trying to grab my hand again. I yanked it back.

"Don't blame this on him."

"I'm not! Im just saying I didn't intend to leave you completely in the dark."

I looked up at him, I didn't want to fight. He was trying not to smile, though and that irritated me even more. I glared, changing my mind about fighting. He chuckled, not able to contain it anymore. "You're cute when you're mad."

I huffed, turning back to try and make my coffee again. "I hate you right now."

He sat his coffee down and his arms snaked around my waist. "Don't hate me. I'm sorry."

I closed my eyes feeling his breath against my neck. When I didn't say anything his lips followed his breath, peppering my skin with kisses. "I really am sorry."

I sighed, leaning back against him. "That's not fair."

"Hmm, what?" He whispered against my skin. I could feel his smile.

"I can't hate you when you are doing that."

"Want me to stop?"

I turned in his arms, running my hands up his arms. "Yes, because I can't be late for school."

He groaned. "Fine, but you are all mine tonight."

"That was the plan." I wiggled out of his arms. "Unless, of course, you disappear again." I said, glancing over my shoulder as I left the room. He growled at me and I hightailed it up the stairs, with him just steps behind me.

Turning toward him once I was in the bathroom, I smiled.

"You're gonna pay for that." He told me, stalking toward me. I raised my eyebrows at him, grabbing the belt hoops on his shorts and pulled him toward me.

"I hope so." I whispered, leaning up to kiss him. No way could I hate this man, I couldn't even stay mad at him.

Being late for school didn't seem like such a bad thing until I was standing in the doorway of my first class, staring at Edward sitting in the seat that had been empty for months, like it was never empty.

"Bella, take your seat please."

My head snapped to the teachers. "Right. Sorry, Mrs. Pierce

Everyone was staring at me. I sat stiffly, pushing my hair to the side and using it to hide myself from him. I could feel his eyes, staring me down. I couldn't look at him. What was he doing here? I could feel my heart racing, my breath coming a bit faster than normal. I tried to tell myself to calm down, tried to make my body listen but it wouldn't. It wasn't until the bell rang and I heard him get up and leave that my breath finally calmed down. I sat back in my seat, taking a deep breath.

"Bella?"

I jumped at the sound of my name, relaxing again once I realized it was just Mrs.Pierce. "I didn't mean to scare you. You seemed… a little distracted today. I just wanted to make sure you heard that a paper is due next Thursday?"

I looked down at my empty notebook. "Oh. Yeah. I'm sorry. I – "

She held up her hand. "No need to explain. You may just want to get with one of you classmates to get the details. Okay?"

I sighed. "Of course. Thank you."

I stood, quickly grabbing my stuff so I didn't end up late again. When I got to the door of my next class, I groaned, realizing Edward would be seated next to me in every class. If Alice was back she too would be in this class.

"Mike!" I grabbed his arm as he went to pass me, not letting him in the room. "Switch seats with me. Please?"

He stared at me and then glanced inside the classroom. His eyes widened, he must not have heard that they were back yet.

"Yeah, okay. You can have my seat."

"Thank you." I followed him in the room, only glancing at my usual seat to see if Alice was there. Mike sat down in between her and Edward, looking incredibly uncomfortable. I sat down beside Jessica and knew immediately that I should have found someone else to switch with.

"Did you know they were coming back?" She whispered as soon as I sat down

I shook my head. "Can I see your notes from history? I didn't take any and I have no idea what this paper is about."

"You two aren't getting back together?" She handed me her notebook.

"No." I said simply, looking down to copy her notes.

"But… why?" The way she sounded I knew she thought I was crazy. I'm not trying to get back with the rich handsome doctors son? How crazy!

"I'm with someone else."

She gasped. "Since when?"

I shrugged, handing her notebook back, after quickly writing some cliff notes. "A while. He lives in La Push."

"Oh." She looked back at Edward. "That's good. He's just… Edward. I'm surprised."

"And Paul is just…." I smiled, blushing slightly as I remembered being pinned to my shower wall this morning, the heat of him and the water beating down on us surrounding me. "Paul."

"Sorry. I didn't mean… I'm sure Paul is great."

"He is. Edward left. He made his choice. I moved on, as he asked me to." A part of me felt badly talking so bluntly, knowing they could hear me, but the other part wanted him to hear it. I wanted him to know I was happy with Paul and I wasn't gonna run back to him.

"I'd like to meet him. Maybe we could double one day soon?"

The thought of Paul on a double date with Jessica and Mike made me giggle but I nodded. He'd hate every second of it but he'd do it for me. "I mean Mike definitely took one for the team today so I owe you." We both glanced back at Mike, who was sitting completely still, starting straight ahead.

Edward always talked about how most humans avoid them and that I was unusual for being comfortable around them. I think Jasper knew it wasn't true but I never wanted Edward to think he made me uncomfortable. I knew it wasn't his fault. It was like being in a cage with a sleeping lion. On the surface it's safe, but one wrong move it would strike before you could blink. It was a feeling of anticipation, knowing you are the prey and at any moment the hunter could literally ripe your head off.

I shook my head, trying to focus once I heard the bell ringing. I couldn't afford to not pay attention all day.

Luckily Mike was in my next class as well and agreed to switch seats again. Lunch was easy, I immediately sat down beside Angela, skipping the food line altogether so no one could corner me there. I stuck close to Angela's side as we headed to our next class. Mike wasn't in this class but thankfully there were a couple empty seats. Ignoring Edward and my empty seat, I moved to the back of the room. Two more classes and I could get out of here for the weekend and not have to see them. Unless I go with Paul tonight, but I wasn't sure I wanted to. I think after today I've seen enough of the Cullens.

My last two classes Jessica was nice enough to switch seats, but reminded me I owed her a double date for the trouble. I laughed at her, promising to talk to Paul but hoping she'd forget and let it go.

The rest of the year was going to be very long if this is what I had to do everyday. When my last was over I waited until the room was empty to get up. Not wanting to stick around any longer than necessary, I skipped going to my locker and headed toward the exit.

I chuckled when I remembered Edward trying to move classes at the beginning of last year to get away from me and wondered if I'd be able to do that. I shook my head at myself. If dazzling Edward couldn't do it, I doubt it'd work for me.

"What's funny?"

I jumped, dropping my books to the ground when I realized Edward was right beside me, following me out of school.

"I… nothing." I bent down to grab my books, rolling my eyes when Edward held them out to me. "Thanks." I said. "I gotta go."

"Can we – "

"Nope." I started walking again, desperate to get to my truck.

"Please Bella. I just want to talk." He was following me. I pushed the doors open, stopping short when I saw Paul leaning against the bed of my truck. Of course he already knew they were here. I started walking again, picking up my pace.

"You shouldn't be around them. They are dangerous."

I snorted in response. "Please stop following me."

I'm sure to most people Paul looked perfectly at ease, but even with the small distances between us I could see the narrowing of his eyes, his arms were crossed tightly but I could see his hands shaking. He was keeping it together, but the tension was rolling off him in waves. I could feel his anxiety in the air. It felt suffocating.

I picked up my pace even more, but was jerked to a stop when a cold hand grabbed my elbow. My books once again hit the ground when I jerked to a stop. I heard Paul growling but could see that he hadn't moved from the corner of my eye. I yanked my arm from Edward and stepped back, leaving my books.

"The wolves are dangerous, Bella."

"Don't touch me." I tried to add as much venom to my voice as possible but I'm sure I sounded like an angry kitten. Turning, I practically ran to Paul. He grabbed my hand and pulled me behind him, standing straight as he stared at Edward.

"Touch her again and I will kill you."

Edward smiled in response. "You can try."

Everyone seemed sort of relaxed last night, I wasn't expecting Edward to behave this way. He was taunting Paul in the middle of a parking lot full of high school students.

I grabbed Paul's arm when he went to step forward. He was shaking, not just his arms but his entire body was almost vibrating . "Not here. Let's just go. Paul?"

He nodded. "Okay."

Edward picked up my books and smiled at me. "I'll drop these at your house later."

I said nothing, following Paul to the front of the truck. He opened the door and I got in, scooting to the middle seat. He stood hands braced on the top of the open door and stared at me.

"I can go to your place if you need to go." I offered, moving to scoot to the driver seat.

"No. You aren't leaving my sight. Give me a minute."

"Okay." I leaned back, resting my head on the seat and closed my eyes. This day had been exhausting. I smiled when Paul finally got in the truck and grabbed my hand. He was holding it a bit tight but I didn't say anything. I blindly handed him my keys.

"My place or yours?"

"Mine. Need to make dad dinner." I opened my eyes, rolling my head to look at him. "You okay?"

"Are you?"

"I asked you first." I scooted closer to him, wrapping my arms around him as much as I could while he was driving.

"But me being okay depends a whole lot on if you are okay."

I kissed his shoulder. "I'm okay."

"Me too."

I chuckled, laying my head on his shoulder.