Disclaimer: Original characters and part of the plot belong to Stephanie Meyer

Chapter 15 – A Dangerous Present

Bella POV

I woke up in the morning with a sense of loss. I was missing the cold hard arms of a man, his beautiful velvety voice whispering "Good morning, love," as I woke up.

As my sleepy state completely vanished, the memories started filling my mind again – memories of that day in the woods. Again that sense of utter emptiness filled me. I was once again painfully aware of the empty hole in my chest.

The last few weeks had been so intense that my mind had gone on a robot mode. While continuously processing information, giving me conclusions and telling me what to do, it had become numb to the pain. The hole was there… but I was numb to it. Now that numbness was gone. Leaving the intense hollow pain in its wake. But I did not collapse under it this time. The pain hadn't lessened, it was as if I had grown stronger to bear it.

I pulled myself off the bed, extremely unwilling to go down.

Today was Christmas. I had bought a fishing rod and a new jacket for my father. It would have been the first time in fourteen years when I would be spending it with him in his hometown. But Victoria had taken that away from me.

I could feel my anger rising as thoughts of Victoria came to my head. How she was responsible for the deaths of innocent hikers in the woods. How she was responsible for the death of my father.

Another thought came to my head just as quickly. It would have been my first Christmas with Edward, too. Another wave of sadness and loss crashed upon me.

I pushed back my more depressing feelings to the deep recesses of my mind and focused on the present. Why were my emotions changing so quickly these days? Was it another "vampire" thing?

Concentrating on my physical emotions for now, I registered a deep feeling of satisfaction, as if I had finally eaten a three-course meal after a year.

I jumped as I heard laughter floating up the stairs. How late was I?! I looked at the clock. It was almost nine. Well, damn! Had I been so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn't hear the four healthy hearts beating downstairs, one of them much faster than the others?

I quickly got up from bed and rummaged through my cupboard for something decent, finally ending up with a red button-up shirt, white sweater and green leggings.

I climbed down the stairs and was immediately greeted by four different "Merry Christmas, Bella!" and a bear hug which I instantly identified as Jake's from the musky scent and, no offense, a mild stink of wet dog.

"Merry Christmas, lads and lasses!" I said, trying to enthuse some cheerfulness into my voice and distract them. It worked. All of the them cracked up at my impromptu reference to the famous carol.

I looked around the room. Only Billy and Jacob were here, apart from Renée and Phil. "Presents already opened?" I teased with a pout on my face.

"Someone here couldn't wait," said Billy, giving a side-eye to his son. The said culprit just shrugged with a too innocent look on his face.

"Don't tell me you opened mine as well," I teased him again.

He fell for it. Looking shocked and flustered, Jacob said, "What?! N-no… Of course, not!"

"Come on, you fool, I was just joking."

I crouched down near the tree and extracted my presents from underneath the leafy branches. Sitting on the sofa, I opened them one by one.

From my mother, I received a hand-stitched quilt. Upon closer examination, I found out that it bore images from the t-shirts we had bought from our trips. "Is this from our…?"

She answered before I could complete. "Yes."

I flung my arms around her and hugged her tightly. "I love you, Mom," I whispered.

"Love you too, hon," she whispered back and gently untangled herself from my arms.

I gave her a slight smile and moved on to Phil's present. It was a laptop. A beautiful, navy blue-coloured laptop with a sleek design.

"A Lenovo R50e. Came to market last year. Renée and I came across it in New York. We immediately knew that it was for you."

"Thanks, Phil. Thanks, Mom," I smiled at them gratefully. He gave a smile and squeezed my shoulder. Mom just smirked. I quirked an eyebrow at that. She shrugged back.

Jacob gave me a charm. It was a wooden wolf, reddish-brown in colour. "You made it?"

"Yeah. Something to remember me by."

"Put it on me?"

He took it and tied the chain on my right wrist.

"Thanks Jake. It's really thoughtful."

All that was now left was a letter in a white envelope. But it smelled different. Up till now, all the present smelled of the person who had given it. But this one had a sweet vampirish scent. The same one that was present where my father was killed.

Victoria.

Not wanting to show it to Jacob yet or reveal my rather enhanced senses, I stowed it away and stood up. "Must be some official letter. I'll go and cook dinner."

"I'll help," said Jacob, standing up too. There was a hint of eagerness in his voice. I didn't want to exploit it but desperate times called for desperate measures.

"I think I can manage, Jacob," I said in a slightly cold voice.

He looked taken aback. Saying "Oh, alright," he sat back down as I walked towards the kitchen.

I opened the cupboards and pulled down the ingredients required for making mashed potatoes and green beans. Setting the potatoes for boiling, I washed my hands and retrieved the letter. In 16th century calligraphy, it was addressed to me.

I opened the letter and read it. The content sent chills down my spine.

Bella—

It is truly a pity how your father's life had to be cut short. But that's fate, isn't it? And you do know it's your fault. I'm sure that by now, you know who I am.

A fair warning – First it was your father. The next to be targeted will be your mother. And then your stepfather. And then your friends, individually.

You must be wondering why I'll be doing this. This is because, dear Bella, I want you to suffer as much as I have. I want to see you suffer from losing your family and then your friends, one-by-one. You will be the last one to be targeted. By that time your mate will know who's behind these attacks and will seek revenge. Your mate will suffer from his mate's loss, while I will be with my mate in the after world.

A Mate For A Mate

Ciao! Merry Christmas!

Yours truly

Vicky