So, this chapter is less eventful and more focused on character development as Bella ponders her future and acquires more new skills, but I hope you'll consider it a decent early Valentine's present anyway. Virtual heart-shaped chocolates to all of you.

After a short conversation with Charlie, in which he assured her that he was glad she was bonding with her sister while also admonishing her not to let time get away from her so much that she stayed out until one AM on a school night, Bella went upstairs, brushed her teeth, washed her face, dressed for bed, and waited. No matter how long she lay there staring at the window, however, Edward never came.

At last, she fell asleep without meaning to, and opened her eyes what felt like mere minutes later to weak rays of sunlight filtered through heavy clouds illuminating the glass panes. The sight brought a smile to her face; a cloudy day meant that Edward would be in school, where she could assess his mood and determine whether they needed to discuss last night's events again.

Upon arriving at Forks High, she found him waiting for her, his face lighting up with that crooked smile she loved as she approached. His mindset seemed to have improved a great deal overnight, but she still thought it best to make sure no further clearing of the air was necessary. After they exchanged greetings, she asked, "So are we okay? Really okay?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't we be?"

"Well, even after you said you understand why I need to get this whole succubus thing under control, I noticed that you seemed a little…off. And you didn't come over last night."

"No, I was in the forest, looking for a snack. There wasn't enough big game this close to town for a full hunt, but if you're going to keep feeding on me, I may need to replenish my own energy a bit more often."

"Oh… I hadn't even thought of that. I hope my feeding isn't inconveniencing you."

"Don't worry about me. I might have to make a few adjustments, but I'll be fine."

"Okay, if you're sure." She eyed him intently for another moment, searching his face for any hint of insincerity before deciding to come right out and voice her concerns. "So you didn't stay away because what I did in that bar bothered you more than you wanted to admit? I mean, you're not worried that all this is going to come between us somehow, are you?"

The direct question seemed to catch him off guard, and his air of unruffled positivity, which had struck her as a little too determined to be completely real, finally faltered. "I shouldn't be," he said at last, with the air of someone confessing a shameful secret. "I should be overjoyed; after all, I've gotten everything I ever wanted – we can be together forever, and I don't even have to live with the guilt of damning you to an eternity of night – but still I can't deny that this is…not how I pictured it."

"Me either. I thought we would… I wanted us to be the same. Instead I ended up only marginally stronger and less breakable than I was before, even if the instant healing part is pretty cool, and I have to learn how to be something I didn't even know existed until a few days ago – all in all, this is definitely not what I bargained for. Still, it's what we've got, and like you said, it means I can be with you forever. That's all I want, you know. You're all I'll ever want."

Looking into her eyes, it was plain to see that she was telling the truth, and he couldn't resist leaning down to kiss her. She melted into him just like she always had since the very first time they kissed, her lips moving eagerly against his, and it was that familiarity as much as anything she'd said which convinced him that, despite the new side of her that was rapidly gaining ascendancy, at her core she was still the same girl he had fallen in love with, the same girl who loved him.

She sensed that he had reached some sort of internal resolution as the last traces of hesitance in his touch fell away and he held her closer, without reservation. Her becoming a succubus may not have been what either of them had imagined, but at least there was one perk – now that he knew she could heal, he was gradually getting more comfortable with not handling her like she was made of glass.

When he finally let her go, she barely remembered what they had been talking about, but as she caught her breath and collected the scattered threads of her thoughts, she felt a reassuring certainty that any doubts Edward might have been having about her, about them, had been assuaged, that they truly were on the same page once more. Whatever came next in her journey of self-discovery, he would be with her every step of the way, and as long as they were together, there was no obstacle they couldn't overcome…right?

###

After school let out, Bella went home to spend some time on her term papers before going to the Cullens' house for another lesson with Bo – the papers weren't due until the end of the semester, but her prolonged absence had left her slightly paranoid about falling behind – only to find that she couldn't concentrate on her work. The constant bombardment of teenage hormones had been a little easier to endure now that she was prepared for it, but between it and the toll last night's activities had taken, she'd still ended up dragging Edward under the football field's bleachers for a pick-me-up. Now she was full of energy – so much so that she could practically feel it crackling under her skin, making her toes tap and her fingers drum restlessly on her desk while she glared at her computer screen as if willing the right words to materialize.

This is ridiculous; it's a paper on Poe, for goodness' sake! Okay, maybe analyzing whether the narrator of "Ligeia" was in an unhealthily co-dependent relationship and whether his reliance on her – not to mention all the opium he took – caused him to hallucinate her coming back to life or whether there really was something supernatural going on isn't my favorite topic, but it's still classic literature! Gothic romance! If I can't write about that, I don't know how I'll ever get through my other paper on the history of government…

The thought of it was enough to make her slump forward and let her head meet the desk with a despairing thud. Maybe if I took a short break… Her head popped back up, her eyes straying longingly to the window. Outside, the clouds had lightened up somewhat, and as she watched, they parted just enough to let a single ray of sunlight shine through. That was all the enticement she needed. Quickly saving her documents, she shut down her computer and made a beeline for the nearest door.

Stepping outside, she found that the weather was about as close to perfect as it ever got in Forks; the air was cool and crisp, not cold, with a lingering hint of moisture from the rain she'd seen earlier through classroom windows, but not so much as to make the atmosphere muggy. She paused on the threshold of her back door to take a deep, appreciative breath, then strolled around the backyard, hoping the movement would burn off the nervous energy humming through her veins.

Ordinarily, circling her yard a few times at a leisurely pace would have done the trick, since Bella was not the most physically inclined person; not that she considered herself lazy, it was just that rigorous exercise presented so many opportunities for a klutz like her to injure herself that it was safer to avoid it. Today, however, her stroll left her unsatisfied. She still wanted to move, but she was bored with pacing the yard. She paused, chewing her lower lip as she considered her options. Walking alone in the woods was obviously a bad idea, but the street that ran past the front of her house should be safe enough; as she had once reminded Edward, she did have neighbors, at least one of whom would hopefully be around to render aid if she fell down, twisted her ankle, or met with some other misfortune. Her mind made up, she went around front and, after checking to make sure there were indeed some people out and about, struck out down the street.

She started off at the same sedate, cautious gait she typically used, pausing to wave at the neighbors who were taking advantage of the pleasant weather to work in their gardens or play outdoors with their kids, but this didn't satisfy her for long. Gradually, without realizing it, she lengthened her strides and increased her speed. By the time she reached the end of the street, she had worked up to an all-out power walk, complete with arm-pumping motion, and much to her surprise, she found herself enjoying the exertion so much that she decided to go all the way around the block.

Part of her route took her out onto a larger road from which several smaller ones in Forks' residential area branched off like capillaries from a main artery, and as she walked along its edge, she was startled by someone calling her name. Whirling around, she nearly lost her balance – the first time that had happened since she set out, she noted in the back of her mind – but managed to catch herself. By the time the cause of her stumbling was close enough to offer a steadying hand, she didn't really need his assistance, but accepted it out of politeness.

"Sorry – didn't mean to trip you up."

"I was just surprised; I didn't expect to see you again so soon. What are you doing here, Jacob?"

"Well, I had a great time catching up with you the other night, so I wanted to do it again. Catch up, I mean. I was just on my way to your house. Didn't expect to run into you way out here."

"After the rain cleared up, it was too nice to stay inside, so I decided to take a walk," Bella informed him, slightly defensively. Surely it wasn't that unusual for her to venture beyond the boundaries of her yard on foot, was it?

"By yourself? Bo didn't want to come with you?" Jacob asked nonchalantly, while silently congratulating himself on finding such an innocuous way of slipping her sister into the conversation without sounding like he was actively probing for more information on the mysterious new arrival.

"Bo isn't around right now. She and Kenzi are actually staying with the Cullens; they have more room, and I doubt Charlie would've been thrilled to have a couple of strange women crashing with us. Not that Bo and Kenzi are strange, of course," she added with a nervous laugh. "Kenzi's goth style notwithstanding, they're very normal." This statement was immediately followed by an internal cringe. 'They're very normal'? Way to go, Bella – that definitely doesn't sound like I'm hiding anything!

"Staying with the Cullens, huh?" Jacob felt a flash of concern at that, though he reminded himself that if Kenzi really did belong to Bo, Bo's ownership put her off-limits to other fae…unless, of course, a human's owner gave someone else permission to feed on them, though according to the older wolves, that didn't happen often. Most fae who claimed humans preferred to reserve their pets for their own personal use. "That's brave of them. I don't think I'd do it myself."

His comment earned a sharp look from Bella. "Why not? Don't tell me you're starting to buy into that superstitious crap about the 'cold ones'."

"Who, me? Still, you must've noticed there's something…different about them." It would be so much simpler, he thought in frustration, if he could just be upfront with her, tell her he knew exactly what the Cullens were and that she wasn't human either; unfortunately, since he hadn't shifted yet, he couldn't prove to her that he was fae too. Without that, confronting her about her true nature would probably just make her clam up.

Besides, neither she nor Bo had shown any sign during their dinner that they knew they were in the presence of fellow fae, and while Billy wasn't sure why the Cullens had apparently forborne to inform them that there were wolf-shifters in the area – though he assumed it was due to the treaty, which included a promise from both sides not to expose one another – he was in no hurry to enlighten them…at least until he knew what breed of fae they were dealing with and how much of a threat they might be.

"No, I can't say that I have," Bella coolly retorted even as her heart rate increased far more than it had during her vigorous walk. "They've never been anything but kind to me, and it's really unfair how people talk about them just because they live outside of town and have a bunch of adopted kids! So what?"

"Okay, okay, no need to get your back up. I guess it's nice of them to let Bo and Kenzi crash at their place." If she wasn't willing to hear a word against the bloodsuckers, there was no sense in pushing it; after all, Billy had made it clear that the priority was learning more about Bo, not prying Bella away from her boyfriend. "Speaking of Bo… Wow. It's kinda hard to get used to the idea of you having a sister, you know?"

Changing the subject seemed to be the right call, as Bella visibly relaxed. "I know, I couldn't believe it either when I found out. Now that I've met her, though, I'm really glad I did – she's amazing. I've already learned so much from her."

"Really? Like what?"

"Just…stuff. About our family, our history and all; she's actually met our biological mother, although I don't think it went too well. Turns out our mom was in an abusive relationship, and by the time she got away from him she was pretty messed up, so that's why she gave us up."

Jacob winced. "Ouch, that's rough."

"Bo says our grandfather's pretty cool, though. I hope I can meet him soon, if Charlie lets me go to Toronto. Maybe over the summer, if I keep my grades up enough that I don't have to take remedial classes."

"I bet you'll do great; you're pretty smart. So your folks live up in Canada, huh? Think you might look at going to college up north, so you can be closer to them?"

"I don't know… Maybe. I haven't really made any long-term plans yet; all I know is that it feels like a whole new world's opened up to me, and I can't wait to explore it."

"Well, just be careful, okay? Sometimes new worlds have their dark side. I mean it, Bella. Take care of yourself."

The note of genuine concern in his voice made her smile; he really was a sweet, caring guy, and just as easy to talk to as she remembered. Maybe a little too much so – in retrospect, she wondered if she'd said more than she should have about her family situation. Still, she thought she had been careful enough in her editing not to arouse suspicion. She just hoped his tribe didn't have any ancient legends about succubi…which reminded her that she was due to meet Bo soon.

"Thanks for the advice, Jake. It was good seeing you again, but I'd better get going. We should do this again soon."

"I'd like that. See you later, Bella."

She continued on her way, and he stayed where he was, watching her go with mixed emotions. Reading between the lines, it was obvious that Bo was educating her in the ways of their species – if only she'd said something that could've provided a hint as to what that might be. Still, he guessed it wouldn't matter if they eventually went off to Toronto, which he'd surmised must be home to a sizable fae community that Bo had been part of before coming south to meet her newly discovered sister.

The pack's elders would undoubtedly be pleased if he could offer a glimmer of hope that Forks' newest fae residents probably did not intend to set up shop there permanently; hell, if Bella took her bloodsucking mate with her when she left, the other wolves would be over the moon. Jacob, however, would not.

Despite knowing she wasn't human, he couldn't help thinking of Bella the same way he had since that day at the beach – as someone he would at the very least like to call a friend. After all, the emergence of her supernatural heritage didn't seem to have altered her personality, so why should his feelings toward her change? Plus, she now held the added appeal of most likely being the only fae outside his tribe he would ever get to interact with unless he ventured beyond their territory when he was older. And he didn't want her to go.

###

Edward and Charlie had both arrived at the Swans' house by the time Bella returned, and it seemed they were both disturbed by her absence, since they both pounced on her the moment she walked through the door and began peppering her with questions.

"Where have you been?"

"When I came in and found you gone, I thought you must be with Edward, but then he showed up-"

"It may be broad daylight outside, but it's still unwise to wander off without even leaving a note," Edward said reproachfully while Charlie nodded in agreement, thinking of the number of abductions and other dangerous incidents that could and did happen in broad daylight.

"Whoa, guys, calm down. I didn't wander off, I just went for a quick power walk around the block."

This statement appeared to have the opposite of the soothing effect Bella had hoped for, as Charlie and Edward exchanged incredulous and rather worried looks.

"Since when," Charlie demanded, "do you power walk?"

"Um…since now, I guess." Aware of how flippant that sounded, Bella elaborated, "I tried to work on my term papers, but I couldn't focus; it was like I had all this energy built up inside me and I needed to let it out. Maybe it's a delayed reaction from all that time I was barely able to move at all after I got hurt?"

Charlie looked doubtful, but thankfully Edward decided to help her out. "Yes, that's probably it. Carlisle says he frequently sees patients with an excess of pent-up energy after a prolonged period of limited activity."

###

Of course, when Bella reported the latest change in her condition to Bo, she had a different theory. "Sounds like your fae metabolism's kicking in. Most of us aren't at Superman's level – we can't leap tall buildings or punch through concrete walls – but I've noticed that pretty much every fae has more energy, strength, and stamina than your average human. Now that your body's adjusting to being on a steady diet of vampire chi, I think you're ready to level up your training."

"There's another level?" Bella asked with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. "I mean, other than healing ourselves and influencing people through touch, what else can we do?"

"I'm gonna teach you to fight."

Bella's apprehension increased exponentially when she heard that, though her excitement didn't diminish as much as she would have expected.

Edward, on the other hand, wasn't at all excited at the prospect. "Is that really necessary?"

"Considering the number of life-or-death situations I've ended up in since I joined the fae world, I'd say it's pretty damn necessary," Bo replied flatly.

"You don't make much of an effort to avoid those situations, though, do you? It seems to me that you could live a much safer life if you didn't insist on remaining unaligned and interfering with other fae's predation on humans," Edward observed. "If Bella opts for a less unconventional lifestyle than yours, it's unlikely that combat will become one of her regular activities."

"So, what, you expect her to just be a nice little conformist who doesn't give a damn about people getting eaten even though she's lived with humans and thought she was one of them for most of her life?"

"I just want her to be safe."

"Hey," Bella broke in, "isn't anyone going to ask me what I want?"

Edward's and Bo's heads swiveled toward her, a guilty look crossing the latter's face; after all her railing about other people trying to dictate the course of her life, the last thing she wanted was to do that very thing to her own sister. "You're right, Bella," she agreed. "We should've asked. So what do you want?"

"I don't know!" Bella exclaimed, throwing up her hands. "Not too long ago, my only goal was to get into a good college so I could get out of Forks as soon as I graduate. Then I fell in love with Edward and thought I wanted to become a vampire so I could be with him forever. Now I've found out I'm a whole other species I'd barely even heard of, so it looks like I do get to be with Edward forever, and I guess going to college is still a good idea, but as far as fae goals… I don't really have any yet. I'm only seventeen; you can't expect me to know what to do with immortality already."

"That's the spirit," said Kenzi, who had just entered the room with a bag of chips. "I don't waste time on long-term planning and life goals and all that crap, and here I am, living my best life – or at least I would be if Esme hadn't stocked you guys' kitchen with all this health food." She shook her bag at Edward. "I mean, veggie chips? What's wrong with regular chips? Potatoes and corn are vegetables." Refusing to be deterred from snacking in spite of her objections to the available options, she popped a chip into her mouth and began crunching loudly.

"I intend to come up with a plan by the time I'm your age," Bella said tartly. "Preferably one that involves less beer."

"Yeah, we can't have you accidentally loosening up and having a little fun, can we?" Kenzi scoffed.

"The hangover you had after our night at the bar didn't look fun to me."

"Ladies!" Bo interjected, stepping between them. "We're not here to criticize each other's lifestyle choices, okay? Don't make me give you the 'respecting others' differences' speech again."

"Sorry," Kenzi mumbled through a mouthful of chips.

"Me too," Bella concurred. "And I hope you meant what you said about not criticizing each other's choices, because… Look, Bo, I think it's great how you stand up for the oppressed, but I don't know if I can do what you do. I'm just not that heroic…and honestly, I don't want to end up looking over my shoulder everywhere I go, wondering who's going to come after me next."

She watched Bo anxiously as she spoke, clearly afraid her fearless big sister would be disappointed – and maybe Bo was, just a little, but she quickly pushed the feeling away. After all, she hadn't exactly planned on becoming a human rights crusader; it had just sort of happened, and she couldn't blame Bella for wanting a quieter, safer life. Deliberately choosing the danger, chaos, and craziness that had become an all-too-regular part of Bo's routine since she joined the fae world would be, well, crazy.

"Hey, I get it. Goddess knows my life would be easier if I followed the party line."

"But then you wouldn't be your awesome ass-kicking self that I know and love," Kenzi interposed.

"I wouldn't mind learning how to protect myself, though," Bella continued, now looking at Edward. "I didn't go looking for a fight with James; I was just minding my own business, having fun with your family, and he came after me anyway. When he lured me to that ballet studio, and I knew he was going to kill me and there was nothing I could do to stop him… I never want to feel that helpless again."

As he gazed into her eyes, wide and earnest and pleading with him to understand, Edward found that he couldn't object. He wanted to, wanted to tell her that she didn't need to worry about protecting herself because he would do that for her…except he hadn't. He'd let James elude him, let him get all the way to Phoenix and walk right into Renée's house, and his mistake had very nearly cost Bella her life. It was no wonder she didn't feel comfortable leaving her safety in his hands after that.

"If that's what you want," he said tightly. "I doubt I'll be of much help in this, so I'll leave you to it."

Sensing that the idea of her learning to fight bothered him more than he was letting on, Bella started to call him back as he left, but Bo spoke up before she could get a word out. "You might want to change first; jeans don't give you the best freedom of movement."

Bella blinked at her, only then registering that Bo had traded her usual leather and low-cut top for a pair of stretchy pants and…another low-cut top, though this one did look more like something one would wear in a gym. She then looked down at her own decidedly non-athletic ensemble and frowned.

Right on cue, Alice appeared, beaming in the way she only did when new clothes were involved. "I saw that you might be needing some workout gear soon, so I picked up a few things for you just in case. Come with me…" Taking Bella by the arm, she led the young succubus upstairs to her room, where she presented her with a dizzying array of yoga outfits, spandex, sports bras, tank tops, and every other kind of athletic wear imaginable. "Think this'll be enough?"

"I think I could train for the Olympics with all this," Bella replied with an incredulous laugh. Not knowing what attire was most appropriate for combat training, she picked out the least revealing clothes in the colors she liked best and changed in Alice's bathroom, then took a moment to inspect herself in the huge mirror. Well, at least I look the part. Hopefully that'll be enough to keep me from making a total fool of myself.

When she emerged, Alice declared that she looked like a 'total badass' before taking her to the room that usually served as the kids' recreational area, though it took Bella a second to recognize it since the pool table, board games, and video game equipment that typically littered the floor had all been put away or pushed against the walls in order to make room for the exercise mats that now covered every clear inch of floor space.

"You like it?" Alice asked as she took in Bella's reaction. "I had Jasper and Emmett set it up after school."

"We can work with this," Bo said approvingly, having already scoped out the room while Bella got dressed. "Tell the boys thanks for me."

They heard the front door open from several rooms away, and Emmett's voice shouted, "You're welcome!"

"What he said," Jasper called from down the hall in the opposite direction, albeit more quietly.

"Enjoy your training session," Alice giggled, then sauntered off in the direction Jasper's voice had come from.

Kenzi had chosen not to join them after Bo told her they probably wouldn't do anything too exciting on day one, and Bella was grateful not to have an audience as Bo guided her through a set of warmups designed to loosen her muscles. To her surprise (and pleasure), she found that her body was more supple than expected, but moving it in new ways still felt strange to the part of her brain that insisted her clumsiness would kick in at any moment.

After completing the warmup, Bo taught her some basic defensive tactics. Most of it was stuff Bella had heard before – stomping on an assailant's foot or kicking their shins, attacking the most sensitive parts of their face, and using their own weight against them when grabbed from behind – with an added twist. "If you can get your hands – or anything else – on any part of their bare skin, you can always whammy them into letting you go. Chi-sucking the fight out of them works great too."

"Do you think that would've worked on James?" Bella asked after wriggling out of Bo's grasp. "I tried pepper spraying him, but that did exactly nothing – not that I expected it to. It was more of a knee-jerk reaction…plus I just needed to do something, no matter how pointless. I couldn't just stand there and let him kill me without even trying to stop him."

In the aftermath of that fateful encounter, she hadn't dwelled much on her brush with death – frankly, the revelations that had followed had almost completely pushed it out of her mind – but it was still the most terrifying experience of her entire life, and as she revisited it for the first time, she found herself more upset than she'd anticipated. Next thing she knew, Bo's arms were around her – not in a restraining hold this time but a comforting embrace – and Bella instinctively hugged her back, burying her face in her older sister's neck.

"I'm so sorry that happened to you," Bo said kindly while rubbing her back. "It's horrible to feel that helpless – yeah, I've been there," she added when Bella lifted her head to give her a startled look. "But I learned how to take care of myself, and so will you. The next vampire that tries messing with you will be in for a shock."

Bella gave a half-embarrassed chuckle at that, because the idea of her standing a chance against someone like James when her skin and bones were still as soft and breakable as ever and she, despite being fae, was still Bella Swan, was nothing short of ridiculous. And yet, even though her movements were slow and hesitant, she had successfully executed every maneuver Bo had shown her. She had even managed to flip the other woman over her shoulder (though she was certain she wouldn't have been able to do it if Bo had actually fought back), and she had done it all without tripping over her own feet one single time.