We finally get a little more of Peter's POV. I secretly love his character sm and I can't wait for you guys to get even more of him in the following chapters :)

Get ready for some angst x

Peter stood in Bella's empty bedroom, listening to the quiet that consumed the home that the Cullen's once occupied.

He looked down at the lavender knit sweater in his hand. Bella must have forgotten the sweater while packing to leave the house as quickly as possible. To evade the monster hunting her down.

He hadn't thought the distance would affect him the way it has all these weeks since parting ways with her. It was hard to explain what the absence of her presence caused him, only that it made him feel colder than he already was, dead in a way that made immortality appear laughable. It wasn't as if he held any romantic feelings towards her, she was far too young for that and Peter wasn't a predator. At least, not in that sense.

He had no interest in preying on a young girl.

Not like the nomad who will stop at nothing to get her.

So why does being away from her consume his every thought like a poison slowly eating away at his sanity?

Peter still recalls the way she'd looked disappointed that he and Charlotte weren't joining them in Forks. The way she said she'd like to see him again someday when James was dealt with once and for all. Initially, he had every intention of staying away from her. Knew it would be for the best in order to preserve her safety. But he'd be a liar if he said seeing Bella again was the only thing keeping him from losing his mind while waiting for the nomads to appear.

As if to add to his warring thoughts, the occasional text from Alice with updates on Bella made it impossible to not think of the human. To wonder how she was doing or if she was struggling with the seizures. If she was getting used to attending high school. If she was happy.

The sound of rain falling outside stopped his thoughts from wandering further. He walked toward the window just as thunder rumbled in the distance. It was time.

Before he left Bella's room, he placed her sweater atop the stripped bed, taking her scent with him. Just enough for it to bait his target tonight.

While Peter couldn't predict someone's decisions like Alice or see visions of the nomad like Bella seemed to be able to even as a human, Peter could sense that James was near. A gut instinct or a sixth sense gifted to him when he was turned into a vampire.

He knew that the others were waiting impatiently for the nomads to show up too.

Shortly after the Cullens left, he and Charlotte headed over to the Denali's where they explained the whole situation to Eleazar. Making it clear that Bella was being hunted down by a vampire who may very well show up on their doorstep next. Kate and Tanya hadn't been there since they'd gone hunting in Canada and wouldn't return for weeks, but that was more than perfect for him.

Garett, Eleazar, and Carmen offered to accompany them back to the Cullen's residence to ambush the nomads and put a stop to all of this. They've all been waiting ever since. Alice had told them earlier this week that James and Victoria were taking detours around Alaska, feasting on humans in their hunt for Bella.

They hadn't shown up to the Denali's like Alice had originally predicted which left Peter on edge. No matter what they decided though, their arrival tonight hadn't changed.

Peter had only ever met one other vampire with an unusual talent for tracking others. Trackers were cunning, determined, and worst of all, desperate when it came to capturing their prey. Carter had been one of the better trackers who didn't find joy in tormenting others. But unlike his friend, James would never stop. Yet another life that Peter swore he'd avenge.

That was why Peter needed to make sure he would keep his word, by any means necessary. He already knew that killing James was the only option. For Bella's safety. To make sure she'd never see the bastard again. So that she can live her life however she wants to live it.

He could give her that much. Peter could admit that he might never truly be seen as anything other than a monster in her eyes, no matter what or who he hunted now. The fear on her face the first time they'd met still remains fresh in his mind even now. It was because of that fear that he wanted to give her that peace of mind.

Maybe the seizures will stop too when this is all over.

"What if they don't show? What then?" Charlotte asked as she sidled up to him. Her amber eyes shining in the darkness.

Peter gritted his teeth, "Then we'll hunt them down ourselves. No more waiting. But I'm ending this one way or another."

Rain continued to fall as he and Charlotte stood beneath one of the trees closest to the house. Droplets of water fell from the strands of his hair as Peter looked up towards the canopy of the trees across the wide gravel driveway. Crouched atop one of the thick branches, Eleazar's eyes met his as the latter shook his head. Clearly thinking the nomads weren't going to show just as they hadn't the other days before.

As if they sensed his doubts, the sound of footsteps stepping over gravel caught his attention. The scent of human blood faintly filling the air. Peter's predatory instincts sharpened as he slowly looked at the red headed woman approaching the Cullens home. A breeze carried over the stench of blood and rain, and he knew she must have killed a human less than a few hours ago. A woman based on the perfume that stuck to the nomad's fur coat.

She was alone. Which meant her mate must be somewhere nearby, if not already scouting the area.

Victoria's bare feet stepped over leaves and rocks, smiling as if in on a secret. Her attention was fixed solely on the darkened home of the Cullens. Her red eyes scanning every inch. If it weren't for the rain masking Peter and the other's scents, he was sure the nomad would have already detected them. Unless she was simply ignoring them.

Either way, Peter didn't have it in him to care why she looked so nonchalant. He stepped right in her path before Victoria could get any closer.

Her eyes immediately met his, a small smile curling her lips, "Well, hello there. And who might you be?"

"Where is he?" He asked, cutting to the chase.

Victoria tilted her head, "Who do you mean?"

"You know who. Tell me and I'll consider sparing you." Peter didn't add in the "for now" part. He wasn't a fool. He knew that killing a vampire's mate would cause the other to be consumed with vengeance, not stopping until they killed the one responsible for ending their mate's life.

"Am I supposed to be afraid? Your words seem rather funny to me, seeing as you have no cards to play in our little game." Victoria's smile dripped with condescension, utterly amused by his words. Ignoring the fact that Charlotte and Carmen appeared behind her, cornering her in their trap. "Maybe I should be asking you where a certain human is..."

Charlotte looked at him over her shoulder, clearly conveying her confusion. The entire interaction with Victoria has been strange, from the way she carries herself to how unalarmed she is by the vampires surrounding her. As if she knew this was going to happen...

Peter noted that the scent on her, despite the rain and blood, was entirely James's which meant he was close.

"I don't have time for this." He was about to lunge for her as the nomad got closer to the house, when they all suddenly heard the rumble of a car from the road growing louder. He frowned, glaring at the approaching vehicle when it turned down the long driveway at the same time Victoria looked over her shoulder, turning to face the headlights that shined on her.

"Who is that?" Charlotte muttered.

Peter narrowed his gaze when he spotted a familiar gray van. A van he'd seen the day Bella said goodbye to Flynn.

He held back a vicious curse.

What the hell is he doing here?

Peter contemplated how he was going to stop the kid from approaching without revealing his true nature to Flynn or risking Victoria's escape without first finding out where James was hiding. It seemed he wouldn't have a choice because before he knew it, another vampire dressed in a black coat suddenly stepped into the van's path which made the boy screech to a halt.

Peter heard Flynn's heart kick up a notch when he stared wide eyed at the nomad none of them had detected until now. But it was too late. Victoria and the nomad set their eyes on him now. They wouldn't let him go, unless Peter did something.

He was moving before he knew what he was doing, and at the same time Charlotte, Carmen, and Eleazar charged towards Victoria. Peter was behind the vampire in an instant before he could yank the driver door open and he shoved him as far away from the van as he could, watching him slam into one of the trees.

Peter bared his fangs at the boy and growled, "Leave. Now."

Peter didn't need to feel emotions to know that the boy was terrified of him, of whatever he'd seen on the vampire's vicious face. So terrified that he didn't hesitate to put the van in reverse and backing up toward the road. Only for it to get stopped when the nomad, appearing older than Bella by a few years, grabbed the rear bumper of the van, halting Flynn's escape. Peter lunged for him, the scent of a newborn all over him as they collided and tumbled to the ground. It was easy enough to take him down, but being a newborn, he was much stronger than Peter or any of the others currently fighting Victoria.

Garett, wasting no time, whirled behind the newborn and wrapped his arms around his neck before launching him over his shoulder further into the forest. The sound of his body clashing with the tree loud enough to be mistaken for another deep rumble of thunder. Garett took off after him, calling out as he said, "Get rid of the boy, Peter."

Peter spun on his heel, his attention shifting between Charlotte and the Denali's locked in a fight with Victoria and Flynn who appeared utterly frozen behind the wheel. His heart going a hundred miles an hour. Cursing, he stalked over to the van and yanked the door open, careful not to damage it despite his ire. The boy was pale, staring wide eyed at the vampires before him.

"Flynn. Look at me." Peter commanded, his voice fierce enough that it made the boy flinch. When he looked at Peter he looked confused and frightened. Peter wasn't like Jasper or the Cullens. He wasn't gentle or patient when it came to humans. Unless it was Bella...so for her, and her feelings towards the human before him, he tried to control his words. "Drive. You go and you don't come back to this property again, do you hear me? If you don't want to die, say you understand."

Flynn nodded after a beat, "I-I understand."

"Forget you saw any of this. Tell no one, not even your mother. Now go."

This time Flynn didn't hesitate before ripped out of the driveway, the glow of the red tail lights fading as he turned onto the main road. If he even understood what he saw tonight, he'll think before mentioning anything to another human.

"Peter!" Charlotte's cry had him spinning around right as he saw Victoria making a break for it, so fast he almost failed to see her as she became a blur of red the further into the forest she ran. Charlotte chasing after her with determination. Peter followed them with a snarl. He called out over his shoulder to Carmen and Eleazar, "Kill the newborn before he goes after the boy! We'll handle Victoria."

"What brings you all here?" Esme asks Kate as the Denali sisters gathered in the living room with the rest of them, except for Bella who'd gone upstairs to change out of her pajamas and into clothes that were more suitable to greet guests.

Kate smiled as she gave Alice a hug in greeting, "We were just wrapping up our hunt in Canada after Irina joined us when we thought about stopping by and seeing how you've all settled in Forks."

Jasper monitored everyone's emotions closely from the stairs while he went up to check on Bella. The anxiety his sister was projecting from her room, overlapping with her confusion. Still, he listened closely as everyone spoke in the living room. The Cullens doing as Alice and Carlisle had said earlier to not be overly suspicious of Irina's arrival. The latter had been quiet but polite as she always had been in the past when she greeted him. Her eyes were still a warm shade of amber. Her smile genuine and her emotions sincere when she asked about Bella.

Giving no indication to be suspicious of her.

Still, Irina and Laurent's association with James in the past made him wary. Even if the two didn't want anything to do with him anymore, Jasper swore to protect Bella no matter what, and if that meant keeping an eye on old family friends then so be it.

He knocked on Bella's door, "Bella? You doing ok in there?"

The sound of her footsteps approaching the door made him smile when he felt her happiness at merely hearing his voice call for her.

When she opened the door she was dressed in a thick black zip-up sweater with a maroon shirt beneath and her favorite baggy jeans. Her long hair was pushed back by a thin headband, leaving only a few wisps to frame her face. For the first time in a long time, there was more color on her cheeks and her eyes were bright. Sleeping all night and most of today seemed to have really helped her.

He was relieved to see a positive change in her from that alone.

She smiled, "Yeah, I just wanted to make sure I looked okay."

"You look very pretty, even in your pajamas." He grinned, teasing her.

She blushed at the compliment, "Thanks, Jazz."

Jasper looked over his shoulder when he heard Emmett and the others discussing going on a hunt tonight as a little family get together. He turned to face Bella and she frowned, "What is it?"

"About that book you told me you wanted me to read the other day. Can I borrow it?" He asked as he gently eased Bella back into her bedroom, holding up a finger to his lips before she could ask him what book he was talking about.

Understanding, Bella nodded and played along, "Oh, sure. It's over here. I'll give you a bookmark too, I have so many I'm practically collecting them now."

Jasper couldn't help but smile with pride that she understood him even without the use of words.

He closed the door behind him as Bella walked over to one of her many bookcases along the wall. In passing, he swiped a notebook off Bella's desk and quickly wrote a note for her to read, at the same time he asked her which book in the series she'd read was her favorite.

Bella answered before looking at the note.

The others are going hunting soon. You stay close to me until the Denali's leave, okay? Nod if you understand.

"You basically have two copies of the same book on these shelves, Bella. Do you really need so many different editions?" Jasper continued their fake conversation while she read it, feeling reassured when she nodded.

As he wrote something else, she said, "They're not just copies, they're special editions. Everyone else collects all kinds of things in the house. This is my thing."

Jasper could hear the others talking like normal, no one suspecting a single thing except for Alice and Edward who were keenly aware of what was going on in Bella's room. Waves of approval and understanding came from both of them for the decision Jasper made in talking to Bella about the Denali's visit.

Don't worry about anything. Nothing is wrong or going to happen, but I want to make sure you're safe. Irina hasn't been with the Denali's in some time and I want to be sure she can be trusted being so close to you.

"If it makes you happy then that's all that matters. I'll take the less special edition then." He said with amusement.

Bella gave him a soft smile when she looked up from the note. They shared a quiet moment as they stood by the window before she stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tight. Jasper returned the hug, resting his chin atop her head.

"It's okay. I trust you." She murmured.

Jasper knew she wasn't talking about a book this time. He hugged her just a little tighter this time, "Thank you, darlin'."