A/N: I'm not a professional writer, or really even very good, but something about my fingers flashing over the keys is so therapeutic, especially during these uncertain times around the globe. Thank you, thank you for your response! As long as there are people willing to read my words, I will continue posting them!

I decided to go ahead and start another story that has been on my mind, this time from Bella's POV. Wish me luck as I delve into her mind for the first time in a decade! Before the Dawn can be found on my profile.

Chapter Three: Miss Her.

Two weeks.

Four days.

22 hours.

32 Seconds.

I have lived over a century on this earth; That's enough time to make any amount of it outside of a decade seem trivial.

But the days dragged from the time I said goodbye to Bella, despite the constant danger from Victoria and her newborn, the temptation to break treaty and go to the chief's house, and the lingering desire to free Bella's life from monsters and madness completely.

Since the dogs were now in the picture, I guess that was out of the question.

And there were more of them now.

We were told by the Alpha, the first to turn in this generation, that his maturity into the wolf had been triggered by our return to the area a few years prior. The pack growth had been slow at that point, because we upheld our end of the treaty and stayed off Quileute land. With the danger to humans being minimal, there was no need for a large population of protectors. Sam had been sure it would stop there when he heard that we planned to leave, but our abrupt change of plans and the addition of hostile vampires led to a puppy boom.

There were so many of them now, many much younger even than Bella. Although we rarely spoke to Sam accept to give and receive updates, he was unable to conceal the concern in his mind. Did they really need that many for such a small gathering of 'blood-suckers' as he thought of us? Was the danger really down to two if the ancestors changed boys, barely even teenagers, into men and wolves long before their time?

His worries made me anxious.

It had been nearly impossible to abide by the treaty and stay away from Bella; I failed to do so completely. After that first night, I had circled the Swan house every night. The flashes of Bella in Charlie's head nearly broke me.

"Edward," Alice sighed one night, popping into my room with Jasper on her heels. I immediately felt at ease despite the apprehension in her voice and hissed at Jasper, annoyed.

I'm sorry. He thought simply, and I knew he was apologizing for so much more than the current mood lifter.

"I see you going to her, you know," She hummed, sitting cross-legged on the couch beside me, "I know what you're planning."

I rolled my eyes, silently cursing myself. For two weeks, I had managed not to make my decision final, intentionally trying to keep her visions muddied.

I wanted to see Bella. With my own eyes, rather than through her father's, thick with worry and grief for his daughter. I wanted to hold her, to beg her to take me back. I wanted to make her see that I had lied to her, in vain, in order to protect her.

I knew, despite the dogs surrounding her house, that I could make it. I knew their patterns, and with my access to their thoughts, I would know if they sensed my presence. There was a gap, when that Jacob Black traded with Sam himself… I knew I could make it. I could slip into her room and fix all of this.

"It won't work." Alice said simply, and not even Jasper could keep the rumble of rage from escaping my lips as a growl.

"You don't know that."

"Actually, I do," my sister reminded me with a tap to her temple, speaking aloud solely for Jasper's benefit. I stood when I saw her premonition, roaring.

So, they would catch me. Maybe they were better at their job than I gave them credit for.

"It would start a war," Alice murmured needlessly, "Our hold on peace is tenuous at best, Edward. If we have any hope at all of staying in Forks, in finding Victoria, you have to stay away from her." She paused, and I could feel her pain mingled with mine.

"And so do I."

I sighed, softening towards her. Alice missed her, too.

"I'll stay away," I promised after a long silence, and I knew Alice's quiet sigh of relaxation had nothing to do with Jasper.

"What do you see now?" I asked, gazing out the glass into velvet night.

"Yes."

Her vision was clear, and it was much the same as it had been since the night I tried to leave. Bella was in the meadow, laying on her back. Her face was peaceful, a tinge of sadness just discernible in her soft features. Her eyes were closed as the sun shone down upon her, dancing on her creamy skin. In the shadows of the tree line, I was just barely visible. Watching her. Protecting her.

"It's back to the way it has been," Alice explained to Jasper.

I pinched the bridge of my nose- an old habit.

"I'm still not with her."

"But she's safe," Alice reminded me, standing up and reaching for Jasper's hand.

Someday, Edward. She thought as they left my room in silence.

XxX

"I just don't understand why we have to stay."

"Rose…" Emmett began, but she stopped him with an upheld hand.

"No. Edward decided to leave Bella, and we went along with him. He's not with her now, and the pack has taken over almost every responsibility when it comes to her protection."

"He loves her, Rose," Emmett sighed, the usual laughter in his eyes muted, "Like you love me. You didn't even know me, and you didn't leave me to that bear."

I stood at the windows in silence as my family argued behind me, watching the new day dawn.

"It's ridiculous and selfish."

"I love her, too!" Alice reminded our sister as a quiet calm spread through the room, "And so does Carlisle, Esme… Jasper felt so terrible not only because of what his slip did to Edward, but the look of shock and fear on Bella's face!"

"…I'm kind of fond of her, too," Emmett shrugged, downplaying his attachment to the human girl who had come into our lives,"She's Edward's mate. She's family, Rosalie."

I wanted to argue that she wasn't my mate, that she didn't belong to me, but a sudden rustling in the trees on the edge of our property caught my attention.

I hissed, and my family joined me at the window, all in a defensive crouch.

"Victoria?" Esme asked, reaching for Carlisle's hand.

"She's not alone," I growled between gritted teeth, recognizing Riley's newborn thoughts.

We paused for one tense second, then sprung for the door.

My entire family fanned across our yard, hot on Victoria's heels.

A/N: Thanks for reading!