"No, Edward, I'm sorry but I have to go! I wish you could come but— he needs me!" I cried as I slammed the door in a shocked Edward's face. I sprinted up the stairs as Charlie shouted my name. I barreled into my room, Charlie following, but I locked my door before he could enter. He pounded relentlessly on the door.

YAHOOOO!!!!!!! So this is the last chappie readers aren't you excited??!?!?!?!?! I humbly apologize for the nearly 3 month delay, but school-and life in general- have beenw aying in heavily on me! I have grades to maintaing after all. On another note, the real reason i finished up this chappie was because i just saw Remember me today!! Gosh, it was good. It was funny to hear rpattz call the nypd pusies, though. LOL. Anywhooo, on with the chapter!

Disclaimer: If i owned Twilight, i'd have rpattz on Facebook. Alas, i do not-- for both dreams!

"Bella! What happened?!" Charlie hollered as he continued his incessant pounding. I wasted no time in diving under my bed for my special traveling messenger bag, which I had personalized over the years and declared finished two summers ago. Along with it, I yanked out the cash from my piggy bank and stuffed it in. When I rose up, Edward was already in the room, throwing clothes at me, as I stuffed them in.

"Now is so not the time Dad!" I hollered back as I made sure to grab my special "kick-ass" outfit. The memories of all the vampires and other shifters I defeated— and sometimes killed— in this outfit brings back memories . . . Edward didn't know, but I planned to finish my business with James. Once. And. For. All.

"Hurry up." Edward whispered to me as he jumped out the window. I yanked open my door and sprang past Charlie into the bathroom to get my toiletries. This time I didn't close the door so Charlie kept up a steady flow of talk.

"Bella where are you going? What happened, did that Cullen boy do something to you, because if he did, I—"

Sighing impatiently, I slid past Charlie and bounded down the stairs two at a time. I whirled around to face Charlie and said patiently, yet rushed, "It's got nothing to do with Edward. My friend down In Phoenix called to tell me my other friend is badly hurt in the hospital and is frantic. He needs me there, and I have to go, you understand, don't you? I owe this dude so many things, to not go is criminal."

Charlie floundered for a second, but then started again. "But, this is such a last-minute thing, I mean; you aren't going to drive down there now?"

I could see Charlie didn't have much of an argument, so grinning I skipped to him and kissed his cheek like the good daughter I am.

I can't believe I didn't choke on that lie! I bit my lip to muffle my snickers.

"Don't worry, I'll call you in the morning, okay?" Waggling my fingers at him, I grabbed my coat and my keys and dashed out of there, making sure that I had everything I needed. Jumping into my Road King, I started him up and gunned the engine. I was driving carefully, but I still scanned the forest on either side of the road. My instincts were telling me, that James or perhaps one of his cronies is following me. Somebody else was on my tail, but I just didn't know— suddenly, headlights flew behind me, and I tensed. Upon closer inspection, I saw it was only Emmett's jeep.

A loud thud on my driver's side startled me, and I screamed.

"It's only me, Bella." Edward said, as he opened my door. He gently shuffled me to the side as he took the wheel and drove. The tires never moved an inch, the stupid, beautiful, ultra-perfect bastard.

"I could have driven to your house." I pointed out quietly, but Edward just gave me a look, and I knew not to say anything else. Honestly, he needn't inconvenience him and his family. I was more than capable of taking on James, and Victoria. Laurent, I knew wouldn't bother me. I decided though, that I would tell him this at the Cullen mansion.

Soon, my entourage arrived at the house, and Emmett was by my door in a flash, opening my door. I saw he was about to pick me up, but I wasn't having it and ducked out from under him and loped to the open door where Esme was silhouetted by the lights. When I got to her she hugged me close and brought me in. Edward followed with my bag, and so did Alice and Emmett.

Esme walked over to the back of the house, and touching some hidden key pad, metal shutters came down the glass wall.

"We're going to have to break into groups," Edward wasted no time in ordering everyone, "Rosalie, Esme, you take Bella's car and—"

I had to stop him there. This was ridiculous! I could kill them on my own, and nobody was touching the King.

"Edward, wait." I said forcefully, and he glared at me with black eyes, obviously exasperated with my interruption. I continued on anyway, in a stern tone. "You don't even need to do this! I have a simpler plan."

"It was your plan to go to Phoenix." He said through his teeth.

I snorted, amused. "That was just to get you to calm down, now wait!" I said sternly when he made to interrupt me. "Just listen. Let me find James, I can kill him easily. And Victoria too, should she wish it—"

Edward growled, seething in anger. "Are you insane?! I won't allow you to go and get yourself killed." He snarled. He had stalked closer to me as he said this, so he towered over me.

I growled at him, and he froze, shocked at the ferocity in my growl. I sounded just like his kind when I growled. Little did he know, I could make my growl even scarier. And he knew then.

I meant business.

From the corner of my eye, I could see the rest of them standing still, staring at the two of us in shock, especially me. I suppose it hadn't really sunk in for them that I was a predator, and every bit as dangerous as them, maybe even a bit more, depending on my mood that day. Well, it sure as hell did now.

"No! He is my problem. Remember, I have killed more vampires than you, I'll wager that. I've no doubt that the only person who tops me by a mile is Jasper. I'm no foolish cub, looking for glory. I can handle it." I growled out furiously. Edward assessed me coolly with black eyes; he knew why I was growling at him. I was no cub; I was a wolf, an eagle, a lioness. And he was trying to take my kill, and I would not allow that.

He took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Please," he pleaded softly. "Just do this my way, for a little while. Go with Alice and Jasper to Phoenix. Carlisle, Emmett, and I will track down James." His eyes returned briefly to a dark amber color, pleading with me to let him do this.

I snarled, but backed away, turning my head to stare out the front windows. I dipped my head in acknowledgment and submission, and immediately the bustle restarted. I fished my keys out my pocket, and threw them to Rosalie, who caught them without even looking.

She started off with Esme, and then stopped. I watched her, and she turned toward me. Her eyes held mine for a few seconds, then flitted to out the door. She clutched the keys a bit tighter, and then mumbled, "I'll take care of your car. I think it will be best if I don't go above 100." Then she and Esme were gone. I had to smirk, before I turned to follow Alice and Jasper to the garage.

"Bella." Edward said stiffly. I turned around, and whatever I was about to say died in my throat when I caught the black, dead eyed stare he set on me. He strode to me swiftly, crushing me to him so forcefully I was lifted off the ground. He crushed his lips to mine, and for a second, I returned his fervor— and then he let go, and was out the door.

My eyes filled with tears, but they didn't drop. I made a 'tch' sound, and quickly jogged over to Jasper and Alice. The car was already going, and as Jasper plopped down in the driver's seat, Alice ushered me into the back before flashing over to the passenger seat. The headlights were turned on, and we drove out into the cover of night. The only break in the black, devoid of stars, was our headlights as we raced down the highway.

I don't remember when we got there. I was drifting from the rough rasp of a barely felt sleep, and the numbing, eye-pricking sensation of 24-hour alertness. It was both disorienting and annoying. I needed to be refreshed and ready to go whenever James gave the signal. Lord knows I would never win against James if I was a bumbling, stumbling, bleary-eyed fool. I took the time to refresh myself with the rugged, open blazing beauty of Phoenix. The sun bore down on the land, and I smiled at the return of the sun. We were near the airport, I could tell. Jasper must be headed for the hotel near here. I think I remember mumbling out the directions to him when Alice asked.

The large, grandiose hotel loomed before us, nearly glowing in its pale cream exterior from the reflection of the sun. Jasper parked in the shaded cover, throwing his keys to the valet as he and Alice strode into the hotel, going directly to the concierge desk. I stared around as they handled their arrangements, and followed them when they beckoned to me. We were placed in a lovely suite, with tow bedrooms and a flat screen TV in the living room. The sunlight lit up the room, and I was sorely tempted to restrain Jasper when he closed the curtains, but I knew it was necessary.

I was growing anxious. Edward had yet to call me, and it seemed he nor had Uncle Carli had made contact with Alice. Gah! I need to just walk off this excess energy. Or . . . I could fly!

"Alice," I called, and suddenly she was there, sitting next to me on the couch.

"Yes?' She asked sweetly, her large eyes glittering at me. I smiled at her. Suddenly, she frowned, and said firmly, "Absolutely not, it's too dangerous."

I made an annoyed sound in the back of my throat. "What's dangerous about me going out for a flight? It's not like he can shoot me down, Alice!"

Jasper appeared then, towering over us as he leaned against the wall.

"She is right Bell," he said, a soft drawl in his voice, "it's just not a good idea for you to go off on your lonesome right now."

I snorted, smirking. "Well shucks, Huckleberry, you're a knight in shining armor." I growled at him when he ruffled my hair in retaliation.

"Look, I understand you need to let off steam, but you're just going to have to find a way to do it inside this suite." Alice said, sounding genuinely apologetic.

I sighed. "Alice, any word from them?"

Her eyes regarded me thoughtfully. "No, not yet."

My throat tightened a little. "Is that bad?"

She shook her head reassuringly. "No, not necessarily. It just means they have nothing to report, that's all."

I was still worried sick, but I let her words pacify me. I forced myself to think about what I would do to get rid of at least half this pent-up energy. What could I morph into that would allow me to enjoy myself? I'm pretty sure my face lit up like a fucking match when I thought of it. How could I not have thought of it before?

I knew Jasper and Alice were staring at me, but I couldn't care. I hopped off the couch, and then sprang into the air, over the table that sat in between the couch and entertainment center. Midair, I felt my body becoming shorter, more compact. Fur grew over my body and clothes, and my ears became large and floppy. When I landed on all fours, I was a puppy, specifically, a chocolate Labrador. Alice squealed, clapping her hands in delight, and Jasper laughed at me. I charged at him, and grabbing hold of the hem of his jeans between my teeth, flung my head side to side.

"Hey!" Jasper cried out, as he gently shook his leg to dislodge me.

Oh, I'm sorry, were those expensive? Not anymore! I snickered as he tried to get back at me for saying that. Alice tried to act like she was put out, but she soon got to laughing, as well as Jasper.

I let him go, and went off gamboling through the suite. I played a game of catch with Alice. She would throw the ball to me, and I would hit the ball back (just like Airbud, remember him?), with my nose. I chased my tail around for Alice and jasper's amusement. Then, I jumped up and down on the soft, springy bed in my room.

I heard the vibration from Alice's phone in her pocket as she sat in the living room. I immediately stopped my jumping, and jumped to the floor at the foot of the bed. Had they called at last? My question was answered when I heard uncle Carli's voice through Alice's phone.

"Yes, I understand." There was silence on the line as I guessed the phone was being passed to somebody. Then I heard the most beautiful voice in the world.

Somebody cue the chorus of heavenly-to-sinfully-sexy-to-be-from-heaven-angels!

"Alice, could you please get Bella, and put her on the phone?" Edwards asked smoothly. I was already zipping from the bedroom to the living room, yipping happily.

"I think she heard." Alice said, with a smile in my direction. As I bounced on the sofa, I was already back in my human form. I took the phone from Alice and with relief breathed into it, "Edward."

"Hello my love." Edward cooed into the phone. I wanted to melt into the couch and just listen to Edward croon, but I had priorities.

"Is everyone alright, are you alright? Edward, where's James, did the slimy son of a bitch slip past you, that oily snake?" I asked him urgently. There was laughter from my end, and I heard laughter from his end of the phone, his relieved and slightly surprised laughter stood out prominently to me though.

"First off, where did you learn such language fit for only a bar of disreputable mention? Second," here he let out a frustrated sigh, "Yes, he escaped. We think he's heading for Phoenix, he must have figured it out. The female escaped from Esme and Rosalie."

Ugh! Irritating, kitty wannabe loser hoe!

I growled in irritation. "Well, then, are you coming back?"

"Yes. We need to take you somewhere else, so I'll be there first thing in the morning. I will keep you safe, Bella." He said seriously, so I knew there was no room for argument. But I still couldn't help but try.

"I can be perfectly safe— if, you let me fight him, and—" His frustrated snarl caught me off guard.

"That is simply out of the question." He said sharply, and I sighed gustily when I realized I would have to take matters into my own hands. But I dared not dwell on my plans, lest Alice should see them and tattle. She seemed like the type, the pixie.

"Fine, then. Hurry, I miss you. I love you." I reminded him softly.

"Can you believe that after everything I've done to you, I love you too?" Edward laughed wearily.

I chuckled. "I would hope so, or else everything we're doing would be for nothing." We hung up after another hushed 'I love you' from each other. I handed the phone back to Alice, who I had forgotten was even next to me. We smiled briefly at each other, before suddenly she caught a vision. Her hand was moving in a strange sort of way, and it was curled, like she was trying to hold something.

"Jasper," I called warily. And he was there in a flash, bowed protectively over Alice, hands on her shoulders. He noticed her hand movements, and quickly shot out the room, then back with a pen and some stationary paper. I then realized she was drawing. She drew a room, but it looked like it was drawn from the point of view of someone facing south, where they could see everything. There was a long bar on the wall, like the kind dancer's stretched on. There was a TV, and a VCR, and a door to the west, with the exit sign above it. Alice drew in some more details, like the hardwood floor, and other such things before she snapped back to reality with us.

"What could it be?" Jasper asked Alice quietly, as their heads bent together over the paper.

Alice shook her head doubtfully, "I don't know."

I bent over the both of them to get a better look at the room. I recognized it, and I told tem so. "It's a ballet studio." I said in a sort of offhand manner, but inside I wondered; would this be where I destroyed James?

Alice and Jasper both turned to stare at me heavily. My instincts were rumbling under the surface of my skin, and I suddenly found myself growing angry with them for looking me directly in the eye. That would be the wolf in me, so I took a deep, calming breath, and calmed myself.

"Are you sure, Bella?" Alice's wind chime and soprano voice asked me steadily. I nodded, and pointed to the bar along the wall. "That would be the place all the dancers did their warm-up stretches. I had one exactly in that place in the old dance studio I used to go to. And there was A TV and VCR, but on the opposite side of the room from where it is now. And right there, that's the observation glass, there's a waiting room right on the other side of it."

Jasper took my hand in his. "You said that you used to go to a dance studio just like that. Is this the same one?"

I shrugged, shaking my head as I answered, "I'm pretty sure most standard ballet rooms are like that."

"Would you have any reason to go there now?" Alice inquired.

Yes, a tiny voice said, but instead I replied aloud, "No, I was soon too graceful for the teacher." Then I gave a lighthearted little laugh.

Alice joined in with my laugh. "True, you're very graceful, more graceful than most vampires I've seen."

"And yet, with all that, I'm still prone to an attack of clumsiness at the oddest times." I said incredulously, and we all shared a good laugh at that.

Jasper ordered me some food on room service, and he must have remembered that I eat more than the average human, because he ordered cheeseburger and fries, a coke, salad, a steak, and two slices of cheesecake. I had never felt so close to full since I turned 17, last September. After the party Renee threw me, I had sneaked off to the party the clan was throwing me. They had mounds of food, and as guest of honor I was to taste each dish before anyone else could eat it. That was the first time since I had become what I was that I felt full.

I was unused to feeling so filled, so I became sleepy and was content to watch the news on the TV. Alice and Jasper were like sitting statues, just watching the TV in total silence. Why can't they just make mindless chatter like regular people?

Soon, I grew tired from both their non-stimulating silent conversations and my own human self, and dragged myself from the couch to the room. I grabbed my pajamas and a towel from under the sink, and practically fell into the shower. I felt myself sway under the all too nice hot spray from the shower head as I bathed.

Once I was dressed, and my hair dry, I fell with a soft thud onto the hotel bed. I barely managed to wiggle under the covers before I fell off into a deep, dreamless sleep. I awoke when the heat of the room stifled me under the covers, and the sun's rays sucker punched me in the face. I felt better though, even with the unnecessarily abrupt wake-up call. I got ready for the day. My instincts were on hyper-alert today. I found out why soon enough.

I had gotten out of the shower, and my towel was still wrapped around me when my cell phone rang. Eagerly, I opened the phone without even checking caller id, for I assumed I knew who it was.

"Hello?" I said quickly.

"Bella!" my mother's frantic voice met my ears instead of the smooth voice of my love. Sighing in both, relief at hearing my mother's voice, and exasperation that it wasn't the person I wanted I soothed her as best as I could.

"Mom, it's alright." I said comfortingly.

"Bella, Bella, where are you?!" She cried.

"Take a deep breath mom!" I laughed, but my laughter cut off quickly when a new voice came on the phone.

"Schools don't protect the information of their students very well." James said in an amicable, conversational tone. As if we were talking about the weather.

"How did you—"

"If you wan to insure your mother's safety. You'll say what I tell you, okay? Say, yes, mom."

I was white with anger, and I struggled to not break my phone. "Yes, mom." I said, trying to hide the strain in my voice.

"We can do better than that," James said, chiding me. I felt bile in my throat, but I swallowed it down.

"Now, I know your other friends are coming down to Phoenix from the airport, and you're going to meet them soon. But you're going to take a detour. Do you think you can get away from your two friends, Bella?"

"Yes, mom." I said calmly.

"Very good!" James sounded pleased. "Now, after you get away from your friends, I want you to catch a cab to the ballet studio, the one by your house? You know which one I'm talking about, right?"

"Of course, mom."

"Good. I'll see you in a while Bella. Don't tell your friends about this Bella, I'll know if you do. You don't want anything to happen to your mother, do you?"

"NO." I said emphatically.

"Careful, Bella, don't lose your temper. You could lose more than that if you don't do as I say. See you later, Bella."

"Bye, mom." I said, and when he hung up the phone, I whipped it into the bed. I didn't fell any better when I heard the heavy thump, I would have proffered if I could throw it into the wall. But I liked that phone, and it would definitely alert Jasper and Alice that things were not happy goings in my world. Gah! I HATE James, I really do.

Well, since I knew a fight was imminent, I grabbed my fight outfit from my bag. (AN: pics on profile!). When I put it on, I took a big whiff. Ah, the smells of these clothes were bringing back good memories. Many painful memories, but still, all were good.

I made sure that my emotions were in check before I went into the living room. I spotted Alice, and walked toward her.

"Hey, Alice, is it alright if I write my mom a letter? Just so she doesn't worry," I explained. She looked at me carefully before nodding. I went back to the room, and ripped off a piece of paper from the hotel stationary, and grabbed a pen. This letter was really for Edward, so I carefully wrote down what I wanted him to know. That I was going to kill James and to just wait for me at the hotel, because I would be fine. Just in case though, I made sure he knew why, and where. As I folded the letter in three parts, I gave it a kiss for good luck, even thought I was confident in my abilities. I might be a good fighter, but James was no newborn, and worse he was a dirty fighter.

I gave the letter to Alice, who put it in her purse, and we left to the airport soon after. As we drove I thought about anything and everything but what I was about to do. I was running out of things to think about though, and I was relieved when Alice asked me a question.

"Bella?" she called my attention.

"Yes, Alice?" I replied kindly.

"Does vampire venom affect you?" She asked curiously. I smiled at her, when she turned around to look at me.

"Well, depends on what you mean. Do I turn into a vampire? No, I don't. However, you can sort of compare your venom to that of a snake, where it concerns my kind. We can withstand a certain amount of venom, the only side affect being pain, and how long the pain lasts depends on how much venom we took in to our system. But, if we take in too much venom, more than the amount we are able to take, then we suffer the pain for the full transformation time, and then we die."

She looked at me with wide eyes. "Well, how much can you stand?"

"Well, depends on the person. You know, size, age, and all that. Me, I can take about . . . hmm, I never really thought that much about it, but I'd say roughly, about 3 mouthfuls of venom. What I meant by mouthfuls is, when you change a human, you have to push venom into their systems, correct?"

"Well, I'm not sure, but from what I asked Carlisle, that sounds about right." She said cautiously.

I nodded. "Well, I can only take it if you push three mouthfuls of that into me. Of course, vampires don't realize they have to push he venom in to incapacitate us. So they usually just bite and think it's enough. I can tell you personally, just how many times their assumptions saved my life." I laughed, thinking back on it.

"That's not funny Bella. If Edward heard you talk like that, you'd never see the sun." Jasper drawled, but I saw a serious expression on his face. I snorted, tossing my dark brown hair over my shoulder.

"He's welcome to try." I said, and he laughed as he drove us into the airport parking lot. We hurried in to the airport terminal, and looked at the flights. Edward's would be coming in 20 minutes. I had 10 minutes. We walked over to the seats, and sat down. I waited four minutes before I spoke up.

"I have to go to the bathroom." I said, as I stood up, patting imaginary dust from my jeans.

"I'll go with you," Alice said, standing up.

"Actually, could Jasper come? I'm feeling a little nervous." That was true enough. Jasper gave me a confused look before he said, "Sure, Bell."

We walked together, and Jasper slung his arm around my shoulder, pushing me into his side. I giggled and playfully punched his side. He looked down and gave me a lazy wink, and we laughed.

"You feel okay Bell? You're nervous, with a tiny hint of dread." Jasper asked, concerned. I nodded my head casually.

"Yeah, I'm good." I said as we walked up to the ladies room. He waited outside as I went in. I knew this bathroom had a second exit, so I dashed for it. Plowing through the exit I ran towards the airport exit. There was a cab waiting, so I hopped in and threw him some twenties as I told him where I wanted to go. The cab driver seemed surprised at my urgency, but nevertheless, he drove to my destination. It seemed like he couldn't go fast enough as we drove to my old home. When we got out, he tried to give me my change but I told him to keep it, and sprinted down the block, towards my ballet studio. It was a good thing no one was there, or else my speed would definitely attract attention.

I got there in 5 minutes, what would normally be a 30 minute walk. Pushing open the door, I flung myself up those stairs and barged through the door to the room I heard my mother's voice in.

"Mom? Mom!" I shouted.

"Bella!" I heard her cry frantically, but there was something off about her voice. I walked quickly to where her voice was, and pushed open the janitor's door. I froze when I saw there was only a TV. My mother was looking frantically for me in the video. I remember this, when we went to the pier, and I almost fell in.

Huh. The sneaky bastard tricked me.

"Kudos to you James. You really had me going there." I told him, knowing instinctively he was behind me. I turned, and there he was, with a video camera in his hands.

"I hope you don't mind. I just want to leave this for your Edward to see." He said, motioning to the camera when he saw me watching it. I turned around fully, watching as he walked over to a stand I hadn't noticed, and place it there.

"So, what now, Jimmy boy?" I asked him, arms crossed and my weight on my left leg. James looked at me with a playful scowl.

"Taunting gets you nowhere fast, Isabella except perhaps an early grave." He said lightly, as he started to walk around me. I followed him, so we where walking in a slow circle, never letting our eyes fall from each other.

"You don't seem angry that I tricked you into thinking your mother was here." He noted. My mother hadn't been terrified by the dark red eyes in the abnormally pale face, so I was glad. She didn't need my nightmares.

"I'm not." I said, relief saturating my voice.

"You really mean it." His dark eyes assessed me with interest.

"You know, I'm a little disappointed. I expected there to be more of a challenge; getting you here was too easy." He said casually. How calmly he spoke in the face of death, I thought bemused.

"Did you really think I would roll over and wait to die? With or without my mother here, I planned on killing you, surely you know that." I said, laughing lightly.

I grew serious. "Tell me truly James, why make a fuss now? Why not when we first met, or why couldn't you just run like last time?"

He hummed in thought, carefully choosing his words. "Well, it's true you always smelled good to me. And when we first met, I was foolish in ignoring my instincts, and that were telling me to watch for danger. I assumed you were a mere human, not a human who turned into a big cat! I decided to leave you for a time, revenge would be found later. This revenge will be sweet, Bella. Especially with your Edward, who will undoubtedly be angered by this? Do you think he'll want revenge, Bella?"

"No, of course not."

"Why not?" he sounded genuinely disappointed.

"I asked him not to." I replied seriously.

"And do you really think he'll listen?" Sarcasm lightly marred his otherwise light tone.

"Well, when he sees me well and alive and you in a fire, there won't be a need for revenge." I smiled sweetly at him.

"You are confident, Bella, I like that. No, though, you won't be escaping. There was only one other who escaped, and she had some outside help. If she had been born a hundred years earlier, then she would have been burned at the stake for her abilities. Thankfully for her, she was born in the 1920's, so her parents just chucked her into an asylum, when they realized she had visions. Poor wretch can't remember a single thing; she was locked up in the dark for a long time."

"Alice," I gasped.

"Yes, the little psychic in the Cullen's coven. She smelt only a little better than you, no offense," he sent me a truly apologetic glance. "You smell quite good. Floral, somehow." He took big whiff of the air, and I tried not to gag.

"Time to say goodbye, Bella." James crouched down, eyes locked in on mines.

I roared, and he looked taken aback at the ferocity of my roar. "Goodbye, James. I'll send Victoria my condolences." I sprung at him, transforming midair into a tiger.

James met me in mid-jump, and we crashed together into the floor. We sprung apart, and he lunged at me, I leaped nimbly out of the way, and as soon as my paws touched the ground I shot off toward James, hitting his midsection hard. He fell onto the floor with a crash, and I bit into his leg. He screamed in pain, and cursed at me as he tried to claw at my eyes so I would let go. I rose up on my hind legs, swinging him back and forth. I let him go after three shakes, and he flew into the mirrors breaking them. He leapt up and came at me. He feinted to the right, but I caught on, and jumped up into tea sir when he struck at me from the left. I landed on him, and tried to bite his eyes, but he punched me off him, and I flew to the opposite side of the room, crashing into the wall. I fell heavily to the floor, but I got up quickly, snarling as we stalked back to the middle of the room. We stalked each other in a circle, agitated.

I made the first move. I moved toward him in a zigzag motion, and he thought I would hit him from the right, so he flew back, but I fooled him. I leapt straight for him, and he roared in outrage when I sunk my claws into his chest. I raked my claws through his shirt, letting go at his belt. I sprung back to avoid a kick to the side, and we jumped at each other. We rolled on the floor, him snapping and punching, me holding on by sinking my teeth into his shoulder, and clawing at him. It hurt especially when he hit my rib, and I think he broke it. But I retaliated by jerking my head back violently, and ripping off his shoulder, and therefore his entire right arm. He howled in agony and rage. I spit his arm out, and then slashed at his face while he was too much in pain to hit back.

Suddenly, as I ripped James foot off, the entrance slammed open and the door was broken off its hinges. The Cullen's rushed in, and I was momentarily distracted. James sung his leg up, and his foot connected with under my chin, and I flew into the broken mirrors. My roar of pain mixed in with Edward's roar of fury as he flew at James.

I panicked, not wanting Edward to get hurt, so I immediately flew at James and Edward's tussling form. I yanked at James, leg, and ripped him from Edward.

"Bella, get back!" Edward yelled, and suddenly Emmett and Jasper were there, pulling James back. That's when I noticed that Alice was making a fire in the back, and they were demolishing James to put him in the fire.

Relieved that this was over, I morphed back into my human skin, and collapsed on my knees to the ground. Edward rushed over and grabbed me up by my shoulders, looking me into the eye.

"I told you to stay safe!" he said fiercely, through gritted teeth. I smiled tiredly.

"You were a fool to think I'd just listen and leave it at that." I said simply, and Edward rolled his eyes heavenward before embracing me in a kiss. I returned it back with a passion, and for a moment, I forgot that Alice, and Uncle Carli were probably watching, and that Emmett and Jasper were dancing around James' burning body. I was too tired, and Edward must have sensed that in my quaking limbs, because suddenly I was hoisted up into his arms.

"It's alright sweetheart, you can sleep." He murmured into my hair, as he swiftly walked out. The fire was getting hotter. Were they going to burn the entire building down? I was too sleepy to care that they were going to burn down the whole building. Fighting James had taken a lot form me.

"Carlisle, she has some injuries, should we take her to the hospital. I'm fairly sure she has broken rib." Edward's voice drifted, breaking the blackness for just a moment.

"No need. I heal really fast. Just bandage it, and slap on a couple band-aids for the big scratches and I'll be god as new by the morning I promise you." I mumbled drowsily.

"Well, then we can do that in the car. Come on, let's go home."

I let the peaceful black take over my world.

When I awoke, I was back in Forks Washington, and the moon had risen pale and large over the black forest. I was tempted to ask how we got her so fast, but I thought better of it. Edward once again lifted me in his arms as we walked to his house, but I didn't argue. I was still quite lethargic. He set me down once we were inside the brightly lit house, and Esme was quick to run to me and give me a hug. She smoothed back my hair ad smiled warmly at me.

"I'm so glad your okay." She said, and I smiled at her. I spotted Rosalie from the corner of my eye, and I turned to her, hand out in expectation. She threw me my keys, and I caught them easily, swinging the key chain around my index finger.

"How'd h run?" I asked her. She looked at me sheepishly, then returned her eyes to her knotted fingers.

"It runs great. I could get it to run faster though." She said stiffly. I nodded, but didn't comment on that as I plodded up the stairs. Edward was right behind me, keeping one hand resting lightly on my back.

He led me to his room, which I hadn't noticed had its own bathroom. I turned to him, about to ask something, but he beat me to the punch.

"Alice will leave you some clothes on the sink." He said taking my hand in his and giving it a reverent kiss. I smiled wearily, my blush rising, rising higher still when he gave me that crooked grin I loved so much. I quickly kissed him on the lips and scurried off into the bathroom, giggling at his amused and shocked expression.

I had to be careful not to wet the bandage, but I still washed my hair and scrubbed where I could, without hurting myself to badly. I had to use his body wash, but it wasn't that big of a deal since it smelled good. It wasn't, I discovered, where he gets his mouthwatering scent. I suppose that's just him, naturally giving off that scent. I stayed there under the spray for a while, but eventually I got out.

I took the towel Alice left for me on the sink and dried off, luxuriating in the super soft feel of the towel. How could I not have heard her come in? I suppose I was too out of it. She left me some rather dubious looking underwear, and some silk pajamas, a tank top and shorts set. I didn't care at the time. I was too sleepy to be embarrassed that Edward would see me in these clothes, so I opened the door and walked out. Edward raised his eyes from my feet up slowly, and he smiled when I winked at him lazily. He had set up a super comfy looking spot on me for his leather couch to sleep on. Where those blankets cashmere?

I sat down on the couch and shuffled under them.

OOOHHH, yes! They are cashmere. And the pillows— silk!

Snuggling up securely under the blanket, I raised an arm, and asked silently for him to join me. He frowned, but acquiesced nonetheless. When he laid down next to me, I snuggled into his stone chest, perfectly relaxed.

"Sleep my Bella. I am so sorry I got you into this mess. It's my fault you were hurt."

I chuckled sleepily, raising a hand to slap his chest. "Silly, wasn't it obvious that whether or not you were there, we would have faced off eventually anyway? James was sore over having lost to me the first time we met, so he would have asked for a rematch later anyway. The fact that there were people protecting me just made it fun for him." I yawned.

"You still shouldn't have been hurt. It's dangerous for me to be around you."

"No, what's dangerous is having a shape-shifter girlfriend like me around. Sure you don't want to just kick me to the curb?" I asked him jokingly.

His arm tightened around my waist. "Never, I'll always want you." He snarled quietly in my ear.

I giggled softly. Before I drifted off, I whispered one thing. "Good, because I don't think I can ever stop loving you."

So, how was that? now, I WILL be doing my version of New Moon and so on, but, i'm not going to start it until after my finals . . . so Summer Break basically. In the meantime, you'll have my other story Newborn to occupy you. I might even do another story . . . ? We'll see how things play out. Thank you for continuing this journey with me. I hope to hear from you real soon! Fare the well! nd don't forget to review!!!