My Bella woke up with a tired groan, stretching out her body with a yawn.
I smiled sympathetically as I admired the view of her morning routine.
For the past few months Bella had been waking up in the middle of the night with nightmares about the day when James had bitten her on the wrist.
It only started when we returned from Florida and I wasn't exactly sure what triggered it but I wanted to find some way to stop them.
Some nights the nightmares were bad to a point where she would scream and wake Charlie up so I would have to leave the room.
The first night it happened, I had no idea what was going on
FLASHBACK
"Alice" Bella groaned painfully
"Bella?" I asked quietly, not sure of whether she was awake or not
"No...no get away" Bella mumbled against my chest as I held her protectively
I moved away from my human, sitting next to her as she curled into a ball besides me. Suddenly Bella began to move harshly and a last minute vision showed me that she was about to scream and scream loudly.
She let out a blood curdling scream, something that made me never want to hear again just so I could avoid that sound. I heard Charlie turn on his light and hurry to Bella's room
"Bella?" Charlie asked shaking his daughter awake as I watched from outside "Bells!"
"Alice?" Bella sat up quickly
"Alice is at home" Charlie said calmly "Are you okay?"
"Um" Bella began shakily as she looked around the room for me "I'm fine, I'm sorry I woke you up"
"No it's okay" Charlie replied "Are you sure you're okay? Can I get you anything?"
"No thank you" Bella said as she pulled up her knees to her chest, leaning back against her headboard
"Good night Bells" Charlie pressed a kiss to Bella's forehead before he got up and left the room, closing the door behind him
"Al?" Bella asked almost silently
She didn't need to ask again so I quickly moved back into her room to stand next to her bed
"I didn't want to leave you but Charlie was coming" I said sympathetically "I'm sorry baby"
"No it's okay" Bella said running her hands through her hair with a deep sigh "Can you please just hold me for a minute?"
"How does for the rest of the night sound?" I asked sitting next to her on the bed, letting the younger girl lean into me completely
"Perfect" Bella mumbled "I was dreaming that I was back in the clearing and James had bitten me but he'd hurt you as well"
"James is gone. Nothing is going to hurt you again" I replied fiercely "I promise"
"What's happening in Seattle, Alice?" Bella asked "I mean people are going missing, being murdered and no one has an answer"
"When I find out more I will tell you" I said honestly "I haven't seen anything else so I don't know"
END FLASHBACK
"Good morning beautiful" I said with a small smile "How did you sleep?"
"Okay I guess" Bella said with a sigh "It wasn't so bad last night"
"I'm going to find a way to stop them somehow" I replied quietly
"It's okay" She shrugged "I'm just glad I can wake up and have you next to me"
"You can" I smiled "Are you excited for today?"
"Excited?" She asked raising her eyebrow "It's the first day of school"
"It's the first day of senior year" I grinned "You're a senior!"
"You're a senior citizen" Bella replied sarcastically
"I saw that one coming" I shrugged "Your sarcasm isn't going to ruin my mood this morning"
"Did you have any visions last night?" Bella asked
She sat up next to me, resting her head on my shoulder with another quiet sigh
"Not last night" I shook my head before placing a kiss on the top of her head
Ever since the visit to Renee's I hadn't seen anything clearly about Seattle. It was almost as if the vampire who had turned that one person and killed the other, was gone.
Like they had disappeared after the incident because as much as I tried; I couldn't see any other activity down there.
Jazz and Edward immediately went to Seattle but they found nothing but the dead body of the human that was killed in my vision.
It had been like that for the few months over the summer; everything in Seattle had returned to being quiet but I had a weird feeling about everything.
I also knew that I wasn't the only one in my family who had that feeling.
I knew the issue wasn't going to get any better, in fact I just knew that the issue was more than likely going to get worse without me being able to see and control the situation.
"Isn't having no visions about it a good thing though?" Bella asked "Maybe they were just passing through?"
"Maybe" I mumbled
"Wow you're bad at hiding things" Bella replied with a small smile "I can read you like a book"
"I know" I frowned playfully "You're excited though...right? Senior year, you get to rule the school and intimidate freshman classes"
"I don't do that though" Bella laughed "If anything, they would intimidate me"
"It's okay, I'll stuff them into lockers for you, baby" I answered with a proud grin
"Oh my hero" Bella rolled her eyes with a chuckle
"You do realize what the end of this year means?" I asked seriously "Once you're one of us you can't change your mind"
"I don't want to" Bella shrugged, sensing my change in mood
"I know" I replied "But just checking"
"You've checked enough Al" Bella said
"It's going to be a good year my love" I grinned
"Let me guess; you've seen it?" Bella asked
"I just know it" I shrugged
"Well at least my friends might be a little more at ease around you knowing that Rosalie and Emmett aren't around" Bella replied
"I can understand that they were scared of Rose but Emmett I don't understand" I said with a warm smile "Emmett is harmless"
"Well you and I know that but just by his size; he's really intimidating" Bella replied "What are they going to do this year then?"
"They'll be around" I shrugged "I know they were planning on travelling but I think Carlisle wants them to stay around in case the whole Seattle thing changes"
"So Carlisle thinks they'll be back?" Bella asked
"Your dad's going to come in soon" I said not wanting to ruin her first morning on senior year with vampire drama. I smiled, kissing my Bella lightly "So I need to go home but I'll come by and pick you up soon"
"Do you have to leave?" Bella groaned childishly as she clung to me tightly
"Unless you want your dad seeing me in your bed with you, then yeah" I reluctantly pried my body from her hands but I leaned down to give her a gentle kiss once more "I'll be back soon"
"You better be" Bella said sitting up "I love you Alice"
"Well aren't I lucky" I winked "Love you too"
I took off out the window and headed straight to my house. I knew Charlie was going to go into Bella's room and I didn't exactly want him to find me with her early in the morning.
As much as Charlie was great with our relationship, he would probably kill anyone who was dating his daughter that was in her room that time of morning.
"Morning" I greeted happily as I came through the window into the kitchen
"You know we do have a door" Esme said with a smile "Maybe you all could try using it once or twice?"
"I will certainly consider it" I replied nodding "Where's Jazz?"
"She and Edward just went out to stretch their legs" Esme said as I began to walk up the stairs "Is Bella excited for today?"
"I don't know if excited is the right word but she's happy" I smiled
I made my way up to my room; which felt less and less like my room as time went on.
I spent most of my time in Bella's room and when I was home I usually sat in my room and thought about Bella.
I knew that I had it bad, I was constantly reminded by Emmett that I was completely whipped.
I agreed with him completely but I really didn't care
I picked an outfit that was suitable for the first day of a school and changed quickly before Jazz came waltzing into my room.
"First day jitters?" Jazz asked jokingly
"I wish" I replied with a smile "I don't know what to do about Seattle"
"There's nothing we can do for now" Jazz shrugged "We checked and they were gone and you haven't been seeing anything so we can't do anything for now"
"You know that they'll come back though right?" I asked raising an eyebrow
"We don't know that for sure but from my experience they'll be back on our territory" Jazz nodded "But it's the first day of school so let's worry that later"
"You do realize that first days mean nothing to me" I replied bluntly
"No but it means a lot to Bella for a few different reasons" Jazz said "You're so lucky to have her, wanting to change just to spend the rest of forever with you"
"I know I'm lucky to have her" I smiled warmly
After I figured that I had given Bella enough time to get ready; I drove back over to her house. Carlisle had allowed me to take my Porsche out for a bit of a spin for the day so I was taking full advantage of it.
Charlie opened the door as I knocked, a wide smile on his face
"Morning Alice" Charlie greeted happily
"Hey Charlie" I said sweetly "Why so happy?"
"You're both seniors" Charlie replied
"We are" I replied with enthusiasm "Is Bella ready to go?"
"Hey Al" Bella said walking to the door
"Hey you" I winked quickly "You ready to get going?"
"Uh yeah" Bella replied turning to her dad "So I'll see you this afternoon"
"Well I was actually thinking of heading out to La Push tonight, I haven't seen Billy in a while and I thought I should go down and see how the wolves situation is going" Charlie replied leaning back on the door frame
Campers had been reporting seeing some kind of wolves around the forests over the summer. The wolves had been patrolling more than usual after the fight that I had with Jacob.
It was like they were expecting us to attack them or something. If we were going to attack, all the patrolling in the world wouldn't help them anyway.
"Oh that should be fun catching up" I nodded tentatively
"I was going to ask if you two wanted to come" Charlie replied "Bells you haven't seen Jacob in a while"
And she hadn't. Bella hadn't seen or spoken to Jacob since the fight between us.
FLASHBACK
"You know you can just go visit him" I rolled onto my stomach, propping myself up on my elbows as I watched Bella sitting at her desk "I don't care"
"Can you honestly look at me and say that you'd be okay with me seeing Jacob?" Bella asked raising an eyebrow
"Wel.. no not really but he's your friend, you can see him if you want" I shrugged "I'll just have to kiss you for extra long in front of him to remind him that you're mine"
"Of course I am" Bella said with a smile "I'm still angry at him though"
"Well I know why I'm angry at him because I always am but why are you angry at him still?" I asked
"I'm angry for the same reasons you're angry" Bella replied "He disrespected you and our relationship"
"I know but I've already told you not to do this for me" I said
"Well I'll do it for me then" Bella shrugged
"He doesn't deserve to have a friend like you" I replied "I'm glad he hasn't been around here, maybe he actually listened to you when you told him you didn't want to see him for a while"
"Well I meant it" Bella said standing from her desk "You know what else I mean?"
"What?" I asked
"That I love you" Bella replied with a teeth baring grin
"You're so cheesy" I laughed
"Yes but you like this kind of cheese" Bella said cheekily as she kneeled down next to the bed
"I do" I nodded as I shuffled towards the edge of the bed to have my smiling face just inches from hers
"You look like you need to go hunting soon" Bella replied looking into my eyes
"I don't need to hunt, that's just me being around you" I said quietly
"Oh really?" She smiled proudly
"You do realize that you went from cheesy to sleazy in about 5 seconds" I smirked playfully
"I have talent" She shrugged before pressing her lips to mine
END FLASHBACK
"Oh" Was all Bella could manage to say in response to Charlie
"You'd be more than welcome to come Alice" Charlie nodded "You're probably over here more than you are at your house some nights"
"Well for that very reason I have to stay home" I replied; declining politely "We're having a little family night"
"Which I was invited to last week" Bella said looking to me with raised eyebrows
"Bells maybe you should let the Cullen's have their family night and come with me" Charlie said "It could do you some good to maybe spend a night apart"
"Oh well...Esme did invite Bella last week" I replied
"I'm going to be busy tonight anyway Charlie" Bella replied tapping her foot nervously "I'll have homework"
"It'll only be for a few hours" Charlie pressed "Please? I know that Jacob has been wanting to see you for a while and he's been really down over the past few months. Billy said that a visit from you might cheer him up"
"Okay. Okay, I'll go" Bella said with a sigh before she turned to me "We should go though, we'll be late"
"Have a good first day" Charlie said with a small smile
"I have no idea why Charlie just did that" Bella grumbled as I pulled out of the driveway
"I guess he just wanted to spend time with you" I replied "He is your father so I understand"
"Yeah but he knows that Jacob and I had a fight" Bella said furrowing her eyebrows
"Does he know why?" I asked
"No" Bella muttered "I don't want to see Jacob yet"
"I think you might have to" I replied helplessly
"Did you see him asking me that before?" She asked leaning her head back on the headrest
"Nope" I answered "He decided to ask you right then and there"
"Great, so the day is already ruined" Bella replied
"Don't be like that Bells" I groaned "You only just stepped out of the house"
"I'm sorry" Bella apologized "But I just don't feel like dealing with him tonight"
"Well what do you feel like dealing with tonight?" I asked
"Just spending time with you" Bella replied
"Well I'll come over when you get home" I said reaching over to take Bella's hand in mine
"Are you really spending a night with your family?" Bella asked
"I wasn't but I guess I am now" I laughed quietly "Just try and enjoy today. It's your last first day of high school ever"
Once we arrived at school Bella seemed to cheer up slightly.
I noticed quickly that she was growing more worried as the day went on and I understood that she was nervous to see Jacob again but I didn't know it was going to cause her so much trouble.
"Do you want me to just tell Charlie that I need you to help me study or something?" I asked "Charlie loves me; I could get him to change his mind"
"No it's okay" Bella replied as we sat down at the lunch table "I'll just go for a couple of hours"
"Where are you going for a couple of hours?" Jazz asked as she sat next to Bella "And why are you so worried? It's the first day"
"Charlie is taking her to La Push" I said glancing to my sister
"Why?" Jazz asked furrowing her eyebrows
"He's going down to visit Billy and he thought it would be good if I came with" Bella replied
"Can't you just say no?" Jazz asked
"I tried" Bella replied "For some reason Charlie really wants me to go down there with him"
"And apparently Jacob wants to talk to her" I said then followed it up with an extreme amount of sarcasm "I wonder what about"
"If he's going to get into our relationship then I'm not going to talk to him" Bella said "I don't want to have to remind him every time that I don't want him and I don't even like guys"
"Do you think Charlie could be pushing you towards Jacob because of that?" Jazz asked
"No" Bella said shaking her head quickly "No, Charlie wouldn't do that, he loves Alice"
"He does" I nodded proudly
"Well it's just for the night" Jazz replied "Maybe Alice will remember that she does have a room in our house"
"Are we really that bad?" Bella asked looking to me
"No" I said nudging her slightly "And if we were like that it would be my fault. I'm sorry if I'm spending so much time with you but I've wanted you for so long that I have a hard time letting go"
"Well you don't have too and it's not your fault" Bella replied
"Wow you guys are acting like you'll be apart for a month" Jazz said with an amused smile "You'll see each other a few hours after Bella goes to La Push. It's not like she's going anywhere and even if she were; you could probably track her down in less than a day"
"You can't have a say in this because if I remember correctly, when I first came to the family you and Edward were just like that" I replied raising my eyebrows before I batted my eyelashes "Oh Edward, don't be too long my love. I'll wait for you"
"Watch your mouth" Jazz glared playfully
"Were you and Edward really like that?" Bella asked with a smile
"We still are a guess" Jazz shrugged "We don't like being away from each other just like you don't like being away from Ali"
"Even after all this time?" Bella asked
"Of course, relationships in...our world are different. We usually only have one mate for life and unlike humans we don't feel the strain of time on relationships" Jazz said "It's still hard work but I think being a vampire sometimes makes being in love easier"
"Unless you're a human in love with a vampire, right?" I asked
"Hey I'll be one of you soon enough" Bella shrugged "I don't feel any strain on our relationship either"
"It's not going to be easy though when you're a newborn" Jazz said "That's when your relationship is going to be tested"
"Why?" Bella asked with a furrowed brow
"You're only going to want blood Bella" I answered for Jazz "And you might do whatever it takes to get it and I'm going to have to do whatever it takes to stop you out of your best interest"
"Are you saying that I'm going to try and hurt you?" Bella asked "Because I'll control myself"
"But it's what we are Bells" I shrugged "It's no big deal"
"It kind of is" Bella replied quickly
"When you're a newborn it's not and I'll understand" I shrugged again "Jess and Angela are on their way over"
"Then we're finishing this conversation after" Bella said
The rest of the day moved rather quickly; it was all a bit of a blur which was very unusual for me. Bella and I had separate classes in last period so she just met me at my car. I opened the door for her with a smile and then we were on our way.
"How was art?" Bella asked
"Fine" I shrugged "You're still worried aren't you?"
"Well yeah" Bella replied "I don't want to sound all pathetic or anything but I don't want to hurt you over something as stupid as blood"
"I know but you do have to realise that it's possible" I said honestly "I'm not going to hate you or think anything less of you for what you are going to go through once you are turned. It's not going to make me love you any less"
"Even if I rip your arm off?" Bella raised her eyebrow
"Well...then we'd have to talk" I said jokingly
"But you promise you'll put up with me until I become rational again?" Bella asked
"Again?" I smirked
"Shut up" Bella laughed
"I promise I'll put up with you no matter what" I nodded
"And promise me that you won't let me hurt anyone" Bella replied
"I won't" I answered "You'll be okay and we'll be okay"
"I just don't want you to have to be a babysitter for me" Bella said
"You're expecting the change so you could take it really well, I don't know but even if I do have to babysit you; it will only be for a short while" I replied "And I don't mind taking care of you. You're just going to have to be prepared to see yourself differently and see all of us differently"
"See you differently?" Bella asked
"You'll know what I talk about when it happens" I answered "You'll see us differently because vampires have better eyesight. You'll see little scars and bumps that you've never been able to see"
"Do you have scars?" Bella asked
"A few on my arms from some fights I've been in over the years" I replied "A couple new ones from Jacob and James as well but not too many. Jazz probably has the most though"
"She does?" Bella asked
"Well she's not like covered in them" I laughed to myself knowing how angry Jazz got when I spoke about her scars "And you can't tell her I talked to you about this because it's a touchy subject for her but she's got lots of bite marks on her arms from when she was in the vampire wars. That's why she usually wears long sleeved shirts and coats even when we're just at home. She doesn't like exposing them"
"But it's not like humans can see them anyway" Bella replied
"No but she can and I guess it reminds her of her past and I get that she doesn't want to have to be reminded about what happened to her everyday" I shrugged as I gently picked up her arm, turning it over to expose the scar on her wrist "But hey, you already fit in"
"That reminds me of you though, not what happened with James" Bella replied "You know that"
"That I do" I tugged her wrist up to her mouth and kissed her scar gently
She shivered slightly and I glanced over to her to see her blushing slightly
"Not a word" Bella shook her head
"I didn't say a thing" I replied with a proud smirk
We arrived at Bella's house to see Charlie's car sitting out in the driveway, I turned the car off with a quiet sigh and undid my seatbelt
"Why do you even bother wearing that?" Bella asked
"Habit" I shrugged "Plus I figure if your dad is chief of police I should probably abide by the rules and what not"
"And what not" Bella agreed with a smile
"If Jacob Black gives you any trouble you call me and I'll yet at him" I said after a few seconds of silence
"So you won't come to my rescue?" Bella asked jokingly
"Not tonight baby" I said with a small smile "I trust you so I'm not concerned but if something does happen let me know, okay?"
"I will not" Bella shook her head "I'll be fine so I'll call you when I get home"
"I'll do you one better and I'll just meet you in your room" I shrugged "I'll know as soon as you come back on our land"
"Sounds even better" Bella replied
"Off you go, the wolves await" I smirked playfully
"I'll see you later" Bella leaned over to kiss me gently and pulled away after a few moments "I'm requesting that we do more of that later as well"
"I'll have a think about it" I nodded
With that she got out of the car and I stayed until she went through the front door. I looked down to my lap with a smile before I began to make my way home.
"Were there tears?" Emmett asked as I walked inside
"Tears?" I asked "Why?"
"Because she was leaving your side" Emmett said sarcastically
"No Emmett" I said before I paused "We've become one of those couples, haven't we?"
"What couples?" Esme asked as she walked into the room
"You know the ones who can't do anything without each other and lose their friends?" I asked
"You're not one of those couples" Esme scolded gently "She's your mate and you have every right to want to spend your time with her considering all you have missed out on"
"I guess" I replied
"Whipped" I heard Emmett mumbled
"I'll show you whipped" I growled
"Before you two tear the house down" Esme began "We're going hunting in a minute so Alice did you want to go get changed?"
I quickly changed from my school clothes into something a little more suitable for hunting. It had been a little while since I had hunted and we all had needed it. My throat started to tingle as I thought of the blood that would soon sooth the ache. I didn't like to dwell on the feeling of thirst because that was a dangerous topic for us all. We were controlled and we were fine around humans but the danger was always present.
We made our way out to hunt; we went a little deeper than we usually did because we knew there were going to be campers on the edges of the woods.
"So what are we getting today?" Emmett asked
"There are plenty of Elk around" Carlisle said
"No they taste weird" I heard Emmett say distantly
"What do you think Al?" Jazz asked in what sounded like a muffled tone
I shook my head slightly to try and clear the cobwebs that seemed to be forming in my brain
"Alice?" Rosalie asked
I felt the familiar pull of a vision overcome me and before I knew what was happening; I was back in Seattle.
He walked the dark alley like a normal human would in the dark, cold night. He ran his hand across the brick wall while he made his way down the street. He heard a high pitched scream and he smirked at the sound, welcoming the shriek. He reached the sight of where the scream had come from and he smiled to see another two vampires feeding of a human.
"You make sure to clean up this mess when you're done" He said "Or she won't be happy with us"
The vampires ignored the other vampire and continued to feed on the still alive human.
"Once you're done we're moving on" He reminded them "We can't create too much attention"
I felt Esme's hand on my shoulder as I came out of my vision
I looked straight to Edward who was staring a hole through me
"They're back" I said simply to no one in particular
"In Seattle?" Carlisle asked
"Yeah" I nodded "The vampire I first saw is back"
"What was happening?" Esme asked
"They're coming back tonight" I answered as I looked around at everyone "There the one vampire I saw in my vision but he had two others with him"
"Were they the same one's from before?" Jazz asked
"No, different" I replied "And he wasn't in charge. He said that they had to clean up their mess once they were finished otherwise she wouldn't be happy"
"Who's she?" Jazz asked
"That's the thing" I replied "I have no idea"
"I'm sure you'll find out soon enough" Carlisle said
"So what do we do?" Edward asked "Do we go down to Seattle tonight?"
"No" Carlisle said shaking his head "We don't know what we're facing yet so we have to wait until Alice finds out more"
"And what happens if she finds out next that they have a whole army?" Edward asks
"Then we'll deal with it" Jazz answered "I agree with Carlisle, we should wait to see what we're facing here. We have no idea who that vampire is and we have no idea who's leading them"
"I don't understand why someone would want Forks" Esme voiced
"When you think about it; it's a pretty good spot for vampires that want to live in a human community" Jazz said
"That is not what they want" I shook my head "It can't be"
"There's no use in worrying now" Carlisle said "We don't know what we are facing yet and we don't know what they want so we have to wait until they make another move"
"That is the best idea" Jazz agreed again "trust me on that"
"I think I should just go home" I said "I don't need to hunt all that much. I said I would be back for when Bella is home"
"You will be" Carlisle said "You need to hunt tonight"
"We'll make it a quick one" Esme encouraged "But your father is right"
I quickly separated myself from my family to find a couple of elk roaming around. I pounced quickly as I heard the activity of my family hunting around me. I went through two elk by the time I felt satisfied and I watched my family finish up what they were doing. Once everyone has finished; we returned home and I quickly changed from my clothes.
"Are you going already?" Jazz asked
"I can wait for her outside her house" I shrugged "I don't mind"
"Are you okay?" Jazz asked ducking her head to gain eye contact with me
"I'm fine" I replied "I just have a bad feeling about all of this and it kind of feels like James all over again. What happens if they're after Bella?"
"I'm sure not even Bella would be that popular to have an army formed against her to kill her" Jazz said with a small smile "She'll be okay"
"What do you think they want then?" I asked "Just land?"
"I don't know but I do know that I've seen this happen all before so if something becomes obvious; we should be prepared" Jazz nodded "We'll handle it"
"Do you think it's the red head?" I asked "Do you think it's James' mate?"
"I honestly don't know yet" Jazz said "I guess that would make sense but we can't be sure"
"But if Edward was killed in the same situation, would you want revenge in the biggest proportion?" I asked
"Yeah I would" Jazz answered