Discovering Artemis

Summary: Due to an accident, Bella is changed. When she wakes up, no one knows why she's so different from the other vampires, but she is determined to find out. In doing so, Bella leaves a path of destruction behind.

Chapter One

"The sun will be out tomorrow," Edward mused as we lay in bed.

I sighed into his chest, pulling him closer to me as he ran his fingers through my brown hair. "So we aren't going to school?"

He chuckled. "You know you have to go."

"Yeah, I just don't want to."

I could feel the rumble of his silent laughter as he said, "I love you. Get some rest."

I nodded, said, "I love you," and drifted off into a deep sleep.

My dreams were always vivid and captivating, this one being no exception, except it was more like a nightmare I couldn't wake up from. A girl I assumed was me was standing alone in the middle of a street, when all of a sudden, I heard screams followed by a car hitting me. It replayed over and over again. Each time, I willed my body to move, but it refused, my subconscious putting me through a repetitious torture. Finally, after wishing hard enough, a similar girl jumped out and pushed me out of the way. When the car hit her, I woke up with the force, gasping for air and sweating like I was in a sauna. Edward looked at me with concern, silently asking what just happened, but I just smiled at him. "Bad dream. I got hit by a car." He smiled lazily at me and got up, returning in mere seconds with a cool, damp cloth. "Thank you." I patted it across my forehead and cheeks as he wrapped me in his arms once again.

The next day, Edward watched me as I got ready for school and said little comments here and there, staying until the last possible second. He kissed me and headed home while I headed to school. Cool. I was already groaning by the time I got there. School without the Cullens was boring and seemingly pointless, but I always went. Maybe it wasn't exactly my choice, but whatever. I gritted my teeth for the first few hours, and when I got to lunch, I sat with Angela and Jessica. I almost regretted the decision within seconds but decided it was still better than eating alone.

"Oh, my God! Senior prom is only, like, four weeks away, and I still haven't found my dress," Jessica complained, looking between Ang and I with a smile. "Would you two be ever so kind as to go shopping with me after school? Please!"

I debated on making up some excuse as to why I couldn't go, but it was impossible for me to turn her down. Jess was almost as good as Alice was at persuading me.

"Yeah, sure," Angela said, and I nodded my agreement, sealing my fate of being trapped in retail hell for at least three hours.

When school let out, I rode with my friends to Port Angeles, determined to make the best of this trip. Maybe I'd even stop by the bookstore (if they let me, that is). Besides, it wasn't like I was missing that much time with the Cullens anyway because they'd gone for a hunt, leaving the pack to watch over me, and I did need to keep an eye out for a dress just in case Edward was serious about making me go this year.

Jessica drug Angela and I to every store in the mall and couldn't find a single dress she even liked the color of. It annoyed me that she was so picky when they all looked good on her perfect body. I mean, Ang caved and bought one at Dillard's, and even I saw a dress or two I thought were cute, but no… Jess had to go the expensive boutique down the street. I semi-gladly followed her to the store, knowing she'd do the same for me if prom meant to me what it did to her, and I genuinely smiled about twenty minutes later when she held up a hot pink gown. She tried it on, and we all immediately knew that was the one. After a swipe of her dad's credit card, we left. While Jessica and Angela began to walk across the side street, I paused on the sidewalk, feeling lightheaded all of the sudden. I saw Jessica stop in the middle of the road, her lips moving like she was talking to me, but I heard nothing. The silence was deafening. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a car barreling down the road, but I couldn't open my mouth to warn her as she just stared at me with a confused look. Her foot lifted to make a step towards me, but it wasn't fast enough. My legs took off of their own accord, and I pushed her out of the way as hard as I could. It was like a ton of bricks hit me all at once.

"She should be waking up soon. It's been days."

"How is she not writhing in pain? That was the worst thing I ever experienced."

I opened my eyes and sat up, feeling well rested as I stretched my arms above my head. "Why would I be in pain?" My throat was a little dry, and my voice sounded extremely different, almost as melodic as Alice's and definitely a pitch or two higher than it used to be. My eyes grew wide as I remembered what happened in P.A. and the possibility of what was going on now. "Am I… Am I…" I couldn't get the words out as I looked down at the flawless skin on my bare legs and hands, which were a milky white. I saw the ends of my thick hair, which had to have grown at least four or five inches as it was grazing my stomach, and the color was now a deep red. My eyes flickered around the room and landed on Carlisle. "I'm a vampire?"

He cleared his throat, and I could see the surprise evident on his face, along with everyone else's. "Yes. You didn't feel the change?"

I shook my head, confused. "I just feel like I took a really long nap. Is that weird?"

"Well, considering it was the most painful three days for all of us, I'd say that it's pretty odd, yes." He tried to chuckle, I think, but I could tell his mind was racing at inhuman speeds.

Edward walked towards me slowly, probably nervous of how I'd react as a newborn, and a smile planted itself on my face as I hopped off the bed and rushed to meet him halfway, throwing my arms around his neck. He wasn't cold anymore, and it was such a refreshing feeling, being his equal in every way possible. When I pulled away, he couldn't wipe the grin off his face.

"You're such a sight to behold, my gorgeous Bella," he whispered to me.

Realizing I hadn't even seen myself yet, my eyes darted around what I knew to be Edward's room until they settled on a full length mirror in the corner, something Alice must've brought in during my transformation. I headed straight for it, everyone staring at me in awe, and after a few surprisingly graceful steps, I stopped in front of my own reflection. I think… It looked so much like me, yet so different that I wasn't even sure if I was still asleep or not. My hair and skin had changed, yes, but those weren't the only things. I was leaner than ever, with curves where I needed them, and the blue dress I was wearing showed them off perfectly. My breasts went up a cup size, and my ass was a little more shapely, thank goodness. My legs seemed to go on for days as I realized I grew at least an inch or two, but my unnecessary breath was taken away when I saw my face. Every detail of my bone structure was more chiseled and enhanced, like I was a walking Photoshop project – my cheeks were more pronounced, my jawline was more proportionate, my lips were fuller. I was gorgeous, and after mustering up all the courage I had, I met my own eyes directly. I was completely taken aback. They were a grey color with red surrounding the pupil, like a black ball had been dropped into a pool of blood, but I loved them. My eyes were an unexpected, but still beautiful, new feature.

"So who changed me?" I asked nonchalantly, still gazing at myself, but it was silent. I turned around to face them, and they looked back and forth between each other as if they didn't know what to say. "Who. Changed. Me?" I stamped out every word with frustration in my voice.

"Bella, love," Edward said as he made his way to my side. "We thought you would know the answer to that." What? They didn't know who changed me? That meant none of the Cullens did it, so…

"Are you saying a stranger did this to me?"

"Are you sure you don't remember?" he asked me, a pleading look in his eyes that was begging me to find a name.

"I think I was a little preoccupied dying from the car that hit me." Edward flinched away from my angry sarcasm, and I turned to Carlisle. "How can I find who did this to me?"

"I'm… I'm not sure we can. Let me do some research, talk to the Denali clan, and I will get back to you."

I sighed and nodded as Carlisle headed to his study, knowing that I had to accept that answer for now, and Edward placed his arms around my waist from behind, placing a soft kiss against my new hair.

"You are beautiful," Alice commented with a smile, breaking the tension, and Edward murmured his agreement into my wavy locks. "I can't wait to doll you up!"

"There will be no dolling up of any kind," I told her, laughing, and the rest of the family joined in when they saw the pout on her face. "I should probably hunt, right? My throat's a little dry."

"A little? It should be scorching," Emmett said in disbelief.

"Well, it's not… Am I doing something wrong?" My hand flew to my throat as if I'd caused a problem.

"No, that's a good thing, I think," Jasper told me with a small laugh.

"You always were a little strange, Bells," Emmett joked, but it was true.

Although I was standing alongside other vampires, I still felt slightly out of place – a freak among freaks, if you will. I suddenly was overwhelmed with questions. Did Charlie think I was dead? Did anyone see the Cullens bring me back here? Why did I look so different from the other vampires I'd met? And most importantly, who the fuck would bite me then leave me alone? I sighed, pulling out of Edward's embrace and heading towards the window.

"I'll come with you," he said, but I held up a hand to signal that he didn't need to follow me.

"No, I want to do this alone."

Then I jumped, literally taking a leap of faith as I flew through the air and landed gracefully on my own two feet.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think! I have big plans for this story, so stay tuned!