Chapter Eight

JPOV:

It didn't take long for the pack to arrive for breakfast and afterwards we were seated in the living room. "I have a few things I'd like to discuss," says Sam. We all knew this was coming, but I think I was the only one who knew anything about what he wanted to talk about. "I received a phone call yesterday after our run. It was from Sue Clearwater."

We all knew who the Clearwaters were…to an extent, but the last we knew she was helping her husband run some big company. What could she want with Sam? "It turns out that both of her children had become ill and shortly afterwards exploded into wolves. Leah was first, and a few weeks later while Leah was arguing with Seth, he exploded into a wolf. This was three days ago. The point is: we'll be gaining two new pack members within the week," says Sam.

Everyone was looking at Sam with blank expressions. "Also, on a sadder note, Harry Clearwater had a heart attack a couple of days ago. The funeral is tomorrow, and we will all be going to pay our respects. He was a good friend of our families'." Everyone had their heads bowed in remorse, but Sam wasn't done with us yet it seemed.

"The next thing we need to talk about is last night's run," says Sam.

"Yeah, about that, what was the deal with bringing Bella along?" asks Jared, scowling at me.

"What are you trying to say?" I demand standing up.

"You put her in danger, dumb ass!" shouts Paul standing up to face me.

"Both of you sit down!" commands Sam. We both immediately sit back down. "That's not the point of the discussion. I gave him permission to take her on the run. The point of this discussion is what Jacob has told me, before you all got here."

"Whatever he said, I didn't chase that rabbit into the road in front of a car!" shouts Quil defensively.

"No one said you did Quil!" I say before chuckling.

"No, Quil, it's not about that, but we'll come back to it. While on patrol Jacob felt like something was nearby, but when he turned he said nothing was there. Has anyone else felt this feeling?" asks Sam looking around the room.

"Did you feel the fur on the back of your neck stand up and shivers run down your spine?!" asks Quil.

"Yeah," I say. "Did you feel that too?"

"No, I just wondered," says Quil with a grin. I growl and scowl at Quil before Sam clears his throat.

"Knock it off you two. This is serious," says Sam exasperatedly. "If anyone feels anything like that, report it immediately. This brings us to the next topic. The 'animal attacks'."

"I don't think those are what everyone is saying," says Embry.

"That's because they probably aren't. Jacob and I think it's a vampire,—" Paul began to open his mouth, but Sam interrupted, "—but we doubt it's the Cullens. It seems too messy for it to be one of them. That doesn't mean we aren't going to talk to them about it though. After our afternoon patrol we'll go to the Cullens' house and talk to them about the killings." Everyone nods their heads in agreement.

"Okay, this meeting is over, unless anyone wants to add something," says Sam.

"Yeah, Quil, tell us about the rabbit," I say with a grin.

EPOV:

As I lay next to Bella, I couldn't help but think about last night. We had spent most of the night talking. I still felt bad about her birthday, but I was going to make up for it today. Alice was going to help me. Suddenly Bella murmurs my name before rolling onto her side and pulling herself closer to me. I couldn't help the smile that crept onto my face as I watched my angel sleep. Watching her sleep from next to her was definitely more rewarding than watching her from afar.

She was beautiful as she slept. I watched as the sun slowly arose and lit up Bella's face and highlighted her beautiful, mahogany hair. Her long lashes cast shadows over her cheek bones and her mouth was formed into a small smile. I just couldn't believe that this beautiful creature was mine.

Soon her heart began to speed back up and her breathing became less shallow, so I knew that she was about to wake up. I wanted to make sure I was the first thing she saw so I moved into her line of vision just as her eyes fluttered open. "Good morning, Love," I croon. I must have startled Bella because her heart began to pound and she gasped before flinching away from me.

"Edward! You're still here!" she says happily before wrapping her arms around my neck and laying her head in the crook of my neck. I chuckle before hugging her back and kissing her temple.

"Of course I am, Love," I say just as there's a knock on the door.

BPOV:

As soon as the first knock sounded on my door, Edward was gone. "Come in," I call just before Charlie walks in looking slightly embarrassed and holding something behind his back.

"Morning Bells," grumbles Charlie as he approaches me.

"Good morning, Dad," I say with a smile.

"Happy birthday kid, I got you a present," he says handing me a small box that originally held a fishing lure.

"You didn't get me a fishing lure, right?" I ask as I hold the small box, causing Charlie to roll his eyes.

"No, Bells," says Charlie. I grin at him and he chuckles nervously before I open the box and pull out a silver locket bracelet.

"It's beautiful," I say before opening it and finding a picture of Charlie standing behind Renee as she holds a baby me in the hospital.

"That was the happiest day of my life Bells," says Charlie reminiscently.

"I love it, Dad, thank you," I say.

"Love ya Bella," says Charlie as he walks towards my door. "I'm going with Billy fishing. Then we were going to watch the game so don't expect me till late."

"Okay," I say as he walks out the door. As soon as I heard Charlie descending the stairs I look around my room. "Edward?" I whisper. Suddenly my closet door opens and Edward was in front of me, nearly giving me a heart attack.

"Yes love?" asks Edward with a crooked smile.

"I thought you'd left," I say looking down at the locket in my hand.

"May I?" asks Edward holding his hand out for the locket. I hand it to him and he studies it for a moment before handing it back to me. "You were a beautiful baby." This causes me to blush. Not wanting to continue with this conversation I decide to change the subject.

"So what are we going to do today?" I ask as I look at the picture of Renee. Even with her hair a mess and her make-up running she was beautiful. Looking at Charlie I could see why she fell in love with him all those years ago. When I looked back up at Edward for an answer to my question he was grinning at me, like he was keeping a secret.

"It's a surprise," he says cryptically.

EPOV:

As I tell Bella that our plans were to be a surprise I couldn't help but think back to last night while Bella was in the shower.

"Edward I have the best idea ever!" squeals Alice over my cell phone.

"What are you talking about Alice?" I ask in exasperation. Didn't she know I was busy feeling guilty about my poor behavior towards Bella?

"Bella's birthday party of course," says Alice in a tone that suggested that that much should have been obvious.

"What about it?" I ask suddenly interested in the conversation.

"Take Bella to your 'special place' for the day. At sunset, bring her to the house for her surprise party! I'll have the meadow decorated by the time you get there, and tell Bella that she should wear the blue ¾ length V-neck with a white tank top under it and the khaki skirt. Oh and the sandals and locket Charlie gave her! Although this isn't exactly what I would have picked for her, her wardrobe doesn't give me much choice. Not to worry though, that'll change tonight!" then the line went dead. Shaking my head I hung up and waited for Bella to return from the shower.

"May I suggest an outfit for you to wear today?" I ask as I walk towards her closet.

"Sure," says Bella uncertainly as I pull the designated outfit, from Alice, out of the closet and lay it in front of her. She eyes the clothes warily before seeming to realize that the outfit wasn't too bad and picked it up. "Okay, then I'll go change and be back in a few minutes." That said Bella leaves the room and I settle down on her bed to wait. Suddenly there's a knock on the window and I look over to find Alice holding a large bag.

"I brought lunch for Bella," says Alice as soon as I open the window. She hands me the large bag and I notice that there was more than just lunch in the bag. "I also took the liberty of packing a blanket and your gift that I'd seen you buy for Bella later."

"Thank you Alice," I say sincerely.

"Have fun, Edward," says Alice with a wink before leaving. Just as I closed the window Bella walks in.

"What's that?" asks Bella.

"Just some things for your surprise," I say as I lay the bag on the bed and pick up the discarded locket. "This will look perfect with that shade of blue, which, by the way, looks lovely on you." Bella pulls her hair away from the back of her neck as I place the silver chain of the locket around her wrist and clasp it. While I couldn't see her blush I could smell it and it made my mouth water. Pushing back the monster I grin and pick the bag back up.

"Would you like breakfast first?" I ask. Bella shakes her head as we head down the stairs.

"I'll just grab a granola bar," says Bella before walking into the kitchen and coming back a few seconds later with a granola bar in her hands. Then we walk outside where I find that my Volvo is parked behind Bella's truck.

"When did that get here?" asks Bella.

"Alice must have dropped it off," I say thoughtfully as we walk towards it.

About an hour later we were walking through the woods and I wondered why I hadn't worn better shoes. Just as I was wondering this Edward stops and turns to me. "We're here," says Edward motioning towards an opening in the woods. Eager to see where "here" was I run through the clearing into a meadow. Looking around I realize that it's a perfect circle. Not only that, but it had been decorated! All of the trees had been decorated with twinkle lights and there were flowers everywhere. It was all so simple and yet elegant.

"It's beautiful!" I say excitedly as Edward approaches me.

"Not nearly as beautiful as you, Love," says Edward as he reaches into the bag and pulls out a blanket that he lays on the ground.

"I love it," I say as I sit next to Edward who had sat down and was pulling various items out of the bag. I was surprised how much could fit into the bag. He'd pulled out several containers as well as a gift, which I assumed was for me, and hoped that I was wrong. Suddenly my stomach growls and Edward chuckles before opening one of the containers and pulling out a sandwich.

"I hope you like chicken salad," says Edward uncertainly as he hands it to me.

"It's great, Edward," I say before taking a bite. It was perfect actually. There wasn't too much of anything and the bread tasted amazing. Then Edward opens two more containers. One container contained pasta salad and one contained and apple that had been cored and cut into eighths with some caramel sauce to dip it in. Then he pulled out a thermos and poured what appeared to be iced tea into a plastic cup.

The whole meal was delicious and when I was done Edward handed me the gift. It had been wrapped in shiny blue paper with a white bow. "Happy birthday, Love," says Edward. Not wanting to be mean after Edward had spent so much time and put so much effort into my surprise, I decide to open the gift. It wasn't very big and when I opened it I found a white jewelry box. The gift may be small but it was obviously going to be very expensive. When I pulled the box open I found a necklace. It was silver with what looked to be diamonds…a lot of them.

"Edward, I'm not sure I can accept such an expensive gift," I say unsure. It was truly a beautiful necklace, but it looked expensive and I had nothing I could wear it with.

"Don't worry about that Bella. All I care about is whether or not you like it," says Edward.

"It's beautiful Edward, how could I not like it?" I ask as he pulls it out of the box and places it around me neck with the locket.

"Well if it makes you feel better it wasn't expensive. Actually, it was free. It used to be my mother's. My real mother's," says Edward. "She'd be happy to see me give it to the girl I love."

"What was she like?" I ask as I finger the necklace around my neck delicately.

"I don't remember her very well, but I can say with certainty that she would have adored you, Bella, almost as much as I do. She was a great mom, always putting me before her, all the way until the very end," says Edward with a hint of sadness. I get closer to Edward and he pulls me into his lap before wrapping his arms around me.

"My mom will like you, Edward, if you ever get to meet her," I say as I lay my hands over Edward's.

"I would like to meet her," says Edward.

"I'm supposed to spend two weeks with her this summer, would you like to come?" I ask. Just as Edward was about to answer the sky opens up and rain begins to pour, instantly soaking the two of us. Suddenly, I was on my feet and Edward was a whirlwind as he picked up everything and threw it back into the bag before pulling me onto his back and running through the woods without warning.

When we got to the Volvo Edward puts me down, but I was so dizzy and lightheaded from the run that my knees started to give out just before Edward catches me. "Are you okay?" asks Edward.

"You could have warned me," I say shakily as he helps me sit down in the passenger's seat.

"I don't want you to get sick," says Edward.

"I would have been okay," I say as the dizziness and lightheadedness fades and I start to feel better again.

"Let's get you a change of clothes, and then we can move on to the next part of your surprise," says Edward with a mischievous grin. Then he bends over hesitantly and presses his lips to mine. Of course Edward didn't have to worry about losing control, it was me, as I knotted my hands in his hair and tried to pull myself closer to him. Edward stiffens before gently pulling away from me and walking to the driver's seat.

"We should get going," says Edward as he starts the car and speeds down the road. When we reached my house it was still empty so we went inside and I went to my room to get a change of clothes. Edward follows me and when we walk in I notice it seemed…cleaner. Walking around I notice that my jacket was no longer draped over the back of my chair and the socks I had thrown across the room were no longer there. Not to mention the navy blue sweater I had planned to change into, that was sitting on top of my dresser, was no longer on top of my dresser.

"Hmm…" I continue to look around my room while Edward watches me from the doorway. Then I notice a box sitting on my bed. It was a plain white box and when I opened it I found a midnight blue sundress with a black lace sweater that went just past my chest and tied with a black ribbon. There was also a note saying that I should put on the black flats in my closet. The note was from Alice.

"I guess Alice knew it was going to rain," I say as I pull out the clothes and walk towards the door. "Maybe she cleaned up for me while we were gone. I feel bad that she felt the need to clean my room."

"What are you talking about?" asks Edward.

"I'm missing some clothes," I say as I walk towards the bathroom leaving Edward n my room.

EPOV:

As Bella went to change out of her wet clothes I looked around her room. I finally noticed that Bella was right, but Alice's scent didn't go past the bed, and it was long faded. As I took in the other scents of the room, I noticed that there was an extra scent that hadn't been here this morning. I didn't recognize the scent though, and I couldn't place it, but it made me nervous.

When Bella came back I hand her a duffle bag. "I think you should stay at my house for a couple of days," I say. Bella seemed confused as she takes the bag.

"What's wrong?" she asks.

"Alice didn't clean up your room Bella. Someone else has been here; and until I find out who, I want you to stay with me," I say as I walk over to the dresser and pull out some of her clothes.

"I'm not going to stay with you," says Bella.

"You have to Bella! I don't know what or who came here, but they might come back," I say as I throw some of the clothes on her bed.

"What about Charlie?" demands Bella.

"He'll be fine, Bella. If it'll make you feel better, we'll all take shifts watching the house, but you're coming with me," I say as I pull more clothes out of the dresser before walking to the closet. Bella wasn't making any move to pack though.

"I can't, Edward," whispers Bella sadly.

"Please Bella. Just for a couple of days. Alice can watch Charlie's every step if that's what it takes. I won't risk you getting hurt," I say as I walk over to her and place my hands on her shoulders. "Whoever was here didn't come for Charlie. The scent doesn't leave this room. Whoever was here, came for you."

"Okay," whispers Bella. She walks over to her bed and starts packing her clothes. I give her some more clothes and soon her bag was full. I go to the bathroom and grab her tooth brush, tooth paste, hair brush, deodorant, and shampoo and conditioner before coming back and packing it with everything else.

By the time we got to my house Bella seemed to cheer up a little bit. When we pulled up in front of the house Bella groans when she sees the paper lanterns hanging above the door. I chuckle and lead her into the house where Alice immediately pulls her into a hug.

"Bella! Happy birthday!" she squeals excitedly. Then Esme walks aver and pulls her into a hug as well.

"Happy birthday dear," says Esme.

"Thank you," says Bella as Carlisle walks over and shakes Bella's hand.

"Happy birthday. Sorry if this is too much. We couldn't reign Alice in," says Carlisle just before Alice sticks her tongue out at him. Suddenly Emmett barrels into the room and pulls Bella into a bear hug with a booming laugh.

"Happy birthday Bells!" booms Emmett cheerfully. Jasper stood back next to Alice. He wanted to say Happy Birthday to Bella, but after what had happened last time he saw her he was afraid she would hate him. He had just gotten back from hunting so he wasn't thirsty, but he still didn't want to take a chance.

"Go ahead Jazz," I murmur too low for Bella's ears. Once Emmett had let go of Bella, Jasper slowly, hesitantly walks towards Bella.

"Hello," says Jasper quietly. Bella seemed surprised, but not unhappy as she smiles at him.

"Hey Jasper," says Bella cheerfully.

"Happy birthday," he says. Suddenly Bella does the unexpected and hugs Jasper.

"Thanks Jasper, that means a lot me," says Bella. Jasper was surprised, but it made him happy that Bella still trusted him. He gently wraps his arms around her for a moment before backing up and walking over to Alice who was smiling at him approvingly. Rosalie on the other hand was nowhere to be found. Emmett's thoughts told me she had holed herself up in their room and had no intention of coming down to celebrate with us. Bella seemed to notice her absence but didn't say anything.

"Time for presents!" squeals Alice as she pulls Bella into the living room and gently pushes her onto the couch. I sit next to Bella and place my hand on hers as Alice comes back holding several gifts.

"This one is from me and Edward," says Alice handing Bella a small, flat, square gift.

"I thought you already got me something," accuses Bella as she takes the gift.

"I only helped Alice, it's really from her," I say as Bella opens it to the CD we had made of my compositions.

"What's on it?" asks Bella.

"That's part of the surprise," I say as Alice takes the CD and puts it in the CD player. As my music fills the room Bella's face lights up.

"It's perfect, I love it," says Bella happily before Alice hands her the next gift.

"This is from Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie," says Alice.

"It feels…empty," says Bella as she opens it. It was a car stereo and I realized that Emmett had left to install it over at Bella's. When she opens it, she realizes it was empty.

"It's a stereo for your truck. Emmett's installing it now," says Alice as she hands Bella an envelope. "This is from me."

Bella opens the envelope and pulls out what appeared to be home made coupons. I laughed when I read what they were for.

"One shopping trip with Alice," reads Bella. Then she counts them. There were twenty of them, but they were reusable. I could see the horror on Bella's face as she realizes that they could be used more than once. "Thank you Alice," says Bella trying to sound thankful, even though she seemed scared. Then Esme handed Bella a gift.

"This is from Carlisle and I. We hope you like it," says Esme. Bella smiles and opens it before pulling out one of the vouchers in the box. As she reads it the smile on her face gets bigger and bigger until suddenly she was hugging Esme again.

"Thank you," says Bella excitedly.

"What'd you get?" I ask, although I already knew.

"We get to go to Jacksonville!" says Bella happily. I chuckle again as I watch Bella's excitement. Then I notice Esme and Carlisle watching Bella with all the love and adoration they held for us. Bella was already family and Esme and Carlisle had definitely welcomed her into their hearts and their home with open arms.

"Come on Bella, time for cake," says Alice pulling her towards my piano where the cake was sitting next to a stack of plates. She couldn't be planning to make us eat the cake too could she? The glint in Alice's eyes as she looked at me told me I was right. I gulp just as Emmett returns,

"What did I miss?" asks Emmett looking around.

"Bella loved Carlisle and Esme's gift," says Jasper with a small smile. Then he relays Bella's excitement to Emmett.

"I missed it?" asks Emmett excitedly. I chuckle because the words didn't go with the tone of voice Emmett was using. Then I remember the scent in Bella's room.

"Carlisle, I need to talk to you later," I murmur. Carlisle nods and everyone except Alice and Bella glance at me. Alice was too busy getting Bella a slice of the oversized birthday cake when there's a knock on the door. Carlisle decides to answer it just as I catch the thoughts of our unexpected guests.

"Can I help you?" asks Carlisle trying to sound professional towards the pack of wolves standing at our door.

"We need to talk," says Sam.

End Chapter

A/N: Sorry it took me so long! I had to read this extremely long book for a scholarship, and then my power went out, and it took me a few days to type the story itself…then again it is 12 pages long….hope you like it and I'm really sincerely sorry I'm so slow….the link for Edward's gift is on my profile so check it out! Sayonara! =]