Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight

After over two millennia on this Earth, Victoria found that nothing was as freeing as running. Nothing but the rushing wind on her face as she sped through the thicket of trees around her. The forest was like her own personal obstacle course, she nimbly moved out of the way of a low hanging branch seconds before collision.

Victoria didn't think there were too many things that came close to the rush she felt when running, well besides fresh blood or sex, or blood and sex.

So maybe there were a few things she could think of. It made her wonder what it would be like to find her mate, her amissa dimidium.

Many other vampires had described it as an indescribable feeling; such an intense wave of emotion and feelings, it wasn't something that could be put into words.

Personally, Victoria thought of those vampires as lovesick idiots, but she couldn't deny the complete and utter devotion mated pairs had when they gazed at one another. And Victoria craved that sort of devotion, to have someone who would worship her and someone who she would worship in return.

But it had been over two thousand years since she had become a creature of the night, and she had yet to come across her mate.

Over time, she learned that if it was going to happen, it would happen naturally, with no intervention from her. She had been a fool in the past trying to force a bond with another vampire centuries ago, a tracker by the name of James.

When Victoria first met him, she had been immediately attracted to him and thought that maybe she could be content with him even though he wasn't her match.

And they had a glorious few decades, filled with her favorite things: fighting, blood, and sex. But after a while, the attraction began to wane.

Decreased even further by his obsession with hunting, and she loved a good hunt, but his unwillingness to give up even when faced with other vampires made him a dangerous liability.

Victoria was confident in her ability to hold her own in a fight even against multiple opponents. A confidence founded in her gift and her experience after having been alive so long, but she didn't survive that long by taking unnecessary risks.

So Victoria had decided she wanted no more of his companionship, but James didn't take that well and decided that she was to become his next hunt.

A foolish endeavor of course, made evident in the ease in which she had killed him.

Since then, Victoria stayed away from committed relationships and had her fun when she saw fit.

Shaking her head of the useless thoughts, Victoria continued her journey through the forest before she was hit with a scent that was ever so enticing. She wasn't all that hungry, having fed close to a week ago, but she could certainly make an exception for that mouth-watering scent.

Victoria ran in search of the smell and eventually came upon a modest property with a decently sized backyard. The backyard met the edge of the forest and in the yard were four humans. There was one man standing over a grill laughing with another man in a wheelchair, both seemed to be approaching middle age.

The other two humans were adolescents, a boy and a girl. The boy was trying to engage the girl in conversation and the girl looked to be uninterested in their conversation topic but trying to be polite.

Victoria kept herself tucked behind a tree as she observed the scene in front of her. She concentrated her senses on that delectable smell, trying to pinpoint who it was coming from and found that it was the girl.

That there were multiple witnesses presented a problem and while she could deal with it, she didn't want to draw that many eyes even if she was only passing through.

She weighed the pros and cons of continuing her hunt, and decided to wait the day out and see if the opportunity presented itself. With a nod to herself, she climbed up a tree and resigned herself to watching.

With nothing to do but wait, she found herself observing the humans she had come upon. Victoria learned that the human that led her here was called Bella and her father was the man standing over the grill, Charlie. Billy was the one in the wheelchair and his son was the boy, Jacob.

Listening to their idle chatter, the day went by fairly quickly. They soon had their dinner and the father daughter duo said their goodbyes to Billy and Jacob.

"Hey Dad, I'm going to head out for a little while to read." Victoria heard the girl say.

"Okay, Bells. Make sure you don't stay out too long."

"Okay, Dad."

With that, Bella left her father in the living room to his football and beer. Turning on the porch light, she made her way back outside. Grabbing a seat in a lawn chair, she got comfortable and cracked open her book.

Victoria grinned, right when she thought she would have to give up the hunt, she was handed this opportunity on a silver platter.

She waited a moment, making sure that nothing would ruin her hunt. Seeing that she was in the clear, she dashed over to her prey.

Appearing before the human, she waited for the girl to register that there was a presence in front of her. Slowly, the girl began to look up, her heartbeat kicking up in cadence.

Then, their eyes met and Victoria saw forever in her eyes.

Bella saw danger in hers, eyes widening in fear, she froze, too shocked to react. After a few seconds of staring, instinct kicked in and she opened her mouth to scream.

Victoria jolted out of realization and quickly moved to cover her mouth.

"Shh, shh, shh, calm down." Bella was breathing harshly, showing no signs of calming down. Her book fell, thumping on the grass, forgotten.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to talk. Nod if you understand." Bella didn't respond.

Victoria tried again. "Focus on me carissima, I don't mean you any harm." She heard Bella's heart rate begin to slow down, bringing her down from full blown terror to frightened.

Slowly Bella nodded her head. Victoria breathed a sigh of relief and removed her hand from the girl.

"Now, that's better." Victoria said. She gave a lazy smile and sat down on the grass in front of Bella, arms behind her propping her up, legs half bent in front her. She was the picture of nonchalance.

Bella didn't believe it. From the speed the woman demonstrated earlier, she knew the woman would be on her the second she got up to run.

Knowing that, Bella decided to cooperate for now and wait for an opportunity to get out of this situation. She soon found the courage to speak. "W-who are you?"

"My name is Victoria."

"And…" Bella swallowed her fear to continue. "And what do you want?"

"I told you, I just want to talk. For now, at least." Victoria added the last sentence just to play with her a little, to see her reaction.

Bella's heart rate raised once more with those words and she said the first thing that came to mind. "M-my Dad's a cop. He's the chief too"

Victoria threw her head back and laughed. It was a musical sound that was so free Bella couldn't help but be distracted by it.

"Well, right now he's fast asleep so he wouldn't be able to do any protecting and serving."

Bella didn't have time to ponder how she knew that, she just knew that it was likely true as Charlie did often fall asleep in front of the TV. She focused on saying anything that might get the stranger in her backyard to leave.

"He's a light sleeper, so the moment I scream he'll be ready to put a bullet in anyone stupid enough to threaten the chief of police's daughter in his own backyard."

Bella hoped that would be enough to get her intruder to leave. Her hopes were dashed when all Victoria did was smile.

"One, I don't think I threatened you, in fact I believe I said I meant you no harm. Two, I think you'll find that bullets do very little against my kind. And three, you're not being very truthful. Your father's not a light sleeper. I'm sure you could kick up quite the ruckus before he would wake."

Victoria shifted, crossing her legs and leaning forward. "This was an admirable attempt though, if I had been anyone else and I actually meant you harm, that might have worked."

"It's nice to know that you know how to use your brain. Of course, you are my match so this is not surprising."

Caught in her bluff, Bella struggled on what to focus on in all the information she was just given. She eventually went with the most glaring. "Your kind?"

"Ah, but we're getting ahead of ourselves. You'll find that out in time. For now, I think I'll let you get your sleep, you are a growing young woman after all."

With that, Victoria stood and handed Bella her book. Bella took it cautiously and before Victoria turned to leave she spoke once more.

"I have to ask that you keep our meeting to yourself. While I don't intend you harm, there are laws that even I am not above and actions do have their consequences." Despite the lazy way in which they were delivered, Bella heard the weight behind them.

"We'll be seeing each other soon, Bella." Victoria grinned and as quickly as she had appeared, she left.

Bella got up and gathered her things in a dazed sort of state. She made sure to lock the back door and woke her Dad up so he could sleep in his bed.

Charlie grumbled but began picking up his trash before going to bed. Bella bid her father goodnight and made her way up the stairs to her room.

Safe in her bed, Bella didn't want to think about what had just happened and willed herself to go to sleep. Eventually, the events of the day caught up to her and she soon began drifting off.

As she drifted, despite her best efforts not to think of the events of that night, something managed to slip through. She had never told the woman her name.

Finally succumbing to sleep, Bella dreamed of pretty red eyes and wild red hair.

A/N: Just to clear any confusion, this story starts at the last summer Bella spends with Charlie so the Cullens aren't in town and the Quileutes haven't shifted yet. And Bella is 14 going on 15 because her birthday is in September. If there's anymore questions regarding the timeline or the story in general just ask and I'll do my best to answer.