— 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟔 —
𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬, 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧

"I can't believe they were actually having an orgy while drinking from people..." Bella shuddered the next day while driving her old truck.

It creaked and cracked as they drove down the interstate, barely able to push the speed limit.

Sandy was sitting next to her in the passenger seat, her legs pulled to her chest and chin resting on her knees. Some old country song was playing softly on the radio.

The past few weeks had been spent hanging out at the Black residence and rebuilding the old bikes. Both of them were now finally ready to drive—the three of them would be taking them out for testing today.

"You're telling me," Sandy snorted. "But that's not the part that I even care about as much anymore... they know I exist Bells... they know that they have a mate out there and they won't stop looking until they find me..." She sighed. "Which is fair, I mean they have been waiting for like over three thousand years... but like, I also don't do commitment...."

Bella bit her lip. "As funny as it is to think of you as someone with commitment issues, we both know that's not even one of the reasons you're hiding from them." She spoke, briefly glancing away from the wet roads and overcast skies to Sandy. "And, they're not going to get you, not unless you ever want to go with them willingly. I won't let them take you against your will."

Sandy raised an amused brow. "You alone—my fragile human friend—will not let an entire coven of ancient all-powerful vampires near me?"

Bella scoffed playfully. "What can I say? I'm a one-woman army. Besides if they actually come near you... I'll livestream them on World Star, since they are the upholders of vampire law, there is no way they come near us while we're on live stream."

Cassandra tilted her head back and laughed loudly, it was the first positive emotion that she had felt since she woke up at 4 a.m. She could only imagine trying to scare her mates and their coven off with such a threat as live-streaming them to World Star.

"And then we'll just need to live out the rest of our days constantly streaming ourselves on World Star to keep them away?" Sandy calmed her laughing down to small snickers.

Bella winked. "Exactly, and we'll need to move to a hot and sunny state... Arizona should work fine! Edward told me that vampires stay away from areas like that usually." She laughed lightly before turning serious. "For real though, Sandy, there's no way that they would find you, let alone anytime soon. They have literally nothing to go off: no name, no face, no supernatural species, no ties, hell, not even a voice. There are 7 billion people on this planet—and you are kind of a master at running and hiding."

Bella did make a good point. Sandy's 'father' had all of that and he had not been able to track her down for over two centuries, and part of that was Sandy being street famous in New York for her roles in The Phantom of the Opera and Grease.

If anyone could avoid the Volturi, it was her.

The only thing that she was nervous about was the mating bond. It would be easier for her mates to find her than Lithiovai because the mating bond typically pulled people closer to their mates, but even then, Sandy was confident that she would be able to outrun them for another few centuries at least.

"You're right, Bells," Sandy said, leaning her head back onto the headrest of Sandy's truck.

"Of course I am; I'm Bella Swan—"

"That's Isabella Swan, actually," Sandy corrected with a chortle.

Bella huffed. "Isabella but-nobody-calls-me-that Swan, and I am always right..."

"Sure you are, kid," Sandy said right back just as Bella turned the truck on the familiar dirt pathway that led to Jacob's house.

They had entered the Quileute tribal lands.

"Anyway," Bella dragged out the word, excitement suddenly lighting in her eyes. "Try not to focus on that, focus on how much fun we're going to have riding these dirtbikes!"

Sandy stared at Bella with slight worry, she did not like the look of reckless excitement gleaming in her brown eyes. Cassandra may have not known Bella Swan for that long, but they had gotten close enough for her to realize that Bella was not naturally an adrenaline junkie.

She had not yet been able to get Bella to admit the exact reason why she was suddenly into such activities, but she had a feeling that the reason was not good or healthy. It definitely had something to do with Edward Cullen. Sandy just could not be sure what.

"Yeah, but you're going to do it safely, right Bells?"

Bella waved her off. "Safely but fast! I want to try and hit 100 today..."

Sandy sat up straighter, glaring at Bella with a rare hard gleam to her eyes. "Are you insane? You could die if you do that—you've never even driven a motorcycle before!"

Bella shifted away from Sandy, but her words came calmly. "I'll be fine. Besides, weren't you street racing in Brazil while you were there?"

It was obvious that Bella did not take Sandy's words of warning seriously. And it put Sandy on edge—worry eating away at her soul at the thought of her very human best friend doing something so dangerous.

"I am an immortal fae, Isabella. A car accident is not going to kill me—hell, I could fall from the top of the Empire State Building and walk away fine. You can't, you will die if even the slightest thing goes wrong," She scolded.

Now, the second part was not exactly true. She might live if she fell from the Empire State Building, but she definitely wouldn't walk away unharmed.

But Bella did not need to know that.

Bella's shoulders slumped. "Fine, I'll drive slowly and carefully..." She said, but Sandy had the biggest feeling that Bella was lying to her.

Nevertheless, before she could scold Bella some more, they were pulling into Jacob's front yard and Bella had already raced out of the truck to greet him happily. It was obvious that it was more to get away from Cassandra's worried scolding.

Sandy shook her head as she too exited the car, immediately taking note of how close Jacob held Bella. He buried his face in her soft brown hair with a large smile.

The fae's thoughts quickly wandered away from Bella's idiotic idea to try and ride a dirtbike at over a hundred miles an hour to the way Jacob was hugging her. It was very apparent to Sandy that Jacob had more than a slight crush on Bella—he was falling in love with her.

And he was only going to get his heart broken, because—especially at this moment in time—Bella was not going to be able to reciprocate any true feelings of romance toward him. In fact, Sandy was willing to bet that it would just confuse Bella. Because Bella did love Jacob, in a platonic manner, but she was not in love with him.

It was easy to get those two feelings of love mixed up. Such a thing was bound to get messy incredibly quickly, especially if Edward did not hurry his ass up and realize he was being foolish and come back for his mate.

She made a mental note to warn both of them individually later on. Warn Bella about making sure not to even allow Jacob to get anything other than a good friendship with her in his brain, and warn Jacob that he was bound to get heartbroken if he continued on this path.

Not to mention he had an imprint waiting out there. Imprints were difficult because while they did not always need to be romantic, they typically were. But Sandy was getting ahead of herself, Jacob had not even transformed yet—he had a long way to go before he stumbled upon an imprint.

"Cass!" Jacob finally released Bella and walked to Sandy, giving her a half-hug.

"Jake, looking buff as ever..." The fae playfully poked his bicep and Jacob chuckled before doing his arm muscles in an obnoxious manner.

"What can I say? I'm on steroids too..." He laughed and Sandy tilted her head in confusion at his words.

"What—?" She was cut off by a nervous Bella jumping between them.

"Who's ready for some bikes?" She cheered, starting to lead them to Jacob's garage so they could put the dirtbikes on the back of it.

Jacob led the way, hollering in excitement while Sandy only tugged herself closer to Bella's ear.

"Bella, what was Jacob saying about steroids—?"

"C'mon, best friend...!" Bella cut her off, dragging her behind to follow after Jacob.

"Bella, what the hell did you say to him?!"

—————————

"Don't be scared," Jacob playfully teased Bella as he stood in front of the bike she was sitting on.

They had gone to the shoreline of the reservation, on one of the less busy roads to ride the bikes. Sandy was standing a few feet away with her arms crossed watching Bella worriedly. Somehow, the Swan girl had finessed her way into riding the bike first—even though she had literally zero dirtbike experience.

"I'm not..." Bella scoffed back.

"Girl, you better stay scared..." Sandy quickly piped up earning a pout from Bella.

"What? Why?" Bella said back.

"Because staying scared keeps you safe—and if that's not enough of a reason, let it be known that if you get hurt doing this I will be tattling to Charlie..."

At that, Bella's eyes widened, and before either Sandy or Jake could stop her, Bella hit the engine and drove around Jacob. "Sorry, I couldn't hear you over the engine" She cried as she sped right past Sandy who screamed at Bella to stop.

Unfortunately, with Jacob around, Sandy could not use any of her abilities to try and capture Bella before she was driving at uncanny speeds forward. Way faster than anyone who was riding for the first time ever should start out.

Even Jacob started panicking, both he and Sandy running after Bella yelling at her to 'slow down!' and 'stop!'. It was unclear if she could not hear them or was choosing to ignore them.

However, what was clear was how the Swan girl was already losing control of the dirtbike. Not to mention, she was not even focused on the road as she was constantly turning her head around as though looking at something.

Was she hallucinating?

It was not uncommon for mates who are apart for extended periods of time for unhealthy reasons to start hallucinating each other. Especially when one was still human. Sandy was an idiot for not seeing the symptoms in Bella earlier. Of course, Bella had become an adrenaline junkie, it was fueling hallucinations of Edward Cullen!

"Hit the brake!" Jacob cried just as Bella finally lost full control and was sent flying off the bike.

Cassandra screamed in panic, racing forward faster than she should have, but not fast enough that it would raise any questions. Especially with both she and Jacob being caught up on if Bella was okay.

Bella had been sent flying off the bike, hitting the ground and rolling straight into a stone. Not to mention, she was not even wearing a helmet.

"Bella!" Sandy cried as she finally got to Bella, kneeling down and checking her out to make sure she was still alive. "Isabella! What were you thinking, you could have died!" The fae was breathing heavily, examining Bella's bleeding head.

Jacob arrived in the next second, kneeling down next to them as well.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" He questioned, his voice portraying nearly as much worry as Sandy's.

Bella had no response, the girl was clearly out of it as she muttered. "I want to go again..."

"What?!" Cassandra demanded in an outraged tone.

"I want to go again..." Bella repeated with a sudden breath, her eyes taking in everything around her wildly.

It was as though she was looking for something.

Edward.

Sandy's mouth fell agape, the woman not even having anything else to say apart from sad. "Oh, Bella..." She sighed, continuing to look at her head.

Jacob answered next. "Absolutely not—no more bikes..." He said sternly, right next to Sandy in examining the human girl. "Damn it, your head..."

Bella finally appeared to break out of whatever trance she had been in, the girl bringing a hand up to touch her head. Sandy stopped her before she could touch the wound.

"Ow," Bella cringed, her shoulders slumping. "I'm sorry..." She mumbled, her eyes downcast and ashamed.

"It's okay..." Sandy muttered right back, pulling Bella into a warm hug and rubbing her back—she tried to pour every ounce of love that she could into it. "It's okay... you're okay, Bells..."

"You're apologizing for bleeding?" Jacob questioned in a humorous tone.

Bella shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, I guess I am..."

"Well, it's just blood, no big deal," Jacob said, giving her a boyish grin before standing up and going to take his shirt off as to put it against Bella's head.

"No, Jacob," Sandy practically sang, trying her best to sound kind. "We don't want to chance Bella's head getting infected... let me take her to the hospital..."

Jacob flushed but didn't take his shirt off.

"I don't need to go to—" Bella started only to stop herself when she saw the look Sandy was throwing her.

It took a second before Bella realized that the hospital Sandy intended to take her to was 'Doctor Cassandra's Place'—the fae would take her back to her home and heal her with magic. It was something that Bella still could not fully wrap her mind around.

No matter how many times Sandy performed healing spells on various bruises Bella acquired after tripping.

"Actually, yeah, I should probably get stitched up at the hospital..." Bella breathed as Sandy and Jacob helped her to stand.

"Fair enough, want me to come with?" He questioned.

"No, you're good, we'll drop you at home, go to the hospital, and then come back to get you..." Sandy explained.

Jacob looked confused. "What? Do we have plans tonight?"

"Yeah," Sandy complained as they walked Bella back toward the truck—they would go back for the bikes. "If you guys are still good with it, didn't we agree that we were driving to Port Angeles so we could try the new thingy from Taco Bell?"

The only fast food that Forks had was a McDonald's, it was too small for anything else. All the other restaurants were locally owned. The nearest Taco Bell was an hour and a half away in Port Angeles.

Sandy's favorite fast food chain was Taco Bell seeing as they had a rather good amount of vegetarian-friendly items on the menu. While she certainly cooked a lot more than she ate out, it still broke her heart that Forks did not have a Taco Bell.

"Oh yeah," Jacob nodded his head. "Uhm, I don't know, do you think Bella will be good enough?"

Before Sandy could open her mouth, Bella spoke. "I'll be fine..."

"Are you sure?" Jacob asked in disbelief.

"1000 percent," Bella confirmed.

"Whatever you say," Jacob huffed a laugh just as they got to the truck.

It was a small while later that Jacob had been dropped off and Sandy was driving Bella's truck to her small house in the forest. There was a comfortable silence lingering between the two of them.

"So," Sandy popped her lips. "When were you planning on telling me that you're seeing hallucinations of Edward Cullen?"

Bella sat up straighter, her eyes snapping to Sandy in shock. She looked almost fearful.

"Wait, what—? How did you..." She trailed off.

"How did I know?" Sandy chuckled. "It's a common symptom of being away from a mate, Bells. Honestly, I should have recognized the signs sooner..." She hit the steering wheel causing Bella to flinch at the display of anger from Sandy.

"Sandy, I'm sorry—" Bella started only to be cut off.

"Bella, you don't owe me an apology, it's out of your control. It's Edward Cullen who owes you the apology of the century..." She sighed. "Look, I'm just mad at myself for not seeing this sooner. You need to be extra careful, seeing Edward requires massive amounts of adrenaline, I don't want you to end up dead all to see a figment of the mind..." Tears welled in her eyes. "I can't lose you, Bella, not you..."

Bella leaned over and rested her head on Sandy's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Sandy, I'll be careful, I promise. You won't lose me and I won't lose you."

Sandy nuzzled her back as they drove.

Healing Bella did not take that long—the right ingredients in a raspberry-flavored healing tea along with some incantations and Bella was back to being just as good as she was that morning.

Imagine Jacob Black's surprise when they rolled up in Sandy's truck not even three hours later with Bella's head completely healed. The only explanation he got was some weak excuse about a new drug that 'heals instantly'.

Jacob was concerned about whether that was even safe, but Bella and Sandy both waved his concerns off.

Thankfully, he soon got over it after the first thirty minutes into the drive as he and Sandy sang along to the Black Eyed Peas loudly. Bella was lounging in the back while shaking her head at the two.

Jacob got dibs on the passenger seat because of his sheer size and there being more leg room up front. Sandy was, of course, driving her truck seeing as she had grown to love it and it was also the only vehicle where she didn't need to worry about it breaking down on the side of the road.

Because no way Jacob's car or Bella's truck was safely making it to Port Angeles going the interstate speed limit.

"There is no way you guys like the Black Eyed Peas this much," Bella finally rasped, looking at the two in disbelief.

Jacob swung around, his long hair ruffled as he sang even louder before answering her question.

"Speak for yourself! Will.i.am is my hero," Jacob expressed happily.

Sandy smiled at the two bickering, dancing slightly in her seat as she drove. However, she still kept her eyes peeled on the road, using her abilities to make sure that no deer were about to jump in front of the truck.

The last thing she wanted was to hurt either of her two friends or kill an innocent animal.

The sun had gone down a little over an hour ago, setting early at the end of winter and the beginning of spring. The dark caused the looming trees to appear as ginormous shadows, the ice on the ground invisible in the dark, and the bite in the air caused both Bella and Sandy to need to wear rather thick flannel jackets.

Washington truly was a beautiful state—its greenery was unmatched and the mystical feel that Forks provided was enchanting.

Samdy had not lived in many places that looked like Forks. She tended to try and stay in the warmer areas, the sunnier places, and big cities. There were two primary reasons for this. The first one was because Lithiovai was less likely to go anywhere warm and sunny. And the second one was that places like that did not remind Cassandra of her home.

It hurt to be somewhere that reminded her of the greenery of Scotland. To feel Fork's energy that was reminiscent of the enchanting smokes of the Scottish Highlands where she was born.

Sandy had only ever been back to Scotland once after she was kidnapped. It was sometime in the 1940s'. After the second World War had ended and it was once again safe to travel to that side of the world.

She had gone by steam boat—avoiding Scotland since she had escaped from Lithiovai. Sandy had not been able to handle the reality that her species truly was gone. Scotland and Ireland had once held the most population of fae; when Cassandra was born, that population had dwindled down to only her clan being left.

And Lithiovai destroyed all of them, other than her in his pursuit for power.

Yet, Sandy had went there with the most innocent hope of that not being the case. Perhaps a few of her old clan had survived, or maybe there was even another clan hidden. She would do her best to find any others—fae clans were hidden typically only against humans and other supernatural creature.

Therefore, if there was any other surviving clans, she would be able to find them.

Cassandra had arrived to the location of her old home—traveling through the mists and meadows and trees... but when she arrived... there was nothing.

The land had not yet healed from the attack of Lithiovai centuries earlier.

The only sign of life was a single glowing flower among many dead weeds on the outskirts of what was once her clan's village.

The brush and greenery were burnt to crips—cobble homes destroyed and dried blood staining what was left. Ash and bone bodies greeted Sandy, and it was the sight of her mother's corpse, nothing more than bone and yet still recognizable to Cassandra that had her running for the hills far away from what was once her home.

The land was poisoned, the magic that lived through the area was angry and hurt. And there were no more fae to calm it down.

Only Cassandra was left, and she stayed far away from there. Not making any attempts to right and calm the unstable fae magic.

It was more than traumatizing, and Sandy vowed that she would one day go back. One day she would return to heal and clean-up the land; perhaps then the Earth might bless itelf with the existence of more fae.

Sandy's hand clenched the wheel tighter, the girl blinking and clearing her head of such thoughts. She had other things to worry about—primarily about continuing to hide from not only her father, but now her mates.

Along with that, she had to make sure that Bella Swan did not accidentally kill herself because hallucinations of Edward were driving her toward danger.

That is what Cassandra had to focus on.