Story 1
Bella POV
As I lay on the forest floor, I feel empty, incomplete. The love of my life, my soul mate doesn't want me anymore. I was so deep within myself; I failed to notice two dark figures walking (more like stalking) towards me.
Only when I heard on say, "Hello again, Bella" did I notice them.
As I looked up into their faces I froze, there in front of me stood Victoria and Laurent, both their eyes were black as coal.
When I didn't respond, Laurent continued, "We were just…um…passing through when we smelled you and your…boyfriend in the woods." I shuddered at the word 'boyfriend', just the smallest mention of him made my chest tear apart. He continued after a moment of silence, "As far as we-" he motioned to himself and Victoria "-understand the whole Cullen…family left and won't be coming back anytime soon." It wasn't a question but he waited for me to respond before continuing. Once I nodded he did, "That, dear Bella, is what we need you for."
"What do you need me for?" I asked as soon as I found my voice
"We also understand that you want to become one of us." Victoria said, ignoring my question.
"I did but-"
"But? But she says" Victoria said turning to Laurent.
"I only wanted it so I wouldn't have to leave him, but he doesn't want me anymore." I blurted out without thinking "Not that it makes any difference, he doesn't want me to be a vampire, has never has."
Shock crossed their faces, but they quickly composed their features in the same second. I couldn't tell if I only imagined it or not. They glanced at each other and in the same second I was flying through the forest and I heard Victoria "Perfect" she whispered.
Alice POV
I can't believe him! He made me leave my best friend to fend for herself and I wasn't even allowed to say goodbye! It had been almost 3 months since we left and I was heartbroken, still. As I sat in the living room I thought back to the day Edward said we were leaving
Start Flashback
Jasper still felt terrible for attacking Bella, he wished he had more control, and then everything would be fine. Esme and I were comforting him when Edward walked through the door. "We're leaving Forks, there's nothing here for us anymore"
"What are you freaking talking about Edward, have you lost your mind" Emmett was trying to help Jasper of the floor and placed him on the couch while Esme pulled Jasper's head in her lap trying to clam him down. He felt guilty since he realized this was all his fault. If he hadn't tried to attack Bella at her birthday when she fell and cut her arm, Edward wouldn't be leaving her and all this fighting wouldn't be happening.
"Edward what is going on, why are we leaving?" Rosie tried to keep her composure but you could tell she was only just reining in her emotions.
"I said we are going Rose, don't argue, you didn't even like her anyway" Edward looked out the window, probably so no one could see the emotions that played across his face.
"No I won't go and you can't make me go" Rosie stood with her arms folded across her chest, just daring Edward to challenge her.
"YES WE ARE" Edward screamed through the air which made Esme, Jasper, and I jump.
Edward had lost his patience by now and Rosie was pushing her luck. Edward and Rosalie continued to scream at each other and when they started to take on their defense positions, Esme spoke up.
"Rose, Edward Stop" Esme's calming was voice was full of authority as it echoed throughout the house. Everyone turned to look at her although it took Rosie a bit longer to calm down and get out of her attack position.
"We are family, we don't fight like this and we stick together, whether we like it or not" Esme looked at Edward's face when she said the last part.
I knew that he felt terrible, but since we were leaving I wanted to say bye to my best friend. I wanted to tell her that I would come back and visit as often as I could, that we would all be back to visit. I walked towards the door when Edward grabbed my arm.
"No, Alice you can't I already said goodbye."
"Edward, she's my best friend I can't not say goodbye."
"Too bad Alice, it's done and we're leaving"
"I hate you Edward. I will always hate you for this, never forget that." I yelled at him and went to sit on the couch next to Jasper.
End Flashback
So we all left and not even a week after we were settled Edward left to go off on his own. He said he wasn't in the mood to be around us because we all kept thinking about Bella and how much we missed her. This ticked Rose off, which was a surprise; she started yelling at Edward, again.
Start Flashback
"This is not fair, it's always about you Edward, you endangered us when you saved Bella from the car accident, you endangered her by letting her be a part of this family, letting her know everything she had guessed about us was true. You endangered us when he let us love her like a part of our family and now you leave her and expected us all to follow. You are so selfish Edward. And now he decides that he doesn't want to stay with us because we miss her. I thought you loved her Edward but I guess you're just too selfish to see what this is doing to the rest of us." Rose had started to run out of steam and turned to see Emmett had walked up behind her and circled his enormous arms around her waist. She turned in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably.
End Flashback
All of a sudden it went black, gone…dead. Edward told me not to look for her, but I did anyway, I wanted to know how she was, and what she was doing. I wasn't looking for her at the moment, but I knew I would catch it if something this bad happened.
"ALICE!!"
I gasped as I came back to the present to see the confused, concerned faces of my family. Edward was so depressed that he didn't respond to anyone's thoughts anymore. So I was surprised to see him standing in front of me. He came back after about a month and he rarely came downstairs. But I knew he knew it was about Bella and whenever I saw something about Bella he reacted.
"Gone…" was all I could say before the sobs broke free. I saw out of the corner of my eye that Edward's face got paler (if that's even possible) and unreadable.
"Gone? What's gone?" Emmett asked, slightly impatient.
"B-bella" I said in between sobs. I heard gasps and Esme's sobs silent start.
"How?" Carlisle asked, his voice was controlled but I could hear the pain in it.
"I…don't know…all of a sudden I couldn't see her" I said controlling the sobs somewhat. I looked at Edward again and I thought he couldn't get any more depressed, but I was wrong, there was no sign of life in his eyes and no sign that it would ever return. We sat there for an immeasurable moment. Esme was still crying tearless cries, Carlisle was trying to comfort her but he was almost at a breaking point as well. Emmett's head was hanging and he was hitting his knee with his fist. Rose closed her eyes and tried not to break down and start crying. Jasper left the room, I knew he couldn't handle the emotions, because he still blamed himself for all this.
Suddenly Rose stood up, with a smug look, and started toward the door. Emmett grabbed her hand to stop her.
"Well, I don't know about you all, but I'm going back to Forks to find my…sister because I don't believe she's dead. Usually Alice sees people die, but Bella just disappeared." She said and started for the door again.
Bella POV
I learned so much these past 3 months. Victoria was my 'teacher' in fighting and control. Since Victoria was teaching me and I was a VERY quick learner, I became one of the best fighters she has ever seen in her 400 years. Because I had wanted to become a vampire before I was turned, I had more control of myself than any other newborn; I have never even tasted human blood. I also found that I had a very strong power, the strongest one ever discovered. I could shield myself from any gift and could also use someone else's gift against them. In its human form it protected me from the first gift I encountered, which was Edward's.
"Beth. Earth to Beth!" Victoria was using my new name, I hated it but she said I needed to get used to it. "I heard that the Cullens are moving back. I didn't know you blocked the psychic, good job." She continued once she got my attention. Vicky (A/N: Vicky is Victoria's nickname) and Laurent came up with a plan to get rid of the Cullens after what they did to James (Vicky's mate). As a part of the plan, I had to learn to block myself from all of their gifts except Jasper's. They didn't want the Cullens to know that I was changed or if I was alive. She continued "They are starting school on today so try to get them to trust you before they 'meet' Laurent and me."
"What's their story?" I asked, I was truly curious but I didn't know if I showed it or not.
"Mrs. Cullen didn't like city life and wanted to move back to a small town. The hospital offered the Dr. a job and he accepted." I nodded at her and went back to my thoughts.
There were four of us who were in school. We, Adrian, John, Mary, and I, had been attending school for a week. I was happy to see all my old friends, but I wasn't allowed to hang out with them 1. I was still a newborn 2. They might recognize me 3. I might let something slip and ruin everything Vicky and Laurent had planned.
School was a lot different now that I was a vampire, although it was boring because I knew everything anyway. By some coincidence I had the same schedule as I did at the beginning of the year (it's a really small school).
"Beth, it's time to go. We need to get there early." Adrian said walking towards the garage.
"Okay I'm coming." I stole a quick glance in the mirror and saw that my eyes were almost black "Crap."
"What Beth? We don't have time for this today. You look fine, as usual." John was always rude to me and I was used to it.
"I didn't get a chance to hunt last night. Today's going to be hard." I said as I got into the driver's seat of my Ferrari.
"Whatever." He replied
People naturally stayed away from us, so we stayed by the car waiting for school to start when we saw the silver Volvo pull into the parking spot two cars away. I was told from the time of my 'birth' that the Cullens were our enemy and had to be removed. As a natural instinct I got angry and glared at them as they got out of the car, but I got the sense of Déjà Vu when I saw them and I immediately calmed down, I couldn't help but feel safe with them there. They caught our scent and turned to look at us with confused expressions.
At the same time to wind shifted right when a freshman walked by us. The scent hit me, and it hit me hard. Even though I was mature, I was still a newborn and I was thirsty with humans everywhere. I could feel my control slipping and I gripped the car for support. Mary felt me stiffen next to her; she looked into my black eyes and understood immediately.
"Go you need to hunt and you don't have enough control to last all day. There's a deer in there." She pointed into the woods behind us; I took a quick glance to make sure no one was looking, and sprinted into the trees.
Edward POV
"Go you need to hunt and you don't have enough control to last all day. There's a deer in there." the short blond was whispering to the brunette. I didn't look up but I could see it through Alice's mind. When we got to where they were standing, there were only three of them.
"What are your names?" I asked since everyone was looking at me.
The short blond replied, "I'm Mary, this-" she gestured to the male "-is John, and this-" the red head stepped forward "-is Adrian."
"I'm sorry, our sister, Beth, is very young. She has excellent control when she isn't thirsty she just went to get some to pull her through the day. It's been a while since she hunted."
"How old is she?" Jasper asked, military training starting to kick in.
"Um…about…only a few months." Mary answered.
"Three to be exact." Someone, Beth I'm guessing, said walking out of the woods.
Jasper hissed and lunged at her, taking them both into the woods. We heard snarls as we rushed in after them. To our surprise, she had him in a headlock. We started forward to help him, but she held up a hand to stop us.
"You know Jasper, with all your military background, I would have figured you would have known better than that…" she said shaking her head as she let him go. She met my gaze and there was something behind the red of her eyes that seemed familiar, but I couldn't figure out what it was.
Edward, how does she know Jazz? She's young and nobody outside the family knows about his past. What if she's Volturi? Alice thought in a worried tone. I can't see her, that's weird. Can you hear her? At the same time as she thought it Beth turned and glared at her then glanced at me. She looked…worried?
"Not that this isn't…fun, but we're going to be late." She said coldly and turned and walked swiftly away.
"She's really a great person; she's just been in a weird mood all week." Adrian said after she was gone. "Well I guess we'll see you later. Don't want to leave her alone, she has a slight temper."
Once they all left Alice turned to me with worry all over her face, "I can't see them! Edward it's as if they don't exist."
"I know Alice, I can't hear them either." I replied, it hurt me to say this because the only person who I couldn't hear was Bella.
"Let's go to class. We can talk to them at lunch." Rose said before heading toward the school.
Bella POV
I had no classes with my family; I found out that I had almost every class with a Cullen. Just to my luck I had science with HIM (Déjà vu). I walked into fourth hour physics, handed my slip to the teacher and there he was sitting next to the only open seat (again). I sat down and didn't look at him. I planned to ignore him for the entire hour, but he had different plans.
"What is your problem?" his tone made it seem like he was waiting for a murder confession.
"I don't have a problem." I said acidly.
"How did you know about Jasper?"
"Oh, I know about all every one of you Cullens."
Shock crossed his face, "Every…You're lying." He shook his head, "Nobody except our family knows about Jasper. And if anyone else did, they live in South America."
"I've never met anyone from the southern rebellion, I just have reliable sources."
"'Reliable sources'? What reliable sources?" he was getting worried now
I was going to answer honestly, tell him that Jasper told me one day while he was out hunting, but I knew I would ruin everything so instead I just laughed and looked at the board. We sat in silence for a few minutes before he started to get impatient.
"I don't believe you. The only person outside our family who knows that is…" his voice was composed, but I knew it well enough that he was hiding his pain. When he said this I turned to look at him. I just wanted to tell him that I was here and I was never going to leave him again. His pain was my pain.
"You love her, don't you?" I asked
"W-w-what did you say?" he looked surprised and hurt.
"I'm sorry that's none of my business." I said after a moment when he didn't respond I continued, "Carlisle was changed in the 1600's, found a new diet of animals. He studied in medicine and was working at the hospital where you and your parents were when the Spanish Influenza struck…" I paused because I felt him stiffen.
"Continue." He sounded like someone had knocked the wind out of him.
"Esme jumped off a cliff when her newborn baby died, she was taken straight to the morgue and was still alive when Carlisle found her. Rosalie was…attacked by a group of men and Carlisle found her. She found Emmett a few years later, being attacked by a bear, and carried him 100 miles back to Carlisle. Jasper was part of the Southern Rebellion and Alice was created by-"I was interrupted by John. As soon as I saw him walk through the door, I knew I had said too much and I was in trouble. Instead of taking me out of class, he went to sit in the back and waited for class to be over before he yelled at me.
Edward POV
As soon as her brother walked in she stopped talking and got this pained expression on her face like she did something wrong. He went to the back of the class and starred at Beth with a deadly look in his eye. I felt this urge to protect her from his glare. I haven't felt that urge to be protector since I left…Bella. The bell rang and neither Beth nor John moved. She looked at me and quickly looked away. I knew it was rude, but I stopped outside the door to listen.
"How could you have been so stupid?! You almost ruined everything." He sounded like he was going to snap her neck. "I knew they shouldn't have picked you of all people-"
"I'm sorry. Ok I don't know what happened, it all came back. You know it's hard for me to be around them again. It's bringing back a lot of memories."
"They only picked you because you have a perfect reason to hate the Cullens, as they do."
"No, I was at first, but-"
"You know, now that I think about it, it's all your fault we have to do this. You were the reason they killed him."
I heard her growl "He was the one who tracked me, John, not my fault.
"James' death hit Victoria hard. She started planning then. She wasn't going to include you in the plan, but she found you after he left yo-"
"John shut up! You don't know what you're talking about!" she started to sob, I have heard that sob before but I couldn't place it, again.
"Yes I do, you mean nothing to them, they are only using you as bait. You, Bella Swan, are going to die the night your dear Edward and his family do and that night be closer then you think."
I stood there for half a second taking in what I just heard. I heard them move toward the door. I ran towards the cafeteria. Bella. It can't be Bella. But it can. The look in her eyes, the sound of her crying, her knowledge of my family's history, how she knew how to avoid Jasper's attack it could only be Bella. My Bella. She wasn't dead. I hated myself for leaving her and letting this happen to her. Edward it would have happened anyway Alice saw it I told myself. As I walked into the cafeteria, I was forming a plan to get Bella away from those…I couldn't even finish the thought. I was filled with hatred towards that…family, they were only using her, and they were going to kill her. I wouldn't let anything happen to my love or my family. I would have to wait until she said something. I could be wrong, this could be part of the plan. NO that wasn't true.
Look who decided to show up. Emmett's thoughts brought me back from Bella He looks better, like he did when Bella was around, before we left-. He stopped once he saw me glaring at him.
"I called Carlisle and he said to be nice and invite them over after school so we can all talk." Alice said quickly "He'll be home once his shift is over."
After a minute of silence, we saw them walk in. Mary and Adrian looked slightly scared, probably at how mad John was, Beth following close behind. I was shocked when I saw what she was thinking. It was a human memory. It was me, the glare I gave Bella her first day at Forks High. She was comparing it to the look John had on his face back in the classroom. I chuckled slightly when she decided I looked scarier. The image was cut off suddenly when she saw me gazing at her curiously. By now they were all sitting with us at our table.
"So…who created you?" I asked to break the silence. It seemed like a good place to start.
"Vicky." John said adoringly. Mary and Adrian nodded in agreement.
"She wanted to keep herself busy because she lost her mate and was very depressed. She found john first, then me and Adrian, then little Beth only 3 months ago. She was hunting in the forest when she found her. She was being attacked by a big…wolf? Maybe she doesn't know what it was." Mary explained.
I hate doing this to them. They were always so nice to me, they loved me and I loved them. They only left to keep me safe. Victoria and Laurent are going to KILL me for this...but I can't let him keep hurting the way he is…he deserves that much. Edward if you can gear me, look at the ceiling. I looked and she continued after a moment. I know you heard what happened after class. I'm so sorry. I-you told me not to go into forest alone. I went anyway, not even a week after you left. Victoria and Laurent found and took me to where they were staying, and changed me. She stopped when she saw me gripping the table to keep me from leaving my seat. I met her gaze to see her eyes coal black fighting remain seated as well, but for an entirely different reason. I was so angry, my vision went red. Jasper glance at me, feeling my anger, he tried to calm me down and keep it inconspicuous at the same time. It wasn't working out so well.
"Beth, I know you hate to, but you need to skip the rest of the day. You know stress is bad for your control." Adrian said quietly.
"Okay, okay! Thanks for all the support!" Beth said sarcastically before standing, "Here take the keys, I don't know how long I'll be." She started to give her keys to Adrian "You get one scratch on my Ferrari, I will kill you myself." She sounded like Rose when she said that. She used to hate driving fast or cars that drove fast, or cars at all, I chuckled at the irony. Adrian nodded and Beth turned to leave.
"Wait! Come over after school, Esme and Carlisle will want to meet you!" Alice said excitedly. Beth just nodded and left.
"Edward I think you should go too. You look like you're going to crack." Emmett said after Beth was out the door. I just nodded and followed her outside. I wanted to talk to her and figure out what was going on. I looked around, but I didn't see her.
"I figured you would come, I'm not as good as Alice, but I know you well enough." I turned and saw her leaning against the wall next to the door.
"Wh-"I started to ask, but she interrupted me.
"Not here! Come on follow me…if you can that is." She smirked before turning and sprinting into the woods.
Bella POV
I didn't know where I was going or what I was going to say to him. I just needed to get somewhere Vicky or Laurent or John, Mary, or Adrian would find and know that I was talking to Edward. I came to a small clearing and planted my feet. Edward shot past me but was back in a second. We stood there for an immeasurable moment. He waited for me to start explaining, but when I didn't he became impatient.
"What do you want Beth?" he asked coldly.
"Don't use that tone with me Edward Cullen, you were curious not me. You followed, I didn't make you." I snapped "I'm sorry."
"Well, you have some explaining to do then." He tried to make his voice more casual, and not succeeding.
"I'm so sorry; I don't know what I was thinking. When they asked me, I would answer without thinking about the consequences…I'm so sorry." I broke down. I fell to the ground, sobbing. "it's all my fault."
"What are you talk-" he started to ask, but he stopped when he saw all the images I was showing him. "Bella...it really is you?" he asked after a minute. I nodded slightly
"I'm sorry, it's all my fault." I said again.
"Never!" he growled "Never say anything is all your fault. Things happen, we all have made mistakes." He started to walk towards me. "I made the mistake of leaving you." I opened my mouth, but he cut me off, "Please let me explain-"
"No Edward you don't understand, this isn't the kind of situation I can fix. It's going to come down to a fight, I know that.
"I disagree with you, but we need to get back. If however, it does come down to a fight, you will have to choose…Bella, I know that you love them, but they are threatening my family and I will protect th-"he stopped when he saw how mad I was getting
"I don't love them. They only pretend to because they don't want me to piss me off. I…they have never been like a family to me, more like business partners." I started to sob again "Once we…they finish here, they'll just get rid of me because I know too much and I'm not worth keeping around."
"By 'get rid' you mean-"
"Kill. Yes."
"Bella, I will NOT let anything happen to you. I thought you were gone, now that I've found you…I'm not letting you go." Before I could comprehend what he was saying, his lips were crushing mine. I reacted instinctively, and in the next second I was on the opposite side of the clearing. I could see the hurt on his face.
"I'm sorry. I…I expect I deserve that. I wasn't thinking. You have to understand that I only left to keep you safe. I-"While he was talking, I walked toward him, closing the gap between us slowly. I was standing I front of him and put my hand over his mouth.
"Stop." I said fiercely "'Things happen, we all have made mistakes'" I quoted him with a smile. I starched up on my toes to kiss him. I tried to keep in my head that I was stronger than him, but his enthusiasm made it very difficult. The kiss was deepening, but I broke it when my phone rang for the third time. I pulled it out of my pocket, but he growled at it and tried to grab it, he looked like a little kid, I couldn't help but start to laughing at him.
"Edward, stop, I have to answer! They'll come look for me if I don't. I choked before laughing again.
"Fine." He growled. He sat down in the grass with an annoyed expression.
"Hello!" I answered the phone.
"Beth! Where the hell are you?!" Laurent was pissed. He was rarely mad at me. I figured John told him I almost ruined everything in physics this morning.
"I don't know, somewhere in the forest."
"Well, figure it out and meet us at the Cullen's place. You might have to change your app-"
"They've already seen me so that would be suspicious."
"You're still blocking the psychic and the mind reader I hope. We don't want you to ruin this any more than you already have." Yup, John told him alright.
"Of course, I'm not stupid."
"Whatever. Remember: Don't block the emotional one. Ha! You already have no future and no brain. You want to at least have feelings."
"Thanks." I said sarcastically. Before he could say anything else, I hung up.
"Blocking?" I turned to see Edward laying back in the grass looking at the sky.
"My gift." He looked at me curiously "Come on, I'll explain it on the way."
Alice POV (after Edward left the cafeteria)
"Who was Vicky's mate? Maybe we knew him." Jasper asked after a long silence.
"Um…I think that should wait until we don't have a chance of being overheard and we were never been told the whole story." John said.
"Yeah, we'll talk at our house after school…Well we should go or we'll be late." I said. Class didn't start for a couple minutes, but I needed to talk to Jazz, Em, and Rose alone. I stood up, took my tray to the trash and went outside. I went over to the car and waited for them to meet me.
"Come on, we're going home." I said once they were at the car. I quickly got in the driver's seat and started the engine.
"What is it Alice?" Rose asked as I pulled out of the driveway, but I ignored her.
"Alice! What's going on?!" Jasper asked. He grabbed my arm to get my attention.
"I don't know! But something is. Their story sounds a little too rehearsed. The only one who didn't get along with them was Beth. She looked like they were forcing her to stay with them or something. I don't know…but something seems…off. Did you see their faces when they came in? It looked like they don't get along. I don't like it." By now we were walking in the front door. "Esme, um, there are some…kids coming over, if that's alright."
"Of course it is Alice." Esme said as she came down the stairs. "It's your first day back and you're already making new friends." She added with a smile.
"No, they aren't friends exactly, they're vampires and they agreed to come over to meet you and Carlisle." Rose interjected with an annoyed tone. "I don't want any more friends. I don't think I can h-h-handle th-th-that a-again."
"Ssh, Rose, ssh it's okay. I know it's hard. We're all having trouble with this. It'll be okay." Emmett tried to comfort her.
"Where's Edward?" Jasper spoke up for the first time; I could tell he was trying to change the subject. "He should be back by now." I checked to see what he was doing.
"He's coming." I said after a second. At the same time I heard tires hit our driveway. "They're almost here." Suddenly I was pulled into another vision; Victoria and Laurent were walking into our house. By the time they were getting out of the car, I was full on growling.
"Alice! What has gotten into you?" Esme was scared by my hostility. I realized that I was being held back by Jasper and Emmett.
"Alice! What's wr-"Emmett cut off when they walked in. All around me there was growling and a fight broke out.
Bella POV
While we were running I explained my gift and how I could block, protect, and/or use any gift I encountered. As we got closer, we heard growling and something break.
"Shit." I muttered as I sprinted into the house. I saw John first, he was pissed, and I knew he would have been part of the fight if Mary and Adrian weren't holding onto him. I saw Esme next; she was trying to hold onto Alice and Rosalie. Then there was Emmett and Jasper fighting with Victoria and Laurent.
Edward help Esme. He looked down at me and growled. He looked at me with such hate; I didn't think he was capable of it.
You think I'm going to help them? He gestured to Victoria and Laurent. After what they have done? No, I… want them to die. I want them to be out numbered. His thoughts startled me as he sunk into a crouch and joined Jazz and Em.
Beth! What are you waiting for?! Stop them, we need more time, they need to trust us before we fight them. I looked up at Adrian, shocked. They need to trust us enough to fight against each other. Stop them! NOW! I nodded as I closed my eyes to concentrate. I moved as soon as I felt it come. A plus to being the most powerful vampire, I was faster and stronger than ANY other vampire.
I knew that Vicky and Laurent were only protecting themselves and wouldn't keep fighting unless they had to. I grabbed one of Edward's and Jasper's wrists with one hand and started to pull them away. With my other hand I grabbed Emmett's arm. They realized what was happening, but before they could do anything, I threw them across the room and sunk into a defensive stance, a growl building in my chest. Don't worry Edward. I didn't want him to think I lied to him earlier. I glanced at him and he quickly understood, but he looked scared.
Now that I allowed it to flow, the power felt good. In the back of my mind a voice was telling me to stop, but that voice was getting weaker by the second. By the look on the Cullen's faces I knew I looked like a vampire. Before I had time to do anything, a sharp pain hit my neck and I fell to my knees, panting for unneeded air.
"Beth…" Mary came over and put her hand on my shoulder.
"Give me a minute." I gasped
It took me several minutes to calm my breathing. By then all the Cullens were calm and were looking at me with confused expressions. I turned to look (more like glare) at Laurent with accusing eyes.
"I know it's the only way, but really don't need to bite me that hard, Laurent I'm not your food." I said as I rubbed my neck. "It's the time I get to do anything." He glanced at the Cullens. "I want to do something right." He chuckled as I growled in annoyance.
"How…what…" Emmett looked like he had a headache.
"I don't know how but I can be stronger than you, and faster than Edward, when I let myself." I answered. My response wasn't what he expected and before he could say anything, John pulled me into a headlock.
"Remember out little chat earlier? Well you're doing it again. S-"Before he could continue, I twisted so I could kick him in the gut. He landed on the other side of the room and quickly got to his feet and threw himself at me. See Edward, they hate me. I let him hear me and I heard him chuckle.
"HEY!! Why don't you two just get along? You are always getting on each others' nerves. Cool it!" Laurent snapped at us. John had a smug expression on his face when I growled at him.
"What do you want?" Alice growled and Vicky and Laurent.
"Nothing, you wanted to meet us, remember?" Vicky said in an innocent voice.
"Wait…you're with them?" Rose asked.
"Yeah, we changed them; we just couldn't let them die. John, Adrian, and Mary were in a car crash and we nearly lost them. Little Beth here, well when we found her she was being attacked by a wolf. A huge wolf. When it saw us, it growled and ran away, smelled bad too." She looked at the Cullens and I growled at her but she ignored me. I heard a car pull up and Carlisle walked in, but froze when he saw who was in the room.
"Hello." He said after a minute. "I'm guessing you're the other family." Laurent nodded.
"So…" Emmett said looking slightly uncomfortable.
"How do you guys know each other?" Adrian asked after an awkward silence. This question shocked everyone into a deeper silence.
I recovered first and started laughing. "You know, that's a funny story, but it wasn't funny at the time." I said after I controlled myself.
"Beth, shut up!" Victoria was getting nervous by my rebellious behavior, I just shrugged at her.
"Um…" Laurent started, but stopped when he saw Victoria glaring at him. "What? I stepped aside, you were the one to go after the girl, and if you and James gave it up he would be alive!"
My mind was suddenly filled with memories that story; the baseball field, the ballet studio, in the hospital after.
"What girl? What about James?" John, Adrian, and Mary looked confused. I shuddered as my hand ran over the scar that he left when he bit me. Victoria glanced at me. All the Cullens looked from me to Victoria, understanding and shock came to their faces when they saw my action.
"Shut up Laurent you don't know what you're talking about." She turned to me and something crossed her face, and I knew what she was thinking, but I listened anyway.
Block me. I did and nodded. Dear little Bella, this isn't going too well; they are already suspicious, thanks to you. So we need to go to Plan B. I was shaking my head before she finished. Plan B was to have me in my "power" state when it came down to the end fight, this means that the fight was soon. I knew Jasper could feel the hostility in her because I could.
"You might want to calm her down." I said looking at Jasper, suddenly feeling calm cover the room. "Come on Vicky, I think it's time to go." I grabbed her arm and started for the door. She twisted herself and the next second my hands were behind my back and her mouth only an inch from my throat.
"Okay Cullens, here's how this is going to go." Victoria said. I looked at the Cullens; they were all confused, except Edward, he looked mad and scared. "Yes, you killed James to protect the human girl. We are going to…forget what has happened today or that same girl-"she glanced at me "-will die. Isn't that right Bella?" She looked at me, hoping that I would be scared, but I started laughing.
"Okay, kill me. You're out numbered anyway." Shock crossed her face. "You really think I'm scared you. Wow you've still got a lot to learn." This only pissed her off more and she tightened her grip on my wrists and I winced.
"Let her go!" Jasper, Emmett, and Edward growled at the same time.
"No I don't think I will. Children, Plan B." Victoria said after a moment.
"NO!!" I yelled as everyone took defensive crouches.
"She's right children, not today." Victoria said sweetly. "Come on children, Laurent, Miss Swan." She started for the door.
"She stays with us." Carlisle said sternly.
"If I do that then I certainly die, if I don't then at least one of you will die as well."
"It's her choice, if you leave now, we won't follow you and won't fight you again unless you come into our territory and pose a threat." He started to walk forward but stopped when Victoria tightened her grip on me.
Em, Jazz, Edward can you hear me? Nod if you can. Edward responded quickly, but Em and Jazz jumped slightly, then nodded. She's not going to give me up without a fight. Her, Laurent and John are the fighters. Alice? Rose? They nodded. Go after Mary and Adrian. Jazz, you get John, he acts like a newborn in a fight and you know the most about that. He nodded. Em, you'll have to get Laurent, but watch your back he's fast like Edward. He nodded and grinned slightly. Edward, I need you to help me with Vicky. Carlisle and Esme looked slightly worried at their children's behavior since they didn't know what was going on.
"Vicky, Vicky please, you're almost pulling my arm off." I said in the most hurt voice I could manage, but it wasn't hard since she really was hurting me.
"Good. Come on children, we need to get going. Now that this one-"she looked at me "-has made things difficult, we need to…well finish her off." She started for the door again, but Edward lunged at her. Before he could get to her, she bit me. (Biting sets the "power" urges when I don't willingly let them free.) She threw me into the wall and I heard growling before it went black.
I laid there for a few seconds, I was scared, and I don't know how to control myself when I'm like this. Someone was going to get hurt and I was surprised to see that I wanted to kill Vicky and Laurent more than the Cullens. I breathed out a sigh of relief, I found my control.
I stood up slowly and froze in my spot when I saw the room. My vision was turning red with hatred as I looked around. I was standing next to what used to be the grand piano. All the Cullens were on their knees with their hands behind their backs.
"Okay kid. You know what to do. Start with the small one, Alice." Laurent was mad again. Jasper growled, but John had a firm grip on him. I smirked a little at the thought of me killing him. Laurent took this as a good thing so he started to walk her towards me, but she put up a fight. She almost got out of his hold, but he swung her into the wall. By now my vision was red and I was growling. I was happy to know that I was growling at Laurent and not Alice, luckily I was the only one who knew this. I walked over to the fireplace and as I stated a fire I imagined myself throwing Laurent and Victoria in it.
Victoria was pleased at my action. "Now Laurent, please let go of the little pixie. Don't try anything Alice or your Jasper will go first." Victoria hissed as Laurent put her about ten feet in front of me. As she said this John tightened his grip on Jasper.
I knew no one could see my face since my back was to everyone and Laurent had turned to walk to the other side of the room. I looked at Alice and she was scared, I knew because I was still in my "power" state, but what she didn't know was that I was in control of myself. I looked at her as I crouched, she didn't even move to protect herself.
Hah! Alice do you really think I'm going to hurt you? I let her hear my thoughts. Alice I have no reason to hurt you. In fact, I've never stopped loving you. You're my best friend. I would never hurt you. Now I'm going to hiss, and you are going to need to duck down, I don't want you in the middle of this.
She finally looked me in the eye and I winked at her. I turned around to look at Victoria, she was still holding Edward, and she nodded her head as if to give me permission. I smirked a little at the eagerness in her eyes. I turned to face Alice again. I hissed at her and without a second thought I lunged. She ducked at the right second because I kicked an unsuspecting Laurent into the fire.
"Sorry Victoria, I don't want to stay with you anymore. I never wanted to stay with you. I only stayed as long as I did because I didn't have anywhere else to go." I said slowly as I turned to face her again. "Now if you want to end up like him-" I gestured to the fire "-I suggest you leave, now, and don't bother the Cullens again." I was glaring at Victoria, but out of the corner of my eye I saw Mary, John, and Adrian had already let go of the Cullen they were holding.
"Fine, but if we cross paths again-" She started after a moment of thought.
"You will do nothing but leave." I finished for her. She growled softly, but nodded and released Edward before disappearing out the back door. I turned to John, Mary, and Adrian "Same goes for you three."
"Oh, come on Beth-" Adrian started, but stopped when I growled at her. Mary saw the fury in my eyes and quickly pulled to other two out the door to follow Victoria without another word. I turned to face the Cullens, but before they could say anything, I fell to my knees.
"BELLA!!" was all I heard before it went black. I knew what was happening; I was in "power" for too long. My energy was low and I was slowly regaining consciousness to hear a frantic voice in my ear.
"Carlisle! What's going on? She's been out for five minutes."
"I don't know Edward. I've never seen anything like this before." A different voice answered from my other side.
"Carlisle…" I mumbled "Carlisle…"
"What Bella? What do you need?" Edward answered before Carlisle could.
"Blood…I need some blood…and someone needs to...bite my neck before…this gets worse…" I answered slowly
"What?" I could tell he thought I was crazy
"Just do it. Please." I was starting to get frantic because I felt my consciousness fading again.
"Okay, okay, okay…thanks Rose…here" He started to hand me the blood, but I could tell it was human; I shook my head at him.
"No, I need animal or I'll go into a frenzy, but you need to bite me before I take any blood at all." He was shaking his head before I finished. "Edward please, it's coming back, I don't want it to come back. Don't let it come back." He could tell I was scared because he ducked his head down to my neck and bit me with all his strength. I relaxed my grip on his hand after a few minutes, I was back to normal. "Thank you." Was all I could say before Emmett shoved the blood in my face. Once I was finished, I stood up, I was a little wobbly but my strength was coming back.
"Bella?" I turned to see Rose was the one who spoke up. "Bella, is that really you?" I looked at her for a full minute before I nodded. "Oh my god BELLA!" She threw herself at me and started to sob. "I'm sorry…I'm just…so happy to see you." She choked out in between sobs. "We…all thought…you were…dead."
"I missed you too Rose." Was all I could say before Emmett grabbed me into one of his bear hugs. "I missed you too Emmett."
"Don't you EVER do that to us again Bella!" he yelled into my ear, but all I could do was nod.
Once Emmett put me down, Alice tackled me in a hug. "Bella, I've missed you so much. These past months have been…terrible. Why can't I see you?"
"Um…I was blocking you, sorry."
"Don't do it ever again. We thought you were dead."
"I know, I know, I'm sorry." I laughed slightly as I stood up.
"Bella, thank you, you saved her." Esme's motherly nature always made me smile. "We owe you." When she said that I couldn't help but start laughing at the irony, everyone looked at me as if I was going crazy, but I didn't care.
Once I contained myself, I answered her, "Esme, don't thank me, if it wasn't for me, none of this would have happened." I had made my decision, they didn't need to be put in danger when I was around, I was too powerful. I started toward the door, but someone put a hand on my shoulder to stop me.
"Bella, where are you going?" Jasper looked slightly upset.
"I'm leaving." I said slowly, "I'm sorry, but it's better if I just go." I took his hand off my shoulder, but he put it back as Emmett put a hand on my other shoulder. "You both know I'm stronger than you? Just let go, I don't want to hurt you."
"Hah Bella, like you could or would do that." Emmett sounded confident.
I didn't answer, I was thinking. There was one of the Volturi, Jane, that had a helpful gift, but I needed to get Jasper and Emmett off and that gift only could do one at a time. There's another one, Alec, but I haven't used that one before and I don't want to test it out on them. I remember the day well, Victoria telling me about the Denali, about their gifts, then I remembered then "shocker".
When I didn't respond Emmett took it as a good sign and took his hand back, but Jasper could feel my internal battle as I tried to remember how to use the gift. He looked at Emmett and Emmett put a restraining hand back on my shoulder.
"Please let go. I don't want to do this, but I will." I put my hands up so they were only an inch from their hands on my shoulders. When they didn't, I touched them and they both fell to their knees. I took this chance to leave, but I wasn't as fast as I was earlier and Edward caught me before I could get to the door.
"You're not going anywhere. I'm not loosing you again." He whispered into my ear.
I looked at him with pleading eyes. I didn't want to hurt them. "I have to Edward, look at what I did to them-" I looked to see Emmett and Jasper standing, but they looked at me with shocked expressions "-I didn't even try that hard and I hurt them. Sometimes I can't control myself and people get hurt." I tried to reason with him.
"We all have to learn control, and in my opinion, this family has the best control and you'll learn it, you just have to practice, it takes time." He wasn't going to let me go, I could see that. Before I could answer him, he was kissing me. I automatically put my hands in his hair as he deepened the kiss, I was glad that I was stronger than him so I could hold him there. He growled a little in the back of his throat as he pushed me up against the wall. As much as I wanted to continue, I wanted to torture him a little so I pulled back and smiled a little at him.
"Okay." I said and I turned for the door again
A look of shock crossed his face and he grabbed my arm to stop me "Where are you going?"
I couldn't help but laugh at his expression, "I need to hunt, it's been a while, I don't want to crack."
"Okay, I'll come with you Beth." He said with a smile.
"Just you all know," I said as I turned to the family "I hate that name, so please don't call me that, unless you want to end up like Edward." I added with a smile. Before they could ask what I meant, I turned to Edward and put my hand to his face and he fell to the ground like Emmett and Jasper did. I turned and ran out the door as I yelled back to him. "It helps; I got a head start didn't I?" I heard him chuckle as he followed me out the door.