It had been 6 months after they left when it happened. A sudden, quick, excruciating illness struck me down and rendered me even more immobile than before.
The temperature of my blood rose as the days fell and the hair in the nape of my neck grew geotropically towards the ground. My stomach developed indentation and I shot up in height dramatically.
They knew what was happening to me.
Then again, I guess that I knew too… deep down inside. But the Cullen's had left me much more mortal than I'd have liked and because of this, I somewhat hoped that this illness would leave me cold and deteriorating.
Waking up to the sounds of laughter and muddy feet scampering about, I knew immediately that I was safe.
My dad, Charlie, and I moved to La Push some time ago to live with his new girlfriend Sue and her two kids, Leah and Seth. It was a pretty immediate move; Charlie didn't waste any time removing us from the spoiled stench of memories left behind by the Cullen's.
Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I slowly moved my feet up and around the mess of tangled covers and placed them steadily on the ground.
I never was a fan of mornings.
I found my way into the bathroom and grabbed my toothbrush from the shelf, squinting to see where Seth had left the toothpaste this time. White foam dripped from my mouth as I looked up into the mirror and smiled at my reflection. My eyes were a fading blue colour and my nose was bumpy; my lips were a soft pink colour and my hair knotted to infinity, but none of that mattered. I was happy.
After washing my face, I moved out into the hallway and ran down the stairs. From what it smelt like, Sue had made pancakes and if Sue had made pancakes then that could only mean a pack meeting. I was right. Looking around the table, I easily found my best friends Jake, Paul and Embry. Next to Embry was Quil and Leah, and next to Leah was Sam and Seth. Sue, Charlie and Billy Black were all huddled next to the table sipping cups of coffee.
"How nice of you to join us this afternoon, Bella."
Shoot. Sam smirked lightly at me and I looked down at the floor muttering apologies left and right.
I sat down next to Jake and put a couple pancakes on my plate. I looked back up and nodded silently at Sam to signal that I was ready to hear whatever had brought about an emergency breakfast meeting.
"I'm so sorry to invade your home like this, Sue. And you, Charlie. But I'm afraid I needed all pack members present to hear this, especially Bella."
"What, why? She's safe, isn't she Sam?" I heard Charlie ask seriously.
Oh god. I bit my lip and furrowed my brow. Why did I need to hear this? Were they going to chuck me out of the pack? Thoughts swirled around in my head until I realised that Sam was talking again.
"Of course she's safe, Charlie. However, she may not be in the near future and that is why I needed to call this meeting. Once I have told you everything, and I would appreciate no interruptions, we need to figure out a strategy to make sure we can protect Bella and all the residents of La Push to the greatest point we can."
Sam cleared his throat and I looked over to Jacob. He was staring right at me with an angry, almost threatened look on his face. I grabbed his hand and held it strongly in my grip, feeling a small bit of comfort from my best friend's warmth. Embry appeared behind me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders protectively. I smiled at him toothily and leaned into him, revelling in the feeling of unconditional friendship and love.
"Last night, I received a phone call from Carlisle Cullen, requesting the renewal of the Treaty as his coven have recently returned to Forks-"
"What?! They can't do that!"
"Are you serious?!"
"Who do those bloodsuckers think they are?"
All the remarks hit me like a brick hitting a glass wall. My bubble of warmth shattered and my mind refused to acknowledge any other words than, "his coven have recently returned to Forks-". Jake's hand was wrapped around mine dangerously tight now and his anger at the news seemed obvious and raw. Embry was hugging me from behind, rubbing small patterns with his thumb in what I assumed was an attempt to keep me calm. I watched as Charlie stood stone still and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Billy and Sue could only look over at me in sympathy.
"ENOUGH!" called Sam.
My focus returned and for the most part, I seemed oddly collected. My inner wolf was clawing desperately at its cage trying to break out, causing my shoulders to shake slightly. Breathing in jaggedly, I tried to think about this rationally.
Did I have to let this affect me so much? They left me without a moment's notice and for all they knew and cared, I could have died. I had enough of their patronising hold over my life and I think I realised that a long time ago. I had family now, proper family and no group of perfectly created leeches were going to break that up. I twitched at my conscience's words and exhaled out deeply.
I looked at Sam and nodded at him to carry on.
Well done.
I smiled in spite of the recent news at my alpha telepathically praising me.
"I asked for no interruptions and you blatantly ignored that. This news has us all on edge, especially Bella, and I need you to help your sister rather than shout your fears at me. Now, as I was saying, Carlisle asked for a renewal of the Treaty and for that to happen, we need to meet them at the boundary lines later on today to discuss the details. I never did trust his coven and whilst I have an ardent dislike of their treatment of one of my pack members, the Cullens have never broken the treaty before. We have to let them move back into the area as Forks is not covered in our part of the script, however, we will need to be patrolling La Push more carefully and frequently in the next few days."
Sam turned to me.
"Bella, I recognise your past with the Cullens and understand any discomfort you have in their presence. Would you like to stay on base for the detail finalisation at the boundary line?"
I looked around at the others, not wanting to disappoint my friends. I knew that every single one of them wanted me to be strong enough to face them, but I honestly didn't know if I was ready. The confliction must have shown on my face as Jake squeezed my hand gently.
"If you don't mind, I'd- I'd like to stay here during that meeting, but I want full disclosure and your recognition that I will be present at any other meetings with them afterwards."
"Bella, are you sure?" Charlie scrunched up his face and scratched his moustache nervously. I threw him a crooked smile.
"Yeah, dad. I can't let them rule over my life any more than they already have… besides, I'm going to have to see them at school and stuff, so yeah."
The atmosphere in the room was tense, I knew that to be certain. However, the looks on my friends and family's faces allowed me the courage to hope and hold onto that momentary feeling of safety and wholeness. After all, a smile can go a long way.
Sighing loudly, I awkwardly bit into my pancake and let out a muffled half laugh, half sob at my general misfortune in life. From my right, I heard Jake snort and Embry's chuckles vibrated against my back, causing the entire pack to burst into laughter and feel that tiny bit less serious than it was before. After that, breakfast ensued. The feast was magnificent.
Happily licking the brownie batter off the ends of my fingertips, I wondered just how much longer the pack were going to be. They had left 45 minutes ago and had still not returned from their meeting with the Cullens.
As soon as they left, Sue coaxed me into the kitchen to make brownies and cookies with her. I suppose she was trying to distract me from the meeting taking place and it worked for a while, but after placing them in the oven, I found I didn't have much else to think about.
The smell in the house was gorgeous and I was honestly surprised Jake hadn't smelt the cookies from the boundary line and come running back. I snorted at the mental image in my head and turned to the sink to wash my hands. Just as I was drying them off, Jake, Seth and Leah came running through the door with wide eyes and hungry grins on their faces.
"Mom said you made brownies!"
"Yeah, you totally need to hook us up Bells."
I raised my eyebrow and gave them a look of disbelief. Really, Jacob Black? You think I care about 'hooking you up' with brownies right now? Jake seemed to notice my glare and whined. I sighed and rubbed my forehead.
"Look, I'll give you some brownies when they're done, I promise! But right now, you know what I want to talk about."
Leah and Seth seemed to catch on to what I was talking about and followed Jacob to the table, sitting down.
"I'm going to take a shower whilst you two kids retell the story, okay?" Leah stood up and smiled at me, patting my shoulder gently as she walked upstairs.
"So?"
Jake rolled his eyes and started to speak.
"Okay, so we were running to the boundary line…"
The pack ran swiftly towards the putrid scent lined up against the La Push treaty line. Sam was at the front of the group, flanked by Jake, Quil and Embry. Paul, Leah and Seth were behind the others and kept a tight control on the fluidity of the pack.
As requested by Carlisle, the wolves were in their human form; something that worried Sam deeply, but he did not address outright.
The blurred lines of trees only made the run feel more empowering and a surge of unity whizzed through the pack as they saw the Cullen coven come into their near sight. Stopping gently about 10m from the boundary line, Sam quickly did a headcount of his wolves before beginning the meeting.
"Good evening, Sam."
"Carlisle."
The Cullen coven stood in a long line just behind the boundary, each face portraying a different emotion. Edward was stood to the very far right, looking sullen and embarrassed. Next to him was Emmett, his face remained neutral with a hint of stony anger, an expression foreign to the usual. Wrapped in his arms was Rosalie, looking bored and unamused. Next to them was Carlisle and Esme, both looking worried. Esme looked tearful as she clung to her husband. Next to them was Jasper and another woman, clearly feeling uncomfortable and out of place. And finally, at the very far left stood Alice, biting her lip and eyes glossed over, focused on the ground.
All 6 children of the coven looked up immediately at Sam's greeting.
"You wanted to renew the treaty, Carlisle?"
"Yes, the previous regulations would be enabled and everything would return to as it were."
"Can I trust that you won't be feeding off any residents of La Push or Forks?"
"Of course, Sam. What makes you think that we would?
Jacob growled.
"Jake, stand down." Jacob whined slightly and fell back into step with Sam.
"Carlisle, due to recent events, I can't say that my pack trust you or your coven. Whilst you've never broken the treaty, you've made it perfectly clear how you like to treat the human beings around here."
The Cullen coven all looked up with traces of anger on their faces. Suddenly, Edward whizzed up the treaty line, only being held back by Emmett.
"We did that to protect her!"
Sam sneered at Edward and quickly turned his eyes back to Carlisle.
"Carlisle, I would appreciate it if you kept your children under control." Carlisle nodded gently and sighed whilst soothing Edward into falling back in line. Sam turned back to Edward and finally addressed him.
"Whatever your excuse is for the total destruction of an innocent human being, I would advise you to talk a long hard look at your actions and then maybe you'll understand why we are questioning your ability to control yourselves."
Edward was just about to shoot back a retort when a small voice was heard from the far left.
"So it's true, then? She's d-dead?" Alice looked up into Sam's eyes and silently pleaded for an answer. Sam glanced behind at his pack.
"Bella is alive and safe. However, I ask that you do not go searching for her, as you will not find her."
The Cullens simultaneously let out a gasp of relief at the denial. Carlisle stepped forward.
"We won't find her? What does that mean? Does she know we're here?" Alice pushed out in one breath. She looked positively manic. Rosalie walked over to her and hugged her into her side.
"Calm down, Al."
"She is aware of your presence, yes. However, she doesn't wish to speak to you, as of yet."
The coven visibly deflated at this, Emmett in particular pinched the bridge of his nose and kicked the ground in an effort to release his anger. A silence fell over the two groups but as soon as it came, it left.
"You know this is all your fault! You made us leave our little sis behind even though we didn't want to just because you were too insecure about your sad little life! I hope you're hurting ten times as much as I am, and they are, and she is! You're an ignorant piece of shit bro and you need to get your priorities right!"
Emmett was red in the face by the time he had finished shouting at Edward. Edward looked down in shame and anger.
The pack just stood on and watched. Quil let out a soft whistle at the intensity and truth of the confession, Embry laughing along at Edward's embarrassment. Jake stepped forward in confusion.
"Wait, you didn't want to go?"
The Cullens turned to look at Jacob in surprise.
"Of course we didn't, mutt. She was part of the family or whatever." Rosalie rolled her eyes when Jake glared back at her. Leah appeared from the back of the pack and chuckled darkly.
"That's funny because Bella told us all about how leech boy's speech went. We listened to her cry as she told us how he told her that none of you wanted to stay, and that you didn't care or love her. Do you know what that feels like, bloodsuckers?"
Suddenly a frenzy of vampires launched themselves in different directions, mainly at Edward in particular. It was Alice, however who got there first. She grabbed his collar violently and yanked him towards her, anger spilling from every crevice in her body.
"YOU TOLD HER WE DIDN'T LOVE HER?! YOU MONSTER! YOU ABSOLUTE, FILTHY MONSTER! YOU'VE BEEN SPOUTING OFF YOUR CRAP FOR MONTHS ABOUT HOW YOU'VE GIVEN UP YOUR ONE TRUE LOVE FOR HER OWN SAFETY BUT REALLY YOU THREW HER AWAY LIKE A PIECE OF TRASH! YOU DON'T DESERVE HER LOVE, OR HER KINDNESS OR HER BEAUTY! YOU MAKE ME SICK!"
By this point, Alice was hysterically screaming and was being pulled off Edward by Carlisle, Emmett and Rosalie. Alice kicked and cried unshed tears, punching and slapping any inch of Edward she could get a hold on. The pack looked on in disbelief. Jake stared at Alice wide eyed, not expecting any of this to happen. His stomach dropped when he thought of having to tell Bella this.
Alice was finally dragged off Edward and pulled into Emmett's arms, gently sobbing. Esme was rubbing her back and giving her all her attention. Rosalie was talking to Jasper and his partner whilst shooting scornful glances over at Edward and Carlisle was standing in front of Edward, a look of extreme disappointment on his face.
"Sam, as you can see, my family is in quite the disarray right now and I would like to request another meeting be held here in a week's time, in order to peacefully finalise the treaty details."
"That can be arranged. I do, however, have a question for you before you leave to solve your… disarray." Sam smirked.
"Of course, anything."
"Who is she?"
All eyes turned to a tall, beautiful black woman standing next to Jasper. Her eyes were amber and she was wearing an authentic African tribes robe and several bangles. She looked nervous to have the attention put on her and leaned in further to Jasper.
"Sam, this is Amara. She is Jasper's mate. We recently found her along our travels." Jake looked confused.
"I thought the pixie was his mate?"
Carlisle looked awkwardly at Alice then turned back to Jake and smiled.
"I'm afraid not but Alice and Jasper left each other on very good mutual terms."
"I see. Does she follow the same diet as you do?" Sam questioned.
"Yes, she does."
"She may stay as long as the treaty is kept intact. I must also tell you that I have recently gained a new pack member, however she is new at this and preferred to remain on base for the meeting."
"Thank you for telling us, Sam. We better get back."
Sam nodded at Carlisle a final time and turned towards the pack. He nodded and they all turned around and started running, howling as they went.
I realised I had been staring at Jake with my mouth open for quite some time before quickly getting up and pulling the brownies out of the oven. I stared blankly at the wall waiting for them to cool, thinking about everything Seth and Jake had just told me.
"Are you okay, Bells?"
I didn't answer him but merely sliced him a chunk of brownie and handed it to him on a plate. Sighing, I gave Seth a brownie too and kissed them both on the forehead before lethargically trudging upstairs miserably.
When I reached my bed I flopped down on top of it and looked out the window into the garden. Soon enough, the tears came and my shoulders shook violently as I sobbed for my lost, almost-family. Somebody entered my room, and I couldn't tell who, nor did I care. They lay behind me and snuggled into my side as I slowly cried myself into sleep.
"Goodnight, Bells. We love you."