I've decided that I'm going to continue this story.
I'm writing another story at the same time, so it might be a little difficult for me to keep up with them, but I will do my best.
Enjoy. :)
Esme POV -
Bella was changing.
No sooner had he bit her, had she started screaming about the fire. A horrible fire.
I feel terrible. I know that fire. I've lived through that fire that seems to never end, making you feel as if you've been burning for years when it's only truly been a few minutes.
I can't help but feel guilty, knowing that she's hurting this much because of us. I know that she would have had to go through this eventually if she had still wanted to be a part of our family, forever, but I thought it wouldn't be for another few months at least. Or I was hoping so, anyway.
I was hoping to have the chance to fix my mistakes, our mistakes, and then bring her into our world, officially. But it wasn't to be.
"We're taking her home. Technically, we've just broken the treaty, although I'm not sure if the wolves are back..." I started.
"It may not be wise to leave now whilst Bella's changing. Anything can happen on the drive there, especially if the wolves are back. It'll be safer for us if we remain in an area where we'll have the advantage in case it comes to a fight. And it's best if she's settled and in a more comfortable environment and position. I know any movement makes the pain worse." Jasper said.
I agreed although I am terribly worried about the wolves. They may not even be around anymore for all we know, but truthfully we didn't even know they were around the first time we came to Forks.
After Carlisle had bitten her and started her change, he scooped her up in his arms and we began running home.
The sickeningly sweet smell of burning vampire flesh had filled the air already.
Making it home, I immediately went up the stairs and into my room, grabbing sheets and pillowcases from the closet on the way. I made the best in record-breaking time and Carlisle placed Bella down gently.
He sighed deeply, leaned forward, and pressed his lips to her forehead tenderly.
Moving to sit on the bed next to him, I wrapped my arms around her and pressed myself against him.
"Do you think she'll hate me for changing her?" He asked quietly.
"No, love." I didn't hesitate. "She wanted to be one of us. I know that we left her and while I have no doubt that we'll have a lot to make up for once she awakens, I know she could never hate you. You don't see the way she looks at you. You're her father, Carlisle. She doesn't even look at Charlie the way she looks at you."
He smiled at me warmly and kissed my cheek, "Thank you, darling."
Bella has been changing for roughly 48 hours now.
There has been no sign of the wolves but we haven't let our guard down yet and we don't plan to.
Bella hasn't made a sound since we brought her home. My guess is that she realized it only made the pain worse.
We've all noticed the changes in her. About 24 hours into her changes we began to notice her once soft and rounder features become sharper and thinner, and even more beautiful. Her beauty could rival even Rosalie's.
Now, however, 48 hours into the change, she was even more stunning. Her mahogany-colored hair had deep red colored streaks in it and had become thicker and shinier, looking as if each individual strand hand its own tiny, microscopic diamonds in them, with the occasional ruby.
Her already present curves had intensified, leaving her with a body to kill for.
She was never alone during her change, at least one of us was always with her, holding her hand.
Chief Swan had sent out many search parties, hoping to find his missing daughter. I feel horrible for the poor dear, I know what its like to lose a child. I know what I felt when we left Bella. It felt as though she had died, instead of us just leaving her.
Bella's change is nearly complete now and she is simply stunning. I don't think I've ever seen anyone so beautiful. However, I am starting to get a little nervous. I know soon enough we'll have to deal with the consequences of what our appalling actions have caused within Bella. That mixed in with her newborn phase...well, we're going to have our hands full, to put it simply.
Jasper is estimating another hour, possibly less, until her change is complete since she's been changing for just a little over 3 days now.
Carlisle has been terribly hard to get away from Bella the last 3 days. I almost to wrestle him away from her so I could get my time next to her. He feels so full of love for his precious daughter and so needlessly guilty about putting her through one of the worst tortures at the moment.
I was brought out of my thoughts by the heaving thudding of numerous animals. Normally, I wouldn't have thought anything of it, except for the fact that they were running too fast to be anything less than supernatural.
Immediately on guard, I rushed down the stairs and out the front door and stood next to my family who was poised and ready for an attack.
Roughly two minutes later, five horse-sized wolves stalked passed the treeline and into our front yard.
They growled at us menacingly. Jasper sent out waves of calm at them. He ended up sending too much and they phased back into their human form. Embarrassed, they got dressed quickly and turned to face us again.
Carlisle, the leader of our family, greeted them. "Hello. May we help you?"
The wolf that has the black fur, their alpha spoke up, "You broke the treaty." He stated bluntly. "You changed Bella Swan, didn't you?" He asked it as if it were a question but it was said more like a statement.
He continued, "She's been missing for three days and we've all helped in looking for her. Until finally, we came across your scents and Bella's, plus an unknown vampire. We followed them and came to a clearing deep in the woods that contained a pile of vampire ashes." He spoke calmly and regarded us just the same, unlike his pack mates who were scowling and growling at us so fiercely, even in their human forms.
Well, there's no use lying now. I thought. Carlisle must have thought the same, "You're right," he admitted.
"Why?" The another boy demanded. This was the wolf with the russet colored fur. He was angry.
"Because she would have died. I wasn't about to lose my daughter." Carlisle told them coolly.
"She would have been better off dead than one of you!" He hissed angrily. His alpha gave him a sharp look but he ignored it. "You left her. You took her life away when you did and she looked as if she was actually dead, just a walking corpse and then you come back and take her life away again!" He yelled.
Shame filled me. I didn't know it was that bad for her when we left.
Carlisle and the others looked just as ashamed, guilty and heartbroken.
"We didn't know it was that bad. We left to keep her safe but we realized that she would never truly be safe. Three days ago proved that. A nomad vampire was feeding on her when we got there. We only just made it in time." I murmured sadly.
"You still shouldn't have changed her. You should have at least tried to get her to a hospital." He spat at us.
"Watch yourself, dog," Rosalie warned them. I shot her a look to stop her from getting any closer to them and she backed off.
But I started getting angry then, too. "She lost too much blood! Like I said, she would have died and I was not about to lose my daughter!" I glared at him angrily.
He was shaking throughout this whole conversation but my glare seemed to be too much for him and in the next second, he was his wolf again.
He lunged at me but was intercepted by an enraged Carlisle who flung him 30 feet into the trees. He landed with a loud thud and a yelp.
Suddenly, there were four other wolves and we readied ourselves again only to calm our down when they turned their backs to us, most likely against their every instinct, and intercepted another one of Jacobs attacks.
All of a sudden, I noticed a figure moving in the peripheral vision of my right eye. Snapping my head over to look at the creature, I was stunned.
For there stood Bella, looking angry and utterly beautiful.
Bella POV -
I was burning. The fire was
I couldn't focus on anything other than the raging fire that nobody seemed to want to put out.
Surely, I should be ashes by now... I'd rather be ashes than deal with this pain.
The fire was scorching me from the inside, out. I wanted to badly to scream, to be thrown in the coldest water imaginable.
The fire raged on, and any attempt to move on my part was as if I was fanning the flames myself, making them bigger and hotter.
Is this hell? This must be. Nothing short of hell could hurt this much!
This is absolute agony.
Eventually, the pain started to recede, starting with my fingers and toes and slowly making it's way towards my heart. At first, I was filled with relief, only to be taken over by agony once more as the fire got even hotter in my chest.
My heart was beating wildly and pounding in my eyes, it was all I could hear.
It started to calm down as the flames cooled. Thank you, God! I thought in pure relief.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
And my heart was silent.
I waited for a few seconds, too afraid to move for fear that the pain might start again. When it didn't, I open my eyes and was immediately amazed.
Gasping slightly, I looked all around me in complete wonderment.
Am I actually a vampire? Crazy. I thought, bewildered.
I noticed a slight itchiness in my throat. It was annoying and I hoped that it would just go away!
And then it did.
That was weird...
With my new eyes, it was like I was blind before. I continued to look around, smelling and tasting the scents in the air. Several other scents were in the air, the potentness telling me that they were here recently.
The scents smelled amazing. All of them consisting of different flavors. Chocolate, vanilla, roses, freshly cut grass, freshly baked bread and more.
After I came out of my amazement and tried to focus myself, I heard voices.
Curious, I started to make my way toward them silently.
I vaguely remember someone talking to me during my burning, but I was too distracted after I awakened to realize I was alone.
Descending the stairs, I took in my surroundings. At the same time, I noticed the voices sounded angry.
I thought I recognized the voices when it dawned on me. It sounded like Jacob, and the second voice was incredibly familiar as well. I felt like I knew that voice like I missed that voice.
"She lost too much blood! Like I said, she would have died and I was not about to lose my daughter!" That sounded like...Esme.
But it couldn't be her, could it? She left. Sadness instantly flooded me.
The next thing I heard was the sound of fabric ripping and deep, angry snarls erupted through the air.
I moved fast, running hurriedly through the rest of the house and out the door. What I saw shocked me. Giant horse-sized wolves!
Immediately, a woman to the left of me snapped her head in my direction. I looked at her and it was like my heart leaped into my throat.
"Es..me... what?" I stuttered. All fighting ceased and everyone looked to me, they all seemed dazed. So did I. My voice sounded different...beautiful.
Esme smiled at me so warmly and suddenly all the pain and loss of the last four months just evaporated.
"You're really here?" I asked quietly, mostly to myself, but she heard and walked over to me.
"Oh, my dear Bella. You are so beautiful. I'm so sorry we weren't there when you awoke." She told me, squeezing me to her.
"It's...okay. Don't worry." I assured her. "What is going on?"
"Bella," Carlisle started, stepping up to me cautiously but smiling at me tenderly.
I couldn't help the happiness in me then. I ran towards him and threw my arms around him, hugging him tightly.
He caught me, and hugged me back as tight as he could but then said, "Careful, Bella. You're stronger than we are at the moment."
I immediately loosened my grip but didn't let him go. I was too incredibly happy to see him.
"Ahem," someone cleared their throat rudely. My attention was brought to them.
"Bella," Sam greeted.
"Sam, what are you doing here? And why do you and your friends turn into ginormous dogs?" I asked, confused.
Emmett and Jasper laughed loudly while Carlisle chuckled and Alice, Rosalie, and Esme tried to hide their smiles. It didn't escape my notice that Ed- he wasn't here.
Sam smiled slightly as well, though he looked wary, "We're wolves, Bella. Protectors of Quileute land." When he said that I remembered Jacob telling me about the legends of his people he didn't believe. I decided to voice that thought.
"Jacob told me...about the legends of your people. Actually, that's how I found out about vampires." I said. He glared at a russet colored wolf.
"You told her, Jacob?!" He demanded angrily.
"Wait! That's Jacob?" I questioned incredulously. He nodded.
I was having a hard time believing it.
"But you guys still broke the treaty," Sam told the Cullens.
"Hold up," Emmett interjected. "So did Jacob. Technically, one of you broke it first."
"That doesn't mean you were allowed to bite a human. The treaty states that if you bit a human, the treaty becomes void and we can attack."
His statement made me angry. "What if I chose this?" I challenged.
"It wouldn't matter, Bella. They still bit a human." he countered.
"How doesn't it matter? It's my life. I should be able to choose what to do with it." I said. "I don't know much about the truce between your pack and the Cullens but I know that I don't care about it. I will not let my life be dictated by anyone, much less a pack of wolves. I'm changed now, it's too late to do anything to stop it. So what will you do? Attack me? Attack the Cullens?" I demanded. "Because, I will tell you now that fighting these vampires," I gestured to them with my hand, "will only get you killed."
He started to speak but I cut him off, "They didn't change me to start a war, Sam. They changed me because I was dying. I know that."
"Bella, they hurt you. How can you defend them after what they did to you?" He asked.
"Because, they are my family. It doesn't matter to me right now that they left because they still came back. They're here and they saved me." I told him honestly.
The wolf that was Jacob growled again, he looked completely livid, feral in his wolf form. He prepared to lunge, this time at me, surprisingly and then he did.
However, he couldn't get within 10 feet of me before he bounced off an invisible wall with a yelp and flew back a few feet. He got up and approached more cautiously before he walked face first into that same invisible wall. I giggled and the others, including some of Jacobs friends, laughed too.
But, everybody was still looking at me, shocked. Carlisle and Esme came to stand next to me, not taking any chances with my safety and the others flanked us.
"We don't want a war," Carlisle said. "But, we will fight if we have to. I will protect my family no matter the cost."
"We'll take care of her. She won't harm a human. If I know Bella, and I think I do, she would never forgive herself for killing someone, so we won't let her. We'll train her to control her thirst." Esme told Sam.
Sam sighed, looking conflicted. "Bella, I really don't want to hurt you. I know this wasn't your fault. We're outnumbered as well, and by the looks of it, we won't even be able to get near you or your family, what with that invisible wall you seem to create." He then looked to the Cullens, "Take care of her. Make sure she becomes safe to be around. But leave Forks. Go back to where you were before you came back. I don't want a new vampire here. If you can abide by that, then this won't affect the treaty." The Cullens nodded, agreeing to his conditions.
Jacob and another wolf looked at him incredulously and started growling in protest. "Enough!" Sam barked. "We're done here."
He gave us one last meaningful look and suddenly he was a giant wolf, running into the trees.
We waited for a moment or two, making sure they were gone and in the next moment, I was in Emmett's arms being hugged and swung around.
Laughing, I hugged him back. I was passed off to Alice who very nearly wrestled him away from me, and she hugged me so tightly, rivaling Emmett's bear hug. Next was Rosalie, which surprised me. She pulled me into a gentle hug and kissed my cheek. "It's good to see you, Bella," she said softly and then moved out of the way.
Jasper was last and he looked nervous. Why does he look nervous? I asked myself.
He still blames himself. Something answered me, and it startled me. It sounded like my voice, but I know I didn't think it. What the hell?
Nonetheless, I pushed the thought away for a minute. "Jasper, please don't blame yourself for what happened on my birthday. You were fighting your thirst plus six others. I never blamed you." I reassured him.
I walked to him and pulled him into an embrace. He hugged me back. "Thank you, Bella. It's a relief to hear that." He told me, smiling warmly.
"Well now that that's over with, we should take Bella hunting," Carlisle said.
Realization crossed everyone's features. "How's your thirst, sweetheart?" He asked me.
"My throat was itchy earlier but I remember wanting it stop and then it did," I told him honestly.
Everyone's eyebrows shot up. "Well, truthfully, it seems as though you have a gift. But we'll worry about that later. We should still take you hunting. We have to leave this place soon."
At that, everyone took off into the woods, opposite of the wolves.
"Ready, sweet girl?" Esme asked, sweetly. I nodded to both of them
We immediately took off and I was left breathless.
The speed was exhilarating.
I'm not going to have Bella be really delusional about their arrival.
Tell me what you thought? :)