JPOV

JPOV

"Greetings, Brethren. Welcome to the Winter Solstice meeting." I said before striking a flint stone and lighting the large bonfire in front of me. "Today, we brooch the tedious ask of the white invaders.

"More have been spotted on the horizon. I doubt it would be past midday before they came up on our shores."

"Chief, can we not just shoot them down before they shore?" One of my advisors from the North Croatoan region of my tribe's lands offered respectfully. I looked upon him, seeing the hard glint in his eye that was perpendicular to a long scar that ran down his left cheek. It was a shameful reminder of his foolishness in his youth in the raid on the Roanoke colony.

"Paul, these are more equipped and better prepared for a fight." I summed up what Edward had told me. "Which brings me to my next point."

"And that would be…?" Paul mocked. I gave him a glare and growl, from which he cringed away from with reluctance.

"The vampire has offered to fight them, and spare our warriors for amore feasible task for them." I said, looking down at the mention of Edward's help. Surely none of the others would take kindly to the idea of having a vampire, benign or not, pitying us enough to fight for us.

"Surely he would not do so without something in return." My right-hand man, Sam said. He looked me straight in the eye, telling me he already had an idea of what Edward's conditions were.

"Yes." I said slowly, trying to think of how to word this right. "He wants to be able to go off the island at anytime." I winced as I heard gasps from most of the elders' circle. I decided to continue before they disagreed. As much as I hated to admit it, we needed Edward's help if we were going to save up for the raid. "But, he has agreed, without me mentioning or thinking it at all, to stay a mile from all villages and avoid all tribe members and allies at all costs."

A flurry of yells and disagreements broke out in the circle.

"Why should we trust it?"

"What has he ever done to us?"

"It's the incarnation of evil! How do we know he's not jesting us?"

I sighed, knowing full well this was going to happen, and looked away from the group, spotting a familiar, piercing pair of honey gold eyes glowing in the light of the bonfire I had lit.

Edward, get out of here! I thought furiously in his direction, and his eyes snapped to mine. Thankfully, everyone was too busy fighting to notice. I saw his stone lips pull up into a smug smile and shake his head.

"This is an educational experience to me." I jumped when I heard his voice behind me. At least I had the control enough not to spin around and attack him out of instinct for the scare. "I finally get to learn what your people think of me. I must say, though, with a third of their thoughts right now, I might as well just swim back to England."

I sighed again, but this time drew in a big breath. "Listen!" I yelled, getting the attention of my subjects. Some of them hissed at the sight of Edward behind me, others gasped in shock, while most just sat down with a smirk.

"May I speak?" Edward asked quietly. True, I was stunned he would to this audience, but nonetheless nodded. A few of my advisors gave me glowers.

"I am not trying to pity you with this offer." Edward started. Several people huffed and turned away from him. "The Spaniards affect me too. Whether you agreed to let me help or not, I would ride into battle to rid the Earth of these men. Spain has long been at war with my country, and since I have no way to get back to England, the least I can do is thwart their attempts to capture one of my king's colonies.

"And we need to fight. The Spaniards will stop at nothing to gain control of this land, even if it means wiping out your culture. And some of these soldiers—they are truly vile. They do not just pillage."

The women shuddered, their husbands, families, or lovers comforting them, for we all knew what 'not just pillage' meant. We did not need a repeat of the white settlers' first visit.

"I know some—most—of you do not trust me fully, but I cannot say that honestly hurts me. I understand your insecurities and your aversion to me, but I have never even tried to feed on a human. You should know that your wolf-blood protects you, so even if I have not fed in years, it would never even cross my mind to fed on your tribe. The only people in danger are the settlers, yes? They are not so lucky as you.

"But since I've never done anything to you," Edward's voice turned from confident to almost pleading. I was honestly surprised he would stoop this low to get the trust of my tribe. "I am only asking to be able to eat when I must. Going two months without feeding for me is like you going without food or water for a week, while it is just out of your reach. Not being fed, you will do anything for any scrap of food. Same as I. If I become too hungry, it could endanger you all."

A tremor of uneasiness ran through the advisors, myself included. Though I appreciated and somewhat admired his out-rightness, it was too blunt to say he was a danger to us all.

"I do not want to. Please believe me on this. I do not wish to be a killer." Edward took a deep breath behind me, which was unnerving for me since I could not see him, and continued. "And my help does not just include this battle. I've seen what my people, though I am ashamed to call them that, have done to you and your lands: it's disgusting. I would gladly oblige if your chief ordered me to fight them, but it would be in reason."

I could hear him hold his unnecessary breath as my circle thought.

EPOV

Fighting forever with us, not against us: that could present its on perks. Sam thought carefully. He must have forgotten I could read minds. I wonder if he did include the generations to come, or only Jacob. That would certainly change the matter. If he and Jacob were using this pact to ensure Jacob stays chief, it could be blasphemy and I could have them executed. What to choose…

Where is comfort when you need it? Most of the thoughts in Jacob's court were like a saw: they considered each possibility with equal reasons. The only ones I could count of were Emily, bride of Sam, Seth, son of the late Harry, and Jacob.

I trust you, Edward. Seth thought. I smiled at him without thinking, and then caught hold of my statue act again.

"I appreciate your little… speech…" Jacob started, not looking at me but raising his head. "But this is a decision not for me, but for my tribe. We must discuss this accordingly. Please go away. I will find you on your island tomorrow when the first of light touches the sky."

I nodded, and slipped away silently. It was almost as if I had disappeared into thin air, from the thoughts I was getting from the elders and advisors. But I didn't care. I was used to it.

I needn't hunt, for I did that before visiting the bonfire, so I decided to survey my enemies, no matter what Jacob's tribe decided.

Without stopping at the edge of the water, I practically ran into Chesapeake Bay, where the ships had anchored quite a ways off shore for protection, but I did not doubt their ability to fight from this position, too, if they were only fighting humans.

The water, cold to any human, was actually warm to me; the perfect swimming conditions. I was glad, for once, that I was not a human, or I would have frozen up by now. This just felt nice.

In no time at all, I got to the hull of the first boat. It was Sir Newton's quarters in the office of this one, for I heard the thoughts of generals and captains going over their battle plans one last time before resting.

"Sir, what of your plans to marry?" One of the commanders, Benjamin, asked quietly.

A rough, husky voice answered, sounding almost like course sandpaper over glass. "I must first prove myself in battle against the natives, and then Isabella will worship my every step. But she is still reluctant. I'm keeping her in the Captain's quarters on the English ship until the battle is over."

I smiled at the new information and jumped out of the water, landing light and soundlessly on the deck of the Spanish boat. I resisted the urge to sabotage their supplies by climbing like a spider up the mast and swing from rope to rope, like I had as a human, to the English ship, which was nestled right between the two Spanish ships. I felt more at home than ever before, swinging through this familiar jungle of tangles and ropes. I took my fill of enjoyment, and then let go of the ropes and fell to the deck from the man-made canopy.

And then I noticed the body bags.

As I crouched on the deck, I surveyed the dozens of lumpy, canvas bags lining the ornate carved railing. The smell was repulsive, compared to the calming scent of the sea, and would have overwhelmed any human. Frantically, hoping for a second that the Spaniards hadn't tricked me somehow to search the ship for Isabella and end up going down with it in flames: the only non-monster thing that could kill a vampire.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard the heart-breaking sound of a woman crying, as well as a heartbeat. But I could hear no thoughts. From this ship, at least. Maybe the girl was too distraught to have a coherent thought.

I followed the ever-sharp crying sobbing into the Captain's quarters, and it hit me that Captain Swan must have been killed with the others of the crew and settlers, and that this girl must have been experiencing so much trauma and loss and confusion all at once with no time to breath.

I turned the last corner of the Captain's quarters to see a girl with long, reddish brown hair doubled over on a bed crying her eyes out. The sound alone made my heart break—how was I supposed to look at her and not feel mass emotional pain?

I didn't realized it made me collapse until I heard a loud thump and I was on the ground. Isabella froze and tensed. I could hear her heart going nearly three times as fast as she looked up and gasped.

Okay, surely there must be something wrong with one of us because I couldn't hear her thoughts at all, just like when I was on deck. And now, here we were staring at each other…

I lost my train of thought as soon as I looked into her eyes.

Their almond shape gave her an almost exotic look, like a tropical bird from the tips of Africa to a crow on the streets of London. Though they were rimmed with a pinkish red, the chocolate brown shade of her eyes bore deep into mine, like they were looking straight through me and into my soul. Like if she asked me for my deepest, darkest secret, I would not hesitate in telling her as much as I could on the subject.

And then the scent hit me.

I could almost feel my golden eyes melting to black. Her scent was by far the most delicious scent I had ever smelled. Mountain lion or any other spilled blood wouldn't hold a candle within a mile of her heavenly aroma. It sprouted like spring daisies in my nose and mouth, infecting each microscopic venom pore on the walls and making it overflow. The thought of just how easy it would be… especially when she had nothing to live for… it was almost like it was planned this way for me.

Had I been any hungrier, I would have attacked. No doubt. I would have stepped inside this room, taken one sniff of the air, and gone into a bloodthirsty rage among the fleet—all starting with her.

"W-who are y-you?" She stuttered. My mindset instantly went from murderous back to that strange, warm feeling at the sound of her angelic voice. I didn't remember many girls' voices from London, but out of those and all the Native women I'd heard, Isabella's had to be the sweetest and smoothest of all.

"Edward." I answered simply without thinking. As soon as I realized I had spoken, I tensed. Isabella looked at me in a mixture of awe, caution, and embarrassment, for some reason.

"Are you a Spaniard? I don't remember you on my father's ship." She asked in her beautiful voice, but I still almost laughed at the absurdity of my being a Spaniard.

"No, I'm for England, now and forever." I allowed myself a small smile when Isabella sighed in relief, but was shocked when she slowly rose from her crouch on the mattress and wrapped her arms around me. The power of her scent made me tense and made my mouth water like a drooling dog.

Thank the heavens Isabella noticed, for I wouldn't have been able to be near her much longer, even without breathing, and not bite her. Strange how I long for something I've never tasted.

"I'm truly sorry, sir, I don't know what came over me!" Isabella gasped quietly, appalled at herself. I couldn't answer; I was still recovering from the wonderful scent and the almost puzzle piece-like way that she just fit into my arms… "Excuse my disrespect—I haven't seen a friendly face in so long!"

"Isabella, it's alright." I said, again without actually thinking I would. Shocking myself, I lifted a hand and stroked her arm from her shoulder to elbow, and back. Her dress fabric ran smoothly under my hand. "Your entire crew was just murdered before you: you have all the right in the world to overreact."

Even if I enjoyed that overreaction. I mentally added.

Isabella's eyes spaced out for a second, looking dizzy and distant, and I feared she was going into shock at finding a grown man on her ship when he was not part of her crew, nor her rival's. Or maybe she had seen my teeth.

"Isabella?" I asked softly, slowly getting up and moving towards the wall by the door, just in case she wanted me to leave.

"Bella." She corrected, looking at me again. A beautiful crimson cloud traveled against her pale cheeks, alarming me once again. "Curse my blush." I heard Bella mutter as she looked away once more and created a wall of her beautiful hair separating her face and my gaze.

A blush. The crimson was blood that had risen in her cheeks. I was thankful for having decided to hold my breath for the duration of this visit: I would not have been able to hold back with something so luscious and close.

Why did she blush? I automatically reached out to her thoughts, only to find they were stubbornly hidden. If I was relying completely on my mind, I would have not known she was there. I scowled in frustration.

"Where did you come from?" She asked quietly, almost so that a human wouldn't hear, though I had no trouble.

"In England, or just now?" I asked honestly.

"Just now." Bella still didn't look at me.

"The colony of Jamestown is just a half mile from us, right now, on the colonial lands of Virginia of England." I answered, shrugging. "The local natives are planning an attack on the settlers, but the Spanish have stopped them to think."

Bella suddenly turned to me and gasped, her eyes filled with worry. "The n-natives are going to a-attack Jamestown?"

"Yes. But, honestly, you should see what the Englishmen are doing to the land. It's disgusting." I scoffed, remembering their torture to uproot Spanish spies, and they did it to innocents, too, which appalled me more. "This land would be better off without them."

"You speak as if you are a different group altogether."

I smiled wryly. "Thankfully. I live alone, in agreement with the natives. As long as I fight and gather news, such as this, for them, they leave me alone, for the most part." I was careful to leave out anything that might lead to hinting Bella of my vampirism.

Bella was silent for a few moments, contemplating. It was adorable how a small crease between her sculpted eyebrows would form and how she bit her lip unconsciously as well.

"The captain wishes to do unpleasant things to me." She whispered in a watery voice. Bella turned the full force of her majestic eyes on mine. "He wishes to marry me, but I don't want to! Not that murdering pirate! If you are truly loyal to King James of England, you will save me from this horrible twist of fate!

"Please, take me with you when you go back to the mainland."

JPOV

Edward was not here. I had been sitting on the shore of his island for hours, and had not found a fresh scent or sign of the vampire anywhere.

The sun had long been up, and I could clearly see the ominous ships on the bay, like a reminder of doom. For them. My tribesmen would not die; not if we had Edward fighting the first line. Ah, the things that immortal could endure without a scratch… but only if we weren't against him.

If he had decided during the night to join the new invaders, we would not hesitate to rip him and his new companions to shreds. Surely if the men were going to die in mere minutes after breaking shore, there would be no harm in fighting them in wolf form.

And then the wind changed, giving me full smell of Edward's sickly-sweet scent.

But he was not alone.