Swan Lodge

Chapter Three – Fallen


Prompt: There was no prompt for WitFit today, so I just picked up where I left off.


It was obvious that something she said was wrong. All at once, Bella felt overwhelmed by the thoughts and verbal voices of her guests. To her body, her instincts, it felt like an attack. She bent over, resting her hands on her thighs, taking several deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself and quiet the voices. She had to or else her own body would protect her against the intrusion.

Edward hovered over her, asking questions, concern filling his features. "Bella?" She whimpered at the way his voice shook.

"Please calm down before it's too late," she breathed and moaned when the Cullen Family continued on their tirade, asking endless questions. "Edward!" she gasped as the weight of their troubles bombarded her from all sides. When she felt his hand on her back, she cried out again. She could not stop what was coming, but she could protect her mate.

"I'm sorry!" Her arms closed around Edward. The rest of his family froze a moment after, and then fell as if struck down suddenly by something.

"What the hell?" Edward said, as he tried to pull back.

Bella released him once she knew he would be safe. She shook her head, breathing in deeply. "I warned them," she whispered as looked at the prone figures on the ground already blanketed by a thin, fresh layer of snow. "I'm sorry," she gasped, trying to explain. "They'll be fine in a little bit."

"That was you," Edward said, his hand reaching up to run through his hair. He pulled back enough from Bella to watch as sweat beaded across her brow, aware that her body temperature had risen by several degrees. "Their thoughts were too much for you," he stated, coming to his own conclusions. Another thought registered in his mind. "You protected me when you wrapped your arms around me."

She nodded and closed her eyes for a moment. "I can handle humans just fine," she replied. "Most of the time I can easily tune them out or even cast a spell to avoid listening to their thoughts. But with vampires, hundreds of thoughts can through their minds at once and add the emotional turmoil that came when Rosalie asked about the Volturi…It was too much."

"But it was not on purpose," he said, not asking, stating. "It was a natural reaction. There was no stopping it." Did it happen often? What happened? Was it an energy pulse, some kind of mind thing? The possibilities seemed endless when she still pulsed with power.

Bella nodded again and smiled sheepishly. "They'll come to in a minute or two." She looked away.

Edward tipped her chin up and returned her smile with one of his own. "They will understand," he said softly, running his fingers though her soft, dark curls. When she cocked an eyebrow, he laughed. "All right, they will understand once the anger wears off."

"I really didn't mean to," Bella softly replied. "I haven't had so many vampires around me at once. I wasn't aware of the complications. I should've checked for the possibility."

"And you have another four staying at the lodge besides my family," Edward pointed out. "Is there something you could do to protect yourself?"

Bella rubbed her temples, nodding. "I can do it for you, too. If you like, turn off your power outside of your room."

Edward thought for a few moments and shook his head. "I need to be on alert now that something triggered your perimeter alarm."

"Yes, you're right. It's the reason why I opened my thoughts to everyone," she said, turning her head toward Alice's groan. "What should I say to them?"

Edward watched as Bella bit her lip nervously. It'd been the first time he'd seen a glimpse of the young woman beneath the power.

She huffed and scrunched her brow. "I'll have you know I'm thirty years old."

Edward laughed and wiggled his eyebrows. "A cougar, huh? Technically I am only seventeen." Well, more like one hundred and seven, but she probably knew that, Edward thought.

Before Bella could respond, Rosalie fully awoke first. "Where's that bitch?" she scrambled, somewhat awkwardly, taking a few moments to regain her balance and stomped toward Bella.

Immediately, Edward sensed something harden over Bella, the woman he'd seen beneath was gone. With a cock of Bella's head, she sent Rosalie flying across the field. Emmett crouched defensively, causing Edward to do the same. They hissed at each other and stood before their mate, poised to attack.

"What the fuck are you?" Jasper bellowed as he helped Alice to her feet. In seconds, he overwhelmed Edward, moving faster than he'd ever seen. Suddenly, the alarm howled nearby, alerting Bella of another breach.

Shelia, a nineteen year old, third year wolf, bounded toward Bella, instantly transforming into a fair-skinned woman. "Mistress, Leah has informed me that there are two creatures outside of the perimeter that are testing its strength."

Bella nodded and closed her eyes, reaching for the thoughts of her sentinels. "Leah said for you and Rica to help patrol the northern line. We can't afford for the cats to become anxious." Shelia nodded once, sprinted away, and after several steps transformed into a beast.

Bella stepped away from the Cullens, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "What have you brought with you?"

"We've brought nothing," Jasper hissed. "Instead we were fooled to believe that we could co-exist with the likes of you."

"You fear me, so I understand your need to know who and what I am," Bella said evenly. "However, strategically speaking, it's best that your enemy not know all your secrets." When Jasper growled, Bella stepped away further. "The Volturi hadn't bothered me. And they've known of my existence when rumors had reached them years ago," she whispered gravely.

"Wait!" Carlisle said, pushing Jasper aside. He approached Bella, and could see that nothing would pry his son Edward away from her. "Only minutes earlier, you asked who the Volturi were. How do you know this?"

Bella eyes rolled as memory after memory ran through her head. After a few moments, she answered. "As you know, I can read thoughts. So I know all this because a small contingent of their Advance Guard are outside, trying to find a way in."

"Why attack her now?" Emmett asked standing up fully. Rosalie stood behind him, her eyes on Bella. "Why wait until she's surrounded by vampires? They had to know we'd protect her."

Jasper's stance in front of Bella loosened as the truth dawned on him. He turned from Bella to Carlisle. "Aro knew you'd be intrigued by the rumors." He shook his head in disbelief. "Hell, I wouldn't doubt that he made sure we'd hear about her."

"What are you saying, Jasper?" Alice asked, rubbing at her temple. The headache that formed since the wolves appeared upon their arrival seemed to have embedded itself deep inside her head.

"They're attacking now," Edward said as Jasper's thoughts reached him. "It's because we're here. We brought them to her."

"They wanted to investigate you for quite some time," Bella said, shaking her head and stepping closer to Edward. "Somehow you've always managed to have disappeared when they tried."

"And you can only find the lodge, if you're invited to stay," Esme whispered.

"Invited?" Edward said. "I thought Alice heard about this place and made the arrangements."

Bella shook her head. "I sent the information to your house," she replied, trying to work how it had come to this. "I wanted to meet you, too. I had heard about Carlisle from Siobhan." Had she betrayed Carlisle? The family had no idea, but that might explain the timing. The Cullen reservation was made just after Bella had received a cancellation from Felix Gomez.

"She is a friend of mine or was. Who are we dealing with?" Carlisle asked. "Are they inside?"

"I don't know who, even with all the information you've, um, provided," Bella said with a small wince of remorse. "And they haven't managed to find a way inside. They have been testing the shield I have in place." She paced for a few moments and then whistled several times. "We can't talk about this out here. They may be able to hear."

Jasper nodded. "What did you tell your wolf friends?"

"That I'm listening for now on," she replied. "And that I'll be there in a bit."

"Why?" Edward asked as Bella turned toward Leah's location. "You're still going to check? I'll join you. We should familiarize ourselves with their scents."

"That might be of some use," Bella said, taking a hold of his hand. "Despite all my powers, I don't have the tracking abilities as strong as vampires."

Rosalie still immobile, as the others moved to follow Bella. "You don't know what you are, do you?"

Bella stilled for a moment, seemingly processing the words to answer Rosalie. Before she could, her head jerked to one side and she shot toward the alert of another alarm. Jasper and Edward flanked her, asking what was wrong silently.

Within their minds, she answered, "They have a werewolf shifter with them."

Edward was aware of the rest of the family trailing behind the three of them, struggling to catch up. "They captured one from your pack," Edward asked.

"No," Bella said gravely. She skidded to a halt behind the small figure just within the border of her property. "Leah!" She fell on her knees beside her friend, wrapping her arm around her. She turned to the Cullens' and internally sent them the image of the shield that outlined her property. They needed to know what they'd be up against if they accidently crossed the line.

"They have my brother," Leah cried out. "How did they even know about us?"

Bella shook her head. "Did you see them, Leah?"

When Leah nodded, immediately their faces filled Edward and Bella's mind. It was Edward that announced who had come for them, who waited only a few hundred yards away.

"Jane and Alec."