Disclaimer: All Twilight Saga characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.
Carlisle's POV
For the first time in all of my 348 years as a vampire, I felt more human than ever. I was fearful, desperate and helpless; my only instincts were to protect my family. But how can I, just one man, protect the ones I loved from a threat of such magnitude. I was still having a hard time shaking the paralyzing feeling that violated my body when I received a call from Alice. My initial thoughts were to take my family and Bella and flee Forks. But that wasn't the responsible thing to do.
We didn't have a reason to feel threatened. So why did I have this uncomfortable sensation slithering its way to the forefront of my mind?
I took deep, unnecessary breaths to calm my self; as I rubbed my temple with my index and thumb in the hopes of organizing all frenzied thoughts within my head. I needed to look at this mess from a rational and clear point of view, I needed to cover all the vital steps, and as ironic as it sounds coming from a vampire, time was a luxury I couldn't afford.
The Volturi were well on their way to this little innocent town of Forks, this well habitable town of mortal beings. If only they knew the kind of danger they were facing at this moment, their simple minds wouldn't be able to comprehend it.
As I was currently standing in my study, I took one last look out the window that overlooked the grey, cloud coated, intense rainy forest of our back yard and knew that I couldn't delay the inevitable. I walked over to the door of my office; I gently turned the knob and when I pulled the door open I saw my blonde daughter, leaning on the wall across from my door. Her delicate face was twisted in worry and distress. Her arms were hugging her form, as she was taking deep, unneeded, breaths.
"Daddy" Rosalie's voice came in a fleeting whisper, as her eyes met mine. She looked like she was close to weeping if she had the ability to produce tears.
I walked over to her, and placed my hands on her shoulders in the hopes of soothing her, but it had the opposite affect, she broke down in dry sobs. It crushed my immortal, dead heart as I pulled Rosalie into my embrace and wrapped my arms around her.
"Everything is going to be alright, sweetheart. I wont let any harm come to you." I kissed the top of her head and she looked up at me and gave me a sad smile. I then kissed her forehead, and the tension within her seemed to subside. Her sobs ceased, and I was thankful.
"Listen, Rose, I need you to stay here with Esme while I go and take care of a few things. Can you do that for me, kitty? "
"I'm not staying here idly! I know where you're going, and I am coming with you, dad." I was taken aback by her determination, and the look in her hard eyes told me she was resolved.
I sighed. "That is fine, Rose. But please, let me be the one to speak. They are already on shaky territory with us."
I dropped one of my hands, and left the other one draped on Rosalie's shoulder as we proceeded downstairs. Esme was pacing back and forth in worry, once we reached the last step; she paused and turned to face us.
"Oh, Carlisle, I just heard from Emmett and Jasper that they are bringing Bella over with them. Are you sure its wise?" Esme was past the point of frantic; I cupped her cheek in my hand as I spoke.
"We have no alternative choice, dear. Alice said it would ease the situation with the Volturi if we were all present." I continued to explain as we proceeded to sit on the couch in the living room. "Just give it a thought, if they came here and didn't see Bella, they will become suspicious that we might be hiding something from them. That could prolong their stay, or the worst, but I don't want us to dwell on that."
"But she is still human, Carlisle. And the Volturi don't follow our diet, add the fact that she smells much too appealing than an ordinary human." She placed her hand on mine and squeezed it gently. "I just don't want to risk putting Bella in more danger." My darling wife was precise.
I turned over my hand and entwined our fingers together, while gazing into the little shimmers of gold in her eyes. Esme was set on keeping Bella away from this situation at all cost, but I knew she would be stunned once I inform her further of what Alice told me.
"Esme, my dear, even if we do keep Bella away, they will request us to bring her." I continued to explain. "Edward already considered getting her out of town, but when Alice saw the outcome of that decision, it caused more problems."
"I don't understand." She uttered, her eyes were wide with horror.
Just then, Jasper walked through the door, interrupting our conversation, followed by Emmett who had his hand joined together with Bella's. My eyes lingered on Bella, studying her expression; she looked to be so lost. Her eyes were staring into space, and I couldn't even imagine what she was going through right now, it has certainly been an overwhelming eventful year, even for us vampires. Rosalie, Esme and I ascended from the couch, and walked over to them.
Esme went to stand next to Bella protectively, I could tell Esme was not letting Bella out of her sight any time soon, she lost her once and she couldn't afford to lose her again.
Jasper took a step forward to approach me. "Carlisle, we should get going."
I nodded. "Rosalie will also be coming with us."
"Rosy?" Emmett was confounded.
"I can't just let Carlisle go alone, Em. Besides, You know we cant trust those dogs, treaty or not."
"If you are going then so am I." Emmett snapped, his tone was filled with venom.
"No! Emmett, we need someone to stay here." Emmett was about to interrupt me, but I held up my hand, signaling for him to let me finish. "We will be more than safe, Alice and Edward will intercept and join us at the meeting point."
I placed my hand over his shoulder. "Everything will be fine, trust me. Emmett, we are running out of time." He relaxed, looked over at the still dazed Bella and nodded back to me.
"Thank you, son."
"Stay safe." Esme pleaded.
"Hopefully, our absence will be brief." I replied, gazing back at her endearingly.
And like lightening, I was out the door, and flying through the woodland, with Jasper and Rosalie flanking me. The drizzling atmosphere was now reduced to a light shower, but the thickness of the trees provided a cover from the crystal like droplets and the sky above us remained heavily clouded. The trees flew by in a blur of blues and purples as the day turned to twilight.
We agreed with Sam, the Alpha of the wolf pack, of the Quileute tribe to meet us at the baseball clearing. We felt that location would be on a more neutral ground, between our territory and the reservation.
As we reached half of the distance to the clearing, the cell phone in my pocket vibrated. I pulled it out, and held it to my ear, with no vexation to check the caller, as I was sure I already knew who it was.
"Carlisle. We just reached the clearing. The wolves got here before we did." Alice whispered, and I could tell from her tone that she was on edge, as I assumed she was uncomfortable in being around the werewolves.
"We are but a few minutes away from you. Stay put." I hung up, and placed the phone back into my jacket pocket.
"Do you think they will be cooperative?" Jasper voiced, the worry on his face made him seem much older.
"There isn't much of a choice, son. If the Volturi know of their existence, and decide to hunt them one by one, then they wont stand a chance. The wolves don't have special gifts like vampires do. And we would get partial of the blame for keeping their being hidden."
Jasper looked thoughtful as he nodded to me. Suddenly, his shoulders were tense and his lips were pressed together in a thin line, as his eyes became hard when he looked ahead. My shoulders tensed a little as well and my fingers somewhat twitched, it was only natural, the closer we got to the clearing the greater we were alert.
We had no clue on how the wolves would react to the news, but I tried to remain the picture of calm as we passed the last line of trees and onward to the large area of the clearing. There they were, my bronze-haired son, and my pixie-sized daughter, and a good 60 yards away from them stood Sam Uley, lined by two wolves on each side. I didn't recognize the dark gray wolf on Sam's left, but I did assume from, what Edward had told me, that the russet brown wolf, on Sam's right, is Jacob Black, Ephraim Black's descendant.
I stopped next to Edward, with Rosalie on my other side, and Jasper went to stand beside Alice. I exchanged a meaningful glance with Edward as I spoke to him through my thoughts.
'My son, I am so sorry to hear from Alice that we couldn't keep Bella away from this catastrophe.' Edward gave me a worried expression, hinting anxiety on this matter.
'But don't fret, she will be kept safe, even Esme doesn't wish to leave Bella's side, and I know the Volturi would not harm her as the brothers already gave permission for the change.' I assured him as I placed my hand over his shoulder.
He gave me a small smile, and I mirrored it. Nodding to my son, I took a few steps forward and paused; I could sense Jasper being on my right, while Edward guarded my left, Rosalie and Alice adjoined us, and stood to the back.
Sam, who was already standing erect, and uneasy, seemed much alert with the wolves that were on defense, when they noticed our formation, they knew that we would begin our meeting.
"Sam" I nodded, acknowledging him. A polite and respectful formality, even though they thought of us as enemy, we need not give them another reason to fan the flames of hatred they harbored.
"Dr. Cullen." He nodded back.
"Please, call me Carlisle." I said in a much friendlier tone, giving him a genuine smile. My actions seemed to take an affect, or it could have been Jasper's doing, either way the tension that hung on Sam's shoulders, slightly, if not noticeably, faded. "I am sincerely grateful that you agreed to meet us. I assure you, we come to you only with good intentions for both sides."
"If it weren't for the treaty made with you by our ancestors, we wouldn't be having a conversation in this manner, let alone a conversation at all. But we do, and as the leader of my pack, I have a duty to uphold." The dark grey wolf held his head high, as if he was agreeing to his leader's words. "So tell me, Carlisle, what have you come to speak about?"
I knew there was no gentle way of saying what was about to be said, but I knew I had to choose my words carefully. I exchanged a look with Jasper, and he met my gaze. His expression indicated that he would be ready to take over, should the conversation take an unruly turn.
I looked back at Sam, and he gave me a bemused look. I then spoke and my tone was abandoned of all imprudence.
"A certain matter has presented itself, and unfortunately for both our sides, it can not be avoided. You see, Sam, we vampires have a royal ancient family. This family governs our world, preserves the peace and upholds order. And they are very powerful. Non could stand in their way and live to speak of it."
"And the point of saying this to us would be … ?" Sam trailed off, arching his eyebrow.
"They are coming to Forks. Right now." I stated firmly.
Sam's face turned a very vivid shade of red, his pulse quickened as he clutched his fists. I was worried he might shape shift, but he didn't seem to be shaking, he had more control than it was expected of someone his age. However, I could not say the same for the two standing next to him. They bared their razor sharp teeth at us, and growled menacingly. The russet brown wolf, Jacob Black, was ready to strike. He began stepping forward, and my family growled in response. I saw Rosalie, in my peripheral vision inching forwards. The chilling forest breeze blew by as the air filled with feral growls. I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration; this was not the time for childish demeanor.
"Enough!" Sam commanded, and the two wolves sat back on their hind legs and whimpered. Conversely, I couldn't say my own were behaving rather properly, but I glanced back at Rosalie and shook my head at her, she forced herself to be the picture of calm, yet she was on pins and needles, as her eyes now shifted from one wolf to the other, daring them to challenge her. I heaved a sigh then looked back towards Sam.
"Sam, there isn't much time to be wasted. They will be here in no more than a few hours. Out of respect to our treaty we are requesting that you allow passage with no hostile complications." I beseeched.
"These people, are they followers of the same nutritional habits that you adapt?" Sam asked, delicately, hoping he would receive a preferable answer.
This was the part I dreaded and hoped Sam wouldn't ask. "No they do not." I answered unenthusiastically.
"Then we can not allow them to come here. How can you guarantee that they won't kill people when it's in their very nature? Our ancestors made an exception for your family because you do not hunt humans. They do. And that goes against everything we stand for. " Sam replied, and he seemed resolved on the matter as he crossed his arms over his chest, but I refused to leave it at that.
"Sam, I give you my word that they will not be hunting within Forks or anywhere near it, me and my family will make sure of that. You have to understand that they are very suspecting people, if we so much as behave shadily in any way then it can cause them to believe that we could be hiding something. Not only will that make them hasten their arrival here, but it could also mean that they will prolong their stay, or worse, more of them will come here."
I could see Sam's reluctance, and his previous determination was shattered. "If we just let them come here, let them do what they need to do, allow them to say what they need to say, then the sooner they can return to Italy, and the earlier we can return to our mundane life. And during their time here we request that you do not make your self known to them." I explained, adding the last sentence in a very low voice, although I was sure as the sky was blue that they heard me.
Suddenly, the grey wolf, who was silent for awhile began to tremble, his silver fur reverberated across his form, he crouched down as though he would collapse on the floor but then a man suddenly sprung to his feet in the animal's place, a tall burly man, with cropped black hair resembling Sam's. He hastily lifted the piece of black cloth, that was tied to his ankle, which appeared to be some form of clothing, and pulled it to his waist.
"Your words are weighing heavy with ill notion." Spoke the young man. He then turned to Sam. "Sam, how can we even be sure that what he is speaking is the truth. Despite this treaty, this situation is very dangerous and unpredictable. A group of human drinkers is the last thing we need. And what is even worse is that they will out number us. We wont be able to protect our land."
"It will turn into a dangerous situation if for no reason we don't let them pass. And besides, they will be nowhere near your territory. They will be arriving from Seattle, escorted by someone from our coven, and immediately taken into our land." Edward spoke up.
"And why must they come to Forks? Why cant you lot just go and meet them in Seattle? Do your business there, and then send them on their merry way." The young man was beginning to get on my nerves, I didn't wish for Sam to get other ideas. This situation was like a boulder drop over a cliff, fast and destructive. I noticed from the corner or my eye that the russet wolf was rather silent, looking forth and back as we discussed.
"You do not know these people. They are ancient, they lived long before your great great ancestors even existed, and that alone gave them more power to have their way, if anyone wished it or not." Jasper replied calmly. "Add the fact that they have a loyal band of followers that possess powers that make our own look like a cheap trick." he added with disdain.
"All the more reason they shouldn't be allowed here." Replied the young man fiercely.
"This useless banter is getting us nowhere." Sam suddenly interrupted. His eyes met mine before he spoke again. "I do have one thing to ask before I give you my final decision."
"Of course, Sam. Ask away." I gestured for him to continue.
"You said a little while ago that we mustn't make ourselves known to them. Do they not know the existence of werewolves?" I didn't think Sam would ask the one question that was entirely unexpected, let alone could render his decision. However it wasn't something I couldn't answer, I was just reluctant that my choice of words could decide his very answer.
I was grateful however that my son stepped in to answer it instead. "They are well aware of the existence of werewolves, but this isn't a pleasant knowledge. They have had a bad history with werewolves in the past, and that left a bitter taste since then. So you can see why we are trying to be careful with this matter as delicately as possible. They don't know that the Olympic Peninsula has werewolves, and they do not know of our treaty with your group. So let us just say its better if we kept is so." Edward was careful to explain, and judging from the way he looked at Sam, he was picking his brain and deciding which words to say to sway his resolve.
Unexpectedly, the brown wolf growled at Edward. "She will be perfectly safe. Your concerns are unnecessary." Edward replied. His lips were in a thin line. It didn't take much guessing to know that they were speaking of Bella. Jacob Black dug his paws into the dirt beneath him, as though to hold himself from attacking. "She received their blessing, she is in their favor now. They know she belongs with me so they wont harm her." Edward spoke, smirking at Jacob Black.
It was immature and childish, and I never once seen Edward act this way. And it was the last thing we needed as I could plainly see that the russet wolf was inching toward Edward. I reached my hand over to Jasper and tugged on his hand. He nodded back, as though he could read my very thoughts. He worked his talent on young Jacob Black until the creases on his feral features smoothed.
"Edward now is not the time. Remember what we came here for." I all but screamed aloud to my bronze haired son. He nodded, still holding his gaze with Jacob Black. But never the less, he took a few steps back.
"Sam, we need to know what is your answer. We are running out of time." I pleaded.
Sam rubbed the back of his head, met my gaze and gave a slight look of defeat. I tried not to smile flamboyantly, remaining composed until the actual words left his mouth. "It seems there is no avoiding this. But as long as I have your word, not just as the leader of your coven, but as the very person who agreed to the treaty, to keep this situation under control. And under no circumstance are they allowed to hunt within the Olympic Peninsula, I don't care for what reason you explain to them, just make sure they don't." as Sam tried to continue explaining, the brown wolf, Jacob Black, whimper to Sam.
"I got it, Jacob." Sam replied, frustratingly. He looked back at us and continued. "And you have to give your word that you will absolutely will not put Isabella Swan in harms way. She is just as much a part of our family, and Charlie is favored among our council, so any grief that comes to him will not be forgiven."
"Sam, you don't need to tell us. I consider Bella my daughter as all the rest of my children are. And my family and I will be sure to protect her at all cost. You have my word on this." I promised, genuinely from the bottom of my dead heart.
Sam nodded. "Then we give you our word that we will try to stay clear while your visitors are here. We will only keep patrol over the boarders of the reservation."
"Of course. Thank you, Sam." I nodded back.
I then took a few steps back along with my family, before turned around and headed back the same direction we came from.
Alice's POV
I let out the breath I was holding in through the entire meeting. I didn't care to smell the foul wet dog stench. When the trees then surrounded us, I inhaled deeply, savoring the smell of the earth and trees after the rain. I could smell a mile away some animals coming out of their shelters from the rain. I felt a mild burn, as we didn't even begin to hunt before I had the disdainful vision that plunged our lives into chaos.
At the moment, I was just happy I could get my visions again, the more we were distancing ourselves from the wolves the clearer the future appeared. I didn't like to be blind, and I was grateful I could see the future the second Sam Uley agreed to not involve his pack into the ordeal. I couldn't even begin to think what the Volturi might do to us if they knew we were keeping werewolves from them.
"Well that turned out well." Rosalie voiced sarcastically.
"It could have been worse. You were too hotheaded, Rose, to even notice that they had a whole pack of wolves covering the inner lines of the trees. If you agitated them into a fight, it would have been an uneven match, and then where do you think we would have been? A pile of ashes somewhere in the forest. That's where!" I exclaimed.
"Calm down, Alice." Carlisle spoke up. "I wish I could say the worse is behind us, but its not. We need to stay level headed until the Volturi arrive, the last thing we need is an internal conflict among us. The best thing we could offer each other is support for one another, and protecting the people we love."
"Your absolutely right, dad. My emotions got the best of me, I suppose. I am sorry Rosalie."
"Not a problem, Alice." Rose smiled warily.
"Are there any developments regarding the Volturi's decision so far?" Carlisle enquired. He was still optimistic that things could turn for the best.
He did not know how wrong he was, the moment that sentence left Carlisle's mouth I was struck with a vision that nearly squeezed the air out of my lungs. The situation escalated into monumental proportions and the word 'best' was far from my choice of vocabulary.
"Alice?" Carlisle's voice was but a murmur in my head as I looked over at Edward and he met my gaze, before seeing the next vision I could already read it across his face. His plans changed. He wanted to get Bella out of there and keep her safe.
His decision has already been made, and we both gazed at the aftermath. But as everything that involved the Volturi, it did more harm than good. I sighed. "Stop this reckless gamble Edward. Your rash judgment will be our immortal death!" I mentally screeched. I cared for Bella as well, but he would kill her sooner with his reckless and pathetic judgment. His lips were pressed tight, and I expected a retort but he thought otherwise, for once he actually surrendered to fate. And we could only stand aside and watch.
"Darling, what's wrong?" my beloved voiced worriedly, I knew he sensed the hostile emotions crisscrossing between Edward and me. I tried to muster a reassuring smile but the anxiety in my heart opposed.
"It seems we were being ambushed." I muttered hesitantly.
"What did you see, my dear?" I forced to drag my gaze to meet my father, but I was barely meeting his eyes through my lashes.
"When I first had the vision, I mistook that only the guards were headed here. But that only blinded me to the bigger purpose. They were traveling unaccompanied but their intentions were not to come here alone." I swallowed the bile of venom that flooded my throat, as it traveled down it left a burn in its tracks. The next sentence was harder to say. And their eyes waited on me to continue. I looked back at Carlisle and hurled the words out of me. "The brothers are coming here. I did not see them because they have been taking a different root. They managed to get closer to Forks without our detection. They are planning to meet the guards enroot in Seattle."
"How did they manage to evade your visions?" Jasper voiced.
"When we were in Volterra, I … I allowed Aro to read my mind. A harmless move then, but now I can see how stupid it was. I was trying to give him more assurance of Bella's immortality but it seems I gave away more than I thought."
As we passed the last line of trees, we halted in front of our home. We all stood looking at Carlisle's back; he then turned around and looked at us compassionately. I tried avoiding the bronze haired imbecile who was throwing daggers at me, and he knew I felt it but we had more pressing concerns and I would have to deal with him later, better if it was never.
Esme and Emmett walked through the door and joined our little circle. Emmett wrapped his bulging arm around Rosalie, as Esme took her husband's hand into her own. Carlisle lifted her hand and kissed it lightly before turning to look back at us.
"My family, what awaits us could lead to peace or danger, but I must know that if it comes to the latter then we can depend on each other. We come from entirely different backgrounds and eras, but we are now under one roof, and we are all standing here as Cullens. We need to be united. Do you all support this unity?"
We all nodded simultaneously.
With a fatherly approving smile, Carlisle morphed into the leader we all followed as he poured his commands onto us. "Now first thing, we promised the wolves we will be going to Seattle to meet with our 'guests'. But before that, we require a change of wardrobe; we have to be absolutely sure that no lingering scent of the wolves be found on us. I fear Caius would be disdainful the most regarding them."
Rosalie instinctively took a whiff of her clothes and shivered involuntarily. "Disgusting." She muttered under her breath, with an expression that gave her wrinkles in places she didn't want or need.
"Edward, I ask more of you than I can hope but you need to go meet them." Carlisle suddenly declared. Edward replied with a gasp, which was a revelation to be seen and heard. Edward caught by surprise. I mentally laughed until I mentally fell over.
"I can't leave Bella alone, Carlisle." My 'brother' was a fool. I never had sour feelings for Edward but I was currently experience them in abundance.
I couldn't leave Bella alone either, but I knew Edward well enough to know that his intentions right now were for merely selfish reasons. This boy had his priority is so unfocused that he refused to stop and look at the big picture. I never wanted more than to rip his head off at this moment and point his vision in the right direction.
"Do you intend to take her with you?" Carlisle's retort gave me a hard whiplash. Sarcasm was never his trait, but he must have shared my acerbic feeling perfectly.
Edward was astounded, his wide charcoal eyes indicated he wasn't prepared for such word to come from his father figure. "Of course not. I meant I would keep her here and remain by her side. I cannot leave my mate at such a critical time." His tone stresses as if he was stating a fact that should be obvious to all. Bella should be kept away and he should be with Bella. Period.
"Yet, I don't see you glued to her side at the moment." I didn't know where this was coming from. I never knew I could be so biting; I could taste the bitterness of my words as they rolled off my tongue. I never expressed disdain to any of my family members before, was this result of the situation at hand, or was my brother bringing out the worst in me? Either way I wasn't sure, but it was too late to take back the words.
I mentally sighed, wishing I could take back those words now. I can clearly see how my sharp words picked my brother's feelings to bits.
"As long as she is within my proximity, and her beating heart remains, then its more assurance than I need. I need to be there for her, why cant you understand that Alice?" I held my tongue. I didn't have a proper reply, but I sure had a few good remarks to stab him with.
Carlisle's warm melody interrupted our bickering. "We all understand perfectly well, son. But right now we need you more than ever, this family depends on you for our safety and for Bella's. Do it for her sake." I knew Edward would still argue, even to his own symbolism of parenthood if it weren't for the delicate voice that came from the entryway to the house.
"Edward, I'll be fine. Please go and help your family." Bella was leaning on the doorframe, with her arms crossed over her chest. I didn't sense her approach, her stance lead me to believe she was standing, overhearing our conversation for the majority of it. If she adapted to our nature or she evolved into something further than human, either way she looked more vampire now than ever. She looked like death just walked up to her and kissed her on both cheeks; Bella was paler than her usual ivory self. No emotion could be seen on her face. I walked over to her at mortal speed, and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She moved her neck sluggishly until she met me eye to eye. She was empty, a shell of the Bella I once knew. I felt something was wrong with her since we came from Italy, and it only kept growing prominent with each passing day.
A warm smile graced my lips; my hand rubbed her shoulder in a friendly manner. "Don't worry, Bella. I wont let you leave my side."
I hoped my gesture and words could sooth her. It failed. No reply came from her. The corner of her lip twitched into a grin. I felt I should be picking up on something, as if she hid a message under her inert smile and bleak eyes. But she held a mystery I couldn't decipher.
I rested my hand under my chin, as my mind went a mile a minute. We were but a short distance away from the airport to meet the Volturi. And since we left the house I didn't see anything that could make me believe they considered foul play to occur.
Against my better judgment, I left Bella back at the house. I wanted to force my protectiveness onto her and demand that she let me stay by her side but she was having none of that. She persuaded me to go with Edward; I respected her resolution and I complied, especially since Carlisle was in favor of the decision.
Emmett whimpered his way into coming with us, I would have preferred if the mighty bear was left behind, but I was relieved and happy that Jasper volunteered to take his place and stay at the house. Since our official return to Forks, Jasper has been making more initiatives to help the family, and especially assist Bella in any way possible. He felt guilty, but chose to make it into a constructive emotion. He accepted Bella into the family with much eagerness as I did, and I hoped he could be the backbone that aids her tonight.
The lumberjack seated beside me found humor in pinching parts of my face until he got a reaction out of me, I paid him no mind, and tuned him out completely, I preferred being in this car much more. Right now the company of Emmett's simple mindedness was more desirable than the doting mother in the Volvo behind us.
I sensed ahead that Edward would be abusing this opportunity to continue our squabble, he would nip pick and bicker that I was not on his side, and I did not care for the safety of our human family member, that I didn't care if I lost a sister, and that I don't care about him. And so on and so forth. I took more joy into rolling my eyes into the back of my head and pinning them into place with needles than Edward's nagging. There were days I loved him, and there were days I would have loved to beat into him. It didn't take much effort on his side to know which day was which; I was the one left suffering. My empath husband was a blessing.
I would have seethed and boiled quietly, if Emmett had not flicked my ear so furiously. The earlobe cracked, I couldn't see it but I felt a small fissure created on the skin. The sound of my ruptured metallic skin had me shivering, like someone poured a bucket of dry ice onto my naked flesh.
I knew it was healing promptly, but it still hurt like a bloody Mary. I backhanded Emmett on the arm, and was satisfied when I heard a hard screech.
"OUCH!" Emmett's howler caused the windows in the vehicle to tremor significantly. Luckily, none of them cracked.
"Serves you right you big Neanderthal. What would I have done if you flicked my ear completely off my head and I lost it? It doesn't grow back you know!"
"I know you little midget. That's why I was very careful in my pressure. I called your name continuously, but you didn't hear me. We arrived." He gestured around us, and I looked out the window. We were already in the parking lot, and Edward was waiting outside, tapping his foot on the grey pavement.
"Next time a simple nudge would be more appropriate. You should remember I'm still a lady. I'm telling Rosalie her etiquette lessons aren't working." I mused as I closed the car door behind me. Emmett's sulking form had me feeling guilty of what Rosalie would do it him.
When he came to walk beside me, I punched him playfully on the arm and mouthed 'I was kidding.' The big grizzly replied with a silly, dimpled grin.
Our little sibling moment ended when we came to a halt. At the gate to the building we came face to face with one of the twins, Alec, and the rest of the guards piled in behind him. They were six in total, some I recognized, and some I was meeting for the first time. I was much knowledgeable on the Volturi ranks and the only high ranking members were Alec and Felix, the rest were just grunts. What had me worried and relieved all in unanimity was that Demetri and Jane's presence was absent. I kept looking between the grunts, thinking they could have been behind them but as they aligned themselves properly I confirmed that this was the absolute total.
This was not the issue that frazzled me the most. One other presence, which mattered greatly, lacked attendance as well. The brothers were nowhere to be seen. I appeared as a confused child, looking left and right, I was more than positive they would make their appearance to us; this was how I've seen it in my vision. I was willing to wager a year of shopping trips that any second they would approach us. I brought this into Edward's attention and reviewed the vision I had seen.
He simply said. "I know." And that was all I needed to make clear to him. I looked straight ahead as Alec and Felix, as well as the rest of the guards made their way to us, with each leisurely step they took, the smirks on their faces grew wider and wider until exploding into a smile frenzy. It was sickly sweet; I felt a teeth-rotting sensation as my gaze lingered on their faces.
"Edward and Alice." Alec sighed with utter satisfaction. "It certainly is a treat, isn't it? A month ago we never met and only knew each other by name, yet now look at us!" he threw his hands in the air casually, a certain attribute I found in a certain specific Volturi that I hoped and prayed I would never come across again. But then I remembered. God doesn't hear the eternally damned.
"Who would have known that we would be seeing more of each other in less than a month than the closest of the vampires see each other in centuries." Alec placed an ivory fingertip on his lip and began to trace it, in what seemed to be an attempt to reign in the grin that seemed to would have magnified itself.
I glanced to Edward, he pursed his lips nonchalantly, a secret signal we concocted when he couldn't indulge verbally in what thoughts lay in an individual's mind. Pursing of the lips meant to us "irrelevant thoughts", which meant Alec was blocking Edward with mundane opinion. Which meant he hid something he didn't want exposed. Which meant there might be more layers to the truth to this visit. Which meant there were a darn good reason why Demetri and Jane were not here, and most importantly the brothers.
Tucking his hands behind his back, Alec turned his attention to Emmett. Which caused the big guy to turn rigid. Ready to pounce if need be, I just hope it didn't.
"Hello there. We haven't properly been introduced. I am Alec." Keeping his hands neatly behind him, Alec introduced himself without extending a greeting hand. His polite manner didn't prove absence, yet his body language showed he acknowledged Emmett's strength 'physically'.
"Emmett Cullen."
"Oh, the brawn of the family. I've heard about you." Alec exclaimed joyfully. His eyes leaped from Edward to Emmett in a second. If I lacked the gift of agility, I wouldn't have caught it.
I didn't need to be the mind reader to know how Alec came across any fact related to Emmett. Aro must have informed the whole Coven of every individual within our family through Edward's database, and regrettably mine. I bit my lip in frustration.
"We have a brawn in our ranks also." Alec continued, gesturing his hand to the sack of muscles next to him.
Cockiness possessed Felix, and he took one step forward and offered his hand to Emmett. Unavoidably, Emmett reached out and took his hand. Both men smirked at one another, their handshake lasted a considerably long time. Until I began to perceive sounds of cracking and crunching resonance, their hands began to shake as small fractures were spreading across their hands. I would have interjected before their appendage would turn to fairy dust, but they released their hold on each other, and I breathed more loosely. That would have been utterly painful, but testosterone versus testosterone should have been predicted when one collided with the other. I was simply relieved it was a less harmfully rivalry. The grunts enjoyed the display as their smirks became contagious among their lot.
Alec, pointlessly, cleared his throat to reign attention back to him. "All fun aside. Shall we proceed to your auto-vehicles?"
'Edward, something is definitely wrong here!' I mentally yelled.
"Hold one just a minute." Edward interrupted.
"Is there something wrong, Edward?" cocking his head to the side, Alec feigned confusion.
"You absolutely know there is." Edward retorted. He was fighting the urge not to growl, and it showed.
"Do tell Edward." This time Edward couldn't restrain himself, and exposed his teeth in a sneer. Alec chuckled back and sent Edward in a complete rage.
Just as Edward was about to question Alec for the absence of the Volturi leaders, the vibration of the cell-phone in my pocket interrupted the heated moment. I swiftly fished it out and examined the called ID before answering; I was surprised it was Jasper who was calling. No, not just surprised, I was also confused. I should have seen ahead if Jasper decided to call me, I always did, with every family member. I was at a loss to know what was happening to my powers, was I losing them, were they weakening? I tried not to show the worry on my face as I placed the phone over my ear and spoke to my husband. "Hello."
"Where are you?" Jasper growled. My confusion and worry grew rapidly.
"We are at the airport. What's wrong Jasper?" I demanded.
"Hurry back." is all he said.
"What's wrong? Did something happen? Is Bella alright?" Edward yelled, furious beyond belief.
"The leaders arrived at the house." And then the line died. And so did my unbeaten, cold heart.