A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger, hope you like what's coming next.
Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable parts of twilight, only original characters ond plot.
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I nodded my head a few times and went below the surface. It was a bit cramped swimming in the shallow water and I couldn't apply much speed. My heart was pounding in my chest, fear running through my veins. I hated leaving Edward like that but if something was dangerous enough to scare a vampire then I knew I didn't stand a chance against it.
"This is neutral territory"
Edward's voice was faint and by the time he got a reply I was too far away to hear anything other than the muffled sound of voices.
The stream was getting a bit wider now and I could swim a bit faster. The wider space was counteracted by the fact that the current I was swimming against were getting stronger. Pain laced from the wound and greatly hindered how fast I could swim.
Several sets of heavy running footsteps by the riverbank made the ground vibrate and I could hear it clear as day. They were following me; in these shallow waters, I would be painstakingly visible to everyone but a blind man and by the sound of it, it was not even humans that were following me. Whatever was following me must have been what Edward made me run from.
Panic went through me as my followers gained up on me. Had I been on land the tears of pain and fear that were running down my face would have been visible but in the river, they simply blended with the water.
I pushed forward as fast I could and dared. At first smooth rocks lined ,the bottom of the stream, but the further I got the rocks got sharper and more jagged. The stream had widened to a river at this point and when I looked up from the bottom, I could see why I had been swimming upstream. The water was cloudy from sand and mud whirled up by the force of the waterfall that was up ahead. I looked above the surface, the waterfall was 10 feet high and I was not strong enough nor was the water deep enough for me to be able to jump it.
I looked around in a panic. The waterfall fell from a smooth rock surface and there were no caves or anything like that where I could hide.
This would be my end, I was sure of it, but I wouldn't turn myself over to whatever would be here in a few seconds by the sound of it. I scrambled over to the opposite side of the river, opting to put as much distance as possible between myself and what had been following me, and put up a shield from the surrounding water. I couldn't be sure of the strength of it but I put all my concentration in it and held on to a nearby oversized rock. It wouldn't hide me and especially not my tail, so instead I ignored the pain in my hip and folded up my tail to make as small a target of myself as possible.
The rumbling of heavy footprints became louder and out between the trees barreled three enormous wolves that were growling heavily. They stopped just short of the riverbank and stared at me with wide eyes, their growling dying down. These could not be ordinary wolves, there were too much intelligence behind their eyes, but they couldn't be children of the moon either seeing as it was broad daylight and the full moon was two weeks away. These creatures went beyond the legends that mermaids had been collecting.
We continued to stare at each other, neither of us moving a muscle. To my luck, they didn't seem inclined to approach the water any more than they already had. I knew I must look frightened to them and tears were still streaming down my face beyond my control.
Our stare off were interrupted when two more wolves joined us followed closely by Edward and Carlisle. I had panicked more when I saw the new wolves, but I dared to hope that I would make it out of here alive when I saw them.
"Sam, please" Carlisle said to the black wolf approaching him, "Call off your pack mates. She can't hurt you and they are scaring her"
The wolf huffed after studying me closely and turned around to go behind a tree. The other wolves didn't move a muscle continuing to stare and growl lowly at me. I heard some rustling and a moment later, a tall dark skinned man with short black hair stepped out glaring at Carlisle and Edward.
He shifted his glare to me and I flinched at the heat of his gaze.
"How do we know you are telling the truth?" he bit out tersely.
"She hasn't done anything yet has she?" Edward almost yelled at Sam and got a chorus of growls in response from both the wolves and the man.
"Edward! Settle down; let's try to keep this peaceful." Carlisle said to Edward while he laid a hand on his shoulder. "Sam, Mermaids are peaceful creatures and their abilities are mainly defensive, add to that she's injured. She won't be a threat to you or your tribe."
"Do you have any offensive abilities?" Sam asked, approaching the river and crossing his arms over his chest while glaring at me.
I flinched slightly and hated myself for looking so weak, but I was not used to this amount of hostile attention so I couldn't help it.
"I sing…" I whispered due to the panic still coursing my veins. One of the wolves, the silver gray one by the riverbank, scoffed and narrowed his eyes.
"You sing?" Sam looked disbelieving "Since when is that an offensive ability?"
"It can be hypnotic to humans; they will follow a mermaid anywhere if she sings to them"
"Essentially being able to drown them…" Sam trailed off.
I nodded weakly
"But I swear I have never done that! This is the closest I've ever been to land in my entire life! You have to believe me, I would never do that, the only reason I was singing before is that I thought no one was around for miles!"
I was getting frantic by the end of my speech. I moved too quickly and a sharp pain from my wound shot through me causing me to cry out in pain and blood to start seep into the water. Edward looked to me in alarm and wasted no time jumping in the river when he spotted the blood. In a second, he was standing in the shallow water with his hands on my shield and staring at me with pleading eyes.
"Ana please let me in!"
I shook my head no, looking from him to the wolves. I didn't dare let down my shield for a second in the off chance that one of the wolves decided it was time for a swimming lesson.
"Sam, please!" Carlisle pleaded with him, "She is injured and needs help. My son and I found her two nights ago and she's been staying with us until she recovers. We take full responsibility for her!"
Sam stood there looking from me to Carlisle for what felt like an eternity until he finally spoke.
"Fine, but she stays off our land. We will be patrolling any coast area in the territory and if her scent is near any accidents in the water she's fair game!"
He glared at me a final time before exploding in to the giant black wolf I saw before. He sent up a howl before him and the other wolves turned around and ran.
Carlisle sighed in relief before he jumped into the river to help.
"Ana, they're gone now. Please let us in so we can help you…" Edward pleaded with me again.
I looked everywhere making sure that there were no signs of them. I could start to feel the effects of blood loss and the reopened wound ached, and so did the muscles in my tail from staying in this cramped position. The hold I had on my shield was slipping.
I looked into Edwards eyes again and seeing his worried look pleading with me, I gave in and let go of my shield. Edward rushed forward and grabbed me, hugging me like I was a lifeline. Finally, in the safety of his arms, the reality of what had happened hit me and I broke into sobs, clinging on to Edward's shirt and buried my face in his chest.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry…" he kept whispering into my hair.
"Son, we should get her out of the water to stop the bleeding." Carlisle spoke softly next to us.
I could feel Edward nodding against my head and before I knew it I was hoisted up into his arms and was lying on the ground next to the river.
"The stitches are ripped so I have to sow it back up at the house, but the bleeding is not as bad as it was before so it has managed to heal somewhat."
"Thank you Carlisle, for everything, if there's any way I can pay you back..."
"Nonsense, you're welcome Ana" he answered me with a kind smile "besides meeting you is reward enough for our family." Carlisle shared a knowing look with Edward.
"Now, let's get you back to the house"
Carlisle tied his jacket around the wound and shortly after I was back in Edwards arms while they were running through the trees.
Back at the house the entire family met us at the porch.
"What happened?" Esme's voice was frantic and she rushed forward to embrace Carlisle
"It's my fault" Edward answered before Carlisle could get a chance to. "I asked her to sing for me and the wolves heard it and thought we had invited a vampire without informing them."
Emmett burst out laughing, "They have got to check their eyesight, she's definitely not a vampire!"
"But how did Carlisle know to get there?" I looked up to Edward as I asked the question that had been running through my mind ever since they both showed up by the river.
"I saw his future disappear" Alice said "Edward had mentioned where he took you so I figured when I saw his future disappear as well that you needed him for something."
"Edward" Carlisle called for him "we should bring her inside and tend to the wound. I promise we will explain everything once we get this settled" Carlisle addressed the latter to the rest of the family.
As soon as she heard it Esme did a double take of me and seemed to notice for the first time that her husband's beige trench coat was wrapped around my hips with a blood stain on it that were spreading by the minute.
"Oh dear, yes get her inside. Alice, find her some clothes for when she's dry and I'll find you something to eat" she looked to me with her kind smile
"And you two!" she pointed to Emmett and Jasper "Go clean up the mess you made in the living room!"
Edward snickered at them while he carried me in to the house.
"What did they do?"
"It's better if I show you"
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