a/n Thanks as always to GemmaH for all her help with this chapter and tigerlilylace for her awesome beta skills. Huge thanks to those who are reading and especially to those who leave a review. I love reading them. I'd just like to point out that I have no medical experience whatsoever, so I may have taken some liberties with Bella's injuries.
Disclaimer: SM owns everything Twilight related.
Unexpected Guests
EPOV
"Edward"
When my name fell from her lips in a breathy whisper, I thought I was done for. But when her gaze traveled the length of my body and I sensed her arousal, it took all the restraint I had in me, to not run to her and take her right there on the sofa, regardless of who was watching. I knew she was still under the influence of her pain medication, I could smell it in her blood, so her actions were most probably influenced by this, but the lust rolling off her in waves was testing my control to its limits.
Unfortunately, I wasn't the only one who had noticed. Carlisle's expression was unreadable though, and he was doing his best to block his thoughts from me. Emmett, on the other and was sporting an enormous grin and I could hear him loud and clear.
Oh Eddie, Eddie Eddie! Have you been keeping secrets again? This girl sure has got it bad for you, I can smell-
"Emmett!" I hissed at him, too quiet for Bella to hear. I couldn't stand to have him talking about her like that, even though her scent was overwhelming, he needed to know when to shut the fuck up!
Rose is gonna be so pissed at you!
I ignored him and turned back to Bella. She asked what had happened and I sighed, running my hand through my hair, closing my eyes for a minute. When I looked up, I caught her staring at me again; her eyes locking on my torso as she blatantly checked me out. A fresh wave of her arousal hit me full on and I felt my jeans tighten as desire flooded my body.
Holy fuck! Was she trying to fucking kill me?
I shifted position slightly, trying to find a bit of relief without looking obvious, when she whispered something so quietly, I was not sure she intended to speak it out loud.
"So pretty..."
We had no trouble at all hearing it though and Emmett immediately burst out laughing. I would never live that down.
Fucking Emmett.
She seemed to snap out of it when I cleared my throat. After I'd introduced her to Emmett and Carlisle, they left us alone so that I could explain everything, or at least try to. Carlisle reminded me to be careful with what I told her, on his way out.
Remember Edward, she can't know about us or the wolves.
I didn't fucking need reminding, I knew the consequences of Bella finding out would not be pretty.
-oxo-
I told her about Jasper and I meeting with Jake in the woods, and the consequent run in with the wolves, trying to stick to the truth as much as possible. I hated lying to her at all, especially when it was clear that she trusted me, but it was necessary. She started freaking out about Jake at one point, wanting to know where he was and if he was OK. I struggled to find the right words; I couldn't exactly say, "Well Bella, Jake is actually part of the pack of wolves that attacked you Oh, didn't I mention that he and his La Push buddies can change into big fucking wolves? My bad. While we're on the topic, my family and I are vampires." No, even if I was allowed to tell her, I couldn't see that explanation going over too well, at all.
I ended up telling her, instead, that he'd gone back to warn the rest of the Quileute's about the possible danger. I'm not sure how much she heard though, as she fell asleep while I was still talking.
I tucked the blanket securely around her, and left her to rest.
It wasn't too long after that I heard Jasper returning, with Alice in tow. I went out into the foyer to meet them and raised an eyebrow at him as they came through the front door.
I had no choice, he thought, she forced me!
I stifled a laugh as I looked at Alice. The thought of that little thing forcing Jasper to do anything was just comical. He gave me a pointed look and an image of him and Alice in a compromising position, flashed across his mind. Oh, so that's how she forced him. I couldn't help it and laughed out loud this time, she had him whipped already, but I quickly stopped when Alice shot me a death glare. She was a scary little thing.
"Something funny?" she asked, not looking at all amused.
"Um..."
"Shouldn't you be with Bella? You know, the injured girl you brought to your house, instead of the hospital."
This time Jasper laughed as he led Alice past me into the living room. No wonder he did as he was told. Carlisle and Emmett appeared then, as if like magic. Carlisle had come to check on Bella, and who knew why Emmett was there.
"What's with all the humans around here?" he said, under his breath so Alice wouldn't hear. "Was it 'buy one, get one free', in town today?" He laughed at his own joke, as Carlisle just shook his head and told him to be quiet, saving me a job.
We joined Jasper and Alice in the living room, where Carlisle stupidly tried to stop Alice from waking Bella up. She flashed him the same glare as I'd gotten earlier and marched over to her anyway, declaring that she was already awake. Carlisle looked over at me and Jas, expectantly. We both shrugged, none of us quite sure how to handle Alice.
We left the girls catching up, while Jasper, Emmett and I discussed the morning's events between ourselves. We occasionally stopped to make fun of Jasper, when Alice began telling Bella all about kissing him.
Alice returned after a while, taking a moment to let Jasper know what she thought about his underplaying of Bella's injuries. Esme arrived soon after, introduced herself to Alice, the both of them then disappearing into the kitchen to make Bella something to eat. After they were out of sight, I stole the moment to be with Bella. She asked if we were all eating, but I told a little lie and said we'd already eaten, earning a laugh from Emmett who was somewhere in the house. I only planned on talking to her, but when I sat down on the sofa, her delicious smell invaded my senses and I couldn't help myself.
I leaned in and kissed her, hard, pushing her further into the cushions. She fisted her hands in my hair and pulled me towards her. My groin ached to grind against her, to show her what she was doing to me. But I reminded myself that she was just an injured human, so I needed to take it slowly. I eventually drew back, letting her have some much needed air. Her eyes were dark and her heart was beating wildly, I immediately wanted to do that again and I told her so.
I moved in hungrily to take her lips back in mine, my hand moved to gently stroke the side of her breast. I wanted nothing more than to brush my thumb across her nipple, to feel it harden under my touch. Unfortunately, we were rudely interrupted by Carlisle.
Put the girl down Edward. Apart from the fact you shouldn't be getting involved, she is injured and in our care. She doesn't need you pawing at her, she needs rest.
He cleared his throat for Bella's benefit. We reluctantly separated and I noticed the blush coloring her cheeks. Lovely. Damn Carlisle.
I waited, at her request, while he checked her over. Thankfully, she seemed to be doing as expected and he gave her another shot for the pain. Carlisle left as Esme and Alice appeared with food and the girls sat down together to enjoy their dinner together. I was debating whether to stay or not, when Jasper caught my attention.
Edward, we have company.
I left the girls and walked over to him, so that we could talk freely, without being overheard.
"Who?" I asked, trying to detect their thoughts. I could just make out three minds outside; I knew who they were right away, even though they were blocking their thoughts.
"Wolves," we said at the same time. I wondered what they wanted. They had some nerve coming over here, so whatever it was, it must be something important. We had an agreement, a treaty, that had been agreed upon many years ago with the elders of the tribe. We weren't allowed on their land and they weren't allowed on ours. Technically, they were now breaking the treaty and we would be well within our rights to attack them. I thought about Bella, lying injured, and the thought became very appealing. I fucking hoped Paul was out there.
Jasper sensed the change in my mood and put a restraining arm on my shoulder.
"Carlisle says we are only to talk to them," he urged.
"I don't fucking care what they have to say, Jas! They could have killed her today, and probably would have if we hadn't been there!"
I shook off his arm and ran my hand through my hair, trying not to lose my temper.
"I know, man. But let's just go out there and see. We can always kick their asses afterwards." He grinned at me, trying to lighten my mood. I grudgingly agreed and told Bella I had to leave for a little while, before following Jasper outside.
-oxo-
Carlisle was already outside with Emmet and Rosalie. I cocked an eyebrow at her, silently asking where she'd been.
"Keeping away from you two and your new playthings," she responded, with a smirk, understanding exactly what I meant. I knew Rosalie wasn't keen on having humans in our house, so it was no surprise she'd been absent.
Jasper and I moved quickly to stand by Carlisle, just as the pack arrived, having already phased back into human form. I recognized them as Sam, naturally, Jake and fucking Paul. I snarled and made a move towards him.
Edward, No! Just hear them out first.
Carlisle's thoughts stopped me in my tracks. I just glared over at Paul, silently begging for him to make the first move. It looked like I was going to get my wish, until Sam snapped at him to calm down. If someone didn't start speaking soon, things were going to turn nasty.
"To say I'm surprised to see you here after this morning's events, would be an understatement." Carlisle's voice broke through the silence.
I saw Jacob shake his head, before Sam shot him a look that had him hanging his head again. I got a brief image of Jacob's dad, Billy, before their thoughts were all blocked again. What the fuck was that about?
"Yeah, about this morning," Sam replied. "We weren't actually going to harm the Swan girl; it was all a big misunderstanding. We'd smelled vampires in the area and were just investigating, some of the pack got a little excitable, that's all."
Fucking liar.
I wanted to rip his lying tongue out. I heard Rosalie snort next to Carlisle, she didn't fucking believe him either.
"This is the second time you've ventured onto our land, Sam. In one day," Carlisle began. "Is the treaty no longer in effect?"
"That's the reason we are here Carlisle. You see, times have changed and the treaty that you agreed to with my ancestors, is now old and out of date." I saw Paul grinning, as Sam spoke.
"Really," Carlisle said, his voice like ice. "I take it you have a new proposal?"
"Yes." He smirked. "It's quite simple really. There are no land boundaries anymore, for us that is. But you and your family are still forbidden on Quileute land. Basically, we'll stay out of your way, if you stay out of ours. That means no interfering in our business, like today for example..."
"You can't be fucking serious?" I spat. There was no way we could look the other way while they did what they pleased. Especially if it involved Bella.
"I told you they wouldn't go for it," Paul replied, smugly. "He's too fucking attached to the girl. It's disgusting!" Jake bristled at his comments, but said nothing.
"Are those your new terms?" Carlisle asked. My head snapped round to look at him, was he going to fucking agree?
They don't leave us much choice Edward. Do you want to be on the look-out for wolves every time you leave the house? We'll just have to keep a close eye on them.
"Yes, take them or leave them."
"What about other vampires?"
"Unless we agree otherwise, they are fair game. We need something to keep us amused." Sam and Paul laughed at this and I shuddered at the thought of what they would do to any vampires that came here unannounced.
I suddenly remembered Charlie and what I'd learned earlier. Should we just turn a blind eye to that too?
"What about Charlie?" I said, looking directly at Paul. "He wasn't a vampire, so what's your excuse for killing him?"
Paul lost his smug expression momentarily, looking worriedly at Sam, before regaining his composure. Sam's thoughts were unguarded in his anger.
How the fuck did he know that? Did you tell him? You fucking idiot, Paul!
Paul looked understandably confused, neither of them knew I had plucked it out of Jacob's mind.
"Charlie was an unfortunate accident," Sam eventually responded.
"Really?" I scoffed.
"Yes. Charlie and Paul got into an argument, Paul lost his temper and phased too close to him. Charlie's injuries were just too severe and he died before help could get to him. It was an accident."
I didn't believe him for one fucking second, but I couldn't say anything as I didn't want to reveal my talent just yet.
"I take it you will keep a better handle on that temper, in future?" Carlisle asked the question to Paul, but Sam answered for him.
"Yes. There will be no more accidents."
I didn't like the way he stressed the word accident, but I let it go. Like Carlisle had said, we'd just have to keep a close eye on them all.
"Right. I think we're done." Jasper spoke for the first time, effectively ending the meeting. There was really nothing else to discuss.
"Fine. Just keep out of our way, and we'll keep out of yours."
Sam and Paul turned to leave, but Jacob hung back slightly. He'd been silent for the whole time, but I sensed he had something to say now.
"How's Bella? Is she OK?"
"Yes," I replied. "She has a few bruises but not too bad. Her—"
"Jacob!" Sam's loud voice interrupted me mid-sentence. I looked questioningly at Jacob, but he just shrugged and shook his head, before turning to go.
"Tell Bella, I said hi," he whispered over his shoulder, and then all three of them phased, disappearing off into the forest.
"Well that was interesting," Carlisle said, still looking in the direction of where the wolves had disappeared.
"What the fuck did we just agree to, exactly?" Jasper sounded as concerned as I felt.
This is not how things used to be. The treaty was there to supposedly 'protect' the people of Forks from me and my family, but these wolves just didn't seem to give a fuck. Add that to the fact they had blatantly lied about Charlie and there was definitely something dodgy going on at the Reservation.
"They didn't leave us much choice; I don't want to be anticipating a wolf attack every time we go hunting. Do you?" Carlisle repeated to Jasper, what he had 'said' to me earlier. "We do however need to keep a close eye on them, or try to."
"What about Bella?" I asked him. The wolves clearly had a problem with her and I didn't want to let her out of my sight.
"Well, considering today's events, we should keep watch on both girls for the time being. I don't think you two will have a problem with that, will you?" he said, a slight smile playing about his lips.
"Be very careful, though. I see how close you're both getting to them and its dangerous, to say the least. If either of them should start to suspect anything, please come to me first before doing anything rash." He looked at me as he added the last statement. Why is it always me?
We both nodded and all three of us headed back inside, but were stopped by Rosalie.
"Just a minute, did I miss something? What was all that about Charlie?"
"Yeah, what was all that about?" Emmett and Jasper asked in unison.
Shit! I'd totally forgotten that no one else knew about Charlie, other than Carlisle. I quickly explained to the others what I had read in Jacob's thoughts. They were all as shocked as I'd been.
"What the fuck is up with those fucking wolves?" Emmett was as eloquent as ever, but he had a point.
"I have no idea what's going on, but we need to be on our guard at all times," Carlisle said, looking at each of us, before finally heading through the door, where we followed one by one.
-oxo-
Once inside, I hurried to the living room to check on Bella. Our meeting with the wolves had me all on edge and I wanted to make sure she was OK. I stopped, just inside the door and smiled at the sight before me. Bella, all snuggled up in her blankets, was fast asleep on the sofa and snoring softly. I walked over to her and gently swept a stray lock of hair behind her ear, before bending down and pressing my lips ever so softly to her forehead.
"She fell asleep while I was mid-sentence, can you believe her?" Alice chuckled softly, so as not to wake Bella.
I knew Alice had been awake, so her voice hadn't startled me, I turned to answer her and caught Jasper leaning down to steal a kiss. She turned her face up to meet him and the look they shared was so intense, I felt like I was intruding. I quickly looked away again, moving to gaze out of the windows, which now showed the forest at dusk.
"I'm just going to give Alice a tour of the house," Jasper said quietly, his voice interrupting my thoughts.
A tour of the house? Is that what they're calling it these days?
A gave him a knowing look, but he shook his head slightly.
Really man, I'm gonna show her around. Nothing funny.
With that, he escorted Alice towards the door to leave, but not before she'd left me with her parting comment.
"We won't be gone long, Edward. So don't get any ideas. Ok?"
"Of course not," I replied, rolling my eyes at her.
They left, pulling the door closed behind them. I moved over to the sofa next to Bella's that Alice had previously occupied, and sat down. She looked so peaceful and innocent in her sleep, I was content simplt to watch her. She was so oblivious to the world she had been thrust into. I felt the need to watch over her every second.
I sighed, rubbing my forehead as if that would show me a way to make this all OK. I shouldn't be kissing her. It was encouraging a relationship that was not possible, especially with the wolves threatening to strike at the least offense. Was I putting her in danger by just being near her?
I watched the blankets covering her rise and fall with her every breath.
"Edward."
My eyes quickly found hers, expecting to find her awake and watching me, but they were still tightly closed.
She was a sleep talker.
The way she lovingly whispered my name stirred something deep within me, my previous dark musings all but forgotten as I waited eagerly for her to say more. I didn't have to wait long.
"Stay with me, Edward. Don't leave, I'm scared."
She started to toss and turn under the covers, a pained expression marring her beautiful face. I could bear it no longer and moved swiftly to the other sofa, taking her hand in mine.
"Sshh...Bella. It's just a dream." I smoothed her hair back from her face with my other hand, stroking my thumb over her cheek bone. Her eyes fluttered open and after a few seconds she focused on me and smiled.
"Edward, you're back," she whispered.
"Yes. I told you I wouldn't be long."
I looked into her deep brown eyes, searching, for what I was not exactly sure. She wet her lips in anticipation and the urge to kiss her again was almost overpowering. My worries from earlier began to surface as I struggled with wanting to kiss her and knowing I shouldn't. The decision was taken out of my hands, however, as the living room suddenly filled with people.
"I told you not to get any ideas, Edward. What are you doing over there?" Alice asked suspiciously as she and Jasper returned from their 'tour'.
"Nothing, she was having a nightmare I think, so—"
"Ah, Bella. You're awake, excellent," Carlisle interrupted, following Jasper and Alice into the room. He had his medical bag with him, so I guessed it was time for another check-up.
"Anyway," I sighed, realizing my alone time with Bella was well and truly over. "She was having a nightmare, so I was just trying to comfort her." I finished telling Alice.
"Mmm..." was all she said, smirking slightly.
-oxo-
When Carlisle had finished with Bella, she and Alice decided to get settled down for the night. Alice was going to stay with her on the other sofa, so that she'd have some company. Carlisle planned to check in periodically throughout the night to monitor Bella's condition, so Jasper and I decided to go and hunt. We said our goodnights to the girls, giving them chaste kisses and left as though we were going upstairs to our own beds.
I pulled the living room door shut and turned to Jasper.
"So, are you ready?"
"Yeah, let's go."
"Wait just a minute," Rosalie said, walking casually down the stairs towards us. "I'm coming with you."
We both groaned. Having Rosalie tag along was like being babysat.
"Suck it up boys, it was Carlisle's idea."
"Is Emmett coming?" At least if he came too, then Rosalie would be occupied. As gross as that may be.
"No. He's going to stay here with Carlisle and Esme; they'll go when we return."
That sounded like we were hunting in shifts. Was Carlisle that worried about the wolves, I wondered?
"Is this because of the wolves?" I asked her.
"I think so. He's just being cautious, you know how he is." Rosalie shrugged as if it were no big deal, but the fact that Carlisle didn't want us going out in less than groups of three had me a little concerned.
"Are we going? Or do you want to stand around chatting all night?" She laughed at our expressions and shot through the door, Jasper and I hot on her heels. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
I felt my worries fade away a little as we chased after Rosalie, speeding through the forest. I figured I'd better enjoy the relative calm while it lasted. Carlisle had given Bella her last lot of pain meds tonight, so by the morning her head should be a lot clearer as they made their way out of her system. I had a strong feeling that she'd have a lot more questions tomorrow, and wouldn't be as easy to fool when she had all her wits about her. I briefly wondered if she'd noticed how cold I was, when I had touched her earlier. I pushed that thought to the back of my mind, determined to deal with it only when and if I had to.
Jasper and I took our time hunting, getting our fill before returning back to the girls. Once all three of us were done, we made our way back to the house to trade with the others. I retired to my room for the rest of the night, being downstairs with Bella would be too much of a temptation. I passed the hours reading and listening to music, until the early rays of the sun began to shine through my window. I heard movement downstairs and knew the girls were beginning to stir. I quickly changed clothes and headed down to greet them, both eager and wary to discover what the day would bring.
-oxo-
a/n I posted an Alice/Jasper outtake of their first kiss last week, if you want to check it out.
http:/www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/6552379/1/Dark_Wolves_and_Vampire_Delights_Outtakes
This will be the last update for at least 2 weeks due to the holidays.
Hope you all have a lovely Christmas and New Year!
Please review and let me know what you think. Reviews will get a teaser, but remember to allow PM's or I can't send you one.
