CHAPTER 8

Edward had heard the entire conversation between Bella and his siblings as well as the thoughts of his family members. He had always known that Rosalie was jealous of Bella but had not thought she'd be so ridiculous as to think that Emmett would look at Bella that way when he was so completely devoted to Rose. Jasper's thoughts were slightly more problematic. While the Texan was beyond in love with Alice, he was aware of Bella as a beautiful woman in a way that Emmett was not. He had stated the truth when he said what he felt for Bella was friendship though.

Edward had also heard Jasper's silent cursing of him at Bella's pain in thinking of Edward. It caused a rippling shudder of pain to rip through Edward to know just how badly he had harmed the one person he had sworn to protect. It was his own fault he knew. His certainty of his own superiority had not allowed him to see or believe that Bella could possibly feel as deeply as he did. She was human after all so couldn't possibly feel the depth and complexity of emotions that a vampire could. He had been an idiot and had no idea how to fix what he had broken.

A growl escaped his throat as he smelled a familiar vampire. Instantaneously he was in front of the couple who stood several hundred yards farther from the school.

"Hello, Edward," the feminine voice was soft and musical but did not lessen his aggression.

"We did not come to harm your human," Laurent said. "Kindly cease growling at my mate."

"Edward would never harm me," Irina said calmly. "Isn't that right, Edward? We're family after all."

"I can't make that promise," Edward said evenly. "If you hurt Bella, I would end you."

Laurent growled at the threat but Irina just chuckled.

"Alice wasn't kidding," Irina said. "You really are mated to this girl. Tanya is quite disappointed."

"Why are you here?" Edward asked.

"Alice called and wondered if Laurent was still with the family," Irina said. "Something about Victoria creating newborns and attacking the Cullens. So we came to offer our assistance. It's just us for now. Eleazar asked us to assess the situation and let them know if the rest of the family is needed. You'll have to fill us in on what's going on."

Edward nodded once and pulled out of his aggressive stance. Nothing either of them was thinking indicated a lie or hidden motive.

"You should go to the house," Edward said. "The wolves will not know you're friendly and will not hesitate to attack."

"Wolves?" Laurent asked.

"Carlisle will explain," Irina said taking Laurent's arm. "Let's not test Edward's patience any longer. He clearly does not want us so close to his Bella."

Edward nodded once in gratitude but waited for them to depart before turning back to the school. He called Carlisle to give him a heads up and was not surprised to find Jasper waiting for him at a side door.

"What was it? Should I get Bella to the house? I could feel your anxiety and aggression," Jasper said.

"Irina and Laurent are in town," Edward said. "Alice apparently called to check on Laurent and they decided to come down to help."

"Do you trust them?" Jasper asked.

"I picked up no thoughts indicating deceit," Edward said.

"Tonight will be interesting then," Jasper said. "She's not just going to stay home you know."

"I know," Edward said.

"A little restraint, Edward," Jasper chided as Edward's fear, guilt, and pain nearly overwhelmed him.

"Sorry," Edward said. "You'll need to hunt soon."

"I know," Jasper said. "I'll leave Bella with the family tonight and go. You should come, too. None of us can afford to hold off when we don't know when an attack will occur."

Edward hesitated and Jasper sighed. "You need to give her time, Edward," Jasper said gently. "She loves you - God, how much she loves you - but you hurt her so much. She needs to come to terms with how badly you can damage her before she can decide if she can forgive you and give you the power to do it again. And, Edward, if you still aren't willing to allow her to become a vampire, you need to walk away. Winning her back and still refusing to give her what she needs, it's cruel."

Jasper turned and walked back into the building leaving Edward blinking at his back at the parting message.


Bella walked beside Jasper at the end of the day. As the two exited the building, Angela walked up to them.

"Is Alice sick, Jasper?" Angela asked shyly. She'd only rarely spoken to Jasper before and found him rather intimidating but he was Bella's friend so she was willing to make the effort.

"Yes," Jasper said. "Carlisle thinks she caught whatever Bella had."

"Well, tell her I hope she feels better soon, okay?" Angela said with a wave as she headed to her own car.

Jasper waited until he and Bella were in the truck before he looked at her and let his curiosity loose.

Bella chuckled. "I wondered what you thought of that," she said. "Angela is a great friend and an all around good person. You make her nervous."

"That's the normal human response to us, Bella," Jasper teased.

"Never claimed to be normal," Bella said with a smile. "Are you going to tell me what happened today?"

Jasper looked at her in surprise and she gave her amusement free reign so he would feel it.

"Did you really think I hadn't noticed you slipping outside this afternoon?" Bella asked.

"You are entirely too observant, Bella Swan," Jasper said with a chuckle. "I felt Edward and came out to make sure there wasn't a problem. There wasn't. However, we do have visitors."

Bella arched a brow and then her face darkened. Her jealousy and anger poured out of her and almost left Jasper panting at its intensity.

"Sorry, sorry," Bella murmured and drew her emotions back in. "Who is it?"

"After I tell you, will you explain that reaction to me?" Jasper asked.

"Maybe," Bella said.

"Its Irina and Laurent," Jasper said. "Alice called to see if Laurent was still in Alaska and the two decided to come down and help us out."

Bella nodded but Jasper felt tendrils of her fear at Laurent's name.

"Tanya?" Bella asked, her teeth clenched and understanding dawned for Jasper.

"No, she isn't here," Jasper said quietly. "Or at least she wasn't in the woods and it would be very unlike her to give up an opportunity to flirt with Edward."

"Kind of why I figured she'd be here," Bella murmured. "It's probably too much for me to ask you not to tell Edward about this, huh?"

"It's nearly impossible to keep secrets from a mind reader," Jasper said. "But I promise to try."

"Thanks," Bella said sending him a genuine smile and her gratitude as she pulled into her driveway.

"I need to take you to the house, Bella," Jasper said. "I have to hunt and you'll be safer there."

"I can't go until I fix Charlie dinner and leave him a note," Bella said slipping out of the truck. "Is Sam here?"

"No, but a couple of them are in the woods behind the house," Jasper said.

Bella nodded and Jasper followed her into the house. A moment later, the door opened again and Jacob, Quil, and Seth walked in.

"Hey, Bells," Jake said. "How was school?"

Bella shrugged as she pulled out the ingredients for chicken enchiladas and began to prepare the food.

"It was fine," Bella said. "More vampires are in town - good guys."

Quil snorted and Bella leveled a look at him that had him hunching and Jasper fighting a smile.

"The mechanic?" Jake asked a gleam in his eye.

"Yes, Rosalie and Emmett are back," Bella said. "Also, Irina and Laurent came down from Alaska to help. Laurent is new to the Cullen diet though so his eyes are probably still red."

She glanced at Jasper for confirmation.

"Yes, it takes about a year of an animal diet for the red to fade," Jasper said. "Of course, if his eyes are black, that's probably worse than if they are red."

"Why?" Seth asked curiously.

"Means he's hungry," Bella said without looking up from the chicken she was dicing. "More dangerous to humans, less control."

It took several moments for the utter silence to penetrate and for Bella to look up from what she was doing. The looks ranged from amusement to disgust to confusion.

"What?" she asked blushing furiously and looking back down at the counter.

"Learn that the hard way, Bells?" Jake asked, his tone arch.

"No, actually," Bella retorted. "Edward got crabbier the darker his eyes got. I put two and two together since I do live with a male. I know how you guys work."

"Uh, Bella, this one's eyes are pretty dark," Quil said.

Bella glared at Quil. "This one has a name," she practically growled. "It's Jasper. And he's standing right there. If you want to ask him a question, go ahead."

Jasper chuckled slightly at her response and then arched an eyebrow at Quil.

"Trust me, dog, you aren't even remotely appetizing," Jasper said and Bella slapped him lightly on the arm as she slid the baking dish into the oven.

"Jasper, be nice," Bella ordered. "Okay, I have homework. You are all welcome to stay but as soon as the enchiladas are done, I'm leaving a note for Charlie and heading to the Cullens."

The wolves looked at each other and then Jake sighed.

"We'll be in the woods," Jake said. "We'll follow you to the border."

"That's still in effect?" Bella asked.

"Of course," Jake said. "The treaty hasn't been changed. Except your house and land."

Bella rolled her eyes. "I'll talk to Carlisle," she said. "It seems kind of ridiculous to allow that stupid line to get in the way if getting rid of it would help stop Victoria."