Day five

I was sitting on the sofa in the living room when Tanya came in holding a plate of bacon and sausage in one hand and a cup if blood in the other. She handed them to me and sat down beside me.

"Do you mind if I join you" she asked

"Not at all" I started eating.

"This is delicious Tanya, all your cooking is" I smiled at her

"Thankyou"

We lapsed into a comfortable silence for a few minutes then I realised I hadn't seen Jacob since I had come down

"Tanya have you seen Jacob?"

"Jacob and garret have gone down the drive to wait for Hulien and Nahuel" there's a blizzard raging outside and they might miss the house judging it on sight. With Jacob and garret there they can follow their scent in.

"Oh ok" of course! I'd almost forgotten they were arriving this morning, suddenly I felt scared and my appetite disappeared. Tanya noticed me pale and placed a hand on my shoulder, the cold of her touch spread through my shoulder but it was pleasant, most of the panic receded.

"Are you ok bella?"

"Nervous. All The human hunting vampires I have met have tried to kill me. "

"Don't worry dear, Hulien and Nahuel aren't like the red eye vampires you have met. In fact very few of our kind are like that. I'm afraid you have had a poor sampling of not vegetarian vampires. Most of our kind don't hunt for fun or for sport just for food. Like most of our kind Hulien and Nahuel don't see humans as something valuable which is why they aren't vegetarians like us but they aren't sadistic either they are good people. And You are important to us therefore you will be equal to us in their estimation" I must have still looked worried because Tanya smiled reassuringly and added ". I promise. "

"Ok" I said returning her smile. I leaned subtlety against her side and started eating again.

Carmens pov. (Sitting in the garden with Elazar)

"I'm sensing something different about Tanya recently.

"What do you mean"

"I don't know what it i still can't interpret my gift properly yet. But it's like her true mate is here but isn't I think she is close to finding them but she's not. It's simular to what I felt from Kate when she met garret. I could tell that she had met her true mate but hadn't bonded with them yet. But then at the same time it's different to that aswell.

"So you think that Tanya has met her mate?

"Like I said I'm not sure. The only way I can describe the sence I get from her is that she has met them but at the same time she hasn't Met them. I think perhaps that she has met them but something is in the way. That something is stopping them from properly MEETing so they are blocked forming a connection and bonding. If that makes any sense"

"Can you get any idea who her mate might be?"

"No with Kate I could feel thAt she was being pulled to garret but with Tanya I can't get a direction on the sense. I don't know why"

"You don't think that it could be Jacob do you and it's the natural enemies rubbish that is in the way."

"No if they were true mates Jacob would have imprinted on her regardless of the species difference. Besides Jacob is fairly easy to read. he has been drawing closer to Bella by the day since she became pregnant and his protectiveness of Bella and the baby has increased ten fold. I think that it's easy to say that he and Bella are right. The child is his true mate. "

"Well what do you think whatever it is that your getting from Tanya could mean?"

"I have no idea I was hoping you might have noticed something that might explain it"

"I'm afraid I haven't. "

"Oh well. I guess we will just have to wait and see"

Bella's pov

I figured that the best way to stop panicking about Hulien and Nahuel's arrival was to distract myself so I decided to ask Tanya a question that had been bothering me since my arrival in Denali but recent events had driven it from my mind.

"Tanya"

"Yes"

"Where is Irina?"

"Ah. I was wondering when you would ask me that"

I just looked at her

"Do you remember the black vampire who was with James?"

"Laurent? yes Edward said he came up here to live with you"

"He did and he and Irina got very close. Carmen said they weren't true mates but Irina didn't believe her, she was besotted by him. One day he went back to forks to visit the Cullen's and never came back. Irina went to look for him and found ashes and the scent of the wolves from la push, she came back distraught. She wanted us to go and attack the wolves in revenge. she had scouted and found out that there were 5 of them she said we could take them down easily. But I said no, we were part of the Cullen's family we would not break the treaty. Irina said it was already broken because they had attacked Laurent without cause but I pointed out that he wasn't one of the family known to the wolves so she gave in grumpily. But vampires never forget.

Some time later Carlisle called and told us about the newborn army that was coming. He asked for our help. Irina was in a bad way I knew that if we all went to forks she would attack the wolves and we would have to join the fight to protect her and if we left her here she would follow. So I told Carlisle that we would only come if we could take down the pack. I hated leaving you all to face them alone but it was the only way to protect the pack. Carlisle called back a week later to reassure us that it would be alright. All but the 2 youngest wolves would fight the newborns with them. I was relieved and I told everyone else. Irina was too pleased she wanted to take down the two young wolves while the rest of the pack were away. I told her that there was no way that was happening. Apart from being unwilling to break the treaty We don't kill innocents for something they had no part in. If we did that we would be no better than Victoria. Irina saw the sense in my words but she was angry. Angry that Laurent was gone angry with the wolves and angry with me for refusing to let her take revenge. She left and hasn't been back since.

Tanya sighed a pained look on her face as her story finished. I reached out and hugged her. A strange warmth filling me despise the chill of her skin. She turned to look at me and smiled. Thanks.

"Your welcome. I'm sorry that your sister left it's all my fault"

"Bella how could it possibly be your fault. Victoria made the newborns you couldn't have stopped it"

"But don't you know" I gasped "it's my fault Laurent is dead"

"What are you talking about" Tanya demanded

"The wolves killed Laurent to protect me"

"What on earth makes you say that. You weren't even there"

I was amazed how could Tanya not know. Why hadn't Edward or carlisle told her

"I thought you knew, Laurent didn't come back to forks to visit the Cullen's"

Tanya looked puzzled

"I think you should tell me what you know from the beginning huni"

"Ok. I didn't cope well after the Cullen's left. I did a lot of stupid stuff to try and keep the memories of them close one such antic had me hiking in the Forrest alone and away from the trails looking for a medow that Edward had taken Me to once. I managed to find it but while I was there Laurent appeared. He said that he had been staying with you but that he found the lifestyle hard" I paused. And Tanya smiled at me encouraging me to continue "He said that he cheats when he is away from home. His eyes were red" Tanya gasped "he said had come back to forks to do a favour for Victoria, she had asked him to see if the Cullen's were still protecting me. He had found their place empty and realised that they were gone. Then he said that I had caught him at a bad time that he wasn't in the woods for Victoria but that he was out there hunting. He said that he was going to feed on me."I shivered and Tanya put her arm round my shoulders "He was just about to pounce on me when the wolves arrived. They chased him down and. I ran. A few days later Jacob told me that they had destroyed him."

"Oh my word I had no idea," Tanya said "oh my dear Bella if Irina had known that I'm sure she wouldn't have wanted revenge"

"It's all right Tanya. I'm just sorry you have lost her"

"She will come back and when she does I will explain the truth" she smiled at me.

Tanya looked like she was going to speak again but paused for a second seeming unsure then she did speak

"May I ask you a question aswell?"

"Of course you can" I replied

"Have you put any thought in where you want to be in the long term? Will you go back to forks, or maybe stay here?" She sounded oddly hopefully but I wasn't sure for which answer she hoped

The question made me pause hadn't really thought about it but when I did the decision was so easy to make it was obvious

"I will go back to forks" I said with certainty, "I like it here and I like being with your family and you but in my heart I know that I belong in there. despite recent events I am a part of Carlisle's fam... I was interrupted by a kick from my baby and it Occoured to me that in my moment of certainty I had forgotten my baby and Jacob. I quickly factored them in to my decision of course they would return with me "...ily, I'm just not sure when. I'd like to stay till I'm changed and have got used to being a vampire if that's alright?"

"That fine bella. You are welcome to stay as long as you like"

Back in forks Alice abandoned the bear she was hunting and raced home. A confused and worried expression on her face.