Chapter 10: Truth Will Out

Everything is Stephenie's. No sue

Angela's pov

As I looked down at Edward, Bella released my hand and took his in both of hers. She regarded me calmly. I edged closer.

Edward was lying sprawled out and propped up, with his injured leg sticking out of the sheet that was covering the rest of him. He was apparently unclothed. There was a blue surgical sheet lying next to him on the mattress, with a few medical instruments and sponges lying on it, and some strange objects piled up in a little metal dish. The silver, viscuous fluid was everywhere. I reached out a finger to examine it.

"Don't touch it! It's poisonous!" Bella ordered, grabbing my fingers. I took my hand back.

I realized with a shock that the odd objects in the dish were shark teeth. I took a good look at Edward's wound for the first time. It was at least 10 inches in diameter, irregular in shape and very deep. The scent of his... blood was weird and metallic, but sweet. Edward's flesh was partially severed, front and back. The wound nearly encompassed his entire thigh. More teeth were embedded in its rough edges.

"That's a mess," I said lamely.

Edward shrugged, "At least its still attached. I'll be well in a few days, if I keep still. Thank God that thing didn't get hold of Nessie instead of me. She's not durable. Her heart's still beating."

My gaze flickered between Edward and Bella. "Nessie is your biological daughter," I stated.

"Yes," Bella confirmed, "She grows at an advanced rate, and she will stop aging when she reaches maturity. I hated to lie to you Angela, and I hope you will forgive us all. It was for everyone's protection."

Emmett interrupted, "Nessie's a humpire. Get it? Hum-an, Vam-pire hybrid." Emmett bent forward, laughing. Everyone else glared at him.

"Call her that again, Emmett, and as soon as I get out of this bed I am going to turn you inside out," Edward growled.

I ignored them both and turned to my girlfriend, "You told me a lot of half-truths, Bella."

"Yes."

"You knew about this since the day we went to Port Angeles."

"I did."

"And you were alone with the secret all those years. Even when the Cullens left Forks."

"Yes."

I nodded resolutely.

"Sunday morning, I woke up early, and I looked out the window. I saw you two and Nessie flit through the yard, with some kind of giant reddish-brown wolf. I wasn't dreaming, was I?"

"No. I heard your thoughts, so we immediately ran into the house and put on our robes to disguise the fact that we'd been out," Edward admitted.

"What's with the wolf? Is it a pet?"

"More like a family member. Jacob is the wolf. He is a shape-shifter. He's one of the alpha wolves. His pack is dedicated to the preservation of human life. Jacob's pack and Sam Uley's are allied with us to protect the locals from our enemy clans."

"Wait. Back up a sec'. You canhear my thoughts?" my mind balked.

"A lot of us are talented. It's how I knew you were a good person. A good friend for Bella. It's how I knew you and Ben were well-suited. And I use my talent to protect us all. It comes in handy."

"There are a lot of you?"

Carlisle shrugged, "Well, there are a lot more of us than you would expect. But most vampires are not like us. Most of them are evil and they do kill humans. We are acquainted with a fair number of vegetarians, however. About four dozen, worldwide, counting us. The lifestyle is gaining popularity as news about us spreads. Sometimes the other vegetarians visit us, and sometimes we visit them.

"You can tell who is relatively safe for you to be with by looking at their eye colour. Of course, some vampires wear coloured contact lenses to disguise their eyes. If you see someone who resembles us, but with muddy brown or violet eyes, you should assume they are not what they are pretending to be. Charlie had to be shown gently that Bella's eyes had changed colour. It was difficult for him to accept.

"Red eyes mean traditional. Bright, glowing red identifies a dangerous newborn. You would probably not live to tell anyone if you met any red-eyed vampire, but there is a chance that if it is not a newborn, its curiosity would get the better of it, and it would ask you questions.

Obviously, if you are in contact with us, it will smell us on you. If you have the opportunity to say that you are under the Cullens' protection, it may release you. Our family is powerful. It is the second largest coven in existence. Besides our members here, Edward has a young coven in the Amazon, because he is in charge of two territories. Our vegetarian cousins in Alaska are the third largest. The world's largest, most powerful coven is the Volturi. They are traditionalists and they are therefore brutal, despite their air of gentility.

"Black-eyed means hungry, upset or injured. Any black-eyed vampire could be a threat to you, including us. Gold or amber means a calm vegetarian. You are pretty safe with any golden-eye." Carlisle's eyes regarded me thoughtfully.

"Huh," was all I could think of to say.

"Sheesh, she is just like Bella. No sense of self-preservation at all," said Emmett incredulously. "You really know how to pick 'em, Edward."

Edward sighed and rolled his eyes, "Sure, Em, blame it all on me. It's this town, I swear. It's like a mythical creature convention around here, and none of the locals are bright enough to notice, or panic, or set off a nuke in this place." Edward turned his eyes on me. A black shadow of pain seemed to flit through them, then they turned amber again.

"I know this is the most important conversation of your life, Ang, but if Carlisle doesn't soon get to work fixing this leg, it's going to start healing and it will be much more difficult and painful to rectify. Painkillers have no effect on us, so I would appreciate it if you would go down and let my mother answer your questions so my father can get the job done."

"Of course, Edward. I understand." I did understand, but the curiosity was burning at me and I'd have liked to stay and watch Carlisle work. "Shouldn't somebody fill Esme in, before I start asking her things?"

"We have excellent hearing. She already knows everything. Now off you go. It is going to be a long evening for you. And there is much that the family needs to discuss as well." Carlisle pursed his lips. Then he switched places with me, giving me a pat on the shoulder as he passed by, and bent over Edward, already intent on his work. I turned to head for the door, and a muffled moan escaped Edward as another tooth plunked into the dish.

"I'm glad it didn't latch onto me any higher," he chuckled, "It might have damaged something important."

Carlisle grunted affirmatively, "Yes, you were very fortunate. That would have been dreadful to repair, and probably Bella'd be going through that shark's stomach contents right now, looking for bits of you that she couldn't do without." Edward breathed an appreciative laugh, then his breath hissed in through his teeth as another tooth plunked into the dish.

"You bet. I am not going through eternity with him if he's missing any essential parts. Especially that one." The two men laughed, and Bella kissed Edward's hand. I took my leave, treading down the steps behind Jasper, Alice, Rose, and Emmett to get an education on vegetarian vampires.

Esme was sitting in a chair in the living room, and Nessie was standing beside her, holding her hand, waiting for me.