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Chapter 9

Edward Cullen

Day 4 - Twilight

It was already nearly dusk by the time we exited the castle again. The days were unnaturally short here, or perhaps we waited for Vlad much longer than it seemed. I glanced at my watch to find it had stopped with both hands pointing straight up. Noon. About the same time we entered Castle Dracula.

We followed Vladimir as he walked smoothly along the nonexistent path winding down the eastern slope of the hill. The leisurely pace allowed us the opportunity to look around.

This place was dark, gloomy, but somewhat breathtaking. For miles around this empty piece of earth, pine trees reached their needles upward, as if in homage to the gray skies. The tall copse extended until they hit the dark, sharp peaks of the Carpathians. They seemed close enough to touch, the white tipped slopes nearly an arm's length away.

The walk to the village was long, but comfortable. I lingered in the back next to the still silent Alice. She was trying so hard to see. Carlisle chatted in length regarding what he knew of the shapeshifting wolves. In turn, the Romanian traded his knowledge regarding the so-called Children of the Moon. Carlisle had only seen the ending of that age. His thirst for knowledge fed on any information, and found the trifles Vladimir leaked enthralling.

I found him boring. The more he droned on, the more I rolled my eyes. I couldn't really explain the feeling. He was, after all, intelligent, articulate, and opinionated. My distrust just flowered and blossomed with every word, even when I could see he was truthful.

At least we were out of the castle. It was so large, yet incredibly pressing, claustrophobic. Out here, the air was cool, clean. Maybe it had a bit of a charred taste, but it was easy to ignore when I had all my senses working. To my dead skin, it felt more like January than April.

"How old were you?" Carlisle asked from in front of us. I noticed Alice look up and paid close attention.

"I was twenty-five," Valdimir answered. "But I had lived a full life." He barked a laugh. "Not as full as my brother."

"I was interested in that," Carlisle pressed on. "He was changed much later."

"Yes. He had a hard time accepting what he was," Vlad agreed, with only a hint of coolness. "He eventually saw it was the only way. Dear Stefan waited until he was on his deathbed to call for my assistance. I fear his age has not fared well these long years."

"How did you mange to stay hidden all these years?" I found myself asking.

He stopped and turned to me, red eyes searching my golden ones.

"What you call hiding, I call grieving," he finally answered. There was genuine misery in his tone, but his thoughts were still veiled.

I found it more discomforting by the second that he seemed to blocking my ability from his mind. Like he knew what I could do.

And he still hadn't actually said anything, yet.

"Grieving?" Alice wondered aloud.

The man who had inspired countless nightmares and horror stories remained silent.

The silence was noted by the three of us. I had to figure out what he was hiding. It felt like Bella's life depended on it.

We walked on in silence. Alice began humming some of Jasper's favorite songs. I wanted to lose myself so easily, but couldn't shake the nagging suspicions toward our seemingly gracious host.

Eventually, Vlad stopped walking. His voice interrupted the silence with a sharp tone. I could sense his unease.

"This is where I leave you," he spoke definitively. He had no intention of meeting the wolves face to face.

Carlisle had never expected him to. He nodded, and Vlad bent slightly in a bow before turning back and disappearing the way we had come. I watched him go with a scowl on my face. No. I could not trust that man.

We took a moment to gather ourselves. It would be easy to find the werewolf village from here. Their stench already assaulted our noses, and we were still a few miles outside their lands.

"Now what?" I finally asked Carlisle. My tone was unnecessarily irritated, but it was only covering for my discomfort.

"We go meet the wolves."

He turned and started through the trees. Alice and I had no choice but to follow.

"Shouldn't we have some sort of plan?" Alice wondered, hurrying to catch up to Carlisle's quick footsteps.

"I think it's best if we just introduce ourselves," he answered over his shoulder.

"We don't even know what we're walking in to," I reminded. "He didn't even tell us how many to expect."

Carlisle's nonchalance was starting to frustrate me. How could he seem so blasé?

"Well, packs are generally three to five members in size, and they always have a strong sense of personal history. It's fair to say they are men above all else, and all men react the same to courtesy and respect. I doubt we will find these men no different."

"Yeah, except these men will want to tear our heads off," Alice muttered under her breath, but I'm sure Carlisle heard her as well as I did.

"Men that turn into giant, drooling dogs, but just ordinary men. Sure." I got into her sarcasm. Carlisle just didn't seem to be operating on a completely rational level. Maybe someone needed to slap him.

But there wasn't time. The stench grew unbearable, and I stopped breathing. The dead forest around us became alive with motion. Branches snapped, tree limbs swung, and a fierce growling erupted on all sides of us. Instinctively, we backed against one another, each facing out at a different direction. Alice's slender body was tensed as she crouched low. I too assumed a defensive position, my body naturally coiling in, readying myself to spring.

One huge, russet-colored beast stepped slowly from the dense undergrowth. His sharp white teeth were bared as the deep feral growling slipped through them. His black eyes narrowed at me as he paused, halfway revealed. His shoulders were as high as mine, making him easily the largest of his kind I'd come across.

After enduring Vladimir's closed mind, I felt partially relieved that his thoughts were coming across loud and clear. The minds of six other beasts echoed the same mentality as they prowled around outside our field of vision.

How dare the bloodsuckers' minions trespass here! The russet beast was shouting, riling the others.

The growling turned into vicious snarling. One of the wolves barked out, and another howled. I sensed they were on the verge of attack.

"Carlisle," I hissed.

He raised his hands, palms forward, and turned his back to the other wolves lurking in the trees. Moving forward, Carlisle stepped between Alice and myself. We were all facing the leader of the pack, his fierce black eyes watching each move with intense scrutiny. I saw it would only take a single command, one thought, and the others would descend upon us. Their sharp claws and teeth were made specifically to rip through our granite flesh. We may be able to stave off a few dogs, but a pack of seven would be unstoppable. I needed to act immediately to prevent those jaws coming any closer to any of us.

"Stop," I told the dog. "We mean you no harm."

We mean you harm, one of the wolves thought wickedly from behind the underbrush.

I pushed their maliciousness aside and tried to reason with the leader, who still stood partially exposed, hair standing on end.

"Please, just wait. We only want to speak to you."

Carlisle spoke up. "We are here as friends. We need not behave like animals."

The resounding growls expressed their hatred of his wording.

The bloodsucker tries appealing to our human sides. He tries to bestialize us, the leader scoffed.

"No!" I shouted too loudly. "He meant this doesn't have to be a fight. No one needs lose their life today."

The werewolves hushed as the realization sank in. They knew I was hearing them.

"Yes, I can hear you minds," I told them.

The information did little to settle their nerves. The leader's eyes widened showing his shock. They'd heard tale of vampires possessing extra abilities.

His eyes slivered to blackness again. Even with your sorcery, we will not fall before you and your friends have been destroyed. You hear me, leach?

"I hear you, but you're wrong," I snarled back, losing my patience a bit.

Carlisle's hand rested on my shoulder, comforting my building anger.

"If you wish it, we will leave, but trust me when I tell you we bear you no ill will. We are different from others of our kind. My family and I do not take human life, we cherish it. We strive to maintain our humanity, just as you strive to maintain yours. I know other packs around the world. I have built trusting relationships with them. It can be the same between us. Our clans can coexist."

They're lying, Samuel, one of the others thought.

I seized the information, and called him by his name. "We aren't lying, Sam."

Then they try to dissect us. They aren't here to make friends," the werewolf snarled as he thought. You can't trust blooddrinkers!

A whirlwind of thoughts struck, as the wolves bickered amongst themselves for a moment.

Finally, a younger mind, virtually untainted by the thousands of years of passing legends between generations, spoke. "We cannot be so closed-minded," he said. "We are responsible to our future generations. If a truce can be reached, we owe it to our children that we find out as much as we can. There is endless benefit to this."

We were only slightly surprised to see a tall, olive-skinned man step from the trees. He wore a pair of army green pants and a bare chest. He had long dark hair that swung below his shoulders and carried himself with an authority that made me reconsider who actually held the leadership within this pack. I could sense the tension as the others watched him approach. They weren't happy but accepted it with little grumbling.

"My name is Jakob," he said, holding a warm hand out to Carlisle. My father raised his and they grasped each other with equal welcome.

"Carlisle. And these are Edward and Alice," he introduced.

Alice also shook hands with the foreign werewolf, her mind remarking on how hot his skin was against hers. I only nodded at him. I was wary of everything around this place.

There was the sound of shredding flesh , and seconds later, two more men stepped from the trees. I could tell that neither one was the one I assumed leader. He had retreated back into the woods, prowling an invisible perimeter with the four others left in wolf form. They walked next to Jakob, and stopped half a step behind him, crossing their thick arms across their chests.

"These are my brothers," he offered in way of introduction.

They were not related by anything beyond their ancient blood ties, but the similarities between them were remarkable in that they were nearly mirror copies of each other. Each had the same darkened skin, fierce black eyes, though the two additions kept their black hair cropped short against their heads. And those two scowled at us with wrinkled noses, like we were the ones who stank.

With formalities aside, Jakob said, "You say you three are something different. Explain what you mean."

"Of course," Carlisle agreed immediately. "Perhaps you would like to sit with us as we talk?"

Jakob lowered himself onto a mossy boulder as Carlisle sat on one a few feet away. Alice slipped next to him, but I wouldn't permit myself the comfort as long as his wolf brethren remained standing at full attention.

"We have lived amongst humans for a century," he began, and over the course of the next few hours, Carlisle revealed his entire life to these creatures. From his change to his desire to save and devote himself to the preservation of human life, he kept almost nothing from the pack. Jakob and his companions stood still, listening intently to him. Carlisle's voice was calm, soothing, peaceful in the way only he can inflect. And they hung on his every word until they couldn't help but believe his words. It was Carlisle's own ability of sorts: to make others around him assured by his mere presence.

Night fell and dawn broke again as he talked. Midmorning, the three-century long tale had been told, and Carlisle asked for a response from his canine audience.

"I have met other packs like yours, shared my story, and heard theirs. I'm interested in your own legends, where your people hail. Would you be willing to share those tales with us?"

The wolves remained stoic as they thought it over. As they pondered their response, I noted that those in human form did not communicate telepathically with those in wolf form. So it did not exactly go over well with all the wolves when Jakob finally spoke.

"I will share with you our heritage, but let us rest. We are not undead."

"Jakob," hissed the man on his right. "What are you agreeing to?"

He smiled, and I was comforted by the fact it was bright, pure amidst this dark land.

"Be calm, brother," he said. "He wants stories. Nothing more. Look at the gold of their eyes and tell me they are like the others?" There had been others in the area recently, but his thoughts were moving swiftly, and I couldn't catch a glimpse of what he'd seen. "He has made an otherwise dull evening entertaining, and I can return the favor."

"Doing favors for the bloodsuckers? Are we Ephraim?"

A growl of agreement echoed through the other wolves. Carlisle and Alice tensed and I hesitantly took a step forward. That name, spoken as almost a curse, caused the rest of the pack to become hostile and unnerved, but none of them revealed the reason for the sudden shift in mood. They'd been hesitant, if not unperturbed, following the initial meeting, but had snapped back into their former aggressive selves at the mention of the name.

All except for Jakob, whose dark eyes hardened along with the expression on his face. He turned his back to us, toward his pack. The anger was almost flying from him as his body began a quiet shaking.

"You call me traitor? When we all hail from the same pack? He offers an exchange of information, and you balk at my acceptance!" His outrage and suddenly powerful tone slapped them all into humbled silence.

A fourth scantily clad man stepped from the trees, walking directly to Jakob's quaking form. He was larger than the others, and the lines around his eyes were the only thing separating him from his brothers, making him look like he was seasoned while the others were new to this life they'd inherited through their genes. He was the one I took as their leader, Samuel. And once I saw him as a man, I saw that it was only based on seniority he acted as leader. The other one, Jakob, was in charge, the one whose command must be yielded.

Samuel stared hard at the upset man. "We are each our own man," he told him in a muted tone that dulled the intelligence of his statement.

The rest, humbled and ashamed of their accusation, ducked their heads, echoed Samuel's words in mind and word. Jakob took a steadying breath and turned back to us.

We were enthralled by the interaction between them, and it was plain on our faces.

"I apologize," he said with a small bow. We recognized it for what it was: a sign of respect from the leader of this pack. The others ducked their heads, too, and the wolves knelt down on their forearms. No matter what had caused the momentary rift was sealed over as they accepted Jakob's esteem for us. It was all they could do. I saw that in their minds, but they offered us whatever their chief asked. For that, I was grateful.

"Please return and we will talk at length. I am eager to know more about these other packs you have encountered."

Carlisle nodded earnestly. "Of course. It's my honor to meet you, Jakob."

He held his hand out. When the werewolf took the hand this time, there was a sort of finality about it. The acceptance was done.

Day 5

We made our way slowly back to the castle, enjoying the muted sunlight filtering through the thick gray clouds. The wildlife was abundant near the village, and we took the time to gorge ourselves on the local fauna. Well fed and somewhat comfortable for the first time in days, there was no hurry to return to the pressing atmosphere surrounding Castle Dracula.

As we approached, Carlisle and I took special note of the hillsides on which the stone enormity sat. It was odd how the broken branches and uprooted trunks bore the signs of burning. The charred remnants still blackened our fingers when we touched it.

All of it was so odd, so strange that it seemed misplaced, out of its normal place in time. I knew it was ridiculous, but I couldn't help but feel like none of this should even be possible.

The door of the castle opened on its own again, but we were not greeted by the eerie shadow of the tiny, ancient vampire. And the corridors were lit at well-spaced intervals, so we could see down the length in any direction. Despite the lighter ambiance, the air was heavy, drowning us in its aberrance.

Alice, silent for a much longer time than I'd ever remembered, spoke at last. She sighed loudly. "I don't know how much more of this I can take. My mind feels weak. I feel too vulnerable."

Her voice was harsh from disuse and fear. She was worrying about her complete lack of visions. Too much time had passed. She thought she should have seen something by now. Even if it were some insignificant tidbit, there should have been some sign of the future, somewhere.

The inability to use her power of precognition had distressed my little sister to the point of exhaustion. This whole time her silence had been personal inflection, which had availed nothing. Now, usually bubbly and optimistic to the point of annoyance, Alice was withdrawn, fragile as she felt more and more powerless to help in any way.

I moved to her and wrapped her into my arms, wanting her to embrace me back. I wanted her to seek comfort in what we did have. She only sobbed, hands hanging limply at her sides, but she leaned her head into my chest. Moisture from the tears unshed inside her eyes seeped into me. She was losing it.

My eyes met Carlisle's and he returned my look with one of grave concern. It hurt him to see us hurt. Compassion swirled inside his eyes, and he moved forward, placing a soft hand on Alice's back.

"Be strong," he whispered at her ear. "You have experienced this around the other packs. It's a temporary blindness –"

Alice whirled around to stare at a slightly surprised Carlisle.

"Why is it I can't get anything here?" She demanded with an angry edge to her tone. "We're far enough away from the wolves that they shouldn't be affecting me! What the hell is happening?"

She was close to hysterics and furious with Carlisle. I stepped in between them to try and calm her before she started screaming, and she was already hovering near the brink.

But before I had the chance to really intervene, Stefan appeared at our side.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. I could almost sense amusement in his voice.

"No," Alice replied shortly. "I just need to lie down for awhile."

"Of course. This vay."

Stefan turned us to the left and began a walk down a corridor that mirrored the others. At the very end of it he stopped at a pair of doors.

"This will be your rooms vile you are our guests," he told us, throwing the door open. "Please, rest. My brother vill be with you this ee-vening. "

Then, he was gliding back down the hall, finally disappearing as he swept left at the entrance way.

We stepped inside the room.

A/N: Yes, Alice is losing it, and yes, there is a reason...And yes, this is filler, but the next chapter is (even to myself) very creepy.

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