April 14, 2012

Dear readers,

It has been a long week since the end of Spring Break, but I'm grateful for the afternoon to catch up on rest and spend some time reviewing and editing. As always, enjoy the read, and let the drama continue!

Blessings,

evelyn-shaye

Special thanks to my betas from PTB, EvilPumpkin and ajr818. Your comments were incredibly helpful and insightful!

Chapter 13: Mental Assault

If Braden hadn't needed to keep such a tight grip on Jacob, I was sure that he would have been circling us like a hawk eyeing its prey. Actually, it would've been scarier than that. Nothing was more terrifying than the anticipation of a vampire assault. I preferred physical abuse over suffering through the agony of waiting.

Waiting. Minutes ticked by, or was it hours? It might have been only seconds. My senses were becoming skewed by fear and dread, and the effect was intensified by Leanna's cold touch. I loved the way Momma and Daddy's hands felt against my skin, like a cool towel soothing a fever. So different from Jake's touch, which was a blazing fire on a summer day, burn against burn. Leanna's was foreign, distasteful, like being trapped in an ice storm.

My eyes filled with tears that longed to be shed. Daddy and I had never officially made up from our argument over Jake, and Momma and I were just beginning to form a closer bond over all the changes inside me. Would I ever see them again? Would Braden ruin everything we had ever had? The tears spilled over.

Jacob trembled again, likely mistaking my tears of worry for pain. "Don't hurt her!" he begged. But his voice was weaker now, his shaking not nearly so tumultuous as it had been before. It was as if he wanted to shift, but something was holding him back….

Oh no. First my eyes, and then my entire face, widened in a gasp to display the horror coursing through my body, taking great pains to drag my heart down until there was nothing in its place. "Stop it!" I cried. "Whatever you're doing to him, stop it!"

Braden faced me slowly. "Nessie, Nessie," he murmured. His burgundy eyes fixed mine with immeasurable depth. I was unable to look away. "We intend no harm toward you or your shifter. And what we're asking you to do for us is so insignificantly small—"

"Then why kidnap us?" I retorted, making sure to instill an extra bite in my voice.

Braden smiled. "Your family would never let us close enough to befriend you," he answered smoothly. He sniffed. "Such an exclusive bunch. All we desire is protection. There are strange, violent creatures that dwell in these woods that we can't possibly fend off by ourselves."

I could feel my resolve wavering. It wasn't so much that I was succumbing to whatever mind trick Braden was playing. It was more that my anger was replaced by… curiosity. As long as I was incapable of changing our current circumstances, perhaps I could be of use to our family.

I glanced at Jacob. He seemed much more relaxed but still intent on me. No matter the strength of Braden's gift, it didn't hinder Jacob's affections.

The realization gave me strength. With only minimal caution, I asked, "What creatures?"

Braden's eyes brightened. Apparently, I had asked exactly the right question. "Monsters," he growled. "They attack us on every hunting attempt. We fight them off, sometimes successfully killing them. But they make us more dangerous to humans by cutting off our blood supply. The threat of exposure is huge. If the Volturi caught wind of their assaults…" He shivered.

I frowned. "So move away," I suggested. It seemed fairly simple to me, even as I sympathized with their plight. Certainly they didn't want to be driven away from their temporary home, fearful for all eternity?

Braden glanced between the members of his coven with sadness. "Nomads have been killed by these creatures before," he lamented. I gasped. "What kind of vampires would we be to not shoulder the burden forced upon us and spare the lives of so many more?"

What kind of vampires, indeed? His voice rang with sincerity. I was entirely convinced that their efforts were noble. To suffer attacks again and again for the sake of the rest of our kind was a sacrifice that no one should have to make.

I leaned forward with enthusiasm. "My family could help you!" I offered. Jacob nodded vigorously in agreement. "We are a strong, talented coven, and we have friends that would be willing to help, too! We could wipe this threat out, no problem!"

Braden smiled gratefully at me. Were he human, his eyes would have been brimming with tears. "You are too kind, Miss Cullen," he answered tremulously, "but I would hate to drag your family into such a conflict—"

"Unfortunately, Braden, you already have." A voice that I recognized but couldn't immediately identify spoke from the shadows. "Unless you would like to explain to our cousins exactly why you have kidnapped their children, I would suggest that you leave at once."

The sure, strong cadence with a hint of Hispanic origin registered in my head. Eleazar!

I faced Jacob with renewed energy. "Jake, the Denalis—!" But I was cut off. I frowned with confusion. Why couldn't I speak? And why was my desire to speak slowly fading?

Eleazar stepped forward, Carmen at his side, with Tanya, Kate, and Garrett immediately behind. "I know what you are capable of, Braden," he said lowly. "You may think that this would be an even fight, but I can assure you that the Cullens are on their way as we speak. We arrived first simply because this theater coincided with our route to Westhope."

Ashton and Leanna turned to Braden fearfully, but he remained stoic. "Nessie," he addressed me. I faced him eagerly. "Are these the friends you mentioned earlier, that would be willing to assist us in our cause?"

"Yes!" I replied. I turned to the Denali coven. "Eleazar, there are these strange creatures living in the woods that threaten our existence. Braden's coven has been fighting them off, but there are too many! If we help them, it would be incredibly easy to destroy the creatures before they expose us!" I smiled in anticipation; they would have to agree with our plan.

The Denalis stared at me in shock. Finally, Carmen shook her head and whispered, "¿Qué ha pasado? Hija linda, what has happened to you?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, hurt. Didn't they want what was best for all of us? How hard could it be to agree to assist Braden's coven?

Suddenly, I was filled with burning, all-encompassing rage. I whipped my eyes toward Braden; he was fuming, his red eyes gleaming. "All we want is your help!" he shouted. "Why do you question one of your own sisters? Why won't you help us?"

The onslaught of anger startled me. There was only one other time that Braden had lost control of himself this way. When he came to our house for the diplomatic meeting, his fear had consumed him and prevented him from keeping hold of Ashton's actions. Something similar was happening now. Even as I recognized and experienced the strength of his emotions, I felt myself separate from him.

That short lapse was all I needed. With strength I didn't know I possessed, I wrenched myself from Leanna's grasp and hurtled myself toward Jacob. "Get us out of here!" I begged the Denalis. "I don't care if you have to drag us. Get us away!" I wrapped my arms tightly around Jacob's waist.

Jacob came to and lurched away from the vampires with a flash of heat, placing his hands on my waist to carry me with him. Ashton dropped his hands in pain. Braden was too enraged to notice. He glared at the Denalis as if willing them to bend to his power.

But they didn't. Sweet Carmen pulled me into her arms, and Garrett placed a strong hand on Jacob's shoulder. "Let's go," Garrett said firmly. "Your family should be nearly here."

I followed them as willingly as possible, still fighting the urge to turn back to Braden. His power was so strong! If Momma weren't a shield, what would have happened to us the other night?

We stepped out into the day, where it was suddenly cloudier than it had been before. I glanced questioningly at Tanya. "The sky?"

"We have Benjamin in our contacts," she explained.

I grinned. Being a half-vampire was so cool sometimes.

"There they are!" I heard someone cry.

I turned quickly, half-expecting to see an anxious Tamara, but it was Rosalie approaching us from the parking lot. Rosalie… and the rest of my family.

I laughed out loud with delight and relief, tears coursing down my face, as I ran to my family. Rosalie caught me first, burying her face in my hair and, for once, not commenting on the dog smell. Emmett swept both of us into what should have been a bone-crushing hug, muttering some nonsense about, "Shouldn't have brought you here." Alice and Jasper were next, then Grandmother and Grandfather, and finally…

"Momma," I breathed, throwing myself into her arms.

Momma gasped with unshed tears and held me close, stroking my hair, my arms, every inch of me, as if reassuring herself that I was there. Any loyalty I had felt towards Braden was swept away by the complete love and adoration for my mother, the woman who had conceived me and nearly died giving birth to me, my best friend and source of comfort, the one who always knew exactly what to say and do. Nothing could compete with the emotion I felt being held in my Momma's arms.

At least that was what I believed until I met Daddy's eyes. In them swirled a mixture of pain, relief, sadness, joy, every conflicting emotion that accompanied the realization that he had nearly lost his only daughter but that I was here, alive and well.

Our argument over Jacob, my petulance since slamming the car door and running from him, seemed a distant memory. It was the most natural thing in the world to fold myself into his arms and whisper, "Daddy."

What I didn't expect was his reaction. He fell onto his knees and cupped his hands around my face, half-laughing, half-crying, staring at me like I was the most precious thing in the universe. I knew better, of course—only Momma fit that description—but I also understood my significance to him. It was nearly as strong as it was to Momma. I locked my arms around his neck and inhaled the sweet scent of honeysuckle and sunshine that I associated with safety.

We stood that way until a thought captured Daddy's attention. He glanced up. "Of course, Jacob, you've been very patient to wait for us," he answered.

Daddy rose from his knees. "Jacob, I cannot thank you enough for your self-control," he said sincerely. For a split second I thought he was talking about our relationship, but he continued, "It must have been severely difficult, even painful, to maintain your human form when your life and Nessie's were in danger. I am amazed that you resisted the overwhelming urge to phase."

Jacob looked uncomfortable at the praise but stuck his chin out defiantly. "I wasn't about to risk her life by giving in to my temper. I've seen the consequences of that option." He turned to me with sad eyes, and I remembered the long scars on Emily's face due to Sam's mistake.

Daddy nodded. He gave me a slight nudge and spread his arms open wide. "You love her, Jacob," was all he said.

In that next moment, I was in the nearly blazing arms of the boy that I had grown up with, the man that I loved, my feet dangling over the ground and my face buried in his neck, breathing him in. That was the other scent I associated with safety, the woodsy, creek-spilling-over-rocks smell so different from Daddy's, but oh so familiar. It was the smell of memories growing up at First Beach, running through the forests of La Push, petting his soft, thick fur, and learning to open my heart to a love that had to be impossible.

I knew then that I wouldn't be attending the slumber party with Tamara and Garet, not this time. I was with my family, my friends, and my one true love, and this weekend would be devoted to reconnecting with them, solidifying my relationship with them, before I developed my friendship with the human girls waiting for us in the movie theater.