"Isabella, my father requires my presence at home. I shall return before you wake in the morning." He informed.
"Uh, ok" Bella was never sure what to say when he was too formal or excused himself to leave her.
"My sister Alice does not expect your visit this weekend. My family understands that you must rest. However, mother is anxious to see you for herself. Would you visit with us again this Sunday?" He asked.
Bella accepted the invite remembering she wanted to speak to the Cullen women. She found it difficult to say no when he asked her to visit for his mother even as she dreaded the outfit Edward would put her in. Edward left her to meet with his brothers who were waiting for him across the street in his Volvo.
"I know you don't want to do this Edward but it is for the best. It will help please father to a certain extent since you are unwilling to turn Bella at the moment." Jasper started
"I know you're right Jasper. It is not that I am unwilling, she needs time. She is not yet ready." He explained.
"She is not too young to carry your mark on her Edward." Emmett piped in.
"No, she is not. In time I will mark her, just not yet."
"Why not?" Emmett pressed. In his mind that was the easiest answer to his brother's issue with their father.
"She is not ready. I would rather not force it on her brothers. It would be best when she understands what is happening and how she should carry herself."
"Have you explained things to her?" Jasper asked thinking maybe Alice, Rose and Esme might help.
"Only so much. I cannot hear her thoughts. It is difficult to know how much will send her running. It would be most unfortunate if she did."
"Then let Mother, Rose and Alice speak with her." Jasper advised.
"She will visit with the family on Sunday. I'll ask them to speak with her then." Edward had already asked Esme.
This seemed to calm Jasper and Emmett, but Edward knew Carlisle would be more difficult. They had already arrived at the Cullen residence. The whole family ran to the boundary line between Cullen and Quileute territories soon after. They arrived to find the wolves waiting. Billy Black, the alpha, stood at point. To his right was Harry Clearwater, his second, and Sam Uyley to his left. Behind them were the rest of the pack in wolf form; Paul, Jared, Mark, Matthew and Aaron. Billy Black was a hateful and proud man. His two daughters were married and living away from home. He was left with only his son Jacob, who hadn't phased yet. Besides Paul all the pack were either married or had found their imprint. Matthew and Aaron were oddities in the pack. They were never expected to phase because they were outside the four blood lines who were protectors of their people, Black, Clearwater, Ateara and Uyley. Though Sam was accepted, he too was an unexpected member to phase. His late father hadn't phased naturally. He had been bitten by another wolf. The tribe thought the accident may have resulted in the Uyley bloodline exclusion from the pack. Hidden from view by Billy Black's hulking form was an old frail man in a wheel chair. He was the tribe elder, Old Quil Ateara.
Carlisle stood two feet in front of his family, flanked by his sons. Esme, Alice and Rosalie stood behind them. Edward listened to everyone's thoughts with a blank mask on his face. Jasper didn't use his gift to settle the hatred among the group. The family had never exposed their gifts unless it was necessary.
"Alpha Black," Carlisle greeted with a nod.
"Vampire Cullen," Billy greeted back. His voice was bitter when he said the Cullen name.
"Thank you for meeting us here. I bring news of our youngest son's return to his home. This is our Edward." He gestured towards Edward with his arm.
The wolves looked at Edward intensely, memorizing him and his scent. "He is the one who was absent. Where has he been?" Billy couldn't stop his curiosity.
"I have been in service with our Masters in Italy. A kind of military service in today's world." Edward answered for himself before Carlisle could. He knew the answer would frighten the wolves as they were. He had gathered that the pack before him was ignorant. They didn't have context of the vampire world or of their own. Their only concern was for the few people in their village and the neighboring Cullen vampire family.
"Military service?" Edward only nodded, refusing to give any details.
"None in our pack shall attack you unprovoked Cullen; so long as you abide by the treaty." Old Quil spoke in his papery voice from his chair.
"All our family respect the terms of the treaty that holds the peace between our people." Carlisle was pleased to know Edward was protected from the wolves as was his birth right.
"Why have you imposed yourselves on the town of Forks? For twenty years no one knew of your presence here. Why now?" Billy asked.
"We owe you no explanations Alpha Black. What we choose to do and how we choose to live in our territory does not concern you. The treaty has not been broken." Carlisle's response was sharp. Billy hated it when Carlisle made him feel like a scolded child. He could never get an upper hand with the vampires and it made him more hateful.
"His scent was at a friend's house in Forks not long ago. What was he doing there?" Billy asked of Edward.
"Visiting. The girl Bella and he are in school together." Carlisle made Billy's implied accusation seem far-fetched, like Edward had been at Bella's to do homework together.
Billy was unhappy with the answer. He planned to watch over Charlie and Bella more closely. He couldn't argue his suspicions and, as Carlisle had reminded, what they did in their side of the boundary line was no concern of theirs; unless the treaty was broken. Irritated, he wished Charlie would just listen to his warnings against the Cullens.
"We have had a new member join the pack to maintain the balance due to his presence" Billy informed in warning. There were more wolves in his pack than vampires.
"Thank you for informing us." Carlisle was not happy with their increased number. "This concludes our business here. Unless there was more you wish to address?" He asked Billy.
"No,"
"Then we bid you farewell" Carlisle turned and lead his family on a run home. The wolves watched them disappear within the thick forests before they returned to their village. It was a show of superiority for Carlisle to turn his back to his natural enemy without second thought. He always did it, seemingly unconcerned about what the wolves could do and it always made them think twice about acting to attack his family.
"Edward, shall we hunt?" Jasper offered his brother an out from confrontation with their father. Edward immediately agreed and Emmett decided to go with them.
They ran towards their favorite hunting ground and drank their fill before Jasper asked Edward to tell them what the wolves were thinking. He told them all including the dynamics of the pack.
"Are you concerned about them with Bella?" Jasper asked
"No" At both their questioning looks he sighed deeply, deciding what he should tell them.
"After all the time I spent in Volterra very little frightens me. The Volturi keep four wolves imprisoned deep in the trenches of the castle. In the first years my duty was to feed them and learn to read their thoughts. Those wolves are ancestors to the ones here. They are ruled by the moon. Once they have aged, as they have, they have control over their form. I treated them well and in return they taught me their ways and trained me. I had to learn combat skills to survive there. I had to fight so I may return home." He chose not to give details.
Emmett was angry and sad for him. He tried to not let his mind imagine what his younger brother suffered. Jasper was hurt, still wishing he could have been the one to take Edward's place. His answer left them unsatisfied but they knew not to press for details. Edward wasn't as open with them as he had been when he was younger. Their time apart had created a wall between them and they knew only time could bring them close together again. The silence dragged between the brothers with each lost in his thoughts. Edward took comfort in their love for him. It was this love that helped him during the most difficult trials while he was away. It led him back to his family.
"Bella will wake soon. I promised to be there." Edward broke the silence hours later.
"How is she Edward? The funeral for that boy is today." Emmett asked
"She is still struggling with my actions. I have not told her about the funeral for the boy. Knowing Bella, she would want to go out of guilt."
"Why not let her go? Humans do better once they allow themselves to mourn." Jasper asked. Edward heard in his thoughts he was not suggesting Bella mourn the boy Taylor, but their role in his death.
"No, she would be crowded by inquiring eyes and ears. I will not subject her to that. She'll return to school on Tuesday. Things will be calmer then." He stated in finality
Both Jasper and Emmett agreed with his assessment. They ran back home and arrived on time to find Carlisle leaving for work. 'I hope you are not avoiding me son. I would like to speak with you sometime soon.' He sent his thoughts to Edward. "Of course, father." Edward answered aloud, gaining questioning looks from his brothers. He shrugged them off. They guessed right what Carlisle must have said to him. Edward showered quickly and left for Bella's house. He arrived as Charlie was leaving for the funeral. There was a fresh wolf scent near the house which irritated him. As soon as his eyes landed on Bella's waking form his world was right again.
He watched her stretch and groan, throwing her pillow over her head. "Bella?" He called
"Go away, it's not morning yet" She mumbled from under the pillow
"It's alright love, you can go back to sleep." He encouraged, taking a seat on the rocking chair.
Bella tried and failed to fall asleep again. "It's no use. I'm already awake." She uncovered her head. "Charlie said there's a funeral in town today for-" She didn't say the boy's name.
"Yes. I'd like to take you out for breakfast." Edward offered.
"Where?"
"Portland. There's a bookstore you might like there."
"Uh- It's a bit far don't you think?" Bella was unsure though the idea of a bookstore sold her in.
"I thought you might like to go where there is little chance of seeing anybody from here." Edward wanted Bella far from Forks that day. Bella was enticed by the idea of spending more time with Edward and going wild in a bookstore with Charlie having no chance of finding out about it.
"Uh- let me shower first." She bounced off the bed and lost her balance. Edward caught her from falling face first to the floor. "Thanks," She blushed and ran to the bathroom.
Edward kept busy packing her room, making the bed and picking out her outfit for the day. He put her dirty laundry in the washer. Just as Bella finished, his phone buzzed. It was Jasper. Alice had begged him to ask Edward if they could tag along. He asked Bella first before calling Jasper to agree.
Bella was wondering why the decision was hers to make but didn't ask. She was hoping to get to know Alice a bit more on their outing. The outfit Edward laid on her bed pleased her. It was not a dress and there were no heels. She put on the skinny suede leather pants, a light vest and a red roll neck jumper on top. The wool was so soft she worried she might get cold. Edward helped her put on a pair of white gold and diamond earrings and grabbed a dark green biker jacket for her, just in case. He passed her a tote bag when Jasper honked from outside. He chuckled watching Bella try to hurry up through her clumsiness.
Jasper and Edward sat together in the front while she and Alice took the backseat in the Volvo. Edward tore the car out of Forks to make record time reaching Portland.