CHAPTER 14 – Pacts: Part 2

Edward

Dusk was sinking into the boughs of endless pine trees, blending them together with a dark paintbrush as we drove beneath them, my mouth twisting in bitter irony. Twice in one week now, I found myself chauffeuring Bella directly into a snake pit. Much more of this and it might start to feel routine.

Not that I wasn't accustomed to the symbiosis Bella shared with danger. But there was a slight difference between intervening with danger and consciously surrendering her to it. If I dwelled on it too much, it might actually make me ill.

It would help tremendously if I could gauge her reaction, but she was more unreadable than ever. She'd been oddly mute, Alice said, since her phone call with the dog, which I was infinitely grateful to have missed. Everyone spared me the details, while Carlisle informed me of the end result: an offer to discuss Bella's asylum this evening at the treaty line.

Despite my disgust, I was admittedly curious how she'd negotiated that. Her blank face showed no traces of crying or anguish. Could it really have been a painless experience? Maybe – and I ceded this only with extreme reluctance – I had misjudged the wolves. Maybe there was a chance, however miniscule, that Jacob could convince them that Bella was worth protecting in spite of what grew inside her. Though it had taken a brief hiatus, faith was attempting a comeback.

Unfortunately, its resurgence collapsed once we reached our destination. Through the murky, muddy haze of the twilit forest, I saw several human forms pacing, shifting restlessly as they tracked our approach. They were no less anxious than we were.

"Stay in the car," I ordered flatly. "They don't need to see you in order to discuss this. If and when we reach an agreement," the words tasted like total betrayal, "we'll bring you out. Not a moment sooner. Understand?"

She nodded without meeting my gaze, though not because of deception or evasion. She was… tranquil, her eyes clear of all distress. Her hands lay gently clasped at the base of her rounded belly. She looked as if she'd just finished listening to a meditation CD. With a twinge of jealousy I stepped out into the damp night air.

The others joined me in planting ourselves three feet behind the invisible threshold. Almost immediately, five bare-chested men and a tank top-clad woman materialized from the mist with measured strides. I identified Jacob front and center, half a step behind Sam. Neither appeared more cheerful than the other.

Sam regarded us suspiciously. "Don't you think it's strange that the subject of our meeting isn't here?"

"Bella is here, she's in the car," I didn't conceal my irritation.

Jacob craned his neck forward to verify my claim. Yet his thoughts revealed he cared little of disproving me; he was far more concerned with relieving his own agitation. Part of me hoped he couldn't see her, if only for the disappointment.

"I think I see her," he reported with squinted eyes. Wish I could tell if she's okay, or if that demon baby is eating her alive.

I'd come prepared for thoughts like that, but it wasn't without effort that I responded calmly. "She's perfectly fine. Carlisle has been monitoring her carefully."

Great. One demon watching another. That's incredibly reassuring.

Sam continued before I could unleash my temper. "Jacob tells me you're fairly desperate. You must be if you're willing to hand Bella over in such a vulnerable state."

"You have no idea," I mumbled under my breath.

"As I understand it, you've been drafted to moderate some sort of uprising at the North Pole?"

"Northwestern Canada," I corrected. Leave it to Jacob to exaggerate and embellish.

"You can't bring Bella since you don't know how long it will take to diffuse the problem." He was no longer inquiring but inferring. "That, and the other obvious reason."

Jacob quivered slightly as he snorted. I concentrated on blocking his thoughts.

"And you would ask us to harbor her until you return."

"You've got it."

Shifting his posture to convey his position of power, Sam nodded to himself. His eyes were cruelly calculating. "What do we possibly have to gain from this?"

Their selfishness astounded me, if for no other reason than being exposed so overtly, so shamelessly. It was then that I realized how much optimistic faith I'd really been hiding.

"Life isn't merely a series of equitable business deals," Carlisle advised. "But you might consider this a fair exchange for resetting Jacob's entire skeleton last spring."

I raised an eyebrow. When the Volturi weren't involved, Carlisle could be a mean negotiator. Jacob, meanwhile, crossed his arms as much from the unpleasant memory as the advantage it gave us.

"We might," Sam replied coolly. "If we could be certain the child is harmless."

Carlisle was ready yet again. "Jacob detected Bella's pregnancy by smell. Edward, however, detected it by sound."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, unimpressed.

"The baby has a heartbeat. It's far more human than vampire."

He did an admirable job of subduing his surprise, but the news clearly affected Sam. A solid minute passed, during which I tuned out his thoughts as well. Knowing them did nothing to further our cause, and it only served to distract. I decided my mental efforts were better spent praying, if I was qualified to do so. It couldn't hurt in any case.

Having weighed this information to his satisfaction, Sam unclenched his jaw while casting a sideways glance at Jacob, who seemed conflicted and uncertain. "That is significant. But as far as we're concerned, nothing constitutes a full guarantee. Surely you understand."

It was my turn to deliver sound logic. "I understand that an infant is the most innocent creature on the planet, regardless of its species. A young grizzly bear is as playful as a puppy. Even a baby alligator is sweet and docile for a time."

Jacob grew increasingly unsettled at Sam's side, rapidly looking between our faces to judge who was winning. It may have been premature to congratulate myself, but that didn't stop me from enjoying Sam's flustered expression. Yet rather than gloating, I sweetened the deal. "How's this – if the baby exhibits any sign of aggression, even the slightest hint, call me and I'll return in less than eight hours. I'd rather our mission be interrupted than our trust – or your lives – destroyed."

Though it was his duty to regard any offer from us with heavy skepticism and caution, I knew Sam was nothing if not reasonable. He had to be, or his authority as Alpha wouldn't be tolerated, much less respected to the degree it was. As I held his gaze, I saw the layers of mistrust begin to fall, until nothing remained but proud resignation.

"Your offer is fair. We will hold you to it."

Jacob looked as if he'd just been evicted from his own home. "Are you saying we'll take her in?" he seemed aghast at even having to ask.

"Yes. Unless you'd prefer Dr. Cullen undid his work," Sam threatened.

"I'm surprised, Jacob. I thought you'd be her biggest advocate. You'd sooner pass up a garage full of engines than time with her," the woman next to Jacob provoked.

Despite his youthful charm, Jacob could glare like an eagle. "Shut up, Leah. Things are… different now."

While she and Jacob exchanged their mutual distaste for each other, Sam focused on the final details. "I presume we're taking her now?" he looked to me for verification.

I could only nod.

"Wait just a minute and we'll bring her over. Her luggage is in the trunk," Carlisle deferred graciously. As we all retreated to the Volvo, I couldn't tell whether my stupefaction was caused by Bella's imminent departure or the ease with which we'd procured it. It was probably both.

The pack's eyes were burning a hole into my back as I stooped to open the passenger door. It burned even stronger as I extended my left arm to assist her out of her seat, and when her unsteady feet hit on the loose gravel. My frame was blocking hers until Alice passed me her suitcase, at which point I pivoted to guide her toward her intensely curious saviors.

She's so swollen… she's almost waddling, Jacob's thoughts pierced my defenses, acute as they were. I can't believe she'll be staying with me. This couldn't get any more awkward.

"Imagine how it feels for me," I retorted.

When we were within ten feet of the boundary line, I stopped to face her. There would be no better moment to express our parting sentiments. Setting her bag on the ground, I knelt reverently before her, cupping her belly in my hands.

"Daddy loves you," I closed my eyes as I kissed it gently. "I promise I'll come back. You'll be my motivation every day I'm gone." Standing slowly, reluctantly, my hands lingered on her stomach as I studied her face. "And you. Both of you," I pressed my mouth against hers painfully, more distraught than I'd expected to be. The reality of our heart-wrenching separation was suddenly all too present. She swallowed as tears clouded her chocolate eyes.

Jacob's sickened reaction rang inside my head, but I was too enraptured to care. With a final caress of her stomach, I thrust her suitcase toward Sam, whose mind seemed elsewhere as he accepted it. His thoughts revealed that his wife Emily was newly pregnant as well.

"We'll do our best to take care of her," his voice was thick. Though there was still some measure of guarded reserve in his eyes, compassion softened it marginally.

"Please do," I whispered, placing a kiss on her forehead before pulling away from her. In that instant, all the trials of my immortal life flashed before my eyes. My depraved existence as a newborn. The deep, prolonged solitude that plagued me for decades despite my family's presence. Inflicting unspeakable pain on Bella by abandoning her. Seeking solace in eternal destruction and bringing myself within inches of it. And Victoria's final stand, into which I'd plunged a lifetime of wild fury.

All these I would collectively relive if it meant keeping Bella with me now. Yet as she tentatively crossed the uneven ground, Sam intercepted her steps with steadying arms, unwittingly symbolizing the transfer of responsibility. She could find no other place, no better sanctuary. No amount of pining or denial would change that. She was theirs now.

Her own submission was visible in the final, lingering glance she gave me, hands clutching the baby as she followed her protectors into the forest.