21. THE WOLVES

We held hands as we ran through the forest, back toward the house. We didn't run very fast; there was no need to hurry. Again and again I found myself glancing at him, and he smiled back at me when he caught me doing it.

"Has Alice told them?" I asked.

"Probably," Edward answered. "She'll be all hyper for the next week, if not more. How should she be capable of holding it in for just a few hours?"

I laughed. Of course he was right. Alice would be Alice.

And Alice being Alice, she was waiting a few hundred meters from the house. She was tapping her foot impatiently, and when we finally got into view, she was ecstatic. She stared at our hands, and then she grinned widely, clapping her hands together. She looked at Edward. "Finally!" she breathed and then hammered herself into us. Then she turned to Edward with a serious and angry glimmer in her eyes. "Don't dare try and change the future again! You hear me?"

"Clearly," Edward answered dryly and nudged her out of the way to pull me closer to him.

Alice groaned, rolled her eyes and then winked at me. "Let's get back to the house," she suggested. "I already told the others."

Edward winked at me. "Of course you did," he said, and I laughed quietly.

-

Of course they were thrilled that we finally sorted things out; Esme kept standing by my side and brush my hair away from my face, and Carlisle just stood there and smiled. Rosalie came to my side and said: "Good luck, sis. You're gonna need it," after which Edward shoved her off.

But everyone was happy. The family were united.

Though there was one thing that still bugged me.

I had realized that Edward was what I needed, and I would be with him forever. But the family was still in danger.

Because I knew Tanya liked Edward more than a sister should. And I hated the feeling that was boiling up inside me because of it; anger, jealousy, fear, grief. All because of her. And I had no right to be angry at her! She was there first! But I couldn't help it. It was the side of me that was still human. I hadn't even known that I had a side like this anymore. But now it was biting at me, and I couldn't imagine how Tanya would react to the news.

Would I tear the family apart no matter what?

I could feel Edward's gaze on my face, but I didn't respond. I pretended nothing was wrong; I fooled everyone but him. How could he already know me so well?

I decided to tell Tanya myself, and to do it when I was alone; okay, I wouldn't be totally alone, because Edward was insisting on following me wherever I went. This was fine by me.

I sat some space away from the house, just far enough that the others wouldn't be able to hear. Edward sat by my side. In my hands lay the mobile.

I took a deep breath. Tanya's affection for Edward was strong, I knew it. I had seen the way he looked at him.

I took the mobile in my hand and began dialing the number, before pressing the red button again and laying it back into my lab. Only four seconds passed by before I picked it up again and did the same thing as before. I looked at the mobile and was just about to pick it up again, when it was suddenly gone.

I looked up. Edward stood in front of me, the mobile in his hand. "I'll tell her," he suggested and dialed.

"No!" I shrieked and tried to take the mobile from him, but he was too damn fast.

"You can't make yourself do it, so I will," he said simply.

"Edward, give me the damn phone!" I hissed and stamped my foot.

He looked at my angry eyes with amusement, and as he just stood there with the phone, smiling, I sighed and walked over to him without wrinkles in my forehead. He gave me the phone.

"Thank you," I growled, putting much pressure on the vocals. He grinned. I turned away and then dialed the number anew. This time, I pressed the green button.

I waited only one beep.

"Hello?" Eleazar said.

"Eleazar!" I gasped, surprised at how happy and ecstatic the sound of his voice made me. It was so long since I'd seen him. "It's me! Bella."

"Like I didn't know," he chuckled. "How are you doing?"

"That's … Actually why I'm calling."

Silence. "Has something happened, Bella?"

"No!" I assured him. "No, no, it's not anything like that! Actually, things are going very well." I suddenly felt Edwards hands on my waist, tugging me against his chest. I smiled shyly.

"Then what is it, Bella?" Eleazar asked.

"I'd really rather if I told Tanya. She needs to know this from me."

Eleazar only took five seconds, then he said: "I see. Wait a second, I'll find her."

"Wait, Eleazar, see what?" I yelled into the phone, but he was gone.

What had he seen? What had he understood?

"Hi Bella!" Kate's enthusiastic voice suddenly said.

I was puzzled. "Where's Tanya?" I asked.

"Outside," Kate answered. "I think Eleazar just went out to get her. So how are you?"

"You'll get to know soon," I answered. "But I have to tell Tanya."

"Huh?" Kate answered.

"Just give her the phone!" I shouted.

"Okay, okay!" Kate said, acting annoyed.

"Hello?" Tanya said in the other end a second later. "What's wrong, Bella? Eleazar said it was urgent."

"It is," I murmured without self confidence. I felt guilty. And there were good reason for that.

"Bella, you sound kind of low key," Tanya said, worried now. Typical Tanya. It made me smile. She wasn't going to care for me in a minute.

"Tanya … Just a second," I said, took a deep breath, laid my hand on the phone so she couldn't hear, and turned to Edward. "Please, Edward, I need to do this alone."

He frowned. "You know, I'm part of this, too."

"Please."

He nodded and hugged me. "Hurry. I don't want to be away from you for too long."

"I promise," I whispered.

Then he ran away, and I put the phone back to my ear. "Tanya?" I asked.

"I'm here. Bella, what's the fuzz? Is something wrong?"

Yes. You're going to kill me. "Tanya, there's something I have to tell you."

"Just spit it out, Bella," she said.

I sighed. "Please, Tanya, oh, please don't hate me!" I couldn't help pleading. It was the only clue I had.

Silence. "Bella, what could you possibly do to make me hate you?"

"Tanya … I know how you feel about Edward …"

More silence. "So?" she asked cautiously, her voice a bid shaky. Maybe she was starting to figure it out.

"Tanya, I feel the same way about him." There. I had said it. I had ripped my sister's heart out, and in a minute, I was going to squash it.

She didn't speak for a whole minute: I was about to ask if she was still there.

"Bella, I …" she whispered, then cleared her throat, obviously trying to act professionally. "Does he feel the same why?"

"Tanya … Yes, he does." I could almost imagine the way her body must feel: empty. "We're together, Tanya."

Deep breathing was all I could hear the next five minutes, and I was starting to get worried. "Tanya? Tanya, are you okay? Tanya?"

"Bella, I'm …" She sounded so torn, so broken. Vulnerable. I was an evil person, and we both knew it. "Congratulations." That professional voice again. "I'm happy that you're happy." Now it was just without feeling. "I'm sorry." Determined.

Then she hang up on me.

Fear was all I could comprehend. What happened?

I dialed the number again, but no one answered. I tried several times in ten minutes, before someone answered.

It was a tearless, sobbing Carmen. "Bella," she whispered. "Bella, oh, Bella."

"Carmen! What happened? Where's Tanya?"

"Bella … She … She said you shouldn't blame yourself. You … Oh, Bella, she wishes you the best of lucks."

"Carmen! Answer me!"

"She's gone, Bella. She left."

Everything disappeared. Everything. My heart, too. I couldn't do anything; I was frozen. My body was floating away in a river, becoming the river. I closed my eyes. I didn't want to feel. I put everything inside a mental room and locked it away. It destroyed the key. I wouldn't feel it. It would hurt too much. Tanya. Tanya was gone. My Tanya. My sister. No. It couldn't be true.

It hurt no matter what. But this way, it hurt less.

"Bella?" Carmen sobbed.

"I'm here," I whispered. "Didn't you stop her?"

"Bella, she can go if she wants to. We tried to talk her out of it, but … She just left. She told me to make sure you didn't feel guilty. She's not angry with you. She's not angry with Edward, either."

"You know?"

"She told us while she packed. I'm so happy on your behalf, Bella, but … I'm just so …" She couldn't say anymore.

"You shouldn't be happy on my behalf," I whispered. "I feel more guilty about this than you can even imagine. That she tells me not to doesn't help. I'm so sorry."

Carmen sobbed a little more, before she could speak clearly. "Don't leave us, too, Bella. We can't have our family torn apart any more. I'm sure Tanya will come to her senses and come back."

"She's not out of them, Carmen," I whispered.

"Don't leave."

"I won't."

"Come home, Bella," she said. "Come home to your family."

I'm already there. "I'll come as soon as I can. Promise."

"Miss you," she whispered.

"Miss you, too." She hung up. I removed the phone from my ear. I wanted to cry. I cursed the fact that I couldn't.

For the first time, everything had seemed perfect, but now … Everything was smoldering. I gave out a cry and closed my eyes. I should have had Edward stay with me. I needed him.

Then the phone rang again, and I pressed the green button. "Hello?" I whispered. I didn't know who it was. I hadn't checked the display.

"Bella!" Edward's frantic voice said. I was immediately alarmed. "Bella, are you okay?"

"Yes, Edward," I answered. "What is it?"

"How far are you from the house?"

"The place you left me," I answered.

"Come back to the house! I'll run to meet you!"

"Edward, what's going on?" I shouted, afraid now.

"Not so loud!" he hissed. "Alice can't see your future! This can only mean two things; either you're dead, or …"

"Well, I've just proven I'm not dead! What is it?"

"This happened when the wolves came. Alice couldn't see."

I froze. "The wolves? They're …"

"They're near you. And they're going to find you. Run! Run, Bella!"

I closed the phone and did as he said. I still felt frozen; everything was happening so fast. The turmoil inside me swirled my head.

A furious snarl came from in front of me, and I turned slightly to the right to avoid the wolf that I knew would be there. But it followed. I could hear its paws. I knew that I couldn't get away from this one. I could hear another one in the distance, and I was sure there would be more.

Yet, I tried to get away. The wolf just followed, though. I was hoping for Edward to come, and I was hoping he'd have Emmett and Jasper with him.

I wasn't sure if I could do this – if I could fight it off. Emmett had told me they were huge – then again, it was Emmett, and he might just be teasing. Might.

But if there were even the slightest possibility he was speaking the truth, I would have to act with caution in mind. Even if I still had my newborn powers, even if I could fight it off, I would just endanger my family more. The wolves would take it as a declare of war.

A big, brown wolf came into sight now. It was exactly as big as I had imagined it. I stepped back, staring at it with gritted teeth.

"Go away!" I growled and crouched. "Get out of my way!"

It just growled and stepped closer.

"I warn you," I growled, and my lips curled back over my teeth. The wolf was just about to take another step, when Edward suddenly pushed it away. It reacted quickly after being smashed into a tree. It was clear that Edward had done his very best not to let out all his anger. Or, as I looked at Edward, I had to edit that. He was not angry. He was furious.

"Stay away from her!" Edward growled, and his growl much more impressive than mine. He reached backwards with his arms for me, and I took his hand. He wrapped me in his arms by his right side. The wolf started walking. "No! Don't step any closer! I know what you want, but I won't let you!" The wolf stopped its path toward us. It cocked its head to the side. Then it was as if it grew very, very furious, too. Edward nodded, his teeth gritted. "Yes," he answered. "I am."

The wolf snarled, and I secured my hands in fists, ready to protect myself and the one I loved.

"No!" Edward growled. The tension in the air was almost touchable. "You have no right!" The wolf snarled, and the hairs on its back was in the air. "No!" Edward said again firmly, this time just slightly polite.

"What's it saying?" I whispered. The wolf's head snapped toward me to glare at me, as if it was trying to figure something out.

"Get out of our way," Edward growled. "If you do anything, I'll kill you!"

It was the first time I had heard Edward say anything like that, but I believed him. He truly was going to kill the wolf if it didn't move. The wolf could see that, too, but it just kept on growling, as if it wasn't afraid, as if it wanted a fight. I could hear another two wolves come nearer. A fierce determination suddenly shot through me, clicking in my head, and I growled angrily at the wolf. It stared at me.

That was when I smelled it – the same smell as when I went to La Push. That stinky one I couldn't stand. It was the wolves.

The wolf didn't growl at me as it did with Edward, it just stared at me. I turned away and began dragging Edward with me, away from the wolf. I could feel that Edward did not like this, but I wouldn't let him get hurt. More wolves were on their way, and if we came into a fight, we would be in trouble.

The wolf growled furiously, but I didn't look back. However, Edward stopped and turned to face it.

"She doesn't owe you anything!" he snapped, and a lightning shot through me. I froze en place, trying to figure out what the wolf was thinking. "Leave her alone, leave all of us alone! We're not interested in fighting you, but if we have to, we'll do so. And you'll regret trying to stand in our way." The wolf snarled, and I could hear it step closer. Edward gasped. "You wouldn't!" His voice was so dark, it frightened me more than I had thought he could frighten me. I was happy he wasn't on my bad side.

Edward took a firm grip around my hand and looked at me with stone eyes. I looked back, worried.

The wolf howled loudly, and I wanted to get away. The wolves were close now.

"Come!" Edward said and pulled me along. I followed with several back-glances.

"But the wolves –"

"Will not be happy about this. We should get back to the others as fast as we can."

I sighed miserably. Why couldn't all the hurt in this world just leave us alone to be happy?

-

We made it back to the house without further trouble, but I knew that was no reason to feel safe. The others were waiting for us in the living room, and as we came inside, I could see that Alice had curled up into a ball, rocking back and forth like a psycho mania. As soon as we came in, she danced to her feet and came to hug us both tightly. I could see that the others were on the edge of doing the same, but there were more important things at stake.

"What happened?" Rosalie asked. "Alice couldn't see. We were worried." She looked worried. And afraid. I saw her shoot a glance at Emmett. I knew how she felt, though I felt it more, I felt worst. Because I knew more than her. I knew that there really was reason to be afraid.

"The wolves," Edward explained. "They were there!"

Rosalie stiffened, and I could see that she wasn't just afraid now; she was terrified and furious.

"What were they doing there?" she snapped. "This is our lands!"

"Take it easy, Rosalie," Carlisle said and put a hand on her shoulder. "There's an explanation to this." He turned to Edward and me. "Edward? Did you hear their thoughts?"

Edward nodded with a deep frown. "They came because a woman on the reservation has disappeared. It was a vampire." The others, including me, stiffened.

"Who was it?" Esme asked. "Someone we know?"

Edward shrugged. "It wasn't one of us. They could smell that. But I don't know who it is."

Jasper cleared his throat and got everyone's attention. He looked at me. "What about Laurent and James?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I told them to stay away from La Push," I answered.

"But then who can it be?" Esme asked.

"I suggest we go find out," Emmett said roughly. "We go to La Push and find the vampire's track."

"No, Emmett!" Carlisle said harshly. "That would only resolve in more problems and violence."

Emmett's eyes were black, and I briefly thought that that may be what he wanted. But then again, even Emmett must understand the seriousness of the situation. And he surely didn't want anything to happen to Rosalie. I knew that.

"How else are we supposed to find out?" Emmett asked.

"Why do we need to find out?" Rosalie asked.

"So that we can clear our good name," Emmett answered and crossed his arms.

"What good name?" Jasper asked, and again, everyone looked at him. "To the wolves we'll always be bad news. To them, we don't have a good name!" He looked at Alice. "Have you seen anything?"

She shook her head. "No. Nothing. Whoever it was, I didn't see him or her come or leave."

"Maybe we could find the vampire's trail without going into La Push?" Emmett said.

Jasper shook his head. "It would be both too risky and difficult. Besides, again, what would we earn?"

"We could tell whoever it is to stay away from La Push in the future," I suggested and shuddered. "It seems we only keep getting more trouble." I looked at the floor. "It's my fault."

"Don't blame yourself, Bella," Esme said and rubbed my arm. She kissed my forehead. "We love you."

"I don't deserve it," I mumbled smudging. No one understood, except maybe Edward, who hugged me tighter.

"What do we do?" Rosalie asked.

"What is there to do?" Alice asked. "We must just try and sort it out with the wolves again."

"I don't think they'll be listening this time," Edward said.

"Jasper can make them," Alice said.

I looked at Carlisle. I was expecting some genius idea to come from him. Our father. He always knew what to do.

"Maybe we just have to wait this one out," he said.

My dead heart sunk.

"No," Jasper said and looked fiercely at us. His eyes were burning. Edward's hand bored into my skin, and I pressed myself against him. "I suggest that we don't wait this out. I suggest we don't pick up a fight. I suggest we leave."

The silence that his words left behind was filled with thoughts, with agony, with aggravation.

"What?" Rosalie exclaimed as the first. "Leave?"

"Yes," Jasper answered. "Leave Forks."

"But we just came here!" Emmett said.

Jasper looked harshly at him. "We've been here for two years, Emmett. We've all known that we would soon have to leave. The humans might suspect soon. We're not changing, remember? And now we have an even better reason to leave!"

Everyone were deep in thought, turning the subject to look at it from every possible aspect. I was already decided. I followed my family wherever they went.

"Maybe it's not the best way to handle it," Carlisle said. "When we come back later, even in generations, the problem will still be there."

"Then we just don't come back. There are plenty of cities like Forks," Jasper said.

"No!" Alice suddenly cut in fiercely, and everyone turned their eyes to her. "No, I won't let those dogs make me leave my home! That's not fair! I like it here!"

Jasper stared at her, and I knew he was suddenly forced to rethink his suggestion. He wouldn't go anywhere without Alice, he wanted her to be happy. And if leaving put her in distress …

"I don't want to leave, either," Rosalie said. "I don't want to start all over again."

"Maybe we don't have to," Esme said. "We can go to Denali again."

I bit down my lower lip, feeling a deep, black hole forming inside me.

"No!" Alice said again. "We have to stay. We have to stand our ground!"

I looked at her with sad eyes. I wasn't sure if I agreed with her. Of course I didn't like that the wolves were coming, but I wanted my family to be safe. And they weren't in Forks. Not anymore.

"We could stay and just see what happens," Rosalie suggested. "If things turn out bad, we can leave. We've done that before."

Jasper nodded, and everyone but Alice followed up. Alice looked as if she was about to explode, but then she sighed, massaged her forehead and nodded. "Fine," she growled. Jasper came to stand in front of her, and he put his hands on her shoulders. They looked into each other's eyes. I looked away. It was so intimate, I felt as if I was intruding their personal space.

"Then it's settled," Carlisle said seriously. "We'll wait and see what happens. In the meantime, I don't think it's a good idea if any of you go to school. I'll have to keep going to the hospital, or people will suspect it. We'll say that you're being taught at home."

"Yes," everyone said.

Carlisle looked out of one of the enormous windows. "While this is on, we should stay near the house as much as possible, as close as possible. No one hunts alone. The teams should be at least at three, if not all of us." We nodded. Carlisle turned to Edward and Alice. "You two; look out for our family." He shot a look at everyone else. "Now I'll go pull you out of school."

And then he left.

---

Of course I couldn't say that Bella thought Tanya felt raped, but I kind of wanted her to. Because that's how Tanya must feel.

This was a sad chapter to write. I was on the edge of tears. I felt so sorry for Tanya!

The "I'm already there" can be understood in many ways – either, Bella is with her family, because the Cullens is her family, or she's with it because Edward is where her family really is. Or because her mind is already with the Denalis.

I know, they didn't get to be happy a lot. Sorry about that …