Chapter 21 – Invitations

RPOV

Aro stroked the back of my hand, smiling at me affectionately. "Still so troubled, beautiful Rosalie? I see your conflict, but surely you can see ours as well. I have seen how much this human knows about our world; even about the counsel itself. She is a danger to our existence and Carlisle is being foolish in this matter. By our own laws, we should have taken care of this problem long ago." His voice was still calm, but his eyes pleaded with mine. I stood up and pulled my hand from his grasp, walking a short distance away. I stood with my back to him and played with a strand of my curls. "I understand, Aro. But even I do not fear Bella's knowledge. She is desperate to become one of our kind. She would never betray the ones she cares for. She does not deserve death." Aro appeared in front of me and brushed my hair back as he looked down at me.

"Still, she is a danger as long as she is a human living among vampires. If they were to change her, perhaps that would be a different story." I reached out and placed my hand on Aro's cheek. "They're getting married Aro. Surely that means he's going to change her." I knew Aro had seen all of this before, but I sent the memory of my phone call with Edward to him again. "Carlisle told Edward that the wedding plans are already underway. Perhaps that means the plan to change her is too." Aro laid his hand over mine and smiled gently. "Perhaps it is time to send you back to the Olympic Coven to find out for us." I jerked my hand back and stepped away, more wounded than I thought I would have been at such an idea. "You want me to leave? You could send anyone to find out. Why send me away?" Aro immediately rushed forward, picking up my hand again. "My dear, having you away from me is hardly something I wish for. I am only thinking by your standards. Sending any member of the counsel would put your dear human in danger. Just because I have the control necessary for such a task does not mean they do."

"Please, Aro. I can't face them again after what I've done. And I would not be met with open arms. You must know I would be attacked for the pain I have caused them." I dropped my gaze to Aro's cloak and shook my head slowly. "Please, don't make me go back there. At least not alone." Aro tilted my chin up and stared into my eyes as he held my hand and searched my thoughts. I found that for once, his blood red eyes did not give me the chills as they once had. Aro smiled at my thought and he stroked my cheek with the back of his hand. "Very well," he said softly. "Then I shall accompany you."

Just as I was about to respond Sulpicia strode into the room with a look of fury written across her face. "Aro, please. Leave the girl alone. She is of no consequence to you. What do you care if they attack her?" I glared at her and did not move away from Aro's touch, just as Aro's eyes did not leave my face. "Wife," he said in a tone that made me shiver. "This matter is of no concern to you." Sulpicia's rage overwhelmed her and she grabbed Aro's arm, pulling him away from me. I stepped away and watched as Aro's eyes fixed on her. "No concern to me?! I am your wife! Or have you forgotten that, my dear husband? Perhaps you have since all you seem interested in is staring at this slut!" Before I realized I was moving, I was standing inches away from Sulpicia. Aro's hand was locked around my wrist and my hand lingered just millimeters from her face. "Rosalie," he said softly but firmly. "I'll thank you to refrain from hitting my wife." I wrenched my arm away from him and stepped back, keeping my eyes on Sulpicia. She smirked at me with a look of pure victory.

Suddenly I was the one wearing the smirk of victory as Aro's hand crossed Sulpicia's cheek, leaving her speechless. She stared up at him in shock and I stepped up behind him, placing my hands on his shoulders for effect. Sulpicia looked as though she might scream from rage and I smirked, moving my hands from Aro's shoulders, under his arms and around to his chest. I pressed myself against him and felt him respond to my touch, leaning back into me.

"Master," Jane's voice called from the doorway of Aro's chambers. She strode into the room and stood in front of Aro without acknowledging anyone else. "This was just delivered." She held out a letter and Aro took it, dismissing her. Jane left the room without another word and I leaned over Aro's shoulder as he opened it. "Ah, yes. We should have expected this. Young Alice must be watching, don't you agree?" I looked over the envelope and immediately recognized Alice's handwriting. "Yes." Aro nodded slowly and patted one of my hands gently, holding it against his chest. "We have been invited to the wedding, my beautiful white rose. And so, we shall go. Our trip can wait until then. Unless, of course, you disagree?" I read the invitation again quickly and shook my head against his back. "No, that will give me extra time to think." Sulpicia still stood seemingly frozen in front of us, her hand on her cheek as she listened to our conversation. "I hope you will consider my personal request as well, darling Rose." Sulpicia's eyes narrowed and flew to mine, waiting for my reply. "As always, Aro." Sulpicia growled furiously and flew from the room, leaving Aro and I pressed together in the middle of his chambers.

BPOV

"I think I might throw up," I said and wished Jasper was nearby. Emmett glanced over at me before putting his eyes back on the road. "For real, or are you being dramatic?" I sighed and put my head back on my seat, looking out the window. "Maybe a little of both. Em, I'm so nervous. He's going to freak out." Emmett remained silent and I knew it was only because he didn't want to lie to me and didn't disagree. The closer we got to Charlie's house the more dread I felt. I looked down at my ring and smiled despite my nerves. I sighed and looked up to see Emmett looking down at me. "It's gonna be okay, Bella. Charlie and I get along pretty well and he loves you. Even if he does freak out, it'll be okay in the end." I wanted desperately to believe Emmett, but I just wasn't convinced. Still, I decided not to argue and looked out the window nervously. It had been a week since Emmett had proposed to me in Seattle and Alice was already planning and preparing for the wedding. I glanced down at the wedding invitation that lay next to my leg and sighed. She had seen Aro and Rosalie talking about the decision Rosalie had to make and saw them decide to come to Forks to check on me personally. Alice and Emmett came up with a plan and Alice sent a wedding invitation immediately.

Suddenly I was facing a wedding in just months and the king of all vampires was on the guest list along side the most beautiful woman in the world. Well, maybe her presence would take some of the attention from me at least. That would make things a little easier. I was also thrilled that Carlisle and Esme would be coming home for the wedding. Still, as happy as I was about getting married to Emmett, a part of me feared it. My parents marriage had ended in a really bad way and it kind of made me scared of marriage. But how could my marriage end that way when Emmett and I vowed forever to each other? I looked up at Emmett and smiled. No, there was nothing to fear when it came to marrying Emmett.

We pulled up outside Charlie's house and I saw the police cruiser in the driveway. Emmett was already out of the Jeep and helped me down from my seat. He slipped his arm around me and I leaned into him, my heart pounding. "Bella, please. Everything will be fine." Still, I put my left hand in my pocket and held the wedding invitation behind Emmett's back. Charlie met us at the door and held it so we could walk in. "Heya, Bells!" He swept me up into a hug and then set me down suddenly, clearing his throat. "Hi dad. It smells good in here. You cooking something?" Charlie went to the kitchen and Emmett and I followed, holding hands. "Yeah I thought we could all have a quick lunch. It's just one of them frozen pizzas though. But I think I got it set at the right temp this time so it shouldn't burn." I laughed and we sat down at the kitchen table. "Sir," Emmett said and I spun to face him. I shushed him but he pretended not to hear me. "Bella and I have some news we wanted to share with you. We haven't told anyone other than my family and we thought you deserved to know before Bella's mother."

Charlie stopped moving and looked at me, his eyes narrowing a bit. "You pregnant?" Emmett began to laugh quietly and I felt his body shaking next to me. "Dad! No!" He stared at me for a few more seconds and seemed convinced, exhaling loudly. "Well thank God. I think you'd make a fine mother, Bella, but you're not even married yet." Emmett nudged me and I leaned forward, practically throwing the wedding invitation at him by accident. Charlie picked it up and looked at Emmett and I curiously before breaking the seal. As his eyes moved over Alice's fancy script, I pulled my hand from my pocket and held it up, waiting. "Bella, is this a jo—" He looked up then and his eyes fell on my ring. He grabbed my hand and pulled it forward. "Sir," Emmett began again. "Bella and I are getting married. I asked her last weekend and somehow she found a reason to say yes." I elbowed Emmett and hissed in pain. "How many times, Bella?" Emmett's voice whispered into my ear and I turned back to face Charlie again.

His eyes were on mine and he seemed so… Sad. "Marriage, Bella? But what about college and your friends and… What about Jake?" I squeezed his hand and smiled softly, trying to ignore the fact that he was still pulling for Jake and I to get together. I decided to ignore that part of his question completely. "Dad, I'll still go to college. Emmett and I are both looking at applying next year. We wanted some time off to spend together and then… Well we'll need time to move." Charlie's eyes darkened and flickered to Emmett before moving back to mine. "Move? You're leaving?" Emmett rubbed my leg gently and I pressed forward even though a part of me still hated the decision. "We're going to college together in Alaska, dad. Carlisle has family there and they've agreed to help us find a place of our own and then we'll start school the following year."

"But why Alaska, Bells?" He squeezed my hand and I realized that maybe we were giving him too much information to process all at once. "Sir," Emmett spoke again. "That's really my fault. You see, I've already been accepted into the Mechanical Engineering program there. I can delay my start by a year, but after that there's no more putting it off." Charlie sat up straighter and his eyes zeroed in on Emmett. His voice was louder and I could hear anger in it. "Yeah but isn't that something you could do anywhere? Why Alaska? And what about what Bella wants? Isn't that important?" I squeezed Charlie's hand and pulled his attention back to me before Emmett had a chance to reply. "Dad, Alaska is what I want. I love you and mom but I need to do my own thing for a while. Emmett and I have talked about it though, and we think we'll come back after our first degrees are done and then go to graduate school on the mainland." Even though I could tell he was hurt and disappointed, Charlie swallowed his words and looked down at the invitation. "This is only two months away, Bells. How are you going to get all this together by then?"

"I'm not, dad. Alice is. She's already arranging and planning. You know how she is." Charlie looked up at me finally after minutes of silence. "Well, you're gonna have to tell your mother." His eyes sparkled gently and he sat back in his seat, folding his arms over his chest. "Yeah, that sounds like a fun phone call." He laughed and ran his fingers through his mustache before jumping up suddenly. "Shit!" He pulled the oven door open and smoke rolled out, engulfing us briefly. Charlie tossed the cookie sheet down on the stove and I heard Emmett breathe a sigh of relief. "Sorry, kids. I forgot to set the timer I guess." The blackened pizza smoked gently and I couldn't help but giggle.

Emmett dropped me off at the edge of the forest and I saw him look back one last time as Jake and Sam stepped out from the trees. "Bella!" Jake picked me up in a backbreaking hug and spun me a few times before setting me back down. Sam shook his head and diverted his eyes, obviously trying not to laugh. "Hey Jake. Hi Sam." Sam looked up at me and shook his head slowly. "Hello Bella. Forgive me for not spinning you around like an idiot." Jake growled and turned on Sam. "I thought you had stuff to do. Get lost." They exchanged a few insults and then finally Sam transformed and disappeared in a maze of trees. "Come on Bella. We brought the bikes. I figured we could ride back to the rez."

Jake and I steered the bikes out of the trees and onto the road. We rode back to the reservation peacefully and Jake seemed impressed with my newfound riding ability. I had to admit I kind of missed my old crappy bike. It reminded me of the times Jake and I had spent fixing it up and the friendship we developed. Suddenly I realized just how much I missed Jake and that friendship. Once Emmett had come home and taken it upon himself to protect me, we spent every free moment together and Jake kind of just got left behind. I looked at Jake as we rode along and felt affection for him wash over me. I missed my best friend.

We rode the bikes into the garage at Jake's and parked them side-by-side. Jake smiled at me as he climbed down and I threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around him. "Jake I'm sorry. I've been so selfish." His arms wrapped around my waist and he rubbed my back slowly, chuckling somewhere above me. "It's okay, Bells. Water under the bridge." He pulled back and grinned down at me, taking my hand. "Not that, you know, you didn't rip my heart out or anything. But hey… It's in the past." We laughed together and he patted my hand, turning to leave. But he stopped and looked down at my hand. I followed his gaze and felt my cheeks grow red as I pulled my hand back slowly. "That's, uh, why I'm here actually." Jake looked up at me and I couldn't read his expression for a moment. Then it broke.

"You're engaged?!" He stepped back, almost knocking his bike over and I watched him begin to tremble. "Jake, I—" He cut me off, his voice rising. "You're engaged?! To him??" I reached into my back pocket and pulled out the wedding invitation Alice had given me this morning. Written across the front of the envelope was "Jacob Black" in Alice's delicate script. I stretched my arm out and he pulled the envelope from my grasp, tearing it open without another word. He read it quickly and then looked up at me again, his eyes filled with worry and anger. "You can't marry him! He's a vampire, Bella!"

"Jake, I know what he is." Jake was already out of the garage before I could even take a step to keep up with him. He began to cross the yard, his hands on the back of his head. "Jake! Please, wait!" He spun around and put his arm out, stopping me. "Don't. Don't come any closer, Bella." He stood there, breathing heavily and staring at me with more emotions than I could count. "Bella, you're not safe with a vampire. He—How can you trust him to not hurt you, even by accident? How do you ever expect to… To be with him?" I blushed and looked down almost immediately, my fingers running over my ring. "He's gentle with me, Jake. He doesn't hurt me really." A thundering growl broke through my thoughts and I looked up to see him shaking violently. Paul and Embry came out of a nearby house and stood on the porch watching. "Why does it sound like you already know that from experience, Bella?" His words dripped with disgust and anger. Now I felt my own temper rising.

"Because I do. I mean… We've done enough that I know. And what business is that of yours? I'm standing here, aren't I? Obviously he hasn't killed me yet!" My words came out harsher than I had meant them, but I couldn't stop myself. Jake took a step forward and I took one back, prompting Paul and Embry to jump down from the porch and begin walking towards us. "Bella how can you even think about marrying him and giving yourself to him? He's a bloodsucker. And what makes you think he won't just run off with some vampire and leave you high and dry?" Now it was my turn to growl. I closed the space between us and slapped him across the face. A terrible sound began to rise in his chest and he pushed me away, hunching over as he shook violently. Paul and Embry each put a hand on his shoulder and his shaking began to still. "I'm sorry, Jake. I wanted you to hear it from me. And I really want you to come to the wedding. I—Jake, we're going to be leaving sometime after the wedding."

Finally he looked up, his eyes meeting mine. He searched them and shook his head angrily. "No! I won't let you do that, Bella. You can't." His voice had dropped and I heard raw pain in his words. Leah appeared at his side then, pushing Paul and Embry away. They slowly moved back to the porch and I watched as Leah stood in front of Jake, her hand on his. "Jacob, this is not your decision. If she wants to become a filthy bloodsucker, you have no say." She turned slowly and her eyes met mine. "Unless, of course, she is turned by one of the Cullen's. In which case, the treaty would be broken and we'd be forced to hunt them all down. One by one. Starting with the biter."

Her words echoed through my head repeatedly and I looked up to see Jake staring at me, his breathing regulated again. "The treaty, Bella, states that as long as none of them bite a human, they can live here in peace. But once the treaty is broken, we'll be forced to hunt them down and destroy them." Pain shot threw me and tears filled my eyes. "Jake— I—It's my decision. I want this. I want him. It's different if I'm the one making the decision." Jake shook his head and stepped forward. "No, Bella. The treaty is simple. If any one of them bites a human, no matter what the human does or doesn't want, the treaty is violated and we're forced to act."

I stumbled back, needing to get away from him and nearly tripped over a rock. Jacob was there then, holding me up and I pushed out of his arms, tears falling from my eyes. "No! Don't you touch me!" He put his hands up in the air and stepped back, moving away from me. I began to run to the road and looked back at him, shaking slightly. "The wedding is in two months. Please tell Billy and the pack. I won't expect to see you there, but your name is on that invitation." I turned and began to run again, hearing him calling after me. I didn't slow down until I felt my legs begin to shake. And even then I kept moving, desperate to get back to the border and back to Emmett.

A/N: Just a few quick notes. First, there's a poll up on my profile about my next story. Please take a moment to vote so I can begin brainstorming. Next, thanks again for all the reviews and favorites. I'm really enjoying seeing my hits climb steadily each day. In response to a question in one of the reviews left, I haven't decided yet if I'm going to do a chapter from Edward's POV. I usually decide on new POVs as I go along. But basically, I don't like Edward and I think writing from his perspective might bore me. So I'll probably just explain what happens to him through Bella or Emmett's POV. Expect to find out about him in the upcoming chapters. What do you guys think is going to go down? I already have the main points outlined, but I enjoying reading what you guys think may or may not happen. Cheers – ALitLife