A/N: Sorry for the long time between updates, I'm finding that possible carpal tunnel syndrome is a real bitch. The usual thanks to my prereader and beta, Erikasbuddy and OnePushyFox.
Chapter 21
EPOV
I was so grateful that Emmett interrupted us at that very moment. With Bella putting on the pressure to be changed into one of us, he couldn't have picked a better time to show up. After what just happened between us, I was more conflicted than ever. While the act itself was pleasant beyond words, I couldn't help but wonder if this intimate encounter was premeditated just to coerce me into agreeing to steal Bella's soul and damn her into becoming a monster for eternity. But then again, I was the one who had grabbed my beautiful mate and initiated the tryst, didn't I?
Reaching around my waist, Bella unlocked the door while maintaining constant eye contact. Her confident stare was quite unsettling. She wasn't going to let this conversation be swept under the proverbial rug. I stepped away from the door and she swung it open wide, revealing Emmett waiting anxiously on the other side of the hallway.
"Holy shit, guys. I was just joking about the fooling around." He laughed as he took in our disheveled appearances and shook his head back and forth in disbelief. It seems that you guys have opened up the flood gates now, dude. And in Daddy's office, no less. Tsk-tsk.
Surprisingly, Bella's cheeks didn't flush that tantalizing shade of crimson I found so irresistible. "Don't be crude, Emmett," she said as she pushed past him and walked down the hallway with purpose in her steps.
Huffing loudly, he shot me an irritated glare. "Seriously, Edward. What the hell do you keep doing to piss her off afterwards? She should be happy."
I locked the door to Carlisle's office behind me and started off in pursuit of my girlfriend. "Nothing. She just brought up being able to protect herself and Charlie by being one of us, officially."
Emmett took two long strides and was at my side a moment later. "And I take it you're still against it?"
"I'd rather not discuss this here." We rounded the corner and entered a busy hallway, our loved ones coming into view by the front door.
He lowered his voice and ducked his head closer to my level. "All I have to say is that denying her this one simple request is probably the dumbest mistake you'll ever make."
"Your opinion is noted," I answered and melted into the small crowd of family as we exited the hospital.
Even though I really wanted to run home, to do so would raise questions from Bella's mother. And I didn't want to further exacerbate Charlie's tenuous hold on his anger management skills either, so I decided to ride with Carlisle and Esme in the Mercedes. I also hoped that Bella's temper would cool as she traveled with Emmett and her parents in the patrol car. I wasn't sure where we were going or what was on the agenda, but I was along for the ride anyway. And that really summed up my life in that moment. I was just along for the ride while life pulled me where it would.
Mike POV
"Strip," Victoria commanded. Gaping at her with a puzzled look on my face wasn't the answer she was expecting. A powerful kick to my stomach from a mud-caked boot blasted me through the outer wall of the log cabin and into the woods. The thick trunk of a tree splintered and creaked as it absorbed the impact of my body, stopping my backwards momentum.
"What the hell was that for?" I growled, tired of being the punching bag for every vampire in Forks.
A streak of red blurred from the cabin and hovered menacingly over me as I lay on the dirty forest floor. Not that it really mattered. I was already covered with leaves, twigs, mud, and blood from my feeding expedition with Rosalie and Alice. How far I'd come from my days as an all American boy.
"You dare come back here like this?" She ripped the blood soaked sleeve of my shirt away, lifting it up to her nose and inhaling deeply. She gagged and the sight made me wonder if vampires can puke? It seemed like most of the unpleasant human bodily functions were erased when you were turned, so maybe that one disappeared too? But maybe not if Victoria still gagged? She dropped my arm and the angry look on her face brought me back to reality.
Quickly rolling to the side and jumping up, I sidestepped further away from the psycho woman in front of me. "What do you mean like this? Like what?"
"You smell of dead animals and your eyes tell the whole story." Victoria looked me up and down, disgust twisting her face. "You're leaving me to become one of them."
This display of vulnerability was something I never expected out of this heartless bitch. "No, baby. They kidnapped me and forced me to drink animals."
"So you weren't there willingly?" she asked while she chewed her lip, looking scary and surprisingly delicate at the same time. And I wasn't going to fall for it and took another step back.
"I'm back here with you, right?" I offered her my hand and tried not to cringe when she laced her claws through mine. We walked towards the cabin and passed the door, entering through gaping hole in the side of the wall.
"What did they want with you?" she asked, helping me out of my dirty clothes. That's when she noticed the pale white marks outlining where I had reattached my arm that Edward had ripped off, she traced over the scar with her finger. "They hurt you," she said, her voice trailing off.
I grabbed her hand roughly and pulled it away. I didn't believe for one second that she gave a rat's ass if they hurt me or not. She just believed it was her job to hand out the pain. "They just stuck me in a room with a guard." I had so many scars on my once perfect body from Victoria and her violent ways, how could she tell which ones weren't from her viciousness?
"But they must pay," she hissed impatiently while she quickly disrobed. "And I've already enacted some revenge of my own. Starting with the human girl's father."
Victoria was even more devious than I thought if she was going after Bella's family instead of her directly. "You killed the Chief of Police?" I asked, trying to keep my voice cool.
She grabbed my cock and roughly pulled me close to her now naked body. "Just a few broken pieces, no killing. Those stupid dogs chased Laurent and me away before I could do any real damage and move on to the girl." She kissed and nipped at my neck before nuzzling in closer.
My mouth went dry at the thought of Victoria harming Bella. Her grip tightened and began to slide along my length. My body betrayed my mind by reacting to the movement. I was still a guy, even after all that had happened to me recently.
"Maybe we should focus on taking out the wolves," I said while I turned my attention to her body. It was better to act like I was completely here and not faking this. "Or better yet, let's get out of town completely."
Victoria's hand stilled and a sharp pain sliced into my neck as she bit down. "I am not done here." The crazy was back and it was squeezing the life out of my dick at that moment.
"I was just thinking we could travel. I've never been out of state," I yelped, trying to pry her hand off of me but having no luck. "We'll stay if you want."
She released her death grip and resumed her movements. "I knew you'd see it my way."
This situation was certainly making the decision on choosing a diet a little easier. Did drinking human blood make all vampire women nuts? Because I knew that I certainly couldn't live like this.
Alice POV
When the two vehicle caravan left the hospital, the first stop was Bella's house. Carlisle gave Charlie a heavy duty pain killer and he was now resting comfortably in his own bed with Renee keeping an eye on things inside the house. She didn't know that two wolves kept watch on the house from the nearby woods, just in case Victoria decided to try anything.
Carlisle had agreed to allow the wolves a temporary addendum to the treaty so they could patrol Charlie's property for the night, even though it was technically Cullen territory. Bella made the phone call to Jacob Black to arrange everything while Charlie slept and my parents entertained Renee. While Edward was not thrilled with the thought of unpredictable and often violent wolves being so close to Bella and her parents, we weren't left with much choice. It was made clear that under no circumstances were the wolves allowed inside the house. And the plan was for Emmett to be stationed inside when Bella went home later tonight.
All hell seemed to breaking loose around us, with Bella and her family being in the center of the fire. With the attack on her father and her mother showing up unannounced in Forks, we knew it was important to keep Renee from learning the truth about us. We also wanted to keep her out of harm's way. With a little white lie about a joint science project that Bella and I needed to finish told to Renee, Bella was out of the house so we could discuss strategy. Renee and Charlie were left under the hopefully watchful eye of the wolves.
My family and Bella assembled in the library of our home tucked deep in the forest. As the members of my clan sat on any available surface, I made sure that Bella was comfortable on the loveseat next to Edward before settling in on the floor next to her feet.
"This situation with Victoria and Michael is serious," Carlisle began from his position of power behind his desk. "She is especially dangerous now and is obviously toying with us by attacking Bella's family."
I reached up and patted her leg reassuringly and Bella covered my hand with her own, squeezing mine back tightly. "It could have been worse, but luckily Jacob Black was able to call in other wolves to protect us."
Esme leaned forward in the chair she had pulled close to Carlisle's side. "Did Victoria say what she wants, Bella?"
"She knew Mike was gone and I think she's afraid he was here willingly."
Jasper stood with his back to us, staring out the window as he spoke. "Victoria blames us for taking James away from her. Now she's afraid the same thing is happening with Mike."
"But Mike doesn't just want to hunt Bella like James did," Rosalie added from the plush chair she sat in across from us. "Honestly, I don't see what the fuss is all about," she muttered under her breath too quietly for Bella to hear.
Emmett paced back and forth behind Rosalie's chair. Patience had never been his strong point. "So let's find her and finally put an end to this situation."
Edward stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned back into the love seat. "I tried to do that with Mike, but Jasper here stopped me before I could finish the job."
Jasper finally turned to face the inside of the room. "Hey, now. I was only doing what Alice said I needed to do."
"That's because you're whipped," Emmett barked. And it was on.
Jasper, Emmett, and Edward's voices crashed into one another, each one trying to make their point about why they did what they did. Bella responded by folding over and leaning her head in her lap, closing her eyes tightly and holding her ears. Esme, Rosalie, and I knew that there was no interrupting the boys when they got like this. But Carlisle always tried to break their disagreements up quickly; because otherwise they could argue for hours and get nowhere.
"Boys," Carlisle said and waited a few seconds before repeating it again, much louder this time. But they kept arguing. Finally able to not take any more, Bella got up and left the room, returning with their beloved PlayStation 3. As she waved it in the air and threatened to smash it into smithereens on the floor, Emmett and Jasper quickly grew silent and snapped to attention. Even Edward instantly calmed down, his eyes nervously taking in the electronics in his girlfriend's hand as she waved it around in the air. We'd have to file away that technique for future disagreements.
"Thank you, Bella," Esme said as the boys returned to their respective corners and Bella roughly dumped the game console on the desk and sat back down next to Edward.
Unexpectedly, Edward yawned loudly and rubbed at his eyes. Bella leaned in close to his ear and whispered. "We better get you to bed before you pass out where you sit." Edward merely nodded and rose to his feet, pulling Bella with him. The couple walked out of the room, hand in hand, leaving us to wonder what was going on.
All eyes went to Carlisle, who filled everyone in on Edward's strange behavior. "A side effect of Mike's power. Once you've been rendered unconscious by his hands, it somehow forces the vampire into having a sleep pattern."
"But for how long?" Jasper asked, concern passing his face.
Carlisle shook his head. "I have no idea. I've never seen anything like this before. And I only learned of Edward's experience earlier this afternoon."
"Now this meeting can really start," I said, rising to my feet and crossing the room. I drew the newly installed black-out curtains closed.
"When did we get curtains?" Rosalie asked.
Esme answered. "Today. Alice asked that I put them up since we counted on having an eavesdropper tonight."
"If out there, Mike won't be able to see anything inside of here, but he will be able to hear everything," I said while passing out pads of paper and pens to everyone. "We only have about five minutes before Edward falls asleep and Mike shows up to watch Bella through the bedroom window.
Emmett's expression turned angry. "I told that little twerp to forget Bella or else."
Jasper interrupted before Emmett could finish his threat. "It's his interest in Bella that's going to buy us some time before Victoria comes unglued and attacks."
"So we're just going to let him sit outside, peeping-tom on Bella through the window?" A vision of Emmett bashing Mike into a tree repeatedly flashed before my eyes.
"Yes, we are. And don't you dare leave this house and break that tree using Mike as an axe." I sat down on the loveseat and motioned for Jasper to join me. "It's really important that Mike witnesses a normal night here for the next hour."
"Shouldn't Edward be here for this meeting?" Emmett asked.
Carlisle walked to the window, pushed back the heavy curtain and peered out. Satisfied that no one was outside yet, he turned back toward us and answered Emmett's question. "It's not physically possible for him to stay awake right now. Bella couldn't wake Edward up for several hours this morning."
"But shouldn't he be here when we discuss his new diet?" Rosalie's eyes whipped to her husband's face as he spoke. She was the only member of our family that didn't know about Edward's recent dabbles with Bella's human blood.
"What is going on? Everything is going to hell and why am I the last to know?" Rosalie closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"It's not what you think, Rosie. Calm down." Emmett rubbed her back.
Her princess meltdown would have to wait until later. "We just have to let things between Bella and Edward progress naturally, without any of our influence." The visions I'd had of the blood drinking were innocuous – just little sips for Edward here and there. Regardless of how our family viewed this type of activity, I didn't foresee any problem for them. "Somehow this situation between Edward and Bella gives Mike motivation to keep the peace. I don't know why, but it seems to be related."
"So what should we do, Carlisle?" Esme asked her husband.
Our patriarch looked at each of us one by one, making eye contact before he finally spoke. "We have to make Michael feel welcome."
Rosalie gasped. "Are we a halfway house for fucking wayward vampires now?"
"Right now, Mike is on the fence and he could go either way. If he goes to Victoria's side," I said as my eyes became unfocused. I couldn't finish my thought as my eyesight was flooded with a vision. The library before me morphed into a bustling and secure office. The Volturi were in Forks, occupying our home and using it as their new North American headquarters. The newest member of the Volturi Guard, Mike Newton, held a place of high honor at Aro's side. Only the members of my family with special gifts were allowed to live. Emmett, Rosalie, Esme, and even their old friend Carlisle were dismembered in front Edward, Jasper, Bella, and myself included. "What kind of special gift does Bella have?" I muttered to myself.
"Alice?" Carlisle asked, cocking his eyebrow in silent question.
"I think Mike would make a great addition to our family." I said cheerily, much more loudly than I usually speak. I scribbled on my pad of paper and held it up in the air so everyone could see it.
Game on. He's outside.
Mike POV
"I just wish we could have a few weeks of peace." Bella spoke softly as she smoothed Edward's hair down, lazily pushing it back as he appeared to sleep beside her in a large bed. I wished that I was the one sleeping next to her in that expensive bed, wanting to be the vampire who she lovingly pressed herself up against and caressed.
"No danger or drama. No attempts to take me away from my family. Just day after day of uneventful school, each followed by long nights with you." She sighed lightly and I swore that I could almost feel her sweet breath against my skin, even though I was perched in a tree at least three hundred yards from the Cullen's house. Damn wind and overactive imagination packed inside this super-sensitive vampire skin.
"Is that too much to ask?" Bella pondered aloud, her voice quiet and tinged with sadness.
I didn't think that she was asking too much. In my crazed newborn state, I was approaching this all wrong. Kidnapping Bella? Why, that was a monumentally bad idea. I knew, afterwards of course, that it was really stupid on my part. All I really accomplished was making everyone suspicious of my motives—the Cullens, Victoria, and especially Bella.
The last thing I wanted was for Bella to be unhappy and anxious, sick with worry for the safety of her family. Add in Victoria's own twisted agenda, which was still for the most part unknown to me, and everything was so up in the air. My sudden, impulsive rendezvous with Bella had done nothing to bring us closer together. She didn't get a chance see how much better I was for her now that I was a vampire. If anything, I drove her and Cullen right into the sack. And I smelled every part of her all over Edward the moment he came home. But that brute Emmett held me back, or otherwise I would have wiped that smug expression off the bastard face.
Bella's whispers brought me out of my prize fighter fantasies, the good ones where I was the one ripping Edward limb from limb. "Sleep well, my love. I need to get back to my mom and dad. I'll miss you."
I didn't want to watch as she lovingly stroked his cheek before placing a gentle kiss where her graceful fingers had just traveled, but I couldn't force myself to look away. I imagined what it would feel like to have her touch me with such love, such care. I knew that I had to be satisfied with just watching and waiting, or Alice would see my plans and they would try to stop me.
"Get home safe, Bella," I said and leapt out of the tree. Landing with a soft thud on the forest floor, I yawned. Shit, I thought. I looked like the Sandman was going to catch up with me just like it he had Edward. I needed to get back to my parents' house and quickly. There was no way that I could let Victoria and Laurent know that I had an immense weakness right now. Not if I wanted to live to see forever with Bella.
BPOV
Just when I thought I'd experienced some of the most awkward situations of my life, this one topped it. There was nothing like sharing a bed with your mother, especially when you were eighteen and had lost your virginity in the same bed earlier in the day to your vampire boyfriend.
"This is fun," my mom said into the darkened room. "We haven't slept in the same bed like this since you were really little."
I flipped the covers off of one leg, trying to get a little relief from the stifling heat in my bedroom. I didn't realize until now how much I needed Edward's cool body to sleep comfortably. "Um, yeah…I guess."
"Things with you and Edward are pretty serious?" Her words hung in the air, waiting for an answer.
"He's the one," I answered simply.
Renee rolled over onto her side to face me. "I just want to make sure that you're doing what's best for you. Especially after what went on in here this morning." My mother giggled. I was glad that she thought this was funny while I was mortified.
Heat filled my cheeks at the mere mention of my deflowering. Damn my body's inability to stay cool, calm, and collected.
The corners of her mouth upturned slightly when she noticed my discomfort. "This isn't going to be the lecture on abstinence like I'm sure you got from your father, Bella."
I turned towards my mother and the long sleeve of my shirt rode up, exposing the scabs left from my kidnapping. I quickly pulled the fabric over my hands to hide the wounds from my mother, not wanting to worry her any further. I had already been a terrible daughter by not contacting her much lately and leaving her out of my life.
Renee reached out and stroked a fallen lock of hair away from my face. "I just don't want you to be faced with the same kind of decisions that I had to make when I was your age."
I weighed my words carefully before speaking. I didn't want to come off as arrogant or condescending. "We'll be careful, mom. You don't have to worry."
"What do you mean, you'll be careful? Was today the first time? Please don't tell me we showed up and ruined your first time." Renee covered her face in embarrassment.
"Actually, yeah," I said. It was me who was embarrassed now. I was pretty sure my mother assumed Edward and I had been doing it all along. And if it had been up to just me, both of our virtues would have been extinct a long time ago.
"Oh, Bella. I'm so sorry. We must have ruined your time together." She seemed genuinely sorry for showing up unannounced. This was definitely not the typical response a mother would give when hearing about her daughter's sex life. But then again, Renee wasn't your usual, run of the mill mother.
"Don't worry, mom. You didn't interrupt anything. Dad just didn't know that Edward was here, that's all." I felt comfortable confessing this to Renee since she was being more friend than mother at the moment.
"What were you doing home, anyway? Shouldn't you have been at school?"
I rubbed absently at the itchy, healing wounds on one of my ankles with my foot, careful to keep the pajama pants I wore over the afflicted area. "I didn't feel well. So I took a sick day."
"Well, obviously you guys weren't too sick," she answered, a smile on her lips.
I giggled and returned her smile. "When are you going back to Florida?"
Her face grew serious. "My flight leaves at noon tomorrow. I could only get away for a few days."
My heart sunk in my chest as I finally realized that I missed my mother more than I let myself believe. "I'm sorry that I don't keep in better touch. I've just been busy with school and with…"
"Edward," she interrupted. "I get it."
"You do?" I asked.
"You're in love. Just make some time for your dear old mom every now and then, okay?"
"Deal," I answered. "Goodnight, mom. I love you."
"I love you too," she said and kissed my forehead before settling into Edward's side of the bed.
But sleep was hard to come by for me. While my mother softly snored beside me, I tried not to toss and turn as my body overheated in the flannel pajamas. I was used to sleeping in much less clothing. And knowing that Edward was watching over me and just having his cool body near always put me at peace. But he was all alone, asleep in his own bed right now. I smiled at the reversal of roles while I remembered how I was the one who watched over him as he slept into in the night. Before exhaustion mercifully swept over my body, dragging me into the blackness of sleep, my thoughts were of him.
Do you think Mike is up to no good and what diet will he choose? Will Bella get her wish for a little bit of peace and quiet? Let me know what you think in a review. Until next time...