That night, Bella and Edward stopped at the Swan residence for only a short amount of time before they began to prepare for the long night ahead of them.
"Is Addy home?" Bella asked, looking to Edward as she pulled on a thin jacket. There was no hesitation as he nodded.
Bella entered Addy's room without knocking, coming to find the small brunette already clad in leggings, sneakers, and a hoodie that was clearly Embry's; her hair was pulled up into a ponytail. She raised an eyebrow at Bella's abrupt entrance, turning away from her mirror to meet Bella's stare. "Can I help you?"
"Are you going tonight?"
Addy stared over her shoulder as Edward leaned against her door frame.
"M'hm." She mumbled. She turned away from the duo and pulled the corner of her comforter back to where it belonged. She didn't want to look at them.
"Would you like to come with us?" Edward asked, arching an eyebrow.
Addy turned to them with ice in her stare as her eyebrows shot up in shock. Her pretty face held this for only a moment before her nose crinkled and her lips pulled back in disgust. She snorted quietly out her nose, "Yeah," she chuckled dryly, "no thanks."
Bella pursed her lips and watched her cousin carefully. She raised an eyebrow slightly as Addy's attention went out the window and to the treeline in the backyard. It was as if she was waiting for something… or someone.
And then it all clicked.
Bella realized she was waiting for Embry to come from the woods and to her window, just as Edward came to hers. She began wondering if that happened often. She felt as if Edward would have mentioned it at some point, but then again, he tried his best to leave Addy's thoughts alone.
"Embry just got here." Edward spoke again, nodding his head in the direction of the window.
Addy spared him a glare for only a moment before she pulled open her window, "I'm aware." She neared the open window with ease and looked back at Bella and Edward once more, "Shut my door when you leave." And just as easy as it was for her to breathe, she crawled out the window and dropped, presumably, into Embry's arms. Bella wondered how frequently that happened as well.
Not an hour later, Bella and Edward virtually flew into the clearing- the designated training venue. Bella stood with the Cullens, and her eyes scanned the darkness in search of the wolves' arrival.
Edward inhaled, "Prepare yourselves; they've been holding out on us."
Bella raised an eyebrow in confusion, "What is it?"
All of the Cullens mumbled words of shock or dismay, their eyes easily seeing through the darkness and the greenery. Bella's human eyes struggled, and she grew impatient.
And then, what seemed like years later, tons of pairs of glowing eyes approached. Bella squinted and strained to find Addy amongst the darkness, though she knew the chances of that happening were slim.
Carlisle greeted them kindly, and Edward began translating what Sam thought to him. The wolves didn't trust the Cullens enough to be in their human forms.
Addy sat atop Embry's back comfortably as Sam and Carlisle Cullen spoke- indirectly of course. Her hands absentmindedly rubbed through the fur in between his shoulder blades, and his muscles softened and relaxed beneath her tender touch. He hummed lightly in delight, though he kept his guard up within the presence of the vampires.
"We will watch." Edward finished off for Sam, and one-by-one, the wolves sat; some even laid down.
Embry was among those who laid down, and Addy took advantage of this, wriggling forward slightly and sprawling out across his back, coming to rest her chin in her hands from atop his head. She squinted slightly and watched as Jasper Cullen explained the newborn vampires to the wolves. She shivered slightly as he spoke of their strength, and she brought one hand down to stroke Embry's face tenderly; he leaned into her touch, and she visibly relaxed once more.
Addy strained her eyes against the darkness especially hard as the Cullens began to demonstrate attacks. The darkness, combined with their inhuman speed, made it nearly impossible for her to follow along, though.
The night dragged on, and Addy fought to keep her eyes open at all times. She, to her frustration, sometimes found her head drooping down and onto Embry's whilst her eyelids slowly dropped. She'd jerk herself awake once more, though, as the Cullens continued on.
Jasper Cullen informed the wolves that they would be meeting again the following night and that the wolves were more than welcome to join again. Edward voiced that the wolves would return. A moment passed and suddenly the wolves were rising to their feet. Edward explained that they wanted to become familiar with the Cullens' scents in order to avoid any future mistakes. Addy had shivered at this thought.
The sun was just coming over the horizon, as the wolves grumbled and slinked forward.
"Let me down," Addy mumbled, Embry obliging immediately. She found her footing and dropped off of him, her sneakers hitting the forest floor with the thud of her weight.
She watched as the wolves begrudgingly neared the Cullens, and finally, she could see Bella.
Each wolf went through the line and smelled the Cullens. Addy could only imagine their wolfy looks of distaste at the sickly-sweet scent of vampire that they had all described to her.
Her eyes came to Bella again, only to find the brunette already staring at her. Blue met brown in a sleepy-eyed glare. Addy sighed, though she held her deathly stare. Her mind began to wander to try and piece together how her and Bella ever ended up where they were. It was as if their childhood together had never happened, as if they hadn't been best friends their whole lives, as if they were merely mortal enemies. Addy almost chuckled at the irony of it all. After all, their soulmates really were mortal enemies. It was as if it was meant to be like that; like they were actually supposed to hate one another on account of their significant others who had just so happened to have been set in stone from the beginning of time.
None of it made sense to Addy.
She shook her head in frustration and brought her eyes to the ground. She kicked at a rock beside her foot and looked up to Embry's wolf approaching her; her heart fluttered. She reclaimed her position on his back and gripped at his fur tightly as they flew through the forest and back to Charlie's house.
Soon enough, the two were nestled together beneath Addy's comforter, their faces just inches apart as they lay side by side, the blankets reaching up to cover all but their eyes and foreheads.
"Is Edward here?" Addy whispered, an eyebrow quirking. Embry listened for a moment and nodded, his eyes coming back to meet hers.
"It freaks me out when I know he's here; I know he tries not to listen but it's still freaky."
Embry chuckled, and his cheeks flushed, "Isn't it worse when we don't know he's here?" Addy squinted her eyes at him for a moment before grimacing and nodding in agreement. The two giggled quietly before Embry leaned forward to kiss her tenderly.
The following night, Bella and the Cullens returned to the clearing. The moon shined brightly and illuminated the three large wolves in the distance. In front of one sat Addy's small frame. Bella noted how much Embry's wolf dwarfed her already tiny being.
"Where will Addy go during the fight?" Bella asked, turning to look up at Edward.
"She'll be on the Reservation with the other imprints; they have two of the younger wolves staying behind to protect them and the elders." He replied, his eyes never leaving Jasper and Emmett as they fought.
And then, came the day of the battle. Bella had told Charlie that she would be spending the weekend with Alice, and Addy had told him that she, actually, would be spending the weekend with Kim and Emily. Their bags were packed, and they waited impatiently for their separate rides.
At one point, they met in the conjoined bathroom; this very rarely ever happened. They stared coldly at one another for a moment before either spoke.
"So," Bella mumbled, averting her eyes, "you feel safe on the rez with the other, imprints?"
The word sounded wrong coming off her lips.
Addy nodded, "Collin and Brady won't let anything happen to any of us." Her eyes scanned around the bathroom, and she thought over her next words carefully. "We're family. They'd die to protect us."
Bella felt something in her stomach stir.
"That's what the Cullens would do for me."
The girls finally met eyes.
Addy's eyes grew hard.
"If any of my boys get hurt today, I'll kill you."
Bella stared at her in an attempt to gauge her words- was she joking? It wasn't like Addy to joke about something so serious. She thought for another moment, and she stared into Addy's icy eyes.
She wasn't joking.
I'm so so very sorry that the last few chapters have been so dry and so short! I've really been trying to set the stage for the newborn battle, as well as for Breaking Dawn, and it's all coming out very dull. I apologize sincerely, and I also want to thank everyone who has stuck with me through this all; I'm so grateful for you all. Thank you, again, for the continued support, and I look forward to hearing your opinions!