Leah hobbled back into the house only to find her mother standing at the foot of the stairs clutching a pair of crutches. Sue's mouth was agape, and her voice was high and hard. "Did I just hear something about Emily? And the Cullens?"
"Well," Leah hedged, "it's crazy, isn't it?" She contemplated lying. Jacob had warned her not to say anything to anyone except Quil.
But it seemed as if Sue had heard it all anyway. She handed her the crutches and said, "Just… It's unbelievable. It's absurd. What is wrong with everyone?"
"I don't know, Mom. I don't know." Leah headed for the kitchen. Sue beat her there and pulled the phone from the wall and started to dial. "Um, what are you doing? Did you hear Jacob tell me not to say anything to anyone? We don't know who we can trust."
Sue shushed her and sent her a stern look. She whispered, "I'm helping. I… Oh, hello!" Her tone shifted into a falsely bright cadence. "It's Sue. I'm so sorry to bother you at this ridiculous hour! I'm looking for your grandson. Is he there? Young Embry just a had a little run-in with an old hunter's trap, and we were looking for someone to take the rest of his patrol." She paused and listened briefly. "He'll be okay. They heal fast, you know? I don't think anything's broken. I just had to bandage him up. Hopefully he'll be as good as new tomorrow... Yes… Sure, I can wait."
Leah was impressed. She had certainly thought to call Quil in order to save time; her other alternative was to go find him, but that would have taken longer. It hadn't even occurred to her that his mother or grandfather might have answered the phone. There was no way she could have lied so smoothly. Sue handed her the phone, and soon the younger Quil was on the line. She quickly explained the little she knew and sent him on his way, being careful to emphasize that he avoid phasing. When she hung up the phone, she and Sue debated what to do next. "I can't believe this is happening, and I'm sitting here doing nothing!"
"Welcome to my world," Sue said dryly. "You think this is bad? Wait until you have children. I just pray that they never have to put their lives on the line for anything. Every time you or your brother leaves the house, I wonder if you're coming back again. I'd so much rather fight your battles for you, literally, but it simply isn't possible."
"I'm sorry, Mom." Leah had been so wrapped up in her own problems that she'd neglected to consider what her mother was going through. They had both lost Harry, and their lives had both been overturned.
Sue shrugged. "Don't apologize, sweetheart. It's not your fault. Besides, you're not doing nothing, dear. You're helping. You did exactly what Jacob asked you to, and as soon as you figure out what to do next, you'll do that too."
"Which is what? What should I do now? I feel so helpless, and I hate it!"
"Go back to bed would be the sensible answer, but we both know we're not getting any sleep tonight." Sue pulled a seat away from the table so that Leah could sit, and then she retrieved two glasses and a bottle of wine.
"Did I ever tell you that you're the smartest person I know, Mom?" Leah asked as Sue poured.
Sue just smirked. "You're the smartest person you know, sweetheart. And Seth, too, but in a different way than you. How much of this do you think I can have and still go to work in three and a half hours?" She poured a single serving and handed the bottle to her daughter. "With your fancy new metabolism, would you even feel it if you drank the entire rest of this right now?"
Leah smiled and shrugged. "I'd probably feel a little buzzed."
"Then should I get you a second bottle?" Sue joked. Then she sighed, "Well, at least Jacob got rid of two of those things. Just five left to go."
"Maybe four," Leah clarified. She drained her glass in one long draw. "I know I've only known her for a couple days, but I think Rose might be on our side if it came down to it."
"I hope you're right. And by the sounds of it, you might find out really soon." Sue poured her another glass.
Leah frowned and stared into the dark liquid. "I really think I ought to go out there. I know I'm hurt, but an injured werewolf is still more useful against vampires than a healthy human."
"I know how you feel, and in a way you're right. But just think about it. If you join a fight in your condition, Paul and your brother would spend more time looking after you than looking after themselves. You'd never forgive yourself if one of them got hurt trying to protect you."
"But I'll never forgive myself if one of them gets hurt, and I was just sitting here drinking wine…" The phone started to ring, cutting her off.
Sue jumped up to get it. She stared at the Caller ID. "It says it's the Cullens."
Leah yanked it out of her hand, nearly knocking over her glass. Sue grabbed it before it tipped over. "Hello?"
It was Rosalie. "Leah? Are you okay? Is everyone in the pack okay?"
"I was hoping you could tell me! Jacob just took off after saying the craziest..."
Rosalie hissed, "I know. Edward came back ranting that Jacob murdered Alice and Jasper!"
"And you believe that liar? Jacob said they ambushed him."
Rosalie paused, absorbing the information. "So it's true?" she asked quietly.
"That he murdered them? They don't call it murder when it's self-defense!" Leah insisted.
"Yeah, you're... yeah. I was just hoping he was trying to get us all riled up, that's all. I hoped he was lying. It didn't occur to me that they'd all gone after Jacob. I mean, like I told you, I hadn't seen them around, but I didn't think... God. I should have known."
Leah interrupted, "Wait, where are you?"
"In my car," Rosalie explained. "He can't hear me, not with his ears anyway. But I'm close enough that he can probably hear my thoughts. So I'm not sure how much you should tell me. I wanted to warn you, though."
"Where is he? Where are you going?"
Rosalie revved the engine and said, "I'm heading to Bella's house. I'm not sure, but I think he might be going over there."
Leah didn't wait. She just stood and grabbed one crutch to lean on, grabbed the keys off their hook on the wall, and started to make her way out the door. "I'm guessing it's not to break up with her, is it?"
"I'm afraid he's going to try to turn her tonight. I'm trying to beat him there. My car's faster than he is on foot, but he can run straight through the woods. I've got to stick to these stupid, windy roads." A screech of tires emphasized her point.
While Rosalie spoke, Sue tried to stop Leah. "What are you doing? Stop! You can't help them like this!"
Leah ignored her mother and hopped down the porch stairs. She had no idea where the pack had gone. For all she knew, they were gathered by the border waiting for Edward's attack. If she thought it would do any good, she would phase to communicate with them, broken leg be damned, but Jacob had told everyone to remain in their human bodies. She would protect Bella Swan herself. "Did he say what he was going to do?"
"No, but where else would he go?"
"Good point. What happened, exactly?" As Leah climbed into the car, Sue tried to pull her back. But Leah could not be stopped. Sue finally changed tactics and climbed into the passenger side. Leah gaped at her. Her mother had the spirit of a wolf, but the body of a human. If she came, she would only get herself killed. She tilted the phone away from her mouth. "What are you doing? I'm going to get Jared."
"Oh! I thought you were on your way to do something stupid."
She was, but she certainly wasn't going to admit it to her mother. "I'm not that dumb."
"I'll come with you."
"It's a waste of time, having both of us there. You should tell Billy what's going on while I get Jared."
"Do you trust Jared?"
She lied again. "Of course. Besides, do I have a choice? I'm not getting Sam, and the rest of the pack is already out there. Someone needs to watch over Bella Swan, and there isn't anyone else."
Sue agreed and got out of the car. Leah listened to Rosalie as she pulled out of the driveway, grateful that she only needed one foot to drive. She was terribly clumsy because of the cast on her leg, but she would make it work. Rosalie asked, "Is your mother gone?" She didn't wait for an answer. "It was insane, Leah. He burst into the house screaming that Jacob had murdered Alice and Jasper. He said they were just trying to protect him from Jacob's attack. He said that Jacob had gone crazy, that he was innocent and had done nothing wrong, and that Jacob was just using the hiker as an excuse to kill him. He said Jacob was jealous of his relationship with Bella, and that was why Jacob tried to kill him, and that Alice and Jasper died protecting him. He tried to convince us all to head for you, for the reservation, to get revenge."
"My God. Are they on their way here? Do I need to tell the pack?"
"No, well, I don't think he's going for the whole pack. I mean, Jacob beat him back here, so he wouldn't have to take on just one of you, but a bunch, right? He couldn't do that by himself. He tried to get us all to come with him for an all-out assault. It almost worked, too. Esme's heartbroken, for one thing. Just absolutely devastated. But furious, too. I've never seen her like this, never. The grief, it just took over her completely, and after hearing Edward's story, she was ready to go with him. And so was Emmett. If I didn't know better, I'd have agreed."
"What about Carlisle?" Leah asked as she sped toward Forks.
Rosalie sighed. "He was crushed, just crushed. I mean, he didn't turn either Jasper or Alice, but he loves them... loved them, I guess, like his own kids. That's how he feels about all of us. But he genuinely hates killing anything. He's naive, but he has no blood lust. He sort of hesitated. That's when Edward realized what I was thinking about."
"Uh oh."
"Yeah. He knew I wasn't going to let him attack all of you, let alone help him do it. He tried to argue with me for a while, but there was nothing he could say that would make me change my mind. I said he had broken the treaty, just like you said. I reminded him that he admitted as much when he claimed that he tried to suck the venom out of that man. He had bitten him, good cause or otherwise. And even if it was an accident, he obviously didn't stop in time, so by the rules of the treaty, Jacob had the right to attack."
Leah was worried about what might have happened to Rosalie, but she was obviously fine. "What happened?"
"Everyone was pissed at me. We all argued, obviously, and by the end of it, I'm pretty sure Edward wanted to kill me as much as he wanted to kill Jacob. Emmett kept him away from me, although, to be honest, I'm pretty sure Emmett thought he was right. He just didn't want to see me hurt. Then Edward ran off..."
"To Bella's?"
"I think so. He doesn't have anything else to lose. I think he'll either try to take her and run, or maybe even turn her tonight."
Leah hoped she was wrong. "Did he say something?"
"No, but I know him. He's obsessed with her. He's either going to go for her, or he'll attack Jacob. Jacob can defend himself, plus I assume he's got several other wolves with him by now, but Bella has no defense. Look, I'm almost there. I'm going to put the phone down."
Leah almost told her that she was on her way, but then she realized that Edward may hear her. She would lose the element of surprise. All she said was, "Good luck."
The next ten minutes felt like ten hours. She had to hold her body in a strange position in order to drive, her broken leg uncomfortably wedged next to the brake. She half expected to see the reflection of her mother's headlights in her rear view mirror, but she was alone on the road. She gripped the steering wheel tightly in her fists, wondering if she would be able to fight when she inevitably had to phase and re-break her leg. The pain hardly concerned her, but if she couldn't stand, how would she defend anyone?
When she finally arrived in Bella's neighborhood, she rolled down her windows. Edward was already here. She could smell him. Thankfully, Rosalie was as well, and there was no trace of blood in the air. She pressed on the gas, careening dangerously around a corner, swerving into the driveway next to Rosalie's BMW and slamming on the brakes. She didn't bother closing the door to her car. She grabbed her crutch, stumbled around the house, and made her way into the woods. Only a few yards in, she found Charlie Swan standing in a small clearing, his right hand extended in front of him, his pistol pointed directly at Edward. He held his daughter behind him with his other hand. "Get back, Bella," Charlie ordered.
But his daughter wouldn't listen to him. She clutched at his arm, trying to drag it down. "Don't, Dad! You don't understand!"
"Get back in the house!"
"I won't!" Bella cried. "You don't understand!"
"Then explain it to me!" he demanded. "You've been lying to me, over and over. Both of you have. If you don't want me to shoot him, give me a good reason!"
"I love him!" Bella wailed.
Rosalie stood slightly off to the side, holding her hands out in a placating gesture. "The gun won't work, Chief Swan. You can't hurt him that way, but the bullet could ricochet off him and hit something or someone else. Just put down the gun. I promise, I won't let him hurt your daughter."
"Shut up, Rosalie! You're not helping at all! Edward would never hurt me," Bella insisted. "He would never hurt anyone!"
"Then why are his eyes red?" Leah asked, placing herself directly in front of Edward.
His pupils dilated, and he bared his fangs. He hissed so low that neither Bella nor Charlie heard him say, "Get out of my way, you mongrel bitch."
Charlie swore. "Leah? What the hell are you doing? Get out of here! It's not safe! Take Bella and go!"
If Leah was healthy, she would have picked Bella up and carried her away. But she wouldn't get far in her cast. "We won't let you hurt her," Leah told Edward firmly. "We won't let you hurt either of them. You've done enough damage, Edward. Just go before the rest of the pack shows up and tears you apart."
"No!" Bella cried. She broke away from her father's grasp and tried to run to Edward.
Leah grabbed her arm as she passed, holding her still. "Bella, you're going to get yourself killed!"
"He won't hurt me! He won't do anything I haven't begged him for a thousand times!" Bella insisted.
Charlie's voice rose in alarm as he pulled Bella back. "What the hell are you talking about? What are you saying?"
"She wants to become one of us," Rosalie explained. "He's given her this romanticized, idealized, and completely fictional picture of what it is to be a vampire. He tricked her into thinking that being one of us just means power, glamour, wealth, and eternal life." As she spoke, Leah wondered what exactly had happened before she arrived. Charlie obviously knew what they were. Did he know about the wolves as well?
Edward seemed offended. "I have not! I have told her only the truth!"
"Did you tell her you murdered that man?" Leah challenged.
"I did not kill him!" Edward insisted. "I was only trying to help him!"
"Then why is he dead?" Rosalie asked. "Why hasn't he joined our family? If you were trying to help him, why isn't he one of us?"
Charlie was bewildered. "What are you talking about? Who died?"
"No one," Bella claimed.
At the same moment, Leah said, "The hiker whose body was found in the woods? Edward killed him."
"I was trying to help him!" he yelled.
"You failed!" Leah yelled.
Rosalie stalked toward him, pointing her finger accusingly in his face. "You're lying. I can see it on your face! You remember, Edward. I know you. I know who you really are. You can fool Bella, but you can't fool me."
Edward slapped her hand away, stuttering, "You-You don't know what you're talking about! I did nothing wrong! I was trying to save his life!"
"It was you?" Charlie asked incredulously. "You did that?"
"Look into his eyes," Leah instructed.
Charlie had awoken to the sound of his daughter's distressed whispers. When he heard a male voice shushing her as she tripped down the stairs, he pulled his gun and flashlight out of his drawer, and he followed them outside. Now he pulled the flashlight from the pocket of his robe and pointed it at Edward's face. The vampire shielded his eyes with his hands, but not before Charlie got a glimpse of his eyes. "What... what is that? Why are your eyes red?"
"That's the blood of the man he killed," Leah said somberly.
"Jesus," Charlie muttered. He raised his gun again. "Put your hands on your head," he told Edward. Edward didn't move. "Put your hands on your head, and turn around slowly. I want you on your knees. Bella, get my..." He had second thoughts. "Leah, get my handcuffs. They're on the table by the front door."
Bella was on the verge of tears. "Stop! Just stop!"
Leah shook her head. "Handcuffs won't do any good. He can break through them."
"What? You're not making any sense."
"We're strong," Rosalie said. "Too strong. I'd prove it to you, but we don't have time for this, Chief Swan. This isn't a police matter. Humans can do nothing when faced by our kind."
"That can't be true," Charlie insisted. "There has to be justice for that man who died. For anyone... Who else have you hurt?"
"No one!" Bella cried. "He hasn't hurt anyone!"
"No one," Edward said softly. "I've hurt no one, and I will not hurt your daughter. Don't listen to my sister. She's terribly jealous, because I fell in love with Bella, and I have never felt anything for her. She's convinced Leah that I'm a monster, but I'm not."
Rosalie snarled, "That's a lie. You've murdered dozens. Hundreds, for all I know. You can lie to them, brother, but not to me."
"Lies! All lies! You can't believe her, my love." Edward spoke directly to Bella. "I have only done the kind of work your own father does. I have only ever hunted criminals, murderers and rapists, those who could not be brought to justice by the police."
"Was the hiker a criminal?" Leah reminded them. "He wasn't. He was just a man. He was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and you made him into a meal."
Charlie gaped at them both before shaking his head. "You're under arrest, Edward. Hands on your head, turn around, and get on your knees."
"Leave him alone!" Bella shrieked. "None of you understand! He'd never hurt anybody!"
"Then why did he try to kill Jacob?" Leah challenged.
Bella's jaw dropped. "He wouldn't. He wouldn't do that."
"I never touched him!" Edward maintained. "He was chasing me, not the other way around. Bella saw it herself!"
"Open your eyes, you idiot!" Leah said to Bella. "Your boyfriend lured him out there and tried to ambush him!"
Bella looked to Edward. "Is that true?"
"Of course not! You saw him. He went crazy! He came after me!"
Bella latched on to his protestations blindly. "You see? He's a good person, not a murderer. But even if he was, I forgive him! He's everything to me!"
Rosalie was losing patience with Bella. In a low, cold voice, she reminded her, "His crimes aren't yours to forgive."
Bella wouldn't listen to reason. "You just don't understand! None of you understand!" She threw herself at Edward, trying to shield him with her body, despite the fact that no one was actually threatening him except Charlie, who wielded only a useless weapon. Edward twisted around and crouched, pulling her onto his back. He was going to run.
Rosalie moved to block their escape, but Edward bolted aside and clipped her with his shoulder, sending her to the ground. As she fell, she grabbed his leg to stop him. He kicked her in the face, and Leah knew she couldn't wait any longer. She heard the pack approaching in the distance, but if Edward was as fast as everyone claimed, they wouldn't be fast enough. "Don't shoot me, Charlie," she yelled, and she phased. Her clothes fell to the ground in shreds, her cast splintered, and her newly-set bone re-fractured. The lancing pain caused her to stumble, but she righted herself on her three good legs.
Her brothers shouted in her brain. Leah? What the hell are you doing? Paul demanded. You're supposed to be home! Get out of there!
Quil encouraged her. Kill him, Leah! Take him out!
How did you beat us there? What about your leg? Seth asked. Are you even able to walk?
She ignored them all, tucked her injured leg to her belly, and awkwardly ran at Edward on three legs. Were it not for her new ally, her efforts would have been in vain, but Rosalie had grabbed onto one of Edward's ankles, and he couldn't run. When he saw Leah approaching, he let go of Bella with one arm, keeping her secure on his back with the other, and punched at Rosalie's temple so hard that a hairline crack formed in her stony skull, forcing her to release him, and he took off.
But Leah had positioned herself in his only route of escape. Edward couldn't run into the street to the south or the east for fear of being spotted, and he, too, knew the pack was approaching from the west. So he darted north, where Leah met him head-on. He knew exactly what she was thinking, so he twisted to the side as she lunged at him, and her teeth clamped down on air instead of his shoulder. He kicked at her broken leg, and she fell down in pain. She heard Paul shouting her name, but she didn't listen. Edward struck another blow at her flank. The extra second he took to hurt her cost him. It kept him close enough that she could swipe at him with her claw, and she tore a wound into the forearm he was using to support Bella on his back. The girl shrieked as he lost his grip, and she went tumbling down, landing on Leah. Charlie shouted and ran toward them, but Rosalie held him back. She knew he would only get hurt if he reached Edward.
As Edward turned and reached for her, Leah saw his pupils dilate, and his eyes locked on Bella. He sniffed the air, and Leah was horrified to realize that he had scented blood. Bella had scraped her hands when she fell, and she was trapped between them. Edward bared his fangs and dove, yanking at her wrist and drawing her hand to his mouth.
Leah kicked him back with her good leg. He was so overcome by his blood lust that he didn't block her before she made contact, but she succeeded in angering him. She knew she couldn't fight him this way, not with one leg broken and a bleeding human between them, so she wrapped her forelegs around the girl and rolled Bella beneath her, and shielded her with her body.
Get out of there! Paul yelled. Fuck Bella. It's her own damn fault he's after her. Don't let him hurt you!
But Leah had already made her decision. She would protect the girl from her own poor decisions. Edward was on them in an instant, clawing at her fur and pulling at her limbs, trying to regain his prize. Bella was crying in fear, and Charlie was pointing his gun at them, trying to figure out if he should shoot Edward or the vicious-looking wolf that had appeared in Leah's place. Nearby, the pack howled as they ran.
Rosalie grabbed the barrel of the gun and forced Charlie to lower it. She yelled, "Don't shoot the wolf! That's Leah! She's protecting Bella! Let them go, Edward! Run while you still have a chance!"
Edward just snarled incoherently at Rosalie. The sound was inhuman, unlike that of any earthly animal. He was done pretending that any traces of humanity were left in him. He tried to bite Leah's flesh, but her thick pelt protected her. When he realized he couldn't penetrate her fur, he pummeled at Leah's already-broken leg, and she lost her balance. Bella's left leg slipped out, and Edward fell onto it. Before he could break the skin, Leah reached back with her claw and swiped at his face. He retaliated by jumping onto her back. He gripped her skull in both hands as she reared back, trying to throw him off before he snapped her neck. But he gripped her with both legs so tightly that she could hardly breathe. She thought her ribs would snap at any moment. Knowing that Edward could hear their thoughts, the pack screamed at him to let Leah go. She thrashed her head back and forth, and he lost his grip. As she fell back above Bella, he wrapped his arm around her throat and began to choke her. She clawed at his arm, but he would not let go. The pressure on her neck was immense.
Edward dragged her backward over the stony ground, saying, "Back off! I'm walking away safely, or Leah dies!"
Through she sound of her blood rushing through her ears, she heard Rosalie yell, "Let her go! Just let her go, Edward. It's over!"
Charlie's police training kicked in, and he rushed over to drag his daughter away while she wept. He peered into the woods and saw five more wolves assembling. He yelled at Edward, "You're surrounded. The only thing you'll do by hurting her more is piss them off!"
Lack of oxygen caused Leah's vision to fade. White spots appeared before her eyes, and the scene before her blurred. But she saw Jacob's enormous, red wolf in front of her. He stood directly between Edward and Bella, who was resisting Charlie's attempts to pull her into their yard.
Jacob's growls filled the air. He was alone in his mind, but Edward could hear his thoughts. Let her go, Edward. This is between you and me. Let her go, and face me! Stop hiding behind an injured woman! Stop making your siblings fight your battles for you! Fight me like a man!
Edward laughed, a mad, dark sound. "Do you honestly think you can appeal to my pride? How stupid and vain do you think I am? Why would I let my only bargaining chip go?" He saw Paul, Seth, Embry, and Quil arraying themselves around him, and he yelled, "No closer! Don't move! If any of you so much as blinks at me the wrong way, I'm snapping her neck!" He tightened his grip further. Leah raked at his arm in vain, but she could not relieve the pressure. Leah's vision dimmed. Faintly, she could hear Paul and Seth pleading for her to stay awake, to hold on.
"Of course you're not stupid," Rosalie answered. "You can kill Leah, and we all know it. But then where will you be? Surrounded by the pack with absolutely nothing left to lose! You'll never escape. You'll die right here, and they'll torture you for what you've done!"
"Which is why I'm taking her with me!" Edward declared. He started to walk backward, aiming for the slight gap between Embry and Quil. "She's coming with me to ensure my safety."
Leah couldn't see anything. The only thing she felt was Edward's arm cutting off her airway. The voices of her brothers faded away. She tried desperately to keep her senses, but there was nothing she could do. She was nearly unconscious. She reached up for a desperate swipe at his face with her claw, and with his free arm, he pinned her arms at her sides. But in the movement, his grip on her throat loosened infinitesimally, and she was able to gasp enough oxygen that her vision returned.
Jacob took one step forward for every one that Edward took back. There's nowhere to go, he said. What are you going to do? Drag an unconscious werewolf onto a plane with you? Try to shove her into the back of a car? You know I'll follow you. You know I'm not just letting you go. There's nowhere for you to run, nowhere for you to hide, that I won't find you and tear you to pieces!
Edward hissed, "You don't have a choice! Either you let me go, or you watch her die right now! If you attack me, there is nothing you can to do save her! I will take as many of you with me as I can when I die!" His words were interrupted by the sound of an engine in the distance. He and Rosalie immediately recognized it: Carlisle's Mercedes. Edward's grin made the wolves nervous.
Rosalie knew what he was thinking. "They're not going to help you, Edward! They're not here to fight for you, they're here to stop you!"
"Do you think so, sister? I can read their minds, not you! I won't die alone!" he declared. "Let me go now, or we will kill you where you stand!"
"You're lying!" Rosalie retorted. "Carlisle may be naive, he may be foolish, but he knows right from wrong! He isn't going to help you!" She said the words with conviction even though she doubted them, and Edward knew it.
"You're the one who's naive. I was his first creation. Do you think he would let me die? You were a mistake! You try to hold onto your humanity, but it's worthless! It's nothing! It makes you weak and pathetic. Bella understands. She understands what we are, and she covets it! She understands the gift we've been given, and she wants it for herself! And I intend to give it to her!"
Jacob told him, You're delusional! You're crazy if you think you're getting out of here, let alone turning Bella.
Edward insisted, "I'll only give Bella what she wants! I know that your pride is wounded because she's chosen me over you, but you were delusional if you ever thought a savage mongrel like you could begin to compare to me! She knows the truth. She knows that you are a worthless, pathetic animal!"
Jacob phased so everyone could hear him. "Your words are meaningless, Edward!" Jacob ignored his insults. "You're just trying to stall until the rest of them get here. But it doesn't matter if your family is here or not. If they stand in our way, we'll kill them all! We've been waiting for an excuse to tear all of you apart. I've already taken out Jasper and Alice, and I was alone. And it was so easy it was pathetic! Even if the rest of the coven backs you up, you're outnumbered. We'll kill anyone who fights us! If you care about them at all, you'll let Leah go right now, and you'll face me! Just you and me, do you understand? I'll order the pack not to touch you. Just you and I, and we'll see which one of us can kill the other! What do you say, Edward? Let Leah go, and face me like a man!"
Edward hesitated for a moment. He weighed his options, and he wanted a guarantee, not a challenge. He ignored Jacob's deal. He kept stalling. He read Carlisle's thoughts, and knew he was still torn. He could be swayed. Esme was ready to fight for Jasper and Alice, and the only thing holding Emmett back was Rosalie's opinion. If he manipulated the situation correctly, he could have all three of them on his side. If they saw him being attacked, they would instinctively react and come to his aid. He called out to Bella, "My love, do you hear him threatening me? He is threatening us! He wants to take everything from us! No matter what happens to me, don't listen to him! His jealousy has destroyed everything good in him! I didn't hurt that man. I was trying to help him, and he's using it as an excuse to attack me! He killed Alice and Jasper, and for nothing! We had a deal, a truce! He broke it, not me!" He turned back to Jacob. "You're the one who let your pride destroy everything, mutt! If you had just left us alone, no one would have gotten hurt! Your bitch here would be alive and well! Her death will be on you, not me!"
Leah felt his grip shift as he spoke. He kept his right arm lodged against her throat, but he released her arms, and he gripped her muzzle with his left hand. He meant to snap her neck. She was certain. She didn't hesitate. As soon as she could move, she swiped her claw backward, aiming for his eyes. But he knew her intention as soon as it formed, and he blocked the blow, snapping the bones in her forearm with his fist. She would have screamed if there was any air in her lungs, but there was not. With an incoherent scream, he choked her until she blacked out, and she shifted into her vulnerable, human body.
The involuntary transformation gave them just the distraction they needed. Paul leapt just as Leah started to slip in Edward's arms, her nude, slender form sliding unconsciously down. Jacob screamed, "Go!" and the pack moved as one. Embry grabbed Edward's left arm in his jaws before Edward could get a hold of Leah's skull to twist her neck, and Quil dove for his right leg. Paul phased into his human body as he ran, and he yanked Leah away from Edward, sprinting toward Charlie and Bella with the limp girl in his arms. Jacob phased midair and plowed into Edward's chest, sending him sprawling to the ground. His left arm and right leg tore away when Embry and Quil yanked back, and Edward screamed in pain.
Jacob loomed over Edward, jaws snapping and eyes flashing in victory. But he didn't tear off Edward's head. Not yet. Jacob nodded toward Rosalie, and Seth and Embry turned to flank her. Esme appeared first, and with a wail, she started to run toward Edward. Rosalie grabbed her arms, shoving her back. "Don't! Don't get yourself killed, not for him! He's not worth it!"
"How can you say that? Edward!" Esme cried.
"These vicious animals have gone mad!" Edward wailed. "Save yourself!"
"I won't leave you!" Esme told him as Rosalie shoved her at Carlisle, whose mouth hung open with an expression of despair. "I won't lose anyone else!"
"What's happening here? Let my son go!" Carlisle demanded. "He has done nothing!"
Rosalie insisted, "Stop being so blind! The pack has held up their end of the treaty, but Edward broke it!"
Jacob gestured for Quil to keep Edward pinned down, and he approached the rest of the coven, phasing as he walked. He stood before them, unashamed of his nudity. "He tried to kill me! He was going to ambush me, him, Alice, and Jasper!"
"You murdered them!" Emmett accused. "Don't deny it!
Jacob snapped, "I killed them, of course I did!"
Emmett started to rush at him, but Rosalie jumped in front of him. "What are you doing?" he hissed. "Rose, get away from them!"
"I won't! I'm taking a stand, and there is only one right choice to make, and it's not with Edward!" she declared.
Jacob continued, "He lured me out there to face the three of them alone, to murder me, and I had every right to defend myself! He murdered that hiker, and who knows how many he killed before that? He broke the treaty, and I did the right thing by chasing him down. We have every right to kill him based on that alone, and the fact that he just tried to bite Bella just gives me another reason to kill him! He can't be trusted! And look what he did to Leah! He almost killed her!"
The Cullens turned to see Paul's enraged wolf standing guard over Leah's unconscious body, Charlie and Bella behind him. "S-She must have done something to provoke him!" Esme stuttered.
"She attacked me!" Edward lied.
Rosalie spat, "Do you honestly think that's going to work? We were all standing here, watching! Charlie, tell them!"
"Edward was trying to bite Bella! He tried to kidnap her! Leah protected her," he explained.
Jacob finished, "He decided to use Leah as a shield, a hostage, when he realized we had him surrounded. She was doing her duty, protecting a human from that monster!"
"I don't care!" Esme wept, struggling to break free of Carlisle's grip. "Let him go! I won't lose any more of my family tonight!"
"We'll fight for him," Emmett declared. "I don't care what he did or didn't do. You hurt my family, I will kill you."
Jacob stepped forward, growling, "I'd love to see you try. Just give me an excuse to take out every one of you. The world will be a better place if I have an excuse to burn you all to ashes!"
But Rosalie put a hand out between Jacob and Emmett. "No." Jacob started to protest, but she glared at her husband and said, "You attack the pack, you attack me. They're right, and Edward is wrong, period."
"Are you kidding? Get away from them!" Emmett scowled at her incredulously.
She refused. "Enough is enough! Carlisle, are you really going to let this happen? Are you really going to let us all tear each other apart? Are you going to stand there and defend Edward after what he's done? You know as well as I do that he wasn't trying to help! This isn't the first time he's slipped up, and if you let him go, it won't be the last. How many people have to die before you'll realize that?"
Carlisle's face fell. He knew Rosalie was right, but he didn't want to admit it. Esme, on the other hand, didn't care who was right and who was wrong. "I don't care! I don't care about the treaty, and I don't care what he did to that man! I'm sorry he got hurt, but it's too late. Killing Edward won't bring him back. We'll go, all right? Just like after Jasper, only we'll go for good! We'll never come back! Just let Edward go!"
Emmett's eyes widened, and Carlisle tried to shush his wife. But it was too late. Her words had already slipped out. Rosalie stalked toward her. "What the hell are you talking about? What did Jasper do?"
"Nothing!" Esme realized what she had said only after it was too late. "He did nothing!"
Rosalie turned her fury toward Carlisle. The pieces started to fall into place in her mind. "Is that why they disappeared? Is that why we left?"
"What are you talking about?" Jacob asked Rosalie. "What did he do?"
Rosalie yelled, "That was why we left, isn't it? It didn't have anything to do with Edward feeling guilty over Bella, or what had happened with James? She cut herself." She pointed at Bella. "At her birthday party, she cut herself on a piece of paper, and Jasper lost it. He attacked her. Edward stopped him, and he left, and I didn't see him again. But he and Alice disappeared. They told me it was to look for a new house, but it wasn't, was it? What the hell did Jasper do?"
"Bella's birthday?" Charlie remembered, frowning. "That was when that boy disappeared, that football player. Biers was his name. Riley Biers. It was you, wasn't it? It was one of you!" He pointed at the Cullens. "Did you kill him?"
"It was Jasper!" Rosalie realized. "Jasper turned him, didn't he? That's why we left! He bit Riley? It wasn't Victoria, was it? You said she turned him, but it was actually Jasper! The smell of Bella's blood was too much for him to handle, so he found someone else to satisfy his hunger."
Carlisle couldn't look her in the eye. "I'm sorry, Rose. He was sorry. We all were. But Edward stopped him. Edward saw what he was thinking, and he stopped him before it was too late! So you need to let him go! He saved Riley's life!"
"Then why isn't Riley one of us? Why was he with Victoria?" she asked. "Why are his eyes red? He obviously feeds from humans!"
"He made his choice," Carlisle explained. "We couldn't very well force him to abide by our diet. You know how hard it is for newborns."
"Then you should have stopped him! All the people he's killed? That's on Jasper! That's on us! Don't you see that? Oh my god, none of you told me! Emmett, you knew, didn't you?"
"I didn't," he said quietly. "I didn't ask, and no one told me. I didn't want to know. I thought maybe something happened, but I never guessed it was Victoria's new pet. I didn't know."
Esme's face twisted into a mask of anger aimed at Rosalie. "Why would we tell you anything? We knew how you would react!"
Edward accused, "You judge us, and you lord your meaningless, human morality over us as if it means something. We respect Carlisle's rule, since he is our creator. But it's against the natural order!"
Esme continued, "Why do think we don't tell you anything? Why do you deserve to know, when this is how you react? Look at you! You're turning your back on your family! How can you do this to Carlisle? He saved you! If it weren't for him, you'd be long dead. And this is how you thank him?"
"Jasper was a murderer! What is it about that that's so hard to understand?" Rosalie was indignant. "Edward is a murderer! Why doesn't that matter to you? We were human once! Don't you remember?" She saw from Esme's expression that she truly did not. She had forgotten so much of her former life that humanity itself was largely meaningless to her. She abided by Carlisle's diet to please him, but that was all.
Carlisle, on the other hand, said softly, "I do. I remember. That's why I turned you. That's why I turned Edward, why I turned all of you. I was saving you. I made us into a family. Rose, I gave you your husband."
"And I'm grateful, Carlisle, but I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask to be this family's conscience. I do it because someone has to, or people will die. People have died! Look at his eyes! He murdered someone! He's done it before, and he'll do it again. Why don't you care?" She glared at Emmett, and he stared at her in guilt and dismay.
Behind them, Edward snarled. "You're fighting an unwinnable battle," he told Rose. "You're fighting nature, and you can't win."
Quil moved to silence him with a paw, but Rosalie said, "No, let him speak."
"You're a traitor to your own kind!" Edward accused, and in his anger, he dropped his facade of humanity. "You've chosen to side with these mongrels over your own family, over the man who made you, and you say you're the one who's right? You live in a fantasy! You can let them kill me, but it won't stop vampires from killing humans! They're weak, and we're strong. We don't need to be right, not when we are as gods to them! We can choose to spare them, or not. It's our choice, because they can't stop us. They should be grateful to us for sparing so many of them. It's a simple as that! One day you'll finally slip, Rosalie, and then you'll understand. You'll finally give in to the temptation, and then you'll know! And if you judge yourself like you're judging me, you'll have no choice but to kill yourself, and I will laugh at you when I see you in Hell!"
Bella gasped audibly at Edward's words.
Carlisle's voice broke. "Son, that isn't what I taught you!"
"Because I can think for myself!" Edward said. "I respected your rules out of gratitude to you, but it's unnatural. It goes against the natural order. Jasper knew it, Alice knew it, even Bella knows it. Remember, I can listen to humans. I know them better than you ever will, Carlisle. I hear their thoughts, I know their innermost feelings. I know who they really are, and they aren't worth all your efforts. They aren't worth your time. They're petty, and selfish, and small, and stupid, and weak. They are beneath us. They don't deserve to be treated any better than these awful, savage animals!"
Edward struggled, but Quil was immovable. No one spoke. Esme looked at the surrounding pack, and she knew that Edward had just hammered the last nail in his own coffin. She looked at Carlisle's horrified expression, and she knew he wasn't going to fight for Edward. Neither was Emmett, who looked between Rosalie and Edward, and finally turned away, unable to watch. Esme couldn't rescue him alone. She turned her face into her husband's chest and clutched at his arms.
Rosalie turned her back on her family, suddenly exhausted, but fully resolved. "I'm so sorry I didn't prevent this," Rosalie told Jacob. She turned to Chief Swan. "They were my responsibility, and I failed. But I'm not going to make the same mistake again."
Jacob saw what she meant to do, and he put his hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to do this."
"Yes, I do."
"You don't. I was made for this. He's my enemy in every way, but he's your brother, for better or worse. You've done enough," Jacob said.
"I made him a promise long before you were born, Jacob, and I mean to keep it. But I understand if you need to be a part of this. Together?"
Jacob nodded, and with a graceful movement, became a wolf.
Bella's knees buckled, and she started to gasp and hyperventilate. She only remained upright because of Charlie's arms around her. Quil stepped aside, and Edward took one last, desperate swing at Jacob, but Jacob caught Edward's fist in his paw and pushed it roughly to the ground. The wolf pinned him easily, kneeling onto his leg. He held him in place with his teeth buried in the stump of his other arm. Edward snarled wildly as Rosalie approached him. Bella whimpered his name, but he didn't even look at her.
"Take her inside," Rosalie said.
Charlie picked up a shaking, stunned Bella. He instructed Jacob, "You deal with them as you see fit. But one way or another, I never want to see any of you in my town, or anywhere near my child, ever again," he told Carlisle. Then he disappeared into his house with his daughter struggling against him.
Then Rosalie knelt above Edward's head. Softly, she said, "You did this to yourself, brother," and placed her hands on either side of Edward's skull. He screamed and thrashed against Jacob's grip, but to no avail.
Edward spat venom into Rosalie's face. "You worthless, disloyal..." But before he could finish, she cleanly twisted off his head and tossed it aside.
Esme wailed softly when she heard the sound. She couldn't watch, but Edward's head separating from his body was unmistakable. The wolves cleanly dismembered his body while Jacob stepped aside to don Embry's shorts, pulled a book of matches out the pocket, and with a flick of his wrist, lit it and tossed it onto the remains. The Cullens said nothing. Carlisle and Emmett stood as still as statues, the flames reflected in their golden eyes.
As a terrible stench filled the air, Seth, Quil, and Embry lined up behind Jacob. Paul carried Leah to safety behind them and covered her with Rosalie's jacket, and then he turned to face the remaining vampires with his brothers. Despite the fact that Sam was still technically the Alpha, they were united under Jacob's leadership. He stood before them proudly, his arms folded across his chest, towering over everyone, his body a wall of solid muscle. He looked far older than his years, and much wiser.
Carlisle addressed him meekly. "What really happened?" He was ready to listen.
In a clipped tone, Jacob told his side of the story, and then he demanded an accounting of their crimes. Carlisle admitted that they had covered for Jasper after he turned Riley, and they never told Rosalie after he committed murders while she and Emmett were traveling without the rest of the family. He suspected perhaps a half dozen deaths since Jasper joined the coven, but he actually didn't know the number nor the identities of Jasper's victims. Hundreds had preceded his marriage to Alice, while Alice had killed at least three people herself. Edward swore he only killed murderers, rapists, and other violent criminals before the hiker, but Carlisle admitted he had no way to verify the claims, and Edward had proven his word to be worthless. Esme said she had killed one woman when she was a newborn, plus her singer, years later. Otherwise she restrained herself out of loyalty to Carlisle. She found it quite difficult, which is why she seldom worked outside the house. Rosalie had isolated Emmett from humans for years, and he only started going to school when he was confident he had good control. But even Rosalie couldn't stop him from murdering his two singers. Carlisle said that he had only ever bitten members of his family to save them from death.
Jacob stared at them long and hard. "If I let you walk away, and any of you takes a human life, that's on me."
Rosalie shook her head. "No, it's on me. They were my responsibility. I allowed myself to be fooled, and I thought it was safe to go away for a little while. But now I know better. I won't let it happen again."
Paul started to growl. He didn't think they could be trusted. Then Leah began to stir behind him. She sat up, groaning, and Paul bent down next to her, purring low in his throat. She leaned on him for support, cradling her wrist and trying not to move her leg. "I trust her, Jake. The rest of them could go to Hell as far as I'm concerned, but they're all she has."
"You already killed those of us who were a real danger," Rosalie pointed out. "Jasper and Edward were the worst offenders, and Alice was dangerous because she was almost as obsessed with Bella as Edward was. But they're gone. Carlisle does a lot of good in this world. You have no justification in hurting him. He came to Leah's aid out of the goodness of his heart. Please don't return that favor by taking the rest of his family. I swear, I will make sure that none of us ever hurts a human again."
Jacob weighed his options. After what Edward, Jasper, and Alice had done, he had every right to kill them all. But they would fight, and there was no guarantee that his pack would walk away unharmed. Moreover, Rosalie had helped them without question. And without Carlisle's help, Leah might be dead. He looked at Rosalie and said, "I am holding you to that. Obviously you're capable of making the hard decision when it needs to be done, but you can't be too late next time."
Carlisle reassured him, "There won't be a next time."
"How can you be sure?"Jacob challenged. "It sounds like you're able to control yourselves around regular people, but what about your singers? What if one of those irresistible people shows up again? You insist upon living amongst humans, putting yourselves in public spaces where there are so many temptations."
"I don't," Esme denied. "I know my limitations, and I restrict myself to what I can handle."
"We'll go back to Alaska," Carlisle promised. "We'll avoid cities, but there are miles and miles of wilderness. The hunting is good, and we have friends there, other vampires that abide by our diet."
Jacob continued, "And you're not welcome here anymore. Not on the reservation, not in Forks, not in the state of Washington. Not now, not in 50 years, not in 100. And never contact Bella Swan, ever again, no matter how much she begs you."
"That's fair," Carlisle agreed.
"She's going to show up on our doorstep before we leave," Esme said. "What are we supposed to do?"
Before Jacob could speak, Rosalie snapped, "Just don't open the damn door! It's not that hard!"
"It would be cruel not to speak to her," Esme whined.
"Like we avoided her the last time we left? For god's sake, Edward told her she wasn't good enough for him. We all left without a word to her, and now you're worried about being rude? He destroyed that girl's self esteem instead of being honest about Jasper's fuck up. We never should have come back, and we'll do her an enormous favor by leaving and never contacting her again. Honestly, why are we here, really?"
"Because Edward loves... loved her," Esme insisted.
Rosalie countered, "That wasn't love. It was obsession. Infatuation. Look what he was willing to do to her! She's traumatized."
"No, he meant well. He wanted to be with her..."
Carlisle cut his wife off. "Stop defending him. She deserves to know the truth. It will help her move on."
"What truth?" Jacob demanded.
"No, you can't!" Esme grabbed Carlisle's hand. "He's already gone. Don't tarnish his memory!"
Carlisle held firm. "It's over. The least we can do for her is tell her what really happened. Jacob, I would like to talk to her one last time. It'll provide some closure for her, and she deserves to know."
"This just gets worse and worse," Leah muttered. "Rose?"
"I don't know," Rosalie said. "But I have a feeling I'm only going to feel better about killing Edward."
Jacob went into the house to retrieve Bella. After a short argument with Charlie, they both followed him out. Bella was furious. Her eyes were red and swollen, her skin blotchy, her hair in disarray. She looked lost until she saw Edward's smoldering remains. The sight was too much. Something broke inside of her, and she turned on Jacob in a blind rage. "What have you done? You took away the only thing that mattered to me! You said you were my friend. How could you do this to me?"
"For once in your life, shut your mouth and just listen!" Charlie reprimanded her.
But Bella was senseless in her despair. "There's nothing he can say that will make it any better! I'll never forgive him for what he did."
Leah snarled, "He doesn't need your forgiveness. He saved you. We all saved your life, you ungrateful, pathetic little bitch." She stood, leaning on Paul, clutching the jacket around her shoulders. "You should beg him for forgiveness, not the other way around. You don't deserve his pity, let alone his friendship or his loyalty."
"You don't know what you're talking about!" Bella yelled.
Jacob ignored her outbursts. He told Carlisle, "She's here. Say whatever it is you have to say, or go. Because I'm pretty much out of patience."
Carlisle move forward, reaching for Bella's hand, but Charlie stopped between them, blocking his way. "Say whatever you have to say from over there."
Carlisle nodded and sought Bella's eyes. "My dear girl, we care about you so much. You are so very special to us. You were so special to Edward. He loved you in a way he never felt for anyone else."
Leah rolled her eyes. "Are you really doing this? Haven't you done enough damage already, tricking her into thinking that there was anything good between them?"
"I am sorry," Carlisle insisted. "I truly am. I just need her to know why he did what he did. Bella, we haven't been truthful with you. Edward loved you, yes, and he wanted you with us always. We all wanted you to be one of us. But instead of just being ourselves, just showing you how much we truly care about you, Edward was worried that it would not be enough. That you would reject him, reject us, or choose your human life or our eternal one. And he had waited so long to find you."
Bella wiped at her eyes. "What are you talking about? He was always telling me he wanted me to stay human."
Rosalie surmised, "He was telling you what he thought he should say, not what he actually wanted."
Carlisle nodded. "You have a family, you have others who care about you. He thought they would hold you back. He wanted you to understand the potential of what we are, of what you could be. But he knew that you aren't materialistic enough to be swayed by our wealth, or our beauty, or eternal life."
Rosalie couldn't contain herself. "Give me a break. If you think she's better than that, then you're all delusional."
Carlisle glared at her but otherwise ignored her. He continued, "He was so afraid of losing you. He was afraid of your human vulnerabilities, that they would take you from him. He wanted you to be one of us, but he wanted it to be your idea."
"What did he do?" Jacob demanded.
Esme tried to stop him one more time. She pulled at her husband's arm and whispered, "Please, it's all over. Let's just leave."
But now Bella wanted to know. She felt a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach, and she had to know. "What? What are you talking about?"
Carlisle could no longer meet her eyes. Softly, and with deep shame, he told her, "It was Edward who asked Laurent to frighten you. I didn't know, not until after everything had happened, not until James was dead and Victoria was stalking you. I had no idea. Believe me, if I had, I would never have let it happen."
Jacob's eyes flashed. "Are you talking about that leech we tore apart? What are you saying?"
"Edward met him on one of his travels. They became friends. He invited him to join us, but Laurent did not want to change his diet. He wasn't welcome to stay, but they kept in touch. And after Edward met you, he wanted to keep you. He wanted to be with you forever. But he wanted it to be your choice. He wanted to show you how delicate, how weak human life really is. He asked Laurent to frighten you, not to hurt you, just to make you understand how vulnerable you really are. But when Laurent came, he didn't come alone. James was never supposed to come, nor was Victoria. That wasn't Edward's idea. I promise, he never would have arranged such a thing if he knew those predators would fixate on you. Once he realized what was happening, it was too late. James had scented you, and you know the rest."
Charlie turned his daughter around bodily. "What's he talking about?"
Stuttering, Bella explained what had really happened when she disappeared to Arizona. She apologized profusely for telling him that he had anything to do with it, that she made him feel like a bad father. She told him how James had lured her into a ballet studio and threatened her, but put that Edward had saved her life. "If it weren't for him, I'd be dead right now."
Leah snapped, "Have you listened to a word he said? Edward nearly got you killed trying to manipulate you into becoming one of them! Honestly, I thought maybe you were just stupid and foolish. But you're not. You're willfully self-destructive, and you don't care who gets hurt, as long as you get what you want. I can't believe we put ourselves on the line for you. I can't believe I protected you. I should have let him drain your worthless body dry."
Jacob stopped her, but it wasn't to defend Bella. "Don't bother, Lee. She's not worth your breath, so don't waste it."
Bella's eyes widened indignantly. "Jake, you can't mean that!"
But he ignored her. To Carlisle, he asked, "Is there anything else? Or are you done?"
Carlisle said, "No, that's all. I didn't know any of this until much later, but it hardly matters now. Bella, Edward did love you, in his way. But don't canonize him. Please go on with your life. Forget about us. We're no good for you, and I am so sorry that I allowed you to get so close, that I allowed us the fantasy of having you join us. We've only brought you pain, and you deserve better."
Bella began to cry again, but Jacob was too disgusted with her to even look at her. "I expect you to be gone by the end of the day. Rosalie is welcome to wrap up your affairs, or frankly, to return at any time. She's more than proven herself. But the rest of you will be killed on sight." Bella made a strangled noise, and Jacob said in a hard voice, while staring into the trees with a fearsome expression, "And Bella, if I ever see you, and your eyes are any color besides brown, the same goes for you."
Without a second glance, he led the pack into the woods.
X-x-x-x-X
A/N: Thanks again to my wonderful beta, Babs81410.
