Drowning

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

A/N-thank you for the kind reviews. There is a tissue warning for this chapter!

Part Twenty Eight

Her head hurt, Bella groaned as she tried to open her eyes, but flashes of pain in her skull made them wedge shut again. She felt seasick as if her world was tilted on its side and she couldn't get her balance. She could hear voices, they zoned in and out as she tried to get her whirling head under control. She forced herself to focus; she needed to know what the hell was going on.

"You could have killed her with the blow you gave to her head." That was the female. Bella blinked a couple of times as she made her eyes open, through the haze she could see a tall, slim woman, her hair was like a red halo around her head, and she had the whitest skin Bella had ever seen on a human. She looked pissed, extremely pissed. It was hard to tell for sure the woman's age, Bella now realised she was dangling over someone's shoulder, it must be the males. She heard him begin to argue with the red headed female. His voice was gravelly and deep, she was sure she recognised it, and when the female finally spoke the man's name, Bella's blood ran cold. "Just remember who broke you out of prison, Joshua." The red head seethed. "I am in charge here. This is my plan. You answer to me. Understand?"

Bella closed her eyes swiftly when she saw the woman glance her way. She didn't want them to know she was conscious again. Her head ached abominably and she didn't want to risk another blow. Bella remembered suddenly where she had seen this woman before. It was the same one she had seen leap from the top of the cliff that time when she had been with Jacob and the others. How in hell had she survived that? She felt fear take hold and she tried to push it deep down inside. She needed to listen in to the bickering between Joshua and the female so she could ascertain what their plans were.

"Do you sense him?" The red head demanded suddenly.

"Billy knows I'm back. He felt me phase in when I travelled to Sarah's. He will hunt me down soon, don't worry." Joshua chuckled darkly. "He'll bring the others with him. He won't come alone."

"Good." The red head sounded pleased. "The others are chomping at the bit for the fight. I have managed to starve them of blood for days; they are hungry and ready for battle. They will easily overwhelm the dogs."

"Remember Billy is all mine." Joshua stated grimly. "I owe that piece of scum for banishing me from the pack all those years ago. If you hadn't forced my wolf to return then I would not be able to get my vengeance now. Stealing his wife from him and destroying her mind was never going to be enough."

"You truly are an evil man." The red head mused. She didn't sound either admiring or disgusted, she sound indifferent as if his ramblings were of no interest to her. "You are now nothing but a rogue wolf."

Joshua growled low in his chest. The noise startled Bella as she felt the vibrations from his body infect hers. The blood was rushing to her aching head, and she was finding it uncomfortable dangling helplessly over Joshua's shoulder. She tried to make sense of what they had been saying. Billy a wolf? How could that be? Pack? Had Sam and Jacob known all this time? Were they wolves too? There were so many questions. Bella vaguely recalled a story that Jacob had told her years ago when she had run away and stayed in the huge deserted mansion. It was a spooky tale about cold ones and spirit wolves. Bella tried to remember the details but they eluded her. Were the old stories true after all? God, her head felt like it was breaking apart.

Suddenly Bella heard other voices. She dared to open her eyes and from her vantage point she saw several pairs of legs milling about. Were these the others that the red head was referring to? She heard the female hailing them and then calling for calm as they began to bombard her with questions about when the fight was going to begin.

"Soon my friends." The red head assured them. "Very soon. Our friend here has brought the bait. They are coming and we will destroy them. No longer will the feral wolves decimate our kind. WE WILL HAVE OUR VENGEANCE." There were loud rousing cheers at these last words, and the sound made Bella sick to her stomach.


He was back and he had rediscovered his wolf. Billy couldn't comprehend it. How the fuck had Joshua broken out of prison? Who had helped him? Most important of all, how had Joshua regained the ability to phase after Billy had essentially banished his spirit wolf away? Joshua had always been vicious, even back when he had been part of the pack. He was untrustworthy, hated following orders and used his evil nature and the strength he got from the wolf inside against not only cold ones, but humans that crossed his path as well. He had nearly killed a man he had got into a fight with and that had been the last straw as far as Billy was concerned. After consulting with the elders he had used his Alpha powers to essentially wrest Joshua's wolf from him. It hadn't been easy. As far as the legends went, it had only been done once before by Taha Aki on his foe Utlapa. Joshua had roared that he would seek his vengeance that day, but Billy had treated his words as empty threats until now. Now he was back and from what he had felt through the pack mind link, stronger than ever.

Billy called the pack together. He wished they had more numbers, he could sense that others would be joining them soon, Paul Lahote and Jared Thail were showing signs as well as young Seth, much to Harry's chagrin. But they were not there yet. So for now it was the five of them, Billy himself, his beta Harry, Jacob, Sam and Embry. They all stood around their leader and watched the vision unfurl in their heads about what had happened years ago, and then the raw feeling that had rushed through Billy when he felt Joshua phase in after years of absence. The pack was jittery when they saw this, Harry particularly was alarmed, he remembered how spitefully evil Joshua could be. Sam was incensed, he hated his father and it took an Alpha command from Billy for him to stay in place.

"We are a team. We work together. Joshua is a rogue wolf and alone, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't tread carefully. I've shown you how devious he can be." Billy warned the pack. "Now we hunt." He howled loudly and the others joined in before they all shot off in an arrow formation, with Billy at the head.


Joshua's head suddenly shot up and his lip curled backward. He sniffed the air eagerly. "The fools are on their way, get ready." He suddenly dumped Bella's body onto the hard ground; she stifled a groan as she continued to pretend to be unconscious. She heard the red head dishing out orders to the others. Bella peeped out through half closed lids as she tried to count how many there were, it was difficult but she thought there were six, maybe seven of them. They all seemed hyped up, and their reddened eyes so like the females glowed as they began to practise moves on each other.

"Remember grab them around the middle and squeeze as hard as you can. That is the best way to kill them; it deadens their heart and steals their breath." The red head's hands curled into fists. "With their deaths we can rule this area! Remember what you are all fighting for? Freedom for our kind, freedom for vampires." She called out loudly.

"Freedom." The others yelled back at her.

Vampires? Fuck! Bella should have known that was what cold ones meant, but as they were all running about in the day she hadn't really considered what supernatural beings they really were. She had grown up watching horror films where Dracula and his kind could only come out in the dark, but what she had seen so far disputed all of that. She couldn't stop the fear taking hold of her heart; Billy and his pack were in very real danger. In dribs and drabs Bella was finally remembering details of the story Jacob had told her all those years ago. It was all finally making sense. This was nothing new, this area had been a magnet for Vampires for centuries and Billy and his ancestors had been defending their homeland for just as long. It all sounded so farfetched but Bella had seen the evidence first hand, and as she continued to covertly look around she began to wonder exactly why they had kidnapped her.


Noise, there was so much noise. Bella could hear howling, mixed with the sounds of yelling and groaning. Human voices cursed and the sound of animals whimpering as if in pain made her wince. She couldn't bear to look. The noises were enough to send fear into her heart. The wolves battled the vampires and from the cries of pain from the animals it sounded as if they were failing. Bella felt herself being hauled up into a pair of cold hard arms. Freezing fingers pinched her cheeks as a feminine voice hissed in her ear. "I know you have been awake this whole time, girl. Now it's time for you to play your part. Open your eyes bitch."

Bella felt tears pool into her eyes as they flared open. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Mud was churned up everywhere as the human like vampires fought viciously with the largest wolves she had ever seen. It was all so surreal, like something from a film. For a moment she felt like she was on a movie set and not in the midst of a nightmare. The red head hissed in her ear again. "See the russet red wolves, the ones who are fighting so viciously? I must admire them; they have killed some of the strongest. They fight for you girl. That's why you made such good bait." She laughed softly. She forced Bella's head to turn a little. Two huge black wolves were fighting each other viciously, the largest out of the two had its teeth clamped on the others neck and was biting down hard. The smaller black wolf whimpered as blood dripped out of its neck, the other black wolf transferred its teeth onto the jugular of the other effectively ending its life. The red head laughed again. "See girl, father has killed son. Joshua has no qualms I give him that."

Sam? Sam dead? Bella felt her whole world crashing around her. She saw the two russet wolves suddenly attack the larger black wolf in unison. There was suddenly a three way fight going on and it was vicious. The other wolves were still battling the vampires. The red head's voice was suddenly in her ear again. "Now you play your part." She yanked Bella's head back forcefully, making her cry out in pain. One of the russet wolves stopped fighting and turned her way. Its lips drew back in a snarl before it launched itself at the red head.

"Stay back, dog. I will kill her. I will." The red head sneered. "You have already sacrificed your father." The russet wolf stopped circling the red head and twisted to look back at the fight between the other russet wolf and the black one. The black wolf had gained a vital hold on the russet wolf's throat. Bella watched in horror as the russet wolf became limp. "See, your father is dead, and with the Alpha's death comes yours." The red head leaned close to Bella's throat. "I will slake my thirst from the throat of your angel."

The russet wolf roared loudly as it began to spring for Victoria, but it never reached her, two huge vampires burst forth from their hiding place and brought it down in one fell swoop, their burly arms squeezing around its middle. Bella felt her own life fading as the red head laughed triumphantly. "I have my vengeance." She crowed.

They were to be her last words. Out of nowhere seven other figures arrived like flashes of light. A beautiful blonde woman appeared in front of the red head; she grabbed the fiery red hair and yanked it back, making the red head drop Bella onto the hard ground. "Leave my daughter alone you bitch." She cursed before ripping the red head to pieces.


"She's waking up." The voice seemed far away. Bella blinked a few times before the beautiful blonde's face swam into view. "You're going to be alright." Even her voice was beautiful. Bella felt she could listen to her all day. The blonde helped her to sit up, it was only when she touched Bella that Bella realised she was stone cold. "Easy now." The blonde seemed to guess what Bella was thinking. "I am not the enemy. I came to help. I'm Rosalie…Rose."

Rose? A vague memory stirred in Bella's tired brain. She did know this beauty. She was the blonde woman from her dreams. "I know you, don't I?" She murmured.

Rosalie smiled a beatific smile; it was so bright it dazzled Bella. "Oh sweetheart, I never dared hope you would remember. You were still so young when I lost you. I'm your mother, your real mother."

Bella recoiled at these words. Renee was her mother. No, this woman couldn't be. She looked barely older than nineteen or twenty at most. "Stay away from me." She scooted backwards, ignoring the hurt look in Rosalie's eyes. Suddenly it hit Bella like a freight train, the wolves! Jacob! Sam! Billy and all the others! They were in danger, they were hurt. She scrambled to her feet and stared at the carnage surrounding her. A large fire was burning. The other vampires who had seemingly accompanied Rosalie were feeding the flames with bits and pieces of the other cold ones. A handsome blonde male was walking among the fallen wolves; some had turned back into their human forms. Bella screamed when she noticed Jacob's was one of them. Not too far from him were Billy and Sam. Bella knew they were dead, their hearts were silent. She felt her own heart begin to break painfully apart in her chest, she felt as if she was being wrenched into a thousand pieces. "NOOOOOO." She stumbled toward them but Rosalie caught hold of her and stopped her.

"You can't save them." Rosalie said brokenly. "You can't. They are supernatural beings. You will kill yourself if you even try. That's how I died; trying to save the ones I loved. You inherited your powers from me. But the power comes with a price. The more you use it, the more you give of yourself until there is nothing left inside you. Carlisle changed me when he found I was near death, he changed me into the form you see now. I lost you, sweetheart. I can't lose you again. They are gone, you have to accept it."

"LET ME GO." Bella screamed, she writhed in Rosalie's arms. "I don't care if I die. I am nothing without them, I am nothing without Jake. I can't live without him. I won't."

"Please listen to me. I am your mother. You can and will live. I had to, and you can too." Rosalie begged her.

"YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER." Bella screamed again. "Renee was my mother. Now let me fucking go."

Her words seemed to shock Rosalie. The blonde released her and Bella staggered over to Jacob. "Don't you leave me, Jake? Don't you dare?" She cursed him through a veil of tears. "Not when I never got to tell you how much I love you." She closed her eyes and placed her hand over his heart. She felt the familiar warmth along her palm and used all her inner strength to bring him back to life.


She was weak, very weak. Bella had healed both Jacob and Sam. They were breathing and slowly coming back to consciousness. She crawled over to Billy and put her hand over his heart. Suddenly Rosalie appeared in front of her. "Please don't do this?" Her strange golden eyes were full of pain as she gazed upon Bella. "Please you'll kill yourself."

"Perhaps this was what I was born for." Bella murmured weakly. "You can't stop me. This is my choice, mine alone."

Rosalie's face fell. She reached out a cold trembling hand and placed it over Bella's warm one. "You are as stubborn as I was, but so much stronger. I love you my brave little girl."

"Goodbye mother." Bella knew she was dying. She felt Billy's heart begin to beat weakly in his chest and she smiled softly as she sank into darkness.


"Baby girl."

"Mom, is that you mom?" Bella had been so afraid that she would be alone. Hearing Renee's voice was like a balm to her frightened soul.

"You were never alone. I was always here, baby girl." A pair of soft arms embraced Bella and rocked her gently.

"I'm tired mom, so tired." Bella whispered. "I've missed you so much, mom."

She felt Renee's fingers stroke her hair like they always used to do when she was a little girl. "I'm here now, baby girl, I'm here."

Bella smiled as she sank into a restful sleep.

A/N-thank you for reading!