Nothing copyrighted belongs to me, I just use it for my own amusement.
Oh look, I love my readers so much that I've managed to scrape together a second chapter this week! Now someone send me a snow-blower so I can dig myself a path to my mailbox. :-P
Black Swan
Chapter 29
Bella Swan-Black
Jasper doesn't speak a word to me as we run home. In fact, he positions himself behind the maimed Irina and Laurent all the way back. I can't tell if he's mad at me, them, or the situation. Probably a bit of all three, I surmise as the wall of the Cullen property comes into view. I quietly warn the other wolves to steer clear for the moment so things don't get out of hand before everyone gets home. Claire ignores me, opting to flank the new vampires and snarl at them menacingly as we make it to the main house.
"What the in fuck is this?" Emmett calls from the window, "Why are Irina and Laurent missing their arms and why does Bella look like she's going to murder......oh crap, you didn't warn them about the pups, did you Jasper?"
"I didn't have time to," Jasper replies, his tone remorseful, "Laurent attacked Seth so Bella attacked him and Irina went after Bella for ripping him apart." I stoically watch the two in question while Jasper catches our brother up on the clusterfuck our afternoon has become.
"Are Edward, Carlisle, and Esme home yet?" I interrupt their banter, "I want this done as soon as possible so I can get the kids packed and we can head out."
"What do you mean head out?" Rosalie asks as she exits the house, "Are we going somewhere?"
"Bella thinks that if her and the kids leave it will help smooth things over with the Denali's," Jasper elaborates with a dismissive hand wave, "She still hasn't realized that none of us are about to let her and the pups run off unprotected with Jacob still on the loose."
"Evidently she hasn't figured out that this family sticking together means more than placating the Denali's either," I'm shocked to hear Tia interject as she peers over at me, "Do you truly believe that Ben and I would let our imprints or their mother go off alone with everything that is going on?"
"I hadn't thought about it, in all honesty," I admit with a sigh as I watch Claire run off to explain everything to the packs, "I just want my kids and my family to be safe. If that means leaving so it doesn't cause a fight between you guys and the Denali's, then I gladly accept being ostracized. I refuse to let anyone else get hurt because of me or my children."
"Aren't we the perfect little martyr," Irina mumbles, still being held in place by Jasper, "Someone please kill me or her, preferably her, so I don't have to be subjected to anymore of this drivel."
Tia moves so fast that the sound of stone colliding against stone hits my ears at the same time my brain registers that Tia has driven her fist into Irina's face and knocked her to the ground. I hold my breath as Tia towers over the prone woman. "Shut the fuck up already Irina!" the girl screams, her azure orbs flashing with fury, "I'm so sick and tired of you and your sisters attitude towards my family! Just because our family treats you like normal people instead of acting like you walk on water doesn't give you the right to disrespect us!"
Irina attempts to lunge at my son's imprint, but is once again thrown to the ground, this time by Alice, who came out of nowhere. "You leave my daughter alone you filthy tramp! Only the gods know how many people you and your sisters have mutilated and killed in your twisted little sex games so you have no fucking say in what's right and what's wrong with our family!"
Laurent growls and tries to protect his mate, but Leah kicks him to the grass as he tries to stand, "Don't move unless you're itching to get to that fire a little sooner than my mother plans."
"Mom, dad, and my brother should be here in a few minutes," Alice declares to the group, "I wouldn't be surprised if Edward has already heard our thoughts and picked up the pace."
I open my mind to my mate Get here fast, I have vampire kabobs to roast. Great. Even in my mind I am snarling.
What happened that has you so upset Bella? He asks in response. I immediately think over the entire debacle and mentally hear him growl in response to our son being harmed. I'll be there in less than a minute love, wait for me to get there before you start with the carnage.
I don't bother hiding the impish grin on my face in reaction to his words. He is every bit as protective as I am when it comes to Seth and Leah's well-being. It's surprising that it has taken such a short time for him to become the father that the twins always deserved.
In a flash of copper, ivory, and blue, Edward comes out of nowhere and throws himself at Laurent, only to be caught and pulled back by Carlisle. "You attacked my son," Edward snarls with such venom that it makes me shiver, "I will fucking end you."
"Someone please explain why Edward is trying to kill our friends and why they are currently without arms," Carlisle calmly pleads, clamping down on his son as Edward clamors to escape and follow through with his vow.
Jasper and I quickly fill everyone in on what happened and Carlisle's expression slowly shifts from confused to morose, to thinly veiled rage at the words that had been used in an effort to degrade is his daughter and grandchildren. Playful grandpa has effectively been replaced by really pissed off protective grandpa.
But it's not Carlisle I'm worried about so much. It's Esme. The expression on her face could wither a forest. Her dainty hands are trembling as she repeatedly curls and uncurls them at her sides.
This could be very bad.
Esme shifts her weight from her right foot to her left, eyes still intent on the armless vampires. In one fluid movement, Carlisle shoves Edward into Emmett's arms and hurls himself at his wife before she can reach Laurent and Irina. Oddly enough, Esme doesn't snarl or spout curses as she tries and fails to extract herself from Carlisle's careful grip. No, what she does is much, much worse. She lets out a wordless, baleful wail so perfectly morphed with a sob that it makes everyone freeze and turn to her.
Rosalie and Tia have her in their arms in an instant, helping to hold her back.
I lift and eyebrow and look to Edward. What the hell?
His dark eyes shift to his mother sadly, then drift back to mine Mom and dad, and I had something really bad happen in Africa. They were trying to adopt two orphan boys dad had treated. A band of the local warlords came through, they were looking for new boys to turn into soldiers. They ransacked the buildings and eventually found where we were hiding.
They took the boys and were going to kill the three of us until they were told by one of the villagers that dad was a doctor and mom and I helped him. They gave us the choice to come with them or die. Dad only agreed on the condition that Saul and Levi were to stay with us. The man agreed. Too quickly, in my book, but we weren't given any time to process why. We found out the hard way.
As soon as we were loaded into the back of a pick up, he waved to get our attention, we thought it was to get Saul and Levi. As soon as we looked, he had two of his soldiers shoot them. Esme turned into a raging monster, trying to save those boys. As well as she's learned to hide it, she has never gotten over being unable to protect them.
"Oh shit," I murmur and cross the distance to lay a hand on Esme's arm. I hope this works. "Mama E, calm down," I gently beg her, silently willing her to look at me, "Look at me Mama, please."
My breathing catches in my chest as her head seems to move in slow motion. Before today, I would never have believed someone if they'd told me that this feral and grief-stricken vampire was the same woman who raised the love of my existence. The difference is blatant as our gazes lock. "Mama, Seth and Leah are safe now, it's okay. Let them take you into the house while we deal with this, okay?"
An uncertain whimper escapes her mouth but her thrashing begins to weaken. Two agonizing minutes pass before she concedes and ceases her struggle. "Don't let them hurt my grandchildren, I can't lose anymore," Esme pleads to her husband as the four grandchildren surround her.
"Not while I walk upon this earth," Carlisle vows and briefly presses his lips to hers before handing her over to Seth and Ben, "Take her inside and stay close until we give the all clear." The quartet gives a collective nod and ushers their sobbing grandmother into the main house.
Edward and I trade a look before he reaches out and grasps my hand, "Time to get this sorted out love," he presses a kiss onto the hand he's holding and gives it a gentle tug as we start back towards the jerks who begin this.
"How do you want to deal with this?" Carlisle quietly asks, looking uncharacteristically like Edward with his honey hair mussed and his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his slacks.
"It was a fucking misunderstanding, I vote we let them go home! Taking a page from the gospel of Carlisle, everyone deserves a second chance!" our son suddenly shouts from the porch, "And taking into account that I was the one who got bit, I think I have a say in this!"
"I agree with Seth," Carlisle admits with a tiny smile and no small bit of pride at his grandson.
"But if they ever even think about hurting my mom or anyone else in my family ever again I'm using them as kindling!!!" Seth adds and we hear the door close once more.
The rest of us stare at each other for a few moments before I blow out a loud sigh and nod, "You heard the boy. Let's get their arms back on so they can leave before I change my mind and kill them anyway."
"Don't I get a say in this?" Edward pouts without an ounce of shame while handing over one of Laurent's twitching limbs.
"Incorrigible child," I kiss the tip of his nose and relieve him of the arm, "Maybe next time you'll get a vote my love."
"But what about now?" he argues as he kneels down and holds Laurent in place while I hold his arm and Alice duct tapes it to his torso.
"Duct tape Ali?" I ignore Edward's question and focus on the dark skinned vampire before us.
"What are staring at me for? Duct tape fixes everything, Jasper said so," she answers like she is repeating some holy commandment to me.
Edward and I respond with matching eye rolls and proceed with attaching the other limb before helping the vampire to his feet. Laurent doesn't say a word to us, instead he runs to his mate and begins babbling to her in what Edward tells me is French.
Once the pair has been reassembled, the boys walk with them to the wall, out of our earshot, and quietly converses with them while Rose, Alice, and I worriedly look on. I try to connect with Edward, but he gently pushes me out, his thoughts contrite and a little sad as he begs me to be patient and wait until Irina and Laurent are long gone before anyone interrogates them.
"Come on girls, let's go check on mom and the brats," Alice suggests and tugs on our arms until we give in to her demands and follow her into the mansion.
Esme is sitting on one of the pale beige sofas, flanked by her granddaughters, when we enter. Her soulful orbs have lightened to a muted gold, but they are framed with the venom of her unshed tears. "Where are Carlisle and my sons?" she demands after realizing that we've come alone.
"Talking to Irina and Laurent before sending their pathetic asses packing back to Alaska mom, don't worry," Rosalie confesses as she lowers herself to the floor in front of Tia, "They'll be in soon, I promise."
"You need me to do anything Mama?" I ask, needing something to do before my curiosity gets the better of me and I start looking for ways to go eavesdrop on our boys.
"Bella, the kids are going to be needing dinner soon, give me a hand?" Alice requests from the kitchen. I wait for Esme's wave of dismissal before giving her a quick hug and padding into the restaurant caliber kitchen.
As soon as I enter, my tiny sister hands me a half dozen bags of vegetables and a knife then points towards a large cutting board, "We're making stir-fry so don't make them too big Bells, the kids gripe like it's the end of the world or some shit when you do."
"Thanks," I tell her honestly without elaborating why. I don't doubt that she already knows and called me in because of it.
"Don't mention it babe," she chirps and pauses her beef slicing long enough to turn on the radio.
We settle into a seamless rhythm of chopping, dancing, and preparing much like we were able to do so easily when we were teenagers. It truly feels like we go back in time when Rosalie joins us, shaking her hips to a techno remix of 'Sex on Fire' by Kings of Leon. She gives me a sly wink when I inform her that Emmett is going to be pissed that he missed this.
"Oh, I don't think Em is the only one who is going to be complaining," she chortles, her eyes flitting to our mother, who has a tentative smile on her face as she, Leah, and Tia join our impromptu party.
"All we need now are those margaritas you used to sneak us mom!" Alice squeals as she grabs Esme and twirls her around the room. I'm shocked when Tia grabs me and pulls me into the reel, laughing so much like her mother that the room is filled with the sound of tinkling bells. Leah and Rose have joined in and soon we are all laughing freely and singing along.
We take turns keeping an eye on dinner, but it doesn't ruin our moment of glee whatsoever. Three song later, the last being 'Voodoo Child' by the Rogue Traders, we find ourselves facing a round of applause by the guys, who had managed to sneak in under our radar. Unabashed, we links hands and give a graceful bow before announcing that dinner is served.
While the kids eagerly dig into their meal, Edward pulls me outside and down the path to our home. He comes to a halt on the small wooden bridge that spans a small stream running through the trail. Ever so gently, he cups my face with his hands and lowers his head to give me a tender kiss. My need for him explodes and I try my damnedest to deepen it, but he retreats with a sigh, then rests his forehead against mine.
"Em and Jazz told me about the box you received," he admits in a sorrowful tone, "You should have called me angel, I told you that we were staying in range of the cell towers."
"I'm sorry, I sorta freaked out when I saw it," I mumble as he pulls me closer, "I started to lose it in front of everyone and Jasper got me outside before the kids seen me. By the time I got calmed down enough to get in a quick hunt and come home, that asshole jumped on Seth and I couldn't think about anything else but getting him away and destroying Laurent. Please don't be angry Edward, I'm so sorry that I didn't call or anything.....I sincerely don't think I could handle you being upset with me right now."
"I'm not upset with you Isabella," he qualifies in an even more despondent voice, "I feel like I've failed you and Seth. You bestowed me with the greatest gift anyone could ask for, you gave me the opportunity to be Seth and Leah's father, and I failed. I wasn't there to protect either of you. It should be me asking your forgiveness though I know I don't deserve it, I—"
I cover his mouth with my hand, "There's nothing to forgive you for Edward. You can't protect us twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. If nothing ever happened to us, how could anything happen to us?"
My mate snorts, trying to cover his laugh and kisses me again, "You have seen way too many movies, my sweet girl. One of these days you are going to have to come up with a pearl of wisdom all on your own."
I snuggle into his side as we turn to meander our way back to the main house, "No I don't, that's what husbands, brothers, and smart-ass nephews are for. I'll just steal them from you guys."
I inwardly cringe at what his reaction may be at the usage of the word husband, but thankfully he takes it in stride. "I love you," he declares genuinely and I can't help my smug grin as I repeat the words back.
"Are you really okay Bella?" he asks a minute later, after pressing his lips into my windblown hair.
I give him the most honest answer I am capable of as we reach the front stairs, "I will be, in time."
Time for Raven to whine!
My reviews have been dropping off, am I doing something wrong or have you all realized that I'm not that good of a writer and wandered off to find infinitely better stories?
