Rated M for Mature Content. 18 and older only please!
In slow motion, the red ambrosia filled the backyard with it's sweet yet slightly potent scent as a loud screaming howl rent the air. An invisible wolf leapt over the vampire formation and ran headlong into the invisible shield, growling and clawing, completely ignoring the orders from his pack alphas. An imprint was sacred and nothing would keep him from helping his mate. He turned to glare at the large curly haired vampire, willing him to open the shield so he could get to her but he was invisible. He couldn't be seen. He was cursing Old Quil's remedy now when he'd been giddy over it before.
Kristen's long hair whipped out to the side with the force of her head turning sharply as her body fell limply to the forest floor beside her brother. Christopher's face twisted into crazed agony as he dove to catch his sister before her shoulders could meet the ground.
"No!" He screamed, dragging the word out with his pain, loud and long. He paid no mind to the scene around him as he cradled his beloved twin in his arms, pulling her into his lap so that he could try to keep her alive.
Carlisle leapt forward only to be stopped by not only Jasper's firm grip on his arm but Emmett's impenetrable shield. His black eyes glared at Aro as the Volturi scum suckled his bloodstained fingers slowly, smugly. "You sonofabitch!" He yelled at Aro with a growl. He could do nothing but stare as the werewolf's packmate held her in his arms, crying and screaming for her not to die. He cupped her neck with his fingers, desperately holding her skin together, willing the blood flow to slow down. "Emmett!" Carlisle's voice was thick and deep with authority. He needed to escape the shield to help the bleeding wolf.
Santiago leapt over the downed Children of the Moon only to be stopped by the shield. On the inside, Emmett and Bella crouched, ready for him. Only Bella knew that they had two protectors behind them, also ready. Carlisle paced angrily, waiting to be released so he could tend to the injured wolf.
Aro smiled gleefully as he watched his guard crouched and ready to attack. Corin and Afton stood defensively next to Chelsea but behind Santiago and Aro knew they were just waiting until the larger vampire cleared a path for them to start ripping limbs apart.
Looking down toward Jasper's hard gaze, Emmett saw Peter nod once and lifted his shield. Carlisle raced to Kristen, quietly soothing the agitated wolf's growls with his compassionate and calming words. He set to stitching her wound immediately, also trying to soothe the Quileute wolf who must have found a mate in the Child of the Moon. Santiago charged forward but before he could get even a step closer, his hands reaching for Bella's slender neck, Quil jumped over Emmett and wrapped his invisible jaws around Santiago's neck. Claw shaped hands flailed, grasping at empty air as the sharp canines of Quil's eager wolf pierced his stone cold skin. Jake stuck by Bella's side as she flew toward Corin, ready for a fight with Emmett at her side. Aro stared in shock as Santiago's head rolled away from his shoulders for seemingly no reason. Charlie moved away from Cora for a moment to light a match for the bonfire off to the right of the melee but as he bent over, Aro saw his moment and dove over the invisible wolves, Emmett, and Bella. His hands wrapped around the police chief's throat as his strong legs wrapped around his waist. He was silent as a wraith as he tore Charlie's head from his body with ease. Cora screamed as she saw his head loll straight into the flames of the fire he had just created and Bella's agonized keening wail as she watched her father be incinerated before her very eyes, echoed off the tall pines.
Aro wasted no time in kicking Charlie's body into the sparking purple flames but when he spun around, feeling someone approach him, it wasn't Carlisle or Bella -those whom he expected- standing behind him. It was Chelsea and Afton. He saw Corin's hand as it was tossed into the flames behind him, his Volturi ring glinting in the firelight. He did not, however, see the wolf who licked his chops after his large muzzle tossed the stone flesh into the fire.
A flash of confusion flew across his face as he saw the rest of the Cullens intact but he relaxed as he saw his guard coming to stand before him, watching as Carlisle stood subdued with a weeping Esme in his arms. Warily, he watched as Cora walked toward him calmly as she wrung her hands together. Her head was down, any part of her face was hiding behind the fluff of her hair and her body radiated tension. When her voluptuous body stopped in front of him, Aro arrogantly admired the view. Maybe he would take this little newborn as his own mate now that she was without one -as was he.
Holding his hand out toward the dark skinned vampire, Aro smiled sweetly as if he hadn't just murdered her mate. "Come here, child. Let me soothe you." His voice had a lulling quality as he tried to manipulate the young newborn to his will. He glanced meaningfully at Chelsea and she created a bond between Aro and Cora with a slight head bow toward her 'master'.
Cora looked up at Aro with a sparkle to her eyes. Completely devoted to the Volturi king, she stepped close to him and placed her hand into his. Aro read her thoughts, forefront and hidden. He read every angle of her life, every discussion with anyone she had ever had. Pulling her closer, he hugged her close and smoothed a hand down her slender back, letting his fingertips rest on the top of her ass. Cora snuggled into Aro with her lips against his neck much to the disgust and shock of every Olympian there. Bella was being restrained by Emmett and Peter with a burly hand over her mouth to stop her harmful words from pouring forth. She thrashed in their grip, squealing angrily, trying to get not only to Aro but to Chelsea for manipulating her father's mate.
Chelsea, however, gripped onto Afton's hand and squeezed once. Turning his red gaze to his mate, he smiled softly and nodded. Ignoring the weeping Christopher, who was holding his healing sister, the Cullens and even the invisible creatures who were tearing apart anyone who was not on their side, Chelsea unbonded Cora. The slithering cord that tied her to the Volturi king severed and fell limply to the ground unseen by anyone other than her. Cora, feeling the odd bond fall away abruptly, inhaled deeply to gain her bearings. Her mate just died the true death. Aro must suffer the same fate he did. She smiled against the king's neck, her lips widening as her venom coated teeth were exposed. Aro's arms tightened around her as he felt her lips move against him, arousing him. He hummed contentedly, also ignoring the flailing, angry vampire daughter of the police chief and pulling the beautiful vampire into his body more firmly.
"This is for you, my love." She whispered almost incoherently against Aro's neck. Opening her mouth as wide as she could just as Aro questioned her as to what she'd said, she sliced her teeth through his thick firm skin and severed his head in one go. It toppled off of his shoulders, eyes wide and confused, and fell into the flames. She watched in wild fascination as his hair burnt first before the fire licked at his eyelashes and then his cheeks. Throwing his body away from her in disgust, she grimaced and wiped her lips with the back of her hand, spitting into the flame.
Bella, rendered completely senseless, paused in her fight to get away from her mates and slumped against them awkwardly. Peter held her right arm, Emmett held her left and when her knees gave out, she was left looking like a chicken with broken wings. She bowed her head down, her messy bun falling out of its tie, leaving her hair to hide her face as she sobbed tearlessly. Heart wrenching sobs ripped from her chest as she cried in relief that Cora hadn't been bonded to that piece of shit and in agony over the unfair death of her father. He'd made one mistake...Not hunting and overusing his gift to protect them all, making him weak and unobservant. Her usually overly observant police chief father...He was gone...Just gone! How was she going to cope now? He had been her lifeline before the Cullens had come into her life and now he was just gone.
Esme hid her face in Carlisle's chest, feeling his arms wrap around her tightly as she too sobbed for the lost life of Charlie Swan. Charlotte gripped onto Garrett, equally heartbroken for the little vampire girl who just lost her father. The remedy the wolves had drank before entering the yard had worn off, leaving panting, chuffing wolves randomly scattered over the grass. Paul stayed in wolf form as he kept a close eye on his imprint, watching and waiting for her neck to heal as she laid immobile in her brother's arms. Christopher, completely covered in his sister's blood splatters, was now shivering constantly as he struggled to keep the shift at bay. It was tough because he'd never had to keep the shift away before but he refused to turn into a mindless beast while holding onto his gravely injured twin. His long hair draped over his left shoulder as he held her; his angular face staring down at her, long dark fingers caressing her cheek as he tried vainly to ignore the dark silver wolf that had eyes for the woman he held in his arms.
The flames of the fire burned brightly in the thick night, purple smoke hiding the moon that was trying to peek out from behind thinning clouds as the snow tapered off to nothing. Bella's cries were the only thing to be heard as Cora kneeled down in front of the flames, her delicate fingers reaching toward the heat as she longed to feel the touch of her mate one last time. She felt her heart fissure in her chest painfully as the reality of the situation hit her square in the chest. The first sob climbed up her throat and she bit her lip to keep it in but hearing Bella's pain released the dam inside of her and she bowed her head, covering her face with her hands and cried.
Couples held each other as they watched the two women break down for their loss with heavy hearts. Ephraim gave the order silently for everyone to leave and after a couple of sorrowful licks to Bella's hand, Jake and Sam followed their leader into the trees toward La Push. Paul, however, stayed lying on his belly with his head on his paws as he watched his mate. Fur sprouted over her body and her brother's even as they lay there. The moon was now high in the sky and the clouds parted, letting the white light shine down on the backyard of Olympia. A growl pushed its way up Christopher's throat as he realized there was no stopping the shift.
Peeling his eyes away from his sister's still unconscious form, the taller Native met eyes with the silver wolf. He knew enough about his own tribe's legends that this shifter could understand him. "Please." Christopher had to clear his throat from the rough lump that had lodged there. "Please take care of her for me, wolf. I try so hard." He paused as his words started to come out as a constant thick growl as his skin turned to fur and his legs elongated. The pain was something he had endured for years now so it didn't hinder his thoughts the way it used to. "I try so damn hard to keep my humanity in this form but I usually have her help."
Paul whined and crawled forward on his belly, closer to Kristen, poking her exposed back with his nose. Christopher looked at him fondly even as a grimace fought its way onto his face. The shift was almost complete, he could feel his snout elongating on his face so his speech was now slurred as his tongue thickened and widened. "Kristen. Her name is Kristen."
His arms dropped away from her as they too lengthened and he oddly crab walked away from the two wolves, his blunt fingernails curling into sharp, glistening claws. By the time his body finished the grueling transformation, Paul admired him. He was taller than any animal he'd ever seen and looked so similar to the werewolves in Underworld that he was convinced the writer actually encountered a real werewolf and got inspiration that way. Paul whined again as he watched Kristen go through the same transformation silently. No words, moans, or even whimpers left her beautiful plump red lips as they changed and mutated into a long muzzle. Her fur was shiny black and looked so soft that he had to cuddle his own wolf up to her. He prayed to the Spirits that if she gained consciousness while he laid with her that she would recognize him as her mate, even in her shifted persona. Risking the chance, Paul rested his entire wolf length against Kristen's back so has not to get gutted by her massive claws and to hopefully calm her.
He didn't realize that while he was witnessing the Children of the Moon shift into their werewolf form, the Cullens were gathered together around the bonfire in some sort of funeral to bid Charlie Swan goodbye. Carlisle held council, same as Emmett, while the rest of the family mourned the loss.
TRUST ME.
