Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. Yay for teaser trailers! I can't wait for Breaking Dawn Part 2!
Sorry for the delay and thank you so much for all the continued support, reviews and recs you guys continue to give Once Bitten. I'm so glad you enjoyed Bella's somewhat over-the-top way of dealing with the Volturi, as I have to admit it was fun allowing her to 'let fly'.
Thanks to my lovely betas, Squeaky Zorro and Chloe Cougar, for all their hard work in polishing and helping to Americanize my writing. I can't believe how many phrases are actually native to Australia and sometimes Great Britain but not used in the US.
Thanks also to my lovely prereader, Content1, for her ongoing support. Her amazing AH story, Sins Of My Past, still rocks my week if you haven't checked it out…not to mention my squeals of delight when Full Moon Rising updates. :D
Updated: Wednesday, June 20th, 2012
Words: 4340
Chapter 53
Reunion
BPOV
"Mom," I cried, my voice catching with emotion as we approached where Renee was standing, wrapped in a blanket and watched over by both Esme and Alice.
Edward drew me to a halt while we were still quite a few yards away, and I squeezed his hand for reassurance.
Renee stood staring, her expression still disbelieving and tears running down her cheeks. When she moved to close the distance between us, Esme restrained her with a hand to her arm.
"Just give her a moment," Alice explained to her. "She needs to acclimatize to your scent."
"Oh…right." Renee looked back to me uncertainly. I wasn't sure what Alice and Esme had told her, but she clearly realized that something out of the ordinary was going on…a whole lot of "somethings" considering what she'd just witnessed. How much she understood was another matter.
She'd survived being abducted from her home in the middle of the night by a vampire, flown across the country, and then witnessing a battle between vampires and wolves with supernatural weapons, speed and abilities, and the last thing I wanted was for her to be hurt now due to my newborn thirst and erratic control. So, testing myself, I carefully breathed in her scent, relieved when my throat barely even flared. I wasn't sure if it was because I was still sated from the deer I'd drunk just before the confrontation with the Volturi, the fact that Renee's aroma reminded me so strongly of the remnants of my own human scent, or the simple fact that she was my mother and I was so incredibly grateful for this chance for us to be reunited that I refused to let anything stand in our way. Whatever the reason, my vampire nature seemed well and truly contained, my only desire to keep her safe.
"I'm okay, actually." I looked up to Edward who'd wrapped an arm protectively around my waist. He smiled reassuringly, and I quietly thanked God that Renee's scent wasn't bothering me. Then, with a gasp, I remembered that I wasn't the only vampire that posed a risk to humans.
"She smells a lot like I used to!" I cried. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Edward assured me soberly. "Her scent's similar to your human one, but it's not a problem. She's not my singer."
Sighing with relief, I turned back to where Renee was waiting before walking closer until I stood a mere arm's length in front of her. She studied me for a moment, her brow furrowing into a frown, and I couldn't help but notice how tired and frail she looked. Her eyes were red from crying, and tears stained her cheeks though she hastily brushed them away.
"You look different, your eyes, your voice, your..." She gestured vaguely, bewilderment written on her face. "But it really is you, Bella, isn't it?" Her tone was cautious but hopeful, and I nodded, my own throat feeling too tight to form words.
"Can I…can I hug you?" she asked, glancing warily at Esme and Alice. "They said my presence might be painful for you...that it might be difficult for you to be near me."
"It's okay, Mom," I whispered through trembling lips and opened my arms wide. Tentatively, she stepped into my embrace and hugged me close, her body warm and soft in my arms though she was shaking, no doubt from cold, reaction, or a perfectly understandable combination of the two. She wasn't exactly dressed for the location, having been plucked from her bed in Phoenix dressed only in her short pjs. I wanted to help her get warm and comfortable, not to mention safely away from this killing field still crowded with dangerous predators—not that I was expecting any problems after my recent display—but all I could think was how much I just needed to hug my mom. So I allowed myself this moment, carefully closed my arms around her, and ever so gently patted her on the back.
A whimper escaped my throat when I reluctantly let go and took a step away from her, but I wasn't about to press my luck. Edward had released his hold on my waist but stayed close, and he immediately grasped my hand with his, whether to reassure me, hold me back if I did lose control, or for his own comfort, I wasn't sure.
"I'm okay," I told him before addressing Esme and Alice. I could tell they were eager to be reunited with their husbands and undoubtedly have their say in the discussion about what form the revamped Volturi should take.
"Thanks for watching out for my mom, but we'll be fine now," I offered, and with a quick smile for Renee, they both disappeared—quite literally from her point of view. She gasped and looked around to see where they'd gone, and I pointed out their arrival at their partners' sides a hundred yards away. For a moment, she just stared, unblinking, before turning back to face Edward and me, her eyes were wide and her face pale beneath her tan. Taking a deep breath, she reached for me again, and I let her grasp my hand, careful not to squeeze in return.
"You're so cold…and hard…but you are real, aren't you?" She sounded worried. "I mean, I don't think I'm dreaming or having a nightmare, but this is all so…so…"
"I know, Mom, really I do," I offered comfortingly. "But I promise this is real and I'm alive. I know you must have a thousand questions, but before we get to that, let's get you warm…and away from here." I motioned with my head back toward the macabre scene of the battle's aftermath where columns of purple smoke rose skyward. Aro had been granted his own pyre, but I really didn't want to think about that just now.
"My feet are kind of cold," Renee admitted with a wan smile. "But before we go anywhere, do you think you could introduce me to your...boyfriend?"
Inwardly groaning at the thought of explaining just how much more than a mere boyfriend Edward was to me, I glanced up to smile sheepishly at my decidedly anxious-looking husband. Not that I needed to worry. Transforming his handsome features into one of his utterly mesmerizing smiles, Edward offered a hand to my mother before bowing and introducing himself, thankfully leaving out any mention that we were married.
"Mrs Dwyer? My name is Edward Cullen, and it is a pleasure to meet you," he murmured in that soft, smooth, musical way of his which was guaranteed to set female hearts aflutter whether the recipient of his charm was nine or ninety…and Renee was no exception. She blinked repeatedly, her mouth opening and closing for a moment before she snapped it shut and shot me a wry look.
"Well, it's not hard to see why you fell for this one," she murmured, and it was Edward's turn to look a little uncomfortable.
"Oh, you have no idea." I gestured for her to walk with us over to where we'd left the rest of the blankets and could hopefully find a secluded spot to sit and talk in relative privacy.
Once we were settled in a little glen a short distance into the forest, and Renee was wrapped in enough blankets to keep her warm despite the cooler northern air, I waited for her to begin bombarding us with questions. But she seemed as happy to sit and stare at me for the moment as I was just to be with her.
"I missed you, Mom," I eventually blurted. "I'm really sorry I couldn't let you know that I was alive. I wanted to tell you, but it wasn't safe, though I promise I was going to find a way...I just didn't know when."
Edward's harrumph caught my attention, and I spared him a chagrined glance.
"What? You can hardly blame me," I muttered. "Anyway, it's a moot point, as what's left of the Volturi won't be bothering Mom now, nor will any other vampires—not if they don't want to have to deal with the...the..." I waved my hands in the air.
"The lightning bolts you can throw from your hands," Renee offered dryly, and I grimaced.
"Yeah…those." I shrugged and waited for her to say more, but she went quiet again.
"Vampires," she eventually murmured, and I nodded.
"The guys wearing the cloaks," she gestured back toward the open field, "they're vampires?"
"Ummm..." I hesitated for a second before reminding myself that now wasn't the time for cowardice. "Not just the ones wearing the cloaks. The others are vampires, too. Edward's family and friends are all vampires...well, except for the giant wolves."
"Let me guess...werewolves?" Renee's question seemed rhetorical and her tone remarkably calm.
"Shape shifters, actually," I corrected with a rueful smile, not overly surprised that my extraordinarily open-minded mother was taking it all so calmly…though I wouldn't have been surprised if she was suffering from shock.
"So..." She nodded, frowning. "The smooth-looking guy with the accent who brought me here was a vampire. Makes sense, considering how he picked me up like I weighed nothing and moved so fast I thought he was teleporting."
My breath hitched when I thought of something that I really should have considered earlier.
"Phil! Is he all right? Did Demetri hurt him?" I cried, Edward answering my frantic questions before Renee got the chance.
"He's fine…he was watching baseball on TV. Demetri left him alone, as he wasn't his target."
"How do you know that?" Renee demanded. "It's what that...that Demetri fella told me when I wouldn't stop asking about Phil on the flight, but how do you know it's the truth?"
Sighing, Edward rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, looking to me for help.
"We'll get to that, Mom," I offered, deciding that Edward's mind-reading ability wasn't an ideal starting point. "And we'll call and let Phil know you're okay really soon, but I need to explain what's going on first…what's been going on since the day of the fire."
Renee nodded, and after taking a deep breath, I started at the beginning, telling her about my first day at Forks High and the reaction Edward and I'd had to each other. She smirked and briefly teased me about first love, her smile quickly fading when I explained about my being Edward's singer.
"So he's a vampire, too." She looked from Edward to me, her tone flat. "You're dating a vampire."
"Umm…yeah." I shrugged, puzzled that she hadn't asked the most obvious question….about me. She'd already commented that I looked and felt different, not to mention witnessing what I could do, but she didn't seem ready to come out and acknowledge what that must mean.
Taking comfort from Edward's arm around my waist, I took another deep breath and continued, quickly reaching the part about Edward biting me and drinking my blood.
Renee's eyes shot to Edward's face, and he dropped his head, unable to meet her shocked gaze...not that I blamed him.
"S'okay," I murmured, patting his hand.
Glancing up to meet my reassuring gaze, he nodded for me to continue, and I quickly recounted how Rose and Emmett had come to my rescue and Alice and Jasper had used explosions and started a fire to cover Edward's actions...but glossing over just how bad the three days of torment were for me when I'd undergone the transformation from human to vampire. Renee listened intently, nodding from time to time but not interrupting while I continued, telling her everything that had happened to bring us to the present...my initial confusion, anger, and loss of control, including how I'd hurt Edward and his overwhelming remorse; the inexplicable draw I'd felt to be with Edward despite the fact that it was his fault I was in this situation to begin with; how I'd needed his touch to stay calm while I'd slowly adjusted to my new life; and how I'd come to forgive him.
I told her about Edward and me falling in love, doing my best to explain vampire bonding—the word 'mating' wasn't one I was about to use in a hurry—and about my shield, the wolves, and Jacob telling Charlie. Her brow furrowed and she went to interject at hearing that Charlie knew I was alive, but then sighed and gestured for me to keep talking. Finally, I told her about Tanya, the nomads, and the Volturi, explaining as best I could about the events that had led to the battle she'd just witnessed.
The only thing I didn't tell her was about my no longer single-status.
"So you're a vampire?" she asked when my words eventually trailed away.
I nodded, biting my lower lip.
"Forever?" she whispered, her eyes shining with unshed tears.
"I'm afraid so, Mom. But I'm okay...really. It's not that bad, and some things about it are actually pretty cool. I can still have a good life and go to college when I've gained a bit more control over my thirst and travel and do all sorts of things..." My rapid-fire words trailed away when I recalled that I couldn't add having children of my own to the list.
"It will be much easier now that you and Charlie know that I'm alive, and I can see you both," I added softly. "The worst part was knowing how sad you must have been believing I'd been killed."
"Sad doesn't even begin to cover it," Renee retorted, brushing at her eyes and then looking to Edward.
"It seems you have a hell of a lot to answer for," she stated, her tone more wry than angry. "I'm amazed Charlie didn't at least try to shoot you."
Edward squirmed beneath her gaze and probably in response to her thoughts.
"I can't tell you how sorry I am for my actions, Mrs Dwyer," he offered in his most respectful tone. "But I can assure you that I have vowed to spend the rest of my existence making it up to Bella."
Renee harrumphed. "Somehow I don't think that's the only thing you two have vowed."
"Mum?" I squeaked, and she pointed to Edward's birth-mother's beautiful, diamond-banded ring that now adorned my left ring finger. I went to cover it with my right hand, but Edward stopped me, his eyes both brave and intense.
"Bella and I are very much in love," he admitted, addressing Renee while squeezing me tightly. "And, there is also the matter of the vampire bonding that she told you about, so yes...I have vowed to love and protect and stand by her side for as long as she'll have me."
"And you feel the same?" she asked me.
"I do." I nodded, hiding my smile but not overly surprised that she'd chosen to talk about my relationship with Edward before anything else. "I know it must seem a little crazy, my falling for Edward after what happened when we first met. But there's no one I'd rather be with, Mom, no one else I will ever love."
"Because of the vampire bonding," she muttered, shaking her head.
"No, it's not just that," I denied. "It's because he's perfect for me...we're perfect for each other."
"Don't you think you're a little young to be making decisions that are going to affect the rest of your life?" she demanded, but then she sat back, shaking her head. "Oh, what am I saying? This is your life now. I can't believe you're going to be seventeen forever..." Her voice broke on a sob.
I moved to sit beside her, ever so carefully wrapping my arm around her shoulder while she wept. My eyes locked with Edward's, and he smiled sadly.
"She'll be okay," he whispered, too quietly for Renee to hear. "It's just a lot to come to terms with."
I nodded and waited for her to cry herself out, murmuring reassurances but not daring to pat her back like I wanted to in case I accidentally hurt her.
"Sorry," she murmured when she'd finally stopped crying, wiping her eye on the edge of one of the blankets and then turning to cup my face with her soft, warm fingers. "You're alive, Bella. It's all that matters. As for the rest...I'll get my head around it, I promise. I'm just a little overwhelmed at the moment."
"Of course, Mom," I assured her. "We've got time, now, lots of time."
We exchanged smiles, but then mine faded when I thought of the other things I still needed to tell her.
"About the ring, Mom," I mumbled.
"Engagement?" Her eyebrows rose hopefully.
"Wedding." I winced, tensing my shoulders in anticipation of her reaction.
"You got married without me?" There was no missing the hurt in her voice or her eyes.
"Bella didn't want a formal wedding without her parents present," Edward interjected softly. "But she knew how much our making a permanent commitment to one another meant to me. So she agreed to marry me if we spoke our own vows to one another privately."
"Under normal circumstances, I'd totally agree that I'm too young to be married, but I love Edward with all my heart, Mom. Knowing that we'd be together forever, it seemed the right thing to do," I admitted, holding perfectly still while I waited for Renee's hurt to turn to anger, but her reaction took me by surprise.
"Awww, that's so sweet..." she murmured, her eyes tearing up once more as she looked from Edward to me. "I can't believe my baby's married." She reached for me, and I let her hug me again, carefully keeping my arms from closing around her.
"And she's a freaking vampire with superpowers!" she startled me by squealing, pulling back to flap her hands excitedly in front of her. "Does that mean your children will have powers, too? Not that you should be thinking about having babies anytime soon. You're still only seventeen, and even if you're not going to age physically, you need time to mature mentally before you become a mother, especially with everything else that's going on in your life. You're already the most responsible, nurturing person I know, but you deserve to have some fun first, and a baby is a lifetime commitment..."
Her words faltered when she finally took in my sad and Edward's pained expression.
"Oh..." she murmured. "No aging...no changing...no pregnancy, I'm guessing."
"No, Mom, no pregnancy. Vampires can't have children," I admitted somberly, relieved when Edward came to sit beside me. He took my hand in his, and I dropped my eyes to watch his thumb circle soothingly over my knuckles. With a sigh, I rested against his shoulder and he leaned down to kiss the top of my head.
"I'm so sorry, Bella sweetheart," Renee murmured, drawing my eyes away from Edward's concerned and loving gaze and back to hers. "But my little girl is alive," she added, reaching to cup my face, "and that's all that matters."
"Thanks, Mom." Her look told me we'd need to talk about this again, but we'd both had very emotional days filled with unexpected events and disclosures. It was enough for now...or so I thought. Renee had other ideas, her brow furrowing and Edward's body stiffening at her thoughts.
"What?" I asked, looking up at him, but he just smiled, his expression suddenly very pleased. Annoyed at being left out of the loop, I turned to Renee for answers.
~OB~
EPOV
"I'm going to get to be the mother-of-the-bride!" Bella's mother cried, her cries of excitement echoed by my sister out on the field. Alice's visions had returned with the wolves' departure, and I couldn't help smiling at the glimpses I was catching of Bella's and my official wedding day. Some aspects were hazy, and I tried not to look too closely at Bella's gown, but all I really needed to see was the smile on her face and the love in her eyes to know that it would be a day for joy and celebration.
More visions flooded Alice's mind...visions of Bella's and my future as well as the rest of the family's...and my smile faded. Some of the images made no sense, and while I knew they were both subjective and fragmented, dependent on any number of intermediary events, one particular recurrent image was disturbing enough to warrant investigation.
"I'll be right back," I murmured, brushing my lips over Bella's brow before racing to where we'd left the cell phones in a bag, together with the extra blankets and the medical supplies we'd brought but ended up not needing for the wolves. I returned to her and her mother's sides in a fraction of a second, not wanting to alarm Renee by moving at vampire speed, but unwilling to leave them alone for any length of time.
Bella's level of control was unprecedented for a newborn, but she'd had an extraordinary day—one we'd yet to debrief or come to terms with—and I wasn't about to see it end on a disastrous note...not on my watch.
But my watch only extended so far.
"What's wrong?" Bella asked, coming to stand at my side while I found the contact I wanted on my phone and pressed call.
"Sam?" she asked, confused. "Has something happened at home?"
"That's what I'm checking to see," I explained, not wanting to alarm her but trusting my gut that this was one vision I dared not dismiss out of hand.
Jasper and Alice approached us, listening in while we waited to hear if Sam would pick up. The wolves might still be en route as the distance was considerable, but after only five rings, the connection was made.
"Sam? It's Edward," I began, only to be interrupted by Seth's panicked voice.
"Edward! You need to get back here right away. I mean, seriously, man. We need you guys like...now!"
"What's happened? Where's Sam?" I demanded, one hand gripping the phone tightly while the other pulled Bella protectively against my side.
"He's kinda got his hands full. Do you think you could start running, and I'll explain while you're on the way?" Seth asked, making me wish I was close enough to read his thoughts as his words weren't telling me what I needed to know.
"Will do, Seth," I promised, and after gaining his assurance that he'd hold the line for a moment, I asked Jasper and Alice some questions of my own.
"Where are we with the decision-making? Can we all go, or do some need to stay behind?"
"We'll come with you." Jasper gestured to the family who'd gathered around. "The Denalis have got a good handle on things here and have offered to fly back to Volterra with Marcus, Demetri, and the others to help with the transition. They'll make sure no stragglers stay behind."
"Good." I nodded, relieved to see Esme approaching Renee and explaining that she'd need to carry her for the journey back to Forks. Thankfully, Bella's mother didn't baulk, her thoughts revealing she was as curious as the rest of us to know what was going on.
Within minutes, we were on our way, with everyone staying close while I quizzed Seth for answers.
"Okay, Seth, I'm listening," I informed him, purposefully keeping my voice calm despite my rising frustration and anxiety. Alice's vision of the future could be triggered by any number of events...none of them good as far as I was concerned.
"She must have a talent, Edward, 'cause the boys weren't slacking off, honest, but one minute the coast was all clear...and the next she was right there in the middle of the res."
"Victoria?" I demanded.
"Yeah," Seth acknowledged, despondently. "April was getting real antsy—all moody and stressing out and saying she didn't feel well, which is what happens just before the change, and Jacob was trying not to freak out, what with Sam not being there to oversee her first phase, and all. Then Victoria showed up in the tree line near Jacob's house, and Jacob had to phase to go help Colin and Brady. The three of them tried to keep her from going near any humans, but she's real slippery and kept bringing them closer to the houses. Then April phased, right in the middle of the fight, so yeah, it was a real cluster...well, you know."
"I can imagine," I acknowledged dryly, cupping the phone with my hand so that the wind rushing past as we sprinted through the forest didn't steal my words. "What happened then?" I asked, anticipating and dreading what he was going to say.
Seth's sigh sounded heavily down the line, and I glanced toward Bella, hating the worry I saw clouding her eyes. She'd been through enough for one day, and I suppressed a growl of frustration at not being able to protect her from more stress and potential heartache.
"Seth?" I insisted, and he took a deep breath before continuing.
"Yeah...well...Auntie Linda panicked and came racing out of the house after April who ran to help Jake. Then Chief Swan grabbed hold of Auntie Linda, trying to hold her back, and next thing, Victoria slipped right through the line and grabbed Linda right out of the Chief's arms and...well...she bit Auntie Linda and started drinking her blood...right there in front of Jake and the others, as if she was taunting them or something!"
"Oh, no!" Bella cried, and I reached to clasp her hand while we ran.
"April went nuts," Seth continued. "Jake tried to hold her back with his teeth, 'cause she's his imprint and she's just a kid, you know...she's even younger than Colin and Brady. But she broke free and attacked Victoria, grabbing hold of her ankle and dragging her off her mom. Then the others joined in and, between the four of them, they managed to take Victoria down and started tearing her apart but..."
"But now Linda is changing," I finished for him, his ragged sobs confirming that it was too late to stop Alice's vision of the future from coming true.
~OB~
A bit of a cliffy, I'm afraid, but I wanted to give you a hint of what's coming up after Bella's reunion with her mother. I thought Renee handled that pretty well all things considering, but her character always strikes me as fairly adaptable if a little unpredictable. Now I've just got to work Phil into the mix. As for poor Linda...a Quileute carrier of the wolf gene and mother of the youngest and most recent member of the pack becoming a vampire…and she'd already imprinted on Charlie? This could get interesting.
As always, I love to hear what you think...plus your amazing ideas and suggestions. You guys are the best inspiration. I'll try not to leave it too long before I update again, though unfortunately RL continues to be challenging. I need to win lotto so that I can quit work and just write all day every day. Oh…what a lovely dream. ;)
xxx TLSue
