Chapter Fourteen: The Monster Within

Bella (POV)

I heard them coming up the driveway without a car, the quick beat of footfalls hammering into the asphalt. Carlisle opened the door and Mason ran through it carrying two people. Angela was on his back, her face buried in his shoulder. Alice was in his arms, immobile and staring up into space as if she were dead.

"Are we there yet?" Angela asked chuckling a little, her voice muffled by the canvas of Mason's trench coat.

"Over here." Carlisle directed. Mason touched Angela's hand and she clasped it easily, then he helped her down to the ground and then immediately moved over to the couch Carlisle motioned towards.

"What happened?" I asked, moving towards Angela, thrilled to see her. I could feel the movement against my skin, as Emmett launched himself between us. It hadn't even occurred to me that I could be a threat to Angela. But as I thought about it the ache that was always present in the back of my throat, it roared and tried to take control of my mind. The impulse slammed against me and took a fair amount of concentration to push it back.

"I'm alright Emmett, I won't hurt her." I said confidently, however my shield worked it was as if I could consciously control how much I gave into my instincts. Emmett nodded, but kept his eyes locked on me and stepped out of the way like a bouncer accepting that I was cool enough to get into a club.

"Bella?" Angela said staring at me. I shrugged and grinned and nodded like a fool. She rushed forward, probably without thinking, and wrapped her arms around me. I hugged her back, while keeping my vampire brain from taking any measure of control away from me.

"I can't believe you're here." I said pulling away, even though I didn't really want to let go of my friend.

"Alice had another vision and lost control of her car." Mason explained quickly.

"Angela are you alright?" Esme asked worriedly. She looked over and nodded.

"I'm okay, Mason rescued me." Angela said a little shyly looking at him in awe. Mason glanced back at her and they locked eyes for a moment, before she turned away back to me. I looked at my friend and she grinned down at me, she was still several inches taller than me. Her eyes widened as she looked over at Mason, our private code that she found him very attractive. I chuckled and nodded once in understanding.

"Edward!" Esme shouted drawing the attention of everyone not paying attention like myself. Just like Alice, Edward was now collapsed on the floor next to her still and unblinking, a twinge of worry crossed my mind and I had to repress an impulse to run to his side.

"What just happened?" I said suddenly feeling guilty for being invested in my friend rather than Alice and now Edward.

"Edward was trying to look into Alice's vision, and something changed." Carlisle attempted to explain and then looked to Mason who shook his head.

"That was me, I do apologize, but I felt it was necessary to help bring her out of the vision." Mason's deep voice quieted the room into utter silence.

"Explain." Rosalie threatened, her eyes wide with implied violence.

"Simply put, part of my gift allows me to amplify the abilities of those around me. Edward is capable of far more then he currently utilizes. In fact, you all are very powerful, each in your own way." He looked around the room meeting everyone's eyes but lingered a bit longer when he looked at Angela who was staring down at the floor, her shoulders slumped, and her face fixed with an expression mixed of terror and sadness. I hadn't noticed when her expression changed, but whatever happened must've affected her more than she was letting on.

I pulled her close and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, she looked over and smiled at me. "Maybe I shouldn't be here." She whispered to me.

"Alice may have been impulsive bringing you here this soon, but she must've had a good reason." Carlisle said, and Angela looked mildly confused.

"We have very good hearing." Esme said, giving Angela a warm welcoming smile.

"They're coming out of it." Emmett said from behind me, and I realized then how close he was lingering. I was a little creeped out by his proximity, but thankful of his caution.

"That was nuts." Alice said loudly, her eyes focusing on me first. Her expression was hard to read, but I could swear she looked relived.

"We have trouble coming, and I have no idea what to do." Edward said getting to his feet, he also looked at me with worry on his face.

"What did you see?" Carlisle had so many emotions crossing his face, and his glance towards me and Angela confirmed that he was filled with regret and guilt about his choices.

"Horror, hope, pain. The path we are on leads to a massive battle where most of us die." Alice's words hit like an anvil on the room, although I had no idea what to make of it.

"What do we do?" Emmett asked, moving around me on the opposite side of Angela, close enough to keep her safe but no longer intrusive. Alice gave him a strange look, which caused Rosalie to move over to him. He silently snaked an arm around her waist and hugged her tightly as he and Alice continued their strange wordless conversation.

She shook her head, glanced at me for a second and then addressed the room. "I think we have to let things play out, there are so many variables. We must be wary with whom we interact with, and how we present ourselves. Especially the wolves, we have to make peace." She sounded desperate, lost and terrified.

"I've called a parlay with Billy Black and the new leader of the pack down there Sam Uley." Carlisle said hopefully, but I could see he was still conflicted and was no longer looking my way.

"We need to play nice, if they were allies it might change everything." Alice presented the possibility as if it were a far-fetched notion.

"Or at least reaffirm the treaty so that we don't have to worry about them attacking us." Edward suggested as a safe secondary option.

"What if we can't do either?" I asked, unsure of the politics of what they were purposing. I let go of Angela and crossed my arms as I spoke. I had another idea, but I had no idea if anyone would be willing to let me try.

"We die." Alice said with the darkest look on her face I had ever seen.

"Pack?" Angela said curiously.

"The Quileute, some of them have a genetic predisposition to turn into wolves when one of our kind is around. A natural enemy." Carlisle explained easily, although I wasn't sure how helpful it was to Angela whose mouth hung open in shook.

"Werewolves." She said looking a little ill.

"Yes, werewolves are real. In fact, there is a strain of were-creatures all together more frightening, but the Volturi have hunted them to the brink of extinction." Mason said off hand. Both Angela and I stared at him, and he winced slightly. "Sorry, I have entirely too much useless knowledge and it comes out at inappropriate times… occasionally."

"I've heard of the Children of the Moon, but last I heard there were none outside of the Baltic countries." Esme said with a tilt of her head, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Not in quite some time yes. A discussion for another time perhaps." Mason said with a terse smile.

"The wolves were a part of it. I saw the aftermath of a great battle, we all fought desperately. We must've been outnumbered, attacked by two different groups at the same time, but I couldn't see how it started, or why. And the Volturi were there. They did nothing to stop it and did nothing to help either. They just stood in silence and waited for the aftermath to claim the survivors. They wanted Bella, Rosalie they took you too Angela. The wolves were one of those groups, and an army of newborns was the other. From Jasper's stories I know that is the kind of army that was common in the south as vampires vied for control." Alice scrunched up her face, and I could tell she wanted to say more but couldn't find the words.

"Someone creates an army to send against us?" Rosalie said indignantly, glancing at me and Angela again.

"Why would anyone have that kind of vendetta with us?" Esme asked as she moved over to Carlisle and pulled him into a comforting embrace.

"I have no idea." Alice said shaking her head.

"The vision was different from anything I've seen before." Edward added, furrowing his brows and tilting his head as if what he was about to say was difficult to put into words.

Carlisle cut him off and directed a question towards Mason. "Is this the amplification you spoke of?"

"Perhaps, could you describe it Edward?" Mason said with a slight nod.

"I don't know if I can. It was as if I were in Alice's vision. Able to walk around and interact with her, and we could even talk to one another." Edward partially shook his head a couple of times, trying to wrap his mind around what was clearly something difficult to understand.

"You projected, a reasonable extension of your gift. And Alice, these visions are more intense as if you are physically there?" Mason answered, although I wasn't sure if it was conjecture or a secret he was keeping from us.

"Yes. I wasn't just an observer. I've always thought of my visions like snippets of a movie. This was more like being in virtual reality. Except I was totally immersed in the vision. I don't like it." Alice frowned, I couldn't tell if her worries were based on fear, or a lack of control. "If my visions will be like that from now on, tell me how to shut them off. I don't want them anymore." Alice said clearly upset.

Then she blinked and shot a look at Angela again. "Oh god, Angela I'm so sorry!" Alice jumped up and dashed across the room. She hugged Angela tightly for a second then pulled away. Angela just smiled at her kindly, forgiveness already on her face.

"You have nothing to apologize for. You couldn't have know what would happened, even if you do see the future." A playful smirk lightened her features, and her kind eyes reassured the nearly panicked Alice that there was no reason to be upset.

"I'm still sorry." Alice lowered her head in dejection.

"Apology accepted. Can we get on with figuring out how to not die?" Angela's words were confident but solemn. She seemed resigned to something I couldn't put my finger on. "I do have one question before we continue; in this vision was I human?" Alice looked up at her and seemed to be searching her memories for the answer.

"No. You were one of us." Alice eventually answered in a tiny whisper. Angela just nodded again then investigated each of our faces for a moment. Her eyes lingering on Mason's face the longest.

"So be it. Can someone take me home? If I have to leave my family soon, I want to spend as much time as I can with them." Esme nodded and walked over to Angela. I could see the look on her face; she wanted Angela to be one of us.

"No, I'll take her. I need to think things out anyway." Edward volunteered unexpectedly, and Esme nodded once with a smile.

"I'll call you Angela. I promise." I said, and then pulled her into another hug. I closed my eyes and hugged her gently, feeling contentment knowing she was there. Then Angela let go reluctantly. "You better come back soon." I said playfully but needing to make a point that I needed her in my life.

"I will be, I promise." Angela said with a smile and the two of them left.

"Carlisle, I want to go to the parlay. Maybe if they see I'm controlled and a part of the family they will back off." I presented, hoping that I could go.

"I'll think about it. While it would be better to show you to them, I fear it may make things worse to confirm you were turned." Carlisle said with a small shake of his head.

"Okay." I said trying not to sound disappointed. Esme glanced my way as Carlisle engaged Mason again and came over.

"Want to talk?" She offered. I gave her one quick nod and headed for my new room. The tour earlier had been amazing, the house designed to be an oasis with large windows and plenty of private space. My room was in a corner space and had two walls made entirely of glass. Surrounded by trees the view was gorgeous. Yet with a single flick of a button micro-shades could automatically slide down between two panes of glass giving me privacy. I hadn't decorated much, although my shelves had a few personal items that were recused from my room and my closet was packed with clothes all picked out by Alice. A long chaise was in the corner facing the window, across from a shelf mounted on an interior wall. The shelf already half full and growing as I liberally borrowed from Carlisle's extensive library. Another chair sat in front of a desk positioned in the opposite corner, on top of which was an overpowered computer I had yet to turn on. Esme pulled out the desk chair and I sat on the edge of the chaise.

"I hope you're liking your room. We can go shopping when we're confidant being around so many humans is viable for you." She smiled motioning her head around the room.

"Or I can shop online, give me an excuse to use the computer." I countered, although the idea of getting out, even to shop, sounded amazing. "I love the room, but half the time I don't know where I fit. I love this existence, but I can feel my instincts constantly roaring inside me. It's as if I can almost feel this shield Mason described. It's the only reason I can push down my impulses." I sighed, confessing my internal war was harder than I'd previously admitted.

"I'm so relieved." Esme said with a happy sigh. I cocked my head in confusion.

"I don't follow, how is that a good thing?" I couldn't fathom why she would be happy about me having a monster inside always scheming and pushing at me to act on the horrible things my instincts desired.

"Because it means you're normal, just gifted. We were concerned that something went wrong during your transition. You never showed signs of struggle, and you awoke as if fully mature. Able to resist things that even older vampires have trouble with." Her tone was reassuring, motherly. It felt better to feel loved unconditionally than anything else I had experienced so far with Edward. Although a pang of guilt reared up as I thought of my human parents.

"That makes sense, I'm just like everyone else. I should ask the old guy how to use my power better, maybe I can do something with this shield other than frustrate Edward." I smirked, but the desire to be useful couldn't be denied. The idea that I could help in the upcoming fight was important.

"Perhaps, and if not that's okay. Even if one of us is immune to gifts, it could be an advantage." Esme said and then bit her lower lip, "May I ask about Edward?"

"You can ask. I'll admit seeing him almost dead like that was harder than I thought it would be. I don't know what to think. Edward is someone I care for deeply, but I don't know if I love him romantically. I can't deny there is something deeper that wants him. I can occasionally feel the pull I used to get whenever he was close. It's just, every time I think of giving him a chance, this image of his eyes across that parking lot flashes and I get so angry." I couldn't meet Esme's eyes, I felt mildly ashamed for being in this family as a mate for Edward and then rejecting him.

"Have you given into that anger yet?" Esme asked almost like a therapist would. It made me wonder what she had trained in over the years. I looked up at her, and there was nothing but kindness and sympathy in her eyes.

"A little, those trees I destroyed. When I laid into him that one time. It felt good to let go a little, but I haven't really felt like I can let go. What if I succumb to my impulses?" I felt helpless, and she raised an eyebrow and looked at me thoughtfully in response.

"That's it. I know where to go. Come with me." She stood and held out her hand, then opened the one window in the room and we jumped out onto the forest floor below. She took off in a direction I hadn't gone before, and I followed without question. We must've run at full speed for close to an hour and were so deep into untouched forest that it started to look like an alien place.

"Here." She said suddenly as we crossed into a clearing. Then she vanished into the tree line giving me a sense of isolation and absolute privacy. I could hear animal life nearby, but there wasn't a sign of civilization for a dozen miles at least.

I spun around a few times and then collapsed my legs to sit down on the dead grass below me. I thought about that moment in the parking lot. I could see Edward's eyes warning me. Then his body twitched, and I thought he was moving, but he stopped. That's when Tyler's truck slid into me. I could feel the pain as it crushed me, and then I was awake, and Angela was over me trying to protect me. I couldn't believe she had done that; she never said a word. Tyler was there too, and they were both bleeding and just the memory of smelling human blood sent waves of pain down my throat and I could feel my internal beast throw itself against my shield.

I let my memories continue as Edward insinuated himself in my life. My humble servant. At first, he was clearly acting on guilt, but as time passed, he started to look at me. I couldn't see it clearly before, but he wasn't looking at my legs or my disability, he was seeing me. He loved me with every fiber of his being, he looked hurt every time I rejected his help. He was devastated whenever I had to leave. It was a simple equation. Edward hurt me when he was unsure and indifferent. I realized that if he had loved me then, he would've risked everything to keep me from being hurt. Timing, it was just shitty fucking timing.

I felt the scream start to well in my stomach, the anger and frustration and all the remembered pain that I had been bottling up had been suppressed just like my thirst. I swallowed, and felt sobs shake my chest, although no tears fell from my eyes.

Then I finally let go, and the world around me trembled as my scream tore through everything I had been hiding behind. I don't know how long it lasted, but eventually I stopped and collapsed forward into the dry brown grass. A second later I felt Esme wrap her arms around me and pulled me into her lap. I continued to cry as she began to hum and stroke my hair, and I felt safe and loved.


Author's Note: I'm on vacation this week, so I won't be posting very much or at all. This chapter was originally an Edward point of view, until I realized it needed to be from Bella's instead. I also felt we need to spend some time with the family, and that will be a continuing theme moving forward. I won't say how much of a door just opened for Edward and Bella, but things will progress over the next few chapters.

Thanks as always for reading, and please review! I will keep my profile updated as usual with a release date.