(Carlisle's POV)
I jump into Emmett's Jeep and begin driving towards the Ute reservation which is about ten miles away, hidden deep in the hills, away from the eyes of humans and vampires alike. I could run to the reservation, but I will likely have to wait for a member to notice me since the treaty forbids me from entering on their property.
I arrive to the entrance of Wild Horse, the name of this reservation, which is home to about one-thousand natives from the Ute and Cheyenne tribes. I park off the side of the gravel road and turn off the ignition. Last time I was here was over a century ago after the treaty was signed.
While I wait, I pull out my phone and look up as much information I can find on spirits and hybrid beings. Most was written by authors of fictitious books and movies, so unreliable information.
I hear a car motor approach the car. I look up to see a four-wheeler with two young males. Tan skin, black hair to their waists. They stop at my car and get out. I get out to greet them
"What are you doing here, bloodsucker?" the taller male says.
"I need to speak with the chief," I answer truthfully.
"He's busy," he spits out, obviously making up an excuse to make me leave.
"I'm here on serious business. I have respected the treaty for over a century now. I would not be here if I could contact the chief otherwise," I explain.
"What business?" he asks.
"My family and I met a human hybrid. She's not our kind, and not a shapeshifter. We think she's a demi-spirit," I answer.
"Why do you need the chief?" the shorter male with a wolf tattoo on his arm asks.
"I'm hoping he can help us learn more about her and the extent of her powers. She's alone, and was unaware that she was a hybrid. I just need to talk with a spiritual leader because I don't have any records about spirits," I explain further.
"Give me a moment," the tall one gives in. He steps away and dials on his phone. I hear the conversation go like this:
-Chief, the Cullen is here. He wants to talk to you about a human hybrid his family discovered. He says she's part spirit.
-Where are you?
-Right by the entrance.
-Keep him there. I'll be on my way.
The male hangs up the phone, and I feel relieved that I will possibly get some answers. "The Chief has agreed to speak with you. He will come to you," he says.
I nod. "I appreciate your help," I thank.
The two males sit back on their ATV, and drive away. I stay standing by the Jeep. I smell fresh break cleaner and polish. Emmett has clearly been working on it recently. He takes good care of the vehicles in the house.
A old Toyota pulls out from the entrance of the reservation, and turns towards me. I can see the chief being driven by his son, August. They park in front of me, the car facing mine. They both get out.
"You wanted to talk to me?" the Chief asks.
I nod. "Its a unique circumstance, Chief," I answer.
"Something about a human hybrid? Where is it?" he asks.
"The Volturi got to her. She's badly injured, recovering at our residence. My family is protecting her while I come here searching for answers about her. I don't have much knowledge of spirits," I answer.
"Spirit? Is she native?" the Chief asks.
"She's slavic. We connected her to the spirit of the deity of fertility, winter, and animals," I answer.
"Why do you think she's hybrid?" he asks, suspiciously.
"Her scent is what caught our interest originally. It's almost in-human, and nothing I've ever smelled before. Its very tempting for us to want to feed on her. And she has powers. She's immune to mind-powers," I answer.
"What kind of powers?" he asks.
"She has superhuman empathy and can communicate with animals, particularly dogs," I answer.
"So she has enhanced powers being a hybrid, then," he says.
I nod. "I don't know the extent of a hybrid's abilities. There is one legend of a hybrid vampire in South America. He can age but still has the abilities of a vampire. And this hybrid, she is anatomically human and not immune to physical injury," I add.
"How would she have acquired the spirit of a deity?" he asks.
"My hypothesis is she was born this way," I answer.
"Why her?" he asks.
"She's a special person, Chief. I'm not surprised she has powers, especially such strong ones. She reads people without telepathy. And the way she met us was when she got the trust of a loose dog and was looking for her owner," I answer.
"It would help me to meet her," the Chief says.
"You are welcome to meet her at my residence. She's resting right now from her injuries, but I think she will be feeling much better in a few days," I reply.
"What I know about spirits is they are all around us. Some people acquire a particular spirit with whom they connect with the most, and embody that spirit to help the human world," he says.
"What about their powers? How powerful do they get?" I ask.
"Our legends say that spirits pass on their powers in an indirect way that they had them. A wolf spirit may pass wisdom, leadership, and a deep connection to nature, but not the wolf form or ability to talk to wolves," he answers.
"The deity we believe she has embodied isn't well known due to no written records being kept. The introduction of Christianity changed her form in slavic paganism from a fertility deity to the deity of winter and celebration," I say.
"I'm not familiar with that area of the world, Carlisle. But I can meet with the hybrid when she's better," he replies.
"Would you like me to meet you the same way, next time?" I ask.
"Yes, that works. I must go, take care of duties on the reservation," the Chief answers.
We say farewell and drive away.
Back at my home, I meet back up with my wife and adoptive children. Esme had made up the guest bed with a comfortable blanket, many pillows to cradle Alex's sore limbs, and chairs for us to sit to watch over her. It's beautiful, as all of Esme's work is.
"She's still sleeping peacefully," she says when she hears me coming.
"I spoke with the Chief. He said that hybrids will indirectly embody the powers of the spirit. The powers are there to aid those around them," I answer.
"That's not really new information," my wife says, disappointed.
"He can't tell me more until he meets Alex. I told him that Alex was hurt by the Volturi and recovering here. We agreed for him to meet Alex when she's more recovered," I comfort.
"What about her powers?" she asks.
"I don't know more than I did already, dear," I answer, and kiss her on her head. Every time I look at her, I feel the same love I felt when I first laid eyes on her.
"Alright," she gives in. "Can we move Alex into bed?" she asks.
I nod. "I'll help with her IV line," I answer.
Esme and I pick Alex up with the IV cart and bring her to the guest bed, which is just down the hall. We lay her gently in bed and cover her with a soft blanket. The medication is working well considering Alex barely stirred in her sleep. I return to my study and pack my work bag with morphine, lorazepam, Trazedone, and extra saline bags. I walk back to the guest room where Esme is waiting for me. I place the extra supplies on the bedside table on top of a clean, stainless steel tray. I also place alcohol wipes, gauze, and fresh bandages.
"Carlisle, the Volturi are coming," Alice cries from inside the house.
I quickly drop the rest of my supplies back in my bag, and run towards her voice. She is standing in the living room, with Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, and Edward next to her. I can see Emmett mentally preparing for a fight. My wife is right behind me.
"How close?" I ask.
"A few minutes," Alice answers.
"We should go into the woods where we can't be seen," Edward suggests.
"That's a good idea," I answer.
"Carlisle, none of us have hunted in weeks," Rosalie says.
"Alice, how many do you see?" I ask, ignoring Rosalie's statement for the time being.
"Seven," she answers.
"Seven against seven. The Volturi aren't here for a fight, but came prepared for one," Jasper says.
"The goal is to work this out without physical conflict. My guess is they are here about Alex," I answer.
"I'm ready for a fight," Emmett says.
"You always are," Rosalie replies, slightly annoyed. Emmett's large physique gives him a great advantage when it comes to fighting. He's very kind and loyal, but he certainly finds excitement from a fight, whether it is on video, or in real life.
"Let's go out into the woods. We need the tree coverage, especially on higher ground," Esme says.
We all follow each other outside.
"Wait! What about Alex? What if this is a trick to get us out of the house?" Alice realizes.
We all stop in our tracks. We have forgotten about the human hybrid in our home. "I'll stay with her," I say.
"No, you go. Emmett and I will watch over her," Rosalie pipes in. This catches me by surprise since Rosalie doesn't take a liking to people, nonetheless volunteer to protect her.
I look at my wife for reassurance, and she nods in agreement with Rosalie.
"Go, you're wasting time," she insists. She and Emmett run back to the house, and the rest of us head into the hills.
"I see them! Keep heading west," Alice directs.
We run at vampire-speed, following Alice. But soon, she stops. "They'll be here," she says.
I look around and notice that we are in a small clearing in the woods. "They planned this. It's strategic," I say.
"They know that we'd know about this meeting. Its not the first time they use me as the messenger," Alice answers.
My hearing picks up the sound of feet walking towards us. And then I smell them. Human-feeding vampires. Their eyes a deep crimson color instead of our topaz.
We stand in a circle facing the forrest in defense. With Emmett and Rosalie staying behind, that leaves five of us against seven Volturi guards.
Their black robes and large red pendants in a 'V' shape separates them from other vampires. Jane and Alec, twins born in the twelfth century, hold some of the most unique powers there are. They were turned at only thirteen. Jane holds the power of rendering horrific pain on anyone she lays eyes on, while her twin brother can take away senses from a person. Together, they are a very valuable pair for the Volturi guard, effectively earning them a space high up in the hierarchy.
"And we meet again," says Jane. "I see you brought company, but forgot one."
"Hello, Jane," I greet.
"Where's the hybrid?" Felix asks.
"She's protected," I answer.
"Why did you leave her hurt?" Esme demands, with a cry in her voice.
"She was too powerful to execute right there. I needed Aro's permission," Jane answers.
"And did you receive it?" I ask.
"Not quite," she answers.
"How did you find out about her?" Esme asks.
"We stumbled on her years ago while hunting. We knew she wasn't human by her scent, but waited to see her powers grow stronger. Then she found you, and we had to step in," Jane answers.
"Why didn't you take her to Voltera?" I ask.
"It wasn't the original plan," she answers.
"And why did you assume we would bring the hybrid with us?" Edward demands.
"We didn't. Its you we need to talk to," Felix answers firmly.
"Alright, we're here," I announce.
"Aro demands you surrender the hybrid," Jane starts.
"She's not ours to surrender, and neither is she yours," Esme says.
"She knows too much about our kind," Jane continues.
"She's a hybrid. She's in as much danger of human persecution as we are," I argue.
"She knows too much, that's what Aro said," she answers.
"It is up to her of what she wants to do. We have offered her a place in our coven if she wants it," I say.
"The Volturi don't believe in giving choices to hybrids," Jane answers.
"You'll have to go through us to have her, and Aro won't let you do that," Esme says.
"This conversation isn't over. Aro will have what he wants," Felix says.
"If you come on our land, we will take it as a threat, and we won't hesitate to protect it, and anyone on it," I warn.
"We shall take that into consideration," Jane answers. "Felix, I'd like to go home now."
With a swoosh, the seven guards disappear back into the forrest. I look back at my family.
"They'll be back for her at some point," I say.
Esme nods. "Does this means she needs to be changed in order to live?" she asks.
"I don't know. The priority is to keep Alex safe and guarded until we know more," I reply. My phone vibrates, and it's Rosalie.
"Hi Rosalie," I start casually. She's probably just checking in.
"Alex just had a tonic-clonic seizure. She's breathing again, but I think she dislocated one of her ribs," she blurts quickly. Her tone of voice is pitched high enough to catch the attention of the rest of the family, who look at me concerned and horrified.
"I'm on my way. Just make sure she's breathing and monitor her heart rate," I reply rapidly. I hang up and start running back home, with everyone by my feet.
"What's happened?" Alice asks.
"Alex had a seizure. She's alright, Rose is handling it until we get back," I answer. Rosalie has studied medicine as well, although has never become a physician. Her knowledge helps me keep up with the ever-changing technology and advances. I trust her with Alex's case, if it was just a tonic-clonic seizure.
Within a minute, we arrive back at the homestead, entering through the back way so we don't have to slow down to human speed. I hurry to Alex's room where I see Emmett and Rosalie over Alex. I'm relieved that they didn't have to resort to chest compressions. I can hear Alex's heart.
"She's stable," Rosalie announces to us. Everyone is in the room now.
Alex is laying on her back now, her limbs sprawled out and her head tilted back. I reach into my bag that is by the bed and take out my penlight. I check her reflexes in her pupils. All healthy.
"Did she wake up?" I ask.
"No," Emmett answers. He looks awfully concerned for Alex.
"Alright, I don't want to wake her up so she can recover from it in her sleep. When she wakes up, she may be very confused and disoriented," I say while pulling out my stethoscope. Even if I can hear her heart rate, I cannot feel arterial pressure or her lung sounds.
Alex's vitals sound just fine. Something is going wrong neurologically.
"Carlisle, her rib," Rosalie mentions. She uncovers Alex's torso. I gently feel her ribs, and notice that one rib has clearly re-fractured. "We flipped her over on her side when she began seizing," she adds.
"I'm glad you did that," I say. I keep examining Alex's ribcage for any further damage. "I need to take another x-ray to make sure her ribs didn't splinter," I add.
Rosalie and Emmett help me move Alex back to my study where I have a compact x-ray machine. I take several images from different angles, and wait for them to appear. Working in vampire speed isn't as helpful when human machines work at human speed.
The images begin to appear, and I see the broken rib. I had set all the fractures right after the attack, and one of them went back into its old, broken position.
"I need to reset it again. No splinters, thankfully," I say. Resetting is easy, but painful for Alex. It's likely she'll wake up while I'm doing it.
I prepare two syringes, one with morphine, and one with Trazedone, to keep Alex sedated through most of the process. Even if she wakes up, she won't be able to stay awake for long.
"Alright. Emmett, can you hold Alex please? Just her upper body," I ask.
He nods and holds down her shoulders. I rapidly get into position and squeeze tight.
Alex gasps and her eyelids pop open from the pain. "It's over. That's it," I soothe.