Bella McLeod

Healer

This is my first Twilight fic, and it is a femlash, featuring Bella and Rosalie as a couple. So, if you don't like, please head somewhere else.

As an introduction, you may want to read "Snape McLeod" since the Bella that trained Tobias there is the same one here, only a decade later. It's not a requirement for you to read it, especially since I try to untangle things as the story progresses. I altered the timeline to fit my needs, so… she met Snape in 1997, they parted ways in 2000 and it is now 2011, when she moves to Forks with Charlie.

Bare in mind that I do not own Twilight, nor its characters, so if you recognize any of them, THEY'RE NOT MINE. I only own the idea of making Bella Swan part of Clan McLeod.

I also not own the Highlander series, characters and concepts.

Remember to leave your reviews…


Bella McLeod

Chapter 30

Healer

They emerged one by one from the forest edge, ranging a dozen meters apart. The first male into the clearing fell back immediately, allowing the other male to take the front, orienting himself around the tall, dark-haired man in a manner that clearly displayed who led the pack. The third was a woman; from this distance, all I could see of her was that her hair was a startling shade of red.

They closed ranks before they continued cautiously toward the Cullens, exhibiting the natural respect a troop of predators as it encounters a larger unfamiliar group of it's own kind. As they approached, I could see how different they were from Rose and her family. Their walk was catlike, a gait that seemed constantly on the edge of shifting into a crouch. They dressed in the ordinary gear of backpackers, jeans and casual button-down shirts in heavy, weatherproof fabrics. Their clothes were frayed, with wear, and they were actually barefoot, I almost giggled at that, but knew I had to stay still and silent unless I wanted to experience another violent dead.

Their sharp eyes carefully took in the more polished stance of Carlisle, who stepped guardedly forward to meet them, flanked by Emmet and Jasper. Without any seeming verbal communication between them, they each straightened into a more casual bearing

The man in front was probably the most beautiful, his skin olive-toned beneath the typical pallor, his hair a glossy black. He was of a medium build, hard-muscled, of course, but nothing next to Emmett's brawn. He smiled an easy smile, exposing a flash of gleaming white teeth.

The woman was wilder, her eyes shifting restlessly between the men facing her, and the loose grouping around me, her chaotic hair quivering in the slight breeze. Her posture was distinctly feline. The second male hovered unobtrusively behind them, slighter than the leader, his light brown hair and regular features both nondescript. His eyes, though completely still, somehow seemed the most vigilant.

Their eyes were different, too. Not the gold or black I had come to expect, but a deep red color that was disturbing and sinister

The dark haired man, who was still smiling, stepped toward Carlisle. "We thought we heard a game" he said in a relaxed voice with a slight French accent. Barely noticeable if you didn't know what to listen to. "I'm Laurent. These are Victoria and James" he gestured to the vampires beside him

"I'm Carlisle. This is my family. Emmet and Jasper. Esme, Alice and Edward. Rosalie and Bella" he pointed us out in groups, deliberately not calling attention to individuals. Smart thing to do, even if I felt uneasy when she said my name.

"Do you have room for a few more players?" Laurent asked amicably

Carlisle matched Laurent's friendly tone. "Actually, we were just finishing up. But we'd certainly be interested another time. Are you planning to stay in the area for long?"

"We're headed north. But we were curious to see who was in the neighborhood. We haven't run into any company in a long time" answered Laurent

"No, this region is usually empty except for us and the occasional visitor like yourselves" stated Carlisle.

The tense atmosphere had slowly subsided into a casual conversation. I guessed Jasper was using his peculiar gift to help control the situation.

"What's your hunting range?" Laurent casually inquired

"The Olympic Range here, up and down the Coast Ranges on occasion" answered the Cullen leader. "We keep a permanent residence nearby. There is another permanent settlement like ours up near Denali"

Laurent rocked back on his heels pondering this "How do you manage that?" There was honest curiosity in his voice

"Why don't you come back to our home with us and we can talk comfortably?" Invited Carlisle in what I assumed was a bold move "It's a rather long story"

James and Victoria exchanged a surprised look at the mention of the word home, but Laurent controlled his expression better than them.

"That sounds very interesting" he said smiling "And Welcomed. We've been on the hunt all the way down from Ontario, and we haven't had the chance to clean up in a while" His eyes moved appreciatively over Carlisle appearance

"Please don't take offense, but we'd appreciate if you'd refrain from hunting in this immediate area" started Carlisle "We have to stay inconspicuous, you understand" he explained

"Of course" Laurent nodded. "We certainly won't encroach on your territory. We just ate outside of Seattle anyway" he laughed, making me shiver at the thought

"We'll show you the way if you'd like to run with us. Emmet and Alice, you go with Rosalie and Bella to get the truck and bring it back to the shop" he casually added, in a command that told us not to go to the Cullen's residence but somewhere else.

Three things seemed to happen then, all at the same time while Carlisle was speaking. My hair ruffled with the light breeze. Rosalie stiffened. And the second male, James, suddenly whipped his head around, scrutinizing me.

All went down the drain as James lurched one step forward toward me into a crouch. Rose bared here teeth, crouching in defense, a feral snarl ripping from her throat. It was nothing like the sounds I'd heard from her through our relationship, not even her growling at Jasper and Edward when I cut my hand could compare to the ferocity in this one. It was the single most menacing thing I had ever heard in my life and chills ran from the crown of my head to the back of my heels, feeling sorry for whatever stood in her path at the time.

"What's this?" Laurent exclaimed in open surprise. Neither James nor Rosalie relaxed their aggressive poses. James feinted slightly to the side and Rose shifted in response

"She's with us" Carlisle's firm rebuff was directed toward James. Laurent seemed to catch my scent less powerfully than James, but awareness now dawned on his face

"You brought a snack?" he asked. His expression incredulous as he took a step forward

Rosalie snarled even more ferociously, her lips curling high above her glistening bared teeth. Laurent stepped back again.

"As I said, she's with us" repeated Carlisle in a hard voice

"But she's human" Laurent protested. His tone was not at all aggressive, merely confused by their reaction.

James slowly straightened out of his crouch but his eyes never left me, his nostrils wide. Rose stayed tensed like a lioness in front of me.

When Laurent spoke again, his tone was soothing, as if trying to defuse the sudden hostility. "It appears we have a lot to learn about each other"

"Indeed" replied Carlisle

"But we'd like to accept your invitation" his eyes flicked toward me and back to Carlisle "And of course, we will not harm the human girl. We won't hunt in your range, as I said"

James glanced in disbelief and aggravation at Laurent and exchanged another brief look with Victoria, whose eyes kept flickering from face to face

Carlisle measured Laurent's open expression for a moment before he spoke "We'll show you the way. Jasper, Edward, Esme?" he called. They gathered together, blocking me from view as they converged. Alice was instantly at my and Rose's side. Emmet fell back slowly toward us, his eyes locked on James as he did so.

"Let's go Bella" Rose's voice was low and sounded defeated

This whole time I'd been rooted in place, waiting for their lead on how to act or what to do. Rosalie had to grip my elbow and pull me over as we walked away. Alice and Emmet were close behind us, hiding me from the other's view.

Once we were into the trees, Rose slung me over her back without breaking stride. I gripped as tightly as possible as she took off, the other two vampires close on her heels. I kept my head buried into her neck, trying to soothe us both. She was taking this worse than me. Granted, we had not really talked about how vampire venom could or would react to my physiology, but I could not be killed by James or other vampires unless they took off my head, and I don't think that would be something they would think to do once they finished feeding off of me. Not that it was a pleasant thought, being fed from.

We arrived at a mechanic shop where Emmet's jeep was parked; probably this was where Rosalie worked on the cars when she did. It was nowhere near the Cullen's residence, or anywhere I've been before. Rosalie barely slowed down as she flung me in the back seat.

"Strap her in" she ordered Emmet who slid in beside me

Alice was already in the front seat and Rose was starting the engine. It roared to life and we swerved backward, spinning around to face to winding road. Rosalie was growling something too fast for me to understand but was probably a string of profanities. The trip was bumpy and the darkness only made it heavier on all of ass. Emmet and Alice both glared out the side windows. When we hit the main road, our speed increased too, due to the public lighting I could see better were we were going and I realized we were heading south, away from Forks. I sighed. This would not do. Duncan was due to come in a couple of days at most.

"Where are we going?" I asked. No one answered. No one even looked at me. "Rose! Where are you taking me?"

"We have to get you away from here. Far far away. Now" she said not even looking back at me or at the rearview mirror.

"Turn around! You have to take me back" I told her firmly while I struggled with the stupid harness

"Emmet" Rose said grimly. And Emmet secured my hands in his grasp

"No! Rosalie! You can't do this. I am unarmed! What will happen if someone issues a challenge and I am not prepared!"

"I have to Bella. Now please be quiet" she said looking at the road ahead

"Oh no. You are not dismissing me and my concerns just like that!" I told her heatedly, getting angry by the second

"Calm down Bella" said Emmet

"Compromises Rose! That is how we build a relationship! Not by dictating what the other does or does not do!" I yelled at her

"Rosalie, pull over" Alice spoke so low that I barely heard her

Rose flashed her sister a hard look and sped up even more.

"Great. Let's crash into a tree." I said sarcastically still trying to get off Emmet's grip "If the point is to get me killed, why not just let James drain me out?"

Rosalie got so mad that for a moment I thought she was actually going to purposely crash the car. Her eyes were dark and staring at me through the rearview mirror instead of at the road ahead. I stared back, defiantly at her. Eventually I gave up and sighed before trying a different approach.

"Rose, let's just talk this through" I told her softly

"You don't understand" She roared in frustration. I'd never heard her voice so loud, it was deafening in the confines of the jeep.

"Then help me understand!" I argued

"He's a tracker" added Alice

I felt Emmet stiffen next to me, and I saw Rosalie's grip on the steering wheel tightening even more. I wondered if their reaction was to the word, if it meant something more to them as vampires than it did to me.

"Pull over" Alice's tone was reasonable, but there was a ring of authority that I did not expect on her. "Do it Rosalie"

"I don't want to have to worry about Immortals and Humans and Vampires too wanting to kill my mate" she said defeated

"We'll deal with it all. Together" I told her hoping to reason "Look. We can leave. We were going to do it anyway due to the price on my head. I am not upset that we are leaving. Just that you are not listening to me"

Rosalie sighed and even when she did not pull over, at least she slowed down. "How long do you think it will take him to cross her scent in town?" she asked Emmet

I gasped knowing where my scent would lead. "Charlie. You can't leave him there! You can't leave him. I won't lose another watcher because I was too selfish" I thrashed against the harness and Emmet again.

"She's right" said Alice "Let's just look at our options for a minute" she coaxed

The car slowed again, more noticeably, and then suddenly we screeched to a stop on the shoulder of the highway. I flew against the harness and then slammed back into the seat. I would have totally flown out of the car if it wasn't for that damn harness.

"There are no options" Rosalie hissed

"There are always options" I hissed back. "I am not leaving Charlie to fend by himself. Especially when he does not know about your kind and how dangerous you are" She ignored me completely

"We have to take her back" Emmet said thoughtfully

"NO!" Rose was on the verge of tearing away her sibling's throat just for the suggestion

"He by himself is not match for us Rosalie" he said

"He'll wait" she added

"We can wait too" said Emmet

"You don't understand either" said Alice "Jasper and I encountered a Hunter before finding you, once he commits to the hunt, he is unshakable. We'd have to kill him"

"That's the plan" said Emmet

"And the female. She's with him" Said Alice thoughtfully

"There are enough of us" added Emmet

"There's another option" Alice said quietly. Probably thinking the same as me

Rosalie turned on her in fury, her voice blistering with hatred "There… is… no… other… option!"

Emmet and I stared at her in shock, but Alice seemed unsurprised. The silence stretched for a long while as they stared each other down. I sighed completely tired about this nonsense.

"I have a plan… well, not a plan, just an idea" I told them still trying to get out of the stupid harness.

"No" said Rose turning on the engine again but not driving away yet

"Listen" I pleaded. "You take me back"

"No" she interrupted

I glared at her and continued "You take me back. We tell Charlie that I just want to spend the week with you before we actually deal with our visitors, and not to go to your house until we contact him. He prepares everything for my new identity, I'm sure he almost if not already has it done and is waiting just on Duncan to arrive. I pack my bags. We wait till this tracker is watching. Then we tell Charlie again about our plans for the week and then we run. James will follow us and leave Charlie alone. We'll call Charlie and Duncan once it's safe"

They stared at me stunned.

"It's not a bad idea. Really" Emmet's surprise was definitely an insult

"It might work." Said Alice "You know that" she added looking at Rose

"Worst case scenario. We let him kill me, he leaves and then we don't have to worry about him ever again" I told them nonchalantly. Which was the wrong thing to do, since not a moment later Rosalie growled at me while at an incredibly speed got down from the Jeep and yanked me out from it too.

"You do not get to die on me again. EVER!" she said in between growls. I however could not help but smile at her "This is not something to be smiling at" she said furious

"I know" I told her cupping her face "But I am so damn glad to be out of the stupid harness and back in your arms now, that I don't care how angry you are at me for suggesting the most logical thing to do" She just kept growling at me, slowly quieting down as I caressed her cheeks, but still desperately begging me with her eyes to understand her reasoning. I needed her to understand mine too. "Rose?"

"No" she said stubbornly growling again, prompting me to grin at her

"You are growling at me" I told her smiling softly at her, cupping her face as firmly as I could when I felt her trying to look away "No… don't. I'm not upset. Just curious" she focused her eyes on me, prompting me to continue "You keep growling at the smallest provocation. Like when you are annoyed or upset but you are still in control, playful almost, at least with your siblings. Unlike earlier with the tracker" I talked and I as did, she kept growling louder and louder.

"I can't help it" she said in between growls

"Why? What is making you do so? Even now?" I asked curious, I wanted to understand

"You" she said simply after taking a deep breath

"How so?" I asked now amused

"Vampires are quite possessive and overprotective by nature. My need to keep you safe from all harm is what drives me now. My instincts demand that I protect you from everything, even from yourself."

"Oh… it's the mating bond that makes growl whenever you perceive a threat to me? No matter how small?" I asked her. She just nodded. I smiled and leaned up to kiss her. "I'm sorry"

"Sorry?" she asked me in turn

"Yes. I was being insensitive, wasn't I? Asking you to stop doing it. I'm truly sorry. I do mean it when I tell you I don't want you to be afraid of being yourself. I love you. And I love learning more about you day by day"

"I love you too Bella" she said smiling softly at me "Which is why in order to keep you safe, we are compromising and I will have to agree with you" she finally conceded.

"You're going to let her be taken by James?" asked increduly Emmet. Alice slapped the back of his head while Rose growled at him.

"Alright to the first part of your plan" she said looking me in the eye. "No unnecessary risks. No giving yourself away willingly to him. No making it easy for him to trap you. We set a trap for him and stop him. I am just agreeing to keep Charlie, and Duncan safe too. But if the choice is between them and you.."

"I know" I said softly "Thank you" I continued as I leaned up for another kiss

"We leave tonight" She said. "You tell Charlie we are leaving Forks and you'll call him once you settle, as was the original plan" she said pecking me again before ushering me to climb into the jeep again, this time on Emmet's side, so she could strap me in again. "I don't care what he says to you. You have 20 minutes to gather your supplies, do you hear me? 20 Minutes from the moment you cross the doorstep"

The jeep rumbled back into movement as soon as she climbed in again, and swiftly spun us around. A few minutes passed in silence other than the jeep itself, then Rose spoke again

"This is how it's going to go. When we get to the house, if the tracker is not there, I will walk Bella to the door. Then she has 20 minutes" she glared at me in the rearview mirror "Emmet, you take the outside of the house. Alice, you get the truck. You'll surely be followed by them once you get Bella's truck from our house. I'll be inside as long as she is. After she's out, you two can take the Jeep home and tell Carlisle"

"No way" said Emmet "We're with you"

"Think it through Emmet. I don't know how long we'll be gone" said Rose

"Until we know how far this is going to go, we are with you" said Alice

Rose sighed defeated. "We'll call Carlisle then. If the tracker is there though, we keep driving" She said seriously

"We are going to make it there before him" said Alice confidently "What are we going to do with the jeep then? If I bring Bella's truck?"

"We can't really all fit in my truck" I offered "Maybe you should let me drive alone and you can all follow me in the Jeep at a safe distance. Though we would need one of you to actually bring the truck back to Charlie's" I said pondering about it

"Bella, please, just do this my way" said Rose between clenched teeth

"Look, James saw the way you acted today. He's going to assume you're with me, wherever you are" I told her, another plan forming in my mind

Emmet looked at me, insultingly surprised again. "Rosalie, listen to her" he urged "I think she's right"

"Yes, she is" Alice agreed

"I can't do that" Rose's voice was icy

"Actually, Rosalie, I think you should stay" I said seriously

"What? You want to go alone?" She asked enraged

"Of course not" I told her evenly

"Emmet and I will take her" said Alice.

"I can't do that" Rose repeated, but this time there was a trace of defeat in her voice

"Hang out here for a week" I said, looking at her expression in the mirror, so I amended "ok, a few days. Let him see you and lead James on a wild-goose chase. You take the truck. Make sure he's completely off my trail. Then come and meet me. Take a roundabout route of course, and then Alice and Emmet can go home." I could see her beginning to consider it.

"Meet you where?"

"Phoenix." I told her.

"No. He'll hear you came from Phoenix and that is the easiest place to track you down" she said impatiently

I thought for a moment. "He'll have no way to know where we actually are. I'll just tell Charlie that I am going to crash at Clara's in Phoenix. We know she's not there anyway. James will know that we know that he's listening. He'll never believe I am actually going where I say I'm going"

"She's diabolical" Emmet chuckled

"It's not that hard to find a phone book" said Rose apparently for the sake of argument

"Even if he knew Clara's last name, I am not actually going to Clara's or to Duncan's" I told them seriously

"Oh" she inquired

"I'm quite old enough and self sufficient to get my own place, you know?" I told her cheekily

"And if that doesn't work?" asked Rose impatiently

"Britain then, Last House on Spinner's End at Tobias'. No one knows where he lives but me, and now you. Not even Duncan. So even if anyone knew I was going over to his place, no one would know where to look for."

"Rosalie, we'll be with her." Alice reminded her

"What would you be doing in Phoenix?" she asked me

"Stay indoors?"

"I kind of like it" stated Emmet, probably thinking about cornering James "Look, if we try to take him down while she's still around, there's a much better chance that someone will get hurt" he added "She'll get hurt or you will trying to protect her… now, if we get him alone…" he trailed off with a slow smile, he was right. Even if I healed fast, I could still end up badly hurt and we still had to consider the unknown of what would happen if I was bitten, how would Vampire venom affect me and for how long...

"Bella" Rosalie's voice was very soft now "If you let anything happen to yourself, anything at all, I'm holding you personally responsible. Do you understand that?"

"Yes" I told her softly looking into the reflection of her eyes


A/N: A little longer this time around, still getting back into the groove of writing and the mood of this story…

No words are enough to apologize for the long delay, nor to express my gratitude to everyone who is still reading this…