"You want me to do what?" The dark-haired man whined, his chiseled jaw and hard eyes belying his tone. The wolves were gathered at their usual meeting at Emily's house, baked goods and burgers piled high on top of the battered kitchen table. And they were all digging in slowly with half-hearted, exhausted enthusiasm.
Except for Sam, Jacob, and Paul. Storms danced across the current and future alphas' faces while the third man looked closer to throwing a hissy fit.
Jake growled and crossed his arms. "You cannot be serious, Sam. There's no way this asshole," he jerked his head to his fuming pack mate, "is qualified."
The alpha closed his eyes as if he couldn't bear to hold them open any longer. "I'm dead serious. You think that the Council hasn't considered this carefully? He was your father's best friend for fuck's sake."
"Even more reason for me to be the one to guard her!"
Paul snorted. "You couldn't guard a goal post."
Sharp claws bit their way through Jake's shaking fingertips, and the response was instant; Jared and Quil gripped either of his arms while Sam positioned himself to catch his eyes. "Wait to shift until you're outside, Jacob."The words were thick with just enough dominance to where the wolves managed to wrangle the larger boy out of the house.
Snarls and guttural groans from inhuman throats ensued before the slamming door muffled the chaos. Which left two disappointed wolves.
"Damn," Sam sighed, "I was hoping he would pass the test. He really does care for her."
Paul looked as if Christmas had been canceled. His dark brows drew together in a sharp V. "Fuck, I honestly do not want to babysit that girl. Can't Jared do it?"
"Jared's better at handling the newbies than you are, and apparently Jake can't even handle your ribbing without going wolf. Quil is still too impulsive. So yeah, Paul, you're going to have to keep an eye on Bella Swan."
A few terse moments passed by as the large wolf considered the situation. On one hand, guarding the girl would be less work than patrols, but on another it was a duty with a lot of sitting around. And a lot of staring at a girl whose entire life had taken a nosedive for the absolute worse. Overall, the assignment was a shitty deal.
But it wasn't like he could refuse his alpha.
"Fine," he groaned before plopping onto a tiny kitchen chair, "tell me exactly what you want me to do."
It was a weird feeling, being responsible for your father's death. Every morning since the "bear attack", I woke up expecting to hear him shuffling around for his coffee. To hear his gruff commentary on the news. To see him struggle to adjust to my presence, even after a year of living together.
He'd been alone for so long.
That was the part that got to me. All the years that I had held him at an arm's distance, unwilling to admit that he was the one true adult in my life. The only person to really give a damn about what happened to me. Maybe if I'd let him take care of me, Edward Cullen would've never been able to play me like a goddamn fiddle. Maybe I would've had the self-esteem to run away from the danger. Maybe.
But that was an alternate reality, and now Charlie was dead and I was planning his funeral. A process which was really just numbly pointing to coffins and flower arrangements in a catalog while Pastor John Webster nodded in solemn understanding.
Did he have a favorite color? It's probably the same as the yellow that Mom had left up in the kitchen.
Tears blurred the pages of the magazine and I couldn't help but sob. Two days had passed, and it still wasn't enough time to stop memories from punching me in the gut. It was frustrating.
The pastor patted me on the shoulder without saying a word. A small blessing.
After at last finishing the arrangements, I floated out of my chair and into my truck. If Pastor John said anything to stop me, I didn't hear him. I drove back to Charlie's house and sat on the couch to wait.
Victoria. Laurent told me that Victoria wanted revenge on Edward by killing me. And sure enough, humans started dying a month ago from "bear attacks" which my father had been in charge of investigating. He had died while visiting one of the investigation sites with a forest ranger. Neither escaped.
All of those people died because of my actions. It was a morbid reality to be in, but I couldn't help but wonder why she hadn't killed me yet. It wasn't like I was hiding. At any point, she could've crawled through my window and ended this entire tragic mess.
Brrrrrigh! The house phone went off.
I held my head in my hands. Why should I have to answer phone calls to try to make everyone else feel better? Why the hell couldn't that bitchy vampire hurry up and kill me already?
Brrrrrigh!
The framed pictures of us as a family, his chair, the half-finished crossword puzzles on the coffee table… they all stared holes into me, making my skin crawl and itch. He didn't need any of it anymore. And if Charlie's lawyer was to be believed, then the house was mine.
Who will clean it out when I'm dead? My hands began to shake as they tried to catch my mouth in an attempt to stop the odd whimpers coming out of it. Would all I ever be is a problem to people? Maybe if I stacked the picture frames in a pile, organized the dishes in boxes, burned all of the junk in the backyard, then the army of inconvenienced movers would have an easier time. My feet began to move on their own accord.
Charlie's stuff went first. Newspapers, fishing poles, hats, anything that made me think of him. A little bit of lighter fluid and twigs and not even Forks' rain could stop the smoke creeping into flames. My eyes stung from it, but it was a different feeling from the last few days. I was in control. The mud fought me when I drug his armchair to the flames, but eventually they crawled up almost higher than the house itself.
It was only once all of those tasks were done and I had moved up the stairs to gather our clothes for the firepit that I realized that I had forgotten something important; it would make a real mess if I waited for Victoria to find me here.
The Sun peeked through the heavy curtains of Charlie's room which meant an afternoon and night had passed since I had last spoken to Angela's father. The house was close to cleared out, and I needed a way to make sure that Victoria didn't ruin my good work. I would also likely have a visitor soon since the Forks Police Department had made it their vendetta to not let me grieve in peace. I needed to hurry.
Thorns and bristle cut my bare skin as I glanced one last time at my father's house. The fire pit was still burning high and tall, its yellow fumes toxic floating up in the air.
My actions poisoning the air, but it would be the last thing I ever hurt again.
Blood ran down, but It would make her come to me. I knew it would. It had to. I would walk until she found me because I couldn't face what a mess I left behind. Too much had been lost. All because I had loved him. And now there was only one path to follow.
My feet were bloody and so were my arms after maybe half a mile. She had to find me because watching those scratches turn into more scars was more than a person should be forced to bear.
"Victoria! I'm here!" It seemed best to call out since it was taking her too long. Already the wounds were clotting and I was aging and the world kept spinning.
Silence. Anger struck. She was ignoring me!
"Stop it," I hissed. "Can't you see that you can have your revenge? You can videotape it or whatever? You could leave my dead body on Edward's doorstep for all I care. Just leave the people of Forks alone. Be a bitch somewhere else."
A squirrel scurried down a tree to stare at me.
My fingernails tore at my scratches before I ran at the small creature. It ran for its life. At least something feared me. It didn't see helpless Bella Swan, someone to protect. It saw the monster who had half the town wearing black.
Birds kept chirping and I could've sworn I heard a huff of laughter.
My heart froze and I fought against my flight response with all of my might. This wasn't about survival. This was about facing the evil of this world and making a stand. Victoria could have me.
Air pulling through my mouth in short bursts, I reached for the tie on my wrist and pulled my long, frizzy hair away from my nape. It was where his eyes always froze, never my lips, never my eyes. Always my neck pumping with cursed blood which had ruined my life. Satan had tricked me with a man who had been beautiful and I had lost sight of what mattered.
They liked it when their prey ran.
So I ran on my feet, pretending like capture was the last thing I wanted. Ran like I believed I stood a chance.
Why a scream left my body when strong arms wrapped around my frame, I couldn't tell you.
I crashed to the ground and my knees were torn open from more thorns. Inhumane sounds escaped my mouth from the pain, but it seemed as if life had more jokes when I realized that somehow I was growling. Really growling, like a creature from one of those black and white films I used to watch as a child.
Warmth seeped through my dirty clothes as my captor wrenched me closer to them. "Why," a rumble went through me, "are you so crazy?"
The voice was deep and unlike the aggressive, shrill tones of Victoria. The sole component even remotely similar was the anger vibrating underneath.
Why wasn't anything happening? I broke at that moment, my control stripped from me. Where was she? Was my life such a game to her? She had taken the only person who had cared about me, and she couldn't bother to finish the fucking job?
I sagged against my captor's arms. Unable to summon so much as a question or cry to encapsulate all the roiling grief within, I just waited for whatever would happen next.
Hot hands pressed down on my shoulders as the mystery man stood up, ensuring I couldn't move. I did not bother to look up. It was such a sunny day out that it was difficult to believe that it was the worst one of my life. The trees were plush and full of life and the canopy twinkled with sunlight. A chipmunk was staring at me this time, its little nose twitching as if asking me to lighten up.
Its little beady eyes rose as I was lifted into the stranger's arms.
There was no other option but to look at him now. A strong jaw and dark eyes, and angry lines cutting into handsome features, it was easy to see my hatred mirrored back. If his face was anything to judge off of, we had a lot in common.
But then I looked into his eyes. Really looked. And everything changed.
Edward had entrapped me with his scent and dazzled me. Dazzled me into a state where my every move was to please him so he wouldn't leave me. I had been aware of the world, but I had chosen to forsake it for a fake one. A fake world where he loved me.
But now a preternatural calm filled me. A reprieve of sorts. For the first time in a long time, I felt peace. As if someone had injected my veins with a dose of pure calm. It felt like I wasn't losing my mind.
The feeling only lasted a moment before I was Bella Swan again.
"Who are you?" He looked like he was from the Rez, but I didn't recognize him. I needed to get him to leave me so that he wouldn't get caught up in the crossfire with Victoria.
The man rolled his eyes. "I'm Paul Lahote. And you," he jostled me in his arms, "are a serious pain in the ass."
I winced from my cuts before glaring at him. He didn't know it, but that insensitive provocation was the only thing that had stopped me from slipping back into the darkness.