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Chapter Three: Nightmare

Bella watched as Emmett, Jasper, and Carlisle spoke quickly and quietly in front of her. Nessie stood next to Carlisle, her arms wrapped around herself as she listened but didn't say anything.

They were talking as if she wasn't there, as if she didn't need to be included in their conversation, and it wasn't even like she could read their minds to find out what was going on.

Rose came up to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder as Esme appeared at her other side, Ethan wrapped up in his papoose.

Jake had gone to patrol the area.

She was confused. Werewolves existed but they were different from Jake. Okay, fine. But what would werewolves want with Edward?

Finally, after having enough of being treated like the 'little woman', Bella stood and marched over to Carlisle.

"Tell me what's going on, right now."

Carlisle exchanged an uneasy look with Jasper and Emmett.

"Carlisle, I deserve to know what's going on."

"I know you do, Bella," he began. "But we're not even sure what's going on right now. We have a theory… but it's just a theory."

Bella raised her eyebrow, waiting.

"Werewolves took Edward, we know that much. And from the blood on the porch, we can assume they injured him." His voice was gentle when he said these words and Bella had to push down the fear that ran through her. She didn't want to think about Edward being injured. Not when there was nothing she could do about it. "Werewolves are secretive, even more so than vampires. and for as long as I can remember, there's always been a rivalry between us."

Rose and Esme joined Bella, but Carlisle's eyes never left hers.

"Jasper, I think this is where you take over."

Jasper stepped forward and Bella turned to face him, interested in what he had to say.

"Did you know that the 1960s saw more vampires turned than any other year?"

Bella shook her head.

"There was a surge, and the number of vampires grew exponentially. This didn't sit well with werewolves who thought that it was part of an elaborate plan to overrun them. Tensions simmered for years and in 1969, things exploded in the South." Jasper's eyes turned dark and Bella visibly saw a change in him. "The Southern Vampire wars are not something I will ever forget. The werewolves did anything they could to kill off the vampires; they slaughtered them as they slept, gave donors silver so when vampires drank from them, they were poisoned and they chained them up and left them to burn in the sun. In the middle of all of this, werewolves discovered that vampire blood had a certain… effect on them."

Bella recalled an earlier conversation she had had with Edward about vampire blood. When it wasn't being used for healing or bonding purposes, it acted as a drug to humans, giving them a sense of unparalleled euphoria.

"It makes humans high," Bella said bluntly.

Jasper nodded. "For weres, vampire blood is more potent. All they need is a single drop. But it's also more addictive. The Volturi and the leaders of the werewolves eventually came to an agreement; the vampires were to disperse and a ban was made on changing people for the next five years. No one stuck to it but we did leave the area. That war didn't solve any prejudices vampires or werewolves had regarding each other, it just pushed them underground. But this created a problem; the werewolves could no longer get the blood they craved."

Carlisle took over then. "There's a vampire who's even older than me. His name is Aro." He paused. "There have always been rumours that Aro associates with werewolves and that in order to have control over the pack, he gives them his blood."

The idea swirled around Bella's head as she tried to grasp what Carlisle was saying.

"You think the werewolves who took Edward are working for Aro?"

Carlisle gave a solemn nod of his head.

"W-why would they take him?" Her voice shook slightly.

Rose wrapped her arm around Bella and she leaned into her cousin, using her strength to keep her upright.

"I don't know," Carlisle told her. "But we're going to find out."

Bella nodded and exhaled. "How?"

"Emmett, Jasper, and I will go and see Aro."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Rose asked.

"Not as dangerous as it could be if we don't go," Emmett said.

His words made Bella tense and then shiver. She was worried for Edward and scared of what might happen to him. This Aro vampire didn't sound pleasant.

"Emmett's going to take you both home tonight," Carlisle told them. "We can't be too careful if werewolves are in the area."

Bella nodded but his words washed over her. All she could think about was Edward, bleeding and injured. Her eyes watered and she quickly swiped at the tears that fell down her cheeks.

Tonight was meant to be special, and instead, it had turned into a nightmare.

Carlisle watched Rose and Bella walk back to their house, Emmett right behind them.

"Esme, is it alright if I escort you home?" He didn't like the thought of her making her way home alone. Jake hadn't got back yet, but he hadn't howled either to signal that something might be wrong.

Esme nodded and Carlisle turned to Jasper.

"Stay here with Nessie until I get back."

Carlisle turned to Esme. "Ready?"

She nodded and they walked to her car together. She had both hands wrapped around Ethan but she placed one into her pocket to retrieve her car keys. Seconds later, Carlisle heard the door locks click upwards. He watched as she opened the door and, with practiced ease, extracted Ethan from the papoose and placed him in his car seat without waking him.

Carlisle walked around the passenger side as Esme slid into the driver's seat and turned the engine over. They both put their seatbelts on and she had one final look in the mirror at Ethan before she set off, driving carefully and steadily towards her home.

The car ride home was silent apart from Ethan's occasional small snores. Carlisle's mind was whirring as he worked out what to do next. Aro was an old vampire, possibly the oldest in existence, and he was feared by everyone. Not even the Volturi would punish Aro.

Esme pulled to a stop in front of her house and she undid her seatbelt, then turned to Carlisle. Her eyebrows were creased together and her lips had formed a tight line.

"What's wrong?" he asked, taking off his seatbelt so he could face her.

"I just want you to be careful," she replied, her voice quiet in the car.

"I will," he told her, drinking her in.

Secretly, for the past few weeks, they'd been dating. Nothing serious, just walks in the park and on the beach and ice cream with Ethan. No one knew. Esme hadn't wanted to tell anyone in case it didn't work out and Carlisle had been quite happy to keep her all to himself. He'd dated in the past but nothing like this before. When he was with Esme, he felt alive.

Ethan grunted in his sleep and Esme peered around the seat at him. "I should get him inside," she said quietly.

They both got out of the car, Esme going around to the back. Opening the door quietly, she unstrapped Ethan and lifted him into her arms, cradling his small body against her chest. Carlisle pulled the diaper bag out from the other side of the car and they walked to the front door.

Balancing Ethan against her shoulder, Esme turned to Carlisle. "Come on in."

She clicked on a lamp as she entered her home, the dim yellow light casting a pleasant shadow over the living room.

Carlisle's eyes needed no adjustment period as he stepped into the house. It was comfortable homely and suited Esme perfectly, nothing like his current abode. There was a small fireplace up against the one wall, a fireguard surrounding it. In front of the fire, there was a rug, toddler's toys littered across it, and a walker in the corner. There were two sofas in the room, one facing the fire and the other facing the window, making an 'L' shape; both had throws over them and a few cushions scattered around. There were various pictures on the walls, Ethan in different stages of ageing throughout them.

"Sorry about the mess," Esme muttered, her cheeks heating at the fact it was such a mess the first time he was seeing her home. "You can just put the diaper bag on the counter," she said, moving some towels that needed to be put away.

Carlisle put the diaper bag down and continued to examine the room. It was open-plan and led to a small kitchen and diner. It was a cottage-style kitchen with light green cupboards and light wood countertops. The appliances weren't top of the range. He could see Esme in here, cooking breakfast in the morning. There were some bottles on the draining board and his eyes picked up the crumbs on the side. But he liked it. To him, it wasn't messy, it was homey and lived in; something all of his previous houses had been lacking.

"Thank you for coming with me," Esme said, her hand lightly rubbing her son's back.

"It's no problem," he responded.

A sort of awkward silence fell over them. Carlisle wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and kiss her. He'd not had the luxury of doing that yet. He wanted to curse Aro for his timing and for ruining the sense of normalcy that had settled over him since moving.

He had an upcoming job working in the ER at the hospital and he'd found himself a small house not far from Forks. For the first time in years, he was feeling settled. He no longer had the job of being sheriff on his shoulders—he'd passed that burden onto Ginny—and he had been looking forward to just enjoying life.

And Esme. Beautiful Esme. She'd wandered into his life and Carlisle had known right there and then that nothing would ever be the same. She was beautiful, stunningly so, with her caramel hair and brown eyes. Her curvy figure was something most women envied and she was intelligent and hilarious to boot. Before their first date, Carlisle had felt nervous; a feeling he hadn't felt for many years. But afterwards, when he'd dropped her back home and walked away, he felt wonderful.

Then there was Ethan, the sweet little boy who had managed to squeeze Carlisle's dead heart and make him want things he had no right in wanting. He was incredibly cute and Carlisle enjoyed spending time with him, watching him learn and take the world in. He'd already grown since the last time he had seen him and it was fascinating. His arms were slightly longer and his hair had darkened just the tiniest amount, not enough for humans to be able to tell the difference but enough for Carlisle to notice.

His eyes lingered on his small body held tightly against Esme's and Carlisle cursed Aro's timing again.

"You will keep me up to date, won't you?" Esme asked and Carlisle nodded straight away.

"Of course—if we get any new information, I'll let you know."

She smiled. "And you'll be careful?"

Carlisle nodded. "I'm always careful."

Esme bit her lip and then gave him a small smile.

"I'd better be going. I've got to talk to Emmett and Jasper."

They both walked to the door and Carlisle heard Esme's heart speed up.

Carlisle opened the door and stepped out into the night, turning around just before he left. "Be careful, Esme."

"I will," she responded. She blew out a breath and then stepped forward, pushing upwards so she was on her tiptoes and pressing a kiss to his smooth, cold cheek, careful not to get too close and squash Ethan.

"Goodnight," she whispered, returning to her normal height and heading inside.

Despite the situation with Edward, a small smile formed on Carlisle's face before he sped off into the night.

Thank you to Edwardsmate4ever and Twi-Girl83 for their work as my betas.

We got a bit more information about Aro. Thoughts?