Online Predator Chapter 69
"What's… What's going on?" Esme asked, stirring awake in Charlie's cold arms. "Where am I?"
Charlie slowed down and their eyes met.
"Charlie?" she asked. "Where are we? Where's Royce?"
He didn't know what to say.
"What's going on?" Esme asked, fear and confusion evident in her voice.
"It had to be done," Carlisle said, catching up to the pair.
Esme gasped when she saw the blood on him.
"Let me down, please," she said.
Charlie moved slowly, giving Esme time to stand on her good leg, and even when she was stable, he held onto her, keeping her close. She didn't seem to mind, she even wrapped her arm around his waist.
"This is Carlisle," Charlie introduced, "he's the friend I told you about, the one who saved the wolves all those years ago."
"Charlie," Carlisle hissed, "that is private information."
"Is it?" he asked. "She already knows about the wolves and us, she's friends with William Black's daughter."
"He had children?" Carlisle asked her.
"Yes, two daughters and a son," Esme answered.
"Did the wolf gene get passed down?"
"I don't know about that," she said, "I only know of the old legends, about the wolves, the shapeshifters, the cold ones, and the angel."
"The angel?" Carlisle asked.
"Yes, you," Esme said, "they told the story of a vampire with golden eyes, one who could live with humans, one who cared, one who risked his life to save theirs, even if everyone else was lost. They knew that you did all you could."
"I… I wish I could've done more," Carlisle said. "If only I found out about it sooner, I should've done more, I should've stood up, I should've stayed and fought alongside them."
Esme wiggled out of Charlie's grasp, but he knew what she wanted and helped her hobble over to Carlisle.
"You are only one man," she said, "there is only so much you can do. You saved the sons of the alphas, you made it so that their legacy could live on, and it does."
"I… You…" Carlisle stumbled on his words. "We need to get home."
"Wait," Esme said, "what happened back there and where are we going?"
"I killed Royce," Carlisle said, "I didn't plan to, but something came over me. He hurt my daughter, he killed her unborn child, and she's still struggling from his actions, and then, my eyes landed on you and I just knew that was the only option."
"I don't know how to feel about this," Esme said, and because Charlie was still right next to her, when her knees buckled, he scooped her up, holding her close.
"Is she like Jasper, you think?" Charlie asked, referring to his connection to Maria, that although it was toxic, he still cared about her. Did Esme care about Royce? How long had they been dating for?
"Maybe," Carlisle said, "we need to get home."
"Where is home?" Esme asked.
"Forks, Washington," Charlie said.
"It's right next to the Quileute's old reservation," Carlisle added.
Esme was thoughtful for a moment. "I'm not agreeing to anything, especially not staying, but for right now, I consent to going there. Charlie, will you take me please."
Charlie smiled at her. "Of course, you're safe with me."
The trio ran back to Forks. It wasn't that long of a run. Carlisle had a feeling that as the years went on, the wolves were instinctively moving closer and closer back to their true home. That's why he stayed close to Forks, he wouldn't allow them to be wiped out again.
They arrived at Carlisle's house, after swinging by Charlie's and finding it empty. Everyone seemed to be here. Charlie tried to set Esme down on the couch, but she grasped onto his shirt, not letting go. He didn't mind one bit. The trio walked up the stairs and stopped at the scene that met them. Carlisle rushed towards Edward and Charlie put Esme down and rushed towards Bella.
"What happened?" Charlie asked.
Jasper, having enough sense, ran over to Esme and made sure she was steady on her feet, before putting her on Edward's bed.
"What happened with you two?" Jasper countered. "And who is this? We don't need any more humans here."
"Look," Charlie said, "she's my mate, so don't start with me, son, and tell me why my daughter, who I only left a couple of days ago, is making the change into a vampire?"
"I have no idea what happened," Jasper said, "but I came back and Bella had a cut on her arm, she had been bleeding for a while, I took her and ran. Time ran out and I had no choice but to change her." Jasper edited some of the details out, not sure what to reveal and thinking that Bella could tell her father exactly what she'd done.
"And Edward?" Carlisle asked, smoothing his son's hair back.
"From what Garrett told me," Jasper said, "Riley bit him on the finger and a small amount of venom entered his system. As you probably know, at that stage, it's either death or change. Alice told us they were always fated to change at the same time, so this is it. Now," he said, "we're talking about this. Who is this?"
"Her name is Esme," Charlie said, "I found her while tracking down the wolves. She already knew about our kind and she's my mate."
"Really?" Jasper crossed his arms against his chest. "And how does Carlisle fit into all of this?"
"I don't know," Charlie said, "and I don't really care. If he loves me, I don't love him, not like that at least. I love Esme."
Jasper observed all the emotions in the room before focusing solely on Carlisle's. He was feeling hesitance, fear, and also confusion.
"And how do you feel?" Jasper asked him.
Their eyes met, but he didn't answer.
"Do you think I care?" Jasper asked. "Just spit it out already, Carlisle."
"I think she's my mate too," Carlisle whispered. "It was like they say, the moment I laid eyes on her, I just knew, and I know it's the truth because I killed someone to protect her."
"Did you taste any of the blood, or did you just bathe in it?" Jasper asked, referring to the blood on Carlisle's clothes.
"I didn't drink any and I never will," he said, "I'm not a monster. I never asked for this. I'm good. I help people. I-"
"Whatever," Jasper said, "these two, they're close to waking up, it won't be long and now that you're back, I'm leaving them in your hands while I go for a hunt."
No one had a chance to say anything because Jasper left immediately.
As he ran, Peter flanked him and then so did Garrett. They didn't stop until they were on the outskirts of Seattle.
"What was all that?" Peter asked. "I thought Carlisle and Charlie were mated."
"So did I," Jasper agreed.
"So, who is this new human?" Garrett asked.
"Another complication," Jasper said. "As far as I can tell, by sensing their emotions, both Carlisle and Charlie are mated to this human, but I don't think they're mated to each other. The connection I felt previously, must've been because of this. I don't know and frankly I don't care, we've got bigger things to worry about."
"So, what's the plan Major?" Peter asked.
"We're bringing the fight to Maria."
"Us three?" Garrett asked.
"That was the plan, but now… I don't think Bella will forgive me if I don't take her, but I also don't want her anywhere near Maria."
"Did you go and see her?" Peter asked. "How many newborns does she have?"
"Fifteen, including herself and another vampire. She has a new second in command."
"Any idea who it is?" Garrett asked.
"No, he seemed familiar, but I've searched all of my vampire memories and I'm certain I've never met him before."
"We could take on that many," Peter said, "easy, and I bet Maria will run as she often does."
"Let's think this through," Garrett said, "we want this over and done with as quickly and swiftly as possible. There's four of us; me, you, Peter and Charlotte. Then we have Carlisle, but he's vegetarian and might not want to fight. Then we have two newborns; Charlie and Riley. And, two about to be; Bella and Edward. That's four established and four newborns. Plus, Carlisle."
"What about the humans?" Jasper asked. "Did you think about changing Alice alongside Bella and Edward?"
"No," Garrett said, "she told me that it's not time, that it'll only complicate things, and I trust her."
"I think taking the newborns is risky," Peter said, "I say they stay back here with Carlisle and Charlotte, and us three go. We know Maria and her army better than anyone anyway. We could go now, before Bella wakes up, and come back with the good news."
Jasper knew he couldn't do that.
"We need to wait for them to wake up," he said, "I won't do this without her. Maybe I can just tell her what's going on and then we can go, but I don't know if she'll go with that, not now that she's a vampire…" A thought hit Jasper. Bella's a vampire, that means Emmett's vision of Maria killing her in Forks didn't apply anymore. He pulled out his phone and sent him a message.
Jasper: Meet me on the reservation
"Who are you messaging?" Peter asked.
"Someone who needs to be in on this discussion." Jasper took off running back towards Forks and his boys followed him.
Emmett was already on the reservation when they arrived.
"What's he doing here?" Garrett asked. "I thought it was going to be Alice."
Jasper didn't bother answering him, he just went over to Emmett.
"Maria no longer kills Bella, does she?" he asked.
"Actually," Emmett said, "it's more certain now."
Jasper didn't like that, he growled and grabbed Emmett by the throat.
"What are you talking about?"
"If Bella is there, all I can see is Maria seeking her out and killing her in front of you."
"I'll stay with her," Jasper said, "I won't allow that to happen."
"Maria still has a strong hold on your mind."
Jasper didn't believe that.
"I would never choose her over Bella."
"You have before."
"That's not fair, and this is different, I'm different, I'm changing, Bella is my sole focus and I won't let anything happen to her."
Emmett could tell this wouldn't work out well for him, so he cut to the point.
"It's simple then," Emmett said, "but it won't be easy. You have to convince Bella to stay back, you can't take her into the fight. It's the only way she survives, but she's not going to just accept that. She wants in, she wants to help kill Maria, she wants to protect you."
"Is it impossible?" Jasper just had to asked.
"No," Emmett said, "just very hard, I don't know how you do it or what you say, but there's a slim chance of a future where everything works out, very slim, but that means it's a possibility. It'll be up to you to figure that out. If you convince her to stay away, you'll win this fight."
Jasper stepped away and growled. He knew Bella well enough and he knew she would never agree to that. It was an impossible task indeed.