Chapter 20: The Truth Will Out
Alice POV:
It was a beautiful day, the sun would be shining at the tops of the mountains. Bella and I walked soundlessly for about fifteen minutes before I decided to break the silence. Problem was, I didn't know where to start. Liam had told me privately that Bella had imprinted on me, and overheard me saying she was my mate. But he had warned me that she hate a hatred for feelings and disliked relationships. However, right now I had other things on my mind first.
"Bella I am so sorry for leaving you. It's something I will now regret for the rest of my life. I cannot even begin to comprehend your suffering. I am eternally in your service." She sighed and looked at me curiously.
"Alice, do you work for the Volturi?" I knew where she was going with this and would not have it.
"Bella don't-"
"Alice I asked you a question. Do you work for the Volturi?"
"No. But-"
"Then no. There's no 'but's about it. Unless you are secretly working for the Volturi, in no way was anything your fault. The rest of your family already tried to argue this point with me. The truth of the matter is, if you had not left, the Volturi would have killed you all just to get to me. Once they want you, they get you." She was very well spoken. I stopped walking to admire her beauty, she had never looked so exquisite. She paused for me, then sighed and continued walking, motioning me to follow. "And if they had killed you," she paused once again, obviously pained by her words, "then I don't know what I would have done."
Bella led our, once again silent walk, for a while. How funny it was that I had started leading it and now she was leading me, just like how our relationship was. When I first met her I was the one pulling her everywhere. She wasn't confident and hardly made decisions. Now she was brave and in charge of her own life. She had grown up so fast in such a short span of time, but she had to do so. I wished that her change had not come at the cost of many other things however. I had failed to protect her from the cruel and dark world. I had failed my mate.
"Why?" I had broken the silence once again.
"Sorry?" It had been some time since Bella had last spoken, so she was confused by my sudden question.
"Why would you not know what to do? If I had been killed." Of course I knew the answer, I was just hoping she would admit some of the truth to me. I don't think she realized she had said that last bit out loud however, because her eyes went wide and her face turned red. We had stopped walking and were facing each other. Now was my chance. I took a step closer so we were only inches apart.
"Um. I was just speaking in general." She was flailing. I noticed her eyes flicker to my lips and back up again.
"Ok then. Generally speaking, why would you have not known what to do if I had been killed?" I moved closer once again. Bella licked her own lips now. My plan was working. I looked up at her with my most innocent eyes, waiting for an answer. Without warning, her lips crashed onto mine.
Bella POV:
Damn Alice and her stupid charm. My imprint will be the death of me I'm sure of it. I'm almost a hundred percent sure that Liam told her I had imprinted, but I hardly cared at the moment.
This should have been our first kiss. Her hands tugged at my hair and the back of my neck again. I had put one hand on her waist and backed her against a nearby tree. She tastes fucking amazing. I need more. My tongue darted out to part her lips open, and she happily accepted it. The kiss was fervent, but not desperate. Tender, but not soft.
How long had we been kissing here? A minute? A week? I couldn't tell anymore. Finally, I pulled away from her gently, resting my forehead against hers. We were both panting heavily, and Alice's eyes were almost pitch black.
"That's why." I breathed across her lips.
A/N: That was a long website outage today. Dang. Anyways, I hope everyone had a good Saint Patrick's day for all those who celebrate it. I wasn't originally planning for Bella to give Edward a good beating, but if people want it I can do it. Just let me know. Alright, I'm going to get some much needed sleep. Thank you for reading :)