AN: AS promised, here's the next chapter :)

Hope you'll enjoy

Chapter 37 - friend or foe?

EPOV

Carlisle knocked on the door and stuck his head inside immediately after.

'Yes?' I asked. The rest of the family was crowding behind him in the hallway, I frowned at that.

'I got a call from Bella. She wants us to meet her at the lake.' He said, in a forced nonchalant tone. He was shielding his thoughts from me carefully. The entire family were I realized then.

'What's going on? Is she in trouble?' I asked, slightly panicked.

Calrisle shook his head, but he didn't seem entirely convinced. 'She said she was fine. She just wanted us to meet someone there.'

'Who?'

'She didn't say their name, just that it was an old friend.'

I frowned and was getting more anxious by these half explanations than reassured by them. 'When?' I asked.

'Now.'

I breathed a sigh of relief. I couldn't imagine having to wait a few hours before I could go to her and see what was going on with my own eyes. 'Let's go.' I said.

He nodded and we all sett off at a quick pace. Once we were outside the house we set off running.

'What did she say?' I asked again.

'Not much. Just that there was an old friend and she wanted us to meet him with an open mind.'

'A volturi member?' Rosalie asked.

'Alice can you see anything?' Jasper asked.

Alice concentrated for a moment, she saw a few snippets. Someone running and disappearing. Someone standing next to a blur. It was a tall man. Well built.

'I think it's a Volturi member. I can't see his connection to Bella. And I can't see how this will turn out. I don't know if he's on our side or not.'

'I think if Bella trusts him we should give him the benefit of the doubt.' Emmett suggested.

'What was that Alice?' I asked. She'd had another snipped. The tall man was wrapped around a blurry shape quite intimately. Alice turned her visions another way.

'I'm not sure. I can't get a good read on this guy. Perhaps he's too close to Bella right now.'

I guess we would find out in a bit who exactly we were dealing with and what his intentions were. We ran through the trees and got to the lake in just under ten minutes.

'Look Bella. I'm here to help. If they don't want my help I'm on my way again. It's their loss. Not mine.' An unfamiliar male voice said.

Bella didn't reply except for a heavy sigh. We broke through the foliage then and spread out in a lose semi circle across from Bella and her guest. I didn't miss the fact she was standing in front of him, shielding him.

I zeroed in on her first, checking for any signs of discomfort or hurt. Thankfully I didn't see any.

'Bella.' I said. 'Are you okay?' I couldn't help myself. Although she seemed fine, I needed to hear her say it.

She nodded. 'I'm fine.'

I nodded once and then focussed on the man behind her. He had stood up and was gazing at all of us with a calculating eye. Then he flicked his gaze to Bella. I focussed on his thoughts. But there were none. Bella was protecting him?

I frowned. 'What's going on, Bella?' I asked.

'Everyone this is Demetri. One of Aro's best trackers.'

'Why you do flatter me, Bella.' His deep baritone rang out across the clearing.

I could see how he would be a good tracker. He seemed inconsicious but there was something about him. something lethal.

She rolled her eyes at him. 'He's been against Aro for a while and had been keeping his distance from Volterra afte helping Angela escape.'

'You're the one that helped Angie?' Emmett asked.

Demetri nodded. 'She asked me to, of course I helped.'

'So what are you doing here?' I asked.

'Your display in Volterra kicked up rather a big fuss. It's been absolute pandemonium back there and I couldn't justify staying part of that any longer. I'm here to help you take down Aro.'

He seemed to be truthful. Bella regarded him for a moment as well. And then his mind opened up to me.

God damn she is one fine vampire. look at those lips. Those hips.

My mind reeled. His were filled with lust for my Bella. Jasper clamped his hand on my arm, feeling my sudden change in emotion towards this vampire. He filled me with calm, keeping me in place and subdued. If he hadn't I was sure I would have launched myself at this vampire, growling and ready to tear him limb from limb.

'And you harbor no more fealty to your former masters?' Carlisle asked.

Sheesh wat is this? The Spanish inquisition? Demetri rolled his eyes. 'No. I do not.' Aro is a fucking bastard. I should have left them long ago. I can't look away anymore. Taking away free wil. If I'd known how he treated bella all this time I would have broken her out and taken her away a long time ago. Fuck that bastard

I regarded him for a moment. I shook off Jaspers hold, having my emotions back in control. It seemed he cared about Bella a bit. I hated his lust for her, but he didn't seem to be going to act on it without her consent. That was good. And he seemed to have a real aversion for Aro.

Still, I was careful. I knew now thoughts couldn't be trusted all the time. If this man was part of Aro's circle he could have learned to lie with his thoughts. I was aware of everyone's eyes on me.

'I'm not entirely sure you're on our side, Demetri. But you seem to be willing to help us.' I said, signalling to my family that I wasn't yet convinced reading his thoughts. 'for now I think it best if you stay in the area and we'll see if you can help us or not.'

'I am not some lackey or prisoner.' Demetri said, a fierce tone slipping into his voice.

'I wasn't going to throw you in the dungeons. There's plenty of woods around. You can find a hovel to hide out in.'

'Edward.' Bella's voice shot out, reprimanding me. I turned to look at her. 'He's not going to stay in a hovel.'

'He's not staying at the big house either.' I told her firmly. Conveying her with my eyes that I didn't trust him.

We stared at each other for a moment. 'He'll stay with me then.'

My eyes widened. Fuck. That was the last thing I wanted. Demetri of course couldn't be happier with that.

'I don't think that's a good idea, Bella.' Carlisle hedged carefully.

'Fucking hell. You are some pieces of work, aren't you?' Demetri said. 'Look I'm my own person. I don't owe you anything. I can help you against Aro but I'll do so on my own terms. I'll give you a day or two to think it over, in the meantime I'll take Bella up on her offer and stay with her. I'll see the rest of you in two days and we can either get to work or I'll leave.'

Damn. He was good. We couldn't exactly stop him. He was right about that. And I didn't want to make him my prisoner either. He could be truthful and really helpful against Aro. But that was only if we could trust him. This was hard.

I wasn't sure where Bella stood esactly either. Did she trust him? Did she like him?

'Edward, I'll speak to you later.' Bella said before turning around and gesturing for Demetri to follow her, which he did after giving us one final look.

We stayed in the clearing staring after their disappearing trails. When we were sure they were out of earshot CArlisle turned to me.

'What did you get Edward?' Carlisle asked me.

'He seems to really hate what Aro is doing to his coven. I think the hartred for Aro was genuine, but I'm not sure about his motives.'

'Do you think he's a threat to Bella?' Rosalie asked.

I shook my head. 'No. he seems to like her… a bit too much.' I growled out.

'Oh.' She gave me a sympathetic smile.

'I think we should keep our eye on him the next few days. See if he is honestly interested in helping us. We can ask Bella to keep an eye on him as he's staying with her.' Carlisle suggested.

I nodded. 'I'll ask her later.' We were going running together in a little while. And I knew she wanted to talk to me about all of this.

'Good. Well then I think we should beware the coming days. If we see anything suspicious or ears and eyes where they shouldn't be, report it immediately. We have to be careful to make sure this isn't a trap.' Carlisle said. We all nodded in agreement and then set off back home again.

The rest of the day I spent in training making sure that we were hard at work and making sure all wolves and vampires were in good condition to fight and knew how to work to gether to fight as well. Time flew by when I kept my mind and body busy like this and it gave me something other to think about than Bella and the Volturi.

I'd been going twice a week to speak to Annette. A vampire who'd spent the last few decades earning as many doctorates as she could in psychogoly and psychiatry. She was very ientersted in understanding the human brain, and in extension the vampire one. She was interesting to talk to. She believed that vampire brains had a higher toleration for dealing with trauma than human brains, and that our ability to compartmentalize was one of the reasons we were so resilient.

She'd helped me through what happened with me. We spoke about Aro and his manipulations. We spoke about the torture and especially about the last day of my captivity there. We spoke of my feelings of being vulnerable and why I was afraid to show that side of me.

She helped me get a lot of insight into my character and how I was making mistakes long before Bella came along. Of course we also focussed on Bella. She was a huge part of my life, even though we still kept our friendship step by step. Annette was helping me heal and become stronger in a different way. Not by ignoring my mistakes and pain and vulnerability. But using them to make myself stronger. Owning my mistakes and learning from them.

It was an eye opening experience to say the least. I thought that pretty much every vampire could benefit from a session with Annette. She just had a way with words that made you look deep inside yourself to realize what was going on. Bella was proud of me for speaking with Annette and I usually gave her some update on our runs together about how I was doing. but mostly we just spend our time together getting to know each other without the pressures of our titles and the rest of the family. We were taking this slow.

I knew where I stood. But I wasn't sure where Bella stood at this point. I knew she was getting to know the real me and was liking what she saw. But I wasn't sure I could convince her to give me a shot romatically.

I sighed and focussed back on the drills I was doing with the others.

'Back! And again.' I yelled and we shuffled back and started back through the sequence of punches and lunges. We went over and over again until we had them down to a T.

After a while I noticed Emmett coming our way with a smug little smile on his face.

I have someone here fo you he smiled at me.

I cocked an eyebrow at him and finished the last rep I had been doing before turning to face him fully. Bella let out a small gasp as she walked out from behind Emmett. Her eyes were firmly focussed on my bare chest and her teeth were out biting her bottom lip.

'Bella, hi. I was just finishing up.' I said quickly turning to the rest of the vampires who were finishing the set. 'Alright people good work today. Get some refreshments and a shower and next session if you want it is with the wolves and starts at eight tomorrow morning.'

There was a chorus of thank you's and bye's and I echoed them before turning back to Bella.

'Thanks Emmett.' I said pointedly looking at him. Bella seemed still entranced by my bare chest and I would rather tease her about it without him here. Emmett seemed to catch on and pouted at me before grinning and saying bye as well.

Bella shook herself as Emmett started walking away. 'Bye Emmett.' She called back, a bit late.

Well, judged by her fascination by your abs, I'd say you have a good shot he laughed in his head.

I shook my head and grinned at Bella, wondering how I could best tease her about this without chasing her off.

'So… were you enjoying my demonstration?' I finally settled on, keeping my stance casual in front of her, so she could get a good eyeful. Her eyes kept straying down my chest and abs so it was working.

'Yes… you were very… good.' She said rather distractedly.

I grinned at her. 'Would you like me to put on a shirt?' I asked her with a laugh. She jumped and her eyes snapped to mine, filled with embaressement.

'Oh! I'm sorry! no. I mean… yes. You should shower and get clothes… and things.' She jabbered slightly incoherently.

I laughed then. 'Come on.' I said, holding out my hand for her to take. She glanced down at it for a moment before hesitating. It was the first time I had done this and I wondered if it was too early. We'd been careful about keeping our distance form each other. I was about to drop my hand again when Bella reached out and took it.

My heart soared and I gave her a bright smile. She gave a tentative one back. Her hand felt warm in mine and tingles were spreading up my arm. I sighed. It felt good touching her again. Like I could finally breathe right after months of struggling.

I lead her into the house and into my chambers. 'Did you change rooms?' she asked confusedly as she trailed after me. We had gone down stairs instead of upstairs.

'Yes.' I said easily. I hadn't wanted to go back to my suite anymore. There was too much there that reminded me of all the mistakes I'd made with Bella. I had wanted a fresh start. So I'd given my rooms to Carlisle and Esme, as their role in the coven running had been growing steadily anyway and deicideded to convert the basement space into a few rooms for myself. No one had minded.

'I wanted a fresh start.' I told her as I opened the door to my living room. She stepped in after me and looked around curiously. 'I'll just be a minute.' I told her as I walked over to the bathroom 'Make yourself at home.'

'Okay.' She said absently as she was browsing through the photos that were on the wall next to the flatscreen tv. I quickly wiped myself down of all mud and yanked my hands through my hair hoping to salvage it at least a bit, but the wind had made it pretty much impossible. Next I slipped through the other door into my bedroom and grabbed a shirt to put on and quickly slipped it over my head. It was a snug fitting shirt that showed off the muscles in my chest and arms. Bella seemed to enjoy those on me over looser shirts.

I quickly changed into jeans as well and slipped on different sneakers before heading back out into the lving room. Bella jumped when she heard the door open again and I quirked an eyebrow at her. She was still looking at the picture wall. So I joined her and looked over the photos as well.

'They're nice pictures.' She said.

I nodded in agreement. They were of my family and a few of me and Bella on our wedding day. Although it hadn't been exactly a happy day for either rof us, it was still a memory I treasured. It was the first time I had seen her in that beautiful dress when she'd taken my breath away. She'd been absolutely amazing and I'd wished we had spent that day as our actual wedding day. I wished I'd treated her better. But although it wasn't a great memory she'd looked amazing and I had wanted the reminder of what could have been, here for me.

'It's everyone I care about.' I said softly.

She gazed up at me again and something passed between us. Something was changing between us I was sure of it. Her walls were coming down. But then she cleared her throat and stepped back from me, breaking the spell.

'Are you ready to go?' she asked. I nodded and we headed out again. We were running as soon as we cleared the door. Running in silence until we got to our little clearing.

We sat down in the grass and I waited patiently for her to start speaking. I knew she had something to say to me. She'd made that clear back when we'd met with Demetri. She took a deep breath and sat down next to me.

'Demetri is at my house.' She started. I sucked in a sharp breath. To say I was unhappy about that was an understatement. 'Jacob nearly ripped his head off when he saw him.'

I snorted at that. I would have liked to have seen that. Even though Jacob annoyed the hell out of me most of the time. I could trust that he would do everything in his power to keep Bella safe. I knew it came from a place of romantic interest. But bella had made it very clear to him that she was not interested. And Rosalie had helped get that message across for her, by letting his balls get acquainted with her boots.

I waited for her to continue. 'I wasn't sure what his reasons for coming were. When we all met I was still sussing him out. I was masking you all from his ability until I thought he was on our side.

I frowned at that. So that was why I hadn't been able to read him? not because she'd been protecting him, but because she'd been protecting us.

Damn. I didn't give this woman enough credit. 'And now you're sure he is on our side?' I asked her in a low voice, trying to remain civil.

'Not entirely. But 95%?' she said. 'He really doesn't like what Aro is doing to the coven. I'm explaining everything Aro has been doing from the moment I joined. It's taking a while for everything to sink in.' she said. 'but I believe that he is on our side. he wants to stop Aro.'

'Aro or the volturi?'

'Aro.' She said. 'Not everyone in the Volturi is bad, Edward. Aro is manipulating them with Chelsea. She can manipulate feelings. Create this complacent feeling that makes you addicted. They don't know they're being manipulated. He wants to help his friends break that curse and free them. There's nothing wrong with that.'

'There is if it means he'll work against us.'

'Are you planning on murdering the entire coven?' she asked sceptically.

'No… not planning.' I said softly. 'but there's no doubt in my mind there will be casualites.'

'And that's why we need to take out Chelsea first and foremost.'

'But before we could get to Chelsea, a lot of people could be killed. Including his friends. We need to know he is ready for that and won't turn against us. Or leak our plans to the enemy.'

'Edward do you trust me?' she asked.

'Yes.' I responded without missing a beat.

'Then trust me when I say that I'll handle Demetri. I won't let him endanger our coven.' She said fiercely and my dead heart seemed to jump in my chest. She'd referred to the coven as ours.

'Okay.' I said softly. 'Then I trust you.' I said after a moment of staring into her eyes.

They were fierce and determined and I knew she had come to care for a lot of members of the coven, both the wolves and the vampires alike.

We sat there for another few hours talking about little things and enjoying each others company just like it was a regular evening. When she moved to leave I grabbed her hand without thinking. She started at the sudden contact and looked at me questioningly.

'Sorry.' I apologized, releasing her again. 'I just… is he really staying in your house?'

'Yes.'

'Do you… are you sure that's what you want?'

She shrugged. 'it's not like we sleep. It's not as if he's stronger than me and I'm vulnerable. And I trust him. he won't hurt me.'

'Alright. As long as you're comfortable.' I conceded. I couldn't force her to make him leave. And I definitely didn't want to appear I was controlling her either.

We said goodnight and Bella set off, leaving me in the meadow to contemplate everything that had happened.