Chapter 235: The Conversation With Carlisle Cullen

Sam's eyes were still on the road, so he said, "Well, he called Chief Billy first. He wanted for me and you to be present in the phone call with them, but since we were outside from the reservation, Cullen is willing to wait until we call him back."

I nodded, "I see.."

I wonder why he wanted me to be present. Maybe it was because of my insistence that they send a letter to Alice? Maybe Alice was unsuccessful with trying to get them to write a letter to Bella? Or..they found out that Bella is in the mental hospital?

I added thoughtfully, "I wonder what they want to talk about..probably about Victoria, no?"

Sam nodded, "I think so too, but then again..cold ones are unpredictable. It's best to be on guard with anything they bring up."

I agreed, "True…do you think that they found out about Bella? Should we tell them?"

Sam paused for a moment and said carefully, "only if they bring her up. I will only mention about her regarding Victoria and that she is safe from the threat. I rather keep them away from the tribe and Forks."

I agree. I rather Bella chases after the Cullens once she graduates from high school. Just for almost two more months then she will be free to do whatever she wants with her life. I know she only wanted to graduate high school in Forks to leave Charlie a good memory of her before going to college. Hopefully, she is still aiming to go somewhere else for college. If she and the Cullens get reacquainted, she could go to the university of Alaska, then maybe eventually, she would be able to meet Edward again.

Maybe. This is all just theories on my part, but I hope we can avoid any messier things regarding Bella. I do want Bella to return to Edward and the Cullens, but I don't want the Cullens to come back to Forks or they might set off Quil, Brady and Collin to phase. I don't know why Seth phased first than Quil, but..maybe I can prevent Quil imprinting on a literal child. Brady and Collin were set off to phase due to the vampire army in Eclipse, but since Victoria is dealt with and she didn't meet Riley Biers, hopefully they won't phase. I hope the Cullens are gone by the time Leah comes back for summer break. Maybe the Clearwaters could make an excuse to not let Leah visit. Or else, if she does come to visit and the Cullens somehow be back, and who knows, she might phase well. I really don't want her to phase. I want her to not suffer the fate of being a shapeshifter. She was the one who wanted to be free from the reservation the most, so it will be best to keep her away for awhile longer.

I asked, "Okay, so what will be the plan once we get to the reservation?"

Sam replied, "We go straight to Chief Billy's place, then I will give the truck to Embry and Paul to drive it back to our home and help unload things for us."

I nodded, "Okay, that sounds like a plan."

Sam pulled me a little closer to his chest, and he said, "Don't be anxious. It'll be fine."

I hope so. I didn't want to keep pondering anxiously about the phone call with the Cullens, so I drifted back to sleep in Sam's embrace for the remainder of the trip back to the reservation. Sam shook me lightly on the shoulder, and he whispered, "we here, hon."

I yawned, "Okay, I'll get up."

We were parked in front of the Black's residence. Surprisingly, I didn't see the police cruiser, so Charlie probably went back to Forks or went back to work in the police station. Good thing he isn't her, so he won't accidently overhear the conversation, and it would be a lot for Charlie at the moment. He just had taken his only daughter to the mental hospital then he has to hear the supernatural exists, and he has been living in ignorance all this time despite everyone he knew part of it without him knowing. That would be a lot for Charlie.

Paul and Embry were standing close to the truck, but they still kept some distance from Sam. Sam got out of the truck first, and he helped me get off.

"Hey, good MORNING", Paul said with a cheeky grin on his face with a dramatic emphasis on morning. Embry had amusement glint to his eyes, but I could tell he was trying to keep a neutral expression.

I laughed lightly, "heh. Good afternoon to you too, Paul."

Sam held me at the waist to help me balance myself since I was still a little groggy from sleeping so much. I stretched, and I glanced at the guys. They both were wearing their usual shorts. One thing I notice is the deep dark bags under their eyes. That got me concerned. I didn't realize my trip to Seattle would bring more inconvenience to the pack than I thought. Next time, I will think things through before doing things out of a whim.

I need to be more considerate of others..

Even though they were willing to take the night watch, they might have done it with some reluctance, but they still obeyed since Sam's Alpha. Knowing Sam, he would said it is their duty as pack brother to obey their Alpha and serve the Alpha's mate. Or, something within those context.

Sam growled lowly at Paul, and he said with a warning, "Paul.."

I pat Sam on his arm to calm him down, and I said amusingly, "Hmm. It seems like someone's salty that they didn't get enough hours of sleep last night."

Paul responded poutingly, "You got that right. I barely slept the whole night, and now I gotta do even more work?"

Sam sighed, "I know.. I know. I'll give you two few days off once you finish unloading our stuff. Kay?"

Both Embry and Paul's expression brightened. Embry said smiling, "Thanks, Sam."

Sam nodded, "Well, you two go on ahead. I meet you guys at today's bonfire."

They said their goodbyes, got on the truck, and drove off toward to our place. I rubbed my face to shake off the sleepiness from my face.

I looked up to Sam, and said, "ready?"

Sam nodded solemnly as Sam mutely opened the door and let both of us. The moment I saw the house. I was brought with multiple memories and feelings from Alegria's past. It felt weird coming into this house. It is personally my first time coming here, but it is Alegria's few times she had come. Grandma Eva brought Alegria here once to meet Chief Billy, so it's not 'my' first time meeting Billy per se. It seemed like we came from the back porch, so we entered to the dining room next to the kitchen instead of the living room.

Billy wheeled himself closer to the door and greeted Sam and I with his usual warm smile, "Good afternoon."

I replied politely, "Good Afternoon."

Billy said with a half-smile, "I would wish I had met you in a different occasion than this, but I want to congratulate you for you and Alpha Sam's imprinting."

I responded, "oh, thank you."

He looked kindly at both of us, and asked "Do you guys need some refreshments? There is no hurry to call Carlisle Cullen."

I glanced at Sam and he nodded for reassurance, "Um..I would like a glass of water if that is okay."

At that moment, Sue walked into the dining room and said, "I could get that for you, honey. Jacob, Harry, and Old Quil are by the living room. Go ahead and make yourself a home."

I looked up to her. She gave me her usual smile, so I said shyly, "okay."

She nodded and headed straight to the kitchen. I instinctively grabbed Sam's hand for comfort, and he gave me a small squeeze as a sign of reassurance. I gently pulled him behind me while I walked slowly to the living room. The first person I saw was Jacob. He was sitting a far corner of a long worn-out black couch and Harry was sitting at the other corner. Jacob looked tired. He might have a long night dealing with Charlie, most likely. Harry still looked tired from dealing with Jared the day before.

When I looked to my left, I assumed it was Old Quil who was sitting by a dark-blue rocking chair. He had a small handmade blanket on his lap. He had a long braided gray hair to one side of his shoulder. He was wearing a long brown sleeve shirt with beads on his neck and arms. His faced was marred with wrinkles from the forehead to the sides of his eyes, and yet he still showed bright energetic look to his eyes.

Once I made eye contact with him, we stared each other for a moment. I couldn't read him. I know he is feeling something towards me, but he isn't expressing it to any of us. He was staring at me with his long, calculating look. He doesn't seem like a threat, but he also feels like someone I shouldn't be taken lightly.

I instinctively nod my head towards him and said politely, "Good Afternoon."

Sweat was building up behind my neck because I wasn't sure if he knows about me. If he does, what is he going to do about it?

He whispered, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

I smiled in response, so I proceed to go sit next to Harry as Sam sat next to Jacob. Sam was still holding my hand which helped bring down my anxiety. I wasn't expecting Old Quil to be here, but it is what it is. Old Quil was still looking at me, but I avoided his gaze. It was awkward, but Sam, Jacob, and Old Quil began speaking to one another in Quileute. I let them do their thing, and I turned to Harry.

Harry said tiredly, "How are you doing dear?"

I said lightly, "fine.."

He nodded. He didn't say anything else, and I didn't know what else to say as well. Thankfully, Sue came by to give me a glass of water, and I took it gratefully. I didn't realize I was thirsty, but I finished the glass of water pretty quickly. I placed it down when Billy wheeled himself to the living room next to a small table stand with a cellphone laying on top of it. Sue went back to the kitchen to grab a chair, so we all could be together in the living room.

Billy said, "Before I go make the phone call, anything else that anyone wants to share? What about you, Ale? Do you have anything for us to warn?"

Everyone turned to look at me, and I said thoughtfully, "I think it'll be best if we don't mention about my gift of precognition.."

Billy hummed and asked, "Why is that?"

I said carefully, "in case..if the Cullens ever get to meet the royal vampire family. It will be best to keep my ..gift..a secret. Vampires have their own rules to follow, and they are ruled by three leaders in a group called the Volturi in Rome. The main leader, Aro. He has the tendency to..collect people with certain gifts for his guard to protect him..He has a gift of seeing your memories with the touch of your hand, so if the Cullens do meet him and finds out about me..Not only I will be in danger, but also the Quileute Reservation.."

Sam and Jacob growled lowly, but with Jacob growling louder. Jacob stated bitterly, "This is more of a reason why the Cullens need to stay away, and we should terminate our ancestor's treaty. It is bringing more danger than good for us. Why must we keep this damn treaty?"

Sam growled, "Like I said before Jacob. Because it is what the spirits and our ancestor's want. The spirits indicate it is essential to keep the treaty whether we like it or not as long as they abide the rules of the treaty."

Huh. So that's why Sam wanted to keep the treaty. I always wondered why in the books. From what I remembered, Jacob simply said that Sam was just being a pacifist or something within those lines. I can't remember too well on that detail.

Jacob immediately shut up, but he was still trembling slightly. Sam stated, "We will keep the treaty to protect my mate and the tribe."

Old Quil added solemnly, "It'll be best to make a revision to the treaty since..Ephraim Black didn't foresee that their future arrival triggering this generation to phase..so young. If he had known this, then he wouldn't have make such ..burdensome treaty for the future generation."

Sam nodded, "Yes. I will suggest a revision in the treaty that they don't come to Forks unless…the future generation have already phased from previous vampire threat unrelated to the Cullens, so then we will not people phasing earlier in their teens.. like this time."

Billy nodded, "Old Quil and Sue. It would be best if you two remain quiet during this phone call to not alert Carlisle Cullen. I wanted to bring part of the council as witnesses."

I nodded. It makes sense why they are here. Billy then proceed to dial Carlisle's phone number. It was put on speaker for everyone to hear. It rang twice before Carlisle answered, "Hello?"

"Good Afternoon. This is Billy Black speaking. Alpha Sam and his mate Alegria are present in the phone call", Billy said.

"Ah, Good Afternoon Mr. Black. It's good to hear back from you. I am glad you were able to bring Alpha Sam and his mate Alegria." Carlisle responded politely.

"Yes. This is Alpha Sam speaking. Is there a particular reason, you liked to speak to my mate?" Sam said.

"I wanted to give my thanks to Alegria for reassuring my daughter Alice regarding Isabella Swan. Alice was in great distress due to her vision regarding Bella that despite of Edward's wishes, she went to check on Bella. We were worried for Bella, but to hear that it wasn't like the way we perceived it. It brought us great comfort and joy that Bella is still alive…Not only that, Alice spoke great things about Alegria, and if it wasn't for her, our family and I would be left with extreme guilt and sorrow." Carlisle responded kindly.

Huh. Did she now? I didn't think I left that much of a impression on her. I guess she appreciated that I didn't treat her like how others in the reservation treat her when they know what she is, so I said, " It's a pleasure to meet you Dr. Cullen. I simply told her few things of the situation around here."

Carlisle said kindly, "It's a pleasure to meet you Alegria. Thank you for being a kind friend to Bella. We will definitely send her Bella a letter soon of an explanation of our departure..We were misguided by my son, Edward. He told us that Bella wanted us to leave, but to hear that she undergo a extreme distress due to our departure…My family and I are in great sorrow for the news, and we will surely send Bella a letter soon.."

There was an awkward silence among us. We didn't know whether to tell them that she is in a mental hospital, but it is not our responsibility to let them know. Its better if Bella or Charlie Swan tell them personally, but we also didn't want them to come back to Forks.

Carlisle continued to fill up the long, awkward silence, "Yes..there is another reason that I wanted to make this phone call today. Alice mentioned that Victoria was still around once we left?"

Sam responded, "Yes. Once you guys left, there sighting of Victoria. She has targeted many hikers in Forks, and they have lost their lives… Despite of our best efforts..my pack was not able to take down until few weeks ago we found out that Victoria have been targeting Bella Swan Her friend who called himself Laurent came to visit Bella in the meadow. He told her that he came with the message from Victoria, and she is coming after Bella "mate for a mate". However, that is also..how I met my mate Ale…Few days ago we finally made a plan to bring her down once we knew what she wanted. It almost cost a life of one of ours, but thank the spirits, we were able to end her once and for all.."

Carlisle was silent for awhile before saying, "I see…I am sorry the tragedies that we have caused due to our negligence. When we left, we thought any danger that we may have bring would follow us , but we, well I, didn't foresee that it would bring harm to many innocent lives who were lost.."

Billy echoed solemnly, "Yes…many innocent lives were lost."

Carlisle sighed heavily through the phone, "Is there anything that I, or my family, can do to compensate the struggles you and your people have made to take down Victoria? My family and I will handle the families of the lives lost due to Victoria's terror through legal means with my lawyer ...Nevertheless, it was lack of my judgement of letting her go wander, fully knowing she would eventually come back for her revenge. The rage of losing a mate can only be satisfied with death."

As in money? Ouch. That doesn't sound good at all. I know they have endless amount of money due to Alice foresight, but for those who struggle to make a living, it's a bit offensive to bring it up to them. I know in other fanfics, the characters were willing to put aside their pride and accept the money since they do need it. However, I am glad they are using this chance to tweak the treaty instead of just getting money.

I glanced at Sam and Old Quil. We all nodded, and Sam said, "for compensation, how about revising the treaty?"

Carlisle paused and said carefully, "I see.. What do you like to change regarding the treaty?"

Sam said, "Only to include that you and your family only reside Forks unless there is a current spirit warrior, or else do not come."

Carisle asked politely, "Oh, and why is that?"

Sam said tensely, "because you..and your family arrived to Forks. It triggered the shapeshifting gene for me and many other to phases. We were merely college students when it happened..Now, we have a high school student who phased. We don't want any more of us to phase. It is not a easy burden to bear."

Carlisle gasped, "Oh..I-I didn't know we caused you and the others to phase.."

Sam replied solemnly, "Yes.."

Carlisle said thoughtfully, "…May I call you in three days? I need to bring all of my family to discuss about this new addition to the treaty."

Sam said, "Yes..that is fine.."

Carlisle said, "Great…it was great hearing back from you. I will call you around this time in three days. Have a nice day."

Sam said cordially, "Likewise."

Billy hanged up the phone call. Well, that went pretty well than I thought. I felt so relieved that I laid back against the couch.

Billy clapped his hands together and said with a tired smile, "Well, I guess that's it, everybody. Thank you for coming today. You are more than welcome to stay. I am going to start preparing for the bonfire tonight."

Sue interrupted, "do you need a hand, Billy?"

Billy gave her a kind smile, "No, that is fine. I have Jacob to help me."

Billy glanced at Jacob, and Jacob let out a small chuckle. He said, "okay, dad. I'm coming."

Billy wheeled himself toward the kitchen with Jacob following closely behind him. Sam placed a hand on my lap, and he said, "Imma go let the others know, hon. I be back."

I said, "okay. That's fine. I see you in a bit."

Sam leaned forward to give me a quick peck on the lips before getting up from the couch and leaving the house. Before he left, he said his goodbyes to Old Quil, Billy, Harry, and Sue. Harry and Sue got up as well and they went back home to start preparing for the big bonfire later on as well.

Now, it was just me and Old Quil.

Damn.

Author's Note:

Sorry, I was gone for a while. Flu season really hit me. I have been sick for two weeks and a half. Even now, I am still sick. Thankfully, I am taking some antibiotics, so hopefully I get better. Since I was gone for such a long time, I made this chapter little longer than usual.

Also, thank you for your kind comments! It brings me great joy to hear that the depth and maturity that I am trying to convey in this story is actually being conveyed to you guys. Thank you guys so much for being patient with me. I will try to be more consistent!

Enjoy