When it was almost dark, Bella made herself comfortable by reading a book in front of the fireplace. This time, Carlisle had brought the love seat over so Bella can sit comfortably and was given a blanket to keep warm. Since she didn't bring any books with her, she opted to borrow one from the Eleazar's collection.
It kept her from thinking too much about what she was going to do when Edward arrives or how she was going to explain her predicament to the rest of them.
Bella's reading was interrupted when the door open and the house was filled with Emmett's boisterous laugh and before she could even stand up and greet them, she was hoisted from her chair by a burly figure.
"Emmett! Can't breathe!" Bella tapped her big brother's arm for him to let go from his bear hug.
Emmett put her down slowly and was grinning ear to him, his arms to his side.
"Bella! Am I glad to see you! It's never been the same without you!" Emmett exclaimed and then his mouth turned down in a frown and was shaking his head in disapproval.
"You look skinnier" He blurted out and he received a smack from Rosalie, who was suddenly by his side, tilting her head towards her in greeting. That was the only acknowledgement that she got from the female vampire.
"Well, you left. I got depressed" She replied nonchalantly but that only got a sober look from the man in front of him and silence from the rest of the inhabitants of the house.
"So you're the one that Edward and the Cullen's have been fussing about." A female voice interjected from behind and Bella turned to see Tanya walking towards her, assessing her features with her vampire keen eyes.
"Bella, this is Tanya and her sisters Kate and Irina. This is Isabella Swan" Alice introduced and skipped besides Tanya.
"Hello" Bella greeted without making it obvious that she knows exactly which sister was which.
"I don't… quite see the appeal to be honest." Tanya replied and Bella merely shrugged.
"Me either but I guess I'm not obligated to be appealing to anyone else other than the one who I'm supposed to be with." Bella shrugged nonchalantly and the vampire in front of her raised her eyebrow while her two sisters behind her, snickered.
Bella's relationship with the sisters were quite dynamic. Tanya likes Bella but gets annoyed with her gifts because she keeps shielding Edward from her not so subtle imagination about him whenever they visit. She never really stopped teasing Edward even when Alice was around although she wasn't as forward about it as before but Edward still needed to ask Bella to intervene to give him a piece of mind. The strawberry blonde-haired vampire would always be saying that she was a spoilsport for ruining her fun.
"Nice one Bella" Emmett teased and playfully nudged her arm, but Bella winced instead.
"Hey! Go easy big guy! I'm still squish-able" Bella rubbed her arm.
Emmett burst into laughter but suddenly stopped mid laugh when Esme cleared her throat and glared at his son.
"Sorry" he finally said and Bella patted his arm affectionately.
"Sister, you are making a bad impression to our guest." Kate walked forward and held her arm out.
"Isabella, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Kate and Alice had told us so much about you" Kate introduced herself. Among the Denali sisters, Kate was the one closest to her, because of her gifts. While waiting out her newborn years at the Denali's, she became Bella's mentor and worked with her in controlling her gift and projecting it to others.
Kate had a mischievous glint in her gold eyes and Bella knew that face. She had that look every time she was planning something sneaky with her gift.
Bella looked around the others then stared at the outstretched hand. She noticed that Emmett beside her and Jasper behind Alice were paying close attention to her and Kate and realized what Kate was trying to do and that there was probably a bet going on about it.
She suddenly thought of an idea to play along and smiled innocently as she reached for Kate's hand.
"AAAHHH!" Bella shouted and her body buckled as if in pain.
"No!"
"Bella!"
"Kate!"
The vampires where panicking as Kate automatically withdrew her hand with a terrified look, afraid that she might have accidentally hurt her. Emmett had a triumphant look but suddenly felt guilty that Bella got hurt in the process while the others were all worried about the only human in the house.
Only Alice was unaffected, already seeing the outcome beforehand and knew Bella was going to be immune to Kate's gift. The others caught Alice's reaction right away and they all looked at Bella in disbelief.
Caught in the act, she gave them a Cheshire smile and stood up straight.
"Too much?" She asked and Alice smiled mischievously.
"Awww… I thought I'd already won" Emmett said in a dismayed tone.
"Did you just bet on me that I would get electrocuted?! "Bella exclaimed but there was a hint of amusement on her tone. Emmett raised his two hands up in defense.
"I didn't think Kate would give you a strong one! "
"Wait, how do you know about my gift?" Kate interrupted in disbelief.
"Edward might have mentioned it before" Bella lied and she caught Jasper eyeing her with a raised brow. She has never been good at lying as a human but she had years of practice with having a neutral expression when she became a vampire. Jasper though, who was an empath, could detect a lie right away but he wasn't calling her out so she let him be. She was sure that he was waiting for her to explain herself when the right time would come. Speaking of Jasper, since Emmett was the one that was disappointed that it had no effect on her, that means Jasper was the one who betted for her and she felt overwhelmed by the fact that even in this timeline, this Jasper trusted Bella's gifts as much as her own mate does.
"So you really are immune to my powers? I was only going to give you a small tingle of course, just enough to make your hair stand, but… "Kate was looking at her curiously now. She looked like she wanted to test her full powers on Bella and since Bella was in the mood for indulging her mentor and friend, she held her hand out again.
"Have a go at it with your full powers" Bella urged her and everyone looked at her like she had gone crazy, even the gifted vampire in front of her hesitated.
"Are you sure? If I go all out, I could kill you" she stated.
"You won't hurt me" Bella replied confidently and Tanya smirked at her.
"You sound so sure of your gift"
"Only because since I can't turn it off, I doubt it can affect me no matter the intensity of the attack, as long as it's only mentally affecting me" Bella explained since she couldn't really tell them that they already tested it before. Once when she was human and several times after she was a vampire and it wasn't just Kate's power that they tested it. She had already proven herself against all of the Volturi's guards that had mental abilities, including Aro, himself.
"And besides, Alice would already have protested if she saw that I was going to get hurt, right Alice?" She turned towards the pixie who gave her an answering smile.
"She'll be fine" Alice assured everyone. Her assurance seemed to at least ease the worried look on the others especially Esme and Carlisle who went back to their seats but was still observing them.
Even with Alice's words, Kate was still hesitating while Bella held her hand out to her.
"All right but I'll start low and build it up" she warned then finally grabbed Bella's hand in a firm hold.
Bella didn't know what anyone was expecting to happen but in the next few seconds, nothing happened except for Kate's changing expression from one of worry, to concentration, to annoyance, to wonder and finally, she looked impressed as she let go of her hand.
"Well, that was anti-climactic" Emmett observed with a hint of disappointment.
Bella raised her eyebrow at him "Were you expecting me to go writhing on the ground?"
"Of course not! " Emmett had the decency to look appalled at the suggestion that she wanted to see Bella hurt. "I just wanted to see if sparks would show when you're blocking Kate's gift" he shrugged.
"You know that's not how my powers work right? " Kate told him and Emmett just shrugged.
"Looks like I lost then" he finally admitted.
"Told you Bella's shield was strong. Pay up" Jasper smiled triumphantly and held his palm up while Emmett dropped a crisp one hundred dollar bill from his pocket.
Jasper turned to Bella and winked which caused Bella's cheeks to turn red. She may have been able to keep her emotions about him in check whenever he was around but she wasn't quite prepared when Jasper was interacting with her directly.
"That's enough testing of Bella's gift. Why don't you all get cleaned up first so we can talk later? "Carlisle announced and he was looking at his children regarding the last part.
Emmett, Rosalie, Alice and Jasper left right away while the Denali sisters lingered a little to talk to Eleazar and Carmen before they went to their rooms to also clean up. Bella went back to her spot in front of the fireplace but instead of continuing her reading, she let her mind wander until the others were back and gathered in the living room.
"Now that we're all here. I believe it's time that we discuss the situation in Forks" Carlisle started.
"I thought we were going to wait for Edward to return?" Rosalie reminded and her tone suggested that she wasn't really interested with the discussion but because it was a family matter, she had no choice but to join.
"This matter is something that needs to be discussed with or without Edward." Carlisle told his daughter then turned towards Bella "Bella, Alice told us that Victoria was back, is that true?"
At the mention of Victoria, Bella noticed that Irina suddenly was alert and was paying attention to Carlisle and the conversation. She thought she could see a hint of worry in her eyes but Bella couldn't understand why and she didn't feel that it was the right time to ask. Instead, she looked at her adoptive father and nodded.
"She's been spotted trying to get into Forks and the Quileute's have been on the lookout for her"
She had suddenly regretted not having been able to have the time to talk to Jacob about Victoria. She could have at least gathered information that she can share to the Cullens like how long had she been trying to get in, were there any casualties, had they clashed with her already?
"The Quileute's?" Eleazar asked nobody in particular and it was Carlisle who explained to his friend.
"They are a native tribe just outside of town. Their strongest men can turn into wolves to protect their people."
"Werewolves!" Carmen exclaimed in fear. The rest of the Denali's were looking at each other in apprehension.
"Please, there is nothing to fear." Carlisle tried to assure them "They are unlike the werewolves that we know of. They are civilized and in fact, there is a treaty in place with their elders that allows us to coexist as long as we don't harm any humans and this extends to our extended family as well"
"I don't know Carlisle... But it is a concern that you have made an alliance with our very enemy. If this information reaches the Volturi... Cauis would not be pleased" Elezear stated his distress and Bella knew what he was talking about right away. Cauis had an ugly history with the Children of the moon and he had ordered to eliminate them a long time ago but they were a different species altogether.
"The Quileutes are different from the Children of the moon" Bella felt that she needed to defend Jacob and his tribe. It wasn't their fault that their ancestors had magic in them.
Everyone was all eyes on her and she continued, needing to explain exactly what the Quiluetes were. It wasn't about betraying the tribe by sharing information about them to their "so-called" enemies but Bella believed that knowing what they really are was a step to understanding the tribe and their people.
"They are shape shifters that carried the magic of their ancestors. It just so happened that the first shifter took the shape of a wolf so the ability was inherited by the next generation and only those that were from the bloodline of the first shifters would be able to gain the ability, not all of them."
Everyone was silent, trying to process the information that Bella just shared.
"Interesting..." Carlisle was the first to speak. His curiosity was clearly showing.
"How do you know all of this?" Irina asked suspiciously.
It was an easy question for Bella. "I was exposed to the tribe's legends so they were able to share their history when I found out about them". She was telling the truth because that was how she had found out more about the pack. Of course, she didn't know if it was the same thing for this Bella, but they didn't need to know that. Irina seemed to accept her answer.
"Wait... 'They'?" Emmett suddenly asked. "Wasn't there only just one when we left?"
Bella thought of the pack and who have already shifted. Sam was the first one and Jacob and there's been two more before him in her timeline. She wasn't sure about how many had shifted in this timeline though but she'd seen Jacobs's two friends in his car a few days ago. That makes four of them already.
"I've met four of the pack members" She informed them and this caused alarm to the vampires.
"Don't you think it is a cause for concern to have so many of them in an area?" Tanya voiced her concern in behalf of her coven.
"They are meant to protect their people so as long as we don't do anything to harm humans, they will not harm us as well" Carlisle also seemed surprise by the number of the pack members growing but he still assured them, then continued. "For now, it is not the pack that we should be concerned about, but Victoria. If she's been causing trouble, we can't let the pack be burdened by the situation"
"The wolves can take of themselves right? Since there are already many of them" Rosalie's nose scrunched at the mention of the pack.
"I'm sure the wolves are more than capable enough but Victoria is our problem. We couldn't just put them in harm's way" the patriarch announced.
"We underestimated Victoria. We thought that she wasn't going to be a problem after James was destroyed. Now, not only did we leave Bella vulnerable when we left but we also endangered the people of Forks and the surrounding area with Victoria on the loose. "Alice said in annoyance then looked at her friend in guilt.
"We're sorry Bella"
Bella smiled, letting her know that she was not really angry at the pixie and held her hand out. Alice skipped to her side and grabbed Bella's hand in comfort while sitting at the armrest beside her.
"Shouldn't Alice have seen Victoria coming to Forks? We would have gone back right away and finished what we started. "Emmett flexed his muscles and looked ready to pick a fight. Rosalie only rolled her eyes at her mate's antics.
The pixie's brows furrowed. "That's just the thing, I didn't see her make the decision."
"She knows how to work around your gift. All she needed to do would have been to not make a conscious decision to go to Forks or to keep changing her mind in the last minute so you wouldn't see her. But whatever she's doing, it goes to show that this isn't just random. She's planning something" Bella explained. This made Alice more annoyed at the idea and Jasper was nodding at her words, impressed by her knowledge of his mate's gift. The thought of acknowledging Alice as Jasper's mate caused Bella to inhale sharply.
"She's right and if Victoria is in Forks, she's already aware that we're no longer there."
"Why would she even bother going back? " Esme thought aloud.
"Well, Victoria seems like the type to hold grudges. She'll want to avenge her mate" Bella suggested which everyone agreed. Bella even considered that if she was that type of person as well, she'll probably be on a rampage if her mate was taken away from her.
"She lost her mate when a family of vampires protected one human. What better way to get her revenge than target that one weak link in the chain. "Bella added and she wasn't afraid to admit that she was the weakest because it was true. She was still human and very vulnerable.
As eager as she was to get back to her timeline and to her own body though, Bella worried about leaving while there was a vengeful vampire out to kill her but she was as helpless as any other human in the body that she was in.
"We're not going to let anyone harm you!" Emmett declared.
"Emmett is right. We need to get back to Forks and make sure that she's not going to harm anyone. Bella, it might be a good idea for you to stay here while we deal with her." Carlisle suggested. He looked like he wasn't liking the idea of having to destroy another of his kind but Bella saw Carlisle's determination to keep her safe and she knew that regardless of their decision to leave, this Bella was still considered as part of their family. The idea of staying here, on the other hand, was something that she could not agree.
"I would rather go home with you. Forks is my home and I can't just hide while you all risk your life for me. Besides, Victoria would know that I'm not there and it might cause her to disappear. As much as I like that to happen, I don't want to spend the rest of my life constantly looking over my back, wondering when she might strike back. "At least she didn't want this Bella to have to worry about that when she leaves. She couldn't imagine having to constantly be on edge while trying to live a normal life. Bella would not be safe until she can turn into a vampire herself and no longer be vulnerable. That was not what she would have wanted to spend the rest of her human existence.
"I understand. As soon as Edward arrives, we'll make plans to return to Forks"
"If you need our assistance my friend, all you have to do is ask." Eleazar offered while turning towards his coven and seeing them agree with his offer to help.
"It should be unnecessary but knowing that we can rely on you if the time comes, we are grateful"
"Do we really have to do this?" Rosalie sighed not liking the idea but not wanting to go against Carlisle.
Esme turned to her daughter "Bella is family and we protect our family. "
Carlisle nodded and to Jasper, "Son, I don't want to burden you with the responsibility but we could use your expertise to deal with Victoria"
Jasper didn't look to be bothered. Instead, he showed his eagerness to help and to finally get some action. "We'll need to draw her out if she's constantly on the move. Don't worry. I'll find a way. She's going to be sorry that she messed with this family." Emmett cheered in response.
Bella tried not to stare at Jasper longingly but she couldn't help it. She used to strategize with Jasper whenever there was trouble and she suddenly missed those moments when they would be alone and they would talk about how to complete their missions and somewhere along the line, there discussions would end up with their clothes off and their bodies intertwined for days.
Bella swallowed and was suddenly mortified at where her thoughts were heading. She took a chance to peek at Jasper but he was facing Eleazar and Carlisle. If he felt her lust, he wasn't showing it. Bella wanted to sink to the ground in embarrassment.
"Hmmm… do you think that it could be a gift that she seems to be able to be one step ahead? " Eleazar curiously asked, mostly to himself. Bella was thankful for the distraction and it also made her wonder as well.
"Like a gift of evasion? " Jasper spoke. "It would make sense then how the wolves have not been able to get to her until now. I assume that with their numbers, it would be easy for them to overpower her but if she had that kind of gift, she'll be able to escape them every time. "
"Interesting… that kind of gift is very unique indeed" When Eleazar said those words, Bella suddenly had a thought.
"Oh! Speaking of gifts. Eleazar, how likely is it to have vampires with similar gifts? "Bella asked and the man turned towards her.
He placed his finger under his chin in thought. "Very unlikely. I can at least attest that for the longest time that I have existed, I have never encountered one vampire that had the same exact gift as another. It was always a variation of a gift.
Take Edward and Aro for example, the Volturi King. They both can read minds but while Edward's mind reading range is massive, being able to read whatever anyone is thinking for miles away without touching them, Aro's is more powerful in the sense that even if he can only do it if he touches you, he can read every single thought that you have ever had, there is no hiding anything from him. "Bella saw in the corner that the Denali sisters looked pained at the mention of Aro.
She would have thought their reaction was odd but she already knew their history and it was only with Aro's gift that they were spared when their mother was in trial for creating an immortal child.
"Have you… ever encountered anyone with the gift of… time manipulation?" she tentatively asked and the others seemed to take interest as well with the topic.
"You mean time travel?" He clarified. Bella went ahead and just nodded although time travel might not just be the answer she was looking for but it was at least a start. If it was just purely time travelling, she would have been transported to her own past but this was a different reality altogether.
"Are you planning to go back in time Bella to change your past? " Emmett asked curiously.
"Of course not. It was just out of curiosity" what she didn't voice out though that it wasn't the past that she was trying to go back to.
Elezear shook his head. "I'm afraid not. That would be quite a dangerous gift as well. Just imagine what someone can do if you can wield that kind of power. It's easy to abuse it" the rest agreed. Bella however was not thinking about the implications because she was already caught in the situation. She was thinking instead of the rarity of Caleb's gift. It was close to impossible then to find someone like him.
Bella suddenly sat up straight and slapped her forehead with her palm.
"Why didn't I think of that?! " she exclaimed to herself.
Alice turned her body towards her with a look of worry on her face. "Are you okay Bella? What did you not think about?"
Bella didn't respond. She was too excited to realize that she didn't need to look for someone with Caleb's gift, she just needed to find Caleb himself.
He may be gone in her timeline but he was still alive in this past and how likely would it be that he would be able to undo the effects of his own gift?
The problem was in finding him. It was going to be a bit tricky to look for a nomad vampire even if she would ask help from her family. He would be weary of them and might run off.
As soon as she started to worry about finding him, the solution came right away. Helena.
Helena was a human just like Bella. She wasn't just going to run away and Bella had enough information to know where she lived. Well, not really the exact place but with Jaspers contacts, it was going to be easier than finding an untraceable vampire. Besides, how many Helena Everheart would there be in Pittsburgh?
She looked around trying to look for something to write. When she found none, she turned to Alice sitting beside her. "Do you happen to have a pen and paper? " she asked.
Alice held up her finger and disappeared in a blur. After a few seconds, she came back in her seat with a pen and paper in hand.
"Here"
"Thanks"
Bella started writing and Alice was looking over her shoulder curiously. When she was done, she took a deep breath to compose himself before finally standing up and walking straight towards Jasper, who was casually leaning on the wall.
He stood up straight at Bella's approach.
"Jasper" she stopped just a few feet away from him and tried to keep an even breathing while keeping her heart from betraying her feelings about him. It didn't help that everyone's eyes were on her, including Jasper's own mate.
"What is it Bella?" he asked softly.
"Can I ask for a really big favor?" she started, trying not to get lost from those butterscotch eyes that was focused on her.
She held the piece of paper towards him.
"Could you help me find this person? I know you're good in computers and you have contacts as well that could help. I would really appreciate it if you could find her for me… Please?"
She focused on his face, content in staring at how a few strands of his honey-blonde hair strayed on his face, his lips turning up into a smile and his eyes watching her attentively. Just for a moment, she wanted to pretend, even for just a few seconds, that she was staring at "her" Jasper.
"How soon do you need the information?" he asked, breaking her thoughts and sounding eager to help.
"As soon as it's available please. I really need to find her." Bella was hoping that by finding Helena, she would be able to find Caleb as well.
Jasper took the paper from her and when their fingers touched, Bella felt a jolt of electricity and she retracted her hand immediately, careful to keep the hurt bottled up inside after realizing that she was the only one who felt it.
She just hoped Jasper would not be seeing her reaction as being wary of him with the history that he had with this Bella.
He was reading the paper and his free hand was rubbing his jaw thoughtfully.
"This is really important to you is it?"
"Yes"
He finally looked up and gave her a reassuring nod.
"I'll see what I can do"
Before he could turn, Bella grabbed his arm and she saw Jasper look at it in surprise.
"Thank you" she said sincerely. Jasper felt her sincerity and his body visibly relaxed and she gave him one of his handsome smile that took her breath away.
"Thank me when I get you what you need" he teased then excused himself so he could start his research or whatever he was going to do to help Bella. Seeing as there discussion seemed to be ending, the Denali sisters including Carmen and Eleazar excused themselves as well and left the living room, living the Cullen family.
"Why are you being so secretive all of a sudden? " Emmett teased while his mate was eyeing her suspiciously.
"Don't worry, you'll know tomorrow. I just don't want Edward to prematurely know before I could get a chance to talk to him"
"Are you really worried that he would… run away again? " Esme asked worriedly. There was a hint of sadness in her voice.
"I really don't know how he would react to be honest. He might stick around or he might just take the opportunity to leave altogether. I can't burden all of you to have to hide the topic from him until the right time arrives."
Carlisle was beside Bella in an instant. "Then burden me instead. I know that our actions in the past was not kind to you but know that we are here for you now. If you need someone to talk to, I am here, as the head of the family, as a father, and as a friend." He smiled reassuringly.
Carlisle was right. If there was someone that Bella can to talk to about her predicament without the risk of Edward easily knowing about it, it would be Carlisle. He has been exposed to Edward's gift the longest and he'd have develop the skills to hide his thoughts from his son when needed. Alice would have been her best bet as well, with her gift and hyperactive mind and she realized that she would have to talk to Alice separately as well after Carlisle.
She wants to personally explain to Alice why she never had any strong emotional reaction other than annoyance and irritation at Edwards leaving. She realized, she had no other choice but to tell them about who her mate was and she didn't want her sister to find out at the same time as the others. She wanted to give her sister time to process the information that there is a timeline that Alice isn't the only woman destined to be with Jasper.
Carlisle probably saw the decision in her eyes and held his hand out to her.
"Shall we discuss this outside? "
Bella turned towards the others. Emmett was smiling while Rosalie was examining her nails, seemingly not interested in their discussion. Esme smiled at her encouragingly and Alice was suddenly nowhere to be found.
She finally nodded and slowly walked towards the door when Alice returned with a heavy winter coat that would cover Bella from head to foot and with a look that says that she already saw Bella's decision about their one on one talk.
"Thanks Alice" Bella took the coat and wore it right away just as Carlisle opened the door for her and the cold wind rushed inside the house.
"May I? " Carlisle held his hand out and as Bella had done several times when she spent time with the Cullen's as a human, she nodded at him as Carlisle scooped her up, bridal style, and he ran straight outside into the forest, where the two of them can talk without anyone else hearing and finally, when they were out of hearing range from everyone else, Bella told Carlisle… everything.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Okay... so I really thought that this would be the chapter that I can insert Bella and Edwards confrontation but turns out, the Cullens needed one whole chapter all to themselves and yes, Bella ended up telling Carlisle about herself early on. Looks like she can't keep herself from talking about it then. hehehe
Next up... yep... It's going to be the confrontation and the reveal! For sure it's going to take as long as this one since my mind (I mean, Bella XD) just wants to say a lot of things to Edward.
Thank you all for the love!