AN: It seems to be unanimous- everyone is glad to see Garrett ;)
Odd question- will it bother anyone if I change the name of this story? I kind of picked it because I couldn't think of anything else but I have been saving my chapters in google docs as "Bella's Boys" and it's kind of growing on me. I'll decide before I post the next chapter I guess. So if you get a notification for Bella's Boys just know that it's this story…
I'm a hot mess, y'all. Did everyone have a good Christmas?
Edward was almost finished drinking when he heard an unfamiliar mental voice. The man was thinking about Edward's momma and he was thinking the word "mine." That was completely unacceptable. If Momma belonged to anyone it was him and Jasper.
He couldn't hold back a growl as he turned and saw a tall man with red eyes—red eyes just like that demon that hurt his mother. No way was he letting another red eyed man get close to his momma. Not if he could help it.
Knowing Jasper would follow him without question, Edward ran straight for the man's legs. It was the only part of him he could reach, but he knew if he hit him hard enough he could knock him down to Edward's level. He latched his teeth into the man's leg, surprised that he felt skin that was as hard as his momma's, and more than a little tough to bite.
Jasper was right behind him, biting the other leg, and the man fell down like a tree. Incredulous red eyes looked down at the children suddenly attached to him. One had longer blond curly hair and blue eyes. That one kept glancing at the other one as if he wasn't sure why he was biting the stranger, but if his brother was doing it, then he would continue to do so.
The other child, the first one that bit him, had bright green eyes and wild reddish-brown hair. He was glaring at Garrett, but Garrett could see the fear in his eyes as well. Just like that, any anger he might have felt was gone. He sat up slowly, trying to make himself look as non-threatening as possible.
"Hey, little guys," Garrett's low voice rumbled as softly as he could, "I'm not going to hurt you. You can let go—it's alright now."
Bella had run over by this point and she reached for her boys just as Jasper let go and sat back. She snatched him up and held him tightly to her shoulder while her other hand reached out to touch Edward.
She kept her eyes on the strange vampire, trying not to shiver at the sight of his red eyes. She took a breath to begin coaxing Edward to let go but when she scented the new man, she gave a startled cry at the overwhelming feelings that filled her. He smelled so good!
Edward turned at the sound and actually tore Garrett's skin more before he let go and jumped into his momma's arms. He hid his face against her neck, pulling her hair down over him for cover as he peeked back at the tall man.
Garrett gritted his teeth but still tempered his speed as he reached to try and press the skin on his ankle back in place without too much more damage. He had a lot of scars from his life as a nomad, but these were by far the strangest ones yet.
When he looked back up, the woman and children had backed slowly away, and looked poised to run. He panicked, even though he was fairly certain he could catch them if they ran, but it might be a close thing since she was clearly still a newborn.
"Please wait! I won't hurt you—any of you! I just want to talk!"
Bella turned at the sound of his voice—his deep, resonant voice that was somehow so appealing to her. It wasn't necessarily loud like Emmett's had been, but it was smooth and powerful, and it called to her on a soul-deep level.
She stopped, holding her boys tight against her chest as she looked back at him. The first thing she noticed was his height—he was even taller than Emmett, though he was lean and a bit rangy looking. His hair was a dark reddish brown, darker than Edward's, but lighter than her own, and he had a light scruff of whiskers on his cheeks and chin.
His eyes scared her at first glance, immediately reminding her of James, but the longer she watched him she began to see a kindness and humanity in them that James had lacked. His red eyes sparkled as he watched her just as intently as she was watching him.
Edward grew restless when they stopped moving, and he put his hand on his mother's cheek to tell her that he wanted to go back to the stinky cabin, please.
Bella patted his hand absently, still unable to take her eyes off the stranger. She couldn't bring herself to speak yet, but she waited to see what he would say.
He seemed to understand what she was waiting for. Standing there with his arms held loosely at his side, he still tried to appear non-threatening, which was no easy feat when she was more than a foot smaller than he was, and the children even tinier.
"Hello," he said, with an easy smile that was careful not to show too many teeth, "my name is Garrett."
He waited a bit to see if she would respond, then carried on when she remained silent. "I came across your scent when I was traveling through. Is this your territory?"
She tilted her head in question, unsure what he meant. She didn't own this land, and the only territory she knew about was the Indian territory out west. He saw the question in her eyes and kept talking, "I can see you're still new to this life—only a couple months right? Have you hunted animals the whole time?"
A careful nod was her answer, and he nodded as well in response. "I figured that must be. The children? They are vampires as well? Or only part? I can hear their hearts beating, and their eyes look human, but they sure have a bite on them!"
If Bella had still been human, she would have flushed red in embarrassment. As it was, she ducked her head and glanced down at her tattered, oversized shirt. Away from his eyes she worked up the courage to answer him.
"I'm sorry they bit you," she offered softly. "They've never seen anyone else but me, and they must have felt threatened."
Taking a deep breath, she looked back up at him. "They are half human, half vampire I guess. I was human when I got pregnant, and they changed me when they were born."
Garrett had been around as long as the United States had been, and he had traveled all over the continent, but he had never heard of anything like that! As her words sank in though, he began to worry that he might have a rival for her affections.
"And their father?"
His innocent question was met by three unanimous growls, and Edward even peeked through his mother's hair to level that green-eyed glare on him again.
Bella cleared her throat and pursed her lips as if she was trying to get a bad taste out of her mouth. "Um, he isn't around. I haven't seen him since he... attacked me…"
She trailed off hoping he would get the message without her having to say that word in front of her boys. She never wanted them to think that she associated them with that night or that man in any way.
Only Garrett's years of practicing diplomacy kept him from outwardly reacting to what she said and what she had implied. Some no good bastard vampire actually raped his mate when she was still human and somehow sired these boys—something he didn't know was even possible. If he ever ran across this cretin he would make him wish he'd never been bitten.
Taking a deep breath, which worked to calm him as he took in more of her scent, he rolled his neck and tried to arrange his face in a pleasant expression. "I see."
Bella could see that he did, and since he wasn't looking at her or the boys in disgust, she must not have scared him off yet.
Garrett took in her protective stance and complete devotion to her children. When he became a vampire he gave up his human dreams of having a home and a family. Now after all this time, he found his mate and he now hoped that these would be his children.
If he could have dreamed a perfect mate for himself, it would be someone just like this girl—no, this woman. She might not be very old by human standards, but she had clearly lived a lifetime since she first encountered his kind.
The way she was so focused on her boys made her even more attractive to him. She appealed to a deeply buried biological instinct from his human days. She would protect his offspring and ensure his progeny.
Since he could no longer have children with her, that instinct had apparently transferred to her existing children. His vampire side was already claiming them as his own. He just needed to know what their names were.
Taking another deep breath, Bella offered him an olive branch. "I'm Bella. Bella McCarty. And this is Jasper and Edward."