Bella
Getting Charlie in the car was surprisingly easier than any of them thought. Perhaps it was due to the small crowd of people that had gathered, asking the police chief to call his daughter or her in-laws. Perhaps it was his deputy reprimanding him for being on duty for eighty hours straight. Whatever may be the case, Charlie did not throw a fit.
Instead, he gave a hard look to Bella, his lips pressed thin and slumped heavily into the backseat of Edward's volvo. Bella slid in beside him, sandwiching him between herself and Billy. Edward drove and Emmett sat beside him, visibly on edge being so far past the treaty line.
"What is going on?" he snapped the moment the car was in motion.
"It's not safe for you out here Dad," Bella answered, as honestly as she could. Immortality did not come with an ingrained ability to lie apparently. And Charlie looked far too pissed to entertain her attempts.
"If I am leaving a town without the resources they need, leaving my duty half-way through, I need something more than that Bella," Charlie gritted out.
Edward and Emmett remained quiet, focused on the road and their surroundings. If not for the people milling about on the road, in panic or in an effort to help out, Edward would have been tearing down the road, speed limit and the presence of the police chief in the car be damned.
"The more explanation you ask, the more we will lie through our teeth," Billy gruffed out and Charlie turned to glare at him. "Bella is being brief, but at least she is being honest."
Charlie's face looked thunderous but he did not say anything right away. Instead he took in a deep breath, glaring at his knees as he worked to bring his breathing down.
Bella's eyes moved over to their surroundings. It was mostly people. They looked confused. And worried.
La Push looked ravaged. And while most might not know what had happened, they all knew, in their heart of hearts, something had happened. It was not an isolated block on the highway. Rather, large, uprooted trees blocked the highway at multiple points. Most of them had been moved to the side to free up the road and allow the flow of traffic. She could see smoke rising up from several points all over the town. A blaring fire truck tore past them towards the town.
After a few moments of tense silence in the car Bella's phone rang.
Alice.
Bella answered right away.
"What is it Alice?" she breathed out.
She was tensed, for Carlisle. For the family. For the wolves. For La Push. But with Charlie safely with her, she had one less thing to worry over.
Alice started speaking, far too fast for Charlie to understand anything even if he heard her in the closed confines of the car. Edward and Emmett listened on.
Bella's sigh of relief at hearing the wolves were back was short-lived. The implication of the vampires having the entire pack at their command! Emmett's swear made Charlie and Billy both look up startled. Edward's grip over the steering wheel tightened.
"We'll be back as soon as we can," Bella promised and Edward flattened the gas further.
Alice once again implored her to get back soon before she hung up. Bella pulled the phone away from her ears and caught Edward's eyes in the rear-view mirror.
"We need to get back to the house," she stated the obvious. Edward nodded but Emmett looked a little concerned.
"What about Charlie?" Emmett whispered, too low for the humans to hear. "We can't fight with him there."
"Carlisle sent sedatives," Edward answered, equally low giving a surreptitious glance to Charlie. "He won't be happy about it. He's worried for Bella and Renesmee. But this is the fastest way. Bella needs to be there to shield the wolves. That's the only-"
His volume abruptly increased, the car coming to a screeching halt as he swerved across the lanes to stop at the edge of the woods. With a string of archaic curse words Edward threw himself out of the car. Emmett and Bella were out equally fast. Inhumanly fast but Edward's strange reaction bothered Bella too much to spend time on pretenses. Hopefully the jolting would disorient Charlie enough to cover for them.
"Edward what is it?" Bella called out, stalking to his side as he stood in the woods, a few trees away from the side of the road. His eyes scanned the woods as far as they could see.
Bella spotted a few humans loitering about, perhaps forming a search party for someone. Nothing that would warrant such a reaction though.
"They heard me," Edward swore. "They know Bella is a shield."
Bella briefly wondered how did they hear a conversation that low in volume, but the panic on Edward's face stopped her from bothering about it too much.
"Who are they?" Emmett asked from Edward's other side. "How many?"
"The female vampire," Edward replied, taking a staggered step forward. "She wasn't thinking of anything remarkable so it did not stand out from everyone else. Then she heard us…We drove right by her."
A pang of worry flashed through Bella. These vampires seemed to have no aversion to proximity with the humans. And they already had taken two hostages! How many more would they pick out, especially given the number of people out and about?
Emmett stepped forward, hopeful at that statement. "Can we still catch her?"
Edward shook his head. "I can't hear her anymore and I don't think Billy would be happy with us going on a hunt in La Push, even if we are hunting a vampire."
Bella could see his point. A part of her knew she, Edward and Emmett were here because she had thrown the adult equivalent of a tantrum. Billy's taut features had reminded her of that their entire ride here. Going after the other vampire while people were already missing and others out in the forest looking for them…it would be pushing the tribe's tolerance for them.
She wrapped her hand around Edward's arms, giving it a light squeeze and looked up at her husband. He was distraught at the near miss. At the slip of a crucial information.
"Let's go back," she told him. "Soon it's going to be over three dozen wolves and the eight of us against two vampires."
The smile she offered him was small but reassuring.
Sam being under the vampire's mind control was a horrible thing. His pack and he were deadly. The entirety of the third back being controlled was ominous. But a minuscule part of Bella, ever since Alice's call, was hopeful.
If mind control was the weapon Arthur was coming at them with, she could perhaps still sway the tide in their favor.
The three of them looked back, at the car through the trees when Billy had to forcefully stop Charlie from following them out. They were bickering, Charlie's anger justified, for it stemmed entirely from worry and frustration.
"Better head back," Emmett whistled and the two of them followed him back to the car.
Charlie's shoulder's relaxed a little when he saw Bella return but his eyes remained worried. Bella avoided looking at them.
Instead, she kept her eyes on the road, and her ears alert for any wolf or vampire in the vicinity. Emmett too seemed on high alert. Edward navigated around the obstacles till they turned on to the highway and then flattened the gas. The car was silent, Charlie's frustration palpable in the air but he too remained quiet when Edward sped far past the speed limit and reached Forks in half the usual time.
They came to an abrupt halt outside Charlie's house and the moment Bella stepped out of the car she knew they could not leave Charlie there. Emmett took in a deep breath and let out an inaudible growl.
The house and its vicinity absolutely reeked of vampires. And wolves. The two vampire scents were the most prominent. And the varying types of stench told them there had been more than one wolf here. Edward came to stand beside her.
"They were here just a few minutes ago," he snapped out, glaring at the woods behind her old house.
"Maybe they still are around," Emmett called out from the other side of the car, cocking an eyebrow. "I can go pay them a visit."
While he looked hopeful, even excited at the prospect, Bella felt her gut twist up. The idea of Emmett venturing out after their enemies, when there were so many of them! His confidence did nothing to reassure her.
Edward looked equally torn, staring between her and Emmett. He did not want to let his brother go after Arthur and his minions alone. He did not want to leave Bella by herself either.
"We need to get back to the house," Edward shook his head, trying his best to be the voice of reason. "Bella needs to be there before the fight starts."
Emmett nodded, a little reluctantly. "Charlie won't be safe here," he added.
The man in question, however, was already out of the car. Billy cursed out quietly when he saw the three vampires' face and called out to Charlie again. But her father paid him no heed, striding up to them.
"I'll board the house up from inside and keep my gun on me?" he asked, just the barest hint of exasperation in his voice. Bella knew he was being sarcastic, exaggerating the amount of effort he was going to put in. And her heart ached when she realized that even if he did every single thing he mentioned, he would still be so, so defenseless!
The painting in Carlisle's study filled her brain and she had to blink hard several times to get rid of the image. The end that Carlisle's father met…she could not bear the thought of her loving, stoic father going through all of that!
Without thinking about it, Bella rushed forward and pulled him in an embrace.
She heard the breath leave his body in a huff. Perhaps he was surprised that his usually distant daughter was hugging him. Perhaps it was because of how quickly and how hard she hugged him.
After a tentative moment, Charlie raised his arms and wrapped it around Bella. She felt him place a soft kiss into her hair.
"I don't want anything to happen to you Dad," she choked out. Her throat felt tight with a sob that wouldn't go past her throat.
"Get back in the car! Everyone!" Edward thundered out before Charlie could say anything.
Bella pulled back to stare at him. One look at his face, and she was in motion, pulling her father with him. Emmett did not disobey the command either. That was not a face that allowed debate. Edward certainly heard something the rest of them didn't.
Her pace quickened when, at the very peripheral edge of her hearing, she heard more than one heartbeats. Racing hearts and panting breaths.
She scrambled in the backseat right after Charlie and the three doors slammed shut at once. Edward was already dialing someone.
Charlie was once again, snappish.
"Bella, what is going on?" he asked her, his voice more furious than irritated. "Is it about the guy who attacked Dr. Cullen yesterday?"
"A little," she relented, steadying herself against the back of Edward's seat when he spun out of the short driveway, back on the road.
Charlie cussed out, swearing he should never have listened to Carlisle and arrested the man right then and there.
"It would not have done you any good whatsoever," Billy snapped back at him. "Maybe get you and all your colleagues at the station murdered. But that's it."
Charlie sputtered, unsure what to make of Billy's word.
Edward stepped in. "Charlie, that man…he is not entirely human. He's a supernatural creature. The way Jacob is. Except his kind is the one Jacob's kind hunt down."
"How and why do you know about all of this?" Charlie's eyes were wide, irritated. "Why is Dr. Cullen wrapped up in all of this? Why is Bella?"
The rapid breathing was closer now. Edward increased the car speed. Billy took that as a subtle sign to take over.
"Dr. Cullen's family, the one that visited the reservation decades back, the one that is in our legends…they knew about the tribe wolves. The secret must have been passed down to the newer members of the family too. That is how Dr. Cullen knows about the wolves enough to help the boys when they need it. That is why Bella was brought in on the stories when she befriended Jacob and later when she married Edward."
Bella had to marvel at the effort Billy put in towards being honest with Charlie.
"This man murdered Carlisle's father and now he is after Carlisle. Jacob and the packs are trying to stop him," Bella supplied further.
"And what are you doing?" Charlie asked her, coming down, in the end to the person he was the most worried about.
"We are trying to get away from here. From this man. Get Carlisle and the rest of us to safety," Bella answered, once again. "But Dad, we can't leave people behind that Arthur would come after. And he already has set his mark on you."
Charlie's lips were pressed thin, his eyes hard. He was looking at his daughter, searching for something in her face. His anger was evident. At the murderer. At Carlisle. At Edward for roping Bella into all of this.
The occupants of the car could tell that much without even the help of the telepath in their midst.
Bella pushed out her shield. Out and away, letting her mind open up to Edward as she prepared for Charlie's rightful and angry explosion.
Get the sedatives out, she asked her husband. Charlie would indeed be furious when he woke up. But when she looked at her father, far, far too young to have dealt with everything he had. Everything that could happen to him…she chose the easier option. She'd rather her father be angry than dead.
Edward made no move to pass her the loaded syringes, however. Instead, he frowned, looking at Charlie in the rear-view mirror.
Charlie was looking at her, sitting taut. His mind was working and Bella expected his outburst any moment now.
Edward? Her newborn emotions were still an issue and when Edward again did not pass her the syringe, she felt a flash of irritation. She might not hold a medical degree like him but she could locate a blood vessel alright. Father or not, every single vessel in Charlie's neck, his arms…they stood out to her like a bullseye. It would not be too difficult for her.
"It's not that. Wait," Edward whispered, far too low for the human ears.
Bella's eyes flashed to the back of Edward's seat for a second. Then, her father exhaled. His entire body slumped and he leaned back heavily into his seat. His eyes softened and when he spoke again, his voice was a little choked.
"Tell me," he said, before the voice disappeared.
With a rough ahem, he cleared his throat again and looked at her with defeated eyes. "Tell me how I can make things easier for you all."
He briefly looked at Edward and Emmett too before his eyes were back on Bella.
In the heat of the moment, realization sunk in. She did not have words because she did not have a plan.
She was hoping to sedate Charlie and then what? They couldn't take him and Billy back to the house. They couldn't just leave them in the middle of the road. So what could they do? She looked to Edward and Emmett. The latter looked confused, the former calculative. Her shield was still lowered and she wordlessly asked Edward. Emmett turned to him too.
"We need to find someplace you can be, at least for the night," he gritted out. "Someplace with a lot of witne- people. Someplace with a lot of people, throughout the night. If it has cameras, that'll be even better. Where your presence would be recorded…and absence noticed."
Bella racked up her brain, trying to find a place that fit those requirements. The criteria were certainly smart. A crowded place with surveillance would make it difficult for the vampires or the wolves to barge in and take Charlie. They would have to massacre the entire place to eliminate witnesses. Bella doubted even these vampires were keen to get the Volturi involved.
But that was her problem. Even as a human, Bella had seldom been to any crowded, public place, let alone one operating throughout the night. No matter how hard she tried, she could not think of any place that would be appropriate.
"Shaw's," Charlie said. At Emmett's questioning gaze, he elaborated, his voice getting softer with each word. "There is this player who is playing his last match tomorrow morning. Shaw's is doing a special where they are showing his best matches and moments the entire night before that. A lot of officers I know from Portland PD will be there and the place is expected to remain packed throughout the night…"
His voice trailed off towards the end and Bella's relief took over. This was indeed one of the safest places for Charlie to be! She exhaled a breath she did not know she was holding and while Edward's speed did not increase further, there was a purpose, a direction to his driving.
He was not only getting away from something. He was going towards something.
Have the wolves heard the conversation? She asked him mentally and he gave a small shake of his head.
She could hear the wolves' heartbeats but the sound kept on appearing and disappearing from her hearing range. They were a good few miles away but still in pursuit.
"We'll lead them to the bar directly," Emmett muttered and Bella's eyes shot to her father.
He looked ready to ask questions but at the last moment he held his tongue. Instead, he moved his hand back, and wrapped it around Bella's shoulder, pulling her in close in a side embrace.
"Promise me you will be safe Bells."
His voice…Bella's heart weight down in her chest, heavy as lead.
He was not demanding, or asking. He was…begging.
"I will be Dad, I promise," she answered, glad she was pressed against his side instead of looking at him. Brown or golden, her eyes would have given her uncertainty away.
"Charlie, can you speed through to the bar?" Edward asked, glancing over his shoulders. "Emmett, Bella and I will get down here."
Her father looked at the desolate highway they were driving through before he gave a small nod and pulled his arm back, freeing Bella. Edward stopped the car at the side of the door and quickly, the four of them stepped out. Charlie moved at a rather quick pace for a human but the limitation of their natural speed made Bella's muscles taut with worry.
With one, final, wistful glance, Charlie drove off, picking up speed as the distance between them increased.
"Now we fight?" Emmett asked out loud and Bella turned to her family beside her.
The highway was almost empty, flanked by lush, green forest on either side. No cars drove by them as they stood in the cold, humid air at the side of the road.
Edward nodded at Emmett's question and the three of them flashed into the forest. They followed Edward for the first couple of miles before the heartbeats and the heavy footfalls became audible again.
"Three of them. Rest have already gone to the house," Edward informed them in a whisper as he gleaned the information from their minds. His eyes narrowed in concentration and his face contorted.
Bella rushed to his side. "Edward, what is it?"
"They're…crying," he breathed out, his eyes widening with disbelief. "They have this command sort of thing that is being repeated, again and again, in their head. It's the loudest sound there is. But underneath that…I can hear the kids. They're crying."
From the corner of her eyes, Bella saw Emmett make a face, irritated and resigned. He looked like he wished Edward hadn't told them that.
"They're children, Em," Edward answered an unspoken thought. "Terrified and far, far too young. The oldest among them is eleven!"
A growl found its way through Bella's throat. She remembered Jacob's boyish looks and baby face when he was sixteen. These were practical babies.
"Three here. So, where are the other seven?" Emmett ignored Edward's statement, trying his hardest to stay in the fight mode.
"Other ten," Edward corrected. "These three were changed during all the chaos in La Push."
"I'll shield them," Bella volunteered. "Maybe you could talk them into phasing and staying in their human form. Alice did say that was what helped Jacob and the rest escape."
The two men nodded and stepped closer to her on her either side. The three of them waited.
She could hear the wolves tearing through the forest now.
"Their order is to stop us from getting to Carlisle," Edward murmured, his eyes focused at a small opening in the foliage.
"No wonder Carlisle did not want us to split up," Emmett chuckled, and Bella allowed herself to find a brief moment of mirth.
She took in a deep breath. The cold, forestry aroma was now mingled with the pungent smell of the wolves. They were close and upwind.
She closed her eyes, retaking the shield to herself. Once it had settle back inside her, she expanded it out, letting it flow out freely. While earlier it had been like an elastic, fighting to return back to its original place in her mind, with practice, she now viewed it as more of a large sheet flying about in wind. It flew away and out from her easily and she extended it further in the direction of the wolves.
She could hear them and soon enough, she felt each of them pass through the barrier she had created in their path. Their minds were within her protective dome even if they were still out of sight from her. It was important Edward had as much time as possible to talk to and calm the boys down.
"They're within the shield," she declared, a small smile playing at the corner of her lips. She turned towards Edward when she heard him gasp and her smile faltered. His eyes were still fixed in the direction of the approaching wolves.
She did not say anything. Instead, she placed a hand over his arm, near his shoulder and when he turned, raised a soft eyebrow in question.
The wolves would be free now. Scared but receptive to what they had to say. It was only a matter of calming them down enough. Right?
The very next moment, the wolves emerged from the cover of the forest. Three hulking figures with their dripping teeth bared at them, the wolves looked neither young, nor scared, nor open to dialog.
"What is it Edward?" Emmett snapped, not one for such delicacy as unspoken question.
Edward looked between her and his brother, his pale face aghast. With an almost dead voice, he answered their question.
"Bella's shield isn't working on them."
A/N:
The update is a little late. I have no explanation except that real life happened and I am so terribly sorry about it!
I have switched the POV from Carlisle to Bella and will switch to another character once again in an upcoming chapter. I did not want people to have a jarring response reading the different POVs so I have tried my best to keep the general tone and voice of the story same throughout. (3rd Person POV perks?)
Thank you to everyone who has stuck through my erratic updates. I hope you enjoy the story.
Next chapter will be up soon. Until then, do let me know what you think!
-ZQ
