The Changer, The Charmer 6
Summary: Their mate was delivered to them in the midst of violence and blood, with a dire warning to boot.
Bella/Tanya, Kate, Irina
"Guess who is coming to visit in a few days?" Esme asked excitedly, waving her phone. Edward crushed the can of coke, spraying the carbonated drink all over himself and the kitchen.
"Really, Edward," Rosalie asked, biting her lip to keep from laughing. Emmett gave his brother no such consideration.
Within seconds he had the mess cleaned up and a new can in front of his mate. "You just couldn't help it, could you." He exclaimed. "You just had to go and blab. Which one of you was it?" He asked as his mind focused on theirs, desperate to find the culprit.
"Edward, no one told the Denalis about Angela." Carlisle attempted to placate his son.
"Somebody did. Why else will they be coming to visit all of a sudden?" He shouted in exasperation.
"The Denali coven? That would be your cousins?" Angela asked, little understanding why her mate would not want his cousins to know about her.
"Yes, that would be them." Alice cheered.
"Why do you have a problem with the idea of them visiting?" Angela could have sworn that if Edward was capable of blushing, he would be doing so.
"Yes, Eddie, why do you not want our dear cousins to visit," Jasper asked, his amusement apparent.
"Edward?" Angela stared at her mate, who looked increasingly uncomfortable with every passing second.
With a sigh, he decided it was in his best interest to tell her before one of his siblings did. "It was a couple of years after Carlisle found Esme." Edward groaned. There was no way to make himself look any less of an ass with this story. "Carlisle insisted we visit another coven, a vegetarian one at that. As you can imagine, I was intrigued by the idea of another vegetarian coven. By the time we made it to the Denalis' cabin, I was in a decisively foul mood. The trip had been arduous, even for a vampire. I wondered why anyone, even a vampire, would choose to live in the middle of a mountain terrain. Then I saw her, Isabella Swan. She was mated to the three of the Denalis. See, the more Carlisle told me about the three, the more I found their way of life abhorrent." He was struggling with how to frame his next sentence.
"Go on, Edward." Alice chirped, much to everyone's glee. Even Carlisle was struggling to hide his mirth.
"I thought Bella deserved better than to be saddled with morally devoid creatures who sucked the life force out of innocent humans. Bella heard me and was none too pleased about my insulting her mates. As you can imagine, I had not made a very good impression where she was concerned, and I struggled to change her view of me. Three days later, I just lost my head when Kate, one of her mates thoughts focused a little too much on what had transpired after they were done hunting. My mouth ran away with me, and well, Bella had already warned me. I did not see the punch coming, which nearly took my nose clean off. My God, I had never seen such speed…" Edward chuckled.
"Really, everyone talks about how fast you are. So, Bella is a faster vampire." Angela said in awe.
"Yeah, I was a snail in comparison. See, Bella is not a vampire… she's a shifter."
"Wait, like the Quileute."
"Good heavens no. Bella is nothing like those stink-ridden mongrels." Rosalie snarled. "No, Bella is unique, and you will find out just how much when you meet her." She added with a fond smile.
"Rose is right. I learned that the hard way. Worse, Carlisle had warned me." The vampire in question laughed.
"I knew despite my many warnings, he would not listen. He had gotten it into his head that Bella needed saving from the soul-sucking monsters and wouldn't see the truth in front of him. Hell, I had made the same mistake the first time I met her; the difference was I had learned my lesson and promptly apologized. In my defense, I had assumed Bella was human." She smiled.
"Despite the ass-kicking, I was still hellbent on getting her away from the soulless monsters when she further turned my worldview on its axis. See, I believed vampires were soulless monsters, and death was the better option. The minute I said that Bella exclaimed. 'So that's what it is.' I didn't understand what she meant. See, Bella has another gift; it's a gift that makes it impossible not to be charmed by her…"
"You can say that again," Alice murmured with a serene smile.
Edward rolled his eyes. "She can see a person's soul or at least some sort of aura around a person, and mine was filled with holes as though something was slowly eating away my aura. I learned that day that my belief of lacking a soul was…"
"Was destroying your soul." Angela finished, looking horrified.
"Indeed." Edward sighed. "Reading Bella's minds is damn impossible unless she allows it. That day she did, I saw how mangled my soul was compared to everyone else. Her mates, the ones I was sure were worse monsters than vampires. Their aura shone brighter the closer they were to her. I learned quite the lesson that day." He finished.
The quiet that had encompassed the room soon broke. "You had a crush on Bella," Angela exclaimed, earning uproarious laughter from everyone with Edward looking rather sheepish.
Despite the ribbing her took for Angela's realization, he would admit he was looking forward to the Denalis' visit as much as the rest of the family. Of course, it had taken a few more years before Bella had seen him and Carlisle as vampires worth befriending or calling family. The circumstances under which Rosalie was changed had only further tarnished how Bella viewed him and Carlisle. The rest of the family had made great impressions from the get-go. He hoped the same for Angela, his mate would be deeply hurt if Bella ignored her for the duration of their visit.
"Hija, we are here." Carmen shook her gently. Bella had fallen asleep on the five-hour drive from Seattle to Forks; the drive had taken longer than usual, thanks to traffic. Flying in from Florence had been long enough, except she could cope with that because there was food. Five portions her family did not eat.
"My neck is certainly not thanking me for falling asleep in a car." She groaned as she manipulated her neck to relieve the pain.
"There is she." Kate purred. "You can smell her from here." Bella rolled her eyes at her mate.
"Kate, behave," Tanya warned, although she looked amused.
"Hello, Cullens." Bella cheered, stepping out of the SUV. "It has been too long." She greeted Carlisle first as head of the coven in a firm hug. "I hear Edward has finally found his mate." Edward glared at his family, now knowing for certain they had told the Denalis about Angela. "My crush is no more; I have been replaced." She teased, earning giggles from everyone, Angela included.
"Which one of them talked?" Edward asked.
"Which one? They all did." Bella said, ignoring Edward's growls and glares. "You young lady are made of steel and all the patience in the world putting up with sourpuss over there. A pleasure to meet you." Bella purred, kissing the back of Angela's hand, who could not help but practically melt at the attention. Edward quickly pulled her away, much to Bella's delight. "Meet my coven." She waved her arm in an elaborate fashion as though presenting a magic trick.
"Your coven?" Tanya asked with a raised eyebrow as she moved to greet Angela.
"Tell her mama." Bella said as her attention was diverted. "Pix, I still hold out hope that one of these centuries, you will grow just a little bit taller." She quipped as she picked up the tiny vampire in a hug.
"Not all of us can change as we please. You know, you could make yourself a little bit smaller." Alice retorted. To Angela's shock, she did just that. Going even shorter than Alice. "Jasper, you should be used to looking down." She said as she greeted him, he knew it was not in his best interest to laugh, but as an empath, he did not stand a hope in hell as the others laughed.
She was back to her usual height as she turned her attention to Rosalie and Emmett. "Ahh, beauty and her beast. How wonderful to see you. Rose, a vision as always. Emmett, as lumpy as ever." She growled playfully.
"You have three blondes, yet you are still salty I married Rose." He returned.
"Salty, no… far from salty. If I were salty, I would have simply taken your arms off and left you looking less lumpy." She quipped.
"You two know that joke got old decades ago," Irina muttered.
"Esme, a vision as always." Bella hugged her tightly. "I smell something cooking and baking." She added.
"Of course, she smells something cooking," Tanya mumbled.
"It has been several hours since I last ate. I feel my body fat decreasing." She mumbled as they headed into the house. Everyone congregated in the sitting room while Bella headed for the kitchen.
"Isabella, siéntate." Carmen patted the seat next to her. Bella, despite her complaining stomach, did as asked. Her mates looked entertained by her predicament. Carmen still saw as her as the daughter who could do no wrong, and Bella would never want to change that, at least not in front of her mother.
"Bella, why don't I prepare a snack for you." Esme to the rescue.
"Oh, thank you, Esme." She practically purred at the thought of food. "Angela, I see these heathens left you in the dark about me." Bella mock glared at the Cullens.
"Hey, she had to learn like the rest of us." Emmett piped up.
"I am a shifter, one not limited to an animal or human," Bella answered.
"Human?" In answer, Bella shifted into Angela.
"Holy shit." She whispered wide-eyed, earning giggles from some of the Cullens.
"You know you've truly shocked Angela if language is involved. She did not swear at the discovery of vampire or the shifters in La Push." Jasper chuckled.
"Oh yes, I forgot about the spirit animals you have the treaty with," Bella mumbled. She wasn't yet quite sure if she wanted to meet them or not. Her thoughts were soon diverted to the large board of cheeses, olives, dips, and a mountain of assorted biscuits.
"That is not possible," Angela muttered.
"That is truly nothing." Tanya laughed at Angela's shocked demeanor.
Bella eagerly awaited her breakfast when the human sleepily wandered into the kitchen.
"Good morning." Bella greeted.
"Good morning." Angela returned, yawning.
"What would you like for breakfast, dear," Esme asked.
"A cup of tea, toast and some egg will do." She muttered.
"That is just shameful," Bella grumbled. "That will not even satisfy my little toe." She added. Esme chuckled as she slid a cup of tea In front of Angela.
"I do not require a literal ton of energy to get through the day." Angela returned as she sipped her perfectly sweetened tea with a satisfied sigh. "I'm still not used to something with the inability to taste what they are cooking, doing it so well," Angela whispered. The one time Edward attempted to make her cup of tea, he had mistaken the salt for sugar.
"After nearly two centuries, I'm still not used to it either." Bella smiled.
"Edward told me how your gift changed everything for him. He said if he still had those beliefs, he would have struggled to accept me as his mate, being human and all. Thank you for opening his eyes." Angela muttered sincerely.
"Oh, I have no such gift." Bella laughed at the human's scandalized look. "Well, not to the extent Edward believes. I learned a long time ago that people see what they want to see." Angela nodded in understanding. The Cullens' difference was too much to ignore, but people did. An entire town and high school population. "I also knew enough about Edward to know that when he got a silly idea in his head, good luck changing his mind even when he is in the wrong. He believed that I could see some physical presentation of his soul, and the fact that I could see such a thing had him changing his mind. It also had the added benefit of him changing his stance about my needing saving from my mates. When I showed him my mate's soul or what he thought, he saw. Who knew a telepath was easier to convince than a non-telepath." Angela was confused by the last statement. "Oh, Carlisle did not buy it for a second. I already knew from his letters to Eleazar that the soulless monster shtick was an issue with Edward." Angela cracked up laughing. "People see what they want to see, especially Edward," Bella said with a shrug. Angela couldn't stop laughing.
"I'm afraid there is no way I can keep him from hearing this." Angela apologized.
"If I were worried about that, I would have simply told you you were welcome and left it at that. After seventy-plus years, if Edward goes back to that nonsense, then he is simply a fool." Bella said with a shrug.
"I love that boy, but my God, he can be an idiot, but I doubt he is that much of an idiot." She mumbled, taking a sip of her cup of tea. It was nice to have someone around to have breakfast with.
"The wolves," Edward growled, then chuckled. "The saw Bella and… well, you must hear this for yourself." He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.
The coven stood on the back porch as the wolves broke through the forest. "Where is she?" Sam growled. It was quickly followed by a spine-numbing moment of trepidation when he realized he was looking at ten vampires, not the seven he had expected. He had no idea who the five were; he was amazed by the gold-colored eyes. Another coven of vegetarian vampires, they had not expected it. Still, it gave them the advantage, numbers-wise. He brought seven wolves with him to intimidate if he was honest with himself, and now he found himself outnumbered. Worse, the two that attacked the wolves were not there… yet.
The closer they got to the Cullens, the more Sam felt uneasy, the pack had never been this close to the coven, and it was unnerving. Their relaxed poses, the easy and amused smiles as they watched the wolves stalk toward them, made him feel intimidated. The pack had never had to interact with the Cullens, the one and only meeting held when they first arrived was with the elders. When Sam had learned the truth, he had wondered why the treaty had been made in the first place. The pack's sole purpose was the destruction of vampires and the protection of their tribe. They were designed to kill vampires, and he saw no other outcome if a fight broke out, at least that was before he came face to face with them. Sam Uley valiantly held on to the superior belief he'd always had about their ability to defeat the leeches. Without it, he might just as well roll over and present his belly, even if right now it was all just bravado.
"I'm afraid you have us at a disadvantage. Where is who?" Carlisle asked calmly.
"The small lee… vampire and the blond one attacked a wolf, our wolf." He wasn't about to anger them by name-calling. "I know they aren't stupid enough to kill her, so hand her over." Sam, it appeared, was trying to stay calm; the same could not be said for the other seven. Edward knew the wolves' uneasiness was reality hitting them in the face. It was the same agitation the high school population at Forks High felt. It was why the forest's creatures went quiet when vampires ventured into their territory. They didn't defend it; they hid and stayed silent in hopes of surviving. Human or animal, that tension prevailed, well, unless you were Isabella Marie Swan.
"Alice and Jasper broke the treaty, crossed over into your land, and attacked one of your wolves without provocation," Carlisle stated nonchalantly.
Well, no, they didn't break the treaty." The Alpha's tone was suddenly subdued as he clarified.
"So the wolf was trespassing on our side of the land, which Jasper and Alice had a right to defend, or am I missing something?" Carlisle's calm composure made the wolves all the more nervous. "So not only did one of your wolves break the treaty. You as the Alpha decided to compound an already perilous situation by coming here unannounced and accuse us of doing… what exactly." Sam had never particularly cared about making a good impression where leeches were concerned. What he did not ever want to do was appear utterly stupid. They'd rushed there, calmed a wolf they did not know as theirs, at least the Cullens did not know that. The reality of the situation was that the Cullens had not broken the treaty, and if the two killed the wolf, they had every right to do so. He had no right to be there making demands. If anything, he should have admitted the wolf was not of his pack and did not know about the treaty.
"Oh, this is going to be interesting." Sam was pulled out of his thoughts by the Cullen blonde excited exclamation.
"Jesus." Paul damn near screeched, and frankly, Sam could not fault the wolf. The only thing his wolf wanted to do at the sight ambling toward them was run and hide. They were huge, but nothing compared to the wolf they found themselves facing. It was arctic white in color with vivid blue eyes that were unnatural as the size of the wolf. What was more surprising was the petite vampire riding said wolf while the blond strolled alongside, laughing at something the small one said.
"If you haven't figured it out, that's our wolf," Tanya answered.
Sam reluctantly took his eyes off the wolf and faced the vampire. Yeah, he'd figured it out. He figured out just how much of a fool he'd made of himself.
Alice leaped off the back of Bella with a grace only a vampire could possess. Bella shifted back into her human form to the gasps of the Quileute wolves. "You shift with your clothes on." One of the wolves exclaimed. Bella ignored the comment, her attention solely on her mates.
"Are you alright, Tan?"
"Bella, meet the shifters from the nearby reservation. Apparently, you are a part of their pack and have accused Jasper and Alice of attacking you." Tanya replied. Bella knew her mate well enough to tell despite the glare aimed at the wolves, she was highly amused.
"Right," Bella mumbled, ignoring the wolves. She was too hungry to deal with their stupidity. "Mama, I'm starving." She groaned, rubbing her stomach.
"Please, as if a leech could be anyone's mother." One of the wolves mumbled, his disdain evident. Bella turned her attention to the wolves in question. "She was probably the one that killed your real parents." He added little caring about the glares aimed at him. "You are better off with of us." He added, leering at Bella.
This wolf will prostrate himself before her mother and beg for forgiveness before the week is out. Right now, Bella knew she was not going to get an apology, so why bother asking. "There are some things you just don't waste your time asking because you already know the answer." Bella stared at the wolf, who looked immensely proud of himself. "My parents were killed by humans some two centuries, and a bit ago, the leech saved my life," Bella said with a humorlessly chuckle, blue eyes blazing with anger. "You will pay dearly for those words." Paul took a terrifying step back when Bella shifted to look like him, then Jacob, Quil, Embry, Sam, Seth, and Leah as she spoke. "And I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, you will not see me coming." By the end of that sentence, Isabella Swan had run through more faces than the wolves could count. With that, she turned on her heels and entered the house, taking her mother with her.