Wow! This chapter was hard to write, but I hope you like it.
This story is based on the amazing Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.
Remember, A Friend Is Like A Good Bra -- Hard to Find, Supportive, Comfortable, And Always Close To Your Heart! (I stole that – but from the internet, so I can't give credit. But so, so true!) Thanks to all for the reviews, suggestions and comments – I appreciate them all!
I froze. No, no, no! Surely, this couldn't be the moment Alice warned me about! I started to pull away from Edward, but he wouldn't let me go. Gently, he took the manacles from my hands, and lifted me into a sitting position beside him as if I were as light as a feather. I hung my head, my face scarlet, unwilling to look at Edward. This can't be happening, I thought.
"Bella, look at me," Edward said softly. I refused, humiliation still coursing through my veins.
"Bella," Edward said again, cajoling, but I just turned my head away.
At that, Edward laughed softly, and whispered in my ear, "Silly, Bella, look at me….pretty please?"
I turned unwillingly to look at him, unable to refuse, and I saw his love and desire for me reflected clearly in his eyes. I stared at him in confusion.
"Bella, I didn't ask you to stop because I don't want you. On the contrary, I want you far, far too much. Just not like this," he said lifting the manacles, then just as quickly tossing them across the room.
"But I thought that was the whole point," I said miserably. "The reason you went hunting, the shopping, everything. So that we could be together without you having to be…so in control all the time."
"No, Bella, the reason I went along with all this was because I realized that we really need to have a talk about us."
"A talk, huh?" I asked, not sure if I liked where this heading.
Edward sighed, and pulled me into his arms, "Yes, Bella. I agreed with my family's crazy schemes today because I knew we needed to have a serious talk about our relationship. But when I walked in and saw you standing by the bed in this nightgown, so lovely and innocent, with that look in your eyes, it was like my deepest fantasy come true. I will never forget how perfect you looked at that moment. I still haven't recovered," he said as his eyes roamed hungrily over my body.
"Edward," I breathed, melting at the look in his eyes.
"Bella," Edward growled, "you need to stop dazzling me!"
"Sorry," I said sheepishly, not really sorry at all. I leaned deeper into Edward's chest and began tracing patterns on his chest with my fingertips.
Edward slowly stroked his fingers up and down my arm for several long minutes, then said finally, "Bella, do you know that I love how very human you are? Your blushes (at which I blushed), the warmth of your skin on mine, even the way you eat and sleep. Everything about you fascinates me, and makes me love you even more."
"So, if I lost those things, you wouldn't love me anymore?" I asked, hurt, but still trying to understand.
"Of course I'd still love you!" he raked his fingers through his tousled hair. "This isn't going the way I'd planned it, though that shouldn't surprise me any more, since nothing seems to go the way I plan it anymore since I met you."
Edward paused, then went on, "I know you think becoming a vampire is the solution to all our problems, but you don't seem to realize that you're asking me to watch you die. A very horrible, painful death. After which, your can never go back again."
"Edward, I know that..." I started to protest, but Edward put one cold finger to my lips.
"Please, Bella, just let me say this… I wouldn't be the only one to have to watch you die. Your parents would, too. Bella, they love you too, and I know that you love them. Imagine how they would feel, losing their only daughter so young. You would have to watch their pain and grief. And you would begin to regret what you chose, but you couldn't go back and change things. Then, of course, there is the fact that you would be a vampire. Bella, you don't realize what it is to be controlled by your desire for blood, human blood! Yes, you can resist it, but that hunger will be in you, that unnatural hunger, always. I would watch you struggle between your love for me and the sorrow you would feel for your parents, on top of the fact that I would have damned you for an eternity! I would be responsible for that, for all that. Bella, how could I live with myself knowing what I had done to you?" he pleaded for my understanding.
I could see the anguish etched in his perfect face. How I loved that face! I stroked his face, and said softly, "Edward, I know, I know. I've thought about the consequences, all the consequences, and for me, it's worth it – you are worth it. This is my life and my death we are talking about here, and I've already made my choice. I'm just waiting for you to come to terms with it."
At that moment, my traitorous stomach rumbled. I had never felt that I was as close to getting Edward to see my side of things as I was now, only to be betrayed by my own body. Maybe he didn't hear it, I thought. But no such luck. Edward laughed, his mercurial moods striking again.
"I think someone is hungry."
"No, Edward! I'm fine, really…"
"Bella, Bella," Edward sighed dramatically, "I guess it's my fate to always make sure you are well fed. Now come with me." I gave in, because I sincerely hoped that this was why Alice had let me go through all this. Because she knew that tonight would be the night that Edward finally gave in to me. So I decided I could be patient a little while longer. Edward scooped me up off the bed and carried me to the small table in the kitchen. To my surprise, there were two huge bags on the table.
"All this for me?" I asked surprised.
"I had to make sure I had everything I needed," Edward explained, flashing his dazzling white teeth, pulling a cutting board and knife from one of the bags, "no one else ever cooks here."
I smiled, and rested my chin on my hands as I watched Edward make his way expertly around the small kitchen.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Edward and I glanced at each other in alarm, knowing that the only ones who would disturb us here would be his family. And that meant trouble. Edward crossed quickly to the door and opened it, and sure enough it was Alice and Jasper. I went to stand over by Edward, and he put his arm around me protectively.
Alice and Edward were just staring at each other, so Jasper said to me, "Alice had a vision that John came back to our house. All the others are gathered there to wait for him. But don't worry, Bella, everything will be fine." He said the last bit in his most persuasive voice. Against my will, I felt my tension lessen.
"Jasper," I said warningly.
Edward turned to me and said, "Why don't you go get changed, Bella? Then I'll drop you off at home."
"Not a chance, Edward! I'm coming with you!" Edward just sighed, resigned, and pushed me toward the bedroom. I changed as fast as I could, and rushed back to see Edward, Jasper and Alice waiting for me. Edward had put his shirt back on, and somehow managed to whip up a sandwich and Coke while I was gone, and had set it on the table for me.
"Eat," he ordered.
"Edward," I said, exasperated.
"You're going to need your energy," he insisted.
I shot him a dirty look, but sat down to eat. These vampires were obsessed with my eating habits! I scarfed down the sandwich and Coke as quickly as I could, then, with my mouth still full from the last bite, said, "Okay, let's go."
They all smiled, but no one argued.
For a change, I didn't mind the ridiculous speed with which Edward drove. I needed to know what was going on. When we finally got to the house, Edward's family had gathered in the living room, with John pacing back and forth like a caged animal. A tall, slim dark haired girl sat tensely in the corner next to Esme, and my first thought was, could that be Sarah? But then the young woman turned, and I recognized her immediately.
"Rachel!" I cried, surprised but pleased at the same time.
She smiled, a look of relief spreading over her pretty features, and came over to give me a hug. "Bella, it's so nice to see you again. I've wanted to come visit you since I came home from school, but I just haven't gotten the chance."
"It's great to see you, too. But what are you doing here? I thought your family didn't approve of the Cullens?"
Rachel shifted uncomfortably my bluntness, and I regretted speaking so hastily. Then she said, "Dr. and Mrs. Cullen have been very gracious hosts, more than I had the right to expect from them. But actually, I'm here in my capacity as a member of the Council, with John."
"You're a member of the Council?" I asked, shocked.
Rachel laughed at my surprise, "Yes, I was the one in the family with the most aptitude for working with werewolves, much to my father's horror. I think he always wished it would be Jacob."
She shot a worried glance at John. At that, I turned to face him too. I gasped. Gone was the strong, self-assured John I had seen just a few hours before – he looked utterly crushed. Fear and anger warred in his eyes, along with a look of hopelessness.
I went to him and touched his shoulder, "John?"
He said in a choked voice, "They have Sarah."
"Who?"I asked, a knot of fear rising in my stomach. Edward was immediately at my side, his cold hand in mine.
"Murdoch," Rachel answered, "and Flint."
At the sound of the name Flint, John growled with rage, his fists clenched, clearly looking for something to smash. Esme walked over to John, her compassion for him clear, and led him gently to one of the sofas.
"Maybe you should tell us the whole story," Carlisle said calmly.
Rachel went to join John, and putting a hand on his shoulder, began, "Murdoch is a rogue werewolf that has been a problem for the Council for years. He is one of the strongest, wildest werewolves out there, and started his own pack several years back. He and his pack take what they want and don't care about the consequences. They're a menace. We've managed to capture various members of his pack, but never Murdoch himself. He's proven himself to be very cunning, as well. He's the one that was behind the break-in at the lab last week." Then turning to look sadly at John, she added, "And we just found out that today he went to the testing facility, took all the experiments, then destroyed everything."
"It sounds like you have a serious security problem," Emmett observed mockingly.
John shot him a look of anger, "Flint betrayed us. The lab was one thing – only finished serums were stored there, like a pharmacy. But Murdoch and his gang never could have gotten into the testing facility if Dr. Flint hadn't been working with them. The security there is...or was…tighter than Fort Knox. It was impenetrable. Only someone with the highest level security clearance could have done what was done tonight – and that someone was that bastard Flint!"
"So if Murdoch and Flint are working together," contemplated Carlisle, "Then I assume they might come here after Bella?"
"That's what we think," Rachel agreed. "We think that Flint came to us for our intelligence on vampire activity, as a way to find humans suitable for his experiments. I think he had hoped that the Council would be able to bring him Bella, as well, but since we haven't, he has decided that he can get her on his own and doesn't need us anymore."
"Do you have any idea of how much time we have?" Edward asked, his calm voice in stark contrast to the rage I saw simmering in his eyes.
"It's just a guess, but we think they'll probably wait until the full moon – three days," answered Rachel.
"So the stories about werewolves and the full moon are true?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.
John smiled at me wryly, his eyes bleak, "We don't suddenly sprout unsightly body hair, if that's what you're asking. But yes, the moon quickens our blood, and sharpens all our senses – our hearing, our sight and our sense of smell. We're at our strongest then. But…" he hesitated, "…it's also when our animal instincts take over. We are driven by our need to hunt, and nothing else matters to us then. It doesn't matter who or what we hunt, as long as we are out with the pack. Actually, that's what drove the Council to trust Dr. Flint in the first place. The first serum he proposed to create was one for maintaining control during the full moon. It's been a dream of all werewolves for centuries – the ability to make sure we don't hurt our loved ones when we are at our most…animalistic. And he was willing to test the serum on himself first."
"Flint's a werewolf?" Jasper asked, taken aback.
"Yes," sighed Rachel. "He really played us. By having Murdoch break into the lab first, he was able to ensure that we would be at our most vulnerable. Then, when he took everything from the testing facility, Murdoch's gang made mince meat out of the guards stationed there."
"How did Sarah get involved in this?" I asked timidly, not wanting to distress John further but needing to know the whole story.
"Sarah worked with Dr. Flint," John croaked, looking up miserably from where he was sitting, "When she found out someone was doing genetic testing to enhance the abilities of werewolves, she decided that there might be a way to reverse the process altogether – for werewolves to be human once more. So she applied for a job with Dr. Flint, to help me!"
"John, it's not your fault," Rachel said emphatically. "We'll get Sarah back."
"But I can't do anything!" John cried in anguish. "If we wait until the full moon, I'll be just as likely to kill her as save her without the serum!"
"We'll use the whistles, John," Rachel said soothingly.
"Whistles?" Emmett asked, perplexed.
Rachel explained, "In the past, the pack leader was always human. Since vampires needed to be ah…" she paused nervously, glancing around the room, "…burned to be completely destroyed, humans had always gone with werewolves to ensure the job was complete. Since werewolves are very sensitive sound, the human pack leaders used whistles to command their werewolf brothers. Until the serum was introduced, that is."
"But they haven't been used for years!" John added, tormented, "When we used them, we would drill for hours to make sure we would respond properly. But we don't have time for that now!"
Edward pulled me close, his marble arms encircling me protectively. I knew John's anguish was mimicking many of his own fears.
"Do you see anything Alice?" Carlisle asked.
"I've been trying," Alice said, frustrated, "but I can't see anything coming for Bella, not yet." She turned toward John sympathetically, "I can see Sarah, though. She's okay, John. She's in a dark room with four other people."
"Why don't you see if you can do anything to find that place, Alice?" Carlisle suggested, and Alice rose, followed closely by Jasper. Then Carlisle turned once more to Rachel and asked, "Who are the four other people?"
"They are the test subjects," Rachel replied. "There are four serums – one for control during the full moon, one to help fight vampire magnetism, one to protect the mind, and one that will mask scent."
Emmett guffawed at the last one, "So you found the least smelly human being ever?"
Rachel smiled uneasily at him, "Actually, I believe he has amazingly underdeveloped sweat glands."
"As interesting as this conversation is," Edward said in a dangerously light tone, "don't you think we should concentrate on how to protect Bella now?"
"Y...yes, of course," Rachel said, faltering at the look of fury flashing in Edward's eyes, "And I think I may be able to help there. John and I convinced my father to take Charlie ice fishing in Alaska for the next week to keep him safe, and to suggest that Bella stay here with all of you."
"You convinced Billy to do what?" I said in utter shock.
"Well, for a moment, I thought my father would have a heart attack. But John and I managed to convince him that it was the only way to keep you and Charlie safe, until we could our hands on Murdoch and Flint. My father wouldn't be able to live with himself if he could have done something to keep either you or Charlie from getting hurt and didn't do it. So he agreed."
Edward nodded his agreement for the plan. "If Billy suggests Bella stay here, that should convince Charlie. Do you have any idea of how many are in Murdoch's pack?"
"25," Rachel answered promptly.
"You seem quite sure of yourself," Carlisle noted.
Rachel shot a sidelong glance at John, then said, "The only reason we can be so sure is because Sarah managed to call John on his cell phone as he was leaving today. She had her speaker on mute so we could hear her, but they couldn't hear us. We heard the whole takeover from her phone. She actually taunted Flint to make sure we found out as many details as possible." Then she added for John, "She was amazing."
I was horrified. I couldn't imagine what John must have gone through, what he still must be going through. Edward squeezed me harder, and I leaned into his embrace, needing his strength.
Carlisle asked gently, "Was she able to tell you anything about her whereabouts?"
John said hoarsely, "We were able to pick up the signal from her phone as they took her. It died somewhere in the Shenandoah Valley about an hour ago. That is where we hope to pick up the trail to Murdoch's gang, and members of our pack should be there soon. If we have any luck left, maybe we will be able to find them before the full moon."
"That's where we'll head, after we leave here," Rachel added.
Carlisle nodded, "Emmett, why don't you and Rosalie go with them to see if you can help with the search."
Rachel looked up with alarm, "Dr. Cullen…that's a very generous offer, and I appreciate it greatly…but I don't think it's such a good idea. The other members of the pack…I don't think they will be, that is to say…"
Carlisle smiled sardonically, "That's alright, Rachel, I understand. But the offer still stands. We will stay here and protect Bella."
At that, he stood, with Rachel and John following suit. I slipped from Edward's arms, and went over to them. I gave Rachel a quick hug, then turned to John.
"She'll be alright," I said, praying that I was right. John nodded, and I threw my arms around his neck.
After a few minutes, Edward slowly pulled me away. John looked up and nodded to Edward, and then he and Rachel were gone.