(So...I guess you could say this is kind of a filler chapter, but I did finally begin bringing Dani into the paranomal world of Forks she lives in finally so there is that haha. I hope you enjoy! Happy Reading! Lots of drama in this one. I own nothing but my OC.)
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"Hey Dad I'm back!" Dani beamed as she entered the house, dropping her bag in a chair before leaning over to give her Dad a hug and a kiss on the head.
"Mm. Hey Darling. Had a good time? Bella's upstairs talking to your Mom again. I think maybe you should go rescue her." Charlie nodded towards the stairs as Dani smiled and headed into the kitchen.
"Oh joy...and I only just got her to quit worrying about me and my shoulder." Opening the fridge, she grabbed the jug of orange juice and turned to pour herself a glass.
"Yeah well, you know your Mother. She'll never stop worrying." Charlie retorted and Dani nodded in agreement, taking a gulp of juice.
"So Dad...what do you think of Bella being with Edward?" Dani asked with only a little hesitation as she came to sit down at the table next to her Dad.
Charlie glanced at her. "Hmm...Well I don't know. He's a good kid, I know that. All of them are. Very respectful. Never get into trouble." He looked back down at the sports page he was reading in the newspaper.
Dani took another sip of juice. "Soooo...you're not uncomfortable with how much time Bella is spending with him?" Charlie shot her a confused look.
"Uncomfortable? Why is there something I should know?" He asked quickly tensing up. Dani quickly shook her head.
"No no! It's just...I don't know out of the like four times I asked her to hang out with me, Jess and Angela or down at La Push, she's only accepted one time and that was when Jake and his Dad came over here to watch the game last weekend." She sighed and finished the rest of her juice.
"All she seems interested in these days is doing things with Edward. Either that or he's over here all the time hovering around her and...I don't know it's a little...weird."
And you should see the way they look at each other too. Dani added silently to herself, unable to stop herself from shuddering.
Charlie looked at her consideringly then nodded as if conceding her point while rubbing his chin. "Maybe, but at least she's making some friends. I'm sure soon the honeymoon phase will pass and...she'll start dividing her time more evenly with everyone." He tried to be optimistic.
Dani made a face and stood to bring her now empty cup to the sink. "If you say so." Turning on the faucet she quickly cleaned the glass before setting it in the dish rack and grabbed her purse before heading up the stairs.
As she was about to open the door, she froze hearing a light thud followed by a startled gasp that sounded like Bella.
"Bells?" Dani thrust open the door, confused when she saw her sister sitting in the middle of the bottom bunk, breathing fast like she'd just run a mile or was startled by a jump scare in a horror movie.
"Aaare you okay? What was that noise?" Dani asked, stepping further into the room and looking around to see if anything was out of place.
Quickly shutting her eyes, Bella attempted to take a deep breath then shook her head. "I'm fine. What noise?" She asked a little too quickly. Dani raised an eyebrow at her.
"That thud on the wall. Did you trip or something?" She asked, grinning a bit as she went to the window and looked out it.
Bella seemed to relax and a light pink blush ran over her cheeks. "Oh...yeah. I was...going to put my phone on the charger after I hung up with Mom and...tripped into the wall." She fiddled with the comforter beneath her as Dani snorted.
"Wow. Can't even walk across the bedroom without issues." She teased and Bella rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah..."
"Soooo...what did Mom call about? Is she still freaking out about the accident?" Dani asked, sitting at the foot of the bottom bunk bed after making sure that nothing was amiss in their bedroom.
Bella sighed and shook her head. "Nah...I mean not really. She did ask when we first started talking, but then...well we kinda got talking about boys." She said the last part slowly. Dani stifled a giggle.
"Did you tell her about your new boyfriend?" She asked playfully and Bella scoffed, laughing a bit with her. "Kinda. You know Mom. She's like a teenage girl about these kinds of things."
Dani nodded in agreement. "True. She must have been excited to finally talk boys with you. You've never dated anyone before Edward, have you?" She asked and Bella shook her head.
"Mm-mm, have you?" She asked, looking over at her sister and Dani shook her head. "No...not really. I mean Jess tried to hook me up with this one guy once for a school dance, but...turned out he was already dating this other girl and never said anything about it until we showed up at the dance together and she threw red punch all over me." Dani chuckled mostly humorlessly at the memory though Bella looked dismayed.
"Oh my God. I'm sorry Dani." Dani shrugged. "Eh, it's whatever. He wasn't that great of a guy anyway." She chuckled dryly and Bella nodded in agreement. "Yeah I guess not if he couldn't even be bothered to be honest with you."
Dani shook her head. "So is Phil still training?" She asked, turning the conversation towards their stepfather and Bella nodded. "Yeah. Spring training before the season starts. Mom also asked about you. Whether you were dating yet and stuff."
Dani started to nod then narrowed her eyes at her twin. "Did you tell her...?"
"About Paul? No." Bella denied smoothly. "It's not my business and besides, you said you guys weren't officially dating so...you know." She shrugged a bit awkwardly, unable to hide the grin at the corner of her mouth.
Dani sighed and looked down at her nails. "Well thanks. Soooo...you really like Edward Cullen huh?" She murmured and Bella shrugged. "Well...yeah. I mean he's a bit strange, but...he's not a bad guy once you get to know him."
Dani looked unsure. "I don't know. He's so...intense. And he's always like following you around in school. It's weird." She involuntarily shivered.
Bella raised an eyebrow. "Yeah well...not all the time." Rolling her eyes, Dani hopped up from the bed, careful not to hit her head on the top bunk.
"Whatever, I'm going to go back downstairs and start making dinner. What do you think we should have? Spaghetti? We should probably use the tomatoes before they go bad." She turned towards her sister again as she reached the bedroom door.
Bella nodded, hopping up from the bed as well. "That's a good idea. I'll make the garlic bread." She followed Dani out of the room.
"Oh no!" Dani exclaimed, coming to a sudden stop at the top of the stairs and causing Bella to crash into her.
"What?"
"We don't have any bread to make garlic bread with." Dani turned to face her sister with a look of dismay on her face.
"Oh...well I'll go run down to the store and buy some then." Bella offered, but Dani shook her head. "No, I'll go. Your record for being sent off on your own isn't great. Remember Port Angelos?"
Bella narrowed her eyes. "What? That was one time."
"And according to what you told me, you got lost and almost got assaulted. I'm going." Dani retorted to turning back towards their room to grab her purse.
Bella sighed. "Fine. I'll start the spaghetti sauce then." She began to head downstairs.
...
"Yeah Dad, I'm on my way home. I'm halfway there" Dani nodded as she carefully drove down the nearly abandoned gravel road back towards home.
"Yes I brought my..." Dani started to reassure her Dad, used to having these conversations by now after living her whole life with him, worrying about her after an even slightly worrying case is brought to the Forks PD.
The words died instantly in her throat when the truck suddenly jolted under her with a loud pop that nearly startled her into swerving the vehicle off road.
"Dani?...What happened? Are you okay?" Dani heard her Dad chime in through the receiver as Dani clumsily managed to pull the truck over on the side of the road before shutting off the ignition with a growl.
"Yeah I'm fine. I think I might have blown a tire though." She unbuckled her seatbelt and fumbled to get out of the car to check.
She groaned softly through her teeth when she walked around to the front of the truck and saw the mess that was her front right tire.
Aww man...Bella is going to kill me. She grimaced, straightening her posture to pinch the bridge of her nose stressedly as she considered her options.
"Okay, stay calm. How bad is it?" Charlie responded calmly enough though Dani could hear the concern in his voice.
Dani sighed. "The front right tire is a mess...and I'm nowhere near a shop." She frowned, frantically looking around herself.
"All right. Get back in the truck and lock the doors. I'm coming to get you okay? We'll put the spare on and take it to get fixed tomorrow. Where are you at?" He asked.
Dani nodded, turning to walk back around the truck as she listened to the sounds of her Dad shuffling around for his keys.
"I passed Coulter Street about ten minutes ago. There's a streetlight near here." She paused just in front of the driver's side door. "Okay. I'll find you then. Stay in the truck until you see me pull up, okay?" Dani nodded. "I will. Thanks Dad."
Hanging up the phone, she started to reach for the door handle when a sudden cool breeze whipped against the back of her neck making her freeze.
Pausing, she glanced around her surroundings, feeling a bit uneasy even though nothing was visibly amiss.
Taking a deep breath she turned back towards the truck and grabbed the door handle.
"Oh now now...what's the rush? You really think you'll be safe inside that rusted hunk of metal?" A soft yet unsettling voice purred very close to her ear and Dani gasped, flinching when a cold hand grabbed her by the shoulder and forced her to turn around.
"Ahh..." The man who had grabbed her hummed, pointedly running the tip of his tongue against the edges of his front teeth as he stared her down.
Dani gulped, shivering as the icy temperature of her attacker's hand seeped through her own skin.
He leaned closer, shocking Dani with how red the irises of his eyes were, contrasting with his gleaming white skin.
His nostrils quivered as he sniffed the air between them carefully. "This is going to be a sweet meal." With his free hand, he traced the edge of her cheek and jawline with his index finger.
"Make sure you hold still for me, Darling. It will hurt more if you struggle." He warned, briefly twirling a loose strand of hair with his finger before grasping her chin and tilting her head back.
A shiver escaped from Danielle when he traced a vein on her neck. "Now...where should I make the first cut?" Dani clenched her jaw. "Don't touch me!" She hissed, attempting to jerk herself away from her attacker's grip.
His grip tightened on her when she tried to struggle almost at a bruising level. "Get off me!" Dani shrieked, stomping on his foot. Barely flinching, the man chuckled.
"Feisty...You're lucky I don't want to damage my prey before I eat." He purred before pinning her against the truck, causing her to emit a cry when her head banged into the metal.
"James..." A second voice suddenly chimed in, sounding softly reprimanding through his thick and intricate accent. "What have we said about playing with our food?"
Dani flinched when another sharp cool breeze whipped against her face just before a streak of red zipped across her peripherals.
Her original attacker loosened his grip on her neck the slightest bit, growling lowly in annoyance. "You know the way I like to hunt, Laurent." He refocused his attention on Dani and grinned again so widely, Dani could see his perfectly gleaming white teeth.
"It tastes ever so much sweeter once the adrenaline starts pumping." He licked his lips again, laying a finger over her pulse.
"You should hurry though, and make it quick. There's a civilian residence not far from here. Last thing we need is more attention." A woman's voice spoke then and Dani felt her attacker tighten his grip again.
"You guys are no fun." He grumbled before leaning in, revealing two sharp pointy teeth near the front of his mouth.
Dani squeezed her eyes shut as she felt the man's cold breath blow against her face, just as a wolf howl suddenly pierced the night.
Dani heard the other man curse under his breath. "We're out of time. James, leave her." Dani's attacker growled again, his grip tightening again briefly before he dropped her completely to the ground.
"A shame. She really does smell a bit more tantalizing the last few ones." The woman commented before disappearing as quickly as she had appeared.
The other man who had reprimanded Dani's attacker earlier followed suit soon after without a word.
Dani's attacker scoffed as if either sneering at or agreeing with the woman. Fixating her with his strange reddish eyes again, he smirked. "Count yourself lucky this time, Darling." He spoke lowly before disappearing just as quickly as his companions did with another whoosh of air.
Still shaken from what had happened, Dani stayed sprawled on the ground next to the truck, not moving a muscle as if she were afraid that her attackers would change their minds and come back.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, Dani shakily scrambled to grab the door handle on car to use it to pull herself up when she became aware of the sound of a car pulling up across the gravel road just before a stream of light fell over her.
"Dani?...Danielle, are you there?...Are you all right? Baby what happened?" The questions came out faster and more frantic than the last, though Dani hardly had any time to react, let alone respond before she found herself wrapped up in her Dad's arms and yanked off the ground.
"Oh my God, you're shaking. Dani, what happened? Did someone hurt you?" The questions continued as Charlie pulled his daughter back at arms length to get a quick look at her still trembling form.
Finally Dani found her voice. "I...it happened so fast. I thought he was going to...I..." She struggled to get her words out as her eyes began to burn.
"Okay okay! It's okay. Come on." Charlie pulled her back into another hug and kept his arm around her to help her to the patrol car, putting his hand on her knee as she awkwardly climbed up onto the seat.
"Okay, just stay there for a second, all right? I'll call a tow for the truck and then we'll get you home. You going to be okay?" Charlie asked, timidly patting her knee in an attempt to comfort her.
Stiffly, Danielle nodded her head, biting her lip as she heard her Dad shut the door. Gingerly she poked at the still slightly tender spot on her head and grimaced as she tried to will away the terrifying image of the man with red eyes and cold hands who had attacked her earlier as she noticed the slight dent in the driver's side door of the truck.
With a shudder she wrapped her arms around herself, tucking her fingers in at her sides just as her Dad got into the other side of the car.
"Okay. They're coming for the truck...Are you sure you're okay? Are you...do you want to go get checked out? I can call Dr. Cullen..." He hesitated as if unsure of what the best next course of action was.
Clenching her jaw to try to stop shaking, Dani just burrowed back against the backrest of her seat as her Dad started the car.
"I just want to go home." Charlie nodded at this, his expression still that of concern. "Okay."
...
"Hey Danielle? Dr. Cullen's on his way over. He's going to check you over to make sure everything's okay. How are you doing?" Charlie asked, gingerly tapping on his daughters' bedroom door before peeking in.
Bella looked up from where she sat next to Dani on the edge of the bottom bunk while her sister continued to stare blankly at her lap, tugging at the corners of a blanket she had wrapped around her shoulders.
"I'm okay." Dani mumbled prompting Bella to pat her soothingly on her arm.
Charlie sighed tensely, running a hand across his face before nodding and moving to leave the doorway. "Okay. If you...if you need anything or...if you want to talk about it. I'll be downstairs." He said quietly, floorboards creaking under his feet as he headed back down the stairs.
Numbly, Dani nodded. Bella waited until she heard their Father's footsteps going down the stairs, then she got up to close the door.
"So...do you..remember what he looked like? The guy who grabbed you?" She asked slowly, staying standing by the door for a moment.
Dani frowned and bit her lip. "He was...so white. His eyes almost looked red and...he was so cold." She gulped and reached almost instinctively to touch her neck where some slight bruising was becoming visible.
Bella's eyes widened and Dani swore she went a little paler than usual at her words.
Sighing, Dani rubbed her eyes. "The things he said...I-." She trailed off, jumping when a brisk knocking sounded at the bedroom door.
Bella jumped as well and almost skittered across the room back towards the bunkbed when the door opened, revealing the familiar face of Dr. Cullen.
"Hello Girls. Danielle? I heard you had quite the evening. How are you feeling?" The kindly physician asked gently, walking softly across the bedroom before sitting in the desk chair and pulling it up closer to the bed.
Though his smile was its usual kind and benign one, Dani still felt her chest tighten, her blood chill and heartbeat quicken again when she looked at his pale features and listened to his soft voice.
Though she'd always known and noticed Dr. Cullen's unusual palor before, seeing it now somehow triggered an unbidden memory of her attacker. The way she was grabbed suddenly without warning by an icy cold hand...the way his cold sneering red eyes bore into her, accentuating off his snow white skin...the way his soft voice taunted her...threatened her...
"Danielle? How are you feeling, Sweetheart?" Dr. Cullen asked gently, bringing Dani back to the present with a gentle touch to her forearm.
Flinching at how the cold from his fingers seeped through her shirt, Dani almost snapped her head up in response, her eyes meeting with his as a result.
As she looked into the golden hues of the Doctor's irises, she felt her terror slowly dissipate. Though her heart continued to drum at a rapid pace, it soon reached a point where it no longer felt like it was going to burst out of her chest.
Gold...Dr. Cullen's eyes are golden brown. Not red...not red. Just...focus on that and not his pale skin. She chanted silently to herself as she struggled to control her breathing.
"I'm...I'm okay." She stammered, clenching her jaw as she continued to take in Dr. Cullen's warm countenance and tried to push away the horrific images of the attack.
Dr. Cullen finally smiled in relief. "Good. Can I take a look at the bruising on your neck there?" He continued to speak gently and slowly Danielle nodded, swallowing gingerly as Dr. Cullen after pulling on a pair of rubber gloves, gently prodded at the dark purplish marks littering the side of her neck.
She winced and emitted a soft hiss when he touched a particularly tender mark. "Does that hurt?" Dr. Cullen asked. Dani lightly shrugged a shoulder. "A little?" The response came out as a question.
Dr. Cullen nodded and leaned back against the chair. "Are you hurt anywhere else? Your Dad said he found you on the ground by your truck. Do you remember any of what happened?" He continued to speak softly, reaching into his medical bag.
Dani hesitated. "I...I was slammed into the truck...I might have hit my head..." She mumbled almost absently and Dr. Cullen nodded while motioning with his hand for her to turn around.
"Ahh!" Dani whimpered when he found the sore spot. "Sorry. Looks like the cut isn't too deep. I'll just patch you up here and give you something for the bruising on your neck. They should fade away before long." Dr. Cullen diagnosed calmly before having Dani turn back around.
Almost involuntarily, Dani shivered when his icy fingers pulled away from her scalp. Squeezing her eyes shut, she fought against her mind's attempt to turn Dr. Cullen's careful touch into her attacker's threatening one.
"Hmm..." Dr. Cullen frowned, noticing her facial expression and recalling the way she froze up when he'd first walked in earlier. "The trauma on the other hand, might take a bit longer to heal. I'll write you a note to excuse you from school tomorrow and get you a prescription for some Ibuprofen and anti anxiety medicine just in case. Get lots of rest tonight." He smiled at her kindly and Danielle tried to smile back though it looked more like a grimace.
Wordlessly, Dr. Cullen motioned for her turn around again while prepping some butterfly strips. Carefully he moved some of her hair out of the way to get at the cut again.
Involuntarily, she shuddered again and this time a disgruntled sigh followed. "Sorry...it's just...the guy who attacked me had cold hands just like you. Pale skin too. His eyes were different though. They were...red."
Dani thought she heard Dr. Cullen take in a sharp inhale of air, but her thoughts were interrupted by another sharp pin prickle of pain on her head when the Doctor placed the last butterfly strip.
"Sounds like you had quite the terrifying ordeal. Have you told your Father this?" Dr. Cullen was reassuring as he handed Danielle a small tube of ointment. Dani stiffly shrugged.
"Well you should probably tell him. He can file a case report and have neighboring police departments keep a look out for the person who did this." He said seriously.
Licking her lips, Dani nodded. "The important thing is, it's over now. Put that cream on your bruises twice every day and let me know of any changes." Dr. Cullen continued to instruct, quickly writing something up on two slips and handing them to Dani.
"Your Doctor's note and prescription. I guess I'll leave you in the capable hands of your sister now." Dr. Cullen turned and grinned slightly at Bella who blushed, but managed to smile back.
"Sure..."
Dr. Cullen chuckled and got up to leave. "Goodnight Girls. Take care now." He waved before stepping out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him.
Bella paused a moment before moving to sit back down next to Dani who was turning the tube of ointment over thoughtfully in her hands.
Finally she stopped, opened the top and squeezed out some of the cream onto her finger.
"You...You want to go talk to Cha...Dad now?" Bella asked hesitantly, barely managing to correct herself. Mutely, Dani shrugged, gingerly applying the cream onto her neck.
Bella wilted a bit, but nodded understanding. "Okay." She watched with a nervous frown as Dani got more cream and smeared it on the other side of her neck.
"Are...are you going to be okay?" She asked, cringing at herself for asking in almost the same instance.
Slightly fumbling, Danielle carefully recapped the tube. "I don't know..."
...
"Dude, are you all right? You've been...even more tense than usual." Jared spoke carefully as he slowly approached his friend who had a seemingly permanent glare on his face as he gripped the trunk of the tree next to him.
"You might want to ease up, Paul. You're about to snap that sapling in half." Sam muttered as he walked back, flicking a piece of a leaf off his shoulder.
With an aggravated sigh, Paul pushed himself away from the tree, knocking a branch clean off as he did so.
"I just...I can't shake the feeling that something's happened. Something..." He trailed off, continuing to glare off into the distance.
"...Something to do with the cold ones we chased all the way up past the Canadian border."
Sam and Jared exchanged glances. "Does this...do you think it has something to do with your-."
"I don't know!" Paul cut him off sharply, pivoting on his heel and kicking at the dirt in frustration. "I just...something feels wrong right now. Like something pretty bad just happened. Happened to..." He trailed off again.
Sam sighed tersely. "Maybe, you should go check on her then. Make sure she's okay and set your mind at ease." He suggested quietly.
"And tell her that you imprinted while you're at it." Jared muttered lowly, though not low enough for Paul not to hear.
With almost a snarl, Paul whirled around, about to tackle Jared to the ground until Sam stood between them. "Paul!" He barked in warning, pushing against his friend's chest until he desisted.
For a few moments, an awkward silence filled the air punctuated only by Paul's heavy breathing which gradually slowed as the hot-tempered boy struggled to regain control of himself.
"I...I can't tell her...not right away...not right now." Paul huffed after awhile and Sam inclined his head consideringly at his friend and packmate.
"Why not? She has a right to know. You guys are connected now." "That's why I can't tell her!" Paul burst out, clenching his fists again.
He took another slow deep breath before continuing. "This whole...imprinting thing. It gives us no choice. It tore you and Leah apart and ruined Leah's relationship with Emily! I can't...I don't want that for Danielle, Sam. I don't want her to be with me because she has to or because the universe is forcing her to. I want it to be her choice."
Turning, he faced his Alpha. "Don't get me wrong, I do want to tell her someday. I want to tell her everything about who I really am, what I do...about imprinting even, but...I want to wait for the right time. I want to get to know her more. Make sure she knows that I care about her first."
He rolled his lips together and waited with bated breath as Sam looked at him consideringly. "If that's what you want." He said finally while Jared lightly scratched the back of his head.
"Just the same, I'd advise you not to take too long to come clean. That could be just as bad as telling her too soon." He added quietly.
Paul lightly nodded. "Thanks..." He muttered almost inaudibly, turning away from his friends again while taking another deep breath.
"Listen, why don't you go turn in now? Jared and I will take the next shift. Make sure those leeches don't wander back again tonight." Sam suggested after another minute, to which Paul nodded and casually rolled his shoulders back to loosen them.
Waiting until he heard Sam and Jared disappear back towards the woods, Paul started to walk in the direction of his home. Just as he reached the driveway, he paused thinking for a second before shoving his hand into his pocket and fishing out his phone.
Tapping it on, he moved to sit down on the concrete steps leading up to his front door and swiped around until he found Dani's number in his contacts.
Biting his lip, he hovered his index finger hestitatingly between the call and message icons while silently debating with himself.
I'm overreacting. She's going to think I'm nuts!...But..what if...? ughhh!..
...
