Chapter 31
The sound of snow crunching beneath slowly circling feet and slow concentrated breaths was all that could be heard as the two once best friends, now mortal enemies encircled each other at a snail's pace, their fixed and heated gaze unable to be broken. Bella felt her family's presence behind her still as they watched with anxious eyes. She heard who she knew was Rosalie as she moved closer to Alice, gently and lovingly resting her hand on her shoulder, while Emmett placed a supportive arm around the small of her waist. It was clear to everyone that this was a fight that needed to take place between these two and these two alone and they would be out of place to interfere. The few remaining newborns stood closer to the Denali clan, and Kate kept her eyes locked onto them, ready to flood their senses with her electricity if they should so much as move a muscle.
Bella watched as Jake phased once more, growling and bearing his sharp and lethal fangs at her without hesitation. Bella's expression remained rather stoic as she watched his movements, her fingertips only slightly giving her away as they trembled in anticipation. She clicked her lengthened and hardened claw like nails together as she watched the fur on the back of his neck raise up before he lunged forward and brought a paw down midair, aiming for her face.
Due to her enhanced vision, she stepped aside with ease, evading the poorly executed attack with no difficulty. Jake landed onto the ground and skidded a couple of inches before turning around and allowing rumbling to escape from his chest in frustration. Bella allowed a small smirk to dance across her lips in satisfaction. She knew that he in himself was no match for her. While skilled as a fighter he did not have the power or guidance of their ancestors currently flowing through his veins, funneling channeling his movements and ensuring victory. Being a hybrid, she had the upper hand and she had only just scratched the surface of what she could truly do. Bella watched him with intent eyes, contemplating how she would end his life. While she had gone into this thinking she would be able to avoid that, she knew now it was impossible. There was no reaching him in this mental state, and by allowing him to live, she would only be putting herself, her family and the future of the entire world on the line, which was something that she unfortunately simply could not justify. Still, there were more humane ways than others that she could carry out this fateful conclusion.
"Jake… I know that this will fall onto deaf ears but I need to say this for my own personal closure. There was once a time where I almost considered you family, perhaps a brother that I never had. All I had wanted at one time was nothing more than a chance to make you laugh, to make you feel loved and wanted. I wanted us to be friends forever. You were always there for me, you know. Understanding what I could not say and learning how to read the language of my eyes, something that no one apart from Alice has ever been able to master. Despite all that you have done, even now I wish that fate had chosen another to carry out its design because truthfully, serving as your adversary on its behalf is the last thing I ever wanted," Bella paused as she began to dance with Jake, avoiding his lethal swipes and gnashes of his fangs, her claws deflecting each and every attack as she sliced through his skin time and time again.
"But this place, this land, this town and the people who reside in it are my home. All the pain and devastation that you are bringing has caused my heart to become hardened and I simply cannot stand here and watch as the cost of keeping you alive becomes too much to bear. I had hoped that you would be strong enough to fight of the dark part off you that we always knew existed but that apparently cannot happen and you are simply too far gone." Bella sighed as she easily deflected a final blow of their dance for dominance, sending Jake tumbling across the snowy fields and against a tree with a harsh thud, the pitiful sounds of his whimpering floating ghostly through the air.
Bella moved slowly, almost at a human pace as her eyes targeted his chest where his heart was thudding. Jake struggled to get back onto his feet as blood flowed freely from the multiple slashes across his body caused by the deflected blows. He staggered to his feet, weak from fatigue and blood loss, slowly lifting his head to meet Bella's unwavering gaze as she paused only briefly.
"It is my wish for you that you find peace. I am sorry that you have allowed it to come to this. It is better for you to die here with your twisted sense of hope for this future you desire to create than to allow you to live in despair once you finally see the errors of your way. Let me be your liberator." Bella spoke eloquently as her tone morphed and became a mixture of not just her own, but that of her ancestors. She watched as his eyes widened slightly in shock and without further hesitation or warning, Bella moved at a speed that was almost too fast for her family to follow and pierced her hand through his chest, her cool fingers grasping his almost burning heart, and clenching tightly.
Bella involuntarily grimaced as she heard a rush of blood come up through Jake's throat as he let out a strangled howl, before his life supply free flowed around her enclosed fingers. She kept her hand within his chest as he phased back, his eyes glazed and unfocused as he looked at her with just a trace of fear and panic on his face. She slowly laid his now lifeless body onto the ground and removed her blood encased hand from his chest, allowing the contents to drip slowly from her fingertips to the ground below. She crouched on her knees, and raised her blood free hand to his face and gently closed his eyelids.
" Rest in peace, my dear friend. May you find the serenity in the afterlife that you never could while on earth. I am sorry to have failed and could not save you from yourself" Bella whispered as she closed her eyes and leaned down, resting her forehead against his own, a single rogue tear escaping her closed eyes as she allowed herself to feel the weight of the loss.
After a few moments of silence, Bella lifted her head away from Jacob's and casually lifted his corpse into her arms and turned to face her family, who was looking at her with a serene and supportive expression. Bella flung her loose strands of hair over her shoulder and moved forward, her gaze hardening with every single step that she took. Within moments she reached her family, who looked at her with curiosity as her eyes continued to burn with a resolve that they had not yet seen. She knew she needed time to mourn but now was not the time. The battle was not yet over.
Bella laid Jacob's body down next to Jasper's and stood back up, her eyes locked in the direction of the meadow.
"Bella, my darling, what is it?" Esme asked tentatively as she watched her daughter with curiosity and concern. She knew that she was stronger than they had given her credit for, but everyone had a breaking point and she only hoped that Bella did not have to reach that state.
"The fight isn't over. Laurent has retreated like the coward he is, but I can sense him. He's… He's at the meadow" Bella responded with a tinge of frost in her tone.
"You mean, the meadow?" Alice asked with slightly widening eyes.
"Yes, the meadow." Bella paused as she took Alice's hand in her own and laced their fingers together before looking over her family, " Jake is responsible for his actions, this much I know. But I will destroy that sadistic and twisted parasite who crawled into Jake's weak mind. The Jake that died today, I do not know. I will however avenge the version of him that I am choosing to remember, the one who was there for me when no one else was. My first best friend. The reason why I was allowed a second chance in life. This is my story. It will go the way I see fit." Bella all but growled out with fierce conviction in her tone.
Alice took in a deep steadying breath and closed her eyes momentarily before snapping them back open, black as night.
"Bella, wait one second. You keep saying how this is your story, your responsibility and what you are going to do but this is my story, too, you know? This isn't just about you. This life, this new world is not just for you, it's for all of us." Alice paused as Bella sheepishly averted her gaze away from the family with a light sigh, "Laurent may have used Jake as a pawn in his game and caused you pain in the process but he also created this newborn army that led into Jasper being killed, the person who I had the strongest of bonds with aside from you. I demand some sort of retribution for that too. I allowed you to have Jake, now allow me to have mine."
Bella's eyes moved around the once familiar frozen landscape that had on one occasion held so much significance but now meant absolutely nothing. She walked slowly next to Alice, the rest of the family, newborns and the Denalis following behind in silence. Bella sucked her lower lip in between her back to normal teeth as her golden orbs looked around her in a daze, her thoughts focused on the note she had read back on that fateful night. Her worries no longer were focused on Laurent, but rather of Edward. He was the one that she could not kill, not knowing how much Esme missed her son and likely the rest of the family as well.
"Bella, what is it?" Alice asked as they all arrived into the open meadow and Bella visibly tensed, looking around somewhat frantically.
"I was just…" Bella stopped as Laurent walked into the clearing with a slight smirk on his face.
" Looking for someone? Perhaps young Edward?" Laurent drawled out causing the family to look at Bella with wide eyes and for her to shift uncomfortably between her feet.
" I don't have any idea what you are talking about." Bella smoothly replied, her eyes locked onto the rogue vampire who laughed at her remark.
"Oh, is that so?" Laurent asked as he pulled out her worn copy of Wuthering Heights from inside his jacket and Bella clenched her teeth tightly as he flipped through the yellowing and dog-eared pages before casually dropping the book to the frost laden ground and holding the note in between his index and middle finger, twirling it around absentmindedly.
"How dare you. That's mine. You had no right." Bella hissed out as she began to tremble with rage as she saw her once most prized possession now ruined by the frozen water.
"Are you referring to the book or the note, my dear?" Laurent grinned as he neatly unfolded the note and looked it over.
"The book, clearly." Bella snapped back as she attempted to fight off the red haze that was overcoming her vision.
"Interestingly enough though, I believe that they are intertwined. Both connect you to Edward, do they not?" Laurent paused as Alice narrowed her darkening orbs and locked onto Bella with concern, " Oh, do they not know? Did you not share this information with your family and most importantly your mate?"
"The note does not hold significance. I am not here because of it. I- I mean we are here to end this game you've begun, and speaking of games, stop trying to get into our heads. It will not work." Bella growled out.
"Bella, what does the note say?" Alice hissed out as the fear of someone attempting to come between her mate and herself became almost too much to bear. Logically she knew that Bella was hers and she was Bella's but she was not able to force the beast inside of her to acknowledge it.
"Oh, allow me," Laurent paused as he moved his eyes to the note with a sneer as he read on, "Time does not always fix all wounds. Hurry, before the sand of time runs out. Every action, breath, and tear has led us to this moment. My, how it all has changed. Echoes of the past all but veil and haunt the promising future. All is not yet lost; you can fix this. Fix me. Fix it all. Do you recall the bond we forged regardless of the uncertainty? Please have that faith once more. Or would you rather forget? If so, I will amicably say farewell. Still. Please consider. We, you and I still have time to fix what has been lost; if only you knew. Look for me when the snow begins to stick and the trees become hollow and barren and you will find me. Waiting. For you and for you only."
Bella shifted uncomfortably once more as she looked at the ground, unable to meet Alice's hardening gaze.
"It's quite a touching note. He clearly still pines for you, Bella. Tell me, would you take him back if that meant he would leave the Volturi and the coven could be reunited?" Laurent grinned as Bella snapped her gaze up to meet his own.
"The first letter of each of those sentences spell out The Meadow but how could have Edward of known this was going to happen and if so, where is he?" Carlisle murmured more to himself than anything as he looked around the open area.
"Bella, why didn't you tell me? I thought we agreed that there would be no more secrets between us. Is our relationship truly this fragile that you felt you could not trust me with this?" Alice whispered as Bella sighed and moved her glance back to Alice, knowing that she had to tread carefully. She could see the pain and hurt dancing off of Alice's darkening eyes clear as day.
"I found the note the night following my initial sparring match, on my way back up to the bedroom after getting a glass of water. We had just gotten back on track and I didn't want you to worry, especially when it held no significance to me. At least not in the way you are thinking." Bella replied softly, watching her imprint's eyes become a couple of shades lighter in color as she explained. Satisfied that she was on the right track, she tentatively continued.
"I heard Esme and Carmen talking outside about how she missed Edward and I realized in that moment just how selfish and stupid I had been. I never really thought much about Edward leaving the family all those months ago, and no one brought it up again. I thought everyone was okay with it but looking back, how could you all have been? He had been a son, a brother, a friend for much longer than I had been a part of your lives. I realized I never even asked you how you felt, only assumed. Edward and you had always been close. I know you chose me over him but I know it had to have hurt. When I found that note and read it, I knew in that moment that there was a chance, slight as it may be that I could reunite the family. Not knowing if it would work or even if was true was the reason why I didn't say anything. I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up for nothing. I wanted to spare you, all of you any further pain." Bella almost whispered.
"Oh, Bella. I am so sorry. I did not mean for you to overhear that conversation. That burden never should have been put on you." Esme breathed out, her tone laced with shame.
"No need at all to apologize. I am sorry I kept this all from you, Alice. I just didn't feel as if it was noteworthy. No matter the contents of the note, nothing he could ever say would ever sway me from your side. I am forever yours, unconditionally. I love you, Alice." Bella smiled lightly as she reached out and ran a comforting hand down her face.
Alice sighed and did her best to register Bella's words but found that she was not able to do so. She knew she was overacting and that she was doing exactly what Laurent had wanted. He was playing off of her deepest fears, her most severe of insecurities and in doing so, was creating a wedge that never should have been there. That somehow something would change in fate's design and would separate them, just as it had done to unite them all those months ago. Bella anxiously searched her face, willing and pleading for her to understand where she had been coming from. She began to feel a strong pain flood throughout her chest and gasped in surprise. It had been far too long since she had felt this pain and she was not prepared for it. She vaguely heard Laurent's laugh as she fell down onto one knee, and Carmen along with Esme ran forward and held her in her arms as she attempted to soothe down the slight tremors going through her body. Her expression twisted to that of pain as she felt the distance being put between them and slowly became desperate. For the first time, she actually feared of loosing the light of her life.
"Oh, that's right. The curse of the imprint. Remarkable isn't it, how the bonds we think will strengthen us are the same ones that can render us into nothing. All it took in this case was a small wedge to be put between the two of you for you to easily succumb." Laurent grinned as he watched the scene unfold in front of him.
"You know nothing of our bond. Do not underestimate us." Bella challenged back feebly as she closed her right eye tightly as the pain only intensified.
Alice's eyes widened as she looked down at her mate clearly struggling, looking up at her with pleading eyes. Alice looked to her family and then back at Bella, opening and closing her mouth a few times, unable to find or form any words, no matter how hard she desperately tried. She knew she needed to get a grasp and overcome these unwarranted fears. She had no reason to believe that Bella would leave her for Edward or anyone else but without Jasper being there to help control her emotions, she was beginning to succumb to her fears, regardless of how unwarranted they were.
'Who was I to have thought that I should have ever deserved a love, a bond such as this. She deserves so much more than me. I must have allowed myself to be caught up and carried away with my initial vision of her and I together. The desperate desire to be close to her clouded my judgement. I only have it in me to hurt her. All of this is because of our cursed love, perhaps a love that never was truly supposed to be. Bella, I am so sorry. Please, forgive me…'
"You are wrong, Alice." A strong but melodious voice called, causing both Alice and the rest of the family to look over in shock.
Moving gracefully against the clearing, the figure moved. Their dark colored and ornate robes slid smoothly against the freshly fallen snow, their bronze locks appeared to be rather messy, tasseled and sticking out in differing patterns as if a hand had just gone through it. Crimson eyes clashed deeply with that of liquid gold who belonged to the woman they had once loved fiercely. Bella looked upon the figure with surprise and raised herself from the ground slowly with great effort, their gazes fixated.
"Edward."
