Chapter 18

Vampires can't sleep, but they can experience thorough unconsciousness with enough pain. I awoke a couple of times during my blackout, only to find myself entirely consumed in agony to the point I could not even open my eyes, and I quickly fell into blackness again.

When I at last woke, I could still feel my nerves on fire, but at least I could also manage to sit up. I looked around, noting the heavy curtains pulled over the windows to block out the light. A large flat screen television was positioned across the room from me, a silent black void in the wall. A familiar perfume scent lingered in the room and on the sheets I laid on. I quickly realized that I was on Ana's big bed in her room.

I lifted my hand to rub at my eyes, only to let it drop right back where it was, feeling too heavy. I heard heavy, unfamiliar footsteps approach the door, and I immediately went on alert, baring my fangs as the door slowly opened.

I looked up to meet golden eyes. The man before me stood tall and at ease as he peered down at me. A smile turned his pale lips upward as he said, "Sitting up is a good sign. How do you feel?"

I watched him carefully as he approached the bed, noticing how he held a glass of blood in one hand, the other on his hip. "I feel horrid," I told him honestly. "Who are you?"

"Carlisle Cullen," he answered, holding out the hand from his hip. "It's a pleasure to meet you at last, Bella."

With hesitation, I took his hand. He gripped mine firmly, then felt along my wrist and forearm. His cool, gentle touch nearly felt like flames licking at my skin, and I resisted pulling away as he completed his examination. "What day is it?" I asked.

"It'll be Tuesday in about five minutes," he said, "and by sunrise, you should be nearly right as rain." He released my hand, and I let it drop into my lap. "It is a good thing that we heal quickly." He held the glass of blood out to me, and I noticed a plastic straw sticking out of it. "You should feed as much as you can."

I took the glass with a nod of thanks and slowly slipped the blood through to the straw. It was difficult to work my mouth at first, and every micro movement feeling like pins and needles in my jaw. But the more I fed, the more the sensation faded, and I drained the glass within seconds.

Carlisle took the glass from me and set it on the nightstand. He took my hand in his again, feeling my wrist once more, almost as if he were checking for a pulse. The feeling of his skin against my own didn't hurt as much as it had before the blood, and he seemed to gauge this from my reaction. Satisfied, he released my hand.

"Where is Ana?" I asked, sitting forward.

"She is downstairs," he answered. "I'll send her up, if you feel up to it." I nodded, and he left the room. Seconds later, Ana was beside me.

She looked like she wanted to fling her arms around me, so I pulled her into a hug. She returned my embrace carefully, as if I were a fragile human.

At last she pulled away, and letting out a long sigh. "I still can't believe you survived that," she said. "If we had just been even a moment later—I can't think about it."

"I wasn't anywhere near Christo Rey," I insisted, as if I were in trouble, but Ana shook her head.

"Their territory could extend for miles beyond that town," she explained. "They may even claim Forks."

I felt an immediate sinking feeling in my gut. "We have leave, don't we?" I asked reluctantly. Surely this was a definitive sign that the werewolves would continue to hunt us until we were gone.

"Certainly not," Ana responded to my surprise. For a moment, I thought she was going to monologue about taking a stand and holding our ground, which I thought would be really foolish. But instead she said, "We need to protect this town."

My eyes went wide. "They're attacking people?"

"Not the werewolves," Ana corrected. "James."

"But you chased him off."

"Only for a while." Ana sighed again. "He will be back, Belle. He's got a target, and he will never stop until he has won his prize."

"Surely if he goes after Jacob now, the werewolves will take care of him."

"James isn't stupid," Ana said, looking away from me now. "He's going to be thrilled to take this challenge. He will return to this town, and he will waste people to feed on while he takes his time hunting Jacob." She looked back at me again, now taking both of my hands in hers. "Belle, I've known James for a long time. There's a good chance he might try to use Edward as bait."

I stared at Ana as I processed what she said. Everyone in town was in danger, including my friends—but especially Edward. Already I felt the urge to run out into the street and search for Edward, to find him and keep him by my side where I could at least protect him.

"I have to go find him," I said immediately, moving to get up, but Ana grabbed my shoulders and held me in place.

"Not now, Belle," Ana said. "You need to rest and feed. We've got Edward's house covered for now."

"We?" I asked, letting myself settle back on the bed.

Ana nodded to the door. "Carlisle and his coven," she answered. "I'll tell you the details later. Rest now. Trust me, Edward will be safe." I nodded my agreement reluctantly. As Ana left to get me some more blood, I peered at the curtained windows, hoping Edward would be safe during the night.

Relief flooded me when I pulled into the parking lot at school and saw Edward's car parked in the far corner of the lot. I parked my own car, then pulled my cell phone out of my backpack and flipped it open. My fine motor skills were still recovering, but despite this challenge I managed to type out a text message to him, asking him, "Where are you?" I didn't move until the phone vibrated with his response.

"Library. Why?"

By the time I could have typed out any sort of sensible response, I could be in the library, so I grabbed my backpack and fled my car without even locking it. I jogged right past Mike and Jessica, who were standing by stone steps as they usually did in the mornings, and dashed into the library. I scanned the warm, musty-smelling room, and I spotted Edward's green backpack on a table.

He stepped out from an aisle just as I reached the table, and we locked eyes. The dark circles under his eyes had returned, and his acne had taken a turn for the worse. There was a particularly bad explosion of pimples along his forehead. Even still, I wanted nothing more than to wrap my arms around him and plant a huge sloppy kiss on his face.

Edward, however, didn't look particularly affectionate. There was a cold tone to his voice when he asked, "Where were you yesterday?"

"That's a very long story," I said, glancing at the few other bodies in the library. I could hardly relate to him the werewolf attack in their presence.

"You missed the bio test," he said disdainfully, but I gaped at him.

"Exams haven't exactly been the first thing on my mind," I said.

He scoffed. "I suppose they wouldn't be." He picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. "Well I have to return to my mundane life," he spat and headed out of the library.

I followed after him. "Edward, please," I said to him, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder. He looked at me, but he didn't slow his stride. "Come over to my home today, and we can talk about this."

"I don't think so," he said. Then he stopped suddenly, and I nearly collided into him. "Or do I not get a choice in that either?"

"Of course you do," I said, feeling my hope sinking and my worry mounting. "You don't have to come, but it would be safer if—"

He cut me off. "Safer? I'm pretty sure I'm safer staying away from you." I was struck silent by his words, and for a moment, we simply stared at one another. He looked like he was trying to figure out what I was about to do. Attack him? Kidnap him? Was he expecting the worse?

The bell rang, crashing through the silence between us. I broke eye contact and gazed down at my hands. I saw him turn around in my peripheral vision and walk away.

I didn't stay for classes.

Carlisle was sitting in my living room when I returned home. He was now joined by two other vampires, a man and a woman, and all three pairs of golden eyes fell on me as I walked through the front door.

"Bella," Carlisle said, surprise in his voice. "Are you not feeling well?"

"I'm fine," I assured him. "Are these your coven mates?" I nodded to the newcomers.

"Yes," Carlisle said with a handsome smile. "Two of them, anyway. Bella, this is Emmett and Alice."

They were total opposites. Emmett was a very large man. He would have given Jacob a run for his money if they met each other in combat. Sitting down, he was nearly as tall as me, and his long legs stretched out in front of him. Alice beside him was nearly hidden by his mass. She sat forward and smiled at me, and I couldn't decide if Alice's petiteness exaggerated Emmett's gigantism or the other way around.

Earlier that morning, Carlisle and Ana had explained to me that Carlisle's coven mates were spread throughout the Forks area, keeping watch should James return. There three others besides the ones in my living room at that moment: Rosalie, Jasper, and Esme.

"You didn't bring your human with you?" Emmett asked, glancing behind me as if I could simply hide him behind my back.

"He was reluctant to return to the vampire lair," I responded, which made Emmett chuckle. Still, there were more vampires in Forks now than there probably had ever been. This could do nothing but further antagonize the werewolves, surely.

Carlisle looked to Alice. "Is that okay?" he asked her.

Her brow furrowed as she focused on something I couldn't see. Then she smiled and said, "He'll be fine."

Carlisle nodded, looking pleased, and then turned to me. "Please, sit with us, Bella. We have some new information."

"Already?" I asked as Carlisle stood up out of the chair he was sitting in to offer to me. He gave my shoulder an affectionate squeeze as I sat down.

"Alice here's seen 'em," Emmett said, and I looked to the woman in question.

"Them?" I repeated.

Alice nodded somberly and responded, "Apparently James has decided to bring his mate back with him."

I let out a long breath and slumped against the chair. James himself was more than a handful. Ana had told me of James' mate, Victoria, when he had first come to stay with us. She was a skilled, agile vampire almost equal in strength to James. "And you've seen them in Forks already?"

Shaking her head, Alice explained, "I have seen them in the future. I have the gift of foresight." Her tone was oddly casual, as if someone possessing such an ability was standard. "However, they may be here as soon as this afternoon. We have to be vigilant."

Beside her, Emmett cracked his knuckles. "We'll be ready for 'em," he said eagerly, and I almost pitied James would have him waiting. Emmett was built like an elephant; he could probably rip James apart like a ragdoll.

"If we can find them," Alice said. "Victoria is good at eluding anyone looking for her. Even me." She sounded impressed rather than troubled. "If we can catch them as they enter the area, that wouldn't be a problem, but we have those mutts to put up with."

"Alice," Carlisle chided. Alice only rolled her dark eyes in response. "I will deal with the werewolves," Carlisle went on.

"Alone?" I asked, thinking back to my attack.

"I'm not going to fight them," Carlisle said with a chuckle. "I will speak with their pack leader."

"They're not going to listen to reason," Alice argued. "The moment you tell them even more vampires are going to show up, they're going to maul you and come after us."

"And that's why Carlisle's not taking you," Emmett said to her.

"He's not taking you, either," Alice responded, poking his large bicep, "although he should."

"Emmett's far too intimidating," Carlisle said, striding across the living room. He stopped and stood beside me. "But you aren't, Bella."

"What?" Alice said, jumping to her feet like an alarmed cat. "You can't bring her back there. They nearly killed her."

"I've already contacted them," Carlisle said in a calm tone. "We'll not be meeting in Christo Rey, but rather on neutral ground in Port Angeles." I stared at Carlisle as he smiled at me. "You don't have to come with me, of course," he said. "I understand if you rather wouldn't. However, I do think your presence would be helpful."

The very thought of facing those werewolves again sent my mind reeling, but I managed to get ahold of myself. This was a diplomatic meeting, not round two. And even if Edward wanted nothing to do with me, I had to protect him as well as my friends back at Forks High. This was beyond my need for comfort.

"I'll come," I said, and Alice threw up her hands and began to pace, her fury plain on her face. As Emmett made half-hearted attempts to calm her down, I got to my feet and followed Carlisle outside to my car. As we drove, I steeled my nerves and gathered up every ounce of courage I had in my being. It hardly felt like enough.

"Shall we have some music?" Carlisle asked. I nodded, and he turned on the radio and tuned it to a classical station. Bombastic orchestral music played quietly from the speakers. "Ana tells me you have a short history with one of these werewolves."

I pursed my lips for a moment. "Jacob. I've met him twice." I grimaced. "Or maybe three times."

Carlisle smiled sympathetically. "One of the adolescents. I counted four among the pack."

"How many are there?" I asked.

"We believe fourteen," he answered. "That is, fourteen active werewolves. The older generations won't transform, and the children are too young."

"Is everyone in Christo Rey a werewolf?"

He shook his head. "No, no. The pack consist mostly of an insular group who live on the northern part of the town. A gang of bikers."

I glanced to Carlisle in surprise. "There's a werewolf biker gang in Christo Rey?" I shook my head. "And this whole time I thought Washington had nothing going for it." Carlisle laughed.

I pulled into the parking lot of La Bella Italia. The last time I had been there, I had been with friends. I had listened to them gossip and discussed their boyfriends and vent their frustrations with school. It struck me that that restaurant had been the place I had first met Jacob, and, as Carlisle and I walked inside the fragrant dining room, I realized I would meet him again.

We spotted them the moment we walked in. Jacob was there, sitting with two other men at a table set far in a secluded corner. They were dressed in jeans and leather, the very picture of bikers. One of the men I recognized from my search for James: the black man I had inquired with in Christo Rey. I had suspected he was a werewolf then; now it was confirmed. I wondered if he had been part of the party that had attacked me. Jacob and I locked eyes. He scowled at me.

The trio rose as Carlisle and I approached, and Carlisle smiled pleasantly. "You must be Peter Thompson," he said to the man I recognized.

He nodded once. "And you are Carlisle, I take it," he said, his voice gravelly and low. His dark eyes traveled to me.

"Indeed. This is my good friend, Bella," Carlisle said, nodding to me.

Peter nodded to the boy to his left—"Paul."—and to his right—"Jacob." Paul was shorter than the other two by a couple of inches and marginally more slender. He resembled Jacob quite a bit; they could be brothers, down to the same long, black hair.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Carlisle said warmly.

"Let's get on with it," Jacob growled, his eyes still on me. Peter roughly pushed Jacob down into his chair, and then the rest of us sat down.

I sat rigidly on the edge of my seat, now avoiding Jacob's gaze. I felt him boring into me with his eyes, but I focused on Peter as he spoke. "We've been watching you. More of your kind have been moving into Forks, and they've been seen around Christo Rey."

"Yes, I suppose that would have caused you some anxiety," Carlisle said, which Paul glowered at him for. "We rarely congregate in such great numbers like this, but circumstances have caused us to meet."

"What circumstances?" Peter demanded, leaning forward.

At that moment, a waitress approached the table to take our orders. Her eyes were tinged with apprehension as she looked between the three heavily-muscled, leather-clad men and the pallor pair. Carlisle took the liberty to order coffee and water for us all, and as the waitress retreated, he looked back to Peter with a serious expression.

"Before I tell you," he said, glancing to Jacob and Paul, "you must promise your protégés will keep their calm."

Jacob scoffed. "We are capable of that," he spat.

"Of course," Carlisle said, meeting Peter's scowling gaze. Although his face and countenance were calm and collected, I realized in retrospect that Carlisle must have been extremely wary of the werewolves' reactions. "We are currently attempting to deter a highly dangerous feral vampire and his mate from entering this town."

Paul let out a low, quiet growl; Jacob's hands twitched on the table. A tangle of nerves started to grow in my belly, but Carlisle's aura of serenity helped me to keep a lid on my turbulent emotions.

Peter put a single hand up to calm his younger companions. The waitress returned with our coffee, setting down the mugs with a rushed nervousness. Carlisle politely thanked the waitress and waved her off, and this paused allowed Jacob, Paul, and myself to calm down.

"Now, if I have the story correct, that feral vampire has already made attempt at you, young man," Carlisle said to Jacob, wrapping his slender fingers around his mug. Peter's eyes narrowed, and I couldn't help but glance to Jacob.

Jacob let out a breath, his eyes narrowing further. "It did. And it's her fault." He gestured to me.

I returned with my own glare. "I didn't tell him anything," I defended.

"It came here because you live in Forks," Jacob shot back, his voice rising. "And now look what's happened to me!"

Peter clapped a hand on Jacob's shoulder and shot him a look. Jacob rose from his chair and stormed out of the restaurant, slamming through the door with enough force to knock its bell off. The restaurant momentarily silenced as this happened and most of the patrons watched Jacob's retreat.

Carlisle waited until the din returned before speaking again. "We don't want a war," he said quietly to Peter. "I'm offering the assistance of my coven. Bella and her companion Ana are also able to help you. We will take care of this feral vampire, but it would be much easier if we also didn't have to fight you in the process."

Peter nodded, glancing knowingly to Paul. "Once this thing is neutralized, you all have to leave Forks."

"Ana and I live there," I argued. "It's our home."

"Find a new one," Peter said with little sympathy. "One bloodsucker is one too many. You only bring trouble."

Carlisle gave my knee a reassuring pat under the table. "One thing at a time, hm? Let us address the feral vampire, and then—"

"No," Peter barked. "I want your agreement now. Our pack hasn't had a transformation in two hundred years. You leave this place once it's over, before our children transform."

Carlisle opened his mouth to speak, but I interrupted him. "Fine," I said, drawing Peter's attention to me. "Once James is gone, Ana and I will leave Washington. Is that good enough?"

Peter glanced to Paul once again, and I started to wonder if they had some sort of nonverbal communication going on. Peter looked at Carlisle again. "And your group?"

"We're nomadic," Carlisle said. "We'll be gone before you even know it."

Peter nodded and, getting to his feet, extended a hand. "Then we have a truce."

Carlisle stood as well and shook Peter's hand. "Thank you," he said with a smile.

Peter glowered, and Paul got to his feet. Without another word, they left the restaurant, leaving Carlisle and me alone. Carlisle sat down and took a sip of his coffee.

"Do you plan to hold to that agreement?" he asked me.

"Of course," I said, almost in a whisper.

"What about your Edward?"

I shook my head. "He's not my Edward. He's a mortal teenage boy. He has no business being with a vampire." I ran a hand down my face, trying to quash the rising tide of grief bubbled in my gut. "He deserves a normal life."

Carlisle was quiet for a few moments as I calmed myself down. Then he took up one of the menus left on the table and asked, "Shall we have some dessert?"