Chapter 33
I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT OR CHARACTERS
"What?" Bella gasped, coming back to herself in a rush of pure fear.
"Come on, Bella, get up, get up!" Alice hissed urgently, scrambling to her feet.
"Alice, what do you mean my father's coming? He's coming here?" Bella demanded, struggling to hers too. She was still a little dizzy and a whole lot giddy, and her arm felt fuzzy, as if it were asleep, but she didn't care about that at all.
All she cared about was those hair-raising howls echoing in the distance and the fact that Charlie was apparently on his way. This was the last place her father needed to be and the absolute worst time for him to be here.
"Get dressed Bella, quickly!" Alice commanded and zipped around her room in a blur, into her closet to grab a shirt and then back out to her dresser, yanking out two pairs of jeans, one of which she threw to Bella.
Bella barely caught it and the shirt Alice tossed at her a second later, still frozen in shock.
"God, I can't believe you let me bite you!" Alice babbled anxiously under her breath as she wriggled into her pants. "Are you okay? I can't believe I got so out of control, I can't believe we did that, please tell me you're alright Bella-"
"I'm fine-Are you okay? Do you feel sick at all?" Bella flipped the question, realizing suddenly that she was the one with a track record of doing harm to vampires.
Please, God, tell me I haven't killed her. Tell me I haven't made her mortal. Tell me I haven't hurt my Alice.
"I'm fine," Alice replied breathlessly despite her lack of need for breath. "I feel-I'm more than fine, I feel fucking fantastic, I don't know why-I don't think-"
Bella was understandably bewildered as Alice trailed off for a moment looking just as bewildered, licking her lips and running a hand through her messy black hair. Her eyes were an electric blue, wide, filled with a wild sort of life that was unnerving at the same time that it was relieving.
She feels fantastic? Bella cocked her head. What?
"You don't feel human or something?" Bella inquired anxiously and Alice shook her head immediately.
"No, I… I feel so far from human right now, I can't explain it. I feel good. I feel stronger, actually, I don't think your blood made me more human, I think it did the complete opposite but-"
Alice cut herself off and snapped out of whatever reverie seemed to be in as she stood there, seemingly glowing before Bella's eyes. She definitely didn't look any more human save for her irises, so that was a relief.
If they were about to go to war, then human was the last thing Alice needed to be.
"But that doesn't matter, I think I'm okay-Are you sure you're fine?" Alice insisted worriedly as she got moving again, searching wildly for underwear, which she flung at Bella while she continued to babble. "God, that was so stupid of me! Stupid, stupid, stupid!"
It most certainly mattered, but Alice had a point regardless. If she said she was okay and Bella said she was okay then they were just going to have to trust each other and hope they were right, because there was a more pressing problem at hand.
"Seriously, I'm okay, but-Alice, answer me! What did you mean? The wolves are coming? And what about my dad?" Bella insisted, ignoring Alice's concern, her voice jumping up a few pitches as she dodged a wayward bra coming right for her face.
Alice skidded to a stop in front of her, her peculiar blue eyes wide with exasperation. If Bella was not so suddenly overwhelmed, she might have had the presence of mind to wonder about them, but unfortunately, she wouldn't get the chance. She wouldn't get the chance to process anything that had just happened.
Not even the mind blowing sex, unfortunately.
Thankfully, however, Alice seemed to be getting better at taking Bella's word for it when she said she was okay when she very well shouldn't be.
"I mean your father is on his way here right now, Bella! And we are about to have a very serious problem so please get dressed!" Alice pleaded, squirming her way into her own shirt even as she spoke.
"He's coming now?" Bella squeaked out.
"Yes!"
"Shit," Bella breathed, her heart stopping, her stomach falling free.
Oh no. No, Charlie, no!
"Shit!" Bella yelped again and then immediately began throwing on the clothes. The fuzzy feeling in her arm was fading away but she still accidentally ripped the neck of the shirt in her frenzy. It was entirely inconsequential. She was clothed in five seconds flat, and she and Alice bolted from the room, down the stairs and into the living room.
Only Esme remained, apparently having waited for them.
"There you two are, finally! The others are-Why are your eyes blue?" Esme demanded suddenly, her own eyes widening as she took in Alice's bright blue irises.
"Oh, you two didn't," Esme breathed as she realized what the only possible explanation could be.
"We did, but that doesn't matter right now Esme," Alice said quickly as Bella squirmed uncomfortably.
Even in all her panic, this was still pretty embarrassing. This was Alice's mother after all. She felt like a child that had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
Literally as well as figuratively.
"Doesn't matter? Don't you know how dangerous that was, Alice?" Esme cried.
Bella felt a bit guilty for that; it wasn't necessarily Alice's fault, Bella had kind of encouraged her to do it, practically forced her really…
Before either of them could say a thing to her, a howl that sounded much closer than before went up.
"Are they here already?" Bella gasped, her heart jumping fervently in response. A nervous hand squeezed the back of her skull, ready to put her into Flight or Fight mode in a split second.
"No," Esme replied, her voice strained, thankfully distracted from the obvious fact that Alice had bitten Bella. (And that they'd clearly been having sex, much to Bella's relief.) "That was Leah. She's gone to try and head the wolves off and I couldn't stop her. She thinks she can convince them not to attack."
"She won't," Alice said without hesitation, with such conviction that Bella's stomach clenched painfully. Her heart turned to ice with fear.
How had things gone so wrong so very quickly? One second she and Alice had been together in utter bliss, and now Leah was off on some suicide mission, and her father, dear God, was on his way-
Bella whipped around at the sound of a car pulling up outside, crunching gravel beneath its tires.
Not my Dad!
"Charlie," she whispered, and tried to bolt for him, but Alice's arm wrapped around her waist and jerked her to a halt.
"Let me go, Alice! I have to get him out of here!" Bella yelled but Alice held her tight. Bella snarled, infuriated, because all she cared about at that moment was keeping Charlie safe. Like hell would she let him get hurt in the wild crossfire that her life had become.
"Is that her father?" Esme gasped in shock as Alice struggled with Bella.
"Yes Esme! He's finally caught on that we've been lying and he's here for answers! Go and get him out of here!" Alice told her mother quickly, still holding Bella close.
To be fair, it had taken Charlie an inordinate amount of time to figure out their game. But the apple did not fall from the tree, and as Bella tended to take things as weirdly as they were, so did her father, until they were simply not inconspicuous enough anymore to continue pulling the hood over his trusting eyes.
"Bella, please stop, we have to go help the others! Esme won't let Charlie get hurt!" Alice pleaded to her ear, but Bella didn't care because there came the sound of furious banging on the front door that could only be her father.
"God damn it, Alice, let me go!" Bella cried desperately, her heart hammering inside her chest.
She couldn't let Charlie get hurt. She couldn't.
"The others are already gone to meet the wolves. Both of you, go, I'll handle it. I swear to you, Bella, I won't let Charlie get hurt. I'll get him out of here, far away from this!" Esme vowed, staring directly into Bella's eyes.
If it had been anyone other than Esme, Bella would have said no way. But the conviction in that woman's eyes convinced Bella that Esme would do any and everything to keep her father safe, and knowing Esme, she would succeed.
Bella stopped struggling but didn't stop trembling, and that was Esme's cue to blur her way to the front door and yank it open.
Bella felt a pang in her heart as she heard Charlie's voice immediately start up, full of ire and fatherly concern, and all she really wanted was to go to him, but she couldn't.
It was a far cry from the days where Bella could fall into her father's arms, where it was always safe, where he could always protect her from any harm.
Oh, how the tables had turned.
"Come on Bella, come on. We've got to go!" Alice begged her, tugging her the other away. "We have to go now!"
Reluctantly, Bella nodded her head, and then she and Alice sprinted out the back door, inhumanly fast, pelting into the forest behind the Cullen household. The howls were growing louder by the second.
"Alice, what are we going to do?" Bella called to her lover as they ran, whipping past trees and brush in a blur. It was exhilarating to be able to run so fast; Bella almost felt like she was flying. If she weren't so damn scared, she might have been able to enjoy it.
"We'll figure it out when we get there!" Alice called back, leading the way. "Just stay close to me, Bella! Stay right next to me!"
"I still don't know how to use that power!" Bella told her fearfully as she leapt a fallen log.
"One step at a time, baby doll, remember?" Alice practically drawled as she effortlessly maneuvered through the forest ahead of Bella. If Bella had been so scared, she might have noticed how Alice seemed even more graceful than usual, which was saying something.
As it was, a hysterical part of her wanted to laugh.
One step at a time, huh?
Since when had that ever worked out?
Still, it was comforting to see Alice was becoming her usual graceful self under her pressure.
That comfort was erased instantly as they burst out of the trees into a huge clearing and came upon everyone. Bella skidded to a halt, kicking up dust as Alice threw out a hand, halting her momentum so suddenly that she staggered, held up only by her lover.
It wasn't the most graceful entrance ever, but it would do.
It was like stepping into a pit of snakes, surrounded by all the nomads that crouched around them, hissing and baring their fangs.
And standing on the other side of the clearing were the wolves.
Bella's hackles rose and she hissed too at the sight of them. They were outnumbered; there must have been over a score of the shapeshifters. They were huge, monstrous beasts, towering at least seven feet tall each, hulking, baring rows of glistening white teeth, snarling.
They padded out of the trees, dripping saliva, snapping their jaws, the fur on their backs high, yellow eyes wild.
Yet Bella had eyes for two wolves in particular that were in the center of the clearing, circling each other, one ashy gray and white, the other solid jet black. She would recognize them both anywhere.
Leah and Sam.
A corrosive hatred blazed through Bella at the sight of that black wolf. She had not forgotten that Sam had nearly killed Alice, and never would. Nor would she ever be able to forgive it.
Now he looked as if any second he might attempt the same on the life of her best friend.
It took all of Bella's willpower to not immediately leap forward and charge headlong into battle like an idiot.
"Nice of you two to join us," Carlisle murmured from their left, his eyes focused on the circling wolves.
"Can you blame them, Carlisle? I haven't heard a copulation like that since my own newborn years," Garrett chuckled from their right.
Despite the circumstances, Bella's cheeks still burned. Alice appeared unaffected. If they survived this, they would definitely be having a talk about that. Surely every vampire in a twenty mile radius had heard them in the middle of their 'copulation'.
"What is she doing?" Bella inquired in a tight voice instead of acknowledging that. She glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw Emmett laughing, and saw a few others shaking their heads.
How humiliating. But now was not the time to wallow in embarrassment.
Stupid hormones and instincts.
"She's trying to talk Sam out of attacking us," Carlisle replied, watching them intently.
"She's telling him that the treaty still stands," Edward told them, clearly listening in on their thoughts.
"Why?" Bella groaned, and then growled protectively when Sam snapped his teeth at Leah, who had gotten too close as they continued circling each other. Leah's muzzle wrinkled in response but she didn't back away.
I swear if you get yourself killed Leah, I will never forgive you, Bella thought angrily, but only because she was terrified for her. Next to Alice, Leah was her best friend and she had personally seen how powerful Sam could be, and so had Leah for that matter.
If it came down to a one on one between Leah and Sam, Bella wasn't at all confident that Leah would win. Leah wasn't weak by any means, but Sam was just so utterly powerful. She remembered attempting to fight him herself and how badly that had gone.
But maybe…
If only Bella knew how to access her gift, no wolf could stand a chance against them.
If only, if only, Bella lamented internally. If only things could be so easy.
"Is that your pet?" Kate inquired from beside Garrett, crouched low to the ground. Bella glared at her for the derogatory term towards Leah's canine state.
"You should keep her on a leash," Kate muttered as Leah snarled at Sam, who drew up to his full height threateningly.
Bella considered punching her in the face, but figured that would be counterproductive.
"What is she saying, Edward?" Carlisle asked quickly as Bella tensed, ready to jump to Leah's defense if she had too and be damned the consequences. How many times had Leah done the same for her?
"She's saying that attacking El Madre del Sol is blasphemy," Edward replied immediately. "That going against her goes against everything the packs stand for."
"What the hell is El Madre del Sol?" Garrett frowned.
"It's a long story dude," Emmett called to him from a bit further away.
"You did not tell us there were so many of these wolves, Carlisle," Marshall spat from Edward's left, eyeing the Quileutes and whoever the other tribes were with disgust. "What else did you leave out? We signed on to fight the Volturi, not a pack of wayward mutts."
"We're not going to fight them," Carlisle said, side eyeing Bella.
Bella cast him an utterly exasperated look as Alice growled "Carlisle" in an equally exasperated tone.
"Not going to fight them?" someone down the line scoffed, but in that moment Sam let loose a
furious snarl that made every vampire in the clearing hiss and all the wolves bark and growl back.
Leah drew up now, refusing to back down even as Sam towered over her. It was a blatant power play that Edward commentated quickly as the tension rose rapidly in the clearing.
"Sam is saying we've brainwashed Bella," he told them. Bella gawked in disbelief but Edward kept going before she could get a chance to voice how asinine an assumption that was.
"They think we've gathered en-masse to slaughter everyone in Forks out of bloodlust and Leah has been branded a traitor who can either leave, exiled, or die now. He's saying they're going to free Bella from us, and that if Leah doesn't back down, they're going to kill her too."
Like hell they would!
Bella's shoulders bowed up, and she felt Alice sway closer to her as if to soothe her, but it didn't help.
There was no way on this entire planet that Bella would allow Sam and his pack to kill Leah.
"Why are your eyes blue, Alice?" Carlisle suddenly inquired of his daughter, doing a double take as he finally noticed something was different about her.
Damn it, Bella thought, her eyes closing for a bit longer than a standard blink.
"Did you bite Bella?" Edward demanded, noticing as well.
Double damn it, she groaned internally, blushing brightly and avoiding everyone's eyes.
"Seriously Alice?" Bella heard Rosalie scoff from beside Emmett. "What happened to that 'no one is biting her' crap, you little hypocrite?"
Bella fought not to sigh in frustration. It had been such a stupid thing to do.
But acting on instinct wasn't usually motivated by intelligence.
"So not the time for this!" Alice said urgently, and they all tensed up when the loudest snarl yet went up from Sam, echoed by Leah.
And just like that, they attacked each other.
Sam lunged forward and snapped his jaws at Leah who met him head on, swinging her huge paws at his face. The clearing whirled with the sounds of two huge beasts clashing, a twisting mass of fur; a dogfight of epic proportions.
Bella's heart stopped and she made the snap decision that she was not going to stand by and watch Sam rip Leah apart. She surged forward, but she'd barely made it three steps before both Carlisle and Edward grabbed her and yanked her back.
"No!" Bella cried furiously as she heard Leah give a high pitched yelp when Sam's claws slapped across her muzzle.
She saw quickly why they'd pulled her back, however, when the line of wolves across the clearing shifted forward, baring all their teeth, hackles high, daring any of the vampires to join in. The moment anyone did, the war would be on. It would become a bloodbath the moment this standstill ended. Bella sensed the nomads sliding forward, ready to fight any second.
"Don't Bella!" Carlisle said as Bella struggled in their arms, realized she didn't even care when Leah landed flat on her back, kicking her back feet into Sam's stomach, eyes wild as Sam bit roughly at her shoulder, shaking his head to tear the muscle.
Leah's high pitched whines of pain and subsequent snarls of anger cut through Bella like a sword.
"Let me go, god damn it! Let me go! He's going to kill her!" Bella screamed desperately, feeling tears spring to her eyes. "He's going to fucking kill her!"
She watched in horror as Sam's teeth clamped around Leah's throat, squeezing, cutting off Leah's air supply. He was just so huge; how could Leah fight his weight off? Though she seemed determined to try, until the very end. She didn't stop snarling or growling, never stopped scrambling, clawing at Sam, who seemed entirely unaffected by the gouges she was kicking into his belly. Bella could see the rage in Leah's luminous yellow eyes, the way she wasn't going to give in, wasn't going to submit, ever.
Even if it would save her life.
Bella watched as Sam seemed to hesitate, as if waiting for Leah to give in, knowing she'd been beaten, but when it didn't happen, Sam seemed to steel himself, and then clenched his jaws around her throat so tightly that Bella could see blood bubble up between his teeth.
Leah never stopped struggling. She whined in agony and somehow her eyes seemed to find Bella's through it all.
They were filled with fire. Leah's eyes gave no hint of regret, no fear, just an all consuming rage even as Sam prepared to rip out her throat.
And Bella knew she couldn't let that happen.
The slap of instincts collided with her skull, kicking Bella into that animalistic mode where nothing but instinct and raw feeling mattered.
"Get off of her!" she screamed, her voice taking on a guttural quality. She struggled wildly in Carlisle and Edward's arms as Leah let out such a high pitched cry that it pierced through Bella's heart like a white hot needle.
He's going to kill her. He's going to kill my family. My pack mate, Bella's brain hissed with rage and desperation.
He's going to kill Leah.
With horror, Bella realized she couldn't break free of Carlisle or Edward, who were both begging her to calm down. She couldn't get free, couldn't go to Leah and protect her as Sam's teeth pierced her throat, close to ripping it out.
"Carlisle, he's killing her," she heard Alice gasp, and with sudden ferocity, Bella vaulted free of the maelstrom in her mind, seeing clearly, so very clearly.
There was only one way to stop Sam, and Bella had never been able to voluntarily do it. She trembled and locked her jaw tightly, summoning a willpower from deep inside that she'd never had before.
She had never consciously been able to draw on that power before.
Until now.
He.
Will.
NOT.
She did not beg or struggle to feel that power inside of her. She demanded that power to come coursing through her veins. She summoned it with every ounce of willpower she had, lassoed it tight, felt it vibrating in her bones.
"Get off of her!" Bella snarled so hard that it burned her vocal cords, and with a sudden pulsation in the air, Carlisle and Edward were forced to stagger away from her as Bella felt a blast of raw energy shoot straight from the core of her chest like a bolt of lightning.
She staggered from the force of it as Sam yelped and went flying through the air, shedding fur and cracking bone to land in the dirt before the packs of wolves who locked as shocked as a canine could…
In his human form.
Leah lay where she'd fallen, human as well, blood leaking from her neck at an alarming rate.
She'd done it.
Maybe her aim hadn't been so good, but the fact remained that she'd still done it.
Bella felt something hot in her throat as the entire clearing went eerily still and she sprinted to Leah's side, uncaring about anything, even what she'd just been able to do. All that mattered now was making sure Leah didn't die. She stood over her, a foot on either side of her, protectively. When she looked down, her heart skipped a beat and the acrid taste of fear filled her mouth.
"Leah," she breathed, terrified by the sight of her. The whisper of bloodlust tickled inside of her, but died immediately at the sight of Leah's ragged breathing.
You idiot Leah, why did you do this? Why? Bella thought brokenly, tears springing to her eyes at the sight of her friend's mutilated form.
At the sound of her name, Leah's eyes peeled open and she gazed up at Bella blearily.
What she did next stunned Bella stupid.
Leah started chuckling.
She actually started laughing.
"Way to go, Bruce Lee," Leah mumbled, and Bella stared down at her in disbelief, saw that Leah was holding a hand to her bloody throat and watching her with a weak smile.
Then Leah burst into a coughing fit that wracked her whole body, spraying flecks of blood into the air that scared Bella even as she waved the brunette off.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Leah gasped, curling onto her side and shoving Bella's hands away as Bella crouched down to her in anxiety.
If Leah died here, Bella didn't know what she would do. It would be like losing a sister; she could feel the panic of it building rapidly. Leah was known to see dangerous situations as less than they actually were. It was no wonder she'd ended up like this.
"Fine? You are not fine," Bella gawked but Leah grimaced a dry smirk at her.
"I've had worse, trust me," Leah wheezed. "Do your thing, mami, don't mind me. Fuck, that really hurt…"
How could she possibly have had worse? Bella wondered with more than a little anxious skepticism.
Either way, Bella was unconvinced. Leah's throat was an open wound, pumping wet, sweet blood onto the ground, but then someone spoke and Bella was ripped out of her concern for Leah's life by absolute hatred.
It was a raw, primal emotion, seeded now deeply within her soul.
"El Madre del Sol," Sam said softly, darkly, but Bella heard him clearly. "Why do you fight for those you are supposed to destroy…?"
Bella looked directly at Sam with a vicious scowl. Her heart hammered. Her chest felt bruised, as if someone had punched her. She felt feverish. She also felt very, very pissed off.
"Shut your mouth," Bella hissed and stood upright, shoulders bowed, hands splayed into claws, working a muscle in her jaw.
The temperature dropped ten degrees. Bella's stomach clenched like iron with a cold rage. The sight of her made some of the wolves' hackles rise and they stepped forward next to Sam, who watched her with a mixture of disbelief and utter bewilderment.
Their movement made the nomads slide forward, baring their fangs and hissing. The packs growled warningly, and Bella felt something all too human snap inside of her.
"Back the fuck up," she snarled and took an unflinching step forward, then two more, her hands snapping into fists so tight that her knuckles popped.
She had never felt something so brutal before, such despise for another person.
The wolves jolted, and Bella was both surprised and utterly satisfied to see them hesitate nervously as even Sam blanched, licking his lips.
Her demonstration had scared them. Every single one of them.
They had seen what she could do to them. Everyone in the clearing knew the wolves were no match for vampires in their human forms, and Bella had just proven that she was capable of making that worst nightmare come true.
The nomads seemed bolstered and they advanced, but Bella threw an arm out and barked, "All of you! Stop it!"
They halted just as quickly, watching Bella warily, stunned by the authoritative sound of her voice. Even the Cullens hesitated. They were not the only ones. Bella had startled herself with her unusual display of dominance.
I don't care. Enough. No more. Everyone is going to stop, right here, right now.
Bella had reached a breaking point by the near murder of yet another person she cared about with all her heart.
Only Alice gazed at her with no fear, no anxiety. She stared at Bella; close by, with emotion swirling in her beautiful black eyes.
It was pride, Bella realized belatedly, her breath hitching as Alice gazed at her fondly, with utter trust.
It sealed everything for her. If Alice believed in her, then Bella was not afraid to make a move.
Not anymore.
She turned back to Sam with a dark rage in her heart that she barely contained.
This was not who she usually was, but he had brought it out in her with this fiery bloom of hate filling her stomach, squeezing the back of her skull.
"That's the second time you've tried to kill the people I love when you have no idea what's going on," Bella ground out through clenched teeth to him. "This is the second time I have the chance to kill you…"
She heard growls echo throughout the clearing, but none of the wolves did more than that. They didn't dare in Bella's presence.
"And I'm not going to."
It took all of her willpower to say it, because that was the only thing she wanted to do right then.
Kill Sam. Kill the man who had almost taken her lover's life, and Leah's. Who had brought an army to slaughter the people she cared about most in the world.
Become a killer.
How had it come to this?
Bella was no murderer at heart. She knew that. But looking at Sam and seeing all he had done, she could feel the desire to do it racing through her. She held it back. She fought it away. She didn't want to be that person.
Right now, she wasn't allowed to be that person, for a very good reason.
"Why the hell not?" Emmett snapped in protest at her declaration even as the wolves seemed to share looks of relief that Bella wasn't going to unleash her power on them…
Yet, at least.
"Because they are not the enemy," Carlisle said clearly to the entire clearing.
"Not the enemy?" Kate echoed with disbelief, to an outcry of agreement. The packs shifted nervously but didn't turn to run. They watched every vampire with hate in their eyes, mirroring it.
Bella felt a vein in her temple pulse. Her legs felt like jelly. Using her power, even in a lesser state, had cost something. She was still trying to recover. Only anger fueled her when all she really wanted to do was sit down with her head in her hands.
And her patience was beginning to wear so very thin. She was a raw nerve, and hoped Carlisle could explain her thinking better than she could.
If anyone understood what she was about to try and do, it would be Carlisle.
"Pops, I seriously don't think your plan is going to work," Emmett said slowly, eyeing the growling wolves with distaste. "They literally just tried to slaughter us. For the second time!"
"Sam even went after their precious Mother of the Sun," Rosalie spat. "It's time we throw these pups in the river once and for all!"
Sometimes Bella could be startled by the cold streak that ran through the Cullens. They had all lived for a long, long time. She had always wondered vaguely how many people they each had killed, and for what reasons. Blood lust, and what else?
But she supposed she understood now. In matters of life and death, she was going to stand for the ones she loved, no matter what that took. Part of her agreed with Rosalie and Emmett. A deep, dark part of her wanted this fight, this battle, wanted to rip into anyone who dared threaten her family.
She had to swallow it back.
Leah panted at her feet for air.
But god would it be satisfying…
She crouched and put a hand on Leah's shoulder, ignoring the pull in her throat at the wild smell of her blood. Leah's blood smelled like no other animal's. It was hot and sweet, yet still coppery with some exotic twinge that called Bella's predator despite her humanity. Carlisle theorized that it was because she was technically part wolf, and that was why even as a human her blood still called to Bella.
But it was so easily overridden when Bella was so afraid for her life.
"I'm fine…" Leah mumbled, practically wheezed to the dirt.
I wish I believed you, Bella thought desperately. Why do you give so much to me, to us, Leah? Why do you hurt yourself so much just to keep us safe, you idiot? What did we ever do to deserve this loyalty from you?
The truth was, they had done nothing to deserve it. It was only because of Leah's heart that Leah did the things she did, stupid as they sometimes were.
And it's all my fault, Bella realized with a rush of self loathing and guilt as she gazed down on Leah. All my fault that we're all in this mess. If they'd never met me, if the Cullens and Leah had never had the misfortune of stumbling into my life, none of this would have happened.
I did this to Leah. I did this to Alice, her family.
I did this.
"No!" Carlisle said again, pulling Bella's attention away from those painful thoughts as there were echoes of agreement from the nomads.
"Why do you defend them, Carlisle?" Marshall scowled. "They are just dogs! Stray mutts! Mutts that just tried to kill you and your whole family! Did you not see the way that swine even converged upon one of their own like a slab of meat? They tried to tear her apart and would have if it were not for Isabella's magnificent gift!"
"Yes, what happened to freeing Bella?" Edward said darkly, glaring at Sam, who stared back stoically, on his knees, dripping mud and blood from the wounds Leah had inflicted on his abdomen. He clutched a hand to them, and Bella was satisfied to see the grimace of pain on his face.
That's what you get, you bastard, she thought cruelly.
Leah had not gone down without a fight. He still seemed unable to stand, and it wasn't all Bella's doing. She thought she might be able to see bone in a gouge Leah had left in his left leg. The muscles in both of his shoulders were torn. He breathed as hard as Leah did, though with an easier effort.
It made Bella want to slam his face into the ground like a basketball.
"We need them!" Carlisle said fiercely to his children, and Bella hated to agree but she did.
If they could convince these assholes that helping them was better than attacking them, then when the time came to fight the Volturi, they would actually be a considerable force to be reckoned with.
Instead of a Hail Mary, shot in the dark, last stand band of a desperate, rag tag group of vampires.
This received a general uproar of protest.
"Like hell we do!" Rosalie snapped and didn't quail under her father's furious gaze.
"Carlisle, I think she's right," Edward spoke up. "They can't be trusted. Right now they're just another enemy to contend with. We should finish them while we have the chance and then focus on the Volturi."
"Listen to your son, Carlisle!" Marshall said firmly. "We know you've never had the heart for killing, so just let us take care of it."
"Now hold on a second," Garrett said with a note of caution. "Carlisle's got a point. Remember the old saying; 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend'…"
"They can't be trusted!" one of the Irish nomads hissed.
"Enough of this nonsense," Kate rolled her eyes. "Let's just kill them and be done with it!"
"No, no!" Carlisle cried as the nomads all agreed loudly and looked seconds away from launching a full out assault. The wolves bared all their teeth and the clearing echoed with growls and hisses.
Bella knew they could do it, too, if she managed to use her power again. As she stood there she knew she could because she felt so righteous in her fury; she knew now how to do it, how to command its presence forth with all her might. Maybe she didn't have total perfect control, but she sure as hell had an idea. They could easily overpower the wolves. They could kill every last one of them and eliminate a very real, very dangerous threat.
Then she remembered Embry and Quil laughing faces, Jake's kind smile, and remembered that somewhere among all these wolves lurked Leah's little brother Seth. She remembered that even though they were wolves, there was also a person beneath each furry skin, and felt ill at the thought of all of them dying horrible deaths.
A dark part of Bella begged for their deaths; the bright part of her didn't want it to end with the brutal loss of so much life. A burgeoning hatred gave way to Bella's nature, though only barely.
They had just tried to kill her and everyone she loved, after all.
Still, she had to stop this.
At the very least, because she agreed with Carlisle.
"STOP!" she yelled angrily, and whipped around on the nomads furiously, her heart slamming against her chest. She felt the hair on the back of her neck rise when they all turned to her and the clearing went so quiet once more.
It became suddenly all too clear that Bella's presence was extremely intense right then, that she had been drawn to the edge of her control, that she was someone who demanded respect and attention, that she was, quite simply, not fucking around anymore.
They're going to listen to me, whether they like it or not! No more idiotic racist bullshit based on some ancient werewolf versus vampire crap! That is NOT how this is going to go!
Bella had had enough. She was tired of feeling helpless, tired of being backed into a corner, and tired of everything in general. She didn't blush under all their eyes and she definitely didn't back down.
Fine, so her power was the only thing that would make people listen to her, to respect her?
Then that's what it took.
"Carlisle's right," Bella said when she had their attention, though with less volume. "He is," she repeated herself sternly at the utter skepticism on their faces. "Even though they just tried to kill us, we need all the help we can get to fight off the Volturi."
"Miss Swan, I hasten to disagree," Vladimir spoke up hesitantly, his eyes watching Bella with a hint of wariness. "You proved it yourself moments ago. An entire horde of mutts brought to a halt in seconds by only you and your magnificent gifts. We can eviscerate the Volturi! They will be no match for you, and the rest of us at that!"
Finally she was making an impact on people that was actually helpful. If she could get these century old vampires to listen to her, then all this pain would be worth it. It would mean saving the Cullens and herself.
It would mean saving these people, not watching them die all because of her and her stupid, idiotic choices. Her guilt and her shame combined with all her anger made her stand straight and ignore any characteristic fear or embarrassment.
I can't let it end like that. I can't let the Cullens die because of the things I've done. I can't. They have to listen. I will make them listen.
"Well hasten to listen to me for a second," Bella snapped, her chest jumping with the effort of being irritable. There was a headache starting to thump to life in her temples.
"It's not that simple as snapping my fingers and stripping the Volturi of all their powers. Even if we do manage to use this power that effectively, even without all their gifts, they still outnumber us three to one," Bella said forcefully, trying to make them understand.
The nomads were listening to her, though only barely. Somehow she needed to convince them, to save all the people she loved.
As much as she loathed it, the packs would be an undeniable advantage when it came to fighting the insurmountable Volturi.
"If we have the wolves, not only do we have more numbers, but we have warriors that are literally bred to kill evil vampires," Bella continued determinedly. "Even if they are a bunch of assholes who have no idea what's really going on," she added, casting Sam a look full of despise.
The Quileutes and their brother packs all shifted, casting each other uncertain glances.
"That's right," Bella turned back to them, unable to suppress all of her rage. "You went after the wrong vampires. You-God, you're attacking the only group of people standing between Forks and the most monstrous, bloodthirsty vampires on the planet, all because of your pride. You all really have no idea what's going on, do you?"
Sam licked his lips and stood up slowly, and Bella gritted her teeth at the sight of him.
What would I do if it was just me and you in this clearing right now, Sam Uley? If no one else was around? Bella thought, locking her eyes on his with repulsion.
She knew what she would do.
It terrified her, but it also gave her strength. A volatile, uneasy strength, but strength nonetheless.
"You say I am your Mother of the Sun and yet you come at me and everyone I love, everyone I stand for like we're the devil on earth. You think what you do is right, you think you're the good guys don't you? You're a bunch of filthy hypocrites," Bella spat and received a few snarls for that that she ignored.
With a burst of confidence, of total fearlessness, Bella streaked forward in a blur, halting feet away from Sam and the packs. They snapped their jaws and roared defensively, but they also backed up a bit, including Sam.
"Bella!" she heard the Cullens cry her name but she flung a hand out and stopped anyone from rushing to her aid.
Everyone needed to stop. They needed to stop, for once, and listen to reason.
How did I end up as the voice of reason here again? She mused faintly.
All that mattered was that she had.
"Don't," someone said and to her surprise, it was Alice. "Trust her."
My Alice. Always my Alice.
Bella had to close her eyes for a split second to let that wash over her, Alice's unwavering faith in her even when she knew without having to see Alice that the girl was terrified for her safety, but she trusted Bella's judgment. She trusted Bella to do this right.
It was inspiring to say the least.
God, I really love that girl.
"You think these vampires are bad? You don't know what bad is. Ever hear of the Volturi? They don't just drink the blood of humans to survive, whether they want to or not, like many of these people do. They do it for fun. They treat humans like cattle. They use them like slaves, for sex and blood and worse. They are stronger than me, my family, and every single one of you. And they're coming for us. They're coming to Forks. And they're very, very mad. And you know what the Volturi do when they're mad? They kill people. Especially humans. I wouldn't put it past them to raze Forks to the ground and put it off as a freak wildfire just to spite us."
The wolves looked alarmed, their ears pricking. They whipped looks from Bella to two huge wolves Bella hadn't noticed in the tumult of events going on that rivaled Sam in size, one a blond gold and the other dark brown. It didn't take a genius to see that they were two more Alpha wolves.
They in turn looked to Sam, whose eyes had filled with trepidation, with actual fear.
"Angeles del Diablo," Sam murmured in Spanish and the packs all shuddered. Several of them even yelped and backed up a few steps but were stilled by their Alphas barking at them. When Bella only stared at him darkly, he translated.
"The Devil's Angels… The legends always spoke of a coven of Cold Ones who would one day come to wreak destruction upon us all. El Madre del Sol was supposed to be the only one who could stop them…" Sam said softly, watching Bella with a rising sense of anxiety, realization of just how deep this went.
The nomads were the least of Fork's problem.
Bella tightened her jaw. She really could honestly not give any less of a fuck about the Quileute legends, but if that was what it took to convince them, then she would use it.
When she spoke again, Bella's voice was ringing with finality, with utter sincerity. It filled her aching body and the entire clearing with its truth as she drew up to her full height and spoke from her very soul.
"You say your legends are the core of your beliefs? Well then you'd better believe this. I am the Mother of the Sun. I am your fabled heroine. I am the one that's going to destroy the big bad evil vampires, not for you or anyone but the people I love, and if you get in my way, I'm going to destroy you too. Every last one of you, you hear me? You will never attack me or my family again. That includes Leah. And if you think I can't, take one look at him and bet me that I won't do it to every single one of you if you cross us."
The packs all shifted nervously and Bella felt all eyes on her. They stared at her with awe and respect and she used it, let it flow through her, let it keep her going when she was so used to just backing down and hiding from attention, from confrontation.
I mean it. Every single word. If we have to kill these people, fight to the death… Then we have to. I can't let them hurt my family, Leah, Alice. I can't let them do something stupid and put all of Fork's in danger, my father in danger.
I can't. I don't want to kill people, but if I have to…
God, then I have to.
It was not what Bella wanted. Death would never be what Bella wanted. But life had made it clear that she couldn't always get what she wanted. She would have to settle for what she needed, and that was for the people she loved to be safe and sound, no matter what it took.
No matter what.
"But we need help. The Volturi, the Devil's Angels or whatever you want to call them, are coming. And if you are who you say you are, if you believe as you say you do, you will fight with us," Bella turned from Sam with great effort as he looked away from her like the coward he was and addressed the packs.
"You'll fight for the Mother of the Sun, to protect humanity. Or you can turn tail and run. But if you continue with this assault, you know and I know exactly how it's going to play out. My girlfriend can see the future, did you know that?" Bella said with a wry smirk, unable to keep all of the pride out of her voice, and just to make a point, she called over her shoulder, "How would it end, Alice?"
"We win," came the instant response and she felt a rush of desire and affection shoot through her core at Alice's icy tone.
God, what a babe, Bella thought fondly as the wolves seemed to finally understand the gravity of the situation.
It took them long enough.
"So make your choice. We've made ours," Bella finished and finally stepped back, feeling as if she had said all she could.
She'd never been one for public speeches anyway. Funny how she seemed to be making them so often as of late.
The packs turned to their Alphas, the wolves on the left to the blond wolf, the ones on the right to the massive dark brown one, and the ones in the middle to a human Sam who glanced over his shoulder at them.
There was silence.
She could feel the tension radiating from the nomads. They didn't like it. They didn't like the idea of fighting alongside their ancient enemy, but they were just going to have to deal with it. This was so much bigger than some age old racism. This was about survival now.
After several long, tense minutes, in which the wolves made myriad sounds of canine uncertainty and even protest, in which the blond wolf and the brown one barked at them and at each other while Sam kept his head tilted, listening to thoughts the vampires could never hear, a decision seemed to be made.
Slowly, the blond wolf and the brown wolf stepped forward, huge and slightly intimidating as Bella shifted nervously, her instincts rebelling at how close they came. They towered over her, both of them standing next to Sam and gazing directly into her eyes.
It wasn't exactly a friendly look, but it wasn't exactly hostile, either.
"This is Gabriel Santos, who leads the western Washington pack," Edward spoke up from behind Bella and stepped up next to her hesitantly as he gestured to the blond wolf. She was grateful for his initiative, because she had no idea what to do next. "And Leon Cervantes, who leads the eastern," he motioned to the brown wolf.
It was a good thing Edward could read minds. It was the only kind of translation they were going to get because no wolf here was going to willingly go human to hash this out.
And fuck Sam.
So it was good Edward was here.
"Gabriel says… They won't fight with us," Edward said after a pause, and Bella tensed as the vampires hissed in disgust and jeered. "But they won't fight against us either," Edward went on quickly, and Bella fought back an audible sigh of relief. Her stomach had already dropped in preparation to do war, the rubber band that was always waiting pulling back slightly.
"He says they're going to stay here and protect Forks from any and all vampires that feed from humans until the Volturi are eradicated," Edward said.
Okay, fine. Bella supposed that wasn't such a bad idea. If the Volturi won and got past them, if they targeted Forks or Bella's father, then the western pack would offer at least some protection.
She hoped dearly Esme was taking good care of her poor father.
"Leon says…" Edward hesitated and cocked his head, listening intently as Leon huffed breath through his nose in a doggy snort that Bella wasn't exactly sure how to interpret. She thought it might be a scoff, and fought not to roll her eyes.
Asshole.
"Leon says that his pack will fight with us," Edward declared, and several people hissed in a breath as Bella felt elation lick through her. "But for the Mother of the Sun, not for, er… Bloodsuckers."
The nomads hissed and jeered again, and Bella fought the urge to tell them to shut the fuck up. She had never expected the wolves to be happy about having to do this, but the fact that they were doing it was a huge deal. She could already feel excitement bubbling in her blood at the allies tentative as they were— they were gaining here.
With the wolves…
God, they could really beat the Volturi. They were no longer running on pure desperation. They didn't just have a chance in hell, they had a chance in heaven too.
She glanced past Leon at the eight wolves behind him, all towering, hulking, muscular, a formidable force. They were bulkier than the Quileutes, thick in the shoulders and hips with shorter muzzles and fierce yellow eyes. When she cast a look at Gabriel's pack, she saw that they were slimmer, more narrowly built. They would be faster. Better to get to people, get in the way of a hungry vampire, but Leon's pack was built to take a beating and dish one out.
She wondered vaguely if there were different species of shape-shifters. Maybe it was just where they come from, their tribes, how they were raised.
We can do this, Bella thought, a weight lifting from her shoulders hesitantly. We could really do this.
"Thank you. To both of you," Bella said sincerely, and received a slight nod from both of them.
In any other situation, it might have been weird to see what was technically a dog display such an intelligence, but this wasn't any other situation.
"We will fight as well. Only for the Mother of the Sun. Only because our beliefs demand it, and to keep the town safe," Sam spoke up, and Bella felt her rage come searing back.
She whipped a vicious look onto Sam and snapped, "Not you."
Sam seemed alarmed by her rage, but Bella didn't give a damn. She stepped into his personal space, her vampire on pins and needles within an instant. Any control she'd had earlier slipped dangerously to the tips of her fingers at being so close to this man. Her instincts pulled back like a slingshot, giddily ready to attack.
It was all she could do to control it.
"I could kill you right now Sam Uley," Bella breathed, felt the vampire inside her beg for it, beg for her to reach out and claw the life from Sam. "I could kill you right now, where you stand. But I won't. Don't mistake it for mercy. Don't mistake this for kindness. I could forgive the rest of them, but not you. You tried to kill my Alice. You tried to kill Leah. I will never let that go," Bella hissed in his face.
Sam's jaw locked and his eyes flashed yellow, but he did nothing else as Bella stared him down.
"The Quileutes may fight with us, or leave, whatever they choose. But you will not. If they want to listen to you and leave, whether they really have a choice or not because of your Alpha bullshit, then fine. Or you can let them fight if they want as you should. But you? You will not fight with us. You will not come near us. You will not ever set foot on Cullen property ever again the way they have never been allowed onto La Push because of your prejudice. I don't trust you. I don't trust your judgment. I don't trust your temper. You already turned on one of your own. And you sure as fuck aren't going to be anywhere near my girl or my best friend when it comes down to life or death."
Her rant was cut short when Sam snarled in her face and Bella shoved him away instantly, reflexively, baring her fangs. Suddenly the tension skyrocketed all over again in the clearing as Gabriel and Leon tightened their muscles, unsure of what to do.
You can come and get it, Sam Uley. I will end it all right here and now. I don't care how I have to do it. You will NEVER come near the ones I love again, Bella vowed inside her mind. Never again!
She thought of Alice's beautiful face, her tinkling laugh, of Leah's crooked smirk and husky chuckle, and knew it was true. She would never take the risk of Sam around them again for any reason. He could have been the Volturi themselves for how Bella felt about him.
Before anything else could happen, a russet wolf that Bella faintly recognized as Jacob Black broke free of the pack. For a split second, she thought she'd ruined everything by being unable to put her hatred of Sam Uley aside, that the battle would happen anyway, but even as Jacob trotted up he was cracking his bones, losing fur, shrinking right before her eyes.
It was still an incredible sight to see, to watch the shapeshifter transform between two entirely different beings.
When Jacob reached her, he was all human, though his eyes were bright yellow.
And when he spoke, his voice sounded just like Bella's, so young, too young, but full of authority.
"We will fight with you. The Quileute pack will stand by El Madre del Sol proudly and destroy Angeles del Diablo with no fear," Jacob declared, speaking directly to Bella. When he stood before her, there was no fear in his eyes, no anger, only raw respect.
It shocked Bella into silence as her vampire wavered in confusion.
Bella blinked a little, uncertain. She was also still not completely comfortable with a naked boy rushing up to her like that. Her cheeks colored slightly and she cursed their betraying blush.
Some things would never change.
"Sam Uley will remain on La Push and protect the tribe," Jacob then stated and Bella's eyebrows shot way up when Sam snarled again, his throat grinding like gravel.
"Jacob," he barked and Jake whirled on him with a look so fierce that Bella was completely shocked.
How is he standing up to Sam's Alpha power…?
"You were wrong, Sam. You were wrong!" Jake shouted, making Bella's instincts stir warningly. "For the second time you made us attack the Cullens when they didn't do anything! You keep attacking the wrong people because of old tensions, because of your temper! It's the same reason Emily's scarred to hell and back!"
Bella had no idea what that was about, but the drama was unfolding too fast for her to even care.
Sam shook violently and bellowed, "Stand down, Jake!"
"Don't do it," Bella hissed a warning. If Sam transformed right now, if he could, Bella swore she'd kill him and be damned the consequences.
This was what being a vampire had done to her. She could kill. She had to kill now. These were the choices she had to make.
Sam had, at least, made that decision easier for her. She remembered Leah and felt a pang of fear for her, but couldn't take the chance to turn around and check on her friend when two werewolves looked a split second from going at it.
"No," Jacob shook his head to Bella's astonishment. Jacob didn't cower or back down in the slightest. He drew up to his full -naked— height, the muscles in his tan back flexing, untouched in the slightest by Sam's Alpha influence.
How?
"You've gone too far this time. You made us attack the Cullens, even if we don't like the leeches either, and break the treaty, break our honor. You tried to have us hurt them and Bella, El Madre del Sol in the process, going against all of our beliefs. A friend of ours though she may no longer consider us the same. And you almost killed Leah. You would have! We all saw it! We heard your thoughts. I don't give a damn what Gabriel or Leon think; they are not our pack. Leah is one of us. Leah is my family. She is my friend, and no matter what she's done, how could you ever kill her?" Jake demanded, his voice deeper than Bella had ever heard.
"She gave me no choice!" Sam yelled back, and Bella growled at him.
She'd have said something, but Jake seemed to be taking control of the situation now, too fast for Bella to do anything but step back and let it happen.
Yet his words continued to shock her; the Quileutes had never wanted this? They didn't want Leah to be killed? They had been… On Bella's side?
She didn't even know how to process that. But then Jacob dropped the real bomb.
"You are no longer the Alpha of this pack Sam. I thought the elders were right; that I was too young, that we needed leadership and you were the strongest, the smartest, but you are not. I am Jacob Black, the son of our former Alpha, and I am exerting my rights to that position right now. You will stand down!"
His voice rang out as Bella's had, with finality and Bella couldn't honestly believe it when Sam actually staggered back a step, his yellow eyes flashing to a muddy brown at Jacob's unrelenting command.
There was absolute silence as everyone in the clearing held their breath, stunned.
Bella felt two very opposite feelings struggling inside of her. One was vampiric anxiety, and the other was a ridiculous, teenage human emotion that said Fuck yeah, take that, Sam Uley!
There was so much going on within the packs that they had no idea about, and Bella had never known at all that Jacob Black was always supposed to have been the Alpha. Maybe she should have, looking at him now, tall and strong, proud and fearless even in the face of Sam, one of the strongest in the clearing. She could see it now that she knew; how Jake always was the most mature, how he always had to keep Embry and Quil in line, how he was the only one Leah ever seemed to give any respect, small as it was.
And already he was a damn sight better than Sam as the Alpha, in Bella's not so humble opinion.
The sound that broke the silence, and ruined the moment of delight Bella had in seeing the dumbstruck look on Sam's stupid face, was, but of course, Leah laughing.
It was a thick, watery sound, and when Bella turned to look at her, Leah was sitting up on one knee, clutching her throat, her nude body streaked with blood that, thank God, seemed to be drying.
You crazy bitch, Bella thought with complete affection and disbelief.
Leah sure was something.
"I can't believe you actually did it, Jake," Leah choked out, breathing hard.
Bella wanted to yell at her to lie down and be careful, stop talking before she opened the wound in her neck again. But like Bella, Leah seemed to display an unusual propensity to be just fine when she really shouldn't be.
And before she could rush to Leah's aid, Alice was beside her, gripping her arm and helping her up.
Today was just full of surprises, apparently.
She watched in shock and absolute adoration as her amazing girlfriend helped her best friend up, and no one in the clearing could have looked more bewildered than her save for Leah.
The look Leah gave Alice was almost funny enough to make Bella laugh, but as it was, she just bit back a grin, falling so much more in love with Alice as the pixie carefully helped Leah onto her feet.
"I'm good, Pixie Sticks," Leah said, shrugging her off and watching her with a furrowed brow, looking Alice up and down as if seeing her for the first time.
"Okay, Lassie," Alice replied easily, holding her hands up in mock surrender and taking a step back.
Alice, Alice, Alice.
What a hell of a girl.
Both of them were, really.
"Wait-Why are your eyes blue? And why don't you stink?" Leah demanded, ignoring the insult and sniffing the air tentatively, and Alice's face immediately smoothed out as did Bella's.
Poker face: On.
"Now is really not the time, Leah," Alice hissed with a pointed look, crossing her arms as Leah just shook her head and shrugged it off, too wounded to bother.
Bella breathed a sigh of relief.
Crisis averted. Kind of. More like ignored. It was a good thing Leah tended to take things in stride.
All their progress would be undone in a split second if the wolves knew their precious Mother of the Sun had been bitten by a vampire not half an hour ago.
At least it seemed as if Leah really was going to be okay, thank God.
"I can't believe you actually sacked up and did it, Jakey boy," Leah tossed her chin at Jake, her almond eyes raking over him in grudging respect. They flickered to his crotch and then back to his face.
"Sort of," Leah smirked and Jacob actually blushed.
Bella felt a certain specific kindred with Jake and sighed heavily at her friend's antics.
Even with her throat torn out she was still entirely inappropriate.
"This isn't over," Sam snapped, and Bella went from 0 to 100 just like that.
"It better be," Bella snarled at him as she whipped around, and Sam, knowing he could do nothing to either Jake or Bella, turned on his heel and stormed off, shoving past wolves to disappear into the trees.
Bastard, Bella thought furiously. Should have killed you when I had the chance.
These were not instincts Bella had ever wanted. The desire to hurt or to kill. She had never wanted any of this, never wanted anything to come to this point.
But here she was. And now she would have to find a way through it.
"I meant it, Bella. We'll fight with you. All of us. We never wanted to hurt you. And we never… Really wanted to hurt the Cullens. I mean we did, but you know… Not like this," Jacob said to her softly, running a hand through his short cut black hair.
It was just then that Bella remembered how young they both were. Jake was a year younger than her, actually. Both of them too young to be dealing with things like this, and yet here they were.
Bella appraised him silently, before giving him a slight nod in acknowledgement.
"Good. So we're all settled then? Everyone on the same fucked up page?" she then turned back to Gabriel and Leon, and when they nodded their massive heads at her, she gave a falsely sweet smile.
Her patience was pretty much gone, both human and vampiric. And she was still eighteen. Not some centuries old vampire.
So she took her digs where she could get them.
"Great! I guess we'll be in touch. Now beat it," she barked, and without further ado, she grabbed
Edward by the arm, turned around and dragged him back to the nomads and the Cullens, all of who opened their mouths, to protest, or to agree, or to do Bella didn't give a damn what.
"It's done," she snapped at all of them, her voice still powerful, her influence lingering, and they all shut their mouths, thankfully. She let go of Edward in favor of Alice, whose hand she grabbed and kept on going.
Her whole body was aching. Her mind. Her heart. Her soul. She'd given everything in that clearing. She was rapidly losing the ability to look like the one with the plan, that knew what she was doing with the backbone and the power to get it done. She could feel it crumbling all around her, and there was only one thing that was going to make this better.
"Bella," Alice called as they drifted into the trees, headed back towards the house.
Bella didn't reply.
"Bella, baby, talk to me," Alice pleaded as Bella pulled her all the way home at a breakneck pace, her bottom lip beginning to tremble, her eyes beginning to burn.
"Bella!" Alice jerked them to a halt as they stumbled into the Cullen backyard and pulled her around.
"Look at me, Bells," Alice breathed and cupped her face with smooth, cool palms on Bella's hot cheeks.
Bella took one look into her bright blue eyes, inhaled just one breath of her lovely scent, and promptly burst into tears.
"Oh Bella," Alice murmured as Bella fell into her arms, clutching her like a lifeline, burying her face into the crook of her neck, sobbing. Alice rubbed soothing circles around and around her back as she whispered to her ear, "Shh, baby, it's going to be okay. You did so good, you are so good, it's all going to be okay. Shh, don't cry…."
And because it was Alice, Bella had to believe her.