Third-Person Point of View
The tension was high. It was a stance of ten to one. However, the one that stood alone didn't look the least bit afraid. Quite the contrary, he looked rather content with himself, straightening his top. He was adorned in a dark blue suit that looked very expensive with cufflinks to go with. His hair was neat and groomed, while he had stubble across his chin, which was odd considering they knew what he was. His eyes were a dark red, a teasing edge to them as they ran over all who were across from him.
Carlisle still stood front and center, his expression very pained but stern. Edward, however, looked ready to kill. He shoved Bella and Renesmee quickly behind him. Bella sneered quietly as she held Renesmee protectively to her chest. The three wolves were still blocked, barricaded by Jasper, Emmett, and Alice. They could barely even get a glimpse of what was obviously Warren Cullen. They sat in what seemed to be some kind of pyramid formation.
"Do I get a hello back, Carlisle?" Warren broke the silence, making most of the others flinch. All of them seemed slightly afraid except for Edward and Carlisle, who seemed either livid or longing. "I think I deserve some sort of greeting after all these years. Perhaps even some introductions. It would appear I wasn't the last victim you saved."
"Warren," Carlisle began gruffly, taking a tentative step forward, "What...what are you doing here? You've no business in Forks."
"My, my, what animosity? Pardon my offense to the three beasts lurking over your shoulders, brother, but I would've assumed you'd be happy to see this old face. But I must ask...how is it you saw me coming? I don't spy much surprise in that face of yours."
"We have our ways in expecting guests, Warren. In this case, you're not," Carlisle replied coolly.
Warren feigned hurt. He scoffed, placing a hand over his un-beating heart, bottom lip pressing outwards as he looked at Carlisle.
"I am wounded, brother. I was hoping for a grand reunion with...with one of those hugs that last longer than necessary. Not to mention a few introductions with the gold eyes and the trio of monsters you are suddenly protecting for some reason."
"We...are not brothers, Warren. I'm going to have to ask you to leave. We have settled down here peacefully. If you came here to ruin that, I have no problem in removing you myself," Carlisle threatened, taking a firmer stance. "Ten to one, Warren, I'd take the more clever option. I don't wish for this to get deadly."
Warren's red eyes narrows.
"Deadly? Do I sense anger, Carlisle? Why am I being treated like a stranger?"
"Because you are one," Edward suddenly interjected. Bella pressed a warning hand to his chest, glaring Warren's way, "You have no place here. I suggest you move along."
The others agreed with nods of their heads. His gaze shifted over each of their faces, testing, wondering. Finally he lifted and beckoned with his right hand, smirking as he watched Jasper drop to his knees in pain, clutching his side where a blade resided, harming his marble-like stature. Alice gasped and caressed him, biting her lip and attempting to quickly pull it out.
"I hope you didn't forget, brother," Warren said, straightening his stature. "I can have each of your heads beneath my feet in the blink of an eye. I may not be able to fight you, but I can kill you. Now, as all guests are meant to be welcomed according to you, I would like to be invited inside."
In the background, Jasper managed to pull the sheet of metal from his side, healing quickly though with difficulty. It had been painful.
"Carlisle!" Alice called, embracing Jasper, "Don't do it..."
"Carlisle, do it," Warren mocked, switching his pitch so he sounded more feminine.
Carlisle looked from one to the other, at a loss. He knew, realistically, they could just rip Warren to pieces. Numbers conquered, but Warren had an ability that could keep them away from him as long as possible. He couldn't risk his family getting hurt. He just couldn't. Glancing toward Jasper with an apologetic face, he said, "Warren, would you please follow me inside? I believe introductions and explanations are needed."
Warren clapped his hands together.
"What a surprise! I would gladly accept your invitation, brother."
Edward glared at him heavily, a low growl passing his lips. Suddenly, however, he stopped. Warren paid no attention, instead following Carlisle and the others inside while Edward and the three wolves remained. His gaze was focused, unreadable. For a pale man, he had gone even paler. Ever so slowly, he turned to face the wolves, fixing his gaze on the one at the center who had their head bowed and tail shaking between their legs. He clenched and unclenched his fists.
"Leah...you..."
Jacob growled and stepped forward, throwing his chin upwards.
"He'll hear me..." Edward mumbled, glancing at the house where the others had walked into. "Jacob, Seth...get her out of here. Now."
The two wolves licked their lips and turned, nudging at the third toward the trees. She whined persistently, but obliged once Jacob snapped at her warningly. Edward watched as they disappeared in the thick shade. He couldn't believe it. All of this was happening far too quickly. They were supposed to get rid of Warren, not invite him inside. They should've killed him. Ripped him to pieces and burn him right there in the grass, but instead Carlisle invited him inside out of fear of who he'd attempt to kill.
And now...
"Edward?"
He looked up, slightly startled. Bella was staring at him expectantly.
"C'mon, we need to go talk to him... Maybe he'll leave after," she said quietly, pulling him softly to her. "I just can't believe he's so...cruel."
"He's more than cruel," Edward said.
"Where's Jacob, Leah, and Seth?" she asked, noticing they weren't with him.
He quickly shook his head. "No, no...later. C'mon, let's go." He pulled her inside, the last thought leaving his mind thankfully not heard by anyone, especially Warren.
Leah imprinted.
Everyone was standing in the living area, stiff and bow-legged. Clearly, they were ready to fight in case there needed to be one. Warren, however, looked like he was making himself quite comfortable. He seemed to be thrown over the couch lazily, arms outstretched over the cushions with his legs crossed. He even groaned in satisfaction.
"So...I'm guessing you'd like to begin with introductions?" Carlisle asked carefully.
"That'd be nice, brother, yes."
Carlisle looked around at everyone else, barely taking notice that Edward and Bella had just arrived. He pulled Esme closer by her waist, protectively so.
"This...is Esme, my mate. I changed her long after...after you."
Warren eyed Esme up and down.
"It's, um...it's very nice to meet you," Esme said, giving him a dull smile.
"And I, you," Warren smirked.
Carlisle stiffened, but moved along. "Rosalie was the second after your change. She, then, changed her mate, Emmett. Soon after, we came across Jasper and Alice, both of which are my own now."
"And...those two?" Warren was eyeing Bella as well as Renesmee. "They look...fresh off the fangs, dear brother."
"Bella Swan...Cullen, now. She was changed by Edward after their marriage. And their daughter is Renesmee."
Warren's eyes flashed dangerously.
"An immortal...child? Surely you aren't that stupid, brother... If the Volturi finds out-"
"That is a bridge already crossed, Warren," Carlisle huffed, "She is not...immortal. She was conceived when Bella was still human. She is...a human and vampire hybrid. Not the first of her kind...and definitely not the last." Renesmee fidgeted uneasily, only calming when she felt her mother's hand take hers gently.
Warren's eyebrows raised, "Such a telling tale."
"There...now you know us. Now...can you please tell us why you're here?" Carlisle asked, taking the subject quickly off of Renesmee.
"Oh, Carlisle...are you sure you wish to know that now?"
"Yes, I'm quite sure," Carlisle huffed, "You haven't seen me for years now...all of a sudden you appear. It's no coincidence you just happened on Forks. I wish to know why you're here. And then you have to go."
"Why do I have to leave? Do you not want me here?"
"What was your first clue?" Emmett scoffed.
The other man just grinned mockingly in response.
"But...you're sure you want to know exactly why I came here, why now, and what I plan to do?" Warren asked, his eyes moving back to Carlisle.
He nodded.
"Hm...fine...I'll tell you. Only because I want to, however, not because I feel like you deserve an answer." he said.
"Of course not," Edward snorted.
"Mm...well...I suppose I should begin with my whereabouts for the last several years in my absence, which I apologize for, by the way. I would've told you and Edward where I was going, brother, but I feared too many ears would bring far too much attention," he began, before continuing, "I've resided in India for a touch, making sure those who murder on betrayal couldn't quite grasp me. Aro and I aren't exactly on the best of terms. Anyway, I suppose it began with a man deemed Taj. Taj Laghari, the man to bear red eyes in the land of Patna. Taj found me after a day upon visiting the Bihar museum and sampling a few of the...visitors."
He paused to lick his lips.
"He had attempted to kill me, angered that I was giving his position away by taking lives. Apparently he had been a traveler in India because he couldn't control his thirst. For some reason, though, he couldn't risk having to leave Patna. After swearing wholeheartedly not to go overboard, we went our separate ways. Only for him to soon befriend me. Taj is a kind man, if not a little bit jumpy. It took months for me to tap into his more personal endeavors. What I found was quite possibly...the most horrific thing I've ever had to witness."
"Why is that?" Carlisle asked slowly, taking a seat on the coffee table directly across from him.
"Because I discovered something the Volturi would even cower in front of," Warren replied. "Hybrids amongst the human and vampire type, as I can see, aren't...as dangerous as we would originally presume. The hybrids...I found in Patna weren't that kind. They were something...malevolent...something pure evil."
"So there was a whole tribe of human and vampire hybrids?" Bella couldn't help but ask.
Warren glanced at her, shaking his head slowly.
"These hybrids weren't half human."
"Then...?"
"These hybrids were half vampire...half wolf."
Silence followed this announcement. Whether they believed Warren or not, it was still quite an incredulous thing to say. None of them had ever heard of such a thing. Such a thing had to be near impossible. It didn't exist. It just couldn't. Carlisle was sure it was a lie. Of all of them, he would be the first to know something like that was-
"Impossible?" Warren suddenly said. "I thought so, too, but Taj explained the process as simply as he could. Vampire bites a wolf...wolf changes. It's done. But, of course, that's too easy, right? Let me ask you something, brother...do wolves smell appetizing to you? To bite one is to be willing for the revolting taste to enter your mouth. Wolves don't just smell bad, according to him."
"What do the hybrids look like?" Esme asked.
"Like us. Pale...beautiful...unhuman. But their eyes shine like red and orange, no matter the diet they choose. In their second forms, which are the beasts...they're bigger...thicker...stronger. Thanks to their vampire halves, their teeth are indestructible. They can pierce through anything. As I learned, Taj created them all. To make a vampire-wolf hybrid, you have to be a vampire. There is no other way in doing it."
"Couldn't a hybrid just make a hybrid?" Rosalie questioned.
"No...and there's a reason." Warren's grin had disappeared, "Hybrids are lethal. Whether they bite each other, a normal vampire, a normal wolf, or a human...the victim will die. The venom that they use in their bite...nothing can withstand it. That's why a vampire has to become a Creator. Hybrids, as Taj had explained to me, obey their Creators in every extent. If a Creator demands a hybrid to end their best friend's life...the hybrid will obey."
"That still doesn't explain why you're here," Alice hissed.
"I'm getting there. Taj seemed to have...perhaps about a hundred hybrids under his wing. They did whatever he told them. He told me the Creator's power is incredible. One day...perhaps a few years later after being welcomed into the tribe. The Laghari liked me because Taj liked me. And one day I did something unforgivable."
"Which was?"
"I took the life of Taj's wife...who apparently was a human. Her blood has aided me through my journey here. I had been without food because Taj forbade me to take anymore in Patna in fear of losing his hybrid army. I had been starving myself until my eyes grew black. She got too close...I was far too hungry to realize what I had done. Now...I'm here." Warren gestured about the house, suddenly eager again. That is, until Emmett suddenly lunged forward and grabbed at his throat with his bare hands.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" he shouted furiously.
"Emmett, stop!" Rosalie cried, grabbing at his arms and pulling. Edward and Jasper were quick to help, pulling him off. "What is your problem?"
"Don't you get it?" Emmett grunted. "Taj has an army of hybrids...hybrids who can kill whoever they sink their teeth into, no matter what the hell you are! Warren ran...he knew he'd lead them here. He knew Carlisle and Edward would have to deal with his consequences while he runs. He doesn't give a shit who he gets killed."
"Wow," Warren grunted, placing a hand over his heart, "and here I thought you were nothing more than braindead muscle my brother managed to snag for the uptake. But I guess we should award the prize to the winner. You saw through me before Edward did...usually he sees into anyone's schemes with that gift of his..."
"Wait, he's right?" Alice said, her eyes widening.
"I had no other choice," Warren said. "I've been on the run my entire life. It's me or you. And, no offense, but I know none of you that well. And my dear brother and Edward are collateral damage."
"But now we know your plan...so why are you still so eager?" Bella glared.
"My original idea was to just lead them here without your knowledge, of course, but...with my extensive knowledge of wolves after being with Taj all this time I've come to know the look of one when an imprint takes place. One of those beasts outside changed the whole deal in a matter of seconds. I would've fled then if it weren't for her...but I'm assuming Edward here sent them off. Tut. Tut. You should know how powerful an imprint is..."
Warren stood, grinning.
"Nobody can harm me now. Not without her consent."