Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight
Spring break had lost its thrill long ago. Between repeatedly attending high school over and over again and being a vampire, who could do anything she pleased, it really no longer mattered. Alice Cullen was in no hurry to get things done, nor was she overly busy with doing anything at the moment besides listening to music. That still didn't mean the raven haired girl was ready for the interruption that was coming.
A feeling of uncertainty and dread at the unknown filled her body. For someone who could see the future, it was quite an awkward feeling. The way everything felt shut off and unnatural always left the little vampire confused and anxious. She sat up abruptly when her ears picked up on the soft thudding sound of heavy paws fast approaching. The Earth-shattering howls echoed through the quiet forests, causing her to fly from her bed and blur toward the window. She peered down at her brother, Edward who was standing in the front yard.
What is it? Her thoughts whispered through the mindreader's head.
Edward's head tilted up toward her window so he could look at her through piercing black eyes, and then shook it just as unsure and confused as Alice was. The pixie effortlessly opened her window and dropped down to the ground as the rest of the Cullen family made their way next to the siblings.
"They never come this far." Esme voiced her concerns. "Perhaps there's an issue."
"You don't say?" Rosalie scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Those filthy mutts are headed in our direction and you assume there's an issue."
"Rose." Esme scolded and gave her adopted daughter a look that clearly showed how unamused she felt with her daughter's sarcasm. "I'm so not in the mood for your attitude."
Rosalie looked as if she was going to say more, but shut her mouth with an audible click when multiple sets of glistening eyes and teeth appeared through the treeline. With hackles raised and heads low, they stalked forward. Their snarls were nearly deafening as the large black wolf led the way. The younger vampires all let out warning hisses in return as they watched the wolves spread out on different sides, looking for ways to flank them.
"What has happened?" Esme asked calmly.
"The pack says the treaty's been broken." Edward glared into the black wolf's dark brown eyes. "A group of teenagers were found dead this morning along with the chief of police and his wife. Their daughter is also still missing and based on the injuries sustained from each of the victims, they think it was us."
"Bella?" Alice asked quietly. She had always been a sweet, thoughtful girl that the pixie had talked to on a few separate occassions and grown fond of. Although shy, the shorter girl had always had the ability to pull the chief's daughter out of her shell as if they were the best of friends. She was different than the rest of her human peers. Bella seemed as if she could handle anything with an open mind and was always quick to listen and try to understand rather than push things away. That was one of the things that Alice had liked about the girl so much. When all of the other students had thought of the Cullens as strange, Bella had welcomed conversation with Alice, or really any person she met, with a sweet, genuine smile that lit up the world.
"I can assure you it wasn't us." The matriarch spoke loud and firmly, visibly upset that these shapeshifters would think that her family could harm innocent people in such a way.
"Although we would be more than happy to help you find Bella and whoever did this." Alice added in. The rest of the Cullens all agreed except for Rosalie who just rolled her eyes and stayed quiet.
Deep growls and rumbles boomed through the air, pretty much telling the coven what Edward was about to say before he spoke.
"They don't believe us. One of the crime scenes and the region around it had more than one vampire's scent."
"I'm having my day wasted for this? Can't they smell the difference between us? For the love of God, they're practically dogs!" Rosalie shouted in frustration before laughing harshly. "I know a police K9 can do a way better job than that."
The younger, smaller wolves protested in anger at being compared to man's best friend.
"Rosalie!" Her mother reprimanded.
"What? I'm just saying. It's obvious that we aren't guilty." Rosalie's face hardened even more. "Why would any of us waste our time trying to hunt a bunch of sweaty teenagers or stealing a girl and killing her family? I am not risking moving and restarting high school all over again in a new place just to be around more sweaty teenagers for something so asinine. I have way too much self control for any of that. Although I don't have the best of control when it comes to a bunch of disgusting mongrels coming into our territory and threatening us when they have no right whatsoever or even the slightest clue about what's going on."
Her mate, Emmett and their other family member, Jasper growled their agreements. Edward was much more calm and less vocal about his displeasure of the whole situation, but it was still evident in his midnight eyes that even he agreed too. A young sandy colored wolf took a step too close and got a threatening glare from Emmett as he bared his fangs in a challenging way.
"But we are going to help them search for Bella. Why are we still discussing any of this? Enough with the fighting." Alice snarled her frustrations, starting to feel more and more upset at the thought of something happening to the young girl. "If it wasn't us then there's still others of our kind out there! People are in danger!... And Bella if she's still alive." The words left a bad taste in her mouth. "We have to go help her now. If there's still hope, we need to go find her. All this is doing right now is shortening any time and chance Bella has left."
The black wolf watched the pixie curiously before deciding that the raw emotion in Alice's voice may be a sign that the family was telling the truth and shifted into his human form. The tall man took a confident step forward with his eyes glued to her. Jasper also shifted next to her, put a protective arm around her shoulder and rumbled with a growl letting the alpha know that he was close enough.
"You can promise it wasn't you and your family?" The alpha asked watching her even more carefully for any signs that she was deceiving him.
"Yes." She pleaded, her voice coming out soft and desperate. "God, yes. Please. You have to believe me. There is another vampire out there. Rosalie is right. You know she's right. The scent won't match up with any of ours. You can smell us from here. You know in your heart and mind that what I'm saying is the truth. I know it's a tough pill to swallow, but we aren't the enemy. We aren't responsible. Now, please... We don't need to fight for no reason. Let us help... That girl, Bella, is still missing. She needs us. All of us. The more people looking for her, the greater our chances will be of finding her. Isn't that your job also? To keep humanity safe from my kind?"
He was silent as he nodded his head once.
"Fine. Don't think this means we are suddenly best friends and going to be having drinks and spending time together having fun."
"Wouldn't dream of it." Rosalie muttered under her breath.
"This is a temporary unification. We will work as allies for now and our treaty still stands, but just know this is only for the girl. I'm trying to save her life. Not spare yours." Sam said matter of factly.
"Thank you. That's all I want." Alice replied, gratefully.
He nodded his head one last time and turned to leave. "We'll continue to search the areas where the bodies were found. Don't do anything stupid or those other leeches won't be the only ones we'll be hunting. Let's go!" He shouted before shifting again and trotting off with the rest of his pack following. A large, russet male wolf stayed behind for a few seconds glaring darkly at the Cullens then finally followed after the others.
"What... Was that about?" Rosalie looked at Alice confused. The little vampire could feel Jasper's eyes boring into her, but she chose to avoid them.
"There's an innocent, young girl who I consider a friend out there missing and other vampires on the loose too close to our territory. The situation needs to be handled." Alice said nonchalantly, trying to stay composed. Whether she was doing a good job of hiding her feelings from her empathetic, longest vampire companion or her thoughts from her mindreading brother was still up for debate.
"She's right." Edward interupted. "Any vampires killing in the area could not only cause trouble for the people of Forks and the surrounding towns, but also our family. We will wait until tonight to search the home. In the meantime let's split up and search the woods around the Swan residence."
"I'm going to go call Carlisle at the hospital and I'll meet up with you after I inform him of what's going on." Esme replied, pulling her cellphone out.
The family nodded their heads in agreement, and Alice didn't miss the we need to talk later glance that Rosalie threw in her direction. The Cullens all dispersed to start their search with Jasper following close behind Alice as they ran.
"You okay?" His gentle voice asked as he ran up beside her and lightly touched her comfortingly. Alice and Jasper had been best friends and extremely close for the majority of Alice's vampiric life. She held probably the biggest spot in his heart besides his old mate that he had lost years prior to meeting her. It was Alice who had helped put him back together and though he felt as if he'd never love anyone like that again, he did care deeply for the pixie and was very protective over her.
"Of course." Alice smiled softly back at him, which wasn't completely a lie since he always made her feel better.
Jasper knew better though. He didn't need his powers to tell him that something was up. He had come to know Alice so well over the years that they had spent together. It always bothered him when she was upset about something, but decided not to pry. She would come to him to talk when she was ready. That's just how Alice was.
He smiled back at her before patting her shoulder and focusing back on their run.
A/N: Revamping all old chapters. See what I did there?