A/N: If you recognize it, it's not mine. Simple as that.

Chapter 9

Perci POV

I tensed at the word, my free hand inching toward the cap of Riptide. I was just about to uncap it when Bella paled suddenly, looking past me.

"That's Carlisle's car, they're here!" She exclaimed, clambering out of the truck and starting to rush toward the house.

"Bella, wait! If there's a Cullen in there, I can't protect you." Jacob said, grabbing hold of her arm in an attempt to prevent her from going in.

"They won't hurt me." She said, shaking off Jacob's hand and walking into the house. Jacob and I shared a mildly alarmed look, before I sighed.

"You'll know if you're needed. I should be able to handle this if it's a trick though, I've got Riptide." I said, pocketing the sword-in-disguise. He stared at me for a second, as if unsure, before sighing and nodding.

"If I don't get any sign that you're fine within ten minutes, I'm coming in. If I see you in trouble, I'm calling Paul." He negotiated. I didn't even hesitate to nod, before running into the house after my reckless cousin. Honestly, I thought. If this was how Annabeth and Grover felt every time I rushed into a situation, I owed them a huge apology.

When I got into the house, I followed the sounds of voices into the living room, spotting Bella sitting on the couch with a small, pixie-like woman that was obviously a vampire sitting on the armchair opposite her.

"You have two seconds to tell me who you are, or I'm calling the wolves." I all but growled at the vampire, my fingers twitching toward the pocket Riptide was in.

"Perci, she's fine, it's Alice Cullen." Bella said, getting up to stand in front of her precious vampire, as if that would stop me from attacking. I narrowed my eyes at the vampire behind her, noticing that she seemed a little on edge.

"If she's so safe, why is she nervous?" I questioned, not taking my eyes off of Alice, who all but twitched under my gaze.

"My instincts, they're telling me that there's someone dangerous close to me." Alice said, her voice like wind-chimes. I smirked inwardly at her answer, knowing that the danger her instincts was registering was likely me. Before I could give a somewhat taunting response though, the sound of the front door shutting sounded, and I sighed, turning around to give Jacob a look of annoyance.

"It hasn't been ten minutes yet, Jacob. And, as you can see, I'm not in trouble so there's no need to alert Paul." I told him.

"You must be the wolf." Came Alice's voice, a sneer firmly in place. I rolled my eyes in response, honestly exasperated.

"For Poseidon's sake, knock off the pissing match, would you?" I groaned, tuning out the conversation, since I knew they wouldn't listen to me. A few minutes later though, the sound of the front door opening and closing brought my attention back to the room, and I noticed with some relief that Alice had been the one to leave.

"Are the others coming back? How many are here, and how long is she staying?" Jacob asked, as Bella picked up a mug, making to walk into the kitchen.

"No, it's just Alice. And she can stay as long as she wants." Bella said, moving around him, leaving the two of us to follow her into the kitchen, though I only did because I was thirsty.

Grabbing myself a glass of water, I tried to tune out Jacob's nearly hopeless declaration of his love for Bella, flinching slightly in sympathy when I heard him whisper his love for her in his native language. I had heard the words a few times from Paul already, despite not having been dating long, and always enjoyed hearing his liquid-like language. Now though, I just felt sorry for Jacob, hearing the beautiful words come out of his mouth to someone who would never appreciate them, or return their meaning in the way he hoped. Mercifully for him though, the phone ringing cut off any reply Bella might have made. He let loose an irritated growl as he grabbed the phone to answer, being the closest one to it.

"Swan residence." He answered, before going stiff as a board at whatever was said on the other end of the line.

"He's not here right now, he's planning a funeral." Jacob ground out, before slamming the phone back down onto the receiver.

"Who was it, Jake?" I asked, giving him a look of concern, only to be ignored.

"Always in the way." He muttered, seemingly to himself, taking a step away from Bella as faint tremors started shaking his arms.

"Jacob, who was that?" Bella asked/demanded, stupidly taking a step toward the currently struggling wolf.

"Bella, stay back." He commanded, holding a hand out to prevent her from coming closer, just as Alice appeared in the doorway, a mildly frantic look on her face.

"Bella, it's Edward. He thinks your dead, Rosalie told him why I came here." She said, much to my confusion. Bella though, seemed to understand perfectly, as she whirled to face Jacob again from where she had looked to her precious vampire.

"Why didn't you let me speak to him?!" She yelled, moving toward Jacob again.

"He didn't ask for you!" He yelled back, my groan of exasperation at the apparent soap opera I had decided to move in the middle of being drowned out by Bella's desperate cry of 'I don't care!'

"Bella, he's going to the Volturi! He wants to die too." Alice said solemnly, grabbing my fool of a cousin by the shoulders to convey this message. Within seconds, Bella's face went from frantic, to utterly horror stricken, before she rushed up the stairs -somehow, not tripping-, and coming back down minutes later with her backpack and a passport.

"He left you, Bella. He didn't want you anymore, remember?" Jacob said harshly as we followed the she-vamp and Bella outside to the black Mercedes on the other side of the road, the car that Bella had to have recognized when we first got back.

"I don't care, I'm not going to let him kill himself out of guilt. Cover for me with Charlie, alright Perci." She said, aiming the last demand at me, which I scoffed at.

"Yeah, no. If you're going somewhere out of the country, which you clearly are judging by the passport, I'm not covering your ass. You're leaving when Charlie needs you the most to help him with the death of one of his best friends, to go gallivanting out of the country to stop some emo vampire with a Romeo complex from committing suicide? I won't cover you for that, in fact, I'll be the first person he hears this from." I told her, whirling around to go inside to call Charlie myself.

"May Hermes make your travels rough, and may Nemesis give you the retribution you deserve for abandoning your father in his time of need." I mumbled in Ancient Greek, honestly doubting that the aforementioned god and goddess would really do anything, as it wasn't exactly a prayer to them, though it made me feel a little better.

I heard the squealing of tires as soon as the door shut behind me, and rolled my eyes at the dramatics of the she-vamp and my cousin. Honestly, I'd seen less drama on Olympus, and that was really saying something there. Not to be deterred though, I made my way to the phone and dialed Charlie, hating myself when I informed him that Bella had run off with Alice Cullen to parts unknown with her passport. How Jacob and I had tried to stop her, reminding her about Harry's death, and how he would need her, but that she had gone anyway, expecting me to cover for her.

After Charlie broke down a little bit on the phone, I promised him I would have pizza waiting for him when he got back, and that I would still be there for him. His relief was nearly palpable, even over the phone, and we hung up with me able to practically feel his relief. I took a deep breath to prevent myself from getting even more angry at Bella over how horrible Charlie had sounded when I told him she had run off, before calling the pizza place, and giving our regular order.

"Do you know who the Volturi are?" Jacob's voice asked from behind me suddenly just after I got off the phone with the pizza place, making me jump and curse the fact that he could be so quiet when he wanted to be.

"By Olympus, Jacob, don't do that!" I scolded, turning to face him and leaning against the counter.

"Yes or no, Perci, do you know who they are?" He asked again, ignoring the light scolding as he scowled angrily. I looked at him for a second, trying to figure out why he was asking before sighing, deciding to just tell him what I knew.

"Yeah, I know who they are. First thing's first though, vampires are a creation of my uncle Hades, and Aphrodite. Some mortal insulted them both, and they took offense to it, so boom, they curse him and the first vampire is created. Over time, that one bit someone, and so on and so forth until the vampire race is a larger population than you would like. Now, sometime around 3,000 years ago, three men from Greece were all sired by the same vampire. Aro of Thebes, Caius of Sparta, and Marcus of Athens. They were all devout in their worship of the gods, and eventually, when they aspired to become the ruling coven, prayed to the gods for luck in their endeavor. As they never stopped praying and worshiping the gods, they were blessed to succeed, and they formed the Volturi coven. Though they feed on humans, they remain faithful to the gods, and so they make sure to keep the three as the rulers. I don't quite remember where they set up shop, but if Aro hears the Greek in Alice's mind, it may cover Bella's ass for a little while." I informed him.

"What makes you so sure she'll be safe?" He asked, looking slightly relieved at the information that Bella may be safer for a little bit, but still worried.

"Two reasons. First, I mentioned two gods when I spoke, that'll be enough to get his attention. Second, they've met my father once. I'm his female carbon copy in looks, so it should make them pause just long enough to know she's related to me to find out if I'm related to him. The Volturi would never do anything to purposely displease the gods, they're not stupid." I told him, completely assured in that fact. Jacob nodded, calmer now after apparently checking how sincere I seemed in regards to Bella's safety.

Soon after, I saw him out the door as he headed back to the reservation to help with the consequences of Harry's sudden death, the pizza arriving just as he left. All I could do now was wait for Charlie to come home, and be the support that he needed right now with the loss of his friend and his daughter running off.

A/N: Hey guys! So, my dad is back from the hospital, which means a bit more time for updates, though they'll be happening at night. But, at least you'll be getting updates, and that's what matters. Also, just a warning, this story won't have much Volturi bashing, since in cannon, Aro, Caius, and Marcus are from Ancient Greek times. It would make sense that they would not want to do anything to risk pissing off the gods that they know can cause serious destruction. Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter!