Chapter 6
Edward and Carlisle had picked a spot near the base of Mt. Olympus to meet the next night, although only Emmett showed up.
"The ladies aren't hungry," apologized Carlisle, but he was attempting to recite Bible verses in his head - to Edward, this was a clear sign that he wanted to hide something.
Jasper couldn't care less. "Jasper Whitlock," he said as he shook hands with the rather large vampire.
"Emmett McCarty," he said in flat American accent, but his next sentence dropped it. "I hear y'uns fru' the South?"
"Unfortunately Edward Masen here has not that privilege," replied Jasper, in an even-thicker-than-normal drawl.
But you're the one who reads minds, right?
"Yes, that's correct," said Edward aloud.
"Motherfucking awesome!" crowed Emmett. "Carlisle and Rosie told me all about you, up to 1930 or so anyway."
Edward grimaced. "Rosie?"
She doesn't really let anyone else call her that. Is it true you didn't want to bang her?
Edward gritted his teeth. "I would hardly contradict a lady, Emmett."
Well she was a little annoyed about it, since you're like, the only dude she ever met who wasn't into her. Even Carlisle thought she was a knockout, you know.
"Then why are you even asking me?"
"Hey now, these one-way conversations ain't very polite," Jasper broke in.
"I would prefer that the subject at hand not be spoken aloud, thank you."
"Oh, damn, Emmett, you should know," here Jasper dropped to a whisper, "Edward's a little sensitive about S-E-X." A whisper that even Carlisle couldn't hear, but since Edward was a telepath, it only served to aggravate him even more.
"Thank you, Jasper!"
Well how's he gonna know to shut up about it otherwise?
"Because he hasn't found his mate?" asked Emmett.
"Yeah, that too," said Jasper as he put on a shit-eating grin.
"Can we shut up about my sex life and move on to dinner?" begged Edward.
"Sure! We're bound to find some bears around here." Emmett cheerily described his favorite methods for hunting. Jasper listened avidly, but Edward was less focused. After all, he and Carlisle had hunted for over a decade together before Esme even joined the coven.
He was getting excited, though. He hadn't been able to fully re-embrace the animal diet since leaving Carlisle again, and Emmett apparently hadn't tasted human blood since he was a newborn. Nor had Esme, and while Rosalie had killed the men who brutally took her life, she had never tasted them or anyone else.
"All right, Team Bear versus Team Cougar!" shouted Emmett, high-fiving Jasper, Edward and Carlisle in turn.
Jasper went off with Emmett, while Carlisle and Edward scented for mountain lion. Carlisle had told Emmett, apparently, that as a newborn Edward was fond of the taste. He hadn't actually tried to specifically hunt any in ages - in urban areas it was easier to feed on rats when he wanted golden eyes - so he wasn't sure if the taste would be as good as he remembered, pre-human feeding.
Fortunately, the skills came back to him. Hunting with Carlisle - in a way, it was almost as if he'd never left. They spoke little, Carlisle willing to follow his lead after the scent was caught.
"Can you tell me why the women really didn't want to come?" asked Edward softly as they tracked their prey.
Carlisle sighed. "They don't think you have a proper respect for human life, since you work for the Volturi."
"That's ridiculous! The Volturi don't care about our weird feeding habits. And besides, Jasper and I don't even work in the city, so they barely affect us."
"But you have met Chelsea?"
"Of course we've met -" Edward broke off. "That's it, isn't it? That's the real reason - I mean, Rosalie and I never liked each other anyway, but I remember Esme being fond of me."
"She was concerned about your reaction, yes. You once cared for both of us, you know. I could tell yesterday that you didn't feel the same way about me that you once did."
Edward stopped running, came to a halt. "I don't?"
"It didn't seem that way to me, at least."
Edward sighed. Chelsea had the power to strengthen or weaken relationship bonds - except for vampire mate bonds - and the first step to joining the Volturi was to meet Chelsea and Marcus. Marcus could see the bonds, and understand what each one meant, even the ones joining people who weren't present. Chelsea's power was more touch-based, so she depended upon Marcus to tell her which bonds were which. So that meeting would lead to Chelsea cutting every bond leading elsewhere, and strengthen every bond leading to other guards. It was part of why Edward and Jasper had become close friends, even beyond being on assignment together; every time they were back in Volterra, Chelsea strengthened their friendship, to the point that they felt as close as true brothers.
But the flipside, of course, was that the feelings he had once had for Esme and Carlisle, likewise had been broken. He was learning to respect the man again, but it was true, Edward didn't have the natural inclination that a vampire tended to have towards a sire.
"On further reflection, I believe you are correct about Chelsea eliminating my - affection - towards you and Esme. But you may tell her that Jasper and I would both enjoy her company. And - if Rosalie still likes cars - her as well," he admitted.
Carlisle raised his eyebrows. The man had an rather expressive face for a vampire; Edward supposed it was because he actually spent most of his days interacting with humans. "Rosalie actually is in charge of our automobiles. Picks them out, rebuilds their engines, you name it. Is that something you've become interested in?"
"Not the nuts and bolts part, I do enjoy driving, but that's about it. It's Jasper who is, well, obsessed with American muscle cars and such. He mocks me for driving a British car, in fact."
Carlisle chuckled. "I drive because I have to, but I really prefer running. I think I'll never be quite accustomed to the vehicle as a concept."
"Miss the stagecoach?"
"Oh, no, not at all. That is the main benefit to the automobile - horses would never stand still for me after my change."
"Animals know better."
The words reminded Carlisle of their business at hand, and they continued tracking their prey. Neither of them said anything till Edward took down the mountain lion, just before Carlisle arrived.
"You're still too fast for me."
"Sorry, I forget the etiquette of something like this - was I supposed to let you have first bite?"
Carlisle shook his head. "We'll share."
After they had drained the beast, Carlisle looked Edward over. You're a bit of a mess.
"I wore clothes I didn't care about, but yes, out of practice with large carnivores." The claws had thoroughly ripped Edward's shirt, but apparently there was only blood on his face. He licked what he could, and used the remains of his shirt to wipe the rest. "I have to admit it tastes better than raccoons."
"I've always had a preference for deer, but the rest of the family seem to find carnivores more appetizing."
More appetizing than deer, but not more than - "Oh, God."
"Edward?"
"I suppose I ought to tell you, Jasper seems to think my singer lives in Forks."
"La tua cantante?"
"Exactly. Bella Swan."
Carlisle's jaw dropped. "I must tell you that I would not be pleased if any harm were to come to the girl." Pictures flew through his mind, of Bella in a full lower body cast, recovering in the hospital. "She was hit by a van last year, causing major fractures in her pelvis - I've been her primary care physician since, and I feel for her as if I were her uncle."
"Like you cared for me?" asked Edward softly.
"I suppose you could say that," mused Carlisle. "But her parents are both alive, and would be devastated were anything to happen to her. Do you understand me?"
Edward gave his hair a yank. "I don't have any more desire to end her life than you do, but I'm a bit at a loose end here! Aro couldn't even tell me what to do!"
"You told Aro?"
"Of course I told Aro, he's thousands of years old, and has memories of thousands of others. I thought if anyone knew how to avoid killing a singer, he would!"
But he didn't... Because almost no other vampires care about human life.
"And yes, I'm also aware that her father is the damn police chief! I don't know what to DO!" yelled Edward in pure frustration.
Carlisle put a hand on his shoulder. Calm down, son, I'll give you whatever help you need.
Edward tried not to wince - it's not as if Carlisle could help thinking of him as his son - and simply nodded. "Like what?"
"First, tell me why you think she's your singer."
Edward described the meeting with the Swans, starting from the smell, and deciding not to breathe, till they left.
"And you could smell her after she left?"
"Of course. Scents don't fade that quickly."
"But you didn't want to chase after her?"
"Well, of course I did, but I was too overwhelmed to follow through. And then Jasper told me to call you and I..."
Carlisle's smile was shining. "You got used to it, enough that you could do other things, at least."
"I ... suppose I did."
"Tell me, have you heard of desensitization therapy?" At Edward's negative, he explained the basics, as it would work for someone with a spider phobia. "Or you could think of it as a vaccine. Building up immunity, so to speak."
"I think I understand, but..."
"We would have to have someone with you at all times," he said quickly. "Emmett would be best, as he's actually attended school with her and never even mentioned her scent to me."
"What about Rosalie?"
Does he actually want to spend time with Rosalie? "Well, I think Emmett would find it easier to stop you, if it had to come to violent methods."
"You mean, you don't think she could rip my head off before I could rip hers off?"
Carlisle cringed. "If you must put it that way."
"Look, Carlisle." He put his hand on his shoulder. "We're trying to prevent me from killing an innocent girl. I think it's better that I suffer non-permanent injury than that, right?"
"Of course, you're perfectly correct. Do you think Jasper would be able to help?"
Edward hesitated. "He doesn't find her scent that enticing, but he also hasn't ever gone for years without - I mean, I don't want to say he wouldn't help, but in the worse case scenario, if she falls and scrapes her knee, Emmett would probably have enough trouble keeping me in line, without having to worry about Jasper's reactions."
Carlisle winced again. "All right then. Why don't I call Esme when we get back to cell tower range, and we can all come over? You and Emmett can talk about a plan for this."
Edward could just hear the thoughts of the two of them; they'd finished their bear and were now looking for the other two. "Sounds perfect. Jasper!" he shouted.
The two ran up. "Hiding from us, huh?" joked Emmett
"No, we decided that it would be a good idea to all go to the Cullens' now."
"You did?" asked Jasper.
"I had an idea that Edward will explain when we get there," confirmed Carlisle.
Jasper and Emmett looked at each other blankly, then shrugged.
"Follow me, kids!" hooted Emmett as began running west.
