He knew theory, as Bella had pointed out. He was not ready to deal with three newborns.
Thankfully his mind reading left him ready when all three moved. They headed straight for Edward, head on as Jasper had predicted. He was right – their minds were a haze of instinct and thirst, not a plan or plot in sight. Bella lunged after the woman closest. She flew through the air, feeling her teeth clamp down on her arm and drag her from Edward and the others. They landed heavily and the woman began clawing and trying to bite anything she could as Bella pinned her with her weight.
There was no humanity in those eyes. Nails tore through flesh and blood dripped through her fur, stinging and making her instincts to defend pique. The woman was strong, holding her at arms length as Bella's jaw snapped in front of her. It was a matter of time -as a newborn she was easily distracted, and when she heard the fast steps of the Cullen's Bella saw her moment.
A sound of rock on rock shot through the woods as Bella lunged forward, the woman's arms pinned to her chest as her teeth sank into the rank flesh of her neck and she tore. The body fell limp and Bella didn't waste time looking as she spat the head to the floor. Edward had managed to fend two of them off.
He stood, a wound on his arm gushing clear liquid. The smell of his venom filled the clearing and the sight of him injured made her feel rabid. The two men were fast but their moves were predicted and dodged every time. Edward's eyes were pitch black, either with pain or fury, but his arm was weakening him.
The Cullen's were a mile out.
Bella growled and one of the men turned to look. She had hoped to distract them both to give Edward ample opportunity to dispose of them. One was better than two. The vampire ran for her, eyes wild and hands groping for flesh to tare and destroy. She recalled what Jasper had taught her and swung around at the last second, leaving him with his back exposed to her.
She kept tabs on Edward. The sound of rock on rock echoed throughout the woods and she had to look – she had to know. Edward stood, breathing heavily, growling under his breath as he glared at her. The beheaded vampire lay at his feet, his removed head cast across the forest floor mindlessly.
One left.
But he had grown fearful and Bella's weakness was enough to give him the chance. Glancing behind him, he shot into the woods. Cursing and spitting to herself she took off after him, with Edward right behind her. She felt the savage burning. The woman had managed to take a chunk of her hind leg and the smell of her own blood was pungent, staining the ground with every step. Her leg felt weak, as if it would collapse if she applied too much weight but she powered on.
The Cullen's and Denali's had joined the chase only half a mile behind. She expected Edward to drop back but he caught up and they ran side by side, not looking at one another. They didn't need to. He was her Pack, and in that moment she would put her life in his hands.
This vampire was fast. His long legs were strong and he flew with disheartening speed but Edward had gotten in a hit of his own. His thigh spewed venom. The forest was painted in it. Edward knew the longer he ran the slower he would become, and it was only a matter of time before he tired.
The trees began to thin and they were heading for Forks. They had nine miles left before they hit civilisation. She didn't how, but she pushed faster. She felt her leg shaking and swallowed the biting pain. Up ahead the vampire was slowing and Bella cut right – leaving Edward taking up the rear as she circled on ahead. He couldn't reach civilisation.
With that mantra chanting through her head she pushed herself, ignoring the burning in her lungs and the limping pain in her leg. The people of Forks weren't like the people in Neah Bay. They had no warning call, no protections to run to. If he were to get to Forks the devastation would be massive. She refused to have that blood on her hands.
The vampire looked at her as they ran side by side. The fire was gone, replaced by fear as he looked at her. He slowed even further and she circled round and ended up in front of him. She stopped and turned – the same tactic she'd done to catch all three of them. This time she didn't snarl or growl, but stood ready as he approached. His eyes were wide with terror as he looked at her. He'd probably never even heard of wolves that could kill his kind.
Edward wasn't far behind, and he too did nothing but stand guard as the others caught up. He knew. This vampire knew his life was done. He knew it in the thirteen enemies that surrounded him. He was not going to escape but his aim remained solid.
Take out as many as you can.
He'd thus far managed a meagre slice to an arm. The Cullen's and Denali's were fast to surround the vampire, standing side by side with Bella. He looked helpless, glancing around at the golden and black eyes. Edward stood a little inside the circle, his mind buzzing with the urge to dismember and kill. Vampires did not take attacks lightly. From over the vampires shoulder, Edward locked eyes with Bella and she dipped her chin just a little.
"Why are you here?" Edward said sharply, in such a hard, savage voice that even Bella was a little taken aback. "Speak!" he cried.
But the vampire didn't speak. With the speed and strength only a newborn can muster, he lunged for Edward. He should have seen it, but he didn't and it was too late. He felt teeth sink into his neck, hands on his shoulder, the panic filled thoughts of his family. It was less than a second – even before vampires reaction time had a chance to kick in. He was on his knees, eyes shut, feeling the burn of the venom from the bite on his neck and the strain of tearing skin as his neck was twisted to the right.
And suddenly it was gone and the relief was immediate and overwhelming.
It was a mess of venom and blood – of snarls and claws and teeth. Both wolf and vampire were injured. They rolled on the floor, kicking and snarling and clawing. She felt wounds and cuts everywhere on her body as blood oozed over her skin, warm and sticky. It was what she wanted.
She leaped to her feet, crouching low as she stood between Edward and the newborn. He was too close and too focussed on Bella and her teeth to even notice when Rosalie grabbed him, or when Emmett ripped his head from his shoulders with a sharp twist.
The newborn crumpled on the ground, lifeless and unmoving. Her injuries were bad, but not the worst she'd ever had. Most of them were just surface wounds and would heal within the hour, but every step caused her agony as she turned and made her way back to Edward. He remained on the ground, sat back on his knees with Carlisle and Alice kneeling at his side. His arm was weeping profusely and his blue shirt was already soaked with his venom. His arm hung at an awkward angle from the sleeve and there was a terrifying tear in the skin of his neck. She wanted to vomit.
"Thank you," Alice said with so much emotion that it momentarily shocked Bella out of her hazy stupor. She didn't care about them. Her eyes were only for Edward, broken and injured on the ground. He looked up with eyes filled with pain, and smiled so faintly and so sincerely he may as well have told a cheesy one liner.
"Not the ending I'd imagined," he said quietly, referring to their date.
His voice was strained and revealed his pain. It was difficult to hear. With hands under his arms, Carlisle and Alice pulled him to his feet. His eyes never left Bella, and widened as he saw her blood soaked fur. "Shit," he breathed, stepping from his family towards Bella. Her eyes were soft. "Are you okay."
She dipped her head but there was a deep gash on her flank, dozens of parallel claw marks down her back and the wound on her back leg. She couldn't have been okay. She was in pain, but was hiding it and he knew why. He knew why she was stood proud and strong, and it had everything to do with the twelve eyes staring at them.
Her face was speckled with blood, and there was a small cut just beneath her eye that had already stopped bleeding and had begun to scab over. He wanted to comfort her but he didn't know how.
"You need to hunt," Carlisle said. He wanted to give the two their privacy but Edward was still injured and he wanted to ask Isabella if he could take a look at her injuries.
"You saved my life," Edward breathed quietly, ignoring Carlisle completely.
It was in her job description now.
"Thank you."
All of his siblings, along with Tanya, Irina and Kate accompanied him to hunt. They'd all agreed not to leave anyone on their own in case another group of newborns traipsed through the area. Carmen returned to the house and came back, lighter in hand, to burn the remains of the vampires. Esme, Carlisle and Eleazar accompanied Bella as she returned to the house. It was silent and heavy and all she wanted to do was lay down and sleep.
As the house came into view she slowed and allowed the vampires to go on ahead. She was surprised to find Carlisle stood on her side of the river waiting for her. She was hesitant but he had already earned her respect.
"I was wondering if you'd let me check you over," he began as he walked towards him. She was a magnificent creature, standing at least nine foot. It was difficult not to be intimidated by her sheer size. Her eyes tightened at his offer but, in the next moment, the air sparked and she stood before him. On her small, human body her clothes hung from her in rags and the injuries looked much worse. He saw how pale she was.
"I'll heal in about an hour," she said in a hard voice. It was easier to hide pain as a wolf – she didn't really have a huge array of facial expressions. "I'll be fine."
"You saved my son," Carlisle said, emotion colouring his voice so thoroughly his words were almost lost among them.
"He is my imprint," Bella said softly as she stood in front of the man. Her shirt was hanging halfway down her body, her trousers ripped and shredded in pieces. "I would die for him."
As uncomfortable as she was, and with as much pain as she felt, she saw that this was building bridges between them. When he offered to look her over, she agreed against her better judgement. His hands were like ice on her skin but felt soothing against the burning wounds on her skin.
Her back was mangled and a complete mess. Her skin was caked with blood, thick and dry. Her hair, which hung down the middle of her back, was stuck to her skin from the shoulders. Had she been human she would have died from blood loss. She would have fainted from the pain, but the adrenaline had long since gone and she still stood in front of him, calm as he examined her.
"We'll try and get you some clothes that won't smell of us," he said as he stepped away.
He felt like a demon, leaving her outside with a storm rolling in, bleeding and injured. He wanted to offer her a bath, stitches, a hot meal and a bed. With another soft thank you, he headed back into the house, insisting she ask for anything she needed or wanted.
She knew she would never ask for anything.
She felt dreadful. Every muscle ached and when she moved, her skin pulled and flexed and she felt her wounds re-open again. She was slick with sweat and blood and her eyes went to the river flowing in front of her. She didn't allow herself to think, and crouched on the bank and slid into the water. It was only waist high but she felt every muscle in her body trembling and screaming in pain as the water barraged her open wounds.
She lowered herself into the water and watched her blood swirl away from her. The river ran red as she lay on her back, ignoring the pain and clenching her eyes shut. She wished she had shampoo and soap and, as if she'd heard her request, a small vampire quickly exited the back door of the house and was quickly in front of her.
Like everyone else, she looked so emotional that Bella didn't know what to say. "We thought you might like to get cleaned up," was all she said as she sat two bottles on the bank of the river as well as a small pile of clothing, watching the red water flow away from them.
"Thank you."
The little woman nodded, bit her lip and retreated back inside the house. Bella spent only a little time washing her hair and body. The water wasn't helping the pain at all, but she did feel so much better without the tacky dirt covering every inch of her skin. Nudity wasn't something that bothered her and she threw the ruined clothes aside and pulled on the fresh ones.
They were brand new; the only traces of vampire on them were small patches of light stench from where the vampire had held them. They felt so soft and nice against her skin. She was dry within a minute of getting out of the river, and with her stomach still full from the omelette's this morning, her body drained and feeling as comfortable as ever, she found herself falling asleep right there out in the open, on the bank of the river.
–
As injured as he was, and as much as he needed to hunt, the need to see, to touch Bella was far stronger. For the sake of his family, he drained two deer that they had fetched to him but he refused a third and forth. Bella had been wounded much worse than he had. That amount of blood should have had her on the ground.
"Carlisle says she's fine," Alice argued as they tried to keep him down. She'd been on the phone to their father purely to humour Edward. They'd found a small clearing and he had been sat down and guarded by the others as Emmett, Tanya and Kate hunted on his behalf. "You need to eat."
"I have," he snapped back. He didn't like being so far from her, not when she was weakened. What if another wave of newborns attacked? "I'm already healed," he said a softer voice as his sister flinched from him. He knew she cared for him, they all did but they stood between him and Bella.
"Not fully," she argued quietly.
They couldn't force him to drink, and so headed back to the house. His arm, which had previously been almost severed, was now almost fully re-attached. He no longer had to support it against his body, but it still twinged and ached when he moved. His neck had completely healed without fault and all he wanted to do was get back home.
The sky was full of black smoke and the forest grew cloudy and dense with the stench of burning vampires. Carmen met them on their return to the house. Edward tried not to see the blood that stained the grass and trees, but it was impossible. It smelled like her and drew his eye without effort.
They arrived at the house from the east and eyes were drawn to the small human laid sleeping next to the river. Edward was pleased to hear the tone of thoughts had changed dramatically. He said nothing as he broke off from his family and headed over to her. He was surprised she hadn't already stirred with so many vampires so close by, but she slept on quietly. He realised, somewhat belatedly, that he had never seen or so relaxed in her human skin.
He could smell the shampoo, see that her hair was shining and curling around her face that was free from dirt and grime. She was beautiful. All of her wounds on her wolf body had transformed onto her human one and he could see them in Carlisle's mind. He could see her back, destroyed and torn brutally right down to the muscle. Now, the cut beneath her eye was nothing more than a thick red line. Her leg, which had previously had skin and muscle torn away, was angry, red and there the skin was mottled and scabby, but almost healed.
New clothes covered her body – blue jeans that hugged everything above her knee, and a white shirt that was too low to be a coincidence. He reminded himself to thank Alice later.
He sat against a tree with his eyes shut, feeling his skin slowly knitting back together. He listened to her quiet breathes and the occasional twitch of a finger as it brushed against the ground. He'd never imagined it to be comfortable to sleep on the ground, but Bella was breaking everything he'd ever assumed.
It was almost six and the family were preparing the Denali's on what to expect from the Quileute and Makah Tribes. Questions were raised about Bella.
"Why isn't she with her Tribe?" Carmen asked, not unkindly.
Edward could hear them, but he trusted Carlisle to give Bella the respect she deserved. "When her council found out about Edward they demoted her from Alpha. The Alpha of the Quileute's provoked Edward, and Isabella stepped in to protect him. There was a fight -" he said with an edge, remembering the blood and fur flying. "If she stayed with the Tribe, she would be trapped in her human form and removed from the Pack completely, forbidden from ever seeing Edward. She chose to leave, and we offered her a place with us."
"And she stays outside?" Tanya asked with a scoff in her voice.
"Our scent is physically painful for her," Esme explained quietly.
Edward chose not to listen to Tanya. He found his patience was especially thin. After only an hour or so of sleeping, Bella woke slowly.
She peeled her eyes open, stretched her fingers, arms and then legs, taking of note of what hurt and stung. Thankfully the pain had been reduced to a slow, weak throb in her leg and a twinge from her back. She heard the voices of vampires in the house and wondered how she'd missed their arrival.
"Good morning," Edward said with a smirk. She looked round at him. She hadn't even noticed him sat there watching her. Her face flushed red as she sat up, covering a yawn with the back of her hand.
"How are you feeling?" she asked as she peered over at him.
"Much better," he said with a small smile. "Almost fully healed. How about you? You look much better."
She narrowed her eyes at the insinuation. "Mostly healed, and thank you."
He wanted to roll his eyes but he had no energy to argue with her. He hadn't meant to insult her at all. "You'd look beautiful covered in slime."
She didn't know what to say. She'd never been called beautiful before. She'd never thought of herself that way. This was just the way she looked. Being dirty was just a part of being a wolf.
"Alice and Emmett are staying behind for the meeting," Edward said after the silence stretched a little too thin. "We should probably stay together in case they come again."
Bella nodded but words seemed to have deserted her. The river was gentle and clear once again, but there was a sadness in her mind that plagued her. She remembered seeing him on the ground on his knees, eyes shut ready to accept death. His fight had been feeble at best. It made her angry and it bubbled beneath her skin as she pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them.
"What's wrong?"
She said nothing. She didn't think it was appropriate to scold someone after they'd almost been killed. She was angry for his weakness. She was angry that, without her, his family would have stood by and watched his death. They were too human, all of them wrapped in the need to not be monsters and devils. It infuriated her that in a moment, her life would have been crushed and he didn't see it. None of them saw it.
"Talk to me."
"You don't want to know what I'm thinking this time," she said in a deep, calm voice that screamed contained fury. Edward didn't know whether to poke the proverbial sleeping dragon or let it rest.
"Tell me."
"You should go to the meeting," she said dismissively.
"I'm staying behind with Alice and Emmett," he said quickly. It had already been decided that he shouldn't be around Sam just yet and with him not one hundred percent, he didn't want to risk facing them. This news did nothing to earn him his answer, and Bella turned and looked away from him. He didn't have a clue why she'd be angry with him.
The others took off to meet the wolves while Edward waited impatiently for Bella to talk to explain what was going on inside her head. Emmett thought it was hilarious that his brother found the one female on the planet he couldn't hear, and there was nothing he could do about it. Bella did feel better with Tanya and the most of the Cullen's out of earshot. She was used to her every word and thought being heard, but not judged and dissected.
"I'm sorry," she said after an hour of silence.
Edward exhaled a breath he wasn't aware he was holding. "Why?"
She laughed humourlessly. "I was on the verge of screaming at you earlier."
This was news to Edward, whose eyebrows retreated somewhere near his hairline. She kept her emotions in check and hidden very well. He knew how sensitive females could be after living with Rosalie, Alice and Esme. He knew that, when in a sour mood, their minds would snap and grip at anything that mildly irritated them. Thus far Bella had defied every expectation. "Why?"
She screwed her face up and sighed before shuffling over, closing the five foot distance between them, and sitting herself right in front of him. Their knees touched. "You almost died," she said with some difficulty. "And... you didn't really fight. You struggled but..." she shook her head and he saw the traces of anger in her eyes as she lowered her head to her chest. "You let that newborn overpower you and you gave up."
He opened his mouth, but what could he say? Did he fight and struggle with everything he had? No, he hadn't and, as he realised it, he was not surprised that Bella was angry with him. "I was angry because your family just stood and watched and did nothing. I was angry because you're so scared of being vampires that you act like humans. You've been... domesticated," she said after a moments thought. "Twelve vampires should have torn that newborn to shreds without hesitation, but you just stood there."
"We-"
"I know," Bella said quickly. "Which is why I said nothing earlier," she said with sad eyes that quickly hid behind her hair again as she stared at the grass between her folded legs. "I was raised to be a wolf. I was trained to hunt and kill. This is what I do. You... you're used to being a teenager in a classroom. I've dealt with hostile vampires for my entire life and you're used to inviting them in for a chat."
He didn't know what to say or do. She had told him what she was thinking and he didn't like it – he understood and appreciated her point of view, l she painted them out to be useless, mindless people.
"You wanted to know," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. Even in the dimming light, she could see how her words had offended him. She could see the ire building behind his eyes.
"She's right," came an unexpected voice from the house.
Emmett.
Bella twisted her head around but he was still inside the house. She hadn't spoken to any of the Cullen's, save for Carlisle and two words from Alice. She was curious to meet the other vampires in this peculiar coven. But Emmett didn't come out of the house. Edward could still hear his thoughts though, and see how he agreed with what Bella had said. Their time among humans had made them soft. They had adopted useless human habit like breathing and crossing their legs. They acted like humans even among themselves. The only thing that marked them as vampires, was every ten or so days, they would hunt and kill animals before returning to the house to be humans again.
"It's just frustrating," Bella said after a long silence. "You're all trying so hard to be good," she said softly. "But the fact that you even try is all you need."
Edward scoffed sharply. "We're murderers by nature, Bella."
She didn't flinch as he spat her name, didn't move away from his nasty tone or glaring eyes. She met those eyes with kind understanding ones of her own. "Being hungry isn't a sin. Everyone is hungry Edward," she said quietly. "The way we eat defines who we are. In the past week I have killed four deer – but I have made each kill quick, and prayed for them. We eat because we have to. We cause as little pain as we can. That is what saves us."
In all her life she had met hundreds of vampires, all with glowing red eyes who embraced their lives with varying degrees of happiness. Those that insight fear, that toy and torture their prey are the monsters. Hunger is a basic need, and eating is a basic urge. She had never judged a vampire for their diet, only how they attain their meals.
"Do you honestly believe that?"
"Yes," she said immediately.
He had never thought about it like the way she had put it. To look at a living, breathing human being and want to destroy that life, that light was abhorrent to him.
Bella moved away and sat a little more than six foot away, her back leaning against the closest tree to him. His mind was occupied and she let him think as he had done for her. Night fell and the stars came out in all their brilliance, dancing and sparkling above them. She often found herself bored on patrols at night, and found herself staring into the sky trying to count all of the stars. She knew she never could, and never would but it passed the time.
He watched her turn and lay on her back, hair sprawled out behind her and her hands sat on her stomach. Her eyes roved this way and that as the stars reflected back at him. He glanced up. It had been too many years since he found the stars enrapturing. He felt the weight on his chest lift as he looked down at her, his deep, dark mood lifting a little as he watched her.
She was a straight forward person. She was there, in the moment, truth and honesty blazing in every word. It was refreshing and eye opening.
"What do you see?" he asked quietly, feeling a little silly for dumping his depressive thoughts on her. He could see the little smile on her face and the way her eyes crinkled at the corners. He wished he could see what she saw.
"I wonder how many eyes are looking at the same thing I am right now," she said with a sigh. "It's so small here but the world is so big with so many people."
"Have you ever left Washington?"
She snorted loudly and inside the house, Alice giggled at the unladylike noise. "This is the first time I've ever been out of Neah Bay, apart from as a wolf of course."
He couldn't imagine being confined to such a small place for so many years, but she had a different heart to him. "What do you see?" she asked.
It was an invitation, and he pushed away from the tree he'd been leaning on for three hours and lay down next to her, their heads touching only slightly, his arms at his sides as he looked into the sky. "I see lights," he said simply.
Bella laughed, a delicate, high pitched tinkling laugh he hadn't heard before. "You're so old," she said jokingly. "Of course I see lights, but beyond that..."
He smiled, because he should have been offended at the age thing but he didn't care and her smile was honest. "I see possibilities."
"Have you been everywhere?" she asked suddenly.
"Most places," he answered. "Obviously we haven't gotten to the North or South Pole, or to any of the deserts, but most places inhabited by humans, we've been."
She sighed beside him and smiled at the thought. "You must have seen so many things."
"I could show you," he said without thinking.
She laughed nervously. "My place is here."
He didn't voice how her own people had cast her out. He didn't point out that none of her so-called friends or family had come to make sure the vampires hadn't killed her. Her sense of duty and responsibility was admirable, if not a little one sided.
"Will you tell me about it?" she asked nervously.
And with a smile, he told her about Emmett attending a heavy metal gig, throwing someone through a window and head banging so enthusiastically he'd put his head through a wall and made himself feel nauseous – not an easy feat for a vampire. The story made her laugh, and Emmett was pleased he'd told one of the better ones. He told her about their trip to Egypt, where Jasper and Rosalie had been arrested on suspicion of fraud after using fake passports a little too often. Finger prints were taken but, thankfully, they'd escaped before they tried to extract any blood.
He told her about their trip to England, and how the Houses of Parliament looked dirtier in person, and how it was so loud and busy that he'd got a headache. He told her about the rolling mountains in Scotland, and lakes and rivers and how they'd gone hunting for the Loch Ness Monster but to no avail.
"You love your family," she pointed out after she'd finished laughing at the image of Alice hurling abuse at a poor shop clerk about not having her shoe size in Gucci sling backs.
"We're dysfunctional and argue most of the time," he said lightly. "But they keep me sane."
She felt a pang in her chest and felt sadness bloom. She missed her Pack. She missed diving into the water and running through the forest. She missed the endless, pointless conversations of early morning patrols and idle gossip. She missed the fiery arguments and sense of comradery and family.
She had no-one.
"I think Esme wants to adopt you," Edward said, causing another bubble of laughter.
"I didn't think vampires had pets," she said lightly and she felt Edward stiffen beside her. "I have better hearing than you, remember?"
"Rosalie is-"
"Rosalie is protecting her family," she said dismissively.
"Either way – I think you've officially won the whole family over."
She wasn't sure how she felt about it. Whether they liked her or not, it didn't change anything. She was still out here and she would forever be a stinky wolf. Respect only went so far. "And Tanya will be gone soon," he added.
Her laugh was short and tense.
"They were pretty impressed by the way you handled her, by the way," he said on behalf of Emmett and Alice. "Not many people can stare Tanya down."
"I've dealt with plenty worse than her."
Her stomach growled. The Omelettes were too long ago now and she would have to settle for a rabbit or something. She sat up and clambered to her feet, dusting off her bum. Edward sat up and looked up at her. "We could order pizza."
Bella smirked. "You've got a thing about feeding me."
He shrugged but his smirk mirrored hers. "Can't have you disappearing. Plus I don't think we should be heading out on our own at the minute."
In the house Alice was already dialling and when asked what toppings she wanted, Bella just said as much pepperoni that could fit on it. Edward grabbed her hand and tugged her down, urging her to sit again. "I liked our date this morning," he admitted as she sat in front of him, knee to knee again, their entwined hands resting in his lap.
"Me too," she admitted. Not only did she get to see more of Edward without the prying eyes of his family, but she got a full belly too. "Shame about after," she said grimacing. Her leg was almost fully healed and the mark on her face had vanished. A quick roll of her shoulders told her, her back was completely healed.
"You owe me a kiss," he said suddenly.
"Do I now?" she responded with a laugh at his nerve. "What if I'm the sort not to kiss on the first date? I had a very old fashioned up bringing," she reminded him with a coy smile.
"You want to compare old fashioned?" he challenged and she remembered that he was over a hundred years old. It was so easy to forget. "And even back then there were expectations to be upheld," he encouraged loftily.
"Well if there are expectations," she said with a mock gasp before leaning forward and giving the smallest, lightest kiss to his cheek. Her smile was wide and victorious as she looked at his shocked, cheated expression.
With a wicked glint in his eyes, he released her hands only to grab her around the waist. She squealed as she was thrown on the floor, giggling as he leaned over her and stared down at her with his own victorious grin. How did he make her feel so young? She wished she could bottle it.
She heard a sigh from the house and couldn't help but blush. Edward didn't care. He'd heard and seen so much of his family in the past hundred years that he couldn't care any less. His clothes were still filthy and torn, stained with his venom but he didn't care. His eyes were bright as he stared down at her, flushed and happy beneath him. There was no doubt that he would one day love this girl.
Slowly, painfully slowly, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips. Not counting the rough, hair grabbing passionate kiss that quickly led to other passions, this was their first kiss. No tongue no hair pulling, just ice on flame. She melted and he burned. He pulled away and looked down at her, but her eyes were shut and there was a trace of a smile on her face. She liked the warm buzz in her stomach and the nerves that made her too confident.
She could feel him pressed against her, from knee to stomach. His skin, like ice, chilling her and making her shiver but she couldn't say that she was cold. She opened her eyes and saw him staring down at her, his eyes dark and intent on hers. His hands were planted on either side of her head as he stretched over her. He was as vulnerable as she was.
He saw the smirk on her face just before he felt those little fingers push his shirt aside and brush against the smooth expanse of his stomach. She felt his stomach tense under her finger tips, felt the smallest of pushes of his hips against hers and heard the softest gasp. A sense of power washed over her and she smiled widely as she tore yet another one of his shirts from his body.
"You're going to have to stop doing that," he said playfully as she threw the material away.
"No, I don't," she countered cheekily.
"I think I might hurl," Emmett said deliberately.
Both of them laughed, but he could see that Bella was suddenly uncomfortable. He sat up on his knees and Bella followed before getting to her feet, grabbing his hand and tugging him along as she headed into the forest. He laughed but she was serious. They got two and a half miles out until they stopped and Bella pushed him with such strength that sent him tumbling to the floor with the grace of a penguin.
But then she was there, sitting on top of him with an evil glint in her eyes and a smirk on her face that made him burn from the inside out. Her hands on his chest, she leaned down and kissed him ever so gently. Her hair dropped around them like a thick curtain but they didn't need anything else as their eyes locked and gold met chocolate brown.
Birds, rabbits, squirrels and all matter of small critters fled the area.
He heard her heart beat faster and heavier as she leaned down and pressed a kiss to his throat, his neck, his shoulder, his chin, the tip of his nose and then, finally, a hard, burning kiss that had her hands in his hair, gripping those soft locks as she gyrated her hips. He growled lowly as he parted his lips and their kiss deepened. She felt his hands on her shoulders, sliding down to her chest, her waist and then the curve of her ass. He pushed her hips into his and they both moaned.
They were more careful with clothing this time, but not by far. Without moving from their position, they managed to undress one another completely before he felt her heat pressed against him. It was unbearable but she wasn't done. Kisses fluttered down his neck, to his chest, his stomach and each of his thighs. She heard his breath hitch and chuckled to herself. "You wish," she said confidently before climbing back up and setting her hands either side of his head, her breasts in his face which he didn't seem too bothered about.
They were slower, softer as he positioned himself and pushed his hips up. There was no feeling like it and she couldn't help the quiet moan that left her lips. She pulled her hair from his face and lowered her body until her breasts were against his chest and she was pressing kisses to his throat; she knew he liked it. He set the rhythm; a steady in and out that had her grabbing fistfuls of grass and making all sorts of obscene noises into his neck.
He could hear her soft breathes in his ear and it was driving him mad. His hands found the curve of her ass and he pushed her down when he pushed up, eliciting the loudest moan yet as she threw her head back. She was too much. Her noises, the kisses, her eyes...
She was too lost in sensations to care when his arm snaked around her waist and they rolled over, still joined until she was on her back and he was positioned above her. He whispered soft curses as he slid in and out and she gyrated and writhed beneath him. She was too much, and suddenly she was right there, crying out and arching her back, her hands clawing at his back deliciously as her muscles clamped down around him. He rode on through it, and finished with four sharp thrusts that made her cry out and clamp her eyes shut.
Still and breathing heavily, he rested his forehead on hers and kept his eyes shut savouring the moment. His cold nose buried into her nose, tickling her and making her wriggle away and giggle as she pushed him away with hands on his chest. He sat up and grinned as he looked down at her, flushed and covered in a thin layer of sweat. She was glorious.
They lay there, naked side by side in quiet for some time. It was nice, just to be there together. Her head rested on his chest and his arm hugged her waist and held her tightly against him as she traced circles and words on his stomach. The rain began in a faint drizzle but neither of them moved.
"I definitely like you," Bella said glancing up from his chest with a shy smile.
"Likewise, Miss Swan," he said, rubbing his hand on her small waist. "There might be hope for us yet."
–
"We didn't want to interrupt," Emmett said with a weirdly proud smirk and wriggle of his eyebrows as he handed Bella the, now cold pizza box. She accepted it with a furious blush and couldn't quite look him in the eye while Edward punched him in the arm. Emmett laughed raucously and disappeared back inside the house.
Edward and Bella sat under the cover of the tree line while she ate the pizza. Her hair was a mess of knots, curls and dirt from rolling around on the forest floor. Apparently two and a half miles isn't far enough away from prying ears.
Only a few minutes later the others returned from the meeting and Bella shooed Edward off to talk to them. She liked the sad look on his face when he walked away from her, and ate her slice of pizza with a pleased smile on her face. She almost gagged – almost vomited right there and then from what she heard.
"The Makah Pack were fighting like wild animals-"
The pizza was forgotten and she was on her feet heading for the house but Edward was there, a hand on her shoulder willing her to calm down and wait. Carlisle was by his side, along with Jasper and Tanya.
"No-one was badly hurt," Carlisle assured her. She didn't believe him. She knew in-pack fights could be brutal. A playful scrap was nothing if they intended to wound. "It seems as though the Pack is split. Lana gave them an order to sit and ten of them refused-"
She turned and walked away a little. She knew what that meant.
"Bella?"
"What happened next?" she asked, turning back to them with fear in her eyes as they focussed only on Carlisle.
"She tried again – a few sat, but six still stood."
She muttered something in a language foreign to them all and rubbed a hand over her face roughly. "Did they sit eventually?"
"She tried to make them – got quite hysterical actually. That's when the fight started. Thomas went for her and another wolf defended her, and it was a domino effect from there," Carlisle said, watching Bella pace back and forth on the patio. The stench was overwhelming, but nothing to the thought of her pack falling apart. "Lana eventually got control again and they left quickly."
Eyes landed on Bella but her gaze was far away and there was a look of fury written all over her face. Lana was ruining everything. She cursed Thomas who was supposed to hold the Pack together, not lead a rebellion. She wanted to go to them, to appeal to Lana, to talk Thomas into calming down but she knew her presence would only force their hand and Lana wasn't one for civility. She had one of the most cold, calculating minds in the Pack which made her a good wolf, but a lousy Alpha.
There was nothing she could do.
She wished they'd never told her.
Those were her friends, some closer than others, but all her family. She trusted each and every one of them with her life, even Lana. The thought of them getting to the point of fighting one another, defying direct orders and openly rebelling against the Alpha in front of the Cullen's and even Sam screamed of how much disorder there was within the Pack.
"Bella?" Edward said, approaching her tentatively. He could see she was angry.
"There's nothing we can do," she said quietly, glancing back at Carlisle. "They might drop out of the alliance if they don't get it sorted, so be ready to be nineteen wolves down," she advised him.
"Couldn't you just go and talk to them?" Tanya asked, crossing her arms over her chest like it was the most obvious solution in the world.
"If I step into Makah territory my own Pack will be ordered to kill me. I am not welcome on their soil," she said in a dead calm tone, looking the blond vampire straight in the eye. "I will not put my friends and family in that position."
The mood had gone, and Bella returned to her little home on the other side of the river while Edward went inside with his family. The smiles and warm buzzing in her stomach was a long distant memory as her thoughts plagued her. She was used to addressing problems, used to taking action and analysing and fixing situations. Her hands were tied and there was nothing to do but hope to God her Pack made it through.
It was too much to ask.
Six hours later she was startled from a light slumber. There was nothing, aside from the twelve vampires in the house in front of her. She looked around her, waiting but heard nothing more. A shiver ran down her spine and she couldn't explain it. She got to her feet but there was nothing there.
Fifteen minutes later she heard the soft footfalls. Dun dun dun dun.
Her heart dropped and the Cullen's heard the same foreign word slip from her mouth. They couldn't hear the approaching body yet but Bella had their attention. Tanya likened her to a guard dog and Esme hushed her sharply while Edward ignored the remark and stood just outside the back door, his eyes fixed on Bella.
"A wolf is coming," she said quietly, not turning to look at him. The expanse of the lawn lay between them. He could see her hands balled into fists. She phased and a snarl tore from her mouth, spit flying from her teeth as her ears flattened and she began to pace endlessly. Her eyes and body turned to the east.
In the distance, a series of howls rang out into the early morning.
They heard it then – the wolf, its heavy breathes, the beat of its heart. Nerves and fear bounced between the vampires. Two wolves were nothing to defeat, but they weren't expecting anything like that. "It's not attacking," Edward mumbled from the doorway with a roll of his eye.
"What's it thinking?" Carlisle asked as the vampires piled out onto the patio, hoping that if it was to attack, seeing such a vast number of them would send it running.
The wolf broke through the trees on the left side of the garden and Bella crouched low, snarling ferociously. She wasn't this angry, even with Sam. "It's Thomas," Edward said with surprise. The sandy coloured wolf walked low to the ground, a submissive pose to the nth degree. His ears to flat as he crawled on his stomach towards Bella, whose continuous snarl was deafening and a threat.
She wouldn't attack Thomas.
But she was always proving him wrong.
She lunged with teeth exposed and claws ready to damage. Thomas fought back only a little to defend himself from the worst of the attack. It looked brutal and Esme winced at his side, but no blood was drawn and claws pushed, not slashed. Bella pinned Thomas beneath her and the pair stared at one another. No-one dared to move as the pair breathed heavily and stood nose to nose.
The sandy wolf suddenly flicked out his tongue and licked Bella's snout, causing her to jump away, startled. Back on his feet, the Sandy wolf shook out his fur and stood with a straight back and neck – his eyes on Bella as she paced and whined loudly. He took a step towards her and she stopped pacing to glare at him. His mind was once again silent to Edward.
With a small hiss of air, he stood before them as a dark skinned man with a small grin on his face as he looked at the huge wolf in front of him. "Come on," he cooed condescendingly. Edward was surprised when Bella shifted. She didn't strike him as the sort to do as she was told. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her glare was ice cold. "You missed me – admit it," he said opening his arms wide, winking at her.
Her responding smile was creeping and wide as she unfolded her arms and launched herself at him, their arms wrapped around one another in the biggest mood swing Jasper had ever seen. Thomas stood over six foot, towering over Bella's tiny five foot two frame. He could easily pass for a Quileute with his dark skin and black hair. "You are an asshole," Bella said suddenly stepping back and landing a punch right in his stomach.
Thomas winced and bent a little as he covered the spot she'd just hit. "Calm your shit down woman," he cried rubbing the area. "I showed you what it was like over there."
"You promised," she hissed with narrow eyes.
"Bella-" Thomas said seriously. "Every thing's different now."
"I don't care!" she cried suddenly. "Get your ass back to Neah Bay!"
"Is that an order?" Thomas simpered acidically.
Bella's eyes narrowed. "Don't push me – not after this," she warned with a sharp glare before casting her eyes to the ground. "Will Lana allow you back?"
Thomas scoffed. "After you've tainted me? Not a chance in Hell," he said proudly.
"You are not staying here," Bella said strongly.
"Fine – I'll just go ask Sam if I can sleep on his couch-"
"Thomas!" Bella screeched. "I swear to God I will rip your tongue out if you carry on."
He didn't look too worried, but settled down with a sigh. "You don't know what it's like over there Bells," he said quietly. She was still pissed. "Patrols are punishments. We have a schedule. We have assigned roles and duties now. We can't talk, move or breath without Lana's approval. Harry and I went for a swim yesterday and we ended up having to scrub the walls of the Council Building."
Bella pulled a face and Thomas nodded. "Exactly. It's a concentration camp, I swear to God."
Bella growled quietly. "You were supposed to keep them together."
"There was nothing I could do, Bella. People have their own opinions and it's not just me who's considered leaving. Ask them-" Thomas said, flicking his hand towards where the Cullen's and Denali's all stood watching.
"I heard all about last night," Bella hissed. "You don't know what you've done-" she insisted quietly. "You'll never see your parents again. You'll never be able to set foot in Neah Bay-"
"And I don't want to," he said with a loud laugh. "I don't think you understand Bella. It was my parents who convinced me to leave this morning."
Bella narrowed her eyes but knew Thomas wasn't one to lie. His parents were both Teachers at the small school on the reservation, both loving, kind hearted people though his mother had a sharp tongue when it was called for. They'd sort of adopted her into the family when she was younger and started hanging around with Thomas. They were so proud that both of them got to be in the Pack, and even more proud when they got Alpha and Beta status. If they encouraged Thomas to turn his back on the Pack...
"People are noticing," Thomas nodded, as if following her train of thought. "Lana is issuing orders left right and centre and not just to us. There's a nine o'clock curfew now. Anyone caught on the streets gets a hundred dollar fine."
No-one could afford that on the reservation. They didn't have a lot of money, and what pennies they did have were spent getting better equipment for the fishermen or repairing the buildings. Bella shook her head in dismay at the idea of fining people.
She sighed deeply and looked over to Carlisle. He knew what she was going to ask. "He can stay."
"Thank you," Thomas said with sudden maturity. Bella didn't look at all happy, turning away and leaving him in the middle of the lawn.
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