"I'm really sorry about my Grandpa," Bella found herself saying an hour or so later. Her pack had split off, taking their family away to talk and just spend time together. They stayed within hearing range – as close as it was to the battle they were unwilling to stray too far. Her grandfather, not used to waking quite so early, was taking a nap in the camper and Bella was left alone for one of the first times since she arrived at the Cullen's house.
"He cares about you," he said with a shrug.
"It was absolutely mortifying," she admitted, her cheeks turning crimson at the memory.
"Imagine how I felt," he said with a choked laugh.
"Remind me to thank Carlisle and Esme for not giving me a talk," she said with a shake of her head. They sat close to the house – much closer than she'd been comfortable sitting before, but she figured her pack had allowed Edward into their ranks, even encouraged him to sit with them and their families. It was time for her to push past her instinct to stay away and have a little faith in Edward and his family.
"Was he being serious about getting married?" Edward asked, expecting her to laugh it off and was quite unsettled when she just struggled and picked at the grass underneath her feet.
"Typically, imprints get married within two to three weeks of finding one another," she said quietly, unsure of how her imprint would take this. "Obviously our situation is hardly normal, so the expectations aren't really applicable."
It was tradition.
Between a wolf and an imprint – unless the imprint wasn't a Makah, or they were already partnered with another person, an engagement was announced within a week, and a marriage within two to three weeks. It wasn't a matter of rushing, rather that there was no point in waiting. Imprinting was a sign from the Spirits of Old and New that you had found your soul mate, merely having it on paper was a formality that solidified the union.
But her imprint was a vampire, and a newborn army was knocking on their door at any minute; now was not the time to be planning a wedding. She wasn't even a hundred percent sure she'd want to marry Edward, though she was sure, given another few weeks without the impending attack she would feel different.
"And children?" Edward said in a much higher pitch than intended.
His look of absolute fear made her smile sadly. "No children."
He was surprised by her lack of argument, considering how adamant her grandfather had been on the contrary. She was busy looking down at the ground, crushing little rocks and pebbles between her fingers. "When I was ten I fell out of a tree. It was a twenty five foot drop," she said quietly. "I should have died, or at least been paralysed."
"But you're a wolf..."
She nodded. "Because my wolf genes had already been triggered, I was able to heal but it was very slow and painful," she said with a frown over his shoulder. "They took me to a doctor in Seattle on the sly – we couldn't pay for it, but they agreed to see me anyway. They told me I'd done some internal damage and that I wouldn't be able to carry a child."
She had no idea how his heart broke her for, for that little ten year old dragged away from her tiny little world and stood in front of a doctor. It wasn't something any child should have to deal with. He recalled the hurt in her grandfathers eyes, his insistence for his answer.
"Your grandfather..." Edward said weakly.
"Doesn't trust Pale Skin's, never mind doctors," she said with a sigh. "I used to think that was why I hadn't imprinted," she admitted in a whisper. "It's kind of our purpose – to create more wolves."
Turned out she was never destined to have any.
"I'm sorry Bella," he said, his fingers trailing the skin on her hand, hesitant to comfort a wound he couldn't see.
"It's okay," she said firmly. "I don't think I could bring a child into the world, knowing what I do," she said as a second thought. "As horrible as it is – it would be a crippling weakness that I can't afford."
In a twisted, sick way Edward was glad that, at the very least, she wasn't sacrificing this for him.
"We'll get married one day," he said with a small smile.
She looked up at him, from his fingers on her hand and smiled back at him. "I've got to say yes yet."
–
"The Volturi would have a field day with this," Tanya grumbled as she sat outside, watching the humans talk and laugh with their wolf relations. Bella was at her side, biting her tongue and instinct to spend time among Edward and his family.
"Amun mentioned them before he left," Bella recalled.
"They're our leaders. They govern all vampires," Tanya said flippantly.
"How can they govern all vampires?" Bella asked with a frown. "Where are they?"
"Italy, but they have people everywhere," Tanya told her. "I'm actually surprised they've let this newborn army grow to the size it is."
Bella was trying to keep up with the concept of an omniscient leader. It didn't sit well with her at all and, to be quite honest, gave her the creeps to think about. The vampires began their discussions, making no secret of anything even with Bella almost inside their home.
"It's no surprise," Jasper countered. "It's been expected for some time. I assume they consider it a happy coincidence that another coven want us dead."
"What-" Bella began. "These Volturi want you dead?" she said worriedly, her hand gripping Edward's hand as it lay at her side. Why had he not mentioned this earlier?
"Not in the way Victoria does," Carlisle explained patiently. "We are the biggest coven, besides the Volturi and we have three gifted vampires among us," he said.
"You're a threat," she surmised.
"Yes. He has countless talented vampires in his Guard – he covets them," he went on heavily. "Which is why Amun was so angry with us. If Aro were to see Benjamin and his ability – I fear he would go to any lengths to have it."
"He can't just take people," Bella argued.
"He has a vampire in his Guard called Chelsea," Eleazar said sharply. "She is able to manipulate a persons bond with the people around them. She would sever your ties with your pack and align you with them and you wouldn't even notice."
She had known that these talented vampires had existed of course, having run into quite a few of them but the idea of them all being collected in one place, and on such a twisted mission was frightening.
"We have one rule, Bella," Tanya said heavily. "And that is that humans are not to know of our existence. Any form of exposure would have us all killed."
Her eyes returned to the family of her pack, her mind to her entire tribe. "We have lived this way for hundreds of years," she argued. "We respect your power and ability – we don't go screaming it from the rooftops."
"That wouldn't matter to Aro," Eleazar said with a shake of his head. "He would have your pack slaughtered and your people killed."
His words were blunt and she stared at him, fearing an enemy she had never seen or heard of before a few moments earlier. "We would kill them," she said without hesitation.
"Hardly," Garret said with a scoff. "You might be able to pin a few newborns, but the Volturi are beyond your claws."
She felt Edward stiffen beside her, but it was Eleazar who spoke. "Actually, I do believe that Bella is correct."
Eyes turned to him. "You have a shield protecting your mind," he reminded her. "That shield is projected around your pack, and your people, protecting them as well."
Again, things went over her head.
"If Edward cannot hear her, I doubt Aro's ability would work either," Tanya said, looking at the small, pale unassuming woman beside her with renewed interest. "Or Jane's or Alec's."
"She could be the key to defeating them."
"Woah," Bella said with a nervous laugh. "I protect my own tribe – I do not go seeking a war with the leader of all vampires."
"You think they'll show up?" Edward asked Carlisle.
His father sighed and cast his worried eyes to Bella. "I sincerely hope not, but Victoria hasn't exactly been quiet in Seattle."
This, also had to be explained. "Sam didn't really tell us anything; only that some vampires were pissed off and coming for revenge."
"They were just passing through. We actually met them first, and we politely asked them not to hunt in our territory and they agreed and moved on. The following day Sam is at our door, ranting about how we sent three vampires onto his land," Emmett scowled as he sat on the sofa beside his wife. "Which was obviously ridiculous. They killed one of them though – and his mate, Victoria had been building up her army for weeks now. There are people going missing daily – they're suspecting a mass murderer is on the loose."
"Did any Quileute's die?"
"Not as far as we know."
Bella nodded, pleased that at least the Quileute wolves protected their own people.
"Forget the Volturi," Eleazar said with a small grin. "We need to concentrate on these newborns."
They had given her plenty to think about, that was for sure.
"She must know we're here," Carlisle sighed.
Victoria and her coven were savage and cruel, but embraced every inch of their vampiric nature. It wasn't clear how she'd known about their return to Forks, or how she'd predicted the Quileute's would call on them for help after growing wary of the deaths mounting up in nearby Seattle. She had surrounded herself with newborns hell bent on destroying the Quileute's, or so they had thought.
But Edward had heard their thoughts to specifically take out the vampires. They had come straight for the house, knowing where they were and who to look for.
How had she known?
"Maybe an ability..." Eleazar mused to his old friend. "One thing I have learned, is that nothing I impossible."
"Perhaps," Carlisle agreed. "But she didn't send newborns to Neah Bay or La Push. She's targeting us."
"I suppose she's more confident in vampire on vampire fighting," Tanya said idly. "Those wolves do look quite menacing."
Bella smirked.
"Trying to kill off the allies... and leave the Quileute's without any help."
–
"You don't have to-" Bella began half heartedly.
"Consider it our gift to you," Esme said sweetly, with a smile and such compassion that Bella felt rude for even arguing. They were all leaving – their eyes were going dark and with humans so close, no-one was willing to risk a slip. She and Edward were to have the house to themselves. Her pack was still close, but it was mildly frightening to be alone with this man who held her future in his tentative grasp.
He had nodded his thanks, still holding her hand in hers. He hadn't argued, and as they all left Bella had the overwhelming urge to shout after them 'And stick together!'. Thankfully she managed to contain herself and she and Edward were left in the living room, hand in hand wondering what to do next.
The doors were left open. The smell was truly revolting but much easier to bear than when she'd first arrived. The room was huge; easily ten times the size of her tiny living room at her Grandpa's house. Everything was perfect, from the white leather sofas, to the white rug in the centre of the room and ornate vases and paintings on the walls. It screamed class and sophistication.
"It's like a museum," Bella said as she let go of Edward's hand and perused the room. She was much more relaxed without the prying eyes of his family nearby, and he didn't take offence to her comment. He was likely to agree.
"We like the finer things in life," he said with a shrug.
She saw a piano sat in the front of the room, beneath the bay window. "Do you play?"
"Yes," Edward said with a proud smirk. "And I'm rather good, if I do say so myself."
His smile was broad as he passed her and took a seat. His fingers fell on the keys and she watched them dance and fly as the most beautiful melody filled the room. It was slow and deep, melancholy and loneliness, so she sat down next to him on the little bench and watched, wishing she could play like him. He watched her gaze down at his prized possession, a light in her eyes as she grinned and his fingers stilled. Her smile fell. "Don't stop."
He wanted to fuck her on his piano, but he managed to restrain himself.
Barely.
"I'll teach you one day," he said as he began another tune.
"They're all so sad," she bemoaned as their arms brushed one another happily.
"I have spent a century alone, Isabella," he said lightly.
"You had your family," she said quietly.
"And they had their mates."
His hands stilled again and he was looking at her with such passion and intensity that it did all sorts of things to her. She felt her face flush and she looked away with a smile. "We should probably move on."
He showed her the dining room and kitchen. "Rachel would kill you if she knew this was a few feet away and you didn't use it," she told him as she spun around the centre of it.
"We made you toast," Edward argued feebly.
She laughed and shook her head, because they had so much money, too much really but she didn't hate them for it. Their lives seemed so empty – and they filled the void with material that cost far too much. He watched her look at his world. He wondered whether their wealth disgusted her. She liked the earth and forest, the rain on her face and freedom at her feet. They longed for roots to bind them, to hold them in place and give them purpose.
She was his purpose.
"You're very quiet," she said. He hadn't realised she'd been watching him, but there was a small grin on her face and she walked towards him knowingly. Her hair was curly and frizzy but he liked it, and the ass of her jeans were stained with mud and tried dew but she didn't care and he didn't care because he knew her ass looked good in anything.
"Something you want to share?" she teased quietly, standing an inch from him. He could feel the warmth of her body seeping into him. Her eyes stared up at him, revealing her tiny stature. How such a small woman could wield such power over him, he would never know but he knew he would die for her.
"Everything," he said in a sudden moment of sober sincerity.
"We only have an hour or so at most..." she trailed off, her eyes travelling from his eyes, down to his lips and then to his chest. "I suppose we can save some for later."
He growled – low and menacing and it did impressive things to her stomach. He watched a soft rose fill her cheeks. He'd never imagined someone so breakable could capture his heart – that a heartbeat could set his heart alight and a smell of her blood could entrance him the way it did. She had him – totally, completely and there was no escaping it.
They were on fire.
Hands groped, fast and unrelenting and she felt his ice flesh against her, feeding the flames that licked at her insides as she felt his kisses on her neck and tilted her head to give him better access. It was too much; she was too much. The ground fell away and she shrieked a little before her legs wrapped around his waist and hands clasped his head. He was there, smothering her mouth with paralysing kisses pulling her back into the flames with him.
He felt her tongue creep. His groan was involuntary, completely lost.
He moved, suddenly and swiftly out of the kitchen and up the stairs, down a hallway before pushing open a door. It was a bedroom. Bella didn't care. She was far too busy being engulfed by Edward, the feel of his skin against her stomach, the feel of his hair between her fingers, of his smooth lip beneath the sweep of her tongue.
The world tilted and something soft met her back and Edward was leaning over her, looming and possessive. He pulled away, staring down at her right eyes and red lips and heaving chest and wondering when she had bewitched him so entirely.
"You're going to have to stop doing that," he growled, rubbing his lip because damn it was sexy but too dangerous. She merely smirked, her hands sliding from his neck to his shirt. There was no tearing. She pulled it, tugging it over his head and tossing it aside. He buried his nose in the crook of her neck, pressing open mouthed kisses to her shoulder, leading to her neck and ear.
His hands trailed ice along her stomach, and he felt her muscles quiver beneath his fingertips as he pushed her shirt up over her navel, over the swell of her breasts. She arched her back, pushing out her breasts and allowing him to pull the shirt out from beneath her. She was admittedly impressed with his speed with a bra.
The heat between them simmered as he climbed off the bed and tugged his trousers off. How he did so with grace, she'd never know. She shimmied out of her jeans, tossing them haphazardly to the floor. He stared at her, naked besides thin black panties and a blush on her cheeks and breasts. She was perfection.
She was a Goddess.
She felt the mattress dip and closed her eyes. He was the gasoline to her pyre and my God did she enjoy the burn. He was everything. She felt his tongue, ice and wet slide from her hip bone, up her navel to her breasts where he took a nipple in his mouth so carefully. She felt her back arch, felt a moan slip unbidden from between her lips as she gasped.
He brought her to life.
Hands fisted sheets, destroying, searching for friction. She felt as though she would explode, but he was there, the ice to her fire keeping her down, keeping her contained and within reach. But suddenly he was gone and she felt ice slide down the sides of her breasts, down her ribs to her stomach, and then to her hips where they lingered at the waistband of her underwear. It took nothing and it was gone.
They did like ripping things.
And he was back, pressing her down, cooling her off before she could implode and pinning her to the earth. Arms stabilised him on either side of her head. He could see her eyes closed, a smirk flirting in the corners of her lips. He recaptured her mouth harshly but she gave him it all back – every push of his lips, every flex of his hips she matched him.
Suddenly he was right there and with a shift of her hips he groaned, his forehead falling to hers and resting for there a moment as they just breathed and savoured the feeling. When he opened his eyes she was right was there looking back at him, with no guards, no pretences, nothing between them but air and they felt it. After talk of marriage and babies and meeting families, there was a weight on them, a pressure that had been absent before.
There was a future staring them in the face, and the groundwork was already being laid. All they had to do was walk the path.
It was softer; slower.
His hands captured hers, lifting them above her head, pinning them to the bed as their fingers laced together. There was nothing but the pound of blood and heavy breathes; nothing mattered beyond this.
–
"I'm never going to hear the end of this," Edward said with a small laugh, an hour later when they lay naked and lingering on the fringes of orgasm. The duvet lay on the floor, forgotten and unneeded as she heated his body. Her arm hung lazily over his stomach, as she rested her head on his chest and he lay on his back staring at the ceiling.
He never knew he could feel so much.
Bella laughed in his arms. It was quiet. Lazy.
"So..." she said with a lopsided smirk. "I heard you love me?"
He thanked Carlisle for removing his ability to blush. "Well... it's kind of assumed, you know?"
"One there is thing I have learned as an Alpha, Edward, is to never assume anything," she said quietly, not offended by his lack of tact or emotion.
"I do love you," he said with difficulty. "I have from the moment I saw you in the clearing," he admitted to the ceiling. "But it has been given to me."
"There is nothing behind the emotion," she nodded her head, her hair fanning out across his chest as she shifted.
"There's something," he hedged timidly.
His hands slid from her waist as she sat up, a twinkle in her eye and a wide grin on her face as she looked down at him. "Do you have a crush on me?"
He took her teasing with a grin of his own. He was fast – faster, even, than her not that she tried to stop his hands as they shot out and pushed her backwards. She landed with a thump, giggling with her hair in her face as he sat over her. She looked so young. "Keep going like that and I'll have a ring on that finger before the weeks' out."
She blinked innocently at him, but her smile could not be tames. "Promise?"
"Shit," he cursed with a laugh as he shook his head and sat back a little.
"Hey," she cried as she sat up. He tried to ignore the way her breasts moved and bounced. "I was kidding."
But she could see that his laughter was nervous, and that his eyes were concealing thoughts that weren't the happiest. "I know..." he mumbled, naked as the day he was born and not giving a damn as he rubbed his eyes and stared back at her sitting cross legged in front of him. "It's just that... marriage means something different to me."
"Tell me," she prompted eagerly, her hand capturing his as it reached for his hair for the third time. "You know so much about my life. I know so little about yours."
He smiled. "I was changed at seventeen. At the time, I had been planning on running off to war, to prove myself and protect my family. I was courting a girl called Samantha at the time. My mother gave me her Grandmothers ring to propose with," he said somewhat hesitantly, expecting some display of jealousy or annoyance but Bella's face remained clear. "I want to feel that love, that overwhelming knowledge that this person is right before I drop to one knee and bind myself to them forever."
She said nothing, but her smile was soft as she peered at him wondrously.
"I mean, obviously we're right for each other because you're my mate," he said, rambling just a little in the panic of her silence. "But-"
She squeezed his hand. "Edward," she said quietly, silencing his words instantly. "It's okay. We're very different people. Forget the expectations," she said with a small laugh. "It's up to us. We can't control much of anything, but it is in our power to dictate when, or if we get married."
"Oh Bella," he said with a chuckle. "I have no doubt you will one day be my wife."
The idea made her stomach tense uneasily.
"That makes you unhappy?" Edward sensed, seeing the sudden frown.
"I..." she shook her head, her frown disappearing quickly. "I just never saw myself with a husband, or children... I figured, since I can't carry a child, I would always be alone," she sighed quietly before snorting. "I don't even know how to be a wife!" she exclaimed. "I'm really bad at cooking and my cleaning is appalling!"
"You don't have to cook and clean," Edward protested, remembering how traditional her tribe took gender roles. It worked for them, and he didn't judge them for a second, but he found it hard to imagine Bella in an apron making breakfast and dusting the lampshades. She was too energised, too big for such a small world.
"I suppose," she figured with a wry grin. "Since you don't eat, and hardly make any mess."
She laughed, but he was watching her with an odd expression that made her feel a little opaque and uncomfortable. She was very aware that she was naked.
"Why is everything so easy with you?" he wondered quietly.
"I'm a push over," she sighed.
It was true, after all.
"You are far from a push over," Edward snorted with a shake of his head. "I have never met someone with such a wide stubborn streak."
She shrugged, because they were cuddling and somehow had started another serious conversation about her domestic duties. So she clambered back over to him, laying between his legs with her head on his shoulder with her eyes closed, just breathing him in. She felt his fingers trace swirls and spirals down her spine, over the curve of her bottom and hips. She could have easily fallen asleep with him.
Instead, they showered. She'd slapped his hands away with a laugh, because his family had given them privacy and she wanted to make the most of it. They could have sex anywhere, though admittedly shower sex sounded enticing, and sex on a bed was far more comfortable than on a forest floor. He washed her hair and apologised when suds got in her eyes, and she laughed and turned the shower head into his face.
Half an hour later and they were down the hall, damp but content. "You have so much music," Bella breathed as Edward sat back on his sofa and let he poke around his room. Everywhere she looked sprouted more questions – from the black and white photo on his dresser, to the dinosaur onesie tucked high in the walk in wardrobe.
"I like music," he'd defended.
"The last song I heard was some bloody ballad by Celine Dion," Bella muttered as her fingers flicked across the covers of thousands of little CD cases. "Grandpa was obsessed with it – it's all he ever played. I took back to back patrols for a week just to avoid it," she admitted with a sheepish grin.
"My heart will go on," Edward told her.
"Ugh," she spat in disgust. "I hate that song."
She found his iPod – obviously a newer model of her ancient, scratched and dented thing back at home. His was shiny and blue and had a big screen. She was so very careful when she picked it up, not to damage the screen. "You can have it."
He saw her eyes land on the little device. It had been a gift from Jasper the year previous – a joke form the endless complaints from the family about moving his vast music collection from house to house. He hadn't parted with any music thus far, but the meaning was still there. He knew she didn't have much money. He knew that not a single Makah had touched the huge flatscreen TV's in the bedrooms, or the one in the living room in the motor home. They were a step removed from technology.
"I can't-" Bella protested immediately, shaking her head as a blush crept up her cheeks.
He was on his feet and next to her, plucking the thin little thing from the surface of his mahogany desk and holding it out to her. "I want you to have it."
"No," she said, her voice suddenly hardening, becoming stubborn and a little angry. Surprised, Edward took the iPod back and waited a moment. "I..." she said as her face crumbled. "I want us to be equals. In my community, and in yours women are... less. I don't want that. I want to be treated just like anyone else," she explained in a soft lilting voice. "I can't give you anything in return."
Edward thought about her argument, wanting to cast it aside. She was his woman. It was his prerogative to shower her with diamonds and gifts and clothes and make her happy and comfortable – but he didn't need his mind reading to see she was far from happy or comfortable about his offer.
Her damn pride would be the end of him.
"You could owe me," he offered.
She seemed to consider it. "I don't like being indebted to someone," she all but grumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest. She glared at his smirk. "What?"
"You are adorable."
She punched him in the gut. He had smiled but God that hurt. She was stronger than he'd expected and he silently nursed his masculinity and rubbed at his stomach. "I am not adorable."
She wasn't adorable.
But despite the punch, he smiled because he'd finally found something to ruffle those neat little feathers of hers. "We're stuck together," Edward said with a winning smile. He had hoped to charm his way through the argument but she seemed to still be annoyed from his early comment. "So what does it matter?"
"It's a matter of principle," she sniffed before turning her back and walking away from him, effectively ending the conversation as she started on to other things. He let it lie for now.
"So stubborn," he said slyly as he slipped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to the back of her head. He could practically hear her scowl. "But I love you."
"You're an ass," she grouched but she laughed and relaxed back against him. "They're on their way back," she said with a sigh.
"I don't want you to go," he admitted, there with her back to him with his eyes closed. He could talk and laugh and just be with her. He didn't have to stare down a wolf pack, have every word dissected or have to face her grandfather.
"This is what it's going to be like," she said as she turned in his arms, looking up at him with a small grin on her face. "After all this is over."
She wanted to be with him.
They kissed, quick but passionate and he walked her out of the house before she got accosted by his family. He hated watching her walk away to the bottom of the garden, where she sat and waited for her pack to return as her grandpa slept on. He hated that she couldn't stay with him, at his side like he wanted, where she belonged. It made him angry and annoyed, because Esme was with Carlisle and Emmett stood with Rose but Bella was banished, not only from her home but from his too.
She could see him watching her. It had been nice; not perfect, but sweet even when he'd teased and riled her. But over the expanse of the garden the reality had struck once again, that they were too different to the outside world. His family either couldn't or wouldn't accept her, even though her pack had welcomed Edward with open arms and hearts. She knew she would never truly have a place within his home, within the names of his family because to them, she was a mutt, a dog, a mongrel.
Bitterness was difficult to swallow.
"Did it not go well?" Jasper asked only moments after entering the house. He could feel both Edward's and Bella's moods and neither were particularly pleasant. He looked at his brother, sat on the sofa with the door closed, his head in his hands, the epitome of surrender.
"Everything is so fucked," he whispered.
"It will get better," he said, laying a comforting hand on his brothers shoulder. They had all expected him to find his mate eventually, but not with such baggage or constrictions. He couldn't imagine everyone around him dictating his relationship with Alice. The family gave them space to talk. Bella's scent was everywhere, and Rosalie barely contained her disgust as she threw open the windows.
Give them time, Carlisle urged his son with a patient stare. They will accept her.
"It isn't fair," he said quietly. His sister turned to stare at him.
He had found her, yet he could not have her – not in the way he'd like. He knew she had responsibilities, he knew she had pressure and pain and everything that came with being a leader but damn it, when she was with him she was just Bella, just a girl with a smirk and a burning pride that would unhinge him one day.
"Stop it," came her voice from the bottom of the garden. With the doors closed they could not see her, but she could hear every breath of their words. She didn't know what thoughts he was responding to, and didn't care to imagine what his family were thinking of. She'd had a good time with him in that house – despite the stench that soaked everything, despite the punch because it was just him – just a boy and a girl hanging out and having fun.
She'd never had that before.
People looked at her and saw an Alpha, a leader, someone to trust and share their troubles with. She ventured that no-one saw a thirty five year old woman anymore, no-one but Edward and her pack.
Edward's words were silenced by her plea and her pack returned member by member, laughing and talking and greeting Bella with small smiles and nods because they'd gathered what had happened and were trying not to screw their nose up at the smell of vampire all over her.
–
She was annoyed.
From Edward, to his damn family to her own – everything seemed to be grating on her nerves, so the moment Thomas dared mention baseball in front of the humans she very nearly tore his foot off because he knew exactly what he was doing.
She could reason and control her pack to a degree, but her hold over the humans balanced precariously on a pedestal of respect and trust. Half an hour later, and she was grumbling and glowering as she made her way through the forest, following the stench of vampire as they lead them to the clearing. Emmett had been thrilled, and her pack were more than enthusiastic to be doing something, anything more than patrols and eating. They were made for more.
Edward had watched her but she had avoided his gaze. Her mood was sour and she wasn't really sure why. She'd been so happy, felt so free in his arms in the house but outside had brought fresh air and old thoughts.
The pack moved slow, protecting the human companions that were determined to come and watch. John's wife had begged to stay behind so their daughter could rest but Bella had put her foot down quite firmly. "If we are going to do this, then we all have to go. I am not splitting the pack and leaving anyone here with a newborn army on its way."
No-one had dared argue.
It was a short two miles to the clearing, but by the time the pack arrived the Cullen's had already chalked out the diamond and batting post. Sixteen vampires looked rather excited, and she felt a little sick in her stomach. Now was not the time to be playing games. She wanted to shake them all.
Go ahead, she said to them as they dithered, not wanting to upset their Alpha but too damn eager to pit themselves against the vampires. They hesitated but phased and went to meet with Emmett who stood waiting for them in the centre of the bases. She remained a wolf, standing on the edge of the clearing. She did not want to be there.
She stayed with the humans. Esme had brought blankets and a picnic basket and had handed it to Thomas' mother with a small, but sincere smile. After a short thank you, the humans laid out the blankets and sat themselves down.
"Do you want to talk about it?" his mother said, staring up at the wolf as she sat beside her. The wolf shook her head and laid down, resting her head on her paws and wallowing. She felt her grandfathers eyes on her but ignored them. She was in a truly foul mood.
After a coin toss, the wolves called to field first and spread themselves out. Half of the vampires had chosen to sit out, and since only eight wolves remained only eight vampires stepped up. She noted that Edward had sat out, staying with the vampires across the clearing, standing on the edge of the forest. Her pack spread out, covering bases and the field, vowing to remain in their human form to keep it even and equal.
Bella was completely lost in her own musings and negativity that it wasn't until that tiny little palm fell to her flank that she realised that she was not alone. She turned her head and found little Charlotte staring up at her – all smiles and beauty with her black curls and dark eyes, red cheeks and innocence. Her mother sat back with a fond smile, watching her daughter.
The vampires were tense across the clearing, watching the baby tug on Bella's fur and clamber onto her back – treating her like a play thing. The wolf didn't so much as flinch as the child pulled her fur, or slapped her leg. There was no panic from its mother, or the other humans who merely tisked and laughed at the play.
Edward didn't know whether to cry or smile. He knew he could never give Bella a child, and she could not carry one but he knew she would be a fantastic mother. She would be strict but loving and beautiful and patient, because she already mothered her pack.
There was a squabble between Garret and Jasper about pitching, so the wolves were left to their own devices for a few minutes. Carlisle, Emmett, Alice, Tanya, Kate and Irina were lined up, bats in hand waiting idly for the pair to stop arguing and get on with it. Thomas found it all mildly amusing, but his eyes went to Bella. He knew she was going through a lot. He knew it was only a matter of time before she imploded or exploded – neither would be pretty to witness. She was reaching the limit of what she was willing to take and he knew it.
But when she looked over to him, he beckoned her over, inviting her to play because she needed some down time. She spent far too much time thinking and analysing and planning, and not enough actually doing. It wasn't like her to be snappy or so down. It worried them all.
She phased, eyes on Charlotte as she scooped her up. The little girl squealed, all giggles and happiness as Bella blew a raspberry on her stomach. She knew the silence that surrounded her was meant for her, that eyes were watching because a child was sacred; so fragile and helpless but they defend them readily. And when she looked over to Thomas, saw his kind eyes and beckoning hand she sighed.
She deposited the child back with her mother and got to her feet. The child cried and squealed, but Bella pressed a kiss to the top of her head and took off over to Thomas. His grinned widely as she approached. "Don't say a word," she warned, a feigned threat in her pointed finger.
She saw Edward get to his feet to even the numbers.
"We need to push further back," she said quietly. They'd left a good few hundred feet between the bases and where they were fielding, but she knew the arm of a vampire was much stronger than that, and these ones weren't going to go easy on them. Silently, the wolves pushed back.
It was fun.
It was tense, but exciting in a way none of them had felt in weeks. They needed the down time.
In the end it had been a good call in Thomas' part, though she admitted it to no-one. The families sat on the sidelines, vampires to the right and humans to the left, cheering and laughing and just having fun. Rules were broken, threats were made and scuffles broke out among the pack, but it was all in good humour.
The vampires were impressive – sending the balls miles into the forest in all directions. It pushed the pack hard and fast. It was definitely something to behold, watching them be a silent, cohesive unit even without the mental link to one another. They were so in sync and knew one another to well that they anticipated each others movements.
Bella fought dirty, just because she could. Her smirk and stare had Edward missing a pitch, much to his humiliation and hilarity of his family. They howled raucously and Rachel high fived Bella proudly. He had growled and glared, and when he had finally hit the ball it had soared high and far – sending Thomas and Lauren to sprint to fetch it.
He was fast – and hearts raced and voices called out, because no self respecting wolf wanted to lose to a vampire. It was entrancing and too easy to forget who and what they were. Jasper hurled a taunt to Ted, who shouted one straight back. Alice went into a stare down with Rachel when she was about to pitch. It was just easy.
The wolves took the bats. Bella made sure not to be first. She found herself smiling, spinning her bat idly as her thoughts span far from the clearing. She needed her pack. She needed Thomas for moments like this. He knew her better than she cared to admit – but she loved him for it. So she gave him a whack with her bat and he spun around, scowling and rubbing his shoulder but she smiled and the gratitude was obvious.
"You're welcome," he said before pulling her into a bone crushing hug and ruffling her hair. He couldn't be serious for too long. "Now concentrate – don't start going all fucking girly on me," he said as he held her at arms length. She watched with an amused smile. "We need to kick vampires butt."
They needed to get six home-runs to beat the vampires.
Sorry for the longer than usual wait guys... work is an absolute drag.
I finally pushed past the 100 review mark! You think we can get past 200?