Chapter 8
Previously…
"How old are you Edward?"
LPOV
I could tell by the looks on my parents faces that they were in complete and utter shock. It was so quiet in the room that you could literally hear the crickets outside. Minutes went by and my parents' faces were frozen and they didn't say a word as they waited for Edward's response.
"It's probably within your best interest that I not answer that question, but I will say that I am much more mature than one might believe." Edward said.
When more time had passed and they still hadn't spoken, I opened my mouth to ask if they were okay. Edward looked at me then and spoke in a voice so soft that no human would ever pick up the sound.
"Give them a moment; it's a lot to take in." After what felt like eternity, my mother finally spoke.
"It can't be possible. There's no way you could possibly be old enough to have lived during that time. You look younger than I am and I'm 47 years old Edward," my mother said.
"I can assure you Mary, that it is very much so possible, but as my son said it would be safer not to go into any details," Carlisle said.
"I see an uncanny resemblance in your complexions. Are you all the same?" Jeremy asked while taking in the faces of the rest of Cullen's.
"Yes, we are all exactly the same and were transformed in the same manner as Edward, with different circumstances," Carlisle said while stroking Esme's hand.
"I guess I knew that; especially when the big one there picked Lana up and spun her around that way. I've never seen her show discomfort of any kind physically," my father said.
"You said before Edward, that you couldn't reveal what you are for our own protection. I assume that Lana knows what you are? Is she in some sort of danger having this knowledge?" Mom asked.
"Lana isn't in any danger I assure you. She has just about as much to hide as we do and her need for secrecy is just as dire. So technically her knowing isn't really breaking any sort of rules," Alice said.
"The less you know about us, the better off you'll be. This is why we aren't telling you everything, we are only giving you answers to basic questions and the rest is irrelevant," Edward said.
"From what Lana told us about the incident, you seem to be as strong as she is. Do you all have any other abilities?" Dad asked.
"Dad, I think at this point you know enough. Like Edward said, you shouldn't know too much just in case. You two are my number one priority and I don't want you in any kind of danger," I said.
"After hearing all of this and experiencing the herculean effort it takes protect such a secret first hand, I want to thank you Edward from the bottom of my heart for risking yourself to help my baby girl. I can't imagine the courage it took to expose yourself to help someone you didn't even know and I just want you to know that I am grateful," My father said. Looking at his face, there was no doubt as to his sincerity and I desperately fought back the tears that were filling my eyes. I was so lucky that these people were the ones who found me.
"There is no need to thank me sir, your daughter did the same for me and I can see now that I've met you both, where her strength of character comes from," Edward said.
"Well, now that the question and answer session is out of the way, can we turn on the TV already? I'm missing the game!" We all screamed the one name of the only individual that could have possibly had the audacity to say this out loud after such a serious moment.
"EMMETT!" True to form Rosalie reached over and smacked him in the back of the head.
"Ow Rosie! Must you always do that, especially in front of people we don't know?" He asked while rubbing the back of his head.
"Must you always be such a moron in front of people we don't know?" Rose said imitating him.
"And I thought I had it bad with Mary here," my father said under his breath while looking at Emmett quietly trying to hide his smile.
"Well, since we're being so completely honest, I can't say that I wasn't secretly thinking the same thing myself, Emmett. Let's do it son," my father said while rubbing his hands together.
"DADDY! JEREMY!" My mother and I shouted at that same time and I could see Edward and Carlisle trying not to laugh.
Emmett turned on the television and my father was completely wrapped up in the game along with Emmett. The rest of the family continued speaking to my mother while the game was playing in the background. I looked over at Edward and he gave me a warm smile and winked at me. I could see the smug 'I told you everything would be okay' face he was giving me and I rolled my eyes at him playfully.
I was so thankful that everything although it was tense, went well this evening. I listened to Emmett and my dad's shouts while they watched the game and everything just seemed so right at that moment. All of the people I loved were in this room getting along. I had the best parents in the world. Ones who knew my friends weren't human, yet never once treated them like they were anything other. It was a happy evening for me all the way around.
It had been a couple of hours and the game was over, but Emmett and my dad continued to talk football while my mother listened intently to Alice's next planned shopping extravaganza when things got very weird.
Edward's nostrils flared and he turned his head quickly towards the door. Bella's eyes widened and she gasped a soft 'no' as they both jumped up and headed to the door, closing the double doors that separated the foyer from the living room behind them. A few minutes later someone knocked at the front door and I heard one name.
"Jacob."
Who the hell is Jacob?
EPOV
I couldn't believe this was actually happening. Jacob Black finally rears his head in Prince Rupert. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that he took it upon himself to unceremoniously drop in on us as if he had every right in the world to do so. Could his timing have been any worse? Most importantly of all, could he not have called first?
I realize that we are on better terms, but that's barely the case. To show up here unannounced was simply rude and unacceptable, no matter how close he and Bella were.
My mind quickly shifted beyond the door into the living room. I searched the minds of the Lankford's and thankfully they were oblivious to the change in atmosphere. Emmett's nostrils were flaring with resentment. This was indeed a very dangerous situation.
Through Emmett's eyes I could see Lana's worried expression. The fact that she sensed my displeasure was obvious, and I could tell she was very uncomfortable. Bella looked over at me with sorrowful eyes. She didn't mean for this to happen and of course I didn't blame her.
"Jacob, what the hell are you doing here so late without calling?" Bella asked with narrowed eyes attempting to keep her voice down.
"Hey Bells!" Jacob greeted her with a bright smile. "Just thought I'd stop in and see how life is treating you or your non-life whichever is appropriate in your case. Besides, since when do I need to call you in order to schedule a visit anyway?"
"Since I got married and moved into another house with my husband and his family you absolute moron!" Bella exclaimed as quietly as possible. If the situation wasn't so aggravating, I probably would have laughed at her remark. I stepped closer behind Bella and I could see Jacob's smile fade fractionally.
"Hello Jacob. I'm sure you've noticed by now, that we have guests here this evening. This isn't the appropriate time for a visit. Perhaps you can come back tomorrow and visit with Bella then," I said as calmly and collectedly as I possibly could, considering how badly I wanted to take his head off. The last thing we needed was a scene in front of Lana's parents.
Of course Jacob being the arrogant child that he was walked past Bella and me into the house. I gave Bella a warning glance and she rushed forward and grabbed his arm and whispered just as he reached the double doors.
"Jake please, Edward's right. This really isn't the right time to visit. You should go and come back another time."
"We've traveled a long way to see you Bells, it's not like we live right around the corner from one another," Jake said with a slightly hurt expression on his face. That's when I picked up the thoughts and smells of the others. I should have known that he didn't travel here alone; he brought four other members of his pack with him this evening.
"Jacob, the guests we have here don't really know what we are and we really don't need this right now." Bella was fighting a losing battle. Reading the dog's thoughts, I knew he was more than curious to see who we were entertaining. This entire situation was going downhill fast.
LPOV
I could hear everything going on in the foyer and I've never been more grateful for this ability than as I was right now. Who the hell was this guy and why was everyone so tense because of him? All of the Cullen's seemed to be on red alert except for Alice. She looked like she was in pain, but did her best to mask it as she rubbed her temples.
She was doing a very good job at distracting my mother, and my father was still too into watching television now that it was turned back on to notice anything. I had a feeling that the darker forces were at work here. I began to think that it might be a good idea to get my parent's out of here now, just in case.
"Mom, Dad, it's getting pretty late, we should start heading out. I'm sure the Cullen's would like to start preparing for bed," I said as I got through the bald-faced lie I just fed them.
Before my parent's got a chance to respond, the doors to the foyer opened. Standing in the door way, was a tanned giant with a huge smile on his face. This guy was enormous! Muscles were bulging everywhere and he had to be almost seven feet tall!
Hit the gym much, beefcake? I thought to myself with a smirk.
Out of nowhere, I imagined this guy in a gym sitting on a weight bench doing arm curls in one of those ridiculous one piece biker-short sets; the one's body builders wore that have the plunging neckline with no sleeves doing at least ten sets each arm.
I cracked myself up sometimes!
Behind him trailed four other guys with the same completions who were only slightly smaller in build. Now I pictured all of them in various areas of a gym wearing the same fruitilicious outfits in equally fruity colors.
I shook with the effort to hold in my laugh. They all looked like they were Native/American or something to that degree. They slowly walked further into the room, followed by Edward and Bella; who seemed very tense. They all folded their arms across their chests.
Oh God! Look at these losers! I thought to myself with a smirk.
"Edward? Are you going to introduce us to your friends?" I asked playing dumb. I already knew one of their names, but I got a very strange feeling about this group. Although they still looked like a bunch of dorks, something just didn't seem right. It was almost the same identical feeling I had when I first saw Edward and his family.
"Well who do we have here?" The tallest one asked with the same dorky smile on his face. The smile didn't seem genuine at all; it was almost like there was some sort of joke brewing at our expense.
"Jacob, Embry, Quill, Seth, Brady; this is Lana and her parents Jeremy and Mary Lankford." Edward said, pointing out each one of us. So, this Jacob character was the biggest. One of the other four guys completely bypassed my parents, and walked right over to me and grabbed my hand, running his thumb over my knuckles.
"Well hello there, I'm Brady," he said in a voice that he probably thought that I would find appealing. He was wrong.
Why did he feel the need to tell me his name again? Dork!
"It's nice to meet you, Brady," I said as politely as I could while removing my hand from his. I looked down at my hand and noticed that there was dirt on my skin.
Where the fuck did that come from? Is that from his hand? What a fucking pig!
I proceeded to discretely wipe my hand on my pants.
Why the fuck is he so fucking filthy?
I looked over and noticed that the Cullen's had very amused looks on their faces, while my father looked murderously angry. He never liked it when men were too overly friendly towards me.
"It's very nice to meet you too gorgeous. So, how are you connected with the Cullen's? You certainly aren't related to them, you smell far too nice for that," he said smirking. My eyes widened in shock. This rude, dirty little fucker!
"Brady!" Jacob said giving him a stern look. At least Jacob had the courtesy to call him out on his blatant rudeness.
"Well, it smells just fine in here to me, but perhaps you should consider using the bathroom to wash your hands," I said venomously with a bright smile, while looking down at his hands.
"Honestly, I'm a bit confused. Did you walk all the way here on your fucking hands and knees?"
"Lana Lankford! Language!" My mother said. At that moment, Brady looked down at himself to see what I was talking about.
"Oh, Fuck!" He exclaimed before running into the other room in embarrassment.
I could see everyone in the room including his friends trying not to laugh. Jacob cleared his throat in an attempt to get his laughter under control and came over and sat next to me.
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Lankford, Lana, I'm Jacob. I'm Bella's best friend," he said as he looked over at Bella affectionately. He at least didn't try and shake my hand. I smiled and gave him a quick nod.
I looked over at Edward and he didn't look very happy. So, he's Bella's best friend, huh? I took it that my best friend wasn't too happy about that. Jacob was by no means a bad looking guy at all, but he's just not really my type. What the hell was my type anyway?
I had never had any interest in anyone so I guess it's safe to say that if I did have a type, he wasn't it. He was beautiful in his own way, he had an earthy type of appeal, but he was definitely no Edward Cullen. They were both on two completely different spheres of hot.
"It's very nice to meet you, Jacob. What brings you to the area? Did you just come to pay Bella a visit?" My mother asked innocently.
"Yes I did come to see Bella. It's been a while so I thought I'd drop in to visit to see how married life has been treating her. By the way, Charlie says hello and that he'd like you to call him Bella."
I immediately picked up on the slight sarcasm in his tone when he said 'married life' and noticed that Edward's fists were clenched at his sides. I take it that this Jacob character doesn't really approve of Bella's lifestyle and Edward has a front row seat to his thoughts with his mind reading ability….Interesting.
"Hmm, I'm sure you're happy to see that Bella is extremely happy and married life is indeed agreeing with her. She's practically glowing, but that's to be expected when she's married to someone as wonderful as, Edward." I had the slightest hint of steel to my voice.
Now I realize this was none of my business, however, I don't really like the way this character is acting towards my best friend. I have always been extremely protective of those whom I care for, so he was treading on very thin fucking ice with me. He's treating Edward as though he's not even in the room or isn't even an entity in Bella's life. No matter how you feel about him, he's still her husband and he deserves respect.
"Well, if she likes it, I love it," Jacob responded bitterly. Okay, this asshole was beginning to piss me off. I could tell that my father didn't really appreciate Jacob's tone with me and was on red alert now. The television programs were no longer of interest to him.
Carlisle thankfully spoke at that time to break the tension. "Jeremy, Mary, would you like more wine?"
"No thank you Carlisle, we're just fine." My father responded politely and didn't meet his gaze, but I could still hear in his voice that he was irritated. This was not good.
"Jacob, can I speak to you alone for a moment please?" Bella asked angrily. Jacob huffed and lifted himself off of the couch and strode from the room without another word. Bella looked at Edward and spoke so softly and quickly, I knew my parents wouldn't hear her. "I'm going to go and talk to him. I'll be back in a moment."
"I'm coming with you. You shouldn't be alone with him," Edward said.
"No, please don't. Just let me handle him, I'll be fine." Edward stood there staring at Bella for a moment and then leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
"Alright, but don't go too far. Okay?"
"I won't. I love you."
"I love you too."
Bella left the room and we all just sat in silence. You could cut the tension in the room with a knife. Brady then re-entered the room and immediately took Jacob's former place beside me. Oh, not this crap again!
"So angel, let's pick up where we left off," he said with a flirtatious grin. I prayed that this was not happening again. Please no! Not now in front of everyone! What was it about me that attracted weird people?
"Why don't we not and just pretend that we did?" I asked with a bright smile. Jasper cleared his throat to cover up his laugh and Rosalie covered her mouth with her hand to cover her smile.
"Young man I would really appreciate it if you'd stop hitting on my daughter. She's clearly not interested," my father said angrily. Brady then did the unthinkable: he laughed. He actually laughed in my father's face as if what he was saying was some sort of joke. My father turned three shades of red and I knew this was going to be bad.
"I think the lady can speak for herself, right sweetheart?" Okay, that did it. Nobody disrespects my father that way and gets away with it. I'm going to kill this asshole. I jumped up off the couch.
"Yes you're right, I can speak for myself. Now FUCK OFF!" I screamed at him. I could hear the other Cullen's soft laughter. I might have laughed myself had it not been me in the situation.
"Lana! Mind your language young lady," she said with a smile, even as she chastised me for my language. I could tell she was proud of me, but she didn't like when I cursed. She said it was un-ladylike.
"You're a feisty little thing I see. I like that a lot in a woman," Brady said rising from the couch while making eyes at me. I didn't even see Edward cross the room, but he was suddenly at my side.
"Brady, please refrain from speaking to Lana and her parents in such a disrespectful manner. She has made it quite clear that she is not interested in you, so please be a gentleman and let her be," Edward said calmly, yet you could hear the under toned warning him his voice. It almost made me shudder from its intensity. The way Edward looked at him sent chills down my spine. How the hell does he do that? Oh yeah, vampire, right.
Brady turned towards him and suddenly his three friends were flanking him on either side. He went from playfully flirting, to deadly serious as soon as Edward spoke to him.
"What are you going to do about it if I don't, leech?" Brady asked. One of the other three, Seth I think is his name spoke at that moment.
"Come on man, leave it alone. You were obviously bothering her, so why don't you just let it go and calm down," he said.
"Shut up Seth! This leech obviously thinks that he can scare me with his fancy words and undercover threats. Why don't you show me what will happen if I don't leave her alone."
"Seriously dude, you're way out of line right now. Chill out," Quill said to Brady.
"Look, I don't know what the fuck your problem is asshole, but nobody talks to my friends that way and gets away with it! So back the fuck off!" I roared. I unknowingly stepped forward while pointing my finger in his face.
Brady smiled at me as if I were some little harmless animal that did something cute for him. Oh, I'll show you something cute alright, I thought as I balled my fist. I drew it back and Edward gently caught my arm before I could connect, and pulled me back to him.
At this point all of the Cullen's flanked Edward in a similar manner as Brady's group. It was clearly defensive. Did these boys not realize that they were facing off with vampires at the moment?
Not to be left out, my father stood up and got in front of me in the boy's face. I wondered when he would get involved. This should be interesting.
"You listen hear you big, buff, tan salon addicted, mother fucker! I don't take too kindly to likes of you coming in here, and not only disrespecting my daughter right in front of me, but her friends as well under their own roof! So I suggest you back the fuck off before I break my foot off in your ass! I don't give a fuck how big you are!" His southern drawl gets even worse when he's pissed. The whole room froze and everyone looked at each other with shocked expressions.
It was like one of the moments in a suspense thriller when you know all hell is about to break loose. 'Big, buff, tan salon addicted, mother fucker?' Do you understand where I get my special dialect from? That's a new one that even I'd never heard before and I was sure I'd heard it all from my father. At this point I had no other alternative as a daughter accept to back my father up.
"Yeah! Yeah! That's right! You heard him!" I shouted and then made of show of sniffing the air. "You're definitely fresh from the tan salon! I can smell the chemicals from the spray tan from here!" I shouted with wide eyes while pointing at Brady over my father's shoulder.
I chanced a look over at Edward and his eyes were the size of golf balls, his mouth was slightly open in shock, as his head zigzagged between me and my father in utter disbelief. I could see that he was trying desperately not to smile at the absurdity of the situation.
"My, my, your cursing really is inbred," he whispered and I nodded in agreement.
Emmett, being the individual that he was, was the first in the room to laugh out loud hysterically. He had to hold on to Jasper's shoulder to remain upright.
"Tan salon addicted! Fresh…from…the…tan…salon!?" His laughter was completely out of control and Jasper finally broke down himself.
"I loved that she could smell the chemicals from the spray tan from there!" Jasper roared and they both fell into hysterical laughter. I could hear all of the other Cullen's snickering as well as Brady's friends. The entire situation was simply ridiculous.
Brady's eyes bulged out of his head in what I assume was humiliation or anger at being laughed at, and his body began to shake violently. His friends were trying their best to calm him down, but nothing seemed to help. He was growling like an animal and he shook so hard that his body blurred.
What in fresh fuck was going on here?
At that moment, Bella and Jacob ran back into the room.
"Brady, calm down right now!" Jacob yelled but it was too late. Before I knew what was happening, his clothes ripped from him and fur exploded out of this boy's body and he more than tripled in size. He was just about to fall forward onto his front legs with his razor sharp claws and I realized to my horror that my father was unknowingly standing directly underneath them.
"Daddy!" I screamed as I threw myself forward as fast as I could. I wrapped my arms around my father and twisted our bodies, turning my back to this monster to shield him. As his paws came down, I registered the burning sensation as his claws raked down the back of my head and down my back.
EPOV
I watched Lana fly forward to shield her father in total disbelief.
This could not be happening, especially not here in my own home!
As Brady's front paws came down on Lana, they raked down the entire length of the back of her body. I panicked as she crumbled to the floor on top of her father, and the clothing that she was wearing was all but ripped from her body. Her blood was everywhere as her screams echoed throughout the entire house.
Her back was being ripped to shreds, and I could only imagine the agony that she was in, but she did nothing to defend herself. Her main concern seemed to be to protect her father with her body.
"What the hell is that thing? Lana! Jeremy!" Mary screamed and attempted to run towards her daughter and husband, but Esme held her back. Alice ran over and dragged Lana's father from beneath the protective cage of her body to safety.
Once her father was safely away, Lana seemed to gain her bearings and suddenly her body glowed with light and a burst of energy erupted from her back. Brady was sent airborne, crashing into the ceiling with a grunt of pain before landing on top of the couch and coffee table, completely destroying both.
"Someone please, get my parents out of here!" Lana screamed as she lay on the floor attempting to crawl away. She never took her eyes off of Brady's form.
"We're not leaving you here! You're hurt!" Lana's mother screamed. Esme pushed her parents through the door that lead to our dining room. Her only thought was getting them out of harm's way.
Brady quickly recovered roaring loudly in pain and rage. The smell of his burned fur permeated the room. He suddenly launched himself forward toward Lana to attack, but I had decided that he had caused enough damage. I threw myself at the dog full speed. I wasn't about to stand by while he inflicted more pain upon her.
Before he even registered my proximity, I threw my arm across my body and back handed him across his snout. He yelped as he was sent airborne once again, this time he crashed into the wall across the room. It crumbled against his weight as he tumbled to the floor in a heap.
I crouched in front of Lana's form and roared at him in warning. It would be the only one he'd receive. My body trembled with rage. My family appeared on either side of me crouched, growling, and ready to finish what I had started.
They were facing the opposite directions to protect me as needed. At this point, Jacob and his pack phased and took defensive positions near Brady, even though they were all reluctant to do so. I was surprised to realize that they did not support their brother's actions, but the bonds of the pack could not be denied.
Who would have thought that it would come to this after all this time? I thought that we had moved on from this, but at this moment, we were all more than prepared to kill one another. Being that we are natural enemies, I suppose it was inevitable and some things never change.
Bella ran between us and held her hands up in both directions.
"Jake, please don't do this! I won't let you hurt my family!" She screamed while looking back and forth between our family and theirs. We were all growling so loud that I vaguely heard Lana's mother screaming in terror as Esme got them further away from the room. I had just reached out to grab Bella and pull her behind me, when suddenly the unbelievable happened.
The wolves went silent and their bodies were as still as statues. I could see in their minds that they were genuinely baffled, but most of all they were terrified. Then I realized with horror that I couldn't move either. I didn't understand what was happening.
Bella stared around the room in fear and in shock. She seemed to be the only one that was able to move. I could hear the frantic thoughts of my family and I stared into Bella's eyes as she frantically caressed.
"Edward! Edward can you hear me? What's going on?" She asked as she shook me.
Lana then crawled forward very slowly with her eyes locked on Jacob. Her arms were wrapped around herself in an attempt to keep what was left of her clothing around her. She was covered in blood, but as she got closer to the wolves, her movements began to improve.
"Just relax everyone. Everything is going to be okay," she said softly. Her voice was so alluring, and this confused me even more. She moved closer to Jacob and I instantly felt fearful for her safety in her injured state. I wanted to scream at her to get back, but I couldn't speak.
"I'm alright, Edward. Jasper, a little help please?" Lana addressed him without taking her eyes away from Jacob and suddenly he was able to move. A calm sensation went through me and I relaxed my stance and suddenly we were all able to move. Jasper was now controlling our emotions, but his eyes were locked on Lana with a look of astonishment.
Lana remained on the floor, and I could tell that it was still painful for her to move. Suddenly, the wolves came out of their paralyzed state, and I could tell that they were confused as to what was happening. They weren't the only ones.
"Please shift back into your human forms. I'm not going to hurt you," Lana said. That voice. I couldn't get over how differently she sounded. It made one want to close their eyes and bask in it, but I couldn't remove them from what was going on before me.
I shifted my attention to Jacob's thoughts and was amazed at what I was seeing. It was like everything else was blank and all he could see was Lana. He was completely at her will. Jacob shifted back to his human form as well as the other wolves. Carlisle immediately disappeared and returned with blankets for them. They took them and covered themselves.
"Thank you. Now listen to me. I honestly don't know or care what your problem is with the Cullen's; however, right now at this moment, I am in charge. Do you understand?" They nodded their heads and I stood there in disbelief as all the pieces fell into place.
This explained everything. How she was able to get the boy in class to back off before; how's she's able to stay so isolated from others without any difficulty. Lana has mind control capabilities! She continued to stare at them and I could see in their minds as she sifted through their memories. Once she was satisfied, she spoke.
"You have no idea what I want to do to you right now for injuring me, and for terrorizing my parents the way you have, but I won't. Fortunately for you, I was raised by those two people who are probably scarred for life, or the five of you would be dead right now."
"However, that would be a mistake considering your importance to your tribe, and the responsibility you have been burdened with. I admire you for that. What I don't' understand, is why you hate the Cullen's so much when you know they aren't like the others that you hunt? It makes no sense to me at all," Lana said taking a deep breath
"I can't hold you completely accountable for your actions, Brady. I seem to attract danger, and my very presence brings out primal instincts in people. It's just a part of my make-up," she said with a shake of her head, before she continued.
"Thankfully, I have this ability; it helps me to protect myself. I shouldn't have let this situation escalate to this level, but I promised my parent's that I would never use this power so I let things ride. I'm so very sorry everyone," she said sincerely.
She broke eye contact with Jacob and looked down, and the connection was lifted. They instantly relaxed.
Esme came back into the room with Lana's parents. They rushed over to her and stared at her with terrified eyes. Esme went into the hallway and grabbed a bunch of towels.
"I'm fine Dad," she muttered weakly.
"You are by no means fine, Lana! Look at you! You're covered in blood!" Her father was beside himself with worry and her mother was hysterically crying as she looked at her daughter's torn flesh. I could see that the hair at the back of her head had been ripped clean from her scalp.
Look at what they've done to her!
A growl built up in my chest and Bella along with Emmett immediately gripped my shoulders as Jasper used his power to keep me from running over a killing every wolf in this room.
"Lana, let me take a look at you," Carlisle said he kneeled down on the floor next to her with his medical bag that he had retrieved from the kitchen. He began cutting what was left of Lana's clothing from her, and Esme placed a large towel to her front to protect her modesty.
As I looked at her blood soaked and mangled body, I burned with rage. When I glared at the wolves, they at least had the decency to appear ashamed of what happened here.
"Absolutely amazing," Carlisle said as he wiped the blood from Lana's back. I walked over and almost her entire back was healed and the rest was of her was catching up. Even her hair was coming back in. I was relieved that she had the ability to heal, but that didn't stop the rage I felt at what happened to her. It was absolutely senseless!
"She's almost completely healed. I have no doubt that by the time she showers, she'll be one-hundred percent," Carlisle said.
"Thank God!" Her mother smiled through her tears and hugged her daughter to her. Jacob stepped forward and I tensed immediately.
"Are you sure that you're okay, Lana?" Jacob asked softly. His mind was filled with remorse and concern and I relaxed.
"Seriously, guys I'm fine. The blood makes it look worse than what it is," she said.
"How? What are you to have been able to withstand that, and how were you able to speak inside of our heads that way?"
"It's a long story Jacob and I'm sure that Bella can fill you in on some of it later."
"Lana, you did that too easily. When did you start back to using it? The mind control thing?" Jeremy asked with concern.
"Since high school," Lana said meekly.
"Why?"
"I had no choice Dad, please believe me. Just leave it alone. I've never abused it and I only use it when I have to."
"What do you mean, you had no choice?" She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
"I was on my way home after our homecoming game junior year and I took the trail behind the school like I always did. I moved at a human's pace and it didn't take long for me to realize that I was being followed."
"Those morons still had on their letterman's jackets, so I knew they were on the football team. Two of them were behind me and I couldn't speed away without them seeing so I continued to walk at a normal speed. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by seven boys," she shuddered.
"They came at me in different directions. All looking at me like I was a piece of meat and I knew that I was in trouble," she shuddered.
"They were saying all sorts of obscene things to me, telling me what they were going to do to me and that I was going to love every minute of it like the whore I was. I could have killed every last one of them before they even registered the thought. I wanted to so badly that I could literally taste it, I was so angry.
"Then I thought about what that would do to you and mom, and I decided to protect myself the safest way possible. They all walked away with their lives which is more than what they deserved in my opinion," Lana said.
"Why didn't you tell us about this?" Her mother asked.
"What for? So that you would worry for me even than you already did? So that you could have more sleepless nights than you already had? I don't think so. You've both been through enough because of me and I handled it on my own. From that point on, whenever people got too close, I steered them in the opposite direction. It was the best solution for all of us. I swear to you, I never used it inappropriately. Everything I've ever accomplished, it's been on my own."
"But to go through all of that mental stress on your own Lana, it's not right," her father said.
"Believe me, my body can take the stress more than yours can. I've read about what it does to humans and the impact that it can have on your health. So I dealt with it on my own and I will continue to do so, because I'm an adult now and your job of protecting me is done."
"Our job is not done, Lana. You may be an adult, but we will never stop worrying about you and protecting you. We're not done with the conversation, but it's getting really late. We should probably head home," Jeremy said.
Hearing this conversation put a lot of things in perspective for me. It helped me understand Lana a lot more than I had before. Even while injured she managed to toss Brady's large form like a beach ball without even using her hands. She was more powerful than I imagined.
However, the care she used with Jacob and his pack was astounding considering what had happened moments before. I'd never seen her loose her temper, and now I understood why. She keeps them at a distance but this time she hadn't.
"Oh God! Look at this place," Mary exclaimed. I looked around the room for the first time and realized that it was completely destroyed. The couches were completely mangled and the coffee tables and lamps were in pieces.
"Please let us help you. It will take you all night to clean this up," Mary said.
"We can't leave you here to deal with this on your own." Jeremy said. I could see in his mind that he blamed himself for this incident. Berating himself over the things he said. What was I thinking! I should have just kept my big mouth shut. Thanks to me, my daughter was hurt and the Cullen's home is destroyed. I have to insist that they let me replace everything. I spoke before I had a chance to stop myself.
"We wouldn't dream of letting you pay for any of the damages, sir. This wasn't your fault Mr. Lankford. You mustn't blame yourself for what happened here tonight."
"I'd feel so much better if you'd let me pay for-…"
Wait a minute, how did he know that I wanted to pay for the damages? I never said that out loud. Did I?" Could I have screwed up any more thoroughly?
"No, you didn't say it out loud." I said uncomfortably.
"What are you saying son?" Jeremy asked with wide eyes. Lana decided to step in at that moment and save me.
"Hey dad, why don't you and mom go on home? I will stay and help clean things up here. There are enough of us so we should get it done pretty quickly. We all have speed on our side remember," she said placing a hand on her father's shoulder.
"Honey, I don't think that's a good idea. You're not even completely healed," he said looking at the towel around her.
"I'm fine dad. Don't worry about me."
He looked like he was about to protest when Esme insisted that everything would be fine, and convinced them that she would let them help with replace a few things if they let us take care of the cleaning. They finally agreed and were on their way but not before Jeremy pulled me to the side thanked me for protecting Lana.
Jacob and his pack joined us in clearing out the destroyed furniture; not that we needed the help with our strength and speed. I could tell they felt bad for what happened and didn't really understand how things escalated as far as they had. Lana had said earlier that she seemed to somehow draw dangerous beings so that might explain what happened here tonight.
Alice took Lana upstairs so that she could shower and gave her a dress to wear. Lana came back downstairs and walked over to me and my family.
"Thank you so much for having my back, guys."
"You don't need to thank us Lana. You are family now and we protect our family. I'm just sorry that this happened to you," I said.
"That really means a lot to me. Just know that the feeling is mutual and there's nothing to be sorry for," Lana said with a warm smile. She looked over my shoulder and saw Jacob talking to his pack. More like scolding them. She walked over to him and they all turned to look at her.
"I'm so sorry, Lana. I don't know what came over me. I've never acted like before and I really didn't mean to hurt you or to be disrespectful. Please forgive me?" Brady begged. His thoughts were filled with remorse.
"There's nothing to forgive Brady, it wasn't your fault. Like I said, I seem to bring out the worst in certain people. Unfortunately, it was you but it honestly could have been any of you," she said with a smile. She stuck out her hand for him to shake in a friendly gesture. He shook it and gave her a warm smile. If she could forgive them, then I will try to as well. Suddenly her expression changed and she gave him a considering look.
"Hey, you're not half bad clean," she said with a smirk. They all paused a moment, then laughed hysterically while I stood back shaking my head. This child was truly amazing.
End Note: Let me know what you think.