A/N: WoW... You guys really do kick all sorts of ass. You know that right? Last chapter was the MOST reviewed chapter so far! Suffice to say A LOT happened, and I have to tell you guys how much I LOVED hearing your speculations as to how it all went down. You are without a doubt some sock-rockin' mo-fo's. I heart you all. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me. All questions will be answered & all truths will be revealed... Eventually. I promise.
It's going to take a bit to sort everything out, so please bare with me as we do. Charlie & Edward were the loudest voices in my head, so we started with them.
Special thanks to my beta Twike, I am forever indebted to her and her magical red pen.

As always, SM - she owns all things Twilight - Me - pssshhh I'm just playin around.
Enjoy!!!

Prey For Protection

Chapter Fourteen:

Charlie

I was heading out to meet Stan at the diner for lunch when my cell phone rang. I pulled it off my belt and glanced down at the display. I smiled when I saw Sam Uley's name on the caller ID, having spoken to him a couple times lately in regards to Bells' little surprise party.

"Chief Swan," he greeted me. My smile faded immediately as I noticed the edge to his voice. "We have a problem. Can you meet me at the high school?"

"Of course," I replied, trying to ignore the sudden knot in my stomach, "what's goin' on?"

"I don't have all the details right now, just meet me at the school. No lights or sirens please, we need to keep this quiet as long as we can."

His choice of words and something about the way he spoke them left me feeling even more ill at ease.

"This doesn't have anything to do with Bells, does it?" I asked, praying that the answer was no, but somehow knowing better.

"Bella's fine," he assured me while avoiding the question.

"I'm on my way," I told him curtly, "but damn it Sam, I'd like to have some clue as to what I'm heading into."

I heard him sigh into the phone, and knew that he knew more than he was letting on. A minute passed, neither of us speaking as I pushed through the side door and out into the precinct's parking lot. I was equal parts worried and pissed off at his vagueness. Another sigh from his end and he finally broke, knowing I wasn't going to just accept what little he'd given me.

"Looks like a couple of Bella's old friends showed up at the school," he reluctantly explained.

"What?" I demanded, my voice rising to a near yell as I stopped mid-stride on the way to my car. "You said they wouldn't be able to get anywhere close to Bells without you guys knowing about it. You said there was no way for them to get past your patrols and into town at all!" I ranted into the phone.

"Chief…" he started, but I was too overcome with anger, fear and concern for my daughter to listen.

"You gave me your fuckin' word Uley," I interrupted, quickening my previous pace. "I swear to God, if there's one scratch on her sweet little head, you'll answer to me. I'll be at the school in ten minutes. I expect to find my daughter unharmed, and if James was at that school, you'd better have a damn good explanation for how he got there. We're talking act of God here because you swore to me that you could protect her from everything else." With that I ended the call and quickly dialed Stan's number as I slid into the cruiser. I cancelled our lunch plans and asked him to meet me at Forks High School instead, as I pulled onto the street.

I obliged Sam's request to keep the lights and siren off, but I drove as if they were on. I turned into the school's parking lot and parked in one of the visitor spaces near the front office. I stepped out of the cruiser and tipped my hat at Ms. Cope as she emerged from the office. She smiled and waved before turning and heading off toward one of the buildings.

I glanced around but saw no sign of Sam. I huffed and grabbed my cell phone ready to call him to find out where exactly he wanted to meet, when I heard a vaguely familiar voice calling out to me. I looked over my shoulder and saw Quil Ateara, one of the boys from the reservation, jogging my way and looking all kinds of distraught. I hooked the phone back onto my belt and met him a few feet from the cruiser.

"Chief," he nodded in greeting. One of the first things I noticed was that his eyes were red and swollen and his cheeks were streaked with tears. He'd obviously been crying but offered no indication as to why. I decided not to question him about it, and fell in step with him as he turned to walk back the way he'd come, gesturing for me to follow.

We walked past the office and toward the gymnasium, neither of us speaking. As we stepped around the corner of the gym, I saw Sam and his friends, Paul and Jared, standing in the field in the center of the track. I quickened my pace, anxious to find out what the hell was going on.

They visibly stiffened when they saw me coming, and as we drew closer, I noticed the tormented expressions on all of their faces. Quil shared a meaningful look with Sam and then hurried off toward the trees.

For an incredibly tense half a minute, no one spoke. We all just stood there staring at each other. When my impatience got the best of me I opened my mouth, and said the first thing that came to mind, "Where's my daughter?" needing to see with my own eyes that she was unharmed.

Sam looked more than a little reluctant, but he was the one to answer. "She's fine, but she was already gone when I got here. One of the Cullens took her to their house to have Dr. Cullen check her over, just in case."

He stepped aside then, and my attention was drawn to a heap on the ground behind where he'd been standing. It only took a heartbeat for me to recognize the heap as a body. The other boys stepped aside allowing me to step closer, and I immediately recognized Earl Stanley's daughter, her neck obviously broken and her throat ripped out. Just a few feet from the girl's body, laid Embry Call, his body twisted unnaturally, his neck also obviously broken. His throat remained intact, although there was a chunk of flesh missing from his cheek.

My initial thought in regards to the scene was that it looked a lot like an animal attack. My mind went back to the newspaper clipping Billy and Sam had shown me about the alleged attacks in Phoenix, and a cold chill ran down my spine. "What happened?" I asked turning to Sam.

He sadly shook his head. "I don't know. I suspect the Cullens might be able to shed some light on some of it. We're not exactly on good terms, so I can't help ya there. Leah's hurt, I don't know how bad, one of the Cullens took her to see their doctor also."

His voice hardened every time he referenced the Cullens. I was aware of the animosity that a lot of the folks from La Push had for the doctor and his family, some even refusing treatment at the hospital he worked at, but I had no idea why. The Cullens had moved to Forks two years prior, and I'll admit at first I was concerned that five teenaged orphans might stir up a ruckus in our quiet little town, but in reality, they were all straight A students and some of the most polite, well-behaved kids around. There'd never been a single problem with a single member of the family. Truth of the matter was, we were damn lucky to have the good doctor workin' at our dinky little hospital, instead of some fancy-schmancy place where he'd likely make five times the money. I opened my mouth to enlighten him when I realized he was still talking.

He told me what he did know, and that all of it came from Jacob Black, who'd since run off. Probably the smartest thing the little prick had done all day. The five of us walked a little ways into the woods, and they showed me the spot where the two attackers, I just couldn't bring myself to think vampires, had been burned. The air was filled with a pungent stench and a thick, smokey, almost purple haze. On the ground, between two tall cedars, was a spot charred black by the fire. There were a few blackened sticks, still smoldering, and adding more of the putrid smoke to the air. I told Paul to make sure it was extinguished, and headed out of the trees, desperate for a breath of untainted air.

Sam was right on my heels and after filling my lungs with a deep breath of cleaner, fresher air, I spun on him.

"What makes you so sure these…" I fumbled for the right word, "folks, are from Phoenix?" I demanded, and then, without giving him so much as a second to answer, "And if it is them, where the hell are the others? Bells said there were five of 'em; you said there were two. How do you know the other three aren't hiding in the trees, ready to try again tomorrow?"

"We've searched the woods, Charlie," he assured me. "There are no other bloodsuckers in at least a thirty mile radius.

"And I should just take you at your word? Did you know these two were here? Because in spite of the fact that you said that there was no way any of them could get close to her, they slipped past your watchdogs, and almost snatched my daughter away right under your goddamn noses. You'll have to forgive me for not having much faith in you and your words at the moment," I spat at him.

He appeared to consider arguing with me for a moment, but instead just opened and closed his mouth wordlessly before lowering his gaze, shoulders slumping in shame.

By the time Stan showed up, I'd realized that I had what little useful information I was going to get from Sam. I spoke with Stan and instructed him to rearrange the scene a bit to support the animal attack story before officially reporting it. We went over what few facts we had and got our stories as straight as we could with our limited knowledge. With that done, I promised to call and check in with him later and headed back to the cruiser, setting out for the Cullen residence.

As I drove, my mind ran rampant. Hundreds of scenarios played out in my head. The two attackers, the two vampires, I forced myself to acknowledge, had to have been part of the group from Phoenix. How many of their sort could there really be out there anyway? I couldn't imagine it to be a very high number. I cursed Sam and his pack several times for allowing them to even get close to her.

I made the left onto the Cullen's long private drive and almost stopped as my next thought occurred to me. How much did she know now? What did she see? Oh, fuck me. Sam had assured me that she wasn't hurt, but what kind of Bella was I going to find waiting for me? Would she be scared shitless and traumatized at seeing someone torn to shreds? Would she be pissed off at having been deceived all this time as we made sure she was safe? Would she even want to talk to me? What should I say to her? And what about the Cullens? What did they see? How much did they know?

By the time I pulled up in front of the majestic house, I'd worked myself into one hell of a tizzy. I had no idea what was waiting for me inside that house, no idea what kind of reception to expect from any of them. I stepped out of the cruiser and tucked in my shirt as I approached the front door.

Dr. Cullen answered my knock with a warm smile and gestured for me to come inside. "Chief Swan," he greeted, shaking my hand firmly, "always good to see you sir. I just hate that it's never under pleasant circumstances."

"Dr. Cullen, I'm sorry to impose on you at home," I told him, "but I understand one of your young'uns brought my daughter here?"

"Not to worry," he assured me, "and please, call me Carlisle. It was honestly no problem at all. My daughter, Alice, was concerned and brought Bella to me as a strictly precautionary measure. She was suffering from shock, so I took the liberty of giving her a sedative, but other than that she seems to be fine."

"My son, Edward, brought Bella's friend, Leah, here as well. She wasn't as lucky as your Bella. I've patched her up the best I can, but I'd really like to take her into the hospital for some x-rays. Maybe you can help me get in touch with her parents to get the necessary consent?"

I nodded, not at all sure if Harry Clearwater would agree to Dr. Cullen treating his daughter. He was a long time friend of mine, but he was also one of the most bull-headed, old bastards I'd ever known. He was among the folks that had avoided the hospital since Dr. Cullen joined the staff.

"Where is Bells?" I asked, looking around the expansive house and not seeing any sign of either girl.

He smiled and gestured for me to follow him further into the house. We started up an ornate staircase and he turned toward me, "We took Leah into the guest room, and Bella is resting in Alice's room. We wanted them to be able to rest peacefully and without interruptions."

We started down the hallway and he stopped at the first door on the right, tapping softly on the door before pushing it open.

In the middle of the brightly decorated room, on a queen-sized bed, lay my girl. I felt a tug on my heartstrings when I looked down at her peaceful, sleeping face. Her dark brown hair was all over the place, and there was mud and tear stains streaked across her cheeks. Her blouse was rumpled and the left sleeve was ripped off, leaving her pale, skinny arm completely exposed.

I didn't even realize I'd walked all the way into the room until I felt my knees come in contact with the bed. I gently lowered myself onto the edge of the bed and took her tiny hand in mine. I was caught up in my visual inspection of her, verifying what I'd already been told, and relaxing a bit upon seeing that she did in fact appear to be physically unharmed. I failed to notice the tiny dark-haired girl sitting on a chair on the opposite side of the bed, until she softly spoke up.

"I wanted to wash her off, but once she finally settled down I didn't want to disturb her," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I was so scared for her," she confessed, her voice trembling, "I-I hope you don't mind me bringing her here. She seemed ok at first, just scared, but then she just started screaming and shaking and crying. Then, all of a sudden, she just stopped and went all limp. It was like she passed out, but her eyes were open and kind of glazed over."

"It's fine sweetie," I assured her. "I'm glad you got her to someone that could help." I tried to couple my words of reassurance with a smile, but I just couldn't force one. She seemed to get the gist of it though, and she offered me a weak smile in return, her honey-colored eyes full of understanding and concern.

Dr. Cullen cleared his throat from behind me and I turned to see him step up beside the bed. "My daughter, Alice," he said, with a nod toward the tiny girl. He looked back to Bella, "The sedative I gave her will have her out for the next several hours," he informed me in a quiet voice. "With your permission, I'd like to keep her here until tomorrow for observation. Should she wake up and there be a recurrence of the previous episode, I'd like to be on hand to assist with her; perhaps even medicate her again if necessary."

I saw the reason in his request, and I had to admit that if Bells was gonna wake up and have any sort of episode, I'd rather not be forced to have to deal with it on my own. The problem was, I couldn't do that to him and his family. Leaving Bella here would jeopardize their safety, but how could I possibly explain that to him? I snickered internally as the imaginary conversation played out in my head. It started something like:

"I appreciate everything you've done, but leaving my daughter here with you may very well subject you and yours to a vampire attack. I know… I know it sounds crazy, but you'll just have to trust me. Embry was killed and you saw what happened to Leah, and they were werewolves! Yeah, we won't go there either, but I'd hate to think what could happen to you folks."

No doubt he'd end up sedating me too and calling the paddy wagon for my crazy ass.

Nope. I couldn't explain the whys, but I couldn't leave her there. With the betrayal of the wolves, we were on our own in this mess. I had no idea what to do, but I was determined to keep her safe. James' little group was already down from 5 to 3. The odds had already shifted a bit. He would not get his hands on her, come hell or high water. I'd figure out the hows as we went.

"About that," I started, trying to come up with an acceptable reason to decline his offer. "I-I think I'd feel better if she came home with me. I appreciate everything you've done, please don't think I don't, but…"

"Let's step out so as not to disturb her," he said quietly, interrupting my stammering.

I stepped back out of the room with him and followed him a little ways down the hall. He stopped at another door, knocking softly before entering and silently beckoning me to follow.

I walked into the room, which had been set up to resemble a hospital room, and froze. Lying on a hospital-style bed, connected to several beeping machines and a mass of wires, was Leah Clearwater. I couldn't withhold the gasp that escaped my lips at seeing that strong, beautiful, vivacious girl, broken, bruised and looking on the verge of death.

My heart ached for her. She'd become like a sister to my Bella, and like a daughter to me. Her current condition was testament to the fact that she, unlike her 'pack brothers,' had not been party to the betrayal. She had risked her life for my Bells and had apparently nearly lost that wager. There was no end to the love and gratitude I felt toward her at that moment, and I silently vowed that I'd get her parents to agree to treatment by Dr. Cullen – whatever it took. I'd call in every favor Harry owed me if I had to. Dr. Carlisle Cullen was the best damn doctor we had, and at the very least, Leah deserved the best.

"I'll talk to Harry," I assured him, my voice cracking with the myriad of emotions I was trying to process.

A sound in the doorway caught my attention, and I turned to find Carlisle's youngest son entering the room. He approached his father and the two of them spoke in hushed voices for a moment. When they were finished he looked to me and smiled somberly. "Chief Swan," he said quietly as he extended his hand in greeting. "I'm very pleased to meet you sir. My name is Edward. Edward Cullen."

I nodded and accepted his firm shake, glancing back over my shoulder toward Leah. "You the one that brought Leah here?" I asked him.

"Yes sir," he replied. "I wasn't sure what else to do. Her injuries appeared to be quite extensive, and I knew that my father would be able to help her."

"Well, thank you son." I said, feeling both humbled by and grateful for their acts of kindness. "Thank you all. For everything."

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

Edward

When I saw the image of beautiful Bella in the hands of the red-eyed strangers flash through Alice's head, it was all I could do to refrain from running to her at vampire speed, witnesses be damned. "No!" I hissed, rising from my seat. That vision was immediately followed by one of Bella's raven-haired Quileute friend and I fighting in the parking lot.

We both then turned to see the girl in question staring at us, and Alice was assaulted with another vision. This time the dark haired girl was following us, running to Bella instead of fighting us every step of the way.

'We have to talk to her Edward, she'll let us help.' Alice silently informed me.

I found myself, albeit begrudgingly, developing a certain regard for the young woman. She was incredibly beautiful, obviously very bright, and as she didn't hesitate to show as she pounced through the trees and onto the female vampire, knocking Bella to safety, she was not one to shy away from a fight. She was a true friend to the lovely Bella. From the moment our eyes met in the cafeteria, until she lost consciousness in my arms on the way home, her thoughts were of Bella and her safety. Except for a couple of brief moments when she thought about making a belt out of someone's testicles. I shuddered at the memory, not wanting to dwell anymore on that particular train of thought.

When I'd arrived home with the battered she-wolf in my arms, Carlisle had already sedated Bella. He checked Leah over and set about cleaning her many wounds. She didn't phase back into her human form until sometime after he'd cleaned her up and as best he could. Once the drugs he'd given her had relaxed her body enough, she'd phased back, naked no less.

I tried not to see anything, but as her transformation had been rather unexpected, I was caught off guard. More so than her actual nudity, I saw the damage done to her body. Some of the lesser cuts were nearly healed, indicating that the wolves, like us, healed quite rapidly. She was absolutely covered in bruises, varying in color from yellowish greens to blue and purple and nearly black. A splintered collarbone pierced through her flesh. Her arm hung awkwardly at her side, her shoulder obviously dislocated. The dark bruising over most of her torso suggested she'd damaged several ribs.

I forced my eyes away from her bruised and battered body, cringing as Carlisle set her shoulder properly. Even under the heavy medication, she screamed out in agony, clawing at Carlisle and myself. It was brief however, and she fell quiet and limp back onto the bed as Carlisle quickly bandaged her up and Esme slipped a white cotton dressing gown onto her.

I stole away to check on Bella, and found Alice sitting next to her, holding her hand, humming softly, and brushing a few loose strands of mahogany hair behind her ear. She looked so small and fragile lying in the middle of Alice and Jasper's queen-sized bed.

I wondered again at how such a sweet, delicate girl had found herself in the middle of such a dangerous predicament. The thoughts of the two we'd killed today had made it clear to me that this James would stop at nothing to get her back.

I watched her chest rise and fall with her steady breaths, listened to the sound of her heart beating, and breathed deeply in the scent of the wet dog mixed with a fruity sort of flower scent that I had come to know as Bella. The fruity flower made the wet dog considerably less revolting. Even muddied, tear stained, and wearing tattered clothing, she was beautiful. Sometimes, it seemed as if she got a little more beautiful every time I looked at her.

I'd come to love our time in Biology together. In fact, it had quickly become the highlight of my day. Spending that hour quietly chatting, passing silly notes, or sometimes just working with Bella on an assignment, brought me a ridiculous amount of happiness. I'd come home and retire to my room to reflect on the quiet sound of her laughter, or the sparkle in her eye, or the alluring flush of her cheeks. No matter how much I argued it with Alice, there was no point in lying to myself. I was quite smitten with Isabella Swan, and there wasn't much of anything I wouldn't do to ensure her safety. It occurred to me that the world would simply not be as bright without Bella's soft, glowing light in it.

I heard the sound of the police cruiser turning onto our drive, and hurried up to my room on the third floor. I washed up and changed clothes, discarding the tattered garments I'd worn during the fight. No sense frightening the poor man with my haggard appearance. He had enough to concern himself about without knowing I had anything to do with anything other than bringing Leah to my father.

As I headed back down to the second floor I could hear Carlisle and the Chief of Police in the guest room with Leah. The chief was positively grief-stricken as he looked over his daughter's friend; he was obviously very fond of her.

"I'll talk to Harry," Chief Swan said, silently vowing to convince his friend to 'get over himself' and allow Leah be treated.

I stepped into the room and stood next to Carlisle, he quirked a brow at me, wondering about my impromptu change of clothes, and I quickly and quietly explained my concern in alerting the chief of my involvement in the goings on at the school. The chief had turned as I made it a point to make some noise as I came into the room, and was still watching me as I spoke to Carlisle.

I stepped forward and extended my hand to him, "Chief Swan, I'm very pleased to meet you sir. My name is Edward. Edward Cullen."

He nodded and accepted my handshake, glancing back behind him at Leah. "You the one that brought Leah here?" He asked.

"Yes sir," I replied. "I wasn't sure what else to do. Her injuries appeared to be quite extensive, and I knew that my father would be able to help her."

"Well, thank you son. Thank you all. For everything."

I smiled at the small town Chief of Police, unsure how else to respond to his gratitude. I found it interesting that while I could get a general feel for his thoughts, I could only hear snippets clearly. Whatever kept Bella's mind from me was something she'd apparently inherited from her father.

I heard Alice gasp from down the hall; she'd had another vision. Chief Swan had no intention of leaving Bella in my father's care. He was going to insist on taking her home. 'He's worried about endangering us,' she informed me silently. Surely he knew that he alone didn't stand a chance against a vampire, much less a group of them.

I caught Carlisle's eye and explained the situation in words both too fast and too low for Charlie to hear. He silently mulled over the facts, 'He already knows about the existence of werewolves and vampires… He knows the dangers involved. Could we let him in on our secret? Let him know that we are more than capable of keeping her safe?'

I scoffed at his internal monologue, "Have you gone mad? What he knows of our kind is that we feed off humans and want to kill his daughter. Do you honestly think he'll simply embrace the fact that we are, in fact, the same type of creature that's hunting his daughter? If we tell him what we are he'll grab her up and take off out the front door running and screaming."

'Perhaps we should ask Alice?' he silently suggested. 'Maybe she's seen something useful.' I gave a curt nod and scrambled to think of a way to detain Charlie, if only for a short time.

Carlisle laid a hand on Charlie's shoulder, and gestured for him to follow him back out of the room. I followed the two of them, and softly closed the guest room door behind us. In the hallway, Carlisle spoke in a concerned but friendly voice, he'd been thinking of stall tactics as well. "Chief Swan, perhaps you would consider leaving her here while you head out to La Push and get me that consent to treat Miss Clearwater. That way I can observe Bella a little longer and you won't have to leave her home alone while you go. I assure you nothing will happen to her here, and the longer I wait to treat Miss Clearwater, the greater the chance of her encountering complications."

The chief considered my father's words, weighing the risk of another attack versus the urgency of Leah's medical needs. He sighed reluctantly, deciding that he owed it to Leah to go. "Let me make a couple of calls, get a man out here to keep an eye on the house, just to set my mind at ease, and I'll go get whatever you need from Harry Clearwater. You have to promise to call me if anything changes with either of those girls," he insisted.

"Of course," my father agreed. "If I had an x-ray machine here, I wouldn't even bother with the consent form. I'd treat her to the best of my ability, consent be damned. As it stands, I don't have the equipment here, and trying to sneak her in for x-rays without consent to treat could cost me my position at the hospital."

Chief Swan nodded and excused himself outside to make his calls.

Carlisle was planning to call a family meeting as soon as Chief Swan left. He was the single most compassionate being I'd ever known, and since the chief already possessed knowledge of the existence of our kind, he felt it only right that we offer our assistance. He thought we could simply explain away the differences between others of our kind and ourselves with our alternative lifestyle. Being a fair and honest man, he would take it to the family and bring it to a vote.

I truthfully expected the chief would be out the door with his precious daughter in his arms, before the conversation was half over, but I said nothing as he turned and headed back down the stairs. I quietly slipped back into Leah's room, scanning her drug-warped dreams for more information about Bella and the vampires that had attacked.

I desperately wanted to check on Bella, but as Alice had pointed out, my gift was better focused on Leah and learning what I could. While I was capable of listening to the thoughts of everyone in the house, from whichever room I was in, Alice also pointed out that if I were in the room with Bella, I wouldn't be paying attention to anything or anyone else. I'd desperately wanted to argue with her and call her preposterous, but upon opening my mouth to do so, I realized she was right. How could one so small be so incredibly annoying?

I'd already established that the two attackers' names were Felix and Bree, two vampires from James' coven in Phoenix. I'd gathered as much from the thoughts of the visitors themselves. They'd only planned to catch a glimpse of Bella, though they thought of her as Izzy – Bella definitely suited her better. When they'd seen her walking toward the track all alone they decided to grab her and take her to James as a surprise. They'd expected to be well rewarded for the return of his beloved 'pet.'

Neither thought anything of the two they killed before trying to escape with Bella, so we'd have to find out if Bella saw what happened to Embry, the wolf, and the human girl, Jessica. I was quite certain that James was still in or around Phoenix, as neither vampire had any thoughts to the contrary. I had a feeling when his scouts didn't return; he'd come looking for them.

I heard the sound of Charlie's police cruiser pulling out of the drive, and a moment later I heard Rosalie's BMW approach. No sooner than I heard Rose, Emmett and Jasper enter through the garage door, I heard Carlisle call us all into the dining room. It was time for a Cullen family meeting.


A/N2: Next up... we hear from a certain brown-eyed-girl.
Whatcha' think? Hmmmm???
Remember, reviews = Love & free whacks w/the teaser stick!!!
Ch. 15 is already half finished.

~Sonia