Bred
By MoneyTunes10
Chapter Five
Slivers of light began to seep between the folds of darkness in her mind. Her unconscious safe haven was giving way to the conscious world. It was the frantic voice of her savior turned executioner that was the catalyst. Bella could feel Edward's voice luring her into the world that had abandoned her.
She was all too familiar with abandonment.
From birth, she had been deposited on the doorsteps of the Agency; relinquished by the very people who were supposed to love her. Parents were supposed to love their children beyond reason….why hadn't they been able to love her?
She never expected to be loved at the Agency. They had made it painfully clear that it was a temporary location before all inhabitants found a home. Her only hope was to find a wonderful family that would never forsake her.
She thought the Cullens were the answer to her fervent prayers. Were the Cullens no different than her parents?
She had yearned to belong somewhere, anywhere for such a long time that it had seeped into her bones. She grasped at any chance to fit in. She would have done anything for the Cullens to keep her. Because even as a child, Bella realized that if someone truly loved you, they would never abandon you.
At such a tender age, she understood that she wasn't looking for a place to belong to, she was seeking love…the difficult part to swallow was her belief that she would never find it.
Bella was ensnared in these emotions as she drowned in the depths of her grief and cradled in Edward's embrace. She was curled towards him as he drove with one hand and tucked her into his body with the other.
He was fracturing by the second. He hadn't anticipated Bella's emotional breakdown. He was frustrated that he was locked out of her mind and he was calling her name repeatedly.
Edward's car flew around the twists and turns of the highway, blurring past the wall of ancient trees as he sped towards his home. He needed Carlisle to look at Bella but more importantly he needed Jasper to assure him that he had not damaged her emotionally.
His car skidded to a stop and he was inside his home before the engine shut off. Carlisle was waiting for him, no doubt due to Alice's foresight.
"Please, please, help her…" the words left Edward in painful gasps as his eyes burned into Carlisle's. This was a plea from a desperate man.
Carlisle gently took Bella's limp body from Edward and transported her to his study where he could examine her.
He checked her vital signs as Edward sank into the couch. His crumbled form sat silently as he concentrated on Carlisle's mind.
Bella was physically healthy.
They both looked at each other with a sigh of relief. Edward gathered Bella into his arms once again and the two men joined the family in the sitting room.
Jasper's gaze was intent on both Edward and Bella; he relayed Bella's tumultuous emotions to Edward but he could not help but notice the way Edward held Bella as he sat on the couch with her.
In that moment, Tanya entered the mansion with Esme trailing behind. Alice had warned the family earlier when she saw Edward driving home. They took action and Esme asked Tanya to join her on a short errand to give Edward time to take care of Bella before the confrontation.
During that time, Rosalie had been pacing on the detailed Persian rug while Emmett sat brooding in a corner. He was hunched over, contemplating all the pain he wanted to inflict on Tanya because she manipulated herself into his family. He, of course, was distracted by Rose's tyrannical rant as she spewed venom, cursing the day that Tanya was brought into existence. He would have to prevent his wife from launching at Tanya; she was intensely protective of the family.
It was hard for Jasper to keep everyone's betrayed and murderous thoughts from escalating as he held his wife. He was torn between monitoring Bella's emotional storm and keeping the family calm enough to approach the situation without any violence.
The divorce papers that he had Jenks produce in rapid time sat prominently on the glass table in the center of the room. It seemed largely out of place next to Esme's prized ghost orchids.
Tanya and Esme's steps echoed as they approached the sitting room. Emmett moved to Rosalie's side and held her around the waist in a gesture that may look romantic to an outsider. They all knew he was trying to hold her back and hopefully his touch calmed her.
Esme remained behind Tanya, who stood at the threshold with a look of confusion on her face. To her right, Rosalie stood with her legs parted as if she was about to crouch and launch at any moment. Her only tether seemed to be Emmett who stood behind his wife. Their twin looks of malice cemented Tanya to the entryway of the sitting room. She swiveled to her left and saw Jasper trailing leisure circles on Alice's back as both their bodies were angled towards her. Alice was staring intently at Tanya but Jasper seemed to be focused towards the back of the room. When she followed Jasper's gaze, she saw Edward holding an unconscious Bella in his arms as they sat on the couch. Edward's gaze was focused on Bella; he seemed to have a look of extreme concentration on his face. She briefly glanced at Carlisle who stood in the middle of the room. But her attention returned to Edward as he remained fixated on Bella, he had not even raised his head to look at her.
Carlisle cleared his throat to get Tanya's attention, "Tanya would you like to tell us why you antagonized James and Victoria the night of the attack?"
"What?" Tanya's voice was barely audible as the shock of this topic registered on her face. She had always appreciated the Cullen's ability to avoid the subject of her incident with James and Victoria. She hadn't known that Edward could read minds until after her transformation and she had always feared that he would find out her true motivations behind the incident. Walking into this scene was strange enough, but hearing Carlisle's words suddenly made her fear blossom.
Her eyes frantically sought Edward as her knees began to weaken, "Edward…"
He was silent, his gaze never lifting from Bella's face.
"Tanya, we know what your motives were and there are no words to express how deep this deception has affected our family. I was giving you a chance to simply act like an adult but I do not want you to occupy any more of my family's precious time."
Carlisle's voice was stoic; he was restraining himself for the sake of the family, but he was also completely disgusted with the woman who stood before him. He wanted her out of his sight and out of his family's life.
He breathed an exasperated sigh before continuing, "you need to sign these divorce papers so we can start to right the wrong you have created here." He was pointing to the thick stack of papers on the glass table.
Tanya's face fell at the words 'divorce papers'. She looked frantically from Edward to Carlisle.
Edward suddenly sighed as low growl came from Alice. Jasper finally looked at Tanya.
"I won't sign those, I love him. I did everything I did because I love Edward."
Tanya was looking Carlisle in the eye with a determined glare, challenging everything he just said. She was not going down without a fight. She knew that she endangered herself and Edward with her plan to become a vampire, but it worked out better than she expected. She feared that she would die when James didn't stop drinking as he sank his teeth into her neck. She could feel her heart slowing as it fought to keep what little blood her body held. Suddenly James was gone and she saw Edward protecting her from two vampires. Then she slowly began to burn alive from James' venom. She knew that Edward only remained in Alaska with her because he felt guilty. Yet she was convinced that he loved her on some level. Why had he saved her from James if he did not love her? She also knew that he only married her because of that guilt but she knew that with time he could learn to love her. Maybe he already did and she just needed to show him that he loved her.
Edward finally looked at Tanya and the undiluted hatred that consumed his dark eyes made her falter. Her previous confidence when she defied Carlisle's request shattered under his gaze. He was clinging to the fragile human body in his arms to stop himself from shaking Tanya's deranged thoughts from her head.
"I love you" she whimpered to him.
In a blur of movement, the silent Esme, who stood behind Tanya seething, suddenly appeared before her. She clamped her delicate hands around Tanya's throat and slammed her into the nearest wall… anchoring the ousted vampire by her throat.
"You will never say those words to my son again. You do not know what love is you sick excuse of a woman! You jeopardized my child's life with your dangerous plans, and then you went further by using his compassion to weave your way into our family. I will never forgive you for the suffering you've caused him. You were never a Cullen and you will never be a Cullen. Now sign the papers and get out of our sight!"
The entire room stilled; only Bella's breathing stirred the air as Esme finished her speech. This sweet protective woman, who was mother and wife, had finally lost the patience and restraint her husband had.
She released Tanya's throat and dragged her stunned form to the stack of papers. Tanya's hands shook and her body sagged with tears that would never fall. She signed and initialed every place that Esme pointed to. When the last page was signed, Esme looked to Jasper and Emmett, who regarded their mother with a new level of awe and respect. Emmett had a large grin plastered on his face while Jasper gave her a small smile. He gave Alice a quick kiss before they both approached Tanya.
Esme released her and in a silent line, Jasper, Tanya, and Emmett disappeared into the night. They entered the car and the three drove silently down the winding roads. They were driving her to the airport where Carmen was waiting to take her to Alaska. Their family friends were angry with Tanya but everyone agreed that it was better to keep an eye on her. Carlisle even went further and had already set up therapy sessions for her.
The remaining Cullens were all smiling at Esme who seemed much calmer now that the papers were signed and Tanya was on her way out of their lives. Carlisle was hugging her and giving her tender kisses along her jaw line while Rosalie and Alice shook their heads at them. Edward's mind was still replaying the protective thoughts that had consumed his mother when she confronted Tanya. He was still looking at the door that Tanya had just walked out of, when he felt a soft warm hand cup his cheek.
His head snapped to the human in his lap, "are you going to send me away now?"
Bella's voice was timid and pleading. It nearly broke his heart to see her so fragile. He instinctively pulled her into a hug, "I'll never send you away, never."
Bella's sinking heart suddenly bobbed on the surface of her sea of despair. She felt instantly lighter and soon her heart soared as Edward's words lifted her to new heights of happiness.
She would remain with the Cullens.
Annotation: Thank you for the continued reviews…I must say that I am in love with all my Tanya-haters.