I fell asleep in Brady's car. We had been driving for miles and miles, and we talked a lot and turned up the radio. But eventually I just sort of zoned out and felt myself drift off to sleep. At first I dreamt only pleasant dreams- Brady and I at beach, Brady and I on Patrol. But then the dreams turned more sinister; bloodshed and war raged and screams echoed in my ears, Sam's voice strong and authoritative as we headed off to battle. I woke up startled to find myself still in Brady's car and sweating and breathing heavily.
Brady had parked the car in a gas station parking lot and was talking on the phone with someone in hushed tones.
"We'll be there as soon we can. Catie and I aren't that far from their house- I'll just drive us over there. See you then." Brady ended the call and looked at me, surprised to find me awake. "Hey, sleepy head," he smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. He looked tense and worried about something. "That was Sam on the phone. He said we have to get to the Cullens' ASAP."
"The Cullens? Why?" Now I understood the reason he looked so anxious and scared. Just thinking about being around the Cullens made my stomach flip.
Brady shrugged. "One of them- Alice, I think?- can see the future, and earlier today she had a vision that somehow involved us and- and a war. They want to discuss it with us."
I nodded and let us lapse back in to silence so I could think. A war? Including us? We were a peaceful people, despite our shape-shifting ways. We would only go to war if provoked or threatened. Which must mean that someone was coming after us, ready to strike.. And if the Cullens were worried about us going to war, it could only be because our enemy wasn't just a group of humans. No, if the Cullens were worried about it, it had to be because our enemy was supernatural and a threat to all our lives.
This thought made me want to throw up.
On our way to the Cullens, my mind kept exploring all these horrific possibilities of what war would mean for our pack and our tribe, for my family and friends.. It terrified the crap out of scared me shitless.
After a long stretch of highway, Brady turned down a long, dusty road. On every side were towering trees, and the road was so windy it was hard to see what would come after every turn. Eventually, though, we made it to a clearing in which one of the largest and most magnificent houses I'd ever seen sat proudly.
It was very old and elegant, the walls painted a crisp white and the door painted a soft brown. It had to have been about three stories high with a balcony on the highest floor. Vines crawled up the right side of the house, but instead of making it looked uncared for or abandoned, the vines added to the grace of the house. On the porch was a bench swing, and a pretty girl of about thirteen or fourteen was swinging on it and staring at us. I recognized her as Nessie, Bella and Edward's daughter.
Brady parked and we both got out of the car. He grabbed my hand as we walked up the rest of the gravel driveway and up the porch steps to the front door. Nessie stood up from her watchful perch on the swing and glided towards us.
"I guess you two must be Catie and Brady?" she asked, her voice sugar sweet.
"Yeah, that's us."
"I'm Renesmee. Everyone else is already in the library, and they told me to escort you guys over there," she said, opening the large front door for us. We stepped inside a large foyer with a mirror on the right wall and a painting of nine vampires- who I guessed was the whole Cullen clan- on the left.
Renesmee led us through the main living area and up one flight of stairs to a room to the right of the stair landing. "That's the library, there. You can just go on in."
Brady moved to open the door, but I stopped and turned toward Renesmee. "Aren't you coming in with us?"
"Nope," she frowned. "Apparently, I'm not old enough or mature enough to handle all that you guys are going to be talking about so I'm not allowed in." Renesmee crossed her thin arms across her chest and rolled her brown eyes.
I felt bad for the little hybrid vampire girl being excluded from the meeting. Maturity-wise, she wasn't that much younger than me, and I knew how much it sucked to be left out of stuff like this and be told you were too young to handle "grown-up" stuff. So I leaned towards her ear and whispered, "I bet if you listen to one of the vents directly above this room, you'll be able to hear every word." I winked at her as Brady pulled me to the door.
"Thanks!" she grinned. "I'll have to try that." She waved as she skipped off down the hall.
Brady opened the door to the library and pulled me inside. smiled. The library was massive with bookshelves filled from floor to ceiling, which had to have been about 30 feet high. Every corner was stacked with books of every kind from worn, leather-bound classics to paperback romances. The center of the floor was covered by an ornate blue and gold oriental rug. The rest of our pack, along with the Cullens, was sitting on beanbag chairs and pillows in the middle of the room. The place- as magnificent as it was- stunk to high heavens of vampire. It made my entire body shudder.
Sam and one of the vampires- a tall, stately blond male- sat in desk chairs at the head of the group and everyone's eyes were on them. I figured the blond was Dr. Carlisle, the head of the coven.
Sam looked up from the discussion and welcomed us in. "Catie, Brady, why don't you have a seat somewhere? We have some very urgent things to discuss."
Brady and I automatically did as our alpha told us, choosing a spot in between Paul and one of the Cullens- a very tall and muscular boy with dark shaggy hair. I felt tense, sitting in such proximity to the enemy, ready to strike at anytime if needed. I knew I had no reason to feel like that, like the Cullens were our enemy, but it was just basic instinct to be on edge with them. Despite their close alliance with the pack, I didn't trust them. And honestly, I don't think any of the boys- save Jacob and Seth- really did either.
The blond, important-looking Cullen introduced himself as Carlisle, as I had suspected. "We've called this collaborative meeting because of something disturbing and urgent that has come up," he said. His voice was calm and reassuring, but there was a grave undertone to it that chilled me to the core. "As you know, our Alice can see things in the future." Carlisle gestured to a small, dark-haired vampire girl with large, knowing eyes. She gave us a frank nod, and Carlisle continued. "This morning, Alice saw a very large coven of vampires heading in our direction. We zoned in on them and found that they have a very malevolent purpose in mind. Their intention is to come to Washington, destroy the pack and our coven, and take over the state, most likely for their feeding grounds; however, we have not ascertained that as of yet.
"We learned as much information as we could, but there was some force of interference with Alice's visions. Most likely a hybrid is traveling with them, with the purpose of muddling Alice's reception. As we find out more information, we'll let you know. But as of right now," Carlisle sighed, his mouth a grim line. "it appears there will be a war of some sort. And due to the sheer magnitude and force of this coven, it won't be an easy one."
I felt so lost and confused as Carlisle spoke, like I was missing so much information. Brady squeezed my hand, trying to reassure me, but even that didn't help. I felt like I was ready to cry.
"How soon?" Embry voiced the question we were all wondering.
Little Alice spoke, with a soft, fairy voice. "A few weeks, maybe two or three months. They're planning this out to the very last detail," she shook her head sadly. "This won't be like the last battles we have fought. These vampires are out for destruction and won't leave until they've wreaked havoc amongst us. They have some clever elders choosing their moves very carefully, and using some form of interference so that I can't see details, only a very fuzzy big picture."
"And these aren't Newborns, like Victoria's army," Edward added, and everyone else, besides me, seemed to understand his meaning, though I continued to feel bewildered. "They have the same strength, or less, that we do, luckily; however, this means they also have the same cunning and clear thinking as us. If it does come to war, it's very likely many of us will not survive."
Bella erupted with a sobbing sound at Edward's words and clutched at her husband for support. He whispered quietly into her hair to calm her, and I felt a slight spark of envy. They looked so in sync, so perfect for each other when they were together like that. It made me wonder if Brady and I would ever be as close and soul-mate-like as Bella and Edward were or if we were some of the unlucky ones to never experience that sort of true love and ultimate friendship.
I turned my attention away from Bella and Edward and towards the large vamp that Brady was sitting beside. "Edward, way to be such a downer," he rolled his eyes playfully, instantly lightening the heavy atmosphere. "We can take 'em, no problem." He and the other blond male vampire chuckled together, and I couldn't help but smile a little bit. They both seemed very confident that this would all turn out okay.
"Do you think we should get the Denali coven involved? Would that be of any help?" A female vampire with light brown hair spoke up. The way she spoke and carried herself sort of reminded me of my mom- protective, fierce, but loving.
Carlisle considered a moment before responding. "I think the best plan of action would be to see how things progress. Right now, a major battle is several months away. If anything changes suddenly or if we gather more details, then we'll ask them for their assistance."
"So what do we do in the meantime?" Jared questioned, his voice hard and clear. "Train?"
"Yes, we'll train. We'll collect more details and come up with a plan of action. And then," Carlisle cleared his throat. "We wait."
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