Twilight

Chapter Three

Confusion couldn't be used to describe the dark haired boy's face, Bella decided. It was more like he was looking at her boyfriend as if Edward had lost his mind.

"What?" he mouthed breathlessly, like the question was so inherent that it wasn't worth the full use of his vocal cords.

Edward crossed his arms. "You heard me."

Though the boy had heard him with impeccable clarity, he rolled his eyes and still resumed his leave. He turned to pull at the ajar door, but withdrew with a yelp when the edge of the door slid from his grip and it slammed shut with a tangible shaking of the walls surrounding it. The stranger had barely had any time to pull his fingers out of the way when Edward had given the door an unopposable push closed.

"Are you crazy?" the boy demanded in exasperation. Still keeping guard of the door, Edward silently watched as he became angrier. A furious blush worked its way across the boy's face as his frustration increased. "Let me go!"

He pulled again at the doorknob and without even moving, Edward kept the door firmly closed. Bella's boyfriend frowned. "I am not crazy. You must understand—this is very dire."

The boy growled when he found that the door wouldn't even budge under Edward's weight, but then sighed in resignation and rolled his eyes at the ceiling. "What's so dire about it? Italy is a long flight away."

Instead of answering, Edward suddenly stiffened. "Someone's coming," he whispered. The boy's brows furrowed as he peered into the half-opened mouth of his host.

"Dude," he said, "your teeth are sharp."

Edward's mouth snapped shut, hiding his teeth. He spared the boy a short passing glance before his gaze flew elsewhere.

"Alice! Jasper!" The couple jumped at the sound of their names. "Can't you smell it? Get Carlisle!"

Bella leapt to her boyfriend as the two took their leave. "Who's coming?" she asked in a trembling voice. "It's not—it's not the Volturi…is it?"

Edward placed a steady hand on her shoulder. "Bella, love, no. It's not."

"Then who—?"

Their blue eyed guest jumped away from the door when the doorbell suddenly rang. Without waiting, the people standing outside grabbed the doorknob and gave the door a sharp shove. Both Bella and the dark haired boy stared in surprise when the force of the push broke both the lock and one of the hinges. The door swung open to reveal two very wolfish men. The shorter of the two wore a blank expression, but the taller 's face was lined with grief. Both were dirty and rugged.

Bella was the first to react. "Jacob?"

The two men didn't wait to be invited in. Jacob strode forward to her and without a reply, pulled her into a desperate hug. "Bella, it's awful," he whispered, burying his face in her shoulder. Bella gave Edward a surprised glance over Jacob's shoulder.

"Jacob," Edward said in a steely yet relatively calm voice. "What is this about?"

"You should know, dirty bloodsucker!" the man cried, drawing away from Bella. "You read my mind and tell me!"

Edward did not reply, but instead direct Jacob's accusing glare towards their unknown dark haired guest.

"And who the hell is that?" Jacob asked, trying not to appear surprised.

The boy frowned; all his patience had dissipated. "I am Danny," he told them sourly. "I am also leaving."

"I told you I will not allow you to leave," Edward firmly reminded him, moving to obstruct the path between Danny and the broken door. His exasperation grew as he tried to divide his attention between both parties. "Jacob, I suggest you tell us the problem. I am not able to read minds," he added smoothly, just to make sure that Danny wouldn't be suspicious.

Jacob sighed in defeat, his anger subsided. "It's…Collin…," he whispered, his shoulders slumping. Behind him, his friend finally gained a melancholy frown, but aside from that, he remained nothing more than stoic.

Danny couldn't help but notice the way Edward reacted as if he had already heard the news. Bella's boyfriend stiffened and his mouth became a firm line.

"What about him?" Bella pressed, rubbing Jacob's arm affectionately.

"He's…. Oh, God, Bella." The wolfish looking man's voice cracked. "He's dead."

Bella pulled away in horror. "What happened?" she breathed.

"We smelled bloodsuck—" he hesitated, looking cautiously at Danny. "We found your kind on our land...and we attacked when we realized it wasn't—" He stopped again when he could no longer ignore Danny's stare. "Can we talk about this in private?"

"If this has anything to do with last night, you can say it in front of me," Danny said indignantly, crossing his arms. "I'm not allowed to leave Eddy's sight, anyway."

Jacob paused in thought. "You were there last night, weren't you?" he wondered aloud. "You were that kid…. That's why you're here."

Danny frowned. "And you know this…how?"

"I was there," Jacob sniffed. Eyeing the bandages, scars and bruises that marked the dark haired boy, he continued with a half hearted smile, "So, you're still alive, eh?"

Danny was half tempted to make a sarcastic remark along the lines of "no, I'm dead," but he refrained when he considered his situation. Jacob continued his story before Danny got the chance to reply.

"We saw them carrying you," he said, giving a meaningful glance to Danny, who blushed slightly. Jacob sighed shakily and looked to Edward. "Half conscious. Embry attacked first. He hit the Vam—the man carrying the kid. He dropped him and soon we were full-on fighting. That woman, though…hurt the most. She did something to Collin. I could feel his pain through…" He again glanced at Danny, angry because he was having such a hard time watching his wording. "He was in so much pain he couldn't fight anymore. That woman ran at him and, well, you can probably guess the rest."

Bella shook with anger. "That's so terrible…."

"In the end, though," Jacob continued, "we were stronger. They ran away with several scratches of their own. What's weird, though, is that I was sure they had bitten the kid."

Edward frowned. "They did. Carlisle fixed him," he explained. "It's the Volturi, Jacob.""

"I got that, thanks," Jacob growled, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "But what's so special about him," he said, gesturing to Danny, "that warrants a trans-continental trip?"

Edward shook his head. "I really do not know, but I can guess." He looked from his girlfriend to his injured guest. "You know the Volturi has taken interest in Bella…. You could say that the two share the same abilities."

Though for the most part, the conversation was over Danny's head, a spike of adrenaline suddenly washed through him as he became defensive. "What abilities? I don't have any abilities." When no one answered, Danny frowned. "Look, if you don't tell me what's going on, I'm leaving, and you're not stopping me."

Edward glanced suspiciously at the boy, sensing his heartbeat quicken. "Nothing is going on. We're just trying to figure out why this mafia has taken interest in you."

"Who's the leader of this mafia?" Danny asked. No one responded. "Fine. I really don't have time for this anymore; I have to find my friends. See you later."

Edward stiffened, prepared to detain the boy by force, but Danny made no move to exit through the door. Instead, he simply disappeared.

Jacob growled, "What—?" he spun, searching the room, but Danny was really gone. He glared again at Edward and Bella. "I knew there was something weird about that kid!"

"He smells weird," his tribe member added.

Bella stood, rooted to the ground in shock, while Edward's eyes widened. The vampire looked around before running into the kitchen. "I can still smell him!" he growled. "He's still in the house."

Bella, Jacob, and Jacob's friend followed him into the adjoining room. They watched as Edward suddenly took a swipe at thin air next to the back door, but nothing happened. Soon, neither Edward nor the two Quilete members could smell the boy any longer.

A/N: Thanks for reviewing. I really appreciate all your comments and concrit!