Bella didn't need to lean forward and check the speedometer, no doubt resulting in a jolt of pain slicing through her body, to know that Quil was driving like an old lady. Just before they'd left La Push behind them, Jacob had thrown so many rules at them, so many things to say and not do, but he didn't seem to have a problem with Quil driving her truck without a valid driver's license; he'd only seemed concerned that she wasn't going to be driving. She'd forgotten completely that she'd abandoned her truck in La Push, leaving it abandoned as she strode off on some wild goose chase through the woods to find her wolf. It was a wonder that her father hadn't put the vehicle in lock-up, but apparently like his daughter, it had been kept well out of his sight.
It was a risk driving anywhere in such a recognizable vehicle, but they hadn't been left with much choice, especially since she was intent on seeing through with this insane mission. "Don't make any sudden moves." Jake had sagely offered as critical advice, though she couldn't help but think it was inane. If the Cullens were going to kill them when they had the advantage of numbers and maturity, throwing her arm out at a certain speed of knots wasn't going to influence that.
"Do you know where you're going?" Bella asked wearily, keeping the necessary amount of words to a minimum, as each time she opened her mouth to speak a searing pain shot across her cheeks and back into her skull.
"Yeah, Jake made us do a couple patrols out this way while we were in the cabin. It's on the road into town, so hopefully no one will see us." Quil replied, his tone soft and reassuring. Bella didn't really know him well enough to question just how unaffected he seemed by the night they'd endured, but she thought maybe having something to keep his mind occupied was saving him from falling apart. After all, that was how she felt.
"When we get there, you need to stay in the car until I speak to them. You reek of blood, and as crazy as this whole thing is, I'm pretty sure if we have a chance to let them know we're not the local `Leech Meals on Wheels,' it might up our survival potential." Just then, Quil turned on his blinker and peeled off the main road with what felt like practiced ease. The truck began to bounce on the uneven surface of what was little more than a dirt track road and Bella clenched her fingers into fists as she tried not to show how much pain she was enduring with every little jostle.
"Sorry, I'll take it down a notch." Quil said apologetically, and though the truck still swayed from side to side, the rocking motion lessened tremendously.
"You really think the Daddy Leech will be able to fix them?" Quil asked, turning his eyes from the road to look Bella over, hoping for some concrete reassurance.
But all she could manage was a soft shrug. She'd overheard Jacob and the Doctor talk with so little hope that she wasn't naïve to the reality that this was likely their only option, but she still wasn't sure what, if anything, the Cullens could do.
Silence amassed between them as drab daylight lit up the world around them. Bella had spent so much time locked away that it didn't feel right to be a part of the sunshine, especially as they were crawling their way up to what she knew was the home of a family of Vampires. She knew that this would be Quil's first genuine face-to-face encounter with the Cullens, or any vampire really, without Jacob to back him up and the thought stirred some feelings of caution within her. Jacob had ordered Quil not to phase, not to do anything that might look like an attack, but she still wondered at the strength and control of the youngest wolf, the temptation he was being drawn into.
Finally, the tall hedges which had lined the small road faded away and opened up to reveal a beautiful white home. It looked far too modern and light for what she'd pictured in her mind, but then she had to remind herself that the Cullens had never really fit her stereotype of the gothic, coffin dwelling Vampires in her literary mind.
"Remember what we agreed: you stay in the truck until I say otherwise. They don't know we're coming and so I need you to just sit it out here until I can figure out if it's safe for you." Quil tried to push some of the authority he'd heard from Jacob into his voice, but she could tell that he was a little unsure of himself passing down orders, especially as this had been her hair-brained plan to begin with.
Nodding her head, she watched as he slid gracefully out of the truck and made his way to the oversized front door. His walk carried a smooth confidence and Bella was so enraptured in his gait that she didn't notice the front door opening before he'd had time to officially announce their arrival.
Finally noticing the ochre eyes that we're pointed her way, Bella shuffled uncomfortably in her seat. There was nothing specific that she'd expected exactly, but the line of sparkling Cullens standing like rapturous statues in front of their property wasn't it. It was clear that Quil was speaking, as his hands were gesturing wildly, completely ignoring Jacob's golden rule of not making any sudden moves, but no one seemed to be responding, the wall of Vampires simply stared, their eyes unblinking.
It was only a few minutes later when Quil began walking back to her, his head turned slightly to keep a vigilant eye on the threat behind him.
"Apparently they heard us coming all the way from when we turned off the main road. They know you're injured too, Bells, but they told me it won't be an issue." Quil's voice was tense, but one look at him told Bella that he was on high alert. His eyes were darting around the property, and though he was standing over her in the passenger doorway, she could feel the tension pouring from his stiff frame.
"Thanks for doing this." Bella said, her voice slightly mumbled as she tried to keep her fragile facial movements as slight as possible.
"You don't need to thank me; you just need to convince the Doc that we haven't wasted our time coming here."
They didn't say another word and after a few seconds of fraught silence, Bella watched Quil come to grips with the reality of what they were about to do. She knew if it came to it they were vastly outnumbered, and it seemed as Quil gripped firmly on the doorframe that he was making peace with walking her into the enemy's lair. Finally, he moved back from the doorway and held out his arm, which Bella took, grateful for the support.
"You okay?" He asked as her feet hit the floor and she hissed almost inaudibly at the new layer of pain. Sue had told her that it was too soon for her to be off on lifesaving missions, but Bella couldn't agree, not when it was the life of her wolf at stake.
Their progress across the graveled front yard was slow, but the Cullens didn't seem to mind as they remained stoically still. Dr. Cullen seemed the most intent on her slow progress though, his professional eyes tracing Bella's body up and down, silently assessing her injuries.
"Miss Swan, I believe, I'm Carlisle Cullen, I understand you wished to see me." He greeted her pleasantly when they were within touching distance.
Bella looked up almost expecting his arm to be outstretched, but apparently that was simply a step too far in inter-supernatural species good relations.
"Doctor Cullen. I'm sorry we just showed up like this without warning, but I think we need to talk about something important." Bella was amazed that her voice hadn't betrayed the fear that she felt trickle like ice over her skin, but she did keep her hand gripped tightly to Quil's arm as she tried not to obviously sway, the pressure of standing coming at a dizzying cost.
"Perhaps we should go inside then. I don't expect your injuries to be a problem, after all, as you know my children are enrolled in high school and I'm sure you can appreciate that blood is nothing new for them. However, I would ask you to please not be offended if anybody needs to leave. As I told your friend here, we weren't expecting you and therefore haven't taken our usual precautions."
Bella hadn't really afforded herself the chance to look in the mirror, but she felt like her body had been torn apart, so his warning was hardly surprising.
One by one the Cullens slipped back gracefully into the interior of their home, with Carlisle taking up the rear. Bella and Quil followed his lithe movements into the main body of the house, the open influx of sunshine and light décor once again reminding her that she needed to abandon her pre-conceived assumptions.
"Please take a seat." Doctor Cullen indicated a small white leather sofa sitting a small distance from the other seats in the room, and while Bella sat, Quil remained standing over her shoulder, clearly taking his responsibility as her protector very seriously.
Bella wasn't sure exactly where to start, and even though she desperately wanted to just get down on her knees and beg for their help, she knew that would never come without understanding just why she was there at all.
"Last night, or at least I think it was last night…" Bella looked up to Quil for confirmation, and with a succinct nod she continued, not missing Alice as she rose from the seat she'd been occupying, stopping just before the doorway, holding herself flush against the wall. "Last night Edward bit two of the pack and now they're dying." From the way his body had inclined forward slightly, Bella knew the patriarchal vampire wanted to interrupt her, but she simply held up her hand, hoping he would respect her need to get the whole story out first.
"I don't know how much you know about where his mind was, but I've known for a while now that Edward thought we belonged together. He told me that Alice had had some sort of vision where she saw us together in the future, and for whatever reason, he seemed to believe that was enough to lay some claim on me."
Pausing to twist her body into a more comfortable position, Bella raised her eyes to find a silent conversation taking place between the Alice and Carlisle, their mouths moving but the level of their conversation too low for her to catch. She waited for them to finish and then directed her question to the Doctor. "Do you know what imprinting is?" She asked and though she couldn't see him, she could feel Quil rile up behind her. He wasn't pleased with her revealing the intimate secrets of the pack, but she knew it was a necessity, so when the Doctor confirmed his ignorance she continued.
"Jacob told me it's a rarity, but every once in a while when the wolf and the man are not at peace, they are gifted an imprint. I guess you could say they are the person best suited to balance them out."
Doctor Cullen nodded to confirm that he was following thus far and so Bella pressed on. "I'm an imprint, Paul's to be specific. I don't know how to explain it to you, but I guess you could say that we belong to one another, something which unfortunately negates whatever it was you saw, Alice." Bella didn't actually think it was unfortunate at all, especially considering the behavior she'd seen firsthand from Edward, but she was sensitive to their loss.
"I'm not sure how exactly it came about, but Edward and Sam forged some sort of weird friendship and I think his obsession with the idea that we would be together led him to do some things which I don't think were in his nature. Sam lost his imprint over the summer and I think when she died, his soul went with her. Since then he's sort of been terrorizing the pack, looking for some sort of eye-for-an-eye retribution and it seems he took Edward along for the ride."
Taking a deep breath, Bella forced herself to hold Dr. Cullen's gaze. "I know you probably don't want to hear this, but he told me that he watched Jared hang himself and did nothing to help; he assaulted Leah when he tried to rescue me, even though I told him I didn't need rescuing; and last night he did some things, which I hope you agree aren't in line with the Treaty you held with the pack."
At this point Carlisle Cullen took to his feet and moved to Alice's side, whispered something in her ear and then turned back to Bella and Quil.
"I'm sorry for any inappropriate behavior my son may have inflicted upon you, but if you could be so kind as to tell me what it is you want, as Alice has seen some quite unsettling things today and I'm sure you can understand our impatience."
Bella couldn't help but be impressed with the elder Vampire's grace, and though she didn't want to say the words, she knew it was fruitless to hold back any longer.
"Like I said before, Sam went on a rampage last night and I think Edward thought he might be rewarded with my love and my safety for his involvement. However, Sam was crazy, hell bent on this crazy trip for vengeance. Edward tried to protect me, but in doing so, he got himself killed. I didn't see what happened as Sam had pretty much knocked me out at the time, but when I woke up Sam told me he'd torn him apart." Bella stopped, guilt bubbling as she replayed her words and knew she should have been more delicate, more tactful, more…something.
"It's true then." Alice whispered out, her body so still that when Bella raised her eyes, she wondered whether the words had been spoken at all.
Carlisle turned his back to Bella and Quil, his hand reaching out to touch Alice's forearm with a gentle pressure. She couldn't hear what he said, but as Alice's shoulders began to shake with silent sobs, she tore her eyes away. There was no influx of grief, no loud sobbing or shouts of denial like she'd expected, and it unsettled her greatly.
She didn't hear Alice leave, but when she raised her eyes again it was to see the younger blonde male follow her through the doorway. Carlisle was still turned away, his shoulders rising and falling in a controlled rhythm. "Edward hasn't been himself lately and we knew that he was taking Alice's vision a little too literally, but he promised me that he had it under control. Still, that isn't the only reason you came, is it?" He asked quietly, and though Bella didn't want to acknowledge it, she heard the crack in his lilting words.
"No it isn't. Like I said, before Sam killed him, Edward bit two of the pack and either he or Sam took pleasure in tearing them apart once they were weak enough not to fight back. The doctor on the rez says they're going to die. We… well, I, thought that maybe you could help us. That maybe you knew a way to fix what the venom is doing." Bella's words were rushed and she visibly sagged when she was through, her cards were now laid out for all to see.
"There's nothing I can do, medically at least. Our venom is poisonous to both shapeshifters and humans alike. The only difference being the end result." The logical conversation seemed to bring some normality to his voice, but when he turned back to face them again, the grief on his handsome face was enough to bring tears to her eyes.
"I'm sorry, I know what I've just told you is terrible, but I know the Edward you knew wouldn't want those deaths on his hands." Bella truly believed every word she spoke, but she didn't understand that it was too soon, and her words felt too close to emotional blackmail even for the peaceful Doctor.
"Don't think for a second you understand anything my son did or didn't want." Carlisle said icily and Bella couldn't find a single piece of the gentleman who'd been before her through their visit.
"I'm sorry… I didn't mean…" The apology was ready on her lips, but she wasn't given the chance to continue when a soft, melodic voice interrupted her.
"Dear, why don't you go to Alice? I think she needs you right now." The woman who rose from one of the seats was beautiful in a motherly sort of way and Bella felt the fear that had begun to prickle on her skin subside.
As soon as Doctor Cullen had left the room, she sat in the spot he'd occupied not so long ago.
"I'm sorry, Alice already saw that Edward was missing from our future, but I think everyone held out hope that it was just a glitch. Apparently she couldn't see him when he was around the pack, so we all just hoped he was going to be welcomed within you on a more permanent basis. I'm sorry for the way he treated you, Bella, all of you. Edward was just so desperate to be in love. It isn't an excuse, but I hope in time you might come to forgive him."
Bella wasn't sure exactly who they were talking to, but she did appreciate the warmth that seemed to flood over her skin, coating her in the protection of a matriarchal love.
"Unfortunately what Carlisle told you was true; there is nothing medically to be done. But when we last visited, I found the pack to be so interesting that I did a little personal research and I wonder…" She stopped and looked over her shoulder, responding to a noise Bella hadn't heard.
"Yes, I think perhaps it might be of some help to you… I recall the Alpha telling us that the pack and the wolves were strengthened with numbers; perhaps that might help. I believe your kind heals at an unnatural speed, but maybe if the pack as a whole is strengthened it might do something to help the individual fight the venom."
Bella wasn't quite sure how this was going to be useful, but the woman in front of them had the smallest of smiles on her lips.
"Maybe we might not be able to help with medicine, but if you do decide this is something you would like to try then please, I for one would like to right what wrongs my son may have inflicted on your people."
The woman stood and held out her hand, not moving a step closer. Misunderstanding her intent, Bella rose to her feet, only to find Quil already standing in front of her.
"Thank you…" Quil said, unsure of who he should be thanking.
"Esme." She answered and when Quil moved again, Bella was a little surprised to find her already gone, only the two other Cullens in the room who'd sat silently throughout their whole discussion were left, looking on with stoic, unreadable expressions.
They quietly exited the opulent home, and only when they were half way to La Push, did either speak again.
"That was weird. I mean, I know they said they knew already, but don't you think they took it just a little too well? And I really don't understand what she meant." Bella admitted, having turned over the offer in her mind again and again to find no resolution.
Quil didn't take his eyes from the road as he spoke, "The Cullens being around is what triggered whatever it is that makes us phase. She's saying that if the pack was bigger, then Embry and Paul might have more strength to fight against the venom. As for their reaction, they are dead, Bells; it was pretty much how I'd imagined they would be."
Bella played his words over and over about the Cullens triggering the phase, trying to push aside the logistics and simply embrace the unnatural world she was now existing in.
"So we just make the pack bigger?" She asked and he nodded, still not turning to face her way.
"Great, so we'll do that then." She concluded, the disappointment she'd felt to be returning empty handed fading away with hope in sight.
"Maybe, but I doubt Jake'll go for it. He didn't like going wolf against his will, and I doubt he'll willingly subject others to that, so…. I don't want to be the one to say it, but you might want to prepare yourself that he's going to say no."
Bella felt her whole morale ebb away as the hope that had blossomed seemed to curl up and recede in her mind.
a/n: A big thank you to my wonderful beta Twiticulate... thanks for your insight on this one hun!