Surprise, surprise!
The party went on without much of anything else to happen except right after the couple left for their honeymoon and the humans were gone.
"What!" Edward roared, causing everyone in the tent to snap their attention to him. Using his vampire speed, he slammed into me. I flew back, crashing into an ice sculpture of Ness, sending chunks of ice flying everywhere.
"Edward, what are you doing?!" Bella shrieked, possibly too stunned to even move to my rescue.
"Don't be stupid," I snarled.
Before I could stand, the mind reader raced to me, pinning me down with his body. My instincts screamed at me to phase, but I refused as best I could. He wrapped his stone cold hands around my throat, cutting off my air supply and draining my will, forcing my phase. There was a loud screech as my body exploded and shredded my clothing, my maid of honor dress left as a memory.
"No!" someone wailed, but my wolf mind was focused on one thing: killing my attacker.
My phase startled the leech, which was good. I pushed him off with my hind legs, sending him straight into the hold of his 'brother', Emmet 'the Bear' Cullen.
"Let me go!" the telepathic bloodsucker snapped, narrowing his dark gold eyes at me. I bared my canines, crouching down low and growling as I did so. Tensing my muscles, I prepared to launch myself at him, until I caught movement out of the corner of my eye.
"Edward, man, what the hell are you doing?" my brother demanded. "What did my sister do?" Seth's voice freed me of my murderous state of mind, shocking me back into complete sanity.
'Tell them to get me clothing,' I said, directing my thought to the mind reader.
"Clothes," he gritted out. A breath later and Alice stood next to me, holding out a pair of basketball shorts and a sports bra. I took them between my teeth and ran out of the tent full speed. Once I felt the moist floor of the forest under my paws, I slowed into an easy gait, making my way towards my usual 'dressing room'. It was difficult but after a few moments, I was able to phase back to my two-legged form.
For a moment it felt like the first phase again; my skin felt ultra sensitive, tingling with each beat of my heart and brush of the wind as the heat that once consumed me eased. I became lost in the sensation, my mind hurtling back in time to the moment when I first realized I was the bitch everyone said I was…
My parents sat in our small dining room, steaming tea set before them on the table, untouched. I was just going to pass by until I heard a snippet of their conversation.
"Harry, please, see reason here!" my mom begged. My mom, Sue Clearwater, never cried but in that moment, her soft brown eyes were bright with tears. I held back a gasp that threatened to escape me.
"Sue, you don't understand," Harry Clearwater, my dad and tribal elder, answered indifferently. My heart squeezed painfully as my mom's tears began to fall, slowly working down her cheeks, to her chin and down to the tile floor.
"Then maybe you should help me understand! That's all a part of marriage! We talk to each other in order to help understand!" she said, growing louder and louder by the second, her tears flowing faster. Anger began to swell inside of me, warming me even further. I growled in aggravation, didn't my body understand I was already burning up with a stupid fever?
"I love you, Sue, you know that. You also know that I love Seth and Leah, but this is something I can't share, something I can't explain to any of you." He turned his gaze from her only to find me standing in the hallway, obviously eavesdropping. When our eyes met, I couldn't recognize the man that raised me. Sure, he had the same wrinkles around his eyes, the same graying hair, and the same scar under his lower lip; but his eyes were cold and bitter like I'd never seen before. My dad's eyes for as long as I could ever remember held passion for life and a never-ending capacity for love.
"What's going on?" I asked irately. A flicker of life flashed in his eyes before looking away from me.
"Tell her," my mother demanded cynically. "Tell our only daughter, our baby girl, exactly what you told me."
"Sue…"
"Tell me what?" My temperature went up a notch as a knot formed on my stomach. My mom shot daggers at him until he finally met my gaze again. My breath caught at the conflicting emotions I saw in his eyes, which seemed to have aged hundreds of years in mere seconds.
"The council is funding a… a project in a few weeks." The moment he faltered, my temperature commenced climbing at a steady pace once more. I could smell the hint of deceit on his breath, not knowing exactly how I knew what it smelled like either way.
"Define this 'project'," I demanded, a growl escaping with my words.
"Leah," he answered warily. "Calm down, you have a fever and this couldn't be helping. Why don't we talk when you're feeling better?"
The room began to spin as red tinted my vision, tilting my world off its axis. I had to grip the countertop in order to stay upright. I knew my fever wasn't to blame, the heat of my fury made that clear.
"Spit it out." I angrily grit out the words, my voice like gravel in a food processor, rough with rage.
Sighing loudly he opened his mouth to reply just as Seth wandered into the room. My brother took a quick glance around the room, taking in the tension filling the air. He instantly went to my mom's side, kneeling down beside her and wrapping an arm around her. She reached out and pat his cheek softly, her tears slowing as he kissed her temple. Irrational jealousy pooled in my stomach, raging along with my fury.
"Dad, Seth's here now, so go ahead. Spit. It. Out." My breathing became shallow, my field of vision narrowing as I waited for my dad, with bated breath, to tell me what my gut was failing to brace me for.
"Leah, the Council is paying for… for Sam and Emily's wedding."
Four things happened after those words were out:
One, the world fell from under me and I momentarily fainted for the first time in my life;
Two, before I blacked out I heard a loud inhuman snarl and saw a flash of sandy colored hair;
Three, once I became conscious again, I phased for the first time in my life in order to tackle Seth, who was in wolf form, away from my dad;
And finally four, my dad suffered a fatal heart attack that sent him straight to the hospital where he took his final breaths…
"Leah?" Alice called out, snapping me out of my reverie.
"Over here," I answered in a broken voice.
Half a breath later Alice stood before me, her golden eyes wide with shock. Slowly, she reached forward and cupped my cheek in her hand, running her thumb across my skin and wiping my tears away. I hadn't realized I was crying up until then. Humiliation filled me as I pulled away from her touch, swiping at my stupid tears.
"What's wrong? You've been… acting up lately."
I closed my eyes, blocking the image of her worried eyes, of my father's gentle gaze, of Seth's guilt ridden look. Centering all my concentration on dressing myself, I let go of thoughts about my dad, about my anger and about the fact that Alice had seen me naked yet again.
"I'm ok," I finally said, fully clothed and in control of myself. "Even though I would prefer not to have gone commando," I added wryly.
"Why the hell did Edward attack you like that?" she demanded, ignoring my failed attempt at humor. I opened my eyes to find the little vampire staring at me through narrowed eyes.
"Lets go back to the tent," was all I said before darting away.
I maneuvered my human body through the forest trees with ease and grace, my bare feet moving quickly over the ground, barely grazing it. I let the exhilaration of the run fuel me, let it strengthen me for the ugly scene I was sure awaited me.
God, give me strength, I thought to myself as I approached the tent once more. Alice was right beside me, giving me one last quizzical look before walking inside. Sorry, Ness, didn't mean to rat you out like this.
It's ok, my mind whispered back to me in her voice. I whipped my head back and forth, looking around me before gazing up at the night sky, a small chill rolling down my back, raising goose bumps all over.
Ness…? No reply. Shaking the strange feeling of being watched away, I took a deep breath, flexed my toes and hands then went to face a family of curious and sensitive vampires and wolves.
"About fucking time, Clearwater, start talking, now." I glared at Edward, baring my all too human teeth at him. He let out a humorless laugh.
"Mind molester, you shouldn't be so angry. It was bound to happen sooner or later." He pulled back his upper lip, letting loose a feral snarl.
"Will someone tell me WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" Alice shrieked.
Bella stepped forward, taking Edward's hand in hers, as well as Alice's. I never wanted to see Alice's mate, Jasper Hale, more than in that moment. He could have wrangled in their emotions easily.
"Well, he isn't here, so start talking, Leah," Edward snapped, emphasizing my name with venom.
"Look, I didn't know before just a few hours ago, ok?" I met his gaze steadily. "I was the one to find out first actually. They didn't know, well, Ness didn't, so I imagine Jake didn't either." I replayed the scene in my head, expertly editing some of the material with ease after so much practice with the pack, cutting out my strange bond from the flowing images. I watched as the mind molester's face contorted with different reactions as the images and sounds passed, finally pleased when rueful guilt settled into his features.
"I'm sorry and thank you for not hurting Nessie," he mumbled, looking away from me and down at his shoes.
"Surprise, surprise, in many cases I suppose, above all to the fact that you're not only apologizing but also thanking me."
"You both know I hate being in the dark! Tell me what you two are talking about. Right. Now!" Alice roared. Edward shrugged, pulling Bella into his arms, prepared to comfort her when she heard the news.
"Well you see… Renesmee… Nessie… Ness… she's… she's pregnant." The moment the word 'pregnant' left my lips, Alice's eyes rolled back and her body began to convulse.
The Cullens sprang to action; Edward releasing Bella in order to clasp Alice's hand tight, guiding her body to sit on one of many foldout chairs, coaxing her to dig deeper into the vision; Bella disappearing temporarily, only to return with a sketchbook and pencils; Rosalie on the phone with Jasper while the rest of the coven attempted to keep the other super-naturals calm, reassuring them everything was fine.
I stood there, my eyes solely focused on Alice, her quivering lips, furrowed brow, troubled and confused eyes that were focused on another world still to come.
"NO!" she screamed piercingly. Wincing, I kept my gaze locked on her, taking in the way she seemed to be in the half way zone now, not fully with us, not fully in her vision. "Don't go, please," she then whispered pleadingly, her topaz eyes wide and beseeching. "Please, come back… Leah."
Suddenly, Alice came back all the way, her gaze met mine and she was gone again, but this time, I followed, floating toward pitch black nothingness, leaving behind my world, for Alice's.
Edward's POV
Fear, not like any other, took hold of me as I remained latched onto my sister's hand, gripping it firmly, looking down at her and begging that she pull out of her vision. Earlier revelations completely forgotten, I needed to get Alice back, this vision was different, I could feel it.
Unlike Alice, I could remain wholly in control of myself while seeing what she did, fully aware of my physical and mental state. What happened with her was more; her visions could consume her, leaving her body an empty shell while her mind travelled far, far away.
I drew away from her mind, unable to follow the images that impaled her psyche, futilely attempting to coax her back to the present. It was too much, even for a vampire to handle.
"NO!" she wailed, unnerving me further. "Don't go, please, please, come back… Leah." I felt my eyes go wide as I whipped my head around to gape at Leah, whose gaze was trained on Alice. For a moment, the she-wolf's eyes widened, confusion and shock evident in her dark irises. I sent her a silent apology as I reached forward with my ability, focusing on her thoughts only to hit a wall.
I cast my wife an annoyed glance. "Don't shield her from me now, Bella," I rumbled.
"I haven't done anything, Edward," she replied, eyeing Leah worryingly. Narrowing her eyes for a fraction of a second before they widened once more, my wife gasped. "Wait, Leah, are you breathing?" Panic filled my Bella's voice as she rushed forward, stopping just short of placing a hand on the she-wolf.
"What the fuck is going on?" I asked aloud, my voice carrying a hint of awe as well as concern. Steeling myself, I reached for Alice's mind once more, only to be denied access like with Leah. I stood helplessly before my petite, fairy-like sister, hand holding hers as she remained out of my reach.
"Leah…?" my wife murmured as she cautiously reached forward to touch the woman's cheek.
In response, the she-wolf fell to her knees and crawled to Alice, wrapping her arms around my sister's slim waist, looking up with glazed brown eyes at her.
Alice's body reacted, pulling her hand out of my grasp; she began to gently stroke Leah's hair.
"Lee?" That was Seth. "Edward, what in the hell is going on?" I felt the unnatural heat of the wolf as he took residence behind me.
"I'm not entirely sure, but… I believe that Alice somehow managed to pull your sister into her vision, just like herself and... I can't hear … or see… any of their thoughts." Incoherent ramblings escaped both the vision captives, as they clung to each other.
"What does that even mean, Edward?" I felt his thoughts laden with worry, with panic as anger slowly began to build inside him. "Edward!" he snapped. I tore my gaze from the two, turning to look steadily at Seth. Tears began to pool in the corners of the young werewolf's dark eyes. Behind him stood Sam, Emily and the rest of the pack, each of their minds consumed with unease.
"It means that our sisters are trapped in a future that feels as real to them, as this," I said, spreading my arms wide, "feels to us." There was a collective gasp, from werewolves and vampires alike all throughout the tent.
"Can sh- can they, get hurt?" His voice wavered.
Every mind was centered on me then, no breaths were drawn and no sounds were made. Running a hand through my hair, I looked down, avoiding all the penetrating stares.
"Answer me," Seth demanded in a low voice, gripping my shoulders.
Sighing, I lifted my face, meeting Seth's gaze squarely.
"Yes, I believe so."
Alrighty then, my next chapter will take a while to turn up, school is quickly approaching and I need to deal with real life drama -bleh-. Anyway, I really appreciate anyone taking their time to read my writing. Reviews of any kind are totes appreciated as well!
Oh and I might go back to the other chapters, tweaking things and adding stuff, but not sure if I will yet. Anyway, have an awesome night, or morning or afternoon whenever you are! lol