"Ok these memories are not as rough but they are significant." Thomas said after Artorius gave him back the other memories and took new ones. "But for what happened in between them, let me clarify a few things. Bella did not become a vampire then though she did consider it. Edward tried to tell her that he was no good for her," He paused to roll his eyes in exasperation along with Alice and Jasper. "But she is a very stubborn individual." He smirked. "And she convinced him that he shouldn't leave."
He paused to close his eyes before he continued.
"Edward never wanted her to be a vampire, despite her insistence to be one," He said. "He's never…reconciled with the fact that he needs to kill to survive. He considers himself a monster; something that was undeserving of her love." He rolled his eyes again. "But she wouldn't give up on him and wouldn't stop loving him." He smiled slightly.
"Their relationship was a bit bumpy in the beginning without crazed vampires like James in the picture. I don't know how it is with the vampires that gravitate towards magical communities but there is a phenomenon that I have seen called La Tua Cantante."
"Your singer?" Blaise asked in confusion and Thomas nodded.
"Or singer." He said. "Basically it's a human whose scent is more personalized for an individual vampire. Their blood literally calls to them; it's like their own personal drug designed to give the vampire a high like they never imagined. It's not a very common and apparently it is something to be savored."
"It is," Tanya murmured in agreement. "I encountered my singer a few years after my change. He was a young man; barely in his twenties. He was very handsome," Thomas made a face at her but she ignored him. "But his youth and good looks did not stop me from killing him. His blood was delicious; more so than any I had ever tasted." Despite her words, Tanya's tone was not wistful. When she did feed on humans, she did not relish in killing them but she knew it was needed for her survival. That didn't mean that she liked it. "The singers call is very difficult to ignore and anyone would be hard pressed to find the strength to do so."
The other vampires in the room talked about their lack of experience as they hadn't met their singers. Jasper and Alice came close when Bella was human. Jasper more so but that was mainly because he could feel Edward's need to have her blood and everyone else's need to drink spike slightly when she was around.
"So what does this have to do with Bella and Edward?" Tracey asked Thomas who cocked his head to the side.
"Can't you guess?" He asked back and she frowned.
"She was his singer?" Tracey frowned even more when Thomas nodded. "But how-"
"Was he able to be around her without killing her?" Thomas finished. At Tracey's nod he continued, "A strong will and a strong urge to not let Carlisle down. Carlisle is one of the most understanding and compassionate men I have ever met in my life," He added when people blinked at him in confusion. "He's very patient and he's someone you would hate to disappoint. He doesn't the play the guilt card or anything but there is just something about him that makes you want to not make him disappointed in you.
"He's only 23 years old physically, he's a few hundred years in actuality but he has this presence about him. His wisdom and patience seem to be endless and it's very difficult to be angry at him. My cousin – or our cousin I suppose- Jacob said that he always felt that Carlisle was sort of sacred…or something." He shrugged then continued. "But it was hard for Edward to ignore the call; especially since they were sitting right next to each other."
"Again," Tracey drawled. "How?"
"Again," Thomas drawled back with a playful smirk. "A strong will and a strong urge to not disappoint his father. Edward did ignore it and he went to Alaska to calm down for a bit." He went on but turned to his wife and raised an eyebrow because he wasn't aware of what actually happened when Edward paid a visit to Denali.
"He stayed with us for a few days," Tanya murmured and shifted slightly in her mate's lap. "He never fully explained what happened but I did sort of tease him about being scared off by a woman." She hesitated. "I did convince him to go back after awhile…and after a shameful amount of flirting." She said that last part quietly and through unmoving lips but those with very good ears heard her. Kate snorted a little and gave Tanya a look.
"Only a shameful amount of flirting?" Kate repeated loudly, much to the confusion of many. "I thought it was the appropriate amount for you." Tanya growled loudly at Kate in warning. "What? It's true!" Kate insisted and Tanya growled even louder while Thomas just shook his head.
"I'm not mad babe calm down," He told her and Tanya looked at him with narrowed eyes, not really believing him when he said that he wasn't mad. "I'm not, I promise. Edward sort of told me that you used to hit on him but that was when you were both unmated so it doesn't matter. I would advise not mentioning any other people you have encountered though. I may drag poor Demetri away from my cousin and demand that he point me in the direction of said person." Thomas said that with a bright smile though he was partially serious. Tanya smiled softly throughout his explanation but she did roll her eyes at the end.
"Likewise," Embry and Garrett grunted in unison and their mates gave them amused glances.
"I was a very promiscuous person," Tanya explained to those who were frowning in confusion. "After…" She paused after a massive amount of sadness hit her but she pushed it down and continued. "After my mother was killed I did things…sexual things to try and ease the pain."
"We all did," Irina declared as she gestured to Kate who nodded as well as herself. "And we did it to fuck the pain away as the youth of the today would say. My apologies for my foul language." She added but her apology was waved off as no one was really offended.
"It was the easiest thing we could think of," Kate murmured. "That it was the only way to deal with the pain without really dealing with it." She shrugged her shoulders slightly. "We were human drinkers at the time so some of our…lovers," Thomas, Embry, and Garrett growled at the word and she rolled her eyes but didn't comment on it. "Some of our lovers did not survive the encounters. In fact, we thought it was because of this that the Succubus legend was born though apparently we were very wrong." Her eyes drifted over to Bertram who grinned back at her.
"I explained to them that Succubi do exists and that the legend came out because an incubus and a succubus had a competition to see who could get the most partners in an hour." He said jovially. "The succubus in this event let it slip when one of her targets asked if she was an angel. Her…happy ending was nearing and she shouted it out. "He smirked. "The walls were pretty thin back then so the whole neighborhood heard her. When they found the guy's body the next morning along with several others, word quickly spread about what happened and the 'legend'." He brought his hands up to put air quotes around the word. "Of the succubus was born."
"Can't tell you how the story of the incubus spread," He added. "They remain very tight lipped about it. We had an incubus come in for a job interview." Bertram explained when people looked at him questioningly. The looks then turned incredulous. "I know!" He crowed. "That's how I felt when he came in. I didn't know what he was at first, and I don't have a problem with magical creatures but I couldn't hire him. He was a young incubus; barely in control of his powers. He made several people have…orgasms as he entered the room and almost killed our secretary. She wasn't really complaining though, she said that was the best orgasm she had and all he did was kiss her." He snickered before a thought occurred to him. "Am I the only who feels slightly inadequate due to that fact?" He asked the men in the room who just shrugged.
"Not really." They murmured in unison with smirks on their faces. Bertram gave them all an irritated glare and huffed, causing his girlfriend to giggle.
"Assholes," He hissed under his breath. Several people heard him and smirked even more. He whinnied angrily at them and stomped his right foot which caused several people to laugh. "Shut up!" He shouted over the laughter. "Get on with the story you mangy mutt!" He snapped at Thomas who laughed even more but nodded his head.
"Mustang makes a strong point," He murmured. "We have strayed from the original plot." He chuckled before he composed himself. "Anyway, Edward and Bella got through all of that but there was one event that almost destroyed them." Thomas paused and glanced at Jasper and felt regretful about sharing this next piece of information. Jasper gave him an almost non existent smile and sent him a wave of encouragement.
"As I said before; Edward is a mind reader but he could never read Bella's thoughts," Thomas began, thinking that this should have been brought up before but he continued anyway," She's a mental shield; that means she can block people from getting into her head. Edward was a little frustrated," Jasper snorted slightly, he thought Thomas was putting it mildly. "He can't turn his gift off so he's grown accustomed to hearing many people's thoughts," He paused and frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe that's why he was so moody before he met Bella; hearing that many voices couldn't have been good for his mental health." He stated seriously but he ruined the effect by grinning a little. Those who knew Edward roared with laughter at his comment. The loudest were Jasper and Alice.
"But despite Edward's frustration," Thomas said after the laughter died down. "He felt an odd sense of glee because he could get to know Bella the old fashioned way; by talking to her, and by experiencing things as normally as possible. Like her eighteenth birthday for example." He sighed heavily before he continued, "Bella's never been one to celebrate her birthday and she doesn't like gifts. But despite all that; she went to a small party that the Cullen's held at their place." He paused to take a breath that he really didn't need and reluctantly continued. "There was a…accident which became even worse in a span of a few seconds. Bella cut her finger on one of her birthday cards and-"
"Everyone felt their thirst spike slightly," Jasper added, deciding to take over the storytelling for the time being. Thomas gave him a look of warning which Jasper ignored along with the look that Alice was giving him. "Edward especially but he got himself under control. Despite having already hunted prior to the party my control, which was very short to begin with when I started to feed on animals…slipped and I…tried to attack Bella."
"The key word in that sentence being tried." Thomas scowled at Jasper along with Alice. "You didn't and it was not your fault that you lost control; technically it was a group effort." When Jasper opened his mouth to protest, Thomas snarled at him. "Don't you dare!" He roared at his friend who flinched internally at the sound and the glare Alice was giving him. "You know as well as I do that the only person who should hold anything against you is Bella. No one and I mean no one other than her should hold anything against you."
Thomas had thrown that out because he noticed the slightly hostile and fearful looks that some people were sending Jasper. He understood that they didn't know Jasper very well but he felt that they had no right to look at him like that. He hoped he was subtle about that but he doubted that the Slytherins would be impressed with what he said. "And guess what Major; she doesn't." He continued berating his friend. "You know damn well that when Edward tried to save her from you he made her paper cut look tame. And you also know that what he did after that has left scars that are probably still trying to heal." Thomas whispered and Alice and Jasper flinched slightly but only a few people noticed. He sighed tiredly before turning back to the group.
"Look what happened was nothing more than an accident," Thomas said. "Bella ended up getting stitches; mainly because when Edward pushed her out of the way she ended up crashing into a glass table." He paused and shook his head in irritation. "Because of this incident; Edward thought that it would be best if he broke things off with Bella before leaving Forks altogether."
"And he persuaded us to do the same." Jasper added with a shake of his head. "I honestly thought it was the best because I didn't think Bella wanted to be around us anymore. I wouldn't have blamed her in the slightest had that been the case."
"It wasn't the case?" Harry asked. He was still eyeing Jasper warily but he didn't comment on his feelings at this point. Truth be told he wasn't sure about how to feel right now. On one hand, he couldn't really be mad at Jasper because it was an accident. On the other hand, that slip up could have been deadly and there was a good chance that it could happen again with someone in the room.
"No," Jasper shook his head. "Edward… lied to her. And he lied to us. I was angry with myself that I didn't bother to check to see if he was telling the truth."
"I couldn't see Bella's future," Alice added sadly. "I didn't know how Bella felt but I didn't want to risk upsetting her so I left her alone. Edward-"She shook her head in disgust. "No I'm not going to blame him for that because I shouldn't have listened to him. I should have stayed behind."
"Then why didn't you?" Daphne demanded harshly. She didn't understand why they just left and if Alice claimed tht Bella was her friend then she should have helped her through that rough time. "Why leave at all?" She continued. The others in her group were wondering the same thing and they felt less than pleased so far with the couple they were looking at.
A muscle in Thomas' jaw twitched at Daphne's tone and the looks that his friends were getting but he said nothing. It would not do for him to blow up on one of them especially Daphne as she was now his cousin even if it was by marriage though had it been anyone else he probably would have. Besides, Jasper and Alice were grown ups and could handle themselves without Thomas having to hold their hands. He was actually glad that the kids left because Tristan and Erik would not have taken what Daphne said very well and all hell could have broken loose if they ever noticed the looks.
We already know daddy. Tristan growled in his fathers head. Thomas could hear the other kids growling as well through the link and he could feel their anger as well.
Let them deal with it kids. Thomas told them. They are old enough to defend themselves but I will offer my support to them if it gets heated or out of hand so please stay calm.
The kids grumbled but the left Thomas' mind feeling reassured and Thomas turned back to the conversation.
"I didn't want Jasper to mope around and," Alice hesitated. "I was afraid of what would happen if I were to talk to Bella. If my presence would upset her or if…she didn't want me around." She shook her head. "I didn't believe what Edward said but I've known him long enough to know that he is a very stubborn person and when he's upset his stubbornness is more pronounced." She let out an exasperated sigh. "I figure giving them both space would be enough but-" She stopped and shook her head again. "Edward departed from our company and stayed away. Bella never contacted me or anyone and I never saw us together-"
"Wait," Thomas interrupted her. He had an odd look on his face that the others couldn't describe. "Are you absolutely sure that Bella never contacted you?" He asked Alice who frowned at him.
"Of course she didn't." Alice said sounding slightly offended at the way Thomas worded that question. "I would've gotten an e-mail at the very least because I got a new phone when I broke my other one by throwing it at Rosalie." She was suddenly filled with dread when she saw her friends' expression change and looked into the future. Her mood didn't improve when she saw why he asked her that question. "She did contact me didn't she?" She asked despite already knowing the answer.
"She did." Thomas confirmed. "She wrote to you many times but judging from your look, you never got any of her messages." Alice shook her head no.
"Not a single one," Alice murmured with a large frown on her face. "But I don't understand why I didn't." She added.
"I have an idea but we'll talk about later." Thomas told her. "Please continue with what you were saying." The thought that was forming in his mind made Thomas slightly angry but he decided to drop it for the time being. Alice gave him a look; one that basically said that he would divulge that information as soon as they had time or else. Thomas winced internally, thinking that maybe Alice would drag him on a week long shopping spree if he didn't tell her so he inclined his head.
"I never saw anything to indicate that we would reunite so I thought that maybe Bella was just trying to get through what happened," Alice told the group. "So I figured that I would let her deal with it and when she wanted to call us I would answer. I was also trying to track down Edward but he stayed in one place for too long so I never got a lock on him. Until he stayed in Brazil but he never answered my calls."
She paused and shook her head.
"As you saw in the Ballet studio, we took care of James," She said. "And you know that Victoria was his mate-"
"Let me guess, she wanted revenge?" Tracey drawled at her. She had stopped staring at Jasper altogether after a while but the uneasiness was still there.
"Of course," Embry answered. "Despite the major differences in our species; shape shifters and vampires have one absolute thing in common and that is we mate for life. There are no second chances when it comes to mates."
"You either follow them after that have moved on," Amanda added, speaking up for the first time in a while. She had grasped her mate's hand knowing that he struggled with his nature in the beginning but had learned to accept what he was. "Or you kill those who took them from you."
"I was always watching out for Victoria," Alice admitted. "But my gift is not without faults."
"And we would be one of them." Thomas said, pointing to himself and Embry. Many people frowned at him in confusion but he gestured for Artorius to play the next memory. Artorius complied.
The memory that was projected showed a distraught Bella in a meadow that was exceedingly dry by the look of it. What once was green was now brown. Flowers had wilted and died. Decayed grass and mud was a predominate feature of the ground.
Bella looked relieved for a moment before settling back into her previous expression as she sank to her knees.
"That meadow is where Edward took her sometimes," Thomas explained. "They call it their meadow but only Edward knew how to get there, Bella never really paid attention to her surroundings." He paused then added. "Not that she could because Edward was traveling pretty fast with her on his back."
Everyone turned their attention back to the memory as they heard a few leaves rustle. A familiar individual stepped into the clearing opposite Bella.
"Laurent!" Bella cried in surprised pleasure as the nomadic vampire stopped and stared at her.
"Bella?" He said, sounding extremely astonished.
"What is he doing there?" Draco asked.
"You'll see in a moment." Thomas and Alice murmured though Thomas kept shoot glances towards Irina who looked at her feet. She had seen this already and couldn't help but feel a little hurt by Laurent's betrayal of their growing friendship. Embry rubbed her back as he glared Laurent. True, he and Irina were not mates at the time and Laurent never touched Irina but Embry still hated the fact that he almost killed Bella and betrayed Irina's trust.
"You remember," Bella smiled at Laurent who grinned in response and he continued to step towards her.
"Yes of course," He nodded at her. "You seem very pleased to see me." He said after a moment.
"I almost believed that none of it happened." Bella replied and Laurent stopped moving before chuckling.
"What an odd thing to say." He murmured. "I didn't expected to see you here," He added with a bemused expression.
"Shouldn't that be the other way around?" Bella asked him. "I live here and last I checked you headed up to Alaska."
"He stayed with us for a spell," Eleazar offered as he narrowed his eyes at the memory of Laurent. Artorius paused the memory so people could give him their undivided attention. "He learned about us from Carlisle who suggested that he seek us out when Laurent said that he wanted nothing to do with James and Victoria. He actually adapted decently to our lifestyle. Or so I thought." He gestured to the memory. "His eyes are red here."
"Are you ok?" Susan asked Irina who looked over at her and nodded slowly.
"I'm fine." She said flatly. Susan looked dubious but didn't press the issue though she wanted too. The others did as well but refrained from doing so as Thomas motioned for Artorius to play the memory.
"I did go to Alaska," Laurent confirmed. "But I came to visit the Cullen's whose house is empty. It appears that they have moved on." He continued.
"Oh," Bella bit her lip and Laurent looked at her with curious eyes. "They did move on." She said after a moment.
"Why did she say that?!" Alice hissed.
"Well you did leave," Bertram said aloud and Alice turned to glare at him along with Jasper and Thomas. Bertram flinched from the glares. "Sorry." He muttered.
"Hmm," Laurent murmured. "I am surprised that they left you behind. Weren't you sort of um-" He clucked his tongue and waved a hand, trying to think of the right word to say. "A pet of theirs?" He said with eyes that were innocent of any offense intended but it did not stop Alice and Jasper from growling.
"Something like that," Bella smiled wryly.
"Hmm," Laurent said thoughtfully as he stepped closer and Bella stepped back. He followed her moment before her asked, "Do they visit often?"
"Absolutely," Bella said. "Though they seem to have been gone longer on this...vacation that they took."
"Hmm," Laurent looked even more thoughtful. "That might explain why the house smelled like it had been vacant for awhile."
"I'll tell them that you stopped by," Bella added. "Carlisle will be sorry that he missed your visit," She paused and seemed to think hard about something. "I probably shouldn't tell Edward though," Her face twisted in pain as she said Edward's name. "He has such a temper as you have seen and he's very touchy about what happened with James."
"Is he really?" Laurent asked pleasantly while sounding skeptical as well.
"Mm-hmm," Bella nodded then added. "He can be very protective and might misinterpret this little get together."
"That's understandable I suppose," Laurent said as he took a casual step to the side and surveyed the meadow No one missed the fact that the step he took brought him closer to Bella. "And I'm sure he would be very upset if he were here but he's not."
"Why are you here?" Bella asked him. "Things not working out in Denali? Carlisle said you were staying with Tanya and her family."
Laurent paused before speaking again.
"I like Tanya very much," He mused and Thomas growled slightly. Tanya squeezed his hand and he stopped though he did grumble slightly. "I like her sister Irina even more," This time it was Embry who growled and Irina tried to calm him down though she only did so half heartedly as she just wanted to move on from this memory. Now the others understood why she was so down; she had history with Laurent and judging by the scowls some people had, this memory was going to go south. "I've never stayed in one place for so long before, not even when I was first introduced to this life and I enjoy the advantages; the novelty that came withy it. But, the restrictions are difficult…I'm surprised that any of them can keep it up for long." Laurent continued then smiled at Bella conspiratorially. "Sometimes I cheat."
Bella's foot moved ever so slightly and Laurent caught the movement.
"Ah," Bella said in a faint voice. "Jasper has...difficulties with that as well."
Jasper flinched at what Bella said but that's all he did. He didn't want to get smacked again and be compared to Edward, not that he hated his brother or anything but they couldn't have been more different. It also helped that he knew Bella held nothing against him though he would have understood if she did.
"Really?" Laurent sounded interested. "Is that why they left?"
"No." Bella told him honestly, firmly. "Jasper is more careful at home."
"Yes," Laurent nodded. "I am as well."
He then took a deliberate step forward.
"Did you ever find Victoria?" Bella asked and Laurent stopped moving.
"Yes," Laurent said, hesitating on the next step. "I actually came here as a favor to her." He made a face. "She wanted me to see if you were still under the protection of the Cullen's because, well, she is quite put out with you."
"Me?" Bella squeaked.
Daphne turned to Alice. "Where were you?" She demanded and Artorius paused the memory.
"She didn't see this." Thomas said in a cool tone as he jumped to his friends defense. Daphne turned to him and narrowed her eyes. "She didn't see any of this nor did she see what Vitoria asked Laurent to do for her. You see, Alice can only see the decisions that someone makes and the future of that choice. At the time, she could only see vampires and humans. Anything else was blocked to her and when they left, the shape shifters at the time -which included Embry's brother Sam, our distant relative Paul, my other distant relative Jared, Embry himself, and my cousin Jacob- took patrol of almost all of Washington."
"Why not all of it?" Draco asked him and Thomas met his gaze.
"We don't like to stray from La Push, the reservation most of us live on." Thomas began. "We do not feel comfortable leaving it unprotected but we do chase after nomads if they leave the area as long as they don't go over the treaty line that was established by my great grandfather, his pack and the Cullen's. See, an agreement was made between our two groups; the Cullen's would not hunt on Quileute land or bite any humans and we would expose them to the humans. It has been in effect since then and has remained that way though now it is more absolute. You already knew about the treaty, yes?" He asked them when no one seemed surprised at what he was saying and he got nods in return. "Well we have never gone over unless the Cullen's are not there or if we have permission. The one place we do not go for sure is the Makah reservation near Neah Bay. At least without the express permission of the person in charge."
"Why is that?" Harry asked him.
"The Makah have never trusted us," Thomas said after glancing at Embry who gritted his teeth. Embry's mother, Tiffany, was getting grief from some of her 'friends' on the Makah rez who knew about the secret the Quileute had because their family members were apart of the council. They said she was not a true member of the tribe for giving birth to a 'mongrel bastard' and she should never show her face there again. Tiffany had explained all of this to her son through choked sobs and a lot of tears. Embry phased for the first time in a while and ran towards the reservation intent to fight those who had made his mother upset but was intercepted by Thomas who also phased as well. Those who ascended were even stronger in their wolf forms than their human forms which was why Thomas had to phase and subdue Embry. Jacob had to order Embry to phase back and stay away from the Makah reservation and that second half of the order hasn't been lifted.
Sasha and David were even worse off than Embry and had to be restrained in a cage that Seth had made until they calmed down. It's not that people didn't sympathize with them; it's just that they didn't want to go back on their word. If the Makah did something drastic or broke the treaty, then they would fight.
"They have a blood based magical protection through out the entire reservation." Thomas continued and a few people frowned but didn't comment. "You see before we became shape shifters, we had our own magic in the form of Astral Projection. We could leave our bodies and watch over our land. They thought what we did was worse than black magic and what we do now is worse that that. While they don't like anything that isn't human they find us particularly revolting because we can change into animals. To them, we are lower than scum but they won't go against the treaty that was made between our tribes over ten generations ago though there isn't much they could do if we went to war."
"Why not?" This time it was Neville who asked a question.
"Their protections are very good and would subdue any normal wolf shifter," Thomas told him. "The blood protections use the blood of any shifter from the current generation of our tribe to keep them active though they prefer the Alpha as he is the strongest which they got when my cousin Sam went through the change. But as some of us are not normal even by supernatural standards, the protections they have won't work on us and well...we could do a lot of damage if they ever break their part of the treaty we made."
"Which would be what exactly?" Claudius asked him.
"The usual; no revealing our secret or launching an assault on us," Thomas shrugged. "We promise not to do the same."
Embry grumbled under his breath but didn't say anything after Irina gave him a look. Thomas looked over to Artorius after nobody asked any questions and nodded for him to play the memory which he did.
"I know," Laurent chuckled. "I think it's a little backwards but as James was her mate and since your Edward killed him - it would only be fair if she got to kill you. A mate for mate or an eye for eye if you prefer. She asked me to get the lay of the land for her, so to speak. I didn't imagine you would be so easy to get to. So maybe her plan was flawed - she never expected me to find you while I was hungry." He then frowned while the people watching the memory groaned. "She'll be unhappy with my killing you all the same."
"Then why not wait for her?" Bella choked out.
A mischievous grin rearranged Laurent's features. "Well, you've caught me at a bad time Bella, that's all. I'm quite thirsty, and you do smell...mouthwatering." Laurent looked at Bella with approval, as if he meant it as a compliment.
"He'll know it was you," Bella whispered. "You won't get away with this."
"And why not?" Laurent's smile widened. He gazed around the small opening in the trees. "The scent will wash away with the next rain. No one will find your body – you'll simply go missing, like so many, many other humans. There's no reason for Edward to think of me, if he cares enough to investigate but I don't think he will. How much could you mean to him if he left you here unprotected? This is nothing personal, let me assure you, Bella. This is just thirst."
"Please," Bella gasped. "You helped us with James."
Laurent stepped close to her and shook his head with a kind expression. "Look at it this way, Bella. You're very lucky I was the one to find you. I'm doing you a kindness, Victoria plans to do things Bella that…" He shook his head with a slow movement, as if in disgust. "I'll be quick about it and you won't feel a thing." He backed away then raised his hand while Bella closed her eyes shut.
"Edward, I love you." She breathed Laurent paused as he heard something to his left and looked over.
"I don't believe it." He said, staring into the underbrush with wide eyes.
"What is it?" Hannah asked but received no answer.
Laurent back away slowly without taking his eyes away from where he was staring before picking up the pace. Then a huge black shape eased out of the trees, quiet as a shadow, and stalked deliberately toward the vampire. It was an enormous wolf – as tall as a horse, but thicker and more muscular. It's long muzzle grimaced, revealing a line of dagger-like incisors. A grisly snarl rolled out from between the teeth, rumbling across the clearing like a prolonged crack of thunder.
"Morgana!" Several people cried as the wolf stopped moving ten feet in front of Bella but it paid her no mind. "It's huge!"
"He is huge," Thomas corrected as he saw more wolves getting close to the clearing and heard Embry and Casey snicker. "That's my cousin and Embry's brother, Sam, in his wolf form." He paused as two more wolves stepped out. One was a deep grey, the other was a dirty shade of brown. They were not as big as Sam though they were still pretty big. "The grey wolf is Paul, the other is Jared." He paused again as a grey wolf with black spots joined them along with a russet brown wolf who was pretty close to Sam's size. "The russet wolf is Jacob."
"The other grey wolf is me." Embry grinned at the many wide eyed looks in the room. True they had seen werewolves but werewolves were never that big; they were roughly the half the size of a wolf shifter but they were more feral.
Laurent spun around and flitted away. Four of the wolves followed but the fifth one hung back to look at Bella who frozen in shock before follow the others. The memory ended there and several people turned to Thomas and Embry.
"What happened to Laurent?" Draco asked as others threw questions out like 'Do all of you get that big?' or 'Are there only male shifters?'
"He was destroyed." Embry said flatly but offered no further explanation.
"Yes Laurent was destroyed though...we had difficulties with Victoria." Thomas said with a scowl. "She was gifted too I think. She always had away of getting out of tight spots and she was very difficult to catch."
"So basically she was an overall pain in the ass." Wilfred commented, speaking for the first time since he came into this room.
"Essentially," Thomas nodded. "She killed three people on our land and she wasn't destroyed until we teamed up with the Cullen's to fight her army."
"Army?" Blaise asked.
"More on that later, I promise." Blaise nodded his head and Thomas spoke to the whole room. "Ok this next memory involves Edward and the Volturi but I will offer some context for it." While glossing over quite a few things he added mentally. "In this memory Edward has gone to the kings of Italy and requested that...they kill him." Seeing the blank stares of confusion he pressed on. "Bella decided one day to try a little bit of recreational cliff diving."
"A little bit of recreational cliff diving?" Hermione repeated while making a face. "Why do I get the feeling that you are down playing that?"
"He is," Tanya cut in before Thomas could answer. "It could be very dangerous if you weren't careful." She glared at her mate, daring him to contradict her.
"It can be yes," Thomas conceded. "But it's like you said, it's dangerous if you aren't careful but if you are and if you are with a group of people, it can be a really good time. I wouldn't recommend going alone or jumping off the highest part of the cliff on your first try while a storm was brewing but..." He trailed off with a shrug.
"Well no one would be naïve enough to do that," Draco muttered to his wife but when he saw looks being exchanged between Thomas and the others he narrowed his eyes. "Right?" He asked them. Those who didn't hear what he said stared at him.
"Well..." Thomas dragged out the word. "That's exactly what Bella did."
"Sorry?" Harry frowned. "Bella did what?"
"What I mentioned." Thomas explained. "She decided that it would be a good idea to go alone and jump off of the highest point of the cliffs which is roughly a hundred feet above the water." Everyone who didn't know the story blinked at him.
"Hold on," Susan held up a hand to stop him from speaking. She then held up one finger, "Bella decided to jump off a cliff from a hundred feet above the water," Another finger was raised, "She went alone and I'm guessing she told no one," After a few nods she added another finger. "I'm also going to guess that she did this when a storm began to brew?" More nods and she shook her head. "Oh joy, that sounds like so much fun," She muttered.
"To be fair," Thomas began. "That last one wasn't entirely her fault; she didn't know there would be a storm coming. The first two are entirely her fault though; she should have started smaller then worked her way up while there were others around."
"Why didn't she wait?" Daphne asked. "And where were any of you?" She narrowed her eyes at Jasper, Alice, and Thomas.
"I was racing back to Forks," Alice explained. "I left abruptly from a cottage we have in Oregon, leaving Jasper behind, thinking that Bella had committed suicide. I didn't...I didn't think I would make it in time to save her but I could at least be there for Charlie. Imagine my surprise when Bella walked in the front door as if nothing happened."
"I was human at the time," Thomas said. "The fastest way to have gotten to the cliff would be on my bike but even with that I wouldn't have made it in time. If anything, I could have made things worse if I went out there. Bella and I could have died if I interfered with the event but luckily Jacob saved her as he was patrolling in the area and caught her scent." He had seen many things in his life; things that he couldn't erase but Thomas learned to live with it as the years went on. "Now, you're probably wondering how Edward found out. Rosalie told him that Bella was basically gone after Alice told her about it. Edward called the house to confirm and Jacob said that her father was prepping a funeral. However, he did not explain that the funeral was for a family friend and Edward assumed that it was for Bella. This is the result of that assumption."
He waved for Artorius to play the memory and he did.
A sickly looking Edward walked down a dimly lit corridor. His face was filled with agony and his eyes were pitch black from a lack of hunting. He walked through a door way and entered into a marble room filled with statues, columns, and steps. At the top of the steps were three black and gold thrones; each one had a circular picture above it and a pendant that had a castle tower and red background lodged into it. The arm rests were ornate with the front shaped like a lion's head. The middle throne was slightly taller than the other two. Three vampires sat in each throne. All of them had translucent skin which was ashen in some places and there was a milky film to their red eyes.
The middle vampire wore a black suit and tie along with a gold chain and V shaped pendant. His hair was long and black and he seemed very solemn at the moment. He looked older than the other two though not by much. To his right sat a dark haired vampire who seemed to be looking at nothing in particular off to the side with a bored expression on his face. He was wearing a black robe and a grey scarf over his suit. He couldn't have been older than twenty. The last vampire had hair that was white as snow. He also wore a black robe over his suit but he donned a red scarf instead.
"So you made up your minds?" Edward asked flatly and with a slight scoff. The white haired vampire scowled at him. The bored looking vampire glanced at him for a moment before looking away. The vampire in the middle of the two smiled slightly as he rubbed his hands together.
"My brothers and I had an intriguing debate," He said, his voice was a soft as a feather and his tone held curiousness and mirth. "Never have we encountered a vampire who would willing end their existence let alone beg for us to do so."
"It is pathetic," The white haired vampire hissed. His voice was just as soft but his tone was filled with malice. "Disgraceful even; you do not deserved the gift of immortality."
He looked ready to say more but the middle vampire gave him a warning glance. The vampire on the other end turned his head towards both of them but made no comment.
"I'm afraid," The middle vampire continued as Edward's expression became even worse. "Your particular gifts, are too valuable to destroy. But," Here the vampire smiled even more. "If you're unhappy with your lot; then join us. We would be delighted to utilize your skills." He held his hands in front of him and adopted a pleading gesture. "Won't you consider staying with us?"
"You know what will happen anyway," Edward replied without really addressing the question. The white haired vampire scowled even more and the bored vampire looked over in Edward's direction.
"Not without cause, young Edward." He rasped. His voice was soft like the other two but it was devoid of any emotion same with the words. Edward clenched and unclenched his jaw before stalking out of the room. As he did so, the three kings watched him leave with the same expressions they had when he entered.
"Such a waste." The king in the middle sighed and shook his head.
"I'm surprised that none of you commented." Thomas said as the memory faded away.
"Well you said it was short," Harry shrugged. "I saw no need to comment." Others voiced or nodded their agreement. "So those three were the rulers of the vampire world?"
"Yes," Eleazar said. "The one in the middle was Aro; the true leader of he Volturi. The vampire to his right was Marcus; his brother in law and the final vampire was Caius."
"Is there a reason that their skin is different then yours?" Teddy asked the vampires in the room.
"Lack of activity," Irina supplied. "They very rarely left their home and mostly sat around doing nothing. It's true that we no longer age after we become vampires; but our skin can petrify if we don't move for extended periods of time."
"You said earlier that they collected gifted vampires," Daphne looked over at Thomas. "Were any of them gifted?"
"Only Aro and Marcus," Eleazar answered when Thomas raised an eyebrow at him in question. "Marcus could sense the bonds between people and how strong they were. He could tell who was the leader of a coven, who was mated, and who felt like leaving their coven if they had one. The first two were useful in battle against another coven and the last one was good to see if someone was going to betray the Volturi or the guard."
"And Aro?" Daphne pressed.
"If he wanted to, he could read every thought that you ever had by touching you," Was the reply. "The longer he touched you, the deeper he could delve into your mind. No one could lie to him because all he would have to do was look into a person's mind to see the truth. If there was a trial, Aro would look into the mind of the accused, he would council with the other kings and if there was enough evidence to convict those on trial they would act accordingly." Unless of course, you had an ability, He thought bitterly while trying to keep his face blank.
"Did you used to work for them?" Blaise asked Eleazar who raised his eyebrows.
"What gave you that impression?" Eleazar asked back. The others were listening intently, waiting to hear Blaise explain himself.
"You seem to know a lot about abilities," Blaise began. "Your description's of them are almost textbook style descriptions but I honestly doubt there are books for this sort of thing. That leaves me with the impression that you have you an ability yourself; the ability to sense those who have abilities and what they can do. Your tone in describing the powers that the kings possessed and how they operated was slightly wistful and slightly agitated. That suggests to me that you loved working wth them but became disillusioned with them after a while. Either that, or you were a secret admirer of theirs and got rejected badly when you proclaimed your love for them." He teased slightly but his joke was met with blank stares and incredulous expressions.
"Love, leave the jokes to those who can pull it off," Tracey mock chided her husband.
"Before you answer, Eleazar," Embry cut in before Blaise could retort. Embry turned to Artorius. "May I have something to eat?" He asked him. He too, was met with incredulous expressions except from his family save for Thomas. Mostly because it wasn't that long ago that they just ate and Embry and Thomas ate the most out of everyone along with the kids. Thomas stared at Embry like he grew a second head but he wouldn't comment on that now because he was hungry too and he thought that it would be nice to take another break.
"Sure what do you want?" Artorius asked Embry who adopted a thoughtful expression.
"How about some scalloped potatoes and cheese with some sausages on the side?" Embry said before turning to Thomas. "You know you want some of that." He commented.
"Yeah sure, why not." Thomas shrugged as Eleazar answered Blaise's question and Artorius called for his elf. Thomas knew that even with all the breaks that they were taking, he would have to discuss his cousins idea of traveling back to the past eventually. Thomas had known about this idea of theirs for awhile now. The only other person in his group that knew about this plan was Tanya and Thomas knew that his cousin's might ask him and his fellow Alpha's for assistance. The problem was that Thomas didn't know if they really could help them but if they could then they damn well would. That, he swore on the great spirit.
Ok, it's ben over a month since my last update. I am sorry that it took so long but real life got very real and this chapter did not want to be written. I had no idea's on how to make it flow and I also had an idea for another story which I am also writing at the moment. I'll try and get the next chapter up as soon as I can but I can't make any promises on an actual date.
Hope you enjoy this chapter. If not the *shrugs* no skin off my back.