A/N : Hi guys! I am so sorry I have been gone for so long. I had a major upheaval in my life, but I won't bore you with details. Anyway, I'm back and here to stay. (Hopefully there will be no more major upsets!). To all my readers, I hope you will rejoin me with this adventure, and to any new readers, welcome. Again, my heartfelt apologies for leaving for so long. Please forgive me. Xxx
"How could he have just vanished, Alice?" I screeched. "Nobody just vanishes into thin air!"
"I don't know," she whimpered, and I felt her dread and worry wash over me. "He just … disappeared."
Taking a deep breath, I tried to compose myself. I was worried, too, but I had to stay positive that there was a reasonable explanation. Surely, he cant be far away?
"Have you tried to track his scent?" I asked, knowing that she would have tried that first, but I had to start somewhere. I looked around the tree line, and then I met her eyes. They were downcast to the ground, and her brow furrowed. She looked … well, she looked nervous.
"Alice?" I persisted.
"Umm, well … actually, no," she admitted, a little sheepishly.
"Why the hell not?" I screeched at her, grabbing her by the shoulders.
"I guess, in my panic, the thought went from my mind. You see, in my vision, as I said, he just completely vanished. To begin with, I thought he had went back to you, because you make him disappear from my sight, but after a while with you, I can see blurry images. But that never came. And probably because of that, my subconscious must have thought there would be no trail to follow." She looked up at me from beneath her lashes. Her eyes said, forgive me? I groaned, and pulled her into my arms.
"Alice, for such a smart vampire, you can be totally … well, human. Little things like following a scent should be second nature to you. And come to think of it, why didn't the others try to follow his trail?" I asked, pushing her slightly away from me, so I could see her eyes again.
"I haven't told the others, yet. I didn't want to worry them unnecessarily, just in case he returned soon. I was planning on telling them when you returned. If you returned. I can't see you either, you know, though you are getting slightly clearer to me. So, I didn't know you were visiting with your parents." She sighed, and began rubbing her temples in frustration.
"It's ok, Alice. Let's see if there is a trail to follow."
I grabbed her hand and asked where she had last seen him in her vision. She indicated that he had jumped across the river, at the bottom of my garden, and then walked a few yards into the woods beyond, before he disappeared. When we got to the spot that she indicated, I took a deep breath, and caught his scent to my left. There were other scents around his, that I couldn't quite place, though they were familiar. I turned to ask Alice if she knew the scents, when she hissed slowly through her teeth.
"Wolves," she growled lowly. I looked at her quizzically. "Werewolves," she reiterated.
Comprehension dawned on me. I shook my head slightly. "Not wolves," I whispered. "Shape shifters."
She looked at me, and furrowed her brow.
"They are not true werewolves," I explained. "They are shifters, but I imagine they wouldn't like that title very much. They want to be feared by other beings, as they exist solely, as the protectors of humans. The fact that they are here now, I would imagine, is because of you and your family's presence."
"I knew they were here, of course, but I didn't know that they weren't true werewolves. I have never really heard of shifters, before. How do you know?" she asked.
"Being around for a while, you learn lots of things. But, also, because of the vast amount of knowledge and history that has been gathered in my homeland, over thousands of years. We know every being there ever was, and what ones still exist today. Remember, we have many realms and many different creatures that reside in those realms. Not just here."
She nodded, with a smile, and complete understanding. Her eyes then scrunched up, as she looked around.
"Their smell is disgusting!" she said, holding her nose between her delicate fingers. Her eyes then suddenly shot to mine. "What about Edward? What if they have captured him, or worse?" she all but screamed at me.
My own heart faltered. There was a possibility of him being harmed, especially since the shifters were all about protection. But I didn't want to come to any conclusions at the moment. We needed more information first. I looked back at Alice, and placed a hand on her shuddering shoulder.
"Let us see where his scent leads first, shall we? There could be other explanations," I said, though I knew my face betrayed my emotions. She nodded slightly, and screwed her face up. I knew she was trying to will a vision to come, so I let go of her shoulder, and gave her a moment. She sighed before straightening her shoulders.
"Nothing," she whispered.
"Ok, lets go," I said, pulling her behind me by her wrist.
"You know," she said, as we glided through the forest, following Edward's trail, "I knew there were wolves here before. Carlisle has told us of them, and told us of a treaty that our family has with them. This was before Jasper and I joined the family. I have never seen them myself, though." Her face scrunched up a little again. "Maybe it's them that's blocking my sight. Maybe that's why Edward seemed to just disappear."
I thought that over. Perhaps she was right. That could explain a lot, and explain why Edward's scent was still prominent. He hadn't actually vanished, but is maybe just in the wolves vicinity.
"Could he be with them now, rehashing the treaty?" I asked her, hopefully.
"Possibly," she answered. "I guess we'll find out soon enough."
We followed the trail for a few miles, until it wound down onto a stony beach.
"La Push," Alice informed me. "This is where the Quileute reservation is."
We walked on for another mile, and entered a village. There were people around a large fire, and I spotted Edward sitting amongst them. My heart stuttered at the sight of him, and I thanked the stars that he was ok. Growls sounded behind our backs, and to our sides. We stopped abruptly, and Edward rose to his feet.
"Sam, it's fine. It's my sister and Maeryn. They are no threat," he said loudly, and started to walk to us.
Alice let out a screech and ran to Edward, who easily caught her as she jumped into his arms. "I thought you were gone!"
Edward chuckled slightly, gazing at me over her shoulder. She released her hold on him, and dropped to the ground. She slapped his arm.
"That is so not funny Edward Anthony Masen Cullen! You could have called!"
"I'm sorry, Alice. I lost track of time. Sam and the others came to me in the woods. They demanded to know what kind of being we were hiding in our midst. You would have seen if I was in any danger, anyway." He glanced at me again, and gave me a crooked smile. My heart melted. Alice shook her head slightly at him, and his brow furrowed. "Interesting," he mumbled, as she obviously communicated with him through her thoughts.
"We needed to know if you were a danger to us, and the humans," came a very deep, gravelly voice from my right. I turned to see a very large man, with a dark complexion and jet black hair. He towered over me, wearing just ragged shorts. His torso was bare, for all to see. He was extremely well toned, and muscular, and had an intricate tribal tattoo on his bicep. I took it to be the mark of their pack. I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Well, are you?" he asked, taking a step closer to me.
"Sam," Edward growled. "I told you, she is not a threat."
"I will decide that for myself, leech."
I glared at this Sam. How dare he call Edward a leech. I took a step toward him, my eyes blazing with anger, and he took a step back, his eyes widening slightly. More growls erupted from around us. Sam held up a clenched fist to silence them, as he scrutinised my eyes. He was obviously their alpha.
"What are you?" he asked, squinting his eyes at mine.
"What I am is of no concern to you. But, know this. With me here, the humans are in the safest place in the world. There will be no supernatural harm come to any one of them, while I walk amongst them." I took a step toward him again, straightening my shoulders as I went, exuding my Royalty toward him, almost daring him to question my authority. I could feel my eyes blaze brighter. I could see him cower slightly, before regaining his composure, and straightening his posture again.
"All I need to know is the truth. This lee-"
I glared at him again, almost willing him to say the word.
"Edward," he continued, "wouldn't tell us much. Only that you wouldn't threaten anyone here, or in Forks. I don't trust him. He is our natural enemy, even though we have a treaty between us. How do I know if he tells the truth? We have been arguing all night over it. I wouldn't let him leave until he told me what you are. As you can see, he's still here."
"I see that. My story is not Edward's to tell. You should have come to me directly. I would have answered the questions, if I were able to tell you the answers. Unfortunately, what I am, being one of the ones I cannot answer to you. Yet," I emphasised.
"We were coming directly to you, but Edward intercepted us, thinking we were coming to destroy you. He wanted to explain that you were of no threat to anyone, before we got close to you. We argued over that as well. We wouldn't have destroyed you, without knowing you first. We know you are not a vampire, so we had no need to be rid of you. Yet." It was his turn to emphasise the yet.
"He didn't believe us, of course, so the arguing went on for hours."
"Most entertaining it was, too," Edward mumbled.
"Very," sneered Sam.
"Oh cut it out!" I growled. Both men looked toward me. "Sam, if I may call you Sam, you know fine well that the Cullen's are not a danger to your tribe, or the humans. Your treaty has been in effect for many decades, and not once has there been a fault within it. Am I correct?" I snarled. Sam just nodded slightly. "Well cut the animosity, and just get along. I know neither of you will like it, as you are meant to be enemies, but you don't need to be so hostile toward one and other. Remember, you all share the same goal. To keep humanity sacred."
Both men looked at the ground.
"Now, we shall take our leave, Sam. And remember, if you need to discuss anything with me, make sure it is with me. Understood?"
A small smile played around his lips. I could imagine he appreciated my commanding tone, being an alpha himself.
"Yes, Maeryn. Thank you. We shall meet again soon, I am sure."
"I know that we shall, Samuel."
He glared at me, and I just raised an eyebrow.
"Let's go, you two," I motioned to Edward and Alice, who looked like they were struck dumb. Both shook their heads slightly, and walked toward me.
"See ya, dogs," Alice chirped, winking and waving at the pack. They started to growl, as did I.
"Sorry," she mumbled, as we headed back into the forest.