A/N: An early update since I had quite some inspiration the past week
I just want to point out that everything is from Bella's pov. So everything other people do/say may seem rude but it is how she experiences it (especially Jasper's behavior as he is pretty rude). His behavior will be explained later on when Bella is given the reason for why he acts like that.
Huge thank you to my prereaders Dooba and Simaril, who also beta'd this chapter.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended.
I followed him, hoping that the woods contained the solution to my burning throat. The more I thought about it, the more unbearable it became. A small whimper passed my lips. Edward looked back at me, squeezing my hand in silent support.
Once we entered the forest, my attention was drawn to my environment. The burning sensation was suddenly pushed back to the back of my mind. A whole new world just opened for me. I stared in amazement.
The forest was enchanted, like it came straight from a fairy tale. I gazed around me while walking further away from the mansion. Edward walked beside me. He held my hand and let me explore. I took in all the details. Details that gave the forest so much beauty.
When fuzzy memories of the woods popped up in my head I couldn't stop comparing them to each other. I knew my memories were very murky, but still, I don't think the woods looked as clear as with my new vampire eyesight. I stopped walking to just take in everything. Edward stopped right beside me and stared at me with a fond smile on his face. The corners of my lips turned upwards.
As my eyes swept my surroundings, I saw literally every detail. I even saw the seeds of some plants being carried by the wind. The veins of the tree leaves and the lower vegetation gave the foliage more complexity. It was chaotic but added to the overall beauty of the greenery of the woods. Ants were crawling on the floor and over fallen twigs. They looked like a big chaotic mess. I tried following one ant. It was fascinating to see it joining the mass of the colony. The colony was busy and alive and fickle, but I could still see that one little ant making his way in the big flow. With my enhanced vision I could make out different colorations of fallen leaves. The darker they were, the longer they'd lain on the floor. They were in a farther state of declining. If you looked and observed nature closely, you could learn and discover so much!
"It's beautiful, isn't it? It calms me," Edward whispered.
"It's so wonderful here… and peaceful. There is a lot of movement and life, yet it's in harmony and serene. I love it here," I whispered back, so as to not disturb the serenity.
"Do you want to go a little faster? You can still see everything as clear as you can now. The speed is thrilling."
I looked at him and nodded. We started moving again and gradually Edward went faster and faster.
We were running now. I felt the wind whipping my face from the speed. Some hair locks swept in my face so I tried to bat them away with my hand. It was amazing that I could do that while running without losing my footing or colliding with an obstacle.
Now I focused on the passing environment. Although I was going pretty fast, I could still see everything is great detail: the roughness of tree trunks, the bugs flying and crawling around, the leaves moving on the little breeze. I heard the noise of the leaves as they moved in the wind, the buzzing of the bugs. I smiled a little when I saw mosquitoes, they couldn't bother me anymore.
"What are you smiling about?"
I looked at Edward. "Mosquitoes. They can't bother me anymore," I said with a smile. He smiled back, amused.
"That they can't anymore, no." He chuckled. We kept running for a short while until he squeezed my hand and signaled to stop. I did and looked at him questioningly.
"Are you ready to hunt? See if you can find some animal?" With that question, the burning sensation roared back in the forefront of my mind. Till now it wasn't as overwhelming because I was too enthralled by the beauty around me. I whimpered again. It had gotten worse. He pulled me in his arms, but I didn't want that. I wanted something to quench my thirst.
"I know, love. I know… Let's go find you something to drink, okay? I promise it will be better once you've hunted," he said while rubbing soothingly on my back. At my consistent pulling away from his embrace, he pulled back and his facial expression turned more serious.
"Close your eyes… trust me," he added when I gave him a questioning look. I hesitantly closed my eyes and waited on more instructions.
"Keep your eyes closed. Don't breathe. Just listen. What do you hear?"
Holding my breath wasn't really a problem, it was more annoying than bothering. I listened intently. Another strange thing I had to get used to now that I was a vampire was the different sounds of the forest life invading my head. It was quite overwhelming.
"So much. I hear everything…" I tried to express myself.
"That's understandable. Stay calm and try to separate those sounds. Look for anything rhythmic, like thumping." I followed Edward's advice and after a second I heard it: a thumping sound that beat with vast interludes. It was a soothing noise. Until I realized it was an animal. Instantly my nostrils flared. I wanted to inhale it, locate it, and find it. My muscles tensed, ready for the chase.
"Bella, stay with me. What do you hear?"
"A heartbeat, an animal, to the left of us," I struggled to say calmly. He squeezed my hands to anchor me.
"Good. Okay, now, breathe in… slowly. I don't want you to be overwhelmed."
I breathed in with shallow breaths. The different tastes of the wood registered: the freshness, the typical woody smell of a forest,… and an alluring taste of something promising. My head turned in the direction of it.
"I smell the animal, I think."
Edward nodded at my guess.
"It's a deer, not too far from us. Come on, we'll go closer. Stop breathing for a while. It will help you stay focused."
I nodded, eager to get closer to the promise of 'food'. It would soothe my burning throat. We walked towards the source of the thumping heartbeat. We were very still and used the foliage as our cover to sneak up on the animal. We came to a part in the forest that was less dense, a clearing. I saw the deer. It had its head down; it was grazing. Perfect. If I could approach it without it detecting me, I could get pretty close.
I lowered myself. My eyes were locked on the deer as I crept closer, carefully placing my feet to make sure I was absolutely silent. There was no wind in the clearing to betray my presence. All my senses were fixed upon the grazing animal. A part of me wondered if I made a sound and it sprung away, would I be fast enough to chase it? The burning sensation, however, wanted to be quenched quickly. In order for that to happen, I had to catch it without delay. I flexed my fingers and raised my chin slightly. Just as I was about to leap from the bushes – my hiding place – a rich and delicious scent invaded my nose.
I inhaled it greedily. Mmmmmm, so delicious. It smelled much better than the deer in front of me. I didn't have to think; within a flash, I changed direction and ran towards the smell that promised so much. I heard something behind me, a voice frantically yelling, but I was already lost. Lost to the sensation, the thrill… Nothing would deter me from my goal, finding that smell. The small part of my rational thought that I still had, was gone. I surrendered to my instincts. My inner beast took over.
I ran as fast as I could, inhaling to make sure I was on the right track. I got closer and a thumping sound accompanied the scent. The foliage thinned out, and I saw the sky above me. I looked in the direction of my fixation and saw something moving. It was climbing upwards on the side of a cliff that rose in the middle of the woods. I inhaled. It hadn't spotted me. I went for it.
I almost reached the bottom of the cliff when something crashed into me. I tumbled to the ground. Snarling and hissing, I sprung up. I turned around and crouched. A bronze- haired male stood in front of me. He stood in a half-crouch eyeing me. He was watching my every move, trying to anticipate my next move. I snarled at him. He interrupted my hunt.
My eyes snapped towards the crawling thing. He had stopped and watched around. He had heard us. Damn my attacker! As I looked towards him, I heard footsteps. People were coming towards us. It was all it took. I leaped and went for my attacker's throat. My hands got hold of him. I locked my fingers around his shoulders. My teeth snapped dangerously close to his face.
His arms came up and pushed me off. I stumbled back and landed on my feet. Ready to go at him again I jumped up and aimed for his chest. He grabbed my arms and spun me around. He had me locked with his arms around my chest. I struggled and growled. My teeth sunk into his arm closest to my mouth. He roared. I held on, keeping my mouth latched to his arm.
Then I felt someone grabbing my arm, pulling at it. I hissed around the obstacle between my teeth.
I finally saw that the approaching footsteps had arrived. Two males and a female were present. The female stood to the side. She was looking at something. I followed her line of sight. The thing – my meal - that was previously climbing had stopped completely, he looked very uneasy. My lapse of focus gave my first attacker the opportunity to unlatch my mouth from his arm. The second male grabbed me again and spun me around. I followed his movement and wanted to attack him. He, however, saw through me and threw me away, right into a tree. It cracked.
I got to my feet and went for a swift attack. We collided. It sounded like two boulders crashing together. I snarled. His black eyes narrowed. I leaped back; out of his reach. We eyed each other. I tried again, this time diving for his legs at the last moment.
The third male wanted in on the action as he intercepted me. He was obviously friends with the others. I threw my head back, hitting him in the chest. I bucked and staggered. It gave me a chance to turn around and go at him. Only… I was intercepted again. Two strong arms wrapped around my torso. My arms were trapped against my sides. He pulled me away from the third male. I bucked and threw my head back. I snarled, gritted my teeth and hissed. I tried locking my feet around my opponent's legs. It didn't work.
A hiss right next to my ear stopped my movements. I felt teeth lightly press against the side of my neck. I halted.
"Calm down!" a voice commanded. I hissed. "Stop it, now," the voice commanded again. The teeth pressed a little harder while the arms squeezed firmer. I couldn't move. The thumping sound that was lost to me during the attack invaded my ears. My eyes sought out the source. My meal was obviously scared and almost lost his footing. The female ran towards it. She was going to steal my meal! I immediately restarted my struggle to get free. The teeth pressing down on my neck however reminded me of my dangerous position.
"Bella, calm down, please. It's okay. Calm down."
I turned my head slightly towards the one who had spoken. It was the male that I bit. The third male stood beside him, helping him, supporting him. He cradled his injured arm against his torso. A hiss next to my ear brought me back to the one holding me.
"See what you've done? You hurt him. You bit your own husband."
"Jasper, don't…" Those two words combined with what Jasper said were all it took to make my head clear again. The red haze disappeared almost completely. My vision was free to take in everything around me. I took in the man standing before me: his bronze colored hair, his black eyes, his face… Edward! His shirt was ripped and stained with mud and other debris from the forest floor. He looked like he had fought. And he had. I had attacked him. Emmett looked less harmed with only some tears in his sleeves. The arms restricting me were still tight. I wiggled; I wanted to go to Edward. The arms around me tightened, but the pressure of Jasper's teeth was gone. His head was still next to my ear.
"Jasper, please… I'm okay. Let me go to Edward, please," I begged the man holding me. He didn't release me.
"No, you're not stable enough. I'm not risking a repeat of what happened." At his statement, I looked towards the cliff. The thing – my meal… a human? – wasn't there anymore, neither was Alice. I whimpered as realization hit me. I chased a human. I nearly had him. I would have killed and drained him without second thoughts. I knew for sure that he heard our fight. Did he see anything? It was then that my surroundings came into focus.
It was like a battlefield where bombs went off. Trees were knocked over, cracked in two. There were craters in the ground. Some places looked like animals had dug; claw marks and all. Dust was still settling down around us. I caused all this? The human must have seen something. How did you explain the sight to a human? No natural animal could create such a scene.
My thoughts were going haywire. I was still being restrained, Edward was hurt – because of me – and the burning pain in my throat flared up again. I squirmed in unease. Jasper must have picked up my thirst.
"She hasn't fed yet. Emmett, go grab some animal for her."
"With all the noise here, no animal will have stuck around this forest," Emmett said.
Jasper clenched his teeth in annoyance. "I don't care Emmett! Go look till you find one, now! And bring it back here; there is no way Bella will hunt by herself now." At his forceful tone, Emmett ran off. Jasper released his hold on me and I dropped to the floor. He stood over me watching with cold eyes. I made myself as small as possible.
It was all so much to grasp right now. I felt awful for what happened and what I almost did, but another part of me was angry that they denied me my meal. My throat burned. It nearly drove me insane. My hands reached up to scratch at the burn. A hiss from the man hovering over me stopped me. A second pair of footsteps drew my attention back to Edward. He looked apprehensively at me and then to Jasper. He read his thoughts no doubt. I wanted Edward to help me, comfort me, anything. He came closer to me. He looked conflicted about what to do.
"Edward, I'm sorry. Please, help me. It hurts."
He looked pained at my plea. "I know, love. Hang on. Emmett is going to come back soon. You will feel better after you drink."
I stayed on the floor, wrapping my arms around my legs so they wouldn't reach to my throat again. We sat in a tense silence for a while. My ears picked up noises. Someone was approaching. A frantic heartbeat came closer. I jerked my head towards the direction of the sound. Jasper took hold of my arms. Emmett came in the freshly made field with a great buck in his arms.
The animal was frightened beyond belief. It was in shock from fear. All my senses zoomed in on the animal. The sounds of its heart were luring me to him. I smelt his blood pumping rapidly through his body. Although it didn't smell as delicious as the human earlier, it was enough to make me very eager to get hold of it. The instinctual part of my mind reared up.
"Bella, focus. I know you want to tear into it, but you have to be calm. Don't shred it to pieces."
I hissed. It was MY meal. I lunged for it. The male holding the buck quickly stepped away. I felt the warm body making contact with my arms and chest. I wrapped myself around it. Without a second thought, I put my mouth around his throat and bit down. A warm fluid flowed in my mouth. I sucked harder, wanting the fluid to come faster. It wasn't the most delicious thing out there, but it wasn't too bad. Movement around me alerted me of the people standing close by. Someone was coming closer. Instinctively I tightened my arms to prevent the approaching male from taking it. The blood wasn't flowing into my mouth anymore. But still, it was mine. I growled lowly to warn them.
"Bella, it's empty. You've drained it completely. Release it, please."
My growl resounded low in my throat.
"Emmett will be back shortly with another one," the approaching male said.
I sucked one more time to make sure it was indeed completely empty. When I came to the same conclusion, I was frustrated. It was drained but the burning wasn't all gone. I dropped the dead weight and looked at the two remaining others in the field. They both watched me.
"It still burns." I was edgy. The burning sensation was driving me crazy. I wanted to scream my frustration out. They kept watching my every move. I wanted to pace, punch something, anything to get my attention away from the pain. Best would be to just hunt but, I knew they would catch me before I even left the field. I eyed the trees though. It did have an appeal to it. It was a thrilling idea, the chase, the hunt. The honey blond one stepped closer to me. He didn't say anything but held his head up and shoulders back. He looked very intimidating, which was probably what he wanted. His eyes bore into mine, challenging me to make a move. My eyes narrowed.
Before it got any further, a heartbeat reached my ears again. This time the smell was more appealing. Nothing like the human but definitely better than the buck. I sniffed and directed my whole body to the place where the third male appeared between the trees. Something was putting up a huge fight in his arms, trying to get loose. It only spurred me on more. In a blink, I was in front of it. The one holding it immediately let go and stepped away. The animal landed on his feet and roared at me. His lips curled up, showing his teeth. I didn't stop, I just leaped on his back, wrapped my arms around it and squeezed. A few cracks and the animal went limp in my arms.
I placed my teeth at his jugular and bit down. A rich tasting fluid flowed in my mouth. I drank greedily. After a while, the fluid didn't flow and I sucked at it harder. Annoyed I pushed the animal away. I licked my lips to get the last remaining drops of the delicious blood. The burning pain in my throat was soothed. Rationality came to back.
The last animal tasted better than the other without a doubt. I looked at the dead animal and noticed it was a mountain lion. I sniffed it one last time to make sure it was empty. A hiss escaped my lips automatically when I sensed someone coming closer.
"How are you feeling?" a voice asked carefully. I turned towards it and saw Edward standing a few feet away.
"My throat feels much better now."
He nodded and looked at the animal before back to me.
"The mountain lion will feed you more as it is a carnivore. They taste better than herbivores, like the buck you had before. Are you still thirsty?"
I processed the news and shook my head. The burning sensation was still present, but it wasn't that apparent anymore.
"As you are still new to this life, you'll be thirstier than us. You'll have to feed again quicker. It's normal, Bella, don't worry."
Finally, I heard the love in his voice come back. It made me feel a little less edgy and upset.
"We have to get back home so Bella can clean herself up. We will have to find something to explain this sight." Jasper's impassive voice put me off. It was like he didn't want anything to do with me. What did I do to make him act like this towards me?
I looked down at myself and saw that I was indeed in need of cleaning. Blood and fur stained my whole body and dress. I was wearing a dress? It was ruined now; tears from the animals' fight and the fight to get to my meal littered the dress. Edward grabbed my hand in his and squeezed it gently. It calmed me. I saw Emmett burying the remains of my meals before he joined us. We walked back towards the house.
During the trip, I replayed everything that happened till now. It seemed like it had been days since I opened my eyes. In reality, it maybe took half a day or something. It was so strange to grasp. Time had a whole different meaning. It was mindboggling. How did a vampire spend his time? Everything you did happened so fast, you didn't sleep, didn't get tired… I tried wrapping my mind around it. A squeeze of Edward's hand brought me back to the present. I looked up and saw that we were back at the mansion. Huh, I was so lost in thoughts that I hadn't realized it.
We approached the back door when Alice skipped through it and flung herself at Jasper. He gave her a swift but intense kiss before pushing her back slightly. The suddenness of her appearance caught me off guard. I tensed, making the men around me on edge.
"Don't worry, Jas. Come on, Bella, let's get you cleaned up." Her voice was calm and soothing. I looked at Edward before following her in the house. She led me straight to the master bathroom. I didn't even have the time to take in the inside of the house. Alice closed the door behind us and told me to wash away the filth on myself. I stripped myself down and tossed the remaining parts of the dress on the floor. Alice had turned on the shower already so I hopped in and let the warm water calm me.
Feeling the water flowing over my body was a freeing experience. I stared amazed as the water drops landed on my skin and trailed down. It was soothing, like I was getting a massage. My muscles relaxed automatically. Although my skin wasn't cold, the temperature of the water was nice. I felt like I was standing under a waterfall. I looked up towards the showerhead. The water hit my face full force but I didn't shut my eyes. When I looked down, I saw dirty water run in the drain on the floor. It was soiled with all the debris from my hunt in the forest. I stayed in the shower until the water that ran to the drain was clean. The only thing that bothered me slightly was the noise of the water. It was a little loud for my sensitive ears.
When I was sure everything was washed off, I stepped out of the shower. Alice wrapped a fluffy towel around my body. She didn't say anything, letting me process everything on my own. She towel-dried my hair and then carefully brushed it. When I had dried myself, she handed me some clothes. They were classy yet comfortable. Once I was fully dressed, she led me to the closet-length mirror in the dressing room. It was the first time I actually saw myself.
The woman looking back at me was beautiful: pale skin without blemishes, dark brown hair that stopped below my elbows. It had some red highlights in it. They were subtle, but they were there nonetheless. My features were well defined: my cheekbones, my jawline, my whole body really. Then my eyes encountered their self in the mirror. I stepped back immediately.
Two blood red orbs stared back at me. I brought my fingers close to my eyes and followed the shape of my lower eyelid. The red stood out, especially against the pale skin surrounding it. I was shocked and taken aback. Involuntarily, a hiss escaped aimed at the eyes in the mirror. My muscles twitched. Footsteps rushed up the stairs. The approaching people would crowd the dressing room. That thought made me fidgety. More than one person joined me and Alice in the room. Jasper put an arm protectively around his wife while Edward embraced me, guiding my eyes away from the mirror, trying to calm me down.
"Shhh, love. The eyes will turn a lovely shade of gold, like ours in a few months. It takes time. I know it must be scary to see them." He drew soothing circles on my back. His arms gave me a sense of safety and reassured me.
It was then that I noticed that Edward and Jasper had changed. They wore clean clothes. All the evidence of their presence during my hunt was gone. I took a step back and looked at Edward, gasping when I remembered what I had done to him. I grabbed his arm and pushed up his sleeve. A fresh bite mark was visible on his forearm. It pained me to know that I did that. Very hesitantly, I ran my fingertip over it. He shivered a little. My eyes met his.
"I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. How could I do that to you?" I was working myself into a frenzy. Edward hugged me again, drawing me back against his chest.
"It's already healing. It just stings a bit right now. Nothing I can't handle. Please don't feel bad about yourself. I know it was a risk when I grabbed you," Edward calmly stated.
I inhaled a few times and stared back in the mirror. First, I took in my eyes again. Then my eyes wandered towards the others their reflection. Alice and Edward looked somewhat relieved. Jasper however watched me impassively.
"Are you ready to come downstairs? We have to talk."
Jasper's impassive tone didn't give me much reassurance. I was ready to lose my composure. Edward came in front of me, blocking my view of the other two. He looked into my eyes and nodded with a questioning look. I inhaled again and nodded back.
Alice and Jasper walked down the stairs first. While going down, I sensed some things were off. The horrible stench was almost gone. It still lingered in the house but the source was gone. So was the hummingbird heartbeat. Jacob and Renesmee! Where were they? I got a little anxious.
When walking into the living room I saw the remaining Cullens standing in different places around the room. Esme and Carlisle stood together, Carlisle had an arm around her. Emmett and Rosalie embraced each other. Jasper and Alice joined them while I stopped at the entrance hesitantly. I didn't like this. Something was off. Rosalie looked at me briefly with sympathy. Before I could analyze her gesture, Carlisle cleared his throat. An uncomfortable silence engulfed the room. It felt like the temperature dropped a few degrees.
"Welcome back, Bella, have you fed well?" Carlisle asked me.
I nodded, unsure of what was about to happen next.
"It seems you had quite the hunting experience. It was to be expected, though."
Did I hear disappointment in his tone? Was he disappointed in me? But I acted on instinct; every rational thought just flew out the window when I smelled that human. If I wasn't so intoxicated with it, I would never give in to my instinct. I didn't mean for it to happen. I was getting worked up. A wave of calmness slowly overcame me. I snapped my eyes to Jasper, who was once again watching me intently.
"I didn't mean for it to happen." I directed my answer to Carlisle "I was just… I don't know, I smelled him and suddenly I wasn't me anymore. You know I wouldn't do this."
"I know that, Bella, but it is what you are. As a newborn, it was to be expected –"
"You mean you blame me? I should have controlled myself better?" I interrupted rudely.
"No, that is not what I'm saying. I'm saying that we have to be more careful than I anticipated." He looked at me, willing me to understand him.
Somewhere in my mind, I did understand him. I just wasn't ready to learn what it all meant. Edward squeezed my shoulder gently.
"From what Emmett told me, there is quite a bit of forest damaged. We have to find a solution as to not let humans get suspicious," Carlisle continued.
"Maybe those mutts can make up a story about a camping trip they took there," Rosalie put in. "Everyone knows how wild and messy those boys are."
Carlisle thought about it and then nodded. "That might work. I'll call them to explain it."
"Call them? Why not ask Jacob? Where is he? Where is Renesmee?" I wanted to know why they were gone alone without any of them going with them. It was like I asked the most painful thing because everyone stopped breathing for a split second. I didn't understand. My defenses rose though. Edward led me to the closest seat, made me sit and sat beside me, taking both my hands in his. I looked at everyone, seeing them all eying me carefully.
"You're scaring me, Edward. What's going on?"
"Bella… We think that maybe being around Renesmee isn't that safe right now, especially after what went down while hunting. Jacob and Renesmee are staying somewhere else. Don't worry, they are safe."
I stared at him. Different feelings washed over me: fear, confusion, anger. Jacob was with Renesmee, alone, without the Cullens, away from me. They wanted her away from me. I was her mother. What were they thinking? They couldn't do that. And who decided that Jacob was the one to stay with her? Anger won. I stood up, pulling my hands out of Edward's. I was angry.
"You have no right to keep her away from me, none of you do. She is my daughter! Since when does Jacob have anything to say in this? I may not remember it clearly, but he wasn't that well liked before. Why is his opinion so important to you?"
I stared them down. I wanted some answers, and I wanted to see my daughter. Some of the Cullens looked taken aback by my outburst. I couldn't care less. Edward looked uncomfortable as he tried to reach out to me. I stepped away.
"Bella… I understand this must be confusing- " I scoffed at Edward's statement "But there are things you don't understand. Something has… happened while you were changing."
He seemed to be struggling to find the right words. It made me suspicious.
Carlisle spoke up before I could answer. "Maybe we should just call him and ask him to come over… with Renesmee. It will be easier to explain. It is also easier to tell them about the damaged forest area."
Both our heads snapped to him. He wanted to bring Renesmee to me? I got to see her? A feeling of happiness surged through me.
"Carlisle, are you sure this is a good idea? Things might go badly…" Edward obviously wasn't too thrilled by the idea.
"It has to happen anyway, might as well get it over with. I'll go make the call." Carlisle left the living room followed by Esme. I turned my attention back to the remaining people. Alice and Rosalie had mixed expressions. They looked happy but worried at the same time. Jasper was still rather impassive towards me, staring intently at me. My rant probably gave him another excuse to be this way towards me. If I could just figure out what set him off… Emmett looked more excited, like the aspect of me meeting Jacob would be eventful. I slightly cocked my head at that thought.
Edward's expression was unclear. It chilled me a little. Why was he so against me seeing our daughter? And since when did he root for Jacob? I stepped back closer to him.
"Edward, what's happening? I don't understand. Everything about this is driving me crazy."
Carefully he put his arms around me and looked into my eyes. For a split moment, we were alone in that room.
"Hold on a little longer, love. Everything will make sense once they are here. Although you might not really like what you will hear. I know I didn't either when I first heard it. Neither did the rest of my siblings."
At this, I realized they were still in the room. I was surprised as I learned that they were all against whatever it was that happened, yet now they seem to have accepted it.
"Is it that bad?" I asked worriedly.
"Depends on who you're asking. I'm quite sure you will find it bad." Emmett chuckled, which earned him a light swat from Rosalie. Rosalie! If she accepted it? She was so against Jacob. I vaguely remembered they argued a lot when I was still pregnant. She came over to us and put a hand on my arm.
"Trust me; I'm not too happy about it either, but there is nothing we can do about it. However, if you want to 'express' your opinion about it towards Jacob, I won't stop you."
She gave me a knowing nod. If I read correctly between the lines, she just told me that I would become angry at Jacob. She basically gave me the 'go ahead' to rough him up. Everyone grinned at her statement. We were interrupted by Carlisle and Esme's return in the room.
"Jacob is on his way – with Renesmee. Sam will also come concerning the forest clean-up."
I grew excited. I would finally see Renesmee. I smiled at the thought of finally holding her in my arms, to cuddle her.
"If they arrive, Bella, could you wait by us before going to Renesmee? I want to inform Sam first. The sooner the cover-up is in place, the safer for us."
I nodded my assent to Carlisle. Heartbeats came into my range of hearing, followed by the disgusting scents. I wrinkled my nose automatically. Everyone made their way to the door and took place on the porch. In between the disgusting scents, there was another one, which smelled so nice and fresh. I inhaled deeply. The disgusting ones made me almost gag, but the sweet one filled me up.
I directed my gaze to the approaching group. It consisted out three people, two tall men and one little girl – a baby – who was carried by one of them. I was confused because I thought there would be more than those two… The scent was too powerful to be from just them.
I immediately scanned the trees around the driveway. And surely, in the shadows of the trees, I saw eyes and silhouettes of huge animals. So the pack, or at least part of the pack, had come too. My attention went back to the group before us.
"Jacob, Sam, thank you for coming." The men nodded at Carlisle's welcome. "Sam, there has been a bit of a struggle during Bella's first hunt. Parts of the forest are very damaged by it. Can you see if you can make it look like something you did with the other men from La Push while camping?"
"We will take a look at it. It can't be too difficult to come up with something… Nice to see you again Bella," he addressed first Carlisle and then me. His expression became more serious, more than it already was.
"I suggest you be more careful that accidents like this don't happen again. We will not tolerate any of you hurting a human. Things might have changed; but that still stands."
Carlisle nodded and with that, Sam took off towards the trees. Most of the wolves followed him, away from the mansion. Two wolves still stood hiding in their place. With Sam's warning the events of my hunt reared up. What happened to the human on the cliff? Did Alice get him in time? Did he see us? My mind was starting to go haywire. I started losing control.
Edward put his arm around my shoulder and kissed my hair.
"It's okay, Alice rushed him to the hospital. He was about to fall down. He hasn't seen anything. He was just spooked by the noise. He's probably a bit shaken but otherwise, no harm done." At his reassuring answer, I relaxed a little.
"What did he mean with 'things might have changed'?" I caught that part, yes. The atmosphere became loaded. I pulled back from Edward's embrace and lifted my head. Every one of the Cullens was either watching me or something behind me, Jacob. Renesmee! I whirled around and my eyes landed on the man who held my child.
Jacob looked tense. I took a step towards the steps leading down the porch. He tensed and became uncomfortable. I narrowed my eyes at him. Rosalie walked by me straight to Jacob.
"Give her to me. It will be safer." Jacob was very reluctant in handing Renesmee to Rosalie. Rosalie stepped back, away from Jacob, but didn't come to me. I didn't understand. I went towards her, but Jacob's behavior stopped me. I got annoyed with him.
"What do you want? What's the matter with you?" I tried to keep myself calm. It wasn't easy. From the corner of my eye I saw the others group together. They looked to be expecting something to happen. Some of them were quite eager to see it unfold, others weren't too happy with it though.
Let me know what you think of it so far. Is Bella a believable newborn?